bellabox – September 2012

A few weeks back I got the September bellabox.

Initally I was REALLY impressed with the haul in this box. Lots of stuff to try, decent sample sizes (or in some cases full sizes) and all useful products. I was a little sad I didn’t get any of the cosmetic products, it is mostly skincare but it’s all good.

I don’t have any photos for this one as I haven’t had time to do that, but there’s links all over the place. But here’s a product picture from the bellabox website:

Ok…

The first product I was happy to receive was the Bioderma Sebium AKN. This creme is lovely but there really wasn’t enough in the sample for me to make any statements as to whether it improves the condition of my skin – you really need to use it over a couple weeks at least. I did notice this made my skin very soft and I was happy that it didn’t cause any burning like a lot of moisturizers do. I’ve heard lots of good stuff about Bioderma and I am tempted to buy this one but it’s a little costly for the amount you get. The full size is $24.95 for 30ml.

Still with the Bioderma range, I also got the Sebium Foaming Gel. As cleansers goes, this stuff is also pretty nice. Again, it’s a very small sample so I can’t really say whether it would improve my skin over time but it’s pretty good at cleaning the skin and getting rid of makeup residue too. It’s $24.95 for 200ml, which makes it a real temptation to buy.

The next thing I pulled out of the box was a full size Australis Lashtastic mascara! Yay! I’d been after a new mascara to try so I was happy. The particular one I received was the TLC Conditioning Mascara. I’m not usually precious about stuff like packaging but I did love the pink chrome. (Please excuse the girly moment.) Now, generally I like Australis. They do a few good things and the mascara was pretty good but I had problems with the brush. I prefer brushes that are full and thick so I can avoid clumpage. This brush was way too thin and sparse so I got clumpage to the extreme. I had to comb through my lashes to even things out.  You can get Australis in pretty much any pharmacy/drug store or department store.  They usually sell for around the $10 mark (sometimes more or less depending on where you go).

Right… onto the truly sucky item in the box, because there had to be at least one. True Solutions All Day Moisture SPF 30+ Tinted Cream. OH MY GOD THIS SUCKED. I am blonde. I am fair. I burn just looking out of the window on a brightly overcast day. Anything with a little sun protection is great but this stuff was awful.

Let me list the awfulness;

1. It had the same texture and smell as sunblock. And not very good sunblock.
2. SPF 30? MY BUTT. If there is actual sunscreen ingredients in this product, there isn’t enough. I put it on and went out for a couple of hours on a sunny, 25 degree (celcius) day. I was in the actual sun for probably an hour at most. I. Got. Sunburned. Not terrible sunburn but I was definitely sun-kissed.
3. The colour darkened on my skin. It was a pretty good match as it came out of the bottle but within 20 minutes it had either naturally oxidized with the air or reacted to my skin and got darker. I had that lovely foundation mask thing going. Not impressed.
4. I’d like to know where the “all day moisture” part comes in. My skin was so dry from using this that I had to slather my face in rose hip oil to make it feel better.

I could put all this down to my super-sensitive skin but the ingredients are all in things I’ve owned and used without problems before.

This costs $60. Don’t bother. There are better and cheaper products out there.

The next product I got in my lovely bellabox was the Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk.  My friend Tam put me onto the wonders of dry shampoo as I hate washing my hair on a daily basis. Naturally oily hair shouldn’t be washed daily! It just encourages more oil!  This stuff worked rather well, smelled ok (they sometimes smell a bit obnoxious) and was easy to use though I would never use dry shampoo on really dirty hair.

Last but definitely not least was what I think was the surprise for everyone who got the September box.  You Me & Everybody Sumptuous Skin Mousse.  It’s a body lotion/moisturiser that’s a mousse!  The novelty was fun. The product was actually REALLY good.  It wasn’t sticky and absorbed pretty well into the skin.  We got the full-size product for this one, and $14.99 for a can isn’t too bad as far as moisturizers go.

So yep, that’s everything that was in this month’s box. Overall, I was pretty pleased. I was also pretty darn jealous of the folks who managed to score the cosmetic products.  There was Guerlain L’Or Radiance Concentrate with Pure Gold and Savoir Faire Concealer which I would have kicked kittens for. KITTENS.

Anyway, September was another fun edition from bellabox. Totally worth the $15.