A Glymmer of Hope!

Hey everyone!

Yesterday I was finally able to get to the post office to pick up my very first Glymm Box! Being an incredibly impatient person, I had already peeked around the blog world and found out what was in this months box (bad!) and I was really excited to get my hands on it!

This adorable light pink box came packaged in a matching coloured shipping box (what a cute touch!) so you know right away where its from! To be honest, I wanted to wait and take pictures while I was opening the box but I ended up opening it right in the parking lot in my car haha! Here is what I found:

These boxes are beautifully wrapped, it's like receiving a present in the mail! I always appreciate the small touches that companies include such as the embellished ribbon and lots of information about the included products.

Glymm includes a pamphlet describing all the products & their "full sized" price. I think this is a great touch because whenever I get a sample of something I want to know how much it will cost to get a full size and base my review and consideration of the product on that (there's nothing worse than falling in love with a product you can never afford the full size of!). 

My first Glymm box inluded:

Burt's Bees Milk & Honey body lotion (two sample sachets)

Vasanti Brighten Up! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator (12g tube)

Kaia Facial Towlette (1 towelette)

Anastasia Brow Gel (Deluxe Sample size)

Cargo Eyeliner - Black (Full size)

I am super excited to try this Burt's Bees Milk & Honey Body Lotion! I've eyed this up a few times while shopping but never end up purchasing it. I've heard really good things about it and I love that it's all natural. I used to have another Milk & Honey body lotion that was discontinued so hopefully this can take its place.

Now I already know I love this product as I own the full size tube! This is Vasanti's Brighten Up! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator. I'm happy to have this as a travel size/back up though and I'm very excited other Glymm girls will get a chance to try this amazing exfoliator!

I love makeup removing towelettes. These towelettes by Kaia are going to be great because I'm usually extremely tired or lazy by the time I go to bed so having a packaged of these on my bedside table is a must! I'm also always looking for natural alternatives so I'm thrilled to try these out! I really hope I like them and if I do will definitely purchase the full size!

It's funny that this was included in my Glymm box because the day before I was just thinking, "I'm out of brow gel, I need to buy some more," then there it was! I've never tried any of Anastasia products and I use brow gel everyday so I'm excited to be able to try this Brow Gel by Anastasia. And with the amount of brow gel you use on a daily basis, this should last a long time!

Last but certainly not least is a full sized Cargo Eye Pencil in black! When I first saw this in the box I expected it to be some crazy colour that I wouldn't get much wear out of but I was so happy when I saw it was black! Who doesn't need (or want to try) a new black eyeliner? Since I use one everyday I always welcome another one!

This is a pencil that needs sharpening (hopefully it won't be one that breaks every time you try) and has quite a lot of product. I've been happy with my other Cargo purchases in the past so hopefully this will live up to my expectations!

This pencil glides on super easily and keeps a sharp point which is great for thin lines. It isn't an intense black but it will be great for a softer black eye with light definition. 

Overall, I love my first Glymm box! I can't wait for the next one and it is definitely worth the money. The full sized Cargo Pencil alone is worth $16! Do you subscribe to any monthly sample boxes? If so which ones?

Summary

Glymm Box - January 2012

$10 + Tax (with free shipping)

Available at: Glymm.com

Disclaimer: The links in this post are my affiliate links. If you prefer to sign up without it just go to www.glymm.com.

Samples of the Week

Hey everyone! I'm just having a lazy Sunday and thought I would share some of my samples I received this week!

I got this little Bare Minerals Matte at Sephora for their V.I.B. Friends & Family sale! I was so excited when she popped this into my bag and couldn't wait to use it! Although, when I got home I realized that it wasn't my colour...

Haha, and I mean REALLY wasn't my colour! I always wonder about samples of foundation/concealer and things of that sort and what the logic is behind only offering it in one shade. It doesn't make sense to me because only a certain portion of the people who get the sample will even be able to use it! I would have loved to have tried this out and maybe even have bought it, but because it is so vastly not my colour I have no idea if I like it. This all seems like a waste to me (for the company) because they are not really accomplishing what samples are set out to do - test it out, like it, buy it! Anyways, thats my rant... Moving on... lol

Okay, I'm not really moving on because I'm extra sad that I can't use it because its so cute! The little brush and all, I just wish it had even been close to my colour! Another thing is I've been really wanting to try the Bare Minerals Matte for some time now! Oh, well! Maybe I can use it as a bronzer?

I got this little Shiseido skincare sample at London Drugs the other day as part of a promotion! I really like the Shiseido Pureness line, I'm not sure how my skin will react to the "moisturizing" line as I have very oily skin. 

This kit came with an Extra Gentle Cleansing Foam, the Hydro-Nourishing Softener and the Night Moisture Recharge. I'm excited to try the Extra Gentle Cleansing Foam as I've heard good things about it, but they other two I'm not sure about for my skin type! :)

I also like that it came with a little "how-to" and information about the products as well! 

I also recently signed up for the Vichy Normaderm 7-Day Challenge on their facebook page. I'm not sure if it's still going on but check it out! This is a sample pack of their new Normaderm Tri-Activ Anti-Imperfection Hydrating Care. I used this when it first came on the market years ago but they have since redone the formula and I'm excited to try it again!

I LOVE how they give you separate little daily packets to use! This way you can use the right amount of product everyday without trying to conserve any in fear of running out! They also include a $3 off coupon for your purchase of the product afterwards if you choose!

I'm excited to try all these things, I love getting samples and trying them out! Have you got any good samples lately?

The Shopping Channel - Heard of it?

Beauty Surprise Box!

Of course you guys have heard of it! (if you are Canadian!) Its such an underrated and too unknown place for beauty at amazing prices! If you haven't check it out, they have everything from Clarisonic to Cargo, Fusion Beauty, Pur Minerals, IT Cosmetics and Smashbox... To name only a FEW! They offer much better prices than in store, especially with their "Today's Showstoppers" and "Blockbusters"! Recently, I picked up one of my most anticipated items of the year! The Surprise Holiday Beauty Box! The Shopping Channel offers a "Beauty Box", usually, for each season! This is the first one I have purchased and now I regret not purchasing every other one I've ever seen!

The Holiday Beauty Box consists of some of The Shopping Channel's best selling products (that are kept a surprise except for which brands you will receive)! This box is seriously packed FULL of great things! It cost me $25 CAD + $6.95 for shipping, but the best part is that sometimes The Shopping Channel offers "Easy Pay" which spreads your payments out with no interest! (YAY!) But look at all I got:

Getting Closer!

Before I get into what came in the cute little box, I must say that I appreciate that they took the time to actually put it in a nice box with a nice black, silky pouch inside! These little touches make my experience so much better when shopping anywhere online!

First Photo

The amount of stuff you get in this package is insane for the $25 you spend! One of the products above is more than $25! LOVE IT!

Clockwise from Left:

- Skinn Olive & Enzyme Cleanser/ Deep Cleaning Mask (Full Size)

- Cargo Multi-Mix Bronzer (Full Size)

- Pur Minerals Mineral Light Highlighter (Full Size)

- Aloette Dual Action Bio-C Powder (Full Size)

NOTE: I haven't used any of these enough yet to review them, those will be coming up though so keep an eye out! :)

Photo #2

Left to Right:

- Proactiv Green Tea Moisturizer (Full Size)

- Ojon Animated Styling Balm (Deluxe Sample Size - Still huge!)

- Elizabeth Grant Biocollasis Complex Total Regeneration Wrinkle Repair Concentrate (Full Size)

- Proactiv Daily Oil Control (Full Size)

Photo #3

Clockwise from Top Left:

- 100% Pure Organic Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream (Deluxe Sample Size - Will last forever!)

- Leaf & Rusher Tx Formula (Deluxe Sample Size)

- Nick Chavez Leave-in Thickening Cream Conditioner (Deluxe Sample Size)

- StriVectin Instant Moisture Repair (Sachet)

- Elizabeth Grant Advanced Cellular Age Defence Night Creme (Sachet) 

- Perricone MD Face Finishing Moisturizer (Deluxe Sample Size)

- Elysse Liposomal Cream (Deluxe Sample Size)

- Calvin Klein Euphoria for Men & Women (sample sprays)

- Prai Ageless Hands (Sachet)

- Perlier (Elariia) Mimosa Body Cream (Deluxe sample size)

- Luxuriant Cracked Heel Soap (Deluxe Sample Size)

Man, thats a lot of stuff! I don't even know where to start with my testing! I know a few of these items will be given as Christmas Stocking Stuffers to my mom, mother-in-law and sister-in-law as I either already own them or they are not for my skin type! 

I love getting sets like this especially for such an amazing price and that include such well known product brands! Unfortunately, after showing you guys this great value, they are now sold out! :( But keep your eyes open for future Surprise Beauty Boxes because they only get better!! Also, check out their other great deals, they always have very competitive prices so make sure to check here first!

http://www.theshoppingchannel.com/beauty

PS. The "Today's Showstopper" tomorrow is by Clarisonic! If you have been looking at getting one they will be on for (I'm sure) great prices! (I've sent my mom the link for my Christmas Present lol) We won't know what the price is until tomorrow but be sure to check it out!

Mario Badescu Skin Care Routine Review

Hey everyone! As you may know, a while back I went onto the Mario Badescu website and filled out an online "skin consultation" form! In doing so, they sent me a HUGE selection of deluxe sized samples tailored to my skin type and skin concerns! I find that to be amazing in a sampling program, most of the time they send you single use packets of things you probably don't even need or want! Mario Badescu goes above and beyond to ensure you can properly evaluate the products and how they work with your skin, even BEFORE buying! I have a link in my side bar for Mario Badescu, if you want your absolutely no-catch, free samples all you have to do is click! Easy as pie!

So, first off, I used these products for a total of two weeks in replacement of my usual skin care routine! In the Mario Badescu sample packs you get everything you need for a new regime including cleanser, toner, exfoliator, day cream, night cream, treatment creams, eye creams and masks. (All the sample packs vary as they are suited to your skin so they only send you what you need and will work!)

My fellow beauty blogger and friend Pammy at "Pammy Blogs Beauty" also received some of these samples at the same time as I did and we decided to link our posts together in order for everyone to see a review of their skin type! :) My skin is oily, acne-prone and not sensitive, while Pammy's skin is normal to dry with some dry patches and rare breakouts. If that sounds more like your skin type, check out her review at "Pammy Blogs Beauty"!

So here is the rundown of what they sent me for my oily, acne-prone skin:

Cleanser: Botanical Facial Gel

Toner: Special Cleansing Lotion "C"

Exfoliant: Almond & Honey Face Scrub

Day Lotion: Aloe Moisturizer SPF 15 

Treatment: Drying Cream

Mask: Healing & Soothing Mask 

Eye Cream: Ceramide Eye Gel

Cleanser

Botanical Facial Gel

- I tested this for about a week, which was how long the sample lasted

- It is gentle, smells nice and is non-foaming

- Strange consistency to get used to but once you do, its a nice cleanser

- Doesn't remove makeup as well as I would like, I had to remove my makeup first then it was great!

- I needed to use a larger amount of the cleanser than I would with a foaming one

- Does not leave your skin feeling tight nor like it hasn't been thoroughly cleaned, great balance!

Verdict:

I like it. Its a good cleanser for oily/combo skin as long as you do not wear a lot of makeup! I would like this a lot for morning cleansing as it is really refreshing and doesn't leave your skin feeling tight but also doesn't leave it feeling greasy at all! I'm not sure if I will purchase the full size. I did like it a lot but prefer an all around makeup removing cleanser I can use both day and night!

Toner

Special Cleansing Lotion "C"

- Acne fighting toner

- Contains sulphur to fight breakouts

- Is Alcohol based (drying for some, including me!)

- Intense, would be good for very bad acne or chest/back breakouts

- Dried out my skin quite a bit

- Did help dry up breakouts

Verdict:

This wasn't my favourite. I don't like to use anything with alcohol on my face as I've read a lot about it being a free-radical for your skin and can accelerate aging. I've also read that over drying your skin can lead to increased sebum (oil) production causing even more breakouts. In those cases, I will not be repurchasing this particular toner but am very interested in purchasing another one of their alcohol free toners (which they have a good variety of) and trying it out! :)

Day Lotion

Aloe Moisturizer SPF 15

- Light, fresh feel

- great, light consistancy

- SPF 15

- Oil-free

- Hydrating, soothing

- Light, almost no scent

Verdict:

This is a really nice, light SPF 15 lotion. Its hard to find a sunscreen for oily skin that won't clog the pores or make you feel excessively greasy! This works well on my oily skin, as long as I use a pea-sized amount. It is also good if you finish it with a mattifying primer or powder to keep you shine free through out the day. This would be a fantastic option for normal/combination skins as it provides a light moisture and an SPF. I definitely like this for everyday light hydration with a dose of SPF! I will buy this in the full size (provided I can find it in my city! haha)

Acne Treatment

Drying Cream

- Sulphur based drying lotion for cystic/deep rooted acne breakouts

- Not excessively drying to surrounding skin (has an Aloe base)

- Much more gentle than Benzoyl Peroxide

- No bad "sulphur" smell, very light scent

- Provides minor coverage of redness

- Only need a TINY amount

- Spot treatment for Acne

Verdict:

One of my favourite products that I received! I don't often suffer with deep breakouts (mine are mostly small, surface whiteheads) but this cream helped everything! You only need the tiniest amount applied only to the breakout. I used a q-tip in order to keep the cream bacteria free (only used the q-tip once) and applied it precisely to my breakouts. One really different aspect to this cream is that you can use it on open breakouts ("popped" ones) to speed the healing time! You can also use this day or night, during the day I take a small amount and blend it over the area and at night I concentrate a dab directly on the blemish! Highly recommend this for anyone with Acne-prone skin and will DEFINITELY be purchasing the full size of this!

Eye Cream

Ceramide Eye Gel

- Gel consistency
- Cooling, firming, soothing
- Hydrates very well
- Refreshes the whole eye area
- Reduces puffiness
- Only need the TINIEST amount

Verdict:

This could be my absolute favourite product I received! I am always looking for a great eye cream/gel because I struggle with both oily lids as well as occasional eczema on my eyelids. Both are very hard to work with trust me! haha I also find a lot of products irritate my eyes and make my eczema worse so its hard for me to find a good eye cream. This one is fantastic! It hydrates so much better than I expected from a gel! You only need the tiniest, tiniest amount I can't stress that enough! A little goes a really long way and my eyes still felt moist and hydrated at the end of the day and in the morning from overnight use! Amazing eye gel, will definitely be purchasing the full size of this! :)

Exfoliant

Almond & Honey Non-Abrasive Scrub

- Fairly gentle, facial scrub

- Amazing honey/almond scent

- Creamy & moisturizing

- Not very exfoliating/ minimal grains

- Not great for oily skin

Verdict:

First off, I am not a huge fan of scrubs. I find they exacerbate acne, especially raised white heads because they cause irritation. That being said, I did try this one out. It is really gentle but that is because of the very minimal amount of granules that cause the exfoliation. In that case I don't know how well it exfoliates. This may be a very good option for people who need minimal exfoliation but with oily skin, exfoliation is very essential to keep pores clean. This would also be a good option for dry skins as it provides hydration! This left my skin feeling a bit greasy and like I wanted to wash it again. I will not purchase the full size of this.

Mask

Healing & Soothing Mask

- Clay based mask

- Healing, soothing, calming

- Helps with reddened skin

- Helps heal acne

- Contains anti-inflamitory ingredients

- Doesn't harden

Verdict:

Love, love, love! This is an amazing alternative to a clay/drying mask that is usually the only type of mask that people with oily/acne prone skin can use! This doesn't dry on the skin but still seems to soak up any unwanted debris and excess oil. It seriously calms redness and leaves your skin feeling fresh and revitalized without any excess oil or greasy feeling! I have found this really helps, with regular use, to speed the healing of acne and acne scarring! If you have acne (and even if you don't) this is such a fantastic and different mask that I highly recommend! I will be purchasing the full size!

MAN! This was a long review! I'm sorry about the length but hope I helped anyone with their decision to try Mario Badescu or to find anything that will help with their oily/acne prone skin! Don't forget about Pammy's review for normal to dry skin at "Pammy Blogs Beauty"!

I have since purchased a few additional Mario Badescu products, the famous Drying Lotion (bi-phase, glass bottle with pink at the bottom, I'm sure you've seen ads in magazines for it!) and the Herbal Hydrating Serum (because of Pammy's rave reviews! haha) I will have reviews on these in the near future so keep an eye out! :) Thanks for reading guys!

Mario Badescu Sample Haul!

Hey Everyone! I just got a great little haul of Mario Badescu samples, YOU CAN TOO! (click here) All I did was fill out a skin consultation form online and they sent me all this great stuff! Lets get to it! 

My Haul

First off, they give you a huge array of products to sample and they are all amazing sizes! I was so surprised! :) They did a full consultation of my skin and sent me products that I would actually USE! Which is beyond fantastic! Here is what they gave me for my oily/blemish prone skin:

Cleanser

They really do give you a full skin care system to try! First I got this cleanser. It is the Botanical Facial Gel and is good for combination/oily skin (as designated by the C, O, label on the bottle!)

Toner

Next, I got the Special cleansing lotion C for oily/combination skin!

Acne Treatment

This is the drying cream (sister of the famous Drying Lotion that they cannot send samples of because it must be stored in a glass jar). It is used for spot treatment of blemishes. For All Skin types.

Eye Gel

Here is the Cerimide Eye Gel I received for my dry skin around my eyes. For all skin types.

Scrub

Here is the Honey/Almond Scrub (smells amazing!) for All Skin Types. Everyone needs to exfoliate!

Mask

This is the Healing and Soothing mask. It is good for All Skin Types, especially for use after the Drying mask (which I did not receive but want to try!) because it replenishes skin.

Moisturizer (Day)

Here is the day time moisturizer I got, it is the Aloe Moisturizer SPF 15! YAY sunscreen!

Catalogue

I love how they also send you a catalogue of all their products so you can learn more about the products you receive and new ones you might want to try! They also have a mail order slip if you want to order that way!

Personalized Routine

Seriously, they go all out at Mario Badescu! I feel like I am getting pampered at a spa with a list of recommendations just for my skin! They tell you how to use each product you receive and went and also shows the benefits for your skin! Amazing, I am so impressed with Mario Badescus service!

I am going to use all of these products (and these products ONLY) for the next couple weeks or as long as they last! After that I will do a thorough review of each product and the condition of my skin! I am so excited to see what these products have in store for me! 

Log on to their site and get some samples for yourself! CLICK HERE

PS.  They do this for everyone! I was not specially selected to review their products on my blog, nor was I sent them for the purpose of reviewing! :) So everyone ENJOY!