glossybox [march]...

i've finally had enough of glossybox's crappy boxes after they raised the price (and went all drug store brand) and cancelled a few days ago! *pats self on back* i gave them the benefit of the doubt month after month and things just never changed.  let's see what we have this month...

lots of full size products i see.

youth code is valued at $29.99. i tried it and quite liked it, though i don't know how well it works since i've only used it 2x thus far. and loose eye shadow in a color i won't wear. probably give it to a friend.

conditioning treatment and natural glow; nothing i haven't used before, but i appreciate the full size.

a lip tint, which i've never tried before. valued at $24. really??

my problem is that it looks full, but look how much you have to squeeze to even start getting the tint out. i would say about 10% of the container is full.

total value this month is just over $70, which is great, but in the end, drug store products just aren't cutting it. wish i had better things to say about glossybox, but after exactly 1 year with them, i think they've lost their way and have cheaped out. a few examples of other boxes in the past that involved unique, higher quality products: my first box last april, red carpet ready september, and glossybox august.

i bid you farewell.

glossybox [february]...

this month's glossybox was their birthday box and after the last few months, i was hoping i would be blown out of the water. i was not, but it was a definite improvement. there's only 1 thing in the box that i won't use, and we even got something that can be considered 'luxury', which is what they promise anyways, yet fail to deliver most months.

 the black and pink birthday box; different from the usual pale pink.

 the goods.

 hair oil, body wash, pore strips, and lip gloss.

anti aging cream, eye shadow, cupcake liners, and hand cream.

so cute. and so much of it is true ;)

macadamia natural oil healing oil treatment - a 30ml bottle valued at $13.50. some have said that they think this smells like mens aftershave, i personally think it smells early/nutty and i'm kind of in love with that. i used it this morning and it left my hair incredibly soft and shiny. also, this came at a perfect time, since i usually use moroccan oil, but ran out a little while ago.

anatomicals body cleanser - full size, valued at $3. a little bit of a grandma-ish smell with the roses, but i don't mind it.

biore deep cleansing pore strips - full size (6 pack) valued at $9.99. i have these and use them often enough. not a deluxe beauty sample, but at least it won't go to waste. 

givenchy gloss interdit in coral frenzy - sample size, full size valued at $30. i would venture to say this is a universally flattering color; a peachy neutral. i find it a little sticky and grainy, though. 

essence quattro eyeshadow - full size, valued at $3.99. it's not likely i'll use this shadow pack since it's green.  definitely not a color i want to wear. i don't imagine many people do.

bonus items:

eucerin hyal-urea anti-wrinkle day/night cream sachet duo - with only one use per day and night, it's hard to say much, but i really liked the way they went on and left my face feeling really soft.

glossybox cupcake kit - special edition for glossybox. cute little extra something. what else can i say?

crabtree & evelyn tarocco orange, eucalyptus & sage ultra moisturizing hand therapy cream - sample satchet. while i like the scent of it, it just does not keep my hands moisturized. i put it on, and maybe an hour did dishes and liked that i could still smell it after that, but then shortly after, i noticed my hands were dry again. i used it again later in the night and within the hour, my hands were dry. not strong enough for dry canadian winters i suppose.

after the surveys for this box, i'll have enough points to cash them in and get my free box. whether i'll stay after that is still up for debate. 

glossybox [january]...

what can i say about this month other than it sucked. at this point, i would not be recommending glossybox to any canadians. after all the issues last month with the expired products, i thought they would up the ante, and really put out a good box this month. wrong. the theme this month was 'moisturizing' and keeping our skin soft in these cold canadian months. seriously though, enough with the creams. we've gotten a ridiculous amount over the months.

at this point, i'm not even going to do detailed, individual little reviews like i used to, but i do have a few things to say. keep in mind that glossybox says that each month, we will receive 'deluxe beauty products.'
wella mousse- i didn't know anyone still used mousse. maybe those with curly hair, but it's too bad this was the only full size product.
nivea-common!! it's $2!!!! nothing against nivea, you can't go wrong with a classic lipchap, but it is not deluxe.
too faced lip injection-the smallest sample i ever did see.
burt's bees body lotion-more cream. again, not deluxe.
vitabath hand cream-oh! another cream! which we received 2 months ago...
cosmetic sanitizing wipes-we also received these a few months ago.

i just want to know who is running the canadian offices because they're doing a terrible job. the quality of the boxes has drastically dropped since they raised their prices by 40%. i feel bad for whoever has the social media job because 95% of the facebook comments are unsatisfied customers complaining about the lack of quality.

exclusive access to world beauty trends according to their site; simply not so. as soon as i get enough points to get my free box (very close), i'm out.

glossybox [december]...

while december's glossybox seemed amazing at first glance, they've gotten themselves into a little bit of hot water. there were 2 products that were either expired or discontinued, not months ago, but YEARS ago. unbelievable, no?

a silver box for december, instead of the usual pink.

the goods this months. looks pretty good.

i do like aveeno, a lot, but 2 creams in 1 box?

the questionable items.

aveeno ultra calming daily moisturizer spf 30 - full size, valued at $22.99. i love aveeno products; i think they smell great, and i love the way they leave my skin feeling. so this, i'm happy about. plus, it's got spf 30, which never hurts.
aveeno positively radiant tinted moisturizer (fair to light) spf 30 - another full size product, valued at $22.99. i've never used a tinted moisturizer before and i'm a little nervous. i don't wear foundation or cover-up, so the idea of covering my skin with a color makes me nervous. hopefully since it's for fair to light, it won't look like a mask on me, but we'll see.
tresemee fresh start volumizing dry shampoo - i've never used dry shampoo before, but i've always wanted to try it. maybe my hair wasn't 'dirty' enough, but it didn't seem to make that great a difference.
tresemee split remedy shampoo and conditioner - full size is $5.99, but we got a decent sized sample bottle. we got tresemee in another box and i wasn't a fan. it left my hair feeling really dry and brittle. this is a different line, so perhaps it will be different?
glossybox lashes - valued at $12.99. these are some bold, full lashes. maybe i'll save them for halloween or new years, because they certainly aren't for a regular weekend night out.
nobia x-cessories earrings - valued at $14.99 but they're cheap looking and feeling, and not something i would pick out on my own. i likely won't wear these.
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the 2 products in question:

revlon opulent pink nail polish in 'opulent pink'- valued at $5.99. from what i've found online, this color was 'new' in 2009 and isn't currently on the revlon site. some customers even received nail polish that had a rite aid clearance sticker on it!!! the color itself is fine, but i'm not ok with getting something from 2009.

avon lip gloss - no information listed on our product info card, regarding what it is (though it's obvious it's gloss) or the price. the color is called 'silver foil' and luckily, it's not actually silver. again, some people got lipglosses that expired from 2005! 2005!!! they apparently got these 2 products from europe, but that's just crazy. can't say i'll be using it.

the thing is, both revlon and avon have come forward to say that they did not partner with glossybox, so everyone on the glossybox facebook page is freaking out, and i think rightfully so. where did these products come from if not supplied by the companies themselves?! why are some people getting 8 YEAR expired products and some with clearance stickers on them?! if i want to use my own expired nail polish that i've had sitting around for 5 years, that's my prerogative  and i do it all the time, because quite frankly, i don't care. but i'm not paying $21/month to receive expired/discontinued products. sure, the 2 aveeno moisturizers alone are more than double what we pay for the box, but that doesn't matter. glossybox is kind of beating around the bush and not giving any specific answers. i'm going to hold out for one more month, since january is their 1 year anniversary, and i'm hoping that they will redeem themselves, but i'm thinking ipsy is sounding pretty good, and it's $15, like glossybox used to be.

not cool, glossybox, not cool.

glossybox [november]...

i was quite excited to get a christmas themed box this month, and it didn't disappoint. lots of useful stuff, and even a candy cane tucked in there, too.

nexxus salon hair care:hydration kit - 400ml shampoo retails for $9.99 and the conditioner for $14.99, but we were given 89ml bottles, which are still pretty big for samples. haven't had a chance to try them yet, but they smell really good.
curel hand and cuticle therapy cream - we received a full size bottle, valued at $3.99. my nails are always super dry (i even use cuticle oil), so here's to hoping that daily use of this cream will help.
vitabath exfoliating sugar scrub - a 10oz bottle is $18, and we were given a 2.5oz sample, but it's pretty big, no? compare it to the size of the nail polish..anyways, it smells so nice and sweet with a hint of citrus. i tried a bit on my (dry winter) hands, and it left them nice and soft.
nicole by opi kardashian kolor holiday shades - full size, valued at $10.99, and the color i got was 'a gold winter's night'. ugh, i hate to admit it, since it's kardashian related, but i actually love this polish. put over any polish, it's so glittery with green and gold strips of glitter.
kryolan for glossybox blusher in glossy pink - exclusive to glossybox, and valued at $16.93. pretty pigmented for the little bit i put on, but the color is quite nice and similar to what i wear already.
maybelline mny my gloss (can't find it on their site) - full size, valued at $7.49. no color listed, but it's a nice shimmery pinkish, gold. not too sticky, and goes on nicely.

i'm hoping the december box will be good; i've been looking forward to that for months now! it would be a bonus if it actually got here before the new year.

glossybox [october]...

this month's box was apparently worth $80. do i feel we got that? nope. it wasn't bad, per se, but again, i wasn't thrilled. last month, we got an email saying that the price was being raised from $15 to $21 with the hopes of improving the types of samples we get and moving away from drug store brand stuff. october was still $15 for existing members, but new members would have paid $21. i find a 40% increase to be outrageous and was not pleased when i got that email. most likely after 1 more, if i don't feel there's better quality, i'll cancel.

 i have really small nails. and this is them when they're 'long'.

 more sebastian products (shampoo and conditioner), and an anti-aging cream (wait till you see the price).

zoya nail polish in "rory" - a full size product valued at $8 (full size). we've received another zoya polish in the past, and i love it. it's opaque in 1 coat, though i still use 2, and i find that because of the shimmer, it stays on for quite a while. the color reminds me of a barbie pink and i love the faint metallic/sparkly look to it. obviously i liked it so much that i tried it right away.

modelco flipstick lip duo - this baby is quite pricey, at $38.75 (full size) and is special for glossybox members. the colors (dusk lipstick and striptease gloss) are quite nice. the gloss is pretty sheer with just a hint of pink and i liked it right away. the lipstick, on the other hand, looked really brown and i thought, 'ugh, gross, won't wear that!' i wasn't even going to try it (dramatic), but then i figured i might as well, and what do you know, i was wrong. it's a lot more sheer than pigmented brown, and it's more of a neutral color than anything. one or two swipes of it won't give you anything close to brown lips and it moisturized them for hours. lastly, while i thought the mirror on it was cool, you can't use it when applying either lipstick or gloss!! both ends are attached to the mirror, so it's used to look after you've put the stuff on. kinda weird.

gillette venus razor - eh, another razor. enough already. i'm not paying for razors every few months. enough with the drug store brands. it's a good razor and all, and comes with a few refills, but this is not a high-end product like they're promising. it's valued at $16.99 (full size).

sebastian professional trilliance shampoo and conditioner - a full size bottle is $17, but we got little sample sizes. it smells really nice and left my hair ridiculously soft! we had gotten a full size sebastian shampoo a few months ago, so now that i've tried a sample size, i look forward to using it when my shampoo runs out.

jouviance rejuvenating anti-aging cream - a full size 50ml bottle of this is $93.50, but we got a sample  size of  5ml. honestly, this bottle is practically empty; i can squeeze the bottle flat and there's a teeny bit of cream at the end. really?! it's supposed to hydrate skin and create firmness, but given that it's so small, i won't be using it long enough to see if it works. plus, i put a tiny, tiny but under each eye and it left it super greasy.

see? empty.

glossybox [september]

now this was a good month! i'll use every.single.thing in this box and i actually love it all. and it's worth way more than the $15 charge. the theme was 'red carpet ready', so everything tied together nicely.

b.kamins maple body lotion -  i don't smell the maple, though that doesn't bother me. i agree with others who say it actually smells more like baby powder, which i think is great. it's a nice lotion; fast absorbing, made my hands nice and soft, and plus, it's canadian. a 180ml bottle is $41, but we got a sample size of 12ml.
b.kamins lip balm spf 20 - nice sample size of this lip balm, no particular smell, no color, just good ole lip moisturizer. 15g is $21 dollars, but our sample size was 4g.
wella professionals mirror polish shine serum - a full size product worth $16.99! i've yet to use this (i've gotten so many hair products from glossybox that i won't be buying anything new for months and months and months!), but i don't really care for the smell. it's a smell that's pretty common in hair stuff i find; a little bit floral, a little sweet, a little strong. not my favorite.
dove cleartone - i use dove and secret interchangeably, so without trying it yet, i know i'll like it. you can never have enough deodorant! we got a sample size, but a full size goes for $3.99-$4.99
nyx cosmetics; the crimson amulet collection (limited edition) - ok, so this is awesome. it's worth $25 and full of makeup! the palette holds 24 eye shadows, 5 blushes, 1 highlighter, 4 lip colors, 1 eye shadow base, and 1 black liquid eye liner. i've tried some of the lip colors and eye shadows, and i'm impressed. the colors are quite nice and there's a wide variety to choose from. i would never buy something like this for myself because i usually find that i wouldn't wear most of the colors that come in the palettes, but i actually like so many of these shades.

the shine serum and makeup palette alone is worth $42. i'm so glad dylan insisted i keep getting glossybox, even when i wanted to cancel to save the money, because it makes me stupid happy every month to open it. plus, i haven't had to spend money on cleansers, moisturizers, shampoo, and hair products for the last 6 months. so in a way, it's worth it. win.

glossybox [august]...

this months box was a mix of good and bad for me. still worth the $15 regardless of the 'bad'? yes, but there's been better.

i don't really need 2 lipsticks in one box, but ok.

the one on the left is pretty frosty. not sure i'll get much wear from it.

....

sebastian potion 9 lite-i've used this once so far and i liked the smell, but didn't like what it did to my hair. maybe because i let it air dry, but it was left really dried out. i'll have to try it again when i plan on actually drying my hair with the round brush.
biore make-up removing towelettes- have yet to try these, but if they're anything like the neautogena ones i've used, they'll be great. i've brough them on vacay with me so i could carry one less bottle with me (cleanser). we got a 10 pack which values for $3.99
elastoplast SOS blister-there was a lot of wasted package for just one patch. it was like, an 8 page booklet with one patch taped in the centre. it says we got a full size pack on the info card, but we got 1. anyways, a 5 pack retails for $5.99
befine skin care (5 various packages)- i loved these! there was a surprisingly amount in the little packs; i got about 3 or 4 days (morning and night) using the cleanser and night cream, if you can believe it. though i have to say, the cleanser that was mint, rice and something else-i didn't like the smell at all. i felt like i was washing my face with dental floss.
kryolan for glossybox-special edition so not sure of the price, but it's full size. the color is a tad darker than what i would normally wear, but i've worn it a few times already. it goes on nice and smooth and doesn't dry out your lips.
isadora perfect moisture lipstick-valued at $11.99, but boy is it tiny for a full size. the color is pretty bad-a real frosted pink. possibly mixed with another color it will ok, but when i tried it, it was like i went back in time when frosted lips were in. just bad.
trend trunk mystery gift card-you had to sign up to find out how much your card was valued at (between $5 and $250), which i wasn't impressed with. of course, it was only $5; pretty useless to me. it's a site that's basically an online closet to buy and sell clothes. this won't be used.

i'm looking forward to getting into the fall boxes, but i wonder if the lipsticks will get into darker shades? in that case, maybe i won't be excited! guess we'll just have to wait and see.

*so far, we're loving the beach and thus far, the weather has been great! sitting on the balcony and watching the ocean while drinking our morning coffee is a pretty sweet deal!*

glossybox [july]...

i felt like this month, glossybox was just ok. i didn't dislike it, but it hasn't been my favorite. of course i'll use everything, but the only thing i'm really excited about is the nail polish. that being said, it's still worth the $15.

..
beauty so clean-cosmetic sanitizer wipes; i've never heard of anything like this (maybe i'm outta the loop), but i kind of look forward to trying them; they're supposed to sanitize makeup that accumulates debris like dust, lint, and food particles. it's not something i would ever pick up myself, which is part of what i like about the box. we got 4 samples and a 48pack of wipes goes for $12.50
eucerin calming cream; i have ridiculously dry nails (and hands in the winter) and from the little sample we got, i loved this stuff. it absorbed into my hands right away and they felt really soft after. we got a 5ml sample, but a 200g sample goes for $12.00
alessandro pedix feet; this is some heavy duty stuff! i've never heard of this brand before, but i tried it the other night and i love it. in may, we got a curell foot cream, and it was just ok. this stuff blows it out of the water. it smells nice and minty, and my feet were left unbelievably soft the next morning. this was a sample size, but the full 100ml size goes for $19.95.
dove visiblecare body wash; i need to buy a loofa but in the meantime, i used my hand. it smells really good (i generally like dove products for how they work and their smell) and it did do it's job by leaving my skin nice and soft for summer. we got a full size bottle valued at $5.99
john frieda frizz-ease hair serum; i think this is going to be similar to moroccan oil (which i've now used forever and am in love with), which is great because i'm down to my last few pumps and haven't bought a new one yet. i tried it twice and i can't say too much about it yet, but it did keep my bangs from going crazy on the really hot days! another full size product (albeit tiny) valued at $14.99.
zoya nail polish in 'carly'; finally, a nail polish! i love the dark puple color and the sparkles. i've been wanting an opaque sparkle color for some time, just never bought one. i've never used this brand before, so i'm not sure how long it lasts before chipping, but we'll see. i had nail polish on when i opened the box, but wanted to try it right away, so i may have put a coat on dylan's pinky..it went on really nice, not streaky, and you could probably even get away with 1 coat, even though i would go for 2. the nail polish is full size and valued at $8.99.

i'm starting to look forward to fall boxes; how will they differ and what season will i like better?

(ps..enjoy your holiday monday if you're off! we've got a family bbq to go to!)

glossybox [june]...

i think glossybox keeps getting better and better every month.i was quite happy to open the box up and see more than the usual 5 products. this month's box will have me summer ready in no time. lets get to the goods...

$15 for all this; unbelievable. 

biore 4-in-1 revitalizing cleanser, gillette venus embrace razor, and wella professionals ocean spritz 

neutrogena ultra sheer dry-touch suncreen lotion spf 55, biore deep cleansing pore strip, play regenerist wrinkle revolution complex, and cover girl flipstick-blendable lip duo.

my audience as i opened up the box.

biore 4-in-1 revitalizing cleanser- we got a full size (200ml) bottle of this which sells for $9.99. i gave it a try and while it definitely removed my makeup with no problems, boy does it sting your eyes! i always wash my whole face with my cleanser (usually neutrogena), eyes included, then open my eyes to wet the facecloth and wipe it off. there's never any stinging with neutrogena, but with this biore? yeah, i won't be opening my eyes when i was my face with this. otherwise, it's a fine cleanser.

gillette venus embrace razor- what can i say? it's a razor? it keeps my legs smooth, and this is the kind i usually use anyways. truth me told, i hadn't unpacked my razors yet for the shower, and was thinking about it in the morning, and then i opened the box, and ta-da! a razor. perfect timing. also note: i haven't bought a razor in years. i have so many free ones from toronto; they're always handing out free stuff. 1 kit sells for $13.43.

wella ocean spritz- another full size (150ml) bottle which sells for $16.99. i used it on my dry hair like they said, and i get that beachy hair is kind of dry, but this just made my hair feel like straw. i'm not sure i'm a fan. i also have the bumble and bumble surf spray, and i would say they're pretty comparable. one positive thing, i did like the smell. 

cover girl flipstick-blendable lip duo- yet another full size product which sells for $12.50. i think a few different colors were given out and i got 'whisper' which i'm quite happy with. it's a nice light pink and i really like the way it looks. however, my only complaint is that it really dried out my lips.
neutrogena ultra sheer dry-touch sunscreen- we got a little sample size in spf 55. i'm pretty certain i've never worn anything that high before! as fair as i am, i usually stick to spf 4 or 8. crazy, i know. and i usually don't get burt. anyways, i've yet to try this out, but it smelled nice and light. i'll save it for a day when i'm going to be outside for a while on a super hot day and need that extra protection.
olay regenerist wrinkle revolution complex- even though it was a little mini sample, there was enough for me to use it 7 nights. i can't say too much on this product, as i obviously saw no improvements in only 7 days (they say you see some after 14 days), but it did absorb into my skin very quickly, which was nice before bed.
biore deep cleansing pore strips-everyone knows of these strips; i personally think they're great. we got one in the box and it was just a little added bonus. i've got a box in my cupboard, so clearly, i'm already a fan.

as you can see, the full size products alone come to just under $55, then add in the 3 little samples?? well worth the $15 this month. keep it up glossybox!

glossybox [may]...

this was mt second month getting glossybox; thoughts on the first one here. this one has more full size products, which is great. i was originally planning on canceling after this box, but since it was so good, i may keep going a little while longer.

simple facial wash gel, simple eye makeup remover, sebastian professional volupt shampoo,  curel foot cream, and iman lipstick.

i've never worn bright lipstick before (and it's not something i would spend money on myself), so i'm happy to be able to try it 'for free' so to speak.

testing out the bright red (though it looks pinkish here, i promise it's bright red). dylan loves it; typical guy.

simple face wash gel- i've used this a few times now and i like it. there's no smell to it, and it takes my makeup off easily will no scrubbing required. left my skin feeling great. we were given a full size (50ml) and it's worth $9.99.

simple eye makeup remover- i haven't used this one yet, but i'm assuming that it will be similar to the one above, since it's the same company and all. we were given a 56ml bottle valued at $9.99. (between these 2, the box has already paid for itself.

sebastian professional volupt shampoo- i haven't used this one yet either, but it smells nice and it's a full size bottle ($15.78). i wonder if it will give my limp, flat hair the volume it says? we'll find out soon enough.

curel foot cream- i've used this a few times and it's ok. everyone wants nice soft feet to show off in their summer sandals, right? i don't find that it made that big of a difference; i've used better creams. we got 100ml and it's worth $3.99

iman lipstick- the color i got is called 'iman red' and boy is it red. it went on really smoothly and didn't dry  my lips out. i went out to dinner with it and i was a little self conscious about it because it's so bold. but i think i may just have to get used to it, because i like it. it certainly has staying power; i think my lips were still tinted a light red the next morning! it's a full size product valued at $16.

the total of everything in the box this month is about $55. not bad for paying $15, right? i can't wait to get the next box in the next few weeks :)

happy weekend!