little white truths

Bellabox's theme for May was 'Come Fly with Me'. It was a decent box - not amazing, but above average. One of the things I liked about it was that I'd only heard of one of the brands. Many of us join subscription boxes to discover new brands (and that's why people tend to get a bit grumpy when they receive samples of things they could buy at the local chemist), so the box was good in that sense.

Please note: I've used everything so the Wen sachet is gone and can't be photographed, and the beautifully packaged Appelles soap is out of its wrapping. But at least I can give you an idea of what the products are like!

Appelles Rosemary Body Bar (RRP $5.95 for 100g - received full size)

Now I'm a shower gel lass through and through, although this is indeed a lovely soap. It smells wonderful, foams well and the little rosemary bits give some exfoliation. After trialling it, I passed it on to my husband (who happily loves soap and hates gel); no matter how nice it is, it couldn't convert me!

Colour Theory Nail Polish, Tangerine Dream (RRP $4 for 6ml; received full size)

This ended up being my favourite item in the box, which I wasn't expecting - just goes to show that a hefty price tag doesn't always equal quality! I'm rubbish at nail polish: I always manage to smudge it after application and then chip it within a few hours (too much typing, I suspect). This one however dried quickly and remained chip-free for around three days - out-performing some more expensive brands that I've tried. I love the orange colour too.

Timeless Truth Face Mask (RRP $8 for 30ml; received full size)

The mask I received was actually green (I received this yellow one in another box and used it for photo purposes since the packaging is the same apart from the colour). There's a lot of these kinds of masks about at the moment and some work better than others. This is one of the better ones and it's loaded with product (I used the excess in the package and spread it over my body while waiting for the mask to do its work). My skin felt much nicer afterwards and looked more plump, although I didn't notice any lasting effect. I rarely do, with face masks.

Wen by Chaz Dean Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner (RRP $34.99 for 480ml; received single use sachet)

I was excited about this one - it came in a large sachet and claimed to cleanse and condition all in one. On reading the instructions, however, I discovered that one needed to use an immense amount of product per wash, and there was quite a bit of effort involved in each use. It smelled nice enough and seemed to do the job ok, although my hair was heavy when dry, didn't feel clean and wasn't shiny. An offer card came with this product and I know many people enjoyed it and took up the offer (a discounted purchase on the Wen website). I'm glad to have trialled this but I don't rate it.

This was the cult item and there was a lot of marketing surrounding it, as well as the arrival of Anastasia to the Bellabox store. I have to say, I wasn't wowed. For me, a brow gel is a brow gel and I only notice them if they're really good or really bad (kind of like bad/good acting in films). This was neither. It was fine, but I won't be buying it for that price tag. A good-sized sample though and one I'm using.

Lyxo Hair Bands (RRP $8.95 for 10; received 2)

This was the bonus item for this month. In my opinion, the bands are rubbish. Not stretchy enough and thus don't get around my hair. And I don't do fluoro. (So tell us what you really think... ; ) )

In sum

A decent box, and much better than Bellabox's efforts in the past few months, but it still didn't wow me completely. The best thing about it was the inclusion of so many new brands. What did others think?

If you're interested in joining Bellabox, see here.