little white truths

Hooray hooray my LHI showed up today! While it's November, it's not the latest box I've received from Lust Have It and I'm not too worried about that.

Having said this, a few of you may have seen me post on one of the FB beauty groups that my tracking emails for this box and a Memebox (from Korea) arrived on the same day, and I was taking bets on which arrived first - offering no prizes, however, for guessing that the Memebox order would arrive first, despite coming from another hemisphere. And it did.

Anyhoo!

A great bunch of products from the looks of things. I was definitely pleased by what I saw on first glance.

As always I'll do an initial review of the box now, and then update this post once I've trialled everything (noting that I can comment on a couple of products straight away because I've already used them).

Montagne Jeunesse Glacial Clay Spa Mask (RRP $4.99; received full size)

These masks always remind me of going into Priceline when I was in my early twenties and picking one of these before a uni ball or something (back then I had no idea about beauty products but figured a face mask might be a good idea before a big event).

This is supposed to be deep cleansing, while delivering a beauty boost. It's a clay infused fabric mask and while I consider these items to be 'filler' products (I've received so many masks from this brand over the years), I'm still happy to give it a go.

UDATE: I liked this a lot more than I thought I would, which is saying a lot because I'm so over sheet masks and find them annoying to use. It felt nice and cooling and I liked that you didn't need to leave it on too long. My skin looked a bit nicer after use - brighter and plumped - although the effect wasn't lasting. I wouldn't go out and buy it but I'm happy to have trialled it.

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse (RRP $24.95 for 50ml; received 10ml sample bottle)

I never thought I'd be excited to see a product that I've received 564 times in subscription boxes (and no, I never exaggerate), not to mention that I have the full size bottle. HOWEVER. This is the first time ever I've received a sample of this product that's not in a dodgy little sachet! I was so over-mooned to see it in a little bottle, it's ridiculous.

Ha. So it's a multi-purpose dry oil that nourishes, repairs, softens skin and reduces stretch marks. You can also use it on your hair. If you haven't tried it yet, you're in for a real treat. It's hydrating without being greasy like a normal oil. Plus it smells amazeballs. Yay.

UPDATE: I love this oil and I've been using it for a while. It's hydrating without being greasy and smells so wonderful. People use it for different things and rave about the effects, whether on their hair, face or body. I've been using it on my expanding preggers belly to stop my skin itching (which happens when things stretch so quickly) and it works a treat. I've also used it on the ends of my hair and it keeps those from being too dry and helps tame frizz.

Inika Black Kohl Pencil with sharpener (RRP $29; received full size)

This is a nice inclusion from a brand I really like. Inika is certified organic and its products are great (the ones I've tried, in any event). It's always nice to receive an in-built sharpener too. Looking forward to giving it a go and seeing how it fares - eyeliners traditionally make me look like a panda in all of about 0.25 seconds (and this time I'm really not exaggerating) because I've got puffy eyes so lines transfer in a heartbeat.

The only thing I'll say about this inclusion is that this is the third black eyeliner I've received from LHI in the last few months (two Teeez black eyeliners showed up in our June women's and FAB boxes). That's enough black eyeliner guys!

UPDATE: Bored as I am with black eyeliners, this is a good product. It's nicely smooth and pigmented, applies well and doesn't transfer easily - something that happens to me all too often because I have puffy eyes and the rubbing skin moves eyeliners quickly, leaving me looking like the proverbial panda. This one wears pretty well however without the need for too much re-application, and it's easy enough to wash off too. I'll definitely do a full review of this product in future, once I've really given it a good test drive in different weather etc.

So Susan Intense Eye Shadow Palette with Coated Pigments (RRP $35; received full size)

So Susan (or is it Jelly Pong Pong?!) is a decent brand, judging by the liquid illuminator and nailpolish I've tried from the range. I was definitely pleased to see this included, and I'm reasonably happy with the colours - they're wearable (no blue in sight!) and I reckon you could make a nice smokey eye using these puppies.

A couple of things: is it just me, or is it harder and harder to find non-shimmer eyeshadows these days? Where are the matte products - I can't remember the last time I received a matte eyeshadow in a subscription box, and it's hard to find them in Priceline (I would know, I've just returned from there covered in sparkles up and down my arms after doing some 'window' shopping). The other thing: this shadow looks like it's a bit grainy and mightn't be the best quality, BUT I haven't tried it yet so we'll see if I'm wrong about that.

A good inclusion : )

UPDATE: This looks cheap/powdery (and feels a little that way when used) but it applies and blends well. It looks nice on and I like the colours more than I thought I would, plus I don't have all the colours in my existing eyeshadow collection - which is saying a lot because I've received so many eyeshadows in sub boxes over the past year.

I've found that using a gold eyeshadow on the inner corners of my lids and transitioning out to the pale lavender colour looks lovely. What I'll do in the near future is a full, separate review of this product with swatches and more comments.

Glamourflage Awesome Eva Eye Mask (RRP $7.95; received full size)

Good call, Lust Have It. The only eye masks I have are those rubbish ones from OS plane flights. Nice to have a fancy pantsy one! Not sure how much I'll use it but who cares - I don't have anything like it and I love Glamourflage packaging, so I'll be displaying this and will enjoy feeling fancy pantsy on the few occasions I do use it ; )

UPDATE: What's to say about this except that it's a fancy eye mask that blocks out the light? Nothing really. It's nice to wear and I have it on display on my dresser because I love Glamourflage packaging. 'Nuff said : )

Colour By TBN Lipstick in 888 Pout Those Lips Girl (RRP $3.50; received full size)

Ok, hands up who saw this product in the bag and thought it was a Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter?! OMG such a packaging rip-off - cracks me up. I wonder if TBN will get in trouble for it.

Anyhoo, you can see in the photo that my lippie was cracked/open (dastardly cheap packaging, no doubt), so I've emailed LHI about replacing it because it could have been like that for donkey's years and therefore affected the product. I'm not putting this on my lips for now since I don't know how long it's been exposed to air.

What I did notice on swatching, is that the product has a rubbish consistency - so either it's gone off or it's just a cheap, nasty product. We'll have an answer on that when I receive my replacement. At $3.50 a pop, it could just be a nasty item ; )

On the colour, it looks purple in the tube but pulls red/burgundy on me, so it doesn't suit me (dang, wish it was purple). Pretty sure that my replacement product, once I've tested it on my lips, will be heading for a better home.

UPDATE: First, thanks LHI for quickly sending out a replacement for this product - much appreciated. Second, this is a really rubbish lipstick, but what else can you expect from something that costs $3.50?

Of the two products I received, the colours don't turn out like you expect them to from looking at the packaging and the lipsticks themselves, they're drying and feel crap to wear, and they don't last at all. I'll likely be throwing mine out unless some crazy person I know wants to keep the one that didn't show up broken. Hoh well. You can't win 'em all.

This is a decent, well-rounded box. The total value clocks in at around $85.50, so it's worth the $19.95 outlay for those who are paying monthly (and even better value for those of us on annual subscriptions).

While it's not my favourite LHI box - I think eg last month's was better overall - it's definitely a good one. Well, a good one minus the $3.50 knock-off lipstick.

The big ticket item for me is probably the eyeshadow palette. I'd have been more excited about the Inika eyeliner if I hadn't received so many black eyeliners from subscription boxes this year (actually, didn't LHI give us two black Savvy liners earlier this year?! Yes! Enough already!!!).

Otherwise, I'm happy with the box. I don't think it's convinced me to renew my subscription when it runs out next year though - let's wait and see how the next couple of boxes are.

What did others think of this box?