little white truths

It was a good day for this box to turn up (last day of April - just made it!): we're not having a good day here. My 12-week-old daughter is very upset and has been crying lots. I hope she's not getting sick, the poor little thing : (

It took me a while to even open the box after it arrived - let alone take photos and even think about writing this post - but I'm glad that something exciting arrived today to break things up a bit.


I'd already seen the contents of the box on Facebook (couldn't help myself as usual) but it was still nice to open it and get a bit of a surprise because I didn't know what colour the eyeshadow was (I really like it!).

The only bad thing about this box was that two of my items - the Lipsi powder and the Evelyn Iona concealer - arrived with their lids almost off (as in, they were barely screwed on). This doesn't matter with the powder because it's sealed, but the concealer isn't so I'll have to see what others have to say about it and work out whether mine has gone off from either being opened or being in contact with air.


Above is the product card that came with the box, and below is a code for a discount off Doucce products in the Violet Box shop.

Do note that all the prices quoted on the card above are for the full size version of each product, and most of the products we received are trial sizes.


I quite liked the Doucce lipstick we received in last month's box, although I don't think I'll use the discount because I'm still on a low buy and can only buy one item a month, and I'd rather grab something from the new Shanghai Suzy range if I'm going to get another lipstick (which of course I don't need - not that this will stop me ; ) ).


Transformulas Eye Lifting Gel (RRP $49) and FaceContour & Tightening Créme (RRP $59)

I'm not a massive fan of sachets (who is) but at least I haven't heard of this brand. I've no idea how much is in each sachet because it's not marked on the pack, but they look even more tiny than your usual sachet so I doubt the size of either will be enough to decide how I feel about them. Which kind of defeats the purpose of sachets, at least from the company's perspective.

Anyhoo. The eye gel is apparently a revolutionary biotechnological eye care innovation (say that five times blotto) that's formulated with peptides and plant extracts. The face cream is meant to help lift and re-sculpt tired (not 'tried': watch your spelling VB ; ) ) skin so that bone structure is more defined. 

We'll see.

UPDATE: Despite the small samples, I can tell that I don't like these products. The eye gel is ok and feels quite rich/velvety for a gel, but it doesn't seem to hydrate or nourish and the skin around my eyes didn't like it. I had to add another eye product on top so that my eyes felt ok.

As for the face lotion, my skin really didn't like this one: it's quite greasy and doesn't absorb well (I had to rub at it to get it to soak in), plus it has a weird chemical smell and a slight cooling/stinging effect. I wouldn't be surprised if it had alcohol in it. On top of that, it doesn't moisturise well and it's drying and uncomfortable on my skin. Indeed I hated the feel of it so much that I had to wash it off after half an hour. Not a fan.


Evelyn Iona Natural and Organic Concealer (Flawless) (RRP $24.99)

This is the product that might have been exposed to air because the lid was almost off. It smells ok (if a little odd - like lip balm). It kind of feels and looks like lip balm too, to be honest - I've swatched it below so you can see what I mean.


It contains vitamin E, cocoa seed butter, organic coconut, jojoba and castor seed oil (no wonder it feels like lip balm!). You never know, it might surprise me, but I don't think this is going to perform well: it's too sheer and looks like it's going to slip off.

UPDATE: Happily I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. Full review here. It's a good colour match for me and if you set it with a powder, it loses the shine factor and looks natural while still delivering reasonable coverage and lasting well. It's quite sheer but you can build it for more coverage if you wish. I'm still not sure how I feel about putting something that looks and smells like lip balm under my eyes, but I've gotten over that because it's a good product.


Lipsi Cosmetics Aphrodite Powder (RRP $38)

This looks like a finishing powder. Apparently it's designed to absorb the excess oil on your skin, allowing it to glow. I have dry skin and very few powders work on me - they tend to accentuate lines - so I'll be interested to see how this one goes. If it's drying I'll pass it on to a better home. I do like that it's a travel size though so I hope that it's ok.

UPDATE: This is a sensational little powder and I'm loving it. Full review here. Face powders don't normally pair well with my dry skin but this one totally does and I can see why it's Lipsi's best-selling product. It has a blurring effect on fine lines and doesn't dry my skin out, which most powders do. Awesome!


Urban Skincare Co Daily Hand & Body Cleanser

This brand has shown up in LHI a couple of times, but at least we haven't received this product before. I need a little excitement in my life today so I might open this straight away. Apparently it's a gentle yet effective way of removing dirt without stripping your skin of its protective lipid barrier.

UPDATE: I didn't like this unfortunately. Full review here. It doesn't smell much and I prefer body products that smell amazing. Also, it doesn't foam well and also doesn't feel like it cleans well. It may be that this is just too gentle for me, because I do prefer harsher cleansers that leave my skin feeling refreshed, and this doesn't do that.


Lonvitalite C2 Collagen Protein Wrinkle Removing Mask (RRP $39.95)

I swear, if I see one more sheet mask from these guys turn up in a subscription box I'll tear my hair out. My golly. Like Wotnot wipes, these have done the rounds and then some, and I'm sick of them. If you love sheet masks (and this brand) that's fine, but I'm not a fan of either. Anyhoo. You can't win 'em all.

UPDATE: As predicted I didn't think much of this. I put it on, left it for 20 minutes, then took it off. Sure my skin looked like it had had a wet rag on it for a while (so a little plumped, at least temporarily) but that was about it. As usual there was an amazing amount of leftover fluid in the packet, and I used this (plus the leftover fluid from the mask) on my body, so at least I saved myself an application of body cream.


'Tini Beauty Eyeshadow (Pearl Fizz) by Rob Scheppy (RRP $16)

Now this one I'm excited about. What a great colour - it's a muted, wheat-like gold and I love it. As you can see below, it's very sheer and fortunately gives more of a sheen than a shimmer (you know how I feel about noticeable glitter!), and I think that most people would be able to find some use for this - whether as a highlighter or a stand-alone shadow. Straight away I can see myself loving this as an inner-corner highlight.

Apparently it's crease-resistant, and it's designed by one of Hollywood's premier makeup artists, Rob Sheppy. Can't wait to give this a good run!


UPDATE: This is my new favourite inner corner highlight and eye brightener. Full review here. I definitely need to grab a back-up at some point because I never want to run out of it! Amazingly, it performs better than many high-end shadows I own in terms of lasting power and its ability to stay put. Plus it's sheer and gives a sheen (rather than sparkles) so it offers a natural look if you want one, and you can also build it if you want more punch. Can't rave about this one enough!

Verdict

This is a decent box and I'm glad to see a couple of brands I hadn't heard of before. I'll ignore the addition of yet another sheet mask and a couple of tiny sachets because, overall, it's a good box with a great mix of products. I think there's something in here for everyone to like.

It must be hard to produce quality and interesting boxes each month, but Violet Box almost always hits the mark and I still think it's the best beauty box available in Australia.

If you're interested in joining VB, click on the banner in the top right corner of this blog and use the code 'VIOLETBOX10' for $10 off your first box.