Perfectly Pristine? More like Precariously Packed. Oh. My. GOD!
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| April 2014 Glamourbox (Perfectly Pristine) Impressions |
This is like... subscription boxes on steroids. In all my subscriptions (and I've been with Glamourbox since the beginning, read the rest of my unboxings here) I think this is the first box that wasn't sealed perfectly. Why was it not sealed perfectly? Because it's filled to the brim wtih goodies!
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| April 2014 Glamourbox: Perfectly Pristine |
Before we get to the meat of the unboxing, let me give you a small preview as to what's running through my head the entire time. This box has only one item that I'd consider makeup, and lip balm is hardly cosmetic as it is meant to heal rather than temporarily change appearances, but I LOVE most of the beauty finds in this box! It's a head-to-toe curation and a lot of the items are very apt for summer.
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| April 2014 Glamourbox: Perfectly Pristine |
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| BareNaturals The Mane Event Hair Mask in Oat Protein, Macadamia Nut and Argan Brazilian, Php 380 / 130g. |
I love hair masks! I should really do them more often as my double-ombred, digi permed hair usually feels as stiff as steel wool, but I never remember to do so on my weekend schedule :/ I don't know about oat protein but I love Macadamia Nut and Argan oil on my hair. I hope I remember to mask this weekend!
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Avon Skin So Soft Fast Hydration Body Gel Lotion, Php 330 / 250ml.
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Soooo glad I got this as a sample. Liz of Project Vanity raved about it a couple of days ago (check her post here) and I'm a believer. It may seem a bit odd as I'm not a huge lotion fan, but I think this is the first Gel Lotion I've seen for the body; most gel moisturizers are for the face. Anything new is always exciting! Plus, Liz makes a great point: the watery, lightweight formula can be a huge relief during this summer's insane heat and stickiness!
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| Sebamed Olive Face and Body Wash, Php 525 / 200ml, 20ml sample provided. |
How cute is that bottle?!?!?! Okay full disclaimer: I'm intrigued by Sebamed, but not enough to put it third on this list. I'm not gonna deny that this item jumped up my list by a couple of spots just because of the cute bottle.
In any case, I believe Sebamed is one of those ultra-mild cleansers and this could be a great alternative to Cetaphil, which didn't really work for me and broke me out :( Funnily though, I don't remember Cetaphil being labelled for body use as well. This concerns me because I have an aversion for products that try to do *everything.*
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BareNaturals Sexy Back Scrub Lulur Scrub for Bacne, Php 290 / 130g.
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I don't have bacne but I had a great experience with my Asian Secrets Lulur Facial, and found out from commenters that the AS Lulur Body Scrub is even more fantastic. Lulur scrubs are creamy but they have grit so even though you may not feel it, you're gonna come out so smooth and sparkly afterwards. I like doing scrubs once in a while, but I don't like overspending just to have it done by someone else.
I appreciate that they included a spatula with the tub! It's shrink-wrapped to the right side of the tub, pictured above. Cuteness galore <3
*The tub has a sticker on top of the label changing the previous weight to 170g. The curation card has it listed at 130g.
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V&M Smooch Lip Detox, Php 205 / 10g, ~5g sample provided.
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If Sebamed jumped up a couple of spots, this V&M balm got bumped down a few. I was half-expecting a lip scrub on first glance which explains my watered-down enthusiasm. Also got surprised by the half-filled tub but I suppose it's their version of a sample size.
It smells extremely minty though, and has SPF 15 so it's got those two working for it. I really like lip products, regardless of the mistaken identity, ehehe.
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| Valda Pastilles, Php 150 / 50g, 20g sample provided. |
For anyone expecting me to rant or be annoyed by this non-beauty item, sit down because I absolutely <3 Valda Pastilles! My cousin used to bring them on our play dates and I would be too shy to ask for some because I'd want the whole, huge tin.
I understand they're some sort of throat thingy, like maybe Strepsils? But I saw them as little sugar-doused mint gummies to stuff my face with. My mother never let me have more than two a time, twice a day so when I was old enough to buy my own shit, I hunted Valdas even when I hadn't seen them in over five years and ate 3-4 every few hours. Such a rebel.
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Zen Zest Anti-Mosquito Room Fragrance, Php 250 / 250ml, 50ml sample provided.
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I'm normally not into room fragrances but this summer has been such a mess, mosquito-wise, and I don't wanna use up all my Kiele Anti-Mosquito Cologne when I'm just staying at home. This smells very light and a bit fruity, so I can probably go a bit overboard without burning my olfactory nerves out.
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| Aloe Derma Aloe Vera Gel, Php 460 / 114g, 3 x 5g sample sachets provided. |
I don't burn easily despite my laziness with SPF so I'm dubious I'd have the chance to try this sample out. Regardless, this is another great sample to have this month. Does anybody know an alternative use for Aloe gel? Isn't it supposed to do wonders for thin hair? If so, you can definitely count on an experiment. Let's just hope it doesn't get posted in the Tellie's Misadventures category :[
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| Clean in Shower Fresh, Php 2000 / 30ml. |
I've had a change of heart about fragrances but I'm still in inertia with regard to not wanting to see them in my beauty boxes. Not-last is a huge improvement though :D and I quite enjoyed the scent of Shower Fresh. It smells like fresh detergent, a bit on the powder side but without enough representation of any watery scent. More opinions pending an actual dry-run.
P.S. Clean has a coupon (not pictured) for a free 30ml Shower Fresh bottle upon purchase of a 60ml bottle from the new lines.
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| Belo Intensive Whitening Bar, Php 59.75 / 65g. |
I'm pretty disappointed in Dra. Belo for pushing so many whitening products- she even has a Men's Whitening Bar. I know she's just following the money trail, but what does it say about our society when one of the most influential voices on beauty keeps hawking out whitening products? It's probably misplaced critique; her success speaks for itself and Belo is most likely just following the market, rather than wizarding all of us into wanting to be fairer. I just feel really bothered whenever I spot whitening products in my beauty boxes.
P.S. This soap is pretty tiny. Around half or a third less than Safeguard but I've heard Kojic is da shit in whitening.
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| Vanilla & Co. Blushing Foot Spray, Php 170 / 150ml. |
Here we have foot blush, or as I learned from my mom, merthiolate. As far as I know, foot blush (or merthiolate) is a favored mani-pedi add-on to create the appearance of fair, flushing extremities. I don't see the point in it though, and I wish we got other more interesting Vanilla & Co. products, such as any of the scrubs, haircare or body spritzes.
RECAP:
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| April 2014 Glamourbox Curation Card |
Box Value: Php 1059.75, for a Php 595 subscription.
This box has eight premium to full size items and three add ons: 0.88 ml Clean fragrance sample, 3 x 5g Aloe Derma sachets and 20g Valda Pastilles. Less than twice the sub fee is hardly ground-breaking as I've seen boxes worth 3-4 times the subby fee, monetarily.
Money matters aside, I'm completely all for how Glamourbox is branding itself. This box still feels like a box on steroids. It is more valuable to me than what the numbers imply because of the variety (head to toe offerings, yo!) quantity and presentation of samples. I don't think I've ever been sent a pitiful sample out of a Glamourbox. From the start, this has been their strongest selling point and as long as they don't lose sight of it, I think they could do great things taking this route!
You may visit glamourbox.ph for more info. Site is temporarily down though!
P.S. I just noticed that I may run into trouble for watermarking my shots of curation cards. Does anybody know if this can grow into a serious legal issue? I'm pretty sure copyrighting is reserved for the creator of the image and I just took a shot of the image, so...