Unboxing : September Beauty Treats Little Black Box

Heylooowww everybody!

I just told my friends that i'm having a stressful September *sigh*... it's stressful already, then i probably got a "turning-30-blues" syndrome, if there is such a thing hahaha. But i reminded myself that i don't actually have all that much problems, the ones that i do have are minor and nothing compared to what lots of other people face daily, so yeah... I'm dusting myself off *yes, i figuratively had been sulking on the dusty floor, feeling sorry for myself for a few days* and moving on! (if you're a busybody like me and wondered why i was so stressed out, worry not-it's really not that serious, it's really superficial and it resulted in a wordy blog entry that i will publish not very long from now hahaha)

Anyway! I saw Shasha twitpic-ing her September BTI and i was like, OMG where's mine??? And then LL also BBM-ed me telling me that her errr...weird sis in law again send her BTI box (es) to her because she didn't want them (why bother signing up then???), and the lucky B actually got two boxes even though the sis in law only subscribed to one!!! Wow. Logistic problem? Well, that's not LL's problem, that's just her luck! Lucky lucky her! I remember some other member received a double package as well in the past (dunno what beauty box service though), now i'm wondering if that kind of fortune would ever befall me? LOL. Unlikely.

So, i was very anxiously waiting for my own BTI, and first thing i did in the morning was BBM-ing my employee asking if my BTI had arrived in the office and she said, YES! YAYYY!!! Here's a peek into the very first (yes, another new concept) Little Black Box :

I did had a peek into others' BTI the night before, and i must admit i was really concerned because... looked kinda bare, wasn't it? LOL. Read on to know if i am disappointed by this box (no, i'm not haha)!

That's the little booklet containing the list of products featured in this little black box

When i took out the little black box i was pretty shocked at how light the box was! It was the lightest beauty box i've ever received so far hahaha...

Underneath the box, i found Optik Seis' catalog and a free Cita Cinta magazine

I do not read magazine anymore *i got over that stage when i was much younger, i hoarded magazine like crazy since i was very little up until a few years ago, now i don't read magazine more than ever since i prefer to read blogs and added almost a hundred blogs on my reading list!* and this magazine was some... July issues? LOL. I'll take a look *maybe next year LOL* when i feel like it and re-use it for... wrapping my feminine napkins? HAHAHAHA sorry sorry*.

Anyway, my eyes popped out when i scanned through the list of product *hint, the Optik Seis' flyer*, read on to know why!

First thing that popped into my head : wah, why the obsession with purple this month? (because this month's Lola Box also came with purple nuance)

I was like "Oh, they've done this box before", and one beauty blogger pointed out that it was reminiscence of their first box ever. I guess they're going to stick to this kind of box from now on, judging from what they are calling their beauty box now? Good, i can start using it to wrap gifts for other people *i feel obliged to hoard at least one box in every design...*

Funny thing : The ribbon wasn't actually tied around the wrapping paper (like how it's normally done) but it's just glued to the sides of the box! So when i pulled it, it just broke off from the box LOLOLOL WTF

First glance

First glance : after being re-arranged hahaha

So, here's the first my favorite item in this box :

This piece of paper

No laaaa, it's actually a voucher to exchange with a pair of FresKon Mosaic contact lenses! I know it might be inconvenient for some (especially if you live in a smaller cities with no Optik Seis branch nearby, i hope nobody's that unlucky since this IS the best item in this box IMO) since you have to bring the voucher to any Optik Seis branch, but for me... Well, Optik Seis branches are everywhere in Surabaya, we always go to GM (almost) every weekend, plus if they actually featured the contact lenses physically in this box it'd be horrible for people with myopia like me! We need specific prescription ones right-so i think it's a great move, putting the voucher in so we can get them ourselves and choose the right size and even the color!

I will be exchanging the voucher tomorrow (today, as when i am posting this entry) and will let you know if there's any problem (i always worry about this kind of things when i have to get the stuffs using vouchers. I am often faced with non-cooperative BAs. I was worried if they might go "Oh, you can't get the one with prescription". So i anticipated by tweeting Optik Seis beforehand and asked right out, they replied immediately with "No problem at all" so i have the proof if the BA's pulling some sh** when i exchange them) with the exchange or whatever.

The contact lenses are said to be priced IDR 185.000, which is whoppingly more expensive than how much the box itself actually costs (IDR 125.000 for a month subscription, i paid a lot less because i subscribed for 6 months for their no longer exist Gold box that was around IDR 110.000?) and immediately made this box totally worth it (NOT worthed please, there's no such word as worthed, trust me)! And as an avid contact lens user (i am practically blind without my contacts/glasses), this is a fantastic product to be found in a beauty box!

But yeah, the rest of the stuffs were pretty meh for me... See the other stuffs below and you'll know why the box was as light as feathers haha.

Sulwhasoo First Care Activating Serum (3ml) and Essential Firming Cream (3ml) both came in sachets

I HATE SACHET SAMPLES!!!! Okay, now that i got that out of the way. I've always wanted to try Sulwhasoo, which is one of the high end brands in Korea, BUT HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW IF IT WORKS OR NOT WITH ONE TIME USAGE???? Okay okay, calming down now. No, i really do want to try out Sulwhasoo, so much that i am contemplating on getting the travel size kit available on online shops. But i do still have plenty of skin care samples from beauty boxes to finish out *currently using Clarins', review will be available sometime in the future*, so maybe later. Still not very happy with this sad looking sachet samples. Gimmie at least five each and i'd say it's almost okay. This is not okay.

Koji Konjac Sponge

My second favorite item in this box! We've (hunny and i) began using konjac sponge (without added facial cleansers) since July (we tried out the brand Nicole's Natural we found in Bandung. Too bad he tore off the package and all before i took pictures so i didn't feel like reviewing it hahaha), and we're both super hooked ever since. I LOVE using konjac sponge on my face, so much i almost didn't want to stop rubbing it on my face every time. But since i still have a lot of facial cleansers and since hunny's skin's been loving Nicole's Natural's konjac sponge so much (it softens and made his skin less dry and more supple!)-i stopped using it and let him use it (so it'll last longer since Nicole's Natural's isn't available in Surabaya or Jakarta and we very rarely go to Bandung) by himself. 

Then when we went to Taiwan we hunted down for more konjac sponges (and took home three, yes you know the drill, they'll appear in my Taiwan haul post!), now that i think about it-all three seems to be the same brand as this one haha. But still, this is a very welcome addition to our stash! Konjac sponges lives seems to not go past three months so, it's great to have back ups! (it stated to priced IDR 39.900-49.900, i think it was cheaper in Taiwan).

Crabtree & Evelyn samples

Crabtree & Evelyn is another brand that i'd love to try out, they seems to be very nice as well (and prestigious), but... again... the sample size it definitely not DELUXE (even though until now i also dunno what deluxe means, but i'm hoping it's something like at least travel size stuffs) in any way pfffftttt. It's just so so so... tiny.

(PS : I found this definition of deluxe sample in Ipsy website : In general, a "deluxe-sized" sample is one that delivers multiple uses of the same high-quality product. I wasn't wrong then!)

Crabtree & Evelyn Wisteria Body Lotion (5ml)

Yep, it'll be finished in one application. One application will never be enough to prompt me to buy the full sized product, no matter how nice it is on the first touch. Period. I think companies really should re-think of their purposes to join forces with beauty boxes, i believe they do so that customers can get familiarized with their products and hopefully, will be interested in getting a full sized one. This i don't think will ever be achieved with sachet samples..

Crabtree & Evelyn Rosewater Eau de Toilette (0.5 ml)

Yes, 0.5 ml. Probably less than half the usual vial samples. You know i love perfumes and i always enjoy getting perfume samples, but 0.5 is quite.... pointless. LOL. The normal vial samples, i always finish within two usage (yes, i like to douse myself in fragrances, i hate not being able to always smell it on myself. If i can't smell it, other people definitely not going to either), and this... i hope this will be at least enough to use once. 

I love getting Crabtree & Evelyn stuffs in my beauty boxes, i just hope they'd be a little bit more generous.

Last item :

Sleek Kohl Pencil Eyeliner in #127 Glitter Dark Blue

I love love love getting make up stuffs in my beauty boxes, but i've been receiving way too many eyeliners lately! I mean... When it comes to more color decorative make up stuffs (eyeshadow, blush on, lippie) at least they come in lots of varieties, but pencil eyeliner.... I have way too much of them than i am comfortable with right now (one rare thing that i didn't usually stock up are eyeliners because it takes me AGES to finish one).

Well, at least it's a kohl eyeliner-something that i don't think i have yet, and it's in glitter dark blue and not the usual black/brown. And it's Sleek (priced at IDR 75.000 according to BTI's list), i always wanted to try out Sleek stuffs and within three months i got three full sized Sleek items, all thanks to beauty boxes (can you give us more eyeshadow/blush on/lipstick/lipbalm/liptint/lipgloss or even liquid eyeliner please, beauty boxes? I have enough pencil liner for now. Thank you). So this is my third fave item in the box. The sachet samples didn't even make the cut. As far as i'm concerned there are three full sized items in this box and nothing else *LOL*.

But as i stated before, i do love this box if purely because of the contact lenses and the konjac sponge! Especially the contact lenses lah, that's really a first in beauty boxes and totally a nice surprise for me! Wouldn't mind receiving more in the future *til i do not need to buy lenses no more like fake lashes*! How did BTI fare compared to Lola Box this month? For me it's a tie! Lola came up with more varieties of samples and full sized items (only one brand came with two tiny sachet samples) while BTI, well i'm gonna be a broken record and say  BTI gave me free freakin FresKon contacts! LOL. I am very happy with the contacts as you can see, a very easy customer! 

In short, both beauty boxes delivered for me this month, now i am waiting anxiously for my last beauty box, (and first ever) First Blush! I hope their first public edition would be as nice as the exclusive ones i've been seeing a lot popping up in the beauty bloggers community! Especially considering their pricing to be more on the more expensive side! (if not i'm totally going back to VT).

How about you, did you like your BTI? Or if you haven't join in the fun and compelled to do so after reading this post, please join via my referral, just click on the link below! :

http://beautytreats.co.id/?id=62

That's all for now, have a great weekend!

#Pink

PS : I will remind you this everyday lah hahaha... Since it's weekend already and most of you should have free time right, do come and join my birthday giveaway and win yourself all of these below!