Pink and Undecided: beauty box

VanityTrove Mozaic Exclusive Trove

Hi hi!

I just had a very full but fun day! I don't often have such a jam-packed day, and people say they're jealous of how relaxed my life is, but trust me-i love busy days! I feel less useless on a day like this *LOL*. Anyway, blog post about today (a beauty event followed by a joint bday dinner of two of my friends) will come up soon, let's focus on the topic written on the title for now!

Remember i used to say i never really had much luck with lucky draws and its friends? Well, it seems like my luck in that department has shifted a little bit :p. I win (not much but a little bit's better than never, right?) more and more quizzes and giveaways, which is AWESOME! One of them is Vanity Trove's 7 Days Christmas Giveaway. I was really surprised when i was announced as one of the winners because honestly i didn't even remember entering it *LOL*.

Anyway, my price was IDR 100.000 worth of Vanity tab that i could use to purchase their troves/products. I've been hoarding it for MONTHS because sadly their self-customized trove's items seems to be pretty... sparse (and repetitive. Like, there'd be 5 items from the same brand at one time. And there'd be only three or so brands at one time with all super boring items like face creams *YAWNS*) and i didn't see anything i really wanted to purchase from their online shop as well.

And then about a week ago i read some blogger's unboxing of this special Mozaic Exclusive Trove and it seems pretty nice, so i hurriedly checked their sites and couldn't believe my eyes that this exclusive trove's priced at only IDR 100.000 (their regular trove's IDR 180.000)! I quickly clicked add to my cart (i am ecstatic that i do not have to pay a dime for this box!) and viola, here it is! (Arrived at a speedy time too! I ordered this much latter than the time when i redeemed my Lola Dots for a complimentary box, which still shows no sign of appearing, almost three weeks after they promised to send me the box *LOL*. Lola Box is usually very punctual though so i'm pretty confused...)

Pretty nice, right?

I really like their new packaging! The VT sticker reminded me of LV haha

Now VT boxes always come wrapped in bubble wrap, A for extra care!

Colorful box especially made for this exclusive box. Description in their website stated that this box is created to celebrate Mozaic fashion show by Raffles Institutes of Higher Education

The box was heavy, mainly because of that full sized Lux body shower!

First item : Lux Moisturizing Body Wash in Velvet Touch (250 ml)

I actually couldn't use the original Lux body washes anymore, my skin got more sensitive (from age, i guess *___*) somehow and a lot of body wash/shower gel/cream can cause my eczema to act up, muyhunny also cannot use lots of body thingy due to his uber dry skin. But i've been reading rave reviews about this new Lux Body Wash, they apparently bettered their formulation and the result is much milder and moisturizing body washes. I am actually quite excited to try this (without having to purchase it myself) and prove if this new body wash really is much better than their predecessor.

Skin 79 Hot Pink Super+ Triple Functions BB (deluxe size) and 3 sachets of other Skin 79 BB Cream (Super+ Triple Functions BB Vital Cream Orange Label, VIP Gold Collection Super+ BB Cream and The Oriental Gold BB Cream Plus)

As a BB cream junkie, i always love getting BB Cream samples. I am not a fan of sachet samples, but since they gave out a decent deluxe sample (which i really love because they are super convenient for my travels) and the sachets must be bonuses, i don't mind. Skin 79 is one of the nicest BB cream i've ever tried too, so... I have nothing but love for them!

Cottage Softening Shower Gel in Vanilla (50ml)

Seriously, Cottage (and Original Source) tiny bottles are the cutest ever! This is my second travel size Cottage shower gel (both are from beauty boxes) and i am really happy that i got different variants! I love bath and body cares and this tiny bottle will be going on a trip with me!

Dove Anti Perspirant Whitening Deodorant in Original (15 ml)

I wear deodorants whenever i go out so this one is a very useful thing that will definitely get used. I am a fan of Dove products, however for this particular product... I am not overly fond of. I am currently using this deodorant and i hate that it takes FOREVER to dry! But it's still usable even though it's my least favorite item in this box.

Angelwinks falsies in Honey

Gosh it's been so long since the last time i received falsies in beauty boxes! I used to detest getting them (because i never used them before) until one day i decided to try them on and i've been hooked ever since. Having said that, i haven't been wearing any falsies for a very very long time! LOL. I should start practicing again! I've never tried Angelwinks falsies (honestly i almost never bought falsies by myself except once from Sasa when it was on a huge sale and from Daiso/cheapo accessories stores! I built a little collection from past beauty boxes only haha) and am pretty excited about this!

Kiehl's Olive Fruit Oil Nourishing Shampoo (65 ml)

The most branded and (definitely) expensive item in this trove! I love Kiehl even though i haven't actually purchased anything from them (my hunny's insisting on buying their deodorant though, even though i find paying almost IDR 300.000 for a deodorant is a total insanity...) but i have lots of their samples *LOL* *cheapo* and i can safely say i love those products that i've tried the samples on. This size is perfect for traveling! Honestly i fear this shampoo would be too rich for my oily scalp (the nourishing part) but i'm sure it'll work well on hunny!

And that's it! Personally i find this to be a pretty great box, especially for the price (IDR 100.000 or about USD 9!). I paid more in the past for boxes that are not half as good as this one! Everything in this box is really useful and i get to try lots of items that i am interested in!

This box is still available in their website, if you're interested in them (i am highly recommending this box, i believe its worth more than the price! I mean... The Kiehl's shampoo alone would worth quite a lot!) you better hurry and order them now, there's a "selling fast" label on the box which means it might get out of stock soon!

#Pink

11:34:00 PM
14 Comments

Indonesia Beauty Box (Free) April Box

beauty bag

Hello!

Do you remember Indonesia Beauty Box? I subscribed to their VVIP box in January because they were having a sort of "Buy 1 Get 1" promo. Every subscribers in January would get a free box/bag on random months and i was designated to get a free bag on April. I've been waiting very (im)patiently for a whole month, and it's finally here. I just received it earlier today (Wednesday, 30th of April) *LOL*, very last minute yes? They barely made it in April. Anyway, here's what it got in the free bag :

It's not much, but it IS free *LOL*. I actually was a bit confused when hunny handed me a (light) box like below this afternoon :

I wasn't waiting for any other package and i didn't remember that IBBox' located in Balikpapan haha

Then i opened it and went "Ohhh...". Actually i was expecting it to be a bit closer to the size of the box i actually subscribed last time? LOL. Wishful thinking, of course. This free bag is not half the size of that VVIP Box

It couldn't even close properly *LOL*, clearly the box's too small for the items inside :p

I usually snap two pictures of the items inside, one as a teaser photo to put on top of the page and one in the actual run down, but in my hurry (to actually post it before May start) i totally forgot to do so. So let's jump to the items inside straight away.

Etude House Collagen Moistfull Facial Mist (Full size). I noticed that IBBox' characteristic is they would give you one "star product" and everything else would be, well... extras. In this bag this facial mist is definitely the star item. I love Collagen Moistfull line and i love facial mists (especially now it's supposedly summer already and the weather's been unbearably hot and humid despite the rains lately) so i'm pretty happy to get this :)

Etude House Essential Sheet Mask (Job's Tears). Love sheet masks, and i actually been itching to get my hands on these alphabet masks so this definitely will get used

Etude House Collagen Eye Patch. Again, love eye patches, i wear them once a week (the cheapo China made, non-branded ones *LOL*) so love this one also

Err... Some no-branded oil paper. It must be a filler item, but the illustration's really cute so it's not so bad

O Hui Fresh Lotion for men (deluxe size). I just heard about this brand recently, and it's nice to see something other than an Etude House's product in the bag :p

My verdict? It's not a bad bag, especially since it's FREE. I like almost every single item in the bag (except the oil paper. I don't like oil papers, i prefer oil control films. I need to use like, 5 sheets of branded oil papers, i might need like 12 of this non-branded one *LOL*) and everything will get used, but it's certainly not MIND BLOWING. I'm also pretty happy that they featured a pretty nice star item in the bag (since it's free and all, i thought the star product might not be so nice), full sized facial mist from Etude House must not be dirt cheap, it'd definitely worth more than IDR 50.000 at least.

I was a bit disappointed to see no make up items at all in this bag though. You know i'm a cheapo, they could just throw in some local branded lipstick worth less than IDR 20.000 and i'd be very happy already *LOL*. I guess my criticism is that they pride themselves as more of a "wish granting" bag/box than your regular beauty box, when you tell them your preference and wishlist and they'd try to give your most coveted item in your box/bag-i definitely told them i preferred make ups than skin cares (when i subscribed to their January bag). But i guess as it is a free bag, the items inside probably should be generic (maybe they gave out the same items to every one who's getting free bags?) and i shouldn't complain too much *LOL*. But other than that, it's actually pretty nice!

I don't know if you know, but there were a big blow out and controversy about IBBox' method of.. errrr... Marketing. I'm not gonna talk about it here (most of you who are in the Indonesian beauty bloggers community most probably knows about it), but i'm glad everything's resolved. It's great to see them still operating (unlike some of the bigger beauty box companies that we know) and i hope they learned their lesson, that they do not need to make up stories and infiltrate the community to do shady advertising to do well in this business. Indonesia's beauty community is smart and we definitely do not like to be deceived, so it's better to be who you really are and present yourselves (as a company) as what it really is :).

I like this free bag quite a lot, and i would recommend their services to those of you who likes to receive products from well-known brands (they seem to mostly favour Etude House, and you can see here) with products you pretty much "choose" for yourself (one star product, at least) with little extras thrown in but still with a little air of surprise (since you won't really know what you're going to get until the box is in your hands). See them more of a "private buyer" for yourself. Definitely not for those of you who likes the concept of a traditional beauty box, one that you can never guess what items would be inside and with various brands (old, new, even ones you've never heard of before).

As for me, i don't think i'd be subscribing again in the near future, but if they have another exciting promo (like this Buy 1 Get 1), i think i'd be tempted :D!

That's all for now, and OMG, it's May in a few minutes. How does that happen??? 2014's almost halfway gone already! Insanity! Time, please slow down!

Freaking out a little inside

#Pink

11:59:00 PM
19 Comments

Unboxing : Lola Box Anniversary Edition

anniversary

It doesn't take me long to get back in the Beauty Box train, eh?

LOL...

I don't have any good explanation about this except that it's Lola Box' Anniversary box! So... It should be special, right? Plus they were having a special price for this box, IDR 111.000 (coz it's their first anniversary, duh! I hope it'd be 112 on the second anniversary instead of 222! LOL). I figured, an anniversary box with a cheaper price... that means a great deal! I cannot miss it! Hehehe... (It's also a way for me to show them that i meant every words when i said i will keep on supporting them because i actually do have a lot of faith in them. They offered me some real great gestures, i thought it'd only be right if i do the same)

And it is a pretty awesome box!

It doesn't look very colorful or exceptionally merry, but the individual items were pretty great!

Before i got my box, i read Winda's tweet to Lola Box about a broken eye shadow. I knew right away that i'm getting an eye shadow too and i dunno, i did have a feeling it'd be broken too (because of past experiences. Whenever someone mentioned a broken item in a beauty box, mine would arrive in the same condition-if not worse! And this time's sadly no exception...) pfffftttt. So i was waiting for my box to arrive, very anxiously...

I told hunny about Winda's broken eye shadow, and he told me he could hear rattling inside the box. Loud rattling is never a good sign in a beauty box T.T

The box is definitely heavier than usual!

Special celebration-printed box

The base looks white in this picture, but it's actually bright pastel yellow!

Vouchers from Luxola

Greeting from Lola Box team

The list of items included in the box

Some vouchers, i didn't pay attention to the surprise card from Luxola at first, but it was a very nice surprise indeed! I was also very surprised to see Me-Nail's card included in this box. As you may know, i am related to the owner of Me-Nail (read my introduction to Me-Nail here) but don't worry, i will not let anything cloud my judgement and review it fairly

First thing i that i saw when i unwrap the wrapping paper was the lavender colored bottle and i was pretty happy because i always wanted to try Cottage shower gels (let's hope that it'd work better than Original Source on my skin!) but was bitter about the awesome launch in Jakarta (seriously, Surabaya beauty bloggers can't complain enough of the lack of launches here haha) :p. I already got a small bottle in January Lola Box but this is the middle size okay :D

First item : Lolita Lempicka The First Fragrance

I've always loved Lolita Lempicka's bottle but i think i didn't like the way it smelt (or i'm sure i'd have it in my collection already *sigh*), i'll try again with this little vial. I gotta feature an inner part of this sample's card because it's so pretty! The little vial's also cuter than usual for me because of its violet color!

Leaders Insolution Derma Soul Bright Mask. This is a pretty pricey mask (around IDR 36.000 if i'm not mistaken) compared to the usual local/Korean sheet masks, i purchased one from Luxola when it was on a huge sale but don't think i'd purchase this on a full price, so this is a great item to be found in a beauty box! The price of this one sheet mask covers more than quarter price of the box! (OH, i just checked, Lola Box stated the price is IDR 26.100. This is another great sign, they definitely do not jack up the price just to make the items appear more expensive than they really were like some beauty boxes tend to do *AHEM BTI, AHEM AHEM IBBox*)

Cottage Showel Gel (250 ml) in Fig. While i am very happy to receive this shower gel (i think i am always happy whenever i see a full sized product *sigh*), i am not too happy about the variant. I am not a fan of fig's scent, but at least the bottle's violet! LOL. Worth IDR 58.500 (half of the box' price!)

The Face Shop Real Nature Mask Pomegranate (IDR 20.350). Two sheet masks in one box? I am a huge sheet mask junkie so i don't mind, not every subscriber would be happy about it though. The variant that i got is one that i already tried not too long ago, it was pretty nice so i'm pretty happy to get this.

No product description found, it just stated that it was from Me-Nail. WTH is that???

Upon closer inspection, it was dried flowers *___*

Like i said, i'm not gonna sugar coat anything here (when do i ever?). I am not entirely happy with it *LOL*. And i know for a fact a few other receiver weren't too thrilled about it either and they told me. Now, i know this might be a filler/bonus item, but still... I kept on thinking whether or not i should voice my concern to L (the lady boss), but i also know she also doesn't personally tend to collaborations/sponsorship/etc regarding Me-Nail. She reads this blog sometimes though , so i hope she reads this and she can get this message without me having to really tell her in person *LOL*.

I know that Me-Nail positions themselves as a nail decorator supplier in this case, it's just that... I think dried flowers is not that dummy proof. I for once, don't know how to use it and even if i ever want to (i'm not much of a nail artists, you see...). If they want to feature a small nail decor, i'd much prefer nail stickers, or diamente, or studs, or pearls, or whatever. Just not this. LOL. This is my least favorite item in this box and if it's not there i wouldn't even bat an eyelash.

(UPDATE : I just read another blogger's unboxing post and she got nail stickers. So i think they gave out random nail stuffs, me and Winda are just unfortunate enough to get dried flowers T.T)

Make Over Re-fill Eye Shadow Palette. So even before i unwrapped the paper wrap, i fished for a stray eye shadow on the side and checked on the condition of the eye shadow. It's smashed to dusts (*hear my heart cracks in two? LOL*). I was disheartened already. Then i went through the other items, and found ANOTHER eye shadow! I was like "They gave out two eye shadows???", checked it-and it's BROKEN as well. I almost yell out in frustration *LOL*. Then i saw YET ANOTHER ONE! WOW! If only they arrived in tip top condition, i would be overjoyed! Those eye shadow refill's worth IDR 41.500 each

The only surviving eye shadow, in the least pretty color as well T.T PFFFFTTTT. This is in shade Sunset

The now-in-loose-eye-shadow-condition, Gold and Turquoise

Such pretty colors too *glum*

Anyway, i contacted them about the broken eye shadows and they replied :

We are aware that a few of our members have received broken eyeshadows and we are just as upset about it as you. This time we wanted the shipping company to take special care, that's why we have informed them about fragile products. That's the reason why there's a 'Mudah Pecah' warning sticker on the package.

As you understand, Lolabox and Make Over want to deal with this issue as quickly as possible - so we ask for your help on this one.

To file a complaint we need two things:

A picture of the plastic wrapping with the 'FRAGILE' sticker (You probably have thrown it away already, but if you still have it, this will help us a lot - otherwise it's also no big deal.)
Please also send back the broken eyeshadow, as the shipping company needs them for physical proof and for reporting reasons

The process might be quite lengthy (30-45 days), but we will try to speed up things as much as we can.

We know that this doesn't sound optimal, but in this case we are experiencing 'damage' as well.

Once again, we hope you accept our apologies and are keen on working on this together.

Well, i had no problem to their first request, but the second one... First of all, the eye shadow's totally broken to dusts and my fingers were totally blue and gold just by touching their outer box *LOL* and i decided to remove the dusts into other containers so i won't waste anymore of them. I already threw out the boxes and all, so i don't think it's possible for me to send it back anyway. Second of all, like the said, it might take 30-45 days? Oh no, i don't feel like going through the hassle! It's still usable anyway, i'll just use it as eye pigments *LOL*.

While i am not happy about this, i also cannot blame Lola Box too much. It's the courrier that should be responsible for it but really... JNE? I don't think you can expect too much from them. Lola Box could, however, minimalized the damage in the first place by bubble wrapping the eye shadows to prevent them from breaking. I know they might be concerned about the aesthetic, but really... I'm sure i'm speaking on behalf of the subscribers by saying that we'll take a little less pretty packaging rather than receiving broken items. You know what i'm saying?

Still, it's awesome that they'd feature THREE eye shadows in one box, it's literally unheard of! I can't help but think if they gave out three different make up items (maybe a blusher and a lipstick instead of three eye shadows) it'd be even more fantastic! I mean... Not everybody wears eye shadow, you know? I know some girls who are addicted to lipsticks (or blushers) and aren't necessarily crazy about eye shadow. This box is amazing for an eye shadow lover (or beauty junkies in general), but maybe not so much for those who are less enthusiastic about eye shadows.

Anyway, the list stops until the Make Over eye shadows (Btw, their new catalog? Isn't it a real work of art? So pretty!!! I love it! And looks as professional as any international brand! Proud of local products now getting better and better in terms on packaging and promotions! The quality's been pretty great as well!) but i still got a few more items :

Sachet samples : The Face Shop Natural Sun Cream and Rich Water Cleansing Foam. Nice bonuses! OHHH I TOTALLY forgot to take picture of the Face Shop's CC Cream sachet sample! Apologies!

And this one! Ta dahhhh!!!!

It's a surprise full sized product from Luxola, i got a Smith's Rosebud Salve Lip Balm! I am crazy about lip balms and i am always attracted to Rosebud Salves, i kept on almost buying them (in bulk. You know, the tins with three balms in them) in Sephora and in flights, but they're pricier than most lip balms i use (i use cheap and cute ones haha, but i do have hundreds of them so it's totally ironic, isn't it?) so i decided i didn't need them (refer to earlier line). I buckled and bought one in Taiwan, but i welcome this whole-heartedly! So happy that i got a different variant than the one i already have! Dare i say this is my favorite item in the box (even though it wasn't even in the list)? No? But it is! I also love the eye shadows of course, if only they were not broken...

All and all, a pretty fantastic box indeed! I think Lola Box celebrated their first anniversary with a bang! The items inside (not counting the perfume, dried flowers and lip balm) tallied up to IDR 228.950! That's like, more than twice the price of the box! Counting the lip balm it'd be 3x! AWESOMEBALLS!!!!! (but after reading some other unboxing posts, i just realized that the surprise full size product's not given out to every subscribers, only the lucky ones! So i take back my unlucky statement about getting the dried flower, because i'd take a lip balm anytime to any nail decors! LOL) I definitely do not regret jumping back into the beauty box wagon!

Do you think this anniversary box's pretty fantastic too?

I am obsessed with neon-colored lippies lately! It doesn't look too neon in the picture, but it really is IRL! I will be doing a special post about neon lippies!

#Pink

UPDATE :

Good news! I just got an e-mail from Lola Box' team telling me that they are going to replace the broken eye shadows without us having to go all the hassle! So happy! Gonna update more once i receive the replacements!

2nd UPDATE :

I totally forgot to update this sooner, but i already got the replacement eye shadows a few weeks ago >.< sorry! Kudos to Lola Box, keep up the great job!