Pink and Undecided: kerastase

Unboxing My First Blush (September Box)

Heyllo everybody!

Yes, i am in a much better mood today :D, not so gloomy already :D YAY! Went out to watch 2 Guns with hunny (well of course, my other hubby's busy in Korea or somewhere else right now-and i am referring to my imaginary bf of course, do not ring any alarm please. Jong Kook Oppa XOXO) earlier this evening (trying to save Insidious 2 for my birthday next week-you know it'd be special for a crazy horror freak like me to watch it on my birthday hahahaha, i dunno if i can wait another week though) which is very entertaining but i'm gonna tell you more about it in my monthly movie review, okay!

Another thing that helped lifted my mood up today? The arrival of my very first : First Blush. Arman's right, simple things can make you happy. Like the arrival of a monthly mystery beauty box to your door step, especially if it has a novelty factor. I love trying out new things, i'm sure you're aware of that habit by now. Here's a little (or not) peek into the contents of September First Blush

I'm pretty sure lots of you are already familiar with the unique, pyramid style box they came with, thanks to their first exclusive (not open for public, so unfortunately i wasn't able to have it) box that's been splayed all over Indonesian beauty blogs last month (some just posted recently) and it seems like they're sticking to this box for now (well, bigger quantity orders' always cheaper you know *LOL*). Here's how it arrived looking :

LOL!

In a cut out outer box! They sure went on a lot of trouble trying to protect the shape of the box, yes?

My first pyramid box haha, it's pretty cute! The tip's quite destroyed though hahaha

There seems to be a love-hate relationship with this box, some thinks its unique and one of a kind, others thinks it's not practical and non reuseable

I'm probably the latter kind. I mean, i don't mind getting one or two weird looking boxes like this, but if i subscribed to-say...12 months, what am i gonna do with 12 of these? It can be re-used as a present box for smaller items though!

Unraveling the mystery inside hehehe

The theme is "Repair, refresh, Rejuvenate"

There seems to be quite some stuffs inside, and i am pretty happy. But upon further inspection, it just fell off my expectation after seeing their exclusive first box (i mean... mini O.P.I and TBS' body butter? Come on! I want one too!). Of course i know their exclusive box would be like, a lot more fantastic than their regular one, but at least they could make it a little more exciting for the very first public box too.

After all, we ARE the paying customers. Shouldn't us get something better, or at least at the same level as the ones intended for publicity purposes? I know i know, that's asking for a lot. I'm not actually suggesting them to go crazy every month, just make the first impression counts, you know? Truth is, the first box I RECEIVE is the one that's going to determine whether i'd continue subscribing or not, not the boxes other people receive for reviewing purposes. Purely my opinion, of course!

Cute looking greeting errr...flier and product list

Had to push down the flier because they kept rolling up haha

First two products are from Kerastase :

Kerastase Nutritive Oleo Relax and Kerastase Reflection Chroma Riche Luminous Softening Treatment Masque

Both came in a decent 30ml tube, probably can be used 3x each?

It's been a while until the last time i got hair products from beauty boxes, just after i am getting warm to them (like falsies! Come on, i want more falsies, beauty boxes! Especially from D'Eyeko, thank you very much :p) so this is very happily received. One of my favorite products out of this box. Oh, i did receive the same Oleo Relax from VT before but i don't mind getting more of them. Especially seeing the full product's price listed (IDR 999.000 for 500ml, my oh my...)!

H2O Night Oasis Overnight Eye Complex (4 ml)

The H2O product might differ in every box, there are four possible products and i think i got the one that i most preferred! Eye care is always a welcome product for me, i'd rather get eye care sample than the shower cream, body cream or the rejuvenating gel (the other listed H2O products). This is my second favorite item in this box.

MJ Care Collagen Essence Mask (real size worth USD 1.50)

You know how i feel about facial masks. Especially glad because i got the collagen one, ladies in their 30s needs all the collagen they could get in the world, right? LOL. There are 5 other variants that you might get in your own box though.

Pure Smile Choosy Lip Mask in Herb (worth USD 2.50)

Another mask in one box? Well, it's okay lah it's for a different purpose anyway. I've never tried lip mask before, and honestly never really meant to try any, but since it's already there-i'd definitely give it a try. Too bad i got the worst variant possible though, herb???? Eeeeeeeekkkk!!! I wished i got the fruit or honey one instead! I hope it won't smell too badly zzz.

Natural Bee Balm (5gr, worth IDR 20.000)

I'd say they had a pretty cute packaging for a local brand!

This is actually my favorite product out of the box hahahah. I know right, so sad, happy over an IDR 20.000 lip balm? Thing is, i've been eyeing it for a while now ever since i saw it in one beauty blog when i was blog-walking. I even added the Natural Bee Balm's Facebook (where they operate their business, strange...) and battling the urge to place an order.

They received great feedbacks so the only thing preventing me from getting them? They have a minimal order of 3 balms per order, why would i need 3 of them when i still have hundreds of lip balms waiting to get used in my stash for??? So i actually squealed a little when i saw it peeking inside this box. It's not always the price that makes a girl happy, you know! (now if only beauty boxes would feature more up-and-coming local brands that seems to be trending right now like Mizzu eyeliner and mascara that'd be great, thank you-sending requests for all beauty boxes out there via my unboxing entry, brilliant don't you think?)

Allure Eyelid Sticker (full sized, worth IDR 8.000)

This is hands down my least (and probably the only product that i didn't like) fave item. It's probably like a bonus thing or something (coz it's worth so little, i wonder why they even bother listing the price-that actually could hurt their box' reputation a little), and yeah... I don't use eyelid sticker. I do not know how, i have double eyelids already and even though they are not massive or whatever-i don't feel the need to enhance them. I dunno what i'm gonna do with this, either challenge myself to try it out *yeah right...* or just add it into "my next giveaway" pile hehe.

They, like every other beauty box, also gave out one voucher to be used at Perfect Beauty's website. Online voucher's always a great choice rather than vouchers that can only be used in certain places (mostly Jakarta) that would definitely make its way to the bin immediately.

Might or might not use this... LOL. Sorry for the non-pretty nails, i am currently resting them after using gel polish for way too often. the gel nail art on my ring finger's one of the only two still going strong from that NailBar2013 event and it's still pretty looking so i'm keeping them as an accent to my next polish hahahaha

In conclusion... did i like First Blush? Yeah... i think they are okay. They are quite different from other boxes, not only the packaging lah okay but also the whole experience. I mean... Unlike other boxes that seems to partner directly with the big brands, this box seems to be more... indie, if i can say that? It's more homey and small-ish IMO. They featured brands that are still very new (which is a positive thing okay!) and not widely known like Natural Bee, or not even available in Indonesia (like the two masks).

They ran into some troubles last month when it was revealed that the O.P.I mini they sent out were fakes, but quickly issued an apology and sent out the ORIGINAL replacement and i applaud them for it. However, from that problem i realized that they mostly seems to purchase the stuffs themselves (imported them) as a buyer-not always partnering up with the brand itself (i'm not talking about ALL of them, they are obviously partnering with Natural Bee directly) so it's even more different than the other beauty box services that's already existed.

For me they are combining two worlds (you know, as brands' partner and buyer) and in the long run it could make or break them. I do like this box, but to be completely honest-i just don't think it's worth IDR 168.000 (the amount i paid for this box). The full sized products (natural bee and masks) only added up to IDR 68.000 and i doubt i want to pay IDR 100.000 for the Kerastase and H2O samples. I just think that other beauty boxes i subscribed to gave me more for the price i paid for (or at least balanced) so i feel like i'm getting more of my money's worth.

Please don't get me wrong, i think this is a pretty fantastic box and i liked almost everything they featured in this box (except the eyelid sticker), but i think it's just too expensive in comparison to the products itself.

It's a shame but i'm still torn whether or not i'm gonna give this box a second chance. If only the first public box contained stuffs as fantastic as their exclusive box (which definitely worth more than IDR 168.000!), i would 100% re-new my subscription for at least another 3 months *LOL*. But at this price and with the items i receive, i think i'm gonna stick with my older beauty boxes (and try to remember to subscribe to VT before they run out of the good stuffs!).

How about you? Did you subscribed to First Blush or are you intending to? If you did, did you like what you got?

Those bangs are driving me insane, getting them cut on Saturday yay!

#Pink

10:42:00 PM
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Vanity Trove May 2013

bath and body cares

Hi everybody!

Those of you who have been following this blog closely might notice that i didn't write as regularly as usual, that's because my brother (and his family) came from Banjarmasin, we went to that Batu getaway together (which turned out to be the longest ride to and fro Batu ever WTF, i will write about that in another report, a special Batu trip post that i hopefully can write sometime soon haha. Haish, so much to write, still halfway through my Europe trip too, haish) and now that they're in Surabaya hunny and i went out with them everyday, from morning til evening *tired* *old bones*, i really don't have time (and energy) left by the time we got home.

Anyway, i would normally write and post unboxing of beauty boxes entries at the same day as the box' arrival, but because of all the reasons i wrote above, this unboxing post's delayed for three days. But that's not too bad, right? So, without further ado, let's start my May 2013 Vanity Trove unboxing! Here's a little peek on what's inside my box :

I feel like i just got my first VT and now the second box' here *LOL*, that's of course due to the fact that the first box arrived while i was in Europe and it took me about 2 weeks to finally literally touched it! You know i wasn't too thrilled about my 1st VT, and i thought they were completely pale in comparison to Beauty Treats or Lola Box, especially when one consider the price (VT being significantly more expensive than the other two), but i already ordered the next box (before i even received the first one, coz i'm weird like that, i saw the next box' subscription was open and i kinda freaked...) anyway... I haven't read any entries of unboxing May's VT from any other bloggers, but i had a peek here and there, and was a bit hopeful that it's going to be better than the first one.

How the box arrived :

I guess i was spoilt because the first and second BT came in different colored boxes, i know i should expect beauty boxes mostly to stick to the same kind of box every month, but... well... Seeing VT came in exactly the same box as the first one (minus the first skin with the number 1 sleeve) kinda underwhelmed me... (but it's actually a good thing, i would be less tempted to hoard all of the boxes this way, i would recycle the same boxes for presents, but i'm soo going to keep at least one box for every design/color!)

VT trademark box : pulled drawer type

As usual, a booklet, brochures and vouches were the first things you'd find once you open your box.

The pretty colored booklet did cheered me up once i saw it :)

The brochures and vouchers :

The vouchers... I found it to be as uninteresting as the first VT's vouchers. There's one from Make Up For Ever (that's exactly the same as the one i got from my first BT) worth IDR 100.000 which is not bad at all, but considering you'd have to spend IDR 1.000.000 to be able to use it... well, i don't spend so much on make up on one go and i don't really buy high end brands like MUFE so... this one's going to the bin.

The other voucher's for Brow Studio, which can only be used in Jakarta since their brow salon's only in Jakarta. I would use it actually (because it's only expires in August 31st, still months away and i will be in Jakarta for a while on June-July anyway) if it's for brow services, but the voucher's only applicable for "Natural Dreamlash", that's definitely not a brow service! I think it's for eyelash extention or something, not something i'd be interested to try, so... again, this also goes to the bin.

The booklet was beautifully designed. It says "Summer Days", which is a little bit ironic if you consider the weather in Surabaya (i dunno about the rest of Indonesia but i heard it's not too different from Surabaya) that's being out-of-characterically COLD and rainy. It's been raining super hard the last week or so, after a bout of hot weather that didn't even last for weeks. Not that i'm complaining, i obviously much prefer cooler Surabaya than scorching hot one, i just find the constant flooding a bit inconvenient (and very dangerous, it's so harmful for my pretty and dainty sandals/shoes *LOL*). Yeah, totally a human nature, can never be satisfied one way or another *LOL*.

I was pretty happy at the first glance, the box was packed (almost as packed as my May BT. Almost but not quite, i couldn't even re-packed my May BT properly after opening it, it was so full! Didn't have problem of re-packing this one) and there seemed to be more stuffs inside this month's box compared to last month's.

How about the items inside?

The brand with the most items i got from this box : Lancome. That's good, because i love Lancome, although somehow i associate it with older ladies (coz my Aunt religiously uses Lancome and my mum also use some stuffs from Lancome, so for me it's a bit of an aunty kind of brand. I do own and love Juicy tubes!). Got Vissionnaire Advance Skin Corrector and Vissionaire Correcting Polishing Cream, 5 ml both. Not bad, and on target with how i filled up their beauty profile (coz i'm so old, i'm at the end of my 20s already as you may already know FML, i know i should start using anti aging stuffs, why not start with the samples from beauty boxes and see which one works the best? Although it might be hard to do so since i do not have any wrinkle at all actually *LOL*).

I know that's standard sample size (as in tiny) and it's much better than sachet samples, but like i said on my May BT post, BT's completely (single handedly) ruined the market for sample sized products because the sample sizes they featured on that box was so much bigger than these!

This is the product that i accidentally saw when a beauty blogger posted a link of her unboxing entry on IBB's group and i was really excited when i saw it!!! I had my fingers crossed and wished i'd get it too on my box, so of course i'm very happy with this one! It's Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara (2ml). It's definitely my fave item in this box, hands down! I heard beauty bloggers raves about this mascara, i personally won't purchase such an expensive mascara because i am already very happy with my drug store ones, but being my curious self, of course i always wanted to try it (without actually purchasing it haha). SO! This one got a four thumbs up from me!

Unlike usual, my least favorite item's not a hair product, this time it's this Essentials Jasmine Cananga Salt Bath (2x20gr). I only typed what i read from the booklet, but isn't it supposed to be written as bath salt??? I dunno. Well, i'm not a bath kind of person, i always prefer taking a shower than a bath. I don't do bath tubs, and i don't understand the joy in having a long, luxurious baths. That explains why i don't appreciate this item much, right? Haha... I dunno what i'm gonna do with this thing, i might do the odds and bring it down stair to try out having a soak in my parents' bath tub (that i used as a mini pool back when i was little *LOL*) or i might give it to someone else as a gift. I haven't decided yet.

Skin Junkie BonBon Babe Bar Soap (full size). It's a bit small as a soap bar, but i'm quite happy to get this. Never heard of Skin Junkie before (i love trying out new brands! Or new-to-me brands, but i think Skin Junkie's new in general. And i just googled, it's a local brand! I love trying out local brands!), and they seemed to be having all this "Lush" type of vibes going on (also never tried Lush because i hate the super strong smell permeated from the store, that totally drove me away whenever i passed by their store).

I love the name, BonBon... hmmm sounds so yummy. I don't use soap bars but i am warming up to them since hunny bought one for us to use while we were in Paris so yeah, i am happy to get this and will definitely try it out soon (although i doubt i would want to be paying IDR 40.000 for such a tiny soap bar that we'd definitely finish in no time..).

You have to tear up the plastic to get the product out, i don't like destroying packaging before i intend to use the products inside so i just took a picture within the plastic bag okay hahaha

The Face Shop Aloe Fresh Toner & Emulsion Sample Set. This one's actually not listed in the booklet, i am a little confused. Maybe they ran out of other products and decided to chuck this one in? I get so much skin cares in my beauty boxes, so i am much more picky now *LOL*, i am happy whenever i get nice brands (like Laneige at last month's VT, or Murad in another box) but The Face Shop... Well, i love TFS but it's so... i dunno... mainstream? LOL. I prefer higher end brands for my skin care samples (doesn't apply to make up and nail polish, okay *LOL*) or from new brands. So i find this one to be so-so. I don't hate it or whatever, but it's just so very tiny...

Kerastase Oleo-Relax Masque (30ml). A hair care product, but like i said... i am warming up to receiving hair products in my boxes, at least i know i'd be using them. Unlike the bath salts *fussy*. Now i might not need to purchase hair care products anymore and still be able to care for my hair, that's good! And the size of this one's pretty good too!

My second favorite item in this box : Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Serum Infusion (3ml). Estee Lauder! Such a prestigious brand (that's important in beauty boxes okay hahaha, especially if one box's quite more expensive than the others, you'd naturally expect them to feature more expensive brands as well)! Plus it's an eye care. I prefer getting eye care products than skin care ones (coz i am constantly battling my super dry eye area). So, even though it's super tiny, i am welcoming this one with super wide open arms *LOL*.

Second make up product : MUFE Aqua Cream. It's sample size (0.75gr), the blue one caught my eyes. You know i prefer make up products in my beauty boxes right, but... *OMG, i sound so fussy now. But i'm just trying to give an honest opinion here okay* first of all, i'm not into cream eye shadows since they never seem to work on me, second of all... How to say this... When other (earlier in arrival time) beauty box had featured a brand and you were excited to receive their products (like the MUFE lipstick sample in BT), then another box arrived with the same brand... well... You'd naturally be less excited.

I have no complaints about this item, but i am not jumping up and down in excitement. I guess i am getting more and more clear on what i like and dislike getting from beauty boxes, hence the extra fussiness *LOL*.

The last item : Masami Shouko White Velour Puff with Handle. Again, a twin product with what i got from BT's May box. Now i have two of these puffs *LOL* (at least they came in different colors *self-consoling*). They do come in handy and i do use powder puffs a lot, so this will definitely be used, but one can hardly get excited about getting the stuffs they already get from another (earlier) box, my excitement had been used up already *LOL*. I guess it's impossible for one beauty box to know what their competitor's going to feature on their box, so i cannot complain (too much) about it, but you also can't force me to be happy about it haha.

Now, as usual, i'm going to point out the products i'd rather get based on their booklet list, rather than what i actually received. I spotted Clarins serum, Kiehl facial cleanser, Sampar Poreless Magic Peel, Estee Lauder UV protector on the skin care list, i'd much prefer getting any of those stuffs (especially Kiehl and Sampar because both are brands i'd really love to try out) than The Face Shop ones that i got. Financially speaking, i also don't think TFS is anywhere near those four brands in terms of value so i do feel a bit cheated :(.

I dunno if one should put bath salt in the same category as body skin care? I think can lah hor, since bath and body cares are essentially hand in hand and shouldn't be separated? Then i would much prefer getting Clarins high definition body lift than the bath salt haha. And even though i don't mind getting the Skin Junkie soap bar, i would probably be more excited if i get the Skin Junkie Carrousel Body Lotion instead.

I also spotted Lioele full sized nail color, which being a nail polish junkie that i am-would be super stoked to receive. I dunno what products they alternate this one with, probably the eye shadow? Yeah, if i could trade them then i obviously would.

There's also Benefit They're Real mascara that i hate them to feature at the same time as the Lancome Hypnose mascara since that means one can only get one while i am dying to get my hands on both! I guess getting one of them's much better than the probable alternative, i'd howl if i receive Wink Kiss Premium False Lashes instead of a mascara! Phew! Dodged a bullet there!

All in all, i am much happier with this month's box compared to last month's. It featured not only more items (look at how much more packed this month's box compared to the super sparse box of last month!), but more importantly-more interesting items, more exciting brands (Skin Junkie, Lancome, Estee Lauder are the highlight brands for me this month). I can see what the others said by VT featuring more high end brands compared to other boxes this month (i couldn't see it last month!) with the appaerance of Estee Lauder and Lancome. That being said, i am not sure higher end brands are that important for me (who's a total drug store and high street brands lover).

I think May box' pretty great, but i'd be lying if i was anywhere near as ecstatic as when i received my May BT, or even Lola Box. The brand repetition (with BT and Lola) concerned me, and i am now having a dilemma on whether or not to renew my subscription. In one hand, i feel like i should stick to BT (both gold and platinum boxes) and Lola since they are cheaper and i was loved their boxes so much, on the other hand... i just hate to miss out on any beauty box *obsessed*, and what if the next box turned out to be fantastic?? Haish... I did say i would give VT 3 tries at least before deciding whether or not i want to subscribe to it for a longer period of subscriptions, so i might as well subscribe to July's box. I haven't decided yet...

How about you? Which on of those three beauty services you're subscribed to? And which one's your fave?