Pink and Undecided: l'oreal

Lola Box Complimentary Box

Hi, world!

Enjoying your weekend? This week feels like a never ending weekend for us Indonesian (what with public holidays every other day in the whole week) but can't say we're tired of it, i guess!

Anyway, after almost a full year of subscribing to Lola Box (missing only about one or two boxes in their entire existence), i finally collected enough Lola Dots to be exchanged into a complimentary box. And after waiting for what feels like the longest time (it took more than 3 weeks after the initial time they promised my box to arrive, to a point that i almost gave up and consider it missing/never going to reach me), i finally received it :

It also become my farewell box because out of nowhere Lola Box announced they're closing down! I was pretty shocked when some of my readers informed me about this (i had no idea before) but i did see the signs when their subscriptions were closed and couldn't be accessed the last couple of months.

Hmmm, yeah, i totally am wondering why? They seemed to be doing so well and all.. It's too bad since Lola Box is definitely one of the best (and the most solid/consistent) beauty boxes subscriptions that's ever graced Indonesia! Alas, none of Indonesian beauty boxes (except Vanity Trove that also has bases in Singapore and Malaysia so i guess it's a different case altogether) lasts more than a year. Is Indonesian market simply not ready for this concept? If you say they might not sell so well, i'm gonna have to to disagree since they ALWAYS sold their boxes out long before their closing date! So i believe there're other, more complicated problems. *Sigh*. Let us Indonesian beauty junkies mourn the death of yet another beauty box first hehe...

But for now, time to inspect the contents of this farewell box!

They used the same box from one of their older box, it's bittersweet to see such a positive line and colorful box on their very last box that will ever reach me

With enough nice stuffs inside to make one super happy even if it's just their regular box

Acnes Tea Tree Oil Clay Mask (50 g)

I'm a huge fan of Acnes (read my review on their oil control face mask here. I am also a loyal user of their facial wash, acne sealing gel, powder lotion, tinted moisturizer, compact powder, etc! I will definitely try to review everything, i just need to get my mojo back first. I've been very lazy when it comes to blogging, especially on writing reviews *SIGH* i dunno why!) so i'm pretty happy to get this mask. I never bothered with masks that you need to wash off and might never purchase this for myself, so it's nice to get this full sized tube of mask that i will definitely give a try soon. Acnes masks (the sheet kinds, at least) has always been my trusted companions around THAT time of the month!

Skin 79 Super+ Triple Function Hot Pink Label BB Cream (deluxe size, no idea of the actual size)

I think this is like the 4th or 5th time i get this hot pink BB Cream from Skin 79 from beauty boxes, certainly a popular item in beauty box world *LOL*. Good thing that this BB Cream suits me well so i'm not complaining!

Decorative Eyelash in Play Rich #1 (5 pairs)

I do love collecting falsies now (what a way to swallowed back my words, eh? LOL) even though i don't wear them often... I do like to wear them to parties (when i can be bothered to..) to make my eyes look more dramatic... I don't think i have crisscrossed falsies before, and again-it's not something that i would purchase for myself (i don't think i like crisscrossed falsies, but then again i've never tried them before hahaha) so it's good that i get try something i would never do otherwise. And 5 pairs, this will last me plenty of parties!

Taylor Swift Wonderstruck Perfume (Vial, 12ml)

A sample of a perfume that i already know i like! I am obsessed about celebrity perfumes (even though i don't usually like the celebrity *LOL*, Taylor Swift is okay tho) and i've put Wonderstruck on my wishlist mainly because of the bottle >.<, but i sniffed it before and i liked it a lot! It's nice to get to use this perfume before i purchase the full size (so i'll know if i REALLY like the scent, not just for a few seconds but for as long as it lasts).

Crazy Rumors Lip Balm in Gingerbread (Full size)

My favorite item (other than the falsies) in this box! Of course, you should already know by now that i am a crazy lip balm collector and nothing makes me happier than drowning in my crazy collection of lip balms... And from a brand that i've been dying to try (but couldn't justify to actually go and order since i have enough lip balms to last me more than a lifetime WTF) too! I remembered Lola Box featured this lip balm in one of those rare boxes that i missed and was just jealous of the lip balm (and nothing else), so i'm very stoked that i get this!

Skin Junkie Soap

No indications of the size, but it's tiny! The length is about the same as my thumb while the thickness is about twice of my thumb

This is the third Skin Junkie soap i've got from beauty boxes (and no, i haven't tried any of them *LOL*) but i think it's certainly the smallest one. I'm feeling neutral about this one, not too happy but certainly not annoyed too.

L'Oreal Extraordinary Oil (5 sachets)

Heard so many people raving about this oil that i actually already went and purchase the full size myself, still it's nice to have these sachet ones to bring on travels!

And that's all! A very nice box indeed and a sweet goodbye from Lola Box. I'm wishing Lola Box' team all the best for their future career and whatever life might bring them. We're gonna miss you so BAD!

#Pink

PS : Gawd, it's JUNE??? Next time we blink we'll be celebrating New Year again WTH!

8:45:00 PM
9 Comments

Unboxing : Lola Box August 2013 (Be Bold and Brave in Your Heart)

BB silk

Hi gurls (and guys, but i doubt any guys who reads this blog would bother opening this entry since it's obviously beauty related)!

Yesterday i received my August Lola Box, which is going to be the only beauty box i receive this month since BTI's having a one month hiatus while i got too late to try out the new system of VT :(. I remembered belatedly about VT, hurriedly went to their site and did actually choose the samples (from now on you get to choose the samples-and a few full sized items-for your own box! How awesome) and tried to pay using Paypal, too bad my (hunny's, really) account was acting up and i couldn't make the payment! Then i tried refreshing the page (to pay via bank transfer instead) but all of the nice choices already disappeared, meaning they are sold out already! (There was a warning when i first trying to order that those items were selling fast!)

Anyway, since it's my only beauty box this month, i had high hopes for this box... Here's what's inside my box :

Let's rewind a little bit and peel off the layers of the box one by one as usual!

It looked neat and safely packed, they even slapped the fragile sticker on it (my hunny even asked me whether i ordered some chinas (NOT the country) online. WTH. Chinas? MOI???) but still, a disaster occured inside! More about it later

The usual "Bread box" outer

My eyes kinda popped when i saw the box' color inside!

Bright red! So pretty and bold (100% suitable for their theme this month), definitely my favorite box from Lola Box so far!

Yep, like my title suggested, their theme this month's Be Bold and Brave in Your Heart. Indonesia's celebrating our national day (just three days ago, on the 17th) this month, that's why their theme's somewhat quite patriotic and the color scheme for the box' conditioned to reflect our red and white flag.

This time, i didn't peek into anyone else's unboxing entry, so i didn't know what's inside this month's box before i held it in my hand. Love to surprise myself, it's just that sometimes when there's an unboxing link in front of my eyes i couldn't resist to click it haha.

The list of items in this month's box

The white envelope contained some fliers

First glance impression : It looked quite okay but not as exciting as the box *LOL*

My first glance impression was right, i am okay with this box, not too disappointed or whatever (unlike my fellow beauty blogger, Sabrina, if you're reading this hello Sab! Hehe), but definitely am not jumping up and down with excitement.

This is a... i think it's a flier of Paula's Choice beauty workshop. I'd love to join this kind of stuffs in the future, sadly as usual this event's will be held in Jakarta so there's no way i could attend it

First item (because i am OCD as you know it and i happen to hold the list's card on my hand, i will be showing you the items from this box according to the order they are listed hahaha) :

Paula's Choice Earth Sourced Natural samples, i do love how now they mostly featured clear information on how to use most of the stuffs so we won't have to google (or worse, guess) how it's supposed to be used

Sachets samples of Earth Sourced Perfectly Natural Cleansing Gel, Purely Natural Refreshing Toner and Antioxidant-Enriched Natural Moisturizer

Paula's Choice's is a pretty new brand in Indonesia and they had been featured heavily in recent beauty boxes. I've heard good feedback on their products and that's good that they featured all the three-steps skin care products here, however i am lying if i say i am happy with it. Sachet samples never really rock my boat. So this is a so-so item(s) for me.

Maybelline New York Clear Smooth BB Silk with SPF 21 PA+++ (8gr/full sized)

I was actually quite happy to get this. I dunno if BB silk's supposed to mean it's a BB cream in a form of powder (if that's the case then yay coz you know i am a BB cream kind of girl and am obsessed to try every single type of BB creams/the likes, and i do not have this item) or not because in the description they wrote "the most innovative powder foundation" so it could be a foundation instead. Either way i am happy to receive this.

If you remember the whole debacle about Maybelline (dunno why but this brand-which is actually my fave drugstore brand-seems to be so problematical whenever their items are featured in a beauty box!) lippies that's already 2 years old when BTI members received them in our July Gold Box, that made me wary so i quickly checked for expiration/manufacture date.

Expiration date, not until more than another two years, which is great (coz i hoard things and they need to line up to get used) so i already put it back into its box with the rest of the items and forget about it until i suddenly remember something!

A few days before, another fellow beauty blogger (i get to know a few of them personally thanks to Collection event last month and manage to keep in touch with some of them via BBM and commenting on each other's blog/FB) Katherin, told me Sabrina was't ecstatic with this month's Lola Box. Not only the only the Maybelline powder was the only full-sized product, but it arrived broken to her!

Yes, a hoarder problem, when i buy/receive things, i snap pictures for blogging purposes but hardly ever checked or pull the actual item out of the box *unless it's lipstick or something, i'd want to check the color that i got, but even lipsticks if they were sealed i wouldn't disturb it since i am not going to start using it straight away*, but since i remember Sabrina's powder, i quickly went and open mine.

As soon as i saw the case, my heart sank. Can you see how it's got powder smearing the case already? I knew straight away that it's broken as well.

Or more like smashed into pieces haha. WTH. I quickly contacted Sabrina and whined about it haha. Also twitted Lola Box, hoping for a super speedy response like last time. Yep, it's getting ridiculous because this is the second time something like this happened, within three months! I received June Lola Box with Skin Aqua spilt all over the box until most of them were finished!

Last time the second i twitted them they replied and e-mailed me telling me they're sending a new set right away (and they arrived safely within a few days). No such luck this time, i had to wait more than half a day to get any response from them but at least they did (and told me they're sending a new one soon) much faster than VT.

Yep, i also received a less than perfect product from VT on their July box, a Ristra lipstick that i received was disfigured because the cap fell off inside the box on the way to me. I had to wait for days until VT responded my protest but they also sent me a new (with a different color!) lipstick, so i was secretly happy because i got two new lippies (thank God they didn't send the same shade, teehee) p.

Hope to receive the replacement soon and i really hope Lola Box would be much more careful in the future. Both times this happens, the condition of the broken items were quite bad. And it didn't only happen to Sabrina and i, i saw some girls also twitted the same thing! Anyone else got the same problem?

Let's move on then..

L'Oreal Paris Youth Code Pre-Essence (1 sachet)

You know how i feel about most skin care samples *neutral, on the verge of not caring haha*, i don't own many serum, essence (or pre-essence, whatever that is)-actually none at all if it's full sized (only got some samples from these beauty boxes)-so this is a welcomed item in my stash.If only they were not a sachet sample it'd be great. One sachet sample should not be counted anyway.

Second item from L'Oreal :

L'Oreal Paris BaseMagique (5ml)

Look how misleading the box was *LOL* :

Yep, the box made it looked like it's supposed to be much bigger than it actually was haha.

I am happier with this one! I only have one primer, Anna Sui one that my sis CW handed down to me, so this item is more than welcome! But i do need to use primer more frequently then *LOL*, i almost never use them-only when i'm attending parties, even then i tend to forget this step hahaha.

Yet another item from L'Oreal :

L'Oreal Paris White Perfect Laser Day Cream (5ml)

Anyone knows why they are called Maybelline New York but L'Oreal Paris? After all, they are owned by the same company. It just crossed my mind out of the blue as i am typing this hahaha. My brain works in a bizzare way.

Anyway, i had to redo this section three times because i thought this was the pre-essence, and then i thought i didn't get the pre-essence (it was a lone sachet inside a thin flier, i totally forgot about it) and then i snooped on someone else's blog to see if they receive the essence, that's when i realize that the essence was the lone sachet in the flier WTF.

Dunno how to describe how i feel about this item. Probably couldn't care less (because i don't even use moisturizing on my super oily skin during the day) is what i should say.

Skin Junkie Soap Bar (100gr)

I already receive this in May VT and i haven't even touched it! Well, i'm not a fan of soap bars *i'm a shower gel kind of girl*, so they are most probably going to be used by hunny *i'll try them out a bit so i can make a review i think*. So... yeah... Another item that i don't really care about.

Clarins Shaping Facial Lift Lipo-drain Serum (5ml)

Errrr... read the pre-essence part up there again. Haha. Almost happy lah with this item, a welcome addition to my growing stash of sample serums. Now i just need to start using them hahaha. This one's for refining one's facial features so i will be trying this out soon. Currently wanting Bio-Essence's V shape cream because, well for obvious reason lah (my huge face) LOL. Let's see if the tiny serum will give even the tiniest difference.

The last items were the beauty editor's pick items they always featured in every box (mostly beauty related tools, but once it was a luggage tag when their theme was vacation) :

Mini hand mirror & hair brush

Again, dunno how i feel about this two. Sure, they are cute and pretty looking, but i definitely do not need them. The tiny brush is not something i'd use coz i don't really use brushes. I use a big-toothed comb (from Oriflame and i cannot live without it) after i wash my hair, and that's it. And i have way too many mirrors already and i only use one *Anna Sui inspired one i bring everywhere inside my to go makeup pouch together with its sister, the tiny fringe comb* anyway.

Most definitely gonna give this away as part of a present. Next birthday i am going to make my own beauty box (i made two beauty pouches inspired by these boxes twice before haha read it here and here) and i'm going to feature these two hahaha.

And that's my August Lola Box. I finally peeked on other blogs and mostly they seemed to be disappointed with this month's box, i am not exactly disappointed but it's definitely quite meh haha. But personally i don't think this is their worst box, i didn't like the one with the Skin Aqua worse. Too bad my fave item in this box (the Maybelline powder) came broken. Look at the case! It's lilac and beautiful and it's a BB thingy! Can't wait for the replacement!

How about you? Did you like your August Lola Box or hate it?

If you're interested to sign up with Lola Box, please use my referral :

http://www.lolabox.com/?refid=DVCjo4quJn

Thanks a bunch!

Concidentally, i wore this red and white outfit a few days ago (without even thinking when i put them on together) when i went shopping with my niece BB, and it's matching Lola Box' theme+suitable for our national day haha

#Pink

PS : Have you joined our mini giveaway? There are still a few days left, hurry and join it! Pretty please with us on top hehehe :D