Pink and Undecided: vanity trove

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

Unboxing : 2nd Customized Vanity Trove

accessories

Heyllow world!!!

And hellow weekend! How's yours so far? Mine's pretty fun! Will blog about it soon, but in the meantime...

Yes, i did it again, another Beauty Box for me-i guess my infatuation with them has really come back on zzz. And yes, i did say i wasn't really about to subscribe to Vanity Trove again after that last disaster except if they have really good stuffs to offer... Guess what? That GOOD stuffs appeared faster than i expected *sigh*. Yep, just about a month later *sigh*. I wasn't even spying on their website or whatever, i just saw Phanie posted a photo of her newest customized box full of deluxe Avene samples and i just got super curious. And when i saw what they had to offer, well... I automatically clicked them FTL into my shopping cart *double sigh*. Here's a peek into the goodies that i couldn't passed on :

I guess that first glance doesn't seem very appealing if you're a pastel and bright color, super cute packaging fan like me-but read on why i think this is probably my favorite Vanity Trove to date!

This is a first! VT came with a brown paper bag outer

I should tell you that i love their brown paper bag's design, looks very exclusive and luxe! I love the square sticker they used to seal the bag with, i actually just realized that i snapped the back of the paper bag instead of the front after i tore into it hehe

Here it is again, the pretty sticker! LOL. I like how carefully they wrapped their box now, complete with the bubble wrap and all! I guess they're really learning from past mistakes, kudos for them!

They also came up with a new, more luxurious designed box! I was getting bored of their old white and hot pink box anyway, but even if i didn't-i'd still like this new super luxe box better!

And yes, the box' still the pull out drawer type. I admit my heart skipped a beat (not in a good way) when i see the wrapping paper all crumpled up like that. Can't blame me for being worried!

Thankfully everything was in a perfect condition!

Luxola voucher worth IDR 100.000 (with minimum purchase of IDR 400.000) and Ishine booklet

I'm not gonna use that Luxola voucher, i told you before that i won't shop there unless i get the same deal as the last one that expired before i even used them (IDR 200.000 off with minimum purchase of IDR 400.000). Since i do not (and probably never would) NEED anything from them just yet, i guess i can wait!

And for the Ishine (i can't really find too much information about them yet, i think it's a local brand? They are sold exclusively in C&F Perfumery) booklet, i thought it was just a regular booklet at first but turned out it was full of vouchers for many of Ishine's products! The deals are so tempting (Buy 1 Get 1 for lipsticks, IDR 75.000 off for powder foundie, IDR 50.000 off for blush on and eye shadow and 20% off for eye liner and eye brow pencils) i probably would pick up a few things in C&F >.< (stocking up for gifts, i swear!).

Now, the Ishine products itself were actually the sole reason why i freaked and ordered right away, i mean... a full size eye shadow and lipstick in one box? I'm SOLD!

Picked three full sized make up!

Ishine Moisturizing Lipstick (Full size 4.2g)

I find the little heart on the box super cute *dork* hehe

I kinda love their sleek packaging as well! The only complain would the super hard to open box, i totally tore the flap trying to open it :p

Ishine Moisturizing Lipstick in 07 Brun Cinnamon

It was a little hard to photograph because the bullet's quite shiny. It's creamy browniesh pink in real life (quite gorgeous but nothing spectacular for me, i don't think i have this kind of color much in my collection so it's all good. Oh, and it smells really good!)

Ishine Eye Shadow (Full size 6g)

Again, attracted to the little hearts on the box hehe

Ishine Eyeshadow in Smokey Diamond

It's darker in real life and the white one's actually a shimmery silver. Not exactly the kind of color i'd pick for myself, but i'll use it (i love the silver, would def use it a lot)

You should know by now if i like something i'd take a lot of (detailed) pictures of them, and very little one for the contrary, i think i haven't took so much pictures of products inside a beauty box in quite a while!

I know i also said that i already have two full size Sleek Makeup Eye Dust Eyeshadow Pot from previous beauty boxes and was afraid of getting the same color, but i dunno... Choosing between this and sample sized skin cares... It obviously won! hehe

Sleek Makeup Eye Dust Eyeshadow Pot in 679 Vintage

I am quite lucky that i got all different colors, three times! This one's gotta be my favorite so far! Golden, shimmery eyeshadow? Must have!

Then i chose all Avene samples for the rest of the items. Always heard great things about this brand, but i never tried them because i never had a reason to (i didn't really experiment with my skin care before i started subscribing to beauty boxes, i stuck to my dermatologist's creams but i always meant to mix them with non-prescribed products so my skin won't get used or addicted to the doctor's creams. Now i can try different brands and see what works for my skin since i receive a lot of different skin care brands from beauty boxes) so i was quite happy to see them on the list of products i could sampled for my VT.

Other brands featured were Lioele (sachets. Errrghhh) and Clarins (got too much of them in my stash by now), also Issey Miyake Pleats Please EDP sample. Always one who seek for something that's the best value for money, i chose the biggest sized one *LOL*.

Avene products

Avene Skin Recovery Cream (5ml)

Avene Cleanance Gel Soapless Cleanser (25ml), it's a travel size and would be perfect for my travels!

Avene Extremely Gentle Cleanser For Intolerant Skin (25ml)-idem! Plus anything with the words "extremely gentle" on them are always good for me because they would be kind to my skin!

VT also featured Swanky Society's accessories again in their box, wonder if it's like a permanent thing for now?

Personally i like the accessories they featured in this box a lot more than the previous one, it's more suitable for my taste

I love large cuffs and am fascinated with animal prints/patterns so this huge-ass snakeskin cuff's right up my alley. I know some people (like my sis or even #Undecided *LOL*) might tell me i look like Wonder Woman or something, but i love it! It'd cool with some rock insipired outfit or something more androgynous

Love these unique orange tribal earrings as well! So striking!

As you probably can tell by now, i am in love with this box! Everything seems to please me, from the packaging, the new designed box, the products (well, i did chose them all myself so i should be satisfied or i don't have anyone else to blame but myself) to the extra accessories! Hands down my fave beauty box this month! I hope VT would feature awesome products (make ups!!! Love it! And nail polish pleaseee!!!) and brands (i really love how they featured Avene this time! Wonderful brand with wonderful resume!) like these for their next lists as well and i guarantee i cannot say no to them!

Are you interested in trying out VT's customized trove as well? Do you think this box was worth (or even exceed) the price i paid (IDR 180.000) for it? Let me know what you think on the comment box below!

Airport Outfit for my recent Bali trip, i am preparing a blogpost dedicated for my OOTDs during the trip :D

#Pink

11:44:00 PM
5 Comments

Unboxing : Customized Vanity Trove

accessories

Hellow, dearies!

I know i've been unboxing one beauty box after another, this one's the last one this month-i promise! Actually this arrived before any other boxes but it was quite damaged, after i complaned to VT (which to their credit, replied very quickly) they agreed to replace all of the leaking products (but i have to be completely honest and say that i am not very satisfied at all :(... explanation later), this finally arrived on Monday (almost two weeks after i complained about my damaged box).

As you know, i've stopped subsribing to VT since their new concept (of customized boxes) launched, not because i wasn't interested to try them out but because every time i try to, all the good stuffs already sold out. So i missed out for about two months, and finally able to get my hands on them this month. Since the real box was absolutely ruined (you can check it out on my other entry, i already linked it up there) here's a look of the combined box. Pretty much (because the vouchers and any fliers inside i couldn't save so they would not be making any appearance here).

You might think that my box wasn't very appealing from that picture above *LOL*. But i picked everything myself so i would be very satisfied with them, if only they arrived in a top notch condition. There isn't any make up item sadly (not that i see any interesting one ever being offered anyway, i saw PAC eyeliners and Sleek Eye Dust, both didn't appealed to me since i have quite a lot of eyeliners and already possess two full sized Sleek Eye Dust from Lola Box on July and September so if i can't choose the shade-i'm not interested), but my eyes popped when i saw the same FresKon contact lenses voucher as the one i got from BTI hehe. I wear contact lenses whenever i go out because i'm blind as a bat without them, so contact lenses are more of a neccessities than accessories for me. Any chance to stock up on them with less money to pay, that's too good of a chance to pass up!

I paid IDR 180.000 for VT, the contact lenses itself costs IDR 185.000, meaning by itself-it already out-priced the amount i paid for the box. So when i saw them offering full sized Tresemme products (although admittedly they are selling at a very affordable price at supermarkets/drugstores hehe), i quickly clicked them into the cart. It's like paying for the contact lenses only and get everything else for free, so value for money (which is always important when it comes to beauty boxes for me) of this box was really high!

Unfortunately, as you already knew, the voucher was completely drenched with liquid when they arrived. I had to wash it off and make it look even more sad to be able to touch it. I was really worried that it would crumble or tear, so i voiced my concern to VT, i was quite disappointed by their answer :(... They told me that they cannot replace the voucher since it was their last stock, without offering any compensation whatsoever (like offering other stuffs that they do have stocks for!). Fortunately the voucher was still redeemable (HUGE sigh of relief) and i did exchange it with a green colored FresKon Mozaic contact lenses already. Still, it was not a very nice feeling when they told me that they cannot help me when i was really worried if i might not be able to get the contact lenses (which is the only reason why i subsribed to this box in the first place)!

Alas, i was thinking to myself, if they really wanted to redeem themselves, they should at least gave me a new full box instead of asking me if there's anything that i could salvage from that wrecked box. Why should i bother? I shouldn't have to :(... I paid the full amount for this box and it's not my fault if they arrived in a less than perfect condition. I don't mean to sound like a B, but really... You'd know how i feel if you're in my position. I'm just asking for a perfectly fine box with everything intact inside them, instead i had to spend hours trying to salvage whatever survived inside that box. Not a very nice feeling at all (i know i'm repeating myself, but that's the nicest way i can put it alright, so please put up with it!).

Before this turn into an endless complain (LOL), let me just clarify first that i've never been anything but satisfied (prior to this) with VT before, that's why i kept on subscribing to their boxes right... I would not write anything to make them look bad or anything, that is never my intention (this is worrisome for me because i realize beauty communities sometimes frown upon "bad reviews" or product complaints in blogs, but isn't a beauty blog suppose to be totally honest and open? I dunno, maybe this will cost me not being labeled as a "nice blogger" but at least i am being very honest)-everything i stated here is purely my personal feeling and nothing less than a fact.

Let's move on then!

This is the replacement box that arrived on Monday, very carefully wrapped and sealed so that's very nice that they're being careful now

The Tresemme set

After combining the "salvaged" items from the half-down ~~ship~~ box

Tresemme Keratin Smooth Nourishing Keratin Shampoo (full sized)

Tresemme Keratin Smooth Heat Protection Shine Spray (full sized)

Tresemme Keratin Smooth Nourishing Keratin Conditioner (full sized)

Sulwhasoo Essential Firming Cream and First Care Activating Serum (one sachet each). I chose this because well... it's Sulwhasoo and because the other options left were even less appealing, tiny sized body lotion or something. Both the tiny sized lotion and these sachets would be finished upon one application so i chose the brand that i was more interested in

Makarizo MK 3 Color Revive Hot Ice (2 ampoules), i had no idea what these were when i chose them but now they've been making a lot of appearance in various beauty blogs as a part of their campaign

Extra items : Accessories from Swanky Society

I didn't choose these as they are i guess were bonus products everybody who subscribed to their boxes would get. And as a bonus, i guess i shouldn't protest too much. But how? The elegant pouch that came with them was soaked with liquid when they arrived, so i went and washed it...aaaaand it crumbled immediately.

I dunno... is it unreasonable for me to expect them to replace this??? Or at least give me something else, some little items to show that they cared and they were sorry about this. Again, i can't help but compare the service to those of other countries' (i love reading blogs from other countries and always been jealous of their beauty boxes! I really wish there'll come a day when a beauty box of their calibre finally available in Indonesia. I wouldn't mind paying twice of the available ones now if they featured really nice products! And absolutely no sachet samples haha) who would replace a whole box if there's any problem with their boxes, or with return policy. Needless to say, i am bitterly dissappointed.

The accessories they featured were pretty nice even though it wasn't really my taste. The ring's pretty cool

And edgy tasseled earrings. I would wear them both anyway :p

This seriously made me re-think if i ever want to subscribe to VT again. I would, if they offer really nice products that i can't resist, but for now... Maybe not. My love affair with beauty boxes seems to take a turn for the worse this month *LOL*, it's one dud after another. What about you? Do you still subsribe to any beauty boxes or you're done with them?