aloha nico.

Glossy Box - June 2012

I was intrigued/inspired by all the Birchbox chatter on tumblr, unfortunately, they don’t ship to Canada, so I went with the next best thing — Glossy Box.

It’s $15, billed monthly, and promises a range of semi-tailored luxury samples, delivered to your doorstep in a polka dotted black and carnation pink box. You answer a few questions about you complexion, like and dislikes, and the types of samples you like to see. 

This month’s haul was 5 full size items, and two samples.

I’ve only managed to use a few of the items so far:

1. Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen Lotion SPF 55 (sample size, $16 retail) - Really light, inoffensive smell, and not greasy at all. I’d use this on my face every day. If I bought anything from this month’s box, it would be this.

2. Olay Regenerist Wrinkle Revolution Complex (sample size, $31 retail) - I’m a sucker for anti-again creams, I’ve tried them all. I use Sephora’s Daily Moisture one, but I love the smell of this one from Olay. Even though I prefer Olay’s formulation, I can’t really justify the expense.

3.  Wella Professional Ocean Spritz (~$17) despite saying that I’d rather not receive hair care products, because I figured they wouldn’t work for my hair type, this showed up in this month’s box.

It’s a surf spray, smelled ok (although it definitely had that a sharp alcohol vibe that you get with hairspray), and was a little on the sticky side. My hair doesn’t really need product to make it dry and unruly, it does that just fine on its own. Would I buy it again? No.

Also in the box:

1. Bioré Combination Skin Balancing Cleanser - Unless I start washing my face 4x a day, (unlikely, since I can barely muster the energy to do it once), it’ll probably be a good 2-3 months before I use this.

I’m still working my way through a rather large tube of Burt’s Bees Facial Cleanser (a freebie from BzzAgent), and I also have a backup two pack of Clean & Clear Deep Action Cleanser from the last time I lost all control at Costco.

Ed: I caved, and used this cleanser. Pretty good. A nice thick lather and not drying at all — I didn’t even get that weirdly satisfying dry tightness that most cream cleansers result in. I’d buy this for sure.

2. Cover Girl Flipstick Blendable lip duo in Minx ($13 retail) - Not generally a fan of double ended cosmetics (remember that primer/mascara trend in the early 00s?) I rarely wear lipstick, but I’d kind of like to start. Didn’t love the colour (bronze, really?) but maybe it’ll be a good formula/be more sheer than it looks.

3. Gillette Venus Embrace Razor ($14 retail) - I haven’t used a women’s razor in ages, are they still terrible? I feel like I remember being able to shave one leg before the blade went dull. I have an epilator, and a men’s Mach 3 Turbo that do the trick, but next time I run out of blades, Ill give this one a try. The cost of the replacement blades alone leads me to believe that my experiment will be a short-lived one.

4. Bioré Deep Cleansing Pore Strips ($10 retail) - I don’t know why, but I love these things. Not complaints here.

My first box was promising. Definitely worth the after promo price of $13, and I’ll likely continue my subscription.

Sound good? Try it for yourself here.