March was a bonkers month. At work, I was on standby for the crushing rush that came in full force in the last week. With my birthday weekend early in the month and the deluge of presents, I barely noticed that the March Glossy Box, my first Glossy Box, had not yet arrived. On March 20, Glossy Box issued an email apologizing for the delay in delivering the month’s Glossy Box and awarded all the subscribers 250 Glossy Dots (equivalent to 1/4 free Glossy Boxes, or 2.5 blog reviews). That was good PR of them, I thought. And on the second last day of the month, my first Glossy Box arrived!
Lil Sis was visiting that weekend and for the fun of it, I dragged out unwrapping the box and each time she would pass by the box, it was little more unwrapped. I likened the reveal a little to how people make an occasion out of opening a new Apple product. So, if you don’t subscribe, here is what unwrapping a Glossy Box is like.
Here is the obligatory shot of the postcard that describes the products enclosed in the Glossy Box.
And… here are the samples, 5.5 of them.
Here are my thoughts on the March 2012 products:
Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion
71 mL, $2.40 (card indicates $11.99 for 354 mL)
Okay, I have to admit that I was a little crestfallen to at first to see this product in my Glossy Box. It’s something so normal and you could pick it up at Shoppers Drug Mart, not a designer brand you would see at Sephora. My sister, new to the idea of Glossy Box and waiting to be wowed, made a passing remark about the Aveeno product. I read a couple other reviews and it seems to me that while I got Aveeno moisturizing lotion that you could grab in the sample section of Shoppers Drug Mart, some people got Bailey lip gloss which cannot be got at Shoppers.
On the other hand, will I use this whole product? Yes! It is a no-nonsense lotion that sets about the task of moisturizing without frills. It has a healthy “oatmeal” scent that doesn’t interfere with other scents you might want to wear.
Bailey Cosmetics Kabuki Brush
1 unit, $40
Bailey as in Brian Bailey of Project Runway Canada, not that I watch the show. He naturally started off in fashion and has now branched out into cosmetics and it seems you can get to know his line best by watching The Shopping Channel which purports to be the exclusive provider. I didn’t even know this counted as an item and the highest value item in the box, at that. When I tried it with the blush below, I did experience the luxurious feel of the goat hair bristles. I finally own a Kabuki brush and at a steal of a deal!
evian Brumisateur Facial Spray
50 mL, $7.00
The one product in the box you wouldn’t find me buying, ever! Refresh? I traditionally think the most refreshing thing is a good blot and adequate hydration. But it’s the toning feature of the facial spray that I was most intrigued by although I don’t quite know how to quantify the results of skin toning. As a runner, I recall the feeling of running through light mist and it is nature’s gift which can apparently be canned and be put in your purse. The nozzle of my evian spray was wonky so the dispersal was less misty and more spray bottle, but you know what to expect.
Pandora’s Makeup Box Blush St. Tropez
1 unit, $18
Watching some Extra Petite videos recently, I felt thoroughly admonished for not adding some colour back whenever I wear a “foundation” (usually tinted moisturizer, infrequently real foundation) with a quick sweep of blush. Another problem is I didn’t have blush. Now, that problem is solved!
The blush comes in a summer-inspired cute floral package with a paper closure that opens up and looks like open arms waiting to hug you. The packaging truly makes me happy to wear the product and it did indeed go on very light, natural-looking and lasted all day.
Sebastian Re-Shaper Hairspray
43 g, $19.95
I have finally learned how to do some things with my long, coarse, heavy, unmanageable hair but the styles still keep falling out and I realized I don’t have in my arsenal and could stand to pick up some hairspray and look what comes along!
The nozzle seemed a little wonky on the sample size bottle and as I used it, the scent seemed to me like perfumed flowers and pleasant. I swept my hair up in a bun to be all serious at work and it worked well to keep the wispy pieces in place.
Algemarin Foam Bath
15 mL, $2.40 ($3.99 for 5x 5mL)
I’ve been meaning to take a bath and allow myself to relax with a long soak in my tub. After having house guests for four straight days and two hard 10K training sessions within 24 hours, tonight was the night for a bath. This little pouch from UK brand Algemarin was a most fortuitous arrival! The indigo-coloured product makes your bath a brilliant turquoise blue and bubbles up luxuriously. The scent was natural and refreshing and my skin was happy and soft afterwards.
Total value of the box, as per enclosed Glossy Box postcard: $89.75. A monthly Glossy Box subscription is $15 and includes shipping for which I mentally knock down the price a little. This month, I appreciated the mixture of every day products (lotion, hairspray) with the pampering ones and I was highly impressed with the value of the box. It sounds like the next box is on its way and I look forward to what it will contain!