Luxe Box - Winter Edition

So, it seemed like this month the beauty subscriptions were reallllly slow to come in.  A lot of them didn't ship until later.  This Luxebox takes the cake, however.  The subscription is a quarterly subscription, meaning the boxes are supposed to come every 3 months.  This time between the fall box and the winter box was 4 months.  As a matter of fact, I am already charged for the Spring Box!  I feel like since they have more time to curate these boxes, they should be able to get with the program.  

That said, I have cancelled my Luxebox with a heavy heart.  It was one of my first subscriptions and while I enjoyed it as a monthly sub, I don't really like getting a quarterly box.  You may argue the price because there are more products, more luxe products but I feel like the boxes vary so much they can be hit and miss. My last months box was terrible!! The quarterly boxes are $26.  I will still be receiving my spring box.  It's really hard for me to quit any beauty box because I'm a super addict and hate to miss out!  

As a matter of fact, I even skipped Julep for January, but that's a whole other topic! ;)

So...onto the box.  I love the boxes Luxe Box (AKA Loose Button) sends their items in.  It's a really nice sturdy box.  It's my second one and I use my first to store loose shadow/mineral shadow...this will also hold my small palettes of shadow.  

I will also mention that I was happier with this months selection as opposed to last months "leftovers."

Last month, everything came tucked into a handkerchief.  This month everything was tucked into this really nice tote bag!  I would say the bag is about 12" wide by 8" high.  It's a nice cream colour with a brown drawstring.

They have the cute Loose Button symbol on the side of the bag!

Here you can see that the inside is very satiny! I actually prefer the outside is not because it would snag easily.  I'm not sure yet what I'll use it for, but I really like it!

This is how the product card comes.  Notice this month's symbol has a snowflake on it...aww!  The back has print images of all the stuff wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday.

Eyeko Skinny Mini Brush Mascara. Full size retails for $23.  I'm not sure how much a full size contains.  This sample is generous at 4mL.  I think that the packaging of this is really unique.  I have never see a mascara in a tube such as this.  I was wondering how it looked as I didn't want to open it until I'm ready to try it.  It does contain a wand just like any other mascara. ;) I am excited to try this product!

 Essie Nail Polish in She's Pampered. Full size retails for $9.00.  I know this is an exciting product because it is the holiday 2012 release...but I had just finished purchasing the whole entire set from Luxe the week before, so I was really bummed to see this in my box... there were girls who received China Glaze, so I wish I had received that.  I don't have a lot of CG.  That said, Essie is my favourite brand of polish.  If anyone out there would like to swap this colour, let me know.

It looks red but it's actually a gorgeous deep shade of pink.  You wouldn't even know this just looking at the bottle, you actually have to see it on your nails!  I'll do a NOTD with this colour soon!

B.Kamins Laboratories Day Lotion with SPF 15. Full size is 50mL retailing for $80. Sample size is 15mL retailing for $24.  This was a super generous sample, don't you think?  B.Kamins is a wonderful Canadian brand.  I am glad to have this as I ran out of moisturiser not too long ago and I'm working on getting through my sample packets before I move on to my little bottles.  The back says that it's also good as a primer.  Interesting!

Keratase Cristalliste Lumiere Liquide. Full size is $42 US for 50mL. Sample size is 3mL valued at $2.52.  This was the first of 2 first in line products.  I honestly, had no idea that the product would be SOOO incredibly tiny.  I wish it could have been a little bit bigger because if this sample works as well as some people claim, I will buy the full size.  That said, I really need a good feel for this and I hope this sample will give me that!  I am on the search for the holy grail of hair smoothing/shining product for my super frizzy dry hair!

Donna Karan - Woman Eau De Parfum.  Full size is 3.4oz valued at $115 US.  Sample size is .24 oz (or 7mL!) valued at $8.12.  Now, this is a really nice sample size of perfume.  Too bad, that I don't like these types of scents and I have marked that in my survey.  I prefer floral or light citrusy type scents.  This is a woodsy, musky type scent.  It says it contains creamy notes of orange flower, signature core of Haitian vetiver and sandalwood.  To me, anytime sandalwood is in a perfume it overwhelms every other scent to me.  I have a VERY sensitive sense of smell.  Props to Luxe Box for procuring an perfume sample that is ACTUALLY eau de parfum!

As you can see the bottle is REALLY cool.  The only downfall of it is it's not a sprayer.  You think at this size they'd be able to?  Too bad it's a scent I don't enjoy. :(

Dermalogica Precleanse.  150mL is valued at $50.50.  Sample size is 15mL valued at $5.05.  This is another high end brand, which is nice to receive a decent size sample.  It's Olive and Apricot based cleansing oil that apparently liquefies sebum and oil based debris from the skin.  I think that is super cool and it's a product I can't wait to try out.  I really hope that I don't fall in love with it. ;)  Soo pricey! Then again, Dermalogica is an excellent skin care brand!

Schwarzkopf Professional Dust It.  10g full size valued at  $22US.  This was my selection for the second round of first in line products.  I didn't really know what it was.  I originally thought it was a dry shampoo. It's actually a mattifying powder.  It's a light control product that is supposed to provide texture (some volume?) to your hair.  To be honest, I'm terrified of trying this product out! lol  This is a salon exclusive.  I can't believe how TINY this full size product is!

Here is a VIDEO from Schwarzkopf on how to use this product and what it does!

The bottle is really cute but it is SOOO small.  I don't think I could ever spend that much on a product this size.  I will review this at some point.  But, I'm thinking this may be best suited for people with short hair.  Maybe, I can get a guy to help me with testing this out. ;)

The last item in the box was a Loose Button branded Kabuki Brush.  It seems they will be adding a product with their branding each season, which I think is pretty neat.  This kabuki brush is actually of a decent quality.  We'll see how it works after I have washed it!

It's a really nice big brush with soft bristles.

Even the bottom of the brush has the Loose Button logo... mine is a little funky, but eh.

Here is what the whole box looks like.  Much better than fall.  I am giving this an estimated value (some products I couldn't get a price for) of $66.00.  The value is there.  There were some good products.  I think at the end of the day this box is just not right for me.  Maybe, down the road I would resubscribe but we'll see.  I am making a conscious effort for 2013 to work my way down to 3 subs as my products are getting out of control and I need to start using things up!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season.  All the best for the New Year!

XO
~A