March GlossyBox: the Fitness edition.

I received my March GlossyBox a few days ago, and lo and behold, this month's theme is health & fitness - products to keep us looking fresh and dewy on the go, literally. What a great reminder that I should stop wasting money and actually go to the gym.

What was in the box?

KMS California FREE SHAPE Hot Flex Spray

Eau Thermale Avene Thermal Spring Water

Nougat London Nurturing Hand Cream

Dr. Hauschka Cleansing Cream

Proactiv Cleansing Body Bar

Power Balancing Bracelet

Let's just say that this is not one of the best beauty boxes I've ever received. I am eager to try the Thermal Spring Water, and will give the Hot Flex Spray and the Dr. Hauschka Cleansing Cream a go, but I have no use for the sample sized hand cream or any Proactiv products. Plus I am not sure if power balancing bracelets really restores my balance. 

This month's product card doesn't just include what your box contains, but lists every potential product you could have received. I don't know if this was done because of the backlash they received over different subscribers getting different products, but it saved me from having to surf blogs and compare products! On that note, this would have been my dream March Glossybox:

De-Coy Panda Pen

Eau Thermale Avene Thermal Spring Water

Klorane Dry Shampoo

Kosmea Hydrating Rosewater Mist

Tabu Anti-Perspirant or Frangrance

So overall, this month's Glossybox was a middle-of-the-road offering for me. Not bad, but not the best.

GlossyBox subscriptions can be purchased on their Australian website for $14.95 a month. For March only, GlossyBox is also offering a FREE box to anyone who refers two friends that sign up! So if you have any friends that are interested in testing out different products and brands, this might be the way to go! 

Disclaimer: This product was sent to me for consideration and review purposes. I am in no way affiliated with GlossyBox or its affiliate brands, nor do I receive any monetary compensation for this post. All opinions stated are 100% honest and my own. 

Will You Be My Valentine?

Hey single ladies, don't let Valentine's Day get you down! Who needs a man when you have GlossyBox? They know you love beauty, they know you love receiving pretty looking things, and they don't cause you any emotional pain. The only "pain" it gave me was a slight embarrassment when I squealed at seeing the Valentine's Day GlossyBox being dropped off at my work desk. 

GlossyBox does send different versions of its boxes to different subscribers, and I know there's been some controversy floating around the blogosphere about that. I guess that's the company's way of trying to give subscribers the best/most appropriate products to try for their beauty profile (and preferences). I'm intrigued to see what products other people have received! 

In the meantime, here's what I got:

There was also a $15 voucher for ActiveSkin (for purchases over $75), and a discount voucher for Proactiv's Ultimate System.

To be perfectly honest, I'm not as excited about this month's products as I would like to be. I'm definitely keen to try out the Face of Australia Mineral Lip Shine, and Palmer's Skin Therapy Oil, but the mere mention of Proactiv is scaring my poor old sensitive skin, and Carmex is a brand that I've moved on from a long time ago (though I will try this product out of curiosity!). 

So yes, no emotional pain was caused, but it didn't make me want to shout a declaration of love from the rooftops either. It was still a lovely Valentine's Day surprise for this single lady. 

GlossyBox subscriptions can be purchased on their Australian website for $14.95 a month. 

Disclaimer: This product was sent to me for consideration and review purposes. I am in no way affiliated with GlossyBox or its affiliate brands, nor do I receive any monetary compensation for this post. All opinions stated are 100% honest and my own. 

Rose Hip Hip Hooray!

Being "afflicted" with sensitive skin means that I'm quite limited in the skin-care products I can go near. And because of this, I thought that exfoliants and I were destined to be strangers forever. 

Oh how wrong I was. It seems like Kosmea heard my skin's pleas and has come to the rescue. Kosmea is an Australian company specialising in natural skin-care - cleansers, exfoliants, serums, creams, what have you. What makes this brand so unique is their certified organic rose hip oil, aka Wendy's godsend. Made up of essential fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants, rose hip oil is nature's "skin healer", perfect for sensitive, dry and scarred skin. 

Kosmea has bridged the gap between sensitive skin and exfoliants with its Daily Facial Exfoliant, by using ground rose hips as the gentle "peeling" agent - making sure that the skin is cleansed without being damaged! This exfoliant also has crush chamomile flowers to help soothe and calm the skin.

I was lucky enough to receive a 20g sample size of the Daily Facial Exfoliant with the January edition of GlossyBox, and I was itching (pun intended) to try it out as soon as I saw it. 

Full ingredients list (special mentions are bolded):

Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Kaolin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Germ Powder,

Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flowers,  Cetearyl Alcohol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), 

Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Extract, Glyceryl Stearate, Rosa Eglentaria (Rose Hip) Oil,

Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, SesamumIndicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, 

Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens (Rose Geranium) Flower
Oil, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Extract, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, 

Syzygium Luehmanii (Lilly Pilly) Fruit Extract, Acronychia Acidula (Lemon Aspen) Fruit Extract, 

Davidsonia Pruriens (Davidson’s Plum) Fruit Extract, Citrus Glauca (Desert Lime) Fruit Extract, 

Santalum Acuminatum (Quandong) Fruit Extract, Acacia Victoriae (Wattle Seed) Fruit Extract, 

Rosa Eglentaria (Rose Hip) Seed Powder, Xanthan Gum, Phenoxyethanol,
Sodium Benzoate, Linalool, Citronellol, Geraniol

This exfoliant has a really smooth texture - definitely not like most of exfoliants I've come across. I'm afraid I can't give a truly comprehensive review because over the 10 days that I used it, it made my skin feel like an extra clean baby's bottom (sorry for the imagery) WITHOUT drying my skin out, and that's enough for me to turn into a fan. Plus you can also use it as a mask by leaving it on for 10 or more minutes. I found that a peanut sized amount was enough for my face, but this is bound to be different for different people. The only warning I'd give is not to use it on extremely damaged skin such as cuts, open rashes and other wounds.

You can buy the 20g mini size for AU$9.95, or the full 125g tube for AU$39.95 online from the Kosmea website. It can also be found in Chemist's Warehouse and other selected pharmacies; please check here for stockists.

If you're a fellow sensitive skinned soul, this is definitely a product worth trying. 

Disclaimer: This product was sent to me for consideration and review purposes as part of the January GlossyBox. I am in no way affiliated with either GlossyBox or Kosmea, nor do I receive any monetary compensation for this post. All opinions stated are 100% honest and my own. 

Pink Power.

When I did a pink manicure on Sunday afternoon, I didn't know that it would subconsciously inspire me to have a pink-filled week! 

Pink pink pink! featuring:

Hot pink flats from Love Couture

Pink ombre nails...

(Kit 'Full Throttle'

Rimmel 'Strawberry Fizz'

OPI 'Sparrow Me the Drama'

OPI 'Isn't that Precious?'

OPI 'Mod About You')

Pink watch from a 300 Yen store in Osaka, Japan

Splash of pink from a Kookai top

Pink delivery! from Glossybox

When I was younger, I was obsessed with mood rings, and really believed that what you felt was reflected in your colour choices. Judging from how perky I've been this week, it might not be such a stretch from the truth after all!