Lust Have It February 2017 – Unboxing and Review

Any progress is progress. Compared to the subscription-ending, final-straw Bellabox I just got, I think my reviewing matrix is skewed.

Before I go into the products, can I comment on the bag? It’s barely relevant, but it’s so cute. Take the “lust have it!” off it, and it’s the platonic ideal of a makeup bag.

Lots of options in here! I got the lesser option of most of them, but that’s okay.

Revlon Colorstay Nail Enamel (RRP $9.95 but this is an older formula and I found it for $3.95 and it seems to sell for around $5 most places; this is the shade 030 Calla Lily) – Honestly, this is a lovely formula. I’m a big fan of the current iteration – the Colorstay Gel Envy – but this is quite nice, considering it’s discontinued. I thought this was the Gel Envy, so this discovery has kind of harshed my vibe. What a shame I got a semi-sheer opal shade called Calla Lily, rather than an opaque shade I might actually wear. Someone will use this, though. It’s surprisingly pretty at two coats, but it picks up blue from my hair really easily.

ETC Lipstick (RRP $2; I think they’re phasing this brand out overseas? The shade I got is called”True mango”) – I’m over getting this brand. The eyeliner last time was alright, and at least shows up on the Gosh Copenhagen website, but this lipstick seems to be untraceable online and it’s one of those typical cheap greasy lipsticks, in a weird coral neon orange lipsticks.

Anatomicals Lilac Body Lotion (100mL; 200mL full size retails for $8 apparently) – I like this brand and it’s a good size for a body lotion. Those a good comments! I’m not so into the smell of lilacs, but it’s not horribly offensive.

Hola Sheet Masks – DuWhite Masque and Honey Anti Wrinkle Masque (RRP $25.95 for five packs of each, these are just one of each) – Neither of these specific needs are mine, “whitening” or anti-wrinkle, but face masks are good to have around. I mostly just give them to friends who like using them, because I’m more of a full on face mask gal. I wish we could have had one normal product to try rather than two sheet masks, but whatever. This is decent, and these are actually still available for sale.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Cream (15mL Sample – 50mL is $24.95) – This is a good size sample of a decent product, and it’s not too old either – the batch code is a fairly recent one. If you got one of the Oils of Life minis, you’re one of the lucky ones – that stuff is beautiful, and I use it all through winter, so a little one for travel would have been lovely. This cream isn’t one that agrees with my skin, for some reason, but I know a lot of people who adore it and I’ll pass it on to one of them.

Sasy n Savy SPF Skin Firming Creme (Part of the “Bath and Body mixed samples, but it’s not listed as an option? It appears to be worth $6 on the website) – I find it hard to get past the strong smell of peppermint – why do people put peppermint in day creams? – and it’s got that weird texture I’m not into, where it’s heavy but too fast absorbing. I also tend to be wary of anything that claims to be firming, honestly. This brand has some okay products that I’ve tried, but this isn’t for me. I’ll try it? We’ll see.

Reading those individually, this seems not great. It’s compared to past experiences that I’m excited at the improvement, and I’m willing to give Lust Have It…another month. Let’s see. I’m still disappointed in the lack of availability of certain products and the seeming outdatedness, the occasional clumsiness in curation, but I do appreciate the mix of things.

Lust Have It January 2017 – Unboxing and Review

I don’t really know how to feel.

I mean, the elements are all there, but now I’ve been receiving subscriptions for over a year, I’ve just become a little jaded. Now I’m at a point where I’ve reached saturation for bits and bobs, and the money I feel I could put elsewhere. It’s not just Lust Have It, it’s just bits-and-bobs in general. I want the fun of choice back with my money, especially when I’m consistently ending up with things that I’m using to use. My usual whining will commence below. Colour swatches at the bottom of the list of products.

Your Tea Her Tea – We only got one bag last month, and so they compensated with…a plastic bag full of tea. I don’t drink tea, so I don’t care, but I’m glad they went through with it.

Burt’s Bees Lipstick in Blush (RRP $19.95) – This was the big spoiler item, and I love getting lipsticks, so I was tentatively keen to get this. Sadly, I have swatched most of these, and none have great pigmentation, nor do they wear particularly well. This shade is a peachy my-lips-but-better colour, which is not my thing at all. At least it feels nice on the lips.

Ofra Pressed Eyeshadow Pan in Bohemian (4g full size; RRP $12USD so approx $16AUD) – This is a very pretty shimmer shade, an antique gold with a bit of bronze to it. I don’t have a palette to store it in, which is annoying, but I have been considering getting one. I don’t reach for single shadows often, but this does have nice payoff and applies smoothly.

Unani Dermo Defense Face Mask (100mL, roughly $24AUD) – Naturally, this has changed packaging (I frequently ding Lust Have It for their inclusion of old stock, like a sample of a foundation that changed packaging more than 2 years prior), but it seems like an interesting mask and I like receiving this kind of thing. It’s a gel mask – I’ll give it a go at some point.

OPI Shatter Nail Lacquer in Super Bass Shatter (RRP $13.85) – although, let’s be honest, shatter nail polish hasn’t been a thing for years and they’re just trying to get rid of this however they can. This colour is beautiful and I wish it was solid rather than – cringe – shatter.

ETC Eye Liner Pencil in Silver (RRP “$15” but really who knows) – I don’t think too  much of this international drugstore brand, but I will say that this at least had a decent amount of pigment and felt soft enough to use around the lower lash line.

If this gets another month, it’s because I’m lazy and haven’t cancelled it in time. It’s not so much a problem with the bag, but a problem with disillusionment and subscription boxes in general. I suspect the case will be similar with Bellabox. I am intending on keeping around the Marie Claire box for a little while, though.

 

Lust Have It November/December 2016 – Unboxing and Review

While Bellabox tends to be middling even with its hits and misses, Lust Have It is good at sourcing spectacular fails and really great highlights. I’m not sure any of those are present here, necessarily, which is sad, but it has been an interesting two months with the service on a probation period for me.

November

Some truly great photography here. Blame travel exhaustion.

There’s usually at least one thing I can get excited about in a Lust Have It bag. In this bag, there was exactly one thing. I don’t have the products with me, so I won’t bother with values.

Foreo Day Cleanser – Having just posted my feelings on my little Foreo Luna Play, it was cool to get to try it out with their official cleanser. It doesn’t really foam, contrary to the statement on the card, but it does smell pleasant and leave the skin nice and soft. I like getting interesting skincare, and the discount card for Foreo is something I would have been genuinely interested in, seeing as I purchased from the brand anyway.

Cougar Face and Body Shimmer (RRP $30.50) – I have no use for a shimmery powder, although I guess I could…dust it on my…chest? For summer parties? I guess? It appears to be a UK brand with an amateurish website.

Cougar Mineral 5-in-1 Foundation (This says it’s a full size and RRP $56.25, but I would argue that this product comes in two sizes, and this looks to definitely be the smaller one which is not currently available on the website but is also not valued at $56.25)  – I don’t really do the mineral foundation thing. Quite aside from that, this powder is teeny tiny and far darker than my actual skintone. That’s a theme with Lust Have It.

Rituals The Ritual of Sakura Shower Foam – I haven’t used this yet, but the smell seems pleasant and it’s a good size, so it’s getting saved for travel.

Aveda Color Conserve Treatment – The added bonuses are usually just useless throwaway items, and this was one I just threw into my box of hair mask tubes. I don’t necessarily trust all the things sitting in the Lust Have It sample stash – you get some good stuff, but also some major duds.

Not a great bag. I enjoy that there are makeup items in it, but they’re not ones that are practical for me. 2/5 – I’ll use the cleanser and the shower gel.

This month’s came today.

December

At least it’s cropped vaguely decently, even if the colour balance is off? I’m a bad blogger, we all know that.

Kueshi Ultra Stem Cell – Rejuvenating Cream With Stem Cells SPF 15 (RRP $29.50, allegedly, though I can’t source that price) – While initially I was kind of into the fact that this product is a little left of field, my usual surface research introduced some concern. Not just in regards to the product – I’ve seen plant stem cells used in products before, like The Body Shop’s Drops of Youth, though usually not boasted about so obliquely and never with any actual science to back up their buzzword soup. Also, I suspect it would be quite irritating – it’s strongly citrusy, and contains “proven effectiveness of orange stem cells”. Sure, Kueshi. More of my issue – I can’t find this product anywhere online. The closest approximation, which is on many third party retailers, is in a jar. The card also claims it contains SPF15, but that’s not mentioned anywhere on the packaging. No version of this cream currently retails on the Kueshi site. It does give me minor cause for concern over whether or not the active ingredients in this product are still any good, particularly if it does contain SPF.

ModelCo Illusion Lip Enhancer (RRP $20) – ModelCo is one of those brands that’s notoriously overpriced for what it is (cheap packaging, inconsistent products, etc) but this lip liner feels quite nice. It’s very peachy for a nude, but it feels semi-soft with a good level of waxiness. I suspect it will have decent wear time.

Naobay Orange Juice Hand Cream (RRP $19, but it was around $13 on Beauty Bay) – I don’t enjoy the smell of orange juice and I don’t like the uneven wood texture of the lid on this hand cream. Other than that, I don’t know. Hand cream. It’s all the same.

Nivea Express Hydration Body Lotion (This is 30mL; the full size is 400mL for $7.99) – I mean, it’s a body lotion and it’s pretty boring. I don’t even know if I’d take this for travel?

Flormar Perfect Coverage Liquid Concealer in 01 (RRP varies based on country) – Flormar is a Turkish brand sold around Europe – I own a few of their lipsticks from my 2014 trip to Europe, and they’re actually phenomenal.  This was my “encore” item, and while it’s probably a shade lighter and pinker than I’d go right now – I’m at my darkest – it’s workable for the under eye area, and with foundation would be fine. It’s got really nice coverage and a texture that I enjoy working with, but it does settle into lines and cracks a little, so I can already say that it will need prepped skin.

Your Tea Her Tea – This was apparently supposed to be a pack of tea, but instead we only received a bag. They assured us that we’ll receive the box next month. It’s a bonus item, but I hate receiving tea, so I’d honestly prefer they just kept the box. We’ve had tea from this brand before, and even my sister wasn’t into it. She loves her detox (etc) teas, so if I can’t offload it to her, my options get limited.

So a couple of hits in that box – I’m into the liner and the concealer, particularly. 3.5/5 – I’m feeling it, if it allows for skepticism and my usual request that Lust Have It endeavor a little deeper into sources and makes sure that they are more thorough with their information cards. I do love that they’ve started doing feedback surveys!

Lust Have It October 2016 – Unboxing and Review

Can I blame terrible, terrible photos on the fact that I’m undergoing a particularly stressful and traumatic time in my life? I’m going to do it anyway. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I was initially extremely taken aback by this box. The combination of brands and packaging was not promising. It’s a lot of brands that Lust Have It defaults to, things I’ve moaned about before, and box pet peeves.

Thankfully, the initial irritation faded out into a pretty overwhelming satisfaction on the backs of a couple of surprisingly lovely products. I didn’t get a photo of the info card, but I’ll include the prices and pertinent information. I’ve also done what I did a few months ago where I check the products information against the website, which did result in additional grievances I probably would have been able to  live in ignorance of.

Colour cosmetics swatches, first up!

mPrincess Melting Maple, ETC Pure, Medusa’s Makeup Loverboy

mPrincess Mineral Eyeshadow (in the shade Melting Maple; full size; RRP $16.99) – I’ve received a blush (I adored it) and foundation powder (surprisingly okay) from this brand before, so while their quality has been consistent, I wasn’t excited by the eyeshadow sneak peek. That said: this shade, Melting Magpie, is stunning. It is like molten copper. Loose shadows are not normally my thing, but thankfully it adheres beautifully – this is a dry swatch – and it’s definitely a colour I reach for, despite my reluctance to use loose shadows. My only gripe with this? The discrepancy between the product shot of this on the website and how it looks in person. Usually, I don’t mind that too much, but come on:

“Melting Maple”

Like…are those even supposed to be the same thing? Come on.

L’oreal Infallible Makeup Foundation (Random valueless mystery item, of which I was given “Golden beige” which is hilarious) – I’m not really going to comment on this, and I’m fairly sure this foundation is in completely different packaging now. How old is this weird foil sample?

mPrincess Small Eyeshadow Brush (RRP $19.50) – This feels like a pretty standard synthetic small shader brush, but it is nice and soft. For what it’s worth.  I will always take brushes. The description does say that it is flatter and more precise than the medium eyeshadow brush, which doesn’t appear to exist on the website. So. You know.

ETC Lip Liner (I got 004 Pure; full size; RRP is apparently $4) – I don’t think this product actually exists anymore. The website they list on the card is the Gosh cosmetics (the other drugstore brand that’s been popping up recently as “coming to Australia) website for Denmark (???), which only has the Gosh cosmetics liners in their lip liner section. To actually find this liner, I needed to independently search for this product name, which has had all product information erased (it still exists cached) and isn’t categorised. It’s a real shame, because this liner is actually a really pretty nude-y rose colour. I tried it on – although that’s not what the “safe not sorry” caution would be, and it’s waxy but still goes on okay and looks nice. It just brings into question not just the products we’ve received from this brand, but also the products Lust Have It are sourcing. I love Lust Have It – their bags are always fun to open, and I’ve found some genuinely cool things in them – but it’s not a good look to have stuff like this in that can’t be sourced. I’m sure there’s a pretty obvious explanation (a la these were repackaged into Gosh lipliners recently and the formula is the same, so these are perfectly recent productions), but it’s something I feel the need to flag as a part of full transparency and a refusal to always talk only about good things. My best estimate is that either a brand sent these because they had loads lying around, because they’ve changed formulas, or Lust Have It have had them sitting around for a while. Either way, not my thing. Still, a really pretty colour if you don’t mind any of that stuff. It’s sealed, at the very least.

Sasy N Savy Pure Creme Rose Geranium Cleanser (2 other sample options; 20mL sample size; seems to be roughly $8 in value since the 100mL size is $42 on the card although is listed as $40 on the website; the brand name is spelled “sassy” on the card but I remember being annoyed at the weird spelling) – Thanks to the normal name of this product, I don’t have to get annoyed at the hundreds of Ns in the name like last time (just say “and”, it’s okay). I really like cream cleansers that don’t strip the skin, so I’m keen to use this as my travel/hospital cleanser. Hopefully the claims of firming don’t mean that it leaves me feeling tight. On dry sniff, the rose doesn’t seem too overpowering, so I’ll remain hopeful.

Medusa’s Makeup Lip Gloss (I got Lover Boy, apparently, and it’s full size; RRP is listed as $12 which makes sense with the exchange rate – it’s $9USD) – I’ve always been confused by Medusa’s Makeup as a brand, because I can’t get a feel for it. I also don’t wear lip gloss. Fuck lip gloss. I appreciate a full size of an American brand, and I would have loved for it to have been a lipstick, but I understand that not everyone digs lipstick like I do. The pink is also like…super pink. I’m not a fan of pink. But still – nice in theory.

So – mixed feelings. I love the eyeshadow, and I really appreciate the inclusion of the brush. Weirdly, I’m enjoying the type of cleanser that’s in there. I like the lip liner as a product, but the actual accessibility of it and the trail it lead me on wasn’t great. The foundation sample is useless and won’t be my colour and I will not even bother with the lipgloss.

I don’t know. I’m a little put off with that whole lip liner thing. It’s such a silly thing to get put off by, but it’s more what’s implied. I’m possibly just in a bit of a bad place and being too negative anyway. That said, most of the contents: not bad.

September Lust Have It 2016 – Unboxing/Review

I really do love that Lust Have It is so much more makeup focused than its subscription bad cohort. However, can that save it from what has turned into Shocking September? Spoiler alert: Not really.

Most of these items are “this would be so great IF” items. You’ll see what I mean.

Face of Australia Lip Quench Lipstick SPF30 (RRP $9.45) – I have nothing against Face of Australia. Their primer is legitimately great, and it’s super cheap – the one in the green tube. This lipstick is really creamy, so it wouldn’t be my thing regardless, but oh my god, the colour I received (Lychee Crush) is the last colour in the world I would ever wear. I took it out of the bag and my mother looked over and said “you’re never going to wear that”. There will be a swatch at the bottom, but yeah, I will never wear this.

Ofra Universal Eyebrow Pencil (RRP $17) – “Universal”. Why even bother? Thankfully I have boring dark brown eyebrows, and they’re super thick, so I can make most things match if I blend it well and disguise the pencil beneath the hair. I’m always keen to try Ofra stuff, with it being so hard to get a hold of.

mPrincess Mineral Powder Foundation (RRP $15, apparently, and I honestly don’t know because Lust Have It pricing tends to be inconsistent with the actual prices). I loved the mineral blush that came a couple of boxes ago – the most beautiful lavender pink – so I was psyched for this, but whoever put the colour “Almond” in this bag…yikes. I will try to make it work, perhaps in summer if I’m at all tanned – highly unlikely – but I am not this colour. Foundation, even powder, is such a risky move. Why risk it? At least blush and highlighter and eyeshadow are versatile! Or have a level of personalisation. Remember when you guys sent my leggings made for people with small legs? Ha.

Simple Kind to Eyes Makeup Corrector Pen (RRP $25) – I’ll use this. Well, I’ll try. I assume it will be much the same as dipping pointed cotton buds in micellar water when I mess up my eyeliner. Surely it will get gross? How do you makeup remove from the makeup remover? A question for the ages.

And the mystery amazing bonus item.

Designer Brands Fine Eyeliner (Black – $8.99 RRP) – Designer Brands have some okay products, but this doesn’t seem to be one of them. I haven’t tried it on the eyes, admittedly, but while it has a nice fine brush, there is zero control to it and it lacks the opacity needed to get a good line. It’s also way too glossy and imprecise for me to get the wings I go for. Womp womp. I’m a black eyeliner enthusiast, but this is not a hit.

Swatches! Top to bottom: Face of Australia Lip Quench in Lychee Crush, Ofra Universal Eyebrow Pencil, mPrincess mineral foundation in Almond, Designer Brands Fine Eyeliner in Black

Not the bag of my dreams, unfortunately. It had all the elements of a good bag – a lipstick, a liner, a base product, something from overseas and a novelty item – but they were all just too left of centre.

August Lust Have It 2016: Unboxing/ Review

Lovely to come back from my two week marathon migraine to a a Lust Have It birthday box only partially chewed up by my dog. And only the outer packaging, too! So considerate of him. What an angel.

I am of two minds in regards to this bag. On the one hand, I love it. It has one bigger ticket item that is a formula I’ve been keen to try for ages but haven’t pulled the trigger on. On the other, the longer I look at it, the more faults I can find, and a lot of them relate to the way this bag was sent out. It was on time, but it was the kind where you look at the card and go “Oooh!” and then look at your stuff and go “…oh”, you know? I’ll explain that better:

First thing you might notice is that they’ve listed the Baimeni serum as full size, when it is clearly not, giving the impression that this is almost a wholly full sized box. Lust Have It, bless their cotton socks, did send out an email straight notifying us of the error, but I forgot about that and was immensely disappointed. I actually really like that serum, and a full size would have been awesome, although probably not viable for a small company.

This then trickles down to the banner promising that the “Birthday Box [is] over $100 in value!”, and if we’re to go based on the included values…it isn’t. That’s a false statement. I’m well aware that values in these are always inflated, but come on guys. I don’t know. I get that it’s a birthday box, but don’t overhype yourselves. I’ve also a bit over the whole “mystery item” thing Lust Have It do – I love the occasional inclusion, like my Paula’s Choice BHA 2% Perfecting Liquid, but more often than not these things feel like samples Lust Have It had lying around.

There’s also a competition this month, a bigger one than usual, to win a trip to Thailand, which is a nice idea – especially since Lust Have It is a smaller subscription than something like Bellabox or Marie Claire The Parcel. What did make me laugh was that the 9 day holiday you can win includes accomodation for “2 adults & 1 child”. It’s just such a weird choice of prize for me. Like surely, if you’re doing the total bliss thing, you encourage people to leave the kids at home, or you go full standard household and include 2 kids? What’s a kid? Could I bring my baby sister? What does this mean? I love it, it’s such a weird choice.

Anyway, enough of my confusion re: the bag itself.

What’s inside? Look up top!

• Baimeni Eye & Face Serum with Hyaluronic Acid (Full size RRP $25; this is worth $2.50) – I got this in my July Bellabox and actually really enjoyed it! I would never have discovered this Aussie brand, but it’s a lovely lightweight hydrating serum that’s super rich in hyaluronic acid and a bunch of other lovely stuff. I’m delighted to have another little sample of it.
• Ofra Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick (Shade is Mocha; this is full size and RRP $27) – This is the bag-maker for me. I’m always up for lipstick, and I’ve never tried the much raved about Ofra formula. As a liquid lipstick aficionado, this simply could not stand. It’s nice – the colour is a little standard for me, but it’s very pretty, and very moussey and comfortable. Not a classic liquid matte – much thicker, sort of halfway between that and, say, a NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream. Here’s a lip swatch!

  

  Mocha is a really pretty mauvey pink – it’s a little dustier in person than this swatch is showing. Look. You don’t come here for the swatch quality.

• Gosh Mineral Colour Pigments (RRP $14 – mine is the shade Pink Melon) – I’m not usually a loose pigment person, but the packaging on this is actually super neat. There’s a sifter, but it’s got it’s own little flip cap, so you can have the lid off but the cap on the sifter. That doesn’t make much sense, but trust me, it’s cool. The colour is lovely, but not one I wear very often – a pastel version of watermelon pink with gold reflects.
• Manna Kadar Radiance Split Pan Bronzer & Highlighter Duo (Full size; RRP $28) – Okay: that is an ABSURD price for such a tiny bronzer/highlight duo, and Manna Kadar should really make bigger pans. Both Manna Kadar highlighter/bronzer type products I’ve received (both in these bags) have been WAY too pigmented and dark to effectively use on my skin, so I hypothesized about their design in position with regards to  darker skin tones, but judging by Manna Kadar’s selection of foundation shades, that was purely accidental. On me, these will make lovely, soft eyeshadows. I could use the lighter shade as a highlight, but I do have roughly ten different highlights that approximate shade. I feel like they wouldn’t diffuse very well – a little too chunky.

  Swatches of colour cosmetics and proof that I need a camera:

  

  Top to bottom: Ofra Mocha, Gosh Pink Melon, Manna Kadar Radiance Bronze, Manna Kadar Radiance Highlight

• Uriage Tolderm Hydra-Soothing Cream (Full size 50mL for $39.99 – this is not worth much) – This is very similar to the Avene cream that came in my Bellabox the other day, in that’s a teeny little sample of some weird french thermal water brand in a tube you can’t reseal. I’ll use it, but it arrived kind of damaged, which is…a bit of a bummer, and feels like a throw it in.

 

It’s a box that started great! And I still really enjoyed it. I’m really happy with the liquid lipstick and the serum, and neither of the eyeshadow adjacent product will get a good run. Let’s not talk about the face cream, that I’ll use and it’ll be nice. 4/5

 

July Lust Have It 2016 – Unboxing/Review

This bag came on the 29th of July, so it made it in within the month. I spent that day on the drive to a mini family trip to wine country. Basically, my stomach hurts. I drunk a lot and I ate a hell of a lot of cheese. Usually I would have tested these products out in passing, but a few of them got a nice, real life test. Unfortunately, no swatches. We’re in a pickle here.

Not pictured: the black version of the bag – into it

“Hey Sara, you went to a bunch of wineries, why’d you take a photo on some nondescript wood?” Look man, it was an emotionally heavy weekend.

The theme for this bag is “All About Makeup”, which is cute, and it is a makeup heavy bag – three makeup items. Not all about makeup, though, if I were to pick a nit. Also about a couple of other things.

Teeez Cosmetics Desert Metals Mascara (Full size; RRP $32.50 – seems about right with exchange rate) – Now, for me to want to spend $32.50 on a mascara, it would have to do incredible things. This mascara may not be magical, but the packaging is admittedly stunning. It’s also a pretty decent mascara – it gives you some length, some volume, gets right in there and does the job. It’s brown! I don’t own a brown mascara, because my colouring tends to demand intensity (I have blue hair, for heaven’s sake). I would argue that it isn’t easy to wash off, which is their claim, but it didn’t flake or run on me, which outweighs ease of washing it off.

MPrincess Mineral Blush in the shade Strawberry Kisses (Full size; RRP $15.45 although the website says $16.99) – I don’t wear blush, as a rule, so I rolled my eyes at this inclusion. Holy shit, though, this is beautiful. Not only does the name evoke the Nikki Webstar song that defined my girlhood, but the colour is a soft pinky lavender and it blends so wonderfully on the cheeks. It’s one of the few blushes I’ve tried that ends up looking soft and not like I’ve got natural redness/pink coming through. It’s a little overfull, so the sifter is inconvenient, but it’s such a lovely formula.

Marsk Mineral Eyeshadow in the shade Rich List (Full Size; RRP $29 although the website says $22.50) – This could have been a great eyeshadow, despite my general wariness of unfamiliar loose eyeshadow formulas – I trust Fyrinnae, I trust My Pretty Zombie, but what the fuck are Marsk? This eyeshadow is pretty, but sadly it’s just not for me. It’s a total glitterbomb, heavy on the fallout, and a bit of a pain on application.

Essenzza Fuss Free Naturals Masquerade + Moisturise Mask (Full size; RRP $4.95) – This brand sells a strange assortment of goods – sheet masks, face wipes…ear candles? It seems like a pretty basic sheet mask, and it’s not really my thing – especially with the emphasis on moisture, rather than things like smoothing, but I always question the effectiveness of sheet masks for anything other than moisture anyway. The masquerade gimmick is cute.

Glamourflage Saucy Sue Shower Cap (Full size; RRP $7.95?) – This was the “mystery item”, so I have no information on it, but it seems like a pretty standard fake silk shower cap with a pinup-esque print. I don’t use shower caps because I don’t style my hair or really ever do anything, but this is cute anyway and I liked enough other stuff in this bag that I don’t mind.

This bag had more of an emphasis on smaller, high value items, and I liked that. Even though the eyeshadow was a miss for me, the blush and mascara were big successes, so the shower cap and mask whatevers that were chucked in were fine being just that. I do wish the prices given were a little more in line with what things actually retail for, especially when they only sell from one location and are full size items (everything was full size! No bad maths!), but it’s again, a little nit to pick.

Another 3.5/5 for this bag, and most of that is because I really really love that blush. Like, that blush might be the blush that makes me wear blush.

June 2016 Lust Have It – unboxing/review

Oh, Lust Have It, you coy thing. I was almost going to have two vaguely disappointing subscriptions this month, but you really pulled it out of the bag with one item in this one.

My phone storage was full and I couldn’t retake this photo SO WE’RE STUCK WITH THIS RUBBISH

I have notes! Generally, though, I’m pretty okay with this selection.

Time for the part where I stop with the brevity.

Edgy Tempting Cosmetics Eyeliner Pen (full size; RRP $15) – This is probably the worst item in the box and it’s almost entirely because they keep referring to it as an eyeliner pen when it is clearly a pencil. It’s not even pen-like in consistency – it’s a cheap-feeling, flimsy-looking pencil that goes on a bit uneven and looks like it’s in BYS packaging, and I definitely wouldn’t pay $15. I hope it applies better onto the eye, and I like that it’s grey rather than black, but this is just not great, an. Here’s a not great swatch to go with it:

Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Wipes (full size is 25 wipes for $12.99; this is 7 wipes so it’s worth about…$2.25? Maths, guys) – Everyone and their mothers claims that these wipes are the best on the market. I always go back to the Simple Kind to Skin Cleansing Wipes, but I’ve never actually tried these, so I guess it’ll be good to get around to that. Not exciting, but technically practical.

Neutrogena Deep Clean Gentle Scrub (full size is 125mL for $12.99; this is 15mL so approximately $1.56) – This, I’m a little more hesitant of – scrubs tend to scare me, with my skin freaking out at weird things. I’ll probably end up using this if I’m staying somewhere overnight or in hospital or something.

Sasy n Savy Peppermint n Rosemary Revive Bath n Shower Gel (full size is 250mL for $35; this is 30mL and worth about $4.20) – This is expensive for a shower gel – $35 is a hell of a lot for 250mL, so it better be good stuff. It looks like something you’d find at a hotel, and I’m not a fan of all of the ns in the name – yikes – but I will say that it smells delicious.

Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA liquid (trial size 30mL RRP $13) – And with their mystery item, it’s something I actually really wanted to try. I do tend to struggle with forehead congestion from time to time and I’ve heard this stuff is really good for it, and it’s decently priced, but as a person with sensitive skin I really did want to try it first. In my experience PC sample sizes tend to last well, and while I have some weariness with the brand (more to do with their inaccessibility and the reviews, and my not really caring for some of the things Paula herself has been known to say), I’m really looking forward to this.

Not the best bag, but definitely a decent one! Let’s give it a 3/5. Mine was worth about $36, although the value on that eyeliner pencil seems kind of dubious to me. Who knows? Maybe it will be incredible.

Lust Have It May 2016 – Unboxing/Review

Another day, another box. It’s the time of the month when everything just…arrives. I love it. After a disappointing Bellabox, can Lust Have It lure me in? Will the race between the two end in me cancelling one? Or both? Look, let’s make decisions later. Let’s talk about the bag.

 

It’s definitely an interesting month. I do love, on an aesthetic level, the pops of pink between the bag and the tights and the lip balm and the card. Cute curation. In terms of the contents, it’s a bit of a

mixed bag. Hopefully I’m hilarious at every turn and can make many more hilarious puns so you can insert your own sound effects.

Back on topic:

Teez Cosmetics Spectrum of Stars Eyeshadow (Full size, retails for $29) – I was prepared to be underwhelmed by this eyeshadow, which is clearly supposed to make up the bulk of the bag’s value at $29. The packaging is bizarre, a weird golden sphere? And so bulky, yikes:

With the standard issue Lust Have It Card, possibly an unhelpful scale

But the colour I recieved, Sea Glare, is a beautiful shifty iridescent green gold. It’s obviously not an everyday colour, but my god, it’s gorgeous. I can’t see myself whipping out my weird chunky gold sphere to do my makeup, but I might make an exception. Swatches, for the curious:

TEEZ Spectrum of Stars Eyeshadow in Sea Glare swatched over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy and alone, Starlooks Luxe Longwear Eye Liner Pen

I swatched it alone in the middle (you really can’t see the green gold shiftiness), and then on top over Fyrinnae’s Pixie Epoxy. The swatches suck, because it’s night time and I did them in three seconds and I’m sorry. Basically: ooh, pretty.

PHR Recovery Leave-in Moisturiser (15mL – 125mL retails for $35.95) – This is a leave in conditioner for hair, which is not typically the kind of product I use. My hair tends more on the oily side, but I have recently bleached the lot of it, so who knows. That said, it does seem like a fair bit more effort than I usually put in my hair, so it will probably get passed on.

Lollipops Baume Grenadine (Retails for $7.45) – I mean, this is a cheap lip balm, so I’m not sure why it’s disappointing to me that it feels cheap. Not in quality – the actual product, on the lips, feels like a standard glossy balm, even a nice one. The packaging, though, is total trash, and it smells so strongly plastic strawberry bubblegum that it’s borderline too much. The tint is minimal and not worth photographing, so this probably will end up getting passed on.

Starlooks Luxe Longwear Eye Liner Pen (Retails for $20) – When it comes to things I use daily, eyeliner pens are my go-to. I do winged liner practically on the daily because it works really nicely with my eye shape and makes me look a little more pulled together. I’m happy to try Starlooks, and I’ve heard good things about their liner pens. It seems consistent – it’s not the thinnest, as you’ll see in the swatch above, but nice and opaque and even. Now that it’s dried on my arm, it’s not smudging at all, so that bodes well. I’m curious to see how this thickness will manage a finer wing, but I have no doubt this will be great for more graphic looks.

Mystery Item (Lust Have It offloads their leftover sample stock) – Soak Superfood Skincare Skin Booster Body Lotion (25mL) – This is just a body lotion. I have a million, but I like the gently fruity lotion smell of this one and the consistency is a nice balance between richness and fast absorbance. It’s also an okay size. As far as random throwaway lotion samples go, that I use just in order to use, I prefer this one to the one in my May Bellabox (and far prefer the Whipped Cream from the Fortune Cookie Soap Box).

Razzamatazz Perfectly Matte Opaque Leggings (Retails for $11.95) – Just this morning I was lamenting my lack of leggings, and in comes Lust Have It was a frail attempt to help out. Guys. Curators. Subscription box creators of the world. If you ever intend on sending out clothing or clothing-adjacent items that have sizes, get the sizes of your subscribers or make sure your items are legitimately one size fits all. These leggings are average/tall, and I am a large lady. Average is not going to work. I know that logistically, it’s a nightmare, but it’s also extremely isolating as a customer to receive things that immediately ice you out. Even just including this for the people who’d fit it, or sending out other sizes to other people (I would have loved the extra tall), would have been great. Not necessarily feasible, but ideal.

Look, Lust Have It. There are some major wins here. I love the eyeshadow and I’m stoked for the eyeliner. I’ll use the body lotion and I’m going to attempt to stretch out the leggings and make them work for my larger than “average”  size thighs. It’s an example of the ways some great items can really drag up the ok items in a bag/box and make receiving it fun instead of frustrating. Really, the only frustration came from the leggings, and that’s more of an ideological issue.

In terms of rating, I’d give this a solid 3.5/5. It’s a good bag, but it’s not great. I’m happy to have it.