With the death of Lust Have It, The Parcel is now the last makeup box I’m subscribed to. I’m actually really content with that. There are worse things in life than not receiving mail, it turns out. With the state that my health has been in, I’ve appreciated as few things to think about as possible. I do still really enjoy what Marie Claire bring to the subscription game. They offer actual value, in terms of receiving things that feel substantial and often items from higher end brands mixed in with the usuals. You get things that are currently being marketed, not stuff from the archives. It feels like more of an experience, rather than a few bits of crap in a bag. It’s still a mixed bag! There’s always an element of that, and some quarters are far more successful than others. Let’s look at this one.
No photos of the leaflet this time, because the lighting was just that awful. Marie Claire is always the worst for facilitating my bad maths, so ready yourself for that.
Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Moisture Rich Night Cream (Full size is 75g for $14.99; This is 15g so about $3 worth) – I enjoy Palmer’s products, even if they’re not necessarily exciting. This apparently has the added benefits of peptides, which are one of those skincare ingredients I understand to be a nebulous good thing for protecting the skin, and cocoa butter is generally a good thing, but I’m a little dubious as to how this formula will end up feeling on my face. It’s packed with a bunch of really nourishing ingredients, but also really heavy ones: cocoa butter, but also coconut oil and shea butter. My skin does get dry in winter but remains acne prone, so I do worry that in spite of how lovely this felt when I tested it to check for a reaction, it could break me out. I will definitely give it a go. I love the smell, and I’ve liked Palmer’s body products, but if this ends up not working for me I know it will find a happy home with my younger sister.
Elizabeth Arden Flawless Future Powered by Ceramide Caplet (Full size is 30mL and the booklet says $140 while the Myer website says $95; this is 5mL and worth about $23 if you go off Marie Claire’s price) – Ah, ceramides. This box is strange in that it’s appearing to target about five different groups of people. I’m not on the ceramide train yet – I really don’t need to overload my skin with any more than I already am! – but it’s one of those things that’s really great on aging skin. Personally, I just find this serum is one of those really fancy serums that feels like nothing and smells like flowers, but I’m sure some people like that kind of thing. I’ll still try it out, I guess.
Bioderma Sebium Pore Refiner (30mL retails for $36.99; this is 15mL so about $18.5? That seems a lot but I’ll take it I guess) – So we’ve had ultra nourishing, anti-aging, and now super mattifying. See what I mean? Targeting lots of different age groups and skin types with this box. I was genuinely surprised by the powder finish of this in my little test of it. It does feel like it would lend itself towards longwear, but I feel like it would cling to anything going wrong on your skin. I’m curious as to how this goes in the long haul – it might have potential. We’ll see.
Jergens Hydrating Coconut Lotion (This is a full size at 250mL and retails for $6.99) – A pretty standard body lotion, but it smells nice and it’s lightweight and for once, it’s not tanning. It does smell like a tanning lotion, which is really nostalgic. I have more body lotions than one person could conceivably use.
Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Eau Fraiche Skinscent (Full size is 50mL for $95; this is a 1.5mL sample and I’m not giving it a value okay, perfume samples of this size do not get a value) – If you’re going to send us tiny little perfume vials, at least you aren’t sending us ones with terrible stopper tops. This is a spray, and it will only last a few uses. It smells pretty typically perfumey, but definitely a summer scent: I can pick up the mandarin and bergamot, but I get coconut where none is mentioned. They also mention amber, orange and lemon, and I get the general citrus vibes, but I also get coconut so strongly that I cannot believe it is not a selling point here. Should I be blaming the lotion from before?
La Roche-Posay Micellar Water Ultra (200mL retails for $25.95; this is 50mL so about $6.50) – I’ve spoken before about my absolute exhaustion with receiving micellar waters. I have my favourite, I’m loyal, and every time I get another one in the mail it’s just another obstacle between me being able to use the one I actually like (Bioderma, for the record. My eyes a delicate babies). This does seem promising, though, and it’s a good size for travel. It doesn’t leave my skin sticky and it isn’t heavily scented. If I liked it and it was cheaper than Bioderma, sure. But I’ve said that to everything and so far, no dice.
Burt’s Bees Lip Crayon in Niagara Overlook (RRP $16.95) – Real talk: I have one of these in Napa Vineyard, the darkest shade, and it’s a lovely dark red. The only problem I have with these is that they’re cheaply packaged and a pain to travel with – the lid falls off constantly. This colour is not my usual thing, a pretty warm pink, but it’s lovely on the lips. I’m not sure when I’d wear it, but lots of people would love this colour. Here’s a picture!
Biore Baking Soda Cleansing Scrub (This is a full size and 125mg for $10.99) – The name of this product set off alarm bells because baking soda, on its own, is highly basic (we’re talking like 8.5-9pH) and while in the short term might be okay, can seriously damage your skin’s acid mantle with any kind of prolonged use. This does claim to be pH balanced, and reviews seem to back that up. I’ll have to test this way more thoroughly on other areas before I’m comfortable using it on my face, and I’ve so far had very underwhelming results with other add-water-to-activate powder cleanser type products (Dermalogica Microfoliant, the Tatcha one). Still, a nice full size inclusion.
John Frieda Sheer Blonde Colour Renew Shampoo and Conditioner (Full sizes are 250mL for $17.99 – each of these is 45mL and worth about $3.24 each, by my bad maths – just make them 50mL, damn it) – My hair is not nearly blonde but I do like products that aim to preserve colour, because my hair is…blue. So it’s definitely not a natural thing and I do like to keep the blue around. Don’t want anyone knowing it doesn’t just grow this way, you know? I am considering going lighter later in the year, so this might come in handy for travel at that point.
This was an okay box! I’ve had better, I’ve had worse. I’m excited to use that Bioderma Pore Refiner under a primer and see how it impacts my makeup’s wear time or oil breakthrough, but perhaps in warmer weather, and the Burt’s Bees crayon is a beautiful formula in a pretty colour. Who knows? I might discover some other good stuff in here. I’m still content with this subscription for $25AUD per quarter (this month works out at about $92 value, but the actual usable value is less, as something that I end up not being able to use will have no value to me), and there’s less fatigue with it.
Lipstick for Losers 