Glossybox - September 2013

ALL YOU NEED FOR FALL    

So I stepped outside today, and glory be, it IS Fall! FINALLY! Well, heavens, it's 78 degrees which is Fall to me in the hot, humid city that I live in. It was also cool and windy which felt fabulous! I can't wait to have a scrumptious cup of hot cocoa with marshmallows and snuggle up to watch Casper, Corpse Bride and Arsenic and Old Lace! 

This month's theme is perfect for how I'm feeling at the moment...All You Need For Fall! If you missed the sneak peeks for this month, here's my post for them:

September REVEAL - Glossybox

Please excuse my late post, if you've read some of my previous posts, I've been getting over being sick and took longer testing and trying out the products for a well-rounded review than I typically do. So, without further ado....here's what I received:

I received: A hair volumizing spray, makeup remover pen, eyelash curler, perfume and liquid eyeliner

Here is what Glossybox had to say about this month's box -

"Fall is our favorite season of the year. While the leaves turn from green to red and gold, the knee-high boots and cashmere sweaters come out of storage and start roaming the streets. Everywhere we turn, we glimpse the tail end of a tailored trench or the knot of the scarf. With New York Fashion Week just behind us, we are constantly inspired to look our very best. 

On the beauty front, this month's box contains all you need to update your look - from smokey eyes, heady scents and larger-than-life lashes to the thickest and fullest hair you can imagine. With them, you'll be able to start off the new season as your most fashionable self."

Stay glossy, 

The GLOSSYBOX Team

OOoooo, yes, give me the knee high boots and comfy sweaters! So exciting....on to the product review!....

NIOXIN

DIAMAX TREATMENT

"To achieve a fuller looking head of hair this fall, look no further than Nioxin Diamax. This treatment increases the thickness of the hair shaft and strengthens hair against breakage, which makes hair fuller and more manageable." - from Glossybox September 2013 card

I am SUCH a big fan of Nioxin, I love their Scalp Therapy treatments and cleanser, the minty smell is amazing, and it does amazing things with my hair. So I had high expectations for this treatment spray...but I'm afraid I was a bit let down. I tried applying it a couple different ways along with different amounts of product used. None of the applications really made a huge difference for me. It did, ever so slightly, give a bit of lift, but not enough to where I was amazed or impressed compared to others I've used. To this date, Big Sexy Hair and Brocato are the two brands that seem to wow me with so many of their products for volumizing and thickening. First of all, the spray seemed very concentrated on such a small area of the scalp, and even with holding the bottle further away, I only felt that it was hitting one small spot instead of extending out a bit. I tried spraying it directly all over the roots while my hair was still damp, then letting it air dry, I tried doing the same but then adding more after it air dried, then I also tried only applying it after it air dried. They all seemed to have similar results, with not one standing out more than the other. Then I tried blow drying instead of air drying, same three different ways of applying - damp, damp and dry, and dry. STILL no big dramatic result that I was looking for. Volumizing is the biggest issue I have with my hair, I work it like crazy to plump it up, so if I'm going to use a product specifically for that, it has to give me KA-POW volume!

This picture was taken after applying damp, then air-dried and finished up the remaining 20% with a blow-dryer. My bangs were blow dried with a round brush, and I didn't even put the Diamax on them. This SEEMS fairly high and full of volume, but this is IMMEDIATELY after blow drying, 20 minutes later after it settled a bit, it deflated even though I used a good hairspray and light mousse to hold. 

All in all, because this product is SPECIFICALLY made to thicken and plump the roots and strands and I felt that it didn't quite do that to a good extent....I'm just not a fan. Let me know if you have the product and have better luck with it!

BE A BOMBSHELL

EYELINER PEN IN ONYX

"Master your cat-eye look with a flick of this easy-to-use eyeliner pen. The marker-like-tip is easy to use and goes on smoothly for a precise definition while the long-lasting, water-resistant formula ensures your makeup stays fresh throughout the day." - from Glossybox September 2013 card

Meeeeeeee? Do a cat-eye? NEVER! Haha! So, I'm not stranger to Be a Bombshell, I've received it in my past Ipsy Glam Bags and I love them! This is my first time to try out their eyeliner, though, so I was superdupes excited. As you can see, the eyeliner tube itself is shaped similar to a larger marker, which has advantages and disadvantages. Having a larger tube and larger applicator point helps to easily create a thicker cat-eye faster BUT it also can be a tad awkward to hold and trickier to be as precise unless you're careful while you apply.

As you can see it does have great range with point a single line made with the very tip of the point, and then a line made by holding the pen on a diagonal for a thick flat line. My main problem with the pen is that it drags every so slightly and doesn't put out as much product as I'd like. You can see in the flat line that it's not that thick and you can still slightly see through almost the entire line. It's even more apparent with the dots, since I had to press so hard to make the dots appear at all, that the dots ended up being larger than the tip is itself. The squiggly line isn't too bad though, but still not as clean as other eyeliners I've used. All in all, it's not bad, but it's definitely not the best as far as being thick, opaque and smooth. I felt like I needed to go over it a few times to make it more solid.

The main thing that seriously impressed me, though, was it's staying power! It hung on for dear life ALL day long! Ten hours after application and spraying with a setting spray, I looked in the mirror and was like WHOOOOA! In shock! It looked just as fresh and crisp as when I first applied it! That certainly made the product a fabulous addition to my stash, and even though it's not as thick and smooth as I'd like, I think it's fantastic to wear with a smokey eye. You can easily blend some eyeshadow right over it to mattify and darken the color and make it more opaque/solid and it should last SO long. Love it!

OCEANE

MAKEUP REMOVER PEN

"The tip of the pen contains an odorless liquid makeup remover that does not dry out the skin. It is perfect for removing excess makeup during application (for example, while perfecting a cat-eye) or touch ups during the day." - from Glossybox September 2013 card

I must admit, I've never used a makeup remover PEN! Liquids, yes, sprays, yes, and of course, wipes...but never a pen! Obviously, given the size, it's not exactly meant to remove an entire face of makeup, the pen is just a typically standard jumbo marker size but instead, it seems better for touch-ups. I've typically used dual-ended q-tips with just water or even makeup remover if the touch-up area is more difficult to fix, so this did seem to be a very handy product to have.

I thought I'd use the pen directly over my Be a Bombshell lines so you can have good comparison. Here we have just two swipes from the pen, and as you can see, it does contain quite a bit of liquid remover contained on the applicator to completely wipe through fairly clean. The first swipe I did was in the very center and I held the pen a bit flatter to swipe off a wider surface area. The second swipe was done right below and I held the pen straight up and down with just the tip swiping across. 

Here I completely removed the bottom half of the lines, but it smeared quite a bit everywhere, however one quick brush with my hand or tissue wiped it almost clean. This pen is definitely best for very, very small touch-ups and honestly, I think I prefer using dual-ended q-tips, that way if I need to only use water or lightly wipe off dry then I can. With the pen, you're using remover, then you have to use more remover to clean, or your fingers/tissue. If you look at the edge near the lines you can see it does smear some, so it's not a completely clean swipe. I still think I'll hang on to this pen though, it does seem handy, just not as easy/simple as other methods. A big downside, though, is the tip of the pen is ridiculously dirty with just the bottom half of these lines/dots removed which wasn't really that much product. The package that the pen came in did have extra tips but it still doesn't seem like it'd last too long. When I used the pen later to touch-up my cat-eye, some product smeared on my skin that was already on the brush.

EMITE MAKEUP

EYELASH CURLER

"Accentuate your eyes this fall with impeccably curled lashes! This eyelash curler has a special curved design that angles to suit all eye shapes and curles without disturbing the makeup underneath. Your eye lashes will remain in perfect shape all day." - from Glossybox September 2013 card

I have yet to find my holy grail eye lash curler, so I couldn't wait to try this out! My eyes are rather unusual and odd. They're small, slant downwards and my eyelashes are short and slant down as well so finding a good curler has been difficult. This one...hm....I have a slightly edgy feeling with it. When I first tried it, I absolutely DID NOT like it at all. It is much bigger than my typical curler and pretty much took up my entire eye socket and extended past the corners of my eyes. The more I used it, though, the more I became familiar with the best way to hold it. It does a FABULOUS job of curling those lashes, I feel like I can get very close to the root to pump them up and it seems to give a strong curl that lasts. I still don't particularly like the size, I feel like it's still much to large for what I need, but I will be using it to get a strong curl when needed! If you have larger eyes, I would highly recommend trying this curler out!

BCBGMAXAZRIA

BON GENRE EAU DE PARFUM

"Seductive, mysterious and intriguing, BCBGMAXAZRIA Bon Genre is a statement-making fragrance inspired by the effortlessly cool sensibility of the urban rocker woman." - from Glossybox September 2013 card

I have to say, I doubted that I would even remotely like this perfume when I first found out it was going to be in my box, but ooooooh, I was so wroooong! It smells gorgeous!

It has opening notes of lychee and red berries, middle notes of tiger lily and jasmine noir and base notes of sandalwood and golden amber.

Typically I don't like jasmine, sandlewood or amber notes but it just WORKS. It's sweet but still softly rich, classy yet moody and very feminine. My only complaint is that the fragrance did not last very long. It seemed to rush through the opening notes, middle notes and the base notes just faded off. I prefer opening notes that are fresh, sweet and bright, middle notes that last and are smooth, then base notes that are scrumptious and hang around for the remainder of the day.

However, LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THIS SAMPLE! Hello! Can I send a letter to other beauty subs and just let them know that THIS is what a perfume sample should be. If I'm not sure if I love it, I can try it a few times till I really understand the notes. If I love it, I can wear it for at least a few weeks OR if I don't like it, I won't feel so silly gifting it to someone compared to those little itty-bitty tubes. I have friends that just throw away little sample tubes because they don't even last a week, so they feel terrible about gifting it to someone even if they give many samples or include it in a gift basket. WELL done BCBGMAZAZRIA, this is how it's done!

WORTH AND PURCHASE

Nioxin Diamax Treatment:

• Full-size (3.4 oz) - $50
• I received a full-size!

Be A Bombshell Eyeliner Pen in Onyx:

• Full-size (1 eyeliner, 0.11 oz) - $14
• I received a full-size!

Oceane Makeup Remover Pen:

• Full-size (3 ml, 1 pen and 3 spare tips) - $5.30
• I received a full-size!

Emite Makeup Eyelash Curler:

• Full-size (1 curler) - $30.50
• I received a full-size!

BCBGMAXAZARIA Bon Genre Eau de Parfum:

•  Full-size (3.4 oz) - $75
• I received a 0.33 oz sample tube - $7.28

Total Paid for Box: $21

Total Worth of Box:  $107.08!


WHOA! I seriously can't complain about the worth of my box, although I'm not entirely convinced that the curler is worth $30, as well as the Diamax being $50. If I had spent that much on them in the store, then tried them at home, I would have been so upset and disappointed, however, to receive them and only pay $21 for that and more...I am SO happy!

FINALE

Time for a makeup finale! Huzzah! I knew...I KNEW ya'll were going to want to see a cat-eye since I LOVE to do cat-eyes....well I took it a step further and did a simple DOUBLE cat-eye!

I used the eye lash curler for my lashes and you can really see how nice of a curl it gave when you look at my left eye (to your right) in the picture above. For the eyes, of course, I used the Be a Bombshell eyeliner and you can tell it's not vivid black, it's a softer black but this is it by itself, with no shadow patted on top or any creamy pencil eyeliner over it.

I actually was a bit inspired by the colors on the Glossybox card included in the box, so I went with a soft ivy green shadow and coral pink for my cheeks along with a cool pink lip. I also went with a pop of violet for the inner corners of my eyes to match the lettering on the Diamax bottle and Bon Genre perfume. What can I say....Fall boxes inspire me! Yes, I DID use the makeup remover pen! I lightly smudged some liner on the bottom part of the double wing, so I cleaned it up a bit ::wink, wink::

Happy FALL Makeuping!