July Nature Box Canada

This month's Nature Box Canada arrived!

Again, this box is in beta testing, so they chose the 5 snacks that I received.

 

This month the 5 snacks included:

1. Cinnamon swirl kettle kernels:

 These are very sweet and crunchy. They taste a lot like cinnamon toast crunch. I really like them, but can only eat a few at a time because they are so sweet!

2. Granny smith apples:

These are delicious, not as good as the Big Island Pineapple from last month though. I love that granny smith apples are the only listed ingredient. Definitely a good, healthy snack!

3. Sourdough Cheddar Pretzels:

These are really delicious. They have a great crunch to them and are coated in seasoning. I really liked them. They are also quite hearty, 3 or 4 make a good snack.

4. Black and white granola:

I really like this granola, though I do prefer the granola from last month. I usually like mixing my granola with yogurt ad fruit, but am not a fan of mixing this because of the cocoa. I did enjoy just eating it straight out of the bag though.

5. Coconut date energy bites:   

I'm not a huge fan of these. I like that the only two ingredients are date and coconut, but I'm just not a date person.

Overall, I really enjoyed this box. It costs $19.95 USD plus $4.95 USD for shipping. The shipping was very fast. I can't wait to see what is coming next month! Try Nature Box for yourself, click here.

July Topbox: Osis+ & Benefit

So this month Topbox made a booboo and sent me the Osis+ box by accident, they then sent me the Benefit box that I had wished for. I hardly ever have to deal with TopBox's customer service, but when I do, they are great! So, I ended up getting two boxes this month.

Let's start with the Osis+ box:

This box contained two items:

• 125mL of Osis+ Twin Curl = $20.00
• 50mL of Osis+ Magic = $22.00

 TOTAL VALUE: $42.00

Honestly I would have been happy receiving this by accident if I had curly hair, but my hair is pretty much pin straight, so I can really only use the Osis+ Magic, which I have been really enjoying! It smooths my hair (even in this humid weather!) without weighing it down. I really like it! As for the Twin Curl, I'll be finding it a new home. The value of this box is excellent.

On to the second box!

This box contained four items:

• 2.5mL sample of Benefit Stay don't Stray in Medium/Deep = $7.27
• 30g sample of Benefit They're Real! Mascara = $9.67
• 7.5mL sample of Benefit They're Real! Remover = $3.30
• 0.10g sample of Benefit They're Real! Push-up Liner = $2.18

 TOTAL VALUE: $22.42

 I have tried the Stay don't Stray eyeshadow primer in light before, and like it. It takes me quite a while to go through eyeshadow primer, so this is a generous sample size. I am very air though, so I'll likely be giving this away. I love the They're Real! mascara. It is probably my favorite mascara, so this is what I found most appealing. The remover seems interesting. It is a new product that is supposed to "strip down waterproof make-up", we'll see! The Push-up liner was also appealing to me. This is another new product which is supposed to make applying gel liner easy. I've seen a lot of negative reviews of this product, so we'll see! I must say that all of these sample were quite small. Below, I photographed them net to a pen to give you a better idea of their size.

All in all, I am very happy to try some new products this month and to get another sample of the They're Real! mascara. Great month, Topbox! We'll see what next month has in store!

Empties!

Well, it has been a while since my last empties post, so here come mini reviews of lots of products that I have used up!

Hair Products

1. Batiste Original Dry Shampoo
I have been trying to branch out and try different dry shampoos, but this is my go to! The scent isn't too strong and it absorbs all of my oils. I will be repurchasing this!

2. Oscar Blandi Volumizing Shampoo
I got this on sale at Winner's...it ws okay, but nothing special. I probably wouldn't buy this again.

3. Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo
This has a very strong scent that lingers. When it sprays, it doesn't come out in a fine mist which makes it difficult to work into the hair. I would never buy this again.

4. Infusium 23 Repair & Renew Leave-in Treatment
I like this product. I have been using it for years. It keeps my hair from tangling and prevents split ends! I already have another bottle.

5. Professional Sebastian Re-shaper Strong Hold Hairspray
I got this from GlossyBox and really like it! It doesn't have a strong scent, like most hairsprays. It comes out in a fine mist and it doesn't leave hair feeling crunchy. I am missing this and searching for another bottle of it!

6. Nexxus Ultimate Hydrating Shampoo & Conditioner
These both smelled soooo good! But honestly, they didn't do anything different for my hair than cheaper brands. So I probably won't be buying them.

7. Living Proof Anti-frizz Nourishing Styling Cream
I received this as a sample from Sephora and realllllly like it! I am considering buying the full size, but don't care for the price tag....we'll see

8. Professional Sebastion Potion 9 Lite
I got this at Winner's and rally liked it! I'm on the hunt for another!

9. Organix Coconut Milk Conditioner
I used to use Organix shampoo & conditioner all of the time...but this bottle was really difficult to get the product out of for some reason....I'm taking a break from this brand for now

10. L'oreal Mythic Oil
I really like this oil and may buy it when I am finished my Moroccan Oil...

Hand & Body Products

1. Cake Beauty Milk Made Velveteen Hand Cream
I loooove this! It smells amazing, it absorbs quickly and I already have another!

2. Eos Pomegranate Raspberry Shaving Cream
I hated this! Well...the product itself is good...but the packaging is awful! The pump doesn't always work...and it is very difficult to use all of the product inside. I will never buy this again.

3. Dove Nourishing Body Wash in Pistachio Cream with Magnolia
This smells so good! Dove always has great products for my dry skin! I loved this and have already bought a new one!

4. Summer's Eve Cleansing Wash - Sensitive Skin
This is nice, it does what it is supposed to. I have bought another.

5. Body Shop Passion Fruit Body Butter
I love the body butters from the Body Shop! They really hydrate my dry skin. This scent in particular isn't my favorite, but I have already bought more body butters in other scents!

6. Julep Nail Polish Remover
This is my favorite polish remover! It is gentle on my nails, but removes polish quickly and easily. I will probably repurchase this when I am out of the rest of my polish removers.

7. Julep Pink Grapefruit Body Scrub
This is amazing! I love this scrub and the matching cream. they smell amazing and do amazing things to my skin! I am on the lookout for more!

8. L'Occitane Amande Body Oil
I loooooved this body oil! I use it mostly on my legs. It hydrates them and makes them look amazing! Perfect for summer! I have already gotten another sample and have bought the full size.

Face Products

1. Ole Henriksen African Read Tea Foaming Cleanser
This is a nice size to take traveling, smells good and takes off all of the day's dirt! I already have another one in my travel bag.

2. Lancome Genefique Youth Activating Concentrate
This is a nice serum. It absorbs quickly and left my skin feeling nice. I'm not sure bout the long term effects...I probably won't buy this (it's waaaaay too expensive!), but do have some more samples that I am working through.

3. Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster
I love this serum! It smells so nice, absorbs quickly and left my skin feeling so soft. A little goes a long way with this! I will definitely be buying this again!

4. Urban Decay Vitamin Infused Complexion Prep Spray
This is nice. It is very refreshing and I like the idea of it. My skin really liked this product. I have another mini that I am using up now!

5. Elf Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara
I only used this for my brows. It was okay, the formula wasn't too wet and kept my brows in place. I would repurchase this if I find it again.

6. Elf Waterproof Eyeliner Pen
This was a flop for me. I didn't care for the felt tip on this, I found it too flimsy. The colour of black isn't very intense, I had to go over the same line several times to build the intensity. I would not buy this again.

7. Balea 3 in 1 Cleansing Cloths
These are my go to cleansing wipes! They are my fav, and I will be buying them again!

8. Neutragena Oil Free Pink Grapefruit Cleansing Wipes
I found this scent very strong and off putting. I didn't care for these at all. They dried out before I could finish them.

Foil Samples

1. Lancome Advanced Genefique Youth Activating Concentrate

I didn't notice a difference from the regular one mentioned above.

2. Biore Ultra Nose Strip

These are nice to use once in  while. They work okay.

3. First Aid Beauty Skin Rescue Purifying Mask With Red Clay

This mask is a peel off mask. It looks like you are a crazy person when you have it on, but it works well! I don't think I would buy the full size though.

4. mark. That's Deep Purifying Gel Cleanser with Sugar Maple/Black Willow Bark

This was a nice scrub, it was a bit harsh on my skin though. I prefer my Michael Todd scrubs. I would not buy the full size.

5. Becca Ever Matte Poreless Priming Perfector

I loooooooved this! I am seriously considering buying the full size. It pretty much glued my make-up to my face for the entire day! Amazing!

6. Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream (4 samples)

I emptied all of these samples into a small container and they lasted me a couple of weeks. This is a light cream, which is nice for the day time. It was nice, but nothing amazing.

Wow! That was a lot of products! Congratulations if you made it this far! haha

eLuxe.ca - Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAC

I have been eyeing the Rebecca Minkoff Mini M.A.C. for some time now and couldn't bare to bite the bullet....until a couple of weeks ago. It isn't an easy bag to get your hands on in Canada and usually retails for $225 CAN. Two weeks ago, I stumbled upon a site called eLuxe.ca. They were having a 40% off sale...that's right 40% off, plus free shipping on orders over $100! How could I resist? I couldn't! There were only 3 colours to choose from and I decided to go with Twilight Sky. On their website, it appeared to be a more vibrant blue, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is more of a periwinkle blue.

It arrived within 5 days of placing my order. It came very well packaged. There was a lot of protective wrap and paper. It came in an eLuxe dust bag. 

The bag itself came with a Rebecca Minkoff dust bag, extra leather for the zippers, a certificate of authenticity and a sample of Dove deodorant...who doesn't like a free sample with their designer bag? haha The interior of the bag is the same fabric as the dust bag. I loooove this bag for so many reasons! It is big enough for everything that I need, but not too big that I end up carrying a bunch of extra stuff around. The colour is fantastic! The quality of the bag is amazing. All of the little details of this bag make it very versatile. You can dress it up or down, depending on your outfit. The one negative is that this bag is a bit heavy due to all of the hardware on it.

Overall, I am beyond pleased with this purchase and would recommend eLuxe.ca to anyone looking to buy a Mini M.A.C. in Canada!

June Regular Topbox

I'm a bit late posting, but my June TopBox arrived a while ago...and well I wasn't overly impressed.

Here is what I received:

An Indie Polish in Lilac for You: $4.50

A FULL SIZE Barefoot Venus Lip Fable in Red Licorice: $7.50

A 30mL sample of KMS California Hot Flex Spray: $2.81

A 100mL sample of Bioderma Atoderm Gentle Shower Gel: $2.99

Total Value: $17.80

They also included a couple of promo codes.You can save 20% at Barefoot Venus by using the code TOPBOX. You can save 15% at Indie Polish by using the code TOPBOX.

Firstly, the value of this box is very low....I'm not thrilled about anything in this box. The the polish is a nice lilac colour, but I have gotten so much nail polish in my Topbox lately, that I am a bit disappointed.  I will try the Bioderma body wash. It s a nice brand and a generous size. I will also try out the KMS hair product, but none of their products have wowed me in the past. I was excited to see a Barefoot Venus product, but disappointed with the scent that I got. It is nice though. All in all, this month's box was a bit of a miss for me. Fingers crossed for next month!

Nature Box Canada

I have seen many American Youtubers talk about Nature Box and have always been very interested. I e-mailed them several times over the past year or so, asking if they would ship boxes to Canada. Earlier this month they FINALLY said that they would be shipping to Canada - so of course I signed up as quickly as possible!

For now, the Canadian Nature Box is in Beta Testing, so it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the American version has - they say that it will be more comparable to the American version in October. Now, they choose 5 snacks to send to you, you do not get to choose. I am fine with this, as I'm not a picky snacker! If it is sweet, salty, or both - I'm pretty much guaranteed to like it!

This month the 5 snacks included:

1. Big Island Pineapple:

Let's start with the best! These were absolutely delicious! I loved dried fruit and this was so flavorful. It was my favorite! Another plus: the only ingredient listed was pineapple.

2. Sea Salt Pop Pops:

These have a nice salty flavour, and a great crunch! I really enjoyed these as well!

3. Peanut Butter Nom Noms:

These were what I was most excited about when I saw the preview, but the most disappointed with. I found them very bland and dry. These were my least favorite of the box and probably won't be eaten.

4. Vanilla Macaroon Granola:

This has been delicious on its own or as a topping for vanilla yogurt and fresh berries. It is a nice twist on classic granola. It has a good crunch and a great sweet flavour.

5. Cheddar & Onion Sunflower Kernels:

There are so delicious! They are kind o a pain to eat, as sunflower seeds are, but the seasoning is absolutely delicious!

Overall, I really enjoyed this box, and have finished 2 of the 5 snacks already! This box costs $19.95 USD plus $4.95 USD for shipping. The shipping was very fast. I can't wait to see what is coming next month! Try Nature Box for yourself, click here.



Elle Beauty Box Spring 2014

My second Elle Beauty Box arrived! I received my first one last Fall. It was filled with lots of goodies! This is a FREE box. You can sign up here.

Here what was inside of my Spring 2014 Elle Beauty Box.

Inside was a Crest white strip, a travel size Satin Care shaving gel, travel size Pantene shampoo & conditioner, a FULL SIZE Cover Girl mascara and several coupons.

I am probably most excited for the shaving gel, to be honest! I'm interested in the mascara, but am really loving the clump crusher right now, I'm not sure if this will be able to top it!

I will definitely be using all of these products!

My First Influenster Box! : imPress Manicure Canada VoxBox - First Impressions

I have been a member of the Influenster program for a while now, but have yet to receive any on the VoxBoxes. A couple of days ago this changed! I received my first Voxbox, which is actually quite fitting for me. It's curated by the brand imPress Nails. 

Inside were two packages of their press-on nails.

One in the design Shout and one in Evil Queen S. 

As you can see, mine must have had a rough journey as one of the nails seems to be out of place.

I have never tried press-on nails before. I have used nail stickers, which are hit and miss for me (I usually only use them on an accent finger because they take so long to apply!), so I am excited to give these a try!

First Impressions:

I actually like both designs and will definitely use both! 

I like the length of the nails, I prefer short nails to long nails.

The directions are clear and easy to follow.

The packaging is very cute!

They seem easy to remove.

I have a few special events at the beginning f next month that I will be saving these for! I can't wait to try them out! Stay tuned for my review after testing them...

For an invite to join Influenster, please leave your e-mail below and I will send  one to you :)

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

May Topbox

My May Topbox arrived today! I got the regular Topbox this month.

Included was:

• A FULL SIZE Kinetic Nail Polish in Crazy Daizy ~ $9.00
• A FULL SIZE Faith Aromatherapy & Apothecary Lemongrass/Fennel Moistue Rich Sanitizing Hand Soap ~ $9.99
• A 5mL sample of Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference Balancing lotion SPF 15 ~ $4.80
• A 0.5g sample of Benefit Posiebalm ~ $3.67

TOTAL VALUE: $27.46

This month was a nice variety of products. I'm not crazy about receiving another bright pink nail polish this month...however I am happy with the est of the products that I received. The Hand Soap smells nice and seems to be very natural, which my skin reacts to well. If you are interested in ordering from their site, use the promo code topbox to save 50% off any item in their online store. I am very happy to try the sample of the Posiebalm. It is such a nice colour. It has beautiful packaging, but the sample itself is quite small.

Overall, I am quite pleased this month (minus the nail polish). Hopefully next month will bring fabulous prive boxes!

Empties!

I have been very motivated to use up products by doing these posts. Here are all of my most recent beauty empties!

Here's what I thought of these products:

1. Keylime Cupcake Body Scrub: I really enjoyed this scrub, it was great to get rid of all of that dead, winter skin and left my skin feeling so smooth. The scent was amazing. I got this at Winner's and have a back-up for next winter.

2. Olay Ribbons Avocado & Cucumber Body Wash: This is so thick and creamy and really leaves my skin feeling moisturized. I will probably repurchase this again - perhaps a different scent.

3. John Freida Sheer Blonde Shampoo: I like this, but I don't find that it does anything incredible for my hair. If anything, it drys out my hair...I probably wouldn't repurchase.

4. The Body Shop Shower Gel (Satsuma): I LOVE this scent and the gel lathers nicely. I already have several other samples in different scents.

5. Julep Age Defying Hand Brightener: I really like this cream. It helps my hands survive the cold, dry winters. I already have a back-up of this product.

6. Benefit Total Moisture Face Cream: I received this in my TopBox last year. I have put off using it for a long time, but Wow! This is so moisturizing! I was so impressed! I already have another sample of this from this year's TopBox.

7. Ole Henriksen Truth Serum: I am really enjoying this brand lately. I love the citrus scent, how quickly this soaks into my skin and the effects of it. I also love the packaging, the pump makes applying this so easy! I will probably repurchase this.

8. Michael Todd Intensive Organic Cream Eye Treatment: This is a nice cream. It takes a little while to soak into the skin, but does leave the eye area very hydrated. I have one more to use, which came with my skin regimen that I purchased. This lasted me a loooong time.

9. Simple Cleansing Wipes: These were nice and gentle. They don't have a harsh smell and do a good job of removing make-up. I really like the Simple Make-Up Remover, so I thought that I would like these - and I do! I would repurchase these.

10. Ole Henriksen Truth To Go Wipes: These smell absolutely incredible! When I needed a pick-me-up, I would use one just for the scent haha...odd I know. They really leave you feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world. I will be repurchasing these!

11. Manna Blush in Orgasmic: I received this in my Wantable Box last May. I really enjoyed using it. It had just enough shimmer to create a glowy look. I probably won't repurchase this as I am not sure where to get it.

12.Colgate Pro Dental: I usually don't put toothpaste in here, but this was thrown in from my travel bag. this tasted a lot like baking soda, which I am not overly fond of. I prefer mint flavored toothpaste. Probably wouldn't repurchase.

13. Skintimate Shaving Cream: This lathers up really nice and does a good job. I really like this, but no more than other shaving creams. I will purchase it if it is on sale.

14. Laura Mercier Face Polish: This is amazing! Such a great exfoliant! Very gentle and smells fantastic! I will look into buying this when I finish my Michael Todd scrubs.

15. Benefit Fake-Up in Light: I didn't like this. I didn't find that it was very creamy and clung onto dry skin patches. I would not purchase the full size.

16. Gud Natural Body Lotion in Pearanormal: This scent was a bit much for me. It took a long time to sink into my skin. I would not purchase the full size.

17. Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation, Brightening Moisturizer: This has a light scent and kept my sin feeling very hydrated. I only got 2 uses out of this sample, so I am still unsure if I would buy the full size.