Product Review: Violet Box – July Review

Last month Australian beauty fanatics were spoilt with the addition on a new monthly beauty subscription box, The Violet Box – if you’ve missed my review, you can see it here. Here are my thoughts on the July edition of the *The Violet Box;

 

What They Say:

"Violet Box brands promises to every month include 4-6 premium beauty and lifestyle samples from well-known and trusted Australian beauty brands as well as exciting new International brands, one in particular is a revolutionary product currently trending in New York and has been featured in Vogue and on the Today Show!"

RRP: You can subscribe to Violet Box for

1 month – $22.95
3 months - $66.00
6 months - $130.00
12 months - $250.00

For full details, visit the Violet Box
 

What I Say:

Quite impressed with the Violet Box’ launch box, I was looking very forward to and had very high expectations for the July box.

Like the launch box, the July box does seem to be to a particular theme. The Violet Box comes in a stylish matte black box, which is closed with a magnetised flip lid and a purple ribbon, and it has the purple Violet Box logo in the corner of the box. And inside, the samples were wrapped in violet tissue paper. The actual box is of a sturdy design, and the fact that it closes completely with the magnet, makes it easy to re-use it to for instance store jewellery etc.

 

 

So what was in the first Violet Box…

 

ModelCo Shine Ultra Lip Gloss, in colour Striptease – full-size (RRP $18.00)
 

This is a reflective and shimmering lipgloss in a pale pink colour. It is a good every day shade and I can imagine that it will look great on top of most lipsticks as well. I love the packaging too, and the fact that it comes with a built-in mirror, making it so easy to apply on the go. It has a lovely fruity scent. I have not actually tried any of the makeup from ModelCo, so I look forward to trying this one.

Aphelia Peony 9+5 Advance Beautifying Eye Creme - sample size (RRP $69, 15ml)

 

 

The eye crème promises to help with fine lines and wrinkles, targeting underlying causes of the delicate eye area whilst allowing powerful new modern peptide technology to provide some earlier faster benefits. I have already tried a full sized eye crème, and absolutely love it, if you’ve missed my review, you can see it here.

Catalina Geo Long and Deep Mascara, Plus Refill, Black (RRP $31.50)

 

This is a lengthening waterproof mascara, suitable for sensitive eyes. The mascara contains among others vitamins A and E to relieve irritation, repair and hydrate the lashes. And believe it or not, it comes with a refill mascara. How good is that! I guess my only negative is that using up one mascara, the brush would need to be re-used in the refill, in spite of then already being loaded with bacteria, and consequently ideally should be replaced too!

 

 

But in saying that, I have tried the Catalina Geo compact foundation, which I really liked, so I do have high hopes and look forward to trying the mascara too.

It also comes with a discount voucher giving you 30% of Catalina Geo foundations until 30 September 2013, which is a great offer too.

 

 

Adorn Cosmetics Eye Create Intensive Eye Shadow, Shade and Eye Create Matte Shadow, Jasper and Quartz – two samples (RRP each $15, 1.5g).

 

 

These loose eye shadows pigments are from an Australian brand, and organic, natural and non-toxic. I love the sound of that. Jasper is a golden brown colour with a lot of shimmer, while Quartz is a dark matte chocolate brown. I usually wear neutral eye shadows, so I really like both colours. And as I have never tried any products from Adorn Cosmetics I really look forward to seeing what the quality, pigmentation and staying power of these eye shadows is like.

 

 

It also comes with a discount voucher for $15 for Adorn Cosmetics, and it doesn’t seem to come with any minimum order requirement (great bonus!), so I will definitely have to check out their website!

St Tropez Bronzing Mousse - sample 50ml (RRP $39.95, 120ml, RRP $59.95, 240ml)

I have heard a lot of good reviews about the St Tropez bronzing products, and I have never tried any of their products, so it’s exciting to see the sample in the box. Yet, I have to admit that I don’t often use self-tanners.  Being pregnant I couldn’t reach all areas of my body properly to bother, and now, with a newborn, I am not sure I can find the time….but then again – I do look a little tired and worn out right now, so a bit of colour on my pale body may be just what I need!!

All in all I have to say that Violet Box has done it again. I was impressed with the quality of the samples in last months box, and I am equally impressed with the selection, and not least value in this months box. Alone the full sized two mascaras (remember, there was a refill too!), are worth more than the $22.95 that the box cost. And then there is the $18.95 full-sized ModelCo lipgloss. And I am very keen on trying the Adorn Cosmetics eye shadows too.

As I said last month, if the Violet Box can maintain this quality and value of products in their monthly boxes, and furthermore manages to customise the products you are sent, then it is sure to be a success, and I for one, am very tempted to subscribe…

*Product was kindly provided for consideration, and has reviewed in accordance with my Disclosure Policy.

 

 

What do you think of the contents of this launch box from Violet Box? Did you get this months’ box too? What did you think? And if not, would you consider subscribing? Do you subscribe to any other monthly beauty boxes? And if so, which one is your favourite?

 

Product Review: Catalina Geo Skin Cover

I am always looking for a new and better foundation. I have never previously heard of the bran Catalina Geo, so I was very excited when I was asked to trial the *Catalina Geo Skin Cover. Here are my thoughts;

What They Say:

"Catalina Geo Skin Cover is a solid coverage foundation which lasts all day. It offers UV filters and leaves the skin feeling soft and moisturised. Use a shade lighter as a concealer. Comes complete with 2 applicator sponges. Available in 7 colours".

RRP: $40.50 – Available from Makeup Australia Online

What I Say:

I have to be honest and admit that I usually use liquid foundations, so using trialling this compact foundation was a whole new experience for me.

According to the box, the foundation is a “moisturising cover that conceals skin blemishes, freckles, broken capillaries and other discolourations while prolonging the life of the makeup”.

The box furthermore advises to “Before applying foundation pat on to cover skin problems as needed” – which to me really is saying that this is actually more of a concealer than an actual foundation, as I certainly would not use another foundation on top.

On the other hand, I did not feel that I needed to use a foundation, - the Skin Cover provided me with great coverage, without feeling like it was being caked on, as you could imagine that a concealer would do if used all over the face.

I tried the colour 23 Beige, which was a perfect match to my skin. The Skin Cover is thick and creamy when applied with the included sponge, and you can easily build it up to a full coverage if you have a lot of pigmentation, scarring of blemishes you wish to cover – and again, this was without it looking heavy or cakey.

Yet The Skin Cover was also easy to blend out, and so you still have the possibly of just having a light and sheer coverage, which I did prefer. And it still provided me with a nice flawless finish easily covering some of my pigmentation and scarring from past acne.

In spite of the Skin Coverage coming with two sponges, I have to admit that I prefer to apply it with a foundation brush. This because I not only feel that it uses a lot more foundation when using the sponge, but also because I feel that using a brush gives a much nicer and more even and seamless sheer coverage.

In spite of the hot Melbourne summer, I have to say that I am extremely impressed with the staying power of the Skin Cover. Having combination skin, it is often difficult to find a foundation that doesn’t slide off my face by early afternoon, and even more so during summer – but the Skin Cover lasted all day without fading of creeping into fine lines, with just a quick dusting of powder at lunchtime.

The Skin Cover foundation comes in a stylish box which looks like brushed silver. Inside is a silver compact, which also has a mirror and two sponges, although the compact only has room for one sponge at a time.

The compact is simple and stylish and of good quality, and I love that it also comes with the mirror. The sponges are also of good quality, and gives a good finish to the skin, although again I prefer using a foundation brush. Regardless, it is still nice that it has room for the sponge as it makes it easier to do touch-ups on the go.

The actual Skin Cover has a quite perfumed floral scent, although quite pleasant as this scent does fade as soon as the foundation has been applied. In saying that, I would have preferred for the foundation to be fragrance free.

All in all, I think this is a great foundation that does tick all the boxes for me, so I will definitely continue to use it, and now that I have discovered the high quality of the Catalina Geo products, I will also explore other products in their product range. And while I still have to admit that I still prefer liquid foundations, I can easily see myself carrying it in my handbag for touch-ups during the day, as it is certainly a lot easier than carrying around a liquid foundation.

*This product was kindly provided for consideration, and it has been reviewed in accordance with my Disclosure Policy.

Have you ever tried any of the products from Catalina Geo? What type of foundation do you prefer, and which one is your favourite?