Beauty subscription boxes are still very popular, and I understand why, as it is a great way to discover new products and products you'd otherwise wouldn't have come across. So today I'm excited to with you the Good Green Box..
The Good Green Box is a little different from most other beauty subscription boxes in that they aim to include products that are better for you from natural, organic, non-toxic, vegan or cruelty free, as well as the products included are all free from parabens, SLS, SLES, mineral oils, petrochemicals, phthalates, artificial fragrances and dyes.
The Good Green Box is a monthly subscription box and costs $25 each month, postage included, and each box is said to usually have a value of upwards of $60 in product. So what was in this months Good Green Box...
Harmoni’s Kiss Deodorant Roll On - Full Size (RRP: $8.95 / 50ml)
This is an all natural roll-on deodorant which is free from aluminium and made with aloe vera, lavender and lime to help you smelling nice. It has a gorgeous natural scent, predominant of the lavender, which is such a refreshing change from the artificially scented ones. One of the thins that usually concern me with natural deodorants is actually helping to stop he sweat, but after a few uses I can happily report that I've had no issues at all - keeping in mind that it is still rather cold here, and I don't really tend to sweat a lot in this par of the year, so how this would fare on a hot summers
A Little Bit Hippie Flake Fairy - Sample Size, 10g (RRP: $19.50/ 75g)
This is a micro exfoliating powder in similiar style to the well known one from Dermalogica. It is made using rice brand along with among others marshmallow root, clay and BHA to gently exfoliate the skin, draw out impurities and excess oil and soothe and freshen up the skin. I am addicted to the one from Dermalogica, so excited to try out a new version. Value-wise the sample is worth $2.60.
Zuii Organics Lipstick - one-use samples (RRP: $29.95)
I have heard of the Zuii Organics brand before so happy to be putting these certified organic lipsticks to the test. They claim to be long lasting, reinforced with Jojoba and Sunflower. Rich in Vitamins A and E to protect and moisturise the skin with the added benefits of Aloe Vera, rich in Vitamins B1, B2, B6 and Calcium. There were two samples included in the shades Primose and Cashmere, and they come in little plastic containers with a small 'drop' in each, just sufficient for a single use, perhaps two if you're lucky. I am excited to try these out, though I do have to dig out a lip brush (which I otherwise never use as I find it too time consuming), so that in itself is a little annoying. Value-wise, as they are so small and I am sorry to say that don't really rate these small samples or see them as having any value.
Luna Minerals Mineral Bronzer in Goddess - sample pot (RRP: $47 / 30g)
This is a cute little sample pot of bronzer which is made using only natural ingrediens, which I really like. It has It gives the skin a lovely radiant look thanks to the tiny shimmer particles, yet without being to glittery or over the top. I am unsure how much bronzer the little pot contains, so unable to put a value on it, but it is a cute little pot that will also be great for travelling.
The Divine Company Certified Organic Gradual Tan Natural Bronzer - 2 x sample sachets, 5ml each (RRP: $34.95 /150ml)
I am not the biggest user of self-tanners, but mainly as I don't like the smell that usually develops along with the tan. But I do look forward to trying out this. I like the fact that they are infused with Aloe Vera, Shea Butter and Coconut oil to moisturise and nourish the skin as well as infused with Calendula and Rose Geranium extract, for a nice scent. Time will if this will continue to smell divine as the tan develops. Value-wise these sample are worth $2.33
ELAN Essentials Purifying Body Cleanser with Papaya + Lemon Grass, sachet sample, estimated 5ml (RRP: $40 /500ml)
I love fresh lemon scented products so this body cleanser containing Blood Orange, Lemongrass and Lime essential oils is right up my alley. I also contains Papaya + Pineapple enzymes to actively and gently dissolve dead skin cells and help purify the skin. I cannot wait to try this one out. Value-wise this sample is worth approx. $0.40!
So there you go, the contents in my very first Good Green Box, so what did I think! I love the fact that EVERY SINGLE brand and product is new to me. In other 'normal' beauty subscription boxes, usually several brands and products I've already tried. As such I feel there is a good selection of products in the box, with a little skin care mixed with makeup, and I am particularly excited about the Flake Fairy and the Luna Bronzer, and of the deodorant. But that said, sadly only the deodorant is a full sized product, with the Flake Fairy and the bronzer what I'd call deluxe samples, and the bronzer, lipsticks and shower gel sachet samples.
Good Green Box claims that the value of the boxes are 'usually have a value of upwards of $60 in product' but sadly I struggle getting the total value to much more than the $25 and the actual cost of the box. Again it is naturally still a great way of getting to know and trying new products, but personally I would have liked to see one more full sized product to justify the cost of the box, and make it a great value for money too.
Good Green Box - RRP: $25 / per month
Available from Good Green Box
* Products have been kindly provided for consideration, and have reviewed in accordance with my Disclosure Policy.
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When its cold outside... Which it is right now, with the wind hauling and the rain pouring down, then I love nothing more than sipping on a comforting cup of tea - I admit it, I love a good coffee, and I actually find it hard to wake up in the mornings and function properly without a strong dose of it - but when it is cold, I reach for teas, and one of the amazing brands that have recently come to my attention, is The Loose Lips Tea Co..
Starting as a hobby in 2010, the Loose Lips Tea Co is the creative brainchild of Melbourne-based tea artisan, Cherri. Today The Loose Lips Tea Co has experimented with over 70 tea blends to create the unique and unconventional Gourmet Specialiteas and Simpliciteas ranges. All tea blend are hand-blended and hand-packaged from start to finish, using only organic and certified organic ingredients all encased in BPA free, recyclable, Melbourne-made packaging.
I 've put a couple of blends to the test, including The Loose Lips Tea Co Rose Blossom Tea from the SimpliciTeas range. This Rose Blossom Tea is blended with nothing but organic rose buds and petals, and it is soooo pretty, it looks like a potpourri, and I may just pinch a small handful and use it as that, as it is just too pretty and smell too divine not to!
But as a tea, it makes the most gorgeous pink tinged tea, that smells as beautiful as it tastes too. Personally I prefer to drink it 'black' without milk or sugar, but that is just my personal preference. Its a great afternoon tea on a cold day, and it'll quickly make you daydream of sitting in the middle of a rose garden. I can also imagine that it will be gorgeous as an ice-tea on a hot summers day.
I also put The Loose Lips Tea Co Luscious Lemonmint, also from the SimpliciTeas range. This blend is made with organic lemongrass and pure peppermint, and for me, it is the perfect refreshing tea to drink in the morning, or when my tummy is feeling a little irritated, as I know for a fact that peppermint is good at soothing tummy upsets. Peppermint tea is my all-time favourite tea that I will never tire off, and this new blend with lemongrass makes for a refreshing and uplifting change.
Both teas are very concentrated, and you honestly only need to use the tiniest amount, The Loose Lips Tea Co recommends using a heaped teaspoon in a teapot, so a bag will seriously last you forever!! If I am just after a single cup, I love using the Silicone Tea Infuser, which holds just the perfect amount of tea for a mug. And when you're done, you can put it safely onto the little included silicone saucer. It comes in a range of gorgeous bright colours, including this bright lime green.
But even if those teas are not for you, there are heaps other in The Loose Lips Tea Co range, including blends such as various types of Chai teas, as well as Aussie Bush Tea, Raspberry Mint and Rose Blossom Tea, Buddha Tears and heaps of other speciality teas.
When I'm on the go, the My Tea Bottle Infuser is, which is such a great idea. This glass bottle comes with an internal tea infuser which infuses the tea from the bottom of the bottle. This infuser can be removed, so once your tea has infused for long enough, you can simply screw on the lid tightly in one end, flip the bottle and unscrew the infuser in the other end to remove the tea leaves, before putting the bottom lid back on. It also comes with a thermal sleeve, to help you keep your tea warm for up to two hours, and of course protect your hands too.
And the clever design means you can also drink straight from the bottle, if you like. It holds 550ml of tea, just enough for two decent cups of tea, and it BPA free and also safe to pop into the dishwasher.
All in all these teas are really lovely, and truly of such high quality and with such lovely taste, so if you're a tea drinker and looking for a new quality tea, be sure to go check these out, you'll absolutely love them!!
Rose Blossom Tea - RRP: $12.50 / 50g
Luscious Lemonmint - RRP: $12.50 / 50g
Silicone Tea Infuser - RRP: $6.00
My Tea Bottle Infuser - RRP: $35.00
Available from The Loose Lips Tea Co
* Products have been kindly provided for consideration, and have reviewed in accordance with my Disclosure Policy.
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Today I am excited to share with some brand new releases from the gorgeous brand PONi Cosmetics, the new PONi Unicorn Bronzer, Highligher and Blush, which were launched in the beginning of this month..
If you're not familiar with PONi Cosmetics, let me quickly tell you that it is an incredible cruelty free Australian brand that is really a must try. I have previously talked about some of their gorgeous products, including the Contouring Kit and the White Knight Mascara, which you can see here
Now, let's get onto the new products, starting with the PONi Cosmetics Candy Blush. This pressed ombre powder blush has shades ranging from a gorgeous hot matte pink to a soft shimmery peach. The hot pink side may look a little dark and frightening but it gives the most stunning flushed soft pink cheeks, while the peachy coral shade has a beautiful shimmer that looks stunning too and is very flattering - so in reality you get not just one blush, but actually three.... A hot pink matte one, a peach coral shimmery one, of course, you can swirl it all together for a shade that is medium pink with just a touch of shimmer and a lovely glow. Absolutely gorgeous. The shades are very pigmented, and blends easily too.
Next up is the PONi Cosmetics Chocolate Bronzer, which also is a pressed ombre powder that ranges from light to dark bronze, that is semi-matte in one side and has more shimmer in the other end. It gives the skin a gorgeous natural bronzed glow, without looking too shimmery, or too orange either. The shades are great to use for contouring too, so a great multi-tasking product too. Like the blush, it is also very pigmented and applies and blends easily and beautifully, giving you a gorgeous natural look.
Finally, there's the PONi Cosmetics Champagne Highlighter, is a pressed ombre powder in a golden shade that varies from low shimmer and slightly lighter shade in one end to high shimmer and slightly darker shade in the other end. In the fear of sounding repetitive, this too is a gorgeous and very pigmented highlighter, so you only need the tiniest sweep across the face for a natural glowing and radiant look, though, again, you can build up the intensity for a night out. I also love that it is not too shimmery I feel that often makes my combination skin look greasier, but rather it has a more subtle sheen.
I really love how these powders have all been designed so that they're ombre with different intensities at either end of the product, as it simply makes the products non only multi-tasking, but also so much more versatile and better suited for a wider range of skin tones as well as tastes.
I of course also have to mention the beautiful packaging, the rose gold compacts, which all have internal mirrors, and a purple unicorn icon printed on top of the lid. Just stunning, and right on trend too.
So I think it's quite obvious to say that I absolutely love this PONi Cosmetics Unicorn collection, as the products not only look amazing, it also feels incredible to wear too. Definitely worth checking out.
PONi Cosmetics Unicorn Candy Blush - RRP: $40 / 7.14g
PONi Cosmetics Unicorn Chocolate Bronzer - RRP: $40 / 7.14g
PONi Cosmetics Unicorn Champagne Highlighter - RRP: $40 / 7.14g
Available from PONi Cosmetics, The Beauty Drawers, Makeup Cartel and RY
* Products have been kindly provided for consideration, and have reviewed in accordance with my Disclosure Policy.
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Yay, spring at last. Seems winter has been so long and cold this year, well at least in Melbourne, so the arrival of spring is certainly music to my ears. And what's better is that chance of season, means that the makeup brands often launch new exciting colour collections, and one of these include the new Mavala Delicate Nail Polish Collection...
In case you're not familiar with Mavala, let me quickly fill you in. The brand has been over 50 years, selling not just premium quality nail polishes, but also lipsticks and makeup. And as for the nail polishes, which it's all about today, I just love that these are free from all the chemical nasties including formaldehyde, toluene, camphor, phthalate, parabens, rosin, nickel as we as they do no contain any animal ingredients.
Now, let's get onto the new Delicate collection. This collection has been designed to bring change away from the dark dull shades of winter and bring delicate freshness to wake up one's good mood in time for the warmer weather. This has been done with a variety of pink tones to symbolise the tender flower petals, coral and tangerines pale healthy skin tones, and dazzling whites for more softness and light. The collection contains 6 mini colour nail polishes, which all give a delicate subtle touch of elegance. The shades in the Delicate Collection include;
- 253 Pink Orchid - a gentle pink pearl shade, soft like a petal
- 254 Lilac Orchid - an evanescent mauve, aery like a breeze
- 255 Iris Orchid - a discrete yet chic violet
- 257 White Orchid - a subtle and pure white pearl
- 258 Cream Orchid - an elegant ivory beige
- 263 Mango Orchid - a delicate tangerine
I love the small bottles containing 5ml, as I don’t actually recall ever emptying a nail polish, so these small sizes are perfect, and does allow you to select more, as they come at a lower price too. The bottles all have octagonal golden caps (like they have since 1962), and they not only look great, but the design of cap also makes it easy to hold.
The polishes are easy to apply evenly and streak-free thanks to the wide brush, and the small bottle also means a shorter brush, which I personally feel makes it easier to control too. The colours are rich and intense, and while one coat gives a good coverage, like most polishes, it does take two coats for a solid colour.
These polishes are seriously great, and can you believe it, there are over 100! - yes 100 shades in the Mavala nail polish range, ranging from cream, pearl and sparkly shades, so there sure is something for everyone.
Each and every one of these shades in this new Delicate Collection are so pretty, that I cannot actually say which shade is my favourite. All the colours are stunning on their own, and truly are refreshing change after months of dark shades, and I just know they will help brighten the day, and look amazing on tanned summer hands and toes too.
Mavala Mini Nail Colour - RRP: $8.50 / 5ml
Available from selected pharmacies and stockists Or for more information visit Mavala Online
* Products have been kindly provided for consideration, and have reviewed in accordance with my Disclosure Policy.
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Just a few more days to go now, so In the next and final instalment of my father's day gift ideas, today it is all about personal care items...
First up there's the Milkman Grooming Co Spring Rider After Shave Serum, which is a fragranced After Shave Serum that combines a daily moisturiser to hydrate, protect and nourish with an alcohol-free after shave to soothe, tighten and tone the skin. It contains among others witch hazel, aloe vera and allantoin, along with high-end moisturisers and anti-oxidants you would usually expect to see in a much more expensive day creams including hyaluronic acid, kakadu plum extract, beta glucan plus vitamins E and B5, and I love the fact that its made with out any chemical nasties such as parabens and sulphates, silicones, mineral oils or artificial colours. And its made with love in Australia.
The fragrance is a unique Spring edition, and is particularly scented to be relevant to spring, combining masculine notes of leather and musk, with the light floral scents so typical of spring.
Milkman Grooming Co plans on launching further seasonal fragrances throughout this year to coincide with Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Spring Rider leaves my hubby's skin feeling soft and smooth following his daily shave, and leaves it smelling fresh and masculine without irritating or drying out his sensitive skin.
My hubby never ever leaves the house without doing his hair, so for him, quality hair care products such as these from MUK are brilliant choices too. I love the fact that MUK is a professional haircare brand that is local from Melbourne, Australia, and the products really are top notch. The styling range includes several different styling pastes, each different brightly coloured packaging, and each with the most gorgeous fruity scent. The MUK Raw MUK Styling Mud is a paste that gives the hair firm hold and with a nice gloss, that makes the hair look shiny, glossy and healthy. It has the most divine mango fragrance. Or there's the MUK Hard MUK Styling Mud, which gives the hair a brutal but flexible hold with a low sheen finish, and it has a beautiful fresh citrus orange scent. My husband particularly loves the Raw MUK as it makes his short hair stay put all day. And then there's our two little boys, aged 2 and 4, like their daddy, they insist on getting their hair done when we go out, but can never leave it alone, so the Hard MUK is perfect for their fine blonde hair, as gives a flexible hold so you can continue to re-style their hair throughout the day But regardless of which one you pick, they make styling the hair so easy and makes it look great all day without flaking and even surviving high humidity, all while making the hair look stylish and healthy.
For the skin, there's also the Ella Bache Men's Anti Fatique Espresso Detox Scrub, which is specifically designed for tired lack-lustre male skin. The detoxifying scrub contains among others bamboo fibres to give the skin a gentle exfoliation to smooth away rough dry skin. It also contains barley seedling extract to add proteins, enzymes, vitamins, minerals and phyto-nutrients to the skin to improve the metabolism, along with ginseng and guarana and green coffee to stimulate and improve micro-circulation and erase the signs of tiredness. The scrub has a slightly spicy and masculine scent, and it doesn't feel particularly gritty, but hubby happily says that leaves his skin feeling very soft and smooth, and with a refreshing glow, with the coffee clearly giving his skin a much needed wake-up call in the morning.
And Daddy is sure to love a handwritten personal card, such as one of the humorous greeting card from the Hallmark Shoebox collection. There are heaps of different cards to chose from, from naughty, witty, crude to pure daggy daddy cards, so there 's something for everyone and for every sense of humour too.
Milkman Grooming Co Spring Rider After Shave Serum - RRP: $40.00 / 100ml
Available from Shaver Shop and Milkman Grooming Co.
MUK Hard Muk Styling Mud - RRP: $21.95 / 95g
MUK Raw Muk Styling Mud - RRP: $21.95 / 95g
Professional hairdressing salons, Hairhouse Warehouse, and Price Attack
Ella Bache Men's Anti Fatique Espresso Detox Scrub - RRP: $39 / 50ml
Available from David Jones and Ella Bache
Hallmark Shoebox Greeting Card - RRP: $4.99ea
Available from Coles, Target, NewsXpress, The Lucky Charm and selected Kmart stores and independent retailers
* Products have been kindly provided for consideration, and have reviewed in accordance with my Disclosure Policy.
