Battle of the Boxes: Violet Box and Lust Have It

I’ve had a subscription to Violet box for a few months now (maybe about 3 going onto 4 boxes?) and I’m really enjoying the ‘style’ of Violet box (niche boutique brands). Lust Have It contacted me and asked if I wanted to try some of their ‘women’s boxes’ and I figured I should give it a go since the opportunity arose. I was really impressed that Lust Have It has different types of boxes depending on whether you are an eco warrior, a bride to be or just a beauty fanatic (for which there is the general monthly ‘women’s box’). With sooo many different sample subscription services available at present, you have to really stand out and make your mark. The reason I stopped receiving Bellabox was because while every now and then I’d get a gem of a product from an unknown or niche brand (whether it was on the cheaper side of things or more expensive) the bulk of the samples were from popular brands I had trialled previously and those ‘popular brands’ just kept ‘recycling’ in all the boxes I received. I get that people think ‘oh the more the better’ – but what’s the use if your not actually going to use the products (don’t get me started on full sized products which are totally not designed for you or are in fact full sized ‘fillers’) or if they are that unexciting and don’t entice you to try them? I was a little apprehensive about trying Lust Have It and honestly atm, I’m finding it to be quite similar (or *cough cough* very similar) to Bellabox. But hey, I’ll give it a few months and will see if they can change my mind (only honest reviews here!).

So firstly – let’s check out what Violet Box had in store for us this month 🙂

Lush Popcorn Lip Scrub – RRP: $9.9g for 25g – Full sized product. I’ve wanted a lip scrub for aggges and I love that this Lush one is edible! It smells like caramel and has goodies like jojoba oil, coconut oil, sugar, sea salt and polenta in the formula (I’m guessing the polenta gives it that yellow colour without having to use artificial colour). Win!

Goldwell StyleSign Sleek Perfection Thermal Spray Serum – RRP: $24.95 – 20ml sample. I love travel sized hair care products because they are just so handy for weekend getaways when you want to take minimal products with you. I don’t use a straightener very often (once in a blue moon) but I’m sure this would work well alongside a hairdryer. And the little spray bottle looks so cute!

Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter Pencil – RRP: $22.00 – I think this is a full sized product. What I love about this pencil is that there is no shimmer. Shimmer is often used as a ‘filler’ in coloured cosmetics because it hides texture inconsistencies well and so it is much harder to create a matte product which is smooth and buttery. This pencil feels really soft and is in a delicate nude shade. I really like the packaging of the pencil to.

Teez Lipstick in Tempting Pink – RRP: $32.00 – Full sized product. I love the creative colourful packaging and the fact that Teez makes ‘seasonal’ collections and products. The lipstick shade is almost a bubble gum pink which personally I would not wear, but the formula feels buttery and smooth, so it doesn’t feel drying. I would happily pass this onto a friend because it doesn’t look or feel cheap at all.

Swatches from top to bottom: Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter Pencil and Teez Lipstick in Tempting Pink.

Timeless Truth Herbal Rejuvenation Immortelle Mask – RRP: $8.00 – 1 x Sheet mask. I love sheet masks! And this one is from Taiwan and boasts some interesting ingredients like hyaluronic acid, vitamin C and E, organic Immortelle extract and olive husk oil. It sounds quite hydrating and isn’t that cheap at $8 a mask.

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse – RRP: $24.95 (for 50ml) and $39.99 (for 100ml) – 4ml sample. A sample of the now famous multi-purpose dry oil. I haven’t tried this before so I’ll be interested to give this a go. The dry oil is a mix of a whole host of different types of oils, so I’m hoping it smells delicious to!

Nuxe Creme Marveillance – RRP: $64.95 (for 50ml) – 2ml sample. This cream is targeted at expression lines and softening them. For normal to dry skins, it should be pretty hydrating. I’ll try it at night when my skin feels a little dry and parched.

All in all, I’m very happy with my Violet box this month. Very happy in fact, so it will be difficult to beat. Let’s see what Lust Have It sent out it’s subscribers this month!

Mary Kay Lip-Lacquer in Chai Latte – RRP: $22.00 – Full sized product. A lip lacquer should have the staying power and pigmentation of a lipstick but the high shine of a lip gloss. They tend to be very thick and tacky. I wouldn’t have minded trying a lip lacquer, but this colour is pretty peachy which leans almost to an apricot. I don’t think this would be flattering to my skin tone at all as it leans a little orange. Just because something is pale, doesn’t mean it is a nude. They are difficult to get right and because everyone has a different skin tone, it’s definitely not a one fits all. It also isn’t as pigmented as I expected it to be, so it almost just looks like a potted lip gloss. Meh.

Coral Cosmetics Quartet in Vibrant Forest – RRP: $7.95 – Full sized product. First of all, the packaging just feels and looks so incredibly cheap (which it is, but smart design could have made this less obvious). The pigmentation is actually pretty good in the eyeshadows which surprised me. I have way to many eyeshadows as it is in similar colours, so I doubt this will become a staple. I may try and pass this on to someone as I know it will just be sitting in one of my drawers otherwise.

Above: Coral Cosmetics Quartet in Vibrant Forest

The Cosmetic Kitchen Pure Mineral Blush in Strawberry – RRP: $34.95 – Full sized product. The Cosmetic Kitchen is a little Australian Indie brand which is cool. The packaging for this blush is n’t very good – the powder just falls all over the place. The actual shade of the blush is nice (a milky strawberry shade) with quite a bit of shimmer (but no chunky obvious particles). I’m not sure how you would go about using this product, because it dispenses product so unevenly I don’t see how you would get an even small amount on your makeup brush. I’ve already had it spill all over my pj pants lol

Above: The Cosmetic Kitchen Pure Mineral Blush in Strawberry

Coral Colour Eyebrow Definer Pencil in Dark Brown – RRP: $7.95 – Full sized product. I don’t fill in my eyebrows as I think they just end up looking unnatural since I’m so blonde and fair. Traditional pencils also tend to be tricky because they aren’t as soft as twist up pencils or eyeshadow (used as a brow colour) so its easy to end up with ‘harsh’ looking brows if you aren’t to careful (you need a very light hand). I will definitely be passing on this dark brown eyebrow pencil to say the least! I didn’t bother swatching it for you for that reason (it’s just a typical cool toned dark brown).

Premium Spa Face & Body Mask – RRP: $14.99 – Full sized product (150ml).  Another smaller Australian brand, which is nice to see. This product is a clay based mask for the face and body. It also contains witch hazel, oat kernel extract, olive leaf extract, bergamot fruit oil, geranium flower oil, rosehip fruit extract and clary sage flower oil (amongst other things). This would actually be very useful for those who tend to break out on their back but don’t want to ‘waste’ more expensive facial products on their body. I think this will be one of the only products in the Lust Have It box that i will actually reach for. I think it would be good to get my boyfriend to use it as well, since it’s not a ‘fluffy’ product of sorts.

So who wins the battle of the boxes? For me the clear winner is Violet box. Unfortunately, none of the brands featured in the Lust Have It box are brands which I would actively seek out myself. The products also aren’t incredibly exciting (to me) and I just don’t feel enticed to use them (except for the face and body mask parhaps). The packaging for most of these products looks and feels cheap and I’m not sure yet if the quality of the products is so good that they warrant being in the box. Like I said, with all the competition out there these days in regards to subscription boxes, the quality and innovation of the products included in monthly boxes needs to be high. This is obviously as I mentioned, a subjective topic and these are only my own thoughts and feelings 🙂

That’s it folks for this months subscription box update, join me on Facebook for more chit chat and excitement! 😀

Catch ya next time,

Beauty Bee~

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