February Lust Have It Box

So, we've just come back from our first family holiday which was spent at Coffs Harbour for four days so now I'm all refreshed and ready to face whatever 2012 can throw at me.

I was very excited when my Lust Have It box for February arrived last week and made my husband do a special stop off at our post office just so I could pick it up on the morning we went away. We didn't get one for January so I had a bit of withdrawals from it I guess :-)

Here is what came in the box for February:

1) Lancome Juicy Tubes (7ml sample, RRP $46.00 for 14ml) - These glosses give heaps of shine to your lips with a hint of colour and come in several fruity flavours. I have been wanting to try one of these for so long but could never get myself to part with the money they cost just for a lip gloss. They certainly seem to be a nice gloss though and stay on for a really long time. This one is super shiny and has very fine glittery particles in it as well. I can't really see any colour on my lips when applied though and I have no idea what shade mine is as I can't seem to find it written anywhere. It's a bright pink in the tube though.

2) Davroe Tame Lemongrass Detangler (50ml, RRP $21.50 for 315ml) - This is a lightweight non-greasy leave-in conditioning treatment mist that claims to detangle the most unruly hair, leave hair manageable, luxuriously soft and silky with the fresh natural fragrance of Passionflower and Ylang Ylang. I love these sort of hair products as they are great for my curly hair when I don't feel like washing it but need to spray something in to activate my curls.

3) Sasy n Savy Rose Lavender Hand n Nail Repair Creme (5ml, RRP $25.00 for 100ml) - This has skin nourishing evening primrose and macadamia oil to soften and smooth. It also contains shea butter to soothe and heal dry skin and Vitamin C & E. It claims to diminish the signs of ageing but I'm not sure how much of that I'll get to see as the sample is quite small and will probably only be enough for a couple of uses.

4) Lush Sugar Scrub (100ml, RRP $6.50) - This scrub stimulates activity and tackles cellulite with fennel and ginger. It also contains lavender for a skin calming effect. I love all lush products and haven't tried their scrubs before so I can't wait to give this a go.

5) Taut Collagen Infusion Mask (1 x mask, RRP $44.95 for pack of 5) - These facial masks are meant to infuse concentrated premium collagen-enriched essence to tone, hydrate and brighten your complexion in just 7-10 minutes. I wasn't too fussed on the taut drink we received in one of the earlier Lust Have It boxes but a mask like this seems a lot more practical to me and I'm very interested to try it out.

The first thing I noticed about this box when I opened it was the gorgeous smell that was coming from it because of the Lush scrub. Overall, Lust Have It are my favourite monthly sample box so far as they have always consistently pleased me with their contents unlike the others that have been a bit hit and miss for the majority of the months.

The Lust Have It boxes seem to always contain products that I will have a use for and not just items that I will force myself to use just because they are there.

What does everyone think of the February box? Does anyone have a favourite sample box so far?  

Ecotints Lip Moisturiser in Plush Red

One of my favourite lip balms right now is my EcoLips Ecotints Lip Moisturiser in Plush Red.

It's a sheer balm with a really pretty red tint that is just so wearable practically everywhere if you want a little bit of colour but not the full coverage of a lipstick. It's also a great transition for anyone who would love to try red lips but just aren't game enough to try a full-on red lipstick just yet.

Ecotints are cuelty free, carmine free and gluten free and contain 90% organic ingredients. They also contain aloe vera, beeswax, organic coconut oil and are flavoured with organic vanilla.

I find it stays on my lips for a couple of hours or so before needing to be reapplied which isn't too bad for a lip balm like product. It's smooth and easy to apply as it's just like any other normal tube lip balm and makes my lips feel nice and moisturised.

It's also got a pretty shine and doesn't go patchy or wear away unevenly.

I'm even a fan of applying some of this over a red lip pencil if I want to have red lips without all the hassle of trying to get a red lipstick to look just right.

Has anyone tried any of the other shades in this range?

Savoir Faire Concealer - A little pot of awesomeness!

In one of my previous BellaBoxes I received this little goody. It is the Savoir Faire Concealer and Finishing Powder in the shade Light.

I normally skip using a concealer these days, mainly because of time constraints as I have to be quick and efficient with my makeup most of the time when trying to get ready as bub is usually hanging off one leg while also pulling all of my makeup onto the floor.

But, since discovering this little beauty I have started getting back into the habit of using concealer again because it is just so darn good!

The little pot contains two shades of concealer, one in a really light shade and another in a bit of a darker shade. On the bottom is also a small container of finishing powder which just twists off.

Here are some formal details about this little product:

Concealer
• Long wearing concealer with a unique light and creamy texture
• Contains two concealer shades on top and finishing powder on the bottom
• Easy to apply, providing suitable coverage for a flawless finish

Finishing powder
• Soft creamy powder
• Locks in and protects the concealer for long wearing coverage
• Translucent finish

I have found this concealer to stay put all day long. It just does not budge from wherever I put it and it gives excellent coverage over almost any blemish. It's so creamy and easy to blend and is also great for the under-eye area too.

 

The powder is a great little addition as I find it useful if I have to do any small touch ups during the day, or if I'm feeling really lazy I apply it to my whole face instead of my normal pressed powder as it gives a nice light coverage that isn't drying or cakey.

 

Here are some swatches:

 

(From left to right: Light & Dark shade mixed together, Light shade, Dark shade, Finishing Powder)

I find that the best match for the skin on my face at the moment is to mix the two shades together.

 

Overall this is an awesome little product that I would definitely repurchase.

 

Has anyone else tried Savoir Faire products before?

Revlon ColorStay Soft & Smooth in Plush Pink

My favourite pink lipcolour at the moment has to be my Revlon ColorStay Soft & Smooth lipcolour in Plush Pink.

When I first purchased this lipcolour I was a bit sceptical as I've tried other items in the ColorStay range and have found them to be quite drying. The Soft & Smooth range is supposed to contain an exclusive SoftFlex Comfort Technology which is meant to provide hours of luscious colour and comfortable wear and to stay creamy rather than drying out.

I have to say it has surprised me by being a really comfortable long lasting lipcolour. It's really nice and creamy to apply and covers the lips nice and evenly without any streaking. I tend to get about 6 hours of wear after first applying it and this is normally after having morning tea and lunch as well. I've found that when it does start to fade it does so nice and evenly without leaving awful dry or clumpy patches on the lips as some other long wearing lipcolours can do. It also leaves a slight stain on the lips as it fades that I tend to just enhance by adding some gloss over the top if I don't feel like applying full lipcolour again.

I must admit that I'm a lip smacker from hell (a bad habit that I just can't seem to stop constantly doing, especially when I'm in deep thought) and constantly rub my lips together during the day and even though this lipcolour does kind of 'set' on the lips it's still comfortable enough to keep rubbing my lips together and not feel like I'm wearing sandpaper on them.

Here is a swatch to attempt to show you how pretty the shade Plush Pink is:

I wasn't game enough to show photos of it on my lips today as my skin is having a moment and I just wasn't up for having it posted on the internet in the condition it is in.

You'll just have to believe me that this is a lovely soft pink with a small hint of shimmer without making your lips blind anyone. This colour pretty much goes with anything.

What do you guys think? Has anyone used any other shade in this range that they liked?

Nails of The Week - Sally Hansen Insta-Dry in Petal Pusher

I received this polish in the January Glossybox last week and decided to try it straight away due to my nails being quite short at the moment and not really that attention worthy.

This polish claims to dry virtually instantly, which after one coat is definitely true, but once you start applying additional coats it still becomes touch dry pretty quickly but seems to be very soft and easy to mark if you're not careful.

The colour Petal Pusher is a very pale pink which is similar to that used in French manicures. Unfortunately, I really am not a fan of a colour that is this pale and I don't like polishes that are so see-through with just one coat. The problem I found with this polish is that once you start applying a second coat it tends to streak very badly and if you're not careful you can pull at the first coat and cause bare patches to appear. Due to this formula being so quick-dry you need to work fast when applying too because if you take too long on one nail it starts to get too thick to move around and I found it bubbles quite badly too.

Here is my second try at using this polish (the first attempt was just plain awful). I have applied two coats of this polish and it is still quite see-through:

(If you look close you can see the bubbling) 

(Oh so streaky!)

This is not a polish that I would use again. To me it is just way too much effort for very little gain. Other colours in this range might be alright but I don't rate this colour or consistency at all.

Has anyone else used this polish unsuccessfully? Are the other colours in the range any better than this one?