Bellabox February 2014 Review

Definition: Bellabox is a $15 'beauty discovery' subscription box delivered monthly. It is available to Australian residents.  

February 2014:
This months theme is 'red carpet ready'. This is a playful nod to the awards season that is in full swing. I enjoy the effort Bellabox make to be on trend & make the box fun and different each month.

Packaging:
This months box comes in (same as January) a brown carton box with Bellabox on top, BB iconic dots on edges & the 'inspo' quote "be beautiful, surprise yourself". Its nice to see some consistency and seems Bellabox might finally be finding their sense of style. Only 2 years old, Bellabox has been through the transition of a young woman. She's seen the puppy fat stage (make up bags) the 13 going on 30 stage (heavy duty boxes) the 21, I'm so cool stage (teal boxes) & now is in the equivalent of mid-late twenties, knows what she wants and is chic and simple. Ah-hem and also much more appealing to a broad audience, Eco friendly and likely economical for the brand. (AND It's what's on the inside that counts). 

Inside: Yay a product card! (I didn't receive one last month). It's designed to look like a ticket and says 'red carpet ready' 'admit one'. Keeping in theme, the box this month is lined with red tissue paper. Unraveling it is like rolling out said red carpet.

What's in mine: 
1.OM SHE Aromatherapy Lipstick in Coco -colour
2.Burts Bee's Naturally Nourishing Milk & Honey Body Lotion -cult
3.Aveda Be Curly Style Prep -cult
4.Synthesis Organic Hydrate Tonic -luxe
5.OM SHE Aromatherapy Foaming Red Rice Cleanser -green
Bonus: Swisspers Naturals Nourishing Face cream

(I never noticed before...each product is categorized i.e colour, luxe, cult & green > I love that!!) 

More info?

1.OM SHE Aromatherapy Lipstick in Coco -full sized
First impression, Coco- for a second I thought I'd landed a brown lippy, to my delight it's a really nice red! Might sound weird to say but it's quite a neutral red. Its quite smooth to apply and has a glossy finish. Feels ultra moisturising and silky. It has a essential oil sort of smell but never fear, not taste. See the swatch and selfie below. (I prefer to blow up a selfie so you get a better scope of how it looks on in a more realistic perspective than close up).

2.Burts Bee's Naturally Nourishing Milk & Honey Body Lotion -25g
They say: creamy and sweet, skin softening and fast absorbing. I agree, its lightweight but nourishing. I'm undecided how I feel about the smell. The first application was on my hands and they felt smooooth afterwards. I'd say its a good all round lotion and I can see why it might have 'cult' status.

3.Aveda Be Curly Style Prep -40ml
BUMMER. let me explain. My hair is straight. The straightest of the straight. I've tried all sorts of curl boosters for when I GHD curl my hair. Nothing really makes it curlier. Heat protecting spray and a good lashing of hairspray for setting its my so far proven combo. This is for curly hair. My Bellabox profile says my hair is thick not curly which is an option on their 'profile questionnaire'. This is my one constructive criticism for Bellabox. Members have profiles but they don't seem to get used or maximised as carefully or much as they could. There were other Aveda products available this month but as predicted to a colleague after 'sneak peek' 'I bet I get the curly one'...I'm an oracle. That said I usually am pretty happy with the other selections by Bellabox so I don't want to poo poo them too much. I will use this prior to curling and give it a fair go. At the least it will hydrate and heat protect. I seem dramatic... Here's a pic of my hair: this is second day so it was washed, turbie towelled, slept on, out the door, gym bunned, taken out, slept on then out the door the next morning. Not even brushed. When I holiday, I don't even take a brush. It's that straight.

4.Synthesis Organic Hydrate Tonic -15ml
I'm in LOVE. I'm a huge fan of face mists. I've used Jurlique, Clinique, Kosmea, Evian & Australis mists in the past. My Clinique one was confiscated at the airport once because its 125ml- heart broken... ANYWAY back to this Synthesis one. Oooh, YES! & Mmmm I believe were the first impressions. Smells divine- like a rosewater and essential oils. My inner hippy rejoices. I'm really going to enjoy using this. I love how refreshing a facial mist can be. It hydrates and adds radiance. TIP: put it in the fridge on a hot day.


5.OM SHE Aromatherapy Foaming Red Rice Cleanser -30ml
More OM SHE. Inner hippy continues to rejoice at all the lovely aromatherapy products in this months box! Smells again like a one way ticket to Zen town, carbon neutral of course. The product claims to be 'fuss free purification for a clearer brighter complexion> buzz words that are heaven to me and any other combo skin girl.

Bonus: Swisspers ALOE Naturals Nourishing Face cream -5ml
I'm interested to try this, Hydrating-tick, cooling- I'm interested, minimises pores and fine lines- clincher! Although in a sachet (not my fave mode of delivery) I think this will have a good handful of applications- enough to suss it out.

Value

(for those non believers of Bellabox being a steal at $15 inc delivery)

pro rata:

1.OM SHE Aromatherapy Lipstick in Coco -$14.95
2.Burts Bee's Naturally Nourishing Milk & Honey Body Lotion -$2.93
3.Aveda Be Curly Style Prep -$15.98
4.Synthesis Organic Hydrate Tonic -$16.48
5.OM SHE Aromatherapy Foaming Red Rice Cleanser -$4.48
Bonus: Swisspers Naturals Nourishing Face cream- $1.09

Total value: $55.91

All in all a pretty great box once again! Products I know I'll love and others worth a shot!

Highlight: Synthesis mist & SHE lippy

Lowlight: Be Curly (I would if I could)



Please note: I subscribe to Bellabox on my own accord. This is NOT a sponsored blog. My opinion is my own.
To see my January Bellabox review click here

What was in your Bellabox? What was your highlight? Are you keen to join? Any Q's? Comment below!

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