LA GIRL DIY NAIL KIT - FABULOUS

 When I saw these kits on Ozsale I knew I had to get them straight away! At only $4.00 for a box of four I knew it was a steal, and if they were duds I wouldn't be too upset about it. I ended up buying four different sets which I will review one by one in the coming weeks.

Each set comes with a set of instructions on how to do different nail art designs, a nail art brush and a set of nail stickers to help with chevron designs.

Unfortunately, the stickers were just TERRIBLE and a nightmare to use as they didn't stick properly and were just way too big to use, but in the scheme of things it wasn't such a big deal. I mean, for $4.00 how much can you ask for?

 The nail brush was also a bit of a miss. The hairs just weren't of a very good quality and made it practically impossible to do any sort of nail art work. I'm hoping that the rest of the brushes in the other boxes are a little better.

The polishes do not have any specific names or numbers assigned to them.

Fabulous has three creme finish polishes and one glitter base polish. All the colours are very easy to apply and are a little bit thicker in consistency in comparison to China Glaze or OPI but some of the nail brushes were a little uneven and made the application a little streaky, especially the nude colour.

Overall, this set is DEFINITELY worth it, I don't think you could find a cheaper set on the market that still delivers great pigmentation, durability and versatility. As a bonus, this polish is also thick enough to use in your nail stamping kits.

If you are lucky enough to have an LA Girl stockist near you definitely keep an eye out for these sets or sign up to Ozsale as they tend to become available a couple of times a year.

 This was the design I came up with using this set. Please excuse the black around my nails, the Chalkboard Manicure was EXTREMELY hard to get off! :)

 

HFB - January 2014

CONTENTS:

• 1x Cantik Swimwear Canitk Palms Notebook
• 1x Pocket Manicure Kit
• 1x Something In The Water Scarf
• 1x Her Fashion Box Pebble Purse
• 1 x Her Fashion Box Ripple Necklace
• 1x Urban Rituelle Guava Lip Balm
• 1x Babe Scrub Green Tea Scrub
• 2x Green Smoothie Co Green Is Good Sachets
• 3x J Bronze Samples
• 1x Muesli For Me Sample
• 1x Ulta3 Lipstick (free gift for completing the survey)

 

CANTIK SWIMWEAR PALMS NOTEBOOK ($19.95AUD VALUE)

POCKET MANICURE KIT ($7.95AUD VALUE)

 

    

 

SOMETHING IN THE WATER SCARF ($24.95AUD)

This little scarf can also be used as a sarong/wrap to wear whilst you're at the beach.

 

HER FASHION BOX PEBBLE PURSE ($7.95AUD)

 

HER FASHION BOX RIPPLE NECKLACE ($24.95AUD)

 

URBAN RITUELLE LIP BALM 'GUAVA' ($9.95AUD)

This lip balm comes in seven different flavours: Cherry, Coconut, Guava, Lime Splice, Mango, Milkshake and Passionfruit. I wish I had received a different flavour because out of all of these Guava is my least liked fruit.

The lip balm feels nice enough but I'm not a fan of balms that come in tubs as I find they're a little messy. I would definitely choose a stick over pot any day.

 

BABESCRUB 'GREEN TEA' SAMPLE ($21.95AUD)

 

GREEN SMOOTHIE CO SAMPLE X2 ($15.00AUD FOR 5X10G SACHETS)

 

 

J BRONZE SAMPLE SACHETS
(FACE TAN 30ML $24.95AUD; ILLUMINISER 100ML $24.95AUD)

 

 

MUESLI FOR ME 45G SAMPLE

 

ULTA3 LIPSTICK

I'm assuming I got this for filling out the survey as it wasn't listed in the HFB Magazine.

The first box for 2014 was jam packed with stuff but for me there weren't many items that I felt were amazing. The two outstanding items for me this month were the necklace and the notebook so I feel a little let down.

I ended up cancelling my Violetbox subscription as I felt that every month the items they sent were just not worth it and became a waste of money and now I'm starting to feel the same way about Her Fashion Box.

Here's hoping that the next box is better otherwise I may end up cancelling this one too.

Violet Box August

August's Violet Box was enough to give me hope that I'd continue my subscription. There were three full size products in this box that I absolutely LOVED! <3

 CONTENTS:

• Jelly Pong Pong 2-in-1 Shadow/Liner (full size)
• Jelly Pong Pong Lip Blush (full size)
• Dr Bragi Age Management Moisturiser (sample)
• ghd Style Heat Protection Spray (full size)
• Goldwell Dualsenses Rich Repair Cream Shampoo/Anti Breakage Conditioner (sample)

 JELLY PONG PONG 2-IN-1 SHADOW/LINER "BRONZE"

I had seen the brand Jelly Pong Pong on various different makeup websites but have never bought any items as I usually like to test makeup before buying and I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised.

Swatch on the back of my hand - look at that coverage!

 The Shadow/Liner is absolutely GORGEOUS! What I liked most about this is that it was so heavily pigmented and the longevity of the product was fabulous. The pencil feels quite rich/dense and it glides on like a dream without being too thin/oily like most 2-in-1 eye products.

This item is definitely a WIN in my books and I'm going to look into buying some more just for myself (maybe for the kit too).

No foundation, liner/mascara and brows only

 JELLY PONG PONG LIP BLUSH

When I saw this item in the box I felt a little disheartened as I really don't like chubby pencils as I find they don't sharpen well but as I opened the packaging and used it I realised that this was a wind up pencil so that made me super happy!

Jelly Pong Pong Lip Blush in Cranberry is a super moist lip stain that packs a lot of punch. The stain is super pigmented and glides/wears like a lip balm. This lip colour definitely gets a tick in my books as I find when I wear lipstick my lips tend to get dry but this lip blush feels super comfortable and I could wear it all day without feeling like wanting to rub it off.

This is another win for Jelly Pong Pong AND Violet Box! LOVE IT!

 DR BRAGI AGE MANAGEMENT MOISURISER

 This is another product that I am really hesitant to try. As I've mentioned numerous times, I have super sensitive skin (especially when it comes to moisturisers) so the thought of putting this on my skin really had me worried because it states that only a pea size amount is enough to put on the face AND the neck which means it is SUPER POTENT so I didn't try it.

Last time I tried something like this my skin went all leathery and dry so I didn't want to risk it. I would love to hear from anyone who has tried this product with sensitive skin and whether it worked well on you!

ghd STYLE HEAT PROTECTION SPRAY

 I LOVE ghd and all their products so it was awesome to receive a FULL SIZE item of theirs in this month's box.

This spray is designed to protect your hair from all heating elements (flat irons/curlers/dryers) hence the reason it's called Heat Protect Spray. It's pretty self explanatory. lol. This spray also has a nice but not overpowering fragrance to it.

I don't know what differentiates this range from other heat protection sprays that are available on the market but ghd is a brand that I know and trust so this gets thumbs up from me! :)

 GOLDWELL DUALSENSES SHAMPOO/CONDITIONER

 As I'm getting older I'm noticing my hair thinning out more than usual so I have changed over to the Nioxin hair system as it is lightweight and seems to be working well for me so I haven't used any other shampoos/conditioners in a long time.

Unfortunately, the Goldwell Dualsenses sample wasn't big enough for me to draw a conclusion on whether I liked it or not so I can't really comment further.

Violet Box for August was an overall win for me! The August box brought three full sized products that I actually really liked - with a combined retail value of  $65.00 for the price of the subscription this month ($22.95) - it was well and truly worth it!

Violet Box July

 So yeah I know I'm REALLY REALLY behind in blogging on my subscription boxes but being in Hawaii and then working through some personal issues really put a hamper on my blogging but I AM BACK!

So, to kick off this mega blog update I bring you the Violet Box July edition.

CONTENTS:

• ModelCo Shine Ultra Lip Gloss (full size)
• Aphelia Peony 9+5 Advanced Beautifying Eye Creme (sample)
• Catalina Geo Long and Deep Mascara (full size plus refill)
• Adorn Cosmetics Eye Create Intensive Shadow x 2 (sample)
• St Tropz Bronzing Mousse (travel size) 

MODELCO SHINE ULTRA LIP GLOSS "STRIP TEASE" RRP $18.00

I have previously tried a ModelCo gloss when it was sent in the April Her Fashion Box and my thoughts about this brand still haven't changed. The product itself is nice but paying $18.00 for a gloss that is made in China just doesn't sit right for me.

Strip Tease has a nice fruity scent but the smell is not over powering. The gloss is also not too sticky, does not have much colour but has a lot of shimmer.

 If this product was in the $5 - $10 I would probably recommend it but I really feel like this is over priced at it's current retail price.

 APHELIA PEONY 9+5 ADVANCED BEAUTIFYING EYE CREME

 I have never heard of the Aphelia Peony brand before and to be honest the way this was packaged didn't make me feel confident enough to trial the cream. As I have sensitive skin I am always super cautious as to what I introduce in to my skin care routine so I passed on this and didn't try it.

CATALINA GEO LONG AND DEEP MASCARA

 

I had never heard of Catalina Geo before but was actually quite surprised once I actually tried the product.

When you first open the bottle you really notice the smell but after a while it subsides. The mascara itself is of a medium consistency and quite wet and malleable. This mascara does not flake and once dry the lashes can still be bent/touched without feeling like it is going to crumble and is still soft to the touch.

I feel like this mascara really helped with the volume and length of my lashes and I would consider buying this product again. Even though this product is $31.50 (which is quite pricey) this mascara averages out to $15.75ea as you get a free refill.

(L) No mascara (R) Catalina Geo Long & Deep Mascara applied

 ADORN COSMETICS EYE CREATE INTENSIVE SHADOW

At first glance I thought that the eye shadows I received were quite pretty and the sample sizes were also quite generous.

Quartz

Jasper

I had high hopes for these eye shadows but unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations. The staying power of these eye shadows was terrible as the colour basically just wipes off with the lightest touch.

Another thing that concerned me was how much more different the Quartz eyeshadow looked with primer underneath it. Quartz goes from a nice chocolatey brown to an ashy brown/black.

I'd love to see what the rest of the Adorn Cosmetics eye shadow range looks like before I completely write off this brand but based on these two samples I wouldn't be buying this range at this stage.

Photo taken with flash

ST TROPEZ BRONZING MOUSSE

 As I'm still so brown from Hawaii I couldn't find a white enough spot to try this St Tropez tanning mousse but from my days working at David Jones I remember this brand being the nicest self tan that I had used. Having said that though, that was over 10 years ago so I'm hoping that the formula has not changed since then. Will definitely be using this once I start going white again (which won't be until Winter next year).

Overall this month's box didn't really have that much in it that I liked as I only really liked 1/5 products within it. Although, the monetary value of the box itself was worth it, I seem to be feeling more disappointed in Violet Box as each month passes. I think I'll give it to the end of the year as to whether I'll continue my subscription.