June 2012 MyGlam Bag

Today I received my first MyGlam bag in the mail with much enthusiasm. The forums I read have been saying that this is one of the best bags yet from the service. I'm not sure how I feel about that, as this is my first bag from them and only my second overall, and I wasn't nearly as enthused with this as I was with my first GlossyBox. However, this is half the price, so I will try to take that into account.

Inside the pink bubble mailer was a little sparkly golden clutch-style bag, which smells a little like squid and sheds a little but which my roommate found incredibly cute, so I think I will be passing that on to her. She can take just about any item and make it fashionable, a gift I do not understand and clearly do not have.

There were four items in this bag, as listed on the glossy card that came inside the package.

1. PHILOSOPHY take a deep breath oil-free energizing oxygen gel cream moisturizer
Amount: .4 fl. oz. (sample size)
Rating: 2/5
PROS: As it says on the package, this moisturizer is oil-free, which is definitely an attractive feature as I have combination skin that tends more toward oily. It dried pretty quickly and didn't leave my face feeling oily.
CONS: This product doesn't smell that great and felt kind of weird on my skin. It wasn't overall a pleasant experience to use. Furthermore, I am extremely wary of any product or brand which uses pseudoscience statements like "This cream diffuses energizing oxygen to detoxify skin and support cell respiration." Furthermore, reading the ingredient list inspired no confidence that they know anything about how the chemicals used supposedly perform any of the tasks they say this product performs. At $34 for 2 oz., there is absolutely no way I would buy this product even if I had all the money to spare. It's not a bad or harmful product, it's just not particularly good.

2. NYX Round Lipstick
Amount: .14 oz. (full size)
Color: Georgia (medium to light shimmery sheer pink)
Rating: 4/5
PROS: I really liked the color of this lipstick, which was random, so I got lucky there. I love pinks and this one looks pretty nice on me, unlike some of the color possibilities for this batch (like Orange Soda, which would have made me look washed out). This lipstick stayed on a lot longer than I was expecting, and while it didn't smell or taste terribly great (unlike my favorite MAC lip product, which smells and tastes delicious), it didn't taste gross like some lipsticks do. At $4 per tube in a wide range of interesting colors, I will definitely be picking up one or two more of these next time I see them.
CONS: As I said, it's not the most fantastic lipstick in the world and does wear off sooner than I'd like and not smell as great as I'd like, so it's not perfect. Also, this lipstick was melted to one side when I received it like the lipstick in my GlossyBox was :(

3. LIVING PROOF. frizz Nourishing Styling Cream
Amount: 2 fl. oz. (sample size)
Rating: 4/5
PROS: I actually really liked the way my hair looked after I used this. I'm pretty picky about what I'll put in my hair because so so many products make my hair look greasy and oily at the roots or on the crown of my head and then I feel like a slob. This product definitely did not do that, and it actually did give some nice definition to my usually frizzy waves, which I was very surprised and pleased about. It also smells pretty nice, in a vague lotion-y way.
CONS: It's $26 per 4 fl. oz. bottle and I'm just as happy with using argan oil, which I can get a huge bottle of for cheaper. There was a coupon included in the box for a "kit" of the full size of this along with their shampoo and conditioner, which I am considering taking advantage of in the near future if I end up finding myself particularly attached to the waves I get from using this.

4. MARBELLA Permanent Eyeliner Pen
Amount: unknown (one pen, full size)
Rating: 2/5
PROS: I've used felt tip liquid eyeliners in the past and not been pleased with them, but this one was a different story. It went on very smoothly and was very, very easy to use. It also stayed on really well . . . perhaps too well. I had some difficulty removing this product.
CONS: I couldn't find a listing of the ingredients of this product or even a quantity of product inside the pen. The website for this company looks a bit like a rejected home business from 2002. Not terribly confidence-inspiring. Also, at $19 per pen, I don't think I would purchase this unless I found I had a very specific use for it as part of a specific look. I can get Urban Decay liners, which I far prefer, for a dollar cheaper even if I were to buy them full price (which I never do).
EDIT 15 JUNE: Okay, so I was wearing this product while crying and holy cow does it run, and when it got into my eyes it STUNG so bad. Don't think I'll be wearing this again since I can't find an ingredient list.

OVERALL BOX RATING: 3/5
ESTIMATED COST OF CONTENTS: $42.80 (not including bag)

I'm going to stay on with MyGlam for at least next month and see what I think. I found one new product I will definitely buy and use regularly out of this, and I can't say the same for my GlossyBox. The cost of the products in this was also nearly equal to the cost of the products in the May GlossyBox. However, I overall enjoyed the products in the GlossyBox more.

May 2012 GlossyBox

GlossyBox has just started running their service in the United States, and I received my first box from them a couple days ago. I've never tried one of these services before, and I wasn't sure what to expect. At $21 per month, this service seems a little pricey, and I'm still not sure it's worth it. However, I was pretty pleased with this month's samples.

The GlossyBox contents were shipped in a cute and sturdy pink box and wrapped in tissue and a bow. I appreciated the sturdy packaging (and the sturdy cardboard box the whole thing was shipped in). I don't live in a major city, and sometimes my USPS packages arrive a little beat up.

The theme of this month's box was "Around the World" and the box came with a nice card detailing each product and its origin (each from a different country).

1. AMORE PACIFIC Moisture Bound Refreshing Hydra-Gel
Amount: .27 fl. oz. (sample size)
Rating: 4/5
PROS: I really enjoy this moisturizer, and it's one of my favorites from this box. It smells amazing, a sort of lotion-y not-quite-floral smell that reminds me of my childhood summers spent with my best friend and all the products her mom used. The packaging is cute and sturdy, with a little mirror on top, and I think once it's empty it will make a nice travel container for earrings. The texture of this product is very silky and it really does feel like it's providing a lot of moisture to my skin.
CONS: The price! At $100 for 1.7 oz (the sample was .27 oz), this moisturizer isn't quite amazing enough to be worth the price to me. I'd probably get 20 full-face uses out of this sample, and at almost a dollar per day of application, it would be quite expensive to use regularly.

2. BURBERRY BEAUTY Lip Mist Natural Sheer Lipstick Copper No.202 (UK)
Amount: .028 oz (sample size)
Rating: 4/5
PROS: Okay, the packaging and design are the best part of this product. Everybody loves the traditional Burberry check, and this tiny square lipstick has that pattern embossed on its case. Using this lipstick makes me feel far more sophisticated than I actually am. :) The color was nice, though not terribly amazing with my skin tone. It went on very smooth and stayed on for quite a while. It didn't taste disgusting like a lot of lipsticks do, although it was still not my favorite. At $30 for a full size (.12 oz) lipstick, I might consider buying this product if I found a shade I really loved.
CONS: The only real dislike I have for this product is the smell. It smells like really expensive, high-end play-doh and tastes a little bit of the same. However, I know there are people out there who love the way this product smells, so to each their own! Also, the lipstick was kind of melted by the time it got to my house. :(

3. MARVIS Marvis Whitening
Amount: 1.23 oz (full size)
Rating: 3/5
PROS: This product supposedly has a whitening effect, which is something I appreciate as a heavy tea drinker. The mint is mild and quite pleasant, which I enjoyed, and my teeth felt nice afterward. Bottom line, it's toothpaste.
CONS: I wasn't really expecting toothpaste in one of these boxes and I'm not sure what to think of that! Also, this is very very expensive toothpaste at $7.50 for a tube not much bigger than a travel size tube of any common toothpaste. I might pay that much if this had some miraculous whitening effect, but this seems unlikely given that the whitening ingredient is .8% sodium monofluorophosphate, which is found at similar levels in other widely-available brands. I'll have to keep using it and see. Another possible con for those of you who are particularly ingredient-conscious is that the primary ingredient in this toothpaste is aluminum hydroxide. This compound is suspected to possibly contribute to neurological disorders, though no rigorous scientific studies have ever concluded anything other than that this is unlikely. I'd feel safe eating a tube of it.

4. PHYTO Phytojoba Intense Hydrating Mask for Dry Hair
Amount: 1.7 fl. oz. (sample size)
Rating: 5/5
PROS: This is my favorite product out of this box. I have hair that is very fine but thick and I have some serious problems with frizz. I have been using this product as directed (it's a mask that you leave on for several minutes) after shampooing and my hair looks absolutely fantastic. It lies flat, there's minimal frizz, and it's soft and shiny. I also love the feel of the packaging of this product.
CONS: At $38 for 6.7 oz, this product is a bit pricier than I would usually buy, but given how many washes it looks like I'm going to get out of it and how pleased I am with the results, I think it may be worth it.

5. ZOYA Summer 2012 - Beach and Surf Collection
Color: Zuza
Amount: .5 fl. oz. (full size)
Rating: 1.5/5
PROS: The color (a sparkly medium teal) was nice enough, and I'm glad it was a full size product. The brushes on mini bottles of nail polish are often very hard to deal with.
CONS: I'll be straight - this nail polish seemed cheap. At $8 per .5 oz bottle, this polish costs about the same as the brands I usually buy, but I was much much less satisfied with it.

BONUS: GlossyBox blush brush
Rating: 1/5
This goat hair brush was a thoughtful little extra, but not really worth much. The handle is very sturdy and attractive-looking, but the bristles are rough and frayed and just plain not very good.

OVERALL BOX RATING: 3.5/5
ESTIMATED COST OF CONTENTS: $48 (not including brush)

For now, I'll be continuing to order GlossyBoxes. It was fun to try out new products and I'm really enjoying the Phyto hydrating mask.

ETA 15 JUNE: I called GlossyBox customer service about the melted lipstick and they told me they were going to send out a replacement right away. I'm very pleased with the way they handled that and with the promptness and courtesy of their customer service representative, Nicole.