End of summer Sasa haul

Hi loves,

I'm on a break between my two Thursday classes and so I've decided to update my blog with a end of summer haul from Sasa. As I have explained in a previous blog spot: Sasa is a Hong Kong based store that also ships internationally. I often take advantage of their free international shipping events because otherwise I'd be paying as much as my purchase just for the shipping! Now, I usually spend about $30 dollars everytime I make an order which gets me a good amount of items. I like trying out Asian beauty products because I've always heard since things about them. This time I also ordered some products from a French skincare brand.

So this is what I got:



The first item is ESSENTIAL'S NUANCE AIRY Ultra Honey Hair Mask. It's a Japanese brand that sells haircare products. I've already tried the RICH PREMIER hair mask with is made with sunflower oil instead of the wild rose essence which is in the NUANCE AIRY mask. It's formulated with honey and milk protein to help protect and strengthen hair. It's a great product with dry hair, split ends or just to treat your hair every now and then. The added shea butter helps to moisturize the hair and make it smooth while the wild rose essence helps to protect it to keep it soft. Overall I'm very pleased with this product as it does exactly what it promises to do. Which is also why I repurchased this in another scent and probably will keep repurchasing it. It sells for $9.40 on Sasa.



Next are two skincare products from a French skincare line called C+M. I've never tried products from this brand before and Sasa was having an amazing sale on their products so I decided to get a couple to try. The first one is the Anti-Blemish 3 in 1 Deep Purifying Cleansing Gel. I got this cleansing gel because it was super inexpensive ($2.50!!) and I thought it would be nice to use in the shower. To my surprise it's been a great cleanser so far. It foams up really easily and as I thought it would be, it is great to use in the shower. It's formulated with natural glycerin and witch hazel which helps to cleanse pores and to purify the skin. This cleanser also promises to helps excess sebum, dirt and old skin cells that are on your face. It also promises to fight against new breakouts. I am quite pleased with this product and will probably repurchase this when I run out.

The next product is the Whitening Toning Lotion. It's a mild toner that's made for sensitive skin. It helps to moisturize, whiten and tone the skin while removing residues. It's formulated with arbutin (helps to whiten the skin), portulaca oleracea extract (nourishes the skin), sodium hyaluronate (hydrates) and dipottaisum glycyrrhizate (hydrates). I have to admit that I haven't tried this product yet because I have too many other toners on the go at the moment. But I am expecting good things from this because I already like the cleanser. It sells for $2.90 on Sasa.



The next product is the Japanese brand KOSE's ROSE OF HEAVEN Fragrance Blotting Paper. I LOVE using blotting paper to help remove the excess oil on my face and have heard nice things about the scent of the ROSE OF HEAVEN line so I thought I'd give these a try. First off, the sheets are a little bigger than usual blotting paper sheets which I loved. Also, the scent of roses is fragrant but also subtle. It sells for $4.90 on Sasa.

 

Next is the Mentholatum ACNES Nose Pore Strip. After trying a Biore pore strip from one of my Glossyboxes I thought I'd order some while I was making an order on Sasa. I came across these which are reasonably priced ($4.40 for 10 strips), so I decided to give them a try. These nose pore strips are formulated with tea tree oil and is great for acne prone skin. My issue is more so for blemishes for acne but I bought these to help remove blackheads. I've used a good 3 or 4 so far and really like the feel of my skin after I remove them. I do see a difference around my nose area. I'm quite pleased with these nose pore strips and would recommend them to people with oily or combination skin.



The last two products are two face masks from SKINLITE. One is the PAPER MASK Seaweed Essence Mask and the other is the MASK Cucumber Essence Mask which are basically the same product with two different base ingredients. The seaweed mask is infused with seaweed extract, vitamin E and collagen which helps to revitalize the skin cells and to keep your skin fresh and healthy. The cucumber mask is formulated with licorice root and portulaca extract, vitamin B and phyto collagen. These ingredients helps to moisturize and improve the skin. I've used SKINLITE masks before but not the ones that apply to your face. I found these to be very soothing and perfect to use after a long day. These were selling for 2/$1.90 which is amazing. I will definitively purchased more of these when I make my next order!



Well that's it!! I always get excited when I order things from Sasa because I am usually pleased with everything I buy even if I have never tried the brand or product before.

If you're interested in ordering anything from their website, look out for their free international shipping promotions which they often have!

Sasa website

Have a good weekend everyone!

xo

J

Busy busy busy

Hi loves,

As some of you know I've started school again almost a month ago so I've been quite lazy updating my blog. however I have received my September Glossybox and my September The Natural Beauty Box as well as my September Glymm bag earlier this month so please look forward to seeing those reviews soon!

xo

J

My Current Nail Polish Collection

Hi loves,

As many others girls (and some guys!), I loved painting my nails! This summer I've been very into the pastel colors, but I will start wearing darker colors as fall and winter start. I wanted to give you a little insider on all my nail polish. I did throw out a good 20 of them a couple months ago as they were starting to get sticky and thick.

I've divided everything I have into colors. I hope you enjoy this post!

Reds and Blacks


From left to right:
1- Sealed with a Kris (Nicole by O.P.I)
2- 119A Black Lace (N.Y.C – New York Color)
3- Sooki (Zoya)
4- 232B Lincoln Center (N.Y.C – New York Color)

Pinks and Nudes


From left to right:
1- 009 Bright Idea (GOSH)
2- 70 Tea Rose (Sally Hansen Hard as Nails)
3- 610 Blissful (GOSH)
4- Lara (Zoya)
5- 120 Cupid (Revlon)
6- 115 Peach Petal (Revlon)

Oranges


From left to right:
1- 229 Demure (Revlon)
2- 506 Wiggle Room (Essie)
3-08 Sorbet (Sally Hansen Smooth Perfect)
4- 021 Peachy Rose (OH MY GOSH)
5- Grand Canyon Sunset C (Elizabeth Arden)
6-516 Lifesaver (Essie)

Yellows


From left to right:
1-420 Yellow Kitty (Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure)
2- 360 Mellow Yellow (Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear)

Greens



From left to right:
1- 440 Mint Sprint (Sally Hansen InstaDri)
2- 02 Green with Envy (Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear)
3- 10 Emerald City (Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear)
4- 34 Going Green (Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear)
5- 609 Drizzle (GOSH)  

Blues


From left to right:
1- 04 Blue Me Away! (Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear)
2-592 Pool Party (GOSH)
3- Blue Away (Sally Hansen InstaDri)
4- Mint Candy Apple (Essie)

Purples



From left to right:
1- Lilac (Sally Hansen Hard As Nails)
2- 370 Wild Orchid (Rimmel)
3- 270 Lacey Lilac (Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear)
4- 185 Lilac Pastelle (Revlon)

Greys


From left to right:
1- 460 Wet Cement (Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear)
2- Silver Stiletto (Sally Hansen Salon)
3- 270 Steel Grey (Rimmel)
4- My Empire … My Rules (Nicole by O.P.I)

Glitters



From left to right:
1- 460D Kaleidoscope (Wet n’ Wild Wild Shine)
2- 467 Night Prowl (Wet n’ Wild Wild Shine)
3- 300 Rock Candy (Sally Hansen Hard as Nails)
4- Disco Dolls (Nicole by O.P.I)
5- Rainbow in the S-Kylie (Nicole by O.P.I)

And those are all the nail polishes I own as of now!
I'm expecting my August Glossybox and my September The Natural Beauty Box this week so I'll be reviewing those shortly!

Till next time,

xo

J.

Glymm Bag August 2012 Review

Hi loves,

I received my August Glymm Bag a while ago and had all the pictures ready to go on my computer and just never got around the writing a review about it. As I have a bit of free time at the moment I wanted to tell you all about the August Glymm bag.

I was a little disappointed with this month's bag, and this only because there was no product that I really fell in love with. There was a total of 6 items in the bag this month and here they are: 

 The first item is of course the makeup bag itself. This month's featured a patent black bag valued at $12

.
 The next item is the Naked Princess Naked Shade Lip Gloss in Barely Blush. It's a light pink color and goes on very sheer. The positive is that it's not very sticky, however there isn't very much color to it. The full size retails for $26.



 Next item is the Vitamine & Sea Mineral Clay Mask (5ml). It's a face mask made with clay from the Dead Sea. It promises to exfoliate your skin, eliminate toxins and promote circulation. I used this mask once and gave the rest to my sister because I felt like the mask was very thick, sticky and heavy and didn't like it very much. The full size (210ml) retails for $62.



 The next item is the Benta Berry G-1 Moisturising Face Cream for Boys and Girls (3ml). This face cream is made from 100% natural ingredients and doesn't smell overly fragrant. It's a nice cream to use before putting on your makeup for the day as it's not too oily or sticky on the skin. Overall I'm quiet pleased with this product although I'm not sure if I would purchase the full size product. The full size (30ml) retails for $22.



 Next up is the Mai Couture Blush Paper. It's basically a rub on blush. This blush gives a lovely light pink colour that is very wearable for the summer. It applied very effectively with no mess and stayed on all day long. This company also has different types of makeup available in the same format including foundation which other Glymm members received in their bag. I am quite pleased with the colour of this blush and didn't appreciate the no fuss aspect to it, however I don't think it's a type of item that I would repurchase in the feature because I prefer the traditional blush application. This sample gave with 2 sheets and the full size (50 sheets) retails for $22.50.



 Next is the Parfum Vanille Insensée by Atelier Cologne This cologne has a fragrant vanilla scent that a little heavy to my liking. It smells like the type of perfume that most people would wear in the fall or winter as it's not a fresh spritz. The smell is quite nice, but I am very picky with fragrances and unfortunately did not enjoy this cologne as much as other people did, probably because I don't really enjoy the strong smell of vanilla. The full size (30ml) retails for $70.



 Finally, the last product that I received is the NuMe Hydro Punch Hydrating Conditioner. It's a conditioner that promises to leave your hair feeling smooth and silky. I have to admit that I absolutely despised this product. So much so that after I used it once I had to wash my hair again to get the smell from this product out of my hair. I don't know how to describe the smell but it was not enjoyable. I do admit that it does leave your hair feeling soft and clean but I wouldn't buy the full size product based on the smell alone.



 And there you go! That's what I received in my August Glymm Bag. If you're interested in subcribing to Glymm Bag, it's $12 per month and use my invitation link : https://www.glymm.com/share/juliaemery

 Till next time,

 xx

 J.

The Natural Beauty Box August 2012 Review

Hi loves,

I came across this service in June and decided to subscribe to receive the first box from this company. It's called The Natural Beauty Box by The Natural Beauty Store. According to the company, it's an affordable box that provides it's subscribers with a month to month subscription of 10 to 15 deluxe samples that are 95-100% all natural.

I received the August box on Monday and I've spent the week trying out all the products in the box and I'm really excited to tell you all about it. So, without further ado, here's what I received:

The first thing I pulled out when I opened the box was an envelope with my name on it (a nice personal touch) with an invoice, coupons and product information.



This month I received 14 products in total, including 2 full size products, and with the overall value of the samples worth $122.16 (Amazing value!!)



Now, there are some products that I prefer over others, some that I wouldn't repurchase and some that I would consider purchasing. I've decided to give each product a score out of 5 stars. With 5 stars being the highest score and 1 star being the lowest.

The first product is the Temptations Bath N' Body Tumble Me Oats Natural Soap Cake Slice. The sample size is about a third of the full size product. It's made with a mix of oils and is perfect to use in the shower. The full size retails for $8. I used this in the shower and like the fresh scent of this product. I don't think it would be something that I would repurchase because I prefer body washes compared to soap bar but I think it's a nice product.



The next product is the Fruit Enzyme Exfoliating Cleanser by Pure Anada. It's a nice light cleanser that is made with a mix of citrus fruits (orange, grapefruit, pineapple). I've decided to use this cleanser in the shower and I love it. I haven't necessarily seen any difference in my skin because I don't have specific trouble spots, however it's an item that I would consider buying because I love the scent and the exfoliating beads are soft enough for daily use. The sample size that I received is about an 1/8 of the regular size which retails for $19.50.

Next is Happy Pumpkin's Hydrating Hair Balm. This sample size about half of the regular size and it's worth $21 (full size retailing at $42). This hair balm smells exactly like its name, like spiced pumpkin. It's meant to be used after showering on damp hair. It can be applied to add texture or definition. I'll be honest and say that I don't use this type of product because it leaves an oily residue in my hair. Because my hair doesn't need this type of product it's hard to be to properly judge it's effectiveness, which is why I'm giving this a lower score.

The next product is Beesline. It's a 100% natural alternative to petroleum jelly. It's made with 3 ingredients: Coconut Oil, Beeswax and Wildflower Honey. I've seen videos on people taking off their makeup with Vaseline so I decided to try it with Beesline. I have to say that I've very pleased with the way that Beesline takes off all my eye makeup and doesn't leave a greasy residue. This sample is a full size product at $3.99. The product information card says that the full size product is in fact $10.99, so I'm guessing that perhaps this is just a smaller version of the full size product.

Next is the Original Purity Skincare's Wash Me Lavender Body Wash. I used this product in shower and I love the texture of the body wash. It's like a mix between a body wash and a moisturizer. However, the only turn off is the smell. I hate the smell of lavender! Even though I loved the texture of this product, I was severely thrown off by the scent and the feeling that I was felt like I smelled like an old lady after using it. I think I would prefer this product if it was another scent. There was no information on the product card for this body wash so I checked The Natural Beauty Store and didn't find any info. So I went on the Original Purity Skincare website and found out that the 8oz bottle retails for $16 and the 16oz bottle retails for $32.


(From left to right: Pure Anada's Fruit Exfoliating Cleanser, Happy Pumpkin's Hydrating Hair Balm, Beesline, Original Purity Skincare's Wash Me Lavender Body Wash)

Next is Ariona Skincare's Organic Argan and Camu Camu Berry Facial Oil. I don't normally use these types of products however I didn't mind the smell of this one. I couldn't tell if it did something to my skin or not and it's a nice type of product to use at night. I think it would help if you have blemishes. It's a pretty big sample size being about 1/4 of the full size which retails at $25.95.

Next is the Delizioso Skincare Crisp Vanilla Organic Body Cream. It's a small sample being about 1/5 of the regular size which is worth $26. It's a nice body cream that went on nicely and wasn't oily or greasy. However I'm not really a fan of the scent. It's verryyyy vanilla. I can see why some people would like this, but I prefer fruity and fresh scents for body creams.

The next product is 100% Pure's Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream. I don't really use any eye creams but I'm glad we received a product like this because I really like it. It's meant to be applied to the under eye area. It has everything you would want in an eye cream including Vitamines C and E as well as Coffee extracts to give you good looking skin. I don't think I would repurchase this product because of the price, but I think this sample size, which is already around half of the full size product (full size is $19), will last me a long time.



(From left to right: Ariona Skincare Organic Argan and Camu Camu Berry Facial Oil, Delizioso Skincare Crisp Vanilla Organic Body Cream and 100% Pure's Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream) The next product is the Delizioso Spring Cream Blush. It's a nice size cream blush which is half the size of the full size ($22). I like the color of this blush and it goes on quite nicely, however I'm not a fan of cream blush and would rather stick to powders.

Next is Zatik Natural's Active Balancing Creme. I've been using this as a night cream. At first I didn't really like the smell of this product but after using it a couple times, it's not that bad. It's not too greasy but definitely not the best cream I've used. It's not something that I would repurchase. Th full size retails for $28 and the sample size that I received is worth $6.

The next product is Renu Derma's Eye Cream. This eye cream can be used all around the eye area. Between the two eye creams that we received this month, I do prefer the 100% Pure Coffee Bean cream, but this one is not bad either. The full size retails for $49.99 and the sample size was worth $16.67.


(from left to right: Delizioso Skincare Spring Cream Blush, Zatik Natural Active Balancing Creme, Renu Derma Eye Cream)

The next products are all sample of mineral makeup from Pure Anada. We received 3 eye shadows and 1 blush color. Clockwise starting in the top left corner is a light bronze blush in Spring, a light beige eye color Stardust, a dark plum eye color Wisteria and finally a light brown eye color Cafe Latte.. I don't normally use mineral makeups because I find the powder just gets everywhere, but I do like the color selection that was sent and the fact that they go on quite nicely. All in all, I'm quite pleased with these products.



Next is the Lanai Sunset Perfume by M.E Studio. It's a harmony of exotic scents mixed with oils. I tend to stick to fresher scents or fruity scents so I wasn't a fan of this perfume. I guess it just depends what scents you like. The full size retails for $40 and the sample size was worth $7.50.



And lastly is Delizioso Skincare's Nourish and Shimmer Lip Gloss that I received in Raspberry. Other subscribers got different flavors but I bet they smell just as good as mine. I'm not a fan of the color of it as it goes on a little dark for my liking and I tend to stick to nudes and pinks rather than reds. But it is a full size product and it smells deliciously of raspberries so I am quite pleased with this product. I just wish that the color was a little lighter. This product retails for $20. 



Wow! This post took me almost 2 hours to write!! That's how many products we received. So I think this company puts good value in it's boxes and I have subscribed for the month of September as well and I'm looking forward to the new products that I will receive next month. After that I will decide if I want to continue or not because it is a pricey product and I going back to school in September so that will be my main focus money wise.

If you are interested in this service please visit these following links for more information:

http://thenaturalbeautybox.com/
(The Natural Beauty Box website)

http://www.thenaturalbeautystore.com/
(The Natural Beauty Store, where you can buy the products above)

http://www.facebook.com/TheNaturalBeautyBox
(The Natural Beauty Box's official Facebook page)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Natural-Beauty-Store/327757790645510?ref=hl
(The Natural Beauty Store's official Facebook Page)

https://twitter.com/tnbeautybox
(The Natural Beauty Box's official Twitter page)

And that's it for now,

xo

J