November 2011 Luxe Box Unboxing

Hey everyone,

Updated: Pictures have now been added!

So I received my November Luxe Box at the doorstep yesterday afternoon and boy, was I excited!! I had been waiting for the email with the tracking number and shipping information since Monday and though I didn't get one, the box was rather unexpectedly delivered to my house.


So as I had briefly described in my Luxe Box Arrival post, the Luxe Box is a collection of 3-5 deluxe sized beauty products, for you to try out each month. You can choose to buy the monthly subscription, the 3 (CAD $36) or the 12 (CAD $120) month subscription. Shipping is free but with tax, I ended up paying CAD $13.56 per month. Loose Button, as of now, doesn't sell the full-sized versions of the products included in the box each month but they will let you know where to purchase them.
Anyways I couldn't wait till I was able to take pictures so I opened it up as carefully as I could, to show you exactly what you should be expecting with this month's or your upcoming Luxe boxes, so keep reading! 


The outside is an ordinary cardboard parcel box with the shipping label and the Loose Button logo and website on the sides. Inside was the actual Luxe Box which is black in color and has the company's logo; you then slide out the part that contains the actual products. I actually loved the packaging, and the simplistic design was really quite eye-catching. Anyways, once you slide out the box, you'll see a tissue paper being held together by a sticker with your name on it, and I did appreciate the personal touch. There's also lots of tissue paper filling of sorts to protect your products.

The Loose Button company logo along the side of the shipping box.

The website was along the other side of the box.

The part containing the samples was a pull-out drawer within the actual Luxe Box.

The personalized sticker to hold the tissue paper together.

The personalized sticker to hold the tissue paper together.

Now onto the actual contents of this month's Luxe Box - I received the November edition card that explains what each product in the box does, and full-size prices. This month's exclusive offer, valid until Dec 31, 2011 was in partnership with Teaopia, to enjoy 20% off your entire purchase in store or online.

The November edition card explaining the samples.

November's Luxe Box.

November's Luxe Box.

November's Luxe Box.

 
One of the first of five products I pulled out was the Benefit Cosmetics B. Right! Total Moisture Facial Cream (sample provided was 8.9g/0.3 oz with the full-size of 42.8g selling for $38) - it's a moisturizer for normal to dry skin, contains mango butter and claims to "develop the skin's reserves of water & reinforce skin's moisture barrier." Next, I received the Benefit Cosmetics B. Right! Moisture Prep Toning Lotion (sample provided was 8.9mL/0.3 US fl. oz. & the full size is 177.4mL for $29) which is supposed to help, "purify...while...reducing fine lines" and also "clarify & soothe"; it's meant to be used after cleansing and before moisturizing. It contains a number of ingredients including, vitamin E acetate, natural oat, aloe leaf & yeast extract.
Note: I haven't tried out either of the Benefit products (not even tested them on my hand) because I didn't want to try something new on my skin and also because I don't use that company's products due to their animal-testing policies.

Benefit's B.Right! Total Moisture Facial Cream.

Benefit's B.Right! Total Moisture Facial Cream.

Benefit's B.Right! Moisture Prep Toning Lotion.

Benefit's B.Right! Moisture Prep Toning Lotion.

The third product in the box was a full-size Essie nail polish in the shade Super Bosa Nova (a bright, hot pink with light fuchsia colored shimmer particles) - this is one of the two products that I actually tried right when I opened the box and I'm sorry but it has to be one of the most dreadful shades of nail polish that I've come across; what irked me more was that this shade was supposedly chosen for me based on my beauty profile and I could imagine only paler beauties being able to carry off this particular shade. Also the finish is a sort of semi-matte finish in that there isn't a lot of obvious shine but the shimmer is noticeable. If you are into bright colors and you did order this month's box, then you'll really love this full-sized product.

Essie's Super Bosa Nova nail polish.

Essie's Super Bosa Nova nail polish.

Essie's Super Bosa Nova nail polish next to the Lise Watier Plumpissimo Le Gloss.

The last beauty product in the box was the Lise Watier Plumpissimo Le Gloss in Opalescence (sample is 1.5mL/0.05 US fl. oz. & full size is CAD $20 for 6.2mL). When I looked at the tube at first, I was concerned that it would be too milky of a pink on my natural lip color and that it might wash me out, but when I swatched it on my hand, it's a really beautiful sheer shade of milky pink containing lots of opalescent shimmer particles and at certain angles, appears as a very light purply-pink shade. It would definitely look good on people with pale coloring or who don't have very naturally pigmented lips; it would also be good for adding shimmer and shine over a lipstick, especially for a holiday inspired look. Oh, what I really loved about the gloss was its non-sticky texture, but since I haven't tried it on my lips, I can't really say anything about it's claimed plumping abilities.

Lise Watier Plumpissimo Le Gloss in Opalescence.

Lise Watier Plumpissimo Le Gloss in Opalescence.

Lise Watier Plumpissimo Le Gloss in Opalescence.

Here's a swatch on my hand of the Lise Watier Plumpissimo Le Gloss in Opalescence; the shine is ridiculous!

Another swatch of the lip gloss sample, and the sparkle looks really pretty here, not too overwhelming.

Here's another capture of how reflective the gloss is.

A size comparison of Essie's Super Bosa Nova nail polish to the Lise Watier Plumpissimo Le Gloss.

 
The last and final product in the box, was listed as a bonus item and it's a Teaopia Cactus Fig Tea Kit along with a paper filter in a separate plastic bag of sorts. The tin containing the tea leaves is incredibly adorable, and it's a bright orange color - I'll definitely be saving that box as a keepsake! I'm not an avid tea drinker so I might give it someone I know, to try out. But it's important to note that the tea leaves did leave a very noticeable scent throughout the box and I felt that including a food product into the box especially one with such a potent scent, may not have been the best idea, considering the possibility of people having allergies.

Teaopia's Cactus Fig Tea Kit.

A size comparison of Essie's Super Bosa Nova nail polish to the Teaopia Cactus Fig Tea Kit.

So after having received my first Luxe Box, what do I have to say about the entire experience? Since the time of placing my order, the customer service provided by Loose Button has been excellent; they emailed me a few weeks before the order was shipped, to confirm your address and are easy to get in touch with through their Facebook page; I am very appreciative of companies that strive to provide excellent customer service and Loose Button has been doing pretty well on that front. More importantly though, for me it comes down to whether it's worth paying a monthly fee to receive these samples. Now, receiving a box filled with beauty treats, each month is undoubtedly a nice surprise but for me the cost is a very important factor. As I'm currently unemployed and trying to pay off student loans, I'm not sure I would want to pay each month for products that are chosen by someone else and may not be exactly what I'm looking for, as in receiving products that are tested on animals, or shades not suited to my skin color although I think I'll continue with the membership just for December just because I've heard rumors that the boxes may be extra special for the holidays. I wish Loose Button could customize the boxes for subscribers who wish to receive only cruelty-free products because that personally is much more important to me than a shade that isn't the most flattering for my coloring.
If you can afford to treat yourself every month, then go right ahead because you may discover a product that really works for you and that might be worth the small monthly fee to you, but if not, I would suggest saving up and then going out and buying that one full-sized product you've been waiting to purchase for a long time. That's just my opinion and in the end, do what makes you happy and what's most suitable for you. I hope this review wasn't terribly long to read and that you've enjoyed my unboxing and review of this month's Luxe Box. Thanks a bunch for reading!