January Glymm Box Review

I finally received my Glymm box (thanks Canada Post) after it going back and forth between Montreal and Richmond.  

The thing with delays with the post is that you're left restless - very anxious to receive your goodies.  So when I opened my box, my expectations were higher than usual, because I had been waiting for that baby for like 10 days.  

Needless to say, I was a *little* disappointed.

Added after writing full review : In the end, I'm pretty excited about two of the five products in the box so saying I'm disappointed is a little harsh!  

The first thing I noticed - and many people did too - was ''but where are my jelly beans?''.  I loooove Jelly Bellys and I always ate them while opening my box and have kept all the little jars for storage - they're great for bobby pins or to carry Advil in your purse ;).  I've read somewhere that Glymm had problems with jars breaking in the shipping process so they're trying to figure out another way to send them.  I hope that's the case, because that was really one of the elements that differentiate them from Luxe Box.

The box contained 5 items + a coupon for a free RMS lip shine if you order something on the Glymm store.  Because I had already placed an order on the Glymm store about a week ago, there is currently nothing I'm feeling like purchasing, so I'll probably skip on that offer.  Still very nice of them though. :)

The first product I noticed was the brow gel.  Now this is a product I would be REALLY excited about if I was the average women.  Shaped brows can do wonders for your face structure, slimming your features and enhancing your eyes in a very natural way.  

But I'm not the average women in regards to my brows.  I have LOTS of other features that need enhancing, but brows isn't one of them because I was blessed with naturally nicely shaped brows.  But I'll say it again... GREAT product and GREAT idea to put it out there.

The other item I normally would be super excited about is the Kara facial cloth.  I love facial cloths that you can use as makeup removers (see my previous rave about the Neutrogena ones).  Why am I not as excited about this product as I should be?  It's only one cloth, which hardly gives me enough product to figure out whether I like it or not.  For these types of product, I feel 3 cloths would have been better to evaluate the general quality of the product.  I'll review that one for sure when I get around to trying it for removal of a full face of makeup.

One of the other three items is the Vasanti cleanser, which has micro crystals in it.  My usual cleansing routine is done with my Clarisonic and you can't use cleansers with micro beads in them because they can damage the mechanism of your Clarisonic.  So yeah, it might be nice and everything, but again, that's not something I can include in my daily routine.  

Then there's the Burt's Bees nourishing body lotion with milk and honey.  I looove Burt's Bees product, as I use my cuticle balm regularly for manicures.  I can't wait to use that lotion when I get out of the shower.  Plus, this product is really one that I would definitely repurchase if I end up loving it because it's easily accessible.

Lastly, we have another black pencil.  Loose Button had a black pencil in its December box and now Glymm has one in their January box.  Like I said for my Luxe Box review, I really wish they had picked a color more original that just plain old black.

Here is a little follow up on my black eyeliner swatch post, where you can see the Cargo black eyeliner.  This time I sticked to pencil eyeliners for greater comparability.

The one on the left is the Cargo pencil and it's a really matte black with no glossy or shimmery finish at all.  I noticed that the pencil was a lot harder than the other two so while it will give a greater staying power, it's virtually unsmudgeable so forget using it for a smokey eye.

In the center I've used the NYX pencil I've received in last's month Luxe box.  Out of the three this has the glossiest finish.  Texture-wise it's a lot softer than Cargo's pencil, but not as creamy as the one on the right, which is UD 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Zero.  

The UD 24/7 pencil is really easy to work with for smudging and glides like a charm on the skin.  The only downside is that you need to have your sharpener with you at all times because of its creaminess.  

So yeah, all in all, a good month, that has been a little bit darkened by my adventures with Canada Post, but that's not Glymm's fault at all.  I looked around for reviews (after I had received my box of course) and it seems everybody got the same box this month.  I still think it's well worth the 10$ a month, especially when you factor in the points awarded for reviews and purchases and the availability of certain high quality products on their online store.  I'll definitely stay a customer for a while :).

If you'd like to register for a Glymm box, here's my referral link.  Disclaimer : I do get 50 points to redeem on their store if you use my referral link to subscribe so if that's not your thing, you can subscribe by going directly on Glymm's website here.

An Eyeliner Story: 5 black eye liners compared

Receiving the NYX eyeliner in my December Luxe Box made me wonder how it compared to the other black eyeliners I currently have.

From left to right you can see : NYX Pencil Eyeliner, Revlon ColorStay Liquid Eye Pen, Revlon ColorStay Liquid Liner, L'Oréal Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Liner and MAC Fluidline Gel Liner.  Obviously, they're all black. 

Obviously, the NYX pencil is the easiest to use, it takes the least amount of practice to achieve the desired results because well, we all know how to draw.  You would think that the liquid eye pen from Revlon would be really easy to use as well... wrong.  It's such a mess.  There's either too much or too little product on the tip and it's just a mess to apply, you'll see from the swatches was I mean.

The two liquid liners do take some practice to apply but once you master it it's pretty easy. The L'Oréal one has a felt tip which makes it so much easier to master, so if you're looking into buying your first eyeliner I'd get this one, it does an okay job and it's pretty cheap.  I do find though that the Revlon liquid liner is the best liquid liner in the drugstore category.  The tip is kinda small though so it's a little harder to get straight long lines.  

Finally there's the MAC Fluidline that I've already reviewed here.  The highlight?  Amazing staying power, the best I've seen for a liner. 

Now onto the swatches...

From left to right in case you didn't remember : NYX Pencil Eyeliner, Revlon ColorStay Liquid Eye Pen, Revlon ColorStay Liquid Liner, L'Oréal Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Liner and MAC Fluidline Gel Liner.

The NYX pencil is a deep matte black with a smudgeable consistency.  Great pigmentation there as you can see.

See what I told you about the Liquid Eye Pen from Revlon?  It looks brown - not black - very watery and it was hard to get an even color on my arm so you can imagine how bad it is on your lid? Do not buy, absolute waste of money.

The Revlon liquid liner is a lot more pigmented than you see on the picture.  The only issue with this liner is that the hardness of the tip makes it kind of a pain in the butt to layer.  The first swipe is ok, but then the hardness of the tip scratches the color from the first swipe and you need to do it over... so yeah definitely a product that you need to master.  But once that's done, you can get great results from it.

The fourth one, the L'Oréal Lineur Intense is very pigmented as well but it has shimmer in it, which I'm not too fond of for a liner.  But that aside, it's a great liner and very easy to use like I said before.

The MAC fluid line also has a matte finish and it's very easy to smudge as well.  It's my daily liner and has the most staying power out of all the liners I've tried.  

So that's about it!  What are your favorite brands of eyeliner?  I want to try the UD 24/7 ones and the Bobbi Brown gel liners because I've heard great things from them! 

December Luxe Box

So I received my Luxe box this morning.  

Funny thing, I was in my bed you know, in my pajamas (ok no, in my underwear) and the bell rung.  I got out of my bed immediately and rushed to the door to let the mailman know I was there.  Because if he thinks I'm not there the package'll just go to the post office and I'll only be able to pick it up tomorrow.  So I rushed to the door to push the button to let him in (apartment, y'know) and told him from the top of the stairs ''well hum leave it there I'm kind of in my underwear...'' lol -__-.

Anyways, so yeah, I received my Luxe Box this morning.  

Same sleek black packaging as last month, it's so pretty. Inside there was a letter from the founders to thank us for making the box such a success. Probably must be related to the several complaints they've been getting on Facebook about their shipping.  Anyways, it's still nice of them regardless.  They even put a complimentary Loose Button chocolate for Christmas, which is cute.  Of course, Glymm had a 10$ off on their store AND Jelly Beans (as they do each month) but we're not comparing... are we?  

The first item I noticed was this Yves Rocher body wash.  Smell is mandarin (mandarine d'Italie in French). I don't know what's the difference between a mandarin and a mandarin from Italy but oh well. I love those citrus smells so I was really happy about that. It's a nice sample and it's a decent size.  I know some people said that they were really happy to get this since they don't have Yves Rocher stores close to their home, but here it's the complete opposite, Yves Rocher stores are pretty much in every shopping center. Still nice though.

Nail polish is China Glaze First Mate by the way. :)

The second item I noticed was the DDF Advanced Firming Cream.  This wasn't much of a surprise because Loose Button had sent us an email in the beginning of the month giving us the opportunity to choose between this eye cream and a hair product. I chose this firming cream because I'm already committed to a hair brand that I love, so I wanted this item instead.  

The texture is very creamy without being watery but still feels light enough to penetrate the skin.  Because of the out-of-this-world price point, I hope this isn't a miracle product.  At 140$ for 48g, this is something I just can't afford.  The sample size is 14g which is very generous.  I'm excited to incorporate this into my skin care routine, even though I'm still young and my skin doesn't have huge firming needs just yet.

The other two products were a little disappointing.  There was a NYX black pencil eyeliner that retails for 4$.  It is a full size product.  I don't know any women who doesn't own a black pencil eyeliner so this is a little disappointing.  A colored one would have been nicer.  Especially since nowadays makeup lovers mostly use gel, cream or liquid liners and the basic black pencil eyeliner just doesn't compare quality-wise.

It was still nicely pigmented though and really black, none of that almost smokey charcoal grey I pretend to be black black.  You can see a comparision swatch with my other black eyeliners here.

The two golden pockets contained two perfume sample vials.  These aren't deluxe perfume sample size like the La Parisienne sample Glymm box gave me this month.  Those two are regular handed out in department stores perfume samples.  Wanna know the worst part of it? They're half filled. So much for ''deluxe size'' samples.

The left one with the black top is 1 million by Paco Rabanne and it's a male fragrance.  It's really musky and powerful and I kinda like it.  I hope the boyfriend will like it enough to wear it.  Edited after: Well he won't wear it, says his grandfather has the same fragrance and that only *old* people wear it. 

The right one with the white top is Lady Million, still by Paco Rabanne.  It's, like the title says, a perfume for the ladies.  And... I... hate... it.  It's really powerful and its muskiness is overwhelming and headache inducing.  

So all in all it was an okay month, it's fine with me, I don't expect to have great months each month.  I just hope the next one is going to be a little better! Then again, last month's box was great so it's evened out now. So, what did you get in your Luxe Box and are you satisfied by it?

November Luxe Box

So along with my Glymm box I've also got a monthly subscription for a Luxe Box.  It's a little pricier at 12$ a month, so my expectations are a little bit higher for this one, since for basically the same service they charge 2$ more.  

It comes in a very lovely black box.

And each box is customized with your name on it.  It's a nice touch :).  I'm just wondering how this affects their shipping efficiency though... is it really beneficial for them to do so?  Sure it differentiates them from the other subscription services out there, but cutting that would definitely cut their costs and make their production more efficient (I presume).  Oh well, we'll have to see if they eventually drop that personal touch as soon as their client base starts to grow.

Again, the first thing I saw when I opened my box was the Essie nail polish.  I love Essie. I think their colors are great, they make great nudes/pale colors and I love their cream finish!

The color I got was Absolutely Shore, a color from their summer 2011 collection that I had being eyeing.  It's a pretty pale mint green.  I unfortunately don't have swatches of it, but next time I put it on I'll definitely take some pictures for you guys! 

I already have Mint Sorbet from the Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear collection so because of that I didn't originally purchase this shade because I thought they would look too similar.  I was wrong.  Mint Sorbet is a lot greener and brings out the yellow in your skin, whereas Absolutely Shore looks more like a pale whitish green nude color.  It looks a lot better on my NW10-NW15 skin than Mint Sorbet.  

This was a full size item in the Luxe Box so yay!  This alone almost paid for the 12$ box, as Essie nail polishes range from 8.99$ to 11.99$ in drugstores here.  

The second and third items I noticed were the two Benefit items.  I was a little bummed to see two items from the same brand.  But since it's Benefit it's not that big of a deal. So I had a facial exfoliator and a prep lotion/moisturizer.  I haven't used the exfoliator yet because my Clarisonic seems to be doing the job for me so it's sitting in my skin care jar, waiting to be used.


I've been using the moisture prep toning lotion for a few weeks now.  It's a good alternative to moisturizer.  I use it after toner and before makeup primer.  It has a watery texture and sorts of remind me of the Shiseido moisturizing gel-cream.  It smells really nice, it has a manly smell to it sort of - reminds me of the Eau Sauvage man fragrance by Dior - with lots of citrus accents.  I liked the product, but I wouldn't repurchase.  I didn't feel it added anything special to my skin, besides the scent - which fades away after a minute or two.

The last item from the box was kind of hard to see.  It's a glittery eye liner from Lise Watier.  A perfect item for the Holidays :).  

The consistency is perfect for what it is.  It's a little watery but that makes it really easy to apply where you want it and to layer the glitter to get the desired look.  One stroke will give you just a little glitter, but 3-4 coats will give you a black glittered line.  It's a great product! :)  I'm glad I got the black one though...

The brush is really pointy so it makes the whole application process easier.  Because I have a sample size it's kind of a pain in the butt to apply, especially with my huge thumbs, but that wouldn't be a problem with the full size product.

I won't repurchase this shade - or any of them - because I'm not much of a glitter fan, except for special occasions, and there aren't nearly enough special occasions to use it all up.  

As a bonus item I've received a tea (Cactus Fig flavoured - whatever that is) and some tea bags (lol).  Haven't tried them, probably won't, I'm not much of a tea drinker - except for Aveda tea which is oh-my-God-so-good.  But it's kinda pretty to look at, isn't it?  

I'll probably keep it for guests... does tea expire? lol

Overall I'm pretty happy with this month's box.  With Essie, eyeliner and Benefit, who wouldn't?  Can't wait to receive another one!  

*On a side note, I've heard of people getting some expired Moroccan Oil product in their November box.  Luxe Box said they will send out a compensation item in the December box for those people, but that the product was safe for use still.  This doesn't bother me as much as some people, who go crazy on expiry dates, but I find it funny that nobody knew the product was expired before sending it.  I'm not sure how their business model work, but I'm guessing companies provide them with free samples to have visibility for their products.  So somebody providing the samples from Moroccan Oil must have known. I also find it weird that not one employee looking at the bottles or overseeing the production chain noticed the expiry date.  At least they handled it well on the PR front, but you can bet subscribers will be angry if the additional product they receive as compensation is subpar.    

Review: MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack

I purchased this not too long ago (see my MAC haul post) because I was searching for an alternative for my beloved Revlon ColorStay Liquid Liner.  I had good results with it, but the application was a pain, because the tip is so small.

Pictured: MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack (18 $CAD) and Sephora Angled Brush 22 (16 $CAD)

Because it's a gel eye liner it applies very easily.  Unlike a liquid eye liner which dries either almost instantly or has the chance to smudge on your lid before it dries, the gel liner really stays where you apply it.  Well, this brand anyway.

You do get an okay amount for the price, but it's much more about the quality of the product.

As you can see from my swatch, even though it's kinda blurry (sorry about that), it really is a deep black with a matte finish.  I really don't like shimmery eye liners, so this is perfect for a polished look.  I have pictures of it on me below, but be aware that these were taken 12 hours AFTER I've put on the liner.  So it really has amazing staying power. Again, sorry for my oily skin, it is the end of the day :3.  Also, you may notice that I'm not wearing any eyeshadow, so that means no primer as well, so again +1 for the long-lasting properties.

I feel I'm going to use this product A LOT and I'll go through my 18$ worth of product reaaaally quickly.  But really, I'm loving this.  I highly recommend and can't wait to try other colors.  It's perfect for a heavier hand or for tight lining.  Looove it. <3


xoxo, MiMu

MAC Glitter and Ice Event and Haul

So today I had an appointment at my MAC store for the new collection Glitter and Ice launching event. I inevitably got a few things...

Pictured : MAC Fix+ (24 $CAD), MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack (18$ CAD), MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Give Me Sun! (33 $CAD) and MAC Snowglobe Eye Shadow Palette from the Glitter and Ice Collection (45.50 $CAD).

As you can see, these products are from the regular collection.  They have been on my wishlist for a while now so it was nice getting them.

The MAC Fix+ is definitely something I'm looking forward to these days.  As a lot of you might experience, my skin tends to get a lot drier when there's a change in season.  I know it's been autumn for a while, but right now the weather we've been having here in Quebec, has just started to drop down to 5°C or so, so it's getting a lot colder these days.  I know this product is supposed to set your makeup and make it last throughout the day, but even the MUA herself told me it was better for hydrating and softening the cakey look our skin can have during season transitions.  

As for the MAC gel eye liner, I've been wanting to try a good gel eye liner ever since I experimented with the one in my Sephora 40-something eye shadow palette.  Obviously, the one in that set wasn't very high quality, but a lot of people have been raving about this one.  The MUA did put some on me and I have to say it does look fabulous.  Plus, it's really matte, which I love about black eye liner as I hate the shimmery glitzy look with dark liner.

About the bronzer... I'm kinda feeling meh about it.  I'm actually probably going to return it tomorrow.  It was an impulse purchase and I feel it is definitely way too dark for my skin tone and way too orange based to be a good contouring powder.  For reference, I have NW15 skin.

I will review the Snowglobe eye shadow palette separately, as I feel it deserves it's own post.  Soooo pretty.

The event itself was really amazing.  They had a huge snow globe and skaters who would dance around either in the globe or around it.  When I arrived they were dancing/skating to great pop dance songs in ethereal kind-of dance moves.  But about forty-five minutes after being there, they just looked pretty bored.  I guess putting on a show for 9+ hours a day isn't all it's cracked up to be.  Their makeup was gorgeous though, very shimmery and futuristic with lots of silver and white.  

xoxo, MiMu