December Carmine Box

This morning, the December Carmine box arrived and included some lovely goodies.  I’ve now got all four of the main boxes for this month, so once I’ve finished running through the contents of them all, I’ll do a full comparison and put them in order.  Interestingly, out of the six samples included in the box (it’s difficult to refer to the Benito voucher as a sample, but technically it’s a voucher to sample their treatments) only two are sample sized, the rest are full sized.  I was pleasantly surprised with this month’s Carmine box as they’ve included a great variety:

Benito Brow Bar Threading

First up is the voucher for a free eyebrow threading with Benito Brow Bar.  I’m a big fan of neat, well maintained eyebrows so I think this is a great addition to a beauty box.  I’m not sure, but I think this might be the first time a beauty box has included a free treatment in a box, so it’s definitely something a bit different.  However, I don’t have a Benito Brow Bar near me – my nearest one is Oxford Street and I have no plans to trek into central London just for a brow thread – so if anyone local to London fancies my voucher, feel free to e-mail me at geek@beautygeekuk.com.  I really like the idea of including something like this, so I hope it occurs again!  This treatment would normally cost £15.

Japonesque Smudger Brush

Japonesque have recently brought their range of travel brushes to Boots, so it’s great that one’s been included in this box.  The brush is intended for blending, smudging and softening (the name says it all) and the bristles are nicely packed together, yet still very soft, so I’m excited to give this one a go the next time I do a smoky eye.  This retails at Boots for £14.75.

MyFace Cosmetics Blingtone

Now onto my favourite product featured in this month’s box which is MyFace’s Blingtone.  The shade I got was Silver Screen which is an absolutely gorgeous shimmery silver.  It’ll work as a highlighter applied lightly, but can be built-up to create a really nice pop of bright silver.  It’s such a pretty colour so I’m pleased I got this shade.  This retails at Boots for £9.99.

Weleda Pomegranate Creamy Body Wash

I’ve heard so many amazing things about Weleda (especially their skincare) but I’ve never actually got around to trying any of their products.  I guess this is one of the great things about beauty boxes like these; that you get to try things you’d normally either never consider to, or just haven’t got around to trying.  This body wash has a very strong fragrance which I’m not sure everyone will like.  The fact that it’s got the word ‘creamy’ in the title means that it’ll hopefully be very moisturising which is something I always look for in body washes.  This retails at £8.95.

Institut Esthederm Time Technology Cream

The first of the two sample sized samples, this is a cream that can be used both day and night, and from having a quick mooch online, the reviews appear positive.  It’s suitable for all skin types and contains light reflecting ingredients that result in immediately brighter skin.  I’ll happily give this a go, especially now winter has well and truly arrived and my skin is doing it’s usual freak-out.  A full sized 50ml tub of this costs £69, making this 10ml sample worth £6.90.

KMS California FREESHAPE Quick Blow Dry

This is a spray on product aimed at reducing drying time by up to 50% and smoothing the hair.  I’ve got a couple of KMS samples hanging around that I really need to give a go as other bloggers speak so highly of the brand.  I’m not sure whether I’m that keen to reduce my drying time (to be honest, it’s never occurred to me that drying my hair takes too long, but maybe that’s just me) but I’ll definitely try this to see if it does as it claims to.  A full sized can of this would be £10.95 for 200ml, making this 30ml sample worth around £1.70.

…and that’s everything included in this box.  There were also the usual voucher incentives for purchasing more products in the ranges included.  The value of this box is approximately £55, so not bad at all!