December JolieBox UK (previously Boudoir Prive)

After much hype (as reported here) regarding Boudoir Prive being taken over by JolieBox, the first of the new boxes was sent out last week and mine arrived today.  On first impressions, I much prefer this box.  I’m surprised to say that as I’m usually all about the pink (if you really want to know just how all about the pink I really am, have a look here) but there’s something much more chic about this box.  I also like the fact that it’s smaller; probably not small enough to fit through my letterbox still, but even though this is a psychological approach more than anything else, I prefer a box to be full to the brim with goodies rather than having them arrive swimming around with lots of space to spare.

To celebrate both the new launch and the festivities, this month’s box was extra special and included 5 samples plus 2 extras.  Here’s more about them:

OPI Gold Shatter Nail Lacquer

Kudos to them for including a full sized OPI varnish.  I’m not a huge fan of gold, I’m more of a silver gal, but I do like the shatter effect so I’m thinking I might use this over a rose pink on my toe nails and go for a kinda ‘Rose Gold’ look.  As I said, the sample included was full sized, which in theory retails for £10.50, but I’ve noticed there are quite a few stores knocking this shade out at a reduced rate; maybe the colour isn’t too popular?  Or it could be that it’s the season for sales as everywhere seems to have one at the moment.  Either way, it’s still a full sized product.

New CID Cosmetics i-gloss

We had the lipstick take on this in the Carmine box recently; it’s basically a lipgloss with a light in the end and a mirror on the side, thus making it much easier to apply on the go.  I like the fact that the light comes on as soon as you unscrew the tube (some sort of pressure release function maybe?) but I’m thinking the mirror will probably be in for a good scratching once it’s spent any time in my bag as it’s on the side of the tube and not protected.  The colour I got was Baby Doll which I’m really pleased about as I always seem to luck out with getting nasty lip shades in beauty boxes.  Baby Doll is a peachy pink.  The colour is really well pigmented and you can use it as a light lip tint or build it up to a strong colour.  It also isn’t too thick which is what I prefer.  I think the idea of beauty boxes from the brand’s perspective is that they hope they’ll widen their audience and introduce themselves to those of us who might not consider trying them otherwise.  In New CID’s case, I’m definitely more inclined to consider them for make-up purchases having tried a couple of their products now.  As an afterthought, I’ve just had a mooch through their site and there are some very pretty gift collections too.  The sample included was full size and normally retails for £16.

Jane Iredale 24-Karat Gold Dust

This is a multi-purpose product from the leaders of the mineral make-up revolution, Jane Iredale.  I believe we got a mascara primer sample in a Boudoir Prive a while back and I’m always open to trying more Jane Iredale products – especially their mineral foundation as I’ve heard good things about it.  The shade I got was Rose Gold which is a pretty, shimmering pink with gold flecks.  For me, it’ll mainly be used for adding sparkle to my cheeks on nights out, but for someone with brown eyes this would look absolutely beautiful as an eyeshadow.  I think this would also be really good used with a big fluffy brush as a body shimmer.  The sample included was also full sized and retails for £11.

Mitchell and Peach Shower Wash

This is an introduction to the Kent based Mitchell and Peach, who recently launched a range of bath and body products that are created using natural ingredients (although, having a quick mooch on their site I couldn’t establish whether all products are 100% natural or not) and included in my box is the shower wash.  I’ll happily give this a go, although I struggle to get excited about shower washes to be honest.  I’m more of a skincare fan, but having said that, this one looks and smells lovely.  There’s a strong – but not overpowering – scent of lavender, which makes sense considering their site mentions the fact that their products were born based on excelling at growing lavender and the packaging is clear, simple and fairly chic.  The sample included is 50ml and a full sized product would cost £20 for 250ml making this sample worth £4.

Yon-Ka Vital Defense

Also included was a teeny, tiny sample of this anti-ageing cream housed in a HUGE bit of packaging.  I’m not at all familiar with this brand, but having had a look around at some online features, it looks quite promising.  The cream included is one that can be used both morning and evening and the HUGE packaging contained a large amount of info about the various tests and results that accompanied the making of this cream.  The sample included was 5ml, and full sized this costs £40 for 50ml making this sample worth £4.

Kusmi Detox Tea

This was the first of the two extra samples included in this month’s box.  It’s a sample of detox tea with a strong lemony scent.  I’m not sure how I’d go about trying this out as I’m guessing you’d need some kind of tea strainer gadget thing.  It’s a blend of green tea and lemongrass and smells tasty.  The sample included was 20g, and full sized this would cost £10.75 for 125g making this sample worth £1.72.

JolieBox Concealer Brush

This was the second of the two extras and is a travel friendly concealer brush.  I wasn’t aware JolieBox made brushes, so it’s nice to be introduced to their brand.  Having said that, I can’t actually find any more information on their range of brushes, so I don’t know if maybe this is a one-off marketing addition to introduce us to the JolieBox brand, or if maybe my searching skills are rubbish.  Either way, it’s nice to get a brush in a box as it’s not something I would’ve expected.  I have no idea how much this would retail at so I can’t give an idea of prices.

In conclusion, this is a really lovely introductory box to JolieBox.  It’s a good mix of samples including 3 full sized products, all of which were make-up which I personally prefer.  I’m much happier with the smaller box and I’m really looking forward to seeing what comes up in the next few boxes.  The value of this month’s box is a little under £50, give or take, considering I’m unsure of what the price for the brush is, but it’s still a really good value box of samples.  For more info about JolieBox UK, have a look at their site here.