Lust Have It - June 2016

Kia Ora!

I've been pretty sporadic these days; I'm going to blame life in general. Planning a wedding, and a honeymoon, and working full-time isn't too conducive to blogging on a regular basis. It doesn't help when the postie delivers your Lust Have It to the wrong apartment and you play door tag (like phone tag but with knocking on doors) for over a week. Anyways ...

Lust Have It* is a monthly subscription, which costs $19.95 (AUD) plus shipping, and you get 5-6 products/samples. It ships to Australia and New Zealand, and is usually with you by the end of the month - although it often takes a little longer to reach New Zealand.

You can use coupon code IFORAYS1 for $10 off your first box! 

Neutrogena Make-up Remover Cleansing Wipes
Deluxe size - RRP: $3.64

I love cleansing wipes, I use them more than I actually use cleanser to clean my face at night. I'm really happy to have these as I haven't tried them before, and love finding new wipes I can use! Seven is a great trial size to receive, as you can test them out properly to see if you like them. This is also a great size for travel, or to throw in your handbag. I'm really happy with this start to the June bag! 

Sasy N Savy Peppermint N Rosemary Revive Bath N Shower Gel
Deluxe size - RRP: $4.20

I love receiving shower gels, and I quite like the combination of rosemary and peppermint in this one. I haven't used it yet, but am looking forward to it.

My issue with this product is not the product itself, but that there were two options you could receive, and a massive price difference between them. The shower gel is $35 for 250ml (full size), or you could receive a sample of the cleanser which is $42 for 100ml (full size). I don't mind there being two options for the bag, but I think it sucks that some bags will receive a much more expensive product. Although I prefer to receive the shower gel, I do think more care needs to be taken in making sure all bags have the same value.  

Edgy Tempting Cosmetics Eye Liner Pen
RRP: $15

This is a blue/grey colour - very neat! However we received an eyeliner in the May bag, and I don't wear a lot of makeup anyway. This one is going straight into my giveaway bag, as I'm never going to use it. I know subscription boxes are known for having eye liner in them, but I don't think two months in a row is reasonable! 

Winter Skincare Item - Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid
 RRP: $???

This is a cool product. It's a chemical exfoliant, and I've heard some amazing things about Paula's Choice. It's not a brand easily available in New Zealand, so I'm really excited to see this, and be able to give it a go. It's another mystery item category - clearly still clearing out warehouse backstock - but I'm happy with my item so I am ok with this.  

Neutrogena Deep Clean Gentle Scrub
Sample Size - RRP: $ 1.55

I've used this scrub before, and it was fine. It's small microbeads suspended in a thick cream. It's a reasonable scrub, but I honestly don't think it does anything that a more natural scrub doesn't do, and since microbeads are so terrible for the environment I generally try to avoid them. I checked this document to see if this did have microbeads, and I think it's a bit disappointing to see companies still supporting products that do contain microbeads. This one is for the bin for me, although I know others will still use it.  

Total value of the box: $24.39

The value of this box is rather disappointing, as it's only just above the price paid. I know lots of people get boxes like this because of the great value you often receive so this box is a dud in that respect. I'm also not keen on two of the products (the eye liner, and the scrub), although for me the rest of the products are great.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about this box. I thought it would be awesome, as with a theme of 'Winter Skincare' I assumed it would be right up my alley. I do like most of the products, but the value isn't what I would have expected. 

I'm looking forward to July's box, which will probably have a lot of makeup in it to make up for a skincare heavy box this month.

Don't forget that if you want to sign up to Lust Have It, you can use coupon code IFORAYS1 for $10 off your first box! 

Until next time ...

 *PR sample and affiliate links.

Empties April - June 2016

Kia Ora!

Welcome to the first empties post in months! I've been saving up all my trash just for this post - and my fiancé has been threatening to throw everything away before I could write this post. Let's just jump in - there are a lot of things that I'm sad to see go. Check them all out below. There are body scrubs, perfumes, skincare, and body care products. Just about something for everyone. 

Bonjour Jolie Pumpkin Walnut Body Polish
I received this in a Bonjour Jolie box last year. It smelt fantastic, and I love the spices that were added to the scent. I didn't really like the texture of the body polish though - it felt like a very fine sand. It gave a nice scrub, but my hands were basically numb after using it for my whole body.

Bossy Cosmetics Salted Caramel Scrub and Vanilla Whip Topping
This is one of the most delicious scents I've ever used. I grabbed it from Bossy quite sometime ago now, and have been sniffing it frequently - a bit like a junkie I admit but I can't help how good it smells! It's a wonderful scrub product, with the perfect amount of particles - it gives a great deep scrub while also making you smell absolutely delicious. I'm a sucker for anything caramel, so attempted to savour this scrub as much as possible. I'm going to be buying several replacements for this as soon as I can!  

Swisspers Make-up pads
 These appear in most of my recent empties. I love these circular cotton pads for applying toner during my skincare routine, and for removing eye makeup. They are very strong, and don't fall apart at all. They are also very soft, and don't ever scratch my skin (like some of those really cheap ones do). I buy these at Countdown, so they're very easy to access too! 

The Body Shop Glazed Apple Perfume
This is from a couple of years ago, during The Body Shop's Christmas promotions. I love this scent, it's sweet and fruity, and lasts for ages. I used this up over summer, and was quite sad to see the last of it go. I really enjoy the perfumes from The Body Shop, as they smell fantastic and are easy to wear. I have a few other scents to use, but if I see this in store again I'll seriously think about buying some more!

Vanessa Megan Darling Perfume
This was from a Flora and Fauna box last year. It smelled of spices and was a very natural scent. I really enjoyed it, although I think that lots of people who like very sweet scents probably won't enjoy it as much. I really liked the size of this perfume. It's a sample size, but it still lasted me at least a month of every day usage, probably longer to be honest. And it wasn't overwhelmingly large - I struggle with some of my other perfumes as the bottles are huge and I feel like I'll never finish them. This was the perfect size, and a great scent. Once again, once I've used up some of my other perfumes I'll seriously consider repurchasing this one! 

Fortune Cookie Soap OCD Hand Sanitizers
Swirly Twirly Gumdrops - Easter Town - This Thing
I am completely obsessed with these hand sanitizers from Fortune Cookie Soap. The scents are fantastic, and so different from each other. I love carrying one of these little bottles in my handbag, having on beside my bed, one in the bathroom, and one on my desk at work. You may have seen my haul of new scents recently. This Thing is from the Spring 2016 box, and smells like fresh cut flowers. Easter Town is from the 12 Days of Christmas set, and smells like sweet vanilla (and something else I can't quite figure out). Swirly Twirly Gumdrops is from the Winter 2015 box, and smells very sweet and like gumdrops! Basically, this is one of my favourite products right now, no matter what the scent!

Bonjour Jolie Organic Lilac Blossoms Lotion
This was a great pot of lotion - it was a thin one but it sank into the skin perfectly! There was no greasy overlay, not leftover product, I loved it. It smelled light, summery, and like lilacs. I loved using this, and would happily grab some more if I could. I received it in a Bonjour Jolie box last year, and they have a great formula! 

Etude House Milk Talk - Chocolate
This is a great body wash - it smells exactly chocolate milkshakes and makes me want to eat it. I actually didn't really get to use this much (which was ok as it was a repurchase anyway), as my fiancé used it all - he's the chocolate fiend in our house. This is a pretty cheap product, I order directly from Etude House in Korea, and love it! I haven't got any more on hand because I have an overload of body wash at the moment, but will be ordering more in the future I'm sure.

Sebamed Liquid Face and Body Wash
This was in a recent Lust Have It box, and was a reasonable body wash. I'm more of a fan of scented ones, as I love the smells, but this one is good for sensitive skin or people who don't like strong scents. It lathers well, cleans you well, doesn't leave your skin too dried out, and supposedly balances the pH of your skin (I can't actually test that but I'll believe it). Not a bad body wash, just not right for me personally.  

Clarisea Sea Salt Solutions Rapid Detox Charcoal Exfoliant
This was an exfoliant that I received in a Violet Box a looong time ago. It felt like sand, and was a dry powder that you mixed with water before using. I used it in the shower, and tended to mix it with whatever cleanser I was using at the time. It was a great scrub, with very small particles that left my face feeling wonderful.


Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Pore Toner
This toner came in a set that I ordered (over a year ago - hangs head in shame at not having used it sooner). I loved this toner. It did dry out my skin quite a bit, but I just used that as an excuse to use thicker moisturisers and more hydrating sprays. It had particles in it - presumably the volcanic part - and would be amazing for acne prone people. It certainly helped dry up my occasional spot. Highly recommended, and I'll be buying more when I can.

Neutrogena Deep Clean Gentle Scrub
These were ... nice. They were scrubby beads in a thick cream. I felt bad using them though as I know using natural scrubs is actually better for the environment. However, since I had them I decided to try them out. These two little samples lasted for about a month when used together, and would be perfect for traveling.


Dedicated to Nature Soothe Eye Cream
This was from the Beautiful Christmas Advent Calendar 2015, and I loved it! The cream was lightweight, and perfect for patting into the eye area. It left it hydrated, and plump. It also smelled like cucumbers, which I personally loved! This is just a sample size, but it lasted me 3 months or so. I find this size perfect, as larger eye creams are very daunting to get through, and honestly I get sick of them - but this one was fantastic! I've repurchased this one, as well as a different sample of eye cream from Dedicated to Nature.



Phew! This was quite a mega post (and I did throw out some things without putting them in this post - mainly really old things I haven't used in years and thus can't really review). I'm hoping it won't be so long between blog posts now, I have a few book reviews planned for the next couple of weeks. I'm also happy to take requests too if anyone wants to see anything in particular.

Until next time ...