My Fall 2013 Luxe Box

On Friday, I was treated to a great surprise: My fall Luxe Box showed up at my door.

Packed in the usual cloth baggie and elegant box were these items:

• China Glaze nail lacquer in Gossip Over Gimlets (full-sized)
• Simple Pleasures Wild Berry Hand Cream (50 ml) 
• theBlam Instain powder blush in Swiss Dot (0.5 g) 
• L’Occitane Firming and Smoothing Supple Skin Oil (0.5 oz) 
• HIS Professional Argan Oil (four one-use packets) 
• Michael Kors Eau de Perfume Trio (three 0.5 oz sprays) 
• Luxe Box brand eyeshadow brush

My Summer 2013 Luxe Box

Well Luxe Box, you’re doing a great job of tempting me into renewing my subscription. This was supposed to be my last Luxe Box but I don’t know, I might have to sign up for another half year, at leat.

So here’s what I received this time around:

 

• Olay CC Cream – Total Effects Tone Correcting Moisturizer (full-sized)
• Cavelli Just perfume sample (5 ml)
• Essie polish in Shake Your $$ Maker (full-sized)
• Philosophy  Purity Made Simple Facial Cleanser (30 ml)
• Barefoot Venus Sugar Leaf Shea Butter Hand Cream (60 ml)
• Two Knotties hair ties
• Condition Culture Featherlocks hair feather
• Loose Buttonb rand foundation brush

My New Beauty Box Plan

Last week I mentioned that I was going to renew my Luxe Box subscription for another year. Then I started reading about what other people reviewed in the spring boxes. While my box wasn't very exciting, it was practical and did contain samples that I will use. But some people, quite a few people actually, ended up with boxes that well, sucked. Meanwhile, a few lucky people received amazing boxes that contained multiple full-size products.

While I get that there will be some sample variation based on people’s profiles, Luxe Boxes seem to vary a lot from person to person. This has been an issue with the company since I received my first box, back in December of 2011, and it’s one I hoped would be improved with the switch to the quarterly format but nope, it persists (if anything, it might be worse since now people get more products in a box). I really feel that it’s just a matter of time before I receive a box that’s all repeats and foil packets. 

So instead of renewing for a year, I'm just going to get a semi-annual subscription. At the same time, I've joined the waiting list for TopBox. While the quality of TopBoxes can also vary, the company does offer a very similar mix of brands as Luxe Box. But unlike Luxe Box, the variations between the boxes are much, much smaller.

If I could, I would completely ditch Luxe Box and just go with TopBox but there is currently a waiting list to be a TopBox member and it might be some time before I get to sign up. So that’s why I'm re-joining Luxe Box for the half year, so that I can at least get a couple more beauty boxes this year.

My Spring Luxe Box

My spring Luxe Box, which arrived on Wednesday, can be summed up in one word: Practical. Every item in this box is something I will use and the majority of them are actually products that I need.
While this definitely isn't the sexiest or sparkly-est Luxe Box I've ever received, it does easily pay for itself. Here’s a look at what I received:

• Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Under Eye Primer (6 ml)
• Lancome Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate  (8 ml)
• Kérastase’s Bain Chroma Captive Shampoo (30 ml)*
• L’Occitane Dry Skin Hand Cream (10 ml)*
• Marni Eau de Parfume (7 ml)
• B. Karmins Lip Balm (4 ml)*
• Beauty blender*

Any starred items are ones that I needed so, as you can see, this really is a practical box, even if it’s not that fun. Okay, the Marni perfume is kind of fun. It’s a bold, wood-sy scent that’s unlike any fragrance I currently own and right now, it’s my favourite item from this box (but I have high hopes for the lip balm).

Winter 2012 Luxe Box

Without a doubt, my Winter 2012 Luxe Box is my best Luxe Box yet. It’s packed with a great mix of products including two full-sized samples, one exclusive sample and three “rare” ones. Here’s exactly what was in my box:

• Eyeko Mini Skinny Brush Mascara (4 ml)
• Essie Nail Lacquer in Butler Please (full-size)
• Dermalogica Precleanse (1.5 ml)
• Kerastase Cristalliste Lumiere Liquide (3 ml; this is the exclusive item)
• Donna Karen Woman Eau de Parfum (7 ml)
• Prada Infusion D’iris Perfumed Body Lotion (100 ml; this is a rare item)
• Blue Lagoon Skin Care Algae Mask (10 ml; this is a rare item)
• Loose Button Kabuki Brush (full-size)
• A six-month subscription to Flare magazine

Luxe Box First-in-Line Offer

Hey Luxe Box subscribers!

Loose Button is offering another first-in-line opportunity (I hope this isn’t cancelling out the first-in-line promo that they ran a couple months ago). To reserve one of the three items pictured below (click to see a bigger version), log into your account now!

Good luck everyone!

(In case you’re wondering, I went with the mask even though I know I would love that perfume sample.)

My Fall Luxe Box

The first-ever quarterly Luxe Boxes started arriving today and I was lucky enough to be included in the first wave.

Thanks to some very smart, and very elegant, new packaging, my box was able to fit inside my condo mailbox, meaning no need for me to have to wait a day to retrieve it from the mean people at my post office.  

And what was inside my pretty box? A silky white scarf that held the following:

• blinc mini-mascara (deluxe size sample)
• Eyeko skinny liquid eyeliner (full size)
• Paco Robanne Lady Million Fragrance (deluxe size sample)
• B. Kamins Nia-stem eye cream (3g)
• China Glaze nail lacquer in On Expedition  (full size)
• Kérastase Elixie Utime (5ml)
• Exfoliating pad

Luxe Box Update

Last month Luxe Box, the beauty box service I subscribe to, announced that it was switching from being a monthly service to a quarterly one (read more on this here). As someone who still has half a year left on her subscription, I was given a few different options about what to do and in the end I decided to roll my remaining subscription credits over to the new quarterly model. Doing so gets me my first quarterly box, due in August, for free.

But many people opted to unsubscribe from Luxe Box. Those people ended up with June boxes (since you get charged a month in advance for each box) that started showing up last week.

Changes Are Coming To My Luxe Box

Last night my plans to write up a product review were derailed when I learned that Loose Button was changing the Luxe Box format. As someone with a Luxe Box subscription that doesn’t expire until December, this sudden overhaul naturally concerned me.

Prior to yesterday, Luxe Box was a “…exciting service that delivers 4-5 deluxe-sized beauty products to your doorstep every month.” But now it's a quarterly service that will ship its subscribers, “…7-8 trial-sized beauty and lifestyle items every 3 months.”

There’s also the promise of “…invitations to private events, early access to product launches, special offers and more” and exclusive content, such as “… beauty tips and tutorials”  (free shipping, which was part of the monthly program, remains in place).

My May Luxe Box

I have to admit that I was rather worried about what my May Luxe Box would contain. I’d been watching the reviews posted by other subscribers over on Facebook and it seemed that this month you either got a great box or you got a crappy one.

Thankfully, my box ended up being in the former group because it contained:

• Essie Nail Polish in Navigate Her (Full-size)
• Orlane Oligo Vitalizing Scrub (7 ml)
• Moroccanoil Intense Hydrating Mask
• Paco Rabanne Black XS L’exces for Her (small sample size)
• Paco Rabanne Black XS  for Him (small sample size)

Everyone also received a bonus bath and body box that had a Gillette five-blade Venus razor, a 7 ml tube of Olay Regenerist Wrinkle Revolution Complex and a coupon for $20 off over by Panty by Post.

Loose Button's Summer Trends 2012 Event

If Loose Button, the company behind Luxe Boxes, keeps organizing events like tonight’s Summer Trends 2012 (and inviting me), they’re going to have me as a life-long subscriber.

Tonight’s event, held at Dermalogica’s training centre on King Street, saw over 100 guests, including 50 Luxe Box subscribers treated to wine, cupcakes, advice from Dermalogica consultants and a great swag bag.

And why was that swag bag so great? Because it contained:

•  A soft-cover novel written by the event’s key speaker 
• Valentino’s Valentina perfume (sample size)
• Joico’s K-Pak Revitaluxe hair treatment (50ml)
• Benefit’s Ultra Plush Gloss (full-size)
• Dermalogica’s Meet Dermalogica kit that features the Special Cleansing Gel (50 ml), the Daily Microfoliant (13 g), the Skin Smoothing Cream (22ml) and the MultiVitamin Power Firm (5ml)

My April Luxe Box

Why am I reviewing my April Luxe Box in May? Because I didn’t receive it until Monday, April 30. But let’s hold off on that fact for a moment and instead focus on what I received this month:

• Essie Nail Polish in Pink-a-Boo (Full-size)
• Yves Rocher Gentle Eye Makeup Remover for Sensitive Eyes (50ml)
• Bobos Remi Leave-in Conditioner (80ml)

In honour of April being Daffodil month, Luxe Box gave its members the option to donate an item from their boxes to the Canadian Cancer Society (the organization behind Daffodil month). I chose to do this and that’s why this box is smaller than past months.

My Bonus Luxe Box

Back in February, the Globe and Mail sent me an email that explained that because I subscribed to that paper, I was entitled to receive a free Luxe Box. After some shipping confusion (the wrong name was put on my box, which meant I couldn’t pick it up from the post office and had to get it to send the box back to Luxe Box’s office), I received my bonus box today. Here’s what it contained:

• Nubar Nail Polish in – Full-size
• DDF Advanced Firming Cream – 14 g
• Fekkai Advanced Salon Technician Colour Care Rapid Results Moisture Mask - 9 g
• Paco Rabanne Black XS for Her - small sample size
• Paco Rabanne Lady Million - small sample size

My March Luxe Box

So it finally happened, I got a repeat item in my Luxe Box. It would have been one thing if it was a product I loved but it wasn’t, it was a product that I haven’t even tried out yet: DDF’s Advanced Firming Cream.  While this product does get great reviews, it just doesn’t appeal to me.  Maybe I’ll give them to my mom.

Unfortunately this repeat item isn’t even the most disappointing part of my March Luxe Box. That honour goes to the bonus item: A 15ml bottle of CK one Shock for Him. While this is a great sized item, it’s not for me. I also think it smells odd and my husband agrees.

My February Luxe Box

It’s the best day of the month because my February Luxe box arrived today. And without a doubt this is the best box yet because I got:

• Redken Color Extend Shampoo and Conditioner – Three pairs of sample packs at 10 ml a pack
• Moroccanoil Oil Treatment – 25 ml sample size
• Lise Watier 24 Hrs Glam Mascara – 5 ml  sample size
• Mereadesso Beautiful Body Balm – 30 ml  sample size
• Mereadesso Face + Neck Toning Gel – 7 ml  sample size
• A $25 coupon off any order of $75 or more from Dealuxe.ca

My January 2012 Luxe Box

Today I finally got my January Luxe Box (yes, my local post office is open on a Saturday) and it turns out to be well worth the wait.

This month, we actually got two boxes and an introduction to the MyScent program, which gave us six perfume samples.

Here’s what else was in my boxes:

• Curly Hair Solutions Curly Keeper – 100 ml sample size
• NYX Eye Shadow in Dust Sparkle – Full size  
• Lise Watier 12 Hrs. Glam Flawless Complexion – 5 ml sample size
• Seattle’s Best Coffee – sample bag
• Schick Hydro Silk Razor
• Fekkai Advanced Brillitant Glossing shampoo and conditioner – sample pack
• 8,000 Shoppers Optimum Bonus Points on my next purchase of a Fekkai product

Luxe Box – December 2011

For Christmas, my husband gave me a subscription to Loose Button’s Luxe Box, “a new and exciting service that delivers 4-5 deluxe-sized beauty products to your doorstep every month.” It’s a really great idea and a gift that I’m really happy I got.

However, I have to admit that I’m a bit disappointed with my first box, the December 2011 one. While the packaging is great and it arrived right on schedule, its contents are a bit disappointing: