February Glymm Box!

Seemed to me that people were extra complain-y this month. Looking at the Facebook page you’d think everyone hated Glymm.

I waited patiently and got my box on the 27^th, a day before the expected delivery date. I’m not upset… so long as I get my box then I’m happy.

Yay for:

Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Rose                                          Full Size 4.25g

I’ve bought these personally before, and I’ve always adored Burt’s Bees lip balms. I haven’t tried the Rose tint before, I’ve had Hibiscus and some other colour I can’t remember… but this is nice. It has a very subtle scent that I’m not wild about, but the colour is nice and the balm is very moisturizing.

Nay for:

Glamglow Tingling and Exfoliating Mud Mask                         7ml/0.24oz

I have oily skin. I do not want more glow/sheen/radiance/whatever. It does tingle, a little more than I’d prefer, but again… this would be better suited to a different skin type.

Meh for:

Sula Natural Cream Shadow in Why Not?                                  Full Size 0.15oz

Well, this is okay. I love cream shadows, but this shimmery golden green colour has surpassed shimmery into sparkly for me. I am not a fan of shimmery/sparkly/glittery things… never have been. The colour would have been so much more appreciated had it been less shimmery. It is decently pigmented and it comes in a lovely glass jar, it’s just the shimmer I’m not a fan of.

Mai Couture 2-1 Oil Blotting/Bronzing Papier                         2 Sheets

I am so glad I didn’t get the blush papers that some other clients got… I don’t use blush. Not because I don’t like the concept, but because my cheeks are naturally very rosy. So I was happy to see the bronzing papers instead, but a little bit disappointed to read that they too have shimmer. Enough shimmer! This comes with 2 sheets which is supposed to be enough for 4 uses… I’ll save the rest for the summertime. For 99% of the time I’m all for matte products, including bronzers.

Overall impression of February’s box:

Overall I’m very pleased with my tinted lip balm, and I am going to get a lot of use out of the cream shadow… I’d say this box is worth more than the $10, but one complaint I’ve heard again and again with Glymm is that their products are not suited at all to their customers. They’ve been working on creating a client profile that is accurate to people’s skin tones and skin types/preferences, but as of yet there hasn’t been. 

January Glymm Box!

1 week and a day after the initial expected delivery date, this lovely package was waiting for me at my front door!

Again, I got pretty much what everyone else got… the only difference was that my eyeliner was in ‘Wood’ (a taupey brown).

Yay for:

Cargo Eyeliner in Wood                                                                            Full Size 2g

I like this! I would have liked black, since I am running low on black eyeliner, but this is a very nice neutral colour. It is creamy, but not the creamiest formula I have tried. I haven’t tried Cargo before and I’m digging this so far.

Anastasia Eyebrow Gel                                                                              2.5ml

I have always used the Maybelline clear mascara as my brow gel, but this is fantastic too. It is a bit expensive for the full size, I’d probably stick with my $4 Maybelline one. However, I will say the formula of this is very effective and helps my brows stay in place slightly better than Maybelline.

Burt’s Bees Nourishing Milk and Honey Body Lotion                7ml X 2

Some people complained that their lotion smelled funny… not sure if they got a bad batch or what, because I’ve actually tried the full size of this before (and I’m very happy to get more) and it smells very nice to me. So not sure what happened with other people’s boxes, but I enjoyed mine very much. In fact I squeezed out the two little sample packets into a preexisting Burt’s Bees container!

Meh for:

Kaia Naturals Juicy Bamboo Facial Cleaning Cloths                 1 Sheet

I’ve gotten this exact thing in a Loosebutton Luxebox a few months back (before I cancelled my subscription with them), but from Luxebox I actually got 2 sheets instead of just one. I think this is a great sample, but really not enough of a sample to determine whether this product is for me. If you can’t get more than one use out of it, how can you be sure you won’t have a reaction/won’t like it?

Vasanti BrightenUp! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator                    12g

I’m not a fan of glows/brightness/luminosity/sheens. I have naturally ‘luminous’ skin, so I don’t need any help there. I like this as an exfoliator, and it does a great job. But this product isn’t for me. Good sized sample too!

Bonus: Free RMS Lip Shine with $25 purchase.

I will mention that I purchased the Kaia Facial Cleansing Cloths (pack of 30), and a bar soap from the Glymm website. I used my Glymm points and my $10 off coupon from December’s box… and in total I paid $3 or so for taxes and that was it! So hopefully that’ll arrive soon in the mail. Very excited about Glymm’s point system and the little promos they have for their online store. It was one of the main reasons I switched from Luxebox to Glymm.

I didn’t hate anything about my box this month. All positive or neutral feelings!

I noticed a lot of people on their Facebook page that had some major complaints… I’ve never been a complainer in my life (working in customer care for over 3 years will desensitize you to anything) so it was hard to read all the negative comments about Glymm this month.

Mainly the issue was that the free RMS lip shine with $25 purchase ran out. So not everyone could get one. Glymm restocked their shelves 2 days after they ran out of stock… in that time people had flooded their Facebook wall with negative comments. It isn’t possible for a store to have unlimited stock. I agree that Glymm shouldn’t have sent out promo cards to every subscriber if they didn’t have enough stock to accommodate those orders… but to the company’s credit: no company foresees every one of their clients ordering that month for the same product. I bet most subscribers don’t order from the site regularly… and many people still won’t order it for the lip shine. It is nearly impossible to predict the number of people ordering. The point is… Glymm restocked. They have the darn lip shines. Get them if you want them and stop complaining!

My Favourite: Winter Lip Balms

From left to right: Softlips lip balm in Cool Cherry with spf 20, Blistex lip balm in Ultra Protection with spf 30, Nivea Essentials lip balm, Burt's Bees lip balm tin, Burt's Bees lip balm in Honey, Burt's Bees lip balm in Pomegranate, Smith's Rosebud Salve, and Vaseline Lip Therapy lip gel with spf 15

I absolutely love lip products. Balms, gels, tints, glosses, lipsticks, salves, whatever. I always have at least one in my pocket, a few in my bag, one in the kitchen, a few in the bathroom, one on my nightstand, one in the basement, one in the car… I could go on and on.

But when winter comes around my lips need a bit more than just regular ‘ol gloss. They need some intense moisture. With chilly Canadian winters, I’m not a fan of sticky balms that get stuck to my scarves, hair, and everything else coming remotely close to my face.

This is just a short list of lip products that I prefer in the wintertime. Most of these I won’t use during spring or summer. I’ve semi-organized these from least moisturizing to most.

Firstly, Softlips lip balm in Cool Cherry with spf 20.

I love me some spf! I like any of Softlips’ scents; they’re all quite subtle. This balm is super easy just to swipe on, it isn’t the type you can really ‘build up’ too much. This does not have any colour at all. It does have a slight minty feel when applied, but it may just apply to this 'cool cherry' scent. 

Secondly, Blistex lip balm in Ultra Protection with spf 30.

This lip balm is great, but not my favourite. I originally bought this for a friend because he was complaining about chapped lips, and wanted something without any sheen/shine. Well this definitely doesn’t look like you have anything at all on your lips. This scent is hard to pinpoint… it is a warm kind of vanilla, not girly but not manly. This balm needs to be built up in order to get a good layer on the lips, so I do feel like I use up more of this product each time.

Thirdly, Nivea Essentials lip balm.

Funny thing, I bought this without anyone else at the store with me, and came home to find my mother uses the exact same one. Later that year at a family reunion? All my aunts use this too. My father? Yes, he uses this (granted, my mother probably bought it for him). Enjoying this product runs in the family. I was very surprised that I like this product. I’m not a fan of Nivea’s body products, but their lip products really blow me away. I’ve tried a few of their other scents too, but this one is the basic and tried and true one. Definitely buildable, very light scent, and it pushes up like a lipstick dispenser unlike the regular tubes.

Next, is the Burt’s Bees lip balm tin.

Ah, pretty much my first ever ‘grown up lip balm.’ This is the first thing I bought after growing out of the Lipsmackers lip balms. I used this all throughout high school and university, and still do every winter. What I love about this: it has almost exactly DOUBLE the amount of product that you would get in their tube version. For the same price! One tin lasts me a few months, and that’s using it multiple times a day. 

The downside I see to this product is that it is unsanitary, having to dip your finger into the tin each time. Also, as Burt’s Bees products are beeswax, they need to warm up. Whenever you first get a Burt’s Bees wax product you kind of need to rub it between your hands, or what I do is leave it in my pocket and have it warm there for most of the day before first opening it up. That’s only for the first few uses though; it definitely gets softer and more malleable. Quite a strong minty smell, and it will burn your lips a little if they are chapped. However, after regularly using this product, they definitely WON’T be chapped so that won’t be a problem! Very buildable.

The next two are the Burt’s Bees in Honey and in Pomegranate.

I love these the same way I love the original tin one. The honey one is one of my favourites – the scent is fantastic, like real honey – and they have both lasted me a very long time. The pomegranate one boasts having antioxidants in it, and it has a slight berry tint to it. Nice and subtle.

Following is the Smith’s Rosebud Salve.

Technically not a lip balm, but an all-purpose salve for dry cuticles, elbows, hands (it even says you can put it on your acne), and lips. It has secret ingredients and this product has been around for over a century! It has a very rosy scent, so if you’re not a floral fan then this isn’t for you. It has a very nice pink colour but is so extremely sheer that no colour will show. I have used this before on acne and noticed that it healed a bit faster and prevented dry flaky spots from popping up. Bit of a shine to it, depending on how much you slather on.

Lastly is Vaseline Lip Therapy lip gel with spf 15.

I remember my parents using Vaseline on me when I was a baby. This is literally the ultimate moisturizer. You can use this on any part of your body and it butters it right up. I love this stuff. I have a tub of it in my bathroom, two in storage, and some of these little squeeze tubes in my room. Unscented, no colour, just a good all-purpose moisturizer. It does leave shine on the lips though, so if you prefer matte finishes this won’t be for you.