I recently decided that I wanted to try and do my product reviews so I started to look around for free products and coupons. I never realized that there are not very many opportunities for either in Canada. But I will give it my best shot and let you know how it goes.
The first freebie/ sample that I received I requested not for me, I work at an old folks home and we are forever running out or ward stock products usually on weekends when it's impossible to get any replacements. I know that this isn't that many but it will help. Look at how neat this packaging is.
I opened this puppy up and voila!
The box came with four different types of samples plus a coupon for the same.
Next I received some Robax, my husband is forever having a sore back from working at a gym. I also occasionally have a sore back so I knew both these products and the coupons would be helpful.
Lastly, I received a sample of some calcium. I love that it came with a tiny pill container.
So for me this was a big haul because it was my first one and I actually got things haha. All of these products will be used.
My very first Memebox!! And it took so long to get to me that I will only ever buy ones that have the free upgraded shipping. I took two months to get to me, I started to think it was lost. Anyways it finally showed up and I loved the packaging! Pink is my favourite colour. Plus the little present is cute.
So excited to bust into this box!! Look how pretty it is on the inside. I'm in love already.
1). Pure Smile Jewelry Scrub Glitter Sugar Scrub 100 mls (Full Size). Retails for $8.
Randomly selected from Diamond, Ruby, Topaz, Emerald and Sapphire, Product Description: Pure Smile's sweetly scented body scrub is made from black sugar, shea butter, jojoba seed oil, glycerin, and also diamond powder extracts for cleaning your skin of any impurities and maintaining it silky, smooth and healthy!
I'm not sure about this product. The packaging is okay, looks a bit cheap. I didn't find there to be any smell at all when I tried to smell this product. I have no idea what diamond powder extracts are unless they literally crushed up diamonds into powder and put it in this scrub haha, but then you would think it would be worth more. I haven't used the scrub yet but I will be sure to let you know when I do.
2).Hello Everybody Vita Berry Shampoo 220 mls (Full Size). Retails for $23. Available at the memeshop. Product Description: This Spa Vita Berry Shampoo is supercharged with 10 berry complexes that gently cleanse and repair damage without stripping colour, wilting perms, or drying out hair. It deeply penetrates into each lock of hair to reconstruct each individual strand of hair from the inside out to rebuild and resurface hair, leaving strands strong, healthy, smooth, shiny and fully restored.
This shampoo smells amazing, just like berries. I can't wait to use it and hopefully it is a miracle shampoo and can fix my damaged hair.
Randomly selected from Strawberry, Love Peach or Hot Cherry.
Product Description: Scented with a delicate strawberry, peach or cherry fragrance, Hope Girl's Tinted Lip Balm is both a lip tint and a lip balm. While the co- enzyme Q-10 and shea butter formula deeply nourishes your chapped lips, the lovely pink tint will stain you lips with a long- lasting, colourful radiance!
I got the colour Hot Cherry and it does smell like cherries and it's delicious. Also, how cute is this packaging? I'm going to give this balm a go once I have finished the ones I am currently using.
4). Pure Smile Choosy Lip Pack Shining [White Pearl & Pink Pearl] 3 mls x 2. Retails for $5.00 Product Description: Enriched with collagen, vitamin E, hyaluronic acid, and honey, the Choosy Lip Pack Shining editions deliver abundant moisture and nutrition to your lips easily and quickly. The hydrogel adheres tightly onto the lips and offers a cooling and softening effect to chapped lips, stressed- out skin as well. How to use: After toner application, place the lip pack over your lips. Rest for 5-30 minutes, remove the patch , and pat in the remaining essence onto your lips.
This product seems really cool, I hope not having the toner won't effect how these work. I'm really excited for them and I'll let you know how they make my lips feel.
Overall, besides being extremely disappointed that this was called the sweet shop bow but yet really didn't have anything sweet like cake or frosting or candies like I had pictured, I do like this products and I am excited to try them all.
I also ordered some items from the memeshop.
1). Deep Detox Black Mask:
A facial mask that clarifies skin pores and rejuvenates dull skin with volcanic scoria clay from Jeju Island containing rare minerals
WHAT IT DOES Digs deep into pores and absorbs impurities, removes dead skin cells, controls excess serum, improves skin elasticity
HOW TO USE Wash your face to remove makeup and any environmental toxins. Gently unfold mask and place on your face, adjust the eyes, nose and mouth opening. Relax for 15~20 minutes with the mask in place. Remove the mask from your face and discard. No need to rinse, massage remaining product into your face.
THIS SET CONTAINS 1 box - 10 sheets
2).Ginseng Nutritious Black Mask
A nutritious facial mask containing medicinal ginseng root extract for dark and dry skin
WHAT IT DOESNourishes skin with ingredients for resilience and vitality, soothes and brightens skin, removes impurities and dead cells, strengthens skin elasticity
HOW TO USE Wash your face to remove makeup and any environmental toxins. Gently unfold mask and place on your face, adjust the eyes, nose and mouth opening. Relax for 15~20 minutes with the mask in place. Remove the mask from your face and discard. No need to rinse, massage remaining product into your face.
THIS SET CONTAINS1 box - 10 sheets
3). Honey Moist Black Mask:
A soft, ultra-moisturizing black facial mask containing Brassica campestris honey from Jeju Island for dry skin
WHAT IT DOESImmediately moisturizes skin with special honey ingredient, energizes skin with radiance, removes impurities and dead cells
HOW TO USE Wash your face to remove makeup and any environmental toxins. Gently unfold mask and place on your face, adjust the eyes, nose and mouth opening. Relax for 15~20 minutes with the mask in place. Remove the mask from your face and discard. No need to rinse, massage remaining product into your face.
THIS SET CONTAINS1 box - 10 sheets
The only mask I have tried so far is the Deep Detox mask. I enjoyed it but I have an issue with how big the masks are, it like took up my whole face and then some. Also the eye, nose and mouth holes are weird and mine kept sling and covering up where i didn't want to be covered. Otherwise it left my skin feeling amazing.
I received my very first Beauty Box 5 and then the second one right after.
So we will start with what came in the August box.
1). Pur-lisse Pur Protect SPF 30:
Shield your skin and soak up some rays, without guilt or greasiness! This lightweight moisturizer has the perfect amount of SPF to protect your pretty face and won't upset sensitive complexions- bring on the sunshine! Retail $55.00 for 1.7 oz.
So I received this product already in an Ipsy bag. but I was under the impression it was a sunscreen but I guess it's a moisturizer just with a lot of SPF. So when I am done the ones I have I will give this one a go.
2). La Fresh Travel Lite Makeup Remover Wipes:
We love to pile on the products, but when it's got to go, there's no need for a delay! These wipes take away all our favourite makeup fast- even waterproof formulas!- without irritating our faces or leaving any residue behind. Ahh- quick, easy and refreshed. Retail $19.99 for 48 packets.
I actually already have a favourite makeup wipe, but I'm not opposed to trying another one as well. once I run out of the pack I am on I will start these ones and see if they will become my new fave.
3). Style Essentials Nail Polish:
Bored with plain polish? Wave hello to shiny, exciting nails! This lavish lacquer adds a pretty dash of colour and a fun finish to your digits, and the easy-to-apply brush makes switching to a new hue simple! Retail $7.00 for a pack of 4 nail polish collection.
I really think that Beauty Box 5 has a nail polish in the box every month with to me is a waste of a product because I don't wear nail polish and always end up giving it away. I wish they would make a tiny bit of variation that we could choose from. Also this polish is very cheap so I probably wouldn't use it anyways and I'm not a big fan of silver.
4). Nanacoco Lip Gloss (in the color Popular): Your lips deserve a rush of colour and shine with no stickiness attached! We adore Nanacoco's gloss because it's packed full of pigments and vitamin E to keep your sassy pout poppin' and nourished at the same time. Retail $3.99 for 0.22 fl oz.
This lip gloss smells really good, almost like cake. I like the colour and it goes on smooth with no stickiness. And the packaging is decent, nothing too special but it's good.
5). Novex Brazilian Keratin: Is your mane hungry for nourishment? This intensive treatment works on all hair types, so you can renew and reinforce your strands right away. BB5 tip: massage this into your tresses post- shampoo, leave in for 25 minutes, then rinse for smoothness and shine. Retail $19.50 for 2lbs
This is my second box, the September beauty box. Let's see what's in it.
1). Nicka K New York Eyelight Crayon:
This creamy shadow stick glides on easily and adds a pigmented pop of colour that lasts! BB5 tip: Use it as a fin liner, gently smudge the colour with your finger or brush for a smokey effect, or blend out all the way to a full- lid base! Retail $4.49 for 0.56 oz.
This was kind of a weird product, it was very dry feeling and didn't glide very smooth. This isn't a product that I would use. I will try to gift it to a friend.
2). Natural Style by FUBU Deep Conditioner and Co-Wash:
Equipped with 8 repairing oils and shea butter, this treatment strengthens hair to minimize frizz. Made without sulphates or parabens, it's gentle enough to be used as a co-wash for curly-haired girls, and as a deep conditioner after shampooing for all hair types. Retail $9.99 for 12 oz.
I'm excited to try these samples because I have really frizzy hair and have yet to find anything that actually works on it. Fingers crossed that this product will.
3). Sally Hansen Toe Spacers: When it comes to no- nonsense nails, our girl Sally never disappoints! Cushion your toes and separate them with these adorably- printed toe spacers to keep your DIY pedicure looking professional and smudge- free. Retail $1.99 for 1 pair.
This is another useless product to me. I don't paint my toes and when I do it's only for some holidays and I get it done at the salon. And on top of that I hate having anything between my toes, they are small and it hurts them to be stretched open. I gifted these to a friend.
4). My Beauty Spot Nail Polish: We love these pretty polishes for their incredible bold colours! The thick formula glides on smooth, plus, it dries quickly, which means we can change our manis as frequently as we change our mood. Retail $24.99 for 0.4 fl oz./ set of 6.
Again another product that I won't use. I sent this to the same friend as the toe spacers. I like this silvery grey better than just the silver from the first box.
5). Dr. Lin Acne Spot Corrector: Fade old acne spots and banish breakouts before they start. Formulated with 5% benzoyl peroxide, this spot corrector goes to work right away on blemishes to clear your complexion. BB5 tip: Start off small! A little goes a long way, so apply a thin layer. Retail $8.99 for 1 fl oz.
This is the product that I am most excited for. I have a small amount of acne sometimes and I have tried a lot and nothing really seems to work. Hopefully this will be my new dream product.
Overall, these boxes were just okay, nothing really thrilled me and I don't like the fact that they send a nail polish every month (some people might but i don't use it). I wish they did a bit more to customize the products to us. But I do still really adore their packaging. Hopefully Beauty Box picks it up a few notches.
I thought since I had been treating myself to things I would get my dog a box as well. I decided on the Bowzer Box because it is a Canadian box.
Bowzer Box is a monthly subscription ($29) (also available is 3 ($26) and 6 ($23) month subscriptions) where you will receive 5-6 dog related items.
*Plus $4.50 a month flat shipping rate
*Canada only shipping
This months theme was down on the farm.
September is a time to celebrate all things farm, from farmers markets to fall fairs.
Each box comes with a card that tells you about the month and whatnot, but of course I couldn't find where I put mine when I needed it lol. But what I do remember from it is you can save 10% if you use the code REFERFRIEND at the checkout.
This was the first item I pulled out of the box. At first Steve wasn't sure about this, I feel like it was the weird spongy texture. But after a few more sniffs he gobbled it up.
Then I pulled out these biscuits. Again it took Steve a bit to warm up to these but when he did he enjoyed it.
Well isn't this a cute little bag..... until I opened it and it was cow horns haha. Steve refused to eat these but I took them to my parents house for their bigger dog and he seemed to enjoy them. Although my dad wasn't impressed since they live on a farm and have numerous cow horns laying around lol.
This was a twisted treat but I forgot to take a pic of it before Steve scarfed it down. This was his favourite treat of the bag.
These were also a favourite of Steve's. He really enjoy the soft treats because he likes when we throw them in the air for him to catch.
Also we received some poop bags which I will be gifting since we live on an acreage and have no use for them.
And lastly we have little piggy, who I knew would be demolished right away. Steve loves to eat material and cotton (I know this has no stuffing but it has hair and "fur"). So little piggy now has no hair and is missing his corners. They stated that it was durable, but I disagree.
Overall, this box was a win and I have continued the subscription because I think Steve likes getting a box a treats.... well he likes getting any treats regardless of where they come from lol.
What is it: Luxebox is a quarterly subscription where you receive 7-8 trial sized beauty and lifestyle discoveries. Cost: $26+ tax every 3 months
$50 every 6 months
$96 annually Shipping: Canada only
Here's what it looks like inside the box.
Here is the first product that I pulled out of the bag.
Nexxus Color Assure
which contains a primer, shampoo and conditioner. I think this packaging is cute but I have long, thick hair so this will probably only last me one wash. I somewhat found a guess of a price for this sample pack $5.38.
Here is another tiny sample pack.
Eslor Sample Pack
I'm not sure on the price since these are smaples. But the full sized products are fairly expensive. I am excited to try these but I think again it will only last one or two trys, which isn't enough to see if you like the product.
Burt's Bee's Lip Gloss
Rich, pearlized colour combines with natural oils rich in nutrients to leave your lips soft, shiny and 100% naturally beautiful.
Colours: Neutrals: Autumn Haze, Fall Foliage, Sweet Sunset, Sunny Day Pinks: Ocean Sunrise, Rosy Dawn, Spring Splendor, Summer Twilight Reds/Plums: Evening Glow, Ruby Moon, Nearly Dusk, Starry Night
• Delivers rich pearlized color with high impact shine • Enriches with nourishing oils • Promotes healthy looking and beautiful lips
• Available in 12 gorgeous shades
This lip gloss sucks. It smells disgusting and it is super sticky.
I would not recommend it or buy it. I received the colour
Autumn Haze
Retail Value $12.99
So Susan Universal Blush:
A micronized, jet-milled blush that works with your skin's natural chemistry to create a universal healthy flush that is flattering on all skintones. Made with Buriti Fruit Oil to repair the epidermis and improve skin elasticity.
This blush is a really pretty colour. It has just the right amount of
pigment so it will blend easily. The packaging is a bit on the cheap
side but otherwise it's good.
Retail Value $17.46
This is a Loose Button brand brush. I'm not sure what it's for or what it's even called.
Also i couldn't find a price for this product.
Jelly Pong Fairy Lashes Curl Mascara
Fairy Lashes CURL is a sculpting, curling mascara that continually curls lashes throughout the day with a unique synthesis of Moringa Seed resin that dries down and holds the curl of lashes for long-lasting results. The unique brush instantly creates dramatic volume and intense definition, while allowing eyelashes to remain spectacularly soft and light at the same time. This is a truly fabulous effect for the woman who wants to emphasize a deep, intense, seductive look. Apply first coat and sweep the heavy wand upwards for thick, luscious lashes. Apply a second coat to seal the curl in.
Bonus : No Mineral Oils • No Phthalates • Fragrance-Free • With Moringa Seed Resin • Hypoallergenic • Non-comedogenic • Suitable for contact lens wearers • Water-Resistant
This is the one product that I was really excited for. It's weird because
it smells really good, like sweet almost. I haven't used it yet but I plan to soon.
Retail Value $18GBP $32.34CAD
Lila Grace Peach Mango Body Lotion
I'm not too big on using lotions that are scented, but this one smells good and during winter my hands get super dry so I will give it a go.
Retail Value: $4
The value of this box is good, totalling $72.17 without the Eslor sample or the loosebutton brush. But the over all quality of the products is questionable. I have a year subscription so hopefully the other boxes will impress me a bit better than this one.
Healthy Surprise is the fun and easy way to eat better! We believe the modern food system is broken, and there's just too much disinformation out there about what's really good for you. That's why we pick snacks with easy to understand ingredients. We choose snacks from companies we can believe in and want to support. And we pair the whole thing with a bunch of fun content, recipes and education. We believe that it's not enough to just buy healthier snacks, we also need to understand what's going on in our bodies and the important role food plays in our bodies and the healing process.
There are three options available:
Starter Box: 1-2 people, 12+ full sized snacks, 16+ servings= $40 a month
Big Box: 1-4 people, 17+ full sized snacks, 32+ servings= $60 a month
Combo Box: 2-6 people, 29+ full sized snacks, 48+ servings
Every Healthy Surprise snack is: gluten free, vegan, soy free, wheat free, corn free and all natural.
September was my first month of the Healthy Surprise subscription. I thought it would be fun to eat healthy snacks lol. My husband is a health nut, me not so much.
So it looks really nice upon opening the box.
Both of these snacks were really good. I did prefer the bean & rice chips because they had an awesome flavour. I would purchase both of these again.
Veggie Chips: Full size $2.88
Bean & Rice Chips: $1.46
These were nasty!! They tasted like the smell of fish food. They were crunchy and not good. Even my hubby didn't like them. He said they kind of tasted like seaweed. I would not buy these or recommend them to anyone.
Retail price: $1.99
I love olives and I was super excited to receive these. Unfortunately the chili flavour was too much for me and I ended up tossing these.
Retail price: $1.60
I was not excited to see this product. I hate seaweed. I gave this to my hubby but he has yet to sample it.
Retail Price: $2.49
These have the cutest packaging! I gobbled up the almonds and they were delicious. I gave the Macaroons to my hubby because they had coconut in them and he devoured them.
Macaroon retail price: $5.00
Almonds retail price: $2.50
I was going to be greedy and keep these for myself but I gave them to my hubby. He was a bit leery because they don't contain nuts, which is a big reason I wanted to eat the mix lol.
Retail price: $1.23
I was really excited for these bars because they looked delightful. I ate the cherry almond and gave the apple pecan to my hubby. The bar was okay, I don't think I would purchase it again. for some reason I thought it would have like chocolate (think like an eatmore bar) but it didn't and there was a lot of quinoa so it was kind of dry. My husband enjoyed his.
Retail price: $1.99 each
These little packs were also cool but again they had coconut so to the hubby they went. He hasn't eaten then as of yet.
Retail price: $1.50 each
And lastly another product going to my husband. This one is a texture issue for me plus it contains bananas so it was a no go. My husband was very excited to see this little squeeze tube, he has had this product before and loves it.
Retail price: $1.18-1.99 (had discrepancies).
Overall this box was oay. My hubby appreciated it more than I did. But I don't think it is worth the price. I paid $40 (-$20 first box discount) plus around $10+ shipping (I didn't receive a receipt so I can't tell you exactly). But I only received $28.12 of product. If you are looking for a good value box this isn't it. But if you are just looking for a subscription that sends vegan, organic and healthy food then this might be for you.
Just incase you are interested in this box here is a $10 off your first month promo code: STICK14
