If you are wondering why on earth I post 2 First Impression posts for a monthly subscription box within the same week, you can blame Cyprus Post. Or maybe Royal Mail? I don’t know exactly who, but lately all my parcel deliveries have been extremely late, to the point that I received both my January and my February boxes on the same day. I’m sorry for the rant but receiving my subscription boxes so late has me feeling extremely annoyed.

Anyhow, the important thing is that my boxes arrived and now I can enjoy all the goodies that they had inside.

The theme of February’s box is “Runway Ready” , I guess it is inspired by the Fashion weeks that happened this month. I really like the color of the box this month, it really screams luxury and high fashion and I was really excited to see what products they included to represent the theme.

This Works – Stress Check Breathe In:

This roller-ball, along with the Deep Sleep Pillow Spray, has been in my sights for years now, ever since I was a student spending my afternoons in the aisles of Boots. At the time, I couldn’t justify to myself to spend that much money on something that I considered gimmicky so I never actually ended up purchasing it. To be honest, I still consider it gimmicky and I wouldn’t purchase it myself, especially considering I’d have to order it online.

I tried it the other day, I’ve had a very stressful time at work so much so that I could feel my heart racing. I had to take a break and I remembered to try it. It has a strong eucalyptus smell which I admit is very nice, but it really wasn’t enough to combat the stressing flood of emails I had to take care of. Plus, it left a weird oily residue on my wrists that later transferred onto my keyboard creating even more stress.

Perhaps I am expecting a little too much from what is essentially a roller-ball perfume?

Model Co Eye Lites Metallic Shadow in St Barts

I love using cream shadow as an all-over-the-lid base for my eyeshadow, so this product was a nice addition in my collection. Initially, just by looking at the package I thought that is was a standard bronze eyeshadow, very similar to others that I have, however a swatch is enough to see that this is a very unique color. According to the site, St Barts is described as a “shimmering sand , with peach undertones“. For me, this is a stunning rose gold cream eyeshadow.

Unfortunately, I find it a little difficult to work with. Once you get it on your lid, it sets fast. You really don’t have enough time to blend it properly. I find that if I take a couple of seconds more in blending, the cream sets on my finger instead of my lid, resulting in all the colour washing off. The good news is that at least it is really long lasting!!

The Ordinary – Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA

The next product is a moisturizer by the brand Ordinary. Now this is something that I am excited to try. For sure I will take it with me to my trip next week, I’m sure that my skin will need all the help it can get as far as hydration goes. Since this product contains hyaluronic acid, among with a lot of other nice ingredients, I’m sure it will be a savior for me.

Polaar – Icy Magic Roll On:

Next, we have a full size eye roll on. I have mixed feeling about this one. As far as claims go, it covers everything that I look for in an eye cream + a bonus.

• Eliminates puffiness… Check
• Eliminates dark circles… Double check
• Boosts vitality, tonicity and eye contour radiance… Who can say no to that?
• Stimulates eyelashes growth… That’s the bonus. According to Polaar’s website, it gives +30% more natural volume in 15 days’ use.

With claims like these, I am certainly intrigued to see if they are true.

On the other hand, did it have to be a roll on ??? I am generally not a fan. No matter how good the formula is, this method of application leaves my eyes irritated.

I will definitely try this and I really hope that it agrees with the sensitivity of the skin around my eyes.

Borghese Fango Active Mud Mask for Face and Body

In my opinion a facial mask is always a good addition to any beauty box. And this one is not exception. When I saw the small tub containing the mask, I initially thought that it would last me for 2-3 uses. However, when I opened it I saw that it was full to the brim! Plus, the consistency is such that you don’t need a large amount to cover the whole face. This will take a while to finish. On the other hand, the way the sample is packaged, it does not offer the convenience of a resealable lid. After one use, I had to cover the whole tub in cellophane, to protect it from drying.

The Borghese Fango Active Mud mask, is sourced from Tuscany’s volcanic hills. It wasn’t clear from the packaging what this mask is targeting, but after some research on their site I found that it has exfoliating properties, unclogs pores and purifies skin. It also claims to reduce the appearance of fine lines and with the infusions of sweet almond and avocado oil it also nourishes the skin.

I used it only once so far, and I could definitely see the purifying and exfoliating qualities of the mask. However, I found it a little bit drying; my skin felt really tight afterwards and I had to use a thick moisturizer afterwards to counteract the dryness I felt.

MyVitamins Catwalk Queen

Ok let me say first, I have nothing against vitamins. In fact, I usually take some form of multivitamin tablet on a daily basis. But why would I need something like this in a beauty subscription box?!

Each person’s body has different needs and a lack of a different nutrient. For example, for my needs I know that I should look for something containing iron and folic acid, which are not included in these vitamins. On the other hand, I don’t need to take supplements of Vitamin D, I live in Cyprus with plenty of sun!

Don’t get me wrong, these are perfectly fine multivitamins covering most of the basic nutrients. But I feel like this product is not a good fit for the box. Yes, the nutrients that are contained are aimed for better health of hair, skin and nails but the way LookFantastic markets it (“if you are having a bad hair day, make sure to take your Catwalk Queen!” ) left me feeling annoyed. Things simply don’t work this way.

Overall:

I’m sure you can tell already by the overall negativity but in general, this box has left me a little disappointed. Maybe it was because the theme referred to luxury and the products didn’t seem so luxurious to me. Or maybe it is simply because I opened it along with the January box which was amazing (read my first impressions here). Either way this is a very nice selection of products if you look at them individually, they just didn’t really work for me as a set….

Let’s see what next month’s box has to offer. The collaboration with Elle Magazine certainly looks promising!

What did you think of February’s box?