Topbox | August 2014 Edition (My Last One…It’s the End of a Beauty Box Era!)

I pulled the cord and ended my Topbox sub in September due to the an overwhelming number of products in my life and the lack of excitement I was feeling from each Topbox. I have been a Topbox subscriber since November 2011, so it was a big part of my beauty blogging life. I do still LOVE their limited edition FLARE and LOULOU boxes so I will definitely have my eye on those!

August’s Topbox was fairly lackluster for me which is what really got me to break up with Topbox, but I believe the Jayne from 2011 would have really loved it because she had so little product back then. Nonetheless, I would use 50% of the items in this box, but that always seems to be the case with all of my more recent Topboxes. Shall we dive in?

Topbox | July 2014 “They’re Real” Benefit Cosmetics Edition

In my excitement over the release of Benefit’s new They’re Real Push-Up Liner, I forgot that I had signed up for the Topbox Prive box and promptly went out and bought the full size of the liner AND the makeup remover! Nonetheless, I was still VERY excited to receive this Topbox the next day and share what was inside with all of you!

Topbox | June 2014

I think there was a Prive box last month, but it went to my spam and I never saw it which was a little sad. I didn’t get a bad Topbox, but I was only really interested in 50% of what I received which was unfortunate. Topbox can be really hit/miss and when I look back at some of the boxes I have received there is really quite a mix. I feel like out of the beauty subs I have, it is the most “bipolar”. I am actually hesitant to give this box up because I know there is a waitlist for it and because the actual brand names included are usually quite good. Umm, hello Benefit?!

Topbox | May 2014

May’s Topbox actually “made me” go out and purchase one product almost the day after and in terms of percentage, makeup products were 50% of the box which is not bad. What I was most pleased about was the new release from Benefit that was included! I’m sure you all know what it is by now, but it was nice to receive it around the same time stores like Shoppers Drug Mart did. This month’s Topbox also did not come in a box, but in a purple organza bag. I personally don’t mind either way as long as the products inside are good!

Topbox | April 2014

Wasn’t too much going on with April’s Topbox, but at least the background I photographed on was a little bit more exciting than what was going on inside the box…

Topbox | March 2014

March’s edition of Topbox was alright, maybe not the most exciting as past ones due to some familiar faces, but it’s not that the faces were bad. I think I just have so much that it’s hard to find something I haven’t tried before so I’m going to try to be more objective in these unboxings and try to be more like the Jayne of 2011 when beauty boxes were only just in their infancy.

Topbox | Flare Beauty How-To Edition

So, yes this is a box that went on sale Black Friday of last year, but it was just such a great deal that I had to share! I haven’t pictured it here, but the original price of this Flare Topbox was $39.99, but on Black Friday this Topbox PLUS a limited edition men’s Topbox were collectively $50! Based on the contents of the Flare Topbox and how much I love Benefit’s Gimme Brow ($26.00 CDN) and the Stila Waterproof Eyeliner ($26.00 CDN), this was too good of a deal to pass up!

Topbox | February 2014 “Regular Edition”

The February Topbox was a little lackluster for me as there was really only one product that I had not tried or heard of, but I can’t blame Topbox. If I wasn’t such a beauty product freak, this would have been a perfectly lovely Topbox!

Topbox | January 2014 “Chinese New Year” Edition

I will admit that I totally don’t remember checking the Benefit box for my Topbox wish list and I’m almost 95% sure I just opted for a regular Topbox, but hey, I won’t say no to Benefit! This is the special Chinese New Year edition that came in very festive CNY packaging, but came with an empty lucky money packet…kind of bad luck to do that isn’t it?

Topbox | December “Lashem” Edition

I will admit that when I got my lash extensions removed I was scared. Scared that all I would be left with were baby lashes or better yet, NO lashes. In anticipation of possible eyelash doom, I decided to go with the Lash Em Topbox which I NEVER thought I would ever do as I have mascaras coming out the wazoo (says Dr. Seuss?). This is a fairly straightforward Topbox as there are only two products inside so let’s get to it!

Topbox | November “Estee Lauder” Edition

November was another month where I chose not to go with the regular Topbox, but with one of the special edition ones. For November, I decided to try the “Estee Lauder” Topbox as I have not tried any skincare from this brand yet and the perfume also sounded like a scent I would enjoy!

Topbox | Chatelaine Magazine Edition

At the end of August, Topbox alerted subscribers to a special Chatelaine Edition Topbox upon signing up for a Chatelaine magazine subscription. After receiving a copy of Chatelaine in the September Topbox, I decided to sign up for a yearly subscription as the magazine was surprisingly interesting (aka “I’m getting old”) and was at promotional pricing ($14.95/12 issues).

Topbox | October Cosmetics Magazine Edition

When I saw that Topbox had an upgrade available for October with a Shiseido product in it, I don’t think I even hesitated to type in my credit card number to authorize the upgrade as I believed that the additional $5 (Topbox is normally $12) was well worth the upgrade considering what I would be receiving! The size of the Topbox was very tall, similar in size to the Chatelaine Topbox and also included a Cosmetics magazine.

Topbox | September Chatelaine Edition

September’s Topbox was very…long and came wrapped in pretty special edition paper because this month Topbox partnered up with Chatelaine magazine to bring us some of this season’s latest beauty product favourites!

Topbox | August “Regular” Edition

For the month of August, I was once again unimpressed with the Prive box selections and opted for the regular Topbox once more. I have found that I generally prefer the regular Topboxes to the Prive ones, but I can’t tell if it’s because of the product selection or the element of surprise! It’s probably a bit of both, but I was very pleased with what I received this month even if I already had one of the products!

Topbox | Glam Glow Edition

This will probably be one of the easiest unboxings I have ever done seeing as how there are only two items! Glam Glow Youthmud Tinglexfoliate Treatment is apparently all the rage in Hollywood and with mud from the South of France, how can I resist wanting to try it for my own civilian skin? This 15g jar of mud retails at $21! This prive box also included a $10 Well.ca giftcard which was forgotten in my Topbox, but was quickly remedied :-)

I’m wearing the mask as we speak and it tingles for the first few minutes as its drying, but once it hardens, the tingling stops and I’m left with a sexy, immobile face. Included is a sample of Supermud Clearing Treatment which is a mask or spot treatment that helps to fight all common skin concerns. Sounds pretty general, but is supposed to reveal dots of extraction, absorption and encapsulation of problematic sebum oils and bacteria and toxins.

So there you have it! The shortest Topbox review ever! I’ve seen of the regular Topboxes and I think I would have been happy with those too, but curiosity got the better of me and I chose the Glam Glow box!

Which Topbox did you get?

Topbox | June 2013 “Regular” Edition

It has been such a busy month for me with work that my beauty boxes have been neglected! For June, I once again opted for the regular Topbox as none of the Prive boxes appealed to me and I like the idea of a surprise! Sometimes you might even get a Prive item in your regular edition!

Belvada Cosmetics | Mini Eyelash Curler

Compact and easy to use, this curler will create a natural looking curl.

Thoughts: This is a Canadian brand! I think this is really cute and I love that there is an extra eye lash pad included. I have one already from a past Julep box, but I kind of like this one more! It’s so compact that you really can throw this in your purse!

Full size: ONE/$5.99

I received: *FULL SIZE*

April 2013 “Regular” Topbox

We are back to the regular Topbox for this month as the ever-popular Elizabeth Arden box didn’t really do too much for me as I already owned samples of the Prevage serum, mascara and the makeup remover which I ended up receiving anyway! I still enjoyed my Topbox though as it truly was a surprise!

Day 8-Flakie Gorgeousness!

For today’s challenge, we could choose from either duochrome, flakie or holo as our nail polish choice and I was thisclose to doing a holo skittles manicure, but I’ve been neglecting my flakies lately and I wanted to give them a little lovin’. I started off with two coats of mark-Violet Daze which I received in my March 2012 Topbox.

For the flakie magic, I used two coats of one of the prettiest polishes I’ve seen, Cult Nails-Seduction filled with red and purple flakies sitting in a sheer purple base. Gah, it’s just so pretty!

Be sure to check out the other wonderful ladies also participating in this challenge!

Naomi @ Bellezza

Traci @ drinkcitra

Masha @ Lost in Lacquer

March 2013 Aveda Prive Topbox

This Topbox was a bit of a surprise as I received my tracking info yesterday as well as my box! I am fairly happy with the Aveda Prive Box although I keep forgetting how small the samples really are. I have been wanting to try more Aveda products so seeing the number of products in this month’s Topbox pushed me to opt for this one instead of the regular Topbox.

The Aveda box came wrapped in green leafy paper.