Subscription Box & Swatches: Hello Waffle Dec 2014 Visage Box

I finally got around swatching my December Hello Waffle Visage box! I'm not sure when it arrived since it arrived while I was in LA between Dec 20-Jan 6. Check out how pretty it is!

So much thought in the wrapping!

Yeah, the labels are a bit more haphazard than what I'm used to for HW's quality, but it was a busy holiday month.

So here's what's in this month's box:

• Eyeshadow Minis:
• Ghost of Christmas Past
• Ghost of Christmas Present
• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
• Bah! Humbug

• Highlighter: Scrooge 

• Bronzer: Marley

• Lipstick: Galactic by Tilt/Shift Cosmetics 

Quick note on the mini jars, despite Christine's best efforts (check out the cute sticker!), they still leak a bit. It's very, very minimal leakage and I barely lost any product, but I thought it's worth noting for people who may be thinking of taking the mini jars traveling –they may leak during the trip.

You can see traces of shimmer on my fingers from handling the jars.

Anyway, this is unfortunately my last subscription box. While I'll miss the feeling of getting a "present" once a month, it makes sense to cancel my subscription box because:

• I've realized that the guest indies mean that I may inadvertently support unethical companies that I just cannot support. For example, January's guest indie was Victorian Disco, a company I personally believe is bordering on being a scam. I've written a post documenting my harrowing experience with this company in this previous post, which also contains links to many, many accounts from other people suffering the same exact issues as me.

• I have too much make up so I run a high risk of getting dupes of what I already have

Anyway, here are swatches of this month's goods!

Eyeshadow Swatches

Yeah, Ghost of Christmas Present unfortunately totally falls off bare skin, but it looks sooo gorgeous foiled with water!

Galactica Lipstick Swatches

All under natural light

These lipsticks are lightly flavoured with peppermint. They're pretty buildable, and as you can see from the swatches, it takes about 3-4 swipes to reach full opacity.

UPDATE Jan 2015: They got waxier and harder with time, and by now they're unusable. Very disappointed.

UPDATE July 2015: Here's the reply from the owner:

Bronzer & Highlighter Swatches

Under natural light. My arm got a bit more tanned from my dive trip.

Marley is now my favourite bronzer, it's such a great colour for paler skin tones since it's so light! Unfortunately, I can see it disappearing on darker skin tones.

The grey in Scrooge is supposed to be subtle, but it's not as subtle as it seems and definitely shows up as grey on my face. It's not too obvious in my FOTDs below, but er....today is the 2nd day I'm wearing it and one of the security guards in my office building got all concerned, pulled me aside, and asked me if I was trying to hide bruises on my cheeks. I'm going to have to make sure I don't wear it tomorrow to prove that it's make up.


So here are the FOTDs:

FOTD #1: 

Sorry for the pissed expression. I just returned to Jakarta the night before and was still feeling slightly floaty after being on a boat for 4 days. I'm still not sure if I'm still adjusting or I'm ignoring a bunch of earthquakes.

Eye close up:

Monolid lining ftw!
Bah! Humbug

FOTD #2: 

Eye close up:

Eyeshadows used: Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, Ghost of Christmas Past

Product List:

• Dior Hydralife BB Cream (Luminous Beige)
• Sana Brow Mascara & Pencil (CB1) (FOTD #2)
• Make Up Store Cover All
• Fiberwig mascara
• Maybelline Falsies mascara
• Eyeshadows:
• Ghost of Christmas Past
• Ghost of Christmas Present
• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
• Bah! Humbug
• HW Highlighter (Scrooge)
• HW Bronzer (Marley)
• Tilt/Shift Cosmetics' lipstick (Galactic)
• Primer: UDPP (FOTD #1), NYX White Eyeshadow Base (FOTD #2)

Subscription Box: Hello Waffle's November 2014 Visage Box

I recently subscribed to the Hello Waffle Visage box and only got my box 2 days ago. The packaging is AWESOME. I couldn't stop myself from squealing constantly from excitement. Christine seriously put a lot of effort into this. Check out how it arrived!

Here's what I got in the box:

• Hello Waffle Full-Size Eyeshadows (Beast, Eight Days, Garden): $6 each
• Hello Waffle Halfling-Size Blush (Winter Rose): $5.25
• Life's Entropy's Lip Theory (Tundra): $8

Total Value: $31.25

So exciting!

Tundra Lip Theory

Check out the label art!

The box is definitely worth it, for $25 including international shipping, you get $30+ worth of products (not including shipping)! I love how Christine takes shipping prices into account. A lot of subscription boxes are not worth it for international customers thanks to international shipping, but this definitely is.

So here's the TAT:

• Payment: 29th of each month
• Shipped: Nov 13
• Received: Dec 3

Now this is my small complaint. I kind of wish that Christine will prioritize customers based in Asia/Australia/NZ since shipping all the way here takes a longer time. That means that by the time we get our Visage Boxes, the discount code we got have expired. I also got charged for next month's box before I even received my first box. Luckily, I've seen tons of reviews for the Visage boxes, so I know the boxes will be worth it. For people who may not see the reviews, I can see it being pretty scary getting charged for a 2nd box before you can see the 1st box to decide whether or not you'd like to continue your subscription. 

Based on posts on /r/indiemakeupandmore, I know some people got their Visage boxes shipped out 29 days ago on Nov 4. It's just 9 days earlier but that means receiving your box on Nov 24 and having the time to use your coupon or decide on whether or not you should continue your subscription.

Anyway, here are swatches!

Hello Waffle Eyeshadows in Garden, Eight Days & Beast

All done under natural light. There was enough sun so I didn't need an artificial light to capture the shimmer in Garden.
The glitter glue is Darling Girl's Glitter Glue, the primer is UDPP

Hello Waffle Blush in Winter Rose

Under natural light, blended into a gradient to show how blendable it is.

This blush is so easy to blend! This is over bare skin, since I assume most people will not be foiling blushes over their face or using primers/glitter glues. A lot of the shimmer falls off against bare skin, but when I use it on my face over my BB cream, it has a subtle highlighting effect. Extremely pretty!

Life's Entropy's Lip Theory in Tundra

Under natural light

So you know how lip theories last forever on you? So here's my November 2014 Visage Box FOTD: 

 Left is how it looks on first application, right  is after breakfast. Barely a change (besides looking less wet) in the lip colour.

Oh, and I cheated for this FOTD. My dermatologist ordered me not to put anything on my face to detox, but the blush looked so pretty, I had to try it out. And since I'm using a blush, might as well use my BB cream. Here's more of the FOTD:

Products:

• Dior Hydralife BB Cream (Luminous Beige)
• MUS Cover All Concealer
• Hello Waffle Eyeshadows (Beast, Eight Days, Garden)
• Hello Waffle Blush (Winter Rose)
• Life's Entropy's Lip Theory (Tundra)
• Maybelline Falsies Mascara
• Fiberwig Mascara

And the eye close up:

This is how much is hidden under my monolids

Subscription Box Review: Sweet Anthem Fall 2014

I subscribed to Sweet Anthem Perfumes and got my first set of perfumes. I have to say, the packaging is great.

The rip was from me, I got so excited, I nearly tore it open before I remembered to take a photo first.

Pretty!

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Customer Service Review

I actually encountered some problems in this subscribtion. I made the mistake of putting my forwarding address as my address initially when I first signed up. I realized a few days later that my mail forwarding company will not ship alcohol-based perfumes, so I immediately messaged Sweet Anthem to ask them to change my address to my cousin's address instead (this was long before the fall subscription boxes were sent out). Meredith from Sweet Anthem confirmed it would be no issue at all.

However, when the subscription came, they sent it to the wrong address -my mail forwarding address. I contacted the mail company asking them if they could just get rid of the package for me. They could...at a $6.50 processing fee. I asked what would happen if I just ignored it..well..then they'll just keep charging me a warehousing fee.

So yeah, I had to pay.

Sweet Anthem tried to make it right by sending me another set free of charge to the right address, but I'll be honest, I'm not too happy about being forced to pay for their mistake.

I still would recommend this subscription since it's so thoughtfully done, but it's definitely not for international customers since most countries won't ship flammable items, and you better make sure the address you provide initially doesn't change.

Anyway, on to scent reviews. As always, all reviews are done until the TL;DR's written. Overviews are written if any scent notes surprise me.

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Solid Perfume Review

First of all, check out how neat this is!

Oooh...smoooth....

Seriously, little stuff like these make me so happy. I love it when my solid perfumes/lip balms look neat and professionally poured when brand new instead of looking like an interpretive artwork with wax.

The solid perfume definitely has less of a throw than the perfumes -I have to get to an intimate whisper distance to catch a whiff. It also leaves a bit of a wax-like oiliness on your skin. I tried rubbing it in and it stays waxy & oily, even after an hour. Rubbing it in also seems to make the scent disappear faster. By an hour, you'll have to get close to the skin to catch a whiff too.    

I get traces on my skin for about 4-5h if I don't rub it in, barely 2h if I do.  

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Lucille 

"From an old Germanic ballad: The linden-maiden rests beneath an illuminated grove / night-blooming jasmine fastened in her hair / Surrounded by the memory of ash and smoke and trove, the linden-worm takes flight / off they climb together, through the salty air."

Head Notes: Sea Salt

Heart Notes: Jasmine, Linden Blossom

Base Notes: Amber, Rosewood, Tonka Bean

I love the initial scent -it's a cool, almost candy-like rounded floral with a fruity candy type of sweet tartness. There's definitely jasmines in this, muddled with other florals I can only describe as "white florals". It's a scent that's elegant, yet light-hearted at the same time. If I'm picking an ad for this scent, I'd pick this picture:

Though I'd probably get the model to smile more. You're surrounded by giant flowers! That's freaking awesome!
Photography by Jean-Baptiste Fort

Unfortunately, this scent mellows out fast and in about 20 min, what you get is a sweet, light yet rounded white florals. It still smells great, but it's just a shadow of its former glorious scent. After an hour, the scent's more of a heavy, powdery sort of florals. Luckily it's faint by now. 

TL;DR: Cool candy and white florals -elegant yet lighthearted. 

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Perfumes Review

This is my first indie alcohol-based perfumes and I have to admit, it's interesting to see the difference. First of all, I can't really figure out the throw. Sometimes, I have to get close to the skin to get the full force of the scent, and then I put my hand down and bam! The scent hits me. It's sometimes so strong, I got self-conscious about the strength. They definitely tend to waft around me more at random times.

With oil-based perfumes, I get a very strong scent at first, which wafts around me though it's strongest where I dabbed the oil. With alcohol-based perfumes, it wafts around me and doesn't smell concentrated on the spot I placed it on. But while my oil-based perfumes gradually gets weaker and weaker until I get weak, lingering traces, alcohol-based perfumes seem to gradually concentrate on the spot where I sprayed/dabbed it. After a few hours, it stops wafting around and I can only smell it on my skin, but the smell is really concentrated and strong.

Anyway, I notice these scents tend to do the weird randomly wafting around thing for about 1-2h and then end up in a concentrated patch on my skin for about 7-8h.

I need to stress that while I didn't find any that worked for me, I still like the quality of these perfumes.

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Ella

"Aldehydic lavender, smoky black tea and agarwood, strewn with pumpkin spices."

Head Notes: Agarwood, Black Tea

Heart Notes: Lavender

Base Notes: Pumpkin

Oh wow, it's one of those old, dusty citruses. If you've sniffed Solstice Scents' Minister, it's that kind of old, dusty citrus. Only this has a bit of that old English lady scent you can find in Solstice Scents' Manor. So the resulting smell is an old English lady wearing a citrus-scented vintage face powder that's probably a biohazard by now and should definitely be thrown out.

Pretty to look at but probably not safe for face. If you like this, it's actually on sale on Etsy!
Image courtesy of VintageCookEtc on Etsy

While I didn't really like this scent, I actually like the faint traces it leaves lingering on my skin. It's a clean, almost soapy scent that somehow reminds me of my elementary school classrooms back when I was still in an international school. It smells like clean carpeted floors you can roll on, brand new giant cushions, beautifully illustrated children's books, paper crafts, and awesome teachers who make you believe you can do anything you want. It makes me feel really nostalgic. Unfortunately, at this point, the smell no longer wafts around and stays on a concentrated patch on my skin.

TL;DR: Vintage citrus-scented powder on an old English lady....or Solstice Scents' Minister & Manor crossed together.

Overview: This is definitely a complex blend and I blame the black tea for causing the dusty citrus smell. If the lingering smell is lavender mixed with pumpkin, I need to find more scents with those notes. 

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Owl 

"Indolic jasmine, softened by mimosa and black and white ambers, warmed with Chai spices and juniper berry, all on a base of earthy, grassy, vetiver."

Head Notes: Chai Spices, Juniper Berry

Heart Notes: Jasmine, Mimosa

Base Notes: Black and White Amber

This is a bit confusing. Initially, it's like a men's cologne for an old lady. It's one of those cool, fresh yet slightly bitter type of men's cologne scent...but there's something powdery in it. The powdery scent keeps getting heavier and heavier until the scent is like an old lady musk cloaked in a cool men's cologne. It's like an old lady wearing her husband's coat.

By 10 minutes, it's mostly a heavy, powdery, old lady-ish sort of scent with a bitter muskiness. It makes me think of a cranky posh old lady who's perpetually pissed off because people nowadays are soooo rude.

Regardless of what you think about Thatcher's politics, you have to admit she has one of the best disapproving looks ever.
Image courtesy of cnn.com

TL;DR: Cranky posh old lady.

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Petra

"Lingering candle smoke, tart cherry, a powdery, vintage style floral center, and a dry-down of real vanilla and resinous myrrh."

Head Notes: Candle Smoke, Cherry

Heart Notes: Heliotrope, Immortelle

Base Notes: Madagascar Vanilla, Myrrh

There's a clay-like scent as well as a bitter, medicinal scent. The bitter disinfectant sort of medicinal. Oh and something vaguely creamy..perhaps vanilla? I've had foot surgery once and this was the scent of my cast..with a bit of something creamy. It's as if a nurse tried to cheer me up by scenting my bandages with a vanilla perfume, only to have the medicinal cast smell overpower it.

The smell this leaves lingering on my skin kinda smells like latex gloves blown up into a balloon.

TL;DR: Creamy foot cast.

Overview: I tried sniffing this again. Still medicinal disinfectant.

Subscription Box: Pretty & Polished October 2014 Beauty Box

I finally got my Pretty & Polished October box last Saturday, on the 18th of October. As always, the packaging's cute:

My favourite from this batch is Of Fire and Ice. It's a sheer black glitter polish and obviously, I had to do this glitter gradient look because it's so perfect for it!

Of Fire and Ice

Here's swatches for the other colours:

From left to right: Rake A Little Piece of My Heart, Bonfire Bliss, Autumn Enchantress

Autumn Enchantress and Bonfire Bliss are both glitter toppers and Rake A Little Piece of My Heart is a glitter pale peach crelly.

Subscription Box: Pretty & Polished September 2014 Beauty Box

So here's the September box! I've given up getting my stuff in the first half of the month :(

The bubble bath bar smells awesome but I haven't had the time to use it yet

For some reason, this month's polishes seem thinner than usual. I actually had to use 3-4 coats to achieve this opacity. Sinner's Circle needed 5 coats.

My crappy attempt at nail art with Carrigan over Hullabaloo

Sinner's Circle on ring finger, Pretty Little Thing on the rest

Subscription Box: Pretty & Polished August 2014 Beauty Box

So I finally got my Pretty & Polished August Box this Monday, Aug 25! I think I've given up getting my box in the first half of the month as an international customer.

These boxes are the most worth it out of all the subscription boxes I've tried though, so I'm still happy!

This month I got:

• 25% off cooupon for their clearance section 
• A nail file
• Blue nail art beads
• 2 full size polishes
• Cold on the Shoulder (thermal polish, shifts from light teal to light blue)
• A Painter Passing Through (glitter topper)
• 2 minis
• Opal (glitter topper)
• The saga (white creme polish with round & straight line glitter)

So on to swatches!

Opal 

Swatched over different base colours to show off the effect:

A Painter Passing Through

Swatched over different base colours to show off the effect:

Cold on the Shoulder & The Saga, with the nail art beads:

I messed up the nail art beads :(
The glitter on The Saga is pretty sparse, this took 4 coats.

The colour change is pretty subtle.

Pretty & Polished July 2014 Box

My Pretty & Polished July 2014 subscription box arrived! 

The blue stuff is a salt soak.

Close up of nail art

Here's swatches of the nail polishes:

Sorry about the cuticles!
From left to right: Bioluminescence, Hubble Trouble, Nova Say Nova, Mintable

Bioluminescence is supposed to glow-in-the dark, but I can't get it to glow at all. Any tips? Maybe working in an office means I don't get enough UV rays to make it glow?

Hubble Trouble was really hard to build up & a bit streaky, so my swatch is a bit messy. I only needed 2 coats for the other polishes, but needed 5 to get that opacity. Maybe it's meant to be worn over another colour. Here's a swatch of one coat over white:

Nova Say Nova is my favourite. This multichrome polish goes from purple, maroon to copper! Gorgeous!

Wow...

Holy shift!

More shiftiness..

Anyway, these boxes are amazing and so definitely worth it (view June's box here). The problem I have now is that I have too many nail polishes. XD

Pretty & Polished June 2014 Beauty Box

So after searching around, I finally figured out which month this Beauty Box is for. It's June's subscription box. I received this on July 15. I was a bit surprised it came so late, but when I emailed Pretty & Polished over my missing voucher (which the box was supposed to have), I was told that my box initially got returned to them, and that's why it came so late. I still haven't received my July box yet, so I'm guessing it'll take as long.

So here's what's inside:

There's no info about what I got, so I had to check the website figure out what the Blue Raspberry is. I'm guessing it's a bath bomb. So here's what I got for $30 (price for international subscribers):

• 2 Full Size Nail Polish
• 2 Mini Nail Polish
• 1 dotting tool
• 1 filo stick
• 1 mini bath bomb
• 30% off voucher

I have to say, out of all the subscription boxes I've tried, this is the one I find most worth it. 

 Here's the colours on my nails:

Ocean View is a metallic turquoise and green glitter. It's very pretty but I'm kinda sad since this is very similar to Rainbow Honey's Midnight Fountain, which I have already. Pretty & Polished has a better formula, so I think I'll give away my Rainbow Honey and keep this.

From left to right: Ocean View, Pixy Chix over white base, Solar Power Purple, Golden Child over white base

Pixy Chix is a clear base with confetti-like red, green, blue, and purple microglitter. On the swatch, I used it over and Essie matte white polish to show the effect. This is VERY glitter heavy and what you see is only one coat! Love!

From left to right: Ocean View, Pixy Chix over white base, Solar Power Purple, Golden Child over white base

Solar Power Purple is supposed to be a white base filled with purple and red matte-ish glitter, that shifts to lavender under the sun. Since I'm a huge sucker for any effect polishes, so I'm happy. This is very translucent and it took me 4 coats to achieve this opacity. Maybe it's meant to be worn over something else. The colour was initially a pale, cloudy white. Then it became this slight lavender colour and stayed that way. I guess I was expecting it to shift more often and more drastically, so I'm not sure if I'm applying it wrong. 

In this picture, I put Solar Power Purple under a UV lamp for about a minute or two to see if that'll trigger more of a change. Nope.

Golden Child Top Coat is a clear effect top coat with gold flecks. It's gorgeous and I definitely will wear it more often. It's very smooth and shiny, and definitely a great top coat even without the gold flecks. On the swatch, I used two coats of it over an Essie matte white polish to show the effect.