REVIEW | August Beauty Box Five

So today I shall be reviewing the August Beauty Box Five! It's taken me a while to get a post up but it's finally here. In the box I received:

Be A Bombshell Eyeshadow in Always a Bridesmaid ($14.00)

Swissco Nail File ($1.50)

H2O Plus Aquafirm + Micro-Collagen Moisturizer ($50.00/1.7oz)

Bask Heavenly Silk Daily Skin Lotion ($19.98/22oz)

Nubar Nail Lacquer in Faded Jeans ($8/0.5oz)

I think my biggest shock from this box was the eyeshadow. At first I was pleasantly surprised because I really like Be A Bombshell as a company, but have only tried out their lipglosses so seeing an eyeshadow was exciting! The name of the eyeshadow is Always A Bridesmaid, so I was under the assumption that it would be a taupey-pink or something very nude and natural, but boy did I get a surprise. Hot, hot pink. Like, shockingly pink. I'm not gonna lie, I was super disappointed. As someone that mostly wears nudes, or darker colours, this was not something that I was particularly excited about. I've used it as a blush already and it looks really lovely and bright, so I'm very happy about that! I still have yet to use it as an eyeshadow because I'm still trying to figure out how it'll look best, but I've seen some hot pinks in the crease so I'm gonna have to take a risk and try it out one day. As a product, it's a really great matte texture and is very pigmented. It's definitely worth the $14.00 and I'm excited to try some more suitable colours next!

A bright pink, sparkly nail file might be one's cup of tea, but it's definitely not mine. I don't mind it in any way, but it doesn't serve a particularly useful purpose for me, believe it or not. Most of my nail files are in packs of 20 from the dollar store and that's good enough for me! I wouldn't take it with me in my purse because it's much too big, and I'm afraid that a ton of sparkles would find their way everywhere, even though they're stuck on there pretty well (surprisingly; and yes, I totally rubbed my fingers all over them testing to see if they'd succumb). For $1.50 it's definitely a great price if that's your thing. The file is very good and works really well, I just wish they made the file-side half-and-half, one part the black file, the other half the white file.

Another H2O Plus product! The first one was interesting but not a really great product, and I have to say the same thing for this one, except that it's not interesting. On the little card, it tells me that: "... to promote collagen production and visibly fight lines and loss of firmness." Perhaps I should have passed this on to my mom? I still have a bunch left so I'll do just that. I've tried this out a few times in different ways. On the bottle it says to use it after cleansing and toning, I've tried that and noticed that it leaves my skin pretty dry without my serum. A little ironic for a product that's supposed to help wrinkles, right? I've also tried it with my serum and can't say I've noticed a great difference. My skin is more glowy and moisturized, but that's with the help of my serum. For $50.00 for 1.7oz (a small amount), I would not recommend it or say it's worth it. If you're considering this product, either for yourself or as a gift for a more mature lady, I'd suggest getting a sample first or a gift receipt.

The next sample I received was from Bask (a company I've never heard of). It's a Daily Skin Lotion, although sometimes it says moisturizer on it so I wasn't sure whether it was face-safe or not but I haven't tried it on my face anyways. This is probably my favourite product out of the box. It's a good size and smells amaaaaaaazing! It's also my favourite type of cream, it rubs nicely into the skin but leaves it feeling silky and soft and does not dry out after a while. It's definitely not one of those creams that stays oily even after you've "rubbed it in". The consistency is perfect, not too liquidy, not too thick. On the BB5 card, it tells me that it's "packed with vitamins, plant extracts and antioxidants..." Obviously this is a very nourishing lotion that actually works perfectly. For $20 for 22 oz (a huge bottle), it's so worth it!

Lastly I received the Nubar Nail Lacquer in the colour Faded Jeans. I really can't review this nail polish because I did not try it nor will I. I'm going to be passing it on to my cousin next time I see her because I have a nearly identical blue polish from China Glaze in the colour Bahamian Escape. It's disappointing because I've always wanted to try Nubar. Next time!

Hope you found my review helpful!

Ada xx