January Loose Buttons Luxe Box Review

I came home from work last night to my first ever Luxe Box from Loose Buttons. While these monthly beauty subscription boxes are quite popular I have never actually taken the leap and ordered one. While I love my monthly Julep Maven box, it is unique among the boxes as we find out beforehand EXACTLY what we are getting and can choose to skip, swap or gift the box each month. With these beauty boxes its always a shot in the dark. You never know what you are getting or if you will like it. They are quite inexpensive, ranging from ten dollars to twelve dollars a month so you are not really out MUCH if you don't like it though.

I really had no idea what to expect from the box. So when I got the chance to review a box from the company, I JUMPED at the chance! And look at what arrived at my door yesterday? Now I assume that this is the January box even though I got it on February 6th! Not sure if since mine was not payed for if I just got it late, or if everyone's was late this month! Maybe this is normal time frame, though I know a few people who got their boxes at least a week before mine.

Now the first thing you will notice is it came with TWO Luxe Boxes. The smaller white one says "Luxe Box Bath And Body" on it. I have no clue if this is going to be a new box they will be starting up soon separate from the REGULAR Luxe Box, or if its a one time thing. But if they DO come out with a completely separate Bath And Body box, I will jump at it!

Onto the white box:

The first thing I pulled out of the box was a full sized Hydro Silk razor from Schick. I have been a big fan of the Schick Intuition Razor since it came out and until last year used it exclusively. Then I received a free full size Venus Embrace razor last year and since then, its been nice to have TWO options for razors I adore! I can buy a refill head of which ever is less expensive! So I am excited to try another new one! AND it comes with 4.00 off a refill package! I hope I like it! I love when sample razors are the full size razor and all you ever have to replace if you like it is the heads!

Next up in the Bath and Body box was this sample of  Frederic Fekkai Glossing Shampoo and Conditioner. I  don't know how many of you took part in the Holt Renfrew Frederic Fekkai Event last summer, but those of you who do will remember this promo:

I went to take advantage of it and when I went to get my free full size bottle of whatever type I wanted, it was recommended for my curly, frizzy, mess of a hair that I get the Glossing one! I still haven't tried it yet (sorry, had just bought a brand new jumbo sized bottle of the RUSK Coral Therapy Shampoo and Conditioner but I am 75% of the way through), but its the next one up for me to use! I'm really excited to get this because I am kind of anal about having the matching shampoo and conditioner and this way I can try the conditioner before I shell out 30 dollars for it!

That was it for the Bath and Body box! But I was happy to receive both products though I am not sure yet if I like them or not! I would assume if they make an entirely new Bath and Body box though that it would contain more than two items!

Next up was the regular box. My first reaction was to the personalized touches that they used. Look at both the card and stickers with my name on it! And not too many of us Shayna's walking around (at least in North America!)

The first item in this box was the Pur Minerals 4-in-1 Foundations Now the card I got that tells me what this is says its a full sized product, though it says that a full size is 8g and $31.00 and the one I received is 4.3 grams so I am unsure if I got a full size and the measurement on the card is wrong, if I was supposed to get a full sized and didn't or if they simply put "full size" by mistake.

Either way, let me say that I was NOT happy about this product, and if I had paid for this box I would have been even MORE unhappy with this product. How on earth can a company send you a sample of a foundation without knowing what skin tone you have? Am I Albino, Black, Latino, or like in reality, am I a glow in the dark white girl who resembles Casper The Friendly Ghost with a sunburn? Seriously, without joking I swear this is what I look like! Just add a mop of curly frizzy reddish blonde hair to it and we could be identical twins!!

How on earth could they think they could even come close to getting someone foundation right? The colour I got was so dark its actually darker than the bronzer I use! The lighting makes it look much lighter than it really is!

Next up was a sample of Benefit Cosmetics B. Right! Moisture Prep Toning Lotion. This came in a really gorgeous glass bottle and contains 8.9ml. A full sized bottle is 29.00 and contains 177ml so this is about 5% of what you get in a normal sized.

Next up was a quite generous sample size of Donna Karan Beauty Cashmere Mist Body Cleansing Lotion. A full sized bottle is 40.00 and contains 190ml and this one is 75ml! Thats more than a third! This alone was the "value" of the entire box. At 12.00 a box, this item alone makes you break even.

The last beauty item in the box was this Moroccanoil Oil Treatment for Fine and Light Coloured Hair. A full size is 100 ml costing 41.00 and at 25ml this is a quarter of a bottle. A ten dollar value. Another product that alone almost makes up the entire value of the box.

Last up in the box is a "bonus" non beauty item. Seattle's Best Coffee in level 3. I dont drink coffee so I will try to give this away to someone I know as not to waste it. I do wonder every time I see coffee, tea, chocolate or candy pop up in these boxes what they have to do with a beauty box. I know most people probably enjoy these little surprises, but I would personally prefer to have another beauty product instead.

And finally, here is everything together that came in the box.

So all in all, what do I think of the box?

PROS

• you certainly get $12 worth of product in the boxes. Much much more so. From what I have seen from past reveals this is a standard occurrence. You will never have to fear getting $6 worth of product for your $12. 
• you get to try things you otherwise wouldn't necessarily have tried for yourself
• you get to look forward to a surprise box every month. Who doesn't love getting mail? Or surprises! 
• the subscription automatically renews until you stop it. So if you got 3 months, at the end of the 3 it will charge you again unless you previously cancel it. Not sure if I should put that here as a pro as you wont miss a month, or a con as you could be billed when you don't want to if you forget to cancel!
• if three of your friends sign up you get a free a month

CONS

• you have no control over what you get
• you can cancel your membership at anytime (yay!) but it only stops you from being charged again. If you have paid for a 3 or 12 month subscription you can't get your money back and stop halfway through. You have paid the money and will get the next 2-11 boxes regardless of if you want to or not, though you will not get any OTHER charges or boxes. 
• you could end up with (as I did) items that are VERY VERY wrong for you (like a foundation thats so ridiculously wrong its almost funny). Seriously, what a WASTE of product. I really dont know anyone light or dark enough to use it. I cant think of one person I know who would be right for this colour. A sample card with a one time use of 12 different colours would have been far less product/cost to send and much more useful and beneficial. 
• I am not sure why I got my box so late, but I got it in almost the 2nd week of February (one day shy of the 2nd week!)
• Different people get different boxes. This can be nice, but sometimes its just frustrating. I would have LOVED to receive the Curly Hair Solutions Curl Keeper some people got in their January boxes. They are also rolling out a new program called the Myscent program and people got a bag full of different perfume samples. Why introduce a new program to some people and not others? Just wondering......

All in all I really think this box is a great value for your dollar. It lets you try a bunch of things that you otherwise may not have purchased. It is packaged beautifully ( I already have plans for how to use the little cardboard drawer again as not to waste it!) and there is attention to the details. If you are someone who loves all things beauty, loves trying new things, and loves getting surprise mail, this is a great program. 

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!!

Is the program for me? I am not sure. I got a toner which is great because my toner has been discontinued (DAMN YOU BLISS!!! GRR!!!!!). But if I don't love this one, or had I not gotten this one, I would just walk in to Sephora and ask for samples of 3 or 4 different toners to try and they will hand make me samples. I don't necessarily need to pay to try products I want to try. But again, you could end up missing out on a great product! 

Also, the foundation things really still bugs me. It just boggles my mind! And I still wonder if I was supposed to get a full sized one and did not, or wasn't supposed to and they just said I did, or if it truly was a full sized sample. I am a girl who has very very sensitive skin and once I find something that works, I stick to it. I don't really know if I would appreciate getting new skin samples regularly when I am unlikely to use them. And I would probably be very bothered seeing some item I would have LOVED to try (such as the curl keeper) in others boxes when I received a foundation I would never use. 

All that being said, if the Bath And Body Box is indeed a trial of what becomes a new monthly box option, I will be all over it! I love bath and body products, I try to take a bath at least 3-4 times a week, and while I have favourites (LUSH, Molton Brown, Fruits & Passion) I am not loyal to any one product and LOVE trying new things! 

This box was sent to me for review!