Boscia Smoothing Facial Polish

After Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Face Polish, I was on the hunt for a similar exfoliator. So I used Boscia's Surprise Beauty Box Holiday 2012 promotion as an excuse to try this Smoothing Facial Polish.

Boscia's Surprise Beauty Box promotion, wherein you get 5 full size products with every order of $75 or more.

***Screencap from Boscia.

The purchased items are boxed at right, and I bought full sizes of, from right to left, this Smoothing Facial Polish, Balancing Facial Tonic, and Soothing Cleansing Cream. The GWP items are unboxed, at left and top, and I received duplicates of Balancing Facial Tonic and Soothing Cleansing Cream, Makeup-Breakup Cool Cleansing Oil, Vital Daily Moisture SPF 15 (top left, gifted to my mum in law), and Enlivening Amino-AG Eye Treatment.

Boscia Makeup-Breakup Cool Cleansing Oil

I'm about 2/3 of the way through this bottle of Boscia Makeup-Breakup Cool Cleansing Oil so it's time for a review. It was actually a full size freebie from Boscia's Surprise Beauty Box Holiday 2012 promotion, wherein you get 5 full size products with every order of $75 or more. I told you they give generous freebies, yes? Of course these are probably old and soon-to-be-expired stuff they want to get rid off to make room for new stock, but many online retailers would still happily sell them at full retail. So I won't complain and will put them to good use ^.^


***Screencap from Boscia.

The purchased items are boxed at right, and I bought full sizes of, from right to left, Smoothing Facial Polish (currently using, will review next), Balancing Facial Tonic, and Soothing Cleansing Cream (also currently using, will review next). The GWP items are unboxed, at left and top, and I received duplicates of Balancing Facial Tonic and Soothing Cleansing Cream, this Makeup-Breakup Cool Cleansing Oil, Vital Daily Moisture SPF 15 (top left), and Enlivening Amino-AG Eye Treatment.

Boscia Blotting Linens

The past year saw me venturing into 2 new brands, Jurlique and Boscia, and revisiting with 2 others, Stila and L'Occitane. The sample of Herbal Recovery Gel I used last winter sparked my curiosity for Jurlique, and the Boscia Jujube Salve Stick became my traveling all-purpose rescue from way back in 2009 until it was discontinued. Plus Boscia's parent company is FANCL (FANCL is preservative-free, and Boscia is preservative-free and botanically-derived, think Clarins), which I had known and used from 2007. L'Occitane has always been hit and miss so I lost interest for a while, and Stila was somewhere in between forgotten and left behind due to all the moving. So all that is to say there will be quite a few Boscia, L'Occitane, and Stila reviews coming up ^.^

First up is Boscia Blotting Linens. Somehow, just within half a year starting last fall I've racked up quite a supply of them, from freebies to kits and sales! Boscia's 2012 Black Friday Promotion came with full size Gold Peppermint (100 sheets), Boscia's Best Trial Kit came with a mini packet of Green Tea (25 sheets), and the full size Pink Peppermint was going for half price ($5!) on Sephora! So I ended up having some really nice stocking stuffers for the gals in my family ^.^

Maybelline Baby Lips Part II

Saw these limited edition Maybelline Baby Lips twin packs on Citrine's blog last October while I was in Taipei. We were going to do another swap since our last one was quite fun, but she couldn't find any more of these at her local drugstores - they were all sold out :( I ended up emailing their pictures to my sister, asking her to keep her eyes open, just in case they pop up somewhere. 

Sure enough, about a month later, she was at by a Walgreens in a different part of town and lo-and-behold, there they were on the display shelf. So she grabbed a couple of them for me ^.^ I already have 030 Peach Kiss so I gave the one in the twin pack to her. She hated it LOL! Her lips are darker than mine, so this color was not translucent enough to keep its shimmers from turning frosty and pale on her.

From left to right: 80 Pink Wink and 030 Peach Kiss, 70 Coral Crush and 50 Twinkle, and 05 Quenched. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Nivea Lip Care Balms Part II

Okay, I pretty much tried one each of about 2/3 of all Nivea Lip Care balms available out there. Talk about a lip balm fiend LOL! At home and the office, I always have a small basket/tray full of various lip balms like these. Whenever my lips feel dry, I'd reach in and grab one at random. I like the small element of surprise ^.^ If I were not in the mood for what I picked, I'd just toss it back and pick again.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Glow August 2011

Last back-issue of 2011, hooray! This Glow August 2011 came with a Wedgwood tote in a cute flowery vine print on off white background.

Steady August 2011

Trying to get these out before they pickle any longer -.-' This Steady August 2011 issue came with a L'est Rose multi-purpose bag-in-bag tote, and I picked it for the pretty pink rose bouquet print on a baby blue gingham background. 

Non-no August 2011

Long time no magazine posts! You thought I gave these up, didn't you? ^.^

While packing up my apartment in Japan, it wasn't just a few mooks I found under a layer of dust. There were a few magazines too from late summer 2011 I had totally forgotten about! So here's to better late than never, this is Non-no August 2011. It came with a Coach fan and handkerchief. These freebies made it a popular issue and it was sold out quickly. I was so lucky to get even one issue, and there I was letting it sit for more than a year! 

Dior Addict Extreme

I especially love it when freebie mini lipsticks are true miniatures of the full size, like this 1.4g/0.04oz. tube of Dior Addict Extreme in 536 Lucky from a Dior deluxe sample set Sephora gave out last year. I actually dislike the full size packaging - I find its outer square cap unsightly and bulky even if the inner twist up bullet is slim. And yet somehow, being shrunken to about half (or a third?) of its former self made it ridiculously adorable and I just couldn't pass it up! It's super travel friendly and is just the right amount I need anyway, as I could never finish a full size otherwise.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.


The Dior deluxe sample set comes with a sheet of temporary tattoos,  this Dior Addict Extreme in 536 Lucky 1.4g/0.04oz., Capture Totale One Essential Skin Boosting Super Serum 3mL, and DiorShow Maximizer Base Mascara Lash Primer. The Lash Primer quickly found a loving home with sis-in-law. I already voiced my take on mascaras and such, yes?

Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Intense

You know what I like better than lipsticks? Their miniature version, like this 1.5g/0.05oz. mini tube of Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Intense in 36 Satin Fuchsia! It was a freebie from Sephora.

I've heard about these lipsticks a couple of years ago. One of my Japanese language classmates was crazy about them, but they were not readily available in Japan, at least at the time, so I helped her buy one online as she didn't speak English. So when came my chance to try one, although I wasn't too thrilled about the color, I figured it was free so why not, right?

36 Satin Fuchsia. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.