What's in My FabBag: February 2016 Edition

Hi Everyone!

February being the month of love, FabBag has planned a valentine's bag this time round. The glossy red pouch goes with the theme. This month's bag has 6 products of which 3 are full sized packs. However, I did miss the tiny magazine, Fab Post with this Bag. I saw the reviews and pictures by other bloggers, and no one else seems to have received one either! I really miss it because it had all the details of the products featured for the month, discount codes and various beauty tricks and tips.

Team FabBag, please bring back Fab Post!

Watch the video below for further thoughts...

Hikari Cosmetics Blush in Harvest

Product Price: INR 1000/-

Sample Size in Bag: Full Size

Fashionography Earrings

Product Price: N.A.

Exactly same as last month's bag, left me with a couple of ???

Bioderma Photoderm Mat Sunscreen SPF 30

Product Price: INR 1330/- for 40 ml

Sample Size on Bag: 5ml

Nyassa Foaming Face Scrub - Oceana

Product Price: INR 600/- for 200 gm

Sample size in Bag: 30 gms

Chamki Nail Polish in Begum

Product Price: INR 250/- for 11 ml

Sample Size in Bag: Full Size

Just Herbs Marigold Mango Lip Contour Balm

Product price: INR 345/- for 8 gms

Sample Size in Bag: Full Size

Overall Verdict: I liked 4 out of the 6 products sent this month, so it isn't that bad. The Blush , scrub and the lip balm are great. The Bioderma sunscreen along with these products did offset the disappointment with the nail polish and the repeat earring.

Value of this Bag: INR 1770/- (approx.) as against my cost of INR 416/- (I have an annual subscription)

FabBag is a monthly subscription service starting at INR 499/-. Each month's bag contains 3-5 products from national and international brands ranging from drugstore to luxury. Product sizes range from small sample sizes to full size. To join this service click HERE.

My Envy Box: December 2015 Edition

Hello All!


With this post, I should be able to catch up on most of my pending posts..

My Envy Box came in for a lot of flack for their November selection. Especially since their October Box was spectacular! So how did My Envy Box fare this month? Let's find out...

I really liked the festive Box this moth celebrating winters and Christmas!

I think, this time My Envy Box team has taken heed of customer dissatisfaction and has give two full size make up products from Catrice,  an Eye liner Pen and Nail Polish.

Ananda Light Moisturiser for Normal and Dry Skin

Product Price: INR 1350 for 50 gms

Sample Size in Box: 10 gms

Ananda in the Himalayas have some really great products and this moisturiser is no exception. I am already using and loving it!

Bioderma Photoderm AKN Mat with SPF 30

Product Price: 1400/- for 40 ml

Product Size in Box: 2x 5ml

A respected brand in Europe and USA, I have been using their Micellar Cleansing water for sometime now. And I'm not complaining about this product in the bag. Though I will have to save it till summers to use it, since my skin is a bit dry due to the winter season.

O3+ Whitening Mask

Product Price: INR 775/- for 50 ml

Sample Size in Box: 10 ml

I've definitely seen this brand but I have never used any of their products. Let's see how this fares on my skin...

Catrice Ultimate Nail Laquer in Get the Blues

Product Price: INR 445/- for 10 ml

Sample Size in Box: Full Size

This Nail colour is a pretty peacock blue, but needs at least 3 coats to give a 'close to opaque' finish. An Ok product, in my opinion.

Catrice Multi Style Matt EyeLiner Pen

Product Price: INR 660/- 

Sample Size in Box: Full Size

I have come to really like Eye Liner pens because of its ease of use. So this was definitely a welcome product in the Box. What I must tell you is that this pen has a very interesting shape. But more about that in a review post...

Value of the December Box: INR 1880/-. So over 2x the price of the Box

Overall Verdict: It is definitely an improvement over the disappointing show from last month. The redeeming points are the Eyeliner and Ananda Moisturiser. Hopefully, My Envy Box will move ahead from here!

My Envy Box is a subscription service which brings you 5 trial sized beauty products (typically 2ml-10ml) from the top international luxury and prestige brands delivered to your door step every month. Priced at INR 850/- for a month, it may be subscribed for 3, 6, or 12 months. You may subscribe to this service HERE

Think and Stay Beautiful!

My Envy Box: November 2015 Edition

Hello All!!

I got the November 2015 Edition of My Envy Box yesterday. To be honest, I was not entirely happy about the curation this month. Read on the know why....

This month's box is a light pista green in colour with a very pretty floral graphic on the lid.

Nimai Handcrafted Bracelet

Honestly, I don't really like jewellery in beauty boxes. They tend to be of pretty poor quality and not really to my taste. So this product did not make me too happy.

Derma Glow Radiance Perfecting Treatment

Product Price: INR 990/- for 10 ml

Sample Size in Box: 10 ml

Curious...... the accompanying card mentions that this is part of the last batch of DermaGlow products coming into India... why last batch? Is the brand winding down? However, initial application seems promising. Let's see how it works out.....

I tried locating the product on the website (myenvybox.com) but it isn't there..

Bioderma Sensibio H2O

Product Price: INR 599/- on Amazon.in and Nykaa.com ; INR 550/- on Flipkart.com and 

Sample Size in Bag: 10x3=30ml

Bioderma is a really great brand and I have tried their foaming gel earlier and was saw really positive results. I have tried micellar cleansers by Vichy and Nuxe and I'm sure Bioderma Sensibio H2O will fare well, but I would have really liked a larger sized sample. Again, this product is not available on the website at this time.....

Chloe Eau de Toilette

Product Price: INR 4900/-

Sample Size in Box: 1.2 ml

This is a lovely perfume that smells of roses. I had received this as a sample when I had bought a perfume at an airport duty free counter. I loved it then, and am not complaining about this sample.

Wella SP Luxe Oil Reconstructive Elixir

Product Price: INR 1,250/- for 30 ml on Amazon.com; INR2099/- on Paytm and INR 1250/- on eBay.in

Sample Size in Box: 2x2=4ml

This product is also currently unavailable on the website.

I'm wondering, most beauty subscriptions offer 10-20% discounts on full size products whose samples they curate in the current month. In this My Envy Box disappoints. The website offers a flat INR 100/- off on purchases. The accompanying card in the Box says a gift pack worth INR 3000/- will be given for a bill if INR 5000/- or above.

Overall Verdict: On the whole disappointing.. both in terms of curation, lack of any full sized product, lack of availability of a number of featured products on own website and lack of product specific discounts. Also the Card does not mention prices of the full sized products. So all in all seems like a very carelessly thrown together box, falling far short of its promise. I saw some other reviews and everyone seems to be feeling quite let down!

Team My Envy Box, you can do better!!

My Envy Box is a subscription service which brings you 5 trial sized beauty products (typically 2ml-10ml) from the top international luxury and prestige brands delivered to your door step every month. Priced at INR 850/- for a month, it may be subscribed for 3, 6, or 12 months. You may subscribe to this service HERE

Product Review: Bioderma Sebium Gel Moussant for Oily/Combination Skin

Hi Everyone!

 Time for another quick product review. I have had very oily skin right from my teens  to well into my 30s. Its only in recent times that I see my skin drying out a bit and move more towards combination, where my T-Zone remains oily and the rest of my face are drier. I have also had my share of struggles with spots and pimples on a regular basis, specially in summer months…. Even today. I have tried face washes for oily skin, medicated ones for pimples, but nothing really helped. Instead I felt these face washes were stripping my skin of essential moisture.

Recently I received the Bioderma Sebium Gel Moussant: Purifying Foaming Cleansing Gel in one of the FabBags.

I have been using this product for 1 week and lets see how it fared on me.

 Product Claim:  

Sébium Gel moussant gently cleanses and is the only cleansing gel that limits the formation of blemishes thanks to the Fluidactiv^® sebo-correcting complex, which biologically regulates sebum quality. 

Enriched with purifying agents, zinc sulfate and copper sulphate, Sébium Gel Moussant purifies the skin and limits sebaceous secretion.


List of Ingredients:  
AQUA/WATER/EAU, SODIUM COCOAMPHOACETATE, SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE, METHYLPROPANEDIOL, DISODIUM EDTA, MANNITOL, XYLITOL, RHAMNOSE, FRUCTOOLIGOSACCHARIDES, ZINC SULFATE, COPPER SULFATE, GINKGO BILOBA LEAF EXTRACT, PEG-90 GLYCERYL ISOSTEARATE, LACTIC ACID, LAURETH-2, POTASSIUM SORBATE, SODIUM CHLORIDE, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, SODIUM HYDROXIDE, FRAGRANCE (PARFUM). [BI 418]

Product Price: INR 1299/- for 200ml

My thoughts on the Product: 

Since mine is a sample, it comes in a paper and plastic blister pack. The front of the packaging is transparent. The product itself is light blue in colour. Its formulation is like a slightly runny gel. Very little product is needed for a thorough cleansing. I take a glob the size of the new Re 1 coin in my palm and rub it together to create the foam and apply it only face. The product does not foam a great deal, but cleans my face like a charm! It has a faint aqua fragrance that I like. The product leaves my facial skin feeling absolutely clean without that stretchy after feel. I could definitely see that one pimple on my face dry up quicker than usual. I’ve not sprouted any new ones, is it because of this product, or something else? I can’t say at this moment. But I’m definitely in love with this face wash!You do not need a lot of product. This 10 ml pack is still half full after 7days of use.

Buy here at: Nykaa.com and Flipkart.com

Pros: 

1. Product from a brand well known for its skin care products. Popular the world over.
2. Pleasant aqua fragrance
3. Little goes a long way (very little product needed)
4. Leaves skin feeling squeaky clean
5. No dry, stretchy  after-feel.
6. Paraben free!!

Cons: 

1.  Contains SLS. 

Overall Verdict: 4.9/5. Its actually a great product! Even though it may seem a little pricey at INR 1299/- for 200 ml, it works out in the long run because you need so little of it for every wash. 200ml will last a looong while! This face wash has now become a staple in my bathroom shelf!

Have you used  this product? Did you like it? Let me know in the comments section below!

Think and Stay Beautiful!