September 2013 Blush Mystery Beauty Box Review

The Blush Mystery Beauty Box is EXCELLENT on my budget. It's $24.95 per month with a subscription, and knowing that it's coming every month keeps me from wasting money on impulse beauty and skincare purchases. The product variety is great and most of the brands are unknown to me, which really makes each month a treat. I love surprises and discovering new brands. The value of the box is usually really good too - which is an added bonus - I love getting the most for my money.

In this months box we have:

Racinne Ultimate Youth Power travel kit. I had never heard of Racinne, and was unable to find much online except that earlier this year they sent a lot of products to beauty bloggers to try to get the word out about them. They're a cosmeceutical company based in Canada, their packaging is certainly gorgeous, and I'm a sucker for packaging. This set includes Ultimate Youth Power Serum, Cream, Neck Emulsion and a Mask. The value of this travel kit is roughly $65.55! That's over double what I paid for the entire Mystery Box!

Next we have a sample packet of Vichy Liftactiv Retinol HA Night. I am not a fan of foil sample packets, as I feel like I need to use a product for at least a week to evaluate whether or not I would want to buy the full size. Sample packets, even when they're generously sized, are impossible to reseal, and often dry out before I can finish them. This product gets GREAT reviews - it claims to plump fine lines and wrinkles - YES PLEASE! The value of the packet is $2.38.

The Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Dry Shampoo definitely has my attention. I LOVE dry shampoo. I have super limp, lifeless hair and dry shampoo helps me get more volume. I've only used spray style dry shampoos, this is a loose powder, if I can figure out how to use it without getting it everywhere I think it could be a winner. I will be SO happy if I like this - as I've not yet found a dry shampoo that I can take on an airplane with me, they're all too big, and I need to have cute hair when I'm on vacation! That's impossible for me without dry shampoo. The value of this sample is $.83

Pop Pouty Pop Crayon - the box this month was curated by the creative director of Pop Beauty. Hence the crayon. Years ago I bought a couple of these crayons from Sephora, and I have a confession to make - I've never used them. This color is Fuschia Flirt and looks like it might actually be a wearable color. I'll add it to my makeup bag and make it a point to actually try this crayon. Value - $10.00

Brad Biophotonic Skincare Ultra Peel - OH MY GOSH. The full size of this product is 1.7oz for $175.00! It's supposed to help even out skintone - I would hope it would fold my laundry too for that price. I'm excited to try it, hopefully it's so spendy because it is completely amazing. Value - $25.74

Amlactin Triple Action Alpha-Hydroxy Therapy Foot Cream. FULL SIZE! Uh.. you mean we're supposed to use a special lotion for our feet? I seriously never considered this. I use moisturizer on my face, sometimes a rich hand cream for my hands, and body butter/balm/lotion everywhere else. My poor feet! They've obviously been missing out! Fortunately the back of the package claims that if I use this product every day my feet will love me for it. WHEW! Forgiven for moisturizing them with "regular" lotion all these years. Value - $10.00.

Anastasia Beverly Hills clear brow gel. So, here's another confession - I do nothing to my brows (beyond plucking them) - I don't even own an eyebrow pencil. So I'm not sure if I'll have a use for this brow gel. Anastasia Beverly Hills is pretty much the authority on brows, so if I'm ever going to begin doing something with my brows, this would be a good starting point - but I'm torn whether to keep this, or pass it on to a co-worker who would use it all the time and love it. Value - $6.68

Dremu Oil Airbrush Refining Eye Cream. I've received this a couple times now, and it's just so-so. It's definitely not MY holy grail of eye cream. Oprah mentioned it on her show once, so hoardes of people purchased it by the bucketful, I'm not sure what the draw is beyond her endorsement. It's not very emolient, and the skin under my eyes actually felt more dry after using it for a couple of weeks than it did before I started using it. Something that really bothered me was the ad for Dremu Oil that came with this sample had a coupon code on it - that EXPIRED IN APRIL OF THIS YEAR. That makes me wonder how long ago this eye cream was packaged, and if it too expired in April. Value - $9.07

Last but not least - LVX nail lacquer in Greige. FULL SIZE! This is from their Fall 2012 collection and I'm completely okay with receiving "last season's" color - I really like Greige. The polish is much more grey than how it photographed. It's like a slightly less pink version of Rescue Beauty Lounge's Grunge. Very pretty, and very work appropriate, no matter your line of business. Value - $16.00

If you're thinking about signing up for the Blush Beauty Box but are still on the fence and would like a $10.00 coupon off of a standalone box (boxes are $35 for a one time person, or $24 with a recurring subscription) - shoot me an email at kathryna at gmail.com and I'll send you a coupon code.

As always, this month's Mystery Beauty Box was full of delightful surprises and with a value of $146.25 I'd say it was certainly a great deal.