Friday, October 25, 2013

Vellvette Bag : October

Vellvette Bag : October


Hey guys,

So I woke up this morning and as I was rushing to work the postman arrived with a package.. Stupid of me to start jumping up in glee as I didn't know how this package was going to upset me... The minuteI got to work and opened it.. I was upset... It was my dreaded subscription - Vellvette Bag... If you don't already know why I hate Vellvette then read this



So lets get to it..

Bag- Hate the color.. According to their email the color of the bag is supposed to remind you of the ocean and the blue waters.. Well I don't get sea sick but the color of this bag definitely makes me want to hurl... The shape is weird and slightly different than last time.. Hate it... Will be passing it on to whoever wants it!



1) Vantiv Moisturizing Shampoo and Refreshing Shower Gel: Well to be honest the only thing I appreciate about this product is the quantity and I won't lie they sent a full size! The Shampoo smells like a salon - a smell that I don't like.. And the Shower Gel has a fake lemon smell! And I love anything citrus so I know my citrus smells well and this definitely aint it!  I will definitely not be using the shower gel as I can't stand the lab-generated citrus/lemon smell and might get sick, esp if the scent lingers.. *off to vom*  The Shampoo has Aloe Vera and Vitamin E and is supposed to reduce dryness and frizziness.. will give it a try but lets see... 
Also Just Curious what brand is this? Ive never seen it anywhere... I mean i get that the whole point of getting a subscription bag is to try out new products, but I would like to try out products from brands known.. not something out of a wedlock! I tried to look this brand up and I got nothing!  Should I give the shampoo a go? Im having second thoughts! Let me know in the comments below...

Full Size - INR 401.

Will I repurchase : Nope! The shower gel smells disgusting enough to toss out immediately and the shampoo doesn't really interest me much... 





2) SK II Facial Treatment Cleaning Gel - Okay put your phone or tab down/ step away from your laptop and give Vellvette a huge round of applause for sending me such a hugeeee sample of this product! I mean how big is it right?? 5 Freaking Whole Grams! I mean can you believe it! I am being sarcastic if you didn't get it already! I appreciate an SK II sample but at least have the decency to send a good size or 2 of the 5gms product! Again I am baffled at how they expect me to like this when the product inside the tube is probably good only for  maybe 1-2 face washes? I mean if I casually waltz over to the Lancome counter in Mumbai they happily give out more samples than this and better sizes might I add.. The quantity is ridiculous and will not help me decide if I like this product or not.. I feel ripped off! *slaps head*

Also mine was manufactured in April 2012 and most SK II products have a 1 year shelf life, I couldn't dig up the exact shelf life of this product but am I over thinking and assuming this is an expired product? eeeeek! 

Full Size- INR 3500 

Will I purchase the full size? : How do I know if its worth 3500? This sample is not enough to help me decide! Also has my product expired? (do let me know in the comments if you know the answer to that) But as of now, No :(





3) Florelle Wet & Dry Blush - Marmorized - I mean would you take a look at it? Starters - the writing on the lid is rubbed off I just see flore instead of florelle.. Worn out product - perhaps close to expiry as well? I don't know.. It looks rugged enough !   Mains - Also what the hell is a wet blush? Do I wet my brush and use the blush in that case where is the brush or mirror? The packaging is cheap.. and the product is low quality.. Also it had blue flecks in it which show up prominently if you use a wet brush.. Thanks Vellvette blue cheeks is just what I need! ( if you swirl your dry brush or finger around the blue integrates with the mauve to give a weird color)  Dessert - What the hell is this color? It looks decent in a swatch but its not my choice of color.. I tried it on in the office and my father immediately said what is up with your cheeks? The color is digusting will you please get it off?
 Also word of caution do not use a wet brush unless your into blue whiskers and would prefer blue stripes on your cheeks.. 

Full Size - 750 (What the ...? For this? your kidding me right.. somebody please tell me its a printing error!)

Will I Repurchase? : Do I really need to answer this? Well, NO! 





Also along with this shitty bag they don't forget to send you something to torture people you dislike.. Your probably wondering what it is.. Its an invite for your friend to Vellvette! Any takers? Ya I didn't think so.. Straight to Trash! ( Also such a pathetic attempt to get customers by offering INR 100 off!)





Okay so overall.. Thank you so much Vellvette for ruining the awesome start to my weekend with such a shitty bag.. I don't mean to offend those that loved their bags but then I am paying almost 500 a month I expect to get better products than this.. Atleast decent products.. Vellvette started out as a superb subscription service but they have deteriorated rapidly and most of my friends, bloggers have all unsubscribed already and I am on that bandwagon.. I have already sent them an email saying I repent paying for a whole year and would like my money back... I was also due an additional product this month as well as pending samples from the past months and got NONE! This is just so infuriating.. For those that are thinking of subscribing-  DONT! I am thoroughly unhappy with them and their customer service.. numerous emails about pending samples have been not replied to and its come to a point where its absolutely ridiculous now..  I need some retail therapy now to get over this nightmare! Any suggestions?







Monday, October 21, 2013

Product Review: OCC Lip Tars

Product Review: OCC Lip Tars!






Hey Guys,

After the last post it was time for a happy and love-product post. This review has been requested by Renu of My Beauty Junction who asked me to review these and since I have like 4 shades of these I thought why not.  Well I am going to keep this review short and to the point. Basically I love these.. I used to have a couple more accompanied by a mixing dish and a lip brush, but my sister called dibs on them. Nonetheless I've kept 4 guarded for myself.

Price: $ 18 + taxes
Quantity: 0.33 oz

What Sephora says about the lip tars:

Flash a fabulous smile and a stunning splash of color with this lip formula that combines the longevity of a lipstick with the breezy application of a gloss. The rich pigment will drench your pout and the blend of essential oils, including hemp and peppermint, will soothe and soften the skin for a supremely comfortable finish. 

Sans Parabens!



So I have 4 gorgeous shades to review for you. 



Black Dahlia:
In the tube this color looks horrifying, I won't lie. I was scared of it at first when I first got it. I then tried it on and found that it leaves a lovely winey-plum sheen behind once blended well. This is the perfect autumn color and perfect for a night out. This color is also awesome darken lighter shades. Its perfect for mixing as well as a solo application. This shade is similar to MAC Rebel.


Flash


No Flash



Grandma:
Okay this shade is poorly named! I love the orangey-coral color it gives off.. Okay I have to confess this is the lightest Lip Tar I have in my collection and looks amazing layered on or as a light lip color on its own.. For those who are NC 42 or above this may wash you out on its though but feel free to mix with any other shades, thats what lip tars are for anyway :)


Flash


No Flash


Queen:
Well can this shade get any more neon? This is a gorgeous color and looks amazing when on or if you have a layer of this and top it of with Grandma from above which would make it a gorgeous pinkish-coral color. For those of you who are NC 43 and above this may wash you out. This shade is somewhat similar to MAC Candy Yum Yum but not completely. 


Flash


No Flash


Anime:
This color is one of the most famous colors in their line. This shade is super gorgeous as well. This is a true fuchsia and looks lovely when on. I wouldn't really mix this with other colors as this looks super lovely on its own. This shade is similar to MAC Girl About Town.


Flash


No Flash


Pro's:

Lovely color range (they have the weirdest mixing colors such as blue, yellow, stark white etc)
Superb lasting power
Long Lasting
Non Transferable
Great color payoff
No Parabens


Con's:

Availability 
Price (although the sets are value for money)
Slightly drying on the lips (need to exfoliate lips and use a lip balm prior to using this product)



Overall the OCC Lip Tars are gorgeous and amazing products and a great addition to your vanity. A little goes a longgg way and you need less then a small drop sized product to cover the whole lip so for the money these will last you for a veryy long time. They stay on forever and may need touch up if you go through numerous meals. Will survive small meals and won't transfer once the product has set. I must admit mixing and creating new colors is the best part of this product. 

Will I repurchase?: Not these exact shades as these would last a long time but yes I am looking forward to buying more shades.

Have you tried the lip tars? Did you like them?










Thursday, October 3, 2013

Vellvette Bag: September Anniversary Edition

Vellvette Bag: September Anniversary Edition

Hey guys,

So I am probably the last people on this planet to review this particular 'bag'. But I just needed to put my 2 cents in. So this month Vellvette celebrates 1 year of its existence. While I have heard rave reviews of a lot of its bags in the beginning, the latest ones have been quite disappointing.. Ive been subscribed to them 4 solid months now and have hated all my box/bags till now.. You can see a review of one of my previous boxes here. This month it was supposed to be a special bag with fun filled goodies.. Ah well.. We can only hope for that. And more on their customer service below.








So lets start with the 'Bag'. While the epic war of the who introduced the Bag concept in India carries on and I choose to ignore it. The bag I was sent was eye ball scarring, I kid you not ! It is a red and white polka dot bag. Sorry, but in no world does this Minnie Mouse wannabe bag look nice.. The material was cheap and the zip flimsy. Infact my zipper was spoilt. I have contacted Vellvette about this issue but no reply till now.. Okay so bag tossed aside.. Lets get to the products.  Out of the 3 products I got this month, there was only one that I actually didn't mind.

1) Organic Surge - Shine Boost Deep Conditioner.

Okay firstly, my bottle came in only 3/4 full, the product was not a full 100 ml, again contacted Vellvette but no reply. Secondly this product is for normal hair but I have super dry hair and this won't do anything to help with that. They need to pay attention to what we write in the surveys and questionnaires, no customization.  Last time they sent me shampoo for curly hair and I have poker straight hair! The only plus side about this sample is that the smell of the product is not too bad. 

Will I purchase the full size? : NO.




2) Beauty UK eyeshadow collection in No.2 - Soho.

Well when I read palette on the cards (clearly missing the brand) I got super excited. But when I opened the bubble wrap on it, I wanted to weep. Whats wrong with it you ask? Well let me tell ya! The colors are meh, they are not pigmented at all and very chalky. I tried creating a look with them to show you but it looked really bad. And some of the colors are too light and require a lot of product to just show on the lids. Boy I am not impressed. I think if I created two looks for you, I'd already hit pan on the shadows.. thats how non-pigmented they are!  

Will I purchase this palette (or color variations) again? : Hell to the NO! I have also read a couple of reviews on the other shades of the palette and they are not nice either.. So I think, I'll be skipping these.





(I have tried and swatched the pink, coral, green and yellow colors. Despite numerous efforts to get the color enough to swatch, this was the best I could do after 10 swipes on each color - I kid you not)



3) Lush Dream Cream - Hand and Body Lotion

Well this is the only product from the bag that I can bear. But having said that, in the previous box, Velvette sent out a pretty decent amount of sample, where as this sample is smaller than a tub of The Body Shop lip balms. I mean, how do I sample a cream in one use and decide that it is the best darn cream in the whole wide world and that I NEED to get the full size? I simply can't, unless on the card that accompanied with it, they would have said, free refills at the Lush counter, then I would have appreciated it a tad more. For now, I stand unimpressed!  

Will I purchase the full size?: The sample definitely won't help me decide that..!




4) A funny Hair Brush / Mirror.

Now I know I do not have a picture of this, but I did get one. I do not typically use the fold in kind of hair brushes as I carry a full size with me everywhere, thanks to my untamed tresses therefore I gave it away. Now I am not impressed with this either. I mean come on! It aint no beauty product.. If you wanted me to have an extra goodie for your anniversary send me an Estee Lauder or Clinique or Clarins samples that you sent out in the previous boxes. I would much rather have those over a low quality brush and mirror.



Let me tell you about another issue I have with them. Their customer service is horrible. I have emailed them multiple times and have received no replies till now. Even tweets to them have been in vain. I was supposed to receive a bonus sample every month and 4 solid boxes in hand and no bonus samples in sight yet. I feel ripped off to an extent. They also sent out emails sometime last month asking if we wanted a special sample and to fill out details and we would be sent those as well, well I got nothing, nada. Until now this box has been nothing but a huge disappointment for me. When I see posts about international beauty boxes (Especially Ipsy) my heart weeps. We need better subscription services in here so that we can test out products not easily available here and in decent enough quantity to validate a full size purchase. 


Overall, As you can see I am more than unhappy with this subscription service. Unfortunately for me there is no way I can get out of my current subscription, So I am stuck with it for a very very long time. Although once my subscription with Vellvette runs out I definitely won't be subscribing again. Unless they up their game and stop fooling their customers with outdated/discontinued/cheap samples. 



Let me know what you think of my Vellvette Box and if you got one too how horrifying was yours?


xoxo
Shivani