The idea for this blog started off when I got my first beauty box last month, and that box was Goodbeing‘s August box. I didn’t actually know that I was going to be doing this when I first got the box, so the pictures in this review are going to look a bit terrible. Pictures will get better in future reviews. They may or may not be good pictures, but they will be better.
Goodbeing specializes in “healthy beauty products, non-toxic cosmetics, natural wellness & sustainable, toxin-free living goods.” Their boxes typically come with five samples — some are large samples while some are full-sized products. Boxes range from $18 to $21 a month, depending on what subscription option you choose; longer subscriptions cost less per box. Goodbeing customizes boxes based on your profile, and there is also an option to request vegan-only products in boxes (though they note that vegan boxes may still contain products with beeswax).
Goodbeing Box from August 2016
In my August box, I received:
- Zatik Lavender Licorice Clear Complexion Toner (full size — worth $20)
- Honeybee Gardens Truly Natural Lipstick in Vintage Merlot (full size — worth $12.99)
- Andalou Naturals Instant Pure Pore Hydro Serum Facial Mask (one mask — worth $5.99)
- UVO Sun Protective Drink Supplement (three packets — worth $5.97; sold in sets of 5 for $9.95)
- Tribe Alive Hand Dyed Shibori Pouch (one bag — worth $38)
- BONUS from promo code — Red Flower Ocean Purifying Body Wash (sample — worth $4.60; full size is $22)
That brings the box to a total value of $87.55. Not bad! All of the products in my box were vegan; while I’m not vegan and I’m not strict on using only vegan products, I really like using vegan products and I think it’s cool that Goodbeing deals with a lot of vegan companies.
The Zatik Lavender Licorice Clear Complexion Toner smells so yummy! I’ve never really used a toner because I just didn’t get into the routine of putting things on my face after washing it, so this type of product was new to me. Not only does it smell wonderful, but it also seems to be working really well with my skin!
My skin hates me. I’m a week away from turning 22 years old, and not once in the past decade have I had a single day where I didn’t have at least a handful of zits on my face. My skin alternates between being too dry and being too oily on a whim, and because I also have dermatillomania (compulsive skin-picking), my face is covered in acne scars.
I’ve been using this toner after washing my face before bed, and in the morning before I put on my makeup. It’s been evening out my combination skin; if my skin feels too dry after washing it, this stuff calms it down and brings it back to a more moisturized state. I’m also to a point where I have only a couple active zits on my face, and the ones that are there are in the “going-away-now-goodbye” stage. I’m floored. My skin hasn’t looked this good since before puberty. Granted, it still doesn’t look great (scars still exist!), but it just looks so much better. I love this toner!
Honeybee Gardens Truly Natural Lipstick was available in boxes in four shades: Bombshell, Romance, San Francisco, and Vintage Merlot. I received Vintage Merlot, which is a nice bold red. I’m a sucker for dark lipstick, so while I think all four colors are very pretty, the one I received was definitely the best choice for me. Props to Goodbeing for sniffing that one out of my profile!
This is my new favorite lipstick. Well, actually, now it’s one of my two favorite lipsticks… Not long after receiving this box, I placed an order with Honeybee Gardens for some of their other products because I loved this lipstick so much, and I also got another lipstick in the color Masquerade, which is a dark berry wine color.
Here’s a swatch of Vintage Merlot:
swatch of Vintage Merlot
This lipstick is actually meant to work as both a lipstick and a lip moisturizer, and while most lipsticks I’ve tried fail at doing that (either not being very moisturizing or lacking pigmentation), this one does a fantastic job at both. This lipstick also goes on very smoothly; while I own an invisible lip liner that I use with most of my lipsticks, I am a very lazy person and will often just go straight for the lipstick if I’m in a hurry. Depending on what lipstick I’m using, this can often be a gigantic mistake and make me look like a clown unless I start all over (thus defeating the purpose of skipping the liner in order to move faster). This lipstick is buildable in color, making it a lot easier to look good with little effort (as opposed to looking like I just tried to eat a six-inch ball of wet acrylic paint in one gulp). I can make this look good effortlessly without liner. It also just smells so good! I really love it when my beauty products smell good; it makes me feel a lot happier wearing them.
Honeybee Gardens is one of my new favorites now. I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended up with a lot more of their lipsticks in the future.
Andalou Naturals Instant Pure Pore Hydro Serum Facial Mask was also a new experience for me. I’d never used a sheet mask before, and I spent a little while eyeballing the mask in its packaging, debating on whether or not I felt confident enough to use it without tragically messing it up. Eventually I plucked up the courage and just tried it. (But first I set the little package on my kitty, Coco, because she was just sitting there as if she was intentionally giving me a photo op.)
Coco the tuxedo cat “wearing” an unopened face mask on her belly
I really loved the scent of this mask! It was very fruity and sweet-smelling. The mask didn’t fit my face very well, but this is more likely because of my face than because of the mask itself; I am extremely short for my age (4′ 8″ tall), and I have a really tiny face, so the fact that it didn’t fit me wasn’t very surprising. The eyes were about the correct width apart, but the nose section of the mask was rather long and kept trying to cover up my nostrils. This meant that I had to keep adjusting the mask as I wore it, but I tried not to let it bother me too much. After using it I felt like my face had been well-moisturized, but my pores didn’t feel much cleaner, sadly. After the mask had been taken off for a while, my face felt overly oily. I didn’t hate this mask at all, but I don’t think the formula was right for my skin. I’d definitely be open to trying some of their other masks, though!
I haven’t tried the UVO Sun Protective Drink Supplements just yet. These are supposed to help protect your skin from sun damage and help soothe and repair skin after exposure to the sun. I’ve stayed pretty clear from the sun since I’ve gotten them, and I’ve been waiting for more sun exposure before using these since I only have three of them. If that doesn’t end up happening again this year, I’ll likely drink them after it starts to cool down more in order to repair what little sun damage I’ve gotten from the summer months. They’re supposed to be orange peach-flavored, and that sounds delicious to me!
Tribe Alive works with impoverished women to help give them safe employment and fair wages to alleviate poverty, and the Hand Dyed Shibori Pouch was created exclusively for Goodbeing. While this bag isn’t really my style, I do like what I’ve seen of the work Tribe Alive does, so it’s nice to see it in here. The bag is very good-quality, and think the colors are pretty as well. I might find another use for it, or I might give it to a friend. I haven’t quite decided what to do with it yet. There was also a discount coupon for Tribe Alive’s website in my Goodbeing box, which was nice.
Lastly, we have the Red Flower Ocean Purifying Body Wash. This was a special bonus product that I got using a promo code for a free extra item in my first box. It’s a very clean-smelling body wash, and now that it’s been almost a month I’ve almost used it all up! I’ve still got a few more uses left in the bottle. I’m not sure whether I’d buy this outright (I think I would probably want to test some of their other scents to find my favorite first), but I do really like it and I’m definitely going to use it all up.
Overall, my first Goodbeing box was fantastic! The lipstick and the toner were my absolute favorites, and there wasn’t anything in the box that I overtly disliked. The mask wasn’t a good match for my skin type and the bag isn’t really my thing, but I still liked them. I’m really happy with everything I got.
Just this first box already exposed me to two new products I’ve never tried before! Oy… I wonder what that tells me about my future boxes? I bet I’m up for some interesting products in my future.
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