Sunday, August 09, 2015

- - Petit Vour | Mystery Box Review - -


Hey friends!

Just over a week ago Petit Vour, the vegan beauty subscription box, released a mystery box. I put up a note about it on my Facebook page, but the box sold out pretty quickly. Luckily, I was able to snatch one up and hopefully some of you were able to as well!

I have been looking at Petit Vour for a while now. It seems like a pretty great subscription box and besides, what's not to love about cruelty-free cosmetics? Well...the price. Living in Canada, the subscription cost per month is $23 USD (roughly $30 CAD). This seems a bit much for a variety of products that I might not love. In any case, that's why I enjoy mystery boxes - they give you a feel for a subscription without the commitment!

The mystery box cost me $32.99 USD ($25 + $7.99 for shipping) or $44.20 CAD. Petit Vour said that the box was supposed to contain old favourites and have a value of $75-80. I have seen my favourite hair care brand, EVOLVh, featured in some of the old Petit Vour boxes, so I was really hoping to get that. I didn't end up getting anything from EVOLVh, but I do think that I got a good variety of products anyway.

I'll tell you more after the jump!


 *Please note that all of the prices are in US dollars.*

1 || Dream Body Oil (Earthbody Sacred Skincare)
        (Travel size: $12.00 for 1 fl oz)
        (Link to product)



First off, I LOVE that this product is made up of 100% plant-derived ingredients because I feel safe when using it. The body oil smells like chamomile and actually feels pretty nice on the skin. It doesn't leave any greasy residue and makes the skin really soft. In addition to that, this product is cruelty, GMO, and gluten free. Body oils are generally a win for me because I use them for massages, so this sample will be used up for sure!

 
2 || Shimmer Eyeshadow in Lola (Modern Minerals)
        (FULL SIZE: $12.50 for 5 g/0.17 oz)
        (Link to product)



Boy, does this eyeshadow love to fly! I opened the container, took off the clear tab and it went everywhere! It was like glittery dust settling over my counter. If you got this product - be super careful!

The shade, Lola, is described as a warm apricot & rose pink. It's very pretty copper colour. I feel like you can easily wear Lola on its own, but if you're feeling adventurous you can pair it with a variety of bold colours (such as green or purple!). The eyeshadow has pretty good staying power and very little flyaway shimmer.

L - indoors, natural lighting | R - indoors, artificial lighting

If you know me, you'll know that I'm very shy when it comes to trying out eyeshadows, but I think that Lola is a good experimental shade that I can play around with. Not too conservative, but not too crazy either.

3 || Feed Yours Ends Leave-In Conditioner & Heat Protector (Yarok)
        (Tavel size: $13.20 for 59 mL/2 oz)
        (Link to product)



This is a pretty cool product for me! I don't mind spending time on self-care, but I also love products that are easy and quick to use. That's why I like this conditioner. It's supposed to help protect hair from heat and add shine, and you can choose to either use it on the ends of your hair or you can spray it throughout your damp hair to detangle it.

I used this the other day and it was nice because you just spray it in a few spots and run your hand through your hair to spread it around. It didn't leave any residue on my hands that I had to wash off afterwards, which is a bonus. I sprayed a little bit and my hair felt a bit heavier, but heavier in the sense that my hair didn't have frizz or flyaway hairs everywhere the next day. So, another win win for me. :)


4 || Lip Tint in Cerise (French Girl Organics)
        (FULL SIZE: $12.00 for 5 mL/0.15 oz)
        (Link to product)




French Girl Organics is a shop that you can find on Etsy. It is a health-conscious family business that focuses on using natural and organic ingredients. Their lip tints are made with natural oils, waxes, and butters.



The shade I received in the mystery box, Cerise, is described as "rich, ripe cherry blended with pale copper." It may seem very dark, but it goes on lightly and you can build up the colour to be as dark & dramatic as needed.


You know what the shade reminds me of? Marsala - the Pantone Colour of the Year (2015). It's a versatile colour that is very beautiful and I'm really glad to have it. :)

5 || Bergamot + Lime Deodorant (Schmidt's Natural Deodorant)
        (Travel size: $3.99 for 0.5 oz)
        (Link to product)



Yay, deodorant! Haha, I seem to be accumulating more and more (natural) deodorants lately. Maybe it's a subconscious thing? In any case, deodorants will always be used up, so it's a welcome product in my home. I have never heard of Schmidt's Natural Deodorant (...or most of these brands in this box for that matter), but I'm really liking what the company stand for.

The deodorant has a balm texture and an herbal scent with a hint of lime. The definite downside is that you have to use your hands to apply this product. Of course, you can use a cotton swab to get the deodorant out of the container, but you still have to use your hands to spread it on your underarms and probably rinse your hands off afterwards. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to using this product and I do like that the travel container is compact enough to fit anywhere easily and doesn't take up too much space.

6 || RS Face Scrub (Root Science)
        (Sample size: $19.50 for 43 g/1.5 oz | Full size: $49.00 for 108 g/3.8 oz)
        (Link to product)



The RS Face Scrub is a weekly facial exfoliant that suits all skin types. It comes in a form that is unlike any other exfoliator I've tried before. There is no cream or liquid filled with exfoliating particles. Instead, the face scrub is made up of powdery micro grains that turn into a paste when mixed with water. Neat, no? The micro grains are supposed to clean out the pores and help to even out skin tone, which is kind of interesting.


The scrub is made up of 22 natural ingredients, the most significant of which is the orange peel, which has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties.

One last thing about this product - there's a note on the official product page about the dark packaging. From what I understand, the full-size product container is made of glass, but just like its plastic travel size counterpart the container is black (or rather, dark violet). The point of a dark container rather than a clear one is to help prevent light degradation and rancidity. Smart, no?

7 || Rosehip Balancing Cleanser (TAY)
        (Sample size: ~$4.00 for ?  | Full size: ~$35.00 for 125 mL/4.2 fl oz)
        (Link to product)



There isn't very much out there on the web about this cleanser or about the current products from this company, so please let me know if you have any information about either one. The official TAY website isn't very helpful either. For anyone interested, I was able to find a bit more information about the founder, Sarah Tay, here and here. Ultimately, there was only so much info that I could find, so I just took a guess at the volume and the price of this sample.

Speaking of samples, this product was actually featured in one of the Petit Vour boxes last year and it made a lot of buzz for its adorable bamboo packaging. Even if you see the full size products, the creams, lotions, and cleansers are tightly hugged by bamboo that comes from sustainable and renewable sources.


I haven't tried the cleanser yet, but it's supposed to be good for sensitive skin. The reviews I have come across have said that this product is gentle, but effective. I do have to say that I'm not a fan of the scent - it smells like a face cream sample I had and threw out eventually because of the weird fragrance. Maybe the smell becomes more pleasant once you actually use it with water on your skin?


From what I understand this cleanser falls into the last step of your cleansing routine. It doesn't take off your makeup, but it will help to deeply cleanse your pores. You just mix it with water (I'm wondering if it will work with a sea sponge?), lather, and rinse. If you have tried this cleanser I would love to hear your thoughts about it!

But yeah - that packaging is pretty awesome.

8 || Fragrance Samples (Harvey Prince)
        (Sample size: $6 for 3 [$2 each] 2 mL vials | Full size: $26 - $55 )
        (Links to products: Journey | Damask Rose | Imperial Gardenia)



I was SO excited when I saw these perfume samples! I absolutely LOVE perfume and I'm a fan of Harvey Prince (I purchased the full-size bottle of Hello about half a year ago), so overall a win win without even smelling each fragrance.

Each fragrance is VERY long-lasting. So long-lasting, in fact, that they can survive multiple washes and STILL have a faint presence the next morning! Here's a little more about each individual sample I got:

Journey
Here's a fun fact - if you can't find this perfume it's because it now goes by another name - Sincerely. The notes and the scent, as far as I know, is the same despite the change of name. The fragrance is a mix of fresh and floral, and it reminds me of a Salvador Dali perfume I once had. Either that or I have come across a person wearing this perfume or something similar before. In any case, it smells like something familiar.

Notes: Indonesian Clove Bud, Australian Sandalwood, Moroccan Rose, French Bergamot, Indian Tuberose, Japanese Orange Flower, Lebanese Cedarwood, Turkish Cyclamen, South African Freesia
Style:
Exotic, awakening, transformative.


Damask Rose
This perfume has a very strong rose scent. I would say it's more of an evening-time fragrance. To me, it's also a very established, mature scent. 

Notes: Moroccan Rose
Style: Romantic, sophisticated, long-lasting.

Imperial Gardenia
For this perfume Harvey Prince distilled the essence of Gardenia. The result is a very strong scent that I feel like it's something you either love or dislike completely. Personally, I can't say that I'm a fan of this perfume. I tend to like more fresh, fruity, and sweet scents and Imperial Gardenia doesn't really fall into any one of those categories. It's a strictly floral fragrance.

Notes: Gardenia
Style notes: Luminous, sensuous, feminine.


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 || Total Value: $83.19 (US) ||

The value of this box is definitely all there and I'm actually surprized at the amount of regular-size products. I'm definitely glad to see that many of the travel size samples are available for purchase, so I have a price point I can reference. Ultimately, although it's very tempting, I don't think I will be signing up for Petit Vour anytime soon, but I am definitely glad to get a feel for the subscription with this mystery box. I'm happy that I get to discover and try out so many great products and I really hope that Petit Vour comes out with another mystery box soon!

 Did you get to pick up a Petit Vour Mystery Box? I would love to hear what you got!

As always, thank you for reading! - A.

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