curlBOX

Review: July 2012 curlBOX

July 12, 2012

I’ve been a subscriber to curlBOX for a few months now and I’m still very happy with the service. I can’t say that about other beauty subscription services.

Well this July, CurlBOX has once again provided subscribers with two full-size hair care products and a few deluxe size sample. Here’s what’s inside:

Motions Naturally You! Smoothing Shampoo & Conditioner – Although the product reads “naturally you” this is not a natural product. Personally I’m not a fan of motions because of all of the cheap chemicals and sulfates that they use so I’ll pass on these two. I prefer to use Shea Moisture for my hair care needs and other natural brands.

Shea Radiance Nourishing Hair Repair Cream – this cream instantly softens and hydrates hair which is perfect for summer. I don’t know about you but this extreme heat has left my hair drier than ever. And this lightweight cream is perfect for keeping ends and edges smooth and soft. Its not too greasy and the perfect consistency for summer use.

Jane Carter Solution Condition & Sculpt – This is another product that’s perfect for summer. This lightweight serum can be used to tame curls or to get the “wet look”. What’s impressive about this brand is that they use plant derived ingredients that are environmentally safe, eco-friendly and vegan (and of they course not tested on animals)! I loved using this product my ends and I can’t wait to try it on wet hair. Check out this brand if you can, they make products for ALL hair textures, I highly recommend them.

Luster Pink Oil Moisturizer & Coupons – Ahh this little sample brought me way back, I used Pink Oil many, many years ago. It was one of the first hair care products that I bought as a pre-teen. Well Luster is back with a new lightweight formula made with Aloe Vera and Jojoba Oil. I haven’t sampled it yet but I’m glad that the formula has changed, it was a little to thick and sticky.

As usual there were also a few coupons for the products inside the box including one for Sage Naturalceuticals and Jane Carter Solution, I WILL be using the latter for sure!

To join go to shop.curlbox.com and join for $20/month

A Peek Inside June curlBOX

June 20, 2012

So far I have been enjoying my monthly curlBOX subscription, it’s one of my favorite beauty subscription services. Which is saying a lot because cancelled my Birchbox subscription as well as my Eco-Emi. One of the reasons why kept my curlBOX subscription is because for the $20 fee the package contains more than one full-sized product and there are always tons of samples.

In the June curlBOX there were three full-sized products in the box along with several single-use samples.

Dr. Miracles Curl Care Frizz Control Serum – One of the full-sized samples is this silicon based frizz control serum that’s fairly inexpensive. However my problem with silicon-based hair products is that they rarely moisturize but rather give the appearance of shine and health but in reality the hair is just coated with this polymer. So unfortunately I’m going to pass on using this product.

Nutress Wrap-Guard Foam Wrap Lotion – While I admittedly do not wrap my hair this is a great option for ladies that want to use rollers or rods to amp up their curls. With that being said, I’m anxious to give this wrap foam a try!

Coconut Sublime Conditioner – This was my favorite product out of this months’ box. It smells like a tropical island with a fragrant blend of coconut and pineapple. This conditioner instantly softens curls and is a great detangler. I’ve been using it in lieu of shampoo and just rinsing my hair with it and it’s always feels more manageable afterwards.

There were various packets of one-time use samples from Free Your Mane, Organic Root Stimulator, SofnFree and Ambrosia Hair. Out of the individual packets I enjoyed the Ambrosia Honeybush Replenishing Hair Milk which is an aloe based conditioner that’s very hydrating -well worth purchasing a full-sized bottle.

Last but not least, I received a Bugs Off Mosquito Repellant Band. Now it’s certainly not a hair care product but since it’s the summer it was a nice bonus to receive one on the package. This is a much cleaner and eco-friendly option compared to those horrible aerosol cans.

Have you subscribed to curlBOX yet?

curlBOX.com, $20

Take a peek inside the May Curlbox!

May 17, 2012

This is my second month with Curlbox so I decided to share another little sneak peak with you. If you’re not familiar with Curlbox you can check my April review here. This month Curlbox brings more full-sized products, three to be exact as well as a deluxe sample and an assortment of sample packets. I must say that I feel kind of spoiled not many beauty programs like this send out so many full-sized products, I’m loving this!

One of the full-sized products in this months’ Curlbox is Kynx I Am Fierce Refreshing Leave-In Moisturizer, it smells more like a shampoo than a conditioner. I haven’t tried the product yet but I did a couple of quick Google searches and the reviews were not too favorable.

Another full-sized product in this months’ box is Design Essentials Natural Daily Moisturizing Lotion. With ingredients like Methylisothiazolinone, a preservative, its hardly a ‘natural” product. But the fact that this ingredient has been restricted in Canada and Japan in cosmetics is concerning. Oh and lab studies suggest that Methylisothiazolinone may be neurotoxic- I’ll pass on this product.

The deluxe size jar of Habibi Vanilla and Rose Body Balm is one of my favorite items in this months’ box. This shea butter based body balm is infused with certified organic Argan Oil, Raw Honey, Tahitian Vanilla Oil and Rose Oil that give it a warm, exotic scent that conjures visions of remote Caribbean islands. This smells quite intoxicating!

I don’t normally use different products on my hairline so I wasn’t sure that I’d actually like the Luster’s Renutrients Slick Stick but I actually liked using this “stick” method to apply the product, it keep you hands free of product and it’s easy to apply. This caster oil based stick has a slightly waxy consistency and contains mineral oil which is not a good moisturizer for your hair. Overall it was okay, nothing spectacular but I wouldn’t use it mostly because I don’t see the need for an extra moisturizer just for my edges.

The last full-sized product is a jar Elasta QP Olive Oil & Mango Butter Moisturizer. I was pleasantly surprised by this moisturizer, although the first ingredient is water, the second is olive oil, which is a fabulous hair conditioner. Of course pure olive oil would be best but this is a nice alternative, it’s lightweight which is great for your ends. And this is a good option if you’re into something a little more fragrant than olive oil straight out the bottle.

We also received a Love the Journey mini hair journal, “A journal to document the path of discovering the beauty of your natural hair.” Cute, but not something that I need.

And finally there are four sample-sized packets of lotions and treatments. These are great to save for travel and vacations so that you don’t have to carry a huge bottle of product with you.

Overall the May Curlbox was pretty good, I didn’t love all of the products but I found a few that I liked and one that I really loved, the Habibi Vanilla and Rose Body Balm. Have you tried Curlbox yet?

Take a peek inside the April Curlbox!

April 19, 2012

So my very first curlBOX finally arrived and I couldn’t wait to tear open the package and get at all of my new curly hair goodies. If you’re not aware curlBOX is a sampling program for women with lovely curly locks. And since I’ve gone natural I’m always looking at new hair care products so I decided to give it a shot. The subscription service is $20 per month and each subscriber receives anywhere from 5-7 hand selected hair products, you can cancel the subscription at any time.

Here are the contents of April’s’ curlBOX:

The first item(s) were an assortment of Taliah Waajid Curls, Waves & Naturals. There were three packets in total which gives you 1-2 uses to sample the product out. I tried The Great Detangler but since I have a lot of hair it just wasn’t enough for my whole head of hair, The Curly Cream was great, very thick, helps to smooth frizz and add a little bit of shine plus it was great smelling so I liked it a lot. The last packet was The Curl Sealer which I have not tested out yet.

Taliah-Waajid-hair-care products — Taliah Waajid Assortment

There were two sample packets of Nutress Moisturizing Protein Pack for Colored Hair, I haven’t tried these packets yet but they are cruelty-free. I noticed that several items in this package were cruelty-free so that makes me a very happy animal lover!

There was a full-size sample of Ampro Olive Oil Gel which is paraben and alcohol free. Although I rearely use gel and I have to say that I really liked this, its lightweight, has a pleasant scent and holds hair gently in place. It also gets a major thumbs up for being kind to animals.

Next was a deluxe sample of Ultra Care Sulfate Free Hydrating Shampoo. I’m super picky about my shampoo and I loved this one because it didn’t leave my hair dry and I felt that I could actually get a comb through it WITHOUT using conditioner. I didn’t attempt it but it sure did feel good!

Another full-size goodie was the Eden Body Works All Natural Peppermint Tea Tree Temple Balm which helps to prevent hair from breaking, fading, or thinning out. This hair balm will soothe your scalp with tingly goodness that comes from the peppermint and tea tree oil. It also has lots of great moisturizing ingredients like shea butter, Jojoba and Mango Seed Butter. Love!

Eden Body Works All Natural Peppermint Temple Balm

The next item is a deluxe sample of Curls Unleashed No Restrictions Moisturizing Conditioner. This is another winner for me, I absolutely loved this product. First of all it has a beautiful clean scent to it, very light, almost botanical. This conditioner is true to its name because there are no restrictions on how you can use it. You can “co-wash with it in lieu of shampoo or a use it was a detangler or even as a leave-in conditioner.

Last but not least is Darcy’s Botanicals Sweet Cocoa Bean Curl Smoothing Cream a cruelty-free and vegan leave-in conditioners that helps to detangle, moisturize, defrizz, and soften curls. This cream is great for styling, I used it to push my hair back in a ponytail, and it left my hair super soft. By far this is the best smelling product in the package, it smells just like a rich cup of hot cocoa and I couldn’t stop myself from smelling it over and over. I will certainly be buying this product again!

Since this is my first curlBOX I’d like to see what the next few months bring. I like that there were two full-size products and a few deluxe size samples so that I can get a few uses out of each product to see if I liked them enough to buy them. There was a nice selection of cruelty-free hair care products so I was extremely pleased about that and there were even a few coupons included which is a nice bonus, in fact one of the coupons for 20% off of one of my favorite brands, Belle Butters. Overall it was a great deal for the price!

Have you tried curlBOX yet?