My May BDJ Box Unboxing!

WHOO! This ole thang arrived last Sunday. I’ve noticed that BDJ delivery keeps getting earlier and earlier! BDJ promises last week of the month delivery but they’ve been delivering second week of the month for a few months now. I suppose they want to get first buzz and well, I think it’s working. When they have it right (and they’ve been consistently getting it right since the year began,) the other boxes seem to pale in comparison!

Right off the bat, it’s heavy and uneven. The box wouldn’t close properly because there’s too much stuff inside, YAAY! BDJ has been overstuffed two months in a row now and I think they should consider changing the box size. I understand why they’d wanna keep it small though; it’s easier to fill a smaller box and there’s just more impact.

May BDJ Box: Unclosable Lid

Theme of the month is Fun, Fresh and Fierce. It stands for the three featured brands this month; namely Ralph Lauren for Fun, Garnier for Fresh and Maybelline for Fierce. This is all indicated in both the curation cards and the sleeve. I think it’s really clever and completely interesting that the team decided to do a tri-brand feature. Just when I thought they couldn’t top their Shiseido and L’Oreal boxes, they go even MORE all out!

Here’s the box right after I opened it. It’s so full, this view actually covers one full layer of items:

May BDJ Box: Fun, Fresh and Fierce!

Here’s the usual box shot:

May BDJ Box: Fun, Fresh and Fierce

There's too much stuff in the box so I'll take you through it by brand, in order of most liked product to least.

FUN – Ralph Lauren

FUN: Ralph Lauen Big Pony #1, #2, #3 and #4

We're encouraged to have "fun" with this varied and colorful selection of Ralph Lauren scents.

Ralph Lauren Recap:

If you've been reading my blog, you know that I have zero affections for fragrances. I don't hate them, but I really don't like them either. This is why I don't really have anything to say about this sample set with corresponding purchase-vouchers.

The only thing that makes me pay 1% more attention to it is that I'm given samples of the complete line, which gives me the opportunity to see if anything in the collection suits me.

FRESH – Garnier

Fresh: Garnier

Time to be "fresh" as we take care of our skin using these Garnier skincare essentials. One thing I appreciate is that, again, it's a complete line. I'm not sure if this is everything in Garnier's Light brand but there's a scrub, moisturizer, peeling cream and mask. That makes me more interested in trying it out rather than if I just got pieces and snippets here and there.

Garnier Pure Active Anti-Imperfections Cooling Roll On. Php 229 / 15ml

I am very skeptical about the effectiveness of Garnier, especially with its more dermatologically-complex claims (i.e. spot correction) but I have not seen this product before and am willing to put it to the test. I have some dark marks right now due to my botched Chanel skincare trial so I'll be monitoring how this helps.

Garnier Light Gentle Exfoliating Scrub. Php 140 / 100ml

I like scrubs! I have very flaky skin, especially when I'm not using Shiseido Benefiance, so I do appreciate a good scrub every now and then. I don't really care much for the whitening part of it. I would actually like it more if it weren't whitening. Yet as with anything that's good for everyday use, I'm dreading if it's potent enough as I only like to do scrubs weekly.

Garnier Lightening Peel-Off Mask. Php 49 / 2 x 6ml

With all that said, I can never resist a mask! I've also gotten purely sheet masks from my subbies, with the exception of the Vivid Essentials mud masks from my April SaladBox. I'm excited for this peel-off mask. It's time to relive my elementary days of peeling off dried glue from my hands!

If this turns out to be a great find, I'm glad to know I can get two doses for just Php 49 as most masks are in the Php 50 range for just one sheet.

Garnier Oil Clear Self-Heating Mask. Php 49 / 2 x 6ml

I'm honestly more intrigued by this than the Light variant but I put this behind because I think I'll just be too freaked out if does heat up! Will it sting? Will it be uncomfortable? I like masks for their cooling effect and I don't know if it would be wise to heat my face up like this!

Garnier Light Overnight Whitening Peeling Cream, 20ml. Php 75 / 50ml

Technically, peeling would be good for my flaky skin but I have very low expectations with this one. I'm not even sure if I want to try it out at all as I'm afraid of chemical/reactive peelers and am more into gritted scrubs.

I just realized I got this in my November BDJ box and never touched it.

Garnier Light Complete Multi-Action Whitening Cream. Php 75 / 20ml

This is a lightening and anti-oil moisturizer with a matte finish, according to the curation card. If that's the case, it would be a great base and I'm open to try this out.

Again, another repeat offender from November.

Garnier Recap:

I'm pretty disappointed with this brand feature. I've expressed it so many times: I really don't  have a very high regard of Garnier. That's not because it's affordable, but because I find it highly ineffective. There's so much advertising involved and they don't live up to their claims. 2 of the 6 samples are repeats as well, UGH.

I got the Light Eye Roll-On when it first came out thinking that it would be a miracle cure or at least an aid to my panda eyes syndrome. I used it religiously every night when I never even had much of a skincare routine going on and I'm sorry but nothing happened. I used it for three months and I almost finished up the tube. My circles did not even get marginally fainter. I was as much of a panda as when I started using it.

If there's anything worth trying from Garnier, it'd be the Anti Dark Circles Tinted Eye Roll On and I don't even see that here. General feedback is praises for the natural tint (meaning, it doesn't look like you have tanning goggles) and that it's non-creasing.

Again, the only thing making me excited about this feature is that it's a complete product line.

FIERCE – Maybelline

The most exciting brand partner this month is Maybelline, as we get our fierce on with a complete kikay kit (makeup kit!) GOD! I don’t even know which one to list first! I’ll just be going along with the order presented in the curation card because I’d like everyone to know, I LOVE EVERYTHING IN HERE!

Maybelline Clear Smooth All-in-One Shine-Free Foundation (To Go) in Natural. Php 199 / 9g

At first I thought this was a refill, which is impractical but understandable for a subscription box. WRONG! It really is a compact that is this compact! It's about 2.5in in diameter and about 0.25in thick. The shade seems to suit me and I'm like hallelooo!

Maybelline is a pretty reliable drugstore brand so I’m happy to get this powder. This would be perfect for touch ups in formal events where I can’t lug around my Dora-esque bag!

Maybelline EyeStudio LuminEyes, Php 599

Again, another perfectly-matched shade! This is in Coral Pink (with brown shades) and I love that I got neutrals! I wish it was matte, though, so I could use it for simple day looks. It seems to have a teensy bit of shimmer in it and I’m scared of looking too “evening” with eyeshadow. I’ve been experimenting with eye shadows lately in an attempt to get more mileage with my makeup and this will be great to rotate along with my other palettes.

I remember when I started with lipstick I was also too scaredy-panties to go colorful at first. I feel the same way with eye shadows, teehee! One step at a time, I guess :P

Maybelline The Hyper Curl Volum Express: Waterproof. Php 250 / 9.2ml

Maybelline has some of the best drugstore mascaras around and I think they’re one of the top performers in this arena, along with Covergirl. I’ve tried the plain Volum Express of my mom's and I think it's great! I have high hopes with this one as it's just the waterproof variant of my mom's mascara.

Maybelline Color Sensational Lasting Lipstick in #135 Make Me Pink. Php 399 / 4.2g

UGH! I've been so deprived of cosmetics from my subscription boxes and I'm going insane over this Maybelline feature! I've seen a few reviews of Color Sensational and gathered that it's much-loved! It seems to be a pretty reliable tube and I can't wait to prove it!

Maybelline Baby Lips Color Lip Balm in Rose Addict. Php 89 / 4.5g

I'm the anti-snob when it comes to lip balm: I believe drugstore brands (vs. signature brands) come up with the best lip balms! I'm excited for Baby Lips Color as I love tinted balm tubes. I don't know if it will ever replace Blistex Lip Tone as my crap I forgot my lipstick, this will do and I need this in my purse, ALWAYS tinted lip balm, but I don't doubt that it will perform well!

Maybelline Recap:
This is the best brand feature among the three and is the redeeming quality of the box. Have you ever been so happy that you actually got mad? Well, I am apoplectic with how good this brand feature is! To get a complete kikay kit is just DA BOMB! I have my foundation, eye shadow, mascara, lipstick and lip balm; I could create a complete look with this set! I've been soooo craving cosmetic samples in my beauty boxes and to get them all in FULL-SIZE is just *sigh*.


RECAP:

Full-Size Value of Garnier: Php 542 (5 full-size items)
Full-Size Value of Maybelline: Php 1536 (5 full-size items)
May BDJ Box Full-Size Value: Php 2078
*FSV completely disregarding values of sample-sized items

I was soo excited when I got this box! It's so heavy, and that's saying something 'cause I used to bowl! It would hardly close 'cause it's filled to the brim (though I would venture to say it's over-filled) with goodies. I was shocked that nearly all of the booty is full-size, arrrg.

There's so much full-size goodness going on, I really feel like I got my money's worth. I'm kind of disappointed though that half of that effect is because of Garnier samples. Nonetheless, I feel like this box still rocks and the Maybelline feature is enough, quality-wise and cost-wise, to make it all better!

I totally love, love, love how this month's box is all about being complete! From complete skincare, to complete makeup and complete fragrance lines: it's the complete girly ritual! Everything you'd need from head to toe is sampled out for you.

In other news, May brings sad tidings to all Bellas: BD hiked up their prices from Php 480 to Php 590, effective May 1. That's more than 20%!!! I don't really have the heart to complain as BDJ delivers great boxes and has now committed to bringing in boxes with at least 5-6 full-size items while maintaining the value of their box to be over thrice the subscription fee.

On the first month with the new price, BDJ delivered ten full-size items, totalling Php 2078. This is well over 5-6 full-size items and the Php 1740 threshold or the "thrice the fee" promise.

But... It's just..

Come on. One of the funnest things with BDJ is that they had the lowest price but the most rockin' boxes. I never saw this coming and it's just really sad. I still think it's worth it, even at Php 590, as long as they stay away from Garnier.


You can check out BDJ Box to learn more.


Which sample would you like me to review first?