My January-February 2014 BDJ Unboxing!

Hey everyone! Betcha missed my unboxings, huh? Things have been moving slow since my resurgence from my emotional blog hiatus but I'm back, having more fun than ever before!

January 2014 BDJ Box

I must admit, I wasn't overly enthused with this month's box and it contributed heavily in putting off this post. I wouldn't call it a scam box; far from it actually. I was just left a little wanting.

January 2014 BDJ Box: Impressions

I normally kiss BDJ's ass but this month is the first box I've been lukewarm about ever since my first quarterly with them, which started with the November 2012 BDJ Box. I was more forgiving with that one; my standards were lower and it was my first experience with boxes. This month is undeniably bulky but I feel like it's lacking in substance.

January 2014 BDJ Box: Unboxing

Here's What's Inside (Sorted by Favorites:)

Yves Rocher Sexy Pulp Mascara, Php 650 / 9ml. 2.5ml sample provided.

I love mini mascaras! Yves Rocher is a great skincare brand but I didn't know they carried cosmetics. I don't really get what Sexy Pulp is supposed to do to my lashes in terms of volume, length or water-proofing but the curation card says it has a creamy formula and creamy always wins (versus wet or runny.)

I've just opened a Lancome Hypnose mini which I got last year by trading in an old Covergirl tube, so I might put this on hold for a while. I try not to open too many mascaras at a time because they have really short life spans and I'm freaked out about my ocular health.

My Amazing Blow Dry Secret Shampoo and Conditioner, Php 1200 / 300ml each. 15ml sachets provided.

Ushered in by the same people behind Browhaus and Strip, My Amazing Blow Dry Secret is an expensive (UGH) haircare brand with shampoo, conditioner and hair spray in its arsenal. Its secret lies in its Virgin Coconut Oil Hydrosol-Accelerating Dispersion Matrix. My speed-read, dumbed down version of it is that the oil coats your hair and prevents it from getting too wet, thus letting it dry quickly. I'm more interested in that a VCO-infused shampoo and conditioner could be a kiss from an angel to my damaged hair, but if I really wanted VCO on my hair, I could probably get cheaper and more potent sources than MABDS.

I wish there was a way to sample the hair spray. That's what everyone (well, just Gellie and Ae) loved!

Garnier Color Naturals in Darkest Brown, Php 199 / 100ml

I would love to try this hair dye! (Ooops! Guess who forgot to take a pic?) I dont' really like "Darkest Brown" especially since even light brown appears almost black on me. I like red! Buuuuuut, it was erstwhile unknown to me that Garnier had hair dye and I'd love to know if it's any good! I am getting sick of the really cheap way my double ombre's been fading.

Tony Moly Tomatox Magic White Massage Pack, Php 548 / 80g. ~2.5ml sachet provided. Tony Moly Oriental Gyeol Emulsion, Php 1398 / 140ml. ~5ml vial provided. Tony Moly Intense Care Snail Cream, Php 2098 / 45ml. ~2ml sachet provided. Tony Moly Luminous Pure Aura CC Cream, Php 948 / 50ml. ~2ml sachet provided.

Let me just say: huge fan of skincare sample sets here! I'm usually a sachet-hater but the presentation won me over. I like that TM presented its products based on a complete skincare routine and that there's at least one vial in here. There's also the Luminous Aura CC Cream which has a lot of good reviews, and makeup never fails to brighten up any beauty box.

The snail cream is also calling out to me as I want to figure out what the heck is all the fuss about snail mucous. Like, eww. It's crazy expensive but if 2ml can make a difference, heck I'd pay Php 2098 for 45ml.

The Tony Moly Tomatox is a repeat sample from last year's December to January 2013 BDJ Box.

Other Stuff in Here:

It's been a while since I've had to create an OSIH list. This further ratifies my meh-nes about the box.

Avon CC Cream, Php 699 / 30ml

I'm not impressed with Avon base products. I got a BB cream from my Avon Glamourbox released last July 2013. My experience was.... strange, to say the least.

It left a bizarrely red, burnt cast on my face and I found the texture too watery. The watery part would have been a breath of fresh air from thick, unbreathable BB creams but that was the tube's bane. The runiness made it difficult to blend; it would absorb heavily where applied so I couldn't really spread it out evenly.

I wish I got the Avon face pearls (a la Guerlain Meteorites) instead!

Ellana Minerals Lip and Cheek Tint, Php 220 / 20ml

I've already received this Lip and Cheek Tint in the exact same shade, Ruby.

I don't know how to feel about it yet as the pump is a bit tricky to work with and I ended up making a mess the last time I tried to use it. The shade seems to suit me though. Both on the face and hands.

I guess it's not BDJ's fault that I already have this item, but I'm still putting it on the OSIH list because that's where it belongs. 

Revlon Nail Art Expressionist in Pastel Punk, Php 375 / 7.68ml

Gray and pink go really well together. I've gotten a white-and-pink variant from before and it feels pretty dismal to get something in the same color notes.

Add that to the fact that this is a repeat sample from the April 2013 BDJ Box. Bummer.

Beauty and Bright Moringa Soap, Php 114 / 140g

I got two bars of the exact same variant, Moringa. I wouldn't turn it down but I found it unnecessary since I only need one to try. It's a pretty big bar too, and I'm somehow feeling that BDJ couldn't keep up with expectations for this month and tried to "fill" the box with redundancies.

I've previously received a berry variant from my April 2013 Saladbox. It was very fragrant and the soap itself isn't very drying. I found nothing remarkable about it.

Vouchers:

Browhaus free brow construction, Php 598 Azta Php 600 off for Brazilian Keratin and Php 800 off for Cynos Nano Digital Perming. Aesthetic Institute of the Philippines , Php 500 GC x 3.

Despite being an anti-voucherist, I love the Browhaus and AIP vouchers! Browhaus has always been good, I've just never personally tried (ahihihi) because it's so dang far from here.

I want to try something from AIP. I'm hoping it's as amazing as my random Obagi adventure.

Azta is blah. I got my Sto. Nino curls in college from them. MEH.

RECAP:

Box value: Php 1721, discounting the vouchers.

I said this box wasn't a scam and the Php 1721 value just speaks of the kind of service BDJ maintains. No matter what, you will always, always get your money's worth with BDJ boxes. However, I feel like there was a struggle to fill this box based off of the redundancies on the soap sample and the aesthetic vouchers.

This box is a dud for me because I only like half of the samples in it. I guess it's inevitable considering the span of my Queendom. It's not their fault I already have the Ellana, but the Revlon sample came from a BDJ box as well. I'm not even counting the Tony Moly repeat because I only got the Tomatox before, whereas this month's sample is part of a "Skincare Revolution" set.

This is where the BDJ legacy starts to unfold. Never doubt that you will recoup what you spent when you go with BDJ. You can count on very fresh releases too, such as the My Amazing Blow Dry Secret samples for this month. Previously, they've sampled the Cream Factory and Shiseido Ibuki. Just be prepared for a handful of repeats, which, come to think of it shouldn't really detract from the value of the box.

I guess I'm just not in the mood this month :(

You may visit their site at www.BDJBox.com.