Hello and Welcome!

We’re at my favourite time of the month again, the time when my ‘The Cruelty Free Beauty Box’ comes in and I get to try out a bunch of cruelty free products!

Once again, I’ve had this box for a few weeks to give myself a chance to try out all of the products before reviewing the box.

I’m the most excited about this month’s box so we’re going to jump straight in! As always, this first section is going to be the same as I’ll take you though a little bit about The Cruelty Free Beauty Box.

What is ‘The Cruelty Free Beauty Box’?

You can choose between either ‘The Beauty Box’, or ‘The Makeup Box’, each contains 5 full-sized, travel, and sample-sized products. The Beauty Box is £14.95 per month, and the makeup one is £19.95 per month. Items from each box can cross over, so you can receive makeup items in the beauty box. They send out each box around the 10th of each month.

I chose the Beauty Box as I wanted a more diverse box that didn’t just contain makeup (and it was cheaper).

When you choose your plan, you create a profile of sorts. It will ask: your skin tone, makeup style, nail preference, skin type, hair length, hair type, hair colour, if you sunbathe, and if you fake tan. You also have the opportunity to provide your birthday.

If anyone is interested, I chose: Fair, dark and sultry, dark, dry, short, straight, brown, I don’t sunbathe, I fake tan.

What I Received 

The photo above details what I received in this month’s box. From left to right, top to bottom, I was sent:

• Dr. Botanicals ‘Pomegranate Superfood Regenerating Sleeping Mask’ – £14.90

• W7 Cosmetics ‘Very Vegan Lipstick’ in ‘Pink Pleasure’ – £6.95

• Evolve Organic Beauty ‘Superfood Shine Natural Conditioner’ – £6.00

• CB&CO ‘Extreme Whitening Gel with Activated Charcoal’ – £19.99

• Balm Balm ‘Hibiscus Face Mask’ – £2.00

These prices have been taken from The Cruelty Free Beauty Box website.

Using these prices, this month’s box value is £49.84. This is the biggest value I’ve had so far in one of these boxes. I’m honestly so pleased with the value of this box every time but the fact that this month’s box contains products worth nearly £50 and I only paid £14.95 is mind blowing!

Dr. Botanicals ‘Pomegranate Superfood Regenerating Sleeping Mask’ – £14.90

I love a good mask so I was very interested to see this product in this month’s box. I’ve heard of Dr. Botanicals before (I’m on their mailing list), but I don’t think I’ve ever gotten around to trying out any of their products. I’ve never used a sleeping mask before so was intrigued when I read the name of the item.

The description for this product on The Cruelty Free Beauty Box website is as follows:

‘This Pomegranate Regenerating Sleeping Mask is a perfect hydrating overnight treatment for thirsty dull skin.

The main active ingredient in the formulation is: Pomegranate is high in antioxidants that aim to nourish the skin.

The Apothecary range brings together science and superfoods to create innovative, natural, ecological and vegan-friendly skincare treatments. Their products are truly natural and free from harmful chemicals such as synthetic perfumes, colorants, and parabens. Experience what pure natural skincare can do for you.’

As you will know if you’ve read a few of my posts, I have dry skin. Therefore, I was even more interested by this product once I knew that it would help with my dry skin.

I’ve only used this mask once so far but I do think that it was good for my dry skin. I applied it evenly over my face, and allowed it to be absorbed slightly before going to bed. My only issue with it is that once it dries it did make my skin feel a little tight (as sometimes masks so when they dry). I’m unsure if this was because I applied too much product. Either way, my skin wasn’t tight in the morning and was soft and plump as expected. I definitely will be using this mask again, especially since it’s so easy – I just popped it on before bed and forgot about it. I also think that the tube will last quite a long time as I didn’t really need to use much in order to cover my whole face.

W7 Cosmetics ‘Very Vegan Lipstick’ in ‘Pink Pleasure’ – £6.95

Since I’m subscribed to the beauty box, and not the makeup one, I only tend to get one makeup item per box and am yet to receive a lipstick (arguably one of my favourite beauty products). So when I saw this little box staring at me, I was interested. Unfortunately, that interest left when I saw the pink colour on the tube, but we’ll get more into that in a second.

The description for this product on the beauty box website is as follows:

‘Certified by The Vegan Society, W7 are proud to introduce Very Vegan.

The Very Vegan range is an on-trend, vegan-friendly cosmetics range for those who follow a plant-based lifestyle.

We developed a range of our most popular products, manufactured accordingly alongside the rules and regulations of The Vegan Society. This has allowed us to successfully have them Vegan approved.

The Very Vegan Moisture Rich Lipstick comes in 4 ranges of colour, Nudes, Reds, Mattes and Pinks.’

I received a shade from the ‘pinks’ colour range called ‘Pink Pleasure’. Now I have nothing against a pink lipstick. However, typically the shades of pink that I go for are deeper pinks, or nude pinks. I don’t really tend to lean into the more bright, Barbie style, pink that I’d classify this W7 lipstick as. Additionally, I didn’t like that it was so sparkly. I can’t comment on the wear time of this lipstick, or whether it is drying or not, because it just absolutely isn’t a shade I can ever see myself wearing (apart from maybe during relevant fancy dress). I think if this shade didn’t have so much glitter in it, it may have suited me better, but with it how it is, I just don’t like it at all.

However, of course, we are all different and this shade may be something that is right up your alley. If it is something that you would enjoy, then you can pick it up on The Cruelty Free Beauty Box website here. Additionally, they have other shades on the website, that you can check out here.

Evolve Organic Beauty ‘Superfood Shine Natural Conditioner’ – £6.00

In my first ever The Cruelty Free Beauty Box, in February, I received a couple of products from this brand, so I was excited to see another one in this box. As I said last time, I love the packaging from this brand. This item also smells exactly like the Evolve Organic Beauty ‘Nourishing Hair Elixir’ from February’s box, which I enjoy.

This product’s description on The Cruelty Free Beauty Box website is:

‘This conditioner has been formulated with natural oils and butters including organic shea butter to replenish and rehydrate normal to dry hair. The incredible Baobab proteins have been shown to boost shine, strengthen, protect, reduce frizz and tangles as well as boosting softness and smoothness for greater hair manageability. Organic pomegranate extract rehydrates and protects hair whilst organic aloe vera soothes.

For Normal-Dry Hair’

I put this straight into my shower and have been using it ever since. I really like how it makes my hair feel and I’d definitely recommend it. I don’t really have very dry hair but I still like to use conditioners and hair products that moisturise and hydrate so I can keep my hair in the best condition. Additionally, I recently stripped the semi-permanent dye out of my hair, which did make my hair a bit dry – this conditioner has been really helping with this.

If you would like to purchase this conditioner then you can get it on The Cruelty Free Beauty Box website here, and you can find the complimenting shampoo here.

CB&CO ‘Extreme Whitening Gel with Activated Charcoal’ – £19.99

When I saw this product when I opened the box it was a pretty new experience for me. I’ve never received a toothpaste in a beauty box before and I’ve certainly never used a toothpaste like this! I’ve seen charcoal toothpastes floating around and being used by celebrities and bloggers, but I haven’t tried one myself.

On The Cruelty Free Beauty Box website, this product has the following description:

‘Extreme Whitening Gel with Activated Charcoal contains our unique whitening formula as well as activated charcoal for instant results. Our gel formula contributes to the whitening of teeth and the eradication of plaque and uses 100% pure Activated Charcoal. Unlike traditional charcoal products, the gel formula makes it easier to use than ever, minimising mess.

• Straight forward and easy to use

• Fluoride free

• Whitens and brightens teeth

• Freshens breath and removes plaque

• 100% Natural Charcoal

• Easy to use’

I’ve been using this multiple times a day since I received it and I definitely have a good idea about the product. Firstly, the fact that it’s a gel instead of a paste takes a bit of getting used to. It doesn’t really form the kind of foam that you get with a normal toothpaste. Furthermore, it doesn’t provide as much mint as a typical toothpaste and therefore I do find myself following it up with other products to freshen my breath even further (a mouthwash works fine). In terms of it’s ‘extreme whitening’ claims that it makes in the title, I do think that it really works. I’ve definitely noticed a difference in the colour of my teeth since I’ve been using it. I drink a lot of coffee so my teeth definitely aren’t as white as they could be, but this gel is fighting the coffee really well and it making a difference that I’m really happy with. The only think that puts me off slightly about this product is the price, £20 for a tooth product is a little much for me. However, this being said I do think that it would last quite a while, and I actually would consider purchasing it once it runs out, since it’s making such a big difference for me.

If you think that this product is for you then you can grab it on The Cruelty Free Beauty Box website.

Balm Balm ‘Hibiscus Face Mask’ – £2.00

This was another product in this box that I was interested by. I’ve never seen a face mask come in this kind of packaging so I was curious to see what the product even was. Upon opening it, and reading the card that came with the box, I realised that it was a powder face mask that you mix with water to create the paste to apply.

The description for this product on the box’s website is:

‘The wonderfully gentle yet effective combination of brown rice flour, ground hibiscus and rose geranium essential oil, make the perfect Face Mask to deep cleanse and exfoliate your skin.’

Being completely honest, I am yet to try this product. This is part of the reason why it’s taken me so long to get this post up after receiving the box. I was trying to hold off for as long as possible to give myself time to try out this mask. However, I haven’t found myself reaching for it at any point. I pretty much always do face masks at night, and I’m usually tired. Therefore, the thought of having to mix this powder up with some water to create a paste, then apply it, wait, and then wash it off, has made me not reach for it. The only product similar to this that I’ve tried is some masks from Optiat (review coming soon). However, I bought these masks in December and it’s taken me until now (the end of April) to use all three of them. As much as I think this product is cool, I’m not sure that it’s the type of mask for me. I will update this post when I get round to trying it out.

If you do think this mask is your kind of thing then you can get it on The Cruelty Free Beauty Box website here.

Overall, this was definitely my favourite beauty box that I’ve had so far, apart from the lipstick, I would use every product in here (even if it would take me ages to get around to it). I think the value is fantastic and I liked how different and innovative the products were! If you would like to subscribe to this box, or find out more information, then you can check out The Cruelty Free Beauty Box’s website here, for their different plans.

If you’d like to check out my previous reviews on The Cruelty Free Beauty Box, and boxes that I was receiving before going cruelty free, then you can do so here.

This brings us to the end of this review on The Cruelty Free Beauty Box April 2018, I hope that you enjoyed reading – if you did then please give this review a quick like! Also, as I said in my last post, please be sure to follow my blog if you think that it’s something you’d like to read in the future. I’ve been having major issues in my views recently and I’d appreciate it if you followed so you always know when I’m posting, you can follow using a WordPress account, or via email!

Love,

Charlotte (Multibendystraw)

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Check out my previous posts!

Revolution Pro ‘Trends Mischief Matte’ ‘Regeneration Palette’ Swatches & Review
Nip + Fab ‘Kale Fix Clay Mask’ Review
Makeup Revolution ‘Nudes Collection’ Review