Rubybox Scentsational box

Note:  I am still here, still blogging.  I just had an insanely busy time.  Internet at home was slow and would not upload pictures and work was too busy to write blogs at work.  Between all of that I never managed to post anything.  This post is long overdue, but I think still interesting enough to put out there.

I was driving down from Johannesburg and checking facebook (yes, you have fairly good internet reception on the N3 these days).  I was a passenger in the car if you were worried.  And then I saw a notice for the SCENTsational  box from Rubybox.  It promised one 5 ml fragrance or 75ml body lotion and 10 fragrance sample vials.  All of this for just R100. I ordered it immediately.  Imagine, buying something while stuck in a car driving down the highway for hours.

 

I have written a blog post previously about my inability to choose a perfume in a shop and how much I enjoy the sampler boxes you get at some shops around Christmas time.  This box is therefore precisely what I needed.

 

It arrived a few days later and this is what was inside:

Small vials (1.2 to 1.5 ml) of Acqua di Gioia, Armani code, Euphoria and Latin Sensation from Avon.   Two sachets each of Madly Kenzo and Kenzo flower tag.  A larger vial of Elie saab (4 ml) and Arpege as the 5 ml sample.  It also included two men’s fragrances; Armani code men and David beckham men in small vials.

The box is good value for money.  If my sums are correct I received about 22 ml of fragrance.  If we assume that fragrance cost R689 for 50 ml (the sale price for Forbidden Euphoria on the Rubybox site) then the box was worth R303.  Even if I threw the two male fragrances away it is still worth R262.  (Roughly, plus minus:  I was too lazy to find the prices for each of the perfumes, and I used a sale price.)

My complaints: 

I received a duplicate of Armani code, therefore I only got 10 different perfumes and not 11 as I thought I would get.  Since Armani code smells really nice and might actually be my favourite from the box I am not complaining too much. 

I received sachets for the two Kenzo samples.  The little spray samples are so nice to use and carry everywhere and sachets are just a  pain.  The sachets are also smaller, but they made up for this by giving me two sachets of each, so in the end it is about as much as a vial would have been.

My main complaint.  The men’s fragrances.  I do not want men’s fragrances.  I am married, but my husband dislikes all men’s perfumes and would never wear it.  I sometimes wear the male samples I get.  In this unisex universe of ours you can get away with it, but I do not really like it.  There was absolutely no indication when I bought the box that there would be men’s fragrances in it.  (They also did not state that it would be female fragrances only.  I just kind of assumed it would be.)  And judging from some complaints online I was lucky.  Some other Rubies got half men’s fragrances.  Rubybox, please, if you do this again leave out the men’s fragrances or tell us up front how many of the fragrances would be men’s fragrances.

Three of the fragrances I received were fragrances I have had samples from in the past, mostly from Rubybox.  I was less excited to get these.  I guess it is not their fault and it would be really difficult for them to figure out who have had what in the past and only send me ‘new’ samples.  But, in a perfect world it would have been nice to have received a box with 11 fragrances I have never tried before.  Heaven!

There were some complaints about the box online.  Some people complained about the men’s fragrances, which I think is a very valid complaint.  Some people complained about getting duplicates, which I also think is a valid complaint.  And then some people complained about getting bad smelling perfumes.  This is just a ridiculous complaint.  Perfumes are so subjective.  Just because you do not like it does not mean it is not a good perfume and it would be impossible to pack 11 random samples in a box and have everybody like all the samples they receive.  The whole idea of the box is to receive new scents and see whether you like them or nor. 

This box was really nice, I like it and I hope Rubybox does it again soon.  I would definitely buy it again (and hope that I do not get the same fragrances I got this time!)  Please leave a comment telling me what was inside your scent box.

 

My March Rubybox

This was a great box, and I am not the only one saying so.  On Rubybox’s fan page lots of people commented on how much they liked the box.  It made it even worse for me to keep waiting for my box.  And nobody said what was in the box.  They only said how great it was.

 

My box had the following.  (There are often more than one version of the box, so someone else’s box might be different.) 

1.       Rubybox hair head bands. 

These are said to cost R29.99 and I got two.  One is purple with little glittery bits and one is turkois.  These hair bands look like oversized hair elastics and you slip then on and they function like an allice band.  It is meant to keep hair out of your face, while washing it, but could also be great for going to the gym, working in the garden, or just being lazy with your hair.

2.      Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gioia

I have previously received this perfume, but like perfumes so much that I do not complain.  I like trying new perfumes.  It has a fresh smell, but is not something I would buy. 

3.      Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gio

This is a male perfume.  My husband hates wearing perfume.  (At least he showers often!) so I will use this myself.  Some male fragrances are perfectly fine for me.  I hope this one also is.  It is great to receive two perfumes.

4.      Rimmel sexy curves mascara R110

Wow.  A full size mascara.  This is great.  I have not tried it yet, but simply receiving this mascara made me throw out two old mascaras.  One was hard and the other was very sticky.

5.      Sally Hansen complete salon manicure in Dorien Grey R130

I love nail polish as well.  At first I gave this sample a duh look.  It is a brand I would love to try and the description sounds lovely.  It is also not a cheap nail polish.  (I have recently decided life is too short for cheap nail polish that chips after one day)  But Oh my.  The colour.  It is grey!  Who wears grey nails.  I did however try the polish on.  I can happily say I am on Day 4 now and the nail polish is holding on well.  The finish is smooth and professional.  I might have a new keeper.  The grey looks OK on, better than in the bottle.  It is almost violet; which would have been just marvellous.

 

Thank you Rubybox.  This was a great box.  It was a treat; lovely things, usefull things, a perfume and a brand I have not tried before, but might just like. 

Here is an update to include a review by Becoming you.  She received a different version of the box than I did.  And yet another version of the box is reviewed here.  I also added another review a bit later.

A powdery girl

I recently discovered that there is something perfumes I instantly like have in common.  They have a powdery undertone.  Examples are Prada’s Infusion D’Iris (my current favourite perfume), Kelso Flower and recently discovered Chloe Love. 

I am not a powdery kind of girl.  I am also sure that if you asked the people in my life to associate me with a fragrance, it would not be powder.  I am not subtle or quiet or particularly feminine, all things I would associate with someone who is powdery!  

Are there any other powdery perfumes out there I should investigate?  Is powder even an accepted way to describe perfumes?

Perfumes

I vow never to review perfumes.  For one thing, perfumes should be smelled, not read about and for another I think it is a very, very personal choice.  Just because I like a fragrance does not mean you will like it. 

I thought it would be interesting to share the perfumes I have loved in my live.  I struggle to choose a perfume, so if I find one I like I tend to stick with it.  My lifetime list of perfumes might therefore be fairly short.  Some of these perfumes I have used for years. 

Hello kitty (aged 10):  A fragrant pencil kind of thing.  It was blue, you sharpened it like a pencil an it had a gel like substance in the middle that you would rub on yourself and use as a perfume.  I got it when I was 10 or so as a gift from a friend on my birthday.

Panache by Lentheric (aged 14 – 20) :  I think this was my first perfume.  I received it as a gift for Christmas in those smaller wands sold in Clicks.  I liked it and used Panache for years.  Now I think it is a kind of boring smell.  And maybe a bit old ??? 

Exclamation by Coty (aged 14-16):  This was my sister’s favourite while I was in my Panache phase.  I liked it and we swapped from time to time.

Lapiz Lazuli (aged 18-30).  This was a fragrance sold by Justine.  An aunt’s stuff was distributed among us and I got half a bottle of this perfume while in high school.  I loved it.  I used it for years.  I still remember hunting down Justine reps to buy it years after I started working.  And then Justine discontinued the perfume and I had to find a new scent.  (It was also very affordable)

Sunflowers by Elizabeth Arden (aged 28-32):  My sister worked in a pharmacy for a year and brought home half a bottle that was used as a tester.  She did not like it and gave it to me.   I loved it and used it for years.  It was a very large bottle and lasted long.  I bought some later and thought it was discontinued, only to find another bottle some years later. 

Flower by Kenzo (aged 28):  I likes this around the time I had a baby and someone told me it smelled like baby powder, so I stopped liking it.

Juicy Couture (aged 33):  This was the scent I picked from the Sephora sampler.  I do not think it is the greatest fragrance in the world, but I liked it most of the ten in the sampler.  I only had the one bottle.

Queen by Queen Latifa (current):  The perfume I picked from my Foschini sampler last year. 

Glow by JLo (current):

Infusion d’Iris by Prada (current):  My current most favourite scent in the whole wide world.  I got it as a sample in a Rubybox.  Bought a bottle and love love love it. 

Current:  I made my husband buy me a Foschini perfume sampler last year for my birthday and receive samples in Rubybox.  Between all these perfume samples I have enough to keep me busy.  In my very first Rubybox I received an envelope with 13 (3 male) Givency fragrances.  These have been marvellous to try.  I get the samples faster than I can use them up.

It is clear from this list that I cannot go into a shop and choose a perfume from the thousands there.  Almost all the perfumes I loved were given to me and I liked it enough to replace it. 

I would love it if someone out there could tell me what perfumes I am supposed to like if these are the perfumes I have liked in the past.   Please help. 

Or please leave a comment and share your favourite perfume.  I would love to go and try it.

The most fun way to shop for perfume

I find it very hard to buy perfume.  It is such an emotional, personal and expensive purchase, with almost endless possibilities.  I tend to walk into a perfume store, smell about four perfumes, get completely overwhelmed, leave and by the evening when I have decided whether or not I like the four smells on my wrists and arms I have forgotten which is which and I basically start all over.  It just does not work for me.  For years and years my favourite perfume was something my sister gave me, since I could smell it in my own home and decide over a week or two that I actually like it.  I tended to only change my perfume when the brand was discontinued.  (Which happened.)

I think a big part of my enjoyment of rubybox lies in the fact that they normally include a perfume sample, therefore removing the need for me to choose a perfume while still having perfume to wear.  I love it when someone else narrows the choice down for me.

Which brings me to the best thing in perfume shopping:  perfume sample boxes.  I first discovered this in Sephora in the United States.  The concept is fairly innovative and brilliant.  Sephora sells a pretty box containing 10 (I think, it was long ago) perfume samples.  The samples were fairly small (1-2 ml each).  In addition to the 10 samples the box contained a voucher for a full size bottle of one of the perfumes.  Once you have used the samples and decided which one you liked most you could exchange the voucher for a full sized bottle.  The box cost approximately what the full sized bottle would cost, so in essence you received the samples for free. 

This is a marvellous gift, since I think, with 10 fragrances to choose from most people would enjoy one of the fragrances enough to want to have the full sized bottle.  The box I had contained fairly unknown (and maybe cheaper) perfumes.  I loved it.  I loved being able to choose which one to wear, I liked evaluating a perfume every day until I decided whether I liked it enough to get the full sized bottle.  I also think it was good value for money, because the samples added up to at least a ¾ bottle of perfume you essentially received for free. 

This link will take you to Sephora's description of these boxes. 

And this is their description:

This set of 10 fragrance samples includes a voucher for a full-size bottle, making it a perfect present when you're not sure what to choose. Its keepsake box opens to reveal a range of Sephora's bestselling women's fragrances that can be sampled right away. From the vivacious Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy to the sexy sophistication of Dior Addict to Life, she can try them all, chose a favourite, and then take the included voucher to a Sephora store to receive a full-size version.

Sadly, I do not live close to a Sephora any more.  Imagine my utter delight when I found exactly the same idea in Foschini.  For R355 or R595 you got around 12 samples of perfume.  The cheaper box had celebrity fragrances and was meant for a teenage market and the more expensive one had international favourites such as CK, Estee Lauder and Kenzo. 

This description comes straight from the Foschini website:

From top:
Celebrity fragrance box for her: R355
Designer fragrance box for him: R500
Designer fragrance box for her: R595

HOW IT WORKS:
Step 1: Purchase the fragrance gift box. Step 2: Sample the fragrances and choose your favourite. Step 3: Bring the voucher into Foschini and redeem it for your full-sized fragrance, specified on the voucher. Receive a FREE bonus voucher inside - save up to R100 off your next purchase.

I got the Celebrity box.  It contained:

Christina Aquilera, Royal Desire

Britney Spears, Radiance

Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton, Tease

Shakira

Katy Perry, Purrs

Rihanna, Reb'l Fleur

Jennifer Lopez, Love and Glamour

Paris Hilton, Heiress

JLO, Glow

Avrin Lavigne, Forbidden Rose

Queen Latifah, Queen

I liked quite a few of these:  JLO Glow was fresh and grassy, Heiress was light and fresh and quite complex.  I got the Queen in the full size.  It is a heavy, sweet oriental smell.  I like it for winter and evening and when you want to feel sultry.

What do you think of these boxes?  Would you buy one?  Have you seen them anywhere else in South Africa?  Please leave a comment and let me know.