Glossybox November Review (Part 1)

Hello lovelies,

If you've noticed the post title, and are wondering why it says 'part 1', allow me to explain.

The first ever Glossybox in Australia arrived at my doorstep today. In case you didn't know, Glossybox is pretty popular, particularly in the United Kingdom, and they joined forces/took over BeautyBox (a company offering a similar product) in October 2011. As a result, there was a wee bit of a mess with subscribers to BB being forced to resubscribe to Glossybox. Those of us who had been with BB previously were awarded 1000 glossydots (the subscription equivalent of a free box) to make up for having been charged twice.

Truthfully, we beauty addicts afficianados were all in dithers waiting for the first box to be shipped out. But owing to the fact that the items were shipped from overseas and then packed in Australia, the boxes only shipped out at the end of November, i.e. the 25th of November.

That would still have been fine and I would have been happy waiting, but more issues popped up. We got sent a tracking number, but it didn't include a link by which we could track the parcels. I sent them an email which was ignored, but similar posts on their website were answered, with Glossybox telling subscribers that events would only show up when the box was actually close by and in the courier van ready to be delivered. Pardon my ignorance, but isn't the purpose of tracking being able to actually see where your box is at ALL times? Not just when it's about to land on your doorstep anyway?

Anyhow, my box popped up today, and I was so disappointed when it arrived. First of all, the box arrived encased in a larger cardboard box for protection. Unfortunately, when I opened the outer box, I found black/grey dust all over everything, including my hands and desk. By the time I managed to open the parcel, dust was everywhere, which was really off putting. I couldn't make out if it was from the packing inside the Glossybox or if it was a result of the transport.

And here is where I confess to a major blogger mistake...by the time I got to the actual contents, I was so put off by the dust coating everything, that I barely paid much attention to the contents. I did notice that I received the following items in my box:

Pink jelly beans (look gorgeous but I'm afraid to eat them thanks to the dust coating everything)

Deluxe sample of Bobbi Brown cleansing oil (I'm really not a fan of this, I much prefer the Shu Uemura ones).

Deluxe sample of Jurlique Purely Age-Defying Ultra Firm and Lift Cream

Full sized Bio Oil

Full sized Mirenesse 3D Lip gloss (Not very excited by this colour, it's a deep red, why-oh-why can't I receive a nude gloss?!)

and...

Mini Essie polish in Super Bossa Nova...which was completely dried up and tacky when I opened it. Either I got given a used sample or it hadn't been closed properly because it was completely ruined. It had dried up so much, you could actually see through parts of the bottle, which was a fairly incredibly feat given the hot pink colour of the polish.

So you can probably understand why I lost interest in the box after that. :(
Well, that, and having to mop my desk with dampened tissues to clean up the mess that had been left behind from the dust from the box.

All the same, I'm not 'quite' giving up on them yet...I sent their customer service an email to complain, and included photos of the box. I got a reply within an hour apologising, stating that they weren't responsible for the handling the boxes received during transit, and a promise that a replacement Glossybox would be sent out to me as soon as possible! While encouraging, it's still a bit of a disappointment as I was hoping to receive and review it before I left the country for a month-long trip abroad.

Anyway, do have a look at the photos and stay tuned while I wait for part 2 of the November Glossybox to arrive.

Outer covering

Inner covering

Description of contents...covered in dust.

A view of the contents. Sorry, should have taken more photos
 but lost interest thanks to the dust covering everything,

Look at the dust!

My ruined Essie polish. :(

Look, you can actually see through the bottle,
that's how dried up it was!

My verdict? Disappointed. I haven't quite given up on them yet but I have to say their customer service hasn't been as excellent as, say, I Love This Box, who go above and beyond in the name of customer service, namely answering to emails in a speedy manner, even past midnight!

I have to say, though, that some of my favourite fellow bloggers, Glossybeauty and Beauty in a bottle, have received much better Glossyboxes, and they've written some great reviews which you can read, here and here, respectively. Do check them out. And you can have a look at the different colour options people received in their November Glossybox here.

I'm still holding out that Glossybox might redeem themselves yet...I'll keep you posted.

Much love,
MM.
x

P.S. - I forgot to add that the box came with a voucher for 15% off store-wide (applicable only in stores), which expires/d on 30 November 2011, which disappointed some subscribers as we didn't receive the box in time to actually use the voucher!