Box of Dreams 2 (Caroline Hirons & Cult Beauty)

A few weeks ago I saw that there would be a new Box of Dreams from Caroline Hirons with Cult beauty for Christmas, “Oh I’ll just sign up to the email list and wait and see what the products are” I thought. Dangerous move. As soon as the email came out I couldn’t resist and before I knew it I had entered all my details and received my confirmation.
I don’t regret it for a second though. For starters, buying the box is a 48% saving on buying the items individually, and what a gorgeous box to arrive all for me just before Christmas!

The box contains:

• Zelens 3T Complex Essential Anti-ageing Cream
• May Lindstrom The Pendulum Potion
• Bella Freud Loving Candle
• Therapie Equilibrium Bath & Shower Essence
• Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist
• Kypris Beauty Elixir 1: 1000 Roses
• Sunday Riley Good Genes

I wanted to use everything before I posted my review, which is why it has taken me a week or so to write it up, but in short; I love the box.

I thought at first I was a bit disappointed by the candle, it was a beauty box and I was hoping for products, but in actual fact I love it. The smell is just amazing. It’s tuberose and sandalwood and is just really soothing and relaxing. It’s not a christmassy smell which is good because I want to save this up and use it sparingly throughout the year.
The only thing I have against it is the packaging really, I’m not a fan. I think it looks a bit childish. The candle is £40, which is almost the same price you would pay for a Diptyque number (£42) and if it came down to it I would rather have the Diptyque one on my shelf.

The next product out of the box was the Queen of Hungary Mist by Omorovicza.

This has the finest mist of any spritz I’ve ever tried. I can barely feel it when it hits my face. It also has quite a small reach so it takes 4 or 5 spritzes to cover the whole face but it smells nice and is very moisturising.
The box contains a 30ml bottle which is £25 or it’s £48 for 100ml. As I explained in my last empties post, I’ve only recently come around to these hydrating spritzes but now I have I’m very happy to have another one.

The third product I tried was the Kypris Beauty Elixir 1: 1000 Roses

This is an anti-ageing and hydrating facial oil that makes a lot of claims on the packaging, and I would expect good results from something that costs £70 for 14ml (!). It is great though. I’ve found I don’t need a serum with this as it addresses so many skin issues; dryness, red/soreness, UV overexposure (pigmentation).
The packaging makes it seem very wishy-washy with flowery language and far too many adjectives but the product is solid. It also doesn’t say anywhere on the box but it’s vegan, cruelty-free, sustainably produced and organic (but I have my own issues with that word). All in all I love it but I don’t think I could justify that much money on repurchasing so I’ll use sparingly and when my skin needs a treat. (And be really sad when it’s all used up).

The next one I tried was the 3T Complex Essential Anti-ageing Cream from Zelens.

This hydrating moisturiser is very luxurious and left my skin feeling amazing! So plump and full. What I love about this brand is that the founder, Dr Marko Lens, publishes his clinical trials on every product so there’s none of this “98% of women would agree. (out of 10)” nonsense.
The box contains a massive 50ml, which will keep me going for quite some time and would cost £95 if I bought it individually! Another one that I really love but I’m going to have to be stingy with as I want it to last as long as possible.
The great thing about these boxes is that already the products listed total more than the price of the box and I still have three left to talk about. So it is really good value for money.

The next product isn’t even out in shops yet. I’m talking about the May Lindstrom The Pendulum Potion.

It’s not a huge bottle, only 30ml, and it doesn’t really come with any instructions or guidance on how to use so I’m using it like most oil cleansers and massaging in to dry skin before removing with a damp cloth. It smells in-cred-ible! I’m just stood there in the mornings massaging my skin forever like a loon because it smells so good and feels so nice. I would never waste this on removing makeup, it’s too lovely, so it’s a morning cleanse or a second cleanse in the evening for me.
The product isn’t out yet, but according to Cult Beauty the price of this deluxe sample is £19.20. I really love it and I’m slowly amassing a collection of May Lindstrom bottles on my shelf which I never want to finish as they look so good there.

I’ve written about these products in the order I tried them, rather than in a sensible order for a skincare routine but one of the nice things about the product card in this box is it has a little timeline on the back. So you know what order to use them all in.

The next sample I pulled out of the box was apparently the most requested ever in a box. It’s Good Genes by Sunday Riley.

This is a full sized 30ml, which retails for £85 so I’ve never tried it before but boy was I excited to see it in the box. This is recommended for use as a serum 5 days a week and the box warns that it’s very active, although it’s basically an AHA (alphahydroxy acid) exfoliant but with quite a high concentration (40% lactic acid). I have been using it in the evenings as recommended by Caroline here and although I really like it I was hoping for more. I think it’s just been lauded so much as a wonder product that my expectations were too high. My skin is fairly used to acids too as I use them in one form or another most days so I don’t think it will have made as much of a difference for me as it would for someone who is new to acid exfoliating.

The last product out of the box was the Therapie Equilibrium Bath & Shower Essence.

This is full size too. It’s £40 for 100ml if you wanted to purchase it. I thought at first that it would be foamy as it is a bath/shower product but it’s actually an oil. Very heavily scented. It’s a nice, fresh smell; I think there’s a hint of citrus to it but I won’t use this in the shower. I’m a very efficient shower-er. I like to get in and out nice and quickly so I’ll save it for bubble baths when it will fill up the whole bathroom with therapeutic aromas.
This is another product I would never buy for myself but it will last me ages as I don’t have baths that often and it’s nice to have a little bit of luxury sometimes so I’m going to really enjoy it.

Well that’s it for the box, I really love it as a whole and although pretty much everything is very expensive and beyond my price range I will really enjoy having some luxury products for the next few months to use on my skin. It’s wonderful as a Christmas treat to myself.

The box has now sold out, although if you go here you can sign up to be in with a chance of winning one of two remaining boxes. Bonne chance!

Did anyone else get the box? I’d love to compare notes.