To celebrate Earth Day, the April 2012 Topbox looks different. Instead of the usual patterned label covering the tube, this time they’ve printed directly onto the tube with various images including an eye-shadow palette, a pair of scissors, brushes, and more.
Actually, I like this design a lot better, plus I think that Topbox is smart for giving subscribers the option to continue receiving this packaging after April. It cuts down their overhead costs, but it expands the creative possibilities for their future tube designs.
However, it’s also about what’s inside that counts, right? 😉 So what did I think of the contents? Find out!
April 2012 Topbox Pictures
Claims: BUSTED, but Product: TRUSTED (What a weird combo, right?)
√ Contains 4 samples
X Samples are from premium brands (I only consider Benefit to be a ‘top brand’ out of the ones included.)
Key Notes
- Name: April 2012 Topbox
- What You Get in Each Month’s Box: 4 samples
- What I Paid: $10 CAD
- Where to Sign up for a Subscription: Topbox website
April 2012 Topbox Review
Packaging
The packaging this month is different because instead of the label covering the tube, there’s a patterned print directly on the tube.
I like how playful this design is, and I appreciate how it’s more eco-friendly. It’s also nice how it’s free of any brand names. As Topbox says, you can use it to store other things. (I’m keeping mine in case I need to send things to friends. This box really protects the contents.)
Although Topbox doesn’t directly call out Loose Button’s Luxe Box, it totally sounded like they were pointing the finger at them when they wrote about being more environmentally conscious by not shipping the Topbox in a second outer box. And they stress how the tube doesn’t feature any branding (which makes it easier to reuse the tube).
The Products
While I don’t consider all the brands included to be premium brands, I did like the majority of the items included.
Benefit The POREfessional
This was something that I’ve been curious about trying for a long time.
I’ve never been self-conscious about the size of the pores on my face. They’re not really big – at least I don’t think so.
Pore size just doesn’t bother me. There are a lot of people I know who complain about their pores. Sure, I can see it on their face, but I never think it detracts from their appearance.
Am I the only person who just thinks that having some visible pores is normal and just makes you look like a human being instead of an airbrushed photo?
The reason why I’m curious to try this is because I heard that it works well as a base under foundation.
Principessa Beauty Notte/Bianco Breeze Dry Shampoo – “Personalized Shade”
Here’s another product that I’ve been curious about trying for the longest time.
Okay, I wash my hair every day…usually. There have been some mornings when I’ve been rushing too much and didn’t have time, but I always feel cranky when I can’t clean my hair daily.
Dry shampoo is supposed to help curb the oilies for those kind of emergencies. Plus it’s actually healthier not to wash your hair daily. (Not sure if I can get down with that, though!)
A lot of dry shampoos are light powders, but if you have dark hair like I do, it’s not ideal. This Principessa dry shampoo is for darker hair colours.
When I opened my Topbox, this product was wrapped in purple tissue paper, and the powder actually came out and all over the tin. Most of the product is still inside, but there was a very thin layer of powder coating the container.
Misa Nail Lacquer (High Waist Hue) – “Personalized Shade”
It made me laugh when I learned that this nail polish was a ‘personalized shade’. If you know me, you know that High Waist Hue is pretty much the opposite of the kind of colours I gravitate towards. (I’m about bold, loud, crazy colours. This is demure, quiet, and traditional-workplace-appropriate.)
That being said, I’m still pretty happy about this item because this is a Misa full-size nail polish! Plus it’s a shade that I don’t already have in my 500+ polish stash. Good going, Topbox!
I have a feeling that this shade is going to seriously clash with my skin tone, but maybe I can salvage it with some nail stamping…
Bella Pella Tropical Flowers Body Lotion
Okay, I’m not too excited to receive body lotion. I have oodles of bottles of lotion. This is a small size that I can throw in my purse, which is nice, but…lotion rare excites me.
Pros
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Cons
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Final Verdict: 6.5/10
Although the April 2012 Topbox didn’t blow my mind, I liked 3 out of 4 of the products, so I’m content.
I appreciate how Topbox focuses on being environmentally friendly, but I think that they now need to turn their attention to include more actual premium brands since that’s supposed to be their claim to fame.
Would you be happy if you received the products I did? What did you get in your April 2012 Topbox? How will you be celebrating Earth Day?
I’m getting my first topbox in May. 🙂
Hey Ashley!
YAY! Hope you get a bunch of cool products and enjoy them. Please let me know what you think after you try out your May box. 🙂
I really like your review and pics!
I have gotten 4 of the Topbox so far!
I would consider most of the items “premium” items as they are not readily available, not super cheap either.
The problem we have here is that in Canada, Shoppers Drug Mart now sells a ton of high end cosmetics- so we just think of these brands as drugstore items.
But if you go to Walmart, Pharmaplus or even a American drugstore they sell none of those brands.
You have to go to Sephora for Benefit and Principessa is hard to find.
I actually have the hair powder from a earlier box. The instructions say you can use it as a body powder?
I find it too dark for that.
There was also a full size Bella Pella soap in a earlier Topbox- the soap sells for $8 at their store.
I just with the lotion bottle was a bit bigger.
Hey Pretty Tasty Reviews!
Actually, that’s a good point that you made. Shoppers Drug Mart does sell higher-end cosmetics, but I totally think of a lot of them as still ‘drugstore’. Hmm…I’ll try to keep a more open mind next time.
Hi Mary! Thanks again for your review. We are listening to your feedback regarding premium brands. Our standard for premium brands is that we never include a drugstore-only brand as one of our 4 deluxe beauty samples. So you can receive anything from a Holt Renfrew product such as YSL, or a niche brand that is exclusively sold at their own locations. But we hear ya, more brands found in Sephora and above:)
Hey Isabel!
Wow, thanks for personally stopping by and caring about my opinions on this month’s Topbox! 🙂 (I like how you’re reaching out to your customers like this to enrich the social experience.)
Thanks also for clearing up Topbox’s standard for what constitutes a premium brand. It can be open for interpretation, so it’s good to see it from your perspective. 🙂
Hi Mary,
One last question:) The nail polish shade was given to you based on your profile and your answers in the March survey. It is likely that you received this shade because you selected a preference for ‘Neutrals’. Do you think we should be asking a different question?
Hey again, Isabel!
Hmm…I don’t think I filled out that survey, but if I did, I never would’ve chosen a preference for neutrals! That’s definitely not my style at all!
Hi Mary, when we don’t receive a response to a survey, we then look at your Beauty Profile. In your Beauty Profile, you put ‘Classic’ as one of your style profiles. Hence, we err on the conservative side and sent you a neutral. That’s how this shade was personalized for you in this month’s box:)
Makes sense. My bad for including Classic as one of my style profiles. Should’ve chosen Crazy Weirdo. 😛
OOh such an awesome box this month!
I have the POREfessional and I love it! I’m only a little bit conscious of my pores…but more so on my nose than anything. But then again, you’re totally right, pores DO make you look human and not like an airbrush photo.
It definitely makes for a nice base and it also has a nice smell. Hopefully your skin doesn’t have anything against silicone. A friend of mine broke out because her skin didn’t like it.
And wow, you wash your hair every day?? Isn’t that bad?
Hey Lawren!
I’m glad that you don’t let the pores on your nose REALLY bother you. 🙂 We’re human, after all. I think it’s okay to be a little self-conscious about certain parts of the way we look, but then it becomes unhealthy when we put ourselves down because we THINK we don’t live up to some ideal.
Nope, my skin’s fine with silicone products, so I should have no problem using the POREfessional.
Yup, I wash my hair daily. It’s bad, but…I can’t stand missing a wash. 🙁 I just feel…dirty.
Awesome! Then I hope it works out for you. Even a product like this isn’t 100% perfect at covering up pores. But you definitely notice a difference.
Haha, I know what you mean. Unfortunately I colour my hair, so I can’t be washing it all the time or the colour will fade so fast! Plus I have noticed if I wash my hair more than 2-3 times a week, it gets oily faster :0
If I ever try to cut back on washing my hair, I’d prefer to do it in the fall or the winter. Just thinking about not washing my hair daily in the summer when it’s humid makes me feel like washing my hair right now. Haha!
Cute package, but while the contents were interesting, they brought more curiosity than excitement.
Never considered the dry shampoo/dark hair thing so it’s cool that they make one for darker hair. As another ‘wash it every day’ person, I’m curious as to whether it really makes your hair feel clean.
You know my eyes went right to the polish…and then I checked myself for a pulse to make sure I hadn’t been bored to death. Sorry, but the color in the bottle is a total snoozefest.
Hey karen!
I don’t think that dry shampoos will make my hair feel clean. I think they’ll just make my hair feel less greasy. But…knowing me, I’ll still feel uncomfortable. We’ll see how it goes.
No need to be sorry. The nail-polish shade was a let-down for me. And, according to Isabel from Topbox (who left a comment on here), I supposedly answered a survey and said that I chose “Neutrals” as my preference! Haha, anyone who follows Swatch And Learn knows that the statement is totally off. 😛
I haven’t received this months Topbox but I like what you got in yours 🙂 I love the Porefessional, I hope I get it in my box too!
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Hey OPI Addict!
I’m crossing my fingers, toes, and eyes that you get the product, too. Hope you love your box. 🙂
I got the exact same box as you – except for my nail polish colour – which was Play it Cool. Also not something I would gravitate towards – but I broke it out last night, and it is so pretty on! I don’t own anything like it and I absolutely love it! This is the first month that I have been really pleased with my Topbox.
Hey Nicole!
I just looked up Play it Cool and it looks cute. Glad you loved it, but it’s sad that this was the first Topbox you were pleased with. Hopefully if you stick with them for longer, they’ll include more products that you love.
I got the exact same items in my topbox. I actually really wanted to try the hair powder (since I too am a daily hair washer).
I never wear neutral colours on my nails, and would have never purchased that kind of shade but I actually really like it. I painted my nails almost immediately after I went through my box. It’ll be a good neutral colour for me to wear to interviews etc.
Great review!
Hey Alicia!
Interesting that we got the same items. I’m curious to see the different products that others got in their monthly box.
Haha, I’m lucky because at my job, I’m able to wear crazy nail colours and even ridiculous nail art. 🙂 Even if I one day wanted to dye my hair all blue, I could at this job. 😀 (But I probably won’t dye it blue.)
I’ll reserve further judgement of the polish when I try it out. Maybe it does look better on your nails than in the bottle. 🙂 Glad you’re liking yours a lot!
I still haven’t signed up with any of these boxes but I’m still curious. Thanks for always sharing these reviews…it makes a difference.
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Hey lacquerloon!
You’re very welcome. 🙂 I’m glad that you’ve found my review helpful!
I did not get my Topbox yet, but had to come back and chek your blog to make sure I did not “imagine the samples”.
And you know what??
I received the Principessa hair powder in January from Topbox!
Still have all the cards from my boxes saved for future reference.
Thought it was another box co that sent me Principessa- until I remembered it was Glymm that sent me a lip balm and lotion from that brand :/.
prettytastyreviews.blogspot.com recently posted: Glymm Feb 2012 box!
Hey Pretty Tasty Reviews!
I guess the company likes to rotate who gets which samples and when, so there might be duplicates. Hopefully the same person doesn’t get duplicates of the same products, though. That would stink.
How are you liking your Glymm subscription overall? That’s one company I haven’t explored yet. I know that you reviewed the February 2012 box, but I’m curious about what you think about their customer service, etc. in general, too.
I loved mine! I already received the dry shampoo in another box so I got something else instead! I think it was your first box?
Hey CrystalCandy!
Glad that you loved yours! 🙂
Nope, this is my 4th Topbox. The first one I tried was the best because it had a full-size Deborah Lippmann polish and a full-size Cake hand cream!
Did you get a dry shampoo too in your january box, or something else?
It’s my 5th one, didn’t get the one with the nail lacquer because I received my first box in december. 🙁
CrystalCandy recently posted: Topbox : Avril 2012
Actually, my first box was the November one. They provided it to me free of charge. After that, I signed up and paid for the subscription starting in February 2012. None of my boxes contained any dry shampoo until now.