Sparkled Beauty

I can't help but "show off" a little today. I recently won a few giveaways (blogs and twitter) that I'm excited to tell you about. Considering the amount of time I spent on the internet, you wouldn't be surprised that I finally won something, lol. This post is about the first win.

Linda at My Pretty Pink Box had a twitter giveaway last week with 5 different prize packs. First person who RTs her tweet wins. I wasn't on twitter for the first 2 tweets, and was too late for the 3rd, but I won at the 4th one. My prize has:
Nocturne Alchemy - sample perfume vial - Scent of the Dead
Julie Hewett - full size Noir Collection Lip Pencils
Bella Il Fiore - full size Oh La La Liner.
I will update a picture when I do get the package, but based on the info from the brands' website, I'm excited already.

I have never known about these brands until I read about them on My Pretty Pink Box. If you are not familiar with this little fun box of surprises, check it out. Every month, Linda releases a certain number of Pink boxes that contain around 7 products (full size and samples) from some of (not all) the brands listed in the participants page. On the release date each month, you can purchase a box (or more) but wouldn't know what are in your box until it arrives. It is meant to be a surprise, which is the fun part of the process, isn't it? Linda does ship to Canada, so we Canadians can be part of the fun. Just make sure you note down the release date and be there bright and early, as the boxes are always sold out in a matter of an hour or two. This month, Linda has the partner's box (Beauty So Clean) on for USD6.50 but she will be back to the regular MPPB August 3.

I got my box in March for free, as a promotion when buying Mark Rebel Rose perfume (the purple box in the picture) from Linda's Mark store. The box itself was so cute - pink of course, in frost plastic but still see through - if you know what I mean. What was inside my box, did you ask? From lots of brands participated, I got:
- VanityMark Lash mascara
- Tiramisu body cream from The Body Patisserie. The ingredients included jojoba oil and vitamin E which help pamper all skin types. The cream smelled just like the dessert, addictively sweet! This bottle alone was USD18 on TBP website, and I'm sure the whole MPPB in March didn't cost that much. See what I am talking about here?
- Sweet Beauty Mocha lip balm. I could never have too many lip balms, so this one was a nice addition to the collection. And did I say it was organic?
- a deluxe sample (10 ml) of Pore Smoothing perfect skin Refining serum from Awake. According to the little card that came with it, the serum was made from Lavender water, vitamin E, green tea extract to prevent enlarged pores.
Could be used after moisturizer, day and night
- a sample of Helio Minerals Sun Kiss in Medium shade
- an sample of Adure Tummy Flattening gel (plus a 10% off discount code on purchase of Adure products), and
- a Classic Chic Mary Kay sample sheet.

In short, value wise, it was certainly a good buy, considering the retail value of the items in the box, and the surprise factor. A good mix of full size and sample items was fun too. I missed out some mineral pigment brands but it was certainly fun seeing products I have never heard/seen before. Please note that the price might be slighly different each month, depending on the brands participated and what they offer. There is a smaller version of the box, if you are not sure you can commit to a full box yet. Also, shipping cost is not included in the price for the box. So browse around on MPPB site and see what works for you.

Note: I'm not paid to write this post. Just thought it's a fun idea for makeup lovers, like me and you, to try out different (mostly indie) brands at a reasonable price.

Thanks for stopping by.