February 26, 2017
BY Amy Sousa
11 Comments
A few weeks ago I received M² Brand Management's first ever blogger box along with several other Canadian beauty bloggers! I was super excited because I don't have enough Canadian products (though not all of these are made in Canada), and these are all natural, which is a huge plus for me. I've played around with most of these and I definitely have a positive review so far!
Unfortunately, my original box got lost in the mail, but the Msquared team is awesome and quickly sent another one out to me. I originally thought that they had missed a few products, but it turns out that there were different variations of the box! I guess I kept seeing very similar ones. Here are two photo of the box that everything came in!
This one with all of the packaging on
And this one without the packaging.
I have used most of these so I will review those and just provide info on the others that I have not had a chance to try. As for the products that were missing, I don't know for sure what they are, but if you follow other Canadian beauty bloggers I'm sure you'll hear about them :)
Radius Tour Travel Toothbrush - $5.49 USD
I've used this a few times already while visiting my mom. This is SO cute and actually works really well! I received the colour "Amethyst Purple," but there are 5 other options on their website. The toothbrush folds out into a regular length toothbrush so it isn't awkward to hold. The brush head is quite large, but I actually like it quite a bit. The performance wasn't anything special—it is on par with other manual toothbrushes that I've used before, but this would not replace my electric toothbrush (Arm & Hammer Spinbrush) that is also very affordable and also has replacement heads available. The replacement heads are affordable at $5.49 for two of them, and I will definitely consider purchasing a few if there is a free shipping event. This toothbrush is Recycle friendly, BPA free, Cruelty Free, Vegan, and is made in the United States. This is by far my favourite travel toothbrush that I have ever used and I'm excited to keep using it!
Acure Organics Quick Fix Correcting Balm - $15.99 USD
I used this for three days in a row and it's definitely moisturizing! I put this on at night while visiting my mom since I didn't want to bring all of my regular skin care products for my nighttime routine. This left my skin oily looking, but the feeling went away after a little while. I don't mind it looking oily though since it is definitely moisturizing, and it did not break my out, which is nice considering that I am very strict with my skincare routine. This did not necessarily correct anything, but it kept my skin from drying out. I used it once as a moisturizer under my primer and foundation and it worked surprisingly well! My foundation did not break apart, which I feared because of it being oily, and my skin did not become shinier throughout the day in comparison to when I use my regular products. Would I repurchase this? Probably not since I have several products that are also very natural in my routine that cost a lot less, but if you live in the states and are looking for something that is cruelty free, sulfate free, and paraben free, you should check this out!
Acure Organics Aromatherapeutic Citrus Ginger Moroccan Argan Oil - 12.99 USD
This is one of the only products that I have not tried yet. I do plan on trying it out soon, but I use so many different skin care products that it's hard to fit this in. Perhaps I'll try it out tomorrow since it's the last day of my reading week and I won't be going out anywhere important (just to be safe). This product can be used on the skin and in the hair and I have a feeling that it would work nicely for both! I'll definitely try it out tomorrow on my hair before I wash it because my current Moroccan oil is like $60 CAD so if this works about the same I might consider switching. If this ends up working really well on my face I'll definitely repurchase either way since it is affordable! This product is also super natural while also being cruelty free, sulfate free, paraben free, and even Vegan!
Acure 24 oz Hydrating Shampoo & Hydrating Conditioner - $19.99 USD
I received two sample sized products, one sample of the shampoo and the other of the conditioner. I believe there was supposed to be one more, but that was one of the products that I did not receive and will touch on at the end of this post. As you may know from previous posts, I have very particular hair. My hair is severely damaged from bleaching it twice a year almost a year ago. Not only did I bleach it, but I also had the Japanese Permanent Hair Straightening done, which already makes the hair damaged, though it was a lot nicer feeling than my natural curly hair that was extremely dry from washing it every single day. Several months ago now I received a shampoo and conditioner that have changed my life and my hair, and actually keeps the dark brown hair dye in place, so I'm not sure if I'll be trying this out, but I'll at least give it to my boyfriend to test out since he has a very dry scalp and this being very natural seems like a great idea for him! These are vegan, sulfate free, paraben free, and cruelty free. They also contain argan extract and oil, CoQ10, organic sea buckthorn, and organic pumpkin seed oil, which will all help the condition of your hair while making it shiny! I might come back to this and update the post once Steven uses it to let you know how it goes, but like any sample product it's basically impossible to know for sure unless you can use it several times.
Lafes Natural Deodorant Twist Stick - Bliss - $6.99 USD
I have a love/hate relationship with this one. This is one of the only deodorants that I have ever used that doesn't make my underarms super itchy. This is made with 100% natural essential oils, which is always nice considering my sensitive skin. This product is also recyclable, cruelty free, and 1% of all profits go towards supporting breast cancer prevention. On top of that this is Aluminum free, 99% natural, Propylene free, GMO free. Now for the negatives. I'm a very sweaty girl when it comes to my underarms and lower back in the winter. In the summer this will probably work for me a bit better, but when I'm wearing a sweater and jacket this does not stop me from sweating at all—even though I'll still be freezing. Now... this is a deodorant so it isn't actually supposed to keep you from sweating, but to keep you smelling nice. This does live up to that! I really do like this, but not enough to buy this considering I use Steven's sensitive skin deodorant that we get in bulk (6 of them) at Costco for $11 CAD. However, when I use this on top of that, I smell amazing throughout the day! If there's a sale going on and I can get my hands on this with free shipping or elsewhere, I'll probably repurchase. But for the full price and shipping I really can't justify it just because it smells nice. I don't know how much shipping costs, but this is made in Canada so I would hope that it's really affordable since it doesn't have to cross the boarder. The website also offers subscription options to this and the other products that will allow you to save 10% off (and if you have a coupon code even more, but you don't need the subscription for that!)
Weleda Jardine De Vie Natural Perfume - Grenade $24.00 USD
I got the scent "Grenade" which is inspired by Pomegranate. I have used this several times, probably 3 on myself and 5 times in my closet. I definitely like this a lot more in my closet because it isn't really my type of scent, and it doesn't seem to last long on my skin. However, this really freshens up my closet and it doesn't smell as odd (it's a good smell, but I prefer candy type of smells) as it does no my skin. Perhaps my body chemistry doesn't mesh as well with it. This is nice, but not nice enough for me to purchase with the price tag. There are several other brands out there that may not be as organic, but are a fraction of that price. That being said, this is 94% organic and made with pure essential oils, so if that is really important to you then I would highly recommend! Right now I'm a poor student who works a lot of hours to survive so I can't spend my money on something like this without feeling awful considering there are cheaper options out there. If you have a sensitive nose or skin this probably won't bother you! I'm the person that sneezes like crazy when I first put perfume on. This did not do that to me. This also did not irritate my skin like most perfumes do (I usually have to spray perfume onto my clothes instead of directly onto my skin). While I won't be purchasing this, the next product by Weleda may be a different story.
Weleda Nail Care Pen - $17.00 USD
I have been using this on and off since I received it a few weeks ago, but I have to say—this is really warming up to me. I started using this pretty much a few days before I stopped biting my nails yet again, and each time that I use it my cuticles look a million times better after a few hours. I don't know what kind of magic is in this besides it being 91% Organic, synthetic fragrance free, colour free, and preservative free, but whatever it is—it works. I'm going to try really hard to use this morning and night after I wash my hands to see how much of a difference it ends up making, but so far it seems to work extremely well. The price tag kills me because it seems like a lot for the size of the product, but once this is done I will try a cheaper option and if I don't like it as much I will purchase this for sure (when I have a full time job that is... Amy is too poor even for amazing products). If you need your cuticles and nails to be repaired, please try this out! Steven has used it a few times on a few rips that he has around his nail and it does wonders! It does not burn at all so I'm loving it!
The Green Beaver Company Lip Balm - Honey $3.99 CAD
This. Is. Awesome. This is one of the only lip balms that has worked for me EVER. Not only does it smell and taste nice, but it applies smoothly unlike many other natural lip balms. I layer this on at night and wake up with my lips feeling pretty good! The only downside with this is that, like every other lip balm that I've ever tried, it does not work well under liquid lipstick or lip liner, even when I blog off the excess and wait for 10 minutes. That isn't enough to turn me off though! While I'm still on the hunt for a lip balm that will work under those lip products (I got a recommendation by an awesome makeup artist recently that I'm going to hunt down), I'm still going to use this as a night treatment and in general when I'm not wearing any lipstick or on regular lipstick days. This is so affordable and is made in Canada. It's actually made not too far from me so I'll definitely drop by if I'm ever in the area while they're open! Go check this stuff out! This is cruelty free, organic, and biodegradable too! You can't go wrong with that price tag and I promise that this is much better than at least 95% of the lip balms that you can get at the drug store (I can't account for the last 5% because I haven't tried EVERY lip balm at the drug store... yet).
Mineral Fusion - Clear Top Coat & Glitter Top Coat - $8.99 USD
This are really nice! I really like the brush as it is larger than most nail polishes, but it does not beat the brushes on the Nicole by OPI polishes that I own. I'm just very picky when it comes to the brushes on nail polishes. I've used the glitter top coat already and it applied very easily and sheer, so if you want something that is very opaque and glittery this isn't what you're looking for. It's just a basic top coat and I enjoy it for an accent nail, even though it's subtle. The lids lift off and then you just twist the actual top off. Basically the lids are there to make the bottle look cuter, kind of like the Butter London nail polishes. I don't have much to say. These are great top coats! Will I be repurchasing? Probably not, just because I can get my amazing nail polishes from Brazil for like $2 Canadian because of their dollar. But if you're Vegan (which I'm obviously not) or cruelty free I highly recommend these! These aren't only vegan, but also Toluene free, Camphor free, DBP free, formaldehyde free and cruelty free!
That's all I have for today! I hope this overview and mini reviews are helpful! If you're all about organic products you'll love these! A huge thanks to M² Brand Management for sending these products to me. I look forward to using these products even more!
