Review: Powder Pocket April Box

This post is extremely overdue and that's due to college exams, stress and general laziness. For that, I apologise. Now let's get down to business and review the April Powder Pocket box and its contents. I had a full month to use the products and I am confident to say that some items were brilliant and worked for me, while others were just meh.

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Now let's start with the awesome products:

The Longlasting Eye Shadow Pen from Etre Belle Cosmetics. This product I used almost everyday instead of a highlight colour I use in the inner corners of my eyes. This is the first eyeshadow pen/crayon I've ever used and I'm really pleased with it. It applies really easily and honestly doesn't budge for hours. This will definitely last me for ages and I'm very happy with this full-size product. The shadow pen costs €9.95 and is available to purchase from www.etre-belle.

E26 Blending Brush from Blank Canvas Cosmetics. E26 brush is now my mainly used brush alongside Bobbi Brown's blending brush, which is a little rounder and has softer bristles. When I took E26 out of the plastic wrapper, I was surprised as it seemed rougher and wider than BB's blending brush and I thought that it would drag my eyeshadow too far away from my eyes. I was wrong, however, as when I first tried it, it blended out my eyeshadow very smoothly without going too far. I also tried applying eyeshadow on the lid, but that did not work for me; I also tried using the brush for bleding out concealer but I think the bristles are a little too hard for that and it seemed to drag out the concealer instead of actually concealing my blemishes. I usually use a flat-top kabuki brush to apply concealer. So the claims of the brush being a substitute for applying concealer and applying eyeshadow on top of the lid did not work for me, but I am still very happy with it as it's a perfect eyeshadow blending brush.
I assume this was another full-size product and it costs €6.99 and is available to purchase from www.blankcanvascosmetics.com, www.dolledup.ie and CH Chemists.

Stop the Clock Eye Gel from Bia Beauty. I loved it and I disliked it a little. I did use it every day and it feels that there is still loaaads of it left in the container. This eye gel claims to reduce puffy eyes and bags under the eyes due to arnica oil; to soothe and heal due to aloe vera and reduce fine lines due to rose, immortelle and myrrh extracts in the gel. The product is 100% natural and claims to brighten tired eyes. This eye gel also smells lovely and once applied under the eyes (I also applied it in the inner corners of my eye, just under the bridge of my nose and outer corners of my eyes, as this is where my eyes have the dark hues which make me look like death) the gel dries within a minute. When this gel dries, I could instantly feel like it tightened the skin around my eyes and it felt quite uncomfortable and weird at he beginning but I got used to it pretty quickly. However I found that I can only use it in the evening after cleansing my face, after a long day, for a little TLC for my tired eyes, or if I'm not wearing any make-up and planning to stay at home. This gel absolutely hates my concealers and primers. I had tried waiting for almost half hour for the gel to settle into my skin before applying concealer and/or primer on top of it, but they would still fight under my eyes, leaving a goopy residue and making me wipe away the make-up and gel and start all over again. After a few hopeful attempts to use different brands of concealer and eye-primer, I completely gave up and now only use this when I am not wearing any make-up. When I do not wear make-up I can honestly say that this really does brighten and tighten up my under-eye skin, but it's just a complete bummer that I cannot use it with my make-up as it just stays on the skin and does not absorb properly. I guess this is why natural beauty products are still not quite superior to their chemical counterparts.
This was another full-size product (15ml) in the box (go you Powder Pocket! Keep up the good work!), and it's available to purchase from www.biabeauty.com, www.mothercare.ie, Avoca, Blarney Woolen Mills, Evergreen Health Stores and selected pharmacies nationwide for €16.95.


Mystic Diamond Elixir from Eva Professional. This elixir came in a teeeeniest sample size ever, but it was actually enough for me to try it out for more than two weeks (I wash my hair every 3 days, so I got 5 uses out of the sample). It contains argan oil and diamond powder and claims to nourish and regenerate your hair giving it shine, to give your hair volume, prevent frizzy hair and reduce blow-dry time. This really did increase shine in my hair and actually gave my hair volume, however I'm not sure about the claims of nourishment and regeneration of hair as my ends still felt quite dry and frizzy. This hair serum didn't make my hair look oily at all, it just gave it nice shine. It was a nice product to try out, but I don't think I would purchase it for myself. It just didn't give me the WOW factor at all.
Mystic Diamond Elixir costs €25.99 (100ml) and is available to purchase from hair salons nationwide and www.savvyandshine.com.


And lastly, Anthelios Ultra Light Fluid SPF 50+ from La Rochay Posay. This was the most disappointing sample as it's an essential product in a girl's skincare regime, but we only received a 5ml sample, which lasted me for 2 days (you need a little more of this for it being enough for the whole face and neck area). From those two applications I don't think I could have decided if I would repurchase this as I did not have enough time to check its reaction to my skin and how well it works on my combination skin. I applied it before my moisturiser and had no problem applying make-up afterwards. It wasn't sticky and absorbed pretty quickly into my skin. And although it's such a high SPF, my skin didn't have a white cast which is common with suncare products.
This sunscreen is available to purchase from selected pharmacies nationwide for €19.50 for the full-size bottle.

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All in all, I was quite pleased with the selection of products in the April box of Power Pocket, as it came with three full-sized items and all five of the products I had not tried before. I should be receiving the May box this week, so I will probably wait until I can try the products first and I shall report back as soon as I can. x

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Inside the March Powder Pocket

The box comes with a little and very useful magazine, in which all the products in the box are described and explained.

I finally received my first box from the Powder Pocket, yay! Powder Pocket is a relatively new beauty subscription service based in Ireland — the first box was launched in December 2013.

I'm such a sucker for pretty packaging...

This is my first ever subscription box, so I was extremely excited to see what's inside it. It came so beautifully packed that I was trying to be very careful not to rip it. I hope they pack the boxes themselves and are not enslaving poor house-elves to do the dirty job!! (I hope you read Harry Potter to understand this haha)

I've previously looked into subscription boxes and the best ones that really appealed to me are all based in the USA. :( So after a bit of searching, I found the Powder Pocket. I saw the contents on various Irish blogs from the previous boxes and was very intrigued.

The price isn't outrageous either; it's €12 (plus p&p) per month and you get five beauty samples, including at least one full-sized product. To me, this sounds like a great deal. I like the idea of sampling products before buying them, so if they come beautifully wrapped in pretty boxes and are sent to me every month, I'm not complaining!
You can also choose to sign up for the 6 month plan for €60 (plus p&p), which includes one free box, and a 12 month plan €120 (plus p&p) which includes two complimentary boxes. I chose the six month plan, and with the p&p, it totalled €78.

Now after this lengthy introduction, I guess I should finally list all the products inside the box:

The box includes a full-size pack of WaterWipes, 8ml Ghost Perfume, 4g Shiseido Lipstick in BE310, 8g Ginvera BB Cream and Lavera Body and Hair & Body Wash.

Let's start with the biggest product — the WaterWipes. These sensitive make-up removal wipes are alcohol-free, fragrance-free, lanolin-free, perfume-free and colourant-free! This is a verrrrry big plus for me because my skin is extremely sensitive and gets irritated so easily. Currently I don't use any make-up removal wipes, because I found that coconut oil is an amazing make-up remover. But because the WaterWipes are so mild, I won't mind trying them out and compare them to my favourite coco.
The WaterWipes are available to purchase in pharmacies/health stores nationwide, as well as Tesco, Dunnes, SuperValu and Superquinn, and cost €3.49 (the packet includes 20wipes).

Shiseido Perfect Rouge lipstick in Dune(BE 310):

Now when I saw this red little box, my first thought was "nooo, not another red lipstick, I've so many!", but when I opened it, I was genuinely surprised and somewhat relieved. It was a brown/nude colour and I instantly fell in love with it. The colour reminded me of the brown lipsticks that my mom used to wear when I was little. She never wore any red or pink, it was always darker or lighter browns, and she rocked them! I still have to show this one to her and see what she thinks.
The lipstick claims to give a silky radiance and rich colour finish and promises to treat dry or damaged lips. This is exactly what I need because my lips are always so dry. I have tried so many lip balms and none have been able to give me lovely lips, so I can't really wear any matte lipstick, because my lips look dry and disgusting. So I'm very excited to try this and see how hydrating it is.
The full size lipstick costs €27.

Ghost the Fragrance:

Now when it comes to fragrances, I wouldn't want to get them in a box of samples. I would much rather go into Boots and spend a half hour trying dozens of different perfumes until I find one that really smells nice. Anyway, I usually prefer fruity than floral fragrances(my all-time favourite is , but I found this perfume to smell quite lovely.
The perfume has the top notes of Rose and Jasmine, middle notes of  Amber, Vanilla and Peach and the base notes of Sandalwood and Musk.
The full size RRP from €34 for 30ml and €50 for 50ml.

Ginvera Green Tea BB Cream:

I love BB creams. Honestly, the best BB cream I've tried to date is Clearing Petit BB cream from HolikaHolika. It's ridiculously cheap and it gives the best coverage for a BB cream and it's meant to help clear acne prone skin. However Asian BB creams leave a white/grey cast on my skin, so I feel that they can only be worn in winter, when I'm pale anyway. 

Now this BB cream claims to provide the benefits of blemish free concealing, sun block effects, moisturising and reduction of lines, as well as providing a long lasting smooth and light feel to nourish and perfect your skin. 

It claims to be suitable for all skin types and is colour-adaptable.

The full-size RRP is from €21 for 25ml, and personally I feel that is very expensive for a BB cream. Unless it's a miracle product, I will have to try it and see!

And the last sample in the box is Lavera Hair and Body Wash. I've never tried Lavera products before and I'd be interested in trying more natural product lines that don't include harsh chemicals.
Now before buying shampoos, conditioners, shower gels, etc. I always open the bottle to sniff what's inside. If it smells funky, I put it back and never look back! When I opened this, I literally stood there sniffing it for about five minutes. That smell, good lord. It smells just like lemon poppyseed cake, and I LOVE LEMON POPPYSEED CAKE haha. I don't care if this wash is good or not, I will sooo buy it just to sniff it once in a while (am I a citrus scent addict?! send help!!).
This hair and body wash is certified organic and doesn't contain any parabens or harsh ingredients, which is great! I'm very intrigued to use this on my hair and see if this stuff leaves my hair dry, as most organic and "healthy" shampoos do, because my hair is fried!
The full-size bottle (200ml) costs €6.42, which is a little pricey, considering that you can get shower gels for about 2-3 euro in Boots...but that smell though!

So that's it. These are all five beauty products from the March Powder Pocket box. As this was my first subscription box, I was fairly pleased with it (bar the perfume sample, I suppose) and feel that it was worth the money. I cannot wait to properly try these all out, and consequently fully review the products. I will soon post an update on the reviews, but until then, excuse me while I'll go sniff the Lavera Body Wash and dream of lemon poppyseed cakes. Ciao!

Pyrotechnics and Pistols Event at the Lighthouse

A few weeks back movie lovers got a chance to see some cool practical special effect tricks at the Lighthouse, hosted by the JDIFF.

The guys at the Film FX Ireland and Stunt Guild of Ireland carried out an awesome presentation showing different aspects of special effects used in film production and what it's like to be on the movie set.

First, the audience was shown how the special effects group create rainy, stormy and snowy conditions. These were incredibly uncomfortable to watch and take pictures of as all the fake rain and snow dispersed around, soaking everyone in the audience.

The second performance was a fast action gunfight and the stuntmen were dressed in special suits, which when shot at, got splattered in red paint to imitate the blood. It was crazy hearing the gunshots and the scene was done so quick, I barely got time to "shoot" the action.

For the penultimate performance, a stuntman was set on fire. This was a very dangerous task, so the group had to make crucial preparations, which included covering the stuntman in gallons of special jelly. This preparation took the longest as it had to be very tedious—even the smallest parts, like the nose and ears of the stuntman, had to be covered carefully. The end result was fascinating.

The finale, which was eagerly awaited by the audience, did not disappoint. The crew blew up a car with the same stuntman inside it who had just earlier burst into flames. The crew had to follow the same preparation procedure and the stuntman was covered in the special jelly all over again. Here's a video of the explosion, which was really, really cool: