International Beauty Box: Glam Guru Holiday Box #5 review

Yesterday and today brought me beauty boxes in the mail. Yesterday's box was the September Lip Factory Box (see here) while today it was the Glam Guru Box. Bag, rather. This box is a Jewish New Year special edition and the theme is "Glamour Holiday".

How to order a Glam Guru box: 

You can pay by PayPal and customer service is with you all the way through the process. Email here, and they'll tell you where you can send your Paypal money - and please do mention that Renu of My Beauty Junction sent you and we'll both have some fun!

My Glam Guru Holiday Box arrived 12 days after it was posted from Israel, via registered post, and I was able to track it online. The external box took a battering in the post, like last time, but the contents were thankfully intact.

Inside, covered with green tissue and the Glam Guru sticker (missing the cute ribbon here) was the black Glam Guru bag. I really like these pouches - they are perfect for storage. I'm sorting out one for nail cutters, files and tweezers and another for nail art accessories. Whereas boxes tend to take up more space, provide less secure storage and are more easily damaged.
I had already wormed out a couple of spoilers from the Glam Guru people and knew there would be at least three full-size items this month!

Inside the Glam Guru bag #5:

1. Senscience Brilliant Defense Protective Shine Spray
2. Garnier Ambre Solaire SPF30 Protection Lotion
3. Faran Mineral Blush in Sunrise
4. Maybelline Colorama Nail Polish
5. Faran Natural Face Serum
6. Comptoir Sud Pacific Mage d'Orient
7. Moroccanoil Treatment (bonus)

I received a Senscience shampoo in my Summer Glam Guru #4 Box (see here). So I'm really pleased to receive the shine spray in this range.

I have mixed feelings about the Garnier suncreen. On the one hand, we have Garnier in all drugstores and I wouldn't want to see it in a beauty box. On the other hand, I can see if there's any difference between the product made here and in Germany, and I'm always using up sunscreen so it will come in use somehow.

I prefer peach/apricot blushes over pink-based ones and I was very excited about the Faran Mineral Blush. I haven't opened the container yet - am trying to get the jar out, keeping the cardboard intact! It looks non-shimmery, thankfully. I hate shimmery blushes. Will swatch it soon and see if it makes me look alien.

The label on the Maybelline Colorama Nail Polish has been pasted over with a label in Hebrew so I have no idea what the shade is. To be honest I'm not a fan of Maybelline polish at all (O.P.I-snob alert!) so I have very mixed feelings about this. But before I could whinge my heart out, a friend asked if I preferred random powders in jars or Max Factor mini mascara in a beauty box, so I've shut up since. As I haven't swatched or opened it, I might keep it for a swap.

I'm really chuffed about two products in this box and one of them is the Faran Natural Face Serum. You can never begin serums/anti-ageing too soon, according to every blogger/derm I've come across, so I'm definitely giving this a run after I finish my No7 Protect and Perfect serum (from my August Glamabox). Let's see how it shapes up against No7 and Genefique Advanced. According to the label, 100% of its ingredients are of natural origin while 80% were organically farmed.

Perfume vials aren't very interesting in a beauty box, although the Mage d'Orient smells great. Off to my travel bag!

I've kept the best for last: the Moroccanoil Treatment. It has been on my wishlist forever! I've been reading so much about this oil and am looking forward to trying this.

Overall, I think the July box was the better box brand-wise (because of the lack of Maybelline). But I'm definitely not disappointed with this box, because there are new brands and wishlist products to play with and quite a few full-sizes and no sachets. The expiry dates for the items range from late 2014 to 2016. It's great that they're including Israeli and European brands - one reason I love international beauty boxes is that you can try products from different countries and regions. I'm definitely buying again, though I'm hoping that's the last I see of Maybelline.
Glam Guru is an Israeli company that offers beauty boxes every month-and-a-half or so. You cannot subscribe as such; they'll let you know when a box is out, and its theme, and you can tell them your preferences (makeup-centric/skincare/all-organic/anything else). Which is good, you won't receive a box you don't want. It costs me $28 including registered post, but I have no idea how much it would be to another region.

Re: the Glam Guru website (click here), there's only one page in English, though you can look at previous boxes.

P.S. The three tiny lads very interested in this box (first picture) are porcelain figures from my Gramps's maternal home. And the Israeli New Year coin was sent to Gramps by the Israeli mint during his eventful career. I'm late by a week, but Tzom Kal to all my Jewish friends and I hope you have a great year ahead!