Beauty swap: Ipsy, Birchbox, HauteLook

This post is long overdue - the swap took place back in July! Why can't humans figure out a way of increasing the number of hours in a day instead of making smaller and fancier gadgets?
It was with several apprehensions that I ventured into a beauty box swap a third time. The first swap, with the lovely Elle, went extremely well. My second swap, with Greek bloggers Our Beauty Wonderland, as you can see here, was an out and out disaster, with me sending over Dirty Works, Accessorize, Bourjois and so on, only to receive PR samples - foil sachets, mostly - which had been featured on the swappers' blog and were well past their expiry date. My queries to the scamming sisters Jenny and Gogo Kourakou were met with my being blocked and unfriended from their social media and my comments and emails being deleted. It was the reason I did not swap for a long time and ended up writing this post with do's and don'ts.
But this time, the girl I swapped with, Casey, offered to send me my box first and wait till I got it, so I could send her the products she wanted after making sure I was not being conned. I thought this was incredibly trusting of her, and agreed. That she was not a blogger meant that she would not be sending me PR samples. 

Read on to see what I received in my third beauty box swap!

Casey gave me a specific list of Bourjois products she wanted, including their lip crayons, Healthy Mix foundation and concealer, clubbing and erasable liners, the rotating mascara, Rouge Edition lipsticks and blush pots. Luckily, I was able to find everything. In return, I wanted local beauty boxes!
I do enough shopping to pick up most of what I want, so the only thing I don't get here are beauty boxes that do not ship worldwide. She offered to send me a couple of Ipsy bags and unused/unwanted boes from her older Birchbox sub and the latest Hautelook bag. I took a look at the products online and agreed, as long as she kept lip gloss out of the equation. I received:

1. The August Ipsy bag (You have seen the review here).
2. The May Ipsy bag
3. A random Ipsy bag with products she does not want.
4. The February Birchbox
5. The Summer 2014 HauteLook Bag, out in July.

You have already seen my August Ipsy bag here. Casey has offered to send me Ipsy bags in the future if I pay postage. I have been keeping a close watch on spoilers, but so far, there are too many pencil eyeliners and lip gloss.
The May Ipsy bag contains a Too Faced bronzer, a Pacifica eyeshadow duo, LA Fresh makeup wipes, sunscreen and a Pur-lisse moisturiser.

I got another Ipsy bag with a bunch of products inside. The lip tint in particular is really nice! I also have the new BareMinerals 5-in-1 cream eyeshadow, which I will show you in detail soon. There is also an Uberliss Ritu Oil for hair styling, a BareMinerals blush, two eyeshadows, Pop Beauty bronzer and and a Be A Bombshell eyeshadow quad. Great picks all around!

The Birchbox contains a dry conditioner, Dr Brandt Pores No More, the Miracle Skin Transformer, Living Proof hair styler, a Juicy Couture La La perfume vial and two sachets of tea - organic green tea and mint verbena. I love the Miracle Skin Transformer so much so that I have already ordered a full-sized tube.

My favourite item in this box swap is the HauteLook beauty bag from Summer 2014. It is amazing and contains 16 products. Take a look!

Everything is generously sized. There is a Ciate mini polish, Stila Lip Glaze, glosses from Lorac and Jouer, Molton Brown Pink Pepper body wash, Mario Badescu face scrub, Fresh Rose mask, perfumes from Balenciaga and Bottega Beneta, Lancome Renergie Lift cream, Smashbox Photo Reader primer, Estee Lauder eyeshadow, Clinique Thirst Relief, Philosophy cleanser and Whish Body Butter. I already knew this bag contained three glosses but wanted it just the same for all the other amazing products. The Balenciaga Rosabotanica perfume mini is seriously pretty!

I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the swap. Casey, if you are reading this, thank you so very much for everything. I'm glad you loved everything I sent out and that the shades were all perfect.
Beauty box swapping around the globe is one way of trying out very regional brands. I wouldn't mind knowing what brands they have in each country, from Argentina or Zimbabwe. 
I would never want another swap like the one I had with Our Beauty Wonderland. If Jenny and Gogo are reading this, I hope you realise that THIS is what a beauty box swap must look like in order to spread goodwill and awareness of your country's brands rather than a deliberate scam which leads to much unpleasantness. My faith in humankind is restored and I look forward to more beauty box swaps around the world in the future - with plenty of caution, though.