Review: SoukSouk May 2013 Box

The Little Green Beauty Box...

May 2013 SoukSouk contents

What is SoukSouk?

A monthly 'green and clean' beauty box that aims to introduce ethical beauty lovers to new brands and products that are either certified organic and natural; are free from certain chemicals; and are not tested on animals! Wheww, finally, a truly guilt free beauty box... Subscriptions cost £14.95 (this includes £2.95 p&p) and get you 4-5 'green' beauty samples to play with and a copy of the SoukSouk magazine! The magazine is well worth a read and contains all the latest beauty and gossip news alongside any updates of what is going off in the world of green beauty. Did you know that on the 11th of March 2013, the EU implemented a ban on animal testing for cosmetic products and ingredients within the EU? Hurrah :)

May 2013 Box Contents

Here's a little look at what I received in my May box:

• Dr Bronner's Magic Soap 18-in-1 Hemp Rose (59ml)
• Green People Moisturising Shower Gel (30ml)
• Green People Nurture Body Lotion (30ml)
• BalmBalm Lip Balm (full sized 7ml version)
• Inika Eyebrow Pencil Brunette (full sized) 

I'm going to talk about my favourite picks from my box first and my absolute fave is the BalmBalm lip balm; it smells dreamy! I got the rose geranium version and I'm so glad I did as this would have been the one I went for if I was buying it myself. I adore floral scents and these two flowers combined make an enticing fragrance that just soothes my mind upon applying and has the added bonus of soothing and repairing my chapped lips! This natural emollient balm is suitable for all skin types and can be used pretty much anywhere that you have dry skin that needs some TLC... Who doesn't love a great multi-tasker?!

I've never really used brow pencils before so I was happy to see the Inika pencil for brunettes nestled in my box. I don't know what it is about using actual pencils to fill in my brows that I find so much harder than using my current Benefit Brow-Zings palette and angled brush? But I just never seem to get the application right; too heavy or too light. After trying this pencil though, i'm feeling a little more confident about making the switch as this applied smoothly and didnt feel like I needed to really press hard to make it leave the desired amount of product. 

As you can see from my swatch, it gives a lovely rich chocolate brown shade - perfect for brunettes ofcourse as the name states and maybe even for the darker of the lighter brows. Just don't apply it as thickly. Glides on effortlessly! It even comes with a sharpener that you can attach the opposite end of the pencil for on-the-go sharpening. Really impressed with this product.

I love the pretty bow that is wound around the contents list paper turning it into a scroll; it adds nicely to the overall natural feel of this product and is different to the usual silk ribbons that adorn most beauty boxes. The Dr Bronner's Magic Soap is something i've only heard about before so it was good to try it, but I wasn't keen on the scent. It's rose so i thought i'd love it but sometimes there's certain rose scents that just make me feel a bit nauseous and sadly this is one. I'm definitely going to use it as the scent is still quite light so it won't give me a headache but it's not something i would repurchase. It can be used for a variety of things as the name suggests which is fab if you are wanting to cut down the clutter you have in your bathroom cabinet, for example! On the back of the bottle it says you can 'enjoy only 2 cosmetics, enough sleep & Dr Bronner's Magic Soap'... That's quite a statement! Some of the things you can use this soap for is as a bath oil, massage oil, deodorant and even pet shampoo! To find out even more of this soaps wonderful uses do visit SoukSouk's blog and if you can think of any more uses be sure to let me and SoukSouk know! 

Little Green Magazine

Again i was introduced to another new brand in this month's box; Green people. The samples are 30ml so there is plenty to play with and they are perfectly sized for packing away in a travel bag. I've tried both and i'm in love! The body lotion is very nourishing and doesn't take long to fully sink into the skin which i always look out for when sampling new moisturisers. I hate that sticky feeling from the ones that just sit on your skin and this lotion is free from alcohol which probably explains why it's so good at what it does. Alcohol is very drying I find when it's included in skincare products. Team this lotion with the moisturising shower gel and you're going to have silky soft skin with the lightest and most delicate fragrance of orange blossom. I can't wait to try more of the Green People range now... Highly recommend!

Overall

I adore my first SoukSouk beauty box experience! I love everything about it... I've been trying to be more green beauty conscious of late and I'm finding that I'm really not that clued up when it comes to what is on offer in the world of ethical and clean beauty; there's just so much choice! It's nice to have a monthly lot of handpicked samples delivered to my door, taking the hard work out of finding green beauty brands. I love how SoukSouk include the stamps that certify organic products, free from animal testing and vegan certified approved on their contents summary page making for very easy reference. The magazine that comes with the box is one of the best I've read from all the boxes i've subscribed to... very different and most importantly very informative. It was nice to see a section at the back that lists the 'Good Guys' when it comes to purchasing beauty and skincare if you just can't wait for your next box arrive... ;)

To find out more and to subscribe to SoukSouk's little green beauty box click here! Be sure to give them a follow on twitter too.

Did you receive the May box also? Let me know what you thought, I love to hear your thoughts x