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Anna and Lily Cult Beauty Special Edition Box Review – May 2016

Bekki Menzies
ByBekki MenziesMay 30, 2016 | 13 comments

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The Cult Beauty Box
5 overall rating
2 Ratings | 3 Reviews

Cult Beauty, a UK beauty retailer, collaborates with beauty and skin care bloggers to create special edition boxes.  This box was a collaboration between Vivianna Does Makeup and Lily Pebbles.

My Subscription Addiction paid for this box.  (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.) 

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The Box: The Box by Cult Beauty with Anna and Lily

The Cost:  £85.00 or approximately $124.15 USD with free international shipping

The Products:  7 products that Anna and Lily use regularly in their makeup and skincare routines.

Ships to:  Internationally

Check out the Beauty Subscription Box Directory and make sure to add Cult Beauty Box to your subscription list or wishlist!

Good to Know: This box is no longer available for purchase on Cult Beauty's website.  Also, the prices listed on Cult Beauty's website are British Pounds, I will be converting that value to dollars at the current exchange rate or using the price you can purchase the item for here in the States.  

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Jade Face Roller by Yu Ling Rollers£28.00 / approximately $40.91 USD

This is a jade facial roller that is meant to be used to massage and aid in lymph drainage and blood flow.  I used this with the Oskia Cleanser included in the box to do a quick facial massage before bed!  I really loved using this - the coolness of the jade stone felt wonderful.  Cult Beauty also recommends keeping this in the fridge to use when you have a headache or a hangover to soothe and ease the pain a bit.

The Wet Brush Pro - £11.99 / approximately $17.52 USD

I've never used the Wet Brush before, but I have heard so much about it.  I have a friend that has extremely curly hair and never could find a brush that worked for her, so I bought her one of these for Christmas - she LOVED it.  I used mine today and I definitely can see the hype.  You can find these here in the States for about $8-12, so definitely don't pay $17.52 for one!

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Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel - £29.50 / approximately $43.10 USD

I fell in love with this cleanser.  The last picture of the review shows the texture of the cleanser (it's the pink one on the right hand side).  The gel turns into an oil cleanser and feels so amazing on the skin!  Also, the smell of this is out of this world - it smells like roses in the best possible way - no old English grandmother powdery roses - just perfectly blooming roses that are super fragrant and gorgeous smelling.  This did not dry out my skin in the least - I applied it to my face, used the jade roller, and then used a hot washcloth to remove.  I followed it up with my acid of choice for the evening, Pixi Glow Peel Pads, then Pixi Milky Mist, Sunday Riley Luna Oil, and my NUXE Masque Crème Fraîche de Beauté.  

Pixi Hydrating Milky Mist - £18.00 / approximately $26.30 USD

The sprayer on this mist is great - it provides a nice, light spritz, without giving you a shower.  The scent is nice and fresh and it feels so refreshing when spritzed on.  I like to use this the way Caroline Hirons recommends, as a 'moisture sandwich.'  So after cleansing and acid toning, I spritz on a hydrating toner before using my serum and moisturizer.  This helps to neutralize the acid that I've used prior to using my active serums or retinols.  I will definitely be repurchasing this - I'm so glad that Pixi is selling their products in select Target locations now!

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Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil - Value $52.50 USD

I currently have this product in my arsenal and was happy to accept another!  Many of Sunday Riley's oils smell horrific, but Luna is an exception.  I can deal with it on my face and it really does brighten and clarify my skin on nights when I don't use my prescription retinol.  I use this at the serum stage and then apply a moisturizer over top.  It kind of seals in the oil, in my opinion!  This is an oil that is designed to be used in the evenings right before bed.  Retinol degrades when exposed to light (or so I've read), so it is best to use it when it can be used to its fullest potential - during the night.  (Also, be sure to use sunscreen any day after you use this!)  You can see the consistency of this in the picture at the bottom of the review - it's above the Oskia Cleansing Gel on the right, and yes it really is blue!  

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Eyeliner - £13.00 / approximately $18.99 USD

I do not have a ton of experience with eyeliner, but I have swatched this one below for you!  It draws a pretty straight line, and I think you could go pretty thin with it if necessary.  The formula really does stay put - it took quite a bit of scrubbing to get this off my hand!  This eyeliner is very highly reviewed around the internet, and Lily says this about it: "The brush tip is long enough to make application easy but firm enough to prevent any mistakes. It’s jet black and looks great either thinly lined above the lashes or cat flicked to the extreme!"

Becca Backlight Priming Filter - Value $9.35

This is also swatched below. The color is beautiful when it comes out, and it blended in transparent to my skin, with just a bit of glow with no glitter.  This is a travel size of the primer, and is 6 ml/.20 fl. oz.  This size would be perfect to just throw in your purse or your dopp kit for traveling!  

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From the left: Becca Backlight Priming Filter, Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Eyeliner, right top is Luna Sleeping Night oil, and the bottom right is Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel.  

Verdict:  Skincare is something I am passionate about, so I was so excited to see this box pop up.  I love trying new skincare, and working new products in to my routine if they work for my skin type.  This is one of my favorite boxes I think I've ever received!  Last year, I purchased a Cult Beauty Box by Caroline Hirons and loved that one as well.  

Generally, the way that these boxes work is that there is a waitlist that you can sign up for a few weeks in advance of the box launch.  They then send out waves of emails to the waitlist for the waitlist to have first access.  Once the waitlist emails have been sent out, the boxes are then available to everyone.  They always have a limited amount of these Special Edition boxes available.  

Cult Beauty does an excellent job at working with beauty bloggers to curate boxes that are a great value.  The value of this box is approximately $208.67 USD.  I tried to stay true to what we would pay here in the States for the item, to give an accurate depiction of value.  On top of that excellent value, there were only two items in this box that were not full size: the Luna Sleeping Night Oil and the Becca Backlight Priming Filter.  I am definitely looking forward to the next collaboration Cult Beauty does!  

Have you tried a Cult Beauty Box in the past?  What was your favorite product?

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"The Cult Beauty Box is expertly curated by your favourite beauty gurus, and represents a unique opportunity to discover some stunning skin care must-haves."
Bekki Menzies
Bekki Menzies
Bekki first discovered subscription boxes in 2014 and they quickly took over her life! (Not quite, but pretty close.) She started with POPSUGAR Must Have, then moved to Little Lace Box, Birchbox, Hamptons Lane...the rest was history. Her favorite product find is Beekman 1802 Fudge (so, so good) and her favorite boxes are Birchbox and Hamptons Lane...but she's always looking for a new subscription to try!

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13 comments

Mary

I’d like to learn more about skin care and develop a routine for myself. Do you have any suggestions of places I can start to learn from the beginning?

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Melissa

Here’s the direct link to the Paula’s Choice Skincare Routine infographic too: http://www.paulaschoice.com/expert-advice/skin-care-basics/_/how-to-put-together-a-skin-care-routine
While it is PC-focused, it 100% applies regardless of which brand you are using. Paula’s Choice is a great affordable option but certainly not the only one!! (Their general skincare info/ educational resources though is some of the best I’ve seen!)

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Mary

Thanks so much! This looks super helpful! Much appreciated.

Melissa

I am a bit (or a lot) of an ingredient/ formulation nerd & I HIGHLY recommend the educational resources offered by Paula’s Choice, which are all backed up by objective scientific research/ evidence & are located under “expert advice” on their website in the form of LOADS of info-packed articles. You can also use the search feature to help you find something specific, & they have an ingredient dictionary that is very helpful in terms if being more informed about the products you are using, etc. http://www.paulaschoice.com/expert-advice/

There are also hours on end of good info on their YouTube Channel, in particular in the form of their topic-specific live chats & mini “expert fact” segments (vs the Paula’s Choice specific product info). https://m.youtube.com/user/PaulasChoiceBeauty

It really does help to be informed about what you’re using & why, as there is SO much incorrect info fed to people online, etc. knowing more will help you to make better purchasing decisions &, if you choose, to even save money in the process! (Or at least know that when you are spending it is for products that have the ability to do what they promise!)

Hope that helps!!

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TheresaH

Thanks so much for the skin care info. I’ve been a little lost when trying to figure out a beauty routine. I’ve started a basic routine the last few months and seeing I was at least doing that right was a huge boost.
This box looks amazing and everything in it is something I would use. Crap I need another box like the Pope needs a wife?

Bekki

I think the absolute queen of skin care is Caroline Hirons. I definitely recommend checking her out. Don’t get intimidated by the routines, just read, glean knowledge and go from there!

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Gwhiz

There is a Caroline Hirons cult beauty box on sale right now. It’s a box of cleansers that contains Tata Harper, Pixi and others. £175.

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Luna

I tried grabbing the most current box recently (and I also tried purchasing this box), but for some reason none of my cards pass their “3D credit card verification” security screening. I’m so curious how a card would pass their security test since all of my cards are fine and I have no problem using them on any other site. Clearly it’s just my cards since others are able to purchase the boxes, but I’m so curious what’s so (not) special about mine. So sad 🙁
Btw, the 175 pounds includes UK tax (and shipping?… I can’t remember), so when I attempted to purchase it, it brought the price down to approx 145 pounds, which was a little over $200. Not bad.

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Luna

Despite my post above, I was able to grab one this morning! Persistence pays off 🙂 I’m so excited to get everything! (btw, with the current exchange rate, my total came to a little over $210, which is almost like getting all of the products half off!)

Cindy

That’s $257 USD by the way.

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Bekki

It’s pretty close to that – for me it worked out to about $220, but I use a lot of cleansers and skincare, so it’s worth it for me. The savings is huge if you like those brands!

Bekki

I grabbed that one last Thursday for personal use – can’t wait to get it!!!

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debbiesblim

I love this box!!

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