Petit Vour January 2014 Box: Ready, Set, Glow! {Review}

As with the previous two boxes, the January Petit Vour edition was excellent. I have to admit that I am loving Petit Vour more and more.

For those of you unfamiliar with Petit Vour (PV), it is a completely vegan beauty subscription box service. It costs only $15 USD/mo and you receive about four products, most of which are generous sample sizes. I think there is always a full-sized product included.

It seems the February boxes have sold out, but March is still available.

And I know that I have not yet posted any beauty box reviews for a couple of months. The holidays were super overwhelming and I’m trying to get back into the swing of things now that my life has calmed down. December’s box was awesome and I definitely want to post a review.

Unboxing and First Impressions

I guess the pink boxes are here to stay. At least they will make sense for next month’s box.

Like always, the box is filled with crinkle paper shreds, wrapped in black tissue paper, and tied with baker’s twine. On top of everything was the monthly card that details the products.

First look at January’s products

Inside the box contained a body butter, lip balm, body scrub, and a random BWC Kohl Eyeliner (PV subscribers received either a mascara or eyeliner). There was also a business card-sized information on detoxing. Admittedly, I’m not much for detox and there were some odd claims—like reduce dairy and soy—without saying why you should do so. I need scientific studies, people!

January Petit Vour Box

Theme

This month’s theme focused on keeping the body smooth and healthy as we drudge through the winter months. It sported the tagline “Ready, Set, Glow!”

From the card:

Your cure-all for winter skin blues. Feel soothed, refreshed and get ready to embrace your best year ever.

The temperatures in Iowa these past weeks have been around and below 0°, with wind chills in the -30°s. Probably explains why I totally forgot that I prefer makeup in my boxes and was super exited to receive the body care products.

La Beurre Shea Butter Body Cream in Vanilla

 

Rating: 4.5/5 stars ★★★★☆
Value: $15 USD
Weight: 4 oz
Where to Buy: labeurreshop.com

I’m kind of on the fence with this product. I do love it, but there are some issues.

On the positive side, I liked the smell; though the label says vanilla, the fragrance mixes with the shea butter to create a very earthy scent. It definitely does not resemble your average baked goods scent, a la Bath and Body Works, nor is it the mature amber vanilla that I typically wear.

Most of my issues involve the consistency. Due to the high concentrations of shea butter, you can’t just take a glob and rub it over your skin. The consistency is hard and immovable. Taking a bit and holding it in your hand does work to soften the body butter, but it’s by no means fixes the problem.

I found it very difficult to apply all over my body. I had to work in little patches to get even coverage. Once it’s on though, it’s on for good, lasting most of the day.

Bella Pelle Chiara Body Polish

 

Rating: 5/5 stars ★★★★★
Value: $12 USD
Weight: 1 oz
Where to Buy: bellepelle.com

For some reason, I always pronounce the chiara part with an “l” instead of an “r”, in a Japanese style (it’s actually Italian).

I really liked this product. Do note that the beads are uber scrubby. While the packaging says you can use the scrub on your face, if you have sensitive skin you may want to pass on that on use it solely for your body.

I always seem to have dry patches build up overnight on my skin, but this scrub easily polished my face and made it super smooth. I just love it.

The scent is interesting. It’s all refreshing camphor and eucalyptus, but it smells exactly like a foot scrub I used to use over a decade ago. It feels strange applying it on my face.

ellovi Lip Butter

 

Rating: 5/5 stars ★★★★★
Value: $5 USD
Weight: None listed on packaging (or online)
Where to Buy: ellovi.com

I would have loved a tinted balm, but this is still good. It has a thicker consistency than your average vegan balm due to the coconut oil as the first ingredient.

There isn’t an added scent, so you get to experience the smell of the combination of butters. It’s a creamy, yet earthy scent.

The packaging is super sleek—you don’t really see black lip balm packaging too often—and the label is well designed. I really like how the pink lettering is shiny against the matte label.

I’ve actually been using the lip balm every day since receiving it. It’ll probably be empty soon!

I disliked the oval lip balm containers when I first tried them, but they’ve started to grow on me.

BWC Soft Kohl Pencil in Charcoal Grey

 

Rating: 2.5/5 ★★☆☆☆
Value: $18 USD
Weight: 0.04 oz
Where to Buy: beautywithoutcruelty.com

Kind of a random item. I don’t know if everyone got grey, or if only some subscribers did.

I actually don’t use grey eyeliners that much. Last month I picked up an e.l.f. Essential Shimmering Eye Pencil in Gunmetal at my local Dollar Tree. Before that, I haven’t used any in years.

This gluten-free eyeliner doesn’t exactly glide on, but it is super pigmented. The consistency is more like your e.l.f. Brightening Eye Pencil rather than your e.l.f. Shimmering Eyeliner or Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil.

Swatch of the BWC Soft Kohl Pencil in Charcoal Grey

It’s been a while since I’ve used any BWC products. The last was an eyeshadow duo I purchased in a short-lived Iowa City health food store. After I found e.l.f., I haven’t used a lot of BWC or Zuzu Luxe.

The consistency of the eyeliner is better than I remember. When I first became vegan in the early 2000s, Beauty Without Cruelty was one of the companies I often used (waaay before I found e.l.f.) Overall it was not a good time for vegan cosmetics, and a lot of the products were just plain wonky when compared to their non-vegan counterparts—and everything was really orange. This was well before BWC completely overhauled their products into the line that we know today.

Images

Final Thoughts

Pros: Great value for the dollar, well-themed, generous sample sizes, two full sized products, good assortment of brands
Cons: The body butter is a bit difficult to apply

Another wonderful box from Petit Vour. Altogether, my box’s value came to $50 USD. That’s pretty impressive for a $15/mo investment.

I can’t wait for February’s box! I’m really hoping it will be Valentine’s themed.

You can sign up for Petit Vour by clicking here.