Hello lovelies! How you doing? I’m most excited to share with you the gorgeous December Boxwalla Beauty Box* with you! Why, you ask me? Well because it features one my absolute favourite brand, the stunning Earthwise Beauty. The love is so real! This box speaks to me in so many ways, not only with the products but also with the theme – ‘Forest Bathing‘. Y’all know I love walks in forests – it’s one of my favourite things to do. I did mention forest bathing or ‘Shinrin Yoku’ before, this is the therapeutic Japanese practice of taking in the atmosphere of a living forest. There are so many benefits of this, from improving your mood, reducing stress, improving sleep to boosting immune system and reducing blood pressure. It’s amazing and I highly recommend that you simply just go into a forest and enjoy your surroundings. As is written on the card that comes in this Boxwalla box, Earthwise Beauty’s products feel like that, like diving into lush living forests, and that is very true. I just love that Boxwalla collaborated with Earthwise Beauty again and for those of you who missed their first colab, now is your second chance. The value of the box is incredible and you definitely won’t be able to get the two EWB’s products at this price any time soon.
In the December Boxwalla Beauty Box* are two full sized products from Earthwise Beauty: Resiliency Face Serum and Yasuni Face Balm. Check it out here.
Resiliency Face Serum is the serum that was previously known as a Carrot-A-Day serum. I have used that one and wrote a review of it here, and I was also very kindly gifted it after EWB’s rebranding. Btw I love their new packaging, it’s so luxe and all grown-up. I’ve been using the new Resiliency serum for the last few weeks so I can thankfully give you more than just my first impression, like it’s often the case with subscription beauty boxes. Resiliency is an Aloe Vera based serum that contains high amounts of Carrot Seed Essential Oil, which is rich in beta carotenes & very effective at regenerating skin tissue, with both sun damage preventing and corrective properties. In addition, this serum contains anti-inflammatory German Blue Chamomile and two types of Helichrysum. There’s also Spearmint Oil, which I can detect in the scent. Serum has a thicker gel-like, jiggly texture. A fellow blogger mentioned that she thinks Carbomer helps to make it like that and we agreed that we wouldn’t mind if it was without it and therefore had a more thin consistency. It beautifully sinks into the skin and gives an instant hydrated look to the skin. As I’ve said, I’ve been using it for the last few weeks, only in the morning. In the evening I’m using the product from the October Boxwalla Beauty Box*, the African Botanics Resurrection Cell Recovery Serum. You can easily use Resiliency day and night, but I especially love it in the mornings because it feels so cooling. If you can, I highly recommend storing it in the fridge, not only because it will stay fresher longer but because it just feels so good when you apply it on slightly puffy skin in the morning. I love applying it all over my face and neck, around my eyes too. I found that it layers beautifully over EWB’s Cistus and Moonlight Face Mist*, which is btw so nice! But for example it doesn’t jive with LILFOX’ Sandalo Toning Mist*. Not sure why the two don’t work together but my skin always turns bright red for a few minutes after I apply them. I’m telling you this just so you’re aware that it can happen and maybe you just need to change up a toner or some other product. Or simply wait a few minutes for the redness to subside. Resiliency is very interesting because it is very potent but then at the same time it also feels cooling and refreshing. But do patch test if you have sensitive skin. This face serum is suitable for all skin types, especially mature, wrinkled, acne, combination, and lacking firmness. Based on my experience after a few weeks of regular use I can describe this serum as depuffing, cooling, it helps to plump up the skin & reduce acne. Nap in the Meadow is still my fave (EWB) serum because it’s more soothing and more suited for my skin but Resiliency is also very lovely and I’m so happy to have a new jar patiently waiting for me (in the fridge of course). You can get Resiliency Face Serum here.
Yasuni Face Balm. Oh Yasuni. Think about face balms for a minute. About their textures, feel on the skin, their ingredients. Now toss these thoughts to the side and meet the most unique face balm ever! Yasuni Face Balm is indeed a balm but it is just so special and mind-blowingly amazing. I’ve already proclaimed my love to it on my Instagram (see here) and to say I was excited to see it in this box is a complete understatement. Yasuni is described as a “featherlight balm for sensitive skin”, and was named after a rainforest in Ecuador, one of the most biodiverse places on the planet that is now being threatened by oil drilling. Breaks my heart.. Yasuni balm contains responsibly sourced ingredients from the Amazon rainforest, ingredients that work similarly to a retinol on the
skin, exfoliating and resurfacing it, but with none of the irritation,
redness, or peeling often caused by actual retinol products. There are unrefined, cold-pressed Cupuaçu, Kokum, Bacuri and Tucuma Seed Butters. Oh you haven’t heard of these butters? Don’t worry, most are a mystery to me as well. After a quick google search let me mention Kokum, which is a plant in the mangosteen family and I do know Mangosteen. Kokum tree is actually also known as the wild mangosteen or red mangosteen tree. I do like mangosteen in my skincare so no wonder I like Yasuni. Kokum butter helps to minimize pores, speed healing of acne breakouts, and promote skin firmness. In this balm are also some very beautiful oils, like Acai, Cranberry, Raspberry, Green Coffee, Marula and Buriti. The ingredient list is so gorgeous! There are NO essential oils in this product (but the product does have an earthy scent) and that was Ava’s intentional decision so that Yasuni can be used by everyone, even those with sensitive skin. It is also an ideal balm for healing acne and reducing blackheads and oil production. You know what I love about this balm? That it doesn’t contain any waxes, so no beeswax or candelilla. Just butters and oils. Yasuni has this hard, solid texture that is unlike to any other balm I’ve tried before. It’s completely solidified and to get it out I need to scrape it with the back of my nail (but I recommend you use a spatula). Well the consistency can differ slightly on the room temperature but it’s definitely not soft, buttery and fluffy like some balms are. I warm the balm between my fingers and apply to my skin. The balm is very lightweight and the word featherlight perfectly describes it. You really can’t feel it on your skin! It doesn’t absorb quickly into the skin, especially if you use a lot so the skin is glowy but the balm truly doesn’t feel heavy or that it’s just sitting on your skin. Do you believe me when I say it’s so bloody beautiful?! I have been using Yasuni on and off for a few weeks but I’m committed to use it every single night for the upcoming weeks so I will update you on how it goes (probably on Instagram) but thus far I can say that it helps to even out my tone, my skin is less red and it also helps to reduce blackheads. It’s moisturizing but I can see it not being enough if you have dry skin. I would recommend using a hydrating serum and an oil under it. I do love to use a drop of Fleurs d’Afrique by African Botanics (review here) from the August Boxwalla Beauty Box* and Yasuni on top – it’s a dreamy combination! And yes, Resurrection Recovery Cell Serum also layers really well with this balm. You can get Yasuni Face Balm here.
I’m not sure how long will this box be available (until the end of November I think) but better order it sooner rather than later. You can subscribe to get the December Boxwalla Beauty Box here. Boxwalla is a bi-monthly subscription service but you can cancel your subscription at any time, and you don’t need to commit to more boxes than just one. So if you join Boxwalla to receive this box you can either leave your subscription (it’s auto-renewal) to receive the next, February box or you can cancel it.
This box is valued at $174 and you can get it for $49.95. Such an amazing deal!
Get the December Boxwalla Box feat. Earthwise Beauty here.
Much love to you all,
Jana xx
*samples generously provided
**this post contains affiliate links