Mecca's Beauty Loop - reviewing the level 1 box

As some of you may already know, Australian beauty giant Mecca Cosmetica releases a series of beauty boxes each year as part of their loyalty program - 'Beauty Loop'. This is a review of my first box which is available free in-store and online to all Level 1 customers. Higher level customers have their own boxes with a slightly different selection of goodies - featuring some more expensive brands.

When the email from Mecca notifying me that I was eligible for my first box as part of Beauty Loop landed in my inbox, the timing couldn't have been more perfect. I had just been reading about the sister duo who launched bellabox in Australia.

These subscription beauty boxes contain a variety of different samples and products. A new box is released each month with a collection of new goodies for customers to try. If you fall in love with a particular product, you can then purchase it on the bellabox website in full size too. The boxes cost AUD $15 per month, plus shipping and handling fees on top, which is very reasonably priced... but as a Beauty Loop member, Mecca's boxes are free!

My first Beauty Loop box has four products. The first is a mini size Mario Badescu 'Botanical Exfoliating Scrub'. This Beauty Loop aims to help consumers achieve 'glowy skin and a matte lip', so it's not surprising that a scrub found its way into this box.

The second product is from Kate Somerville and it is called the 'ExfoliKate Glow Moisturiser'. l love a good pun, so this product is already a winner for me.

The third sample is Smashbox's 'Photo Finish Foundation Primer Radiance'. I think they might need to come up with a shorter name but that aside, I am very keen to try this out. This primer claims that it helps to diffuse light and that it will lock your face products into place.

The final product is probably the one I am most excited about. When I was in Mecca waiting to get my box, I was milling around the Bare Minerals section eyeing off some matte liquid lips - and guess what ended up in my Beauty Loop! The 'GEN NUDE Matte Liquid Lipcolour' in the shade Swag (oh Bare Minerals, I don't think 'swag' is cool anymore....). It looks beautiful and SMELLS LIKE CHOCOLATE. So far, I have resisted the urge to eat it.

Now, let's make like Mulan and get down to business!

I love a good scrub. As someone who grew up with pretty bad skin, I am semi-addicted to them. Exfoliating is something I make sure to do at least 3 times a week. Dead skin cells can clog your pores and cause pimples - no one wants that!

I decided that I would compare the Mario Badescu scrub with my current exfoliating wash by Clarins. The Clarins 'One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser' is a light, citrus smelling scrub that tingles slightly upon application and leaves my skin feeling incredibly fresh. In terms of removing unclogging pores and removing dead skin, I can't say that I've noticed a whole lot of difference.

The Mario Badescu scrub is a completely different story. It has a pleasant scent and comes out as a gel. There are tiny micro-beads that you can feel sloughing off dead skin and impurities as you gently massage it into your skin. When I washed off the product I was amazed by the results. This scrub successfully removed the very stubborn blackheads on my nose! I am incredibly impressed.

As with scrubs, I am also a moisturiser addict. Washing your face can strip your skin of it's natural oils, so it's important to bring back some balance with a good moisturiser. Having super dry skin has been known to cause break-outs just like having super oily skin. So, be careful!

My day-to-day moisturiser is Clinique's 'dramatically different moisturising gel'. This lightweight moisturiser immediately absorbs into the skin and is almost undetectable to the touch. The Kate Somerville 'Exfolikate Glow Moisturiser' is a bit of a misnomer. I don't really understand how this is an exfoliating moisturiser but I do like it. It is a lot heavier than my Clinique and it has a very strong smell (which I am not a huge fan of, if I'm honest). It does not completely sink into the skin, leaving it feeling slightly greasy but looking very youthful and glowing.

I have three different primers at the moment which I use depending on what kind of look I want to achieve. If I want a glowy finish I will use my L'oreal 'Lumi Magique Pure Light Primer'. If I want my makeup to stay all-day and look flawless, then I will use a combination of my Clinique 'superprimer' and my Benefit 'Porefessional'. Each of these has a unique texture and feel on the skin. My Clinique is cooling, Porefessional is like satin and Lumi Magique is almost sticky.

The Smashbox primer has a slight tint to it. When you squeeze it out of the packet it looks and feels more like a BB cream than a primer. As soon as I put this on, my skin looked incredibly dewy and glowy. If I have one complaint, it almost looks too dewy - borderline sweaty. When applied underneath a foundation is makes the skin radiant. I think the extra shine could be controlled by applying a loose powder to set the face. This is something that I'll definitely be trying because I really love the way this primer makes my skin look.

As you are probably aware by now, all liquid lips that I try have to compete with my holy grail lip product by Stila.

So, how did Bare Minerals do? The answer is - very well. Swag, despite being a terrible name, is a gorgeous colour. It is a very wearable mauve which applies easily and does not crumble. It also has impressive staying power.

I wore this to my boyfriend's house for dinner and despite eating, drinking and talking for hours the coverage and colour were still very respectable by the end of the night.

The Beauty Loop box has seriously impressed me. I loved every single item in my box and I will be looking to buy full sizes of the scrub and primer. While I still prefer my current moisturiser and liquid lip products, I think that the ones provided by Mecca are still extremely good quality. I would without hesitation recommend every single product from this range of samples. This is a very smart move on Mecca's part because they are capitalising on the flourishing beauty box market and simultaneously boosting their own sales. Mecca knows that if they provide great samples then customers will want to buy the full size products, for this reason I think they will continue to provide outstanding products in their Beauty Loop boxes. I can't wait to see what is in my next one.

If you are eligible for a Beauty Loop box - what are you waiting for? Go get it! If you've already picked yours up, let me know what you think and what is different in the other level boxes.

What do you think, too much glow or just right?

The final word:

Mario Badescu Botanical Exfoliating Scrub

https://www.mecca.com.au/mario-badescu/botanical-exfoliating-scrub/I-027925.html#q=mario&sz=36&start=37

AUD $37 full-size

Ah-mazing - removes dead skin and unclogs pores

Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Glow Moisturiser

https://www.mecca.com.au/kate-somerville/exfolikate-glow-moisturizer/I-028457.html#start=1

AUD $95 full-size

Love the way it makes my skin look but at that price, I'll pass

Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer Radiance

https://www.mecca.com.au/smashbox/photo-finish-foundation-primer-radiance/V-027605.html?cgpath=brands-smash#prefn1=finish&prefv1=Dewy&start=1

AUD $57 full-size

All most too radiant, you may out-shine the Sun

Bare Minerals GEN NUDE Matte Liquid Lipcolour in 'Swag'

https://www.mecca.com.au/bareminerals/gen-nude-matte-liquid-lipcolour/V-025999.html#q=bareMinerals&start=1

AUD $26 full-size

Wowza, for a very good liquid lip - that is cheap!

For more information on bellabox, check out their website! https://bellabox.com.au/