The October 2019 Mapleblume box has a total value of $255.55 and is filled with luxurious while practical, effective, and giftable selection of skincare, haircare and lip products.
The October box includes:
MS Skincare: Jaipur Brightening Enzyme Mask $115.75
Province Apothecary: Nourishing + Revitalizing Moisturizer $40
Inlight Beauty: Hair Elixir $68.20
Honeybee Gardens: Irresistible Lip Liner in Charisma $11.85
Honeybee Gardens: Truly Natural Lipstick in Risque $19.75
MS Skincare: Jaipur Brightening Enzyme Mask $115.75
The feature product is a heavy glass jar filled to the brim with a deep orange pumpkin puree mask from MS Skincare called Jaipur Brightening Enzyme Mask. I was excited to see MS Skin featured again, because I was a huge fan of the Sundays Detox Bath Salts and AUM Restorative Lavender Body Oil from a previous Mapleblume box.
I wish you could hold this jar to feel the weight, smell the combination of Ayurvedic oils, and feel the texture. You can’t fake how natural this mask is. The first ingredient is pumpkin fruit puree, and added to it are a short but powerful list of fruit extracts that provide resurfacing properties. Glycolic acid and fruit enzymes eliminates dead surface cells while lemon peel and orange peel extracts brighten. My skin scars easily, so I love safe products that help with brightening and help my skin absorb products better.
The only tricky part with this mask is how quickly you need to wash it off. MS Skincare instructs leaving it on for 3-5 minutes, so it’s not a mask that you put it on to take a bath or read a book. I set a timer each time for 3 minutes, and find it easy to use before bed or before a shower. The tingle is pretty strong so you won’t forget you have it on. I recommend using a face cloth to help take it all off. This jar will last you a long time. I think it’s a lovely product and an effective brightening mask to add to your weekly routine. Remember to wear sunscreen!
Province Apothecary: Nourishing + Revitalizing Moisturizer $40
I took the Nourishing and Revitalizing Moisturizer and the Jaipur Brightening Enzyme Mask to northern BC on my work trips, where it’s so dry that at least one of my nails splits immediately within a few hours of arriving every time, and I have to constantly apply a lip mask (this one) and hand cream (this one) so that my lips and knuckles don’t bleed. I’m not kidding. I need wear a hair mask (this one) during the day to fight the static, and I experience unusual itching on my skin from the dryness. I know the drill well enough that when it comes to my face, I’m well prepared with seriously moisturizing creams and sunscreen, but whenever I’m there I notice lines on my face that didn’t exist before, and my skin reflects the wear and tear of a harsh climate. I think that if a cream works in Vancouver and northern BC, it truly passes the test.
I used the Province Apothecary cream at night and during the day, and I am so happy to report that this gorgeous Canadian-made moisturizer passed the dry winter test. $40 for 30mL is not inexpensive but I think it’s great value for how effective it is. I love how quickly it absorbed, and how soft and bouncy my skin felt after. I loved that it succeeded at being deeply moisturizing without looking oily. Ingredients includes carrot, rosehip, apricot, and evening primrose oil.
Inlight Beauty: Hair Elixir $68.20
I’ve tried many hair oils that left my fine hair so oily and heavy that even one shampoo didn’t remove the oiliness. As a result, I’m wary when it comes to hair oils. The Hair Elixir from UK-brand Inlight is a wash-out hair oil, which is unique. Instructions say: “Massage into wet hair, leave for a few minutes and wash out with shampoo. Especially recommended after swimming. For dry or damaged hair, spray lightly onto tips and leave on.”
Before I get into my experience using it, I want to talk about something in the ingredients list that caught my attention. The back of the packaging says: “Nourishing, protective hair oil with argan and fenugreek to help prevent dryness, frizz, split ends and sun damage.” Fenugreek! Have you guys heard of the fenugreek? If you’ll allow me to go off on a tangent for a bit, I hadn’t heard of fenugreek until this September when I asked my friend Inderbir what his favorite vegetable was. I’ve asked a few friends this question to see if I could grow them their favorite vegetable. Inderbir said fenugreek, because he loves methi paratha (fenugreek roti). I couldn’t find any information on how to grow fenugreek, but I found some fenugreek seeds (packaged as a spice) on Amazon. Damon told me there’s no way I’m going to grow anything from a packaged spice, but lo and behold:
I grew it under a light and I think most if not all of the seeds I planted germinated! It made me so happy to give this to Inderbir for his birthday in November, and fenugreek will always be special to me.
The ingredient list is impressive, but more importantly, I couldn’t believe the results. I massaged about five pumps of the oil into my scalp, then distributed a few more pumps of it to the ends of my hair because it was hard to tell if I was distributing it evenly. I used it liberally and figured that if I’m going to test it, I might as well test it to its full extent. I was okay with the possibility of having very oily hair for a day. I used a clarifying shampoo (this one that I bought in Paris) and blowdried as usual. I noticed the following: 1) my hair was not oily-looking; 2) it had body; and 3) it was soft. This was quite an unexpected result from massaging in a large amount of oil into my hair. My scalp also felt good.
I used it again the very next day and was more bold. I used a lot more pumps and left it in longer. It turned out to be too much and I ended up with very oily strands after. Next time, I’ll space it out a week between uses. Inlight recommends using it after swimming, and I would go a step further and suggest using it before swimming to protect your hair. I’m going to give this to my mom to try because she swims 4x a week.
Honeybee Gardens: Irresistible Lip Liner in Charisma $11.85
& Honeybee Gardens: Truly Natural Lipstick in Risque $19.75
Makeup lovers will be thrilled to find two lip products in festive shades in the October box: a lip liner in a medium warm berry shade and a hydrating lipstick in a deep wine shade, both from Honeybee Gardens.
Doesn’t the lipstick look pretty in the tube?
Honeybee Gardens started with an aftershave that Melissa J. Buckley made for her husband. Nearly twenty years later, Honeybee Gardens makes a wide range of skincare and makeup products with natural ingredients.
The lip liner and lipstick are both matte. The lip liner is velvety and easy to apply. I loved how easily it glided over my lips and I also love that it can be sharpened to a very fine tip. The lipstick is made from moisturizing oils including sesame seed oil, sunflower seed oil and cocoa seed butter. It’s a strong, deep wine shade, which I like to wear as a stain by applying and blotting.
My lovely sister-in-law Christina is modelling the lip pencil and lipstick combo below. I love how they look on her!
A swatch of the combo on my hands:
I highly recommend Mapleblume if you find joy in trying a curated set of luxury beauty products with safe and effective ingredients. Brands in Mapleblume boxes come from all over the world – Israel, England, Denmark, US, and locally in Canada. You get so much value in each box, and the once-every-two-month frequency is just right. The products are not just for women. Damon has loved many of the products in Mapleblume boxes (deodorant, soap, and face creams just to name a few). Gift a one-month or longer subscription to anyone who enjoys taking care of their skin, and enjoys the experience of using beautifully products. Shop here.