Where I got it
As soon as I saw Wayne Goss’ YouTube video about his upcoming collaboration with Cult Beauty, I got really excited and signed up for the notification list. About a week or so later, I received an email notification that the box is ready to be ordered, so I went to check it out. It was a mix of skincare and makeup products including brands like Hourglass, The Inkey List, Pixi Beauty, Lixirskin Wayne’s favourite Drunk Elephant and also Laura Mercier. All of the products are highly talked about by Wayne Goss on his channel and they were values at over £150, selling for RRP£90! Also, since I am ordering is outside of the EU, my order was tax-free (£75). I ordered it straight away on 18th March, just a couple of days before the lockdown and by the time it has got into New Zealand, my work office would have been closed already. So currently (16th April) I still haven’t been able to get my hands on the box and it is still sitting lonely in the courier depot (hopefully safe and sound).
What I got
This is The Cult Beauty box by Wayne Goss. Save over 40% on this stellar collection of glow-giving heroes, brimming with products beloved by your fave MUA, Wayne Goss. An all-star collection of skin care and make up essentials that’s certain to cause a commotion, The Cult Beauty Box by Wayne Goss unites six full-sized products and represents the perfect opportunity to save yourself a fortune on his tried-and-trusted must-haves. “Meet my edit of essential formulas to get you glowing. From skin care gems to complexion luminisers, these Holy Grail picks grant a healthy-looking radiance – no matter the season!” – Wayne Goss.
The box contains: Drunk Elephant Slaai Makeup Melting Butter Cleanser and Bamboo Booster (110g/3g – full size), Pixi Glow Tonic (250ml – full size), THE INKEY LIST Hyaluronic Acid Serum (30ml – full size), LIXIRSKIN Universal Emulsion (100ml – full size), Hourglass Scattered Light Glitter Eyeshadow in ‘Reflect’ or ‘Smoke’ (3.5g – full size) and Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder (29g – full size) housed in a chic embossed box.
How I find it
Drunk Elephant Slaai Makeup Melting Butter Cleanser and Bamboo Booster (£29 for 110g/3g – full size). A must-try for any Drunk Elephant devotee, this brand new Slaai Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser unites a clever oil to milk cleanser that when used on dry skin with dry hands, effectively melts away all traces of dirt, debris, makeup and sunscreen – even water-resistant formulations. Free from the suspicious six, Slaai is infused with clean, anti-oxidant rich fruit extracts and oils to help soothe skin while an African oil blend of marula, baobab, Kalahari melon, mongongo and ximenia, intensely moisturises, restores elasticity and a youthful glow, softens and dissolves makeup. Designed to be used on dry skin, Slaai removes excess oil, grime and makeup from skin. Adding water activates Slaai into milk that rinses cleanly, leaving behind a dewy glow. Use the accompanying Bamboo Booster – a physical exfoliant, formed from ultra-fine bamboo and charcoal spheres, once or twice a week to gently slough away build-up and dead skin cells to help reveal a dewy complexion.
I love a cleansing balm for my first cleanse to remove makeup and sunscreen, and I have not tried this one by Drunk Elephant yet. I have tried DE products before and I really love their a-passioni retinol cream and their B-hydra hyaluronic serum. I haven’t listed the full ingredients list of all the products here because the post will be way too long. However, the cleanser is packed oils like marula oil, baobab seed oil, safflower seed oil, sunflower seed oil, cranberry seed oil, watermelon seed oil, sweet almond oil, etc. I am slightly glad that there isn’t any coconut oil in here. The main ingredient is a fatty alcohol emollient so this cleanser is quite moisturising. The bamboo booster also contains charcoal powder for it’s additional deep cleansing benefits.
Pixi Glow Tonic (£18 for 250ml – full size). Instantly refreshing, Pixi’s gorgeous glow-giver brightens, tones and conditions your skin after cleansing. Enriched with 5% glycolic acid – a natural derivative of sugar cane, and member of the alpha-hydroxy acid family – this gentle, exfoliating formula dissolves the bonds binding dulling dead cells to skin’s surface, to reveal the ‘new’ healthy skin cells underneath. Aloe then soothes and hydrates while oxygenating ginseng promotes cell health and skin vibrancy; witch hazel firms and tones, while horse chestnut boosts blood flow, to grant your complexion a naturally fresh and dewy radiance. Astonishingly affordable, this is mild yet effective, making it suitable for all skin types – just apply a few drops to a cotton wool pad, and sweep all over skin after cleansing (morning and evening) to gradually diminish signs of sun damage, fine lines, scarring and other imperfections.
I actually have a new bottle of this glow tonic in my stash that I haven’t started using yet and it’s not that I’m not interested in it, but I have so much of acid/peeling treatments to use, I simply couldn’t catch up! I am currently using the Oskia Liquid Peel which is a leave-on AHA treatment, only at night, and then I also have 2 bottles of the Alpha-H Liquid Gold/Rose Gold to use after that because I opened them already. I only let myself use one acid product in my day and night time routine – for example, I will use BHA in the morning and AHA at night. I will either use an AHA toner or an AHA mask or an AHA leave-on treatment, never using more than one acid product on my face at one time. That’s why it takes much longer to finish acid products compared to your hyaluronic acid serums and moisturisers, etc.
Anyway, I did hear many many good reviews of this product over the years and even though they are not the inventors of glycolic toners, they surely are one of the OGs. With 5% glycolic acid, the concentration is quite good for intermediate users of acids. If you have sensitive skin or you are new to using an acid, I would probably use something milder first, build up the skin’s tolerance and then work your way up. Paula’s Choice has products with a lower concentration of AHA that would be more suitable for sensitive skins. This formula by Pixi Beauty contains aloe vera juice as the second ingredient and glycolic acid as the third. It does contain witch hazel extract which can be sensitizing to some people. It also contains fragrance at the very end of the ingredients list.
The Inkey List Hyaluronic Acid Serum (£5.99 for 30ml – full size). Naturally found in our skin to maintain hydration levels, hyaluronic acid is a skin care superstar for a reason. Essentially a ‘moisture magnet’, it attracts moisture from the atmosphere and can hold up to 1000 times its weight in water. Over time, our hyaluronic acid levels decrease (sob) resulting in dullness, fine lines and uneven tone and texture. The perfect foil for this unfortunate state of affairs, THE INKEY LIST’s gentle Hyaluronic Acid Serum stars the stuff at a pure, 2% concentration and in three molecular weights (high, medium and low) to ensure maximum absorption at every layer of your skin. Dehydrated skin affects most of us (even oily skin can be dehydrated) and, differing from dryness, results from a lack of water in the skin. Replenish this water with The Inkey List’s high-quality, impressively affordable formula and you can expect plumper, healthier skin, with fewer visible fine lines and wrinkles and a more even tone and texture. It can even aid the efficacy of products applied after it – genius.
This is my very first The Inkey List product and I am really quite excited. I love a good hyaluronic acid and a product like this usually does go wrong. So this is a serum product to be used after cleansing and toning and before moisturiser. I like to use hyaluronic acids after any AHA or BHA treatments if they consistencies are correct (thinnest first, then thick). I like the acids to be able to work keep into the skin and pores because they need your skin to be dry to be fully effective. So after the acids are absorbed (dry to the touch), I use hydrating serums like this one. The Inkey List for this product is relatively short at 13 which consists of glycerin, sodium hyaluronate, radish root ferment, hyaluronic acid amongst other ingredients.
The serum is really simple and I don’t really have anything else to say about it. It does the job of hyaluronic acid and nothing more. I actually do not prefer products that come with a flip-top like this one, and the packaging does reflect its price. I haven’t used this entirely to give a full review, but I am more interested in their Polyglutamic Acid instead. Nonetheless, I will finish this in due course and put this in an empties post on my IG
Lixirskin Universal Emulsion (£45.00 for 100ml – full size). A hero product in her streamlined, ‘advanced yet relaxed’ and seriously pretty millennial pink range, Universal Emulsion was created out of the belief that there’s ‘no such thing as a cream which is good for a bit of your skin and not the other’. A day moisturiser, night cream and serum in one, this multitasking formula is designed to be used on the face, eye contour, lips, neck, décolleté, arms and hands. Luscious yet lightweight, the milky lotion absorbs instantly, leaving a dewy, velvety smooth and plump finish with no greasy residue. Delivering molecular water to the skin, it boosts hydration and increases skin’s ability to retain it, leaving a veil of moisture. Thanks to an ‘unusual emulsification technique’, the formula also provides natural UV protection without pore-clogging sunscreens (LIXIR used an unusual emulsification technique to obtain an SPF 10 without any added sunscreens). Scented with rose and ylang-ylang extracts, this is a genuine pleasure to use – helping you to get ready to face the day and relax at night. Bliss!
This is the only product in this box I have never heard of before and I was a little intrigued from what Wayne Goss had said about how he uses this product. From the description on the website, this looks like multi-tasking, multi-purpose cream that can be used on the face, eye area, lips and body (which I think all skincare should be able to do anyway). The main ingredients in this multi-purpose cream consist of Oleyl Erucate, which is a skin-softening agent derived from oleyl alcohol, glycerin which is a humectant to moisturise the skin, squalane which is another commonly used moisturising ingredient, and heaps of other occlusive ingredients like shea butter, soybean oil, evening primrose oil, safflower oil. Also, sodium hyaluronate to hydrate the skin and a couple of flower oils and extracts.
Hourglass Scattered Light Glitter Eyeshadow in Reflect (£28.00 for 3.5g – full size). Hourglass’ Scattered Light Glitter Eyeshadow is a limited edition hidden gem – quite literally. The formula features a high concentration of crushed pearls and light-reflecting glitter to create sparkling, high-impact eye looks. The unique cream-to-powder formula creates a reflective dimension immediately, with an intense colour payoff for the most effortless, sophisticated look. Beautifully buildable, the sheer formula is creamy and weightless, gliding across lids seamlessly before drying down for seriously smooth, ultra-comfortable wear. It’s available in five show-stopping metallic shades – there’s hazy taupe ‘Smoke’, smoky pink ‘Aura’, shimmering champagne ‘Reflect’, gorgeously golden ‘Foil’ and dazzling copper ‘Blaze’. Choose your favourite or combine a few for a sublime, shimmering take on a smoky eye.
One of the two makeup product in here and I am not surprised it is an Hourglass product. Wayne Goss loves their products and always uses them for his kit. I have previously used and am still using Hourglass products – I love their highlighting palettes and face palettes. Their famous ambient lighting powders were what got me loving this brand. I have yet to try their complexion products and lip products and this eye shadow product is also my first. This comes in at least 9 different shades (9 available from Cult Beauty, Hourglass is also available in Mecca Maxima) and I chose the shade Reflect which is a “gorgeously golden foil”. I love glitters and foils, especially in golden and brown shades. They are really easy to wear and just brings a pop of shine and glamour to a lot of eye looks.
Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder (£32.00 for 29g – full size). A definitive cult classic, this fan favourite setting powder feels sublimely soft, setting makeup without adding weight or texture. Applying to skin silky smooth, this invisible setting powder casts a flawless, skin-perfecting veil over the complexion while avoiding creasing and caking. Simply swirl your brush in the powder and sweep across the t-zone or under eye and watch this miracle worker blur pores, mattify and control oils as well as brighten and lift your look. We’re obsessed!
Last but not least, one of Wayne Goss’s holy grail loose setting powder (another one would be RCMA’s No colour powder which I already have) – Laura Mercier. I honestly have not bought this powder before myself, but I have used samples of it. The packaging is just a little ordinary and nothing surprising, I guess that’s why I gravitate towards other products first. I don’t go through loose powders fast, but this is on my list to buy because I have seen people discuss how good value for money this is compared to a lot of new powders out there and this one is just the OG and one of the best out there. I am very excited to finally have this and I have started using this right away.
Overall
So overall, for my first Cult Beauty Box purchase, it was a success. I know that Wayne Goss has collaborated with other brands before, curating his own value boxes, but I was either not in the financial position to purchase them, or the products are not really up my alley. However, this time, I was really excited and knowing all of the products in the box are full-sized products, I think it was worth the money. I only think that it is worth the money if you know you have been wanting to try some of these products and they are products you will eventually use. One little down-side for me is the Pixi Glow Tonic because I just know that it will sit in my drawers for a while before I get to it so it would have been great if it was a mask product instead.
Anyway, £75 is much better than £90, but depending on your countries’ own duty requirements, you might get taxed when coming into your country anyway. For New Zealand, customs did not ask me to pay tax, so I did not need to pay extra. Have you bought the same box or tried any of the products in this box? Let me know in the comments on what you think about them!
