Product Review: Love Beauty and Planet Blooming Colour Line

I recieved a free sachet sample of the Love Beauty and Planet Shampoo and Conditioner in "Blooming Colour: Murumuru Butter & Rose" from Topbox (In partnership with Shoppers Drug Mart). As per usual, I have not let this bias or influence my review.

The packaging of these products was gorgeous, the floral print was very elegant and eye catching. I found it a tad bit ironic that the entire brand revolves around being good for you and the planet, but the sachets were foil, which is not recyclable. On the other hand, the full sized products are made from recycled plastic and are also recyclable!

The fragrance of the shampoo was overpoweringly floral, with a very distinct rose scent. Although it was a very realistic rose fragrance, as opposed to those artificial rose perfumes. The conditioner smelled more like coconut than rose, which was lovely. The scent filled the entire bathroom and does last on the hair, for a very long time. The scent also lingered on my hands for an hour or so - so if you don't like the fragrance, you won't want to purchase this product line.

The shampoo lathered into a thick foam, making it easy to coat every inch of my hair. It rinsed out quickly and didn't leave any residue. I also found it didn't strip my hair or make it feel dry before putting on the conditioner. The conditioner was very thin, which wasn't ideal for my long hair. It did moisturize my hair slightly but it wasn't up to my usual standard. I did notice less color runoff in the water as I rinsed my hair, so I think the color sealing properties work well.

While I liked the shampoo and would consider purchasing it, I didn't enjoy the conditioner enough to buy the set. The price is mid-range ($8 - $13 per bottle, depending where you purchase), which is fine for the shampoo but the conditioner would quickly become expensive since it takes a lot of product to get the desired results.

I like the brand, and their whole message of sustainability and environmental impact really resonates with me... However, while they claim to not directly test on animals, or use animal testing in their products, Love Beauty and Planet is owned by Unilever, which does test on animals.

Canadian Shopping Experience: ShopMissA.com

ShopMissA

(It's definitely Shop Miss A and not Shop Missa, based on their package logo)

The site UI is very easy to follow, albeit a little overwhelming at times due to the sheer amount of product selection available. The only critique I have is that their swatch photos of their house brand are incredibly confusing. They have the swatches shown on both a light skin and dark skin model, and have the names of the products matching one set of swatches, but on the other model the swatches are upside down, meaning the titles are now in reverse order. This just requires a little more focus to make sure you order the right shade (a mistake I made a couple times).

Most items on ShopMissA are $1 (or ~$1.33 CAD), including brushes and makeup items. Which I’ll admit made me very skeptical. It’s easy to get sucked into adding a ton of items to your basket with the mentality of “well it’s only $1!” but that number adds up quickly… My order totaled $102, but I got an absurd amount of items for that price. I paid using Paypal, which offered me additional coverage in case the items weren’t what they said they’d be (a la WISH).

Overview of my package, fresh upon opening

Shipping was pretty fast, I paid about $13  for regular shipping, which estimated 7-27 days for delivery. I placed my order on April 26th, it had already been packed and shipped within 24 hours and I received my package on May third. A total of 8 days to get from Texas to Ontario. Unfortunately my order was hit with duties, and an additional $10 DHL handling fee leaving me with $21 in additional fees upon delivery.

My order was pretty large, and everything arrived in pristine condition, which I appreciate… But holy moly when I say there was a ridiculous amount of packaging I mean it. Almost every single item came shrink-wrapped, individually packaged in foam pockets, then wrapped into a larger foam sleeve. Then placed into a package with even more padding. While I assume  this is to ensure the items reach their final destination without breaking, I’m sure there has to be a better way to do it - and use materials that can be recycled. Since foam and shrink wrap isn’t recyclable or reusable.

So much packaging!! 

Overall I really liked the shopping experience I had with ShopMissA, and I would consider placing another order in the future depending on how the products turn out. Even though I was skeptical at first, I can recommend them without a doubt. I bought a wide range of items (Lipstick, eye shadow, makeup brushes, etc.) and will be testing them out and posting my reviews on them in the future.

Layer upon layer of foam packaging...

SO MUCH PACKAGING

Side note; The items are made in PRC (People’s Republic of China), but distributed from their warehouse in Dallas, TX).