beauty boxes, latest in beauty, libbie club, reviews

September Libbie Club Offers

This month’s Libbie Club offers are a mix of skincare and a make up item.

Caudalie is a French brand that seems to be everywhere this year, they make masks, moisturizers and other things to make your skin glow. This month Libbie Club is offering the Instant Detox Mask.

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The packaging is nice, and looks good on the shelf and the product is super easy to use. It also doesn’t smell too terrible. Which matters to me.

Also in the box is Mio’s The Activist body oil. Again this smells good, is easy to use and absorbs without leaving a greasy mess.

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Finally, a mascara. I am really, really fussy about mascara. I like the packaging on this but am not so sure what exactly makes this a must have. Teeez Desert Metals Mascara – no animal derivatives and claims to be smudge proof and long lasting.

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I have 5 free samples of the Caudalie mask – if you’d like one, let me know.

Otherwise log on to Libbie Club and treat yourself to this month’s goodies.

ramblingmads

beauty, beauty boxes, latest in beauty, perfume, reviews

Latest in Beauty – The Perfume Society

LiB has teamed up with the Perfume Society to bring you three curated boxes of scent. I picked the Little Treasures box but you can also get Florals and Florientals and Designer Discoveries, depending on your preferences. The boxes are £12.95 each.

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The scent that caught my eye and swayed me to pick this one was L’Occitane’s new The Vert Bigarade, which I tested in their store. The full size bottle is £45 and as it’s my birthday next month, is on my splurge list.

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There are some scents I’ve never heard of tucked in here as well as brands like Yardley and Liz Earle.

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The Perfume Society has included postcard guides to the included scents, of which there are ten.

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This is a really good way to sample new scents and there’s also a discount voucher to join the Perfume Society. 

ramblingmads

beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, make up, reviews

Birchbox for Brides

Wedding season is almost over but I know at least two brides who still have a bouquet to toss before Christmas, and these make fab gifts.

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Birchbox has teamed up with Benefit cosmetics for three boxes – for the hen do, the wedding day and the honeymoon.

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Each box features a range of samples from Benefit’s glamorous range of make up and a little bonus gift.

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To be honest, even if you aren’t getting hitched anytime soon these are great, especially if you’re a Benefit fan.

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beauty, beauty boxes, latest in beauty, make up, reviews, skincare

Latest in Beauty – Time to Shine

This little box of goodies is currently in LiB’s summer box line up.

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Bourjois Cream Blush shade 02 – their cream to powder foundation is super easy to apply and this is a pink colour that would definitely pop on the cheeks, especially with a smoky daytime eye.

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Pixi lip stain (left) Bourjois blush (right)

Pixi Lip Blush in Youth – looks and feels like a felt tip in a bright, slightly sheer pink. Pixi has become a cult beauty brand this year and these lip stains are very popular.

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Essie nail polish in peak of chic – not so sure about glittery polish at my age, I certainly loved it years ago.

Elemis Spa @ Home Treat Your Feet footcream – with Shea butter and jojoba oil, this smells lovely and soothes hot tired feet.

Melvita Bio-Excellence Youthful Day Cream – with fruit extracts this cream promises to deliver healthy skin.

James Read Sleep Mask Tan – a self tan that you smooth on before you sleep to moisturise and give your skin a summery glow.

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beauty, beauty boxes, love me beauty, nail polish, nails inc, reviews, skincare

Love Me Beauty – revamped

My last LMB box went AWOL in the post so I was a bit fed up with them.

Anyway, they’ve revamped their website and how you select your goodies. You used to get only a few points and there was quite a limited list to pick from. Now you have 9 points and they’ve expanded the list of options.

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This is what I picked.

Model Co Shadow Sticks – set of 4

Nails Inc Gel Effect in Beaufort Street

Love Me Beauty Nail File

Bellepierre Cosmetics eye shadow in Storm and Whesek

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I chose quite a few eye shadows mostly because I didn’t like the skincare options, and as most items are 2 points, I got the nail file as it was the only 1 point item. All of the items I picked are full size and for £13 including P&P that’s incredible value. This is still not my favourite box but as they improve their product list and make it easier to use their site, hopefully it will get better.

ramblingmads

beauty, beauty boxes, ethics, reviews, skincare, vegan kind

The Vegan Kind Beauty Box

Every three months TVK send out a beauty box to complement their snack boxes (monthly).

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This month’s has finally arrived. I think it had a few adventures getting here.

Inside are four full size vegan beauty products.

Dr Organic Dead Sea Mineral Mud Mask – I’ve had this in a few boxes before and my mum swiped it last time! The dead sea is famous for its high mineral content that restores skin’s glow.

Faith in Nature 3 in 1 facial wipes – some people really hate face wipes, whereas I find them useful, to remove mistakes when applying make up and to help remove it at the end of the day (followed by micellar water and a good wash).

Teabox Detox (3 teabags – 1 day’s supply) – this tea claims to consist of antioxidants and antiinflammatories to boost skin health, remove toxins etc. My inner sceptic isn’t so sure a herbal tea could do all that but it can’t hurt.

PHB Ethical Beauty Natural and Organic Black Eye Liner – made with plant oils and waxes, water resistant yet gentle. This would be good if you want a cat flick but find the chemicals in some eyeliners make you weepy.

B is for Beautiful All Lengthening Defining Volumising Mascara in black – cruelty free beauty brand (available in your local Superdrug) I can’t speak to all their claims but if it appeals to you – then go for it.

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beauty, beauty boxes, my little box, reviews, skincare

My Little Gypset Box

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Gypset is the French for Gypsy (hat tip Google), and MLB are using it in the free-spirit sense, boho chic meets on the road.

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There’s an interesting mix of beauty and lifestyle items in this box.

As usual there’s an illustration from in-house artist Kanako – this one features a quote from Jack Kerouac, author of On The Road.

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There’s a patterned bag (seen in the illustration) to carry your wandering essentials, and hair ties that double as bracelets, something I’ve noticed has popped up more and more. These are really cute and soft so will definitely feature in my hair. The bag is cute too. It’s quite small but handy for your essentials, could pop it inside a larger bag for everyday.

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In terms of beauty items, there are three full size treats;

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Korres Santorini Vine Body Milk – this is supposed to smell like a blossoming Greek vineyard which I couldn’t quite smell but then again I’m never any good at wine tasting – it doesn’t smell like autumn leaves or blackberries – just wine.

So Susan Colour Hybrid cheek and lip tint – this is a deep cherry red, I think teemed with cat’s eyes liner and a hint of shimmer in your skin would work well.

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My Little Beauty Summer Caress Bronzer – from their in-house range, this is a soft peachy bronzer that would suit different skin tones depending on how much you blended/layered it on.

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The lip stain won’t budge BTW, but the bronzer needs to be deeper I think.

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ramblingmads

beauty, beauty boxes, glossybox, make up, reviews, skincare

Glossybox – August

This month it’s Glossybox’s birthday and they’ve sent out pink boxes of products to celebrate.

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Naobay Calming Face Toner – I stopped using toner ages ago, it seemed like an unnecessary step in my rather long beauty routine but this smells good, contains soothing chamomile, and the products I’ve had from this brand before have been great.

Manna Kadar Lash Primer – apply under mascara to nourish lashes and leave them conditioned and voluminous. Well, that’s some claim but I have yet to see adding make up to anything succeed.

Sass Intimate Purifying Cleanser – ahhhh!! I am so against these so called intimate body products – your vagina is self-cleaning and has a really delicate pH balance that you should never add chemicals to. Ever.

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MeMeMe Lipglide in Playful Peach – I’d say this is more deep pink than peach but it’s a good colour and I prefer crayons like this to lipstick as I’m lazy and any make up that reminds me of colouring is good.

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Emite Artist Colour Powder Blush – on their Facebook page Glossybox asked blush or bronzer – the results were so close they included Swedish brand Emite’s  blush/bronzer hybrid. I think it’s a bit too dark for me but would certainly suit someone who doesn’t have my stupidly pale skin.

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Last month’s box was such a disappointment, but this is a step up. I was contemplating cancelling but I might give them one more month.

ramblingmads

beauty, beauty boxes, haircare, latest in beauty, make up, reviews, skincare

Latest in Beauty Awards 2015 – Winners

This box is packed with great products (£21.95 + p&p) showcasing the winners of Latest in Beauty’s Awards winners.

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Burt’s Bees is one of my favourite brands, I love their lip balms and hand creams and this box features two products from their range. The Soap Bark & Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream smells good and I know from experience it leaves skin clean and soft. The lip crayon in Sedona Sands is a purple-pink colour that I quite like. Plus all their products are 100% natural.

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Colab dry shampoo in Monaco – this is my favourite brand of dry shampoo – although some of the scents can be a little overwhelming. It doesn’t dry like dandruff as some other brands do and it brushes out easily.

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I’m a bit concerned by the need for stickers that say ‘Do Not Eat’ on the Zoella Fresh Fizz bath Fizzers, I regularly buy things from Lush that smell delicious and manage not to eat them!

Dr Organic Snail Gel Anti-Aging Facial Serum – still not sure about snail gel as they gross me out in my plant pots.

La Roche-Posay Corrective Unclogging Care – this claims to unclog pores, correct imperfections and marks – big claims for a small bottle. French beauty brands are a big deal and famous for their effectiveness.

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The Body Shop Wild Argan Oil for hair, skin and face. I am obsessed with this, I have tins stashed everywhere, my bag, the sofa, next to the bed etc. Smells great, leaves hair soft and shiny, provides much needed moisture and softness to skin. And as it’s a solid – no leaking!

Eye of Horus goddess mascara in Babylon brown. Once upon a time I tried brown mascara, it was very short lived. When I do wear mascara, I prefer to coat my blonde lashes in dramatic black, the brown just looks weird.

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer – designed for Audrey Hepburn, this is really popular and while it didn’t seem to make much difference to my stubborn hair (nothing does – it resists all styling products) friends say it makes theirs healthy looking and shiny.

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beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, make up, reviews

August Birchbox #beautyjunkie

This month Birchbox have decided to cover their boxes with emojis and yes that’s so 2014!

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Inside is a sheet of emoji stickers, which would be great if I was still 12, I hope this isn’t this month’s fake tattoo trend.

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Inside is 6 beauty samples. All of them are really diddy. 

Formula 10.0.6 Over Night Success Spot Minimizing Patches – 21 single use patches to shrink and fight off spots. Not sure how well it will work on the monthly ‘guess what time of the month it is?’ lumps I get, especially as it’s formulated for young skin and mine is getting older!

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Rituals Fortune Scrub – sweet orange and cedar scented, although to me it smells like hubba bubba.

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Kebelo Clarifying Shampoo – now I am fussy about my shampoo – it’s taken a while to find one I like, so I don’t chop and change. I never quite see the point of shampoo samples as everyone’s hair is different.

Lord & Berry Blush in Lotus – this is a teeny sample – it would have been nice to have at least one full size product.

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Huygens Face Scrub – French brand, tiny pot of face scrub, it says to use a coin-sized amount, so that’s the whole tub then!

TheBalm@ cosmetics – desert bronzer – I don’t think I have an applicator small enough.

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I found this box disappointing – so many wasted opportunities for a really nice selection and the lack of full size items is frustrating as they usually include at least one. Last month’s was so good, shame the quality slipped.

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