Category: beauty

beauty, beauty boxes, reviews, skincare

September You Beauty Discovery

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This month is the skincare edition and all of the items are skin friendly.

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As always you can select two items for your box and this month they’re full size.

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I picked AA Skincare Professionals Seaweed & Aloe Refreshing Eye Gel. This multi use product is suitable for all skin types, removes make up, soothes and cools tired eyes. I rarely buy eye cream or gel as I’ve had some bad reactions but my recent bout of insomnia has left me looking like a sad panda so hopefully this will help make me look less like I have black eyes.

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The other item I picked is Urban Veda Sandalwood + Botanics Soothing Day Cream. I’ve been trying different moisturisers on the days when I’m going make up free – my favourites are still currently Lush’s Celestial and Garnier’s Rose Water day cream, but I like the sound of this one and it smells nice.

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Also included in the box is a sample of Linwoods Milled Chia Seed, a soft make up sponge and a sample of Body Shop’s new Oils of Life facial oil. There is also a Body Shop Love Your Body Club membership card and as always discounts on all the brands available to select from. All this for £6.95.

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This is a better box than some have been in the last few months so I’m quite impressed. It’s nice to see full size items and a focus on a particular theme.

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beauty, books, instagram, make up

Who do you get your beauty advice from?

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I don’t really buy magazines, I resent spending my money on adverts and pictures of hungry women in over-priced, ugly clothes.

I do buy Glamour, which in the UK often covers issues that affect women, like politics and women in sports, not just celebrities and clothes I would never be able to afford.

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Via @GlamourUK on Twitter

And I do read Sali Hughes’ beauty column in The Guardian’s Weekend magazine on Saturdays. I like Sali, she’s no-nonsense, writes about products that she’s tried and that work from a variety of brands and prices.

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Via @salihughes on twitter

Last year she published a book Pretty Honest, which expanded on her columns and explored issues around the cosmetics industry and skincare.

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Via google

Her website features fun interviews with women like Caitlin Moran and Marian Keyes, who I admire as writers and women. I follow Sali on Twitter and Instagram too, where she talks about more than just make up.

In fact it’s one of the two books hanging out in my wardrobe/lady space/hoard. The other is The Goddess Guide, which is purely aspirational.

I also quite like the weekly free magazine The Stylist, and in terms of their beauty advice – the column Trend on Trial is probably the most interesting. Three of their beauty staffers test out the new catwalk make up trends to see how wearable they are in real life. Often to hilarious effect. Worth reading online if you don’t live in the UK (or if you do but don’t see the vendors on your travels).

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I also stalk nail trends on instagram, as well as people I admire and want to copy their style. There’s also twitter, pinterest, tumblr and facebook, and I do spend a bit of time ogling pretty things when I should be doing more active or important stuff.

So where do you get your inspiration from? Is there a blogger, instagram account or beauty writer you refer to?

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

Latest in Beauty – The Perfume Society

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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. 

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beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, make up, reviews

Birchbox for Brides

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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

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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

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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.

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beauty, ethics, haircare, lush, skincare

Lush – a treat for the senses

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Popped into my nearest Lush before dinner with the boyfriend (GBK – yum!) and picked up a few bits.

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I was completely out of my favourite moisturiser – Celestial, and am using my last shower gel from the stash (Glogg which smells like Christmas) so I got a few  bottles, two of the new scents. Yuzu and Cocoa smells like chocolate oranges and is bright, citrus yellow. The Comforter (pink) reminds me of Snow Fairy but less bubblegum.  Shampoo I Love Juicy is another staple product for me.
Then I picked up the super Sun Block – the perfect product for a lazy person who needs a lot of sun protection.
Finally I sniffed a solid conditioner bar – The Plumps (another bright pick purchase) which promises to reduce my flyaway hairs while giving bouncy, healthy hair.
I always come away from Lush with a smile – the staff are lovely. For some reason my card and the chip & pin machine were disagreeing and the manager patiently sorted it out for me. Then he gave me a free pot of BB Seaweed fresh face mask for the hassle, which was totally unexpected and really sweet. Go team Lush Brent Cross!

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

The Vegan Kind Beauty Box

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

Glossybox – August

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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.

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