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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ramblingmads

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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ramblingmads

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

Latest in Beauty – Beauty Awards Finalists

Latest in Beauty’s 2015 Beauty Awards finalists feature more than 30 beauty brands but getting your hands on them is tricky as they sell out fast.

You can select your choice of items, 6, 9 or 15 products for a varied price list.

In the end I went for 6 as a lot of the things I’d have liked had sold out super quick. You can also vote for your favourites.

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MUA pro-base prime and conceal

CoLab dry shampoo in Monaco

Popband ‘no dent’ hair tie

Carmex original lip balm

Body Shop Wild Argan Oil for face, hair and body

Burt’s Bees beeswax lip balm

Some of these are things I would buy anyway, I missed out on some great products, but I think it might be better to have some things I will definitely use regularly as opposed to more things that sit on the shelf gathering dust.

What products piqued your interest if you took part in the LiB voting?

ramblingmads

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

Latest in Beauty – Get the Gloss

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I’ve been having issues with the LiB website so this took a while to order. Paypal have driving me crackers for the last two months as well. I definitely need a beauty based treat.

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The box is very neatly packed with eight products, including several full size items.

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Salon Science AquaCacteen Hydrasoothe Cooling Spray – Salon Science is a brand I only started hearing about this year. This is a cooling spray, not for your face but for your hair. Full size bottle and it smells quite nice too.

Nails Inc Gel Effect in Regents Place – full size, creamy blue shade (there were two – the other is Downtown – a hot pink, always a surprise as to which you get).

Bourjois Aqua Blush – I’m not a huge fan of liquid blush and out of the three available shades I wound up with a bright pink that really won’t work for me.

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse OR – plant oils and vitamin E in this sparkly face, skin and hair oil, from French brand Nuxe.

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Philip Kingsley Swim Cap – sun protection and chlorine defender for hair. Mine always goes green in swimming pools – the curse of natural blondes – so this is a handy item.

Aurelia Refine & Polish Miracle Balm – instant exfoliator or enzyme mask. Smells good too!

Elemental Herbology Cell Plumping – applied daily this claims to make your skin plumper and more radiant.

Anne Semonia Eye Express Radiance Ice Cube – store in the freezer, pop on your eyes and it reduces redness, puffiness and the dreaded dark circles.

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ramblingmads

beauty boxes, glossybox, make up, reviews, skincare

GLOSSYBOX Vive Le France

Glossybox has a special edition for July. Join Mademoiselle Glossy on a Parisien adventure.

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The box is elaborately illustrated and features famous Paris landmarks. Inside is a selection of French beauty samples in a little printed bag.

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Noxidoxi enhancing serum base – hydrates and protects skin when layered under moisturiser.

Lollipops lip balm delicieuse – protects the lips from UV damage with vitamin E and antioxidants.

Teoxane Cosmeceuticals perfect skin refiner – a night cream to plump and hydrate skin.

Yves Rocher comme une evidence eau de parfum – perfume with hints of violets, rose, lily of the valley and patchouli. I would tell you whether I liked this or not but the tiny lid won’t come off!

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To be honest – this box was incredibly overhyped and really quite poor in terms of contents – 4 small sample products and a plastic pouch to store them in. Glossybox really needs to try a bit harder. French beauty products are often amazing but this really doesn’t showcase that.

ramblingmads

beauty, make up, reviews, skincare

Libbie Club – July offers #treatyo’self

I love new products, and as part of my summer of trying new items, receiving these goodies is a bonus.

Becca Beach Tint for cheek and lips – this says water resistant but without a swimming pool to test the theory in I can’t speak to that.

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The formulation is quite runny, even after giving it a good shake – but the colour is quite nice – a warm pink, which I would be more likely to use as a cheek tint/blusher than on my lips.

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Bioeffect Volcanic Exfoliator – made in Iceland (the country not the shop of many freezers!) this contains microcrystalline lava to leave your face free of dead skin cells and grime. Perfect to apply your summer look on to clean, fresh skin.

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Skin & Tonic London Steam Clean cleansing balm – made with organic ingredients, sustainably made and cruelty free. You smooth a little into your skin, soak the accompanying in warm water, drape over your face to melt it away, cleansing deeply. It also smells amazing.

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If you would like to treat yourself to any of these fab products (special offers all round) click here and buy them through Libbie Club. Go on treat yo’self.

*items provided by Libbie Club for promotional purposes – all opinions my own*

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Parks & Rec forever!

ramblingmads

beauty boxes, make up, reviews, skincare

You Beauty Discovery Box – July

As always the USP is a chance to select two of the items for your box.

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I picked Lola Ultra Shine Nail Polish in Stone Grey and Hairy Jayne Hair Perfume in Citrus.

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Also in my box was a sachet of Emma Hardie primer SPF 30, Nairns Muesli Break oatcake snack pack and St Tropez Gradual Tan in Shower – a current bestseller.

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As always there are discounts on the brands included and a competition to win a goodie bag of products.

I’m quite impressed with this box, for £6.95 they send a nice selection of things and the option to select some of the items is always good, although you have to be quick, as some items are limited and go fast.

ramblingmads

beauty boxes, birchbox, make up, reviews, skincare

Birchbox – July Birchbag

This month Birchbox has dispensed with boxes and has instead sent out clear plastic bags in a selection of colours.

To be honest they look cheap. Mine is pink (not my favourite colour) and I don’t see it getting used at all.

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However the items inside make up for it somewhat.

Benefit Dream Screen SPF 45 – sample sized. Benefit is one of my favourite cosmetic companies, I love their quirky packaging and product names. This sunscreen is formulated to absorb quickly, leaving your skin hydrated and protected.

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Balance Me Congested Skin Serum – a targeted spot shrinker and break out preventer. It contains chamomile, lavender and aloe.

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Unani Aloe Vera gel – useful as after sun or just to soothe irritated skin (from bites or the heat).

Pop Beauty eye shadow trio in Peach Parfait – summer smoky eyes, here we come. Instead of dark greys and blacks, it’s peaches and creams.

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Jelly Pong Pong – Glow Getter Luminizer Gel – a full size facial illuminator for a subtle glow – perfect for fresh summer skin.

Pure Vida lace headband in Aqua – a bit like pop bands, this is a stretchy lacy band, to be honest I only use these to keep my hair off my face when applying a face mask.

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A nice selection of summer themed products in a slightly disappointing package. 

ramblingmads

beauty boxes, latest in beauty, make up, nail polish, nails inc, reviews, skincare

Latest in Beauty – Capital Beauty Box

This is absolutely jam packed with goodies, seriously, look at it!

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There are 10 items in the box, full and sample sized.

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Dr Organic Dead Sea Mineral Mask – this has popped up in several different boxes over the last few months, and according to my guinea pig/mother (she loves getting freebies from me) it’s lovely stuff. Will have to give this a go myself.

Colab dry shampoo in Paris – beauty writer and my guru in all things skin, Sali Hughes (buy her book – it’s fab) recommended the Colab dry shampoo ages ago and I picked up London in Superdrug, which is practically scent-free. Paris has a floral fragrance that reminds me of those So… and Impulse body sprays that were all the rage as teenagers. Still I’m sure my perfume will mask it.

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Hawaiian Tropic Satin Protection SPF 30 – I am a sunscreen obsessive, I have Northern European ancestry which means I am so white I’m practically translucent, and slather myself in sunscreen daily. I’ve used this one before and find it works quite well.

Carmex Moisture Plus lip balm in Berry. This has SPF 15, vitamin E and aloe vera. Carmex do make good products, so I reckon this will do the job.

Malin + Goetz trio – a travel sized cleanser, moisturizer and lip moisturizer, all in a handy travel bag. This brand is new to me, but the lip moisturizer in particular attracts me. I have very dry, prone to cracking lips and hopefully this will do the trick.

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I love perfectly peachy bath & shower gel – possibly the most disappointing item – a sachet of shower gel from a brand that I’ve seen for sale in Poundland –  not exactly too pricey to be more generous. It’s a special packet with advice from Coppafeel about breast cancer awareness – something I doubt most people would read as they shower.

Fudge Urban Hair Art Sprays – spray in hair colour that washes out. I remember having something similar in the 90s. I got Violet Haze, which I don’t see myself using (not exactly office appropriate) but it could be fun for a party.

MUA Mega Volume Mascara – I like MUA but I am very fussy about mascaras so this probably won’t get used by me (my mum hasn’t bought one in years, I keep her supplied).

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Nails Inc Gel Effect Nail Polish in Soho Place – a turquoise polish from my favourite nail brand, named after one of my favourite areas of London – it’s a win!

And finally, possibly the box’s star item.

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MUA Eyeshadow Palette in Poptastic – 12 different coloured shadows, which considering I promised to stop wearing the same colour every day is going to come in handy (I am that lazy, making complex make up decisions first thing is too much).

What did you think? Have you bought this box? Do you think you will? Comments please.

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ramblingmads

beauty boxes, make up, reviews, skincare

You Beauty Burt’s Bees Limited Edition

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Came home from the office to find this beaut waiting for me. The You Beauty Burt’s Bees Limited Edition box and it’s a good ‘un.

Seven products and all but two are full size – only £19.95!

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Peach & Willow Bark Deep Pore Scrub

Orange Essence Facial Cleanser

Soap Bark & Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream

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Lip Crayon in Hawaiian Smolder

Hydrating Lip Balm with Coconut & Pear

The two sample size products are;

Facial Cleansing Towelettes

Intense Hydration Night Cream

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There’s also a £10 coupon for the Burt’s Bees website.

I’m a fan of the natural ingredients Burt’s uses, and have been eyeing up their website for a while. Looking forward to ordering some more goodies with my voucher and treating my skin with these lovely products.

ramblingmads