Category: make up

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

Latest in Beauty – The Glamour Summer Edit

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As you may have noticed I’m a LiB fan, and especially of their Glamour collaboration boxes. This took a while to get here, but it’s packed with great brands for the summer.

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Nails Inc is one of my absolute faves, and a full size gel effect polish is a huge yes, there are three shades and I got Kensington Passage – a vivid pink that’ll really pop on my toes in the sandals I haven’t bought yet!

Vita Liberata is a brand that seems to be everywhere this summer – I don’t normally bother with fake tan as I just go orange but this bronzer powder and brush set are a great idea and claims to leave you with a natural looking glow for up to a week.

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L’Occitane shampoo & conditioner with essential oils. I’ve had these before and they’re great travel size products. Lightly scented and leaves hair shiny.

Bourjois Colour Boost lip crayon in Fuchsia Libre (3 varieties available). Has SPF 15, says it’s waterproof and hydrating. Might be a dupe for my beloved, but pricey Clinique chubby sticks. I haven’t road tested it yet.

Balance Me Super Toning Body Polish – if I’m honest body polish sounds like a fancy way of saying body lotion that you wash off. My legs need a boost before I expose them so I’ll give this a go as other products from this range have been quite pleasant.

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Pixi Glow Tonic – I rarely use toner, still not entirely convinced it has a point. This is alcohol free and hypoallergenic, both are a bonus in my book.

Caudalie Divine Oil for body, face & hair. I’ve tried to like face oils but my skin breaks out, however my hair adores them (my hairdresser was impressed at how healthy my hair has become after using argan oil while it’s wet), so this will end up on my hair not my skin.

Eucerin SPF 50+ Sun Fluid Mattifying for face. Suitable for sensitive skin. I am very keen on good sunscreen, but apparently anything over SPF 30 is the same. Also most SPFs are tested on animals and until I can determine whether this was, I might just stick to the ones I know are not.

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Seekers of the Sun temporary tattoos – another box that thinks we’re all still six and want to adorn ourselves with these ridiculous things! They look good for about five seconds. However I did see on Instagram that someone has used some to make nail art and that sounds intriguing.

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All in all a good mix of full and sample sized items, they’re are also discounts available for all the brands included. Will definitely be having a play with most of this box.

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

Glossybox – The Festival Edit

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Sadly I think my days of sleeping badly in a collapsing tent in the muddiest field, trying to avoid needing the look and craning my neck to watch tiny figures on a distant stage may be behind me. I like a hot shower and a proper bed too much.

Glossybox is getting into the festival spirit in this month’s box. Which *spoiler* is a bit disappointing to me.

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There’s no special box or paper, just the standard pink and black.

Inside is a Hello Fresh voucher worth £25 – something that I probably won’t use as I can cook confidently enough and know how to shop on a budget.

The products themselves are a little disappointing.

Kueshi Anticellular Booster – what every woman needs, a reminder that you, like most of the population, might have cellulite. It’s a full size bottle too. Might use it just as leg lotion but I never believe the magically rids you of cellulite claims!

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Next up is Halo Fragrance Free Facial Wipes – these are quite useful as they’re handbag sized and claim to be suitable for sensitive skin.

Monuspa Rosewood Reviving Spray – I’ve never really been a fan of spray on face mists – I find they leave your skin a little greasy, although I like the concept. Will probably give this a try and see what happens.

Essence the gel nail polish – I wouldn’t have minded the mint one but I got a red/coral colour that won’t get much use. Essence is a bargain beauty brand found in Wilkinson’s, a lot of bloggers have been raving about it, but I’ve yet to test out their products myself.

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Finally, oh yes, more temporary tattoos – including the Glossybox logo should you want to brand yourself. I now have quite the collection of these, destined to never be used, as most beauty boxes seem to be flogging them this summer.

I’m fairly disappointed, Glossybox for me started out so promising but the last few have been pretty mediocre. Unless this improves, it may well be adios Glossybox.

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beauty, beauty boxes, lifestyle, make up, my little box, reviews, skincare

My Little Provence Box

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After a delay in posting (don’t ask) my May MLB is finally here. Here’s my thoughts.

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Provence in France is supposed to be a beautiful place. Blue skies, fields of lavender, so it’s no surprise that My Little Box has taken inspiration from it.

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However I have my reservations about this box.

Provence is the home of cult beauty brand L’Occitane and this box feels like an homage to that company, and having recently had a sample box from L’Occitane, this felt a little repetitive (although not everyone will feel this way).

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As always the box is beautifully presented (above are my unboxing pics). Inside is a slightly confused selection.

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There have been a lot of blogger and Facebook complaints about this box, and how MLB seem to be a bit muddled about who their box is aimed up – not for the first time.

The stickers in the My Little Super Box caused the same moans, this time it’s magnets. I will most likely give them to my friend’s little girls to play with, although they are very nice, I don’t need more fridge magnets.

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Most of the actual beauty items are L’Occitane, Verbena soap, Verbena body lotion, Mer & Mistral body wash, Rose hand cream. They also included a My Little Beauty eye shadow crayon. They come in a themed mini canvas bag.

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Eye crayon - a brown with a little shimmer

The lifestyle item is a gold cuff bracelet with two shades of blue thread so you can personalise it (check out their Instagram for ideas).

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MLB are always pretty generous with the box contents – for £10 this box is worth about £40. There is also a L’Occitane voucher (that ran out on May 31st).

There is, as always, a copy of their My Little World magazine. However they’ve changed the format and now it opens out like a poster, which makes it harder to look through. There’s also a cute illustrated quote card, which will find a home on my wardrobe inspiration wall.

All in all, not thrilled with this box, I prefer a wider selection of products, not an advert for one company. Hopefully June’s box will do better. Still fancy a trip to Provence though!

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beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, make up, reviews, skincare

June’s Birchbox – Step Outside with French Sole

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This month’s gimmick was select your box design. I went with the pick ‘n’ mix pattern.

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To be completely honest I am not impressed with this month’s selection.

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Temporary tattoos! I last wore these age 6 or 7. I am far too old and more likely to get a real one than wear these.

Another mascara – I think I get one of these every other month. I can’t even use them. There were other make up items hinted at, but no, another mascara.

Oil is an ingredient in much of the rest of the box.
Nude ProGenius treatment oil – applied after cleansing to boost skin’s hydration.
Beauty Protector Protect & Oil – hair oil that claims to protect against UV and heat damage.

English Laundry No. 7 For Her – perfume sample – adapted from a men’s fragrance, this is quite musky and a little too heavy for me.

Cowshed Body Lotion in Knackered Cow – contains essential oils of lavender and eucalyptus.

ModelCo Powerlash Black Mascara – another mascara, hot on the heels of the last one.

STYLondon Temporary Metallic Tattoos – nope, not even going there.

Bonus lifestyle item – a shoe bag designed by French Sole in matching design to the box. What a disappointing item – don’t see it getting much use.

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Not shown - temporary tattoos - they seem to have run away!

Birchbox seems to vacillate between good and pretty poor. This wasn’t my favourite by a long shot. I think they’re not entirely sure who their customers are – which is weird considering you do a questionnaire on the site.

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

Glossybox – Summer’s Calling

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May’s Glossybox finally arrived and it’s themed with some of this summer’s biggest trends and products.

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MeMeMe Enchanted Eyes Dual Ended Eye Wand – blue eyeliner is a big trend for this summer and this full size features two shades. Both have a slight glittery shimmer to them and being a crayon are soft and easy to apply.

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Etre Belle Aloe Vera Ultra Moisturizing Gel – 40ml full size product. Aloe Vera is so skin friendly and soothes all manner of irritations from sun burn to nettle stings. This fits perfectly into a beach bag or picnic box so you can refresh and calm your skin on the go.

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Zerreau Towel Off Shampoo Foam – new generation of dry shampoo. Wash your hair without water. Apply to scalp, massage in, towel dry and voila! Great idea for camping, festivals or staying somewhere with iffy showers!

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Sass Intimate Perfect Skin Concentrate – this post-shave concentrate has been formulated to soothe the skin and reduce the chances of ingrown hairs, getting your legs summer ready, even if like me, they don’t get much sun (way too pale!)

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Philosophy Renewed Hope in a Jar Refreshing & Refining Moisturiser – philosophy is a brand I’ve always liked, except for its prices. The full size of this moisturiser is £35.50 which is just too much to justify. However a great sample to play with. This claims to reduce the appearance of lines, discoloration and uneven texture. I will certainly be testing its claims.

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

Latest in Beauty – Heart Beauty Essentials

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Latest in Beauty’s latest collaboration is with radio station Heart FM.

The box contains a mix of 13 full and sample size products. £18.95 + P&P.

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Nails Inc. Gel Effect Hyde Park Place

Kneipp Devil’s Claw Herbal Bath

Green People Sun Lotion SPF15 with Tan Accelerator

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bareMinerals Complexion Rescue

philosophy 3 in 1 cleanser

Wild About Beauty Eye Shadow in 08 Polly

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Vichy Idealia Life Serum

Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels

Dove Youthful Vitality Shampoo & Conditioner

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Balance Me Radiance Face Mask

Le Couvent des Minimes Cloisters Hand Cream

Amie Hydrating Daily Moisturiser

Face Cloth

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And if you enter the coupon code HAIRSPRAY you get this free.

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The only link to Heart (which my dad listens to!) is the heart shaped face cloth (which expands in water -haven’t seen one of these since I was a kid).

Overall it’s a nice selection of things, and definitely worth the money as some of these items on their own are quite pricey (Nails Inc I’m looking at you!)

Next up from LiB is the Glamour Beauty Edit box for Summer. Will you be buying it? Or the Heart box?

Are you a member of the Libbie Club? (I’ve applied).

Let me know in the comments.

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beauty, giveaway, make up, nail polish, skincare

Mystery Make Up Giveaway

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So, thought I’d have a little giveaway. All you have to do to enter is guess how many items are in this bag and then you could win the lot!

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The winner will be picked entirely at random, name quite literally out of a hat, on Friday.

The boring bit: this giveaway is not associated with any of the featured items or brands. It is not in relation to Instagram or WordPress. The decision of the winner is up to fate and cannot be bribed. The winner has a week from the draw to get in touch and claim their prize. The results will be posted separately. Only people who follow my blog can enter. Entries on Instagram do not count. You can only enter once. International. Thank you.

So look really hard at this picture (the same one is on Instagram as well). Make a guess and it could be you!

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beauty, make up, skincare

Splashing Out!

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Not really.

Popped into town to pick up a few bits and post some things. Haven’t been into Superdrug in a while. Having seen lovely ladies like Rachel & Tifa talk about MUA make up on their blogs and IG made me want to check it out and having binned a load of slightly tragic looking eye shadows recently I was keen to pick up some new ones.

Superpdrug has had a bit of a face lift and expanded their selection of make up brands, so I had a quick browse.

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MUA is currently on an offer – spend £8 get a free 5th birthday palette so I picked up a couple of things.

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I really like this marble effect palette, it jumped out at me on the shelf. It’s not something I’ve picked up before.

I usually go for quite pinky blusher, but this peachy toned one appealed as a summer change, put a bit of sun into my pale skin.

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Previous eye palettes have been full of colours I never wear, my attraction to rainbows is a growing problem, so going for a neutral toned palette is very un-me. But probably a lot more practical for every day.

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This is the birthday palette, which I think is a nice mix of colours and will probably get used a fair bit.

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Annoyingly Superdrug didn’t have the Barry M product I wanted or the Bourjois one either, so I also went to Boots.

Boots have got a 3 for 2 offer on all skincare so I picked up some must-have items.

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Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Night Treatment Gel is essentially a miracle worker. Smear it on before bed, it absorbs quickly and stops any spots from sneaking through, especially useful around my period when my skin decides it belongs to a greasy teenage boy.

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Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Anti-Aging Smoothing Lotion is a mouthful of a product name but a magic product for less than a fiver. I smooth it on my arms before bed (I am very slippery at night with all my lotions and potions) and it has reduced the existence of those horrid ‘chicken skin’ bumps also known as keratosis pilaris or kp. While it doesn’t treat it completely, my arms are less red, lumpy and smoother than before. I tried it after Sali Hughes recommended it in her column.

Boots did have the Barry M product I wanted – a recent addition to the range. This highlighter crayon, which comes highly recommended and as I’ve not really bothered too much with highlighters in the past, I thought it might be worth a go. There’s an offer on Barry M nail polish, but I managed to resist.

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I also grabbed a miniature Palmer’s Original Cocoa Butter for my handbag to dab on those dry patches when out and about.

However I managed to forget conditioner, which is annoying as I’ll have to go back.

The one product nowhere seems to stock is Bourjois Magic Nail Care, a pot you dip your fingers in which contains a nail strengthener and cuticle oil. My nails are very brittle and nothing I’ve tried has stopped them splitting and tearing. If anyone spots this in a high street shop or department store, please let me know. I’ve only found it on Beauty Mart but would rather not have to pay shipping for a £6 item.

I can’t really splurge too much at the moment as I’ve ordered another cheeky beauty box, and bought a made to order skirt. But hopefully I’ll be able to get to the new Lush on Oxford Street to see all their unique items and treat myself at some point in June so stay tuned.  

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beauty, beauty boxes, lifestyle boxes, make up, reviews, skincare, vegan kind

The Vegan Kind – Beauty Boxes

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Shipped every 3 months, price £18.95 inc. P&P.

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This month’s box contains;

– Sophyto Total Protection Serum. This is apparently step 4 of 5 in the skincare routine recommended by this firm. So that’s confusing.

– Greenfrog Botanic Geranium & Peppermint body wash. This smells nice and has been added to my shower gel line up in the bathroom.

– Zkin sensitive skin sample pack.

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Four samples of the products in this range. Cream Cleanser, Smoothing Serum, Relief Moisturiser, Brightening & Hydrating Masque.

– Lunar Lights Harvest Moon highlighter. A very pale, irredescent gold highlighter. Perfect on my very pale skin.

– Crazy Rumors HibisKiss lip gloss in Sunset. An orangey red colour that smells nice too.

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Highlighter & gloss swatches

I also get The Vegan Kind monthly snack box as part of my eating better plan (I’m not vegan but I don’t eat red meat and pork makes me nauseous).

In those boxes you receive a selection of food items and a lifestyle one (I’ve had body wash, hand wash and a bamboo toothbrush).

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This month's snack box

Check out their website or social media for more info.

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