Category: make up

beauty, beauty boxes, love me beauty, make up, reviews

Love Me Beauty October

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I’m getting a little fed up with LMB, for the past few months as they’ve revamped their site, the same products have loitered in the boutique with the occasional swap over. Making it rather pointless.

This month I’ve picked four items for my monthly 60 credits, one of which I’ve had pretty much every month.

There’s also the addition of the brand new LMB magazine The Journal.

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This month there were a lot of products from Cailyn, an eye make up brand. I don’t really do anything to my brows (curse of being blonde, do too much and they disappear) so I picked a couple of their gel eye shadow pencils in Champagne and Mauve.

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They are also featuring a selection of Lanolips balms. While I wasn’t very keen on the high lanolin content as it can unsettle my skin, the thought of a strong protective balm in this horrid weather overcame that – plus it’s banana flavour!

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Finally a familiar item – Monuspa Rosewood Reviving Mist.

I hope next month they refresh the entire stock in the boutique.

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

Latest in Beauty: British Beauty Blogger The Dream Box IV

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This latest collaboration between LiB and The British Beauty Blogger is rumoured to be their last so it’s not unreasonable to expect something great. For £16.95 (with free P&P for a limited time) you get 12 products, some you might be more familiar with than others, half of which are full size.

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There’s something for almost every part of your body, from your hair, to your lips, to those dry little bits!

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BareMinerals Marvellous Moxie Lipstick in Raise the Bar (£17.99) – a dinky mini lipstick to pop in your handbag in a pinky red, that I quite like and I’m not really a lipstick fan.

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Beauty Kitchen Love Me Wonderbalm £2.99) – cocoa butter with a sweet cinnamon scent for your lips, dry patches (elbows!) and all in a handy tin, perfect for the oncoming grotty weather. There’s also a special 40% discount for Beauty Kitchen.

Crabtree & Evelyn Le Source Hand Therapy (£9) full size moisture packed hand cream with a fresh, clean scent. 20% off in store or online with the voucher code given.

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Maybelline Dr Rescue SOS Nail Balm (£3.99) another pocket sized product, this nail and cuticle stick should help keep my nails happy.

Shay & Blue Framboise Noire Fragrance (£5) I’m really fussy about fragrance, but I like this one rather a lot. A warm, berry scented perfume suited rather well to these darkening days.

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Nuxe Prodigieux Eye Cream (£18.50) this is a brand I have been seeing everywhere, and I rather like the face masks I’ve already tried. I don’t use an eye cream so this will be getting a trial. Plus 15% off online.

Erborian CC Cream (£17.00) I’m rather wedded to my Clinique CC cream but I’ve read a few reviews of this Korean brand so I might just give it a whirl. 15% discount online.

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L’Occitane Almond Oil Shower Gel (£3) it’s no secret that this French brand and I have a love affair. I’ve tried this oil before, a little goes a long way and the same goes for the shower gel. Free full-size shower gel when you spend £35 on their website.

L’Oreal Paris Telescopic Carbon Black Mascara (£10.99) – regular readers will know I am not very impressed with how many mascaras turn up in beauty boxes, I only have 2 eyes and 2 sets of lashes!

Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter Mini (£2.50) I love S&G, and the Righteous Butter and I are old friends. It smells amazing and leaves my skin soft for hours.

Ren Evercalm Gentle Cleansing Milk (£2.75) this is supposed to be a soothing way to remove your make up, we’ll see how my super sensitive skin takes to it. I could do with a make up remover that my skin loves. 20% off online.

KMS California MoistRepair Shampoo (£4.50) and Conditioner (£5.00) my boyfriend has already stolen these, he’s run out of both! Free full size repair crème when buying shampoo or conditioner.

Crown Brush Pro Studio Contour Brush (£9.99) so I’m a bit of a novice when it comes to all this contouring business, still just trying my best to look vaguely human but this brush is so soft I might just have to give it a go. 15% off online.

Collection Speedy Blush Sticks in Tickled Pink & Cheeky (£3.99) at first look, this is really, really pink, but when swatched it’s more of a peachy tone. £1 off at boots.co.uk.

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So, a box full of fab products, offers and treats for your skin. Really impressed with this box, that barely closes, it’s so full!

ramblingmads

beauty, beauty boxes, make up, upcoming

Advent Calendars for beauty junkies

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As a kid all I ever wanted was a chocolate Advent calendar, but my mum, super healthy, no junk food, always said no. That’s not to say we didn’t have nice ones, there was the year my godmother sent beautiful chimney calendars, with little presents in the drawers every day. I still have my beautiful Maria Angel illustrated story calendar – which I use every year.

Last year my Mr brought home a wooden countdown calendar, which is very sweet and will be on display this year too.

But, beauty firms have started releasing advent calendars full of treats that any beauty junkie would be pleased to find every morning.

The ones I most have my eye on are L’Occitane’s (£39 with free delivery) and You Beauty Discovery (£59 with free delivery). I also quite want Lush’s 12 Days of Christmas (not an Advent calendar as such, but definitely on my Christmas list).

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You Beauty Discovery Advent Calendar

There are a lot of others, including a Jo Malone one(£250), but some are incredibly expensive. I suppose, depending on budget, you could ask for one as a Christmas gift, that you open on the run up.

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L'Occitane's Advent Calendar

Now I know Christmas isn’t about stuff, or presents, and that for people who follow Christian beliefs, sacred and holy. I was raised going to church, I still love the ceremony and go to Midnight Mass every year, but I think that after a year of working hard, doing our bit for the people we love, it’s OK to have a few treats. Especially in the middle of winter when it’s cold and miserable.

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Lush's 12 Days of Christmas

Which Advent calendars have you spotted? Will you be buying a beauty packed one?

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

October Glossybox

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Glossybox has really upped their game in the last few months, their boxes are all full size products, making it a total bargain.

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Inside this month’s box –

Nicka K Airbrush Blending Sponge – I’ve heard a lot about these magic blending sponge, which claim to create a flawless look with any liquid make up product.

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Talika Photo-Hydra Dry – hydrating moisturiser from French brand Talika, claims to leave your complexion hydrated and primed.

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Lanolips Golden Ointment Dry Skin Salve – lanolin, Manuka honey and vitamin E combined to tackle super dry skin, just a shame I’m allergic to lanolin.

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So Susan Haute Light Highlighting Pencil – blend over brow or cheek bones to boost radiance or along the inner rim of your eyes to make the whites pop.

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Jelly Pong Pong Fairy Lashes Curl Mascara – cruelty-free with a unique brush to boost the curl in your lashes with dramatic volume and definition.

A nice selection, with the obligatory mascara, perfect for some skin TLC and added glow in the coming cold weather.

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

Look Fantastic Beauty Box No. 1

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White and gold shiny box – wonder what’s inside!?!?
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Look Fantastic has curated a nice little selection for their subscriber box.

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Balance Me Radiance Face Mask

Monu Spa Firming Moisturiser

Percy & Reed Volumising No Oil Oil

Nuxe Hand and Nail Cream

Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser

Elemis Hydra-Balance Day Cream

Look Good Feel Better Eye Shading Brush

Some great brands included here, just a shame that none of them are full size.

Look Good Feel Better is a charity that supports women and teenagers struggling with the effects of their treatment, and its product range helps them do their valuable work.

Nuxe Paris is a brand I’ve become quite familiar with over the last few months so it’s nice to see a product from them, and a handbag sized hand cream is never a bad thing.

Your entire skincare routine in a box from cleansing to moisturizing, plus hair oil that doesn’t leave a sticky film.

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

Cohorted October Box

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Having seen these boxes raved about all over the beauty blogosphere and social media I was really excited to get my hands on a Cohorted box. You cannot subscribe to them and they sell out super fast, so I felt rather pleased when I got the confirmation email.

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Then it turned up and wow am I not impressed. Previous boxes have contained some amazing products – including palettes and exclusive brands.

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The five items in this box really aren’t that exciting. All are however full size and the box has a value of £65.99 for £25.

Bare Minerals Purifying Facial Cleanser (RRP £15 for 60ml)

Bare Minerals Purely Nourishing Cream (£10 for 30ml)

Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie Lip gloss in Hypnotist (£16.99)

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Ciate Nail Polish in Serendipity (£9)

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Peter Thomas Roth Lashes to Die For Mascara – Black (£15)

I’m not a huge fan of Bare Minerals – the products I’ve tried before haven’t been anything special. I also think they’re a bit overpriced.

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Sparkly nail polish – no thanks. I went off this when I reached my teens. Then there’s yet another mascara, every beauty box seems to have one of these – obviously a cheap and easy option.

Overall really not impressed – I don’t see quite what the fuss is about Cohorted if this is what is on offer.

Anyone had a Cohorted box before?

ramblingmads

beauty, beauty boxes, love me beauty, make up, nail polish, reviews, skincare

Love Me Beauty – are you alright?

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I don’t know what is going on at the LMB offices but I received a second box in as many weeks and it’s not October’s.

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The items come from the September boutique and some of them I’ve received before. That’s not to say it isn’t a nice surprise.

Inside the far too big box are two Lottie London nail polishes, a Lord & Berry Twistick lipstick, MonuSpa facial primer and Reviving Mist.

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I wonder why they sent me a second selection – maybe their new system is struggling a bit.

Anyone else had weird experiences with Love Me Beauty?

ramblingmads

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

My Little Fashion Box

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You would think after the palaver this summer with boxes going awol, MLB would have switched back to Royal Mail, but no, so the boxes are still filtering out. September’s almost over, and fashion weeks have drawn to a close.

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September’s box is themed around fashion week with the box illustration of the infamous Front Row (Frow in fashion speak according to the press).

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Inside is another of in-house artist Kamako’s illustrations, the fold out magazine My Little World and a host of fashionable goodies.

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Nail decals designed just for MLB, not something I would use, but I have a friend with a thing for nail art so she’ll probably love these.

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A gorgeous patterned scarf. I love scarves, I own hundreds, they’re the best accessory. You can wear them so many ways, I got the blue one but there is also a black one in some boxes.

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Then there’s the beauty products. As always there’s a French slant to them. 

La Roche-Posay Effacler K(+) – according to the beauty bloggers I follow, this stuff relieves greasy skin, clears up spots and leaves you less shiny. I have combination skin so hopefully it’ll leave me with an even skin tone during the shinier moments.

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Kerastase Couture Styling Laque Noir – a water-free, fuzz busting, humidity preventer. Which would come in very handy for those mornings where you need less stresses in your tresses.

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My Little Beauty Red Dingue de lui – lip stain, from their in-house brand. It’s a rich cherry red colour, with serious staying power (I can’t scrub it off my hand!).

All of this is wrapped in MLB’s swanky packaging, printed bag, ribbon, box.

Now if only they could sort out their deliveries.

ramblingmads

beauty, beauty boxes, love me beauty, make up, reviews

Love Me Beauty – bit of a wobble

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Love Me Beauty has revised its boutique again, the second time in as many months.

Now you get 60 credits and items are either 10 or 20 credits each – and apparently there is a way to add more.

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I stuck with the 60 member credits. It doesn’t allow you to select much. Most of the 10 credit items are things like a LMB nailfile. However there are a few gems.

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I got a Ciate mini nail polish and Lord & Berry crayon lipstick for 10 credits each and then Monuspa Rosewood Revitalizing Mist and a Lord & Berry Twistick lipstick for 20 credits each.

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Bit disappointing when you used to be able to get more under the old system for the same money. There were lots of Lord & Berry lip items and nail polishes, hopefully next month will have more variety.

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They’ve also dispensed with boxes and the items arrived in a little canvas bag inside a padded envelope, not as glam as some beauty subscriptions.

LMB has the possibility of being really fantastic, the ability to pick your products is great but a little more effort to make things seem special would be even better.

ramblingmads