Category: nail polish

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

Birchbag – All That Glimmers

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For their December edition Birchbox has set out a jazzy festive clutch bag full of products designed to help you through the party season.

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Benefit Puff Off! & They’re Real Push Up Liner Duo – exclusive to Birchbox, this liner and eye cream work together – the liner to complete your look and the cream to de-puff those under eye bags.

Model Co Ultra Long Lasting Lipstick in Kitty – this is a full size lipstick in a pretty pink shade, which sadly isn’t mine.

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Ciate London Mini Paint Pot – I received the shade Iced Frappé – which I wouldn’t  say is particularly festive but colours vary.

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Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream – this moisturiser features Mediterranean algae to fight aging. Apparently it reduces wrinkles, firm skin and boost radiance in 15 days, but I don’t think there’s enough in this sample sized tube to test that theory.

Skin & Co Sicilian Body Gel – with Sicilian orange and olive extracts, this little bottle packs a sweet smelling punch. Perfect for waking you up in the morning after the night before.

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Bonus – Roloxin Lift Instant Skin Smoothing Masque – a 10 minute face mask to smooth wrinkles and hide party fatigue. Saving this for New Year’s Day recovery!

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The bag itself is very festive, in dark green velvet like the dresses I wore at Christmas as a child, with lots of gold sparkles. It’s a good size for all your bits and bobs too.

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Love Me Beauty – those bonus points…

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So as you know, LMB has been revamping their site, store and packaging. One of the things they’ve changed is the boutique points – you get 60 a month, the problem being most things are 20 points, meaning you might only get three products, which is a lot less than most beauty boxes, and they’re not all full size.

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To compensate for this, LMB offers bonus points you can buy to add on. This month I decided to splurge a little and get some extra goodies in my box.

As it’s cold and miserable outside I picked a range of products to give my skin, hair and look a boost in the winter.

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Top row L-R:

Roques O’Neil Therapie Boost Hair & Body Wash – aromatherapy shampoo that can also be used as a body wash.

Nails Inc Gel Effect in Old Burlington Street and Porchester Square – gorgeous pairing for winter nails.

Percy & Reed Dry Instant Volumising Spray – the winter weather seems to just leave my hair completely flat, this should give it a boost.

Bottom row, L-R:

Monu Spa Fiji Facial Treatment Oil – formulated for sensitive skin, this oil might just be the one to change my mind about facial oils.

Nuxe Gentle Exfoliating Gel for Sensitive Skin – winter seems to leave my skin dry and flaky, this should shift that and boost my skin’s health.

Dr Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips – my lips are very prone to drying and cracking, and you guessed it, it gets worse in winter. I’ve heard good things about this, so despite my concerns about lanolin (my skin reacts poorly to it), I thought I’d see if this helps heal up my dry, cracked, sad smile.

Any of you LMB subscribers? What are your thoughts of the changes to the box? Let me know in the comments.

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Nailbox – Christmas is coming…

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November’s Nailbox has arrived, bringing with it a hint of Christmas in its red, green and glitter.

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Also in the box, Elegant Touch stick on tips, a file, and a great little booklet of festive patterns for your nails.

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And the colour coordinated candy cane is a nice touch. I’ve got a few Christmas dos to attend and now festive nail designs!

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Nailbox October

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Another month, another addition to my nail polish obsession.

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This month’s box features three wintery shades of polish from Rommel, Essie and Nails Inc. I can definitely see some funky nail art with these three shades.

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Left: Rimmel 60 Seconds in Caramel Cupcake, Middle: Essie multi dimensional top coat, Right: Nails Inc Gel Effect in Kensington High Street

Also in the box is Nicole by Opi Drying Drops – which is a new product to me. According to the blurb you add a drop or two after applying your colour and top coat to speed up the drying process.

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Lastly, there’s a pair of nail scissors from Elegant Touch. I prefer filing my nails to cutting them, and I can’t use them anyway, being a leftie (I have special ones for emergencies from Anything Left-Handed) but for anyone else these might come in useful.

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Overall a great little treat for nail polish nuts like me. A great way to get more polish for less than if I went and bought them separately (£15 for the box including P&P).

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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?

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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?

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Nailbox – Spooky September

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I skipped August’s nailbox while I tried to use up some of my existing nail polishes, and September’s box arrived today.

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Slightly confusingly it’s Halloween themed, despite it being September, but I suppose if you’re planning an All Hallows’ party, this would give you plenty of time to practise your designs.

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As well as three polishes, there’s a set of nail design brushes, and a base coat from Nail Apothecary.

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The polishes come from a range of brands, including my fave Nails Inc, and they’re all full size. For £15 this is a good range of nail items.

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Latest in Beauty – Heart Beauty Essentials

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Latest in Beauty loves the radio as it’s collaborations with Capital FM and Heart demonstrate.

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This beauty box in conjunction with my Dad’s favourite station (he always has it blaring away in the van) is jam packed.

Bloom & Blossom Bath and Shower Gel

Dirty Works 4-in-1 Face Wipes

Kitsch Prima Ballerina Hair Ties

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Lola Electric Purple Nail Polish

Nuxe Creme Moisturizing Cream

Indeed Labs Hydraluron Moisture Mask

Roger & Gallet Lait Sorbet Bois d’Orange Body Lotion

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Rimmel London Provocalips

Philosophy the microdelivery peel

Urban Veda Hydrating Toner

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Also included are discount vouchers for some of the brands included.

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I think I will be making use of all of these goodies, most of the brands are already in my beautifying arsenal.

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Birchbox Birthday at Selfridges

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As part of their ongoing birthday celebrations Birchbox have teamed up with Selfridges to offer you the chance to build your own box.

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For those unable to get to Oxford Street before the 27th, Birchbox has put together a special edition box available on their website for £20.

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Featuring 8 fabulous products, including four full size treats, this is a seriously great collaboration.

Cowshed Knackered Cow Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel – with a blend of lavender and eucalyptus this smells heavenly and I like the cheeky name.

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Eyeko Fat Eye Stick in Gilt – use this as shadow or liner, smooth and with a hint of glitter, this will make your smoky eye pop.

Nuxe Crème Fraiche de Beaute Mask – this is a brand beloved by beauty boxes and it’s not hard to see why. With plant proteins and white blossom, this hydrating, moisture-packed mask is quick and easy to use.

Philip Kingsley Body Building Shampoo & Conditioner – travel sized, volume boosting, builds thickness and body, and gets rid of those annoying flyaways.

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Regenerate Enamel Science Advanced Toothpaste – an unusual item in a beauty box, and while I’m happy with my usual toothpaste, if you’re looking to boost your teeth’s whiteness then this could be the one.

Soigne Nail Lacquer in Petale de Rose – this very soft pink polish from French brand Soigne, is very pretty but more spring than autumn.

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Wild About Beauty Lip Pencil Duo in Fiona – this lip liner and lipstick pencil duo are soft and creamy. The colour isn’t quite ‘me’ but would work well on someone a little darker than my vampire-like visage.

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Top - Eyeko crayon in Gilt, middle and bottom - Wild About Beauty lipstick and liner

This is a nice collection of products, and worth over £80 if bought separately.

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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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