Category: reviews

beauty, beauty boxes, look fantastic, make up, reviews

#LFSparkle Look Fantastic Party Edit

ramblingmads

This festive looking box of beauty treats landed on my doorstep on a very dreary day to sparkle things up. 

As well as the 5 listed beauty items, there was a nail file and a copy of this month’s Elle. 

Look Good Feel Better Angled Blending Brush – LGFB looks after women who have been diagnosed with cancer and helps them feel better about their changing appearance. This brush is super soft and angled enough to get eyeshadow into the crease. 

Model Co Blush Cheek Powder – a peachy toned blusher that once blended leaves you with a gentle flush. 

Sebastian Professional Volupt Spray – a non sticky formula designed to boost your hair’s volume without making it greasy or stiff. 

Bloom and Blossom Revitalising Foot and Leg Spray – perfect for those days when you’ve been clomping around all day in heavy winter boots. This spray refreshes tired feet and alleviates water tension with a blend of Horse Chestnut Seed and Yellow Sweet Clover. 

L’Oréal Professionnel Mythic Oil – with Avocado and Grape Seed Oils, this nourishes hair and protects against the environments stresses and damage. Essential for winter and pollution. 

Monu Recovery Balm – lots of lovely skin friendly oils and peptides in this cold weather fighter. Refreshing and reviving cold nibbled skin and leave it healthy and hydrated. 

This is a lovely mix of items, I can definitely see them getting used every day more or less. Just a shame  so much is teeny sample size. 

beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, reviews

Birchbox x Tatler – what a disappointment 

ramblingmads

Ok, firstly I love the peacock feather design and the fact that they seem to be sticking to the drawer version of the box. 

But oh boy are the contents awful. It feels a bit like they were clearing out some old stock and threw some random bits together. 

💄Amika Dry Shampoo 

💄Nuxe Creme Prodigeuese moisturiser 

💄Beauty Protector Blonde Shampoo

💄OCC Lip Tar Primer 

💄Bbrowbar Brow Pencil in Cinnamon Spice 

Yes, you read that right, two different types of shampoo. In the same box. Clearly the hair care stock pile needed a clear out. 

Then there’s yet another moisturiser. Yes I guess it’s useful but hardly a luxury treat. And I pretty much get one every month.  

The eyebrow pencil is completely the wrong shade – way too dark, the blonde shampoo is at least in the right direction. 

Finally the Lip Tar Primer – I use a lipbalm under my lipstick but this gloop doesn’t fill me with confidence. According to the lovely women in my WhatsApp group it’s a complete nightmare to use and a waste of time. 

So thanks Birchbox for a box full of random stuff from your storeroom. I filled in a beauty profile questionnaire but it seems that it was thrown directly into the bin. 

To be completely honest Birchbox has been flailing around for a while now. I don’t know what’s going on in their HQ but they definitely need to pull their socks up as there are plenty more beauty boxes out there just waiting to steal their customer base. 

beauty, beauty boxes, my little box, reviews

My Little Goodnight Box 

ramblingmads

Winter nights are dark and full of dreams – plus this week there’s a Super Moon (like Superman but made of cheese, right?)

MLB’s dreamy navy and silver (one of my favourite combinations) box holds a nice selection  of nightly delights. 

There’s an art print by regular illustrator Kanako, My Little World magazine, a padded sleep mask, which is super soft. 

I love this moon ring dish – it’s really pretty and rather sweet. 

Inside the star spangled bag are three beauty treats. 

– My Little Beauty Makeup Remover Jelly – Garnier Pureactive 3in1 (wash, scrub, mask)                                                                   – Yves Rocher Secrets D’Essences Accord Chic perfume 

And a sticker to add to my collection. 

I really liked this box – MLB have been really strong recently and long may it continue. 

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

TVK Beauty Box Nov ’16

ramblingmads

The box costs £18.95 from The Vegan Kind and comes every three months. There is also a monthly snack box with one beauty/body treat. As always 20p from each box sold goes to the Dr Hadwen Trust – the UK’s leading non-animal medical research charity. 

Inside this box are 7 items. Several are fullsize and I have a serious issue with the size of one of them…

Maggie Anne Gel Effect Nail Varnish (RRP £10.50) – fullsize. When will ‘nude’ nail varnish die? I would love to have received a fun, seasonal colour one, but no, another nude. Having said that it seems OK – goes on smoothly, with a nice finish. 

Human+Kind Body Scrub (RRP £13.50) – fullsize. This is a big bottle of body scrub and one I will be putting aside for the Mr as I really don’t like the scent. But I do like the natural ingredients and lack of evil microbeads. 

Inecto Naturals Little Saviour Coconut Hand and Nail Cream  (RRP £1.00) – fullsize. I like coconut and I like handcream. So I like this. 

PHB Ethical Beauty Peach Lip Liner (RRP £8.95) – fullsize. Matte lip liner in a slightly weird Peach colour. Hello the 90s. Really not sure about this. 

Dr Organic Moroccan Argan Oil Body Wash (RRP £2.99) – fullsize. I generally use argan oil on my hair after I wash it – it got rid of all my stress induced split ends like magic. So I will give this a go even though I’ve found other oil based body washes don’t leave me feeling clean or fresh as much as the bubbly ones. 

Amie Naturally Kind Morning Dew Matte Finish Moisturiser 10ml (RRP of fullsize item £4.95) – what is with the teeny tiny bottle? I don’t think you get much of a test run from something this small and at just under a fiver it’s hardly an exclusive premium product. That said, it’s a decent moisturiser for the price but nothing particularly fancy and no SPF.

Faith in Nature Watermelon Shampoo Sample  (fullsize RRP £5.50) – this is even more of a joke, have the Glossybox team taken over TVK? This is a tiny sachet of shampoo, good for one wash. Which isn’t a great way to test out whether this is for you. And again this is about average for a high street product.  What made me laugh the most was the fact that on the box insert card it raves about the gorgeous packaging – I wouldn’t know from this 7ml sample. 

All in all this was an ok box. Nothing too special- obviously the USP is that this is a cruelty free, vegan friendly collection, and in that sense it fulfils its brief. However all of these brands have been in the box before and some of the products are on the basic side. It would have been nice to see some little known and indie brands included.  

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

Glossybox November 

ramblingmads

There’s a lot of gold in this box. 

Ruby Professional Large Tapered Blending Brush – cruelty free and soft, this brush is a versatile eye make up tool. A new brush is always handy. 

Nuskin Bio Cellulose Facial Treatment Mask – a sheet mask full of skin loving, cell stimulating ingredients. 20 minutes to happier skin. 

Wilkinson Sword Quattro for Women  Raspberry Rain Disposable Razors – as when they include a razor every February – why?? 

Nanogen Root Boost Hair Thickening Spray – I’ve had this before and wasn’t too impressed  with its ability to make my hair a bit more volumnised. However this does contain keratin and other ingredients that look after hair. 

De Bruyere Beaute Jumbo Eye Pencil in Bubble 07 – this is a chunky gold eye pencil and my favourite thing in the box. It goes on smooth and soft, with lovely coverage. 

Shiny

Raffaello- a little coconut coated and almond chocolate treat from the people who provide ambassadors with their Ferraro Rocher. 

Nom



 

books, reviews

Book Review: The Bees – Laline Paull 

ramblingmads

This book’s premise is really interesting, charting a year in a bee hive from the perspective of one of the bees, Flora 717. 

Born into the lowest caste of bees, the sanitation workers, Flora 717 is a rather unusual bee. She makes her way through the hive, navigating the strict rules and life of the colony from Spring through Summer and Winter, days filled with Devotion and service. She witnesses extreme tragedy as well as joy, saves a few lives and learns that sometimes standing out is better  than fitting in. 

The writing is strong and pacey, the narrative flows well and I found it quite compelling. 

To be honest I wasn’t sure about this book buy in the end I was really pleased that I had read it. 

hygge, lifestyle boxes, reviews, skincare

Moi-Meme – Hygge box

ramblingmads

The Danish concept of ‘hygge‘ is everywhere this winter, pronounced ‘hoo-gah’ it’s a sort of cosiness that’s pretty hard to describe but it’s meant to be the reason Danes are so happy. 

Moi-Meme is one of the pricier subscription boxes out there and only arrives every few months. The last one was a summer adventure box and this one is all about cosy comfort. 

The box smells delicious because of some of the treats inside. 

I get very cold feet in the winter – poor circulation is a pest, so these snuggly bed socks are perfect – although I can’t wear socks in bed, but hey they’ll be great inside boots or slippers. With a little dash of cashmere they’re so soft. 

From the same people as the socks is a little lavender bag, which can be popped under your pillow or tucked in a drawer to keep things fresh. Mine is heading for my knicker drawer – so I get a whiff when I open it in the morning. 

Two skincare products from Danish brand Nuori next – one of which is fullsize (thank you luxury box gods). 

First up the Vital Foaming Cleanser – made with Pomegranate enzyme and radish root extract this gentle cleanser stripy dirt and make up but leaves skin’s natural oils so it’s not drying. Perfect as I am literally scraping cleanser out of the bottle. 

Vital Eye Cream is lightweight and full of skin loving ingredients including shea butter, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E. 

I like that Moi-Meme always includes an accessory of some sort. This time it’s a bracelet from Swedish brand Edblad. I got the yellow gold one, which isn’t really my style so I might take advantage of the Moi-Meme swap service and exchange it for either the rose gold or stainless steel. 

Finally there’s the candle for that all important hygge atmosphere. This one is from The Bath Candle Company and is available in a range of scents. Mine is Dark Pomegranate and despite normally preferring lighter scents, this is delicious. 

As always the box items will soon be available in the Moi-Meme shop along with others from the brands included. Subscribers get a discount on all items, which is great if you want to top up your box items or buy gifts. I’ll definitely be taking advantage of this as I have seen some gorgeous things in their shop that are perfect as Christmas gifts. 
As with the first box I love this, it feels really thoughtfully curated based on the questionnaire I filled in when signing up. The box might be a pricier one than many but the items cost massively outweighs it. 

beauty, beauty boxes, lifestyle boxes, my little box, reviews

My Little Brooklyn Box

ramblingmads

My Little Box has gone to the Big Apple – a city closely linked to France, who gifted the Statue of Liberty to the Americans. 

Brooklyn, a borough of New York famous for its hipsters and baristas has inspired this month’s box, as has coffee, and I hate coffee. 

However, I quite like this box. 

Inside are a whole host of goodies. 

The sticker has gone into my phone case as it makes me smile and will remind me to relax and not go to panic stations all the time. 

Firstly the beauty treats; 

Terrybly Crayon Kohl By Terry – this a gold eyeliner/eyeshadow crayon. I already love it. 

Tigi Catwalk Fashionista Violet Mask – specially formulated for blondes (there’s a brunette version too) this fullsize hair mask smells ok and is supposed to boost hair. Which is perfect as mine needs a lift. 

My Little Beauty Save My Nails Strengthening Treatment- stop reading my mind MLB. My brittle nails need some TLC so this is great. 

Also in the box are three lifestyle treats too. 

Enamel “Coffee Made Me Do It” mug – quite cute but I don’t drink coffee so it didn’t make me do anything! This cup is the perfect size for soaking my beauty sponges in however, especially as I just sorted and downsized our mug collection. 

Latte stencil – or in my case hot chocolate stencil. 

Pins – there is a doughnut pin and a matching pair of lapel pins – which I thought were earrings! Adding these to my pin collection right now. 

There’s an art print with a cute design by illustrator Kanako and a copy of My Little World magazine, which I will enjoy flicking through on my commute.

 The little cloth bags are really durable and can be used in all sorts of ways and as Christmas is slowly creeping one way is as gift bags for all sorts of treats. How do you use yours? Let me know in the comments below. 

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

Glossybox October Unboxing

ramblingmads

This box has been put together with blogger Estee Lalonde as part of the promotion for her new book, which features heavily in the box card insert. Beyond that I don’t really see the connection as it’s the usual pink and black packaging, unlike previous collaboration boxes. 

Inside are five products and a bonus mystery item.  

Trifle Cosmetics Lip Parfait – the packaging on this is very cute but the actual lipstick is a really pale, almost translucent pink. To be honest I don’t know if I’ll get much use out of it as it’s several shades lighter than my actual lip colour so wouldn’t even work as a nude tone. 
Nuxe Shimmering Dry Oil Huile Prodigeuese- I’ve had this in so many boxes now it’s getting a bit silly. However as Christmas party season looms and I like glitter, the shimmer in this oil is a good look in my blonde hair or on my pale skin. 

Top – lip parfait, bottom – cheek/lip stain

Universal Beauty Cosmetics Secret Flush Soothing Cream Blusher and Lip Stain Duo – I used to be very into these two-in- one products and the pink on this would work better as a nude lip colour than the Parfait.  But there’s probably too much shimmer in there for a blusher. 

Bee Good Honey & Camomile Facial Exfoliator – I really like the lipbalms and moisturisers I’ve had from Bee Good so this gentle exfoliating mask, made with honey from British bees (and the company helps keep bees going – which is vitally important) is definitely being added to my bathroom stash of masks.

 

PS…Pro Illuminating Primer – so Glossybox supposedly is always full of premium brands right. Well this primer is from Primark’s own range. It just seems an odd addition. 

The bonus secret item – mystery shampoo. Possibly a Head & Shoulders number  (due to bottle design) this will be revealed on Estee’s blog at some point. It seems a pointless exercise for a travel bottle of shampoo. 
To be quite frank this was supposed to be my last Glossybox, I was cashing in the points for a freebie but due to a glitch in the system, that will now be November’s box. While this box wasn’t as bad as some have been, it wasn’t the best ever.

 

beauty, make up, reviews

Doing the Dupe Shoop…

ramblingmads

For a while I was a bit of a snob about buying dupes, thinking it was always better to buy the fancy, expensive version. 

But buying dupes allows you to try the product before spending your hard earned pennies on the premium version. 

EBay and Amazon marketplace are a dream for dupe hunters – ok so the quality isn’t 100% but at these bargain basement prices it’s hard to argue.  

Shipping is often from China and pretty cheap or even free so while it does take a whole to arrive, it doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg just in postage. 

These are some of my favourite dupes so far. 

Kabuki brush – Sal Ummbaby mentioned this a while ago and I had to give it a go. It’s probably my favourite dupe item ever – and despite being cheap as chips it’s lasted really well and washed nicely, holding its shape and not shedding much – better than some of my pricier brushes have. 

Beauty Sponge – I wanted to try a sponge but didn’t fancy paying 10 quid for one so these beauties were a great alternative. They last a while and wash ok, although be gentle when washing them as the sponge shreds if you’re too vigorous. 


Brush Egg – I saw a very expensive brush washing mat on a blog post somewhere and wanted something a bit less pricey to get my brushes properly clean and this little gadget does the trick. You swirl the brush over the ridges and the grime shifts (I use a little blob of gentle shampoo and warm water too). 

Oval brush – these seemed to be a big thing and once again a bit pricier than I was willing to pay to try it out.  I don’t think they’re for me.  And it didn’t cost much to find that out. This was OK as cheap brushes go, fairly soft and stiff, washed well without too much shedding. I just prefer my sponge blender. 

Rainbow highlighter – I think it’s wanting to be a mermaid/unicorn/pirate/spacewoman/superhero/princess that attracted me to the idea of a rainbow highlighter. Swooshing colour across my cheeks. I blame Rainbow Brite. Again this was expensive and almost impossible to find. But this cheap and cheerful knockoff was easy and simple to buy and while it isn’t the fanciest packaging ever, it’s good for a bit of the ol’ I’m a rainbow shimmy. 

Nail Polish holder – this is pretty ingenious, although the original is more than some of my nail polishes. It sits on your fingers and holds the polish bottle so if you haven’t got a flat surface (or surprisingly firm and well balanced thighs) it keeps the polish from spilling. 

I haven’t written about high street dupes because they’re everywhere and I think most of you know about them, but feel free to suggest them, or any other clever alternatives in the comments.