Category: skincare

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

Look Fantastic Beauty Box No. 2

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The second gold and shiny beauty box from Look Fantastic was delivered this morning. A text from Royal Mail let me know it had arrived (I didn’t know RM did that, I do now).

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Inside the pretty box, beneath the layer of tissue paper lies this month’s selection of beauty goodies.

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There’s more variety in this box than there was in the skincare fest last time.

There’s a festive bent to the box this month, with Look Fantastic’s pick of a Ruby Red mineral lipstick from Bellapierre. The perfect shade for the season.

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Also in the box – Korres Guava Shower Gel – vitamin enriched, lightly scented, creamy-foam gel.

Ole Henriksen Empower Foaming Milk Cleanser – travel sized, this cleanser promises to protect against free radicals with the power of Arctic cloudberries, which is packed with vitamins. All I can say is that it smells inoffensive and left my skin soft.

Dr PawPaw Tinted Ultimate Red Balm – a limited edition balm that can be used for lips, cheeks and touch ups. Containing pawpaw extract, olive oil and aloe vera.

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Ren V-Cense Youth Vitality Day Cream – a moisturiser that hydrates, smoothes and boosts skin energy and elasticity.

Kebelo Enriching Masque – designed for naturally dry hair, this contains argan oil and a host of happy hair ingredients that mimic natural hair oils and nourish your hair to keep it shiny and healthy.

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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!

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beauty, beauty boxes, my little box, reviews, skincare

My Little Creative Box

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Another month, another delivery delay from My Little Box. They insist there’s no problems, but Facebook is full of disgruntled customers. If you’re one of them and don’t want any spoilers, look away now.

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This month’s box has been created in partnership with Pinterest, the online scrapbook. To be honest I don’t really know what’s so creative about the contents of this box.

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Inside is a selection of beauty products and lifestyle items, along with the fold-out My Little World magazine and illustrated card.

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The beauty products come in their usual dinky drawstring cloth bag (really good for keeping your beauty products tidy when travelling)

This month’s selection are;

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Left: Un Songe d’Or beauty oil from Aimy, full size, worth £29.
Centre: Talika’s Photo-Hydra Day, full size, worth £43.50
Right: Crème de Minuit, My Little Beauty, full size, worth £15

I’m not really a fan of beauty oils, but a friend of mine loves them, so I shall be passing this one on. I’ve tried the Talika cream in another box and it does what it says, hydrates the skin, something my skin needs as the cold weather sets in. The Crème de Minuit is a night cream, which I might try out, although I’m pretty happy with my current nightly skincare routine.

The lifestyle items this month are a little lacking, and I can’t quite see how they fit with the theme of the box.

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Wire-wrap beads, MLB, £16 – little plastic beads which wrap round things like headphone wires, which would be fine if I was a teenager still, but I don’t really think they quite work for the twenty and thirty something women who subscribe to the box.

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Canvas tote bag, MLB, £15 – this might not be the most ‘creative’ item but as the new 5p charge has come in for plastic bags, it will be useful. It folds up quite small, so you can pop in your handbag when you head to the shops.

Overall, not the greatest box and not really worth the wait for it. It’s nice to have full size products but a bit of variety would have been nice, and I think if you’re going to have a theme then you really need to make sure the items fit the theme.

Are you a MLB subscriber? What did you think of this month’s box?

ramblingmads

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, latest in beauty, reviews, skincare

Latest in Beauty Get the Gloss – The Cult Collection

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Another season, another great box from LiB, the second this year in collaboration with Get the Gloss.

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Inside there’s a nicely curated selection of products that have been everywhere this year.

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St Tropez Gradual Tan in Shower Lotion – I remember the old days of St Tropez, orange streaks and that weird biscuity smell. This in shower self tan has been raved about by bloggers and journalists alike. My own tan tester (and best friend) reported success. Might have to give my pasty legs a treat!

Eyeko Fat Liquid Eyeliner Black – I love eyeko’s chubby colour sticks, but eyeliner is something I never quite get right. This is basically a felt tip and I have some success with similar liners before.

Ciate nail polish in mistress – as you know I’m a polish addict. Red isn’t really my preference so I’ll probably be passing this along to my mum (who used to pinch mine, but now can’t).

Dr Lipp Miracle Balm – this multi use balm (lips, dry bits) claims to last for hours with no sticky residue. We’ll see about that, nothing has yet kept my cracked lips moisturised for long!

Bee Good Youth Enhancing Lift and Brighten Eye Cream – I don’t really use eye creams – but before you gasp in horror, there’s a reason. I have had allergic reactions to eye creams in the past, which were extremely painful so now I stick to multi use moisturisers. But as this seems to be mostly natural ingredients maybe my skin will be ok with it.

Nude Skincare ProGenius Rescue Oil – this oil has been in so many beauty boxes this year, but I didn’t get on with it. I don’t think skin oils are for me.

Prismologie Pink O’Clock Hand & Cuticle Cream and Indigo Interlude Foot Cream – the tiniest tubes ever of hand and foot creams. However they do smell nice and I like to treat my hands and feet, they work rather hard.

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Are there any favourites in this box or something you’d like to try?

What are your cult favourites?

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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, birchbox, reviews, skincare

Birchbox – Stylist edit

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This month you can choose between two different boxes – the one curated by Stylist’s Beauty Editor or a Back to Basics box.

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I chose the Stylist box – I like reading the free magazine handed out at tube stations and I wanted to see what their beauty editor would come up with.

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Inside the box are six items, 3 exclusive to Birchbox and one that’s full size.

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100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Lip Glaze – with avocado and cocoa butters, this is a matte finish lip glaze and it’s 100% vegan too.

Bioderma Sensibio H20 – teeny little bottle of micellar water.

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Parlor by Jeff Chastain Smoothing Blowout Spray – frizz reducing, protecting against heat damage, this little bottle packs a punch.

Rituals Yogi Flow Foaming Shower Gel – rose scented gel that becomes foam in hot water.

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When Travelmate Sheet Mask – these are really big in Korea and Japan and have been making their way over to the UK this year.

English Laundry No. 7 Signature For Her – rose geranium, white flowers and musk perfume. It reminds me of the famous Body Shop White Musk scent of my teens.

If you would like to subscribe to Birchbox and would like £5 of Birchbox points to spend, click here to start your subscription.

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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, perfume, reviews, skincare, you beauty

You Beauty Discovery Box – October

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Every month I um and ah about whether to cancel this box. Then there’s a really good one (like September’s skin care special) and I stay. When it’s good, the £6.95 is totally worth it, a bargain in fact but then there’s month’s like this.

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I really struggled to pick my two samples, as I didn’t really like any of them. Nothing jumped out at me, waving and shouting. It was all a bit meh.

In the end I went with a product I will inevitably use and one I will try.

Roger & Gallet Gingembre Rouge body lotion and perfume samples – I slather body lotion on my dry legs every morning after a shower and I tend to be fairly indiscriminate about what I use. The scent is inspired by Zanzibar and has hints of ginger – though it smells very floral to me.

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The other item I picked was Kore’s Foaming Cleanser, Pearl Revitalising Toner and Pearl Gentle Exfoliator Trio. Kore is not a brand I’ve come across before – from Australia, free from animal testing and parabens.

Also in the box:  The White Company’s Day and Night perfume samples and Vichy Dermablend corrective foundation samples in shades 15 (opal) and 25 (nude).

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Not overwhelmed by this month’s box. If November’s is as naff, I think I’ll be speaking with my purse and saying sayonara to You Beauty. 

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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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