Category: skincare

beauty, beauty boxes, reviews, skincare

Blogger Beauty Box

ramblingmads

This is steadily becoming a hugely popular beauty box. Set up and run by two bloggers alongside their fulltime jobs, it’s a bargain at £10 and always arrives crammed with great new products.

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This month there’s five products in the box and I think they’ll all find a place in my routine.

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Veeda 100% Natural Cotton tampons – sneaking around the utterly sexist Tampon Tax by sending out body friendly essentials – I like it!

The Hair Experts Root Touch-Up in Blonde – as a natural blonde I’ve become so used to products for brunettes popping up in beauty boxes and as freebies on magazines that this was a real surprise. However as I don’t currently possess grey hair or roots I might just use this more as a highlighter.

Merumaya Everything Everywhere Beauty Oil – this can be applied pretty much everywhere for different effects.

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Puriskin by Vanessa Blake Cosmetics Nurse Aid Cream – designed to heal up the various daily affronts to your hands and nails, from soft nails to burns and rashes.

Richard Ward The Chelsea Collection Keratin Rehab Deep Conditioner – after shampooing, smooth into hair, leave for five minutes and rinse. Boost your hair to happy!

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The Glamour Summer Edit – Latest in Beauty

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The newest Glamour edit beauty box has landed at Latest in Beauty and for £20 (inc P&P) you get 8 products to keep you looking fab this summer.

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Grounded Chocolate Orange Scrub – natural coffee granule body scrub that leaves a chocolate orange scent and exfoliate to baby soft skin.

Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolour in Devotion – I love these lip colours, they apply beautifully and don’t run or crack. This nude pink shade isn’t one I would necessarily pick, I prefer a stronger colour but it’s a great colour for most skin tones.

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Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray – handbag sized for styling in the office loos before heading out for post-work fun, this adds texture and volume.

St Tropez Self Tan Classic Bronzing Mist – apparently this is foolproof but we’ll see. The mist should leave a streak-free golden colour.

Ladival Sun Protection Spray SPF30 – spray on sunscreen, protecting you from UVA, UVA and infrared A rays too.

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Aurelia Miracle Cleanser and Bamboo Muslin Cloth – a creamy cleanser with a super soft cloth perfect for a weekend away.

Nuxe Prodigieux Shower Oil – with orange blossom, vanilla and magnolia this smells delicious and leaves skin soft.

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Wow Mask Luxury Facial Mask – a collagen boosting sheet mask to plump and firm your face. 

These boxes are always absolutely packed with great products curated by Glamour’s Beauty Director, and I love everything in this box, certainly I’ll be giving it all a whirl.

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beauty, beauty boxes, make up, reviews, skincare

Look Incredible – pick a box

ramblingmads

Look Incredible does two different beauty boxes – their standard costs £18.95 and is usually worth approximately £70-80, the deluxe box costs £35 with approximately £100 worth of products. But which one is the best purchase.

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This month I ordered both to do a comparison.

The standard box contained 5 items worth £76.50 in total. All items are full sized.

Stila All Over Shimmer Liquid Luminizer (RRP £16) – a shimmery summery liquid designed to give you a lovely glow. Most likely this will be used as a liquid highlighter for those days I need a bit more shine.

Velvet 59 Matte to the Max Liquid Lipstick in Pink Cadillac (RRP £17) – I quite like liquid lipsticks but this baby pink shade isn’t for me.

Ciate Manicure Set (RRP £16) – this set comes with polish, foil fix glue and metallic colourfoil sheets for a glam, shiny finish. I will definitely be giving this a whirl.

No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara (RRP £11.50) – as regular readers will know I can’t stand getting mascaras in beauty boxes, it feels lazy and I’m fussy. However, my mum is a huge No7 fan and will be thrilled that she still doesn’t have to buy any mascara!

The Body Shop Moroccan Rhassoul Body Clay (RRP £16) – this is a clay mask for your body, Rhassoul clay is famed for its skin firming powers, and I will be busting it out to get my milk white pins looking summer ready.

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The Deluxe box contains four items, all full size and worth £112.

Nars Audacious Mascara (RRP £21) – another beauty box, another mascara. This is a fancier one with a heftier price tag and a friend of mine swears by this one.

Tarte MultiEye Primer (RRP £20) – lash primers seem to be a big new thing this year, I don’t really get it to be completely honest. This one makes lots of claims to condition, nourish and lengthen lashes before you apply your mascara.

BareMinerals Marvellous Moxie Lip gloss in Hypnotist (RRP £16) – not a huge lip gloss fan, my hair sticks to it and it doesn’t always suit me, but I do quite like this one. It’s full of natural ingredients and the colour isn’t too glittery.

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BareMinerals 3 Piece Champagne Crystal Collection (RRP £55) – a chunky make up case, complete with a brush and shimmer powder – this screams Christmas gift set to me. Which might be a bit harsh but I honestly don’t think it’s worth the hefty price tag for one product and a brush.

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The verdict – personally I think the mix of products and value of the standard box outweighs the deluxe box. It might seem more a bargain, but considering one item was more empty space than beauty product it just doesn’t seem so deluxe and I would have liked it if all the items were from different brands.

beauty, beauty boxes, look fantastic, reviews, skincare

#LFJetsetter

ramblingmads

June’s Look Fantastic box dropped on my doorstep at the weekend and it’s all about getting away from it – jetting off somewhere glam.

Sadly I don’t have anything planned yet, but I could definitely do with a dose of doing nothing somewhere sunny and interesting.

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The box is full of summer boosters to help you look good and feel even better in the summer.

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Caudalie Premier Cru Eye Cream – infused with Copper, Silver and Iridescent Pearlisers this luxury French eye cream is designed to illuminate the skin and eliminate dark circles.

Naobay Oxygenating Cream Moisturiser – this moisturiser is specially designed to keep skin happy and healthy during the summer sun, it’s recommended for evenings after you’ve been out soaking up the vitamin D.

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Korres Shower Gel – I love the Bergamot Pear scent but the Basil Lemon was new to me, hopefully I’ll love it just as much.

Mr Blanc Teeth Whitening Strips – peroxide free strips designed to whiten teeth and leave you with a shiny smile (hopefully not too Ross from Friends after the bleach incident).

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Cowshed Moisturising Cream – beauty box lovers seem divided on the question of whether hand cream in a box is a good or bad thing. Personally I love it, always in need of more – haven’t paid for hand cream in ages, and this is one of my favourites.

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Dead Sea Spa Magik Beauty Balm BB Cream – infused with Dead Sea Minerals and Vitamin E, this works with your natural skin tone so you don’t look too orange. But we’ll see, few ‘suitable for all skin tones’ can cope with my ghost white skin.

Tan Organic Tanning Oil – self-tan and I have a complicated history but I always try them out. Knowing my luck this won’t affect the milk bottles (semi skimmed) I have for legs.

As always there’s the in-box magazine and a free copy of Elle, although without the Benefit goodies attached to the copies in stores.

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Beauty box round up

ramblingmads

You may have noticed a slight lull in May’s beauty box breakdowns. To be honest May, as Shania Twain once sang ‘that don’t impress me much’. It was pretty underwhelming.

Glossybox was frustrating as usual – so much potential, so much empty box space and ‘meh’ products.

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The highlight of the box for me was the random nail repair gel, my brittle nails need it. The Mr ate the popcorn and my mum made off with the hand cream.

Birchbox wasn’t a great deal better, the ladies of the WhatsApp swap group did quite well out of my lack of love.

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The sachet of coconut oil was the biggest ‘why?’ of the box. Seemed like an unnecessary addition and the promo card with it was about three times the sample’s size.

I did like the My Little Box offering this month, but mostly for the lifestyle items, a shiny ring is almost guaranteed to catch my magpie eye. I can’t remember what the beauty items even were, a definite sign of ‘eh’ as a reaction.

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I was happier with the one-off and quarterly boxes this month.

The Vegan Kind‘s beauty box had a hairmask that smelt like pancakes and a yummy lip scrub. You’re welcome to pop round any time TVK.

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Latest in Beauty scored another sparkler in collaboration with the lovely Jane of British Beauty Blogger fame in their Precious Petals box with products from the L’Occitane family. Very Spring.

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Powder launched their second beauty drawer, hope they do a third. Brilliant products, even if they did forget two of mine (sent separately with a gift card as an apology).

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I think part of the problem for monthly boxes is that they run out of steam some months and just can’t get it together. What’s worrying (for them) is that much smaller groups, like the lovely ladies behind The Blogger Beauty Box, are doing it better than these big name brands with all the contacts, firms and knowledge at their disposal.

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I’ve skipped over the worst boxes (You Beauty and Look Incredible) and of the monthly ones, Look Fantastic did a reasonable job, but still a little weak (yet another hairbrush that is defeated by the stubborn hair on my head).

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So, June has now arrived. And with it a fresh crop of boxes is due to arrive. Fingers crossed I like them a wee bit more.

beauty, beauty boxes, make up, reviews, skincare

Little Known Box

ramblingmads

This is a new subscription beauty box aiming to showcase (as the name suggests) lesser known brands.

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Just launched, their first box contains five products, four of which are fullsize.

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Flint + Flint Moisturiser 3x – this is a rich cream filled with good things for your skin to repair and regenerate your skin.

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The Vintage Cosmetic Company rose gold eyelash curlers – these are pretty self explanatory, they’re eyelash curlers!

Medusa’s Make-up lip gloss in Space Invader – this cruelty-free US import is a pinky red with a hint of glitter.

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Dirtea Exfoliating Coconut Scrub – this is the only sample sized product in the box, and at first I thought it was a teabag! It’s a body scrub made with black tea extract, coconut oil and and Himalayan pink salt. It also comes in Peppermint and Diamond, all designed to target different skin complaints.

Thumbs Up Nail Wraps – marble accented wraps designed to decorate your nails without damaging them. 

There are discounts available for every brand in the box, perfect if you find something you love and want more of.

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beauty, beauty boxes, look fantastic, reviews, skincare

Look Fantastic #LFHelloBeautiful

ramblingmads

A new month means new beauty boxes, and I’m kicking May off with Look Fantastic’s Hello Beautiful Box. Packed full of skincare and hair products to get you looking fabulous in the Spring sunshine. There’s also a free copy of June’s Elle magazine, almost half the price of the box alone.

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Ren Wake Wonderful Night Time Facial – a sample size bottle of Ren’s overnight treatment, combining Glycolic and Lactic acids with Cranberry Seed Oil and Arctic Blackcurrant Seed Oil. Apply after your night time moisturiser to wake up with youthful and plumped skin. Probably not a product I’ll use much as I’m quite happy with my night time skincare regime, but should I feel my skin needs a boost, this might be quite handy.

Ioma Youthful Moisture Cream – seven little pods of rich moisture, infused with Soya and Cotton Oil, to increase the production of collagen and regenerate cells. These are single use pods, and will most likely make their way onto my face on those when my skin feels tight and in need of extra moisture.

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Revlon Uniq One Coconut hair treatment – designed to repair damaged hair and improve shine as well as containing UVA and UVB filters for the summer sun. Most likely this will be popped in my bag for use after swimming, chlorine plays havoc with blonde hair, turning it a delightful shade of green.

Wet Brush – designed especially to comb out wet hair without breaking, this is another for the swim bag, to quickly and gently tidy my hair post-swim.

Vichy Lift Activ – from French pharmacy brand comes this intensely hydrating moisturiser, suitable for sensitive skin. Handy pocket sized pot, perfect for popping in a bag for overnight or weekend breaks.

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Decleor Hydra Floral Gel Cream – 70% water based cream to deliver hydration without feeling heavy. My main bugbear with this is the teeny tube of product, barely enough to check whether it’s something you’d want to invest in.

A bit of a mixed box, with some products I know I’ll make use of and some I’m not that sure about. Part of the problem is so many products are very similar – essentially four different moisturisers, plus a hair brush and hair treatment spray.

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

M&S Best of British Beauty Box

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Good ol’ M&S jumping on the beauty box wagon with their Best of British box. It’s priced at £120, which is a lot but Sparks card holders can get it for £25 delivered free to your nearest store. Check out the Sparks app or the website for details.

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I had a gift voucher to use and since I only really buy underwear and Club sandwiches (except when my local shop stops stocking them :'() in M&S it seemed worth spending it on this box rather than more pants.

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The box has 13 products from British brands, and seems to have been launched to celebrate the new M&S beauty halls, stocking brands like Pixi, REN and Nuxe.

🌹M&S Pure Super Grape Day Cream

🌹Leighton Denny Britz & Glitz Nail Colour

🌹Pixi LipLift Glossy Lip Plumper

🌹Eyeko Black Magic Mini Mascara

🌹REN Wake Wonderful Night time Facial

🌹Percy & Reed Perfectly Perfecting Wonder Balm

🌹M&S Rosie for Autograph Amazing Radiance Cream

🌹M&S Rosie for Autograph Nuit Parfum Eau de Parfum

🌹Joan Collins Timeless Beauty Class Act Lash Growth Treatment

🌹Rodial Stemcell Super Food Cleanser

🌹Look Good Feel Better Eye Shading Brush

🌹Nails Inc 45 Second Top Coat with Kensington Caviar

🌹Studio 10 Age Reverse Perfecting Lipliner

There’s a great assortment of products from haircare to nails, skincare to make up. It’s a rather packed box, but I don’t know if it’s worth the full £120. Most of the products are full size, which is nice as so many boxes have the tiniest possible sachets, which aren’t exactly worth getting a lot of the time.

Will you be indulging yourself in M&S Best of British beauty box?

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

My Little Flower Book – April’s My Little Box

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This month’s My Little Box has winged its way across the Channel in the guise of a book of flowers, or at least a box pretending to be one.

The box would make a great storage place for keepsakes or make up.

The floral theme continues inside. MLB have collaborated with French fashion house Balzac for this box and included a cute floral print lingerie bag – perfect for your smalls when you travel, or even at home.

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Also in the box is a tiny pop up garden, perfect for a windowsill or perhaps your desk. Seeds included, a simple, clever way to bring some greenery inside.

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Onto the beauty bag with three items designed to make you look and smell lovely.

L’Occitane Pivoine Flora Shower Gel – I love L’Occitane, and this peony scented gel smells delicious.

Nails Inc polish – there’s no name on this bottle, usually named for London streets, but it’s a purple-grey colour which looks better on nails than it does in the bottle.

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My Little Beauty Rosy Mornings Detoxifying Mask – another yummy smelling product from the in-house beauty brand. Packed with vitamin C and designed to brighten complexions, I’m looking forward to treating my face to this colour changing mask.

There’s also the My Little World magazine, with interviews, beauty tips and themed articles to enjoy while the weather makes its mind up.

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beauty boxes, love me beauty, reviews, skincare

Love Me Beauty Boutique April

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Love Me Beauty has decided to do away with boxes in favour of a make up pouch. This means all their products have shrunk to fit. Previous boutique edits featured lots of full size products, now it’s all mini options. Which is disappointing as they still cost as many points as before. Less bang for your buck.

I picked up a whole bundle of bits, some of which will probably wind up in my mum’s hands when she pops round.

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🌸Renu Skin Flash Relax Mask for Mature Skin

🌸Melvita Eau de fleurs d’Oranger Bigarade

🌸Monu Skin Skin Perfector for Combination Skin

🌸Melvita Repairing Argan Oil

🌸Make Up For Ever Step 1 Skin Equaliser Smoothing Primer

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🌸Nails Inc in Lancaster Grove

🌸Renu Extra Firming Lip and Eye Active Lift for Mature Skin

🌸Rodial Bee Venom Cleansing Balm

🌸Nails Inc in Belsize Lane

🌸Make Up For Ever High Definition Powder

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