When you look at your body in the mirror or the bath,
It should make you smile, it should make you laugh,
Those stretch marks that you hate,
Remind you of the date your baby was born,
You grew an entire new person, that’s great,
That scar from falling off your bike,
Reminds you of being a little tike,
My broken toe never healed straight,
But I remember the fun I had the day it broke,
That weird lump or mark you’ve had all your life, that makes you self-conscious,
Marks you as an individual, as one of a kind,
So be kind to your body, be kind to your soul,
Honour your curves, or straight lines,
Stop worrying so much about what others think,
They’re all having the same anxious thoughts,
We spend all our time looking for flaws,
But you’re perfect just as you are.
Do something nice for yourself today. Remember that you are unique and wonderful, just like everyone else.
After a delay in posting (don’t ask) my May MLB is finally here. Here’s my thoughts.
Provence in France is supposed to be a beautiful place. Blue skies, fields of lavender, so it’s no surprise that My Little Box has taken inspiration from it.
However I have my reservations about this box.
Provence is the home of cult beauty brand L’Occitane and this box feels like an homage to that company, and having recently had a sample box from L’Occitane, this felt a little repetitive (although not everyone will feel this way).
As always the box is beautifully presented (above are my unboxing pics). Inside is a slightly confused selection.
There have been a lot of blogger and Facebook complaints about this box, and how MLB seem to be a bit muddled about who their box is aimed up – not for the first time.
The stickers in the My Little Super Box caused the same moans, this time it’s magnets. I will most likely give them to my friend’s little girls to play with, although they are very nice, I don’t need more fridge magnets.
Most of the actual beauty items are L’Occitane, Verbena soap, Verbena body lotion, Mer & Mistral body wash, Rose hand cream. They also included a My Little Beauty eye shadow crayon. They come in a themed mini canvas bag.
Eye crayon - a brown with a little shimmer
The lifestyle item is a gold cuff bracelet with two shades of blue thread so you can personalise it (check out their Instagram for ideas).
MLB are always pretty generous with the box contents – for £10 this box is worth about £40. There is also a L’Occitane voucher (that ran out on May 31st).
There is, as always, a copy of their My Little World magazine. However they’ve changed the format and now it opens out like a poster, which makes it harder to look through. There’s also a cute illustrated quote card, which will find a home on my wardrobe inspiration wall.
All in all, not thrilled with this box, I prefer a wider selection of products, not an advert for one company. Hopefully June’s box will do better. Still fancy a trip to Provence though!
This September I am doing a charity walk for an organization I am quite fond of – Refuge.
They are the UK’s biggest domestic abuse charity and support women and children fleeing abusive situations. They receive no government funding and as the Government tighten the country’s collective belts, sadly organisations like Refuge are needed more.
Terrible photo, sorry
I am asking, very nicely, if you could sponsor me. All of the money goes to Refuge, nothing will be in my pocket.
This month’s gimmick was select your box design. I went with the pick ‘n’ mix pattern.
To be completely honest I am not impressed with this month’s selection.
Temporary tattoos! I last wore these age 6 or 7. I am far too old and more likely to get a real one than wear these.
Another mascara – I think I get one of these every other month. I can’t even use them. There were other make up items hinted at, but no, another mascara.
Oil is an ingredient in much of the rest of the box.
Nude ProGenius treatment oil – applied after cleansing to boost skin’s hydration.
Beauty Protector Protect & Oil – hair oil that claims to protect against UV and heat damage.
English Laundry No. 7 For Her – perfume sample – adapted from a men’s fragrance, this is quite musky and a little too heavy for me.
Cowshed Body Lotion in Knackered Cow – contains essential oils of lavender and eucalyptus.
ModelCo Powerlash Black Mascara – another mascara, hot on the heels of the last one.
STYLondon Temporary Metallic Tattoos – nope, not even going there.
Bonus lifestyle item – a shoe bag designed by French Sole in matching design to the box. What a disappointing item – don’t see it getting much use.
Not shown - temporary tattoos - they seem to have run away!
Birchbox seems to vacillate between good and pretty poor. This wasn’t my favourite by a long shot. I think they’re not entirely sure who their customers are – which is weird considering you do a questionnaire on the site.
One of my greatest loves in life is the theatre, I wanted to be an actress but have crippling stage fright so I have to settle for a seat in the audience.
Last night we went to the Lyric theatre in Hammersmith to see their fabulous production of Alan Parker’s Bugsy Malone.
Previously thought to be un-stageable, the Lyric’s talented director Sean Hughes and his cast of future megastars proved that completely wrong.
As in the film that introduced Jodie Foster to the world, all the roles are played by child actors, and let me tell you, I highly expect these insanely talented kids to go far.
From their breathtaking dance routines, to the (mostly) flawless American accents, to the beautiful singing voices (the girl playing Blousey Brown stood out in particular) and the brilliant comic asides from Fat Sam himself, this was one hell of a show and they deserved every second of the standing ovation.
I wasn’t applauding because ‘Aww look at how cute they are’, I was applauding incredible talent, which comes in all shapes and sizes(and ages).
Yes, most of them attend drama classes or stage school (as I did for a bit) but so do dozens of other young performers, and sadly some of them will never stand on a professional stage.
So hats off to the cast of Bugsy, and if you’re in or near London, go, it’s a great theatre, a fantastic show, and the tickets are £15. What more could you want?
May’s Glossybox finally arrived and it’s themed with some of this summer’s biggest trends and products.
MeMeMe Enchanted Eyes Dual Ended Eye Wand – blue eyeliner is a big trend for this summer and this full size features two shades. Both have a slight glittery shimmer to them and being a crayon are soft and easy to apply.
Etre Belle Aloe Vera Ultra Moisturizing Gel – 40ml full size product. Aloe Vera is so skin friendly and soothes all manner of irritations from sun burn to nettle stings. This fits perfectly into a beach bag or picnic box so you can refresh and calm your skin on the go.
Zerreau Towel Off Shampoo Foam – new generation of dry shampoo. Wash your hair without water. Apply to scalp, massage in, towel dry and voila! Great idea for camping, festivals or staying somewhere with iffy showers!
Sass Intimate Perfect Skin Concentrate – this post-shave concentrate has been formulated to soothe the skin and reduce the chances of ingrown hairs, getting your legs summer ready, even if like me, they don’t get much sun (way too pale!)
Philosophy Renewed Hope in a Jar Refreshing & Refining Moisturiser – philosophy is a brand I’ve always liked, except for its prices. The full size of this moisturiser is £35.50 which is just too much to justify. However a great sample to play with. This claims to reduce the appearance of lines, discoloration and uneven texture. I will certainly be testing its claims.
There’s a group on Facebook called Battle of the Boxes, full of women who buy and review beauty boxes and they are a sweet, funny, generous bunch. Frequently offering make up goodies or other treats to one another.
Recently I took advance of such an offer and got myself a free box of mini L’Occitane goodies.
If you don’t know what L’Occitane is, it’s a French beauty company based in Provence that focuses on quality and natural ingredients.
I’ve never bought any of their products, due to price mostly, but love when magazines give away free handcreams from them.
However, their new eau de parfum launching in June is so nice I may have to treat myself.
Onto the box. This is a sample box, but even though everything’s mini, there’s a lot to play with.
The almond hand cream smells delicious, and is rich and creamy but not greasy on.
The foot cream, currently soaking into my toes, is also rich and smooth, smells good and hasn’t left a greasy residue on my hands.
There’s a Verbena leaf soap, which I haven’t opened, as well as Verbena shower gel and body lotion, both of which are delicately scented.
Also in this little box is a voucher for £10 off a £25 spend in store or online, which I may well take advantage of (hand cream and perfume most likely).
Finally a tiny sachet of lavender seeds, which you plant as it is, in the hope that lavender, a fairly stubborn plant to grow (I have 2 and they hate me) will bloom under London’s grey skies not Provence’s blue, sun-filled ones.
Reminder: there is one more day left in the mystery giveaway. All you have to do to enter is guess how many items are in the bag and you could win the lot.
Brands include Benefit, Models Co, Stila and more. What are you waiting for??
Latest in Beauty’s latest collaboration is with radio station Heart FM.
The box contains a mix of 13 full and sample size products. £18.95 + P&P.
Nails Inc. Gel Effect Hyde Park Place
Kneipp Devil’s Claw Herbal Bath
Green People Sun Lotion SPF15 with Tan Accelerator
bareMinerals Complexion Rescue
philosophy 3 in 1 cleanser
Wild About Beauty Eye Shadow in 08 Polly
Vichy Idealia Life Serum
Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels
Dove Youthful Vitality Shampoo & Conditioner
Balance Me Radiance Face Mask
Le Couvent des Minimes Cloisters Hand Cream
Amie Hydrating Daily Moisturiser
Face Cloth
And if you enter the coupon code HAIRSPRAY you get this free.
The only link to Heart (which my dad listens to!) is the heart shaped face cloth (which expands in water -haven’t seen one of these since I was a kid).
Overall it’s a nice selection of things, and definitely worth the money as some of these items on their own are quite pricey (Nails Inc I’m looking at you!)
Next up from LiB is the Glamour Beauty Edit box for Summer. Will you be buying it? Or the Heart box?
Are you a member of the Libbie Club? (I’ve applied).
