Tag: beauty boxes

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

The Vegan Kind Beauty Box

ramblingmads

Every three months TVK send out a beauty box to complement their snack boxes (monthly).

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This month’s has finally arrived. I think it had a few adventures getting here.

Inside are four full size vegan beauty products.

Dr Organic Dead Sea Mineral Mud Mask – I’ve had this in a few boxes before and my mum swiped it last time! The dead sea is famous for its high mineral content that restores skin’s glow.

Faith in Nature 3 in 1 facial wipes – some people really hate face wipes, whereas I find them useful, to remove mistakes when applying make up and to help remove it at the end of the day (followed by micellar water and a good wash).

Teabox Detox (3 teabags – 1 day’s supply) – this tea claims to consist of antioxidants and antiinflammatories to boost skin health, remove toxins etc. My inner sceptic isn’t so sure a herbal tea could do all that but it can’t hurt.

PHB Ethical Beauty Natural and Organic Black Eye Liner – made with plant oils and waxes, water resistant yet gentle. This would be good if you want a cat flick but find the chemicals in some eyeliners make you weepy.

B is for Beautiful All Lengthening Defining Volumising Mascara in black – cruelty free beauty brand (available in your local Superdrug) I can’t speak to all their claims but if it appeals to you – then go for it.

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

My Little Gypset Box

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Gypset is the French for Gypsy (hat tip Google), and MLB are using it in the free-spirit sense, boho chic meets on the road.

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There’s an interesting mix of beauty and lifestyle items in this box.

As usual there’s an illustration from in-house artist Kanako – this one features a quote from Jack Kerouac, author of On The Road.

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There’s a patterned bag (seen in the illustration) to carry your wandering essentials, and hair ties that double as bracelets, something I’ve noticed has popped up more and more. These are really cute and soft so will definitely feature in my hair. The bag is cute too. It’s quite small but handy for your essentials, could pop it inside a larger bag for everyday.

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In terms of beauty items, there are three full size treats;

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Korres Santorini Vine Body Milk – this is supposed to smell like a blossoming Greek vineyard which I couldn’t quite smell but then again I’m never any good at wine tasting – it doesn’t smell like autumn leaves or blackberries – just wine.

So Susan Colour Hybrid cheek and lip tint – this is a deep cherry red, I think teemed with cat’s eyes liner and a hint of shimmer in your skin would work well.

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My Little Beauty Summer Caress Bronzer – from their in-house range, this is a soft peachy bronzer that would suit different skin tones depending on how much you blended/layered it on.

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The lip stain won’t budge BTW, but the bronzer needs to be deeper I think.

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

Glossybox – August

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This month it’s Glossybox’s birthday and they’ve sent out pink boxes of products to celebrate.

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Naobay Calming Face Toner – I stopped using toner ages ago, it seemed like an unnecessary step in my rather long beauty routine but this smells good, contains soothing chamomile, and the products I’ve had from this brand before have been great.

Manna Kadar Lash Primer – apply under mascara to nourish lashes and leave them conditioned and voluminous. Well, that’s some claim but I have yet to see adding make up to anything succeed.

Sass Intimate Purifying Cleanser – ahhhh!! I am so against these so called intimate body products – your vagina is self-cleaning and has a really delicate pH balance that you should never add chemicals to. Ever.

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MeMeMe Lipglide in Playful Peach – I’d say this is more deep pink than peach but it’s a good colour and I prefer crayons like this to lipstick as I’m lazy and any make up that reminds me of colouring is good.

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Emite Artist Colour Powder Blush – on their Facebook page Glossybox asked blush or bronzer – the results were so close they included Swedish brand Emite’s  blush/bronzer hybrid. I think it’s a bit too dark for me but would certainly suit someone who doesn’t have my stupidly pale skin.

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Last month’s box was such a disappointment, but this is a step up. I was contemplating cancelling but I might give them one more month.

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

Latest in Beauty Awards 2015 – Winners

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This box is packed with great products (£21.95 + p&p) showcasing the winners of Latest in Beauty’s Awards winners.

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Burt’s Bees is one of my favourite brands, I love their lip balms and hand creams and this box features two products from their range. The Soap Bark & Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream smells good and I know from experience it leaves skin clean and soft. The lip crayon in Sedona Sands is a purple-pink colour that I quite like. Plus all their products are 100% natural.

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Colab dry shampoo in Monaco – this is my favourite brand of dry shampoo – although some of the scents can be a little overwhelming. It doesn’t dry like dandruff as some other brands do and it brushes out easily.

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I’m a bit concerned by the need for stickers that say ‘Do Not Eat’ on the Zoella Fresh Fizz bath Fizzers, I regularly buy things from Lush that smell delicious and manage not to eat them!

Dr Organic Snail Gel Anti-Aging Facial Serum – still not sure about snail gel as they gross me out in my plant pots.

La Roche-Posay Corrective Unclogging Care – this claims to unclog pores, correct imperfections and marks – big claims for a small bottle. French beauty brands are a big deal and famous for their effectiveness.

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The Body Shop Wild Argan Oil for hair, skin and face. I am obsessed with this, I have tins stashed everywhere, my bag, the sofa, next to the bed etc. Smells great, leaves hair soft and shiny, provides much needed moisture and softness to skin. And as it’s a solid – no leaking!

Eye of Horus goddess mascara in Babylon brown. Once upon a time I tried brown mascara, it was very short lived. When I do wear mascara, I prefer to coat my blonde lashes in dramatic black, the brown just looks weird.

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer – designed for Audrey Hepburn, this is really popular and while it didn’t seem to make much difference to my stubborn hair (nothing does – it resists all styling products) friends say it makes theirs healthy looking and shiny.

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beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, make up, reviews

August Birchbox #beautyjunkie

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This month Birchbox have decided to cover their boxes with emojis and yes that’s so 2014!

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Inside is a sheet of emoji stickers, which would be great if I was still 12, I hope this isn’t this month’s fake tattoo trend.

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Inside is 6 beauty samples. All of them are really diddy. 

Formula 10.0.6 Over Night Success Spot Minimizing Patches – 21 single use patches to shrink and fight off spots. Not sure how well it will work on the monthly ‘guess what time of the month it is?’ lumps I get, especially as it’s formulated for young skin and mine is getting older!

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Rituals Fortune Scrub – sweet orange and cedar scented, although to me it smells like hubba bubba.

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Kebelo Clarifying Shampoo – now I am fussy about my shampoo – it’s taken a while to find one I like, so I don’t chop and change. I never quite see the point of shampoo samples as everyone’s hair is different.

Lord & Berry Blush in Lotus – this is a teeny sample – it would have been nice to have at least one full size product.

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Huygens Face Scrub – French brand, tiny pot of face scrub, it says to use a coin-sized amount, so that’s the whole tub then!

TheBalm@ cosmetics – desert bronzer – I don’t think I have an applicator small enough.

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I found this box disappointing – so many wasted opportunities for a really nice selection and the lack of full size items is frustrating as they usually include at least one. Last month’s was so good, shame the quality slipped.

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beauty, beauty boxes, reviews

You Beauty Discovery – August

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Wow is this box disappointing.

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These boxes are never as packed as others on the market but this month’s is especially underwhelming.

The two items I picked from their shortlist were Model Co blusher in Just Peachy and Inika Mineral Bronzer. The other options were nude nail polish, and an endless array of serums for skin or hair.

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The ‘included in every box’ items are pretty poor. A sachet of SiennaX gradual self tan and a chapter sampler of Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones.

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The box is smaller than previous ones, perhaps an attempt to hide how poor it is. Hopefully next month will be better – a more varied list to choose from and better samples for all.

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P.S ignore the messy living room in the background, I couldn’t take pictures where I normally do.

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haircare, latest in beauty, make up, reviews, skincare

Latest in Beauty – Beauty Awards Finalists

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Latest in Beauty’s 2015 Beauty Awards finalists feature more than 30 beauty brands but getting your hands on them is tricky as they sell out fast.

You can select your choice of items, 6, 9 or 15 products for a varied price list.

In the end I went for 6 as a lot of the things I’d have liked had sold out super quick. You can also vote for your favourites.

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MUA pro-base prime and conceal

CoLab dry shampoo in Monaco

Popband ‘no dent’ hair tie

Carmex original lip balm

Body Shop Wild Argan Oil for face, hair and body

Burt’s Bees beeswax lip balm

Some of these are things I would buy anyway, I missed out on some great products, but I think it might be better to have some things I will definitely use regularly as opposed to more things that sit on the shelf gathering dust.

What products piqued your interest if you took part in the LiB voting?

ramblingmads

beauty boxes, latest in beauty, make up, reviews, skincare

Latest in Beauty – Get the Gloss

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I’ve been having issues with the LiB website so this took a while to order. Paypal have driving me crackers for the last two months as well. I definitely need a beauty based treat.

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The box is very neatly packed with eight products, including several full size items.

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Salon Science AquaCacteen Hydrasoothe Cooling Spray – Salon Science is a brand I only started hearing about this year. This is a cooling spray, not for your face but for your hair. Full size bottle and it smells quite nice too.

Nails Inc Gel Effect in Regents Place – full size, creamy blue shade (there were two – the other is Downtown – a hot pink, always a surprise as to which you get).

Bourjois Aqua Blush – I’m not a huge fan of liquid blush and out of the three available shades I wound up with a bright pink that really won’t work for me.

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse OR – plant oils and vitamin E in this sparkly face, skin and hair oil, from French brand Nuxe.

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Philip Kingsley Swim Cap – sun protection and chlorine defender for hair. Mine always goes green in swimming pools – the curse of natural blondes – so this is a handy item.

Aurelia Refine & Polish Miracle Balm – instant exfoliator or enzyme mask. Smells good too!

Elemental Herbology Cell Plumping – applied daily this claims to make your skin plumper and more radiant.

Anne Semonia Eye Express Radiance Ice Cube – store in the freezer, pop on your eyes and it reduces redness, puffiness and the dreaded dark circles.

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beauty boxes, nail polish, reviews

Nailbox – the polish addict’s box

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I regularly check in with the reviews on other blogs and this caught my nail polish addict’s eye.

Oh what a fabulous box for someone who loves nail polish.

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Moyou London nail stamper and scraper set. With this you can apply funky nail art with the stamper and templates. Something I will definitely be having a play with.

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Nail Apothecary Cuticle Eliminator – I am quite lucky in that my cuticles are very small and don’t give me any grief. But I will keep this close to hand in case they do start misbehaving.

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Three nail polishes. Opi, Barry M, China Glaze. Pink, purple, white. They are worth the cost of the box alone!

Really like this box, looking forward to seeing what next month brings.

ramblingmads

beauty boxes, glossybox, make up, reviews, skincare

GLOSSYBOX Vive Le France

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Glossybox has a special edition for July. Join Mademoiselle Glossy on a Parisien adventure.

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The box is elaborately illustrated and features famous Paris landmarks. Inside is a selection of French beauty samples in a little printed bag.

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Noxidoxi enhancing serum base – hydrates and protects skin when layered under moisturiser.

Lollipops lip balm delicieuse – protects the lips from UV damage with vitamin E and antioxidants.

Teoxane Cosmeceuticals perfect skin refiner – a night cream to plump and hydrate skin.

Yves Rocher comme une evidence eau de parfum – perfume with hints of violets, rose, lily of the valley and patchouli. I would tell you whether I liked this or not but the tiny lid won’t come off!

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To be honest – this box was incredibly overhyped and really quite poor in terms of contents – 4 small sample products and a plastic pouch to store them in. Glossybox really needs to try a bit harder. French beauty products are often amazing but this really doesn’t showcase that.

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