Tag: beauty boxes

beauty, beauty boxes, reviews, you beauty

Box cancelling – You Beauty

ramblingmads

Yes this box is a bargain at £6.95, yes it’s nice to have some say over the contents, but honestly after a seriously of increasingly ‘meh’ months, I’m done with You Beauty’s box.

From June’s frankly underwhelming shortlist I picked a lip balm and some shampoo. Shampoo, like I can’t just go out and get some on the high street and another lip balm for my collection/addiction.

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The bonus items were pretty pathetic again, the world’s smallest sachet of suncream, which I almost missed, thinking it was just advertising, and another sample of bath oil, which we had only a few months ago. I don’t have a bath in my flat and a quick straw poll of friends reveals that a lot of them don’t either, so it’s a wasted product.

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Time to cancel this particular subscription in the hope that other boxes deserve my hard earned money just a wee bit more. 

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A sachet of suncream that might just cover my nose!?!
beauty boxes, make up, reviews, skincare

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

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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 boxes, make up, reviews

Look Incredible box – May

ramblingmads

To be honest I’m not 100% excited by this box, and I’m not entirely sure whether it’s worth the £35 price tag, it’s a bit mixed. Look Incredible, much like Cohorted boxes, specialise in high end make up and skincare, and although this isn’t the Deluxe box (at the same price) you expect things you wouldn’t necessarily pick up because of their price or availability.

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Let’s start with the most disappointing item – three sparkly nail polishes from Claire’s Accessories – somewhere I don’t think I’ve shopped since I was a teenager and moved away from their cheap glittery hair bands. These nail polishes don’t seem particularly great to use – the multi colour glitter in particular went on poorly.

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Korres Anti-aging Eye Primer – a light peachy toned primer with a doe foot applicator, designed to slick on your lids before adding colour. I can see this being really good if you were wearing loose powder shadow or something like Barry M’s Dazzle Dust, which needs a bit of help staying put.

Bare Minerals Ready Blush in French Kiss – in the pot this is a really bright pink, and would probably look amazing on darker skin, luckily if you apply it gently enough and only with one swipe, even ghost skinned girls like me can wear it. Just remember to blend.

MAC Lipstick Crayon in Clever – I’m pretty sure I’ve had this in a previous box, but it’s a nice pinky coloured crayon, although you need to layer it up slightly to get much colour going.

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Swatches – Top: Eye Primer, Middle: MAC crayon, Bottom: Blush

Bellapierre Kabuki Brush – super soft brush (something I think I already have), perfect for blending or applying powder.

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Blush, lip crayon, primer, brush

Bit of a mixed bag this month, the MAC crayon and brush are definitely heading into the stash but the nail polishes, not so much.

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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beauty, beauty boxes, look fantastic, reviews, skincare

#LFBlooms Look Fantastic April edit

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The April Look Fantastic box has arrived, and I’ll tell you now, I’m going to be squeaky clean.

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Rituals Miracle Hand Scrub – with Ginseng and Gingko Biloba, this scrub moisturises and conditions dry and damaged hands. As someone with soft hands from regular moisturising this won’t be used much but I know someone else in my house with hands like sandpaper…

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Bloom and Blossom Bath and Shower Gel – this paraben, sulphate and synthetic fragrance free shower gel leaves you clean and soft. I’ve had this before but it’s a nice shower gel so I don’t really mind.

Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask – argan, avocado, rosehip, sweet almond oils with vitamins this hair mask leaves you with shiny, happy hair. Cruelty free and no nasty chemicals. I’d not heard of this brand before, but I love a hair mask so will be soaking my hair in this come the weekend.

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Tanworx Tan Maintainer – use as a base for fake tan, with natural ingredients for soft and smooth skin. Now, I am super pale and fake tan looks terrible on me so this will be passed on.

Balance Me Super Toning Body Polish – ground walnut spheres help exfoliate away dead skin cells to help skin glow.

Myvitamins Blackcurrant Flavour Performance Effervescent – 20 effervescent vitamin pills, one a day. We don’t get enough vitamins most of the time and this contains a mix of B vitamins to boost your daily intake.

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There’s a discount voucher for the Look Fantastic website on the brand Living Nature.

The regular Beauty Box magazine has lots of new products and tips, as well as a breakfast granola recipe. As well as a copy of the latest edition of Elle magazine.

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

Latest in Beauty Clinique British Beauty Blogger Edit II

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Jane aka British Beauty Blogger is back with her second Clinique edit for Latest in Beauty, following the success of last year’s box.

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This may already have sold out – so keep an eye out for a restock. It costs £17 with free P&P.

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There are eight Clinique products in the box. Two are full size.

💋Clinique Take The Day Off makeup remover for lids, lashes & lips.

💋Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion +

💋Liquid Facial Soap (mild)

💋Superprimer Universal Face Primer

💋Aromatics in Black or White (I got Black)

💋For Men Face Scrub

💋Chubby Lash Fattening Mascara in Jumbo Jet (full size)

💋Sweet Pots Sugar Scrub & Lip Balm in Red Velvet (full size)

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Also in the box – £10 discount voucher for clinique.co.uk, voucher for complimentary consultation and mini pot for sample of 5 day foundation that matches your skin tone.

The sweet pot was a surprise, this is Clinique’s new product and often beauty brands don’t want to give their best goodies away, especially at a reduction.

I also really like the little extra of the empty pot to get a free sample at a Clinique counter in the right shade, instead of the pot luck of some beauty boxes.

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The Mr was also included, with the face scrub, something I added to the bathroom counter for him to use. Not that he’s noticed yet!

The perfume is right up my alley too, no alcoholic tang but a rich, dark floral punch. Might have to splurge on a bottle with my £10 off.