Tag: beauty

beauty, beauty boxes, instagram, lifestyle boxes, make up, perfume, skincare

Advent Calendar Opening

ramblingmads

Hello lovely blog readers,

Today is December 1st, aka the first day of Advent. You may now put up your tree and hang your stockings.

This year I bought a beauty advent calendar as opposed to the chocolate ones I seem to have every year!

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I went with L’Occitane’s rather sweet one as I love their products and thought a mini treat from them every day would brighten up a cold, damp December.

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So, let’s see what’s behind door number one!

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Ultra rich face cream!

I will most likely be posting these on Instagram so come follow me there, as well as all sorts of Christmas fun and games as we head further into the festive season.

ramblingmads

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, love me beauty, make up, reviews

Love Me Beauty October

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I’m getting a little fed up with LMB, for the past few months as they’ve revamped their site, the same products have loitered in the boutique with the occasional swap over. Making it rather pointless.

This month I’ve picked four items for my monthly 60 credits, one of which I’ve had pretty much every month.

There’s also the addition of the brand new LMB magazine The Journal.

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This month there were a lot of products from Cailyn, an eye make up brand. I don’t really do anything to my brows (curse of being blonde, do too much and they disappear) so I picked a couple of their gel eye shadow pencils in Champagne and Mauve.

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They are also featuring a selection of Lanolips balms. While I wasn’t very keen on the high lanolin content as it can unsettle my skin, the thought of a strong protective balm in this horrid weather overcame that – plus it’s banana flavour!

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Finally a familiar item – Monuspa Rosewood Reviving Mist.

I hope next month they refresh the entire stock in the boutique.

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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, 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.

ramblingmads

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

Lip balm – essentials

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An essential in my make up armoury and something I take everywhere with me is lipbalm. I get really dry, cracked lips, which drive me nuts.

I have a ridiculous number of lip balms stashed in various places around my flat and at last count about four in my bag.

I tend to stick to the roll up/push up kind that don’t require dipping your finger into the pot to get the balm out. More hygienic. Apart from the obligatory tub of vaseline – useful for so many things.

Here’s a selection of my favourites –

Balmi – I have this in cherry and strawberry, I love the cube design, and they’re long lasting and full of goodness – vitamin E, Shea butter, jojoba oil and SPF 15.

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Dr Organic – bit obsessed with the avocado and argan oil one but I can’t find it anywhere. The others are good too, quite like the coconut oil one too.

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Nivea – repair and protect is my favourite one, loaded with SPF and nourishes deep, perfect for sealing up cracks from the cold.

Korres – this is a new lip butter in my arsenal, made with natural ingredients, free of nasty chemicals, it has kept my lips soft all day.

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Burt’s Bees – the Coconut and Pear has been my go to this summer, hydrating and smells good too.

A product I have mad love for is Anatomicals Stop Cracking Up. This used to be available in Boots but now seems to be online only, I get mine from Amazon. This is magic stuff. My lower lip is prone to splitting in cold weather, leaving a painful crack in the skin, this gummy lip balm seals up the split and helps it heal up really fast – a must for winter’s bitter weather. I use it in conjunction with various other balms, keeping my lips soft and happy.

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beauty, beauty boxes, fashion, glossybox, haircare, make up, reviews

Glossybox Style Edition

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September is a month of Fashion Weeks all over the globe in glamorous locations (New York, London, Milan, Paris…) and Glossybox have themed this month’s box for the most stylish month in the fashion calendar.

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The box is beautifully decorated, and features five full size items to get you ready for the new fashion season.

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Pink and khaki grey are the colours for this autumn and the whole box, including the wrapping, is on this trend.

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Maria Nila Luminous Colour Hair Masque – sulphate and paraben free, 100% vegan, doesn’t smell too bad, suitable for coloured and natural hair, a treat from Sweden. I currently have this soaking into my newly cut hair, which needs a boost to look its best. This also comes with a 20% off voucher for the whole range.

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Invisibobble traceless hair ring – I’ve had long hair, short hair and am the queen of the ponytail at any length. In the last few years more and more companies have produced metal-free, hair friendly bands. These claim to leave no kinks in the hair, or cause any breakage. Definitely something my hair can appreciate. There are three in the box.

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Nails Inc polish in Uptown, there is another colour in some boxes. This is a dusky pink shade, though pink always seems like more of a spring colour. I am however a massive Nails Inc fan so this will be added to the mix.

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Bellapierre Cosmetics Shimmer Powder in Whesek. This greyish powder, with its hint of glitter, is perfect for autumnal smoky eyes.

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Marsk Eyeshadow Brush Pro to complement the shimmer powder, I like the wide, fan shape of this brush for sweeping colour over my lids, plus the brush is super soft.

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This box is incredible value – approximately £60 worth of products for £12.95.

There’s also a £15 voucher for invite only fashion brand Best Secret and a sneak peek of one of next month’s products.

really like this box – it’s very generous and features several brands I already use. The box itself is gorgeous and as sturdy as always – making it perfect for storing your make up or wrapping up for a friend’s present (obviously not an empty box!)

Will you be donning this season’s shades and looking totally on point?

ramblingmads

beauty, beauty boxes, haircare, reviews, skincare

Look Fantastic 1st Birthday Edition

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Look Fantastic’s beauty box keeps popping up in my news feed on Facebook – so I thought I’d have a look.

They’re celebrating a birthday and the box is decorated with hundreds of thousands.

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Inside there are eight beauty samples, from a range of brands.

TanWorx Tan Maintainer

Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash

Caudalie Moisturizing Sorbet

Codage Paris Scrubbing Cream

Sebastian Penetraitt Shampoo & Conditioner

Caudalie SOS Serum

Phyto Hair Mask

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There are also lots of discount vouchers for the brands in the box and also partner brands, brilliant if like me you’re a shopaholic and love a bargain!

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The box is £15 and is available now.

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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.

ramblingmads