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My Little Box – Wild Summer

August’s box popped through my door (sort of) and it’s a bright one.

Decorated in a fabulous floral design, reminiscent of the wonderful fabrics worn by the women I see going to the African church on a Sunday. Which certainly seems to be the inspiration. 

West African inspired designs decorate everything inside the box as well as out. The designs are known as Wax and the patterns mean something. 

There’s a clever little pattern flipper which explains these designs. It’s a bit addictive to fiddle with. 

The art print features the title of one of The Beach Boys most famous songs. 

The lifestyle items are all jewellery related. A Nana Benz necklace and a gem catcher  (jewellery rack). 

There are three beauty products inside the printed bag; 

Batiste Hold Me Hairspray (travel size) 

Bare Minerals Skinsorials skin longevity (sample size)

My Little Beauty Blush Me Tender cream brush 

These are a bit disappointing as the bareminerals is so teeny and I feel like there’s a Batiste product in every other box. 

The blusher is a really pale pink and I’m not a huge fan of cream blushers. 

I like the necklace, although it’s not something I would probably wear but it certainly will look nice displayed with my other necklaces. Same with the necklace hanger. 

This was a bit of a mixed box, and since MLB is still hanging on by a thread with me, that’s not great news. I have decided to give them one more month (as it’s my birthday in September) and then it’s crunch time. 

 

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My Little Box – Seashell

June’s box was so late I didn’t bother to blog it but July’s arrived on Saturday so I thought I would share it with you. 

I’ve been a bit unsure whether to keep subscribing, June’s box was quite disappointing (read about it here) but I quite liked this one. 

The summery beach inspired box is rather pretty, utilising the red, white and blue of the French (and UK) flag – a colour scheme MLB have used before. 

Inside is the usual sticker and art print, as well as a pair of postcards to send from your spot on a beach somewhere. 

I’m loving the beachy vibes – closest I’ll be getting this summer. 

This might be the quirkiest thing in a box I’ve come across – the plastic shell contains what is basically a lollipop minus the stick! It tastes rather nice – which since it’s basically flavoured sugar isn’t a surprise. Apparently in France these are known as ‘roudoudou’ although in all the summers I’ve spent there I’ve not come across these before.  

 Now I love candles, although I’ve switched to electric was melters recently as they’re safer, so this cute kit is very me. I am definitely making use of this at my next barbecue. The little paper bags easily transform into lanterns with the addition of the tea lights. Casting a pretty blue glow. 

This is such a fun item – it’s an inflatable beach bag that doubles as a pillow for snoozing in the sun – you can make sure to avoid sunburn by popping your factor 50 in the bag. I do love an item that can multitask. And if the tide comes in (or you get rained on in the park) the bag inflated will float. 

The little canvas bag containing this month’s beauty treats is also decorated with seashells, keeping with the box’s theme. Inside are three items for summer skin. 

🐚Institut Karitè Paris – Rose Mademoiselle Shea Hand Cream. This shea butter rich hand cream smells gorgeous and it’s handbag size. Normally I roll my eyes ‘not another handcream’ but this has come at a good time, the tube in my bag has just run out! 

🐚Garnier SkinActive 3 in 1 – I don’t personally like this particular scrub/mask/wash as my skin is freakishly sensitive but my partner loves it for his spot prone skin, so has already pounced on this bottle for his wash bag.

🐚My Little Beauty Sandy Shore Body Scrub –  this lightly fragranced tub of sea salt and white Polynesian sand with essential oils is also a great item in the box. Summer is the skin season- and exfoliation is key to happy skin. A good scrub in the shower is a great way to slough off old skin cells and encourage cell regeneration. 

Overall I rather liked this box – definitely an improvement on some of the previous ones. It also seems that this box is identical to the French one, which is nice as sometimes they vary wildly. 

beauty, beauty boxes, lifestyle boxes, my little box, reviews

My Little Friday Night Box

This month’s My Little Box comes with the proviso “Do not open before Friday night” well I’ve always been a rebel. 

This box is all about your Friday night – whether you’re going out out or staying in. 

Party types
Great nights out – this pamphlet folds out and is full of ideas and tips for throwing a party or finding one.
Coasters & hair pin
Ingenious bra clip covering bow for backless dresses
This month’s beauty picks

Batiste Dry Shampoo – do I even need to say more. 

NailMatic Varnish in Biba 

My Little Beauty Back to Black Eye Pencil and Smudger – this is pretty long lasting. I tested it on the back of my hand, one tiny smudge as it’s very soft, and it won’t budge.

And finally a cocktail recipe – Dirty Dancing

Did you get this month’s box? What do you think of the contents. 

beauty, beauty boxes, fun stuff, gardening, healthy, lifestyle boxes, my little box, reviews, skincare

My Little Garden Box 

This is April’s box, the reason for the delay was because I wanted to take photos of my box in the wild – I don’t have a garden but the bonkers weather meant I couldn’t get a break to find some grass and take some snaps. Let’s dive in. 

This garden to table lists the vegetables and fruit in season for every month. Eating seasonally is something I try to do – it works out cheaper when there’s an abundance and you get the best of the crop, sweeter strawberries in June for example. 

I have a larger version of this infuser bottle somewhere, pop your favourite fruits in the infuser core and fill the bottle with water. My favourite fruit combo is lime and watermelon – so refreshing. 

Recipe cards/magnetic shopping list – this has some of the MLB team’s favourite fruit based recipes and then pages to pop your shopping list on with a magnetic backing to stick neatly on the fridge. 

Ape Crunchy Coconut Bites – tasty little discs of crunchy coconut – yummy. 

A floral patterned green and blue square scarf which can be worn in a variety of ways – the last scarf MLB sent out is a firm favourite so this one will be too. 

This month’s beauty treats are all skincare savers. Mixa is a French skincare brand now available in Superdrug (home of many a beauty bargain). Suitable for sensitive skin (yay) this dermatologist tested paraben free moisturiser can be used all over – giving you soft summer skin. 

My Little Beauty Vitamin Shot Facial Scrub – made with bamboo extract, apricot seed powder and argan oil this twice weekly scrub will buff skin and leave you all shiny. 

My Little Beauty Easy Morning Skin Perfector – once you’ve rinsed off the scrub this moisturiser softens and smoothes skin with a subtle shimmer. Just remember to top with SPF! 

beauty, beauty boxes, fun stuff, lifestyle boxes, my little box, reviews, skincare

My Little Box – Fresh Start

This is January’s MLB, better late than never! 

Instead of the standard box, this month is a canvas bag, designed to be reusable. 

Inside are a variety of things designed to help you start afresh in a new year. 

There’s a cute little journal, without dates, so you can start it whenever. 

There’s a cute printed infinity scarf or snood. 

The final lifestyle item is a set of inspirational postcards, suggesting ways to get fresh starts in the different aspects of your life. 

Then there’s the selection of beauty treats. 

Merci Handy Holy Mint Toothpaste – I’ve only had antibacterial hand gel from this brand before and I’m really particular about toothpaste so I don’t know whether I’ll use this. 

Garnier Ultimate Blends Strength Restorer Balm – this is a tiny sample of hair mask containing royal jelly and honey.  I’ll hang on to it for a really bad hair day. 

My Little Beauty Boost Yourself Body Cream & Sweet Hand Cream – two items from MLB’s own beauty range. These both snell inoffensive and having had several other skincare items from this range I know they’re pretty standard stuff. 

MLB has decided to scrap their My Little World magazine for good, in favour of things like the inspiration postcards and journal. 

The box is back next month, which is good as the bag is all well and good but required extra packaging to keep it safe.

 

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My Little Christmas Box 

Look how festive this box is. With its green ribbon and candy cane. And it’s jam packed. 

There’s a Kanako art print with a message from the artist, My Little World magazine and loads of lovely treats. 

My Little Beauty Smokey Eye Duo – smokey eye make up has moved away from the greys and deep colours to these softer tones. Haven’t really had a play with these yet but I do quite like them together. 

Gingerbread candle – cinnamon and ginger are some of the smells of Christmas so this ties perfectly into the season. 

Cuff bracelet – gold tones with a hint of festive forest green.  I quite like this, it looks good next to my new velvet dress. 

Courrèges Hyperbole perfume – This perfume shares it’s name with one of my favourite words. It’s not a particularly heavy scent (although that might just be because I have a cold and can’t smell anything properly!) 

Kusmi Tea Tsarevna blend tea – this Russian blended black tea with orange peel, liquorice, vanilla and spice to give a whiff of Christmas. 

Tiptree Salted Caramel sauce – hands off! This is mine! I think this will be the perfect addition to my Christmas Day dessert. I love the mix of sweet and salt in this sauce and since I’m not having Christmas pudding (yuk!) I will add this to my sticky toffee pud instead. 

Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula Flipbalm Juicy Watermelon – I love lipbalm, especially in the winter months when my lips feel very dry and prone to cracking.  Plus this is a really cute pot. 

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My Little Goodnight Box 

Winter nights are dark and full of dreams – plus this week there’s a Super Moon (like Superman but made of cheese, right?)

MLB’s dreamy navy and silver (one of my favourite combinations) box holds a nice selection  of nightly delights. 

There’s an art print by regular illustrator Kanako, My Little World magazine, a padded sleep mask, which is super soft. 

I love this moon ring dish – it’s really pretty and rather sweet. 

Inside the star spangled bag are three beauty treats. 

– My Little Beauty Makeup Remover Jelly – Garnier Pureactive 3in1 (wash, scrub, mask)                                                                   – Yves Rocher Secrets D’Essences Accord Chic perfume 

And a sticker to add to my collection. 

I really liked this box – MLB have been really strong recently and long may it continue. 

beauty, beauty boxes, lifestyle boxes, my little box, reviews

My Little Brooklyn Box

My Little Box has gone to the Big Apple – a city closely linked to France, who gifted the Statue of Liberty to the Americans. 

Brooklyn, a borough of New York famous for its hipsters and baristas has inspired this month’s box, as has coffee, and I hate coffee. 

However, I quite like this box. 

Inside are a whole host of goodies. 

The sticker has gone into my phone case as it makes me smile and will remind me to relax and not go to panic stations all the time. 

Firstly the beauty treats; 

Terrybly Crayon Kohl By Terry – this a gold eyeliner/eyeshadow crayon. I already love it. 

Tigi Catwalk Fashionista Violet Mask – specially formulated for blondes (there’s a brunette version too) this fullsize hair mask smells ok and is supposed to boost hair. Which is perfect as mine needs a lift. 

My Little Beauty Save My Nails Strengthening Treatment- stop reading my mind MLB. My brittle nails need some TLC so this is great. 

Also in the box are three lifestyle treats too. 

Enamel “Coffee Made Me Do It” mug – quite cute but I don’t drink coffee so it didn’t make me do anything! This cup is the perfect size for soaking my beauty sponges in however, especially as I just sorted and downsized our mug collection. 

Latte stencil – or in my case hot chocolate stencil. 

Pins – there is a doughnut pin and a matching pair of lapel pins – which I thought were earrings! Adding these to my pin collection right now. 

There’s an art print with a cute design by illustrator Kanako and a copy of My Little World magazine, which I will enjoy flicking through on my commute.

 The little cloth bags are really durable and can be used in all sorts of ways and as Christmas is slowly creeping one way is as gift bags for all sorts of treats. How do you use yours? Let me know in the comments below. 

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My Little Mademoiselle Box

This box opens like a book, tied with a ribbon, which is rather neat. Collaborating with Freddy My Love & Claudie Pierlot this box isn’t the most packed ever but it does feel super French. 

Soft leather embossed envelope purse from Claudie Pierlot. 

Erborian Ginseng Shot Mask 

My Little Beauty Audacious Volume Mascara Mademoiselle 

Yves Rocher Perfume 

My Little World magazine 

beauty boxes, lifestyle boxes, my little box, reviews

My Little Friends Box 

This month’s My Little Box is all about hanging with your pals. 

Inside the box is a copy of the My Little World magazine and a packet of Sweet & Salty Propercorn popcorn, so that’s tomorrow’s commute sorted. 

Lifestyle items in this month’s box are pretty random – there’s a manicure kit, which seems a bit odd and unconnected to the clip-on fish eye lens – attach to your phone for a different way to see things. 

Beauty-wise, inside the cute printed bag are three treats. Caudalie Banana and Mango moisturiser, My Little Beauty Summer Lips balm with SPF 15, Batiste Hold Me Hairspray. 

Although I don’t really get how all these things fit in a ‘Friends are the best’ box, they’re quite nice. None of this is stuff you might share with a pal – maybe the hairspray and lens for selfies, but even the popcorn’s too small to share. 

Thoughts? Got something wildly different? Let me know below.