Tag: reviews

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

Dollibox December

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Following the lovely Which Beauty Box UK is lethal to my bank account! Showcasing the best boxes around,  and inspiring other beauty lovers. And so it is with Dollibox.

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A fairly new box, it contains five cult and premium beauty products, full size and sample size.

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I’m not madly keen on how pink the packaging is, but since that gets recycled, it doesn’t really matter.

What’s inside counts. The box is £10 plus postage, and this month’s is worth over £30.

Anubis Polivitamic Cleansing Mousse – containing the essential vitamin C, this gentle mousse promises to soothe and cleanse your skin.

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Bare Naturals Pomegranate & Pink Grapefruit soap – made with 100% natural ingredients, this delicately scented soap is designed to leave hands clean and soft.

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Model Co Highlighting Trio – featuring a luminizer, blush and bronzer, this little pot is designed to suit any skin tone and leave you with glowing skin.

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Osmo Intensive Deep Repair Mask – containing jojoba oil, patchouli and ylang ylang to nourish and repair stressed out hair.

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Barefoot Lavender & Mint Foot Cream – with tea tree oil and other natural ingredients, no parabens, this soothes tired feet, reviving them and softening the skin.

All in all, this is a nicely curated box, perfect for the party season, and for spoiling yourself in the cold, wet winter.

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beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, make up, nail polish, reviews, skincare

Birchbag – All That Glimmers

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For their December edition Birchbox has set out a jazzy festive clutch bag full of products designed to help you through the party season.

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Benefit Puff Off! & They’re Real Push Up Liner Duo – exclusive to Birchbox, this liner and eye cream work together – the liner to complete your look and the cream to de-puff those under eye bags.

Model Co Ultra Long Lasting Lipstick in Kitty – this is a full size lipstick in a pretty pink shade, which sadly isn’t mine.

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Ciate London Mini Paint Pot – I received the shade Iced Frappé – which I wouldn’t  say is particularly festive but colours vary.

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Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream – this moisturiser features Mediterranean algae to fight aging. Apparently it reduces wrinkles, firm skin and boost radiance in 15 days, but I don’t think there’s enough in this sample sized tube to test that theory.

Skin & Co Sicilian Body Gel – with Sicilian orange and olive extracts, this little bottle packs a sweet smelling punch. Perfect for waking you up in the morning after the night before.

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Bonus – Roloxin Lift Instant Skin Smoothing Masque – a 10 minute face mask to smooth wrinkles and hide party fatigue. Saving this for New Year’s Day recovery!

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The bag itself is very festive, in dark green velvet like the dresses I wore at Christmas as a child, with lots of gold sparkles. It’s a good size for all your bits and bobs too.

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

Glossybox Let’s Celebrate!

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The festive Glossybox was waiting for me on the doorstep today, all rose gold and sparkly.

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Inside are a selection of products to help polish your festive look.

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Etre Belle Golden Skin Caviar Eye Roll On – this cooling gel is designed to leave you looking refreshed and radiant, great if you’re partying and brilliant for insomniacs like me.

So Susan Statement Skin Highlighter Pencil – pretty sure this was in a recent box, but since I like to try and get a little glow in my skin, bound to come in handy.

Cheeky Chat Me Up Nail Paint – wish I had received the polish in the booklet instead of this very pale pink, which I got.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple 3-in-1 Cleanser – definitely had this a while ago. It’s a nice, gentle cleanser, helping to remove your party face.

Essence Liquid Lipstick in Show Off – not a fan of this at all. Runny, gooey. Just no thanks.

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Bonus product: Starskin Bio-cellulose Second Skin Mask – I am a bit unsure about sheet masks, but as my skin hates cold weather and cries out for moisture, I think I might just pop one of these on.

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Are you a Glossybox subscriber? What did you think about this month’s box?

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beauty, beauty boxes, make up, perfume, reviews, skincare, you beauty

You Beauty Discovery Box

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I have become increasingly disappointed by YBD, this month is no different and I think it might be my last box from them.

I like the idea of picking some of your samples but the selection is often quite poor and you get little bang for your buck.

Yes, it’s possibly the cheapest beauty box out there but does that mean it should be lacking?

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From the shortlist I picked;

Philosophy renewed hope in a jar eye cream – or rather a tiny tube. My under eye shadows are rather dark and tired looking at the moment, insomnia does that, and I thought I might road test an eye cream or two. I’ve heard good things about this one. Just a shame it’s such a teeny sample.

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Not the best swatching but hopefully you can see the golden shimmer

Kilo Long Lasting Stick 8 Hour No-Transfer Eye shadow in 05 – a gold shimmer eye shadow crayon, and you know I love an easy to apply make up item.

The extra samples they threw into the box are a tiny sachet of Studio 10 Miracle Effect Priming Serum and Narciso Rodriguez Narciso Eau de Toilette spritz sample bottle.

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I dont think there’s enough primer in the sachet for one human sized face, except if you were for some insane reason, making up a baby (they have little faces mostly) but not for an adult.

I have a problem with sending out perfume samples – scent is highly selective, what one person loves and smells amazing on their skin, may not work with anyone else. This mostly smells of alcohol to me. Not nice.

Overall a bit underwhelming. Time to bid adios to this box I think and move on.

Anyone else cancelling beauty boxes they’ve been disappointed by? 

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beauty, beauty boxes, haircare, love me beauty, nail polish, nails inc, reviews, skincare

Love Me Beauty – those bonus points…

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So as you know, LMB has been revamping their site, store and packaging. One of the things they’ve changed is the boutique points – you get 60 a month, the problem being most things are 20 points, meaning you might only get three products, which is a lot less than most beauty boxes, and they’re not all full size.

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To compensate for this, LMB offers bonus points you can buy to add on. This month I decided to splurge a little and get some extra goodies in my box.

As it’s cold and miserable outside I picked a range of products to give my skin, hair and look a boost in the winter.

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Top row L-R:

Roques O’Neil Therapie Boost Hair & Body Wash – aromatherapy shampoo that can also be used as a body wash.

Nails Inc Gel Effect in Old Burlington Street and Porchester Square – gorgeous pairing for winter nails.

Percy & Reed Dry Instant Volumising Spray – the winter weather seems to just leave my hair completely flat, this should give it a boost.

Bottom row, L-R:

Monu Spa Fiji Facial Treatment Oil – formulated for sensitive skin, this oil might just be the one to change my mind about facial oils.

Nuxe Gentle Exfoliating Gel for Sensitive Skin – winter seems to leave my skin dry and flaky, this should shift that and boost my skin’s health.

Dr Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips – my lips are very prone to drying and cracking, and you guessed it, it gets worse in winter. I’ve heard good things about this, so despite my concerns about lanolin (my skin reacts poorly to it), I thought I’d see if this helps heal up my dry, cracked, sad smile.

Any of you LMB subscribers? What are your thoughts of the changes to the box? Let me know in the comments.

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beauty, beauty boxes, nail polish, reviews

Nailbox – Christmas is coming…

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November’s Nailbox has arrived, bringing with it a hint of Christmas in its red, green and glitter.

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Also in the box, Elegant Touch stick on tips, a file, and a great little booklet of festive patterns for your nails.

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And the colour coordinated candy cane is a nice touch. I’ve got a few Christmas dos to attend and now festive nail designs!

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books, reviews

The Hog’s Back Mystery – Freeman Wills Croft

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The British Library has released a collection of crime novels from the Golden Age, when writers like Agatha Christie were at their peak. Freeman Wills Croft, who knew Christie, wrote more than 30 novels during this time.

Dr James Earle disappears from his house one Sunday, Inspector French is called in to locate him. Soon other people are disappearing and French is embroiled in a web of romantic entanglements and intrigue.

I really enjoyed this book, I’m a big fan of Christie and other writers of the period, like Raymond Chandler, so I was really pleased when a kind friend sent me this book.

Sometimes I can guess whodunnit, but I prefer it, when like this one, I can’t guess at all how it will unravel.

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beauty, beauty boxes, haircare, make up, reviews, skincare, vegan kind

TVK Beauty Box Five

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I love beauty products, make up, skincare, you name it, but I also love animals, I’m mum to five rats, and animal testing horrifies me. The comestic industry really doesn’t need to test shampoo on rabbits or mascara on mice.

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The Vegan Kind‘s three monthly beauty boxes contain products that demonstrate this fact wholeheartedly. None of these items have been tested on animals and all are suitable for use by humans.

The box contains six items for £18.95, is delivered every three months and this box has donated 20p for every box sold to The Dr Hadwen Trust – the UK’s leading non-animal medical research lab.

Inside the box;

Human+Kind Hand Elbow and Foot Cream 500ml (RRP £6) this rich and pleasant scented multi use cream contains cocoa butter and avocado oil to deliver lasting hydration.

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Spectrum Collections Concealer and Eyeshadow Brush (RRP £4.99) I am a sucker for a nice brush and love the soft electric blue bristles on this baby. Shaped for applying colour to your lids or concealer to that pesky dark shadow. I might have to use my exclusive discount code to treat myself to a few more.

Cocoyou Coconut Oil 200ml (RRP £5.99) coconut oil is everywhere this year, in baking, stir fries, slathered on skin and hair, used in teeth cleaning (oil pulling). This tub is perfect for your beauty routine, coat your face at night, smooth through the ends of your hair and use it to sort out your cuticles.

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Emani Vegan Cosmetics Soulmate Lipshine 7ml (RRP £11) this pink gloss goes on clear with a slight sheen of shine.

Vegan Button Mirror – soon to be available from the TVK website, this little pocket mirror is rather sweet with it’s bunny logo.

Green People’s Vegan & Organic Intensive Repair Shampoo 30ml trial size. Strengthens and repairs dry, damaged or weak hair. Excellent for the upcoming party season when too much hairspray and too many late nights stress your hair out. There’s also 20% off for subscribers.

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

My Little Sweet Box

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This month MLB managed to get delivered in plenty of time! Hooray.

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It’s also a tin for treats as opposed to a box, rather sweetly decorated too.

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Inside are baking themed goodies, including jar labels and a cute apron, as well as some beauty treats. They’ve teamed up with food blogger Mimi Thorisson.

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The beauty items are mostly skincare;

* Dr Pierre Ricaud Neck & Decolletage Lifting Cream – this little pot of cream plumps and perks skin cells.

* Yves Rocher Sensual Fragrance – a rather warm and sexy scent in a tiny bottle of perfume.

* My Little Beauty Sweet Hand Cream – marshmallowy sweetness in a rich and soothing cream.

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lifestyle boxes, reviews, waxbox

Waxbox November

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I think I might have to pause this subscription box, I’m drowning in wax.

However there are some rather yummy scents in this month’s box, so we’ll see.

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As always the wax is handpicked and packed by the lovely Paula and features a range of candle and wax companies – many of whom are small businesses.

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Wax and Wicks Toffee Latte melt – based in Yorkshire, not to be confused with wicknwax, these three dinky melts are made of soy wax and smell rather nice, a subtle sweetness.

Luxurious Melts, from Warrington, also use soya wax, the crème brulee mini tarts are quite pleasant, with a hint of marshmallow.

Butterfly Scents Mandarin & Berries wax melt is glittery and smells amazing, like a little shot of summer.

The Bridgewater Candle Company votive candle is possibly my favourite scent in the box. Definitely going in my front room to freshen it up.

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Wax Scentsual’s Avensus is quite a fresh, ocean scent. Perfect for the bathroom.

Regent House’s Wish Upon a Star wax granules are something a bit different. Pour into the burner and melt.

Finally a hint of Christmas in the peppermint mini melts from Wales’ Busy Bee Candles, which I added it to my current marshmallow melt, delicious.

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