Tag: skincare

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

Glossybox – Summer’s Calling

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May’s Glossybox finally arrived and it’s themed with some of this summer’s biggest trends and products.

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MeMeMe Enchanted Eyes Dual Ended Eye Wand – blue eyeliner is a big trend for this summer and this full size features two shades. Both have a slight glittery shimmer to them and being a crayon are soft and easy to apply.

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Etre Belle Aloe Vera Ultra Moisturizing Gel – 40ml full size product. Aloe Vera is so skin friendly and soothes all manner of irritations from sun burn to nettle stings. This fits perfectly into a beach bag or picnic box so you can refresh and calm your skin on the go.

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Zerreau Towel Off Shampoo Foam – new generation of dry shampoo. Wash your hair without water. Apply to scalp, massage in, towel dry and voila! Great idea for camping, festivals or staying somewhere with iffy showers!

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Sass Intimate Perfect Skin Concentrate – this post-shave concentrate has been formulated to soothe the skin and reduce the chances of ingrown hairs, getting your legs summer ready, even if like me, they don’t get much sun (way too pale!)

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Philosophy Renewed Hope in a Jar Refreshing & Refining Moisturiser – philosophy is a brand I’ve always liked, except for its prices. The full size of this moisturiser is £35.50 which is just too much to justify. However a great sample to play with. This claims to reduce the appearance of lines, discoloration and uneven texture. I will certainly be testing its claims.

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beauty, beauty boxes, reviews, skincare

L’Occitane Taste of Provence box

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There’s a group on Facebook called Battle of the Boxes, full of women who buy and review beauty boxes and they are a sweet, funny, generous bunch. Frequently offering make up goodies or other treats to one another.
Recently I took advance of such an offer and got myself a free box of mini L’Occitane goodies.

If you don’t know what L’Occitane is, it’s a French beauty company based in Provence that focuses on quality and natural ingredients.

I’ve never bought any of their products, due to price mostly, but love when magazines give away free handcreams from them.

However, their new eau de parfum launching in June is so nice I may have to treat myself.

Onto the box. This is a sample box, but even though everything’s mini, there’s a lot to play with.

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The almond hand cream smells delicious, and is rich and creamy but not greasy on.

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The foot cream, currently soaking into my toes, is also rich and smooth, smells good and hasn’t left a greasy residue on my hands.

There’s a Verbena leaf soap, which I haven’t opened, as well as Verbena shower gel and body lotion, both of which are delicately scented.

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Also in this little box is a voucher for £10 off a £25 spend in store or online, which I may well take advantage of (hand cream and perfume most likely).

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Finally a tiny sachet of lavender seeds, which you plant as it is, in the hope that lavender, a fairly stubborn plant to grow (I have 2 and they hate me) will bloom under London’s grey skies not Provence’s blue, sun-filled ones.

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

Latest in Beauty – Heart Beauty Essentials

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Latest in Beauty’s latest collaboration is with radio station Heart FM.

The box contains a mix of 13 full and sample size products. £18.95 + P&P.

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Nails Inc. Gel Effect Hyde Park Place

Kneipp Devil’s Claw Herbal Bath

Green People Sun Lotion SPF15 with Tan Accelerator

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bareMinerals Complexion Rescue

philosophy 3 in 1 cleanser

Wild About Beauty Eye Shadow in 08 Polly

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Vichy Idealia Life Serum

Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels

Dove Youthful Vitality Shampoo & Conditioner

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Balance Me Radiance Face Mask

Le Couvent des Minimes Cloisters Hand Cream

Amie Hydrating Daily Moisturiser

Face Cloth

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And if you enter the coupon code HAIRSPRAY you get this free.

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The only link to Heart (which my dad listens to!) is the heart shaped face cloth (which expands in water -haven’t seen one of these since I was a kid).

Overall it’s a nice selection of things, and definitely worth the money as some of these items on their own are quite pricey (Nails Inc I’m looking at you!)

Next up from LiB is the Glamour Beauty Edit box for Summer. Will you be buying it? Or the Heart box?

Are you a member of the Libbie Club? (I’ve applied).

Let me know in the comments.

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beauty, make up, skincare

Splashing Out!

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Not really.

Popped into town to pick up a few bits and post some things. Haven’t been into Superdrug in a while. Having seen lovely ladies like Rachel & Tifa talk about MUA make up on their blogs and IG made me want to check it out and having binned a load of slightly tragic looking eye shadows recently I was keen to pick up some new ones.

Superpdrug has had a bit of a face lift and expanded their selection of make up brands, so I had a quick browse.

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MUA is currently on an offer – spend £8 get a free 5th birthday palette so I picked up a couple of things.

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I really like this marble effect palette, it jumped out at me on the shelf. It’s not something I’ve picked up before.

I usually go for quite pinky blusher, but this peachy toned one appealed as a summer change, put a bit of sun into my pale skin.

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Previous eye palettes have been full of colours I never wear, my attraction to rainbows is a growing problem, so going for a neutral toned palette is very un-me. But probably a lot more practical for every day.

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This is the birthday palette, which I think is a nice mix of colours and will probably get used a fair bit.

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Annoyingly Superdrug didn’t have the Barry M product I wanted or the Bourjois one either, so I also went to Boots.

Boots have got a 3 for 2 offer on all skincare so I picked up some must-have items.

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Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Night Treatment Gel is essentially a miracle worker. Smear it on before bed, it absorbs quickly and stops any spots from sneaking through, especially useful around my period when my skin decides it belongs to a greasy teenage boy.

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Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Anti-Aging Smoothing Lotion is a mouthful of a product name but a magic product for less than a fiver. I smooth it on my arms before bed (I am very slippery at night with all my lotions and potions) and it has reduced the existence of those horrid ‘chicken skin’ bumps also known as keratosis pilaris or kp. While it doesn’t treat it completely, my arms are less red, lumpy and smoother than before. I tried it after Sali Hughes recommended it in her column.

Boots did have the Barry M product I wanted – a recent addition to the range. This highlighter crayon, which comes highly recommended and as I’ve not really bothered too much with highlighters in the past, I thought it might be worth a go. There’s an offer on Barry M nail polish, but I managed to resist.

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I also grabbed a miniature Palmer’s Original Cocoa Butter for my handbag to dab on those dry patches when out and about.

However I managed to forget conditioner, which is annoying as I’ll have to go back.

The one product nowhere seems to stock is Bourjois Magic Nail Care, a pot you dip your fingers in which contains a nail strengthener and cuticle oil. My nails are very brittle and nothing I’ve tried has stopped them splitting and tearing. If anyone spots this in a high street shop or department store, please let me know. I’ve only found it on Beauty Mart but would rather not have to pay shipping for a £6 item.

I can’t really splurge too much at the moment as I’ve ordered another cheeky beauty box, and bought a made to order skirt. But hopefully I’ll be able to get to the new Lush on Oxford Street to see all their unique items and treat myself at some point in June so stay tuned.  

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beauty boxes, latest in beauty, reviews, skincare

Latest in Beauty – Little Bath Box

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This was a random purchase (especially as I don’t have a bath tub) but would make a great present.

It contains several products that I will definitely make some use of.

– 3 sachets of Dr Organic Dead Sea Mineral Mud Mask.

– Roques Oneil Therapie Himalayan Detox Salts.

– Kneippe Herbal Bath Balancing in Lavender.

– Orange and Clove 100% Plant Wax candle.

– Sanctuary Spa White Lily & Damask Rose Body Lotion.

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beauty boxes, birchbox, make up, reviews, skincare

May Birchbox – Free Your Mind

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This month’s theme is Free Your Mind and so Birchbox have sent out a colour-it-yourself box.

Personally I think they’re just jumping on the adult colouring book fad, which I do as part of treating my anxiety but isn’t for everyone. This box feels both try-hard and lazy at the same time.

On to the contents.

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As well as your booklet on the items this month’s cloth bag features;

– Mirenesse Mattfinity Lip Rouge in a deep pink. Weirdly it seems to have dried up despite never having been opened so I’m not really impressed.

– Lumiere d’hiver reconstructing face masque in a sachet. It says it’s 100% vegan but worryingly for me the second ingredient is a form of alcohol, which I try to avoid in skin products as it has drying properties that inflame eczema and sensitive skin.

– Parlor Moisturizing Sea Salt Spray – this has been discussed on a lot of blogs and there seems to be a concern about whether this will wreck your hair or give you the tousled surfer babe waves it promises. Sea water is not your hair’s best friend and neither is salt so I totally get the questions. I have to quite naturally wavy hair so it’s hard to tell if it had any effect. My furry assistants thought the noise it made was interesting but less so than their dinner. So the jury’s still out.

-RMK Point Make Up Remover. This is a Japanese brand and helpfully no one translated the information on the bottle and my kanji reading skills are non-existent. It’s an oil remover, which have become increasingly popular but I’m still not sure about. The last one I tried made no difference to my skin and still needed a cream cleanser to actually take my make up off! However after the hand incident (see next product) I used this to remove the make up with just a tissue so maybe oils need another go round!

– Caudalie Vinoperfect Tinted Moisturiser SPF20 in 01 Light. I am very pale and this is way too dark for me. As you can see in the below photo of my hand. I squeezed a blob out that could coat my entire hand but be way too obvious, not something I want for a product designed to be subtle.

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This month’s ‘choose your own’ product was from a line up of WAH nails items. I chose a nail art pen as I have so many polishes and don’t wear stick on nails. I haven’t had a chance to play with it yet but it is a very deep blue so I’m not 100% sure which nail polishes it would work well with.

– Finally the lifestyle item. A pack of 6 mini colouring pencils to decorate your box with. Needless to say I think that’s pretty pants. None of the decorated boxes on their Instagram were done using just the six colours and some were done with pens and paints. Pencils cost pennies. It would have been nice to have something that spoke a little more to the theme.

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Do you subscribe to Birchbox? What did you think of this month’s products?

  

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beauty, beauty boxes, make up, reviews, skincare

You Beauty Limited Edition CEW Awards

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This is a limited edition box in conjunction with the CEW Beauty Awards.

At £19.95, it’s not a bad price considering how packed it is.

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer sample size

Benefit They’re Real! Push-up Liner sample

Vita Liberta Luxury Tan sample and applicator mitt

Aurelia Miracle Cleanser sachet

Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara sample

Encore Noire Sport pour homme sample (men’s smellies in a women’s box?!?!)

Bee Good Honey & Propolis 2-in-1 Cream Cleanser sample bottle with face cloth and 20% off voucher.

Elemis pro-collagen marine cream full size (30 ml)

Dr Organic Bioactive Skincare Organic Snail Cream full size (50ml) – not suitable for vegans, contains snail secretions but no snails are harmed.

20% voucher for M&S selected beauty and fragrance

Booklet about the products.

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Plenty of things to try, including two full size products. Definitely worth the cost, as long as you make use of them!

Get yours here and remember it’s limited edition so they won’t last.

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beauty, beauty boxes, make up, reviews, skincare

You Beauty Discovery Box

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You Beauty is an off-shoot from the Mail on Sunday’s You magazine.

The box is £6.95, significantly cheaper than most beauty boxes. You only get four sample size products however.

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Yours Truly Organics Fix Me! Repairing Serum sachet, Tisserand Aromatherapy Bath Oil, Deborah Mitchell Heaven Chamomile Desensitizing Hydrogel & Linwood’s Milled Flaxseed, cocoa & berries sachet.

There’s also a card offering you an opportunity to win a luxury spa day and a booklet about all the products you could have had in your box.

Their USP is that you can select two of the items, however things go very fast and I didn’t have a huge selection to choose from.

I think this is an OK starter beauty box and not all of the brands were familiar to me. If you’re interested, check out May’s options here.

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beauty boxes, lifestyle boxes, make up, my little box, reviews, skincare

My Little Dream Box

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This month’s My Little Box finally put in an appearance (thanks Mr Postie) and it’s a good un. The theme is dreams and they’ve curated a really lovely box.

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The packaging is gorgeous, they pay a lot of attention to details.

Inside is a selection of lifestyle and beauty products.

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As well as the usual My Little Magazine, there’s a cute cotton bag containing a My Little Beauty branded hair mask, Lip Balm Loved By Lou Lesage in a creamy rouge, Soft Perfumes by Sabe Masson in Copacabana (a solid perfume stick).

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It also includes two lifestyle items. A necklace in a cloud, which when opened is a charm necklace with ‘Bonne Etoile’ engraved on it. Another cute packet contains a stamp pad and rotating stamp with 12 different designs.

In total the box is worth £58 but I only paid £13 including P&P.

At the moment this is far and away my favourite beauty box. They are always beautifully put together and a good mix of beauty and lifestyle items. The box itself is sweet and reusable, so less rubbish is generated. It doesn’t have the largest selection of beauty products but they’re all fullsize this month.

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

Birchbox – A Royally Good Box

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This month Birchbox is celebrating the fact that a woman who married into a dynasty full of cousin marriages, dodgy relatives and scandals is fertile enough to get pregnant with a ‘spare’ heir to the throne.

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As you can probably guess I’m a bit cynical about the Royal Family and think the obsessing over them is a bit insane.

Anyway, back to the beauty box.

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I got the blue box but some were pink. Presumably they contained the same stuff, which didn’t include a mascara (thank heavens – every other one seemed to). Instead there was a little cloth bag containing:

Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleansing sample – I’ve got a couple of these now – not tried it yet.

Percy & Reed No Oil Hair Oil sample – I’ve used this before and it’s OK, but I prefer my Argan Oil.

Laura Mercier primer sample size, this month you could choose a Laura Mercier product and as the others were mascara and eyeliner I picked this.

Exclusive to Birchbox Lola nail polish in the ubiquitous nude shade (it’s everywhere at the moment)

Korres Bergamot Pear Bodymilk – sample size. The packaging is quite sweet, couldn’t get the foil seal off for that all important sniff test!

And a Befine warming clay face mask instead of the slightly rubbish ‘lifestyle item’ (last month it was a chapter sample of a novel & a teeny tiny note pad).

To be honest I was pretty sure it was all over for Birchbox as last month’s was really disappointing, but this one is a lot better. I can see myself using the products and the box is a good size for reuse. This was the standard size box but a letterbox size is also available.

P.S use this link to get yours 🙂

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