June 2013 Glossybox Review

Glossybox is a monthly subscription of 5 high-end beauty product samples (with some full-size products sometimes, too) for £10 + £2.95 p+p)

You can earn Glossydots by reviewing the products in a quick survey, or by inviting friends, and redeem points for a free box.  Each survey is worth 50 points, so if you review 5 products a month, every 5th Glossybox should be free.  You get 200 Glossydots for every friend that signs up and places an order (1000 Glossydots = 1 free box) 

The June Glossybox theme is 'Summer Looks' - the ultimate staples for any summer make up bag.  

The first product I received was a Helen E Shimmer Eye Powder - in Shade 22 - silver.  I've always associated silver with winter, what with it being not at all warm or fun.  It is very sparkly and shimmery etc, but I can't see myself using it until at least October.  It's a good sized pot (1.5g) of loose pigment, and can be used wet or dry.  But I can't help being disappointed that I didn't get a bronze/copper or even the olive green colour they have (Shade 25).  They have at least 14 shades I would use and rave about, but I got silver.  Sad face.

The packaging is really cute, a clear hexagonal pot with a silver lid, and a pepper shaker style dispenser.  I guess that contributes to the price - £5 for 1.5g.  I always find it hard to understand the price difference between products like these, am I paying for the quality or the name? MUA do a range of eye dusts that are very similar, and cost £1 each.  Barry M Dazzle Dusts are £4.59 and Makeup Geek pigments are about £4.50.  I don't see the justification and I can't compare the pigmentation as the silver seems quite sheer, but it doesn't really show up well on my skin tone - is it bad quality or is it my skin colour?

The range is available from Helen-E.com for £5 (Use the discount code PR13 for £10 off orders over £25 until 31/07/13)

The next product in the box was a lip tint from Figs & Rouge in Cherry Blossom.  It's by far my favourite item in this month's box, as it is

- 100% Natural Ingredients

- Petroleum Free
- Paraben Free
- Mineral Oil Free
- Free of Synthetic Colours & Aromas

It comes in really nice bright packaging, which looks like a paint tube, with a screw cap.  The product itself doesn't have a strong smell or that nasty plastic feel to it like some lip products do.  It's moisturising and has a nice colour - kind of a deep dusty pink.  

It lasts quite a long time on the lips and doesn't transfer too much.  It keeps my lips soft and doesn't look too shiny or sticky (and my hair doesn't get stuck in it either, #1 trait of a good lip product)

It can be applied either straight from the tube, with fingers or with a brush.  I keep mine in my bag and use it multiple times throughout the day when I feel it's wearing off a bit - and it's great for summer when my lips are getting dehydrated faster than usual due to the heat we're actually getting for once in the UK.

It retails at £4.95 for 12.5ml and can be bought from FeelUnique.com with free delivery.

Third in the June box was a Long Lasting Nail Gloss from MeMeMe - a brand that keeps popping up in my Glossybox, and to be honest, I wish it wouldn't.  

It claims to be a 'premium, long-lasting, high-shine nail gloss complete with maxi-brush for one-stroke application.'  What I've found it to actually be is an almost clear, very watery nail polish that lasted just long enough for me to see the result and wipe it straight off again.  There was no opacity except at the edges of my nail where the product actually ran to.  I've never had a nail polish that was so watery that it could run before, so that's unique I guess.

Maybe it's that I got the colour Ambitious, which is a dusty pink, but I'm leaning more towards it being a bad product.  

I definitely wouldn't pay £5 for this, but if you want to give it a try, you can use the discount code GBUK15 for 15% off from MeMeMeCosmetics.co.uk

Next up is a Hydrating Moisturiser SPF15 from Monu.

'Soft focus technology helps to blur imperfections and to correct skin tone. We use Zinc Oxide to provide a physical barrier against the sun’s harmful rays. This provides broad spectrum UV protection with good UVA to UVB ratio. Includes Vitamin E, an antioxidant, to fight free radicals. The best way to stop your face from ageing is to protect it from the sun.'

My general rule with moisturisers is that if I can't pronounce at least 50% of the ingredients, it probably isn't good for my skin, and the ingredients on this bottle read like a Swahili tongue twister.

'Aqua (Water), Zinc Oxide, C12- C15 Alkyl Benzoate, Dimethicone, Caprylic/ Capric Triglyceride, Cyclotetrasiloxane, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Glyceryl Stearate, Cyclopentasiloxane, PEG-100 Stearate, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Ribes Nigrum (Blackcurrant) Seed Oil, Isostearic Acid, Polyacrylamide, Parfum (Fragrance), Tocopherol, Silica, C13-14 isoparaffin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA, Lactic Acid, Linallol, Xanthan Gum, Laureth-7, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Isoceteth-10, Sodium Hyaluronate, Cassia Alata Leaf Extract, Citronellol, Benzyl Salicylate, Farnesol, Limonene'

I've tried it, and it does moisturise quite well, doesn't smell, and extra SPF is great any time of year.  Again, the price isn't very budget friendly at £29.95/50ml, so I wouldn't recommend it purely based on that if nothing else, but if you want to give it a try you can use the discount code Glossy1 until 01/10/13 on monushop.co.uk

Last in the box was Huile Prodigieuse (R) OR from NUXE, a 'multi-talking desert-island dry oil... forumlated to be easily absorbed and illuminate all skin and hair types with a subtle golden shimmer that looks like it comes from within'.  I'll admit, it is subtle, as I didn't notice any difference at all really.  

The ingredients say to spray the oil into your palms and rub onto the face/hair.  However the sample I got didn't have a spray dispenser, so maybe that affected the application.  It can be used all over the body, face and hair but again, I don't feel that I can comment because the sample wasn't packaged correctly and I can't really use it as it's meant to be used.

At £34/100ml, I won't try to recommend it as that's a lot of money to spend on a product that may or may not work.  However, if you have tried it, please comment below to let me know the best way to use it!  

I also have a 15% off discount code for Nuxe.co.uk - Just enter GLOSSYBOXDISC before 30/6/13.

***Bonus Item***

I would like to mention that in this box there was a bonus item, a sachet of John Frieda Sheer Blonde Everlasting Blonde Shampoo and conditioner - however, being a full on ginge, I won't be using it.  

I do complete my beauty profile on Glossybox regularly, to make sure I get the products that suit me best, but I'm getting the feeling that the information gets lost somewhere.

Overall, the June Glossybox was a bit of a let down - some of the other products available would have been PERFECT for me - Frizz Ease Original Serum, Helen E Waterproof Lip Liner, Monu Soap-Free Facial Wash, Sarah Chapman Intense Hydrating Booster/Skin Tone Perfecting Booster, Gosh Growth Mascara, ANY of those would have been great, and all 5 would have been a great box.  Maybe next month will be better... maybe.

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Review: Glossybox February 2013

Glossybox is a monthly subscription of 5 high-end beauty product samples (with some full-size products sometimes, too) for £10 + £2.95 p+p)

You can Glossydots by reviewing the products in a quick survey, or by inviting friends, and redeem points for a free box.  Each survey is worth 50 points, so if you review 5 products a month, every 5th Glossybox should be free.  You get 200 Glossydots for every friend that signs up and places an order (1000 Glossydots = 1 free box)


February's Glossybox was Valentines Day themed - 'here to make sure you’ll have the night of your life whomever you end up spending it with.'  

I don't know if I got the leftover products no-one else would want, but I hated this month's box and wouldn't have chosen any of them.  This blog post will not be a good advertisement for Glossybox.  It is the first box I've actively disliked and been completely disappointed with - so if you're after an uplifting read, this is not the place to be.  Sorry.

The box itself is very pretty this month - with a big pink bow and pink tissue paper, very Valentines-esque.  That's where the love ends.  I honestly thought I'd never love anything ever again when I opened this box - like all capability for happy feelings had been sucked out of me.  Maybe the box contained some rogue miniature dementors, I don't know.


The first item in the box was an Anatomicals shower gel.  It's a full size, and it smells of rose, so I get to smell like Turkish Delight for about 3 minutes until the smell wears off. 

There's really not much to say that I haven't already said in the review of the last Anatomicals product Glossybox sent me - except that this isn't as nice as the grapefruit exfoliating body scrub.  

It is a good size, the packaging is nice and bright, but the smell doesn't last and you need quite a lot to get a good lather.  I wouldn't say it's worth more than the £2.99 it costs.

The next item was Sassoon Professional Illuminating Restore, a deep-treatment conditioner loaded with all the parabens and chemicals you could dream of, which you leave on for about 15 minutes after shampooing, and rinse out to find no change whatsoever to your hair, and get out of the bath/shower disappointed.

I just don't understand how a deep conditioner could contain three different types of alcohol.

It does contain Hydrolyzed Keratin, however it's in such small amounts that I don't see it doing much in the way of improving the condition of your hair.  I know I didn't notice any difference in mine, apart from that it was quite drying and made my hair very difficult to comb out.  

It's also a case of paying for the brand rather than the product with this - as it has a RRP of £20.75/130ml.  Vastly overpriced in my opinion.



Third in the box was the Fat Cat mascara from MeMeMe - a range I've wanted to try (although what I actually wanted to try was the foundation, and maybe the highlighter).  

If you're looking for a mascara that creates a look SO natural noone will believe you're wearing any at all - this is definitely the mascara for you.  The only way I could tell I had mascara on was when it fell onto my cheeks after about 5 minutes.

It's the thinnest coating I've ever had from any mascara ever - I don't know if it's the formula or the big bristle-y brush, but it doesn't seem to hold on the lashes, and it's not buildable.  Maybe I have freak-of-nature lashes, but every other one I've tried has worked for me.

It has a RRP £7.99/8ml, although I wouldn't recommend this mascara at all - there are far better high street mascaras out there for a fiver.



Next  was a loose shimmery eye powder from Mica Bella Cosmetics.  It does say on the description that it's a pigment, but I refuse to call it that as it is not pigmented well at all.  The description also boasts that it contains 100% Natural Mica - except for the possible Carmine and Titanium Dioxide.
Carmine is a colouring which is known to cause severe allergic reactions, and Titanium Dioxide is dangerous when inhaled in micro-ground form as it is in this product.
Aside from that, it's generally just not a very good product.  I wore it today in place of my usual dark brown crease colour, and it lasted all of about 30 seconds.  The shimmer disappeared when I was blending it out, and the rest either soaked into my skin somehow, or was blown away by a gentle breeze somewhere between leaving the house and getting to my car.  I was left with dirty brown smudge patches on my eyelids.  So cute.
Here's the kicker though, the RRP is £14.95/2.5g.  If you pay that much for this product, please seek professional help.


The final, and most insulting, product in the Valentines Day box was a lipstick from Miners Cosmetics. 'Perfect your pout with Miners Cosmetics range of stunning and vibrant Lip Colours.'
 I'll have to double check the shade I received, but I like to call it Slutty Robot.  Now if you do like to dress as a slutty robot, this lipstick is PERFECT.  For everyone else, however, you will want to rip your face off when you try it.
It's a frosted, shimmery, very light lilac/pink, and it feels and smells about as cheap as it makes you look.   It sits on top of the lips rather than being in any way moisturising, and just applying it for the photo to the left made my day a whole lot worse.

(The colour I have is 'Dreamer')
RRP. £3.99/4g. 


The people at Glossybox also added a heart shaped lolly to the box as an extra treat.  That was the highlight.  Hopefully next month will be a whole heap of amazingness, or my subscription will be gone.

Fingers crossed!


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Review: Glossybox January 2013

Glossybox is a monthly subscription of 5 high-end beauty product samples (with some full-size products sometimes, too) for £10 + £2.95 p+p)

You can Glossydots by reviewing the products in a quick survey, or by inviting friends, and redeem points for a free box.  Each survey is worth 50 points, so if you review 5 products a month, every 5th Glossybox should be free.  You get 200 Glossydots for every friend that signs up and places an order (1000 Glossydots = 1 free box)

The January Glossybox has a Detox theme, and the products I received were mainly organic, natural and paraben free, which I love!

The first product in the 01/13 Glossybox was the Skin Glow Facial Exfoliator by Elemis, from their Teens To Twenties Freshskin range.  The key ingredients are aniseed, bitter cherry, glycerine, jojoba beads, mandarin and sweet almond oil.  The Elemis Freshskin range is also free from Parabens, SLS, SLES, Mineral Oils, Artificial Colours & Silicones.  They use active plant extracts to provide fresh, natural skincare.

The Skin Glow Facial Exfoliator works really well, you massage it into wet skin using 'gentle but fast' circular motions all over your face, and then rinse with warm water and pat your face dry with a towel.  

It smells amazing, and it gets all that dead skin off your face whilst boosting the circulation, so you get a nice tingly-clean feeling after using it.  It cleans right down into your pores and mine looked visibly reduced after use.  My skin felt soft and fresh and I would definitely recommend this product.

(RRP. £12/100ml, Available from ASOS with free delivery)

The second product in the box was a Warming Aromatic Mask from Monu, which claims to help increase vitamin and mineral absorption.  Again, this product uses all natural ingredients - with Attapulgite Clay, Beeswax, Camphor (Rosemary) Essential Oil, Coconut Oil and Lavander Essential Oil.  The clay deep cleans your face whilst stimulating and renewing cell health, leaving the skin 'clear, boosted and radiant looking', and the Beeswax and Coconut oil 'soften, nourish and hydrate skin.'

Used once or twice a week after cleansing, it is applied to the face and neck with fingertips and left for 10-15 minutes.  It won't dry so keep your hair back and don't go headbutting people, it'll make a mess.  Your face instantly starts to warm up, but not too hot, just a soothing sensation - like a hug for your face - it's really relaxing. 

When I washed it off, my skin felt tighter and softer, but I don't think this justifies the price tag.  However, if you feel you can spend the money, by all means try this mask.

(RRP. £24.95, available for £22.95 from FeelUnique.com)

Third in the box was a Mandarin and Bergamot body lotion from Duck Island - a range of skincare products used in hotels.  

It smells citrus-y and floral at the same time, and is extremely moisturising.  It doesn't soak in to skin too quickly so you have to stand around for a bit once you've used it, waiting for it to dry.

Whilst it's a really nice body lotion, I'm confused as to why it was included in the Glossybox - It's available to buy in cases of 200 30ml bottles for £166.78 each - what?

(The cheapest I've found it is £3.32/250ml with £4.99 shipping, from DW Supplies)

Next was a Balance Rescue Face Tonique from Premae - a mattifying and rejuvinating toner, which claims to 'cut through dirt and excess oil, and close clogged pores.'  It does all of those from my experience, and I really like it.

It uses a paraben free, alcohol free, fragrance free, 100% Allergy UK Certified formula of Sandalwood Oil, Rose Water and Lemongrass Oil to nourish and revitalise skin cells.

It is applied with a cotton wool pad, and left on the face (just a thin layer, so it can soak in).  Excess can be removed with another cotton wool pad.

So far, I really like this, and I've been looking for a toner with Rose Water, so I'm very happy about that, too.  The only down side is the price - you could make this yourself for hardly anything, yet Premae are charging £21.50/100ml, and that seems extortionate to me.

The final product in the box is my favourite, and I love it, and I will never stop using it.

It's a Lips Bee Healthier from Jason, a lip balm stick made with 70% organic ingredients.  It's a mass of moisturising miracle ingredients which started to help heal my chapped, dry lips instantly.

Its ingredients include Beeswax, Vitamin E, Green Tea Extract, Shea Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, Coconut Oil, Cocoa Seed Butter, Aloe Vera, Marigold Extract and Peppermint Oil.  

The peppermint oil gives the lip balm its fantastic minty smell, and gives a slight tingle to your lips as the mint boosts blood flow.  My chapped lips healed in about 2 days with multiple applications of this balm, and I could not be happier with it. 

It has no lanolin, no GMOs, no petrolium, no mineral oils and no parabens, is water resistant and non-greasy, has UVA and UVB protection and stays on even when I'm eating.

Another thing I love is the packaging - the twist-up bit that's usually on the bottom (and gets caught on everyhting and anything and gradually works its way up and smushes your lip balm all over the lid...) is at the top - by the lid.  I love that. 

I hadn't actually looked at the price until just now, as I was scared it'd be something stupidly high and I'd never be able to buy it again, but it's only £1.99!!  For this miracle balm! I'm now in love with this company and want to try ALL their products.

(RRP. £1.99/4.6g, available from JasonNaturalCare.co.uk)

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Review: Elf Mineral Lipstick - Cool Coral

Elf Mineral Lipstick in Cool Coral
RRP £5.00/3.8g

Now you can hydrate your lips and get a lasting soft colour naturally! This nourishing blend of exotic oils, natural waxes, vitamins and plant extracts create the perfect moisturising formula. The sleek lipstick has superior colour payoff, glides easily onto lips, and is long wearing. Lips stay perfectly hydrated and soft throughout the day for no fuss, lip loving happiness. 

100% Mineral based lipstick with no parabens, no preservatives and no chemical dyes.



Ingredients: 

Jojoba Seed Oil - Soothes, moisturizes and softens the skin. 
Coconut Oil - A moisturizing remedy to prevent wrinkles and sagging 
Candelilla Wax - Protects the skin against moisture loss
Ceresin Wax, Microcrystalline Wax, Caranauba Wax, Paraffin Wax
Castor Seed Oil - Soothing and rich in antioxidants - helps to prevent aging
Shea Butter - Deep penetrating, long acting - restores moisture balance & prevents visible aging
Olive Oil - Combats aging and locks in moisture
Tocopherol (Ve) - A Vitamin E derivative and a powerful antioxidant - helps skin healing
Ascorbyl Palmitate (Vc) - A Vitamin C derivative that promotes healthy skin
Retinyl Palmitate (Va) - A Vitamin A derivative and powerful antioxidant which increases skin elasticity
Mica - Imparts a soft focus effect
Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891) - Provides sun protection
Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499)
Manganese Violet (CI 77742).


Colour:

So this is the colour I expected to receive when I ordered Cool Coral (6704), and below is the picture of the actual colour.  I MUCH prefer the actual colour to the photo on the website.  The photo online does the lipstick no justice whatsoever, it's just a stock lipstick photoshopped a bit to slightly resemble the colour you might imagine the lipstick to maybe be.







The actual colour of the lipstick is a lovely shimmery orange/red.
It has a great payoff, not too overwhelming but definitely the same colour that it is in the tube - it doesn't take 2 or 3 coats to build up, it's just there instantly and it's so pretty!

It's very multi-dimensional and depending on where the light hits it, you'll see a different colour, which I love.

I've never found that I had to wear lip-liner with this, it doesn't seem to smudge or bleed or wear thin, it's fine just on it's own - great for quick touch ups and not having to re-paint your whole mouth!



Texture:

It also has a kind of rough texture to it, probably because it's a mineral lipstick? but I just like to pretend that's exfoliating my lips.  It's actually really hydrating and makes my lips feel so soft.
 (no surprise when you see the ingredients list below) 

Longevity:

It has quite good lasting power, doesn't clump together in cracks in dry lips, and it doesn't smudge really easily - I can eat and this will stay on, but I'll touch it up anyway just because I love the colour.

Packaging:

The packaging has held up well, for all the knocking about in my coat pocket, being man-handled and bashed, it's still in near-perfect condition.  No cracks or splits in the plastic, and the eyes lips face hasn't rubbed off the side yet either.


Value:

It's my go-to lipstick, you know the one you keep in your coat pocket rather than your handbag?  It's that one.  It will sit forever in my coat pocket for those moments when I need shimmery orange lips.

It doesn't seem to be wearing down very quickly either, which is great.  You can tell from the photo that it has softened a bit around the edges, but considering my almost daily usage, I still have most of it left - I bought it around 7/8 months ago, maybe more?  So that's pretty good going.


Rating:

This is my favourite lipstick, and considering all points - Value for money, lovely colour and excellent payoff. I'm giving it 5/5.



Please leave comments below to let me know anything you'd like to see!

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Intro

First post. Okay, here goes nothing...

I spend most of my free time on YouTube watching makeup gurus, collecting little tips and trying them out - and never really going anywhere or doing anything where people will notice my face and think 'My, how lovely that contouring looks', or 'Well, she certainly has defined her crease well with that eye look'.  So I figured, seeing as it is actually something I enjoy, why not write about it?   It can't hurt, right?

Asking a blogger page rhetorical questions...  And so it begins.

So I'll give you the LD on my face, so you can get an idea of what I'm working with here.  I have sensitive, pale skin, with hormonal acne every few weeks.  I sound hot, don't I?

I don't have any photos of me makeup-less yet, but I'll be sure to add some in when I get round to taking them.  In the meantime, here's one of me with low-coverage makeup from the other day.

You can see a couple of blemishes (the piece of hair hanging down is strategically covering the one bad one I have right now) but nothing too major.

You can also see I have pretty dark circles under my eyes - my sleep routine is messed up right now! Good news for the concealer industry.





I'll do a foundation routine and probably give a few of my favourite products a review, and then who knows, I might actually get some looks on here.

Maybe.


Please leave comments below to let me know anything you'd like to see!

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