Birchbox January 2014 Review

 

So! It's a new year, a new start with the Beautyboxes! This year, I've decided I'm just going to be loyal to Birchbox, I'm using up my Glossydots to get one last Glossybox, but then I'll be saving my money and just treating myself to one box a month. So, January clearly was a box I was looking forward to, hoping I made the right choice! The theme for the January box was Tiny Tweaks. I quite like this thought. Just to make little changes at a time and over time they'll begin to make a bigger difference. The box also came with a wee book showing some ideas for this, as well as suggestions of use of the products in the box.

 

 

I've still to have a good read through the booklet, but it does sound like a good idea anyway! The only thing I found odd about this box, was that it didn't have the usual Birchbox little bag which the products usually come in, everything was in tissue paper instead. I quite like these wee bags, so I kinda missed it!

 

 

Benefit - The Porefessional (Full Size £24.50)



 

Well, a good old primer, and a cult one at that. I've had this in a box before as well as free with magazines and things, so I know I do like this product. It's a very smooth feeling primer and definitely smoothed out my pores, a very nice base for your foundation. I couldn't afford to invest in the full size so it's nice to try it still.

 

Philip Kingsley - Moisture Balancing Conditioner (Full Size £18)

 

Ahh, I do love a good conditioner. I would never normally stretch to this price for a conditioner, but it's a really lovely product. It doesn't have a strong scent at all, but it did make my hair nice and smooth and it felt really healthy, so it's a nice treat.

 

Rodial - Glamtox Night (Full Size £75)

 

Now, if I was worried about the price of the items I've already looked at, this one's price would probably make me pass out. It's safe to say, I doubt I'll be ever ever be buying the full size of this product! That said, it is gorgeous. It smells amazing. I've used it every other night since I got it and in the morning I really feel like my skin has improved. If you can get your hands on this, I would.

 

Itsu - Miso Soup (3 sachets for £2.25)

Whoopsie. For some reason I forgot to take a photo of this. And then I ate it. (you can see it in the first pic tho!) It was a little sachet type thing of miso paste. You add hot water to it and stir and it makes a very low calorie soup for lunch or a snack. I'm sure it was around 42 calories for the whole lot. Pretty good if you're trying to cut back (which I should be!) but I don't know if I would pay this much for only 3 sachets.

 

Vasanti - Detox Nutrient-Rich Purifying Facial Cleanser (Full Size £18)

 

This is a lovely wee face wash designed to wash away toxins and all traces of makeup. I've used it just the once and so far all good. It foams up once you pop in on a damp face it does leave me feeling pretty fresh faced I guess! It's a shame its in a odd bottle that you can't squeeze and you just have to pour it out, so you might get more than you need but otherwise, it's a perfectly nice face wash!

 

Premae - Anatomy Nutrients Instant Renewal Body Oil (Full Size £9.50)

 

This is an after shower moisturiser oil. Just after a bath or shower you spritz this on to get all your moisturiser done in one go! Nice when you're in a hurry! It smells quite spa like and is really easy to use and not too pricey so yey!

 

Overall, a very decent January box and full of things I can and will actually use. Hoping the good Birchboxes continue anyway!

 

 

 

 

It's Sales Shopping Time! Haul!

Well, before everything changes and I have less money and a different job, I thought I might as well go and hit the sales just after Christmas last year! I needed to look out new outfits for my new work and a few treats of course! So, naturally I got more of the treats! Here's some of what I got!

First off, here's a gift set from Nip and Fab in Sugared Almond. Yum. It's a body butter, hand cream, lip balm and also came with a shower gel and a body puff, which are already almost gone! This was half price, reduced from £10 to £5 in TK Maxx, a yummy bargain!

Soap and Glory's Powdertrip. This has a bronzer, a brightening powder and a shimmery blusher as well as a brush. It comes with a mirror and shuts with a magnet. It's a great value set, at half price from £20 to £10 at Boots. Very handy, considering I was needing a new blusher anyhoo!

Again from Boots, I got this Loreal Post Party Beauty SOS kit. It has their Micellar Solution as well as a day cream. This was also half price reduced down to £5. I already love their solution as a make up remover and I've been using the day cream and so fair it's been really nice, even on my sensitive skin. 

I also hit Cult Beauty's website and picked up this lovely. It's a Kevyn Aucoin Loose Eyeshadow in Rose Quartz, and goreous rose gold colour. It has a rollerball applicator which is a little strange, but the product itself is lovely and stays all day. This was half price at £13.

I think I really hit Boots with a vengeance haha. This is an Elizabeth Arden 8 hour gift set. This was half price and down to £25. When you consider the lip protector alone with worth £20, this seemed an immense bargain to me! You get the hand protector, lip protector, the classic 8 hour cream and some gloves and socks to leave on overnight. Lovely set and nice for a little treat anyway!

Finally, we have a work outfit! This is from Asos Curve. It's a skater dress with bird print and it was reduced down to £13. I'm hoping to be able to wear it to work with leggings and boots. Hopefully it looks smart enough!

Whilst on Asos, I spotted this beauty. It's a makeup bag set from Paul and Joe with a hair and body mist. This was reduced down to £8.50 and it's so cute I couldn't leave it alone!

Well, there we go! A good wee splurge in the sales and a few good items hopefully! What did you guys get in the sales this year?

My Make Up Storage

So, time for a wee nosy around the forms of storage I have put some of my monstrous collection of makeup in! This is all in my bedroom on top of my chest of drawers, I barely have any space left on there! Firstly, the little organiser above is from The Holding Company. I think it was around £14 and it's just clear plastic with various sizes to pop products in. This is mostly my foundation, bb creams and primers in this thing. 

 

This flashy unit is from Muji London. It's a three drawer clear unit, so I can see all the products inside.

As you can see, it's rather full of mostly lip products. I took a few pics to let you guys see inside each of the drawers.

 

So in here, we've got lots of lip products and the top section is full of my gel eyeliners.

Erm, yet again, this is full of lip prodcuts! These are all the ones that were too tall to fit in the perspex unit to be honest! The holder was originally a Christmas candle from Marks and Spencer so it's nice and glittery which makes me happy!

And finally, this is my make up brush storage. Again, this was previously a Christmas candle holder, but I just find it much easier to select a brush this way, and I don't have too many as yet that I can't find what I want! And in the background is my main makeup storage unit, a giant Soap and Glory makeup/toiletry bag. I need to organise the rest of my make up more than this, but it's working for me at the moment so I'll stick with it!

Birchbox December 2013 Review

 

 

Another Christmas Beautybox offering. Hooray for Birchbox! They have the right idea anyway, something useful, and something sparkly! Only thing that's remotely annoyed me: new subscribers were given a bracelet from Baublebar. As existing subscribers we were given a $20 gift voucher to use on their website. Great, but hey, shipping costs more than the item I wanted to buy. Pointless. But still. Everything else wasn't too bad. Let's have a nosy at the items then!

 

 

yey! Aromatherapy Associates Revive Oil. Happy to this in a box. You can get this kind of thing in a gift set for like £10, so already I've almost made all my money back on this one product. That's what I like to see. And it's a great product, I like to put some on before I get in the shower then as you wash the essential oils seep out and smell divine and wake you up. I've been using it sparingly, but I love it.

 

 

Non-Aerosol Hairspray from No 4. Much better for the environment and it still keeps your hair in place. Great stuff! I used this mostly when I have curly hair and it helps keep the curl without being crunchy so a lovely product. But can't say I could afford the £19 price tag for the full size!

 

 

Classic Twistband, I have had these in a box from Birchbox before. They are really handy and don't crinkle your hair the same as regular hair bands. Another for my stash!

 

 

Party Girl Serum by Sin-Care. This is an expensive Serum (£46!) that helps brighten skin after too many parties. It's certainly nice, and goes on well before my moisturiser. But no way am I paying that price tag!

 

 

Sparkly Eyeshadow from Alima Pure. Love this over other colours at the moment. I have been applying a dark colour or even just a winged black liner, then gently patting this on the top and it just adds that little bit of sparkle that makes my day better. Subtle but sparkly.

 

 

Talking of sparkly. Wowza this is sparkly. You apply two coats of the polish then when it's still wet push your nail into the glitter pot then brush off the excess with a makeup brush. Its very glittery. Only thing I don't like is you can't really apply a top coat after so I tend to find the glitter falls off fairly easily and I wouldn't think this would last more than 2 days max. I only wore it for one evening at time. Good for an accent nail so it's easy to change I would say.

 

December Birchbox is definitely more up my street anyway. Glitter is what every gal wants for Christmas right?! (well, me anyway!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossybox December 2013 Review

 

Again, this month I was looking forward to a little Christmas Cheer and a slight improvement on Glossybox's part. Again, I'm not sure I'm convinced. In the past, boxes at Christmas are just more special, with some glitter and sparkle and exciting products you felt made you feel rewarded for just being a customer. But instead, this is what Glossybox offered in Decembers box.

 

 

This is without a doubt the single most random item I have ever received in a beauty box. Well, as far as I remember. If I needed a razor I would have gone out and bought one. Not something I can say I expected to get in this method. It's one that you only need water to use so it will be handy to use on holiday perhaps, but not much else really. This took up much of the box space and I would rather have had more make up than this to be honest.

 

 

And... they're back up to their old tricks. Samples of moisturiser. The actual product by Yin Yang Skincare is £20 for the full size. No thanks. The smell really put me off this stuff and I couldn't even finish one of the samples. I'm guessing I could have picked up these samples on a magazine page or in boots. Let's have a change please Glossybox!

 

 

Nude lip gloss by Beautiful Movements Cosmetics. Worth £12. Fairly standard lip gloss, and as a girly that doesn't really ever reach for lip gloss, I'm guessing this product will get passed onto someone who loves this kind of thing. More not for me.

 

 

Ahh, more comfortable now we have some nail polish haha. This is by Seche and I got the colour Irrestible, a very deep red with pinky undertones. It could be safe in one coat, I do like Seche polish, but this is not a colour I am ever really attracted to. Into the for sale pile this goes.

 

 

Finally, we have the smoky eyes colossal mascara from Maybelline. A lot of bloggers rave about some Maybelline mascaras so I was a little curious as to how this one would fare. It's meant to have black Kohl in it to make it more intense black colour. But I didn't find it amazing in anyway really. I needed at least 3 coats to get a black I was happy with, whereas my regular mascara only takes two. I'll use it up, but not something I would buy myself.

 

So, maybe I set my expectations too high. I maybe should have looked at recent Glossyboxes rather than thinking of the previous Christmas ones that were awesome. I was hoping Glossy would take from their previous awesome Christmas boxes, but nope. I have to say, I've now spent all my Glossydots on the January box, so I can then cancel my subscription after that. I've had Glossybox for years now but recently, I just don't feel it's worth it. I'd rather keep the money and hit Boots!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Latest in Beauty: The Glamour Beauty Edit

 

So, I went back for more. Last time Glamour joined forces with Latest In Beauty I snapped that box right up too and it is so insanely worth what you pay its crazy to not get right in there and buy one. Lots of items in here to get through! and believe it or not, this was only £15. Get following Latest in beauty on twitter so you know when the next one is released. That's how I found out!

 

 

Face oil by balance me. It's so nice to get a product from these guys that's not a moisturiser! This has a rollerball which is really handy too. I've been using it before bed and it smells nice and feels nice on the skin, I'll keep using up anyway!

 

 

Philip Kingsley One more Day Dry Shampoo. Hands down the best dry shampoo I've tried. It's not something I use lots and lots, but this one really leaves your hair feeling soft and normal. With no white stuff either. Lovely stuff.

 

 

Toni and Guy Hairspray. It's a great size to take on holiday and doesn't leave your hair sticky at all.

 

 

Eyeko Eyelash Curlers. These come with lovely velvet like handles which are at a different angle from other curlers I've used and once you're used to it, they are a breeze to use and get the job done well!

 

 

Benefit's They're Real Mascara. Some people love this so much. Other people say it flakes off and annoys them, but myself, I never had any issues with that at all. I'm enjoying using this along with the new eyelash curlers and feel my lashes look great with it. Not sure if I'd invest in a full size one as yet, I have so many more to get through first!

 

 

Hd Brows: Again, another really talked about piece of kit. I have to fully admit, I never much bothered about my eyebrows and filling them in until recently. And this kit has led the way forward really. I use the second to lightest shade and just feel it makes my brows look more defined without the coloured in look. Shame there's no tweezers in the kit though. That would be all you need for brows then really.

 

 

Maybelline Baby Lips. I love this product, already owning the cherry one it's nice to have another. And minty fresh at that. This is a handy good product, it doesn't really last for 8 hours but it does work in general and it's affordable.

 

So, yea. Next time there's a glamour edit available get your paws on this lot. Totally worth the money! and it's only an occasional spend, as well as you know what's coming in the box which helps you know if its worth it for you.

 

This post was not sponsored. I bought this with my own money.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birchbox November 2013

 

So, welcome to another late review. ahem. This is the Birchbox from November. Some immense items. Some already gone! Let's just get right to it!

 

 

Getting started with the random items first. This is bust oil. Uh-huh. I totally needed that? I had no idea it was an item I could need to be honest! I had a mess about with it for a few tries, but not a product I ever thought about buying really, think I'll put this to one side. ahem.

 

 

Random item number 2. A selection of tea. Apparently it's quite nice. If you drink tea. Which I do not. Slight backfire there. Not sure I can update this section in my beauty profile though!

 

 

We're back to perfume samples again. Nooooo! This is from English Laundry. It smells very floral. Bout all there is to say about that!

 

 

A funky pencil sharpener from Birchbox. Very handy, these types of random things I appreciate! Win!

 

 

This is a highlighter pen. Pretty handy. And very subtle colour on the skin. Nice to try something different in this case anyway!

 

 

Weleda Oat shampoo for dry and damaged hair. Well, I definitely have dry and damaged hair, so this was worth a shot. I didn't really appreciate the smell and it left my hair feeling quite odd. Not sure if its a more clarifying shampoo? I used it up anyway, but its around £8 a bottle, I don't tend to spend that much on shampoo anyhoo.

 

 

Finally, this is why Birchbox is so clearly leading the way at the moment. Hello, Laura Mercier. A very generous sample of the Ambre Vanilla body crème. Oh my goodness. I am not a fan of vanilla normally, but holy crap this stuff was gorgeous. I savoured it for ages, using it only on my arms. And I felt like I could smell it at all times of the day. Just immense. I now lust after the full size. I stare at it in Harvey Nicholls. Then I remember I can't afford it. My birthday's not til next November, but I might ask for this. oh yes.

 

In general, the Laura Mercier made this box for me. Simple really! I do like the fact that if Birchbox gives you random things like samples or tea, you also still get a good number of decent items. I'll be sticking with Birchbox I think. So expect more reviews! yey!