Glossybox January 2014 'Back to Basics'

Last month's box was labelled 'Back to Basics' and to be completely honest, I was rather unimpressed. They really meant it when they said 'basics' and I was left feeling disappointed when I ripped off the lid of this month's installment. I have made the executive decision to cancel my membership after the Valentine's special box in February because I really just don't use the samples! Let's get onto a breakdown of the contents..

The Vintage Cosmetic Company Floral Slanted Tweezers
These were probably the thing I was most excited about when I opened the box. I love the floral design and the handy little pouch they come in- so twee! I have used once and, although I have thick, stubborn eyebrows, my Models Own tweezers I use at the moment are much better. I'm going to give them another go and see how I get on, but I wasn't blown away by their plucking power!

Yu-Be Moisturising Skin Cream
I've read quite a few blog posts on this cream, and they all seem very positive so I'm interested to try this out. I don't usually suffer with dry skin so I haven't opened these yet, but I'm sure once the snow hits (if it ever does) I will be popping these in my handbag for any dry skin emergencies. Rather randomly, this box included two teeny 3g samples, so if I don't like the product I'll probably give the second one to a friend!

Balance Me Super Toning Body Wash
This body wash is rather intriguing, because I haven't seen one that claims to 'tone' the skin before. I have some little bumps on my arms that I have had for years, so I'm interested to see if the 'smoothing and toning' aspects of this help to improve that in any way. It has quite a strong scent, and I think that's due to the lavender oil(?). Lavender isn't a scent I would usually go for, but I'm willing to give it a go! As with Balance Me products, this is 99% natural origin.

Vaseline Essential Moisture Lotion
This was by far the dullest and least favorite item of the bunch! Vaseline is hardly a glamorous product and I am really not a fan of their classic scent. It is a handy travel size, but with my mini body butters from Soap & Glory and The Body Shop, I really doubt I will be using this at all. I'll give it a go, but as I said, the scent puts me off! As I don't suffer with really dry skin, it doesn't seem like it will be suited to be regardless of the scent. I really wish this was a hair or makeup item instead! I think the fact that it's so cheap to buy full-size is also rather off-putting.

Anatomicals Puffy the Eye Bag Slayer Wake-Up Under Eye Patches
I'm intrigued by this one, I must admit! As with all Anatomicals products, I love the play on words and witty description on the back. Always sure to make me chuckle. I do suffer with dark shadows under my eyes, but it's not down to lack of sleep (as a student I get a lot of that), but rather just a pigmentation in my skin. At 20, I don't feel I need these for wrinkles or fine lines (just yet), but I am definitely willing to give them a go! They are surprisingly a lot less expensive to purchase full-size, at just £6 for a pack of 3 on ASOS.


So there we go, my round up of January 2014's Glossybox. As I said, there was nothing, for me, to get excited about in this box, but I'm sure I'll be able to put most of them to good use. Don't let this put you off the Glossybox in general though, because it really is a lucky dip! Did you get the same as me this month? Do you agree that it was a little 'meh' this month? Let me know below!

Glossybox August 2013 'High-flyers'

Apologies for my rather delayed post on last month's Glossybox. I realise it is now in fact September, but at least I can provide a more detailed review of some of the items! August's installment was a High-flyers edition, aiming to bring us products from different countries around the world. The aim was to provide us Glossybox girls with mini products suitable to take away on holiday. Unfortunately, my holiday is just a distant memory now, as it was way way back in July, *sob* but nevertheless, I was loving this month's box!

The box contained the following products:



Óceane Makeup Remover pen (Brazil)
This pen basically works like a cotton bud soaked in eye makeup remover, but with a more precise nib. It's a cool concept, but I'm inclined to think it's a little gimmicky. I haven't actually tried it out yet, but I definitely will do when I next do a detailed/smokey eye. It comes with 3 replacement nibs which it very handy. Although I'm sure I'll like this when I get round to using it, I don't think  I would purchase it when it becomes available in the UK, because, as I said, I could just use a cotton bud! 

Juicy Couture 'Viva La Juicy Noir' (USA)
I loooooove this scent! It's describe as being 'sultry' and a 'party' scent, but I must admit I do like a strong scent that you can smell all day/night long. I can't describe the smell myself - it's an impossible task - but they define it as 'succulent ripe berry notes and gourmand accents' with a 'juicy touch of honeysuckle and a sultry hint of sandalwood'. It all becomes so clear now, doesn't it (??!) That aside, I am seriously considering adding this to my Christmas list this year, but at around £63 for 100ml, maybe a smaller bottle will suffice. I am rather tempted by the rollerball version for £9.50 - would be perfect to pop into a clutch on a night out!

Eucerin Aquaphor Soothing Skin Balm (USA)
This is admittedly a little less glamorous then some of the other products, but regardless, I think this is a great item to include! It's a mult-purpose balm that helps to soothe even the most sensitive of skin. Again, I haven't tried it out yet as my skin hasn't been at all dry or sensitive, but I will be definitely be keeping it close by if those problems arise! My boyfriend suffers with eczema quite badly & can only use very gentle but hydrating products such as e45. I've just (as I'm writing this) popped a little of this product on a tiny problem area, so thought I could use him as my guinea pig to really put it to the test. So far, the verdict is "It feels good" so we will continue using it & see how it performs! I'll keep you updated..

Jelly Pong Pong 2-in-1 Eyeliner & Shadow (UK)
Another Jelly Pong Pong product here from Glossybox! This is a thick eye pencil that doubles up as an eyeshadow too, when smudged out. I like the concept of this, but it's a sort of green/grey shade, so I'm not sure it's going to be as big a hit as say, a brown or bronze would be. That being said, I'm determined to have a go & hopefully will post a makeup look using it. It retails at £10.50 for full size from the Jelly Pong Pong website and I must say, although I'm happy to have received it & looking forward to having a play with it, I very much doubt I would repurchase it. There are plenty of similar products for less - including the likes from Rimmel and Collection.

Here's the product as a liner and blended out on the back of my hand - looks sort of khaki coloured.

Emite Eyelash Curler (Sweden)

I would have to say I've saved my best til last here! I got particularly excited by these curlers when I found out they cost roughly £20! I am still yet to try the Shu Uemera cult curlers, but one day - when I can justify the splurge - I just might! But for now, these will do me nicely. They create a nice curl and feel firm yet springy to grip. They have also included 3 spare rubber tips (not sure what they're called?!) so they should last me a while! I had never heard of this brand before, probably because it's based in Sweden, but I'm interested to possibly look at more made by them.

So there we have it, a round up of August's High-flyers Glossybox. Let's see if I can publish this a bit earlier next month! I'm eagerly awaiting my next box - I hope it doesn't disappoint!

Glossybox June 2013

So, for my first official 'beauty' related content post on this blog, I thought I'd kick off with a Glossybox review. For those of you that don't already know, in short, the Glossybox is a monthly subscription to beauty products. Usually, the box will contain roughly 5 sample items for you to try from a variety of brands. Full sized products are also sometimes included. The box is £10 per month (plus p&p), and the products always add up to more than you pay, so it's value for money! That being said, if you don't like the items that have been selected for you, it can seem like a waste of £10 that could have been spent on that eyeliner you know you love!

If you are however interested in subscribing to this beauty box, you can do so here! You can also cancel the subscription at any time, there is no binding contract!

Let's get on with the items included in the box this month.. At first glance, I must admit I was not overly impressed with June's installment (especially when compared with previous boxes- I'm looking at you April!!) After a browse through the leaflet that comes with the box, I realised that I had definitely got value for my money, but I couldn't help looking at the blue items with a face that shouted "REALLY?!"

First up, is the Helen É Cosmetics eye pencil with smudger. Once I'd got over the horror of the 80's electric blue colour, I started to think about how I could use this to work for me. The pencil itself is worth £8 full price and after swatching it on the back of my hand (see swatch above), I thought the consistency was lovely. As I've mentioned, I wasn't a fan of the bright blue and admittedly I would have much preferred one of the more subtle shades, such as a nude or taupe, but I'm willing to experiment and will hopefully upload a post showing my results soon.. Stay tuned..!

Next up, is yet another blue item!! I have never tried a MeMeMe Long Lasting Gloss polish before, but I've read some good reviews so I will hold my opinion on the formula until I've actually tried it. That aside, I must admit I am not at all keen on the colour of this. I've seen some people with nudes and pinks and I will admit I'm jealous! I'm much more of a neutrals/pinks/reds/pastels kinda gal and this just does not appeal to me! I'll try it out though and see if it changes my opinion! For £5 full price, if I like the formula then I will maybe branch out to other colours!

The next little delight my box contained was this Sarah Chapman Skin Tone Perfecting Booster. Priced at a whooping £57 for the full sized 30ml version, this was a rather exciting find for me! I am going to trial this in the next couple of weeks so I will report back with my opinion on it. For now though, I can only say I'm excited to see if it will make a difference!

This dinky little perfume sample is Hugo Boss' Jour Pour Femme. At first I wasn't completely overwhelmed by this tiny 2ml sample, but after some consideration, I decided it would be the perfect thing to leave in my bag or clutch on a night out! Scents are possibly the most difficult thing to attempt to describe, so I'll leave it to the professionals - read here for a description. What I will say though, is that I am very fond of the scent and although I'm not certain I would buy a full size of it, I would definitely consider it! Personally, I think it's a very grown up scent but not too intense. As I said, scents are a difficult thing to put into words...

Last but not least, is this Figs & Rouge Coco Rose Lip Balm. In the booklet that comes with the Glossybox, they recommend you use the balm for not only lips, but cuticles, elbows and knees as well. Although I like the balm as a lip balm, I'm not entirely sold on the idea of having shimmery pink elbows and knees! In the swatch above, you can see the balm is quite a thick, creamy consistency and is definitely a pink tint, so I remain skeptical as to whether I would ever use this on anything other than the lips - but if you've used it for something else then please feel free to let me know! This retails at around £5 roughly.


Excuse that ridiculously long ramble! I hope to improve on my cutting down skills over the next few posts! If you did manage to read all the way through though, please leave a comment below with your own opinions or maybe even tips and tricks for the items listed above. Do you subscribe to Glossybox? Were you happy with this month's installment?

Ta-ta for now!