April Birchbox

Birchbox* - £10 + P&P;
The monthly subscription beauty box is something that we should all be familiar with by now. First Came Glossy Box, then Feel Unique, and now the company previously known as Jolie Box has transformed itself after joining forces with the cult American service that started it all to become; Birchbox.

As I already have a beauty product collection thats bursting at the seams I love trying out samples before committing to a full size. The great thing about these boxes is getting to try things from lesser known brands as well as being given some quite generous sized samples. A great little extra which really sets Birchbox apart is the mini magazine that comes with each box, packed full of information on all the brands from your box and host of other beauty articles. That my kind of reading!

The first thing that jumped out to me was the beautiful vintage packaging of the La Société Parisienne de Savons Cold Cream Soap. It has a very distinct fresh herbal smell with some deep lavender notes running through. I couldn't quite bring myself to tear open the gorgeous little package hidden inside so for now I'm using this as a draw fragrance. How very classy of me! The Weleda Skin Food is a product I've heard a lot about and have been meaning to try for some time. It's a fragrant, balmy cream which sees to all dry patches and leaves skin supple and soft. Victoria Beckham is a fan apparently so that can't be a bad thing!

Love them or loath them, I think beauty subscription boxes are a very smart way to try out products you wouldn't necessarily have though about. I've discovered some real gems from these boxes (Philip Kingsley Elasticizer and Emma Hardie Amazing Face Cleansing Balm to name a few!) and think Birchbox have created a great box with varied products here. And after all, who could say no to a special delivery of beauty goodies to look forward to each month!

* Gifted PR Sample

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My Updated Everyday Makeup Look

Laura Mercier Oil Free Primer | Liz Earle Signature Foundation* | Dr Jart Waterfuse BB Cream | Origins Plantscription Concealer | MAC Omega Eyeshadow | MAC Charcoal Brown Eyeshadow | Benefit World Famous Neutrals Most Glamorous Nudes Palette | Clinique Brush on Cream Liner | Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless Mascara* | Clinique Lash Power Mascara | Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder | MAC Harmony Blush | Stila Convertible Colour in Gerbera | Topshop Crescent Moon Highlighter | Rimmel Lip Liner in Eastend Snob | MAC Patisserie Lipstick
An update on my daily makeup routine has been well overdue for a while now. My most reached for products have changed quite a lot and I think my whole approach to the everyday face has too. I've been weening myself off thick black cat-liner for the last few months in favour of a fresher eye look and have been getting into thinning out my base with a squirt of BB Cream to make things a whole lot more glowing and natural. I've actually filmed a tutorial (a rare sighting indeed) on the look which you can see below!

* Gifted PR Samples

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JolieBox September Edition

I Love... Coconut Face Mask, Balmi Rasberry Lip Balm, Redken Align 12 Protective Straightening Lotion,
Twistband Hair Ties, Dr Bragi Bio Marine Exfoliant via JoileBox*
I've been receiving JolieBoxes for a while now but just haven't really felt compelled to blog about them. I think the beauty box fad might be a little 'over' now and I'm sure I'm not the only one that has a draw bursting with unused samples. However, when I opened up this months London Fashion Week themed offering I really liked the look of the products and could see myself using them all right there and then.

I actually ran off straight away to have a little pamper with the products. I threw my hair up into a messy bun with the Twistband hair tie which although is designed to be soft holding enough not to leave any crimps in the hair, still felt secure. Perfect for people like me who can't stand going to bed with their hair down but want to feel comfortable and not wake up in the morning with an odd kinky mess.

I used the Dr Bragi Bio Marine Exfoliant which came in a very handy single use sachet and smoothed out my skin taking off any dead skin cells. It had very fine beads in a creamy formula and felt like a deep microdermabrasion scrub.

After that I applied the the I Love... Coconut Face Mask which surprised me a bit when it came out in one big gloop of what I can only describe as slime! It was incredibly hard to spread across my face and took forever to set. In hindsight, after it started to pool in little drips at the bottom of my chin, I probably should have used half the sachet instead of the entire thing as it recommended but I have to say this isn't a mask I'd use again.

If you're familiar with EOS products I'm sure you'll recognise the Balmi. A little round ball of lip balm that's super easy to apply to both lips in one stroke. I've noticed these popping up a lot lately and I've wanted to get my hands on one for a while so I was pretty happy to see the full sized product included in this month's box. I might have even exclaimed 'I've got a Balmi' rather loudly to an empty hallway. I have a few of the EOS versions and really like them, however I found that the raspberry flavour of the Balmi was a lot less artificial tasting and the texture was more moisturising.

I actually really enjoyed this months JolieBox as the majority of the products could all be used together. I'd love to see more sample boxes doing this in the future, maybe even a box packed with everything you need for a dedicated night of pampering!

What was in everyone else's boxes? What do you think of a single use pamper box?

JolieBox is a Luxury sample service costing £10 a month + £2.95 P&P.;

* PR Sample

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Glossy Box Natural Beauty Edition & Giveaway

Caudalie Vinsource SOS Thirst-Quenching Serum, Monu Professional Hand & Nail Cream, Philip B Styling Gel, Figs & Rouge Peppermint and Tea Tree Lip Balm, Inika Certified Organic Lip Liner via Glossy Box*
It seems that Glossy Box have cottoned onto the success of their limited edition boxes that we've now been seeing since January and bought out another themed selection. This month its natural beauty with 'ethical goodies' all packaged into a 100% biodegradable box. Now, to be honest I don't really think to much about things being organic or eco-friendly when it comes to beauty products, but its nice to know that there are some brands out there that cater to those who do!

My skin has felt awfully dry at the moment, partly due to the central heating at work I'm sure, so the Caudalie Thirst-Quenching Serum has come at exactly the right time. A little goes a long way with this one and although it sinks into the skin immediately it gives an instant hydration. It also boasts to be 100% paraben and nasties free and I think this one was definitely my favourite of all the products.

I seem to have a pile of hand creams all received through sample boxes waiting to be thrown into my bag and lost at some point! The Monu Spa hand & nail cream smells very herbal and I've actually been putting it on my feet (strange?) as its got a really refreshing feeling to it.

Inika are a brand that create ethical, cruelty free and environmentally concious beauty products and one I've been wanting to try for a while now. I got their certified organic lip liner in the colour Moroccan Rose and its really unlike any other I've used before. It's got a pearlescent sheen to it which is almost multi-tonal in different lights. Not my usual colour, but one I think would look great worn just on its own all over the lip.

I'm already a huge fan of Figs & Rouge Lip Balms and own pretty much the whole collection. The nearest thing I could think to compare these too are Vaseline but so much better. They have the same think slick texture but feel no way near as oily and actually penetrate the lips to give them moisture instead of sitting on top not doing a whole lot. Sorry Vaseline!

I don't usually like doing these Beauty Box reviews without using everything properly but I'm afraid to say I couldn't see myself benefiting from a styling gel! I've heard a lot about Philip B and would love to try some other products from the range but this one was swiftly given to Darren. He said it was 'alright' as gels go (typical infuriating man response) but I don't see him paying £13.00 for the full size. I'm sure this would be great for anyone with a cute little pixi crop or shorter hair though!

All in all I think this has been one of the better boxes. Although there's no stand out product, I actually see myself using the majority of these on a daily basis and the serum especially has now been added into my skincare routine. Luckily for you readers, this month I've found myself with two of these boxes so I'm giving one away! I'm sure the majority of people are signed up to Glossy Box now, but I think I'd be a great way for those of you who aren't to try out the service for a month. All the boxes vary slightly so the products inside wont be exactly the same as mine, but I've had a sneaky peak and they're all good, trust me!

Rules:
- To enter, comment below leaving your name and email so I can contact you
- You must be a follower of this blog
- Open to all UK readers
- There will be one winner chosen by random.org
- Giveaway ends at midnight on Sunday 20th May
- Winner will be notified the day after

Extra entries:
- Write a separate comment below linking me to either:
- A tweet about this giveaway
- A mention in a blog post
- (or both!)

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March Glossy Box - The Harrods Edition

Versace Vanitas Versace Eau De Parfum, Bliss Blood Orange and White Pepper Body Butter, Lancome Toffee Juicy Tube, Clarins Extra Firming Body Cream, Révive Intensité Creme Lustre SPF30
I know we all saw the spoilers weeks ago, but here is my edition of the Harrods Glossy Box for March. Once again, I was a little disappointed that I didn't get the real creme de la creme of the products on offer, for my taste anyway. I was really looking forward to trying the Ojon hair serum and I'm pretty gutted I seem to be the only one that didn't get a mini Burberry Lipstick!

Versace Vanitas Versace Eau De Parfum: I've never actually smelt any of the Varsace perfumes before as they never really appealed to me. I've noticed the majority of them end up in the discount section so I never bothered to try them. Vanitas is nice and I love the adorable little bottle its come in. Its a musky floral scent, usually my favorite type, but it doesn't stand out as being amazing to me.

Bliss Blood Orange and White Pepper Body Butter: This really does have a gorgeous smell in the tube, but on the skin it becomes a little clinical, very similar to those little antibacterial lemon wipes you get in sachets. The smell doesn't linger too long though and this does really leave the skin refreshed.

Lancome Toffee Juicy Tube: I'm never a big fan of lipgloss as I always get my hair stuck in it. I do own a few of these juicy tubes already though and they all smell beautiful, good enough to eat and aren't too tacky. Unfortunately Brown isn't quite my colour and this Toffee one makes my lips look a little '90s', if you know what I mean!

Clarins Extra Firming Body Cream: Another body cream! Don't quite understand the point of putting two similar products in one box but this one is actually my favourite. I love Clarins and all their products always feel so luxurious. I've used this a couple of times and already my legs feel a little more tightened. Or is that just my imagination? Either way this cream is lovely!

Révive Intensité Creme Lustre SPF30: I'm all about the anti-aging creams at the moment so I slapped this on in the morning without really thinking about it, thought it was quite nice and went to look up how much the full size was. I was shocked. £235! No, there isn't a decimal point missing, thats two hundred, for 60ml. I'm not sure how I feel about that in relation to how good this cream is but I know I'll be using my little 7ml pot sparingly in the future. I suppose if I did have any 'visible sagging' this might have really made a difference, but I think its a little silly for Glossy Box to include a product for more mature skin when I'm guessing it's demographic is mostly young bloggers. In my opinion though, this is the only product that really screams 'Harrods' and it's exclusivity to me. The rest are lovely but I could have seen them in any other regular box quite easily.

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She Said Beauty Box

She Said Beauty Box
I got a little overexcited about a month ago when I saw that a brand new beauty box was going to be launched and had to sign up right away! This one comes from a brand called She Said Beauty who are retailing the box at £11.95 a month including postage. I'm not sure if it's quite filled the gap Feel Unique left but I'm going to give it a few months. Obviously the first thing you'll all be noticing is the tea which I've no doubt brings back not so fond memories of the first Boudoir Prive installment which I shall say no more about! I'm going to overlook that however, because I am actually quite impressed with what's on offer here.

The first thing that jumped out at me was the mini Aveda set. I've been debating for a long time whether or not treat myself to one of their hair products which can go for anything up to £40 so I was really excited to use these and washed my hair straight away. I only got one use out of them because the bottle are quite small and my massive amount of hair needs a lot of product. The smell was beautiful, like really faint liquorice but the shampoo didn't later up as well as I would have liked it to. My hair did feel lovely and smooth afterwards though, and not weighed down at all.

I'm really starting to get into Orly and have stacked up quite a few different colours from various boxes and magazines. I think the formula of these is really brilliant. Opaque in one coat (even though I always do two for good measure?) and really long lasting. I got the colour Black Out which as the name suggest is a pure black.

Although Collection 2000 is probably regarded as a 'cheap and cheerful' cosmetics brand I've found that the two items that I probably talk about too much and couldn't live without are their concealer and eyeliner which are only about three of four pounds each. After seeing the Cream Puff Lip Creams pop up on quite a few blogs I was excited to try this. I do like the consistency and the finish of these. They're really moisturising but quite matte, without being dry. The only thing I'm not sold on though is the colour of this one which is Powder Puff. It gives me the dreaded 'foundation lips' that I haven't dared tried out since I was back at school and Dream Matte Mousse slathered everywhere was all the rage!

I'm not a big false eyelash wearer as I'm quite lucky and have long ones anyway so I don't think I'll be using the We Are Faux ones here. I did pop them on quickly without out any glue (which isn't even included, a bit stingy no?) and they look ridiculous! They're so long they go past my eyebrows and they're the type with the really thick band that never sit in place properly and always manage to ping off at the most inopportune moments.

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This Week #17

First of all I made a few naughty purchases at the beginning of the week! Already completely in love with the Estée Invisible Fluid but I'll give it a bit longer before I start raving about it. Finally got my hands on the oh-so-coveted Real Techniques buffing brush too, even if I had to buy the whole set. I'm so glad these brushes are finally available in Boots!

I've been Making a bit of an effort to eat healthy this month and it's going pretty well (not including the amazing cake sale we had at work, whoops). I've been out for so many meals for various birthdays and things recently that the button on my jeans was straining a little, so I've decided its about time to do something about it! I'm missing chocolate ever so much.

Also heres a little preview of the She Said beauty box that I received yesterday. There's going to be a full review this week so stay posted! Nothing more exciting than a brand new Beauty Box!


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February Glossy Box

Como Shambhala Invigorate Shower Gel, Dr Bronner Lavender Hand Sanitiser, Awapuhi by Paul Mitchell Wild Ginger Treatment Oil, Becca Beach Tint, BM Beauty Pure Mineral Eyeshadow
Glossy Box Time again! I don't feel like people really enjoy these posts anymore and I don't really like doing them but I'll keep it quick and simple so you can see what I got. I think it's interesting to see all the different products people have been receiving over the last few months. All the boxes started off quite similar except for the odd colour difference here and there but now I'm finding there's a massive difference between the products in each one. I suppose that makes it a little more interesting to read about but at the same time a bit disappointing when you see a certain item you really like the look of and didn't get!

Como Shambhala Invigorate Shower Gel: Another shower gel to add to the Glossy Box collection. I seriously wont be needing to buy any myself for a few months. I wouldn't really say this is a 'beauty' product. It is nice and refreshing to use in the mornings though when waking up seems like the hardest thing in the world. It reminds me of the Original Source Mint and Tea Tree shower gel a lot. Tingly!

Dr Bronner Lavender Hand Sanitizer: I've become a bit of a germaphobe since working in retail and always carry around a little hand sanitizer with me. Unfortunately the smell of lavender gives me a headache so I don't thing I'll be getting a lot of use out of this. Again though, not really what I'd class as a beauty product.

Awapuhi by Paul Mitchell Wild Ginger Treatment Oil: I think this is my favourite product this month. I love using hair oils and to be honest find most of them do exactly the same job, no matter the price difference. I'll always be a Moroccan Oil girl at heart whether or not thats just down to unattainability and marketing ploys but this one smells and works just as good.

Becca Beach Tint: Finally more make up products! I prefer to get these over the body and skincare and I've been wanting to try Becca for a while now. I love using cream products as opposed to powders as I like to keep the radiance and glow in my skin. I got the colour watermelon which is a sort of naturally flushed rosy pink. It goes on really smoothly, not like some cream blushes that can drag away all of your make up underneath, and lasts a long time.

BM Beauty Pure Mineral Eyeshadow: A little bit scared to use this one as it is literally just black. Great for a mega deep smokey eye I'm guessing but I don't tend to get that intense with my make up very often. Handy to have though!

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Feel Unique Beauty Box - February, The Final Edition

Jean Paul Gaultier Kokorico Eau De Toilette, NUXE Huile Prodigieuse OR Multi-Usage Dry Oil, Elemis Lime and Ginger Hand and Body Wash, Philip Kingsley Maximizer, Decleor Phytopeel Face Peel Cream, Leighton Denny High Performance Colour Nail Varnish
I was so gutted yesterday when I received an email from Feel Unique stating that February's beauty box would be their last after canceling the service with immediate effect. Every month I've been impressed with practically every product I've received and without a doubt would say this has been my favourite of all the boxes!

I think this specific box really sums up Feel Unique, with items that are not only from well known brands, but generously sized and interesting too. My favourite product has to be the Maximizer from Philip Kingsley, a brand I'm quickly becoming obsessed with! I love the Elasticizer (another product first discovered through Feel Unique which has improved my hair so much over the last few months) and the Maximizer lives up to the same high standards. I've been spraying it through my roots before blow drying and it gives the most amazing weightless lift.

The other products are lovely as well though. The Elemis body wash smells divine and I'm really impressed with the colour choice of the Leighton Denny nail varnish. I've been using the Decleor Phytopeel too, an odd combination of a exfoliator and mask in one which has really improved a few dry patches I've had on my skin recently.

RIP Feel Unique box, you will be missed!

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January Glossy Box - Valentine's Edition

WELEDA ONE STEP CLEANSER & TONER, FAB GENTLE BODY WASH, MURAB HYBRIDS SKIN PERFECTING PRIMER, ORLY RUBY POLISH,
EYEKO EMERALD GREEN SKINNY EYELINER
I was a bit shocked to see how bright this month's fluorescent pink box was when I found it on my doorstep today, even after seeing the spoilers! I think I need to stop reading other people's Glossy Box posts because more often than not I've been disappointed when I've opened mine up and found I hadn't been sent seeing something that I knew I really wanted. For example, I was really interested to try the Davines skin care a lot of people got, and the Eyeko Skinny Liner in the flesh pink tone thats being compared to Benefit's Eye Bright pencil. Instead I got emerald green which is a nice colour, don't get me wrong, but I know I just wont get the wear out of it. I'm not too adventurous when it comes to eye colours!

The rest of the products however, I do like. The FAB body wash is really moisturising and leaves my skin feeling soft but throughly clean. I love the colour of the nail varnish too, deep blood red being one of my all time favourites. Despite having several duplicates of this colour (Chanel Rouge Noir, Models Own Red Black, Revlon Vixen, all brilliant!) I've been wanting to try Orly for a while now and found the application very smooth and easy.

The Weleda two in one cleanser toner left me a little bit on the fence. I like to give my skin a good thorough cleanse and tend to steer clear of time saving 'multi functional' products and as expected this didn't take a whole lot of my make up off but it did act as a nice refreshing toner.

I think the Murad primer might be my favourite so far though. It came out very dark which I was a bit surprised by but it blended away to nothing but a faint glow. For a bit of reference it's not quite as radiant as MAC Strobe Cream which I've been using recently and not as mattifying as Benefit's Porefessional. I tried it with Illamasqua's Skin Base which tends to make me the oiliest of all my foundations and I have noticed a difference in its lasting power. I've had it on for about 8 hours and usually I would have needed to powder a few times by now, but I'm yet to have any extreme greasiness which tells me its doing something right!

How cute was the little sweetie too? I think of all the GlossyBoxes, the themed ones have definitely been the best. Happy Valentine's day to you all!

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Feel Unique Beauty Box - January 2012

Dead Sea Spa Magik Salt Brushing | Caudalie Vinotherapie Nourishing Body Lotion | Phyto PhytoBaume Color Protect Express Conditioner
this works Clean Skin for the Face | Lierac Creme Mesolift Anti-Aging Radiance
I have to be honest, every month when this little box comes through the door I can't wait to rip it open. I've loved every single one of these since the first and have yet to be disappointed. That being said however, I didn't feel like there was any stand out product this month as there have been in previous boxes. The first thing I saw were the Sea Salts, which I got a few months ago in a GlossyBox. I haven't got round to using them yet and I have a feeling these are going to end up in a draw somewhere. They seem like a good idea, but a messy one and I'd much prefer to use a proper exfoliator.

The cleanser is nice, kind of like Liz Earle minus the cloth. It didn't take all my make up off but I've recently got into the (not so brilliant) habit of wearing Double Wear every day and we all know that takes a whole lot of scrubbing to properly remove. This is beautiful in the morning though when skin needs refreshing and the herby lavender scent is lovely.

The radiance promoting Lierac moisturiser both smells and feels a little odd once its on, but does moisturise nicely. I can't tell you a lot about it because there is absolutely no english on the box, but I've always been very interested in French brands like Avène and La Roche Posay etc. which are all backed up with excellent reasearch so this ones okay in my book! That being said however, there have been a few Claudile products spread between previous boxes but I just can't get into them! I think more than any other product, body lotions are the ones I really choose for their smell over anything else and this one reminds me so much of baby wipes I can't bring myself to use it.

Last of all the Phyto conditioner which I was really excited to try after seeing Laura rave about their products. I almost don't want to say anything bad about this but I just didn't find it moisturised my hair at all and left it feeling quite dehydrated. Still want to try more from this brand though and might take advantage of the 10% discount code that comes with the box!

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November GlossyBox

Illamasqua Freak Eau De Parfum / Nail Rock Designer Nail Wraps / Philip Kingsley Elasticizer / Dead Sea Spa Magik Delicate Boosting Mask
Arbonne Ultra Hydrating Hand Crème
Glossy Box Time again and two products really stood out for me this month. I let out a little scream of excitement when I saw the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer, which I received a sample of in my Feel Unique box back in August. I fell in love with it then but couldn't bare to part with over £20 for the full size, but now I have another wonderful sample to tide me over for the next month or so. Since I tend to backcomb my hair to within an inch of its life on a daily basis, its usually not in such a brilliant state. I've invested a lot of money in hair masks and treatments in the past, but the Elasticiser is the only one I've ever noticed make a visible difference.

I let out a bit of a sigh when I saw nail wraps making their second Glossy Box appearance, (remember the hideous neon yellow ones?) but after deciding to give them a go last night I actually really like them. Awful quality twitter photo here. They were pretty easy to put on, just like stickers really, but the ends are a bit scraggly and have already started to peel. I put a few layers of top coat over them which seemed to stick them back in place so hopefully they'll last a week as the packet claims. Another downside is you only get enough for one full set of nails. A couple of odd sizes got left over which I suppose could be used as an accent nail but for nearly £7 a pack I think its a lot to pay for something thats definitely not going to last very long!

Overall, a bit of a blah box again. I hope Glossy Box start including more make up as I've got six months worth of skin care samples I've barely made a dent in sitting in my bathroom cupboard now. Looking forward to the special Christmas box in December though so fingers crossed!

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October GlossyBox

Robert Piguet Eau De Parfums / Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in Moray / Leighton Denny Expert Nails in Hanky-Panky / Dermalogica Age Smart MultiVitamin Thermafoliant / Dermalogica Age Smart Multivitamin Power Recover Masque / Dermalogica Age Smart Renewal Lip Complex (inside beauty bag)
I didn't know whether or not to do this post as most of the world now seems to be blogging about GlossyBox but I thought I'd quickly show you what I got. I've wanted to try Dermalogica for a long time, and being quite into anti-aging at the moment (can’t do enough to prevent ‘them wrinkles!) I'm excited to use these samples. I also think its great to have a few different bits from the same brand so you really get the full effect of using a whole system. Then again, that might not be diverse enough for some people, so I think this month’s box might cause some contraversy.

After snooping around other reviews before hand, I was excited to see the Leighton Denny nail varnish in there. I've wanted try something from his brand for a while too, but as soon as I opened it I thought 'typical'. Such a horrible colour! That may just be my taste and I'm sure it would look lovely on someone else, but metallic neon orange? Really? I definitely think there should be a way of choosing the colours of things like make up or nail products before receiving them because I know for a fact I'll never use this and unless I give it away, it’s just sitting in a draw wasted. Either that or someone should set up a GlossyBox swap site for all those poor unwanted products! One bloggers trash could be another's treasure!

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Boudoir Privé, GlossyBox & Feel Unique

Boudoir Privé:
Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment, Zoya Nail Polish in Tao, Colbert MD Nourishing Eye Cream, Tropic Skincare Body Smooth,
Agent Provocateur L’Agent, Cargo Cosmetics Boogie Nights Eye Pencil.
GlossyBox:
Dead Sea Spa Magik Salt Brushing Exfoliator, Neal and Wolf Harmony Intensive Care Treatment, Plum by Mary Greenwell Eau De Parfum,
Kimia Excuisit Rejuvinating Facial System, HD Brows Eye & Brow Palette.
Feel Unique:
Balm Balm 100% Organic Tea Tree Face Balm, Redken quick Dry 18, New CID Cosmetics Picture Perfect Kit, Elie Saab Le Parfum,
Ella Baché Crème Tomate Vitamin Radiance Cream, Caudalie Vinoperfect Day Perfecting Fluid, Di Palomo Wild Fig & Grape Enriching Hand & Nail Cream.
Apologies for the photo heavy post! I decided that this month instead of doing three separate reviews on beauty boxes, I’d lump it all together and pick just a few of my favourites from each one as I'm sure you’ve all seen these a hundred times now.

I don’t usually get three boxes a month, but a few weeks ago I was contacted by Thérèse at Boudoir Privé, who offered to send me a box to try. As I’ve said before I was sceptical when this box was released, and after its initial reception I was glad I didn’t sign up. I think a lot of people enjoy getting ‘full size samples’ from well known brands, and no matter how luxurious Boudoir Privé’s products might have been, being from lesser known companies people just didn’t seem to like them. I’m not saying I’m all about the big names but the products I was seeing in peoples reviews just didn’t excite me. This month however, after trying everything out I was pleasantly surprised. Even though its technically not something you can use, the first thing that jumped out at me was the Zoya nail collection card. Such a good idea! I never buy nail varnishes without looking up swatches online, so having them all there to hold up against my nail or just compare was brilliant, and something I definitely think more companies should do. Trust me to be more excited about a sample card than the actual product!

I also really loved the Macadamia Hair Oil, which I have to say is putting my coveted Moroccan Oil to the test. It smells like Theirry Mugler's Angel and makes my hair feel beautifully soft and being considerable cheaper than Moroccan Oil, it might just have the edge.

This month’s GlossyBox was a hit with most people, mainly thanks to the HD Brows palette. When I got mine I was a bit annoyed as it looked way too light, but it turns out the colour was perfect. They’re also great matte eye shadows, particularly for contouring and shading. I think makeup products are much better received as they’re so much more usable, rather than a skincare sample which won’t give that instantly noticeable difference. I think if GlossyBox kept up standard of the makeup samples in their boxes it would make a lot of difference.

The Feel Unique Beauty Box if probably my favourite this month, again. I think I can safely say I love every single product in this box. The Redken hairspray is great, gives just the right amount of hold without being too crispy. The New CID Cosmetics ‘Picture Perfect Kit’, which reminds me of those little Benefit ones, has two beautiful eye shadows, a lip gloss, highlighter and the cutest little mascara I’ve ever seen in my life. And the Balm Balm multi use tea tree Balm, which I’ve been using pretty much anywhere that needs a bit of extra moisture. Love the smell of the hand cream too!

I’m still unsure whether or not to sign up to Boudoir Privé. I think they have some really great products and ethics, but I really can’t justify spending over £30 on these beauty boxes every month. I think I’m going to wait to see how next month goes then make my decision. If I had to choose just one now though, it’d definitely be the Feel Unique box, which for some reason doesn’t seem to have the same hype surrounding it as the other two. I’m not sure that many people even know about it. Hopefully this will help spread the word!

If anyone is thinking of signing up to Boudoir Privé, you can get your first box half price with the code 1BOX12.

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