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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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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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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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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Studded

Skirt: H&M;
Shirt: Primark

A lazy outfit to go with my ridiculously lazy bank holiday weekend. I haven’t felt inspired to get dressed at all this week, it’s been pyjamas all the way!

I got a whole bag of studs from eBay the other day for about £2 and have literally been studding everything I own. I was going to order these adorable little collar tips from Asos, but decided to make my own instead! Speaking of Asos, I managed to drop £400 over there today. How, I have no clue. For my bank account’s sake I’m hoping nothing will fit. But how is anyone supposed to say no to the lure of free next day delivery?

Also, I finally got round to using the Daniel Sander Jumbo Jet mascara I got with this month’s GlossyBox and really wasn’t impressed. To me, having ‘jumbo’ in the title suggests that it’s meant to give some serious volume, but as hard as I tried I couldn’t build up more than one coat, and it didn’t even look like I was wearing mascara. Pretty disappointed by that, but at least now I’ve got one less mascara in my collection! Did anyone else get one and like it?


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August GlossyBox

Just a quick one to show you what I got in my GlossyBox this month. These reviews are everywhere, and I think most people are getting a little sick of them but personally, I find it interesting to see different people’s opinions on things!

There isn't anything that really jumped out at me this week as being amazing. I like the idea of the Rebel Nail Wraps, but the thought of neon yellow toes doesn't really appeal to me (the picture doesn't do justice to how florescent they are). I was surprised to see the KMS shine and shield in there, a brand that I used for a long time until I thought they had gone out of business after not being able to get hold of any of their products. At the moment I'm using the Kérastase Ciment Thermique, on of my favourite hair products ever (the smell, oh my god) before I dry my hair, so I'm a little bit hesitant to start using something different, but next time I wash my hair I think I'll give it a go!

I used the Ahava body lotion last night and I have to say it felt lovely on my legs until I got half way through X Factor and had to go and wash it off again because of the smell! It was fine going on, but after a while it turned into a very strong powdery scent, along the lines of Chanel No5 or one of those other 'old lady' perfumes. I'm not saying I hated it, or that it would smell the same on anyone else, but for me it was just so overpowering!

Nice to see the full sized Daniel Sandler Jumbo Jet Mascara in there. I'm going to be waiting to use it though after looking through my makeup bag and realising I had about six half used tubes of mascara on the go, all opened within the last three months. Such waste! I'm currently on a mission to cut down not only the beastly size of my collection of cosmetics, but the massive amount of money I seem to spend on new things every month which is making me more and more tempted to take out an overdraft! From now on I’m going to be using up what I have until I actually need to by something!

The one product I am excited about though is the Murad Cleanser. My skin has been awful at the moment and unlike most other anti-blemish cleansers this one doesn't foam up and leave my skin feeling totally striped. And its anti-aging too! I definitely think I’m becoming a bit of a cleaners addict. I have well over 20 half used bottles of the stuff tossed aside in my bathroom cupboard!

I'm a bit undecided as to whether or not I like this month's GlossyBox, but I don't think that’s going to stop me subscribing. I’m hooked! Did everyone else like their boxes?

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July GlossyBox

My first GlossyBox came in the post today! I was a little over excited, but after all the hype, controversy and disappointment that’s been circulating around these boxes over the last couple of months I just wanted to rip it open and see what was inside!

GlossyBox we're very lucky to get such a great full sized product like the Nars illuminator into first box, which attracted most people in, but I think it’s also worked against them now as every new box is undoubtedly going to be compared to that first. I still think it’s a great concept though and I'm pretty sure people will be kicking themselves after cancelling their subscriptions.

I was a little gutted I didn't get the mini Xen-Tan that I've seen in a few other people's boxes (if anyone wants to swap something for it, let me know!) but overall, I'm pretty happy. Love the colour of the nail varnish from Ciaté, one of my favourite brands and totally surprised to see the full sized Illamasque pigment in there which at £15.50, makes up for a whole box and a half!

I think the great thing about GlossyBox, and probably its main aim, is to help people discover new brands and products that they wouldn't usually look into. So instead of trying to bag something well known and expensive for cheap, I think we all need to enjoy the products that we're given and hopefully, fall in love with them all! And anyway, who doesn't love to get a mystery box full of treats every month!?

So, what did everyone else get in theirs?

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