I simply can not believe it is Christmas already. I also can’t believe that this box has been sat on my desk waiting to be reviewed for nearly two weeks now too. Time seems to be flying by and there simply aren’t enough hours in the day, but at least when it’s time for beauty boxes it feels like time pauses just for a moment as you lose yourself in the unveiling.
Glossybox are usually renowned for having spectacular festive boxes so I was super excited to find out what was in this month’s box, especially after the rumors of receiving some full size products.
TRESemme Nourish & Renew Tonic – 150ml full size product – £5.50 for full size
I’m not really sure what to make of this. It’s a solution you apply to your scalp and leave in, styling your hair as normal. It claims to help nourish the scalp and renew hair – I am already imaging how big this could potentially make my locks if I applied this though, given a) the amount of hair I have and b) my hair’s intolerance to liquid of any form. After trying it on a small section of my scalp, I can’t say I’ve noticed any real big difference other than my roots feel a little greasier in one spot and I can’t say I’m excited to try this out on my whole head as I imagine it would take a pretty long time to apply. Perhaps over the festive season I’ll put some time aside to give it a go properly and see how it fairs.
Skin Pep Hydra Boost Pure Haluronic Acid Serum – 15ml sample – £8.99 for 15ml
Admittedly this is a bit of a boring product for me. I have serum stock piled in my drawer’s like no tomorrow so yet another sample isn’t overly welcome. If this wasn’t enough to put me off, the Skin Pep website is something of a pharmaceutical wannabe company which frightens me a little. After trawling through their products I couldn’t see clearly whether all their products were tested on animals but a few select products which had FAQ sections stated their products were not tested on or contained any animal products. Having said that I’m still a little apprehensive about using brands who don’t have an open policy on animal testing. Edit: Thankfully I’ve been kindly informed of the black banner across the top of the Skin Pep website that clearly states “Pep Cosmeceuticals products are not tested on animals”. I think in my desperate frenzy of ingredient checking, I completely bi-passed this! Despite these qualms, there seems to be a lot of positive feed back for this product in particular especially for people who tend to suffer with dry skin that worsen’s during the colder month’s (yup, that’s me!) so this will be one for the “Winter Serum” pile.
anatomicals zap! zap! zap! gets that chap day and night spot stick – 3.5ml full size product – £3.00 for 3.5ml
anatomicals are a brand that I’ve really grown to like. I own quite a few of their products, including their head ache balm which has done wonders for my severe migraines. Although I don’t often suffer with spots I don’t mind receiving this so much as it’s a handy something to have stashed away for the hour of need. Judging by their previous wonder products, I hold high hopes that next time I’ve indulged in too much junk food and my body is paying me back that this will get me out of a spotty situation.
bellapierre cheek and lip stain in “coral” – 5 gram full size product – £12.99 for full size
Another product to add to an ever growing pile of cheek and lip stains (do you see a theme here?). I’m glad I ended up with Coral from the range as it’s one of my favourite go to colours besides red. The consistency of this is quite nice for applying to lips but I found after swatching it wasn’t so great for blending, thus I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to try this out on my cheeks when I have so many other’s (the balm’s palette for one) to use. One thing worth mentioning here though is it does contain bees wax. I’m actually Okay with this, providing it’s sourced ethically. I know there are a lot of Vegan’s who are high and mighty about products from bee’s such as wax and honey, but a lot of bee keepers really nurture their bees and are at least doing their bit to preserve a species on the brink of disappearing and I fully thrive off bee’s, I think they are absolutely beautiful. That aside, I’m sure I’ll put this to good use once Summer come’s round and I lay my moody, dark red’s to rest until the following Winter.
all that jazz nail varnish in “Sofie’s – I own the runway” – 15ml full size product – £9.95 for full size
Now this is a brand that I have seen around but have never really been that interested in. The packaging is pretty underwhelming when you compare it to me current fav’s such as Ciate and Nails inc and I now have such a vast collection of varnish that I find it hard to get super excited about them. Having said that, the glittery purple hue of the bottle made for a promising colour so I was pleasantly surprised when I swatched it and there was not a purple spec in sight. This is actually shimmer green and definitely not purple which is fine by me because I lack a variety of green’s in my collection and it is absolutely perfect for the festive period. I don’t think I would spend £9.95 on this, but I probably wouldn’t spend that on any brand of varnish, but it’s welcome upon my nail varnish rack and I vow to use this at least once before the end of the year.
So that concludes the Glossybox Christmas box. I’m not ashamed to say that I was disapointed by the contents of this month’s box. I’ve held onto my subscription hoping they would win back my love with this box but it just doesn’t do it for me. So much so that I’ve cancelled my subscription (again!) and have promised myself to use the £13 I’ll be saving a month to buy a product that I actually want. If you do like what you see though, you can subscribe to Glossybox for £10 a month plus postage and packaging via their website here.
What do you think of this month’s box? Are you a Glossybox subscriber or thinking of becoming one? I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments below.
Totally hellbent for finally breaking free of my first ever Beauty Box
– Pants
