Laura Mercier

Beauty Boxes

Birchbox April 2014 Review

April 12, 2014

I’m sure the courier who delivers my beauty boxes thinks I’m absolutely mad because I squeal with delight every single time!

I have to say I’m really impressed with this month’s Birchbox on every factor except one – the new delivery box! The outer box was taped shut and I scored the box beneath in my excitement to find the treasure inside! I know it’s only a tiny thing but the usual boxes were just fine! Anyway, tiny side-issue nitpicking aside, this really is a great box, and though it has only one full size product (and one full size lifestyle extra) alongside four sample sizes, I’m really excited about every single product (and how often does that happen?!)

TheBalm Cosmetics – How ‘Bout Them Apples Cheek & Lip Cream in Pie

I love these tiny TheBalm samples as they take up so little space in my make-up bag. This is a multitasking product that can be used both as a cream blush and a lip colour in a gorgeous pinky-red shade. If the quick play I had with this is anything to go by I will be rushing to get the full palette sometime soon! I’m usually more of a powder blush girl but this blended so smoothly into a subtle flush of colour that I could see myself being converted towards the way of the cream blusher!

0.57g Sample

Full palette £26 from Birchbox.co.uk

RMK Make-up Base

When I first spotted this I thought it was another nail polish, but actually it is a make-up base. Not quite a primer (however it does promise to make your foundation last longer!) but a moisturising skin prep. It’s a very lightweight lotion with quite a thin consistency but a quick test on the back of the hand did leave my skin very soft and even. Perhaps something for those days when I’m in a hurry and just want something to throw my foundation on top of!

15ml Sample

Full size £28 for 30ml from Birchbox.co.uk

Colour Club Gala Gems Nail Polish in Breakfast At…

Birchbox sent an email a few weeks ago allowing subscribers to choose which colour of polish they would receive, which was a really nice touch and ensured that no-one got lumbered with a shade they would not wear. I picked this lovely metallic mint green and I’m happy to say it’s even prettier in person that I expected. I don’t really buy into the seasonal nail varnish trends but if you are the sort that does I think this would be great for a pretty spring shade. The swatch above is only one coat, though I’d likely go with two and a top cot on my nails for longevity!

Full Size

Set of four for £15 from Birchbox.co.uk

Laura Mercia Body Butter in Creme Brule

A squeezable body butter? I wasn’t convinced at first (and it is really more of a thick lotion than a butter!) but actually this is very luxurious and left my skin feeling extremely soft. The scent isn’t something I’d pick out myself and it’s quite strong, however I don’t dislike it enough not to use the rest of this up based on how well it moisturises.

30g Sample

Full size £27 from Birchbox.co.uk

Yin Yang Natural Moisturiser

Made with a whole host of natural organic ingredients and a lovely wholesome scent, this moisturiser won me over right away. It’s got quite a citrus smell but not so overwhelming that you wouldn’t want to use it on your face. The consistency is quite light and I think this will make for a lovely day moisturiser (though unfortunately it has no SPF) however I won’t be using it myself as it says that it is not suitable for those with oily skin *sadface*.

10ml Sample

Full size £13.95 for 50ml from Birchbox.co.uk

Propercorn Sweet Coconut & Vanilla

I’ve been snacking on popcorn a lot recently so this was a pleasant surprise! At only 40 calories I didn’t feel even slightly guilty tucking into it and was so surprised at how sweet and flavoursome it was for such a healthy treat! I’m not the biggest fan of coconut but the flavour was very subtle and really you could have told me this was just sweet popcorn and I’d have believed you. Absolutely scrumptious and definitely going on my food shopping list!

Full size

£0.90 from Birchbox.co.uk

Yet another great box from Birchbox! If you like what you’ve seen, you can get your very own monthy box of treats from www.BirchBox.co.uk for £10 & P&P.

Totally hellbent for tiny treats and yummy snacks

– Gem

Beauty Boxes

November 2013 Birchbox

November 15, 2013

Seems like this Birchbox came around really quickly! Not that I’m going to complain – Birchbox have had a winning streak of amazing boxes recently and this one is no different!

For the uninitiated, Birchbox is a monthly subscription beauty box that tends to have between 5-6 beauty products and a lifestyle (usually some kind of delicious snack!) extra.

This month is another big one with seven products and an overall worth that’s way above the price point.

Welda Replenishing Oat Shampoo

I’ve been keen to try more from this brand since falling in love with the Welda Skin Food (which I received in a previous Birchbox) so this was a nice treat! It claims to smooth hair, reduce breakage and improve suppleness and is enriched with lots of yummy natural oils!

18ml Sample

Full size £8.95 from Birchbox.com

Laura Mercier Long Lash Mascara

You can never have too many mascaras right? I tend to be less adventurous with seeking out new mascaras, so it’s always great to get to try out samples in beauty boxes. I fell in love with the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser last month, so fingers crossed the mascara is just as good.

5.6g Sample

Full size £18.50 from John Lewis

Matriskin High Performance Cream

Containing 47 different peptides to plump, regenerate and restructure the skin, and I’m guessing it needs every single one to be worth £80.50 a jar! I think I’d like to do a little research into it’s contents before I put it near by face, as a quick google search couldn’t ascertain if this was animal friendly or not. At any rate I doubt it will be a repurchase at that price unless it really does work miracles!

15ml Sample

Full size £80.50 from Birchbox.com

Chella Highlighter pencil in Ivory Lace

I’ve never once considered a pencil as a viable medium for highlighter before, but this is gorgeous! A lovely pinky shimmer that will be just at home on the cheekbones as it will for eye make-up. This is one of the reasons I really love beauty boxes, not only a new brand to be discovered but also a whole new world of highlighters in pencil form!

Full size

Available for £15.95 from Birchbox.com

English Laundry Signature For Her Eau De Parfum

Oh that old complaint of perfume samples in beauty boxes. I don’t really mind when you get the odd one, though I much prefer the adorable miniature bottles to a standard sample card. I’d put this down as a very feminine floral scent, very summery though not too light. Not sure if I’d go for the full size but it might just grow on me.

2ml Sample

Full size £47 from Birchbox.com

BirchBox Pencil Sharpener – Bonus Goodie

It’s always handy to have a pencil sharpener to hand, and this is actually much better than the one I’m currently using. Not super-exciting, but definitely useful! It has a clip off top so you could keep it in your make-up bag and not risk bits of pencil going everywhere, and accommodates both thinner and jumbo pencils.

Full size

Available for £3 from Birchbox.com

Pukka Herbs Selection of Teas – Lifestyle Extra

Is it okay to get excited about tea? I’m English, of course it’s acceptable to get excited about tea! I smelt the delicious Three Cinnamon the moment I opened the box, then quickly spotted Gorgeous Earl Grey and Elderberry & Echinacea beneath. They are all organic and made from the most delicious (mostly) fair-trade ingredients.

3 x 2g tea bag

£2.39 per multi-pack from BirchBox.com

Yet another great box from Birchbox! If you like what you’ve seen, you can get your very own monthy box of treats from www.BirchBox.com for £10 & P&P.

Totally hellbent for tea? OOOOOOH TEA!

– Gem

Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Blog Lovin’

Beauty Boxes, Hair, Skincare

Birchbox October 2013

October 21, 2013

I seem to have waited forever for this month’s beauty boxes to come around and after an underwhelming Glossybox this month, I couldn’t wait for Birchbox to try and lift my spirits.

This months delights included the following:

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer Radiance | £28.00
A generous 15.0ml helping of this primer was very nice indeed. This will last a lifetime! I used a little of this on Saturday in the frantic morning rush when slapping on my stage makeup. It did a pretty fine job and putting on my foundation was most definitely a dream for once. I think this is a keeper to add to my stage makeup collection.

Dr Brandt Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant | £67.00
I havn’t actually tried this yet, having not heard of the brand before I am expecting absolute miracles considering the price. A 7.5g helping is good enough for me to put it to the test though, so expect updates on this in the near future.
KMS California Curl Up Wave Foam Mousse | £15.00
Being one of those with naturally curly hair, I am always buying products to make my curls and waves look nicer although most of the time I opt for straightening so it’s always a nice change for me to sport my natural hair do. This 75ml mousse should be plenty for me to test this out, despite the amount of hair I have!
theBalm cosmetics Stainiac | £10.00
Having received a previous lip and cheek tint, I was a little apprehensive about this one. On swatching it’s a very subtle color, but I’m not sure the texture of this will get along with my skin, especially my cheeks. Time will tell with 1.2mls for me to play with.
Dr. Lipp Nipple Balm | £11.50
I’ve been meaning to pick some of this up for a while and this months Birchbox was well worth it for this alone. An absolutely adorable 3ml size product. I own the Nip+Fab version of this and absolutely love it. Needless to say I will be saving this for as long as possible! If it had cheeks – I’d pinch them.

Lifestyle Extra:

Birchbox Eyelash Curler | £10.00
I recently received a Curler in my Glossybox a few months back and havn’t really got to grips with having a very bulky object very close to my eyes, with my precious eyelashes in it’s grasp. At some point, I will have a play with them box and see how they do. It took me years to finally take the plunge with falsies, so hopefully I can be a little braver this time.

Beauty Box Extra:

Egyptian Magic | £29.00
Three 3ml sachets of all purpose skin cream. Who does not love skin cream? I haven’t tried this yet, but through the packet it feels very thick – almost like Vaseline. With the packaging bringing a little Nile into the equation, I could almost see this as a death metal beauty item too. Can’t wait to play with it.

Another thing I enjoyed this month was the little cards in place of a “magazine” with a few tips and other bits of info. I’m a sucker for quirky graphics!

You can get your hands on a Birchbox for just £10 a month with £2.95 P&P. With the option to cancel whenever you want and earn reward points for each box which you can spend later it’s well worth it.

Totally hellbent for teeny tiny treats

-Pants