L’oreal

Beauty Boxes

Glossybox September 2014

September 22, 2014

Glossybox have fallen into my bad books lately. Not only have I received some terrible customer service but also I’ve found the past two boxes a little lacklustre. Considering I was singing their praises to the high heavens till recently, I still have hope that they will be pulling out some awesome boxes again but for now I can’t say that I’m particularly impressed.

The September 2014 Glossybox is designed by Karen Millen, and though I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever stepped foot in one of their stores, I do like the London imagery that covers the box this month.

Inside there are two full size products and six samples along with a £25 off voucher for Karen millen stores when you spend £150 (unlikely).

ModelCo MORE BROWS Fibre Gel

The first full size product is a brow gel from ModelCo in light/medium. I saw the preview video with Binky from Made in Chelsea before the box was shipped and I was quite excited about this product, but I can’t say I’m particularly taken with it in person. I’ve tried these wand applicator brow gels before and I find them messier and less precise than my usual powders and pencils. Honestly this is likely going to end up in the back of a drawer somewhere unused because it’s just not enough to tame and shape my rather sparse brows, if you’ve naturally got a thicker brow though it would probably work a lot better for you!

Full Size

£14.95 from www.modelcocosmetics.com

L’Oreal Professionnel Mythic Masque

Next up is a replenishing and nourishing hair mask from L’Oreal. I was initially quite looking forward to trying this, but when you have to towel dry your hair before applying then get back in the shower to rinse it off? Who has time for that! It smells delicious and I have seen good things about this all over the web, so maybe I can convince myself that going through the bother of drying only to condition once more is a good idea (or more likely I’ll just apply it to wet hair >.>)

75ml Sample

£17.99 for 200ml from www.lookfantastic.com

SkinPep Enzyme and Acid Peel & Dark Circle Eraser

I do love getting products from lesser known companies but with only one sachet of eye-cream and two 3.5ml sachets of the face peel, I’m not sure if there’s enough product to really get a feel for them. The full sizes come at a pretty penny so it would be nice to get a slightly bigger sample to decide if you want to invest further or not. I really don’t feel that even a bundle of such sachets constitutes a place in Beauty Boxes if I’m honest, does anyone else feel this way and prefer to get at least a decent sized sample of even very high end products?

2x 3.5ml sample and 1x 2ml sample

£89.99 and £44.99 from Skinpep.com

Nails Inc Westminster Bridge matte Top Coat

The only thing I really got excited about in my September Glossybox was this lovely matte topcoat from one of my favourite brands, Nails Inc. I’ve been wearing quite a lot of matte nails recently, but with a topcoat you can turn every polish you own matte! It’s a full size bottle which will last for absolutely ages, the brush is so easy to use and it dries pretty quickly for those of you (like me) who are always in a hurry to get your nails finished. Best product by a mile!

Full Size

£12 from NailsInc.com

Vichy Normaderm Night Detox and Hydrating Care

I’m a big fan of Vichy skincare and even though these tiny samples are only 3ml, because they come in tubes rather than sachets you can likely get a few uses out of each one and thus a better feel for the products. The addition of both a day and night cream means these are perfect for throwing in an overnight bag for any impromptu adventures. I’ve not tried either of these creams before but both are products I’d be interested to purchase so even though I’m usually pretty meh about small skincare samples I’ll let this one slip just this once!

2 x 3ml samples

£12.00 for 40ml and £15.50 for 50ml from Boots.com

So overall I have to say this isn’t one of the best boxes I’ve received by a long shot, very heavy on the skincare samples and only one product that I can really get excited about. I’ve not seen many reviews for alternative products this month though, did you get anything different in your box?

Totally hellbent for Nails Inc saving the day

Gem

Beauty Boxes

Latest In Beauty – Glamour Beauty Edit 3 – 2014

March 4, 2014

I tried so hard to resist this box, I really did, but last week I caved and I am SO glad I did!

Welcome to the third Glamour Beauty Edit box by Latest in Beauty! I missed out of the first, but absolutely loved the second (reviewed here!) so really my resistance was futile.

The box contains seven products worth £45 which is a little less bang for your buck than the previous boxes, but certainly nothing to turn your nose up at!

Invisibobble

Initially I was very sceptical about these hair ties – I mean they look like those 90’s extendible keyring things – and was convinced they would get tangled in my hair but of course I was absolutely wrong! They held my long thick hair up in a pony with only one twist and slid out without any tangles whatsoever leaving absolutely no marks on my hair at all.

I think this will be an absolute godsend on tour when I have to straighten my hair in the morning and hope it will last throughout the day, usually I end up with a mark where my bobble has held my hair back whilst we are in transit and setting up, but with the Invisibobble I wont expect even the slightest kink!

Bonus marks for the colour!

Full size (box of three)

€4.95 from invisibobble.com

Burt’s Bees Lip Balm

I’m a big lip balm fan as I, like most people, suffer with unbearable dry lips in the colder months. I’ve had my eye on this one for a while but never got round to trying it! Made from 100% natural ingredients with a lovely tingly peppermint scent, I can see why there is so much hype about this product! It was instantly soothing on my chapped lips and has lasted out a good few hours so far. I also like how it adds moisture without feeling greasy, in fact the info card suggests using it for lipstick preparation!

Full Size

£3.69 from Burtsbees.co.uk

Cheeky Chat Me Up Nail Paint in Tongue ‘n’ Cheek

Well! I have to say this could be a contender for my new favourite nail polish brand! The pics above make it look a lot more red than it is, but in natural light it’s a very red-hued pink that is very glossy! It applied so smoothly (like I genuinely can’t express how easily this applies!), dried quickly and was completely opaque in one coat. This is a winning dream formula and frankly I can’t wait to try out some more polishes from Cheeky!

Full size

£7 from Urcheeky.com

Daniel Sandler Long Lasting Waterproof Eyeliner in Aqua Velvet

Well, this is certainly in my colour! I can’t say I’ve ever worn this shade as an eyeliner since having turquoise hair, but I will be giving it a try now! This is a bespoke shade created exclusively for the Glamour Beauty Edit, and it is BRIGHT! As you can see in the swatch it was a little uneven in application, so might take more than one sweep to get a solid line, however once it’s in place it’s really not going anywhere! It took a decent amount of micellar water to shift this off the back of my hand, so I expect it to last a damn long time on the lids!

Full Size

£9.25 from Danielsandler.com

Percy & Reed Abundantly Bouncy Volumising Mousse

I’m not really a mousse person, I find it makes my naturally greasy hair slick up (yuk!) and never seems to be strong enough to hold it up. This is probably the only product in the box I wont get much use from. I gave it the benefit of the doubt and tried it out, but really I couldn’t see that it did anything to volumise my locks even when following exact instructions. I think my hair is just too thick and long and heavy, or maybe I’ve just never really gotten the hang of using mousse? Either way it’s not for me and will be finding a loving home with my mum (who absolutely swears by the stuff!)

50ml Sample

200ml for £12 from Percyandreed.com

Rituals Zensation Organic Rice Milk and Cherry Blossom Foaming Shower Gel Sensation

Product names are definitely getting longer, but I digress, this is the surprise hit of the box for me! I wasn’t expecting to be excited about a shower gel but I can tell already this will be absolutely amazing! It smells divine and the texture is so light and foamy! I love that it’s so compact, so will probably throw this in my gym bag rather than lug around a bigger bottle that could spill!

Full size

£4 from uk.rituals.com

L’Oreal Paris Mega Volume Miss Manga Mascara

I struggle to get hyped about mascara but I’ll admit I was curious about this one, in fact it was probably the deciding factor that pushed me over the edge into buying this box! I’m glad to say Miss Manga is an amazing mascara that gives longer thicker lashes and a hell of a curl! I think it’s down to the wand which is tapered at the tip making it perfect for lower lashes as well as upper! Miss Manga has won my heart and will be going straight into my everyday make-up bag!

Full Size

£8.99 from Superdrug.com

I also received a free Dermalogica Starter Kit, but as this offer has ended I’ll be reviewing that separately!

Overall I’m really glad I decided to buy this box as it has some great products at a massive saving and I’ve discovered some absolute treasures!

These boxes are limited edition and have been available for a while so if you do fancy one I’d suggest heading over to Latestinbeauty.com to pick on up sharpish for a bargain price of £14.95 (+3.95 p&p).

Totally hellbent for should I? shouldn’t I? OF COURSE I SHOULD!

– Gem

Clothing and Fashion, Make-up, Nails, Skincare

Oct/Nov’s Most Wanted

October 30, 2013

It’s the time of year when I should be focusing my purchases on others, ready for Christmas. Unfortunately all this does, is fuel my longing for products that I happen to spot along the way. There are so many things that I ~~want~~ -need- this festive period that I have no idea where to begin!

First up, Dior in “Rouge Dior 999”, because even though I already own over 9000 red lipsticks, I really need this one! I don’t know why, I’ve never been a massive fan of this brand before, I love their perfume but that’s mostly where it lies. I keep seeing beautiful adverts for this lipstick though and I don’t know if it’s the arty “chains” it is photographed with or how in the right light, the casing looks like it’s made of studs, the fact of the day is – I want it in my life!

For £26.00 from House of Fraser, it could be yours (and mine)

Now, lip Crayons are still quite a craze. Owning a few I think they are OK but most are not shades I would wear to important places such as the stage. The NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in “Dragon Girl” and also “Red Square” both look absolutely amazing. Unfortunately only the Red Square colour is available on the UK NARS website which makes me very sad.

They start around £17.50 and you can pick them up directly from NARS.co.uk

I’m not one to lust over Loreal Skincare, but browsing a beauty magazine I hade a lot of fun playing with one of their QR codes which scans your face and tells you all about what skin tone you have.

The Loreal Skin Perfection range promises to “transform the appearance of skin quality” with tone looking more even and pores virtually undetectable. With wild statements like this I simply must at least try the Day Moisturiser.

For a very reasonable price of £9.99 I shall be picking one of these up from Boots although I may wait until -after- Christmas.

I’ve been swallowing feelings of envy for a while now over this pallette. Seeing a lot of our fellow beauty bloggers reviewing theBalm “Nude tude” palette, with 12 beautiful neutral colours I really really want this.

The cheapest I have found this is £26.00 from Feel Unique. Can I resist this for a few more months?

Gem and I are going to a friends wedding on Saturday. (Evidence of our hen party shenanigans found here) With the theme being Red and Black, naturally my dress had to be red. After having a shoe dilemma and searching the web for a perfect match to my 50’s dress I came across these:

Iron Fist Little Lamby Polka Dot T-Bars. They retail around £44.00 definitely not an amount of money I am willing to spend on shoes right now, but I will be purchasing these as soon as I can physically justify it. (Being someone who never/rarely wears heels.)

My rubbish girl skills for walking in heels aside, look at them! They are absolutely perfect, it’s like they one day, decided they were going to make a shoe for “Pants and friends.”

Lastly, before my bank closes and ties all contact with me. O.P.I Christmas 2013 Liquid Sand editions modelled by Mariah Carey. At the very least I must have in my possession “Kiss me at midnight” and “It’s Frosty Outside” for all of my Christmas nail art fun!

Full size prices range from £11.00 but you can pick up the miniature versions in Christmas sets for about the same price.

So there we have it, my October and spilling rather heftily into November most wanted. Are there any things you are lusting after this time of year? Let us know!

Totally hellbent for spending all the monies on all of the shiny things

-Pants

Beauty Boxes, Make-up

Me, Myself and my boxes …

July 11, 2013

I blame Gemma.

For a long time, I have tried to resist the temptation of beauty boxes.

A few months ago, Gemma gave in and purchased her first. Unfortunately, she gave me a demonstration of how she opened her box when it came. She had even resealed the package with the bow so I could satisfyingly pull the ribbon apart to reveal a selection of surprise beauty products. Not only was the ribbon pulled, but so were my makeup and obsessive compulsive brain cells being pulled – and tugged – and shook – and prodded, until eventually the sensible part of my brain gave in with that ever familiar, parent style, eye rolling look, that say’s “*sigh* go on then.”

Alas, completely unsatisfied at having to wait for my next Glossybox I was sucked into purchasing the Glamour beauty edit edition of the Latest in Beauty Box.

I’m not sure what did it for me, it could have been the adorable pink vintage style tweezers, or the excitement of adding yet -more- dry shampoo spray to my “miniature festival collection”, or most likely the miniature Benefit The POREfessional. What I do know, is that it was delivered to my house and now it’s mine!

Totally hellbent for “oops did I just purchase that?”

– Pants