March Glossybox: Harrods Collaboration

This month’s Glossybox was a collaboration with Harrods and highly anticipated by beauty box subscribers. Harrods means high end products for sure, and no Collection 2000!

Or so we thought…

I was among the first wave of people to receive the boxes just a day after they were posted, but held off writing my review because I’d accidentally ordered two and hoped the second would be better.

IN THE BOX:

Narciso Rodriguez For Her EDP Sample

Molton Brown Heavenly Ginger-Lily Moisture Bath & Shower

YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum

Burberry Beauty Miniature Lipcover in Rosewood N^o 4

Clarins Extra Firming Body Cream

Now before I start my review, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t unhappy with the box. But you don’t rave on about Harrods and then not deliver!

Narciso Rodriguez For Her EDP Sample

LOVED the fragrance but it was tiny. You could pick this up from a perfume counter for free, and seeing as other samples were in small glass bottles I thought it was a bit of a cop out. I’ll definitely be purchasing this at some point, without a doubt.

Molton Brown Heavenly Ginger-Lily Moisture Bath & Shower

Getting fed up of body washes in beauty boxes. It’s just getting boring to be honest. Whilst this does smell really nice, it’ll end up going in the pile of ‘don’t wants’.

YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum

I’m 21, admittedly I do have one laughter line because I smile way too much and yes it’s the bane of my life, but I don’t think it’s time to start using stuff like this yet. Prevention is better than cure; start early, blah blah blah. I look after my skin, I have a good routine going so I don’t need anti-ageing products – just yet. If GB looked at my beauty profile then they’d realise that!

Burberry Beauty Miniature Lipcover in Rosewood No. 4

Probably the best item in the box. But lipstick just isn’t for me. Swatched it on the back of my hand and I can tell it won’t suit me. BOOOO! Still sticking with my Nivea Big Berry!

Clarins Extra Firming Body Cream

I use oil on my skin so I probably wont use it but it’s the perfect size for my handbag so when I switch back to my suitcase (!) this’ll definitely go in. I hate getting caught out in the summer with dry legs!

All in all not a bad box? Wrong. Clearly shows that they don’t take any notice of your beauty profile. And I feel a bit cheated. If I’d gone to Harrods myself and to all of the relevant counters I could have gotten all of this and more, and NOT paid £12.95 for it.

I think I was also disappointed because I really wanted the Ojon Oil. But there was a silver lining to my cloud …

My second Glossybox arrived this morning, this one with six items – one of them was a *bonus*

Molton Brown Vitalising vitamin AB+C Bath & Shower

Lancome Hynose Drama Instant Full Body Volume Mascara

Valentino Valentina EDP Sample

SK-II Skin Signature

Clarins Extra Firming Body Cream

*Shu Uemura Cleansing Beauty Oil*

For me, this box was more disappointing than the first. I don’t doubt that it’s worth more and definitely better value for money, but that’s as far as it goes. Apart from perhaps trying out the cleansing oil & the perfume sample everything else is useless to me.

SO. I’ve organised to swap the entire contents (Minus the Shu Uemura) for the wonderful Ojon Oil Serum. On the surface I’m getting the short end of the deal, as the SK-II is worth almost £25 alone and the Ojon is just £16. But I’d rather have a £16 product, than £40 worth of products that will just sit in a box.

Source

As much as I complain about GB sometimes I know I won’t unsubscribe. I got a really good box last month, and these boxes weren’t awful. I love the surprise every month, even when it is a bit of an anticlimax!

Lola ..x

February Carmine Box!

This months Carmine box was – in my opinion – a massive treat. I think a lot of people signed up after receiving a disappointing Glossy Box, and I think Carmine managed to pull the stops our for this one.

So...

IN THE BOX:

ANDREA FULERTON Nail Varnish in Julia. (Full size)

BALANCE ME Super Moisturising Body Wash (Full size)

STEAM CREAM Steam-infused moisturiser (Full size)

DIEGO DALLA PALMA Lipstick in shade 42

WHITE GLO Professional Choice Whitening Toothpaste

* YARDLEY LONDON Peony Fragrance *

As a few regular readers will know I’m newly converted to Shellac, having tried it at Christmas and been HOOKED since. Because of the shellac I kind of have no need for nail varnishes anymore as my polish lasts two weeks without chipping (if I’m not careless!) and keeps my nails long and strong. So the nail varnish, as nice as it is, wasn’t for me. I really loved the colour though and if I didn’t have the shellac I know I’d definitely use it! Worth £5.

My new shellac in 'Sacha'. Decided to get them cut down and go for something natural this time.

I’m quickly falling in love with all Balance Me products, having recently gotten the face oil in a beauty box and buying the Rose lip salve. I’m yet to use the body wash but this was probably my favourite item out of the whole box. I wouldn’t have discovered the brand if it hadn’t been for beauty boxes, which is part of the reason, I signed up in the first place. Retailing at £8 for 125ml I’d definitely repurchase. Yes, slightly premature since I haven’t used it, but judging by the other products I know I’ll love it.

I’m sure it was the Steamcream that was responsible for the February box selling out so quickly. The quirky tins were really cool and I love mine. I’m not sure how true it is but apparently Streamcream is the sister company of Lush. Even if it it’s not true I love the fact that this cream is made of steam and absorbs really well into my skin. It’s not the cheapest of moisturisers, it now retails at £12.95 (they’ve apparently hiked the price up from £10), but it definitely earns a place in my handbag.

I was really sad when I tried the lipstick today, as it really doesn’t suit me. You know when you eat a spag-bol that has a little too much oil in it and your lips go a funny colour? Yep, that. No offence to Diego Dalla Palma, as the lipstick smells amazing and you can instantly tell that it’s really moisturising, but the colour just wasn’t for me. The sample was really cute and if the colour was better suited to me then I’d buy the full size in a heartbeat!

I have a complete obsession with teeth. I feel really uncomfortable when I look into people eyes (not because I’m lying!) so I’m always looking at peoples’ mouths, and inadvertently their teeth. I get SO jealous when I see people with lovely pearly whites – even though I know my teeth aren’t yellow – so this product gave me a big toothy grin. Probably the last thing you’d expect in a beauty box, the White Glo toothpaste did receive mixed reactions but I personally quite like it. I can’t really see a difference in my teeth yet but I do like it so I will probably switch to this toothpaste once the sample is finished.

 

Last but not least the cute little bonus perfume put into the box. The Yardley London Peony fragrance smells really nice, if floral perfumes are your thing. Now as a bonus ‘gift’ I loved it – simply because I love free stuff. But also because it does smell nice. Carmine did well putting this in as a gift, but I’m glad it wasn’t in place of a sample or product. Would I purchase it? Probably not. I did appreciate the sentiment though.

Overall I’m really pleased with this box, I think Carmine hit the nail right on the head and got one over on GB!

Lola ..x

February Glossy Box! ..

Before you read this post you have to promise not to judge me!

I have developed an addiction... to beauty boxes! I currently have three here that I’m about to blog about, and I’m still waiting for another one to arrive. It’s a habit I need to get under control, simply because I wont be able to afford to EAT pretty soon! BUT when you see all the amazing goodies I’ve been getting you’ll understand why.

First up is GlossyBox. Now there’s a lot of comment about Glossybox going around the blogosphere/twittersphere/[insert sphere here] about their boxes and they’ve been slated quite a bit. My box arrived later than a lot of the existing subscribers so I had a chance to see what people had gotten before I received mine. Suffice to say I was disappointed. I stopped using press-on nails when I was I got to double figures, so why would I want them now? 

However, when I did finally receive mine I was pleasantly surprised.

IN THE BOX:

BECCA Beach Tint in Watermelon
DR BRONNER Lavender Hand Sanitizer
AWAPUHI BY PAUL MITCHELL Wild Ginger Treatment Oil
BM BEAUTY Pure Mineral Eyeshadow in Pink
COMO SHAMBHALA Invigorate Shower Gel

The Becca Tint is undoubtedly my favourite in the box. It’s the full size product, worth £20 on it’s own. It’s a gorgeous pinky colour and actually smells like watermelon, which is great. I don’t really wear colour on my lips as I haven’t really found one that suits me (hopefully the Nivea one does!) but I wear a little bit of this on my lips underneath my Molton Brown Lip Saver for a bit of a soft pink hue.

I know a lot of people complained about the hand sanitizer but I think it’s okay. Granted it’s not a luxury item but it’s practical, and I think it’s a bit more chic than the usual hand gels. It’s the full size and worth £3.99, so it’s not all bad – right? I’m not overly keen on the lavender scent as it’s quite strong, but this’ll definitely be a handbag staple. Would definitely buy again, but in a different scent!

Love, love, love the Paul Mitchell oil. It’s a sample size at 25ml, but worth about £6.50 since the full size 100ml retails at £25.95. I think it’s less like a hair oil and more of a serum, but it makes my hair super soft and smooth when I apply it. I mainly use Moroccan Oil for my hair so I probably wouldn’t repurchase it.

I was disappointed with the eyeshadow mainly because it’s PINK, but also because I’d filled out my beauty profile and stated that I usually wear natural makeup. It’s slightly annoying that I’d gone through that process only to be sent something that I obviously wouldn’t use. Admittedly it looks better swatched than it does in the pot, but it’s still not for me. Full size eyeshadow is 2g and retails at £7, making this sample worth £3.50.

The Como Shambhala shower gel is the only product in the GB that I haven’t used. It’s really thick and has notes of mint and lavender but it’s not something that jumped out at me. 50ml sample is worth about £3.30 since the full size is £20/300ml, which is a bit too pricey for me.

I personally think that this box was pretty decent, it was worth about £37 and considering I paid £12 inc. postage I don’t think that’s too shabby! However, I do think it’s unfair that my box was this good and worth so much when others had boxes worth £14. Obviously I understand that GB will never be able to please everyone, and whilst I’m really pleased it’s not fair that the people who didn’t receive the Becca didn’t get something of equal value.

Did anyone else get a GB? How did you feel about yours?

Excited about the March box? Glossy Box and Harrods! [Insert 100 exclamation marks!] Seen a few spoilers and I’m tres excited. Was tempted to order two, but I wont overdo it!

Are you getting a March box?

Lola ..x

I would be eternally grateful if you used my referral link if you plan on subscribing! Eternally! xx 

Long overdue, Carmine Box! ..

I feel so behind on my posts, I have SO much to share with you guys – the boy is away this weekend (BOO!) so I’ll definitely have some time to update everything fully!

Last week my Carmine Beauty Box arrived, I was really excited about getting it since I’m new to the world of beauty boxes and have heard such good things about Carmine.

The doorbell rang at 7am-ish and I ran in a sleepy stupor to answer it, and was greeted by a VERY cute postman only to realise that I had a HUGE line of dribble across my face – oh the shame!

Granted, it’s not as cute as the pink Glossy Box, the inside is a horrible garish green.

Contents:

KORRES Wild Rose 24-Hour Moisturising & Brightening Cream

Eldora False Lashes

Balance Me Radiance Face Oil

Westlab Himalayan Pink Salt

Eyeko Fat Eye Stick

At first glance I was slightly disappointed with the box, I’d heard nothing but good things about Carmine and it didn’t really live up to the hype. However, thinking about it the box was a complete bargain – it was my first box so I got a discount. I love the Fat Eye Stick (worth £10), although I’m still getting to grips with it as it’s really creamy, and swatched a bit too easily on my hand.

The lashes are worth about £5 – I think – and although I don’t wear them (I don’t think suit me), I now have an excuse to at least try them.  

The Korres Wild Rose Brightening Cream smells AMAZING. Don’t think I’ll be using it much though as I’m officially hooked to those Clarins Day and Night Creams from the Valentines Glossy Box! The cream is quite a small sample at 10ml but the full size product is just 40ml and costs around £20, making the sample worth about £5. I was expecting it to be really thick but even though it wasn't a small amount still absorbed quite quickly.

I was worried about the Balance Me oil, my skin can be really unpredictable at times and I thought that the oil might make me break out. Quite the contrary actually, I use it at night over the night cream and my face feels really soft and supple in the morning. It hasn’t got the greatest smell to it but it’s definitely a keeper in my eyes. The roller ball applicator is rubbish though, and I had to hack it apart to get any oil out! Full size product is 30ml retails at £30, so while the sample looks teeny it’s worth about £6.

Finally, the biggest disappointment in the box for me was the bath salts. I’m really much more of a shower kind of girl, and so the salts didn’t appeal to me. I know the boy will appreciate these more than I will!

So that’s it. The box wasn’t as great as I’d heard it was going to be but I’m not unhappy with it. It’s still too early for me to compare it with the Glossy Box, but at the moment the GB is leading slightly!

Lola ..x