You Beauty Discovery Box - March

Last month I had introduced by way of subscription to the You Beauty Discovery Box which you can see here with its contents.  This month my second box has arrived and I have said I am equally impressed.

This months box is themed "Best of British" and when I got my email to let me know my options for selection was now ready, I really struggled to decide what to choose, but in the end managed it.

What I love is how the box fits through my letterbox, it is packed really delicately and the box really study:

Within the magazine which comes with the box we are told that the March shortlist (of products) is dedicated to home-grown beauty and skincare brands flying the flag for Great Britain on the worldwide stage.  I think this is a brilliant concept and the choices between the products was quite difficult as I have said, options included Aromatherapy Associates Inner Strength Bath and Shower Oil, Crabtree and Evelyn Rosewater Ultra moisturising hand therapy, Camomile Cleansing butter and muslin cloth from The Body Shop, Beautylab Glyco Face Wash, Orico Marine Radiance Serum, Paul Mitchell Dry Wash, John Freida Frizz Ease, Rimmel Matte BB Cream and Dr Lipp Nipple Balm.

Here are my choices:

As always with this subscription you get some extra treats and mine came in the form of some re-usable eyelashes from The Vintage Cosmetic Company called Gracie which cost £6.  The second treat is some Organic Tea from Dragonfly Tea, a British family company who are dedicated to bringing delicious artisan teas from around the world, so I am really looking forward to trying and I have been sent Moonlight Jasmine Organic Green Tea and Swirling Mist Organic White Tea. 

Then comes my actual selections.  As soon as I saw one of them there was no doubt it was going to go in my box - Dr Lipp Nipple Balm which I have blogged about HERE and it is just amazing and I use it every night before going to bed, this tube is 15ml which has an RRP of £11.  

The second product I chose was the BeautyLab GlycoWash which is suitable for the following skin types:

• Dull and Congested Skin
• Enlarged Pores
• Ageing Skin
• Uneven Pigmentation
• Sun Damaged Skin
• Acne Prone Skin

It is described as follows:

"A skin refining oil free 5% glycolic foaming gel with triggered release technology that works longer and deeper to remove impurities, unclogging pores refining and cleansing whilst helping to prevent future break-outs. Contains pomegranates enzymes, glycolic and salicylic acid infused microspheres, soothing willow bark and lavender"

A 200ml bottle of this product has an RRP of £32, my bottle is 100ml and therefore has a value of around £18.

So for a £6.95 subscription, my box has a value of around £36 which is amazing!

What do you think to do this? Do you subscribe to these boxes?

Next month the attention will be turned to all things Organic & Natural with no nasties, no nonsense, so I am really looking forward to seeing already.

Sample Sunday

This week I thought I would bring back Sample Sunday as I have been making a conscious effort to use up some of the samples of products that I have and use up the sample sized tubs, tubes and bottles of other products that have come on various trips away with me.

This is my progress:

Givenchy Noir Couture Mascara which is from a Glossybox and I had two samples of it - I actually really like this mascara, though I didn't love it. The sample itself is just 1.5g and lasted for about a week, so not really enough to gage a formed opinion, but I did like the brush and you can see more detail about it HERE when the first sample appeared.

Soap & Glory Scrub Of Your Life  - One of my favourite products from Soap and Glory, I love the fact I can have travel sizes of this and take it with me when I go away. It is apparently the Ultimate soapy, super-smoothing body buffer.  I love the scent and how effective yet gentle this is on my skin.  It retails for around £3 for this travel size and it does last a long time.

Next up there are two Montagne Jeunesse Facemasks.  I am a huge lover of facemasks and love trying them out and these particular masks are just complete bargains.

The first is Chocolate Mud Pie which is an indulgent skin softening mask and it combines Cocoa and shea butter.  This mask smells good enough to eat, it is like someone pushing your face into a lovely chocolate cake and you leave it on for 15-20 minutes, it dries, you rinse it off using warm water and it leaves you with lovely soft to the touch skin, for 99p this is a total bargain and I got it from Asda.

The second is Manuka Honey Peel Off.  Now I love love love facemasks which you peel off, I know I have probably mentioned it before, but there is something so satisfying about waiting for a mask to dry on your skin and then getting to peel it off, yummy.  Anyway, this mask is described as being a famous natural cleanser and it contains Manuka Honey and Jasmin and as with the other mask, cleanse your face, apply, leave for 15-20 minutes and then peel it off.  Another fab mask for 99p

Next comes three Jenoris sachets which I got back in July from the London Blogger Meet and there are two hair masks and a shampoo within this collection.

The Keratin Shampoo, which is sodium chloride free, contains Omega 3,6 and for a healthy scalp and shiny hair.  It includes Keratin for long-term protection, moisturises the hair whilst restoring its natural gloss and vitality.  I actually quite liked this sample, it smells quite nice in that it has the clean smell and it didn't irritate my scalp and my hair was lovely and soft after using.

The Pistachio Hair Mask is described as being ideal for treating split ends, dry, coloured or lightened hair and as with the Keratin Shampoo it contains Omega 3,6 and 9.  With this mask you apply to your hair after washing and leave on for just 3-5 minutes before rinishing it off but if your hair is in a bit of a state, you can leave it for up to 12 minutes for a more intensive treatment.  I am not too sure this mask did anything for my hair in all honesty, it smells lovely and is easy to use but my hair didn't feel any different after using.

The Keratin Hair Mask is again sodium chloride free and is enriched with Omega 3,6 and 9 as well as Pistachio and borage oils as well as keratin to moisturise and give long term protection to your hair.  After using it claims to leave your hair with perfect softness, shine and glamour.  I preferred this hair mask to the pistachio one but again, I didn't really feel too many benefits of using the mask, it would make a much better conditioner in my opinion.

Apivita express beauty with Apricot - this is a gentle exfoliating gel with apricot and I got the sachet from the London Blogger Meet.  This was my first introduction to Aprivita and I loved this gel.  It smells divine, as though someone has just squeezed the life out of some apricots and put them into this sachet.  It is a gentle but effective exfoliator and it leaves your skin feeling super soft after using.  This is a brand I want to explore further.

Elemis Fresh Skin Skin Glow - Put simply, I am a big big fan of this product and I did a whole review of it which you can find HERE and it is a product I would buy again.

Dr Lipp Original Nipple Balm - This product has quite a few mentions on my blog and has its own review which you can read HERE.  Before I got it in a Glossybox I had heard so many people compare it to Elizabeth Arden's 8 hour cream which I dislike, I fully expected to dislike this product as well... WRONG... I love it and am sad it has run out, though I fully intend to purchase a full size version.  it has been an absolute lifesaver in this cold weather, I smother my lips in it before bed and it also makes a great base before applying lipstick.

So those are my empty samples for this month and I think I have done quite well in using them up and remembering to keep them for this post.  Have you ever tried any of these products, are you a fan of any of them?

My favourite products of 2013 - Part one!

It has taken me quite a long time to do this post, sorting products out into groups and categories hasn't been easy, but I have done it and these are my products of 2013, though they have been split into categories to make the posts a little shorter.

Lip care

Lips are an important part of my beauty regime and I am always trying to ensure they are in good condition and don't look dry, flaking and chapped because for me there is nothing worse.  Your lips are such an important feature and you do so much with them whether it is eating food, having a drink, kissing someone or even talking, your lips are one of your main features and should be as cared for as every other part of your body.

I have a bit of an obsession with lip products as you can see HERE and I am never without a lip balm, lip cream or lip something and these are my all time favourite lip products.  Starting with:

Dr Lipp - I got this product in a Glossybox and wrote a post about it which you can read HERE.  Quite a few people have compared it to the Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream and I disagree, I cannot stand the 8 hour cream at all.  Dr Lipp is brilliant and I use when my lips are really dry and put it on before I go to bed and I wear it during the daytime especially if the weather is really cold.

Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub - One of the first items I wrote about on my blog which you can see HERE, this product is an absolute lifesaver and the best lip scrub I have ever used.  For those of you who are fans of Snow Fairy (like me) this scrub smells exactly like the shower gel.  So what is the point of it?  Well like any piece of skin on your body, it gets old and tired, dries out a bit and falls off, so Bubblegum is an exfoliator for your lips which, with a gentle massaging action, helps to remove that dead skin leaving your lips feeling soft and smooth.

Bach Rescue Balm - This is another one of my go to lip products when they are particularly when my lips look like they are dry and chapped and this is another product I usually slather my lips in over night and it works wonders.  It smells of lemons and is both Paraben and lanolin free and can also be used on your temples for relaxation purposes - something I am yet to try.

Korres Lip Butter - I am a huge fan of the Korres range, whether it is a shower gel, a lip balm or a lip butter, I love them and this particular lip butter, Guava is my favourite from the range and I posted about it HERE.  As a lip butter it is really lovely to apply and it smells divine, really moisturising and long lasting once on your lips.

So there you have it.  My first favourites of 2013 post and there are 4 more to come in my little series of posts - Hair and Body, Make-up and Perfume are to follow.

Do you have a favourite lip product? 

Would or do any of my favourites feature in your favourites?

Dr Lipp Nipple Balm for your lips!

Part of my night time skincare routine does involve my lips. Lips for me are an important feature and I like to do as much as I can to ensure they look and feel soft, smooth and supple rather than dry and cracked with bits of skin hanging off all over the place.

Dr Lipp Nipple Balm was a product I had only heard of but had never used, then I got a sample in my Glossybox and I put it to one side for quite a while until I read a few blog posts about how good it was with some people referring to it as their Holy Grail Lip Balm, curiosity got the better of me and I decided to try it for myself.

According to the website: Dr.Lipp was originally developed as a nipple balm for breastfeeding women because of its ultra hydrating & hypoallergenic multipurpose properties. Dr.Lipp has many benefits both medical and for beauty and is ideal for dry cuticles, dry skin patches, burns and abrasions, severely chapped lips, sore nipples, split ends, eczema, babies’ bottoms, and much much more.

The tube that I have is quite a small one and it contains just a 3ml tube and the product inside is like a thick gel, similar in consistency to Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream (which I dislike a lot) only it is totally without any scent or odour.  I always apply this to my lips every night before I go to bed and you only need a really small amount.  when I used this for the very first time, I was expecting to get that horrible greasy feel that Vaseline leaves on my lips, but instead it felt nothing like that and more natural, as though I had applied a normal lip balm and on my lips was a lovely sheen.

If like me you suffer with dry lips, this product is wonderful, for me it is a miracle worker and I am glad I had the chance to try a smaller version as a full 15ml tube costs £11.95 which although pricey, for me is worth every single penny.  

Naturally this product does have more than one use and for us Beauty Bloggers it is a multi-purpose products and these are just some of its uses:

• Use as a long lasting lip-gloss
• Prep dry skin before applying foundation for a more even look.
• Cheek shine
• Eye gloss for a dewy look
• Shaping eyebrows
• Lip primer to help prevent blotching
• As a mixer for pigments
• Perfect for ‘glitter lips’, ‘eye glitter’ & diamantes
• Last minute shoe polish!

Alongside used for us Beauty Bloggers there are some other uses and these are:

• Helps soothe and soften chapped lips
• Help prevent dry cuticles
• Helps soothe dry skin patches
• Helps reduce fine lines under the eyes
• Helps moisturise & nourish split ends
• Helps nourish eye lashes
• As a healer for nipple tape rash
• Helps with small cuts, burns and abrasions
• Helps sore noses from blowing
• Helps soothe Nappy rash
• Helps with itchy skin and eczema
• Helps soothe sore nipples from breastfeeding

As a product, Dr.Lipp is 100% pure and natural, hyper allergenic, tasteless and odourless and it contains no parabens or fragrance and is approved by Ecocert France. Dr Lipp is made from 100% ultra pure medical grade Lanolin which is harvested during the summer from natural Sheep’s wool and cleansed of all impurities to make our ultra pure ‘Queen’ of Lanolin.

Finally, Dr Lipp is:

• Proven to help reduce skin roughness by 40% in one hour.
• Considered by dermatologists and scientists to be one of the safest ways to care for your skin as the Lanolin lipids (oils) are so similar to your skin’s natural oils that they easily penetrate & absorb deeply into your skin.

For me this is a brilliant product and I absolutely love it, it does everything that it states it will do for the ways in which I use it.

Have you tried Dr Lipp? Do you like it?