Glossybox for Superdrug - May Box

There has been much hype and excitement as to whom Glossybox would be collaborating with for the May box and whilst I had seen some spoilers on both Twitter and Facebook, good ones I might add, I was yet to see two people get the same box, which always leaves some room for a bit of excitement and anticipation.

My box arrived on Saturday morning and I couldn't wait to open it.  I had already seen that the usual dusty pink box had been replaced with a rather funky designed box with '50' being emblazoned on a bright neon pink and gold colour and the words 'Glossybox for Superdrug' also clearly visible.  We all know that Superdrug is celebtrating its 50th birthday and there have been some amazing products specially released to celebrate that, but what is in my box I know you are all wanting to know, well.... Ta-dah

OOOh now how fab does this box look? It has been a long time since I have liked all the contents of a Glossybox, that includes everything from the outerbox, the pink tissue and the matching ribbon to the crepe paper - all of which I think looks amazing.

So inside my box I have not one or two full sized items but FIVE - yes five of them, plus two little extras which I am chuffed chuffed with and they are:

Ghost Eclipse - Those of you who read my blog alot (okay occasionally) will know I am a fan of perfume samples, so I am happy to see this one in here.  Ghost Eclipse has the following description:

"Capturing the warm energy of the sun, GHOST Eclipse evokes feelings of carefree abandon.  Get lost in the moment and lift your spirits with this intoxicating and addictive fruity-floral fragrance".

The second sample is a Garnier Oil Body Lotion, something I haven't tried but more than willing to do so, it is infused with argan, macademia, almond and rose oil to help replenish the skin with moisture and reinforce its barrier function to prevent it from feeling dry, leaving your skin feeling soft and smooth.  

Here is the rest of the box!

Maybelline New York Great Lash Mascara - I am a fan of Maybelline Mascara and this is one I have never tried and you can never have too many mascaras right?  This has an RRP of £4.99

GOSH Cosmetics Velvet Touch Eyeliner - I am a huge fan of GOSH Cosmetics and this is another product I haven't tried though it is fair to say, eyeliner is not one of my favourite items.  However it has an RRP of £4.99

B Sheer Conditioning Lipstick - I got shade 88 which Flamingo and it is as you would expect it to be, a bright pink.  Possibly not a colour I would choose but I am going to give it a try anyway as I have never used anything from B before, despite seeing their products across many blogs I read.  This has an RRP of £6.99

Max Factor - Facefinity All Day Primer - perhaps the product I am most excited about and chuffed to have got.  This primer is said to have micro-correctors which work to absorb sweat and extend the wear of your favourite foundation for all day flawless finish.  This has an RRP of £10.99

The final item is Vaseline Spray and Go in Coco and this is a product I have been umming and arring about for months and months.  I am not the worlds biggest fan of Vaseline for my lips (yuck) but having read about this product so many times, I quite like the idea behind it, plus it makes life a tad easier when it comes to moisturising right?  An RRP of £4.99

So that is my box!  I think it is fantastic and I am chuffed with the contents.  What do you think to my box and if you have one, please link me to it below in the comments so I can come and see what you got.

Maybelline Baby Skin

When I saw the new Maybelline Baby Skin primer in Boots a few months ago, I decided to bit the bullet and buy it.  I hadn't seen that many reviews on it and am almost out of Porefessional, so was hoping this would be the perfect dupe.

What they say:

"Maybelline Baby Skin provides a matte finish and leaves the skin fresh, soft and protected. The gel texture in Baby Skin instantly helps to vanish pores and makes the skin feel light. It avoids a shine on the skin and makes the skin feel soft".

So there is a bit of a claim there to instantly erase pores and leave your skin feeling soft and smooth. Well for me it does reduce the look of my pores every so slightly, but doesn't completely get rid of them completely, though if I am honest I really wasn't expecting it too. Obviously it will depend on how big or small your pores are in the first instance and I don't believe anything really helps make them vanish, just help to conceal them. I do, however, feel it lives up the second part of its claim in that it avoids shine on the skin and makes the skin feel soft to the touch.

The texture, which is most definitely gel-like, is really easy to apply and I use my fingers to apply it all over my face (obviously before any make-up) and for me this is where it is great value for money because once applied, it helps keep my make-up in place all day, which for me is around 6-7 hours and I didn't feel the need to have to re-apply everything before going out in an evening, the only thing I touched up my lipstick and blusher which is something I do anyway.

For me this is a great high street primer and whilst I accept it is not as good as Porefessional, it does do a good job and given the difference in price, I would verge towards Maybelline because it does what I want it too and I am saving over £15 and both products are the same size at 22ml.

Have you tried Maybelline Baby Primer?  Do you like it?

February Glossybox - Be Mine!

So my Glossybox has arrived and I did feel quite apprehensive about opening it because lets me honest, January's box was awful!  To be fair, I have had one or two emails from Glossybox with a survey attached to ask questions about my views on the box because it had been noted that most of us had been unhappy with the box contents.  So issues aside, what did February have in store?

Well it is a themed box and Valentines Day the natural choice, the box is totally brilliant, I loved it and here it is:

The kisses all over the box, which in itself had a make-over for the start of 2014 - it now has more depth to it and has a glossy finish, but this box is my favourite to date.

As for the contents, well here they are:

So this is quite a full box this month with 7 things in it!  My only grumble with the box is the Eldora Eyelashes.  One thing I don't use are false eyelashes because I cannot apply them for love nor money and end up getting quite stressed out about it, so instead I settle for a good mascara.  Anyway they retail for £3.90 and are described as follows "Every cosmetic connoisseur adore these simple and beautiful, high quality lashes by Eldora.  Their extensive range means there's a style to suit everyone".  Anyway, I am sure I can find them a good home!

Next up is Nougat London with their Sparkling Body Shimmer.  This bottle is 100ml and comes with the following description "Add radiance to your skincare regime with Sparkling Body Shimmer.  This body lotion with mallow extract, vitamin E and wheatgerm enriched oil will leave your skin luxuriously perfumed with a hint of sparkle"  Its actual scent is called Cherry Blossom and it smells divine, quite a thin texture, so it easily absorbs into the skin but it does leave behind a bit of a glitter effect on the skin.  A full sized 250ml product retails for £14 making this worth around £5.60

H2K Skincare comes next and not a brand I am familar with, but with two products in my box this might change.  I have a conditioning shampoo and a hydrating hair conditioner both of which are said to revitalise and nourish my hair.  Hmm well not too much of an introduction to a brand I have never heard of in all honesty, but they will go into my jar for weekend away products which is the intention.  Both of these sizes retail at £2.48 each

Ciate London Nail Polish - Now you can never have too many nail polishes right?  I am a huge fan of Ciate and have quite a lot of different shades and I already have this one which I won in a twitter competition as you can see HERE.  That said it is a fabulous shade and is desvribed as follows "Even without the gin, this yummy berry magenta is as toxically delicious as its namesake". This is a full sized product and retails for £9.

The final product is Maybelline New York Big Eyes Mascara.  Again, I am a mascara lover and it is the one product I will never leave the house without, so whenever I get a new one, I am quite chuffed.  This is a new product and is described as follows "Double the drama with Maybelline's first eye-opening double brush mascara.  Built with specific upper and lower lash brushes, Big Eyes Mascara produces an all-around eye-opening effect". Now this product excites me and I want to rip it open and try it out, but I must use up and finish two other mascaras that are almost empty first, but doesn't it just sound like the perfect mascara?.  Anyway it is available for £8.99

In this months box was a little treat, a Lindor Treat Bar which is just fabulous and now all gone.  Retails for 79p per bar and is delicious.

So a box that has contents worth around £33 and for me a great box this month and I just hope Glossybox manage to keep this up!  What do you think to this box?

Valentine's Day blogger Secret Swap

As you read this post, I and my hubby will be either on the plane or just landed in Amsterdam, but Happy Valentines Day!

I took part in a bloggers secret valentines swap organised by xx and xx and posted my package off to its recipient last weekend, so hopefully you have got it and like it, though you won't know it was me that sent it!

My package has arrived and knowing I was going to be away, I wrote this post a few days ago so that it could go live on the day itself. I have no idea who my swap partner was, but it is always exciting to get a box full of products right? Well this is what was in my beautifully packaged swap box:

How cute are those love hearts and the card, I love pugs I find them so cute and I am particularly impressed and moved that my swappee took the time to look for a card with cats on, knowing that I have 3 of them.  Thank you.

So we have quite a lot of products here and I haven't tried any of them - whoever picked this box has clearly looked at my blog because the first thing that caught my eye was this beautiful tub of coconut and cream body butter from I Love Cosmetics and it was actually on a list of things I wanted to try because I love things scented with coconut.

Then we have Maybelline Baby Lips in Hydrate.  Now I know some people are not a fan of these, but I really like them and find them so handy to have in my handbag, desk draw or on my bedside table and this particular one I have yet to try.  It states that it will give 8 hours worth of moisture and in this weather, I definitely need it!

Argan oil treatment for the hair comes next and it has a Moroccan Argan oil extract to give an intense hydrating treatment to rejuvenate and repair your hair leaving it shiny, smooth and healthy.  Again, not a product I have tried and am looking forward to giving it a whirl to see how my hair copes with it.

Then we have some make-up products from a brand called Catrice whom I have read about on other peoples blogs but have never come across them myself.  There is a colour changing lipstick which says it is a lip glow, too look at it, I was expecting to have bright Oompa Loompa lips, but it actually gives my lips a bit of a glossy look to them.  Then comes an eye palettes with 4 different shades called Never Let Me ago and this is truly stunning, I love all of the shades.

The next products is from Essence - Oz the great and powerful in shade 01 Beware of the Wicked Witch - are you trying to tell me something blogger swapper??  This is a cream blush, again not a product I have used before, though cream blushes seem to be a popular item across the blogger sphere and I am looking forward to giving this a go. It comes with a pump dispenser and you only need a really small amount on your hand, brush or whatever you choose to use to apply to your cheeks.

Barry M comes next with a lipgloss and in the tube it looks as though it is a candy floss pink colour and when you open the tube, it smells wonderfully sweet of strawberries and it is a lovely shade of pink - pics needed

Then I have three samples - Melvita Narcissus which look this up!!! Followed by Nuxe anti-fatigue moisturising cream which is for dry skin and finally an eye contour  anti-ageing and radiance cream from Avene which I am also looking forward to trying.

Last but no means least a bar of Galaxy Cookie a crumble chocolate which is just so yummy and I could quite easily east the whole bar to myself and two packets of Love a heart sweets which I haven't come across in years, so I am looking forward to seeing what each one has to say on it when it comes to eating them.

December Glossybox

After last months 'iffy' Glossybox where upon which none of the items would ever feature on my wishlist, we now have December, a box I had been quite looking forward too given some of the spoilers I had seen and the fact Glossybox themselves seemed quite chuffed that every box would have a Maybelline product inside.

Here we have what was in my box.

So already I am really impressed with the packaging and surprisingly it is actually Christmassy and something I would expect to find.  The candycane tissue paper is really pretty and inside, protecting the items is a bright green tissue paper, clearly in keeping with the Christmas theme.  Now to the products:

So we have:

Beautiful Movements Cosmetics - Pinky Nude Lip Gloss (Picture to come)

BMC is a company that has been set up by former Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt. This gloss has no scent and thankfully hasn't got the horrid sticky quality to it like so many lip glosses do! The colour is a fairly subtle, it is kind of pretty and thankfully it doesn't make you lips overly pale or orangey. I like this but I don't love this and I wouldn't necessarily be purchasing this again and probably wouldn't choose it over another colour. 

Wilkinson Sword Intuition Naturals Razor

Not too sure how I feel about finding this in my "luxury sample box" to be honest with you nor why it would feature in my Christmas Box and not at any other time of the year, like the summer when I am more likely to have my legs out.  

Maybelline New York Colour Tattoo 24hr Eye Shadow - Everlasting Navy

Whilst I am happy to see a Maybelline product and as beautiful as this one is, sadly it is not a colour I would ever choose to wear.  If there is someone out there who reads my blog and would love to try it, please let me know and I will send it to one of you because I would hate for it to go to waste.   

Seche Nail Lacquer - Audacious

I am a huge fan of Seche nail polishes and I was quite chuffed to see this, not usually a colour I would choose and it is referred to as being 'Red Fuscia' I am more than willing to give it a try.

Lipsy London Glam Perfume

Hmm mixed feelings about this 'sample' of perfume. The brand new perfume from Lipsy is described as being "Strikingly gorgeous, amazingly beautiful, exceptionally glamorous and forever aspirational" well, it isn't a perfume that I would ever buy to wear, though the actual bottle is stunning. As for the scent, it is said to combine fruity honey and sweet top notes, the heart notes complement with Orchid, Jasmine and Peony and the base notes are deep with Amarylis and black incense. I find it a bit too strong for my senses sadly.

I've come to the conclusion that 'samples' of perfume in these beauty boxes should be just that, a sample and not an alternative for someone else.

Overall, I was more excited about the actual box and tissue paper than the contents. It is estimated to be worth just over £30, I could have got a lot more for my money.  

What do you think?

Maybelline BabyLips Cherry Velvet - Limited Edition

If something is 'limited edition' there is every chance that I am going to want it at some stage.  Maybelline Baby Lips hits the shops here in the UK a few months ago and they created quite a frenzy across the bloggersphere and like many people, I bought the hype and have them all and in all fairness I do like and use them.

At the weekend I happened to be in Boots looking for a few gifts and one in particular for a giveaway I was doing when I came across a limited edition Baby Lips product called Cherry Velvet which wasn't for sale and was only available if you bought two other Maybelline products, well as it happened I needed two products anyway, so this was an added bonus.

The description from Maybelline for this lip balm is as follows:

Maybelline SPF20 Lip Balm, Cherry Velvet has a Lip renew formula and 8-hr hydration for visibly renewed lips in 4 weeks. It is highly moisturizing and nourishing, repairing damaged lips with each application. It can soothe and condition your lips, preventing it from suffering from chapping, formation of wrinkles. Your lips look healthy and soft throughout the year, even under the very dry climate in winter!

I love the two tone pink packaging for this lip balm and as soon as you remove the lid, the cherry scent is very noticeable.  The lip balm itself is white in colour, though if you look close enough you can see a hint of pink and as you apply it to your lips it is so lovely and smooth and gives the very slightest sheen, but is really moisturising and is perfect for going over the top if lipstick, lip crayons and so on.

Do you have any of these Baby Lips Lip Balm? Do you have a favourite?

BBBBox 2 - What Was In My Box?

I was unlucky not to get my hands on the first BBBox which Jane, the lovely lady behing the British Beauty Blogger Blog put together and when I saw how fantastic it was, I was slighty gutted.  I was therefore delighted that there was going to be a second BBBox and there was no chance I was going to miss out on it.  It cost just £22 with P&P very reasonably priced at £5.95 and for your money there was a box packed full of lovely products to get excited about, all of which Jane herself picked and chose.

In my box was the following:

• Alterna Bamboo Range 48 Hour Sustainable Volume Spray
• Bourjois Eyeliner
• CND Vinylux Nail Polish & Top Coat
• Indeed Labs Hydraluron
• L'Occitane Angelica Cleansing Gel
• L'Occitane Angelica Face Toner
• L'Occitane Cherry Blossom Hand Cream
• La Roche-Possay Redermic Dermatological Anti-Wrinkle Treatment
• Mandara Spa Tropical Blooms Softening Bath Milk
• Maybelline Rocket Mascara
• Rituals Car Fragrance
• REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask and Invisable Pores Detox Mask
• Rouge Bunny Lip Gloss Gleaming Temptation in Uncaged Tigress
• Urban Decay Moondust Eye Shadow in Zodiac
• Roger & Gallet Bois d'Orange Huile Sublime
• Vichy Idealia Smoothing and Illuminating Cream
• Washi Hot Cloth 

And a lovely little Union Jack stocking which can be used to house some of your products, perhaps to give them as a gift to someone (you will not get that from me).

I was really excited to find the Indeed Labs Hydraluron and Washi Hot Cloth, both of which are nestled quite nicely on my 'Want To Try' list and I was also chuffed to see the two REN products and La Roche-Posay which also feature on the 'Want To Try List'.

Did you get your hands on this box? 

Does this box contain any product that you would love to try?