Look Fantastic Beauty Box January 2015

I have been getting the Look Fantastic box for the last few months and it has all been detailed on my blog if you would like to see previous boxes.  For just £15 a month you get such great quality products that for me, this is one of the best subscription boxes that there is out there.  Sadly I wasn't a lucky winner of the 20 included GHDs..had hoped to win one of them, but I still love the box!

Now we are in a new year and I am hoping this box continues because I am so impressed with it and the January Box is amazing, there is nothing I dislike or wouldn't use and this is what was inside.

Firstly the box, it is always so well designed and strong, not at all flimsy and you can see the 'Look Fantastic' logo clearly visible on the front and inside, there is nothing to spoil the surprise as to what might be inside (unless you have looked for spoilers) because the card which details the contents is hidden inside.  

So this month I have been treated to:

Michael Van Clarke is a hair brand I am quite familiar with and have me the great man himself at a blogger event he hosted in his West End salon.  The Life Extending Haircare pre-wash Treatment is something I am a fan of as well as the '3 more inches' idea, which I wrote about HERE.  Essentially it isn't about adding or encouraging your hair to grow 3 more inches, it is about the unique formulation which naturally slows down the ageing process allowing the hair to stay stronger and healthier during its lifetime, so it can grow naturally thicker, longer and more lustrous.

Molton Brown is comes next and as a brand, it is one I don't feel I have tried too much of. I have had the odd sample here and there, but have never exhausted the products out there. This box has given me the Templetree Bodywash Which is described as being "A blissful bath and shower gel blended with moisturising algae extract and purifying templetree flower extract". It also includes Jasmine, Fruity Rose and Sandalwood and it smells absolutely amazing, I cannot wait to give this a try!

Another haircare product next with Philip Kingsley, whom for many is synonymous for his elasticizer. This box however brings me a product I have never tried before with the Daily Damage Defence. This is a leave-in protective conditioning spray which adds elasticity and provides defence from daily heat styling, breakage and environmental effects whilst adding shine and manageability for all hair types.

Nuxe comes next with a product I have tried before but really like. The Creme Fraiche masque is said to quench the thirst of the driest skin types to leave your face feeling smooth and moisturised not to mention radiant.

Gatineau Collagen Expert is the final skincare item within this box and it is a sachet sample.  Designed to revive and rejuvenate your eyes with clever eye compresses which are drenched in soothing marine-based collagen solution. They are also said to help reduce dark shadows, plum out wrinkles and relax the eye contour.

The final item in this box is not skincare or bodycare and nor is it for your hair. Instead what we have is a tube of MyVitamins which are dissolvable in water and are said to make a great tasting drink. Effervescent tablets are ideal for anyone looking to increase their intake of vitamins for a healthier lifestyle.

I have to admit, I am not the best at remembering to take vitamins or indeed any tablet, I always need to set a reminder in my phone which literally shouts at me to get on with it. So I will attempt to give these a go and see how it goes. The tube has 20 tablets in it which is an odd number as it isn't enough for a month.

So that is my January box and it is worth over £44 in total, which is pretty amazing value for money when I paid just £15 including delivery.

What do you think to the January Box?

Michael Van Clarke Event

Last week I was very lucky to be invited to attended an event at the Michael Van Clarke hair salon in London, not only that but Michael himself was present and it was so amazing to meet such a brilliant man who was able to explain so many things to us in such a straightforward manner, I probably know more about haircare now than I ever did!

As we (Kimberley from Kimberleysbeautyblog) arrived, I was already impressed at how fabulous the salon looked, everything exceptionally clean and sparkling and the greeting we got from the lovely receptionist was a great start to the event. As we had arrived a little bit early, it was nice to be able to wonder wonder around the salon picking things up, smelling them, taking photos and generally being made to feel really welcome with a glass of bubbles to start things off.

As the event was quite exclusive there was just around 10 of us in attendance, so when you have the chance to question Michael as much as we wanted and his knowledge is phenomenal. The evening began with a presentation from Michael about his first venture into hair care, how products were created and a little bit of educating along the way about ingredients found within certain products - namely silicone and what it doesn't do for your hair, truly scary and after the event I went home and checked every bottle of product I have for my hair looking for the names of ingredients that had been mentioned.

What I found really interesting about the presentation was the explanation as to how the structure of your hair is, essentially 97% protein and 3% water and with that how our use of certain products work and affect out hair, namely those containing silicone - serums, sprays, shampoo, conditioners and even treatments which essentially do very little to protect or repair our hair, just improve its appearance for a short time.

Then we were introduced to the Michael Van Clarke '3 More Inches' range which includes shampoo, conditioner, treatments, hairspray, mousse, supplements, hair tools and more. Described as follows:

"3''' more inches cares and protects your hair like no other product. Born from a scientific understanding of hair and decades of couture hairdressing, the 3''' more inches range has redefined hair care in the marketplace"

As we were talked through each product which took years to work on and perfect.  It was interesting to hear that the range was created from the perspective of what professional stylists look for when working on their clients hair and what the clients themselves look for in a product.  Unsurprisingly, none of the products contain those chemical nasties which have been mentioned earlier within this review and their purpose is to ensure that your hair does not get dried out as well as prevent the structure of each strand of hair getting more damaged. This means, after long term use your hair should be the same thickness all the way down and be far healthier.

Having heard all about the products we were then lucky enough to have a one to one hair consultation with Michael which for me was a great experience. I was bursting with questions that I wanted to ask him, namely why it is that hairdressers insist on your hair being washed before they cut it when one of his own methods of hair cutting is called the Diamond Dry Cut™ which means that by cutting the hair clean and dry allows Michael to work with the hair’s natural movement and texture, interpreted with face shapes and features, to create brilliant styles with an unrivalled level of precision and balance.  So it was nice to hear that was the reason for doing this.  He then looked at my hair a little more closely...look....

A truly amazing opportunity to have and Michael look at my hair, he was brilliant at answering questions about the condition of my hair, my scalp and even advised me on what haircut I actually should have as opposed to the ones I am given and went into great detail about the 'one bob, two bob' system with layering the hair and how my hair had been cut, he even managed to guess what I had asked for and then showed me what I actually got, which was quite eerie yet fascinating at the same time.

I had a fantastic time at the event and was very lucky to be a given a fantastic goody bag which will appear in a post on its own along with my thoughts on the products I was given. In the meantime if you want to know more about the range, read more about 3 inches or even the diamond cut, then click on their website here.

 Have you tried anything from the 3 More Inches range? 

Have you ever been to the salon?