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?