Beauty Boxes - Do you need them?

This coming week on my blog I am going to devote each day to a different Beauty Box. Why? Well they are a big part of the bloggers blogging life for me and they take me through a roller coaster of emotions each month/quarter when they are due to arrive or when I am notified by email I need to do some product choosing. But do we need them?

When I first stated blogging, I had only ever heard of Glossybox because some non-blogging friends has subscribed and they raved about how good it was, so I hopped aboard the bandwagon and now over a year later, I still subscribe.  Now there are more and more of these boxes coming onto the market and I have tried some amazing ones, many as a one off and some as I have mentioned I subscribe too.   Glossybox, Birchbox, Look Fantastic box, Wantable Box, You Discovery, My Little Box, Latest in Beauty, Love Lula Box, SoukSouk, Memebox, Fragrance Shop Discovery Club and Love Me Beauty to name all of the ones off the top of my head.  I have no doubt there are more, so if you subscribe to others, please do let me know.  

So why are they important to me? As I have said, it is all about those roller coaster of emotions when you know that something is on its way.  The one box I always know the contents of is You Discovery Beauty box because, unlike others, you get to choose two items from a list of products.  I am glad I get to do this with one box because, let's me honest, so beauty boxes have been shockingly bad and their contents really really awful, so knowing I am getting two products I have chosen, is a relief but still exciting at the same time.  The word excitement is also quite important with these boxes.  Not knowing what you are going to get within these boxes is exciting, even if your box turns out to be a bit rubbish, it is exciting until you unwrap it, the deflation afterwards is another emotion to deal with as well, the whole screwing up your top lip to form an impression of Elvis is something I have done on more occasions than I care to remember, but I still subscribe!  

The other reason I subscribe is because I love beauty products - whether they are for skincare, hair care, body care, foot care, face care, make-up, nail polish or beauty tools to name but a few things, I love them, want them and relish trying them out.  A lot of the products I have received over time are ones I probably would never have tried, had I not been sent it in a beauty box, on the reverse, I have come across products I would never use again.  So there is always a 50/50 chance with these boxes that you like or hate the enclosures.

My own experience with the boxes I have had, has been more positive than negative.  The brands I have come across, such as Caudalie, Rodial, Dr Jart+ and one of my holy grail products Dr Lipp Nipple Balm to name some of them.  

As always, people will have their own views on whether or not here boxes are worth the money we pay for them and how much better that money could be spent and I am genuinely interested in all of those views.  This week you will be seeing reviews on Birchbox, Glossybox, You Beauty, Look Fantastic Box and a new box which I was lucky enough to attend the launch of this week and I would love to know your thoughts on each and everyone of them and if there is a box you absolutely would recommend singing up too!

As for whether or not we need them, well probably not, but they are a bit of fun, you never know what you might come across and the rollercoaster of emotions you feel whilst waiting for the impending arrival is often worth every penny!  Do you agree?

So do you subscribe to Beauty Boxes? Do you have a favourite? 

Is there one you really want to try?

Wantable Make-up Box for February

I don't know whether you have heard of Wantable and that they now ship to the UK?  Well I was offered the chance to try and test out of their boxes** for review purposes.  The choice of boxes with Wantable are:

• Make-up - within your box you will get 4-5 full sized products
• Fashion Accessories - 3-4 boutique accessories
• Intimate - 4-5 premium essentials

All the products you get within your box come from your profile which you set-up and then complete a series of questions answering how much you like/dislike things, it is quite a comprehensive form and the idea is that it is used to select products for you box, so for example, if you don't like mascara, you can say so and you should not get any within your box.

I opted for the make-up box to try and test, completed my questionnaire and firstly, I was quite impressed with how sturdy the box is and how really nice packaged the contents were as to avoid them getting broken, dented or smashed during its shipment.

Now to the contents in a bit more detail:

ncLA Nail Lacquer - retails for $16

In shade Drop Dead Gorgeous which is deep royal blue shade with added sparkle, I am yet to try this, but it is the kind of shade I would wear on my toes.

LAQA & Co - Fat lip pencil in Wolfman - retails for $18

This isn't a product I have come across before, though I do love how pretty the shade is and it is really lovely once applied.

DEX New York Lipgloss - retails for $18

The shade of this is called Christopher Street Orchid and as you can see from the picture above it is a lovely shade of pink and once on the lips it is slightly tacky, but not so much that I want to rub it off.  It looks great on its own or over some lipstick

Sorme Shimmer Glow - retails for $24.5

This is a sparkling mineral face and body bronzer in Bronzed 85 and it is like nothing I have used before.  You simply shake the powder down into the brush by turning it upside down and then brush it over your face and body as you deem appropriate.  Inside the wand, the shade does look quite dark, but once applied it is quite light and there is a lot of sparkle.

Sorme Anti-aging Trial Size - retails for $0

It says on the packet that this is a silky perfecting primer which smoothes skins surface, fills in wrinkles and diminishes discolourations for flawless long lasting make-up.  It then goes on to say "cliniqually proven Dermaxyl helps reduce the depth of lines, wrinkles and crows feet as Vitamins A, C and E plus nourishing Grape Seed Oil hydrate the skin and help prevent free radical damage".  So quite a lot of claims for this little sachet to live up too and I am looking forward to putting it to the test. 

Wantable boxes cost $36 per box, which is roughly £21-£22 per month, my box is worth a whopping $76.5 or £46 which is amazing really and I have been introduced to some new brands and some products I have never used before. 

If this is something you think you might like to try, simply click HERE and choose your box.