Glossybox: April - Sweet Treats

Another month, another Glossybox! April brings us "sweet treats" apparently, very spring... This months dispatch day was Friday 11th, and I got my box on Monday 14th, so not too bad. This month will be interesting, as I caved in and brought Birchbox p too, so expect another review after this as well as a 'Box Off' comparing the two. But let's get on with this one shall we!

Emite Make Up Lip Brush (L312)

One size £17.

This was the first item I saw in the box, a lip brush from Emite. I've had two other Emite products in the past (in the last 10 months), which have been good, but would have preferred a brush from a better known brand. I'm not sure how much use I'll get from this as I normally apply lipsticks straight from the stick, but it may be good as a soft angle brush. I'm not too sure how I feel about this, but it does feel soft and feels good quality, so it will get some use.

TRESemmé Instant Refresh Cleansing Dry Shampoo

£4.99 for 200ml. Sample of 100ml worth £2.49

I do love a bit of dry shampoo, it helps with those messy second day hair days, but TRESemmé isn't a brand I've used before. I've dabbed in their shampoos and conditioners but haven't loved them. The large salon sized bottles are fab, but when talking to hairdressers, they've told me to stay clear. It's handy that this is a travel size, so will be great to take on holiday with me (eventually!) it will be interesting to see how this holds up against other dry shampoos. It will definitely get used, so relitively happy with this.

Monu Spa Warming Ginger Massage & Body Oil

£25 for 100ml. Sample of 30ml worth £7.50

This oil does look interesting, and smells quite nice due to the ginger. However I can't believe how expenise this is! I have a Champneys facial oil which I brought for much less, which will be the bench mark to meet here. I don't use oils very often though, so his isn't something I would have wanted to try or pick up before. It's a fairly decent sized sample when you consider the full size, and worth a fair amount.

Unica Cosmetics Radience Plus

£12.95 for 50ml. Guesstimate sample of 5ml worth £1.29

This I find truly laughable. GB have stated that this sample was specially made for their boxes but hasn't got a size on the packaging. I can assure you, it's very small, so I've guessed that it's about 5ml. It's an anti aging face cream for fine lines and wrinkles. Something a girl of 22 doesn't have! I'm starting to think that filling out the questionnaire about my skin type and preferences was a waste of time. But surely my age must have given something away... Safe to say my mum will benefit from this months box. That's if she can find enough to cover her face...

MeMeMe Cosmetics Best the Blues in Pearl Pink

£5.50 for 12ml. Full size product.

This is probably the best item in the box, a liquid highlighter/illuminator from independent brand MeMeMe. Again another brand that I've seen in the last 10 months. I've never been sure about the brand, it came across as a bit cheap when Superdrug stocked it a while back, but I've had very little experience if it. I've also not used liquid highlighters before, so maybe this will be a nice easy introduction to them. Can also be applied mixed into foundation to make a dewy skin effect.

Over this box was worth £33.78, so three times the cost. I'm not sure I'm overly happy with the contents, most of it I will use but nothing really that excites me. I'm worried that Glossybox aren't sourcing enough brands to make each box different and exciting. A few months ago We were recently asked to fill out a questionnaire to discover what we expected from out boxes. I think it may have gone unnoticed. I hate to speak ill of Glossybox, but they need to do something drastic to keep us subscribers interested. I won't be quitting just yet, cause apparently they have a collaboration coming next month, and sadly I want it. I'm so weak.

How was your box?

Hannah x

No Money March: The Magazine freebie!

March has been great for magazine giveaways, feels like I'm a child again when every magazine would do it every month (as well as cereal boxes and comic books). And still being rather immature I can't resist seeing freebies, and being lured in by a hair serum or lipgloss by simply spending a few quid.

I've found that this month there has been some great offers, I personally got hooked by Glamour with the option of 5 different products from Model Cosmetics - that's one way to sell magazines! If Lea Michele's gorgeous face didn't tempt me (sorry guys, I'm a bit of a Gleek!) the price did at only £2 with a product worth up to £16. I'll take 3 please...

Model Cosmetics Shine Ultra Lip Gloss in 'Berry Pink' and 'Striptease'

Found for £12 each on Model Co website, Glamour claims them to be £15.

These lip glosses were the first I picked up, I'm on a bit of a lip thing at the moment, and these looked good. On one side they have a mirror which is dead handy! Although seeming how sheer these glosses are I really doubt you'll need it. Berry Pink is obviously the pink shade, it has a little colour payoff and nicely enhances lipsticks of a similar colour. Striptease is much a peachy nude that it's practically skin coloured, but as you can see, very little payoff. But I don't mind, they both smell beautiful and aren't too sticky. So far I've enjoyed using these.

Model Cosmetics Lip Enhancer Illusion Lip Liner in 'Nude'

Found for £16 on Model Co website, same as Glamour's claim.

I wasn't going to pick anything else up, but once I realised this would make a good post I convinced myself to get one more thing. Seeming I'm a little wary of any old mascaras and I have enough eyeliners to colour my body in, I opted for this. Model Co claim this to be a one shade suits all lip enhancing liner, for fuller looking lips. I didn't think it would match my lips, bit it really is close and dose kind of work! It does look a little freaky if your not used to using lip liners like me, but I'm pretty glad I took the punt on this one.

Overall I spent £6 for £46 worth of product! Nicely done I think. And what's great is that these aren't the only freebies availble this month! 

Company Magazine - Company branded Mascara, with feature from our very own blogging princess Zoella! Only £2.60

Marie Claire - Neal's Yard Remedies lip gloss, 15ml worth £9.50. Also a free Ganier Skin Oil sample on the inside. £3.50 I believe...

Elle - Percy & Reed Wonder Balm for Hair. 75ml, worth £18! And again, a free Ganier Skin Oil sample on the inside. Might get this one myself.. £4.00

Lots of lovely stuff to be bad, but remember we're nearing the end of the month now so it's time to get in there quick. It's great what a couple of quid can get you, and don't forget the magazine itself! Can't put a price on catching up with the latest in fashion and beauty ;) here's to next months magazines!

Anyone know of any other freebies I should know about?

Hannah x

Glossybox: March - The Beauty Blossom box

It's that time of the month again where I expose my Glossybox for you all. This month brings big changes in the way our boxes have been delivered. Some subscribers were complaining about the previous courier (not me, my lady was lovely!) so GB responded by moving to Royal Mail tracked which has, sadly, bumped up the price of P&P. They claim to have taken on a lot of the extra cost, and only passing a small amount of that onto us, but I can't help but feel this might effect our products in the long run. But we shall see! I can only guess that this is the reason dispatch day was 3 days later than last month. This change does make Glossbox more expensive than it's nearest competitor.

On the plus side this was my free box, paid for using Glossdots, the reward points scheme achieved by filling out surveys and inviting friends. And how fortunate it happens to be No Money March! Let's start shall we...

Vita Liberata pHenomenal 2-3 Week Tan Lotion

£37.50 for 150ml. Sample of 6ml worth £1.50

This is the biggest disappointment of the box (sorry for starting on a downer!), two 3ml sachets of fake tanner. Anyone who knows me well knows that I don't naturally tan due to being so fair, but I actually like it that way. So this won't get used. Not to mention that 6ml probably won't cover a leg let alone my whole body. This might be the only occasion where I would have preferred the perfume samples, annoyingly from my favorite brand, Juicy Couture. Safe to say these will get passed onto a friend, defiantly not my cup of tea. I've now read that is supposed to be for your face... Yeah. I know. 

Dove Hair Therapy Intensive Repair 60 second Treatmeant Shot

£1.49 for 15ml. Full size

I'm not disappointed as such by this, as I do have dry hair and always looking for the next big fix. However, it's an item I can easily find in my nearest supermarket, so nothing high end or unheard of. That and my last box included shampoo and conditioner samples for dry hair, so a change up would have been nice. I will use this, and if it works that's great, but I haven't discovered anything new from this item.

Mitchell and Peach Body Cream

£36 for 180ml. Sample of 40ml worth £8

Body lotion isn't a great love of mine, if you've read my previous haul you'll know that I've only just started using moisturisers to combat my dry 'pole' skin. This has a typical floral smell, and I'll probably end up using this as a hand cream, if at all. The full size has quite a hefty price tag, so I'm guessing it's a good product and because of that I'll stick this in my handbag and it might get used. It's a great sample size however!

Sleek Makeup Pout Polish in 'Bonaire'

£4.49 for 10g. Full size

This was the spoiler for the month, so we all knew that this would appear in our boxes, but of course, a totally surpise as to which colour. I pulled this out and panicked. It looks bright orange, not a pastel pink or nude that I was hoping, and It's part of the limited edition Caribbean collection (apparently). Luckily it comes out really sheer, which I wasn't expecting seeming the one I brought a few years ago in 'Powder Pink' has a great colour payoff. But for me, it's not a bad thing, I don't think I'm quite ready for orange lips just yet! It's a really nice smooth lip treatment which is super moisturising, it does have quite a strong scent however, which seems to be the same across the range. It's fun and I'll get good use from this!

Bellápierre Cosmetics Shimmer Powder in 'Coral Reef'

£12.99 for 2.35g. Full size

I'm pretty tired of creams, lotions and hair products so getting two makeup products in a box is always great. This is very shimmery loose powder pigment, designed to do anything you want it to, from being used like a normal eyeshadow to mixing in with a lipgloss to create a new shade. I love this colour, it's a metallic bronze which will look great with some similar coloured neautral shadows. They remind me of Barry M's dazzle dust, but somewhat more grow up.

Overall my total box value was £28.47. Which isn't bad. However, some people received a terribly expensive facial serum (selected for those interested in anti aging products, fair enough!), which I think is a little unfair as we all pay the same but get a different overall value. I'm not too bummed out by this box, I will use most of it... Eventually. But after January's drama I thought GB might have upped their game more than this. I do think that the products did fit the theme well however!

I sound pretty moans today, sorry everyone! What did you get in yours?

Hannah x

No Money March: The £10 MUA haul

So I thought I would start the month with a haul. I know your probably thinking "it's no money month Hannah, what are you doing?!" But it's fine, it's a £10 only haul, enough to get my fix and be satisfied for the rest of the month instead of blowing upwards of £60 on my usual hauls! I decided to dedicate this challenge to Makeup Acadamy (MUA) as I've been meaning to check them out recently after hearing they had upped their game. That and it's beautifully cheap! 

Sadly the Superdrug Store I visited had an MUA display which looked like it had been ramraided, which was a shame as there wasn't all the testers and many products out of stock. But I knew I wouldn't be able to make it to another store before closing time, so I did the best with what was there.

MUA Pressed Powder in Shade 4

£1

There was only the 2 darker shades of the 4 in the range left, so I thought 4 would make a good contour shade. As I'm really pale most bronzers look like dirt on my face, so I thought this light and blendable powder might work well. And at only a pound, it's a risk I'm willing to take! It's got a really nice texture, not chalky at all, so I imagine it would be great as an all over face powder.

MUA Blusher in 'Candyfloss'

£1

I thought it would be rude not to try out the £1 blushers, but as there was only a few shades left I didn't have much choice. However this pink is really beautiful! Similar texture to the pressed powder, but not as much pigmentation. It is buildable though, and I prefer subtle blush anyway. Such a steal at only a pound.

MUA Power Pout Tint and Balm in 'Broken Hearted'

£3

I've got a slight 'chubby stick' obsession at the moment, so I couldn't help myself when it came to choosing some lip products. This has a similar minty scent to the Revlon balm stain, but doesn't tingle. I only swatched this in the store on my hand so when I put it on today I was pretty shocked by how crazy pink it is! But I'm quite enjoying the bold lip look though, maybe this is a turning point for me. It applied really nicely and I'm happy with this! 

MUA Lipstick in Shade 13

£1

This. Is. Gorgeous!! Such a beautiful colour, I'm so glad I picked it up. There was a very limited selection of the £1 lipsticks, and I nearly picked up a nude shade. However the colour range is lacking mid tones, so some of the colours are quite varied. If that makes sense... I would have liked to have seen some more natural pinks. This colour however swatches quite brown, but there are pink tones that lift it and it's translates so beautifully on my lips. I was really annoyed to find I had picked up a used product, even though it did have un removed packaging. But thinking back it was slightly open, so I assume someone had done it carefully to make it look like it was still new. So I've had to take the top off, and waste some product. Bummer. But it's fine, for £1 I can repurchase whenever!

MUA Undress Your Skin Illuminating Foundation in Porcelain

£5 for 35ml

I've heard really good things about this foundation, and at £5 it's not a big deal if it doesn't work. But quite surprisingly the lightest shade 'porcelain' is such a good match for me. I've only just used it today so I don't feel like I can make many more comments on it, but I really don't like the tube. It's quite big, and hard to control the amount of product dispensed. Knowing me, this will end up on my bedroom carpet. Give me a pump any day! But there is more product than a usual 30ml foundation and it's half the price. Winner! 

MUA Colour Blast Eyeshadow Tint in Diamonds

Free! Usually £3

This I'm well happy with! It happened to be the last day of an offer which gives you a free eyeshadow tint when you spend £6 or more. Awesome! But, again most of them had gone. I was lucky that this was the last sealed one of its shade, and it's so beautiful! A rose gold pink, which is right up my alley at the moment. Will work as a nice base for some Naked 3 shades. 

If your adding up my total as you go along, you may have realised this all comes to £11. However! I had £2 in super drug rewards which I used, so I only really spent £9! Should have picked up another lipstick.. So the lesson here is that you can curb your cosmetic cravings and get good quality items for very little cash. Has anyone else found MUA products that have surprised you?

Hannah x

No Money March

Most tough months for normal people are January or February. For me it's march this year! Due to certain reasons it can be different every year but where I'm still studying I have a mixture of jobs some of which are seasonal. It sounds odd but I can't wait to have a full time job!

But anyway, No Money Month is my way of trying to spend as little as possible to try and survive the month! I plan to post little ideas on how to save rather than splurge. Some people give up chocolate for lent, but I'm giving up splurging!! I don't think I can go a whole month without getting my makeup fix, so I'm just going to find cheaper ways to satisfy my addiction, and I'm bringing you all along with me. 

I hope to do a couple of posts a week for this blog series, so make sure you follow me with bloglovin to keep up!

Hannah x

E.L.F Haul -They had an offer I could not refuse!

Long post alert! Eyes Lips Face (otherwise known as E.L.F) is one of those brands everyone knows of, and most have in their makeup bag. I however, do not! Thanks to a cheeky 50% off and free delivery offer, I now have a lot! The brand is known for their budget products, starting only at £1.50, and a fair few are cult items (most of which were out of stock..). So the brand has a good reputation, sadly not as cheap as it would be in the states, but I did save a good £20! Nothing to sniff at there!

   

Lipstick in 'Seductive' & 'Classy'

£1.95 each

It annoys me how website pictures never quite capture the true colour of products and these aren't an exeption. Buying makeup online will always be risky though, but these colours are nothing like I thought they would be. 'Seductive' swatches a lot more lilac then it looks in the packaging, and 'Classy' is much more peach. I find that there's a bit of resistance when trying to wind up the product and a slight scent that I can't put my finger on. I'm a little disappointed here, but at 98p, it's not a huge loss if I don't suit them.

Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick in 'Summer Nights' & 'Pink Unbrellas'

£2.95 each

These are nice but a lot more sheer than I expected, I had to apply quite a bit of pressure for a decent swatch. I'm hoping these will soften a little bit with use. They remind me a little of the Revlon balm stains in the way they have a slight minty effect, but feel a lot thicker on the lips. 'Summer Nights' is similar to 'Demure' (Revlon Lacquer Balm), but more shimmery, which I personally don't like. I think because I'm such a fan of Revlon's answer to the chubby stick, I compare other immitations to them. But again, just under a £1.50 each Isn't much to pay for an experiment.

All Over Colour Stick in 'Persimmon'

£1.95 each

This is crazy shimmery! The colour I wanted was out of stock, so I ordered this one to see what the crack was about! It claims to be suitable for eyes, lips and as a blush or highlight. At this time I'm really unsure as to how I would use this, I think I will just have to have a play and see what happens.

Liquid Eyeliner in 'Black'

£1.95 each

I'm currently using a dead expensive liquid liner which I don't plan to repurchase, so I've started my hunt for a replacement. It would be nice if this performs well, as it's a lot cheaper! I'm looking for a good pigment, lasting power and easy application, as well as other things such as drying time and transferring. Only a little pressure! 

Eyelid Primer in 'Sheer'

£1.95 each

This has such rave reviews from many American bloggers, and I think it's only a dollar out there too. I can't wait to try this out! I don't tend to have many problems with eye shadows slipping or anything, but it would be interesting to see how things could improve by using this, as everything I've been told is good. I think I have the highest expectations with this product out of all of them, so 

Custom Compact + Custom Eyes in 'Wisteria' 'Truly Pink' 'Mocha' & 'Driftwood' 

£1.50 each, combined total of £7.50

I love how crazy cheap this is! With discount it was just £3.75, for 4 shadows of your own choice in a magnetic compact. Which I think is really awesome, as once you've used up the powder you can swap it out for another, as well as having them all in one compact place. I'm not sure if I would have purchased this at full price, but totally irresistible at less than a pound a shadow. With a nice colour payoff these are a total steal and I can't make any complaints at this point. I wish there were more shades in the range though.

Blending Eye Brush, Eye Crease Brush, Eye Shadow Brush, Defining Eye Brush and Brushing Bronzing & Blending Brush.

£1.95 each

I don't own many brushes so this was the perfect time to try a few out without breaking the bank. I picked up these 5 as I don't own many shadow brushes, and it really is time to walk away from the cheap applicators. I'm slightly worried as there is some movement, as if there isn't enough bristles in the fennel. But I'm open to these and looking forward to seeing if they work for me.

Natural Lash Kit and Individual Lash Kit both in 'Black'

£1.95 each

I caved and brought some lashes too! Surprising after my last post hey, but I've wanted to try individual lashes, but couldn't justify spending a fiver on something I might fall out with. But with discount these were just under a pound each. I don't really think I could go wrong! I must giggle at the natural lash kit, as these don't look natural in the slightest! But they are fabulous, and I love them. There, justified! 

Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder in 'St Lucia'

£3.95 each

I've thought about contouring for sometime now, but no where near brave enough to dive into cream products. So this looked perfect, a blush and bronzing powder today in the lightest availble shades! Now all I have to do is learn how. The bronzer is very pigmented, which makes me a little nervous! But this will be a fun learning curve. 

Mineral Lip Liner in 'Peachy' and Mineral Eye Liner in 'Midnight'

£3.50 each

And I didn't even order these! What I can only assume was a free gift, are these two mineral liners (I nearly purchased two of the cheaper lip liners, kind of glad I didn't). Both are twist up, and made from an 100% mineral formula, with no chemical additives, chemical dyes or parabens. Looking forward to trying these out, and you can't complain about a freebie! 

Overall I'm happy with my little haul, I managed to buy 20 items for a little over £20 which is pretty incredible. Most of my products are from the cheaper end of the range, so I'm not expecting miracle products, however it would be nice to find a few gems in what I've purchased. I was a bit gutted that most of the cult products were out of stock, and I will purchase these at somepoint, but I think it may be worth visiting one of the few E.L.F stores. However I wanted to try a broad range of products, and that's why I didn't just buy those cult items.

I plan to road test these out over the next few weeks and do some future posts, maybe one with all the products I liked and one with all the ones I didn't. Hopefully this will be of interest to you guys!

Hannah x

Falsies: are we risking our health? The false eyelash dilemma.

I love a great pair of lashes, and 2013 saw false lash sales rocket due to the trend. Obviously false lashes are nothing new, historically made popular by Twiggy in the sixties, but there has been boost in recent years due to celebrities rocking out pairs on their appearances. My sister, who is almost mid way through college, has recently starting wearing them on the daily, buying cheap pairs in bulk from china on eBay with larger bottles of glue, which has got me wondering. How safe are they?

I don't often wear lashes, mainly just for nights out or special occasions, and on the odd night at work. I love how they open up eyes and add that finishing touch to your makeup. But they aren't something I would wear everyday. After all they've invented plenty of mascaras that can do decent job of making your natural lashes long and voluptuous, and also I'm worried about damage to them. 

Your eyelashes are designed to protect the eyes from harmful particles and act like feelers to alert the brain to close the eyelid if an object is coming towards the eye. Pretty cool! There's around 70 - 150 lashes on your top lid alone, and the curve of them and the lid helps harmful particles and sweat slip away from the eye. So they are pretty important to the well being of your eyes. I know from experience how eye infections feel and as a contact lens wearer, eye hygiene is dead important! So how can false lashes effet our eye health?

Most false lashes (if you haven't come across them yet!) are thin synthetic strands fixed along a strip, which is then glued to the eyelid, just above the lash line. The glue used is usually liquid latex (water, latex and ammonia) more often used for special effects makeup. It dries with a rubbery consistency, which makes it great for easy removal. What's not too great about it is that if you use to much glue on your lashes, or don't allow to dry to a tacky state it can seep into your lash line and cause irritation as well as bonding your natural lashes to your false ones. Meaning that when removing the falsies, you own lashes may be pulled out too. Everyone's lashes are different, but pulling them out can stop them renewing, ending up with sparse lids. 

Worse than loosing lashes is the risk of infection or allergies which in severe cases can lead to blindness. I've had conjunctivitis and a surface infection before (due to dirt trapped under a contact lens) and I know how horrible they are, as well as annoying to treat. Luckily mine were nothing serious, neither cause by lashes however. False lashes aren't designed like the bodies natural ones and therefore don't protect the eye as well against foreign bodies. This is what can cause infections, by effecting the eyes surface or blocking tear ducts. Believe me, something you don't want to experience! By wearing falsies frequently you are opening up your eyes to infection for long periods of time, increasing the risk of pulling out your own lashes, and more likely to irritate sensitive skin by reapplying glues everyday. 

So, you may be really put off wearing them ever again now, I apologise! But there are ways to ensure safe lash use! 

Do: Use minimal glue, and allow to dry to a tacky state before application. Use good quailty glues, and check ingredients of new brands, just in case your allergic. Cut lashes to fit, one doesn't fit all, so they will need trimming to insure a proper fit. Try self-adhesive lashes such as Eylure's Ready to Wear pre-glued range (£5.25 from Superdrug). 

Don't: Sleep in falsies. Place the strip ontop of your natural lashes, place them just above. Avoid doubling up, this will increase risks. Don't wear everyday, try to minimise the time wearing them. Use mascara after applying, this can also pull out natural lashes on removal.

Don't be scared to wear falsies, as long as they are applied correctly and worn for a suitable amount of time you'll be fine, after all they are fabulous!

Foxy x

*This post is not sponsored! written out of interest*