Elf Haul

So Last week Or over the weekend, i cant remember (the sun has melted my brain) ELF (eyeslipsface.co.uk) had a great offer on, well 2 great offers. You could either choose, Free delivery AND a lip gloss or a free, 6-in-1 beauty palette thingy. I already had a list as long as my arm of stuff i wanted to get, and over on Beauty Box Swaps, we've been organising our latest surprise swaps (Jubilee Swap) So, i took advantage of the offer, and got myself some bits, and a couple of things for my secret swap. So I'll show you what goodies i got for myself, i have to keep the other stuff secret! 

(I imagine my pictures are horribly glarey, i took them outside, and i cant see them properly, Its SO bright)

ELF brushes have such a good rep! I think their probably the best value brushes around, as they are pretty good quality. The regular ELF range cost £1.50 and the studio range generally cost £3.50 with a few brushes costing slightly more.

This time, i chose the Studio Powder brush, its SO soft and has a flat top so i thought it'd be good for buffing in products. The second brush i got, isn't really a brush at all, its a glitter eyeshadow applicator. It has like a heart shaped silicone top to it, which is meant to pick up the glitter and place it on your eye without to much fall out. I don't really wear much glitter eyeshadow, but i was to intrigued to leave it behind, and if it really works it'll be handy to have in my kit bag. Very interested to see how that goes.

Next up is an Mascara Primer

This claims to Lengthen & Volumise and also Revitalise lashes, it contains Pro-Vitamin B5, Hydrolyzed Wheat and Soy Protein, to help nourish lashes. I'm going to a quiz night this evening, so i might give it a little test. My lashes are already quite long so we will see how long it makes them, I never really think about eyelashes, like having to nourish them like you do your skin and hair, but i guess its just the same. So perhaps they'll be glad of some nourishment, especially in this amazing weather.

This cost me £3.50

The other thing i bought for myself is Mineral Moisturising Lip Tint with SPF 8 In Guava .

You may have noticed from my last couple of posts, I'm really into this colour at the moment, It's a really summery colour. This product has really good colour pay off, and like it says is really moisturising, the SPF in it is really handy aswell! saves having to use 2 different lip products, though the SPF is quite low.

So that's my little Elf haul.

If you haven't already looked, I'd definitely recommend checking out their website. The products are reasonably priced, they've recently updated with some new products. I've got my eye on the mineral face cleanser, looks like it could be a dupe for Dermalogica Microfoliant! They usually have some good offer on aswell.

Did you take advantage of this offer?

Lots of Love

X

Lux Box, First Box!

Lux Box is the new kid on the block, and i think they've started off amazingly! I was a late subscriber, (being at uni & having my accident things slip my mind) After some lovely tweets from the crew at Lux Box, i snaffled myself, their first box (which has not disappointed) Also, i cannot fault their customer service! I've only contacted them through twitter, but there responses were quick and helpful, absolutely spot on customer service. They make you feel very valued as a subscriber, this was something i noticed, before they'd even released their boxes. The company went to so much effort to get market research, as part of the beauty box swappers page. Lux Box were always asking our opinion on this, and i LOVE that, they have really put thought and effort into what people want. Lux Box... Keep up the good work :)

Now, onto my box......

I apologise for my poor photography, the light in my bedroom is awful.

So the box, standard beauty box size, same finish as the regular Glossy Boxes that nice smooth matte. The box is a kind a mushroom colour, which is really nice, it gives it a kind of classy look, which i like.

Inside again is standard beauty box, black tissue paper, little sticker & black shredded paper.

The Contents....

- SteamCream

- Eldora False Lashes

- BM Beauty Eye shadows

- Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream

- MOA The Green Balm

Now, i know what you might be thinking (especially if you're subscribe to all the Beauty Boxes and have been for a while) We've seen the majority of these products before?! Well yes, some of them have made an appearance. But, i personally didn't receive the boxes that they came in (except the eyeshadow) So i was very happy, with the products.

SteamCream

This was probably what i was most excited about, after the Carmine fiasco, i was a little be desperate to try Steam Cream, I cant really write much of a review on the product, as I've not opened it. i will do a separate blog post on it thought once I've used it. The great thing about SteamCream is they use high quality natural ingredients, and the special thing about SteamCream, which also gives it its name is the fact, they put a shot of cream in every pot. This makes the cream really lightweight.

I can't wait to try it, but i will wait until I'm fully recovered as, my skin care routine is suffering at the moment. Once I'm back on track i will let you know how i get on.

*Another thing i LOVE about SteamCream, is the packaging! Each tin is different, i received Ambigue which is limited edition by Mako Kikkawa. But there are some AMAZING designs! I actually want them all*

steamcream.com £12.95/75g

Eldora False Lashes

Eldora are beautiful handmade false lashes, I'm not a massive wearer or falsies myself, but they are always handy to have around. These are gorgeous, they are so soft, the pair i received are quite full, intense lashes, but i believe they have a massive range, and also do very natural ones. I shall add these to my eyelash collect. I might do a blog post, on my collection of eyelashes (let me know on the comments if you'd like me to do that)

eldorashop.co.uk The particular style i got cost £4.05 and are human hair.

BM Beauty Eyeshadow

(i will add swatches at a later date)

These eye shadows featured in the February Glossy Box (here) and i LOVED LOVED LOVED them! I was SO happy to see not one but TWO in this box. All be it, i have both colours, when they appeared in GB i went on a swapping craze to get every colour, But I kept them sealed, so i can pop them in a gift or swap them for a colour i might not have. I love everything about these eye shadows, lose pigment eyeshadow can be quite difficult to work with, you tend to get a lot of fall out. But these, i honestly can't express how much i love these eye shadows, the pigmentation is just amazing, they are so shimmery, they blend like a dream and are so versatile the pink shade 'Her Majesty' is like a rose gold colour, and if used sparingly enough can be used as a gorgeous pink/gold blusher! They are also, 100% mineral which is even better and contain no nasties or animal products!

I received 'Her Majesty' a rose gold and 'Wolf Howl' a gorgeous shimmery purple.

If anyone received different colours and are willing to swap, please comment below, I'm particularly looking for the white one, (i don't know the name) Thanks!

bmbeauty.com £7.00/2g (which may not sound a lot, but our samples are 1g, and you literally need the tiniest amount, they will last you FOREVER)

Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream

'This triple-action eye cream will help to revitalise weary eyes, smooth away dark shadows and reduce the appearance of fine lines. Lightly pat and smooth around the eye area twice daily after applying our moisture-rich face cream or balancing fluid moisturiser'

Balance me products, feature quite a lot in beauty boxes, and always seem to be quite well received. I've only ever tried the lip balm, but very much enjoyed that. This eye cream smells gorgeous, it contains chamomile which is very soothing, and also lemon that gives it an amazing scent, it just smells so fresh. I imagine using the product first thing in the morning, will really wake you up. The cream is so smooth and sinks in beautifully. I cant wait to work this into my skin care routine.

balanceme.co.uk 10ml/£14.00 15ml/£20.00 (in the box we received a 10ml sample)

MOA The Green Balm

'It's Green, It's a balm. It's 100% natural and it's a miracle. Crammed with organic yarrow and lots of other lovely natural stuff; this handy little pot of Móa's balm has many weird and wonderful uses... Móa's miraculous healing powers soothe, nourish and renew dry, itchy skin conditions like, eczema and psoriasis, bumps, bites, grazes and minor burns. Móa even works wonders on the dreaded coldsore, as a facial cleansing balm, and after shaving.'

This balm, is AMAZING it literally is a miracle balm. some of you may or may not know, i broke my ankle a few weeks ago, from that i now have 3 wounds on my ankle, from surgery, since getting this balm, I've been applying it, about 3 times a day (or as i remember) and its honestly worked wonders! the largest of the 3 scars, is looking beautiful and healing so nicely, I've had no troubles with them at all, and i really do think this balm is helping. It has a strange consistency, when you look at it in the pot, it looks as though it might be a bit hard or abit grainy, but it just melts in your finger tips, a little bit really goes a long way. it smooths in nicely and isn't to greasy on the skin. It also smells of tea tree oil, which is quite pleasant. The little tiny sample pot is so handy as well, I'd say its a definite must have and I'm very tempted to buy the full size!

thegreenbalm.com 15ml/£4.99 50ml/£9.99

So, if you're not signed up to any beauty boxes but you want to I would definitely go with Lux Box, if their first box is anything to go by! I cant wait for their second box!

luxbox.co.uk £10.00 + £2.95 P+P a month.

Lots of Love

X

P.s I'm SO close to 50 followers, so i just thought I'd let you know, when i do reach 50, I'll be having a little giveaway to celebrate!

Glossy Box; February 2012

So February GlossyBox. I really don't know how to start off this review, the majority of people I've spoken to have been massively under-whelmed/disappointed with this box. I haven't yet formed an opinion of it. The box contains brands I have never heard of, so in that respect GlossyBox have done well, but the actual products aren't really WOW! products. With the only full size product costing a mere £1.99, doesn't really make you feel like its £12.95 well spent.

But none the less, i shall show what products i got and tell you what information i can.... Enjoy.

I did take a picture of the outer packaging, but then i thought most people know what this looks like by now, so i shan't include it.

I Apologies for the Blurriness.

So, this month we got 3 bits of paper, the usual card telling us about the products, another advertising London Fashion Week, and a little business card that says " Expect the unexpected, www.glossybox.co.uk/mysterybox, Check from February 24th" Very intriguing! 

So, onto the products....

In My Box I Received;

- Paul Mitchell, Round Trip

- Duwop, Venom Lipgloss

- BM Beauty, Pure Mineral Eyeshadow

- Dr Bronner, Magic Liquid Soap

- Como Shambhala, Invigorate Body Lotion

Paul Mitchell Round Trip

Now i don't know if GlossyBox have started using our beauty profiles but if they have, Bravo, because i actually received a product for curly hair, i was very impressed! (i know one of the others available was for straight hair)

What GlossyBox Says; This liquid curl definer is fast-drying for enhanced curls in an instant.

I'm yet to use this, but the consistency of it is quite nice, its not very sticky and smells REALLY good and it did dry quickly on the back of my hand. I'm always looking for new hair products to try and tame my unruly locks! so i look forward to trying it out.

Paul Mitchell products are available here for £12.95/200ml. In GlossyBox I got a 25ml sample.

DuWop Venom Gloss; 'Combining subtle tinted lipgloss with DuWop's lip venom to create Venom Gloss*'

* Please note the Lip Venom may cause a light tingling sensation upon application.

I'm not a massive lipgloss fan, i tend to find them too sticky, or end up just licking them off. This ones in such a cute little tube, its also a really nice colour 'Buttercup' its quite nude, but packed with sparkle, I've done a swatch but weather you can really tell or not, i don't know.

When i swatched it there was a strong smell of Cinnamon, which is often put in lipglosses that are meant to 'plump' the lips, but also a vanilla-ry scent. Once applied, it didn't actually feel to sticky, so i may get on with this gloss, so far I'm quite liking it. the tingle it gives bearable and isn't a horrible burning sensation like some 'plumping' glosses give. The taste reminds me of American root beer.

I cant actually find where you can buy this but apparently it is £16/10.4ml, it just doesn't say where to but it. We received a 5ml sample.

Next Up BM Beauty Pure Mineral Eyeshadow, I LOVE the colour i received, and I've actually been swapping some stuff to try and get some other colours. So far this is my favourite product in the box. I love the texture and the pigment, just everything about it.

The colour I got is called Dusty Road, its a gold/neutral colour full of sparkle, its one of the most shimmering/glittery eye shadows i think I've come across!

What GlossyBox Says; 'Award winning pure mineral eyeshadow. Cruelty free and suitable for vegetarians and vegans'

So really its a win win product.

BM Beauty products are available here. The eyeshadow costs £7.00/2g, we received a 1g sample.

Dr Bronner, Magic Liquid Soap; 'A combination or organic extra virgin coconut, olive, jojoba and hemp oils, together with pure essential oils.'

This was the only full sized product I received (59ml) I'm not going to lie i am slightly disappointed, not only is this a TINY full sized product, i also got the unscented baby-mild variation, when there are so many gorgeous scents floating around including Almond & Rose, so I'm hoping I'll be to swap for a yummy flavour as, i am looking forward to trying this product, as it seems like the all-in-one miracle product, that you can use, on your scalp, body, as massage oil, in face packs there seems to be a million uses for it.

Dr Bronner's full range is available here. The liquid soap costs £1.99/59ml

Last but not least is, Como Shambhala, Invigorate body lotion; 'A revitalising blend of essential oils that puts you in a perfectly uplifted mood.' This moisturiser, smells amazing, it contains Eucalyptus, lavender and peppermint, it smells like a cross between the Bamford body lotion and the Figs & Rouge balm (from previous reviews) It sinks into the skin beautifully!

Como Shambhala is available here for £20.00/300ml. In GlossyBox i got a 50ml sample.

Despite, alot of bad reviews, I'm not all that disappointed with this months GlossyBox, its introduced me to brands I'd never heard of and products i may not have ever purchased, but really like. Which is exactly what i signed up for.

I'd love to hear what everyone else got in there boxes, and what you thought of this months box? AND what you think of the mystery box being revealed in a few days time!?

Lots of Love

X