September Glossybox Review

It's fair to say i was a little excited about this months Glossybox, as much as a hate spoilers i just couldn't seem to avoid them. The first spoiler was the box design, isn't it beautiful, plus it was designed by Karen Millen which makes it that little bit more special. Glossy also tempted me into peeking at two of this months featured products, naughty naughty.

Nivea Sensitive 3 in 1 Micellar Cleansing Water

This is the biggest item in my box, the Nivea sensitive 3 in 1 micellar cleansing water. It was just typical i would receive this product after buying a shed load of Murad products to try and fix my skin. This is probably one of the largest products i have seen in a Glossybox, its useful and affordable as well as actually working. The product didn't cause my skin any irritation plus its convenient as it doesn't need rinsing off after use. This nice big 200ml product costs £4.07

L'Oreal Proffessional Mythic Oil

Everyone and there dog knows that i am not the biggest fan of L'Oreal, so when i saw this in my box you can only imagine my disappointment. None the less i still felt the need to try it out, i'm not one for wasting a product unless i feel it's going to effect me negatively. I hate to say this but it's actually a great product, it smells wonderful and has a similar effect to Argan Oil which i have always loved. I found this convenient to use, it also made my hair look extra healthy and shiny. Whilst i wouldn't purchase this product i would certainly recommend it to others. The product came in a 45ml sample size, i feel this is a generous amount which will last a long time. The full size 125ml product costs £15.95, i believe it is only available at particular salons. £5.74

Nails inc Matte Topcoat

This roused my interest greatly, i have never owned a matte topcoat and i'm a serious nail polish junkie. Nails inc are probably among my top 5 favourite polish companies which made my opinion of this months box shoot up in praise. I tested the polish out with both dark and light shades as well as block colours, glitters and shimmers to see all possible effects. By far the best looking nails were block colours particularly bright pastel shades. The polish gives a rubbery looking texture, what i would have expected their latex shades to look like (major disappointment with those). It also looks great when added to a dark solid colour to create matte textured tips. This is a full size bottle which retails at £12

Modelco More Brows in Light to Medium

Ok so it's taken me long enough but i'v finally started perfecting my brows. I am cursed with light patchy shapeless eyebrows that need a lot of product to fix. I loved the Modelco More Brows, the brush is much smaller than other brown mascaras i have used, making is far more precise. The colour is also a good match for my brows (although i'm sometimes inclined to shade them pink to match my hair). I can't really fault this product, it gives volume which is great for any thin patches i have plus the gel keeps them in shape all day. This is full size tube, although small in size it retails at £14.95

Skinpep Brightening Enzyme & Acid Peel and Dark Circle Eraser

No Glossybox, just no. I'v never liked the idea of including samples for something that is so expensive that it would put you into your overdraft. I'm also not crazy about samples as most of them require you to use the product for a number of weeks before any results are visible. The dark circle eraser wasn't bad, it very slightly lightened my circles however i could get better results using high street brand products and makeup to cover them up. As for the acid peel, theres no way i would put that on my face, i have sensitive skin and some of the ingredients are incredibly acidic. Sorry Glossybox, I'm just not impressed with these expensive samples. The Enzyme peel sachets (2ml) cost £3.05 each or £89.99 for a 180ml tube, the eyecream costs a whopping £6.49 for 2ml or £44.99 for 15ml, ouch!

This months box has a grand total of £49.35 worth of products inside. I would purchase the Nails inc topcoat as well as the More Brows and Nivea cleanser. The cost for these three products is more than the box cost me so i'm more than happy with it. Next months box is an Andy Warhol inspired pop art box which will be available in four different colours, does this mean 4 different variety's of products too? I look forward to receiving it.

Skull and Kisses

Luna x

August Glossybox Review

Phillip Kingsley Elasticizer 40ml

Interesting concept, i used the product as directed (leave in damp hair before shampooing for 10 minutes and rinse) and can't say its something i was wowed by. It didn't give my hair any elasticity or volume at all however my hair did feel much softer than usual. This product is a pricey £38 for 250ml and in my opinion not worth the price tag. If your looking for soft volumous hair i recommend the Neil and Wolf Elevate Volumising Lotion

Figs and Rouge Mango and Mandarin Hand Cream 20ml

I'm a real hand cream junkie so i couldn't wait to test this out with the ladies at work (who love to test my glossy hand products). The cream smells lovely and natural, nice and fruity without being overly sweet or synthetic. It isn't a bad product however the packaging isn't practical for popping in your handbag, i had a little incident with the tube exploding in my pocket, not a good look. The overall feedback was that it wasn't moisturising enough for the cost even with the shea butter, it just isn't as good as some other brands we have tested. The rituals miracle balm keeps the top spot with Yves Rocher Cocoa Orange in close second. The full sized cream is £6.95 for 80ml

Kryolan for Glossybox Highlighter in Cashmere 4.5g Fullsize

I have always loved the glossybox branded products, when i saw this was made by Kryolan i was even more excited. I'v heard so many great things about Kryolan especially their face powders (goth's everywhere will know what i'm talking about) so i wasted no time testing this lovely out. The packing is nice but the contents are wonderful. The highlighter doesn't have a tint to it which makes it perfect for most skin tones. The shimmer is also very fine which gives a very natural look, the highlighter is priced at £12.95

Escence Lipstick in No7 Natural Beauty Fullsize

I love the shade of this lipstick and that it has been stamped with an e, during my 20's i have found myself swaying much more towards lipsticks than i did in my teens due to their colour and longevity over balms. This is definitely a budget product, retailing at £2.29 it is a good little product for those who are experimenting with different lipstick colours. It is clear from their website that the German brand targets itself at teenagers (hence the low price tag), stocks a wide range of affordable cosmetics and it  is a cruelty free company which of course is a big plus. The shade looks lovely on my skin although i did find that it has that waxy smell that a lot of cheap lipsticks do. Still that wouldn't put me off purchasing it if i found a shade as nice as this one.

Yves Rocher Mini Pink Nail Polish Fullsize 3ml

This is a lovely neutral pink tone, a shade that i use often in work as it is very understated whilst still giving a subtle hint of colour. The polish lasted a day without chipping and three with a clear topcoat (butter london). The only annoyance is that the bottle was in spanish (i think?) and the shade doesn't appear to be available in the uk which is useless if you intend on purchasing the product. Another plus is that these polishes don't contain any nasties such as formaldehyde. This is the fullsized (albeit very small) product and it retails at £3.60

Also included was a fragrance sample of Lalique L'Amore which is a new brand to me, it has top notes of bergmot and rosebuds, white floral heart notes and a musk base note. I usually hate musky fragrances but this one is quite pleasant, i wouldn't rush out to buy it but it is a nice scent. The 50ml size retails at £67

The cost of products inside this months box came to a total of £26.65 which is more than reasonable, i am pleased with all of the items although i wouldn't necessarily repurchase them all. Next months box design is being produced by the Karen Millen fashion house in preparation for London Fashion week, can't wait to share whats inside. 

Skulls and Kisses

Luna x

Glossybox Review: June 2014

Hello my lovelies, it's glossybox time again and this month I'm looking forward to some nice summery products to add to my collection to go with the gorgeous weather we have been having (some days anyway).

Teeez Trend Cosmetics: Beautiful Flat Stiff Brush

I'm always happy to receive cosmetics brushes in my Glossyboxes (other than lip brushes) and my collection is growing rapidly, i was pleased finally see an eyeshadow brush in my box. This is my first experience with the brand Teeez, and honestly I've not heard of them before. First impressions are that the brush looks tacky and a little ott for my tastes but then again its just a brush and quality is far more important than looks. The bristles are natural but feel quite rough and very stiff. I tested it out whilst applying my work makeup, it's super easy to pack a lot of shadow onto the brush however it feels quite pokey and rough once applying to the eye. I will continue to use the brush however i certainly wouldn't pay 19 euro's (£15.19) for it. 

 Rituals...: Qi Gong 24h Anti-Perspirant Spray

I am yet to fault Rituals, all of there products smell incredible too and are amazing quality, Qi Gong is no different. It doesn't have that heavy anti perspirant smell that can be suffocating once first applied, it was also very gentle on my sensitive under arms. The scent is delicate and smells clean and fresh with a little oriental hint. It also kept me fresh and dry on a very hot and busy day. This is the smaller sized 50ml version which costs £3.50, the larger 150ml costs £8

 Nail Girls: 3 in 1 Base/Topcoat & Nail Strengthener

I was looking forward to trying this as i love multi purpose products, i don't have any strengthening polishes but i have been needing to pick some up. I applied this as a base coat and honestly it wasn't great, i topped it with a red varnish which still stained my nails. As a top coat it is good, but no better than any other brands i have tried. I thought it was a good strengthener and none of my nails have broken since using it which is a big plus. This is another full size product which costs £13.50 for 15ml

 So Susan Cosmetics: Universal Blush

My first thoughts upon seeing this product were that the shade would definitely be too dark for my skin tone, however the name made me think differently. I am a big fan of  pale pastel pink blusher as i am fair skinned and anything darker makes me look like a drag queen. In reality this blush is perfect, it is a micronized jet milled blush that works with your natural  skin tone to create a balanced shade. I would certainly recommend this to anyone who has trouble finding an ideal shade of blush, it retails for £18 but in my opinion is worth every penny

 Pro:Voke Touch Of Silver: Twice A Week Brightening Shampoo

This is easily my least favourite product in the box as it is not for my hair type, Glossybox keep sending me products for blonde hair as that is what my natural colour is on the profile, however i have also marked down that i die my hair. Anyway this looks an interested concept, the shampoo is actually the same colour as the bottle and contains a violet pigment which eliminates brassy yellow tones. One of my youtube subscribers uses this on her purple hair and she said it was great, i tested it out and sadly the same wasn't to be said. The shampoo stripped the colour from my hair leaving it very blue (good thing i like it blue). I imagine this shampoo wasn't designed to be used on semi permanent dye so i can't really give it an accurate review. The fullsized 150ml shampoo costs £3.09, which is a good price if it actually works on blonde hair.

The total value of this months box is £51.22 which is the highest value box i have had in a long time, it also contains products that i will use. My star product of the box has to be the So Susan blusher, big recommendation to all you ladies out there. My dud product is obviously the shampoo, just because it's not for my hair type. Let's hope next months box is just as good. 

Skulls & Kisses

Luna =^_^=

January's Glossybox Back To Basics

Glossybox time as come around once again, although be it a little late this month. I was really looking forward to this months box, especially as the american's got some pretty great things in their boxes (vichy skin creams and bella pierre cosmetics). As you can see in the picture Glossybox have given their boxes a bit of an update with new ribbon and their name on the box, the box is slightly pinker than the older ones too. Upon opening my box i was hit with a wave of disappointment, nearly all sample sized products and boring ones at that. It really seems like all focus has gone on the more expensive wedding box which was featured on their website. Here's what i think of each product.

Yu-Be~ Moisturising Skin Cream (two 3g tubes)

A multi use moisturizing skin cream that is a big cult product over in Japan, i love Japanese things so i was really looking forward to testing these out. Honestly i put this on my skin, took one sniff and hated it. I don't know if i had a bad product but it is the most vile smelling product i have ever used. That kind of put me off testing it any further.          

This product deserves a meager 1/5

The full sized 33g tube retails at £13.50

Vintage Cosmetics Company Tweezers

Hallelujah, it was about time my eyebrows got a nice new pair of tweezers to replace the weapons of torture in my makeup box. I'm not over the moon for the design but that's just personal preference, i'm just not a floral girl. I have given them a test run and have found them to be pretty accurate due to the fact they are slightly angled at the tip.

It's a 4/5 for these vintage lovelies

This is the full sized product which costs £8.00

Vaseline Essential Moisture Lotion (50ml)

I'm not very happy about having a vaseline product in this months glossybox, i always thought the idea of the box was to try products that you either can't afford or haven't heard of before. The product itself is good and very moisturizing basically does what it says on the tin, but it just doesn't have that excitement factor for me.

Vaseline lotion gets an average 3/5

The full sized 400ml product costs £4.99

Anatomical~ Puffy The Eyebag Slayer Wake Up Under Eye Patches (pack of 2)

This isn't my first time using under eye patches (i recently used a collagen gold eye mask) so i was really looking forward to using these again. First of all they feel rubbery, cold and look utterly bizarre which is a bit of a novelty at first. These did a pretty good job on my under eye bags, i had 2 hours sleep the night before so they were well needed. My bags were reduced and my under eye area appeared to have brightened a little.

Puffy the eye bag slayer deserves a 4/5

The full sized product (pack of 3) retails at £6

Balance Me~ Toning Body Wash (50ml)

Beauty boxes love including balance me products so i have had a lot of past experiences with the company. I looked forward to trying this out but i was very skeptical about the price. This product claims to improve skin tone and boost circulation two things that i am in need of.  Firstly i noticed the smell (or lack of) ever so slightly lavender but i doubt i would have picked up on this if it weren't written on the bottle. The body wash felt incredibly creamy, not something i have found with any other high end body wash. My skin did feel very soft after use but i just couldn't justify spending £10 on a bottle of body wash. I can't say i noticed any improvement to my skin tone or circulation but i suspect that would take a great deal of use.

And last but not least i give a 4/5 to my final product

The full sized 250ml retails for £10.25

The total of this months box is £17.12 which in my opinion could have been spent on some much better products. £17.12 could get you 17 MUA eye shadows or 5 full sized products worth an average of £3.42. Sorry glossybox but it's a big thumbs down from me. I have resubscribed to Lovemebeauty (formerly known as beauteco) and ordered a box which looks 10 times better than this box of junk.

See you again soon

Luna x

January's Glossybox Video

This box has to be one of my least favourites. I may go back to love me beauty instead. Here's the video if you love dissapointment. Luna x