SheSaidBeauty Box - April Edition

So it's a new month and that can only mean one thing, the prompt arrival of the latest offerings from SheSaidBeauty!

As many of you have heard, my favourite beauty box Carmine has joined forces with GlossyBox (God only knows why, they have actually yet to explain this to their customers!) so I am currently down to only 2 beauty box subscriptions a month - GlossyBox and SheSaidBeauty.

So SheSaidBeauty needed to pull out a good one this month to officially replace Carmine as my favourite and with their first box - that I posted about here - being such a hit, I had high hopes for their second...

Unfortunately, I was left a little disappointed - don't get me wrong, it wasn't a total disaster but as an existing subscriber I felt they could have done better. Let me explain why:

First of all, this month contained 7 products, yes 7! In addition to the normal 5 sample products, there was a bonus sample of the famous Erno Laszlo 'The Hollywood Collection' that Marilyn Monroe was supposed to have used and, as it's Easter, a Lindt Lindor egg... mmmm!

So what did April's box contain? Well the first thing to note is that 3 out of the 5 normal samples were full size too - another positive and something that pleased me, given that last month's GlossyBox had no full sized products at all.

Filthy Gorgeous London Nail Polish in Valentine - 10ml full size £9.00
A great full size product to receive, but not all that exciting. I got the 'Valentine' shade - a really rich, slightly pink-toned, glossy red. It applied really smoothly, dried quite quickly and looked lovely on (pictured with Jessica Brilliance top coat). But, I was disappointed that we didn't receive a bottle with the normal silver lace pattern on the lid, or the branding charm that hangs off the bottle neck. And after March's box had a nail polish I was kind of hoping that we didn't get yet another one - but at least the brand was different I suppose. Having heard of this brand from other bloggers but never tried it out, I was overall pleased to add this 3-free (no toluene, formaldehyde or DBP) brand of polish to my collection.

Bellapierre Shimmer Powder in Champagne - 2.35g full size £12.99
Another full sized product, but this time in the form of a shimmer powder. I have not heard of Bellápierre and it was a pleasant product to try. I received the Champagne shade - a soft shimmery pale gold/beige - and I mostly used it over the top of my cream eyeshadow to add a little extra glimmer. If I wore powder, I would use this from my crease up to the brow. The company actually recommends that you can use these Mica powders for various different applications as well as the eyes - blusher, mascara, lip liner etc. And I love that they are hypoallergenic too.

Mischa Barton Luscious Lips in Pink Pop - 8g full size £12.00
The third full size product was a lip balm from the new Mischa Barton range. I wasn't aware she had released a beauty collection so this was a nice surprise. It doesn't have much of a tint to it really (the boyfriend could wear this and no one would know!), it smells nice and moisturises the lips well. I love that it has SPF15 and will probably stick this in the car to use as and when I need to.

Bharti Vyas The Ultimate Therapy Face and Neck Polisher - 125ml full size £25.50

I wasn't all that excited about this - with all the literature that came with it, I was a little hopeful that we might have got a bigger sample than was actually present, but nevertheless, I tried it out. However, it didn't wow me, it's just an exfoliator and at the moment my Clarins one serves me well. In fact, I wanted this to have more 'bits' in it so I felt like I got more of the 'polisher' effect. It did leave my skin soft and smooth though, so something that I will use up but am unlikely to purchase again.

Comfort Zone Body Expert Kit - various samples
Last month's Comfort Zone night cream was nice, not something I'd purchase at over £50 a jar, but lovely to try. So to then find a load more samples by the same brand in this month's box meant that I wasn't all that impressed. It's also so difficult with sachets to get a true feeling for a product as the sample is usually too small! I got stuck in anyway and have so far tried the Fruity Peel Exfoliator (150ml full size £24.50) and Aromasoul Mediterranean Shower Gel (200ml full size £19.95) - both lovely to use, smelt good and left my skin soft but neither were much to rave about. And after my bath, I tried the Body Strategist + Remodeller (150ml full size £40.95) on my upper legs and Vital Leg Cream (200ml full size £32.75) on my lower legs. Again, both nice, the Vital leg cream was lovely and menthol scented, the other was just like a normal body cream for me and I didn't experience the hot-cold effect it claimed. I have yet to try the D-Age Body Cream (200ml full size £48.00) or Tranquility Cream (200ml full size £58.25). All in all, some lovely samples, but not anything that I aim to purchase more of in the future (mostly due to availability and the hefty price tags!).
 
Erno Laszlo The Hollywood Collection - various samples

So onto the first bonus sample of this month's box, a brand famously used by Marilyn Monroe (allegedly!). Again, I was a little frustrated by the fact that they were sachet samples - but at least these could last for two applications so I dispensed them into little sample pots. I have so far tried the Instant Eye Repair (full size £85.00), Morning Beauty Rescue (full size £95.00) and Refresh Moisture Infusion (full size £125.00). The eye cream was nice, it tightened and brightened as it claimed, but £85 is quite steep for an eye product. The beauty rescue serum was gorgeous on the skin, it left a lovely shimmer but was a little tightening - fine for my oiliness but not good if you have dry skin, I imagine. And the moisture infusion was lovely and moisturising but without being too heavy. I have yet to sample the Intensive Porcelain Veil (full size £140.00) and Velvet Night Cream (full size £175.00) but look forward to doing so. Some fabulous luxurious samples, but unfortunately that is all they will ever be as I am highly unlikely to fork out for these 'luxury' face products due to their price tag and the fact that they are only available at Harrods! 

and last but not least... a yummy Lindt Lindor Chocolate Egg - the second bonus which was of course rapidly demolished!

So what did I like about April's Box...
Firstly, I love that there were 7 samples - to me this feels very generous indeed and makes the box excellent value for money. Secondly, there was chocolate - I love that there has been something edible in each SheSaidBeauty box so far! And thirdly, the three full size products were all make-up - sometimes beauty boxes can become to skincare heavy but I think that they have got the balance just right so far.

So what did I dislike then....
Well, I am being picky here, but I want to be honest. I didn't like the fact that there were Comfort Zone products again - we tried this brand in the last box so please give us something a bit different. There was also a lot of 'sachet' samples - which becomes frustrating as you can't properly try out products when there isn't enough of it. And lastly, I got bored of another lip and nail product for the make-up - couldn't there have been a blusher or mascara? It's bad enough getting another nail polish, let alone another lip thingy.

Overall I am still happy with my SheSaidBeauty subscription and will be continuing it in eager anticipation of what future boxes may hold. I highly recommend it anyone who has yet to try a beauty box and I love that it mixes affordable, with high-end branded products. I really do think it has a little way to go if it is to be as good as the Carmine boxes were but I am still very much open to changing my mind :)

If you love the idea of the SheSaidBeauty box then use this referral link to start

your subscription now :)

 Disclaimer - I have subscribed to the SheSaidBeauty box out of my own choice and money (damn the fanciful idea of mystery beauty products delivered every month). It was my choice to review the products above and I have done so in a 100% honest manner. I am not compensated for my reviews but if you use my referral link to start a subscription then I can get a free box next time... well who doesn't want free beauty stuff?!!