GlossyBox - November Edition

After the bland appearance of last month's GlossyBox I was keen to see if we were back on track for November. Once I'd got the box out of its shipping packaging, there was a slight flutter when I realised how heavy it was. Now heavy must be a good sign, or so I figured. I eagerly opened it up and was met with.... blah.... Oh, no not again?! Well we shouldn't judge a book by it's cover should we? So I took a closer look and actually this box was far more promising than I first thought....

Ayuuri Sandalwood Face Cream - full size 200ml £4.99
Now I'll start with the least favourite item of mine this month, Ayuuri's Sandalwood face cream. This big ol' tube was the culprit of the heavy issue. Now I assumed it was a body cream or wash at first look but then I realised it was a face cream. Bloody hell! That's one massive tube of moisturiser! I have to admit, I knew instantly that I was unlikely to use it, you guys know how careful I am with my oily skin, but I thought I'd give it a sniff. And woah! that's one strong scent! I'm not sure why someone decided Sandalwood would be a suitable fragrance for a facial product but it gave me an instant ache of the head. There's no way I can bear to use this on my face but as a general body moisturiser I'll give it a go.

Burberry Body Eau de Parfum - 4.5ml sample size - full size 85ml £75
Oooh, this me like very much! I was very impressed with the Burberry lipstick in the special edition Harrods box so when I saw a perfume sample this month, you can bet it was the first thing to be yanked from the box for sampling! I am most pleased that it isn't a dribble of fragrance either, Burberry have gifted us with quite a sizeable 4.5ml glass vial of Burberry Body. The scent is actually really very nice and very me - the contents card says that it is an effortlessly sensual, feminine fragrance with an eclectic combination of green absinthe, rose and cashmeran - now I don't claim to know anything about perfumes, except that I love it! You're best bet is to pop to Boots and try it out, each to their own and all that, but this is definitely a winner for me.

Alison Claire Natural Beauty Mango Body Butter - 50ml sample size - full size 200ml £15
This is a new brand on the market and is part of the reason these beauty boxes exist - to bring us brands that we otherwise wouldn't have heard of. The Alison Claire range consists of products that are irritant free, over 70% organic and not tested on animals. So far so good. At first I thought it was a face product, but opposite to the Ayuuri assumption, I soon found it was actually a body product. Now this mango body butter smells amazing, skin-licking sort of amazing-ness to be exact, but my favourite aspect has to be the easy pump dispenser. I like body butters but I loathe using them - I just can't cope with the mess of scooping it from a tub and getting it all under my nails. Fussy I know. If I'm to compare this another well known body butter tub (Body Shop's) it is a tad more expensive for the 200ml size but the 200ml is in a tub and I like the pump. So my interest would lie in the smaller 50ml travel size. However £7.99 for 50ml is a tad pricey for a body butter don't you think?

Nails Inc. Kensington Caviar Top Coat - 4ml sample size - full size 10ml £11-12
You can't go wrong with a bit of Nails Inc., fact. Other bloggers were disappointed to not get a colour but out of the three options available the Caviar Top Coat would be the one I would have chosen. I have a few favourite Nails Inc. polishes in my collection so was keen to see how their top coat fared to my favoured Seche Vite or Jessica Brilliance. It is most similar to the Jessica - it dries fairly quickly but doesn't leave the finish all that glossy. A nice little product to receive and try out.

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant - 13g sample size - full size 75g £38.50
Dermalogica is a brand I've been recommended by so many but have yet to dip into to. So when I saw this little shaker of brilliance I was very excited. Of all the types of products to try, an exfoliant is probably the most suitable for me. And Dermalogica's Daily Microfoliant is no ordinary scrub. It is a very fine rice-based powder that you dispense into wet hands and lather into a creamy paste. You then massage this paste onto the face and rinse off after about a minute. It left my skin feeling soft, smooth and very clean. The large sized sample will take me a little while to work through, which is good, but if I am to repurchase nearly £40 seems quite steep for an exfoliator. We'll see how this goes I guess and how hooked I get will ultimately depend on whether there will be a small Dermologica sized hole in my purse...

In all, a fab month from GlossyBox don't you think? I can't wait to see what samples they accumulate for December and especially because I've got enough GlossyDots to redeem the Christmas edition for free :) yay, freebies!

If you love the idea of the GlossyBox beauty box and want to sign up too, then use this referral link to subscribe now.

Disclaimer - I have subscribed to GlossyBox 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 points towards a free box next time... well who doesn't want free beauty stuff?!!