SheSaidBeauty Box - May Edition

OK, so I'm a little late on this one. My June box has already arrived and I've yet to post about my May boxes from either GossyBox or SheSaidBeauty! But as it's half term, I can do some serious blog post catch ups. So stay tuned for more beauty box reviews.

First up is SheSaidBeauty's May Beauty Box, and they do seem to be slowly improving...

Immediately, I was more impressed with this box than the last - 1) no comfort zone products 2) no nail varnish and 3) no lip balm! Also, out of the 5 products, 2 were full size and of course in true SheSaidBeauty style, an extra little freebie too. So what exactly did I get?

Green People SPF 15 with Tan Accelerator - 20ml sample size - full size 100ml £12.99 or 200ml £17.95

Being fair skinned and lacking in ability to tan (it's fake all the way for me I'm afraid!) SPF is always welcome in my world! So I was pleased to see an SPF product in a beauty box for once. I've heard of Green People somewhere before, but not tried their products. This sun lotion is SPF 15, so I'd only really use it in the UK, but is water resistant, has broad spectrum UV protection, tan accelerator and doesn't contain added chemicals like SLS etc. As an added bonus, it isn't tested on animals and 10% net profit is donated to charity! This certainly ticks all the ethics boxes!
I like the fact that it is scent free - in fact it strongly resembles the scent of Sudocrem! Oh the childhood memories... All in all a great product that I will strongly consider repurchasing.

Inika Certified Vegan Lip Whip in Apricot - 8ml full size £14.30

Now Inika must be on a beauty box mission - last month's GlossyBox had the eye/lip liner and now SheSaidBeauty has the lip whip! Well I'm not complaining as I'm new to the brand and am eager to try a few of their offerings but I can see how some may get a little annoyed with repeating brands. I received the lip whip in Apricot - a lovely soft champagne/beige shimmer, almost bronze - and comes as a gloriously creamy formula. It's not quite a gloss, nor a lip balm, but somewhere in between. It has the softness of a balm but without the stickiness of a gloss and it suited me perfectly! It doesn't last particularly long - well few lip products do on me - but it smells gorgeous - very citrus... orange maybe??? and looks fantastic. For a full size product, I'm very happy with it but at £14.30 it's a little pricey for a repurchase.

Kim Kardashian Eau De Parfum - 3ml sample size - full size 30/50/100ml £22.95-£39.95

I know a few people are against perfume samples in beauty boxes, but when they are a little bigger than two sprays worth I don't mind so much. I was extremely sceptical however when I realised is was Kim Kardashian's debut fragrance... oh yay!! Well, I tried it anyway and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised to say that I quite like it - a pleasant sweet, floral smell that lasts quite well on the skin. Don't get me wrong, I won't be rushing out to buy the full size, but as a travel sized sample it will do.

Natio Lotus Soap Trio in Blue Lotus - 150g sample size - 3x150g full size £8.50

OK, now please don't call it a 'trio' if there is only one item! I get that this soap is part of a trio, but I would have preferred three smaller sizes of the whole trio instead of one large soap. Saying that, it is a soap and not much to rave about. I prefer liquid soaps so I've put this beside my sink to use it up, but after that, will most likely go back to my normal pumps. It smells quite strong, but not unpleasant. I would have preferred to try a different Natio product in the box as I think this has gotten me less interested in the brand now.

The Vintage Cosmetic Company False Lashes in Kitty - full size £6.00

Ooh I do love a good pair of falsies! Although I am truly crap at applying them, I seem to have an obsession with collecting false lashes! I've not tried these before but was pleased with the look of the set that I got in my box. They are perfect for creating volume and a real 'glamour puss' look. I love that they are tapered to get longer towards the outer corner of the eye. I haven't tried the glue yet, but will probably resort to my duo glue as always. Overall a nice product to receive.

Snowberry Nourishing Lite Day Cream, Bright Defence Day Cream No.1 and Bright Defence Face Serum - 3ml sample sizes - see salonskincare.co.uk/snowberry for details

So this month's freebie sachets were some skincare samples from Snowberry. I've not heard of the brand before and the products were nice, but not enough to make me purchase the full size versions. I was most impressed by the Bright Defence Day Cream No.1 for oily skin, but I think I still love my Clinique DDMG more. Is it a little sad that I was more happy with the little pink mesh bag??? A great way to store jewellery for travelling!

In all I was quite pleased with May's SheSaidBeauty box - there were some great new brands to sample and they finally got out of the lip balm/nail varnish rut that I moaned about disliked from the previous boxes.

Here's to hoping that the future boxes continue to be as good!

If you like 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?!!

GlossyBox - April - The Natural Beauty Box

Another month is almost at a close (where has this year gone!) and of course much anticipation has been had, in waiting for the delivery of another glorious GlossyBox...

I'm not impressed with the late postage though - April is nearly over!! But since my last GlossyBox post - the Harrod's Box - GlossyBox and Carmine (my favourite beauty box so far) have joined forces so this could explain the lateness. Ah well, better late than never eh?

Since my first box in December I have only had one 'normal' GlossyBox, the others were the Christmas, Valentine's and Harrod's special editions. So, what did this month offer? Another limited edition box of course! But this month's theme was all things Natural...

April - The Natural Box

 

On Friday, I found my GlossyBox package waiting for me after work and of course I got stuck straight in. the first thing I took note of was the gorgeous beige box with a handmade paper like finish. Turns out the box is 100% biodegradable (not that I will EVER throw it out, I have too much make-up that needs to be stored in these little box beauties!) and it's inner packaging was altered slightly to what I presume is eco-friendly/recyclable/biodegradable shredded paper, tissue paper and ribbon.

So what did I get? Well all things natural and ethical of course:

Burt's Bees Naturally Nourishing Milk and Honey Body Lotion for normal to dry skin - 70g sample size - full size 190g/£9.99 RRP

Another body lotion.... oh yay... OK, well I know I don't have to be quite so sarcastic, but I am getting just a teeny-tiny bit bored of them. I think I have received a body lotion sample in almost every single beauty box that I have subscribed too - I must have around 10, sitting around in one of my old Carmine boxes, just waiting to be used, so my sample stash is getting pretty big! However, Mum's interested sparked when she saw that it was Burt's Bees and thus, I will be passing this onto her. I have tried a little out though so I can give my opinion and it was much thicker than I expected, almost body butter like, and it sank in really quickly. I have to admit it does smell amazing but I think that dear old mother will get much more use out of it than I. Here's to seeing if it will break her love of Body Shop's Shea butter...

Monu Professional Skincare Moisture Rich Collagen Cream for dry, very dry or dehydrated skin - 50ml full size sample £17.50 RRP

So onto the first of three full size samples this month (aren't we lucky!) and it came in the form of Monu's Moisture Rich Collagen Cream. I have not used any Monu products before, but I have heard of the brand, so of course am intrigued to try this out. However, I was left a little disappointed when I read that it was for dry, very dry or dehydrated skin - why oh why am I 'blessed' with oily skin! I dare not try anything too heavy on my skin as I can be prone to breakouts if I use products that are too rich. Oh well, the neck and décolletage it is for this then. It smells very floral - probably the rose and geranium essential oils in it, and is quite thick in consistency but does sink in well. It claims to improve the skin's natural barrier and lipid content to help smooth out wrinkles and also claims to help pre-mature ageing (although I do think my skin is still a little young to properly test this out).

Caudalie Vinosource SOS Thirst-Quenching Serum for dehydrated skin - 10ml sample size - full size 30ml/£29.99 RRP

Another face serum... But unlike the body lotion, this I do not mind as I am having quite a face serum moment. In my desperate bid to find one that suits my skin and skincare routine, I have recently flitted between YSL's Youth Liberator, Lancôme's Genefique, Estée Lauder's Pore Minimizer, Clinique's Turnaround... you get the picture! I have heard of Caudalie before, and have previously tried out one of their body lotions, although I have never tried their facial skin care products. So this was a nice item to receive in this month's box. I have sampled this on my hand and the product is very smooth and silky, absorbs easily and doesn't leave a residue - so far I like! Only experimenting on the face will seal it's fate and I hold a little caution as to how well it will suit my oily skin. But I will try it none-the-less and we'll see how I get on.

Figs & Rouge Cherry and Vanilla Lip balm - 8ml full size sample £3.29 RRP

Onto the second full size product - a 100% organic lip balm by Figs & Rouge. I LOVE lip balms and frequently finish them up so I was pleased to see one in the box. I was keen to see how the combination of Cherry and Vanilla worked but I was left very confused with the complete lack of scent of either??! I had to pass it to my sister, just to double check that my nose wasn't getting confused, but she agreed, not a whiff of anything remotely cherry or vanilla like! In fact, we both concluded that this was actually more menthol scented than anything else (expected as it contains Mentha Piperita Leaf Oil) and even left the lips feeling a little tingled after application. I don't mind that it doesn't smell of cherry or vanilla (I actually prefer minty lip balms -  as the boyf doesn't get quite so put off) and it feels lovely once applied. I quite like that it's marketed as a lip, face and body balm too so I expect that this may become a little handbag staple.

Inika Cosmetics Certified Organic Eyeliner in 12 Purple Minx - 1.2g full size sample £11.75 RRP

So the final full sized product this month was an organic eyeliner by Inika Cosmetics. I have never tried organic makeup up before so am keen to give this a whirl. I received the shade Purple Minx which I am really pleased with as it's a shade that I will get use out of - purple seems to suit my brown eyes. I have yet to use this, but when I tried it out on the back of my hands, it swatched very smoothly and the pencil wasn't hard and scratchy like some eyeliners can be. It smudged quite nicely with my finger too so it will be easily blendable, but it doesn't seem to have huge staying powder - so no eye rubbing without risking panda eyes!

In all, I am very pleased with GlossyBox's offerings for April (albeit a tad late!) and is now starting to creep into the lead to replace my favourite beauty box, Carmine. With three full size products, this month has most definitely been worth the £12.95 subscription and on a slightly different note, this box struck me as being a perfect mum-to-be gift - if only GlossyBox offered individual boxes for sale instead of just subscriptions!!

If you love the idea of the GlossyBox Beauty box 

then use this referral link and 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?!!