Beautecobox July Review

You might already know that I subscribe to Glossybox, and have been receiving them since last year. Recently the boxes haven't been impressing me as much and after discovering beautecobox I couldn't help but subscribe to these guys too. The problem I have with Glossybox is sometimes I got unwanted items that I wouldn't normally pay money for (example: my most recent GB review). Beautecobox, however, allows you to choose from a selection of three menus, so you know what you are going to be receiving. Although this does take away the element of surprise, I'd much rather pay for products I know will like or want to try out. Plus, from my menu, four out of five were full sizes!

The products don't come in a fancy box like Glossybox, but in a 100% recyclable cardboard box - much more eco-friendly than GB's outside cardboard box plus inside box. Also, all the products contain ingredients that are safely bio-degradable. Similar to GB, you pay £10.00 per month plus £2.95 p&p, and cancel anytime, or £27.00 for 3months, £49.00 for 6 months or finally a 12 month subscription will cost you £90.00.

The products are placed in a bed of shredded paper and wrapped in tissue paper. Inside I received four full sized items plus one sample size. However, I was missing my Menu Card so I didn't have a list of my items and what they do. A bit upset about that!

Menu 2: 
- Neal and Wolf Elevate Voluminising Lotion (Full size)
- Neal and Wolf Harmony Intensive Care Treatment (Full size)
- Pukka Radiance Serum (Sample)
- Art Deco Soft Kajal Liner (Full Size)
- Art Deco Shadow Base (Full Size)

Neal and Wolf Elevate Voluminising Lotion
Price - £11.95 / 200ml
Product link - www.nealandwolf.com

Claims:
- Designed to leave hair stronger, fuller & give more control
- Improves body & texture while enhancing shine & manageability 
- Reduces static & adds a glossy finish

Application: 
Apply to towel-dried hair before blow dying to achieve ultimate volume

My thoughts:

- Interesting dark purple packaging but the dispenser could be made to be a little easier to use.

- Smells absolutely gorgeous, some may think it would be for the 'more mature lady', but it really is lovely - the 'scent of luxury'.

- Holds a creme / gel-like texture

- Good amount of product

- Left my hair manageable and fuller looking but the product itself isn't overly necessary for my hair type

- It did leave a gummy residue on the dispenser from last use but not a big problem for me

Neal and Wolf Harmony Intensive Care Treatment
Price - £12.95 / 200ml
Product link - www.nealandwolf.com

Claims:
- Created to repair damaged hair, using a unique combination of intensive conditioners that deliver an instant transformation
- Leaves hair shiny, healthy & manageable

Application:
Massage through wet hair for 3-5 minutes then rinse out thoroughly

My thoughts:
- Luxourisly thick & creamy
- It left my hair feeling extremely soft & manageable whilst washing out & once dry
- My hair was in much better condition even though it is fairly damadged & dry
- Hair was less tangled / knotted
- Easy to use packaging; sleek & silver / white in colour. Easy to squeeze tube
- Good amount of product
- Doesn't need to be an everyday treatment
- Gorgeous scent

Pukka Radiance Serum 10ml
Price - £32.00 / 50ml (£24.00 at the moment)
Product link - www.pukkaherbs.com

Claims:
- A 'wonder serum' that leaves skin feel fresh & bright
- Gently fragranced with Sandalwood
- Contains Aloe Vera & Manuka Honey to soothe & refresh
- Gotu Kola & Lemon Balm tones & brightens the complexion
- Contains Revitalising Formula, a fortified signature blend of Ayurvedic herbs which helps support skin naturally

Application:
Apply a thin layer to face & neck before moisturising

My thoughts:
- Only need a very small amount each use
- Clear in colour & gel-like consistency
- Once rubbed in it absorbed extremely quickly
- Leaves no stickiness or residue at all
- The scent is very herby
- I didn't notice much brightening effect
- Cruelty free / 97.5% organic content deserves a big thumbs up

Art Deco Eyeshadow Base
Price - £8.00 / 5ml
Product link - www.beautybay.com

Claims: 
- Neutral base to ensure even distribution of eyeshadow
- Formulated with Vitamin E
- Nourishes & protects the sensitive eye skin whilst ensuring eyeshadow application is easier
- Bisabolol calms red eyes & neutralised
- Perfect for contact lens wearers - ensures shadow particles stay put & does not deposit in the crease of the eye
- Colours are distributed evenly resulting in brighter, more intense pigmentation
- Longer lasting eyeshadow
- Suitable for any eyeshadow (even cheaper brands)
- Free from animal derived ingredients

My thoughts: 
- Definitely keeps eyeshadow on for much longer
- Each shade is much more pigmented & brighter
- Stays put
- Lovely creamy, soft texture with a very slight shimmer
- Scent is very strong but quite nice. Reminds me of suncream & Spain
- Beautiful packaging - the pot is so cute!
- It will last me a very long time - hope it stays just as creamy
- Really makes a difference to the intensity of shadows
- I'm a contact lens wearer myself so I'm happy it's suited for my eyes

Swatches:
Without primer on the left, with Eyeshadow Base on the right.
You can really see a difference here; the shadow I used is very dull and subtle on bare skin. With the base the colour is much more visable and vibrant.
This is a swampy green eyeshadow by Estee Lauder.

Again, eyeshadow with no base on the left, with base on the right.
This shadow is much more pigmented on bare skin but with the base you can still really notice the difference. 
Here I used a purple-y blue eyeshadow by Dior.

Art Deco Soft Kajal Liner in black
Price - £6.75 / 1.1g
Product link - www.debenhams.com

Claims:
- Natural antioxidants
- Soft & long lasting
- Contains no preservatives or mineral oils
- Suitable for contact lens wearers
- Contains colour intensive formula
- Perfectly suited for inner lid use

My thoughts:
- Sleek packaging
- Very pigmented 
- Good for smudging into a smokey eye
- Not that long lasting - after a couple of hours I had transfer to my eyelids & under eyes
- Super soft and fairly easy to apply
- Again I'm glad it's suitable for lens wearers but I did find it moving around the eye area

Swatches:
From left to right - Applied thinly with one stroke, pressed harder and a couple of strokes & applied sideways to create a thicker, smudged effect. You can see the colour is an intense black.

I'm really impressed with my Beautecobox & now I can't wait for next months! It's nice to know you won't be disappointed by your monthly beauty box & to have the luxury of choosing products that are right for you. What do you think of my box and would you consider buying one? I'd love to know :) (Check out their page here)

Don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin' - link & Twitter - link if you like what you see!

Thanks for reading

Talika - Eyebrow Lipocils Review

For me, eyebrows are a big part of my make up routine. Since I over plucked the poor things when I was in my teens, they have been painfully sparse and patchy. Having a long scar across one of them does not help the issue either. One day I started listening to my mother about tweezing them too much, and eventually desired beautifully thick, luscious brows. I banned myself from using my tweezers, and waited for them to grow back. And waited, and waited. Unfortunately, if you have over-tweezed, quite often the hair can be stubborn and not grow back. Therefore, I moved onto using make up products such as brow pencils, waxes, powders, brow gels, and so on. It took me a lot of time to create eyebrows that suited me, and that weren't too dark or fake looking. Although using make up does help temporarily, it is still so frustrating to have to go through this process everyday - I couldn't go out without doing them. So I started looking into eyebrow growth treatments, and I found Talika's Eyebrow Lipocils.

Eyebrow Lipocils is a plant extract based gel naturally stimulates eyebrow growth, making them thicker, glossier and healthier. It contains Nettle Extract to stimulate growth, Horse Chestnut to strengthenthe brows and stimulate blood circulation.  Eyebrow Lipocils is also enriched with Allantoin, Soy Lecithin and Witch Hazel and offers hydration and anti-inflammatory properties.You are to use it twice a day (morning & evening), under make up, for 28 days. After that, you only need to apply once a day. Application is simple - swipe across the natural shape of your brow, allowing the skin under the hairs to get wet. It doesn't take long to dry, and I found it didn't effect my brow make up either. 

It comes packaged in a white and silver rectangular tube, make out of hard plastic. It also features a handy mirror on the back, which is the perfect size for viewing eyebrows with.

It is very easy to apply with the doe foot applicator, it is not too thick and it picks up the right amount of product. Although it comes out clear, there is a slightly brown residue starting to collect around the neck. 

Now that I have pretty much finished the product, I thought it was time to share my thoughts about it. I applied it every morning and night for over a month. Then when the gel started running out, I used it once daily, usually at night. I also used this on my eyelashes, as I heard the contents were very similar to the Eyelash Lipocils. They did become a little thicker and ever so slightly longer, but I did not notice a great effect. As I didn't want to waste it, I just used it on my brows after that. 

The important question is: did this product work?

My answer is a definite yes; my eyebrows eventually started growing more hair in the patchy parts; they became thicker and glossier; also the hairs I already had became considerably longer. I would recommend this to anyone - I've read some reviews by people who had gone through chemotherapy, and came out of it with they're eyebrows still intact. I think that is truly amazing! I must point out that once I'd been using it for over a month, the effects were less visible and all it seemed to do was maintain the thickness. 

Although the product is quite pricey, I would say it is worth it. 

The RRP is £26.00, and you can buy it from Talika's website here for £23.00, or on Beauty Bay, where I bought it from, for £22.36.

I've also seen it in a Space.NK store, where they sell it for the RRP, here.

Thanks for reading!

L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream Review

This is an exciting review today as L'Occitane's Shea Butter Hand Cream is one of the best products I own! I seriously can't say enough good things about this product. I have finally bought the full size after  acquiring 4 or 5 of the mini sizes, because I didn't have the money to fully justify buying it! It is huge and will last me a very long time, so even though it is pricey, the value is there competely. 

The product is packaged in a wonderful foil tube which is perfect for getting the last dregs out, using a key tube squeezer (such as this), or even cutting it open to really get your moneys worth! As usual, L'Occitane's designs are very vintage and simple & no unneeded packaging. I'd like to mention the handy octagonal screw on cap too - perfect for when you've just applied it and you still have the product on your fingers, because the shape makes it easier to unscrew. 

The cream contains 20% Shea Butter, blended with Honey, Almond Extracts and Coconut Oil. It has an extremely rich & creamy texture but it is rapidly absorbed, leaving your hands super soft and smooth without the greasy / sticky / oily feeling. As you can see from the photo below, the texture is so thick it comes out in a cylinder shape. Don't let that put you off though, this cream really does absorb well, especially considering how rich it is. 

Moving on to the scent - I can't get enough of it. Of all the Shea Butter range that I've tried (reviews here and here) this beats them by a long way. I often catch myself with my palms in my face because the scent is just too good.

The effectiveness of this hand cream always enlightens me, leaving me with soft hands that I never knew existed. I often dab a dot onto each cuticle, to really moisturise around my nails where it tends to get a little hard, and also I've found this is great for the elbows. After getting horribly dry elbows recently, I applied this only about 3 or 4 times in a week, and they are almost back to normal now. Yes really!

Have you tried this award winning hand cream? If you haven't, you don't know what you're missing out on! 

Thanks for reading!

L'Occitane - Comforting Winter Collection Review

Although it's summer, I recently bought this winter collection from L'Occitane as it was on sale for £12.50 (bargain!) and I didn't think it was just winter-y products! I think the RRP is around double of what I paid but I'm not entirely sure as I don't think it's available anymore. However I have seen it on Amazon for £28.00.

The make up / toiletries bag is beautiful; a cream knitted zip-up bag with the brand name near the top. Perfect for storing any essentials or using on holiday. I do worry this would get rather grubby if not looked after properly though.

Inside are six mini goodies; all from the Shea Butter collection that I'm so fond of. They all possess the lovely vintage-esque round design, stating how much Shea Butter is used in each product. I already have the 100% Shea Butter which is just gorgeous (review here), which did help tempt me to buy this collection! 

L'Occitane's Shea Butter is cultivated & harvested by the women of Burkina Faso in West Africa, where the founder of L'Occitane set up a Fair Trade cooperative over 30 years ago.

Shea Butter Ultra Rich Body Lotion 75ml

This lovely body lotion contains 15% Shea Butter, Calendula Extract (for a soothing effect), and Honey & Sweet Almond Extracts to add moisture. It is nice & light, and smells so gorgeous. This also absorbs really, really quickly and once it has, the skin is super soft and moisturised. It is especially good after sun exposure or waxing. This travel sized bottle does make it a little tricky to get out because it's made out of fairly hard plastic, but give it a shake upside down like a ketchup bottle and it'll come out.

Product link - http://uk.loccitane.com

Shea Butter ultra Rich Face Cream 15ml

With 25% Shea Butter, this cream is fabulous for dry or very dry skin. This cream stimulates the natural defences of the skin leaving it feeling stronger and softer. It has a very rich, creamy texture, which for me I can only use at night or if I'm not wearing make up in the day. A small amount goes a long way so this little pot will last me a while. The full size product comes in a lovely glass pot with a silver lid. It protects against dryness & harsh climatic elements.

Product link - http://uk.loccitane.com

Bonne Mère Milk Soap 100g

This is the only product that doesn't contain Shea Butter, but is instead enriched with White Mallow Milk, that helps to gently cleanse the skin without drying. It contains sustainable and eco-friendly Palm Oil. I am yet to use this but it looks so lovely how it is I don't want to ruin it! I love the design and old school look to it. You can buy these soaps in different scents and pastel shades. 

Product link - http://uk.loccitane.com

Shea Butter Hand Cream 10ml

Hands down the best hand cream I've used in my life. If you haven't tried this out yet then I do encourage you to do so as I'm sure you won't regret it. You can buy mini sizes such as a 30ml one if you don't want to blow £19.00 on it, but the full size is huge and lasts for ages. This is going straight into my hand bag as it's the perfect size. Whilst buying this set I also purchased the full sized hand cream which I will be writing a full & detailed review on. It holds 20% Shea Butter, Honey, Almond extracts and Coconut Oil. The cream is super rich & creamy, that protects, nourishes and moisturises, but also absorbs rapidly, leaving no oily or greasy traces, just incredibly supple hands. I cannot fault this product. 

Product link - http://uk.loccitane.com

The next few products are photographed in my hand so you can see the true size of each item.

Shea Butter Foot Cream 10ml

This little foot cream works wonderfully and is a little different to the other Shea Butter range, because it contains antiseptic Lavender Essential Oil to soothe and purify. It also includes anti-inflammatory Arnica extract which helps to reduce redness and irritation. Although I'm not the biggest fan of the Lavender scent, it is very tolerable as it goes on your feet, plus it feels really relieving for tired or sore feet. After using, my feet felt much softer and tough skin was dramatically reduced. Also absorbs very quickly.

Product link - http://uk.loccitane.com

Shea Butter Lip Balm 3ml

A very cute sized lip balm which contains 10% Shea Butter and is certified organic. It helps to moisturise, repair and protect dry / chapped lips. I'm an avid collector of lip balms and this is up there with my top picks. Feels very smooth on the lips but not sticky. It lasts well and provides a glossy sheen. Shea Butter is fabulous for dry areas of skin, such as lips, as this products proves.

Product link - http://uk.loccitane.com

I personally think this is a lovely collection and I'm in love with the Shea Butter range even more than I was before. Although they are mini sizes (except the soap) they will all last me a while I should think. What a bargain! 

I also had a code for a 7 day trial of L'Occitane's Divine Cream. This included seven sachets of 1ml - which gave me 1-2 applications per sachet. The cream itself was a lovely texture, but I do like a mattfying moisturiser and this ain't one of them - it leaves a sheen which isn't shiny or greasy but it isn't matte. I found my face was superbly soft after one use. 

On top of that, I received six free samples as well, which you can choose from around 8 I think, if you make an online purchase at http://uk.loccitane.com. I got repairing shampoo and conditioner, soothing shampoo, Eau de Toilette Verveine perfume sample (very lemon-y scent), plus Divine Extract Ultimate Youth Serum and Divine Extract Ultimate Youth Eye Treatment to go with my Divine Cream samples!

What a sample haul! If you love the Shea Butter range from L'Occitane or just want to say hi, please leave a comment below. If you own your own blog, share & I will happily follow you :) 

Thanks for reading!

Poundland Purchases

I don't know about you but I love to have a rummage in the pound shop every so often because occasionally you can find some great beauty products. The hair, make up and nails section seems to be expanding more each time I pop in and I usually end up buying something - even if it doesn't look that promising, I like to give it a go. For £1 you can't go that wrong. So here's what I bought.

Nail Stamping Kit

I have been contemplating purchasing one of these from the bornprettystore.com, along with an array of stamping plates. After coming across this in the pound shop, I just had to buy it and give it a go. I didn't buy this for the plate, as I didn't like any of the designs.

This kit comes with a stamper, a scraper and a stamping plate which holds various designs. Basically you paint polish onto the design of your choice, scrape off the excess polish with the scraper, immediately place the stamper onto the design and then place the print onto the nail. After doing this, you should have the perfect nail art onto your nail, easily and quickly. 

However, this stamping plate is pretty poor. I think it's the plate that's rubbish, because the stamper can't pick up any polish from it. I would imagine it is because the engravings aren't deep enough - I am not sure. Possibly the nail polish I've been using dries too quickly. Either way, this did not work, but hey-ho it was a pound. If the plate is useless, I've still got the stamper & scraper. I will be buying more plates and see how they work. 

Nail Art Charms

Keeping with the nail art theme, I also bought these sweet little flower gems. I probably won't be using these for my nails, as they are rather large and too 3D for my liking. However, they were beckoning me to buy them as they are very pretty, with little diamantes in the middle, and they could be used for decorating anywhere (phone, notebooks etc). In this pack I recieved 12, all pretty pastel shades & some black.

Derma V10 Rescue Oil

I was drawn to this as the packaging looked remarkably like the famous Bio-Oil, which I have bought a few times. It claims to do pretty much the same thing as Bio-Oil - to help with scar tissue, stretch marks, ageing & blemished skin. I immediately bought it, hoping it would have the same benefits as Bio-Oil, but for a fraction of the price. I will definitely be doing a detailed review on both of them once I've tried it out & will give you the link here. After a quick comparison of both product's ingredients, I've noticed Bio-Oil having a huge list of complicated words that I don't know the meaning of. Rescue Oil, however, only has a few ingredients such as Sweet Almond Oil, Evening Primrose Oil & Peach Kernel Oil being the main ingredient. Moving on to Bio-Oil, the main ingredient is Paraffinum Liquidum, which is Mineral Oil. I haven't made up my mind about the pros & cons of Mineral Oil just yet; a lot of people claim it is not good for the skin, different people claim otherwise.

Schwarzkopf GLISS Liquid Silk Shampoo

I've used this shampoo before and I did quite like it. I'm always using up gallons of shampoo & conditioner with my long hair so for a pound a pop you can't go wrong. I'm always surprised at the amount of good brands pound shops hold. V05 was another I saw there. Unfortunately I couldn't see any good conditioners, which is what I really need, if there was I would probably buy 5+ as I've paid more than a fiver just for one quite frequently.

Another couple of new items that will be reviewed on this blog soon - another Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat & Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Suncream SPF 30. If you've visited my nail blog, you will have heard me raving about Seche Vite. It's my number one top coat and I've never come across anything better. The suncream was half price at boots, and I've tried a sample of it before and I loved it. 

So if you ever pass by the pound shop it really is worth having a look, just ignore all the crazy people and long queues! Please let me know of your pound shop finds and whether they were worth it or not.

Thanks for reading!

Orly - Nailtrition Review

This post was originally posted on my nail blog at costellonails.blogspot.co.uk

I've had Orly's Nailtrition for quite some time now so I think it's the perfect time to give you a review on it. Nailtrition is for weak, peeling / flaking & splitting nails. If you find your nails can't get past a certain length without splitting this might be something you'd be interested in. Before using this product I had very weak nails that I could easily bend and I grew tired of breaking a nail every 2 weeks or so. The peeling on my nails was horrendous and weakened them incredibly. I had to find a treatment that worked, and after reading many reviews, I bought Nailtrition. 

Directions: 

Week One - Apply 1-2 coats daily. Remove at the end of the week.

Week Two - Repeat.

Repeat 2 week programme as necessary, waiting one week before reapplication.

I have tried doing it this way, but I find it very hard to live without a colour on my nails. So instead, I use this a base coat under any polish I decide to use. Orly do claim this is a good base coat and will still work under regular nail polish. 

- Nailtrition has a pink-y / clear shimmer shade by itself. More coats, more colour.

- It has a lovely purple rubberised handle allowing an easy grip and comfortable to hold

- The drying time isn't too bad - a few minutes

- Nails feel considerably stronger and not as bendy or peel

- Free of DBP, Formaldehyde & Toulene

- Can be used as a base coat or alone

- Can leave a bumpy surface / texture which can be seen through nail polish on top - therefore not the best base coat for an even finish.

- Contains Collagen, Wheat Protein, Keratin & Bamboo Extract

- Supposedly makes nails grower quicker

- Brush is a little on the skinny side - a thicker brush would be more appropriate for even coverage

I haven't got photos of my nail condition before because I was so eager to get it on and see the results, but from this photo below you can see my nails aren't peeling anymore and no breakages! Breakages are still going to happen especially as I'm always bashing them on things, but they are generally stronger and less susceptible to breaking.

I've now come to the last dregs of my beloved Nailtrition and after I've posted this I will be buying some more. My nails need this product in their life & I'm very happy with the results it has given. Before, I couldn't grow all my nails to a nice long length without at least one cracking / splitting or chipping. Now, my nails are getting healthier by the day which is amazing considering how often I paint and remove them.

Do consider buying this if your nails are in a similar condition to how mine were as I'm sure this will work for you too. If you've tried other related products to this please do let me know in the comments as I would love to compare them! 

Thanks for reading!

Glossybox Review July 2013 - Seaside Splash

I was very excited to receive my Glossybox this month after seeing the different box design with the theme ''Seaside Splash''. However, I noticed other people had already recieved theirs about a week before mine, and I was disappointed that I hadn't even received a dispatch email let alone my box. Their delivery people Hermes I'm sure were to blame as they are rubbish I tell you!

Finally it arrived and the new design was a nice change rather than the usual light pink. I did find it a little bit garish but it did not dissapoint. The inside packaging had changed too; a blue ribbon and coral / starfish tissue paper which is usually black. 

The theme ''Seaside Splash'' does link with the box's content, with 3 out of 5 items that I found strongly linked with sunny weather. However, my other items didn't not fit in with the theme.

So what's in the box?

essie Sleek Stick Nail Stickers 
In 05 - a to zebra

Price - £9.99 (Full Size)
Product link - www.boots.com/en/Essie/Essie-Nail-Wraps/

When viewing the essie stand in Boots I have noticed these & although I didn't consider buying them, (because I prefer to paint mine plus the price put me off) I am glad to be able to try & compare them to the only nail wraps I've used before - from Poundland. I'm expecting there to be a phenomenal difference as the ones from Poundland were pretty poor.

- Brown tiger stripe print
- Supposed to be long wearing (up to 10 days)
- I'm not a fan of animal print but at least they weren't lepoard print!
- I would have preferred a different design but they are not too bad as the print is quite subtle.

To use these all you have to do is choose the right size for each nail, place on nail and then file off the excess. I personally cringe at doing this in fear of ruining my already shaped nails. This set costs £9.99 which is already the price of GB without p&p.

Sleek Makeup Pout Paint
In 162 Milkshake & 163 Peek-a-bloo

Price - £4.99 / 8ml (Full size)
Product link - www.sleekmakeup.com/lips/lip-colour/pout-paint

It was very nice of Glossybox to include two of these but not nice of them at all to include a hideous colour such as blue. I would have been happier to recieved just my Milkshake shade as the blue one offended me. I noticed bigger beauty bloggers got two wearable shades. However, as for us average Joe's, it seems a lot of us got a blue or silver shade.
I'm seriously quite offended at recieving the blue lip colour & I'm not quite sure why other receivers have tolerated this. I would not have paid money for this. Glossybox should have thought more througoughly about this but they do claim it is meant for mixing shades. Blue adds 'depth & warmth' whilst silver lightens. Silver sounds more friendly to me, but I would have preferred neither. I was willing to try mixing my two shades, and the result was a dirty, mauve-bordering-purple, a shade that I would never wear on my lips. For me, this might as well go in the bin! 
I have never had a GB item that I would.not.use. I will always try & make a use out of it; and I'm not overly fussy - I'll try anything. But this is a whole new level!

Sorry about my rant, moving on:

- Milkshake is a peachy/pink/coral shade which is tolerable. Used lightly, it makes a creamy coral peach colour which doesn't quite suit my fair skin tone but I can work with it.
- Applied more thickly, the shade is really rather bright, neon really. Looks quite hideous too.
- Texture is like lipgloss when applied thickly, but resembles shiney lipstick when applied lightly.
- The product did separate in both tubes. Needs to be shaken before applying.
- Very pigmented in colour
- Not sure how long it lasts as I won't be wearing either long enough to know. 
- Confused at the hype around these Pout Paints - a neutral shade would have been more suitable for testing out. 
- Other shades available on their website (linked above)
- Does pick up lines / cracks in the lips
- Needs to be applied with a lip brush; even then it applies very unevenly.

Anatomicals Spray Misty For Me
Facial Spray

Price - £6.00 / 100ml (Full size)
Product link - unfortunately I can't find this anywhere... just for Glossybox? Not sure.

Now, I've tried facial spritz in the past & have always enjoyed them in the summer. My current one is Melvita's Rose Floral Water that I received in the Latest in Beauty x CEW Awards Box (review link here). I've also been using E.L.F's Makeup Mist & Set Spray which is great for holding your make up in place. 

- Great sized bottle
- Lovely design and colours. I love that they use Elvis Presley & Clint Eastwood pictures and references. 
- The 'spritz' is too fierce. It does give a bit of shock / flinch when used.
- Great for cooling down the face & body.
- Stays wet for a few minutes
- Not overly keen on the scent - Lavender & Peppermint. Not the best mixture but calming (& a little granny!). However, you can only smell it for a few seconds.
- Apparently sets make up. I haven't tested this out so I can't comment.
- GB love to send out Anatomicals' products. Still using up my rose shower gel from them!

Coola Organic Suncare Collection
Mineral Face SPF 20 Unscented

Price - £29.99 / 50ml
Product link - www.amazon.co.uk (if you use Birchbox it's also on their online shop)

I will always welcome an SPF based product as I am seriously prone to burning with my fair skin. This teeny sample won't go a long way and it probably won't give me long enough to be able to fully make my mind up about it. 

- Absorbed into my skin very quickly and did not leave any residue / stickiness.
- It does not mattify but left a slight sheen
- Claims to be pore minimising, soothing, toning, reduces inflammation & balances         moisture.
- It holds anti-ageing benefits
- Broad-spectrum UVA / UVA 
- Titanium Dioxide based formula for those who are Zinc sensitive
- Made with 98% natural ingredients
- Hypoallergenic & paraben free
- Water-resistant for 40 minutes.
- Not sure if it minimised my pores but my face felt smooth and soft after use.
- Tiny sample - won't last long

Alterna Haircare
Bamboo Style Boho Waves Tousled Texture Mist

Price - £23.00 / 125ml
Product link - www.lookfantastic.com

I actually received this product damaged. Again, it was probably Hermes as I've heard many stories about them throwing parcels over fences, in bins etc. It was split at the bottom causing the liquid to seep out and into my box. I expect Glossybox to replace this item.

It did waste a lot of product and I had to transfer the contents into a spare spray bottle. However onto the product itself: 

- It adds texture, volume and a healthy shine to all hair types.
- Great for the messy, 'just out of bed' look which I usually don't need a spray to achieve. 
- Smells great
- Can be used on damp or dry hair
- Fairly small sample size but definitely enough to make an opinion of it.
- Didn't notice an extreme difference but I would assume this is because my natural hair is already wavy / messy!

So what did you think? Did you get the same or slightly different to mine? I'd love to know, especially your thoughts on the Pout Paints. If you're considering subscribing to Glossybox, you can use my personal link here, which gives me points, or the GB homepage link is here.

Thanks for reading!