Birchbox UK December 2013 Review

Hello girls! Firstly, apologies for no blog posts in absolutely ages. I've started a new job and have found time for anything but eating and sleeping. The good news is that Christmas is coming and I have loads of free time for blogging - I've even got a massive stockpile of skincare and beauty from Korea!

So, here we go! XMAS Birchbox!!!! Anyone signed up to any monthly boxes know that there are key dates where the boxes up their game. As well as Christmas, Valentines day and the box's birthdays should be good ones ;)

Nail Rock Velvet in Navy. I'm not too keen on velvet nails if I'm honest. Won't it go dirty and smelly with eating? It comes in two parts, the velvet in the pot and the nail varnish separate. So I think if I don't use this, It's still a nice something to give away to a friend.

Lipsy Glam sample. I remember now, I was actually very disappointed with my last box to receive a perfume sample as one of my five items. This time they've included it as beauty extra. I'm not a big Lipsy fan, they occasionally make a gorgeous dress but I associate the brand with chavey 18 year olds in nightclubs! This perfume certainly reflects it's main clientèle, sweet and vanilla-ey, like a alcopop with a slight musk of cigarettes!!

The eye shadow above is by Alima Pure in Paris (made in the USA). I don't know whether this is some mineral eye shadow or something... it seems to be. The colour is quite a soft brown and is very shimmery but not glittery. I won't be using this as there will be the HORROR when this falls all over my cream carpet. AVOID avoid avoid!!!! Oh it's also quite a small sample, there's no weight on the packaging but I assume it's not full size. No matter, there is plenty of product for you girlies who enjoy this type of eye shadow.

These things are dumb. I mean £10.00 for 6!!!!! Are you serious. Here's a top tip if you have a walnut for a brain. Go to John Lewis and buy soft elastic approx £2 or less for a metre. When you return home with said product, snip to length and knot the ends. NOTE: there is no sewing or effort involved and you will have approx ten or more 'twist' bands for £2. Ok, harsh  perhaps but it's needed. If you do however think this a bargain, then you clearly have more money than I do; I am just very bitter and jealous because I'm not on Made in Chelsea...

Naobay Moisturising milk cleanser. The back of the tube is actually all in Spanish, So I can't tell you guys other than the obvious... It's a cleansing milk sans all the nasties... I think.. It's definitely organic. BBox says it's a wash off cleanser but to be honest it mentions nothing of this on the back (even in Spanish! I know the word for water!!) I believe it's intended use is actually a tissue off cleansing milk but there's no harm if you choose to use water for extra squeaky cleanliness. It's 50ml so great size sample for testing.

Bee Kind Body lotion 30ml. British brand... made in the USA? It smells exactly like Burts Bee honey hand cream but although this one contains organic honey too, I do believe it's not as 'natural' as they claim to be.

N4 non aerosol hair spray. Another USA product (this is why I love BBox; being an American brand, we get to sample a lot of US goodies) I find that with American brands, producing the products domestically is becoming very popular. You don't really find that with UK brands, everything is made in China (Jelly pong pong, Jemma Kidd etc... ).

Back to the hair spray. Non aerosol sounds so off putting! I remember my mum using gel sprays when I was younger and that stuff is nasty! Although they promise no crispyness, I don't believe this will be as good as my Elnett. You never know, so I shall give it a go!!


Just to round things off, I've included the product listing cards. So you can have a bit of a glance at what BBox say about the products.

Overall a good box. Nothing particularly stands out at the moment but I wasn't too disappointed by this. Those of you who have read my blog before, know I will let it out if I was ;)

What did you get in yours? Please feel free to link your blog posts in the comments :)

L'oreal false lash telescopic mascara. Before and after photos

I've reviewed this mascara before (linked here). I just wanted to update with some before and after pictures because the results this mascara gives is truly magnificent. As you can see, I have nearly non existent and very straight lashes in my before picture but afterwards I can really liken the look to me, wearing fake eyelashes. 

I use the waterproof version of the mascara for ultimate hold and honestly the results (volume and curl) last all day. It is also 100% waterproof and even though it has micro fibres in the formula, they stay put instead of flaking away during the course of the day. 

Before: Taken in dim light... I'm very tired today

After: Taken yesterday when I was more awake

Although I purchase and try new mascaras all the time - this is 

the ultimate holy grail. 

Home made muslin cloths

I use non foaming cream cleansers on my face like Una Brennan and Cetaphil; I work the cleanser onto dry skin and wipe off with a warm muslin cloth. I love how refreshing this cleansing method is and I think it's perfect for all skin types, as the method doesn't aggravate the skin. Despite being incredibly soft, they also provide a little bit of gentle exfoliation - perfect for an everyday routine. My only gripe is that they are so expensive for a tiny piece of cotton! Muslin cloths depending on what brand you buy can range from £2 to £4.. that's definitely what I would consider drugstore robbery!

So, a few months ago, I decided to research where I could buy muslin from to make my own. I found that in haberdashery's the quality I encountered were always poor - extremely scratchy. It was only a day later when I realised.. duh! babies use muslin squares! And with the growing market for designer babies and of course babies needing the quality of the softness itself - there were tons of brands that sold 100% organic cotton. I can't remember what brand I chose but it was little French one, that sold organic muslin squares in a pack of three for around £7.00. 

The giant squares of muslin were already sewn into two layers and I cut eight individual facial cloths from each (that equaltes to about 30 pence each for a cloth). Then I just wizzed with an easy straight stitch on the sewing machine and voila!

I now have an abundance of muslin cloths and can easily find and fetch a new one when the used ones are in the laundry basket. The cute little patterns on them, also bring a smile to my face :)

PHYTO blowdry essentials review

PHYTO is a French brand that specialises in hair care, making products that use natural or 'botanical' ingredients. I wanted to try Phyto products for a long time, especially as it was featured as saviour brand for long/dry hair. The product that was circling the beauty biz is called Phyto 7, a hair balm which is basically a daily moisturiser for hair. 

I saw this Phyto threesome in TKmaxx for a bargain price of £7.99 - the perfect time to commit to a brand I knew very little about.

All the products are silicone free which is such a rarity in the market that targets dry/frizzy hair. They all smell reasonably nice too - not overly scented but a pleasant light flowering scent. Inside the box was phytolisse shampoo, phytolisse hair mask and phytodefrisant - a hair relaxing balm.

I found the shampoo to be a really good product for my hair type. It claims to hydrate and soften while smoothing cuticles down for ultimate shine; it also contains 30% calendula extract, which is an anti inflammatory ingredient used in skincare. After washing my hair, it did feel moisturised and easy to work with. You know when some shampoos after rinsing, immediately make your hair feel a bit tangled from lathering? this didn't do that.

After shampooing. I used the mask. Too be honest, I had really high hopes for this mask; it came out nice and thick, the way some masks tend not to be in the haircare market. I towel dried my hair before (a must! to get the best use out of hair conditioner!) and started to apply to lengths of my hair. It just didn't spread really well at all. My initial thoughts were that maybe my hair was absorbing this stuff instantly. The more I applied, the more tangled my hair seemed to be. After rinsing the mask out, despite being wet, my hair was all crispy!! The real test for me of how well a conditioner/mask works, is afterwards when I brush my hair; my tangle teezer had a hard job! Imagine what it would have been like using a standard hair brush. After blow drying, my hair was so big and frizzy - not good for something that promises smooth, silky hair and long lasting frizz 

protection.

Although I haven't tried the baume as of yet (I'm putting it off after the mask incident), I don't have high hopes for it. The baume comes out as a clear and very liquid gel not the cream consistency I was expecting. It has won an Allure hall of fame award, so maybe a little light at the end of the tunnel. I will update this post if and when I do.  

Maxfactor clump defy mascara review

Maxfactor clump defy is part of the false lash effect collection. This mascara in particular promises "volume whilst still maintaining beautifully defined and separated lashes without clumping". Apparently this is all thanks to the brush, it's revolutionary technology (rolls eyes).

It's had a lot of positive reviews but as we all know, mascara is different for each individual as with all products. Despite not liking any of the Maxfactor mascaras I have tried (masterpiece, 2000 calories, false lash effect), I am a sucker for an offer. It was a few weeks back and actually as products go is nearly always on offer, for £7.99 - a grand total of £3 saved. Alas, it isn't quite the mascara for me, so a grand total of £7.99 in the bin then.

Yes, this product doesn't clump (currently, as it's new). Yes, my lashes are separated. Here it is, the however... For me, it doesn't create any volume whatsoever. In spite of it being waterproof and therefore should be more waxy - it doesn't hold a curl; not even for a minute! After application, my lashes started to droop. Also, I think the waterproof claim is a bit of a stretch. It was a bad day to test this mascara.. or a good day in terms of how you look at it. I cried incessantly that evening, I think I was watching soppy clips about babies being adopted on Youtube or pets missing their owners lol. Well anyway, point being I cried and unlike my normal mascaras which hold up a stiff upper lash (hehe), clump defy streamed down my face. I also found that even subtle changes to the weather and my body temperature can make this mascara smudge.

This mascara does not create lashes - so if you have more genetics like myself, with non existent lashes this is not for you. If however, you were blessed with the beauty stick and have Cheryl Cole lashes with falsies on - this is a good product to enhance what you already have. However you must take your chances and judge carefully if it is going to be a tearful day. Smudge. Smudge. 

EOS honeysuckle honeydew lip balm review

I think EOS is relatively hard to find in the UK. I know at one point in time SpaceNK had it in some of their stores otherwise the only similar offering is Balmi at Boots. EOS (evolution of smooth) can be found online (Amazon, Ebay etc). I received mine as gift from my brother when he went to the states, he bought it from Target for around $2.99.

Now I have had my eye on this lip balm since forever! The whole sphere lip balm concept was introduced by EOS not Balmi and although I haven't tried Balmi, I think I already prefer EOS, in terms of their packaging and flavours/products selection.

EOS lip balms are organic which Balmi ones are not (whether that makes a difference - I'm indifferent) and they have a fair variety of unusual flavours such as honeysuckle and blueberry. It's also made in the USA (Something I always look out for - origins of where products are produced often determine the quality of a product).

After trying this product, I can truly understand why this is one of the most popular lip care products in the US. It's so easy to apply because of the giant sphere, instead of applying one lip at a time, you just pucker and apply them to both at once. The balm itself is really solid and waxy, which I really like, as you don't feel like your lips are over coated. It's also incredibly moisturising and I felt an immediate difference after first use. 

Also honeysuckle and honeydew flavour!!! I am a sucker for unusual scents!! Honeydew is quite a common flavour in Asia, it's not true to form honeydew melon flavour, it's the artificial equivalent; for example strawberry and blueberry scents in lip balms/body products don't actually smell like the fruit either in the UK. I can only describe the scent for those who haven't tried a honeydew product as a very soft watermelon scent - It's not overtly strong and sweet.

What do you think? Balmi or EOS??

Carmex lime twist review

Carmex has introduced lip balms in the form of a stick to the UK market finally. As we all know, Carmex makes amazing lip balms (well in my opinion anyway) but there was a little problem in terms of their offerings. First we had the pot - which is fantastic in terms of providing moisture and plumping thanks to the added menthol but the pot is so hard to use, especially if you have long nails. There is also the added concern for hygiene for some , as dipping your finger in a pot can't be too sanitary unless you make sure you wash your hands prior - Who has time for that?!?

Then came offering number two - a squeezy tube. Still the great Carmex formula apparently however I found the texture a little off. Although it came out solid before it melted onto the skin, the balm created much more of a gloss effect and feel, which I found too slimey.

Now we have the Carmex stick; I can confirm that this new offering is exactly the same feel and results of the original Carmex pot. It makes application easier and probably more clean (depending on how clean your lips are that is!) Also they have the fabulous new flavour lime twist. Apparently it's 'refreshing' but actually it's just nice and sweet (key lime pie, anyone?). The flavour of the lip balm is just so nice compared to the usual offerings we have in the UK - Cherry.. Strawberry... Boring.

I got Carmex lime twist, half of what I would have paid in Boots at Savers for £1.49.