Birchbox October 2013 UK

Today, I received my first Birchbox today! I am so impressed!! LOVE LOVE LOVE. After so many disappointing Glossyboxes, I can only kick myself in the bum for not switching over beauty boxes sooner. I don't think the quality of this months Birchbox is a one off, I have always looked at the reviews and unboxing blogs and have always been amazed at some of the items they send out.

Birchboxes are exactly the same price as Glossybox £10 plus £2.05 p&p. They send out 4-5 luxury samples, as well as an additional 1-2 lifestyle products. 

The box itself is a bit smaller in size than Glossybox and the items come in a little drawstring bag :)
As a new subscriber, I got a little welcome card; which I thought is such a nice touch - I never had this before in Glossybox - being acknowledged and appreciation for my custom!

Five core products

Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser 14.7ml sample

Super generous sample of the cult product. I received the colour sand, which is a little too dark for me :( but because it's very sheer, I'm hoping it will adapt to my skin tone.

KMS Silk Sheen styling cream 50ml sample

A lightweight control cream with added heat protection. Can be used on damp hair or on dry hair for a more textured effect. I've never used this brand before but first impressions is that it seems a fairly decent product - feels lightweight and smells nice. Also this is a first! receiving a product for my hair type!

The Balm Stainiac gel lip and cheek tint 1.2ml sample

Apparently from reviews I've read, people who have tried this and Benetint, much prefer this brands offer. It's quite a light gel and doesn't have that rose water scent normally attributed to such stain products. The applicator is a doe foot and with it being a gel consistency, it applies much better than the usual runny liquid and nail varnish brush offer. I'm also loving the results, it's not super moisturising but more so than any other stain I've tried previously. The colour payoff is also much better than the competition; normally I would apply three coats for my desired look but I only needed one with Stainiac.

Dr Brandt Microdermabrasion skin exfoliant 7.5g sample

A full size of this product retails for over sixty pounds and it looks like I'm going to get about five uses out of this sample - very happy! This exfoliater is meant to mimic the results you get from a professional treatment as it's packed with crystals and lactic acid (very good for my skin).

Dr Lipp Nipple Balm for Lips 3ml Sample

I received this product from Glossybox a couple of months ago and although I don't dislike the product, it's not something that particularly excites me. 3ml sounds like a small sample but you honestly don't have to use much of this product. I would have been disappointed to receive this if the rest of my box wasn't as amazing.

Two lifestyle products

3 sachets of Egyptian Magic cream

I remember this cream made the rounds in magazines about four years ago, about it being a miracle product. I didn't buy it because it was (and still is) mainly only sold online. The product is quite expensive but you do get a lot of product in one pot - so if you factor out price per gram, it is quite reasonable. I'm looking forward to trying this so much as my skin is always dry and flakey . This balm is quite solid, so you rub it between the palms to melt into a oil to apply. I got three sachets as an additional item!!! Glossybox would have given me ONE as one of my five.

 Birchbox gel mask

Another lovely addition, a gel mask for tired eyes. Pop into the fridge for cooling effect. 

As you can tell, I am soooooo impressed with Birchbox! As well as amazing sized samples they are also so generous with their additional items. All the products are by fantastic/interesting/premium brands - no Collection or MeMeMe here. I'm so HAPPY!!!!

What did you get in your Birchbox?

Would you consider switching over Beauty Boxes???
 (-to the good side ;p)

Products I bloody regret purchasing

Do you ever look through your drawers and think "this is certainly why I am poor". That thought ran through my head today ...and nearly everyday, as every tiny bit of space I have, I pack and hoard. Today, I am going to enlighten you with a small sample of the worst products (in my opinion) that are going in the bin tonight!! You see, that's how much I hate them; like I said, I'm a natural hoarder, so there are a lot of stuff I don't enjoy very much but refuse to bin BUT not these nasties!!!

Simple Moisture Boost Hydro Cream.

This stuff, I found to be so misleading. It says it easily absorbs - which it does not. Locks in moisture for 24 hours - which it does not. 

Garnier Moisture Match for normal to dry skin.

I had hiiiigh hopes... which crashed and burned. I've only used this once, so I can't really say, if it will help change the skin in any beneficial way. When I did use it, it was adsorbed into my skin quite easily and didn't make me look shiny ...or sweaty. However it broke me out! after like five minutes, I got these angry bumps on my skin. I must be allergic to something in this - which is unusual because I generally get on very well with Garnier products.

No7 Beautifully Balanced purifying toner; Essential Moisture night cream; Beautiful Skin mask.

All three terrible products. The toner has way too much alcohol in - which fyi, is terrible for oily/acne prone skin types. The night cream and the mask, which is designed for sensitive and dry skin really irritated my face, sometimes up to the point it's burning, which of course made it more dry and filo pastry like. Contrary to old wives tales, ladies, if it's burning it ain't working!

Re:nu Age Defy Shampoo.

Ok, So I'm 23, I don't really need age defy shampoo.. but what does that really mean anyway?!?! All I know is that it promised tangle free and soft hair and it didn't deliver. It's SO WEIRD! It says "lather for a luxurious foam" BUT it doesn't... It doesn't lather at all, yet it says it does... So I thought "hey it retails at £27.00 it can't be bad.. maybe it's like those new cleansing balms you've seen..." The result was a massive knot ball and I smelt like an old lady.. because the scent is actually awful! It smells like imperial leather soap :(

Catwalk Oatmeal and Honey Conditioner.

Smells delicious like biscuits or cookies. Works awful. It foams!!! What conditioner foams? At first I thought I had residue shampoo in my hair, so the next time, I made sure I rinsed thoroughly... still foamed... Also it's very liquid, sort of like the consistency of single cream. You have to use a lot of product on the hair and my hair feels little or no different if I actually didn't use a conditioner at all with this product.

This blog should really be called 

SUSIE MOANS

Glossybox Dark Romance October 2013 Review

My new and very unfriendly Hermes lady delivered my Glossybox this morning. When I opened this, I was in a SUPER awful mood because I was still asleep when she came. In my terrible mood, I opened the box of disappointment. Honestly guys, I know all I do is complain about Glossybox and you're probably wondering "b#tch, just quit that Sh!t" and I am or will.... because as everyone has noticed the quality of the contents of the box has been declining monthly.

Vita Liberata Latte Illuminating Skin finish - deux sachets.

Ok, I'm not exactly sure what this is... Highlighter? Bronzer? Tanning lotion? In the description it tells me to apply all over my face with sweeping motions and that it washes off with soap and water. WHAT IS THIS?! I'm going to go with wash off tanning lotion, like that Rimmel crap you can buy. I'm not going to use this because I am super pale and will no doubt have pastey neck.

So I got two samples and that equates to about £2.99 each (full size 30ml for £29.95)

Monu Illuminating Primer

I LOVE MONU products. Not so much the ones Glossybox has sent me but the ones I have chosen and purchased myself. I don't however use primer but this stuff comes out a bit shimmery when rubbed in, so I might try this as a subtle highlighter.

Sample worth £9.98

Katy Perry Killer Queen

I am a perfume snob. So apart from not appreciating receiving perfume samples, I double hate when it's a celebrity one. When I sniffed this, it was reminiscent of something. It smells like my Victor & Rolf Flowerbomb! Ok, initially it smells like flowerbomb, it does develop to something a bit different but still not unpleasant. I purchased V&R Flowerbomb for like over £60, so if you're looking for a dupe which you don't mind hiding in a drawer... you're looking at KP's perfume.

Sample worth £0.87p

Premae Multi-Vit Smoothie Serum

This serum is for combination skin types but the mention of the astringent sounding lemongrass oil seems to me, it's more suitable for the oily-er girls. Not for me I'm afraid but will be passed on to my mother.

Sample worth £9.00

Me Me Me Cherub Blush Cheek and Lip Tint

I'm not sure what shade I got but it does appear to be much darker and more purple than my Benetint. Too be honest, it swatches and smells very similar but I don't generally use my Benetint, so probably wont find much use for this either.

Full size £5.50

And that's all folks!

Korres Lip Butter & Liquid Lipstick Swatches

Korres' makeup has entered TkMaxx! There are a lot of beauty bargains to hunt for by Korres (well in my local store anyway) they are packaged in two and the two products are often an eye one and a lip one. What I noticed was that the lip colours are quite nice but the eye ones are a bit... unfashionable; for example, there were a lot of purple mascaras and baby blue eye liners... hmmmm.... So naturally I did a sneaky switcharoo and opted for two decent lip colours which I thought I would use. 

 Lip butter in plum and liquid lipstick in raspberry (25)

Now a little about Korres. The Greek brand specialises in products with natural ingredients, so they are free from the nasties such as mineral oil, silicone oil, ethanollamine (whatever that is) and parabens. I have tried a lot of their skin and body care and I am in LOVE, they perform exceptionally well (none greasy/easily absorbed) and they all tend to smell fantastic. 

The liquid lipstick is described as water based formula for intense colour with a long lasting creamy texture. The lip butter.. has no description but is a glossy not sticky balm with a better punch of colour than other tinted lip products. 

I believe I got BOTH of these products for around the £6 mark, which is an absolute bargain. Price wise, I'm not disappointed at all but performance I'm a bit meh about them. As mentioned before their skincare is fantastic however both of these products I found a little drying after the day went on and both of them had no long term benefits. 

MAC Studio Fix Nc25

Now I know this product has been in existence since forever and in it's time has been a cult product however I do feel like it's been long forgotten and needs another mention in the blog world.

MAC studio fix + is a powder and foundation in one and that combination gives excellent coverage either used on its own or as a setting powder. It's finely milled and nicely buttery because so; it also has talk and silica in to create a smooth finish and to absorb excess oil.

I do love this product and I'm so ashamed that I didn't purchase this product sooner. The coverage is so good that I feel comfortable just using this as foundation along with some concealer. Also I love the fact, I finally have a worthy top up product in my handbag. The things I don't like about it, is that as a 2 in 1 product, I wouldn't consider using it as a setting powder again, as it made my skin look very heavy and it also felt so too. However when used on it's own it is very light and has the nearly naked skin feeling. 

Swatch on the right side of the vein on my zombie arm :-/ Can you see??

I would describe the coverage as light to medium, it is buildable but I wouldn't recommend it, as it makes the skin look very heavy. I apply this with a big fluffy brush and even when I sweep it vigorously, the fallout is minimal. Colour wise as can be seen in the swatch, it's quite adaptable, so I think even if I went one shade lighter or darker it still would look quite well on my skin. So thumbs up, very little risk in choosing a colour!  

Real Technique Brushes Dupe

Now I'm not sure if they are or if they are not a suitable dupe for Sam Chapman's brushes but I purchased these after seeing a blogger link these Ebay brushes as a suitable copy cat. I do not own any Real Technique brushes, there are a few reasons, one being, I hardly use make up brushes and two, I was never able to touch the brushes because they were in the packaging. After seeing some reviews of these brushes on blogs, I decided to purchase them, there was no risk of disappointment seeing as they are being sold for £2.29 each with free p&p.

Shipment is from China, so it took a long time for them to arrive (approx 3 weeks). However the wait was well worth it. They are SOOO SOFT! I can only liken it to stroking bunnies and kittens but fear not, they do state they are cruelty free and have artificial fibres. The brush is slightly weighted which apparently gives MUA better control. They are also so densely packed which when used the right way can give the skin an airbrushed finish. (Tip: Youtube, Wayne Goss on how to git rid of pores with makeup).

There is nothing bad to say about these brushes, whether or not they are dupe, stand alone this unknown brand 'Joursna' brushes offer great quality for little money.

Glossybox September 2013 - The London Edition

I've been away for the past days and was in between my adventure when I got my notification email from Glossybox - Your box is on its way! How exciting and what a nice thing to come home to - NOT!

Remember when I was disappointed with the last box? Well I think this month maybe just THE most terrible box EVER!!!!!!!!!!! Firstly, I found out it was a themed box; this is never a good sign. Secondly, it's British themed and there aren't many British brands that stand out to me.

TONI & GUY Shine Gloss Serum. 

It says it controls frizz with a lightweight shine. That's all it says! Oh but it does go on about this limited edition designed bottle by a Lulu Kennedy. Well T&G the packaging is fugly and you should get your money back. 

Sample is full sized priced at £7.19

Be A Bombshell Onyx Eye Liner.

Even though this a british themed box, this eye liner is made in China (ewwww) and it doesn't seem to be sold in the UK. Everything about this eye liner is off putting. The name of the brand! The design of the logo. It's so cringey - there is a little cartoon of a 'sexy' lady putting on make up as part of the logo. 

I think this is a full size product at $14 for 3g

Eyelure Pre-Glued Lashes.

It's exactly what it says, the false lashes have glue on them already, you just peel them off and put them on. I have experienced p/g lashes before and they don't last as long as the ones you glue yourself. Also my lashes are so boring and ugly!

Full sized sample at £5.06

Dr Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips.

Basically Dr Nip Nip invented this for nursing mothers, they found it to be so good as a lip balm, he re-branded it and it was sent to me as measly sample! And it's awful! at first it looks like Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream but it comes out thicker. So when I do put this on my lips, I drag it across, which feels like what's going to give me cracked lips!

Full size 15ml at £11.50. Received 3ml sample in GB.

Elizabeth Arden Untold Eau de Parfum.

I won't bother copying what it says on the new GB info card. It basically is a basic floral fragrance. There is no wow or intrigue. I personally find Elizabeth Arden a very outdated brand; from the horrible uniform they make their beauty counter ladies wear to the packaging of their products looking so plain and 90's. Elizabeth Arden's perfume are not very popular and that's because they are not very nice - simple as that. This is 5ml sample, I think the size GB should only EVER give away as part of the five items in each box. The bottle is like Chanel Chance but at a  twisted angle? I personally find the design of this bottle very old fashioned and not in a good way. 

Full size £69 at 100ml

I'm not too fussed that some people got an HD Brows blusher. I'm just unhappy that the whole selection of my box is just ...crap. Although some are British brands none of the items are actually made in the UK?!?! (just found out Elizabeth Arden isn't British?!) So the theme of this box was just a false gimmick...

What do you think of Glossybox's half arsed concept?

Did you like what you got in yours?