Long forgotten this blog has been, neglected, and I've missed it really. But I'm back for now and I am just itching to review some beauty boxes on here. I have missed reviewing products and letting you all know what you can get in beauty subscription boxes. I'm still getting a few of those; my monthly treats that is and, of course, discovering new brands and products to try out.
There's definitely been some hit and misses this year, some boxes I've said goodbye to, and some I've recently discovered.
Let's start with Glossybox, shall we.
Glossybox will give you a minimum of 5 products each month, consisting of haircare, body, face, and makeup, for £10 a month with pp. They promise the total value of your box each month to be worth over £50.
Would I recommend Glossybox? Well before I answer that, below you'll see the products included in this month's box, the size, and the RRP included.
So this month's box came beautifully themed (Their standard boxes are a pastel baby pink by the way) and I just had to keep the box and will use it for storage purposes (I try to keep as many boxes as possible)
There were five products this month and each product came full sized. Just to point out, that's not always a guarantee. There was a good mixture of products this month, some skincare and makeup included.
1. Glow Drop Primer by Jecca Blac promises to deliver a radiant dewy glow and comes in a pretty pink packaging. Although the product is their full size, it's definitely travel friendly. The RRP on the card is at £16. This primer reminded me of the Wonder Glow Primer by Charlotte Tilbury, although this one was more slightly warmer, gold based, and the CT one I found to be more pinky gold. Both give off the same glow though. I didn't take pictures of the products on my skin before I applied makeup (Though I compared this and the CT together, half and half on my face) but I have included a picture of it on my arm. It's not actually that much cheaper than the Charlotte Tilbury. You get 20ml of product for £16 and the Wonder Glow comes in at £39 for 40ml. I do think this one gives a more dramatic glow though. Definitely pretty and something I would continue to use.
2. Orange Juice Hand Cream - Naobay Cosmetics. Let me just say that this brand has some amazing products and this cream is not an exception. It just smells so delicious and fresh and is a non greasy formula and leaves hands instantly soft and hydrated. I'm obsessed with hand creams and have always used them religiously. Would I repurchase? Probably not as this size would cost me £11 and I have tried hand creams at a cheaper price that I have loved. Still, I do love it though. Maybe in a sale.
3. Aloha Bronzer - Give Them Lala Beauty. Stunning packaging? Yup. As for the formula? Well, it blended beautifully. It looked pretty warm in the pan but once applied the colour wasn't actually too bad. I normally contour but have started to bronze and I'm kind of digging it so I will definitely pick this product up again. There are four shades to choose from their website. The card has an RRP of £19.80.
4. Fruit Slice Mask Sheet - Kocostar. RRP £4. Okay, I've tried so many different sheet masks by various brands but these are definitely unique (At least I've never seen something similar) and were definitely more work to me than just your standard sheet mask you pop on.
The packet did say there were two sheet masks so five to use at one time but I ended up using all ten. I didn't quite get just placing five and not having my entire face covered. It didn't feel very mask like to me. I also didn't like how they felt unsecured on my face, the slightest muscle movement meaning they would crease or slip, a bit like those gel lip masks. (Which I'm still deciding if they are pointless or not)...Anywho
I also didn't like the feel of the serum on my face once I had removed the patches. It felt amazing when I was rubbing the serum into my skin at first but, afterwards, left my face feeling very sticky. I had to wash it after, which felt pointless to the whole point of the mask and the benefits it should be providing.
This mask just wasn't for me. Here's some pictures though.
5. Palm Balm by The Beauty Crop. I've been afraid to try these tinted multi purpose balms for anything other than applying on my lips. Don't get me wrong cream products don't intimidate me but I find tinted balms sticky and I've always been sceptical to apply them on my cheeks. Won't they just look a sticky smeary mess? No, not one bit actually. This product took a bit of warming up (Didn't work great with a brush) and I was sure I would have ruined my makeup when I first applied it on. But once I got blending with a sponge it actually looked pretty. I can't decide if the colour is a bit too light (Although I do have a darker foundation on the account of being tanned) but I will try the product out again.
Here are some pictures of my makeup with the products used. I tried to capture as much real skin as possible and am not using the greatest front facing camera.
Onto the question of recommending Glossybox. I want to be honest and would recommend anybody thinking of subscribing to this beauty box just to check out their social media accounts (You can really find what people have to say) and go and check some reviews out online. There are a lot of very unhappy customers at the moment, probably the most negative criticism I have seen to any of the beauty boxes I am subscribed to. There are lots of people having items missing, broken, boxes not turning up, having boxes sent different to what is being advertised, and having money taken from their account despite having their subscription cancelled. From my own experience (And I have been a subscriber since 2018) I haven't had any issues with any of the boxes I have received. However, it's impossible to ignore how unhappy so many subscribers are. I do think Glossybox need to be closing their subscriptions for now to get on top of the enormous amount of issues they are facing.
