March saw Birchbox collaborate with Lulu Guinness. I must admit to not being all that fussed with these collaborations, to me I am more excited by what products I get.
So here is what I got
Korres Citrus Body Milk Korres is a brand which receives a lot of hype but one that I don't see very often in the shops. I have never tried anything from the brand so looking forward to trying this out. If it's smell is anything to go by I have high hopes as it's gorgeous. The full size is available from birchbox.co.uk for £9.50.
Dr. Brandt Pores No More Pore Refiner which is a brand and a product I have never heard of. It claims to 'minimise pores and absorb excess oil' which are two things that I could do with at the moment. I really love my Laura Mercier Primer and will be interested to see how this compares. 30ml will set you back £39 from birchbox.co.uk.
Benefit Stay Don't Stray which I have actually used in the past. For me this didn't do much but as I have said several times I have incredibly oily eye lids so I ended up giving this away. I am interested to try this again as it may work better under the eye which I didn't try before. You can pick the full size up from feelunique.com for £20.50.
Molton Brown Rhubard & Rose Replenishing Hand Cream which I should be excited to try but instead I just feel like the sample is hardly worth having. I mean it's not that much bigger then the fragrance sample. I will still obviously try but guessing I am not going to get many applications out of it. This is available from houseoffraser.co.uk for £10 for 40ml.
English Laundry No. 7 For Her which is another brand I have never heard of. On first sniff this isn't a scent I am drawn to but these samples are always handy for travel aren't they. The full size is available from birchbox.co.uk for £47.00
Candy Rock which I can't say I am all that bothered about, another edible 'lifestyle' extra. I would rather have a larger Molton Brown sample then this stick of rock.
Overall I think this might be my least favourite box so far, I only have two left after this on my gift subscription and this hasn't inspired me to renew. Although two of the products I am excited to try the others I just think are a let down. I can't get that excited about a fragrance sample after all they are the easiest product to test, and the Molton Brown is just so tiny.
What are your thoughts on what I got - am I right to be disappointed?
I haven't given up on The Big Read, I just seem to get side tracked by getting addicted to reading Mills and Boon, and other such high brow literature. I have to admit that Jane Eyre got pushed aside to read the Crossfire series and then the This Man books. But I am determined to read more off the list this year (I have said this before however)
For those who don't know what I am on about, years ago the BBC did a poll on the nations favourite books and published the results and a corresponding book. The list can be viewed here and basically I want to read all 100 books.
Harry Potter has never really interested me in the slightest and I have never read any of the books. I have also only watched one of the films unfortunately not the first one, I don't even know which one it was. It had R Patz in it, which is pretty much all I remember apart from it being rather dark for a kids story.
Anyway the reason that I started the Harry Potter books is that my sister really wants to go on the Warner Bros Studio Tour. My dad and other sister seem keen and basically I don't want to miss out. I would like to have a clue what I am looking at so thought what the hell why not.
I really was quite concerned that these books would freak me out, I don't like being frightened at all and not keen on things of a mystical nature or people being hunted down or chased. I also thought they would ultimately get boring.
So what did I think after the longest intro into a post?
At first I really did think about giving up. The first few chapters I found quite slow, and you would hope that if a child was made to live under the stairs social services would step in. I know out of everything in the book it is an odd thing to concentrate on, but it just bugged me.
I didn't really get into the book until Harry was at Hogwarts, and that was mainly due to Snape and Ron. First up I love Ron he made me laugh out loud and is generally an endearing character. I also really feel for him living in the shadow of his many brothers and now Harry.
Now onto the other reason for getting into the book, the need to know whether Snape is a goodie or a baddie. I am guessing that this theme continues in the other books, and please don't spoil it for me but I just need to find out.
There were parts of the book that didn't frighten me exactly but wigged me out. Like the mirror thing, the unicorn blood and Voldemort in general. I know this is for children but I feel it's quite dark already, so maybe I won't make it to the end.
Overall I would say that after a slow start this was more enjoyable than I expected. I will definitely read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and might even watch the film.
For anyone that hasn't already got a copy you can pick up a copy from amazon.co.uk
This was a product that I didn't really need but it still managed to find it's way into my basket. I have quite a few eye cream samples that I want to try but when I saw this and the price, I knew I would have to give it ago.
This claims to minimise the appearance of dark circles after 4 weeks. I have mentioned before that I suffer from bad circles under my eyes, but recently they have got much worse and seem to spreading above my socket too.
This is a light non greasy cream which sinks in quickly and doesn't leave any residue so is perfect for morning and evening. It has no smell - that I have noticed which I always find a bonus.
I have been using for a good couple of months, mostly in the morning as well as a more expensive night eye cream. To be honest, I haven't noticed any difference in my dark circles, in fact they have got worse. I can't blame this product for that as I have had an incredibly difficult couple of months, and unfortunately when I am stressed and run down my sleep really suffers. I may do a whole post on what has been going on, but lets say I am definitely not looking my best.
I guess this is a bit of an unfair review but I would say that the premium eye cream didn't help either which I am a lot more disappointed by.
I am not writing this off completely, as I do suffer from bad dark circles at the best of times and do think they have got worse due to actual lack of sleep. I would definitely recommend that people who perhaps don't suffer with such bad dark circles try this out.
If anyone else has tried this I would love to hear what you thought - should I try this again when things have calmed down?
This is currently available for £2.98 usually £5.99 from superdrug.com
I got this with the August 2013 Edition of InStyle. I have tried a couple of the brands shower gels and body lotions and loved them so was looking forward to trying this out.
I am not a massive fan of the wand as I prefer the plastic ones in general. I just find these type end up all over my eye lid and clump easily.
I did find that this gave a good amount of volume however it's not really a mascara that you can build up as it does start to clump. That said it is fine for everyday use, it didn't flake or smudge and was easy to remove.
This has no perfume or parabens which isn't something that is important to me, but makes me think it would be ok to use if you had sensitive eyes.
The only other thing I think that lets this down is the price. The full size is £15.50 which some people might not find that steep but I personally don't like spending over £10 for a mascara. After all you shouldn't keep them hanging around for months and they dry up quickly.
If you like these types of wands and don't mind the price this is available from uk.rituals.com
This month has been a good month for beauty freebies and I picked up a copy of Elle, Marie Claire and Glamour.
Elle have a full sized Percy & Reed Wonder Balm this promises to give you 'moisture, shine, smoothness, definition, softness, light hold, high humidity protection and manageability' and I am very interested to see how I get on with this. The only product I have tried from Percy & Reed has been the No Oil Oil, which I have reviewed here. I hope that I have more success with this but will keep you posted. This is available from beautybay.com for £18.
With Marie Claire I picked up a full sized Neal's Yard Remedies Lip Gloss in Goji Berry I love wearing Lip Gloss I think it takes me back to when I first started wearing makeup and all I was allowed was clear mascara and lip gloss. I am hoping that this will be a good everyday lip choice with it's promises to 'moisturise, smooth and protect. You can pick this up from nealsyardremedies.com for £9.50.
Lastly I picked up Glamour with a ModelCo Fibre Lashxtend Extreme Black Lengthening Mascara I am not sure how I will get on with the fibres or the brush but I am not expecting much to be honest. I must say I love the mirror on the side, very handy indeed.
I hope in some way that I don't fall in love with this as this retails at £16 on modelcocosmetics.com with standard p&p being £8 unless you spend over £100! I have found a duo on xtras.co.uk for £8.99 but guessing these aren't always in stock.
What did you guys pick up?
My February Birchbox arrived a couple of weeks ago so I thought I would share with you what was included.
Beauty Protector Protect & Oil this wasn't a brand I had heard of until I started getting Birchbox, but I received a leave in conditioner from them in my first box which I love. I am slightly apprehensive of using oil on my hair but I have loved the leave in conditioner so will definitely give this a go. The full size is available from birchbox.co.uk for £16.
Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner I do have the full size of this after it was a freebie with Marie Claire in August 2013. I am rubbish with eyeliner and this is no exception, unfortunately. Instead of wasting this I am going to give to a friend or one of my sisters . I still want to try one of their mascaras. You can pick up the full size for £12 from feelunique.com.
Urban Veda Radiance Exfoliating Facial Polish this isn't a brand I have heard of before but am interested to try. I love exfoliating and am interested to try anything that promises 'a radiant, youthful complexion' This also includes no SLS, parabens or GM ingredients. The full size retails at £8.99 for 125ml and is available from birchbox.co.uk.
Gilchrist & Soames The London Collection Shower Gel I can't describe the scent of this unfortunately as suffering from a bad cold and have no sense of smell. This is a paraben-free forumla which promises to 'refresh and hydrate skin' It is another brand I haven't heard of and looks more like something you would find in a hotel. You can pick up the full size for £13.75 from birchbox.co.uk.
Leighton Denny Coconutty I haven't tried a nail polish from Leighton Denny but have used his crystal nail file. The colour is dark nude with gold shimmer running through it. It's not a shade I would buy but think it might be nice on my toes. This is available for £8.80 from beautybay.com
My lifestyle extra was some Green & Black Dark Chocolate which I gave to my boyfriend as I like my chocolate milk or filled with something sweet.
Overall I am pleased with my box, these things are always pretty hit and miss and I wouldn't have bought most of these products myself but that is the joy with these boxes.
