Latest in Beauty- Skin Care Stars Box Unboxing

So the Postman came with a package today & I'm going to unbox it with you. :)

Ooh what could it be?... (hints may be found in the title).

Without the outer bag.

Without the cardboard surround.

Without the lid.

Say hello to the LiB Skin Care Stars Box (SCSB).

First impressions- Wow! That's a lot of product.

This is the SCSB that Latest in Beauty put together with YOU Magazine, as their latest themed box that was available from this Sunday for £8.95 plus shipping. Last I checked the box had sold out on their website.

Latest in Beauty is another beauty box service that is notably different as there is no subscriptions & you get to see the products before you place an order with them. Which they pride themselves on & I think that is commendable. What they might lack in packaging prettiness on the outside, they certain make up for inside in terms of sheer product quantity/quality.

In the SCSB I received

• L'occitane Angelica Hydration Cream- 15ml sample (£29 for 50ml).
• Etat Pur Micellar Cleansing Water- 190ml full size (£6.40).
• Melvita Youthful Skin Cream- 15ml sample (£32 for 50ml),
• Balance Me Moisture-Rich Face Cream 10ml sample (£6 for 10ml or £24 for 50ml).
• Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser 30ml sample (£34 for 200ml).
• Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate 4ml sample (£36 for 30ml).

Anyone want the Maths?..((29/50)x15)= £8.70 + £6.40 + ((32/50)x15)= £9.60 + £6 + ((34/200)x30)= £5.10 + ((36/30)x4)= £4.80

= £40.60 (I'm hoping my calculations are correct, please forgive me if not).

L'Occitane Angelica Hydration Cream.

I wasn't sure if I would like this product before I received it, but I am plesantly surprised. I love the consistency, it is light almost whipped gel/cream texture. The scent is a fresh clean scent. I tried it out on the back of my hand & it felt smooth and not at all heavy. I can't wait to properly try this out.

Etat Pur Micellar Cleansing Water.

I am looking forward to trying next time I have some makeup on. I never tried any of the cleansing waters before but have heard good things abouts ones such as the Bioderma one & so I have high hopes for this one. Will update you on how I get on.

Melvita Youthful Skin Cream.

Because my skin is quite youthful as it is, I don't think I will be using this product but have passed it on to my mum. Although I did test it on my hand & I don't know if my sample is a dud but it smelt quite funny (as in, really really bad), definitely not pleasing at all, so I'm kinda reluctant to let my mum use it...

Balance Me Moisture-Rich Face Cream.

I have dry & sensitive skin so was excited to try this. Once I got my hands on it, I applied it straight to my face. So far it seems to be holding up well, but time will tell. Also this seems to have a scent which I'm not 100% keen on but it's not too strong for my über sensitive nose.

Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser.

Another product I am looking forward to try. I do like a good scrub despite having dry skin, without scrubbing I feel as though my skin gets dull & just doesn't feel 'clean'.

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate.

This is what I was most excited to try out. I've seen some good reviews on this product & some say that it's better than Estée Lauder's more expensive version. I did try a drop on the back of my hand (yes I have one amazingly moisturised hand) the scent does have a strong lavender hit but once on the skin was bearable. I'm going to have to see how I feel about the scent once it's on my face, but I'm glad it's a night thing not day because I wouldn't like it if it were on my face all day long.

Overall I am happy with the contents of this box & I'm going to have fun trying out these products. I definitely think this box was worth purchasing & will be interested in Latest in Beauty's next themed box.

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think of this box?

Lots of Love XOXO

 

What's in My Makeup Bag (Travel Essentials)

Me being me, always seem to pack way more than is necessary. Less is definitely NOT more in my case. So on my last break away, I tried to be a little more refined (ahem..) in what I took with me. I feel like I did well this time. I used most of the products & I feel like I had a good selection with me.

Shall we see what I took?..

**Sneak peek.**

Makeup Essentials...

Top Half: Aveeno Hand Cream, MAC Fleet Fast Blush (swatches & review), MAC Modern Mandarin Blush, HD Brows Grow Baby Grow (review here), Bourjois Volumizer Mascara, Garnier Roll-On Anti Dark Circles, Real Techniques Brush Holder with MAC 266, Bobbi Brown Ultra Fine Eye Liner Brush, MAC 219, MAC 239, MAC 217, MAC 129 SE, MAC 226, Real Techniques Foundation Brush, MAC 182, RT Contour Brush, MAC 168, MAC Eyelash Curlers, RT Detailer Brush & RT Buffer Brush.

Bottom Half: Nars Paramaribo Eyeshadow Duo, Nars Sin Blush, Nars Deep Throat Blush, MAC MSF Natural in Medium, Estée Lauder Sensuous Nude EDP, NYX Taupe Eyeshadow, Dior Shimmer Powder in Amber Diamond, MAC Engraved Eye Pencil, Bobbi Brown Black Ink Gel Eyeliner, Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Stromboli & Urban Decay Naked Palette.

 

 

 

 

You might be thinking that something's missing?.. no?.. That would be the lip products. I find it easier to carry them in a separate smaller makeup bag that I carry in my handbag. Making them more accesible because they are the products I usually need to reapply when out & about whereas the rest of my makeup tends to stay in place & doesn't require touch ups.

I use this pouch for my lip products. It is from a past MAC Tartan Tale Collection. Aye Bonnie Lass..

Inside: Carmex Classic in a Tube, MAC Marquise D Lipstick, MAC Mellow Mood Lipstick, MAC Icescape Lipglass, Burts Bees Lip Balm in Honey, Zovirax, Nars Greek Holiday Lipgloss & finally a non lip product that I carry, travel size Estée Lauder Sensuous Nude Eau De Parum.

 

Be honest, how do you think I did? & what are your makeup travel essentials?

 

Lots of Love XOXO

 

Latest in Beauty Box Skin Care Stars Box

Latest in Beauty, is another beauty service that allows you to try sample sized beauty products. This one is a little different to the likes of GlossyBox because you get to see the samples on offer & choose which ones you would like to purchase or not, as the case may be. Check out their website for more info.


Now the reason for my post is that every once in a while, they have special themed boxes, that contain nice sized samples for £8.95 usually plus p&p & the boxes value ranges into about £40 give or take.

Because these are amazing deals they tend to sell like hot cakes. Latest in Beauty has teamed up with You Magazine & are offering a Skin care Stars Limited Edition Box from today & to get them you need to follow this link & then follow the instructions. Also there is a coupon code in the You Magazine with the Sunday Times. If you want one make sure you buy it fast because I don't see it lasting long.

 

Lots of Love XOXO

GlossyBox June 2012

On Tuesday I received my GlossyBox for the month of June. If you would like to know more about what GlossyBox is, check out my previous GlossyBox post.

So who would like to see what I got in my box this month..?

This months box is beauty themed.

Back to GlossyBox's original inner packaging.

Are you ready?...

Here we go...

...

Ta-da, my June GlossyBox contents.

This month I recieved

• GlossyBox- Exclusiv Pro Beauty Brush
• MeMeMe- Sensuous Nail Gloss (5ml sample)
• BM Beauty- Summer Warmth Bronzer (1g sample)
• Caudalie- Eau Fraiche in Zest De Vigne (10ml sample)
• Vichy- Dermablend Ultra Corrective Foundation Cream Stick (6g sample)

GlossyBox- Pro Exclusiv Beauty Brush.

There seems to be quite a bit of hate going around for this brush. I think that it's not a bad brush at all & a handy addition to my brush collection. The bristles are quite soft & densely packed. Mine doesn't seem to be falling apart as other have mentioned. I think the size & design is good. What I really like is the size of the brush head. I would use this primarily as a blusher brush because I find I have smaller cheeks & some blusher brush heads are slightly too big for my preference. This one is a perfect size. I tested this with the bronzer and it worked fine.

MAC 168, GlossyBox Pro Beauty Brush, MAC 129SE.

MeMeMe- Sensuous Nail Gloss.

This nail gloss is a opaque peach colour. It really does have a very high shine finish. The first coat does go on slightly streaky, but I think 3 coats gives a nice even & opaque finish. I always walk past the MeMeMe section at my local Superdrug, but after trying this I went in & tried a few products out. They had some nice boxed blushes that seemed pretty good. Maybe next time they might come home with me...

This is 3 coats of the Sensuous Nail Gloss.

BM Beauty- Summer Warmth Bronzer.

This bronzer is a beautiful, shimmery gold with peachy undertones. It is perfect for the summer & will look gorgeous on slightly tanned, tanned & darker skin tones. Some of the lighter beauties were a bit upset that it was too dark for their skin tones, but I think this would also be a very beautiful eyeshadow. I also heard that it could be mixed into foundation, so maybe that's something to try...

A little goes a long way. My tip for application would be, to dip desired brush into product (getting a tiny amount onto tip) then swirl in the lid & then tap off any excess & swipe onto apples & cheekbones. Hey presto, one bronzed beauty!

Caudalie- Eau Fraiche in Zest De Vigne.

This is a very lemony fragrance. If you love the scent of real lemons, this is definitely for you. I prefer more girly sweet fragrances so not quite for me. This is a very nice size for a sample, great handbag size.

Vichy- Dermablend Ultra Corrective Foundation Cream Stick.

This sample has 6 different foundation shades in it. The foundation is a heavy coverage, which I don't necessarily need but I would like to try this on my under eye circles. I swatched one of the shades on the back of my hand & the texture seems nice. It feels 'light' (& not cakey) once buffed in & doesn't have any scent.

I am a little confused with the colour descriptions but I guess I will have a play & do some trail & error.

 

Hope you enjoyed seeing what I got in my box.

 

Lots Of Love XOXO

Superdrug Haul

Just wanted to share with you a few goodies I picked up at my local Superdrug. (A drugstore for those of you not from the UK).

First up, I have 2 Sleek Eyeshadow Palettes. The ones I bought are, The Oh So Special Palette £6.49 & The Ultra Matte V2 Darks Palette £6.99.

This is the Oh So Special Palette. I bought this one because I really liked the colour selection. It have a good mix of neutrals & darks, I also liked how it has shimmery shades and matte ones. The colours are pigmented & feel almost buttery to the touch, which I wouldn't expect for a product that is relatively inexpensive.

I particularly like the Ribbon shade, which is a matte pinky coral that is nicely pigmented.

This is the Ultra Matte V2 Darks Palette. I think this is a new palette from Sleek. I thought this palette would be useful to me because I have hardly any matte eyeshadows in my collection. There was another option of this palette, that had brighter more neon colours.

There are some really pretty shades in this & again they are pigmented & buttery soft.

Here are some 'light' finger swatches of Ink, Highness & Noir.

Finger swatches of Paper Bag, Villain & Fern.

This is how the palettes look closed.

Next up I bought this Softlips French Vanilla Lip Balm, I think this was around the £2 mark. Let me just tell you the scent when you open up this baby, is amazing! Its that beautiful french vanilla that warms you up & gives you a big hug scent. The balm is in a twisty tube, & when applying onto the lips it feels meltingly super soft. I think it also has methanol, because once applied it has that cool tingle on the lips. It also has SPF 20.

I'm always on the lookout for a good lip balm as I have dry lips. My all time favourite lip balm would be Carmex in a tub, in terms of formula that works for me. However a big negative factor is that it gets unhygienic after a few uses. I've tried Carmex in a tube but feel the formula is different (more petroleum jelly like). The Softlips is a good replacement to the Carmex tub & so far I am really enjoying it.

Finally I repurchased my quite recently appointed, HG hand cream. Aveeno Hand Cream, now on offer for £3.09. A few months back I was in the market for a good hand cream because my hands had become extremely dry. I needed one that was extremely moisturising but not heavy or greasy. Also I don't like ones with a scent because I have a very sensitive nose. I tried a fair few, then tried this one & found it ticked all of the boxes. Colliodal Oats are known to be good for dry, sensitive skin, also great for eczema. My brother just got back from holiday & his eczema on his hands tends to get really bad when he goes to hot countries. So I let him use my hand cream (which he kept, thus my having to repurchase..) & he has already noticed a significant improvement. Although I would definetely recommend seeking medical attention (as I have to my brother) if you also suffer from eczema, because they can help.

 

Lots of Love XOXO