Glossybox vs Birchbox - May haul!

I think its clear that over the course of the last few months I have become a bit obsessed with beauty boxes. Birchbox and Glossybox are quite similar in their approaches, both cost the same (about £12.95 with postage and packaging) and both send out a similar number of samples. I'm a subscriber to both boxes, and I receive them both at the same time each month, so I'm sampling a good number of products quite regularly!

This month, Birchbox went on quite a classic route, with samples from Liz Earle, which I loved, and brands such as Benefit, which is always good. Glossybox dedicated their box to Superdrug brands to celebrate their anniversary, with a few extra samples to boot.

This month I received:

Birchbox:

Soigne Nail Lacquer in Pomegranate: I LOVE this colour, and the packaging looks great. But unfortunately, nail varnishes never last for me, and within 10 minutes I had chipped nails. I'm heavy handed though, so this may well work for a less clumsy person.  See this post for my take on actually getting chip free nails!
Beauty Protector Protect & Shampoo and Protect & Condition sample bottles (£14 each full size): Beauty protector has released a range of products to guard against future damage, whilst healing damaged hair. Mine does undertake a regular battering, so I was very pleased with these samples! It has some super nourishing treatments, like honey pearl powder, and my hair has been really soft since I started using it.
Aromatherapy Revive Morning Bath & Shower Oil sample (£39 full size): This is very luxurious smelling and is relaxing, thumbs up!
Benefit They're Real! Sample bottle (£19.50 full size): This has been heralded as the alternative to false lashes, and although for me nothing really compares to the real thing (check out my post on false lashes here) they do seperate the lashes effectively, and lengthens well. This is my go to mascara of choice anyway, and I had just run out when this box arrived, so this was in the nick of time!
Liz Earle Beauty Co Cleanse & Polish (£13.25 full size): This is a somewhat cheaper version of Eve Lom Cleanse & Polish, and comes with a muslin cloth. It's got a rich texture to it and smells lovely, and the process of removing it with the cloth does leave the skin feeling very clean. It removes eye makeup too, which is a bonus. I can't compare it to the Eve Lom version, but its on my checklist of things to try!

Verdict: I LOVED this box - it was like birchbox was reading my mind and knew exactly what I needed this month! Even though I don't really like receiving nail polishes, this has been one of my favourite polishes that I have received in a box (colour wise) so even the worst for me was a good shout this month.

Glossybox - what I received:

GHOST Fragrances Eclipse sample (£33 full size): I do like Ghost scents, and this is fruity and summery!


John Frieda Frizz-Ease Original & Effects Serum (full size £3.99): My hair is pretty curly naturally, and when left alone its a bit of a roulette. It either curls up nicely or forms a frizzy, untamed mess. Luckily with this in place I've felt much safer relying on it to do the former.

Collection Bronze Glow Mosaic (one size £2.99): I was initially a bit skeptic about this, as I'm not much of a mosaic bronzer fan. It does leave a sunkissed look, though.

Maybelline New York Colorshow Crystallize Nail Polish - Nearly Black: I can't comment on this one, as I'm not feeling the black nails now that summer is finally here and plus, my views on regular nail polish have been made clear! I've not yet attempted this one.

Garnier Oil Beauty Lotion sample (£4.99 for 250ml): This looks fab, but I've got to confess I've not yet tried this yet as it seems to have vanished (I don't ever remember seeing it?!) However my box states that I recieved it so perhaps it disappeared in my flurry of excitement opening the box. It's got argan, macademia, almond and rose oil which re-invigorates the skin, so if it turns up I'll certainly be trying it.


B. Sheer Conditioning Lipstick (One size £6.99): The vitamin E, shea butter and aloe vera leave your lips feeling soft with a touch of colour. Perfect as a lip balm/colour all in one!


Scholl Velvet Smooth Overnight Mask (full size £7.99): I don't look after my feet nearly enough, and after being treated to this they felt pampered and great.


Verdict: I loved all of the products in Birchbox, its possibly one of my favourite boxes from them to date, so that is pretty hard to beat. I was initially disappointed that the Glossybox was only full of  budget products (don't get me wrong, I love a good budget product, but I like a range of samples from budget to high end). However, the fact that so many of them are full sized and they added a few bonus products does go a way to balancing this out. For me, Birchbox was way more exciting this month, and I got to try products I was really curious about, whereas most of the Superdrug products I had tried already as they are so easily available. Birchbox is the winner for me!

Are you a beauty box subscriber? Have you tried any of the products listed?

x

Don't forget to join this weeks Bloglovin Blog Hop which I am co-hosting!

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100 followers Andy Warhol Nars giveaway!

Hello,

I'm so excited to have reached 100 followers on Bloglovin! It may not seem like a big deal, but it is to me. To celebrate, I have these bits to giveaway, from the NARS Andy Warhol range. I love pop art, and I'm fascinated by the 1960's and the celebrity culture of its time. NARS is also of course a fabulous brand, so all things considered this seems like a perfect collaboration! The giveaway includes an Edie Sedgwick gift set, who was a muse to Warhol, and an eyeshadow palette of his legendary painting  'Self Portrait'. I have one of these myself, and it looks like such a collectors piece, I'm just not sure I can use it for fear of ruining it!

The palette retails for around $50 - $70 and the gift set for around $45.


Gift set includes:
- Film Star Pure Matte Lipstick in '60s Nude Pink.
- Eyeshadow Cream in Edie: a little bit of shimmer.
- Stylo Eyeliner in Carpates.
- Blush Duo in Deep Throat and Amour: shimmering, sheer peach and matte peachy pink. 

Open to international entries!

 Enter using the Rafflecopter below!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


And don't forget to join this weeks Happy Kids Inc Bloghop too, which I am co-hosting!

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Thrifty Homemade Face Treats & Happy Kids Blog Hop!

Hello,

I'm one of the co-hosts this week for the Happy Kids Blog Hop - you can join up at the bottom of this post!


I've decided to write a series of thrifty blog posts over the coming weeks to report back on testing out beauty and cosmetic tricks - from home made face masks to gel nails and much more. I've discovered lots of these beauty tips myself because I've found that maintaining everything (hair, nails, eyelashes, etc) through salons only, whilst once in a while is a nice treat, costs a lot of money! I've discovered that for me that often the contents of my kitchen cupboard can achieve what a spa day can in terms of results, and can be fun in the process.

I'm very much looking forward to these as I'm going to enlist the help of some of my good friends along the way to do it, hopefully developing them into some vlog posts as well. This week I met up with my friend Bella to test out a porridge based face mask. I'd like to say I got this from a secret recipe handed down from my grandmother or something, but in actual fact, one click on google unearths a huge number of these natural recipes (i'm annoyed to say that now, despite loads of trawling, I can't find this recipe or original site - please do let me know if this is yours). I chose this one because it was good for moisturising but not in a way that makes the skin oily, which is one of my constant battles.

You need;
1. An egg yolk. Bella kindly showed me how to separate the egg yolk from the white like a pro - I'd advise you on how to do this but my attempts since have not been successful!
2.  A tablespoon of honey
3. A tablespoon of olive oil

4. Half a lemon
4. Half a cup of oatmeal/porridge oats
5. Quarter/half a cup of water. Be careful here - we must have added too much water and had far too much of a runny mixture, and had to add lots more porridge oats to even the balance - it got a bit out of hand!

Put the mixture on and leave for 15 minutes - (it's advisable to cover all nearby surfaces first)

Egg Egg whites are said to tighten and tone the face and draw out excess oils, whilst the yolk moisturizes.
Lemon is great for skin brightening and removing dark marks from acne or scars/discolouration.
Honey is great for hydrating the skin and locking in moisture.

Clearly not the best look in the world..

Bella: "My face feels really really clean!'

Results:  It was a bit messy to apply and getting the balance of water vs oats is tricky - but persevere, because it really does work wonders. Bella mentioned the weekend after that her face had never been so clear that week - the mixture seems to have a balancing effect on the face and does leave you feeling really really clean afterwards.

4/5

I'll be back continuing this thread next week with a cat litter face mask (yes you read right) - which is said to beat £90 facials in some of the best spas in London. We'll see..

Have you ever made your own facemasks? Do you think they can be just as good as salon / expensive ones?

x

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