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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Thrifty's How to.. Do Your Own Gel Nails!

Hello,

Last week, I started a series of weekly 'how to' mini guides, where I test out some homemade or home based beauty regimes, in order to find new ways of doing things in a more thrifty way. This week I thought I'd explore gel nail polish DIY kits, and just how easy it is to do your own gel nails at home.

If you're like me, you get excited by a new nail polish for all of ten minutes, spend ages painting your nails, religiously apply your base coat, three coats, and a top coat, and touch NOTHING for half an hour until you're absolutely certain its bone dry. You believe you've finally found a chip proof polish and think you've finally cracked it. Then, BAM, you reach into your bag for your keys/taxi money/makeup an hour later... and they're ruined.  Yep - either I'm either really heavy handed and clumsy, or nobody else uses their hands for anything. I don't believe regular nail polish truly lasts for everyone else too, but maybe I'm just bitter because they don't work for me!

'Gellicures' however, are a Godsend compared to your average "NON CHIP" nail polishes, because they actually last at least a week, two if you're really lucky. They do chip eventually, but you can repair them, and at least you don't have to redo your nails constantly. This usually costs me around £20 a time at a salon, but you can buy your own gel lamp kit for around £15 from Ebay, which virtually does the same job. Then all you need to invest in are the polishes, which are approximately £5 each, so you basically pay for it all in the equivalent of one salon visit!

What you need: A gel UV lamp, fingerless gloves (optional, but all UV damages skin after prolonged use) a base & top coat, and gel polish colour.

Here are the steps to get your nails looking great on the cheap!

1. Wash hands.
2. Buff the nails thoroughly, to get rid of surface oils, this is really important as it really helps the polish to stick. 
3. File the edges of your nails to the shape of your choice.
4. Apply base coat and cure nails with gel lamp (2 mins)
 Be careful of any stray hairs or dust around as this will ruin your professional look! (Captain Obvious, but this happened to me a lot.)
5. Apply 2-3 coats of polish, after each layer it will seem tacky but this helps the next layer to stick. (2 mins each coat)
6. Apply a top coat, taking care to cover the tips of your nails. This is the main trick that stops them from chipping! Cure this layer for 3 minutes, the extra minute ensures a hard, glossy finish!
7. Wipe nails with a lint wipe (makeup wipes will do) this removes all tackiness from the nails and leaves a glassy top coat.

Voila, pretty chip free nails!

How do you get on with regular nail polish? I'd love to know if this is just me that is incapable of using the stuff!

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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Wantable - My New Favourite Beauty Box

Beauty boxes are still a relatively new thing for me - I am a convert since subscribing to Glossybox and Birchbox three months ago. For those unfamiliar with the concept, you pay a monthly fee (usually around £12 including postage and packing) and the box arrives packed with sample goodies of high end to high street brands. Usually the value of the boxes far exceed the price tag, which is great, its like playing the lucky dip every month and receiving a present in the post all at the same time. But what I love most about these boxes is the discovery of new products that I'd never otherwise try, some of which are absolute staples in my makeup bag or skincare routines now.

I discovered Wantable over a month ago and, like an addict moving onto the harder stuff, decided to take the plunge and subscribe $36 (about £21) a month to their boxes. This seems excessive and had I not had the positive experience of the others, I probably wouldn't have done it. But I am like a magpie to shiny things, or products, and the curiosity got the better of me. Wantable allow you to opt out at any time, so its not too much of a commitment. They charge more than all the others but the process is very personalised, they ask you an in depth series of questions about the types of things you like and the products you'd like to receive, so you know that you're most likely to get the things you like. They also send full sized products rather then samples, so you really do get more bang for your buck.

I received my first box in the post the other day, after some anticipation (Wantable is based in the US and text you to keep you up to date with the shipping process). I can't remember the last time I was so excited for the postman to visit, I really need to get a life! Anyway, I was very pleasantly surprised by the contents and wanted to share a little review of my box here.


I received 4 full sized items for my April box (which I received at the end of April due to joining late), though the website states you'll receive 4/5 products so I guess it varies month to month.

1. Eddie Funkhouser Hyperreal Eye Colour Palette Ultimate Smoky Eye - $14.99

I've not come across Eddie Funkhouser before, but I do love eyeshadow quads for experimenting with more shades. I've used this once and was very impressed with the outcome. The shadow stayed put for a long while, too! You get a good deal of eyeshadow in one swatch, which suggests that its of some quality, and the blend of colours means you can tone it down for daytime quite easily or create a dramatic look for the evening, depending on what you're up to.

2. Eyetini Eye Cordial Cream Shadow Tint & Base in Black Stripe – Value $18

I was so impressed with the packaging on this and thought it was a really cool idea - you swizzle the eyeshadow and it pushes up the eyeliner like a lipstick. However - to be honest, I wasn't too impressed with the product. It was a bit too dry and refused to glide on without quite a bit of encouragement, and the shade seems to come out a dark grey colour, which is contradictory to the name 'Black Stripe'. Mine also seemed a bit broken with the swivel bit sometimes, and refused to work properly. It was disappointing really, because this was one of the things that caught my eye initially when I opened the box due to its clever packaging. I would have been annoyed if I'd paid for this item. Wantable are one of the few beauty boxes that actually allow you to return your box and get a refund if you're not happy with the products, which is pretty great, but despite not liking this item much, I decided to keep it because I was so happy with the others.

3. Cailyn Deluxe Raw Natural Blush Powder - Peach Pink - $35


This is by far my favourite item from my box and completely makes up for the eyeliner above. I'm not actually a fan of mineral based makeup usually, which is odd being as I'm a pale redhead, and you'd think with the wider range of tones and opportunities for blending it would appeal to me, but it doesn't. However this peach shade is absolutely beautiful, and I was instantly impressed after applying it. It leaves a pop of colour on the cheeks and has a silky texture which blends easily. It's a bit cumbersome, I've had a few instances with blush escaping the pot and going onto the floor whilst trying to remove the sponge, but that's alright, because this one is a makeup life changer and I'm currently wearing it on a daily basis! I still used a makeup brush to apply it, but I can't work out if they are for some reason expecting you to use the sponge as some sort of applicator? There's far too much product on it and it would most definitely make you look like you were attempting clown college if you did. But this is forgivable due to its greatness otherwise. I'd happily buy this one again.





 4. Face Stockholm Lip Liner - Lauren $17

I actually generally don't use lip liners, and I would have thought I'd put this down when answering my questions to personalise my boxes, but I must not have done in the fear of ruling something great out that I don't already use. That's one of the reasons I subscribe to these things, yes I want the products I like, but I'm also open to trying new things. That's what was so great about this liner - the shade is lovely, and the staying power also very good, but I'd otherwise not have tried it because lip liner isn't a general part of my makeup routine. I've been subsequently using it not just to line my lips, but as a lip colour as well. It's perfect for daytime wear, and stays put even after my morning cup of coffee (which is when the lipstick usually vanishes), even though they don't market this as a long lasting colour product!




So as a newbie Wantable subscriber - I think I'm going to stick with them for the time being - though my monthly costs on beauty boxes are starting to mount up! I may need someone to stage an intervention soon, or I might drop my other subscriptions and stick with this one. What's worse, or great, depending on how you look at it, is that Wantable also do an intimates box, and an accessories box, so today after leaving reviews of the products I received on their website, I stumbled across this and signed up for their May accessories after being wowed by this. Oops! Fingers crossed.. However, the box value for these full sized products above weighed in at $84.99, so for a $36 box, you could almost call it saving money... (that's what I'm telling myself anyway).

Do you subscribe to beauty boxes? I'm always keen to hear about other bloggers experiences with them!

Alice xx