Love is in the Air Februrary Glossybox product review

The design of February's box was typically lovey dovey to commemorate St. Valentines day. A pink and red box with hearts adorning the lid.

Februrary's Glossybox was a bit of an odd combination in my opinion. It seemed that February's box was concerned with maintaining hair as well as pampering existing hair. The February Glossybox had rather unusual products given that the theme was Valentines day. I found it especially odd that February's box included tweezers, a razor and hair masque. Of course all are used to pamper oneself but tweezers are a basic staple so I found it strange that they were included. It was a bit of an odd box with the Nicka K New York 24h brown waterproof eyeliner which I was especially dubious about.

The Vintage Cosmetic Company Floral Slanted tweezers, although aesthetically pleasing with the vintage rose floral design, are too large to comfortably use. The tweezers felt really cheap and flimsy when I used them on my eyebrows. As the tweezers are quite large it makes it difficult to grasp the hairs. The tweezers are however angled to aid in removing the hair but as they're so large it makes it difficult to pluck your brows with them. I was disappointed with the quality of the tweezers but they'll do as a back up for when I'm at my boyfriend's house. The tweezers I usually use are small, strong metal ones from The Body Shop which I've had for years. They may not be pleasing to look at but they do the job perfectly.

I've use the Wilkinson's Sword Hydro Silk razor before and again it comes in handy to keep when at my boyfriend's house. The idea with this particular razor is that once the blades are wet it's meant to lather up so you can shave without the need for shaving creams or gels. This ingenuity however, only works when the legs are arms are wet and then the wet blade is applied to the skin. It is not however appropriate to wet the blade and use it on dry skin. I used the Wilkinson's Sword Hydro Silk razor as a quick fix because I was supposed to be going swimming the next day and wouldn't have time in the morning to shave. I have used this razor before but decided to see how effective the blades were by running that under water. Needless to say it is not sufficient and is essentially the same as dry shaving. My skin was broken, sore and really itchy the next couple of days so it's best to wet the skin before using this razor. For the areas that the razor does lather up on the skin it leaves a slimy trail on the skin which strangely feels quite smooth on the skin. The idea of the trail is that it also enables you to see where you've been on the skin as well as prevent any skin irritation from the razor.

Back in about November/December time Glossybox sent out a survey for customers to chose their preferred shade of lipstick in the February box. With this in mind I was greatly anticipating the February box knowing that a new shiny lipstick was headed my way. Another Glossybox fave February's box included a MUA Power Pout Glaze Low Voltage Gloss lipgloss which my chosen shade was nude. However, I was unfortunately disappointed with February's item as I stopped wearing lipglosses a long time ago so I was originally anticipating a lipstick or crayon not a gloss. The MUA Power Pout Glaze Low Voltage Gloss is the typical twist pen design with a soft brush at the end. It took the full twist of the pen until the liquid eventually came through onto the brush. When it did eventually come through it's really difficult to apply to the lips. My lips became really sticky and heavy with the product and I found it hard to blend the gloss with the brush as the brush is too soft in conjunction with the thick liquid. My lips looked very shiny and glossy a look which I've since decided doesn't really suit me. Luckily the gloss didn't last very long and it wiped off really easily. The downside of this (as I smushed my lips against one another) the gloss seemed to strip the skin from my lips. My lips were particularly sore and skinned and it took a few days of lip balm to bring them back to normal. Incidentally, the heavy gloss made my lips look like they were plumped which again isn't a look that suits me. The Power Pout Glaze Low Voltage Gloss isn't a product that will stay in my make up bag sadly.
                                                 

I was really dubious about trying the Nicka K New York 24h Waterproof eyeliner in brown at first. I wear black eyeliner and have done for years so I'm always reluctant to steer away from this look. The leaflet for the Nicka K New York 24h Waterproof eyeliner in brown suggested that the eyeliner could be used with a smoky eye so I thought I would attempt it to see what it looked like. I was pleasantly surprised with the Nicka K New York 24h Waterproof eyeliner in brown as it really does last all day. The colour isn't too obvious or strange and actually complimented my golden eyes. From a distance the Nicka K New York 24h Waterproof eyeliner in brown looks like my usual black eyeliner so there was no obvious difference to my make up look. The Nicka K New York 24h Waterproof eyeliner in brown is a non-sharpening eyeliner that you twist the tube to push out the eyeliner. The Nicka K New York 24h Waterproof eyeliner in brown has a pointed tip so it makes precision drawing so much easier. The only downside was that the nib for the eyeliner is too thin for my liking so you need to apply a couple of coats which makes it difficult to draw along the straight line on the eyelid. The Nicka K New York 24h Waterproof eyeliner in brown retails at £3.99 meaning that it's cheap and does the job perfectly Furthermore, the Nicka K New York 24h Waterproof eyeliner has a built in sharpener and comes with a smudger on the opposite end. The Nicka K New York 24h Waterproof eyeliner in brown is surprisingly a keeper for me.
                               
 The image shown is actually one taken from Google because my phone is terrible for photos. The NAOBAY Protective Hair Mask Volume Conditioner that I received is a solid white plastic bottle rather than the one pictured above with the wooden lid. The white plastic and wooden lid design are aesthetically pleasing and I think it makes it look organic. I was unsure about trying the NAOBAY Protective Hair Mask Volume Conditioner purely because I've had bad reactions with conditioning hair masks before. I've also been really disappointed with the ones I've received so far from Glossybox or other subscription boxes. I'm happy to report however, that neither was the case for the NAOBAY Protective Hair Mask Volume Conditioner. I loved the NAOBAY Protective Hair Mask Volume Conditioner because it was really thick and worked wonders on my hair. I left the NAOBAY Protective Hair Mask Volume Conditioner on for less than the recommended three minutes and my hair felt really thick and full of volume even when it was wet. When I rinsed the NAOBAY Protective Hair Mask Volume Conditioner out and let my hair dry naturally my hair was full of bounce. My hair looked shiny and glossy after using it. Retailing at £10.64 for a 200ml bottle I would definitely re-purchase this. The NAOBAY Protective Hair Mask Volume Conditioner is a keeper for me!

Let me know what you thought of February's Glossybox, any products you liked or disliked, in the comments below xx

Happy Birthday Glossybox review

This month, Glossybox are celebrating their fourth birthday and as a treat they've included four full sized products. I was really excited by this month's selection of goodies. It includes the MeMeMe Lipglide crayon in playful peach which retails at £6.95. I was slightly unsure when I opened this as I'm not usually one for lip crayons. I used it straight away and I absolutely love it. The colour isn't too bright and looks quite natural on the lips. The MeMeMe lip crayon is more a coral colour with a light pink hue. The formula isn't too greasy nor surprisingly waxy and blends well on the lips. To apply, I start by outlining the lips and either colour in the middle or blot the lips together to get even coverage. The crayon didn't dry my lips out either and seemed to hold its' ground well until food. I'm always a little unsure of crayons and expect them to be drying but the MeMeMe lip crayon helps to hydrate the lips. This is definitely going to become a firm staple in my make up bag/handbag because it's so small and convenient.

Next up is the Manna Kadar lash primer which retails at £14.55. This was highly anticipated from last month's box as they offer a sneak preview of their favourite product for the upcoming month. I'm not completely sold on this. I don't wear mascara, when I have in the past, my eyelashes become spidery and stick out. My eyelashes are quite dark and long anyway so I don't really need to apply mascara. As the Manna Kadar is a conditioning lash primer I thought I would try it out. You can use it as a base for mascara which I imagine helps the mascara stay put. I really didn't like this primer, it dried my lashes out and made them really stiff having the opposite effect it was designed for. When applied the primer is white and didn't dry into the lashes fully leaving white spikes on my lashes. It works in the same way as mascara and gave me the same spidery pokey eyelash look. Unfortunately not one for me.

I always like getting new bronzers or blushers to try out. The St. Moriz bronzer that I currently use is perfect for my skin tone but I'm always on the look out to see if anything can replace it. I really liked that the Emite artist colour powder blush IO8 lasted all day and stayed put on my face. However, I didn't anticipate that a lot goes a long way. I usually sweep my blusher brush across the pad a couple of times to layer up the bronzer on the bristles. One dab of the Emite bronzer would have sufficed as unfortunately it sat on my face at first. It's quite a dark colour and unless blended, too dark for my pale skin tone. It's also not as creamy as I would like so doesn't blend very easily. It did give me a nice glow but unfortunately for £20.59 it won't replace my current staple fave.

I was happy to find that alongside new make up Glossybox had also included a facial toner and cleanser. I really liked the Naobay calming face toner as it refreshes, cleanses, tones and soothes the skin. This 4 in 1 formula is a perfect make up remover although I needed a couple of applications to completely rid the lash primer from my eyes. Priced at just £10.65 this will definitely become a new staple and may even replace make up wipes (although I still prefer their convenience to toners). I could tell before I opened it that Naobay is an organic product with the wooden lid and plain plastic packaging screaming organic. It's made from almost 100% natural ingredients with a further 12.16% of the total ingredients sourced from organic farming. I really liked this and it made my face feel really clean and refreshed. It removes make up easily from the face but a little perseverance is needed for stubborn eye make up.

Last up was the SASS Purifying Cleanser priced at £7 for a full sized bottle. The directions state two pumps and apply but the cleanser is very watery so one small dollop is all that was needed. It's a greyish liquid with small white bits that works to cleanse and refresh the skin daily. Applied to dry skin SASS foams immediately which needs to be washed off. My skin looked really clean and fresh after I used this making my face look bright. Another new favourite this month so three out of five isn't bad. As I'd never heard of SASS before until receiving it I decided to Google it. I hadn't realised that it's specifically designed as a PH balance intimate cleanser. The instructions don't specify much and I had instead assumed it was a facial cleanser or at the very least an all over body cleanser. I haven't actually tried this product out to its' full potential but it works well as a facial cleanser.

           

          

Feel free to leave me comments below I do enjoy reading them and I don't have very many to re-read at the minute xx