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

Clarins Paris three product review

I went for a skin consultation last year to see if I could get some advice on what products I should be using for my skin. I already knew I had combination skin but it's nice to get a second opinion. It's quite an odd experience having a skin consultation. I had strips of paper placed over my T-zone and cheeks and the residue that is left behind somehow tells the sales assistant that I have combination skin. That is to say oil, dry and sensitive skin so I need separate products to combat each thing. She spoke to me about what products I use and then from there they try to help you find the right products for your skin. I tried to use the products last year and found them quite itchy on the dry patches of skin. I've recently re-visited them and decided to try them out again.

During the skin consultation she poured a little bit of One-Step Facial Cleanser onto a pad and swept it over my face. You then have to wet another pad and wipe the toner off as it's really greasy. It has an unusual orange scent but although it's pleasant, it's a little overpowering. Once you wipe it off your face with water the skin feels so smooth and soft. You're supposed to repeat this stage twice a day, once in the morning and follow it up with HydraQuench Lotion and once in the evening followed up by Multi-Active Nuit youth recovery cream. The facial cleanser is available to buy from around £21 depending on the retailer.

I said that I wasn't about to replace my daily moisturiser which is true but if I ever do, Clarins Paris HydraQuench Lotion with SPF 15 would be a close contender. It's a very light weight moisturiser that lets the skin breathe but works on the dry areas of my face. It has a light lemon scent which isn't overbearing. It also doubles up as a primer so my make up doesn't slide off when I use the moisturiser. It's also about £27 so it's very pricey.

Lastly, on a night time after applying the orange scented facial cleanser I use the Multi-Active Night Youth recovery cream. Both the day and night moisturisers are light on the face and a small amount goes a long way. My face feels a little greasy in the morning from the night moisturiser but I like to think that it's gone to work on my face overnight. Unfortunately, it's the dearest product priced at £44 for 100ml but there are cheaper moisturisers available that work just as well.

I was pleasantly surprised by these products and although the cleanser does sting a little bit on dry skin, the three products in combination work wonders for my problematic skin. My skin is noticeably smoother and really works to dry out and heal my spots. The dry patches on my skin are pretty much non-existent which is great!