September Glossybox old box - Product Reviews

It's been a very long time since I last reviewed a Glossybox and while my life takes on new challenges and directions, now feels like the right time to clear things out and get rid of my stuff. I went on a cleaning spree splurge very recently and in an attempt to live more minimalistic, I've sold a lot of my things and donated quite a few bags of clothing, make-up, craft supplies, anything really to free up space in my house. Glossyboxes are no exception as I still have a few left over from my subscription that I never got around to reviewing when I received them. So without further ado, here are my thoughts on a September Glossybox many moons ago.

As I have a couple of left over Glossyboxes, I'm going to surmise that this was around the time that I started to lose interest in it as I was receiving a lot of products that I don't like or use (like mascara) or very samey boxes each month. I also figured that the £13 subscription could be better directed elsewhere (like into a savings account so as not to tempt me with more frivolous purchasing). Unfortunately there were two products that I won't be reviewing in this post which were the Hydro Face Mask and the Better Than Sex Mascara. I have very long eye-lashes as it is and put mascara on top of them makes them look spidery and weird. As for the Hydro Face Mask, I've used them before and I don't like them at all (see my December review here of a similar product). I always finds packet face masks to be too big for my face so they end up slipping off and they leave my face feeling wet and slimy. I have quite sensitive skin so engulfing my face in a thin sheet is my skins' worst nightmare as it merely aggravates my sensitive skin.

The items left in the box that I will review however are the Smokey Eye Pen by Rodial retailing at £17 (it's eyeliner!), GOSH Copenhagen Long Lasting Lip Marker in pink (retailing at a respectable £8.50) and Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat by Revlon which retails at £7.99. I'll start with the Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat by Revlon as my review will be relatively short for this product.

Despite the presentation of the nail varnish in a black bottle, I was mislead to believe that the nail varnish was in fact black. The silver holographic top also alluded to me that the contents of the bottle were dark. I didn't however pick up on the following words 'Diamond' and 'Top Coat' which in hindsight I now realise strongly hints at the colour inside. Although it's summer, I've neglected my make up samples so thought I would try the Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat by Revlon on my toes going for a deep black. When I applied the Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat by Revlon of course it was clear and I immediately realised my error. I'm not an advocate for gel nail varnish by any stretch of the imagination as they often leave my nails weak and brittle. The Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat by Revlon was especially bulky and cumbersome despite the fact I have a free-standing nail varnish holder to make applications easier. When I realised my error that the 'black nail varnish' was in fact a clear top coat, I tried to wipe it off straight away. The clear varnish did not dry instantly and I had inadvertently smudged it. When I tried to paint over the clear in a terracotta colour, the smudge was noticeable under the colour. I'm sure you could use the Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat by Revlon as a top coat for any nail varnish but I'll be gifting this item away unfortunately.

Next up is the Long Lasting Lip Marker by GOSH Copenhagen. If I'm entirely honest, this product scared me a little. I'd heard of lip crayons before but never lip markers and I had (wrongly) assumed that the marker would resemble something of a crayon. The GOSH Copenhagen Long Lasting Lip Marker that I received had a purple tip so I had assumed that would be the colour of the marker. When I applied it to my lips, it was essentially a giant felt-tip pen in bright pink that I then had to colour my lips with, cue anxious feelings about colouring my skin in with a felt-tip pen. The marker smell is quite pungent which only added to the image of a giant felt-tip pen. When applied the colour was a bright pink that dried to a rich pink colour usually associated with lip tints. Top marks to GOSH for creating a Long Lasting Lip Marker. I attempted to remove the colour from my lips using a make up wipe remover and although a lot of the colour did come off onto the wipe, there remained a noticeable pink hue upon my lips. Long Lasting Lip Marker is definitely long lasting and although I liked the colour the smell and idea of the marker puts me off slightly. It also left my lips feeling tingly at first (as if I'd applied Lipcote) which I'm not sure if it would have worn off had I left the colour on for longer.

Lastly, is one of my favourite eyeliners by far, the Smokey Eye Pen by Rodial. I'm not sure why it's called an eye pen as it is nothing more than eyeliner but I liked it all the same. The black kohl eyeliner glides onto the eye with ease and looks really striking. Like any good eyeliner the Rodial Smokey Eye Pen stays on all day with no colour transference. £17 is a bit steep for an eyeliner considering my usual SuperShock eyeliner by AVON does exactly the same and costs 99p! The Smokey Eye Pen is a definite keeper in my make up bag but I won't rush out to buy a replacement when it's used up.

Let me know what you thought of this Glossybox review. Did you have any favourite products? Let me know in the comments below xx

July Glossybox product review

If you've read my June review you'll know I was really pleased with Glossybox and long may it continue. Yet, I find myself slightly disappointed again in the choice of products from Glossybox. In July's Glossybox there was the following: Utan and Tone Nourishing Night Crème priced at £12.50, my favourite ever product Hawaiian Tropic Island Berry Lip Gloss SPF 25 retailing at £6.99 (depending on where you buy it from), Icona Milano Emotion Allowed Mascara (which of course I won't be reviewing and I am tired of receiving a product I don't use), a Hairon De-Tangle Brush retailing at £6.99 and a Blank Canvas F20 Flat Brush retailing at £11.95. For those who follow me regularly you'll understand my disappointment with July's Glossybox. For one, I don't use mascara because it makes my eyelashes look spidery and ridiculous, 2. I have at least five detangling brushes so I really don't need another one, 3. I already know and love the Hawaiian Tropic Island Berry Lip Gloss SPF 25 but this is always a pleasure to test out and 4. I seem to receive a blusher or make-up brush every Glossybox so this again is another product that I don't really need an excess of. So for July it doesn't really leave me with a lot of products to try out. To read my review on Hawaiian Tropic take a look here and get some inspiration for any upcoming holiday's.

I really liked the Utan and Tone Nourishing Night Crème and there was a noticeable sheen to my face after just one application! You apply it at night after cleansing your face and removing all traces of make-up to ensure that the Utan and Tone Nourishing Night Crème can work its' magic. The Utan and Tone Nourishing Night Crème is packed full of antioxidants to help repair tired skin. I didn't really notice any physical change to my skin tone or complexion but I did develop a nice tan. The write-up for July's Glossybox states that 'you won't wake up to a biscuit-tan smell in the morning.' I disagree however and found that there was a noticeable fake tan smell but it wasn't particularly over-powering so I didn't mind too much. According to QVC it's a most wanted product so for some it's truly a miracle product. The Utan and Tone Nourishing Night Crème hasn't hanged my life but I enjoy using it to create a base tan when fake tanning.

Having previously purchased the Hawaiian Tropic Island Berry Lip Gloss, and, after stipulating that I don't use mascara, this brings me nicely onto the Hairon De-Tangle Brush. Although I have several de-tanglers and have mixed opinions on some of them (see here for a full review) I was dubious about receiving yet another de-tangler. I have previously received de-tanglers from Glossybox and Birchbox and haven't been overly impressed with them. The Hairon De-Tangle Brush is very similar to a previous one I received from Birchbox which I found too hard and harsh on the scalp. I could not have been more wrong with the Hairon De-Tangle Brush. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I love this Hairon De-Tangle Brush! The Hairon De-Tangle Brush is a little bit small but it works really well on wet and dry hair. The Hairon De-Tangle Brush is very gentle on the scalp unlike other de-tangling brushes I've tried.

Lastly, yet another blusher brush with the Blank Canvas F20 Flat Brush. Like de-tangling brushes I have an abundance of blusher brushes from Glossybox subscriptions so this again was something that I didn't imminently need. That said I love the hot pink colour of the brush and it's a welcome addition to my make up bag. I am surprised to say that I really liked the Blank Canvas F20 Flat Brush and even prefer it to my usual AVON angled brushes. The unusual shape of the Blank Canvas F20 Flat Brush means that you can apply a lot of blusher to the brush. The Blank Canvas F20 Flat Brush allows for even coverage across the cheeks and works even better than angled brushes. The Blank Canvas F20 Flat Brush is a definite keeper for me this month.

Let me know what your favourite products were in July's Glossybox. Has anyone tried the Icona Milano Emotion Allowed Mascara? Let me know in the comments below xx

May's Glossybox Glossy Getaways product review

Apart from the Revlon Mascara in May's Glossybox (which I won't try out) I was thrilled with the items in this month's box. Even more so because I redeemed all my survey points and the box was free! As well as a freebie month I also received a freebie notepad as a thank you for subscribing for a year, a packet of lightly sea salted proper corn AND a £2 off coupon to redeem at Superdrug. Glossybox you've done well I must say! It's a shame that I don't use mascara as the new REVLON Ultimate All-in-one is in a really unusual bottle which is quite large and flat. If I used mascara I would try it out purely for the novelty of the packaging but as my eyelashes go all spidery and wirey looking when I use mascara I won't review this product.

The theme in May's Glossybox is city scapes with three designs to adorn the front of the box. My Glossybox design was Berlin (a place I'm looking forward to going to in a few months time). May's Glossybox was packed full of goodies including the ever important SPF 30 Hawaiian Tropic Satin Protection to accompany me into the garden, assuming the hot weather lasts of course. It's a well-put together box this month with all the toiletries and make up goodies under the required 100ml liquid allowance when travelling abroad, in keeping with the travel and city break theme.

First up I tried the Velvet Lippie Buttery Matte Lip Cream by Absolute New York in Lolita. When I was younger, (and first learning about make up), I used to wear lip gloss all the time. Now, however, I prefer lipsticks. The Velvet Lippie Buttery Matte Lip Cream by Absolute New York in Lolita was a little strange at first and had a rather odd lump of lip gloss that sat on top my lips before the brush rubbed it in. I love the texture of the Velvet Lippie Buttery Matte Lip Cream by Absolute New York in Lolita and it made my lips felt so smooth and soft. The colour is the perfect pale pink shade for my skin tone and it actually reminds me of my former favourite lip gloss (for those who know me know it will be AVON). The style of the bottle, the feel on the lips and even the shade is very similar to Avon Color Trend Read My Lips Lip gloss in Angel which provided a frosted pink look to the lips and was my all time favourite for years.

Next up I used the SPF 30 Hawaiian Tropic Satin Protect when I was sun-bathing in the back garden (in sunny Britain for a change). I don't usually use such a high factor on my body (shame I know) and I prefer instead to use 15-20 SPF instead. I use high factors on my face, lips and ears particularly SPF 50 on my nose (an area I've previously burnt badly before). The SPF 30 Hawaiian Tropic Satin Protect is very thick compared to other sun creams that I usually use. It took a while to rub the SPF 30 Hawaiian Tropic Satin Protect in to the skin and I had to wash my hands afterwards as my hands felt very greasy. That said though I didn't burn at all when I was sunbathing so Hawaiian Tropic succeeded in protecting my skin and with protection from UVA and UVB rays it does just that! I'm a big fan of Hawaiian Tropic (which I plan to do a holiday's essential post soon with one of my favourite Hawaiian Tropic products). Depending on the retailer the full-sized bottle can range from as little as £4.99 to £13.99 if you purchase it direct from the Hawaiian Tropic website.

I was excited to try the Bee Good Youth Enhancing Firming Moisturiser as it had won beauty product of the year in 2015. Unlike other bee venom  or honey infused products I've used in the past I was surprised to find that the moisturiser is white and not yellow as I am normally more familiar with. Retailing at £23.50 it has numerous 5 star reviews on the Bee Good website. Quite cleverly in this month's Glossybox we received the small 15ml travel size version of Bee Good Youth Enhancing Firming Moisturiser (a theme of this month's box that all the products are small enough for the liquid allowance to take in your hand luggage). I really liked the cute packaging of the tube even more so that the Bee Good Youth Enhancing Firming Moisturiser is supposedly made by British bees (although how they can be entirely sure of that I don't know). I use the Bee Good Youth Enhancing Firming Moisturiser after cleansing and I really like the moisturiser. I apply a small amount and rub it in to my skin and it sinks in really quickly. Infused with honey and raspberry seed oil it smells heavenly. Bee Good claim that the Bee Good Youth Enhancing Firming Moisturiser instantly plumps and firms the skin whilst improving the appearance of visible lines. I can't really attest this claim because let's face it, I'm young and I don't have those noticeable problems just yet. I liked the smooth consistency of the Bee Good Youth Enhancing Firming Moisturiser and if nothing else it smells incredible.

Last up in May's goody bag was the Centaphil Gentle Cleanser (which also came with a £2 off coupon to redeem at Superdrug throughout 2016). I've never used Centaphil products before especially not to remove make-up. I usually prefer to use make-up wipes as they're a quick and easy product to remove make-up. To my surprise I really liked the Centaphil Gentle Cleanser, to which it is very gentle on the skin, perfect for sensitive skin. The Centaphil Gentle Cleanser has a sort of clinical/clean smell to it but it isn't off-putting. When I first started using the Centaphil Gentle Cleanser I squeezed the bottle onto a cotton pad and the whole lot came out and drowned the pad! Luckily it was pretty easy to put back into the bottle but it was a bit annoying at first. I've since learned however that a little goes a long way and you just need to give the bottle the smallest of squeezes. The liquid comes out quite foamy and clear so it's hard to tell how much you've actually applied onto the cotton pad. I liked the Centaphil Gentle Cleanser as it really worked to clean my face and removed all of my make-up including my sometimes stubborn eyeliner! I've recently trialled a micellar cleansing oil which I love (sadly as it was a tester I wasn't given the name of the company so I can't review it) and I've found that when using the micellar water I go through about 4 cotton pads per application. The Centaphil Gentle Cleanser however, I seem to use 6 or 7 cotton pads so it takes a little while to properly remove all of your make up, a bummer if you're doing it late at night when you're tired. I liked the Centaphil Gentle Cleanser but I still prefer make-up cleansing wipes as they're so much quicker to remove make-up.

I absolutely loved May's Glossybox and I can't wait for June's Glossybox which should be arriving soon! I'd love to know what you thought of the products. Do you have a favourite in May's Glossybox? Let me know in the comments below xx