Glossybox July 2013 - Seaside Splash

I have received quite a few Glossyboxes now and I'll admit I go from being thrilled one month to being very underwhelmed (Can you ever just be whelmed? - name that film) the next.  I suppose that is the gamble you take with boxes like these.

So boring details first.  Glossyboxes cost £10 plus £2.95 for postage and packaging.  However you can make savings if you pay for more than a month at a time.  If you do want to look at the different subscription options you can find them here.

To go with the recent heatwave that England has been enjoying Glossybox is beach themed.

 Can we all just take a minute to appreciate how freaking gorgeous this box is!  Even the tissue paper is beautiful!  I wish every month looked like this.  I'm not a massive fan of pink but bright colour like this totally float my boat.  Also fact of the day I actually lived in the Caribbean for a while as child so I have a massive love of the ocean and coral reefs in particular.  To the point that, as part of my undergraduate degree, I gave a presentation about saving the coral reefs.  The poster I made to go along with it had a colour scheme freakishly similar to this.  Anyway I digress.  Onto the products...

Ila Spa's Face Oil for Glowing Radiance.  This is a tiny 1.75ml vial of a sample so I'm not sure how I am meant to know if it works or not.  It will probably end up in my draw of minis waiting for my next holiday. The full size retails for an amazing £75.00 for only 30ml.  It does mean that the poultry amount I received is worth £4.40.  Mental.   I'd give this a 2/5

Alterna Haircare's Bamboo Style Boho Waves Tousled Texture Mist.  Now this I was very excited to see I have naturally curly hair and a naturally lazy mentally when it comes to styling my hair.  I've always been intrigued by the idea of salt sprays but never got round to invested in one  (laziness strikes again).  I will definitely be trying this out this summer and report back.  This is a decent 25ml sample, the full size costs £23.00 for 125ml making this bottle worth £4.60.  This one gets a 4/5

Inecto Pure Coconut Refreshing Dry Shampoo.  I nice addition to a box.  I'm not a massive user of dry shampoo but it will probably come in handy over summer.  Plus this one smells amazing.  Coconut is one of favourite scents so I will happily use this just to give my hair a spritz of coconutty goodness.  This is a full size item at 150ml and retails for £2.49, so if I do like it I can repurchase as a bargain price.  A middle of the road 3/5.

Coola Mineral Face SPF 20 Unscented.  I was glad to see this, I like the idea of a tinted sun tan lotion, I am very naughty when it comes to sun protection and I need to develop better habits before I wake up and look 50 when I'm only 23.  That is my vow for this summer - I will not forget about SPFs.  I will be letting you know how I get on with this, if it's nice it could become a summer staple for me.  The only downside is taht the sample size is a bit on the stingy side it's only 7mls.  The full size is an eye watering £29.99 for 50ml making this tiny tube worth £4.20.  A potentially good 3/5.

Last but certainly not least is a Ciate Paint Pot in Island Hopping.  First - Awesome name, Second - is this not the most beautiful summer colour?  This is actually my first Ciate nail polish and I am thinking I may become a convert.  It is so lovely,  a beautiful pink/ orange colour with gorgeous sparkles of orange and gold.  It's like a sunset on my nails.  Amazing.  A stunning 5/5.

Overall I would say that this box has knocked my socks off (or would have it I was wearing some and it wasn't so freakishly hot).  Its for boxes like these that I stay subscribed.  Overall I would give it a 4/5

Did you get this months glossybox?  What was your favourite item?

Battle of the Beauty Boxes - January 2013

Welcome to my comparison of January's Glossybox and Birchbox (previously known as Joliebox).  I have done full reviews of each box but I thought it would be interesting to see which box deem to be better each month.

Let us begin...

In all photos Glossybox is on the left and Birchbox is on the right.  Here you can the full contents and packaging   I prefer the packaging of Birchbox, the drawstring bag and magazine mean they get the point for this round.  

Glossybox: 0

Birchbox: 1

They both came with rubbishy freebies this month.  On the basis that I may be able to give away the teabags whereas I don't think anyone would want a polyester eye mask Birchbox wins the points yet again.

Glossybox: 0

Birchbox: 2

The worst products in both boxes were body lotions.  However the sample in the Glossybox is bigger so I feel I will get more use out of it.  Therefore Glossybox wins the point.

Glossybox: 1

Birchbox: 2

The best products were a Monu Mask in Glossybox and a Fresh lip treatment   Although I am really happy to receive both of these I almost squealed with delight when I saw a Fresh product.  Therefore I have to give the point to Birchbox.  

Glossybox: 1

Birchbox: 3

This month Birchbox wins happily.  Having said that I am happy with the contents of both boxes.

I can't wait to see what next month's beauty boxes bring.

Glossybox - January 2013

This is the second Glossybox I have received, if I'm honest the reason I first subscribed was because I was hoping for a really fab Christmas box.  I liked the December box but I wasn't blown away.  I definitely like this months box more.

So boring details first.  Glossyboxes cost £10 plus £2.95 for postage and packaging.  However you can make savings if you pay for more than a month at a time.  If you do want to look at the different subscription options you can find them here.

So what was in this months box?

This month, to go with January promises, Glossybox was Detox themed.  I thought this was a really nice theme to have at this time of the year.

So these are the contents of the box, as always the box is beautifully packaged.

First I am going to start with a bit of a moan.  I really don't like it when beauty boxes put in 'extras'.  I don't like wasting things but I really don't see when I will want a polyester eye mask.  If the things they included were better quality I would love it but I don't want to receive cheap extras that will just end up in the bin.  Rant over.

Super Strong Daily Conditioner from Paul Mitchell: On a more positive note I was pleased to receive this conditioner.  I am always happy to try new conditioners especially if they promise to sort out my damaged hair.  I'd give it a 3/5 on first impressions.

Skin Glow Exfoliating Face Wash from Elemis: This was another product I was excited to see.  I like Elemis as a brand and am always happy to try their products.  On first impressions i would give this a 4/5.

Body lotion from Duck Island: This was a strange one as I had never heard of the brand before.  Plus I am terribly lazy when it comes to body lotions so this didn't blow me away.  It does smells quite nice though, I just couldn't decide if it looked a little too much like the toiletries you find in hotel bathrooms.  For me this was a 2/5 on first impressions and probably the weakest item in the box.

Lip Balm from Jason: Another brand I had never heard of. I am always happy to have extra lip balms especially if they involve natural ingredients.  It wasn't an exciting product but it will get used.  A 2/5 from me for this one.

Aromatic Mask from Monu: This was my favourite item in the box.  I have wanted to try Monu products for ages and I love face masks so this was a winner for me.  This will hopefully help my poor winter skin recover.  A strong 4/5 

Overall a fairly good box, I would give it a 3/5.

If you want to see what else could have been in the January box you can have a sneaky peak here.