Life Lately - Illness, And Fatigue With A Couple Of Sparks Of Normality - St. James Stack, Sephora, Shopping And A Few Outfits*

When I published my last post on the 26th August  I was really hopeful that I'd turned the corner both illness and life wise and that I ready to get my blog on and return to regular posting but since this post is going live on 27th October, it's pretty obvious that things went belly up again, so to restart my blogging journey again, I thought I'd do a little life lately post to update you all on where I've been and what I've been up to.

I've got to say that the week following my last post was a good one, I'd been feeling drained and fatigued but I'd be a good girl and tried to conserve my spoons the best I could because I had something exciting to do that I just couldn't miss - a trip to Newcastle!

Now for the majority of people an hours bus journey to the nearest big city is probably a pretty regular occurrence and whilst it's something that I used to do at least every other week, my ailing body now says no, and my trips into town are a lot less frequent than I would like, so as I was doing something a bit more interesting than usual I decided to document my trip with some outfit pics.

What I Wore

Indigo Denim Jeggings - Pep & Co

Blue Blazer / Suit Jacket - SHEIN Curve 

Short Sleeve Navy Blue Striped T-Shirt - SHEIN Curve 

Chunky Labradorite Stone Necklace - SHEIN

Adidas Court 2.0 Trainers - Navy / White 

Michael Kors Mercer Pebbled Leather Accordion Tote Bag - Admiral

Yes, it's the usual jeans and a top look that I'm so well known for but with the addition of some fabulous navy and white stripes, and a lightweight blazer - it definitely gave out some continental vibes, teamed up with some all be it new retro style trainers (note to self break your trainers in a bit before you wear them for a long period of time!) and a coordinating tote bag for all my junk - I created an easy, practical and comfortable outfit that was ideal for a warm early September day.

So I went to Newcastle for a mooch around the shops and for something to eat, but the real purpose of my visit was to meet up with one of my oldest friends Helen - she's lived in Stoke on Trent for a long time now and I don't see her anywhere nearly enough, but she came up north for a few days, and come hell or high water I was going to spend some time with her.

After a little look around the shops we headed up towards the cathedral on the hill, St. James' Park of course, home of Newcastle United as Helen wanted to get a few bits from the club shop and the we went for some lunch.

There are so many great places to eat in Newcastle but one if the newest venues opening in mid August is St. James' Stack Presented By Sela, that stands right opposite St. James' Park, next to the Metro station.

If your unfamiliar with the concept of the Stack it's basically a whole load of shipping containers combined to create a haven for bars and street food stall - there are a couple throughout the north east with another couple to come including one in the new Pilgrims Place development in Newcastle city centre.

What makes St' James' Stack special though is that it's Newcastle United themed from the toilets, to the signage to the planters, everything is black white and the lasses haven't been forgotten either. Whilst it's exclusively for Newcastle United fans on a home match day, everyone and their dog is welcome at any other times. There are big screens for the football, quiz nights, karaoke, and live music (there was a fabulous guitarist and singer performing when we were there), so whether you're a football fan or not it's a great asset to the city.

Whilst the entertainment is a nice touch the big selling point for The Stack is obviously the food and drink, there are loads of street food stalls selling everything from burgers and pizzas, to Greek food and Korean corn dogs, to Mexican food, BBQ, bao buns, Indian food, and even duck fries, and theres even a coffee shop if you want a pastry fix. There really is something for everyone, and what I really like is that everyone you're with can have something different so you don't need to worry about finding one restaurant to please everyone.

There is loads of shared seating both upstairs and downstairs but we went upstairs where it was a little bit quieter (it was pretty busy for a Tuesday afternoon) and after having a little look around we decided to try some Indian street food at Ok Please! which is owned by the same people who own Dabbawal in Jesmond and in city centre. We both went for the lunch menu which was a main, a side and drink, so I went for the Indian Vegan Burger, with the Masala Fries, and the Mango Lassi which was £14. There was some proper spice to the burger which came with spicy chutney, but the real star was the Masala Fries, crispy french fries topped with crispy onions, and the most amazing spicy garlic sauce, my tongue was definitely tingling and the mango lassi hit the spot perfectly - fruity and super creamy.

After we'd eaten we were in no hurry to leave, it was a lovely afternoon, we were enjoying the music, the vibes, and dog spotting so we decided to get a drink from one of the numerous bars that the stack has to offer. There are 6 different bars in the Stack complex offering everything from draught beers, and spririts to specially created cocktails, we went to Crowd Cantina a Brazilian themed bar and got this fabulous cocktail which I believe was a limited edition which contained lots of citrus and fruit flavours and Absolut Hunni vodka, think amped up Lockets throat sweets - it was pricy but it was pretty strong and it was a decent serving.

I don't think it's the cheapest place to eat or drink in Newcastle but the vibes are good, and if you want food, drink and entertainment all under one roof, then I think it's a great place to go with friends or family, and if you're a Newcastle fan especially on a match day it's a must with guests and former players all adding to the pre match build up. All in all a good day, good food, a good look around the shops, and most importantly time spent with a good friend that I really don't see enough of.

By the time I got home though that's when everything predictably started to go wrong, my feet wore sore thanks to my new trainers, and I just felt as though my body was seizing up. The saying no pain, no gain certainly applies in my case and it's so frustrating that doing something that I enjoy leads to so much pain and discomfort, it was 100% worth it but  I literally suffered from exacerbated joint and muscle pain for about the next week, thankfully I rallied a bit for my mams birthday, before falling victim to a horrid, horrid flu like cold that literally lasted for about a fortnight. I even did a few covid tests to be sure but it was just a late summer cold / flu thing that again lead me to miss on things that I wanted to do.

September saw the opening of two brand spanking new Sephora stores in the north east, one in Newcastle and one in the Metro Centre - whilst I would have loved to have gone on opening weekend, there was no way that I could queue up overnight, or deal with huge crows, so I tried to go the week after and since the cold still wasn't budging I didn't end up going until the 7th October.

Again in celebration of me properly leaving the house I decided to take a couple of outfit pictures, again similar vibes to the previous look, but with some different jeans (I do love skinnys but I'm trying something new), a splash of animal print, a smaller more lightweight bag, and the same now broken in trainers

What I Wore

Navy Blue Blazer / Suit Jacket - SHEIN Curve 

Navy Blue Animal Print Raglan Sleeve Top - SHEIN Curve 

 YOURS Curve Ruby Indigo Blue Straight Leg Jeans - YOURS Clothing

Labradorite Heart Necklace - SHEIN

Adidas Court 2.0 Trainers - Navy / White

Kate Spade New York Cameron Street Lucie Crossbody Bag - Blazer Blue 

So after my earlier trip I decided to go to the Metro Centre store, partially for convenience (I could get a lift and my mam could wait in the car) but mainly because the new Metro Centre Sephora is apparently a bit bigger and stocks more brands than the Newcastle one.

There were a couple of things that I wanted but to be honest the shop had already been well ravaged some of tester eyeshadows etc. were wrecked and there were quite a few bits out of stock. So I ended up just getting a few lip bits. I've wanted to try the Laneige Lip Sleeping mask for a while now so I grabbed one of those and the matching lip balm, and I also got another one of the Glossier Balm Dotcom salves this time in Mango, which tastes incredible. I also had a little look at the well ravaged Sephora Collection eyeshadows and picked up Silverstorm which a gorgeous sparkly silver / grey perfect for the party season

What I Bought 

Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask - Sweet Candy - 20g - £19

Laneige Lip Glowy Balm - Sweet Candy - 10g - £16

Glossier Mango Balm Dotcom Universal Salve- 15ml - £14

Sephora Collection Colorful Eyeshadow - Shimmer - 601 Silverstorm - 1g - £7.99

I really wanted one of the Rare Beauty Melting Blushers but shade I wanted was out of stock - so I may have ordered it online from the My Sephora Sale alongside my free reward product - every cloud as they say. There was a lot of stuff in store that I fancied trying but I'm finding it really hard to justify spending money on make up and skincare especially at the moment when I have so much. I'm going to have a bit of a clear out and get rid of a few bits that I don't use anymore then maybe a can justify another purchase or two. We really are spoilt for choice in the north east now when it comes to beauty what with two Sephoras, Flannels Beauty, H Beauty, and the new look Fenwick Beauty Haul, it's a great time to be a beauty junkie.

After my Sephora visit  I popped into Primark for but again I didn't really get too much, a top for Mummy Lou and some winter boots, I just can't find my size in anything I like lately, it's so frustrating - I managed to get a Hello Kitty & Friends sweatshirt when I was in Newcastle, but the same jumper in the Metro Centre, wasn't available in anything above a medium, it so frustrating going in there at the moment as a curvier girl. Even though I was only in the Metro Centre for about an hour and a half my body rebelled again and I spent another few days in pain and hobbling around but again I'll still say it was worth it for allowing me to feel like a 'normal' person for even a small amount of time.

Although I didn't buy much in Primark I have been doing a little bit of online shopping lately, including some Christmas shopping - where on earth has this year gone? I have bought a few bits from SHEIN, in some peoples eyes not ideal I know but they have my size and its really affordable - yes some items can be hitty missy but I've certainly had more better quality items (including some bits in my OOTD's) than rubbish ones, the Yours jeans that you can see above, and I've bought a few beauty bits including this recent package from Lush.

I don't honestly buy that much from Lush now I just can't really justify the prices most of the time now but I couldn't resist ordering these two blast from the past items. I would say IYKYK but if not I'll explain anyway. First up the white tub, Lush Cocoa Butter Hand & Body, a nod to time the Lush founders, spent with The Body Shop founder, the late Anita Roddick, and a almost exact interpretation of The Body Shop's original Cocoa Butter Hand & Body Lotion - one sniff of this and I was taken back to the 80's, Kiwi Lip Balm, Japanese Washing Grains, Dewberry, Fuzzy Peach, Green Apple and Cocoa Butter. The smell is nothing like anything else cocoa butter scented that you've ever tried and that's why it's so nostalgic.

Talking of nostalgia if you remember the very early days of Lush and even as far back as the Cosmetics To Go days then you'll be familiar with Skinny Dip Shower Gel. Originally released in 1995 was originally marketed as a white chocolate shower gel but it's actually so much more than that. The scent is perfect for the colder months, with a slight white chocolate undertone, it contains spicy cloves, cedarwood and exotic ylang ylang, it creamy warming, and again it takes my back to a different place - At £16 for the shower gel and £20 for the body lotion, this wasn't a cheap haul but it was well worth it for the memories.

So I've done a bit of online shopping, I've picked up the odd thing, mainly beauty dupes in Home Bargains, B&M and Aldi, and I've spent a lot of time indoors again. My flu jab knocked me for 6 and it's fair to say that I'm not looking forward to my covid booster next month but when you're clinically vulnerable it has to be done. My mam has had flu too and thankfully it didn't bother her at all which is just as well as to be honest she's had enough going on. She had a slight fall, nothing major at the start of September, the odd bruise here and there but nothing to worry about, then earlier this month she started having some pain in back and hip, so she went to see her GP who sent her for an X-Ray, she ended up having to go the main hospital in Durham which was obviously a bit of a faff, but she's been told that she has a tiny fracture in her hip / femur, it's just where a ligament has pulled off a little bit of bone. So now we wait - she's going to have to see someone in orthopaedics at the fracture clinic when they decided what to do. Since she has a hip replacement if it's minor enough they may decide to just leave it as is, and maybe give her a brace, and painkillers, or worse case scenario they may need to go in and operate. So we are really playing the waiting game, it's awful seeing her in pain, but I know she doesn't want surgery so what will be, will be.

It always seem to be the way in this house if it's not one thing it's another, my mam is convinced we or the house is curserd! So that's where I am and that's where I've been I've probably left loads out but this post is already way too wordy as it is. I'm back and I'm online for now at least I've got a couple of posts planned over the next week including a little nails of the day and the next instalment of my empties catch up, so if you're still here thanks for sticking around and don't forget to follow me elsewhere on social media via the links in my sidebar x 

*This Post Contains Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links

Pretty Green Eyes With The HUDA Beauty Emerald Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette And Giveaway! - CLOSED*

I hope you'll forgive the cheesy song title that I've used here but as a NUFC fan I am a bit of a fan of Ultrabeat's Pretty Green Eyes, all be it with slightly different lyrics (He's From Blyth, You'll Never Ever Beat Dan Burn etc. ;)! 

I don't know whether you'd class them as being pretty or not, but my eyes are certainly green, I always wanted blue eyes as a child but I'm pretty happy now with my olive green peepers. I don't know about you but when I was first getting into make up they seemed to be loads of rules, about what colours you should and shouldn't wear depending on your hair and eye colours, and one of the so called rules that always used to annoy me, was the one that you shouldn't wear green eyeshadow if you have green eyes! I stuck to that rule for goodness knows how long, missing out on the delight that is green eyeshadow, before I decided that, that rule and so many others were rubbish.

There are so many different shades, and textures of green eyeshadow out there that can enhance green eyes, it's all about finding a colour that you love. If bright emerald and grass greens, aren't your bag, then there are loads of olives and golden greens to chose from, including some of my own personal favourites MAC's Humid, Urban Decays Psych, and the KIKO Water Eyeshadow in Olive Green. Looking through my own vast make up collection I have a whole load of different green eye colours, but I'm sad to say rhat that a lot of them have now been discontinued in MAC's fabulous Golden Olive Pigment, MAC shadow in Springtime Skipper, and this amazing eye palette from HUDA Beauty.

Other than receiving the odd thing in various subscription boxes this was probably one of my earliest purchases from HUDA Beauty. From the brands popular but largely now discontinued Obsessions line, comes the HUDA Beauty Emerald Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette. 

Although I'll openly admit that I'm not a fan of cardboard packaging, I do like the packaging of the palette. In a beautiful metallic emerald green, it features a strong magnet closure and a good sized mirror.

The palette contains 6 good sized eyeshadows, 3 mattes and 6 shimmers / glitters, in different shades of green including a matte mint shade, a matte emerald green (this is a much more vibrant green in the flesh), and matte dark olive green / brown. The 6 shimmers and glitters are in various shades including a vibrant peacock green with a slight blue flash, a golden olive shade, and an almost golden shade. The palette contains the perfect combination of both cool and warm toned greens.

As you would expect from a brand with the profile of HUDA Beauty, the quality is exceptional. The matte shadows are buttery soft with excellent colour payoff, and the shimmers / glitters are buttery, metallic, and very pigmented. The shades were fairly easy to blend but there was a bit of fall out with some of the darker shades, and the shimmers, and glitters.

I've done a couple of quick eye looks just to show you the varied looks you can create with this palette. As per usual I'm keeping it as real as possible, my brown need doing desperately, I'm not a make up artist, and I haven't got amazing skills, I'm just someone who loves make up, trying to show you just how easy products are to use. The first look is one of my all time favourites, I'm a huge fan of more olive green shadows, and this trio of shades creates the perfect golden olive look.

This golden olive look can be as dramatic or as a subtle as you like but this next look isn't for the fain hearted. If you love colour or if you want a much brighter, stand out look then you can do that with this palette as well. Here I used a couple of the matte shades, with just a hint of sparkle, to create a fun vibrant look.

I'm so impressed with this palette, and I can assure you that mine now looks a little bit battered and well used ! As I say texture wise, and pigmentation wise, these shadows are really impressive but what I'm also really impressed with is the wear time. Bar a tiny bit of fallout here and minimal creasing these shadows stayed put! In fact I would probably advise that you use an eye base particular if you're using some of the brighter shades, as this look seemed to want to stay put especially on my lash line!

These palettes have been widely copied by some budget brands, but no matter how good they are I can't see anyone beating this particular collection either quality wise or performance wise - this palette for me really was the perfect introduction to HUDA Beauty and it's no surprise that I now own a few more palettes from the brand.

Alas as I say, this palette does appear to have been discontinued now, but you can still find here and there. It originally retailed at around £25 and there are a few currently on eBay for just a little bit more than that. If you're interested I would also recommend doing an online search and checking out your local TK Maxx store because I recently picked up another one of my local stores, not to keep you understand but to give away.

Yes, I know I've been promising this for ages but to thank all of you guys for sticking with me, and your loyalty especially over the last few years, I'm giving a brand new, and in perfect condition HUDA Beauty Emerald Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette, and some other bits including some Tarte, and NEXT.

All you need to do is make sure you're following me on as many social media platforms as possible and fill in the Rafflecopter here or below, oh and just so you know my comments are moderated so they may not appear straight away x

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Terms, Rules And Conditions

This giveaway is open worldwide.

If you are under 18 please get your parent or guardians permission before you enter as I will need your contact details if you're the lucky winner.

Entries will be picked at random using Rafflecopter
I reserve the right delete any entry that hasn't fulfilled the entry criteria or redraw the winner
The giveaway will close 24th November 2023
The winner will have 7 days to respond to my email, if no response is received in this time I will draw another winner
This prize was purchased with my own money I have not been compensated from holding it and this giveaway has not been endorsed in any way by HUDA Beauty or any company or brand mentioned.

If you have any questions on either the palette or my giveaway, then please leave me a comment or contact me via any of my other social media channels, all of which you can find linked in the sidebar→

Thanks for reading and good luck!

*This Post Contains Automatic Affiliate, Added Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links

Glossybox 2021 Revisited - A Review Of The e.l.f. Bite-Size Eyeshadow - Berry Bad, And More Life Lately x*

Well it's safe to say that the few weeks have been pretty horrible. Less than 1 day after I published my last post we received the news that one of my bonus dads, my Uncle George has passed away. Although he had various ailments, it was all very sudden and understandably we were and still are both devastated, my mam's super close to both of her brothers so it's been a huge blow to her both mentally and even physically, so I've been doing my best to support her and take care of her. If that wasn't enough one of my oldest friends Helen, lost her dad just 5 days after my uncle passed. I spent so much time with her and her family when I was younger, going on holiday with them, and having sleepovers, and going over for tea. Her and her family are still very close family friends so it was huge loss, and mentally it really was the straw that broke the camels back for me, so understandably I've had a to take some time out. Whilst there are still tonnes of emotions, thoughts and memories floating around in my head, I've decided that I need a distraction, so I decided to sit down today and get my blog on.

As I mentioned in my last post, after many years I eventually made the decision to cancel my Glossybox subscription, there were a few reasons why I chose to cancel, but one of the main reasons I guess, was that I was starting to feel a bit snowed on by all of the products that I still hadn't touched. I have a huge basket full of bits dating back to 2021, including lots of unopened items, and I just didn't see the point in adding to that pile! In the weeks and months to come I'm going to try and feature as many of these products as I can, either in full review posts like this one, faces of the day posts, or in future empties post, thus giving myself content options without the stresses of proper unboxing's.

So today we're taking a little trip back to November, 2021, to talk about a product from the Beauty Desires edition, and it's something that the eagle eyed readers amongst you might have already seen mentioned in my previous blog post, the e.l.f. Bite Size Eyeshadow Palette in Berry Bad.

Whilst the e.l.f. range is nowhere near as cheap as it used to be, and their £1 products are long gone, it's still one of my go to brands for good quality, affordable make up, with the odd cult or viral favourite thrown in for good measure (Hydrating Core Lip Shine in Ecstatic, I'm talking to you!).

A good test for any brand no matter what the price point though should be the quality of their eyeshadows. In this day and age if a brand can't produce a decent eyeshadow then it's very unlikely that anything else, at least powder wise, will be any good.

Packaged on a fairly basic clear, and white plastic compact, as the name would suggest, this quad contains 4 berry like, autumnal toned powder eyeshadows. The quad contains 2 matte shades, 1in a dark almost, burgundy brown and the other in a light, peachy nude, and 2 almost metallic shimmers, 1 in a warm bronze / copper tone, and the other in a gorgeous deep wine / berry tone.

All of the shadows are lovely and smooth, and the shimmer / metallics in particular have an almost creamy feel. The pigmentation and colour payoff as you can see is superb even on the two matte shades.

They were really easy to apply and to blend out, with only a tiny bit of fallout, which brushed away easily with a fan brush.

This is just a really quick look that I created with 3 of the shades in this quad, and as well as looking not too shabby, the shadows wore well even on my oily lids with only a tiny bit of fading and creasing after around 5-6 hours of wear.

For an eyeshadow palette with an RRP of just £4 this quad really impressed me. The shadows were soft and creamy, the payoff was fantastic and the pigmentation even on the two matte shades was really impressive. I was also really impressed with the wear time, and don't forget all of e.l.f's products are both vegan and cruelty free, and they are also free from phthlates, parabens and several more potentially iffy ingredients - not bad for a 'budget brand"!

If you don't fancy going down the berry route though, there are around 12 quads in the Bite-Size range featuring everything from greens to blues, and purple, to loads of neutral and fashion options. The full  e.l.f. Bite-Size Eyeshadow quads including Berry Bad, is available direct from e.l.f. Cosmetics, selected shades are also available from various other retailers including ASOS, Beauty Bay and Superdrug.

Are you a fan of e.l.f. Cosmetics? Let me know your favourite products in the comments x 

*This Post Contains Automatic Affiliate, And Added Affiliate Links

My Last Glossybox Unboxing - A Late Unboxing Of The March 2022 Edition Of Glossybox UK - Glossy Wonderland*

So I guess this post signals an end of an era, I've been subscribed to Glossybox for quite a while now, and over the years, I've regularly shared my unboxings and thoughts on the latest box both on my You Tube channel and latterly, here on my blog. Today's post though will be the last unboxing that I'll be sharing with you. 

As I said in a recent post I'm just too far behind with my Glossybox unboxings to carry on with them, not only that but I've also put my notice in to cancel my box. I've really enjoyed the surprise element and getting to try so many new things, but I just can't justify spending money on beauty bits when I have so many products that are practically untouched. I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed by my beauty stash for a little while now but it feels good to be making some positive moves to get it a bit more under control.

Although I won't be doing any more unboxing posts I will probably still end up sharing my thoughts on some of the items in all of last years boxes, and of course in the 3 boxes that I've received this year, either in separate review posts, faces of the day, or in empties posts so you shouldn't miss out. If you see anything in any of these pics that you'd like to see reviews of though, let me know and I'll get on it ASAP x The same also applies to last years Glossybox advent calendar, I'm not going to do a post on it now but if you are interested in the contents, you can take a look at the relevant tab on my Instagram, and of course if there are any products that you're particularly interested in reading reviews on, then please either leave me a comment on Instagram or here on the the blog x

Why then, after all that, am I bother to share this unboxing with you, well to put it simply it was prepped and ready, and it relates to another review post that I've got prepped and ready to go, so here for your reading pleasure are my thoughts on the March 2022 edition of Glossybox UK.

Can you remember what you were doing back in March of last year? Believe it or not whilst I can't always remember what I was doing yesterday, I can actually remember snippets of March last year. I had a horrid chest and sinus infection that just wouldn't shift. I guess that should have been an early sign that the rest of 2022 would be a bit of a fail but for most of you, I guess you were probably still full of hope that 2022 was going to be a better than the previous 2 years at least - All I'll say is that life comes at you hard sometimes, doesn't it? 

Despite the fact that I was snotting and sniffing, something that probably cheered me up at the time, was the arrival of the March 2022 edition of Glossybox UK.

Packaged in the familiar black and pink packaging, the theme of March's box was "Glossy Wonderland" and according to the online magazine, the box was all about exploring your fun and playful side, and all about learning to love "the person you see through the looking glass".

I have to say that I really loved the online Glossybox magazine that now accompanies every box. As well as saving on paper and resources, the extra articles are all really interesting. March's magazine included several short easy to read articles on new blush trends, as well as an explanation on just how pH changing make up works, and as per usual it also gave subscribers a full breakdown of all of the products in the box, and according to Glossybox, March's box contained "four magical beauty buys, one of two shower essentials, and one of two chocolatey treats". It all sounds good, but what exactly did I get, and what did I think of the contents? Well let's take a look inside and see....

Elikya Beauty Rose Liquid Highlighter - 15ml - Full Size - Est. RRP £12.80

First up, the first of 2 make up items in March's box, and it was a product from a new brand to me, Elikya Beauty. Elikya Beauty are a Parisian based beauty brand who produce a wide range of natural, vegan, organic, cruelty free and eco responsible cosmetics, featuring everything from skincare products, to make up for the eyes, lips and cheeks.

The product that all subscribers received in their March box was a cheek product and more specifically a liquid highlighter or illuminator. Enriched with natural soybean oil, as well as hibiscus extract, which is crammed full of skincare benefits, this product is perfect for creating that pinch your cheeks rosy glow, whilst at the same time leaving the skin with an on trend dewy finish.

.

Packaged in a frosted glass bottle, this illuminator comes with a dropper style dispenser / applicator. Although it's officially described as a rose gold toned highlighter, I think it's actually more of a slightly metallic rose pink. 

Whilst it appears quite dense it actually has quite a lightweight liquidy feel. A small amount goes a very long way and whilst it looks quite scary, and pigmented, it actually blends down to a lovely sheer rose pink

It's definitely one of those products where you should start out with less. and apply a little bit more if you need to. The first time that I tried it, I just applied a few dots here and there and then blended it in, only to end up looking like Aunt Sally (Ask your Mum if you don't know who that is ;) Apply a small amount and build it up, you can alway add more but you can't really tone it down!

I personally think that calling this just a highlighter or an illuminator is a bit of a disservice. Despite how it appears both in the bottle and in the initial swatch, it isn't that sparkly or shimmery, in fact I can barely see any shimmer on my skin. Instead for me I think this works better on my naturally quite rosy cheeks as a lovely, sheer, light bringing, dewy liquid blush. Whatever you use it for, it's super pretty and its something that I will happily use up.

Glossybox placed a value of £12.80 on this unboxed, full 15ml sized product. The only retailer that I can find for Elikya Beauty is their own French based, French language website. I can't find this particular product but their Illuminateur in Pink Glowy which retails at €14.90 looks pretty similar.

KNDR Beauty Mood Stick PH Changing Lipstick - Never Blue - 3.5g - Full Size - Est. RRP £17

Although I don't watch it anywhere near as often as I used to I'm a huge fan of QVC UK, and in particular QCV Beauty. I'be bought so many things from them over the last 30 years or so, and when it comes to beauty they've always been at the head of the queue when it comes to selling new and innovative beauty products.

One of my earliest purchases was a set of lipsticks from a brand that I believe was called Ultraglow. They weren't just any lipsticks though, they were blue, yellow, and green lipsticks that reacted with your own pH to create your own unique, and more conventional lipstick colour.

Once pretty unique colour changing make up products are now fairly easy to find, with brand such as Smashbox, Lipstick Queen, Charlotte Tilbury and Barry M, all producing pH changing lip colours.

From US based vegan and cruelty free brand, KNDR, the next item in March's box was a paraben and mineral oil free, Mood Stick pH Changing Lipstick in the shade, Never Blue.

The lipstick comes boxed and comes in a turquoise / blue, white and gold cardboard tube. Officially described as a sheer, hydrating tint, the lipstick inside is light blue in colour, and for me it has more of a lip balm type appearance and texture.

Whilst it's definitely a blue colour in the bullet, swatch it or apply it to the lips, and the magic happens! Instead of the baby blue shade, at least on me you get a gorgeous cool pink toned lip colour.

For me it definitely has more of a non greasy, hydrating lip balm feel. It feels smooth and moisturising on the lips without feeling too heavy or sticky. It initially has quite a nice sheen to it but once that disappears, you're left with a matte but not flat almost stain that lasts surprisingly well, not unlike those long gone Ultraglow lipsticks of my teens.

Yes, the pH thing is a bit gimmicky but the colour it ended up turning on me was nice, and the lipstick itself texture wise was nice, and the wear time was really impressive. From what I can gather you can only officially buy KNDR products from their own US based website but they do ship worldwide, and there is the odd thing on Amazon. Again I can't find this exact product on their website but they do have a colour shifting lip balm, their Mood Balm, in the same shade, Never Blue, which looks very similar and retails at $16.

James Read - Gradual Tan -  Sleep Mask Tan Body - 100ml - Full Size? - Est. RRP £21

I've got to be honest with you, yet again, when it comes to self tab, I'm pretty lazy. I'm not one of those people that needs to be perma tanned, I only really tan now when I'm going away, going out, or sometimes just on a whim.

When it comes to self tan though I want something quick and easy, so more often than not if I do want to perk myself up a bit I'll reach for a gradual tanner, so when I opened the March 2022 box I was really pleased to get the chance to try a "gradual tan" from celebrity tan expert, James Read's range.

Containing hyaluronic acid, red algae, and 100% naturally derived DHA, this product is designed to work overnight with you own skin tone to give you a subtle golden glow.

Packaged in a flip top bottle, the tanner itself looks milky white in the bottle but it's actually colourless when you come to apply it onto the skin.

As with all self tans, I exfoliated first and I'm a regular moisturiser, so I had a smooth clean canvas to work with and I applied it using my own velour tanning mitt. Seeing as there was no guide colour it was a bit difficult to see where you'd applied it, but thanks to the light gel texture, the product did leave a slight sheen on the skin which lasted for a minute or so. It actually absorbed into the skin quite quickly, leaving a smooth, non sticky finish.

Now I know when it comes to comes to self tan one major question always comes up and no it's not what's the colour like, or how messy is it? It's what does it smell like? Well initially it smells a bit plasticy, and then when your massaging it in you get quite a subtle fresh scent, but I'm sad to say that after an hour or so, that digestive biscuit, traditional fake tan scent comes through, so if you're not a fan sorry guys this product reeks of it!

So what about the colour? Well in theory you would apply this product before you go to bed, but since I wanted to try it out properly and monitor any changes I tried it out during the day. It took a couple of hours before I noticed any difference but after that the colour got deeper and deeper until about 6-8 hours in when it looked to be full developed, and then I realised what a mess I'd made!

2 Applications On My Left Leg

To put it bluntly it was a big fat fail, it was pretty streaky with darker patches on my shin and calf. I'm not going to show you just how bad it was instead in the picture that you can see above I'm doing the one leg challenge  after I'd desperately applied another coat to try and even it out!

With one very tanned leg and one pasty blue one I decided to apply a single coat on my right leg, and this time I took a bit more time over the application, applying less, and buffing more, and it didn't actually turn out too bad, so patience and practise really does make perfect.

2 Applications On My Left Leg, 1 Application On My Right Leg 

Colour wise this actually looked fairly natural on me, all be it at the darker end of the spectrum. It lasted for a good few days before fading, all be it a little bit unevenly in parts.

Although I was initially less than impressed with this product, in all honesty it wasn't actually that bad. In my opinion it's not a gradual tanner in the traditional sense in that you can slap a but of lotion on and leave it, and then do the same the next day to gradually give you a little bit of colour, this is much more like a proper fake tan. It needs careful application, buffing and blending, because the colour is pretty strong or at least it was on my skin tone. On the plus side the colour as I say was decent, and the lack of guide colour meant that it wasn't messy to use, and it also absorbed and dried quickly and it didn't transfer onto bedding, towels or clothing. That being said I probably wouldn't buy the full size of this one but I may be tempted to try another product from the wider James Read tanning range in the future.

Glossybox placed a value of £21 on this 100ml, alleged full size but I personally can't find this size anywhere. All I can find is a 200ml size which retails at around £37 direct from James Read as well as from Look Fantastic, and Sephora.

Magnitone WIPE OUT! Microfibre Cleansing Cloth - 1 x Cloth - Full Size - Est. RRP £8

Next up something that I was convinced that I'd showed you before, all be it in another incarnation, a Magnitone Wipe Out Microfibre Cleansing Cloth. I have quite a few of these cloths now for various advent calendar and beauty boxes but surprisingly I don't think I've ever actual reviewed one of them before. If you haven't came across these before though then where have you been? They really are something special because they can remove even the toughest make up with just warm water.

All you do is just soak one of these super soft and fluffy cloths in warm water, and then gently wipe it over your face melting all of your make up away with just some plain tap water, and the power of microfibre - if you don't believe me check out these picture and take a look for yourself...

Before

What I'm Wearing 

Primark PS..."Skin Balm" Blurring Pore Smoothener Face Primer

Maybelline Fit Me! Matte + Poreless Liquid Foundation - 102 Fair Ivory

Mally Beauty Cancellation Concealer - Light / Medium 

Mally Beauty Eye Light Setting Powder - Lighter

AVON MagiX HD Finish Powder

Benefit Brow Zings Total Taming & Shaping Kit For Brows- 4 

PIXI By Petra Brow Tamer 

e.l.f. Bite-Size Eyeshadow - Berry Bad

Soap & Glory Thick & Fast High Definition Collagen-Coat Mascara - Film Noir

 Elikya Beauty Rose Liquid Highlighter

KNDR Beauty Mood Stick PH Changing Lipstick - Never Blue

After

Voila! A full face of make up dissolved away in an instant with no product, no residue, and no irritation, just clean skin and very dirty and make up covered cloth.

It sounds crazy but they really do work. Admittedly I don't usually use waterproof mascaras but they've pretty much removed everything I've ever thrown at them. If you can't live without your cleanser though, you can also use them as a conventional cleansing cloth and then all you do is just pop them into the washing machine (remember no fabric conditioner with microfibre type products), leave them to dry and they're good to go again.

These cloths are brilliant for travel, if your trying to be a bit more eco friendly, or if your skin is sensitive and you have issues with skincare products. As I say I have quite a few of these now and they are something that I will continue to use both on their own and with my skincare products.

Glossybox placed a value of £8 on this full sized cloth, but they are available in a wide variety of sizes and colours from various retailers including direct from Magnitone as well as from Sephora, Look Fantastic and Beauty Expert. ,

Bilou Creamy Shower Foam - Coco Cocktail - 200ml - Full Size - Est. RRP £3.99

From cleansing your face to cleansing your body, and the next item in March's box was one of my favourite types of shower product, a shower foam. These products just make showering a more decedent experience, there is just something about slathering my body in deliciously scented foam that I really enjoy :)

From German brand, Bilou, this shower foam contains aloe vera, almond oil, and avocado oil, and has a rich and creamy texture, and as you would expect from a foam a little goes a long way. it's easy to rinse away and it leaves the skin feeling clean and not dry or tight, and it also makes an excellent shaving foam.

The real selling point though of this particular product though has to be the smell. It has a delicious creamy vanilla and coconut scent that just makes your mouth water.

Alas this product isn't that easy to find in the UK anymore, it used to be available in Superdrug, but they no longer stock it, so if you're interested in trying it you'll need to have a little search online or navigate their German website.

Ferrero Raffaello - 4 Pieces - 40g - Est. RRP £1

Sticking with the coconut / vanilla theme, the March 2022 edition of Glossybox also included an extra little sweet treat, subscribers either received a Mallow & Marsh Marshmallow Bar, or a 3 pack of Ferrero Raffaello's, and seeing as the Mallow & Marsh bars aren't suitable for vegetarians, I was delighted to the Raffaello's.

It might be a slightly controversial opinion but I actually prefer Raffaello's to Ferrero Rochers, but then again, I am partial to a Bounty too!

There is something about the white chocolate goo combined with the coconut, the crisp wafer, and the whole blanched almond in the middle that just works, these things are just so easy to eat - I absolutely love them!

They can be pretty pricey, so I would definitely recommend that you shop around a bit especially if you want a big box but 3 and 4 packs are readily available in most major supermarkets as well as Poundland, and selected Boots and Superdrug stores, and newsagents x 

So there you have it my last ever Glossybox unboxing post, and all in all it was a pretty decent box to end on. As I say the March box will be my last one so if you're interested in what I receive in that one, and what I got in my February box then keep an eye on my Instagram account, and again if you so anything in those posts or in the pictures at the start of this post that you'd like to see a review of, then please let me know x I love reading your comments so if you have any questions on anything in this post then please let me know x Thanks as always for reading and I'll see you later in the week with a make up review xx

*This Post Contains Automatic Affiliate, Added Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links