Unboxing The NEXT Summer Branded Beauty Box

Although they've been famous for a long time for their own versions of designer fragrance, NEXT isn't the first place that you'd really think of then it comes to high end beauty, and in the stores that's pretty much still the case, but online it's a whole different story.

I'm not 100% sure on the time frame but last year, I think it was,  NEXT teamed up with leading online beauty retailer Fabled By Marie Claire, to offer a wide range of high end beauty brands direct from their own website. The NEXT beauty department now features new and up to date products from a wide range of brands including high street brands such as Clinique, Bare Minerals, Estee Lauder, Benefit Cosmetics and By Terry, as well as more quirky, natural and cult brands.

I don't know about you but everyday I have a bit of an online routine, there are several that I check every morning from news sites, to shopping sites where I go to check out all  of their new arrivals. NEXT is one of those sites that seems to update their stock on almost a daily basis, and recently I was looking through their beauty section and I noticed this, their take on the beauty box.

Retailing at £12, the theme of the box is summer, and it contains 8 branded products with a combined value of at least £48, to help you prepare you body, skin and hair for summer. The items come packaged in the usual NEXT beauty packaging which is a reusable brown and mint green / turquoise cardboard box, and they wrapped in a sheet of white tissue paper.

Rituals The Ritual Of Sakura Sensational Foaming Shower Gel - Organic Rice Milk & Cherry Blossom - 50ml - Est. RRP £4.90

The first item in the box is something from one of my favourite body care brand Rituals. All of their products are inspired by Far Eastern body, and well being rituals, and this is one of my favourite scents - it has a beautiful soft, slightly fruity, floral scent. Containing nourishing rice milk, this product has a gorgeous creamy, that leaves you skin feel super soft and moisturised, and to save on space in your suitcase you can also use it as a shaving foam. When I first got rid of my bath, I definitely felt as though as though showers were an essential things, practical but not really a pampering experience, products like this though make the whole showering thing just that little bit more luxurious. This travel size is available direct from Rituals but you can buy the full 200ml size for £8.50 direct from NEXT.

Dr Paw Paw Rich Mocha Balm Multi Purpose Soothing Balm With Natural Paw Paw - 25ml - Full Size - RRP £7

Now I've tried a couple of these balms now, I've used the original in the past as an all over hydrating balm, and I recently tried the Hot Pink version which I received in the April edition of Glossybox (have a read of my review here x) 

Containing pure Paw Paw / Papaya extract this is nourishing balm with just a hint of colour that you can use on both your lips and cheeks. It looks quite scary when you first squeeze out of the tube, in fact it looks a lot like melted dark chocolate.

Apply it sparingly though, and blend it out, and you actually get a sheer, neutral bronze, nude shade, that would work as a bronzer / cheek colour on certain skin tones and as a tinted lip balm, just don't apply too much, because it really could look as though you've been eating chocolate a la Charlie And The Chocolate Factory ;)

This is a full size tube and retails at £7 again from NEXT and various other retailers.

We Are Paradoxx Hangover Hair Elixir - 15ml - RRP £10

Next up probably some of the cutest packaging that I've seen! When you think of Ireland what do think of? amazing musicians - check,  hunky actors - check, Guinness - check, and oh what else? Well whiskey of course! We Are Paradoxx is an Irish brand, that promote the philosophy of good hair, good conscience. All of their products are 90% plastic free, cruelty free, vegan, 97% natural, and are free from perfumes, mineral oils, parabens, SLS, SLES, and PEC's, and they also contain real Irish whiskey. 

Packaged in this cutest mini hip flask on a key ring, this hair oil is specially designed for dull and damaged hair, and contains Irish whiskey, and argan, coconut and soya oils, to strengthen the hair, to improve condition and to add shine. This cute travel sized bottle is only available directly from We Are Paradoxx with a retail price of £10 but the full 75ml size is available for around £30 for a variety of retailers including NEXT.

Ultrasun SPF 50 Extreme Very High Sun Protection - 25ml - RRP £5.50

Next up an item from my favourite sun care brand, Ultrasun. I'm a huge, huge fan of the brand, and I swear by it whether I'm in the UK or abroad. It's not irritating, it's non staining and you don't need to reapply it every two minutes. This particular version is designed especially for extreme conditions or for people with extremely sensitive skin, such as babies and children. It is fast absorbing but non greasy, it protects against UVA and UVB and it contains Vitamin E and antioxidants. This travel size is available for £5.50 from NEXT.

Vita Liberata Fabulous Self Tanning Gradual Lotion - 50ml

Next up two products, from another Irish company, Vita Liberata. The bulk of this box is various different types and brands of self tan, and Vita Liberata are the experts in organic, sunless tanning products, and they are the first non toxic tanning brand. Their products are paraben, perfume and alcohol free.

Containing organic botanicals including aloe vera, melon, Shea butter, grape seed, marula, raspberry, lychee and seaweed, this lotion nourishes the skin and slowly adds a subtle dose of colour, without any colour transfer or staining. It also contains odour remove technology, and moisture lock technology for a slow, even fade. The full 200ml size retails at £15.

Vita Liberata Phenomenal Organic Tan Infused Cloth - 2 x 9ml - Est. RRP £4.50

Next up another product from Vita Liberata, I already have a pack of 4 of these that I got free with last months RED magazine but as yet I haven't tried them.

Created with the same benefits and ethos as the gradual tanner, these biodegradable tanning cloths are infused with the organic ingredients including and organic source of DHA, raspberry, aloe vera and pomegranate. Quick drying, and non staining, these wipes promise hydrating, quick and easy natural colour. I think that these would be great for holidays for touching up tan lines, or for sticking in your handbag ahead of a work night out. The pack of 4 wipes retails at £9 so this two pack would probably retail at around £4.50.

St Tropez Self Tan Purity Bronzing Water Face Mist - 14ml

For a long time, St Tropez was the go to tanning brand, and whilst the market is now pretty much saturated with high end sunless tanning brands, St Tropez are still at the top of their game and they're still innovating and coming out with new products and formulations.

Smelling gorgeously tropical, and containing 100% natural tanning agents and botanicals including hibiscus and green mandarin, this vegan friendly product can be used to add a natural glow to the skin. It can be applied both under and over make up and it has an ultra lightweight feel, it's designed to nourish and protect the skin and it's also designed to provide up to 12 hours hydration to the skin, making it a perfect addition to any summer make up bag. The full 80ml retail size retails at around £22.

Fake Bake Flawless Travel Survival Kit - RRP £ 6

The final item in the box is basically three items in one - it contains 3 sachet from top brand Fake Bake, that constitute a quick and easy three step tanning routine. This kit is available from NEXT and various other retailers and retails at around £6.

Kit Contains: 
Fake Bake Papaya Exfoliation & Tan Removal Towelette - 7ml

The first sachet contains and exfoliating towelette which contains skin care ingredients such as pro Vitamin B5, and Vitamins C and E as well as papaya which has contains enzymes that have exfoliating properties. This wipes help firm the skin, remove dry patches and help to remove previous self tan applications.

Fake Bake Flawless Tanning Towelette - 8ml

The next step is the tan itself, and this wipe is infused with Fake Bake's best selling Flawless Tan - with a black coconut scent, it features a guide colour, and Fake Bakes unique long lasting triple tan formula.

Fake Bake Coconut - Oil Free Moisturiser - 10ml 

Finally you get a sachet of Fake Bakes oil free moisturising lotion, which contains coconut and Vitamin B5. Being oil free you can use it on dry areas before fake tanning, and over the top of your guide colour to prolong the life of your self tan.

Based on the little bit of research that I've done this box is great value for money, with a few full sizes, and some decent travel sizes. The self tanning items make up the bulk of the box but it gives you lots of opportunities to try new things and new formulations, and you also get a nice shower product, an all in one skin care and make up item, and a super cute hair product. Although I haven't had the opportunity to try all of the products yet, I think that this is a lovely summer kit that's perfect for holidays, travel or even for just shaking up your beauty routine for the summer months. I don't think that this is a permanent item so I'd move quick if you want to get your hands on it. It's available on the NEXT website for just £12 (excluding postage). Let me know if you have any questions on this box, and if you're interested in some summer beauty topics including fake tanning and hair removal, stick around because I've some good reviews coming soon x 

A Gift And A Christmas Decoration All In One - NEXT Mini Stationery Set Bauble

After weeks and weeks of thinking that it's too early I guess we can't hide from it now, Christmas really is on its way. My main tree has been up since last Saturday and believe it or not there are already a few presents underneath it.

I love buying presents almost as much, if not more, than I enjoy receiving them, I don't know what it is but in some people you can almost see a return to that childhood excitement as they tear off the wrapping paper. I love making the people that I love happy, and gifts can do exactly that.

Now I know that a lot of bloggers spend hours and hours producing gift guides, but to be honest I've never been one of them, gifting is a really personal thing, and what is someones stocking filler might be someone else's main present, so although they are often written with the best of intentions and personally I do love reading them, they can be a bit of a minefield, So instead what I like to do is share a few items with you that I think would make a good gift either for someone special in your life or just for that person who you want to say a little thank you to this holiday season.

I've been really good this year, and I've just about finished my Christmas shopping already, I only need a few more little things and then I'm done. As stressful as shopping can be at this time of year I still try to have a little browse and make it enjoyable, I love seeing what's out there and what the present and buying trends are and something that I've noticed a lot this year is the concept of a gift in the form of a Christmas decoration.

Specialised and Christmas packaging is nothing new, and it's something that's been around for as long as I can remember and probably way longer than that, but over the last few years I've noticed a real trend in truly decorative packaging. Look on any high street and you'll see biscuits, sweets and chocolates, packaged in decorative tins that you can reuse and display around the home, Christmas crackers, filled with beauty products, chocolates and candles, and of course lots of things that you can hang on the Christmas tree from make up palettes with built in hanging loops from the like of Maybelline and Laura Geller, (more on some of these to come) to specially designed packaging from say Benefit, Molton Brown or Burts Bees that are filled with your favourite treats. Gifting and decorations are now in some senses one the same, and nowhere is that more evident than with the humble Christmas bauble.

The stores at the moment are full of either metal, solid card or plastic tree decorations containing everything from jewellery, to fudge and chocolates, to candles, alcohol miniatures, and of course beauty products with the likes of Lancome, boohoo, Nails Inc, Baylis & Harding, and L'Occitane, and more, all selling fabulous, decorative and in most cases reusable tree decorations containing all of your favourite products.

I love the idea of a bauble containing a gift, they are brilliant for table gifts, or as stocking fillers and in this age of cutting down on waste, the fact that the majority or them are reusable means that you can either refill them for next year or you can continue using them in years to come to decorate your Christmas tree. We've already bought some of the gorgeous L'Occitane tin star ones this year which contain mini hand creams, and I know for a fact that they'll be well received by their recipients. Seeing as this is predominantly a beauty and fashion blog you might think that's what I'm going to review here, but you'd be wrong, I'm going to talk about a bauble containing one of my other loves -stationery!

I love stationery! Buying stationery is as exciting to me as buying a new lipstick or a new top, I love the stuff, and even though I have more than enough for probably a full classroom, I still can't stop buying it. At the moment NEXT have a lot of stationery bits in, both from Paperchase and from their own brand, and a few months ago now I bought a stationery set, in a plastic case, for £10 containing all sorts of rose gold, copper toned, pencils, paper clips, washi tape and pastel coloured push pins, sticky notes and magnets. £10 sounds a lot but in my opinion it was well worth it and it looks beautiful . It's still available online and in store so if you're into stationery then I would definitely consider it,  but if you want something a little bit cheaper then one of my other recent buys, the NEXT Mini Stationery Set Bauble might be right up your street.

This cute bauble comes gift boxed and thanks to the clever design and the hanging loop poking through the box you can hang the whole thing on your tree. Open the box and you're greeted with a good sized clear plastic bauble, with a bright neon coral, orange ribbon hanging loop.

The two halves of the bauble snap easily apart and reseal so you can use it again. Inside the bauble there are 5 different stationery pieces in tonal pinks, corals, and coppery rose golds.

The bauble contains a coral, almost neon peach orange pad of heart shaped sticky notes, a rose gold / copper toned bulldog clip, and 3 rose gold / copper toned heart shaped paper clips, which match the ones in the other set perfectly.

The set also contains a copper / rose gold wrapped pencil eraser, and the cutest mini neon pink highlighter pen, and finally the most exciting thing for me a roll of fabulous silver glitter encrusted washi style sticky tape.

Lets not beat about the bush if you were to split it down item for item I don't think that this set which is priced at £4 probably represents the best value for money, but the products are nice, and decent quality, and I personally will use every single one of them, throw in the fact that the bauble itself is reusable (I intend to fill it with sweeties for Mummy Lou this year) then I don't think this is too bad a gift, either as a secret Santa, or a table gift, or as a stocking filler for the stationery lover in your life. Let me know in the comments and if you have any other stationery inspired stocking filler ideas I'd love to hear them x 

Home And Festive Home Fragrance Haul

Hi Guys x Happy Friday x I hope you've all had a lovely week x It's been a hectic one here in LouLouLand culminating in a trip to the hairdressers to get my shetland pony like locks trimmed and today. I've been so busy this week that blogging has definitely taken a back seat so I'm only going to manage to squeeze in a couple of posts before Christmas including this one, an overdue home and fragrance haul.

If you're a new reader, then you'll soon learn that I'm slightly obsessed with candles and home fragrancing. I love wearing fragrance and smelling nice so I guess it's only natural that I want my home to smell as good as I do, and when your a pet owner sometimes a bit of room spray isn't a luxury, it's a necessity!

Whilst I have my favourite all year round scents at Christmas time, if it's even the slightest bit festive then bring it on. One of my favourite places to buy Christmas home fragrancing products is NEXT. I'm absolutely in love with their Fesitive Spice fragrance, it's full of fruit and Christmas spices, and it makes the house smell fabulous. As soon as the Christmas catalohue comes out - I stock up and this year I may have gone gone slightly daft.

Something that I always buy are the Festive Spice Reed Diffusers. We usually have one in the landing, one in my room, one in the dinning room, and one in the lounge, so I've bought quite a few. They are available in a couple of sizes this year including the absolutely huge, Christmas Tree shaped one that you can see above which is £16, and the smaller one below which is £6.50.

I know not everybody likes candles, so diffusers are a great alternative, and their great for continuous home fragrancing. Another good alternative to candles, and something that is a real essential in my house is room spray. There are room sprays though and their are room sprays. Some are pretty horrid and synthetic but NEXT's Festive Spice Room Spray  is a good one  and you can really smell all of the fruity and spicy notes. Sorry I don't have a picture but it was just £5. It comes in a pump action, glass bottle, and a little goes a long way, a couple of squirts are more than enough to fragrance a large room in an instant.

I still a little bit of last years Festive Spice candle left but I couldn't resist picking this one up.

Based on previous experience NEXT candles are pretty decent and this is a soy based, 3 wick candle that has the same beautiful Festive Spice fragrance which I love. What really sold this candle to me though was the packagaing. Packaged in a beautiful red glass holder, the holder iteself comes with a gorgeous cut out, Rob Ryan style, silver tone metal design overlay.

I do love my Festive Spice, but this year NEXT have really spoilt us when it comes to holiday home fragrancing. One of their newest scents is Mulled Wine. In one of my previous home hauls (read it here)  I got one of the Mulled Wine candles in a mini set and I loved it so I had to buy the full size.

Packaged in beautiful and so on trend, red mercury glass jar, this candle has a fruity, spicy, sweet scent that reminds you of Christmas with just one sniff. As I said previously this was very similar to Yankee Candles Mulled Wine scent and at just £7 it was a bargain to boot.

I must admit I automatically lean towards more foodie, spicy and fruity scents at Christmas but some people I know love fresher and greener scents. Well if that is more to your taste then Next definitely have something for you.

This small diffuser which was just £5 comes in their Festive Spruce scent. If you prefer these greener, pine scents, this is definitely the one to try/ We have a fake Christmas tree so I'm planning to put this diffuser behind the tree so you get that real tree scent without the mess and the hassle.

As well as home fragrancing bits I've also a couple of other home things from NEXT recently including this super cute graphic alphabet cushion x

I love alphabet and text related things and I love cushions so this is a great combo, the letter L is printed on to a white cotton / canvas feel fabric, and the reverse of the cushion is in plain, short pile, black velvet. It was just £12 and it also includes the cushion pad.

As well as the cushion I also couldn't resist getting one of these little cute, wooden Monogram LED lights. Unfortunately these don't appear in the video towards the end of this post but I couldn't resist showing you them anyway. These letters are just £6 and they come with batteries and a hanging loop, in case you want to hang it on the wall or on the Christmas tree. I think these are really cute and I may have got a couple for some friends from Santa ;)

Although I keep trying to branch out, one candle brand that I just keep coming back to is Yankee Candles, and I've got yet another Yankee Candles haul to show you know.

First up is the festive addition of the Yankee Candle Seasonal Hamper that I got from QVC UK. This was my third auto delivery of four and this was the one that i was really looking forward to.

The hamper itself has almost a creamy, cable knit type of finish and it comes complete with a little pom pom key ring or bag charm.

The hamper contains 12 Yankee Candle votives, in 6 different fragranced In this particular set you get 2 in Red Apple Wreath, 2 in Macaron Treats, 2 In Winter Glow, 2 in Festive Cocktail, 2 in Star Anise and Orange and 2 in All Is Bright.

You also get two boxes of 12 tea lights, in both the Festive Cocktail and the All Is Bright Fragrances as well as 2 red glass bucket holders to burn your candles in.

I've loved receiving these hampers over the last few months, and I've really enjoyed trying all of the new fragrances, and I'm already looking forward to the last shipment in January. I'm really hoping that QVC and Yankee Candles do something similar next year. In the meantime though I think that this particular hamper is still available on the QVC UK website if your interested in trying it out for yourself x

As you might, if you've read my Royal Quays beauty haul post (see it here) then you'll know that I also visited Boundary Mill in nearby Shiremoor. Boundary Mill stocks pretty much everything from clothes and kitchen wear, to dried fruit and candles, and since they have an amazing Yankee Candle selection, I ended up buying a few bits including a rare double wick tumbler in Australian Eucalyptus and a couple of wax melts in Mango Peach Salas and in Vanilla Chai.

Melts or tarts are a really quick way of giving the room a real fragrance hit. In a small room like my bedroom, I normally only leave them on for about 5 minutes but you can melt them for as long as you like. You just need either a specific melt warmer or oil burner and a unscented tea light, and now if you aren't a fan of naked flames you can even get electric melt warmers which are probably a little bit safer.

Speaking of electric I'd wanted the next item that I'm going to show you for the longest time. They make look like a normal plug in air freshener but these are Yankee Candle plug ins. You basically buy the plug in unit and then you can buy a whole range of refills which come in some of your favourite Yankee scents. I went for this lilac, blue plug in and I also bought a duo pack of refills in my favourite Lemon Lavender scent. Basically you just plug, them in switch them on and leave them to gradually fragrance your home, while your at work, or even sound asleep. There are 3 different setting strengths to choose from so you can have as much or as little fragrance as you like.

If you're a fan of the fragrance of Yankee Candles but again you don't like the idea of a naked flame, then you could try one of their latest innovations, Fragrance Spheres.

I picked these up in both the Lemon Lavender, Red Raspberry which you can see here and in the Cranberry Pear fragrances.

What they are, are little plastic pots which are filled with fragranced gel like spheres, all do is unscrew the lid, peel back the foil and screw the lid back on and voila up to a month or so of fragrance, wherever and whenever you want it. They are basically just posh gel air fresheners that come in all of your favourite Yankee scents, and if you have a cat little tray, or a shoe cupboard or a cloakroom, then these are a must.

I know this has been a pretty long post but hopefully you're still with me, anyways I only have a couple more things to show you including this lovely, mercury and frosted glass candle.

I picked this up from a local garden centre, and although it was in with their Christmas bits, this is something that I will be keeping out all year round. The silvers and lilacs go perfectly with my room, and I love the star detail. I think it's too pretty to use it with real candles so I'll probably be using it with battery operated tea lights. The final thing that I got was this metal hanging plaque from Boohoo.

I know a lot of people find inspirational quotes quite cheesy but personally I'm a huge fan, what can i say sometimes I just need a bit of positive reinforcement. This is one favourite quotes and I really helps me to remind myself that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel and there is always something to be positive about x

I've made a little (okay a very long!) video to accompany this haul which you can either see below or via this link.



If you have any questions on anything in this haul then please leave me a comment and let me know.