Trimming My Stash - September 2021 Edition - Empties And Mini Reviews*

I don't know about you, but I'm finding it really hard to understand just where this year has gone! I'm sure I say this every year but the days, weeks, and months seem to go by way quicker than they did when I was a child, but here we are, it's now less than 6 weeks to Christmas, and I can now safely say that 2021 has been a bit of a fail.

For various reasons (mainly health related) I haven't achieved what I wanted to on either a personal or on a blogging level. So with the year hurtling towards a close, all I can promise is that I'm going to give it my all in the remaining weeks of 2021, and I'm going to try and post as often as I can, whilst at the same time trying my best to maintain my own, almost impossible to achieve, standards (being a perfectionist and never being happy with anything you do full on sucks!).

Although my Glossybox posts and my other more general reviews have gone up the spout, I have just about managed to keep my empties posts pretty much up to date -Shock of horrors I'm only 2 months behind, and today I'm going to make only 1 month behind by sharing my September Trimming My Stash post with you x 

L'Oreal Paris Elvive Dream Lengths 8 Second Wonder Water - 200ml
Cuccio Naturale Cuticle Revitalizing Oil - Lavender & Chamomile - 75ml
Bubble T Blueberry Hand Cream - 60ml
Vivienne Westwood Naughty Alice Eau De Parfum - 30ml
L'Occitane Shea Butter Rose Petals Hand Cream - 30ml
Oh K! Bubble Sheet Mask - 1 x 23g Sheet Mask
L'Occitane Honey And Lemon Hand Cream - 75ml
Elysium Spa Avocado & Lime Sea Salt Scrub Body Exfoliator - 200g
Lush Yog Nog Shower Gel - 275g
You're Sweet! Exfoliating Cubes - Sweet Candy Exfoliating Cubes - 8 x 10g
eos Evolution Of Smooth Shea Better Hand Cream - Eucalyptus - 74ml

Total - 11 Items

At last I did it! After 3 months in a row of finishing a massive 10 items, in September in eventually managed to go one better, and finish 11 beauty products, making it my best month of the year so far! Alas no make up but a nice mix of body care products, with a few skin and hair care products thrown in for good measure.

1. L'Oreal Paris Elvive Dream Lengths 8 Second Wonder Water - 200ml

First up one of those products, where I bought into the hype, and unsurprisingly fell hook, line and sinker in love! There was a period of time, I think, earlier this year, when this stuff was everywhere, in magazines, on blogs, and on Instagram, and being the beauty junkie that I am I couldn't resist giving it a try.

You can read a little bit more on what it does and how it works here, but to put it simply, this stuff is amazing! Although it looks like water, it's super quick and easy to use, and it leaves your hair feeling softer, looking smoother and less flyaway and smelling gorgeous.

I don't use it every wash, only when I'm going to be blow drying my hair, but it really is a revelation and it's something that I will continue to buy.

L'Oreal Paris Elvive Dream Lengths 8 Second Wonder Water has an RRP of £9.99, and is available from the like of Superdrug, Boots, Amazon UK, and Look Fantastic. If you fancy trying it for yourself though, then it's worth shopping around a bit because you regularly find for around half price.

2. Cuccio Naturale Cuticle Revitalizing Oil - Lavender & Chamomile - 75ml

Over the last year or so I've mentioned quite a few cuticle oils from European professional nail brand, Cuccio (You can read me thoughts here, here and here x) but of all of the scents that I've used so far, this one is by far my favourite.

In the salon size, glass, globe like, angled base, dropper bottle, this gentle lavender scented nail and cuticle oil contains safflower oil, sunflower seed oil, and cotton seed oil, as well as lavender and chamomile extracts.

Perfect for bedtime use, this oil is lovely and hydrating, but without feeling overly heavy or greasy. I'm currently using another bottle of the White Limetta & Aloe Vera oil, and some pure jojoba oil on my nails and cuticles, but I will definitely be repurchasing this particular scent in the future.

This particular scent comes in a variety of sizes but this 75ml size retails at anywhere between £12.99 and around £8.95 from various retailers including direct from Cuccio, Nail Polish Direct, eBay and Amazon.

3. Bubble T Blueberry Hand Cream - 60ml

Next up another hand and nail product, and this time it's another hand cream from Bubble T, and it's the first of 4 hand creams in the post! Although I'd tried a few products from fruity, tea inspired beauty brand Bubble T, up until I tried the Bubble T Peach Bellini Restoring Hand Cream that came in the February 2021 edition of Glossybox UK, I'd never tried one of their hand creams before.I enjoyed using the limited edition Peach Bellini version so much that I went out and bought another couple of hand creams from the brand, including this one.

Similar in texture and appearance, and performance to the previous hand cream that I'd tried, this one also contained aloe vera, and shea butter, and it had a sweet, fruity, almost bubblegum like grape / berry scent. Again it was a nice hand cream, it wasn't too heavy or greasy, making it ideal for everyday use.

This price for this particular hand cream seems to vary a little bit, but you can find it anywhere between £1.99 and £4 from various stockists including Amazon UK, Look Fantastic, Beauty Expert, and NEXT Beauty.

4. Vivienne Westwood Naughty Alice Eau De Parfum - 30ml

For someone who loves fragrance as much as I do, it's been a long, long time since I featured a fragrance on the blog, and this one is a bit of an old favourite of mine.

This particular scent is another product that I remember there being a lot of hype about. I can't remember whether though the hype was due to the fragrance itself, or down to the cute heart, Vivienne Westwood logo, charm bracelet that came with each bottle. My bracelet lies forgotten somewhere in one of my many jewellery boxes, and despite the initial hype, it seems as though the fragrance has now been largely forgotten as well.

With notes of black rose, ylang ylang, violet and pink pepper, this warm floral scent always reminded me of a more grown up version of one of the most well known scents of the 80's and 90's Coty Exclamation!

I would definitely have considered buying another bottle of Naughty Alice, but alas it appears to have been discontinued, and whilst you may be lucky enough to find a reasonably priced bottle, all of the bottles that I can find on the secondary market seem to be on sale for around £100 a more, which unless you're a serious perfume collector, is quite frankly ridiculous. I loved you Naughty Alice but not that much!

5. L'Occitane Shea Butter Rose Petals Hand Cream - 30ml

Next up another hand cream, and it's the first of two luxurious products in this post from French brand L'Occitane. With 20% shea butter, this was one of their thicker hand creams, it had a rich creamy texture, and a heavenly, fresh, powdery, almost fruity rose scent.

It took a little bit of time to absorb, as most of the L'Occitane shea butter based hand creams do, but it left the hands feeling velvety soft, and delicately scented.

This particular L'Occitane hand cream, like so many that I feature on the blog, was a limited edition, but if you're after a rose scented hand cream there are currently a few different ones on the L'Occitane website, which retail at around £8 for a 30ml travel size like this one.

6. Oh K! Bubble Sheet Mask - 1 x 23g Sheet Mask

From hands to face, but no space - the next item on September's list is a skincare product and it's a sheet mask from Korean inspired brand Oh K!  Now we're all familiar with ordinary paper sheet masks but this one is just a little bit different, it's a bubble sheet mask!

Containing willow bark extract, this serum soaked mask reacts with the oxygen in the air to create tiny bubbles which exfoliate the skin, and help to reduce the appearance of pores.

The instructions say to squeeze the packet before you open it, to make sure that the serum is evenly distributed throughout the mask. The mask itself is made from charcoal fibre, which in itself can minimise pores, and purify the skin. Given the charcoal the mask is quite dark in colour, and although it's of a good thickness, and good quality, the dark colour does make it a little bit tricky to unfold because you can't really see the folds very well.

Before

With a pleasant green, herbal scent, almost as soon as you apply it you can start to see and feel the bubbles forming both on top and underneath the mask.

On Application

It initially felt quite cool on application, but as the oxygen reaction started to do it's thing, almost immediately you started to feel a tingly, tickly, popping sensation, that continued as the bubbles grew!

After 10 Minutes    

The instructions advise that you leave the mask on for at least 10 minutes, and for no longer than 15 minutes, so I left it on for around 10 minutes, before peeling it off. Immediately after removal, my face was covered in a layer of bubbly, foam.

Straight After Removal

After rinsing my face with warm water as instructed, and then patting my skin dry, my face looked a touch pink, but it looked very clean, and clear, and it felt almost squeaky clean!

After Rinsing 

I really love just how clean my skin feels after using bubble masks like this one. I know a lot of people aren't keen on the tingling and prickling sensation, but I love it when a product actually feels as though it's working, and after all who doesn't like impersonating a cloud with all of those lovely bubbles!

The Oh K! Bubble Sheet Mask retails between £4 and £4.50 and is available direct from Oh K! as well as from Feel Unique, Look Fantastic, Boots, and NEXT Beauty.

7. L'Occitane Honey And Lemon Hand Cream - 75ml

Next up yet another hand cream, and this one is without a doubt one of my favourite hand creams of all time and you can read a little bit more about it here x 

Although I'm not a huge fan of honey, this hand cream had a warm sweet scent, cut through with just a hint of citrus. Team that comforting scent up with L'Occitane's rich and decedent hand cream texture and in my eyes you have a winner!

Alas this one has now been discontinued as well, and sadly this was the last large tube that I had left - Thankfully, I do still have a tiny, tiny little tube so I'll be able to enjoy this scent for just a little bit longer.

8. Elysium Spa Avocado & Lime Sea Salt Scrub Body Exfoliator - 200g

Now if you're a regular reader, you'll already know that I'm partial to a bargain. I love high end beauty products as much as the next blogger, but lets be real, in these current confusing times, sometimes we just don't have the money for a proper splurge, and even though prices have risen across the board you can still find a beauty bargain if you look hard enough.

If you live in the North East, or Yorkshire, then you might be lucky enough to have a Boyes store near you. Never the most organised of shops, Boyes sells everything from hardware, to craft supplies, clothing, miss matched china, and of course health and beauty products. I'm lucky enough to live quite near to a store but I've got to say that I don't actually go in that often, but I really should. I went recently and picked up a super cute 2022 diary, and a pile of beauty bits including a rainbow Wet N' Wild highlighter, and this body scrub.

I was really pleased to see a whole range of products from a brand called Elysium Spa. I'd previously tried and really liked a lavender shower gel from them, and as well as picking up the eucalyptus shower gel that I'd been looking for, I thought I'd try one of their body scrubs - there were a few different ones to choose from but I went for the Avocado And Lime Sea Salt Body Scrub.

Containing sea salt, sweet almond oil, jojoba butter, avocado oil, and lime oil, it came packaged in the cutest little screw top tub / bucket. The scrub inside was pale yellow in colour, and it resembled slightly damp table salt that you can just about clump together with your fingers.

I don't know quite what I was expecting scent wise, but I think I was probably expecting it to have a little bit more of a fruity scent. In reality though it actually reminded me of a fresh unisex, or even aftershave, cologne like scent.

Use wise, it was pretty simple, you just needed to grab a handful, and massage it over damp skin. It wasn't rough or scratchy, but you definitely feel as though you'd given your skin a thorough exfoliation - like all salt scrubs it did sting a bit on cuts and scratches (the perils of cat ownership!) so I wouldn't use it directly after hair removal but it wasn't too bad. Being predominantly a salt scrub it rinsed away really easily and it dissolved straight away leaving no mess in the shower and super soft, smooth skin.

I can't remember whether this was a £1 or just 99p, but either way it was a bargain, and I'm definitely going to try some of the other scents and formulations in the future.

9. Lush Yog Nog Shower Gel - 275g

From a scrub to a shower gel, and it's one of Lush's festive offerings. Containing maple syrup water, clove bud oil, and ylang ylang, Yog Nog not only looks beautiful with its shimmery, gold finish, but it also smell amazing! Officially described as caramel scented, for me it has more of a spicy, sweet, burnt caramel, almost honeycomb scent! Use it in the shower, and both you and your bathroom will smell mouth watering.

I know that Lush is famous for Snow Fairy, but if you haven't tried Yog Nog yet you really are missing out. I shouldn't really be buying anymore shower products but I will definitely be picking up another bottle this festive season.

This 275ml size retails at £12, you can also a 100ml taster bottle for £6, and a huge 550g bottle for £20. It isn't cheap but you need such a tiny amount, it lasts for ages.

10. You're Sweet! Exfoliating Cubes - Sweet Candy Exfoliating Cubes - 8 x 10g

From a sweet shower product, to a sweet body exfoliator, and it's another bargain buy, this time from Poundland. Basically what this was, was a tube of about 6 large, varying sized pale pink sugar cubes. Like the Sunday Rain ones, you take a cube, dampen it, crumble it and then use it on damp skin as a body scrub.

With a subtle but sweet scent, these cubes were way less dense and compact than the Sunday Rain ones, and they felt a lot coarser on the skin. I also felt that I needed to use a couple of these for a full body exfoliation, compared to usually just one of the higher priced ones.

To be honest I think that cubes like this are a bit of a gimmick, yes they are great for travel and they're a bit of fun, but surely it works out more economical just to buy a tube of body scrub?

As I say they were a bit of fun but I probably wouldn't repurchase these particular ones. I can't remember if I paid £1 or £1.50 for these but if you're interested check out your local Poundland.

11. eos Evolution Of Smooth Shea Better Hand Cream - Eucalyptus - 74ml

Finally another hand cream, and it's another one that you've seen before, this time from eos. You can read my thoughts on this one here x I think that this was another Poundland buy, and I would definitely buy another one if I came across it again. I love the true eucalyptus scent and I think it's especially great for this time of year when so many of us are feeling bunged up and snotty.

If you can't find it in Poundland then you can find it online for around £4.99 from Look Fantastic, and HQ Hair, and for around £4.13 from Amazon UK.

If you've made it to the end - Thank You!! That was a pretty epic empties post, so if you have any questions on any of the numerous products that I featured in this post then please leave me a comment below x 

As you can probably see from my sidebar, October in comparison was a bit of a fail trimming my stash wise, but that means that I should be able to get my post up a bit quicker this time round - every cloud as they say! Never mind I've got a few days of November left now, so fingers crossed I can improve my total this month.

Thanks for reading and I will seen you soon with another post xx

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

A Late Unboxing Of Glossybox UK - February 2020 Edition - Love Crosses Borders*

Apologies for the lack of posts over the last week but I took some much needed time out to celebrate my birthday on Friday. It was a little bit weird not seeing anyone bar my mam, but everyone made a real effort to make it special for my anyways, sending my messages, sending cards, and dropping off cards and pressies, and it's funny even seeing people through panes of glass and at a safe distance made me feel a little brighter. I mainly got money and vouchers, so I may be doing, and have already maybe done a little bit of online shopping, so if you want to see the results of that make sure you're following my blog and my other social media channels x 

In the meantime though let's take a trip back to February, the month of love or in my case this year the month of illness! I was so poorly throughout February and March (with what we now believe thanks to a few emergency hospital trips for Mummy Lou in the last month, was more than likely Covid 19!),  that Valentines Day was nothing more than just another day, where I couldn't breathe, and I couldn't stop coughing.  My memories of February are pretty vague but I'm sure that Newcastle United's FA Cup run and the arrival of the Valentines Day edition of Glossybox must have lifted my spirits slightly.

With a "Love Crosses Borders" theme, February's box was pink in colour, with an almost ombre variation from light pin to a deeper more coral toned pink, with the word "Love" embossed in white on the lid in several different languages, and in several different fonts.

The pink theme was followed on inside the box, with pale pink tissue paper, and red shred to protect the contents, which was secured with a pink / red ribbon with printed with hearts and the words "Love Crosses Borders" in white.

The first item in the box as per usual was the information booklet which talked about the products in the box, and explained the box theme. The "Love Crosses Borders" theme was all about sharing things that bring us to together and the universal language of love, and as a result the box contained a range of products from across the globe to create a kissable pout and soft dewy skin, perfect for Valentines Day!

Figs & Rouge Wonder Love Charm Glow Elixir - 30ml - Full Size - RRP £35

The first item in the box was the item that was teased in January's box, and it was a product a British based brand, Figs and Rouge, whose vegan and animal friendly products, and both made and formulated in the UK.

One of the most recent additions to their line this products is a brightening elixir that is designed to give the skin a healthy glow, whilst perfecting, soothing and reenergising the complexion. It contains hydrating hyaluronic acid, vitamins A, C, and E, minerals including rose quartz, and rosewater to perfect and add radiance.

Keeping in with the pink theme, this product comes in a beautiful pink box. The product itself comes in a glass bottle, with a pale pink rubber, and plastic dropper.

Squeeze out a few drops and you're met with a slightly cool feeling, pale pink shimmery liquid, which a fresh, clean almost floral scent.

On Application

Lightly Blended

Completely Blended Out 

You can use this product in a few ways, one of the ways is apply a few drops onto cleansed skin, either before or after, or even instead of moisturiser, and then blend it out, before applying foundation, or you can do what I've done below and just wear it on its own.

Bare Skin - Before

Bare Skin - Application 

Bare Skin - After

To be honest there isn't a huge amount of difference between the before and after pictures but in real life my skin definitely looked a little bit more radiant, and hydrated.

As well as using it alone or under your make up you can also use it on certain areas of the face either on it's own or as I've done here, on top of make up as a liquid highlighter / illuminator.

Applied As Highlighter On Top Of Foundation And Under Foundation 

The funny thing is if I'd reviewed this product back in February, March or even in early April, I would have been at best indifferent to it, but that extra month has made all of the difference - I get it now! 

It's subtle, it doesn't add a ton of pigment or shimmer, whether you wear on it under make up or even on it's own, it just makes you look a little bit healthier, and it takes away some of that dullness and flatness, that we're probably all suffering from at the moment. You can use it in a few ways, and I think it's all about finding out what works best for you and your skin, and what type of finish that you want to achieve.

The full size retails at £35 and despite the fact that Feel Unique seem to sell a small selection of Figs & Rouge items, the only place I can find this product is direct from Amazon via Figs & Rouge.

Starskin Dreamkiss Plumping & Hydrating Bio - Cellulose Lip Mask - 1 x 5g Mask - Est. RRP £4.25

The next product was something from face mask specialist Starskin. Launched in 2015 Starskin's range of high performance, instant results skincare, is PETA certified, and is free from parabens, phthalates, mineral oils, sulphates and synthetic dyes.

Whilst they are probably most well known for their face and eye masks, this is actually a lip mask that aims to hydrate and plump the lips, and improve the appearance of fine lines, and wrinkles. It contains vitamin rich fermented coconut juice, sea fern collagen, hyaluronic acid, jojoba, linseed oil, sunflower seed oil, shea butter, safflower oil and honey.

The first thing you notice when you open the packet is just how much liquid there is in inside. The lip shaped patch itself has a thin gel, like appearance, and it doesn't feel that thick or substantial so it isn't that easy to peel it off the 2 sheets of clear film that cover it.

The patch itself had a pleasant fruity scent and taste and it adhered really securely to the lip area, so you can stand up and do other things, without it falling off. It feels quite cool on application but it warms up to body temperature quite quickly.

Starskin advise that you leave the mask on for around 10-15 minutes. It feels off really easily and whilst the instructions tell you to rub the excess serum into your lip are, I was actually surprised at just how dry the patch felt. My lips and skin must have sucked up every little drop of moisture that this mask had to offer.

I couldn't see any real difference in the plumpness or volume of my lips, but they definitely felt softer, and less flaky. Although I didn't experience any major miracles with this product I think it's a really nice treat for dry lips and I would definitely consider using it again.

The packet contained 1 mask, which Glossybox valued at around £4.25. The masks usually come in a pack of 2 and retail at around £8.50 from various retailers including Look Fantastic, Debenhams, and Feel Unique.

Saint Luxe Lip Liner Duo - Crush and Cupid - 2 x 1g - Full Size - RRP $40 / £23

One of the things that I love most about beauty and subscription boxes is the fact that they give you the chance to try something new. I can't find too much out about this next brand, other than the fact that they are a US based brand, that pride themselves on their sleek packaging and their luxury ingredients.

The only products that are actually on their website appear to be pencils, and the pretty pink box in February's Glossybox contained two lip pencils, that Saint Luxe claim and both creamy and long lasting.

In a true, wooden pencil format these pencil are pale pink and colour, and they come with a pink plastic lid. You get two different contrasting colours, Crush - a deep cool toned red, and Cupid - a neutral, nude pink shade.

Top - Crush - Bottom - Cupid

 Crush And Cupid 

The pigmentation is superb, but in my opinion they aren't that soft or creamy. The obvious way to use a lip pencil is to use it to line your lips, but I think that a good test of a lip pencil is to use it to fill in your lips so that's exactly what I did.

Crush 

Cupid 

On the whole I think they did a fairly decent job, they did drag a bit on application, and they weren't that hydrating, but they lasted well, and they looked okay on. When it came to sharpening them though, it all went a bit wrong. I tried to sharpen Crush, and I found the coloured section very, very crumbly, and the wood was really brittle, so it was pretty much impossible to achieve a decent point.

Apart from the sharpening and the lack of moisture these pencils weren't actually that bad. They wore well and Cupid especially is a very Louise colour but a high end product? not in my opinion! The only retailer I've found for these pencils is direct from Saint Luxe, who ship worldwide, where the duo retails at $40! Glossybox quote a slightly less eye watering £23 but I think that even that is overpriced when brands like Revolution, Rimmel and even Primark, produce lip liners that are equally as good if not better and more purse friendly.

Floss Beauty My New Favourite Lip Gloss - Ath - 15g - Full Size - RRP $16 / £12.30

Next up another lip product, and this time something from Canadian brand Floss Beauty. I first came across Floss Beauty in the August 2019 edition of Pink Parcel, when I received a My New Favourite Lip Gloss in the shade Yul - You can read my review here x 

Since Yul was almost a translucent shade, I'm really pleased to have the opportunity to try a coloured gloss this time around.

Both cruelty and paraben free like Yul, the shade that I received this time around was Ath, which is also named after an airport only this time Athens.

Although it look a little bit more coral here, Ath is a lovely neutral pink shade, that works perfectly with the Cupid lip liner. Again it comes in a squeezy plastic tube with a doe foot applicator and again it has a slightly synthetic coconut / vanilla scent.

As you can see the pigmentation is excellent, it applies easily, and it feels smooth, creamy and comfortable on the lips. One of the biggest deal breakers with gloss is stickiness, and thankfully this one doesn't feel too tacky, it wears well, and even when the gloss fades it leaves a small amount of colour on the lips. 

This is a really nice wearable shade that I will definitely use. It's non drying, and perfect if you aren't a fan of of sticky or gloopy lip glosses. The only retailer that I can find for this gloss is direct from Floss Beauty where this lip gloss retails at around $16, Glossybox quote a price of around £12.30.

Glossybox Slanted Lip Brush - Full Size - Est. RRP £5.10

The final official item in February's box was a Glossybox branded lip brush. With a pale pink handle with the Glossybox logo printed on the side, this brush has rose gold tone ferrule, and a slanted brush head, with soft but densely packed hairs.

The pointed end is perfect for outlining the lips and defining the lip line, and the large, flat side is perfect for filling in the lips.

This is a nice quality brush, that doesn't just have to be for lips, you could also use it as an eye brush or even as a brow brush. This brush is Glossybox branded and is exclusive to this box, and it has a recommended retail price of £5.10.

Now as well as the usual 5 items some subscribers also received a 6th item, and do you know what that means - controversy! Not everyone received this extra item and to say that some people weren't happy was an understatement! I was apparently one of the lucky ones and I did receive an extra 'treat'.

Glossier You Eau De Parfum - 1.5ml 

Yes, after all of that it was a fragrance sample from one of the brands of the moment, Glossier. As I've said before the inclusion of fragrances in a subscription boxes is always a bit of a funny one, so I'm not quite sure why so many people seemed so desperate to get their hands on this one, especially after smelling it!

Based on a lot of online reviews Glossier You appears to be a pretty popular scent but personally I'm not a fan. It contains warm and creamy base notes of amberette, ambrox and musk, and top notes of earthy green iris root, and pink pepper.

To me it smells very musky and dare I say it old fashioned, if you like this I'm sorry to say this but it reminds me of perfume mixed with stale cigarette smoke! The only positive thing that I can possible say about it is that it wears incredibly well, and that unlike a lot of fragrances, the smell stays pretty much the same as it does when you first spray it.

I've worn it a few times now, and it hasn't grown on me at all, it's a world away from the sweet floral tones that I normally wear, and there is something about it that I just don't like!

The full 50ml size of Glossier You retails at £45 and is available direct from Glossier. The box also included a coupon for 10% off your first order from Glossier but guess what? I forgot about it and it expired on the 5th May - wahhhhh!

Although the February 2020 edition of Glossybox ended on a bit of a damp squib, overall I was pretty pleased with February's offering. It was pretty make up heavy but it contained some nice wearable products. There were no real standouts but everything was decent even I wouldn't necessarily pay full price for the lip pencils

Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and if you fancy subscribing to Glossybox, you can find out more via this link x Thanks for reading as per usual and I'll see you soon with a quick make up review before resuming my Glossybox catch ups x 

*The Post Contains Both Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links

Unboxing Glossybox - April 2019 Edition - Fruity Or Floral*

Ah, at last I've found some time to sit down and get my blog on, so I'm stuck indoors despite the fact that it's Good Friday, and unusually for a Bank Holiday in the UK it's actually sunny! I can hear people laughing and generally enjoying themselves but I'm not bitter at all, I've actually had a pretty decent week for once, and I'm getting very excited about an impending new arrival (check out my Instagram and Facebook page to have a sneaky peek), and I've being enjoying the April 2019 edition of Glossybox UK.

Last month saw a return to the traditional pink and black Glossybox that we're so familiar with but in keeping with the changing seasons and hopefully the return of the warmer weather, April's vibrant, and colourful box design just screams Spring and Summer.

Every subscriber this month received one of two randomly selected boxes, one with a fruity theme, and one with a floral theme, which was reflected not only in the box design but also in the contents.

I received the floral box, which features a bright pink box base, and a white lid festooned with a large, glossy floral design in shades of yellow, pink, and turquoise, with gold foil accents. The goodies inside were wrapped in turquoise / teal tissue paper, and pink ribbon, and surrounded by pink shredded paper.

Sticking with the fruity and floral theme, all of the boxes contained an assortment of fruity and floral treats, the contents varied depending on what box design you received but all of April's boxes contained the usual 5 items, and an extra treat.

Jeanne Arthes Let Your Dreams Blossom - Eau De Parfum - 30ml - Full Size - RRP £20.99

Now perfume is always a slightly dodgy items when it comes to subscription boxes - fragrance is such a personal thing, you could ask 100 people what they thought of a fragrance and you'd probably get a 100 different answers. Personally though I don't mind receiving fragrance, I've probably had more hits than misses in my years of receiving beauty boxes, but at the same time I've also discovered some real gems over the years including the fabulous Courreges La Fille De L'Air which is now one of my go to fragrances.

The name Jeanne Arthes seems quite familiar to me so I think I've potentially tried something from the brand in the past, I don't think I have anything in my collection so if I have I obviously passed it on. Based on the research that I've done the brand was founded in my year of birth 1978 in the home of fragrance, Grasse. It doesn't seem that widely available in the UK but a quick search on ebay and Amazon brings up a few different fragrances from the brand.

From what I gather this fragrance, and the fragrance in the fruity box were made especially for Glossybox, and the floral design on the bottle even mirrors the floral design on the box lid. With notes of rose petals, cedarwood, lily, freesia and amber it's a lovely fresh, rose based scent. Rose scents can sometimes smell a little bit old fashioned but the fresher notes, and warmer notes give it a wider appeal. I like rose based scents so this was actually a winner for me, it reminds me a little bit of the long discontinued MAC Cosmetic fragrance Deja Rose from the Rose Romance Collection. Mummy Lou who loves Paul Smith Rose, and some more traditional rose scents also loves it so it's definitely a multi generational scent.

This fragrance is exclusive to Glossybox and the only official place where you can buy is directly from Glossybox but I've also seen a few on ebay x 

Soaper Duper Zingy Ginger Body Butter - 300ml - Full Size - RRP £10

After receiving the Soaper Duper Fruity Green Tuberose Body Lotion in the February edition of Pink Parcel (read my review here), and loving both the brand and their ethos, I was delighted to receive another Soaper Duper product in April's Glossybox.

Like the body lotion that I tried this body butter is vegan, cruelty free, and is free from parabens, phthalates and artificial colours. The ingredients in this particular body butter are 97% naturally derived and including all sorts of lovely things including ginger, eucalyptus, grapefruit and rosemary extracts, lime, macadamia, camelina, and sweet almond oil, vitamin E and C, and shea butter.

It's white in colour and has a thick and creamy texture, despite its richness though it absorbs into the the skin pretty quickly, and leaves it feeling soft and smooth, and looking hydrated and glowy. Rather than smelling of gingerbread it actually has more of a green, tropical scent with hints of citrus and ginger root that lingers on the skin. If you liked The Body Shop's Candied Ginger festive range from a few years ago, then you might like this. It isn't as warm but it definitely has a similar vibe. 

Again I was really impressed with this product, it's perfect if you need the hydration and power of a body butter but without the heaviness or stickiness - it leaves the skin soft, hydrated, glowy and delicately scented - what more could you want ? You only need a small amount too so this huge tub will last for ages. This body butter is available from Soaper Duper directly and various other retailers.

Dr. Botanicals Po Pomegranate Superfood Regenerating Sleeping Mask - 30ml - Travel Size - £12 - £14

Next up another product from Dr Botanicals, they seem to be a bit of a subscription box favourite at the moment, and do you know what? I'm not complaining - I'm still loving the Cr Charcoal Superfood Mattifying Face Mask that I got in March's Pink Parcel (read my post here) and I'm still picking up the rose facial oil on a regular basis so it was to the opportunity to try something else.

I haven't managed to try this yet but like the rest of the products in the Dr. Botanicals range it's cruelty free, vegan and it's certified by PETA, and it contains only high quality natural ingredients. Containing pomegranate, sweet almond oil, grapeseed and shea butter, this is an overnight mask that aims to nourish, hydrate and smooth the skin, and add brightness and antioxidants to the skin. 

All you do it apply a thin layer to clean, dry skin, 2 to 3 times a week before bed, and let it sink in while you sleep. I haven't tried anything like this before so it's gone straight in my to try pile. This is the 30ml travel size which seems to retail at anywhere between £12 - £14 from various retailers including direct from Dr. Botanicals and Beauty Expert. The full 50ml size retailers at around £19 and is again available from various retailers including Look Fantastic.

Original Source Hydrating Water Infusions Raspberry & Rose Water Shower Gel - 250ml - Full Size - Est. RRP £2.30

What I like about Glossybox is the real variety of products that you receive - now a little of people aren't a fan of the inclusion of more purse friendly products but I really don't mind. There really is nothing worse than falling in love with a products and not being able to afford to buy it again. This shower product comes from unisex, drugstore brand Original Source, I love their Lemon and Tea Tree shower gel already and this gave me a nice opportunity to try something new.

This is a product is part of a new range from Original Source of hydrating body washes, that are infused with vitamins and anti oxidants, and are designed to nourish, hydrate and detoxify the skin. They are vegan and are paraben free, but they do contain SLS. This particular one contains raspberry fruit extract, and rose flower water.

Just a small amount, of the slightly pink toned, translucent gel produces a lovely, creamy lather. It didn't smell quite as sweet and fruity as I'd expected it to, instead it had a green, more natural fruity scent, that reminded me a bit of raspberry leaf tea! It's not sweet instead it has a warm, greenness to it. It didn't feel drying on the skin and if your skin wasn't particularly dry, you could probably pass on a body lotion afterwards if you were in a rush. This is a full size tube and depending on the retailer the price at the moment varies dramatically - it's currently £1 in ASDA and £2 in Boots and Wilko.com so my advice is to shop around a bit.

Dr Paw Paw Hot Pink Balm - 25ml - Full Size - RRP £6.95

Next up a variation of a product that almost cult status in so many peoples lives. Dr Paw Paw Balm. Now I'm sure I have a tube of the original balm floating around somewhere but I can't remind whether or not I've ever tried it. In its original form it's a cruelty free, vegan, PETA certified, fragrance and gluten free balm that can be used anywhere from patches of skin, to dry lips, and dry cuticles. 

The main ingredient is Paw Paw or as we know it better in the UK, Papaya, which is combined with aloe Vera, olive oil and in this case colour pigments.

Although slightly less versatile than the original, this is a hot pink tinted version of the original Dr Paw Paw Balm, that you can use on your lips and cheeks. The shade is designed to suit all skin tones and complexions. You can apply a small amount and blend it out for a sheer finish, or you can build it up for a more dramatic finish.

I definitely think that it's easier to start of sheer and build it up, apply too much at once especially on the cheeks and you may be doing your best Aunt Sally impression. A small amount though and you get a really pretty, pink pinched cheek look that doesn't look greasy or shiny. As well as adding a pretty pink tone and a bit of gloss to the lips, it also adds and huge hit of moisture and nourishment and it actually wears pretty well.

Obviously as I say the pink tone makes it slightly less versatile when it comes to a skin care product, but it's still a multi functional make up item so it's a great one for travel and when you're on the go. You can buy this product directly from Dr Paw Paw and from various other retailers including Feelunique.

Palmer's Natural Fusions Chia Seed & Argan Oil Hair Mask - 30ml / 1 fl. oz. - Deluxe Mini - RRP £1.99

Finally an extra treat, and despite the fact that it's labelled not for resale ;) it's a nice addition to the regular 5 items. When it comes to Palmer's I automatically think body products, and Cocoa Butter, but did you know that they also have a hair care line? Well I didn't and although I haven't tried this yet, I do love a hair mask so I can't wait to give it a go.

This intensive conditioning hair mask isn't tested on animals and contains 95% naturally sourced ingredients and it contain no sulphates, parabens, phthalates, mineral oils or gluten. The two main ingredients are chia seed to strengthen the hair and promote new growth, and argan oil to rejuvenate dull and lifeless hair. It also contains sunflower oil, shea butter, coconut oil, rosemary leaf extract and rice bran wax. 

My hair is desperate need of some colour, so when I hopefully got rid of those greys, I'll treat it to some of this mask and let you know my thoughts in a future post x This is a deluxe mini with an estimated RRP of £1.99, the full 60g size is available from Superdrug and retails at £2.99.

I have to say that again I'm pretty happy with Glossybox, the value again was definitely there and it contained a nice combination of items all of which that I'll use, and that fitted in very well with the whole fruity floral theme. As per usual the box also included a little sneak peek as to what we can expect in May's box, and it looks like it's going to be a good one . In May's box every subscriber will receive either a Barry M Chisel Cheeks Contour Cream Kit, or a Barry M Cosmic Lights Highlighter Palette. Being a pale girl, and a highlighter junkie I would really love the highlighter palette but since it's randomly selected, I guess I'll have to wait and see x If you're interested in trying Glossybox UK for yourself, then check them out via my link, and save a little bit of money on your subscription xx Thanks as always and enjoy the rest of your weekend xx 

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