A Late Unboxing Of Glossybox UK - March 2021 Edition - Pretty Pleasures*

After a little break where I posted some slightly different content, I'm back today and I'm playing catch up again!

Even though our thoughts are now heading towards Autumn and dare I say it, even Christmas, let's take a trip back to the newness, and the hope that springtime brings, as I share with you my thoughts on the March 2021 edition of Glossybox UK.

After the retro cassette tape design of February's "Sing, Dance, Love Repeat" box, March's box saw a return to the classic design and the traditional pink and black colour way.

As per usual the information leaflet gave us not only the lowdown on the products inside the box, but it also revealed the theme of March's box which was "Pretty Pleasures". The contents was specially selected to remind us of the newness and prettiness of Spring, providing us with a range of pretty pastel tones products that would look great and make us feel great.

Figs & Rouge Satin Soft Blurring Primer & Finishing Fix - 30ml - Full Size - RRP £38

I think I've mentioned this before but I can never quite decide whether primers are actually skincare products, or make up products. It's a tough one isn't it? Especially since the majority of primers now contain a whole host of skincare ingredients.

So whether it's make up or skincare, the first item in March's box was a primer and a finisher from UK based, ethical and vegan skincare brand Figs & Rouge.

Containing marshmallow root extract, arctic cloudberry, hyaluronic acid and beta hydroxy acid, this silicone free primer can be used both under and on top of make up, and is designed to blur imperfections, banish shine, minimise pores and prevent blemishes.

Packaged in a gorgeous pink and gold tube, the primer itself is pale pink in colour and it has a thin, liquid, almost serum like texture.

After cleansing and moisturising, you just pat a tiny amount of this subtly sweet smelling primer over your face, concentrating on the t-zone. It is super lightweight and absorbs into the skin almost straight away, leaving it feeling smooth and silky, without the heaviness and tackiness that you can often experience with silicone based primers.

Straight From Tube

Slightly Blended Out 

I tried and tried to capture the effect on my face but for some reason you could never quite see what I was seeing in real life. In the mirror I noticed a definite mattifying effect, and an almost blurring of my skin texture, which you can just about see in the swatch photograph below.

When Fully Absorbed

This primer just made my skin look smoother and more perfected. Since it was so lightweight it was a perfect base for foundation. I used it with a liquid foundation and there was no heaviness, stickiness or separation, just a really smooth finish.

Not only is this a primer though, it can also be used as a finisher to help set your make up, and to blot down shine. I used it on top of both a liquid foundation and a loose powder, lightly patting a tiny amount onto my t-zone. It was lightweight enough not to really disturb the make up underneath , and it didn't cause any pilling or separation, it just tamed the oiliness and helped to blur the obvious pores on my nose.

I completely understand the pull of silicone based primers, they create an almost glass like, velvety finish, they you foundation pretty much sticks to, but sometimes they can feel a bit heavy and to be honest they can sometimes make my oily bits feel even more oily, which is why, especially lately, I seem to moving more and more towards silicone free, and more lightweight primers like this one.

Not only does the more liquid texture and lack of silicone of this particular primer, feel lighter on the skin, but it also does exactly what you would want it to, pores are less obvious, oiliness is reduced, it's a great make up base, and it just makes your skin look better.

With an RRP £38 this isn't the cheapest primer on the market, but if it sounds like a texture that you might like, then it's well worth it. You can buy it exclusively from Amazon UK via Figs & Rouge.

Nails Inc Nail Polish - Palace Gardens - 10ml - Full Size - RRP £11

I love me a nail polish but whether it's down to logistical reasons, or whatever, you don't actually see that many nail colours in subscription boxes, so its always a bit of a bonus for me when you get one, even if like this one, it's a polish that you already own.

I have a lot of nail polishes and I probably own more Nails Inc polishes than any other brand, so I guess it's not real surprise that I already had this colour in my collection.

In the old style, cylindrical bottle Nails Inc Palace Gardens, is a dusky, duck egg, blue, grey colour.

Unlike the now common Nails Inc thick brush with a slightly curved edge, this brush had a slightly curvy edge but it was quite thin and a touch straggly, and as a result it wasn't that easy to control. The polish also seemed quite thick so it wasn't the easiest nail paint that I'd ever done.

Probably because of the thickness of the polish, the coverage was excellent, it was pretty self levelling, and you couldn't really see any brush strokes. I could potentially have just got away with one coat. especially since the polish was quite slow drying, but as per usual for full coverage I went for two coats, and as per usual since I was reviewing the polish - no top coat.

It had a lovely glossy finish, and I loved the colour and finish even on my relatively short nails, but to be honest this wasn't the best Nails Inc polish that I'd ever used. As I saw the brush and the formulation just weren't what I've come to expect from Nails Inc, and the wear time wasn't up to scratch either with the first chip appearing after less than 24 hours wear!

I sometimes wonder if brand like Nails Inc manufacture products like this especially for brands like Glossybox at a lower price, and they just aren't the same quality as their normal full price products. Strangely enough the other bottle of Palace Garden that I have was a magazine freebie in a similar cylindrical bottle, so who knows?

It's a real shame either way as this is such a pretty colour and Nails Inc as a brand is usually fairly reliable.  Other than the secondary market this particular polish is nearly impossible to find, although you maybe ben able to find in the new style bottle in the Nail Kale formulation.

Beautaniq Beauty Nourishing Mascara - 8ml - Full Size -RRP £15.00

Next up a make up product, and pastel theme continues, not in the Beautaniq product itself but instead in the pink and duck egg blue packaging.

I honestly thought that I'd tried more from this brand, but I can only find one other review from them, and it was for a pair of beautiful angel wing under eye patches, that I received in the June 2020 edition of Glossybox UK.

If you haven't heard of them Beautaniq are a cruelty free, plant based, earth loving, sustainable, UK manufactured, make up and skincare brand.

The product that I received in March's box was the Beautaniq Beauty Nourishing Mascara. Containing nourishing ingredients such as camellia oil, and almond oil, which are both rich in vitamin E and Oleic acid, this mascara claims to add volume, thicken, lengthen, and curl the lashes, as well as separating, defining and evenly coating every single lash

Beautifully boxed, this mascara is packaged in a squeezy tube. Although in my experience they do dry out a little bit more quickly than conventional mascaras, I am actually a fan of squeezy tube mascaras because you do same to waste less product, and from the start to the finish it's really easy to get the product onto the brush.

The consistency of the mascara was good, it wasn't too wet and it wasn't too dry. The mascara comes with a nice, traditional, full bristle spoolie. It was really easy to apply, the coverage was good, and the spoolie did a really good job of separating the lashes.

I'm wearing two coats in both of the after pictures - 1 coat gave a really, really natural separated look, where as two gave a more noticeable separated, fuller, longer, darker, lash look, so it's definitely a mascara that you can layer up for more of an impact. I haven't used a lash comb in these pictures and as you can see there is virtually no clumping or blobbing.

Before

After

There was a tiny bit of transfer at first but bar a tiny bit of under eye smudging towards the end, I got a good 5 hours plus of wear out of this mascara on a pretty warm day. By and large it stayed put and it felt comfortable on my lashes and it didn't made them feel dry, stiff or heavy.

Before

After

Although it's fairly buildable, this isn't the most dramatic mascara that you'll ever see but it is a great everyday mascara that again does what it says it does. I was particularly impressed with the separating aspect and the fact that it doesn't clump or dry out the lashes.

Glossybox put a price of £15.50 on this product, and whilst it was £15 as of September 2022 it's actually now £19 on the Beautaniq website, all be it though in a different outer box. 

So Eco Complexion Sponge - Full Size - RRP £6

From a make up item to a make up applicator, and this time, in keeping with the pastel theme it's a another make up sponge.

I've had a few make up sponges from Glossybox now but this one is a just a little bit different - So Eco are a UK based make up brush, and beauty tool and accessory brand, which produce a wide range of products that are approved by PETA, and as well as being cruelty free, their products are also made to the highest ethical and sustainable standards, and their packaging it also made from ethically sourced, compostable, recyclable, and biodegradable materials. They also support the charity Tree Nation, planting one tree for every 100 products that they sale, so this is probably the most ethical sponge in my collection!

Their complexion sponge is in the traditional, almost pointed egg like design with a large rounded end, and a pointed tip. It felt nice and dense, whilst at the same time super soft, and lightweight.

The larger rounded end is great for applying foundation, and as I often use it for, loose powder, to larger areas, where as the slightly pointed tip is great for smaller areas such as around the eyes and nose.

This sponge washes incredibly well, and whilst there is a little bit of staining, which is probably down to the pale colour of the sponge, it's still going strong after around 3 months of use without cracking or splitting.

There are loads of sponges like this on the market at all different price points, but if you want to go for a more ethical option from a company that gives back, this one could be worth trying. It retails at £6 and is available from a variety of retailers including Beauty Bay, Look Fantastic, Holland and Barrett, HQ Hair and Tesco.

Lord & Berry Line / Shade Eye Pencil - #221 Travel Black (Dark Black) 0.7g - Deluxe Mini - Est. RRP £10

Ah my nemesis, eyeliner! To be fair though after creams and gels, for me at least pencils are probably the next easiest to use - although you probably can't tell that based on my pictures ;)

From affordable artistry brand Lord & Berry, this is a deluxe size of one of the many different type of eyeliner that they sell.

In the shade Travel Black, or Dark Black as it also seems to be known, for me it has quite an ashy black finish compared to a lot of the more glossy black that you seem to see out there.

Containing 63% natural origin waxes, it's very soft and very creamy, good in the respects that you don't need to press too hard to get some colour pay off, and it doesn't pull or drag on the eyes, but not so good in others.

It was so soft and smudgy that I really struggles (even more than usual) to get a precise line, but I hope you can see at least what I was trying to do.

On Application

Alas though i had the same issues that I often have with liners, it just wouldn't stay put, in fact it didn't even last long enough to take all of the photos, and you can already see some transfer in the picture below.

With 5 minutes it had smudged all over my upper lid, so instead of taking it off, I roughly blended it out for a very rough and ready, impromptu smokey eye, which lasted roughly an hour before disappearing completely.

Roughly Blended Out

I'm in no doubt that the softness and creaminess of this pencil lead to not only the poor wear time, but also the snapping issue that I had, and also the fact that it was so hard to sharpen it properly.

If you like creamy pencils and a super smudgy look then by all means give this a try, just don't expect it to last very long especially if you have oilier eyelids.

Glossybox place a price of £10 on this deluxe mini / travel size which is available direct from Lord & Berry from where you can also get the full size pencil which retails at £13.

So several months later than anticipated that was my review of the products in the March edition of Glossybox UK. Although I didn't really get on with a couple of the products in the box (and what does a black eyeliner have to do with spring and pastel colours?) I was still pretty pleased with the other 3 items in the box, and as per usual the box was well worth the money x Don't forget to use my link to find out more about Glossybox, and you can also use it to find out a little bit more about this years Glossybox advent calendar. Thanks for reading and I will see you later this week with another post x 

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

A Very Late Unboxing Of Glossybox UK - October 2020 Edition - The Beauty Tales - Midnight Fantasy*

Hi guys, and welcome to operation catch up part 1 zillion! Today I want to take you back to October, a time of falling leaves, Halloween,  pumpkin spice lattes, and The Beauty Tales edition of Glossybox UK.

There were two different versions of October's box, Enchanted Spirit and the version that I received, Midnight Fantasy. Glossybox are well know for their beautiful limited edition boxes, but I think that October's box is by far one of the best designs that I've ever seen from them.

In keeping with the whole mystical, fairytale, Beauty Tales theme, the Midnight Fantasy box was designed to look exactly like an old fashion book. Made of a gorgeous old book cover like, dark blue textured cardboard, the box lid features gold  foil embossed lettering, and a fairytale like illustration of a wolf howling at the moon, an owl, a fox, a tree, and mystical floral design.  The design carries on, onto the side of the lid which was designed to look like the spine of a book with the title "A Very Glossy Fairytale" embossed in gold.

The blue and gold theme carried on inside the box with a blue and gold interior, navy blue paper shred, a blue ribbon, and gold tissue paper.

As per usual the first thing in the box is the product information leaflet with contains a list of the box contents and a little bit about each of the products. It also tells you a little bit about the theme and the ideas behind the box, which in this case is all about the beauty tales, and the mystical ideas of eternal beauty, and as a result the box contains a mixture of products that were chosen to help relax and soothe the mind, and to transform the look and feel of the skin. 

AHC Essential Real Eye Cream For Face - 10ml - Deluxe Mini - Est. RRP £8.66

Now I'm going to be honest here, although I've had several months to try this product, I haven't actually opened it yet! To be fair this is something that is going to pop up more and more in these posts as time goes on. The plain and simple fact is that I have way too many skincare products to justify opening any more, so in future, if I don't need to open something skincare related, I won't. I currently have 3 eye products on the go as it is, so I'm adding this one to my to try pile

Just a bit of background on this one though, it's from Koreas's number 1 aesthetic skincare brand AHC. This is an eye cream but it can also be used all over the face as a hydrating and rejuvenating, vitamin and peptide filled facial moisturiser. 

I'm actually quite curious about this one because I love 2 in 1 products, and anything that can save a bit of time. I'm also pretty lazy when it comes to eye products, so applying 1 product rather than 2 sounds perfect. I'll definitely let you know how I get on with this in a future empties post. Glossybox quote a price of £8.66 for this 10ml deluxe mini size, the full 30ml size though is available for £26 exclusively from Look Fantastic.

Bubble T Bath & Body Star Dust Foaming Bath Powder In Rose - 100g - Full Size - RRP £5.99

Next up another product that I didn't / couldn't use. If you're a regular reader you should know by now that I don't have a bath tub in my house, so unfortunately I couldn't use this gorgeous rose scented foaming bath powder :( Don't worry though it didn't go to waste, I passed it on to one of my friends as a little extra in their Christmas pressie.

I think this scent may have been exclusive to Glossybox because I can't find it anywhere online. if you like the idea of a foaming bath powder though, you can buy the Fairy Dust Foaming Bath Powder In Lavender on various websites including Urban Outfitters, and direct from Bubble T where 100g pouch retails between £5 - £5.99.

Luna By Luna Lipstick - Pixie - 3.5g - Full Size - RRP $15 / £15

From something that I couldn't use to something that I most definitely can (at least when I'm not wearing a mask - wear a mask!), a lipstick! From New Jersey based company Luna By Luna, this is one of their bullet lipsticks in the shade Pixie.

The lipstick comes boxed and is packaged in a plain, navy blue, plastic tube with the brand name printed on the outside in gold.

The shade Pixie is a lovely bright coral shade, that to be honest if much more of a summer colour, then something that you would wear in October, but if you need cheering up no what time of year, it's a perfect happy colour.

With a slight vanilla scent and taste, this lipstick is super creamy and moisturising, and as you can it's very pigmented.

Being so creamy it did transfer slightly but the wear time wasn't bad, and it did leave a slight stain on my all be it very dry lips, when the initial glossy, creamy finish disappeared.

After having a look at the Luna By Luna website I'm pretty sure that I've tried something from the brand before (maybe a loose powder?, but I can't find anything in my stash or even a reference to the the brand on my blog, so if this "was" my first impression of the brand, then it was a good one. Pigmented, and super creamy, and moisturising,  and okay wear time, you can't really ask for more in a lipstick.

The only stockist that I can find for this lipstick is direct from Luna By Luna, where this full sized lipstick retails at $15 / around £15.

Illamasqua Hydra Veil Primer - 7ml - Deluxe Mini - Est. RRP £10

The next item is another make up item, or is it a skincare product? I'm never sure but I guess that depends on the primer itself. This is one of several primers that are available from cruelty free, top end cosmetic brand Illamasqua.

This is their iconic Hydra Veil Primer which is part hydrator, part primer. It contains micro algae, and vitamins C and B3, and it is designed to calm sensitive skin and reduce redness, in order to produce a calm and refreshed complexion, and a smooth and balanced base for make up.

Boxed and packaged in a small, plastic pot, this primer was quite unlike any other primer that I'd ever tried. Translucent in appearance it has a fresh clean scent, and it has a texture that very similar to jelly, that melts on contact with the skin.

On Application

Immediately After Application

After A Few Minutes

It immediately felt quite cooling on the skin but it quickly warms up to body temperature on application. It takes a minute or two to absorb into the skin, but when it does it almost feels as though there is nothing on your skin. My skin was left looking smoother, and more event, and unlike a lot of other cream and silicone based primers, it didn't leave me skin feeling greasy, heavy or sticky, it was just smooth and even.

Before

On Application

After

I have to say that over the last month or so I've really enjoyed using this little pot of brilliance. Thanks to the cold weather, central heating, and the obligatory face mask, my skin has felt a little bit drier lately, and this has definitely helped add a much wanted burst of hydration to my skin. I haven't worn a lot of make up lately but I've been using a little bit of this without foundation too, and when I have worn make up alongside this primer, I've noticed a more even finish and less patchiness of my drier areas such as the edge of my cheeks, and above my eyebrows.

I usually shy away from hydrating primers, preferring products with pore minimising and mattifying properties, but I was actually really impressed with this primer, and how well it actually worked on my skin, and I will definitely consider using this again, and trying out some of their other primers in the wider Illamasqua range.

Glossybox place a value of £10 on this 7ml deluxe mini size. I can't find this specific size anywhere online but both Look Fantastic and Illamasqua sell a 6ml size for £10, and NEXT Beauty also sell a mini pot with no size given for £8. The full 30ml size is available from various retailers for £34.

The Beauty Crop Stargazing Blush Duo - Orion Glow - 4g - Full Size - RRP £18

The final official item in the October's box was another make up item, and it was a product from another one of Glossybox's favourite make up brands, The Beauty Crop. I've already tried a few bits from this clean and animal friendly beauty brand including The Palm Balm Lip & Cheek Balm & Color in Mauve Wave, so I was pleased to have the opportunity to try another type of product.

Packaged in a beautiful celestial design, blue and gold cardboard box, this product is a powder blush duo that comes in pretty, but not very expensive feeling, star patterned octagon shaped compact.

The compact contains 2 talc and paraben free, cruelty free and vegan, star embossed shades of powder blush. You get a more matte warm, champagne, bronze peach shade, and a lovely, shimmery peach, coral shade.

Both of the shades are super soft, and silky, and as you can see the colour pay off is superb.

I'm wearing the shade on the right, the more coral shade (alongside the Luna By Luna lipstick) in the picture below x 

It blended really nicely into the skin and it wore well, it was a touch powdery and there was a little bit of fallout but for such a pretty and wearable colour, I can deal with that x 

Although selected items from The Beauty Crop are now available in Superdrug, the Stargazing Blush Duo only seems to be available direct from The Beauty Crop where it retails at £18.

Now normally that would be it, but like in the September box, the October edition of Glossybox also included a very welcome sweet treat.

Cadbury Darkmilk - 13.5g

Yes, the October box contained chocolate, and it was a 13.5g, not for resale sized bar of Cadbury Darkmilk.

All chocolate to me is good chocolate, but I must admit that I'm much more of a milk chocolate girl, but every now and then I do want something that little bit more grown up, but I don't quite want the full richness and bitterness of a bar of dark chocolate. If you feel like that too then Darkmilk is for you, you still get the creaminess that you would expect from a bar of Dairy Milk, but you also get more of that rich chocolatey taste due to the higher cocoa content - perfection!

This size of bar was marked not for resale which is a bit of shame because I do love mini bars of chocolate, but the normal 35g sized bar retails at around 60p

So that was a very, late unboxing of the October box. I loved the fairy tale, book style packaging, and whilst I'm not sure all of the contents stuck to the whole beauty tales ethic I was pretty happy with everything in the box. I was a tiny bit disappointed to receive yet another eye cream, but that was tempered slightly by that you can use it all over your face, and again I was a little bit disappointed to get a bath product that I couldn't use, but the primer was a real revelation, and I was really impressed with both the lipstick and the blush duo, and of course the chocolate! All in all for me it was a pretty decent box x 

If you're interested in trying Glossybox for yourself, then you find out more via my link x Please let me know if you have any questions on any of the items in this box, and I will see you soon with probably another catch up post x Thanks for reading x 

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