Unboxing Glossybox - October 2019 Edition - Angel Or Devil*

There is nothing more annoying than "a while you were out" card from Royal Mail - I mean I don't go out that often but when I do, I usually return home to a little red card on the doormat. The parcel that I missed on Friday was my November Glossybox, and whilst I'm a little bit annoyed that I haven't been able to have a play with it this weekend - it's given me some time to get October's unboxing out of the way.

The October 2019, sell out edition of Glossybox, came in two different variations that were sent out randomly to subscribers. The options were Angel or Devil, and each box contained basically the same contents only with slight colour, and flavour variations.

Of course I received the Angel box, I mean can you really see me as a devil? No sweet and pure are my middle names ;) The box was predominately pale blue, and it featured a blue eye design, with silver metallic accents, and a halo.

Inside the box the contents was wrapped in white tissue paper, and white shred, which will be really useful come Christmas time

As per usual the box included an information booklet to tell you a little bit more about the contents and of course the theme of the box. The theory behind the Angel box is that an angels beauty never fades, and the contents was designed to make you look and feel divine!

STYLondon Velvet Eyeshadow Palette - Angel - 4.5g - Full Size - RRP £15

The first item was September's sneak peek item, and it was an eyeshadow palette from British brand STYLondon. I've a few things from STYLondon now including a different style of  eyeshadow palette in Eaton Square which I received in the November 2018 edition of Glossybox (You can watch my unboxing video here), a gorgeous lipstick that I got in June's Pink Parcel, and a a face powder that I received in the July edition of Pink Parcel (You can read my thoughts here and here) and I have I've been really impressed with both the quality and performance of everything that I've tried up to now.

As I say STYLondon are a UK company, all of their make up products are mineral based, cruelty free, and paraben free.

The eyeshadow palette that you received depended on the box that you got, so the eyeshadow palette I got was the appropriately named Angel. There isn't really anything special about the the black and clear plastic packaging, it's practical, sturdy and it does the job, don't let the slightly dull packaging fool you though, the shadows inside are more than a little bit special!

Angel features 9  matte, shimmer and almost sparkle and glitter based eyeshadow colours, in a variety of pink based shades, ranging from almost peachy, nudes, to pinks, burgundies and corals. 

Formulated with added vitamins, all of the shadows are smooth, and buttery and they blend literally like a dream. The pigmentation even on the matte shades is excellent, they don't feel chalky or gritty, just soft and creamy

Being as soft as they are you do get a bit of fallout especially on the shimmery, and sparkly shades, but the finish is so worth it, and the wear time was excellent - even on my notoriously oily lids there was very little fading and no creasing. I've done a quick eye look using a few of the shades so you can see just how well they blend. 

Pink eye colours seem to be really on trend at the moment, and even though a bit scared of them, and I'm frightened that I'll look as though I've got conjunctivitis, this palette is so wearable, and the quality is so good it makes experimenting with a new look a piece of cake. I really can't recommend this palette enough, and I'm so pleased that this was the one that I received instead of the slightly safer browns and bronzes in the Devil option. If you fancy trying it for yourself, you can buy it for around £15 directly from STYLondon.

Lord & Berry 20100 Maximatte Lipstick Crayon - #3407 Angel Pink - 1.6g - Full Size - Est. RRP £15

Although I can't find any reference to Lord & Berry, or these pencils on the blog, I do actually own a different shade, Here-and-Now, a coral, red, that I think I must have got in a previous subscription box.

Formulated with vitamins, Lord & Berry's Maximatte formulation promises intensely long lasting colour, and smooth and comfortable application.

Angel or Angelic Pink as Glossybox describe it, is a very pale, almost 60's Brigitte Bardot esq pink. As you can see from the swatch below, it swatches well, nice pigmentation, no problems, put it on the lips though and everything changes.

It didn't feel creamy or soft, it felt dry and it dragged across the lips. The super pale colour accented every line and every crack and imperfection on the lips - not good! The only plus side of the product is that it actually lasted quite a while on the lips. The only way that I will ever wear this again is with a load of gloss or balm on the top, or a base for a similar coloured more hydrating and moisturising lip colour.

I definitely think that the fact that the colour looks so draining on me at the moment has altered my judgement as I definitely don't seem to have the same dry, dragging problem with Here-and-Now, which just seems to be an all around better product.

I can't find this specific shade online but other shades in the Maximatte formula are available from various retailers including directly from Lord & Berry, and Fragrance Direct for around £15.

Bubble T Cosmetics Angel Dust Foaming Bath Powder - 90g - Est. RRP £4.99

Now there are many interpretations of the term Angel Dust, including a pretty decent Faith No More album, but the Angel Dust in the case refers to Bubble t Shimmering Angel Dust Foaming Bath Powder. If you're a long term reader then you'll know that I don't actually have a bath a the moment so I haven't tried this product and I will passing it on to a friend that does.

I think this particular product was something that was exclusive to this kit but you can buy various varieties of bath salts, and bath powders, direct from Bubble t for around £3.99 - £4.99, and from various other retailers including Superdrug, Fragrance Direct, and Look Fantastic.

MCo Beauty Eye Define Crayon Liner - Black - 0.3g - Full Size - RRP £14

Next up another eyeliner, why are subscription boxes so obsessed with eyeliner?? Never mind this is my first product from Australian, cruelty free, and gluten free brand MCo - From what I gather the brand is from the same stable is Model Co hence the similar name.

Packaged in a very Mean Girls esq, pink twist up dispenser, MCo claim that this semi matte eyeliner, has a waterproof, waterline safe formula, that won't smear, budge or flake. 

It's not the blackest, black eyeliner that I've tried but it felt nice and smooth when I swatched it, and the pen itself was nice and easy to control.

Now I'm notoriously untalented and pretty useless when it comes to eyeliner application, and even wearing eyeliner but I actually had a bit of a play with this one and I took some pictures to prove it.

Although the swatch applied quite smoothly on my wrist, I did find it dragged a bit on my slightly crepey eye lids, especially when I applied it over the top of existing make up. I'm not great at applying liner but to be honest I don't think I did too bad a job here, maybe I should have applied it a bit closer to my lashes, but with the slight dragging, I think it's passable.

 As well as application issues, one of the other reasons why I tend to avoid eyeliner is that it doesn't usually wear that well on my oily, hooded, eye lids. Well shock of horrors this one actually stayed on! I had about 30 second to a minute to clean up any mistakes, and then it seemed to set and it stayed put, even during a pretty epic onion chopping session, until I removed it.

I'm not completely converted to the ways of eyeliner just yet, but this was decent enough to make me want to wear it again, after all practise makes perfect! If you fancy trying it, it retails at around £14 directly from MCo.

Que Bella Beauty Illuminating Holographic Peel Off Mask - 10ml - Full Size - RRP £2.49 / $2.49

Something else that you seem to get quite regularly in subscription boxes are face masks, and this particular mask is currently one of the best selling face masks at US retail chain Target. The company que bella are US based, and the brand will be launching in the UK soon, so Glossybox subscribers really had a sneak peek of what is to come.

I haven't had a chance to try this yet but I'm pretty excited about it - it looks gorgeous in the packaging - all sparkly and iridescent and it contains two of my favourite things Jasmine and Violet extracts, and Hyaluronic Acid Salts, and it promises to hydrate, nourish and remove dead skin, to leave the skin dewy and radiant.

I'll let you my thoughts in a future empties post but if want to find out more in the meantime then you will be able to buy it soon from £2.49 direct from que bella.

Whittard Of Chelsea Luxury White Hot Chocolate - 20g Sachet - Est. RRP £2

Glossybox as you know usually contains 5 items but lately subscribers have been receiving the odd extra treat, and October's certainly was a delicious one. My box contained a single serve sachet of Whittard Of Chelsea Luxury White Hot Chocolate.

I love Whittard and this just so happens to be my favourite hot chocolate that they do, there simply isn't enough white hot chocolate around. In keeping with the Angel theme this stuff really is heavenly, mix the contents of the sachet with 200ml warm milk, and you have a mug of sweet, creamy, rich, white, milky heaven (squirty cream and white chocolate buttons are of course options additions but even angels can be naughty at times!)

Glossybox place a value of £2 on this 20g sachet, but the full 350g size tub retails at around £8 directly from Whittards Of Chelsea and from various other retailers - Go on treat yourself, you know you want, I certainly will be ;)

So late it maybe, and despite the Lord & Berry fail, this was another good box from Glossybox. It was pretty make up heavy which I don't mind and my obvious highlight was the eyeshadow palette but all in all it was an excellent value, treat yourself kind of box. You can still get your hands on November's box which contains a full size Kandi Cosmetics Pro Glow Mist so have a click of my link if you would like to find out more x Fingers crossed my November box will be redelivered without a hitch and I can get a review up within the next week or so, in the meantime though I've got a couple more catch up posts from October and then I've got some reviews and more bits and pieces to come next week so make sure you're following my blog so you don't miss anything x 

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Unboxing Pink Parcel UK - July 2019 Edition - Turn Up The Heat Edit*

After all of the hassle and palaver that I had with the June edition of Pink Parcel, I'm pleased to say that July's both arrived on time and without incident.

It seems as though Pink Parcel are still trying to use up their old style packaging, so like in June, in July I received an original pink and grey box, which contained 3 boxes and the familiar fabric pouch.

I was a little bit short on night time pads so again I went for a sanitary pad box, like pretty much every box I've had recently I received a mixture of different brands rather than what I'd requested, as I've said before though I don't really mind different brands, I'm more concerned about the amount products in the box, and again despite reverting back to the old style, larger box, I still only got 23 items  and at the risk of repeating myself that's fine for me but not necessarily for anyone with a longer or heavier period.

Anyways I'm sure you've heard me complain about that before, so lets move quickly on to the most exciting part of the box, the treats! The theme of July's box is Turn Up The Heat, so it's all about the sun, summer and the heat, and it contains a variety of products to treat and pamper the skin.

As I said in the review of June's box I normally ignore the flyer's and adverts that tend to come in my subscription boxes and shopping orders, but like in last months box, the July edition of Pink Parcel also contained something that was worth saving from the recycling bin.

It was a fragrance card from Ted Baker featuring samples of 3 scents from their Ted's Sweet Treats range. The first scent Polly contains a mixture of mandarin, red berries, peach, amber, and vanilla.  Mia is another fruity scent and contains lemon, raspberries, and blackcurrants mixed with patchouli and golden amber, and the final scent Ella again contains fruity notes including bergamot, and cassis, but it also contains floral notes of orange blossom, jasmine and rose.

I wasn't expecting a lot but I actually liked all of the scents, they were surprisingly complex and not as sweet as I'd anticipated. My favourite was definitely Polly, which reminded me a little bit of Victoria's Secret Tease, which I got for my birthday and I love.

STYLondon Banana Setting Powder - 4.5g - Full Size - RRP £14.99

After receiving the lovely marble packaged lipstick in June's box, July's box contained another product from cruelty free, and paraben free, British company STYLondon, and this time it was their Banana Setting Powder. 

Now although it contains vitamin E, and natural minerals, despite the name it doesn't actually contain bananas. The banana refers to the slight yellow colour of this super fine face powder. It sounds strange I know but yellow powder has a been a make up artists secret for the longest time, and it's something that I've used on and off for over 15 years now. The yellow tint is designed to brighten the complexion and to eliminate redness as well as doing all of the other things a loose powder should do like mattifying the skin and setting make up.

As you can see from the picture below it's not a bright, bright yellow so you won't end up looking like a minion! Just dust it sparingly over your foundation with a puff or with what I prefer, a big fluffy brush, and on the majority of skin tones, you won't really see any yellowness, (apart from on your eyebrows so make sure you give them a brush through, just a more even, matte complexion.

In the before picture below I'm just wearing a very lightweight foundation. It evened my skin out but you can still see a bit of redness coming through especially on my cheeks.

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Before

After

Apply a dusting of this banana powder over the top though, and although it doesn't make a huge difference, my skin tone is more even, the skin looks smooth and matte, and the redness isn't anywhere near as obvious. Over the last week or so I've given this powder a good work out in what have been some pretty extreme conditions, and I'm actually pretty impressed with it. It wasn't the greatest powder that I've ever used for keeping the shine down, and it did need to keep reapplying it but given the temperatures I tested it in, I'm not going to hold that against it. I loved the slight baby powder scent, and I have to say it's one of the best powders that I've used for reducing redness and evening out my skin tone. It has a very fine texture, and as long as you apply it sparingly it makes a great finishing powder, for anyone with redness or an uneven skin tone. The STYLondon Banana Setting Powder retails at £14.99 for a 4.5g tub and it's available directly from the STYLondon website.

Patchology Moodmask The Good Fight Clear Skin Sheet Mask - 1 x 20ml Sheet Mask - Full Size - RRP £5

I love a good face mask and you pretty much guarantee that every Pink Parcel will contain at least one mask. July's box actually contained 2 masks and the first one comes from a new brand to me Patchology. Using their medical background the team at Patchology create products with the whole philosophy of "beauty at the speed of you". They want their products to do more, work faster and to deliver better results.

I haven't had the chance to try this mask yet, I've been a bit masked out lately but this one is specially designed for problematic skin, oily skin and skin with breakouts. It's designed to soothe the skin, and to both minimise imperfections and to prevent new ones forming. It contains antibacterial willow bark and tea tree, and peppermint to reduce inflammation and to slow down oil production. I will definitely be giving this a go in the next week or so, so I'll let you know my thoughts in a future Trimming My Stash post. This full size mask retails at £5 and is available direct from Patchology, and various other retailers including Cult Beauty and Space NK

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

I guess you could call the next item in the box another face mask, but it's actually so much more than that. The eagle eyed readers amongst will probably remember this product from my review of the April 2019 Glossybox (read my post here if you haven't already). Normally I would be a little bit disappointed to receive a product that I already own but I'm a bit of fan of this one so I'm happy to have another one in back up.

As you would expect from the Dr Botanicals range this product is cruelty free, vegan, and certified by PETA. Whilst it is technically a face mask it's actually more of a night treatment in the form of a face mask. Containing pomegranate, sweet almond oil, grapeseed and shea butter, you simply apply a thin layer of this creamy textured product to your face, before bed two or three times a week and they you just go to bed as normal, no rinsing or cleansing required, and then in theory you wake up bright, smooth and hydrated skin.

Now I've been using this for about a month and a half now and as I say I'm a fan. Although my skin is changing as I age, I still quite an oily complexion so I'm actually a bit scared of a lot of night creams and night treatments, because I always think that they will be a bit too heavy for my skin and that they'll actually make the oiliness worse. The first time I used this I was a bit concerned as it felt quite thick, and creamy but it actually doesn't feel too heavy on the skin, and after apply a thin layer to my I was actually surprised at how quick it actually absorbed. I had images of my pillows been smeared with face mask, but that didn't happen, and pretty much all of the mask had absorbed within about 15-20 minutes leaving quite a matte finish. It has a slight fruity scent but nothing to strong or distracting.

On Application

10 Minutes After Application 

Next Morning 

My skin did feel a little bit tight whilst it was sinking in but when I woke up the next morning my skin just feel smoother to the touch and it looked fresher and cleaner and surprisingly more awake and alive then it normally does in the morning. As I say I've been using it a couple of times a week for about a month and a half and I definitely haven't noticed an increase in oiliness or breakouts, my skin just looks better. I'm really pleased to have another tube in my skincare stash, and I would definitely recommend it if your skin needs some TLC, or just a boost.  This is the 30ml travel size which retails at various prices between £12 and £14 and is available from both Beauty Expert and directly from Dr Botanicals. You can also buy the full 50ml size from retailers including Look Fantastic

Woo Woo Cranberry Wipes pH Balanced For Intimate Use - 12 Wipes - Full Size - RRP £2.25

Now I've got a bit of a love / hate thing going on with intimate washes and wipes, on one hand they aren't always that good for you, and I don't think women should be paranoid and worries about how they naturally smell, but on the other hand, I have a bit of a need to be clean down their complex, especially at that time of the month, so I do tend to use feminine washes especially during my period, and I've used various brands of feminine wipes in the past.

These wipes from Woo Woo, though have a much more modern feel than the ones that I've used in the past. Woo Woo are a brand that are focused on vaginal health, beauty and pleasure, and these intimate wipes are pH balanced to prevent irritation and other problems. They are designed to clean and soothe delicate skin and they contain both aloe vera and cranberry extract; they are also dermatologically tested, vegan and paraben free. Importantly for wipes they are also biodegradable, and flushable.

I haven't had a chance to try these properly yet, as I only just got my period this morning, but I have opened the packet and they have a lovely fruity scent. As per usual I'll let you know my  thoughts in a future empties posts. If you fancy trying them for yourself, you can pick up a pack of 12 wipes for £2.25 from Superdrug.

May Beauty The Incredible Pore Strip With Charcoal - 2 Pore Strips

I first became aware of May Beauty way back in 2015 when I was sent their The Incredible Face Mask to try. You can read my full post here but they are basically those super painful but super effective charcoal peel off masks.

Their products seem to be all about the pore, and this is their version of the pore strip. I don't think there are many teens, or beauty obsessives that haven't tried at least a version of these at some point, I certainly know I have and I remember the huge buzz when Biore first brought them to their UK.

These is something slightly gross, but slightly addictive about pore strips. All you do is dampen your skin and apply the strip sticky side down to your nose, I normally find that dampening it down helps it stick better. Then you just wait about 15 or so minutes until it dries. these particular ones are infused with charcoal so the white topside ends up going black when it gets wet, and do your fingers if you touch it.

When the strip feels dry to the touch you just pull it off, I didn't find this one too painful but depending on how sensitive your skin is, and how well it's stuck it can be a bit ouchy! Then all you do is wash your face and marvel at the blackheads and impurities that the strip has removed. I've actually had way worse ones that this in the past but look carefully and you can see the tiny little white specks that were once in my nose!

I can definitely see myself getting addicted to these things again, and thankfully I have another strip in this pack to use. I can't find a price online for this 2 pack but Pink Parcel give a recommended retail price of £10 which sounds a touch steep. If you go direct to May Beauty though you can buy a pack of 12 for £17.

Joe & Seph's Toffee Apple & Cinnamon Popcorn - 7g Bag 

I love popcorn, be it hot and buttery from the cinema, from packets I've popped in the microwave and hot and fresh from my popcorn maker. You can buy bags of sweet and savoury popcorn pretty much anywhere now but in my opinion their aren't many brands that come close to Joe & Seph's - in their case, you really do get what you pay for. 

They do a huge range of amazing flavours, using good quality ingredients and you don't get any of those little bits floating around in the bottom of the bag. Some of their caramel flavours in particular have really stole my heart but the apple and cinnamon is a nice change. It really is a taste sensation combining toffee, apples and cinnamon, basically apple pie and toffee in one bite. I can't find a price for this particular size but the 80g size retails at around £4 directly from Joe & Seph's.

Teapigs Snooze Sleepy Tea - 1 x 3g Tea Temple

Finally the customary hot drink, and July's box included a tea bag from one of my favourite artisan tea, and infusion brands Teapigs.

Packed in a biodegradable mesh tea temple, instead of a conventional tea bag, you don't get any dust with Teapigs you only get whole pieces of fruit and spices, and leaves. and this particular bag just contains apple pieces, chamomile flowers, and lavender flowers. This caffeine brand is designed to be drank before bed and it's designed to encourage and aid sleep. I'm a bit scared of lavender in food but as someone who struggles with their sleep I'm definitely going to give this a try. Teapigs teas and infusions are available from various retailers, and this particular product is also available directly from Teapigs, where 2 tea temples have a recommended retail price of £1.75, so this bag essentially retails at 88p. You can also pay a packet of 15 bags from £3.99.

Now as per usual I've seen a bit of criticism about this box, but personally I can't find any real problem with it. The value is definitely there and the products inside are all decent, and as you've probably already realised I'm a bit of a fan of both the STYLondon Banana Setting Powder and the Dr Botanicals mask. I definitely think the boxes are more beauty orientated than they used to be but I'm okay with that - if you aren't don't subscribe or cancel it really is that simple. The majority of subscription boxes are a risk, and thankfully for my July's Pink Parcel was a risk that paid off. Let me know your thoughts on this box in the comments and don't forget to check out Pink Parcel to find out more and don't forget to use my referral code PPLT2153 if you subscribe.

*This Post Contains Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links