Unboxing Glossybox UK - May 2019 Edition - Trending Beauty*

As the saying goes better late then never and in this particular case I hope that you'll agree - I've already an email about June's Glossybox so I thought I'd better get my finger and get this post up before my to do list gets any longer! It may be late but in my opinion it's one of those posts that been well worth waiting for me - You've probably quite a few posts on May's Glossybox already but in my opinion it's one of the best boxes that I've had in a long while, and although it might not seem like it I've been itching to talk about ever since it arrived.

After the jazzy floral design of April's box May saw a return to the traditional pink and black design with a pink box and tissue, and a black ribbon and black shredded paper. I think there is something really classy about the original design but I've got to be honest and say that I'm more inclined to keep and reuse the limited edition boxes, but even if I don't personally use them I can usually find someone to pass my old boxes on to - my Godmother in particular uses them to organise her jewellery and her beauty products - Glossybox the box that keeps on giving!

Anyways the theme of May's box was Trending Beauty, and it's aim was to embrace new beauty trend with a range of high end beauty treats. Some lucky subscribers got an extra treat in their May box, a la Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, some boxes contained golden tickets, and the prize wasn't a tour of a chocolate factory or even a make up factory instead it was a Remington Curl & Straight Confidence 2 In 1 Straightener, unfortunately I wasn't one of the lucky winners but I after exploring the rest of the box I wasn't too disappointed.

Annabelle Minerals Mineral Blush - Rose - 4g - Full Size - RRP £12.50 / €13.90

Now a know a few people were a bit unhappy that they didn't receive the Dr Jaart mask, but personally I was really pleased to the alternative item a gorgeous blusher from Annabelle Minerals.

Now I wasn't that familiar with Annabelle Minerals so I've done a bit of research and I've found out that they are a polish mineral make up brand. All of their products are based on just 4 natural ingredients, and their good for your skin range is 100% organic, and suitable for both vegetarians and vegans.

Designed for all skin types including oily, dry and sensitive, the blusher I received was in the shade Rose, which is officially described as a matte finish, highly pigmented mauve, with pastel pink pearl particles, that is designed specifically for paler skin tones.

Like so many mineral based make up products, it's a loose product which comes in a sifter style tub. When you swatch it quite heavily like I have in the photo above it looks quite dark and almost a little bit more peachy , but it actually blends out into a really natural pink colour.

It wasn't the easiest colour to capture on the skin because it actually matches natural flush of my own skin almost perfectly. If I blush this is pretty much the colour that my cheeks go, and that's the reason I love this blusher so much, it looks so natural on my skin, and it's something that I could probably wear every day, and seeing as it's a loose mineral powder you only need a tiny amount so it will last for ages. The only official retailer I can find is the Annabelle Minerals website where it's valued at €13.90.

Nailberry Oxygenated Nail Lacquer - Love Me Tender - 15ml - Full Size - RRP £14.50

I do love a nail polish, and after a long hiatus I've actually got nails, all be it quite short ones, that I can paint again. Now I've heard quite a lot about Nailberry but it was another brand that I hadn't tried. This polish is part of their Oxygene range of healthy breathable nail polish, that protects and cares for the the nail and allows both air and water to pass through the polish. As well as being 12 free, it's also vegan and cruelty free, approved by PETA, and both gluten free and halal. As well as all that they also claim that their polishes are long wearing, and have an amazingly glossy finish.

This shade Love Me Tender is officially described as a creamy rose, mauve and in real life it's a perfect match to the Annabelle Minerals blush so you can coordinate both your cheeks and your nails should you so wish. It's a gorgeous neutral pink shade, and although I haven't managed to try it on my nails yet, you can see how glossy the swatch is on my nail wheel. It only took two coats to achieve this gorgeous full coverage, glossy finish. As soon as I'm finished the re shot nails of the days that I'm doing at the moment, I'll share a nails of the day post, and a full review.

Nailberry nail polished are available from a variety of retailers including Look Fantastic, HQ Hair, Nail Polish Direct, and Feelunique.

Beauty Kitchen Natural 0% Petroleum Lip Treatment - 20g - Full Size - RRP £2.99

When I first picked this up I thought that this was a tub of Vaseline, and to be honest I think that exactly what that manufacturers hope will happen. If you are a fan of Vaseline but you want a more natural product then this could be something to try.

Vaseline is a cult product and with good reason it does exactly what it promises but if you really think about petroleum jelly, maybe you wouldn't be as keen to slather it all over. This product by UK brand Beauty Kitchen gives you a 100% petroleum free alternative. It's made from 100% natural ingredients including beeswax, Castor seed oil, and carnauba wax. It's suitable for the driest and most sensitive lips and it's fragrance free. The tins themselves are made from 100% recycled tin plate, and are themselves recyclable.

Beauty Kitchen claim that this product is less greasy and more affective than petroleum based product and that it is scientifically proven to moisturise and protect the lips for up to five hours.

If you have really dry or sore lips, then this is a pretty fabulous lip balm, not only does it provide a protective layer on the lips, but it also actually absorbs into the skin and softens the lips at the same time, and it has no real taste or scent so there is no incentive to lick it off! It also adds a nice gloss to the lips, so you could use it over lipstick instead of a gloss. You only need a tiny little bit so this little tin will last for ages.  This balm retails at a very affordable £2.99 and is available directly from Beauty Kitchen and from various retailers including Holland & Barrett

Barry M Cosmetics Cosmic Lights Highlighting Palette - Full Size - RRP £7.99

Now the biggie and the sneak peek that we saw in April box. The May edition of Glossybox Uk contained one of two Barry M palettes, a contour palette or the one that I received the Barry M Cosmic Lights Highlighting Palette.

Now if you remember I said that this was the palette that I wanted, and I was really, really pleased to receive it in my box. Both vegan and cruelty free this palette contains 6 good sized shades, 4 cream highlighters and 2 highlighting powders in various colours from champagnes to a copper bronze, and icy blues and whites.

The palette itself is made from a sturdy cardboard with a magnetic fastening, and it contains a nice sized mirror. It's a good size perfect for travel, and perfect for highlighting newbies.  The powders (the middle shades) are nice and smooth but not too buttery so you don't get too much fallout, and the colour payoff is decent. The creams aren't the creamiest or butteriest highlighters I've ever tried but have a nice feel, and they aren't too creamy or oily. The colour payoff is okay, the lighter colours especially are quite sheer so you might need a few dips to build up the colour, but like the powders they are easy to apply and blend and because they aren't too greasy they wear well.

As I say this is a great palette for travel or for adding a few highlighters to your make up collection. Like all Barry M products this is really affordable retailing at just £7.99. It's available from various retailers including Superdrug and ASOS and direct from Barry M.

Mudmasky Aftermask Vitamin Serum - 30ml - Full Size - RRP £34.19 - £51.72

The final item in the box is a product from a brand called Mudmasky. I've had a few of their products from various subscription boxes, but I'm ashamed to say that I haven't actually tried any of them yet, and nor have I tried this product.

Although they are famous for their various face masks this product is something just that little bit different. It's an innovative and original product that is specifically designed to be used after any of their face masks to nourish the complexion and add vitamins and minerals to the skin. Containing a host of vitamin infused natural ingredients including dulse seaweed, sea fennel, brown seaweed, rice starch and rose water, it claims to be smoothing, anti ageing, feeding, protecting and nourishing. It's also cruelty free, and PETA approved. 

This tiny 30ml tube is actually the full size and the retail price online varies between £34.19 and £51.72 direct from Mudmasky. It's one expensive little tube either way so I'm definitely going to hunt out some of my Mudmasky masks and give this a go.

So that was a very late review of May's Glossybox, and I have to say that it was my favourite ever boxes by far. I will use everything in it no exceptions, I love all of the products that I've tried and whatever way you look at it the value is superb, and it looks as though June's box could be just as good as it contains a primer from high end skincare brand Avant. If it's even half as good as the night cream that I received in January's box then it will be well worth trying x Let me know your thoughts on this box in the comments x Was it worth waiting for? Let me know x 

*This Post Contains Both Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links

Unboxing Papergang Box No. 39 - May 2019 Edition - Forever Awkward*

I don't know if you follow me on Instagram, you should by the way if you aren't already, but unlike a lot of people I don't have a perfectly coordinated grid filled with beautiful flat lays and pictures that wouldn't look out of place in a fashion magazine, my grid is a bit more random. 

I predominantly use social media to share the things that I love, and the things that make me happy, my family and my cats make me happy, food is my life, I love beauty and home products, and I love stationery.

Ever since I was a little girl, looking longingly at packets of coloured pencils, and rolls of stickers in Fenwick stationery department I've been obsessed with stationery. I can never resist buying more pretty pens, and paperclips, and my notebook obsession is bordering on dangerous - I literally have a large plastic crate full of unused, and untouched, virgin, pretty notepads, but hey there are way worse addictions in life than pretty post it notes!

A few weeks ago now I was spending my requisite 5-10 minutes a day on Facebook, when something popped up in feed in between the cat pictures, and the over sharing type statuses, it was an advertisement  for a stationery subscription box. Now I already probably buy stationery at least once a month anyway, so I decided to click the link and take advantage of the special offer pricing that it promised.

The box itself is called Papergang, and it's from the brains behind the fabulous stationery, accessories and gifting website Ohh Deer. Like all of the beauty boxes that I already subscribe to it's a monthly subscription service with several different pricing and subscription options, an ongoing 1 month subscription is £10.95, an upfront payment of £27.40 will give you a 3 month subscription, and a one of payment of £54.75 will give you a 6 month subscription. Obviously the longer you subscribe for the cheaper it is, but I like the flexibility of the one month option it's much easier to cancel and you are in control. Thanks to the Facebook offer though I got this box for just £5 which was an nice incentive to try it out without too much to lose.

So what is Papergang, in its simplest terms as I said before it is  a stationery subscription box. Every box is themed and contains exclusive designed accessories and stationery items from artists across the globe. The box contents will never been repeated so every month you're getting something new and exclusive. All of the boxes are designed, packed and shipped from the UK, and for every 4 boxes sold, Papergang in association with Tree Aid will plant one tree.

Your products come in a nice flat box that fits easily through most letterboxes. The plain brown cardboard box, is covered with a removable sleeve, that will alter every month. May's box featured a pale pink and hot pink sleeve, with the cut out word Papergang on one side and two bookmarks for you to cut out on the reverse.

Remove the sleeve, open the cardboard box, and you're greeted with a pink tissue wrapped parcel, and an iron on patch.

Papergang Membership Iron On Woven Patch - No Value Given

Now this isn't part of the official box so it isn't given any sort of value. It's an exclusive non retail, iron on patch featuring Drew, Papergang mascot, and it's just a way of welcoming you to the Papergang family.

I love it when things come wrapped in tissue like this, it really does feel as though you unwrapping a present, and I'm all for self gifting.

First of all the parcel contains a little booklet which tells you a little bit more about the theme of the box and a little bit more about the artist or designer behind the items. The contents of May's box was designed by typographical artist and designer, Catherine Ings aka Twin Pines, who is known for her use of bright block colour, and witty phrases. There are quite a few of her items on Ohh Deer if you fancy a look to see some more of her work

Fabric Tote bag - RRP £14.95

The first and biggest item in the box is a fabric tote bag. It's in a gorgeous fresh, summery, mint green / turquoise shade, and it features the words "Don't worry. No one else knows what they're doing either." in a clear and bold white font. It's a nice quality bag and it won't take up to much room in my handbag. The saying is so true too, it's easy to think that everyone else has their life together, when in reality we all have problems and insecurities, some people are just better at hiding them x

Iron On Woven Patch - RRP £5.95

Next up another woven iron on patch - this one is in shades of purple and lilac, and features the words "FOREVER AWKWARD" on it. Story of my life this one, I'm not that comfortable in social situations so I tend to let my tongue run away with me haha - so yeah forever awkward could be my middle names x The contents of the box is exclusive but patches on the Ohh Deer website retail at a variety of price between £3.50 and £5.95.

A5 Notepad - RRP £5.95

At last something papery - this is a really handy, to do list, desk pad, come organiser. It features a to do list, and a really useful when to get things done section, which is divided into hours. It's a nice thick pad, the quality is really good, and it's really useful - who doesn't need to get organised. Again I can't find anything similar on Ohh Deer but they quote a price of £5.95 for this.

2 x Greetings Cards - RRP £5

Something that Ohh Deer is famous for are their greetings cards. There are no boring Happy Birthday's here everything is exclusive and a bit quirky, and these are no different. You get two sealed cards with envelopes - a blue and white type design that features that words "I'll always think of you as someone older." and a yellow card with black type with the words "Happy Birthday you silly sausage" on the front. 

The cards are a really nice quality and who doesn't need birthday cards. If I'd got this box a month or two earlier then I would have known exactly who to send the blue card too! These specific cards aren't available on Ohh Deer, but there are similar cards for sale including some from Twin Pines for around £2.75 each.

Universal Calendar Card - No Value Given

The final item doesn't have a price attached to it and it seems to be an added extra, and a very useful one at that. It's basically a universal calendar card, just write in the month, and the days in the right places, and you have a really handy calendar, that you can just stick in a notebook or in an organiser.

So that was my first Papergang box - For the £5 that I paid it was definitely worth the money, all of the paper items were excellent quality, and who doesn't need another emergency shopping bag. I'm not really a patch person but I am Forever Awkward so I might stick that somewhere and try a bit of fashion up cycling. I'm not sure whether I'm going to become a long term subscriber at £10.95 a box but I'm definitely going to get a few full prices, to get a better idea of the contents and the value, and to give you a better idea of what the subscription offers x I'd love to know if you've tried Papergang and I'd also love to know what your favourite UK subscription boxes are? x So let me know in the comments and let me know if you have any questions x

*Post Contains Affiliate Links

Nails Of The Day - Rimmel I Love Fruities Lasting Finish - 053 Apricot Punch

Before I start on a run of unboxing posts - I thought I'd share a quick re shot and redone post with you. Although I said in my last post that my nails were pretty shocking at the moment, after a week and a bit of TLC my nails don't actually look too bad. and whilst they're still quite short, they're long enough to paint.

I originally posted this review way back in 2010, and after looking back at a few older posts, I realised just how bad this one actually was, the pictures were awful and the writing was even worse, so when I rediscovered this polish in a long forgotten make up I thought I'd paint my nails, and take some pictures

Although the weather seems to have turned today, it really feels as though summer is on its way, we've had a few warm and sunny days recently, and this fabulous slightly washed out bright coral, orange seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

Despite its age this polish really impressed me, it was a touch thicker than it originally was but if anything that seemed to make the application even easier. The first coat was a touch streaky but I managed to achieve the full coverage that you see here in just two thin coats.

It dried pretty quickly and most crucially for me the wear time was superb. I really didn't expect much from a nearly 10 year old, relatively budget friendly nail polish. I'm notoriously hard on my nail polish and I managed a good three days with this one even without a top coat. Normally when I'm testing a polish I go without a top coat to test the wear time, but in this case I went without for a different reason.

One of the quirks of this particular polish is the scent, now you shouldn't go around smelling nail polish, it's full of all sorts of things that you probably shouldn't be sniffing, and this one for a time is no different. When you first apply it is smells like nail polish, but when it's dry it has a subtle, fruity apricot scent. Why on earth would you want to smell your nails? I really have no idea, but at some point I obviously thought it was a good idea, and added a few more scented polishes from Models Own to my collection.

Alas given its age this polish has now been discontinued and will be very hard if not impossible to find, but if your can forget the scented element, that I would think that it should be quite easily to find something similar. It really is the perfect summer colour which will look great both with a tan and with all of the bright summer fashions that are now flooding the high street. This polish surprised me on so many levels, I can't quite believe that a polish this old from a drugstore brand could still perform so well, it just shows you that despite what everyone says, you really shouldn't throw anything out, even 10 year old scented nail polish! Please tell me that I wasn't the only one to buy into the scented nail polish trend, let me know if you succumbed as well x

A Very Late Trimming My Stash - April 2019 Edition - Empties And Mini Reviews*

It's quite scary to think that we're over half way through May now, I honestly don't know where the last few weeks I've gone - I've been in the middle of a huge ME / CFS flare, I got a kitten, I had several days and meals out and I turned 41 eeek! What I haven't had much time to do is blog and as I said in my previous post I'm going to try and make it up to you in the next few weeks with lots of new and different posts. First though I'm going to get caught up and I'm going to share my April beauty empties with you x 

Simple Kind To Skin Eye Make Up Remover - 125ml
Boozi Bodycare Cocktails Virgin Mojito Body Wash - 50ml
Colour Vibe Vibrance Bright Violet Semi Permanent Hair Colour - 150ml
AVON Advance Techniques Anti Hair Fall Conditioner - 250ml
Soap & Glory The Scrub Of Your Life - 200ml
Ojon Rare Blend Moisture-Rich Cleansing Conditioner - 240ml
Primark PS... It's Oil Good Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipes x 25 Wipes
Primark PS... Cuticle Oil - 10ml

Total - 8 Items 

Empties wise April was a pretty good month, like in March I managed to finish 8 items. Unfortunately no make up this time round but a nice assortment of skin care, body care and hair products, including a couple of press samples and a couple of holy grail products.

1. Simple Kind To Skin Eye Make Up Remover - 125ml

I spent a long, long time looking for an affordable eye make up remover, that would do the job without stinging my eyes, and then about a year ago I found it. This Simple eye make up remover has rapidly became one of my most used beauty products, it's removed pretty much every product that I've threw at it, without making my eyes sore and watery and at around £3.79 a bottle it's pretty purse friendly. I'm going to try and use up some of the other eye make up removers in my collection first but I will definitely be buying this one again.

2. Boozi Bodycare Cocktails Virgin Mojito Body Wash - 50ml

I've already this yummy cocktail scented body care, brand on a few occasions, most recently in my October 2018 empties post, and this is another one of their yummy fragrances. This one isn't quite as strong as some of the other scents that I tried, but it really does smell like a mojito with refreshing hints of lime and mint, all contained in a nicely foaming non drying shower gel. Unfortunately though since my previous post on Boozi Bodycare, both the brands website and twitter account appear to have disappeared, which is a huge shame. You can still get a few products on both Fragrance Direct and Amazon UK though, if you're still interested in trying the range.

3. Colour Vibe Vibrance Bright Violet Semi Permanent Hair Colour - 150ml*

This was a press sample that I received quite a few months ago x I'm not going to say anything about here though as I will have a full review coming up on the blog in the few weeks.

4. AVON Advance Techniques Anti Hair Fall Conditioner - 250ml

Next up another HG product, I finished the shampoo in March and I finished the corresponding conditioner in April. I've already spoke at length about both of these products and it's safe to say that I am a huge fan of the range. It contains keratin, bamboo extract, arginine, and peppermint, and it smells gorgeous, it makes a huge difference to my hair and it's really affordable at around £2 a bottle. I've already started a new bottle and I will definitely be buying more.

5. Soap & Glory The Scrub Of Your Life - 200ml

Despite the fact that I'm very much a salt and sugar scrub girl, I've gone through quite a few tubes of this now and it's really grown on me. It's a foaming gel based scrub, that contains a whole host of biodegradable scrubby particles. Even though I would like it to be a bit more scrubby, it's quick, easy to use and it works! Unfortunately I can't actually find this on the Boots website anymore so I'm not sure if it's sold out or if it's actually been discontinued.

6. Ojon Rare Blend Moisture-Rich Cleansing Conditioner - 240ml*

From something that may have been discontinued to something that definitely has been! I loved Ojon from the moment that I bought my first ever kit from QVC. Made from rare, and precious ingredients from the South American rain forest, their Restorative Hair Treatment was a product with almost cult status, and it was in my opinion the best thing for dry and damaged hair that I've ever tried. I loved it and I love every other Ojon product that I ever tried.

As often happens though smaller companies tend to get swallowed up by the big boys, and ultimately the brand was taken over by Estee Lauder. At the time I did a little bit of work with some of Estee Lauder groups brands, and I was sent a few Ojon products to try, unfortunately before I got round to reviewing them the brand was absorbed into Origins before disappearing from shelves completely. I was devastated and after a quick search online I found out that I wasn't alone in that feeling.Thankfully I still have a few jars of the Restorative Hair Treatment and a few other products in back up, and last month used up the last of this particular product.

A few years ago now there was a huge trend for co-washing, which basically washing your hair with conditioner instead of shampoo. It was a trend that I actually embraced for a month or two and I do think that it made a difference to my hair at least in the short term. My hair at the time was highlighted, and sun bleached and it had a tendency to be dry and frizzy and the extra conditioning really seemed to help. In the long term though, personally my hair never felt truly clean, so I ended up reverting back to the old shampoo, conditioner and intensive hair mask routine. As a result of this trend, or innovation a lot of brands started introducing something called a cleansing conditioner, which is basically a very conditioning and nourishing hair cleanser that's designed especially for dry, damaged and breakage prone hair.

This particular one from Ojon was both sulfate and glycerin free and contained a huge variety of moisturising ingredients including kukui seed butter, coconut oil, Castor seed oil, and cocoa butter, and lots of botanicals and fruit extracts including watermelon, blueberry, wolf berry, orange, lemon, bergamot, tiare flower and aloe Vera.

It wasn't quite as thick as I expected, it had a creamy shampoo type feel, and a slightly citrus, aromatherapy type scent. It produced a gentle creamy foam and it was nourishing but not too heavy or rich. It was a nice product and it's a shame that this item, and the line is now long gone.

7. Primark PS... It's Oil Good Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipes x 25 Wipes

The last products are both Primark items and they're both products that I will repurchase again, and again. I've talked at length about these at least a dozen times already, but they are full of tea tree and they are really useful for a number of things including swatch clean up.

8. Primark PS... Cuticle Oil - 10ml

Finally another product that I can't be without, my favourite Primark Cuticle Oil. My nails are horrific at the moment, they are short, stubby, peeling, flaking and breaking, so I'm resuming operation nail grow LouLou style - OPI Nail Envy, loads of cuticle oil and frequent hand cream application during the day, and cuticle oil, a thicker hand cream, and cotton gloves at night. I have so many fab nail polishes that I want to show you I just need decent nails to show them off and hopefully this will help. It's only a £1 a bottle and it's just as good as the more expensive stuff.

So it was late but we got there in the end, as I say the Colour Vibe review will be up soon, but if you have any questions on any of the other products that I finished last month then please let me know x 

*Press Samples