November's beauty box round up featuring Birchbox and Glossybox
November 29, 2016
November has been one busy month for me so I've decided to group together my beauty box posts this month, I will still give you a run down of each box and contents. The separate posts will be back to normal next month I hope and you can let me know what you think of my idea to group the box posts this month in the comments below.
Birchbox
OOC are a brand I've been wanting to try for a while now so I was excited to try this lip tar primer out; this is only product I liked in this months box. The lip tar is the perfect winter beauty product with ingredients of hemp and peppermint oils that soothe the lips. The lip tar preps your lips before applying lipstick giving a smooth base. In the winter my lips suffer so need any help they can get and I'm always on the look out for anything to make my lipstick last longer; OOC have hit the nail on the head with this lip tar and I will be repurchasing.
Whenever I receive a NUXE product I either love it or hate it, theres no in-between and this product just wasn't for me. I didn't feel like the product did anything for me. The Crème Prodigieuse is suppose to boost skin's antioxidant levels, restore hydration and boost tried skin which would be great for this busy time of year but I my skin didn't feel boosted at all.
I have used a Marcelle product before and I had good results, this was an eyeliner that I also received in a previous Birchbox. I'm not a BB Cream wearer to start so I only gave this product a try once, I find that BB Creams are better in the summer months as they leave you with no/little coverage. I will admit this Marcelle cream did leave a subtle glow to my face but that's it, I wanted more from he product I think.
Yes this tiny spray is cute and colourful and the packaging is really nice but it's a dry shampoo and the full size can is £20.00!! I wouldn't dream of spending £20.00 on a dry shampoo, my usual branded product costs me between £1.50-£3.00 and it does the same job as this Amika can does.
To start the price put me straight off this product, that's probably rubbish of me to say but I can't afford and would never pay £55.00 for any product! I don't event spend that amount on perfume! Anyway I sampled the glow-boosting serum and found that it gave me a little glow boost but no more than my usual skin care products.
As you can see this months contents wasn't suited to me but I am happy to try the OOC lip tar and the box design was beautiful but I am looking forward to next months box and hoping for more items that I love. If you fancy signing up to Birchbox you can do so using my link here and you will receive £5.00 worth of points to spend in the Birchbox shop.
Glossybox
Glossybox arrived shortly after my Birchbox, I was super excited for this box from the sneak peaks because I knew there was a makeup brush inside and I'm a sucker for a new brush; I enjoy trying out new brushes and brands to see if they hold up against my regular brushes. Anyway my box arrived with an added treat of a Raffaello chocolate but my Ruby makeup brush was missing. I got straight onto Glossybox and after a couple of weeks I received my Ruby brush.
Ruby Professional Large Tapered Blending Brush - RRP €8.00
This cruelty free makeup brush has very soft bristles which make the brush perfect for applying any base eyeshadow shades and blending but not so much for applying a lot of pigment. The brush handle is sturdy and the domed bristle shape means the brush can be used on other parts of your face, not just the eyes; I have used this to apply small amounts of highlighter to my nose and under my brows. I think I would need to see if any of Ruby's others brushes are more dense for me to be sold on the brand though.
I can reach for a eyeshadow pencil on a rushed morning or lazy day for the easiness of them, this Jumbo Pencil in it's Khaki-grey shade is so quick and easy to apply. A few sweeps across my eye and I'm pretty much good to go; the shade is very on trend too. The pigmentation is high and longevity is good, the eyeshadow lasted throughout the day but I would of topped it up if I was going out in the evening for a fresh applied look.
I love it when Glossybox send a different products like razors, I've received another razor earlier in the year and it's a nice change from the usual items in beauty boxes. These razors also arrived at the perfect time and saved me buying any this month. I found the razors did the job well with little to no cuts which was fabulous because I tend to come out of the shower with cuts all over my legs after shaving. I love the colour of them fitting in with the 'Raspberry' name, the handles are chunky and easy to hold too.
The cost of Glossybox is £10.00 a month so to receive one product worth £20.00 makes the box really worth the money; however £20.00 for ONE face mask is so extreme! I'll be honest I haven't tried this mask yet either, it's in my face mask pile which I'm working my way through. The mask information states its a pre-party pick me up mask and gets to work straight away, there are ingredients to help brighten, condition and stimulate collagen production. I am looking forward to sampling this mask on one of my pamper nights.
I have seen these pillow sprays doing the rounds in beauty boxes and I've been lucky enough to avoid them until now. I don't deal well with lavender as it makes me sneeze so any product with it as an ingredient I avoid. I like the idea of this spray though as I do struggle to sleep and I think it would be a great item to take away with you and to festivals; I know I don't sleep well when I'm away from home so I assume others might not too. I've passed this product to a friend for her to try out.
Overall I'm happy with my Glossybox apart from there being a product missing but they did send me the brush later in the month so all was made right. I particularly enjoyed receiving the razors and the extra chocolate treat. I look forward to Decembers box as us subscribers have been able to pick a lipstick shade we would like to receive so I'm already excited for that. If you would like to sign up to Glossybox you can do so via their website or use my referral link here.
Build your own Birchbox
Last month I visited London for a couple of events and a day trip with my mum, on one of my trips I headed into Selfridges on Oxford Street and built my own Birchbox. Earlier in the year Birchbox had the build your own stand in both my local Selfridges stores (Exchange Manchester and Trafford Centre) so I was able to build my own box then. I had read online that BYOBirchbox was back at the Oxford street store and with a choice of 2 boxes; one being a shiny holographic box which I loved. The box also comes with stickers to personlise the box or use them to write To and From and give Birchbox as a gift this Christmas. The items to choose from are changing at the end of November so the items I picked might not be available anymore.
Being a Birchbox subscriber can make building your own box a little hard since a lot of the products to choose from have already been in featured in monthly Birchboxes but I still managed to get a full box of items I already like and some new discoveries.
I choose my two makeup items first, there was 4 or 5 items that I already had at home so went with a Lord & Berry mini lipstick in shade Black Red. This is a deep almost black lipstick which is great for the winter months.
The second makeup item I went with was a new Spectrum Collections Unicorn Tears Wonder Sponge, earlier on in the year I received a purple sponge in my Birchbox but I needed a fresh one since they only last a couple of months for hygiene reasons; I picked a pink sponge this time.
Next I had to choose a skin care item, I went with the Absolution Le Nettoyant Pureté which is a natural cleanser that melts away makeup and impurities gently. I've been using this to remove my makeup at the end of the day and it really is gentle on my skin.
I picked up a NUXE Huile Prodigieuse as my body care item although this can be applied to your face an hair as well. It's a blend of six essential oils to heal and hydrate your skin and hair. I have seen this product in other peoples Birchbox and wanted to try it out for myself.
I already knew which hair care product I wanted to put in my build your own box and that was a product I had only received in Birchbox in October but because I've had such good results I had to pick up another. The Number 4 Fluoro5 Elixir Restore and Repair oil is absolutely amazing, it's helped my hair so much after damage from bleaching and a little goes a long way.
Lastly you get to pick a beauty bonus, previously when I built my box in Manchester I chose a leather Birchbox tassle keyring which was available in Oxford St too and at the Trafford Centre build I chose some Birchbox branded hair ties. So I didn't want another keyring and the other product available here was another hair tie however you only got to pick one and they wasn't in a packet so I was let down with this. I picked a white tie with blue anchors on it which is nice but I feel like it was a little cheap to just pick one tie when 2 was available packaged in the Trafford Centre.
To build your own box at Selfridges on Oxford Street cost £15.00 which is slightly more than the monthly sub cost but you can pick every item so I personally think it is worth it and the contents are worth more than £15.00 too. I hope that if Birchbox comes back to Manchester in the future, they will mix up the products a bit so us subscribers can get some new products too.
I know this is a longer post than normal for my blog but I thought grouping my beauty boxes together would still work well. Like I said earlier please let me know what you think of the idea and if you prefer the separate posts? I will be reviewing next months Birchbox and Glossybox as normal and the Decembers boxes are usually amazing, I think it's the festive sprit!
3 comments
Hey thank you for reading!
ReplyDeleteHope your weekend was a good one :)
Gem
Loving all your gorgeous beauty box buys hunnie! They all look so dreamy and divine. That Birchbox design is totally lush but am sad it was a disappointing box for you babe. Fingers crossed next months will be better times a trill. It's great you like the OCC lip tar primer, not long ago I bought the lip tar Working Girl from OCC, it's a nice bright pink shade, I've also got a pink lipstick shade called Working Girl from Sephora which I also love, there's something about that name haha ;) Glossybox has some gorge products, I'm so glad they got your Ruby brush out to you as it was a shame that was missing. The facial treatment mask looks all the luxurious, hope you enjoy using it sweets! I'm glad you got down to London for some events and had a day out with your mum. Build your own Birchbox is such a fab idea and that holographic vibe is all the stunning!
ReplyDeleteI think it's fab you've grouped boxes together for a post, it puts a nice spin on things. I love your separate reviews too, either type of post is a winner to me, your make-up magic always magnetises me beauty! <3
Sophie | soinspo xo
The Working Girl products sound amazing Hun, got to love pink shades!
ReplyDeleteIt's so great to hear you've read my post fully and when you leave me these thoughtful comment I truly appreciate it beaut! Thanks so much for reading.
The build your own Birchbox is a great idea but different products are needed as us subscribers receive the products available so it's hard to pick new products.
Hope you have a lovely weekend sweets!
Gem xx
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