One of the best base products I ever started using was primer, it makes applying foundation easier, look smoother and helps your make up last all day. I was recently sent this Essence 'You Better Work' Gym-Proof Primer* to try out, I’ve sampled it quite a few times now and been using it for around a month.

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.


The box I received first this month was Birchbox which is usually the box that arrives the earliest between the 2nd and 6th of the month. Birchbox have collaborated with Tatler magazine and created the most gorgeous box ever; with a feather drawer box design in teal, green and blue colours. This has gone straight on my dressing table because it so pretty. My box had 5 items inside, non of which was full size this month and honestly I only liked one item so this was my most disappointing Birchbox to date. A lot of other subscribers received a Wet Brush or an Eco Tools brush which I would of been over the moon with but I guess this just wasn't my month. It hasn't put me off staying a Birchbox subscriber as it the first box I haven't liked and I understand they can't get it right all all time.


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Recently I was contacted by SparklePR who wanted to send me some Brushworks products to try out, I agreed after having a look at some of the products on False Eyelashes Website; I liked the look of a couple of brushes and the brush guards they have available.

Brushworks is a full range of makeup brushes and beauty accessories that are affordable quality products, created with Brushworks no nonsense approach to beauty. The range includes; brushes, nail tools, makeup sponges, tweezers and foot care products too; all of which have a colourful look to them. As an added extra all the Brushworks brushes are Vegan friendly and Allergy free too which is always a plus for me.


I was luckily sent three items to try out including; the Foundation Brush, Brush Guards and a Multi Tasking Brush, all of which I couldn't wait to try out. The packaging looked fun and admirable with pink and purple colours and clear readable text. Each of the products packaging has the Brushworks brand information and product information including item uses and how to care for the items on the back. All the text is very informative, it's nice to be able to see this information before opening the packaging, if I saw these products in a store I could find out everything about the item before buying from reading the text on the packet and not having to open the product for a leaflet inside.



Foundation Brush - £5.99*
This is a flat oval shaped foundation brush which is great for applying makeup if you want a full coverage finish; the brush moves your makeup over your skin smoothly. The brush itself is quite soft for a foundation brush, towards other brushes I've used in the past, this is ok however I think if this brush was more dense it would apply my makeup slightly better. The softness of the brush means this brush is safe to use around the delicate eye area to a apply foundation or concealer. I like the handle and design of the brush with the purple bristle holder (my favourite colour) and the matte black handle which has the brands name and type of brush printed on it; for beginners these brushes would be great because of this. The handle is also nice and short and fits into my hand comfortably which is another advantage.


Brush Guards - £5.99*
Brush guards are something I've never used before but now wish I had; these nifty products are great for travelling and protecting my makeup brushes. The guards come in three flexible sizes which fit all brush types, I've tested these guards on different sized brushes from large powder to eye shadow brushes and even oval shaped brushes. I found that eye/lip liner brushes are better guarded if I put more than one brush in the guard, this means they are still protected but not falling out of the guard. Each guard is made from a clear net like material that stretches over any brush comfortably; these are strong and easy to use. To use pop the end of your makeup brush into the brush guard and slide the guard up over the brush bristles; easy as that. The guards protect your brushes from fraying and any damage especially when travelling, if you always throw your brushes into your makeup bag these would be great for you. The packet comes with 15 guards and since they are super affordable if 15 isn't enough you can purchase a other packet without breaking the bank.



Multi Tasking Brush - £6.99*
No other brush I own is called a multi tasking brush so I was very interested in seeing what this brush could do, as the name suggests it has multiple uses. I used this brush for applying, powder foundation, finishing powder, contour products, blush, highlighter and dusting off excess shadow under my eyes so I would agree that this brush is definitely a multi tasking tool. The round and soft brush head is perfect for applying all of these products above, you could have this brush and not need another; making it really good value for money. The handle has the same design as the foundation brush above with the brands name and brush use on the short matte black handle. I have really enjoyed using this brush and will continue to use it well into the future. I washed both this and the foundation brush and was impressed that the brushes dried well and product easily washed out the bristles with no effort at all; this shows me that they are good quality.



Overall my first impressions of the Brushworks brand are that they are good value for money, well designed and the brush guards especially are innovative, I'd like to see what other products the company will create next.

September's edition of Glossybox is a very very exciting one and probably my favourite box to date from Glossy. They have teamed up with RED Magazine to put together an amazing box of treats this month; the box itself has been transformed into a themed red box with the RED logo and of course the Glossy logo too. I always enjoy receiving themed boxes even though the usual pink box is still gorgeous, it's nice to have a limited edition box every so often.

I was eager to get my hands on this months box because the sneak peaks had shown that each box would have a Too Faced mascara inside and that just made me squeal a little. Along with this mascara the box was filled with 4 other beauty treats, a sample and an MUA palette from the little mix up last month; so this box was super full!

Inside my Glossybox this month was ...


Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara - Deluxe mini - Full size RRP £19.00 
My first impressions of this mascara are 100%... I feel I don't really need to say more but I will. For starters the mascara is so lightweight, I can't feel a thing when its on my lashes. Applying this mascara was so so easy and took no time at all, the hourglass wand grabs all my lashes and extends them in the correct places; my lashes are all perfectly separated and look gorgeous! The shade is ink black and with more than one application leaves a dramatic and bold finish although one coat is plenty for a sleek lash look. I recently brought the The Power of Makeup set from Too Faced which came with a purple shade in this mascara and I've had excellent results with that too; I can't wait to get my hands on a full size Better Than Sex mascara.


Rodial Smokey Eye Pen - Full size - £17.00 
Rodial is a brand I've only tried once before and this was another eyeliner but I enjoyed using the liner a lot. This smokey eye pen is another hit for me, I love the deep black shade and how easy it is to smudge into a 'smokey eye' which is a plus for if your in a rush or looking for a quick makeup look. I wear eyeliner everyday on my water line so I've been using this liner for that use too, and sometimes with in the water line, liner can lack in colour but this Rodial liner is still a deep black shade on the water line. There isn't much else to say other than this is an excellent liner and something I would repurchase on a regular basis.


Vitamasques Hydro Face Mask - one pack - £7.99
Sheet masks are so easy to use and thats why I like them so much, I can be a little lazy sometimes as can we all I think. This hydro mask from Vitamasques comes in two half's in the packet, one for the top half of your face and one for the bottom half; I thought this was a fabulous idea as with some sheet masks once you peal back the protective film it can fold in on itself and stick together; with being in two halfs its easier to apply because the sheet isn't so big. I found this mask stuck on my face a lot easier than some other sheet masks I've used in the past, this was a plus for me. These masks are inspired by Korean technology and are suppose to keep your skin hydrated for 120 hours! After using my mask my skin felt refreshed and healthy but I felt like my skin was back to how it was before using the mask the day after, so I didn't have the 120 hours of hydration as advertised. I would still try out the masks again in the future though, this hasn't put it off.


The Organic Pharmacy Antioxidant Lip Balm - Full size - £12.00
Lip balms are something I use all the time especially throughout the winter months as I suffer from chapped lips in the colder seasons. This antioxidant lip balm from The Organic Pharmacy is a cream like formula that only a little bit is needed to cover both my lips. On first application I found my lips felt very moist and stayed that way for some time; the product didn't soak into my lips for ages. I read that the balm is infused with shea butter, pomegranate and rose hip but all I could smell was oranges and chocolate when I was wearing the product. I'm going to continue to use very small amounts of this product on my lips as the end results was excellent, my lips was soft and looked healthy; using small amounts helps the balm soak into my lips quicker too.


Revlon Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat - Full size - £7.99 
I always use a top coat after I apply nail polish and sometimes have gel polish applied at the salon; this Revlon Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat is now a staple in my nail routine. If I'm not having my gel polish done at the salon, people now won't know because this top coat makes it look like I'm wearing a gel polish. Revlon have created this tough top coat to stop nail polish chipping and helps make polish last so much longer. I've used this over a few different nail polishes including, smooth, glitter and matte shades and had the same good results with each one. Theres also that gel-like shine left on my nails after just one application of this top coat; I can't believe I've never tried this until now!


The Body Shop - Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask - Sample sachet
I've been lucky enough to already try out this mask from The Body Shop because there was a free sample available through 02 priority not so long ago. I was happy to see another sachet in my Glossybox; I loved how the mask left my skin feeling after using just once. I used a brush to apply the mask and sat with it on until it hardened then washed it off with warm water; just like a normal mask it was easy to use. The charcoal is really good for my skin with my skin type being a combination of oily, blemish prone and dry; I was told from the assistant in The Body Shop that this was the mask best used on oily skin but would help my other skin types too. All the new masks in this range are 100% vegetarian and the British Rose, Amazonian Acal and this Himalayan Charcoal masks are 100% Vegan too! I'll be purchasing a full tub of this mask next time I'm in store.


MUA Cosmetics - Glitter Ball Eyeshadow palette - Full size - £4.00 
Last month every Glossy subscriber received an MUA Cosmetics palette and we even had a choice of four palettes that we could receive. However there was a small mix up and a few of us didn't receive the palette we had choose so Glossybox got straight onto the case and apologised for the mistake, then assured us that the correct palette would be in our September boxes and we could even keep the wrong palette as an extra. This was such good customer service from Glossy and I am happy the issue was sorted so quickly.


This Glitter Ball palette is gorgeous, I'd originally choose this palette because I already had two of the other choices and the third choice was a little to neutral for me. I liked the look of this palette because of the bold shades and the three glitter shades included, glitter eyeshadow is super on trend right now too! As usual with MUA the shadows are well pigmented and are long lasting with the help of a primer, the bold shades are bright and stand out which is another reason I like this palette so much. My only downfall with these MUA palettes is that they come with a sponge applicator and for me personally I would prefer a brush, as I don't tend to use these sponge applicators.


Glossybox have seriously put together a killer box this month, its been my favourite sub box this month and like I said earlier my favourite Glossybox to date. The contents have amazed me this month, I'm not sure they can top this box but we will find out next month... if you would like to sign up to Glossybox you can do so here using my referral link.

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