January Glossybox Tried and Tested

Like every month I've had a bit of a play around with my Glossybox products so that I can review not just what I think about the box, but also how the actual products themselves are faring. I'm currently unsubscribed from Glossybox and as I've been a bit underwhelmed by its offerings lately I'm still on the fence about whether or not I should resubscribe.
Last month's reviews are also fairly late this time and I know that the new boxes have already arrived, but that's due to the fact that the Valentine's box came extremely late in the month. Anyway, enough babbling and let's see if the products were any good!

1) Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner in Midnight Blue

I wasn't one to rush to try out their new products after Eyeko rebranded and decided it was going to be a high end brand now. The packaging put me off a little, as I was not initially a fan of the pointy handle and that hasn't changed since. Here's what happened the first time I sharpened it:

The pointy bit fell off and dropped into the bin. I didn't particularly feel like fishing it out, so the problem was solved.
Packaging aside, the pencil was buttery soft and very pigmented. There was no tugging or pulling around the eye area to achieve a great sharp line and it didn't need to be warmed up beforehand either.

The shade is fairly pretty and though I would have loved to receive the pale pink version, it's nice to be pushed out of your comfort zone occasionally.
In terms of wear you have to be very careful where you apply this. I found that on the waterline this lasted a good 6-7 hours before sliding off into my lashes. I tried wearing it on my lashline (both top and bottom) and when set with powder it lasted around 3 hours before smudging. That didn't bother me too much, as it was a "pretty" kind of smudging, if you know what I mean. The kind where it slides off into your lashes and into your water line a little, making it look lived in and a bit rock chick.
However, worn around the eye without setting it with eye shadow it was a complete disaster. One hour later I had eye liner everywhere - all over my crease, my nose and in large blobs under my eyes which certainly did miracles to highlight my dark circles. Would I buy another one of these? No, they're good, but not for almost a tenner.

2) Clarins Extra Firming Day and Night Cream

I've put these two samples together, as they were meant to be used in conjunction, so that's what I did! It's just my luck that my favourite product also has to be the most expensive and one of the two that came without discount code. At first I was a little bit apprehensive, as anti-ageing creams tend to be a little too heavy for my skin and generally speaking my face prefers things that are as simple and fuss-free as possible.
I needn't have worried, as the texture of both of these creams was light and silky, but still creamy and nourishing.

Top: Clarins Extra Firming Day Cream
Bottom: Clarins Extra Firming Night Cream

As you'd expect the night cream is richer than the day cream, though the difference is actually barely noticable when applied on the skin.
Usually I pin all of my hair out of my face before my skincare routine and then run around with a little fauxhawk while my moisturiser sinks in, but with these I didn't have to do that at all, as my skin drank them up immediately. Both moisturisers fared equally well on my dry winter cheeks and on my oily forehead, though if you have very dry skin I don't think these would be nourishing enough. For me however, they felt absolutely amazing and my skin almost literally sighed a bit sigh of relief everytime I put these on.
One thing I did notice, however: Though these creams didn't break me out I had a few blemishes from before I started using them and they took forever and ever to disappear. I'm not sure if it's the cream or the change of climate, but it's worth noting for those who suffer from regular break-outs.
As for the anti-ageing properties I cannot comment or judge at this moment in time.

3) FAB Body Moisturizer

One of my pet hates is thin, runny body lotion - I really hate that stuff with a passion, so I was glad when I saw that this body moisturizer is in fact of the thicker variety. I wasn't so glad when I realised that the sample packaging was designed with a thin runny lotion in mind, so it was almost impossible to squeeze anything out of this tube. Once I was about halfway through nothing would come out anymore, so I tried cutting the plastic bottle open and broke my scissors and cut my hand. So much for that. From what I can see on the Boots website the full size of this comes in identical packaging. Unhygienic as they might be, there's a reason thick body creams and butters always come in pots rather than bottles.
To add insult to injury (quite literally) the actual product is fantastic. I didn't think I'd like it, but I loved it. It was thick and creamy, but once it warmed up on contact with the skin it became runnier which made it very easy to spread. It then sunk in almost instantly.

This body cream is unscented which is great news for those who suffer from sensitive skin or just don't like the scent of body products lingering on their skin. Personally, I prefer to use scented products, but that's just a matter of taste and I did find it was perfect to use after my Lush baths, as they had already left my skin scented enough.
Overall: Amazing product, awful packaging.

4) Murad Skin Perfecting Primer - Dewy Finish


Oh my. After my initial disgust I still had to give this a test run in order to give an honest and objective review.
We shall start with the texture, as this is definitely one of this product's strengths. It feels very light, almost like water and though it initially applies incredibly patchy this can be remedied with a bit of blending and rubbing.

Now let's move on to the obvious point: Why, just WHY did Murad have to tint this product? They claim that it adapts to any skin tone, but it simply doesn't. Now I know that I'm pale being a Mac NC15 and all, but surely I am not alone in this. Just look at the picture, look at it:

Ok, I realise I'm kind of going on about it. Maybe if you're medium or dark skinned your natural skin tone may be strong enough to overpower the obvious orange-ness of this product.
There are two versions of this primer and this is the dewy finish which is absolutely spot on, as it didn't mattify at all. That didn't bother me, as it just meant I had to powder my forehead where I get oily and the rest of my skin was fine. You can wear this either as a tinted moisturiser on its own or underneath foundation.
On its own it looked horrid on me. After about an hour it only seemed to be getting more orange and only stayed put for about four hours in total. Again with the colour you might get away with it if you have medium or dark skin.
When I put foundation over the top the shade problem was less obvious, but as I don't really wear any full coverage foundation it still seemed a bit off. The good news is that it really did prolong the wear of my foundation! It went from around 8 hours to just over 10, which meant that at the end of a normal day my foundation was still firmly in place. However, instead of just kind of melting off my face like it usually does when it can't last any longer, my foundation creased and gathered in all my expression lines at the end of the day when I used this underneath. Then again, maybe I was just frowning a lot because my face was still slightly orange. Ok, enough of that, I'll stop now. Promise.

Would I purchase any of the products that were in the Valentine's Glossybox? No. Definitely no. Though I loved the Clarins skincare samples the full sized products would come to a combined price of almost £100 and I know that I can get something equally good for less money. The FAB moisturiser was great, but the packaging is highly disfunctional and I just prefer my body creams to smell of something nice and fruity. As for the other products they were lacking in either one or several departments and I would consider both a huge waste of money for me.

ELF High Definition Powder Review

I never thought I'd be doing a review on a face powder, after all powder is just powder, right? Well, while doing a bit of online shopping I ended up on the e.l.f. website and this just sort of "fell" into my shopping basket and now I have to admit that my once ever so trusty Rimmel Stay Matte has been banished into my handbag for on-the-go touch-ups, whereas this has become my go-to face powder.

Let's start with the packaging, shall we?

The powder costs £6.00 for which you get a generous 28oz of product. The packaging is black and sleek and belies the low price tag, as it looks a lot more high end. The thing I love the most about the casing is that it has a screw top lid, which means no accidental product spillage if you want to transport it in a bag or case.

Inside you get a powder puff which I personally don't use, but it's great if you want to carry this powder around with you and touch up on the go. Underneath is a classic plastic grid that prevents too much powder from spilling out at once.
The one issue I have with the packaging is that it is the kind of rubbery matte material that seems to attract dirt and fluff like a magnet, as you can probably see on the above pictures!

You can apply the powder with the powder puff included, but I prefer to use a kabuki brush. It applies very, very evenly and gives a wonderful matte, almost air-brushed look. It doesn't clog pores or highlight dry patches or that peachy fuzz you get on your face like some powders do.

It lasts for ages and ages and I only need to touch up after about 6-7 hours, which beats the shit out of having to powder up every 1-2 hours like I used to! I do recommend using a highlighter with this, as skin can look a little too airbrushed sometimes and a bit flat. Either dust a powder highlighter over the top on places such as cheekbones, cupid's bow and brow bones, or apply a cream product underneath. However, if you opt for the second option be prepared to be generous with the glow - when I say this product is mattifying I really mean it!

The powder is a clear white, which is meant to be translucent, though I can see it giving off a bit of a white sheen, so I'm not sure if this would work as well on dark complexions without making them look ashy.

I've heard a lot about people having trouble with HD powders showing up as white patches in flash photography, but I had no issues with that whatsoever. On the contrary, it seems to be a lot more forgiving than other powders which seem to disappear as soon as a flash goes off.

My only bugbear is that this is only available online from the ELF website (you can find it here) and though I'm sure I will repurchase this powder once I run out, chances are it won't be the only thing I order.

EDIT: This product had a nasty little surprise in store for me right after I reviewed it. Read all about it in this post.

Collection 2000 XXL Volume Sensation Waterproof Mascara

I picked this product up from my local Superdrug before going on holiday, as I was looking for a cheap waterproof mascara to take with me. This cost £4.99 and came in the colour 1 Black.

The texture is very thick and quite dry as you'd expect from a waterproof mascara really. The wand is a classic shape, but it really is gigantic! This makes for quite tricky application in the inner corners of the eye as well as on the bottom lashes - it's not impossible, but does require a steady hand.

I found that it coats my lashes nicely, but for a big impact you need to apply a couple of coats. This is not a major problem, as I found that it layers without any major clumping, even if you wait for it to dry in between applications. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

Without mascara

After applying XXL Volume Sensation

It took me three coats to get this result, but I'm quite pleased with it! Excuse the freckle-ness, but the sunshine has really brought them out with a bang.

I was fortunate enough to be able to test this in a variety of scenarios to see how waterproof this mascara really is.

• General wear: I got about 8 hours' wear out of this and then it started crumbling around the bottom lash line - that's an acceptable amount for me, though I would have appreciated a longer wearing formula.
• Tears: My mascara didn't budge one bit. Perfect result.
• Sweat: This didn't seem to have an immediate effect on the mascara, but it did reduce its longevity and crumbles appeared a bit earlier than usual.
• Light rain / splashes: Again, it didn't move and stayed on my lashes like glue.
• Heavy rain / swimming: This was a disaster. The product slid off my lashes and decided to settle on my cheeks where I couldn't get rid of it even with heavy rubbing!

Removal at the end of the day was fairly easy - my Cleanse and Polish got rid of every last trace whereas face wipes got rid of about 90% without having to rub.

For the price tag this is an excellent product, which gives a lovely finish to eye lashes, though it's not particularly long-lasting - both on the eyes as well as in the tube, as it's starting to dry out now after about two and a half weeks. Just don't take it swimming with you!

Dermalogica Multi-Active Toner Review

I'm not posting a weekly lust list this week, as quite frankly, there aren't that many things that I'm lusting over at the moment. Instead, I've got a few other posts lined up that I'll hopefully have time to publish before I'm off on holiday next Sunday.

Unlike a lot of people, I'm a fan of toners. I've been using them ever since I had anything that resembled a skincare routine and it would now feel like I'm missing something if I just left this step out.

I bought this well over a year ago and it's only just started to run out! This product claims to be an instant skin hydrator and refresher and that is exactly what it does. It's like a little wake-up spritz for my skin, which is moisturising and refreshing.

The scent, unlike the Dermalogica samples that I got in last month's Glossybox, is quite nice and by no means overwhelming. It sort of smells of freshness.

I'm not too sure about the spray container, however. The great thing is that it thins the product out, so it will last you a fair while - like I said, I've had this for over a year and there's still a little bit left. It costs £25, but you can currently get it for £18.75 from Lookfantastic. That's not a bad price for a Dermalogica product, as they tend to be on the expensive side anyway and it works out quite cheap considering how much use I got out of it. It seems like the spritzing action amplified the refreshing effect this had on my skin, which would make it great to use throughout the day or on long-haul flights.

The problem is that it took quite a while to absorb into my skin and I had to walk around with my hair pinned back for a while before I could apply my moisturiser, as otherwise it would just thin my cream out too much. Some days it would just kind of run down my face and then dribble off my chin. When it started running out the pump wouldn't pick up the bit of product that was left at the bottom, so I unscrewed the top and used it with a cotton pad - THAT was when this toner really came into its own.

It didn't give me a squeaky-clean feeling, but really pushing this into my pores made my skin feel so lush and velvety and soft - not at all sticky, as it sometimes felt after cleansing. I could use my moisturiser straight away and it even sank into my skin better and faster than before!

I'm not repurchasing this at the moment, as I feel that my skin needs something a bit more cleansing at the moment, as my skincare needs have changed slightly, but for normal to dry skin this is highly commendable. There's no alcohol in it, so it won't leave your face tight and burning. It works better if you use it with cotton pads but it will last you longer if you use it as a spray.

I just wish Dermalogica would make a spritzer version and a bottled version (like Liz Earle do with their toners), just so you could choose, as I feel I won't be going back to sprays for a while.

October Glossybox - Tried and Tested

Last month I was quite eager to publish my review of the products I received in my Glossybox as quickly as possible. This month I decided to test them for a little bit longer, as I'd mis-judged an item in September's box.

I said in my review that the Moa Green Balm was a high contender for Elizabeth Arden's 8 Hour Cream, but I'd only tried it on skin that was already healthy (and it worked great then). A week or so later I got a sore patch of skin under my wrist splint, so I applied some of this product hoping it would heal my skin - and that was a painful mistake to make! It burnt like fire, became post box red and then on top of that my skin dried out so much it started flaking away. So, back to 8 Hour Cream it is.

A few words about Glossybox while we're here: I only noticed now that there was only one discount code with the box this month which was very disappointing, as there are two products that I seriously consider repurchasing.
Those two products are something that I probably wouldn't have picked up in a shop, which I'm very happy about. A lot of people complain about Glossybox and other beauty boxes for not tailoring to their needs, when the whole point is to discover new things that you wouldn't have bought if you were in a store. No one's going to magically pop into your head and find out that what you really want is a bright purple eye shadow, or that you've run out of body scrub.

Rant over. Let's get on with the reviews!

Dermalogica AGE Smart MultiVitamin Thermafoliant

First off, apologies to the Glossybox team: I complained about being sent lots of anti ageing products when I'm 22 years old without doing my research first. The AGE Smart range is sort of an anti ageing range for young people. Rather than claim to erase wrinkles and signs of ageing, it promises to prevent them if used in advance, which is something I'm actually really keen on!
This scrub is one of my two favourite products from the whole box. If it wasn't for the fact that I bought a new tube of exfoliator the weekend before my box came I would instantly buy this again.
It's got an orange, quite grainy, "sandy" texture and can be used on dry or damp skin. Personally I prefer using it on dry skin, but with wet hands, as it's a bit too rough otherwise. It warms up as you rub it into your face, but it's a pleasant sensation and doesn't burn or sting one bit. It genuinely feels like I'm scrubbing away every last trace of rubbish from my skin.
Afterwards my skin glows and just feels very fresh and gorgeous.

Dermalogica AGE Smart Power Recovery Masque

This is a bright orange liquid which goes on quite smoothly. You're supposed to leave it on for about 10-15 minutes and then rinse it off. I found that my skin actually absorbed quite a lot of this product while I let it sink in, so maybe it's in need of a bit of moisture?

What I dislike the most about this product is its scent - it's like a vicious, flesh eating flower. At first it pulls you in, as it smells quite fruity and nice and then you get a second whiff and it's just disgusting. It smells like the stuff your dentist puts on your teeth to seal them. That horrible, orange, sticky stuff. Anyone know what I'm on about? No? Let's move on then.

When I do rinse this off it leaves my skin feeling quite taut (which I like), but also a little bit sticky (which I don't like). I'm unsure about it, maybe someone with drier skin would benefit more from this.

Leighton Denny Nail Polish in Babydoll

I'm really a fan of nail polishes with a creamy and glossy finish, so out of all the shades that were sent out in last month's boxes this one was bang on! It applied easily enough and was opaque enough to just go with one coat. It lasted through a busy morning working at the restaurant without a single chip, which is impressive! 

Then at my well-deserved soak in the hot tub afterwards it came off in gigantic flakes. I'm not too bothered about that though, as I've yet to come across a nail polish that survives swimming pools, bath tubs or jacuzzis. If you know of one then please let me know!

All in all this is a great polish, but no better than a lot of other brands that I know.

Stila Smudge Stick in Moray

I'm in love with this. I would have never, ever picked up a dark green shade if I had the choice, but this eye liner is absolutely gorgeous. It has loads of little golden specks in it, which you'll only notice once you swatch it. It goes on buttery soft, but once it dries it will stay put. I can get a good 9-10 hours' wear out of this before it starts melting into the crease.

The only downside is that you have to twist it up, but can't twist it back down again. At first I thought I had a faulty product as it wouldn't come out any further, so I kept twisting it and twisting it... until it went too far and then I couldn't get it back in again. So that was annoying.

Other than that this is absolutely amazing and I want one in every single shade!

Robert Piguet Perfume Samples

As I already said in my contents post I was happy to have three perfume samples rather than just one (though I still would have preferred something else entirely), because it meant that surely there'd be one that I really like. Right? Wrong. I hated every single one of these. Don't get me wrong, I get why these are expensive perfumes, as they're very rich and multi-faceted, but they're just not for me.

Let's start with Fracas. This is an extremely floral scent. I mean, dipping-your-face-in-a-flower-floral. Now, I like floral, but not to such an extreme extent. This one didn't change much on my skin either and I can't say it lasted particularly long.

Visa is by far the worst for me. It's over-powering, musky, sweet and just plain nauseating. My boyfriend thought it made me smell of freshly washed car - not something I tend to go for when choosing a perfume to be quite honest with you.

When I first smelt Calypso I thought "Eurgh, great, this smells just like Visa", but it actually softens a little bit on the skin and somehow lightens up a little. I'd say that this is the lightest of all the scents and it's also the one I like the most dislike the least.

All in all these are all just way too old-fashioned for me. I'm sure that if you're a perfume connoisseur you'd be able to appreciate these scents, or even if you're into heavy, vintage perfumes, but I just don't like these at all.

Dermalogica AGE Smart Renewal Lip Complex

This was a bonus item, but I still think it deserves its own review. Now, I've been applying this to my lips religiously ever since I got it and it's just about running out now. It does make my lips smooth and soft and it also has a nice creamy, but not sticky texture once it's on the lips. I do, however, have two major problems with this product.

Firstly, it grosses me out. There's the smell that reminds me of rotting fruit - I don't know if anyone else's smells like this as well, but it's not pleasant and I can't escape it as I'm applying it on my lips which happen to be just below my nose. Then - and I'm really sorry about this, as it's disgusting, but I can't help but write about it - there's the way it comes out of the tube. A pale yellow semi-hard blob. It looks just like popping a blackhead. It's the first thing that came to my mind and I just can't get this image out of my head. Again, sorry for the gross imagery.

Secondly, the price. Yes, it made my lips lovely and soft, but so would a lot of other lip balms if I applied them as much as I applied this. Cheaper ones and nicer smelling ones. Perhaps it's doing what it says and keeping lines and wrinkles around my mouth away, but there's no proving that as of now, is there?

Overall I'm still satisfied with this month's contents - everything was at least worth trying and I found a few products that I really liked, so I'm happy. Just lose the perfume samples, pretty please?

Maybelline Volum' Express Cat Eyes Mascara Review

I haven't posted in what seems like ages, as I've had quite a lot going on with work and visits to the doctor and then I went to London for a couple of days. My boyfriend had to go to an exhibition for work and asked if I wanted to come along and when I found out that he was staying on top of the Westfield shopping centre in Stratford I had no choice but to go. I might make a haul post of what I bought when I was there, as there's quite a bit - I had to entertain myself somehow!

But back to the topic on hand. I bought this mascara a while ago, but thought I'd give it a good go before I start posting reviews about it.

This costs £7.99 and you can get it pretty much anywhere... Boots, Superdrug, supermarkets...
I have never actually tried a Maybelline mascara before, so I thought I'd give this one a go, seeing as I liked the leopard print packaging as well.

As you can see the wand is curved which is supposed to give extra volume and curve lashes. I found it extremely flimsy and always worry that it will snap when I put it back into the tube. However, the thin bristles do a very good job at grabbing every last one of my lashes and keeping them separated.

This is to give you an idea how it looks applied on lashes:

Before

After

The one thing I noticed straight away with this mascara is that it simply doesn't do what it advertises. This is NOT a volumising mascara. That doesn't mean it's bad. It did a really great job at lengthening and separating my lashes. For a little bit of volume you need to apply two coats, but beware that any more than that and it will clump like mad.

I'm pleased with the result, but would use this as an everyday mascara as the result is quite natural looking, especially if you only apply one coat. For that price it's a very decent product, though not for you if you're after anything more dramatic.

Glossybox September - Tried and Tested

A few weeks ago I finally decided to jump onto the Glossybox bandwagon. Glossybox is a monthly service that sends you five luxury samples in a box so you can try out new brands and products from the comfort of your own home without having to commit to a full size and the price tag it may carry. It costs £10,00 for the box itself plus post and packaging, which is £2,95 in my case. You can currently cancel at any time.
I subscribed thinking I'd get my first box delivered next month, but they still had some left from September and it arrived within three days despite the fact it ended up at the wrong address at first. (The address on the label was correct by the way, so it was the post's mistake.)
I've now had enough time to try out all of the samples that I got, so here's my honest opinion on them. I forgot to take pictures of the packaging, which is absolutely gorgeous, but then there's loads of those out there already, so shouldn't be too hard to find if you haven't seen it yet. Also, apologies for the quality of some of the images. I injured my arm a while ago and holding a heavy camera is difficult at the best of times. Anyway, let's start with the first product on the list:

The first sample I got was a 10ml tube of GreenPeople's Day Solution which retails at £13.95 for a full-size, 50ml product. The size of the sample is decent, as I've still got a little bit left. The cream itself is 94% organic and can be used on all skin types. It has a delicate scent of chamomile and a dense, but light texture, a little bit like Vichy's Normaderm.
Now, I have rather normal skin which gets a bit oily on the t-zone in summer but dries out a little in winter. I only break up if I seriously neglect my skin, for example if I don't take my make-up off before bed. However, I've had a bit of a skin nightmare lately, as I kept getting impurities that never fully broke out. Instead, they formed lots of tiny little lumps under my skin which drove me completely mad.
After using this for a couple of days the lumps disappeared and my skin cleared up. I'm not entirely sure if that's because this moisturiser is amazing or whether it's because my previous one was awful. Either way, it sorted out my skin and makes it feel all lush and wonderful, so I am considering buying the full-size product. Being mostly organic is also a bonus, but unfortunately it doesn't have a built in SPF, so you'd have to wear a separate one on top.

 

The second product was not a sample, but an actual full-sized brow and eye palette by HD Brows which retails at £19.95! I'm not going to lie: seeing this product in other people's boxes is one of the reasons I signed up for Glossybox in the first place. This one's called Foxy and apparently there are others, but I could not find any on HD Brows' website. Rather, you have to call a hotline if you want any product information or if you want to order one of these yourself.
Some people's palettes came in a box and padded with bubble wrap to protect it, but mine unfortunately didn't and the outer casing was a little bit scratched as a result. The inside was fine, however, and that's all that matters. There are four eye and brow powders, which are called from left to right: Nude, Carbon, Warm Brown and Ash Brown. As you can see the colours are very, very densely pigmented and matte. I use Ash Brown on my eye brows which gives a lovely amount of definition without making my whole face look scary. I also use a short, flat brush on Carbon and use it as an eye liner and it has the most amazing deep colour. These powders cling on to hair like nothing else and after a long day they still cling on to my eyebrows and eyelashes for dear life.
I tried using the other two as eyeshadows, but unfortunately both creased after about four hours of wear and they're not such amazing colours that I'd use a primer underneath. It also said that Nude could be used as a highlighter, but as I'm quite pale (I'm a MAC NC15), it was actually darker than my natural skin tone, so that didn't quite work out. All in all it's a lovely product and though I'm not sure I would have bought it in a shop it certainly meant I got my money's worth with this month's box.

Another organic product was The Green Balm by MOA. It doesn't say how much was in the sample, but it was teeny tiny, so I'm guessing about 5ml if not less. This is meant to be an all over skin "miracle product" that helps pretty much anything. It has a waxy texture in the pot, but melts into an oil on your skin. It smells noticeably of tea tree oil, which is one of its main ingredients.
I can't really say much about this product, as I haven't had any skin "emergencies" as of yet - I tend to get those as the temperatures get closer to zero degrees. I've used it on my lips and it felt really lovely and nourishing and I've also put little bits on other parts of my skin and it feels a lot like Eight Hour Cream by Elizabeth Arden. I'm thinking about buying a full sized pot of this as I've just run out of Eight Hour Cream (boyfriend keeps stealing it!) and this product costs less than half at £9.99 for 50ml. This is the one with lots of potential, but I'm just not too sure about it yet.

This one's a little bit of a joke - a 1.5ml perfume sample, like one of those you'd get in a department store without even having to buy anything, or with your weekly magazine if you're a subscriber. Then again, as it's perfume you either like it and wear it or you don't like it - in which case you haven't got much use for a sample no matter how big it is.
The scent is a bit weird in that I can't quite figure out who it's aimed at. It smells very, very sweet and rich at first and then descends into warm and spicy undertones. It reminds me of sweet, mulled wine and Christmas markets. It's far too musky and spicy for a younger audience, whereas I'd imagine that more mature women will find it too sweet and sickly. Personally I don't mind it, but as opposed to other perfumes I haven't received any compliments while I was wearing it and certainly won't be purchasing the full size.

The final sample were four little sachets of Rahua Shampoo and Conditioner. Again, something you'd find in a magazine sometimes, but at least you got two of each and they were actually filled rather generously, so that there was enough in each sachet for longer hair as well. AND they put it in a pretty little tulle bag.
This one's by far the most difficult for me. The first time I used it I HATED it and the second time I loved it. I think it might be because I didn't manage to get all the product out of the sachet the first time round and there simply wasn't enough there for my hair, whereas the second time I used some scissors to cut it up lengthways and got every last drop.
This is another product that boasts organic and 100% natural ingredients. As a result, the shampoo does. not. lather. at. all. It will still get your hair so clean it actually squeaks when you wash it out (no, really, it does squeak), so it's great for people who use a lot of styling products because it will get them out without a problem. The conditioner then made my hair the softest and shiniest it's been in ages (that was the second time I used it, mind you). I did, however, notice that both products made me shed a lot more hair than usual, which was a little bit worrying.
It seems that if you use a generous amount these two products are absolutely amazing. My hair is so soft I want to touch it all the time, it smells gorgeous and I could easily skip the shine serum that I usually use after styling. Here's the problem though: A full bottle of shampoo (275ml) retails at £26 whereas the same size bottle of conditioner will set you back £27.50. Even with the discount you get on the card that comes with the Glossybox that's still way too expensive considering I get through a bottle of shampoo and conditioner each month. If you've got the budget then go for it, because these are really fantastic products, but I think I'll be sticking with my trusted Pantene for a while.

Review: Liz Earle Daily Eye Repair

Time for the first review on this blog! I decided to go for this eye cream as it is my most recent purchase of a product I haven't tried before. I bought it in John Lewis as I ran out of Cleanse and Polish, another product by Liz Earle which I absolutely adore.

This cream comes in a 10ml tube and costs £13.75. It has an SPF of 10 and light reflecting particles which are supposed to brighten the under-eye area. It also claims to moisturise, protect with anti-oxidants and soothe with vitamin E.

It is very dense, so a little goes a very long way and you'll get a lot of use out of this product. There is a very, very faint herbal smell, but you wouldn't notice until you stick your nose right into the tube.

There are a few people who don't really see the point in eye creams, but personally I am quite a fan, as I suffer from dark circles and like a cream to allow me to go easy on the concealer. Unfortunately, this was a little bit of a disappointment after the sheer amazingness of Cleanse & Polish.

Let's start with the good bits: This is not a bad eye cream. It has a very nice texture and I love that it's not in a rollerball applicator, as they tend to tug my skin a little, making the under-eye shadows only worse. It feels quite light on the skin and sinks in quickly. The SPF is a fantastic idea, as the skin under our eyes is very delicate and with a proven link between UV-exposure and skin ageing I hope that this will help keep wrinkles at bay for another few years.

Unfortunately, the light-reflecting pigments in it do absolutely nothing for me. I've been using it for about two weeks now and have seen no improvement to my dark circles, not even in the short term. I also don't find it moisturising enough for me and it doesn't give me that refreshing feeling of my skin pulling itself together like other creams do.

I don't know if it's going to get any better if I keep on using it, but seeing as there has been no improvement to the skin under and around my eyes whatsoever I somehow doubt it. Seems like I'm going back to Clinique once this one runs out.