Love Me Beauty Box January 14

After last month's slight disappointment with my Love Me Beauty box and the options they had on offer, the first box of this year got me excited again with some lovely menus to choose from. Four out of five items are full sized products and there's a nice mix of make-up, haircare and skincare. All the menus featured the Anatomicals shower gel, the Pureology styling mousse, the Cosmetics a la Carte mascara and the NYX eye shadow, albeit in different shades depending on the menu. Lastly, you got to choose between a Weleda body oil sample, a Weleda hand cream sample or a full sized Arran Aromatics soap. The menu I went for was Menu 3, as I liked the eye shadow shade the most out of all of the options.

1) NYX Cosmetics | Single Eyeshadow in "Sahara"

Full size: £5.00

NYX Cosmetics Single Eyeshadow in Sahara swatch in day light

The first item in the box was a full sized eye shadow by NYX - a brand I used to see quite a lot of when I lived in Germany, but that's not overly prevalent over here in the UK. This eyeshadow is the only reason I chose this particular menu, as the other shades on offer were a bright orange which I wouldn't really know how to wear and a dark smoky grey which I have enough of in my collection already. Sahara translates as a light sparkly champagne onto the skin and admittedly I'm not overly impressed with the pigmentation. It might work quite well as a base colour, however, or for adding a bit of sparkle to an everyday make-up look.

2) Arran Aromatics | Apothecary Wheatgerm & Vitamin E Soap

Full size: £2.75

As I chose my box by eye shadow colour this is a product that I was sort of forced to pick. I would have preferred the Weleda body oil sample to be completely honest, as it's difficult to get excited over soap. However, it's something we all need and I have no doubt that I'll use it. I haven't unwrapped it yet, as I want to leave it fresh for when we move into our new home, so I can't really comment on the scent of this product.

3) Anatomicals | Rose & Jasmine Body Cleanser

Full size: £3.00

I know there's quite a few people who don't like getting body wash in their beauty boxes and while I understand completely where they're coming from, I personally don't mind at all, as long as it's not too frequent. Shower gel is something everyone needs, but I usually get mine from the Pound shop or on special offer from the supermarket, so it's nice to have something a tad more special from time to time. Having said that, this one only comes in at £3 anyway, so it's certainly not a splurge product anyway! I really like the smell of roses, so to me this scent is pure bliss. Not to mention I'm a huge fan of Anatomicals' packaging design and cheeky slogans!

4) Pureology | Colour Stylist Silk Bodifier

Full size: £15.00 for 250ml / Sample value: £4.88

Well, admittedly it's been quite a while since I've used mousse on my hair and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this sample. Memories of sticky, crispy hair come to mind, but perhaps mousse formulas have improved over the years and I'll fall in love with this product. I've heard a lot of beauty bloggers rave about Pureology and their sulfate-free products, so it's nice to try something from the brand for myself. This mousse in particular is also made for colour-treated hair, so should be perfect for my bleached tresses.

5) Cosmetics a la Carte | Divine Lash Mascara in "Black"

Full size: £23.00

Even after browsing their website, I can't quite fathom where I've heard of this brand before, but the name does certainly ring a bell. Hailed as this month's star product, I'm certainly excited to try this mascara. Which girl doesn't love mascara after all? This one has quite spiky looking long synthetic bristles - a bit like a hybrid between a traditional mascara wand and a lash comb. I can't wait to give this a trial run on my lashes and see how it performs!

Total value: £38.63

It feels like Love Me Beauty have certainly kicked off the New Year by returning back to form. Out of the five products I received this month, I can say with certainty that I will use each and every single one. I like the nice mix of product types and high-end vs. budget brands featured. Even though two brands have been in boxes before (Arran Aromatics and Anatomicals), they're completely different types of products, so I don't mind like I did with last month's Lord & Berry scenario. Now I can't wait to see what's going to be in next month's box!

Are you subscribed to Love Me Beauty? If so, what did you think of this month's boxes?

Love Me Beauty Box September 13

Beauteco Box have had a bit of a rebrand and are now known as Love Me Beauty. The same concept still applies of choosing your favourite out of three different options or "menus" each month before getting your box of samples delivered to your door. They have however moved from a guaranteed 3 full sized products each month, to only two and are a little less focused on all natural and organic brands.
To be completely honest with you I'm not overly surprised. This month's box still features four full sized products, which is UHM-AZING, but I was wondering how long they'd be able to keep that up for. Two full sized products a month is still pretty awesome and as long as they keep up their three choices, that means I can automatically choose not to get a box full of duds.

1) Matriskin | Collagen MP Serum

Full size: £96.90 for 30ml / Sample value: £24.23

I was gonna start off by saying that this is the product that I would have quite happily left out of this month's box, but couldn't, as it was one of this month's "star products", which means that it's featured in each of the three menus. I was gonna. Then I looked up how much a full sized vial of this costs.

A HUNDRED POUNDS????? I even struggled to find a website that ships this to the UK - in the end I found it in the Birchbox e-shop (oh, the irony!). I might be swimming in serums at the moment and I might not be concerned about filling my wrinkles and expression lines, but for that price, I am sure as hell giving this a go!

I'll be honest though and admit that the serum itself is not overly inviting. It's an extremely sticky clear liquid with a very strong pharmaceutical scent. After all that, this stuff better give me the skin of a supermodel.

2) Murad | Osmolyte Tonic

Full size: £10 for 15ml

This spray-on toner is this month's "star product" number two. At first I thought it was another sample sized item, but as it turns out, Murad actually sell this little 15ml bottle as a full size! My first experience with Murad products was absolutely dire and if it wasn't for a continuous supply of samples, I would have given up on this brand a while ago. Turns out it's a good job I didn't, as I've since discovered quite a few gems by them (the last one being their hydro-dynamic eye cream, awesome stuff!).

I had no idea what an osmolyte is until I went on the Murad website and it turns out that it contains taurine! Anyone who's battled their share of monstrous hangovers will appreciate a bit of taurine to bring you back to life, but I've had no idea that it's good for your skin as well. I've had a little spritz this morning and it feels quite pleasant on the skin, drying quickly and without any strong scent attached to it.

3) Nip and Fab | Dry Leg Fix

Full size: £10.25 for 100ml

Now this is a product I was very, very excited about receiving. If I was just browsing through a shop it would have never occurred to me to buy a lotion specifically for my legs. After all, that's what body lotion is for - surely, my legs are part of my body, no?

BUT, my legs have been misbehaving lately. For some reason I simply cannot figure out (and I spent a long time thinking about it, trust me), the skin on my legs has become really dry, flaky and as a result unbearably itchy. Nowhere else, just my legs. I thought it might have been my razor, shaving cream, washing powder, or sun lotion, but it wasn't. And I was still left with flaky bits of skin on my shins that would turn into angry red bumps when scratched - really not a good look.

Fingers crossed, this might be the solution I've been praying for. I applied a little bit today after my morning shower and it already feels a bit better. I don't want to jinx it, but if this stuff is the answer to my randomly dry legs problem, then be certain that you'll hear about it (A LOT) on my blog.

4) Anatomicals | Eye Gel

Full size: £4.00 for 15ml

I've never tried anything from Anatomicals, because for some reason I always thought they were a really expensive brand, which they're not. I think it might be from the time when I lived in Germany, as I know their products cost a lot more over there than they do here in the UK.

This product is another reason why I love being able to pick my favourite out of three boxes. The other two both featured a full sized cleanser, and I've got so many of those at the moment that I've got no idea how I'm gonna get through them all. But when it comes to eye cream, I literally just ran out of my old one, so this couldn't have come at a better time!

I love the quirky packaging of this cream and the light gel texture that feels lovely and refreshing on the skin.

5) Essential Care | Lip Silk

Full size: £5.50 for 4.5g

Lip balms are another product I've got more than enough of at the moment. Two months ago I didn't have any and now I own about ten! Nothing to worry about, however, as I'm an expert on losing lip balms (and pens and lighters), so I'm sure my selection will dwindle in due course. 

This is one I can see myself falling in love with very easily. It doesn't leave any colour on the lips, just a slight sheen, and feels incredibly moisturising without being at all greasy or sticky. I've actually kept reapplying over and over ever since I got my box this morning!

Total value: £53.98

Call it Beauteco, call it Love Me Beauty, I'm still in love with this beauty box subscription service. I actually feel that last month's box was the weakest so far (read my post on it here). As much as I loved the idea of two Lord & Berry lip products, they turned out not to be my colours AT ALL and just got buried in my stash after two or three half-hearted attempts at wearing them.

This month we're back with a box full of products that I know I'm going to use not just out of guilt or because they're "kinda there", but because I want to try them. I already can't wait for next month's box!