Face of the Day #06

A very short time before doing this face of the day post I received a new eye shadow palette in my monthly Love Me Beauty box, so I was dying to try it out and see if it would do any better on the lid than it did in my less than impressive swatches. I think this is probably the last time I'll be using my Rimmel powder, as I've seriously hit pan on it now and I've already got a different replacement powder waiting to be used in my make-up drawer/box.

FACE/BASE

I've been using a new foundation lately, namely the Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in Shade 115 Ivory and I'm not particularly sold. Even though it's the lightest shade in the line up, it's still too dark for me by about two or three tones, but hopefully now that the sun's out I'll be able to pick up a bit of a tan and it will be a better match. I've stuck to my old faithfuls when it comes to concealer, namely the Seventeen Phwoarr Paint in Fair and the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 004 Sandstorm (also a shade too dark, I've got no idea why I picked it up in the shop). The powder is literally on its last legs right now, so I'll be replacing it with a different one very, very soon. For cheeks, I dug out what used to be my favourite blusher ever, the MAC Powder Blush in Mocha. I don't think there's a skin tone in this world that wouldn't be able to pull off this soft, dusky pink shade. I've treated myself to a new Real Techniques Blush Brush and it's made application so much easier!

EYES

I've dug out my old HD Brows Palette in Foxy again to do my brows, but this time I used the ashy brown shade instead of the reddish one. You can't see it in the picture, but there's hardly any of it left in the pan, so I'll be on the lookout for a replacement shortly, as well. I needed a tried and trusted base for my eye shadows to adhere to, so out came the MAC Paint Pot in Painterly, which makes literally any eye shadow stay on my lids all day long. I then got to work with my new Beauty UK Eye Shadow Palette in Earth Child, using the golden bronze colour in the top row all over the lid and blending the reddish brown to the left of it into the crease and outer corner. I used just a touch of the green in the top row along the bottom lash line and lined the water line with a Sephora Eye Pencil in Brown (which I forgot to include in the picture, whoops!) On my lashes I used just one coat of my new favourite drugstore mascara, the Bourjois 1 Seconde Volume Mascara in Black.

LIPS

For my lips I reached for another old favourite, the MAC lipstick in Please Me. I used to wear this one religiously until one day I decided that the colour and the matte finish just don't suit me at all. Lately, however, I've been enjoying using it again and for a matte formula it really doesn't feel drying at all, which I love.

Love Me Beauty Box June 14

Wow, can you believe it's already been a year since Love Me Beauty (then known as Beauteco Box) has launched? After reading lots of rave reviews about their June box I instantly signed up and have been with them ever since their second ever box. There have been some ups and downs (mostly ups, but a few downs in recent times) and I'm quite excited to see what the future has to hold for my favourite beauty box so far.
This month's box included a bonus item for me for filling out another 5 surveys on their website, as well as a £10 off voucher towards Flavourly, a gourmet and artisan food subscription box. While it does sound interesting, Flavourly also offers the same money off voucher for new subscribers on their website, so I won't be counting it towards the value of the box. For June I chose Menu 1 out of the three options on offer.

1) Model Co | Shine Ultra Lip Gloss in "Fairy Floss"

Full size: £12

Apologies about the blurry picture, it seems like my camera decided it wanted to focus on the fuzzy bits of paper instead of the actual gloss! While it looks like a hot pink gloss in the tube, it actually translates to a shimmery hit of candy floss on the lips. It's slightly on the sticky side, but very flattering and I can see it complimenting pretty much every skin tone out there. I also like the mirror on the side of the tube, which makes on-the-go application a breeze, although I can see it getting scratched to pieces in my handbag! What I like the most is the amazing candy-like sherbet scent and even though I'm not usually a fan of sweet scents I don't find this one sickly at all.

2) NYX Cosmetics | Nail Polish in "Pastel Lavender"

Full size: £3

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened my box and found this nail polish in it. From the pictures on my menu it looked like I was about to get a neon pink shade - something I've already got plenty of in my stash. Turns out they've sent out various pink shades and I've really lucked out with Pastel Lavender, as it's a gorgeous colour that was completely missing from my collection. I can't wait to get it on my nails tomorrow night!

3) Montagne Jeunesse | Brazilian Mud Fabric Masque

Full size: £1.49

Although I'm a little miffed that I'll only get one application out of this sachet, I'm looking forward to trying a sheet mask, as I've never used one before. I'm quite a fan of Montagne Jeunesse masks whenever my skin needs a little pick-me-up and I was about to do a review of a few of their masks I've tried recently when I realised that I'd be getting another one in my Love Me Beauty Box, so that post has been ever so slightly postponed. This mask also came in a fold-out paper envelope with a few bits and bobs about Montagne Jeunesse. I never knew they were such an eco-conscious brand!

4) Beauty UK | Eye Shadow Palette in "Earth Child"

Full size: £3.99

Although Beauty UK is a brand I regularly bypass when browsing through drugstore aisles, I was really excited to get this product in my June box - I could never have enough eye shadow palettes! Then it arrived and turned out to be absolutely tiny! Then I guess I shouldn't be complaining, as you do get 10 shadows for £3.99, which is a bargain. The quality, however, is exactly what I'd expect from such a budget palette. The payoff is quite patchy and chalky, there's a lot of fallout and pigmentation could also be better. I haven't tried any of the colours on the lids yet, so I might change my mind once I've actually tried the shadows on my eyes.

5) Urban Veda | Purifying Day Cream

Full size: £14.99 for 50ml / Sample Value: £3

I've never heard of Urban Veda before and I'm always excited to try out new skincare brands. The sample is generous enough to get a good idea of how the product works and I'm always happy to get a mattifying moisturiser when it's hot and sweltering outside. It's got a strong herbal scent and I can definitely smell some tea tree in there, which I'm not the biggest fan of, but on the plus side it's completely SLS-, paraben- and GM ingredient-free.

6) Jelly Pong Pong | 2-in-1 Bronze Shadow / Liner

Full size: £10.50

I think it's really great that Love Me Beauty include bonus items for being subscribed for a certain amount of time or for filling in 5 surveys about their boxes. Unfortunately, I already received this exact item in this exact shade in my November box. I think I used it two or three times and then let it plummet to the bottom of my make-up stash, as it creased on my like mad, so I won't be getting any use out of this, whatsoever. It would have been nice if they could have at least sent me a different shade rather than the exact same product I received a few months back.

Total value: £23.48 (£33.98 with bonus item)

I feel like the value of my Love Me Beauty boxes has been getting consistently lower and lower and almost all the items in this month's box are from low-end, budget brands. While that's not necessarily a bad thing and the value of my box still exceeds what I paid for it, it's the eye shadow palette in particular that I felt was a big letdown. I just don't think I will be using it at all, as the quality just isn't there. Still, it's been a big improvement from last month's box which particularly annoyed me as it included tea and notebooks as two of my five beauty products. And with four out of five items being full sized, it still tops most other beauty boxes that I know of.