Love Me Beauty Box April 14

I gotta admit I wasn't too keen on this month's Love Me Beauty Box when I first saw the options. Two repeat brands and products I'll use but wasn't overly excited about meant that for the first time I seriously considered just skipping the month altogether. But after opening it and having a proper look at all the products I can honestly say I'm glad I didn't. Let's crack on, shall we?

1) Betty Hula | Secret Wonder Oil Roller Ball

Full size: £6.25

At first I thought I wouldn't have any use for this rollerball. It's recommended for stretch marks and scarring and I don't have any stretch marks and all the various little scars all over my body (what can I say, I'm clumsy) have already faded. I couldn't really think of any dry skin areas either other than my legs and I could imagine it being a right pain trying to apply oil in a rollerball to such a large area. 

After doing a bit of research I found out that you can also use this on the face, so I might try it in place of my overnight serum or moisturiser. If that doesn't work, it's also meant to be really good for sunburn, so I might try that if I spend a little too much time in the sunshine.

2) Models Own | Nail Art Pen in Pastel Pink

Full size: £6

Models Own is a repeat brand for Love Me Beauty and you could choose from either another nail polish or this nail art pen. In all honesty it was mainly this product that drew me towards this particular menu. I've never really tried my hand at nail art as I didn't expect to be any good at it, but it's about time I at least gave it a go.

Sadly I managed to break off all but three of my nails last week, so it's going to be a little while until I can try this out properly.

3) Neal & Wolf | Glow Super Shine Spray

Full size: £9.50

Neal & Wolf is another repeat brand, but while I've tried quite a lot of their products almost every single one was a hit, so I don't mind getting another one. At first I thought this was a sample size, as it is more on the smaller side, but it's actually a full sized product. I've not had a shine spray for years - it's one of those things I always considered buying but never got round to it, so I'm happy to finally have one in my stash. And who knows, a little might go a long way.

4) Redken | Colour Extend Conditioner

Full size: £9.99 for 250ml / Sample value: £1.20

I'm not overly sure what to think of this product just yet. I much prefer to use the same brand shampoo and conditioner and as a matter of fact I don't even use normal conditioner, as I tend to alternate between purple shampoo/conditioner combo and a deep repair hair mask. I'm sure I'll find a way to use it anyway and on my long hair the sample size should be enough for about two washes.

5) Various Bonus Items

Value: £30.72

This month Love Me Beauty included a few items in their box that weren't on the menu listings or on the card that accompanied the box. I actually received the Melvita Extraordinary Water in last month's box and I still have about a quarter of the bottle left, but I'm actually really happy that I got another one, as I love it to pieces and was looking at getting a full sized one.

The Hello Fresh voucher also got me very, very excited. I've been thinking about trying this food delivery service (they deliver fresh ingredients and recipe cards and then you get to cook the food from scratch) for a while, but I've been put off by the price. Now I've got the perfect excuse to give it a go!

The two sachets of the Weleda Stretch Mark Massage oil weren't such a great hit. As I've already explained above I don't have any stretch marks or any scarring that could be helped, so I tried to use it on my dry legs. Not only did the oil in a sachet make a huge mess, but it also left me feeling very sticky and made it almost impossible to put on some leggings.

Total value: £53.67

Even though I originally thought there would only be four items in this box I ended up with a total of six (seven if you want to count the gift card which will most definitely be used) and the value is among the highest that I've seen in these boxes. None of the items are hugely exciting, but I'll find a way of using everything, so it's another hit from Love Me Beauty!

Pharmacy Beauty Goodies

When shopping for beauty supplies, pharmacies are usually the last place I think of snooping around in - I tend to do the bulk of my shopping in drugstores and will occasionally treat myself to a more expensive treat from a department store. But come to think of it, online pharmacies can actually be a good place to look for more unique, niche brands that won't be stocked anywhere else. I have recently been contacted by Farmaline to try some of the goodies they stock and here are my top picks.

1) Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse

I think this was featured in one of the first beauty boxes to hit the UK and I've been curious to try it ever since. The thought of putting oil anywhere apart from in my food used to seriously freak me out, but these days I've quite come around to it. This one is multi-usage, so you can apply it on your face, body or hair. I've been using it on my body after showering, as that's where I'm struggling the most with dryness.

As it's a dry oil, it won't leave any of that slippy, greasy feeling on your skin, but it seems to almost evaporate immediately, leaving skin nourished and moisturised. It's only on my hands that it tends to build up and I do have to wash my hands after applying it, as they tend to get quite greasy. This is also where the packaging is a little flawed - as pretty and sleek as the glass bottle looks, try twisting it open with slippery hands!

The scent of this is really rather strong. It's got quite a spicy, warm scent to it, which is just perfect for winter, but you'll be able to smell it on yourself literally all day, so make sure it's one you like before purchasing! Having said that, it layers beautifully with some of my perfumes and somehow holds their scent much longer than they'd last on just bare skin.

2) Apivita Express Beauty Nourishing Mask with Carrot

I've seen Apivita featured on quite a few blogs, but never tried anything from them, as I couldn't get hold of the brand. These little sachets contain about one application each. I suppose you could scrimp a little and get two out of each packet, but I preferred to really slather it on and let it do good for my skin.

The mask feels deliciously creamy and smooth on the skin. It is as a matter of fact bright orange, but fortunately it doesn't have a punchy carrot smell (I don't imagine the smell of carrots being overly relaxing, unless you're a rabbit, of course). Due to my ridiculously unhealthy lifestyle - bad role model here - I've been battling the same cold for several weeks now, so the skin around my nose is really red and sensitive. Upon application it was those sensitive areas where it did sting a little bit, but once I'd rinsed it off, all redness was soothed and felt a lot less sore.

The rest of my skin didn't experience quite such drastic changes, but overall my face felt a lot more refreshed and a tad more healthy if that makes any sense. I imagine this one would be great for anyone with sensitive or slightly irritated skin in need of a bit of TLC.

3) Talika Lipocils Eyelash Treatment Gel

Now, this is quite an interesting one: A gel that you apply onto your eyelashes that's meant to promote their growth, make them darker and thicker. My initial thought was that it was basically just a huge pile of bullsh*t and another completely unnecessary step in my already lengthy morning and evening beauty routine. The thing is, I've been using it for about three weeks now - and I might just be imagining it, but I'm pretty sure there have been some actual changes to my eye lashes.

Apparently it takes four weeks for the full effect to come into force and I am really, really kicking myself for not taking any before and after pictures, but it does seem that my lashes are a tad thicker and darker than they used to be. I wouldn't say they've become any longer and they were already pretty curled before, so again no major changes here. But something has definitely happened. 

I wouldn't say my eye lashes were ever a great concern to me and if I want to bring them out, I'll just apply some mascara - but for anybody who is really worried about short or very, very fine lashes, this might just make the difference you're looking for.

What are your favourite pharmacy beauty buys?