October Glossybox Contents

As I woke up today there was a lovely parcel waiting for me: My Glossybox had arrived! I know there's a lot of people who don't want to hear about beauty boxes anymore, but personally I still love them. I really like surprises and trying things that I would have never usually picked up.

There's quite a bit of competition going on between different beauty box schemes at the moment. There's Boudoir Prive, which to me seems to be a little bit too high end. It's nice to try expensive samples, but if I do fall in love with a product then I want to be able to purchase it without going into overdraft.
Amarya has a scheme that provides natural and organic beauty products and you're guaranteed to have one full sized product every month. Whereas I'm all for organic when it comes to food, I am yet to be wowed by organic cosmetics, especially make-up. I'd rather read a few more reviews of the products before signing up to this one.
Feel Unique is another online retailer that has launched its own beauty box scheme and by the looks of it, Glossybox' closest contender. Their products aren't overly high end or niche, so lots of people will be able to incorporate them into their beauty regime. This month's boxes are already sold out and I'm considering myself to sign up for next month.
Latest In Beauty is a bit of a different one - it only costs £1 which you pay by text and you get to choose your samples yourself. However, you get what you pay for and you essentially get a box of sachets and seeing as I absolutely HATE sachets I think I'll give this one a miss. There's also a themed one out at the moment for £4.95, but the products just don't appeal to me.
A new launch this month is Carmine, again at a similar price point to all the other boxes. They're trying very hard to be different, both with the design of their boxes and the general tone of the website. These are not (yet) personalised, so everyone gets the same products and you can look them up on the website. The samples included in their first box haven't particularly wowed me which is a shame for a new launch, though I will be keeping an eye on this one.

So at the moment there's quite a bit of competition for GlossyBox, but a bit of healthy competition is surely good for us customers, as brands try to spoil us with products! I'm going to stop rambling now and get on with this month's contents. The box was themed "Six Pack - The Glossybox to end any beauty drought!" which got me a little bit excited thinking there'd be an extra product this month and at first sight it didn't disappoint. (I even let out a little shriek when I opened it)

The first sample on my card is the Dermalogica Age Smart MultiVitamin Thermafoliant.

At 15ml it's a decent sample, though not overwhelmingly big. Then again it's not a product you'd use every day anyway, so it's an acceptable size. I love Dermalogica, but I'm a bit disappointed that I received a sample from their Age Smart range when I'm 22 years old. I'll still give it a go, as I have tried anti ageing products in the past which did miracles for my skin, so you never know!

Sample Value: £8.10

Another Dermalogica product to go with the first one, the MultiVitamin Power Recover Masque, again in a 15ml tube. My comments are the same as with the above again: Decent sized sample, but not really relevant to my skin type.
Sample Value: £7.07

On to the first full sized product, a 12ml nail polish by Leighton Denny from the Colour & Care range in the shade "Babydoll". I've never tried any of this brand's nail polishes, so I'm excited that I received this one. It's going on my nails straight away this afternoon!

Sample Value: £11.00

Next is another full sized product, the Smudge Stick Waterproof eyeliner in Moray by Stila. Stila is an extremely hot brand at the moment, so again I'm very happy to have received something from their range, especially when it's not just a sample. I'll always find a use for an eyeliner and I like that it's not in black, as I've already got more than enough black eye pencils. This should be a lot of fun to try out.

Sample Value: £13.00

On to the inevitable perfume sample. I can't help but feel ripped off by perfume samples in beauty boxes. For one, you can get these for free with magazines or just by visiting a department store and secondly, if you don't like the scent there's absolutely nothing you can do with a perfume sample. This is a bag of three samples, "Visa", "Fracas" and "Calypso" by Robert Piguet. Having three different ones is quite a good solution, as you're more likely to find one that you fancy, but I'd still rather not see these again in my Glossybox.

Sample Value: £3.12

This one's not on the card, so it's a bit of an extra treat this month: a little beauty bag by Dermalogica! Personally, I think it's a great little extra and it's going straight into my handbag replacing my old beauty case. I know it's got a brand name printed on it, but it's of good quality and the perfect size, so I'm happy. And inside I found this:

Another Dermalogica product! This is the Age Smart Renewal Lip Complex. Okay, so this is probably the smallest sample I have ever seen in my life. Then again, it's a serum, so you don't need a lot and it's for your lips, so you really, really don't need much. The full product is only 1.75ml big, so you get more than half of the original size anyway.

Sample Value: £12.86

This month's box value comes to £55.15 and that's not including the little make-up pouch, so I definitely feel like I've got my money's worth. The selection of brands is excellent and I love the extras I received this month. It's just a bit of a shame about the anti-ageing products, as they're not targeted towards my skin type, but I'm happy to give them a go and there'll be a follow-up post to this one at the end of the month where I'll be reviewing how I got on with all the products.

Mini-Haul and Bargain Alert

I did a little bit of lunchtime shopping yesterday, so I thought I'd share what I picked up.

First of all I went to Boots, mainly to get a new mascara. The one I got was Maybelline's new Volume Express Cat Eye mascara which cost £7.99. I never actually tried a Maybelline mascara before, so I'm curious to see how I get on with this one. I'll probably post a review anyway once I get a few uses out of it.

Secondly, I was looking for a new face mask and it was between the No.7 Heavenly Hydration Moisture Mask and the same brand's Purifying Sauna Mask. What attracted me to the latter was that it was one of the very few cleansing masks that I've ever seen that wasn't a mud mask. Mud masks may work great for some people, but I hate the mess they leave and they also tend to irritate my skin a little bit. In the end, however, I went for the moisture mask as my impurities have pretty much cleared up in the past few days (read my last post for more on that). It costs £14.00, but Boots are giving away quite a lot of £5-off vouchers for the No.7 range with your purchase, so you can get it cheaper. Again, I'll probably post a review about this product after a few uses.

The magazine was free for Advantage Card holders, so I thought I'd get it and read for the rest of my lunch hour.

After that I popped down to the Body Shop to get a new Body Butter as I'm running out again. I know there are lots of really good body lotions out there, but somehow I just find myself drawn to these over and over again. They're just a staple product that will never disappoint. They smell heavenly and make skin gorgeously soft, even in winter.

The best thing is that they're currently on offer for half price. And if you've got a Love Your Body card you get an additional 10% off on top of that! So, it should have been £12.50 for the pot, but I ended up paying only £5.63 in the end. I don't know how long this offer lasts, but I'll probably pop back into the store soon, just to stock up on these for the colder months!

 

Okay, I know I'm way too old for this, but when I walked past the Disney shop and saw that the entire front was decorated in Lion King stuff I just couldn't resist. I absolutely love the Lion King and I've got this weird obsession with Pumba (he's the greatest, shush now). I could have bought the whole range, but just went for a shopping bag and a mug instead.


I've also promised a bargain alert, so here goes: Tomorrow, but only tomorrow, on September 29, you can pop into your local John Lewis and exchange any empty shampoo or conditioner bottle of any brand for two full sized Ojon products. They are the damage reverse Restorative Shampoo & Conditioner which retail at a combined price of £41.50. It's only while stocks last, so I'll race you there!