Review: Alpure Detoxifying Toning Cleanser

I can't say I'd ever heard of the brand Alpure before, but while looking for bargains on Fragrance Direct I saw this cleanser very heavily marked down and as I was just in the market for a new one, it had to go straight into my basket. Before you even read any further, let me tell you that I've learnt my lesson and realised that when a single product is marked down a lot heavier than all others, there's usually a reason for that.

It was when I read the instructions on the box that I realised I'd made a mistake. Now, I'm sure not everyone will agree with me, but in my personal opinion, a cleanser has got to be rinsed off with water (or alternatively wiped off with a wet flannel or muslin cloth). If there's no water involved, I just somehow doubt how it's ever going to get off all my dirt and make-up. With this cleanser, you're meant to apply it onto the face with dry fingers and then just swipe the excess off with a cotton pad. The rest is meant to sink into the skin.
I couldn't help but worry that I was essentially just pushing the dirt further into my pores rather than rinsing it out, but to be completely honest, my towels and pillows were clean after using this, so it must have been doing something.

While it's safe to use on the eyes, I preferred using a separate make-up remover for the eye area, as this just wasn't strong enough. A swipe of waterproof mascara and this would have had no chance. It certainly did strike me how gentle this cleanser was - a little too gentle, perhaps?

You may have noticed that I've written this review in the past tense. That's because I wanted to wait until I'd completely finished the product before I wrote down my thoughts. Despite being a bit unsure about the lack of water involved, I did quite like this cleanser. I enjoyed how gentle it was and it did seem to get a lot of grime off my face.
That was until I finished it and switched cleansers and suddenly realised, just how much my skin improved. In my opinion a good cleanser is the one thing that will instantly transform the skin and as it happens, this one made my skin look rather grey and dull - something I didn't realise until I switched to a different product.

As I only spent £10 on it I'm not too peeved, but it certainly won't be a repurchase from me. Had I spent the full £30 that this is marked up as, I would have expected a far, far superior product.

Love Me Beauty Box February 14

Hooray, we finally, finally have internet at our new home! When the Virgin man came over on Friday this week I literally couldn't have been happier. This month's Love Me Beauty Box arrived on Monday and the pictures have been sat on my computer waiting to be uploaded and talked about all week.
This month saw the inclusion of a surprise product for the first time ever - the only thing the subscribers knew was that it would be a hero product from a previous box. This is something that had me slightly worried, as I'm not a huge fan of repeat products, but I needn't have panicked as I got something I loved the first time around and used up every drop of.

1) Percy & Reed | No-Fuss Flawlessness Dry Conditioner

Full size: £12.00

I've certainly heard of dry shampoo before and I'm not entirely sure how I'd survive without it to be honest, but dry conditioner? I gave this a quick spritz yesterday and it's pretty impressive stuff. It is literally like instant softness in a can. A spritz of Batiste followed by a spritz of this and who needs to wash their hair ever again? (Okay, maybe that's going a step too far) I also own a styling creme by Percy & Reed which came with a magazine and both products are awesome, so it's definitely got me hooked on trying more from the brand.

2) La Claree | Ultra Melting Body Milk

Full size: £24.00 for 200ml / Sample value: £3.43

La Claree is not a brand I've ever heard of before and I could only find a link to their French website, though they do seem to ship to all of Europe. The body milk has a very light and airy texture, but is nonetheless rich and moisturising. It has a very soft, soapy and slightly almondy smell and is overall a very lovely product. Shame I had to throw half of my sample in the bin, because after two applications it's nigh on impossible to get the rest out of the packaging. I see the idea behind the pretty little mini bottle, but it just doesn't work in dispensing the product!

3) Bakewell Soap Company | Multi-Purpose Pocket Balm in "Hard Working Formula"

Full size: £4.95

This is yet another brand that's completely new to me and from the looks of it it can't be a very big company, as the label looks like it's literally been printed on someone's home printer. The balm is quite hard and waxy in texture and I do wish it was slightly softer, as that would just make it so much easier to pick up. It has quite a strong scent of essential oils, but as you only use small amounts at a time, it tends to diffuse quickly. I've used it overnight on my lips, as they get a bit dry in this horrible weather and have woken up with soft lips every morning.

4) Inner Me | Beautify Me Vitamin Complex

Full size: £15.00

This is a product I was really excited about when it came to this month's boxes. It's exactly the kind of thing I'd really like to try, but can't quite get myself to spend the money on it in case it's rubbish or I don't like it. I don't think any other beauty boxes have done vitamins before, either, so these have got quite the novelty factor as well. I'm a firm believer in looking after yourself from within - my skin always looks its best when I make sure to eat well and drink 2 litres of water a day - so I'm really curious if I see an improvement after the two weeks of this course.

5) Murad | Osmolyte Tonic

Full size: £10.00

So, after reading a handful of blog posts on everyone's February box I was fully expecting to see an Artdeco gloss in my box - instead, I got this spray on toner which I also received back in my September box last year (full post here). That's not to say that I'm disappointed, because I really liked this product and I'm sure I'll use it up a second time around. I wonder if the mystery products were chosen at random, or if I was given this because unlike most people I consistently rank skincare at a higher preference than make-up. If it's the latter, then hat off to you, Love Me Beauty, as it would make you the first and only beauty box brand to ever take into account what your customers put into their profile.

Total value: £45.38

It feels like another success from Love Me Beauty who have once again provided me with a box full of products that I will actually use and make the most of. Not to mention that four out of the five products come in full sizes. I honestly didn't think that they'd manage to pull off giving away so many full products each and every month for so long, but somehow they're still going strong. While the mystery product was a nice touch this month, however, I'd still prefer to get new things each month rather than repeat items. Other than that, this beauty box has managed to impress once again.

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?

Soap & Glory Peaches And Clean Review

This is another item I received in one of those massive bumper packs of Soap & Glory items you could buy in Boots just before Christmas. Apologies for the rubbish pictures, I took them when I was extremely tired and didn't even notice how badly they turned out up until I'd already used this up completely.

Peaches and Clean is a mild cleansing lotion with an absolutely amazing sweet but not sickly peach smell. It comes in a pump which makes for hygienic and easy use. I used two pumps in the mornings and three in the evenings when my skin needs more of a thorough cleanse.

While I found that it was very gentle on the skin, the product didn't quite give me that feeling of thoroughly cleansed and soft skin that I get from other cleansers. It performed alright and did get rid of all of my daily make-up residue and dirt and grime. However, I just felt that there was something missing - this sort of glow that I've been getting off other cleansers I loved.

I've seen this raved about on plenty of beauty blogs, so I guess it just goes to show that different products work for different products and while I don't want to give this a bad review, I just cannot help but feel a bit "meh" about its performance.
At £7 for a 200ml bottle, it's reasonably enough priced to find out for yourself, should you wish to try it out. And it's worth giving it a whiff for the amazing scent alone.

Crystal Clear No Shine Serum Review

Following my review of the Crystal Clear Deep Cleanse Gel, I now have another goodie from the same brand to tell you about. The No Shine Serum is a light serum aimed at oily and spot prone skin. My skin is more normal to combination, but I've been using this in the mornings on my T-Zone only, as this is the area of my face where I get quite a bit of shine from time to time.

The serum is light, but creamy and sinks into the skin immediately, leaving it feeling beautifully refreshed. It also has a zingy citrus smell, which I just adore in any beauty product and is particularly great as a pick-me-up in the mornings.
While I struggled to come to grips with the Deep Cleanse Gel at first, this is a whole different story. My skin loves this stuff. I've used it on my cheeks a few times and while I didn't get any obvious skin benefits from using it, it didn't dry them out either, like some products aimed at oily skin can.
On my T-Zone, however, it's doing an amazing job. Just like it promises on the packet, it keeps oil and shine at bay, which means that my make-up lasts much longer during the day. And instead of just sliding off my face in the afternoon, I just get this sort of dewy look whenever I use this serum - shiny, but in a very, very good way. As for impurities, I don't really get that many, but I have noticed a bit of an improvement where I sometimes get hormonal breakouts at "that time of the month".

The price may be a bit of an issue for some. At £42 for 50ml it doesn't come in cheap, but then most serums wouldn't. 50ml will last for quite a while, as you only really need to use this in the mornings.
I would wholeheartedly recommend this serum to any skin type that gets shiny in places, but particularly for oily skin and those suffering from acne, this is a god send.
Pretty impressive!

Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter Review

Apparently there are people who don't moisturise their skin every day, or so I've heard....
In all seriousness, though, if you can get away with it then good for you! Me, on the other hand - if I skipped just a day of slathering myself in lotion, my skin would soon resemble that of a dragon. It's fair to say I'm addicted to body butters. Take your runny lotions and milks and drown kittens in them for all I care (whoaaa, did I really just say that? Poor kittens), I need thick, gloopy butters for my skin.

For a long time Body Shop butters were the one and only for me, but in the past year or two I've come to realise that other brands bring out products that are just as good or perhaps even better and there's been a lot of body butter adultery going on (sorry, body shop!). This one I received in a gift set for Christmas and by the time this review's come around the tub was already long gone.

As you might guess from the fact that this is made for very dry skin, this stuff's tough. It's the thickest body butter that I've ever come across, which isn't greasy. I have no idea how that works, but somehow it does. Think hardened Philadelphia cheese instead of an actual knob of butter if you want to get an idea of the texture.
It does take an awful lot of elbow grease to get this stuff over your skin, but a little extra workout here and there doesn't hurt now that bikini season is getting a lot closer. It also takes a few minutes to sink in, so not one if you're in a big rush. We all know the pain of trying to get into skinny jeans right after you've buttered yourself up. It's hilarious for anyone who's watching, though.

If you're willing to see past these little blips, then you shall be rewarded with absolutely gorgeous skin. The type that has you stroking yourself all day long like some sort of creep. The type that makes people who accidentally brush past you turn around saying things like, "GOSH, your skin is so soooooft".
And the smell.... oh, dear me, the smell. I once read on a beauty blog that the scent reminds them of Miss Dior Cherie and I have to agree wholeheartedly. If you love it, you're sorted, as chances are it will layer beautifully with whatever perfume you put over it, but if it's not your type of scent, then stay away, as this will make your skin smell all day long. Even though I don't see why anybody wouldn't love the scent. Or body butters. Mmmmmmh, body butters....

At £10.50 for 300ml this one's a cult product for a reason.

Lush Rub Rub Rub Review

I have to admit, I'm kind of starting to warm to Lush slowly. I'd only tried a couple of bath bombs in my early teens and then refused to enter another Lush store due to the overwhelming scent battles going on in there. I also didn't really fancy washing myself with a colourful block of something or brushing my teeth with powder or whatever other weird stuff was going on in there.
But, I thought I'd give them another chance and I have to say that so far I haven't been disappointed.

Rub Rub Rub is a body scrub made with sea salt and lemon juice. In isolation outside the shop the scent is actually rather gorgeous. Nothing for anybody with a sensitive nose who'd prefer an unscented product, of course, as it is fairly strong. Even though I usually prefer fruity and sweet smells, I really like the freshness of this. It literally does smell like seaside and lemons.

The packaging unfortunately isn't ideal. Nothing against the design - it's very typically Lush with the black tub and the white blackboard writing. The problem is that it leaks. The lid doesn't screw on properly, so every time it falls over you'll have a seasalt-lemony mess on your hands. Even when I kept it upright I could notice little smear marks going down the side where some product had leaked through. That's definitely something to sort out!

In the shower it does provide a lovely scrubbing sensation, though I'd criticise that the salt melts away a little too quickly, so you've got to either use loads, or only use tiny amounts at a time. Personally, I do like a rough body scrub, but if you prefer something gentle, then the melting of the salt crystals is actually a positive.
As it also contains some oils it will leave your skin moisturised and those who don't suffer dry body skin like I do can easily get away with skipping the body lotion afterwards. Having said that, it does not leave an oily film on your skin like some other scrubs do (not that I mind that, anyway).
Even though it's a vegan product, so mostly free of nasties, it does contain some SLS which means that it foams a little bit on application. Personally, I could have easily done without the foaming and without the sulphates, but that's just my opinion I guess.

Overall, a very nice product with a heavenly smell, though I'd mark it down on packaging and I could do with the crystals not melting so quickly. But it has helped me overcome my Lush-phobia and maybe I'll even try another one of their body scrubs once this pot is used up!

Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub is available online or in Lush stores. It retails at £7.95 for a 330g pot.

Soap and Glory Feel Good Factor Review

I bought this back in November, just before going on holiday to Florida, as I wanted a moisturiser with in-built SPF so I wouldn't have to use extra sun cream on my face. Most moisturisers come with an SPF of 15, which I thought might not be enough for the Florida sun (yeah, even in November, it was hot, hot, hot!), but this has 25 which is why it landed in my basket. I've been waiting to review it ever since and seeing as the sun's making an appearance again it's time for you to find out how good this stuff is!

Ich habe diese Creme im November gekauft, kurz vor meinem Urlaub in Florida, da ich eine Tagespflege mit eingebautem Sonnenschutzfaktor wollte, damit ich nicht extra Sonnencreme auf mein Gesicht schmieren muss. Die meisten Tagescremes haben einen SPF von 15, was wahrscheinlich etwas zu niedrig ist für die Sonne in Florida (selbst im November, es war heiß!!), aber diese hier hat 25 und landete somit in meinem Einkaufskorb. Ich konnte es seitdem nicht erwarten, diese Review zu schreiben und nun, da die Sonne wieder herauskommt, ist es an der Zeit, dass ihr erfahrt wie gut dieses Zeug ist!

Soap & Glory Feel Good Factor comes in a metal tube which is somewhat reminiscent of paint tubes. I was a tad worried about it bursting or being spiked by something sharp, but it managed to survive a trip in my suitcase and several days of being chucked into a backpack full of random stuff without any messy tragedies. The tube makes it very handy for on the go application and is also more hygienic than a pot.

Soap & Glory Feel Good Factor ist in einer Metalltube verpackt, die an eine Farbtube erinnert. Ich war etwas besorgt, dass sie platzen oder zerstochen werden könnte, aber sie hat eine Reise in meinem Koffer und mehrere Tage in einem Rucksack voller Krimskrams überlebt, ohne klebrige Tragödien zu hinterlassen. Durch die Tube ist es sehr praktisch, die Creme unterwegs aufzutragen und es ist auch hygienischer als ein Tiegel.

There's absolutely no way I could use normal sun lotion on my face, as it would just result in a sticky mess and loads of blocked pores and even most facial sun protection I've tried left me feeling very greasy. This does have the texture of a sticky gel, but once on the skin in sinks in immediately and doesn't leave any horrible residue. After a couple of seconds you can apply make-up over it as you would over any other moisturiser.

Ich könnte unter keinen Umständen normale Sonnencreme auf mein Gesicht auftragen, da es sonst zu klebriger Haut und verstopften Poren kommen würde. Selbst speziell aufs Gesicht abgestimmte Produkte haben meine Haut oft fettig hinterlassen. Diese Creme hat zwar eine klebrige Geltextur, aber sobald sie auf der Haut ist, zieht sie sofort ohne Rückstände zu hinterlassen, ein. Ein paar Sekunden später kann man getrost Make-up auftragen wie bei jeder anderen Tagescreme auch.

Throughout my holiday I carried this tube around with me and reapplied as and when I saw fit. While it was just moisturising enough to calm down my sun parched skin, even frequent reapplication didn't clog my pores or make my skin oily. Oh, and of course it did its job protecting my face, as I didn't burn either.

Während meines gesamten Urlaubs hatte ich diese Tube zur Hand und habe immer wieder mehr aufgetragen, sobald es nötig war. Die Creme war reichhaltig genug, um meine von der Sonne ausgetrocknete Haut zu beruhigen, aber selbst häufiges Auftragen verstopfte meine Poren nicht und hinterließ auch keinen Fettglanz. Ach, und natürlich hat sie auch ihren Job getan und ich hatte keinen Sonnenbrand.

Now, I'm not too sure about those elusive antioxidant vitamin balls that are supposed to be in there. As you can see on the photo above the cream is completely smooth and I am yet to spot any mysterious vitamin balls. Maybe they're all hiding at the bottom of the tube and will come flooding out once I'm almost finished?
Apart from that, this moisturiser does everything it claims and will most certainly be one of my summer staples, whether I'm goin on holiday or not.

Ich bin mir nicht ganz so sicher, was diese merkwürdigen Antioxidant Vitamin Balls angeht, die angeblich da drin stecken sollen. Wie man auf dem Foto oben sieht, ist die Creme vollkommen ebenmäßig und noch bin ich auf keine Vitaminbällchen gestoßen. Vielleicht verstecken sie sich ja alle ganz am unteren Rand der Tube und kommen alle gleichzeitig herausgeschossen sobald ich damit fast fertig bin?
Davon aber mal abgesehen leistet diese Creme alles, was sie verspricht und ich werde diesen Sommer garantiert häufiger auf sie zurückgreifen - ob ich jetzt in Urlaub fahre, oder nicht. 


I have to mention something that irks me, though. I bought this in Boots for £12, which I find very reasonable as sun protection is often ridiculously expensive, especially for the face. Now that I've moved to Germany, the only shop you can get it in is Douglas and they charge a ridiculous €24,95. What a rip off!

Ich muss aber noch etwas erwähnen, das mich etwas aufregt. Ich habe die Creme in Boots in England gekauft, wo sie mich £12 gekostet hat. Das finde ich fair, denn Sonnenpflege ist oft etwas teurer, vor allem was das Gesicht anbelangt. Jetzt, da ich wieder in Deutschland wohne, kann ich sie nur noch in Douglas bekommen, wo man unsinnige €24,95 dafür verlangt. Das ist doch Betrug!

No7 Heavenly Hydration Moisture Mask

I wrote a few words on this in a haul post a while ago, but I feel that I've had enough time to play around with this face mask in order to be able to write an honest review. I've also been using this as a little Sunday treat for my skin, so what better day to write this post than on a Sunday?

This costs £14 for 100ml and like all No7 products is available at Boots. It comes in a pump dispenser which makes it nice and hygienic to use, though it can leak a little bit if it's not stood upright. It's a funky looking product in the tube, as it's layered in a spiral with a clear liquid, but once you press it out you get a very smooth, slightly runny pink cream.

You can apply this in a thick layer on your face and leave it in for 3 - 10 minutes, depending on how much hydration you think your skin needs. Alternatively, you can also apply a slightly thinner layer and leave it to sink in over night for a bigger moisture hit.
I use this as a thick mask and leave it on for about 10 minutes before wiping off excess and then splash my face with water to get off the last of it.

I have to say I have fallen in love with this product a little bit. First of all, let me tell you about the texture: It is literally the smoothest, silkiest thing I have ever put on my face - it is a dream to apply.
Afterwards, my skin feels moisturised and fresh. It also gets this glowing, dewy look which is so hard to recreate with make-up.

What impressed me the most, however, was how it dealt with my skin when it had another rebellious phase. Last week my face basically got fed up of long-haul flights and a mixture of chlorine, air-conditioning, frosty winds and sweat. It reacted with a ridiculously oily phase - it was so bad it looked like I'd smeared lipgloss all over it. I was really unsure whether to use this mask or not, as it seemed that it needed a thorough deep cleanse rather than moisture, but I gave it a go nonetheless. It not only managed to calm down my complexion, but got rid of all the grease for good! What's not to love?

I would thoroughly recommend this product for normal, dry and even oily skin and I'll definitely go back to Boots once this runs out to buy another one to rescue me from my skin dilemmas.

Surprisingly Good and Surprisingly Bad

This post is about two products that have really surprised me after I bought them - one in a positive way whereas the other was underwhelming to say the least.
I will start with the good surprise:

Nivea Pure & Natural Hand Cream

Before I start there's something you should know: I HATE hand creams. I'd never ever use hand cream if I could get away with it, but unfortunately my hands get really dry and when it gets cold it can get so bad that the skin around my knuckles cracks open and bleeds. So I have to use hand cream. My problem is the really horrible greasy feeling it leaves and walking around like a T-Rex for half an hour, unable to touch anything because I'll leave a sticky film. The solution I've come up with is that I only use hand cream at night before going to bed, which means it needs to be quite moisturising.
The ONLY reason I bought this was because it was cheap. Nivea strikes me as a brand that is very good at being average. They don't seem to have any stand-out products, neither exceptionally good or exceptionally bad - essentially a brand to stick with if you don't want to take any risks.
It actually took me two or three weeks to realise that this hand cream is as a matter of fact really good. It only takes about five minutes to sink in and leaves my hands feeling velvety rather than gloopy and disgusting. At the moment it's moisturising enough for me to only apply it over night, but I feel that as the temperatures drop I'll have to apply it during the day as well. But you know what? I haven't got a problem with that.
I can't find an RRP, but you can get this for £2 for a 100ml tube at Tesco at the moment. This is really a product that has wowed me when I wasn't expecting anything from it.

On to a more negative surprise:

Origins Modern Friction face scrub

This had just won a beauty award when I was looking for a new face scrub. It's one of Origins' top sellers and as I hadn't tried anything from this brand before I decided to give it a go. I read some reviews about it being quite harsh and grainy, but that didn't really put me off as I like my scrub to give me a good scrubbing.

My skin isn't overly sensitive, but this stuff it couldn't handle. "Harsh" is an understatement. It has a very dense texture and the grains inside are relatively large. You're supposed to use it dry if you have normal skin which I found absolutely impossible, as it felt like I was tearing off bits of my skin. Sensitive skin types can use it damp and it's a bit better then, but you're still faced with another problem.

Once it gets wet, it starts foaming on your face. This isn't really a problem as such, as many of us will love a good lather, but this scrub is so jam packed with LDL and fruit acids it physically hurts. A little bit of the foam got in my nose when I was washing it off and it stung so badly it made my eyes water. And don't get me started on the two times I opened my eyes too early and got some of this product in! You may as well just dunk your face in petrol.

Retailing at around £30 it's not cheap, though you do get a generous 125ml tube, which (unfortunately) seems to last forever.

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.