Glossybox and A Little Update

I have caved into subscribing to Glossybox again for all of 2013! I used a discount code they emailed me a little while ago so I ended up getting it much cheaper, expect to see lots of Glossybox posts next year! (Well 12...)

I have subscribed to lots of beauty boxes in the past and had to give up all subscriptions due to funds, the code was just too tempting though so I thought I should join up again!

Click here to subscribe!

Discount code is xmas30 for 30% off! (Not sure if it will still work though)

I have also decided to change my blog name and give my blog a new look, this won't be done overnight as I have so many exams all throughout the year but it will be happening soon, I would say it should all be changed by mid February 2013. Once everything is installed and ready I will be posting links on Navilicious Beauty to let everyone know that my blog has moved. I don't know how to move the blog without disappearing from followers' feed so if anyone does I would be very grateful for the help.

I also find it quite difficult to blog while in-between two cities so please bear with me for a little while as I get into a routine, I will definitely be blogging though! I've missed writing and have decided not to make the "changed blog" solely a beauty blog but with lots more added in!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and I wish you a prosperous new year!

GlossyBox - October 2011

I received my GlossyBox a little while ago and I thought I'd share my thoughts and first impressions about the October box.

Here's what was included:

I forgot to take out the Dermalogica Renewal Lip Complex from the bag - too excited, sorry!

Dermalogica AGE smart Multivitamin Thermafoliant - 15ml sample - worth £8.10
Robert Piguet Eau De Parfums x3 small vials
Leighton Denny Expert Nails Colour & Care in Babydoll - full size - £11
Dermalogica AGE smart Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque - 15ml sample - worth £7.07
Dermalogica AGE smart Renewal Lip Complex - 1ml sample - worth £12.86
Dermalogica Beauty Bag
Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in Moray - full size - £13

Total Value of Box: at least £52.03
Amount Paid: £12.95
Total Saving: £39.08

I think this month's box was brilliant, it was a 6 month anniversary special for them so there were 6 products, admittedly a lot of Dermalogica, but they are a very well known brand with lots of positive feedback on their products. I've had a chance to try most of the products and here are my thoughts.

The Dermalogica thermafoliant felt very strange on my skin, it has very tiny scrubbing particles in it which made my skin feel odd, but after using it left my face nice and smooth. The perfume samples are beginning to annoy me a little because I now have no more than 18, all from various beauty boxes and orders, I suppose it's a nice way to try lots of different perfumes though, so I'll keep my annoyance at bay. I definitely got the nicest shade out of the 3 Leighton Denny polishes that were available but I'm not entirely sure it's for me, I've yet to try it though...I haven't tried the Dermalogica Masque yet but it looks interesting! The lip balm is amazing, I absolutely love it, I can't believe it's so expensive though! Full size (1.75ml) is £22.50! It's luxurious, melts onto your lips well, moisturises and smells lovely. The Dermalogica beauty bag was a lovely addition and they're right, we can never have too many cosmetic bags! Finally Stila's Smudge Stick Eyeliner, I used this on the first day and it was gorgeous, the colour is so pretty, the gold flecks look beautiful with brown eyes, it really impressed me and I looked it up in more shades. I also wore this the day after I got it, unfortunately it broke once, and quite a chunk of it broke off, I ignored this and twisted it up for another perfect line, the third day I picked this up again as I was in a rush but it broke twice! And small chunks each time, I've informed GlossyBox and they were very helpful, they gave me suggestions on how to use it but after I sent them my picture of broken eyeliner they have offered to replace it when stock comes in.

Overall I think I'd give this box a 9/10, every product looked well thought out and in general I think I will like them all. I did enquire as to why there were so many anti-aging products, and they are for prevention apparently, a mask is a mask to me and an exfoliator exactly that, so I don't really mind, it's just that I've heard using anti-aging products early speeds up aging...but a great box all in all!

What do you think of this month's GlossyBox? Will you be signing up?


Click here to sign up!

Beauty Boxes...

As we all know there are a lot of beauty boxes on the market now, sending out samples and sometimes full sized items as well for £10-£12.95 a month, possibly more if you choose. I'm subscribed to 4 and I think it's too much, not only do I already have beauty products spilling out of my entire room but now I'm having to make space to place the boxes themselves. They're all a great treat and I get to blog about them and review the products I receive too, which is something I really enjoy. However, for someone who really wants to save up after spending like there's no tomorrow I do feel I should make some cutbacks.

The 4 I'm subscribed to are:

- GlossyBox £12.95
- Boudoir Privé £10
- Amarya £10
- Feel Unique £9.95

I've received at least 1 of all of them apart from the Feel Unique box which I've yet to experience. If you have any ideas on how to cut down or which you think would be best to keep and so on please help! I personally dislike GlossyBox's "ethics" if you will, of adding an additional postage and packaging charge and including a mini of a very clearly non-luxury product but I like their boxes, and I like that they seem to bring me brands I'd never previously heard of and I also like that a lot of the time they provide full-sized products too!

I like Boudoir Privé so far, they've given me brands I hadn't previously heard of and are very luxurious and exclusive if you will - or have that feel about them at least. The issue I have with Boudoir Privé is that sometimes  their samples really don't feel deluxe to me... Amarya is one I think I will be sticking with because of the organic and ethical stance they have on their box and I like that a lot. They've also promised at least one full sized item so that's good.

I was debating between cancelling Feel Unique and/or Boudoir Privé...but I really do like Boudoir Privé's boxes, but I was thinking that I could just buy from the new shop they're launching soon. I really don't know, I'm very stuck! I'll also be posting my thoughts on September's Boudoir Privé beauty box within the next few days if that'll help anyone help me!

I also am a little worried that as soon as I cancel my boxes they're going to put stuff that I really wanted to try in them!

Please leave your thoughts! Thank you so much for reading x

GlossyBox - September 2011

I received my GlossyBox in the post today and here's what I got!

HD Brows Eye&Brow Palette - Full size - £24.95

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse - 10ml sample - £2.75

Rahua Shampoo and Conditioner - 2x 10ml and 8ml samples - £1.60 and £1.37

Plum by Mary Greenwell - 1.5ml sample - £1.80

Omorovicza Thermal Cleansing Balm - 5ml sample - £4.60

Total Value: £37.07 

Amount Paid: £12.95

Saving: £24.12

I've looked at and already used some items and here are my thoughts.

I really appreciate the addition of a full sized HD eye&brow palette in this month's box because I don't own anything for my brows at the moment and wanted to experiment with them. My eyebrows are very dark though so I'm not entirely sure if I would benefit from this palette for my eyebrows, however I may use it as an eyeshadow palette too - which is also one of the recommended uses.

The Nuxe multi-purpose dry oil is something I've been wanting to try for absolutely ages, so I'm very glad I got this in my box! I wish it had been slightly larger though, but it's fine!

The Rahua (pronounced RA-WA) Shampoo and Conditioner sachets haven't really gone down very well with me, I took one of the sachets into the shower and it was nowhere near enough the amount of shampoo and conditioner I would usually use, I also found it didn't lather very well. This may be because there wasn't enough product for my hair, so I can't really give a full opinion on this, but my first impressions aren't great. The scent of both products is lovely though.

Plum by Mary Greenwell is the signature fragrance of celebrity makeup artist Mary Greenwell, when I smelt this in the bottle, to me it was a wine made from plums, however now that I've worn it all day, it smells different to me, I really like it and I think it's very unique. It lingers on the skin for ages and the scent is quite noticeable, even with a little application.

Finally, the Omorovicza Thermal Cleansing Balm, by a Hungarian brand. I opened it and it's black! I was a little horrified because I don't think I've ever seen or used anything that looks quite grimy to cleanse my face. It is an award winning balm and created with minerals, so naturally I'm excited to try this.

Overall, I really like this month's GlossyBox, I admit that I would have liked to try a salt scrub or a hair treatment, but my box was great. I award this month's box 8/10. It would have received a 9/10 if it wasn't for the random addition of £2.95 P&P charge for the September box and future months! (Yes, I am still sulking about that. It wasn't advertised initially.)

What do you think of this month's box? Did you receive anything different? Are you tempted to join up to GlossyBox yet?


Click here to sign up!

GlossyBox - August 2011

I finally got my GlossyBox when I went to pick it up from the delivery office because the postman decided ringing the doorbell would be too much of a task for him. But I got it, so yay! This month's GlossyBox includes a few things I'm really looking forward to trying and another few which are completely unnecessary and unwanted - but that's what is to be expected as it is a surprise box each month!

So this month's GlossyBox included the following:

Ahava DeadSea Water Mineral Body Lotion (40ml - £3.52)

Murad Time Release Acne Cleanser (30ml - £4.35)

Daniel Sandler Baby Jet Mascara (4.5ml - £12.80)

KMS California Hairstay Style Boost (200ml - £13.70)

Rebel Nails Nail Wraps (£5.99)

The total value of this month's GlossyBox is £40.36 resulting in a saving of £30.36 as it was only £10 for August. I haven't used anything from the box yet seeing as I'm still trying to use up so many products already but I'll let you know of my first impressions now. The Ahava body lotion looks and smells great, I'd never heard of the brand before so I'm glad they included it, I'm also happy about the Murad Cleanser because I'm always on the lookout for magic cleansers that will improve my complexion.

Although the Daniel Sandler mascara is full-sized and probably a great mascara I feel like I already have too many and that a mascara specifically for the edges and smaller lashes isn't a necessity. I'm excited to try the KMS California Hairstay Style Boost because I don't own anything like this and haven't tried anything like it before too, a full-size version of this is a real bonus! Finally the nail wraps, these are of no use to me at all, I think removing and applying nail polish would actually be quicker than using these, especially as I don't even own a hairdryer! - shock, horror, I know (I'm looking for one I assure you!).

My overall thoughts: I think in terms of value for money GlossyBox exceed expectations every month, I love that they include full-sized products but for this month I'm only interested in 3/5 products, but as the value is so great I give this box a 7/10.

Click here to sign up!

Marie Claire Freebies!

Marie Claire (September 2011 issue) are giving away a choice of 2 Ciaté paint pots and 2 Dove Express Treatment Conditioners along with the sachets inside the magazine! The magazine retails at £3.60 and the nail polish alone is worth £9. The 2 shades available are a deep metallic purple with shimmer (Wait Until Dark) or a nude light peach/cream colour (My Fair Lady).

I picked up 2 of Wait Until Dark with the Dove Nourishing Oil Care Express Treatment conditioner, I did think of trying My Fair Lady but I'd just received Beach Melba also by Ciaté in my July GlossyBox, and it's a very similar shade.

I'll review and do some posts about both products and possibly even about the Sanex sachet included!

Thank you for reading!

What do you think of the shades available? Have you picked yours up yet?

GlossyBox - July 2011

My GlossyBox arrived today so I thought I'd put up a quick post about my first thoughts on it!

The 5 things it contains this month are:

- Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Conquer (1.3g/0.04oz)
- Xen-Tan Weekly Self-Tan (30ml/1oz)
- Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil (100ml/3.4fl oz)
- Ciaté Paint Pot in Beach Melba (13.5ml)
- 2 Etat Libre D'Orange Eau De Parfum (1.5ml x 2)

I love the Illamasqua Pure Pigment, Conquer is a deep green shade and looks very pretty. I've never used any Illamasqua products because I am trying to spend the least I possibly can on makeup because my collection is very large now! This is also a full-sized pigment worth £15.50, very impressive!

I have no interest in the next product, the Xen-Tan Premium Sunless Tan because I dislike tanning! Therefore will be thinking of what to do with it... The sample size is great though - 30ml.

The Weleda Body Oil looks interesting, but the claims "Indulgently firms and renews" imply that this is for an older target audience, but I'll give it a shot and if I don't feel like it's doing anything for me, hand it over to a lady older than myself! This is another full size product worth £19.95!

The Ciaté Paint Pot is another great product but I have too many pale pink/nude shades so I would have liked a different shade! This is worth £9 and is another full sized product!

Finally, the Etat Libres D'Orange are very small samples of 2 different perfumes, that upon first "smelling" smell great!

Overall I am very impressed with this month's GlossyBox, it contains 3 full size products worth £44.45 together without the self-tan and tiny samples, although I expect the perfume samples would be free anyway. So a £44.45+ box for £10 and free delivery, I'm impressed! I give this month's GlossyBox a 8/10! Products will be reviewed individually too.

The last point I'd like to make though after seeing a few other GlossyBoxes I would have much preferred the UltraSun sunscreen instead of the tan! A nice little bottle of Orla Keily instead of the random perfume samples and a coloured Ciaté Paint Pot! GlossyBox should get a move on with their profile-creating!

Thank you for reading!

Have you got your GlossyBox this month? Like it? A fail? Let me know in the comments below!


Click here to sign up!

Beauty Box by Boudoir Privé

This is a recent find, (say about last month!), which has kept us all intrigued until the launch which is this month at some point. I was able to get Press Release information by their lovely PR lady and here is a very efficient summary of what Boudoir Privé is and what is provided.

In the 18^th century, a woman’s boudoir was her sanctum. A place to retreat, reflect and experiment with her hair and beauty in the comfort of her own home. We at Boudoir Prive are reinventing the contemporary boudoir and revolutionizing the way cosmetics are sold online, by giving women the luxury of discovering new beauty products in the intimacy of their own room.

Introducing the Beauty box by Boudoir Prive. A groundbreaking concept which will enable consumers to try products before you buy. For a monthly membership of £10 per month, members receive a beautiful Boudoir Prive box, direct to their office or home, containing six exciting expertly selected beauty samples which will be a mix of established brands and brand new lines across six categories (skincare, body care, haircare, make-up, fragrance and lifestyle.)  Every month the products members receive will change, meaning the surprise element is ongoing, and members are encouraged to offer feedback on their products in return for fabulous discounts in the Boudoir Prive website E-shop if they choose to buy a full sized version of their chosen product.

With a plethora of beauty experts seal of approval including acclaimed Make-up artist Jay Pinxie Turnbull, the vision for Boudoir Prive as the largest desirable beauty community in the UK is a realistic one; ” With so many hair and beauty products available it is hard to decide what to invest in. The chance to be able to try before you buy is very exciting. I am telling all my friends about this already as I think it is a brilliant concept. The little box of luxury is beautiful, how nice to have a small ‘present’ delivered once a month“ says Turnbull.

With the first boxes due to be shipped in July, the excitement is building as beauty enthusiasts and consumers alike flock to sign up for the first round of boxes.

Entrepreneur Therese M’Boungoubaya and Boudoir Prive Founder said “I grew up fascinated by beauty products, probably the result of being the child of two pharmacists, and my passion is to discover and share the very best that the luxury beauty industry has to offer and deliver it direct to our member’s door! ”

Doesn't that sound amazing?! It seems GlossyBox has a very worthy competitor, but we'll have to wait and see until the first few boxes have been sent out. Interestingly enough, there aren't any extra P and P charges and there is ine more product in the box, split into different types of beauty.

I'm very excited, to sign up click here, hurry!

What do you think? GlossyBox or Boudoir Privé? Both? One? Or neither?

My first ever GlossyBox! June 2011

Hi!

Sorry I haven't been posting as frequently as I'd like to, I've had many busy days and some very lazy days so no blogging gets done! This post is going to be a little snapshot of what I got in this month's GlossyBox and my first impressions of the box, its contents and Glossybox in general.

This is my first ever GlossyBox, I ordered on 6th May and the email I received said I would receive a GlossyBox on 6th May! So I asked GlossyBox on twitter what this meant and it turned out that I wouldn't be getting one until June...I was very disappointed. I think as a brand new company it should have been prepared for such a high demand for the service and been able to provide for all those interested! When you usually order things, they are in stock unless stated otherwise and depending on delivery are received pretty quickly. I was very excited to receive my first box...

Onto the contents of this month's box and my first impressions:

There's a small leaflet(?) explaining what's in the box along with some discount codes on separate pieces for the brands in the box.

Here we have this month's 5 luxury samples... I could honestly go off on one about how damaging and unthoughtful it is for GlossyBox to have placed a £1.52, 50ml bottle of Batiste Dry Shampoo in Original, in the box but I will say so politely. GlossyBox advertise themselves to provide luxury samples, from luxury brands, Batiste is not a luxury brand. I cannot emphasise enough how disappointed I am again, especially as this box is/was a lot of customers' first box.

Next up, is an eau de parfum by Perles de Lalique, definitely a luxury brand thank goodness. The bottle is beautiful and I loved the packaging too, it's only 4.5ml but looks like a lot of perfume. Eau de parfum is the most concentrated form of scent available so it would be the most costly if bought alone, £68 for 100ml. The only issue I have with this is the scent itself, it's a sophisticated scent, but one for a much older lady in my opinion, so I'm not sure if I'll be keeping it or just using it up when I can.

In the little pouch is the Bioeffect EGF Serum, the wondrous skincare product from Iceland. This sample is worth £30, and a full sized 15ml vial is £125 and 5ml for £49. I would expect this to be for an older lady again but the leaflet does say it is for any age and any skin type so I will be trying this and hopefully reviewing it soon.

Next is the small designer nail lacquer by OPI in Coronation, the other one available was Extravagance. I really like this colour and the application seems to be good too, I will review this too, but very happy with this item!

Finally in my box was a 100ml bath and shower gel by Abahna, in the white grapefruit and may chang scent. I haven't much to say about this product as I have yet to try it out, so will put it in a review for you. For 250ml it is £17 so a luxury product for sure. Instead of the bath and shower gel there were many other possibilities of various items that could have been in the box, one of which being a Rouge Bunny Rouge lipgloss, that I wish I'd got!

The box itself I am impressed with, the sturdiness and classy décor is something I also love. It's perfect for storing various bits and bobs, and depending on future contents of GlossyBoxes I'd love to have a little stack of these filled with various items. They could also be used to house presents for other people. Love the box itself.

Finally, GlossyBox overall. Disappointed with the fact that I didn't receive a "May box" when I ordered in May, very upset with the £1.52 worth of Batiste - clearly not a luxury brand, disappointed again with the increase in price of GlossyBox from September, to £12.95, the extra £2.95 for P and P - no indication of this was given when advertising the box. Happy with the box itself and most of the items. For June, I give GlossyBox a 5/10. I will review items separately too.

Thank you very much for reading! :)

What was in your GlossyBox? Love/Like/Hate?

Click here to sign up!

GlossyBox - The UK's Birchbox

Hi!
Just before the weekend I heard about this subscription service for the UK. It is the equivalent of America's Birchbox, which sends out luxury samples every month.

The GlossyBox is a service which sends you 5 luxury beauty product samples for £10 per month including postage and packaging. I unfortunately just missed getting a "May box" and will have to wait until June for my boxes to start arriving. It's a rolling subscription and you can cancel it whenever you want.

I'm hoping this will result in me spending less money on beauty-related items each month but I have a feeling that won't be the case! I'll do a post every month on what I receive in the GlossyBox too.

You can order yours here!

What are your opinions on this? Worth it?

Thank you for reading! :)