Birchbox

Goooooooooood morning!

I've got a quick review for you today. I'm sure you've all probably seen these Birchbox reviews by now as they have been out for a little while, but I've decided to take a few snaps of them to share what i think.

I'm lucky that my aunty (who has recently turned 50!) was bought a 6 month subscription to Birchbox and although she loves products and in theory it was a great present for her she just won't use them.....cue me being the very happy recipient of every Birchbox for the next 6 months!

The first one I received was the Lulu Guinness box. I love the outer cardboard cover of this box, stripes and monochrome are a particular favourite of mine and the dress on the front of the box is a stunner as well, cannot complain one bit!

Generally I love these boxes as they're so handy for storing just about anything and they can stack up in display on your desk or shelving or be stored away  for safe keeping. I also really like the drawstring bags, they're so handy for travelling with and are actually really good quality and last very well.

As always these boxes come with a 'menu' and this one was no different. It contained a Korres body milk, Molton Brown hand cream, Pores No More pore perfector, Benefit Stay Don't Stray, a perfume sample and a Lulu Guinness stick of rock in the same black and white design.

I cannot wait to try the citrus body milk from Korres, I've heard so much about them and citrus is my favourite scent.
Molton Brown hand cream looks the perfect size for your hand bag and I'm looking forward to using this.
The sound of the pore perfector is ideal, but on lifting up the tube i can see straight through it and can see already that there is only a tiny bit of product in the tube which is quite disappointing and I doubt I will be able to get more than 1 or 2 uses out of it.

I can't say that perfume samples excite me in the slightest. I'm hoping my cousins appreciate these as I've just filled a huge bag of samples and products I won't use for them and this has definitely gone into it!
Benefit's Stay Don't Stray has been on my list for a long time and i'm very excited to try it out, it's probably the highlight of this box for me!

So marks out of 10 for the first box....probably 6/10. I like the variety and there's a few products i will enjoy but the pointless tester of pore perfector and yet another perfume samples was pretty boring for me.

The second box has exactly the same set up with a drawstring bag and a menu card. Some people might consider the brown box to be boring but i really like it's simplicity. Brown paper is something that I love and it can be so effective at making things and it reminds me of this.

This box contained:
Benefit's Porefessional - I'm already a fan and have lots of tester sizes for 'emergency purposes'
Non Aerosol Hair Spray - this will be great for my gym bag or handbag on a night out! Fingers crossed it's an effective one.
Skin Life - I love skincare samples so I'm sure this will be put to the test soon.
Eyeshadow - gorgeous colour but I have many in the same shade so this pot has again gone to my cousins.
Perfume -  Again not a fan of these, I'm yet to find one that i actually like so they've gone to my younger cousins, I'm sure they'll love them!

So marks out of 10 for this box? Probably 7/10 for variety, the perfume still lets it down though.

I love receiving tester size samples and I'm so grateful to my aunty for sending me her boxes, it's so much fun to go through them all even though I get them late and could know beforehand what I'm getting by reading others blog posts. However I think if I was paying the full amount for each of these boxes plus P&P I'd be disappointed when I could be spending the £13 on something that I chose myself.

Maybe the next few boxes will change my mind! What do you think of beauty boxes in general? Do you think they're worth it?

L xxx

Beauty Rehab

Hello!

I'm here with another Beauty Rehab post today. I've been trying really hard to not spend, and also use up products from my stash.
My stash is rather extensive and it's just taking up too much space in my room. I do not have enough space for the ridiculous amount of stuff that i have accumulated, more than that I do not want to waste them so Project Use Up has begun.

I wrote more about my decision on this post here and I haven't been as good as previously as I have picked up a few goodies....but nowhere near as many as previously!

Without any more babbling I'm going to start doing 1 line on each product so you can have a quick review of whether I loved, hated or didn't care for the product.

Molton Brown Shower Gel: I can't say I'm ever a fan of expensive shower gels as I never find them that different to my usual S&G type ones, so this wasn't a massive hit for me but a nice smell.
Dove: Essential in my product wardrobe, always have about 5 on the go!
Neal's Yard Hand Cream: I love this, would repurchase asap. Smells amazing and saves the bees! SAVE THE BEES EVERYONE!
S&G Clean on Me shower gel: Another Christmas present essential, I look forward to getting the next Xmas kit!
Clarins Eye Make Up Remover: Liked this, wouldn't pay the price for it though as others do the same for less.
Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish: Love this, would buy again but am working through my stash for now.
No7 Eye Make Up Remover: Love this, would buy again and already have more! The £5 vouchers are awesome.

St Tropez mousse tan: Loved this before but now I'm not so sure, the colour wasn't so dark as before and I was a bit disappointed.
S&G Mist you Madly: Not a fan of the smell and so wouldn't repurchase, huge bottle though!
S&G Butter Yourself: Loved this! Amazing smell and works a charm, would repurchase in future on 3 for 2s!
Garnier Ambre Solaire spray tan: This is my saviour for tanning my back, I have no bf present to tan my back for me so this is perfect for reaching and giving an even tan! Would repurchase.
Aveeno Triple Boost Serum: This was great for the price, sunk in easy and helped with hydration.
Good Things Deep Pore cleanser: Apparently they don't sell this now which is a shame as I would have repurchased.
Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hours: This did pretty well at lasting but I wasn't a fan of the finish, and also the colours were a little dark for my skin sometimes.
Aussie 3 min conditioner: Have loved these forever and will always buy them! 

Neutrogena Daily Scrub: Loved the smell, didn't feel like it did enough for me, very small particles so good for sensitive skin.
Rimmel Wake Me Up: Love this for a drugstore foundation, lovely glow and coverage, this is my 2nd bottle.
Another Aussie, Dove and St Tropez, see above for comments.
Rimmel Recover foundation: This was too glittery for me, but did work at being anti fatigue.
Hydraluron: Didn't see any results initially, stopped using it and my skin was so dry! Just disappointed in the price for such a small tube as I'd love to repurchase regularly.

L'Oreal False Lash Flutter mascara: Quite liked this, the brush was interesting and picked up all my lashes.
Benefit's Dallas: Forever love this, am on my 2nd but i do hate that they break as product is wasted.
Benefit's High Beam: Love the original highlighter! Also have another.
Avon Magix primer: This was great, great price and works so well, i should repurchase, not sure why i haven't!
Rimmel Match Perfection: I bought this as a powder so it worked quite well but was a bit heavy, and on its own wouldn't be right for my skin. I have the loose powder to try though!
Benefit's Porefessional: Wasn't sure of this at first but now I love it and was gutted to finish it. My miniatures will have to see me through for now.... :(

OPI Correct and Clean Up pen: Useless, dried up in seconds. Stick to cotton buds!
Barbara Daly Eyeliner Pen: Liked this initially but again, it dried up so fast. I'm always so careful putting lids on but they still dried up.
Lacura Under Eye Concealer: Great bargain buy from Aldi, need to buy this again.
Ojon Rare Blend Oil: Bought this in full size, need I say more.
Lush Dream Cream: Loved this but it's so expensive for a tub with a short use by on I can't justify it
Lush Olive Branch: This was so so, wouldn't repurchase as there are others I prefer.
Molton Brown mini Shower Gel: This was from a travel set which I've kept for ages....but never use! It's time for them to go and this was a lovely smell.

Woooooooooo what a list!

I've also been working my way through samples so expect to see a post with those on soon. They're keeping me busy with new exciting products.

Have you been using up your products recently? Found any hidden gems?

L xxx

Beauty Rehab

I've been frantically using products up like no tomorrow....my collection isn't going down anywhere near as fast as I previously hoped so I'm really going to have to stop spending and really power through it all!

Here's what I've been using up recently, there's quite a few products but also as I was away for 7 weeks it was hard to use stuff then.

Soap and Glory's Sugar Crush body scrub is divine, I absolutely loved it and would buy it again in a heart beat.

It smells like limes and brown sugar (reminding me of a mojito cocktail) and works great without leaving an oily residue on the the skin which is a massive pet hate of mine.

Would definitely buy this!

Nick Lowe Cell Renew Microdermabrasion Scrub - this was a nice scrub as the particles were very fine which was a lot nicer to use on the face. I might have considered buying it but last time I checked they didn't have it in full size as this only came with the mini travel type kit that they have available.

Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid Foundation - in two colours (Ivory and Cameo) I had to buy 2 colours as my skin seems to change colour daily and I ended up mixing the colours together to get a better colour match.

The foundation was pretty good, it covered enough, blended easily and had a really nice finish but for me it doesn't last long enough on the face.

However I didn't have a very good primer at the time of using, so I'd possibly repurchase this again to give it a go but if I did I'd have to buy both colours again!

L'oreal False Lash Telescopic Mascara - I previously did a full review here on this product and I did like it, but felt it was expensive for the effect when I could get a cheaper mascara such as a Rimmel one that gave me a similar effect and anything extra wasn't worth the extra money. Would definitely repurchase if it was on offer though!

Nick Lowe Hydrating Foaming Cleanser - this was another anti-aging product I got in the travel type kit sold in boots stores. It was great to try out the products in miniature without having to buy the full size ones.

This foaming cleanser felt quite thick when you used it and really nice to use but I don't think it did my spotty oily teenage-like skin any favours so I'm sticking with Liz Earle for now.

I wouldn't repurchase this due to my skin type.

Batiste Dry Shampoo - Love this stuff and will probably never stop repurchasing it! I do like occasionally trying out a different smell but original is best as I wear so many other smelly products it's best for me.

Mitchell and Peach Shower Gel - this came in a Joliebox and was the perfect size for my gym bag. However I didn't rate it as a shower gel as it barely foamed up and was hard to use, the smell wasn't great either.

I wouldn't repurchase this.

Naked Scrub Up renewing Salt Scrub - This is apparently not available any more which is a shame. I quite liked the large gritty particles that whilst looked scary actually didn't scrape your skin at all.

Would repurchase if it still existed, as it doesn't I will check out their other products!

Molton Brown Shower Gel - My aunty always buys me Molton Brown products, even back a few years ago when I didn't know they existed! The shower gels do feel of a higher quality, they foam up really well and this one smelled divine!

Would definitely repurchase if I could afford to spend this much on shower gel all the time!

Nick Lowe Purifying Foaming Cleanser - Another mini...I also purchased the travel kit for oily skin which was also pretty good. I found a product in there that I like quite a bit and would buy again, but this one wasn't one of them. Initially I liked it, but after finding something much better I have a full size product of this that I am never going to use. Free to a good home if anyone wants it??

Wouldn't repurchase this.

Ah my love for tanning products!

L'oreal Glam Bronze Instant Tan Spray - This was an impulse buy which was on offer at a time when I was frantically looking for something to give my legs a glow for a last minute night out.

It was pretty good especially as it was waterproof and did last longer on my legs (no thanks to some girls spilling their drinks on me!) but I'm just not a fan of sprays. I found lotions and mousses to be much better.

Wouldn't repurchase in spray form.

Boots Soltan Beautiful Bronze Mousse - This was great considering the price. Lots of product in the can and rubbed in pretty well though you need a few layers. However mine broke after a little while and spontaneously covered the entire drawer of products it was in so I had to clean everything....not cool!

Would definitely repurchase when I need a reliable cheap instant tanner

Botanics First Signs of Aging Serum - Loved the way this felt on my skin...not sure it had any effect whatsoever. It was great to be able to put on a serum and not have my skin react with a multitude of spots, but I didn't see any noticeable effect from using it and I'm sure there is better.

Wouldn't repurchase this.

L'oreal Perfect clean Purifying Foaming Gel Wash - Loved this when I got it, the scrublet was a really cool idea that made it a joy to wash my face with....until the scrublet became dyed orange from my make up and just wouldn't get any cleaner. To look at it made me think of bacteria and without it I felt the wash didn't work as well. Maybe a redesign is necessary??

Wouldn't repurchase this.

Virgin Vie Lip Balm - This was another Aunty special as she loves Virgin Vie! This was a pretty good lip balm but I'm perfectly happy with my Vaseline and Eos balms, so for the price I think I'd stick with those.

Wouldn't repurchase this.

Maybelline Superstay 24H Foundation - This was pretty good for lasting power but I felt it didn't always look the right colour and I just didn't think it was that great.

Wouldn't repurchase this.

No7 Lash Adapt - When this product is brand new, it works great, but after a while I feel it deteriorates rapidly and just doesn't last long enough in the tube or on your eyes.

Wouldn't repurchase this.

Max Factor Masterpiece Mascara - Another mascara....still not sure what I think about this one. I just don't think it was that great. Everybody raves over Max Factor ones so maybe I need to try another.

Wouldn't repurchase this.

Garnier Body Tonic Lotion - Great lotion that sinks in really fast. Bought this in France so not sure if they have it here? Definitely worth the few euros it cost though!

Would repurchase this in France!

Ted Baker Body Wear Spray - Love the smell of this just wished it lasted longer. Also I've only ever seen it in sets so I'm not sure it is sol separately which is a shame, otherwise I would probably repurchase this.

Yardley Royal English Daisy Shower Gel - This is another JolieBox, I never think shower gels are anything special to be in a box like JolieBox or Glossy box and this confirmed it. It's just an average shower gel and the smell wasn't great, nor did it last very long. Borrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring!

Wouldn't repurchase this.

So there we have it! A huge list for you!

I'm powering through some more as we speak, hopefully I will get through all of my mass of products one day....

How have you been getting along with using up items? I'm more determined than ever that I do not need to buy anything else!!

I'm even considering a 100 day spending ban like Tattooed Tea Lady is currently doing, could you do it??

L xxx