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

Sample Stash

This is a bit of a random post, I have been sorting out my room recently and have obviously been going through my stash of products.

It has slimmed down slightly from what it was....but it still takes over the majority of my room and I drastically need to curb my spending!

I've been doing pretty well and haven't bought much for just over 2 months and I've been trying to go through my stash of samples to keep me going with trying new things.

Does anyone else have a massive pile of samples they have collected from various places??

This is mine:

It overloaded not one box, but 2 and a beauty box bag, so I'm a little overwhelmed!

Here's a few pictures of what's inside:

I am hoping that instead of buying new products, I can use these up, therefore making space and saving money all at the same time.

I hadn't even considered this before as I honestly didn't think I had that many, and it seems silly now!

Have you used all of your samples up recently? I have so many skin product ones that I'm sure it will keep me going for a few months!

I've already used some Avene samples and they've been great, really moisturising but not overloading, I'm looking forward to trying the Bioderma ones next.

Could you do the same as me for 1 month and save yourself some money??

1 month could make all the difference to me with saving up for a car!

I can't believe I've kept them all for so long, I'm definitely a secret hoarder!

L xxx

Review: Origins Samples

This is possibly a rather odd post, but I've had such good service at the Origins counters recently that I wanted to explain it a little more and write about the products I've had the pleasure of trying.

Firstly I love how every time I've been into John Lewis or Boots I've had a really nice welcome from the staff at the counter.

I know not everyone has this (M being one of them!) but I've never had a problem yet.

I managed to book myself a free facial in Origins in John Lewis when they had the beauty room for a week (as all the counters share it they get a week each)

Review: Origins No Puffery Eye Cooling Gel

I don't know what your collections are like, but mine didn't contain anything from Origins until a few weeks ago.

It was like your first trip to Mac when you realise that actually perfect make up can be found, their skincare range is AMAZING!

I slowly wandered my way around Boots and ended up at their counter for an hour probably! The assistant was so nice and helpful. This was what I left the stand with:

I actually only bought one thing, the others are all testers which i was so excited about.

Everybody loves a few samples to test but this was like Christmas for me!

I've never had that many given to me, especially from a brand that is as renowned as Origins is.

I was originally attracted to the stand because it was new in Boots, and although I've seen it around other stores, I am very particular about buying as much as I can from Boots and saving my points..... With the exception of Mac most brands can be found in Boots and to be honest it's had all I've ever wanted.

So I wandered over with the knowledge that I almost definitely wasn't going to be walking away with nothing!

I'd been looking for an eye product for a while, my eyes have been really sensitive for the past few months and wearing lenses has been a nightmare so I was looking for something with minimal chemicals and maximum effect.

The assistant advised me about Origins and their philosophy of not using certain chemicals, when she showed me the list of chemicals that they do not use in any products I was SO pleased.

Why on earth had I never bought something from Origins?!

Ok so maybe the price tags on the products aren't exactly purse friendly, but I'm beginning to realise that spending more on a pair of shoes than I do on my own face might not be such a good idea!

It took me a long time to decide which product I wanted most, originally I wanted a cream, but after trying their 'No Puffery' eye gel I was instantly won over.

The cooling effect on my hand was exactly the kind of feeling I wanted on my eyes and ever since I've bought it it has been my best friend!

It has honestly made such a difference to my tired and puffy eyes at night, I apply it just before I go to bed most nights and it soothes them whilst I sleep.

When I wake up I have eyes that are no longer sore and red and puffy, which I can tell you was such a relief after trying so many other products.

The ingredients can be seen here if you wish:

I also left the shop with the following samples:

GinZing eye cream, High Potency Night A Mins Night Cream, A Perfect World SPF 25 Moisturiser and Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask.

I am saving all of these for my upcoming plane journey, it will give me something to do on the plane and also are perfect for taking in hand luggage with all of the restrictions!

However I have used one of the GinZing samples and I managed to make it last me a whole week and I am in LOVE! 

I've already saved up enough points to buy another product and have already made my choice (...will feature in a post soon!) however the next item on my list afterwards is definitely the GinZing eye cream.

Do you use any Origins products? Anything I should without a doubt add to my shopping list?

I can see me and the assistant in Boots are going to be good friends if my next purchase turns out to be just as amazing!!

L xxx