Jolie Box UK: March

I promised myself I was going to cancel my subscription to JolieBox as I didn't think last month's was anything special and it's an unnecessary extra coming out of my account (which is very empty!)

But basically I forgot to cancel it and before I knew it the money had come out of my account. 

When I found out this box was due to have all full size products in the box I was secretly pleased I'd forgotten and looked forward to receiving my box.

Having 4/5 full size samples is like a dream! I was really excited.

However, as with previous boxes mine didn't turn up after waiting the full week for it to appear and I had to chase after it, meaning I didn't receive mine until Saturday 31st by which time I'd seen the products in this months box on other people's blogs which ruins the surprise aspect and let me know what I'd be receiving whether I liked it or not.

This month's box also had the addition of a magazine called 'JolieMag' which in fact I really enjoyed.

It's good to see the people behind the box, their ideas, tips, tricks etc alongside the latest trends and wonder products with beautiful pictures and an explanation of how the magazine came to be, all of which I love reading and did enjoy.

As always the box came with a menu and an explanation of the products in the box.

I always like this, and I like the card that it's printed on as it feels good quality.

The only downside to this is that they don't give you the prices of the products inside, which I think everyone always likes to know so they can see if they're getting their monies worth!

This box contained a Yardley shower gel, Eyeko skinny eyeliner, LCN nail varnish, JolieBox UK compact mirror and Davines Organic moisturising balm.

The Yardley shower gel is a really big sample, I was pleased with the size of this. It smells pretty good and the packaging has the traditional British stamp of the Queen on it. After watching Mary's Bottom Line about British brands going bust, this is a good thing that I will be looking out for more often.

Yardley is well known and well respected brand and I've never tried anything from it, so this was nice.......but I'm always disappointed when I receive shower gels and body washes.

They don't feel so exciting as other products, although at least I know i will definitely be using it!

This product was a bit more exciting....an organic moisturising balm for skin and hair.

I've never heard of Davines before, I quite like the packaging design but mine looked like it had already been used because I'm assuming how it was stored previously has moulded the tube and it looks a bit bashed.

However the product was still sealed when I got it so this reassured me.

I like the consistency of this, the white balm feels like its really moisturising. It sort of feels like a primer in some ways.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to using this particularly as it has no parabens, silicons, PEG or artificial colours and is a multi use product.

I feel this will be the product that has its own full review coming up...

The next two products are the nail varnish and the mirror.

I feel the mirror is gimmicky and cheap, if it was an extra then it wouldn't be so bad but as one of the 5 products you receive this feels pointless to me which seems a bit harsh but I really have no use for it.

The nail varnish is by LCN, and is a beautiful shimmery nude.

I can see myself using this as long as the colour suits my skin, will definitely feature this in a post too!

Lastly the Eyeko Skinny eyeliner. I was excited and anxious to receive this, really wanted to try it but with 6 colours available I wasn't sure how much I'd use it if I got a colour that I wouldn't use.

But luckily for me I got a black eyeliner which I will definitely use and hopefully it's a step up on the Rimmel ones I normally buy as it's higher up on the price range (and for less product!).

Hope you enjoyed the post, I'm thinking of doing a few reviews on certain products but as a general overview I thought I'd just show you the products and my initial thoughts!

I've actually cancelled my subscription now, maybe I'll start it up again when I have a job but for now it's not worth the money and I don't have it to spare!

L xxx

Everyday Eye Make using MUA Heaven and Earth Palette

I'm not lucky enough to have the naked palette, I love it and regularly admire it from afar. I think I will purchase the original one soon but for me at the moment my MUA palette is brilliant. I saw this in Superdrug and wanted a neutral palette and thought for the price I might as well try it not expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality. It's £4 for 12 shades which is an amazing price. The eyeshadows have a brilliant pigment and a really nice texture to them with barely any fallout. Sounds almost perfect right?

My favourite shade is number and since taking this photo I have hit pan on it. Does any one know if you can get these shades individually?

I tend to use 4 and 9 for most looks as a base coat and use 2 and 8 in the crease of my eye. Depending on how strong a look I'm doing I'll use 5, 10 or 12 for definition. 

I decided not to do swatches as I'm sure most of you have seen them though I will add them if people would like to see them. I want to try and use 3 and 6 more, I'm not really much of a gold person so these haven't really been touched.

1 is a brilliant highlighter for the inner corner of your eye or under the brow bone. All the colours blend seamlessly into each other.

Onto the looks

My go to look

This is how I do my make up most days when I want something simple. I use 4 as a base coat, then blend a mixture of 2 and 8 into my crease and add 12 to the outer corner of my eye to give my eye shape. I like this as it gives my eyes a bit of emphasis but looks pretty natural still.

The black eyeliner look

I like using a slick of black eyeliner, my personal favourite is the Maybelline gel eyeliner. I like how it shapes the eye and think the little flick gives make up a more 'done up' appearance. For this I used 9 as my base shade and blended in some of 8 to my crease, even if it's only a little I always apply a bit of shadow to my crease as I think it really shapes my eyes.

A darker smokey eye

This look is a little darker but I still think it's not too much for day. For this I applied 10 all over the lid and used 12 in the outer corner and into the crease to add shape and definition to the eye. For this look I also applied eyeshadow under my lower lash line.

I love having a nude go to palette and this one is amazing, I'd definitely pay more for this I think it's really good quality and a good selection of colours that can be used for day and night.

Do you have this palette? What do you think of these looks? What's your go to palette?

Love M 

xxx

Review: Soap and Glory Face Soap and Clarity

This product disappointed me from when I first saw it, after using scrub your nose in it previously, another facial product from soap and glory I worried this wouldn't live up to it. I really liked scrub your nose in it, it's more of a clay cleanser with mint in to leave your skin feeling really clean and fresh, I'm a fan of mint in skin products. Despite my initial concerns it had received such praise in the blogging world I decided to give it a go for 3 weeks so I could really see if I liked it and then carry on with it if I did.

It's a medium consistency clear blue gel with pink exfoliating beads in. First thing I noticed was the smell, there wasn't much of anything really, this disappointed me as I like scented products and have come to expect this from soap and glory.

You apply a grape sized amount to the skin and rub, this product doesn't lather as you can see and sort of glides over the skin, it does feel a very gentle cleanser and you can't really feel the pink beads exfoliating so it did make me wonder if they were.

So what did I think...... I hated it, within 4 days I was so spotty (I had seen a few others with this complaint) I decided it may be my skin getting used to a different cleanser so persevered for 3 weeks but I was just getting spottier so gave up. I was disappointed I didn't receive the great results others had. It left my skin feeling tight and craving moisture. I have oily skin so maybe it's not compatible with my skin type.

Have you tried it? What are your thoughts?

Love M

xxx 

I was excited to try this out, a face soap with beads in sounds like a good way to get rid of the grime off your face.

Unfortunately even after a few days my skin broke out and I hated the consistency of the product on my skin. 

I rarely get spots and this product was awful to be honest.

I got rid of it and tried a different cleanser that cleared up my skin perfectly, which sorted out any doubts I might have had about it.

L xxx

Hair Extensions

I've wanted hair extensions for ages. I've always had short hair that doesn't grow past my shoulders. It seems to get to that point and stop no matter what I try.

I wanted to wait a few weeks before writing this post so I'd had the extensions for a few weeks so I had got used to them.

Have any of you got extensions? I've had clip ins before but permanent ones are a whole different ball game. I had mine done by the lovely Shaneen from Avalon Hair and Beauty she also does hair cuts and spray tans if you are in the South Wales area I'd really recommend her.

This is my natural hair before extensions, I have fine hair that is naturally curly, not the easiest to apply extensions too! The extensions I had were the nano micro rings, the hair is applied to the hair by rings clamping down so it's much better than the glue and healthier to remove.

quick after photo!

After they have been applied they were cut to the desired length. After 2 weeks me and Shaneen decided it needed a few more strands added to thicken it up, my hair is pretty awkward as it's thin you can put to much hair towards the top half as it shows and no one wants that. 

I absolutely love it now, the hair is applied to you hair in way which means you can wear your hair up without the bonds showing, I backcomb the top of my hair slightly to hide the bonds more.

Photo of the bonds

They do take a lot more time than I'm used to styling them and drying them but the way they look is so worth it, I'm so pleased with them and love having long hair. It's also not recommended to wash them to often, I tend to do mine twice a week, if I'm lazy once. I know it sounds disgusting but I was the t section of my hair without extensions when it looks dirty and honestly the extensions don't look dirty.

Now for some photos of how I wear mine.

Fishtail plait, I'm really liking having long enough hair to do this, I tend to wear it a little messier, this was just done as a practice before bed. (it's best to plait extensions before bed so they don't tangle)

Straight with my cute dainty rose hair bow featured here   

I think I like it like this most, loose waves! Sorry for the posey photo!

What do you think of extensions? I love mine

Love M

xxx