You Beauty Discovery Box - September Edition

Today is day 2 of my week long look at Beauty Boxes to see what they are like, what kind of content we get, how good they really are value wise and to ask whether or not we need them!

For the past few months I have been getting the You Beauty Discovery Box which you can see February, March, April, May, June, July and August with previous box contents. 

This month I had been undecided as to which products I was going to choose because I liked the look and sound of them all. Themed as being the Birthday Box, each subscriber was being give not the usual two extra treats, but three! Those three being:




Toni & Guy Volume Plumping Whip which is described as being the ultimate hair treat to give your locks all-day body and bounce from the roots. It is a non-sticky formula which lifts the hair for glamorous, voluptuous volume without any flyaways. This product is worth £7.19.

Two sachets of tea sachets which sounds amazing, a handy sponge for your make-up bag and a voucher for £25 with Hello Fresh.

Again, there is an accompanying magazine which is always nice to read, it gives you some further information about each product.

So now to my choices, this month there was a choice of nine products which included:

• ROSE & CO. 
• CHERRY KISS LIP BALM, PEGGY SAGE 
• NAIL POLISH (Nude COLLECTION), MARSK 
• RICH LIST, MINERAL EYESHADOW, LOUISE GALVIN 
• SACRED LOCKS TREATMENT MASQUE, JUSTBE BOTANICALS 
• HYDRATING SERUM, GAZELLI 
• TRIPLE YOUTH WITH WHITE OIL DUO, EUCERIN 
• SUN FLUID MATTIFYING SPF50, EUCERIN 
• SUN FLUID MATTIFYING SPF30, DANIEL SANDLER 
• LONG LASTING WATERPROOF EYELINER (AQUA) 

This is what I selected:





I have been wanting to try products from both of these ranges, specifically the Perricone MD No Foundation, Foundation. Described as being the first advanced anti-aging, multi-tasking translucent foundation with non-chemical SPF 30 protection. With Alpha Lipoic Acid, DMAE, and Vitamin C Ester. Created to keep skin looking dewy and flawless, this multi-purpose foundation provides natural translucent coverage, corrects skin undertones, instantly smoothes fine lines and boosts skin's natural moisture throughout the day, all the while delivering antioxidant benefits. This is a sample size 7.5ml is and said to have a value of around £9.

The second item from Pixie is a Tinted Brilliance Balm and it is described as being packed with lip-loving ingredients, this glossy gel balm protects & hydates lips instantly. After the balm wears off, lips are left tinted with a flattering, personalized hue just for you (colour & intensity depends on pH level of lips). Twist-up crayon requires no sharpening. I got the shade Pretty Pink and it is very much the pretty pink shade and I am looking forward to trying it out. This is a 1.8 sample size worth around £5.

So for a £6.95 subscription, my box has a value of around £20 which is more than three times the value for money and not a bad box.

What do you think to do this? Do you subscribe to these boxes? What would you have chosen? If you subscribe, link your post below so I can see what you got. 

Birchbox Happy Days September 2014

Birchbox is a popular favourite with bloggers and from the two boxes that I have had, I can see why. This month is themed 'Happy Days' and apparently September is the month that is filled with nostalgia. The start of the back-to-school season has us reminiscing about the happiest days of our lives and so on. Inside this box I am told I will find products that will help me look my best during my happiest days!

The first item in my box is a 4ml glass vial of the Agave Healing Oil Treatment. This oil claims to smooth and transform your hair, build resiliency and boost shine and colour. The Agave Oil is also free from parabens and phthalates and is also cruelty free. To use the oil the directions state that you should warm a 5p sized amount between the palms and smooth through damp hair evenly from mid-lengths to ends. Agave is a brand I have never heard of, but I am a big fan of hair oils and am looking forward to giving this a go. This sample is worth around £1

The next item is a 5ml sample of the ModelCo Power Lash Black Mascara. As an Australian brand, I don't really know that much about ModelCo so I am looking forward to giving this a try. This mascara claims to give full gorgeous luxurious lashes, with great length. The wand is said to be a unique shape to capture those tiny lashes for maximum impact and minimal effort. This sample is worth £13.

Next up a 3ml sample of the Benefit It's Potent! Eye Cream from their Skincare range. The cream itself is a very light caramel shade, which includes cocoa extra to help boost microcirculation and fade dark under the eye circles. The inclusion of a daily peptide complex works to preserve the elasticity of the delicate under the eye area, whilst skin is hydrated and protected from free radicals! Whoa! This sample is worth £1.80.

The next item I received is a 20ml jar of the Premae Mild Dermabrasion Face and Body Scrub. A scrub which contains olive granules to smooth the skin is said to be gentle enough to be used on both the face and body whilst buffing away dead skin cells, blemishes and trapped dirt. It cream itself has a really nice consistency, imagine your favourite cream with added bits into it, once on the skin it feels really soft until your begin the process of massaging the skin, it is then that the exfoliating particles come into being and whilst you most definitely know they are there, they are still gentle on the skin. This sample is worth around £5.

The last beauty item in this month's box is a very small sample of the Jane Iredale Just Kissed Lip Plumper in shade Rio. I am a big fan of Jane Iredale and I have featured the products on my blog before. This lip plumper contains Spearmint and peppermint oils, in combination with ginger root extract, gently stimulate circulation making lips fuller, faster. Shea butter, sunflower oil and aloe vera soften and hydrate and the essential oils of lemon and tangerine help to exfoliate dead skin cells. I love the size of this lipstick, it is something that would be perfect if you were unsure whether or not the colur you wanted was right, but rather than pay out for a full sized version, you have a sample sized to play with. That said, this shade is a little too much on the brown side for me. This sample is worth around £3.

This month we received  two Lifestyle Extras; the first item is a Birchbox Happy Days Photo Clip and the second item is a packet of Urban Fruit Perfect Mango Pieces. I really like the photo clip, it is something a little bit different, it fits with the theme of the box and I quite like the green coloured cube.  The fruit snack is also something as an addition, again it is a little bit different and is something I wanted to try, and by the time you read this, I have! 

If you were interested in purchasing any of this month's samples in the full size, you can do so through the Birchbox shop and if you have never subscribed to Birchbox and would love to do so, I have a £5 off offer for you, just use the code BBX5QUEEN - Enjoy!

Are you a subscriber to Birchbox?

#whatnormalfeelslike

I have said it before, but will say it again. Breast cancer is an issue that is close to my heart. My best friend from my early school days died from the disease when she was in her early 20's and three current friends have it. Everyone it seems knows someone with the disease, has had the disease or is undergoing treatment from the disease.

CoppaFeel! aims to stamp out late detection and misdiagnosis of breast cancer by ensuring that people know that signs and symptoms of breast cancer, know what their boobs look and feel like normally, check their boobs regularly throughout their lifetime and have the confidence to seek medical referral when they detect abnormalities. Currently 5% of diagnosed cases are already at stage IV with breast cancer being the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in women under 30 in the UK (181 new cases diagnosed and 12 deaths annually). CoppaFeel! strives for a country where no one dies of breast cancer because of late detection or misdiagnosis. The charity receives no government funding and relies solely on voluntary donations. 

To celebrate the launch of #whatnormalfeelslike, CoppaFeel!s new advertising campaign, the breast cancer awareness charity are opening an exciting pop-up in London’s Brick Lane in association with bath, body and beauty brand I Love…

Visitors to the pop up will be able to create their own campaign style shot in the ‘Boob Booth’, a specially created photo booth to capture your bare-chested beauty. All those that dare to bare will take home a CoppaFeel! goody bag full of beauty treats from I Love… and Balmi.

Lynda Matthews Head of Marketing for I Love… commented ‘I Love... are delighted to be collaborating with CoppaFeel! on this very special Pop-Up. As a brand, I Love appeals to young women and anything we can do to support the incredible work Kris and CoppaFeel! are doing to encourage breast cancer awareness is a positive thing. We want to get that conversation started to ensure that we can help women in the future feel confident about going to their doctor if they feel that something may be wrong. This is the first step in making that happen.’

Open from 18th-21st September, it will exhibit original imagery from the campaign, which features seven bare-chested women, each body painted with the word that best describes how their boobs feel to them. Shot by British photographer Rankin and using words such as ‘squidgy’, ‘spongy’ and ‘bobbly’, the campaign calls on women to reclaim the vocabulary surrounding breasts and learn #whatnormalfeelslike for them. The cult East-London nail salon WAH Nails and Barry M will also be on hand, giving exclusive, complimentary CoppaFeel! inspired manicures Thursday and Friday.

On the Saturday and Sunday, Paul Mitchell and Vintage Hair stylist will be there creating classic up-dos.

The #whatnormalfeelslike campaign was born after months of research and conversations with women across the UK. The research showed that women age between 18-30 struggle to find words to describe their boobs beyond big or small.The reason being is that the sexualisation of boobs has led to women only thinking about theirs in terms of size. Therefore the purpose of this campaign is not only to inform young women that there are other words they can use to describe their boobs but to also help women reclaim the vocabulary so that they know #whatnormalfeelslike for them.

Kris Hallenga founded CoppaFeel! after being diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer at the age of 23. One in eight women will be diagnosed with the disease at some stage in their life and CoppaFeel! aims to get the message out that the sooner we get checking, the sooner we get to know our boobs and are able to spot any changes.

Kris says; ‘We want to make it normal for girls to talk about their boobs. Society and the media think of breasts in a sexual way but by creating this campaign we want to give boobs back to women and encourage them to think and talk about them in terms beyond size. The more normal it is to talk about boobs, the more likely women are to check themselves regularly and spot any changes early.”

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coppafeel.org
Twitter: @CoppaFeelPeople
Instagram: http://instagram.com/coppafeelpeople 
Website: http://coppafeel.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ILoveCosmeticsLtd 
Twitter: @IloveHQ
Instagram: http://instagram.com/iloveofficial 
Website: http://www.ilovecosmetics.eu

Beauty Boxes - Do you need them?

This coming week on my blog I am going to devote each day to a different Beauty Box. Why? Well they are a big part of the bloggers blogging life for me and they take me through a roller coaster of emotions each month/quarter when they are due to arrive or when I am notified by email I need to do some product choosing. But do we need them?

When I first stated blogging, I had only ever heard of Glossybox because some non-blogging friends has subscribed and they raved about how good it was, so I hopped aboard the bandwagon and now over a year later, I still subscribe.  Now there are more and more of these boxes coming onto the market and I have tried some amazing ones, many as a one off and some as I have mentioned I subscribe too.   Glossybox, Birchbox, Look Fantastic box, Wantable Box, You Discovery, My Little Box, Latest in Beauty, Love Lula Box, SoukSouk, Memebox, Fragrance Shop Discovery Club and Love Me Beauty to name all of the ones off the top of my head.  I have no doubt there are more, so if you subscribe to others, please do let me know.  

So why are they important to me? As I have said, it is all about those roller coaster of emotions when you know that something is on its way.  The one box I always know the contents of is You Discovery Beauty box because, unlike others, you get to choose two items from a list of products.  I am glad I get to do this with one box because, let's me honest, so beauty boxes have been shockingly bad and their contents really really awful, so knowing I am getting two products I have chosen, is a relief but still exciting at the same time.  The word excitement is also quite important with these boxes.  Not knowing what you are going to get within these boxes is exciting, even if your box turns out to be a bit rubbish, it is exciting until you unwrap it, the deflation afterwards is another emotion to deal with as well, the whole screwing up your top lip to form an impression of Elvis is something I have done on more occasions than I care to remember, but I still subscribe!  

The other reason I subscribe is because I love beauty products - whether they are for skincare, hair care, body care, foot care, face care, make-up, nail polish or beauty tools to name but a few things, I love them, want them and relish trying them out.  A lot of the products I have received over time are ones I probably would never have tried, had I not been sent it in a beauty box, on the reverse, I have come across products I would never use again.  So there is always a 50/50 chance with these boxes that you like or hate the enclosures.

My own experience with the boxes I have had, has been more positive than negative.  The brands I have come across, such as Caudalie, Rodial, Dr Jart+ and one of my holy grail products Dr Lipp Nipple Balm to name some of them.  

As always, people will have their own views on whether or not here boxes are worth the money we pay for them and how much better that money could be spent and I am genuinely interested in all of those views.  This week you will be seeing reviews on Birchbox, Glossybox, You Beauty, Look Fantastic Box and a new box which I was lucky enough to attend the launch of this week and I would love to know your thoughts on each and everyone of them and if there is a box you absolutely would recommend singing up too!

As for whether or not we need them, well probably not, but they are a bit of fun, you never know what you might come across and the rollercoaster of emotions you feel whilst waiting for the impending arrival is often worth every penny!  Do you agree?

So do you subscribe to Beauty Boxes? Do you have a favourite? 

Is there one you really want to try?