Back to Basics with Birchbox

Last Month Birchbox celebrated it's 5th Birthday with an incredible box of beauty products and I reviewed it right here. This month subscribers were able to choose which box they would like to receive and it was a choice of the Stylist guest editor box or the back to basic. Yesterday I featured the guest editor box so today, I am sharing the Back to Basic box with you and I would love to know which you would prefer. 

The Back to Basic box is all about mastering the beauty basics which means discovering those everyday essential items. Inside the box are 5 beauty essentials.

The first item is the Eyeko Fat Liquid Eyeliner.  I quite like the look of this eyeliner and am hoping I can get to grips with it. It is a chubby eyeliner pen which is enriched with nourishing algae extract, this liner glides on smoothly for a high-impact look.

Then we have a product which is pretty much a must have item for me and that is Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat.  It does everything it says on the tin, or in this case bottle and it is brilliant. If you haven't tried it and love your manicures, then you need this product.

The third item is Bioderma Hydrabio H2O. Described as being the beauty editors favourite and is a daily cleanser for dehydrated and sensitive skin contains the patented water-retaining complex Aquagenium® to help activate the skin's natural moisturising capacities. Gentle on your skin, it’s alcohol and colourant free and has even been tested under ophthalmological supervision to help protect your eyes.

One item everyone needs is toothpaste and Regenerate Enamel Science™ Advanced Toothpaste not only has a minty-fresh formula protect against cavities and boost original whiteness, but it also works to reverse the early invisible signs of enamel erosion process.  For me, my teeth are just as important as any other part of my body and are something I take great care of (I also have a major false teeth phobia).

Finally we have two products from the Beaver Professional Range, a brand I have never come across until now. In the box there is a Hydro Nutritive Moisturizing Shampoo and a sachet of conditioner, both of which are Birchbox Exclusives! They are both perfect for dry and damaged hair and the shampoo acts as mild cleanser using moisturising avocado oil and aloe vera extracts to repair and rebuild hair, leaving it smoother, softer and shinier. The conditioner deeply nourishes and strengthens dry, frizzy, or damaged hair, leaving it softer, smoother, and healthier looking.

So there you have the Back to Basics Birchbox.  I would love to know what you think to this box and the one I showcased yesterday.  Do you have a preference for which box you think is best? Is there a product which stands out to you?

Birchbox Stylist Guest Editor Box

Last Month Birchbox celebrated it's 5th Birthday with an incredible box of beauty products and I reviewed it right here. This month subscribers were able to choose which box they would like to receive and it was a choice of the Stylist guest editor box or the back to basic. Today I am featuring the guest editor box and tomorrow you can see the basic box and decide which would you prefer. 

The Stylist Guest Editor Box is packed full of must have products chosen by Stylist's Beauty Editor Joanna MGarry and it is described as being the box for those self-confessed beauty buffs. Inside the box are 5 deluxe beauty must-haves which are:

Rituals Yogi Flow. Rituals do some of the best smelling products I have ever used and the Jasmine Dream Candle remains a firm favourite within my collection and is the only candle I have repurchased. Yogi Flow is
a shower foam which smells just divine. It uses the scents of Indian Rose and Sweet Almond Oil to alert your senses and leave your skin feeling really soft and smooth and smelling just amazing.

Next we have the cult product Bioderma Sensibio H20 Micellar Water . My experience of Micellar waters isn't great and I am yet to find one I like, so perhaps this little sample can change my mind. It is described as being fantastic for all skin types, but in particular if you have sensitive skin, this miracle removes-everything cleanser is what you’ve been waiting for.

I am a huge of sheet masks, so I am delighted to see one I haven't yet come across. The When Travelmate Sheet Mask is said to help restore skin after sun, wind and dry air damage. It is also great for locking in that much needed moisture your skin needs as the season changes and gets colder and it only takes up 30 minutes of your time which makes it perfect for a good pamper session.

Next is a sample of the English Laundry No.7 For Her perfume. I know some people dislike sample perfumes in their boxes, but I quite like them. This perfume is described as being bright and fruity and it includes top notes of sparkling pear, jasmine, melon and apricot. Gardenia, blooming jasmine and toasted almonds are composed together as the middle notes. Adding beautiful depth to this fragrance, sandalwood, vanilla créme and musk are added to the base notes.  As a scent for me, it took me a few applications 

The next product is a full sized 100% Pure in Peach Bellini, a pretty, pink lip glaze. It comes nestled inside a cardboard tube and the lip glaze itself is packaged inside a round, silver bullet with white flowers emblazoned on it. The glaze itself applies really beautifully to the lip leaving them hydrated with a pop of pink shimmer.

Lastly is a product from a brand I have not come across until now and it is, Parlour by Jeff Chastain. Parlous is a Smoothing Blowout Spray and I am already impressed with the scent which is of ripe peaches but with an earthy tone to it. It is also simple to use. You simply spray it onto damp hair before blow drying to give your hair instant volume and shine. All products within this range are safe for colour-treated hair and are free of sulfates, parabens, and gluten.

So there it is in full, the Stylist Guest Editor Birchbox, what do you think of the box? Did you opt for this one?

Happy Halloween with Yankee Candle

I absolutely love Halloween and only wish we celebrated it with as much excitement and vigour as they do in America.  Celebrations aside, we do at least have some reasons to cheer here in the UK with some brands giving us any excuse needed to vamp up our homes, Yankee Candle being one of them.

I love a good Yankee Candle and this Halloween there is a choice of two creepy and kooky looking choices:

Witches Brew which is described as having the spicy sweet aroma of exotic patchouli to cast you under a captivating spell! I love the design of this jar, the black ombre design giving it that overall spooky design.  This candle is also available as a wax melt and a voitive.

Candy Corn in all its bright orange glory is described as being the familiar, sweet scent of candy corn is a fond reminder of Halloween fun and treats.  You can also find this candle as a wax melt and a voitive candle.

Alongside the candles, there are some really fabulous accessories which you could also use to give your home that Halloween feel and these are some of my favourites:

The Black Cat Wax Melt warmer I did once own but lost it in a move. I used to use this all year round rather than just for Halloween as I am a huge cat lady and I just loved the design.

The Spider Web Jar Candle Holder is perfect for Halloween and this design is definitely spooky. What I love is that it adds a different dimension to your jar candle and is definitely eye-catching.

Then there is a choice of three Voitive Holders which again are brilliant for Halloween.  There is the White Skull, Green Monster and Orange Pumpkin shaped holders, all of which you can find here and together they look absolutely brilliant.

Do you decorate your house for Halloween? Do you have anything from the Yankee Candle Halloween range? 

Pain free hair removal with the iluminage Touch

If someone said to you that you could remove hair pain free and in just a few minutes, I am sure like me you would be raising your eyebrows thinking "Yeah right" laugh a little and walk on. Well meet Iluminage** a device which I have been using once a week for the past 6 weeks. It is described as being the most advanced at-home hair removal system and is said to work with all skin tones and hair colours! I am one of those lucky people who has very very light hair on my arms and legs so it doesn't really pose too much of a problem, but I find shaving, waxing and using creams a right bore, time consuming and a faff!

So Iluminage is an at home hand hand IPL hair removal device which or to give it a proper introduction "From the scientists at Syneron - the inventors of IPL and the breakthrough elōs professional technology - comes the first and only in-home technology to combine Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) and Radio Frequency (RF) energies to deliver clinically proven, permanent hair reduction. The combination of these two complimentary energies delivers unprecedented safety, speed and effectiveness for smooth, hair-free, beautiful skin - painlessly"

That last word 'painlessly' was the one which made me raise my eyebrow because in my opinion and experience, these devices usually do cause some amount of pain and wincing, yet this one claims not too plus it is also safe, fast,effective and pain-free method for hair removal for any skin tones and hair colour.

So to use it, you use the Iluminage device on those areas that you would usually shave, wax, strip and so on and you use it once a week for 6 weeks and the statistics state that it is clinically proven to reduce hair growth by 94% in just 7 treatments! On the body it can be used everywhere, from your facial hair right down to your toe hair, all you need to do is prep the area before you use the Iluminage by removing the hair (wax/shave/epilate) for it to work effectively. Oh and it comes with an epilator attachment if you want to give that a go. Once you are ready to give it a go, you switch on the machine, select your level (low/medium/high) and glide the device over the area you are treating and it is so easy an quick to use that you can do both legs in around 20 minutes, your bikini line in under 5 minutes and even your arm pits and it looks a bit like this:

When I used it for the first time, I fully expected to be wincing and using all kinds of profanities as I went, but it does not hurt at all, the only thing you will find, depending upon which intensity you choose is a little heat, which isn't uncomfortable but does take a few minutes to get used to it.

So as you move the scanning device over you chosen body area, which in my case was my legs, it claims to give permanent hair-reduction, which isn't the same as permanent hair removal. That said, over the last 10 weeks, I have noticed that the need to shave my legs has lessened though I feel I need to use it for a further few weeks to see results.

Iluminage is not cheap and it costs £375 but for a permanent reduction in hair-growth which it promises, then for me this is a really good price and absolutely worth every penny, more so when you work out how much it actually costs to de-fuzz per year using the products you buy on the highstreet. It is clinically proven to work so I have no doubt it will do what it says. 

Available to purchase various online retailers, Harrods, Boots & QVC.

Do you think that this something that you would be interested in?