Friday, 3 July 2020

How Does Beauty Pie work? I’ll explain...

One of the main questions I was asked most after posting my product purchases on my Instagram grid and stories is "how does Beauty Pie work?". Seemingly a few people are confused by the concept which has lead to questions of affordability, is it worth it, how you buy stuff and what do I need.

How Does Beauty Pie work? I’ll explain...

Admittedly I felt like there had been an explosion of posts across my social media channels of everyone being part of Beauty Pie, pretty much every grid square has bloggers, friends and friends of friends all claiming it was amazing and how much I needed it. However, as with all things popular, I took a step back to see how many of these people remained convinced this was an amazing service, I even asked the same questions you are all asking me, then I decided to just go for it! 

 

This post is not in any way sponsored by Beauty Pie, the opinions are all my own based on my experience and I pay for my own subscription.


Beauty Pie’s mantra is that they offer “luxury skincare and beauty products without the luxury prices” and essentially because they are online only, don’t have celebrity endorsements, don’t rely on product markups by retailers, they can do exactly this.   As well as Makeup and Skincare, Beauty Pie also offer fragrances, candles and a few giftsets too.


What is BeautyPie?

To all intents and purposes, Beauty Pie is a subscription service for which you have to pay a monthly fee to be able to access all the products they have to offer. Much like Netflix or Amazon Prime, by paying a subscription fee, you get benefits that those who are not members do not - case in point is Amazon Prime. So Beauty Pie is essentially the same, but how it works is a little more tricky.  In fact, I paid my fee, got a tad carried away filling my cart and then got confused at that checkout, emptied my cart and possibly repeated the process a few times before I got how it worked.  


For me, the downside of Beauty Pie is how the service works from paying your membership fee to picking your products and then checking out is something that could and should be explained better than it is, but hopefully my own experience will do that for you. They do have their own blog which explains some of the insights, in-depth information about products and a few Q&A offerings too.


How Beauty Pie Works:

As I mentioned, Beauty Pie is a membership service and that membership gives you the chance to buy products at “members prices” and I’m going to write how that works as simply as I can. 


1. Choosing a membership - The first stage of becoming a member is to choose a membership with a monthly fee. The monthly fee is charged whether or not you use your spending limit. Prices per month start as low as £5 and rise upwards to £99 per year. So picking the service which is best for you is important.  


With your membership subscription comes a limit as to how much you can “spend” during that month. If you don’t use all of your spend then it rolls over to the next month and if you find your spend isn’t high enough you can upgrade your subscription level and if you find it too much, you can reduce it. 


Here is a screenshot of what the monthly memberships cost and how much your spending limit is: 

How Does Beauty Pie work? I’ll explain...

So there are some extra benefits depending on your level of membership and obviously, if you opt to pay £99 for the year, then you have three rewards that the other levels do not, these are shown by the star next to that reward.


2. How the £100 Spend Works - I started with the £10/mo membership which gave me a £100 spend for the first month plus a bonus £100. So during my first month as a member, I had £200 to spend.


However and this is where you need to pay attention to how it works to use that spend. So, £200 might sound like a lot because it is a lot, I was worried as to how much £200 worth of products would look if I was being promised items which cost as low as £4! But it is a little more complicated than that.


Beauty Pie estimates how much a product would be on the high-street which is referred to as a “typical spend”. So again I’ve screenshot an example of the typical price v’s the Beauty Pie price.

How Does Beauty Pie work? I’ll explain...

As you can see, there is quite a difference in price, in this case, £34.23. This is how Beauty Pie sell their luxury products without the luxury prices. 


3. Happy Shopping - A product I had heard a lot about is the Super Healthy Hair Detox Wash Shampoo which Beauty Pie claim typically costs £25 and as a member it is priced at £6.31. So when you add that to your cart the £25 comes off your £200 monthly spend limit and when you check out you only pay £6.31.  Still with me?


To break it down further, of my £200 spend limit, remember I was given a bonus of £100 in my first month, I bought the following items:


How Does Beauty Pie work? I’ll explain...

So, instead of spending £140 I actually spent £32.54 which Beautypie estimates saved me £107.46 and then on top of that there is the cost of postage and packaging. I still have money left to roll-over to next month and whilst there are a few more products I want to try, I think the £100 spend is more than enough for me.


Is Beautypie worth it?

Absolutely yes it is. But naturally, you have to work out which products will work best for you. I also think that, as with my own experience, your own will come with some trial and error getting used to the site and then finding the products that work for you, but that really is no different to going to Boots and buying a 3 for 2 deal only to find because your best friend loves it, you hate it. 


You will have to commit to the membership which is for a minimum of 3 months and I believe in that time you will find some absolute must-have products that you can’t be without whilst st the same time, be daring enough to try a product you like the sound of. For me, those are both the reasons I was drawn in. 


So yes I am happy to report that Beauty Pie is not a scam, parts of it could and should be explained in simpler terms to how they currently are,  but if you do have further questions, then please message me here or on social media and I will do my best to answer them.


I am intending to review my purchases on another post but if you have decided to give BeautyPie a try then Every person who uses Beauty Pie can get a referral code and if you use mine, or anyone’s, you can get your first month of membership fees for free and that existing member gets a top-up credit to their account. So if I have convinced you to try it... hopefully that will help!


Have you joined Beauty Pie yet?






*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

Thursday, 2 July 2020

Erborian Sleeping BB Mask

I have been lucky enough to try quite a few products from Erborian, a brand whose name is derived from 'Herbs of the Orient' and was born back in 2007 when two women, both experts in the demanding world of cosmetics happened to meet. Blending the power of Korean textures and ingredients with French sensoriality and know-how, Erborian was created. Today, I am sharing the Sleeping BB Mask, a product which is referred to as being a 'Night energy blast face mask'.
Erborian Sleeping BB Mask
Erborian Sleeping BB Mask
I am a huge fan of 'lazy skincare' and by that, I mean using products which does more work for your skin than you need too especially night time products. The Sleeping BB Mask is described as being a cocoon mask which works whilst you sleep and helps you to fight signs of fatigue, and leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth to the touch.

The texture of this sleeping mask is like a serum and the formula contains a combination of traditional herbs which includes:
  • 7 Herbs complex - Used in many Erborian products for their soothing properties
  • Sweet almond oil - This is softening, nourishing and helps to strengthen skin barrier function
  • Sesame oil (Sesamum indicum) - An antioxidant, protects, nourishing, soothing
  • Corn Oil - An emollient
  • Soybean Oil - Helps to prevent skin dehydration
  • Tocopherol - An antioxidant
The advice from Erborian is to use this product 2-3 times a week after cleansing and rinse off the following morning.  What I like about this mask is how it is lightweight on the skin, it sinks in and the following day, my skin is soft and smooth to the touch.



*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

Wednesday, 1 July 2020

Kevin Murphy FRESH & EASY Set

I have been loving getting to know the hair care brand Kevin Murphy, I have been lucky to try quite a few products from the range including a Spray Wax, A Dry Conditioner and today the Fresh & Easy Collection.
Kevin Murphy FRESH & EASY Set
The collection consists of three products - a shampoo, conditioner and a dry shampoo which work to complement one another.

The Smooth.Again.Wash is described as being a targeted smoothing and refining shampoo which cleanses, smoothes and softens thick, coarse or unruly hair. My hair is combination oily with dry ends, so at least once a week, I ensure my hair is treated to a mask to keep in as good a condition as possible.
Kevin Murphy FRESH & EASY Set
This Smooth.Again.Wash smells absolutely wonderful and it is packed full of amazing ingredients which work to cleanse and smooth the hair and they include:
  • Monoi Oil - A weightless restorative oil rebuilds the hair from the inside out.
  • Sunflower Seed Extract - Which is rich in Vitamin E and Oleic Acid to smooth and soothe the hair.
  • Murumuru Seed Butter - This is rich in essential Fatty Acids to help even out the moisture levels in the hair.
  • Olive Fruit Oil - This oil mimics the hair’s healthy oils and protects from heat and styling
Putting these ingredients together, you have a product which balances the hairs moisture without being overly heavy and weighing the hair down and leaving it greasy. 

The Smooth.Again.Rinse is my favourite product in this collection. I tend to use a conditioner just a few times a week and this has been the one I have used the most. As with the Wash, the Rinse is a targeted smoothing and refining conditioner for thick, coarse hair. It uses ion-based cationic technology, so the Keratin Protein mimics the structure of proteins within the hair to fit seamlessly where it is needed most for smoothing and refining.
Kevin Murphy FRESH & EASY Set
With this conditioner, you only need a really small amount, a little goes a very long way and resisting the urge to cover myself in the product because it smells that good is always hard. Once applied to wet hair, the advice is to leave it for a few minutes to work its magic. I only ever apply it to the lengths and ends of my hair. Upon washing out, the straggly mess, due to no hair salon visit for over 3 months, is actually silky smooth and those natural waves sit nicely rather than looking like a frizzy mess.

As with the Wash, this Rinse is packed full of amazing ingredients, four of which need a mention:
  • Monoi Oil - Also present in the Rinse, it contains a high concentration of Lauric Acid to penetrate hair shaft and smooth cuticle and control frizz.
  • Biomimetic Keratin Protein - This offers a highly targeted repair of damage to leave hair restored while adding a luminous shine.
  • Cocoa Seed Butter - works to improve the hair’s flexibility while adding moisture and softness.
  • Brazil Nut Oil - Thiis oil not only nourishes but also moisturises and reconstructs hair to smooth hair, fight frizz and tame curls.
This has been one of the best conditioning products I have used in a very long time and I have tried a few!

The third product within this collection is the Fresh.Hair Dry Shampoo and one thing about Kevin Murphy and his haircare range is that they know how to make a dry shampoo.
Kevin Murphy FRESH & EASY Set
Described as being a dry shampoo for the hair that removes odours, excess oil, and all those nasties which make your hair look and feel dreadful. My one issue with some Dry Shampoo's is the white residue they create, often making your hair look worse and your head itch. With Fresh.Hair, the product is so lightweight it doesn't create residue and a light spritz across the hair and a brush through leaves no trace other than a light citrus scent which comes from the use of antioxidant and vitamin-rich tangerine oil, which not only protects the hair against environmental stresses but also stimulates the senses with its refreshing citrus scent. It also adds shine to dull, lifeless hair.

This set retails for £45 via Kevin Murphy and each product can also be bought separately.












*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

Tuesday, 30 June 2020

Antipodes Baptise H20 Ultra-Hydrating Water Gel

Antipodes is one of those brands you didn't know you loved until you tried the Aura Manuka Honey Mask and then you need to try absolutely everything else is there is to offer. Pronounced An-Tip-oh-dees, the brand which hails all the way from New Zealand, its creator, Elizabeth Barbalich had a desire to create premium, scientifically validated, organic beauty products. She wanted them to be made from fully sustainable sources that could be used every day plus the packaging features fully recyclable bottles and aluminium tubes, and 100% biodegradable card from sustainable forests.
Antipodes Baptise H20 Ultra-Hydrating Water Gel
At the beginning of lockdown, I was sent this lovely packages from Antipodes which features their brand new Baptise H20 Ultra-Hydrating Water Gel which I will declare my love for now!

The Antipodes Baptise H20 Ultra-Hydrating Water Gel is described as being a weightless, intensive moisturiser that immerses thirsty skin in natural moisture without heaviness or oiliness.
Antipodes Baptise H20 Ultra-Hydrating Water Gel
ANTIPODES BAPTISE H20 ULTRA-HYDRATING GEL
Suitable for absolutely all skin types and once applied it absorbs so easily to hydrate the skin and it very much feels as though you have just had your face immersed in water only better. It glides onto the skin, it doesn't stick, it isn't tacky and I could bathe in it because it is just so refreshing.

If you are familiar with Antipodes, then you will know that their products have some amazing ingredients and this one is no different. Firstly we have Plant-originated hyaluronic acid which works with New Zealand manuka honey and harakeke gel to deeply hydrate skin.  Then we have Mamaku black fern which helps regenerate and foster healthy cells.  Finally, there is the addition of South Pacific hibiscus flower which gently exfoliates deadened skin cells to freshen your complexion. To make this product even more amazing, it has the most beautiful fresh rose scent, which doesn't actually linger on the skin at all.

If you are looking for a product to soothe and hydrate your skin, then Antipodes Baptise H20 Ultra-Hydrating Water Gel is definitely worth looking at. It can be found via Lookfantastic, Beauty Bay and Feelunique and is priced between £25 and £29.





*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.
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