Cohorted Beauty Box for March

Having been disappointed not to get the first Cohorted box, I did manage to get my hands on the March box but not the April Box - ooh Cohorted you don't half know how to play with my emotions! Anyway, I shall be watching with interest as to what the April box contains before sobbing into my tissues.

I think the first thing I should be saying is that the actual box itself is really nicely put together, someone has put some thought into the presentation and whoever sits and ties all the bows, it is such a nice personal touch. When I opened my box, I had annoyingly seen some spoilers, not to self - Stay off Twitter! However, not deterred by the spoliers, I was still chuffed to see the contents which consisted of full sized products from Too Faced, Sleek, bareMinerals plus a sample size of Urban Decay mascara which I have been wanting to try.

The first item that caught my attention in the box comes from bareMinerals, which isn't a brand I have too much experience with.  Said to be worth a whopping £45 it is described as bring the 'Pure Transformation Night Treatment' in shade light.  Described as being:

"Our amazing ActiveSoil Complex in it's most concentrated form. This powder formula dramatically reduces the appearance of pores, improves skin tone and texture, and increases luminosity."

I am quite looking forward to giving this a try, more so because the brush really intrigues me.

The next product is by Sleek and it is the Precious Metals Highlighter Palette for face and body which has an RRP £9.99.  Within the palette there are four different shades, three are cream highlighters and one is a powder and they are accompanied by a little applicator brush and a handy mirror.  It is described as being:

"The versatile face and body highlighting palette compliments all skin tones, and the metallic finishes add a radiant glow and a luminous polish to the skin"

L-R Platinum, Royal Gold, Renaissance Gold and Antique Bronze

With shade names such as Platinum, Royal Gold, Renaissance Gold and Antique Bronze, it makes for a truly stunning palette.

The next item comes from one of my favourite brands Too Faced by way of a single eyeshadow and I got the shade Copper Peony which is a stunningly bright copper shade which is really pigmented and will suit all skin types, even my own almost porcelain shade. Described as follows:

"The eye-shadow shade will compliment any type of look you want to achieve. Elegant or rocker, a beautiful shimmer accessory for both day and night"

Now I am also a sucker for pretty packaging and this definitely wins the beauty in the box award for being pretty, flower shaped with a little clear see through circle, you can see the shade in the palette.

Finally, there is a sample of Urban Decays 'Perversion' mascara, an item that has been on my wishlist ever since I saw it at the counter in Debenhams. It is in shade black and described as being:

"A volumising mascara that defines each lash. The brush glides and creates bigger, blacker, badder lashes. Perversion mascara never gets brittle or clumpy"

I really like the wand on this mascara, it is huge and it is so easy to use.

So there you have it, the March Cohorted box and I am sure, like me, you will be hard pressed to find a single item to dislike or be disappointed with.  It is more than worth its £19.99 price tag and has so many items within the box that I want to use.

Did you get any of the Cohorted Boxes so far?

Exclusive Benefit Mascara Masterclass with Birchbox

Last weekend I attended an event with Birchbox and Benefit, two great brands in one amazing Curls Best Friend pop-up shop for exclusive Benefit Mascara Masterclass.

I arrived at the store on time after a powerwalk from the tube to be greeted with all the lovely Birchbox girls, whom I have had the pleasure of meeting before. Warmly welcomed with a choice of cocktail or mocktail, I quickly made my decision and had a lovely time chatting to fellow bloggers whilst we waited for the event to start.

The event. based upon the March Birchbox, which gave subscribers the choice of three different Benefit Mascaras - Bad Gal, They're Real or the brand new Roller Lash, Lisa Potter-Dixon, who is Benefit's Head Make-up Artist was on hand on to show us some looks she had created using each of the mascaras and an abundance of other Benefit products.  

We were also able to ask questions along the way including advice on which products we could and should be using as well as Lisa giving us some of her top tips - for example... have you ever used Hoola on your eyes or lips? No me neither, but it is a tip I shall be taking away with me and this video shows you some amazing tips and it features the lovely Jessica, Birchbox Editorial Director and Lisa herself.

After the make-up demonstrations we were given the opportunity to go down into the salon to have our make-up and hair done using the products that Lisa had used (not literally) to demonstrate each look with.  The Salon was amazing, I could have spent hours in there just chatting to the staff who were all so helpful and lovely.  I had my make-up done by the lovely Alison, who herself gave me lots of hints and tips when it came to using Boing, Fine One One and the fabulous World Famous Neutrals Most Glamorous Nudes Ever kit, which I now feel I need in my life.

Finally, alongside some amazing cupcakes that were well and truly divine, we were all given an amazing goody bag to take home and play with and it was so incredibly generous, thank you Birchbox and Benefit.

Now there's still time to subscribe and select your very own Benefit mascara! Which mascara will you be choosing?