Glossybox September 2014

I finally decided to take the plunge and sign up to GLOSSYBOX. I have been debating it for a while, and did a lot of research into the best brand of beauty box and whether they really are worth the money, in the end I couldn’t help myself and just had to sign up.

When the September 14 Glossybox arrived I didn’t really know what to expect. I had seen a lot of vloggers opening up boxes and describing what the products looked like, but hadn’t found many reviews as to how good the products actually were. The first thing I noticed was that the box was gorgeous, much more sophisticated than I expected, it was designed by Karen Millen, and you could definitely tell. Inside it contained a voucher for Karen Millen, which I thought was an excellent touch, a product card and a spoiler for next months glossybox (which I don’t normally enjoy but I have to admit it did get me very excited)! Inside were 6 different products.

Let’s start with my favourite (as always), which was the Nails inc Westminster Bridge Matte Top Coat. Firstly let me say I was very impressed that you can get a full sized nail varnish in the glossy box, this values at £12 for the 10ml bottle. I absolutely love it, definitely worth £12 I have a lot of Nails inc products and have always found them to be of amazing quality! The matte top coat was so easy to apply and looks fabulous. You just apply over your usual coloured nail varnish instead of a shiny clear top coat, and it completely transforms your usual same-old nail colour. I first tried it with a black nail varnish, and I absolutely loved it, so many people commented on it saying how cool and different my nails looked. It’s a quick and easy way to try something new and change up your old varnishes. One thing I will say about the Matte top coat is that it fades over time, over the duration of about a week or two (if, like me, you are lucky enough to avoid chipping) you will notice that the matte gradually fades.

I also received a GOSH cosmetics Silky Cream Blusher in 001 Tropical Breeze, this also came full sized and retails at £6.99 at Superdrug. I have only tried a few GOSH products but have read many amazing reviews on them. The thing that initially put me off the GOSH blusher was the colour – tropical breeze is very orange and not very neutral (that is a downfall on Glossybox – you can’t choose your own colours to match your taste or skin tone). At first I whacked it straight across my cheek and quickly realised that the colour is very pigmented, way too pigmented to just wipe straight over your face. I tried many techniques to apply it – on to my face then blend, using my fingers, using brushes, and I found that the best way for me to apply the blusher was to use my RealTechnique stippling brush. I rubbed the brush onto the blusher and then applied and blended onto my cheek using the brush. I found this worked much better and made the colour a lot less harsh. The blusher feels amazing on your skin and is definitely ‘silky’, it is long lasting and has a slight sheen to it.  I would definitely recommend GOSH cosmetics Silky Cream Blusher however I will be purchasing a better suited colour.

 

In my Glossybox there was also a ModelCo More Brows Fibre Gel. It’s essentially a brush on eyebrow gel – similar to a mascara wand, but for your brows. This was ALSO full sized at 3.5ml and retails for £14.95. When I first saw this in the box, I was very excited, I am a big eyebrow fanatic. However I was sadly disappointed with the product. The wand is very difficult to use, it’s quite difficult to be accurate with, and if you don’t have well maintained freshly waxed eyebrows you would struggle. However my biggest problem was the coverage, it creates quite a natural look, which I know a lot of my friends would absolutely love, however my eyebrows tend to grow in all sorts of directions so it is quite hard to fill in the gaps without using a pigmented pencil or brush on gel as the hairs grow all over the place. A pencil or gel, tend to suit my eyebrows better, fills in a lot of my gaps and creates a much more dramatic eyebrow than the natural look the ModelCo gel creates. I know a lot of my friends that I would recommend this to, that have easy to manage eyebrows and want a more natural look, however it is definitely not for me. I should also point out that it lasts for a very long time, and didn’t smudge or fade as the day went on.

L’Oreal Professionnel Mythic Oil – This stuff is amazing! I am a big fan of argon oil, one of my many not-so-secret weapons, and have seen L’Oreal mythic oil on the shelves when looking for my argon oil and have always been so curious to try it out – this is one of the many perks of Glossybox, try before you buy! You apply a small amount to the ends of your damp hair before blow drying. It makes your hair feel soft and looks so shiny, it also smells GREAT! It’s light weight so it’s great because your hair doesn’t feel thick and heavy with product. It makes your hair feel like it’s had a deep conditioning. In the glossy box you got a 45ml sample, which is a hefty amount for a sample. A 125ml bottle retails at £15.95 – I will definitely be making a purchase!

Last but not least is the real luxury item in the Glossybox by SkinPep. I got two small samples of the Enzyme and Acid Peel: Professional Grade Peeling Gel and an even smaller sample of Dark Circle Eraser. 180ml of the peeling gel retails at £89.99 and 15ml of the Eye Cream retails at £44.99. Quite expensive!

Let’s start with the peeling gel. The samples are enough to do one face mask each, luckily you get two. You gently rub into wet skin for 2 minutes then leave to set for a further 2 minutes, but this can be increased depending on the intensity of the peel you are looking for, and how sensitive your skin is. When I first started to apply the gel it didn’t look or feel how I expected it to. It was like white gel, and didn’t feel like it had an exfoliation in it. As I started to rub it into my face, my skin started to sting and feel slightly itchy. Once I stopped rubbing it in, this seemed to subside. Then after leaving it for a few more minutes you wash it off with warm water. My face felt amazing, and looks so much brighter. It definitely works, and works in an instant. I would indeed recommend this to anyone! Looking forward to using my 2^nd sachet.

Lastly was the Dark Circle Eraser, now firstly let me point out that I am not prone to dark circles, so if you do suffer from dark circles, then don’t just take my word for it. The cream feels amazing, lovely to apply and feels lovely on your skin, and I did notice a difference instantly with puffiness and the colouring around my eyes. It definitely works! It doesn’t smell too great but the results make up for that!

So in answer to the questions I originally asked myself. Yes, I love glossy box and I am so glad that I signed up! And yes, it is most certainly worth the £10 a month. In terms of comparing it to other beauty boxes, I couldn’t possibly comment. All I do know is, Glossybox is definitely worth a try! Just wish I didn’t have to wait another month for my next box!