Beauty: Birchbox October 2016

Take a peek inside October's Birchbox! 

It feels like months since I last posted a first impression review/haul on the latest Birchbox. (I guess that's because it is seeing as I skipped a month!) To be honest I was a little let down with last months box so decided that I really couldn't be bothered to even talk much about it. One things for sure, this month is 10 times better than any of the boxes I have ever received from Birchbox so they have certainly redeemed themselves.

This months box was inspired by all things astrological. Birchbox have created 4 different box designs that were sent out to you depending on what your star sign is (or was, sorry NASA but I am a Pisces no matter what you say!). A fun little extra about the box this month is that they also have glow in the dark stars all over them which is such a fun extra detail. Birchbox have also recently changed the design of their boxes to a drawer which I didn't love to begin with, but now really like! (I love using these boxes to store my pro marker pens in as they are great for storage!) Another great thing about this months box was that inside every box was a full sized lip product which is always a bonus. Let's take a peek inside...

Lord & Berry Maxi Matte Crayon in Intimacy

I was so excited to see that this was the full sized lip product in this months box. I have seen lots of bloggers raving about these products over the past few months so they are becoming more and more popular. I am also a BIG fan of matte lipsticks so was intrigued to see if this was comfortable to wear. The colour is a gorgeous dark rose shade which I imagine will suit lots of different skin tones. The idea of this pencil is that you line using the tip then fill them in afterwards. The product is so creamy and feels like a balm on your lips. I have worn this a couple of times to university already and love that I don't have to think about topping up my lipstick as it last's on the lips all day. 

Oribe Dry Texturising Spray

I feel like this is another blogger favourite product this month! I love to use dry shampoo whenever I'm feeling lazy, but have never really used a texturising spray before. This spray is a mixture of the both, making the hair look cleaner as well as giving it an instant lift. I am yet to try this product, but am excited to see if it really does add volume to my hair without feeling all sticky!

Doux Me Pure Mist Spray

This product is a Birchbox exclusive! I was hoping to receive something like this, this month after hearing that I would be getting a water themed box. I have always wanted to try the Evian spring water spray but never found it in stores when I was looking. The point of the spray is to give you a moment of calm and relaxation whilst soothing and hydrating your skin. I feel that this would have been perfect in the July/August box so that we could have taken it on holiday. 

Rituals Hammam Body Mud

This is another product that I have never really tried before. This purifying body scrub is used to refresh and smooth the skin. The instructions say to use it once or twice weekly so I imagine that its quite an intense product! With that being said I can't wait to add it into my weekly routine! It smells lovely anyway.

Number 4 Elixir and Restore Oil

I know that I say every month how sick I am about receiving hair products...BUT this product is certainly an exception. Hair oils are relatively new to me, I have probably used them once or twice in the past. Although I liked the ones I had tried, they always left my hair feeling greasy quicker than normal. So I am really looking forward to trying this out to see if it is any better. Apparently it will transform my hair into silky strands, lets see if it lives up to this statement!

Birchbox Eyebrow Brush

Why do I feel like the conversation of including this product in the box went like this... "Guys, we have found a load of eyebrow brushes out the back what should we do with them?" "Shove them in everybody's Birchbox's this month", "ok cool.". Quite a random product to include, however very useful in your makeup routine. So thanks Birchbox I guess? 

So overall I am super impressed with all of the contents in the box this month, which is lucky as I was thinking about cancelling my subscription after last months disaster! This month I also signed up to receive Glossybox, so I am looking forward to being able to compare the two boxes. 

Is there anything that I recieved this month you have tried? What are your thought? Let me know in the comments! 

Lots of love, 

Please follow me on Twitter and Instagram. I am working really hard on improving my social media sites and am putting a lot of effort into them. I follow back to return the love!

August Birchbag review: Dive in!

When I think about receiving this Birchbag and it being the August edition, I freak out! How can we now be over halfway through the year? Wasn't Christmas like last month? On the plus side, it does mean that I can slowly start introducing the Christmas movies back into my everyday routine again. Oh and it's nearly winter coat time again, my favourite time of the year. 

So this month Birchbox decided to change things up a bit in the presentation of their subscription boxes. They have done this a lot recently. A couple of boxes ago we had the drawer, and now we have this neoprene 'scuba' wash bag. The bag comes in four different colours, I got the aqua shade and I love it!

The bag is big enough to fit in lots of different stuff and because of the neoprene fabric, it's perfect sat on a sink side as it is totally splash proof! Fashionable and practical, double bonus. 

 Okay, so lets 'Dive in' (See what I did there?!). Last month we were asked to choose what shade of Marcelle Waterproof Eyeliner £10.50 we wanted to receive in the bag. I went for the Expresso shade as it looked more wearable than the purple mulberry liner that was on offer. Next thing in the box was the Phillip Kingsley One More Day Dry Shampoo £14.50. I hadn't heard of this brand before receiving this in the box but am excited to give it a try. I love my Batiste dry shampoo so hope this lives up to that! I will see how this works out. Then I received the Balance Me Radiance Face Mask £18.00. Another product that I am really excited to try! This mask has Kaolin Clay within its ingredients which is also a bonus as clay masks have become popular within the blogging community recently. Next, anatomicals the buff stuff citrus body scrub £3.99. This is the only product within the beauty bag that I have mixed feelings on. I have quite sensitive skin so find this scrub quite intimidating to use. Perhaps I will give it a try on a small area of skin before using it fully. On the plus side it smells lovely and fresh! Finally I received the Merci Handy Antibacterial hand cleansing Gel in Black Vanilla £2.90. It pretty much does what it says on the tube. It smells pleasant and keeps your hands lovely and clean. The small size is perfect to keep in a handbag or even in a car which is what I am going to do! As a little added bonus, I received a sample of the English Laundry Signature For Her perfume £60 full-size. This is a lovely added extra to my bag, however it really isn't up my street. Perhaps I will gift this on to my mum. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this blogpost and seeing what I got in my 'Birchbag'. I was really pleased with everything that I received this month which makes a change! I really feel like the Birchbox team are listening to the feedback that everybody has been giving them and making positive changes. Yay! 

If you want to try out a Birchbox for yourself then feel free to use THIS LINK where you can sign up and receive £5 to spend in the Birchbox shop. I have my eyes on the gorgeous Spectrum brushes! 

Thanks again for reading! 

lots of love, 

Please follow me on Twitter and Instagram. I am working really hard on improving my social media sites and am putting a lot of effort into them. I follow back to return the love! 

Never-Ending Summer - Birchbox July 2016!

Over the past couple of months, you may have read that my opinions on Birchbox haven't been that great. This month however has changed my mind on cancelling my subscription! July's Birchbox, named Never-Ending Summer, was designed and curated by Millie Mackintosh so I knew instantly that we were in for a treat! 

A couple of months ago we were sent an email from the Birchbox team to choose the box design that we preferred. It was between a blue/green/yellow watercolour design, and then  pink/purple design. Personally I voted for the blue/green/yellow combo as I felt it seemed more summery, but although it didn't win I love this box equally as much! (I also know that I am going to use this to store my pro marker pens for university! 

A bonus thing with this box is that Millie teamed up with Birchbox to design an exclusive LOC lip pencil in shade Bohemian Rose. I love these type of lip products as they are really moisturising, yet so easy to apply! I believe that eventually this product will be available to purchase on the Birchbox website, but for now you can only get it when purchasing this box! 

Another exciting thing about this months box was that we were able to choose which full sized hair product we wanted to receive! I choose the John Freida Anti Frizz Primer. I knew that I wanted to try a humidity/frizz hair product for my trip to the states at the end of the month! So am excited to give this a try! 

I was so excited to see a cute little Nails Inc varnish in the box this month. I love new nail polishes and am alway changing up my colour. The shade I received was a gorgeous duck egg blue in Royal Botanical Gardens. 

Recently, I have really got into being consistent with my skincare. This month I received an Elemis night cream which I had read some really great things about! I was secretly hoping I would be lucky enough to receive the night version that was available in my box so am over the moon! 

Finally, I am excited to try the Hudraluron moisture boosting sheet mask! I have never tried any sheet masks but always hear that they feel nicer on the skin than the normal face masks! If I love it, I know this is something I will be buying more of! 

June Birchbox : Paradise Found

It's that time again in the month where I share my latest discoveries in beauty with thanks to my Birchbox subscription. 

This month's box was under the theme of 'Paradise Found', and the products came within a pineapple drawer style box. Initially I was a little annoyed with the fact this box is different from the others. Being the saddo I am, I have started to use the boxes to store bits in within my dressing table. So it's a little annoying that this box isn't as easy to use in this way. I have kind of decided I like this box a little bit more now, although I still would have loved the products to come in their usual protective pouch!

I don't want to sound like a debbie downer, but I am really not impressed with the contents of this months box. The whole theme of the box is that it is perfect for sunny days, however I can't really see what this has to do with it. (I also did that annoying thing of searching the tags and finding out people got SUCH better things than me yet again!) 

Since last month's box disaster, I had changed my profile to try and not get hair products! This kind of worked out, although I think it was replaced with face and body cream! Come on beauty box where is the beauty products!!

Whish Coconut Milk CC Body Cream RRP £15.50

This is a CC body cream that is supposed to hydrate and bronze you from 'tip to toe'. You are supposed to smooth it generously over your legs, arms and anywhere else you want a little glow. I haven't really tried this out properly yet as I am currently using the St Tropez in shower tanning lotion, but I am looking forward to giving it a go soon! One thing I do know is that it smells amaze! 

Absolution Le Nettoyant Purete RRP £26.00

This product is one the two facial cleansers that I received this month. It has all natural ingredients and apply's smoothly to remove all dirt and grime. I am not sure what I think of this product. Perhaps I should give it a try! 

Huygens RRP £17.90

This is another facial cleanser that smells like lemons. It smells like it would taste amazing, although I am clearly not going to eat it! The product has small rice powder particles within so is gentle enough to use as an everyday cleanser. I am excited to give this a go. This product is also a Birchbox exclusive product. 

Percy & Reed Reassuringly firm session hold hairspray RRP £12.00
There isn't really much to say about this product, except that it is a hairspray that is supposed to be great for humidity. Its a small size, so is going to be perfect for my holiday bag!

Jelly Pong Pong in Fig Jam RRP £17.95
Once you get over the name, this product is a lip and cheek cream that blends out beautifully to add a pop of colour to any makeup look. I am yet to try this, but I imagine it would be perfect for the summer! A little goes a long way though and the product doesn't come out as in your face as it looks in the pot!

So that was June's Birchbox. I was kind of excited to receive it, although was quite disappointed with the repetitive products. I am also hoping that each month will bring me some more  makeup products instead of creams. 

Next month is a Millie Mackintosh designed box which I am really excited to receive. Lets hope the products are of a better variation! Also lets hope there are no hair products! 

Sign up here if your interested! - https://www.birchbox.co.uk/invite/ht8px

Let me know what beauty box's your loving, or what I need to try! 

Lots of love, 

May Birchbox Review!

It's about that time in the month, when I share my latest discoveries in beauty thanks to my subscription to Birchbox! 

First of all, I will admit I probably should have taken a picture of the box before I destroyed it by scratching off all the silver detail, but look how cute it is! This months box was based around being for the dreamers. If you scratched off the top of your box and were one of the lucky two then you won a holiday! For me, unfortunately, this was not the case so I guess I am still dreaming! Before receiving this box, we were able to choose one of the products that went inside which made me as excited as ever when this came in the post!

 In the middle of last month we were asked to choose which Spectrum makeup sponge it was that we would like to receive. You could either pick the pink sponge, which is for applying makeup to forehead, cheeks and chin, OR the purple sponge, which is for applying foundation and concealer around the nose and eye. I went for the purple one as I feel that I will  be able to get more use out of it. I am so excited to try it as I love a good beauty sponge! 

The first surprise goodie I recieved in my box was the LOC One and Done Shadow Stick in Empress Me RRP £8. I love this kind of product where you can apply it using the product and then rub it in using fingers. It makes the makeup process so easy and is going to be perfect for my holiday makeup bag! Next I recieved the Philip Kingsley PK Prep Polishing Balm RRP £18.50. If you read my last Birchbox post you might have noted me saying that I am feud of receiving hair products in these boxes as I think they are an easy filler! However I am keen to try this on the ends of my hair as they are looking a little bit dry and to be honest it could do a cut! Then I got the Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet RRP £23.00. I am so excited to try this out! I have heard some amazing things about the company off of other bloggers and you tubers but never knew where to get my hands on it. This product says it is going to Hydrate, reduce redness and instantly smooth skin. That sounds like all good things to me! Next was Puriskin Resurfacing Formula RRP £13.99. Again this product pretty much says it all. It's a cream that comes in a cute little tube. You can use this on the face and the body so it makes it a perfect handbag essential! Finally we were given a teeny tiny sample of the Yu-Be Moisturising Skin Cream RRP £19.50. This is another cream that you can pretty much apply everywhere. It states that it can be used on lips, legs and anywhere you have dry skin. Again this sounds amazing in the run up to the summer holidays! 

Finally a good Birchbox delivery! I will not be the last to say that I have felt disappointed in the boxes that I had received in the past couple of months. I was constantly being sent hair products which left me feeling rather frustrated! I am glad that I recieved a better selection this time! 

Hope you enjoyed this blogpost! If you liked this then you might like to read my other Birchbox hauls, which you can see HERE: April 2016 + March 2016.

Thanks for reading!

Lots of love,