July Empties

I've managed to get through another bumper crop of empties this month, with some of them being more successful than others!

I've been on a bit of a body lotion rampage and managed to get through three samples in July. The Bee Kind lotion had a slightly lemony/honeyish scent to it that I really liked, but I found that it didn't really sink into my skin very well. I really loved the Naobay and Whish lotions though. The Naobay had a lemon scent which is great for this time of year, and the Whish was a lavender scented lotion which I expected to hate but actually really loved! Both of these were great for my skin and sank in really nicely.

This sample of Glamglow's Supermud Clearing Treatment lasted for 3 or 4 applications and did a really good job of cleansing my skin. Unfortunately I can't really afford the full size, but if you fancy a splurge I'd say it's worth it! I've been using the Blanc Cachemire moisturiser for a while now but I found that it really didn't work well with my make up. It made my skin quite greasy so I was really glad to finish it up! I didn't really get on well with the L'occitane Repairing shampoo and conditioner either. They irritated my scalp and made my hair greasier than normal.

I was really sad to finish up my sample tube of Lancome's Hypnose Drama mascara. It's been my favourite mascara for a really long time so I decided to bite the bullet and splash out on a full size tube. I'm really glad I did because I absolutely love it! I also finished up one of my many samples of the Porefessional. I'm using this every day at the moment so once all of my samples have run out I might end up buying a full size tube.

I've also made headway through my massive shower gel collection! This Dove shower gel was the last of the christmas smellies! It's a really nice nourishing shower gel, just what you'd expect from Dove really. The Anatomicals shower gel was from a previous Love Me Beauty box and even though rose isn't really my kind of scent, I actually really liked this shower gel. I probably wouldn't repurchase it, but it made a nice change from my usual fruity showers!

What did you use up this month? Have you tried any of my empties?

Beauty Box Buys - July 2014

This month has seen me finally make a decision about which beauty boxes I'm going to cull. I've decided to cancel Glossybox and Love Me Beauty, which means I'm left with Birchbox and You Beauty Discovery. I'm also planning on getting more Memeboxes in future!

Glossybox 

My two favourite items from this box had to be the Mary Kay mascara and the Bellapierre lipstick. Whilst I would have preferred the red lipstick, the pink suits me really well and I really like the formula! I also love that it's quite a high end product compared to what we normally receive in Glossyboxes, retailing at £20 here. The mascara was a real surprise, as I expected it to not be great quality. Having tried it though, I really like it. It really lengthens and adds definition to my lashes, and it's another high end product! You can find it here for £16.

Birchbox 

Birchbox had some great brands this month, but my two favourites were the Whish body lotion and the Balance Me Eye Cream. The Whish body lotion was another surprise for me, as I'd expected to hate it! Lavender is really not my kind of thing but it is drowned out by the other gorgeous ingredients included in this lotion. It sinks into my skin much quicker than your average body lotion, and leaves a lovely scent behind. The only UK stockist for Whish at the moment seems to be the Birchbox shop, but having a peek at their US website has me drooling over the different flavours available! I'd love to try the blueberry one! You can find it here for $24. The Wonder Eye Cream from Balance Me has done wonders for my puffy eyes! It's meant to work really well for fine lines around the eyes as well but I don't really have nay of those (yet!) so I can't comment on how well it deals with those, but it's certainly a nice refreshing eye cream to use in the morning before I put the rest of my make up on. You can find it here for £20.

You Beauty Discovery 

This month's YBD was a bit odd, what with the men's shaving cream. I went for the L'occitane shampoo and conditioner but I found that they made my hair quite greasy. My other pick for this month was the Miss Manga mascara from L'oreal. Whilst I haven't been blown away by it, I still think it's a really nice daytime mascara. You can find it here for £8.99.

Love Me Beauty 

Clearly mascara has been a theme for this month's boxes! This So Susan mascara is unlike any of the other mascaras I own. The wand has a very small brush which means that I can nab the tiny lashes at the corner of my eye, whilst also providing a decent coverage. I also really like the cute tube with the hummingbird design, it's adorable! It's here for £14.95. I also really love the Ofra eyeshadow from this month's box. It's a lovely soft pressed shadow and you should know by now how much I love a shimmery eye! I can't seem to find a UK stockist for these but they retail for $15. 

What do you think to my beauty box picks for July? Would you buy any of these products?

Birchbox - July 2014

The past few Birchboxes have been absolutely amazing, and I was fully prepared for the July box to take a bit of a dip in quality, but it really hasn't!

I always love the cute postcards that come with the box, such a lovely touch! The first item I spotted in this month's box was this sample from Weleda. I've tried a hand cream from them before and I really liked it, so I'm hoping this will be another winning product!

I've also tried Gilchrist and Soames before, and wasn't overly impressed. I received one of their shower gels in a previous Birchbox and just wasn't really blown away by it, it was just an okay product. I'm not really sure if this is bubble bath, or meant to be used as a body wash, but it definitely smells nicer than the shower gel I had previously!

This was the first item I picked out that I hadn't heard of! It's an adorable lip crayon in a vibrant purple shade. I'm not entirely sure it's my kind of colour, but quite a fun addition to the box anyway.

I was a little bit apprehensive when I saw that we'd be getting a lavender body lotion, as I absolutely can't stand the smell of it! However, this lotion was a pleasant surprise. The lavender is definitely there, but it's muted by the other ingredients. I've used this a couple of times already and I love it!

We also received a cute sample of the Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream. I've used Balance Me before and was seriously impressed, so this eye cream has a lot to live up to! That said, I don't really have many wrinkles around my eyes (yet!) so I'm not sure how much of an obvious difference this will make to the skin around my eyes.

The lifestyle extra for this month was this Ultradex oral spray. It's a bit of an unusual choice but it's always incredibly handy to have something like this in your handbag, I haven't tried it yet but I'm hoping it's not overpoweringly minty!

Not a knockout box like the previous two boxes have been, but still a great little box with some lovely products to try out! I've recently cancelled Love Me Beauty and Glossybox as I've found that Birchbox suits me better. 

What did you think of this month's Birchbox?