Memebox Superbox #43 2014 F/W Colors

I spent pretty much all of last week desperately waiting for my latest Memebox to arrive, and when it did finally get here I was super excited! This is the first make up based box that I have ordered from Memebox, all the others have been skincare.

The theme of this box is 2014 fall/winter colours, and the box contains a mix of gorgeous berry shades and shimmery greens. Not the easiest colours to wear, but I'll definitely be experimenting!

One of the first items I picked out was this gorgeous blush ($14) from Witch's Pouch. This blush was listed on the website as a spoiler, but I was still pretty excited to try it out. I love a good blush, and this shade (which is called Sexy Swan by the way...) is great for my skintone. The blush pan lifts up to reveal a cute brush underneath as well which I always appreciate.

 Below I've swatched it twice, to show you what the colour looks like when it's been built up. It's a lovely shimmery coral pink.

We also received a second Witch's Pouch product in the form of a super creamy lipstick ($12). I can't remember the name of the shade I received, but it's a very deep burgundy colour. I'm not entirely sure that it suits me, but It's definitely a gorgeous colour for winter.

Also, how cute is the packaging? It's so Tim Burton, I love it!

Everyone knows I'm a sucker for a shimmery eye, but green isn't the easiest colour to wear! Having swatched this though, I am definitely going to have to find a way to wear this gorgeous colour. This is the first of three items from DD'ell in this box and is worth $11.

Below, we have a lighter swatch on the bottom, and the top swatch is more built up. As you can see, even the lighter swatch is super pigmented!

We also received two of the Stay Forever Gel Eye Pencils (£14 each) from DD'ell. Initially, I was super impressed with these. They apply incredibly easily and softly, and have a gorgeous shimmer to them. They also really do last forever. The only way I could remove the swatches from my hand was by scrubbing at them in the shower. All very impressive. However, I had thought that these would twist up at the ends to reveal more product but they don't. Either my eye liners are broken, or these are a total rip off!

Beautiful colours though, I'm sure you'll agree!

This cute Angel Liptint ($8) is such a perfect addition to the box. Nothing says autumn like a berry red lip but I do tend to find tints very drying. This one is also quite difficult to work with. You end up with a lot of product on the wand so I had to try and blot a lot of the excess away. It also tastes terrible! The remaining colour is really nice though, it's just whether you're prepared to go through the faff of applying it in the first place!

I am absolutely in love with this ridiculous nail polish! I've never seen a polish with a lid like this before, but I actually found that it made the application much easier. The colour is a sort of muted glittery purple, it's lovely! At $4, it's not the most expensive item in the box but I still think it's great.

Overall, the value of this box is $77. I paid $29.99 for it (including postage) so it's another fantastic value for money box from Memebox. I'm definitely going to be keeping my eye out for more make up based boxes in the future, even though some of products in this box weren't for me.

Have you tried Memebox yet?

Birchbox-February 2014

Birchbox have already made a massive improvement on last month by sending their February box out on time, and thankfully mine has arrive safe and sound! This month's theme is tied in with London Fashion Week, and is all about your own personal style.

First up is this small sample of Beauty Protector's new hair oil. This smells fantastic, and while I don't normally go for oils because my hair can naturally get quite greasy, I am intrigued by this. According to the card we received with the box, you only need 1-3 drops of this to work through damp hair or dry ends. It also provides protection from UV rays and heat. I had a quick go with this yesterday and it's definitely left my hair feeling super soft, and as of yet there have been no signs of greasiness.

We also received a skinny liquid eyeliner from Eyeko. The nib on this is very impressive, ultra slim and quite long compared to some felt eyeliners I've seen previously. There was also a handy eyeliner tutorial card included with the box which I love the idea of. I'm absolutely terrible at applying eyeliner so I'm definitely going to have a go using the cards tips!

 

Urban Veda is a brand that I have tried before and absolutely love, so I was really happy to see the Radiance Exfoliating Facial Polish in this box! It smells fantastic (although it probably won't be to everyone's tastes) and contains marigold, papaya and coriander. I can't wait to give this a go!

Next up we have this shower gel from Gilchrist and Soames. This also smells really good, and the scent is quite different in that it's not incredibly feminine. I usually expect shower gels from beauty boxes to be more 'lady-oriented' with florals and that sort of thing, so this was quite a pleasant surprise. According to the little info card thingy, this contains red tea, grape seed and milk thistle. Together, these combine to create a really relaxing scent.

I was really pleased to see a Leighton Denny nail polish in this box! This shade is called 'Message in a Bottle' and is a gorgeous dove grey with a metallic sheen. I'm really happy with this shade as I don't have anything similar in my collection, and the metallic element really livens up the grey. Here I've swatched it with two coats, and it's still quite pale. I think you'd probably need three coats to really boost the colour.

Finally as a little extra we received a mini bar of Green and Black's dark 70% chocolate. Dark chocolate isn't my favourite so this will be probably be eaten up by the husband, but what a cute little extra!

I am so much happier with Birchbox this month. I think we've received a great mix of beauty products with something for hair, skincare, bath and body, and make up. I'll definitely be staying subscribed for March, I can't wait to see what the Lulu Guinness collaboration will bring!



Limited Collection Tin Gift Set

I've finally had to time to get around to having a proper look at my freebies from Marks and Spencers! This little gift set is brilliant, it's got everything you could possibly need to create christmassy looks. There are some lovely neutrals and some more dramatic evening colours together in this palette, and I've decided to create a look to show you what the contents of the tin are like!

 

 

 

 

 

I used the dark green shade from the tin as this isn't a colour I normally go for. I also used a tiny bit of eyeliner on my lower lid. The mascara in the tin isn't really anything to write home about, but it adds a slight lift to your lashes and just defines the eyes a bit more.

 

I slapped a bit of blusher on, I was quite surprised at how much I liked the colour of this! It looks quite boring and bland in the tin but it gives a really nice pop of colour to your cheeks.

Finally, to finish off the look I applied the lip gloss. This is a really nice peach colour in the tube but it applies quite sheer, with a hint of shimmer.

So thats my look! What do you think? This gift set is £12.50 and is available here.

Face of the Day #8

This is definitely more of an evening look, but I really wanted to try out my new Be a Bombshell eyeliner and HD Brows blusher from September's Glossybox! I also used the green shade from the MUA Smokin Palette.

I started by applying the eyeliner. This stuff is pretty fantastic. It dries super quickly, meaning that you have less chance of smudging it everywhere through impatience/rushing. It's also really easy to apply, and doesn't apply in a smeary way. I've tried felt eyeliners before that just haven't had the pigment and ink to really impress me, but this is almost like using a liquid liner.

I'm also pretty excited to show off the HD Brows blusher. This shade is just absolutely gorgeous, it applies really nicely with the little pad provided, and blends into the skin really well.

This is not a look I would wear to work (bit too eyeliner heavy for that) but I think it works great for an evening out!

Thanks for reading :) xxx

September 2013 Glossybox - The London Edition

Well, I am seriously impressed. This months Glossybox has completely bowled me over with it's awesomeness. I've only recently resubscribed, and I got this box with the Glossydots I had previously collected. I can't believe how lucky I've been to get this box for free, and you'll all soon see why!

  

Starting with the items I am least likely to get a lot of use out of, the Eylure Pre-glued Lashes. I've never tried false lashes before, so I'm not really sure when these are going to get used! I might have a go with them at some point, they might be good to save for Halloween!

The Toni & Guy Classic Shine and Gloss Serum is another product that I'm not sure if I'll use. It says to apply to dry hair and I can just see it making my hair a bit sticky. I'll maybe have to give it a go on a weekend when I'm not going anywhere to see how it turns out!

The next product is the Elizabeth Arden Untold fragrance. I love that this comes in a cute little bottle. It will look lovely on my dressing table. I really like the scent, it has a very fresh day time feel to it. Obviously perfume is a very personal thing, but I don't think many people will dislike this.

This is where things start to pick up a bit for me, with the Be a Bombshell Onyx Eyeliner. I've used an eyeliner like this before and it didn't really work very well, so I'm looking forward to trying this one out to see whether its any good! I like that the nib is shaped so that you can really experiment with the thickness of the line, very handy!

And finally, saving the best for last, the HD Brows blusher. This, for me, is amazing. I love the colour and packaging of this blusher, it really is quality. It will definitely get a LOT of use. Very impressed with Glossybox for including an item that costs more than the overall cost of the box as well.

 

Overall, I am so impressed with this months box. The packaging is gorgeous, especially the cute paper inside the box, and the products do not disappoint with their variety, quantity and quality! October's box should be interesting, Glossybox are going to have to work really hard to top this one!

Thanks for reading :) xxx