19 Jun 2012

Beauty in a box




So today my entire twitter/facebook/blogger feeds have been full to bursting of you gals out there gleefully singing all about your delivery of this month's Glossy Box. In recent months, I've seen dozens of Beauty Boxes being launched, and so many of you are completely in love with the idea, and always so pleasantly surprised with your Box of Choice. But being the sceptic that I am, I thought I'd do a little more research into the many options available - and whether they're really a beauty investment, or pennies down the down.

What's it all about?
To put it quite simply: You pay a small monthly fee, and in return receive a sneaky box, full of testerpots, miniature, and sometimes full-sized beauty products, most of which you might have never thought of buying yourself - either they're too expensive, too niche a brand, or (like me), you hate the idea of buying a product that you've never tested before. (I always feel cheated when I've spent money an a product that breaks me out/dries my skin up/or is just generally lacking in quality.)


Glossy Box by Glossy Box (£10 + £2.95PP)
Specifics: 5 miniatures per box, no subscription, rewards system for reviews and recommendations
Brands: Shu Eumera, Burt's Bees, Illamsaqua, Liz Earle, Molton Brown and other unknown, niche brands.
Reviews: "The beauty of beauty boxes is that...if you do like what’s included – a huge percentage is taken off what you’d normally pay for the product itself." (Scarlett London) "If you’re a beauty junkie and love trying new things then this will be ideal." (Elle UK)
Rating: ★★★★✰


Beauty Box by She Said Beauty (£9 + £2.95PP)
Specifics: 5 samples per box, no subscription, online review and tester community
Brands: Elemis, Mischa Barton, St Tropez, Yardley London. Mainly popular, well-known, but (in my opinion) not luxury brands.
Reviews: "So in conclusion, I'm not wowed..." (The Girl About Town) "There is only one product I can use..." (Makeup Temple)
Rating: ★★★✰✰



Jolie Box by Jolie Box (£10 + £2.95PP)
Specifics: 4 - 5 samples per box, no subscription
Brands: China Glaze, Talika, KMS California, Yardley, Jane Iredale, and other generally unknown brands.
Reviews: "Good value for money and unusual brands included so you’re bound to discover something new every month."... "24 brands on board so far... means less brand variety">(Elle UK)
Rating: ★★★★✰

Amarya Beauty Box by Amarya (£10 + £2.50PP)
Specifics: 1 fullsize product and several trial size samples per box, exclusive offers and competitions.
Brands: Green People, Dr Hauschka, Cowshed, Weleda, Kae. All products from high-end natural and organic brands.
Reviews: "if you dont like the main product or it is not suited to your taste then there is not much else in the box" (Dainty Dollymix)"Amarya offers the UK's best selection of natural and organic beauty products">(Talk Perfection)
Rating: ★★★✰✰



So overall, after a lot of research, I'm pleasantly surprised by what's included with some of the boxes. I won't, however, be subscribing to any of them any time soon, as, being fussy, and unwilling to take the risk of paying for a box full of products I might never use. So I'm probably going to use a little more convincing.

Have any of you had any really good experiences with Beauty Boxes? Any of them stand out to you as the best out there? Get in touch if you have any comments.

Hope you're all enjoying the amazing weather!

heteroheroine

22 Apr 2012

Sunday Beauts

A beautiful, drizzly, windy Sunday. Windswept and wild, we hid under the cover of the oak trees, while the pups chased their tails, sticks, squirrels and each other.
Later, running along the beach, to the landscape of a deep blue sunset, I dreamed of faraway places.
Tomorrow, life begins again. But for today, I have the sunset, the rain, and beautiful company.
Bliss.

13 Feb 2012

got bangs?

Fresh starts start with new hair.
Bang bang.
Got me some new hair stylings, to perk me up for my mega-busy, uber-productive week off.
Today has been full of packing, primping, posting, and generally being an organisational nerd, so to finish it off, my evening (post-crazy-gym-session) is looking to consist of Mad Men, present-wrapping, and catching up on the latest Vogue (which will involve perving on covergirl LDR). Oui.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Ciao for now!

xoxo

12 Feb 2012

Sunday snapshot

Today has been one of those beautifully chilly, seaside days. One huge excuse for oversize knits, and endless cups of tea. Parfait!

15 Jan 2012

SUNDAY SNAPSHOT. Urban Outfitters top, H&M shorts.
A busy weekend of Ebaying, cleaning, and sorting my blog
equates to scruffy hair and a less-than-practical outfit apparently.

And now for some shameless plugging. After another bout of sorting, snapping, and uploading, I'm having a mass wardrobe clearout, so if you're in the mood for a bargain, head over to my ebay shop :)

Hope you've all had a lovely weekend. What did you get up to? I'm DETERMINED my next weekend will be a quiet, relaxed one. Phewwwww.
xoxo