Beauty Box Drop outs....

Hey Junkies, This is a little bit of a controversial post really, but one that I wanted to write, to give you both my opinion and find out what you all think of beauty boxes.

I was signed up to two different beauty boxes recently, Glossy Box UK and She Said Beauty. I had been signed up to these boxes for about 3 or 4 months and  just cancelled my subscription.

I originally signed up for the boxes after first hearing they existed through some blogs that I follow and some You Tubers that I am subscribed to. I thought "what a great idea!" sometimes in the past, I had felt myself unsure on what new products to try, and didn't really know where to start in finding something new and exciting to get. So, like most I thought of the beauty box as a great avenue to discover new products and brands that I may fall in love with. I also loved the thought that for £10 a month you were on a 'in' list and you would get really good value for money (everyone likes a freebie or a brilliant deal) I honestly couldn't see where it could go wrong! I even saw a You Tuber going through her box and getting a gorgeous nail polish from Ciate. So I signed up and eagerly awaited my first box.. ( I later found out that this was a Glossy Box USA..... another time, another post, but basically I think that the boxes are 100% times better value for money)

So the first one that came was Glossy Box ( July or Aug maybe) I ripped open the packaging and was really impressed with the pretty pink box, ribbon and the padding inside. I couldn't wait to try all the products, which in fairness I was really happy with. I got a Jelly Pong Pong lip Jelly, which I had never seen, but since have re purchased and love, and a shimmer eye shadow ( can't remember who did it) which I like, I would maybe not re purchase but use every now and again. - I thought for £10 this is great..

The next box came.... and I did not enjoy any one of the products, They were all skin care and face masks with a few spot treatments which I do not use. I was pretty disappointed but though that this is my preference and it may just not be my month.

I then got my She said beauty box, which I again wasn't impressed with, I received Collection 2000 bits and some more face masks... whilst I do love the Primer from Collection 2000 and have re purchased, this was the only product I liked and was not worth £10.

I started to think that this maybe wasn't such a good deal anymore, it wasn't what I had been expecting and I felt ripped off a little, but I thought to myself that I would give both boxes one last try to see if they could get it right....  three boxes later and a mountain of face masks I cancelled both subscriptions.

These boxes were not for me, and after a lot of thought, I felt that I wasn't getting a good deal and felt that these companies were ripping me off by charging me in total £12.95 for a bunch of sample items, that I could possibly go and get for free from the companies. The more I thought about this, the angrier I got! I don't know that this is the case, and would love for someone to correct me, but I feel that these companies are sent X amount of samples for free to send to their subscribers to advertise the organisations (acting more as an advertising agency) ... I get that to have a company you need to make a profit, but at £12.95 per box to send 5 crappy samples that were free, to me is a rip off...

Like I said, I am sure that this may not be the case, and these companies really do want to reach out to the beauty lovers and give them an opportunity to try new things, but I think it is less about the benefits to us consumers and more about what they have been sent that month for free...

Rant over... but my personal reasons for cancelling are..

• Too many Face creams and face masks
• Charging me £12.95 for things I could get for free from the companies
• The Brands were pretty average
• Too many samples, I did not receive one full size product
• Beauty Box Ambassadors always had better products than me..
• Charging me for the box super early and not sending it to me for weeks
• I could go and buy a new lipstick from MAC for £2 extra which I would love more

Things that would make me think about re-subscribing...

• Less products, more full size
• More makeup brands
• Less Face masks and moisturisers
• At least one of the products to be high end
• Sending me the box early in the month

I know that this post has been a little ranty and some people may not agree with me. I would really love to hear what your thoughts are and weather you feel I should give them another chance...

What are your thoughts? are the USA boxes better than ours in the UK?

Pic taken from

http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/05/16/the-booming-business-of-beauty-boxes/

Beauty Box Beauties

Hey! It seems a while since I have written a beauty post. I have been really busy designing blog templates for my shop, which is a really exciting project I have just embarked on.

So my post today is on the items that I have received in my beauty boxes over the last few months that I have really enjoyed using and would really consider re purchasing. 

All these products are from different boxes from She Said Beauty and Glossy Box.

My first item was from She Said Beauty - Aug box I think... and that is Collection 2000 Primed & Ready. I have done a post on this primer before here and said I think that it is a good dupe of Benefit's Primer but at a fraction of the price. I LOVE this, it really hides my pores and allows me to apply my foundation perfectly. I will defo wefo be re-purchasing

 My next Item is Balance Me - Under Eye Cream, from Glossy Box Sept I think... I love this cream and love to use it in the evenings to cool and reduce my bags (wrinkles) from my stressful day. I don't think that it is a miracle cream, but I think it makes enough of a difference to under my eyes to take away a stressful day.

Thirdly.... is Monu Calming Cream. This has a green tint that is said to reduce redness on your face, you are suggested to use twice a day after cleansing your skin however, I love (a bit weird) to mix it with my foundation in the morning, it's hashtag, amazeballs! It reduces the redness of my face and seems to make my foundation last longer. I must do a before and after picture! this is my fav all time beauty box product and will buy again.

Next, is the Glossy Box Lipstick. I did not use this straight away as I felt it looked and felt a little cheap. Which I do still think.. it does not last very long at all and is not a great formulation, but I just love the colour. I would love to find a MAC lipstick in a similar colour so if you know one please let me know.

Lastly is Collection 2000 Fix me Up. I slagged this product off when I got the She Said Beauty box... and I must eat my words. I really like this and think it works very well. I do not need to re apply my make up all day if I spray this on my finished look! the only downside is the smell, I think it smells a little like wet dog... oh dear

So there we have it, I am sure that there will be other items that I like however I have so many I am finding it difficult to try them all!

What are your fav beauty box items?

until next time junkies...

She Said Beauty, September Beauty Box - First impressions

So this is the first time that I have received a She Said Beauty box, in all honesty I am quite new to beauty boxes in general, I have had 3 Glossy Boxes I think.

I am still very undecided about the boxes, I have yet to receive an item that I have felt was really good value for money, either because it was a full size product or a product that I have seen before and wanted.

This box does come a little earlier int he month than Glossy Box. It frustrates me so much that they charge you around the 1st of the month and then do not send it out until the 17th! I know it's only £12 or so but in this day my pennies are important to me!

I think I will keep my subscription to She Said Beauty for October to see if this is just a bad month as I like to give everything a fair try.

So here are my first impressions..

I love the colour of the box, however I was a little disappointed that it had a flip lid rather than a lid you can take off like the Glossy Box as I like to use the boxes for makeup storage afterwards and I think that this box may be a little difficult to do such things.... maybe I am being fussy...