BRAZILIAN BIRCHBOX JUNE 2014

This month's BIRCHBOX has taken inspiration from the World Cup and is filled with top players from across the globe. This month's box included an added bonus of a BIRCHBOX Brazil-inspired Flip Flop keyring. Birchbox helps you find beauty and lifestyle products that you'll love. It is a monthly subscription service, that you pay £10 per month plus postage for 5 luxe samples delivered to your door presented in a nice box and drawstring bag along with a mini magazine that is packed with editors tops and tricks. You can cancel at anytime and they offer a money back guarantee!  

Embroylisse Lait-Creme Concentre

I'm extremely pleased to receive this cult French moisturiser that soothes skin with natural ingredients. This moisturiser can also be used as a hydrating mask. 

Silk + Honey Shea Butter Hair Mask 

Deeply nourishing mask protects and softens hair, while fortifying its elasticity. It smells delicious! This is a brand I have not discovered yet so I am excited to try, as since taking out my micro ring extensions a few weeks ago I'm trying to get my natural hair back in good condition.   

OPI Nail Lacquer - The Brazil Collection

A vibrant mini polish in the shade 'Toucan If You Try' inspired by Brazil's tropical rain forests and sandy beaches.  This is a fab shade for Summer for both hands and feet!

BEAUTYBLENDER + BLENDERCLEANSER SOLID

An ingenious egg-shaped make-up sponge to ensure a flawless base plus a solid soap to clean it. This is a very generous full-size sample, I used to use a beauty blender sponge but I think I threw it away as it became a bit manky so I'm pleased to have another!

CAUDALIE DIVINE OIL

A delicately fragranced dry oil that sinks in fast, hydrates skin and leaves a silky sheen. A little of this oil goes a long way and its handy to have a small bottle for travels.

Visit Birchbox to find out more and you can get free delivery on your first box with the code NEW14. Are you a BIRCHBOX subscriber? What do you think to this month's contents?  

HARPER'S BAZAAR + BIRCHBOX MAY 2014

BIRCHBOX have collaborated with Harper's Bazaar magazine this month to create a special selection of products selected by their beauty director, Sophie Bloomfield. I received the themed Lulu Guinness Birchbox in March and after all the hype I found the box disappointing.This month's box however is one of the BEST beauty boxes I have received to date - it's a nice selection of products all of which I am excited about and will use! 

Birchbox helps you find beauty and lifestyle products that you'll love. It is a monthly subscription service, that you pay £10 per month plus postage for 5 luxe samples delivered to your door presented in a nice box and drawstring bag along with a mini magazine that is packed with editors tops and tricks. You can cancel at anytime and they offer a money back guarantee!  

Benefit Cosmetics They're Real Mascara

Jet Black formula adds both volume and length to lashes without clumps. This is my current favourite mascara and its great to have a travel size tube!

Soigne Nail Polish in Cerise 

Non-toxic polish that comes in classic range of colours and very chic packaging! I have not heard of this brand before and I'm looking forward to trying! 

Aromatherapy Associates Revive Morning Bath & Shower Oil

Invigorating and refreshing blend of pink grapefruit, rosemary and juniper berry softens skin and uplifts your mood for a reviving start to the day. Sophie said its one of her must-have products for beating that post-flight sluggish feeling. I absolutely love this brand, although the products are pricey they are good quality, luxurious and a lovely treat.  

Beauty Protector Protect Shampoo & Conditioner

Sulfate free formula to nourish, strengthen and protect strands. This is another brand that I have not heard about but I'm excited to try! These are the perfect mini size to take in hand luggage if you are travelling light on holiday. 

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

This cult cleanser leaves skin perfectly cleansed and prepped. It is a cleanser that I have been using on and off for years and they have won over 100 beauty awards. The mini tube is great for travelling and comes complete with a muslin cloth to gently exfoliate the skin. 

Get The Harper's Bazaar x Birchbox May Box! & you can get free delivery on your first box with the code NEW14. Are you a BIRCHBOX subscriber? What do you think to this month's contents?  

Concoction Personalise & Blend your own Shampoo!

Concoction is a new beauty brand that allows you to mix up and customise your own personal haircare blends - I reviewed Concoction before it was launched over two years ago! Concoction has been inspired by the Art & Science of cocktail making, and uses mixology technology to create 'ShampYou' individually customised to YOUR hair type and colour. You choose the fragrance and choose the shots to create your own personal blend. 

Each blend is individually personalised by specially trained mixologists; consisting of a 'base blend' and two concentrated 'SuperSerum shots' using a blend of natural extracts, vitamins and scientific actives. Knowing that hair can have multiple care and nutrition needs, Concoction has created a prescriptive system that delivers multiple benefits simultaneously. Each blend is paraben and silicone free plus it delivers intensive conditioning properties and an ionic system (detangling, anti-static and frizz reducing). There is an incredible 256 individual blend combinations that can be created. 

Concoction is leading the trend in DIY (Design it Yourself) beauty, giving customers a bespoke, fun, personal and highly interactive experience. As a new business start-up they have recently launched a crowd funding campaign to help the brand become more established. By supporting the campaign you can be involved in the next generation of new products and get to try your own ShampYou at a discount plus your bottles will be personalised too! 

ShampYou + 2 shots normally costs £14, but thanks to the campaign you can purchase your own personalised shampoo for just £10 including free delivery! If you fancy mixing up your own personalised ShampYou like mine and help 'mix up' the next concoction of products then you can visit www.concoctionclub.com.

GLOSSYBOX December 2013

It's been ages since I last posted about GLOSSYBOX,  in fact I have been very slack in posting full stop this year since moving to London but I am trying to get back into the swing of things. 

When I arrived home on Tuesday, I was greeted with the December GLOSSYBOX. This month's themed box was 'Festive Treasures' and as usual the products came packaged in a limited edition red box with candy cane print tissue, green shredded tissue and sticker to fit with the theme. What's in this month's box.....

BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENTS COSMETICS Nude Lip Gloss (worth £6) 
I haven't tried many products from this range but I like that the range is cruelty free and all natural and free from toxins and parabens. This is a Jojoba rich, non sticky nude lip gloss perfect for the party season so much so Kimberly Wyatt former pussycat doll says its her perfect nude lipgloss!

WILKINSON Sword Intuition Naturals Razor (*Full Size* worth £6.49) 
A razor! Not exciting or very glam but a basic and party essential when baring bare legs that we all need to use! This is a 3 in 1 razor that lathers, moisturises and shaves.  

MAYBELLINE NEW YORK Volum' Express Colossal Smokey Eyes Mascara (*Full Size* worth £7.99)

With collagen and kohl effect pigments this mascara plumps lashes for a smokin' hot look and creates the perfect smokey eye. I haven't tried this mascara before but I do like volume and a large brush so this sounds right up my street!

SECHE Nail Lacquer  (*Full Size* worth £9.95)

The nail polish I received was in the shade ' portobello' and it promises pure colour saturation in one  I like the Seche Top coat as it helps any polish stay chip-free the longest but I haven't tried any of the seche colours so will be interested to see how long these last!

RITUALS Miracle Balm (*Full Size* worth £10)

This luxuriously rich hand balm was specially developed to soothe and calm dry, rough hands, leaving a divine floral scent. This can also be used as an overnight hand mask.

This month's box was jam packed and contained a good mix of products, four of five were full size, although I would have liked to see more 'gifty' items with it being Christmas. I have totted up the value of the products and it comes to roughly £40.43 which for £10 (plus £2.95 P&P) is not bad! The box also came with a new GLOSSYBOX magazine which is an added bonus! I am most pleased and excited about the mascara and miracle balm! You can find out more and order your own GLOSSYBOX here. 

What do you think of this month's GLOSSYBOX? Did you receive anything different to mine? Are you a GLOSSYBOX subscriber?

SensatioNail Deluxe Starter Kit Offer £105 reduced to £39.50!

SensationNail contains everything you need to do your own gel polish nails at home. There is no drying time as the polish is set under a LED lamp and it promises up to 2 weeks of shiny, chip-free wear! This kit is ideal if you are fed up of nail polish chipping or looking to save money by doing your nails yourself rather than visiting a salon. I am currently sporting the Raspberry Red shade and I shall be reporting back on how I found the system very soon and sharing my top tips to creating the perfect gel polish manicure along with how best to remove gel nails as I get frequently asked this question! 

I wanted to give you the heads up about a fantastic 'Star Gift' offer Boots are running starting tomorrow Friday 29th November 2013 and running until midnight Thursday 5th December! SensatioNail Deluxe Starter Kit was £105 reduced to £45 in the Boots offer! That's not all if you purchase this kit over the weekend when Boots are offering triple advantage card points so you end up gaining another £5.40 in value making the kit just £39.50! 

SensatioNail Deluxe Starter Kit (enough for over 20 manicures/pedicures) contains: 

SensationNail Pro 3060 LED Lamp with mains adaptor; 2 full size colour polishes (Taupe Tulips & Sugar Plum); 1 full size base/top coat; 1 full size cleanser; Nail primer; Pack of 12 lint-free wipes; Nail Buffer & removal tool. The kit also comes with a voucher for £3 off a SensatioNail colour gel polish. 

This would make a brilliant Christmas gift or a present to yourself ;)

Review: Dr Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips

This little tube is a cult product and the secret of many makeup artists to kissable lips that historically was used to sooth woman's nipples during breastfeeding! Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips is clinically proven to reduce roughness of the skin by 40% in one hour!

Dr Lipps is a 100% natural multi-purpose SOS Balm and Lip Gloss made from 100% medical grade Lanolin (an oil that sheep naturally product on their fleece). Lanolin is known to be beneficial for our skin as its very similar to the oils that we humans produce naturally. It is hypoallergenic, tasteless & odourless, with no parabens or fragrances and so pure that even babies can safely use it.

The balm can be used to sooth dry or itchy skin, cuticles, under the eyes, split ends, eczema and psoriasis, nipples, nappy rash, sunburn, healing wounds and as an intensive over-night face mask...the list is endless! I thought the claim that it was clinically proven to smooth in one hour sounded too good to be true, but I was pleasantly surprised! The balm is calming and is super moisturising almost instantly without being sticky or heavy - I LOVE it! A little balm goes a long way and it comes in a handy travel-friendly sized tube.

Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips costs £11.50 for 15ml and is available from Look Fantastic. If you've never thought of using a nipple balm on your lips, I'd recommend giving it a go!

#bootsmacmillanbeauty Storify

Thank you to everyone that supported and that was involved in last night's Twitter #bootsmacmillanbeauty Q&A! I know that some who wanted to be involved in the Q&A couldn't make it so as promised we have pulled together a Storify of the tweets from the Twitter Q&A. FYI it’s often easier to view Storify on Chrome or Firefox. My thoughts are with all of you that are currently going through cancer treatment X

Macmillan Cancer Support & Boots Twitter Q&A #bootsmacmillanbeauty

I am proud to announce that I am hosting a Twitter Q&A next week and will be joined by guest experts Celebrity Makeup Artist Daniel Sandler (@danielsandler) and Boots Macmillan Beauty Advisor, Samantha Catt (@Macmillancancer). Join us on Tuesday 8th October between 7pm-8pm over on Twitter @perfectpolished when we will be discussing how to manage the visible side effects of cancer and help those going through treatment with boosting their confidence. We shall be using the hashtag #bootsmacmillanbeauty throughout the hour session so you are able to follow the conversation. 

A poll by Macmillan Cancer Support showed that 81% of cancer patients feel the visible side effects of their treatment have negatively affected their self esteem. Despite this, 64% are unsure of how to disguise them and 73% would welcome beauty advice from a local trained adviser. To meet this need, No7 advisors have been specially trained to offer advice and support to help people affected by cancer to manage the visible side-effects of their treatment. A tailored and personalised service has been developed by Boots and Macmillan Cancer Support and it aims to help women undergoing cancer treatment to feel more like themselves again at a time when they need it most, with a discrete one-to-one consultation. 

Daniel will be providing advice on how to manage the visible side effects of cancer, and helping women to feel more like themselves again. He did Jade Goody's wedding make-up so has experience with this type of make-up application. His mum also had cancer so he has personal experience of the issue. Samantha Catt is a Boots Macmillan Beauty Advisor who has been specially trained to disguise the visible side-effects of cancer treatment. Boots is using this Twitter Q&A to not only give make-up advice to those dealing with cancer, but also to encourage them to talk to their local Boots Macmillan Beauty Advisor.

I, like Daniel, have had personal experiences of cancer within my family. With this being such a sensitive topic, I'm sure many would think that looking ‘pretty’ is the least of cancer sufferers’ issues. Today, I had the pleasure of meeting two ladies from a hospice whilst on a training day in Reading. I mentioned to them about the #bootsmacmillanbeauty Twitter Q&A and asked what they thought. They told me that many of their terminally ill patients enjoy having their hair washed and styled or having makeup applied as it gives them a boost and this Q&A session was a brilliant idea. 

If you would like to find out more then please visit www.boots.com/cancer. I hope that you will join in with the Q&A session next week and please help spread the word. If you or somebody you know if going through treatment then please share this if you think they could benefit. 

Looking forward to Tweeting you all next week

xxx

10% Discount on Sigma Beauty

Sigma Beauty is offering 10% off Sigma Beauty! If you have been lusting after some new Sigma makeup brushes now is the perfect time to order to save yourself some cash. It's also perfect timing to get those Christmas presents ordered or leave a subtle hint to your other half ;)

Just simply visit Sigma, select your items and then at the checkout enter the code: FALL2013 to receive 10% off your entire purchases! The code is valid until 31st October 2013.

I definitely recommend their makeup brushes they are excellent quality yet, great value for money and far more affordable than MAC and they come beautifully wrapped so would make a perfect gift. Have you tried Sigma Brushes?

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Boots Botanics Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm Review

 

I have recently discovered a new budget balm that reminds me very much of my favourite Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm but a more affordable version under ten pounds! I enjoy using cleansing balms, especially in the colder months when my skin is feeling parched and tight with the over-use of central heating!

 

The Boots Botanics Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm is an organic deep-cleansing balm that contains a luxurious blend of Shea Butter, Rosehip and Jojoba Oil to leave skin smooth and beautifully clean. The solid Balm can be used morning and evening and comes with a muslin cloth which gently exfoliates and gives skin a deeper clean. The Balm is rich and luxurious to use and does a great job of removing dirt, lifts makeup and impurities. My skin is left clean, smooth and well hydrated thanks to the organic oily balm and the use of the muslin cloth to gently remove any dead skin cells that can leave the complexion dull.

 

A little goes a long way so take a small amount of the balm and warm with your fingertips until it turns into an oil then massage over the face avoiding the eye area (I tend to use Bioderma to remove my eye makeup) and neck using light upward strokes. Soak your muslin cloth in warm water and use as a gentle compress to draw out impurities, then rinse and remove remaining balm in small circular movements. Finish by soaking cloth in cold water and pressing gently over your face to close pores.
 

The Emma Hardie version has a more silky texture and melts into the skin like a dream, whereas the Boots Balm is a little more waxy in comparison but if you are on a budget then Botanics is a definitely winner! I'm impressed that this balm is  97% organic and contains no parabens, lanolin or mineral oil. I found the muslin cloth that came with the balm quite scratchy so I used a softer cloth but overall, this product fabulous value for money!

Boots Botanics Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm is priced at £8.99 for 70ml and is available from Boots however it is currently on offer for just £5.99! Have you tried this budget beauty item? Do you recommend any other products from the Botanics range?