Beauty Box Review // Look Fantastic August 2019

An early box review! I was also very lucky as I went home for two days and this box was due to arrive on Monday but it came Saturday so I didn't have to wait to go home again to get it. I love the bright orange shade this month and I think I'll have to do something with the Kiss My Peach duo I just got. But onto the products.

Luxie // 737 Tapered Highlighter Brush
Full Size - RRP £27

This is a nice brush. It's sturdy, beautifully made and soft. I don't use it on my face but I use it on my nails to brush off excess glitter and it works like a charm. Great item to start off with even if it is grossly overpriced.

BellaPierre // Heatwave Highlighting Palette
Full Size - RRP £????

Seeing as how this has been made exclusively for the Look Fantastic beauty box, it doesn't actually have an RRP because you can't buy it. I wouldn't have minded if it was a quality product but this thing is awful. There is barely any pigment, it's just chunky glitter pieces. This is the type of product you would find in a bargain bin for £1. It's even in that cheap plastic packaging. Even Barry M palettes come in the cardboard packing which looks nicer and is kinder to the environment. LF are stating this is worth £30....sure Jan.

James Read // 1 Hour Glow Mask Face & Body
25ml Sample - RRP £3.75 (based on £30 for 200ml)

I'm not the biggest fan of James Read products, the spray for the face made me break out in spots and I feel this would do the same. I've gotten into a good routine with skincare products and I'm not sure where this would fall as is not a moisturiser or serum so I would use it on top but then it feelds like there would be too many products...I'll give it a go on the weekends as I don't think I have the strength to go into work with an orange face if it goes wrong.

Natura // Herb Infused Sheet Mask
1 Sheet Full Size - RRP £4.95

I've had one of these before in a Pink Parcel and it was a nice sheet mask. But sheet masks are all the same, they all hydrate and that's it. I've gone through so many different ones and I can't honestly say one of them has made a meaningful impact. I like using them but they're not worth £4.95 for one.

Doucce // Luscious Lip Stain in 'Holiday Getaway'
1.75ml Sample - RRP £6.12 (based on £21 for 6ml)

The full size of this also comes with gloss so you can wear matte or glossy lips but I've tried wearing this and it's not for me. I think this is probably the worst shade they have. It's this dark orange/peach/coral thing and it looks awful. I just think the whole matte lip trend is over in general. I was never a big fan and it makes your lips crusty in real life (we all know that front camera blurs...) This dries to a powdery matte finish that still transfers but does remove quite easy with some micellar water. Not a great product overall though.

Rituals // The Ritual of Holi Body Cream
100ml Full Size - RRP £6.90

And last is my favourite product in the box. When I started receiving Rituals products several years ago in boxes I hated them. The scents were just awful, but their latest ones like the Ayurveda and Holi smell so good. I love this body cream and I'll be buying it as soon as I run out. It makes my skin feel so good and it layers well with my body oil and my skin has never looked better. And that's after using the Sol De Janiero Bum Bum cream for a month. That stuff is £44 and this £7 cream has beaten it hands down. If only  Rituals had a similar scent. I just wish this stuff came in a 200ml size but it is more than worth £7 for 100ml.

// Box Value

// 6 Items // 4 Full Size // 2 Sample Sizes

// £48.72 Estimated Worth

Not as good as last month and the estimated value is quite low for an LF box but the "exclusive" highlighter has a stupid made up price of £29.99. Yeah no. This was a nice box for August though where the summer nights are starting to get darker (sad face) it's just a shame a few of the products were a bit lacklustre. But I love that Rituals cream so all in all, I'm pretty happy this month.

Look Fantastic Beauty Box

Monthly - £15

3 Months - £14.50

6 Months - £13.75

12 Months - £13

All options are billed monthly and include P&P

psst.. the sneak peak for September is a Molton Brown Shower Gel in Orange and Bergamot. I'm pretty sure they had a Molton Brown shower gel for their birthday edition last year as well. If they have the Eve Lom Cleanser it's obvious that they do the exact same box every year. Look out for a Mane & Tail hand cream and Parma Violets as well.

Beauty Box Review // Birchbox July 2019

Deary deary me. What a sad sorry box we have this month. If I was less than impressed last month, July's box did nothing to help alleviate those sentiments. It's a shame as there were some good products that you could've received but I feel as though I got the duds. I would've loved the glamglow cream, the percy and reed fragrance and lumene skin tint but no. I got an 11ml sample of body lotion and a pillow spray that smells like paxo stuffing.

The box as always is cute though and I got some good nails out of it, but I'm seriously having to evaluate if I should be spending £12.95 a month to get nail art inspiration.

Floss Beauty // My Everyday Eyeshadow in Tokyo

Full Size - RRP £12.50

I actually forgot to choose what shade I wanted but I wasn't bothered either way as they were extremely similar with being a champagne nude and the other a soft coral. I ended up with Tokyo which is a pink champagne shade. It's shimmer to the extreme and I've also been using it as a highlighter. It is genuinely a lovely shade with great pigmentation. I tend to just apply it with my fingers and then use some orange shades from the ABH Soft Glam palette with it. I'm very surprised as this is my favourite item in the box, but that's not saying much as the other items aren't exactly great. This is also another item that is exclusive to Birchbox...most of their fullsize items for the past few months now have been exclusives from brands I've never heard of. 

Marcelle // Xtension Plus Curl Mascara

4.5ml  Sample Size - RRP £7.67 (based on £14.50 for 8.5ml)

I had high hopes for this as I'm completely in love with the Marcelle BB cream (it's my holy grail BB cream) but it falls short. I do like that it has a small curved wand making it easier to get into the corners but the formula itself does almost nothing. I can see some slight lengthening but for the most part two coats doesn't really do much. It's no Ciaté Wonderwand or Too Faced Better Than Sex. There isn't any clumping though so it's got that going for it.

This Works // Deep Sleep Pillow Spray

5ml Travel Size - RRP £6

I think I've recived this about 10 times now and I'm sick of it. I've had it in Glossybox, Look Fantastic, Pink Parcel, Powder Box, Latest In Beauty...every beauty box subscription I've had, this has been in it at some point. I'm dreading the moment we get a full size version in FabFitFun...I know it will happen. Anyway, I hate this stuff. It's not relaxing; it smells like cooked chicken. It just makes me hungry and then I get annoyed because it's bedtime and I can't eat anything. I'm just sick of seeing it in boxes and I want them to give it a rest.

Palmer's // Coconut Oil Body Lotion

11ml Sample - RRP £0.15 (based on £5.49 for 400ml)

I actually can't believe this is in here. This should have been an extra item not an item in the box. It even says on the back of the sample "compliments of palmer's" meaning that it's a free sample. If this had been a 50 or 100ml sample I wouldn't have been as angry but 11ml? This didn't even cover my entire body. I have nothing against Palmer's because I love their products; they're great quality for a fantastic price and this moisturiser is no exception but I'm extremely disappointed in Birchbox for sending this as an item. On their insta they're defending it by saying they "love sending out trial sizes for discovery" but literally everyone in the UK knows what Palmer's is. If you've ever been in a Superdrug or Boots, you know Palmer's. Their cocoa butter moisturiser is one of the best smelling moisturisers in the world. This sample size was pretty pathetic though; especially given that the full size of 400ml is only £5.49.

Percy & Reed // Oh So Smooth Frizz Fixer

50ml Travel Size - RRP £7.00

Eh, this is ok. I generally like Percy & Reed hair care products and this smells nice. It's also nice to have an actually decent sized sample as well. I used this on my graduation to try and keep my hair in check as it was a particularly humid day and it went well. I didn't notice my hair getting any bigger and it kept it smelling nice. The only problem is that your supposed to brush this through dry hair and well I have semi-afro hair; once it's dry you don't brush it or it turns into a complete birds nest so I'll never really be able to tell if it works properly or not. 

// Box Contents

// 1 Full Size, 2 Travel Sizes, 2 Samples

// £33.32 Estimated Box Worth

This box was not the best and it hasn't helped in my wavering decision to cancel this subscription. I think I'm going to leave it one more month but if it doesn't improve it's going to go; even if I love the boxes because it's £12.95 that I could be spending on nail polish. I get that it's supposed to be a sample box but if the Feel Unique Pick 'n' Mix can offer better stuff for £3.95 and Look Fantastic can offer infinitely better items than I don't know why this one can't do better. The samples have just been too tiny and I'm sick of all the 'exclusive' brands.

Birchbox

P&P £2.95

Monthly - £10

6 Months - £60

12 Months - £110

pssst...the sneak peak for next month is the balanceme Hyaluronic Plumping Mist Spray that will be in every box. I got a 10ml sample from LIB once and the photo is showing an even smaller sample; why am I not surprised?