Monday 25 August 2014

Review | Glossybox August 2014


So it's been a while… and I can explain! I've been working my butt off at work this week and just haven't had the time to write my review on August's Glossybox (to be fair, it arrived a while ago, work just, got in the way). But hey, I'm posting it now and hopefully you enjoy my thoughts on this months box.

It's actually Glossybox's 3rd anniversary, so there's been a fair amount of promotion and competitions supplied this month. In addition to this, my box includes a Glossybox collaboration product and a couple of full sized samples. All very exciting. Personally, I expected to see something more… extravagant as a result of the anniversary (you'll see what I mean as you read on), but I guess this box just didn't do it for me like last months. 

Philip Kingsley - Elasticizer (Full Size £38)



Although I knew this was going to be included in the stash, this was probably the highlight of my box. I have this product already and I can vouch that it does wonders for hair. I was once told that if there is anything that will fix your hair, Philip Kingsley's Elasticizer was it. Oddly, I find it works better for me between shampoo and conditioner, despite it saying it's a 'pre-shampoo.' What with shampoo often stripping nutrients from the hair, in my mind I wonder how much good a pre-shampoo would be - as surely the shampoo would then strip all that work away? Either way, my method of Shampoo, Kingsley and Conditioner works just fine, so I'll stick to that for the time being. 

The only thing with this product is it's so expensive *dies*. I paid £13 for a pretty small bottle and the full sized one is £38. To me, this is the go-to product when my hair is in an absolute state. But if you've got the money to treat your hair to this on a regular basis, I say go for it!

Kryolan for Glossybox - Highlighter Cashmere (£12.95)


Lately I've been getting so many highlighters I could probably do one of my 'battle of' series with highlighters alone!

Joking aside, this is a good highlighter. It's incredibly creamy and really packs a punch in the shine department. What I'm most impressed with, however, is the colouring of this highlighter. Too often they have a very unnatural pale pink tint which is incredibly obvious upon application, resulting in some serious blending needing to take place. This highlighter is slightly more golden in colour which I would probably describe as 'champagne', but generally warms up the complexion and looks much more natural (thank God).

Disappointingly, this is the only full sized product actually worth a sizeable amount. Unlike last week, Glossybox focused on quantity (6 samples) over quality, which is a shame as I'd rather have less but better products.

Yves Rocher - Pink Nail Polish (£3.60)


I think we all know how I feel about nail varnishes by now, so I'll point out my thoughts on the product in general. I think the colour is really pretty and perfect for summer. It's certainly something that'll go with most outfits and make everything that little bit more feminine. This is probably the first time I've ever been handed a sample size of a nail varnish though, which is disappointing. I'm thinking of simply giving this to my little sister who'll get far more use out of it. 

Price wise, the product is affordable on a regular basis, unlike many of the other nail varnishes gifted in Glossybox's. This can be seen as both a good or a bad, depending on how you look at things: either it's good because you can actually afford the product or it's bad because you like the more expensive treats you couldn't normally buy all the time. I'm the latter, but I don't really mind getting a cheap nail varnish every now and then.

Figs & Rouge - Mini Hand Cream (£6.95)


Is it weird that (Kingsley aside), this is probably my favourite product of the box? Really just because it's massively convenient. I've almost run out of most of my hand creams so this is quite a nice little top up. There is, of course, the added bonus that it smells amazing. Can't say I've ever tried 'Rose Berry', but I really like it and I'm sure I'll be using this often.

One of the main appeals of this product, for me, is actually the packaging. It's so bright and vibrant that it just grabs your attention immediately. With hand creams, they tend to look so drab or overly (granny styled) floral that they just aren't interesting. This is a lovely blend of bright, floral and quirky so Figs & Rouge get a massive thumbs up for their packaging.

Essence - Crazy Volume Mascara (£2.79)


 Personally, I never seem to find a mascara that really makes my eyelashes amazing. I just wasn't blessed (like my sister) with naturally long and pretty lashes. Given the price of this mascara, I can't exactly say I'm hopeful this'll do the trick. I've found that the shorter your eyelashes, the more expensive the product you need to compensate for that fact. My sister can pick up any mascara and her eyes will look lovely no matter what. Me? If I did that I probably shouldn't have even bothered (sighs).

Now, if this actually does give my eyelashes 'crazy volume', then I'll be amazed (and my purse won't suffer so much), but I'll be proceeding with caution, non-the-less.

Lalique - L'Amour (£67)


I don't tend to go crazy over perfume samples. The last time I really liked the samples in a box was when I was given two of the Juicy Couture summer releases, those were pretty great actually. This one is so nice though.

Normally I'd be horrified at the excessively floral description, 'Rose' all to often is a direct synonym of 'Old Woman'. This is an exception, and I would definitely purchase this (when I had money). It has a perfect blend of rosebuds, fresh bergamot, a white floral heart and a musk base note, giving you that 'classy summer scent'. It is a parfum meaning this scent will last much longer, hence the slightly bigger price tag considering it's only for a 50ml. 


Overall?

I'll be honest, considering that this box was meant to be an anniversary box, I'm a little unimpressed. In 'Subscription Box Land', this month has been a bit of a disappointment as both Birchbox and Glossybox were somewhat lacklustre. Don't get me wrong, they were okay, but I figured the boxes anniversaries would constitute something bigger? 

Personally, I would have rather had something similar to last months box, which gave me 5 full sized (and decently priced) items. In comparison, I was given 2 full sized items, one of which I find to be cheap. I guess my general consensus on the box was that it was 'okay', but not one that'll get people subscribing, that's for sure.


Comment below what you thought of this months box!
Did you agree with me or did you love it?

xx

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