It's Glossybox's third birthday this month, so to celebrate, they were giving their recipients an extra little gift. My 'birthday bonus' was a little Yves Rocher Nail Varnish. I bought this box with my Glossydots, which makes it even better, because all of the products were technically free!
Yves Rocher Pink Nail Varnish
This retails for £3.60. I received a beautiful pinky-coloured varnish; which is great because I tend to stick to reds/pinks regarding my nails.I've not got round to using this product yet, but as you can see from this picture it's a lovely shade; but it is rather on the tiny side - A 3ml bottle.
Philip Kingsley Elasticizer
This product was specifically made for Audrey Hepburn, so surely it's got to be impressive? At £38 a pop for a full sized tube, it's very far out of my price range; but I'm delighted to give it a try......Having said that, I've not actually had a chance to try this yet because it involves: Applying it on wet hair, wrapping your hair in a towel for 10-20 minutes, then rinsing and washing your hair as normal afterwards. I'm one of those people who's always in a rush when getting ready, so I've seldom got time to add an extra step to my morning routine! However, I promise that I'll talk about it in depth once I've had the chance to try it!
Figs & Rouge Mini Hand Cream
This smells AMAZING. So fruity. A full-sized tube of this costs £6.95, so I'm probably going to use it as a 'treat' - Sticking to cheaper hand creams for daily use...* My little booklet tells me that this is readily available from Feel Unique.The smell actually reminds me of Parma Violets. You know the random purple sweets? A bit like them.
After using this (quite sparingly) my hands feel much softer. It soaks in really quickly and there's not a lot of residue that's left behind - So hopefully no greasy fingerprints everywhere and things sliding out of your hands, like you get with some hand creams...
I've learned the hard way not to try and handwrite stuff after using hand cream. It never goes well.
The packaging's really bright and ensures that it stands out. It reminds me of L'Occitane Rose Tenderness Shea Butter Hand Cream, but it's about half the price! The packaging is similar in style (but not colour), the quality of the product feels just as high to me... The only thing that's different is the aroma.
*I'm really tight with my money...
Kryolan for Glossybox - Highlighter Cashmere
I'm really getting into my highlighter at the moment, so I'm pleased to try a new one. I've always used liquid highlighters (like Me Me Me's Beat the Blues, Benefit's High Beam or ELF's Radiance Enhancer) or powders (like Sleek's), so I was intrigued to try a cream-based highlighter for the first time.My initial thoughts? A little seems to go a really long way. It's easy to apply and looks great. It's quite a shimmery golden finish but looks subtle at the same time, which is something I always look for in a highlighter. You don't want people guessing that you're wearing it from ridiculously shiny cheekbones/browbones/noses etc.
This product costs £12.95 for a 4.5g pot.
Lalique L'Amour
I'm sure I've mentioned before that I'm a cheapskate, especially when it comes to perfumes. If you receive beauty boxes yourself, you'll be aware that you only receive small samples of perfumes. A full size bottle of this is a whopping £67, so definitely out of my price range.It smells lovely. That's about all I have to say about all perfumes, to be honest. I'm hardly a connoisseur.
Normally perfume samples (of which I've had quite a few from Glossybox over the past few months) come with an atomiser, but this is literally a tube with a removable lid, which then reveals a top with holes in it that you have to shake over yourself to get it out! So, as you can imagine, I looked like a complete idiot in order to smell impressive. (Maybe I was doing it wrong?)
It's described as: 'A sensuous floral fragrance, a love potion for absolute seduction'. Ooooh. So if you're looking to seduce someone, this is the perfume to wear... Apparently.
I've not tried doing that myself. Nor have I attracted shedloads of men (or any men at all, actually) whilst wearing this perfume.
Essence - I Love Extreme - Crazy Volume Mascara
I'm a mascara junkie. I well and truly hold my hands up. I'm also incredibly picky when it comes to mascara, so it takes a really good product to please me.This costs £2.79. It's wonderfully cheap and cheery. The packaging is bright and eye-catching. You can't miss the bright pink tube with bold black lettering across it.
I really like the brush; it's longer than your average mascara applicator and bristles are made of plastic. One thing that I wasn't keen on was how clumpy it can get. I really can't bear clumpy mascara... The first time I used it, it was fine. The second time, however, it did cake my eyelashes in mascara a little too much. I had to use an old (clean) Max Factor False Lash Effect brush to try and save my eyes from looking like the legs of a fat spider. I'm undecided as to whether I'd use this mascara on a regular basis.
I've never tried anything from the Essence range before, but I always enjoy discovering new and cheaper brands from Glossybox.
After visiting their website, I'm reliably informed that they're a relatively new company and my nearest Essence stocker is actually Wilkos. Seeing as they're everywhere up and down the UK, I'm sure that this product is really easy to get your hands on! (I've not been to Wilkos for ages, which is probably why I've not seen it!)
Thanks for reading!
Katie
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I bet that question's been on your mind for a very long time, hasn't it? You're just dying to know the contents of my 'portable' makeup bag, aren't you? Admit it! You are!
I've seen a few posts like this and I hardly ever miss the chance to jump on a bandwagon. I'm not going on holiday this year, nor have I been on holiday for ages, soooo here's my twist: It's the makeup bag that I carry around in my handbag all the time.* (Yeah, I'm scraping the barrel here...)
*It's kind of a 'What's in my Handbag?'-type post, but without the rest of the contents of my handbag, because we'd seriously be here all day if I did that. I'm like Mary Poppins in that respect...
MOR Makeup Bag
4Head
I'm not into alternative medicine or anything like that; before the science community pick on me. This genuinely works for me. I'm a bit weird and I can't swallow tablets at all, so when I get a headache I either have to opt for drinking something containing soluble paracetamol or use 4Head.It contains menthol, so it feels all cool and tingly on my forehead. It genuinely works for me and I don't know whether that's just the placebo effect or whether it's the ingredients, but I'd definitely recommend this if you struggle to swallow tablets!
Carmex
I love this. I think I've mentioned it before? Or at least, I meant to. I carry Carmex with me wherever I go and I even use it as my overnight lip balm. It's brilliant.I cannot recommend it enough. This version of Carmex (the tube one) also looks quite shiny on your lips, so it's a really nourishing alternative to gloss. It's cheap and you can easily pick it up in Boots/Superdrug or supermarkets as well.
Benefit Boi-ing Concealer
I got this after Christmas in a reduced gift set. It normally retails for £17.50, which is a little out of my price range if I'm honest, so I jumped at the chance to get a select few Benefit goodies for a fraction of the price.It's a really good concealer, but I use it sparingly because I want it to last as long as possible. It's that good and I'm too much of a cheapskate to splash out on concealer at that price on a regular basis. It is marketed as an 'industrial strength' concealer, which is exactly what you need on those days when you've not had a great deal of sleep.
When I do use it, I tend to solely cover those pesky under-eye circles with it, on top of my Collection Lasting Perfection concealer. (Yeah, it takes a lot to shift my dark circles...)
There are also two different shades in this set, but I only use the lightest one... Or else I'd look a bit daft with a pale face and orange-under-eye-circles. Wouldn't I?
Sleek Pout Polish
This is such an understated product. I got one in a beauty box a few months ago and loved the finish of the product, but wasn't that keen on the purple-y colour, so I went and bought one in a pinkier shade.It's just like a lip balm, but with wonderful selection of colours available too.
Mac Cremesheen Lipstick
I went to London the day before my birthday (2nd Aug) and ended up wandering round Harrods eyeing up various pieces of makeup that are ridiculously far out of my price range. I'd normally be very reluctant to spend a whopping £15.50 on lipstick, however I thought I'd give myself a birthday treat... It is a girl's prerogative to buy expensive makeup, after all.I bought this in the beautiful shade Coral Bliss. I always seem to be drawn to coral lipsticks, it's weird. Or, I'm weird... But we already knew that.
This lipstick applies with ease and stays on for ages without an additional coating product like Lipcote. It's also moisturising and doesn't really dry my lips out like a lot of lipsticks do, which is a huge bonus!
(I only just managed to stop myself from splashing out on some Chanel Lumiere foundation... That genuinely took ALL of my willpower.)
Lóreal Million Lashes Mascara
I have talked about this before in my May Favourites. So I'm not going to go into loads of detail, except for saying that I always like to carry mascara with me out and about, just in case my eyelashes need perking up.
Kleenex Blotting Tissues
I bought a couple of packets of these a few months ago from Home Bargains. They were only a pound, I think. These are wonderful for those days where your skin's on the oily side or when it's hot and your makeup looks hideously shiny, then starts sliding off. You just pat them over your face to take away the shine.I have used a handful of various brands of blotting tissues over the years and some of them actually add powder to your face instead of zapping the oil out; like these ones do. I prefer to get rid of the oil rather than have extra product like more powder applied to my face, so that I don't clog my pores up.
Toni & Guy Classic Shine Gloss Serum
I love this. It's not pricey at all and I always carry it with me just in case I end up with the dreaded frizz. This tiny version costs £2.19 for 10ml. Even if I use it every day, it seems to last ages. It's definitely worth trying out and the size means it's really easy to carry around with you.
Collection Lasting Performance Concealer
Did you read this post earlier in the week? If so, you'll know how much I adore this concealer. I take a tatty older one (that's pretty much run out) with me everywhere, just in case my dreaded dark circles start to show.
The mirror is Cath Kidston. Oh, and the candle is from Sainsbury's. It was only £2.50.
I'm not a pyromaniac, honestly.
Thanks for reading!
Katie
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| Uni assignment: Not quite as stupid as I make out, am I? |
I'm not trying to be some kind of mediocre lifestyle guru, honestly. Here's my experience of receiving my GCSE and A-Level Results. (You best get your reading glasses out. It's a long one...)
My GCSE grades were average. I got seven Cs, three Bs and one D, which I'll not dwell on. I've always been a Jack-of-all-trades, and it's people who are okay at everything but don't particularly excel at anything that are ignored in a classroom environment. Those who are visibly struggling get help from teachers, so do naughty kids and those who are exceptionally good at subjects get noticed too. Those who are stuck in the middle, muddling their way through GCSEs and A-Levels often get overlooked, which doesn't help their confidence. If you're one of those people, as was I, remember: You're doing just fine.
I'll admit that my A-Level grades were quite bad. To me, they were abysmal, in fact. I'm so ashamed of them even today (five years later), that I shan't admit here what they were, but I still got into my first choice Uni. It's only at Uni that confidence grew and I started to work to the best of my ability, like I never managed at school. In the end, I really knuckled down and graduated last year with a 2:1. So I didn't do too badly in the end, did I?
Moral of that story? It's never too late to pull your socks up and try to excel... You might just surprise yourself.
Moral of that story? It's never too late to pull your socks up and try to excel... You might just surprise yourself.
Don't compare yourself to others. Most of my friends are ridiculously clever and usually put me to shame. I'm proud of them and proud to be their friend, but it doesn't mean to say that I haven't gone through phases of feeling inferior next to their exceptional intelligence and talents. You can only be yourself and achieve what you are capable of.
Let it go. If you're not good at Maths, try your hardest and then move on. Focus on what you're good at and; most importantly, what you enjoy. Not everyone can be good at Maths and Science and there's nothing wrong with being better at Drama and English. Those who tell you otherwise are the stupid ones.
Try and ignore the politics. I know Michael Gove is a tallywacker, to say the least, but he's gone now. (Cue a collective sigh of relief from teachers and students alike). I also know that it's desperately unfair that politicians are moving the goalposts and effectively playing with your lives. I was lucky that I never had to endure this added uncertainty when I took my GCSEs in 2007. You can only do your best, even though they're in ever-demanding circumstances.
Ignore the news. Every single news channel will broadcast live from schools across the land, bombarding you with those special kids who got 20 A*s at GCSE and are now going to study 17 million A-Levels at the best college that's ever existed. Well done to them. They even got to open their magic brown envelope live on TV. You literally can't escape the high achievers; the media LOVE them. It's no use letting that drag you down on what should be a special and memorable day for you (Hopefully for the right reasons...)
So you didn't get into the paper. Okay, so you'll never experience acclaim like having a picture of you literally jumping for joy whilst clutching that once-terrifying brown envelope, but that's alright. At least it won't come back to haunt you in fifteen years time.
It really isn't the end of the world if you fail. So, you got a D in Graphic Products (like I did...). Is it really the end of the world? Will you really need to complete Third Angle Orthographic Projection again in your future career? Or will you just forget it like most things you learned at school? You can retake failed subjects or forget them and move on. Like I said, focus on what you're good at and what you enjoy. I never really liked Graphics that much anyway...
Don't cry. Please don't do this. Embarrassingly, I did this once. I was so disappointed with my AS results that I walked home crying past some builders who clearly thought I'd lost the plot. It's not worth getting too upset about. Everything'll be alright in the end.
And if you passed with flying colours, well done!
Thanks for reading!
Katie
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I have talked about this before, albeit briefly. In my Spotty Summer Scrapping Schedule, I did promise that I'd go into more detail about the much-lauded Effaclar Duo. So here you go!
The box claims that the product: 'Corrects the appearance of imperfections, unclogs blocked pores and fights against marks.'
'After 24 hours the product is supposed to make imperfections look visibly less red. After 8 days, imperfections should appear significantly reduced. After 4 weeks, pores should look unclogged, skin texture should look refined and this product is supposed to control the appearance of shine.'
I'm not sure that it solved all of the above problems for me, but if you suffer from spots and nothing else seems to work, I'd give this product a go. It's worth a try.
For me, this product seems to work about 50% of the time. Sometimes, it's a miracle product; getting rid of huge, horrid zits within hours. However, at other times, it just doesn't seem to do that much. I've no idea why, but one of my friends uses this product too and has exactly the same problem.
As an aside, it smells quite unusual. I'm really not sure how I'd describe it... You soon get used to it though.
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| Effaclar Duo balancing on a couple of Shakespeare's Sonnets; which I understand about as well as the instructions... |
When I first bought this product, I had no idea how to use it. I didn't know whether it was a moisturiser in its own right or whether it was more of a 'treatment' before moisturising. I saw the instructions and assumed that those would cover the steps...However, the instructions were only in German and French. I'm part-German and studied German at school but that doesn't mean to say that I can translate it word for word... I didn't do French at all, so I'd be absolutely useless. In the end, I had to resort to Googling it and reading instructions from La Roche Posay's website. (Which isn't really ideal, is it?)
It's for use on oily skin and can be used on sensitive skin too. I have the latter, but my skin's more combination than just oily. On its own, I found that it doesn't moisturise those dry parts quite enough. To combat that dryness, I often use this product in conjunction with a small blob of my normal moisturiser, so that my skin's definitely getting the nourishment it needs.
Obviously at £15.50 for 40ml, it's a pricey product. I thought it was risky to spend so much money on this product, but I wanted to see if it would help my ever-worsening skin. I've made it last for about six weeks, often using it just at night. Obviously, if you use it day and night, as advised, you'd run out considerably quicker.
I've suffered from red skin for years and it's something that I can hide quite well under foundation. This product boasts about eradicating redness and I do believe that my skin is a little less red. After I started using it, I kept on catching my own reflection and seeing that I looked paler, not beetroot-faced like usual. So either I'm ill or it's worked in that respect...
Regarding spots, I'm having fewer breakouts, but I don't know if that's due to lifestyle changes or this product. About three-four weeks into using this product, I had one of the worst breakouts I've ever experienced and had to launch a vicious assault on acne with myriad products; this being one of them. So I'm honestly not sure if it's worked.
It's one of La Roche Posay's flagship products; and I do like it, but I wish that it would've had a more dramatic effect on my skin. Maybe I expected too much from this product, on account of it being expensive and coming from a premium skincare brand?
Will I repurchase? I'm not sure. It's very nearly run out now, but I'm not made of money. As I said, I'm not sure if it has worked; so I'll give myself a break from the product to see if my skin worsens again without it.
Advantages:
- Good base for makeup,
- When it works, it's brilliant,
- Lasts a few weeks,
- Great for reducing redness.
Disadvantages:
- Expensive,
- Doesn't always work,
- Unusual scent,
- Can make drier patches of skin a little worse.
Have you tried Effaclar Duo? Did it improve your skin?
Thanks for reading!
Katie
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