Glossybox September 2013 London Edition Review

I received my glossybox in the post today and though I'd start a monthly review of them since I know many people, including myself, love to check out other people's boxes to compare with their own, it's all part of the fun of it!

Personally, I loved the box this month, keep reading to find out why!

First of all I loved the packaging with the Union Jack and pretty red paper. I'll definitely be using this box to keep makeup and accessories in.

I got a pair of eylure lashes worth about £5, almost half the box's price already! They are good quality and will be great for a night out.

I also got this Toni&Guy hair serum, worth £7. I generally don't use serum as it makes my hair greasy but I will pass it on to my mum who has dry hair.

Next, I got this felt tip liner from Be A Bombshell Cosmetics in the colour, Onyx, worth $14. I wore this to uni today and it has a very precise tip despite its 'chubby' size. It lasted well and I can see me wearing it often.

Not everyone loves perfume samples, however, this Liz Arden 'Untold' perfume is a very wearable, green fragrance and has a beautiful bottle so I'm happy enough with it.

Lastly, my final and favourite product is the HD Brows Blusher (no.2), worth a whopping £17.95. I love the HD Brows brand and received their Eye and Brow Palette from glossybox last year and use it everyday on my eyebrows. This is a warm pink shade with gold flecks. It is extremely pigmented and gives a nice, natural flushed look to the face.

Overall, this has been my favourite box to date for the last year or so. The products it contains come to at least £20 over the cost of box and I believe I received this box using glossy dots for filling in surveys on their website, making this box even better!

What did you get in your box?

Illamasqua HydraVeil Review

Today's post is going to be on a certain primer that has been sweeping through the beauty community online and its Illamasqua's new gel-based Hydra Veil.

I have never been a big user of primer, having much preferred moisturiser as a base for my makeup in the past. Out of the primers that I have tried; Gosh Foundation Primer, Benefit Porefessional and Loreal Studio Secrets Smoothing and Resurfacing Primer have all been silicone based and while they do create a more even base, I miss the hydration of a moisturiser. Thus, with this being a gel, I was very excited to try it and have been wearing it without my usual moisturiser for the last week or so.

As you can see I have a sample size since I didn't want to spend money on the full size in case it wasn't for my skin. The first thing that hit me was the funny 'jelly' like texture. It's not a smooth gel like I was expecting but as soon as you work the rubbery gel into your skin it turns into pure liquid. It feels like water on my face, it's that cooling and hydrating!

It dries very quickly into the skin but even then, you don't need to rush to put your foundation on as the product has already done its magic. I like to put a little more product around my very dry areas ie my forehead, nose and chin which works very well in avoiding any builds up of foundation.

Hydra Veil base, Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation and Vie Skin Dew

Overall, I really like this primer and can see why it has so many rave reviews on the Illamasqua website. Looking forward to buying the full size version soon!

Price: £27

What's your favourite primer?

MakeUp Forever Smoky Extravagant Mascara and Aqua Cream 16 Review

Today I'll be reviewing two MakeUp Forever products that I have recently been testing out.

Both are extremely versatile and high quality products, which is really to be expected from their price tag.

I already own the Smoky Eyes mascara which I use as my everyday staple so I was very excited to try its new sister mascara. Extravagant has a completely different wand with very little resemblance between it and its predecessor. The effect on the lashes is very much a more 'night' type of eye makeup as opposed to Smoky which I find more wearable.

The texture can make the mascara quite difficult to remove with your average facial wipe and may need a cleansing oil, much in the same way of Eyeko's Skinny Lash mascara which I avoid using due to its extremely difficult removal.

Overall this is a good mascara, which really opens the eyes with emphasis on volume but I probably won't repurchase.

Price: $24

Now, I really like MUFE's aqua cream range, it's long lasting and very wearable. The colour that caught my eye was no 16 which is a shimmery warm pinky beige shade. 

It has a creamy texture but can be slightly drying without the use of eye primer. It dries to a sort of crystalline finish which gives it a wet look when in the right type of light. 

I use it very sparingly due to its price tag but I definitely prefer it for a night look as opposed to daytime.  I have found the MeMeMe eye dew range to be a good dupe for the aqua creams.

Price: $23

Do you have a favourite MUFE product?

Maybelline Mono Eyeshadow in Iced Fudge

Iced Fudge, despite its name, is not very fudgy.

Colour: Instead, it is a beautiful shimmery rose-gold taupe. It can look purple in some lights and a warm brown in others. It goes on well on top of a shadow primer and lasts for hours. 

Texture: As I have found with other Maybelline eyeshadows in the past, they can tend to be slightly dusty with a lot of product dropping down onto the lower eye. Iced Fudge does have that dusty quality but with a good primer sets well.

Some people may find the shimmer in this eyeshadow overpowering, especially if they are more used to wearing matte eyeshadows. I personally like a nice shimmer but only if it has the pigmentation to back it up; thankfully, Iced Fudge has that. It blends easily into the crease but once again, a primer is a must as a dry base will only further emphasis any dustiness.

Price: I got this for £5 on eBay, bargain!

Overall, I feel that this is a very wearable colour for an every day or an evening makeup look and will compliment every eye colour!

What do you think of Maybelline eyeshadows?

Kate Spade Metro Watch Review

A little bit of background info before I get onto the proper review: So, my mum asked me what I wanted for my 21st birthday and I really didn't know. It's not actually until October so I was in no rush. I knew that it had been a few years since I'd worn a watch and my mum was set on the idea as a nice gift for a 'grown-up' birthday.

I first went in look of Michael Kors watches since everyone and their mother raves about them and I must admit I am partial to the beautiful rose gold colour that is prevalent in their range. I scoured the internet for one that I liked but found them either too chunky or too tiny. My wrists are relatively small so I really didn't want a watch with too big a face.

I then turned to a designer that I recently fell in love with while in the States: Kate Spade. I got a bag and a purse from an outlet in Florida from this designer (while on sale of course, 70% off, what's a girl to do? Review on these will come later!) and loves the quality. As my first proper designer bag I was quickly infatuated with the brand. I came across the 'metro' range of watches and realised these would be perfect as the face was a perfect medium size. 

They come in a range of colours: white, nude, black. I eventually had my heart set on a black one with a black floral design on the face. This one was unfortunately not internationally shipped from Nordstrom or the Kate Spade website. My saving grace came in the form of Macy's website which has recently began using 'borderfree' shipping worldwide, which allows you to buy in your own currency and pay import fees then and there, instead of getting hit with them once the package arrives in the UK. Delivery took around 5-7 days and my watch is finally here. I managed to take a few pictures before my mum whizzed it away to get wrapped up.

The watch itself is beautiful packaged and is of very high quality. I love the shiny black patent leather strap and gold design. I have tried the watch on and it has strange material on the under side of the strap which could become irritating on the wrist. I'll keep my eye on that.

Overall: As a gift for someone else or yourself, this is a stunning watch which looks both sophisticated and simple. It would go with so many outfits and looks great on the wrist. It is a pricey watch but no more than Michael Kors or other similar designers. I personally love it!

Essie Sugar Daddy and Canyon Coral Nail Polish Review

After receiving a glossybox with an essie nail polish in it, I became hooked on them! They have such a lovely 'gel-like' finish and look super shiny in the sun. Both of the shades I'm reviewing today were in two different glossy boxes I received.

First up is Sugar Daddy which is a pale, translucent pink.

Application: I hoped that it would be quite opaque but unfortunately the first coat looks like a clear polish and you need at least 4 coats to get a nice, solid manicure pink shade. 

Longevity: Essie nail polishes sadly don't last as long as Revlon polishes in my experience but with a good top coat I found Sugar Daddy to outlast Canyon Coral, possibly due to the extra coats. I teamed Sugar Daddy with some floral decals for going on holiday and it lasted almost the entire first week!

Price: £8 UK/ $8 US

Verdict: A pretty colour but too pale to be used on an every day basis since application takes so long to apply all the coats!

On to Canyon Coral!

Colour: This is the polish that made me fall in love with Essie! It is a beautiful orange red/coral. With a top coat, it is stunningly glossy and sleek looking. 

The yummy ice creams here pale in comparison to that lovely red on my thumb nail!

Application: What drew me to this polish right away was the fact that it looked perfect with only one coat! I still apply two to make all the nails uniform but if you were in a rush then canyon coral is for you. 

Longevity: This polish is not as long lasting as Sugar Daddy and I would say lasts about 3 days before it starts chipping. Obviously because its such a bright colour, any chipping is really apparent and I usually remove it rather than attempt to save it.

Price: Same as above.

Verdict: A definite favourite of mine which I like to wear when it's sunny and I'm feeling glamourous!

Revlon Nail Enamel in Grey Suede (705) review

On a recent trip to Florida, I had a list of beauty products that I knew I just had to buy while I was in the States to save myself otherwise extortionate shipping and customs costs to get them to the UK. Most of them are 'US only' shades or products and I'll do a big haul post once I've taken pictures of everything. So, in the meantime, I'll review this lovely polish from Revlon I picked up in Target.

Since finally having the courage to grow out my nails I have gone nail polish mad! Before going on holiday I researched lots of Revlon colours since I know them to be particularly long-lasting and chip resistant compared to other similar brands. This shade above, Grey Suede, stood out to me as being a very pretty neutral and when I couldn't seem to get it anywhere in the UK, I knew it was handy to be going to America the following week!

Colour: Now, this is one of those polishes that look different in every light. In the photo above, I was in a very well lit bathroom so it shows it's 'truest' shade, a creamy brown mink-y pink. In darker lights it looks a darker brown and in direct sunlight it sits on the pinker side of the spectrum.

Application: It applied well but needs about 2-3 coats to appear completely opaque. With a base and top coat applied I found that it didn't create air bubbles and had a nice shiny finish.

Longevity: Revlon polishes, as far as I've found, last well and this one lasted a good 4-5 days before chipping. I did have a strange occurrence on holiday where the colour on some of my nails gained a green tint in certain lights but I've pinned it down to me going in the pool too soon after painting my nails since it hasn't happened since in other applications!

Price: $4 US/£8 UK

Verdict: A wearable neutral polish that is great for every day and has good staying power. I should have bought more shades while I was in Florida!