Repair and Refresh

Ah stupid dry skin and dry hair.. I know I've been banging on about this a lot lately, but I've been trying new products and needed to share them with you!

I was wondering around Boots a couple of weeks ago in search of some repairing and refreshing hair and face products to help combat my dry skin and hair lately. 

I didn't have much to spend, due to the fact I have so much to save for for my holiday in June (that I may have only saved £63 for..) so this is great for those on a budget too!

First up hair - I bought the Umberto Gianni Indulgent beauty moisture mask. It's only £5.61 for a pretty big tub and it's lasted ages, I'm still under of a quarter of the way through it! It's a typical once-a-week hair mask as we wouldn't want to over condition our hair. It's a very thick formula which I wasn't expecting as I'm used to the Herbal Essences hair masks which are a tad runny, but this wasn't a problem and I actually found it went further. Oh and the smell is amazing! Smells just like you've had your hair done in a professional salon. 

Result: Well if you haven't washed your hair in a few days and you leave it on for a while (I've been putting it on in the bath then sitting there for half an hour before rinsing it off) it will do wonders for you! The tub says the longer you leave it on the better, and I completely agree. It makes your hair soft and bouncy and feels so fresh. Go buy a face mask (or make your own honey and lemon one here) light some candles and feel pampered for a an hour or two and come out with amazing hair!

Now for the skin care - This is the Soap and Glory Peaches and clean 3-in-1 deep purifying wash off cleanser. It's the first Soap and Glory product I've used and I can tell I'll be buying more from them. It's only £8 for a 200ml bottle and it's got a push pump top! I find it so much easier to use products with a push pump, you just get the desired amount far more than a squeezy bottle. Although I do sometimes mistake my soap dispenser for my toothpaste as they're both push pumps.. which as you can guess doesn't end well even if the soap does smell of cola bottles! 

Anyway, I use about 3 pumps of the stuff, and as with all cleansers, just rub it all over your face and leave it a few minutes then rinse off. It smells amazing, I'm just in love with all things fruit-smelling lately, it's making me think of summer! 

Result: I've been using it a few times a week (you can use it everyday, I just forget) and my cheeks have been a lot smoother. I think if you used it everyday for a fortnight you would definitely see a difference in your skin, it'll look healthy and feel great so I definitely recommend!

What new products have you found to try and combat the winter weather?

xo.

Glossybox January review

It's that time again folks! The monthly Glossybox review is here and it's not a good one. I shall try not to rant, but it's a bit inevitable at this point. 

So they've 'revamped' the Glossybox! I don't like it.. Yes it is more 'Glossy' but I personally preferred the matte effect to the box, gave it more of a sophisticated feel. Also, they've made the lid deeper giving the impression you're going to get more in the box, although that's not really the case. There was a lot less of the silly tissue paper than usual but the products also were a lot less in quality if you ask me.

First up is the Anatomicals 'Puffy the eye bag slayer wake-up under eye patches'. That's a mouthful for a product name! Quick and catchy definitely isn't the anatomicals way. The full price is £6.99 for 3 pairs at Asos.com. We got two pairs in our pack, why they didn't just give us the full size pack I don't know but there you go. They apparently reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and all that usual stuff under eye products promise to do. They feel pretty weird to be honest, and be careful when you take them out as I put mine on in the bath and one fell out and stuck to the side of it. 

I can't quite say it made me less wrinkly, as I don't have wrinkles, (yet!) but it made my eyes feel more awake.

This is the Yu-be moisturising skin cream, which according to the tube can also be used for dry lips. It doesn't smell which is quite good, and did make my lips a tad smoother. It's £13.50 for the full 33g tube and I think the ones we got were 3g each. I've only used it the once, so I don't have much more to say on it, although I have heard you can get these exact samples for free on their website, which if true, I'm definitely not impressed with Glossybox.

The first make up we've actually received in ages from Glossybox! It's the beautyuk cc cream with spf 30. I'd say this is my favourite item of the box, because it's actually my shade (10 natural) and it does just as good a job as my Maybelline foundation! It's £4.99 for the 25ml which is what I got in the box. I'd most likely buy this again, although I'm still not sure what the big deal on these CC and BB creams are..

Oh look, more skincare! Seriously Glossybox, you are a BEAUTY box, give us some more make up! This is the Balance Me super toning body wash, retailing at £10.25 for the full 250ml. It can be used as a body wash or added to your bath for an 'all over luxurious soak'. Again I've only used it once, and it was okay. It has a really nice smell, but it smells like something my nan would be using!

Not my favourite.

And the star product of the 'back to basics' box was a pair of tweezers from The Vintage Cosmetic Company. Yes, I pay £13 a month for this box and they gave me tweezers. Yes they're worth £8 and they look pretty and I adore anything vintage, but I don't use tweezers! So that's another wasted product. 

All in all, this box was an utter disappointment. Yes I like the CC cream, but it's £4.99, and I paid (well I used my glossy dots so I got it free but that's not the point) £13 for the box, and it's the only thing I would actually buy in there! After receiving this box, like many other blogs I've read out there, I promptly cancelled my subscription. I gave them a chance, I gave them 5 months of chances and over £50 and each month it got worse. If they spent less time and resources on changing their box and writing the magazine and more on the contents, maybe they'd be better, but for now I'm not going to continue. But not to fear, I'll still get my beauty box fix as I've moved on over to Birchbox. Let's hope it's better and I get more make up! Review to come soon as it's arrived :)

How did you find this month's box?

xo.