Unboxing Glossybox UK - August 2019 - The Birthday Edition*

No matter what kind of subscription box you subscribe to, I think it goes without saying the Christmas box is probably the most eagerly anticipated box of the year. I always look forward to the Christmas editions of all of the boxes that I subscribe to, I love the limited edition box designs and the special, and often higher priced items, that brands often include in their December boxes. If you are a Glossybox subscriber though you don't have to wait until December for a bit of sparkle, and a bit of excitement, you can get it all now courtesy of the August edition of Glossybox UK, otherwise known as "The Birthday Edition".

Yes, August is Glossybox's birthday month and they're celebrating the only way they know how, with a limited edition box adorned with sparkles. I am a huge fan of holographic and foil sparkles and the special limited edition birthday box, features the usual pink box with a fabulous holographic, pink sparkle drip design on the lid.

The sparkle themes carries on inside the box with pink tissue, white ribbon, and silver foil shred. I'm definitely going to be keeping both the box and the shred and the ribbon, for storage, and also for wrapping gifts later in the year.

Now as I've mentioned in several previous unboxing posts, I don't really take a lot of notice of the bits of paper that come both in the box itself, and in the outer box or bag, but I'm starting to because you never know what you might find. As per usual you get a booklet from Glossybox telling you about the theme of the box and a bit more about the items in the box, but in this particular box I also received two other pieces of paper both of which made for interesting reading.

One of which was a leaflet from Bodyform advertising their Pure Sensitive intimate care range. As well as containing a 50p off coupon for any pack of Bodyform sanitary towels or panty liner, it also included another two coupons, one for a full size bottle of the Pure Sensitive Wash and one for a pack of the Pure Sensitive intimate wipes. Now as you know I can take or leave "intimate products" but I'm definitely going to use the coupons if I can and give the range a try. I think these coupons must be doing the rounds as I also received some in a recent Feel Unique Pick 'n' Mix order, so if you can get your hands on a leaflet it's a good offer.

I'm so sorry for mentioning Christmas again, but lets be honest we're nearly in September now, and the way that this year is flying buying, Santa will be here before we know it! Now I normally wouldn't talk about Christmas just yet, but the August edition of Glossybox included a sneak peek of the 2019 Glossybox advent calendar. Now I haven't been lucky enough to receive any press releases on this years calendar, but according to this leaflet, it's going to be bigger and better than ever, and the contents which includes items from the likes of Chloe, Dermalogica, Tarte Cosmetics, and NYX, is worth over £370!

If you're interested then it really pays to be a Glossybox subscriber. Priority access for subscribers begins on the 6th September, and subscribers can buy the calendar for a special price of just £70.I know it's a little bit early to be thinking about Christmas and advent calendars but I was really impressed with last years offering (read my unboxing posts here and here) so I think I'm either going to treat myself to this years calendar, or I'm going to try and persuade someone else to buy me it ;)

Now as excited as I am about the advent calendar, and about the December edition of Glossybox, I was also pretty excited about the August, birthday edition.

HUDA Beauty Lip Strobe - Ritzy - 4ml - Full Size - RRP £17

First we have the biggie, the sneak peek for July's box, and probably the one reason why this box has now sold out. It's another product from the much loved and much hyped brand, HUDA Beauty. As much as I'd like to try every product from the brand it's quite price prohibitive so the only HUDA Beauty items that I own are a the Winter Solstice Winter Highlighter Palette from last years Glossybox advent calendar, and a lip pencil, and a matte lip colour, both of which came in previous editions of Glossybox. Whilst I would have loved to try an eye or another cheek product, the HUDA Beauty product in August's box was another lip product.

The August edition of Glossybox, contained one of four shades of the HUDA Beauty Lip Strobe. Lip Strobe's are basically metallic lip glosses that you can wear alone, or on top of other lip colours. Designed to have a comfortable, non sticky cushion like feel, they are designed to add volume and to sculpt the lips.

Packaged in a chunky tube, they have a slanted, almost heart shaped foam applicator for easy application whether you're applying the colour all over the lips, or just in the areas that you want to emphasise or draw attention to. 

As I say every subscriber received one of 4 shades, and I've got to be honest my heart sank a little bit when I saw this one. I got Ritzy, which is officially described as a champagne or a rose champagne, which is a pretty accurate description, it's a very pale almost golden, nude shade.

It looks gorgeous swatched, I love the vanilla scent and taste, and it felt really comfortable on the lips, but and here's the big but I don't think the colour works on me at all. Applied on its own it looked slightly patchy, and way too pale and sparkly, so I've mainly been wearing it over the top of other colours. In these pictures I'm wearing it over the HUDA Beauty Liquid Matte Lipstick in Girlfriend, which is a nude shade, that I received in the November 2018 edition of Glossybox (You can watch my unboxing video here).

I don't think it looks horrible by any means, there is no chunky glitter just a gold, champagne gloss, I'm just not convinced that it does anything for me, it just looks to pale, more so in real life.

I can't fault the texture, the longevity or the taste, I just think I would have got more use out of one of the pink shades. Never mind even though it didn't come with an outer box it's still a full size that retails at £17 from various retailers including Selfridges, Cult Beauty and Feel Unique.

Furr Rose Gold Lash Curler - RRP £15

As you know I love trying new brands and the next product is from a new brand to me, Furr Lashes, who are a vegan friendly beauty brand who specialise in false lashes, and lash accessories.

I'm pretty useless with false lashes so you'd think that I'd be happier with a set of eyelash colours, well I guess I am but I've got to admit it that I don't use lash curlers that often. I own enough of them but it's a step that I always seem to forget about, I use a lot of lengthening and curling mascaras, so it's normally a step that I can do without. 

These are pretty nice curlers though, they're made of rose gold tone metal, and they have a nice soft, but secure rubber pad. Since I got these I've made a real effort to try and use them, and I have to say I've been pretty happy with the results. I have quite hooded eyes so it's sometimes difficult to see any real difference on my bare lashes, but when I've used these alongside a decent mascara I looked more wide eyed and as a result more awake!

These are decent curlers, and I'm definitely going to try and slot them into my regular lash routine. These retail at £15 and are available direct from Furr Lashes.

Wilkinson Sword Quattro For Women Razor - RRP £6 - £7.99

When it comes to hair removal, I'm not a huge razor user, I prefer longer lasting methods, but I do usually keep a packet of disposables on stand by in case of hair removal emergencies. 

I know we're all thinking about the environment at the moment, and if you think about it razors aren't really the best things to use if you're thinking about plastic waste, but if you're going to use them, then replacing blades is probably a slightly better option, so I was pretty happy to receive this one in August's box.

Wilkinson Sword are probably one of the biggest brands and names when it comes to razors, and this one has been specially designed with a pivoting head, and four wire wrapped blades infused with aloe, and vitamin E, for a smooth, contoured, and nick free shave. This particular razor comes with one head and it includes a shower hanger.

I am currently testing out another hair removal product so I haven't had an opportunity to try this out yet, but I'm sure I'll give it a try at some point. Prices vary quite a bit with this one so I would definitely shop around but you buy it at a number of retailers including Boots and Superdrug for between £6 - £7.99, and a pack of 6 replacement blades retails at around £12.29

Bang Beauty Felt Tip Eyeliner - 1.8g - Full Size - RRP £15.75 / $20

My name is Louise, and I'm useless at applying eyeliner. I can just about cope with creams and gels, and brushes, but give me a liquid or a pen, and I look like a cross between a three year old playing with their mothers make up, and a member of Kiss!

My hands just aren't steady enough, I have hooded, oily lids, oh, and I have facial nerve paralysis, forget a flick or a cat eye, I just want a straight line!

I guess the only way to improve though is to practise, and even though you aren't going to see any of my fails in this post I've practising with this product from subscription box favourite brand, Bang Beauty.

I own a couple of Bang Beauty bits already but this is my first eyeliner. With a super slim tip, Bang Beauty claim that this is a waterproof, quick drying, non smudging, non pulling felt tip eyeliner.

It's not the blackest, black that I've ever seen but it is definitely black, and although the tip is quite fine it's easy enough to create both thick and thin lines. I have tried this on my eyes, and it does seem to do what they say, you have a little while to clear up mistakes before it sets, and it actually lasted pretty well all be it on some dry eye days.

This wasn't actually bad, I'm just useless at applying it, I'm going to persevere though, and fingers crossed one day I might create an eyeliner look worth photographing. This is a full size product and it's available exclusively from Bang Beauty.

Beauty Pro Eye Therapy Under Eye Mask - 3.5g - 1 x Pair

Finally another brand that you see a lot in subscription boxes, Beauty Pro, but this time it isn't a face mask, instead it's an under eye mask.

The pack contains 1 pair of hydro gel under eye patches, which contain collagen and green tea. They are designed to diminish fine line, and improve skin clarity, tone and elasticity, and like all eye masks they are also designed to be relaxing and cooling. They are free from mineral oil, lanolin, petroleum, and parabens. I haven't managed to try these yet but I'm sure that I will fairly soon if this heat keeps up. This 3.5g, single pair pack is described as by Glossybox as a deluxe mini with an estimated RRP of £1.65. I can't this single pack online but various retailers including direct from Beauty Pro, NEXT and Fragrance Direct all sell a pack of 3 pairs which retails between £4.50 and £5.

Okay, so did this box live up to the hype? Well the despite the fact that the colour didn't really work on me the standout product was definitely the HUDA Beauty Lip Strobe. I would have preferred one of the pink shades, but even though this product was unboxed, it was still worth more than the value of the box. Whilst the other items in the box are all decent value useful items, and things that I will use, I can't help but feel a touch disappointed that they didn't really seem to fit in with the fun, celebratory and sparkly theme. Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and if you fancy getting your hands on September's Delicious Beauty edit, which contains a black tea based body scrub, and of course priority access on the advent calendar, then please use my link to sign up for yourself.

*This Post Contains Both Affiliate And Non Affiliate Link