Unboxing Glossybox UK - September 2019 Edition - Delicious Beauty*

After all of the excitement of August's birthday box, the September edition of Glossybox UK, was always going to be a little bit of a letdown. This post is pretty late but it's given me the opportunity to read a lot of other posts, and comments on September's box, and I've got to be honest and say that a lot them won't have made very pleasant reading for the team at Glossybox.

As much as I enjoy reading other peoples opinions though I always try to make my own mind up, and I always try to be as objective, and as open minded as possible, and I know that's why people like you keep on reading my blog, so without further ado I'm going to get right on with my review.

After all of the sparkles and gloss of August's birthday edit, Septembers box saw a return to the traditional Glossybox packaging of a pale pink and black box, pink tissue paper, a black ribbon, and black shred.

As per usual the box contained a little leaflet telling you a little bit about the theme of the box and about the products inside. The theme of September's box was "Delicious Beauty" and all of the products inside were in some way connected to food

Now normally you only get 5 products in every Glossybox but September's box officially contained 6 items, but from the pictures and reviews that I've seen, most boxes actually contained 7 things.

After looking more closely at the contents though I think that the extra items are in there purely to push up the value. There were a couple of more budget friendly products in this box, and I think that Glossybox probably added the extra items, to give us more value for money- Did they succeed though?

Mayy Banana Setting Powder - 4.5g - Full Size - RRP £15

The first item in the box, is the most expensive item, and it's a product from a brand that I haven't heard of before, Mayy Beauty / Mayy Cosmetics. I can't find out too much about the brand, but from what I can gather they are based in the UK and this is the only product that they appear to sell.

As the name would suggest Banana Setting Powder, is a yellow toned face powder. It's hypoallergenic, paraben free, cruelty free, mineral based and vegan and it contains added hyaluronic acid, and it's also suitable for all skin types.

It's designed to set make up and to mattify the skin, and to diffuse redness and skin imperfections. Mayy also claim that it's smudge proof, water resistant and it extends the life of your make up.

Like the STYLondon Banana Setting Powder, that I received in July's Pink Parcel, it has a slight baby powder scent. It's a nice fine, textured powder which is super easy to blend. Although it looks quite yellow in the the tub, on my skin tone it doesn't look yellow at all, it just blends in to my foundation and my skin tone. If your skin is darker than mine it could potentially look a little bit chalky.


I swear by face powder to tone down oil on my t-zone, and to make my foundation last longer, and this definitely did that, I'm not sure about their water resistance claim though, after a bracing walk along the seafront I'd sweated off a lot of my make up, and I needed to reapply it especially on my t-zone.

In the before pictures I'm just wearing my new favourite foundation (The Ordinary Coverage Foundation in 1.1P), and the only difference in the second picture is an added layer of the Mayy Banana Setting Powder. You can't see too much of a difference but my skin does a little bit more even, and even a bit glowy in the after picture.

Before 

After 

I've had a little look online and the only place I've found this powder is on the Mayy website where it retails at £15.

Palmers Coconut Oil Deep Conditioning Protein Pack - 60g - Full Size RRP £2.09

I think I'm probably the only person on this planet that doesn't love the scent of coconut. Don't get me wrong I don't hate it but it can often be too much, too sweet, too sickly or too synthetic. There is no denying though, that for the majority people coconut definitely falls into the delicious category, and coconut is one the main ingredients in the next item.

Designed especially for dry, damaged, and colour treated hair, this hair mask contains ethically, and sustainably sourced coconut oil, and coconut milk, as well as Tahitian monoi (coconut oil infused with tiare flower petals), and silk and keratin proteins.

It's a conditioning mask that you apply after shampooing, for 10-15 minutes or even overnight before rinsing. It claims to help repair weak, fragile, and damaged hair, giving it incredible shine, and condition.

I'm actually in the middle of testing out some new hair products for the blog at the moment, so I haven't tried this yet but I'll let you know my thoughts in a future empties post. The product is available from various retailers including Superdrug, Boots, and Tesco.

Colgate Max White Charcoal Toothpaste - 75ml - Full Size - Est. Price £2 - £3.99

In the last year or so one of the biggest ingredients in just about everything from cheese and crackers, to ice cream, and to skincare, has been charcoal.

From their whitening "Max White" range, this toothpaste from iconic dental care brand Colgate contains activated charcoal and gentle mineral scrubbing particles. It is clinically proven to remove 100% of surface stains as well as fighting cavities, and cleansing your whole mouth.

I'd always been a bit scared of charcoal toothpastes, how can something that looks so dirty, clean your teeth, but I bit the bullet so to speak, and gave this a go, and wow I have to say I am really impressed! 

Once you get over the colour, and the fact that your mouth goes temporarily grey / black, you realise that this is actually a pretty decent toothpaste. I don't know how well you can see the texture from the picture below but it actually has a slightly grainy, slightly abrasive mouth / tooth feel which definitely helps your teeth to feel super clean, and since I've been using it I've definitely seen a improvement in the colour. I don't have the whitest teeth naturally but I'm going to persevere with this and fingers crossed my teeth will get a little bit whiter. Oh and it also has a lovely strong mint flavour so it helps keep your breath and your mouth nice and fresh.

This seems to be quite a new edition to the Colgate Max White range, so it only seems to available in a few retailers including Superdrug and Morrisons. Prices do seem to vary between retailers, so I would definitely shop around if you're interested in trying this.

Cussons Carex Fun Edition Love Heart Cleansing Hand Gel - 50ml - RRP £1.55

In September, Glossybox subscribers received one of two Carex Hand Gels, Strawberry Laces, or the one I got Love Hearts. I'm not a huge public transport user now, so I don't use as much hand sanitiser as I used to, but it's still one of my handbag essentials, so this was a useful addition.

Claiming to clean, care for and protect hands, this pale pink gel, has a lovely fruity, slightly sherbet scent. Due to the alcohol content it immediately feels cooling on the skin, and you have just enough time to rub yours hands together before it starts to absorb. it dries really quickly, and your hands just feel clean and dry, without any stickiness or tackiness. 

Hand sanitisers are a real must have product, and this one smells nice and I like how it feels on my skin. Again if you're interested in trying this one I'd shop around, it's currently available from various retailers including Boots, Superdrug, Asda, Sainsburys and Morrisons, but the price varies quite a bit and you don't want to pay more than you have to x 

Mitchell And Peach Flora No. 1 Fine Edition Eau de Parfum - 15ml

I said in my rather lengthy introduction to this post that the September edition of Glossybox received a lot of criticism, and unfortunately this was the products that bore the brunt of that criticism. 

Fragrance is such a personal thing, ask 100 different people what their favourite fragrance is and you'll probably get 100 different answers. It's such an individual thing that I always think that it's a bit of a risk to put perfume in a subscription box. Personally though I don't mind getting a fragrance in a subscription box, I love trying new things and I've discovered quite a few favourites in various boxes over the years, but it's a dodgy one.

I'm sure I've tried something from this brand before, but if you haven't heard of them, Mitchell and Peach are an English based perfume and toiletry company that not only make all of their products in the UK, but they also grow all of the plants and flowers that they use in their products on their own country estate.

Now I know your probably wondering how a fragrance falls into the delicious theme, well one of the key ingredients in this fragrance is the aniseed scented sweet fennel. It also contains lots of floral notes including rose, lavender, ylang ylang, peony and larkspur.

I'm not good at describing fragrances so with this one I'm not even going to try other than to say that it's a green, floral, with a hint of warmth. I found it a very complex scent, every time I smelled it I smelled something different within it. On first sniff I liked it, second sniff I hated it, and then I loved it! Yup it's one of those x 

It it horrible? Is it gross? No not to me it isn't. It's not something I would go out and buy but I can definitely appreciate just how unusual it is. If you like sweet, bubblegum, generic florals, then this won't be for you but if you want something that's just that little bit different, natural yet long lasting, then this could be worth trying. I'm sure you'll be able to find a bottle or 2 on ebay if you're interested. I can't find a price for this particular size but Glossybox quote a price of £29.75 for 17.5ml deluxe mini size, and the full 50ml size retails at £85 direct from Mitchell and Peach.

Delhicious Hello Beau-Tea-Ful Exfoliate & Glow Original Black Tea Body Scrub - 100g - Full Size - RRP £7.95

This final official product couldn't have arrived at a better time - I'd just finished the last body scrub in my stash when this baby turned up. From a UK based company this 100% natural, vegan and cruelty free scrub is designed to get rid of dry skin, and flush away toxins.

The key ingredient in this scrub is black Assam tea, which contains caffeine and natural antioxidants, to perk up the skin and to reduce cellulite. It also contains brown sugar, and Himalayan Pink Salt which is rich in minerals and deep cleansing. Other ingredients include sweet almond oil, essential oils, and Vitamin E.

The pouch contains a relatively dry scrub mix, look closely and you can see the tea leaves, and even the salt and sugar grains. You massage it into damp skin, and it you have time you can leave it for a couple of minutes to let the ingredients do their thing. You only need a tiny amount and the citrus and tea scent is mouthwatering. It's pretty easy to rinse off and even when your skin is still wet you can feel a difference to the skin. Even after just one use my skin felt firmer and super smooth. 

I'm so happy with this product I love both the smell and the results but I'm going to be honest with you it is a bit messy, the grains get everywhere, and when they're added to water, the liquid does go a little tea like, so make sure that you give your bath tub or your shower cubicle a good rinse.

Alas this product failed Mummy Lou's mess test but despite that I would still consider using this product again. It's available directly from Delhicious where 10% of all of their profits go to Stop The Traffic, a charity that is committed to ending human trafficking, and from Fragrance Direct.

As I said earlier the September box contained 6 items instead of the usual 5 but most people were lucky enough to get a 7th item in their box, and it certainly was delicious x 

Godiva Masterpieces Ganache Heart With Belgian Dark Chocolate 

Yes, the final item was a bar of chocolate from internationally renowned Belgian chocolate company Godiva. Whilst milk chocolate is always my go to, when I need a real chocolate hit or an energy boost, dark chocolate is the one.

This was a lovely bar with heart shaped segments. It was a really rich, dark chocolate, with a creamy chocolate ganache filling. Even Mummy Lou who isn't a plain chocolate fan enjoyed the little piece that I gave her. 

Stupidly I threw the packaging away without noting down the size but this is a small, regular sized bar. The larger 83g bar retails between £1.50 and £2 and is available from most major supermarkets. This was a my first Godiva experience and it certainly won't be my last x

Okay final thoughts! Was this the best Glossybox ever? I'll hold my hands up no in my opinion it wasn't - a lot of the items were at a lower price point which as I say was probably the reason for the extra items but the products weren't bad products. A lot of the things weren't very exciting but they are products that the majority of people will use after all who doesn't need toothpaste, hand sanitiser or hair conditioner? If you don't like an item aka the perfume, find someone who does, gift it or even sell it, and don't forget that the Banana Setting Powder is worth more than the cost of the box, so whether you like the items or not the box is definitely value for money.

Subscription boxes like Glossybox are a risk and if you can't accept the fact that you might not always get products that you love in every box, then maybe the concept isn't for you. Am I being fair? or am I being too generous? Let me know your thoughts in the comments x 

If you fancy trying Glossybox for yourself then sign up now via this link to get October's Angel or Devil themed box, which contains one of 2 STYLondon eye shadows palettes. According to my Glossybox account I'm getting the Angel box, which I think means that I'm getting the pink toned palette. It shouldn't be too long before I get it now so I'll hopefully try and get that post up a bit quicker than this one x 

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