Trimming My Stash - April 2020 Edition - Empties And Mini Reviews*

Before I start on another round of Glossybox unboxings and reviews, I thought I'd get my empties update, so today I'm sharing my April beauty empties with you.

Beauty Pro CBD Oil Infused Mask - 1 x 22ml Sheet Mask

Starskin Dreamkiss Plumping & Hydrating Bio-Cellulose Lip Mask - 1 x 5g Mask

Elemis Skin Nourishing Hand And Nail Lotion - 100ml

OPI Avoplex Nail And Cuticle Replenishing Oil - 15ml

Cussons Carex Fun Edition Caring Hand Wash Antibacterial - Love Hearts - 250ml
The Body Shop Juicy Pear Exfoliating Sugar Body Scrub - 50ml
Simple Kind To Skin Eye Make Up Remover - 125ml
Femfresh Daily Intimate Wash - 250ml**

Total - 8 Items

After a pretty indifferent start to 2020 Trimming My Stash wise, April was a much better month all round, and I managed to finish 8 items. I didn't manage to finish anything overly exciting, but it was a nice mix of essentials, and basics, with a few a few pampering products thrown in for good measure.

1. Beauty Pro CBD Oil Infused Mask - 1 x 22ml Sheet Mask

The first item that I finished was a sheet mask from mask specialist Beauty Pro, that I received in the January 2020 edition of Glossybox UK. You can read a full review of this mask in my original unboxing post that you can find here. This mask is one of Beauty Pro's newest editions, and it's completely plant based. I really loved this one it had a lovely, slightly herbal, lavender scent, and I loved how fresh and clean it made my skin feel. 

It's one of the nicest products that I've tried from Beauty Pro and it's something that I would definitely consider using again. The price varies between £4.95 - £5.95 and it's available from various retailers including directly from Beauty Pro, and Look Fantastic.

2. Starskin Dreamkiss Plumping & Hydrating Bio-Cellulose Lip Mask - 1 x 5g Mask

Next up another pampering product, and another item from Glossybox. This is another mask but this time it's a lip mask from another mask specialist, Starskin. This cruelty free lip mask is designed to be hydrating, and to help increase the volume of the lips. You can read a full review in my February 2020 Glossybox unboxing post that you can read here.  

Despite not seeing a great deal of difference volume wise, I love the hydrating effect and it was a really nice treat for the lips, and something that I would definitely consider repurchasing. These Starskin lip masks come in a pack of 2, and retail at around £8.50 from various retailers including Look Fantastic and Feel Unique.

3. Elemis Skin Nourishing Hand And Nail Lotion - 100ml

I don't know about you, but my hands are pretty dry at the moment. All of the constant washing, using anti- bad gels, and a lack of fresh air all means that I'm trying to give my hands an extra bit of TLC.

I think that this product was part of a gift set, that my mam originally bought from QVC UK, which included some Skin Nourishing body products and some hand care items including the hand wash that I featured in my December 2019 Trimming My Stash post, that you can read here :)

From the popular Skin Nourishing range this lovely hand cream was really moisturising and hydrating but without being too heavy or sticky. Containing camellia, cotton seed, and starflower, it had a lovely soft floral, almost baby powder type scent, that worked perfectly at bed time teamed up with a pair of cotton gloves for an extra boost.

Like the hand wash, I think that this hand cream was either a limited edition or it was exclusive to the set that it originally came in, because I can't find anywhere online. You can still get a few products from the Skin Nourishing range, including the famous milk bath, the shower cream, and a body cream, which is basically a thicker, and more luxurious version of the hand cream, from various retailers including John Lewis, Debenhams and QVC UK.

4. OPI Avoplex Nail And Cuticle Replenishing Oil - 15ml

Next up another product that was designed to combat dry hands and nails, OPI's classic Avoplex cuticle oil. Containing avocado, grapeseed, sunflower, sesame, and kukui nut oils, this is one of the best products that I've ever used on my hands and nails. Lately though I've abandoned it in favour of some cheaper options, but I recently rediscovered this half used bottle, and I decided to use it up.

Despite its almost cult status, OPI have actually discontinued the original Avoplex formulation, and replaced it with the new Pro Spa Nail And Cuticle Oil.  The bottle looks the same, and apparently it smells the same, but the ingredients do seem to be slightly different.

I definitely think that I'll try the new version at some point but the £18.20 price tag does put me off a little bit, especially when I am seeing decent results from cheaper products. If you've tried it then I'd love to hear your thoughts on it before I open my purse? Let me know in the comments your thoughts good and bad x 

5. Cussons Carex Fun Edition Caring Hand Wash Antibacterial - Love Hearts - 250ml

There seems to be a bit of a glut of hand and nail care products in this post and here's another one, and this time it's a hand wash. 

Whilst we always use a hand wash in the kitchen, my mam has a pretty strong relationship with the humble bar of soap, so that's we tend to use in the bathroom, only switching it up for a liquid soap at Christmas or when we have visitors. Like a lot of people though for hygiene reasons at the moment we've started using hand wash in the bathroom as well, and since I was the one that actually bought this product I thought that it deserved a mention in my April empties post.

Part of Carex's 'Fun' range, this is part of Carex's collaboration with tuck shop sweet giant Swizzels, which has seen a wide range of sweetie themed hand washes, shower gels, and hand sanitisers. I picked up this hand wash after trying the Love Hearts themed hand gel in the September 2019 edition of Glossybox UK (You can read my review here).

As well as all of the obvious hygiene reasons, I love the smell of this hand wash, it smells similar to the hand sanitiser, but the lack of alcohol gives it a sweeter, less harsh, fruity scent. It has a gentle foam, and it cleanses the hands without leaving them feeling dry or stripped. I would definitely consider repurchasing this particular fragrance in the future but at the moment when it comes to hand wash at the moment, it's a case of what you can get, and you really can't be too choosy. If you do fancy tracking this down though the price does seem to vary depending on where you buy it, Poundland and Asda sell it for a £1 compared to Superdrug who currently charge around £1.89 for it - hmm.

6. The Body Shop Juicy Pear Exfoliating Sugar Body Scrub - 50ml

I talked about this product in my last empties post (you can read it here). This is a mini pot that I got in Christmas gift set from The Body Shop. As I said in my previous post this is a lovely sugar based body exfoliator with a lovely sweet, yet tart fruity pear scent. I still have a full sized pot of this left and a few other bits in the same scent so I can enjoy this, in my opinion, all year round scent for a little bit longer.

7. Simple Kind To Skin Eye Make Up Remover - 125ml

Next up, my current favourite eye make up remover (find out why here). It took me a long time to find something that worked, and that didn't irritate my eyes. Throw in the fact that this product is pretty affordable too, at around £3.79 or less a bottle, and it's a winner in my eyes ;)

I've actually run out of this now so I'm going to try and use up a few of the other products in my stash but I will definitely be repurchasing this in the future.

8. Femfresh Daily Intimate Wash - 250ml**

As as Brit I'm pretty accustomed to whinging about the weather, so I hope you'll excuse me for you've guessed it whinging about the weather. Whilst it'd definitely cooler than yesterday, I'm sitting writing this post with the windows wide open, and I'm still sweating like a banshee, in fact as soon as I publish this post I'm going to go for a nice refreshing, tepid shower to freshen up my bits. My shower is full of all different types of shower products that I'll happily use and slosh all over my body, but you do have to be a bit careful with some of them.

I try and keep products that are really, really scented, or that contain shimmer, glitter or sparkles away from my intimate bits, and instead I'll use a specialist product. I'm not a huge fan of the advertising strategy for a lot of products like this because they always seem to want to convince women that they smell unclean or abnormal, which is quite frankly ridiculous, but as long as you don't over use them I think that certain feminine hygiene items, can play a part in your regular beauty and hygiene routine.

Quite a while ago now I was sent a whole load of Femfresh products to try and I've gradually been working my way through them. This Daily Intimate wash is hypoallergenic,  and dermatologically and gynaecologically tested. Containing moisturising aloe vera extract, it's gentle enough use every day, and it's designed to help maintain a healthy pH balance. The product itself is a colourless gel, which produces a very gentle, light foam when mixed with water. It has a very subtle fresh scent, and it doesn't leave the skin dry or irritated.

I used to pretty against feminine products like this but now like I said I think they have their place and their uses especially at that time of the month. The packaging on the entire Femfresh range seems to have changed since I was sent this, but they still have a Daily Intimate wash which sounds almost identical to this one, and looks pretty much the same. This product retails at around £2.99 from various retailers including Boots, Superdrug, independent chemists and supermarkets.

So after a fairly indifferent start to 2020 Trimming My Stash wise, April turned out to be a pretty decent month, I've got to say May isn't looking the great but I think I might manage to finish another product before the month ends tomorrow but we'll see x Either way I'll update with you my May totals in a week or so, and if you have any questions or comments on any of the products that I've mentioned then leave me your thoughts below and I'll see you in a few days with my thoughts on the March 2020 edition of Glossybox UK and a little giveaway ;) x

*This Post Contains Both Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links
**Press Sample

Shopping My Stash - Marc Jacobs Beauty La Marc Lip Cremes

Since I'm not exactly big on leaving the house at the best of times, unlike a lot of people I haven't really found the whole lockdown thing that hard. Obviously I've missed spending real time with my friends and family but thanks to chronic illness, it seems as though I've spent most of my adult life preparing for 2020.

Unfortunately I haven't been as productive over the last few months as I would have liked, I haven't learnt a new language or a new skill, and I haven't even made any banana bread, but I'm still counting it as a win, I'm still here and I have managed to sort out a bit more of my junk. I've filled charity bags, and storage bags with clothes, I've thrown the odd thing in the bin and I've also rediscovered quite a few beauty products that I'd pretty much forgotten about. If I'm honest I'm not particular proud of that, I don't think that forgetting about what were sometimes expensive things is a good thing, but every cloud as they say, and with the lack of shopping opportunities at the moment, I've been able to shop my stash, and rediscover some 'new' and some unloved products. 

Originally released as part of the 2017 Holiday Collection, I originally bought this Marc Jacobs Beauty set from John Lewis, in the after Christmas sale, where it was reduced from £37, down to £25.90. Although this set itself is now long gone, and John Lewis no longer seem to sell the full Marc Jacobs Beauty range, most of the products in this set are still available in the full size elsewhere so I think I can still justify talking about it x

I love Marc Jacobs as a brand and I'm lucky enough to own a few pieces including clothing, shoes and accessories from the Marc By Marc Jacobs line, and like so many people I'm a huge fan of both the Daisy and Lola fragrance lines, but up until late 2017 / early 2018 I'd never tried anything from the Marc Jacobs Beauty range, so where better to start than with a sale item.

The set that I bought was the Marc Jacobs Cat's Meow Five Piece Petite Le Marc Lip Creme Collection. There is no way of getting round it with this one, depending on your fashion sense, or personal taste, you will either love this packaging with passion, or you'll think it's as tacky as hell - animal print, and especially coloured animal print like this really does polarise opinions but personally I love it, bring it on!

The set came boxed and inside the box is a hard sided purse / clutch / cosmetic bag with a smooth, vinyl like feel. The purse is predominantly in a gorgeous deep, cerise pink glitter. The front of the purse features a matte black, and purple leopard print design, and there is a gold tone, metal Marc Jacobs logo in the centre of the purse. It features a zip around fastening, and the zip pull also features gold tone hardware, and a large black fabric tassel with plaited and braided detailing.

Unzip the clutch and you're greeted by 5 little lipsticks resting lovingly on a black velour covered, removable plastic tray. The clutch is lined in a black polyester fabric, and it features a small fabric 'Marc Jacobs' logo. Take out the tray and you've got plenty of room inside to use it as a clutch bag. I can easily fit my iPhone X, a lipstick, cards, and even a small coin purse inside.

As fabulous as the packaging is that wasn't the real reason that I bought this set, despite what you may be thinking, it was actually for the lipsticks inside. The set contains 5 x mini 1.7g lipsticks from the Le Marc Lip Creme range. Packaged in very similar black and silver packaging to their full size cousins, these lipsticks are cruelty free, and are also free from parabens, sulphates, and phthalates.

Designed to be pigmented, hydrating and long wearing, these lipsticks contain antioxidant rich seaberry extract, cocoa butter, jojoba, avocado, and olive oils, and shea butter.

The set contains 4 of the most popular shades in the La Marc Lip Creme range, Goddess, J'Adore, Infamous and Sonic Truth, and one exclusive shade Currant Mood. The shades range from red to plum, to pink and two different shades of nude.
 
From Left To Right - 202 Goddess, 272 Currant Mood, 230 J'Adore, 228 Infamous, and 244 Sonic Truth

Marc Jacobs Beauty Le Marc Lip Creme - 202 Goddess 

Officially described as a vivid maraschino red with cool magenta undertones, Goddess is a classic cool toned red. As with all stand out, and vibrant shades, you need to be a bit careful with your application technique as there really is no room for error. Despite that the small size actually made fairly easy to apply, and it was pretty easy to stay with in the lines.

Does it stay on? Well if you kiss someone immediately after putting it on it's going to transfer, and you're going to end up with that jammy doughnut esq look. I can promise you that I haven't been kissing anyone in the pic that you can see above but it's still smudged ever so slightly. 

Whilst it does seem to transfer at least when you first apply it, once it's on by and large it stays put at least for an hour or so on me anyways, before gradually fading down to a paler stain, and resolutely clinging on to the drier parts of my lips.

Marc Jacobs Beauty Le Marc Lip Creme - 272 Currant Mood 

Next up another strong, confident colour, and as I said this shade Currant Mood was exclusive to this kit in this formulation. Whilst it is available in the Poutliner Long Wear Lip Pencil format it doesn't appear in the regular La Marc Lip Creme range.

Described as a deep merlot, it's a fabulously, vampy deep berry, plum shade - there is no doubt that this is a statement colour, and it definitely isn't one for shrinking violets. It another shade that you have to be careful with, again the application was super smooth but again you need perfection with colours like this especially when you have a paler skin tone like mine because you can literally see every mistake and smudge. I think that's definitely one advantage of the petite size, the smaller bullet actually makes application easier and more precise, you can take it right up to the lip line and even use it as an all be it slightly thick lip liner.

It's always more noticeable when darker or more vibrant shades start to fade, and within an hour the plummy depth had gone, and it had left a nice deep pink stain on the lips which unfortunately disappeared after eating and drinking. This definitely isn't a shade that I would normally wear but I think I can pull it off with my skin tone, for a night out, or for when I fancy making a real statement.

Marc Jacobs Beauty Le Marc Lip Creme - 230 J'Adore

This next shade kind of bridges the gap between two colour families, the vibrant more out there shades, and the neutral more every day shades. Marc Jacobs Beauty describe J'Adore as rich mocha with cool pink undertones, for me it's very much a rich, almost coffee toned nude brown. 

As much as I love a nude lipstick, being paler and having much more of a pink undertone to my skin, I tend to shy away from richer, browner nudes like this one, but despite it's obvious depth and warmth there is a bit of pink in there and that's probably why I think it works on me. Again it wore well and faded down to a paler nude stain, before disappearing completely.

Marc Jacobs Beauty Le Marc Lip Creme - 228 Infamous

The final two shades are probably the most me - they're the most neutral and the most wearable shades. Thanks to my facial paralysis my lips as you can blatantly see aren't even or symmetrical, and to be honest that's probably why I've traditionally shied away from deeper, brighter or more noticeable lip colours, I used to hate drawing attention to my imperfections but whilst I am getting braver, lip colours like Infamous will always be at the top of the pile.

When it came to my favourite colour in this set, it really was a toss up between this one, and Sonic Truth, but Infamous just shades it. Described as a soft muted, warm peony pink, Infamous is a lovey neutral pink shade. It isn't too bright, it isn't too pile, it isn't too warm and it isn't too cool, in my opinion it's just perfect. It really is one of those everyday shades, you could wear it with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt or with a pretty summer dress and sandals, it's not the most in your face shade, but it's just so wearable. Again it faded down gradually with talking, eating and drinking, leaving a slight pale pink stain on the lips.

Marc Jacobs Beauty Le Marc Lip Creme - 244 Sonic Truth

Finally a true nude, Sonic Truth - "a creamy nude that compliments fair to cool skin tones'. Sonic Truth is a lovely pink toned, pale nude. Shades like this are perfect if your hands are a bit wobbly, it's neutral enough that the odd application mistake probably won't matter that much on a lot of skin tones. I wasn't sure about it in the bullet but once it's on, again it's perfect for my cool pink toned skin. I've owned a lot of nude lipsticks that quite frankly made me look ill, but this definitely isn't one of them, although if you have a darker, or more olive complexion I do think that this could potentially look a bit ashy or corpse like.

Obviously there isn't such an issue with fading and smudging, with shades like this but it still lasted pretty well and gradually faded away to nothing.

As you can hopefully see from all of these pictures the pigmentation of all of these lipsticks is excellent. They are really easy to apply with no pulling or dragging. They don't feel drying on the lips, but whilst they do feel moisturising on the lips, they aren't the softest or creamiest lipsticks that ever used, particularly when it comes to the deeper, and more vibrant shades.

The fact that they aren't that creamy though is actually a good thing though because it really helps with the wear time. From the darkest shade to the lightest shade, all of the colours pretty much stayed put, and faded down gradually. The darker shades had a tendency to move a little bit at first, and they did have a tendency to cling on to the drier ares of my lips, but by and large once the glossy finish had faded, all of the shades left a subtle stain like finish on the lips that hung around for just a little bit longer.

These Lip Cremes allegedly have a subtle vanilla based taste and scent but to be honest I couldn't really detect anything but that could be down to the smaller size. Although I would hope that these minis are a good indicator of just how good the full sizes are, I can't really be sure without trying them. Whether they would admit it or not, some brands actually reduce the quality of the products in their holiday sets, so either way with these lipsticks I think you are on to a winner, and I'm really pleased that I bought this set when I had the chance.

Whilst the set does contain a couple of colours that I wouldn't normally wear, I was surprised at just how wearable everything was and just how well the shades worked with my skin tone. The quality was decent, the lipsticks felt nice on the lips, and whilst the wear time wasn't quite as great as Marc Jacobs Beauty promised, it was still decent, and I also ended up with a snazzy new clutch bag - All in all a good first Marc Jacobs Beauty experience, and a good sale purchase.

As I say this particular set was a limited edition, and the only way you might possibly find it now is on the secondary market. If you like the colours though, you can buy Goddess, J'Adore, Infamous, and Sonic Truth in the full 3.6g size for around £27 / $32 each, either direct from Marc Jacobs Beauty, who ship worldwide, or from Net-A-Porter, or Harvey Nichols. Have you tried anything from Marc Jacobs Beauty? Let me know your recommendations if you have any in the comments x

A Late Unboxing Of Glossybox UK - February 2020 Edition - Love Crosses Borders*

Apologies for the lack of posts over the last week but I took some much needed time out to celebrate my birthday on Friday. It was a little bit weird not seeing anyone bar my mam, but everyone made a real effort to make it special for my anyways, sending my messages, sending cards, and dropping off cards and pressies, and it's funny even seeing people through panes of glass and at a safe distance made me feel a little brighter. I mainly got money and vouchers, so I may be doing, and have already maybe done a little bit of online shopping, so if you want to see the results of that make sure you're following my blog and my other social media channels x 

In the meantime though let's take a trip back to February, the month of love or in my case this year the month of illness! I was so poorly throughout February and March (with what we now believe thanks to a few emergency hospital trips for Mummy Lou in the last month, was more than likely Covid 19!),  that Valentines Day was nothing more than just another day, where I couldn't breathe, and I couldn't stop coughing.  My memories of February are pretty vague but I'm sure that Newcastle United's FA Cup run and the arrival of the Valentines Day edition of Glossybox must have lifted my spirits slightly.

With a "Love Crosses Borders" theme, February's box was pink in colour, with an almost ombre variation from light pin to a deeper more coral toned pink, with the word "Love" embossed in white on the lid in several different languages, and in several different fonts.

The pink theme was followed on inside the box, with pale pink tissue paper, and red shred to protect the contents, which was secured with a pink / red ribbon with printed with hearts and the words "Love Crosses Borders" in white.

The first item in the box as per usual was the information booklet which talked about the products in the box, and explained the box theme. The "Love Crosses Borders" theme was all about sharing things that bring us to together and the universal language of love, and as a result the box contained a range of products from across the globe to create a kissable pout and soft dewy skin, perfect for Valentines Day!

Figs & Rouge Wonder Love Charm Glow Elixir - 30ml - Full Size - RRP £35

The first item in the box was the item that was teased in January's box, and it was a product a British based brand, Figs and Rouge, whose vegan and animal friendly products, and both made and formulated in the UK.

One of the most recent additions to their line this products is a brightening elixir that is designed to give the skin a healthy glow, whilst perfecting, soothing and reenergising the complexion. It contains hydrating hyaluronic acid, vitamins A, C, and E, minerals including rose quartz, and rosewater to perfect and add radiance.

Keeping in with the pink theme, this product comes in a beautiful pink box. The product itself comes in a glass bottle, with a pale pink rubber, and plastic dropper.

Squeeze out a few drops and you're met with a slightly cool feeling, pale pink shimmery liquid, which a fresh, clean almost floral scent.

On Application

Lightly Blended

Completely Blended Out 

You can use this product in a few ways, one of the ways is apply a few drops onto cleansed skin, either before or after, or even instead of moisturiser, and then blend it out, before applying foundation, or you can do what I've done below and just wear it on its own.

Bare Skin - Before

Bare Skin - Application 

Bare Skin - After

To be honest there isn't a huge amount of difference between the before and after pictures but in real life my skin definitely looked a little bit more radiant, and hydrated.

As well as using it alone or under your make up you can also use it on certain areas of the face either on it's own or as I've done here, on top of make up as a liquid highlighter / illuminator.

Applied As Highlighter On Top Of Foundation And Under Foundation 

The funny thing is if I'd reviewed this product back in February, March or even in early April, I would have been at best indifferent to it, but that extra month has made all of the difference - I get it now! 

It's subtle, it doesn't add a ton of pigment or shimmer, whether you wear on it under make up or even on it's own, it just makes you look a little bit healthier, and it takes away some of that dullness and flatness, that we're probably all suffering from at the moment. You can use it in a few ways, and I think it's all about finding out what works best for you and your skin, and what type of finish that you want to achieve.

The full size retails at £35 and despite the fact that Feel Unique seem to sell a small selection of Figs & Rouge items, the only place I can find this product is direct from Amazon via Figs & Rouge.

Starskin Dreamkiss Plumping & Hydrating Bio - Cellulose Lip Mask - 1 x 5g Mask - Est. RRP £4.25

The next product was something from face mask specialist Starskin. Launched in 2015 Starskin's range of high performance, instant results skincare, is PETA certified, and is free from parabens, phthalates, mineral oils, sulphates and synthetic dyes.

Whilst they are probably most well known for their face and eye masks, this is actually a lip mask that aims to hydrate and plump the lips, and improve the appearance of fine lines, and wrinkles. It contains vitamin rich fermented coconut juice, sea fern collagen, hyaluronic acid, jojoba, linseed oil, sunflower seed oil, shea butter, safflower oil and honey.

The first thing you notice when you open the packet is just how much liquid there is in inside. The lip shaped patch itself has a thin gel, like appearance, and it doesn't feel that thick or substantial so it isn't that easy to peel it off the 2 sheets of clear film that cover it.

The patch itself had a pleasant fruity scent and taste and it adhered really securely to the lip area, so you can stand up and do other things, without it falling off. It feels quite cool on application but it warms up to body temperature quite quickly.

Starskin advise that you leave the mask on for around 10-15 minutes. It feels off really easily and whilst the instructions tell you to rub the excess serum into your lip are, I was actually surprised at just how dry the patch felt. My lips and skin must have sucked up every little drop of moisture that this mask had to offer.

I couldn't see any real difference in the plumpness or volume of my lips, but they definitely felt softer, and less flaky. Although I didn't experience any major miracles with this product I think it's a really nice treat for dry lips and I would definitely consider using it again.

The packet contained 1 mask, which Glossybox valued at around £4.25. The masks usually come in a pack of 2 and retail at around £8.50 from various retailers including Look Fantastic, Debenhams, and Feel Unique.

Saint Luxe Lip Liner Duo - Crush and Cupid - 2 x 1g - Full Size - RRP $40 / £23

One of the things that I love most about beauty and subscription boxes is the fact that they give you the chance to try something new. I can't find too much out about this next brand, other than the fact that they are a US based brand, that pride themselves on their sleek packaging and their luxury ingredients.

The only products that are actually on their website appear to be pencils, and the pretty pink box in February's Glossybox contained two lip pencils, that Saint Luxe claim and both creamy and long lasting.

In a true, wooden pencil format these pencil are pale pink and colour, and they come with a pink plastic lid. You get two different contrasting colours, Crush - a deep cool toned red, and Cupid - a neutral, nude pink shade.

Top - Crush - Bottom - Cupid

 Crush And Cupid 

The pigmentation is superb, but in my opinion they aren't that soft or creamy. The obvious way to use a lip pencil is to use it to line your lips, but I think that a good test of a lip pencil is to use it to fill in your lips so that's exactly what I did.

Crush 

Cupid 

On the whole I think they did a fairly decent job, they did drag a bit on application, and they weren't that hydrating, but they lasted well, and they looked okay on. When it came to sharpening them though, it all went a bit wrong. I tried to sharpen Crush, and I found the coloured section very, very crumbly, and the wood was really brittle, so it was pretty much impossible to achieve a decent point.

Apart from the sharpening and the lack of moisture these pencils weren't actually that bad. They wore well and Cupid especially is a very Louise colour but a high end product? not in my opinion! The only retailer I've found for these pencils is direct from Saint Luxe, who ship worldwide, where the duo retails at $40! Glossybox quote a slightly less eye watering £23 but I think that even that is overpriced when brands like Revolution, Rimmel and even Primark, produce lip liners that are equally as good if not better and more purse friendly.

Floss Beauty My New Favourite Lip Gloss - Ath - 15g - Full Size - RRP $16 / £12.30

Next up another lip product, and this time something from Canadian brand Floss Beauty. I first came across Floss Beauty in the August 2019 edition of Pink Parcel, when I received a My New Favourite Lip Gloss in the shade Yul - You can read my review here x 

Since Yul was almost a translucent shade, I'm really pleased to have the opportunity to try a coloured gloss this time around.

Both cruelty and paraben free like Yul, the shade that I received this time around was Ath, which is also named after an airport only this time Athens.

Although it look a little bit more coral here, Ath is a lovely neutral pink shade, that works perfectly with the Cupid lip liner. Again it comes in a squeezy plastic tube with a doe foot applicator and again it has a slightly synthetic coconut / vanilla scent.

As you can see the pigmentation is excellent, it applies easily, and it feels smooth, creamy and comfortable on the lips. One of the biggest deal breakers with gloss is stickiness, and thankfully this one doesn't feel too tacky, it wears well, and even when the gloss fades it leaves a small amount of colour on the lips. 

This is a really nice wearable shade that I will definitely use. It's non drying, and perfect if you aren't a fan of of sticky or gloopy lip glosses. The only retailer that I can find for this gloss is direct from Floss Beauty where this lip gloss retails at around $16, Glossybox quote a price of around £12.30.

Glossybox Slanted Lip Brush - Full Size - Est. RRP £5.10

The final official item in February's box was a Glossybox branded lip brush. With a pale pink handle with the Glossybox logo printed on the side, this brush has rose gold tone ferrule, and a slanted brush head, with soft but densely packed hairs.

The pointed end is perfect for outlining the lips and defining the lip line, and the large, flat side is perfect for filling in the lips.

This is a nice quality brush, that doesn't just have to be for lips, you could also use it as an eye brush or even as a brow brush. This brush is Glossybox branded and is exclusive to this box, and it has a recommended retail price of £5.10.

Now as well as the usual 5 items some subscribers also received a 6th item, and do you know what that means - controversy! Not everyone received this extra item and to say that some people weren't happy was an understatement! I was apparently one of the lucky ones and I did receive an extra 'treat'.

Glossier You Eau De Parfum - 1.5ml 

Yes, after all of that it was a fragrance sample from one of the brands of the moment, Glossier. As I've said before the inclusion of fragrances in a subscription boxes is always a bit of a funny one, so I'm not quite sure why so many people seemed so desperate to get their hands on this one, especially after smelling it!

Based on a lot of online reviews Glossier You appears to be a pretty popular scent but personally I'm not a fan. It contains warm and creamy base notes of amberette, ambrox and musk, and top notes of earthy green iris root, and pink pepper.

To me it smells very musky and dare I say it old fashioned, if you like this I'm sorry to say this but it reminds me of perfume mixed with stale cigarette smoke! The only positive thing that I can possible say about it is that it wears incredibly well, and that unlike a lot of fragrances, the smell stays pretty much the same as it does when you first spray it.

I've worn it a few times now, and it hasn't grown on me at all, it's a world away from the sweet floral tones that I normally wear, and there is something about it that I just don't like!

The full 50ml size of Glossier You retails at £45 and is available direct from Glossier. The box also included a coupon for 10% off your first order from Glossier but guess what? I forgot about it and it expired on the 5th May - wahhhhh!

Although the February 2020 edition of Glossybox ended on a bit of a damp squib, overall I was pretty pleased with February's offering. It was pretty make up heavy but it contained some nice wearable products. There were no real standouts but everything was decent even I wouldn't necessarily pay full price for the lip pencils

Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and if you fancy subscribing to Glossybox, you can find out more via this link x Thanks for reading as per usual and I'll see you soon with a quick make up review before resuming my Glossybox catch ups x 

*The Post Contains Both Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links