A Late Unboxing Of Glossybox UK - July 2020 Edition - Aloha*

After the relatively plain pink and black design of the June 2020 edition of Glossybox UK, July's box was a breath of tropical fresh air. The pale turquoise, ocean blue tones of the box base, coordinated perfectly with the bright and cheery, tropical leaf and flower design of the lid. The box also featured an embossed gold foil dotted lattice design. The word "aloha' was also embossed onto the lid in a gold foil, as were the words "A MOMENT OF PARADISE" on the side of the box lid.

The turquoise and aqua theme carried on inside of the box with the lining of the box and the paper shred, resembling perfect turquoise seas. The box contents were wrapped in a sheet of peach / coral tissue paper, and a pink ribbon, a colour palette that reminded me a little bit of tropical sunsets and exotic flowers - a lovely and cheerful box design perfect for bringing a little bit of sunshine into an up and down British summer.

As you should know by now the first thing in the box is the information leaflet. Again brightly coloured, the colour way of June's leaflet was reminiscent of a sandy beach and a beautiful blue sea, The theme of June's box was obviously 'Aloha' and it was all about those tropical summer vibes. Containing a mix of refreshing and hydrating skincare, and products to give you a flush or colour and a sun kissed glow, the box was designed to make you feel as though were on the tropical beaches of somewhere like Hawaii.

Jecca Blac Glow Drops Highlighting Primer For Face - Rose Pearl - 20ml - Full Size - RRP £16 

The first product in the box was all about the, and it was a product from a new brand to me, Jecca Blac, or as it's often known as just Jecca.

Jecc Blac is a gender free make up brand thats focus is inclusivity. They whole brand philosophy is "beauty for all genders, identities, expressions, sexualities, abilities, ethnicities, shapes and sizes". All of their products are vegan and cruelty free, and are made right here in the UK.

This product is basically a make up primer, but it's a primer with a twist! As well as doing all of the things that a primer normally does such as making your make up last longer, and evening up your skin tone, this particular primer is also designed to give your skin a healthy, natural glow.

The primer comes boxed and is packaged in plastic, paint style, squeezy tube, The primer itself has quite a fluid feel. It doesn't feel greasy or sticky, and it dries and sets down pretty quickly, so have to blend it out quite quickly. The colour itself is described as Rose Pearl, but in real life it's probably more of a warm copper / rose gold.

It's not very clear in the pictures below but it definitely adds a noticeable shimmer and warmth to the skin. I've just photographed it on bare skin here but when you use it under foundation, you don't really see a lot of the shimmer, it just warms the skin tone up and make the skin look a bit brighter and has a bit more of a glow.

Before 

On Application

After Blending

Unfortunately though as nice as the glow was, this just didn't really work for me as a primer. My skin looked shiny quite quickly and foundation didn't seem to last that long especially on my t-zone. If your skin is dull or dry, or it needs a bit of a boost though then this would be ideal for you. Jecca Blac say you can also use this on the cheekbones, on top of foundation, and on the collarbones, as a liquid / cream highlighter, so I think that's how I'll be using this in the future.

Even though this didn't really work for me as a primer, it has definitely made me want to try more from the Jecca Blac range, so if you have any recommendation I'd love to hear them x Whilst Look Fantastic, HQ Hair, and NEXT Beauty all sell a small range of Jecca Black products, the only retailer that I can find for this product is direct from Jecca Blac, where this full 20ml size retails at £16.

Naobay Orange Juice Hand Cream - 100ml - Full Size - Est. RRP £11.50

The next item in July's box came from Spanish natural skin and body care brand Naobay. I've tried a few bits from them now including the Naobay Detox Illuminating Micellar Water, that I received in the January 2020 edition of Glossybox UK, but this is the first opportunity that I've had to try a body product.

I love a good hand cream, and as operation nail growth continues, I'm pretty much going through a tube a month at the moment, so I was really pleased to receive one in July's box.

Like all of the products in the Naobay range, this hand cream is paraben free, certified organic (ECO CERT) and cruelty free, and it's also suitable for vegans. Designed to moisturise and hydrate the hands, and revitalise and regenerate the skin, 99.279% of the ingredients are natural in origin, and include aloe vera, olive and avocado oils, shea butter, and chamomile and orange extracts.

The hand cream comes in a plastic tube, and it features an eye catching wood and plastic lid. The hand cream itself is white in colour, and has a creamy but not sticky or heavy texture. 

It was really easy to massage into the skin, it absorbs into the skin really quickly, without feeling oily or sticky, and it leaves the skin feeling silky soft, and smooth, and hydrated. 

As expected it has an obvious citrus scent, I was expecting something sweet and juicy, but instead it was more of a tart, tangy almost orange pith type scent

I'm a huge fan of citrus based hand creams, and this is another good one, and I've used more than half of it already. I've been using it as an overnight treatment with loads of cuticle oil and cotton gloves, but the fact that it's non greasy, and it absorbs into the skin so quickly, means that it's perfect for using during the day, after hand washing or sanitising, Again it's not the easiest product to find, in fact the only places that I can find it are on Amazon or on Ecco Verde. Glossybox quote an RRP of £11.50 but around £7.30 seems to be a more realistic price.

#GIVE THEM LALA BEAUTY Aloha Bronzer - Ibiza - 7.5g Full Size - RRP $26 / £19.80

Nothing screams summer beauty more than a bronzer, and the next item in July's box was a full sized bronzing powder from another new brand to me #GIVE THEM LALA BEAUTY. Founded by US reality TV star Lala Kent, #GIVE THEM LALA BEAUTY is a high quality, cruelty free, cosmetic range, that features a large range of lip and cheek products.

This powder bronzer came boxed in a special Glossybox themed "Aloha" themed box. The powder inside was packaged in a round matte black compact. Again this seemed to be special packaging that was exclusive to Glossybox, because the same powder on the official website comes in a white compact.

The compact contains a mirror and a full sized bronzing powder in the shade Ibiza. Officially described as a light milk chocolate tone, perfect for light to medium skin tones. it feels really smooth and as you can see the pigmentation is superb, with just a hint of visible shimmer.

I'm not going to lie though, it is a touch orangey on me, and despite the fact that it blends really well, it still looks a tiny bit dark and a bit muddy on my skin, but it definitely adds a bit of welcome warmth to my skin.

It's definitely not the worst bronzer (colour wise) that I've ever used but it's just a bit to orange toned for my paler, pink toned skin. If you have a warmer complexion this would probably work a little bit better for you than it does on me, and if not there are several other shades available on the #GIVE THEM LA LA BEAUTY website where this full sized bronzer retails at around $26 / £19.80.

The Beauty Crop Palm Balm Lip & Cheek Balm & Color - Mauve Wave - 4g - Full Size - RRP £17-18 / $22 

The next item in the box was another make up product and it was something from natural ingredient, cosmetic brand, The Beauty Crop. The Beauty Crop produce a large range of products made from natural, plant based, ingredients. All of their products are cruelty, paraben and mineral oil free.

This product really is a multi use product that you can use on your eyes, lips and cheeks. It's made of 90% natural plant oils including coconut oil, pomegranate seed extract, grapeseed oil, and apricot kernel oil.

It comes boxed and it's packaged in a small clear, glass pot, with an oceanic, turquoise twist off plastic lid. The balm itself has a semi solid texture, that softens on contact with the skin. The shade I received was Mauve Wave. The surface was a just a touch darker, and warmer, compared to the mid toned, cooler pink underneath.

With a slightly oily taste and scent, the pigmentation as you can see is decent. A lot of balms are soft and creamy but this one really wasn't, it had an almost dry feel. It was pretty also pretty quick drying, and the fact that it didn't feel that greasy or creamy meant that it wasn't that easy to blend.

The colour though was spot on, I used it below to create a really natural pink flush to my cheeks, and a soft pink tint to my lips even though it wasn't that moisturising. I didn't manage to photograph an example for you but you can also use on the eyes for an on trend pink eye look.

Although this wasn't perfect by any means, it's a really nice multi use product. and the shade Mauve Wave works really well on my skin tone. I would have maybe liked it to be a bit creamier in texture but the fact that it isn't greasy meant that it actually lasted really well especially on the lips and cheeks.

From what I can gather this product is exclusive to The Beauty Crop where it retails at £17 for this full sized pot.

Kocostar Slice Mask Sheet - Watermelon - 12 Slices - 20ml - Full Size - Est. RRP £2.99 - £4

The final item in the July's box was a skincare item and it was from another new brand to me, Kocostar, who retail a nice range of quirky, yet high performance Korean skincare products. All of their products are vegan and cruelty free.This particular sheet mask is designed to be moisturising and refreshing, and it contains watermelon fruit extract, acai extract, plum blossom, anise, and thyme.

Now I do love a sheet mask but this was something just that little bit difference. Immediately on opening the packet I was hit a lovely, mouthwatering, fruity scent. I was expecting a normal sheet mask but instead the packet contained a plastic sheet with 12, wet, fibre circles, in two different sizes, that looked exactly like mini watermelons. 

You really just use it like you would any other sheet mask, you just apply the mini melons to clean, dry skin and you leave them on for around 15 minutes. I wasn't sure how well they would stick, but they were actually quite secure. They initially felt quite cooling on the skin but they gradually warmed up to skin temperature, and they actually started to feel quite tingly as time went on. After around 15 minutes the stickers felt quite dry, but there was a little bit of liquid still left on my skin, which felt slight sticky when I massaged it into my skin, and even after it had completely absorbed. My skin looked slightly pink and felt a little bit warm to the touch, but it definitely looked plumper and brighter.

Before

On Application

After

I'm not 100% sure that I would repurchase this particular mask, my skin definitely felt more hydrated but with the tingling and warmth, I'm not sure that my skin particularly liked it. Kocostar products are available from various retailers including ASOS, but I can only find this specific mask on The Fragrance Shop website, on the Danielle Creations website and on Notino. Glossybox quote a RRP of £4 for this mask but for what I've found the price seems to vary between £2.99 - £3.90.

So that was the July 2020 edition of Glossybox UK. The quality and value was definitely there but I can't help feeling a bit mehhh about some of the products, that just didn't work that well on my skin type and skin tone. I'm definitely going to try using the Jecca Blac primer as a highlighter, and I might try using the bronzer on my eyes, and I might have a bit more of a play with it on my face to see if I can make it work better. The balm for me makes a better cheek product and I love the hand cream. Boxes like this are always a risk so you can't really complain about a few duds. I've had a chance to try some new products and new brands and for me that is what it is all about. Let me know your thoughts on this box in the comments, and don't forget to use my link to find out more about Glossybox for yourself and to find out more about this years advent calendar, that went on sale to subscribers today x Thanks for reading and I'll see you soon with a nails of the day post x 

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