In some senses February seems like a lifetime ago, but for me this year seems to have flown by, and it's very much a case of stop the world I want to get off!
So, February, the month of love, and in 2021's case the month of lockdown! Despite that though the limited edition February box seemed to be perfectly designed to lift our spirits, and for some of us to trigger a little bit of nostalgia.
Way back when I was a lass (LOL) there was no such thing as Spotify, iTunes, or downloads, in fact even CD's were just becoming popular, it was all about vinyl records, and cassette tapes.
I grew up in a very music loving household, and I still remember my first ghetto blaster, and my personal stereo, and later my Walkman's, and I still remember having to fix or rewind my tapes with a pin or a pencil.
Needless to say the brightly coloured, cassette tape design took me right back, to listening A-HA tapes in the car on the way to Scotland.
Avant Skincare Velvet Perfecting Rose Sugar Lip Scrub - 10ml - Full Size - RRP £58
The first product in the box was the product that was teased in January, and it was another product from high end skincare brand Avant.
I've tried quite a few items from Avant skincare now (Check out my Beauty Product Directory to see which ones), and by and large I've been pretty impressed but this is the first opportunity that I've had to try one of their lip products.
Now like most people I regularly use lip balm, but like with skincare, and body care there isn't a lot of point in applying any moisturiser if you aren't using an exfoliator. Whilst I probably don't exfoliate my lips as often as I should with a specific product (although I am trying to get better at it - more in that in a future post!), I usually use a cloth or a flannel on my lips when I'm doing my skincare, so at least I guess I'm doing something!
Containing hyaluronic acid, sugar, jojoba oil, argan extract, sweet almond oil, and rose, and peony extracts, this lip scrub aims to soothe, soften and revitalise the lips, as well as protecting them against environmental aggressors, leaving them radiant and brighter.
Unboxed and packaged in a plastic lip gloss like tube, with a slanted tip, the product itself is a very sticky pale pink, translucent gel, containing a fairly sparse smattering of white, sugar grains, and larger red /. brown particles. Given the name I was expecting it to have more of a rose, floral scent, but instead it has a sweet, vanilla based scent.
To use it all you do is apply a small amount to clean, dry lips. Although it's sticky it's quite easy to massage, and whilst it is abrasive, it isn't rough or scratchy. The one thing that I did notice though is how warm and slightly tingly it felt on the lips. I didn't find it uncomfortable but it was noticeable especially since you need to leave the scrub on for between 1- 2 minutes.
Despite its sweet taste, unlike a lot of lip scrubs you can't lick this one off, so you need to wash it off with warm water, and a flannel or a muslin cloth, before patting them dry with a towel.
Alas I didn't manage to take any before and after pictures, but this product did what it promised, my lips were noticeably more even in tone, all of the dry, flaky bits were gone, and probably down to the self heating element, my lips actually looked a little bit fuller. They did feel softer as well but I still felt as though I needed to apply a lip balm.
I've got to say that this product did exactly what I wanted it to, and whilst I will happily use it up, even with the small amount you use each time, it is quite price prohibitive.
The Avant Velvet Perfecting Rose Sugar Lip Scrub comes in a 10ml tube which retails at around £58 direct from Avant Skincare. It is also available in a 10ml jar also with a recommended retail price of £58 from Look Fantastic, and Beauty Expert.
NUDESTIX Gel Color Lip + Cheek Balm - Siren - 2.5g - Full Size - RRP £20
Next up the only make up item in February's box, and it was a multi purpose product from a brand called NUDESTIX. I've only tried one other product from the brand, a
Lip + Cheek Pencil in the shade Mystic, which I received in the 2019
Glossybox Advent Calendar, and I was pretty impressed. As much as I love beauty, and make up, most of the time I want a quick fix and multipurpose products like this are the way forward, so I was thrilled to get a chance to try another product from NUDESTIX, this time in a different formulation.
Preservative, paraben, gluten and cruelty free, this pencil contains over 30% ultra hydrating and protective plant oils including sunflower, cottonseed, and soybean oils, as well as Vitamin E.
In their Gel Colour Formulation this pencil promises rich pigment and a wet gloss like finish, as well as protecting, nourishing and hydrating the lips. So it's basically a lip balm, a lip colour, and a gloss all in one, and you can use it on your cheeks as well, what's not to love!
The shade that subscribers received in February was Siren, a deep glossy, cherry red that was perfect for Valentines Day (even though we should have been fist bumping rather than snogging in 2021 ;)
The pencil itself had a lovely, creamy texture, but it wasn't so soft that it lost it's shape and went smooshy.
The pigmentation, and gloss as you can see is superb, so you did need to be a little bit careful when you were applying to stay within the lines. That said though it was really easy to put on, it felt comfortable, moisturising and there was no dragging, or pulling. The coverage was excellent and I loved the rich, glossy finish.
Understandably given the finish it did transfer quite easily but it still lasted well and it gradually faded down to a more natural looking stain.
I don't know how well you can see it in these pictures but I'm also wearing it on my cheeks as a blush. Just pop a couple of dots or stripes on your cheeks, and then blend it out with a brush, sponge or even with your fingers, for a nice "pinch your cheeks" look. On and I used it on top of foundation and powder, and it blended out really easily with pilling or clumping.
A couple of years ago, I would have probably ran a mile from the shade of lip colour, and whilst it does look super bright against my pale skin, I love it for a statement look, and I love both the finish and the formulation.
Glossybox claim that this 2.5g size is a full size that retails at £20, but based on what I can find though the full size is 2.8g and that size also comes in a tin and with a pencil sharpener from £20 from Look Fantastic and for $26 direct from NUDESTIX.
Bubble T Peach Bellini Restoring Hand Cream - 90ml - Full Size - RRP £4.99
As you can see from my latest beauty empties posts and updates I'm still going through hand cream as though it's going out of fashion, and this particular one will probably be the next one that I will be adding to the that list.
From tea inspired beauty brand Bubble T this cocktail themed hand cream contains aloe vera and shea butter.
White in appearance, it has a thick, almost cream / gel texture and a slightly oily feel. Despite that it absorbed into the skin really quickly leaving the skin with a slightly matte finish, but looking immediately more hydrated and feeling a lot smoother.
Probably the biggest selling point for this hand cream is it's fabulous sweet, peach based fruity scent. If you've ever had a Peach Bellini or any form of tropical fruit cocktail then that's exactly what this hand cream smells like. The scent does tend to linger on the skin and if I'm being hyper critical I think that some people could find it a touch sickly, but that is obviously very much a personal thing.
Whilst this wasn't the most intense hand cream that I've ever used, it was quick to absorb, and it made an immediate difference making it a great everyday hand cream.
From what I gather this was a special limited edition Valentines's product but there are several other hand creams in the Bubble T range, some of which I already have to try, that are available from around £1.99 - £4.99, from various retailers including direct from Bubble T, NEXT Beauty, Look Fantastic, and HQ Hair.
Steve Laurant Total Repair Lip Mask - 1 x 8g Mask - Full Size - RRP £5
Next up another lip product this time from
Glossybox championed, US based brand Steve Laurant. So far the February edition of
Glossybox has given us a lip balm / lip colour, and a lip scrub, and now they've given us a real treat, a lip mask.
This cruelty free, lip mask contains Irish moss powder, rose extract, and hydrolysed collagen, and is designed to hydrate and sooth the lips, whilst at the same time reducing the appearance of fine lines.
The sachet contains a plastic tray which holds a little bit of excess liquid, and a translucent hot pink, wet, hydrogel like mask in the shape of an exaggerated pair of lips. The mask is quite thin but it feels quite substantial so there doesn't seem to be any danger of it splitting.
Before
It was quite easy to stick to the lips and whilst there was no real taste, it did have a slight floral scent.
On Application
The mask initially felt quite cool on the lips, but it gradually warmed up to body temperature. It felt fairly comfortable and secure on the lips, and the slit did mean it was possible to talk and move your face but it did move a bit so it was safer to stay put, lie down and take some silly selfies!
There was no indication either or on the packaging, from Glossybox or even on the Steve Laurant website about how long to leave on for, so I left on for about 15 minutes.
After
After peeling it off the skin above my upper lip did look a bit pink, and it felt a bit tingly but I think that was because I'd had a facial wax the day before. I don't think you can see too much difference in these pictures, there was no outward impression of extra moisture, but my lips definitely felt less dry and a touch more defined.
Glossybox place a value of £5 on this one single use mask. The only retailer seems to be
Steve Laurant themselves where one mask retails at $10.
Glow On 5th Rose Gua Sha - Full Size - RRP £10
The final product in February's box was an item that subscribers were supposed to get in
January's box, but due to import issues subscribers ended up getting it a month late, but was it really worth waiting for?
From US based brand Glow On 5th Beauty, the product in question was a Rose Gua Sha facial massage tool. These facial massagers are everywhere, and when I first saw that subscribers were getting one I was pretty excited -I was hoping to receive a lovely piece of rose quartz, instead I received a piece of all be it recyclable plastic / resin!
So obviously no crystal or stone benefits, but never mind I gave it a go anyways. Basically you massage your face and neck either with or without products, in an upward motion using the different angles, and nodules to contour your face for 4-6 minutes a day, to help firm the skin and to flush out toxins.
I've watched a few You Tube videos on techniques, and so on, and I've got to say I don't get it! For a start a lot of people don't have the time to do this every day, but not only that I also found it pretty uncomfortable to use even with barely any pressure. Is it supposed to hurt or am I doing it wrong? I'm sorry Gua Sha devotees on this experience give me a facial roller any day!
Glossybox place a price of £10 on this product, it's available exclusively from
Glow On 5th Beauty where it retails at $12.
