I'm not going to lie, 2022 hasn't started off too well for me, as well as my own health issues which seem never ending, my mam and several other family members are also struggling at the moment. It's no surprise therefore that alongside more mundane things like hair, and beauty appointments, blogging has also again been pretty low on my list of priorities.
Again I apologise for that, not only to you, my readers, but also to a few PR companies, and brands that are waiting for posts from me. I'm sorry and all I can ask is for you to be be patient, and I'll do my best to get some posts up as soon as I can.
First up the box itself, and as you can see not much has changed, just the same box with the same classic pink and black colour way that we've all come to know and love.
Whilst the box style and colour remained the same, the big change for 2022 was the disappearance of the box information leaflet. In a bid to save paper and to provide an even better customer with an even better box experience, January's box instead included a tiny piece of paper with a QR code printed on it.
The theme of January's box was "Mindful Mornings" and the whole focus of the box and some of the lifestyle articles in the digital magazine, were all about slowing down your morning routine, making it less stressful, and about learning to leave in the hear and now.
Now you should know by now that I'm a huge nail junkie; My polish collection is literally out of control, and nothing makes me happier than seeing freshly painted finger and toe nails! The only problem though is that my own nails, at least at the moment, are so bad that I can't really justify the time and effort it takes to do a full polish application, let alone a gel mani! As a result I'm always on the look out for things that can improve my natural nails so I was really excited to see a Nails Inc treatment product in the first
One of their most popular recent launches, the Nails Inc Gel Rehab Strengthening Nail Treatment, is a 10 in 1 intensive nail treatment that is designed to repair, brighten, strengthen, hydrate, and protect dry, and damaged nails.
Containing keratin rich spinach, seaweed, peptides, nitro cellulose and kale, this treatment is perfect for use in between gel manicures, and whilst I haven't used my gel system for a while, my nails before using this product were dry, dehydrated, splitting, cracking and they just wouldn't grow, so this product came at just the perfect time for me.
There are two ways of using this product, you can either use it as a base coat with regular polish, or you can use it like I did as an intensive treatment, applying two coats, twice weekly for two weeks.
On Application
Milky white in the bottle, once applied it looked more like a slightly white translucent, super glossy polish. Immediately on application, as you can see it makes the nails look better, the beds look slightly pinker, and the the lips looked whiter. It was easy to paint and it dried pretty quickly.
Before
On Application
After Two Weeks Of Use
Despite, that though I've got to say that the wear time wasn't that great. A couple of nails had chipped by the time it came to apply the midweek coats. and as well as the nails achieving a whiter more French manicure look, the more coats that you apply obviously the thicker the polish got, and the more it chipped and flaked. It actually chipped so much that I ended up removing it all after week 1 and starting afresh for week 2,
Before
On Application
After Two Weeks Of Use
I don't think that you can see a huge amount of difference in all of these before and after pictures, but in real life I think that there was a definite difference in the way my nails felt. They didn't feel as dry and flaky and they definitely felt stronger and more resilient.
I guess the biggest compliment I can give this treatment is that when I stopped using it for a time when I was feeling pretty stressed and unwell, my nails went to pot again, with even the shortest nails just shearing off! So I'm back on it and I'm going to persevere with till I finish the bottle, and finger crossed ;) it works so I can start posting some nails of the days again.
The treatment that I received came in the old style 10ml Nails Inc bottle and Glossybox placed a value of £11 on this size. Unfortunately I can find this size or this particular packaging anywhere online, but the full 14ml size, in the new style Nails Inc bottle retails at around £15 and is available from various stockists including direct from Nails Inc, Fragrance Direct, Nail Polish Direct, Cult Beauty, Boots, and John Lewis.
Dr Botanicals CO Cocoa & Coconut Superfood Facial Cleansing Bar - 100g - Full Size - RRP £9.90
Now, how do you cleanse your skin? Do you use a cream, a balm, an oil, or even a micellar water? It's so bizarre to think that even only 30 or 40 years ago, the answer to this question for for most people would have been soap and water.
Looking back on it soap and water was probably the first thing that I ever used to cleanse or wash my face. My mam had grown up using carbolic and coal tar soap on her face and she had never had spots so I honestly thought that soap was the way to go! As skincare moved on though and as my skin and knowledge changed, soap became a thing of the past, and almost a dirty word when it came to skincare, and that's where I thought it would remain, at least that was until I opened this box.
In this era of trying to be more eco friendly, and cutting back on excess plastic, washing your face with a solid bar and water is again becoming common place, but to call this particular product a soap though wouldn't just be wrong, it would be doing it a severe disservice. This product from 'natural' vegan, cruelty free brand Dr. Botanicals is in fact one of a new generation of facial cleansing bars.
Containing nourishing cocoa and coconut extracts, as well as vegan friendly glycerine, and black poppy seeds, this bar is designed to clean and exfoliate away dirt and impurities, whilst at the same time hydrating and moisturising the skin.
With a subtle vanilla, coconut that reminds me of something I used in the my childhood (by Cosmetics To Go?). This solid creamy white bar contains lots of black seeds.
Add a little bit warm water and it creates a very gentle, creamy, milk like foam, with just the odd poppy seed suspended in it.
It felt really nice on the skin, I tried both making a lather in my hands and then applying it to my face, and massaging the bar directly over my face. Both methods worked fine, and either way you still didn't really feel any of the exfoliating particles.
Before
On Application
It was easy to rinse off, and after patting my skin dry with a towel my face initially felt slightly taut, but within a minute or so it felt clean and smooth. My skin was a touch pink which isn't that unusual for me but it felt really clean and perfectly prepped for the rest of my skincare routine.
After Rinsing
I've been using this for around 2 months now and i have to say it's really surprised me. I've experienced no extra breakouts, no dry or irritated patches, and no extra oiliness, just pretty happy skin. This bar was a world away from those old, drying antiseptic, or scented soaps that we all used to use on our faces. That being said though if your skin is drier and you like a creamier, or more moisturising cleanser, despite all of the hydrating ingredients, this might not be enough for you. If you're looking for a more eco friendly skin care option though, or if you have a normal to oily skin, or even if you just like the feeling of soap and water on your face, then this particular cleansing bar could be something different to try.
Despite a lot of retailers stocking other products from the Dr Botanicals wider range, the only place that I can find this particular product is direct from
Dr Botanicals where it retails at £9.90.
Glow On 5th Lip Dew Tinted Lip Balm - Berry - 12ml - Full Size - RRP £12 / $22
In a box filled with practical products this new item was the only one for me with a bit of glamour to it, whilst at the same time having a practical side to it.
I was pretty disappointed with the first product that I tried from US brand Glow On 5th (you can read my Gua Sha review here) so I was pleased to be able to try another product from the brand brand and to give them a chance to redeem themselves.
Containing shea butter, aloe vera, and apricot kernel oil, this was basically a cruelty free, paraben free, sulfate and phthalate free tinted lip balm, that is designed to soothe and smooth the lips. Boxed and packaged in a duck egg blue tube, this lip balm has a slanted tip for easy application.
The shade that I received was Berry and I have to say that it looked quite scary in the tube, but a little less so in the swatch. For me this is actually less of a berry shade and almost like a bright coral pink, that when applied looked more like a sheer, more natural buildable pink.
It had a lovely almost fruity, floral, rose like taste and scent, and even though I couldn't see any plumping ingredients on the box, it definitely made my lips look a touch fuller. Although it does have a more lip balm like feel, the super glossy finish, scent and taste, and hint of colour reminded me a bit of a Lancome Juicy Tube, only with more moisturising benefits and a lot less stickiness.
My only complaint with this balm is that it had a tendency to migrate over the lip line and it did end up looking a touch messy. Predictably, being so glossy it didn't seem to last too long on the lips, but my lips definitely felt softer, smoother and less bitty - Glow On 5th, you have certainly redeemed yourself with this product - I'm a big fan!
The Glow On 5th Lip Dew Tinted Lip Balm comes in four shades, each retailing at $22 direct from
Glow On 5th -
Glossybox placed a value of £12 on this full sized product.
Mudmasky Vitamin-A Booster Blue Clay Mask - 60ml - Full Size - RRP £40.50
Something that I've found really interesting about the new digital Glossybox magazine is the fact that instead of just showing you the products that you personally received, it shows you all of the alternative items that you could have got instead.
Every subscriber receives certain core items, and then some random products from a selection and the final two products in January's box were 2 of those random products. Each subscriber received one of 4 full sized face masks from Dutch company, and mask specialist, Mudmasky. I'd tried a few of the options in the past (check out my Beauty Product Directory) so I was particularly happy to receive a new mask to me, the Mudmasky Vitamin-A Booster Blue Clay Mask.
Containing kaolin clay, bentonite clay, lotus flower water, kakadu plum, pomegranate and bakuchiol - a plant extract, and natural version of retinol, this vegan friendly mask aims to refine the pores, smooth the skin, firm and tighten the skin, and brighten even the most sensitive of skins.
Advertised as fragrance free, this pale blue mask has a very subtle fresh scent. It has a thick, creamy feel that reminded me more of a thick moisturiser than a clay mask.
Before
You apply it to clean, dry skin and it was pretty easy to spread out and apply. It felt slightly cool on application but it warmed up to body temperature fairly quickly.
On Application
Like most mud and clay based masks, it hardened and tightened as it set but not uncomfortably so. The instructions on the tube said to leave it on until it turned white up to a maximum of 13 minutes, where as the Mudmasky website instructions were a little bit different, advising different application time for different skin types. After around 13 minutes as you can see below, there was still the odd patch of blue, but I removed it as instructed anyways.
After About 13 Minutes
To remove it I just used a lot of warm water, and muslin cloth. It was a little bit stubborn in patches but it wasn't too hard to remove. As instructed I then applied a cold water soaked muslin cloth on my face to help tighten the pores.
My skin did look pretty pink after removal and at first it did feel a little bit tight, but after a minute or so my skin felt super smooth and clean. The pores on my nose especially looked clearer and a little bit less obvious, and to me my skin just looked cleaner, smoother, brighter and fresher.
After Rinsing
Although I liked the other products in the box, this was really the standout for me, I was so impressed with the results and how my skin looked and felt after using it, and if it wasn't for the price I would definitely consider buying it again. This full 60ml size tube equates to an average of 10 applications and retails at around £42 direct from
Mudmasky.
Naobay Vit C Body Milk - 200ml - Full Size - Est. RRP £10
Finally another random item, and in January Glossybox subscribers received either an Eyeko Spotlight Highlighter Pencil, or this product the Naobay Vit C Body Milk, definitely not a like for like option, but I would have been happy either way.
From Spanish, vegan friendly brand Naobay, this body milk contains Vitamin C and orange extract as well as aloe vera, shea butter, and avocado and olive oils, and is designed to illuminate dull and dry skin, as well as improving elasticity and firmness.
Given the name and the ingredients I expected this product to have more of an out and out citrus scent, but instead it had a more subtle citrus scent intermingled with a light coconut fragrance.
Although it's described as a body milk, it wasn't runny or liquidy, instead it had a thicker, creamier lotion type texture.
The amount that you can see here on my hand was more than enough for my whole arm. It sank in really quickly and it left my skin looking and feeling brighter, smoother and more hydrated.
Although it didn't quite smell how I expected it to, it had a lovely summer scent and it's something that I will enjoy using, particularly in the summer months.
As per usual with Naobay products, this is almost impossible to find in the wild. There are a few Naobay stockists in the UK including Ecco Verde and
Look Fantastic, but none of them have this in stock, so if you fancy trying it for yourself the secondary market such as eBay is probably your best bet.
So they were my late thoughts on the January 2022 edition of
Glossybox UK. Not the most exciting of boxes but it contained lots of practical products that I'll definitely use up as well as a few surprises, mainly the Mudmasky mask and the Dr Botanicals cleansing bar x Let me know your thoughts in the comments and don't forget to check out
my link to find out more about
Glossybox for yourself x
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