A Late Unboxing Of The February 2022 Edition Of Glossybox UK - Timeless Treats*

When it comes to Glossybox unboxings, like so many things,  this year is turning out to be a bit of a fail - so I could do what I did last year and give up, or I could keep plodding on and try to get as many posts up as I can before 2022 comes to a close.

After a lot of thought though I've decided to keep at it, I've photographed products, I've researched them, and in most cases I've already started using them, so there is absolutely no reason why I can't get my finger out and get myself back on track, starting today with my thoughts on the products in the February 2022 edition of you've guessed it, Glossybox UK!

February's boxes are usually little bit special, with several previous boxes featuring Valentines Day appropriate themes such as lips, love, hearts and romance, and whilst this box too was themes, it didn't really scream Valentines Day or even love for that matter.

Every subscriber received either a black box, or like the one I received a white one. Reminding me a little bit of Chanel, or some other high end fashion or beauty brand, the plain white box lid featured a black border, with the word "GLOSSY" printed in the middle in large, bold, block capitals, with the words "timeless treats"in a softer, italic font underneath, and the the Glossybox logo underneath that, also in black.

The inside of the box as per usual features the Glossybox logo design, this time in black and white, but instead of covering the whole of the inside of the lid, the lid also featured a quote from the icon that was and still is Audrey Hepburn. Everything else about the inside of the box was pretty normal with a sheet of pink tissue, black paper shred and a black ribbon, and like in January the box contained a small card with a QR code printed on it, to enable you to access the February edition of the Glossybox digital magazine.

As well as detailing the contents of the box, the February edition also included several other beauty articles, such as a nail tutorial, and Hollywood glamour make up looks, all tied in with the boxes theme, which was 'Timeless Treats'.

According to Glossybox, February's box was all about creating glamorous, iconic looks that will never grow old, by the inclusion of products to create dramatic eye looks, perfect brows, red carpet worthy hair, and a flawless complexion - Sounds good to me, but did the box actually live up to my expectations, and of course Glossybox's aims, and leave me looking like a Hollywood starlet? LOL not the easiest task admittedly, but lets take a look inside and see...

Rituals The Ritual Of Mehr Sparkling Hair & Body Mist - 20ml - Deluxe Mini - Est. RRP £5.90

Alongside perfect hair, red lips and a posh frock, nothing screams iconic glamour more than a high end perfume advertisement, so it guess it makes sense that the first item from February's Timeless Treats edit was a fragrance. It wasn't a high end fragrance or even a true perfume though, instead it was a hair and body fragrance mist, from Eastern inspired spa brand, Rituals.

From their energising and mood enhancing The Ritual Of Mehr range (Mehr is the Persian for sun), this sunshiney packaged spray contains sweet orange and cedar wood. For me this could definitely be a unisex scent. You get the warmth and spiciness of the cedar wood followed by a sweet, tangy natural orange scent. You can use this spray the scent and freshen both the hair and the body, and because it's water based, it won't stain or damage clothing. I've got to say that I'm not the hugest fan of woody scent, but since the orange gives this one a bit of freshness, it isn't too bad.

I can't find this particular scent in this size anywhere online, but different scents in the 20ml size seem to retail at around £6.50 direct from Rituals, but Glossybox placed a value of £5.90 on this particular product. The full 50ml size of the Rituals The Ritual Of Mehr Sparkling Hair & Body Mist retails at around £19 and is available direct from Rituals.

Illamasqua Liquid Eyeliner - Black - 1.2ml - Deluxe Mini - Est. RRP £10

Next up, one of my most used and loved beauty products, a felt tip / liquid eyeliner! LOL only joking if you're a regular reader then you'll know that's a big fat lie!

I can just about manage to use a pot of cream or gel and a brush, or on a good day a pencil, but I'm sorry although I'll keep trying, I've come to the conclusion that these things are pretty much beyond me, and do you know what? I'm okay with that! I have wobbly hands, and less than perfect eyes, and I'm much more of a shadow girl, than a liner girl anyways! Despite that as I say I'll keep trying, and using my limited skills I thought I'd bite the bullet and review this one for you anyways.

Illamasaqua as a brand are known for their inclusivity, their artistry, and their striking, eye catching make up looks, and one product that nearly always features in their visuals is some sort of eyeliner. There are and have been lots of different liners in their range, but this particular one is by far one of their most popular, and even though I don't get on with this type of liner, it's probably easy to see why.

Boxed, and packaged in a black, plastic pen style applicator, this is a felt tip style liner. The point was firm enough to use without splaying or bending, but it didn't feel hard or scratchy on the skin.

As you can see from the swatches the pigmentation and depth of colour is superb. It's a rich true black, with just a hint of a sheen to it.

The pen as I say was fairly stable, so in theory it was fairly easy to use and apply. One of my biggest gripes with liquid and pen style liners is the fact that they tend to transfer too easily, and they never seem to stay put on my lids but this one honestly dried really quickly, so you had to be quick off the mark when it came to touch ups and correcting mistakes ;) but there was barely any transfer or movement, and even on my oily, twitchy eyelids I got a good 4 hours plus wear.

Although my application skill still leave a lot to be desired, and I still ended up using a few cotton buds, a bit of eye make up remover and some concealer to touch up the odd mistake, and some of my lines weren't as straight and ended up a little bit thicker than I intended, I think that this is probably one of best felt tip style eyeliners that I've used, and I would definitely put it up with the KVD / Kat Von D Tattoo Liner. It wasn't scratchy, the depth of colour was excellent, and even on my lids it dried quickly with minimal transfer, and it stayed put! 

I don't think I'll ever use or wear products like this on a regular basis, but if you're a fan of liners like this, then I 'think' that this is a good one. I can't find this particular pen in this mini / travel size anywhere but Glossybox placed a value of £10 on this 1.2ml size. The full size retails at £21 and is available direct from Ilamasqua.

VEGAN By Happy Skin Original Skin Essence Toner - 100ml - Full Size -  RRP £34.99

From make up to skincare, and the next item in the box was a skin tonic or toner from a new brand to me, VEGAN By Happy Skin. VEGAN By Happy Skin are a UK based, high vitamin, 'natural', cruelty free and obviously vegan friendly skincare brand featuring everything from serums for the face and eyes, to moisturisers for the face and body, and of course toners, or should I say toner. There is only one toner in the VEGAN By Happy Skin range and it's this one.

This alcohol free, anti oxidant skin tonic contains a whole host of good for you ingredients including aloe vera, calendula, and chamomile. It's designed to balance and soothe the skin, and to help it feel calm and nourished.

Like all toners you apply it after cleansing, and you can apply by either using your hands and using it as a splash, or to make it go further, like me you can use it with a reusable cotton pad or a disposable one - your choice x

The toner itself is a translucent, slightly pink tinged water like liquid. VEGAN By Happy Skin pride themselves on their natural fragrances, and this tonic has the most gorgeous perfume, aromatherapy like almost floral, orange blossom type scent.

As you would expect from the ingredients it feels slightly cool on the skin (a must in this weather!). My skin felt fresher and even a touch more hydrated after using, and a big plus for me it didn't leave my skin dry or sticky.

This is a really good everyday toner for all skin types, it soothes the skin and it smells gorgeous. The one drawback is the price, this is the full 100ml size and it retails at £34.99 direct from VEGAN By Happy Skin, and at £39.99 from Feel Unique, but if you are looking for a cruelty free, gentle, alcohol free toner, then I throughly recommend that you go direct and give this one a try. 

The Beauty Crop B.F.F. Brow Friends Forever Grow & Groom Brow Gel - Clear - 4ml - Full Size - RRP £5

...And the award for the product with the longest name ever goes to the next item, and it's a product to help you create that iconic A list brow look from another UK based brand, The Beauty Crop. This brand produce a wide range of affordable make up and cosmetic products that are both cruelty free and vegan friendly, as well as being mineral oil and paraben free.

Containing conditioning and nourishing castor oil and vitamin E, this is basically just a clear brow gel designed to groom your brows and to keep those pesky stray hairs in place, and you can either use it alone or over another tinted brow product.

It comes boxed and packaged in a typical brow product / mascara like tube. The tube contains a short stubby spoolie like applicator. The gel itself is translucent and as you would expect it feels a touch sticky.

It's easy to apply in short, upward strokes, and as you can see in both the before and after pictures (please excuse the white brow hairs, I was overdue both a wax and a tint when I took the pics ;) it really helps to smooth the brows down and to take those unruly hairs.

Before

You can see a little bit of shine or varnish in the after pictures but unlike some products that I've tried, when it dries down it doesn't leave the brows feel stiff or sticky.

That being said though it seem to go a little bit bitty and blobby, and whilst my brows did indeed stay in place, it almost seemed to ball off, look closer in both the after picture below and in all of the eyeliner pictures above, and you can see tiny almost dandruff like, white specks of product in my brows, to be fair not many people will probably look that closely but not an attractive look!

After

I've noticed that a few brow gels do something similar so I think it's general issue but personally I'm not a fan, and whilst I will use this one up, I've used better products in the past so I probably wouldn't repurchase it.

While Superdrug seems to sell a lot of products from The Beauty Crop, this particular item doesn't currently feature in their online inventory, so the only place that I can currently find it is direct from The Beauty Crop, where this full 4ml size retails at £5.

We Are Paradoxx Repair 3-in-1 Conditioner Hair Mask Finishing Cream - 50ml - Deluxe Mini - Est. RRP £10.50

For the hair that you do want on your face, to the hair on your head, and again nothing scream glamour like luxurious shiny, conditioned hair, and the final product from February's box promises to give you exactly that. From sustainable, plastic free, 'clean', gluten, PEG, and mineral oil free, cruelty free and vegan haircare brand, We Are Paradoxx, comes a game changing 3 in 1 hair saviour.

Containing coconut oil, matcha green tea, carageen moss, peppermint oil, bergamot, lavender, eucalyptus and ginseng, this product can be used in one of 3 ways - first of all you can use it as a regular hair conditioner, as well as, as an intensive hair mask, and also as a finishing or styling cream, and it's claimed that this product will leave your hair 'soft, repaired, glossy and frizz free'.

This deluxe mini size comes packaged in a metal, paint style tube. It was a bit difficult to squeeze out but it was worth the initial effort, the off white conditioner had a lovely rich and creamy texture, and a gorgeous aromatherapy based scent that reminded me a bit of Philip Kingsley's Geranium And Neroli Elasticizer.

Sine you can use it in 3 ways I tried it out in 3 different ways. First of all I tried using it as a regular conditioner. The tube was a touch awkward to squeeze and manoeuvre with wet hands but I was really pleased with how this product performed as a basic, everyday conditioner. Despite it's creaminess it was pretty easy to spread through the hair, and it was pretty easy to rinse out a few minutes later, leaving the hair clean, smooth and detangled.

Now as you know I do love a hair mask, so when I found out you could use this particular product as a pre wash hair treatment I had high hopes, and I have to say I wasn't disappointed.

You can either apply it to damp or dry hair, and in the photo that you can see below (excuse the roots!) I applied it slightly damp hair. I started off by squeezing out a few blobs onto my hands and then massaging it into my hair. It did feel a touch tacky and stiff in parts but giving it a couple of comb throughs it helped to distribute it more evenly. It dried and seemed to sink in fairly quickly so as We Are Paradoxx suggested I left it on as an overnight treatment. It didn't leave any marks or staining on my pillowcases, and it was pretty easy to shampoo out the next morning, and again it left my hair feeling softer, and looking shinier and slightly less frizzy.

Speaking of frizz and flyways, the final way to use this product is as a finisher or as a styling product. I predominantly use products to smooth my hair and to reduce the frizz and the halo effect, so I used a little bit of this to smooth my ends down and to control a few flyaways, and it worked! I will say that it was a case of working out just how much to use, if you used to much it did tend to feel a touch sticky, but get the amounts right, and you're on to a winner. My hair stayed put and I gave it a bit of TLC and a leave in treatment at the same time.

I've tried a couple of bits from this brand now including a fabulous hair oil (sorry no full review but you can read more about it here) and I've been pretty impressed, and this was another goodie. It smelled nice, my hair felt good after using it, and it's a great multipurpose buy perfect for holidays or if you're trying to economise. The only real awkward or negative aspect was the metal tube but since that's exclusive to the size it's no real issue, and I did to overuse it at first but once you've figured out just how much to use it's fine.

If you fancy trying this product for yourself then you can buy this 50ml size for around £10 direct from We Are Paradoxx, you can also buy the full 250ml size in a metal pump action bottle direct from We Are Paradoxx as well as from Look Fantastic, Cult Beauty, and Feel Unique.

So there you have it, my long awaited thoughts on the February 2022 edition of Glossybox UK, and summing up again it was a decent one, all be it with a few wobbles. Bar the brow product, I liked the other products in the box, fragrances in subscription boxes are always a bit of a risk but this one from Rituals wasn't bad and in my opinion it was unisex to boot. Obviously I had issues with the liner because you know lack of skill, but it was a good one, I loved everything about the toner apart from the RRP, and the versatility of the hair product meant it was another winner!

Again I have to ask though did the products really fit in with the box theme? I guess they did  at least to some degree, but for me they were more basic, everyday products rather than the glamour inducing items that I'd been promised - I don't know - what do you you think? Let me know in the comments and don't forget to use my exclusive link to find out more about Glossybox UK for yourself. Thanks for reading and even though it's thankfully now a bit cooler in the UK don't forget to use SPF and keep hydrated, and I will see you soon with another post x 

*This Post Contains Automatic Affiliate, Added Affiliate And Non Affiliate Link

Nails Of The Day - Beauty Pie Wondercolour Nail Polish - Violetta*

It's fair to say that posts have been a little thin on the ground recently, and I guess it's also fair to say that nail posts have been almost non existent! Despite using my body weight in hand creams, cuticle oils, and nail strengtheners, my nails have by and large, remained stubby, short and dry. However for whatever reason over the last week or so they seemed to have a mini growth spurt, so I had a little sort through some of my most recent nail polish buys, and got painting! Alas within a few days they'd all snapped off again so this post is dedicated to their memory ;)

I've been a Beauty Pie member for nearly a year and a half now and so far so good, I haven't gone daft and changed my entire beauty routine overnight but I've just been picking up the odd thing to try and by and large I've been pretty impressed with the things that I've bought, with the Soul Providers Re-Energizing Dry Oil Sugar Scrub being my standout buy so far. 

I've bought a few make up bits now, some of which I'm going to try and feature in a future post or two, but this was my first time trying one of their nail polishes. I have to say that if you're looking for an exciting nail polish brand, with different colours, finishes and textures, then the polishes from Beauty Pie probably aren't for you. Their shades and finishes are all pretty safe, and pretty wearable, but what you are getting from Beauty Pie are high end, salon quality polishes. All of their nail products are both vegan and cruelty free, and they are 7 free, so they are free from 7 common polish nasties including toluene, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, ethyl tosylamide, xylene, camphor, and triphenyl phosphate. Containing nourishing coconut oil, they promise a quick drying, long lasting, chip resistant, breathable formula.

Annoyingly Beauty Pie seem to like to discontinue things especially make up items and shades, and even though this polish is quite a recent addition to my collection, this particular shade - Violetta - seems to have already been discontinued :( If you're a regular reader you should know buy now that I'm rather partial to purple and lilac nail polishes, and this one is a gorgeous pale, milky lilac shade, that's perfect with spring pastels, and perfect for making your summer tan jump out.

The polishes come boxed and in a no nonsense plain glass bottle with a black cap. With a short and stubby handle the brush itself is quite short and wide. 

The polish had quite a thick consistency and whilst I normally love a wide brush, and cream finishes are usually okay to paint, I did struggle a bit with this one. The brush was just a little too wide for some of my nails, and if you look closely some of the edges aren't exactly straight! 

The formula itself was pretty self levelling but after one coat a few nails were a bit streaky and you could see the odd brush stroke. it wasn't bad but as per usual I went for two coats, which was enough for a lovely smooth finish. The end product was really glossy even without a top coat and the dry time was pretty decent. Look carefully and you'll probably see the odd mistake and less than perfect patch but whether that's down to the polish or the fact that I'm a bit out of practise when it comes to apply nail polish, you decide ;)

As per usual for the purpose of testing a polish, I skipped a top coat, and despite their chip resistant claims, within 24 hours I did experience a tiny bit of tip wear on my right hand. I just painted it over though, and the rest of my nails lasted a good 4 days before I needed to remove it, which is pretty good going for me x

Although I had a few issues with both the application and Beauty Pie's chip resistant claims I was actually pretty pleased with how this polish performed I liked the colour, the wear time was decent, and it didn't leave me nail looking white, and flaky when it started to chip off. As I say this shade appears to have been discontinued by Beauty Pie but you never know it might come back. I've actually ordered another polish from them to try so fingers crossed I can get my nails to grow a bit before it arrives. The core range of Beauty Pie Wondercolour Nail Polishes have an RRP of £15 but members cab buy them for around £7 each. If you fancy trying Beauty Pie for yourself please check out my link here to find out how it works and to sign up for yourself x Thanks for reading and I'll see you soon with another post x 

*This Post Contains Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links