Dancing At Lunacy

I was starting to get a bit concerned that my July box had gone astray, but apparently it’s always the middle of the month before they’re despatched. And an email confirming despatch is sent, which I like.

This month’s box is a bright turquoise, decorated with coral and starfish, and promised to contain some holiday must-haves.

What was inside:

• Alterna Haircare Bamboo Style Boho Waves Mist
• Essie nails
• Pout Paint lip gloss
• Coola organic SPF 20 moisturiser.
• Anatomicals Spray Misty For Me facial spritz.

So what did I think?

The hair mist smells rather lovely, and gives a gentle tousled appearance without being too sticky or stiff.  I’m rather glad this was in my box, as I’ve mislaid the John Freida one I liked from the June box, and this is a handy handbag size.

Coola tinted moisturiser.  Always handy to have a face cream with an SPF, especially in the lovely sunshine we’ve been having lately! This smells a little like fake tanning lotion, but the coverage is good, and it is absorbed well into my skin.

Essie nails – not sure I’d ever use these, might be passed to daughter straight away.  My nails are very short and tend to split easily, and my fingers are rather short and stubby, so I try not to attract attention to them.

Pout Paint in Peachy Keen and Minx.  I’m a lip balm queen.  I have countless tins and tubes on my desk at work, at home, in my handbag, in my travel bag, beside my bed.  So I was looking forward to trying these fun bright colours.  A little goes a very long way – seriously a pin-head sized blob is sufficient.  The colours were very odd – extremely bright, almost cartoon-ish.  Which is handy as I’m going to a fancy dress party as Daphne from Scooby Doo – the Minx shade is a lilac colour which will match the outfit.  The Peachy Keen was VERY orange, and made my teeth look yellow.  The texture was really sticky and unpleasant, and when on the lips, it took on a chalky dull appearance.  Disappointing.

Facial spritz.  Possibly my favourite item in this month’s box, for the corny name if nothing else!  The blurb in the leaflet suggests that it would be good on flights: I dare say it would but I’m not sure how you’d get a liquid into your hand luggage!

So a bit of a wacky selection, but a couple have made their way into my handbag already.

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Despite my misgivings about ordering things online, I somehow managed to persuade myself that signing up for a monthly GlossyBox was a good idea.

Since losing a bit of weight, I’m taking a bit more care over my appearance, and this seems like a good way to shake up my usual cosmetics routine, and try some premium products.  Plus, I always like little handbag sized versions of items. I opted for a 3 month contract, which was £30 up front, and I’ll have 3 lovely boxes to review.

And what lovely boxes they are!  The packaging is exceptionally high quality, a very sturdy pink box, with the goodies inside wrapped in black tissue paper.  My only concern comes from an environmental point of view – thats a lot of packaging to dispose of.  I kept the pink ribbon and the box, which I’m sure I’ll find a use for.

So what was inside:

• Figs and Rouge Lip Gloss in Cherry Blossom
• Monu Hydrating Moisturiser
• MeMeMe eye shadow in Dusk
• Helen E Lip crayon in Red Carpet
• John Frieda Frizz Ease serum

The chubby lip crayon was quite a strong geranium red colour.  Despite this being one of my “autumn” shades, it’s a colour I have in clothes, but not one I’d usually put on my lips.  Maybe with a gloss over the top, for evening.

The grey eye shadow looked quite dark in its pot, but is a softer smokey shade when on.  I wore it to a Scottish dancing class, and my husband commented “You’re wearing make-up!” without specifically mentioning the eyes.

The John Frieda Frizz Ease is a handy sized serum – I have very short hair and never blow dry it, but I do use serums to give it a sort of spikey glossiness, and this one goes on easily and is non-sticky.

The moisturiser looked quite thick when I splodged it out of the bottle, but it absorbs well into the skin.

My favourite item is undoubtedly the Figs and Rouge lip gloss – it looks a deep cherry colour in the tube, but goes on slightly paler, and has a staying power that most other lip glosses don’t have.  The colour is great on me too, definitely a keeper!

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