As you can see I am a little behind on these so you are going to be getting one a week for the next few weeks, so lets begin…
First thought was cool, what a pretty box then I opened it,
I have to be honest my heart sank, this was the special festive box and instead I felt totally deflated by what was in there but as always I was determined to give it a fair trial so of course I tried everything.
First up…
Etre Belle Golden Skin Caviar Eye Roll On
It says it is supposed to cool and hydrate tired looking eyes, now maybe my eyes were not tired, puffy or dehydrated enough but I did not see a difference, they charge £30.66 for this and it is not something I would buy again as things stand, I will try it again at some point possibly after a night out or when I have been ill and see if I can see a difference then, if I do I will get back to you. The one thing I will give it credit for is the cooling effect however I cannot say if this is as a result of the gel or the fact the roller ball is metal.
Next up…
Essence Liquid Lipstick in Show Off
It claims that this gives you lipstick coverage with a gloss finish, personally I found it gave you an oil slick on your mouth. The colour was good and a true red but that is the best I can say for it, I am quite fussy with my lip glosses and hate that sticky feeling and this felt as cheap as the price tag, and that has to be taken into account, this only costs £2.50, maybe if I did not have better quality lip glosses and far too many products already I might experiment with it more but it reminded me very much of something you would find in a little girls play hand bag and I would not buy it again.
So far very disappointing but it was not all doom and gloom…
Darphin 8 Flower Nectar Oil Cream
If you are thinking the packaging looks familiar it is, in fact it is almost identical to the moisturiser I fell in love with before
The difference being that the moisturiser is in a blue/green glass tub rather than a yellow one but I loved this product almost as much as the other, in fact had this been cheaper I might have switched but at £65 for the full size it is the same price as the moisturiser so I will be sticking with that. The one thing I would say is that this would be one I would only use in winter as with my complexion it would make my skin a little too greasy in summer months, for someone with year round dry skin I would say it is worth a try though the price tag is rather prohibitive to just buy to try without knowing it will suit.
Next one is…
Cheeky Chat Me Up Nail Paint
First thoughts were I was disappointed, it did not give the coverage I like and though it sparkled nicely it lacked a bit of a wow factor. Then I tried something different, I was putting on a dark purple polish I own that has a little sparkle but not much so I thought I will just try a coat of this over the top and see what happens and it looked fab (sadly I can’t find the photo now showing it) it did make the purple appear more of a dark violet but it sparkled and the iridescence really showed, I then tried it over different colours and it pretty much look stunning which ever colour I put it over, at £7 it is average price for a nail varnish and I will certainly go look at their website and consider ordering it again.
Almost done…
So Susan Statement Highlighter Pencil
So Susan is an American brand I have only discovered due to Glossybox an I have loved their stuff so much I have bought some of their Love Bags so when I saw this I was excited, I do not really like the pencil idea for cheekbone highlighting but I frequently use this on both my cupid’s bow and brow bone for highlights and love it, at £15 it is possibly a little on the expensive side although to be honest value for money wise it is a good investment as it will last forever. would I buy this again? Quite possibly although chances are this one will last me for ages.
And on to the final item which I save for last as the picture might be scary…
Starskin Bio-Cellulose Second Skin Mask
Okay not that picture, the one I am going to share in a might, this was a bonus product and I got the one that is supposed to be used in preparation for a night out, now the first thing I have to say is generally I have about an hour to get ready when I decide to go out so taking twenty minutes to do a face mask is not in the equation but also I think of face masks more for relaxing in front of the TV possibly with a glass of something . However I have to say this certainly did give good results and I would imagine my make up might well have looked extra good if I had applied it after wearing this mask, but and there are actually three buts here, I honestly would not buy this again. First let me show you me wearing the mask…
Firstly as you can see it does not fit particularly well, who ever they based this face shape on has serious issues, secondly the actual product on the mask is quite slimy which means that you get the mask into a position where it just about feels like it is in place then within a minute or two you feel it sliding down your face, in the end the only way I could keep it on for twenty minutes was to lay on the bed flat on my back, not very practical for getting ready to go out. Finally the price at £8.50 per mask it is nearly as cheap to book yourself in for a facial, the fact is I would use these again if I got another freebie but I can not justify spending that money on one when I know I can buy others that do the same job for a fraction of the price.
So despite inital fears there were a couple of things I really did love in this box.
Paula Acton 