Birchbox October'14 - Work It Edition

It's beauty box time once again! This month Birchbox have partnered up with Coppafeel! as it is breast cancer awareness month, which is a sweet idea. The box is all pink coloured too due to this partnership, and instead of the little cotton drawstring pouch we're used to, we have a little pink zip bag. Lets see what I got this month!

First we have a Lollipops Nail Lacquer (£7) which is in a surprising red shade with no name. Surprising due to the fact that this is a very festive red, thinking it should be pink due to the boxes underlying theme (maybe thats just me). Not complaining mind, as I am very much a red kinda gal. Will be exciting to try but looks pretty similar to ones I already own.

Next up we have KMS California Hair Play Playable Texture (£15.50). Last time I tried the KMS range I wasn't impressed, however I loooove a good texture spray and this little can is a perfect size for me to take on holiday in a couple of weeks time. I don't particularly want to love this due to its high price point as my beloved Charles Worthington texture spray is a wee bit cheaper than this bad boy.

A strange product this October is Shaveworks The Cool Fix (£11). I'm finding this a strange addition as its like an aftershave balm promising to treat razor burns, ingrown hairs, and razor bumps. I can't see me getting much use out of this as I don't really suffer from any of the above but we shall see, I reckon it will end up at the back of the stock cupboard.

Something I'm excited for is Balance Me Cleanse & Smooth Face Balm (£20) I love me a face balm, we all know I rant and rave about the Liz Earle infamous Cleanse & Polish. It'll be interesting to see if a product of a similar price point can live up to such a great beauty 'holy grail' item. I may save this for my holiday too, I'm not sure.

The final beauty product this month is Pixi by Petra Shea Lip Butter in Honey Nectar (£8). This gives a nice sheer wash of a berry tone, which is totally a season appropriate shade. It feels really moisturising on the lips and will definately end up in my work bag. Very impressed with this item.

A sweet little addition to this box is this lipstick pen. This is obviously tying in with the overall box theme as it is bright pink and just really cool. I do like the little thoughtful extras Birchbox seems to chuck in their boxes each month.

This months box, despite the thoughtful theme, was a bit hit or miss. I liked and feel like I'll get some use out of just half of the box, but the products I like, I really like the idea of, special mentions to the texturising spray, the lip balm and the face balm. Excited for those, now we await what Glossybox brings to my porch this month.

You can grab one of these boxes at Birchbox for £10 plus p+p!

Emma x

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Beautyblender Original Sponge

I can't lie to you, when I first saw this gem in last months Birchbox - I was over the moon. The price and amount of hype this recieves can only make you curious if it really is THAT good, bloggers and youtubers are FOREVER saying how awesome a beautyblender is. After a good amount of use, just under a month of using this nearly every other day I cannot confirm that is truly is better than my Real Techniques buffing brush. The idea is that you run a tap, pop the egg shaped beauty under, it then grows to provide a larger surface and is supposedly more hygenic. I honestly have to say I don't actually feel like I'm applying anything on my face when I use it, the dampness that wetting it brings just makes me feel all I'm doing is wiping everything off of my face. I do prefer the more angled edge to apply my concealer, but I really don't enjoy using this on foundation. Also, I feel like you have to use a less liquidy foundation as all of it will just get absorbed into the sponge itself. I can't say it makes a tonne of difference to how my base looks if honest, and for the price tag of £26 (!!!) I really don't believe its worth.

I hear the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge (pretty much a cheap end dupe right there) is actually better and provides a nicer, smoother coverage but I have yet to purchase that after being let down so badly by this. It definately will not be giving my RT buffing brush a run for its money anytime soon!

You can always buy a beautyblender here for £26, if you would like to it try for yourself.

Emma x

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TRESemme Instant Refresh Dry Shampoo

It's no surprise that I am a hardcore dry shampoo fan, I have tried most of the brands on the market. TRESemme is one I have only just gotten round to trying, this is partly down to the reason I don't like their hair care range as my scalp seems to react and flare up when I use them - just me? However, this guy is most definately an exception. When I first used this, I really didn't think it did a lot due to it not feeling powdery. Three months on and on my second can, I can tell you that first impressions were wrong, I've actually come to prefer the texture of this over something powdery such as Batiste. The smell alone is a winner to be fair - its really fresh smelling and has more of a scent I would assume was from shampoo. When sprayed on the roots, this feels a little like the Aussie one but not as concentrated, it definately is an oily-ish texture but nothing unpleasant and doesn't look odd on your hair. I'd definately give this a go if you're not so keen on the powdery dry shampoos, its a wee bit more pricey but I do prefer it to Batiste if I can find it to purchase.

You can, however pick it up here for the current price of £2.62!

Emma x

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September Favourites

Judging from this picture, I feel like September has been a red kinda month. I mainly have make up favourites this month as I haven't actually switched up any of my skincare regime! Lets start.

I have just not stopped reaching for Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette (£37) this month, its my all time favourite eye shadow palette I own currently. Shade stand outs are Pistol and Verve - have been using these beautys all month long and will probably continue!

Two lip favourites this month, first up being Soap and Glory Super Colour Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss in Yummy Plum (£10), this is a lovely autumnal shade that is more red than the plum it claims to be but is still super flattering. This line of lip products may not be for all if you aren't in to the whole tingly sensation you get but I personally don't see a difference in the way my lips look. I generally enjoy this when placed on top of a similar colour lip base.

Talking of similar base colours, we have Revlon Colorburst Lip Lacquer Balm in Enticing (£7.99). This is my favourite of the lacquer balm variety from Revlon. These guys seem to make the best drugstore lip products in my books, this doesn't last as well as the matte ones but thats not surprising anyone. Its just a lovely glossy mid tone red, really flattering on paler blue toned girls like myself.

Something else I have been enjoying this month is Essie Nail Varnish in Snap Happy (£10.95). This is currently what my toe nails are painted with. I know its a wee bit too early to be thinking of Christmas but its on my toes so nobody can notice this cheery festive red, but I am getting excited anyway! Essies varnishes are always of a high standard even though they are not my favourite of the higher end bunch.

Last but not least we have Marc Jacobs Dot Fragrance (£38 for 30ml), we all know I am a fan of the Marc Jacobs range but his other fragrances I own are spring/summertime for me. This smells appley to me and that just sings of Autumn to me so I have been wearing this with pride. It reminds me of the days where I used to wear DKNY's be delicious, but its not as apple strong. This actually doesn't contain any apple but I think its the underlying note of Dragonfruit that makes it seem a warmer scent with a citrussy fruity twist.

So there were my belated September favourites, what have your favourites been this month?

Emma x

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Naked Basics Palette

I cannot tell you how long I have had this in my collection and yet it is still to be blogged about due to me not really reaching to it until this new 90's nude trend has set in. Originally I bought this to see what all the hype about Urban Decay eyeshadows was all about, in hindsight, this was a poor decision choice as I'm more of a shimmer kinda gal. I don't really know why I was drawn to this over the other UD palettes (however since buying this, I did end up purchasing the Naked 2 Palette!) I genuinely think it had to do with the cheap price for a high end item. For the princely sum of £22, you do get a set of lovely quality shadows, I was expecting this to be bigger, not sure why as it is perfect handbag/make up bag size. As I previously mentioned, as a shimmer lover, first impressions were pretty low and it did end up at the back of my eyeshadow drawer for quite some time, I think it was the impending release of the new Naked 2 Basics that made me give it another chance. The palette is housed in this mid brown rubberised case which is not as nice to the touch as the usual tin feel of the larger guys of the naked range, but super compact for on the go.

The overall quality of these eyeshadows is as every other blogger states, they are massively pigmneted and blendable. However, I found that the solid matte black was a little chalky when not used with a primer, I may be the only one here. The colours are so much better when used on top of a primer and this also reduces the fall out you do get with some of the shades.

(Top Row L-R: Venus, Foxy, Walk Of Shame/Bottom Row L-R: Naked 2, Faint, Crave, swatched on top of Benefits Stay Don't Stray primer)

As you can see you do get a nice range of shades, the only satin shade here actually being Venus, a lovely champagne and definately my fave of the bunch (surprise!). Foxy is pretty much a matte nude, so nude it doesn't really show up on the lid, which has its positives for blending. Walk of Shame is a lovely base shadow for me, it really doesn't show up well unless you're using a primer underneath however. Now on to the, in my opinion, better and bolder shades. Naked 2 is a nice lid colour and looks fab when you blend a dark shimmer in the crease. Faint is pretty much my eye colour so I feel like it enhances the tones within the iris. Finally you have a matte black in the form of Crave which makes for a great liner when used wet, and is awesome when put in the socket.

In my opinion, Urban Decay eyeshadows are only really great if you're wearing a really good primer underneath, as they are never quite as bold without. I am looking forward to potentially purchasing the Basics 2, but I'm so hooked on the original Basics 2 palette that I'm not quite sure I wanna part with using it so much.

All in all, this baby palette is great if you're hot for matte nudes, also fun to play around but still very basic all the same. I personally don't feel like I could rely on just this, I'd probably take my Body Shop shimmer cubes alongside for a touch of sparkle.

You can pick this up at feel unique for £22.

Emma x

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Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream

For me, the original Daisy has become quite a staple scent in my life. I wear it almost every day, its crisp, fresh, and just the right amount of floral. So you can only imagine my excitement for this little number, this is nothing like the 'edition' perfumes - its just a whole new rush. This has almost knocked Daisy out of my front line up of perfumes, I seem to reach for this more just recently. Its still fresh and crisp like the original but with a fruitier tone, almost a grapefruity smell in my opinion. I really love the fruity twist on what has become quite the classic in my books, its a shame we are now moving over to the Autumnal months as this is a summerier alternative. The packaging is also beautiful with the cut out daisys and the shinier ones on the cap, the fragrance inside looks like it has a blue hue but it is clear - almost reminds me of those summery blue cloudless skies. In terms of how this lasts, it does need a reapplication throughout the day but this goes across all the Marc Jacobs perfume line - not that I am complaining as he makes my most favourite scents.

If you are on the fence about this guy, I definately recommend this if you're a fruitier scented person, but it doesn't completely win me over the original Daisy.

You can get this at Boots for £42.30.

Emma x

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