LIB The Glamour Beauty Power List 2014

As soon as I got the email from Latest in Beauty advertising the Glamour Beauty Power List 2014 and saw the contents I knew I wanted it. For only £15.99 including p&p for all these products, I thought it was a great deal.

Here are my initial impressions.


Philip Kingsley daily damage defence conditioning spray
This spray smells lush and makes my hair feel really soft and look smooth, even without using my usual serum.  It's the first Philip Kingsley product I've tried and would encourage me to try more.

Nude Maybelline color sensational lipstick (710 sultry sand)
I initially thought this shade was too pale, but I've worked with it, and if I put a gloss over the top I quite like it. It's a decent formula, doesn't dry my lips out, but as it's quite sheer, it doesn't last for hours.

Laura Mercier foundation primer
In all honesty, my foundation has never lasted so well for 12 hours. I'm not saying it was pristine by the end of the day, but my skin tone still looked so even and not at all blotchy like it normally does by 7pm. Plus you get so much as you hardly need to use any product to get good coverage. I will definitely replace this if I ever run out!

Eyeko mascara off eye makeup remover wipes
I don't normally bother with makeup wipes unless I've put on a full face for a night out. Usually I'm just lazy and wash my makeup off in the shower. These wipes are really lovely. They are fairly small squares but plenty big enough for your eyes and they feel amazing. So thick and soft, they smell nice too and don't sting my eyes in the slightest. A great little luxury for me.

Liz Earle cleanse & polish hot cloth cleanser
I've heard Liz Earle mentioned a lot in the beauty blogging world, so I was really interested to see what this was like.

James Read sleep mask tan
This applies as a clear gel which is not what I was expecting. It's s but like Johnson's holiday skin but without the bad fake tan smell. Subtle, even colour.

Bourjois volume 1 second mascara
It's ok, will use it up, but it's not amazing enough for me to repurchase. Not as good as my manga mascara.


You can buy the box here (whilst stocks last) £15.99 http://www.latestinbeauty.com/glamour/

Latest in Beauty Editor's Picks Unboxing

I've never bitten the bullet and got on the Glossybox bandwagon, but a subscription will be on my birthday list again this year. Maybe one day I'll get it!

I have subscribed to a number of beauty related sites since starting this blog and one of them is Latest in Beauty. I occasionally get emails from them and consider buying things, but until now I hadn't. They work different to Glossybox in that rather than having a subscription, they put together boxes and you can buy them as and when.

I got an email advertising a couple of their  latest boxes and had a little browse at the contents. The "Editor's Pick" box instantly grabbed my interest and bingo the email also had a 15% off code that lasted until midnight. It was 11:57pm and I was laying in bed so I swiftly clicked the buy me button and put in the discount code, it worked so I ordered.

Five days later my box arrived.

This is what I got:

1 x Bellápierre Mineral Eye Shadow (2.35g)
1 x AS London Candle
1 x EVE LOM Rescue Mask (15ml)
1 x Mavala Rouge Rubis Nail Varnish (5ml)
1 x Mirenesse Lip Lift Moisture Shine (1.5g)
1 x Nicky Clarke Instant Calmer (30ml)
1 x Nspa Melting Cleansing Gel (30ml)
1 x The Vintage Cosmetics Company Eye Shadow Brush (Full Size)
1 x Benefit They're Real Mascara (3.0g)
1 x Yardley Refreshing Body Spray (75ml)

Pretty good for £11 after the discount (original price £12.95 - still good value in my opinion).

I carefully removed the products one by one, inspecting each as I went. It was so exciting to have all these new products in front of me to try. They all were 100% usuable to me which was great. I know these boxes can be a bit hit and miss, and sometimes you get things and decide they aren't for you.

On first spray, I wasn't overly impressed with the Yardley "refreshing" body spray. I got the scent English Rose and found it to be quite old fashioned. But later it did grow on me, though I wouldn't call it refreshing!

Something that immediately impressed me was the Mirenesse lip gloss. I have no idea what shade I got but it is a nude/brown with maybe a lilac undertone. I love the colour and it lasts really well. It's got smart packaging and is very wearable. 

I will write reviews on the other products as and when I use them, and link them from the items in the list above. But in the meantime I would recommend you pick up this beauty box before they sell out.

The Graze Craze - free voucher code

Graze boxes have been around for a couple of years now. For those that don't know it's like a food version of a Glossybox. You sign up to receive either fortnightly or weekly boxes at £3.89 each including P&P and the box comes through your door with 4 snack boxes inside.

The food you get given is based on preferences you put into the website. You can give foods a rating of either "bin, try, like or love" and this will affect how often you get those foods in your box. Ratings can be updated as often as you like.

I thought I'd give it a go as I had a voucher for a free box and I was really impressed with my selection, so I'm going to keep it up for a little while longer and see how it goes.

In terms of feedback for Graze, I do wish there was 5 foods in each box rather than 4, as this would give me a breaktime snack for each day of the week at work. Also, it would be good if there was other options than just weekly and fortnightly. But overall, I really like it.

If you would like to give it a go, have a free box on me, using the voucher code: W6H7RT1D

Muji make-up storage organiser

Muji acrylic storage: ★★★★★

Update: New storage


Recently, I stumbled across a video on YouTube of someone showing their make-up collection and storage system and I was transfixed first of all by the amount of make-up, but secondly, by the way it was stored! (Link to original inspiration here)

Then came my unhealthy obsession of spending far too long trawling the Internet looking for the perfect make-up storage solution for myself. I discovered Muji. If you search "acrylic" or go to the "acrylic storage" category on the Muji website you will find a range of different size boxes, drawers, pots etc.

To start me off, I ordered the acrylic box with 2 drawers (wide) and the 3 partition acrylic desk pot (large). Delivery is only £2.95 for orders up to £24.99, so I spent just under £20 on this. It arrived in about 3 days packaged very well in bubble wrap and other protective coatings.

I packed my eye shadows, foundations, blushers, lipsticks and things in the draws, then used the pot to store makeup pencils, lip glosses and mascaras. I'm really happy with the finished result and it looks great on my dressing table. Although I do still have some make-up in other drawers and make-up bags in my room, so I'm looking to expand my Muji collection in the near future.

The Muji products are all stackable. As you can see I currently have the pot on top of the drawers. I plan to order another set of the 2 drawers and the small 3 partition pot, stacking the draws, then putting the shorter pot in front of the taller one. I'll update this blog with a photo once I've got it.

 
If you are looking to organise your make-up without spending ridiculous money, then I'd definitely recommend Muji.

Update: New storage