Bloom & Wild Brings Bursts of Happy Flappy Stims

I have tried monthly beauty boxes and weekly snack boxes but none of them have caused so much happy hand flapping as my new subscription with Bloom & Wild. They specialize in a gorgeous selection of fresh flowers, delicately and carefully packaged in a box that fits through the letter box. They are a joy to unwrap and very easy to arrange even for gardening novices. There is the option to choose a one off purchase or you can request a weekly, fortnightly or monthly delivery. If you are a cat owner you can request that you don’t receive any lilies. I absolutely adore my arrangement and the fun I had designing the display (I had to stop after each stem to have another hand flap).

You can find out all about the service and how to purchase at http://www.bloomandwild.com/

My first delivery contains white baltica and green bloom chrysantheum, pink lisianthus, white hypericum, cerise carnation and eucalyptus.

A review of the first She Said Beauty Box

The newest beauty box on the scene is from She Said Beauty. It arrived in a gorgeous hot pink outer box.

With a very sweet message

I opened the box to find a beautiful Tiffany blue box with a front magnetic closure, I love how it opens as I can use it as a a little vanity box for when I go to a hotel as it keeps me really organised and I know where everything is when I don’t have my glasses on. You could stick a mirror to the inside too.

Inside the box I found these lovely items

Orly Manicure Miniature in the shade Black Out 5.3ml/Full size £5.00-5.4ml

Orly nail file

I’m really pleased to get a sexy black nail polish, I would also have loved the other shade which is a lovely Tiffany blue. We also get a bonus nail file to prep our pinkies.

Comfort Zone Good Night Kit

Renight Recover Cream 6ml

Renight Recover Complex 4ml

Full size £52.95-50ml

This is a brand I’ve not heard of before, I get dry skin so this looks like a lovely thirst quencher for my skin. You also get a very fun designed credit card size leaflet that folds out to give more information about the brand.

We Are Faux Eyelashes in style Unveiled /From £9.00

I don’t usually wear false eyelashes but these look lovely and fluttery.

Aveda Smooth Infusion Trio

Shampoo 10ml/Full Size £15.50-250ml

Conditioner 10ml/Full Size £17.50-200ml

Style-Prep Smoother 10ml/Full Size £18.50-100ml

I love that we get a whole styling set together and I find the tubes are much easier to use than sachets.

Collection 2000 Cream Puff in shade Angel Delight 4 5ml/Full Size £2.99-5ml

This lip product is a lovely shade and texture, although it is a very low price point it is not something that I would have picked up myself so I’m really pleased to get this in the box.

The bonus item in this box is one 6.5gm serving of  Jing Flowering Dragon Eye Tea. Full Size £9.00-50gm. You place this in a glass jug of hot water and it blooms before your eyes and then you can serve the tea. I’m really excited about this very sophisticated product.

My overall verdict of this new beauty box is that it is very glamorous and I adore the colour of the box and the really sweet straw that sets off the products beautifully. I’m very glad I subscribed.

The She Said Beauty Box is £9.00 + £2.95 p&p per month, though there are a few different payment options.

To find out more about the She Said Beauty Box visit http://www.shesaidbeauty.com

Project 365 February 24th 2012

Project 365 February 20th 2012

Parisian Chic As Boudoir Prive Becomes JolieBox

This month the beautiful Boudoir Privé beauty box is transformed from now on into the elegantly compact JolieBox. Of the things that bring me out from my teenage boy mindset the glamour and sophistication of this particular beauty box subscription rates very highly. Upon opening the box, I am transported into a twirl of flouncy dresses and David Walliams-esque exclamations of ‘I’m a laaaaaydy’. As I am extremely proud of my French heritage this box means more to me than just a delightful box of beauty treats, it gives me the chance to revel in being a sophisticated Parisian girl. Here is my review of the box and it’s contents.

The Box: A sophisticated and compact black box with a lift off lid reveals a beautiful deep pink ribbon carefully tied around the selection of surprises. I think this is the most glamorous of all the beauty boxes.

The Products

OPI Gold Shatter Nail Lacquer:- Something that I’d not considered purchasing before but I am eager to play with this perfect for parties, gold sparkle.

Mitchell And Peach Shower Wash:- A fresh and fruity scent to revive you for all your festive activities.

New CID Cosmetics i-gloss:- A very pretty wearable shade of gloss with an extremely useful feature of illuminating your pout for perfect application.

Jane Iredale 24-Karat Gold Dust:- A brand that I have wanted to try and I shall very much enjoy applying this multi-use shimmer powder to sparkle as much as the tinsel.

Yon-Ka Vital Defense:- I’m always keen to try anti-aging products to preserve a youthful complexion.

Kusmi Detox Tea:- I find it wonderful to recieve a food/drink item in a beauty box as it gives a bit of variety so this shall be very much enjoyed.

JolieBox Concealer Brush:- A lovely soft brush that is an essential addition to any beauty collection

Also included is an offer of 20% off at WishWantWear.com which is a designer dress hire service.

I really feel that this company listens to the feedback as I mentioned on the feedback survey that I would love more gadgets, food items and beauty tools and that’s exactly what they have included in this month’s box.

JolieBox is a little box of glamour and sophistication so if you want to treat yourself or the women in your life to a subscription they shall surely be delighted.

JolieBox is £10 + P&P for each month.

More information can be found at http://www.boudoirprive.co.uk/

Yay!!…..Oh. The December 2011 Glossy Box For Women

This is my third Glossy Box so far and I started off with the element of surprise but I did look at spoilers this month and got rather excited when I saw on the Glossy Blog,  the Blink + Go Eyeshadow/Blush palette in the bright colours. I hoped and sent my wishes, in a Noel Edmonds endorsed cosmic ordering style, to the masters of beauty product distribution that I would get the palette of eye candy delight. I opened my Glossy Box today and rather quickly deflated to find I’d been given what in my eyes seems like a  plain, old, boring mascara. Of course it’s as nice a product as anything you could want but after getting my hopes up about flaunting my rainbow eyes I was overcome with disapointment. A surprise every month is very much appreciated but in the traditon of a bit o’ Bully, I am rather more upset (in a vague harrumph way rather than a whole house ripping meltdown way, I do have some perspective)  about the bright colours that I coulda won than excited about what I actually did get. A speedboat is nothing compared to eyeshadows and blush. So, on with my review.

The Box:- This month the box is a bright shiny Christmassy red with winter white tissue wrapping and shreddy thingymabobs. I did see that the European boxes had green tissue which I find much more appealing.

The Products That I Shall Use

Rituals Fujiyama Foaming Shower Gel in Mandarin and Mint:- I have not come across this concept before so shall be interested to see how it works though I am thinking that I may be tempted to regress to my childhood bath game of acquiring a voluptous foamy beard and carefully shaving it off.

Deborah Lippman Razzle Dazzle Mini Nail Varnish with Stripped to Go Sachet:- This is a gorgeous sparkly deep jammy red which is perfect for the festive season. Another concept I haven’t seen before is the lavender nail lacquer remover finger mitts, I shall be interested to see how effective this is.

Products That I Doubt I Shall Use

Cargo Cosmetics Classic Lip Gloss:- A pretty pink colour but I would have preferred a product from their Botanical range

MeMeMe Seventh Heaven:- A facebase packed with artficial ingredients and preservatives

Blink + Go Hi-Definition Mascara:- A wastefully packaged mascara with a standard applicator that just seems dull compared to pretty eyeshadows.

Product Options That I Would Have Preferred

Jurlique ultra firm and lift cream:- One of the more natural brands that I would love to try and firming is always a good thing.

Blink + Go Eye Shadow/Blush Palette in the bright shades:- Look at the pretty!!! Waaaaahhhh!!!!

My overall verdict for this month’s Glossy Box is that it gives some sparkly delight with the nail lacquer but plenty of disapointment with the lack of pretty colours. If however I had received the brights palette then this would have been a more favourable review. I would say that of all the beauty boxes I get, that I have been the most disapointed with Glossy Box for Women, I am much more interested in getting what is given out in the European Glossy Box.

Again this is a sensory overload avoiding way of getting beauty products but rather a hit and miss way of getting things you actually want, it is pretty good value if you are not overly fussy.

Glossy Box is £10 + P&P for one beauty box a month. More information can be found at http://www.glossybox.co.uk/

Something For The Weekend, Sir? The First Glossy Box For Men

If it wasn’t frowned upon to hump a beauty box then this would definitely be getting some fab. u. lous. hip action. It is the first Glossy Box specifically created for men and the masculine side of me is delighted. I mainly bought this out of curiosity rather than any specific gift ideas but I think a stealth technique of depositing these stylish and cool looking products around the bathroom would have far more effective results than just presenting a box of beauty products to a lucky male, unless of course he is of the metrosexual sort or simply a raging queen. I myself have always been attracted to masculine things, of course I do get the uncontrollable flaps for anything pink and sparkly but show me an Eames chair or a fine piece of particularly well sculpted MDF and I am filled with warmth and adoration, for my gender balance within my well endowed frame is more towards a masculine sensibility. So, on with my actual review.

The Box: This is a stunning chocolately grey colour or what those in the nails industry seem to call greige. It is simply divine and worth many an admiring caress.

The Products

Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser:- Exfoliation is vital for a smooth looking complexion so very pleased to recieve a full size of this.

Goldwell Lagoon Jam Volume Gel:- I love a bit of volume to the hair and a slight bit of Tennant-ness does a bloke a world of good.

Shaveworks The Cool Fix:- Extremely funky and stylish packaging of a product to help comfort those shaving woes.

Murad Clarifying Mask:- A mask to treat acne, very useful to have for any spot emergencies.

Goldwell For Men Hair and Body Shampoo:- A very sexy aroma of boy sweets, you know how some sweets have a leaning towards a male consumer? Well it reminds me of Fox’s Glacier Mints which I have always had a certain trepidation about, I do not know why but show me a bag and I have a tendency to back away. They are like the Darth Vader of sweets.

Vitru Conditioning Body Wash:- A rather herbally aroma of honey, rather nice. The bees should stand with their hands on their hips and feel rather proud of their contribution to male grooming. Well until Queenie whips them back into shape, long days and no rest makes a bee quite tetchy I’d assume.

Vitru Energy Rub:- A very interesting product that I shall be happy to apply (nudge, nudge, wink, wink)

Yves Saint Laurent L’Homme:- In the modern way of saying , this is simply teh sex.

Yves Saint Laurent La Nuit De L’Homme:- Another example of aromatic humpability, I shall be wearing these perfumes myself to observe the affect on any passing lady and this is definitely one for any bloke trying to impress.

My overall verdict is that this is a must buy if you are into male grooming and also it’s an easy way to acquire grooming products if you find yourself overwhelmed with the array of options out there and as it comes straight to your door, sensory overload is comfortably avoided.

The Glossy Box for Men is delivered every 3 months at a cost of £15 + P&P for each box. More information can be found at http://www.glossybox.co.uk/men