As we've been in lockdown since March, literally all I've been doing is eating food, binging TV or impulsively buying things (...oops). Because of the lockdown, I found my anxiety and depression worsening which began impacting me terribly. There's only so much decluttering one can truly do. Am I right?? The way I deal with my mental health when I don't want to deal with it is by spending money. Now hear me out! Why not spend money on beauty boxes where I can receive new items to pamper myself with??? So I got digging, and some of the most popular (beauty) boxes are Birchbox, Glossybox, and Lookfantastic beauty boxes.
Without wasting time, I subscribed to all three beauty boxes to compare them but also because I couldn't really decide on which one I wanted. However, this blog is only about the latter two as they're similar. With these boxes, you get 5-6 products - full- and travel-sized to try out each month! I think this is a more useful way to try out new products by only paying around £10-15 for the box (exc. delivery) rather than fully committing to products which are expensive (and may later regret)! These boxes come with products that total to over £50. For May, Lookfantastic had the Avant Ultimate hyaluronic acid resurfacing duo moisturiser which retails for (£100)! Crazy rights?! As this is a very expensive brand, I wouldn't consider buying the products from my own pocket as I can't afford them but I'm grateful to get a chance to try it out!!
I was honestly really impressed with both of the beauty boxes in May that I decided to continue my subscriptions for another few months!
Lookfantastic June 'staycation' beauty box edition
I loved that for June, lookfantastic used a beauty bag as an alternative to their typical cardboard boxes. This beauty bag can be used to store makeup and skincare when travelling. Even though at the moment, travelling isn't an option, we can reuse the bag to store all our weekly pampering go-to products for our spa days! I'm currently using it to store all my sheet masks (#sorrynotsorry).
Glov Rainbow Drop Brush £10
This product kinda scared me at first because I didn't realise that it was a brush! Honestly, sometimes I worry about myself! This is a palm-sized brush which can easily be carried around in our bags if needed. It also gently detangles the hair and can be used on both wet and dry hair.
So I have used this a few times and found that it is very gentle on the hair. If you have a sensitive scalp, this would be a product for you to use! (less tug of war with ya hair!) I used this today on my really tangled and messy hair (had it in a weird messy bun) and this brush helped me get out the tangles without causing too much pain! I think this brush is great and I really recommend it!
Molton Brown Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel Bath and Shower Gel (100ml) - £10
This body wash smells amazing, making it the perfect product for pampering with! According to LF, the blend of these smells with help your body "feel nourished, moisturised and revitalised". This luxury brand is a perfect way to spoil yourself or to gift to your loved ones!
Josh Wood Colour everything Mask (30ml) - £6
So this hair mask adds shine, hydrates and deeply condition hair and can be used on every shade of hair! The full product is 140 ml retailing for £19.
My hair had a treatment done last year to lighten/strip my hair and since then, I haven't done anything else to it. I still like to use masks for deep conditioning purposes. I haven't tried any products from this brand so it will be fun to try this out!
Shangpree Aroma Blend Calming/Moisture Mask (worth £2.50)
There were 3 different face masks you could potentially get, and I received this one in my bag! This mask leaves you with a glowing, softer and a more hydrated complexion after one use.
I love using sheet masks, I find they are super refreshing for the skin. And if you need extra moisture, I find they're perfect for that! Sheet masks are soaking in a product, and you'll find there's loads left over in the bag. Use all of it and pat it into your skin for that extra hydration and moisture!
Polaar Very High Protection Sun Cream SPF50+ (20ml) – worth £13.44
SPF is important!! This is a lightweight and non-greasy in texture and sinks quickly into the skin. This is a great product to help protect against strong, harmful sun damage! The full-sized product is worth £22.
Ultrasun SPF30 Lip Protect – worth £8
Before this, I never knew that lip balm could also be SPF. This balm helps to protect your lips (which are sensitive) from the sun and reducing inflammation and moisturising any dryness.
Glossybox June 'World of Beauty' beauty box edition
So the idea behind this box was to bring the world to you! This was a fun idea because it meant you could try many different products from companies from around the world! The product which I was so excited to see in here was Huda Beauty because she's a successful high-end brand.
So this box contains 5 products and they were all full-size which I really appreciated! This box is worth £60.99.
Huda Beauty Life-Liner Very Vanta (1.5ml) - £18
I was the most excited about this product, as I'm sure many people also were! But can you blame me? Its Huda beauty?! This is a dual eyeliner. One side is a pencil liner which you twist, and the other side is a felt tip liquid liner which you pull (a little confusing, I know). The way you open the eyeliner is interesting and I haven't seen this before apart from liquid eyeshadows or lipsticks.
The Vintage Cosmetics Company Makeup Removing Cloth - £7.99
This is a reusable makeup cloth that cleanses and exfoliates your skin. To use this, wet the cloth and glide the side with the short-fibres to cleanse and the other side to exfoliate - there's no need for any lotions!
This is the first time I have heard of this brand but I do like the concept behind this brand. So this is a reusable makeup cloth and you get two in a box. For the price, and the fact that this is reusable, it's pretty good!
Lasplash Cosmetics Brush Set - £15
This set contains two brushes which are soft to the touch! The setting (fluffy) brush is to blend and build your eyeshadow, while the defining (angled) to apply eyeliner or smudge out waterline! I was honestly looking to buy some new brushes but I'm so glad I didn't. I now have these to use the next time I do makeup!
Tip: always wash your new makeup brushes before using them
Modelco Liquid Metal Eyeshadow (4ml) - £15
This creamy liquid eyeshadow is highly-pigmented! This can be used all over the lid and blended out, or along the lash line to create a winged eye.
I'm not a fan of liquid eyeshadow because I find it quite hard to work with and I found that it felt a little heavy
Beautaniq Beauty Guardian Angel Eye Gels - £5
This company is a plant-based, cruelty-free and natural skincare brand. These eye gels will help to sooth and brighten-tired-looking eyes, and are infused with green tea, hyaluronic acid, cucumber and rose extracts. After cleansing and toning, apply these for 15 minutes.
I'm really looking forward to trying this because my eyes often look tired due to poor sleep. This also makes my eyes look slightly wrinkled which I don't like so I really hope this product works well for me!
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Overall, I enjoyed both the beauty boxes - they each had different types of products. While glossybox was more makeup, look fantastic focused more on skincare. I enjoyed the look fantastic one slightly better because of the products which came in the box - I’ve really enjoyed using them!! However, the glossy box isn’t too far behind!
So, that is all for the beauty boxes! I'm looking forward to playing around with the different products, in particular, the Molton Brown Cypress & Sea Fennel gel and the Huda Beauty dual-ended eyeliner! I love that there are also reusable products which are getting sent in the beauty boxes too - each small change makes a big difference in the long run right?
Are you guys subscribed to any beauty boxes? What did you think of them? Have you already tried any of these products? If so, what are you thoughts? Let me know too!