What was in my YOU beauty discovery box?

There are no surprises here! I got just what I ordered and the extras they advertised on the website! I don't, however, think this is a bad thing. I'm curious to see how YOU beauty does in the crowded beauty box market over the next few months.

My first thought when the Yodel delivery driver brought it round this afternoon was that it is significantly smaller than the Birchbox/ Glossybox packaging. This does mean however that on the odd occasion that no one is around to open the door it will happily slot through the letterbox. Besides, I have to admit to often opening up the Glossybox and thinking that it looks a little roomy for those teeny samples. Maybe they could do with a smaller box too?

Like I say, there are no surprises in this box, but I am very pleased with the contents. This of course is because I got to choose my favourite two! I have to admit that I liked the old Jolie Box approach of 'everyone gets the same', yes it isn't tailored to you, but you also don't get that crushing 'but SHE got... blub blub' feeling when you end up with the box that no one wanted. I understand that there are often only so many of a certain sample given but no one wants the 'bad' box do they? I very much champion the choice element of the YOU box. After all, it's only yourself you have to blame if you make the wrong choice!

So here's the contents of my own tailor made box. I chose 50ml of Mama Mio Tummy Rub and 15ml of Decleor BB Cream. The Tummy Rub I admit I have no intention of buying the full size of, I have a few of these oils and I work my way through them as I have found that as long as it is oil, one is very similar to another. The Decleor cream I am hoping works for me so that I can buy the full size. Now like a lot of people, I don't feel comfortable spending £29 on something I haven't even touched or smelt, let alone put on my skin. This is where these little beauty boxes come into their own, allowing us to try before we buy (or decide not to buy as the case may be). 

I also have a Vintage Cosmetics nail file and a Collagen vitamin drink. I'll pass on the Collagen I think but I'll enjoy using the nail file. And last but not least, I got a Lalique perfume. I've been wearing this today and I haven't made my mind up about it yet. I keep going to my wrist and giving it little sniffs and I can't work out whether I like it or not. It's a really individual, spicy fragrance and is the kind of scent that I seek out. Yet there's a top note that is a bit too strong and a bit too sweet for my taste. Now for some reason the majority of the popular sweet perfumes turn into Jif lemon on my skin so I'm thinking it could be that it's not quite working with my chemical make up and that it will smell amazing on the right person.
 
My overall thoughts about the YOU box is that it's a good selection but it would have been nice to have had an actual surprise in there too - something that was kept secret until the boxes arrived. I thought they had an interesting selection on offer too, and I have had Glossy and Birch boxes that were a lot more underwhelming than this. It's not blown me away, but don't forget, at £6.95 including postage this is a very reasonable and affordable price. For the money I spent on it, compared to the £12.95 of it's rivals, it's a real bargain.

 

Cake! Sweetheart lipbalm that's good enough to eat

Is it possible to resist bath and body products called 'Cake'?


I'm not too sure! Added to the irresistable name, the Canadian brand Cake Beauty offers a range of pudding flavoured treats like 'Strawberry Cupcake', 'Lemon Cupcake', and 'Satin Sugar'.

Their range changes pretty often which means there is always a new collection to lust after and try out. I'm lucky enough to have experienced a few items and without fail each of them has had a really tasty vanilla-y butter-y undertone to it.

The sweethearts collection is no different, and I have really enjoyed using this Sweethearts Lipbalm. I usually prefer stick lip balms (or the stunning EOS/ Balmi type round lipbalms) but I am making an exception to that with this and it's become my handbag hero. It feels a little waxy when you first put it on, but it lasts and lasts and I am sure this is because of the thickness when it first goes on. And of course, it smells amazing.

Lay N Go make up storage

One of the big nuisances in this life is squeezing too much make up into too small a bag or box and having to tip it all out to find what you need. First world problems and all that ;) Another nuisance is having your one year old son charge at you sticky fingered just when you've tipped all your make up over your lap. At least one of those issues the new Lay N Go Cosmo can deal with; and to be honest, I don't expect a beauty product to be dealing with sticky, grabby, chunky little one year old fingers.

The idea with the Lay N Go is that you put your make up into it (mwahahaha laugh the make up addicts... that will be the make up you are using that day then...) and then open it out like a big saucer. Ta-da! You can see everything you need and can fish around happily in it. When you are finished, you simply pull the cord and well... go. It's not surprising that this is patent pending now is it? Simple ideas are often the best!

There is a zipped compartment to keep smaller items that you don't want to lose, such as rings and necklaces. 

I was really pleased to find out that they also have a children's version coming out, which sounds like it will be perfect for keeping Lego and Playmobile pieces together and tidy (and when I say tidy, I also mean free from little grabby hands and free from landing up under my bare feet as I tiptoe to the toilet in the night agh!)

Now, whilst I am championing this fabulous little invention fairly loudly and widely, I have to report that there are a few teething problems with the design (in my opinion). The first is that it is a lot smaller in real life than you imagine it to be from the photos. Don't have that much make up? Not a problem. Even if you don't wear that much make up day to day, it's not a problem... but I have to face facts here... the kind of people who will find this product and pay the pennies required to purchase it will probably have a LOT of make up they want to be lugging around.

Now the lugging around is the second issue. When you pull the cord and whizz it up, there is still a hole in the top. Now I don't know about you, but I treasure my make up like I treasure old friends. I don't want to lose my Real Techniques brushes, or my Canmake blush right out of the top and let it roll around in my handbag or suitcase. Yes, there is the zipped pounch, but really, I'd recommend that they add a velcro flap over the top to save my peace of mind when it comes to my precious'

All in all however, it's a great bit of kit. It's simple, it's practical, and it's washable. If I lost it, I would be replacing it immediately, and that I think says a lot as the price tag is at the slightly higher end.

Lavshuca Tropical Island palette

Shiny Trip Eyes is an unusual name for a series of eyeshadow palettes, but actually it does describe these little palettes well as they are perfect for creating shimmery eyes on the go. Lavshuca is again a Japanese brand and NeNe from Bunny and Spice suggested I try one of the series and I chose Tropical Island. Tropical Island is this adorable little quad with the yellow, turquoise, pink, and brown shadow combination.

As you can see there is a fair amount of eyeshadow in the palette, although I have to admit to never actually finishing any eyeshadows before moving on to a newer version; and only ever hitting pan in one. Nevertheless, I am always impressed by the amount of product you get for your money.

You can see from the photo that there is a tiny amount of fall out from the shadows, but considering the shimmer the fall out is not unsurprising. The shadows are really soft and easy to work with both with and without primer. They apply easily and they blend easily with each other.


Unlike a lot of quads I own, I can wear this completely on it's own without needing to find any extra colours. I have found that I can also create a surprising amount of different looks with just the four shadows in the palette.

As you can see from the swatches, the blue and the brown are really pigmented, with the yellow and pink much more subtle against my skin tone. Because of the softness of the formula, it is also possible to blend the blue and brown out to  create a much softer effect.

I've been really impressed with this palette, partly due to the versatility of the colours themselves, and partly due to the prettiness of the packaging. Mostly, however, I am impressed with this palette because of the quality of the formula. The softness and ease of blending makes it very easy and enjoyable to use.

I'm not sure whether it is NeNe's talent in knowing the very best of the Japanese products available, or that Japanese cosmetics are an amazing quality, but I'm fast becoming a big fan of Japanese brands.

Violet and Red Clover... a relaxing bath with Wellness Beauty by Sandro Lorenzo

Today was my daughter's first day back at school, and although the sun was shining brightly, I can safely say that Autumn is well on it's way.

One of the things I love most about Autumn (apart from the return of coats and boots) is being able to run a scaldingly hot bath and wallow. 

And this is exactly what I decided to do this evening. I was lucky enough to complete a beauty product swap with Ela from all about make up who lives in Germany. This was the second time I had swapped with Ela and in the first parcel she sent some amazing bath salts. So for our second swap I begged her to send some of the same brand, and here is one of the set that she sent me.

I'd never heard of Wellness Beauty (or Sandro Lorenzo) before receiving them from Ela and I was so impressed. The first set I tried was Jojoba and Avocado and it made my bath smell wonderful and my skin really soft.

For tonight's bathtime treat I used the Veilchen and Rotklee flavour (otherwise known as Violet and Red Clover), and again, it smelt amazing. When you open the packet the smell hits you immediately and I found it also lingered on my skin after the bath. I have to admit that often I find bath salts drying, but this is not the case at all with this brand (hence why I'm so addicted to them now!) and there is enough softeners in them to create a slight foam on top of the water.

I really would love to find these stocked in the UK, although I realise that the majority of the packaging is in German which might make it difficult to market. 

It's flab fight time... and my little weight loss trick

Not sure where I'm going with this?

Stick with me and I'll explain....

I have a naturally slim build, but I really do enjoy eating. Don't get me wrong, I don't have those unfortunate associations with food that a lot of people who struggle with their weight do. I don't use food for comfort, I don't use it to replace love, and I don't binge and purge. 

I do however love to eat. Food is good! Masterchef is my porn; those perfectly balanced little plates of goodness smiling up at you. Cookery books are my fashion magazines, tempting me with exciting ideas. Baking is stress relief. It is always clear when things are getting me down, as the kitchen table is groaning under perfectly positioned cooling racks full of tasty treats.

My kitchen table also demonstrates a love of food. I don't have a large house, but what I do have is a six seater kitchen table which I insist that my children, husband, and I sit down at for a proper home cooked meal every evening. It is six seater because I also enjoy cooking for friends.

 Due to my love of... well... dinner... my naturally slim frame is always on the slightly stretched side. I am a UK size 12 and I do my best to maintain that. I'm still carrying a little baby fat from when I was pregnant with my one year old son so I'm a slightly chunkier than I want to be size 12 right now. I like to keep slim partly through health reasons, but mostly through vanity and the fact that I like to stay fitting in my clothes.

This means that unfortunately, it's time to start the flab fight again. I fully admit that I don't really relish exercise, but what I do know is that I love food more than I hate the gym. However, there are only so many hours in the day and whilst my twice a week gym sessions maintain my fat girl lifestyle, they certainly aren't enough on their own to reduce the surplus.

As discussed, I am not prepared to reduce my calories too dramatically (even just for two days a week). So what I am going to do is this:

1) cut out the snacks that aren't part of the daily plan
2) monitor my calorie in-take and out-take with My Fitness Pal
3) exercise 5:2 (as in five days a week I will do 30mins exercise, and rest two days)

And my little weight loss trick?

Rubbing a little vanilla on your pulse points stops you craving sweet food (such as sweets and chocolate and cakes) so much.

For me, this works very well. Whether it is a placebo effect or has genuine scientific value I can't say, but I do know that when I smell like vanilla I go through the day with less fat girl snacking.

However, I'm not too fussed about smelling like neat vanilla. Instead, I use Demeter's cake-y fragrances. Graham Cracker is my absolute favourite and because I associate it with the saltiness of Graham Crackers and the chocolatey goodness of OMGs it keeps me away from crisps and chocolate. You can't say much fairer than that?




If you are in flab fighting mode, I would love some support and advice along the way! Feel free to friend my on My Fitness Pal and follow my daily progress!

are *YOU* signing up to the new monthly beauty box?

Today, the new YOU magazine beauty discovery box launches

It's a crowded marketplace, with many casualties along the way (do you remember the excellence that was Carmine? Or the eagerly awaited yet sadly disappointing She Said Beauty?) but it's undoubtably a popular concept.

This isn't YOU's first foray into the beauty box scene, they have partnered with Latest in Beauty several times in the past, most notably for the (overpriced) Advent Calendar in December 2012.

One of the delights of Glossybox and Birchbox is that you don't know what you are getting each month. However, this is also what worries people about subscribing every month, and with a plethora of 'good boxes' and 'bad boxes', you can see their point. The solution? Tell your buyers what they expect to get before they buy. Latest in Beauty, and the Selfridges boxes have got this down to a fine art now. I don't know though... something about the surprise element of Glossybox just keeps me coming back.

So how does YOU beauty work? Like this:

 
Interesting. You have two choices (out of 6 - 10) and then some extras. This time round I have chosen the Mama Mio tummy oil (I'm still carrying a few stretch marks and wrinkles around my belly from when I was pregnant with my one year old son), and the Decleor BB cream. The BB cream sample is a tiny one, but really it's something I want to try to decide on whether or not I want to buy the full size. After all, that is what these beauty boxes are all about!

It will be interesting to see how the YOU box is received by the fickle beauty buying community. I think the £6.95 price tag (including postage) is very good, and really it's about what these boxes are for - marketing. The more people you can get to talk about your product, the more people you are going to get buying it.

I'm not overly excited by the prospect that it is associated with the Daily Mail, I'll be honest. I don't like the bigotted, sensationalist, right wing, small minded attitudes I associate with the Daily Mail so I'm feeling a little bit torn giving the company money. However, the fact that they are associated with such a giant means that they already have all of the contacts they need to bring us the very best products.

Are you going to sign up? Be quick! The email I received this morning said that September will only see 5,000 boxes available.