I always look forward to a new month starting, mainly because of the new beauty boxes that should be arriving. I'm always so excited to see what's coming in my monthly beauty boxes. Its like having a mini birthday every month, as you don't know what your going to get! Anyway by now you should know these posts are quite lengthy, I am going through two beauty boxes after all. So make sure your comfy and I'll get straight into the first box....
Birchbox
Box theme : Work hard, play hard & be kind
This month Birchbox has partnered with Oliver Bonas, the actual box itself is in one of the Oliver Bonas designs. Throughout September Birchbox are going to be encouraging us all to embrace this month box theme, work hard, play hard & be kind. This is also a print that you can buy on the Oliver Bonas website, which is where I'm guessing this theme came from. If you've ever checked out the Oliver Bonas website you will know just how gorgeous some of their stuff is, but also just how pricey some bits can be. If you've been eyeing up a piece then your in luck as included in the months Birchbox is a discount code for Oliver Bonas.
This is a soothing roll-on cooling eye gel. That's packed with brightening ginseng to tone and rejuvenate the under eye area in a flash. This should help to eliminate puffiness, dark circles and apparently stimulates eyelash growth. I'm excited to try this as I've enjoyed using previous Polaar products I've received. I'm sure this will help with puffiness and dark circles, but I'm unsure about the whole stimulating lash growth. But I'm obviously going to try this out and see if it does!
A full size eye gel would set you back £22 for 10ml. The sample I received is 10ml and is actually full size, but I think its stated that its a sample as its not in its usual sleek packaging.
A true multi-tasking balm. This is made with fermented pawpaw, which is a fruit with natural healing ingredients. You can use this as a lip balm, moisturiser, to smooth split ends or to even sooth sunburn. Basically use it wherever you need a moisture boost. If you read these Birchbox Vs Glossybox's regularly you will know I received this product back in May from Glossybox, the only difference being that Glossybox gave a full sized product unlike Birchbox's very stingy 10ml! I have been using this product and I do like apply this to my lips in the morning and at bedtime to keep my lips soft, but as I already have a full size one and know what its like this product doesn't excite me. It's not that I don't like this product, as I do its just a bit disappointing to receive something that you got from another beauty box not that long ago.
A full size one would only cost £6.95 for 25ml. This one as I said is only 10ml and would cost around £2.78.
A champagne-pink shade that provides the perfect pop of colour to the eyes and cheeks. I can get how this can be used as a bronzer and an eyeshadow, but I'm unsure of how this can be used as a highlighter. Not that I'll be able to really test and try this out yet. You may be able to tell from my photo that this is completely smashed up, which unfortunately is how this has arrived. I have emailed Birchbox and I am awaiting a reply, but it seems they are rather busy at the moment, this has most likely due to this happening to a lot of people. This was packaged in bubble wrap as well so this box must have took some battering in the journey to my house. Obviously I'm a bit disappointed that I cant test it out yet and I'm unsure if they will even have a replacement to send out, but I'm hopeful that they will.
This is the only full sized product in this months box, which should cost £15.
A lightweight formula that delivers a subtle golden glow to your skin. It also has a dose of hydration-boosting ingredients. You can mix a little of this into your moisturiser or body lotion to inject some all-over radiance to your skin. Or you can pat it onto eyelids and cheekbones for a more intense glow. This is a very small sample, so I don't think I'll be trying it out in my body lotion. But I'll definitely give it ago in my moisturiser and on my eyelids. I've never heard of this brand before so I'm looking forward to discovering a new brand.
A full sized product would cost £51 for 50ml. This sample is 5ml and would cost around £5.10.
This is a moisture-packed formula that smooths and seals hair cuticles to keep flyaways at bay. It also doubles as a leave-in conditioner! Another brand that I've not heard of and another very small sample! But this sample seems big enough to be able to truly try the product out. I like the idea of it doubling up as a leave-in conditioner, as my hair is thick and gets very knotty. This should help me to get all those knots out of my hair while keeping it looking glossy and in good condition. I like the idea of this but I'm not sure it will beat my favourite hair product that I got out of a feel unique bag.
A full size product would costs £22.95 for 147ml. This is sample is a bout 15ml and would roughly cost £2.34.
Box Price : £12.95 (including p+p)
Box Value : £69.22
Full Sized Products : 2/5
Products Excited To Try: 1/5
Overall Thoughts : I'm disappointed in the sample sizes that we've received this month, the box value really surprises me to be honest. I'm also very disappointed to receive a smashed up product. I know these things easily happen but the response time hasn't been so great. It's just rubbish when you've been looking forward to receiving your box and then when you open it your faced with a product you can't even use. I like that there is a lot more brands that I've not heard of in this months box. Birchbox do seem to fall into the trap of using the same brands over and over. I'm really looking forward to trying out the eye roll-on and seeing if that does do anything to my lashes.
Glossy Box
Box theme : New Start
Glossybox's September theme is all about the changing season and having a fresh new start on grooming staples. The change in seasons usually means that most of us change up our brighter make-up for darker looks, pink lips for red and plum and of course we change our skincare up to ensure our skin stays hydrated in these colder months. This month they've tried to introduce us to new grooming staples that will help us re-jig our make-up and skincare routines. They've even treated us to a sneaky Kinder Bueno as a reward for refreshing our staples. I love Kinder Bueno's and it was very nice treat to eat while I was writing this!
This blender promises to be more hygienic than other blenders. It will require you to use less foundation than other blenders and brushes, as it doesn't absorb. I've been wanting to try this out and was actually going to purchase this exact one off Asos until I saw in last months sneak peek that we would be receiving this. I'm excited to try this out and to see if this will become a new favourite or be a major disappointment. I'll be doing a full review on this product once I've really tested it out.
This is a full size product and costs £5.99
This sets and holds unruly brows in place all day. Fill in any gaps with a pencil and then brush through this clear gel to help define, shape and hold brows in place all day. I've never actually tried anything by the brand Pixi and believe me I have been eyeing up a few of their products, but I've never gotten around to trying anything of theirs out. I've literately just ran out of my coloured brow gel, so I'm looking forward to trying this out with my brow pencil. As I do like how a brow gel keeps them in place, but I do like the softer look of a pencil. Now i can have the best of both worlds!
This is also full size and costs £12.
This facial oil contains plant oils to nourish, protect and refresh skin. It has a blend of Bois de Rose and Patchouli essential oils that help calm, firm and leave skin visibly brighter. I'm not usually into Monu skincare, I just never get on with the smell of the products. This however I do actually quite like the smell of, the smell somewhat relaxes me. I'm looking forward to using this on my face in the evening to give extra hydration as we change seasons. But I'm also hoping that as a I felt a wave of calmness hit me when I smelt this, that this may also help me sleep that little bit better at night. I may be hoping to get far too much out of a facial oil, but its worth a try right?
This is the only product that's not full size but is still a great sample size at 30ml. A full size would be 100ml and would cost £29.95, this sample costs around £8.99.
A toothpaste that has been developed with dentists. This is an all-natural mint toothpaste that's formulated with bicarbonate and silica to help remove stains naturally. It also has xylitol and fluoride to reduce plaque and Vitamin E for gum health. Some people may be disappointed to receive a toothpaste in their beauty box. I am not one of those people. The past few months I've been on a mission to try and find a toothpaste that will help keep my teeth looking great and make them look whiter. I'm an avid tea drinker and now a bit of a coffee addict, so I'm quite conscious about stains happening on my teeth. At the moment I'm using Pearl Drops charcoal toothpaste and I'm liking that. I'm looking forward to seeing if this is any better than the Pearl Drops.
This is a full sized product and costs £5.
This isn't your average hand cream, this goes above and beyond! It contains 1% colloidal oatmeal to target eczema, dermatitis and extreme dryness. This has a blend of healing botanicals, rich natural butters and emollient oils all help to nourish the hands. This hand cream effectively treats eczema and extremely dry, cracked hands and immediately soothes irritation and redness as well as softening the skin. I'm not about to lie and say that this hand cream excites me because it doesn't. But it's a welcome staple in my beauty draw. Every now and then I do get a flare up of dermatitis on my hand between my little finger and ring finger. I haven't had it in a while, but it just appears every now and then. When it does appear it can take me a long time to get rid of it and it can be very sore, dry and cracked. So this will be great to have on hand for when or if I have another flare up.
This is a full sized travel version at 30ml and would cost around £4.33. The 90ml product would cost £12.99.
Box Price : £13.25 (including p+p)
Box Value : £36.31
Full Sized Products : 4/5
Products Excited To Try : 4/5
Overall Thoughts : This months box was jam packed with products and as usual I'm really impressed by the product sizes in Glossybox. I'm actually really excited to get stuck into all of these products and give them a good test.
September Box Winner
Glossybox
Without a doubt it was Glossybox this month, I loved everything in this months box and couldn't wait to try everything out. Whereas I felt Birchbox was a major let down this month and to be quite honest if I wasn't doing this series for the whole year this could have been an un-subscribing moment for me. But when December comes along, which isn't that far off now we shall see who has come out top over the year.
What was your favourite box this month?
Don't forget to check back next month, to see what October has to offer.
SNEAK PEEK
Birchbox : N/A
Glossybox : You will receive one of the two collector edition boxes, Mermaid or Unicorn
If you want to check out past Birchbox V's Glossybox then check out the links below
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