Look Fantastic June Beauty Box #LFJETSETTER

Look Fantastic June Beauty Box* arrived yesterday, and I wasn't all that surprised to see that it was a travel themed box. With summer fast approaching, we're coming up to the holiday season. However, I was pretty happy that there weren't too many typical "summer" beauty products in this month's box - there's only so much SPF that a girl can get through! Anyway, let's dive in to the contents of Look Fantastic's #LFJETSETTER box.

Korres Aloe and Dittany Shampoo Review

A Massive (Black Friday) Beauty Haul

LookFantastic's February Beauty Box

This month I've very kindly been invited to review LookFantastic's February Beauty Box* so I received my box a week earlier than its general release. When I first received it I was surprised by the big names making an appearance, as well as some more "cult" blogger favourites that I've wanted to try out for a while now. I've done a breakdown of the value of each product in this month's box, as well as sharing my views on the products themselves. 

LookFantastic February Beauty Box Contents

Moroccan Oil Treatment - 25ml

available from Look Fantastic at £13.45 for 25ml

Value = £13.45

Now this is quite something! I haven't seen a big name like Moroccan Oil in a beauty box for a while now, and certainly not a full size bottle. Although it's only 25ml you'd be surprised how long it will last - honestly, my last bottle lasted for months! It's arrived in perfect time for me to take it to Greece with me but it's also the perfect size to pop in your gym bag or to leave in your boyfriend's house. Although I still think that Kerastraight's Ultimate Oil is a better hair oil, Moroccan Oil does do a great job of leaving you with wonderfully soft, shiny and manageable hair and I'm really impressed to see it in LookFantastic's beauty box. If you've ever wanted to try this hair oil then you'd be better off buying the beauty box and getting all the other products for just £1.55 extra!

Dr. PawPaw Original Balm - 10ml

available from Look Fantastic at £6.95 for 25ml 

Value = £2.78
I've wanted to try one of Dr. PawPaw's Balms for a long time now. They're made in the UK and there are three different varieties - original (clear), tinted peach pink and the ultimate red balm. I was sort of disappointed that I didn't have the chance to try out one of the tinted balms because I definitely get more use out of lip balms with a bit of colour in them. However, that being said, the Original Balm is a really nice hydrating product's a lot more multipurpose when it doesn't have a tint. It's much thinner and lighter on my lips than my favourite Lanolips 101 Ointment which makes it slightly easier to use on-the-go. I also think the packaging is a lot more unisex so I could definitely see myself purchasing it for male friends and family members. It isn't a high value addition to the box but I think it's a great size to really see if you'd want to repurchase the product.

Bellápierre Cosmetics Eyeliner in Snow White (full size)

available from Look Fantastic at £14.00

Value of sample = £14.00

This is the first Bellápierre makeup product that I've tried and I was really impressed to see another big name beauty brand making an appearance, especially with a full-size product. I was also glad to see that there are colours other than black being included (I have received so many black pencil liners from beauty boxes). Snow White is a true-white liner that you'd use to brighten your eyes by applying it along your waterline. However, it isn't the creamiest of products so I do get the impression that it might not be very comfortable to use on that very sensitive part of your eye area. Still, it's great to see LookFantastic listening to customers and providing a beauty box with a real mixture of products, and from premium brands too!

Monu Illuminating Primer SPF 15 - 20ml 

available from Monu at £27.95 for 50ml

Value = £11.18

I was really, really excited to see this dinky little mini of Monu's Illuminating Primer. I've been using this primer since the beginning of December (I have a full size) and it really is wonderful at extending the wear time of foundation as well as adding a really healthy looking glow. It has a thick and slightly tacky consistency so you don't need much, meaning that even this 20ml sample size will last a long while. The downside is that the product is an almost true-white pearlescent shade that won't work well as a primer for dark skin tones, but you could probably get some use out of it as a highlighter.

Erno Laszlo Sea Mud Deep Cleansing Bar for Normal/Combination/Slightly Oily Skin - 0.6oz

available from Look Fantastic at £45.00 for 50oz

Value = £0.54

Formulated with over 26 different minerals and 97% natural this cleansing bar offers you a new way to experience your daily skincare cleanse. I must admit that I'm not usually a huge fan of facial soaps (I tend to find them a bit harsh and drying) but this Cleansing Bar is suggested as a good exfoliating option for when you want to declog and refresh your skin. It's always great to discover new brands through beauty boxes and I'm really happy to be introduced to a whole new range of products, even if they are on the pricer end of the spectrum!

Korres Citrus Little Body Milk - 50ml

available from Look Fantastic at £10 for 200ml
Value = £2.50
Korres is a brand that's made a previous appearance in LookFantastic's Beauty Box back in October, and with the same zesty citrus scent. It's nice to have been able to try out both the Shower Gel and matching Body Milk, it gives me the impression that there's a relationship between the boxes that gives monthly re-subscribers the most from their boxes. The Body Milk is light and fresh to use, absorbing quickly with Korres' usual high quality feel. A great addition to an already wonderfully varied beauty box.

Cost of LookFantastic's Beauty Box = £15*

Total Value of LookFantastic's February Beauty Box = £44.45

Overall I'm really impressed with this month's contents. It's lovely to see such a great variety of products from some really well established, and much loved, beauty brands. LookFantastic's beauty boxes have consistently impressed me ever since I discovered them in October and I hope that they continue to provide this incredible beauty box service that, in my experience, other beauty boxes just don't offer, especially not this consistently.

LookFantastic October Beauty Box

After months and months (almost years!) of avoiding beauty boxes (the BritishBeautyBlogger Beauty Boxes excluded, because they have been fabulous) I seem to have purchased no fewer than three this month… I posted about my experience with YouBeauty's Discovery Box a couple of days ago and I still have an all natural box from LoveLula yet to arrive. However, today I'm going to share the October LookFantastic beauty box with you. LookFantastic launched their beauty box in September (which was a stunner) and having missed out on it I decided to give the October box a try.

This box features a nice array of products from some very nice brands. I'm already a big fan of KMS California, Balance Me and Korres and I'm very excited to try out products from Gatineau and This Works for the first time. I'm not as excited about the L'Oreal Professional haircare items but I will at least try the conditioning mask to see if I should keep it or pass it along to a friend.

The contents of the box:

Balance Me Facial Expression Filler (15ml)

Gatineau Collagene Expert Ultimate Smoothing Cream (15ml)

L'Oreal Profesional Pro Keratin Shampoo (100ml)

L'Oreal Professional Pro Keratin Conditioning Masque (75ml)

This Works Sleep Plus Pillow Spray (5ml)

KMS California Free Shape Quick Blow Dry Spray (75ml)

Korres Citrus Shower Gel (50ml)

I think that for £15 (including delivery) the product selection is very good. I like that there is a variety of skincare, haircare and body care products and that I will use everything or nearly everything in the box. My only gripe is that there are no make-up items included. I love trying out new make-up and beauty boxes are a particularly good way to discover new brands and products that you might otherwise never try. All in all, I'm very happy and I've actually pre-ordered November's box without any idea of the contents. I bought October's box knowing what was inside it so I've made a bit of a gamble. However, so far all of LookFantastic's beauty boxes have sold out incredibly quickly which means that if you're interested in trying their November beauty box then you too might want to consider pre-ordering (link here). 

What do you think about LookFantastic's October Beauty Box? 

Lip Lovin' : Korres Pomegranate Lip Butter and Mandarin Lip Butter Stick

[top: Pomegranate Lip Butter  bottom: Mandarin Lip Butter Stick]

After having a pretty disappointing experience with my Birchbox subscription I was pleased when I had enough 'points' from reviewing items I'd been sent to get a free £10 shop on their online store. This coupled with the 20% discount voucher they sent me because one of my boxes was extremely late meant that I got both of these Korres products for the grand sum of £1. I've been incredibly pleased with the Korres skincare that I've tried and I was hoping that their lip products would be equally impressive (plus if they were it might slightly redeem Birchbox as at least I might have gotten some nice lip products out of them).

I have not been disappointed! Korres' Pomegranate Lip Butter is the most gorgeous shade, it's a relatively sheer and glossy orangey-red shade that is really wearable during the day. I've worn it a couple of times and on every occasion I've received compliments, even from some of my male friends who rarely compliment anything beauty related. The formula feels somewhere between a balm and a gloss (it reminded me a little bit of the Body Shop's Lip Gloss pots) but it isn't at all sticky like glosses can sometimes be. When you apply this onto your lips it is semi-sheer but it's quite a thick product so it clings to your lips and feels really moisturising. It doesn't stay on your lips for ages, I think the colour fades after an hour or maybe an hour and a half, but your lips stay feeling hydrating for the period that you wear it as well as benefiting afterwards. I don't find this much of a hassle to re-apply but the fact that it's in a pot means that it isn't the most hygienic product, you'd have to make sure you have clean fingers before you went to re-apply it. Overall though I really love this, the shade is perfect for summer and it's a nice alternative shade to my cherry red Baby Lips, which is the other tinted lip balm which I've been loving lately and will be wearing through the summer. 

Korres' Mandarin Lip Butter Stick is the alternative for those of you out there who don't like the unhygienic aspect of the Lip Butter pots. The formula isn't quite the same in the Stick version (which is understandable). It's a lot more 'buttery' and less glossy, and you can see this when you apply it. It applies more thickly and because of this it has lasted longer when I've worn it. It doesn't, however, give you the same glossiness of the Lip Butter pots but it does feel more moisturising so I'd recommend it over the pots if your lips need extra hydration. Another bonus of the Lip Butter Stick is that even though the colour is more pigmented than the Lip Butter pots, I feel comfortable reapplying this without a mirror. As a result this is something I find really easy to reapply throughout the day and I therefore reach for it quite a lot. The colour I chose is Mandarin'and it's a little bit darker than Pomegranate so it isn't quite so summer-y but I still think it's a lovely colour. I think I prefer the colour of Pomegranate but love the formula of Mandarin, if I could get the shade Pomegranate in the same formula I would snap it up in a second. 

There are a whole range of colours in both the pot and stick form. ASOS stock both the pots and the sticks for £7 but you could also purchase these in the Birchbox shop like I did. 

Have you tried any Korres lip products?

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REVIEW: Korres Pomegranate Tonic Lotion

It isn't everyday that I stumble across a product that really makes me go 'wow', especially when it comes to skincare. I'd experienced good things with Korres Pomegranate Mositurising Cream-Gel so when I saw this Korres Pomegranate Tonic Lotion I picked it up on a whim- and I am so glad that I did! My go-to toner has always been rose water, it's lovely and gentle and smells gorgeous. However, the Pomegranate toner is specifically for combination skin and I've noticed that, incorporated into my routine, it really helps keep my skin matte throughout the day. I've also noticed that in the evenings it really helps finish off my cleansing routine just perfectly, leaving my skin thoroughly clean without being at all drying or harsh. This is just the perfect toner for combination skin! 

It's normally quite pricey at £14-15 (depending on where you buy it) and this particular one had a hefty discount at my local T.K. Maxx but I wouldn't be put off buying it at its full RRP as I think it is totally worth it. The improvement in my oily t-zone has been really quite noticeable and has really improved how my foundation wears throughout the day. Looking good, with or without make-up, is all about having a good beauty regime and I definitely think that this toner is what mine has been needing. 

I'd highly recommend trying Korres skincare products, they're incredibly good quality and do a fantastic job.  I'm very keen to try more now, and I've heard that there's going to be a 25% Student discount on ASOS again tomorrow so if you're a student like me then do be sure to check out the Korres products that ASOS stocks! 

What toner do you use? Would you recommend it?

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A Massive Beauty Haul and an Important Life Lesson

Last week I finally received the money that I had been awarded in a court case that I won recently. It sounds more exciting or worrying that it was. It was basically to do with being ripped off by my old landlord who was trying to take advantage of me and my flatmates by overcharging us and failing to deliver a habitable home. Fast forward 18 months and we finally managed to get back the rent we paid (for a house we couldn't live in). This meant that for the first time in a long while I've had money that I can spend with an entirely guilt free conscience as I'd written off thinking that I'd never get it back. (We also won our legal fees, interest and our old deposits back, so it was an incredible success for us.)

This isn't necessarily the right place to talk about this, but I think that it is really important to fight for what you think is right. If someone tries to take advantage of you then you don't have to idly sit by and put up with it. As a student I have noticed that people really do try and take advantage of you because they assume that you're young, disorganised and lack the confidence to go after what you think you deserve. This is completely wrong and unfair. If you stand up for yourself, seek advice and get organised you can get the results you deserve. After finally being awarded our money we asked the lawyer we were working with to write a press statement (that was worded in such a way that we wouldn't get us in any trouble) so that we could distribute it to our local and student newspapers. No-one should have to suffer the stress (or physical danger from the house's condition) that we have gone through from the beginning of this saga until now. When something is clearly unacceptable you should say so, you should never have to put up with unacceptable behaviour.

Anyway! Now that little speech is over we can move on. It's been a very weird fortnight for me and I've been a little distant from my blog. Despite the relief of winning the court case I actually got some terrible news about a death in the family last week. The way I dealt with it, it would appear, was to shop, and I did in fact go on a bit of a shopping rampage It was all loosely within the budget I set for myself so it wasn't an insane move on my part, but it has added up to a lot of stuff. All the following (as well as a considerable wardrobe upgrade and a holiday I'm going to book for after I graduate) are my reward for standing up for myself and a celebration of the fact that we won, that all the organisation and work was worth it in the end. 

I know, I went a little crazy. But despite how it looks it was all quite a good deal! I went to T.K. Maxx, Boots, cashed in my Birchbox points towards the Korres lip products and then did a massive Fragrance Direct shop. I'm really excited about trying the new foundations I bought and I've already cracked out the Dainty Doll Lipsticks and they are gorgeous- I should have bought all of the shades! Reviews will follow, but not all at once (as you can imagine). 

If there is anything you want to see reviewed sooner rather than later then let me know in a comment and I'll put that at the top of my list :) Is there anything I bought that you really like the look of?

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REVIEW: Korres Vanilla Cinnamon Showergel

I picked this little gem up from TK Maxx for £4 (another bargain from TK Maxx, my local store in Leeds has been just fantastically stocked lately). There were quite a few to choose between but I chose the Vanilla Cinnamon scent because the smell of cinnamon really evokes a feeling of winter and Christmas for me, probably because that's the sort of scented candle that I'm always burning around this time of year.

I've tried this as a shower gel (although this wasn't really what I had planned to use it as) and it is really gorgeously scented and foams up like a dream and as you don't need to use very much this bottle will last a good while. The fragrance is sweet with a spicy cinnamon kick to it but it doesn't linger on the skin like I would have liked it to, although it does smell lovely as you're using it.

However, I've mainly been using this as a bubble bath. It might sound a little weird but as I tend to take a lot of baths at this time of year I get through a lot of bath oils and bubblebaths and because I loved the scent of this so much I thought I'd pick it up and give it a go. Anyway, what you need to know is that this works as the most amazing bubblebath, it creates foamy bubbles like you just wouldn't believe! And because of its high content of natural ingredients and its lack of things like mineral oils and parabens I can soak in it without having to worry about my sensitive skin going crazy. The only downside is that, just like when I used it as a shower gel, the fragrance of this doesn't linger on the skin or in the water as you might like it to- but in my opinion this doesn't really detract from the quality of the product!

I already knew I was a fan of Korres' moisturisers and this shower gel has not disappointed me. If I wasn't so hooked on L'Occitane's Almond Shower Oil I would be using this everyday as a shower gel, but for now this is my staple bubblebath. If you like loads of bubbles and want a product that hasn't been tested on animals and that is very skin friendly then I would highly recommend that you check this out- even if you only want a new shower gel because it is great for its intended purpose as well. You can find Korres Vanilla Cinnamon shower gel on FeelUnique for £8.

What's Shower Gels or Bubble Bath products are you loving right now?

Angelica

(And don't forget to enter my 100 Follower Giveaway!)

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REVIEW: Korres Pomegranate Moisturising Cream-Gel



I had a particularly successful shopping expedition this week where I came upon a whole cache of incredibly reasonably priced Korres products, and when it comes to Korres I completely lose the power to say no.

This moisturiser ticked so many different boxes for me that my shopper's need to take a pretty product home overwhelmed my reason! I have a lot (and when I say a lot I mean a lot!) of unopened moisturisers at home begging to be opened and enjoyed but this little beauty has beat all of them to the top and has won a place in my daily skincare routine.

The packaging is gorgeous, the pot is made out of glass and looks and feels expensive (at least to me when I compare it to other moisturisers I own). It also smells pungently, but not overwhelmingly, of pomegranate. This is a scent I love in a moisturiser, sparked by a brief affair with a pomegranate scented Weleda moisturiser which I heartily enjoyed. 

When you get down to actually using the product itself you find exactly what is advertised  a cream-gel, it is quite light and I can really layer onto my face without any irritation or increase in oiliness. On another occasion I also tested out how effective it is if used very sparingly (so as to prolong the 'life' of the tub) and even when applied less than generously it still leaves you with soft, moisturised skin. I think given how quick this sinks into the skin it makes for a perfect day cream, I'd probably look for something a little thicker and richer to use as a night cream.

This moisturiser cost me £7.99 but after having a chance to test it out I really do think that had I paid the more for it I would still have been happy. I found it on Feel Unique for £19 (more than I would ever pay for a moisturiser at this time of my life) but I think if you can afford it then this is a really lovely product that is worth the money.

Have you found any bargains in T.K. Maxx recently?

Angelica

Korres Coconut Body Milk vs. L'Occitane Milk Conentrate

HAUL: Greek edition

So last week I got back from a week long visit to Athens with a few of my friends (holidaying somewhere sunny in September is a real treat) and while I was away I picked up a couple of goodies. I didn't go too crazy as there is quite a lot of stuff already on my wishlist, but I did take the opportunity to pick up some Greek goodies.