Reminder: this box is £10 a month + £3.25 P+P.
First impressions:
First impressions:
This month's box is very makeup heavy this time around. With the exception of the face tanning cream and the hairbrush, it's all about the makeup. But it's a summer box, and the makeup is mostly geared towards summer essentials, so that's good. I've only just ordered a Clinique waterproof mascara (sigh. It's the moisturiser all over again!) because I really needed a good waterproof mascara so it's great that there's one in this box too. That's something that I need to have all year round. There's also some very good sized products here. Everything is a full size except the Utan and Tone product and that's still a great size for what it is. The lip product here is seriously huge. For comparison, it's way bigger than some of the samples I get from Birchbox that are intended to be used on the whole face - that Huygens scrub is only 10ml, for instance. I have had plenty of items from both of these boxes that have been smaller than this lip product but intended for use on a much larger area. Definitely pleased with how much you get for your money with that!
I'm not overly thrilled about the inclusion of a hairbrush. A hairbrush is just a hairbrush to me; like the tweezers, I don't really go shopping around for the perfect hairbrush! I have very long hair, I have a giant paddle brush for it and I also have a comb and a few other bits that don't get used very often. If this even works at all, it's still going to go in the "not used very often" pile. I would much prefer it if Glossybox sent hair products for the "hair" portion of the box as that's what I'm more likely to be looking for and therefore keep using. For brands, I've heard of Hairon and Hawaiian Tropic from previous boxes but the rest of the brands here are new to me.
Here's what I got this month!
5/5
This isn't the full size as far as I can find - the full size is 50ml and retails for £25. I assume the price is just halved because the product is half that size, but I'm guessing it's a large sample as I can't find it for sale like this. As I said at the end of June's post, I was terrified to use this. Ideally I wanted to use it when I had two straight days off but with me working triple my usual hours, that just hasn't happened. I was just going to have to risk it! It feels exactly like a moisturiser to put on. I didn't need a lot - I could probably make this last for a whole summer of tan if I was careful enough with it - and it smoothed over my skin nicely. I put it on my face, neck and décolletage as per the instructions, and was careful to blend it out, particularly around my hairline. It sank in quickly, it wasn't greasy and then I went to bed feeling very nervous. I was expecting to wake up with marked bedsheets, but there was nothing there at all. It really was just like I put a moisturiser on and then went to bed. Best of all though, it definitely works! Far from the orange mess that I was nervously expecting, this looked really natural. It wasn't a huge difference - I don't know if this is because I have a tan anyway - but I had a very subtle and natural looking bronze to my skin. I could tell that it was there, but other people probably wouldn't notice. That's exactly what you want from a product like this. It lasted a few days to a week I think. When I cleansed my face, the cotton pad would come away coloured. Eventually it stopped being coloured. It was a very subtle fade - it didn't just outright wash off - and it stayed looking natural throughout. I would definitely repurchase this and am now really curious about the rest of the range - and this from someone who has never used or liked the idea of tanning products before. It was very easy to apply and really very quick too - I'd have had to go to sleep anyway after all - and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.
This isn't the full size as far as I can find - the full size is 50ml and retails for £25. I assume the price is just halved because the product is half that size, but I'm guessing it's a large sample as I can't find it for sale like this. As I said at the end of June's post, I was terrified to use this. Ideally I wanted to use it when I had two straight days off but with me working triple my usual hours, that just hasn't happened. I was just going to have to risk it! It feels exactly like a moisturiser to put on. I didn't need a lot - I could probably make this last for a whole summer of tan if I was careful enough with it - and it smoothed over my skin nicely. I put it on my face, neck and décolletage as per the instructions, and was careful to blend it out, particularly around my hairline. It sank in quickly, it wasn't greasy and then I went to bed feeling very nervous. I was expecting to wake up with marked bedsheets, but there was nothing there at all. It really was just like I put a moisturiser on and then went to bed. Best of all though, it definitely works! Far from the orange mess that I was nervously expecting, this looked really natural. It wasn't a huge difference - I don't know if this is because I have a tan anyway - but I had a very subtle and natural looking bronze to my skin. I could tell that it was there, but other people probably wouldn't notice. That's exactly what you want from a product like this. It lasted a few days to a week I think. When I cleansed my face, the cotton pad would come away coloured. Eventually it stopped being coloured. It was a very subtle fade - it didn't just outright wash off - and it stayed looking natural throughout. I would definitely repurchase this and am now really curious about the rest of the range - and this from someone who has never used or liked the idea of tanning products before. It was very easy to apply and really very quick too - I'd have had to go to sleep anyway after all - and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.
2) Hawaiian Tropic Island Berry Lip Gloss 20ml - RRP £6.99
5/5
I love this. This is my new favourite thing. I use it every single day. Lip balm, lip gloss and sunscreen all in one and it smells absolutely amazing. I put it on before I leave the house and it comes with me to work for touch ups throughout the day. If I go out, I have this in my bag. Without fail. It's the perfect formula. It isn't too thick or thin, it isn't sticky, it doesn't melt straight into nothing two minutes after applying... this will stay for a surprisingly long time, and will live through quite a few drinks of water while I'm at work. It's not really opaque, so it adds a subtle bit of colour that makes my lips look fuller. It's very moisturising and it doesn't have a chemical taste, it actually tastes exactly how it smells, so that's really nice for something that's so close to the mouth. Way too many of my lip products have a chemical taste to them regardless of what they smell like and it's disgusting if you accidentally taste it, but this isn't like that. I really, really love this. It's so nice to finally get a lip product that I love this much! The MUA one was great too, but I definitely prefer this one for its all-rounder qualities. Perfect for quick and simple makeup days.
3) Icona Milano Emotion Allowed Mascara 10ml/0.34 fl. oz - RRP £13.04
5/5
This is another new favourite. I am really cursing Glossybox's lack of a shop because in all likelihood, when this is gone, it's gone. I'm assuming from the price that I'd have to import it from somewhere and that's not going to be worth doing for one mascara. It is a really, really nice waterproof mascara though. It's not clumpy, it's very black, and you can hear the brush combing product through your lashes when you use it. It has a very thin formula, so you need to be on your guard when applying it. It can actually leave little splashes of product on your skin if you're not careful. This isn't a huge problem though as I always apply mascara last and this has never ruined my makeup yet. Although it's waterproof I've never had issues with any mistakes being hard to get off my skin. It's easy to remove, too. I've seen so many bad reviews of waterproof mascaras because they're hard to remove and I think those reviewers must be using the wrong remover, because with an oil-based remover for waterproof makeup, this comes straight off. No rubbing or tugging at delicate skin required. I actually bought Clinique's waterproof mascara literally just before this one arrived as I didn't know it would be in the box this month, and I've been reaching for this one over the Clinique one because it's easier to get it looking nice without being too thick on the lashes. It creates a lovely natural eyelash look that isn't going to move if you get caught in the rain or watch a sad film or something. I have showered with this on and it's looked no different afterwards. Definitely love this, just no idea how I'll ever replace it once it's gone.
This is another new favourite. I am really cursing Glossybox's lack of a shop because in all likelihood, when this is gone, it's gone. I'm assuming from the price that I'd have to import it from somewhere and that's not going to be worth doing for one mascara. It is a really, really nice waterproof mascara though. It's not clumpy, it's very black, and you can hear the brush combing product through your lashes when you use it. It has a very thin formula, so you need to be on your guard when applying it. It can actually leave little splashes of product on your skin if you're not careful. This isn't a huge problem though as I always apply mascara last and this has never ruined my makeup yet. Although it's waterproof I've never had issues with any mistakes being hard to get off my skin. It's easy to remove, too. I've seen so many bad reviews of waterproof mascaras because they're hard to remove and I think those reviewers must be using the wrong remover, because with an oil-based remover for waterproof makeup, this comes straight off. No rubbing or tugging at delicate skin required. I actually bought Clinique's waterproof mascara literally just before this one arrived as I didn't know it would be in the box this month, and I've been reaching for this one over the Clinique one because it's easier to get it looking nice without being too thick on the lashes. It creates a lovely natural eyelash look that isn't going to move if you get caught in the rain or watch a sad film or something. I have showered with this on and it's looked no different afterwards. Definitely love this, just no idea how I'll ever replace it once it's gone.
4) Hairon De-tangle Brush - RRP £6.99
3/5
Well. Hm. The shape is apparently meant to be easy to hold as it fits nicely in the palm of the hand. I don't know about you, but I don't have suction pads on the palms of my hands, so I need to grip things with my fingers like a standard human would. I don't understand the shape of this brush at all. It's not easy to hold and I have dropped it a few times. Surely a handle is not asking for the world when it comes to a hairbrush. For what it's intended for, I suppose it does work. I only really get tangles around my hairline if I leave my hair plaited overnight - when I take it out it can be tangled around the top - and at the ends. For the hairline tangles this brush works fairly well and it doesn't tug on the hairs and break them. For the ends of my hair this brush is absolutely useless because of how short the bristles are and how thin my hair isn't. I don't know if the bristles have to be that short in order for the detangling thing to work at all, but they're too short to use on the vast majority of my hair. Separating little bits and brushing them through is the only way that I can use this brush. It's effective, but it's not a quick process. It's also very annoying with the shape of the brush, as I already mentioned. So, as predicted in my first impressions, it works well enough but I still probably won't be reaching for it very often.
5) Blank Canvas F20 Flat Brush - RRP £11.95
3/5
I really wanted to like this more because it looked so nice. I couldn't decide between a 2 and a 3 just because I've only tried it for liquid foundation and it might be really good for powder or something. For liquid foundation, it was okay. It wasn't great. I did one half of my face with this brush and the other half with the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush and the RT side was definitely better. The Blank Canvas brush required more product and didn't seem to blend as well as the RT brush. It's not as densely packed, and it didn't smooth over my pores in the same way and it looked a bit streaky in places. I got good coverage with it, for that it was no different, but I just liked the look of the RT side better. The kicker is that the RT brush is cheaper as well. I washed the BC brush before taking the photo but as you can see, it's still stained from the foundation I tested it with. The bristles are originally white at the end. I'm not too bothered about this, as I tested it with a foundation that I don't really like (I don't like to waste my nice foundation on brush tests) and I know that that foundation stains pretty much everything, but a few bristles fell out when I washed it and you can see on the enlarged photo that there are some that are sticking out a bit. They aren't loose, I've tried to remove them and they won't budge, so I don't know what's up with that. I know losing a few loose bristles on the first wash is pretty normal, but some fell out while I was applying the foundation as well and I didn't have that issue with the RT brush. This is basically a foundation brush for me to use when I don't have time to wash the RT one. I highly doubt I'd ever reach for it otherwise.
Overall Impression:
Neither of the "beauty tool" products wowed me this month, but I absolutely love the rest of the box. I use the mascara and the lip gloss almost every day and they both look fantastic. Definitely summer beauty staples, and I'll probably love them both in winter too. Very pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the Utan and Tone product as well. It would be perfect to use before a special occasion or something. I was expecting it to be a total disaster, but it's something I'm actually really likely to use. Even though I didn't like the foundation brush or the hairbrush, I really like all the other products in this box. Once again I've got my money's worth even with things in the box that I wasn't a huge fan of. But those things are still usable. The quality of the products has definitely improved from the dud products in the first few boxes. Glossybox haven't sent me a useless product for the last two months now. Look at the box average creeping up.
I still think that Glossybox is more of a makeup box than the Birchbox is. I'd really like it if Glossybox had a better range. They're definitely good at sending quality makeup products, but it'd be nice if the rest caught up a bit too and there was more of a selection. They sent out a survey about products that subscribers would like to see (I think in July, but maybe the very beginning of August) and it was about hair products, brow products (yes please!) and something else, I can't quite remember. Might have been perfume. But it's good that they're trying to work on their range and asking subscribers for things that they'd like to be getting in their boxes. I'm not sure how often these surveys come around - I got one from Birchbox at the same time - but I think it's great that they're actively listening to what people like, what people don't like and what people want from their boxes.
I still think that Glossybox is more of a makeup box than the Birchbox is. I'd really like it if Glossybox had a better range. They're definitely good at sending quality makeup products, but it'd be nice if the rest caught up a bit too and there was more of a selection. They sent out a survey about products that subscribers would like to see (I think in July, but maybe the very beginning of August) and it was about hair products, brow products (yes please!) and something else, I can't quite remember. Might have been perfume. But it's good that they're trying to work on their range and asking subscribers for things that they'd like to be getting in their boxes. I'm not sure how often these surveys come around - I got one from Birchbox at the same time - but I think it's great that they're actively listening to what people like, what people don't like and what people want from their boxes.
Box average: 4.2/5
Cumulative box average: 4/5
The spoiler for next month is an eyeshadow palette by MUA! Finally some eyeshadows! We've been able to choose which one we got from a choice of 4 different ones and the ones that we could choose from really would cater to everyone: warm neutrals, cool neutrals, pastels and brights. I obviously chose the warm neutrals one. I know I have a lot of palettes already but this will be my first time trying an affordable brand for this. I've used drugstore brand eyeshadows before but a really long time ago, and never a palette. Excited to try it!
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