Glossybox November

Well, this morning at 6:30 a.m. My lovely postman rang the door to hand me the November Glossybox.
I was very much hoping for an improvement, with Christmas coming and all, but no. Actually, I think this is the most depressing box ever.
See this:

It’s a face wash by Origins. It’s a try-out size (30ml) but it is so tiny, I will be able to try it out maybe 10 times, so I can’t tell if my skin likes it or not. Also, the additional prize for 150ml is 20€!!! (Origins) Fail.

Then we have shampoo and conditioner. Original size would be 250ml each, for 17,60€. That is a bit more expensive than my beloved Tony&guy shampoo and conditioner, but if it’s a great shampoo and conditioner, I’d be willing to splash the cash.

It gets a bit better with this IsaDora lip gloss, but not much. I like the brand IsaDora, that you know (especially their nail polishes!!!!), but why did Glossybox opt for a mini size lipgloss? I put it in my bag to try to find it again, but it is just too tiny. It is a bit shorter than my thumb, including the applicator.. The color is, although it looks a bit stale, very appealing and should fit a vast majority of the female population of Austria.

Lastly, the blush. It’s a blush by Kryolan, which comes in a Glossybox packaging. I’m not fond of the packaging, it looks cheap, uninspiring and plain, but I like the blush. It is matte, without shimmer and a cold pink color, which I like. It’s also not too intensive, so I can mix it with other blushes.

Well, additional to all that, I found a minus 10% voucher for Douglas in my box and little cards to attach to presents. I must say, this month I am especially happy that Glossybox sent me the box for free (and without conditions), because I would have hated to have blown my money on something that worthless.
Please Glossybox, think about your concept. Small samples are not what you said Glossybox would be about.

The products in this post were provided to me for my honest review.

Glossybox September

After a summer break from the Glossybox, I’m able to show you the Glossybox September Edition. It’s actually more of an October Edition because the box is Oktoberfest-blue-and-white and apparently, all the products will contribute to a perfect look at the Oktoberfest.

Anyhow. I love the blue box – generally love the boxes, they’re so handy. When I opened the box, what I found first was a beautybird nail sticker folder with 10 nail stickers in the Oktoberfestdesign. Well, whatever. I stuck one on to my nail and since I have no experience whatsoever with nail stickers, it didn’t work at all. Made wrinkles and wouldn’t stick very well, plus I didn’t like the designs so that went straight into the trash.

This is what I found in my Glossybox.
Syoss Oleo Intense Micro-Spraytreatment, 150ml. Smells ok, Haven’t tried it yet, because I am currently using one different product that I consider an absolute hair wonder.
Ayuuri Natural Neem Body Wash, 200 ml. It’s a showergel that smells of Neem Oil, Peppermint and Tea Tree Oil. I love the smell of peppermint so I was sold. Plus I’m totally buying into this Neem Oil hype, so there’s no hope left for me.

Estee LauderAdvanced Night Repair Serum, 7ml. I used it three nights in a row and so far, I look the same age as 3 days ago, so I can tell you, it works! I look 3 days less old!

Clarins Eclat Minute/Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector, 5ml. Well. It’s a lipgloss, suuuper sheer pink, smells of vanillia. It didn’t perfect my lips, but it is nice to wear and small enough to always have in the bag.

Glossybox Lipstick in Glossy Pink which is some kind of cooperation with Kryolean. Kryolean is the make-up used mostly for theater and alike. The one family member of my family who did make-up for the theater and opera possesses one of these hugecosmetic cases full of Kryolean stuff. If you put on Kryolean, it sticks. So does the lipstick, even though it is pretty much the same color as my lips, so one doesn’t see much. Hence, a hand-swatch.
I find that all of the Kryolean products smell a bit musky and chalky, but the quality is spot on.

From what I have seen, there have been many differences in the Glossyboxes this time except for the shower gel, the lipstick and the hair treatment. Did you like yours?

 

The glossybox was sent to me for free without conditions.

Glossybox June

As the holiday season draws closer and the cities heat up, almost everyone dreams of sandy beaches and the cool sea. Glossybox picked up a sea/vacation theme this month, and hence the box this month is beige and sandy, and the wrapping is blue. Nice!

The products in the box were chosen to prepare us perfectly to enjoy the hot weather – at least that’s what the card promises. Let’s see what’s in the box…

Clearasil Daily Clear Vitamin & Extract Peeling. Well, not to bad to have an extra peeling. Smells fresh.

Sans Soucis One Apple A Day Face Mask. Smells nice, but considering the tube is rather small, I won’t be able to tell if it really smoothens my skin and flattens out wrinkles (…).

Origins Modern Friction Peeling and La Roche Posay Hydreane Legere Face Lotion. I tried the Origins facial cream some weeks back and got the worst spots and rash on my face. I stay away from Origins as far as I can. I do have some friends who swear by it, so that’s where this try-out tube of Peeling will end up. The Roche Posay lotion is a welcome travel sized version of one of the lotions I use anyways for my overly sensitive (bitchy) skin. If you like this one best, your local pharmacy should be able to supply you with one of them to try it out. You can get those for free easily!

Alessandro Nail Polish in Happy Pink – it’s the smaller Alessandro nail polish size which I find a bit difficult to handle because the top is squared and big and the brush is a bit small. Some Alessandro polishes are spot on, but this one is rather boring. It’s a bubblegum pink, which is not the summer color, and it is a tad too warm for me too. As it is a pastel creme, the application is a bit tricky, so you best use two coats (like I did in the picture). Unfortunately, these pinks give me lobster hands. After mauve and purple last month,  I would have preferred a mint green for this month’s box; it’s the summer color at least!

L’oréal Paris Color Riche Les Ombres Eyeshadow quad. I received the browns and neutral shades, which I don’t use much. I must admit thought that I already looked at the Eyeshadow quads in our local drugstore and I love the design. If I’d have gotten more vibrant colors, I  personally would’ve been more happy. 

Overall, this box isn’t the most exiting one for me. I find the travel sized lotions and peelings handy, they are perfect to take with on vacation, as is the eyeshadow quad. The nail polish is meh, as I think the Glossybox team’s picks are too safe. The full sized Clearasil peeling is nice, as it’s always good to have something like that in the house.

What was in your box? How do you like it?

 

I received this box for free from the Glossybox PR Team.

Glossybox Mai und SpaRitual Gewinnspiel!

As every month ends, the Glossybox arrives at my doorstep, filled with surprises. This month the Glossybox was put together in the sign of “Goldrush”- don’t ask me what they mean by it, as there was nothing golden in the box, only a lotion for men, as father’s day is coming up – maybe they mean you should find an older guy to pay for all your stuff by handing him an anti-aging lotion???

The terms and conditions of the Glossybox can be found here.

Lately, there are some extras in the boxes, that technically one shouldn’t account for, but seriously, if it’s in the box, it belongs to it and counts, if you ask me. The blush above was considered an additional favor from Glossybox, just so I mentioned for completion’s sake. In March, I mentioned that Illamasqua would be a perfect fit for a Glossybox because it is still considered a niche label, and guess what, there’s an Illamasqua lipgloss in this box! I don’t have the arrogance to say that it was all my doing and fierce lobbying, but it makes me happy that maybe someone reads my blog…

First up: Water. Yes, you read right. There is a bottle of water in this box. The aluminum bottle suggests that the creators of this brand of water decided not to pick plastic because of the high costs of production and the bad influence on the environment, and forgot to think about the fact that aluminum is barely better. Next time pick glass… and make sure people recycle! Anyhow, this is Beautywater Q10,  taste: grapefruit. I hate water with taste other than those: beer, wine, coffee, regular water. Sorry, but I’m picky! I had some other people take a sip and it wasn’t an instant hit with either of them. Smells appealing, tastes yucky.

BM Beauty Blusher and SpaRitual nail polish in Heliotrope. The mineral blusher comes in this tiny box, it’s a sample of course, but I’m not very good with mineral makeup that comes in tiny packaging, so I didn’t try it. The nail polish however I tried, and I like the quality, as always with SpaRituals, but it is not original size! It is a mini, and yes, SpaRitual sells minis, and they are ‘original’ MINI size. Original size means the large one. Anyhow, Heliotrope is a medium purple creme, dries fairly quick, and reacquires two coats. Made me think that someone isn’t reading my blog after all, because it’s purple. Have you ever heard me rave about a purple creme? I dare you…

Illamasqua lipgloss in Femme. I love Illamasqua nail polishes, I love their eye-products, their lipstick in ‘welt’ is my favorite lipstick ever, I own two other intense lip glosses (belladonna and I totally forgot) and I love them and wear them a lot. If you don’t have one, you need one. 

Zoeva is a brand I’ve heard about; mainly that their brushes are supposed to be awesome, and now I find a eye crayon in this box. The color didn’t appeal to me at first, but it looks nice in combination with my regular eyeshadow colors (grey, blue, black, turquoise mainly). Also, it has amazing longevity and it clings to your eyes like ivy to a house wall – hence I’m giving it the grade A++++, one + for stay power, one + for surprising me, one + for the easy application and one + for a rather affordable price.

That was it from this month’s Glossybox, and now onto the important stuff! You can win one of 3 gift sets from SpaRitual on my blog!

The terms & conditions are fairly simple: You have to be a public follower of my blog either through Facebook or bloglovin. You have to be a resident of the European Union (no oversea territories). You have to leave me a valid email address in the form, otherwise I can’t contact you. If you don’t respond within 48 hours, I’ll draw another winner.

Fairly simple, isn’t it? Enjoy!

The Giveaway has now ended.

The Glossybox was sent to me for review from the company for free. The SpaRitual polishes for the raffle were given to me at free disposal.

Glossybox April

The April Glossybox arrived at my home Friday morning! The Glossybox PR people were so nice and sent me one for free. If you want to order it, you can do that throught their website, and if you use their promotion code Glossy40, you get the first box for 40% off.

This month the theme of th box was mother’s day! The products were designed to suit both mothers and daughters, which I find a cute idea.

The most useless thing for me was the Kiehl’s Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution. I’m not old enough to use that, and neither is my mum (aka she doesn’t have any dark spots yet!).

The white tea face lotion from rau (Rau Cosmetics White Tea Cream) looks really pretty – I’m a packaging freak, and I love the design. Also, I’m a fan of those bottles with a pump – although there is always some lotion left in them, but I like the easy portioning. Nevertheless, I use only one face lotion, because I have super sensitive skin and everytime I try to change, I get spots. So I guess you can understand that I don’t like to change

Joico K-Pak RevitaLuxe is a hair treatment. I have never heard of the brand Joico before, but I have curls and my hair gets dry really fast, so I’m always searching for new hair products. I have tried it already, and I can tell you that it makes my hair nice and soft, and a bit more shiny. I guess I’ll try it a couple more times and then decide if I will buy a full size bottle.

Maria Galland Lipgloss in Fraise – I have the feeling that lipglosses are somewhat inflationary this spring/summer. Correct me if I’m wrong I must admit though, I like the colour and the texture. The lipgloss isn’t sticky (yes, I’m looking at you, MAC!), which is a huge plus, and the colour is fresh, but not overwhelming (btw, the colour in the picture is pretty accurate!. Only downside is the packaging – it comes in a small pot, and you can’t really use your finger to apply it, so one has to have a lip brush to guarantee proper application (that is , unless you like a joker-esque look).

Last but not least, every box had an essie nail polish (full size), which was somehow not that surprising, considerin essie just launched counters all over Austria – they are now available at Müller and BIPA. The essie polishes retail for ~10 Euros, so if you were planning on buying one, you can just as well order the Glossybox (with the 40% off code, that is).

I received “Turquoise and Caicos“, which is a nice pastel turquoise. I needed 3 coats for it to be opaque, and I wasn’t all to smitten with the consistency. I know a lot of people love the essie polishes, but I’m not the greatest fan. above: daylight. Below: artificial light, no flashBelow: flash

Did you order the Glossybox this month? What do you think of the products?

Thank you to the Glossybox team for sending me a box for free.

Glossybox in March

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the Glossybox is coming to the U.S. as well soon – let’s see what was hidden in our Glossybox this month, so you can be excited for your own soon!After the outrage last month that the prices had to be adapted, this Glossybox seems to try to smooth ruffled feelings. There is  nail file, an eyeshadow, a thermal water spray, a sunlotion, a shower gel, a hair oil and a bath salt; so all in all 7 products to try, which means there are more products than in the previous Glossyboxes (want to see them? here and here).

Let’s get down to business!

The nail file. Well, one can’t have enough nail files, if you ask me. It is designed to make your nails all smooth and shiny, and just now on Twitter I was informed, that it makes your nails so smooth, your nail polish will glide right off. I’ll have to see that for myself!

ArtDeco Eyeshadow in 29 Pearly Light Beige. I thought that was going to be an eyeshadow quad but obviously it isn’t. It is an incentive to buy a palette, so you can click this lonesome little eyeshadow in your new palette. Luckily for me, everyone has magnetized refills these days, so this one could mingle with my other eyeshadows! ArtDeco eyeshadow refills hold 0,8gramm and costs 5,3€ in their original size.

tiroler nussöl sunlotion and Avène Eau Thermal Spray for sensitive skin – both super handy. I love the thermal spray – it’s great for summer when it gets really hot and all you want to do is take a dive. Instead, you can just take out your spray, put some water in your face and feel refreshed. Make sure not to do it in public, because I can tell you from experience that people will think you’re crazy. About the sunlotion: it smells good, but not like coconut (which I hate), but just like regular sunlotion. I don’tknow what else to tell you as it is sunlotion, but if you have doubts about which one to buy, buy this one, as it is an Austrian product.

Also to be found in this Glossybox is a bath salt from Saint Charles Cosmetics, called Lily of the Valley. I can’t pinpoint the smell of it, but it does smell very clean. It’s not exactly my kind of smell, but hey, that’s supposed to happen when you get 7 random products to try. The full size version of this is rather pricey, 18,8€ for half a kilo. I didn’t have time to take a bath yet, so I can’t tell you much more about it. And then there is the Schwarzkopf Professional BC Oil Miracle, which is a hair oil to be used after washing your hair. I guess it’s one of those products that is supposed to make your hair healthy and shiny without weighing it down. I have tried multiple hair oils, from regular coconut oil from India (brrr coconut; but you can cook with it too!) to Maroccan Hair Oil. I believe in Oil Cures for the hair (as in, leaving it in overnight), but so far I haven’t given other hair oil a chance. Should I?

My absolute favourite product of this Glossybox is, however, the KORRES Basil Lemon Showergel. Give me any product that smells like Basil, Lemon, Lime, Mint – I’m yours. My favourite showergel ever is from Original Source and smells like Lime. Obviously I can’t get it here. While the Korres shower gel doesn’t smell as intensive as the Original Source one, it might be a good substitute. I showered once so far using this, and Iam debating investing in it. It is 9,8€ for 250ml in it’s original size.

All in all, I was positively surprised in the Glossybox – again. I assume it is difficult to keep being innovative and bringing new products to the customers. On the other hand, I have the feeling that the boxes are directed at an older clientele, because of the products. All of them are very safe choices; bath salt, shower gel, hair oil…. the eyeshadow is also a very safe colour, so you basically can’t go wrong from there.
For the future I would wish for some more daring boxes; maybe some products from more innovative companies, like Illamasqua (I’d scream with joy if I had an Illamasqua product in my box, I can promise you that), Kryolean, tarte, Smashbox, GOSH, …. well, you name it. I think that by focusing on the “younger” customers, Glossybox would be able to build up a longer lasting regular clientele, even though the prices (14€ excluding sending/month) have been jacked up quite a bit.

What do you think about the contents of the March Glossybox? Will you order one?

*I received this product for free from the company*

Oh, what is this? Is this… the new Glossybox?

Yup, of course it is. And this month the people behind the Austrian Glossybox have outdone themselves!

What do we find in the Glossybox? A nail polish (!!), a haircare mask, a hairspray, an eyeshadow and a perfume.

The nailpolish is obviously the thing that interested me the most. It is a Jessica nail polish (I’ll only say “Holographic duo” and “iridiscent eyes”!), named Strawberry Fields. Also, I ended up with the bright pink one (there was a baby-ish pink one and a purple available also), which is exactly my cup of tea!
I’ll review it after I wore it as a full manicure, because it is my first Jessica polish.

The Swiss Haircare Volume Mask is something I had thought about buying recently. I needed a good Hair Mask, and came by this one – how lucky am I to find a tester in the box? I haven’t tried it out yet, but it smells nice.

No real need for a picture of the Hair Spray: L’ORÉAL PROFESSIONNEL – tec.ni art air fix. I don’t care about fancy hair spray names, because at the end of the day it is hair spray. I had it on last night and my hair stays put, which means the product is fine. I don’t think I’m going to spend more than 4-5€ on a regular sized can of hair spray, so that’s that.

The Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey Florale perfume is nice. It isn’t my regular choice in perfumes, so I won’t buy that either – I have “L’eau D’Issey” on my list, and this is the more flowery version of what I was going to buy anyways.

Then there’s the eyeshadow, from COSLINE – I have Nr. 803 Silverblue, which is again, totally my colour. I wore it yesterday without a Primer, and it performs just fine. It says that it is an “on-the-go” eyeshadow pen which is easy to take with, etc, and it is exactly that. No need for fancy blending and beautiful make-ups, as it is fine by itself. But then, it doesn’t last more than 4 hours, so really, it is exactly as promised, an on-the-go eyeshadow pen.

So, that’s the new Glossybox, which I’m very happy about. 5 products which fit me wonderfully, are something I wanted to try out anyways or are a nice addition to my ever-growing stash of beauty products. Who would have thought that after last month’ box, which was meh, this one would be such a hit?

 

The Glossybox was sent to me as a PR-Sample.

 

Surprise!

So, this is a guessing game for my Austrian readers. Guess what the pink picture on top means! I’ll give you another hint:

Okay, I’ll tell you. This is the GLOSSYBOX, the Austrian version of a birchbox. I was sent one (thank you!) for free, to test it out. Last months’ GLOSSYBOX contained a nail polish, so I didn’t say no to the offer. Let’s see what this months’ GLOSSYBOX held in store for me – it’s the Valentines’ version after all!

In this GLOSSYBOX there was no nail polish for me and also no other decorative cosmetics (only a mascara, but that’s not decorative, that’s necessary!). Anyhow, I was really happy to get 5 products to try that I had never used before.

As I am not a beauty blogger, I will have to try my best to explain those products to you – cut me some slack, please, as this is difficult for me!

So far my favourite is the Clinique Mascara calles High Impact Mascara. It’s not waterproof and jet black, which is wonderful, and also it adds length to the lashes without sticking them together. Pretty much everything I want from a Mascara, and also, it doesn’t dry up and makes you have black spots under your eye after a few hours. I’m very willing to buy this full-sized.

I also already tried the Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturizer SPF 15. I am VERY VERY picky when it comes to face lotion as I have very dry and oversensitive skin, so I had to get over my issues and try this one. So far my face has not turned red or started to look as if I was 80 years old, and also I did not get a rash. When they put “for all skin types” on there, they obviously knew what they were talking about. It smells good, and my face feels moisturized – so I’m pretty happy about that one too. If my face survives another week, I’ll get a refill.

Then there are two things I don’t have any usage for: the Shu Uemura Art of Hair Full Shimmer Shampoo. I don’t have coloured hair, so I guess it won’t revive my hair colour – I gave it to my mum, and since she’s absolutely not into expensive cosmetics, I thought I’d let her say something about it. We’ll come back to that. The other thing I won’t use is the Lancome Génefique Concentrate, as I am not old enough to use that. Maybe you’ll disagree, but for my own integrity, I’ll wait a couple of years before I use anti-aging stuff. Even though I’ve heard people say you can’t start too early to use anti-aging lotions, I refuse to give in.

An then there is the Styx natural cosmetics aroma therapy body milk, scented in tangerine and orange. It smells nice and feels soft, but as stated above, I have super-dry skin, so I use body butter. For anyone who is looking for a new body lotion with a fresh scent, this would be an option.

I really enjoyed this box. For 12€ including sending you receive 5 samples of cosmetic products, and even though some might not be exactly what you want, it is always fun to try something new. Also, the whole shabang with the box and the nice packaging is awesome. I mean come on, which girl wouldn’t be convinced by a pink box?!

What do you think about the GLOSSYBOX? Did you order one? Are you going to order one in the future?