Joliebox February

I think it's safe to say that the novelty of monthly beauty boxes has well and truly worn off for me. I'm just not excited by them any more! I must admit though that despite this I was looking forward to this months Joliebox. However, considering this one was the first we have received since December I can't help but feel a little disappointed. I thought with the long wait and the transformation from Boudoir Privé we could have something a little more special this time, but alas, just a mediocre box with mediocre contents. And it's a real shame because I always considered this box to be one of the better, more consistently good ones.

 There were 5 samples in the box, the theme being ''Nice and Natural from top to toe...'' I know this sounds incredibly horrid but really, natural skin care products don't really appeal to me. Obviously I don't want anything thats made animals suffer or anything but when I see something's natural is kind of puts me off, I really don't know why this is. So in the box we have:

 Lavera Basis Sensitive Organic Hand Cream

The packaging to this reminds me of something you'd get from Aldi, or maybe it's because the name is similar to the beauty products you can get in Aldi (Lacura). It doesn't really smelly like Shea Butter or Almond Oil to me and also the cream separated in the tube so when I first tried it I got a horrid water liquid and a blob of cream. Nothing a quick shake wouldn't sort out though and I guess it's a good size to keep in my handbag.

 Jane Iredale 'Just Kissed' Lip and Cheek stain in Forever Pink

Not overly impressed by this, I know a lot of people are loving it. The size is minuscule which I guess is fine, it is meant to be a sample after all. But the main reason I'm not taken in by this is the fact that it's colour adjusts dependant on your mood/temperature. Last year I bought a lip stain from Claire Accessories that did the exact same thing for a quid. This really isn't much different. A bit too much of a gimmick for my liking but the colour itself and product are OK. Doesn't dry my lips and the shade is a really nice pink for me. 

 Macadamia Deep Repair Masque

Possibly the only item in the box I am pleased with but only because I've tried nothing from the Macadamia range before and have wanted to for a while. I would have much preferred the oil that was seen in some beauty boxes a few months ago, that would have lasted a bit longer and I would have been able to conclude a good idea of if the product is any good. I don't think that can be judged on a one try sample, even if the info card says it's full size. However, really looking forward to  using it and I hope it does my hair some good at least.

 TAAJ Himalaya Micellar Water

I really have no intentions on trying this. It's an anti-oxidant and tonic make up remover that will revitalise and purify the skin... apparently. Toners never really appeal to me, especially when they look like and pretty much are just water. I just can't be bothered. I recently got a l'occitane red rice toner in a travel set and rarely bother with it. Even though it's really good.

And finally we have this mini RMK Rejuvenating Facial System set.

Once again another thing that doesn't really excite me. Especially when reading the instructions to find that you need to use 6 drops of the oil and 6 spritzes of the 'activator' I would be surprised if this could be used more than once, and once again you really can't fathom a good review/idea of skin care from one go.

So overall like I said, a mediocre box! I will probably cancel my subscription to all my beauty boxes this month.They're really not appealing to me any more (also because I've just committed to finance on a new car *gulp*). Which is a shame. I will also add that a lot of things that have been received through these boxes have appeared in non other than TK Maxx over the past few weeks! Honestly, so so many things, full size, for mega cheap prices. So that might be worth checking out if you do like the contents of some of these boxes. The most recent spot has been the Rituals range of shower stuff as seen in Decembers Glossybox, all retailing for around £4 each.

I'm such a party pooper.

Chocolate Philadelphia

I honestly don't know why I buy all this chocolatey stuff when I'm a die hard fan of savoury snacks - give me a pack of Lime Doritoes over a chocolate fudge cake any day. But when I saw this Philapephia blended with Cadbury chocolate advertised the other day, intrigue got the better of me so when I went to Asda I had to make the purchase. It's on an introductory offer at the moment at £1. I know some people will see this and thing ''OHMYGOD SO GROSS'' which I'll admit I did at first, but when you consider cheese cake is made from cream cheese (and yes Philadelphia IS a cream cheese you can use for cheese cake *curses the woman who once argued the toss with me about this*) Then it's really not as grim as first imagined.

 If you think it looks like it's going to be your daily calorie intake in one spoon full then never fear, the clever Kraft(sters) have blended the spread with Light Philadelphia instead of full fat to make it a little more forgiving.  It says a 30g serving provides you with 86 calories and according to the internet 1 tablespoon of Nutella (which is 19g) comes in at a whopping 100 calories, so I'm sure you can do the math to work out which one of these is more friendly as a sweet treat.

 The spread itself is a slightly sticky consistency. Like inbetween regular Philly and Chocolate Spread. It smells  pretty chocolatey and not very cheesy like I expected.

 I opted to have it on toast with some banana's. I've never ever been a fan of banana's til lately I've been getting a craving for them. Also I can't believe how cheap banana's are! 22p for two? Why doesn't everyone eat banana's? (Actually everyone does, did you know they're the most sold product at Supermarkets? You learn something new every day)

So what did it taste like? Well, like chocolate Philadelphia of course! Although the taste is a little more subtle than I expected. It's nowhere near as sickly as chocolate spread tends to be and with the banana's on toast makes for a SLIGHTLY healthy alternative for a breakfast treat. I'm looking forward to experimenting a bit with it and seeing what other things I can use chocolate Philadelphia for, so far I'm drawing a blank, so any suggestions?

Bath Tub Teabags?!

A post with a little bit of a difference today. It's a combination of two things I love the most (kind of!) - Beauty products and drinks! Although for the love of God, don't drink these, I can't imagine it would be a very good idea. When I first saw them for sale in Whittards I was a bit confused, a tea bag for the bath?! I know Whittards specialise in Tea but this was a whole new level of tea.....But then thinking about it, it makes sense. Especially if you love a steaming hot bath like I do.

 The scent is Lemon Balm and Lavender. They're a really refreshing smell and I'm not sure if it's subliminal or not but I also pick up some PG tips in the nose buds. Also the cat went CRAZY for the smell. She was drooling on the box and everything like the refined feline she is.

 So you put them in the water and let them brew for a little bit, I must admit I was expecting the bags themselves to be a little bit more aesthetically pleasing as they did actually just look like massive teabags!

Now I didn't take pictures of the water because a; where I'm lodging the bathroom is a lovely shit green suite, my favourite colour but you can't demonstrate water activities very well and b; it looked like someone had pee-ed in the bath! The water went a really sickly yellow colour haha. I also played around with the bag too much (squeezing the goodness out and such) and it burst leaving a soil like substance in the bottom of the tub. Apart from that though the smell and silkyness left in the water was lovely. It was really relaxing and refreshing and left my skin feeling really smooth, I was pleasantly surprised. Have you tried anything like this? What do you think? I'm unsure if I would purchase them again but as a gift for a tea lover I think they're great.

Clynol Moisture Dream

Clynol is a range of hair care I've not heard of before, so when @immediatePR1 mentioned it via Twitter the other day I was intrigued about what the products would be like. Clynol is a range available exclusively in salons and considering I haven't had my hair cut or been in a hairdressers for over 18months now I thought it might be the first step in getting back into the hairdressers chair haha. I was sent a range of products to try out including a gel spray, moulding jelly and volumising powder (which I want to review in a comparison post of other hair powders I've tried) but the Moisture Dream conditioner spray is my favourite over all.

I did exactly what it said by shaking it well and spraying it all over towel dried hair. I let my hair dry naturally now and haven't used heated styling tools for a good few months. The shampoo and conditioner I'm currently using is Aussie Miracle Moist. I must say I only buy this when it is on offer and because of the smell. It leaves my hair really fluffy which makes it look even more damaged than it is so I have to use loads of serum to calm it down. But since having this I haven't used any serum and just this product alone post washing.

The end result is pretty good. I know I'm never going to get really healthy looking hair until I summon up the courage to go to the hairdressers again! I know it sounds like I have a massive phobia of hairdressers, but it's not even that. It's just every time I go, no matter what salon or what hairdresser they NEVER cut it how I want. I've been trying to grow my hair for years and each time they chop about 3inches off at least leaving me to start from scratch to get the long tresses I desire. So this time after a mental 'mushroom' cut the last hairdresser gave me I've just left it to it's own devices. Anyway back to this product; it left my hair feeling soft and smooth that's for sure. I think if I had straightened it I would DEFINITELY see a vast improvement in shine and manageability. 2 days after it's still feeling nice and looks really fresh. It hasn't weighed my hair down or made it look greasy like serum can. This has definitely replaced the serum for now!

This was a free sample courtesy of @immediatePR1 via Twitter. 

Thornton's Chocolate Blocks

I discovered the range of chocolate blocks in Thorntons a while back, they really appealed to me because there was such a wide variety of flavours and packaging design really stood out. I've tried a few in the past and quite liked them, so when having a look in Thornton's the other day and spotting these flavours I just had to give them a go.

I chose the Limited Edition Lemon and Sea Salt, Orange and Cardamon and Lightly Salted Pistachio. I'll admit the choice was not just made based on the interesting flavours but also the colours of them. The shit green shade of the Pistachio for example was just meant to be in my life.

 I'll start with the most 'out there' flavour. When I first saw this I actually thought ''Sea Salt - normal. Lemon - ergh'' which demonstrates how backwards I am probably! I've tried the Lindt salty chocolate before and it was really nice and for some reason this day I was in the mood for something sweet yet savoury. The flavour of this one was a tad more subtle than I expected. The lemon was delicate and you got just a hint of sea salt. I always find Thornton's chocolate blocks to be very creamy, almost like they're inbetween Galaxy chocolate and Dairy Milk on the creamyness scale. I was't overly taken by this but it was repugnant like most would assume!

 Next up we have the Lightly Salted Pistachio. If you know me, you would have probably felt the wrath of me moaning about salt in food lately, so sorry for the contradiction by buying two salty based chocolates (?!) I just love pistachios! This one is really nice, once again the base chocolate is that lovely creamy Thornton's type. I can see why this won an award, it's such a nice flavour and the tiny little pistachio pieces inside make it just the right consistency. Probably my favourite of the three here.

And finally we have Orange and Cardamom. You've probably tried cardamom when having a curry or it's sometimes found in the rice in the form of pods. It's a distinct almost bitter but slightly minty flavour. It's quite hard to explain unless you've tasted it. Anyway with the orange it's a really nice contrast of flavours. Not quite as bold a contrast as the sea salt and lemon but this one seems to cleanse your palette a bit more (Jesus I'm starting to sound like Heston here, it's only chocolate!) But yeah, it's kind of refreshing. A really delicate yet distinct flavour.

You can pick this range up from most Thorntons stores or online for £1.79 each of 3 for £5.

Morning Rice Drink

What's that? More China Town goodness? Yeah that's right.

Bought this during my chinese supermarket mini haul last week and tried it today. I bought it purely because I just hadn't tried it before. I can't read the label apart from 'Morning Rice' So it was all a bit of a mystery.

I figured with it being a 'morning' drink it would be pretty refreshing if not energising in some way. Oh the other bit I could read was that it contained 95calories. That's quite hefty for a drink isn't it?

Reading the ingredients I still didn't really get a sense of what the taste would be like. But I did notice it contained Vitamin C. I'm so healthy.

So what did it actually taste like?

WEIRD

It was kind of like drinking caramel snack a jacks?! You could definitely taste a rice flavour, which is odd because I never really noticed rice had a 'flavour'! But really really sweet. Not sickly sweet either,  just like a sugar coated sweet. It was quite interesting! Once again not sure of the health benefits of this but it was ok. You can try your own for around 59p at the chinese supermarket in China Town Manchester if you like.

Benefit Hervana

So with all my Benefit posts lately, you're probably wondering where the review of the new wonder product Hervana is... Well, it's HERE. I must admit, when I first saw Hervana I did wonder what all the fuss was about. After seeing countless reviews it just didn't appeal to me. But then when I attended the Manchester Bloggers Event and saw a detailed tutorial on how to use it, I finally *GOT IT* 

 The packaging is the usual quirky style Benefit is renowned for. I do like the overall design of the packaging the way the lid flips up and the size is really good BUT I must admit I do not like the material. Making something like this out cardboard just irritates me a bit. Mines already looking a bit tatty after being in my make up bag for only a week, which is a shame. I like things to look new for as long as possible! 

 The powder is marketed as a 'good karma' face powder. And that it is. 

With lovely little slogans and such a pretty design it kind of makes you feel good just looking at it....

 Hervana contains 4 different shades; lucky shell, divine peach, heavenly rose and berry delight. There's a contouring brush within the box and also a little mirror which is always a handy feature to have....

 Now the reason I 'got' the fuss after the event was because they demonstrated all the different ways you could use Hervana. Not only is it a lovely pink peachy tone blush but it can also be used as eyeshadow AND on your lips, who'd have thought eh?

When we were first told about using it on lips my immediate thought was that it would dry the fook out of mine. I am constantly having to use lip balm! But I must say. I've tried it twice now and it's been absolutely fine. Using the darkest shade - 'berry delight' it creates a natural but nice hue to your lips. If you use it as an eyeshadow simply find a little eyeshadow brush and swirl it in 'lucky shell' to start with (the lightest one) and dust that all over your eyelids and up to the brow (it's really natural and light so doesn't make you look like a drag queen when you do this btw) Then swirl about between 'divine peach' and 'heavenly rose' for the crease of your eye. To finish off get a swab of 'berry delight' on your brush and fill the outer bit of the lids. If you can make sense of that then 1; you're a genius at interpretation and 2; you're gonna have some freakin' sweet peachy pink eyes going on! I always get a bit anxious that pink coloured eyeshadows will make one look like you've been crying for 4 days straight, but these colours are so subtle yet effective it just brightens your eyes and doesn't look 'sore' at all. It's all been a bit unexpected really. 

The other thing I will mention about Hervana is the SMELL. It's really strange for a powder make up to smell but it does. Like a really delicate sweet fragrance. Wonderful. And apparently these little boxes they make last for ages.You can pick up Hervana for £23.50 at your local Benefit Counter.

Benefit The Porefessional

Hands up if you're getting sick of the Benefit posts yet?? Haha. Sozzz..... But tough potatoes, I'm loving trying all these new things though so you're getting some reviews whether you like it or not. Today we have The Porefessional primer which has been a massive hit on the ol' beauty scene for a while now. No one can say anything bad about it can they? Well, being a massive stick in the mud, I have to admit - I'm slightly undecided.

 I got one of the little sample tubes in my goodie bag. It's marketed as a 'PRO balm to minimise the appearance of pores'. I have noticed lately I do notice my pores. Which I never used to. I'm not sure if this is because they're becoming more visible or I'm just becoming more aware with pores being the new big thing to minimise in beauty world. Regardless of this though I was very intrigued to give this a go considering all the brilliant reviews of it about. The product itself is a slightly flesh toned cloudy in appearance almost gel like substance... Not what I expected at all. It's not got the iridescent sheer look of 'That Gal' which I was more than dissapointed with when I tried it. The Porefessional glides on your skin with absolutely no effort at all, it feels so so nice and makes your skin feel ultra smooth and kind of 'clean'. It's not heavy at all. I've never quite come across anything of this consistency before so it was all a bit of a new discovery.... But does it do what it claims? Reduce the appearance of those dreaded pores? For me personally, I didn't really notice a reduction in size or appearance of my pores, I'm not sure if that means that my pores are extra large or I'm just being too picky though! But it did help my make up smooth on with a lot less effort, I'm currently using 17 Miracle Matte Foundation which can be quite difficult to blend but The Porefessional helped it to literally glide across my face. It's all well and good and does seem to make my foundation last a tad longer. But would I pay the £23.50 for the full size product? Probably not. As nice as this is to use, its not the product for me for the price. It doesn't give me a flawless enough coverage to invest that much into the product and for now I will make do with my Technic 'Prime It' but don't let my review put you off, I think primers are the type of product that people need to try for themselves as everyone likes a different finish to their FACE. 

Nu Jeed Jeedjard Chewy Candy Tamarind

I hope you're enjoying reading these posts about these new foods I've discovered in the Chinese Supermarket as much as I am posting about them! If not, sorry. I'm scheduling all these posts on my day off to keep y'all entertained whilst I'm working my butt off at my new job. There's some beauty reviews thrown in between though  in case you haven't noticed. Today I bring you some Thai Candy in the form of Nu Jeed Jeedjard Chewy Candy Tamarind! It doesn't sound the most appetising does it? But look how cute the packaging is!

 Clearly these are aimed at kids for when they're doing the usual stuff.... Driving, working, reading and watching TV. They do contain quite a high sugar level too. I imagine it makes for some super loopy times if they ate the whole tub.

 It also tells me on the container to 'shake it chew it' I must admit when I shook it not a lot happened really.

 Inside the contents resembles chocolate covered raisins although they have a hard shell not a chocolatey one.

I really wasn't sure what to expect when I bought these, I was aware Tamarind was a spice so the concept of them being candy coated was quite strange. They're really chewy once you bite through the hard shell and quickly develop into a subtle spice flavour. It's not dissimilar to cinnamon but not as fiery. It's really quite hard to describe. They cost £1.10 which isn't too bad and came in a few different flavours. I've just been researching the health benefits of Tamarind and it's quite good for a few things such as aiding digestion, dry eyes, sore throats... The list goes on. So I will pop them in my car for some on the go goodness. Have you tried anything like this before? They remind me a bit of some ginger candies I bought from Holland and Barratt a while back, apart from a bit tastier and a bit less spicy!

Chocolate Cats!

Who doesn't love cats? Who doesn't love chocolate? (Well, actually, I don't quite -love- chocolate, I'd prefer a packet of crisps, but that's beside the point) I found* this rather awesome silicone cat mould in MUJI the other day and just had to buy it (despite the price of £9.95, I know, I know) 

 Anyway, on the front it showed some chocolate cats so it was pretty self explanatory. But on the back it had some kind of recipe to make something else. I've no idea what though. Oh well.

I melted down a few blocks of milky bar and 3 yorkies and managed to fill all of the mould perfectly. I couldn't of measured if better if I tried (which I didn't)

 So we have SLEEPY CAT.

 SITTY CAT

and SITTY FROM THE SIDE CAT

LOOK AT ALL THE CHOCOLATE KITTIES.

I think they're wonderful. Although a few more taps of the tray would of got all those air bubbles out of the ears (didn't get that degree for nothing you know) I think I can justify the price by pretending to myself I can give them to people as little presents, because who the hell wouldn't like some token chocolate cats?!

*when I say 'found' I mean saw @whatkatiedoes tweet about them so went in solely to purchase them, shhh.

L'occitane Mini Haul

I always promised myself I would never do a 'haul' post but I went to Cheshire Oaks yesterday and visited the L'occitane outlet and went a bit.... mad.  I only went in for the tiny little Pivoine Flora perfume as the one I got ages ago in a 'Latest in Beauty' perfume sample box leaked in my make up bag - it now smells amazing though! I literally swooped around the store though, picking anything that caught my eye up. I'm blaming my new job making me think I can splurge because I get paid extra if I sleep over (Last night was my first sleep over shift, which was surprisingly OK!)

Anyway, here's what I got! I was a sucker for the discount stickers that's for sure. The first thing that 'caught my eye' was the Délive des Fleurs collection which is the most delicious violet and rose scent.

 It contains a solid perfume, hand cream and lip balm. I know I have an abundance of lip balms, handcreams and solid perfumes from Lush but I was TOO intrigued by the l'occitane ones!

 The splurge on the previous set was made up for by spotting the bargain that was the Red Rice starter kit which was discounted from a massive £21 to £3.40!!

 Although my skin is not oily, it is definitely combination and I am prone to a few spots here and there. So I can't wait to try it. It contains a toner, cleanser and a matte face fluid.

 Continuing the bargain trail I then spotted this 95% Shea Butter Apricot Flower balm. Discounted from £10 to £2.50! Once again I have so many balms (favourite being the Body Shop Hemp balm)

 This one smells lovely and fresh though and the main appeal was that you can use it anywhere including your hair. You heat it up in your palms and it turns into a oil. I've got it on my hair now and unlike some things I've used like this (Superdrug Coconut Oil for one) It's not left my hair heavy and greasy looking. It's also an amazing lip balm!!

 Oh and here's what I actually went in for. A small 5ml size of the Pivoine Flora perfume. It's a lot like Paul Smith Rose but not as musky and  a lot more floral and fresh.This was £3.35 down from £15 (although I think thats a typo because I saw on the website they were £5 originally)

 And THEN I got all this free stuff!

 She gave me one of each sample of the hair care range and a sample of Rose 4 Reines body milk. I can't wait to try the hair mask, eep.

 And I also got to choose a little bag with free gifts in they must be getting rid of from Christmas. It contained a shower gel, shower oil, soap, hand cream, ultra rich cream and precious cream for mah FACE.

I will do some follow up reviews of the contents. But so far so good! I absolutely love these outlet mall places, they can be a bit hit and miss but there are certainly a lot of discounted bargains to be had when you're in the right (or wrong) mood!

B.Right Intro Kit

I purchased this Benefit b.right! Radiant Skincare 6 Piece Intro Kit after the visit to Harvey Nic's on Sunday. The staff were so friendly I felt like I could finally approach and ask about the kit as I'd seen it on blogs and such for a few weeks, but I'm always so apprehensive about make up counters for fear of hard selling or forced into the chair for a make up session in front of passers by! Fortunately after the Benefit Bloggers meet I felt really comfortable and wouldn't think twice before approaching a Benefit counter in future (still doesn't mean I'll go to just any make up counter though, they still scare the bejesus out of me) Anyway this lovely little set set me back a mere £10! I'm sure you've seen me moan before about the price of certain things, including Benefit, I'm so cheap I think over 50p for a chocolate bar is pushing the boat out. But this is a bargain by any standard. It gives you 6 little sample size potions of most the products in the b.right! skincare range (I could of done with a little sample of the 'boo boo zap' on my forehead right about now though)

The set comes in a nice little travel sized plastic carry case. The bottles are all glass and I love the apothecary feel of the range. It's like you don't want to use them because they all look so precious!!! But you can definitely use the bottles afterwards if even just for a cute little display. 

The products within are as follows;

Foamingly Clean Facial Wash

Refined Finish Facial Polish

Moisture Prep Toning Lotion

Triple Performing Facial Emulsion with SPF15 PA+++

Total Moisture Facial Cream

It Potent! Eye Cream

The Total Moisture Facial Cream is by far my favourite product out of the range, it's so thick and creamy and instantly makes your skin feel amazing. It also doesn't make my skin break out like a lot of moisturisers can do. The entire range smells so fresh and clean (I know, cleaning things smelling clean right? But have a whiff you'll get what I mean!) I'm not sure about the price tag on the range though, as they do have an RRP between £16.50 and £23.50 so to 'catch 'em all' you're looking at a small fortune. If I was to buy any full size it would definitely be the moisturiser though.

The only criticism I have on the range/set is the lack of instructions. You can briefly work out what order to use the products through common sense or the name of the item BUT I would of loved to of had a more in depth instruction booklet to reassure the order of which to use them. Especially for the price. I'm unsure if the full size products contain this information within though so you might want to check that out. I would defo buy this set again though as it's an absolute steal for the price!

Despite my adventures in Benefit lately, I did buy this set myself and it wasn't a gift.