Birchbox May 2014 - First Beauty box Impressions ♥

£10 per month + £2.95 postage

This is my first ever beauty box.. (such a terrible blogger). I have never been too sure on beauty boxes, just in case I didn't like the products one month, however I have always been tempted to try one and see how I feel, so I had a browse online to see which box seemed the most appealing to me for the month of May. I was fairly impressed with this Birchbox, the price was reasonable and the products looked interesting. When I received this box I was very pleased, you are guaranteed 4/5 products every month and it only costs £12.95 altogether!

Products:

Benefit They're Real Mascara RRP £19.50

I didn't really enjoy this mascara the first time I tried it last year. My experience wasn't too bad this time, however, I still wouldn't pay full price for it because I can find better mascaras on the high street for a fraction of the cost. I have a full review on this mascara here if you would like to read more about my experience.

Aromatherapy Associates RRP £39

I loooove the smell of this oil. I apply it to my arms, stomach and legs before I get into the shower. I thought it would just wash off my skin instantly but even after using my Radox shower gel, I could still smell the beautiful blend of 'pink grapefruit, rosemary and juniper berry' on my skin. When my skin has dried after my shower it feels refreshed, soft and smells wonderful!

Beauty Protector Shampoo & Conditioner £14 each

I also love the smell of these shampoo and conditioner's, however the shampoo didn't lather up as well as I had hoped, I ended up having to use my normal shampoo on top to get it nice and soapy. The conditioner went on okay, it smells gorgeous too, however, I don't think I would pay full price for both of these products.

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish from £13.50

I always use the full size versions of this cleanse and polish so to have a travel size (and another muslin cloth) is great, I have a full review on this product here if you want to read a bit more about it (brilliant product!)

Soignè Nail Lacquer £11 (Full Size)
This is a full size product which comes in a nice little box with moulded foam around the bottle inside. I love the colour, it is so pretty, I didn't actually have a deep red colour in my nail polish collection?! It lasts a good few days without chipping and it has a gorgeous high shine finish!

What beauty boxes are you subscribed to? xo

Over Hyped Products/Alternatives #1 - Benefit They're Real Mascara (with pictures)

Hello, I thought I would do a different kind of post today, I am a bit unsure how some people will react to this post but I thought I would give my honest opinions on the Benefit They're Real Mascara - £19.50. 

**Before I start I would just like to say that I am in no way 'bashing' this product and saying it is rubbish, because it definitely isn't, I just think there are much cheaper alternatives out there.**

I recently got this mascara free in Elle's June issue, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try it before I bought the full size version. I do love the mascara, the product and application is very very good and Benefit always deliver brilliant products BUT I have a few of mascaras that do the exact same thing for a fraction of the price. I think that the fact I naturally have very long eyelashes could make the product feel 'sameish' to me.

 I can get a similar application and result from these two high street mascaras.. I would say they are the best dupes I have found so far, 

Collection Skyscraper Lash £4.99 is the cheapest dupe I have found. The wand and product itself are very good. 

Next is my current mascara which I prefer to the Benefit mascara,  Max Factor Clump Defy £10.99. 

Overall I think if like me you have long lashes, you probably won't notice a huge difference compared to other high street mascaras with a plastic wand.

Here are a couple of pics comparing the results of Benefit They're Real and Max Factor Clump Defy. (I had my hair up in a towel in my eye pics, that's the white thing in the background, sorry for my unprofessional-ism haha)

No Mascara

Benefit They're Real

Benefit They're Real

Max Factor Clump Defy

Max Factor Clump Defy

I hope you enjoyed this post, how are you all today(:

Pay Day Wishlist #1

helloo! I am getting my first pay at my new job on the 10th of May and I have a list of things I am planning on buying and these are the main exciting things I have wanted for ages! If you have done similar posts, leave them in the comments :) x

Benefit They're Real Mascara

Retina Display iPad

Shorts Dungarees

Ted Baker iPad Case

Naked 2 Palette