Glossybox Beauty Box October 2017 – Unboxing and Product Reviews

Glossybox is one of my favourite beauty boxes because it is consistently good, month after month. When you don’t think they can top the month before, comes a box like this month’s to leave you absolutely stunned. What an amazing box! I am absolutely inlove!

This month there were two possible boxes the “Mermaid” themed and the “Unicorn” themed. It was not possible to choose which one to get, it was up to chance, which made things even more exciting. I was secretly hoping to get the Unicorn one and I am so glad I did! Nevertheless, I think the only difference between the two boxes is in the outer box design, the items would have been the same whether you got the Mermaid or the Unicorn.

The Unicorn box even had a quote inside the lid reading “Be a unicorn in a field of horses”.

With a theme like “Unicorn” I expected bright colours and lots of make up and that is exactly what the box contained! There is nothing more satisfying than when the actual box theme fits the products contained. You’d be surprised how many times the two have nothing to do with each other, something that happens very often with other beauty boxes…but not Glossybox!

This Unicorn box contained 5 products of which all were full size! Can this box get any better?! From left to right as shown in the picture these were: an eyeshadow palette, a blush, a brown pencil, a lip balm and a brush cleaning egg.

Let’s go in a little more detail as to how each product performed. Bear in mind that these are my personal opinions and that beauty can be a very personal thing, we all have different skin, requirements and biological build which can influence things. What worked for me might not work for you and vice versa, please leave your comments below!

 

 

Revolution Redemption Palette Mermaids vs Unicorns

There is something about receiving eye shadow palettes in beauty boxes that just makes them 10 times better. Whether it is because they are an item that will last you a while or a beautiful item to have on your dresser, eye shadow palettes just make beauty boxes enter a different treat league. Are you with me?

Even if this eye shadow palette is a drugstore one that is only worth £4, I am still over the moon to receive it. The colours are gorgeous and I love the incremental way they are arranged.

The outer packaging is of course cheap plastic that can easily break and the palette has minimal design. But what else could you ask for £4! It even comes with an old style eye shadow brush that has the same shape and size sponges on both sides. It’s actually not a bad one for packing the main lid colour on. You will need another brush for blending though.

 

The actual eye shadows swatch and look way more beautifully than I expected. They are not particularly creamy but neither complete powdery. They are very decent quality for drugstore. Neither was particularly patchy or badly pigmented. The colours don’t have names so I labelled them with numbers so that you can match them to the swatches.

Most colours are shimmers or mattes with glitter in them. Only colours 6 and 10 are true mattes. The mattes are of course a little more powdery than the others which is perfectly normal. The shadows lasted for hours and didn’t crease but bear in mind I was using an eye shadow primer.

For me this is not a palette that I would use to create a full look for a couple of reasons, not only because it does not contain any bone colours. I would create a more neutral/natural look with another palette and then insert a pop of colour using 1-2 colours from this one either as an eye liner or as an under the eye line. Still a useful item to have though, an easy and cheap way to spice up other looks.

The formulation of these eye shadows is very simple. There are only 10 ingredients, if you discount the pigment ingredients, of which two of those are parabens. Bear in mind that there is still not enough scientific evidence to “incriminate” parabens just yet, it is still speculation. However, if you avoid parabens for the peace of mind then give this palette a miss.

I cannot believe the price and performance of these shadows. This is a full size palette and is only £4! SCORE = 8/10

 

 

Sleek Makeup Crème to Powder Blush Colour Carnation

I love Sleek makeup, especially their packaging because it is always so simple and sleek! The outer packaging is black with a velvet feeling that gives it a little “this is not a super cheap item” feeling. It even has a mirror inside!

This is a gorgeous coloured (Carnation) crème blush that turns into a powder finish after application. And yes it truly does! I personally love crème products because as an oily skin type, I have large pores which I try to minimise with makeup. Crème products slide across the face easier and tend to resurface or emphasise pores less. This is an especially interesting product because it later turns into a powder finish, so there is no problem if you get oily throughout the day.

It is very pigmented though so go easy and build up if you wish. The only downside is that crème products tend to need a little more skill to use, so you might need to practice a little.

 

 

This blush is gorgeous and it even contains Vitamin E. This is a full size product that retails for £5.99. Not a bad price at all. SCORE = 8/10

 

Lord & Berry Magic Brow Perfect Eye Brow Pencil

Second time lucky? Probably not. I received a product in the Look Fantastic August box and while it is not the worst eyebrow pencil I’ve ever used, it’s branding is what got me the most.

“The writing, colour scheme and even font are almost exactly the same as Bobby Brown! As I explained before, my issue is not whether they copied Bobby Brown or if Bobby Brown copied them etc, who cares right? The problem is that the products from Lord & Berry don’t have their own identity because every time I see them in beauty boxes or in my draws I will always think of Bobby Brown and that’s not exactly good branding. Whoever it is that copied who, for better or for worse Bobby Brown is a much larger and more successful brand that they can’t compete with, so Lord & Berry needs to redesign their products and branding.

This eye brow pencil is primarily brown in colour but has little black bits randomly placed inside the brown and so it will apparently “suit all eye brow colours thanks to its two-colour universal tip”. Well…my eye brows are brown/black and the colour didn’t suit mine so I can’t even imagine what the blondes would say!

Because of the black bits in the brown pencil, the colour can come off streaky at times. You could sort of blend the colours together I guess and sort out the unevenness but…why would you not just buy the right eye brow colour pencil for you to begin with? What is this product trying to solve? Why would we want one eye brow pencil to suit all? It is not sanitary to share cosmetics anyways…

At least this pencil doesn’t smudge but it does fade away if you rub it, to eventually being completely gone if you rub long enough. It doesn’t seem to be affected by water but if you rub it while wet it will obviously come off.

This pencil was apparently made fashionable in Milan but I just don’t get it. It didn’t suit my brown eye brows, the colour was lighter and you could tell there was a different colour under my eye brow hairs. I also just don’t see why I should buy this over an eye brow pencil with a colour that actually suits mine.”

This is a full size product but if you compare it to other pencils it is more like travel size and it retails for £14. I just don’t get this product and it didn’t work well for me. SCORE = 6/10

 

Bang Beauty Cream Colour Dolce Pink

This is a lip balm that you can also use as a check blush. It is a cream product with a slight metallic sheen to it. It gives lips a very natural but slightly metallic look. It doesn’t dry out the lips but it doesn’t give them a hydrated feeling either. Like any balm, it doesn’t last long and doesn’t survive eating or drinking.

It works as a blush too but the metallic sheen gives a shiny finish. As an oily skin type I personally wouldn’t use a shiny blush, as I like looking matte around the cheek areas, but it does do the job if you like shiny blushes. It is very subtle but you can build it up slowly.

 

The outer packaging is simple but beautiful. It is made of glass with a plastic, metallic looking lid. The packaging gives a false impression of product size. The entire lip balm is contained under the lid and the rest of the jar is just solid, empty glass for decoration purposes. This product could have easily been half the size or contain twice the amount of balm…

It is a full size product that retails for £19.50. The price is too high for what it is, especially considering how simple the formulation is. SCORE = 7/10

 

Kawaii Enterprise Brush Cleansing Egg

If you think deep cleaning you brushes once a week is boring and takes long, this is the type of item you need. This is a silicone egg with ridges where you can swirl your brushes against, to make cleaning them easier, faster and more efficient.

It really works and is very easy to use. You can place 1-2 fingers inside to hold it still, soap your brushes and then swirl them against it. All you need to do when you finish is rinse it with water and a little brush cleaner, if you wish, and let it aside to dry. It will last you for years, although I suggest replacing it every now and again as plastic can host bacteria.

I love the colour and that Glossybox included a beauty tool in this month’s box. This is a full size product that retails for £7.99. It might sound like a lot of money for a rubbery silicone item but it will last you for months. SCORE = 9/10

 

Overall, I thought this is one of the most gorgeous Glossyboxes ever and I am even more impressed that all products contained were full size. This box is worth £51.48 and considering the subscription price is £13.25, it is definitely a win-win.

Initial box score, in terms of products and first feelings = 10/10

Overall box score after product testing (a sum of product scores) = 7.6/10

Star product = Kawaii Enterprise Brush Cleansing Egg

 

 

Did you get this month’s Glossybox? What did your box contain? What did you think of the products? Have you tried any of the products listed? Let me know your experiences!

For general Subscription Box reviews see my: Birchbox, Glossybox, Look Fantastic and Cohorted general review posts. For help on how to choose the right subscription box for you check out “Which Subscription Beauty Box is right for you?”.

I am not affiliated with any company or brand. These are my views and experiences.

 

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