Birchbox | November 2015

I'm going to preface this post by saying that even though this box was a lot better than last month's, it still wasn't good enough to retain my custom and I have now cancelled my Birchbox subscription.

I know, it's a big shock given how much I loved their boxes just a few months ago. But I, like many of their customers, have very little patience when I don't feel like I'm getting my money's worth. 

Birchbox November 2015 Contents:

So Susan Featherlash Mascara | £18

Lord & Berry Silhouette Neutral Lip Line | £9

Delarom Creme Acquaconfort | £34

Pure & Light Organic Revitalising Facial Exfoliation | £25

Beauty Protector Beauty Cream Body Lotion | £8

Thumbs Up Rosa Nail Wraps | £6.99

So Susan Featherlash Mascara

This is a lovely light mascara for days when you want a more natural look. It does flake off though so it's a bit of a pain by the end of the day.

Lord & Berry Neutral Lip Liner

I tried this out but I'm not convinced that it made a difference at all. That could just be where I don't tend to find that my lipsticks bleed/smudge if I don't wear a lip liner.

Delacrom Creme Acquaconfort

I can't remember if I've tried this or not so this definitely didn't make an impression.

Pure & Light Organic Revitalising Facial Exfoliation

I actually really liked this but there was only enough for two uses. It smelled of light citrus and had enough exfoliating grains that my skin felt amazing afterwards.

Beauty Protector Beauty Cream Body Lotion

The smell of this was amazing but it was a bit too oily for my tastes. 

Thumbs Up Rosa Nail Wraps

I haven't tried these yet as they're a little more Spring than Festive but I definitely think they're cute.

I'm not saying I'll never go back to Birchbox, but I don't think I ever really recovered from the horrific October box and it has tarnished this box for me. 

Tabitha

Xx

Review | Maybelline Super Stay

We are well into Autumn and nearly Winter now so all manner of dark berry shades have been gracing my lips. While I can get away with a darker lip, I fully intend to. 

By far my favourite dark berry shade is this absolute beauty of a product by Maybelline. This is their Super Stay 24 Ultimate Red lip colour in Always Crimson (575). I swatched this on the back of my hand in Boots and couldn't get rid of it without severe scrubbing so this is definitely a product made to last as long as it promises.

I tried it on my lips for the first time today. The first layer was perfect and I shouldn't have touched it, but being a fool, I put the balm on before it had dried properly and then tried to put another layer on top to even the colour that I had smudged. It still looked amazing but it did flake off when I ate lunch so I definitely recommend one layer that you allow to fully dry.

The colour is gorgeous and there's a massive range from light nudes and pinks right the way through to the darker vampy shades that I enjoy most. 

10/10 - Highly Recommend 

My Little Box | October 2015

As mentioned in my Birchbox post, the My Little Box from this month was a little disappointing. You know I've always enjoyed every box I received but this one let me down.

The theme is "creativity" though I see none of that in the contents. They're usually really good at including little accessories/activities with their boxes so this should have been an easy feat for them.

Instead, I've got a box of skincare - something I've said before that I have absolutely no interest in receiving.

My Little Box October 2015 Contents:

Baija Hydrating Cream | £12.90

Polaar Genuine Lapland Hand Cream | £16.90

My Little Beauty Creme de Minuit | £15

My Little Box Wire Wrap Beads | £16

My Little Box Tote Bag | £15

Yep. Three creams, plastic beads and a tote bag. Officially my least favourite box that I would send back if I could. Add to the fact that this box was late so they had to send out a replacement. I wish they hadn't bothered.

The Baija cream is okay - like a big standard Shea butter scent wise and texture wise.

The Polaar cream had barely any scent at all. Rubbed in nicely without too much of a sticky feeling.

The Minuit Creme was a lovely scent and was soft on the skin.

The creams themselves were good quality but I'd prefer them to have been spread out across the next three months rather than all at once. 

I'm hoping next month will be a LOT better to make up for this. Two bad subscription boxes really is bad luck.

Tabitha 

Xx

Afternoon Tea at Patisserie Valerie

Fraser and I have wanted to go for Afternoon Tea together for a long while but neither of us had much experience with it. I'd only been one other time and it was so incredible that I wasn't sure how we'd follow it.

When a friend pointed out a voucher on Amazon Local for an Afternoon Tea For Two at Patisserie Valerie priced at just £19, I decided we should take advantage of the offer. You simply purchase the voucher and visit almost any Patisserie Valerie with the code. We chose to visit the Covent Garden branch at around midday.

The staff were friendly and we were seated right away. It wasn't long before our Afternoon Tea tray arrived and it definitely wowed straight away. There was so much food!

It comes with:

10 x Finger Sandwiches in Salmon & Cream Cheese, Chicken & Pesto, Ham & Mustard, Egg & Watercress, and Cucumber

2 x Mini Bell Pepper Quiches

4 x Scones (2 currant, 2 normal)

Clotted Cream

4 x Pots of Tiptree Jam

2 x Mini Eclair

Mini Victoria Sponge

Carrot & Walnut Cake

Summer Berry Mousse Cake

Chocolate Cake

It was incredible! The scones were our favourite as they were fresh out of the oven and still warm. The quiches were warm too. 

The mini Victoria Sponge was lighter than air. I picked up my half after Frase cut if and my fingers had dented the sponge with only the slightest touch. It was like touching a cloud and it tasted phenomenal.

The sandwich fillings were very generous and delicious. The bread was little bit old, like the sandwiches had been made first thing this morning but neither of us minded.

I would highly recommend this afternoon tea experience for a traditional feel with quality cakes :-)

Birchbox | October 2015

I don't think I have ever been so disappointed in a Birchbox in all the time I've been subscribed. 

This month's theme is "Back to Basics" and I think that's the problem with it. I don't sign up to £12.95 a month in subscription fees for "Basics". I sign up for a treat to myself, a surprise, something to get excited about. This box fell short on so many levels.

There it is. In all its disappointing glory.

Birchbox October 2015 Contents:

Eyeko Fat Liquid Eyeliner | £12

Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat | £9

Bioderma Hydrabio H20 | £10.20

Regenerate Enamel Science Toothpaste | £10

Beaver Professional Hydro Nutritive Moisturising Shampoo | £11.50

Beaver Professional Hydro Nutritive Moisturising Conditioner | £12

Eyeko Fat Liquid Eyeliner

This could have been great but it's far too big for me and ended up colouring my whole lid with one stroke. The colour was long lasting and as strong a black as a gel liner though so that was good. I just prefer a thinner nib.

Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

A colleague of mine assured me this is a great quality brand but a top coat polish falls a bit flat in my opinion. I've not had a chance to try it yet as I'm almost always wearing gel nails right now - perhaps I'll be wowed then.... I highly doubt it.

Bioderma Hydrabio H20

Oh wow. Another cleanser to add to the litre of micellar water I have on the go. Thank goodness, I was so worried I would run out in 10 years time. 

Regenerate Enamel Science Toothpaste

Tooth.....toothpaste. You read that correctly. I really wanted to give this a fair chance so I tried it this morning hoping that it might be so incredible that I forget the awfulness of this box. It's not even as good as the Colgate on my shelf. It didn't leave my teeth feeling clean- just a little fuzzy and less minty than usual. 

Beaver Professional Shampoo and Conditioner

First of all, the conditioner satchets look like something out of a magazine so I felt like that was pathetic. Next, I tried the shampoo and I can honestly say that it made zero impact on my hair. Not only did it fail to lather up more than a spit bubble's worth, but it also had the faintest whiff of a scent to it that I've ever experienced. Perhaps it's just me, but I like a shampoo you can smell with a hair swish far more than a shampoo you have to inhale hair into your nostril to catch a whiff. Disappointing and not worth the price tag.

All in all, a horrendous box that got me so wound up that I hovered over the cancel subscription button. Were it not for my goal of posting here four times a month and needing material, I probably would have gone through with it. 

My Little Box arrived late this month (my Graze box disappeared too so I'm thinking the Royal Mail in my area are suffering some issues) so I've only just received it today. It was equally disappointing so I'll get some pictures together and post on that this week. Not a great month box wise :-(

Sorry for the phone-written post and if the picture quality is low - hoping to restore my laptop soon!

Tabitha

Xx

Disaster Strikes

So I decided to upgrade my laptop to Windows 10 and now every time I log on the screen goes black :-( 

I'm working on fixing it (somehow) but it means I am struggling to complete my blog posts this month.

I'm going to post them but please forgive the low photo quality as I'm uploading from the app and it's had terrible photo upload quality in the past. 

Beauty Discovery | Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter

I mean, just look at it. It's stunning.

I was in Superdrug checking out the Revolution stand after an old friend (holla, Charlotte!) SnapChat me asking if their brand was any good. I spotted this little beauty and after a quick swatch I fell in love.

This is the Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter in Golden Lights and it is £3 from Superdrug or the Revolution website itself. The shimmer on this is actually stunning and I would pay a lot more than £3 for it. It is just gorgeous so I had to write a post to shout about it.

I haven't stopped wearing it since I bought it and even looking at it on my shelf makes me happy. I thought their Iconic Pro palettes were impressive enough so seeing this be such a winner too makes me want to go out and buy their whole range. Especially given it's so cheap as well.

10/10 forever - highly recommend!