Joliebox August Review

My Joliebox arrived on Saturday whilst I was out enjoying a few drinkies with Hubby and the naughty Yodel delivery man left it on the doorstep in the rain! Luckily the inner box was fine.  The boxes this month were designed by Timai Hua.

I got the Road Trip box

There are several different box designs this month but the contents are the same.

I always forget to read the Joliemag as I am too busy playing with the contents. As it's a typical rainy bank holiday here today I am going to grab a cuppa and sit and read it.

The card is double sided - one side listing the contents and the other side telling you a bit more about the products in the box.

Three Dr Bronners Pure Castile Soap "pillows"

I got unscented, citrus orange and peppermint.  I don't know how much each pillow contains but 236ml retails for £5.49 and there is currently 15% off at Big Green Smile.

I have a bottle of this from a previous beauty box and I use it to clean my make-up brushes. One of the suggested uses is to clean your teeth with it, I really don't think I could clean my teeth with soap! You can find some more of the suggested uses here.

Phil Smith Be Gorgeous Dry Clean Revitalising Dry Shampoo

It is always handy to have dry shampoo in the cupboard and I have ran out so this well timed!  It is full sized and retails for £2.99 in Sainsburys.

So Susan Cosmetics Lip Cushion

The packaging says 3g of product, but the pot is tiny compared to the box so maybe this is sample sized? When I try and find So Susan cosmetics it takes me to Jelly Pong Pong so I presume they are one and the same.  The lip cushion retails for £6 here. 

The lip cushion is a lovely pink colour but contains quite a lot of glitter!

So Susan Wide Awake Palette

A second item from So Susan, this palette is lovely! Joliebox describe it as pocket sized but it definitely wouldn't fit in my pockets ;) 

This is a full size item and retails for £15 here.  I don't think I would use the eyebrow sculptor colours on my brows as they have quite a lot of shimmer. Will be lovely as an eyeshadow though. The tweezers are really handy too.

Looking at the pic on the jolly pong pong site the colours look different so I don't know if this palette is an old version or being rebranded?

The palette does have a really good sized mirror too but look what happened when I tried to take a pic! Naughty husband.

Leather Hair Styling Lace

I am trying to grow my hair after having it cut into a short bob in May so will keep this for when I have long luscious locks!

Again another great box from Joliebox full of items I am looking forward to using.

Did you get this box? What did you think?

John Frieda Full Repair Range Review and Tutorials

John Frieda products always bring back lots of memories for me!

I remember my Mum using John Frieda Frizz Ease products when I was a teenager, she used to put them away in the bathroom cupboard and buy me and my 3 sisters whatever shampoo and conditioner was on offer in Tescos.  I used to sneak the shampoo and conditioner out of the cupboard and use them as they made my dry, coloured, permed hair (yes it was the 90s!)  soft as silk and so shiny. 

I have used the Brilliant Brunette, Sheer Blonde and Volume Ranges and I always have a bottle of Frizz Ease on the go so when I heard about the Full Repair range I was keen to try it out.  The Full Repair range revives overstyled hair and weightlessly repairs damage from heat and colour. I do get my hair dyed every two months and I use my hairdryer and straighteners a few times a week so my hair definitely needs some TLC!

The products contain Inchi Oil - I have not heard of this oil before and John Frieda are the only company to have a full range of hair care products that containing this oil.

Inca Inchi Oil is a natural oil that grows in a star-shaped fruit in the Amazon rainforest. It is high in Omegas-3 and -6 and has a wide range of uses, dating back to the ancient Incan women who used the oil in their daily rituals. It has been used in nutrition, skin care, and now Hair Care. Non-greasy Inca Inchi Oil is infused within the Full Repair™ Hair Care line. Our restorative formulas transform damaged, overworked strands into silky, shiny hair that's full of renewed life.

Shampoo and Conditioner

These smell gorgeous, they have quite a strong floral scent. The shampoo doesn't produce a lot of lather and rinses out easily.  The conditioner takes a bit more rinsing to get out and it did feel like there was residue left on my hair.

Deep Conditioner Mask

The directions say to leave it on for 2-5 minutes.  I have been leaving it on for about 10 minutes and my hair is sooo super soft afterwards! Again this smells gorgeous. The mask rinses out easily and I don't feel any residue left like I do with the conditioner.

Sheer Mist for Fine Textured Hair

You spray this through wet hair, concentrating on the ends and other damaged areas then style as usual.  I spray this on the ends, then through the middle of my hair and comb through. The spray is a light fine mist and doesn't weigh my hair down.

Overall Review

These products left my dry coloured hair soft, smooth and shiny. I do blow dry my hair and I got the right amount of volume with these products which didn't drop after 10 minutes! I only needed to run the straighteners lightly over my hair too because it wasn't frizzy.

I am overdue for a haircut and I have choppy layers around my face which tend to be the first places I see heat damage and these have looked much better since using the Full Repair range.

Unfortunately though the shampoo and conditioner both contain SLS, I dye my hair brunette and have been reading that SLS strips the colour so I have been trying to use products that don't contain this ingredient. 

I am a little confused with the sheer mist product, on the box it says "feels like it instantly absorbs into worn-torn strands, instead of simply coating the surface" I am not sure if this is clever wording and it means it does coat the surface or whether it is absorbed?

I was sent these products for review and the opinions are my own honest ones! I was also sent some tutorial links to share with my lovely readers, so check out these helpful tutorials! I have been practicing the perfect straight blow dry and watching the topknot one and willing my hair to grow a bit faster as its still a bit too short :(

Have you tried anything from the Full Repair range yet? What do you think of the tutorial videos, do you think they are easy to follow?

Dove Freebies with Ocado

Dove were running a Facebook promotion to get £30 worth of goodies for free with any Ocado Shop over £60.  We needed food shopping so placed an order and look at all these full size freebies I got!

Essential Nourishment Hand Cream

Shea Butter Beauty Bar (soap!) with Vanilla Scent

Maximum Protection 48hr Anti-Perspirant Cream

Invisible Dry Anti White Mark Deodorant

Daily Care Shampoo with Micro Moisture Serum

Daily Care Conditioner with Micro Moisture Serum

Supreme Fine Silk Beauty Cream Wash

Purely Pampering Nourishing Body Wash 

Essential Nourishment Body Lotion

Beauty Bath Indulging Cream

Made up with this freebie! Couldn't believe how many products we got. I really like Dove and their products are gentle enough not to irritate my sons skin.

Did you manage to get these freebies?

Layla D Honey Moisturiser Review

I received my first pot of Layla D Honey Moisturiser in the July She Said Beauty Box, you can read about the rest of the contents of the box here. 

The cream smells very strongly of honey, so much so that when I first got this I didn't want to use it on my face.  I used my first sample size pot up on my feet! A little bit of this cream goes a long way and the sample size lasted for two weeks, at the end of the two weeks my feet were softer than they had been in years. After talking about it so much I was given a second pot from Karen at Memories Made in Silver.  

The moisturiser is made from 100% organic ingredients and is paraben and sulphate free - as are all the products from Layla D. The full size retails for £12.99 here.

The strong smell of honey may be off-putting to some but personally I like it! The smell does tend to stay around for a while too.

The cream has a light whipped texture and is easily absorbed.

I have combination skin and I get breakouts on my chin. The moisturiser is described as a gentle and soothing daytime moisturiser to protect, restore moisture and calm skin. After reading that the Honey and Macadamia oil help to heal the skin and help treat adult acne I braved it and put it on my face.

I have been using this on my face for the past two weeks, I have had no new breakouts (including no hormonal breakouts!)  and it seems to have reduced the redness around my chin. My skin looks plumper and feels more hydrated. 

This is the first product I have tried from Layla D and I will definitely be trying more from this range.

Have you tried this product? Or, anything else from Layla D?

Betrousse Giveaway CLOSED

It's giveaway time!

This is the Betrousse Summer Break box and the contents are worth a whopping £109.

Thank you to Betrousse for supplying the box which one of my lovely followers will win. 

You can read all about the box and its contents here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everyone!

Betrousse Summer Break Box

If you have not yet heard about Betrousse, they are the market leaders in France for their beauty kit concept. They have been established in France for the past five years and entered the UK market about 6 months ago. 

This is a beauty box with a difference.  The Betrousse boxes contain ALL full size products plus you can see what is in the boxes before you buy.  They have a  few different boxes on sale at the same time so you can pick which one (or two!) you like the most. You can visit their website here where you can get £3 discount on your first box.

This is my second Betrousse box and you can read my review on Organic and Natural Beauty box here.

This box is "Summer Break" it retails for £19 plus delivery of £5 and the contents are worth a whopping £109! All products that are contained in the box are available for purchase in the UK - I don't like it when beauty boxes put samples in of products you can't actually buy in the UK!

The box is large and is delivered in an outer cardboard box.

Look at all those goodies!

The box contains a double sided card - one side tells you the contents of the box, brand, product, size and price and the other side of the card gives you an introduction to the box and a paragraph detailing each product.

Lilas Blanc, Secret Eclat Jeunesse

50ml and retails at £36.50

Lilas Blanc are the very first luxury organic anti-aging brand in the market. The product is aimed at mature dry skins, I have combination skin so this may not be suitable for my skin type. My skin is a lot drier in the winter so this will be more suitable for me then.

The cream looks quite thick and rich in the pot but it's actually very light and sinks in easily.

Orhis Nourishing Face Cream

50ml and retails for £28

This cream contains 99.1% natural ingredients. Including cottonseed and argan oil. This smells so nice, just like marshmallows! On first impressions I thought the container looked a bit cheap, but actually it is very practical. It's easy to get the cream out and only a small amount is squeezed out so there will be no waste.

Cinq Mondes, Roses Petal Rain Mist

200ml and retails at £28

This is an ancestral eastern cleansing ritual which contains Moroccan rose extracts with softening properties together with an aromatic concentrate of roses.  Spray as a refreshing and moisturising body mist.

Oh this is gorgeous! My favourite product in the box.

Cosmetoo Nails, Nail Art Express Kit

1 pack of pink bow stickers, 1 bag of rhinestones, 1 stick of boxwood - retails at £3.90

Cute little kit!

Benta Berry, G-1 Moisturising Face Cream

30ml and retails at £12

This brand is aimed at younger skin and can be used by both females and males. It is made from 100% natural ingredients. 

I am going to try this out as it regulates skins oil levels and as Even though I no longer have young skin (sob) I do have combination skin so my T-zone definitely needs regulation! 

This is a little extra! 

Coslys shower gel for sensitive skin with organic fig.

Betrousse kindly sent me this box to review

You can find Betrousse website here

Facebook Page here

Twitter Account here

Have you had a box from Betrousse yet? What do you think of this box? Do you like that you can see what the box contains before you buy it?

Angelica Nail Colour Sweetie Pie Swatches and Review

Hi everyone! I feel like I have been neglecting my blog this month - I've been busy working and having lovely days out with my family as it is the school summer holidays. The boys are out walking the dog so I am quickly typing up some blog posts!

This is my final review on the polishes I was sent by Angelica Nail Colour. 

L-R

Gloss Top Coat Review

Brit Pop Review

Angel Review

Sweetie Pie

A gorgeous pastel baby pink

The shade is Sweetie Pie 

I have a problem with the brush, it becomes detached from the lid and I have to put the lid back on and keep trying until it "catches" - the Gloss Top Coat does this now too. 

One Coat 

Two Coats

This was my least favourite from the polishes I was sent to review. The consistency of the polish is quite thick and gloopy and I found it hard to paint my nails with it. The other polishes had a great consistency and were very different from Sweetie Pie.

Angelica Nail Colour in Brit Pop is sold in Primark in the UK for £2.50 per bottle and contain 10ml of varnish.

Have you tried any of the Angelica Nail Colour polishes? What did you think?