JOLIEBOX | FEBRUARY

After the whole feelunique.com Beauty Box cancellation saga, I promptly went on the look out for a new monthly box to sign up for and decided on JolieBox (formerly Boudoir Privé). The brands they worked with seemed niche and on the higher end of the spectrum which was why I chose it.

My February box arrived quickly and I was excited to dig in and see what products were inside! The first thing that struck me was that the actual box seemed to be of slightly better quality than feelunique.com's offering, inside the products were held in a sweet little drawstring pouch (which I'm going to use to store my sleep-in rollers fyi!) rather than amongst those annoying bits of frilly paper! The card also feels really nice and expensive, the paper it's printed on is mottled and the print very clear. Overall a higher end look and feel.

Lets get to the products inside shall we; Jane Iredale Just Kissed Lip and Cheek Stain in Forever Pink, Lavera Basis Sensitive Organic Hand Cream, Macadamia Deep Repair Mask, RMK Cleansing Oil, Taaj Himalaya Micellar Water and a JolieBox makeup brush.

I'm really happy with the contents. Much more so than the last feelunique.com box (a lot of the products from this have sat unloved). They just seem a lot more varied and unusual. I am very excited to try out the Taaj Himalaya Micellar Water especially as I am running really low of my current eye make-up remover so this couldn't have come at a better time! Macadamia Deep Repair Mask I am so pleased to have, as I am an avid user of their Healing Oil. Finally the Jane Iredale Just Kissed Lip and Cheek Stain in Forever Pink looks a lovely colour, apparently it adjusts to your skins own undertones, and it's really diddy to pop in my handbag.

I will be sticking with the JolieBox for at least another month, and will see whether my opinion changes at let you all know. It seems now that Beauty Boxes may have had their day, but I do still enjoy receiving one. It's especially lovely when you work all day and come home to a little surprise! I can see how it's not for everyone though.

LIZ EARLE BRIGHTENING TREATMENT MASK

 Liz Earle Brightening Treatment Mask | £13.50

If you're anything like me, you've been finding getting up for work / school / college / university very hard lately. I've been staying wrapped up under my duvet later and later! Liz Earle Brightening Treatment Mask* has been a godsend. It has been waking up both me and my skin in the mornings a treat! It's super fast acting so there's no trouble using it in the morning when time is of the essence. I usually pop it on before brushing my teeth and rinse it off afterwards with a muslin cloth. The scent is absolute heaven, it clears my head and sinuses, it's a dream. It contains aloe vera to soothe any puffiness, witch hazel to tone and white clay to gently purify. I find I don't need as much foundation when I use this, and my skin just glows and looks clear and even, which it NEVER does in the winter mornings usually! I feel and look a million times better after using this.

* PR SAMPLE

RECENT BEAUTY BUYS

Macadamia Healing Oil | Clarisonic Brush Head (Sensitive) | No7 Beautiful Skin Eye Makeup Remover | No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara | Time Delay Wrinkle Prevention Eye Cream

You will remember how much I loved the Macadamia Healing Oil I received for Christmas, well I repurchased the larger bottle. I haven't gone for the massive one just yet, but I'm working up to it! I decided to start using my Clarisonic Mia again, especially after so many of you lovely ladies received them for Christmas and loved them! So bought a replacement brush head. Made use of yet another No7 voucher and bought their new Beautiful Skin eye make-up remover. Using my last No7 voucher I decided to try their Exceptional Definition mascara. Can't believe that for once I made use of all of the No7 vouchers I had! Finally I needed a new eye cream and I had a coupon printed off in Boots with my receipt which made this Time Delay cream a mere £2.50!

FEELUNIQUE.COM BEAUTY BOX | FEBRUARY

Decleor Phytopeel Face Peel Cream | Philip Kingsley Elasticizer | Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Multi-Usage Dry Oil | Elemis Lime and Ginger Hand and Body Wash | Leighton Denny High Performance Colour - Diamond Rose | Jean Paul Gaulter Kokorico

Loved this month's box. I can imagine people moaning again that it lacked make-up. To be honest I get the most excited about skincare and haircare so I was quite pleased with it. Make-up is quite personal to me and I prefer to choose my own colours, that being said a mascara wouldn't go a miss! Each to their own though, we can't all like the same stuff, the world would be a pretty dull place if that was the case. 

The premise of the February box is to fall in love (with the products) giving a nod to upcoming Valentines Day and pamper yourself in preparation for the special day. 

Probably the products I am most excited to try are the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer, Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse and Elemis Lime and Ginger Hand and Body Wash.

I'm still in love with the beauty box concept. I adore getting a handful of products to try which I may not have chosen myself. The sizes are pretty generous which is good because you can really tell whether the product suits you or not. I get so excited when I come home to see my box has arrived (saddo!).

* I have this morning received an email from feelunique.com to advise that they will be stopping their Beauty Box. I am gutted. They have indicated that something bigger and better will come along later in the year, but I am pretty sad that after receiving just 2 months boxes they are stopping it, and as the day has progressed I've actually got a little bit annoyed about it. I had a little look round on my lunch hour today though and have signed up for the Boudoir Privé / Joliebox instead.

SUMMARY : FEELUNIQUE.COM JANUARY BEAUTY BOX

I thought that it would be helpful if I popped up a post on how I got on with the products in my January feelunique.com Beauty Box. I hope that this is something I can keep up with and review / summarise my feelings on each box after I've used the bits.

January was my first box and I was happy with the contents. I love skincare more than anything so was really pleased to find a lot of those type of products. Although I know that a few other subscribers weren't so impressed. I enjoyed the Lierac Creme Mesolift Anti-Aging Radiance cream although to repurchase this would be pricey so I'm saving it for special occasions. I LOVED this works Clean Skin for the Face cleanser and this is a product which I would absolutely buy myself as it's affordable and smells divine, it suited my skin and did exactly what I wanted. However, I can't seem to find this on feelunique.com's website for some reason.

I paired the Dead Dea Spa Magix Salt Brushing scrub and Caudalie Vinotherapie Nourishing Body Lotion together and while I enjoyed using the scrub, it seemed a little fiddly and I was dropping bits into the bath rather than getting them on my skin! I think I'll stick with a standard body scrub. The body lotion was pleasant, the smell was a little overpowering for my taste. At first I liked it, it was quite manly but on the skin it lingered and gave me a headache. It left my skin nice and soft though, but not something I'd buy myself.

Phyto PhytoBaume Color Protect Express Conditioner I am yet to have tried. I am loving my good ol' L'Oreal Full Restore 5 at the moment and am a little begrudged to try something else for the moment but I am saving it to use soon.

So overall I was very pleased with the January box. I would consider buying the this works Clean Skin for the Face cleanser for sure (if only feelunique.com would restock it!). I'd love to buy the Lierac moisturiser but for the price bracket I think I'd be inclined to try some other moisturisers around the £30 mark. It wasn't that special. I would consider trying other products from the company though.

SHOPPING : TOPSHOP PRIMARK AND LUSH

My mission was to pop into town today to order a new pair of glasses, especially as I am now blinder than ever! I couldn't resist the pull of Topshop though, especially as I'd seen online that this bodycon skirt I'd been eyeing had been added to the sale. Sadly when I got it home the sizing was so bad it'll have to go back but I don't feel my trip was wasted because I did manage to grab these bargain winter woolies. A black snood reduced from £20.00 to £7.00 and a pair of brown/charcoal palm warmers reduced from £8.00 to £2.00! Perfect for the imminent snow.

Then I trundled into Primark. There's nothing I love more than pyjamas. Honestly, some people look forward to going out for the evening, I look forward to having a Lush bath and putting my pyjamas on! I got two pairs. A floral pair I'd been looking at since before Christmas for £6.00 and a pair with owls on (I LOVE owls) for £7.00. Both super cosy and will keep me warm in this chilly weather. Speaking of super cosy, I picked up some tights, the Super Cosy and I want to say they were £3.50 (?) and a pair of 120 denier ones. Then this cute bow make-up bag was £1.50. I also got some underwear which I wont show but I will mention the Uplifting Camisole with integral bra for £5.00. I had been after a black one of these or a corset type vest top for ages to wear underneath sheer blouses, last week I bought this top from Topshop which is quite sheer, and this will be perfect to wear with it. They didn't have any black ones though. 

Finally, to go along with the pyjamas for my cosy nights, I popped into Lush and bought three bubble bars in my absolute favourite Dorothy, Magic Mushroom and Yuzu and Cocoa. 

I hope you're all having lovely weekends so far and are coping in the cold weather here in the UK.