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Beauty

Lookfantastic Beauty Box – December 2018

16. 12. 2018

Holidays are approaching and the December Look Fantastic Beauty Box is supposed to be all about feeling glamorous on the longest night of the year. Let’s assume that everybody is subscribed because this particular box contains very little of what could be used for the New Year’s eve! :D This is the fourth Special Edition Beauty Box and I have to admit that the content nevertheless seems very exciting. There are several full-size products inside and although I already found some favorites, there are also some items that I’m not particularly fond of. Let’s go through!

WHAT DID I LIKE?

Dr. Botanicals Pomegranate Superfood Brightening Eye Serum is the first thing that caught my eye. And for a good reason, the box is super cute! This serum is actually a blend of oils, such as Raspberry Seed, Sweet Almond, Olive, Meadowfoam (rich in antioxidants), Abyssinica Seed, and Sunflower Oil. Although I’m not particularly fond of oils, I know I should apply them more often as the final step of my evening skincare routine. Nevertheless, this thick oil nicely nourishes the skin around the eyes and makes it really soft throughout the night.

There are more than enough brow products in my collection and I was sure the Brow Pencil by Karl Lagerfeld + ModelCo would be just another thing I would try once and set aside. But I must say, I’m really impressed by how well it fills the brows, very similar to my Bobby Brown brow pencil but at half the price.

Although I don’t like testing products on my scalp, the Scalp Detox Grow Gorgeous performed nicely. This is an exfoliating pre-wash treatment with small particles that are supposed to clean your scalp of products and make hair fresh and bouncy. I din’t feel any cooling effect the description promises, but it was fun to try it out. However, because I really have a lot of hair, I had to use a fair amount of product – at least I’ll use it up soon!

Next is the This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray. I love pillow sprays or anything that smells of lavender that I can use to relax in the evening. My exact same small travel-sized bottle is almost empty, so this couldn’t have arrived at a better time. :)

WHAT DO I HAVE YET TO TEST PROPERLY?

Another skincare product was Hydra Veil Primer by Illamasqua. I was really excited when I opened it up because Illamasqua has so many high-quality makeup products (their matt lipstics are incredible!), but I must say that I’m not that impressed after one use. The ingredients are nothing spectacular and my skin actually became quite oily throughout the day. I’ll have to give it another try before I decide whether I truly dislike it or not.

This Beauty Box also came with a Beauty Sponge. I usually apply foundations with a brush, and even if I feel using a sponge, my first choice will be a sponge softer to the touch. But it will come in handy at some point, that’s for sure!

To sum it up, the December Lookfantastic Beauty Box offers a bunch of interesting products that any skincare lover would enjoy. Having said that, I think this would make a perfect Christmas gift!

Beauty

Lookfantastic Beauty Box – October 2018

4. 11. 2018

Things just got serious, my November Beauty Box is on its way so I have to hurry and go through the October’s edition! :) Does anyone have similar problems, months just slip by and despite my best efforts some things just never get done. Anyway, let’s discuss the Lookfantastic October Beauty Box, which is by far one of the best boxes I received since my first subscription in April.

Let’s start with the product I’ve constantly been using for the past month: Fresh Face Blush by Pixi in shade Beach Rose. This is actually a warm matt brown that I use as a bronzer, it beautifully applies on the skin and contours the face. Strangely enough, I cannot find this particular shade anywhere, it seems like it’s been discontinued. But if all Pixi Beauty bronzers and blushes perform as well as this one (the reviews are excellent), there’s no reason not to try the other shades!

Ahava Mineral Body Lotion is also among my favorites, it has such an extraordinary scent! It contains Dead Sea minerals, Aloe Vera and Witch Hazel. I love how quickly it sinks in and how wonderful the skin feels afterwards.

This Beauty Box also included the Dr. Lipp Balm for dry skin and lips. It’s actually a very nourishing balm that really prevents the lips from drying, which is very important now that the heating season has started. It can be used for the hands and any other dry part as well, but I’ll keep using it on the lips!

The AGELESS Throat & Decolletage cream by Prai is a very pleasant anti-ageing cream, a nice reminder that we should also focus on the area below our face! I’m really good at applying all the active ingredients on my throat and decolletage and this AGELESS cream will definitely come in handy. Mulberry, Saxifrage and Grapeseed Extracts fight age spots and discolorations while Sepilift DPHP™ restores elasticity and stimulates contraction of collagen. There’s no difference on my skin yet, but I still have to test it out properly!

This leaves us with two face products. First is the Talika Bubble Mask Bio Detox; one bubble mask was also part of the May edition and it was so creepy to use it! It just foamed uncontrollably for a few minutes, but it left a nice feeling on the skin. I feel this one will be quite similar, but I don’t like these foaming masks so much that I would buy them, I rather invest into moisturizing masks or overnight treatments.

The second one is the MONU Night Renewal Complex, a cream with Marine Collagen and Polysaccharides that smoothes fine lines, improves elasticity, nourishes and hydrates the skin. I applied it a couple of times at the end of my evening skincare routine and it works nicely. It leaves the skin very soft and has a fresh scent that slightly resembles the sea, so nice!

That’s all that I have to say about the October Lookfantastic Beauty Box, this one was great and I truly hope that the November’s edition will be just as exciting! :)

♥

Beauty

Lookfantastic Beauty Box – September 2018

8. 10. 2018

We’re one week into October and I still have to go through the September Lookfantastic Beauty Box! I’m waiting for the new one to arrive the next week, as far as I sneak-peeked it on the Instagram, it’s really nice! The September edition celebrated the 4th birthday of the LF beauty box with 6 beauty treats. Let’s go through!

My most anticipated item was the Aromatherapy Associates Revive Morning Bath & Shower Oil. I’ve only heard amazing things about these shower oils, but they are really pricey and retail at whopping €50. And now I understand why so many people are willing to invest that much into a shower oil, this thing is incredible! Packed with neroli, grapefruit, juniper berry and rosemary essential oils, it creates an intense aromatherapy session straight in the morning. I already love it, almost used it up and am pretty sure I’ll buy a full version at one point. Another product that sounded interesting is the Omorovicza Ultramoor Mud Mask. My hopes for this mask were high too, but there was so little product inside that I really can’t say anything in particular. There was enough for two uses, but I would gladly trade this cute glass pot for a less luxurious one and more mask. It did dry up nicely (way prettier than any other mud masks I’ve tried so far), but that’s it.

The Mane’n Tail Original Hoof Maker Hand & Nail Cream is a fast-absorbing cream that also nourishes and strengthens nails. Although I hate its packaging, it does absorb quickly leaving a nice feeling on the skin. I also like the Lord & Berry Strobing Pencil in a pretty champagne shade. Years have passed since I had a highlighting pencil and I forgot how handy they are! I love applying it in the inner corner of my eyes and under the eyebrows.

Then there are two products that I haven’t tested yet, the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer and the Eve Lom cleanser. The Elasticizer is supposed to make hair more soft, stretchy and strong. The cleanser, however, exfoliates, decongests, softens and removes makeup (even waterproof one!). I’m interested to see how both of these perform, but they will have to wait because it’s impossible to use that many items at the same time. :)

I have to admit that I was really pleasantly surprised with this beauty box, there are several incredible products that really caught my attention months ago and I finally got the opportunity to try them out. Lookfantastic already started selling their Advent Calendar and as far as I saw, the products cycle between beauty boxes and advent calendars. So if your don’t want to commit to a subscription, this calendar would be a smart choice!

♥

Beauty

Lookfantastic Beauty Box – August 2018

9. 9. 2018

August was over almost two weeks ago, but I still have to show you what was inside the Lookfantastic Beauty Box of the month. The whole theme was about regaining confidence in our beauty regime and be our best selves! There are many skincare brands that I haven’t heard of before and it’s so nice to explore and test some products that would otherwise never find their way to my skincare routine. I managed to test some of them and already have a basic idea about what I like, so let’s dive in!

My first favorite item is a full-sized Mio Boob Tube, what a name! This is basically a neck and bust cream rich in Coenzyme Q10 with a very captivating scent – this is why I always look forward to using it in the morning or evening! It sinks into the skin quickly, but I’ll have to use it for a longer period of time to see whether it has any effect. For now I really like it. Next is a gel-like toner Hydraphel Skin Supplement for dry skin by Erno Laszlo that comes in a cute square box. It’s supposed to retain moisture, eliminate dullness and help with tissue repair, but I haven’t noticed anything in particular. I apply it with my hands just like I would any other gel formula before the rest of my skincare routine. It feels very hydrating and is alcohol-free, but it does contain fragrance, which can be irritating for some people.

This beauty box once again contained a face cleanser, i.e. the Pure Skin Face Wash by Balance Me. This one is thought to cleanse the skin without stripping moisture and refresh the skin with Grapefruit, Frankincense and Roman Chamomile oils. I haven’t tried it yet because I have so many cleansers to go through before I open a new one! Another item I was looking forward to but disappointed me a bit is the Molton Brown Bath and Shower Gel that came in different scents. I received Gingerlily, which doesn’t have any special scent to it. Very basic, so I’ll keep it and take on a vacation or give it to a friend.

Then there are two makeup products, finally! The best of the two is without a doubt the Mini Brow Build mascara in shade Indian Chocolate by Blink Brow Bar. This shade is very dark, so I feel for all the blondes who received it! Nevertheless, the color suits me to a T and it’s so easy to create thicker and fuller brows. But I have to be careful and not work with too much product on the mascara otherwise it gets extremely messy very quickly. Last but not least, we received an INC.redible Blazin Over Lipgloss by Nails INC., once again in different shades. A typical lip gloss, nothing special here – I received a pink one and my sister a brown/nude shade, but we swapped them because we thought that the brown shade would be more suitable for my skin tone. Well, I was wrong and it makes me look so sick … and the lip gloss just slides around and builds up on the inner side of the lips. A very disappointing product that I really don’t need in my life. Well, I’ll help find it a new owner, I hope some of my friends will be willing to give it a go! :)

All in all, this Lookfantastic Beauty Box had some really amazing products that I already love, but also some items that will only take up my space. A spoiler alert: the September Beauty Box is much more interesting, so I’ll try to test as many of them as I can and write a review soon. Until then, have a nice Sunday and a wonderful week!

♥

Beauty

LOOKFANTASTIC BEAUTY BOX – JULY 2018

28. 7. 2018

I had really good intentions to discuss the July Lookfantastic Beauty Box before the month is almost over, but my plan fell through. As I said in my previous beauty box post in June, I decided to go for a 12-month subscription this time. I feel this is the only way to try the products I would probably never buy. You never know whether the item will be suitable for your skin, so this is the perfect way to experiment with skincare. The goal of the July edition was to embody our bronze goddesses, what a claim! Now let’s go through all six products, some of them I already love, while the others are quite disappointing.

I was most interested in the Freematic Highlighter Mono in shade Sparked Ray. I’m always into new highlighters and if they create a wonderful sheen, I’m sold! I really like the champagney shade of this one, great for different skin tones. It creates a nice glow and I’ve been reaching for it all the time since I got it. It’s also versatile enough to be used on other parts of your face, collar bones or shoulders as well! Next is the Reflection Bain Chromatique Shampoo by Kerastase. I was really looking forward to this shampoo, but I have to say it doesn’t do anything in particular. It has a nice scent, but I don’t think it’s worth € 25 … I prefer investing in good hair masks or oils that will actually leave the hair really soft (I currently LOVE the Kérastase Elixir Ultime)! Another product that is interesting to try is the Filorga UV Bronze After Sun, some kind of a tan intensifier. This is supposed to be applied after tanning to intensify your tan, but I haven’t had the right opportunity to try it out. I applied it once, it has small glitter that looks so cute on the skin! It will be great for the warm evenings on my second vacation :)

And then there were three facial products. Although I’m not a huge fan of face oils, I must admit that applying the Lancer Omega Hydrating Oil after my evening skincare is rather nice. However, I do need to be careful, one drop is really enough for the entire face. The two things I’m not really keen on are the Sebiaclear Gel Moussant Cleanser and Pure Skin Face Cleanser. I don’t know why they think we’d need two cleansers, especially because there were several cleansers in previous boxes. These two will go with me on vacation as well, I really don’t need any more cleansers in my bathroom!

All in all, there are some products that I really like, but otherwise I’m not that excited about most of them. Nevertheless, I truly hope that the August one will be more breathtaking! I do have to find a silver lining, I just purchased a 12-month subscription after all :D

♥

Beauty

LOOKFANTASTIC BEAUTY BOX – JUNE 2018

25. 6. 2018

I finally found some time to go through the Lookfantastic Beauty Box I received in June! This one was the second special edition of the year that consisted of 7 products instead of 6. Most importantly, it was aimed at providing hydration and luminosity – all we need in these summer eves, am I right? ;)

I was really intrigued by the . The February box included their Pro-Collagen Marine Cream and I love it so much that I was really eager to try the wash as well. Needless to say, I love using it and I look forward to taking it with me on summer vacation! There’s nothing better in the morning than a freshly washed face, if you ask me :) The second product is the , such an interesting and effective item! It comes in form of a paste and although it seems strange to massage a scrub-like texture onto the scalp, the result is nothing but incredible. It completely dissolves when applied and it seems to foam a lot under your fingertips. First of all, it really does create a lot of volume after drying, I was amazed to have even more voluminous hair than usual! And second of all, it leaves the hair with a nice, subtle rose scent that lingers around throughout the second day as well. I also like the The Ritual of Dao Body Cream by Rituals that has a very light and neutral scent. It does absorb into the skin very quickly, but I haven’t used it much because I have a bunch of other body creams to go through. Another body product is the , something all of us need to get some color without exposing ourselves to the sun too much! I used it a couple of times in the morning and applied it really carefully over my legs. However, I haven’t noticed any significant difference – but it’s also true I haven’t paid any attention to that either. I can say that if there was any tan, it was very even and neutral, because I would notice any spots if that wasn’t the case. There were also no marks on my clothes and I will surely use it again.

This box also came with the MÁDARA SOS Hydra Moisture+Radiance Mask, such a cute-looking mask/leave-in treatment! I really liked how it performed on my skin, but it does contain alcohol so it may be drying if you have sensitive skin. This leaves us with two products that I haven’t tried at all. I haven’t opened the Environmental Rescue Essential Day Cream yet, but it comes in such an interesting packaging! It’s supposed to provide hydration for whole 12 hours and I’m slightly skeptical about this statement. But it does contain some antioxidants, so it’ll be nice to try in that respect. Last but not least, the only makeup item was the Studio 10 Liquid Foil i-Radiance Metallic Shadow. It looks like a lip gloss with a doe foot applicator, but it’s actually a very fast drying liquid eye shadow with beautiful copper glitter. It’s very transparent and doesn’t look like a foil, but I believe it can be buildable. It would also be interesting to try it as a base and then apply loose glitter or pigments on top! And then a few sprays of a setting spray and you’re good to go!

Anyway, I really enjoyed testing this Lookfantastic Beauty Box and I decided to go for a 12-month subscription this time. Then I’ll surely have enough skincare items and makeup for years! :)

♥

Beauty

LOOKFANTASTIC BEAUTY BOX – MAY 2018

27. 5. 2018

Two weeks ago I received the May edition of the Lookfantastic Beauty Box, well hello a bunch of new goodies! This month’s beauty box consists of six products, two of which are actually makeup items and I already tested both of them. Then there are three skincare bits and teeth whitening strips, so exciting!

I was most interested in the Sleek Makeup Face Countour Kit in shade Medium, but I have mixed feelings about this product. This contouring and highlighting duo comes in a small compact packaging with a mirror. Although such small mirrors are not very useful at home, they especially come in handy when travelling or on the go. I love that the contour shade is matt, but both bronzer as well as the highlighter are too powdery for me. They have a lot of fallout, the shade is too dark and I the highlighter doesn’t provide the sheen I usually go for. I may be biased because I already have a lot of great products, but this one just didn’t convince me. However, my sister loves it and uses both shades on the eyes, too – my opinion by no means applies to all people, that’s for sure :) The EYEKO Eye Do Liquid Eyeliner, however, is a completely different story! Despite my hooded eyes, the flick was almost intact in the afternoon and the intensity was still there in the evening. An amazing item, I really recommend trying it out if you’ve had some bad experience with felt tips.

Next there are three skincare products. The luxurious was probably the most anticipated of them all by beauty lovers. It comes in the smallest packaging ever and I only tried it a couple of times, so I don’t believe I’ll be able to say whether I love it or not. My skin was fine the next day, but should probably invest around € 130 to take a good try – but I don’t see myself doing that in the immediate future, haha :) Another skincare item is the , a mask, moisturizer and primer all in one. To be honest, I haven’t tried it yet, but I will probably test it as a mask first and then as a moisturizer/primer. I will definitely keep you posted if it turns out to be amazing!

The third one is the SkinRepublic Bubble Purifying + Charcoal Face Sheet Mask, one of the hottest trends in skincare at the moment. Exposure to air creates bubbles and fruit acid is supposed to eliminate impurities, exfoliate and give a healthy and luminous glow. I haven’t tried it yet, but I look forward to testing it out! Last but not least, every box came with a package of four Spotlight Teeth White Strips. This is probably the most interesting item of this month’s beauty box in my opinion, particularly because I would never buy teeth whitening strips myself. I already tried them once and I LOVED the effect! The strips were so easy to use and I really feel my teeth look slightly whiter than before, they will be used up in no time!

This box was not that exciting as I thought it to be, I was really disappointed with the Sleek contouring duo. However, I love the eyeliner and the Spotlight Teeth White Strips, and I’m pretty sure that both masks and the cream will come in handy. So all in all, this was still a good value for the money and cannot wait to receive the June Lookfantastic Beauty Box!

♥