July Birchbag | Beauty

This is totally not a box, it's a Birchbag! I did do a little research online so to be honest I knew I'd be getting a bag instead of a box but I was still pleasantly surprised when it arrived. It's a fun summer theme and there were 4 different colours of bags, I got the St. Tropez bright orange colour which I absolutely love. I'm definitely going to take this bag on holiday with me when I go away with my favourite dear, Vernia, in September. 

That's enough about the bag, this month I am really happy with the product selection. If you read my Birchbox posts you'll know that recently I've been a little unimpressed, I think it's partly because I have been subscribed for a so long, I've kinda seen it all. Just so you know I will probably review a few of these products separately so that you guys can have a bit of a closer look. 

Firstly we have the Unani Aloe Vera Gel, I think aloe vera is a must have for all holiday products, let's face it no matter how hard we try, sometimes we still get burned. I'm fairly pale so I can burn pretty easily and aloe vera is just perfect for soothing skin irritation so this is a nice handy one to take away with me. We also have the BioNike Cleansing water, another product I'm actually pretty happy to try out. It is also a fragrance free formula and apparently very gentle on the skin. 

This month there is a Soigne nail polish and I love receiving nail polishes my only issue is the colour, I received Menthe. Don't get me wrong it's a great colour but it's very similar to Mint Candy Apple by Essie which I already have. Also it seems that every time Birchbox send me nail polish, more often than not I get these minty shades, where are all the pretty pink/nude shades? Next is a Benefit product and let's face it, it wouldn't quite be Birchbox if benefit didn't make an appearance. This month we recieved a sample of the Dream Screen which is a sun tan lotion for the face with a whopping 45 SPF which I think is fantastic and I'll definitely be trying this out. 

The next product I am super excited about it is the Pop Beauty eye shadow trio in Peach Parfait, it's such a pretty little trio. I'm going to write a separate post but eye one is super shimmery and I know I'm gonna fall in love with it. My final item was a nail file, I mean what more can be said about this item? My only issue is that it's a very coarse board and I think this could damage a break my nails more because I have quite weak nails anyway. 

This month's Birchbag/Birchbox was a real winner. 

What did you get in yours?

Nails of the day (well, week)

As you may know I used to have fake nails, huge fan of fake nails. However as time went on I knew my love affair would have to end so I had them soaked off and replaced with shellac because they were obviously quite weak. 

The only problem with shellac is that it gets kinda boring, having the same shade for 2 weeks and they look less fresh with every day that goes by. 

I keep seeing all these beautiful bloggers with utterly stunning nail colours so I just decided to just soak them off myself. 

Now I'm Shellac free I've managed to experiment with some nail colours this week. 

Usually I never, ever stray from my beloved ruby red nails. I've probably worn every shade of red known to man on my nails. But this year I have really fallen in love with the pastel shades and muted tones. My first choice was...

Ciaté - Shooting Star

This actually came as a set with some tiny pearls but I really liked the taupe kinda colour and the formula is perfect! It's a little bit thicker than most nail polishes it's almost has a gel like texture. It dries super quick as well. I love it! It's such a different colour to what I usually go for. 

Soigné - Créme Au Beurre

I got this little beauty in my Birchbox this month. I have been keeping my eye out for the perfect, pinky nude colour for a while and here it is. It's gorgeous, I was so happy when I received this colour. The only very minor issue I have is it takes a few coats to ensure that your nail colour doesn't seep through. In this picture I had 3 coats of it on.

Barry M - Meadow

I have actually worn this colour before over my acrylic nails and loved it however I forgot to take a pic of this on my natural nails. This is one nail polish where I love the colour but it chips so damn quickly. 

Right now there are literally so may different colours I want to try out and add to my modest collection now that I can because I have natural nails. 

What shades/colours and brands are you loving at the moment? 

Inside May's Birchbox

I was so excited when my Birchbox came last weekend, I know it's taken me a little while to post up but I wanted to use as many products this week to get a good review. 

This month's box is a collaboration with Harper's Bazaar and the box was so utterly beautiful on the outside that my expectations for the inside were high, I wanted it to be filled with goodies that were just as beautiful. 

I can honestly say that I love everything that came in this box I was so surprised.

 

So where shall I start how about with this turquoise gem...

Aromatherapy Associates - Revive Morning bath and shower oil. 

When I first opened the box, I though this was a little perfume sample but when i read it i was actually quite interested to learn that it was a bath and/or shower oil. Now I'm the type of girl who loves bubbles, though bath oils have been around for quite sometime, I can't help it I just love copious amounts of bubbles in my bath. I did consider using this in the shower, but it was only a little sample and I have a lot of body so I didn't think it would work so well in the shower. I emptied the entire contents, as instructed, into my bath and was overcome by the scent. It was beautiful fresh and quite strong. It was a real mix of scents though ranging from grapefruit, rosemary, juniper and eucalyptus. It definitely made my skin feel a little more nourished than after my standard bubble bath. A little different but I would probably try bath oils again in the future. 

Liz Earle - Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

One thing I love about Liz Earle samples is that they are always beautifully wrapped, it still keeps you guessing, even though you know it's from Liz Earle you still wonder what little treat for your skin it could be. As you know I'm super cautious about things that go on my face but I do have a little bit of trust in Liz Earle because the ingredients are a more gentle on my skin as they are more natural. This cream is a little indulgent too with rosemary, chamomile, cocoa butter and eucalyptus (I'm sensing a box theme!) I actually quite liked this, I think the texture is quite similar to Simple's cleansing face mask that I use often. It even came with a little cloth to wash it off with. My skin felt lovely after using it. I was super impressed, I actually would even consider buying this. 

Benefit - They're Real mascara

Now, I know this might be a slightly unpopular comment about this brand, but I just don't see they hype. This is my second sample that I have tried of this mascara and to be fair I think that it doesn't live up to my expectations. Every blogger absolutely loves this mascara, I'm a fan of the brand just not this particular mascara. I'm fairly lucky because I have naturally long eyelashes anyway so most mascara makes them look good but I'm such a fan of my L'Oreal's Volume Million lashes that nothing else really compares. I don't really like They're Real brush it's too hard and doesn't really get all of my eyelashes coated the way I like. Sorry guys!!

Beauty Protector - Protect and Shampoo/Conditioner

This is one product I've actually yet to try so I'm gonna have to follow this up in a separate post. But let's just have a little look at the packaging, because I love it! I love the contrast between white and red, it really stands out and I think the design it really cute. It really looks like nothing I've seen before in shampoo or conditioners branding. I love the scent of this product which is why I'm pretty excited to use it.The shampoo is also sulfate free, paraben free and vegan. How cool is that? So keep an eye out for my post next week about these products. 

Soigné - Créme Au Beurre nail polish

I had to save the best til last! I practically swooned when I saw this in my box, the packaging is just to die for and it's full sized. I was super excited to see what colour I had and it was just the perfect shade between nude and pink. I have been looking for a shade like this. I'm in love! Also, this polish claims to have 85% ingredients that are from natural origins, free of formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate and camphor. I'll be honest I don't pay much attention to the indegrents of my products (I know I should) but this will probably make me consider what's in my products a little more.The shade is just perfect, it's a little sheer on first application it definitely needs a second coat but looks lovely. The colour has a very very subtle shimmer to it which is only picked up in certain lights but it's gorgeous!

So that was my box, another utterly fabulous box this month. 

Have you signed up to Birchbox? What shade of Soigné did you recieve?