Spa feeling with Glossybox

22nd Sep 202122nd Sep 2021Leave a comment

I can’t quite believe October is just around the corner and my September Glossybox has only just arrived! There’s been lots of issues lately with Glossybox and there are some really unhappy customers on their social channels.

Thankfully this months box was worth the wait and packed with goodies to make a spa day in your own home.

First was this Spa Cleansing brush from Spa to You worth £16. Great for giving your face a deeper clean than normal and exfoliating for a smoother complexion.

Every good spa has a range of different products for you to try and we got this lovely Figs & Rouge Clarity serum to try. They have been a featured brand before and one which I’ve really liked after trying their Wonder Charm serum which gives a beautiful glow to the skin so looking forward to trying this one.

Face masks are always a beauty box favourite and this is a Pearl brightening mask from Vitamasques which is a brand I really like. They have a great range of masks and I love taking some time out to use a sheet mask and relax!

After you’ve cleansed and used your masks and serum you can use this Skin & Co Face Gommage which helps in exfoliating the skin gently using winter truffle extract.

Finally a cute hairspray which is always handy to pop in your bag from Percy & Reed. I really like this hairspray as it’s not sticky and doesn’t dry your hair out.

There were also two treats included this month which was nice, especially when one is a Lindor chocolate bar! The other treat was a sample set of fragrance from Judith Leiber which can be worn separately or layered together.

I have a yearly subscription to Glossybox which costs 11.75 per month including postage and packaging. There are loads of different options if you wanted to sign up from a monthly rolling subscription to 3, 6 and 12 month plans like the one I do. I do have a referral code if you click here which will get you 20% off your first box.

What did you think of this box? Is it one you’d enjoy?

Celebrate the good times with Lookfantastic beauty box

13th Sep 202113th Sep 2021Leave a comment

This post contains affiliate links

September is starting to move in after the recent heatwave and the colder, darker nights are making an appearance which usually means a switch up with your skincare routine. This months Lookfantastic box is a fab one for skincare and Haircare to combat the dry weather that messes with your routine

First is a smoothing exfoliating product designed to help with keratosis pilaris or “chicken skin” as it’s commonly known. You just massage on 2-3 times a week and rinse in the shower.

Next is a By Terry nourishing lip balm, I’ve had this before from Lookfantastic quite a while ago and it’s gorgeous for your lips I absolutely love it. Also pictured is an eyeliner by 3ina , this is a felt tip style liquid eyeliner but it’s brown. You almost never get brown liners in beauty boxes they are usually black so this is a nice change! It’s really easy to use and stayed put all day when I used it so I was impressed with it.

A staple item in the beauty box world is of course the sheet mask and BeautyPro is one of the names that often comes up. This one is a brightening mask with collagen, vitamin C and aloe Vera. Perfect for this time of year and my skin definitely felt soothed afterward.

Next is a Christophe Robin hair mask, super simple to use just apply after shampooing and leave on your hair for 10 mins. This one is packed with aloe Vera and is great for all hair types. I really liked this because it made my hair feel super soft and hydrated. My hair is mid length so I will get a couple uses out of this as well.

Next is an eye cream from SVR which can also help with redness and irritation so perfect for anyone with sensitive skin. I love a good eye cream so this is right up my street!

I’m currently subscribed on a monthly basis and pay £15 including postage and packaging for my box and always find this a great box with usually a skincare focus as well as some tools like brushes/ sponges ect.

Lookfantastic have a range of subscriptions available here with a rolling subscription where you pay month by month as well as 3, 6 and 12 month subscriptions.

What do you think of this one ?

Glossybox GlossySpa Box September 2020

21st Sep 202021st Sep 2020Leave a comment

This month Glossybox are bringing the spa to our homes with a skincare focused box to give the ultimate relaxation.

First is the sneak peek from last month, Avant hyaluronic Moisturiser. Avant has popped up in a few beauty boxes lately and I’m not mad about it! I absolutely love their products especially the moisturisers which are so nourishing and rich. It’s really expensive, £89!and it is definitely a product I really enjoy. It has avocado oils as well for a really hydrating formula.

Avant Supreme Hyaluronic Acid Anti-oxidising Duo Moisturiser £89

Next is a Mine Tan exfoliating coffee scrub, this is a sample size. I’ve talked before about how much I love my tea scrub so I was looking forward to trying this out! It was similar to one I received in an ASOS box in the summer from Frank Body and really great for my skin helping my get all the flaky skin from my psoriasis off without scratching or hurting my sore skin. Slight difference with this compared to others is you use the scrub on wet skin in the shower and then leave it for about five minutes to dry before rinsing. As always with these type of scrubs m, prepare for some mess! And make sure you really rinse the shower tray as it can stain if you don’t!

Deluxe Mini size Minetan Coffee Scrub £11

Next is the Yo Glow Enzyme scrub by Wishful which is the skincare line by Huda Kattan, founder of Huda Beauty. This is a mini size and it seems really nice. It’s always interesting when makeup lines expand into skincare as sometimes it doesn’t always work. This is really nice and has made me think I might look into other products from the range. It’s a face scrub with pineapple and papaya enzymes and my skin felt so smooth afterward.

Wishful Yo Glow Enzyme scrub £9 (Full size £34)

There was a variation in some boxes and I got the eye gels from Generation Skin. I love eye mask/ gels like these as I have really bad dark circles so these are fab to up my hydration and sort out any puffiness. They have an Australian ingredient called Kaduku Plum which has antioxidants and Vitamin C to help brighten the under eye area. Fab for a bit of relaxation!

Generation Skin Eye Patches £7.84 for 1 pair

Finally I got a Imperial Leather Foamburst shower gel, I got a sample of one of these last year and I really like them. They foam up in the shower – similar to shaving gel , and the scent is amazing. This is actually the one I buy ( along with the unicorn scent!) so I’m really pleased! They are also really moisturising so perfect if you have dry or sensitive skin like me.

As an extra treat this month there’s a Lindt Lindor chocolate bar included which will go down well I am sure with the subscribers! Lindt is one of my favourite chocolates and I’ve already bought us a tin of the new Lindor chocolates ready for Christmas! But as I was feeling extra nice I let my hubby have this as he had been feeling under the weather and had hurt his foot so I did a good deed!

I was really pleased with this months box, perfect for a mini pamper at home. My faves from this box have to be the Wishful face scrub, Avant moisturiser and the Generation Skin eyegels. The total value of this months box was £119.69 which is amazing and definitely worth the monthly fee.

I have a yearly subscription with Glossybox and pay £11.75 inc postage and packaging for my box each month. Glossybox has lots of options for subscribing which you can view on their website

The Best of ASOS September Face and Beauty Box

16th Sep 202016th Sep 2020Leave a comment

This month ASOS has brought together the best selling beauty items from their site for the September Beauty Box. There are 5 items which are all a sample / mini size and a mix of skincare and makeup including a new mascara from Nars. So let’s dive in and unbox!

The ASOS Best of Face and Beauty Box £12

First up is a Glamglow Supermud Mask which is one of the cult products from the brand. The Supermud mask is aimed at helping damaged, acne prone or pigmented skin areas. I’m hoping this will help me as I’ve been suffering with a bit of the dreaded “maskne” also known as blemishes due to our new normal of wearing masks day to day.

Next is a new product to me, Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm to melt away your makeup and I have to say this smells amazing! It’s got essential oils, orange and rose are listed but I mainly get the orange notes coming through. It’s a really nice texture and melts into the skin. Lovely to use at the end of the day and really enjoy the fragrance.

Also included is a Clinique Moisture Surge 72 hour Auto-Replenishing Hydrator. I’ve used this before and I really love this for the winter months as it’s so hydrating. Personally I like to use as a night cream to really soothe and hydrate overnight.

Laura Merciers Translucent setting powder is a cult product and not only keeps your makeup in place and reduces shine it also doesn’t flashback in photos, always a plus!

Finally a sample size of the new NARS Climax Mascara, which is all about creating lashes with volume and fullness. This is really nice and I would definitely be interested to try the full size when it’s released.

This months box was £12 and even though it was a sample size product list I still feel it was great value. It’s a really fab mix of products and I am pleased with the variety this month. As always ASOS always includes brands which are available via their website The NARS Mascara is coming soon!

Would love to hear your views on this box and whether you use any of these products, pop a comment below or head over to my Instagram @vanessakay84 to join in the chat 💜

Lookfantastic Birthday Box September 2020

8th Sep 20208th Sep 2020Leave a comment

Lookfantastic are celebrating 6 years in business so this box had a birthday theme to the packaging which is really cute. There are 6 items this month and a little extra item.

Septembers Lookfantastic box £15 inc postage and packing

First is an Illamasqua mini highlighter, this is a really pretty champagne colour and gives nice buildable shimmer. They gave some application tips including applying with a wet brush for a more dramatic look or just using a regular brush dry for more subtle look.

Next is Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream. This was our sneek peek last month and is one of the stand out products from Elemis that everyone raves about. Personally I find this really rich to use as a day cream, I prefer to use it at night. It’s a really nice texture and a little goes a long way. £30 for 15 ml

Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream £30 for 15ml

I love a good lip pencil and this Diego Dalla Palma one is a lovely shade called antique rose. Worth £9.32 and with a matte finish it says it will last for hours to keep your lip colour in place.

Diego Dalla Palma lip pencil in the shade antique rose £9.32

There were two potential products you could get from ESPA this month and I was so pleased with the one I got! I got the Pink Hair and Scalp Mud, which is an amazing hair treatment that deep conditions. I’ve been lucky enough to have this treatment quite a while back when I had a massage and it’s a really great product.

Next is a Luxie Large Shader Brush worth £15. I think I’ve mentioned a few times lately I’ve been trying to upgrade and replace some of my existing makeup brushes so this is perfect for me.

Finally another item I’ve wanted to try for a long time, a Brushworks Jade Roller which is £9.99 to purchase. Jade rollers can help relieve the puffiness in your face and massage in serums, moisturisers ect. This will be fab to have a little pretend spa time with so I am looking forward to trying it out.

As a cute little extra there was also a Lookfantastic pop socket for your phone included which is always handy!

I’m really pleased with everything this month some great new beauty tools and products to try out and a nice mix of haircare, skincare and makeup.

Lookfantastic have a range of subscriptions available here . I’m currently subscribed on a monthly basis and pay £15 inc postage and packaging for my box. In each booklet included there is a sneak peek of a product for the following month and this time it’s a Lip balm from BYTerry which will be perfect for the cooler weather to avoid getting dry lips!

October’s sneak peek is a ByTerry lip balm worth £14

Would love to know what you think of this months box or if you’ve tried any of these products before.

ASOS August Beauty Box collab with Ouai

1st Sep 20201st Sep 2020Leave a comment

As we enter August during these pandemic time’s one thing remains…. and that’s a monthly beauty box update from ASOS! There was much talk that the boxes were going to be taking a break last month but it seems like that’s not the case and they remain one of my fave purchases each month.

This month the box is a collaborative one with the hair, body and fragrance brand Ouai. Ouai is founded by celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin, who clients include Khloe Kardashian, Katy Perry and Jessica Alba. There are six items in the box and they are a good mix of all the different items the brand has. This box cost £12 and as I have Premier Delivery with ASOS I don’t pay for shipping.

Scalp and body scrub £32 for 250g , this is the sample size which makes it £3.84 in value

First up is the scalp and body scrub, this is one I’ve tried before and absolutely love. As many of you know I suffer with psoriasis and one of the places this affects me is my scalp. I don’t profess to know what wonder this does but this helps my scalp massively in improving the feel and making it less itchy. It’s a sugar based scrub and it has probiotics to help boost skins natural defence. It’s a little weird using a scrub on your scalp at first but it has definite benefits for me so I really like it. You can also use this on the body and it’s a fab exfoliator.

Ouai Body Creme £32 for 212g this is sample size and is worth £4.52

To rehydrate your skin they’ve included their body Creme which has ingredients like coconut oil, cupuacu butter and squalene. It’s a lightly scented creme and a very light texture which soaks into your skin. The full size of this is £32 which is quite a lot for a body creme but if you wanted something indulgent I would recommend.

Deluxe mini size Wave Spray £10 for 50ml

The wave spray is one I’ve had in a beauty box before and something that I really like. It’s perfect for giving a beachy wave to your hair but doesn’t make it feel crunchy like other sprays for waves do. This has rice protein to give the hold.

The texturizing hair spray is designed to add volume and absorb oil to refresh your hair without that flatness that dry shampoo sometimes gives. I really like this and have used it mainly on my roots and mid length just to make my hair feel less flat.

North Bondi £46 for 50ml , Melrose Place £46 for 50ml these samples have a value of £1.38

The final two items are samples of their perfumes North Bondi and Melrose Place, I love the names! My favourite of these is North Bondi which is a really light and more floral fragrance. North Bondi, as stated in the description card, has notes of blackberry, amber, patchouli and lily. Melrose Place is a little heavier and would be nice for an evening perfume as it’s more musk based with bergamot and cedar-wood. This is not the type of perfume I usually go for so it’s not for me.

In total the value of the box is £31.12. One of the things I love about collaboration boxes is being able to try a few things from the same range and knowing how much I enjoyed the wave spray and scalp scrub I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed! Everything in this box is a mini size, no full size ones this time but it’s a good chance to try everything out and still great value with the hair care products alone being more than worth the cost of the box at just £12.

Would love to know your thoughts and whether you’ve tried anything from the Ouai range ! Please do check out my Instagram page if you haven’t already by searching for @vanessakay84 for regular content and day to day going’s on!

Holiday essentials

25th Sep 201924th Sep 20192 Comments

Bring on the good times!

As summer has come to a close and we start into the autumn, it felt like a great time to share some of my summer faves. I actually got away abroad this year for the first time in 3 years so it was great fun thinking of cute outfits and things to take away.

My versatile little bag from River Island

This cute little bag from River Island has served me well over the summer. The perfect size to fit the essentials and casual enough for day but dressy enough for evening. I love the hot pink colour which seemed to be a theme for me this summer!

Loved these earrings that I picked up on sale in Boots for £3!

I love a statement earring and a hoop, so this summer I made the best of both! A pop of neon colour made these the perfect go to for a relaxed look. Plus they were on sale in Boots, not somewhere I usually shop for earrings.

Hask Hair masks have been my saviour!

My hair always gets really dry and frizzy in the summer so it’s so important to me to keep it well conditioned. I love these Hask hair masks, I took 3 away on holiday to counteract the sun and chlorine and they kept my hair feeling soft and my hair colour shiny.

Loving the peachy coral tones this summer

I love peach and orange tones for summer, especially when you have a tan! NYX butter gloss is great for hot days when you need some moisture but also want a good coverage lip colour. Of course my summer essentials wouldn’t be complete without a good bronzer and TooFaced Sweetie Pie is still my number one. It’s a perfect mix of colour and shimmer without an excess of glitter like some bronzers do.

Staying peachy with TooFaced

Finally a good primer is one of my essentials to make sure my face stays in place! I am currently using Obsession Makeup’s mattifying primer which is a silicone based primer. I find these work well for my skin type and it gives a wonderfully matte finish for your foundation to work on.

Primer to keep my face in place

Do you have any great summer essentials to share?

September Glossybox

13th Sep 201913th Sep 2019Leave a comment

This months Glossybox has a Delicious Beauty theme, with 7 items instead of 5.

First up there’s a Banana setting powder from Mayy Beauty, which says it’s a mineral based powder and also contains hyularonic acid. This was ideal for me as I love using the baking technique to set my concealer and as it happens had just ran out of my usual powder! The RRP for this is £15

Next a Charcoal whitening toothpaste from Colgate. Normally I wouldn’t be too pleased getting an item like this however I have been looking for whitening toothpaste for a while and haven’t found one I like. Will see how this one does. RRP for this is £4

Also included is a Palmers Coconut Oil Deep Conditioning Protein Pack Hair Mask. I was over the moon to get this as I recently bought one of these to take on my holiday. It smells amazing and my hair feels super soft and conditioned afterward. RRP for this is £2.49

A perfume is one of the featured items this month from Mitchell and Peach. The scent is Flora No.1 Fine Edition Eau de Parfum. This is a blend of sweet fennel, larkspur, rose, ylang ylang, peony and lavender. This is a nice light floral which I think will be nice to wear. My only gripe is that there is no spray function on the bottle so it’s free flowing when you want to put it on. RRP for this is £29.75 for the Deluxe Mini which is the size included.

The Delhicious Body scrub contains Black Assam Tea with caffeine and antioxidants that help with dry skin and flush away toxins caffeine and antioxidants that help dry skin and give you a glow. I’m really excited to try this and see what it is like. There’s a lot in the pack and it says you can get 2-3 uses out of it. The RRP for this is £7.95.

The final product was Carex hand sanitizer in the scent Strawberry Laces. Now I know this item caused some controversy among the Glossybox community but I actually really liked this! I use handgel quite a lot as I’m currently on some medication that reduces my immune system. This smells lovely and is great to pop in your bag.

Lastly as an extra treat this month a Godiva chocolate bar was included. This was so good! I got the caramel lion and as expected from Godiva it was delicious.

So all in all this months box was worth £63.68.

I subscribe to Glossybox for £8.50 plus postage and packing which in total is £11.75 so definitely well worth the subscription fee.

Glossybox is available by visiting http://www.glossybox.co.uk

A new addition, meet Chip!

10th Sep 20199th Sep 20196 Comments

Chip at 8 weeks old!

So it’s been a busy time in our house. The end of the school holidays, an adventure to Crete and now a new addition to the house, Chip the cockapoo!

We fell in love with him way back in July and it seems like it’s been ages to wait for him to be ready to come home!

He’s a chocolate brown cockapoo and growing all the time, chewing everything in sight and generally being cute!

He came home with us a week ago now and honestly it’s like he has always been here, settled in brilliantly and starting to master toilet training like a pro!

Chip at 12 weeks

Now he’s settling nicely we can’t wait to start walking him properly once he has his last set of vaccinations. We got him lots of chew toys and different softer toys too but I think he really is ready for a few walks now.

So I’m after any puppy or dog tips you might have, please leave a comment or email if you have any special things you did with your pet!

Vanessa Kay

Beauty, Fashion and Fun

Tag: September