I tried Lookfantastic's £15 monthly beauty box and found my new favourite cream
When it comes to products that fill up my bathroom and make-up cabinet I must admit I am a little stuck in my skincare ways - the thought of investing in a new moisturiser or body scrub, whose its price tag is a little more expensive than I can realistically afford, fills me with apprehension - even if the results are out of this world for the majority people.
Strange for a beauty writer, I know, but the fear of forking out £20+ on a full size product that may cause my skin to breakout, flare up, my eyes to sting - basically, not do what I want or hope for it to do - is real and I don't want to be filled with regret at causing a dent in my bank account and wasting a perfectly good product. But that's where Lookfantastic's £13-15 beauty box eases things up a bit, as I've recently discovered.
Wanting to broaden my beauty horizon and step outside my usual routine, I'd been umming and ahhing about signing up to a beauty subscription service to help me find some new, top quality products that will last and give me gorgeous results for my own skin and having looked at and compared the likes of Glossybox (£11.50/month) and Beauty Pie (although not a subscription service, more a 'beauty Buyers’ Club'), I settled on Lookfantastic's monthly edit, The Box - and its contents did not disappoint.
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By joining the scheme for twelve months, each month you'll receive a box contain six beauty essentials totalling over £50 - but the box will only cost you £13. If you want a one-off box (without signing on for 12 months) it's £15. Alongside these six essentials on a monthly basis, Lookfantastic members will get early access too, as well as £10 off, limited edition items such as their newly launched Beauty Egg (£60 but worth over £206) and the Mother's Day beauty edit (also £60 and worth over £177). You'll also receive free premier delivery when you order from Lookfantastic (which usually costs £9.90).
The six beauty essentials come neatly packaged in a recyclable cardboard box (Eve Rowlands)
Inside the beauty box as it arrived (Eve Rowlands)I received the March box as we welcomed in the month, and its contents are worth over £79 with a number of gorgeous beauty brands packed into the cardboard box - such as Mio bodycare, First Aid Beauty and Brushworks.
Now, if you're wondering if these £13 edits are worth it - as I had previously - one product in the collection alone costs almost triple of what the box is priced at, the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Genius Serum Mini deluxe size which is worth £37. Trying out the serum for the first time, I took the conditioning formula and swept it across my brows - paying close attention to the sections that were lacking density, as per the instructions. The serum is meant to help the texture and manageability of your brows with the use of castor oil to help protect, condition and nourish while the peptides and ginseng encourage a gorgeously fluffy finish.
The product, which I applied with what felt like a little paintbrush applicator, wasn't crusty nor did it leave a film on my brows, which I was half expecting. But having only been a few days, I've not noticed any change in my eyebrows - although, the packaging does state that the best results will be seen after eight weeks of use twice daily, so I'll give it a bit more time and report back.
As with every box, subscribers will receive one of a number potential products from a certain brand as a 'mystery must-have'. The brand this month was Mio Bodycare and out of the Solar Power Body Scrub, Clay Away Body Cleanser, Sun Drenched Body Wash, Liquid Yoga Bath Soak, Sleeping Smoothie Overnight Body Serum, Glow With The Flow Body Oil and Future Proof Body Butter, I received the Solar Power Body Scrub.
The scrub is gold and grainy (Eve Rowlands)Having never tried Mio bodycare before, I wasn't sure what to expect but reading some of the reviews ("smells so good", "leaves skin feeling so soft") I was excited to see its results on the rougher areas of my skin - my knees and my elbows. Opening the lid, I was impressed by its shimmery, pearlescent formula that glistened in the (offensively bright) bathroom light. With instructions to try it with dry or wet skin, I opted for dry and took a pea sized amount placing it on my knee and massaged it in circles to buff away the rough skin. I could certainly feel it was doing the job and when I wiped off the scrub a few moments later, my knees felt a little smoother than they had done.
As for the 'so good' smell mentioned in reviews, I was underwhelmed. I couldn't smell anything particularly strong or nice. It was simply inoffensive, which I didn't mind. However, next time I'm trying the scrub on wet skin as, after wiping it off, there was a sticky residue which took some scrubbing which'll hopefully be alleviated with a damp base. That being said, I did enjoy the slight shimmer the scrub left on my skin. Who doesn't want to sparkle a little?
The piece-de-resistance for the box, in my opinion, was the Gatineau Hydra Aura Eclat de Soie Water Crème Hydrating Glow (whose full size retails at £52, the 30ml bottle is £19.99).
This was my favourite product in the box (Eve Rowlands)Firstly, its texture is light, watery and gel-like, which immediately made my sensitive and normally dry skin feel soothed, plump and refreshed whilst leaving it with a gorgeous dewy glow. With its ingredients that include barbary fig extract, shea butter and seaweed actives, the moisturiser acts to not only hydrate but protect against pollutants, smooth fine lines and leave your skin super soft.
While I don't think I've been using it long enough to see whether the fine lines I do have (being in my late 20s) have diminished, my skin has certainly never felt smoother and, with regular day and night usage for a week, my skin looks brighter. I love it and can see why it's got the price tag it has - and maybe next payday it's one product I'll treat myself too. Especially seeing as a little goes a long way thanks to its watery base.
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A girl can never have too many scrunchies (Eve Rowlands)
This crimson red shade is super dreamy (Eve Rowlands)Two staple products every woman needs in her beauty bag are a silk scrunchie and some nail varnish. And I believe you can never have too many of those products, so two scrunchies from Brushworks - a cream and a brown one - and a gorgeous deep red crimson nail polish from Nail HQ, which is super fast drying, were a welcome gift out of which I know I'll get heaps of use. In fact, I'm wearing the red nail varnish and brown scrunchie right now.
One product I've not been able to test properly yet is the First Aid Beauty Anti-Chafe Stick. The reason being it's still relatively chilly and I've found myself in layer upon layer, meaning the parts of my body which would be at risk of chafeing are well and truly covered up.
The stick has hydrating ingredients like shea butter, ginseng and colloidial oatmeal (Eve Rowlands)That being said, as someone with more voluptuous thighs, I can see this being a crucial tool in the summer when mini dresses and shorts return and the unbearable (and inevitable) heatwaves cause a burning friction on these sensitive parts of my skin. The ingredients of shea butter, ginseng and colloidial oatmeal are meant to form a 'protective shield over delicate skin' to help defend against dryness and friction and having tested it on the back of my hand, for the purpose of this review, I have high hopes that it'll help do exactly that - and with a silky, buttery consistency, I can see this stick lasting a long time.
The stick is buttery smooth and feels really nice on skin (Eve Rowlands)All in all, for only £13 a month - or £15 for a one off purchase - this beauty box is perfect for not only helping you find brand new products that work for your skin. Now, of course, while you don't know what's arriving in your beauty box each month until you receive it, there is always a risk that you may find yourself with duplicate products of something you had already - but that's not all bad as it means you can stock up on little beauty gifts for friends and family for a lot less money.
I already can't wait for Lookfantastic's April box. If you, like me, are sold on this gorgeous box full of beauty goodies, sign up here to a one off or twelve month subscription here.
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