Carmine February Beauty Box

Its that time of month again!

Since Feel Unique decided to stop their beauty box service I decided to sign up to another provider and thought Carmine might be worth a try.

This month's box is themed "fresh. fun. colour." and is supposed to get us ready for spring.

This is a 'first thoughts' sort of post as I've not tried anything in my box yet as I've been so busy (actually got the box on Tuesday, but like I say been too busy!)

The first item I noticed was a lipstick mini by Diego Dalla Palma which is a brand I'd never heard of. Its a very small sized sample, which I'm sure some would be unimpressed by, but I must admit it's very cute! I have too many lipsticks and only ever seem to wear them for nights out/special occasions so I'm pleased this isn't full sized as I think it would go to waste.
I got shade '47'. I liked how the card gave you a colour index list of their other shades.

A close up of my lipstick (sorry the photos are such bad quality!). Its a sort of peachy/pinky colour, although I know you can't really tell from this pic. Once I opened it I was even more pleased it wasn't full size as its not a colour I'd reach for....but that's the reason we get these boxes!


The next product I noticed was:

An Andrea Fulerton nail varnish in a sort of baby/neutral pink. This is a full sized product. I like Andrea Fulerton, however I'm not very impressed by this as I don't wear this shade and for some reason in all the beauty boxes I've had in the past I always seem to get the same/very similar coloured nail varnishes. Obviously this isn't Carmine's fault, its just the luck of the draw, but I'm not sure if I will use this so might just pass it on.


Next up:

Balance Me Super Moisturising Body Wash. This is another full sized product. I've not even opened this to smell it yet (its sealed and couldn't be bothered as I opened my box late at night) so not sure about if I'll like the fragrance (I'm sure I will). My first thoughts were "no not another shower gel!" I have far too many as it is! But, it makes a nice addition to my collection as I've never used Balance Me before.

Next up is White Glo toothpaste. This is another product which made me a bit disappointed if I'm honest. I know taking care of your teeth is important, but I'm not overly interested in having white teeth. I'm not saying I like the yellow teeth look, but to me teeth that are too white look false and I just don't really see the point. Obviously I've used whitening toothpastes before and probably still will in the future, but I have very sensitive teeth and have only recently found a suitable toothpaste for them (its from superdrug if you're wondering!) so I'm reluctant to change.
I probably will try this at some point, but I can't see myself repurchasing as Superdrug seriously has the best toothpaste at an unbeatable price.

Next is a 'bonus' item, Peony eau de toilette sample by Yardley London. Again, I've not heard of the brand or tried the fragrance. Not really bothered to be honest!


Last up is what will probably be my favourite product of the box:

A full sized, leopard print tub of Steam Cream. I've been wanting to try this for a while so am pretty excited by this! Hands down the stand out product of this months box (in my opinion) and definitely makes me pleased I signed up to this month's Carmine box.


Once I've tried everything out I will let you know how I find them etc.

Did you try Carmine this month?
x

NOTD: Blue glitter

Yesterday I was very happy as my Nicki Minaj for O.P.I. nail varnishes came (via buyapowa), however I couldn't use them as I had already painted my nails for my friends 21st birthday party.

Today I started to sort out/tidy my room (still not done btw) and came across my nail varnishes that my very dear friend Sophie got me for Christmas from South Korea. 

I immediately stopped tidying and started to paint my nails.

I have no idea what the brand name is, and it took about 2-3 coats to achieve an opaque streak free finish, but I love it.

Its sort of light blue and sort of mint green, imagine a cross between Barry M's 'Blue Moon' and 'Mint Green' and that's what it is. It's also a matte varnish. I like it, however something was missing;

Sparkles! I put on a coat of OPI's 'Save Me'. Its made my nails a unique blue glitter shade :D

What do you think?

x

January Empties.

As part of my new year's resolution to use things up and cut down on spending, I decided it would be a good idea to start a monthly 'empties' blog post. That way I can make sure I'm actually sticking to plan, and turn it into a fun thing to do rather than a chore. I like reading other people's posts about empties so that also made me think it'd be a good idea.

I've done good this month an managed to use up a whopping ten items. However I must stress the majority of these were at least half way finished before I set this goal.
I'm obviously not going to repurchase anything, due to the spending ban.

  Busy!

Superdrug Cream Shower Coconut 300ml - 49p(!). This lasted me AGES! I bought this last May(ish) when Superdrug had a bit of a stock clear out. I don't think you can buy this exact product anymore, but they definitely sell other coconut shower gels. For the price this was amazing. It foamed really well, smelt so good (but not overpowering) and really moisturised my skin. I bought two at the time so have a back up waiting in the wings, however I've got a different shower gel on the go at the moment.
I think I would repurchase the latest version of this shower gel as it really was a good find.

Batiste dry shampoo in Blush 150ml. I literally don't remember buying this! I can't remember buying any Batiste product yet seem to have several in my drawer!?! I know I got a mini version in a beauty box, and got a super size at a blogger event, but where did this come from?!
This lasted me months, literally, and I thought it would never end! It was a nice fragrance and did the job really well. Once I'm out of dry shampoo I'm going to buy the new one from Lush.

Simple Kind To Skin Moisture Boost Hydro Cream 50ml. I bought this back in July last year. I have several face moisturisers on the go at once (bit of a moisturiser addict - though only for the face!) so that's why it took me so long to use up. I did like this, but for my skin I think there are better moisturises out there.

Beauty UK Liquid Eyeliner - No 7. I remember buying this during my second year at uni. I was trying my best to master liquid liner but couldn't, so figured I would practise with a cheap one as it'd not matter if I wasted it on mistakes. I think I used it twice then gave up. By the time I had mastered liner I was using my beloved B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful liner (RIP). I came across this a few months ago, checked it out and it was fine so started to use it. It really was good for the price (about £1.99?) but its pretty much dead now. There is still a tiny bit left, but the majority of it had dried up and the tip has went a bit funny so figured its best to get rid.

Green People Day Solution Hydrating Balancing Day Cream 10ml. Don't really need to say much about this, I loved it so much I wrote a review - which you can read here.

Ahava DeadSea Water Mineral Body Lotion 40ml. I got this in a Glossy Box months ago. I'm really bad when it comes to body moisturisers. Considering how much I love to moisturise my face you think I wouldn't be, but if I'm honest I just can't be bothered going through the faff of moisturising my body on a regular basis. This has resulted in me having a crazy amount of body lotions/butters that I've got from beauty boxes, gwp, gift sets etc going to waste. I figured a good way to ease myself into a body lotion routine would be by using a small one. I have to say I LOVED this. It smelled amazing and worked really well. I probably would consider buying this in the future.

Clinique Naturally Gentle Eye Makeup Remover 75ml. My mam got me this when she needed to boost up a purchase so she'd have enough items to get the GWP and Boots points ha. I have really sensitive eyes so am usually wary of using anything other than Simple face wipes to get rid of make up, however I must say I was impressed. This got rid of every trace of make up, yet was gentle enough to not irritate my eyes.

Murad Time Release Acne Cleanser 30ml. In reality this cleanser is all wrong for me. I'm 25 and often get mistaken for a 15 year old so don't need anti-ageing products (I don't believe they work BTW, but that's a separate issue), and I have never had acne. I rarely even get spots if I'm honest! I got this in the same Glossy Box as the Ahava body lotion. I was surprised when I used this. I started using it on my 'Emily spot' days (aka bad spots for me, clear skin for some of my friends) and it seemed to do the trick. As I set myself the use things up challenge this cleanser was the nearest to hand out of the half used things, so I started using it on a daily basis. With such regular use it was too harsh for my skin, however for spot days it worked so if you suffer with acne I think this might be good for you. I'd not buy it, however I did like the chance to try.

Korres Body Butter Quince Extra Moisturising Cream for Dry Skin Conditions 50ml. This is the only item I started and finished in January. When I first tried this I wasn't sure what to expect (whats Quince?!) and if I'm honest I was a bit put off as the smell reminded me a bit of baby sick. However I persevered and I have to say I'm GUTTED its finished. The smell quickly changed to a light floral scent that was pleasant. It was very easily and quickly absorbed by my skin and just made my skin amazing. I'd never used anything by Korres before (again this was in a beauty box) but I will be trying more from them as soon as I can!

Simple Refreshing Facial Wash Gel 50ml. Again, something I bought ages ago but failed to use up until now. I'm so bad when it comes to cleansers. I'm lucky as I've always had pretty good skin. I've often tried to start up skin care routines but have always failed through boredom. Yes cleansers do make my skin a bit better (the right skin for my skin type, obviously), however I've always preferred to have an extra 5 minutes in bed rather than faff on with a skin routine. As I'm starting to 'age' I've decided to take better care of my skin and give my face a proper cleanse twice a day. This gel was really good for me and worked wonders sorting my skin out after the Murad experience. I'd not go out of my way to buy it again, however I'd not avoid it either.



And that sums up my empties for this month. I think 10 is good for a first time. I'm obviously not going to have as many as this every month - especially when I run out of half used things, but still.
Have you got any empties?
xx

PS I already have 1 item in my 'February Empties' box as I finished something this morning!