Review: Birchbox July 2014 Beauty Box

Birchbox Beauty Box July 2014 

Where did the love go? Yes, only a few months ago I was professing my love for Birchbox to anyone that would listen. However the last couple of boxes have left me feeling as though something was missing…then July’s box happened. It’s been a crazy mixture of squished boxes, poor customer service and everything in-between. Let me tell you what was in my box first though, before I bore you with my decision for finally unsubscribing from Birchbox.
Inside my box was…
Benefit – The Porefessional
Balance Me – Wonder Eye Cream
Laqa & Co – Lip Pencil in Menatour
Models Own – Nail Polish in Rocket

Thoughts?
This month’s box was very underwhelming, but maybe I should first mention how it turned up in such a state…and completely by surprise! For the past two months I haven’t been receiving any dispatch emails from Birchbox, meaning I didn’t know if my boxes had been sent. Now this isn’t a terrible thing by itself, however the (always disgruntled) courier has delivered my box to other people in my apartments before, without letting me know. Therefore knowing when my box is on it’s way is helpful. Thankfully I have lovely neighbours who noticed the mistake and didn’t nab my box for themselves. Anyway, I mentioned that it turned up in a state. All of my products were ok, but I think I got lucky. Even so, this is really not the way you want your product to turn up or how you want to represent your brand. I did tweet and message Birchbox about both of these problems. In hindsight I should have emailed them, but when they asked me to message them on Twitter I thought the problem might be solved pretty quickly. However it took forever to receive any kind of reply from them, and they completely ignored the dispatch email problem. They did apologise and said they would investigate the courier situation though, so hopefully no one else will have this problem.

As for the contents of the box itself, I can honestly say that there isn’t one product I can be certain I’ll use. I did appreciate that some of the products such as the full-size Models Own polish (not a great shade) and the decent sized The Porefessional (shade is too dark) are well-known and loved products, but they’re also nothing new. The eye cream, nail buffer and body butter are products I have coming out of my ears (thanks to pr samples and beauty box products) and I haven’t heard anything about these ones that make me want to jump to use them. Finally, the lip pencil – the quality seems good but this shade is really not me. I plan to give everything away, minus the nail polish and the eye cream, in the hopes that I will eventually use them at some point. All in all July’s box left me feeling pretty “meh” and along with all of the other problems, I have decided to unsubscribe from Birchbox. Maybe if a future box takes my fancy I may start my subscription again, but right now I really don’t need anymore beauty products that I won’t use.
Sorry for the downer – check out my more optimistic Birchbox reviews.

You can subscribe or buy this month’s box at Birchbox.
Using my link will give you (and me) £5 worth of points to spend in the store.

Photo Diary: Nail Art

A selection of my recent nail art / nail polish looks
 
One thing I always post on my Instagram is nail art photos.
I don’t do it very often on my blog though, unless I’m posting a tutorial.
So I thought it was about time that I showed off some of my recent nail art/nail polish looks.
Red Gloss & Glitter MixMaxfactor Red Passion & Barry M #np150
Halloween Black & Orange Glitter Gradient Barry M #np147 & bornprettystore glitter pen
Holographic17 holo nail Silver
Black & Gold StudsBarry M #np147, Barry M #np289 & Models Own champagne
Gold ‘Caviar’ Models Own champagne & bornprettystore micro-beads
Black & Gold Studded Barry M #np147 & bornprettystore micro-beads
As you can see I’ve really been favouring glitter polishes again, as well as using studs (micro-beads).
I try to make time to do my nails at least once a week, however sometimes it’s once a fortnight.
I have so many polishes that I would change them more often if I could, but I try to stick with a design.
Do you make time to do your nails every week?
Which one of my recent nail looks is your favourite?

Nail Polish Haul: Essie & Models Own

Models Own and Essie Nail Polishes

Ok, I may have gone a little overboard. I can’t help it, I’m addicted to nail polishes!
It’s true, nail polishes are the one thing I will always want, and pretty much always buy.
Luckily I’m not restricted in what I can wear on my nails (by a job etc) so I tend to change them often.
That also means that I like to have a large selection of colours, and trust me, I do – one day I’ll show you them all.
Essie and Models Own are two nail polish brands well known for their selection of colours and quality.
I’ve actually only tried out a couple of Essie polishes, but now I’m happy to own quite a few.
The shades are quite simple, and grown up, wouldn’t you agree? That’s where the Models Own polishes come in. The Models Own ones are just to hold me over until I can get my hands on the Beetlejuice & Mirrorball collections, but I thought they were also a bit of fun. The photo doesn’t do them justice but they have a great glittery sheen to them.
Guys…I think I’m a Nail Polish-holic!
When I got them home I decided that actually I wasn’t too keen on two of the Essie colours,
so I’m selling them on eBay here.