Luxbox Review | January 2013

The January Luxbox was late again and didn't arrive until last week therefore I thought it was the February box. Anyway after my confusion, I have gotten round to writing this post. The content of this months box are really quite good and I am happy with 3 out of 4 of them. I was however disappointed that there were only 4 products in the box as there are normally 5 or 6.

Balm Balm Rose Geranium Lip Balm - Full size £3

I really like this lip balm and think it is a really nice addition to the box especially at this time of the year. I'm not normally a fan of rose scented things but this isn't too overpowering and once its on the lips you can't smell it that much anyway. It is average for a lip balm and is nourishing but it isn't the best lip balm I have ever tried.

John Masters Lavender Rosemary Shampoo For Normal Hair - 30ml

 30ml-£2.68 / 236ml-£16

The scent of this shampoo is very strong but very natural. It smells like lavender and is quite a refreshing smell. I am yet to use this but I am quite excited to see what it does to my hair and a bonus is its organic.

John Masters Citrus And Neroli Detangler - 30ml

30ml-£2.68 / 236ml-£16

This is a detangling conditioner which claims to condition hair without weighing it down. It can also be used as a leave in conditioner and it is gentle enough to use everyday. I am yet to try this but am excited to as it smells like lemon.

Dr Bragi Age Management Moisturiser - 5ml

5ml-£12 / 50ml-£120

This is described as an eye cream, serum and moisturiser in one. It is supposed to make skin more youthful. I am going to be giving this to my mum but at £120 even if it works I don't think she will ever be buying it again.

Overall this month I am quite happy with the contents of the box and am certain everything will be used up.

Are you subscribed to any beauty boxes?

Megan xx

Etail Marc B Competition Entry

Etail are giving bloggers the chance to win a £75 Marc B voucher and a £175 asos voucher in their amazing competition. The details for the competition can be found here.

To enter you have to choose a Marc B bag and then create an outfit around that bag.

The bag I chose from Marc B was the jen soft tan which I think is an amazing bag for spring and summer as it is a really nice size and I love brown handbags. I love that the bag has a shoulder strap as well as carrying handles and of course it has the amazing leopard print lining inside. I think this bag would be perfect for me as it has zip pockets inside and I only ever buy bags that have handy compartments so I can access my phone and keys easily.

I have chosen items of clothing that I would actually wear with the bag and if I were to win the competition I would certainly be buying the bag and some of the clothing.

This dress from Paul and Joe is so beautiful and would look great day or night. It could be teamed with heels at night or ballet pumps or flats during the day.

This denim jacket would go so well with lots of things in people's wardrobes so would be a well loved and worn piece. 

The white converse are a staple to a lot of people as they are so comfy and can be worn with almost anything, they do make an outfit more casual which is great if you are wearing a dress during the day. Believe it or not I don't actually own a pair of converse yet but if I was to win they would be the first thing I bought.

As for jewellery I would keep it simple and wear this outfit with this rose gold watch from River Island at asos and also some cute jigsaw puzzle ear rings from Ted Baker.

This would be my idea of a perfect spring outfit.

Let me know what your favourite outfit to wear is.

Megan xx

MUA Undressed Palette

I have really started to build up a collection of MUA palettes and the Undressed palette is a great addition to my collection.

 "A fabulous addition to the MUA Palette family, this one is the ultimate must have. It has a great combination of nude shimmers and mattes and the colour selection is great for creating this season’s clean, natural look with highly pigmented colours. Undressed is bang on trend with the spring summer runway filled with nude makeup looks."

If you look closely you might be able to see that this is almost exactly the same as a certain famous eyeshadow palette. That's right this is a dupe for the Urban Decay Naked palette and although I don't own the palette myself to do a comparison I have seen many other posts showing the comparison.

 Top row left to right

Bottom row left to right

My love for this palette has overtook my Heaven and Earth palette as this has amazing shimmer and matte shades and are to me much more wearable on a daily basis. The pigmentation of colours is amazing especially on the shimmer shades which I find usually lack in pigmentation with other brands. At only £4 for the palette you can't really go wrong. MUA have so many colour variety of their palettes so if you don't like the look of this one you should check out their other palettes.

Megan x

Banana Muffins

As I have mentioned before I am making my blog less beauty related and more everything related of course it will still be mainly beauty but I do enjoy doing other things too. I thought I would do a baking post today as I love to bake and these banana muffins are one of my favourite things to eat.

You will need;

2 ripe bananas

3oz brown sugar (demerara works fine)

3oz margarine or butter

7oz self raising flour

4fl.oz milk

1 egg

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees and set your muffin cases out on a baking tray.

Start by mixing the sugar and butter together. When they are mixed add the mashed bananas and mix again.

Beat the milk and egg into the mixture.

Fold in the flour.

Place in the oven for 20-25 until they are golden brown and firm to touch.

And that's it. They are so simple to make and only take about 10 minutes to prepare.

Let me know if you liked this post and I will do some more baking posts if you did.

Megan x

Small Clothes Haul

I have only bought 3 items of clothing this year but I thought I would do a mini haul because they were bargains and I love reading other posts like this. 

Okay so this jacket is amazing. I don't think the picture does it justice. It was the biggest bargain ever from Dorothy Perkins. It was supposed to be £40 but guess how much it cost......any guesses? This cost me a whole £7, which is by far the best £7 I have ever spent. It wasn't in the sale either there was like a 20% off on some items and then a £7 sticker on this. I have been wearing this with jeans but it kinda looks like denim on denim so if anyone has any suggestions of what I could wear this with please let me know.

This was also from Dorothy Perkins and cost £14 which is quite a lot for a top but the studs on the shoulders and the colour sold this to me. This was supposed to be £20 but had a discount on it. I haven't actually worn it yet so I think I will wear it when I go out for a meal for my birthday.

This big cosy cardigan thing is from George at Asda. It was in the sale originally for £20 but it along with all the other cardigans like this were on the £10 sale rack so my mum went and told the people so I got this for a measly £10. I love it so much. It is so warm and I think it is a great transition piece into spring.

Please let me know if you like this kind of post and I will do more.

Megan xx

Beauty on a budget - Collection

I have decided I am going to do monthly beauty on a budget posts and basically each month I am going to pick a brand and do a post including all kinds of products from that brand. For the first post I thought I would do Collection (formerly collection 2000) as they are one of my favourite drugstore brands.

Face Products

Collection lasting perfection 16 hours concealer

This is a favourite in the blogging community and I bought it after all the hype and at only £4.19 it is amazing. I find it covers spots, scars and blemishes so well although I do find it can be a bit heavy to use under the eyes.

Collection colour match foundation 

I really don't like this foundation as I find it to be too orange and too dark for my skin tone (even though its the lightest shade). It is also quite cakey and seems to cling to dry patches on the skin so its really not ideal for me.


Collection Primed and ready face primer

I really enjoy using this primer on days when I don't wear foundation (most days) as it makes my skin so soft and I feel like it covers up a bit of redness too although I don't know if it actually does or not. It also works well to keep foundation on for longer.

Fix me up make up fixer spray

This is a make up spray that you use after applying make up and it is supposed to help keep it in place for longer. I personally didn't like the smell of this and didn't notice any difference in how long my make up stayed in place however it is good to use throughout the day to refresh yourself.

Collection Shimmer Shades

I have the blush and its really lovely. As the name suggests it is quite shimmery so I do prefer to use it as a highlight but if you like to wear shimmery blush it does work great as a blush too.

Collection blush in 2. Bashful and 3. Breathless

Bashful is the blush I reach for most days as it has very little shimmer in it and that does not translate on the face, it lasts on the skin all day and is buildable. Breathless is the shade I have rarely worn as it is extremely shimmery and too pale and orange to suite my skin. Overall though they are very good quality blushes.

Eye Products

Collection multiplier mascara

Again this is one of my all time favourite products and when my current mascara runs out I will be picking this up again. It is a lengthening mascara but doesn't give that spidery effect. The only probem I found with this was after using the same one for about 5 weeks the mascara became flaky at the end of the day so it does need to be replaced quite often.

Collection gel eyeliner

This gel eyeliner is really good. I only have it in brown because I picked up the wrong shade but if I had it in black I would use it more often. It is really creamy and lasts all day. The brush that comes with it is actually surprisingly good although it is easier to apply with a longer handled brush, it is still easier enough with the brush supplied.

Lip Products

Collection cream puff in 4. Angel delight

This is a matte lip cream thing that is really moisturising for a matte product. The colour I have is a browny pink and is really wearable. I find that it does show up dry lips but not as much as other matte products I have tried in the past. They also smell amazing which is obviously another good thing.

Overall Collection products are well worth buying, the only thing I wouldn't recommend is their foundations and the thing I recommend the most is the concealer-it is amazing.

I hope you liked this post, if you have any requests for the brand I do next month please leave a comment below.

Megan x