Friday 30 December 2011

Latest in Beauty

'Latest in Beauty' (www.latestinbeauty.com) is a company that allows you to try before you buy. There is a range of cosmetics, skin care and hair care. When you first join the website you are asked a series of questions which allow you to create a beauty profile. The more detailed you are the more likely you are to be matched with samples that suit your preference. 
You can change your beauty profile at any time so you will continuously be matched with products that suit your needs and requirements. 
Unlike beauty boxes such as Glossy Box, 'Latest in Beauty' allows you to create your own 'little beauty box' from a selected range of products which have been picked to suit your preference. The only down side is that you can only choose three products however there are other samples you can buy aside from the 'little beauty box'.
 
Once you've decided what you want to try you have to send the word 'Try' as a SMS text (which costs £1.00) to reveal a code, once you have your code you type it in and you should get you 'little beauty box' in the next few days and the good thing is you don't have to make any additional payments.
After you have received your products, 'Latest in Beauty' contact you to see if you've tried the products and see if you want to give any feedback on the products.
However if your someone who likes the element of surprise or are indecisive,'Latest in Beauty' do offer themed boxes that are available throughout the year. They may be seasonal, designed to cater for hair care, skin care - who knows but either way there worth trying out for £4.95. 
For me, the one thing I would like to see is more make-up samples, there are simply not enough on the website. I would also like to see brands like Benefit, Estee Lauder, Bobbi Brown etc on there because I know there are people like me that want to try things from particular brands but don't want to commit to purchasing the full size before trying it. In general I think 'Latest in Beauty' is a great concept, however it could do with a lot more products on there as there isn't a huge amount of choice.

Tuesday 27 December 2011

Beauty Boxes Part 2

Subscription Fee: £10.00
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 
Like the Glossy Box, Carmine offer a payment plan to choose from:
£10 Monthly Subscription - can be cancelled at any time. 
£60 6 boxes - one of payment.  
£110 12 boxes - one of payment and ONE FREE BOX.
Or: You can send a Carmine box as a gift to your friends. 
I think there is a good balance of skin care and cosmetics, however Carmine could do with a few more hair care brands. 
Some of the brands at Carmine:
Dainty Doll, Daniel Sandler Cosmetics, Caudile', Trind, balance me, new <id, Neom, Lulu's TimeBomb, myface.cosmetics 
(All available to purchase on www.carmine.co.uk)

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Subscription Fee: £9.95 
Feel Unique is a website that holds high end brands of cosmetics, skin care, hair care, fragrance, healthy living and much much more. One of the best things about Feel Unique is that they offer free delivery Worldwide. Feel Unique has jumped on the bandwagon of monthly beauty boxes...
What they say about the box:
'Admittedly we're not all beauty experts and shopping for our essential items can sometimes be a mine-field. We've developed Beauty Box, a new monthly beauty subscription service that quite literally fast-tracks you into an easy, reliable world of beauty at the click of a button. 
Discover products you've never tried before feel the anticipation of a new collection of beauty booty landing on your doormat each month! Whether you're a seasoned beauty fanatic, somebody looking to break their usual routine or a complete beauty novice, Beauty Box brings you an exciting burst of essential beauty education and joy like no other, and one that will leave you looking and feeling like a beauty expert in no time.' 

You can choose a subscription option: 
- £9.95 Monthly Subscription - can be cancelled at any time.
- £109.45 Yearly Subscription - 12 months for the price of 11.
Subscription Benefits:
- 5 deluxe beauty samples every month.
- Access to the best beauty brands.
- Saving when purchasing full-size products. 
- Top tips so you get the most of the products you receive.
There are so many beauty boxes to choose from its difficult to decide which one is the best for you. Its a good way to try products that you wouldn't necessarily reach out for, however I would personally prefer it if I could choose my own 5 products from a selection given on a particular month. 

Beauty Boxes Part 1

So there has been a craze in the beauty industry in the form of beauty boxes. How they work: You pay a £10 monthly subscription fee plus postage & packaging and you'll receive 5 high end luxury samples to try out in the comfort of your home. If you like products you can then purchase the full size product (you often get discount codes and vouchers in the box too). I myself have not subscribed to any beauty boxes but they look interesting right?There's just too many to choose from... 

Glossy Box www.glossybox.co.uk
Subscription Fee: £10.00
Postage & Packaging: £2.95
You have a few options as to how you would like your subscription to run. (All with Postage & Packaging fees) 
£10 Monthly Subscription - can be cancelled any time.
£60 6 boxes - one off payment.
£110 12 boxes - one off payment and ONE FREE BOX.
Or: You can send a Glossy Box as a gift to your friends.
If you subscribe to Glossy Box you can also earn yourself 'Glossy Dots' by recommending the beauty box to your friends, or giving a review on the products you received in your box. If you collect a 1000 'glossy dots' Glossy box will send you a free box for that month. Although I am not subscribed I have heard that products vary from box to box, so you may not get the same products as someone else. What makes Glossy Box stand out from the others is that first of all is that it was the first beauty subscription service to come out in the UK and it now has a service for MEN. 
Some of the brands at Glossy Box:
Ahava, all for eve, Ciate, hdbrow, Leighton Denny, Philip Kinglsey, Ultra Sun, Dead Sea Spa Magik, Illamasqua 
(All available to purchase on glossybox.co.uk)

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Boudoir Prive www.boudoirprive.co.uk
Subscription Fee: £10.00
Postage & Packaging: £2.95
With Boudoir Prive you receive 5-6 luxury samples. You also get members only benefits (I'm not sure what they mean by this - discount codes, vouchers???) and you also have the chance to earn loyalty points, similar to what Glossy box offers. 
Some of the brands at Boudoir Prive:
Korres, Bloom Teas, Cargo, Rose & Co, Zoya, RMK, StudioMakeup 
(All available to purchase on boudoirprive.co.uk)

Monday 26 December 2011

It Wouldn't be Christmas without.......

It wouldn't be Christmas if you didn't receive a gift set or two. The ones I got, are below and I love them both. Especially the Soap & Glory one as I've wanted to try more of their products since using their 'Hand Food'. 

Soap & Glory: Higher Shower
Clean Girls Shower Gel 500ml (*£5.87) 
Mist You Madly Body Spray 250 ml (*£6.13) 
The Daily Smooth Body Butter 250ml (*£8.43) 
A Super Sudsy Shower Puff (*£3.50)
Satin Finished Patterned Shower Cap (*6.25)

If you were to buy these items (*)individually  it would set you back £30.18, however the actual set retails at £20.00 which is a bargain saving you £10.18. 
Sanctuary: Weekend Essentials
Sanctuary Body Wash 250ml (*5.10) 
Sanctuary Body Scrub 50ml (*2.40) 
Sanctuary Moisture Rich Foot Butter 50ml  
Sanctuary Body Butter 150ml (*£7.35)
Sanctuary Hand Cream 30ml (*£3.25)

I couldn't find the price for the travel size version of the Moisture Rich Foot cream however the full size version retails at £5.25 for 150ml. In total if each product was bought individually it would set you back £23.35. You would save yourself £3.01(can't forget about the penny) by purchasing the set which retails at £20.34

The one good thing about these gift sets is that I won't need to buy any body lotion / wash for the next few months!!x

Saturday 24 December 2011

Food For Your Hands?

Soap & Glory : Hand Food 
Available from http://boots.com  
50ml:£2.35 / 125ml: £4.85 

I highly recommend Hand Food from Soap & Glory. Its an affordable hand cream that provides moisture for your hand (especially in this cold weather). It claims to be non-greasy which is very true and smells oh so lovely with the hints of shea butter, macadamia oil and marshmallow (though the mallow isn't that dominate). The packaging is quirky and eye catching and I will be most definitely  be trying out some more products from the range.  

Tuesday 6 December 2011

Welcome to Elefont


In 2009 I graduated in Graphic Design and like many graduates I have found it incredibly difficult to find my feet in the design industry. Elefont is a blog designed to display my interest for all things creative as well as acting like a visual diary for everyday acts of randomness. Hope you enjoy.
Anika.