It's been a while since I've reviewed anything from my little beauty boxes (oops!) and so I'm finally going to finish off my first box. I have to say, the first half of the box I reviewed I wasn't 100% impressed with the products, but this half is much more promising. I've also received a further two of these little god sends in the post with some beautiful smelling/looking products that look so promising, so I can not wait to test them all out and get a review ready for you guys! I'll be sure to get some of the contents from my second box ready for my next blog post!
Just to refresh your memory of the contents of the first box, it included:
- The Vintage Cosmetic Company Tweezers (£8.00 from www.thevintagecosmeticcompany.co.uk) REVIEWED
- Anatomicals Puffy The Eye Bag Slayer Wake-Up Under Eye Patches (£6.00 for 3 pack from www.asos.com) REVIEWED
- Montagne Jeunesse Passion Peel Off Masque & Blemish Mud Masque (£1.09 per mask from www.montagnejeunesse.com/face-masks) PEEL OFF MASK REVIEWED
- Yu-Be Moisturising Skin Cream (£13.50 for 33g from www.onestopbeauty.co.uk)
- Balance Me Super Toning Body Wash (£10.25 for 250ml from www.balanceme.co.uk)
And so, I'll just get stuck in!
Montagne Jeunesse Blemish Mud Mask
If you read my first review on the Montagne Jeunesse Passion Peel Off mask you may remember I wa really not at all impressed with it, for reasons such as: it didn't suit my skin, it hurt to peel off, the smell was unpleasantly strong etc. So, I was hoping for a much better result with this mud mask. I've found over time that I much prefer the feel of mud masks to any kind of peel off mask, as they're smooth, cool and I find them more relaxing to have on my skin.
So, I read the sachet of this mask from back to front, inside and out. This mask "for blemish prone skin" claims to be "specially formulated to remove dirt and grime and cleanse your skin and pores to the core." That's really all of the information I gathered from the sachet, but it sounded good to me! I opened the packet to be greeted by a very strong smell that made me pull a bit of a face, as if I'd eaten an overly sour lemon or something. No, I can't say it was the nicest smell and it won't be getting any points for that! But the smell was bearable, at least more so than the last mask I'd tried.
The mask, as expected being a mud mask, was thick and smooth in texture. So I used an old foundation brush to apply it thick and evenly to my skin.
It felt very cool and had an odd refreshing feel about it, as if I could actually feel my skin becoming refreshed. When I'd taken the mask off, I was surprised to see that my skin was looking clean, refreshed and healthier! Not to mention my skin felt unbelievably soft. So overall I have to say I am much, MUCH more impressed with this mud mask than the peel off mask! It did what the packet said, it helped make my skin look completely clean and cleansed, it felt soft and refreshed. I honestly couldn't be happier with the results. (Oh, and my skin is still feeling amazing the next day!)
It felt very cool and had an odd refreshing feel about it, as if I could actually feel my skin becoming refreshed. When I'd taken the mask off, I was surprised to see that my skin was looking clean, refreshed and healthier! Not to mention my skin felt unbelievably soft. So overall I have to say I am much, MUCH more impressed with this mud mask than the peel off mask! It did what the packet said, it helped make my skin look completely clean and cleansed, it felt soft and refreshed. I honestly couldn't be happier with the results. (Oh, and my skin is still feeling amazing the next day!)
Balance Me Super Toning Body Wash
£10.25 for 250ml from www.balanceme.co.uk
Now seeing as I've only used a small amount of it over a couple of showers, I can't say much for the effect it's supposed to give your skin, but I'll review the rest of it.
I've never really believed in a lot of this "toning", "cellulite fighting" products, but for some reason I've typically still bought and tried just about every product off the shelf for these kinds of things. Super Toning Body Wash by Balance Me is "packed full of skin-boosting, smoothing and toning juniper, bergamot, geranium and lavender essential oils" and wishes you to "enjoy your daily dose of gently foaming freshness".
The stuff is basically a standard, smooth shower gel wash, but I have to say, this body wash actually made my skin feel zingy. Yes, zingy. I honestly did feel so refreshed and ready to just relax after using this body wash. The smell of it as well was so lovely, not too strong either!
So again, another really refreshing, pleasant product!
Yu-Be Moisturising Skin Cream
£13.50 for 33g from www.onestopbeauty.co.uk
Now, the good reviews had to stop somewhere didn't they?
I really do hate to post negative reviews on products, and I didn't really expect to with these little beauty boxes. But I am determined to review each product I receive in the boxes and to give an honest opinion on them (after all, who is going to benefit from a false review). So unfortunately I'm going to have to give the Yu-Be Moisturising Skin Cream a bit thumbs down. It claims to be "Japan's 55 year Soft-Skin-Secret", but for me it really just didn't work.
All skin types are different, so it might just be a case of it not suiting me. It might be wonderful for other people, but there are a number of reasons why I wasn't too struck on this Yu-Be cream.
The consistency is a nice and smooth, in between a gel and a cream I thought, and it looks kind of pearly. My first thought was "it smells like menthol", and to me I was a bit worried about putting that onto areas of my skin that were dry. Anyway, I bit the bullet and put it on my skin. Within a few minutes my skin was tingling where I'd applied it and well - the usual effects of menthol kind of products on your skin, that tingling, cold, almost numbing feeling. I personally really didn't like that, just the fact it was on my face bothered me, not to mention it also felt pretty greasy when I put it onto my skin. I know it's supposed to moisturise skin, but I've never had a moisturiser that actually felt greasy.
The next day my dry patches were exactly the same, so I was disappointed that the cream that says "all dry and severe dry skin areas of your body - including face and lips!" hadn't really worked, but - get this - I had broken out. I had break outs in the dry patches of my skin where I had applied the moisturising cream. That really confused me, a lot. And of course I was absolutely distraught and I have not used the product since!
Like I said, it might just be a case of the product not suiting my skin. But I'm not going to give a false review from my personal experience of the product. It's a shame I have to write a bad review, and I hope anyone who decides to test it themselves doesn't find the same problems like I have. I'm going to put it down to the fact it simply doesn't suit my skin type and nothing more!
So, there we have it! The last three reviews from my first little beauty box. I apologise for it being so long. I'm definitely not going to be hesitant with any future reviews!
Hope you've enjoyed reading this ladies. If you wish to ask me any questions, request any reviews or want to simple talk to me, feel free to do so over on my twitter: @EmilyJeanGC
Thank you for reading!
