GLOSSYBOX: May 2012 The Birthday Edition

I joined Glossybox very recently although I've been thinking about it for a while now. I realised at the end of April that they would be releasing their first anniversary box in May so I thought this would be a good time to join up.

I actually received an April box too which I won't review in full, but I will say that I liked the Caudalie beauty serum very much and quite like the Monu Reviving Rosewood Mist, but they were the only products that stood out to me and that I use. I can't actually remember any of the other products I received, and I wouldn't buy any of the products in the future (although I love the Caudalie serum it's too expensive for me).

I was expecting big things from this months Glossybox seeing as it was the Birthday Edition, but I'm actually a little disappointed. There are two products that I'm impressed with and I think the Glossybox mirror is a sweet touch, but there was nothing that really stood out, and not one full sized sample (unless you include the eyelashes but I won't count them as they only retail for £3.90).

Noble Isle Summer Rising Bath & Shower Gel and Lolita Lempicka Si Lolita Eau de Parfum

• The Noble Isle Summer Rising Bath & Shower Gel I do like. I used it in the shower this morning, and it was a refreshing change to my usual sweet milky shower gels. The scent is supposedly 'toning elderflower', 'antioxidant-charged gooseberry'  'with clean notes of orange blossom, moss and cut grass', I can pick up the citrusy orange notes and perhaps the grass too - overall I think it smells very fresh and summery, it's a clean invigorating scent. I don't think that it does anything exciting to my skin aside from cleaning it, but it's a nice scent for cold summer showers (which are a godsend in this weather).

This retails for £20 for 250ml so it's a high end product and I'm pleased with it.

• I might be one of the few people who loves receiving perfume samples. I think they are just perfect for carrying in your purse, especially on nights out. However, I was disappointed with the Lolita Lempicka perfume samples. I really like the smell of 'Si Lolita', it's a fresh mature floral and reminds me of perfumes that my mother wears (in a good way!) the 'Lolita Lempicka EDP' fragrance smells cheaper to me, it's sweeter but less floral.

I would be really pleased with these if they came as proper perfume miniatures of perhaps 5ml. Glossybox does state that each month you will receive "5 high-end beauty miniatures". These however are just tiny perfume samples that you might find lying around in a perfume section in a department store to pick up for free. What really annoys me is that they are 0.8ml, your average perfume sample is 2ml. These are deceivingly in a 2ml bottle but filled only about 1/3rd of the way to the top. In summary, I think these are nice scents, but am really disappointed with the tiny size.

Glossybox states that they retail for £63 & £65 for 100ml (although I can't find them at this price, Glossybox directs you to buy them at house of fraser where 'Si Lolita' is £46 for 50ml and 'Lolita Lempicka EDP' is £49 for 50ml. I think that this makes them high end perfumes.

Eldora False Eyelashes and Apivita Express Beauty Masks

• Next up are the Eldora False Eyelashes, and mine are H141. These lashes feel really nice to touch, maybe this is because they are handmade. They feel soft, high quality and I think that they would be comfortable to wear. But I don't think that I could ever wear these lashes - they are gigantic. I really can't imagine anybody wearing these, not even the girls of TOWIE. They are just to huge I would look ridiculous with them on. I held one up to my eye to show my boyfriend and his reaction was "Dear god! Please never ever wear those".

Another downside is that they only retail for £3.90 (although when I looked up my pair they were £4.25). These are not a high-end beauty product, in fact, I'd say that £4 is really quite cheap for false eyelashes.

• The Apivita Express Beauty Masks were a pleasing inclusion. I received the Cucumber Intensive Hydration Masks and tried one out this morning. I have really dry skin so I was looking forward to using these. The mask has a texture that I wasn't expecting, it feels like a moisturiser, which I do like and it means that you don't use up a lot of product. I think you could easily two uses out of each sachet.

I wore it for 10 minutes in my shower as advised. At first there was an odd hotness/tingling on my face, I was a little scared that I might be having an allergic reaction, but I didn't have any other effects so maybe this is supposed to happen. after I washed it off, with hot water and a muslin cloth, my skin looked really lovely, I think that my pores looked tighter and my complexion was brighter. My skin didn't actually feel very hydrated though, after a few minutes before putting my moisturiser on, my skin felt tight and dry as it often does without a good moisturising cleanser. This was a bit of a disappointment as I was hoping it would really hydrate my skin, but will definitely use these up as I like the results, they just aren't what I was expecting.

The masks that I received retail for £2.80 for two 8ml sachets not the £3.50 per sachet as Glossybox suggests. Again these are not a high end product. I would buy these again seeing as they are so cheap, but shipping is a whopping £7.20 which is more than twice the price of the sachets themselves.

Lolita Lempicka Samples and Osmo Berber Oil Hair Treatment

• Finally, my favourite product this month, Osmo Berber Oil Hair Treatment. I am quite impressed with this product. My hair is quite dry and I don't get it cut as often as I should so I'm always looking for new moisturising treatments. The oil is supposed to "nourish dry damaged hair. Reduce drying time and achieve glistening shine and smooth results everytime". I think that this is achieved. After use my hair feels really soft, it isn't 'glisteningly shiny' but it looks good, and my hair did dry quickly. Another bonus is that this smells amazing! Quite like haribo, it's really sweet but not in a sickening way.

Berber oil retails at £19.99 for 100ml, or you can buy a 10ml bottle, like the sample, for around £6. (£5.90 w/ free delivery here). I think I will buy this again, probably at the smaller size as you need very little per use, or I'll look around online for the larger bottles as there are lots of deals to be found on ebay and elsewhere.

Overall, I did like this box, and probably like it better than last months, but feel let down that it wasn't as spectacular as I had hoped for. I was hoping the products might be as impressive as they were in the first every box last May. The products in the box were mostly cheap or teeny-weeny, but I did like the Noble Isle Shower Gel and the Osmo Berber Oil.

I'm wearing No7 stay perfect nail colour in 'Minty Fresh 320'.

x