It's no secret that I friggin' well love a good beauty subscription box - my blog is crammed full of them. But not all of my experiences with these monthly deliveries have been that great; for example, I cancelled my BirchBox and GlossyBox subscriptions well over a year ago because they were, quite frankly, sh*te. I found these boxes boring & unimaginative [they do look to have improved now like, before I get lynched!] and that I was left with samples of stuff I wouldn't ever have chosen for myself, would never use and turned me right off. The heartbreak of perfume samples and constant mini foot creams [dem toes] was too much for me to bear.
That's why I'm so obsessed with the idea behind a new box I've tried recently; Latest In Beauty*. LiB is a genius concept - they quite literally let you build your own beauty box; filling it with the products you want. Their website gives you the freedom to decide which & how many items you receive in your beauty box every month - with 200+ items to choose from and subscriptions that offer 3, 6 or 9 product options [plus free delivery!] You can also buy a box as a one-off; if you just fancy a treat, or maybe want to pamper a friend.
I was in there like swimwear when it came to creating my personalised Beauty Guru box; which is the option that contains 9 items. I had a ball searching through the millions of pages of products [well, 36] you can choose from. With different items added everyday, from SO MANY AMAZING BRANDS [Pixi, La Roche Posay, St Tropez, Kiko, Olay, Elizabeth Arden, Bourjois, MONU Skin, Rimmel and The Body Shop to name just a few] it was like going on a little shopping trip - and so much fun to build!
There's a mix of full size and mini / travel-size products to choose from on the website. The items I wanted to try were mostly full size, bar a couple of exceptions... but the beauty of LiB is that as you're picking your own items, you get to determine the ratio of full size > sample size treats. So if you decide to go for a box of 9 full size products - you can!
There's no sh*tty samples you don't want, or items there purely to pad the box out a bit [GlossyBox were TERRIBLE for this atrocity when I used to pay for them] - this a box created by you, for you - and with the different subscription options available, to suit your budget too. The Beauty Guru subscription is just £18 per month [including postage] for 9 items of your choice, making it fantastic value when compared to some of the other options on the market. And the other subscription tiers are even cheaper - from £9 a month!! Here's an insight into what I picked for my beauty box and why these items made the cut.
I love Pixi Beauty and needed a fresh eyeliner, as a lot of mine have gone stubby and scratchy - so I added this pencil to my curation immediately. It feels lovely and creamy; I'm sure I won't be disappointed. I've tried and bought St Tropez In Shower Tan a few times before, so I was definitely including this product as part of my LiB order too - it smells lovely and is a super convenient way to tan quickly and evenly. It's only travel size, but I'll still get a few applications out of it. I also added in a red Sally Hansen Salon Manicure nail polish, to update my claws' wardrobe for Autumn / Winter. This is the shade Rudolph Red; so it's certainly very festive!
I was buzzing to see Kiko as one of the brands to choose from when building my box, so I clicked 'add' as soon as I saw this gorgeous creamy blush stick from them. I've been embracing a more dewy, natural look recently [aka I CBA with a full face of makeup atm] and I thought this would be perfect for that. Plus I have one of their lipsticks that I love and have really wanted to try more from Kiko for AGES.
La Roche Posay's Effaclar Duo is a must-have skincare product of mine; it helps mattify and control my oily skin to whole new levels, so that went in the basket next. I also added the new MUA Twelfth Night Winter Shades eyeshadow palette to the mix; there's some lovely shimmery, purpley shades in there for the new season and MUA are one of my fav budget brands. The striking Green People lip crayon was an impulse add - but I really love it; it's a deeper, warmer shade than I imagined with a metallic shine, bang on trend for AW17. And Burt's Bees lipgloss and lipstick collection have been on my 'must try' list for AGES - this pretty, shimmery pink shade was too perfect to not instantly pick for my personalised edit.
This was a OMG find for me - it's Johnson's baby powder scented and honestly, it smells so, SO nice. It's so pure and sweet, and it just makes me feel so comforted [idk] when I wear it. As soon as I saw it, I knew it had to be mine - I've always loved the smell of baby lotion & powder. I had no idea they made this stuff - and I'm keen as a badger to look at what other sentimental and nostalgic scents the Library of Fragrance has on their shelves [weak book pun, 2/10 for execution.]
I've had so much fun creating my own beauty box with Latest In Beauty - no longer are we forced to settle for mediocre samples and crappy foot creams sent out by companies who only want us for our ££ [or my lack of] each month. LiB hands the power firmly back to us. You control your beauty box destiny - and I hand on heart recommend giving this service a whirl after my experience using them.
Have you ever tried Latest in Beauty? Build your own box here, or shop their collaborations & collections here.
*This post contains PR samples, but all opinions are totes my own.
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