August Glossybox: Review & First Impressions

As you may know if you read my review of last month’s Glossybox (which I somewhat dramatically titled A Tale of Disappointment and Woe), I’m new to the Glossybox club and was somewhat disappointed with the my first delivery. God hates a quitter though (probably), so I decided not to cancel my box and to see whether this month offered me something a bit more exciting.

The theme this month is ‘High Flyers’, and the box is ‘filled with beauty goodies for the girl on the go’. To keep in with this idea, the products come from all over the world and are under 100ml – supposedly so that you can take them on planes with you (thoughtful, or a convenient excuse to fob us off with some teeny products? You decide). So, what’s in my August Glossybox?

Oceane Femme Makeup Remover Pen

This product is the one that jumps out to me as the most interesting this month. I’ve seen makeup removing pens before – I think e.l.f. potentially do one, but don’t hold me to that. I’m intrigued to see how well this works, as I do tend to cause havoc when applying eyeliner and mascara. Could this product replace the tried and tested ‘cotton bud and a bit of saliva’ removal method?! We shall see. This isn’t available in the UK yet, so doesn’t have an RRP, but for a full size product with three replacement nibs (on a side note, I hate the word nib), this seems to be quite a good addition to my makeup bag.

Emite Eyelash Curler

This eyelash curler retails at £20, making it the best quality item in this month’s box. I already have an eyelash curler that I get along fine with, and to an extent think an eyelash curler is an eyelash curler – but then, Lauren once did tell me a horror story about a girl who SNIPPED OFF HER LASHES with a dodgy curler, so maybe it is the sort of tool that’s worth having a decent one of.

Jelly Pong Pong 2-in-1 Eyeliner & Shadow

It’s definitely the idea of products like this that first drew me to the Glossybox subscription – my main interest is makeup and I wanted to try brands I hadn’t encountered before, such as Jelly Pong Pong. At first I thought this would be a double-ended product, and was surprised to see that it’s actually a chunky pencil which is supposed to serve as both eyeliner and eyeshadow depending on how you use it. I’m a little suspicious of products that try to do more than one thing (2 in 1 shampoos and conditioners, I’m looking at you!) but maybe this will work just fine.

I’m a little devvoed to have received the plum shade rather than the black or bronze as I’m generally not a fan of coloured eye products, but I’ll still give this a whirl. Who knows, maybe I’ll become a huge coloured makeup fan and bring back the pink mascara I wore when I was fifteen. Hopefully not though.

It apparently retails at £10.50, which I would never pay for an eyeliner personally (unless it came with a generously portioned serving of cake) but which definitely bumps up the overall value of the Glossybox this month.

Philosophy Facial Cleanser (Sample)

What is this – a facial cleanser for ants?! Okay I’m just being snitty – I know sample products are a normal thing in Glossyboxes. Also, this apparently costs £17.50 for a full sized bottle, so I suppose it falls into the luxury product range. It’s a 3 in 1 cleanser that is appropriate for all skin types…. woohoo? As always, it’s hard for me to get excited about skincare.

Juicy Couture’s Viva La Juicy Noir (Sample)

At first I came close to throwing a hissy fit when I saw this second sample product in the box. I then re-considered and decided it was actually nice to get a bit of perfume in the box, plus I do really like Juicy Couture scents so I’ll definitely use this up quite quickly. On first impressions I love the smell, and a full sized bottle could make its way onto my birthday wish list as my perfume reserves are running dangerously low.

I think one of the worse things you can do when you get your Glossybox is to see what other people have got in theirs. Of course I did this though, and first of all read the beautiful Vicky from Stone’s Got Style’s post on her box. I think it was this that made me angry about my two samples, as Vicky received a full-sized Tresemme hair conditioning treatment as her fourth product, which my ratty old weave would have been crying out for.

Generally, though, I don’t think it’s a bad box this month. My first three products are all pretty solid and would definitely appeal to a range of people. I’m still not wowed by Glossybox and am interested to hear from anyone who has subscriptions with other companies. Also, let me know in the comments section what you all received in your boxes!