No buying unnecessary toiletries in May - Challenge

emsjune78

Hi All,

V busy week in work, looking forward to the long weekend. One TA and a few IN for me to get the ball rolling for May:

TA - S&G Hand Food - WBA - In my defence there was probably only a few days worth left of this if I'd have used it religiously but I just don't like it enough to do that, its been a LHJ and I had a new TBS Almond Hand & Nail Cream whispering to me that it wanted opening....:o Its infinitely nicer in MHO and that was that!

My IN from the LIB CEW box:
Elie Saab Le Parfum 1ml
Weleda Pomegranate Firming Day Cream 7ml
Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish 30ml
L'Occitane Immortelle Brightening Hand Care 15ml
Nails Inc Porchester Square 10ml
Elemis Pro Collagen Body Cream 50ml
Percy & Reed Dry Conditioner 50ml
(Not counting the Mont Blanc Legend sample as an IN as that will go straight to OH but did have a little sniff first to make sure I liked it and it smells divine!)

One more in that arrived yesterday is St Ives Apricot Scrub 30ml which is a freebie from the FB page

I see beauty boxes are a bit of a hot topic at the moment - above is the first one I've ever bought and it was important for me that I could see what was in it up front and know there were products and brands in it I genuinely already wanted to try (LE, Elemis and L'Occitane) which made it great value. It felt like a real treat opening it up and I got the buzz of having several new products at a cheaper cost than buying one individual item in full size plus you're not stuck with a bigger size of something you hate which turns into the most painful LHJ if you're unlucky! I'll also be able to reuse the pink box for a gift.

My take is that I really enjoy hearing what people have received in their boxes each month and the subsequent reviews - it doesn't tempt me one bit to subscribe as I want to know what I'm getting upfront, the same way as an allocation on arrival holiday wouldn't be for me - yes its good value and a surprise, but I like to know what I'm getting as it needs to be something that suits my needs/tastes or I'd run the risk of being disappointed. I would definitely purchase more boxes from LIB if I liked what I saw.

Likewise I like hearing about the TSV on Q but I'm yet to take the plunge and order something (although if I love the samples from the CEW box I most likely will). I like to hear about the great deals which I think is MSE in itself and on things like freebies with magazines as I'd probably miss out on these otherwise and will only get them if its something I'll definitely use like the Clinique Moisture Surge recently. As well as UU my entire stash, on graduation I would also like a list of go-to HG products which I don't mind being a little more expensive as I'm going to value quality and performance over quantity, good deals etc allow me to try things out as part of this quest.

Please, please, please don't make the thread stricter, I love it exactly how it is. :j For me its the perfect balance of reviews, funny tales of NPI, excellent justifications of IN, triumphant UU of the LHJ or most hated products, general chatter and probably most importantly genuine support, both on and off challenge/topic. :T

There is no way I would have the same ratio of UU to IN as I do now if it wasn't for the thread and my almost daily following. Without it, I would have blindly continued to buy new products at an increased rate, leaving the stash mainly untouched, sometimes for no better reason that I just did not realise what I already had

**Ems jumps down off soap box with a little grin**

HappyTorty wrote: »

Hey, a couple of questions I need answering please...

1. What do you use to remove make-up before you go to bed? The wipes I have used in the past sting my face, so any alternatives that are an MSE price?

2. Do you think buying samples is better than normal sized products? This is the first time that I've ever bought a beauty box with various samples in and I find it very exciting :j

Thanks!

I think I've already answered what I think in relation to your second question above but with regards to removing makeup, I've been using No. 7 Beautiful Skin Gentle Foaming Cleanser lately and it really is amazing stuff, you can literally feel it dissolving your makeup in seconds and it leaves your face feeling super clean without drying it out. Its meant for Normal/Oily skin, I have normal skin with a slightly oily T zone and it seems to suit it down to the ground. I recommended it to a friend and she's just as amazed as me. Its £9 full price so well worth using a £5 off voucher on next time they're around. Its fairly MSE in any case, I think mine was a March IN and there's around a third left - I use it most days.

Sorry for War & Peace folks, had plenty to say there! x

maddiemay

Willowbee wrote: »

Maddiemay - your moonfaced cleanser sounds like Baby Face? I really liked that and thought it was a shame Lush discontinued it I planned to try and make my own version of it but I haven't got around to it (too many cleansers to use up first! :rotfl:)

Edited to add that I AM going to try and make it! Thank you for the reminder :-) I have almost everything I need (I'm subbing mango butter for avocado butter). I don't have everlasting flower absolute but I'll sub in some frankincense essential oil instead.

(The ingredients that Lush used:

Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii), Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera), Avocado Butter (Persea gratissima), Tangerine Oil (Citrus reticulata), Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla planifolia), Everlasting Flower Absolute (Helichrysum italicum), *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, )

That sounds interesting, perhaps you would let us know how you get on:)

Hermia

Oooooh, can I join. My flat is starting to look like Boots. I do actually have an order from Boots on it's way :embarasse but it was paid for with points. So, do you just sort of post a little review when you finish a product? I have read a bit of the thread, but am a tad confused.

Itzybitzy

i wouldn't want the thread stricter

I have actually dropped Joliebox, so it doesn't always tempt talking about them! I am also giving up glossy for a while after the birthday box this month! Just so i can give myself a cooling off period!

Alton_Towers

UU Avon lime shine drops for hair WNBA this was basically a bit of hair gel with glitter in it and I ended up using it on my hair wet then drying it as i didn't find it much cop on dry hair.

GA TBS Sweet Lemon BB given to DD1 as she has quite bumpy skin, she has already been using a Shea one and it's made an improvement.

Got a deo spluttering so should finish tomorrow and the verbena l'occitane shower gel is proving to be a LHJ!

An IN Maybelline illegal lengths mascara, wanted to try one of these new fibre mascaras to see how they compare as a few people I know have gone lash extension mad but personally for me it seems quite expensive for such a short term effect. That and they have complained about not being able to wear eyeliner or mascara as they can't remove it properly as the lashes come out.

Becky_2

Thanks Itzybitzy for starting the May thread. I only bought 1 item in April (a small body oil for my hands)

Not doing so well in May, already bought 3 items. Item 1 was a bargain in Boots clearance, I bought Lancome face cream with SPF for £5.62. Item 2 + 3 I bought today, Elemis eye mask (I love using eyemask and I had totally run out) and a Elemis Rehydrating ginseng toner. I only paid £22 for those 2 and paid the rest with Debenhams beauty points so got it for a good price.

One good discovery this week: My hands are really dry at the moment and I have had a bottle of Johnson's baby oil in the bathroom cabinett for years. I tried it as a hand cream this week and it does a brilliant job, so can now start using the baby oil up.

Have a nice weekend

trudij

I dont see that theres any need to make this thread stricter - nobody is forced to be here or buy things that are reviewed or bought by others, and its hardly the biggest crime on the planet to be excited about getting the boxes !! Also - to start policing the thread would imply that someone has to be "in charge" and the whole reason this thread is as friendly as it is stems from the fact that we dont need that - its not that difficult to not buy stuff that you see someone raving about on here!! If you drop things like chat about the boxes (which are after all beauty related!) and move it to purely talk about UU and INs, we'd have to turn away from all the chat that we also have regually as well, and frankly, if someone dares to deny me my drool over Rosemarys son and his cat...

also - seeing it down in black and white is subliminaly helping people Im sure...

anyway - no ins for me yet, but im now getting tempted by the nails inc with the magazine. doubt i will have at least one of the colours though - but im not sure i will bother, the more i try the coloured colours (if you see what i mean!) the less i like them - though its not so bad on my toes, im just rubbish at putting it on my toes,so i end up with painted feet as well as nails !!!

asset2004

OMG been away 3 and have millions of pages to catch up!!
I have a UU - finally got rid of the Baylis and Harding lotion that's been sitting on its head for months now!

SuiDreams

Well my hoped for UU didn't happen I'm sure more product keeps magically appearing in the tube. I did UU another one of those Garnier body sachets though, but still don't like it, think I'll be hating by the time I've used all 7.

Out shopping with my niece tomorrow and she is a bad influence on my when it comes to shopping. Fingers crossed for no in's tomorrow.

Zoe.

What are the current beauty freebies in magazines? I've seen a few people on here talking about them.