My first Memebox: 10MinuteBox

A month or so ago, I got rather annoyed when the one beauty box I subscribed to seemed to think that tea and notebooks were somehow beauty items. Nope. Cancelling my subscription, I decided to try out  Memebox, which is a Korean beauty box subscription service. Korean cosmetics are known for being super cute and for having great/interesting skincare, which are of course things literally everyone is interested in, no?

Memebox seems to work a little differently to usual boxes - they do have a monthly box, which seems to sell out, and they also have one-off boxes as well. If you go onto their site, there are a variety of boxes available, and you can buy them as a one-off as opposed to a subscription, which I think is great. It’s hard to determine which is the regular monthly box as there are so many to choose from – including themed boxes such as a green tea box and boxes for dudes, and the larger Superboxes – and the website isn’t super explanatory - but I believe it’s the numbered boxes.

Buying boxes gives you points which you can use off of your next order or in the store- this order shipped late, so I was given points to spend, which I immediately put toward another box! They do take a while to ship boxes after they're bought, but you're let know the shipping date and my box was here five days after it actually shipped, which is great as it came from Korea! They're a little more expensive than the average £10-15 beauty box - I believe after conversion into pounds, this was £18.

The box I chose was the 10MinuteBox:

"The hottest Memebox has just arrived! It comes with the most perfect make-love-happen-now beauty products that will get you all polished up for a night you'll never forget!"
The premise of this box was getting ready for a date quickly so I was hoping for makeup items in this box!”

Cute box, no? Let's see what I got - all products are the full sized version:

 

Aromalab EverEssence Designer Fragrance Oil in 8 Women ($34)

I'm not a huge fan of perfume oils or rollerballs, but this is pleasant enough. I don't get the jasmine promised on the box, but I do get a light rosy musk at the start drying to something a little more woody. This will live in my desk drawer at work for a little pick me up during the day but I can’t see it being a staple.

Hope Girl Powdery Body Perfume ($49)

cheers box

HOW cute is this? This is what I got the box for - cute brands that I've never heard of! I'm not sure how useful this product will be - it's a silica-based powder that claims to absorb sweat and keep you feeling fresh, with a subtle scent. Mine is in the scent 'Tropical Lovers' and it's a subtly sweet, coconut-y sort of scent. It’s a light scent, again, pleasant enough. You can apply with the puff in the lid, or unscrew the top to dip a brush in, or to refill. If I don't wind up using this powder – which remains to be seen to be honest! - I'll decant my regular face powder into it because it is so darn cute!

 

Hope Girl Milky Balm Lipstick in Red Burgundy ($24)

Oh, glory, glory! More leopard print! In the form of a burgundy lipstick, nonetheless! I have no qualms here whatsoever – the packaging so right up my alley it’s ridiculous. And as for the lipstick itself? Lovely! Creamy, opaque, not too glossy, no slip and very comfortable. This ticks all the boxes. I’d buy more from the brand. The star item in the box in my opinion!

Secret Romance Hair Essence Lovely 60ml ($39)

 

This is a 'pheromone hair essence that leaves your hair smelling like a sensual rose all day.' It also claims to nourish and increase shine. I can't read the ingredients as they're in Korean, which makes it harder to determine what it might actually do! This is an oily-feeling serum with a light, powdery scent, but I'm not sure it smells of rose - perhaps it's a little masculine smelling?! I can't put my finger on it but I like it. From trying it out quickly, a little goes a long way! I'll be trying this out further to see if I can coax a little love back into my dry ends! I am also totally convinced the pheromones in this will turn my other half into a crazed sex beast.

Laboratory Eyelash ($5)

legit and professional application is definitely not straight from the box with no glue at all, nope nope

These are so cute! And how cheap are lashes out there? Pretty jealous. These are chunky yet still manage to have a thin lash band - so in my eyes, basically pretty perfect. Can't wait to use these properly, they are banging!

So...would I get another Memebox? Ahem.  I already ordered one before this one came, but basically, yes, I'm excited to get the next one! A nice mix of unusual items  - which is the point! – that are all full sized,  good value compared to the price of the box, great customer service, you’re not tied in to buy one each month. Yep, yep, yep. Memebox are doing it right.

Have you tried this box? What's your favourite subscription box?

LoveMeBeautyBox: January

I'm really enjoying my LoveMeBeauty subscription... I'm three boxes in now and I'm really enjoying the face that you can choose your options - it makes me more excited to try my items!



Clockwise from left:

Anatomicals your nose smells rose body cleanser:

It's a shower gel. It smells like rose. It's cheap and cheerful - not an unwanted item, but at this time of year I always end up with more shower gels than I can a stick at! The cheerful packaging will brighten up my bathroom until I've run out of Lush's Christmas goodies!

Weleda Sea Buckthorn Hand Cream:
I love love love my Weleda Skin Food (review coming soon!) and I've seen a lot of products with sea buckthorn in lately, so I was keen to try this. This is a small little tube, so perfect for your coat pocket or bag. It's a nice thick cream and it'll be coming along with me on my ski holiday

Essential Care Lemon and Teatree Facial Wash:

This was an added extra to the box this month - hurrah! Not suited for my skin type (sadly, as  it smells divine!) so I'll be palming this on off onto my boyfriend. who likes a nice face wash.

Pureology Colour Stylist Silk Bodifier:

Bloody hell, a hair mousse? I haven't used mousse since...god knows how long! The reviews on their website are a it mixed and seeing as the top rated one describes it as a 'moose,' I'm not sure what to think about this item, but I'll give it a try.

Cosmetics a La Carte Divine Lash Mascara:

Now *this* is what I was excited to try out! I've heard very good things about this brand and I'm on a mascara mission at the moment. I was very pleased to see a mascara with a SMALL WAND for a change. I've tried this out a few times and will do a full review, but let's just say I'm very pleased so far.

NYX Eyeshadow in Black Sparkle:

Meh. It's not that black. It's not that sparkly. I'd rather have had a neutral shade to be honest - this one is nothing to write home about, nor something I'd use regularly. A bit disappointing, but at least I know what I'm not missing!


So...a bit of a mixed bag this month, but the mascara was well worth the £10 subscription in my opinion!

Have you tried anything new or unusual lately? Fallen in love with any subscription box items?

 

I did rolled bangs!!!

Or as we'd say in Jolly Ol' England, guv'nor, a rolled fringe.

We had a big joint birthday do last night and all went out to Volupté, which is a cabaret/burlesque lounge in London. The food and service, to be honest, were so shit we complained, which we never do because we're wimps, but the show itself was really good fun. There was a excellent jazzy trio - the compere/singer was fabulous - the burlesque dancing was beautiful and there was a cheeky topless acrobat which is always a good thing.

Anyway, I managed to make my hair do something good!



Eyes:
Lid: Shimmery whitish colour from Wet N Wild Lust Palette
Crease: Taupe and charcoal from e.l.d Day2Night quad
Brows: Rimmel Brow Pencil in Hazel/Dark matte brown from Sleek Storm palette

Cheeks:
Darling Girl Fuji

Lips:
Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Vixen
Barry M Lipgloss Wand in Cherry Glitter

I wanted to show you more pics of this but I only took this one off of my memory card, and now my memory card won't read. Sigh.

Anyway... I don't have many tips on achieving this hair-do, to be honest, except that you need a lot less wide a section of hair than you might think. Section some hair at the front of your head from your ears, and then probably the same width as your pupils are apart. Comb it straight, grab the ends and roll then up and toward your forehead (not your crown.) Keep it tight, pin it underneath with long bobby pins. Let it fan out slightly, secure further with bobby pins and annihilate it with hairspray. Add victory rolls/hair flowers/cute pigtails and you're done!

Robyn x

Robyn's Rockin' Retro #7: Cheaters Victory Rolls - First Attempts

Here's a couple of pics for those of you who don't know what victory rolls are:



Old school, as modelled by Rita Hayworth...



...and new school, as modelled by... er, this lovely model on Daddy O's. (Don't click on it, it'll make you very sad indeed.) This version is more of what I'm going for.


Nice, right? Basically, the style is two upswept rolls on either side of your head. I cannot do them. Well, I sort of can. I can't physically roll my hair up and under into a long roll, like Rita up there. Its too long and thin, plus I'm crap at hair. But I found this awesome 'cheaters' video for long hair on Youtube and I've made a couple attempts so far. It claims to be quick and easy...



...and it was, sort of! I managed to do one side and have it look ok, but I think perhaps I parted my hair too far to one side, and I couldn't get a nice roll with the thinner side, and it was Work Teim.

Onto the second attempt:




Do you like my little skellyton necklace? He's got a top hat and a guitar to keep him company :D

With more practice I think I could get these looking really nice!I think the rolls should have been a little further forward on my head, but I'm pleased I managed to get them more even. If anyone has any tips, knows what kind of styling product I should use to keep my hair smoothy smooth and not crunchy while I'm styling this kind of thing, or has ideas what to do with the rest of my bloody hair when I have the rolls in, I'd be more than grateful!

xxx

Robyn's Rockin' Retro #4: Pin Curls.... fail?

I looooove the look girls get when they pin curl their hair. I can never get that look with curlers, and I do try not to use heat on my hair much because it's not good for the colour. So following this tutorial by the utterly stunning hollywoodnoirmakeup, I tried my hands at pin-curling!

I didn't take photos during, but the process was a bit of a pain in the arse. My hair is different lengths at the back which made it hard to tuck the ends into the curls, and I also found it a pain in the arse keeping the rows uniform. Anyway, here is the result - bear in mind this is my first try!






Looks okay in these pictures, I think...




... but you can see here how the sides have gone a bit weird. I think my hair is either too long, was too wet or got crimped by the bobby pins I used to pin it. I have some of the flat alligator-style clips but not enough for my whole head. I'm going to buy some more and try it with my hair drier than this time and see if it works. Anyone have any idea?

My camera died at this point, but obviously I couldn't wear it to work down. I tucked it up and under to one side of my head, which looked pretty, and luckily at work the man came to change the flowers so I left work with orchids pinned in my do!

Shall I try victory rolls, girls? I've semi-successfully done it once, ha ha! Please let me know if you try pin-curls, they're surprisingly comfy to sleep in!

xxx

P.S Swap post tomorrow or the next day...Wendy sent me lots of goodies AGAIN :D

Robyn's Rockin Retro #3: Cheaters Pin-Up Hair

I'm sure we're all familiar with Rosie, yes?



Thank the Lawd and Baby Jesus for Rosie the Riveter because I am shit at hair. Thankfully, a couple of bobby pins and a bandanna have given me something to post about.









This is sooo easy to do, and if you can get the little curl at the front nice, then you can have a stab at doing pin-curls, no problem. All you need to do is section off the hair at the front of your hair and make sure it's all nice and smooth. Then making sure the ends stay tucked in, and that you don't let go, wrap the ends of your hair around two fingers and roll under, towards your hair. When you reach your head, twist the roll back on itself and pin in place! Done! You can do more than one but my hair is quite thin and doesn't look so good with two. And then you can do whatever the hell you want in the back - a french twist, a high pony tail, pigtails, whatever. The last pic is me attempting to do sort-of pin curls, but I started from a pony-tail which was a bit of a fail. Anyway, bung a bandanna on and you're set! Instant Rosie! I've been wearing this a lot lately - good for greasy hair, ha ha!

I also tried my hand at a pompadour, using this tutorial by ilovegerado on YT, who is freakin' awesome.





Anyway, I hated it. I look like a fucking egg. My head, as my lovely "friends" repeatedly tell me, looks like a thumb and I don't think this did me any favours. Still, it was pretty easy to do and it only took me 5 minutes if that. I think that if I had spent some more time I could have got it perfect. I also think that I should have done a higher pony.

I'll be doing another post documenting my troubles with pincurls and if I can face it, attempting to do some victory rolls. I *can* do them, but only if I don't have to go anywhere, and that is a fact. If I'm going out, then guaranteed they'll look like ass. Also going to be posting some retro-themed manis and a 60's look :D


Off gallavanting this weekend, see you soon!