Review | Glossybox January 2014

The Christmas Glossybox was, in my opinion, a disaster (a razor I already use, a lip gloss in an unsuitable shade, a nail polish in an unsuitable shade and some glittery eyeshadow that doesn't stick to my eyelids - ALL given away!) so I was hoping beyond hope that January's would be awesome. However, awesome is one of the last adjectives I would use to describe it, and I feel like asking GB for a refund of the petrol it cost me to collect it from my dad's house!

I signed up for both Birchbox and Glossybox at the same time, with a view to cancelling whichever was least exciting. I am on the verge of cancelling both and just using my money to splurge on things I see reviewed by my fellow bloggers. I signed up for beauty boxes so that I could sample luxury and high end products from brands that I wouldn't chance buying the full version of due to price. That, and I like getting parcels! Enough of the prelude, let me show you why I am decidedly underwhelmed this month...

Anatomicals is a fun brand. The packaging is bright and eye catching, but ultimately their products are sold in Superdrug for between £3 and £6, so it is definitely not a high end brand. I personally believe that the "wacky" packaging is trying to hide the fact that the products just aren't that good. These eye patches probably won't do anything at all other than make me look silly for the 30 minutes I am wearing them. They cost £6 for three packets and I received two packets. At £2 a pop I can't imagine they will make any difference whatsoever to my dark circles.

Moving on...

Balance Me body wash. It's a body wash of 99% natural origin without sulphates, mineral oils or parabens, which is something I look for in body care. This sample is worth £2.50 but I don't like the smell, and I am currently very loyal to the Gamila Secret cleansing bar so I can't see when I will get to use this. There are a lot of essential oils in it which might cause a reaction on my sensitive skin, but time will tell. Whilst I don't hate this sample, I prefer makeup samples (of which there are NONE in this box!)

The next item, and the one that seems to have caused the most anger on the GB Facebook page is the Vaseline sample. What annoys me the most is that this sample is 'worth' 62p according to the list price of £4.99 per 400ml. However, you can get this for £1.75 in Home Bargains!! Like I said before, I signed up for GB because I wanted to try niche products and things I wouldn't normally try. I've tried Vaseline products before, most women have. I'd have rather had an actual tub of Vaseline because it would be more likely to be used in my household! I have sensitive skin and I tried this lotion about two hours ago and it made my legs itch. This will be 'gifted' to a friend methinks.

So far the items are worth £7.12. What else did I get?

Two 3g tubes of Yu-Be moisturising skin cream. The packaging screams "cheap" and has "sample - not for sale" stamped on it, as though someone would actually try and sell this! The value of the 6g is £2.45. The cream itself is very thick and it's yellow. There is an overwhelming smell of 'vapour rub' which the flimsy instruction leaflet states is 'camphor" and that it will "completely fade in minutes"... not so: I slathered it on my cheeks about an hour ago and I can still smell it.


Even the info leaflet looks cheap!

This cream is multi-use so I used it on my dry cheeks. It hasn't sunk in and has left a greasy film, so I'm going to have to wash it off before bed. Weirdly it has left my lips feeling really dry! I'm confused because it is greasy on my cheeks but dried my lips... how is that possible?! Anyway, the value of the box now stands at £9.57.
The final item in the January Glossybox is a pair of floral slanted tweezers from The Vintage Cosmetic Company. They're pretty, if you like floral things a la Cath Kidston (I don't!) but who doesn't already own at least one, possibly more, pairs of tweezers?! These are apparently worth £8 but I have a pair of Elegant Touch tweezers that I've already pitted them against that were only £4. The Elegant Touch tweezers won. I will definitely be giving these to a floral loving friend.

With the tweezers this box is worth £17.57. Bearing in mind the box costs £12.95 (inc postage) to buy I feel very ripped off this month. I didn't get any makeup samples, and the Vaseline sample worth 62p is an insult to the loyal GB fans. I note with interest that in the glossy booklet I received they review and mention products by La Roche-Posay, MAC, YSL, Philosophy, Pervonia and Ellis Faas. So why are they sending out Vaseline products that can be picked up in Poundland?!

Let me know what you think of your January Glossybox in the comments below. Thanks for dropping by!