Trying OSMO

13 Thursday Nov 2014

Posted by masquerade21 in Bargain, Beauty, Christmas, gift ideas, gifts, Hair, review, Reviews, Shopping, under £15

Tags

Bargain, Blinding Shine Conditioner, Blinding Shine Illuminating Finisher, blinding shine shampoo, gift ideas, Hair, hair products, hair styling, how to get really shiny hair, Inspiration, OSMO, OSMO Shine Gift set, product review, review, shine, suitable for extentions, Wonder 10

I was recently sent one of OSMO’s 2014 gift packs and I would like to thank Laura at AJPR for sending this to me to review.

I was able to chose which range I would like to try a product from and I chose to receive something from the shine range as currently I have a few hair products which claim to enhance or add shine that I have been using, so I knew I would be able to measure up how OSMO compares performance-wise.

Laura sent me the OSMO Shine gift pack:

When I opened my parcel to reveal this decent sized, heavy and glitzy box it did feel a bit like a present. I thought yeah, alright, hair care products maybe aren’t on the top of every wish-list, they’re not on top of mine, but I would be happy to receive this as a gift – I wouldn’t unwrap it and be disappointed, I’d be quite satisfied and curious to try the products out.

The contents of the Shine gift set are shown on the box as:

Blinding Shine Shampoo 350ml

Blinding Shine Conditioner 350ml

Blinding Shine Illuminating Finisher 125ml

So I was surprised when I opened the box to find the 3 above mentioned products plus a 4th product:

I felt what can only be described as ‘well chuffed’ at finding this bonus product, I love surprises! Now it has only this instant occurred to me that maybe this bonus surprise product isn’t in every box and it may in fact be a perk of being a blogger sent the box to review but, as the surprise was actually in the box, I think it is a genuine surprise product and I give that a big thumbs up. ( The reason I subscribe to glossy box is because it’s basically a grown up lucky bag – surprises are always going to score high with me) EDIT: I have checked, my surprise was indeed a genuine surprise and not a blogger perk, which makes me wonder what surprises the other OSMO gift packs have.

The surprise product is called Wonder 10 and you spray it evenly over damp hair, leave-in and style as normal to :

Repair dry and damaged hair
Nourish and protect for radiant shine
Provide thermal protection from styling tools
Deliver soft, silky & more manageable results
Colour Protect
Create body and movement
Detangle (incredibly apparently)
Prevent static
Condition (both natural and synthetic hair – so the bonus is a double bonus if you wear extensions)
Smooth split ends and control frizz

Now, Wonder 10 is the one product I haven’t used yet as this week has been more about dry shampoo and less about soft, silky manageable hair- because I have been rushed off my feet – but I’m trying it out after washing my hair tonight and will update this post tomorrow. Due to how well my other OSMO products have performed I have high hopes for this little wonder bottle. I can tell you right now that it smells amazing – I have no idea what it actually smells of but whatever it is, I would genuinely wear as perfume.

(EDIT: I have now tried Wonder 10 and I agree that it conditions, controls frizz and static, and detangles very well. My hair does also feel silky. Body and movement is a hard thing for me to measure as I have thick hair so it’s always full of ‘body’. Likewise colour protect, nourishment, thermal protection, repairing dryness and damage I can’t really comment on – my hair is my natural colour so no protection is needed (what is colour protection anyway? preventing fade?) The easiest thing for me to say is that my hair feels and looks good, so as far as I’m concerned Wonder 10 is delivering results.)

I did find time somehow to try the shampoo and conditioner, maybe because I put them straight on my bathroom shelf when I got them – I was happy because they are not run-of-the-mill and look quite decorative in my bathroom:

I have a stupidly tiny amount of storage space in my bathroom so I always have products on the window sill and littered around the bath so I really really like it when something actually looks good on display. It makes my bathroom feel tidier so the OSMO bottles get top marks for how they look, that shelf wasn’t so great to look at when Head and Shoulders was up there.

I also think they look like expensive salon products so you might be surprised when I tell you that the price for my whole shine gift-set is around £14 (most places have it for £14ish but I did manage to find it online at fragrancedirect.co.uk and loopyhair.com for under a tenner.) I only did a quick search so if you find any good deals let me know because I am now an OSMO fan.

Part of the reason I’m a fan is because their products do what they say on their bottles and these products made my hair shine. The shampoo did all of the stuff that I would expect and gave my hair a noticable shine (I did take pictures as I was planning to compare results with my Vo5 Nourish My Shine shampoo but trying to show a difference in shine was asking a bit much of my camera.)

The shampoo made my hair nice and shiny. Curiously, it smells like an aftershave or cologne which is unusual for a women’s shampoo, but quite cool. My hair smells quite nice when I use it, it just doesn’t smell of something generic like strawberries.

The conditioner didn’t really have much of a scent to speak of which is no issue for me – not really any need for both of the products to smell. It conditions well and leaves my hair very soft.

My hero product is the Blinding Shine Illuminating Finisher. I actually used this without having used the Blinding Shine Shampoo or Conditioner as I wanted to see how well it worked on its own. It works amazingly. Anyone who uses GHD straighteners will understand this next part, you know when you have nice freshly washed hair and then you use your GHDs and instantly your hair is all shiny-shiny? The illuminating finisher is just that in a bottle – spray and be dazzled – instant shine. If you use too much you are in danger of going from shiny to greasy – I know because I enjoyed spraying my magic shine bottle a little too much until my hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in a week but if you have enough restraint not to get carried away then you will love the Blinding Shine Illuminating Finisher. I didn’t notice a scent until I sprayed some on my hand just now to tell you guys – if you sniff it it smells medicated but I don’t actually smell anything when I am just spraying it on my hair. It’s also not sticky or heavy in the slightest so it’s a pretty perfect product. The Wonder 10 is also not sticky – I just tried it on my hand.

Well that’s all I have to say about OSMO for tonight – if you pop back tomorrow night I’ll update this post let you know how I got on with Wonder10.

Lastly- Would I buy this gift set? Yes, without hesitation.

Thanks for checking out my blog 🙂

Mary Kay Press Event in Glasgow

06 Thursday Nov 2014

Posted by masquerade21 in Beauty, Glasgow, Make up, Makeup, review, Reviews, Shopping, Skincare

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Tags

40% discount, beauty blotter oil absorbing tissues, blotting wipes, cleanser, cosmetics, custom palette, exfoliating cleanser, EyeCandy professional make-up, face brush, free gift, Glasgow, good eye make-up remover, lash love mascara review, Lynne Mills, Mary Kay, Mary Kay Compact Pro, Mary Kay Men, Mary Kay Press Event, Mary Kay review, nail lacquer, oil-free eye makeup remover, press event, review, semi-matte lipstick, Skincare, skinvigorate, skinvigorate review, time 3-in-1 cleanser, translucent powder, true dimensions lipstick

Recently I got to go along to a Mary Kay Press Event in Glasgow. It was at the gorgeous Blythswood Hotel in a nice little bar which we had all to ourselves for the event. We got to wander around and try the products placed on tables around the room and ask the Mary Kay staff everything from how the brand began to what their latest products were. Below are some images that give just a hint of the range that Mary Kay has to offer. There is also some interesting information about the brand at the bottom of this post.

I got to put together my own palette too!

My palette wasn’t the only thing that I got to take home with me, Mary Kay were very generous.
You can buy and create your own custom Mary Kay palette. I still have space in mine and I’m thinking that I will include some brushes and maybe some of my own make-up like eye-liner. Compact Pro (Empty) Palette : £12.50

I tried to pick my favourite product from my Mary Kay haul and I just couldn’t, everything I’ve tried is really good, but I have 3 products which I love and that I am already using everyday. The skinvigorate brush is one of them. To use it you wet your face, apply a cleanser ( I recently converted to cream cleansers and now there is no going back) I’ve used this brush with the Mary Kay Timewise 3-in-1 cleanser(more about that below) and with my own Elemis cleanser and it works great with both. I’m continuing to use it with the Elemis one just now as I like to use all of a product before moving on to the next one. I’ve used it morning and night for 3 days and I’m already much happier with my skin. Anyway back to how use it: wet your face and the brush, apply cleanser and then use the brush in a circular motion for 15 seconds on each area of your face (forehead, nose, cheeks and chin – don’t use it too close to your eyes where the skin is delicate) The brush has a pleasantly odd sensation which I find quite relaxing. I find a light touch works best as, if you apply too much pressure it can feel a bit like the brush is dragging your skin but if you hold it lightly enough it gently buffs and polishes your skin and leaves it looking and feeling great. It even comes with batteries included and a replacement brush head (it’s recommended that you change the brush head every 3 months so I will have to pick up some more of those.) The only negative thing I have to say about the brush is that I had to wrestle a little bit to take the bottom of the brush off. I did eventually manage to take it off myself (to insert the batteries)- I’m not sure If my own model was particularly stiff or if it is the same story with all of the brushes but either way it is really not much of an issue and the excellent results are well worth this small hassle. Skinvigorate Cleansing Brush: £35.00

My second love is this Mary Kay mascara, I actually got one of these in a Glossybox a while back and hadn’t tried it yet ( I told you a like to finish a product before moving on to the next) Anyway I have tried this now and I LOVE it. The finished result is amazing. I’ll need to do a separate post on good mascaras because I have a few that I like but I think this one might be number one.

Lash Love Mascara: £16:00

True Dimensions Lipstick: £14.00 Semi-matte Lipstick: £12.00

Beauty Blotter Oil Absorbing Tissues: £5.50 Translucent Powder: £18.00 Nail Lacquer: £9.00 The cleanser above is a good choice particularly if you want a cleanser which also exfoliates as it contains little exfoliation beads which do a very good job. This will be a weekend cleanser for me as I can be quite rushed in the morning and when I have used exfoliating cleansers like this in the past I end up finding/feeling exfoliation beads when I am doing my make-up for work, apparently I never manage to wash them all off. I will treat my skin to this on weekends when I have time to make sure it is all properly washed off and it will make a nice little addition to my routine.

Timewise 3-in-1 Cleanser: £20.00This eye make-up remover is my 3rd love. It takes my make-up off effortlessly and works so well that instead of waiting for my Simple eye make-up remover to run out I have just ditched it as I think the Mary Kay one works much better.

Oil-Free Make-Up Remover: £13.00

After trying their products I’m impressed with Mary Kay and know I will make future purchases from them. If you want to purchase Mary Kay products too there are a few ways to do this, Mary Kay has 3 million beauty consultants worldwide in over 35 countries. The beauty consultants offer a try before you buy service and let’s face it buying make-up without trying it before hand is just a gamble and the reason why I have so many full bottles of foundation gathering dust.

Speaking of foundation, Mary Kay cater to all ethnicities and age groups with all of their cosmetic and skin care products so you should be able to find exactly what you need and stop adding to your dust gathering collection of bottles and tubes.

To find out who is your nearest Mary Kay beauty consultant or to buy Mary Kay products online visit www.markykay.co.uk, now is a good time visit as I spotted some free gift offers today.

Thank you to the team at Mary Kay for all of my great products and answering all of my questions ( the start-up story was particularly interesting, if you want to know the story it’s on the Mary Kay website along with details of how you can become a Mary Kay consultant – they get a 40% discount by the way)

Thanks also to Lauren at Pure PR for letting me attend at short notice.

Thanks for checking out my blog 🙂

Visiting Hair by JFK

29 Monday Sep 2014

Posted by masquerade21 in Bargain, Edinburgh, Fashion, Hair, Nails, Reviews, Scotland

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

avant-garde, award winning, bang bar, Bargain, Beauty, beauty salon, bring your dog, dog-friendly, edinburgh, fringe trim, Hair by JFK, hair salon, hair styling, JFK, manicures, nail salon, review, salon review, student discount, students, unique, unusual

A few days ago I attended a blogger/student event at Hair by JFK in Edinburgh. I took my friend Roxanna with me and we were both glad that we went along, it was a fun night.

When we arrived we were whisked downstairs for some wine, cake-pops and sushi.

While having some nibbles we were told about all of the treatments that we were generously being offered; manicures, fringe trims, hair styling(French braids etc) and makeovers by a professional make-up artist.

The first ‘station’ I came across was the nail station:

One look at all of those sparkly colours and I decided that I was getting my nails done. The lovely Katie Jane did my nails for me, she was very quick and friendly and I was very happy with the finished result.

Four full days later and my nails still look perfect. What’s more they look like I’ve actually had them done, not like I’ve done them myself. I’ve not had many manicures but sometimes when I do get one I think it doesn’t look any better than something I could do at home but Katie tidied my cuticles and applied the polish flawlessy with the tiniest gap between the polish and the edge of my nails. If you are in Edinburgh and you would like to get your nails done then I really couldn’t recommend Katie enough.

While my nails were drying I met Connor the extremely photogenic hairdresser:

He was nice enough to give me a much needed fringe trim, I got my hair cut a few weeks ago (you can read my review here) and it’s the first time in years that I’ve had a fringe. It grew so quickly that I had already resorted to clipping it back and I had heard that some hairdressers won’t give you a fringe trim unless you are a regular (shocking I know) so I was really at a loss for what to do with it. Lucky for me and for anyone else out there with a fringe, Hair by JFK has:

The Bang Bar! A dedicated service for getting your fringe cut. Jump in for 5 minutes and walk out with a tidy fringe! On Fridays it’s free! Well sort of, Hair by JFK would like you to make a donation to The Edinburgh Dog and Cat home, donate whatever you can and you can walk out with a freshly cut fringe and a warm and fuzzy feeling from doing your good deed for the day.

Oh and by the way, you can even take your dog with you to get your hair cut. Seriously-it’s a dog friendly salon, there was a dog there when I was there. How cool is that? Not only did Connor give my fringe it’s much needed trim, he thought that, seeing as I was already in the chair, he would throw a few curls into my hair for me. Thanks Connor 🙂

After my hair and nails had been done I had my first chance to get a good look at the salon while Roxanna was getting her make-up done.

It is a very very cool salon.

The Hair by JKF logo is a zebra with a green mohawk and their philosophy is ‘Hair styling for the individual’ so I spotted a few zebras and several inspiring and unusual hair style ideas:

With amazing styles like those above all around the salon, I wasn’t too surprised to find this either:

Once Roxanna was done getting her make-up done it was my turn:

We were both glammed up and ready for our big night out at…McDonalds! Well, it was a school night and I had work in the morning, and it was the nearest place to the train station that was open…and I love McDonalds.

My night didn’t quite end there though, when I got home I opened my JFK goody-bag to find:

How amazing is the calendar? That is the image that goes with September, it’s a dog/hairdressing calendar all the way through – told you they like dogs. Thank you very much to the team at Hair by JFK for the lovely treatments, the cool goody-bag and for being so friendly and welcoming. I’m sorry we were the last ones to leave!

Thank you also to Kelly at AJPR for inviting me along 🙂

For anyone who wants to know (that should be everyone who gets their hair cut in Edinburgh) you can find Hair by JFK at:

1 Bruntsfield Place, Edinburgh
8 South Clark Street, Edinburgh
http://www.hairbyjfk.com

P.S If you are a student then your really should go check Hair by JFK out – they have their own student card and loyalty scheme with loads of discounts available.

Thanks for checking out my blog 🙂

Sleeping Beauty Salon Blogger Event

11 Friday Jul 2014

Posted by masquerade21 in Beauty, Nails, Reviews, Scotland

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

award winning salon, Beauty, beauty salon, Blogger Event, bloggers night, edinburgh, Elemis, free treatments, good value for money, July 2014, Millie Mackintosh, Nouveau Lashes, press event, press night, review, Shellac, Sleeping beauty Salon, St.Tropez

On Tuesday evening I made my way to Edinburgh to attend a blogger event at Sleeping Beauty Salon. I was so impressed by the salon, it’s services and it’s staff that, although I don’t live in Edinburgh, I am planning on travelling there to visit the salon again and get some more treatments.

Upon arrival at the Salon I was greeted with cocktails and cupcakes.

and handed a pleasantly heavy goody bag (the contents of which were amazing)
Then I was told that the Salon was offering us lucky bloggers a variety of free treatments including:

Eyebrow threading and waxing
Manicures and pedicures
Shellac Manicures
Application of Nouveau Lashes from the Millie Mackintosh range

AND we could have as many treatments as we liked!

While I decided which treatments I would like to get I explored the salon and took some pics of it’s lovely decor and products:

I then decided to have a manicure

This shade is called ‘sugar spice’ and it is from Shellac’s own polish range.

I also had some Nouveau Lashes applied, I chose the City lashes from the Millie Mackintosh range and I was really happy with how natural they looked.

When I got home I opened my goody bag and was far from disappointed.

I have already used some of the products that I received so look out for some reviews coming soon.

I received a voucher for a Hot Lava Shell Massage so I will definitely be visiting Sleeping Beauty Salon soon for that and I’m having some issues with my skin at the moment so I am thinking of booking a facial also – so look out for reviews of those treatments.

Sleeping Beauty Salon has a membership system which for a fixed price of £550.00 for a year or £275.00 for 6 months entitles you to £50.00 worth of treatments every month. Members also receive significant discounts on all treatments and the salon also has a point based loyalty system. It’s easy to see why the chain has won so many awards.

You can find Sleeping Beauty Salons in Edinburgh, Inverness and Lerwick, to find your nearest salon go to www.sleepingbeautysalon.com

I would like to thank Kelly at AJ PR for inviting me to this event and all the staff at Sleeping Beauty Salon for being so welcoming and friendly and for hosting this great event.

Thanks for checking out my blog 🙂

Inside the July Birchbox

30 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by masquerade21 in Beauty, review, Shopping

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Bargain, Beauty, beauty protector, birchbox, blanc cachemire, blush, Chia, Chia shots, conditioner, detangle, Eyeliner, Eyes, Fashion, french, gel, German, Hair, hair products, inkwell, instain, july, leave in conditioner, long wearing, make up, new look, protect, protectrice, purple, review, shopping, skin, Skincare, skinfood, the balm cosmetics, waterproof, waterproof gel Liner, weleda

Here is what I received inside my July Birchbox :

Thanks for checking out my blog 🙂

Mmm…Milllennium

21 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by masquerade21 in review

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Tags

Billionaire Shortbread, Breviewed, Chocolate, Christmas, Copthorne, Drops Gemstones, Eton Mess, fairground, George Square, Hotel Chocolat, ice-skating, Millennium, Millennium Hotels, review, Salted Caramels, Smiley Lick

As far as blogging gigs go, this one is the tastiest one that I have had yet.
At the moment Millennium and Copthorne Hotels are trying to decide which chocolates from the Hotel Chocolat range they should place in the rooms of their hotel guests. This is no easy feat since the Hotel Chocolat range has a wide variety of beautiful chocolates to offer. So that’s where I come in, Milennium and Copthorne Hotels have sent me and various other bloggers a gorgeous bag filled with Hotel Chocolat goodies to review and to pick our favourite chocolate from. Don’t mind if I do 😉

Here is the lovely sample pack that I recieved and what was inside it :

Obviously I couldn’t wait to dive in and start reviewing.

First of all I tried the Salted Caramels.

This was the first time that I had ever tried salted caramel so I was quite excited. The chocolates were a good enough size to give me a nice satisfying bite when I tried them. The first taste that hit me was unfortunately the salt which, although I was expecting it, I found quite unpleasant. After that the caramel taste kind of kicked in which improved things and then I finally got to the not so salty chocolate which was a relief. I think that people who like salted caramel would enjoy these but these just helped me find out that I am not a fan of salt in my caramel. With regards to the packaging I think that it resembles the packaging for tablets which, lets face it, is not very enticing but the look and shape of the chocolates themselves was quite inviting. I would say that guests who like salted caramel would enoy these but it is unlikely that all guests would enjoy them so I don’t recommend these for Millennium Hotels.

After the Salted Caramels I opted for the Smiley Lick.

This was a nice and simple chocolate lollypop. It was easy to open and the chocolate was lovely and thick so you get a real mouthful with each bite. I liked this so much that I couldn’t stop to note down my thoughts after just one bite. It ended up like this before I could stop eating it long enough to take notes :

The chocolate was very smooth and it melts in your mouth almost instantly. Out of all of the samples that I recieved it was the only one that protected you from getting chocolate on your fingers since it was on a stick. Although this was so nice that I felt like eating it all in one go, I think it is a little too goofy looking and not quite elegant enough to look at home within Millennium and Copthorne Hotels. If it were up to me I would stock this at the hotels but reserve it for the child guests and give the adults something a bit more elegant.

When I finally managed to put down the Smiley Lick I moved on to the Billionaire’s Shortbread Selector.

I thought that the presentation of the Billionaire’s Shortbread was quite appealing, to me it looks like something that would fit in with the elegant and luxurious feel of Millennium Hotels so it ticked that box straight away. Then I opened them. They have such a strong smell! They obviously smell of chocolate and caramel so nothing unpleasant but I was surprised by the strength of the smell, it hits you as soon as you open the packet and I found that a little off-putting. After that I expected these to be very rich and sickly-sweet. It turned out that they were really quite nice. Like the Salted Caramels they were a decent size and gave you a nice satisfying bite. I was pleasantly surprised by the filling, I had been expecting runny caramel and instead I got some kind of caramel-praline blend which I actually quite liked. I loved that the shortbread cookies were on top instead of at the bottom. I thought that was quite a nice twist. The Billionaire’s Shortbread is a contender.

Once I had sampled the Billionaire’s Shortbread I moved onto the Eton Mess Slab.

This smelled exactly like strawberry ice-cream. It wasn’t an overpowering smell either, you just got a faint whiff of it as you lifted the chocolate to your mouth. It was lovely

When I bit into this it was so flavoursome. The bar is a blend of strawberry and vanilla chocolate with scattered pieces of strawberry, merigue and cookies on top and inside. Each bite tastes a litte different depending on what kind of mix of strawberry, meringue and cookies you get. I really really liked this but there was just one problem. It was so messy. In the image above on the right you can see all of the debris that fell off of the bar when I snapped a piece off to eat. When you are staying at a nice hotel you really don’t want crumbs all over you so if Millenium and Copthorne Hotels do decide to offer this to their guests then I think they should offer it as a small bite size bar or in a selctor pakage like the Billionaire Shortbreads.

Last but not least I tried the Drops Gemstones.

These are my winner! I would strongly recommend that Millenium and Copthorne Hotels pick these to offer to their guests. Each drop is a fusion of white and dark chocolate and they just taste great. They are quite small and very moreish and I imagine that they would be something great to snack on while unpacking your case.

If I go to a Millennium Hotel in future it will be the Hotel in Glasgow which faces right on to George Square. I’d go at Christmas time when George Square has a nice big ice rink in it and is filled with fairground rides. I would hope that the chocolates that I found in my room would be Drops Gemstones as not only could I snack on them while unpacking, but they are also small and portable enough that I could fit them in my pocket and take them with me when I go on all of the rides at George Square.

So that’s what I think but what about you? If you went to a fancy hotel which of the chocolates above would you hope to find in your room? Which would you least like to find?

Thanks for checking out my blog 🙂

The Mystery Box Trend

12 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by masquerade21 in Beauty, Fashion, Shopping

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Beauty, birchbox, glossybox, julep maven, make up, mystery box, review, shopping, trend

While reading through blogs I have noticed a few mentions of ‘mystery boxes’ and I was curious as to what they were. So I have done some research and can now tell you a little bit about this trend and where you can find Mystery boxes.

Mystery boxes usually come from either a specific make-up brand and contain a surprise selection of that brand’s products, or they come from sample-selling companies, who send you a surprise selection of samples. You usually have to pay to recieve mystery boxes and the most popular way of recieving them seems to be monthly.

I have had a look at what mystery boxes are on offer at the moment and here is what I have found :

Glossybox (UK) (Sample-selling company)

You can recieve glossy boxes from www.glossybox.co.uk for £10. This is what Glossybox says on their website :

Stay up to date with current trends and discover new niche brands
Every month, GLOSSYBOX delivers a mix of 5 exciting product miniatures packed in a beautiful box for you to test at home
Join for just £10.00 per month
(plus p+p. There is no minimum subscription term)

If you would like to receive 5 luxury product miniatures from high-end brands every month, then simply register to create an account and subscribe to receive your first GLOSSYBOX. Fill in your Beautyprofile to help us select products to complement your personal beauty and styling requirements.

Birchbox (U.S) (Sample-selling company)

You can order Birchboxes from www.birchbox.com for $10 , they do both male and female boxes. This is what they say on their website :

Women’s Subscription

Each month, receive a delivery of high-end beauty and lifestyle samples. $10/month

Julep Mystery boxes (U.S) (Mostly Julep brand samples)

You can order Julep mystery boxes from www.julep.com for $19.99, here is what they say on their website :

What is Julep Maven? Becoming a Julep Maven gives you exclusive access to COLOR. Each month we hand-pick trendsetting new nail colors, cult faves and cutting-edge beauty products that are just right for you. Commitment shy? No problem. YOU decide how often to receive your Julep Maven box, and you can cancel at any time.

1. What’s Your Style? – Take the Julep Maven style quiz to find out. It’s fun, free and helps us pick the colors and styles that are SO. YOU. 2. Discover Your Inner Maven – Sign in to view your style profile and first Julep Maven Box, including at least two seasonal nail colors plus beauty favorites personalized for you. 3. Congrats! You’re a Maven! – Place your first order and the introductory Julep Maven Box ships within three business days.

So now you know what mystery boxes are and where to get some, the question now is, are they worth spending your money on? I can see why you might want one, I mean getting a mystery box is like getting a present, they come nicely wrapped and you have no idea what is inside, it might be something great. Of course I have only just found out about mystery boxes today and have never ordered one so I can’t tell you if they are worth it. But I can point you in the direction of some other bloggers who can 🙂

For a glossybox review check out : http://whosoloves.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/march-glossybox/

For a birchbox review check out : http://thebeautifullagoon.com/2012/04/11/my-march-birchbox-wrap-up/

For a Julep Maven mystery box review check out :http://underscoredesigns.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/julep-mystery-spring-box/

If you know of any other ‘Mystery Box’ schemes please tell us about them in the comments section 🙂

All images taken from Google Images