My Little Box – Dolce Vita

Its been quite a while since my last review of a My Little Box, but I am still receiving them and loving every single one! April’s box was all themed around Rome and Italy, bursting with colourful and fun items! So straight onto the review:

As per usual the box came with an art post card with the quote ‘Everything sounds better in Italian’. The My Little World magazine also kept to the Italian theme a fair amount centred on cooking with an interview with Eleonra Galasso about her cooking, along with a few recipes.

Along with the three usual cosmetic based products this month included two gifts, the first being a lovely leaf style ring from My Little Beauty (RRP £12). Its actually very nice, and fits (amazingly, but can be easily adjusted). Then secondly a turban/headband/headwrap also from My Little Beauty (RRP £11), although I love its bright and cheery colours I’m not sure its quite its my style or will suit me, but we will see!!

The three cosmetic based products were as followed (and are pictured in order above)

1. Croisere Celadon Body Oil, Baija, 30ml – 16,90€ Per 50ml.  – I’m quite keen on packaging, always have been and believe that it really does say something about the quality of a product and for some reason the packing for this body oil really caught my eye, its brightly coloured but stylish, which gives high hopes for the product itself.The product itself comes in a little glass bottle, with a dripper style top. On the label it is described as ‘a semi-dry oil with a light, delicately scented texture. The scent has to be one of the first things I noticed, as per to the bottle you can definitely tell its green tea jasmine, being able to pick up both in a single sniff. This oil can be used in a few different ways, being applied directly to the skin or in bath water. Straight onto the skin it soaks in leaving your skin feeling soft but not greasy (thankfully!!) it also really does smell nice – keep smelling my hand where I’ve applied it while writing this!
2. La Fille De L’Air, Courreges, 8.5ml, €69 per 50ml – In the summer I’m always looking for different perfumes, and was very happy to receive this little spray, its also the perfect size for a handbag, or even something smaller. At first the perfume is slightly overpowering, and as with many perfumes takes a couple of minutes to properly settle. I would mostly describe it as a floral scent with a few soapy hints, which is growing on me more and more, its subtle in some ways but its obvious that its a perfume. I think its something which I’ll need to wear a few times and get a few more opinions on, although so far most people like it too.
3. Summer Sunbathing Illuminating Moisturiser for Legs, My Little Beauty, £8 – A self-tanning moisturiser, a perfect product for starting off the tan! Although I haven’t properly started using it, which does have something to do with a slightly scent of aniseed which fades into a very sweet smell, a little too sweet for me – although I have been a bit scented out with these products! Its lovely to apply, a tad runny, but leaves the skin feeling lovely and smooth!

And thats it, another box done! Again I have enjoyed this box and its now been well over a year since I first signed up to My Little Box, but loving it every month!!

I am also going to try my best efforts to start doing these reviews more regularly so keep your eyes open!! Cx!

My Little Box – Septemeber

As always I greatly look forward to receiving My Little Box and this month was no different! The name of the box being My Little Fashion Box gave me some real promise of what could be inside and I certainly wasn’t disappointed, again the box is packed full with some real treats!

So jumping straight in:

My Little ‘Provence’ Box – May Review

Time for My Little Box May review and I really think to 25 degree sunny weather is actually doing a good job of setting the scene for this box even more! This months theme is all about the Provence region of France, warm sunny weather, BBQs, summer lavender smells everything which makes the region Provence!

So driving straight in:

The art postcard is back to being its usual shape this month and really is trying to sum up Provence in a picture, its bright, colourful and really makes me want to be there!

Next I want to jump over to the first gift I came across – a magnet set, a nice little touch although something I probably won’t have much use for, could make a great gift for a young girl though!

Secondly something I am much more impressed with and can’t wait to make – A DIY bracelet! The set comes complete with the golden cuff and threads that you will need to create your own piece of jewelry with full instructions and a few different styles in the magazine.

Again this really would make a great gift as the set or completed, but I will be keeping this one to myself and will put up a photo once I’ve made it!

The magazine was again more of a fold out type, which I really do like, still contains great information and tutorials but comes with the added bonus of a poster like this months one below:

This month the box came with    5 cosmetic products, 4 travel sized from French brand L’Occitane, who are based in Provence!

1) Mer & Mistral Shower Gel 50ml – This little shower gel smells amazing! It is described as ‘Summer holiday in a bottle’ from the information card and I’d certainly have to agree – also perfect travel size so it will definitely be coming with me on my summer holiday!

2) Roses et Reines Hand and Nail Cream – I seem to be gathering a large collection of hand and nail creams, all slightly different, this one very fragrant perhaps a little too much for me!

3) Verbena Body Lotion – I was able to hold onto this little body lotion for about 5mins before my mum was testing it and asked to have it. She’s highly impressed, liking the smell and saying that it leaves your skin feeling great! A winner there – and future present ideas!

4) Verbena Leaf Soap – A cirtusy soap which is said to cleanes and exfoliate the skin…sounds like something I’m willing to give a try, even with my generally bad track record with soaps…

5) The amazing eyeshadow crayon by My Little Beauty –  smooth and silky to the feel and easy to apply with a twist end this eyeshadow looks great! Metalic brown in shade so great for matching with outfits on those warm summer evenings.

And thats it! Bit short and sweet but I can hear the ice cream calling from the freezer, although now all I really want to do is sit outside surrounded by lavender, a cool glass of wine (or pimms) in hand and dream of Provence…but first I think its ice cream and hayfever tablet time!

Again this is a great box from My Little Box, they really do manage to impress every time!

Speak soon! Cx

My Little ‘Dream’ Box – April review

April My Little Box review time and this month the theme was all about dreams! The box had a great feel to it, light and airy really reflecting the dream theme well, lots of clouds and dream quotes too!

So straight onto its contents!

Nail Stamping – Coming soon…

For a while now I have seen loads of nail tutorials and nail art which have used nail stamping kits – and now its my turn to have a go!

I picked up a couple of nail stamping kits from PoundLand and have started testing them out, coming to the conclusion that there is definitely a technique to getting it right (or could just be the cheap kit) some nails coming out much better than others, but practice is perfect – so once I’ve got it finely tuned I’ll get a tutorial up!

So keep your eyes open! X

My Little ‘Frenchie’ Box – February

 And here it is My Little ‘Frenchie’ Box review – February’s My Little Box with month featuring Ines de La Fressange. First of all I have to say that this has been my favorite My Little Box (and general subscription box) to date, packed full of amazing gifts!

The box contained the usual postcard art, magazine then had two gifts and four cosmetic products – so a little more contents than normal! With the sticker for the box reading the following ‘Being unafraid of not being liked is the best way to be liked’ – Ines de Le Fressange. I think its a great quote theres no point in trying to act differently to get people to like you, I’ve found that just being myself is enough! And have even been complimented on how ‘random’ I can be!

Straight onto the main gifts I want to talk about the phone case first – when I first read ‘My Little Smartphone Case’ across the box it came in I was a little concerned that it would just be a generic iPhone case – which having a HTC isn’t useful, however, I couldn’t have been more wrong!

I actually love this phone pouch and have had my phone in it ever since unboxing it (I can even fit my iPod in behind it). The popper tap which folds over the top also acts as a ‘slider’ to pull the phone out of the case so you can get to it more easily, I have seen this type of case before and think they are great! The quality also looks really good, the stitching is tight and the material is thick (canvas and PU) – and red is my favorite colour! Smartphone case rrp £16

Next up is the Les petits mots D’Ines (rrp £6.50) – which I believe directly translates to saying the little notes of Ines (actually Pot of messages, pays of to read the description card). Its so cute, a little glass jar filled with 28 quotes, pick me ups and wardrobe tips on little scrolls – so cute that I really don’t want to open up and read the scrolls. I may have to unroll them really carefully then roll them back up and put them back in the jar! – This would also make an amazing present for anyone!

Moving onto the four rather than the normal three cosmetic products:

1) DHC Oil Blotting Paper (rrp £4) – I actually don’t have a lot to say on this, its clear from the packaging that the product is from Japan, but I’ve never actually used blotting paper before. The packaging of the actual paper is easy to use, with it sliding open and only dispensing one piece at a time so you can’t accidentally chuck the whole lot over the floor! The paper itself is made of 100% natural hemp fibres and the box contains 100 sheets.

2) L’Oreal Paris Super Liner Brow Artist Plumper (rrp £5.99) – I do already have an eyebrow mascara such as this one, however, will soon be swapping them over as this one from L’Oreal is great, applies nice and smoothly and is the right colour for myself – My eyebrows do actually annoy me from time to time, as having light hair I have eyebrows which start darker near my eyes but are blonde at the ends making it look like I have really short eyebrows, not many people notice but from time to time I do try to fill them in a bit more! This is certainly a product which will be making it into my main make-up bag!

3)By Terry Terrybly Khol Pencil (rrp £23) – To start with I was seriously shocked when I saw retail price of this eye liner and for that reason I haven’t actually tested it out, my entrepreneurial side kicked in and headed over to Ebay to see if I could sell the product at a discounted price (can’t blame a girl for trying) – I already have so many eyeliners so thought it was worth a shot! It looks a great quality product and I love the deep purple colour! – Just incase anyone is interested Ebay link

4) My Little Beauty Embellisseur Teint de Peche (rrp £9.50) – Complexion enhancer, glowing skin! A light tinted moisturizer containing anti-oxidant rich edelweiss flower and apricot oil. Its got a great light tint to the cream, making it perfect for my pale complexion, is easy to apply, doesn’t leave your skin feeling oily, has a really subtle floral smell and as I have discovered a little goes a long way!

And that’s it – box complete and rrp worth £64.99 – not bad considering its a £14 per month subscription. This box has been my favorite so far, not only because its contained products which I use but also the little pot of messages really won me over, I may have been a little disappointed with January’s box but this has more than made up for it and as ever I can’t wait for my next My Little Box! (And small apologies for poor photo quality)

Speak to you soon! x

Nail Tutorial – Striping Tape #2

So I have gotten a little carried away with using my striping tape and have actually copied a nail tutorial from January’s My Little Box magazine – its so easy to do and really creates a great effect which looks really professional!

Step One:
Paint your nails with the colour of your choice, this will be the colours of the lines which remain at the end – for mine I chose silver – make sure it dries fully before moving onto Step Two.

Step Two:
The technique is simple, cut two strands of striping tape and stick them across each nail, they can intersect where ever you want, any angle, direction its completely up to you! You can either try to create them all the same or leave each on different!

Step Three:
Taking the next colour of your choice paint over the whole of your nail – this make take a couple of coats depending on the strength of the colour.  – For this I chose red, a my Nails Inc tate from January’s My Little Box.

Step Four:
Make sure your nails have fully dried before carefully peeling off the tape – Use a quick top coat to help protect your nails and thats it! Done! Fini!   

Speak to you soon!X

Nail Tutorial – Striping Tape

I have seen tons of online nail tutorials which use striping tape to help perfectly straight lines and designs, after reciving some in my Models Own Nail Tool Kit I was looking forward to recreating some nail designs! The one below is very similar to my halloween nail tutorial which I created by hand using a thin brush, a steady head and a lot of patience!

What I used:

• Models Own Nail Striping Tape
• Two chosen colours

Step One:
Apply a base coat to protect the nail before painting over with the chosen colour for the bottom of the design – this is best to be a colour which can be easily painted over – make sure this is fully dry before moving on to step two.

Step Two:
Two small strips of the stripping tape and carefully stick them across your nails. I started from positioning the tape in the corners of my nails at my cuticles and let them cross at the tip of my nails to create the triangular shape.

Step Three:
Using your second colour paint in either the triangle or the rest, carefully making sure you don’t cross over the lines!

Step Four:
Once the varnish has dried carefully peal off the tape and finally paint over with a clear top coat – you can also add any gems or anything you wish, I simply went for a small gem at the tip of the triangle on each nail! Finally neaten up the nails removing any excess varnish (something I hadn’t got around to doing when taking the photo below)

And thats that! Nice and simple – I have a couple of other ideas which I’m planning on trying out using the striping tape and as usual will get them up on here as soon as I can!

Speak to you soon! x

Advent Day 16 – Snowman Lights

I actually saw this idea while searching around for some inspiration online and thought that I just had to try it – superly cute little snowman hanging decorations made using the LED candles – amazing idea and here’s how to create them:

What you’ll need:

• LED candle(s)
• Permanent Marker
• Ribbon
• Glue
• Felt (I went for black/silver glitter)
• A strong glue
• Scissors

Step One:

Using a permement marker pen draw a face on to the candle.

Advent Day 11 – Top Ten Christmas Dresses

Christmas generally involves lots of parties which always brings around the ‘What am I going to wear’ question – something I have come across a couple of times recently! So below is my Top Ten Christmas Party Dresses:

I bet from that you’ll never guess what my favorite colour combination is…

Speak to you soon! x