Review | Glowwbox February 2015

I was excited to receive the February Glowwbox 'Handbag Heroes' Edition* this week. Glowwbox is a monthly beauty subscription service for women with darker skin tones. This is the second time I've tried one of their boxes (my review of the December 2014 'Party' Edition can be found here). There's quite a few subscription beauty boxes in circulation currently but I love the concept of Glowwbox in particular and it's one of the few that appeal to me. The subscription costs £15 per month plus £3.95 postage and packaging, which is a similar rate to some of the other beauty boxes available. So far my experience of Glowwbox has been positive and it’s introduced me to quite a few brands and products I haven't tried before.

Inside this box are 6 products, 5 of which are full size - Lavera Natural Lipstick in Berry Violet or Brown Sugar (£11.95), Benecos Natural Mono Eyeshadow in Mokka (£3.95), Lavera Basis Sensitive Organic Lip Balm (£3.45), Beauty UK Nails in Red Royale (£2.99), Primavera Energising Hand and Nail Cream (full size 50ml £13) and Vintage Cosmetic Company Small Makeup Bag in Floral (£6).

I rely on on-the-go makeup (and a bag to carry it in). I’ll often be found perfecting by brows or adding a touch of rouge whilst on the commute to work as I'd rather get a few extra minutes in bed than spend it putting my face on. The floral Vintage Cosmetic Company makeup bag is a cute design and the size is good enough to hold most of the essentials without taking up all available space in your handbag.

I love lip products, so I was excited to try Lavera goodies inside February’s box. The lip balm contains a whole host of natural ingredients and it feels like a real treat for my lips. The natural lipstick in 'Berry Violet' is also a really beautiful colour. It's a grape purple that would suit a range of tones but would especially compliment darker skin. I'm not sure if it's just the one I have (as I've not tried this brand before) but I found the lipstick formula to be really stiff. Applying this straight from the bullet is difficult (as the texture sort of smears on the skin) though once it's on it won't budge, at all. The Benecos Eyeshadow shade is also purple, but a different tone to the lipstick. I'm not sure how often I’ll reach for this shade and I imagine I'll probably reserve it for when I'm looking to try something new. 

Hand cream is definitely an essential for most handbags but I rarely carry around cream anymore (I just pinch my friend's if I need any). As a result I can’t see myself paying £13 for the full size of the Primavera Hand & Nail Cream which is only 50ml anyway. I can see why it's on the pricey side though as the ingredients are pretty impressive and all natural. 

As this is the February Edition there was a Valentine's slant on the theme of the box and the red nail polish by Beautyuk was a nice touch. I love the colour which is a bright red with gold shimmer. I haven't tried it yet though so I'm not sure how good wear or coverage is.

As with the first Glowwbox I received I think the contents of the box are great value for money. The RRP of two products seems to equal the cost of the entire box which is always a plus (providing you like the products of course). This was the February Edition, but if you'd to get your hands on this box it's still available on the Glowwbox website until the end of this week.

*sample. See my disclaimer here.

Have you tried Glowwbox or other Beauty Box Subscriptions?

Lesley x

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