Glossybox January Review

Glossybox catapulted through my door what seemed like a few days early this month, so I think they must have altered their dispatch dates.

And sinner that I am, I was really pleased to see that they hadn't gone for the usual January/clean/detox theme...I mean...how boring?!?!

Instead, we had a box of new brands to discover and treats to brighten up the most miserable of months, so I was well pleased.

The overwhelming majority of the boxes I've had have been really great, and looking at this month's Birchbox (who did go for the whole healthy living approach), I have no regrets whatsoever about that decision!

So, what was inside the box this month? Let's take a peek...

Five full sized items nestled inside - haven't we been lucky?

G'box seem to be including more and more full sizes as standard, making the £12 you pay for the box seem really good value.

I used to think they only sent cheaper brands before I started subscribing, but there's a great mix of affordable items and higher-end and niche stuff as well in there. This month was a great example...

Kueshi Natural & Pleasant Cosmetics Revitalising Face Toner

£10.70 www.kueshi.com

Kueshi is a Spanish skincare company, totally new to me. The name actually sounded sort of Japanese, so I was surprised to discover they're a European brand.

It contains Aloe Vera, Chamomile and Calendula, so a lot of soothing agents in there - this could be perfect if you have sensitive skin. The formulation also smells really pretty, like Rosewater, although this doesn't say it contains any.

I am a big fan of a toner, especially in the summer months, when it seems to help with any oiliness and make my skin more balanced, and its great to ensure skin is revitalised and every last bit of make-up is gone. This seems like a great formulation, so I'm looking forward to trying this when I run out of my current formula.

MeMeMe Eye Line Eye Pencil in Clay

£4.00 www.mememecosmetics.com

Who doesn't like a little bit of MeMeMe time? You can definitely get that with this brand, who make high quality, high-performance products - in fact, I just reviewed their Seventh Heaven Moisturising Face Base product here. I was pleased to see an item from them in this month's box -  and this time, its one of their eyeliner pencils.

The formula is really soft and rich, and it went on very smoothly. In the packaging, I was excited because I thought the colour would be more of a taupe shade, but its actually pretty brown, as you can see from the swatch shot.

Liquid liner is usually my weapon of choice, but lately I've been trying to wean myself off everything having to end with a cat's eye, so I need to try more pencils like this. If I'm honest, I'm probably in a bit of a eyeliner rut!

So this could be just the ticket. Brown is a pretty and wearable option for the day, and this would probably also work to fill in brows if you have darker hair.

Naked Lips Superfruits Balm

£3.88 www.nakedlips.eu

This is from a Swedish brand, bringing a bit of international flavour to this month's box!

Packed with antioxidant extract of Blueberry, Acai, Goji and Pomegranate, this little lovely really lives up to its name.

I love the texture, which isn't too heavy or greasy -  I noticed it felt much nicer on than the BabyLips balm I was using the same day.

It also smells just as fruitily delicious as you'd hope - and with 97% organic ingredients, this can weight lightly on your conscience as well as your lips. The cute, colourful packaging also appeals.

Jelly Pong Pong All Over Glow Luminizer Gel

£10 www.jellypongpong.com

A bit of a glow is always a very good thing, especially at the moment when the weather can leave your skin a but dull. 

I have my favourite luminisers- I love MUA's Undress Your Skin and Seventeen Skin Wow when I'm feeling flat- but I'm always delighted to try something else to get that Millie Mackintosh lit from within look.

The gel is oil-free and feels light and moisturising. It's more bronze toned than I expected, but when it's blended in the tone is sheer enough not to look orange and shiny and just gives a gorgeous sheen.

I much prefer this to Mac's Strobe Cream which can look quite artificial on my skin tone. 

The gel also uses micronised pearlescent pigments, so it's not too glittery and distracting!  

Dabbed along the cheek and brow bones this could really make your skin look out of this world- and if you have oily skin and have always felt you had to steer clear of products like this, the fact this is oil free is a definite plus.

Add to that the super cute (but not too juvenile) packaging and we're on to a winner! 

Nicka K New York Colorluxe Powder Blush

£8.95 www.nicka.com

Another new brand to me rounding off full size product number 5. And it's this super cute little powder blush. 

This comes with it's own little powder puff in the lid that you shake the product though, which is a no-mess, easy solution that would make this a great idea for your travel make-up bag.

The bright pink shade looked sort of alarming in the pot, but once patted on, it just gave a delicate, diffused glow that was very flattering.

In fact, I thought the tone had a really brightening effect on my skin without looking over the top. 

Usually I pick bronzer over a blush, but this is a pretty sweet little product that's easy, convenient to carry and gives a lovely pop of colour to tired winter skin. 

As a bonus extra, there was also this voucher included for Hello Fresh, a meal delivery service. It's not the type of thing I would normally thing of using- we make everything from scratch here, even pasta sauce and stuff like this doesn't make sense to me when cooking is so easy.

It's a very generous voucher though and it's tempted me to give them a try and see what it's like! 

My new kitten was determined to help with the reviews today, even if she spent most of her time trying to chew the ribbon that came in the box!

She perched on my knee for most of the writing of this as well- so it only seems fair to give her a co-writing credit.

This month's box was another great value, exciting box that I really enjoyed. In already excited for next month!

Do you get any subscription boxes? Does GlossyBox float your boat? Or do you prefer another? Let me know!