We liked the shortlist this month so much that we upgraded to a gold box containing 4 products and the usual freebies. These are extra good value at £10.95 (usually £6.95 for 2 items), but they rarely have 4 products we really want to get. Unfortunately it was a double-edged blade as it came with the news that You Beauty Box were coming to a somewhat abrupt end, handing over to Latest in Beauty which used to provide a good beauty box service, but was always at a different price point and increasingly poor value.
We would like to take the time to reminisce on the great service that You Beauty Box has provided over the years. They have always been the BEST VALUE subscription beauty box at £6.95 including delivery. They often had fantastic brands and products to choose from, frequently offering products that were valued in excess of £30 individually (sometimes in excess of £60!) and you were able to subscribe or unsubscribe at any time. Each box came with discount offers from the shortlisted brands. This was a highly underrated box. Whilst you knew what you were getting each month (no surprised), we all enjoyed researching the shortlist and getting up at 7am to make our selections 😀
It was apt for this final month that all brands in the shortlist were either finalists or winners of as 2017 CEW Beauty Award.
MAX FACTOR: False Lash Effect Epic Mascara, 13.1ml
Value: £11.99 (full size)
“Zoom-action tip captures and magnifies every detail of every lash for an epic lash fan.”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: We went for this one purely due to economic reasons as decent mascaras never come cheap and it’s one of the two items we definitely would use every day (that and brows) before going out. A decent black mascara is never going to be unused. We started with Max Factor 2000 calorie mascara (which was a classic back then) way back when we were teenagers and have been tempted away by the likes of Lancome Hypnose and Rimmel Exaggerate, so it will be nice to revisit Max Factor and check out how they are doing with their mascaras these days.
BEAUTY KITCHEN: Seahorse Plankton 5 Minute Miracle Mask, 60ml
Value: £10.00 (full size)
“Get glowing with a 5-minute micro-facial with this 100% natural multi-action miracle mask. Kaolin Clay gives an instant detox, while seahorse plankton delivers some serious plumping and firming.”
BT INITIAL OPINION – This was a quirky inclusion that we had never heard of it before. Happy to see if it can compete with other natural masks like Lush. It’s this kind of product that we buy beauty boxes for…to discover quality brands we don’t usually come across with cult products that might work well for us. Seahorse Plankton is Beauty Kitchen’s top secret ingredient, we need to examined the ingredients list to see if we can figure out what it might be.
NEAL’S YARD REMEDIES: Wild Rose Beauty Balm, 15g
Value: £12.00
“This bestselling beauty balm nurtures all skin types for a glowing, radiant complexion. With vitamin and antioxidant-rich wild rosehip seed oil, a true multi-purpose beauty must have.”
BT INITIAL OPINION – You Beauty have delivered again with a cult classic. We’re not fond of rose, but this multi-purpose product has such a great reputation, as does Neal’s Yard in general, we’re happy to give it a try. It’s risk-free at this price.
Here’s a quick article on 15 different uses for this balm 🙂 http://thechalkboardmag.com/15-ways-with-wild-rose-beauty-balm
DR ORGANIC: Moroccan Glow Body Polish, 200ml
Value: £8.99 (full size)
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“This exotic organic oil is blended with a proprietary selection of bioactive and organic ingredients and natural microparticles of volcanic lava to create and all over body polish, designed to prepare the skin for a flawless, even tan.”
BT INITIAL OPINION – This product is meant to be used in preparation for self-tanning treatments, but it’s basically an exfoliator. We don’t actually use self-tan but we do suffer with skin that doesn’t shed itself that well, leaving cracked or flaky skin even though our skin isn’t dry. This means we need to exfoliate well, extensively and regularly to keep our skin loooking good. Dr Organic is a good brand and this exfoliator was an amazing deal at full size so we picked it up to see if it could compete as a natural equivalent to microdermabrasion (which contains marine-polluting microbeads).
EXTRA TREATS:
WELEDA: Jardin de Vie ‘Grenade’ Sensuality perfume, 1.5ml
Value: £0.66
“‘Grenade’ (French for Pomegranate) is authentically natural, free from parabens and phthalates and made with sustainably sourced essential oils to awaken all senses. This fragrance transports us to an exotic Persian garden. Orange provides an intense fruity top note, whilst oriental davana adds a layers of sophistication and mystery, complimented by the soft, warm balmy aroma of vanilla.”
BT INITIAL OPINION – When you think of Weleda, you don’t think of perfumes so we were surprised to find this in the box. The fragrance smells a bit confused, it is very fruity – like a scent for a body lotion, but with heavier notes to in. On first application we actively don’t like it, but will wear it for a while and whether it ages a bit better.
AUSSIE: 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor Deep Treatment Sachet, 20ml
Value: £0.40
“The much loved reconstructor has miraculous conditioning properties. It’s hair rehab that repairs, soothes, nourishes, untangles and restores silkiness to locks that are in need of a little love.”
BT INITIAL OPINION – What’s with the reconstructor talk? Here comes the science…we do all know by now that damaged hair doesn’t ACTUALLY get repaired don’t we? Having said that, we’ve used this before and it is a good deep conditioner. Hair rehab indeed.
OTHER OPTIONS:
The shortlist this month was:
- Yes To – Coconut Ultra Moisture Conditioner 280ml
- St.Tropez – Gradual Tan Tinted Lotion 50ml
- Dr Organic – Moroccan Glow Body Polish 200ml
- Benefit – gimme brow volumizing eyebrow gel (in shades Light – 01 or Deep – 05) 1g
- Beauty Kitchen – Seahorse Plankton 5 Minute Miracle Mask 60ml
- Neal’s Yard Remedies – Wild Rose Beauty Balm 15g
- Max Factor – False Lash Epic Mascara 13.1ml
- Bioderma – Hydrabio Cream 2x5ml
- This Works® – sleep plus+™ hair elixir 5ml
OVERALL VERDICT:
This was a good value box, not because the items are hugely expensive but because several of the items we will use as staple products, not just nice-to-haves to try out. We are SO sad this is our last You Beauty box, it has been a steady favourite of ours and we have been active ambassadors for this box. We love researching all the products on the shortlist every month to figure out what we wanted to pick. There will certainly be a You Beauty Box-sized gap in our lives now…
Box price: £10.95 inc shipping
Total value: £44.04
Note: We paid for this You Beauty Box with our own hard-earnt pennies
Like the look of You Beauty Discovery? Sadly they have ceased to offer this service, it held top spot for Best Value beauty box for the entire time it was running, next best value box that we recommend is Pink Parcel www.pinkparcel.co.uk
“Letting life in – combining the beauty of nature with the power of science, for hair that smells incredible and feels full of life”