The Anna And Lily Cult Beauty Box
Bit of a surprising buy for me, seeing as I'm not the biggest fan of beauty boxes (why is there always something really duff in them!), and I'm not overly enthusiastic about Cult Beauty either; when they first opened I ordered some 'cult' Korean products that turned out to neither be that cult in their homeland, or very good. Since Cult Beauty's early days it's turned into a more powerful e-commerce beauty beast, but after my first experience with them I guess I've just been put off seeing them as experts. Last year my interest in them returned with the announcement of Caroline Hiron's one-off Beauty Box, though I didn't get my act together quick enough to get one (you have to sign up to a wait list and then you're emailed when it's your 'turn' to buy). So when two of my beauty YouTube faves, Lily Pebbles and Anna from Vivanna Does Makeup, announced their box I couldn't sign up quick enough.
I'd heard lots of grumblings on Twitter about Caroline's box - people had signed up but weren't getting emailed, and then boxes were taking ages to ship. So, I was fully prepared for some argy bargy over this order, making it all the more of a giddy surprise when I not only got my email quite quickly, but my box arrived at my door less than twenty-four hours after I'd ordered it. Apart from loving Anna and Lily, I really wanted this one for the following reasons - it has a few things I've really wanted to try, the things I've not thought of buying are in no way duff and I would totally use them, and it all comes in a cute marble-effect box (how bloggerific!) that I will totally keep and use to store something or other.
I've wanted to try the Oskia Renaissance Cleasning Gel ever since I got to try some of their other products at this amazing facial, plus Anna, Lily, and other YouTubers always rave about it. So it's great the box has a full size one. There's also a full size Pixi Hydrating Milky Mist, which I sprayed straight away and loved. The Wet Hairbrush is said to be better than even the mighty Tangle Teezer, so I can't wait to try that (knotty when wet hair girl over here), and there's deluxe sample sizes of the brilliant Luna night oil from Sunday Riley, and Becca's glow-getting Backlight Primer. I'm in love with Kat Von D's liquid eyeliner, but I'm always willing to give others a go, so the Stila Stay All Day Waterproof liner will be fun to try. The final item is something I've always wanted (don't laugh) - a jade roller. I'm so pleased I now have one! And it comes in a cute velvet drawstring purse. These are so good for massaging your face to improve muscle tone and boost circulation. You can just sit and watch TV as you gently roll it across your face, and you can also use it to massage oils in, or keep it in the fridge to de-puff eyes in the morning, or soothe your face if you're hungover or jet-lagged.
The box costs £85, including free worldwide shipping. If you bought the items separately from Cult Beauty they'd come to £147, roughly working out the deluxe samples based on full produce size. The full size products alone come to £79, so for £6 you're getting some good extras, including that Sunday Riley oil which is amazing, and exactly half the size of the standard sized product (which costs £85). There's still some boxes available, so make sure you sign up ASAP if you want one. I'm off to jade roll my face to the max!