GlossyBox August Box Review

Contents of August's GlossyBox

Ah, GlossyBox. I must have been subscribed to you for, ooh, 6 months or thereabouts by now. I've witnessed the highs (Harrod's box) and the lows (June's box, for me) and I still can't blimming make up my mind about you. Do I continue subscribing? If I was a blogger who was sent the boxes for free, I would always love to receive them, but sometimes forking out a tenner for a load of old tat isn't that appealing. The rub is that, obviously, you never know what you're going to get: dare I cancel my sub, only to find out the next box is amazing and I've missed out? Or do I continue to receive, rummage through and then consign to the bathroom cabinet, mediocre box after mediocre box? 

This box wasn't a bad egg, by any stretch of the imagination. Maybe I've been too swept up in GB Olympic Fever (it's an authentic ailment) that when the contents card of my box read "International Superstars" I was somewhat disappointed. Can't we have a Best of British Box, to tie in with the theme? I was downheartened for all of, oh, 3 minutes before I thought: hmmm, International....PARIS! USA! Amazing places to which I've never been, jam packed full of incredible beauty products, now hand picked for me and on my lap! #winning. 

Well, that wasn't strictly the case. The first thing I saw when I opened the lid was a tube of Lipcote, which I'll admit, I have wanted to try ever since seeing the ads in the back of Just Seventeen magazine. Nevertheless if this is Britain's entry; erm, it's a bit of a wooden spoon, in my opinion. 

Don't get me started on the GlossyBox "own brand" lippy because we all know how I feel about GlossyBox palming off their own brand products in a luxury sample box. I get it, the brand is trying to establish it's own line but I don't feel that they're quite comfortable including themselves in this market, yet. Don't like the packaging, don't like the product-you can see that because I haven't even bothered to show you a swatch. "Glossy Pink" is, in reality, a dusky muddy rose pink which I will probably give to my mum because it's not my colour. Not their fault, mind, but I have had several GlossyBox own brand products lately (that's a hattrick-3 in 3 boxes) and I suppose I shouldn't moan since it is usually the 6th product, where I am used to getting 5. But I'd rather have 5 products and have 5 decent samples rather than 5 less great ones and a GlossyBox one. I'm so hard to please aren't I!

Japan's offering is the DHC deep cleansing oil which I am actually excited about as I love skin oils and all the oils I've received in my GlossyBox so far have been stellar. So this is a good thing. Spain's effort, less so: a very cheap eyeshadow palette (looks like a Primark standard.) I'm yet to try the product so can't really judge yet but it feels cheap to hold and the colours look very talc-y. Just sayin', hopefully the actual product will prove me wrong.

The best thing in this box was the Italian Job, a perfume sample of Valentina Assoluto. I don't mind getting fragrance samples in my boxes because I find decent sized fragrance samples quite hard to find; usually it's just a card wand to spray the fragrance on and these all merge into one in your bag. This is the product I've used the most (it's nearly gone!) and it's definitely something I'd think to buy in the future, when I am changing fragrance.

Finally from Germany we have the Alessandro Pro White optically brightening nail polish. I must admit I cracked this out straight away, expecting my nail tips to turn snow white...um, no, not quite, but to be fair my nails are vile, yellow and overprocessed from continual wearing of very dark shades so it would have been a miracle. I will persevere with it because I think this one might get better with time.

So, once again, the quandry of whether to stay or go. I haven't unsubscribed yet, but I definitely feel a little less excited about getting my boxes each month, simply because they haven't really impressed me over the last few months.

What do you make of GlossyBox, if you subscribe? Did you get a better pick? Or am I being too fussy!?

XO Amie