When I first heard about the website, like you’re probably thinking there would be a catch. But, I decided to have a look through, and after seeing products I’d like to try I gave it a go. Sure enough, when it came to payment, I had to send a simple text to the website for a code, which just covers price of P&P. Less than a week later it has arrived!

Among my selection was a Sanctuary Facial, A body conditioner from Royal Ballet and a beautiful lip conditioner from Beauty Fixation.

I’ve always struggled with extremely dry lips, especially in the winter. However, this clever product, uses swab applicators which are pre-filled with the conditioner and allows you to smoothly apply the mixture. It leaves your lips looking and feeling great.

Visit http://www.latestinbeauty.com today to get your package!

However, today I did a little searching about for a discount code for one of the box brands and found that you can get 25% off your first box from http://www.shesaidbeauty.com, which are usually £9 with P&P on top. For the sake of my blog and research (any excuse!), I’ve used the code SSB25OFF and ordered one box for this month – though I think it has set up as a Direct Debit, so if you want to try out the code too, I’d be wary to ensure that you cancel it afterwards if you’re not into it.

I had a look at the website behind SheSaidBeauty boxes and I was very impressed, it’s a complete social network for beauty and make-up, allowing you to network with bloggers and beauty fanatics all over the UK. It also, similarly to Graze boxes if you’ve bought from them, gives you options for your subscription boxes and ensures that they’re catered to your specific look and needs – especially in regards to skin colour/condition, eye colour and what interests you the most – beautywise.

I have literally no idea as to whether or not I’m going to benefit from this purchase, but I will be posting as soon as I get my box through with a complete run-through and review of each product and the idea itself, and the most important question: whether or not it’s worth subscribing to!

Why don’t you try it out with me? Visit http://www.shesaidbeauty.com and try out the 25% off code now!

I am tempted to subscribe to one of these beauty box providers, but the question is… which one!?

There seems to be a sea of possible options but all reviews have good and bad points! I’m not expecting a perfect company, I know that every box isn’t going to be filled with luxurious items that I will fall madly in love with because they do an amazing job on my skin/hair/whatever. However, I could really do with some input on which company is the best of the bunch!

So, Glossybox? Joliebox? Latestinbeauty? Anyone? Please? I’d love you forever! Feel free to comment here or hit me up on good old twitter @ladyniffa.

Until next time,

Jen x

I am looking for all my Beauty Box favourites including:

Sachajuan Conditioner

BIOeffect

I-Pout Lipsticks nb. I’ve already got my mitts on pink bliss, berrylicious & nudity

Plum by Mary Greenwell

& posh shower gels and facewashes

& open to offers

but remember I don’t do Body Lotions, Face Creams or Hand Creams

I have the following available for Beauty Box Swaps or purchase:

(assume products are unused unless stated otherwise)

Make-up:

A La Carte Brow Ink – Taupe  3 available

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner – Moray (lightly Swatched)

Hair Stuff:

Matrix Essentials Amplify Hairspray (400ml)

Matrix Essentials Amplify Thicklift Liquid Volumizer (125ml)

Alberto VO5 Weightless Volume Whipped Mousse (200ml)

Body Stuff:

Neom Real luxury Organic Body Lotion (50ml) 2 available

Molton Brown Enlivening Toko-yuzu Body Lotion (30ml) 2 available

Dead Sea Spa Magik Silky Smooth Body Lotion (50ml)

Face Stuff:

Lulu’s Time Bomb Flashback Nightcream (15ml) 3 available

Clarins Multi-Active Day Early Wrinkle Correction Cream (15ml)

Korres Wild Rose 24hr Moisturizer SPF6 (10ml)

Cetum SCR Gold Illuminating Mask (5ml)

Cetum SCR Gold Creme De Lite (5ml)

Living Nature Sample Pack includes 3 x 2ml Samples: cleanser, toning gel and day cream

Hand Stuff:

Boots Time Delay Restoring Hand and Nail Cream SPF 8 (50ml)

FC5 Ultra-Hydrating Hand Creme (15ml)

Tanning Stuff:

Xen Tan Deep Bronze Luxe Self-Tan (30ml)

Where did the idea for the Beauty Box Swaps came from?

I am an avid subscriber to Beauty Boxes with a thrifty outlook. I personally wanted to access a community so I could swap the products I wouldn’t use for the products I have fallen head over heels for. I noticed the occasional person (including myself) was requesting swaps on the walls of the beauty boxes but realised a page dedicated to swapping could provide a more focussed service. As some monthly subscription Beauty Boxes are not yet tailored to individual subscribers Beauty Box Swaps has also proved invaluable to people who want to simply swap shades of nail polish, eye pencils, brow kits etc. If you would like to know more about the conception and birth of Beauty Box Swaps feel free to check out my earlier blog post Beauty Box Swaps.

So, let’s say I want to swap products. Can you tell me how it works and what I have to do?

Beauty Box Swaps believes in keeping things as simple as possible so there are no complicated rules to follow. All you need to do is like the page. Then post what you want to swap. You can do this just using text but if you include a picture that’s even better. People who are interested will comment on your post and you can then privately arrange the details by using facebook messages or email. Then when your swaps arrive it’s beneficial to members of the community to leave a comment on the wall with your feedback. I am thrilled to report that up to now the vast majority of feedback is proving to be very positive.

So have you ever actually used the page to swap? What did you end up receiving? 

Oh yes, that’s why I set up this page! I have made several swaps to date. I am stockpiling all my favourite beauty box discoveries BIOeffect, Plum by Mary Greenwell and Sachajuan conditioner. It is lovely when swappers surprise you with little extras including: handwritten notes & bonus samples. On one occasion I was fortunate enough to receive a thoughtful bonus sample of Plum on the same day that an organised swap of this sample arrived broken.

There are several different boxes out there at the moment. Is the community only for subscribers of a certain box?

This community is for everybody particularly people with an interest in Beauty and a desire not to let good products go to waste. Although the page was originally envisaged as a means of swapping products received in Beauty Boxes. Beauty Box Swaps has the view that people can swap any cosmetics regardless of how luxe or high end they are. We take the view that the recipient of the swap should be free to decide whether products are desirable to them. We are all individuals who value different things and the same goes for what we want in our bathroom cabinets, make-up bags and on our dressing tables.

Is the page used to promote or do anything else besides swapping box samples?

Beauty Box Swaps is a page for swapping and sharing and as such we are happy for members of it’s community to also share links to relevant Ebay (& similar) listings, blog posts, relevant facebook pages & posts. Members of the Beauty Box Swaps community understand the page is provided as a noticeboard and Beauty Box Swaps can not be held responsible for any problems that may occur in the swapping or buying process.Beauty Box Swaps gets upset when lovely products are left languishing unloved and unused. As such we take every opportunity to actively promote people passing these products onto someone who will use and love them including: friends, family, neighbours, colleagues and of course Beauty Box Swappers. For this reason we also promote and support the charity Give and Make-up as this charity work tirelessly to provide essentials, that many of us take for granted, for survivors of domestic abuse.

Beauty Box Swaps is proud we are the No. 1 beauty swaps page on facebook and we are very excited to announce we will soon be getting our very own unique logo to further develop our innovative and exciting brand.

I really don’t understand why Ciate are finding it so hard to reach their goal of 1500 likers on their Facebook Page. After all there is the incentive of four prizes of 2 of their fabulous paint pots.

Not only do these paint pots look super glam on your dressing table the nail polish is lush and somehow seems to feed your nails with goodness.

I was vaguely aware of Ciate’s look but I’d never tried the product until I was fortunate enough to receive their Beach Melba paint pot in my July Glossy Box. After trying out the polish I realised that Ciate paint pots are ‘not just a pretty face’ and the quality of the product inside is equally impressive.

I am utterly smitten with Ciate. If you also love this brand or even if this short blog has got your interest pop over to their Facebook Page click like and you may even be one of the lucky four who win’s a prize! Let me know if you do, won’t you?

What do you think of Ciate?

I am an exceedingly enthusiastic subscriber to Glossy Box. I signed up the day I heard of the concept when I realised resistance was futile as it is such a brilliant concept. They get £10 a month and they send me a gorgeously wrapped present of five high end beauty products, some travel sized and some full sized. My favourite product so far has been BIOeffect. This is a wonder serum and I believe it has left my skin smoother, plumper, more radiant and younger looking. As the full size product has a high end price, and the Brown’s finances are very low end at the moment due to my recent redundancy and other matters, I decided that in order to feed my BIOeffect habit I needed to get creative. My solution was to comment on the glossy box page to enquire whether any Glossy Box subscribers would be prepared to sell or swap their samples. This did not prove fruitful so I obtained two samples from boxes bought off Ebay and two from Latest in Beauty. I noticed that other Glossy Box subscribers were requesting swaps on their facebook page and had a brainwave that it would be easier for people to arrange swaps on a page dedicated to this and so was born Glossy Swaps. Sadly Glossy Box did not share my enthusiasm for the Glossy Swaps concept and following intensive discussions today I agreed to change the name, well I didn’t want to risk my Glossy Box being cut off. My sister (also known as Minibreak Mummy) suggested that given Boudoir Prive‘s recent arrival on the beauty box subscription market Glossy Swaps should be reborn as Beauty Box Swaps.