Carmine Beauty Box October Review

I have just jumped on the beauty box bandwaggon- big style. I have signed up to four monthly subscriptions. The first of which arrived today. It's the October box from Carmine and I can quite cheerfully say I am super duper impressed with it. For those of you who don't know what Beauty Boxes are, they are boxes filled with 5 or 6 (depending on the company) deluxe sample size or even full size high end products delivered every month for you to try. And it is always a surprise as to their contents. This might put some people off but to me it's like somebody sent me a perfectly packaged beauty related surprise in the post.

The box arrived throught the post in a lovely bright orange box. I thought that this was fab and couldn't have been happier with it. Until I opened the package to discover that inside was an even nicer box - the proper beauty box.

The box looks very stylish and is really sturdy - a box I could re-use for years.

The colour scheme inside is really striking and colourful and I would now recognise a Carmine beauty box a mile off.

The anticipation as to the contents grew and grew as I continued to play a solo game of pass the parcel. As I opened the black box I discovered the contents were hidden with black tissue paper, a card containing information on all the products and a lovely red ribbon bow.

My only snag was that all the products had been shoved to one side - Its unclear whether this was done by Carmine or, as is more likely, happened in transit. Maybe more of the lovely red stuffing is needed.

So here's the reviews for the products included.

A full size Trind Nail Repair.

The bottle looks lovely and the polish goes on nicely and dries quickly. Only time would tell how good a nail strengthener it is though.

A deluxe samle size Balance Me hand cream.

 This hand cream smells a little strong to me and boarderline masculine, however if you are used to, and like, the smell of aromatherapy oils then this will be fine for you. It sinks in well and a little goes a long way with this product.

Deluxe sample of Caudalie Vinosource Quenching Sorbet-creme.

This is lovely. I have oily skin but it can get dehydrated when I've been working in a room full of central heating or air-con. As such, I can find a lot of moisturisers too rich and greasy and they tend to just sit on my skin. This does not. This is lovely. It feels cooling and refreshing when applied, a little is all that is needed and it sinks into the skin beautifully. It has a very subtle fragrance which matches its refreshing texture.

Full size Daniel Sandler Eye Delight in Ice.

This is a stunning, fine textured, loose pigment eyeshadow. I love it. It's highly pigmented but can be blended easily.

Full Size The Balm Blusher in Frat Boy.

Aside from the stunning vintage packaging that would look impressive in anyone's make up bag, this blusher is lovely. I've swatched it pretty heavily on my hand here but the peach/apricot/dusky pink coloured blush can be blended nicely.

I found that the Daniel Sandler Eye Delight shown above looked lovely dusted lightly on top of this blusher as a highlighter.

Carmine have produced a wonderful box (with contents worth around £50 this month) for only £10 a month plus £2.75 P+P. Long may it continue.

XoXo Rouge

NOTD - Zoya Faye

Today's NOTD is Faye by Zoya. It's not the kind of colour you see everyday and that's partly why I like it. It has a real two-tone effect - in some lights its a gold colour and in others its closer to purple. The pictures below are all of the same nail polish, just taken at different angles or in different lights.



The formula is quite thin and needs at least two coats (that's how many are shown below, but a third coat wouldn't hurt). The polish levels nicely and the fine shimmery particle have huge impact.



You can see from the pictures that the colour changes massively but this is what I like, no love, about it. It doesn't seem to be very easy to get hold of Zoya polishes over here other than the odd website or ebay. So if anyone knows of any stores in the UK that stock Zoya please let me know.

XoXo Rouge.

NOTD - China Glaze Watermelon Rind

Hi Guys. Christmas season is quickly approaching so I'm all about sparkly nail colours at the moment. This one by China Glaze, Watermelon Rind, is a dark emerald colour packed with tiny sparkly particles. It's perfect for Christmas or for any other occasion where you can make up an excuse to wear sparkly polish.

The formula goes on quite thinly but nicely. It requires two coats for full coverage but levels out well.

Unfortunately these photos don't quite do it justice. Its packed full of tiny sparkles that shimmer in even the dimmest of lighting.

Xoxo, Rouge

Nails inc- The Gossip Girl Collection Swatches

Hi Guys, This is my first post so I thought I would do a post that lets you know a little bit about me as well. I am a total Gossip Girl addict. It is not a guilty pleasure or hidden secret - I am not remotely ashamed of my love for it. So when Nails inc brought out a Gossip Girl Collection I nearly broke my neck to get at it. I so far only have the Blair and Serena Collections as they cost £20 each, however I am tempted to indulge in the Lily Collection too.

I am a Blair more than a Serena when it comes to whose style I prefer so I'll start with the Blair collection.


The Blair Collection.

All the collections are beautifully packaged, containing two polishes each- a dark polish plus an overglaze (which are very opalescent).

 The dark polish named Blair looks black on first appearances but is in fact a lovely dark teal colour. While the overglaze, Privileged, has green and blue flecks in it.

Blair goes on nicely, looking very close to black, and requires only two coats for a lovely glossy finish. The swatch above has no top coat on. Blair can be worn on its own or with the overglaze on top.

The above three pictures show the Blair Polish with one coat of Privileged over the top. It looks stunning and catches the light beautifully, bouncing off different shades of green and blue as you move.

The photo below shows what a second coat of privileged would look like on.

The Serena Collection.

The Serena collection includes Serena - a glossy jet black polish, and It Girl - an overglaze with blue flecks in it.

Again Serena gives a lovely glossy finish with two coats.

One coat of It Girl is already striking ( as seen in the two images above), but a second coat (shown below) really is something special.

I am clearly a fan of these collections and they are well worth their price tag considering the quality and ease of application. The overglazes go on without a hitch - requiring little skill or precision to make them look as good as they do above ( and I assure you that I used little skill or precision when applying them). They can be mixed and matched and the overglazes can be used over any dark polish.

However there is just one slight problem, I am torn between the Blair or the Serena Collection. Whilst my loyalties should lie with Blair, Serena is making me consider betrayal.

So please feel free to let me know which is your fave- Blair or Serena?

xo xo Gossip Girl (I wish)