Pumpkin Spice - Meebox October Review + Nail Art

Hey everyone! Hope you're all having a good week so far, this is my first 5 day week at work in a few weeks so it's feeling like it's dragging a bit. Today I've got a review of the October Meebox* for you. This is my fourth review of the monthly subscription box, you can see all my previous reviews here. Each month comes with a new theme, and this months theme is Pumpkin Spice*, just in time for Halloween. Each months box costs £20 if you subscribe on a month to month basis, or you can subscribe for 3 months and it costs £18 a month. This might sound like a lot but you get so much value out of a box that it's well worth it. This months box includes:

- Crabtree & Evelyn - Clementine (RRP £6) 

- Lauren B - Nude 01 (RRP £11)

- Leighton Denny - Venus Desire (RRP £12)

- Bundle Monster Giant Stamper & Stamping plate (RRP £12)

With a total value of £41 you're definitely getting a lot for your money. I also like the surprise element of it, and also that there's always at least one nail art look to create out of the products you receive. And, even with an extensive collection such as mine I've only ever encountered one duplicate shade to one I own in a Meebox, which isn't too bad going. This month they were all pretty much new brands to me, except for Leighton Denny. I was also intrigued (and a little intimidated) by the giant stamper from Bundle Monster which I ended up loving once I got the hang of it. I know my stamping skills aren't the best and I don't claim for them to be, but I wanted to give the plate a try nonetheless.

May Monthly Favourites

Hey everyone! I'm a little bit late with uploading these favourites but I just haven't had a chance to sit down and write the post. I'm going to try and post as much as I can in the next few days because I'm really falling behind with posts. I was expecting to have loads of free time once exams were over but I still seem to be busy non-stop with all the stuff I put off until after exams! I've had quite an exciting week, I'm was in London yesterday to do some filming with Snog Frozen Yogurt, which you'll hear more about soon. Then I'm going on holiday this weekend! I really can't wait. I also got featured in my local newspaper last week. If you're interesting in reading the piece you can see it here.

So this month's favourites (or last month's technically) are a combination of beauty and nails. It was really hard to pick just 5 things, but the items I chose were:

OPI - On Pinks and Needles*

Gelish - Escar-go to France*

Seventeen - Define and Contour Kit*

Crabtree and Evelyn - Avocado Hand Cream*

Burts Bees - Lip Crayon in the shade 'Niagra Overlook'*

Which is best? Comparing Hand Creams

Hey everyone! Today I'm back with part 2 of my new 'which is best?' series. Thank you all for the amazing response to last week's post, I didn't expect it to be quite so successful! I hope you will be equally as happy with this weeks comparison of hand creams. I will be comparing Crabtree and Evelyn Jojoba Oil Moisturising Hand and Cuticle Cream*, Avon Care Glycerine Hand and Nail Rich Moisture Hand Cream, Neutrogena Unscented Concentrated Hand Cream, Clinique Deep Comfort Hand and Nail Cream*, Bliss High Intensity Hand Cream*

Many of you may be wondering why I chose to do a hand cream comparison post, but it must be remembered that hand and nail care are at least 50% of having a good blog, and hand creams are a must

Before I start I just wanted to announce that the giveaway winner Brady was chosen and was contacted, I didn't announce it publicly because I didn't feel the need to but I've had quite a few emails asking me about it, so there you go! Please dont feel disheartened as I'm sure that there are plenty more giveaways to come, and I hope you will all continue to enjoy my blog

Comparison No. 1: Drying/Absorbing Time (After 5 minutes)

1. Avon (9/10) - takes just a few minutes, if that, to absorb into your skin, and doesn't leave a greasy residue
2. Crabtree and Evelyn 9/10 - dries quickly, pretty much the same as the Avon one does
3. Neutrogena 8/10 - pretty quick at drying
4. Bliss 6/10 - takes quite a bit of time to dry (although not too long) but once it does it feels great
5. Clinque 4/10 - struggles to dry, which is really annoying because I tend to want to get on with something after using hand cream, like a lecture or doing my nails, and with this it's difficult

Comparison No. 2: Greasiness (After 5 minutes)

1. Avon 9/10 - nothing there except what can be expected
2. Crabtree and Evelyn 9/10 - not greasy after 5 minutes
3. Neutrogena 8/10 - still a bit of a residue after the same amount of time but not too greasy 
4. Bliss 6/10 - relatively greasy after 5 minutes
5. Clinique 4/10 - still really greasy after 5 minutes

Comparison No. 3: Smell

1. Neutrogena 10/10 no smell at all, just as it claims on the bottle
2. Avon 9/10 has a pretty neutral smell, like very very weak nappies 
3. Clinique 8/10 - very faint citrusy smell
4. Bliss - 7/10 - stronger smell but still not too bad
5. Crabtree and Evelyn - 2/10 Absolutely stinks, if I was to describe it I would describe it as 'granny-like', it's very perfumed and flowery, and as I tend to do quite a lot after using handcream, I prefer a more neutral smell (like the others)

Comparison No. 4: Does it do what it says?/Overall Feeling

• Bliss ("High Intensity hand cream") - Yes, this leaves my hands feeling the best out of all the hand creams once it dries. Avon was by far my favourite hand cream before I tried this but I think this has definitely overtaken, my hands just feel so much better after
• Avon ("Rich Moisture Hand Cream") - Yep, I use this as my go-to hand cream in my uni bag when my hands are feeling dry. It's absorbant and non-greasy and doesn't really leave a smell
• Crabtree and Evelyn ("Moisturising hand and nail cream")- Yep, this really is a brilliant product, it's just the smell that is off-putting, but if that doesn't bother you then I'd definitely recommend it.
• Neutrogena ("Instant relief of dry, chapped hands, just a dab needed") - Yep, or so I've found it to. But my mum used it before me and found it to be quite drying, so I guess it depends on your skin type. I also found that I needed more than just a 'dab'
• Clinique ("Deep Comfort Hand and Cuticle cream") - Yes and no, once it's dry my hands feel comforted, but whilst it's drying I feel pretty uncomfortable, but it is brilliant for my cuticles

What do you think? Do you own/want any of these products? Let me know in the comments! 

Alice

*some of the products in this post were provided to me for review, and some were bought with my own money, but all opinions are entirely my own