December's Love Lula Beauty Box was probably the best one I've received so far and was a great little treat just before Christmas. It included a really great mix of products, including a tea and a perfume, which meant I really enjoyed giving everything a try. In fact, I started using the products from the minute I opened the box and I'm in love with a few of them so am definitely going to be re-buying them once this lot has run out.
Here's how I got on with each of the products:
Beauty Brews Poise
It has rooibos base, which is caffeine free and adds a nice depth of flavour without actually tasting like tea - which suits me great as I hate standard tea. Added to this is ginger, cinnamon, apple bits, strawberry bits and raspberry leaves - all of which is organic - so it really does pack a punch even if you only use a small amount. It is also sweet enough so you don't need to add sugar or honey, making it even healthier
Even though I need my coffee or matcha to get me going in the morning, I gave this a tea a try and actually felt quite awake afterwards, even though it is caffeine-free. On the days when I've had a mug, I haven't felt bloated at all either. In fact, I drank some when I wasn't feeling great and it sorted me out so I felt much better.
On top of all of this, the tea comes in a cute little tin that keeps the tea fresh and makes storage really easy, which puts it above some of the other loose teas I've bought before. Poise has got a great range of flavours available, so there are a lot of options, each of which offers different benefits.
PHB Ethical Beauty Lavender & Ylang Ylang Handmade Sugar Scrub
Ordinarily, I use Lush's Sugar Scrub, which is really effective and leaves my skin feeling soft and smooth. However, you only get a few uses out of it - I usually break it in half - and you can't keep it in the bathroom or it dissolves into a green sticky mess. While I have used Lush's Buffy Body Butter, I don't find t scrubby enough, even though I love how solid it is.
This scrub from PHB is solid and moisturising like Buffy but has the same level of great exfoliation as Sugar Scrub, meaning it really is the best of both worlds. It contains sugar for gentle but effective exfoliation, as well as cocoa butter so it is super moisturising and helps smooth your skin. The scrub also smells amazing and is perfect for an evening shower - you should only exfoliate at night anyway so it really is perfect.
I've used it several times now - I only need to use it once a week as it is so effective - and I still have loads more uses to go. The only downside was that I used the bottom of the scrub the first time as it was courser, but it was actually too course and left scratches on my skin for a few days, but this was totally my own fault as I should have realised this would be the case.
There's several other fragrances available in the scrub and it's on £4.95, so is an absolute bargain. I'm definitely sticking with this product over my Lush ones from now on as it is better for my skin and you get more for your money.
John Masters Organics 100% Argan Oil
Although I only got a small bottle, you hardly need any at all to make a difference. I learnt this the hard way by putting too much on my damp hair, which meant it was a bit oily once I had dried it. I was more careful the next time around and used less, which left my hair feeling soft and smooth. There was no difference in how manageable it was, as far as I can tell, but it definitely looked and felt great.
I also tried it on my skin at night and found that it felt thinner than my other argan oils and had a stronger smell. This being said, it still sunk into my skin at the same rate and left it feeling smooth and toned the next morning.
As I have about three different bottles to get through of similar argan oil, I won't be buying this any time soon and I'll probably stick with Ooh! Oils of Heaven in the future as they are basically the same but cheaper. It was good to try a more expensive product, though, as it showed that this type of oil is always fab.
Madara Time Miracle Total Renewal Night Cream
I don't think my skin needs anything quite this strong just yet as I'm not even 30, so I found this cream quite heavy. While it did moisturise and leave my skin feeling smooth - I didn't notice any reduced wrinkles as there aren't any to start with - it also made my face feel quite oil in the mornings. It is just a bit rich right now, but if you find that your skin is quite dry and needs a thicker night cream, this is probably a good bet.
Sadly, because it was too heavy, I had a breakout on my chin, which then took a fair bit of care to get rid of. This isn't to say I wouldn't use this product or range in the future, but I think I've got a few years to go before I may want to.
Balm Balm Ylang Ylang Natural Perfume
Ordinarily, perfume is made up of a head, heart and base notes, with the head notes being what you smell initially and the others becoming more obvious throughout the day. The different notes create a layered scent and mean that you get combinations of different scents within a single fragrance.
I got the Ylang Ylang perfume in my box, which is something often used within the base notes of a perfume as it has a woody and slightly sweet scent. I was worried that it would be too strong on its own but it is actually beautiful. The perfume sits really nice on my skin and wears down well throughout the day. However, it doesn't last as long as other EDPs because it does only have the one note. As the bottle is quite small, though, it's easy to carry in your bag for a top-up spritz throughout the day.
There's a few different scents available for only £22, so I think I'm going to give a few different ones a try - although I may steer clear of the spearmint one after a friend got it in their box and said they ended up smelling like toothpaste.
I've already started using the products in my Love Lula January box and look forward to reviewing them as soon as possible.