Early Bird tasteBox Review

I first read about the EarlyBird TasteBox on Cole Of The Ball and thought I'd give it a try after loving the Graze box so much. I got my first box free using a code like this one- 'swing-4387', feel free to use it yourself.

Delivery was prompt and I received my box in November and was immediately taken in by the packaging, I absolutely loved the colour scheme and the shape of the box, I couldn't wait to open it. Upon opening it I was however slightly disappointed with the contents, though you do receive  5 snacks and 2 tea bags the portion sizes do seem quite small particularly for the price of £4.50 (Especially in comparison to Graze Boxes). The snacks themselves taste surprisingly really nice considering its fruit and nuts for the most part, they make great healthy snacks for between meals or also great toppers for porridge in the mornings.

But what's different about Early Bird is that you also receive a piece of Artwork on each box and a playlist by either a guest or their in house DJ. I personally found the art to be disappointing but did quite enjoy the playlist, though it was House music which is a genre I don't usually listen to. In that way it's good because it can introduce you to songs and artists you wouldn't necessarily find on your own.

Overall I quite enjoyed this box but won't personally be sticking with it as I prefer the service and snacks that Graze offer...

My Little Creative Box: October

October's My Little Box will be my 8th and final. Whilst I am still enjoying receiving them I can't really justify the cost anymore as £15 a month isn't that cheap considering I  get items or products that I don't want or need. I'm making a conscious effort to buy less 'things' and stopping my subscription will definitely help, though the message on the bag does weirdly echo my sentiment. 

I also want to apologize that my review is so late, college has been a bit of a nightmare lightly. This was my first box to arrive late which didn't help either, as though it said it had been dispatched on the 7th I didn't receive it till the 23rd and they are meant to be delivered between the 10th and 20th each month. I often read on Instagram that people's boxes arrive late but I guess I've just been lucky before. 

As you can tell October's theme was 'Creativity' however I'm not sure that the items in the box portrayed this. The Tote Bag is lovely and very useful to me but I think if they were aiming for creativity they should have sent a plain tote and some fabric pens. Similarly the Tech Jewelry wasn't that creative but also happened to be quite useless and not something that I was really interested in.

The Magazine was rather boring as ever, they always fold out to be giant posters so that it's just photos on the one side and they usually have 2-3 articles including a hair or makeup tutorial and an interview with people that I rarely know.

The beauty products were also unfortunately similarly disappointing. I found the Talika Photo-Hydra Moisturiser to be quite rubbish, especially considering it costs over £40 a tube usually, it has a gorgeous gel consistency which feels so smooth on your skin when you apply it. It absorbs really fast which seems great, but immediately after, your skin just feels dry again, I've taken to putting two moisturisers on now because of this. The tube also felt rally empty before I'd even used any. The other annoying thing was that I also received a My Little Beauty Night Cream in October's box which though lovely, it is slightly pointless to give 2 moisturisers in one box. The night cream is super thick and creamy and feels lovely when you apply it to your face, it's definitely too thick to use in the morning. It absorbs fast and leaves your skin feeling very hydrated too unlike the other one. The final beauty product is an AINY Oil for hair or skin. I've used it in my hair and it's nice but it feels 'wetter' than the Mark Hill one I usually use. I know that's a strange thing to say but I feel like as a result it makes my hair feel greasy thought it hydrates my hair just as well. It also feels really nice when used on the skin as a moisturiser. However once again the fact that I already got two moisturisers in this box makes it quite annoying that this is also basically just a glorified moisturizer.

The fact that I was quite disappointed with this box helped with my decision to end my subscription but the main fact really was the cost. When I consider that I've spent £120 on these boxes now I definitely feel like I've made the right choice. Not to say that I haven't enjoyed many of the items I've received.

What's your opinion on monthly subscription boxes?

DIY Bloody Candles for Halloween

All you need for this super easy Halloween DIY is a white pillar candle, matches, and a red candle. 

Simply light the red candle and let the wax melt, dripping it onto the white one around the circumference of its top and particularly down the sides. Make sure you do this over a protected, non-flammable surface and please be careful! As you can see, I made quite the mess. Make sure you let the candle fully cool before picking it up to move it too! They're the perfect party decoration or would look great in your window on Halloween night, to tempt Trick or Treaters to your door. However you use them they're sure to give someone a scare.

Autumn Essentials

So who's excited for Halloween? It's October now so I'm finally allowed to be! This year I have also tried out some makeup ideas for Halloween to show you all, so look forward to those! I love going all out on the makeup as there aren't many other opportunities to. But anyway, now that Autumn is definitely here I thought I'd show you some of my essentials. First is the super cosy scarf from New Look that I used as the backdrop for the photos. The colours are super autumnal and will go with most outfits plus its just so soft I wish I could sleep in it, which i definitely could considering the size of it. My autumnal nail picks are very similar to last years with a deep matte burgundy polish Crush by Barry M and a light slate grey from Illamasqua called DWS (Which I picked up for the bargain price of £4 at TKMaxx which greatly excited me). Most of the year, red is my favourite lip colour but over autumn it switches to purples and plums, my favourite of which is Topshop's Lipstick in Wicked, its a very dark purple on the lips though looks more of a brick red in the bullet. It's just gorgeous and I always get compliments whenever I wear it. It's lasting power is also pretty fab. If I'm looking for a less statement lip I have also been loving Burt's Bees Hibiscus Lip Balm to add a slight tint to my lips and moisturise them simultaneously. To make it feel all cosy in my room I've also started burning less summery scents and picked up this lovely pack of yankee samplers from Asda for only £3. Unfortunately though I have noticed that the 'Simply Home' scents aren't quite as good as the usual ones and often don't smell as strong. It contains Apple Crumble, Simply Vanilla and Raspberry Sundae  which I can't wait to try.

Let me know your Autumn essentials in the comments!

Halloween 2014

So last friday me and my sister had a Halloween party with about 30 of our friends, it was like a week early but some of our friends were going on holiday for October Half Term so yea. Anyway, I went as a sugar skull in the end as you can see below... 

I followed this tutorial that I found on youtube which also happens to be in my Costume Ideas post.

Anyway, heres a couple of photos I got on the night, you can tell how late it is by how many jewels fell off my face/how smudged my makeup is haha!

I hope none of my friends mind being on here...

The Halloween Tag

Picture off We Heart It and I added the text

I was tagged to do the Halloween Tag by the lovely Lily from LilyPad, you should go check her out!

Q1. What is your favourite Halloween movie?

I've got to be honest I've never really seen a 'halloween' movie. I only watched my first ever horror movie like two weeks ago (Annabelle, in case your wondering!) but I am going to see Ouija on Friday and I'm kinda terrified!

Q2. What is your fondest Halloween memory?

I never really celebrated Halloween much as a kid, we didn't really go trick or treating or get dressed up that much, though to be fair, for a couple of years our friends who lived across the road did have halloween parties which were pretty awesome. But I think the best Halloween memory I have so far is my party last week! Post coming soon.

Q3. Favourite Halloween decoration?

Ummmm, thats kinda hard, obviously I love a good old Jack O Lantern but at the moment we have this awesome Yellow Tape up that says ' CAUTION ZOMBIES LIVE HERE' Which I love :)

Q4. Vampires or Zombies?

Well it depends really, cus obvs vampires are pretty sexy (Not the twilight kind) but I am very partial to the Walking Dead so I love them both really!

Q5. What is your weird/odd fear?

Hmmmmm, now thats a hard one, I have loads of fears really, but I guess my weirdest one is having sharp things touch my wrists, like I cant even write on my wrists cus it just freaks me out, and I hate when people hold me by the wrists.

Q6. Do you believe in ghosts?

Not really nope, but there are those times when you're home alone in the dark and there are noises and things when I'm like maybe, but then I'm just like ' Well, Jace Lightwood/Wayland/Morgenstern will protect me' (I'm obsessed with Mortal Instruments right now!)

And I'll tag- 

Cole Of the Ball +Nicole Baxter 

Niamhs Dream +Niamh M 

There's Something About Alice +Alice evans 

Halloween Costume Ideas

Sooo, who loves halloween?! 

Meeeee.

Who always forgets about Halloween until practically the day before?

Also, meeeeeee.

So this year I decided to get ahead, I love love love dressing up for halloween, its the best thing about October, so I thought I'd share with you a couple of the things that I considered dressing up as this year :) 

Vampire

A good old traditional halloween costume with a modern twist.

I loveeeeee this video that Emma has done for sexy vampire makeup!

This video is absolutely ingenious, it's just so clever using false nails and denture glue to make fangs!

For the actual costume, you can just pair any LBD with some black stilettos and look instantly badass. All in all it would be quite a cheap, yet effective outfit.

Zombie

This girls youtube channel is amazing, I have just discovered it and I love it! This makeup tutorial is so good if you want to go as a zombie but don't want to go all out walking-dead-type-zombie as its so simple.

For the costume you can just cover any of your clothes in dirt and fake blood really, but this video is a really good example of how to do this. 

This video is just a bonus that I found in my subscriptions box and I think its soooooo cool, the devil is in the detail as they say.

Frozen Costumes

Not really a halloween costume but how could I resist because it's FROZEN.

Another brilliant tutorial from Katherine Elizabeth, showing makeup for both Elsa and Anna.

This video was a collab so there are also links to Elsa and Olaf costumes too, but they are really simple, easy DIY costumes.

Sugar Skull

How beautiful/creepy are Sugar Skulls? I think this might be what I go as for my halloween party, but I'm not sure yet? I tried it out and this was the result (It needs a few improvements)...

Well that was a lot of videos, sorry, I'm just so excited for Halloween, I can't decide whether to go as a  vampire, a zombie or a sugar skull, what do you think? Let me know in the comments...

October Favourites

I have been watching so much youtube recently, I'm a little obsessed. But anyway, I was inspired by these to start a new feature... monthly favourites! So here goes...

1. Starbucks Chilled Caramel Macchiato Latte-These things taste amazing! As do the bottled frappuccinos.
2. ABC's Once Upon A Time-I have been watching this show since the very beginning and am totally obsessed. So happy Season 3's finally here!
3. MUA Undressed Palette-This is a beautiful and versatile palette with a great selection of colours.
4. Sara Bareilles Brave, Chasing The Sun and Hercules-Chasing the Sun is my current fave but the other two are close contenders.
5. Maynards Sour Patch Kids- I am so happy that these have arrived in England, they are delicious!
6. Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss stick in Fucshia-ristic- This has long been a favorite of mine as it has the colour of a lipstick but the sheen of a lip gloss with out the stickiness.
7. Divergent, Insurgent and Allegiant by Veronica Roth-I am obsessed with these books! I read the first one in 2 days and can't wait to read the third.
8. Compass by Lady Antebellum-I have been a fan of Lady A for a while now but their new single is one of my favourites yet.
9. Loreal Super Liner Perfect Slim in Black Intense- This is my new favourite eyeliner! The tip is so thin and precise and the formula lasts all day. 

And of course I have been obsessed with Katy Perry's new album, 'Prism'!

Let me know your favourites this month in the comments...

Last Minute DIY Halloween Costumes!

Last Minute DIY Halloween Costumes! by frankenwhale on polyvore.com

October Printable

Happy Halloween everyone! (In almost a month, but its good to be early... for a change...)

Got any Halloween plans? Any DIY costume ideas? Let me know in the comments!