That magical moment when...

... you realise you love a product enough to go back & spend £33 on a new one!

Glossy Box: What a Load of Rubbish

In July, I wrote this post partly about the fact that there seems to a wide variance in both the value from month to month but also from box to box in a given month. At the time, when boxes started to vary from person to person, many of us assumed that it was because GlossyBox was starting to tailor the contents depending on the answers given when a subscriber completed the mythical Beauty Profile.

This is what I received this month (September). Looks pretty good huh?

Or does it? Brunette????? Can you imagine that I, Beauty Blogging Blonde would have answered the question about my hair colour any other way than BLONDE?? Not to mention how many people on Twitter have been complaining about the shades they received & at the time of writing, 4 people had tweeted me to say their palette was smashed when they received it.

When I signed up in May, I did so with an understanding that the first couple of boxes wouldn't be tailored but they would start to do so within a couple of months. I didn't expect that GlossyBox would ignore people on Twitter or their emails, or they would speak to their customers like children, or treat us like idiots. I forgave the weird little note in July. I forgave the inclusion of Xen Tan in 'Dark' last month as a bit of a blooper. 5 months on, with no indication that my boxes will be tailored any time soon, I absolutely will not forgive being treated like a dunce or being taken for a ride.

This is a screen shot from their website as of today. The message I take from this is 'we might not always get it right, but we will do our best to tailor as far as possible' not what they are actually doing of 'We are currently not tailoring but we will in the future' meaning new subscribers are basically subscribing to a lie.

This screen shot is an excerpt from their Twitter account, on Friday confirming that currently, all products are sent out at random. The mythical beauty profile I mentioned at the start has now been unavailable for existing subscribers since May/June to access, update & check. Why? So far, GlossyBox have ignored tweets from myself & others asking, so we remain in the dark.

Since receiving this month's box, I have logged in to unsubscribe. But there isn't an unsubscribe button. There isn't even an available area to find out how to unsubscribe without searching in the FAQs, where you are told 'to send an email with your account information'. Sooo, what account information do they need? I've emailed to ask & so far haven't even received an auto-response confirming receipt of my email.

Sleek Pout Paints

There are some things Sleek do very badly (matte eyeshadow anyone?) and there are some things they do very very well. These new Pout Paints are one of the better ones.

Left - Pin Up and Right - Port

Avoiding the 80 billionty posts on these when they first came out, I knew everything I really wanted to know; they could be bought in Superdrug, they came in a variety of colours & they are cheap.

I checked out a few shades last week & I nearly bought 4 or 5, but eventually settled on these 2 classic shades; Port & Pin Up.

Pin-Up is a slightly orange toned red. It runs the risk of making my teeth look ever so slightly yellow, but it's so pretty I'll just not smile & all will be fine!

Port is much brighter than it appears in the tube; a clear, fresh, bright blue-toned fuschia that will go with everything.

The small print; these will stain your lips & surrounding face like a beatch unless you remove properly. Do not, I repeat, Do NOT go to bed without taking off. It will look like there's been a murder...

Clarins Beauty Flash Balm

My latest love affair... Clarins Beauty Flash Balm. Makes my skin appear smooth, even & glowing. Simples.

Like I just stepped out of a salon...

My hair has been straddling the fine line between long/lush and long/stripper for a while. In 2008 I started growing it for my wedding last year & just never really stopped. The shortest layers were past my chin & at the back it was below my bra strap. I quite liked it, but it was unmanageable, uninspiring & unflattering. But I was struggling to let go and have been thinking about getting it cut for months, without ever picking up the phone & booking an appointment.

(don't ask...)

After a desperate plea on Twitter, Rainbow Rooms International swooped in & offered to rescue me from barnet despair. I was booked in with the lovely Leo (more on him later...) the very next day for a complete overhaul. Rainbow Rooms was founded in 1979, with the first salon on Glasgow's famous shopping mecca, Buchanan Street. Since then, the brand has grown & grown, with a full in-house range of haircare products, 2 teaching academies and salons across the west of Scotland. The salons are known for luxury, relaxation & fabulous customer service, not to mention the highly talented & friendly staff.

Despite the reputation, I still took the stairs up to the salon with some trepidation; I kind of still wanted to keep all my hair and was reluctantly resigning myself gradually to knowing that really, it had to go. I also HATE going to new hairdressers. Hate. It. I mean, who feels comfortable going somewhere new where all the girls always look amazing and you have to have a wet head? Come on people, I am not alone, am I? But I was greeted by a receptionist with a mega-watt smile oozing friendliness and I immediately felt at ease. I was seated to await my fate.

A moment later, Leo was by my side, introducing himself, taking a seat & getting comfy for a very thorough consultation. One of my most hated stylist tactics is when they stand behind you, grabbing hair, throwing it around, eyeing up where they can cut off 2 feet, when all you've asked for is a trim... Anyway, I digress. Leo asked what I was thinking, I gave him a bit of uhmm'ing & ahh'ing before reaching for the pile of photos I'd taken with me. Leo then briefed me on what he thought would be right, before discussing my face shape, hair condition & potential treatments. Before long, we were finishing each other sentences & the rest as they say, is history...

During the consultation, I was asked how I style my hair (I don't), how long I spend styling in the morning (uhhh 3 seconds?), what products I used (£2 hair masque from Aldi - Leon just about threw me out) and what I wanted out of my cut (hair I don't have to style for more than 3 seconds, but which looks fabulous darling). Leo correctly assessed my hair as verging on traumatised from it's treatment over the last year and when I told him the last time it was cut was January, I think a little bit of him died inside. We discussed the treatments I would have; a shiatsu head massage to open up the hair shafts, allowing the conditioning treatment to fulfil it's conditiony destiny & really sink in, for a deep revival of my poor straw hair (a special thank you to Ellie, a firecracker cheerleader who gave me an amazing massage!)

Right, this was me before!

Over the next hour & a half, my hair was chopped, snipped and conditioned all the while enjoying the very friendly banter & admiring Leo's tattoos. I didn't think the day could get any better. Then Leo whispered to Ellie "bring out the O"... If you follow me on Twitter, you'll probably have heard me lament more than once about my inner turmoil about buying an O without trying it first. I think I probably cracked a window with my excited squeals. And it was amazing.

And this is the end result!!

I'm so pleased. I asked for soft, blended movement without harsh lines, for a fringe that could be flexible in style and a cut that I can easily blow-dry without minimal effort. And it's exactly what I got. Amazing. I seriously am still skipping inside with how happy I am with my hair. Love it.

This is the man himself. (How hot?!)

I left the salon, bouncing down the street with a serious spring in my step. Leo said his aim was to make me feel amazing & I did! And so did these 2 ladies. Annie (left) has been coming to RRI for a while and on this visit had brought her sister Flora to experience the magic touch. I caught up with them as we left the salon at the same time & they were more than happy to give the salon 4 giant thumbs ups!

So, I am in love with Leo & I will now be travelling 3 hours south to get my hair done. Or I will bribe him to open a salon in Aberdeen...

What do you think? Have you been to one of their salons? Is Leo your hairdresser? (if so, step away bitch - he's mine!) A massive thanks to Leo & Rainbow Rooms for having me & putting a smile back on my face!

A x