Being the beauty junkie that I am, means that my house is full of makeup and skincare products that I either accumulate myself or are gifts from my amazing friends and family. Not to mention all the little samples!
Up until now, I used to open multiple of the same type of beauty products -say for example hand creams- as soon as I bought them or received them excited to try them out. This resulted though, to having loads of opened and not used products lying around the house or in different hand bags.
As I hope to make 2020 more about quality and less about quantity, I came up with the idea of the Beauty Appreciation Box. So every month, I will be choosing a few beauty and skincare products that I already have and want to focus on and save away the rest of the same kind. This way, I will be trying properly the efficiency of each product for a full month, I will have the chance to enjoy them better without getting distracted by other similar products and I will be able to use some products up and free up some space in my house and bags. I am also hoping for this to help me reduce the amount of products I tend to buy, save money and be more selective when I want to make a new purchase.
Below are the products that I have chosen for my appreciation box for the month of January.
In an attempt to extend the “summery” feeling after coming back from our honeymoon, I will be using the Victoria Secret Coconut Passion Fragrance Mist and Body Lotion. The Fragrance is toward its end so it will be a good opportunity to finish it up!
On the other hand as as it’s still pretty wintry here in the U.K., I will be using my Mulled Wine Westlab Epsom Salts for my hot baths. With a delicious scent of cinammon, clove and mandarin they are very warming and uplifting.
My love for L’Occitane isn’t a secret and I’m almost always using a product from their range (read here about some of my favourite L’Occitane products). This month I will be using the Cherry Blossom perfumed soap which is very hydrating and has a divine scent.
Another body care essential for this month will be my Clarins Exfoliating Body Scrub for Smooth Skin. Sadly, after coming back from my holidays in the sun my skin has started peeling so I will be using this exfoliator to remove the dead cells and soften it. It’s one of my favourite Clarins products and I keep going back to it.
Speaking about soft skin, there are 2 things that can’t be missing from my handbag during the winter. A lip balm and a hand cream. This month I will be using the Vaseline Aloe Lip Therapy as my lips are in need of intense treatment after using some quite drying lipsticks, and the Sainsbury’s Elderberry and Fig Leaf hand cream which is surprisingly good and smells great.
Skincare-wise, I have added in my beauty appreciation box, the Apivita Radiance Mask with Orange as it is enriched with Vitamin C which has antioxidant action and boosts the brightness of the skin which is exactly what I need this time of the year. Two skincare samples that I want to try this month are the Garnier Organic Lemongrass Detox Gel Wash and the Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser as I’m looking for a new face wash.
Obviously, it’s more difficult to stick to only specific makeup products as they change depending on the look you want to go for on any particular day. However, I I often forget about all the different lipsticks, eye-shadow palettes and other products that I own so it’s a good practice for me to go through them in the beginning of the month and choose some that I want to use more that specific month in order to a) appreciate them and b) stop myself from buying more!
I usually stick to a red lipstick most days during Winter, so this month I will be using my Max Factor red in Scarlet Ghost. For the days that I want to go for a softer lipstick shade, I will be sticking to my much-loved Lisa Eldridge lipstick in Love of my Life. Finally, for the days that just a lip gloss is enough, I will be using my Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb in Fussy. Shiny and hydrating, it’s one of my favourite lip glosses ever.
Two palettes I will be using more this month will be my Charlotte Tilbury Stars in Your Eyes eyes shadow palette simply because it’s my absolute favourite and the Bare Minerals Crystalline Glow Bronzer and Highlighter palette as I’d give everything to add some sparkle to the dull January days.
What do you think of the Beauty Appreciation Box? What products would you put in yours?
Love,
Eleni xx