October You Beauty Box

Right - decided to try and get the review of this box opening done earlier than last time!  This box turned up really early in the month again which is great as it spaces out the boxes I receive.

As you can see, it's the usual looking You Beauty Discovery Box.

The usual booklet that I've brilliantly cut off the corner of which states that this is the Handbag Heroes box.

The two products I selected this month are in the middle and the extras are either side.

I'll start with the first selection of mine:

This is the Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser.

I've not tried this yet but I am slowly collecting various Murad products as they always seem to get good reviews.  The UK seem to be a bit late to the party when it comes to Murad but I'm starting to see it in various shops now so they're much more available.

They have numbers in the top left corner which relate to the different stages of your facial routine.  Ideally, you would have at least a 1, a 2 and a 3 product to get the full benefit.

This is a cleanser that promises to dissolve surface oils and impurities to leave skin clear and bright.  It is recommended to only use this product once or twice a week and rub onto the skin, leave for a minute or so before rinsing.

The Murad site has lots of rave reviews for this product and state that they are so sure you'll love it yourself that you can return it after 30 days if you are unhappy, even if the tube is empty!  They're also offering a free gift worth £35 if you spend £60.  You can buy the full size 200ml tube for £35 from the Murad site here.

The second product I chose was the Crystal Clear Intense Anti-Ageing Serum.

This claims to be a powerful anti-ageing product that gives intense moisturising, smooths lines, restores and repairs dry, tired skin, firms skin and even states that it is 'frown-freezing'!!! 

I won't attempt to go into the full range of ingredients but one in particular pops out to me - 'Sy-Nake' is a synthetic mimic of Temple Viper venom which is apparently great at smoothing out wrinkles and expression lines.

I did take a photo of the back of the tube but it's ever so slightly out of focus and I don't want to weird anyones eyes out so I'll describe what it says.  It's a 30ml tube and the instructions for use are to unscrew the rollerball head, squeeze the tube to fill the cavity 3/4 full, re-attach the rollerball and then apply to the face.

I admit that I am very intrigued to try this out as I a) love any anti-ageing product and b) want to see what synthetic snake venom does to my face.  The full size tube is 50ml and is £60 from the company website.  I think you can see that this 30ml tube is a great inclusion in this incredibly good-value box.  You can buy it here.

The first of the 'Extra Treats' from You Beauty is the Gold Collagen® Forte.

I stupidly thought that this was a bottle of skincare products but it's actually a drink!

Well, actually it's an anti-ageing supplement that contains collagen and antioxidants which help fight the appearance of the signs of ageing and is aimed specifically at the 40+ age range.  This is when the skin is supposed to start having the effects of life and lifestyle take its toll.  The collagen, elastin and natural defences start to weaken (great!) and this supplement helps to restore some of those lost anti-ageing thingamajigs.

This is a daily supplement which can not only restore the anti-ageing defences but can also help hair and nail health too.  The website has a long list of ingredients and helpfully puts their properties and benefits right next to each.  There is also a really useful FAQ section which I recommend reading before purchase.  It states that the collagen is taken from fish skin which, although certified by veterinarians as being fit for human consumption, presumably makes it unsuitable for vegetarians and vegans.

The website suggests taking the supplement on an empty stomach but suggests taking it after food if you experience gastrointestinal upset.  There is also some interesting information that explains how the supplement is specifically designed to allow collagen to be absorbed from the stomach.

I'm not sure how I feel about this product.  While I like the idea of the product being aimed at my age group and the promises it makes, I am always leery of anything that states there may be any kind of stomach issue and I also imaging that you probably need to take a lot of supplements like this to see any effect.  The FAQ section says that you should use daily for at least a month to see any effect.  At around £40 for 10 bottles that makes £120-ish for a month although you can buy 90 days and 120 days worth that come at a discounted price.  It's still around £80 though.

You can buy this, as well as Pure Gold Collagen and Active Gold Collagen supplements either from the Gold Collagen website here or from Boots (who have a 3 for 2 offer at the mo) here.  The detailed info and FAQ stuff can be found here.

Lastly is the Cowshed Perfecting Night Serum.

The list of properties to this serum is very long but highlights of it are that it increases cell renewal, plumps and hydrates skin, improves skin tone and elasticity and reduces fine lines and hyper-pigmentation.

You can see a lot of the list of benefits here and also see that it retails for £48 but there doesn't seem to be anything on their site that says what size this is for.

The usage is straight-forward - apply to skin and neck after your cleansing routine at night and let the serum work on you while you sleep. 

This seems like a decent product and I look forward to trying it out.  I've heard of Cowshed but not tried any of their products and haven't heard what their reviews are like.  Unlike the drink supplement, this is a bit of an easy product to try out but the size of the sample means you're unlikely to see results.  However, things like absorption and the general feel of skin can be enough to give a rough idea but you may want to seek out reviews before splashing your hard-earned cash.  The serum can be purchased directly from their website with free standard delivery here.

I have to say that You Beauty have really surpassed themselves here and the products that I've got seem great, even counting the strange supplement drink.  I continue to be impressed by this little box that packs a big punch and is worth every penny in my opinion.

You Beauty subscriptions start at £6.95 and you can get them here.