The name on everybody’s lips when it comes to the latest beauty products, is ‘Glossybox.’ So naturally, we wanted to know what all the fuss was about.  When the simple, but elegantly designed box arrived on my desk amidst a chorus of cooing from the female members of the team, it wasn’t hard to see why – it is like Tiffany’s, but BIGGER, and PINK, and with more STUFF in it!

The premise of Glossybox is that you sign up, and for £10 a month they send you a collection of five sample beauty products.  There are also Exclusive Editions Boxes and Flashboxes, which explore one theme or brand in depth. Subscribers can buy these boxes first and get a special subscriber discount before they become available to everyone.

The pleasure one derives from this is that of being a kid in a candy store – you don’t get a lot of each product (usually – although sometimes they include a full-size product or two), but enough to test them out. If anything, it’s a real insight into which brands are very generous with their samples, and which ones are a wee bit on the stingy side – you will have to sign up to find out for yourself, I ain’t telling.  Besides, when was the last time you bought yourself five new products on a random day of the week and had a good old play with them?

We tried out the City Chic Glossybox, which included a Tresemmé hairspray, a bottle of Nails Inc nail varnish, a L’Occitane Immortelle Precious Cream, an Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream, and a Jelly Pong Pong Cosmetics Lip Blush (which is like a crayon that it is totally acceptable to draw on yourself with – hours of entertainment).  The box also includes a beautifully printed letter to ‘Dear Glossies’ – I am now a ‘Glossy’ – I feel important – with details of each product, and tips from the Glossybox team’s favourite London hot spots.  As if that wasn’t enough, this month there was also a ‘My Little Travelling Book’ complete with travel tips and information for European cities, such as favourite restaurants, beauty shops, clubs, hotels, spas, and art galleries. This handy guide also included a dinky little collection of stickers – the office favourite of which said ‘I don’t know where I am going, but I am on my way!’ – that’s a motto for life there.

It is these details in my opinion that make Glossybox such a lovely gift – whether to yourself or someone else.  The products themselves are a fun treat, but it is the way they are delivered that really makes you feel special … I am already looking forward to unwrapping my next present to me next month!