Cohorted Beauty Box – February 2015
Price of the box – £19.99 plus £2.50 P&P
No. of Products in the Box – 5 items (worth £67.50)
www.cohorted.co.uk
I’ve literally been bursting at the seams with excitement to unveil the February Cohorted Beauty Box, the first ever edition with many more in the making for us beauty addicts each month. For those of you who are not familiar with Cohorted, they are an online cult beauty retailer who provide a much fairer price when it comes to purchasing well known and loved brands such as Urban Decay, Benefit, MAC, NARS, Dolce & Gabbana, Real Techniques, plus many more. With this brand portfolio in mind it was inevitable that this box was going to deliver and be a crowd pleaser from the outset. Unlike any of the other beauty boxes, this features lust-worthy and luxurious brands which automatically puts this box within a league of it’s own. I certainly to date have not seen the likes of Dolce & Gabbana or Bobbi Brown showcase within a beauty box until now! As well as the incredible line up, all of the products are exceptionally good sized with three being full-size and if you love the finer things in life, you are in for a real treat which won’t break the bank.
The February box being their first ever edition has now sold out and it features an incredible line up worth £67.50 and showcases well known brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Bobbi Brown, Benefit and Korres. The contents come beautifully presented within a chic black box tied with a satin ribbon giving it a very luxurious look and feel.
1. Dolce & Gabbana Clarifying Lotion – Full Size 150ml RRP £20.00
I thought my eyes were deceiving me when I first set eyes on this full sized Dolce & Gabbana Clarifying Lotion, I certainly to date have not seen this luxurious brand feature in any beauty boxes.
This make-up remover which is alcohol-free is an all-rounder formula that cleanses, gently exfoliates and tones. It’s unique formula effectively sweeps away dead surface skin cells, leaving the skin feeling smoother and with a visibly refined, luminous appearance as well as removing all traces of makeup.
I’ve not tried anything from the Dolce & Gabbanna skincare range so look forward to giving this a go.
2. Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara – Travel Size 3ml. Worth £8.00
I know I’m not the only one who is such a sucker for mascara. I don’t know what it is, but as soon as a new mascara lands on my doorstop I am immediately drawn to it mainly because I am always looking for a magical makeup miracle, and this Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara is no exception although I was more overwhelmed to see this brand inside the box. I’m relatively new to Bobbi Brown’s make up collection so was happy to see this brand showcased.
Upon opening the mascara, I noticed straight away that the formula is very rich and deep black. It was not thick or overly wet upon the first stroke of application. What I really loved was the immediate effect of BOOM it gave my lashes. If you want lash drama and do not want to spend 5 minutes trying to build up the lashes, this mascara is for you. The brush is a classic spiral wand, but with tons and tons of bristles which is my preference over others wands.
I loved the big immediate drama thanks to it’s deep black pigment, but I also noticed that it’s not the most buildable mascara on the planet. It can get a little chunky when too much is applied. Not my Holy Grail mascara, but better than the majority of the prestige and high end mascara’s I’ve tried.
3. Benefit Bella Bamba Ultra Plush Lipgloss – Full Size 15ml RRP £14.50
I’ve long had a love affair with Benefit from their famous boxes of blush to their concealers since I was 16 years old and welcomed this full sized Bella Bamba Ultra Plush Lip Gloss formula that corresponds with the gorgeous blush colour too.
This plush gloss comes in a soft-squeezable tube with a custom tip designed for even application and the Bella Bamba is a sheer bright watermelon shade.
I really like the texture which feels super- comfy on the lips without a trace of stickiness. It has a sweet fruity scent which smells utterly delicious. I was hoping this had a little more pigment and with it being sheer it simply adds a natural soft sheen of colour making it a great everyday gloss.
4. Korres Quercetin & Oak Eye Primer – Full Size 4ml RRP £10.00
I don’t wear eyeshadow much, but when I do, I rely on a good primer to keep my eyeshadow in-tact and crease-free throughout the day. This one by Korres is a 3 in 1 formula which primes, corrects and helps against anti aging. It’s enriched with Quercetin & Oak extracts which smooths the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and it’s built-in apricot undertone claims to instantly correct darkness and imperfections on the eyelid and underneath the eye area.
The texture and the apricot colour really makes the eyeshadow look more vibrant and it also worked well under my eyes as a colour corrector which neutralised a little of my dark circles. After a good six hours or so my eyeshadow was still in-tact, crease-free and looked fresh as when I first applied it. I’m really impressed with the results and I like that this also works as an under eye brightener and as well as an anti-aging product.
5. Korres Milk Proteins Foaming Cleanser – Travel Size 50ml. Worth £15.00
My Verdict
I’ve fallen head over heels with Cohorted’s first ever beauty box and in my opinion this is a luxurious beauty box which is big on premium and well-known brands. I certainly wouldn’t be able to justify spending over £60 plus on beauty products each month and this box by Cohorted by far softens the blow with it’s affordable price tag. I didn’t know what to expect when Cohorted got in touch with me and although I had high hopes due to their brand portfolio, I was actually blown away when I saw the contents inside. As well as the beauty line up, I loved the presentation and the design of the box which really gives it that luxurious look and feel and for their first ever attempt I think they’ve done extremely well and hope to see this quality throughout their monthly edits.
I really lust over premium brands but not knowing how the product will perform is the main factor which usually stops me from splurging out, but this box really gives you an opportunity to try before you buy at such a steal with a mixture of full sized and generous sized samples without any teeny samples in sight. Although the box isn’t cheap compared to the others, the value really does make up for this and one of the items alone this month equates to the box itself. If you need a little cheering up or a guilt-free treat each month this box can be purchased as a one off transaction so there’s no subscription involved giving you full control and flexibility to purchase as and when you want to.
Overall taking into account the brands featured, the size of the products and the value I really can’t fault this box.
My only negative is that so many customers missed out on the box due to their website experiencing technical difficulties, I only hope that this was an one off and we can see a much smoother and fairer transaction process from here onwards.
I can’t wait to see what the March edition has in store although the pre-order boxes have also now sold out.
Did you manage to get the February Cohorted Beauty Box?
www.cohorted.co.uk
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