Towards the end of last year, I began to realise that are lots of things I like that I would like to recommend, but which don't fit into a post on this blog. As such, I'm going to start compiling monthly favourites posts, where I will highlight a handful of items and experiences I have enjoyed. Here are my picks for December 2014:

Over the past few days, I have posted my suggestions for what to buy the men and women on your Christmas gift list. Today, in the final part of this year's Christmas gift guide, I've picked out ten gifts that might slip nicely into a stocking or surprise and delight your Secret Santa recipient. Everything on the list is £15 or under but if, as at my office, your Secret Santa price limit is only £10, there are a few ideas that will keep you on budget.

Food and drink
1. Bermondsey Tonic Water from World of Zing. £14.95. It wouldn't be a Bex gift guide without a gin-related product. You dilute this tonic concentrate with soda water to make a great-tasting tonic water. If you have had a G&T at 214 on Bermondsey Street, this is their homemade tonic. Fancy gin can be quite expensive, but this tonic water will instantly improve even your 'everyday' gin.


2. Kapu coffee scoop and bag closer from the Finnish Design Shop. €19. Why buy a separate coffee scoop and coffee bag clip when one stylish, Nordic gadget can do both? The Design Museum Shop also sells this; they are currently sold out online but they might have some in store.



Style
3. Anchor necklace from Tatty Devine. £15. This necklace is nautical but nice. The light blue colour is my favourite, but it also comes in red and cream.


4. Steven Pinker's The Sense of Style from Amazon. £13.60. As a former linguist, I've always been one of Pinker's biggest fans and I really enjoyed his latest work: a guide to writing and style for the Internet era. It is entertaining and informative, and if you are interested in language or writing you will love it.


Beauty and grooming
5. Christmas star beauty treat from Liz Earle. £7.50. Liz Earle is doing a few different Christmas star-shaped baubles this year: you can choose between a lipstick and a nail varnish in several shades. I like this nail varnish in 'pure poetry': a deep burgundy colour that will see you from the party season and through winter.


6. Camphor stone soap from the Conran Shop. £7. Brightly coloured and with clean, geometrical lines, these stone soaps will add a pop of colour to any bathroom. You can select from several different sizes, colours and fragrances, but these small ones are perfect for stockings.


7. Nihilist toothpaste from Present Indicative. £4.95. If you're a fan of rien de rien, you might enjoy this tongue-in-cheek toothpaste. It's flavour-free and colour-free but chock full of irony.

8. Evil Genius tin candle from Selfridges. £9.95. I spotted these small tinned candles in Selfridge's blinged up gift section in the basement. The Evil Genius one has a nice warm, spicy scent, but they have a few different options if the recipient is more of a secret agent or just a friend.



Running and planning
9. Runner's wristband from Sweaty Betty. £10. Running clothes don't always have enough pockets for all of your bits and bobs, so this stretchy wristband provides a little extra space, with enough room for a card and keys or a few coins.

10. Minimal Planner from the South Bank Centre Shop. £5. Sometimes organisational notebooks, apps and productivity tools overcomplicate things. This notebook, which comes in coral or grey, keeps things simple and makes it easy for you to keep on top of your to-do list.

Welcome to the first part of my annual Christmas gift guides. Yes, it's almost Christmas time, but there's no need to be afraid. Today's guide is for the female section of your gift list: I've selected ten gift ideas from a range of different categories, from beauty to homewares. Most are under £50, although two are slightly more expensive. Tune in next week for help finding the perfect present for the guys in your life, and for the final instalment of this year's series, which focuses on £15-and-under stocking fillers and Secret Santa gifts. So, without further ado, here are my picks:

Welcome to the first post in the 2013 edition of my annual Christmas gift guides. Today I'll be highlighting ten gift ideas for the girls on your gift list. Most of these items are under £50, but if your budget is a little tighter, check out my Stocking Fillers and Secret Santa guide. Or, if you have some extra pennies this year, some of the items in my gift guide for guys would work equally well for the ladies in your life. And if you need more inspiration, Selfridges has just released its annual Christmas discount voucher, which gets you 20% off almost everything in store and online from tomorrow until Sunday. Now, onto my selections.

Clothes and accessories
1. Kate Spade pop-top gloves from Selfridges (or the UK Kate Spade stores). £45. At this time of year, it's nice to have a pair of gloves that combines flexibility and style, and it's easy to convert these fingerless gloves into mittens when the threatened Big Freeze hits. I think the monochrome colourway is the chicest, but if you're into clashing, go for the pink and red combo.

Kate Spade pop-top gloves. Image from: Kate Spade

2. Medium zip pouch from Fossil. £49. Speaking of once-verboten colour combinations, I love Fossil's range of blue-and-green accessories. This leather zip pouch will fit an iPad Mini or most of your other necessities. The tote bag and clutch are cute too.

3. Cheek Thrills neon vest and knickers set from Austique. £35. I'm somewhat biased because turquoise and pink are my favourite colours and because I can never resist a good pun, but I think this lace-trimmed underwear set is great: cute and comfortable.

4. ThoughtBlossoms gold initial necklace from Etsy. $35 (about £22). I'm a sucker for pretty much anything with initials on, and these delicate gold necklaces definitely fit the bill. You can personalise the charm with one to three characters or a design stamp. F-A-B.

Home
5. Mean Girls poster from Print Club London. £40. In case you're one of the few people who can't quote along with the script of Mean Girls, this screen-printed poster, produced for Somerset House's 2013 Summer Screen season, will help you out. It's pink, but not saccharine. Just stop trying to make fetch happen, OK?

Mean Girls poster from Print Club London.

6. Le Livre 2014 diary from Present & Correct. £17.50. The polar opposite of item #5 on the decorum stakes, this week-to-view diary is très chic indeed. In fact, it's designed to look just like the novels published by the iconic Gallimard publishing house. The Present & Correct website is filled with beautiful and useful stationery, writing and organisation products, so it would be hard to go wrong gift-wise.

7. Three-bunch subscription to Bloom & Wild flower delivery service. From £40. Everyone loves to get nice things in the post and Bloom & Wild will send out a beautifully arranged posy of long-lasting flowers, carefully packed and preserved in a box small enough to fit through most letter boxes. For £40, your recipient will get three "bright & wild" boxes (you can choose how often you would like them delivered); larger, more indulgent options are also available.

8. Six Damien Hirst anamorphic espresso cups from Other Criteria. £85. I love this set of bold, colourful saucers that reflect their designs onto the plain, mirrored surface of the matching cups. You can also buy an individual cup-and-saucer set for £15 if you already have too many espresso cups in your life. Not that I'm projecting.

Damien Hirst anamorphic espresso cup set from Other Criteria.

Beauty
9. Laura Mercier Tarte au Citron travel set from Selfridges. £30. Laura Mercier does great gift sets, and her body products always smell good enough to eat. This luxurious lemon-tart scented set contains a body wash, body butter, hand cream and fragrance. You could also split the set into four smaller gifts or stocking fillers.

10. Dangerous Nail Files from the Conran Shop. £19.95. This set of three nail files, shaped like a gun, a meat cleaver and a chainsaw, would probably make a good companion piece for the Mean Girls poster, or for a copy of cognitive linguist George Lakoff's classic text, Women, Fire & Dangerous Things. They're a little bit girly and a lot tough.

Dangerous Nail Files from the Conran Shop.

After my recommendations for Christmas gifts for girls and guys, today is the turn of stocking fillers and Secret Santa suggestions. I raised the price limit to £15 this year, but most of these ideas are £10 or under.

TopShop printed lip balm tins

Hexagonal earrings from the Design Museum shop

Kinky knickers from Liberty

Rococo Coal for Naughty Boys

Yes, it's that time of year again. As the Selfridges pre-Christmas 20% off voucher is already out and as pre-Black Friday shopping madness will be commencing over the pond later today, I figured it was time to bring out the first in my 2012 series of Christmas gift guides. This edition contains my present suggestions for the ladies in your life. I tried to keep the price-tags around the £50 mark, and some more wallet-friendly girlie goodies will be featured in my forthcoming Stocking Fillers and Secret Santa gift guide. And looking for a present for a guy? My picks are here.

Jewellery and accessories
1. Floral electricity scarf from Anthropologie. £44. Cheerful and stylish, this modal scarf adds the perfect pop of colour to a neutral winter outfit. I like the way you can highlight different colour combinations depending on how you wrap it. My first choice of scarf was this one from KJ's Laundry, which is really quite different, but I realised I included a starry scarf in last year's list too, so I went with the Anthro option.

Anthro's floral electricity scarf

2. USB ring from Kate Spade. $50 (not available online in the UK, although it should be in stores.) I know I'm a geek, but how cute is this ring? Beautiful...check. Useful...check. Plus, Kate Spade's packaging is even prettier during the festive season.

3. Mellis necklace from Dowse. £22.50. Dowse have a range of simple and elegant but inexpensive necklaces. I went for the geometric honeycomb, of course, but this playful ice lolly design is fun too.

Mellis necklace from Dowse

4. Cashmere wrist warmers from Highgrove (also available in Selfridges). £25. It's not like I'm the Prince of Wales's biggest fan, but I sure do like my wrist warmers. My office is very drafty, so I usually carry a pair with me from about October to April. I usually buy them from Brora but I saw a purple pair of Highgrove's in Selfridges and couldn't resist, especially as they are £10 cheaper than Brora. The pink colour are cute too.

Beauty
5. Laura Mercier La Petite Patisserie Quartet, Crème de Pistache, from John Lewis. £25. Laura Mercier's body and bath products feel gorgeous and decadent and smell even better. This travel set includes a cream body wash, soufflé body cream, hand cream and Eau Gourmande, which all have a rich, delicious nutty fragrance.

6. MAC Fabulousness: 5 Neutral Eyes palette from House of Fraser. £32. For the make-up maniac in your life, this would make a great gift. You get five very wearable eye shadows that are perfect for both holiday party and everyday looks. The packaging is cute too. Other colour-ways, including warm and smoky, are also available.

MAC Fabulousness: 5 neutral eyes palette

7. Voucher for the Selfridges Beauty Workshop. Selfridges launched their new Beauty Workshop earlier this year and one of its selling points is the wide range of treatments they offer. With manicures from £19 and facials from £25, you could just buy a Selfridges gift voucher and make up a nice gift card with a treatment menu and let her pick her own treat.

Etc.
8. Mini "Blessing of Rain" folding stormproof umbrella from Senz°. £44.95. It's unfair to say that umbrellas make boring gifts when they can be as stylish and functional as this little baby, which has an aerodynamic, wind-resistant design, and is asymetrical, placing more emphasis on canopy length than width.

Senz's mini folding umbrella in "Blessing of Rain"

9. Limpet multicoloured coat hooks from Made. £19. Made is a great company that sells high-quality design homewares at a reduced price, which they can offer because they work directly with the designers, commissioning the manufacture only of products that have been ordered. There are great savings to be had and these cute, playful coat hooks are one of the more affordable items on the website.

10. Workshops from Make Lounge. Based in Islington, Make Lounge hosts a whole range of crafty workshops. A lot of them are priced around the £50 mark, so your lucky lady could make her own luxury chocolates, luxury skincare products or a leather-lined purse, for instance.

Bonus: This year, it seems that advent calendars for adults are the new Christmas gifts. I didn't include any of these in my guide, because you would probably want to hand over the calendar before Christmas, but I thought these were interesting ideas. For £38, Ciaté's Mini Mani Month will give you a mini nail polish a day. For a more varied selection, YOU Magazine and Latest in Beauty are selling a Beauty Advent Calendar for £59, which contains products worth over £200 from a range of high-end beauty brands.

The most dangerous part of US branches of Sephora for anyone on a budget is the little display they have near the cash registers with a selection of their top-selling products, from a range of different skincare, haircare and make-up brands, often in travel sizes--most things under $20. You might be able to talk yourself out of buying a $38 Philosophy moisturizer, but what's the harm in a little $10 travel-size version?

Following a similar principle, Selfridges have recently opened the Beauty Workshop, taking over a 5,000-square-foot section of the floor previously occupied by posh stationery and smart leather goods. According to the Jayne Demuro, Selfridges Head of Beauty, in the Selfridges style blog: “For years Selfridges Oxford Street has been THE most successful Beauty Hall in the world. Selfridges revolutionized the way the world retailed beauty, by placing the department at the front of the store. With this retailing innovation in our DNA, we are always striving to bring extraordinary new experiences to our customers.”

L: TopShop nail varnishes. R: Assorted beauty goodies.

It's an epigenetic beauty revolution, don'tcha know! If you want to shop by brand, you can go to the existing beauty hall, which looks like a typical department store beauty hall. There are also areas for certain brands within the Beauty Workshop, but things are a little more mashed up. I was very tempted by the Sephora-like displays filled with small beauty products and gadgets from a range of brands, including a number of foreign and less well-known companies. Things that caught my eye included the new limited edition Pink Bubbly Vaseline, a lip balm by TokyoMilk and a ball of sparkly hairbands (not pictured).

L: OCC lip tars. R: Bumble & Bumble (top) and Paul & Joe (bottom)

Elsewhere in the Beauty Workshop, there is a decent-sized TopShop counter with a particularly good nail varnish collection, a gorgeous Paul & Joe counter (their make-up and make-up bags are so beautifully packaged that they would make excellent gifts) and a new and improved Bumble & Bumble counter. The latter stocks a number of travel-size products, so I might finally be able to give their Surf Spray a try--now that summer is ending, of course. They also stock Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, a vegan and cruelty-free brand from New York. Some of their lip tars and eye shadows are a little scary in colour but they certainly are eye-catching.

All in a day's work at the Beauty Workshop

But the Beauty Workshop isn't just about shopping. You can have all manner of beauty services, from brow-threading and blow dries, to manicures and tanning at the St Tropez booth (which "promises ultimate privacy while allowing you to tan at your convenience"). Sure, lots of department stores offer these kinds of services but the new, roomy Beauty Workshop feels a lot less crowded and a lot more luxurious than some of its older rivals. As London Fashion Week is on at the moment, there were lots of fashion types and a fair few fashion bloggers checking it out this afternoon, making it feel like a cool place to shop, as well as a fun one.

Well, my final Glossybox arrived today and in a way, I'm glad it was only OK, because a really great box might have changed my mind about unsubscribing. The August 2012 Glossybox is also representative of most of the boxes I have received: several products I'll use but none that I need and none that I will repurchase. Before I unveil my 'International Superstars' Glossybox, though, I'll quickly review the products in last month's box. The July box was one of my favourites and I really liked the Jelly Pong Pong lip frosting, the Elizabeth Arden moisturizer and the Monu bronzing cream, which gives a really natural glow (I still haven't been brave enough to try it on my face). I am pleased with the HD Brows eye and brow palette too, although I think I need more practice before my technique is as precise as with a pencil. The Clynol shampoo is fine too.

As it was such a lovely sunny evening, I decided to walk home through Regent's Park and snap a few pictures of the products I received in my August box there. This month's box is supposed to contain "hero products from around the world," which is a great theme that didn't quite live up to my expectations.

August 2012 Glossybox. Top: Vera Valenti eyeshadow palette, imPress nails, Lipcote. Bottom: Alessandro Pro White, GB lipstick, DHC Deep Cleansing Oil

1. Alessandro Pro White (full size--I think). This is an "optically brightening effect nail polish." I assume you paint it onto bare nails, although they don't say (nor are there further instructions on the Alessandro website). I'll give this a whirl, although I am usually wearing a coloured varnish on my nails unless I'm applying a treatment. This is highlighted as a German product but it's made in France... Not that I really care. £7.85.

2. DHC Deep Cleansing Oil (30 ml). I always like the idea of cleansing oils but even though some are suitable for oilier skins, like mine, I always feel like I need another good wash after I've used one. I'll try this Japanese cleansing oil out as a make-up remover but I'm happy with my Bare Minerals cleanser. £18.50 for the 200 ml full size.

3. imPress Press-On Manicure in 'over the moon' (full size). Hmm... Déjà vu. I received one of these imPress sets in my February Glossybox in a rather hard to wear shade of bright orange. I finally tried them out a few weeks ago and wasn't too imPressed. Not many of the included nails were a good fit for my fingers and I really loathed the feeling of wearing the fake nails--this is probably just me, though, and would be the same with most press-on nails. My right index finger started coming unstuck within a day or two; the others lasted about four days. I do like the pretty butterfly pattern on this new set but even thinking of that fake-nail feeling makes me cringe so I probably won't be using these. £7.99. [NB Glossybox valued the last set at £17.40, which I thought was way overpriced given the $5.99 US retail price. £7.99 is a more reasonable valuation.]

Top: A few of the 'International Superstars' from my box Bottom: swatches of the eye shadows (left three) & lipstick

4. Vera Valenti L'Ombre à paupière Margarita in brown and green (full size). A Spanish product with a French name... Anyway, I was quite pleased when I first saw this eye shadow palette--there were six neutral peachy and pinky brown shades and then four harder to wear greens. The quality isn't great, though; I had to press really hard to pick up enough colour when swatching the shades and they don't seem very pigmented. At 38.5p per shadow, that is probably to be expected. Interestingly, the Vera Valenti website tells me I'm not allowed to access the site because I'm not in Spain; what, not even to look, Vera? I probably won't be using these shades very often, anyway. £3.85.

5. Lipcote (full size). This is the Team GB's entry in the Glossyboxolympics. My co-workers all tell me they used to use this lipstick sealer back in the '90s, so it's hardly new. It really stings when you apply it and makes your lips feel pretty dry, but I guess it does the trick. I usually wear fairly subtle pink lip glosses rather than bright lipsticks in need of sealing, but if you're more of a vamp than me, this may come in useful. £3.99.

6. Yes, that's right, there is another bonus Glossybox-branded product this month. This time, it's a lipstick and I actually quite like it. It's a pretty, rosy pink called 'glossy pink' and it's nice and creamy and applies well. The £9.50 RRP they list may be a little optimistic, but I'm glad this product was included.

Total value of the products in this month's Glossybox: about £36 (including the bonus product).

Overall rating: 2.5/5. Glossybox definitely seem to be going for quantity over quality this month. Given the issues they had last month from the people who didn't get the high-value HD Brows palette, maybe they think it's better to hedge their bets and offer people more products, so there is a greater chance that people will like at least something. There were lots of full-size products, but a lot of cheap items too--the sample of the only high-end product, the cleansing oil, was pretty small.  The lipstick is my favourite and I'll probably use the cleansing oil and maybe the Pro White polish too; the others either aren't my thing or are just unappealing. Or both.

Depending on what happens with the range and quality of the products, I may resubscribe to Glossybox in the future, once I've worked through the huge backlog of beauty products and samples in my bathroom. I've had a good experience with the service--my boxes have almost always arrived the day after dispatched, I've never had a broken or missing product, and although I haven't always loved everything in my boxes, I have usually had a good mix of products. The point of these beauty subscription services as a consumer is to discover new brands and I'm not sure I've been a great example of this because I haven't repurchased anything I got in a Glossybox--I'm probably just too faithful to the products I already love. I've definitely enjoyed sampling things I wouldn't normally buy, like the Burberry lipstick, the HD Brows palette and the Murad primer.

The July Glossybox arrived fairly late in the month, once again, and for the first time ever, I didn't get my box the day after it shipped. My boss received hers yesterday and I did wanted to go home and try out my products last night, but technically, it isn't late so I shouldn't complain too much. It feels like an even longer time since the last box than usual but I think that is just because last month's box was so mediocre. I like the HD Brows tweezers, but I wasn't a fan of the Glossybox brush or the BM Beauty bronzer and I thought the Vichy Dermablend foundation samples were too thick and cakey, and most were far too light for my yellow-toned, medium complexion.

But is this month's Glossybox, which contains a selection of essentials for the festival season, any better? Actually, yes! Here's what I got:

July 2012 Glossybox. Top: HD Brows palette, Elizabeth Arden samples.  Bottom: Jelly Pong Pong lip frosting, Clynol shampoo, Monu bronzing cream, Elizabeth Arden skin-balancing lotion.

1. HD Brows Eye & Brow Palette (full size). I think this was included in earlier Glossyboxes and as someone with very fair, faint eyebrows, I was sorry I had missed out. At the moment I use a Bobbi Brown eyebrow pencil in 'ash' but I'm looking forward to testing this out. £19.95

2. Clynol Salon Exclusive Enrich Colour Shampoo (50 ml). I don't have colour-treated hair but my hair is very fine and the ends become damaged very quickly, so this could work well, although the scent isn't that great. Shampoo and conditioner are two of the products I can never build up much of a backlog so I will definitely use this. £9.35 for the 300 ml full size.

3. Monu Golden Glow (30 ml). Apparently this is a moisturizing tanning treatment for the body and for the face. It comes in a scary yellow colour, not dissimilar to Clinique’s Dramatically Different moisturizer, and I’m a little fake-tan timid so I may have to test this out on my legs before I brave a facial application. £23 for the 200 ml full size.

My Glossybox products (and the Bexy bonus)

This Bex W1X perfume came in my colleague's box, not mine.

Bonus product #2: Technically, this doesn't count because it came in my colleague's Glossybox not mine (she owed me for the false lashes I gifted her a few months ago), but I now have a sample of the W1X perfume by a brand called Bex Londoner. I don't really care what it smells like, but as a Londoner called Bex, I was very excited by the product. Incidentally, I do like the smell: it's musky and very slightly sweet, and probably my favourite of the perfume samples I've received in my Glossybox.

Total value of the products in this month's Glossybox: about £38.15. A lot of the samples were quite small this month, balanced out by the expensive full-size brow palette.

Overall rating: 4/5. This was the best box I've had for several months now. I like all of the products I received and am particularly excited to try out the HD Brows palette, the lip gloss and the moisturizer, but will use the other two products too.

As I mentioned previously, this will be my penultimate Glossybox; I have finally been able to redeem my GlossyDots and my free box will be coming next month. I have enjoyed receiving the boxes, but my bathroom shelves runneth over with beauty products and I need a time out. I will keep my eye on Glossybox and its US predecessor Birchbox, because I do think they are a clever, innovative service, and having watched a few videos with the Birchbox founders (this one on TechCrunch is informative), I am interested to see how the business plan will develop and the ways these types of monthly subscription services will continue to grow.

 I'm very late rounding up this month's Glossybox. The box arrived on the day I left for New York and so I only picked it up from the office on Monday, but then again, I'm not especially keen on this month's offering, so I don't mind too much.

Previously on Glossybox... The May box turned out to be OK for me: I like the (combination-skin-appropriate!) moisturizer, the shower gel is fine and the UniqOne hair treatment is pretty nice, although it does make my hair feel a little greasy. I gave away the false lashes and haven't used the perfumes. Oh, there was also a Glossybox compact mirror, which was quite nice.

The June Glossybox theme is travel and the products are supposed to "lighten the load [...] with these travel-friendly products." So, what did I get?

Dermablend foundation, Glossybox brush, Caudalie perfume, HD Brows tweezers and BM Beauty bronzer

1. Glossybox Serie Exclusiv Pro Beauty Brush (full size). Glossybox claims this is worth £15 but if I had paid that much for a make-up brush, I would want something of a much higher quality. It's a decent size and looks quite sleek, but it's already been shedding a little, and it doesn't feel very soft on my skin. I'll probably use this, but, well, meh... £15, apparently.

2. HD Brows Precision Tweezers (not sure if they're full size). As someone with very sparse eyebrows, the last thing I need is to take a pair of tweezers to my brows. However, I had had a tiny splinter in my foot for several months and these helped me remove it with very little fuss. They're nice to use and will be useful to have. £19.95 for the full size.

3. BM Beauty Summer Warmth Bronzer (1g). I love my Bare Minerals foundation, but I've never been keen on the loose mineral make-up products because they're always so messy to use--BM Beauty might be interested to know that their better known competitor Bare Minerals has started producing pressed make-up products for this very reason. This bronzer is a pretty, golden shade and it looks nice on my skin, but its chunky grains make it really difficult to apply with my usual Bare Minerals bronzer brush. Sorry, BM Beauty, but this is too much hassle; I'll stick to my Bare Minerals Warmth. £8 for the 4g full size.

June 2012 Glossybox

4. Caudalie Eaux Fraîches in Thé des Vignes (10 ml). I was expecting not to like this fragrance as I have loathed the scent of most of the other Caudalie products I've tried, but actually it's quite nice: light and fruity. I probably would have preferred the Zeste de Vigne scent, but that's OK. I probably won't use this, though, although it's a decent-size sample, because, as I've mentioned before, I am faithful to Un Jardin en Méditerranée by Hermès. £26 for the 50 ml full size.

5. Vichy Dermablend Ultra-Corrective Foundation Cream Stick (mini sample pack). I can't complain about this product, although it doesn't work with me, because this is exactly the kind of thing beauty sample services were set up to provide: a way to test new products and new brands at home, without the glaring lights and pressure of a department store. Anyway, there are six samples, each in a different shade of the foundation, allowing you to find the one that best matches your skin. As expected, the sand was the closest match for me, but although it applied nicely, the coverage was too heavy for what I normally wear during the daytime. I think it is probably more suitable for normal/dry skin types, as it didn't last 16 hours on me. £19 for the 12g full size.

Total value of the products in this month's Glossybox: hard to say, given that they over-inflated the blush brush price and because you will only use one of the foundation samples, the other five are worthless. Pricing the brush at a more reasonable £10 and generously valuing the foundation sample I could use at £1, the value of this box is about £38.

Overall rating: 2/5. There was nothing terrible in this box but nothing that excited me much either. The tweezers are the product I'll use the most, although I probably will give the brush a go too. I think it's slightly cheeky of Glossybox to include their own marketing tool brush in the box, especially as there is another beauty tool included this month. This meant there were only three beauty products, none of which I really like.

I'm nearing the number of GlossyDots I need to get a free box (after which point, I am unsubscribing), but conveniently, Glossybox has managed to only credit me for four of the five product reviews I did last month, which will put me at 980 points at the end of this month. I'll be really irritated if they don't credit the extra points because it means paying for another month (it would be silly to quit 20 points away from a free box). I've emailed Glossybox customer service but as expected, they haven't replied yet. Sigh. Edit (July 3): Glossybox have now added the points to my account. Phew!

Just over a year ago, I started reading about beauty subscription services such as Birchbox on various US blogs, but when their UK equivalents started popping up, I held back for a while, partly because £12.95 per month feels like a lot more of a commitment than $10. When the now-defunct Carmine launched towards the end of 2011, however, they offered the option of buying a single box--the element of surprise was removed but I knew that the products I was getting were worth the £8 I paid (with a discount). In fact, the Balance Me hand cream, Trind nail repair and Frat Boy blush from The Balm are all among my favourite products I've received from any beauty box. In the end, though, persuaded by a discount code, Glossybox was the service I picked. When I signed up, I said I would evaluate the service for six months and then decide whether or not to continue. Here are my individual reviews of the boxes I've received so far.

First, on the positive side, I love getting a package in the post tray at work each month and it's great finding out what products each box contains. For this reason, I don't mind so much if the products in a particular box aren't a) to my taste or b) worth much more than £12.95. But on the other hand, £12.95 per month is £155.40 per year, which is a sum of money I could probably put to better use buying beauty products--or other things--I really want, rather than the lucky dip of Glossybox. Another issue is that my cupboards are overflowing with beauty samples. I try to give away the ones that aren't suitable or that I don't like, but others I keep because I know I will use them eventually or because they could be good for travel. Glossybox does seem to favour certain products, such as facial moisturisers, body creams and shower gels, so these samples are queuing up on my shelves waiting for my attention.

Next, I have picked out my ten favourite products, to show the distribution of my top products across the boxes (indigo products are in the top five, lilac in the top ten). My first box, the December 2011 box, has a disproportionate number of favourites, but otherwise, most months yield one or two items I really like.

• Cargo lip gloss (December 2011 - Christmas)
• Murad skin-perfecting primer (January 2012 - Valentine's Day)
• Coco Shambhala shower gel (February 2012 - London Fashion Week)
• Burberry Lip Mist (March 2012 - Harrods)
• Inika eyeliner (April 2012 - natural beauty)
• Deborah Lippmann nail varnish (December 2011)
• Rituals foaming shower gel (December 2011)
• Blink+go make-up compact (December 2011)
• Burt's Bees milk and honey body lotion (April 2012)
• Uniq One hair treatment (May 2012)

This month marks Glossybox's first birthday and it's also my half-year Glossybox anniversary. When I signed up to the service, I said I would give it six months and then evaluate how much value I was getting out of the service, and I will do that in a separate post (spoiler: I like the service overall but I'm definitely wavering).

I'll just do a quick update on the products in last month's box, which was a bit disappointing for me. I have enjoyed using my Iniko eyeliner and the Figs & Rouge balm and I've also been pleased with the Burt's Bees body lotion. I love the smell and feels nice on my skin. Less successful were the two face products. I dislike the smell of the Caudalie thirst-quenching serum and it didn't really work for my skin type. The Monu collagen cream had a gorgeous fragrance but was way too rich for me. After this box, I was desperately hoping for some oily skin-appropriate skincare products (either that or no skincare products at all).

And so to the May Glossybox. As part of the birthday celebrations, Glossybox included a little branded mirror compact, which will be very useful for my desk at work, and a pink balloon. A nice touch, I thought. As for the beauty products themselves, here's what I received this month:

May 2012 Glossybox: a very full box

1. Noble Isle bath and shower gel in summer rising (75 ml). I'm pleased with this sample; I enjoy using my Glossybox shower gel samples rather than having to buy the kind of cheap shower gel I normally purchase (I scrimp on shower gel in favour of skincare). I am not enamoured with the scent--it's slightly too masculine for my taste--but it's fine and I will use this. £20 for the 250 ml full size.

2. Lolita Lempicka in L'eau en Blanc and Si Lolita (2 x 0.8 ml). My Glossybox included two fragrance samples. I quite like L'eau en Blanc, which is subtle and musky, but Si Lolita is too floral and too overpowering for me. Neither of them comes anywhere close to my all-time perfume favourite, Un Jardin en Méditerranée by Hermès, so I won't be switching any time soon. L'eau en Blanc is £49 for 50 ml and Si Lolita is £46 for 50 ml.

Top: mirror compact, Noble Isle shower gel, Uniq One hair treatment, Weleda facial lotion. Bottom: Lolita Lempicka fragrances

3. Weleda facial cream (7 ml). My product has its name and description only in German and French but I think it is the Iris Hydrating Facial Lotion. Wow! A moisturizer for a) younger skin and b) normal-combination skin! It's a shame it's such a small sample, but I'll definitely give this a go. Thank you, Glossybox, for not sending me yet another product for dry skin. £10.95 for the 30 ml full size.

4. Uniq One all-in-one hair treatment (9 ml). This leave-in hair mask has not one but ten benefits, apparently, most of which are along the lines of protecting, smoothing and improving hair texture. It sounds like a good multi-tasker so I'll test this out and perhaps keep it as my token hair styling product for travel. Again, the sample is a little stingy, but I use hair products very slowly. £13.99 for the 150 ml full size.

5. Let's Go Lashes in temptress (full size). I don't wear false lashes and I don't have the patience to try them out. My own lashes and eyebrows are quite fair so I worry I will end up looking like a drag queen. I will be regifting these (and one of my colleagues has already claimed them). £8.95.

Total value of the products in this month's Glossybox: about £19.84. So, not a hugely high value month, although there is also the compact mirror to consider (I didn't count it in my sums). Also, almost half of the value comes from the false lashes, which I won't use.

Overall rating: 3/5. I'm pleased with the facial lotion, the hair treatment and the shower gel and I will use all three. The perfumes and the lashes were both fails for me. I do think it's a shame that Glossybox doesn't include more make-up items--there tends only to be one per month and if there is going to be false lashes or nails, I would prefer a regular make-up product too.