latest in beauty cew (uk) beauty awards 2012 box

Bit of a mouthful, eh? The concept around Latest in Beauty is a bit different than other beauty boxes, there's three different options on the website: Little Beauty Box, Luxury Samples and Themed Boxes. For the Little Beauty Box, you pay £1.50 through your phone and choose three samples, things like 1ml perfume vials and skincare sachets. The Luxury Samples vary in price and are miniature products, basically deluxe samples. The last option is the category that this box falls into. A themed box is released every month or two, and it pretty much sells out instantly. Each has a different theme, before I have received a Refresh and Recover box that had things to help you recover after new year celebrations and a Fragrance Discovery box which had miniature perfumes, including a 15ml Space NK Laughter!

The main reason Latest in Beauty stand out to me is that you can see what you're going to get, which means you'll never be disappointed, which I am too often with beauty boxes. The theme of box is that all of the products were finalists in the CEW (Cosmetics Executive Women) UK Beauty Awards 2012, so that must mean they're pretty good if women who work in the beauty industry give them their seal of approval!

This box is meant to be worth over £50, not too shabby considering it cost £11.90 including delivery! Anyway, having given you the complete lowdown on Latest in Beauty, let's get onto the products!

Elemis Pro-Collagen Body Cream - This was nominated in the Best New Bath and Body Product category, and the sample size is pretty decent, at 50ml. I've never tried Elemis, because I don't really buy into spending over £5 on something that's only function is to moisturise my body, I only ever buy Body Shop Body Butters when they're on sale, and Elemis prices are way over the top - 200ml of this stuff costs £49! That's just....no. At that price, I would be expecting the body cream to come with WiFi.

Percy & Reed No-fuss Flawlessness Dry Conditioner - A finalist for the Best New Haircare/Styling Product, I don't really understand this product - I use dry shampoo to get rid of excess oil and shine, and this just puts them back in! This is a third of the full size, it's 50ml and full size is 150ml. I guess this would be great for people with excessively dry hair. It doesn't have the powdery feel that dry shampoo does, though.

Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare Cleanse & Polish - Exactly the same bundle that was included in last month's Red Magazine apart from that it comes with three little sachets of their Sheer Skin Tint in 01, 02 and 03, but I don't mind as it means another muslin cloth, and I can get a bit more of a feel of the product. So far I'm quite liking it although I wouldn't call it life changing. Although, having just written that, I see people feel differently as it was nominated for the Most Revolutionary Beauty Product in the Past 20 Years.

L'Occitane Immortelle Brightening Hand Care SPF15 - I am currently using a L'Occitane hand cream that was a freebie in a Marie Claire magazine ages ago, and when I've finished it up, I will switch to this one. A nominee in the Best New Hand, Foot and Nail Care Product category, I'm looking forward to having this in my handbag. Not to mention this has SPF15 and is anti-ageing.

Nails Inc Nail Polish in Porchester Square - A sticker on the lid boasts that this is a "hero shade", and this nail polish might have been the tipping point for me to buy the box. After all it is a full size, and retails for around the same price as the whole box, not to mention I don't own any Nails Inc or any non-pink nudes. Nails Inc was a finalist for the Best British Brand, which only impresses me more, and I will be picking up this month's Instyle which has choice of three Nails Inc polishes.

Benefit The POREfessional - Ohh Benefit, you're so punny. There was a choice between this and a day cream, I think by Welda? Luckily, I received the one I had been crossing my fingers for, and it comes in the cutest packaging ever! The POREfessional was a finalist in the Best New Make-Up Product, and the sample is 7.5ml.

 Mont Blanc Legend Eau de Toilette - This is a men's fragrance, and I'm not sure why it was included, as the rest of the box is definitely aimed at females. Anyway, it smells good, and was a finalist in the category of Best New Men's Fragrance.

Elie Saab Le Parfum - I think it's so cute how even a tiny little 1ml sample still gets it's own box, and it's not surprising seeing how this scent was a finalist in the Best New Women's Scent category. I got the exact same sample in my Fragrance Discovery Box but I don't mind because I love it and will be requesting it for my birthday!

What do you think of this box?