Magazine Freebies: April 2014 Issues

Everybody loves a bargain, and there's no bargain quite like a freebie. I know I am not the only one who has occasionally picked up a magazine purely because it came with an exciting free gift, and this month there has been more than one freebie-induced buy! I thought I would give you a little run down of who's giving what, and whether they are worth a try.

I've actually not bought a copy of Company in years; it wasn't very exciting the few times I picked it up many years ago, and although it has sky-rocketed in popularity since its recent rebranding, I hadn't got round to giving it a go. I know lots of you love it, but I can't say I was blown away by the East London themed issue, though I did enjoy Jameela Jamil's column. The free gift was perhaps the least initially-exciting one of the lot - an own brand mascara. However, it seems surprisingly decent, with a nice big brush and a formula that gives a natural, fluttery look. It's not very volumising, but on the plus side, it doesn't clump at all; it's okay for an everyday kind of look. 

Ah, Elle. You of the pretty pictures, and about five actual sentences. I was so excited to get hold of my Percy & Reed Wonderbalm (I am a big fan of the brand), that I didn't realise quite how much glue had been used to secure it to the mag, and ripped the whole front cover almost in two. I haven't read it yet, but I doubt I'd recommend buying Elle for the read. I do however, heartily recommend snapping up this balm, which is not yet available to buy in shops. Billed as a primer for hair, this is effectively an all-in-one that can be used on wet hair to prep and help your other products to maximise their effect, or on styled hair to finish and add definition. I have only used this on dry hair as yet, but so far, I'm impressed. If you'd like a full review once I have given this a more thorough test, do let me know. 

Yes, I actually bought three copies of Glamour this month so that I could try everything out. Annoyingly, I mistakenly picked up the eye liner (which I got last year, and know to be rubbish) instead of the lip liner, but I cannot buy any more copies of this magazine; I've run out of people to give them to! So, was it worth it? The liner is soft, smudgy and disappointing - just don't bother with it. I was excited to try out the Fibre LashXtend mascara, having heard a lot about their other fibre lash products, but I am afraid this didn't live up to my expectations. The fibres are interesting, and certainly lengthen, but they aren't buildable at all; more than one coat and my lashes started to get tangles. Which means you need to make sure your first coat goes on perfectly; there's no going over this a second time to get the shape right. I'd say the mascara is interesting enough to be worth picking up though - for £2, it's worth a try, for the novelty alone. Finally the lip gloss, which I picked up in the shade Berry Pink, comes in quite nice packaging which like the mascara, has a little mirror on. Handy. It is a lovely pink with a touch of gold shimmer in the swatch (below), but this pigmentation doesn't transfer brilliantly to the lips. It's nice enough though, and reminds me both in just-slightly-sticky consistency and (overly-sweet) smell of Tanya Burr's glosses. These products all retail for around £15, which I don't personally think they are worth; for £2 however, I am glad I tried them out.

Last but not least, Marie Claire are giving away a Neal's Yard Remedies Lip Gloss in the shade Goji Berry, worth £9.50. Last year I remember getting a freebie of their Power Berry Daily Moisturiser (which was lovely, and had such a good smell!) so I was excited to try this. The colour of this looks less exciting than the Model Co one in the swatch, but looks far nicer on the lips, and is a my-lips-but-better shade. This feels really moisturising and not at all sticky, plus it has a delicious citrussy scent. I actually really love this, and can see myself using this a lot. I hadn't tried any Neal's Yard make up before, but now I would definitely consider buying other lip products from their line. Big recommend! 

Despite now having more mags than I can read, I still got Cosmo this month. I know, I am insane. I am pretty annoyed with them for not having a free gift though, seeing as everyone else did!

Have you ever bought a magazine just for the gift? Will you be snapping up any of these freebies? Let me know if you enjoy this type of post, and I will do more whenever there's a good month for freebies!