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Skincare

Skincare

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

March 6, 2014

Garnier Micellar Water

Micellar water has quickly become one of my absolute skincare staples, so when I spotted a new player in town I couldn’t resist giving it a go!

For those not in the know, micellar waters are a sort of none-rinse make-up remover and cleanser in one. They can be used on the face, lips and eyes (and any other body part should you need it!) and are a dream for sensitive skin as they are soap, and usually fragrance, free.

I’ve tried two others in the past, the cult staple Bioderma Sensibio H2O and the  L’Oreal Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Micellar Solution. I liked both, but the huge price difference between the two (Bioderma is £10-£15 for 250ml, L’Oreal £4.99 for 200ml) had me leaning firmly towards the latter. Now comes along a new contender in the UK market, the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, at a massively purse friendly £4.99 for 400ml!

Considering how little product it actually takes to remove a whole face of make-up, the outlay for Bioderma is totally worth it, but if there is something that delivers the same results at a fraction of the price (and is much easier to get hold of!) then I’ll definitely go for it!

In honestly I can see little difference at all between the three products, all remove eye, lip and face make-up quickly and effectively without making my skin tight or causing it to flare up. It’s the gentleness of this product that I really love, and there’s no need to scrub away at all as it feels like the make-up simply melts off. Even waterproof mascara can be shifted by holding a pad over each eye a few moments and gently wiping the rest away.

When I come off stage sweating under a layer of thick make-up for an hour, the first thing I want to do is get the slap off and let my skin breathe. I wear a -lot- of make-up on stage, and the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water gets the whole lot off in record time earning it’s permanent place in my “gig essentials” list. I should probably do a blog about that at some point!

 

IMG_8010

 

Currently available from Superdrug.com for only £3.32 (full price £4.99!)

Totally hellbent for twice the product at half the price!

– Gem

Skincare

L’Occitane Angelica Hydration Cream

January 14, 2014

loccitane moisturiser

I was lucky enough to receive two of these 15ml sized L’Occitane Angelica Hydration Creams, one from a beauty box and the other as a freebie. Having recently finished one of these tubs, I kind of want to stand on top of the roof tops and crazily spread the word! I love discovering new moisturisers, especially ones that don’t irritate my skin, so I was over the moon when this turned out to be one of -the- best I have ever used, and no I am not exaggerating there!

I’ve enjoyed this so much, that I am savoring my second pot and will most likely splash out a little to buy a full sized pot. I used this day and night and it seemed perfect for both. I’ll also be keeping my little pots so I can decant into them for when I travel. I’ve longed for a versatile moisturiser that I can use any time of year, day and night so that when I venture out into the world of festivals and tours I only need to take one tub of cream! Well here it is ladies and gentlemen and when I next run out of moisturiser, this is where I will be heading.

For the full size 50ml version, head over to the L’Occitane UK website here and give them thirty of your shiniest coins (or £30) for beautifully radiant, hydrated and soft skin.

L’Occitane – you are full of winning!

Totally hellbent for my new found love of L’Occitane

-Pants

 

 

 

Skincare

The Body Shop Olive Shower & Moisture Cube

January 5, 2014

bodyshop olive

 

It’s no secret that I like The Body Shop probably more than I should and definitely to the dismay of my bank balance. Alas, before Christmas I picked up their Olive Shower & Moisture Cube having heard some good reviews from fellow “dry skin” sufferers.

For a meager £4.00 you are graced with the following:

  • Olive Shower Gel 60ml x 2
  • Mini Crinkle Lily – Green

No body butter or scrub unfortunately, but that’s Okay. Despite this being Olive, the fragrance is quite soft and pretty which was surprising as I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect.

My verdict unsurprisingly is that I have now found yet another Body Shop treasure, this was brilliant on my skin and I definitely had a feeling of hydration afterwards. Once I’ve whittled down my “smellies” collection thanks to Christmas, I am going to try out the other products from this range and see how they fare, but for those of you that also suffer with dry and sensitive skin, I would highly recommend this.

If you want to try this out, I’d suggest the little cubes, as they are great for trying out new things from The Body Shop due to their size. It doesn’t break the bank at only £4.00 a pop (or cheaper if you wait until they have online sales) and you can grab them here online or in your local store.

Totally hellbent for having fully hydrated Skin … for once!

-Pants

 

 

Make-up, Skincare

Dec Most Wanted

November 28, 2013

I was hoping my Oct/Nov Most Wanted installment would be it until after Christmas. I was so wrong!

Browsing the web and gift magazines has only made my love for all things … well erm … all things … even bigger!

So my Nov/Dec most wanted, is going to be all the things I want, but definitely can not have until well into the New Year.

Urban Decay Vice 2 Palette

Urban Decay

20 Beautiful dark and glittery shades. God I need this. I was so upset when I saw fellow beauty bloggers posting reviews about this. It’s certainly out of my pre-christmas price range, but I am definitely going to think about purchasing this sometime in the New Year.

This beauty is only £37.80 instead of £42 at Debenhams.

Benefit Groovy-Kind-A-Love Gift set

benefit

Even though I already own two of these products, I still want this. I blame the packaging entirely. There is something about Benefit that makes me want to own it all, even though it may not be the right shade or something I would never wear.

Anyway, this beautiful gift box comes with the following:

  • mini the POREfessional
  • mini they’re real!
  • mini benetint
  • dandelion & gimme fever cheek powder duo with brush
  • eyeshadow palette with four neutral shades

This is one of those “should I – or should I not” kind of moments. Torn between spending my money on other mini Benefit products, or buying this simply because I am in love with the packaging.

You can pick this up directly from the Benefit website for only £29.50.

Nip + Fab Body Butter Trio

nipandfabbbt

I squeeled when I saw this hidden in the corner of the Tesco gift magazine. I love NIP + FAB and I love Body Butter, I also love the smell of cherry and spiced apple, so for a set that includes all of these, it surely has to be for me.

As I write this, I am poking Brains repeatedly in the hope that he will get the hint. The set includes: Spiced Apple, Winter Cherry and Sugared Almond. Very festive indeed.

This beautiful trio are only £8.95 from Tesco’s

 

With all of my funds tied up in the gift of giving this month, I shall have to wait and see what the New Year and the delightful sales bring forth.

Totally hellbent for all the festive shiny things in all of the festive magazines. (For me?)

-Pants

Skincare

Body Shop special offer mini-haul PT. 2

November 25, 2013

Last week The Body Shop had two amazing special offers on, and of course I had to take full advantage of them both! I posted about the first here a few days ago, and now my second box of goodies has arrived!

This offer was a special treat for fans of The Body Shop’s Facebook Page, offering free P&P and a mini Chocomania set with purchases over £5, unfortunately the offer is no longer running as they had such a high number of orders but you can still get 35% off, free P&P and a secret free gift with this offer if you order today!

Now onto my choice of lovely treats! I actually only picked up one thing at full price, the  Vanilla Bliss Manicure and Moisture duo for £6.00.

The Body Shop Vanilla Bliss Manicure Set

Thus receiving the Chocomania lip butter (worth £4.00), Chocomania Body Scrub (woth £5) and Chocomania shower cream (worth £2) for free!

The Body Shop Chocomania Minis

I’ll be saving the scrub and shower cream for our upcoming adventure to Rotterdam, but the lip butter is amazing! So yummy!

Totally hellbent for free chocolate treats, even if you can’t eat them!

– Gem

Skincare

Body Shop special offer mini-haul PT. 1

November 22, 2013

Body Shop offer 1

 

The Body Shop is one of those places where  I never seem to have to buy anything at full price because there is always a great offer on – at the moment you can get 35% off everything, free delivery and a free gift when you spend £5! This offer runs till Monday 25th Novemeber, so still plenty of time to get your hands on some shinies!

My first package arrived this morning (I’m waiting on another from a different offer that unfortunately has finished now) and here’s what I chose.

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Ultra Fine Bath Lily – Aqua £2.00

The Body Shop Tea Tree Pore minimizerTea Tree Pore Minimiser – £7.50

And my free gift….

The Body Show Shea Body ButterShea Body Butter – RRP £13

So with my 35% discount and free bonus I paid only £6.17 for what should have been £22.50 (+P&P!).

Expect to see reviews on the pore minimiser and body butter coming soon, and look out for my second Body Shop mini-haul that hopefully will arrive over the next few days!

If you want to take advantage of this amazing offer just head to TheBodyShop.co.uk and use the code MYSTERY at checkout!

Did you get any nice treats with this special offer? If so, let me know what – and did you get a different free gift?

Totally hellbent for amazing savings!

– Gem

Skincare

Free Rituals body scrub with Marie Claire

November 18, 2013

Rituals Fortune Scrub Marie Claire

 

Despite our recent falling out with some of Marie Claires ideals (which you can read about in Amie’s amazing post here) I couldn’t resist picking up this month’s offerings as you get a full sized Rituals body scrub worth £10!

The Rituals Fortune Scrub freebie only comes in one scent – sweet orange and cedar – and it is delicious! A perfect early morning scrub that left my skin feeling amazingly smooth, well worth giving a try!

Marie Claire is £3.90 and available at most newsagents.

Totally hellbent for an amazing freebie!

– Gem

Facemask Friday, Skincare

Facemask Friday – Avon Planet Spa Thailand Lotus Flower

November 15, 2013

planet spa lotus mask

Well it’s Friday again, and after a rather rocky few weeks for Gem and I consisting of feeling under the weather and bogged down with reams of work as the festive season approaches it’s a chance to take a step back and relax. (Not for too long mind!)

Today’s facemask is the Avon Planet Spa Thailand Lotus Flower deep pore cleansing facemask. (Bit of a mouthful there!) My favourite thing about this mask, is the way it drys, it turns a beautiful lilac colour and smells beautiful.

planet spa lotus swatch

 

Application is smooth, as it takes such a long time to dry there is time to spread the mask evenly. Although it’s heavily scented, it doesn’t seem to irritate my skin at all which is great.

planet spa lotus dry

The mask dry’s hard, but is easily washed off. I generally wash mine in the shower which probably makes it a bit easier, but I have also rinsed this with a soft flannel.

Once I’ve removed the mask, it does feel a little softer, although perhaps not as great as my Body Shop Warming Mineral Mask, however this is nicer for a more regular treat and brings a touch of luxury to the day!

You can pick up the Planet Spa face mask range online direct from Avon or from your nearest representative between £1.50 and £4.00. Unfortunately the Thailand Lotus Flower face mask is unavailable, but I’m sure they will re release this again soon.

Totally hellbent for perk me up facemasks!

-Pants

 

 

 

Skincare

CLINIQUE – Youth Surge SPF 15 moisturiser

November 13, 2013

clinique youth surgeI know I recently reviewed Clinique’s dramatically different moisturiser with a less than impressed view, but I figured I owed it to Clinique to offer some brownie points for this product.

This is another moisturiser I have recently finished, and this youth surge SPF 15 is absolutely brilliant. I used it as both a day and night cream and although I wasn’t particularly taken with the smell, after continuous use I really saw the results. Although I didn’t notice myself reverting back to a former seventeen year in terms of my appearance, my face did feel amazingly hydrated all day long. I haven’t found a moisturiser as good as this since Vitamin E and am itching to try a few other products from Clinique to see how they fair. In particular, I have my eye set on the Very dry to dry skin version of this.

I was so impressed with this, that it is on my list of things to purchase and have actually made it onto my Christmas list rather than being struck off!

You can grab Clinique products from Boots online or in store for a slightly steeper price of £42.00.

Totally hellbent for rebuying after trying

-Pants

 

 

Beauty Boxes, Make-up, Nails, Skincare

Glossybox November 2013

November 12, 2013

After a pretty rubbish few weeks of Gem and I clawing through each day, surrounded by tissues and blankets, the arrival of this month’s Glossybox couldn’t have come sooner.

Last month we were both a little disappointed at the contents of our boxes, so I was reasonably apprehensive about opening mine this morning just in case! This didn’t last long though as I peeled open the tab on the box and carefully removed the lid, revealing a treasure trove of glorious products!

box

This months delights contained the following:

rapid dry

 

Elegant Touch Rapid Dry for Nails – Claiming to dry nails in 60 seconds – well as an avid nail varnish fan and waiting for my nails to dry being one of many banes of my existence I’m pretty darn happy to have had this in my box this month. I’ve tried the Avon Quickdry spray but to be honest it wasn’t -that- great. Here’s hoping Elegant Touch pull it out the bag. With a generous full sized 125ml bottle I can’t wait to try this out. £3 for 125mls.

hand crea,

Yves Rocher France Hand Cream in Cocoa & Pistachio Nut – Gem and I are self confessed hand cream-a-holics (just one of many obsessions we know!) When I saw the size of the hand cream – 75mls worth (another fullsize), I danced for joy. A little weary at first about the pistachio nut scent since I’ve recently given a Nip + Fab hand cream to Gem because of the smell, I shouldn’t have worried though. Popping open the top and giving this a little squeeze, the Cocoa really makes the scent and it smells beautiful! I’m pretty impressed at the value for money for this too, another addition to my desk of nail items! £1.95 for 75ml.

nail varnish

 

B. Complete Long-lastin Nail Polish in 180 Midnight –  You can’t go wrong with a nail varnish, providing the colour is right. I’m pretty much a sucker for any varnish that’s red, blue or green so this is an added bonus. I can’t help but think this may feature in a few nail tutorials around Christmas as the colour looks absolutely beautiful. Another full size item, Glossybox is really doing well this month! £4.99 for 8ml.

Vichy

 Vichy Idealia Life Serum – Two 3ml Skin Idealizer Serum and one Smoothing and illuminating cream. All three wrapped in a cute little bag. Gem told me a few days ago that she knew we were going to be receiving a Vichy product and that alone was enough to excite us both. The packaging is so adorable that it may be a little while before I delve into these and give them a bash. With bold statements such as “helping to protect your skin from the visible effects if stress, pollution, smoke or an unbalanced diet” I am expecting miracles! £29.50 for 30ml.

eyeshadow

Emite Make Up Micronized Eyeshadow in Dams – Excitement always follows as soon as the realisation sets in that the colour of your new eyeshadow is black. The perfect colour for both of us for pretty much most of our looks! I had a cheeky swatch on my finger and it seems to promise a nice even coverage but a slight matte colour. Apparently this shadow is good for those with sensitive eyes and lens wearers of which I know a fair few girlies who fall into this category. I’m looking forward to delving into this. £16.80 for 1.48g.

After last month, Glossybox have really redeemed themselves. I’m so excited to play with everything in this months box and it’s really brightened up the morning! If you’d like to try them out, you can get grab your Glossybox here for just for £10 (+ P&P) per month. Glossybox also have giftcards available in 3,6 or 12 month subscriptions. Perfect for the holiday season!

Totally hellbent for kissing and making up!

-Pants

 

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