Boots

Spring 2015 Skin Heroes

April 25, 2015

Now that we’ve had some glorious sunshine at least two weeks in a row and I’ve woken up naturally at 7am every morning thanks to the glorious early sun I feel I can finally say that we are truly in Spring. With that, it’s time to take a peek at some of the all important skin heroes that have been helping me nourish my dried out winter skin

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser – Original

Yes I know I’m a little late to the game with this one, but I’ve had about four samples stashed in my cupboard and started using this just after Christmas when my skin was in appalling condition. When I first saw people raving about this, I thought it was just another fad and people were only in it for the branding. My how wrong was I, and a little annoyed that I hadn’t bust this out of my stash sooner! What an absolute delight to use, honestly. It’s a non greasy facial cleanser that is simply massaged into the skin and then wiped away with a hand hot Muslin cloth or flannel which works just as well. Not only was it gentle on my skin, but it left it feeling hydrated as well so I didn’t have the mad rush from bathroom to bedroom to lather my face in moisturiser before it started to crack and rebel. After about a week of using this, I then began using it a few times a week to try and prolongue it’s use and after going having a bit of a reaction to some other thing’s I was trying, this was wonderful for soothing my sore skin. It also worked wonder’s the day after a gig day, having spent half the day in heavy stage makeup, when I used this the next morning my skin felt as though it could breathe easily and didn’t feel as clogged as it usually does, despite the hours spent the night before removing my makeup.

Be warned however girlies, this product does contain beeswax, therefore it is not suitable for Vegan’s. I’ll be on the hunt for some Vegan alternatives though.

Repurchase: I’d love to if they had an alternate version that didn’t contain beeswax

RRP: Prices start from £6.00

Where can I buy this? Direct from the UK Liz Earle Website

Sanctuary Spa Resurface & Refine Polish

Gemma actually recommended this to me and I can’t remember where I got this sample from, possibly love me beauty but I don’t know. Anyway, this has been my once to twice weekly treat and I’ve loved using it. It’s abrasive enough to make my skin feel fresh and clean, but not so harsh that I end up with a red blotchy face.

Repurchase: Definitely! This is on my shopping list when I’ve run out of my current face wash.

RRP: This retails at around £8-12

Where can I buy this? Debenhams currently stock this for £8.40 for 200ml.

Boots No7 Beautyful Skin Day & Night Cream for Dry/Very Dry Skin

I bought this day cream on whim last year as I wanted to try a new moisturiser that was for dry skin and thicker than my current one. I also needed it to have an spf and since I had some vouchers for Boot’s and had read a few good reviews, I figured I’d give it a try. From the first application of this, to the last where I was desperately trying to scrape every last morsel out of the tub I have absolutely love this. My skin felt so amazing and it really helped to minimise dryness for me without being too greasy. It had the bonus of being thick to apply, but I didn’t look like ‘porezilla’ and as though I’d smothered my face in Vaseline for the rest of the day. So this is actually my second purchase of this cream and it’s SPF15 is perfect for the Spring sun.

Repurchase: This is my second repurchase of this product and there’s no stopping me now!

RRP: £13.50

Where can I buy this? Boots – they have a wide range of creams to suit all skin types so make sure you browse and try.

Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Day & Night Cream

This was bought for me for Christmas and I started using it about 3 weeks ago. Although not as thick and luxurious as it’s dry skin counterpart above, this is remarkably good. Apart from the odd dry patch, my skin has felt hydrated all day and when I wake in the morning after applying the night cream.

Repurchase: This is great but I think I’ll be sticking to the Beautiful Skin Moisturiser in future.

RRP: £24.00

Where can I buy this? Boots, again take a look at their range and make sure you sample.

Olivia Chocolate Coconut Body Butter

I discovered this through The Vegan Kind and I wasn’t too keen on it at first. I thought the smell was a little weird, but it wasn’t until I tried it on my skin that it unveiled a heavinly chocolate coconut scent and I was hooked. This is a very oily body butter though, which is fantastic for my skin but probably not so great if you have greasy skin. It takes a while to absorb because of how oily it is, but the results are so worth hopping around in your pants after applying this post shower. My skin felt soft and was left with a beautifully subtle chocolate coconut scent.

Repurchase: I’ll be trying some of the other scent’s and perhaps some more products from Olivia in the future.

RRP: £5.00

Where can I buy this? Direct from the Olivia Soaps and Balms Website.

Anew Clinical E-Defence

I was using this as a night cream and wasn’t expecting a great deal as I’ve found a lot of Avon moisturisers dry my skin out. Having said that I’ve enjoyed using this so much. It has a real luxurious feel to it and my skin felt rejuvenated and hydrated in the morning. I was definitely surprised at how much I enjoyed using this though.

Repurchase: I think if this is on offer in the future I’ll pick up another to use.

RRP: £20.00

Where can I buy this? Avon either direct from their website or from your local Avon rep.

White Rabbit Toning Eye Cream

I’m really into White Rabbit at the moment, I’ve tried a few of their products after discovering them through The Vegan Kind and I’ve really enjoyed them all. My favourite at the moment though is this toning eye cream. I find it’s gentle around my eye area and helps to keep the skin hydrated. It also doesn’t irritate my eyes which is something I’ve suffered from before with previous eye creams. Being 100% Vegan and natural is also an added bonus.

Repurchase: Definitely going to have a White Rabbit haul soon.

RRP: £8.00

Where can I buy this? Direct from The White Rabbit etsy shop – make sure you check out all their other wonderful products.

Premae Triumph Moisutrising Creme Balm

I really loved using this – I mean really really loved using this! I wish I hadn’t enjoyed it so much because the price is somewhat out of my range at the moment. It’s such a lightweight formula that glides onto the skin and each morning when I used this pot of joy sparingly over my face, it felt absolutely wonderful. My face remained soft and hydrated until bedtime and I can’t even begin to put into words how amazing it felt.

Repurchase: I’d like to, but not at the current price.

RRP: £51

Where can I buy this? From the Premae website.

So there’s the low down on some of my current skin heroes that have seen me through the end of Winter to the beginning of Spring. I’m looking forward to using the rest of these up over the next few weeks to try and repair some of the damage all those nights with the heating on have caused!

What are your current spring heroes? Is there anything you use all year round or do you have a different skin routine depending on the season? I’d love to know in the comments below.

Totally hellbent for SPF moisturisers

Pants

Make-up

Bourjois Paris Little Round Pot Blush in “Rose d’Or” Review

April 30, 2014

Recently, I’ve been lusting after the Bourjois blushers like nobody’s business. I admit I’ve always been a fan of their whole range, but the really good stuff is just out of my price range and I really can’t justify buying it when I already have so many things. This one however, has been following me around like a lost puppy for months, so on a recent Boots trip after finding out I had over £40 worth of points on my card, I may have had a little accident and dropped this in my basket … whoops.

I still don’t know if it was the cute packaging, or the creamy blush texture that really sold this for me. I couldn’t quite decide on which shade I wanted to go for out of the whole range available, but I ended up with “Rose d’Or/Golden Rose” – a beautiful, shimmery pink colour. When swatched, it’s even more gorgeous than in it’s adorable packaging – which is also blessed with a mirror! It’s perfect for blending and does come with a teeny application brush, but let’s face it girls – who actually uses these? I also think it’s made from animal hair which is also a bit of a no no. Despite this, I’m in love – it’s also slightly perfumed, which really reminds me of sitting a my mother’s dressing table and playing with her powders when I was little.

A little more than I would usually pay for a single blusher, but totally worth it. For £7.99 you can be the proud owner of this delicate, yet feminine blush from your nearest Boots. This little round pot has stirred something inside of me and I can only imagine that little something is the urge to go out and buy the rest of the collection!

Have you tried Bourjois’ Little Round Pot range? If so I’d love to know what shades you picked and what you thought.

Totally hellbent for spending my hard earned points on something I really really want!

-Pants

Make-up

A haul full of bargains!

April 15, 2014

I’m always one for a bargain but I think I got some real steals in this haul!

As always this wasn’t planned…I was just going to look! Then suddenly I remembered I had a boots gift voucher and it all got a bit..out of hand. No regrets though as I already love everything I picked up!

My story starts in Superdrug as I decided this would be the day I finally fulfilled my long desire for Sleek’s Rose Gold blusher. Handily enough the Sleek counter faces the MUA counter so it was a no-brainer that I’d turn around and pick something up. I settled on the MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Laquer in Reckless as Amie loves hers in Atomic (reviewed here) and it’s the only thing she’d found that can survive an hour under stage lights!

My next stop was Boots, and how glad was I to have saved my gift voucher from my birthday haul when I spotted the Sanctuary Illumination Moisture Lotion and Soap and Glory CC Superfluid and Sit Tight Intense XS in the clearance section! I also took a swing by the Bourjois counter where I found the light Delice de Poudre (which I’ve been looking for for ages!) and powder blush in 41 Healthy Mix.

I can’t resist the bargains in Poundland, and so picked up a Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Colour in Silver Elements, Nail Rock Nail Caviar in Acid Caviar and Mars some Deep Heat and Deep Freeze style sprays as I pulled a muscle in my Body Combat class earlier in the day (owie!), a Love Hearts scented candle in Very Vanilla and some bright blue face cloths for my gym bag.

My final stop was Bodycare where I found my favourite nail varnish remover – Sally Hansen Moisturising Polish Remover – for half it’s usual price and then did a little happy dance as the Technic Electric palette was back in stock!

The best part of all was that (with my £25 boots voucher which covered all the purchases there AND gave me some change!) was that all this came to only £21!

Totally hellbent for all the shinies at a fraction of the cost!

– Gem

Skincare

CLINIQUE Dramatically different moisturiser

October 21, 2013

I bought this in August 2012 on the ferry on the way to Wacken. One of the reasons I went for this at the time, was it felt beautiful when I was testing all the lotions and potions on the boat.

Anyway, I had been saving this for a little while as I already had thousands of moisturisers open but about 6 months ago, I thought I would try this out. I have been using this weekly on and off since then and have only just run out of it, so I have to give kudos for it’s longevity, especially as I went for the smaller 50ml tube.

I was expecting great things from this, I have a friend who swears by Clinique’s products and had heard and read some good reviews, but I have to say, as someone who actually suffers from dry skin, this didn’t do wonders for me at all. When using it in the morning, my face would begin to feel dry again around lunchtime, which is very poor next to my Vitamin E cream or L’occitane which keeps me hydrated until my bedtime regime.

Texture wise, it’s far to thin and watery and sometimes my skin felt a little greasy for a short time after application, which was annoying when I needed to rush out the house and slap on some makeup.

Now that this has been used up, I probably won’t be purchasing this again, perhaps my skin is just too dry for this. Have you used this and had better results?

If you do want to try out this or Clinique’s other ranges, you can buy it at Boots online or in store for £17.00, they also have lots of offers on for Skincare and Clinique. You can also pick some up in various department stores such as House of Fraser and Debenhams.

Totally hellbent for moisturisers that last all day!

-Pants