Lush Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner

 

 

I first tried a tiny sample of Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner about 5 years ago and I absolutely loved it, but I could never justify the price tag while I was a struggling student. A few weeks ago I finally treated myself to a full size tub and I was so excited.

Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner is a thick, creamy body moisturiser you apply to wet skin in the shower or bath. You rinse it off and then pat your skin dry. It’s exactly like a hair conditioner, but for your skin. It smells amazing, like a sweeter, caramel rose scent, if that makes sense. It’s not heavily old granny floral, it’s much more modern.

This product appeals to my sense of laziness. I hate waiting for moisturiser to dry before I can get dressed after a shower, so this is perfect for me.  I don’t find it makes my skin as soft and hydrated as a good quality moisturiser, but it’s great if you are pushed for time (or lazy).

Unfortunately, this product is not at all like I remembered. The scent is the same, because it’s still fabulous, but I feel like the formula has changed. When I apply this  in the shower it makes me feel like I have wax on my skin. It doesn’t absorb the way I remembered it to. I really don’t like the feeling on my skin that much and I can never wait to rub it off properly with my towel. What a disappointment.

Does anyone know the feeling I mean? I feel like I’m going crazy!

 

Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector

This post has been a really long time coming, because I bought this product back in early June. The Clinical Dark Spot Corrector is designed to reduce the appearance of dark spots, age spots, and traces of old blemishes. I bought it because I suffer badly with red marks left behind by old spots, even if I leave them well alone.

To use this product, you pump a little in your hand, and rub into your skin where you have red marks. You can use it twice a day and I was promised up to a 58% reduction in redness in 12 weeks.

The product didn’t break me out, which is good news, and it was easy to fit into my skin care routine before moisturiser. Unfortunately, I didn’t see the miraculous results I was hoping for. I’d heard some people say their redness faded after as little as 3 weeks use. My redness has faded a little, but to be honest, I don’t think it was anything to do with this product. I mean 12 weeks passed, so you’d expect a little fading. The main mark I was concerned by is still there, just a little lighter.

I imagine this might work better on age spots and sun spots, but it doesn’t work very well on red marks left by spots and blemishes. Or at least it didn’t for me. Sorry Clinique, but for me, it wasn’t worth the hefty price tag.

Peggy Sage Nail Polish

I got these Peggy Sage nail polishes from my You Beauty Discovery box. I hadn’t tried anything from Peggy Sage before, so I was interested to try them. The colours are No. 751 Nude Poudré from the Nude Collection and No. 756 Sunny Sweetie from the Summer Collection.

Nude Poudré is a gorgeous colour. It makes my nails look really long, even though they are quite short and broken at the moment. It works like white in that respect, but its more like a champagne colour, or cream with a hint of cappuccino. It isn’t streaky or hard to build up like a lot of pale nude colours. It is now a firm favourite for work.

Sunny Sweetie is another beautiful colour. It’s a lovely coraly pink, which looks really Summery and is really flattering on your nails. Again, the quality of the polish is really good.

All in all I was so pleased with these polishes, and it’s an example of how beauty boxes can introduce you to some really amazing products you’ve never heard of.

Empties Summer 2014

I have a strange assortment of empties to show you today, so I’m going to dive right in!

Sanctuary Foaming Bath Soak – This was a Christmas present from my Grandparents. It created lots of bubbles which I liked – pretty essential for a bubble bath really. It has a similar grown-up spa style scent to most Sanctuary products. This is a lovely bubble bath for people who want a simple bubble bath, without crazy colours or glitter or scents.

Lush Prince Charming Shower Gel – This was a limited edition Valentine’s Day shower gel from Lush. It smells incredible and I can’t wait to see if it comes back next year!

Sanctuary Spa Mande Lular Sensuous Foaming Shower Burst – This is a really fun and unique product to pop in your shower. It comes out the pump in a clear gel and foams up to become a creamy white mousse. I really enjoyed it.

Body Shop Almond Hand & Nail Cream – My fiancé gave me this for Christmas and it lasted through till late June, even though I use it daily! It’s fantastic stuff if you have dry hands and nails. It smells delicious, absorbs quickly, and is the best thing I’ve found for keeping my skin smooth and hydrated.

Melvita Moisture Replenishing Night Nectar – This night time moisturiser was in my You Beauty Discovery box. It absorbs quickly and didn’t make me break out, but it has a really peculiar smell. I didn’t finish it in the end.

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser Orange Flower & Chamomile – Cleanse & Polish is my absolute favourite cleanser and I refuse to use anything else because it suits my skin best. It was nice to try a new scent, but I prefer the original.

Boots Salon Nail Shine Solution – There’s a little left in the pot, but it’s gone all gloopy so I am throwing it away. I really enjoyed this.  I used it as a top coat and it worked really well. It stopped my nails from chipping and made them look beautiful and shiny.

Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle – This is another one which has gone a bit gloopy so is being thrown away. It was one of the better nail treatments I’ve tried, but not my favourite. I’m not sure I quite saw the length and strength promised.

Soap and Glory The Breakfast Scrub – I really loved this scrub. It smells absolutely delicious and it has a lovely texture. It’s not a particularly abrasive scrub, it’s more of a luxurious treat, but I will definitely put it back on my Christmas wishlist!

La Roche-Posay Effaclar A I – This was my second tube of Effaclar AI. It worked really well for me at first, but seemed to tail off towards the end of this tube, which is why it isn’t quite finished. I switched to Soap and Glory Dr Spot instead, but I do have another tube of this to try. I’m hoping that after a few months my skin will react better to it again, because it really was excellent in the end.

Little Tinkers Jewellery and Gifts

I was shopping in the Grand Arcade in Cambridge recently and I spotted a little stall full of enticing looking things.

Little Tinkers sells all sorts of handmade and hand painted floral jewellery and the most adorable little sculpted animal necklaces and charms.

I picked out some rose earrings, a silver rose necklace, and an elephant charm for my bag. I may or may not have also bought some other items as gifts for people!

As well as having really lovely items, Little Tinkers also offers that little bit something extra in the way of service. The  items were all packed into little decorated bags, and then put into one paper bag with a little chocolate inside. It made me feel really special and valued as a customer.

If you want to find out more about Little Tinkers you can visit them on Facebook: Little Tinkers (Gifts).

 

Lush Skincare Haul

I had one of those days where you just want to walk around Lush and buy everything. Do you get those days?

I started at the fresh face masks. I had a chat with the assistant about which would be best for calming the redness of spots and she recommended Catastrophe Cosmetic, which is a blueberry based mask which I’ve used once before and enjoyed. I forgot about it and didn’t get more than one use out of it, so I thought I’d give it another go.

Next I spotted a product I hadn’t seen before which is the Lemon Flutter Cuticle Butter. You can rub this on any areas of dry skin, particularly cuticles, to soften them. Unsurprisingly, it smells very strongly of lemons, which is nice and refreshing.

I debated buying more of the Tea Tree Toner Tabs, as I liked it when I used it, but in the end I went for the Tea Tree Water which is a toner water you can spray straight on your face or onto a cotton pad to wipe over your skin. It’s supposed to be good for spot prone skin, so I hope it will help me with the hormonal breakouts I seem to get.

Finally, I went over to the body section to look at the one product I always look at and never buy: Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner. However, I finally gave in and bought it. This is a moisturiser you apply to wet skin in the shower or bath and then wash off. It smells really beautiful and I loved the sample I had once. I’ve always resisted because it’s around £15 for a tub, but I decided to treat myself this time.

Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Bronze

Yes, I’m going to talk about a bronzer. You never thought you’d see the day did you? As a rule, I don’t wear bronzer. Literally never. I just don’t think it suits my colouring to look tanned. Having said that, I never used to wear blusher and now I’m addicted, so I think bronzer is something I should keep trying.

This bronzer was part of a deal on in Boots; it was free when you spent a certain amount of money. I chose the shade 022 Sun Bronze because it looked like the only one pale enough to be acceptable for my English Rose complexion. The bronzer is supposedly waterproof and contains SPF 15, both of which are great if you are into bronzer in a big way.

I have now worn this a couple of times and I am surprised to say it actually looks reasonable on me, especially because it’s summer. It’s not too pigmented and it blends well, so it can actually look quite natural. I expected to look like a tangerine. There’s a tiny amount of shimmer in it, but it just gives a slight shimmer when you catch the light, it isn’t too over the top.

If I wore bronzer, this is definitely something I’d consider using regularly. Unfortunately, it hasn’t converted me. I think I just look better with pale skin. Does anyone else feel like that?

 

Lip Product Addict Tag

Okay, I admit it, no one has actually tagged me in this, but I really wanted to do it anyway. Here goes!

1. What is your favorite balm or treatment?

I have quite an assortment of different lip balms knocking about, but at the moment I am loving the Body Shop Ginger Sparkle Lip Balm. This is much more of a Christmas/Winter balm, but I love it anyway. It smells really good, and is nice and hydrating but not too sticky. It gives my lips a nice little tingle too because of the ginger.

2. What is your favorite eye catching red?

Hands down, it has to be YSL Rouge Volupte in No 7 Red Muse. It’s an absolute classic pillar-box red and it looks sensational.

3. The best luxury and drugstore product?

My favourite luxury lipsticks are the YSL Rouge Volupte lipsticks. They are super creamy and amazing quality, but more to the point, the packaging is to die for.

My favourite drugstore lip products at the moment are the Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers. The wands make them really easy to apply and the lacquers have great pigmentation. They stay glossy and shiny without being sticky, and the range of shades is lovely.

4. Best MAC lipstick?

I only own one but it’s amazing! It’s from the Retro Matte collection and it’s called All Fired Up. It’s a sensational cherry red colour, which is super flattering and amazing quality.

5. Most disappointing lip product?

This is going to be controversial, but I really wasn’t that impressed by the Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick I tried. I found it transferred really easily, smudged, bled and generally went all over everything. Maybe I was unlucky and picked a bad shade, but it definitely put me off.

6. Lip Liner: Yes or No?

I use lip liner with any particularly bright colour, especially red, as I find it stops them from bleeding. I usually use a nude liner or an invisible liner, but I also have a red which is a pretty good match for my YSL lipstick.

7. Favourite gloss?

I only own one, that’s the No 7 High Shine Lipgloss in Whisper. It’s pretty when it’s first applied, but lipgloss just doesn’t do it for me. I really don’t wear gloss much at all because I find it only lasts 5 seconds.

8. ..Something else?!

Got to give a huge shout out to the Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balms. I have the shade Elusive which is a really flattering pink. They are incredibly easy to apply; you don’t even need a mirror. They are also really long lasting. I’ve got my fingers crossed for some more wearable shades, as most at the moment are quite shocking, vibrant colours.

I tag anyone who fancies having a go at this themselves!

Essie Cute as a Button and Play Date

These are the first Essie polishes I have bought. I always thought they were a bit expensive for nail polish, even though I adore the amazing bright colours in the range.

I finally took the plunge and went for these stunning polishes:

Cute as a Button is an adorable, vibrant coral colour. It’s absolutely perfect for Spring and Summer and it’s really versatile.

Play Date is a deep lilac. I don’t think you can go far wrong with lilac, it looks great on everyone.

I’m so impressed with the quality of these polishes. They are super easy to apply as they have nice, wide, flexible brushes. The polishes are fast drying and really pigmented. Just two coats will give you a deep, even colour. I’ve also found the polishes to be quite long lasting. They don’t seem to chip very easily, which is a miracle for me.

Essie has the most amazing range of bright colourcoloured polishes, so I will definitely be looking at getting more now!

Mac 217 Blending Brush

Today’s post is just a quick one about another makeup brush I’ve been loving recently. It was quite the luxury purchase for me, because £19 seemed rather excessive for an eyeshadow brush, but I had been on the look out for a good blending brush, so I decided to splurge.

The brush is arranged in an oval shape, with has fine, densely packed fibres. It is specifically designed for shading or blending of colour. I apply my base eyeshadow with one brush, then take a little of a darker colour on the Mac 217 and blend into my crease. It blends really really well to leave a wholly seamless look. It’s perfect for a smokey eye or a natural everyday look.

Is it worth the money? Well, it’s a nice brush to have and, if you can afford it, I’d say yes. If not, I’d strongly advise you check out the Revlon Contour Shadow Brush. That doesn’t pick up colour quite as well, because it’s softer and more flexible, but it blends just as well.