Pre-Holiday Beauty Essentials

Less than three weeks until our holiday! 

These are my pre holiday beauty essentials to make sure I look and feel my best!

 

 Soap & Glory The Breakfast Scrub £9.45/300ml

 I've been using this twice a week on my legs and upper arms to buff away dry/dead skin. One day I'm going to lose control and just eat it as it smells sooo good! Just an amazing product, it leaves no greasy residue on my skin and it gives a great exfoliation without being harsh on my skin.

 

 Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula £3.77/250ml

Another amazing smelling product! I've been using this every morning after my shower mainly on my legs and they have never been softer! I've got a few marks on the bottoms of my legs from some mosquito bites I scratched a bit too much and this has actually worked on fading them - they are much less noticeable and I'm a lot happier to get my legs out now!

Botanics Detox Brush £5.72

I'm quite lucky that I don't suffer from the dreaded cellulite (yet!) but prevention is better than cure and I've been using this brush every morning for the past two weeks to get my circulation going! I don't know if these have actually been proven to work, but it feels nice to give my legs a five minute brush before my shower every morning!

 VO5 Treat Me Right Hair Mask £4.97/300ml

My hair gets a bit frazzled from using too much heat so I though a hair mask might sort it out. I've only used this twice so far - its lovely and thick, smells very summery and has left my hair feeling nice and soft. I'm going to keep using this two or three time a week and hopefully my hair will be in better condition come holiday time. I've also decided to have a good inch chopped off the ends before we go, eek!

Seaweed Deep Cleansing Facial Wash £7.00/100ml & Seaweed Pore Cleansing Facial Exfoliator £8.00/75ml

My skin was in a terrible state last week, I think the humidity paired with my heavy foundation caused a breakout and left me pretty depressed. I had a 50% discount code from the Body Shop website so I bought these products to sort it out! 

I also bought a Seaweed Clay Mask but in the five days between placing my order and it being dispatched (five days!) it sold out and I never received it. In the few days I've been using these products though my skin has seen a massive improvement so all is well!

Do you have any pre-holiday beauty recommendations?

Bar-gain (noun)

You would think after this post I would realise that no, I don't need another concealer, nail polish, eye shadow just because the offer is there...but hey, a bargain is a bargain!

I nipped into Boots on my lunch hour to spend one of my No7 vouchers (they expire on Sunday!) and this is what I came out with.

1. 17 Hide and Chic Concealer (worth £4.99) free with 17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in Belle £4.59.

2. 17 Nail Bar Bag - two nail polishes, sheet of nail stickers and nail file - free gift with above items.

3. Nails Inc polish (worth £11) free with two Dove deodorants. I have never used Dove deodorant in my life and I highly doubt I will ever use the ones I bought today - but you can rest assured I'll be buying two more over the weekend for the second colour!

4. 17 Vintage Love Perfect Pastels - £2 in clearance usually £5.49. Sneaky sale basket right by the till, I couldn't help but have a little rifle through it!

5. Eye shadow brush worth £6.64. Finally, my actual reason for going to Boots in the first place. £1.64 with a £5 No7 voucher.

Total cost £32.71 £13.60


What are you newest/best bargains?

2 Weeks To Pretty Feet! Moisturisers & Butters

Are you wearing your flip flops yet?

I am, but I'm still working on making my feet even prettier for when we really get into the summer months!

This week, along with my Ped-Egg, I have been slathering my feet in a range of lovely moisturisers and butters in a bid to soften my heels and get beautiful glowing feet.

Here's what I have been loving this week:

Boots Gorgeous Feet Rapid Cracked Heel Repair 100ml £5.10

They Say: "Simply massage this balm into cracked heels for an overnight improvement. Continue for three days and you'll see a real difference as the special rejuvenating formulation works to repair damage and promote soft smooth heels once more."

First of all, the floral, vanilla smell of this cream is so delicious I could eat it! This is my newest foot purchase and I have been using it twice a day as directed. Maybe my heels were in quite a bad state, but it took between 5 and 7 days to see a noticeable difference, rather than the stated 3 days. Despite this, I really recommend this product! I usually apply quite a thick layer in the evening and pop some socks on overnight (does anyone else love wearing socks in bed? Just me?) and use a thinner layer for the daytime, and it really has worked wonders - the skin on the back of my feet looks a lot softer and smoother.

Body Shop Peppermint Cooling Foot Lotion 60ml £3.00

They Say: "Fights odour causing bacteria, and promotes a cooling sensation on the skin to leave feet feeling refreshed."

I tend to use this after my post gym shower as running often leaves me with weary feet and this is a pretty good pick me up. I'm not a great fan of the smell - peppermint is a bit too overpowering for me, but it doesn't linger too much and once I've put my cotton socks on the smell is pretty much covered up anyway. At £3 for 60ml this little tube is a bargain - I only use it three times a week so it lasts well.

Avon Foot Works Heel Softening Cream 75ml £2.50

They Say: "Cracking up? Give you heels some sanity. Relieves extremely dry, cracked skin on feet, providing 24 hour moisturisation. Helps heal and guard against skin infection in tender, cracked skin."

I purchased this a couple of months ago and despite the price, and the not so pretty packaging, it actually works quite well - just as well as the Boots Heel Repair in fact. I find that I don't reach for this as much now that I have a Boots version, but it's definitely a handy backup to have.

Body Shop Strawberry Body Butter 50ml £5.00

They Say: "An intensive creamy all over body moisturiser, offering up to 24 hours moisturisation with a sweet berry fragrance."

Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter 50ml £2.35
They Say: "Smooth, creamy and velvety. With skin softening shea butter and aloe vera to attract moisture."

These are my weekend luxury treatments! I love the thickness of these body butters and on a Sunday night I like to slather a thick layer of one on before covering up with cotton socks and my feet are left feeling gorgeous on Monday morning. A real treat for the feet!

Which foot creams have you been using? Do you mind wearing socks in bed?!

No7 Collection

It's crazy how one day you pay no attention to a certain brand, then a few weeks later you seem to have the entire contents of said brand spread out on your dressing table!

This has happened to me with No7 - I previously ignored it, but I think reading rave reviews about their products, combined with the £5 vouchers led to me into a No7 frenzy and I set about getting my hands on a much as I could throughout January! Here are some of the products I own...

No7 Limited Edition Spring Collection Gel Liner in Black

£10.00 £5.00 with voucher

I've never used a gel eyeliner before this; I usually stick to eyeliner pencils, pens or liquid liner. I purchased this with my last No7 voucher in January - if I'm honest, I don't think I would have paid £10 for this if I hadn't of had a voucher as it seems a lot of money for something I may or may not like. But £5 seemed reasonable to me.

 I haven't actually used this very much since I bought it. I really like the idea of a gel liner, but I don't know if it's my unsteady hand or my lack of experience, but I just haven't got to grips with it yet and I seem to end up with a bit of a smudged uneven line. I'm sure when I have a bit more time on my hands I will sit down and have another go at it, but for now I'm sticking to my trusty liquid and pencil liners.

No7 Quick Cover Blemish Stick in Medium

£8.00 £3.00 with voucher

This is one of the best concealers I have used and I will be repurchasing when it eventually runs out. You can see from the photo that it is well used! I rely quite a lot on concealer for under my eyes and the pores on my cheeks. I usually dot a tiny bit on before foundation and then a little bit more on top of foundation, just to make sure I get good coverage. I use either a brush or my finger, depending on how I feel, but it works just as well either way. It's creamy, blendable, and I couldn't be without it now. Definitely recommend if you haven't tried it before. 



No 7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser

£9.00 £4.00 with voucher

I use the hot cloth cleanser once a week as a Sunday night pampering treat and I love it. The cleanser is luxuriously thick and I look forward to massaging it in every week! The hot muslin cloth feels lovely over my face and it's just the right amount of rough to exfoliate my skin as the cleanser comes off. I don't think I would have purchased this if I hadn't read glowing reviews from other bloggers as it's just not something I would ever think to use, but I'm glad I own it. The tube is 200ml, so with only a once a week use this is going to last me months - complete and utter value for money for a mere £4. I would even repurchase at full price as £9.00 seems cheap for the lovely indulgent pampering session you get out of it!

No7 Beautifully Balanced Purifying Toner for Oily/Combination Skin

£8.00 £3.00 with voucher

There's not a lot to say about this toner other than I love it! In the past I have given up on toners because they dry my skin and leave it feeling tight. This on the other hand leaves my skin feeling fresh and soft. I do use it twice a day which may be excessive, I don't know. It has lasted two months though and I still have quarter of the bottle left as a little spreads a long way.

No7 Cleanse and Care Eye Make-up Remover

£7.75 £2.75 with voucher

This was purchased because I don't like rubbing at my eyes with makeup remover wipes and wanted something more gentle. I do quite like this remover, however, it never seems to get rid of all traces of mascara first time and I am left with a bit of panda eye after washing my face. Solution? Just go over the remaining makeup after washing! I know this would annoy a lot of people, but I don't really mind as eventually I am left with completely makeup free eyes.

No7 Awakening Eye Gel

£9.00 £4.00 with voucher

I rarely use this but when I do I'm happy with the results. If my eyes are feeling heavy/puffy from tiredness or other reasons I just dot this around my eyes before I go to bed and they feel refreshed the next day. You really only need the smallest amount - I can see this tiny tube lasting forever, so great value for money!

No7 Precision Eyeliner Brush and No7 Eyeshadow Blend & Contour Brush

Both £6.64 £1.64 with voucher

The precision eyeliner brush was bought to use with the gel liner - you can still see some of it on the brush, oops! But since I haven't mastered the gel, this brush hardly gets used. But for £1.64 I'm not complaining and I'm sure I'll get around to using it more one day.

The eyeshadow brush is great. I'm not much of a blender and contourer but this brush applies eyeshadow with no fuss. It's lovely and soft and picks up a good amount of shadow. I need more of these brushes in my life!

I've also got the No7 Total Renewal which I have reviewed here and a couple of Stay Perfect nail polishes that you can see in action in this post!

What will you be buying when the vouchers come back?

Happy Hair Days - Natural Shampoo & Conditioner

Usually at the weekends I stay at my boyfriends house, and in the interest of saving space in my overnight bag I never pack shampoo and conditioner; instead I just use whatever my boy's mum has in her bathroom. This morning I was having a lovely soak while my boy was out playing football and I spotted these on the edge of the bath:

Happy Hair Days Pomegranate & Ginger Moisturising Shampoo and Conditioner 300ml

What caught my eye was the claim on the front of the bottles: NO Parabens and NO Sulphates.

I've seen quite a few blog posts recently about the effects of parabens and SLS which can be found in many personal care products. If I'm honest, I never paid too much attention to what these are, but today I had a little look on Google to get some information.

Parabens are found in a variety of everyday products - cosmetics, deodorant, face cream, shampoo and toothpaste. The biggest risk from parabens seems to be from the use of products that require a prolonged exposure to skin, such as skin creams and facial lotions. The longer that the parabens are on the skin, the more opportunity there is for parabens to be absorbed. One of the biggest areas of concern is the effect of parabens on breast cancer.

Sodium lauryl sulphate, or SLS causes the products in which it is used to “foam up” and lather. SLS and its close cousin Sodium laureth sulphate (SLES) can cause scalp and skin irritations, dried out skin, irritated eyes, and swelling of the hands, face and arms among other irritations and skin problems, and can dry out and damage hair follicles.

(credit)

So I thought I'd try this shampoo and conditioner out.

Despite having no sulphates, this shampoo foamed up really well and I didn't need to use any more than I usually would to cover all of my hair. The pomegranate and ginger smell is quite strong, but very lovely!

The conditioner also didn't disappoint. It has a good thick texture which I loved and it spreads easily and evenly through my hair. Once washed off my hair felt clean and soft and after towel drying, my hair was smooth and tangle free and I had no problem brushing it out.

The smell didn't linger too strongly on my hair after washing the products out but I caught faint scents of it while brushing it out which was nice.

Having never heard of this brand before I Googled for it but unfortunately couldn't find any website. It is, however, sold at Boots for £3.99 for the shampoo and £4.07 for the conditioner; I'm not sure of the reason for the difference in prices! Both bottles are 300ml which seems like pretty good value for money to me.

As well as moisturising shampoo & conditioner, they also do smoothing s&c in pear and blueberry and glossing s&c in lemongrass and basil which all sound equally as lovely.

I'm definitely going to be purchasing these on my next shopping trip - I hope this review was helpful!

No7 Total Renewal Review

About a year and a half ago I was having Micro-dermabrasion treatments every six weeks because the size and visibility of my pores was making me miserable - I even went to see a doctor but they couldn't do anything. It was my boyfriend who found the clinic for me and I was so desperate I paid almost £400 in total for all of my treatments. The results were amazing; my skin is no where near as oily as it used to be and the difference in the size of my pores is 90% better - I gained a lot more confidence after these changes!

A couple of weeks ago I was at the No7 counter and I spied this:

 No7 Total Renewal Micro-Dermabrasion Exfoliator 75ml

£11.00 (I got mine for £6.00 with a No7 voucher)

It promises to "reveal fresher, clearer, younger-looking skin, within just 4 treatments." Obviously I know this isn't going to compare to having a professional treatment but after reading thirty five star reviews on the Boots website I wanted to give it a go.

The back of the bottle tells me that micro crystals are used to sweep away dull cells to improve appearance from the very first use, and the very detailed instruction leaflet specifies that you have to massage the exfoliator in circles, starting with your forehead, then cheeks, then downward stokes over your nose and chin.

I've been using this twice a week as specified for the last four weeks. It feels a lot nicer than a regular exfoliator - the beads are more like tiny grains of sand and you only need a gentle touch to avoid the product being too harsh on your skin.

I probably use double this amount to cover my entire face and I like to scrub for a good couple of minutes to make sure I cover all areas. After rinsing the exfoliator off, it feels like I have shed a layer of skin! My pores are thoroughly cleaned out, my face has a nice glow about it and it feels silky soft to touch.

Since I started using this the condition of my skin has greatly improved - my large pores are still hanging around but at least now they given a proper deep clean out. I would buy this again without a doubt, even without a No7 voucher - I can see this tube lasting another few months so you are definitely getting value for money.

Have you tried this product? What are your thoughts on it?

Pretty Pink Nail Polish

I needed to get out of the office for some fresh air yesterday lunchtime so I ventured into the tiny town where I work and headed for Boots.

I wanted to get a nice pink nail polish as my collection is severely lacking any pink! I really wanted to get a cute baby pink Barry M polish but when I got to Boots...no Barry M counter! So I thought as No7 have a 3 for 2 offer on and I still have £5 vouchers I'd look at their collection.

First of all I picked up these three beauties:

No7 Stay Perfect Nail Polish in Twinkle 10ml

£7.00

I love the look of the tiny flecks of glitter in this one.

No7 Stay Perfect Nail Polish in Crystal Lilac 10ml

£7.00

No7 Stay Perfect Nail Polish in Milan 10ml

£7.00

As I was heading to the till the 17 counter caught my eye and I found this lovely baby pink polish:

17 Lasting Finish Nail Polish in Fairy Cake 8ml

£2.99

And then...just because I love it, I was checking out the Bourjois counter and came accross the most gorgeous looking sparkly pink polish:

Bourjois 1 Seconde Nail Polish in Shade 18 8ml

£5.99

It doesn't actually have a name so I though I'd show you the massive brush instead!

Phew, quite a collection, despite only going in to buy one bottle - I'm a sucker for all things pink and girly, and they definitely made my day a bit brighter!

What's your favourite nail colour when you need a bit of cheering up?

Diet Coke + Nails Inc

As you probably know, from today when you buy two bottles of 500ml Diet Coke in Boots, you can get a free bottle of Nails Inc polish worth £10.72!

The colours available to choose from are Cool Caramel, Delicious Denim, Perfect Plum and Heavenly Heather Grey.

As I was down the shops anyway today I thought I'd pop into Boots and pick one up - I would have got two, but lugging 4 bottles of Coke around in my small bag didn't appeal too much!

After much deliberating, I chose Delicious Denim.

It's a lovely, sort of subdued blue, not like the candy blues I am used to wearing, so it's nice to have something different. Two coats gave a perfect opaque finish and as you can see it's nice and shiny without adding a topcoat.

This great offer is only available until 15th February so I will definitaly be making a few return trips to get the other three colours.

Has anyone else taken advantage of this fab offer? What colours did you get?

A Bit Of A Haul

So today I actually feel a little bit better - I managed to get out of bed, wash and dry my hair and venture to the shops for an hour. After two days of being in bed it felt so nice to have a long hot shower, and have nice, clean hair! I still look a little puffy so I had to apply some makeup, but it really was the bare minimum, just so I wasn't so self conscious. I decided to go to Boots to buy some bits to cheer me up. A lot of the stuff I bought was on the strenght of reviews, either from other blogs or the Boots website, and a lot of it was on 3 for 2 offer. I was so stupid though, I bought a few bits from No7 and it wasn't until I got out of the shop I realised I had a £5 off voucher, oh well! I also went to Savers and Superdrug just to stretch out the trip.

No7 Total Renewal Micro-Dermabrasion Exfoliator 75ml

£11.00

I never really been happy with my skin, and after 3 days with a cold it's been left looking particularly dull and lifeless. I've been for quite a few micro-dermabrasions in my time, and while they are lovely, £55 a go is a bit much for me at the moment. So on the strength of 28 out of 32 5 star reviews on the Boots site, I bought this. It is supposed to even out skin tone and leave skin softer and more refined. I'll do a proper review of it after I've used it for a couple of weeks.

No7 Beautifully Balanced Purifying Toner for Oily to Combination Skin 200ml

£8.00

I haven't used a good toner for ages. They always made my skin look more oily and I wasn't a fan of them. However, I've read in a lot of blogs that No7 is very gentle on the skin so I though I would give this a go. I try and use product at night only so I don't get build up during the day. This bottle is huge, and I was suprised it was only £8. Hopefully it will work!

No7 Quick Cover Blemish Stick

£8.00

This was my third product in the No7 3 for 2 offer. I already own about 3 different concealers, but to be honest, none of them are giving enough coverage. I wouldn't usually spend so much on a concealer, but, after Fee from Makeup Savvy made it her best concealer of 2010, I though I would give it a go. Just from applying a swatch to my arm I can see the lovely creamy texture that my other concealers don't have. My main problem is my under eye area - other concealers seem to hightlight dark circles so I'm hoping this will cover them up. The tube looks so nice aswell.

Max Factor Lasting Lip Tint

£5.99

I'm not much of a lipstick person - I wore a bright red when I dyed my hair dark brown, but that didn't last long! And in the summer I might wear a nice pink colour, but I ususally focus on my eyes. I saw this Max Factor Lip Pen advertised on the back of a magazine, and I was intrigued! After trying all the colours, I decided to purchase No3 Pink Princess. It's quite a bit darker than it looks on the Boots website, but still light enough for me. It really is like colouring on your lips with a felt tip pen, but because the tip is small it gives a bit more prescision. Once applies the colour is lovely - more of a tint/stain than a full on lipstick; I will definately be using more of this product.

Ecotools Bamboo Deluxe Concealer Brush

£4.99

Seeing as I bought a lovely new concealer, I thought I would buy a lovely fresh concealer brush to go with it. I chose this brush by Ecotools; mainly because of the price; but now that I've opened it, I'm very pleased with the quality! The brush head is super soft, and I love the wooden handle, compared to a lot of brushes I own with plastic handles.

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Blackhead Scrub

£3.99

I'm not going to talk too much about this! My skin needs pepping up after the holiday season and this works!

17 Candy Collection Nail Polish

£2.99

Sherbet Lemon, Pink Lemonade, Clear

I bought these to start looking forward to Spring! I'm so ready for some warm weather now and I think candy coloured nails are the way to go. My old Barry M clear nail polish is getting a bit old now and these were on 3 for 2 offer so I picked up a new one.

St Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mouse Medium
£2.99

This was reviewd by Selina of Flying Saucer so I thought I'd give it a go! I have been using Dove Summer Glow Moisturiser, but this has to be applied every day and it gets a bit sticky and time consuming. This is basically a rip off of St Tropez, but seeing as I'm not a fake tan expert, I thought I'd start with this and see how I go. You can't really see from the photo but there is a small brown stain under the foam, so I guess it works fast as I only put it on for a few seconds to take the photo! I will probably save this for the weekend as it has to develop over a couple of hours. Once I have used it properly I will do a review.

Make Up Academy Lipstick Shade 12

£1.00

Thats right. One Pound! Ok, I admit I'm a bit of a latecomer to MUA, but the display my local Superdrug has always looked so manky I never bothered to look. But today when I went in it looked all shiny and new so I had a good old peruse and picked this lipstick. I'm not going to spend a fortune as I don't really wear it. This shade is quite nice, it's very sheer and pink, more like a bit of a lip gloss, but definatley something I can wear day to day. It doesn't seem to be too drying either but I have yet to leave it on for a long period of time.

Make Up Academy Nail Polish Shade 18

£1.00

I also picked this because of the cute pastel colour, to match my other nail polish purchases.

Their nail polish selection was quite massive, so if this turns out to be any good I'll be going back to get more!

Phew! This post is massive, congrats if you've read it all! My next post will be a lot shorter, promise!