Wednesday Wishlist: Skincare

If there's one this that can be said for blogging, it's that it's one of the worst enablers I've known. A mere 10 minutes of blog browsing can lead to me writing a list of skin care wishes that's longer than my arm. I've had a thing for buttery cleansers since I tried the Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm, and the Antipodes Grapeseed Cleansing Butter has been catching my eye every time I go into Whole Foods. It smells really wonderful and has a thick and creamy texture. I also was given a teeny tiny sample of the Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate when I was out shopping the other day. I've been using it for the last couple of nights (over the REN AHA Resurfacing Concentrate - a review of that coming soon) and my skin feels divine. It's so soft and clear and I'm not entirely certain what I'm going to do when my sample runs out!

I saw the Origins Ginzing Energy Boosting Moisturiser on Anna's blog the other day, and knowing how good the Ginzing eye cream is, I get the feeling this will be high on my list of wants too. At the moment, I'm using the Origins Mega Bright range - it's taken my skin from a dire mess to silky smooth in under a week, so expect a rave review of that sometime in the near future. Lush's Synaethesia Spa Treatment has been high on my wishlist for years now. I very almost ended up having one, but sadly I was too busy being ill with seizures and I had to cancel my appointment. Hopefully one day I'll get round to it. It's a completely tailored multi-sensory spa experience and sounds divinely magical.

Another thing I gave a try when I was out browsing the beauty halls of London the other day was the Caudalie Beauty Elixir. Obviously, every blogger seems to have tried this at some point or other and falls in love. I noticed a definite difference to my skin when I spritzed it on and loved the refreshingly minty smell! And last but not least, it's another product from Antipodes, this time the Aura Manuka Honey Mask. This smells incredible - it's sweet but not sickly or cloying. Manuka honey is jam packed with antioxidents and good things and I'm really looking forward to treating myself to this at some point.

What are you lusting after at the moment?

Lush Volcano Foot Mask Review

Hello Lovelies.

Today I'm going to be bringing you a review of this bad boy - Volcano Foot Mask from Lush.

Volcano is one of those phoenix-esq Lush products. It used to be around a looong time ago as part of the Fresh range, then it went, then it came back, then (I think) it went again and now it's back, it a smaller tub. A product's gotta be good to have made its reappearance that many times - no matter how often we try to kill it, it just won't die.

Volcano is part foot mask, part foot scrub and oh my goodness, do I love it. It's packed with yummy things like papaya and lemon (packed full of antiseptic cleansing power), tomatoes (they're deodorizsng apparently...), a multitude of other anti-fungal and astringent herbal bits and errr, potatoes. Yeah, I'm not sure either. All of this is mixed into a based of kaolin and pumic to give your feet a good deep clean and exfoliate.

To use it, you simply need to slather it on - not too thickly though:

Next, wrap your feet in cling film or two plastic bags and leave for 10 minutes. Spend the majority of those 10 minute admiring your new, cheap-as-free shoes and attempting not to break your neck when you need a wee.

I can definitely see this look going down well for A/W 2011 fashion, no?

After your 10 minutes are up, unwrap your feet and give them a good massage. This will help the exfoliation process and (if you're anything like me) warm your feet up a bit too! Then, plunge them into a bowl of warm water and rinse thoroughly. No, seriously, if you think you've finished rinsing, keep going. A white mask of kaolin does not an attractive foot make.

To finish, slather your feet in a luxuriously rich moisturiser, Ta-daa super soft feet!

One thing I will say is this isn't a massively moisturising foot mask, and it does have a lot of active ingredients. If your feet are really dry or cracked, you might want to opt for something else. I find this leaves my feet feeling really fresh and tingly afterwards but equally, that could be less of a nice feeling if your feet are already a bit sore.


Available from: Lush (online and instore) for £5.50
Would I buy this product again? Yes!

*Disclaimer* This product was sent to me for review purposes

Lush Street Party Ballistic Review

Hello Lovelies! Today I'll be bringing you a review of something very exciting indeed - the Street Party ballistic by Lush!

This is a limited edition reissue of an old favourite of mine, and it's utterly divine. It's got a gorgeous cognac, orange and lime scent - to me it's like a cross between Big Blue and Christmas Party/Bob Soap. It's the sort of scent that I associate with Lush from when I first shopped with them (about 13 years ago) - fresh but wonderfully complex.

When you first look at it, you'd be forgiven for mistaking it for a slightly boring off white ballistic with black vanilla seeds in. That couldn't be much further from the truth - this ballistic is pack with gold, red and blue glitter, little pink confetti hearts, streamers and a little Union Jack flag or two. Amazing!


£2.95 from Lush for a limited time only!

Favourite Lipbalms

As the days are getting colder, and the wind getting more blustery, I'm finding myself reaching more and more for lipbalm. I seem to have them everywhere - in bags, in random pockets, on my desk. Especially as I cycle, I find that I need to use them more than I ever have before at the moment. Anyway, I thought I'd bring you a little round up of my current favourites, and any other things that I'm treating my lips to in the ongoing battle against chapped lips.

Burt's Bee's Rejuvinating Lip Balm *

Love this - it has a lovely fresh, slightly zingy flavour but isn't overpowering. Love the fact that it contains zero mineral oils but instead lots of lovely omega packed oils that will actually do something instead of sitting there doing nothing. Apparently, the Acai berries are packed with a squillion antioxidents and vitamins, but I wouldn't really recommend trying to use it as one of your five a day. 

£3.49 from Burts Bees

Burt's Bees Nourishing Lip Balm *

Another fruity treat from Burt's Bees, but this time with Mango. I find this one slightly thicker and more errrr Nourishing (they clearly didn't name it that for nothing!) than the Acai one. Again, it's slightly fruity but not over powering. Both of these lip balms have a fairly soft texture - you can definitely tell you've got them on, but they don't clog up your lips (if that makes any sense). Oddly, whilst on the subject of Burt's Bees, I'd say that these are both much better than the Original lipbalm, which I can't stand to be honest.

£3.49 from Burts Bees

Dr Organic 100% Organic Pomegranate Lip Balm

I've used this for ages after picking up in Holland and Barrett one day.  I was in town and my lips were drying out, need a lipbalm but didn't really fancy grabbing a Lush one - I wanted a stick that I could shove in my pocket and preferably apply whilst still cycling. I stumbled across this beauty and haven't looked back. Taste wise, it's slightly pomegrantey and slightly nothingy. But it does the job. really soothes, hydrates and nourishes. Texture wise, it's perfect. Why? Because it's fairly dry. It's not slippery or slimey (I'm looking at you Body Shop Lip Butters) and it creates a wonderful smooth base for lip colour. Perfect.

£2.99 from Holland and Barrett

Lush Mint Julips Lip Scrub

I'll be honest, if it wasn't for the fact that last year I had a Lush voucher to use, I probably wouldn't have gone for this. You could very easily make it yourself - just a bit of sugar, oil and maybe a touch of peppermint oil (or if you're really cheap, toothpaste probably wouldn't kill you). But, it is useful and I do appreciate the fact that it's edible - I can scrub my lips in the morning before I cleanse/tone etc and lip of the debris. It's also much more convenient than a homemade lip scrub and much drier - I know that I'd end up getting overly happy with the oil content and end up with an oil slick on my face. There's a new one out for Christmas that's all lemon sherberty if that's more your style. If not, you can go for the revolting smelling Bubblegum or Chocolate ones instead of this nice After Eight one if you like....

£4.50 from Lush

What's keeping your lips happy this winter time?

Disclaimer - products marked with a * were sent to me for review purposes. Still doesn't change the fact that I'll always be honest with you about them :)

FOTD: Relaxed gypsy goes on holiday

Hello :) Just thought I'd post a quick little FOTD. It's a combination of a visit to the Benefit counter and trying to decide what to take with me on holiday (we're sort of backpacking to Amsterdam so I want to travel light!) I couldn't find my camera. so these are just from my camera phone hence the slightly dodgy colour and blurriness.

Face:
bareMinerals Foundation in Medium Beige (I still have a bit of a sample pot left and was seeing if I like it or not, however, my skin is already itching so I think it's a no - stupid bismuth)
Benefit benetint (cheeks and lips)
Lush It Started with a Kiss Lip Tint (over the benetint)

Eyes:
Shiro Cosmetics Lance the Dragon Tamer (all over)
Superdrug MUA in 13 (all over)
The Body Shop Big and Curvy Mascara

Nothing groundbreaking, but I definiately think I'm going to take benetint on holiday with me - 2 birds with one stone :D

Lush York Friday Facials

Hello Lovelies :)

This only really applies to northern bloggers, but I thought I'd share with you what I got up to last Friday afternoon!

The beautiful guys and girls at Lush York have decided to offer facials every Friday between 4-6pm. For the price of a fresh face mask (£4.95) you not only get said mask, but also a full skin care consultation, a full facial (including a facial massage with one of the two new serum bars and a face mask) and a full size serum bar to take home (worth £7.50 on its own!).

I used to work at Lush York (a looong time ago) and I'm a regular customer so I know a couple of members of staff quite well, but I was still given the full facial treament and it was gorgeous. To say that none of the team are trained beauty type people, you really couldn't tell - the facial massage was perfect pressure, and all the cleansing and moisturising was done with a pro like approach (in fact, it was probably slightly better than pro as I didn't feel so pushed and pull around).

 The slight downside is that you have to sit at their skin care bar in the middle of the shop (and actually even this isn't awful - I just happened to have Oatifix on all of my face apart from my spotty chin which had a purple beard of Catastrophe Cosmetic... sexy) but other than that, this treatment is more than worth it.

Also, I know that if the Friday Facials start to become popular, they're possibly going to look at doing them at other points in the week as well :D My advice? Book one - you have literally nothing to loose and lets be honest, what other facial gives you so many treats and goodies?!

You can book by visiting them in their Coney Street Store or by giving them a call on 01904 541 927

April Favourites

April seems to have been a really exciting month for me make up wise - I feel like I've discovered lots of exciting new things that have really perked up my daily make up routine, so I thought that I'd share my April favourites with you :)

Elf Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Bark
Yum! This is actually my perfect "my lips but better shade" and it has a gorgeous peppermint taste. It's a cross between a lipgloss and a lipstick, not at all sticky and perfect for just finishing off a fairly quick neautral look :)

Lush Colour Supplement in Dark Yellow
I really do need to do an update post on these - since buying the actual jar (instead of using the sample in a plastic pot) I've been utterly transformed in my opinion of these. I previously said that they were only really good for the tinted moisturiser aspect - I was wrong! They're perfect concealers/foundations. Love it! Use this every day as a tinted  moistuirser and as a concealer on my nose and cheeks

The Body Shop Nature's Minerals Foundation in 03* and Kabuki Brush*
I wear this over my Lush Colour Supplement tinted moistuirser/concealer combo pretty much every day as it gives a light-medium coverage that I think is perfect for work. Again, I really need to do a full post on this soon as I've got a fair bit to say about it!

No 17 Blush & Glow in Peaches and Cream and Strawberries and Cream
I bought this on Mizz Worthy's suggestion and they're amazing! A perfection combination of blush and highlighter in really flattering shades for Spring/Summer. I adore these and again they get used most days.

Elf Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder
I got this as part of a massive Elf haul that I did recently (I still need to show you that -  It's full of pretty things!) and I love it. I know that there's a few posts around saying it's a dupe for some Nars things, but as I don't have those, I couldn't tell you. For me they're just a gorgeous blush and bronzer shade. (Note - I'll add a photo of it open when I get home.... silly me!)

Elf Studio Brushes - Blush, Powder, Complexion, Eyeshadow C
These have basically revolutionised my entire make up routine...  having good quality brushes makes such a difference! Again, I use these brushes pretty much everyday (apart from the powder brush as I use that for liquid foundation which I don't wear on a daily basis) and I love them. They make applying make up easy, give great control, haven't shedded at all and are use generally wonderful!


What have you been loving this April?
*This products were given to me free for review purposes

Lush Colour Supplements Review

As I'm sure many of you will know, Lush's sister company, B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful, closed down at the start of the year. B Never specialised in cruelty free, vegan make-up and offered everything from amazingly bright glitters to gorgeously creamy khols. One of the plus sides of B closing is that Lush are picking up a few bits and bobs from the B Never lines, as well as starting to introduce some new products that are slightly more make up and skin care focused.

The first of these was the Lush Colour Supplements. I'm quite friendly with a couple of the SAs at my local Lush and was lucky enough to be given very generous samples of both the Light and the Dark Yello Colour Supplements.

What are they?
The colour supplements are meant to act as a multipurpose facial colour that can be used in three different ways:

1. They can be mixed into your normal moisturiser to create a tinted moisturiser
2. They can be applied directly onto the skin as foundation
3. They can be used as concealer

They're made with a base of Fresh Rose Petal Infusion, Soya Oil and Rice Bran Oil, so they're pretty gentle and moisturising. Saying that, oilier skins may find that these just slip right off. Also, if your foundation is water based (i.e. oil free) you might have a bit of a problem mixing them together. Why? Water and oil don't really mix that well.
Does it work?
Well, yes and no really. I'll discuss each of the ways of using them in the same numerical order to make it easier.

1. This is definitely my preferred way of using them. They give a nice hint of colour without the faff of applying foundation. I've actually been doing this and then using a thin layer of bareMinerals foundation over the top to even out some of my redness and it's been working really nicely. The only slightly annoying thing is that I'm not a Light Yellow or a Dark Yellow - my perfect match is a mix of the two. Stupid faffy skin.
2. Urgh. Hello pores, wrinkles and scabby bits that I didn't even know existed. This was quite honestly a traumatic experience. Using this as a foundation did not work for me - it gives a really heavy coverage and has a very trad foundation look/feel if you know what I mean ... you can really tell that you're wearing make up and it settles into all the bits you don't want it to settle into and clings into all the bits you don't want it to cling to.
3. Again, I'm not really a fan of using these as concealer - I'd rather just use a light dusting of mineral foundation over the top to even things out a little.

Would I buy this again? I probably will do actually - I really like having a tinted moisturiser option that doesn't require me using an entirely different moisturiser and I've only needed to use a teeny tiny amount of my samples so far (and I've used them a lot) so I can see these being pretty good value for money

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ out of 5 for option 1

♥ out of 5 for options 2 and 3

Price: £7.50 for 20g from Lush (Available in Light and Dark Pink and Light and Dark Yellow) 

*Disclaimer* These products were given to me as free samples for personal use and my reviews always reflect my honest opinion. I am in no way affliated with Lush or paid to review for them.

FOTD: Rapunzel fell from grace

Sorry for the sudden flurry of posts ... I really am loving having a camera again!  Anyway, here's a quick look I did this morning before running out of the house for work. I decided to keep it quite simple, fresh and natural. Also, I apologise for the mahoosive spot on the end of my nose - I blame stress!

 

 

Face:

Lush Colour Supplements in Dark Yellow (mixed with my normal Origins moisturiser)

Benefit Dandelion

Eyes:

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Boots 17 Solo Eyeshadow in Ivory Coast (all over eye up to brown bone)

Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy (ontop of Ivory Coast, over lid only)

Fyrinnae Rapunzel had Extensions (all over lid)

Fyrinnae Fall from Grace (outer two thirds and blended)

Sleek Storm palette No. 5 (inner corner)

Sleek Storm palette No. 6 (outer V)

Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Rockstar (waterline and blended along upper and lower lashline)

Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultra Black Mascara

Lips:

The Body Shop Colourglide Lip Colour in 48 Soft Peony

Favourite Everyday Products

So I was in the shower this morning, and I was trying to think of do-able blog posts whilst I wait for my XD card. I figured one very simple post would be to share my current favourite "everyday" products... the bare essentials that get used even when there's not really time to do much beyond the basics:
Shower Gel: Dove Cucumber and Green Tea or The Body Shop Neroli Jasmine
Shampoo: Lush Daddyo
Conditioner: Lush Jungle
Lip Balm: Dr Organic Pomegrante Lip Balm
Mascara: Lancome Hypnose in Black (although I picked up Collection 2000's Longer Lash Mascara in Intense Black the other day so I'm not really using my Lancome)
Skincare: The epic list of Origins I posted a while ago and the Amie Eye Make Up Remover
Deodorant: Nivea Double Effect 24hr

What are your everyday essentials?

New Lush Products reviews

So I have to say that for the first time in a long time, Lush have released some non-Christmas products that I want to buy. I got £20 worth of gift vouchers for my birthday and I also had a bit of money kicking around so I treated myself to some nice new (and some nice but not new) Lush treats. Apologies for using the Lush website pictures instead of my own - my camera lead has gone walk-about.

The Ex-Factor

Ok so this is basically a blue, gingerbread man shaped Butterball without the butter, but for some reason I really really like it. In my head, it has a depth about it that Butterball often misses. A slightly sexy muskyness and the vanilla isn't too cloyingly overpowering. The water turns a very satisfying bright blue and it's a nice quick, even fizzer.
Price: £1.95
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ out of 5.
Would I buy this product again? Yes

Happy Blooming Bath Melt

So you might have picked up that I'm generally not a fan of sickly or sweet smells. If it's meant to smell like honey or chocolate, I'll probably stay away. However, anything with a sparkling top note or a hint of fresh and zestyness and I'm there. Saying that, I think this falls somewhere between the two. It's a proper cherry sort of scent - fresh and juicy instead of sickly sweet. The idea with this new melt is that you snap off a triangle and chuck it in your bath whilst it's running to scent your water and moisturise your body. Whilst I didn't find the scent to be the strongest, I did find it to be reasonably strong and the melt itself provided a good level of moisturising without leaving you feeling like you just bathed in an oil slick.

Price: £3.60

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ out of 5

Would I buy this product again? Yes

 Geophyzz (compact)

First things first, I am so glad that I went for the compact version of this. I think that the full sized one would have just given me a migrane. On first sniff this has one very specific scent - toilet cleaner. However, as a long time Lushie and an ex-employee of my local store, I trusted the managers advice and gave it a try. I was actually quite surprised. Once you get this in the bath, the pine smell goes and is replaced with a zingy, spicy scent. I added a smidge of No Name Bubble bar from Christmas just to mellow it out a bit but generally, it was quite enjoyable! The only downside is that you're meant to be left with salt to scrub with but I didn't really have any :( Also, even though it's a compact ballistic, it still comes in at £2.45, which is quite expensive to my mind.
Price: £2.45
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ out of 5
Would I buy it again: Possibly, but I can't see it becoming a regular favourite.

Mint Julips Lip Scrub

I'll be honest, if I didn't have a gift voucher, I wouldn't have bought this. But with a gift voucher, I always think you should splash out on somethings you've never tried before and would never think of spending your own money on. Hence I went with this. The smell is gorgeous - like scrubbing your lips with After Eights. I actually find the result quite nice too - my lips feel softer and look a little more plumped. My issue is how you get rid of the sugar - do you lick your lips, wipe with your hand, sweep across with a tissue? There seems to be no good way of getting rid of the residue without ended up with sugar halfway across your face. Also, £4.50 for a tiny pot of sugar and oil? Pennies for old rope really.
Price: £4.50
♥ ♥ ♥ out of 5
Would I buy this again: Probably not to be honest unless the price came down considerably.

Daddyo Shampoo, Jungle Conditioner, Retread Conditioner

                         

Confession time - I've spent the last 5 or 6 months using naughty L'oreal shampoo and conditioner. I am a bad bad lady. Having realised this, I decided to switch to Faith in Nature, a company I've seen recommended in various places. Love the product but it hates me. It hates my hair, it hates my scalp ... it hates me. Loves The Husband thought, so I'm leaving him happily using it up. Anyway, I want into Lush and was chatting to an SA and asked for a sample of retread to see if that could fix my broken hair. One thing lead to another and I walked out with huge samples of retread, daddyo and jungle. Wow. That's all I can say. My hair was instantly transformed back into its old soft, shiny bouncy self. 

Daddyo gives amazing shine, smells utterly divine and is purple (which gives it instant extra brownie points). Jungle is my everyday conditioner, packed full of nummy tropical fruits. I have to say, I used this once before and hated it, but the SA in the store taught me how she uses it and it works. Take an empty big black lush pot, put your piece of Jungle inside and fill the tub with hot water as you start your shower/bath. When you condition, pour away the water (it doesn't matter if there's some left in the tub) and rub the bar between your hands - you should end up with a creamy goo on your hands. Smooth this over your hair (you don't need loads and remember that because this is solid conditioner, you won't see the difference until it's dry) leave on for about 30 seconds and then rinse. I've been doing this for the past week and have had no end of comments asking me if I've had my hair cut. It's given it back a bit of oomph again!

Finally Retread, the uber conditioner which is packed with just about everything your hair could ever want. This is my go to for a once a week treat (just be careful if you have oily roots as it's quite heavy going!) I slap this on, leave it for a couple of minutes and come away with gorgeously smooth and silky hair. It just gives it that extra boost and nourishment that you need to have truly gorgeous hair and I always think that it helps to bring out a few of my natural highlights as well (but then again, I might just be talking utter rubbish!)

Price: Daddyo - £4.30-£13.85, Jungle - £4.10/100g, Retread - £8.60

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ out of 5 for Daddyo and Retread ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ for Jungle for being a bit faffy

Would I buy again: Most definately. I went in and bought Daddyo and Retread straight away after using my samples and my when my huuuuuge Jungle sample is done, I'm pretty sure I'll be buying more of that too.