Get the Benefit!

The one thing you might realise about me fellow bloggers is that I have a few obsessions in life - Lush, Soap and Glory and BeneFit, that is not to say I love everything they do, far from it, they are more like a security blanket for me and when I need something and am not sure what or where to go, those three are probably more often than not my fall back plan. I do love trying new brands and discovering new products as well though.

This post is about my love affair with BeneFit.  I am not a huge make-up fan nor am I the worlds most made up girl in the world.  It is true to say that I never leave the house without a bit of foundation (usually a powder), mascara, bronzer or blusher and lip balm.  Aside from that I tend not to experiment as much as I should because I am never sure what colours suit me and applying eyeliner is just something I cannot get the hang of, I can sit in front of a mirror for hours and not once get it right, I find it stressful, so just don't do it -  a fear I need to overcome.

So starting with my favourite Benefit travel set which is called 'The Big 10' and it looks like this:

This was given to me by a friend as a birthday gift and I absolutely love it, it has everything in there that you might want to try out or take on your travels with you because it is a travel set essentially.   Naturally it is called 'The Big 10' because it contains ten different products which are:

1. Erase Paste which in this set is No.2 medium and it is a 3.2g tub
2. Stay Don't stray which is a primer for your concealer or eyeshadow and it is lovely 2.5ml tube
3. Benetint which is a rose-tinted lip and cheek stain and again it is a 2.5ml tube
4. Posietint which is a poppy pink lip and cheek stain and again a 2.5ml tube
5. High Beam which is a luminescent complexion enhancer and a 2.5ml tube
6. Ooh La Lift another 2.5ml tube and it is an instant under-eye brightening boost
7. 'That Gal' is a brightening face primer and in a 7.5ml tube
8. Dandelion a 3g pot and it is a brightening face powder
9. Coralista another 3g pot and it is a face powder
10. Porefessional is a balm to minimise the pores and is in a 7.5ml tube

So all of these lovely products in one package and I do take them with me when I travel, that is why some look a little more battered than others.

Then... we move to my favourite products from BeneFit, the ones that are always in my make-up bag and my go to products when I feel the need and of course one new addition to my collection!!

Starting with She's so jetset which I got for Christmas from a friend of mine, this kit which I adore because it is so cute contains:

 a 7.5ml POREfessional (primer and pore minimiser), 0.14oz they're real mascara, 5.2ml Life on the A list Lipgloss, 0.1oz First-class face powder with brush and 0.25 eye shadow palette (with Champagne please (golden colour), Gold card (slightly lighter gold), Pretty in mink (mink of course?) and Elegant Espresso (a brown)

Then you can see Hoola which is my absolute favourite bronzer ever... it gives such good coverage, is easy to use and apply and I have had this box for about 2 years and I use it more or less everyday and I am almost at the end of it, by that I mean it will need replacing in the next 6 months and I intend to replace it.

BeneFit Fine One one which has become my latest addition thanks to a competition win has been used once since I got it and I love it, the colours look really orange when you see them on the stick, but once applied, they are really lovely.

Finally the top right hand side photo which contains the rest of my BeneFit kit.  Starting with Dr Feelgood, a face balm which I did a post about HERE then there is a very old version of Lemonaid which is an eyeshadow primer and it works really well even though it is a few years old.  Next comes They're Real which is my current favourite Mascara, I love everything about it and it makes my lashes look lovely and long. Hello Flawless is one of my favourite foundations and this was matched to me in Debenhams not long after it hit the shelves and I love it.  As well as the face powder you get a mirror, a brush and a sponge, it glides on wonderfully.  Finally there is Moon Beam that is described as being an iridescent complexion enhancer and you add it around your cheeks and brow bones to a warm shimmer.  I use this quite a lot because I like the look it gives to me and again this bottle is just over a year old and there is more than half the bottle left, such good value for money.

Now I just need to get my hands on Fake Up and I will be well and truly happy...

So there you have it, my BeneFit make-up collection which features a lot of my favourite products! 

      Which BeneFit products do you like and use the most?

Get Fresh...Get fruity

A while ago I wrote a post about the discovery of a new Radox Coconut Shower Gel which you can find HERE and along with Coconut there are two other fragrances to try - Cherry Blast and Berry Burst.  I was sent a package of all three Shower Gels and I have been using them for the past few weeks and here are my thoughts.

As you can see above, the three shower gels are all really nicely packaged and are certainly eye-catching and stand out amongst other shower gels on the shelves.

Starting with Cherry Blast which you can see on the left in this photo, it stands right out with its striking red packaging and with the picture of Cherries jumping right out at you, you can guess what it smells of.  Upon flipping the lid of this shower gel, I wasn't surprised to find that the shower gel was a lovely bright vivid red colour and as soon as it hits your skin alongside hot water it lathers instantaneously and turns the lather pink, for me this is joyous because I love pink and I love lather but what I wasn't expecting was the amazing aroma of cherries, not a chemical smell at all, but fresh ripe cherries there in my shower, simply divine.

What they say - "For girly girls who like to feel gorgeous all day long then use Cherry Blast: This cherry-licious shower gel containing juicy cherries, milk and citrus oils has a sweet, tantalizing fragrance that will invigorate your senses and energize you in the morning as well as leaving your skin feeling soft and smooth so you can feel gorgeous whatever the day throws at you."

Well it most certainly does smell cherry-licious and the scent lingers on your skin for hours, add to that it smells wonderful in your bathroom.

Coming next is Berry Burst and it is sold in a lovely shade of purple and on the front of the bottle are pictures of berries, so you are in doubt as to what it is.  As soon as you flip the lid, the first thing that hits you is the wonderful aroma which you can clearly detect as being a mixture of berries and it isn't subtle by any means.  Once you squeeze the tube, for me this is where I am slightly disappointed because the shower gel isn't the bright purple I was hoping for, with the two other shower gels in this range, the shower gel matched the packagaing, this shower gel was white in colour and very similar to Coconut Kiss which you can see above and below in the photos.

However, the colour of the gel aside, again as soon as the gel comes into contact with hot water, it promptly lathers and the berry aroma surrounds you and wafts its way through your home leaving behind a lovely lingering scent.

What they say - "If you live life in the fast lane why not indulge in Berry Burst: Scrub up in your shower with this sumptuous shower gel containing berries and milk. It's bursting full of energy so you will be feeling fully charged and ready to face the day with a spring in your step."

Again there is no doubt that this shower gel smells of a lovely burst of berries.

The Official Poster

These shower gels are currently on offer in local supermarkets and high street stores like Boots, though I would happily pay the full price of £2.15 for any of them.  You can find these products in Boots, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Savers.

And a little bit of science from a study done by Radox:

·         ‘Super’ power showers are costing the average family £928 a year and an individual person over £18,000 in their lifetime- the same as the average deposit for a terraced house in the UK.

·         Brits could save almost £10,000 in a lifetime, and over one million litres of water (1,514,240 litres) by halving their showers

I may have an addiction...

Soap and Glory is a phenomenon that I has hit us all in one way or another, I don't think I have come across anyone who hasn't used their products, loves their products and is like me, a little bit taken with them.

Whilst having a clear out of my wardrobe where I have some shelving inside for products, I was quite alarmed as to how much S&G stuff I had.  I do love their Christmas Gift Sets and am always straight in to buy one as soon as they are available because they are such good value for money and they last me pretty much all year round.

If you haven't heard of Soap and Glory (I mean really??) You can find out more about them HERE

Anyway, here I am showing my addiction:

So as you can see from the box above there is a whole lot of products in there, said box which is so full is missing two products which are:

The Breakfast Scrub which I have been using on my elbows, shins and knees where I have a few dry skin issues and of course the foot buffer which I love (though hate feet) to help get my feet in tip top shape for spring time FitFlop wearing.

Anyway... as for what is in said box...

As you can see there is a whole lot of Soap and Glory loving going on here... I was seriously surprised at how much I had here and that doesn't take into account the tube of Hand Food which is sat on my desk at work!

So we have in Picture one - Two 500ml Clean On Me™ Creamy Clarifying Shower Gel  and Smoothie Star™ Body Lotion 500ml  = £21

Picture Two - Hand Food™ Hand Cream 125ml x 2, 3 Heel Genius 25ml (well 2.5 tubes as one is half empty),  Pulp-Friction™ Foaming Fruity Body Scrub 250ml, and Face Soap & Clarity™ Foaming Face Wash 150ml - £51.50

Picture Three - Peaches And Clean™ Deep Cleansing Milk 200ml, Thick & Fast™ Mascara False Lash Effect Mascara Superjet black, Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Gloss, Off Your Face™ 3 in 1 Cleansing Cloths and Mist You Madly™ Body Spray 250ml and Soap and Glory Mits- £42

Picture 4 - Sugar Crush™ Body Scrub 300ml and 2 x The Righteous Butter™ Body Butter 300ml = £29

So there is quite a few products here... so I decided to add up how much all of this would cost me if I was to walk into Boots right now...

£143.50 

However, with the foot buffer and Breakfast scrub it takes the grand total

to £161.75 

This has seriously shocked me and tomorrow a friend of mine is bringing me in a new hand product called Endless Glove that I have been wanting to try, to be fair she bought it on a 3 for 2 and picked up two by mistake, so it is costing me nothing... but.... woah it is a lot of products and a lot of money!