Amie Mineral Bronzer – Sun Bronzed

Most of you will be familair with the skincare brand Amie which I have mentioned on this blog quite a few times with the Cooling Clay Mask, Skin wipes, Skin Shield, Morning skincare routine and the skin polish all of which I have loved discovering.

Amie is the French Word for a friend and the skincare company of a woman named Fiona Parkhouse who used to work for Estee Lauder. She had an idea about making skincare products for her daughter and says the reason she decided to do this was because she wanted something that would "respect her still child-perfect skin but deal with the changes that puberty was starting to bring, such as increased oiliness and breakouts. But I didn't want her using harsh, aggressive chemicals or medicated products. I wanted a natural range that would be gentle yet effective, appealing and affordable". Not only that, but every product within the Amie range is suitable for vegetarians and vegans because there are:

• No parabens 
• No mineral-oils 
• No petrochemicals 
• No sodium laureth sulphate or sodium lauryl sulphate 
• No ingredients of Genetically Modified Origin 
• No animal testing 
• No animal ingredients 
• All products are suitable for vegetarians and vegans 

Amie have now introduced 100% Mineral Make-up to their expanding range with foundation and bronzer and I have been lucky enough to use the bronzer** for some time now and I am really impressed with it.

Described as follows:

Amie’s Mineral Bronzer is the perfect way to achieve a healthy-looking, sun-kissed glow using 100% pure natural ingredients.

Available in ‘Sun Bronzed’, a beautiful medium shade that will suit most skin tones, Amie’s Mineral Bronzer gives a light, sun-kissed glow to the skin. It has a shimmer finish with light-reflecting mica that brightens and gives you a beautiful, healthy radiant look.

When I first opened the tub, which features a screw on and off lid, I was quite surprised at how dark it looked.  As someone who has pale skin, I was worried that this would be far too dark for my skin tone.  However, once applied I was pleasantly surprised because with a bit of work using my bronzer brush (of which I need a new one) you can blend it into something you feel comfortable with.

Hopefully you can see from the three swatches above when it is first added to my skin, slightly brushed and then blended in so there is a very light bronzed look on my skin, I haven't quite perfected taking photos of my face yet, but once I do the photos will get updated.

I am really impressed with this bronzer, if I apply it as I do everything else in a morning for going to work, it lasts all day long if I use a primer and that can be between 7-9 hours, if I don't use a primer (yes yes I know) then it lasts for around 5 hours before needing a touch up.  it costs just £14 and you can see it HERE.

Have you tried this bronzer from Amie? Have you tried any product from within the Amie range?

Introducing Coal Harbour!

I first noticed Coal Harbour via a giveaway they were hosting on Instagram and from there I found them on Facebook and then on Twitter.  Described as follows:

"Coal Harbour is the home of luxury bathing products. We ensure that all our products will leave you feeling pampered, renewed and more than a little special"

Their website is full of mouthwatering products which look good enough to eat, when actually what you do is enjoy them in the bath and what I like about them is their four main founding principles which are:

• ALL products must be handmade in Britain. 
• Must NEVER be tested on animals. 
• Should be kind to your skin. 
• Luxury does not mean expensive.

All of which I agree with. those of you who read this blog regularly will know and have read about my love for both Lush and Bomb Cosmetics, I love nothing more than finding a pretty bath product to help me unwind and relax whilst enjoying copious amounts of bubbles or fantastically bright coloured bath water to will away the daily stress of life.

To give you an insight into the kind of products you can purchase via Coal Harbour, this delightful package** made its way into my hands this past week and after a particularly horrid day, it more than put a smile on my face:

So as you can see, not only is it amazingly packaged and every item totally secure, inside are the following products:

Zingy Koala Bath Bomb - Transport yourself to the land down under with our Zingy Koala Bath Bomb. Brimming with Lemon nd Eucalyptus fragrances this bomb will be a firm favourite, just like the furry Koala.

Ugly Duckling Bath Bomb - You are a swan! A gleaming, white blaster with skin conditioning cocoa and shea butters. With kukui nut oil and pure geranium essential oil, both renowned for their skin benefits.

Creamy Candy Bubble Bar - From Lush and it smells so wonderful of candy, as soon as you open the packet within which it is carefully wrapped, the scents come alive.  If you’d normally reach for a sweet treat to lift your mood, this bubble bar does just the job. Its sweet candy floss smell raises your energy levels and perks you up. It also offers extra moisturisation than the average bubble bar as it has a blend of almond and cocoa butter. Creamy Candy contains almond oil and butter chunks that melt onto the surface of the water, giving skin a velvety texture.

The final item 

Rejuvenate Bath Salts - drift away from the stress of the day and get your perk back with our rejuvenate bath salts. Packed with May Chang, Tea Tree and Juniper pure essential oils, this special blend will have you back on top in no time.  These salts smell absolutely divine, not to mention how fantastic the orangey colour is, I cannot wait to try these out.

Naturally there is a lot more to Coal Harbour than I am sharing with you right now, if you love candles, funky soap, face masks, bubble bars and even products for the man in your life, I am sure you will have a basket full of products from Coal Harbour within a matter of minutes, especially if like me, you love products like the ones I have shared with you today.

If you spend over £30 postage is free or just a tiny £3.99 if your order is under this and for your very first order, Coal Harbour offer 10% off your order, which is surely worth my tempting you!

Have you ever purchased anything from Coal Harbour?  Have I tempted you?

Shopping my Haul...

I have just taken part in a beauty blogger swap and all of the details will appear in a new post in due course.  

One of the best things about taking part in the swap is shopping for bits and pieces that your swappee will hopefully really like.  When I went to buy the bits for my box there was quite a lot of bargains to be had I found and well erm yes I did do a little bit of a mini haul and this is what I bought.

You might have guessed by now that I am a bit if a lip balm addict and can never have too many of them.  So when I saw this eos lip balm on offer in a 99p store for you guessed it 99p there was no way I was going to leave it behind and as I am yet to try these out for myself, I am looking forward to opening it.  

I also picked up this Papaya Gold Paw Paw Balm in Boots which was on offer and I got with a voucher I had lurking in my purse (winning) so instead of being £5.99 I got it for just £1.99. Described as Being a Moisturising Balm enriched with Bio Active Manuka Honey 20+, is a topical balm that soothes, relieves and moisturises dry, sensitive, chaffed and irritated skin and dry chapped lips. Can be used by people who are prone to eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis. Also suitable for children.

Also in the 99p I came across this Ohyo collapsable water bottle which I have reviewed before on this blog HERE and they are just so handy to have in your handbag, especially if like me you drink a lot of water but don't want to have to keep big bottles in your bag.

The next item I managed to get my hands on was this W7 In The Buff palette which has made its way into many blog posts that I have read and in the local shopping centre that I went too there is a W7 stall and they had a sale on, this palette cost me just £2.99 when it usually retails for around £6, so I think I have got myself a bit of a bargain here.

 Next on my list was this set of four reed diffusers from Marks and Spencer and again I had a voucher that needed to be used up, so I ordered them online and went to collect in store, they retail for £25 and cost me nothing essentially.  I love have reed diffusers around the house and these scents appealed to me more than anything else and I can't wait to open them and give them a try.

The final item from my haul comes from TK Maxx, it is always dangerous going in there because I never seem to leave empty handed, admittedly I did not go in there for the item below which is a hard case keyboard for my iPad, but when I saw it had been reduced from £79.99 to just £9.99 I was not going to leave it behind and having opened it and used it already, I am not quite sure how I have managed without it before now.

So there you have my little mini haul which cost all of £17 instead of £126.96 and therefore I think I have got myself quite a few bargains!  What do you think?

Have you shared a haul recently? Link me below in a comment so I can come along and read.

Glossybox April - Sweet Treats!

So my Glossybox has arrived for April and again, this month is a themed box and it is called Sweet Treats and Glossybox have said in their magazine that with the official start of summer nearly on our doorstep, we have a box edit this month of beauty heroes that we hope will become your handbag essentials for the warmer months ahead.  So this is my box.

My first thoughts are hmmm I have seen some of these items in other boxes and I am intrigued as to what some of them are, so we have:

He-Shi Professional Tanning Face and Body Gel - A High performance self-tan that includes vitamin B5 and aloe vera for a gorgeous glow that nourishes the skin.  My only issue with this is that I have medium and as someone with pale skin, would I end up looking like an extra from TOWIE if I used it? Probably, so it is going to go to a good home.  This is a travel sized edition at 50ml and has an RRP of £7.95

MeMeMe Beat The Blues Pearl Pink - An essential for your make-up bag, this product is designed to highlight all your best features.  I needed a new highlighter as Moon Beam by Benefit has just run out and I really liked that, so now I have something new to try.  This is a 12ml sample with an RRP of £5.50

TRESemme Instant Refresh Cleansing Dry Shampoo - Well I have said before that I am not a fan of this range, but am prepared to give the dry shampoo the benefit of doubt. This is a 100ml can which is great for your handbag, though a full size is only 200ml would cost £4.99 making this worth around £2.50

Monu Spa Warming Ginger Massage and Body Oil - I am a big fan of the Monu range and have to date tried some fabulous products from them.  This little number is said to leave your skin luxuriously smooth and supple.  Thankfully the ginger scent isnt too overpowering because it is a scent I really dislike.  This is a 30ml sample and is worth around £7.50

The final item in my box is the Emite Make-up Li Brush L312 - This is a slanted lipbrush which is perfect for precise and professional looking make-up application.  The brush is made of synthetic Taklon hair which, as well as being allergy free, is easy to clean after use.  This has an RRP of £17.

So there you have, that is my box which is worth around £40, what do you think? I am actually sat on the fence with this one, I don't love it but I don't dislike it either.  

Next month's Glossybox is a collaboration, but with whom we do not yet know...