Skin & Tonic London Steam Clean

The one thing about beauty boxes that I absolutely love, is the opportunity and chance to try products that I might never come across. The beauty world is awash with lotions, potions, gels, scrub, rubs, serums, creams and liquids all promising to rewind time and leave you with baby soft skin.

Skin and Tonic London Steam Clean is one product I have absolutely loved using and I came across it in this Libbie Club box. Josh and Sarah created Skin & Tonic London after Sarah was diagnosed with endometriosis and began a journey of looking into what she was putting onto her skin and into her body. So Sarah began making her own skincare and finding herself unable to find a single product that was completely free from synthetics and preservatives, or silly-frilly names and promises. Instead, all I found was overt gender discrimination and huge amounts of excess packaging. There was nothing out there that was simple, straight-talking, organic and cool and decided to do something about it. She quit her career in TV and re-trained in Aromatherapy and Skincare Formulation and the end result was - Skin & Tonic was born.

Skin & Tonic London Steam Clean is a solid cleansing balm that thoroughly cleanses the skin. Not only that but it is a versatile little balm that can also be used as a nourishing moisturiser for dry skin and chapped lips too. What I love about this balm is that it contains only six ingredients: Beeswax, Grapeseed Oil, Thistle Oil, Borage Oil, Eucalyptus Essential Oil and Spearmint Essential Oil which all work together to lift dirt and grime, rejuvenate dull and tired skin and it smells absolutely divine. All of the ingredients are certified organic and contain no little nasties. It is also made by hand right here in the UK.

As you can imagine, the use of both Spearmint and Eucalyptus Oil gives this cleansing balm an amazing fresh mint scent which if you happen to be bunged up with a cold can act s a decongestant if you mix it with warm water and inhale the steam! On the skin, which is its main use, you need only a small amount to melt between your palms before gently massaging it onto dry skin. I also pre-wash my face first to remove any surface dirt and grime and to allow the balm to penetrate deeper into the skin to push everything out. Once on the skin, I leave it to sink in and work its magic for a good few minutes before washing it off using a warm clean face cloth. It works incredibly well at removing make-up and even waterproof mascara, it simple melts everything off to leave clean, soft skin which feels amazingly hydrated. It doesn't strip my skin to leave it feeling dry or dehydrated and nor does it irritate my skin, it is just a delight to use.

If you are looking to try a new balm cleanser then I cannot recommend Skin & Tonic London Steam Clean enough, plus there is a whole range of products to try alongside this one. The Balm costs £27 via Skin & Tonic London.

The Daily Soothe Bath Float from Soap and Glory

I picked up The Daily Soothe Bath Float from a recent blog challenge and it is one Soap and Glory product I had not tried from the range.  I'm not going to lie, Sugar Crush is my absolute favourite scent from Soap and Glory and given that Bath Float is scented with Mist you Madly, my second favourite scent, I knew I was going to love it.

Described by Soap and Glory as "Our new super-soothing, pre-bedtime foamy tub float is seductively scented, intensely relaxing, delightfully deluxe with luxurious long-lasting suds and sleep-inducing, muscle-relaxing and aphrodisiacal actives" it does smell incredible and is a perfect treat for some self-indulgent bath time.

To use you Scoop up a handful of The Daily Smooth and then swirl it under warm running water until it bubbles up. As soon as it comes into contact with warm (not hot) water, the pink pearlesque liquid turns into foamy bubbles and quickly fills the bath.  If like me you like bubbles in your bath, the this will not disappoint, you get lots of them.  Once in the bath, surrounded by the scent of Mist you Madly and it does make you want to drift off right there and then, it is so relaxing.

This is a great edition to my bath time routine and even the mister has taken a liking to it (sadly) and costing just £8 for a 300ml tube, it lasts for ages.  So next time you are in Boots struggling to what buy on a 3 for 2 offer (ha as if) then take a look at Soap & Glory because this was the best buy for ages!

Bee Good Raspberry & White Chocolate Lip Balm

You may remember some months ago that I posted here about a competition the fabulous Bee Good were hosting for one lucky blogger to come up with their dream lip balm which was won by Beauty Vlogger Joseph Harwood with his Raspberry and White Chocolate idea. Over 5000 people voted for this lip balm and here it is in all its glory.

Described as being a rich, deeply replenishing lip balm to repair, intensively condition and soothe dry chapped lips, it uses subtle, fruity raspberry notes which are balanced perfectly by the sweetness of the white chocolate. Not forgetting of course the inclusion of British beeswax, natural source vitamin E, British borage oil; a rich source of skin strengthening essential fatty acids and British echium oil to replenish dry skin.

So the lipbalm is encased in this raspberry shade tube, quite fitting for the product I feel and it has the slanted applicator which makes it really easy to use.  The balm glides onto the lips and almost immediately absorbs itself, it works really well as a primer before adding your lipstick too.  it is definitely moisturising and hydrating, something our lips are definitely going to need in these colder months.  The balm is also clear, so there is no hint of colour left on the lips and when it comes to the scent, it reminds me of those white chocolate mice you once got in a pick'n'mix with the red gooey middle, which I have to admit, I do really like.

This lipbalm launches later this month and will be priced at £4.75 which is an absolute bargain and you can find more about it right here. 

COLLECTION Dupes

Collection is the make-up brand I first ever used as a teen and as a brand it is one I have fallen back in love with, mainly because of these two products which team up as amazing dupes!

The Collection Gorgeous Glow Bronze Brick which costs just £3.99 is brilliant. There is a great range of shades from a highlighter to a much darker bronzer and they are all highly pigmented, much more so than I would have expected at that price. They are a velvety smooth powder formula which makes them really blendable. Then I have the Bobbi Brown Bronze Shimmer Brick, which I have duped before and whilst it is an incredible product, highly pigmented shades and as blendable as you want it to be, it costs £32.50.

If I had to choose a favourite, Collection edges it for me with this Glow Gorgeous palette because it highlights as well as bronzes and the shades are much more workable.

The Collection Speedy Highlighter, which is priced at £2.66 in Superdrug. As a Crayon it makes the job of adding some highlights to your face an absolute breeze and it is perfect for on the go. Then there is the Boots No.7 Instant Radiance Highlighter for which the Collection Speedy Highlighter is the perfect dupe and again I have duped this before. I love this No.7 Highlighter, it is has an amazing formula which dried incredibly quickly and creates an amazing highlighting effect and it costs just £9.95 but the Collection version is almost a third of the price!

Again this Collection offering is incredible, I absolutely love it and have already bought a back up in case I should run out.  It is so similar to the Boots No.7 version it is impossible not to love both, but the highlight that comes from Collection, as you can see below, is amazing and for me it is the winner of the two.

So these are the two current dupes that I am loving right now!  What do you think? Have you found any decent dupes lately?