Beauty Shopping with Chemist 4 U

I am a bit of an impulse shopper and when I am browsing, researching a post or just looking for inspiration I often end up buying things I've read about on blogs or just randomly buy things I think I could like.

Chemists 4 U is one of the sites I have gone to on more than one occasion because you can find some absolute bargains with some products being much better priced. It is also as the name suggests an online pharmacy and it has the option of getting quite a few services such as the electronic prescription service. 

I love that the website is split into sections so you can find pretty much everything you need for numerous ailments. There is also a huge range of products to discover and lots of incredible brands featured within the beauty section and I was kindly given a store credit to the value of £30 to spend on cosmetics and it took me quite a long time to decide what I would really like to try but in the end I did manage to choose three items that I had read a lot about.

The first item was Juicy Couture Dirty English for Him.  Those of you who are not aware, I am married to BeautyKingUK and he has a bit of an obsession with aftershaves, so much so he has more than one option for every day of the month!  So to add to his collection, a brand he owns nothing from the brand. I wasn't too sure how this scent would work with the mister but he actually really liked it and am sure he will do a full post on it over on his own blog.

Dirty English opens with opens with peppered mandarin, blue cypress, Calabrian bergamot, cumin and cardamom which pakcs quite a punch and it is an instantly warming scent. The heart notes of marjoram and black leather accords are accompanied with sandalwood, Atlas cedar and vetiver root which are incredible together and brings the scent into a woody Citrus stance before the while base notes of agarwood, ebony, black moss and amber musk settle the fragrance.  Priced at £16.99 here, this is a great fragrance for those who are a fan of intriguing bottles and long lasting scents.

My second item comes from Elizabeth Arden, one of my favourite skincare brands, but instead of skincare I went for Lip Tint in shade Plum as it was the one which stood out to me the most and I do love a berry lip.   This Lip Tint has been described as being skincare for the lips and I am sure everyone has come across the Eight Hour collection from Elizabeth Arden by now. 

Enriched with emollients, protective sunscreen (SPF 15) and vitamin E, this Lip Tint glides onto the lips leaving behind a hint of colour as you swipe and what I love about it is how lovely it feels on the lips. I was expecting it to be greasy and slightly tacky to the touch, but it is neither of those. Priced at £9.49.

The Final item I chose comes from Maybelline and again is a product I have seen people rave about. The Fit Me Matte + Poreless Powder. It contains no oils or waxes and is said to give a natural coverage that leaves skin the way it was meant to be…fresh, breathing, flawless. 

For a highstreet powder, this is actually quite good, I haven't tried anything from Maybelline in some time now but have really liked using this and I do sometimes mix it with my setting powder as well.  Priced at just £2.89 I wouldn't have minded too much if this product wasn't as good as I had read it was, but it is.

I think Chemist 4 U is a great service whether you use it for prescriptions, advice or like me to grab a bargain.  Have you tried the site?

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page here

BYBI Babe Balm and Prime Time Facial Polish

BYBI Beauty, which stands for By Beauty Insiders are a new brand to me and one which I have enjoyed getting to know. BYBI Beauty is a 100% natural skincare from the founders of Clean Beauty Co and no only are they Cruelty -free and vegan but they are also microbead-free. 

What I really like about BYBI aside from the products is that they put real focus on using natural extracts from plants, nuts, flowers and seeds as opposed to using synthetic chemicals or ingredients in their formulations. 

To Celebrate the relaunch of Babe Balm and Prime Time in biodegradable tubes, we have put together a beauty Eco-pack to make sure that whilst we're looking glam we're also behaving sustainably. The beauty industry contributes a huge amount of plastic waste and we're keen to change that! Everything in this package is 100% biodegradable or recyclable and full of good Eco vibes. Our tubes are made of sugar cane, and while they look like plastic, they definitely aren't.

So, having just re-launched two of their cult products the Babe Balm and Priming Facial Polish, I was sent them to try and having read that they have also just switched from jars to biodegradable tubes this is something I think we will be seeing more of.

Prime Time Facial Polish is quite unlike anything else I have tried.  With a really thick gel like consistency it does feel slightly tacky when applied but that feeling doesn't last for too long because once it comes into contact with water, it softens slightly and because this amazing creamy scrub. The Scrub particles are jojoba beads which make for a great alternative to Microbeads and for me, I find a much gentler option for my skin as well as for the environment.

If you have dry skin or even dry patches of skin on your face, one of my main bug bears, then Prime Time is your best friend and it smells just incredible as it packed full of allantoin, apple and pineapple acids for a gentle and smoothing polish that removes dead and dry skin cells to leave your skin looking radiant and feeling soft and smooth to the touch.

Babe Balm is a multipurpose beauty balm that can be used as a highlighter, moisturiser or cleanser not to mention a cuticle oil, lip balm and it is perfect for using on the dry skin of your elbows, knees, hands and feet.  

Using ingredients such as Kokum butter, Monoi, Squalene, Hibiscus and Calendula all of which hydrates, softens and smoothes and it works alongside the balm’s hero ingredient Coenzyme Q10. On the skin, this balm has a slight peachy colour to it thanks to the inclusion of pink sweet potato extract which is kind of kooky.  On the skin, the texture is quite similar to Elizabeth Arden's 8 Hour Cream but with one slight difference, as soon as you begin to massage onto and into the skin it absorbs much quicker and I am glad to say that there is no greasy feeling left on the skin, in fact, the only reason I know it was ever there in the first place is the delightful feeling of how soft and smooth my skin is.  Again, if you do have those pesky dry patches, my tip is to slap this on quite thickly and leave it to absorb itself and it literally is amazing. I have even slathered my feet in it (I hate feet), put my moisturising socks on (one whole pound in Wilko) and left them overnight and the difference the following morning was phenomenal!

I think it is fair to say that I have become quite the BYBI fan and am excited to see what else they have in store.  Have you ever tried anything from them?

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page here

Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra 24H Foundation

Foundation is a product I am quite picky about and I am not the kind of girl who has bottles of the stuff around. In the Summer months I prefer a tinted moisturiser and then as the cooler weather arrives, something with a little more coverage, but not too much because I really dislike that caked on feel. However, for the last few months, I have been reaching for the Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra 24H Foundation in shade 021 Beige Jasmin which I was matched too and it is not a product I thought I would like or even ever try, but I absolutely love it and here is why.

Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra 24H Foundation is a full coverage but incredibly light foundation even though it has an SPF15, which is always welcomed. The formula which has what is called Eternalsoft Polymers, allow for an increased comfort level with ultra‑long wear. Then there are the NAI pigments which help to maintain consistent pH levels with the skin and in turn, this helps the colour stays true all day. The two interesting and perhaps most important ingredients are Perlite and Silica because they are two of the most effective oil‑absorbing ingredients and as someone with combination skin which leans to the oily side, excess oil can be a right pain.

The foundation comes with the claims of lasting up to twenty-four hours but unless you are planning to sleep in your makeup, I am not sure those are claims I can ever say are true. What I can say is that applying it in a morning does see it last right through into the evening, with only a minimum touch up needed around my nose, that in itself gets a huge thumbs up. The application is an absolute dream, it is streak free and I buff it onto my skin, after moisturising and priming using my Real Techniques Buffing Brush. It also covers the redness on my cheek amazingly, to the point where I am not grabbing for my green colour corrector, it also doesn't cling to dry skin in my experience and what I love love love about this foundation is that my face does not feel as though I have trowelled it on, always a winner in my book.

This is the first foundation I have ever used from Lancome and I am so impressed with it and am glad I have been lucky enough to give it a try. There are around 40 different shades of this foundation and usually retails for around £30 but LookFantastic.

Have you tried Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra 24H Foundation

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page here

Erborian Spray-To-Mask

Erborian is one of those brands that I have featured quite a lot on my blog, I love it, I like what it stands for and best all Katalin Berenyi, one of the women behind the brand whom I have had the pleasure of meeting on numerous occasions is so lovely and has this amazing passion when she talks about each product and such a kind heart. One thing about Erbrorian is that they always manage to come up with some amazing products - the black cleansing oil is one which still wows me even now with how my skin feels after using it. But now I have something new that wows, Spray-To-Mask.

Spray To Mask is the product that I think most people will want to know about and it is unlike any other product that I have used. Katalin explained that the use of lotions in Korea is part of a daily ritual that has become part of the essential skincare routine we now boast about here in the UK and across Europe.  I know I am all for changing and adapting my routine to make it work for my skin and I am not sure I will ever be that person who has a routine and sticks to it. However, if you have a multipurpose product that can do more than one job at any one time, then I am going to love it.

Inspired by hydrogel masks, Spray-To-Mask helps to revive even tired skin. When used it coats the top layer of skin, the epidermis, with a gel-like spray which is formulated using a natural gum. Once on the face, it forms a film and as it does so, its key active ingredients are released and working with the newly formed film, helps to seal the skin's moisture.  The key active ingredients include:

White Ginseng Complex: Antioxidant, smooth wrinkles, prevents signs of ageing, moisturizing, strengthens skin barrier function, protects the skin, soothing

• Ginseng root extract 
• Licorice root extract 
• Wild yam root extract 
• Kigelia fruit extract 
• Horsetail extract 

Glycerin: Moisturising, prevents skin dehydration

Niacinamide: Brightening, helps to maintain skin hydration, improves the appearance of ageing skin.

To use you simply need a quick spritz onto clean skin and you wait for a film to form, again if you have tried a hydrogel mask, then it feels pretty similar on the skin, though at no point does the mask harden on the skin. As you do apply it, you get that same feeling of freshness that comes with using a facial mist and if you read my blog regularly, you will know I am a huge fan of those.  Once on the skin, you leave Spray-To-Mask on the skin between five to ten minutes, you then wash it off using warm water.  The whole process is really simple to follow and afterwards, my skin feels just incredible and I love that it is a spray-to-mask and totally unlike anything I have ever seen or used.  It also comes in a 60ml tube and retails for £34.  

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page here