MasqueBAR Charcoal Cleansing - Three New Releases

Following on from the success of their facemasks (review here) and indeed the Charcoal facemasks, Korean Skincare brand masqueBAR has launched three new charcoal cleansing products which I am sharing with you today.  This bundle of products arrived before Christmas and rather than rush out a review, I again wanted to actually give them a try and get some thoughts on how they work.  My skin absolutely loves products which contain Charcoal, so I had high hopes for these.

The first product is the Charcoal Cleanser (£10) and it is described as being a Charcoal foam cleanser which draws out the dirt and excess oil that can clog pores.  Suitable for most skin types, this cleanser uses Charcoal Power, Oatmeal Extract and Rice Bran Oil as its main ingredients.  

When it comes into contact with water, the cleanser foams very slightly to produce a soothing, gentle foam which works to lift impurities, detoxify and purify the skin, leaving it feeling fresh and rather than stripping the skin and leaving it taut and dry to the touch, I find my skin feels incredibly soft and smooth.

The second product is the Charcoal Exfoliating Pads and these are my favourite of the three products. These duel-sided pads are specially designed to sit on your fingers to make them easy to use. Formulated with Charcoal Powder, blackberry fruit extract and primrose flower extract which come together to cleanse, renew and refresh the skin.  

The first time I used these pads I was quite taken aback that once out of their sachet they are black in colour, as you would expect them to be given that Charcoal is the main ingredient, however, once you massage them around the face, the pads turn white and on them you can see the impurities that have been removed from your skin.

The final product in this trio is the Charcoal Cleansing Wipes (£10) and it has taken me a while to get used to using a wipe again because it is something I stopped using completely years ago, but intrigue got the better of me with these.   

The wipes, of which there are 30 in a packet, are black in colour and are enriched with Charcoal Powder, Vitamin E and Bamboo Extract these wipes remove absolutely everything from your face, even waterproof mascara and again, rather than leave your skin feeling taut and dry because your skin has been stripped of everything, my skin felt soft and smooth to the touch.

If you are a fan of Charcoal products, have been wanting to give Charcoal products a try or love masqueBAR and these products intrigue you, then you can find them via Urban Outfitters, Skinnydip London and soon to come to ASOS.

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

Spectrum Brushes Launch 'The Little Mermaid' Collection

I am a massive Disney fan (Disnerd alert) and for the past three years, I have been enjoying all that there is to offer at Disneyland Paris with my Twin nephews whom this year will be 4 and whom yet again, I shall be enjoying some Disney Magic.   Taking all of that into account, imagine my excitement when an email landed in my inbox titled Spectrum X Disney The Little Mermaid Range! Well, I was more excited than a Scuttle with a Dinglehopper!

Available right now alongside other Disney Collections, this limited edition collection takes its inspiration from The Little Mermaid with the majority of the collection being centred around both Ariel and Ursula as the lead characters for the merchandise. There are four bags within the collection which make up a Clam Shell (above), Conch Shell Case which features Ursula in all her purple glittery glory, two super cute makeup bags again one with Ariel and one with Ursula and then finally A Treasure Chest which again features Ariel and it has enough room for your brushes and is described as being the most mermazing place to store all your whozits, whatzits and thingamabobs.

Obviously fantastic though the merchandise is, Spectrum is all about their amazing makeup brushes and this collection features two different types.  The first is probably the one which you have seen featured on a lot of Instagram feeds and that is the 5-piece Dinglehopper Collection (£64.99) and it has a Foundation Brush, Contour Brush, Blush brush, Highlight Brush and a Concealer brush.  

What makes them different to the other Spectrum brushes is that they all have an Oval shaped brush head to them and naturally they are just beautiful to look at.

The second set of brushes are either Green or Purple, depending upon whether you favour Ursula over Ariel! I was gifted a set of the Ariel brushes and I am calling them Ariel brushes because with their green body and red brush it represents the mermaid tail and her red hair - clever huh!

The set which features ten brushes includes:

• B01 - Flat Top Buffer
• A01 - Large Domed Powder
• A04 - Tapered Setting
• A10 - Small Fan
• B05 - Luxe Blender
• B06 - Tall Tapered Blender
• B04 - Small Angled Blender
• A18 - Oval Concealer
• A12 - Fluffy Pencil
• A17 - Angled Brow

As with other Spectrum brushes, each one of these is so incredibly well made, they feel nice when using them and the bristles are made from the highest quality of synthetic hair.  There are also a couple of other makeup bags that are available and come without the brushes and are priced at £24.99 so it is a much more affordable option and you can use them as clutches too.

You might have seen by now that Spectrum Brushes have their own store right here in London on Carnaby Street and it is just stunning.  

I went along with Annie from Musings of a Makeup Junkie and you can see how amazing the store looks from her photos too.

Are you a fan of The Little Mermaid? 
Are you excited about any of the recent collections?

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

Temple Spa In The Beginning, Deep Cleansing Melt

With the mantra "Your Body Is A Living Temple. Honour It. Enjoy Your Life and Live It To The Full" and that really is quite something from Temple Spa.  A brand who started over two decades ago right here in the UK, it is quite amazing to see just how many products there are within the collection.  Whether you want something for stress problems, sleep enhancing, detoxing or hydrating there is something for you, as well as looking for products per issue and concern such as redness and sensitivity, oiliness, combination or sensitive to name to just a few.

Over the past few months, I have been using a few products from across the product range and it has been quite the eye opener as to how good some of these products are.

The first product is the award-winning, In The Beginning, Deep Cleansing Melt (£30 here). Described as being a nourishing face balm and cleanser that thoroughly cleanses and gently exfoliates leaving a clean, dewy complexion.

I am a huge fan of balm cleansing and this one has been an absolute delight to use. It has a buttery texture which melts onto the skin and within the formula are little beads which gently exfoliate the skin as the balm melts away makeup, dirt and grime. Once finished, I loved that this balm didn't leave my skin feeling taut, dry or stripped but instead it was soft and smooth to the touch. 

This Cleansing Balm has three key ingredients which are Vitamin E which helps to soften skin and replenish dehydrated skin and maintain its oil balance, it reduces water loss to the transepidermal layer which improves the appearance of rough, dry and damaged skin. Olive Fruit Extract which is not only packed with antioxidants which protect the skin against free radicals and environmental damage which causes premature ageing but it also penetrates the skin, locking in moisture and softening and smoothing the skin. It has a cleansing as well as hydrating effect, restoring skin and leaving it supple. The final key ingredient is Calendula Fruit Extract which protects and restores dry and damaged skin from dehydration and premature ageing. It nourishes, softens and moisturises skin.

What I have absolutely loved about this balm is how it leaves my skin feeling after using and just how effective it is at removing everything on my face.  There is always that dread when you use a nice, fresh and clean Muslin cloth at how dirty they look after using and honestly, this made me feel as though I had never bothered to wash my face.  So, if you are looking for a new Cleansing Balm, Temple Spa has one which is brilliant and it is this one.

Have you tried anything from Temple Spa?

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

Face Halo - The Modern Makeup Remover

Do you often find yourself just randomly putting items into your basket in Boots through intrigue? It is something I am always guilty off, those little pop-up stands always manage to catch my eye with some brands and new releases and one of those was Face Halo, which I featured in my Stocking Filler Gift Guide.

Face Halo is described as being the new cult beauty makeup remover that professional makeup artists, celebrities and women worldwide can’t live without. The brainchild of Lizzie and Bec, who between them have 7 children and they wanted a solution to the over-complicated, messy and tedious way to remove makeup that is both safe and environmentally gentle  - that solution is Face Halo.

The Face Halo works using either cold or warm water. The water loosens your makeup which allows the HaloTech fiber strands (which are 100 times finer than a human hair) to reach deep into your pores to remove and trap makeup, giving your skin a healthy and invigorating clean in half the time. You don't need to rub or scrub, it is incredibly gentle on the skin and it is also dual-sided.

If you have a lot of eye makeup and waterproof mascara on, the best way to use the Face Halo is to ensure it is it is wet and then simply hold it for around 30 seconds to wipe it all away. 

What intrigued me the most with Face Halo is the fact that it is reusable and claims to replace up to 500 traditional makeup wipes during its lifetime. Now, I don't use makeup wipes, other than for removing swatches off my hand and arm, but I do love that this is an alternative and it is easy to keep clean. After using my Face Halo, I wash it with soap and water and simply allow it to air dry, if I have worn a lot of makeup, I have put it in the washing machine and it has kept in perfect condition.

The Face Halo costs just £7 (here from Boots) or as a pack of three, priced at £18 (here from BeautyBay)

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