Bodhi and Birch Neroli Lucé Revitalising Face Oil

Facial oils have become something if a fascination to me, ever since I was first introduced to them by balance me a good few months ago.  As something with combination skin leading towards the oily side, I never would have imagined that I could use a face oil, always believing that it would leave my skin looking more like an oil slick than ever before, turns out I was very wrong about that and infact my skin reacts really well to all of the oils I have tried so far.

Bodhi is a company I am slowly learning about as I make my way through some of their products. Having fallen for their Mint The Refreshing Bath and Shower Therapy which I've shared HERE, I have equally become quite fond of the product I am sharing with you today and that is the Neroli Lucé Revitalising Face Oil.

Described as follows:

Revitalise and rebalance with skin-toning Tunisian Neroli, rejuvenating Frankincense and restorative Sea Buckthorn oil.

Instantly absorbed to nourish and hydrate skin leaving it toned and radiant without feeling greasy. Vital vitamins, antioxidants and essential fatty acids help revive a lacklustre complexion, increase elasticity, boost resilience and rebalance the skin’s natural hydration system.

So as an oil it is quite surprising that it doesn't leave your skin feeling oily, that was always my fear, instead what it does is immediately absorb itself into your skin, almost on contact.  Bodhi say this oil will do many things and these are just some them:

• Combat oily zones and eradicate dry patches - well yes it does, much more than I hoped it world and my dry cheeks have been banished and at the end of a working day my nose and the rest if my tone no longer have a shine to them.
• Help to tone, tighten and refine pores - I don't have this problem anyway (I don't thin) so I can't really comment on whether it does or not
• Rebalance the skins natural hydration system - I have to say that when I do use this, my skin feels wonderfully soft and smooth all day long

The most important thing for me about this oil is the scent, no matter how good something is, if I don't like the scent of it, chances are I won't use it.  This however I do really really like the scent of, it is one of those uplifting scents that makes you go "aaahhh" as you smell it and it uses a whole range if ingredients. 

Starting with Neroli which is sourced in Tunisia, Neroli is sourced from bitter orange tees and more importantly their fragrant blossoms.  Add to that:

• Frankincense which you can most definitely smell and as an oil it helps with the general skin tone and condition while reducing oily skin, rejuvenating the more mature skin.
• Sea Buckthorn oil is used to help boost the healing of skin and help combat wrinkles
• Grapeseed Oil is a lightweight oil which absorbs super quick into the skin and it helps encourage the production of elastin and hyaluronic acid.  It is also said to help the skin retain firmness and you fullness for longer
• Apricot Kernel Oil is known for its abilities to soothe and nourish the skin wilts helping it to retain elasticity and suppleness, not to mention the fact it is rich in 6 Vitamins including A, and E
• Jojoba which helps to balance your sebum production, unclog pores and is anti-inflammatory to boot.
• Finally there is Evening Primrose Oil which helps to restore brighteness to the skin without clogging your pores.

Naturally there is more information to be had about each and every one of those ingredients which can be found online.

The oil itself is exactly that, it is an oil and it has a similar constituency to Olive oil and on your skin, which is likely to be quite warm it can become quite runny, so with that in mind, one squirt of the pump is more than enough to cover your entire face.  The instructions for using this oil are that you should use it both morning and evening after cleansing and toning and massage one to two pumps over the face, blending from your décolletage up to your forehead. You can also use this oil under make-up to help even out your skin tone and reduce the mid-day shine.

Again it has this quite striking orange colour to the oil and as I've said, I am a huge fan of its scent, it is quite powerful when you first release some, but as you massage into the skin a the scent settles down and is really quite lovely, it is one of those scents that would make the most amazing distressing candle to burn when you need some time out to relax and forget about whatever it was.

If like me you were and still are sceptical as to whether it not facial oils would work for you, I can only urge you to reach out and try one, I am so glad I did because it gives me a whole new field of products to use and this one in particular is especially wonderful and is one I wouldn't hesitate to purchase for myself (after making my way through the rest of the range).

If I have managed to convince you to try this product then you can find this amazing oil for £32 (for 15 ml) on the Bodhi website.

Have you tried Bodhi? What did you think?

Protection from the sun!

With all the gorgeous weather we have had recently, I decided to try out a new SPF I’ve been waiting to review – MyChelle Dermaceuticals Sun Shield Unscented SPF 28**.  The product arrived packaged inside a lovely green and white cardboard box and everything you need to know about the product is clearly visible on the box.  Inside there is a 68ml plastic squeezy tube which is perfect for carrying in your handbag ready to top up during the day.

Described as "MyChelle Dermaceuticals Sun Shield SPF 28 is an unscented, environmentally-safe, full spectrum UVA/UVB sun defense that offers powerfully effective protection, yet is gentle enough for infants* and non-irritating near the eyes. Translucent Zinc and Titanium Dioxides provide a safe alternative to harsh chemical sunscreens".

Us Brits love nothing more than moaning about the four wonderful seasons that we have, I personally am a huge lover of all the seasons and I am never one to complain once the sunshine comes out, that said I am always conscious about sunscreen and am the kind of person to always be wearing it and carrying some in my handbag.  

I applied it in a morning before going outside, as instructed to do and then every few hours during the day.  The Cream itself is quite thick and luxurious but absorbs itself quickly into the skin and the best part is that it has no 'sunscreen' smell that you associate with suncream, something I have to admit I am not a fan of.  Once applied onto the skin there is no stickiness or tacky feel left behind, another pet hate of mine when it comes to sunscreen and it also left my skin feeling moisturised.

As I have mentioned, this product is completely unscented and uncoloured and because it is made entirely from natural ingredients there are no harsh chemicals. Infact this product is also:

• Cruelty Free
• Vegan Friendly
• Gluten Free
• Recyclable 

Add to that it also contains Aloe Vera and Vitamin E to help reduce signs of sun-induced irritations.

I have quite fair skin and tend to wear a factor of between 25-30 depending on where I am, some people might think that is a tad high for the UK but having once burnt rather badly on my shoulders, it is not a pain I intend to go through again.  Whilst wearing this suncream, even by the sea, I did not burn, so for me it definitely offered the relevant sun protection, especially on my shoulders and face.

MyChelle Dermaceuticals Sun Shield SPF 28 retails for £19.50 and is available to buy here.

Do you wear a high factor SPF? 

This post also appeared on Futures by Bex you can see HERE

Sculptresse by Panache

There's no denying it, I have big boobs, always have had, always will have. Over time I've learnt to live with them and accept they are part of me, something I have, in the past struggled with.  That said buying bras is something I find more difficult, infact out of all the clothes I do buy, it is buying bras I find most painful and most stressful.  Why is it that because I have big boobs I should have to pay a lot more for my bras? I often dream of being able to wear those cute little sets in Ann Summers, which is never going to happen.

I have a few must haves when it comes to buying a new bra 

• It must fit, now that might sound obvious but there are so many women out there who clearly wear the wrong size and it's annoying, so to ensure I am buying the right size once a year at the very least, I go and get myself measured to make sure I do buy the right size.
• I must like the bra. Well it might fit but if I don't like the style or the colour not to mention the pattern, then I'm not wearing it.
• Matching knickers.  Yes they must match, I cannot wear a black bra and pink knickers unless those knickers are in some way related to that bra, it's like wearing odd socks, it just feels wrong.

A few weeks ago, the lovely people at Panache sent me this beautiful package and as soon as I opened it I knew I was going to love it:

It is from the Sculptresse Range and it is called Bellise which you can find HERE.  It is described as follows:

"Feel beautiful with Bellise. In an on-trend feathered animal print with subtle feminine detailing this balconnet bra provides an uplifted and supportive shape from a 36-46" back D-J cup. The back straps sit closer together to ensure they stay in position and sit comfortably on the body without slipping. The soft padded straps are fully adjustable, ensuring maximum comfort and adjustability for your perfect fit".

Wearing it, fear not I am not sharing those photos with you, it is really comfortable, particularly under my boobs where it sits flat against my chest and then on the top of my shoulders where the straps sit so comfortably without digging into my skin.  Across my back again the clasp sits flat against the middle of my back and again doesn't dig into my skin.  The cups are also the perfect size, they don't pinch, squash or hang loose, they literally give me the support that I crave and I feel confident when wearing it, those girls with the same problem I have will know what I mean by that, but there is nothing worse than buying a bra and it doesn't give you any kind of support and instead allows too much movement which becomes painful.

For me, this is an absolutely perfect bra and it is accompanied by a pair of knickers which not only match the bra but are also just as comfortable to wear, they fit nicely and don't feel tight anywhere. I just love them and I love the bra.

To purchase a bra from this range it will cost around £36 which is the amount I would usually be paying from places such as Debenhams anyway and you can find a local stockist on the Panache website by clicking here.

                                                         Where do you go to for your lingerie? 

                          I you have a large chest like me, where do you buy your underwear from?

My Pandora Win

For Christmas I did a blog post on all of the things I was very lucky to receive from Santa which you can see HERE and as part of that those Christmas gifts I had obviously been a very good girl because I got this beautiful item:

Yes, I joined the Pandora club and even now I absolutely love it and cannot wait to add charms to it, the urge to run into Pandora and buy everything is overwhelming.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to win a Pandora Charm as part of a mother day giveaway and whilst I never did expect to win, I was so when it arrived you can only imagine the huge smile on my face, I mean who doesn't want a package from Pandora?  Inside my package was this beautiful charm which is called Abundance of Love and it is described as follows:

An enchanting new Sterling Silver charm filled with Lots of Tiny Love Pink Enamel Hearts, two of which are 14K Gold. New for Mother's Day 2014.

Here is that amazing charm, on my bracelet with my other one:

So there you have my very own Pandora bracelet and now I have two beautiful charms.

Do you have a Pandora Bracelet? Do you have a charm which is special to you?

Rare London | Clothes I Simply Can’t Live Without

When I was tagged to take part in this competition by Kate whose entry you can see here  - Clothes I simply cannot live without, it really did give me something to think about.  I am sure you all have clothes that you cannot live without and I would love you all to tell me what they are in the comment section below. 

Rare London have this fabulous competition which you can enter to showcase your favourite piece, and in doing so, you could be in with a chance of winning a £200.00 voucher!  with that in mind, this is my favourite dress

I am sure most of you will agree that every wardrobe needs a black dress, and I found this extract on the birth of the LBD facinating

Perhaps more than any other piece of clothing, the little black dress is, women have been told, the essential, the one that will take you practically anywhere. And perhaps more than any other designer, Coco Chanel was the one who made it ubiquitous. She did not invent the concept, of course, but according to Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life (by Justine Picardine, $40, amazon.com), “the little black dress was not formally identified as the shape of the future until 1926, when American Vogue published a drawing of a Chanel design.… It was an apparently simple yet elegant sheath, in black crêpe de Chine, with long, narrow sleeves, worn with a string of white pearls; and Vogue proved to be correct in the prediction that it would become a uniform.…”  and you can read more about this HERE

So, for me a LDB is simply a must have item of clothing and one I couldn't live without.   I do happen to have 4 or 5 differently styled ones as you can see from the photograph below

From that selection there is one of them that I wear more than any other which is this one:

Source

It comes from the Junarose collection on ASOS and I got it in the sale for just £13 reduced from £22 and the reason why I love it so much is because it is just one of those items that I can dress down and wear it daily when I am going to work or if I have a meeting I can add a jacket to it to make it look a little bit smarter.  

Then if I am going out in an evening I can accessorise it a lot more and make it look really fabulous be it with jewellery, my going out bag and a variety of other items of clothing that I own, including my favourite pair of shoes, shown below.

I am not one of those people who keeps up very well with the latest fashion trend, I envy those of you who do and continue to look fabulous, but for me, being comfortable in what I am wearing matters a lot more and it gives me confidence knowing that I actually look really good in something that to the naked eye might look a bit plain, but with a little bit of effort can look totally fabulous.

If you would like to enter this great competition with Rare London, you can do here and you will also find all guidelines too.

As this competition states that I need to tag three of you, I nominate

Kimberley @kimberleyj77

Keeley @phatcupcake

and finally Louise @Staceysmum84

This competition Ends April 30th and if you have entered, please let me know in the comments so I can come and have a look.

Yves Rocher Comme une Evidence Eau de parfum

Perfume is one of the things I love in life and I am quite choosy about what I like and what I don't like, so when I was sent some Yves Rocher Comme Une Evidence Eau De Parfum** to review I was initially quite nervous that it wouldn't be something I liked.

Packaged inside a dusty pink coloured box, The bottle looks to be slightly plain until you look a little more closely whereupon which it is made of quite chunky glass and when the sun shines on it, you can see just hows pink the bottle is and one of the first things I noticed was the solidness of the bottom of the bottle where the pink colour is more evident.  

This perfume features two of my favourite scents -  Rose and Jasmine and for me these are the two most detectable scents within the perfume.  Working with:

• Top notes of both bergamot and violet leaves. 
• Heart notes: rose, jasmine, wild lily of the valley
• Base note: patchouli

All these come together to create a lovely perfume. Once it has been spritzed onto the skin, the rose and jasmine for me really come to life to make it a wonderful spring and summer scent and the fragrance itself on the skin lasts pretty much all day when I am wearing it.  

So from a perfume I initially didn't think I would like, it has become one that I absolutely love and I would definitely want to check out more perfumes from this range.

What's your perfect Spring/Summer scent? 

You Beauty Discovery Box - April Edition

For the past few months I have been getting the You Beauty Discovery Box which you can see here and here with previous box contents.  This month my third box has arrived and I have said I am just as impressed.

This months box is themed "Organic and Natural" and when I got my email to let me know my options for selection was now ready, I logged straight in with excitement to make my choices and I am so chuffed I got the products I really really wanted to try.

As I have said before, I love is how the box fits through my letterbox, it is packed really delicately and the box really study:

Within the magazine which comes with the box we are told that the April shortlist (of products) has been inspired by the arrival of a new season and the prospect of the first glimpses of sunshine.   So with the theme of Organic and Natural the choices between the products included Steamcream Moisturiser, Melvita Moisture-replenishing Night Nectar, Melvita ultra-nourshing Cream, Inka Mineral Eyeshadow, Green People Vita Min Fix 24 hour Cream, Fom London Body Contouring Cream, Essential Care Creamy Coconut Cream, Dr Organic Dead Sea Mineral Eye Rescue Rollerball, Clayspray Glow Red Clay with Cacao Masque and Clayspray Brightening White Clay with Ginseng Masque.

Again as with previous boxes, with this subscription you get some extra treats and mine came in the form of a 9Bar fruity bar which is said to be a delicious blend of dried fruits and seeds and is both gluten and wheat free.  The second little extra is an Antioxident face cream from The Organic Pharmacy and it comes in a little sachet containing 3mls, the other options members might have got is a Gel or a serum.

Then comes my actual selections.  

As soon as I saw one of them there was no doubt it was going to go in my box and it starts with Clayspray Glow Red Clay with Cacao Masque for glowing, healthy and radiant looking skin it comes with the following description:

"The Glow Red Clay Masque instantly adds a boost of radiance to dull skin. The mineral rich formula includes iron to activate circulation, silica to boost collagen, alongsidenourishing cacao, which is rich in anti-oxidants to rejuvenate. The restoring clay exfoliates and repairs the skin’s surface revealing a glowing and healthy looking complexion".

This can is a 30ml can which you can see HERE on the Feelunique website and it has an RRP of £15.

The second choice of mine was Clayspray Brightening White Clay with Ginseng Masque which comes with the follow description:

"For crystal clear, brightened, and renewed complexion. Exfoliates, repairs and renews. Removes dead skin cells, revealing a fresh new skin surface with energising ginseng to brighten, for an immediate replenished and healthy look.

Formulated with a pure blend of white clay, it has an almost whitening effect, and also contains energizing ginseng and natural spring water".

This can is a 30ml can which you can see HERE on the Feelunique website and it has an RRP of £15.

So for a £6.95 subscription, my box has a value of around £32 which is amazing value for money!

What do you think to do this? Do you subscribe to these boxes?

Next month the attention will be dedicated to the CEW(UK) Beauty Awards and I am already looking forward to seeing the options already!