Perfume Lover?

Here is the guest post I did for the lovely Hayley over at Sparkles & Stretchmarks as she was due to (and now has) given birth to the very handsome and beautiful Tyne - see HERE about some of my favourite perfumes.  Just lately as I find myself coming to the end of bottles, I debate trying something completely new... I am drawn to the Marc Jacob bottles because they are stunning... should I try them? I am not sure...  Anyway here was my post for Hayley...

I love perfume, though I am quite fussy about what I will and won’t wear.  I am sometimes tempted to purchase a perfume because I like the bottle and am desperate to get my hands on Dior J’adore (the advert is also catchy) and Mark Jacobs Daisy because I like the look of them.  But I never tend to buy a perfume on a whim, I will go into whichever store I am near, test it on my skin, walk around and then if I like it, I might purchase it or add it to a list of ‘wants’ and when birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas are on the horizon, said perfume(s) show.

There are now, some perfumes I can just go out and purchase because I have worn them so often and I thought I would share some of my favourite perfumes with you.

Shown above in those 9 squares you will find:

1. Chanel Allure which will cost you around £46 for 50ml

2. Bvlgari Coral which will cost around £33 for  25ml

3. Miss Dior Cherie which will cost around £55 for 50ml

4. Clinique Happy which will cost around £35 for 30ml

5. M&S Blush which currently costs £8.50 for 25ml

6. DKNY Be Delicious which costs around £48 for 50ml

7. Bvlgari Pour Femme which costs around  £35.50 for 25ml

8. Valentino Rock N Rose which costs around £50 for 50ml

9. Fame Lady Gaga  which costs £25 for 50ml and the only ‘Celeb’ perfume I like currently

I am a huge fan of Bvlgari perfumes, they all smell really lovely when I wear them and they are the ones which tend to last the longest before I need to re-apply.  I carry the Marks and Spencer’s Blush around in my handbag because it is so light to carry around and perfect handbag size.  I do like to chop and change on a daily basis which perfume I wear, but it is likely it will be one of those listed above.

Now I don’t know if anyone remembers Tribe perfume? I used to wear it all the time as a teenager, I loved it and imagine my delight when I found some in a storage box, still wrapped and unused.  It is now discontinued and I am told a bit of a collectors item!  I also used to wear Ex’cla-ma’tion as did all my friends and although you can still buy this, I really don’t like the scent anymore.  The final perfume I used to wear is Vanderbilt, again my best friend and I used to wear this and well.. . It is still available to buy and will cost you about £10 for 100ml.  

If you can’t remember any of these perfumes, you will find them shown below:

What perfumes do you love to wear? What was your favourite Childhood perfume?

Essie Nail Polish cheap haul...

A few days ago I bought Four Essie Nail Polishes from a website called Buyapowa, I had never heard of it before, but someone tweeted about it, I had a look and signed up.

Buyapowa explain themselves as so:

"But what if the more friends you took along, the better the products on offer?

That’s the principle of the Co-Buy: co-operative buying power. Ancient civilisations had the same idea. What’s new is how perfectly it dovetails into this generation’s defining behaviour patterns.

Ideas and crazes spread faster than ever before. Everything is shared. Why not buzz about your products and services?" And you can read more about Buyapowa from their website which you can find HERE.

Anyway, I have got home tonight and these are my Essie Nail Polishes - what do you think?

So in this lovely bright packaging you can clearly see the Essie Nail polishes, their retail price is £10.00 on Lookfantastic see HERE and the marketing blurb is as follows:

Can’t decide which colour you want? Well you don’t have to! Essie Mini Summer 2012 Collection contains a quartet of your summer favourites to get you set for some summer fun.

Get set to wow with Essie Mini Summer 2012 Collection- these perfect handbag sized shades will take you from beach babe to glamour puss in no time! Essie’s chip resistant formula and outstanding durability is not only easy to apply and fast drying, but will give your nails superb coverage and a professional finish. DBP, toluene and formaldehyde free.

This pack contains the following products:

• Essie Bikini So Teeny- 5ml - A sparkling, cornflower blue shade.
• Essie Off The Shoulder- 5ml - The boldest, hottest pink shade there is.
• Essie Fear Or Desire- 5ml - A bright, orange crush.
• Essie Mojito Maddness -5ml - A fun-loving lime green

I only paid £6.95 (plus £1.95 P&P) for these nail polishes and I do love their colours, they are so refreshing and so bright, I can't wait to try them out.

Did anyone else purchase these? 

Already have them? Like them?

Soap and Glory Foot Buffer

Well given the weather it looks like it is going to be quite a while before I can wear my beloved Fit Flops, there might have been a bit of sunshine today, but the wind was blooming cold. Anyway, spring and summer are on their way, so in the meantime it does give me time to sort my feet out and make sure they are not a total embarrassment to put on show when the time does eventually arrive. 

I hate feet! I make no secret of that fact and it is one thing most people know about me. I cannot stand them especially my own and to make matters worse I cant even stand to let anyone else touch them, it makes me feel queasy, I don't know why I feel this way about feet, I just do. But... if I just left them alone and ignored them as I wished I could do, then I would eventually have to go and see some professional type to sort them out, faced with that dilemma I tend to take quite good care of my feet, gagging in the process. 

Over the years I have used and reviewed quite a lot of products for the feet that deal with pretty much everything from dry skin to dead skin. The one product on the market which I cannot bring myself to purchase is the Ped Egg, it is to all intents and purposes a cheese grater for your feet and the less said about it better. So far I have tended to stick to traditional methods of removing dry skin from the heels of my feet in the shape of a pumice stone and it isn't the perfect solution but I have just made do. Then whilst I was on Boots buying some deodorant when I came across the 'Soap and Glory Foot buffer' which intrigued me to the point of buying it and better still on the beloved 3 for 2 offer it meant I could also buy some bubble bath and lip balm. Thankfully this item is sold in protective packaging so no one can have a go of your product and then put it back on the shelf! Just think about it! 

The Foot Buffer retails at £8.75 in Boots and size wise it looks like a Loofah crossed with a golf club and is white in colour. It is sold with the following marketing blurb "Give yourself a 5 star pedicure treatment in the comfort of your home with our utterly fantastic Soap & GloryTM Foot Buffer" which isn't what sold it to me it was the fact I was told it came with 3 different filing heads which are described as being: 

1. The ruff side - for getting rid of the ruff stuff 

2. The smoother side - for a final buff 

3. The toe piece - for filing in between the toes 

Now naturally number three isn't for the faint hearted or someone like me who hates feet but given the 'head' of this device is golf club shaped with two sides I was intrigued to find the 'third' filing head and in all honesty it took me quite a while to work it out. Located at the bottom of the 'club' is the third and final filing head, hidden away from sight, you simply tug at the bottom and it appears looking slightly fatter but shorter than your average nail file. 

So once you have your foot buffer home attached to it is a set of instructions which you really should read before you get home because you need a lemon! Once you have your lemon the instructions tell you to 'rub rough heels with lemon juice first, to dissolve the glue that gives dead skin cells their grippiness. Wait ten minutes before you buff, and they wont be as tough' so having cut a lemon in half and rubbed it into the heels of my feet (obviously if you have any sort of open wound this is not advised) which was slightly weird, thankfully I did it in the comfort of my own home, alone and felt daft enough. I had at least thought to put a towel on the floor under my feet to catch bits of juice that went everywhere and as instructed allowed the lemon juice to sink into my skin. Then picking up my buffer I used the first side and gently rubbed it along my heels to attack the dead skin moving from one side of the heel to the other backwards and forwards, as you use the tool you can feel it being scraped across your skin, something I had to not think about at the time and instead just get on with the job of removing the dead skin. Then I wiped my feet to remove anything that might be left there and flipped the buffer over to use side number two defined as being 'The smoother side' and repeated action number one and was surprised to see that all of the dead skin had been removed and having once again towelled my feet to remove anything left sticking to them, my feet were lovely and soft. So I covered them with some Soap and Glory Heel Genius and slipped my feet into the accompanying socks to give the cream time to sink into my skin. 

To date I haven't felt the need to use the in-between the toe file as this is not a problem area for me, but it is there should that change. For me this was the first time that I had ever used a metal buffer on my feet, I have always stuck to using a pumice stone or a foot scrub of sorts from places like Lush, so I was a bit apprehensive as to how effective it would be. To my surprise using this 'Foot buffer' was not only easy it was much quicker and produced much better results than a pumice stone because it is much easier to hold on to and it is also much sturdier in your hands than a pumice stone which at times can be like trying to hold a bar of soap with wet hands. 

So whilst I still hate feet, I do like this Foot Buffer and it has now replaced my pumice stone which I hated having to use and because this product lives in the bathroom in its own little storage pot (which I bought myself) I use it once a week when I am in the shower just to ensure that my feet are kept in good condition until the sun finally decides it is time to make an appearance for summertime to finally begin. So I feel this is a brilliant product which is worthy of its price. Having said I use this once a week, the filing heads are still as good now as they were a few weeks ago when I bought it, but I would guess over time they will become blunt and the way this product is designed means you cannot buy replacement heads which is a bit of a shame. I however will simply purchase another one the next time I need to stock up on products.

My March Empties!

I see so many fellow bloggers doing posts like these and I really enjoy reading them, so I thought I would do one too.  Throughout the whole of March, I have made a conscious effort to use it those bottles and tubs of potions that are just about to run out and here they are:

In this photograph there are some of the face products that I have used up and they are:

The Sanctuary Spa Active Reversal Thermal Transformation Mask which I got in my January Glossybox.  I have to be honest, I didn't like this mask at all, I didn't like how much faffing about there was to using it, the feel of it on my skin or the feel of my skin after using it.

Montagne Jeunesse Paw Paw Peel off Mask which claimed to be a 'Phenomenal Pore Blaster' and I reviewed it HERE it is fair to say I wasn't impressed with this product either.

Simple Facial Wipes which again I reviewed HERE and I love these wipes,l they are brilliant for wiping away all the dirt and grime of the day, along with make-up and wouldn't hesitate to purchase them again.

Simple Facial Moisturising Cream which I have also reviewed and you can find it HERE and again I really liked this product, I love how soft and smooth my skin felt after using it and I had no adverse reactions to it either.

Next are products from the bathroom and again all have been used up in March.

Radox Nourish Bath  - I bought this because it was on offer for £1 in Asda and I had assumed I was running low on bath products, not only for me but also for him indoors.  This is the Nurturing range with Ginger and Shea butter, not two ingrdeients I would put together but it smells alright and I wouldn't purchase it again as it wasn't my favourite fragrance, but for £1 it is alright.

Essential Waitrose Sea Salt and Kelp - I bought this because it was on offer again £1.29, as you might have gathered, I am the worlds greatest impulse shoppers!  A friend of mine swears by this stuff and claims it is the best foam bath she has ever used.  Well to be fair to the bath foam, it does create a lot of bubbles and it does smell quite nice and it leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth.

Palmolive Bergamot and Verbena Hand Soap - I bought this for two reasons.  Firstly I liked the design of the bottle and it was on offer in Asda for £1 and I needed some more soap for the bathroom and secondly I have used a bath foam in the past with both Bergamot and Verbena as the main ingredients and loved the sharp citrusy scent.  I was really disappointed by this soap, there is a slight citrus smell, but it wasnt as sharp as I was hoping for and I wouldn't buy it again.

Lush Veganese - A slight cheat as there was only enough left for one last use but I did use it in March.  i like this conditioner as a treat, it is seaweed and lemon infused and is really light as a conditioner.  As I have greasy roots, I don't use a conditioner on my roots very often as it makes my hair worse, however, this leaves my hair soft and shiney.  It costs £4.15 for 100g bottle, £8.15 for 250g and £13.15 for 500g bottle. I will definitely purchase this again.

             

Here we have:

L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil - Hmm well this was a sachet and am glad I didnt have to pay for it because I hated everything about it. The smell, the texture, the effect it had on my hair, basically it wasn't for me and I have since tried Morrocanoil which I adore.

Spa Magik Salt brushing - Love this product range and this sachet came from a Glossybox and I have since bought another one because they are so good.  It is 100% natural, has no Parabens and costs around £1.78 per sachet to buy and it leaves your skin looking and feeling amazing.  There is a review for this coming soon.

Garnier Body 7 day replenishing Lotion - this was given to me by a work colleague who couldnt stand the smell. It is a Mango oil fragrance for dry skin and I found the scent to be quite subtle.  However, this products is just not for me, it doesnt do enough for my dry skin patches and it isn't something I would now purchase for myself.

Maybelline Colossal Mascara - I actually quite liked this mascara until I got towards the end of the tube when it became clumpy and unwearable which annoyed me.  As a mascara I liked the brush, it made applying the mascara really easy and whilst I never truly believe it would give me 'up to 7 times more gorgeous volume' you could see some improvement.  However, having now discovered They're Real by Benefit, this really does pale into insignificance   Costs around £7

My final list of empties - and I am shocked as to how much I have managed to use up are:

Radox Coconut Kiss shower gel which I wrote about HERE and HERE and I love the smell of this shower gel, the texture is lovely and it leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth after using.  A product I would definitely purchase again and it is still on offer for £1 in Asda.

Palmolive Ayurituel Joyous Shower Gel - again I wrote about this HERE and of the three in this range, Joyous is without doubt my favourite.  I like the scent of this alot and it leaves a really lovely lingering smell in your bathroom and on your skin for a few hours after using. Again, I have since purchased this one again.

Dove Natural Touch Deodorant Spray - Picked it for £1 which makes it another bargain yet again.  Doesn't leave white stains on clothing, smells really lovely and keeps me feeling fresh all day long.  I would definitely purchase this again.

The Final product is Nspa mango body scrub which I bought from Asda on a 3 for 2 offer and I really like this scrub, it smells wonderfully fruity and has a matching bath foam, it does exfoliate really well without scratching your skin and the mango smell is really lovely.  A definite item to be repurchased. 

Do you use any of these products? Do you like/hate any of them?

Get the Benefit!

The one thing you might realise about me fellow bloggers is that I have a few obsessions in life - Lush, Soap and Glory and BeneFit, that is not to say I love everything they do, far from it, they are more like a security blanket for me and when I need something and am not sure what or where to go, those three are probably more often than not my fall back plan. I do love trying new brands and discovering new products as well though.

This post is about my love affair with BeneFit.  I am not a huge make-up fan nor am I the worlds most made up girl in the world.  It is true to say that I never leave the house without a bit of foundation (usually a powder), mascara, bronzer or blusher and lip balm.  Aside from that I tend not to experiment as much as I should because I am never sure what colours suit me and applying eyeliner is just something I cannot get the hang of, I can sit in front of a mirror for hours and not once get it right, I find it stressful, so just don't do it -  a fear I need to overcome.

So starting with my favourite Benefit travel set which is called 'The Big 10' and it looks like this:

This was given to me by a friend as a birthday gift and I absolutely love it, it has everything in there that you might want to try out or take on your travels with you because it is a travel set essentially.   Naturally it is called 'The Big 10' because it contains ten different products which are:

1. Erase Paste which in this set is No.2 medium and it is a 3.2g tub
2. Stay Don't stray which is a primer for your concealer or eyeshadow and it is lovely 2.5ml tube
3. Benetint which is a rose-tinted lip and cheek stain and again it is a 2.5ml tube
4. Posietint which is a poppy pink lip and cheek stain and again a 2.5ml tube
5. High Beam which is a luminescent complexion enhancer and a 2.5ml tube
6. Ooh La Lift another 2.5ml tube and it is an instant under-eye brightening boost
7. 'That Gal' is a brightening face primer and in a 7.5ml tube
8. Dandelion a 3g pot and it is a brightening face powder
9. Coralista another 3g pot and it is a face powder
10. Porefessional is a balm to minimise the pores and is in a 7.5ml tube

So all of these lovely products in one package and I do take them with me when I travel, that is why some look a little more battered than others.

Then... we move to my favourite products from BeneFit, the ones that are always in my make-up bag and my go to products when I feel the need and of course one new addition to my collection!!

Starting with She's so jetset which I got for Christmas from a friend of mine, this kit which I adore because it is so cute contains:

 a 7.5ml POREfessional (primer and pore minimiser), 0.14oz they're real mascara, 5.2ml Life on the A list Lipgloss, 0.1oz First-class face powder with brush and 0.25 eye shadow palette (with Champagne please (golden colour), Gold card (slightly lighter gold), Pretty in mink (mink of course?) and Elegant Espresso (a brown)

Then you can see Hoola which is my absolute favourite bronzer ever... it gives such good coverage, is easy to use and apply and I have had this box for about 2 years and I use it more or less everyday and I am almost at the end of it, by that I mean it will need replacing in the next 6 months and I intend to replace it.

BeneFit Fine One one which has become my latest addition thanks to a competition win has been used once since I got it and I love it, the colours look really orange when you see them on the stick, but once applied, they are really lovely.

Finally the top right hand side photo which contains the rest of my BeneFit kit.  Starting with Dr Feelgood, a face balm which I did a post about HERE then there is a very old version of Lemonaid which is an eyeshadow primer and it works really well even though it is a few years old.  Next comes They're Real which is my current favourite Mascara, I love everything about it and it makes my lashes look lovely and long. Hello Flawless is one of my favourite foundations and this was matched to me in Debenhams not long after it hit the shelves and I love it.  As well as the face powder you get a mirror, a brush and a sponge, it glides on wonderfully.  Finally there is Moon Beam that is described as being an iridescent complexion enhancer and you add it around your cheeks and brow bones to a warm shimmer.  I use this quite a lot because I like the look it gives to me and again this bottle is just over a year old and there is more than half the bottle left, such good value for money.

Now I just need to get my hands on Fake Up and I will be well and truly happy...

So there you have it, my BeneFit make-up collection which features a lot of my favourite products! 

      Which BeneFit products do you like and use the most?

Get Fresh...Get fruity

A while ago I wrote a post about the discovery of a new Radox Coconut Shower Gel which you can find HERE and along with Coconut there are two other fragrances to try - Cherry Blast and Berry Burst.  I was sent a package of all three Shower Gels and I have been using them for the past few weeks and here are my thoughts.

As you can see above, the three shower gels are all really nicely packaged and are certainly eye-catching and stand out amongst other shower gels on the shelves.

Starting with Cherry Blast which you can see on the left in this photo, it stands right out with its striking red packaging and with the picture of Cherries jumping right out at you, you can guess what it smells of.  Upon flipping the lid of this shower gel, I wasn't surprised to find that the shower gel was a lovely bright vivid red colour and as soon as it hits your skin alongside hot water it lathers instantaneously and turns the lather pink, for me this is joyous because I love pink and I love lather but what I wasn't expecting was the amazing aroma of cherries, not a chemical smell at all, but fresh ripe cherries there in my shower, simply divine.

What they say - "For girly girls who like to feel gorgeous all day long then use Cherry Blast: This cherry-licious shower gel containing juicy cherries, milk and citrus oils has a sweet, tantalizing fragrance that will invigorate your senses and energize you in the morning as well as leaving your skin feeling soft and smooth so you can feel gorgeous whatever the day throws at you."

Well it most certainly does smell cherry-licious and the scent lingers on your skin for hours, add to that it smells wonderful in your bathroom.

Coming next is Berry Burst and it is sold in a lovely shade of purple and on the front of the bottle are pictures of berries, so you are in doubt as to what it is.  As soon as you flip the lid, the first thing that hits you is the wonderful aroma which you can clearly detect as being a mixture of berries and it isn't subtle by any means.  Once you squeeze the tube, for me this is where I am slightly disappointed because the shower gel isn't the bright purple I was hoping for, with the two other shower gels in this range, the shower gel matched the packagaing, this shower gel was white in colour and very similar to Coconut Kiss which you can see above and below in the photos.

However, the colour of the gel aside, again as soon as the gel comes into contact with hot water, it promptly lathers and the berry aroma surrounds you and wafts its way through your home leaving behind a lovely lingering scent.

What they say - "If you live life in the fast lane why not indulge in Berry Burst: Scrub up in your shower with this sumptuous shower gel containing berries and milk. It's bursting full of energy so you will be feeling fully charged and ready to face the day with a spring in your step."

Again there is no doubt that this shower gel smells of a lovely burst of berries.

The Official Poster

These shower gels are currently on offer in local supermarkets and high street stores like Boots, though I would happily pay the full price of £2.15 for any of them.  You can find these products in Boots, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Savers.

And a little bit of science from a study done by Radox:

·         ‘Super’ power showers are costing the average family £928 a year and an individual person over £18,000 in their lifetime- the same as the average deposit for a terraced house in the UK.

·         Brits could save almost £10,000 in a lifetime, and over one million litres of water (1,514,240 litres) by halving their showers

I may have an addiction...

Soap and Glory is a phenomenon that I has hit us all in one way or another, I don't think I have come across anyone who hasn't used their products, loves their products and is like me, a little bit taken with them.

Whilst having a clear out of my wardrobe where I have some shelving inside for products, I was quite alarmed as to how much S&G stuff I had.  I do love their Christmas Gift Sets and am always straight in to buy one as soon as they are available because they are such good value for money and they last me pretty much all year round.

If you haven't heard of Soap and Glory (I mean really??) You can find out more about them HERE

Anyway, here I am showing my addiction:

So as you can see from the box above there is a whole lot of products in there, said box which is so full is missing two products which are:

The Breakfast Scrub which I have been using on my elbows, shins and knees where I have a few dry skin issues and of course the foot buffer which I love (though hate feet) to help get my feet in tip top shape for spring time FitFlop wearing.

Anyway... as for what is in said box...

As you can see there is a whole lot of Soap and Glory loving going on here... I was seriously surprised at how much I had here and that doesn't take into account the tube of Hand Food which is sat on my desk at work!

So we have in Picture one - Two 500ml Clean On Me™ Creamy Clarifying Shower Gel  and Smoothie Star™ Body Lotion 500ml  = £21

Picture Two - Hand Food™ Hand Cream 125ml x 2, 3 Heel Genius 25ml (well 2.5 tubes as one is half empty),  Pulp-Friction™ Foaming Fruity Body Scrub 250ml, and Face Soap & Clarity™ Foaming Face Wash 150ml - £51.50

Picture Three - Peaches And Clean™ Deep Cleansing Milk 200ml, Thick & Fast™ Mascara False Lash Effect Mascara Superjet black, Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Gloss, Off Your Face™ 3 in 1 Cleansing Cloths and Mist You Madly™ Body Spray 250ml and Soap and Glory Mits- £42

Picture 4 - Sugar Crush™ Body Scrub 300ml and 2 x The Righteous Butter™ Body Butter 300ml = £29

So there is quite a few products here... so I decided to add up how much all of this would cost me if I was to walk into Boots right now...

£143.50 

However, with the foot buffer and Breakfast scrub it takes the grand total

to £161.75 

This has seriously shocked me and tomorrow a friend of mine is bringing me in a new hand product called Endless Glove that I have been wanting to try, to be fair she bought it on a 3 for 2 and picked up two by mistake, so it is costing me nothing... but.... woah it is a lot of products and a lot of money!