Antipodes Halo Skin-Brightening Facial Mud Mask

Antipodes is a highly innovative scientific organic beauty brand. Its visionary New Zealand founder and director, Elizabeth Barbalich, someone I have been lucky enough to meet, has built her skincare and makeup company on a cutting-edge combination of the highest quality ingredients from New Zealand nature and raw super-fruit extracts with science and innovation to produce high-tech certified organic and premium formulations.

Pronounced An-tip-oh-dee-z, its range of products has everything you need from day creams, night creams, eye creams, hand creams, serums, toners, exfoliators, lipsticks and masks to name but a few. One of my favourite products from the entire range is the Aura Mauka Honey Mask (review here) which is just a delight to use. Today I am featuring the newly released Halo Skin-Brightening Facial Mud Mask which uses mineral-rich mud from New Zealand’s dramatic volcanic plateau. The mineral mud which is packed with Sulphur, Calcium, Sodium and Silicon has been revered for its skin-enhancing properties throughout the ages and when used in this way it works to bind the skin's oil and absorb it, helping them to remove dirt, grime and any other nasties lingering on the skin.

I love how this mask smells, it is almost good enough to eat. Using the fragrance of Vanilla Pod, Raspberry Seed and Musk is an effective way to instantly freshen and illuminate your skin. There is also the extract of prized Peony Flower which leaves the skin looking much brighter, Jojoba Esters which are an exfoliating compound, so will immediately leave skin looking and feeling much smoother as well as the nutrient-rich oil from premium New Zealand-grown Avocados, which Antipodes lovingly refers to as “Green Gold”, will help keep your skin moist and hydrated.

To use, you simply lather on a thick layer of this mask, which has an incredibly creamy texture, to a freshly cleansed face and neck, whilst avoiding the eye area and leave it for 15 minutes before rinsing off the skin using warm water.  Designed to be used twice weekly, this mask leaves my skin feeling just incredible and as though it can breathe after a day of wandering around London.

Priced at £49 you can find this Antipodes Halo Skin-Brightening Facial Mud Mask right here. It is just pure luxury in a tub and a definite treat.  

Have you tried any products from Antipodes?

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

M&S Beauty: Rosie For Autograph Lipsticks

One of my favourite products from the Rosie For Autograph range is the Cream Eyeshadows (review here). Exclusive to Marks and Spencer, the Rosie for Autograph make-up range has been developed in collaboration with Rosie Huntington Whiteley who is a model, actress, designer, and now businesswoman, perhaps for many it is her time as a Victoria's Secret Angel that her name rings a bell. Using Rosie's make up tips and secrets combined with high-quality ingredients, this range is said to have been inspired by Rosie’s career and her love of vintage.

Lipsticks are one of my very favourite things, it can change the way a whole face of make up looks and whilst I am not a bold red wearing type of person, I do love discovering shades that I might not have ordinarily have worn. I was kindly sent four of the Rosie for Autograph lipsticks and they are described as being hydrating, comfortable to wear with long-lasting intense colour. What I love about these lipsticks is they are enriched with Argan Oil, so they really are moisturising and the colour payoff is equally impressive.

With their stunning rose gold packaging and metallic closure which gives a satisfying click to indicate the lipstick is properly closed, the lipsticks themselves have an embossed rose delicately carved into the lipstick which I think is a really nice finishing touch to what is a beautiful product. When it comes to the formula, I love how smooth and easy to apply these are. They are comfortable to wear and much more long-lasting than you might assume and like most lipsticks, their longevity does depend on how much you eat, drink and use your lips.

The shades I have are Dolly Baby, Silk Rose, Camisole Blush and Rosie's Lips and each lipstick, as you can see from the swatches is beautiful:

• Rosie Lips is a berry shade which I adore, almost burgundy but not quite, it applies like a dream, doesn't drag across the lips and is one of the longest lasting shades I've tried.
• Dolly Baby is a beautiful rose coloured nude pink and not usually a shade I would ordinarily pick up, but I really like this one, the perfect daytime shade.
• Silk Rose is for me a pinky brown shade and I can't quite decide whether it suits me or not, but I love the colour payoff and I like that it works with most skin tones.
• Camisole Blush is for me a muted nude shade, my favourite of all four lipsticks and the one I find myself reaching for a lot.

Every shade I have so far tried is incredible wearing, there are no shades I would shy away from and each lipstick is cruelty-free, paraben free, vegan and vegetarian friendly and are dermatologically tested. Priced at £14 per lipstick (here) they are definitely not to be overlooked and put some of my high-end lipsticks to shame with the amazing formula, coverage, pigment and longevity.

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

How a Hotel Spa at Glasglow, Reenergized My Body?

We are four best friends and all are busy with their personal lives. One of us is a banker, one goes to teach, another runs a grocery store and I work at a cafe. We all have been friends for years and very warmly celebrate our weekend to refuel our bodies and souls for the next big week. Recently, near the Easter holidays, we planned to visit Gleddoch hotel and spa, which is an hour’s drive from where we live. The grocery girl, Lauren is a bit tensed as she has always faced problems while trying out something new, but Meagan the banker, is more spendthrift and enjoys life like a princess was the one who organized this trip. 

Hi, I am Bethany who works as a cafe assistant. As my job is about customer assistance, I have to take care of every demand of the visitors at my cafe. Some of them are very polite and their meals calmly but some visitors love to create a mess and are unmanageable. But, it’s totally fine as this is part of my job and I have to do it. I love my life, my job and more importantly, I love my gang of girls. We all are still single and have strict future plans. We all love to work, but our busy schedules make it difficult to retain more energy. To release stress, we go to parties, enjoy movies and do other sources of entertainment. 

Well, this is how our life is moving ahead but we all are happy with what we do and how we do. Coming back to business, Meagan told us about the surprise which she had made that weekend. She just mentioned to pack our bags and we are going Glasgow. After reaching the destination in a quick drive in her car, we stopped at a hotel where she had made the bookings with her credit card. Lauren asked, what are we have to do in Glasgow. Meagan replied, wait and watch girls, it's a surprise. 

The room looked like heaven, its exotic ambience took all our stresses at once. Only its vision made is relaxed at that moment. Suddenly, the spa lady gave her quick introduction and as she stopped there was complete silence and then we all screamed with joy that what a nice surprise it was. There were three massage beds in front of us and I felt shy before, but the spa lady made me comfortable enough to have the message. As she, applied her hands on my back, she started explaining the benefits of good spa and how it can help me to remain active and stress-free. 

How a Hotel Spa at Glasgow, made me active and stress-free? 

• It slows down the rush in the life and allows your body to regenerate the energy
• You are totally disengaged from the worldly things like work, friends, and family.
• As she pressed my back, she described, how the spa will help me in improving my blood circulation. She also added that this will send more oxygen to my body and help in grasping more nutrients. 
• Spa helps in removing the body toxins and regenerates tissues and muscles. 
• She told about, Yin & Yang, which I don’t have any idea about. But what I got is it offers balance to the human body. 

After the spa, we were given heat treatment and steam to refuel our bodies and everything worked quite well. After this all was done, we feel relaxed and contented with life. This was our very first experience with spa and we miss a lot and remember our trip to Glasgow.

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