Review: Etat Pur Actives A20 and A01

A while ago I placed an order with Etat Pur and bought a few items including the micellar water which you can find here

I was super intrigued by the products on their website particularly the 'Actives' products and so I bought myself the A20 Zinc Gluconate which helps to restrict sebum secretion and to eliminate spots, and A01 Q10 which helps slow down appearance of first wrinkles.

First up is the A20, I was really excited to try this out as my skin is so oily and shiny that it needs to be kept at bay all day long which is seemingly impossible.

I was hoping this product would help me combat my shiny face syndrome and initially I think it did.

Firstly I LOVE the packaging and the dispenser design on this product, it is so easy to use and the bottles are really cute.

You can see in the photo below the tip of the bottle and underneath where the white plastic part of the bottle is there is a squishy area which you press to dispense a drop onto your hand.

This was genius and I love it.

You are told to dispense around 3-4 drops to cover your whole face which i would say is the correct amount for me.

At the beginning of using this product I do think it helped to combat my oiliness and I rarely had any spots.

I brought it with me to America to give it the full test and I'm afraid I thought it was absolutely awful.

As soon as I got here I broke out and no amount of this stuff would save me, as soon as I stopped using it my spots disappeared!

So I would have to say for me that I wouldn't buy it again as it doesn't seem to work for my skin which was disappointing, maybe another product will work better but I'm not willing to risk my skin breaking out as badly as it did. I haven't had that many spots since I was 15!

Next up was the A01 which is in the same design bottle with a different coloured label.

This product was different to the A20 which was clear and slightly green tinged, the A01 is a thicker yellowy cream that still dispenses easily out of the bottle but is noticeably thicker than the A20.

I was worried at first as I thought this wouldn't work with my skin due to its oiliness but actually the results were pretty good!

You can see the difference in colour and consistency from the A20 here.

The A01 however felt like a serum in the way that it easily absorbed into my skin without leaving it feeling greasy and I was able to apply my moisturiser almost straight away after application without any kind of peeling or greasiness.

As for the results I'm not sure that it has a quick effect on the wrinkles but it's designed to help fight first wrinkles so maybe that's why.

My skin does feel like it's smoother when I've used it and after longer term use I think it may have helped prevent any more wrinkle from appearing but this is always hard to tell.

Skin is so subjective that it's hard to review skincare products!

I think I would round up the review by saying that the A20 didn't work out for me and I have actually thrown it away as I kept thinking it would work and it broke me out again.

I'm sure this will work for some people but sadly not for my skin.

The A01 has had a positive effect in that I don't seem to have been given any more wrinkles by mother nature, but it will take a longer time to see how effective this is.

Again, I was surprised how well the A01 worked with my oily skin so I would definitely recommend that people with oily skin try this too!

With my order I also got these 2 freebie samples which are so cute!

I've brought them with me to America also so that I can use them on the plane, they're perfect size for that.

Have you ordered anything from Etat Pur? I love their website and how the products can be tailored to suit any skin problem, definitely easy to use too!

L xxx

Top 10 Missed Items

A little while ago I posted what I managed to pack into my suitcase for my 7 week trip (here).

I needed a lot of stuff as a requirement of the course so with my 23kg limit there wasn't much room to bring many luxuries and as a result of this I'm missing a few things!

Mostly as you can imagine I'm missing my vast array of toiletries, clothes and shoes that I have to mix and match with.

I only brought vest tops, shorts, 2 pairs of jeans and a cardigan as well as the obligatory pack a mac and thin hoodies.

As a girl who wears dresses a lot of the time and loves accessorizing, particularly choosing make up every morning the lack of choice is KILLING me!

I have bought a few items since I've been here that I can mix and match each day and this is satisfying my need for choice temporarily, but there's also lots of other things I'm missing too.

So another more personal post today, as it's all I can think about!

In a sort of order here's the top 10 things I'm missing:

1. My beautiful dog! My dad's recently had an operation so hasn't been walking him, so I've been taking him every day and I miss him so much! I always do, but more so lately, he's so clever and I miss teaching him new tricks!

2. I suppose I should mention my family and friends up here too...haha of course I miss them too and obviously could not fit them into my suitcase as they all requested! I can contact them all when I have wifi which is luckily most of them time so it hasn't been too bad. FaceTiming my dad on his iPad is always entertaining!

3. The gym! Never in my life would I have thought I would miss the gym, but after going 4 times a week for 5 months I genuinely do, and I miss the classes so much I'm tempted to make up my own ha.

They do have a gym here but it has random opening times and as I have to eat meals at certain times too, it gets a bit awkward and I've only made it there once!

4. Tea! Oh my goodness the first week I was here I couldn't find tea anywhere, until I found Starbucks which because of it's opening times and my class hours I could only go to at 8am.

Luckily I've now found 2 other places that have it on campus so I just have to plan ahead, still miss it though!

5. Healthy food! I've been trying to eat healthily since January and have mostly been eating rabbit style food with a lot of chicken so at the beginning it was a big shock to have so much food available that was definitely not healthy but tasted so good!

I've managed to tone it down a bit and am limiting myself to 1 dessert from now on (their cakes are miniature ones and 1 just isn't enough...!)

6. Make up in general! I do have a certain amount of make up with me that should in theory be fine for my 7 weeks away, especially as I did come here to complete a uni course that spends the majority of it's time outside in dirt. 

BUT the inner beauty addict inside me is not satisfied, and at the beginning insisted on wearing make up in ridiculous heat and humidity which resulted in me breaking out in spots for AGES.

I've learnt my lesson now and wear minimal make up and it's got a lot better, doesn't mean I don't play around with it in the evenings though ;)

7. Lipstick. I love wearing it now whereas I wouldn't have gone anywhere near it before! I'm so used to wearing it that here where no one wheres anything except a bit of mascara I'd feel so overdressed but I can't wait to put it back on!

8. Dresses! I miss being able to wear dresses, and generally have a choice of what to wear, as not only do I only have certain things with me, I can only wear long trousers to Uni (because of bugs and plants etc) and hiking boots. So whilst it's absolutely BOILING I have to suffer with trousers on when I'm DYING to put shorts on. Booooooooo :(

9. Alcohol. I'm nowhere near coming out in cold sweats as I'm honestly not an alcoholic....however with the weather being so damn good all I want to do is sit in a beer garden or bar terrace outside in the sun with a cocktail.
Where I am was a 'dry county' up until 2 weeks ago and alcohol wasn't served anywhere bar Walmart so hopefully it will become a little more accessible now!



10. Using products! Strange but true, I miss going through my drawers and cupboards of products to see what I've got left and will be using next. It feels really wasteful to have not brought everyday toiletries with me and to buy them here knowing I have mountains to get through at home!
I'm looking forward to getting back on track with my Beauty Rehab series and hopefully making a dent in my mahussive collection!

What do you think of my top 10? What would you miss if you went away for such a long time with minimal luggage?

L xxx

NOTD: Barielle Shades Bridal Collection

Hello and good morning! 

Currently writing this in my dorm room in America when I should be sleeping but instead I've stunk my room out with nail polish so I'm wide awake!

On one of my recent shopping trips to different malls around North Carolina and Georgia I've picked up quite a few beauties (all for the blog obviously...) the first that you are seeing is this amazing set of 'Bridal' nail polishes from Barielle.

Firstly I'd like to point out that no, I am in no way anywhere near getting married but the colours were so pretty I couldn't resist, who doesn't love a box of nude nail colours!

As you can see from the box there are 5 different colours, a solid white, shimmer white, coral nude, pink nude and general flesh coloured nude.

I did buy these from TJ Maxx (who on earth knew they had the same store but with one letter difference? Anyone know why this is? I'm intrigued!) but anyhow for half the price at $9.99 i couldn't resist picking them up.

They were a little dirty in the box and i had to clean them when I opened them up but aside from the the bottles were all sealed and in tact.

The colours look beautiful lined up, I'm tempted to set them out somewhere in my room as they look so good!

As I couldn't resist testing them out I quickly painted each nail with a base coat, and 2 coats of each colour, you should be able to tell which is which as they are in the same order as shown above:

(Please excuse the state of my nails...they're doing pretty good all things considering but 6 weeks of digging in the mud results in all manner of nail/hand problems and I can't apply moisturiser fast enough!)

I love the three nude colours as they go perfectly with my skin tone which is rare as my skin is so pale! The shimmer white I know won't use as much but it is still a pretty colour and the solid white will be perfect for nail art/french manicures.

In fact I actually love all of them which is pretty cool considering I bought them on a whim with the 'nobody else can have this bargain' kind of attitude!

I have painted my nails with the coral coloured nude (middle finger) to see how they fare over time as I'm not sure they're very thick so could chip easily.

We shall see!

Have you heard of Barielle before? Do you love going into TJ/TK Maxx and picking up some bargains??

I absolutely love it and bought quite a few things....I have bought lots from departments stores and Sephora too. 

Would you like to see a post on what I've bought during my 7 weeks in America??

Let me know!

L xxx

Tea Pigs

Today is a bit of a random non beauty post. I hope you don't mind. As I'm think L has mentioned in some of her America posts (or it may be one coming, sorry if it is) we are both huge tea lovers. Non tea lovers this may not be a post for you.

Since the new year I've tried to reduce my intake of regular tea. I was on 7-8 cups of tea a day and thought it was too much so switched to healthier options such as green tea and peppermint after the obligatory cuppa in the morning (milk no sugar please, made for me each morning by my OH, we have a deal going so he makes me tea. Nothing better than a cup being bought to you haha).

Getting used to green tea took a while. L struggled and couldn't face it. It's a unique flavour that takes getting used to. I like the fact it boosts antioxidants etc. If you fancy trying it I'd recommend trying green tea with pineapple or apple and pear, I know twinings do these as it adds a slight sweetness. To be honest switching from normal tea to green tea I can't say has made a huge difference but I feel it's better.

So the point of today's post. My new 'high end' love. Yes I believe tea pigs are the high end of tea. I was introduced to them by one of my lovely work ladies. Instantly I was intrigued by the silk tea temples the tea sits in and couldn't wait to try them.

The next time the lady I work with placed her order online at tea pigs she ordered me some too. I got the chocolate flake and green tea and peppermint blend.

I also got sample packs of these. You can buy tea pigs online or there are local stockest listed online and cafes local to you that sell them. Link to that here

I was blown away by the chocolate flake. The tea comes in silk tea temples and is leafs that swell up when water is added to them. The chocolate one has actual pieces of chocolate that melt into your tea. I personally prefer to drink this black. It has a subtle chocolate flavour but not sweet or overpowering the tea.

How pretty are they. (ok I sound weird now)

I like that on the back of each tea if gives a description of the base tea and how you should drink it. Being a tea novice I'm not sure what should and shouldn't have milk. The more I try the more I prefer non milk. My mum is kindly buying me the mix and match set where you get 12 different types of tea and two of each type.

Sorry if my tea talk has bored you but I really would thoroughly recommend these to anyone and the sample packs are a great way to test it. The average price for 15 tea temples is between £3.49 and £4.29 (I think) and some teas can be bought in 50 packs.

Have you tried tea pigs. Everyone I know that has loves them. I'm saving L a chocolate one for when she gets back from America.

I'm off to brew a pot of chocolate tea now.

Love M

xxx

I'd love to know if any of you try these xx

Save, Spend, Splurge - Eye Make Up Remover, Baby Oil, No7 and Clinique

I've been wanting to do posts like this for a while. I like reading posts like this to see if it's really worth paying out for the higher end products. In some cases I think it is while in others the high street alternatives are sometimes just as good if not better.

Lately I've started to use a separate eye make up remover as I was noticing using wipes was tugging at my eyes and I'm very conscious of being gentle to my eyes as I'm doing all I can to prevent wrinkles. I like to remove make up before I cleanse (I don't like my cleanse and polish clothes not being white, I'm odd I know, and it just makes me skin feel cleaner)

So the 3 eye make up removers.

Save is Baby Oil, which can be picked up so cheap, I like this handy travel size Johnson's one, perfect for travel and is only £1.30 for 100ml or boots own brand can be picked up for as little as £1.49 for 300ml

Spend is No7 Eye Make Up Remover is £7.75 for 100ml. Or stock up when the vouchers are out (which is a lot of the time) and it's £2.75 :)

Splurge is Clinique Take the Day Off Make up Remover for Face, Lips and Lashes and is £15.50 for 125ml

Save

First up is Johnson's Baby Oil. Oil based products are great for remover eye make up remover as they can dissolve it off so to speak and tackle tough waterproof make up without having to tug at eye lashes. This one isn't one to be used if you don't like greasy products. For me it doesn't bother me as I'm cleansing my face after so the oil is removed. This is the softest of  three on my eyes and has the least amount of pulling but is the greasiest. Even though I have oily skin I like to use this and it's great for those months when you have a little less money.

Spend

This was the first of the three I tested. This is a two liquid solution that needs to be shaken well to mix the two products. It has a subtle oily feeling but doesn't leave to much of a coating on the eyes like the baby oil does so is good for those nights when you want to be a little lazier. It gently removes the eye make up without tugging and with ease. My only issue is it's a small bottle and gets used quickly. I think it would last between 4-5 weeks so for me I don't think I would spend £7.75 on it but for £2.75 (when using the vouchers) it's amazing! This will be repurchased and is my favourite out of the three.

Spend

This was the least oily of the three products and felt gentle on the skin. This is aimed to be a multi purpose make up remover and due to this made removing eye make up a little harder. This felt the most pulling on my eyes and required more product and didn't remove all of my eye make up as well. I think this was due to being a less oily based remover. It does feel nice and light on the skin though. Personally I don't think it's worth the money when you can pick up others that do the job better for cheaper. 

I also wanted to mention the pads I used with these as I think these are the best for removing eye make up. I personally prefer a pad over a ball as it can cover the whole eye in one go. These ones are great as they have two different textures on either side and are only 20p dearer than the others.

What eye make up remover do you use? Do you use a separate one? Are posts like these something you like to read?

Love M

xxx

Apologies for the photo quality for some reason uploading from my phone to the bloggers app if ruining the quality. Have you found this?

Lipstick Monday's Maybelline Super Stay 24 Colour 510 Red Passion

From the last few weeks you'll all know by now my recent love for Maybelline lip products. Today's lip on is a little hit and miss with me. Sometimes I love it and it's amazing sometimes it bugs me.

Apologies for some photo's being sideways, having some issues with my camera at the moment and can't edit them properly. Prepare for lots of mouth photos ;)

]

I have this in two shades. I haven't really used the other one much yet. It's 195 if you were wondering. First things first. I hate the balm that comes with this. As a balm it's nice but it seems like they just thought this can be drying stick a balm on the end and didn't test it. When applied over the lip tint the product seems to crumble off straight away and look awful. What's the point in the balm if it makes the '24' hour product come off. 

When the lip tint is applied it's a gorgeous bright cherry red (my boyfriend who lately hates my lipstick range,  I like bright and dark colours said how nice this looked on me over dinner) I applied this at 9.30am. 

You have to apply this very carefully or you can end up with odd shaped lips. As I did wearing this today. This is an odd product. Not a lip tint like the felt pens, more a gloss texture and is applied with a lip gloss type brush. Importantly I find is to apply it and let it dry before rubbing lips together. I then apply a second coat and let that dry. This is a dry feeling on your lips and takes some getting used to. But for lasting power I accept a bit of a dry feeling.

After two hours and a few cups of tea.

After 6 hours wear, as you can see it wears off from the centre of the lips after eating and drinking but still a lot on the lips.

 I did find today that applying my Maybelline colour sensation pop stick blended the colour back and gave me another 2 hours wear. It was still on my lips at 6.45 when my boyfriend complemented me on my lipstick colour so that's an impressive 10 hours wear. After dinner it had gone to more like a subtle lip tint. I then used baby oil to remove it from the corners of my lips as it can leave a lip liner effect and oil based make up remover is best for removing this product.

I love this product for it's very impressive wear time. But the fact the balm doesn't work with the product and the drying it feels on the lips it's hard to really love it. It costs 8.99 but can usually be bought on 3 for 2. It's available in a wide range of colours in Boots and Superdrug beware the swatched online don't really match what the colours look like. Would I repurchase?? I think to be honest I'd rather find a lipstick this shade and have to reapply it, but I will continue to use up this product and it's great for nights out with a slick of lipgloss.

Have you tried this product?? What do you think of it?? This is definitely a love hate one for me.

Love M

xxxx

Ciaté NOTD from Marie Claire

Hey all. I've recently  got the new Samsung Galaxy S3 (by recently I mean yesterday) bad I can now blog from my phone. Fingers crossed this  works as it'll be easier for me and the camera seems  a lot better.

You'll have to excuse me if the photos aren't in the right place. Not fully sure how to user it. So onto today's post. I don't know about you but I love a good magazine freebie. Marie claire certainly didn't disappoint this month, so far I picked up 2 copies and I'm considering the third.

I have the paint pots in jelly bean (a gorgeous bright pink) and  purple sherbet (a perfect pastel lilac ) if you have the pale pink I'd love to know if you think I need it. The magazine is only 3.70 and yer paint pots are full  size. I enjoyed reading the magazine too.

The bottles are so cute, a good handle that's esay to hold, I sometimes  struggle with bottles like nails inc. And not to mention the cute bows on them.

The polish applies so smooth  and both shades looked gorgeous in two coats. Impressive for a pastel colour.

Purple sherbet is definitely a perfect some pastel shade and looks gorgeous on. Not too cool toned.

I was hugely  disappointed as it chipped in under 48 hours though. And one nail completely peeled off.

Jelly bean wowed me. A stunning barbie pink with a subtle blue shimmer that looks so pretty on. Not only that it lasted an impressive 4 days before it chipped and I needed to take it off. I'm not sure why this lasted and the purple sherbet didn't.

You can see the hint of blue in the last photo. This is the first time I've tried Cianté paint pots. I'm half very impressed half disappointed. I'm hoping the lilac shade will last better next time.

Have you tried paint pots, what results did you get? Fingers crossed this post works. If you have any tips from blogging on my phone I'd appreciate them.

Love M

Xxx

Review: Naked Scrub Up Renewing Salt Scrub

I'm not sure if you've ever used Naked products before but if you HAVEN'T then you SHOULD!

They're 97% natural with minimal chemicals and best of all they're cheap and available at Boots, hurrah!

I've previously reviewed their Naked Detox Shampoo and Conditioner which I absolutely loved, and next up is their Scrub Up Salt Scrub:

This was a massive tub, which I absolutely love as I love to scoop my hand in and grab handfuls of the stuff haha.

This scrub is white in colour and has fairly large grains of salt packed into a scrub that is quite loose in consistency.

Some scrubs of this type can be hard when you touch them but this was quite soft and went on went skin quite easily.

I really liked the consistency of this scrub, at first I was worried the large salt particles would be rough on my skin but actually they worked really well and didn't feel abrasive in any way.

I also liked the fact that it didn't leave any residue on my skin after using it which some scrubs can do, and I hate this as I feel the need to wash it off afterwards.

When I put moisturiser on and this weird oily layer is there, it doesn't sink in properly and tanning over it leaves hideous patches!

I loved using this scrub and the tub didn't last very long at all!

I will have to go and have a look at their products as they've got a lot more out than they did before and I would like to try so much more!

Have you tried any Naked products? Any recommendations?

I love that they're so affordable and fully intend on stocking up soon!

L xxx

Review: Rimmel 1000 Kisses

I was really excited when these came out, I love lip products, I love Rimmel and I love multi taskers!

These seemed amazing!

I went down to Boots during a 3 for 2 deal and snapped mine up along with a few other things (here) so it's taken me a while to get around to using it enough to review it.

I picked up Perpetual Plum, as it's a gorgeous pinky berry shade that can be built up.

I love lip tints, especially ones in these colours and was really looking forward to using the felt tip end to apply it.

As far as application goes, it was fairly easy to get a decent amount of colour onto your lips and not smudge it across your face as I have with previous similar products, it as chunky enough to know where your going with it but it could probably be easier, though I'm not sure how...

I always find that when the product starts to run out the felt tip gets a bit manky, anyone else find this?

However the colour was gorgeous and buildable for a pink tint or a full on berry stain which is perfect in my opinion.

I would argue that the colour does not last 1000 kisses, it didn't even manage to last 3 hours before it was off my lips and I was reapplying it but I wasn't so bothered about this as if you're anything like me I love reapplying lip products anyway!

The main problem for me was the balm.

It was ok, it did an alright job, I feel my Vaseline can never be replaced however and this came nowhere near on the hydration scale.

Also a massive problem for me, I'd used it about 4 times before the lid caught on the balm and snapped it right off onto the floor.

I have issues with the balm because of this!

Its so soft that it breaks too easily and I feel it would have been better to have a balm that you twisted or pushed up to stop this from happening.

I'd barely used it and suddenly it was on the floor covered in fluff and no way was I going to use it again.

I'm sure I'll continue to use the stain and replace the balm with my ever present Vaseline which suits me fine, but I would have still liked to use the balm....I did pay for it after all!

Have you tried any other shade of 1000 Kisses lip tint?

L xxx

She Said Beauty June Box

I've been wanting to join the beauty box craze for a while now. I love the idea of recieving something through the post all packaged pretty with lots of beauty products in, but was put of paying up to £12.50 a month. As well as not knowing what box to pick.

Then over the bank holiday weekend She Said Beauty were offering a whooping 60% off there boxes. So I got the 6 month subscription for under £40 (the 60% off wasn't off postage) What swayed me was the chance of getting some St Tropez in my box. Did any of you see or take up this great offer.

It arrived in a bright pink cardboard box, I think it was love at first site ;). I love the bright pink packaging.

When I opened it I was greeted by a gorgeous mint green box with a light floral pattern to the corners. I really liked this and thought the box will definitely be used again.

The box opens with a flap lid (no losing lids) and has a magnet so it stays shut. Inside more pink in the form of tissue and ribbon. Who doesn't love the pretty combo of tissue and the mint and pink together.

So here is what I got in my box (picture heavy)

Money off St Tropez when you order online (thought I'd share the code)

In it I had:

• St Tropez Gradual Tan. Can't wait to try this as recently tried the lotion and loved it. I'll be interested to see how it compares to Dove gradual tan. Size in box is 75ml so a good size, Full size product is 200ml and costs £14.30 so a lot more than the likes a Dove.
• Let's Go Lashes. I love wearing lashes on a night out so lashes in these type of boxes always go down well with me. It's something I'll definitely use. £8.95 per set. I got the style tease. Again can't wait to try them.
• Perfume sample of Yardley London. not a huge sample, think I'll change my preference on recieving perfume samples as it's something that doesn't excite me. Smells ok. Full Size is only £9.99 so quite a cheap one.
• Balance me super mositurising hand cream. I was really excited to see this. Due to my job my hands get washed constantly and therefore end up rather dry so a good hand cream is a must. The 30ml size that comes in the box is worth 6.00. It also is 98.8% natural origin and is sulphate and paraben free, which is something you'll know me and L look out for.
• Elemis tranquil touch indulgent bath elixer. I love going to salons that use Elemis products so I'm excited to try one at home. I'm literally about to jump in the bath and test this out now. Sample in the box is 50ml and 300ml costs £19.00.
• There was also one extra sample. I'm very intrigued to try this, it's the ginvera Green Tea nude cover BB Cream. I'm definitely not a BB cream girl. I love full coverage of a foundation but I'm looking forward to giving this a proper try. It's not a huge sample but I'm hoping to get two uses out of it. It claims to help prevent fine lines and if I like it I will consider buying this for the summer, I'm all for the prevention of line. This retails at £20.00 for 25 ml 

All in all for me a box I will use everything of. The perfume definitely was the least exciting for me. With She Said you can pay monthly and cancel at any time of sign up for 3 months, 6 months or 12 months and pay all at once. They are priced at £9.00 plus 2.95 p and p. I think I'd think twice if it wasn't for the deal as I should be watching pennies at the moment, but who doesn't love a bright pink box through the post each month.

What do you think of the She Said Beauty box? 

If there are any products you are particularly interested to know how I got on with just let me know.

Love M

xxx