Miss Patisserie Mineral Mud Mask

Hello there!

Hooray it is almost the weekend! I will be away from this evening on a hen weekend and I'm rather excited. I will hopefully get some time to do some sightseeing whilst at the city as I've never been there before - all will be revealed in another post I'm sure!

In the meantime today's post is about another mask from Miss Patisserie, this is the Mineral Mud Mask.

The Mineral Mud mask is for drawing out impurities from skin and dealing with excessive oil, so is perfect for those of us with that oily T-zone.

Key ingredients include dead sea clay, kaolin clay and red clay, all of which are well known for helping with oily skin. It also contain Spearmint oil and Mandarin orange oil so you just know it smells good!

All you need to do is use around half to a full tablespoon of the product and mix it with water to create the mask. I've seen lots of ideas of mixing them with other things such as lemon juice or milk depending on your skin type which is a good idea, but not one that I have yet tried so can't comment on it. Lemon juice is supposed to be amazing for brightening though so that would be a great addition to this mask for a double whammy!

You simply make the paste and leave it on for 20 minutes, easy peasy!

So what does it look like on, and how does it feel?

You can see the image below for how it looks, it does dry on your skin so it can feel your skin tighten with it on so that's one thing to note if you're not a fan of that.

I don't mind it as long as I don't use them all the time, and just find that I need a really thick moisturiser or oil to rehydrate my skin afterwards.

It washes off really easily and my skin is definitely less oily afterwards. I don't suffer with spots like I used to, probably due to a more extensive skincare routine and also I'm getting old!
My skin needs hydration a hell of a lot more than before but still gets oily, using this once or twice a week has helped a lot and in between I pile on the serums, oils and moisturiser to solve all my skin issues.

I've previously written about the Walnut Stone Face Mask (link here) which you can read if you like, and I wrote that it was difficult to use the powder to form the paste with my hands. I also purchased the bamboo spoon this time and can say it is definitely worth the £1.75 it costs for a perfect 0.5 tablespoon measure without making a mess! I'd recommend getting this too.

The Mineral Mud Mask costs £7.70, and the Bamboo Spoon £1.75. Have you tried any of Miss Patisserie's masks before? Do you have any other favourite products from her?

I'm a huge fan, slowly but surely buying my way around the store! I'd love the try the Facial Oils next, I've heard great things!


L xxx

Super Facialist Una Brennan Vitamin C+ Brighten Skin Renew Cleansing Oil

Morning!

I've been raving on twitter for a little while how much I absolutely love Una Brennan's Super Facialist Skin Renew Cleansing Oil. It's everything about it and I just cannot get enough!

Costing £10.99 from Boots, I have always heard great things but for some reason just never got around to buying it. Now I'm annoyed at myself!

Vitamin C is known for its anti ageing and brightening properties and so it's a welcome addition to my routine. Double cleansing is also something that I've become increasingly aware of and so I couldn't wait to start cleansing with an oil first to remove grime and make up and then cleanse my skin properly with my usual cleanser.

As for the contents, here;s what they say:

 Infused with Vitamin C and nourishing Olive, Grapeseed and Rosehip oils, this highly soluble oil transforms itself, upon contact with water, into a light milky texture. Boosted with Rosemary oil, Vitamin E and soothing Cucumber oil it gently dissolves face and eye make-up and removes daily impurities.

Sounds like it might be alright yeah?

I simply pour a few drops of this into my palm and then apply it to my dry face and let it work its magic. It seems to melt off the majority of my make up really easily and even manages to get through the toughest mascara and the boldest of eye liners.

When you've had enough of rubbing it over your face you simply add water and it turns to a milk and can be rinsed off, easy peasy. I then follow this with a cleanser and hope that this is helping to cleanse my skin more deeply and thoroughly.

I cannot go any further without mentioning the smell. If I could drink this, I would and I have found myself sat in the bathroom just sniffing the bottle; I'm a fan of the old citrus scents and this one is fabulous!

Needless to say after using this for a few weeks my skin feels thoroughly cleansed and it hasn't had any negative reactions whatsoever; I'm a firm fan and with Boots often doing 3 for 2 deals on skincare I can certainly see this becoming a firm favourite, especially for £10.99!

Have you tried any of the Superfacialist range? What's your favourite? 

I've used a few things from the range before but this is my favourite so far!

L xxx

Origins Ginzing Face Mask

Hello there!

Everyone who's anyone has heard of Origins and their fabulous Ginzing range. I'm a bit of a fan myself having loved both their eye cream and face cream and have previously posted about them here and here.

When I had a £10 off voucher sent to me for my birthday I umm'd and aah'd about what to get. I could always buy something from them but I wasn't running out of anything and didn't want to go overboard with my spending.

Eventually I settled on picking up Eye Doctor, my favourite eye cream for my sensitive eyes but wait, what a shame, it required a £50 spend to redeem the £10 off and the eye cream wasn't enough. As soon as my eyes fixed on this face mask I knew it would be my latest addition.

The Ginzing range is all about brightening, refreshing and energy boosting.

With this in mind it was only a matter of time before they brought out more in the range which has proved to be very popular.
This refreshing face mask is designed to be used in the morning, for example during your morning shower, where you can apply to skin for 10 minutes or so before removing.

The mask itself is quite a thick gel mask containing coffee beans for an energy boost, cucumber ot help refresh and Hoelen mushroom to soothe skin. This all combines to give your skin the 'get up and glow' that tired and dull skin needs in the morning.

I've been using the mask a few times a week for the last couple of weeks to see its effects. In the morning i love nothing more than a bit of citrus; things like Original source lemon or lime shower gels are amazing. i absolutely love this wash for the same reasons, citrus scents just wake you up and get you feeling happy! 

Applying this to my face did seem to make my skin feel a bit brighter, whether this was temporary i don't know as i do always put make up on afterwards but my complexion was definitely brighter on a number of occasions after using this mask.

I also think it helped my complexion by keeping it nice and clear; this could be because of leaving it on for 10 minutes at a time and allowing it to fully penetrate the skin but it had a positive effect on my skin.

The tube of Ginzing Face Mask comes in at £23 for 100ml which is quite pricey but if you're only using it a few times a week you shouldn't run out of it too fast. It's a lovely treat and I think particularly over the spring and summer months it's been lovely to use this in the mornings as an extra boost when the weather is occasionally sunny!

For me it hasn't been a necessary part of my skincare routine as I'm already obsessed with Checks and Balances cleanser, Modern Friction and the whole Make a Difference range, plus Night-a-Mins and pretty much all the other masks and eye creams. I'm sure Origins won't mind if I only buy this one when I'm feeling flush, right?

L xxx

ProVoke a Touch of Silver Twice a Week Brightening Shampoo

Evening All

Time seems to be just escaping me at the moment and late evening seems to be the only time I can post. Since upping my training at the gym I feel like free time is going. I'm so far behind on loads of tv shows but by the time I catch up with friends I have no time. Can we have more hours in the day.

Today I thought I'd share with you a product I think every blonde needs to have whether you have all over colour or just highlights. I recently put an all over blonde shade on brown hair to try and lighten it but it had gone a bit brassy and slightly funny toned so I picked up the Provoke shampoo again.

Whenever I'm blonde I swear by this. As someone who only washes there hair every 5 days I tend to use it for most washes. I used to use the John Frieda purple range but this is a bit cheaper and works even better in my opinion.

It's a bright purple shampoo and is quite runny. I tend to wash my hair with normal shampoo first then apply this. It lathers up well in the hair and is easily rubbed in. You then need to leave it on for 5 minutes.

I don't follow up with the conditioner just because I have others I prefer to use so have never tried it and quite often use a hair mask. When using this I do feel my hair needs a good conditioner as when it's washed out the hair can feel quite dry.

The shampoo really brightens hair up. I wash so impressed. It worked on my hair so well when I dyed it. I dyed it one weekend went to work and nobody noticed it was lighter. The next weekend I used this shampoo and everyone then noticed on Monday my hair was lighter!

If you're a blonde or ombre lover I cannot recommend this enough! It really removes brassy tones and brightens blonde!

It can be picked up in savers, supermarkets or boots and is around £3 mark!

Love M

xxx

Origins Best Brighteners

Hi all!

I'm sure everyone knows by now but Origins are one of our favourite brands here at CSI and normally when purchasing something from them you can get a few sample size products to try.

Over Christmas when I bought a few things from John Lewis they were giving away miniature sets and so I chose the Best Brighteners set. There were a few on offer but I hadn't used the products in this set so I chose the brighteners.

I love all of the sets that Origins do but the packaging is always really cute and this one is no exception.

This set contains Dr Andrew Weil for Origins Mega Bright Skin Illuminating Cleanser, Skin Tone Correcting Serum and GinZing Eye Cream.

I've got so much love for their serums, they are so absorbent into my skin and leave it feeling so much more hydrated without overloading it at all.
I'd never tried this particular one before but it was really lovely and I would happily buy it in full size if it wasn't so expensive. That's my only problem with the serums from Origins, they're so pricey and although they do really work I just cannot justify it at the moment.

I can't really comment on its skin tone correcting properties due to it only being a 7ml sample but it was super hydrating and was a joy to use.

The cleanser was also a really lovely treat and it has now been moved to my gym bag so that I have a really nice cleanser for whenever I've done a good workout!
It's a thick white cleanser that feels really hydrating on your skin. It doesn't foam but turns to a white milk kind of consistency that make up then dissolves in. It feels really thick and luxurious and worked really well at getting my make up off. I can't say that it was particularly illuminating but my skin felt really clean and was a little brighter after use. I'd definitely buy this in the future as it felt so much of a treat.

The GinZing eye cream is a favourite product of mine and I have previously written about it here.

In short its hydrating, luminating and depuffing which is everything you could want in an eye cream really!

I love getting the opportunity to try products like this, this set was free with some purchases and it has been a great way to try products that I might not have bought otherwise. I now know that the serum is something I would love to purchase in the future (when I'm not poor!)

What's your favourite Origins product? Have you found a new favourite by trialling something that was free?

L xxx

Antipodes Spree

Hi!

If you're a regular reader of our blog or our tweets then you'll know that we are both big fans of skincare and particularly organic skincare. I've previously posted Antipodes Divine Oil after receiving it in the Selfridge's Beauty Box (review here)

After seeing an offer on Naturisimo where if you bought 2 Antipodes products you received a free Hand and Body cream I couldn't resist. I'd just almost finished the Divine Oil and knew I wanted to repurchase it so that was added to my basket straight away.

As for my other purchase...I was stumped because my initial choices were of either the Aura Manuka Honey mask which I'd heard SO MUCH about and wanted badly and the Reincarnation Facial Exfoliator. Unfortunately both of these were out of stock, at the time I'd just finished a cleanser so I snapped up the Juliet Brightening Cleanser to complete my order.




The Divine Oil is an absolute must have for me. After using it for the first time 18 months ago it has been a complete life changer and I wouldn't be without it now.

Even the week without it between it running out and the new one arriving was torture.
I increased my water levels to flush out toxins from my body and obviously this caused my skin to break out and nothing would help it at all.





I can't use this oil in the morning because it's too greasy to apply to skin before make up (I only get 10 mins to sort my face in the morning) but in the night its amazing and absorption doesn't take long at all. I'm just impatient in the mornings!

The Juliet Brightening Cleanser has been a great addition to my skincare wardrobe. It's a brown plastic bottle which allows the product to be dispensed easily. The cleanser is a brown gel which looks a little odd initially, I wasn't expecting it to be the same brown colour as the bottle!



You apply this to wet skin and it melts make up straight off your face. I was really surprised this was so easy and it even melted off my mascara which is pretty impressive.
Not only is it amazing at removing make up it also contains kiwi fruit and manuka honey which are both New Zealand.
Kiwi fruit contains Omega 3, Vitamins C and E and ALA - alpha-linolenic acid, which are all super products for skincare.
Manuka is anti-bacterial, anti-wrinkle and its also an astringent which means its another great ingredient in skincare products.



I've loved using this cleanser and would definitely buy it again.

The GWP was a Hand and Body cream called Joyful.



It's a 120ml cream that can be used at any time of the day on hands and body. It's suitable for most skin types and is fragrant with wild blackcurrant and also contains hibiscus flower and avocado oil.



This smells divine and doesn't leave an oily residue on your skin at all. It's great for rough elbows and knees and I find is best applied after a bath/shower on my limbs as it sinks in and smells lush!





I have to say I was a huge fan of Antipodes having only tried one of their products. It was only a matter of time before I picked up more of them and this order was just the start of a slippery slope.....having loved them so much and 'accidentally on purpose' noticing that the mask and exfoliator were back in stock i swiftly placed my next order....oops!

This time I gave the free Joyful hand and body cream to my mum who was very grateful for a present from me....shame it says free gift with purchase on the box eh?!

Have you tried Antipodes? What's your favourite product?

I would love the try the Kiwi Seed Eye Cream and either the Joyous or Apostle serums, they both sound amazing. In fact lets be honest at this rate I'm bound to be buying the entire range over the next ye


L xxx

Indeed Laboratories: Hydraluron, Pepta Bright, Eysilix

Morning all! 

If you haven't heard of Indeed Laboratories, then you've probably been living under a rock....

They've hit the big time with fans such as Caroline Hirons singing their praises making them the hottest property on the skincare market for the past year or so.

With a 3 for 2 offer on in Boots, who was I to say no to purchasing some of the most raved about products!
So I picked up Hydraluron, Eysilix and Pepta Bright.

Nanoblur was their first product to be launched and lots of people were huge fans, myself not included in this however as I didn't like the texture on my skin and it didn't work well with my make up.

I did pick up their infamous Hydraluron though and I'm going to run through all the products I picked up as briefly as I can and tell you what I think after using them for the past few months.

Pepta Bright is a white cream that you put on your skin after cleansing and before moisturising.

It claims to be a brightening treatment and who doesn't need a bit of that in their life??

I like the packaging of the products with the different colours but generally similar style boxes and arrangement.
On the side of the box is a brief synopsis of the company which is helpful, I always like a general blurb on the company and what it stands for, which you can see above.

So Pepta Bright contains 7 ingredients targeting 7 biological factors. It claims to be a cream/serum which is a bit confusing as I'm pretty sure its just a white cream but it is easily absorbed.
This product is designed to improve the appearance of hyperpigmentation, age spots and uneven skin tone and restore general brightness and luminosity to the skin.

I LOVE that the box opens up like a book and you can see the full list of promises, what the product is free from, and helpfully all the other products in their range.
The 7 claims are quite detailed and sound pretty promising...

I applied this cream morning and night after cleansing and before my usual moisturiser.
It was easily absorbed into the skin and I felt a tingling after application.
My skin is sometimes sensitive and I think this product heightens it but I'm not sure which ingredient it is. It's not uncomfortable but i am aware of it and so i felt it was something to note.

Aside from that after continued usage my skin did look brighter and I do think some of my scars have lightened and so my general complexion has cleared up a bit.

I do like this product and I have seen some small results, I'm hoping over even more time my skin will get better. After an allergic reaction I had a few months ago I've been reluctant to carry on using this as my skin has been sensitive, but I will be carrying on with it again now after seeing improvements!

The next product was Eysilix, an eye cream that contains 10 peptides to target concerns around the eye area such as puffiness, dark circles and to eliminate signs of stress and fatigue.

Again the book feature of the box details the 5 actions from this product which are 100% what you'd look for in an eye cream.

I like the design of the packaging where you can control the product coming out of the tube and don't waste it which is great for saving the pennies!

I applied this white cream on my eye area morning and night and as with the Pepta Bright I unfortunately had some tingling. As this was around my eye area I was a bit worried about it and have at times taken it off because I was worried it was stinging too much.

Again there must be an active ingredient in it which is causing it and possibly may be reacting with my skin. It did feel moisturising and the skin around my eye felt more hydrated.

My eye area is something that I'm worried about as genetics tells me that my eyes will be the first area to show signs of ageing and i already have a few lines which come and go depending on how tired and dehydrated I am. I'm hoping with copious amounts of moisturising it will keep them at bay for as long as possible!

Hydraluron is my favourite of the three products. Firstly it comes in a bright pink box that you cannot fail to notice.
I was drawn to this because of the massive amount of good reviews it has received and the fact I need some serious hydration in my life.

The box for this product was somewhat different to the others, noticeably because it had French on it but also because it had a lot more detail about the product and its mechanisms.

Long story short Hydraluron contains hyaluronic acid, which holds 1000 times its own weight in water which when applied to the skin means its happy and hydrated.

In practical terms I applied this after cleansing and before moisturising in the morning and evening. It's a clear gel that feels a little like it melts when you apply it.
I can't say that i noticed a huge difference initially and admittedly I did think it was a fad that everyone was jumping on the back of. However it sunk into my skin quite easily and had no negatives effects at all so i persevered.

And I'm so glad i did! After a few weeks my skin did feel smoother and more hydrated, and as soon as I stopped using the tube there was a massive change in the hydration levels in my skin.
When I restarted using it I saw an improvement in my skin again.

It's a weird product as it's not a miracle worker and in fact doesn't really show any improvement for a while.
If you're going to purchase it just bare that in mind as it won't suddenly be the answer to your prayers, but over a few weeks it will definitely improve your skin hydration.

Out of the three products, i would 100% recommend Hydraluron as a staple product in your skincare wardrobe. I do have an issue with the size of it though, 30ml is a small tube for a £25 price tag.

It's currently on offer for £16.66 however as all of Indeed Laboratories products are 1/3 off at Boots right now.

I would also recommend Pepta Bright as it does provide some positive results in terms of brightening and fighting hyperpigmentation, though I'd be wary if you have sensitive skin.

Eysilix however was a bit of a disappointment for me and I'm afraid I can't give it any rave reviews because my skin found it too powerful to use consistently and so I didn't see any results.


Have you tried products from Indeed Laboratories? Which one is your favourites? Did you rave over Hydraluron too?


L xxx