Lacura Charcoal Clearing Mud Mask

Morning all!

Recently I shared my thoughts on the Lacura Charcoal Mud to Foam Cleanser so today's post is about the face mask in the same range, the Charcoal Clearing Mud Mask.

Lush Haul

I'm never sure what to think when others put up haul posts, sometimes I think it's an excuse to show how much money you have to spend on things you don't need...but then why shouldn't you buy what YOU want with YOUR money?! Maybe that question is a whole post in itself!

I realised I'd bought a few things from Lush in the last few weeks and what other word was there to call it but a haul? I've really been enjoying using them all as they aren't products or scents I have tried before so I wanted to share my thoughts.

Lush 1000 Millihelens Jelly Face Mask Review

Hey All

As soon as I saw Lush had bought out the Jelly range I need I had to try them, as a huge lush fan I couldn't wait to try the jelly bath bombs and face masks out. The jelly bath bomb review will be up soon!

Lacura Exfoliating Mud Mask

What are your thoughts on dupes??

If you're anything like us you will love a bargain, but often the dupe isn't the same as the original product so I suppose it's each to their own with buying products that are copies of another.

The Glam Glow masks have been around for a few years now and have a huge following, I've only tried a sachet from them a while back and I did like it but can't really comment on regular usage. I'd love to try it, but at £42 for 50g of the Youthmud clearing treatment I just cannot justify it - being single and buying your own home is not good to your bank account!

However, the fabulous brand that is Lacura from Aldi UK has an Exfoliating Mud Mask that is very similar indeed.

The Body Shop - Seaweed Gel Cream and Clay Mask

You may have seen our recent posts on the skincare ranges from The Body Shop, we've shared from the Drops of Youth range and some of their Camomile cleansers.

Today I wanted to share with you some of the products from the Seaweed range. I've always had an oily t-zone so for me, finding a hydrating moisturiser that doesn't cause my skin to become nice and shiny by 11am is key. I did pick up some of the Tea Tree range to help but it turns out that isn't the most ideal range for me, and what I needed was the Seaweed range.

So when I went to one of their outlet stores recently I decided to try the Oil Control Gel Cream and the Oil Balancing Clay Mask. I've been using them recently and although I would normally spend  a few weeks using them these have been an instant decision.

Miss Patisserie Pink and Mint Box

Hey all

Apologies for the lack of posts. L and I have been busy at Glastonbury and I've got loads on with work at the moment so I've just not had a chance to get myself sorted. Anyway today I wanted to share another love from Miss Patisserie, if you've not figured it out yet it's a favourite of L and I's. I love that everything is cruelty free and handmade. When I went on my massive spree one thing I couldn't resist was the Pink and Mint box. The boxes are great value for money and are a great way to try a selection of the products. L has shared the dotty box on the blog here.

The Pink and Mint box costs £25 and contains the items you can see on the box below. Buying it as the box not only saves you money you also get one of the gift boxes free. They are really sturdy, pretty and great for storage. These make amazing gifts for friends or family and are a great way to try different products! I really wanted the Pink and Mint box as I couldn't wait to try out the Peony and Pear fragrance!

The only thing from the box I'm get to try is bath bomb. Mainly as I already have a massive stash to work through (made bigger as C's parents got me lots more Miss Patisserie goodies for an early birthday present!). 

The first thing I couldn't wait to test out was the Peony and Pear Body Butter. I'm a huge body butter fan, I seem to get quite dry skin so this was something I was really looking forward to trying out. It didn't dispoint. It sinks into the skin evenly and leaves it feeling soft and not greasy. I was instantly won over by the fragrance and I can see why it's so popular. Light and fresh with a subtle floral hint!

L has been telling me about the Miss Patisserie masks for ages. They're unique in the fact they're a powder and you mix it with water when you need to use it. I think this is a great idea as I forget to use face masks and this keeps it fresher for longer.  You can buy a wooden spoon that is the perfect measure so I think I'll be grabbing it next as it'll make it easier to measure out the right amount. The Pink Clay mask is great for dry or sensitive skin. I'd say my skin is combination but feeling dehydrated lately so thought this would be a great one to try that wouldn't make it took greasy. It's packed with oatmeal and buttermilk which help to soothe and soften skin. I'm really enjoying using it so far and it's helping my skin. I can wait to use it more as summer comes as I think it'll be great for then!

The last product in this set was the Tonka Bean Dry Body Oil. This isn't something I'd have picked up. I love oils for my hair and I've come around to them for the face now but for the body it seems effort and slippery. I'm glad this was in the set as it has really changed my mind! I love it. Tonka bean is a fragrance I love and this is blended with sweet vanilla and mandarin. As it's a dry oil it doesn't leave me greasy and I've found my legs particularly love it after shaving. The bottle makes it easy to spray on and not cover everything with!

I think this box will have to be included in my Mum's Christmas present as she'd love it too!

I think the Peony and Pear bath ball will be being used as a relaxation this weekend!

Love M

xxx

Miss Patisserie's Dotty Box

Happy Sunday evening!

What a beautiful weekend it has been, I'm sporting some pink shoulders and sore muscles after finally getting around to sorting out some of my garden - 9 bags later and it's still not finished, eek!

Anyway, back to business....we went to Miss Patisserie for a blogger event (you can read the post here)

One of the items I picked up was the Dotty Box, a gift box with four items in all of which looked and smelled so good I couldn't resist it.

In total it contains the Mineral Mud Face Mask, Coral Bay Dry Body Oil, Coco Body Butter and the Coral Bay Bath Ball.
All of these smell so amazing, I couldn't wait to try them.

They come in the same boxes as when you can select four bath balls of your own choice, and the boxes are gorgeous. I'm planning on decorating my bathroom with the same colour as the blue on the box, so it will conveniently match...right?

The boxes are so well thought out and I love the note on the inside of it too. I wish I'd known about Miss Patisserie sooner, especially as it's been around since 2009!

Here are the products:

How cute are they?!
The smell when you open the box is amazing, even with the contents out the box it still smells awesome and I have sniffed it a few times just to remind myself of the scent! It makes me feel so relaxed and content, I need to bottle it up and carry it around with me.

First up? The Coral Bay Bath Ball. Look at the pretty colours!

This was my first bath ball and I was really impressed. The pastel colours were so pretty, and the bath ball fizzed for so long I actually ended up breaking it up with my hands, I am very impatient! I'd like a perfume in this scent, it's just makes me so happy!

Next is the Mineral Mud mask.

I've already written a post about this separately, you can find it by clicking here.
Short review: I love it and fully recommend it!

The next product I tried was the Coral Bay Dry Body Oil. This is a game changer for me, I knew I loved the smell but a dry oil isn't something I had tried before and I really loved it!

I use this all the time now, straight out of the shower and it sinks in pretty fast. I love moisturisers and body butters but sometimes they take too long and I can't be bothered to wait for them to dry. This is the perfect alternative and I'm really impressed with it.

I'd definitely recommend it, just let me stock up on it first so I never run out!

Last but not least is the Coco Body butter, and it is certainly another favourite.

The smell of this is also out of this world and is such a summery scent, it's a lovely thick moisturiser and takes a little while to rub in but it doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy at all.

Overall I am more than impressed with the collection and generally with everything I have bought from Miss Patisserie. This was the perfect box to try a range of products and I'd 100% recommend it for anyone who would like to try a few and can't choose.

The box costs £25 and is worth around £32 in product so it is worth buying if you want them all anyway. Individually they are priced at:

Mineral Mud Face Mask - £7.70
Coral Bay Dry Body oil - £14
Coral Bay Bath ball - £3.49
Coco Body Butter- £6

Have you tried any sets from Miss Patisserie? Do you love the Coral Bay scent?

L xxx

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

Miss Patisserie Walnut Stone Face Mask

Happy Sunday!

I hope you have all had lovely weekends, I've had a pretty quiet one. Mainly due to the awful weather and it being the end of the month - no money left!
I have had a pretty good pamper session though, and what would a pamper session be without a face mask??

I picked up the Walnut Stone Face Mask from Miss Patisserie just before Christmas. I had seen it in the shop and heard lots of good things so I snapped it up!

This mask contains Rhassoul clay from Morocco to brighten skin. It also contains kaolin clay and walnut stone for exfoliation and to stimulate circulation. I can hydrate my skin as much as possible but I always need a mask or scrub to help keep my skin looking bright and smooth, and luckily for those of us with dry skin the kaolin clay doesn't draw any oil from the skin so stops it drying out further.

All you need to do is mix up to 1 tablespoon of the mixture with a few drops of water and ta dah, you have your mask!
I really like the fact that you make this mask up fresh every time you want to use it, and thanks to the lavender oil it smells really good too.

So when it's all mixed up and on the face what does it look like?

Well it's not thick like other masks, and it actually feels quite thin on your skin but that isn't really a problem as sometimes it feels like your skin is coated rather than being cleaned.

It's also not as scary as some masks!

The Walnut Stone Face Mask comes in at £7.70 for a pot, I've used it 3 or 4 times and its not even half way yet so I'd say that's pretty good. I also really like that you make it up each time by yourself so it's fresh every time. My skin feels much cleaner and the tiny bits make sure it's all scrubbed clean too!

Miss Patisserie also has two other masks in the range; The Mineral Mud and the Pink Clay. The Mineral Mud is the next thing on my list to help with my oily T-zone, it still isn't going anywhere even though I'm 27!

Hav eyou tried the masks from Miss Patisserie? What do you think of making your masks up yourself?

L xxx

Lush Rosy Cheeks Fresh Face Mask

Hey All

As I mentioned last week in our post on Cranberry face mask (you can see that here) we recently purchased a few face masks then made a morning of it trying them out.

Rosy cheeks instantly appealed to me to try out as it has a different texture to the other Lush masks I've tried.

Rosy cheeks is a great when for winter to help soothe the skin. I don't know about you but the cold wind can play havoc with my skin and make it sore and my normally rosy cheeks rosier! I love the smell and texture of this. It feels so soft and smooth to apply and doesn't dry on the skin.

The combination of Kaolin, calamine and Turkish rose oil give the face mask an amazing delicate floral smell. They also help to calm the skin as well as providing a gentle cleanse to the skin. This is a great on for more delicate skin that doesn't need exfoliation.

Have your tried Rosy Cheeks? I don't think I've found a lush face mask I don't like yet.

Love M

xxx

Hi all!

The one thing I couldn't get over with this mask was how smooth and creamy it was. Putting it on straight from the fridge was the best tip I could give you - it really holds the cold temperature and feels so cooling and soothing on the skin.

The only weird thing - if that's even the right word - is that it looks so odd on your face! It does make you look like you have extreme sunburn, the selfies we took whilst wearing this mask is not for sharing with the public! Ha they just look a little too odd, but well worth the effects.

This is a good winter treat for the skin and again the mask has been worth trying. Just need to decide which of the masks I need to try next, what would you recommend??

L xxx

Lush Cranberry Fresh Face Mask

Hey All

L and I love a good face mask especially the Lush one's. When we went to Lush a few weeks back to see the new Christmas collection (you can see that post here) we couldn't resist getting some new face masks. As we were meeting up a week later to go to a friend's christening we decided to go for a double face masks session so we could try out each other's purchases.

Cranberry is a Christmas edition so you should definitely snap this one up quickly. Cranberry is a great one full of antioxidants and fenel to cleanse the skin and argan oil and rose clay leaves helps to leave the skin soft, smooth and matte.

It has a thick texture meaning it's easy to smooth onto the skin, it also has a slight grainy texture so gives a slight exfoliation when it's removed. It dries comfortably on the skin and does flake off too badly as you're relaxing waiting for it to work it's magic. After using L's I'll definitely be grabbing another one before it goes.

Love M

xxx

Good morning!

This face mask is well worth picking up for the limited time it is available, if it's only for the smell!! It just smells so perfectly fruity and addictive.

My favourite feature of this face mask was the slight exfoliation properties, which clearly help with the 'smooth skin' that the mask promises. I can't find anything not to like about this, its's super refreshing and everyone should pick up a pot!

I always look forward to trying out the new masks from Lush, I hope that they bring out another in the new year very soon!


L xxx

Lush Cupcake Fresh Face Mask

Hey all!

I've been super crazy busy recently so my posts have been non existent - thanks to M for filling in for me! This is exactly why we blog together - not only would we blog similar posts anyway but we can help each other out when the other doesn't have the time.
My parents are both due into hospital again and I've been to Paris for work so things have been a little all over the place but with an upcoming week off I will be catching up on everything!

A few weeks ago we both went to Lush for their latest event (you can see our post here) and I stocked up my product collection with a few new additions.

I picked up the Yoga Bomb bath bomb, Ultrabland facial cleanser, Needles and Pine shower jelly and Cupcake Fresh Face mask as well as the infamous Porridge soap.

I've been using them all ever since and have honestly been loving them all!

This review however is dedicated to the Cupcake Fresh Face mask. This costs £6.50 for the 75g, and the reviews show 4* out of 5.

It contains only 13 ingredients including rhassoul mud, fairtrade organic cocoa butter, fresh mint and spearmint and peppermint oils.

The most important ingredient is rhassoul mud which works with the cocoa powder to draw all of the impurities from your skin and deeply cleanse it to remove all of the dirt.

Fresh mint can be used to stimulate and tone the skin and the linseed infusion and cocoa butter moisturise and hydrate the skin. I don't know about you but this sounds good enough to eat right??!

I was won over as soon as I saw it in store and wanted to to just dive right into a huge vat of it!



Unfortunately it doesn't come in a pot that big so i picked up the standard size and brought it home to try. As you can see I looked a little ridiculous with it all over my face!

I left this on my face for 10/15 minutes as recommended and my skin has been helped so much. The amount of oil has been reduced and so has the redness, breakouts have also pretty much disappeared which is amazing news.

I would really recommend this to anyone who suffers with break outs and redness, and needs that extra bit of oil mopping up.
Plus who doesn't love a face mask that looks like liquid chocolate?!

What masks are your favourite from Lush? 

L xxx