Orla Kiely - Bergamot Collection *

Hey All

Late post from me tonight. I've been in the kitchen busy baking as in work we are having a Great British Bake Off thing where each week one of us bakes. My turn was advanced dough week so I tried my hand at Luis' Raspberry Mojito Doughnut. It's safe to say I wouldn't be winning prizes for consistency!

Anyway on to today's review. We were recently sent some of the Orla Kiely Bergamot Collection to try. The first thing I noticed was the gorgeous print on the bottle! These would look so pretty in a bathroom or kitchen. At my house we did have a dispenser till I knocked it off. These are a product safe from the clumsy people like myself!

I was excited to receive the hand wash and hand lotion and these came straight to work with me. I work in a laboratory so my hands are washed a lot everyday so get really dry from the horrible soap in the dispensers! It's been lovely (I almost put lush there but lately I'm very aware of how welshie I am and saying lush doesn't help!) having a more caring product to use!

The bergamot is new to the range and follows on from the success of the Geranium range. Something L and I look for in products is sulphate and paraben free. These are that as well as free from petrochemicals and artificial colours.

The Bergamot range is fresh and floral but not over powering with a slight spicy, peppering smell meaning if this is in the bathroom I'm sure guys wouldn't complain. They are made with 100% essentials oils included in this range are cedarwood, patchouli, grapefruit, bergamot, neroli and cardamom to name a few.

The hand cream easily rubs in, leaving hands from soft and not greasy. It smells amazing on the skin and it does last a while. It's really been helping the dry skin on my hands! It's nice to use a hand wash that is sulphate free and I think this is also helping the dry skin on my hands! 

With Christmas fast approaching I think these would make a great gift! I think my mum will find the hand cream and hand wash in her stocking!

These can be purchased from John Lewis and Fenwick stores as well as independant sellers and online.

Have you tried any of the Orla Kiely range? A good bit of packaging really sells a product for me!

Love M

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

Current Favourite Five

Hello!

I thought I'd go for a different tactic for today's post. I love lists and am constantly writing them.

Today's post is therefore a reflection of that and so I'd like to share with you my top 5 products that I'm currently loving. We always write about new products to us and don't mention enough the ones that we actually do use, repurchase and love to bits!

So here's my current top 5 favourites:



1: Murad's AHA/BHA Exfoliating cleanser.

This cleanser is something that I've been using for a while now. I regularly use this a couple of times a week as part of my skin regime. I normally cleanse my make up off my face and then use this afterwards as an exfoliator. I try to use this in the shower so that I can massage it in and leave it on my skin so that the acids can work their magic on my dull complexion.

The tiny beads in this help to buff my skin away with no irritation and leaves it feeling super soft.

This tube costs around £34 i think, but has lasted me over a year and I still have around half left, so it's worth every penny.

2: Label M's Protein Spray

We've mentioned this in a number of posts previously and its a god send for my long hair. I don't tend to heat treat it very often (only blasting it with a dryer normally) and only style it every few weeks for an occasion.

But even so as my hair is so long now it's taking a bit more care to keep it in a good condition.

This spray is just such a simple way to add extra nutrients and protection to my hair. It's lightweight, obviously easy to use and can be applied to wet and dry hair. It smells great, not too heavy in fragrance which I prefer and I find it really refreshing to spray on.

This has also lasted me a long time and it still feels heavy, I'd actually be gutted if this ran out any time soon!

This costs £13.25 for a 250ml bottle, but is also available in 50ml and 500ml bottles.

3: Benefit's It's Potent! Eye Cream

This product is a relatively new addition to my stash and I have only been using it a short time.

This means that when concerning long term effects I can't comment too much....

But it feels luxurious on application, has not irritated my sensitive eyes one little bit and they feel so hydrated that I'm annoyed I haven't tried it out before!

This costs £24.50 for 14.2g and from how much I've used so far, it seems it will last me a long time.

4: Aesop Parsley Seed Serum

This serum has been recommended to me many times and after picking it up for some reason it got lost in my stash.

Having rediscovered it after using up all the other serums I own it was such a relief. I started applying it morning and night and my skin drank it straight up! It feels a lot more hydrated than it was feeling when my serums 'ran out' and it hasn't been irritated by it at all, and trust me, I plaster this on.

It sinks in so fast sometimes i apply another layer, probably not ideal as it's a rather expensive product but my skin feels so much better. As the small bottle I have doesn't come with a pipette attachment it's a little wasteful as I have to pour it out, but the larger bottle seems to come with one which is much more economical.

The 100ml bottle comes in at a £45 price tag.....which is a tad on the expensive side.

It would be amazing if this was cheaper as I'd definitely pick it up again. But Aesop needs no help from me for sales as it's extremely popular; the truth is you get what you pay for.

5: Dr Organic's Coconut Hand Cream

Dr Organic is a great brand with a massive range of product in a variety of scents.
I'm a hand cream novice and am constantly having M and my mum going on at me to use them, hands can age you as everyone seems to forget about them and only concentrate on the face.

The coconut hand cream is a great product, it sinks in fast which is a must for me as I really can't deal with waiting for it to sink in. The smell is natural but not overpowering and it leaves my hands feeling smooth.
It's everything that a hand cream novice could ask for!
This comes in at £5.99 for 100ml and is an absolute bargain!

I hope you've enjoyed my top 5, I plan on doing more over the next couple of months to show you what I really am loving.
Next time I will be writing about my make up favourites if you'd like to check back for that!

What are your current favourite products?


L xxx

Spring Series: Hand and Nails!

Afternoon!

We're back again with another post for our Spring Series.

We've already covered Body Care and Fitness and you can read those here and here.

This week's post is dedicated to hands and nails, so if you're a bit of a manicure lover then this post is for you!

I used to be reeeeeeeeally bad at applying hand cream.

As I'm a contact lens wearer I'm always wary of using any kind of cream or soaps on my hands that may interfere when I put my lenses in, so have always avoided them like the plague.

(By this I don't mean that I never washed my hands, just avoided the thick scented ones that tend to stay on your skin!)

After realising that actually it takes 2 seconds to put my lenses in and I don't take them our for a few hours, I changed my tune and now working in a freezing cold lab I slather the stuff on!

I favour products that are organic and natural as I'm sure M does too so my favourite hand creams are from Crabtree and Evelyn, Dr Organic and L'Occitane.

All smell reeeeeeeeaally natural and sink straight into your skin.

As I'm new to the hand cream crew I cannot be dealing with waiting for it to sink in, unless it's when I'm getting into bed.

I also feel I should mention Soap and Glory's Hand Food as it is very popular and I also love the smell of that, but I don't feel like it is as good as it could be and obviously natural and organic wins out for me!

As for nails I am a firm believer in using a traditional 4 way block to file, shape, buff and shine my way to natural nails.

I have currently been using Model's Own and it's been great, love the bright neon colours too and the price is perfect at around £3.

As for nail colours for Spring....I'm a firm believer in nudes, pastels, metallics and pretty patterns.

You cannot go wrong if you pick any of the shades from the following pictures.

These are all of my favourite shades for Spring and I will making my way through each of them over the next few weeks!

As nail art is still so popular I can also see myself attempting M's Rose NOTD that she did a few days ago, or even a Spring version of my own layered polish pattern.

What are your favourite hand and nail tips? What's your favourite Spring colours?

L xxx

As with L I never used to apply hand cream as much as I should have. After realising how badly hands can age I thought it was time I took care of them. I also work in a laboratory so I have to wash my hands a lot and I find the soap very drying. As with L at first I loved Soap and Glory hand food but the more hand creams I've tried the less I like it and I think there are better out there for a better price. My favourite is an Avon Planet Spa one, in African Shea Butter. I adore the scent and it's a nice thick cream that moisturises without leaving hands feeling coated.



As I wear a lot of false nails now I don't tend to my natural nails as much as I should. To see what false nails I use and the tool I can't be without you can see it in my Rose NOTD linked above. I'll be doing a how I use the cuticle trimmer post this week.



I love using dotting tools and my striping tape to create different types of nail art. I'm not the type of girl who wears a plain colour much. I also favour the accent nail. For spring I think nude nails with a bright pink signature nail is a perfect look. Spring is also a great time to get out the pastel shades again.  Here are some of my favourite colours that I tend to gravitate towards for spring time!



Here is some spring inspired nails we did last year.



What's your favourite colour for spring?

Love M

xxx

Jolie Box UK: February

This is my 3rd Jolie Box and the first one I've blogged about.

I'm assuming every body knows what it is and you've probably seen a post with this months contents in anyway, but if you haven't then the following pictures should help you out!

Here's the box the products come in:

I quite like how simple it is, I love black, classic shapes and classic designs..this box = winner in my books!

The inside always has a 'menu' type card, which I love, and the addition of a new drawstring bag with this month's box:

I originally thought the bag was a bit pointless, but as I'm trying to make an effort to be eco-friendly I think this is an improvement on the shredded paper and tissue that normally lines the boxes. I also took the bag to London with me to protect my camera getting scratched so it can be reused :)

The products are shown below:

On the left in the photo below is the Taaj Himalaya Micellar Water (an anti-oxidant make up remover) and on the right is the Lavera organic hand cream

I haven't tried the make up remover yet, I'm saving it until I've finished off my old one (trying to get rid of as many 'old' things as possible!) but the hand cream smells and feels divine! I'm not a hand cream fan but I'm increasingly using it as I seem to have quite a lot and my hands feel better for it. This hand cream is organic and has almond and shea butter in, I can smell these in the cream but if I close my eyes I SWEAR it smells like chocolate orange! Might just be me tho...ha

Another thing to note is that the make up remover contains water from the Himalayas....is this just a gimmick or does it genuinely have properties worth trekking there for?? I'm not sure yet!

I am yet to buy into the Moroccan oil, Argan oil etc hype, but I was pleased to see this full size sample of the Macademia Oil Deep Repair Masque.

M has used Macademia oil before and loves it, so I'm intrigued!

I have high hopes for it, although I'm not sure how many applications I'll get from the sachet. I'm hoping to get 2, but my hair is quite long so that might not happen!

The Jane Iredale Lip and Cheek stain also intrigued me, it goes on clear and then reacts to your skin and mood to give a pink colour that suits you.

I'm never convinced that these can change that much, I understand it reacts to heat and chemicals on your skin, but does it really give that much of a difference?

That being said, I LOVE how small it is, next to it is a miniature Posie Tint, just to show you how small it really is! Too cute for words. And apparently its quite pricey for the full size, around £20.

I threw it in my bag for my weekend in London and did try it out, it gives a nice pink shade on the lips, haven't used it on my cheeks though.

The Kimia Rejuvenating Facial System is something I have never heard of and also have yet to try.

It contains a facial oil that you massage into the face before spraying on an activator.

Will be saving this for an evening when I have time to use it properly.

I'm looking into using oils to clean my face as I hear they can be extremely beneficial so this will be a good test to see if they suit my skin.

Do you sign up to any Beauty Boxes?

I love the idea of them, but as I no longer have a job I think I'm going to cancel my subscription, it doesn't interest me so much and the money isn't something I feel is justified by the products.

That, and I'm determined to get through the absolute mountain of products I've accumulated over the past few years...you would be horrified if you could see my room!

If you want to hear about a specific product then let me know, I think otherwise though unless its absolutely amazing or completely rubbish I might not bother, as I'm afraid these products don't excite me much as of yet...this might change when I try the hair masque and the facial oil!

L xxx