Kiehls Ultra Facial Oil Free Moisturiser

Hey all!

I'm back with another skincare review today - I'm totally obsessed and it seems to have taken over from make up recently. Though I'm sure this will be temporary!

I went to a Kiehls event when the new Cardiff store opened around Christmas time last year, you can find the post here. I picked up the Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil Free lotion at the time and have been using it a lot since then, especially recently now the weather has got warmer again!

Benefit's Love Me B.right Christmas Set

Hi all!!

I'm sure you've all seen them by now, but Benefit have got some absolute corker of a Christmas collection this year.
Not only are they collections of their amazing top products but they're all in amazing collectable tins!

Obviously I want them all, in fact NEED them all.
I'm slowly making my way through them all and might have to get another as next months pay day treat....naughty!

My first purchase was made at the brand new Benefit Carnaby Street store, when we had an amazing day in London and popped in for a browse and tour from the lovely Alyson Rowe. (Post is here if you'd like a read!)

As soon as I saw the tins lined up on the counter I had to snap one up. At the time they were only available in the Carnaby Street store so I couldn't resist an exclusive buy...obviously!

I've tried many of Benefit's products, but by no means all of them and the one that stuck out to me from the collection was the Love Me B.right tin, as it contains skincare.

I was yet to try any skincare products from Benefit and the box is a lovely turquoise colour that would go in my room, essentially this one was sold the second I saw it!

I love the details on the tins, not only are the faces pretty funky but the words printed on top in gold are lush!

This collection contains 4 skincare products; Triple Performing Facial Emulsion, It's Potent! Eye Cream, Total Moisture Facial Cream and of course a mini sample of their infamous Porefessional primer. 

I've been using these for the past couple of weeks so have finally got around to writing my review. Here is what I think of them:

The Triple Performing Facial Emulsion is a full size moisturiser which is oil free and contains SPF 15.
This has been the moisturiser I've used in the morning and evening for the past few weeks, it sinks in quite easily and feels light on the skin.
My skin is combination so this was a relief as I didn't want it to upset the oily t-zone I have and give my face extra shine.

It has also hydrated the drier areas of skin I have on the sides of my face which is the perfect combination for me. The fact it contains SPF is also a great addition, I've started applying it separately in the morning which can be a pain when you're in a rush.

It's Potent Eye Cream is also another full size product in the set. It contains a peptide complex to restore elasticity and firmness, botanical extracts to boost collagen and protect skin from free radical damage.

The cream is very thick and feels luxurious on the skin, my eyes are something I need to be very careful with so this was a massive positive for me. My eyes are so sensitive and I didn't react to it at all.

The skin around my eyes was very hydrated as the cream sank in quickly. A tiny amount is enough to cover your whole eye area so I imagine this pot will last for a long time as there's 14g in it.

I really enjoyed using this product as it was a lovely surprise to realise how much my skin loved it too.

The Total Moisture Facial Cream is a large sample size of a thick hydrating cream. This product is much thicker than the Facial Emulsion and I've been applying this at night as an extra boost of moisture for my skin.

It's definitely thicker than the Facial Emulsion and is also more hydrating. This has been a treat for my skin in the nights when the weather has been colder and my skin drier as a result. I can imagine me using this a lot over the winter months and my skin is thanking me for it! However I cannot use this too often as it is significantly thicker and therefore may overload the oily areas of my skin.

The Porefessional primer sample is a nice touch, and I've already said previously that I'm a big fan of it and was gutted when it ran out recently!
This was a great collection though a few more samples of the other skincare products might have been more relevant, as I know they also do a facial wash and toner which would have been nice to try altogether.

What do you think of the Love Me B.right collection? Will you be snapping it up?

Have you picked up any others yet?

Let me know and send me your links! I'd love to see your reviews on them :)

L xxx

Origins: Make A Difference Skincare Kit

Good morning!

When this post goes live I will be sweating it out in the gym for the first time in ages, not that I haven't been but I've booked myself onto Body Pump which I haven't been to for a few weeks.....so I'm worried for my arms!

If you're a regular reader you'll know that we are both fans of Origins and of trying new products so this cute little set was everything I could ever want and couldn't resist in the shop...

The Make a Difference (MAD) range is something I've tried before but haven't tried any of these particular products. This set contains a cleansing milk, rejuvenating serum, rejuvenating treatment lotion and moisturiser.

Let's start with the cleansing milk....

This is a white lotion type cleanser, its very runny and therefore fits very well being called a milk (obviously!). You apply it to dry skin and then rinse it off afterwards with warm water. This cleanser was really good at removing make up and removed most of my eye make up but did need a bit of extra help on mascara, but I find most cleansers don't get rid of it all anyway -or maybe I just cake it on?!

It's lovely and moisturising so would be great for any skin type as it's not heavy at all and my skin liked it.

The treatment lotion was something that surprised me.
Let me take the time to mention that this entire range smells absolutely divine, it's so fruity and zesty and just all round lovely that when it comes to using the treatment lotion I probably use it up more by smelling it in between uses, it's that beautiful!
That said, the treatment lotion is lovely and cooling and removes any remainder of make up and cleanser. As a general non-toner user it's been a lovely surprise to have enjoyed using this and I'd even pick it up again.

The serum is something I've mentioned before as it was an absolute dream to use! It's been one of my favourite serums I've ever used but at £32 a bottle I just can't justify it at the moment.
It sank into my skin straight away, smelt amazing and hydrated my skin without overdoing it. Loved it.



Lastly the moisturiser, basically this was a moisturiser version of the serum. A thick white cream that hydrated my skin easily without overloading it and obviously smelt amazing too!

This whole range is amazing so I'd snap it all up again in full size without a second thought if I could afford the money and space. Hopefully when my stash has decreased in size by 90% then I will pick these up again.

Have you tried anything from the MAD range? Are you a serum fan?
Do you love trying out sets like this?

I always think its a great way to try new things out!

L xxx

Review: Vita Liberata

As a pale girl living in Wales where the sun rarely shines but the rain empties down rather regularly, fake tan is a very prominent member of my product collection.

I tend to go through rather a lot of Dove's summer glow body lotion with a hint of fake tan just to keep myself looking a more human colour!

I've tried many tans before but this one was new on the market, and on offer, hurrah!

I bought this Vita Liberata Self Tan Gel from Boots whilst it was reduced to a much more purse friendly £14.99 from its original price of £22.49

The packaging states:

If you have very pale, hard-to-tan skin then this is your product. Organic extracts have been specially formulated to turn you golden brown in an instant and last for days (even after showering).

I fully believe this person is me! I was a bit nervous at the thought of using a product titled 'Extra Rich Silken Chocolate' as although I wanted to be tanned, I didn't want to be orange or even worse, mahogany!

Let's get the details out the way...the reason I bought this tan (aside from the discount) was the fact that this tan is:

Paraben Free

Perfume Free

Not tested on Animals

and lastly...Organic!

I was tempted by the mousse as I always am, I find them much easier to use than sprays and I've never really tried a lotion.

But decided it was time to try one, particularly as I worked out that the mousse was so much more expensive per 100ml than the lotion.

For once, being thrifty paid off!

This Vita Liberata tan went on an absolute dream!

I'd been scrubbing and exfoliating and moisturising for a good few days before I applied this product, meaning that I had a good base to start with.

After reading the instructions again since my applications I am a little concerned...it says to use 2-3 pumps of product per limb and I most definitely used at least 6 ha, and that was on my arms!

The packaging btw is beautiful, showing a wonderfully bronzed body on the side that to be honest is probably very true to the colour that I turned out to be!

I also like the packaging of the tan itself, brown so wont get covered in mucky hand prints from tanning but shimmery and quite simple in design.

The nozzle was so easy to use, and whilst the tiniest bit comes out for each pump i would much rather this than too much and then waste the product.

As you can see from the product on my hand, 1 pump is a tiny amount!

Maybe my pump is working incorrectly if you are meant to use 2-3 pumps as I'm sure that wouldn't cover most peoples arms surely?!

It's quite a dark colour but blends easily and evenly, giving you a tanned colour instantly and meaning it's very easy to see any missed parts.

I did take photos of my limbs after using this product but unfortunately they've disappeared off blogger :S

But you can just about see in the picture above where the tan had started to develop into a beautiful even colour that looks really natural.

I would say I was worried I'd look like an extra off the Simpsons, it's quite yellow toned which I've never noticed before with a self tan so maybe bear that in mind if you use it!

I definitely didn't turn out that way though, the colour was absolutely beautiful and true to their word did take a good few days to fade.

It even comes with detailed instructions on what to do and not to do, for example with this tan you shouldn't moisturise before application, which is something I've always done with other tans to help it sink in evenly and most of them suggest you do this particularly around knees, elbows etc

Overall I was really impressed with this tan, I love St Tropez but it's expensive and this was a welcome break for my purse.

After 3 different full body applications I can safely say there is plenty left in the bottle and am not even half way through, whereas with the St Tropez mousse the bottle would be near empty by now.

Have you used this brand of tanning products before?

M has had a spray tan done with their products and absolutely loved it too.

I will certainly be checking out the other products they have available...as soon as I get some money rolling into my account again!

What other tanning brands do you use and recommend?

L xxx