Dr Bronner's Pure Castile Magic Soap

Well hello there!

Sticking with the clean theme for the new year this post is all about my new favourite make up brush cleaner. Most people have heard about Dr Bronner's Pure Castile 18 in 1 Magic Soap by now courtesy of a lot of reviews from other bloggers, Anna from Vivianna Does Make Up is a fan!

I saw the Citrus Orange scent in TK Maxx recently and couldn't help but take it home with me!
I'm a sucker for citrus scents as it is but with my trusty Johnson's baby shampoo running low I knew it was a sign.

I love the packaging for this, like an old style bottle with hundreds of words on it dictating tips, tricks, suggestions and ingredients. Not only that but it's also fair trade certified and all contained within a recycled plastic bottle; it's like the most justifiably purchasable product in existence.

I love the description of how soap is made, it's really interesting a quirky touch that other products don't have. Did I mention this snapshot also shows that it's organic as certified under the USDA National Organic Program?! It's also refillable at certain stores though I'm assuming this is America only.

This 18 in 1 soap has many uses including face and body wash, and facial wraps using hot water infused with the soap and a warm towel. This has become popular with bloggers due to its ability to clean make up brushes easily and leaving them with a gorgeous scent; not to mention its super concentrated so you only need a small amount to get things clean/

As far as make up brush cleaning goes; it's one of those tasks that we all hate doing! I always seem to have used a ridiculous amount of them and facing up to an hour of cleaning is always offputting!

However using this scent i barely noticed the time going by as it just made me feel like I was on holiday in an orange grove, or in the middle of Christmas - weird how one scent can bring such opposing images isn't it?

I tested it on all of my eyeshadow brushes first and it cleansed them really well, even those that have been applying the super pigmented Urban Decay shadows and MAC pigments, especially Blackout from UD which just seems to be the blackest thing I've ever seen.

So I moved onto the dreaded foundation and powder brushes that get abused on a daily basis by me and should be cleaned  a lot more often than they do!

But you can see for yourself that they've come up almost back to their original white which is impressive considering some are over a year old.

This has been a big hit for me and I'm hoping it lasts a really long time too; I will certainly be scouring my local TK Maxx for some of their other scents in future though it's always a one hit wonder kind of place for me!

I miraculously managed to get mine in TK Maxx for a £5.99 bargain so I'd recommend checking your local shop just in case. Otherwise amazon also have some pretty good deals, it all depends on which scent you are looking for.

The soap is also available in Almond, Baby Mild, Eucalyptus, Green Tea, Lavender, Peppermint, Rose and Tea Tree. I'd love to try the peppermint one too as its my other favourite scent!

Have you tried Dr Bronner's Magic Soap? Which is your favourite scent?

L xxx

Neal's Yard Remedies Wild Rose Beauty Balm

Good morning!

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend, we had a wedding yesterday so we're recovering from lots of themed cocktails and copious wine!

Today's review is of the Neal's Yard Remedies Wild Rose Beauty Balm. Not only is this a fabulous product in itself, but it's celebrating its 10th Anniversary and so has limited edition print courtesy of British artist Alice Shields, how gorgeous is it??

Having never used this before I was intrigued as a beauty balm that has been around for 10 years is sure to have a  huge list of uses and therefore a big following.
The key ingredients are:

Rosehip Seed oil: Antioxidant and vitamin rich oil that helps to improve skin elasticity
Borage (starflower): Anti-inflammatory properties and helps to restore the moisture barrier
Patchouli: Stimulates and strengthens skin to help with dry and damaged skin
Geranium: Balances, strengthens and smoothes making it perfect for any skin type.

The design from Alice Shields incorporates all of these key ingredients into the packaging which is a really nice touch and the colours go so well together.



The balms ability to smooth skin and restore its natural radiance is well loved by NYR's customers and the multiple uses they have found for it. These include:

1) Cleanser
2) Moisturiser
3) Mask
4) Lip balm
5) Make up primer/highlighter
6) Cuticle oil
7) Foot cream
8) Flight Repair
9) Eyebrow tamer
10) Sunburn relief

There are many more uses that I'm sure other people will know about, I wonder if it is any good to use on hair? I haven't got that far in my usage of it yet but it would be interesting to know.

This product has won so many awards and it's not surprising, after using it for a few short weeks I am blown away by how moisturising it is. I've been using it mostly as a moisturiser, mask and lip balm but have used it to help with pesky bits of dry skin on my elbows and for my cuticles too.

It really is a wonder product! My skin has felt so much more hydrated and smooth after using it and as my skin has been so dry recently its great to have finally found something that has helped to combat it. I've also not broken out at all which was something I was worried about with my temperamental oily t-zone and penchant for getting spots on my chin. 

The balm comes with its own muslin cloth which is a nice touch and helps you to use it in its many ways. I haven't yet used it as a cleanser as I've been trying to use up other cleansing products but i have no doubt that it will be hydrating and exfoliating,  

I love that they detail all of the ingredients found in the balm and it has been certified as 99% organic by the Soil Association. I don't think you can go wrong with buying a product from a company that boasts countless awards for its products and numerous 'eco-principles'.

Just a few are listed below:

UK's first certified organic health and beauty company

World's First health and beauty company to achieve 100% for ethics in an independent audit

World's first company to produce Soil Association certified cosmetics

World's First Carbon Neutral high street retailer

I can honestly say that I've really enjoyed using this product, its perfect for downsizing as you won't need multiple products if you have one with multiple uses. The results from using the balm are brilliant and my skin has thanked me for it, the packaging is also gorgeous and would look great in any bathroom or vanity unit. This is my first NYR product and I'm really impressed with it, there's so much I'd love to try from their range and the Frankincense products were amazing when we tried them at the event.

The beauty balm comes in at £37 for 50g which sounds a lot but just imagine how much use you will get out of it, and how ethical it is. Almost worth buying for the good world brownie points right??

I'm certainly a fan and will be researching into some more NYR products to try in the near future!

Have you tried the Wild Rose Beauty Balm? Do you like multiple use products? What's your favourite NYR product?

L xxx

Hey All

As L said yesterday we were at a wedding so so far today has been spent in bed or on the sofa. I absolutely exhausted today!

When the balm was rose scented I was concered I wouldn't like it as heavy floral scents aren't something I go especially rose as it always makes me think it's quite an old fashioned scent. This is quite refreshing though and not overly floral or powerful.

So far I've loved it. I've been mainly using it as a overnight mask. My skin just soaks it up. I wake up with the softest skin and it doesn't feel greasy. Even though I have oily skin it has been loving using this balm.

Like L I've also been using it for dry skin on my elbows and it's really helped so far.

This is my first NYR product but my wishlist is massive already. I can't wait to try more. They have some amazing scents I especially can't wait to try the frankinscense range more.

I'm off to smother my face in the balm as I slept in make up last night and my skin now needs a pick me up!

Love M xxx

Coconut Oil

Happy Friday to everyone!!

I'm here today with a bargain beauty treat.

Everyone who's anyone has been talking and raving about coconut oil for ages. The health benefits are so extensive, not only can you slap it straight onto your skin and hair but you can also cook with it creating amazing tasting dishes whilst also being low in bad fats.

I have been looking for ages for a tub of this but could only find large tubs for large amounts.....which put me off.

I did however find this bargain in Superdrug (thanks to M for telling me about it!) and snapped it up for a mere £1.78.

This tub of Coconut Oil is not the pure and organic product that you can cook with, but for £1.78 I was prepared to give it a go on my patches of dry skin and chemically treated hair.

You can't cook with it because it's hydrogenated and also contains parfum (which is a little annoying...) but for such a small amount of money I just didn't care!

The oil is a solid white product at room temp but as soon as you scoop a bit out (try a spoon or get it under your nails - like i did!) it melts pretty quickly.

It feels so odd to apply this straight to dry hair but this is exaclty what you need to do and depending how dry your hair is, leave it on for a specific amount of time.
I left it on for a couple of hours before washing it out and conditioning as normal. It left my hair so silky smooth I couldn't believe it.

I also put it on my dry skin patches such as elbows and knees and it sinks in so easily and my skin is no longer dry at all.

I really would recommend this for such a bargain price!

Have you tried coconut oil on your hair or skin?

L xxx

Review: Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream

I was so excited to pick this up...it cost me a bargainous £4.50 which quite frankly I am still shocked at 2 months later!!

It is the legendary Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream which I have lusted after for YEARS and YEARS!

Even the packaging with it's simple white box and red logo makes me smile and go gooey inside which is a bit ridiculous for a box...

I have the American version of the box which has some drug facts on the back, something we don't have in the UK which was different.

I love the design with the 8's in a pattern in the background too, simple but still looks really good.

I was a bit surprised to see the colour of the product, as even though I've wanted it for ages I haven't ever actually seen it!

So being brown I was a bit shocked, clear or white was what I was expecting but never the less this was not about to put me off.

You can see from the picture that it's quite thick, it almost looks and feels like grease which was both alarming and reassuring depending on what I thought I'd be using it for.

Dry skin? Eye make up remover? Taming brows? Woohoo!

However using it anywhere on my face and hair was a bit of a reluctant thought as both are on the oily side.

I've heard it's one of the best things to use when you have a cold and have really dry skin on your nose, but I don't want to use it there and erupt in spots either!

However when you rub it in it seems to sink straight into your skin which drinks it right up

It leaves a lush sheen to your skin which I photographed above, the back of my hand felt amazingly soft for ages afterwards and my left hand felt awful ha.

This was definitely a welcome product in my collection, though I'm still not sure about using it on my face.

I think this will have to be reviewed in the winter when the weather will dry out the skin on my face and i will likely get some kind of cold/flu that seems custom around Christmas!

I've also heard it's great for on flights, your cuticles, heels, and in some cases as a highlighter.

Do you own the 8 Hour Cream? What other uses do you have for it?

My skin has been erupting all over the place lately, have you found the 8 hour cream made it worse/better?

Please let me know!

L xxx

(Edit: I just read that it contains salicylic acid which is very good at getting rid of spots and controlling oil. I will give it a go and see....!)

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