Lacura Charcoal Mud to Foam Cleanser

Hi all!

As you all know we're huge skincare fans and even bigger bargain fans. So finding the limited edition skincare in Aldi when it comes around is pretty high on my list.

Charcoal is having a bit of a moment and I don't see it going anywhere any time soon. As soon as I saw the charcoal products on offer I couldn't resist but try them out, even though I haven't really been convinced about them so far...

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.

Collection Primed and Ready Primer Powered by Witch

Morning everyone!

It's my first day off for Christmas and I'm so excited, this is the first time I've taken annual leave at Christmas since being old enough to work so I've got 10 days off which is lovely!

I have lots of family things planned for Christmas time including making some gooey Nutella desserts so I'm very much looking forward to that.

For the last few months I've been testing out lots of high street products, one of which is the Collection Primed and Ready Primer that I picked up from Boots.

The Collection Primed and Ready Primer Powered by Witch is a mattifying pore minimiser. That's a bit of a mouthful!

The primer itself is transparent and contains witch hazel to help keep your skin clear with its antibacterial properties, it has long been known as an aid for spots.
It blends easily on the skin and gives a good base for make up, I haven't had any experience of it coming back off my skin in rolled up bits so that's always a good thing!

It mattifies my skin and has been really good for work, I don't think it would last much longer than that, so not all day and night but for a bargain £4.99 (currently £3.99 on offer at Boots!) I don't think that's a problem.

You could use this primer without make up if you wanted, it does help to keep shine at bay for the day but if I'm having a no make up day I'd also skip the primer.

I've been using this recently with the Invisible Setting Powder which has also been really good. I'd recommend using the two if you have a shiny t-zone like me, and the powder is really fine and doesn't seem to sit on the skin and appear to be powdery

Have you tried anything from Collection? What's your favourite?

I've been trying lots from them recently and have been really impressed, the Lasting Perfection Concealer is a personal favourite!

L xxx

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant Review

Hey All

I'm a big skin care fan and until recently Dermalogica wasn't a brand I had used much except for the odd facial I've had done. After seeing the Daily Microfoliant for sale in a blogsale I couldn't resist. I have oily combination skin that is playing up at the moment and I'm still missing the Murad AHA/BHA exfoliating cleaner (review here) as it was a gentle exfoliator but my bank account says no to that atm! I'm aware that over exfoliation can worsen oil skin so I wanted someone less abrasive than a normal exfoliator and this sounded perfect.

I immediately loved this and I can see me using it all the time. It's a really fine powder that you shake out into the hands and then add water to make a paste before putting onto the skin. It dissolves into the skin so it's not overly abrasive making it suitable for most skin types.
It's formulated from a rise based powder which also has salicylic acid in it. The combination of this and the rice enzymes work together to exfoliate dead skin cells. I love that this doesn't really have a scent as I know it's not packed with perfumes that may irritate my skin. 
This is a great product that I'll definitely be repurchasing for my go to exfoliant (you can find it here). I love that it's gentle enough to use daily and it's really been helping my skin break outs and overall condition.
What's your current favourite exfoliator? Have you used dermalogica?
Love M
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

Murad Balance and Protect Travel Kit*

Hey All

It's been a while since we've posted on Sunday. It's fair to say life is pretty busy for L and I at the moment. We've got lots of stuff we are both loving and want to share with you.

We went to Glastonbury this year and we both had an amazing time at our first festival. Dancing, drinking and generally having an amazing 5 days! We had heat waves, rain and thunder and lightening but it didn't make any difference what the weather was!

Something we were both concerned about was skincare. We are both careful to properly care for our skin and have full skincare routines in place which just wouldn't have been possible to keep up at Glastonbury where a shower was exchanged for baby wipes in the tent.

When Murad offered us these kits to try we jumped at the chance. Mini's that are perfect to test out and great to take to such events. We were definitely excited to try the clarifying wipes to our faces were getting more of a proper clean.

The kit comes with 5 clarifying wipes, Oil control Mattifier and Skin perfecting Primer for £10.

I'm oily skinned and couldn't wait to try out the mattifier. I decided to skip on foundation. I took it with me but didn't wear it when I was there. I've been embracing foundation free skin spots and all at the moment so a mattifying cream is brilliant. Foundation free skin is good, shiny greaseball skin is not something I like. You apply the mattifier after moisturiser. What I love about this is texture. It's creamy and silky on the skin and mattifies in a natural way. I find some creams like this feel dry on the skin. This leaves my skin still feeling moisturised and has become a part of my everyday routine. The bottle is still going strong too. A little goes a long way! The SPF is always welcome in a cream too!



I did find the wipes have a strong chemical smell to them. I'm not sure if with prolonged use they would dry my skin out. For short term they leave my skin feeling super clean and fresh and helped control breakouts. I think these are perfect for holidays where skin is probably more oily then normal due to extra oil use.

The primer was another product I loved. It is a skin tone product but blends into the skin invisibly. It leaves skin feeling smooth but not silicone coated for make up. My make up applies more smoothly using this and it doesn't block my pores. At Glastonbury I used a combination of all three of these and no foundation. My skin looked clear and healthy.

I'm totally sold on the mattifier and will definitely be repurchasing. I'm pretty tempted by the primer too and for holidays I think the wipes would be a great investment. I think more companies should do the travel sized kits as it's a great way to try out products without having to by full size.

Love M
xxx

Hi all!

Hope you've had a fabulous weekend! This Murad kit was a lovely surprise for us to recieve, we absolutely love Murad products and kits like this allow you to try so many different products for a reduced price so you can tell easily what you really love. There are also 2 other kits available for the £10 price tag; Age Reform Travel Kit and Resurgence Travel Kit. I've found these on the M&S website so you should snap them up asap! 

The three products could not have been more perfectly selected for us. Although were getting older now and god forbid the wrinkles might be coming through already but we do still get an oily t-zone. Combined with Glastonbury and festival life meaning that there wasn't any proper running water meant it was definitely going to turn into an oil slick!

The combination of the Oil Mattifier, Skin Perfecting Primer and the Clarifying Wipes meant that my skin was nowhere near as bad as it should have got!

The wipes did smell strongly of alcohol, I almost felt like I was getting drunk off the smell! But this definitely helped to keep any breakouts at bay by cleansing my skin as thoroughly as possible. Long term use may strip your skin of natural oils but for the 5 day festival or a long weekend you will be perfectly fine.

The oil mattifier was great and as M has mentioned there is still loads left even though I've been using mine most days since the festival too.

The skin perfecting primer was a lovely product that really helped to even out skin tone and sort of blur any imperfections. You can see the colours of the products on my hand in the image above, the white oil mattifier blended out to a clear product on application.

The kit is a perfect opportunity to try out some new products that you are unsure will work for your skin and also perfect to take away with you on holidays and long weekends. I also took mine on a hen weekend to Edinburgh as we only had hand luggage and had to take all products in the clear plastic bags with us!

Using these products I was also confident enough to only wear concealer to cover my under eye bags during the festival which is a pretty big deal for me, I never go without a full on face of foundation! Whilst i do choose a light base currently (UD's Naked Skin) I can't quite go make up free so this was a big plus for me! (the under eye bags courtesy of festival drinking and late nights could not be avoided though!)

Have you tried these fab little kits from Murad? Which one would you try out?

I've never met a product I didn't like from Murad but I'm going to be picking up the other 2 kits to try out things I haven't tried before and keep them for future trips away!

L xxx

Balance Me Extra Care Radiance Face Oil*

Hey All

I'm almost at the end of an amazing two and half weeks off work. This morning was an early one for us as we had to pack up our tent and leave Glastonbury after an amazing few days but it's safe to say we missed cleansing our faces and I couldn't wait to get back wash my face and get back into a proper skincare routine. 

My skin is feeling really dehydrated after 2 and a half weeks of sun, drinking and not taking proper care of my skin. My skin had been suffering pre holiday and after tweeting to ask for advice Balance Me kindly offered to send me some bits to try to improve it. I was keen to try more from their range especially as I love their rose lip balm!

As someone with oily combination skin oils are usually something I tend to avoid but as it's started to feel dehydrated to I figured it was a good time to try one. This one is aimed at all skin types so I was hoping it would sink in easily.

I love that balance me is created in the UK, it is great to support UK industries. It's also another company that don't use parabens, sulphates and many more! I love that it doesn't use petroleum too. I'm someone who doesn't like Vaseline and don't find it beneficial! 

The balance me radiance oil can be used as a moisturiser or as an extra boost. I've been using it as an extra boost in the evenings alone as I don't like to apply oils in the morning. It sinks into my skin easily and doesn't feel too greasy. My skin does feel more oilier in the mornings than normal which is why I don't use it in the mornings. I had been also suffering with minor breakouts. Since switching my skincare to include this and a scrub my skin is looking much clearer and also more glowing. I've not been wearing foundation as much which is always welcome in the summer.

It is a glass tube with a roller ball. I tend to roll this directly onto a freshly cleansed skin but not near spots to avoid spreading bacteria into the roller ball. It easily comes out and is rubbed into the skin without wasting product. I do find with dripper bottles I do tend to put too much on. The Frosted glass bottle has also meant that it stays looking clean.

Have you tried facial oils?

What's your favourite?

Love M

xxx

   

Neutrogena Deep Clean Daily Scrub

Hi there!

I've long been a skincare junkie and blogging has clearly made that worse; my endless drawers of facial skincare are testament to that addiction. When I was in America in 2012 I picked up many a product and one of those products was the Deep Clean daily scrub from Neutrogena which helps to provide long lasting shine control.

If I remember rightly this comes in at around $5 and it is worth EVERY CENT. It's one of the products I ask my friend over in america to send me whenever we do a product swap only it was such a long time in between the two bottles I was getting serious withdrawals from it!

As you can see from the tube, its a bright blue scrub with bits in and comes in 125ml tubes.

It claims to clear away 85% of built up oil and keep you shine free for hours with the use of rice protein. I was skeptical at first but I'd travelled to america for university for 2 months and didn't take a scrub with me so needed to get a cheapy to keep me going as my skin wasn't enjoying the humidity and heat that North Carolina offers.

I used this once or twice a day after cleansing and it cleared my skin up a treat! I couldn't believe something that was a scrub could be used twice a day and at such a great price could clear my skin completely of any blemishes and redness leaving uniform and (almost) flawless skin....how amazing!

It also kept my skin oil free ALL DAY LONG which considering I was mostly digging in mud for 5 hours a day and it was over 30 degrees I think is pretty impressive.

I realise this isn't a review that means you can go out and buy it straight away as sadly this is still only available in America and however much I wish for it, it is yet to make it to these shores.

You can find it on ebay here, but sadly even though the products are around £5/6 the postage can be £8 itself!
It would be amazing if they brought it to these parts of the world but for now I will have to stick to swapping present packages with my friend over there. if you travel over to the US I would definitely recommend you trying this.

Have you tried the Deep Clean range? Do you have any fave American products that you can't get hold of in the UK?

L xxx

Review: Origins Zero Oil Toner

Morning sweet cheeks!

What a cringe way to start a post eh? Ha i couldn't resist, it's the festive spirit taking over.

Are you a fan of toners? I used to be until i read that most contain too much alcohol (when I was about 15) and so I stopped using them. Over the past few years though I still seem to buy them and in all honesty i was a bit baffled, why was I buying them and not using them?!

I picked up the Origins Zero Oil toner when my skin was super oily, which seemingly changed overnight and ever since my skin has had it's oily t-zone but been too dehydrated and temperamental for me to even think about using this toner and so it was confined to the back of my desk drawers.

Recently though my skin has stopped being so sensitive and I still have that oily t-zone so I decided it was time to get it out and give it a go or donate it to someone who could actually use it.

Origins Zero Oil Pore Purifying Toner contains saw palmetto and mint to combat oil production, salicylic acid to aid exfoliation and blocked pores, aloe leaf juice and glycerin to help with redness and a whole load of essential oils.

I apply this in the mornings with a cotton wool pad and concentrate on my t-zone with a quick swipe over the rest of my face.

It feels really cool and refreshing and definitely helps to mattify my skin ready for moisturiser. It doesn't feel like it has stripped my skin like other strong toners have done in the past and I was generally surprised how much I have liked using it and have actually been getting through it rather quickly!

I love that it contains salicylic acid, it's one of my favourite products for skincare because it has never reacted badly with my skin and has so many good effects especially in terms of exfoliation.

I've been surprised at how well this toner has worked and it's changed my opinions on them, maybe some of them really do work!

Which is your favourite toner? Do you use any of the Origins toners?

The Zero Oil toner can be bought online or in store for £18 for 150ml.

L xxx

Bourjois Happy Light Primer

When we went to a Cardiff meet a few weeks ago all of us went off shopping. Of course we had to go to Boots. I'd planned on not spending anything but after trying this out on my hand I just couldn't resist picking it up.

The Bourjois Happy Light Base Serum Matte is a lightweight primer which seems to just sink into the skin without leaving it feeling masked and heavy as I find a lot of mattifying primers do.

It comes in a glass bottle with a pump which is my preferred type for foundation and primers. Glass bottles just feel more expensive to me. Annoying to travel but I'm not someone who goes abroad much so it's not a problem for me.

The primer is a nude colour and does feel as light as a serum. I love that this leaves the skin matte without feeling like silicon. It seems to smooth onto my skin and sink in. I've found it really helps my foundation stay oil free but I don't think it makes it last any longer. I am currently having a love hate with all my foundations and lasting power at the moment.

It is smaller than most other primers as it's only 15ml. It retails for £10.99 but I picked it up for £6.99. Due to size I wouldn't pick it up when not on offer. Luckily 3 for 2 is usually on in boots so I'll be repurchasing when this is on.

Would you be put off by size? Porefessional is another small size primer.

Love M

xxx

Having tried this on the back of my hand, I was super excited for this primer as like m mentioned above, I'm also having a love hate relationship with my base products at the moment.
My skin is finally under control (mostly) but make up wise I just cannot win.

I still get shine so I need powder and mattifying products but my skin is so much more dehydrated now that I need products that aren't going to clump and cake on my face. Sigh.

Packaging wise, i like the thin glass bottle and the sturdy pump that dispenses a nice small amount without wasting any product.

However the bottle is TINY when you realise there's only 15ml of product in there which is equivalent to a full size OPI polish. Although they are priced similarly at £10.99 for the primer, I just couldn't justify the price knowing that I'd use a decent amount of it every day.

This did apply nicely to my face and I found that I didn't need loads of product and I felt it mattified my skin and left it ready for my foundation to be applied.
After foundation application I felt my make up was 'stuck' to my face, mostly in a good way as it felt that it was going to stay on my face and last. However I didn't find that it did, on my cheeks and patches on my forehead my base clumped together in patches and my t-zone was still shiny.
I tried this with multiple types of foundations but unfortunately so far this has not been for me.

I'm intent on finding something that works with it to see if I do love it like others have, if you have any suggestions let me know?

Maybe I'd be better off with the other primer they've just released as there's also a Normal/Dry skin primer but as my skin isn't dry I'm not sure it's appropriate either?

Sigh!

L xxx

Review: Outback Organics

A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to be sent some products to try from Outback Organics. I had seen them on twitter and seen lots of positive reviews on their products so when they asked for people to try stuff I sent them our information.

Outback Organics is a company from Somerset (my home town) so that intrigued me even more. It's great to support local businesses. They've grown into a successful business which is used my professionals in salons and available to purchase online. We were sent three products to try. The Face and Body Scrub, Face and Body Wash and the Botanical Body Oil.

The Face and Body scrub was the product I was most excited to try. The scrub comes in a tube which I prefer in products. I'd much rather this than a tub as I find tubs like soap and glory end up with the product going gloopy as it gets water in it. As someone who uses an epilator unfortunately ingrown hairs are part of what comes with this method of hair removal. This product was developed to use prior to waxing or epilating to help prevent them and is gentle enough to then be used after and on the face.





I love multi-functional products. They are handy to leave my bathroom less cluttered. This product is a white cream with a soft exfoliation. No rough particles. The beads are a good size but don't feel rough on the skin. The micro-beads are make from jojoba which helps to buff away dead skin without irritating it. I've used this a few times a week since receiving it. I've had no reactions to it and I've used it all over my body and face. It's been perfect for the bits of skin left behind after spots and has helped with ingrown hairs. The scrub retails for £8.99 for 100ml. It's also not tested on animals (big positive) and is free from synthetic chemicals. I also have to add the smell of this whole range. I love it. All the products smell very spa like, they are fresh, almost woody smelling. They smell exactly like spa massage oils to me. I definitely want to try the ingrown hair serum from this range.



The skin wash is another multi purpose product but I've been using this just on my face. This is from the tea tree range. Anyone with oily skin will know tea tree is great for helping cleanse it. I usually stay away from tea tree products as I find them over powering and while this smells of tea tree it isn't as strong as I usually find them. The tea tree oil in this in organic and it also contains peppermint oil. The combination of these help to clean pores and prevent spots.



The skin wash retails for £5.99 for 100ml. I personally think this is a great price and this product will last a while. I like to use this in the mornings as it has a fresh scent to it. I also prefer to use a gel cleanser in the mornings. I feel like this is giving my skin a deep clean and leaves it feeling fresh and not greasy. This will definitely be a repurchase for me.



The botanical body oil is a product with four uses. It can be used pre wax, post wax, pre shaving and as a moisturizer. I've only tried it the last two ways. Being an oil I was definitely skeptical of putting it on as moisturizer. I don't enjoy the feeling of being slippery. This took me a while to try out. After I did I wondered why. It really is a dry oil. Which is quite an unusual texture. When rubbed in it sinks into the skin leaving soft skin feeling that lasts. This has really helped my sun burnt skin. I've been applying it morning and night and so far I've not had any peeling (fingers crossed it stays that way). It's really kept my skin soft.



I also tried it out under my shave cream (shampoos I didn't like) and found it made my shave much smoother. I definitely like this as a moisturizer and a spray bottle is much easy than a pot of body butter. I'm a fan. This retails at £11 for 100 or £15 for 250ml. I know which size I'll be reordering. If your a fan of dry body oils I definitely suggest trying this one. It'll last ages too.

I've really enjoyed trying these products and it's nice to find a new company that doesn't test on animals.

You can purchase outback organics online from here and they have some great July offers on.

Love M

xxx

Unfortunately for me I had a bit of an allergic reaction recently, so haven't been using anything new on my skin until it cleared up. You can see any pictures of it on twitter, but after a trip to a spa I was covered from head to toe in a pretty nasty rash which took a week of super strong antibiotics to get rid of. 

This meant that I haven't been able to try the Outback Organics products as much as I'd have liked.

I have however used the products once or twice (without any reaction!) and I think they're really great.

I tried the body oil first and that sunk in really easily leaving my skin with a sheen but not feeling greasy which a lot of body oils seem to do. It seems a lot drier than others I've tried and smells really fresh and clean, I'd definitely be interested in repurchasing this if the long term effects are as hydrating!

The face and body wash is also another that smells great. It smells of tea tree oil and from my childhood this always reminds me of being really clean and would be great for oily and blemished skin to fight off spots and kill bad bacteria on skin. It foamed up nicely too!

The face and body scrub felt really gentle and smells of rose I think? It's a really soothing smell and my body and face both appreciated how gentle the scrubby bits were as they weren't abrasive at all.

Another plus was the multi functional usage of the wash and scrub as you can use them on both face and body. This is perfect for morning showers when you are in a rush! 

I can't comment on how they are over time as I've only just started using them, but on initial usage I really like all three products and would definitely be interested in looking at other products from Outback Organics.

What do you think of these products? Do you like multi functional ones?

L xxx

Review: La Roche Posay's Effaclar Duo

A good few weeks ago I picked up some La Roche Posay (LRP) products as I'd heard a lot of great things about 1, and couldn't resist picking up another!

My main reason for going in was to pick up the Effaclar Duo, the much raved about product to help with blemishes, acne and any other complexion woes.

Many bloggers have tried and tested it including Tanya Burr who gave it her seal of approval after it helped her get rid of her blemishes that nothing else would on.
It contains 4 active ingredients to combat imperfections and sebum blocked pores, and the thermal spring water helps to soothe any irritation.

The product is a white cream you can apply to the entire face or to specific areas for targeted results. When applied the cream does not feel greasy at all, it's actually very matte but also hydrating and therefore creates a perfect base to start your day.

This seems to dry out the spot slowly and I was really impressed and how it felt on the skin as I expected it to feel drier due to the matte feeling.

The nozzle makes it so easy to apply the exact amount to wherever your spots are. I have applied this to my face and had no bad reactions other than my skin being a little dry after a few days application.
This is mostly down to my skin being drier than it was previously, so for me applying it to my whole face would be too much, but on specific spots it works a treat.

I have also applied it to a really random spot that inconveniently appeared on my chest and it helped it go down quicker than it would have otherwise. It's not a miracle cream by any means, but i was pleased with the results and would recommend that if you were having trouble controlling your blemishes it is definitely worth a go.

If there's one thing I know, skin is so subjective!

The images above show how the cream disappeared into my skin leaving a matte finish and easily allows make up to be applied over it.

This was a worthy purchase for me but not a miracle worker. It helped to reduce the size and number of my blemishes but it didn't work overnight so don't expect it to! Give it time though and it will work a treat!

Have you tried Effaclar Duo? What did you think? What's your favourite LRP product?

L xxx