Beauty Rehab

Hello there!

This is my first installment of Beauty Rehab for 2015, and I'm off to a good start. I know I say this every post, but I really do want to make headway in using up my stash and create more valuable space. I've got so many drawers full of products and I really don't need them all so instead of throwing them and buying more I'm just working my way through.

Body moisturisers are the worst for me; I seem to be really lazy with them and although I've started using up more and more of them I need to do better!
Same with face masks, I need to use them up before they all go off. I've learnt my lesson the hard way recently as one of my creams had gone off.

Heel Genius from S&G - a product that sadly went off; I went to use it and it smells vile, absolutely disgusting so it had to go. Brand new as well, annoying.
Sugar Crush Body Wash from S&G - Love the smell of the matching scrub but this doesn't quite smell as authentic. Nevertheless a good body wash and I'd buy again in a 3 for 2.
Eau Pure Body Lotion - This was given to me by my aunty from a set, it was nice but nothing special. I liked the twisting lid design but it did get hard to get it out towards the end.
Origins Checks and Balances Face Wash - a favourite, have another already!

Aussie 3 Minute Miracle - Amazing stuff, the only thing that saves my hair! Always have more in the sides as I cannot live without it
Good Things Stay Clear Cleanser - a great cleanser for a bargain price, would definitely repurchase if my skin broke out
PhytoKeratine Repairing Thermal Protectant Spray - This was from the Space NK bundle that we got from spending over £150 that they do every year in October. It costs £18.50 for the full size 150ml, I'm not sure I'd pay that but it was a lovely spray that was really lightweight and did make my hair feel better. It also went down in the tube pretty damn fast!
Nip and Fab Dragon's Blood Plumping Serum - love this! Already have another and am really impressed that it's in a 100ml bottle whereas most others are 50ml. Love how hydrating it is.

Lush Ocean Salt Scrub - loved this and would repurchase, quite pricey for a small pot but does a great job using only natural ingredients.
Lush Mask of Magnaminty - another product that I really liked and would repurchase when my skin needs it in a future breakout!
Boots Cocoa Butter - a small pot that was great for travel, wouldn't repurchase as i have too many others and find the smell a bit overwhelming
Nip and Fab Bee Sting Fix Cream - also really liked this, really soaked into my skin and hydrated it. Would repurchase when a deal was on
N&F Dragon's Blood Cleansing Pads - another surprise like for me, I'm not normally a toner-like product fan but these pre soaked pads I've really liked. I have another pot of them to keep trying them out and see if they really have a long term effect

From the Lab Face Primer - no idea what this brand is now as we trialled it before it was officially produced, it was good but sadly separates weirdly and has definitely gone off now!
Clarins Foot Beauty Treatment - this was the most luxurious foot cream I've ever used, such a treat! I'd love a full size tube!
Batiste Dry Shampoo - the best dry shampoo on the planet
Philip Kingsley One More Day Dry Shampoo - a good dry shampoo, I don't think it's worth the mark up in price from Batiste though

Caudalie Cream Mask - loved this sample! My skin drank it all up overnight and I'd definitely repurchase
Bioderma Atoderm Cream - really good for a night cream/mask and helpful to dry skin over winter. I've had a lot of Bioderma samples but never a full size product and I've never been disappointed so need to invest!
Avon Nail Experts Base coat - an average base coat, did let some polishes through and stained my nails
REN Hand and Body Cream - the sample lasted one full body use and was moisturising, again not sure if it's worth the full price but was nice to try
REN Global Protection Day Cream - unfortunately this brought me out in tiny little spots so had to give up on it but it sounded promising before that!

This was mostly a clear out - the glosses are either really old or going a bit gloopy so getting rid is the best option.
Bourjois 1 Second Volume Mascara - got this in a beauty box, the brush looked interesting and promising but it seems a full bushy brush is the only option for my lashes! Wouldn't repurchase.

S&G Youthful Super Serum - really loved this sachet, super hydrating and made my skin feel fabulous!
Dr Organic Snail Gel - same goes for this, loved the hydrating feeling and would buy this in future, once I've got my head around the snail gel factor.
Revlon PhotoReady contour kit - this has unfortunately gone really weird, you can see in the photo below that it seems to have dried out (even though it was a powder) and loads of crystals have formed on it. I'm a little too dubious to use it with this on it!

Last image!
Collection Lasting Concealer - loved this initially but unfortunately now I've tried Nars this one just doesn't compare. I have a spare of this so will use it for work until its gone, but Nars is just amazing.
Caudalie Polyphenol Eye and Lip Cream - this absorbed really easily, wouldn't repurchase as I have others I'd prefer for my sensitive eyes but it was really good.
YSL Lipstick - was given to me by a friend but was a weird gold colour that I just cannot wear! Time for the bin
L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream - lovely product and I would repurchase and I'd especially buy the magazines that come with a sample of this

Have you been using up your products recently?

This is all from Christmas onwards, so I feel like I'm on a roll but possibly thats just wishful thinking!

L xxx

Spring Series: Facial Skincare!

Hi all! We're back with another post in our Spring Series.

We've previously covered our favourite products and tips ranging from footcare to fitness and hands to body care, and you can catch up with all of them on this link.

This week is dedicated to facial skincare to help you with your way to brighter and more glowing skin!

I have recently been looking over my skincare products in shock at how much my collection has grown in the past year (eek!).

There are products for everything you can possibly imagine so initially it was hard to narrow things down.

The best place to start for me however is with a great cleanser. Removing the dirt of the day to reveal your skin is the best place to start especially when combined with an exfoliator.

I tend to use either Liz Earle' Cleanse and Polish or Origins Checks and Balances for every day, and then Murad's AHA/BHA Cleanser to exfoliate as well.

This exfoliating cleanser has so many benefits it was hard to write about when we published our post a few days ago but honestly it has had such a great effect on my skin.

The next step I'd suggest is a good radiance inducing face mask. My favourite is the REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal mask.

It's well known on the bloggersphere for being the one that's pretty much like marmalade, but the orange smell combined with the amazing radiance effect it gives your skin makes it top of my list when my skin is feeling a tad dull.

I tend to use this once a week, normally Thursday or Friday to give me a glow ready for the weekend!

Lastly for keeping your skin tip top for every day I would recommend the Make A Difference range.

I personally use the Rejuvenating Treatment due to my skin type but there are different types of moisturisers for all skin types which is what i love about it. There's a heavier cream for drier skins and a gel for oilier skins, both of which are light on the skin and don't clog the pores but deliver a hydrating punch that actually does diminish blemishes and has helped my skin to recover from my random bout of acne.

It has definitely helped my skin to become more uniform so fingers crossed it does the same for everyone! And as it's so light it would be great for warmer weathers.

Ginzing is another popular favourite, the eye cream has particles in it that helps to reduce any signs of tiredness and dreaded under eye bags. It sinks in easily and of course with all Origins products is free from nasties, hurrah!

There's my facial product tips for Spring, what would yours be??

L xxx

I'm the same as L and love to use Liz Eearle as my hot cloth cleanser of choice, I have tried the No7 one but I wasn't really a fan of that one. For some reason though I don't like to use a hot cloth cleanser in the shower so in the Mornings I'm currently loving Soap and Glory Peaches and Cream. This smells amazing and feels luxiourous as well as leaving my skin clean but not itght. It does suggest on the packaging it's more of an evening cleanser but I've noticed no problems using it during the day.

I'm also loving the Murad cleanser as my scrub of choice at the moment. I love using scrubs, it's good to make my skin feel extra clean and the Murad one is great and isn't too harsh as some can be.

As for masks I'm currently loving Origins Clear Improvement. I've reviewed that here. In love it for bad skin days and it's great for my oily skin and really helps control it. I really want another mask that's more of a brightening one. So any suggestions are welcome? I am tempted by Ren.

Something L didn't mention was toner. For me toner is a product I can't live without. I've been using a one from Lush, Breath of Fresh Air for about 3 years now. I love it, it closes my pores after cleansing and prepares my skin for moisuriser. I find when I don't use it I get spotty.

Lastly my favourites for Skin care have to be Origins for Eye Cream. For day I favour the Ginzing eye cream, it sinks in easily and has a brightening effect which is great for mornings. For evenings I prefer to use something thicker and more targetted for wrinkles. For this I use Origins A Perfect World for Eyes. This is a much thicker cream/gel forumla and feels great on the eyes.

I love using the Clinique Repairware laser focus serum. I use this before moisturiser. I'm hoping using products like this will delay me getting wrinkles for as long as possible.

Lastly for mosituriser I absolutely adore Clinique Super Defense and Super Rescue Cream (reviewed here) there is no better than this pair for me. Unfortunately they are expensive so I do try to use others to save money. Do you have products you love but can't afford to always splash out on?

What are your skincare must haves?

Love M

xxx

Review: REN Glycolactic Face Mask

Hi all!

I'm sure you've seen and heard lots about REN skincare recently. Their masks are a big favourite with bloggers and are increasingly popular due to their ethic on producing products without using any chemical nasties (more on that later).

My first purchase from REN was this Glycolactic Face Mask.

I'd seen rave reviews from others on how well it worked on brightening skin tone and evening out blemishes.

I already owned cleansing masks and hydrating masks so this was my next on the never ending wish list ;)

My skin had started to clear up (finally!) so I rushed to John Lewis and snapped this up over Christmas time when my spending was already out of control so another mask hardly made a difference.

I love REN's simple packaging, I'm not one for busy prints and  multiple colours and I love that the range seems to be colour coded. 

Orange signifies the Radiance range, and there are plenty of others that I'm sure I will be testing out soon which you can find here.

You can also find out more about REN as a company and read about their ethos into 'Clean Skincare' on this link.

It's an interesting read that doesn't waffle on like others. I had no idea that the company started in 2000, it's come such a long way since then and is now found in 50 countries all over the world.

Copied straight from the site:

REN is free from synthetic fragrance, mineral oil, petrolatum, sulfate detergents, synthetic colours, animal ingredients and parabens. In addition, REN products do not contain potential irritants including: glycols and diglycols (such as propylene glycol), PEG's, PPGs, urea, D.E.A, T.E.A, PABA and other synthetic sunscreens, aliphatic alcohols/hydrocarbons, phthalates, fumarates, amines, alkanolamines, synthetic AHAs/BHAs, polyacrylamide, metacrylate, elastomer, poloxamer, styrene, vinyl, polyquaternium, synthetic chelating agents, nylon, nitriles, nitrates, nitrosamine releasers, bromates, fluor, aluminum and alumina et al.

This is an absolutely massive list! And very impressive when you compare to other brands available to purchase on the same scale which use quite a few chemicals in their products.

Both me and M always choose 'free from' products where we can.

So back to the mask, it's basically a cross between marmalade and orange juice in smell and consistency.

I'd heard about it being like marmalade but its not as thick as that, definitely mix with orange juice and then that's about right!

I used to hate oranges, but since Christmas I've become obsessed and now I eat one almost every day. The smell now reminds me of Christmas so every time I eat one it takes me back to that and it's the same with this.

I love the smell of oranges now so when I put this mask on it always puts me in a good mood on smell alone.

REN claim that this mask:

• Removes dead skin cells to renew the complexion
• Skin looks brighter, healthier, more radiant
• Helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
• Combats congestion, blackheads and blemishes

This mask has also won an award from InStyle for a Best Beauty Buy in 2008.

I follow the instructions above and slap it onto my face and neck. Make sure you avoid the eyes though as this is not something you want to get in them!

After 10 minutes or so I then wash it off using the muslin cloth that comes with the mask.

I find that even after having this on for 10 minutes my skin feels brighter and more uniform. I feel like my skin is cleaner and has had the top layer of cells removed to let newer ones shine through. It does tingle a little whilst it's on but nothing too bad and I find that it's worth the perseverance. It sort of tickles my skin and makes me want to scratch it more than anything else so I find it's a case of sitting on my hands to stop myself!

I also love that the pump has a cap of its own aside from the lid, this helps so much with stopping it from drying out which is a bonus. 

I would 100% recommend anyone who is looking for brighter skin to purchase this. REN is a great brand whose products seem to do what they claim at relatively affordable prices, and also without containing any other chemical nasties.

Have you used REN products before? What's your favourite type of mask? 

Do you use brightening products?

L xxx