Scott Cornwall Colour Restore Iced Platinum Review*

Hey All

Hope you've had a great weekend! Mine had been spent moving in with C. We've finally got our own little place. We've managed to get lots sorted and our downstairs is all arrange but the two spare rooms still need lots of work!

Just before we moved I tested out the Scott Cornwall Colour Restore in Iced Platinum. A few months back I put a box dye on my hair and it went really brassy. My hair has a tendency to do this but I still haven't learnt! I tried my usual favourites that have previously worked (Bleach London Toner and Bblonde!) great at lifting out the brassiness but nothing was helping so when I was offered the chance to try this I couldn't wait!

The Colour Restore contains no peroxide or ammonia which is great as bleached hair is usually pretty damaged and my box dyed hair was no exception (my mistake on my box dye I think was choosing one without ammonia, I think my hair needs proper bleach!). 

There are three different ways you can use Colour Restore as you can see about, It can be used like a purple shampoo to maintain brightness, create more of a highlight effect by using the comb through method or be used for whole head toning. I opted for the third method! The kit also comes with one set of gloves which is great as it does annoy me when toners don't have them!

The product is a deep purple which you would expect. It's a thick creamy consistency and really easy to apply because of this. I just squeezed it onto the gloves, rubbed it all through my hair, combed through it and then left it to do it's magic for 20 minutes. After washing it out hair is just styled as normal. My favourite thing about this is how soft my hair felt after washing it out. The bleach london one has me reaching for a conditioning mask but with this I just washed it out and styled it. My hair was so soft and shiny after!

And the result as that's what everyone wants to see. I think the lighting is a bit different in the photos which I know isn't the most helpful. The brassiness isn't fully gone but has massively improved and it has really blended the two distinct banding that I had in my hair before. My housemate as soon as she saw me also asked if I'd been to the hairdressers and had it done so I do think it looks better in person!

The Colour Restore also comes in browns, reds and various blonde shades! Which is great for topping up the hair in between dyes without damaging it. 

I'll definitely be repurchasing this over the other toners now as it's done a slightly better job and left my hair in better condition!

You can pick up colour restore and the great decolourer from boots!

Do you tone your hair?

Love M

xxx

Murad Clarifying Toner *

Evening All

Hope you've had a good day. I'm off out on a date tonight. I'm hoping I can push for pizza!

I'm a huge toner fan and have mentioned this on a few occasions on here. As someone with oily skin I really feel like my skin benefits from a toner. I find without a toner it gets even more oily.

L and I are both Murad fans and love trying new products. The AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser (review here) and after using it for over a year twice a week I still have some left.

The Clarifying toner is aimed at people with oily and blemish prone skin. It claims to help minimize oil, control shin and keep pores clean.

The toner does have a very strong chemical scent which at first did put me off of it. After using it for the past 2 months though I have got used to the smell and have been really enjoying using it. I find it has really controlled the shine on my face during the day and therefore my foundation has been lasting longer.

I do feel like it has been going down quickly. I find that because you use it with cotton wool you end up using more product than you need. I would love this more if it was in a spray bottle as I feel it would last longer.

Once I got used to the smell I have really enjoyed it and it has really helped my breakouts. My skin had gotten really bad and I was having a lot of breakouts. It has reduced the spots and helped control oil. I don't think it has helped my pores as my nose is still got blackheads.

If you are after a toner to reduce spots and control oil this is a perfect one. For me when I repurchase I will transfer it to an old lush toner bottle to see if it lasts longer.

Are you a toner user?

Love M

xxx

Origins Merry Moisturisers Set

Hi all!

One of my favourite presents to myself this year was my huge haul of Origins gift sets.
Not only are all products that I've used from them completely amazing, but the gift sets can be quite a bargain if you're lucky!

This one, Merry Moisturisers, was originally priced around £50 but Boots discounted it for a few weeks before Christmas and so I snapped it up for £28. This was a bargain because the moisturiser in this set costs £34 on its own!

Loved the packaging of these, very simple, Christmassy and the different designs for each set are really cute. The polka dot is also a classic!
As with all other Origins products the ingredients are fully listed on the back of the box.

I've kept these boxes as I like them so much, boxes like these are always useful for storing things and putting presents in. I've got plenty of boxes like these stacked up and storing all my eyeshadows, lipsticks etc in.

Merry Moisturisers gift set contains a number of products from the Make A Difference range which is one of my favourites from Origins. This set contains the Rejuvenating Treatment Lotion, Hand Treatment and Moisturiser as well as a Drink Up Intensive Face Mask.

This moisturiser is one of my all time favourites. I've previously tried the gel version of the treatment which is for oily skin and therefore is lighter. There's actually four different types available for different skin types so I was interested to try another type now that my skin isn't as oily and requires more hydration.

This was as expected; lovely to apply, smells divine and my skin feels like its had a really big treat when I've used it. Love it love it love it, I'll be repurchasing this for a while (as long as I can afford it that is!).

As someone that doesn't really get the whole toner thing, this was a massive revelation to me. I loved the smell, the effects and just everything about it. You can see my original post on it here but needless to say it has completely won me over to the toner argument...though I'm still skeptical of others.

This is again another gorgeous product and the size is perfect for a handbag. It sinks into skin really nicely which is something that is a must have for me as I cannot stand greasy hand creams and having slimy hands that stay like it for ages!

The Drink Up mask is another product I've used before and loved. It was the first hydrating mask I'd ever used and it was amazing even for my oily skin. It didn't overload it and was perfectly hydrating without affecting my skin in a negative way at all. Perfection!

This would have been a gorgeous set for anyone, I'm a hug fan or Origins as I've probably mentioned many times and genuinely love it! There's never been a product I didn't like and all of them have worked beautifully on my skin.

I always look for bargains such as these sets at Christmas time to save me a bit of money and also try out new products that I might not have tried otherwise.
I also take regular trips to Cosmetics Company Outlets (CCO) where items can be discounted greatly, I'm talking £25 instead of £34 and you can save some money there too, as long as the products are available.

Do you like Origins? Did you pick up anything from their Christmas sets?

L xxx

 

Review: Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic

Morning all!

We have a joint review for you today as we've both purchased Liz Earle's Instant Boost Skin Tonic.

We are both big fans of the Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser and couldn't resist picking up the skin tonic when it was on offer with the cleanser.

The Skin Tonic is a non drying toner that refreshes, soothes and brightens your skin all in one swipe.
It is alcohol free and extremely gentle on the skin. This surprised me as it is floral scented which often means that I won't like it and it will cause my skin to break out but it didn't.

You can buy this skin tonic in the 200ml bottle like we both have or in a spritz bottle so that you can spray it onto your face throughout the day as and when you need it.

The tonic contains multiple components to soothe the skin including aloe vera, chamomile, calendula and cucumber. It also contains essential oils such as geranium, lavender and sweet orange to restore and revive your spirits.

The instructions state to use the skin tonic morning and evening after cleansing and before moisturising as is with most toners.

As someone who isn't the biggest fan of toner it was a surprise to me that i enjoyed using it. As i have oily skin i was worried that it may react but it didn't, although I now save it for my evening routine as I prefer to use another in the morning.

I can't say that it has dramatically improved my skin but it smells gorgeous and is an extra step in ensuring my make up and any traces of cleanser are removed which is always welcome.

This costs £13.25 for the 200ml bottle but you can get the spritzer version for £13.50.

Have you tried the Skin Tonic? What is your favourite Liz Earle product?

I can't help but comment on the design of the bottle....the twisting up of the lid to get the product out looks far too much like a nipple! Whatever happened to having a flip top lid and pouring out the amount of product necessary?!

L xxx

I'm the opposite of L and absolutely love a toner. I'm totally addicted to Lush A Breath of Fresh air and have now got my brother hooked on it too. As I love cleanse and polish I was excited to try a more high end toner.

I love toner and the always use it. It makes my skin feel better and for me I find I break out of I don't use a toner. After loving cleanse and polish so much I did expect really good things from this toner. For me though I found it was just ok. I don't find it does anything better than my Lush one does. I do prefer the scent of this one and it does make my skin feel slightly better.

I think I'd prefer to have picked up the spritz bottle as the lazy person in me can't always be bothered to get cotton wool when I'm in bed. It does have a refreshing scent and doesn't leave skin feeling tight which is always a good thing.

I probably wouldn't pick it up again but that's purely because I'm addicted to my Lush one and have been for 3 years now,

Love M

xxxx

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

Review: Bblonde Colour Toner

Today I'm sharing with you a review of Bblonde colour toner. As someone with blonde hair and hair that seems to love to go ginger when died (thanks mum) toner and purple shampoo is something I always use.

When I saw a review of Bblonde on twitter I tweeted the person saying it sounded great and was lucky enough to be contacted to see if I wanted to review it too. The toners came in three colours so there is one too suit all shades of blonde. It comes in Champagne, Honey and Platinum colours. I choose to try champagne.

The champagne toner is great to remove brassiness and brighten hair subtly adding blush hints. When I read that it would add blush hints I was initially a little worried. I was also concerned using a home toner would dry out my already highlighted hair.

In this photo you can see the pink tone to the toner.

You are meant to do a patch test but to be honest I'm really bad and don't even though I really should. The toner is really easy to use, simply use a clarifying shampoo and then apply the toner into towel dried hair from root to tip.

Pre Toner

Post Toner (you can see it's a lot less brassy and more blonde, ignore my roots!)

The next step is to cover hair with a plastic hood (I used cling film) and apply a hair dryer for 5 minutes. I left it on for the maximum time of 30 minutes and then washed out and applied conditioner.

I was so pleasantly surprised that my hair wasn't dry after using this and it felt in good condition. I blow dried it and was pleased it wasn't too blush toned and just looked brighter.

Since using it I've felt I need to use my purple shampoo less and my hair has been less brassy then it normally gets in between my highlights. I'm so pleased with the colour it has gone.

I've liked the toner so much I've since bought the platinum one to try in the next few weeks as I'm planning to dye my hair lilac in November.

Love M

xxx

Review: Good Things Deep Pore Anti Blemish Cleanser

Hi there!

A bright and early post from me today, it's apparently summer so I thought I'd get in early with this very fruity and summery cleanser from 'Good Things'.


Good Things is a brand that I have funnily enough, heard good things about. But having never tried a product from them I didn't know this for myself and just had to believe the hype.

Whilst picking up presents for an American friend (for a swap) Boots conveniently had a 3 for 2 deal on skincare so I obviously got something for myself in the 'free' part.

As I'm on a ban this was debatable as to whether I'd broken it...but as it was free and I ensured this product was cheaper than the ones I was getting for a friend I considered it acceptable...do you agree??

What shocked me most was the price of this one!

Lush Skin Care

Today I thought I'd do my skincare routine. I have a very oily t-zone so until recently haven't been taking proper care of my skin, I never used to use moisturiser as I didn't see the point in adding more oil to my already greasy skin.

After a visit to lush one day (I'm a proper lush addict and have been for years, the smell never put me off I always loved baths) I decided to try out there skin care products. I've been using the masks for a while so decided to give a cleanser, toner and moisturise a go. Since trying them I've not looked back.