Burt's Bee's Lip Shimmers

I recently purchased a Grab bag from Burt's Bee's which you can read about - here it was full of lots of lovely things, including three Burt's Bee's lip shimmers. Two in Watermelon and one in Rhubarb. 

I decided to do a separate post focusing on these because I was really taken with them. 

The formulation of the Lip Shimmers is extremely creamy and hydrating leaving my lips wonderfully soft and in great condition, they also contain peppermint oil which gives a wonderful tingling sensation when applying the product.

The one thing I was extremely impressed with is the pigmentation, for a coloured lip balm these are (I think) quite highly pigmented you really only need a quick swipe to see the difference. 

The only things I would say that I dislike are to do with the packaging. The tube around the product does tend to get a little smeared as you can see in the photo above and I'm also not a fan of the size of the tube its a little thin I would prefer it if it was larger, more like a usual lip balm size because it would be a little more comfortable to apply but I may just be being a little fussy here :)

 

Overall I think these are great and are perfect for mornings where time is limited, for quick pick me ups during the day or just if your a tinted lip balm fan like me.

   

Sunny Days in London

On Sunday I went into London to meet up with my old house mates, It was such an unbelievably gorgeous day I thought I would share some photos :)  

London Eye

E4 Udderbelly area - Jellyfish! - M&M store - Tortoise - Me, looking suprised! - Hummingbird Bakery

 We accidentally found the E4 udderbelly stage area and so stopped for a quick cider with ice, perfect for the sunshine. Then meandered to the M&M store, the size of this store always amazes me there is so much M&M merchandise, I'm not sure that the world needs that many M&M related items! We also managed to pass the Hummingbird bakery this has the most gorgeous cakes I highly recommend, they taste great and look really cute. Finally we finished the day at the Aquarium because fish are awesome and it was refreshingly cool after the hot hot sun.

Hope you guys had a good weekend in the sunshine ...let me know what you got up to

xx

Soap and Glory

I finally decided to jump on board the Soap and Glory bandwagon, it was only a small jump I bought the travel sizes so I could try them out before indulging in any of the full sized.  I wont go into massive detail as I'm sure you've read many a review on Soap and Glory products already, but here's my two cents  :)


The packaging of the Soap and Glory range is cute, as always I like the vintage pictures and design but I'm not a massive peachy pink person so it doesn't due huge things for me.

The one thing I was most looking forward to trying, because I've heard many a good review was the hand cream. I'm a bit of a hand cream collector so was quite interested in seeing how this measured up and it actually did very well - in fact I was a little disappointed that I liked its so much (only because its less interesting!). The scent is delicious and not too overpowering however it lasts for a surprisingly long time, my hands smelt lovely for AGES. The consistency is nice, quite light weight it looks creamy when it comes out of the tube but once you start rubbing it in it becomes almost watery which I thought was odd to begin with but means that it sinks into the skin very quickly.  Its not the most moisturising hand cream I've ever used but its still very good, leaving my hands feeling silky.


The flake away scrub has the same scent as the hand cream so also smells lovely but its slightly stronger which works well as this is a product that your meant to wash off your skin. Sugar is used as the exfoliant so as you rub it in the sugar dissolves. It leaves a slight residue but is not sticky and didn't seem to last after I had dried off, I was again pretty impressed with this.

The body wash looked really pretty it has a pink pearlescent shimmer running through it but it was probably my least favourite of the three it smelt good, like the rest of the range but I have other shower gels/body washes where I prefer the scent and that feel more luxurious!


I have been suitably impressed by the Soap and Glory range and I would definitely repurchase the hand cream and the body scrub, I might even try some of the other items from the range!
If you have any recommendations let me know :)


I made my first purchases helped by the usual 3 for 2 from Boots.

Its Potent

A while ago I went on a little Benefit crazy, I've managed to get control of my Benefit related urges recently even managing to walk past the Benefit counter without stopping! However during my splurge I picked up the 'Its Potent'  brightening eye cream. 


Website blurb/ description: It's Potent eye cream fades dark circles and helps to smooth fine lines for brighter, younger- looking eyes. 

Surprisingly I'm not a massive fan of the Benefit skin care packaging especially not compared to their make-up. But I do love this little pot, it reminds me of an old apothecary style with the faux cork lid and being made out of glass it feels pretty sturdy vwhich I like.
The product is an off white magnolia colour, it looks and feels very rich and creamy but has a light weight formula sinking in quickly when applied under the eye.

 I've been using 'Its Potent' for about a month - my dark circles have not magically disappeared but I feel that they do look reduced and it leaves my under eye area feeling hydrated without being to heavy. I would also like to add that I've barely made a dent in the amount of the product even using it most mornings and evenings (only mostly because sometimes I am forgetful).


Overall as you can probably tell I really like this eye cream. I can see me requiring something a bit more substantial as I become older (cringe) but for now this is a brilliant eye cream for maintaining my under eye area, keeping it moisturised and bright.  

Love and Toast Hand creme

I was very kindly given this Love and Toast Hand Creme for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. Its from the brand Love and Toast and in the scent Sugar Grapefruit. I didn't really know what to expect because I hadn't tried or seen anything from Love and Toast previously.


The blurb/ description on the packaging: Created to quench thirsty skin, moisture rich natural ingredients absorb quickly forming invisible protection. Natural super softeners Shea Butter, Macadamia Nut & Olive Fruits, Avocado & Sunflower Oils. A lightweight luxurious lotion with no animal ingredients or artificial colours 'Paraben free, Phthalate free, Never animal tested, No animal ingredients, No artificial colours, Packing paper sources come from 100% annually renewed resources. 

Annoyingly I cant find my other photos...

First of all I would like to say how pretty is the packaging its absolutely gorgeous. Its also really sensible, the tube is mailable so its easy to get the product out and when I do start running out I will be able to roll the tube up and get the very last bit...so I wont be wasting any product.


The scent (sugar grapefruit) reminds me more of orange flavoured sweets than grapefruit, and I wasn't to taken with the scent initially - It has a slight (very slight) bitter undertone however it has definitely grown on me and I think the more I use it the more I seem to like it.


The hand creme is lovely, it make my hands feel really soft and silky - It does take a second to sink in but not a ridiculous amount of time, I use it at work and it doesn't take me long to be tapping back at my key board. The other thing I like about it is that it doesn't immediately disappear if I wash my hands (which as I've said before I do a lot at work) my hands still feel moisturised in a good condition way not in a horrible residue way!


As stated above this is the first product that I have tried from the brand Love and Toast and I really like it I will definitely be looking out for more...even the name Love and Toast is cute!


Have you tried any products from Love and Toast?

Body Shop Eye definers

So although I love a lot of Body Shops products, scrubs, moisturisers, body sprays etc I have never really been aware of their make up.

However I was gifted these two eye definers by my wonderful mother, she gave them to me because she was having problems wearing them with her contact lenses as I don't wear lenses I thought I would try them out. They are no. 10 Brilliant Blue (metallic eye definer) and No.06 French Navy (for some reason I love the name French Navy).

Now I really like blue eye-liners. I think that using a blue eyeliner can really add a little bit of a pop to natural / neutral look without being over the top, I also happen to think that blue eyeliner accents my eyes well (because they are blue!) bringing out there colour and its always a nice change from the usual black or brown.

When I first received them I was really drawn in by the brilliant blue one it looks such a gorgeous colour not a great shot of them on my hand buts its bright blue with  slight shimmer which I guess is why its called a metallic eye definer - really pretty. The French navy is of course more of a ... well navy colour which is perfect for a more subtle look.

However, although the Brilliant Blue looks amazing its ...terrible. Its extremely creamy which is lovely when your putting it on, but it has zero staying power and smudges all over the place. It lasts about 5 mins when its on the water line ending up underneath the eye - I tried it on the eyelid to see if it was better unfortunately not, I can completely see why my mum had problems with this product transferring to her contact lenses. 

The French Navy colour is completely different, its a much firmer consistency, not so creamy but it stays put. It worked best once I warmed it up on the back of my hand being easy to apply with no need for hard pressing or tugging. 

Overall I would say I much prefer the normal eye definers. The metallic ones or at least the one I have tried is just too soft to be usable. Looking at these two eye definers has reminded me that the Body Shop also does make-up though so on my next visit I will defnintly be having a sneaky peek at what else that have to offer.

You can buy them both from the Body shop website here both types of eye definer retail at £8. 

If you have tried any of the Body shop makeup and have any recommendations please let me know :)

Burts Bees

I received a Burts Bees body lotion in my Glossy Box which since using have absolutely fallen in love with. Its really moisturising without being too thick or greasy and it absorbs into the skin relatively quickly without leaving an oily residue. I had some really dry patches on my legs that I'd been trying to get rid of before getting them out for summer and had been really struggling until I tried this, after using the Burts Bees body lotion on my legs they feel great really soft with no dry patches left in sight.


So as you can probably tell I was quite taken with it, happily in the Glossy box along with the sample of body lotion there was also a voucher code for 20% off any purchase from the Burts Bee's website - I was going to simply purchase the full sized body lotion when I happened to see the 'Grab Bag'. On the website it says 'We’ve mixed and matched our most popular natural products into the UK’s first ever grab bag. Filled with 12 items including four full-size products (one of which is a full 8 oz. bottle of our Classic Milk & Honey Body Lotion), an assortment of mini-size products, and some special gifts!'

I was definitely intrigued and as it came with the body lotion that I was going to buy anyway I thought why not. 

It recently arrived and here's what I received: 

Two Radiance Exfoliating body washes 

Two body lotions - One being the full sized Naturally Nourishing Milk and Honey and the other is, Thoroughly Therapeutic Honey and Orange wax.

Therapeutic bath crystals and Rosemary Mint shampoo bar

A sample sized super shiny Grapefruit and Sugar Beet conditioner

A nail file and a Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

A really cute tin, containing three lip shimmers two in the shade Watermelon and one in Rhubarb and a sample of Radiance Night Cream 

I was really impressed with the amount of products and also the variety, as someone who hadn't tried any Burt's Bees products before the body lotion sample in Glossy box I think its an excellent introduction into the brand. 
I'm sure that I'm going to try all the products, so its pretty much a win for me. The grab bag is £20 and can be found on the Burt's Bee's website (See here)
I will probably do a more in depth review of my favourite bits and pieces from the grab bag at a later date once I've properly tried the products.


If you have used any of the Burt's Bees products let me know your opinion on them :) 

Estee Lauder BB Cream

A while ago, I bought a sample of the Estee lauder BB cream from the latest in beauty website (see website here) for £1.50. I wasn't expecting much (not actually knowing a whole lot about Estee Lauder) but I am a sucker for samples. I have tried other BB creams, mainly through sample grabbing from websites, but the Estee Lauder BB cream is the only one that really peaked my interest.

The first thing I noticed is that its easy to work into the skin - I've used either my fingers or a foundation brush, both give good results and I'm able to put this on when I'm in a rush, without worrying.
The formulation of the product is a little thicker than others I have used but it doesn't cause any problems and a little goes a really long way.

The blurb on the packaging states that it 'maximises natural radiance for complexion perfection' ...now I'm not sure it manages all of that, but it does make my skin look 'healthy' which is great especially on days were I'm feeling tired. One of my favourite things about this product is that it leaves my skin with a really silky finish that feels nice to touch, I don't find it drying at all.
I would say that its gives light coverage. It does even skin tone and minimise 'flaws' but doesn't cover all blemishes and sometimes I do have to use a concealer for problem areas.


With the Summer coming up I've been looking for products that feel and look lighter on my skin and I think the Estee Lauder BB cream is perfect. It also boasts SPF 35 which is great for myself as my skin is a bit of a wuss in the sunshine.  


There are only two things about this product that I'm not a great fan of, one of them is the smell. It has a cucumber scent which in its self isn't too bad I like cucumber - but it is quite a strong smell and it would be better if it was more subtle.

The other thing that I'm not a fan of is the price. I seen this for sale in different places ranging from £32 - £35 which (to me) seems a lot of money. Although I really like this product I was a bit hesitant paying this price. Thankfully I saw it on the website Buyapowa (see website here) joined one of their co buys and swooped it up for £27.50 (plus P&P) not a massive saving but it made me feel better :)


If any of you have tried this or love any other BB creams let me know in the comments :)

Bio-Oil

This has been bouncing round my bathroom cabinet for about a month now. I bought it because I had heard great reviews - lovely glowing complexions, overnight transformations etc. Unfortunately it really didn't work for me and I begrudge throwing things out so I'm stuck with it ...I now look at it and sigh whenever I see it in the bathroom.

So ...

The packaging is simple, easy to see how much you have left and pretty recognisable as a product. I think the only change I would make to the packaging would be to change the mode of delivery, either by adding a pump or a pointed nozzle. At the moment I find that it tends to go everywhere and it’s hard to control the amount of product you receive.

I used Bio Oil for a week, using it religiously before bed; I couldn’t use it during the day because it left an oily/ shiny finish on my face, which isn't a great look.
There was no overnight transformation and certainly no glowing complexion in fact I had to stop using it after a week because bizarrely enough I started getting dry patches on my face.

I then decided to use it on my body and arms instead to see if my face was just being over sensitive, the Bio oil didn’t dry out my skin in these areas but it also didn’t feel very moisturising. It was basically like putting nothing on but messier and more time consuming.

So Bio Oil really did not work for me and was a complete waste of money. I don't think I would have been quite so disappointed if I hadn't heard such great things to begin with ...I was expecting a lot. The fact that I had heard good reviews means that it must work for some people ....but it certainly does not work for me. 

I bought mine at Boots for £8.99.