15 Again: A Makeup & Outfit OTD

Good morning!

How’s everyone doing today? What are we doing today? I’m listening to the San Junipero soundtrack and crying. So it goes.

Sharing with you a lil makeup and outfit of the day on this beautiful July day. This was on a cooler day than today, otherwise I would be sweating my butt off. Especially because I was sat in a car for two hours on this day! Okay, maybe I still sweat my butt off. So it goes.

Does the title confuse you? Yeah, me too. Just kidding; I wrote it. Want some context?

Basically, I’ve never really fallen into a particular clothing “style”. You may have seen this already from the eclectic range I’ve provided for you on this here blog. And by “eclectic range” I mean, “mish-mash of no taste”.

I’m always envious of people who have true style, their own look. You know? The ones who you are always going to know what variation of something they’ll be wearing, and who rock their look down to a tee. I think the closest I am to this is “black leggings”.
Look, I’m basic. I fucking love a pair of black leggings. Once I stopped giving a shit about whether I was “too fat” to wear them, I realised the comfort I had been denying myself for years. You know? Cos fat girls are meant to look either ultra femme or ultra butch. We can’t put on sweatpants and messy buns and have it be a lewk like the skinny folks can.

Anyway. There was a time before that in-betweeny I hate my body time and now where I didn’t care what I looked like and just wore what I like. I guess back then there would be times I would try to conform in my own way, some ways I wanted to be like my friends and my sister, and other ways in which I didn’t want to be like anyone. So sometimes I had some weird outfits. But there was an overall go-to for me: a band/rock-looking tee with jeans and converse.

That’s what I thought made me look cool. Do you wanna see how desperately uncool I was?

There you are. Bask in me in my weird 15 year-old glory. I’m also wearing tights under those jeans. Lord knows why.

Anyway that’s the context. I never did fine that one style, and now I’m kind of coming to terms with that. Much like my music taste, I can never settle for listening to one thing exclusively, I’m trying to not look one way exclusively.

I’ve talked too much. Here we go.

I’m gonna be real with you here guys: I genuinely think I’ve had these converse since I was about 15 too. If you don’t wear them every day, these shoes fucking last mate. Well, for me they have. My husband has big ole size 12 feet and he walks out Converse in 3 months.

Top | Leggings are Primark | Shoes (this colour isn’t sold anymore tho) | Phone case

The one thing that is different compared to being 15, is being able to actually do half-decent makeup (though I still can’t do my hair).

Base | Contour | Blush | Highlight | Brows | Eyes | Mascara | Lips

And there you have it. Here’s my 26 year-old attempt at recapturing a little “don’t fuck with me” attitude of over a decade ago. And I didn’t even look like that all the time. I wish I had looked like this when I was 15.

What did you look like when you were 15? How has your style changed? Let me know!

Until next time 😉

<<Rawr means I love you in dinosaur>>
(any old scene kids in the house?)

June 2017 Empties

Good morning all!

Have you ever had one of those times where everything seems to run out at once? That seems to be what’s happening to me at the minute… but it’s actually not so bad because it means I get to do one of these posts, which I have never done before!

So today, I’ll be looking at my empties that have accumulated over the past month, and reviewing what I liked, what I didn’t like, and whether I would repurchase.

Please note that there will probably be things on here I didn’t like but still used all of. This is because I am a cheapskate, and I like to get worth out of products 😉 I MEAN… I need to use it all to give a thorough and fair review. Yeah, that’s it. Let’s go with that one.

Let’s go!

Origins GinZing Eye Cream (£20.50 full size)

A little goes a hell of a long way with this little guy! This sample is only 5ml and it has lasted me ages: I think coming up for a year of using it once a day! Or maybe I wasn’t using enough product? I dunno. I only felt like I needed a tiny amount of this.

This eye cream is not as rich as other ones I have used, and it appears to have very very slight shimmer particles in it, which I didn’t notice on skin at all. I imagine that this is to combat the dark circles thing, however I fortunately don’t suffer with dark circles, so I can’t comment on the veracity of the claim that it helps with that problem.

In fact, for me, I mainly see eye cream as a preventative thing at this point in my life. I’m in my late twenties, and I have started noticing some fine lines underneath my eyes, but it’s nothing major. I don’t know if this has helped keep them at bay or not, really, but I prefer to use eye cream than not.

One of the comments I would make about this product is that when I had bad skin flare-ups I couldn’t use it because it stung the skin around my eyes, so it’s not always going to be the best product for people who have sensitive skin, particularly around the eye area.

The full size of this product is 15ml, three times the size of this sample, and I therefore think the price point is incredibly fair.

In terms of repurchasing, I would definitely do so if I had no issues with eye sensitivity, however because I do, I think it’s worthwhile looking for something that works a bit better with my skin.

 

Caudalie Vinosource Moisturising Sorbet (£23 full size)

I really liked this moisturiser. The texture was a little more “whipped” than usual moisturisers, which meant it didn’t feel heavy on the skin. It also absorbed quickly and was nice for morning skincare, as I could then put other products and makeup on top of it without feeling too heavy or greasy. It also smelt amazing.

This sample size was 10ml and lasted me less than a month using it once a day. The full size is 40ml and I estimate that’s probably gonna last about 3 months, so I think it’s a pretty high price point in terms of that. Obviously there are more expensive moisturisers out there on the market, but I also think there are comparable ones to this at lower price points.

I won’t be repurchasing this for the reasons I talked about when I received it in this post.

 

Merci Handy Hand Cleansing Gel – New Wave (£2.90)

This is a nice little hand sanitiser. I always like to carry hang gel around in my bad just in case, and this one smells much nicer than other ones I’ve tried. Other than that, it seems to work in exactly the same way as other antibacterial hand gels.

It seems that literally the only thing that’s different about this compared to other antibac hand gels is the fact that it comes in different fragrances, and it charges you 3 times as much for the privilege. That’s not justifiable to me. I wouldn’t be unhappy to receive this again from someone else or to receive it in a beauty box, but I won’t purchase it.

 

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation – Vanille Clair (£10.99)

This foundation has lasted me a long time! I don’t use it everyday, but probably a couple of times a week. The reason it isn’t my go-to is because it is incredibly sheer: definitely not for you if you prefer foundation with good coverage, which I tend to prefer because of my acne and scarring. It is good to pick up though if you’re having a good skin day, or you really want a much lighter makeup look.

I have the lightest shade that this foundation comes in, and it’s still slightly too dark for me, but I do find that with almost all drugstore foundations. If you’re incredibly pale it might not work. It’s also quite yellow based instead of neutral, so that’s another thing to bear in mind.

The foundation itself smells nice, it blends well, and it does feel somewhat moisturising on the skin. It’s been a nice secondary option to have in my makeup kit, but I won’t be repurchasing.

 

Sunday Riley Martian Mattifying Melting Water-Gel Toner (£48 full size)

This toner is unlike any other I’ve ever used. Firstly, it’s applied from one of those compression pumps, where the product is pushed up from the bottom (if you know what I mean). Secondly, it’s bright green. Thirdly, it smells strongly (an unusual but lovely combination of green tea and witch hazel). Fourthly, it has an unusual texture, going from a light gel to a very thin water-like consistency on skin.

At first, I didn’t like this at all.  I think it was simply because it was unlike any toner I had used before, which are usually very water products applied with cotton pads to me that don’t leave any residue on the skin or have other visible properties. This one does.
It’s created for acne prone and oily skin, and it dries very quickly after application and does have a mattifying quality to it, leaving your skin surface feeling more like after you’ve applied a primer.

I applied it once a day using a cotton pad during my morning skincare routine, and it didn’t take long for me to love it. I can’t say that I actively saw it do anything to my skin in terms of my acne, however it did make my skin less oily and I would say works great alone as a primer.

The only downside to this product is that the price point is very high. I would definitely repurchase this, should I have nearly 50 quid to drop on a toner, but unfortunately I do not.

 

Paul & Joe Moisturising Foundation Primer – 3 Creme (£24 full size)

First off, I absolutely love the packaging of this product. This is just the sample, but it is so pretty, and the full size bottles are even prettier. I just really like the vintage style of it, looking like it wouldn’t go amiss on a 20s dresser.

The actual product itself is runnier than other primers I have used –  very much a liquid – but it feels very silky and applies smoothly to skin. It has a very faint but pleasant powdery perfume smell, and a very, very slight shimmer to it which is not very noticeable.

It’s a fantastic base for makeup, and has worked well as a primer for me in keeping my makeup in place for several hours at a time, however it is not one of those primers that have fantastic results by itself in terms of minimising pores or smoothing out skin.
On my skin, it works better as a base primer than the much raved about Smashbox one!

This sample was 10ml, and using it maybe a couple of times a week has lasted me a good eight months. The full size is 30ml, and with the price I think it’s entirely comparable to other primers out there, so I’d definitely repurchase this.

 

Matthew Williamson Sheer Eau de Toilette

To be honest with you guys, I don’t even want to think about how old this perfume is, but I will tell you this much: Matthew Williamson doesn’t make perfume anymore. I’m actually incredibly sad about this, because I loved his brand when I was younger. I had his wallpaper on my wall, I had his handbags, I wore his perfumes, and I even had the incredibly expensive candles he used to sell because they smelt so good.

I really do wish he still made perfumes, because this one was gorgeous, but luckily I still have my parfum of his which is twice the size of this. I’ll definitely be sad when that one goes!

 

Elgon Deliwash Cleansing Conditioner (£14)

I’m going to try to be brief with this one, as it’s the one I was talking about at the beginning when I mentioned not liking products but using them anyway.

It’s meant to be a cowash you use everyday. I’ve used 2-in-1 products before, and this does nothing. It’s a rubbish cowash, and it’s not even good as a conditioner in its own right. The reviews are amazing for it, which I’m totally shocked by, so give it a go if you must, but it did nothing for me.

Plus points for the packaging which is cute, and the smell which is amazing. Other than that: trash.

 

Figs & Rouge Hydra-Activ Smart Nutrient Day Cream (£28 full size)

I absolutely love this cream. When I first received it, I wasn’t that into it, but having used it on my skin for a while now, I have grown to love it more and more.

It smells amazing and it makes my skin feel totally moisturised and silky. If you put slightly too much on, it will end up feeling heavy, so watch out for that, but in general it’s amazing.

This size is 20ml and it lasted me much, much longer than the Caudalie one, as I think it spread better and I needed less product. The full size is 50ml, and so I think £28 is a comparable price point, and if I had the funds I would definitely repurchase. I won’t be doing so right now, as I’m currently testing other skin creams, but we’ll see in the future.

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So all in all, I’ve finished up a mixed bag of products this month. What do you guys think? Have you used any of these products before too, and what did you think of them?

Until next time folks 😉

Makeup & Outfit of the Day – Last Weekend!

Bon weekend!

If you’re anywhere but the UK, I hope you’ve had a peaceful week. If you’re in the UK, we’ve had a bit of a week of it, haven’t we? I’m not going to go into politics here because, let’s be honest, I am tired. If you wanna see how I feel about any of that stuff then you can probably tell from my Insta posts or my twitter.

I am running late on my posts guys, and today I have no inventive titles for you even, because these photos are from Sunday. Yes, I know. I still thought they were worth sharing, though.

Something I’m really trying to get over is my confidence issues when my hair is not down. I have a bit of a thing about how I perceive my face to look when my hair is up (not due to my fatness, but more due to the fact that I hate my nose and profile of my chin). But seeing as every summer seems to be hotter than ever, it’s something I need to get over. My partner Ana told me I looked nice in pigtails, so pigtails it is! haha.

This day was typical British weather. We had a beautiful sunny and hot day to start off with, then got rained out. Luckily I took a rain jacket, but the sandals probably weren’t the best idea!

ASOS had a massive sale over the May bank holiday which I took advantage of, and this tee was one of my favourite items I got. I’ve just checked for you babes and it’s still available and still on sale – go go go!

The sandals are ones I got aaaages ago and are no longer available, however I have managed to find a strikingly similar pair here on sale!

My makeup held up awesomely on this day despite the heat and the rain, probably mostly thanks to a combo of my Paul & Joe primer I’ve just finished (T____T) and my usual KVD Lock-it Foundation (in which I wear 42 Light).

Lip of choice for this day was the delightful Cupid by Lime Crime. I’m betting this one will be a go-to shade for me.

And that is all my dudes!

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend ❤

Lime Crime Haul & Unboxing!

Good morning all! Hope you are feeling rested and in a great mood this Friday.

Today I have something rather exciting, because we’re talking LIPSTICK HAUL…. and who doesn’t love lipsticks?

In case you were not aware, Lime Crime recently had a massive sale on, with some of their Velvetines going down to just $5! I obviously just had a lipstick clearout, so what better time to just go and buy a bunch more?? hahaha. I added approximately 90% of their $5 items to my online cart, and then realised just how ridiculous I was being. There were bundles that were reduced down to $10 a piece with three lipsticks in them, and so I was economical and started looking at them instead.

In case you aren’t familiar with Lime Crime, this was an amazing deal! Velvetines working out at $3.33 a piece? *heart eyes*

So I ended up buying three bundles, and trying to vary the colours a bit so I got a wide range. Unfortunately what I can’t show you today are the two individual ones that I pleaded my friend to go back and buy me while she shopped because I regretted not getting them! Haha.

Unfortunately the sale has ended now and a lot of these are back up in price, but they do have a small selection of things still reduced if you want to check it out!

So I’m gonna try and do this in the form of an unboxing so you see how they came. I want to also point out that the shipping for this, considering they came from California, was incredibly fast… but I found this with my last package from them too. Props to Lime Crime for that, because there were a lot of problems in the past with their shipping. I ordered these on the 24th May, and I received them yesterday on 1st June. A week in shipping from the US is great to me.

Let’s get cracking!

Outer box, upside down to hide shipping label 🙂

As you might have seen in this post, the packaging remains beautiful. Inauspicious on the outside, then you open it to a heavenly sight of pinks and blues and flowers and unicorns. I’m a sucker for pretty packaging; I just think it’s a nice little detail rather than a plain white box.

The first box I opened contained my beautiful little Champagne Velve-tin, which was lovingly wrapped up in pink bubble wrap. I didn’t even know you could get pink bubble wrap…. and now I feel like I need it in my life, ya know, for…. reasons.

So let’s talk about the Velve-tin first then, as it was the first one I unboxed.

I have been eyeing up the Velve-tins for a while now. I think they’re a really cute concept. Three minis in a super cute tin with different colour schemes. I actually fell in love with the red one, then the pink one, but when I saw this one I was just kind of obsessed.

The rose-gold colour Happi, I am particularly obsessed with. I have no idea if it will go with my skintone at all, or if I would suit a metallic lipstick, but it’s just gorgeous.

This nude colour, Lulu, looks like it will be a great peachy nude for my pale skintone. As I said in my post where I was clearing out my lipsticks, I’m looking to diversify my nude collection, and I’ve managed to add a couple of great ones with this haul 🙂

I did have one slight issue with Lulu. When I opened it, I think the product had separated a bit, and oil came out the tube and started running down the sides. That was a bit annoying, but it didn’t happen to any of the others, and the lipstick seemed fine once I resealed it and gave it a bit of a shake.

Lana is a beautiful bronze which I think is gorgeous, but I’m not sure it will work on me. Looks like it would be greater on dark skin, but I will certainly still get use out of it as I think it will make an incredible eyeliner!

(Pic completely unedited and taken in natural light. Left to right: Lana, Lulu, Happi)

Onto the next box!

This is the True Love bundle, which I got for an absolute steal. It’s meant to be $60, and they had it reduced to $10 in the sale! I know right?! (The lipsticks look a little separated in the pic above but they were absolutely fine)

This one I was attracted to because I was already going to buy one of the shades in it for $5, so I thought I may as well get a bundle of three shades (they are full size!) for $10 instead 🙂

First up we have Cupid, which is just my absolute favourite shade of pink, which is a muted nude-pink. This the kind of shade I’d describe as “vintage rose” if I had to come up with another name. It reminds me of a slightly darker liquid shade of Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm (Elusive) as seen in my lipstick clearout post.

I have a feeling that this one will become a go-to.

Next up is Saint, which is a shade I’m also super excited about! I don’t have a really deep, dark red in my collection at all, and I’m so glad to finally rectify that. I can see this one getting a lot of use once we come out of summer and into Autumn and Winter!

This shade shares the name of the bundle – True Love – and is the shade I bought the bundle for. I am obsessed with this colour. It’s like the birthchild of Pink Velvet and Suedeberry mixed together, and creates a really vivid, almost neon, pinky red.

I feel like this is a shade I’m actually going to have to talk myself out of wearing on a daily basis, because it’s just so beautiful.

(Cupid, Saint, True Love)

This next bundle I am struggling to find the name to, as it is not available as a bundle on their website at all anymore. After a bit of Googling, I have found some people calling it “the Holiday Trio” and some “the Blue Bundle”. Fortunately, you can still buy two of the shades in this separately!

At first glance, they look like quite unusual shades to put together, but they actually are such a nice bundle of rich, deep shades altogether.

Here we have Peacock, which is the only shade no longer available, and I think is a real shame. Now, obviously a lot of people will not be into blue lipstick. I personally have never tried out a blue lipstick, but I actually love the look of them so have been really excited to!

Peacock is a great place to start. It is a deep, super rich, teal blue which is one of my absolute favourite colours. It was love at first sight for this lipstick and I, and I am wearing it right now. In fact, I love it so much I’m gonna give it a post all of its own – so look out for that!

The nude shade in this collection is Buffy. On the website I think it looks much darker than it actually is. On the website it looks similar to Kat Von D’s Lolita, but it seems much paler from the swatches I have done. It looks a lot like Lulu, but without the peachy undertone.

And the final one I have to show you all is the gorgeous Beet It, which is a super rich, dark magenta. It is absolutely stunning on, and the first one I tried after receiving my haul.

I swatched the shades together like the others, and can see why they were grouped together. A varying range of deep shades which are really representative of Velvetines themselves.

And that’s all of them!

Like I said, I also ordered a couple of others, but they remain with my friend at the moment. Despite this, I think that I have managed to pick up quite a diverse range of shades at present. What do you think?

I will be sure to get back to you once I’ve received the others!

So did anyone else manage to snag a bargain in the sale? Feel free to share in the comments!

So What is a Magnetic Polish?

Good morning, good morning, good morning, and if you’re in the UK, a very happy Spring bank holiday! The weather isn’t looking promising here right now, but whatever you end up doing, I hope you have a lovely, relaxed day ^__^

So, anyone who knows me, knows that I love a bargain. In any shop I go to, I head straight to the sale section. When I go grocery shopping, I always come out with products covered in yellow stickers. I’m a member of several bargain groups on facebook. I also happen to be on O2 as my phone network, and have the O2 Priority app on my phone, which provides lots of different offers and discounts for O2 customers.

So, last week, I opened up the app and encountered what I deemed to be the best offer I had seen on there: 8 nails inc. polishes for £8!

Now, if you haven’t heard or encountered nails inc. before, they are a high-end nail polish company based in the UK. They have some beautiful colours, and I have used them a lot in the past. Having used them, I also knew that their polishes retailed at £11 – £15 a pop, so to get so many at £8 seemed unreal.

The offer is actually a whopping £96 discount (yes, you read that correctly) on their Festival Nails bundle, which have 8 full size, metallic, magnetic polishes in it.

The offer, at the time of writing this, is still available on the O2 app, so if you have it, I recommend getting on it! I will not be sharing the code for the offer here, as I have read about nails inc. cancelling orders for people who have somehow managed to find the code when not O2 customers.

I was intrigued by the concept of a magnetic polish, as I had never tried them before, and wasn’t even exactly sure what they did. But, hey, it’s a great offer and I’m keen to give anything a go!

There’s a nice range of shades, and the only thing I would say is that they are all quite dark, which I think is due to the formula that needs to be used to make the magic work. I dunno, though… I’m guessing, really. However, they are much more vivid once applied!

There are magnets in the caps to the polishes, which you hold over the nail when the polish is wet to create the design. Something that is really cool is that the polishes have a few different designs, which seem to be determined by the magnet, so they different colours have different designs. I’m sure the magnets can be switched around though, so you could create different designs with different colours!

The shades you get are:

houses of parliament, which is a deep mauve-purple with a wave design magnet.

spitalfields, which is a metallic grass green, with a fishnet design magnet.

soho, which is a true pewter shade with a fishnet design cap

whitehall, which is a deep teal with a wave design cap

london town, which is a light brown with a wave design cap (reminds me of the Thames on a bad day)

kensington palace, which is a pink-toned red with a wave design cap

shaftesbury avenue, which is a dark, witchy green with a star-shaped design in the lid (!)

piccadilly, which is a dark gold glitter with a fishnet design cap.

Before we get into showing you all my nails, let me make one thing clear: I am terrible with nail polish, okay? My nails are not a massive priority to me. I feel the need to keep them short because a) I’m a mum, b) I do a lot of cooking and baking, and c) to deter me from anxiously biting them. I also have a bit of damage around my cuticles and sides of my fingers as well at the minute, so please try to ignore that too!

These were the polishes with just one coat of polish on over a clear base coat. I was actually super impressed with how pigmented they were, but given the fact that these polishes work out at £13 per at full price, I guess you’d want them to be!

So, then I moved onto the next scary bit!

You are supposed to paint a thick layer of polish on the nail, and then hold the cap with the magnet directly over it (as close as you can get without touching) for a few seconds. I would say this was the hardest part for me, and I think I did touch down on one of my nails accidentally!

After you’ve done all nails, you finish up with a top coat, and you’re done.

I had…. varying levels of success.

I would say the wave designs were the ones that worked best, but on some of them the design doesn’t seem to reach the sides of my nails. If I tried it again, I would probably try rolling my nail a little under the magnet, to see if it can reach the curve of my nail from all angles.

The star one on my left thumb also looks really cool, but I would say the fishnet designs weren’t very successful.

Overall, I ‘m really impressed with these nail polishes! I think the design work probably takes a lot of practice, but I’m happy to work on that! Even without the design, these are really, really pretty and pigmented metallic polishes, and so shiny and vibrant once there’s a topcoat on.

I’m definitely not complaining for the price I got them at!

So what do you guys think? I’d love to know if you’ve ever used magnetic polishes and what your experience with them is! Is it something you’d try?

Until next time my loves ❤

Trying Out Natural Scrubs!

Goooood morning, and today I have a post for you that I have been excited to write for a while now!

You probably have seen a lot of promos for coffee scrubs going around. They seem to be all the rage at the minute. People are taking selfies of themselves with the coffee scrubs on, and these are being reposted by the Instagrams of the companies which sell them (something I am guilty of myself…).

(psssst! Don’t forget to follow my NEW INSTA!! ^__^)

But this new craze has spawned another range of similar scrubs following the same pattern in terms of packaging and natural ingredients, but using different bases. Having used a few of these scrubs from two different companies now, I thought I’d chat a little about the differences, and give you guys a review of each.

I don’t want this to be a comparative post of Frank Body and Scrub Love. They are separate companies with notable differences who just happen to have similar concepts. For that reason, I will review each product separately and split it out into different elements of the product.

I’ll also note that obviously I have mentioned one of these in my most recent GlossyBox review, but I’m going to expand on it a bit further here to attempt to give a fair review.

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Frank Body Original Body Scrub (£12.95 for 200g – this is the sample size)

Main base ingredient: Coffee
Texture: Loose, but binds and spreads easily on wet skin, and washes off easily.
Exfoliation: Labelled as “tough”, but works on my sensitive skin, and is actually gentler than most exfoliants I’ve tried. I can use it on my face which has acne and mild psoriasis.

Ingredients: Natural (ground & roasted robusta coffee, sweet almond oil, water, sea salt, sucrose, orange oil, vitamin E, soybean oil, benzyl alcohol, limonene).
Vegan: Yes.
Cruelty-Free: Yes.
Packaging: Recycled paper outer, and plastic interior and label with resealable top on the pouch. It looks like the packaging used for lots of brands of ground coffee, which is maybe the point?

Overall impressions:
This was my first experience with a coffee scrub, and I adore it. If you don’t like the smell of coffee, then I think it’s pretty obvious that you’re not going to get along with this. It smells of coffee (obviously), oranges, and has a sweet undertone.
When using it, the water goes a little brown from the coffee, but I haven’t experienced any problems with staining on my skin, tiles or tub. It gets pretty messy, but this can be minimised by removing your shower head to rinse, and giving your tub/shower a rinse out afterwards, which I do whenever I have a shower anyway, so it hasn’t altered my routine.
After use, my skin feels super soft, likely as a result of the almond oil and vitamin E. It doesn’t leave your skin feeling greasy, though. My skin then smells like coffee and oranges for ages afterward, which I personally love, and I can’t stop sniffing myself afterwards.
In terms of how much use I will get out of the product, it is amazing. Because it is mostly comprised of the loose coffee and not filled with gels to bind it like most other scrubs, you don’t need as much. I have had this sample size since January and have been using it once to twice a week, and I don’t even estimate that I’ve used half of it yet!

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Scrub Love Detoxifying Activated Charcoal Body Scrub in Cucumber and Bamboo (£13.95 for 200g – this is 100g)

Main base ingredient: Bamboo Charcoal
Texture: Almost like kinetic sand… it’s fairly loose but clumps together a bit. Will fall off unless skin thoroughly wet, but when wet spreads thickly and evenly.
Exfoliation: Really tough. It wasn’t too bad on my arm, however I wouldn’t recommend using near the face or other areas of sensitive skin. Felt and looked a bit like gravel.

Ingredients: Natural, but contains natural based chemicals (powdered bamboo charcoal, bamboo powder, cucumber oil, polenta, white clay, linseed oil, decyl glucoside, bamboo extract, parfum, vitamin E, lactic acid).
Vegan: Yes.
Cruelty-Free: Yes.
Packing: Plastic, again in a resealable pouch form.

Overall impressions:
Again, this was my first experience with a charcoal scrub. I have used charcoal soaps in the past, and although they did not clear it, they helped my acne as it is meant to be naturally detoxifying. Because of this, I was super excited to try this scrub.
As you may have read from my first impression of this though, I immediately thought there was a problem with this scrub because of the smell. To me, it smells rancid, like gone-off food. My husband and daughter agreed, and after a little research, I also discovered there were others who had used it who agree. Whether or not it is just a very dividing smell, where it smells good to some and bad to others, I can’t tell you. I knew I would not be able to use this product because the smell was so offputting, however I have put it to the test in the interests of giving a fair review.
At first, I tried it out on my face, but it was a) way too rough, and b) unbearable with the smell so close to my nose. So then, I just used it on my arm as above.
As you can see, the charcoal (and maybe the clay) causes your skin to go grey as you spread it. The exfoliant itself feels way too rough on my skin, and I was just looking forward to getting it off, to be honest.
After thorough rinsing, even though I had only used it for a few seconds (and not left it on “for as long as you can” as per the website’s instructions), my skin was tinged grey. I tried to get a photo of this, but it wasn’t showing up in my bathroom’s lighting. I have read other reviews online where people have claimed it stained their skin and their bathtubs, though.
In terms of use, I felt like I needed to pull out about double the amount of product as the coffee scrub, so it would potentially not last as long. However, because of the reasons outlined, I won’t be getting any further use out of this scrub.

Note: I was concerned about how horrible this product smelled, so I actually emailed the company to see if something could potentially have gone wrong. This was the response:
“The scrubs are mixed in batches of 20,000 at a time, so in order for it to be a bad ‘batch’ there would literally be 10’s of thousands reporting a problem. We also batch test each mix to be safe too”.
Although shrugging off my concerns, they did offer me a code to order a brand new scrub absolutely free, which I happily accepted. I feel it was pretty nice of them to afford me this offer, especially as it gave me the chance to try something different to be able not to write off the company completely based on just one product. Props to them for that.

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Scrub Love Hydrating Coconut Oil Body Scrub in Coconut Mango (£12.95 for 200g)

Main base ingredient: Ground coconut shell
Texture: Clumpy, like wet sand or an unpressed cheesecake base! It clumps together, but doesn’t stick very easily to the skin when wet or dry until thoroughly rubbed in. It had the most fallout.
Exfoliation: Standard; somewhere in between the coffee and charcoal scrubs. It was quite rough, as most scrubs are on me because I have sensitive skin, but was perfectly fine for use, and the most like a standard scrub.

Ingredients: Natural, but contains natural based chemicals (coconut powder, mango powder, coconut shell powder, macadamia oil, coconut oil, coconut flour, coconut sugar, parfum, glycerin, vitamin E, lactic acid).
Vegan: Yes.
Cruelty-Free: Yes.
Packing: Plastic, again in a resealable pouch form.

Overall impressions:
This was the first coconut-based scrub I had used, but it felt the most… familiar. This was probably because numerous other scrubs on the market I have tried use ground fruit seeds and shells as their bases. The difference with this one would be the lack of other harsh chemical ingredients, the gels and lotions that usually bind these exfoliants. In a way, this is great, because it’s often unnecessary, and means you get less of the core of the product. However, as stated, the fallout from this product was greater than others, so maybe those other ingredients are what usually help to keep it on your skin as you use it.
The smell of this scrub is very, very strong, but thankfully (unlike the charcoal one) it is lovely. I get the feeling it might be a bit too sickly sweet for many (my husband falls in this camp), but I think it’s beautiful. The reason I chose this as my replacement product is because coconut and mango are two of my favourite scents, and despite this being comprised of so many forms of coconut, the mango is the smell that overpowers it all. If you don’t like mango, you won’t like it! But I love mango.
It has a lot of fallout as you begin to use it, but spreads more evenly and works well the more you work it in, though gentler strokes are necessary as it can be a little rough. Unlike the others, there is absolutely no staining to worry about with this one.
There is a lot of oil in this, though. When I first rinse it off, my skin feels a bit greasy, but this absorbs after a little while to leave my skin feeling super soft and smelling amazing.
Despite having the largest bag out of the scrubs I’m talking about, I reckon this one will last the least amount of time, unfortunately.
Overall, I’m really really happy with this product, and I’m glad I chose this as my replacement.

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IN CONCLUSION

I never used to like exfoliating, seeing it more as a necessary activity than an enjoyable one. In the past I have found it difficult to find scrubs that cater to my skin being sensitive, don’t have harsh chemicals, and are natural and cruelty-free, so this next generation of scrubs are a big win in my book.

If you like coffee, I definitely recommend giving a coffee scrub a go, and I definitely will not stop raving about Frank Body. They have four coffee-based scrubs in different combos (original, coconut, cacao and peppermint), and have just released a “shimmer” scrub, which is not coffee, but comprised of sugar, salt and “glow dust” (which I’m desperate to try!).
Scrub Love also do coffee scrubs in different combos too (original, mint and coconut), but I can’t comment of these ones as I haven’t tried them! The original one seems to have almost the exact same ingredients as Frank Bod’s.

If you don’t like coffee, I highly recommend the delicious-smelling coconut scrubs from Scrub Love (which come in original, coconut mango and coconut cranberry), but I will be steering clear of the charcoal ones. Scrub Love also have a cacoa range which sounds amazing (especially the chocolate orange one!).

And that’s it my lovelies!

I apologise that this post is running late today; I had an issue which meant I had to rewrite the entirety of this post!

What are your experiences with body scrubs? Love them? Hate them? Have you tried Frank Bod or Scrub Love? What did you think?

Until next time ❤

 

Finally Clearing Out my Lipsticks!

My friend recently posted a picture on facebook of all of her lipsticks with the caption, “I think I have a problem”. After telling her that her collection most definitely was not a problem, I got to thinking about my own lipstick hoard. I don’t think it’s that big, to be honest with you. I think my issue is that I have problems letting go of stuff, particularly stuff I’ve paid good money for, even if those things have an expiry or limited shelf life.

I’ll be honest with you: a lot of my lipsticks are very old. I almost never reach the end of a tube of lipstick. In fact, I think I’ve only done it once in my life, and that one is still in the collection I’m about to show you. Yah.

So yesterday I felt it was high time for a clearout. I thought, I’ll go through all of them, and if I haven’t work particular ones recently, I’ll chuck them.

Well, those were my intentions. Remember that thing I just said about not being able to let go? Best laid plans, and all that. Last night I ended up picking out only 2 that I wanted to ditch, but in the light of day, I’m feeling more positive and ruthless. My makeup goals going forward are to try more stuff, and for that I need to let go of the old. Wish me luck!

These are my nudes 😉

My nude lipstick collection is probably the one area I want to expand and diversify the most. As you can see, I only have a few, and I’d like to do better. I think I’ve missed most of the hype over nude lipsticks over the past couple of years. Because I’m so pale, I tend to suit pinks better. I also get really anxious about nude lipsticks making my teeth look yellow. I have no idea if that’s a legitimate concern everyone has, or just me because I hate my teeth? In any case, there are a couple of stand-outs in here, and one that I keep in my handbag at all times.

From top to bottom:

Trifle Cosmetics Lip Parfait (Exotic Fruits)
I’ll be honest with you: I have never worn this one out. Its tube is the gorgeous blue one with little illustrations all over it, it’s cruelty free, and the tube is made of cardboard too (which I totally dig – yay environment!). However, it’s very pale. Really reminds me of Babette by Lime Crime (whose site appears to be down right now and I can’t link to), and that’s a shade that I love even though I don’t own, so I’m determined to make this one work. I’ll set it as a new challenge to myself. And for that reason, I can’t chuck it.

L’Oreal Paris Infallible 24H (Invincible Sable)
This lipstick isn’t available anymore, and was my first go-to nude liquid lip. It looks quite dark in the swatch above, but it’s one of those funny ones that seems to look a different shade in every kind of lighting, ranging from a super pale nude to dark brown. And old fave. I’ll use it until it’s dead.

MDM Flow Lipstick (Bossy)
This is the one I was referring to above that always stays in my handbag. You’ll also have seen it in a few recent looks I have on here, too. As you can see on their website, Bossy is a nude that seems to suit all skin tones, and it is also the most successful matte tube lipstick I own (the pics on the website make it look glossy, but it is not). I usually go for liquid lips now because tube lipsticks don’t have the colour payoff and staying power they seem to, but Bossy defies all expectations there. I’d love to purchase more from this company.

Pantone Universe Stick (18-1433)
This is the chubby stick in the pic above, and despite the little pantone bit on the bottom of it and how dark it looks on the actual crayon, it’s super light. I described this in a previous post as a “my lips but better” colour, but actually now I just think it’s just so desaturated it’s basically a lipsitcky-lipbalm. I have reached for this recently because it’s good for a barely-there lip, but in the interests of being ruthless and getting through the other lipsticks I own, I’ll chuck it.

Kokie Professional Sheer Lipstick (Café au Lait)
It wasn’t until I swatched this that I realised how similar it is to the Pantone lipstick below it on my arm. The tube of this lipstick is really nice, and this brand is really affordable! It’s a nice sheer lipstick, which is quite dark on me, but I can still pull off (I think…). I haven’t worn it out yet, but I’ll keep it.

Pantone Universe Lipstick (18-1438)
Unlike the chubby stick from the same set whose packaging would lead you to believe it’s the same colour, this lipstick is actually a dark brick colour. It’s probably way past its shelf life, and having seen how close in colour it is to the Kokie one above, I’ll get rid.

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick (Lolita)
I find it a little embarrassing that this is still the only shade of this lipstick that I own, because I adore it. The formula is so soft and non-drying, and I honestly think Kat Von D makes the best quality vegan makeup out there. Lolita is dark on me, and when I first got it, I was so unsure, but it’s become a staple for me that I love.

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Retro reds. Literally. Okay, they’re just old.

I honestly can’t tell you the last time I wore a red lip, and that’s a very strange thing for me to say, because it used to be something I did daily. I went through a big 50s style kick, and of course, red lips are a go-to with that. But as my style changed, so did my feelings toward red lips. Obviously they’re still a classic, but I feel a lot more apathy toward them now than the passion I felt before. The reason why so many of these are so old, is because they were bought just before I discovered Lime Crime.
I actually found Lime Crime because it was linked through lots of 50s style forums I was on years ago, and at the time they only had three shades. I bought two of them (Red Velvet and Suedeberry) and never looked back. I used and reordered and then used them again until they were done, and this is what was left behind.

(Which is a shame, because look at those pretty swatches all in a row)

Again, from top to bottom:

Accessorize Lipstick – Really Red
This was the lightest red I owned, more of a tomato red than the darked blue-toned reds I liked. It’s definitely way past its shelf-life and applies patchy, so it’s going.

Makeup Revolution Salvation Velvet Lip Lacquer (Keep trying for you)
The only liquid lip red I own now. It’s super, super pigmented, and colour-wise a great dupe for Lime Crime’s Red Velvet… however, it is a cheap one and the price reflects the quality. Great for the short-term or if you’re not going to be eating, but will flake off given enough time. I’m gonna keep it, as a just in case, until I get a good quality liquid lip that’s this pigmented.

Bourjois Sweet Kiss Naturel Lipstick (Rouge Soyeux)
Bourjois lipsticks used to be my favourite, and back in the day, they were the go-to for great reds as well. I felt so posh for buying Bourjois, which used to be at the higher price-point for drugstore makeup, before I knew there was anything more than drugstore makeup. I still think this is the nicest swatch on my arm above, but I begrudgingly throw it in the trash, as you’d be shocked at my estimation for how old this is.

???
I don’t know where this lipstick is from, how old it is, or anything, and as you can see, it’s trash. I don’t know why it’s even in the basket. BUH-BYE.

Avon True Colour Lipstick (Red 2000)

Ah, Avon. My old highschool fave. I had so much makeup from Avon as a teenager, mostly because my Mum loved it and also because I had a few friends who were Avon ladies. A couple of old lipsticks from Avon have straggled on in my collection (which you’ll see later), but this one is actually new! My Mum bought it for me and it has remained untouched until that arm swatch.

Now, that, is lipstick porn.

I’m impressed by it, to be honest. It’s a really true red, and I would say more pigmented than the Bourjois ones. It is super creamy (I get the feeling it would melt easily), and I don’t have high hopes for it in terms of staying power, but the colour means it stays.

Bourjois Sweet Kiss Lipstick (Rouge Sur Mesure)
This was my favourite red tube lipstick of all time, and the only one I have ever used down to the bottom. There’s only a tiny bit of it left. As with everything though, we romanticise past versions, and this isn’t as good as I remember. And because of how old it is, I’m saying goodbye.

Makeup Academy Lipstick (Shade 1)
This is the cheapest lipstick I own, and surprisingly okay. This is a very blue-toned red, which makes it verge on plum, and really, the only thing I can say is it does the job. There’s nothing stand-out about it, but it’s also good enough that I don’t feel the urge to chuck it.

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Now we have my lil plum/purple collection:

Too Faced Melted Lipstick (Melted Fig)
I did a review on this one last year when I got it. It looks way more pigmented swatched on my arm than on my face, but it’s a nice lipstick. I’m still not a fan of the applicator, but I do like the formula, and the colour is pretty.

Avon Lipstick (Drawn to You)
This is definitely one I should be throwing away because it’s so old, but I won’t for now because the colour is so pretty and I don’t currently have another like it. My favourite look I’ve done with this lipstick was this one here, and it’s got such a nice sheen to it which almost looks duochrome. I’m going to aim to use this one more so I don’t get to the point where it has to get chucked with no use. It’s on its last chance.

Makeup Revolution Salvation Velvet Lacquer (Rebel)
 As I said with the red shade from the same range, it’s a liquid lip on a budget. This one is a gorgeous dark plum colour, but you do need to fill it in a bit as it applies quite patchy.

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I have a couple of little oranges for you here, and they’re both from Lime Crime. I bought these last year when I was looking for true orange lipsticks as opposed to corals, and they did not disappoint. I do want to get more coral lips into my collection, but last year I had a bit of an obsession with orange, and Lime Crime was my go-to for such a bright shade.

Lime Crime Velvetines (Squash)
You will probably have seen from numerous other posts as well as the review of it I did, as this is probably my favourite lipstick. It’s not to everyone’s tastes, but the muted tone of this makes it so wearable. This one has been on sale on the website for what feels like forever, so hopefully it still is when I inevitably use this tube up 😀

Lime Crime Unicorn Lipstick (My Beautiful Rocket)
This one isn’t stocked anymore after they got rid of most of their unicorn lipsticks, which is a shame because this is an amazing tangerine lipstick. It’s so pigmented and bright, and I love it. Like I said with Squash, it’s clearly not going to be to everyone’s tastes, but I think it’s cool.

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I saved my biggest colour collection for last: here come the pinks.

Top to bottom, as before:

Revlon Colorburst Lacquer Balm (Demure)
This colour stick is really pretty. It’s very light and shimmery, and great for summery looks. It also feels really nice on application, like a lipbalm, and smells minty. I’m a big fan of this one, even though I don’t reach for it much.

???
Like one of the red ones, I have no idea what it is. It’s a really chalky-textured pale pink and it is gone.

Estée Lauder Pure Colour Lipstick (Candy Shimmer)
I nabbed this one from my Mum as the shade was too light for her. I don’t purchase Estée Lauder myself because they’re not cruelty free, but owning a couple of lipsticks is nice because it reminds me of my Mum. She has always bought and worn the brand, and their makeup has such a distinct scent that to open a tube of their lipstick will automatically make me think of her. This one is a nice shimmery pink, and I’ve worn it a few times.

Makeup Revolution Salvation Velvet Lacquer (What I Believe)
A cute pink colour, but as with the other ones, not great staying power. The colour is nice enough for me to keep, though.

L’Oreal Paris Infallible 24H (Timeless Rosé)
Like with Invincible Sable, this one is a classic for me. It’s definitely on its way out as it’s almost used up and starting to separate, but it has been a staple for me and I’ll keep it going until it’s gone or really goes bad. I have used this one in loads of posts before, and it’s still the one I reach for when I feel like I should have something on my lips, but nothing too standout.

LOC Millie by Birchbox
I hated this one as soon as I saw it, and have been meaning to get rid of it for the longest time. However, I just tried it on again and I’m feeling a bit better about it. I have no idea why, but whereas before I just didn’t think the colour suited me, now I think it’s quite cute. It’s meant to be glossy, but it’s more sticky than glossy, but it’s not that bad. I was expecting this to be chucked immediately, but I think I’ll keep it a little longer and see if I do anything with it.

Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm (Elusive)
This is the lip colour I bought for my wedding, then had a change of heart at the last minute about, and regretted it. That’s life. It’s actually an amazing lipstick. It’s so nice on, the colour is stunning, it smells great, has decent staying power, and is matte. But, for whatever reason, I feel sad about using it. Maybe because of what could have been? I don’t know. In any case, it stays.

Estée Lauder Lipstick (Exotic Orchid)
This is like a darker shade of Candy Shimmer, and I’ve used it a few times. I’ll keep it in on the off-chance because it’s too nice to chuck.

NYX Liquid Suede (Life’s a Beach)
I love NYX, and I can’t believe I only have one shade of this! The Liquid Suede range are matte liquid lipsticks, but don’t dry out like other ones. This means they don’t have the same staying power as others (though they do still last amazingly) but feel nicer on. They are also super pigmented (as you can see), and they’re relatively cheap! I adore it, and I hope to buy more NYX stuff soon.

Frankie Rose Lipstick (Pink Melon)
This was one I got in a Wantable box, and I love the colour. I’ve described it before as “neon baby pink” or “watermelon”… obviously not a real watermelon, but that pink colour that always seems to be attributed to watermelons for some reason. I really like this, and I’m keeping it.

My vivid pinks:

Clinique Chubby Stick Intense (Plushest Punch)
This is the only shade of the famous chubby sticks that I own, and I’m glad it’s this one. Plushest Punch is a vivid pink, but so nice on that I think it would be wearable on most skin tones. It does feel moisturising, and I love the packaging. However, I’m gonna go against the grain here and say it’s nothing spectacular of a lipstick. I really like it, but I do feel they’re overpriced. Sorry!

Makeup Revolution Salvation Velvet Lacquer (You Took my Love)
As with the other ones, amazing pigmentation, a great cheap liquid lip, flakes after a while.

Avon Lipstick (Flirty Fuschia)
This used to be the brightest lipstick I owned, and I still have a lot of it left because I was so scared to use it for a long time. I do have other lipsticks that are similar now, but the shade is just different enough that it stays.

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And there you have it!

I was going to do my lipglosses too, but I think that will have to wait for another time because this post already turned out way longer than expected! I’ve managed to get rid of seven lipsticks, which I don’t think is too bad.

Looking at them all like this makes me realise how little I take advantage of them all, though, and I hope to rectify that, or at least give them some use before chucking them for new ones!

Do you guys have any really old lipsticks you can’t get rid of? Tell me I’m not the only one please!

Until next time, take care ❤

I Have a New Instagram!

Hey guys!

Just stopping by to let you know that I have a new Instagram, on which I’m going to be sharing stuff exclusively to do with blogging ❤

NEW INSTAGRAM HERE

I’d be super grateful if you checked it out and gave me a follow 😀
I’m still in the process of setting up and need lots of cool beauty bloggers and plus size bloggers to follow, so will check out all new followers too!

Thanks lovelies ❤

MAY 2017 GLOSSYBOX REVIEW

Goooooood morning, good morning, good morning and welcome back to my corner of the internet. Today I have my first GlossyBox review since November! Yes, there have been five whole GlossyBoxes I have received without documenting. And do you know what? I really miss this. In fact, even in the time I haven’t been blogging, sometimes I would search for other peoples’ reviews of these boxes, because sometimes it’s nice to see if other people agree with you on a specific product, or whether they’re having the same problems you are. This might even be something that comes up with one of these products, so watch out!

As you can see, yes, I am receiving GlossyBox. GlossyBox has been going for years. I don’t know specifically how long, but I do remember I had friends getting it years before I even considered it. I was late on the bandwagon, but I actually prefer it this way.
GlossyBox received a lot of flack about 6 years ago; there were a lot of product problems, numerous customer complaints and cancellations, and overall terrible service. I have not found this. I have been with a few subscription boxes: I used to receive Wantable Beauty, Wantable Accessories, Birchbox, GlossyBox and the Marzia box. Out of all of them, GlossyBox is the one that consistently delivers on time, and actually provides products I like. (I will note here that Wantable was pretty great, too, but I was paying a fortune in the UK as it’s a US company and shipments would often be suuuuper delayed.)
I know that my opinion is subjective, and that lots of you would have had problems with this, but to me, it’s the most cost-efficient and consistent beauty subscription in the UK.

No, I’m not an ambassador for Glossy, I just wanted to put that out there!
So, without further ado, let’s get on with it! This time, I’m gonna be doing this like an unboxing, so I’ve literally seen what I’m showing you through photos maybe a second before they’re snapped 🙂

So, as soon as we open the box this time, we have the usual card with the products listed on it, and a promo card as well for a company called Mockberg, which I’ve never heard of. The card is actually a gift card, which I was confused about, as usually you’ll receive offers on these things, not actual money to spend.
I’ve checked out the company, and they actually sell watches… pretty nice ones. They start at €129, which is about £100… so you’d be getting about 50% off if you chose to purchase. That’s not too bad in my eyes. I don’t know if I’ll be taking advantage of it, but hey, you never know.

Oh, how excited I always am to open these boxes. One of the reasons I get these boxes is because it feels like getting a present every month! Yeah, sometimes I don’t particularly like one or two of the products, but for the most part I enjoy what Glossy provides!

One of the other things I think this box gets right is the variety of products. They seem to really try to get the balance between makeup, hair, skincare, etc. This box in particular seems to have that down.

Scrub Love Detoxifying Activated Charcoal Body Scrub – Cucumber & Bamboo (RRP £13.95; approx £6.98 for this size)

The good: Vegan, natural ingredients, no parabens, no microbeads.
The bad: We’ll get to that below! Also, seems a little redundant to brag about “no plastic microbeads” when your packaging appears to be non-recyclable plastic.

I’m gonna start with this one because it’s the one I have the most to say about.
I actually saw that we would be receiving this on the Sneak Peek on the GlossyBox website, and I was so, so excited about it. Exfoliating is one of those things I used to hate doing, and more so because there’s not really that many exciting products on the market. But recently, there seems to be a resurgence in more natural and vegan scrubs, and I am buying into it completely.

I mentioned before about not particularly liking the winter Marzia box I received, which I didn’t blog about, but there were a couple of things in there of note, and one of them was the original Frank Body scrub. This is a scrub whose base ingredient is coffee, and I saw a lot of people promo-ing on the internet. I thought I would hate it re: the hating exfoliating thing mentioned above… but it totally converted me. It’s got coffee, brown sugar, almond oil, orange oil and vitamin E in it, and after you’ve used it your skin smells and feels amazing. Sure, you probably won’t like it if you really can’t stand coffee, but other than that I recommend giving it a go!

This is why I was so excited to be receiving a product from a company who seems to have had the same idea regarding their ingredients (they also do coffee scrubs), and their packaging. And I was super excited to see a charcoal scrub as I know how good it is for skin, particularly problematic skin like my own. I couldn’t wait to get it open.

It’s not a particularly attractive looking scrub… but that’s not the problem.

The problem was that it stank. And I don’t mean a good stank. I mean a stank where even half an hour after I had opened and closed it I was looking around my house thinking there was a piece of gone-off food somewhere. I mean a stank of I cleaned out my fridge because I thought it might have been coming from there.
Okay, sometimes you get products you don’t like the smell of. That I understand. This is not that. This is something I actually am debating whether I’ll even be able to use the smell is that terrible. You can definitely smell the bamboo, but the problem is it smells like rancid, gone-off, week-old Chinese takeaway leftover bamboo.

I thought maybe I was being paranoid, so I waited until my husband got home. His reaction was the same. This morning, I showed my four year-old daughter. Her face scrunched up and declared the smell “not good” because “it smells like farts”.

Whether we are all collectively overreacting, or whether there’s something gone wrong with the product, I can’t tell you. The only thing I can tell you is that I don’t want this stuff anywhere near my face or body. Which is a damn shame for a product I was so excited about 😦

Daily Concepts Exfoliating Body Scrubber (RRP $5; approx. £3.89)

The good: Cruelty free, mostly environmentally-friendly materials, will get a lot of use, good price point
The bad: none to note so far

From a lengthy treatise on the last product to a quick review on this one!
When I first saw this, I thought it might be a Konjac sponge due to the way it was packaged. I don’t know if there is a need for packaging a sponge in this way, but I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt on this occasion because it’s not too excessive.
It’s actually just a nice little exfoliating sponge, with the usual nylon-hooped cotton on the “scrubby” side, and towelling on the other where the holder is.

The inside of it is apparently a “soy-based sponge”. I don’t know what that is but meh.
It’s a nice little thing, and like I said, I’ll probably get a good amount of use from it.

Dr. PAWPAW Original Balm (RRP £6.95)

The good: It’s an upmarked petroleum jelly.
The bad: It’s an upmarked petroleum jelly.

My good and bad stance here is exactly the same because there’s only one thing I can say about this: it’s an upmarked petroleum jelly.

I had heard of this “balm” before, and a lot of celebrities seem to like it (as they proudly display all over the front page of their website), and so when I first saw it, I was excited to check out the hype. As soon as I tried squeezing the tube I was shocked, because the opening is a small hole and the product had a little difficulty getting out of it. I actually even got a pin and stuck it in the top in case the product had clumped. But no, you have to give it a hard squeeze. I then got some out onto my hand, and it felt like Vaseline. There was so smell to it or colour, and so I thought maybe the product had separated.

I turned the tube over and checked the ingredients: sure enough the first one listed is petrolatum. It lists all the wonderful stuff it can do and can be used on, and instead, it’s a very expensive tube of Vaseline. Even on the website they talk about how it’s the fermented papaya that makes this product shine, but there’s no telling how much of that is actually in this stuff, because as I said before, it’s fragrance and colour free. Even of natural stuff you’d expect (e.g. if they called the company Dr. PawPaw and kept speaking about papaya… oh, wait…)

So I guess the good and bad of this product all comes down to whether or not you like/find use for petroleum jelly. I’m not gonna give you a bunch of links because you should make up your own minds on this stuff, but my personal preference is not to put this stuff anywhere near my face (especially not using it as a bloody primer as it suggests on their youtube) as petroleum basically works as a barrier on your skin allowing no good stuff in and no bad stuff out. I definitely also don’t put petroleum anywhere near my lips, as lots of people do with vaseline, as the jury’s still out on whether in contains carcinogens.

However, I will use this stuff on my nails. My anxiety has recently caused me to be wolf-biting my fingers (dermatophagia). This isn’t a major thing I suffer with, but it happens every so often, and due to a recent bout, my fingers are incredibly painful right now, and I suspect two are infected. So, I’m gonna try using this stuff on there and seeing if it can get rid of some of the dryness and callouses. If it works, I’ll hand it over to my husband, who suffers with severe dermatophagia.

Caudalié Vinosource Moisturising Sorbet (RRP £23; for this size approx. £5.75)

The good: smells amazing, great on combination and dry skin
The bad: the cruelty-free debate

Okay, so to be fair, the “bad” isn’t about the product, but the company itself. I do however like to include that in my discussion of things, though, as it will influence whether or not I go on to buy a product and so deserves a mention.
I’ll talk about that first then.

So, Caudalié are one of those companies that are on the ethical border when it comes to a cruelty-free status. They talk on their website about being cruelty free, and how they donate 1% of profits to saving the planet, lah-dee-lah, but they do sell in China. And as we know, in China, products are tested on animals. This has caused a lot of companies (such as Benefit) to lose custom and their leaping bunny logos.
I don’t like to support companies anymore that aren’t cruelty-free, and unfortunately I think Caudalié is gonna have to fall into this bracket, and is why I steer clear from actually purchasing from them.

The problem is, I really love Caudalié’s products. They always smell amazing, are fresh, and really work with my skin. This moisturiser is no different. It’s really moisturing, smells amazing, and absorbs quickly. My skin is terrible at the minute and it feels very soothing. Unfortunately, this isn’t enough for me. I’m gonna enjoy using this tester for however long it lasts, and then I say goodbye to yet another Caudalié product.

Ruby Professional Blush in Coral (RRP €14.99; approx. £12.67)

The good: Nice consistency and colour
The bad: Overpriced, not sure of colour pay-off.

This is a nice little blush by the same company as the blender brush I received in the last GlossyBox review I had up on here of November 2016. It’s got a really nice coral colour which will be nice for the summer.

The only thing that I have to say that’s somewhat negative is that its price point seems a little high compared to the rest of what they have on their site in terms of makeup (not much), and that this is only available in one colour. I’ve swatched it as well, and I couldn’t even get a decent picture to show you as the colour was so faint, but hopefully it will work better with proper application on my pale face 🙂

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Total worth: approx. £36.24 (plus the £50 gift card)

Overall: Now, my overall opinion is that this is a good box. There’s a good range of products to get use out of. I do have a lot of negative comments here, but they might just be my problems – the smell of the scrub, the fact I don’t use petroleum or cruelty-free products. I am really disappointed by the scrub. I probably won’t let that one go. But overall, I’d say it’s alright.

What do you think? Did any of you get the same box and have different opinions?

MAKEUP & OUTFIT OF THE DAY 07.05.2017

This weekend was a bit of a surprise for me here in my spot of the world! The weather has been so up and down recently, in that quintessentially English Spring way, which has led to a lot of confusion over what the bloody hell to put on in the morning!

This was particularly true of Sunday, where I had been cold all morning but it appeared to be sunny outside. My husband helpfully added that it was “cold when the sun went in”… which is true of every day, is it not?

Anyway, I decided that a go-to outfit would then be jeans and a really light jumper with some sandals. Boy was I wrong.

It was super hot, and we were at a friend’s birthday, moving between living room and garden. I opted for the indoors most of the time, because of my outfit. What an eejit.

This is a really standard outfit for me. To the point where I was worried about going out in it because I feel like everyone’s seen me in this top like, a million times. I actually said this to my sister and she responded that she was about to compliment me on it because she didn’t think she had seen it… lol. I know it’s been on here before anyway. But like I said, I am not a blogger who can afford to buy new clothes all the time, so yes, you will be seeing several repeats XP

The jeans are new though, and I think the comfiest jeans I’ve ever owned, despite being a lil big on the waist. They’re from Simply Be, and yes, a bit out of style now because I think we’re leaving behind the ripped jeans trend. Oh well.

I just want to take a moment before I talk about makeup to acknowledge the fact that my hair has even an OUNZE of volume to it. Wow. Truly blessed. I now know the key: slight curl with loads of dry shampoo. Spoke to my friend about this a bit later in the day too (one who is hair goals every. single. time. goddamnit!) and she confirmed this. Lots of big blow-drying, light curls and dry shampoo. Cool. got it. The only thing is: I’m a mum. If I get time to blow-dry my hair, let alone curl it, it’s a luxury. I’ll take it when I can get it, though.

On to makeup.

I decided to go nice and bright, hoping for great weather as I was (well, we got it). All the products on my face are the usual standard fare you’ll see in my other posts. Unfortunately, that lovely shimmery tangerine shadow is from an old I ❤ Makeup palette, which really has some great, bright colours in it. The centre is the Marzia eyeshadow in Sole I spoke of here.

I actually wasn’t that keen on this look once I finished it, but I got a few compliments on it, so that’s pretty cool *___*

So, how are we all? Enjoying the sunshine?

Until next time 😉