Review: Soap and Glory 'Sugar Crush' Body Scrub

Hi girls, hope you're all having a good week!

I'm going to talk to you all today about a recent new favourite product of mine that I am absolutely obsessed with! I'm literally using it every single day because I can't have a shower without it.. and nobody needs to exfoliate that much do they, really?

This body scrub from Soap and Glory was a part of the 'Best of All' gift set that I bought for myself as a little Christmas treat (you can see it in this haul post), but I'd been lusting after anything from the new 'Sugar Crush' range for months and months. I know that it's a little bit of a love it/hate it kind of smell with this range, and it really is unique, but I personally absolutely love it! Can I admit that sometimes when I'm in the bathroom I open the tub just to stand there and sniff it? Don't judge me. The scent is sweet and sour mixed together in a way that my nostrils don't really know how to handle it. The zingy, zesty lime fragrance hits first and is the most powerful, but there is a sweet and smooth undertone of brown sugar that balances it out to make it super yummy. (I never thought that I'd be spending my Thursday afternoon talking about a balance of scents!). If I've not sold you on how brilliant the scent is then run down to Boots and stick your nose in a tub of this ASAP.

Onto the scrub itself; it's a gooey consistency that melts to a little bit of an oil base (it does contain almond oil to soften the skin), and it has large but not overly abrasive grains of macadamia to scrub the surface of skin. Rubbed into the body it gives just the right amount of cleanliness, fresh exfoliation, softness and moisturisation, and sweet smelling skin!

I've never really been much of an exfoliation fan just because I've not seen the need to do it; I'm not a big fake tan wearer and the skin on my body isn't dry and flakey, it's just 'normal'. This was one of those products that I used 'because it was there' and now I've fallen in love and don't want to be without it. I'm converted to the world of scrubbing up! It costs £8.00 for 300ml which I think is reasonably priced because the tub lasts a long time (although not at the rate I'm going through it) so I expect that I'll be getting myself some more once I have eventually run out.

Since using and falling head over heels in love with this scrub, I have since gone out and bought the matching Sugar Crush body wash to get all the yummy Sugar Crush-ness that I can get!

Have you tried the Sugar Crush range yet?

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Review: Soap and Glory 'Scrub Your Nose In It'

Hello lovely ladies. I've been barely blogging at all this month, definitely just not been 'feeling it' and I don't know what's wrong with me? Where's the passion gone?! Even though I have a list on my phone of at least 40 things that I want to talk about I've just struggled to find the motivation to get my camera out, take snaps of a product, upload them and then string a sentence together to rave about it - serious case of writers block! And also, Twitter's been bitchy on the whole #bbloggers front recently and I've just been put off so have taken a back seat with tweeting and 'promoting' myself on there - get rid of the negativity girls it's not good for anyone! 

After spotting today that somebody else I know has started up their own blog (her blog is x-rachaels-way-x.blogspot.co.uk - take a look and go follow it, I'm sure she's going to be absolutely amazing!), it gave me a little kick up the bum to get back into it so I'm coming to you today with a review of Soap and Glory's 'Scrub Your Nose In It'.

Scrub Your Nose It In is the first of Soap and Glory's skincare that I had tried and I love it. It is available in one size only; 125ml and costs £7.50 and can be found in Boots in store and online (link). This is a multi-use product and can be used as an exfoliating scrub and also as a deep pore cleansing mask too. I use this once a week and make use of both of it's functions when I use it - first I use it as an exfoliator predominately around my nose, a little bit across my cheeks and then my chin too, I give it a good scrub and then rise it away with warm water. Then, straight afterwards I apply a fresh dollop all over my face in quite a thin layer and leave this on for a couple of minutes for the clay mask action to take place and then rinse away, scrubbing gently as I rinse to reveal fresher and glowing looking skin.

This gives the skin a mild tingle and a cooling sensation when applied and smells very minty but does not irritate at all. The exfoliating grains within this scrub as so teeny tiny they are hardly visible and are so gentle on the skin, not rough or scratchy at all but can definitely be felt and give the skin a really good scrub, clearing out your clogged up pores. I love using this as my skin always looks just that little bit brighter and smoother after use as the dead skin cells have been buffed away (nice) and all that dirt deep down in your pores has been shifted away. It's a really simple and easy product to use with only a teeny tiny amount being needed each time as just a thin layer on the skin is necessary and £7.50 is a great price for a 2-in-1 product.

One last thing, I've had my blog completely redesigned over the past few days by Becky from Beauty Becky and I love it. I just wanted a change as I was bored of looking at the same set up for the past 6 months and wanted a new colour scheme and just a bit of a freshen up really. She was so helpful and so accommodating to all of my requests; she listened to exactly what I was after and made all of the tiny adjustments that I asked for without any hassle at all!

I recommend that you all follow the link above to Becky's blog, have a read, follow her too and if you're interested in a spruce up for your design then she's one to go for!

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Quick Reviews: Soap and Glory Minis

Hiya girls, I hope your first full working week of 2013 isn't going too bad, and if it is well then maybe this will help to give you a little bit of inspiration to have a pamper evening later on today and make everything better again!

 

Recently, Soap and Glory products have absolutely dominated my bedroom and bathroom - they are everywhere I look! Out of curiousity, I gathered them together and counted them all up and found that I had 22 S&G products(!), although 4 of them are 'Hand Food' (handy little back up stash!). I thought that this little collection of minis would be a good place to start with talking about them all, as these three fit together so well as a scrub, a wash and a moisturiser.

Most of Soap and Glory's minis or travel size versions of their products cost just £2.50 and are available from Boots instore and online (link). The minis are great for so many reasons: 1) they are cheap and cheerful in the same cute and quirky packaging as the original sizes, but they're double as cute just because they're small, 2) if you're new to Soap and Glory it's a good way to try something out for the first time if you're not sure whether you'll be keen on it, 3) if you like to chop and change products so often you'd never get through a larger bottle (this is me all over), 4) they're perfect for stocking fillers and gifts, and 5) they're handy for travel, holidays, etc.

'Flake Away' Body Scrub (£2.50 / 50ml)

This is a gentle body polish with shea butter, almond oil, peach, sea salt, and sugar that can be scooped out and massaged into the skin to exfoliate anyway dryness and leaves it feeling nourished and smooth, and smelling absolutely amazing. It smells girly and floral, but at the same time like a buttered peach. I'll warn you the tub is a slippery little one though - twice I've dropped the entire pot in the bath while trying to use it!

'Clean, Girls' Creamy Body Wash (£2.50 / 75ml)

I absolutely adore this creamy body wash, and I don't think I'd ever go back to a normal shower gel ever again. With a built-in moisturising matrix, this skin softening cream makes it feel like you're washing yourself with a moisturiser. Releasing a thick and luxurious lather, with a scent to match 'Mist You Madly', this body wash leaves the skin clean and fresh, super soft but with no residue and smelling like a dream.

 

'The Daily Smooth' Body Butter (£2.50 / 50ml)

This is a 'dry skin formula' body butter with rosehip seed oil and cocoa butter for extra soft, smooth and nourished skin. It is intensely moisturising and is a fairly thick and creamy consistency, but sinks quickly into the skin and doesn't leave any greasiness behind. With typical comical quotes on the packaging such as "do or dry" and again, a scent to match 'Mist You Madly' this body butter is an all around winner.

♥

* 'Flake Away' was given to me as a birthday present, and 'Clean, Girls' and 'The Daily Smooth' were gifted to me as giveaway prizes from Chloe's Way blog.

Love Lettuce | Lush Fresh Face Mask

Hello hello hello. 

I hope you have all enjoyed your first couple of days of 2013!

 

Towards the end of November and all the way through December my blog ended up being about 95% lifestyle orientated following a weekend in Liverpool, my birthday, Christmas, anniversary, new year, and the only posts featured inbetween were hauls, as I can't seem to shop for others without shopping for myself! Looking back I realise that I massively miss doing all my beauty features and reviews and absolutely cannot wait to start posting up some more product reviews - I have a list as long as my arm of things that I want to talk about, starting right now with Love Lettuce.

Love Lettuce is a fresh face mask that was part of my 'Great Big Box of Lush Goodies' (see the haul post here: link) that I ordered online at the beginning of December and these face masks cost £5.95 for 75g of product. I love how these are kept in the fridge to add extra refreshment and a cooling sensation to the face when they are applied, and the smell of this mask isn't overpowering as the only detectable scent is lavendar which is only faint, but is still very calming and relaxing ..although I have no idea why this is called 'Love Lettuce' when there is no lettuce mentioned at all on the ingredients list - curious?

This one includes an almost perfect combination of ingredients and multi-tasks to provide multiple benefits to the skin; firstly, all of the ingredients are natural and Lush products contain no chemicals which of course is good for the skin, then the clay aspects of this mask draw out of the impurities and the tiny almond shells buff and exfoliate away the dead skin cells on removal of the mask and the lavendar and almond oils soften and smooth the surface providing nourishment. It's almost like a cleanse, exfoliate and moisturiser all in one.

 

I can't compare this much to the other masks available from Lush as the only other fresh one I have tried is 'Cupcake' which is specifically targetted for oily/teenage skin and draws out the excess oils, which I personally prefer to Love Lettuce, as Love Lettuce leaves behind a slight residue on the skin - lavender and almond oils are ingredients in this mask - which although they are softening agents and helps to balance natural sebum production, it wasn't a feeling that I liked being left behind, although this is a matter of personal preference.

 

I really enjoyed using this but I just don't think that it is something I would rush out to buy again in the near future. The number one reason for this being that I felt I had to rush to use it all up before it went out of date, as I had less than 3 weeks of use and I'd prefer a longer lasting product (although this means more chemicals and less natural ingredients) to avoid waste. This mask does work out as being good value for money, because although it costs almost £6 I did manage to get 7 uses from it and as you can see below I have covered my whole face in a thick layer [there was enough product left for an 8th use but I forgot to put it back in the fridge and it was 3 days past it's 'best before' date.. and umm.. it had gone fluffy with mould - EW!].

 

I would prefer to use this mask on occasions when my skin really needed a boost as the exfoliating aspect of the mask worked really, really well and my skin was glowing after using this and felt so incredibly soft and smooth. It worked very well and I did feel that there were impressive short term benefits to my skin, the only downside being, as I mentioned above, I felt like I over did it a little bit by using it so often so as not to waste it. Maybe in the future I'll have to go halves with my sister and we can both use it, or Lush should consider making smaller tubs for half the price!

 

But, if you're interested in a fresh and all natural ingredients face mask to give your skin a little scrub up and a radiance boost, and if you have the time to use this enough to get your money's worth out of it, then Love Lettuce is one for you!

Heyyyyy Sexy Lady!

Look out for exciting future reviews this month, including another Lush product, an amazing hair oil, a couple of gift sets, Clinique chubby stick intense, Soap & Glory skin care, my January sales haul and a new series called 'Top 3 Tuesday'.

♥ 

Monthly Favourites | October

~ October Favourites ~

 

 

Just a small favourites post this month - only 4 products.

Here's what I loved and why:

 

Soap & Glory - Scrub Your Nose In It

 

Until recently I was never really 'into' Soap and Glory products; I saw them everywhere and everyone was talking about them but they were just a brand that I dismissed quite easily and didn't really understand them as the price tag is hardly cheap but I think that the packaging makes them look that way. One day I decided to give into the hype surrounding their hand cream 'Hand Food' and because of a 3 for 2 offer I picked up 'Scrub Your Nose In It' too, mainly because it was something Fleur (De Force) had mentioned once in passing and I thought that if someone with amazing skin like she does, uses and loves it then it's good enough for me! It costs £7.50 for 125ml but there are often offers on this brand or Boots in general meaning you could get it cheaper but I think that's reasonable as I've only been using a tiny pea sized amount each time and a little goes a really long way so I can't see me running out any time soon. You apply to damp skin and rub around your face, focussing on the congested areas around the nose and chin - the exfoliating grains in this scrub are so super tiny and gentle you can barely feel them and this is one of the most refreshing scrubs I have ever used. It feels a little bit tingly but I like that feeling, it makes me feel clean! It's also a multi-use product and can be left sitting on the skin for a couple of minutes as a clay mask before washing away. I don't think I've been using this long enough to notice a drastic reduction in blackheads or blocked pores but it definitely feels good to use! This won't break the bank so if you're looking for a new scrub or wanting to try out a Soap and Glory product I would highly recommend starting with this.

 

 Ginvera - Green Tea Marvel Whitening Gel

 

I have done a full and detailed review on this product which you can see HERE if you're interested in reading a little bit more. This exfoliating gel is of Asian origin and boasts 10 benefits to the skin; not only does it claim to reduce blackheads and improve the surface of skin but it also promises to regulate and reduce sebum production to prevent blemishes - wonder product! This slimey green gel is rubbed around dry skin with dry fingers and literally peels away the dead skin cells in a painless and almost enjoyable way ..although it is a little bit gross physically seeing the dead skin come away from your face. I've been loving this product as it brings a new lease of life to the skin, taking away the dead layers and leaving behind new, fresh and glowing skin and also helps with in reduction in the appearance of scars, marks, pigmentation and other blemishes.

The Body Shop - Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream


I didn't really want to buy this, I was talked into it by a very pushy sales assistant but I am now extremely grateful for her pushy ways as this is now my favourite, go to, every day moisturiser. This costs £10.00 a tub which I think is maybe a tad expensive but The Body Shop run offers and discounts all the time so it's very rare that you would ever need to pay the full price for this. It's an extremely light weight moisturiser, almost a gel like consistency and sinks into the skin literally instantly which makes it easy to apply foundation on top almost straight away, and as it is targetted for oily skin is doesn't leave a dewy shine on the skin like other moisturisers do - it leaves a matte finish but nourishes the skin, moisturises dry areas and leaves your face feeling soft and smooth. Why have I never found a mattifying moisturiser earlier?! I normally shy away from moisurisers because I'm scared of how they will combine with my oily skin but this one is the perfect solution.

Carex Hand Sanitising Gel



Bit of an unexpected favourite really but I thought I'd throw something different into the mix. I'm not an avid user of these hand sanitising gels as I'm not particularly a germ freak, but I have been using this more over the past two weeks as I've been ill (sniffly runny nose with a cough and a cold, nothing serious!) and thought that everytime I cough or sneeze (nice) I don't want to continue spreading my germs around for other people to catch, so I've just been squirting a bit of this onto my hands every now and again in attempt to keep myself a bit more sterile. I've recently been using it before touching my face when applying make-up too as no one wants grubby fingers on their face. This particular gel is a lot better than any others I have tried in the past as normally I cannot stand them. This one smells lovely and fruity (no hint of alcohol like some do), absorbs really quick into the skin (many promise this but fail to live up to the claim), it doesn't sit on the skin and feel greasy or feel like there's a layer of 'something' on them that needs washing off, it's got a handy pump dispenser to not waste product, and best of all it's cheap and cheerful - £1. I can't comment on how well it kills 99% of germs but let's just assume that it does and here we have a winning product!

Review: Ginvera Exfoliating Gel

 

Hello. Today I'm bringing you all another review and I wanted to talk about a new love in my life - the Ginvera 'Marvel Whitening Gel', also known as an 'exfoliating gel'. This is the second of Ginvera's products I have tried and tested; the first being their BB cream which I did not rate very highly, and the second being this little God send! Both of the Ginvera products I discovered thanks to my SheSaid beauty box subscription and I loved the sample size of this so much that I splashed out to get myself the full size 60ml bottle. The full size does cost £22.00 but I trust that it will last a long time and work wonders for my skin.

 

This product originates from Asia (along with all of the original BB creams), hence the curious name of marvel whitening gel which I have recently learnt from another blog that 'whitening' is an Asian term and process that they use on they're skin that we don't here in the UK.

 

The product is really simple and easy to use: apply to dry skin with dry fingers, simply massage around the face and you can literally see the dead skin cells peeling away from your face! I couldn't really believe what was happening the first time I used it. You then splash away the product with cool water and the result you are left with is quite amazing - my skin looked so bright and clear, and to the touch felt silky smooth. Just a tiny blob of this green gel had done all of that to my skin with one little rub around my face! Don't believe me? You should definitely try this out for yourself.

 

If you cannot see clearly enough on the picture below then here are the 10 benefits of use that Ginvera promises:

1. Rubs away deep layers of dead skin cells

2. Rubs away blackheads painlessly

3. Contracts pores for refined skin (because dead skin cells have been removed from pores)

4. Lightens black spots, freckles and scars (..possibly where the 'whitening' term has come from?)

5. Removes oil seeds

6. Regulates sebum production to prevent pimples

7. Brightens dull complexion

8. Changes dark, rough skin to smooth skin

9. Whitens skin as it gives way to newborn skin (this one sounds weird to me!)

10. Enhances quick absoption of products

 

Sounds good right? You may be wondering why I'm wanting to use such a product - do I want 'whiter' skin? No, I actually adore a good tan, but what I do want it clearer skin. To have my dead skin cells lifted away the easiest way possible and have scars and dark marks fade away? Who doesn't want that? And what's easier than massaging onto dry skin and then rinsing away? I now cannot see myself without this in my skincare routine and think it could be hard to find something to top it! I have been using a combination of products recently to assist the fading of scars and I've noticed a big, big difference. So this Ginvera gel is not working alone but it definitely my favourite product to use in my current skincare routine and I just cannot get enough of it! I now use it both morning and evening when I wash my face for maximum effect and I am loving the idea of it giving my skin a fresh new lease of life - PLUS controlled sebum production with continued use sounds fab too as that should technically mean no more spots.

 





 

What do you think of this product?

Have you ever tried this or anything else by Ginvera?

 

And don't forget that I am currently running a celebratory 200 followers GIVEAWAY that ends at the end of this month.

Enter now if you haven't already!

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN

♥