Review: The Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream

Hello boys and girls. Today's post is about a moisturiser that hasn't left my daily routine ever since the day that I bought it (ages and ages ago - it's lasting forever!), and it is an affordable God send product for anyone like me with skin that is slightly on the oily side; either all over or in patches. One of The Body Shop's best sellers, this mattifying day cream is from their seaweed line which has combination skin in mind as it is supposed to find a happy balance for dry and oily areas of skin.

This 50ml pot costs £10.00 full price, but it is also available in a smaller trial size 15ml pot for just £4.00, and The Body Shop constantly has offers running too; whether it's 3 for 2 across all skin care or 20% / 30% off the whole store, it's unlikely you'd ever be splashing out the full £10 for a tub of this, but even if you did, it's more than worth it!

Having skin that tends to increase in oiliness as the day goes on has always been a bit of a pesky situation with my face and I have never been able to find the right kind of moisturiser than would suit me and in particular my oil slick of a forehead (yeah, nice). For a long, long time I always used to skip the step of moisturising and just more or less never bothered about it but have since learnt the importance of proper skin care and now know that even oily skin needs to be well moisturised! If you have this problem, then let me introduce you to your solution..

A cream than can cleverly moisturise all of your dry patches, whilst also balancing and mattifying the oily patches to give a shine free finish on your face, all while being perfectly nourished and hydrated. Fancy little trick that. 

I'm not sure how clear it is from the image above but this moisturiser is a gel formula and is a little bit sticky in texture but is extremely lightweight upon the skin, feeling refreshing and soothing upon application, and sinks in nicely to reveal an appropriately matte finish upon the skin to be able to use as the perfect base for the day's make up. 

I've got funny skin; some days it's really oily, some days it's like the Sahara desert and sometimes it's a mixture of the two like a patchwork quilt which definitely makes for hard work finding a suitable skin care routine! This is the perfect moisturiser and base to use on the days when my skin is oily and is 'combination', but on those days when my skin seems more dry I opt for a more intensely nourishing moisturiser, also from The Body Shop, from the Vitamin E range.

If you have oily skin and struggle to find something to control your shine throughout the day,

or need a balancing moisturiser than won't allow your make-up to slip and slide,

then this is one product that's worth trying out!

If you're considering it, next time you pass The Body Shop be sure to pop in and grab yourself a small £4.00 tub to test out and see how you get along with it.

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Review: Nivea Express Hydration Primer

So, which category do we put this one in then?

Is it skin care, i.e. a moisturiser?

Is it make up, i.e. a primer?

Nivea: What is it?!

This is what Nivea says:

"A light gel cream which absorbs instantly so you can apply make-up right away. Moisturises your skin with effective Hydrators & Vitamins for long-lasting hydration and provides an even and smooth base for effective make-up application. Helps make-up to stay in place"

Okay, so it's basically a two-in-one product and we all love those don't we, kill two birds with one stone and all that, especially if it's something that is going to reduce the time spent on a morning routine. What this 'gel' does is acts as a moisturiser and a primer, which is clever because they are both the stages that I tend to neglect the most. I don't know if I'm the only one, but I get too frustrated in a morning having to apply moisturiser, hang about until it's all sunk in, then dig out a primer, then a foundation, then a powder, blah blah blah just layering more things onto my face, and if I was to skip any step then it would be a toss up between the moisturiser or the primer (I know it's naughty not to moisturise..). 

So this is the perfect moisturiser for any lazy bones out there just like me who like to minimise these steps and it works to hydrate the skin as well as prepping and priming the skin ready for the day's make-up, as well as helping it to last longer (although not dramatically longer, maybe just an hour or two).

The gel consistency helps it to be light on the skin and be really quick at sinking in, which I love because it means I don't have to sit and twiddle my thumbs before I can slap on some foundation! Since using this I have found it to be just 'okay' at performing its combined functions; it's not the best or the worst moisturiser, and it's neither the best or worst primer either. But it performs adequately in both areas and for the price (£4.99, regularly discounted to £3.99) then it's hard to grumble. For someone who isn't too fussed about spending a huge amount on their skincare and likes the lazy girl way out of a product being a 2-in-1 then this will probably be perfect for a lot of people! I like using it when I don't need a moisturiser that's too intense and for just basic every day wear when it's nothing special, it makes a great cheap and cheerful make-up base.

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♥

No7 Skin Care Treats Gift Set

Hi guys, today's post is about a little gift from myself, to myself. I purchased this gift set a couple of weeks ago in the Boots January Sale while it had 50% making it £8.00 instead of £16.00 - love a good little bargain. I thought that now would be a good time to talk about this seeing as though Boots are running a double No7 promotion at the moment with 3 for 2 across everything and money off vouchers too, so this could give you some ideas of what to spend you £5.00 off vouchers on if you're a little bit stuck!

The set contains a total of 7 items: 1x eye make-up remover, 1x hot cloth cleanser, 1x day cream, 1x night cream, 1x muslin cloth, and to top it all off 1x fluffy headband. When bought for £8 this set is such good value for money, making each of the items a little over £1 each and all of the products come in generous sizes too ranging from 25ml - 50ml. I'd never used any of these before, in fact I had never tried anything other than the make-up wipes from No7 as a brand before, so was very keen to give these a try, especially as the hot cloth cleanser receives a lot of praise. I knew that even if I didn't get along with one or two products in the set I definitely had a chance of liking at least one of them, and when you would pay at least £8.00 for a full sized bottle of one of these then it is definitely worth purchasing this set of travel size/mini versions.

This has really opened my eyes to how lovely some of the No7 skin care is and I definitely feel more confident about trying out some more things from their range! Specifically from the Beautiful Skin line I've got my eyes on the cleansing water, purifying mask, radiance exfoliator and the melting gel cleanser!

Onto what is in the 'skin care treats' set..

Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser (50ml) and Muslin Cloth

I had really high hopes for this hot cloth cleanser because a lot of people do love it, and I have never used any kind of 'hot cloth' cleanser before ..and this one did not disappoint! To buy the full sized 200ml bottle of this it will cost you £9.95 (full price) and I am deeply considering making a purchase of this in the coming weeks. The cleanser itself is really rich and creamy and feels really moisturising and soothing on the skin - it is massaged around the face and melts away any make-up or everyday dirt that is on the skin and then muslin cloth is run under a hot tap and used to wipe the product away, exfoliating the skin as it cleans and clears. It leaves the skin looking radiant, and very 'polished' which is where I assume the famous Liz Earle variant gets it's name from.

Beautiful Skin Day Cream (25ml) and Night Cream (25ml)

I do really like both of these creams but I don't expect that either would be a repurchase simply because I already have so many lotions and potions lying around, and these didn't blow me away enough to justify buying full sized pots (both £13.50 each for 50ml) when I own so many already! I'm down to the last dregs in both of these tubes now and have found them both to be lovely to use with the day cream making a lovely lightweight base for make up and the night cream being a thicker and more intense nourishing cream that leaves you waking up with fresh and hydrated skin. I don't have a bad word to say about either of these, they just didn't stand out as anything extraordinary.

Beautiful Skin Eye Make-Up Remover (30ml) 

This costs £8.50 for a 100ml bottle and it won't be one that I'll be dashing off to buy again, even though it is really effective at removing eye make-up and I'm easily pleased by the way that it is separated within the bottle as two separate layers and needs to be shook to be activated, I am just not keen on the way that it is oil based and leaves the skin all around the eye with quite a heavy residue on them - it's an 'okay' product though.

A great idea for somebody who is maybe just getting into skin care, or someone who is new to the No7 brand and wants to try out a couple of new things, or even if you already love these products but want them in a miniature size so they're handy for travel! Unfortunately I cannot find this set anywhere on the Boots site anymore, but keep your eye out for it and if you're interested in skin care then I'd recommend grabbing one!

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.

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!

Body Shop Vitamin E | Stash

Helloo.

I have another day off work again today (4 days in a row - lucky me!), so thought I'd take the opportunity to add some more posts to my blog. Today's topic is my little collection of products from The Body Shop's Vitamin E range.

I am a big fan of The Body Shop, one of my favourite places to go for a little pick me up treat, and I even felt the need to get myself a 'Love Your Body' loyalty card the other week as these give you 10% on any purchase.

The product that started off my little stash was the Vitamin E Eye Cream (pictured below) which claims to: 'help reduce appearance of fine lines, puffiness and dark circles'. It's hard for me to comment on any reduction in 'lines' as I didn't actually have any to start with, but this is definitely a product that I love to use every morning to freshen up my under eye and I am convinced it works wonders on reducing puffiness and circles! This really is a lovely lovely product which I plan on repurchasing. I bought this just after Christmas in The Body Shop's 50% sale meaning it was reduced from £9.50 to just £4.75! I'm keeping my eyes peeled for this offer to be on again so I can stock up.

The second product to join the gang came all the way from duty free at Malaga Airport. In May, my boyfriend and I went on holiday to Marbella and on the way back we were mooching around duty free and he could obviously see the hearts in my eyes as I dragged him around all of the make-up stands, and being the lovely boy that he is he told me that I could choose any one item and he would buy it for me. Aww what a sweetie! But I don't think he understood the difficulty and pressure of having to choose to just one item from the massive selection, and I obviously didn't want to take the piss by picking anything ridiculously expensive either. So, I headed to the pretty small Body Shop stand and ended up holding the Vitamin E Moisture Serum in one hand and the Vitamin C Skin Reviver in my other. I held them out to him to make the decision for me and he picked the moisture serum (a completely random decision on his part).

It didn't work out much cheaper buying it in duty free abroad than if I had bought it instore in the UK, as we worked out it converted to about £9 and it is £10 in store and online in the UK.

I was intrigued by this product as it is infact a pre-moisturiser and used alone it has little benefit to skin, but when used before a moisturiser it helps the product to sink into the skin much better, and personally I love it. It has quite a runny texture and just one pump is enough to cover the whole face.

This made me decide that potentially the best products to go hand in hand with this pre-moisturiser would be ones from the same range. So I had a little nosy on The Body Shop website just last week and there was a 'buy one get one free' offer on some of the products - including the Vitamin E Moisture Cream and the Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream. These are now in the 50% off sale for £4.50 and £5, but when I purchased them it was buy one get one free, so I paid £10 for the night cream, and the £9 day cream was free.

I haven't used these products too much because the first time that I did I ended up waking up with multiple white heads around my chin area :( I have quite oily skin normally and I think these would be more suited to somebody with dry or normal skin. 

Last but not least, when I picked up these two moisturisers I also spotted a Vitamin E Face Mist for £7 and added it to my basket because I thought it would be great for freshening up in the morning and during those hot, sweaty summer days. This product is such a little treat, I really love it - it's fantastic for spraying over make up and also a nice little refresher on a bare face too. 

I recommend you check out The Body Shop's Vitamin E range as they have lots of other products in it that I'm itching to try, including cleansers, toners, face oils, hand creams etc and I know I'd love to extend my collection some more. 

xx.