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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Review: Clinique 'All About Eyes' Eye Cream

 



Eye cream is something that I'd never expected myself to either worry or care about at least not for another 20 or so years, but recently my views on this have changed. This is mainly because I always look tired (most of the time I am tired), but it's not fun looking like a walking zombie every day of the week, even after a pint of coffee. Plus, eyes are the first part of the body to show signs of aging (along with hands), and everyone wants to maintain that image of youth for as long as possible, which is why a good quality eye cream is important and starting the younger, the better. I'd rather use preventative measures against aging now, than get to 40 and try to reverse the effects that I could have minimised when I was 20!

 

Using this eye cream has made a difference for me and my eyes and I swear I am not just saying this for the sake of it, it's the honest truth. In the past no amount of concealer would be able to disguise the state of these peepers, if the skin was puffed up and 'angry' then that's something that no amount of make-up can help you. We've all tried those Garnier eye roll ons, right? The ones that are supposed to 'wake up' the eye area and reduce the puffiness but all they really do is feel cooling and refreshing on the skin but don't change a great deal. This cream from Clinique actually hydrates the area, soothes it and brightens it. It's a lightweight gel formula that can be applied day and night and works well as a base for eye make up too. I can't comment on fine lines because I don't have any visible ones (I am only 20), and the darkness does fade slightly to create a more even colouring of the skin, but it is more the levels of puffiness that impresses me. Practically no puffiness of the eyes after continued use, even after a rough and sleepless night. All I need now is a dab of concealer to hide the darkness and I'm good to go.

 

My eyes have been opened (no pun intended) to the benefits of using a good quality eye cream on a daily basis and it's something that I'm going to continue using. Skincare is worth investing in; you'd spend money on clothes and shoes or on an expensive hair cut, but what's the point in looking and feeling good with those if your face isn't reflecting the same? It's a shame that it's so expensive (£24 for a 15ml pot) but it's worth investing in. Your face is important, and so are your eyes so look after that delicate skin around them. I'm nearly out of this small 7ml pot (5 months after getting it) and I am definitely on the hunt for something to replace it, either by playing it safe and sticking with the full size version of Clinique 'All About Eyes', or by branching out and trying Origins 'GinZing' - I'm yet to decide!

 

Do you agree that eye cream is important?

Or is it just an extra and unnecessary step in a skincare regime for you?

 

P.S. I set up a Facebook page for blog updates today, so if you're still using Facebook and would like to 'like' my page then here is the link:

Cosmetic Crave

x

Review: Soap and Glory 'Peaches and Clean' 4-in-1 Cleanser

 

Today's post is about more from Soap&Glory! Gotta love the brand. I think their skin care is really great and I did a post the other day about my favourite facial exfoliator/mask from them too (link). This cleanser had been on my wishlist for a really long time so seeing that it was in the Best Of All set at Christmas time made it even more tempting to buy the gift set and get my hands on it. Alone, this bottle costs £7.00 for 200ml and it is available from Boots in store and online (link).

 

As the name would suggest, this cleanser smells quite heavily of peaches which might not be to everybody's preference in something that you rub all over your face for fear of break outs, but I love it as it smells so sweet and fruity but really refreshing too and I think that the 'I want to eat you' smell of it is one of my favourite things about this. Now onto the technical stuff.. Soap&Glory's formula includes: skin softening fruit acids (peach), quillaja bark as a natural soap, jojoba oil as an emmolient skin softener [definition of emollient: 'having the quality of softening or soothing the skin'], Detoxyboost™ technology that helps to purify and deep clean, as well as Poreshrink R2™ for a clearer, fresher, brighter complexion. Nowhere at all can I find out exactly and specifically what these 4-in-1 qualities claim to be, but I assuming that it is to: clean, soften, purify and brighten.

 

I find one pump enough to be enough for my whole face and it comes out as a creamy milk that feels really moisturising and soothing. I'm normally one for foaming cleansers but this one makes a nice change because it's really gentle on the skin as it doesn't aggriavate or irrate at all, it simply melts away any make-up or dirt on the face when massaged onto damp skin and leaves you with a little boost of radiance after rinsing away. It is advised not to get this in your eyes, and although it doesn't sting or irritate it definitely isn't that great at removing mascara etc, it just made a mess on my face! It's fantastic for every day use as it's really light on the skin and leaves it feeling baby soft but there's no residue left behind at all once it has been rinsed away. This feels like it gives the skin a really deep clean really quickly and easily, and although it might not be the best at unclogging pores, it does clean, brighten and soften the skin.

 

As if this needs any more praise at all, I feel like I need to add that for me a product comes as a whole and good packaging makes a difference (as superficial as that is) so I love how cute and girly this is, with an appropriate yet quirky name, and of course the pump dispenser is a winner because it avoids all mess and wastage too.

 

Have you tried this S&G cleanser before? Or any of their other skincare?





 

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!

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!

♥

Review: Philosophy Microdelivery Peel

Hello lovely ladies. I've felt like my blog's been a little bit 'haul heavy' recently after losing all self control and going a little bit wild with my spending habits. So, to mix things up a bit I've decided to do a couple of reviews on my favourite products of the moment, the first one being this 'at home skin peel kit' by Philosophy.

Philosophy describes this as  a vitamin C / peptide peel that can be used at home to resurface and rejuvanate sun-damaged, hyper pigmented and aging skin. It's a two step kit and is recommended not to be used daily as it is quite harsh on the skin and to be careful of sun exposure directly after use as it can make the skin more sensitive.
The first of the two steps is the vitamin C / peptide crystals that are in the tub and act as an exfoliating scrub. The directions that came with the product recommend to use a teaspoon amount of this scrub and to gently massage around the whole face for around a minute without scrubbing too hard as it is quite an abrasive scrub. Once your whole face is covered in a layer of this lovely, thick yellow scrub then you begin step two with the lactic and salicylic acid activing gel - this is the fun part! Applying 'a generous teaspoon' of this activating gel and massaging it around your face ontop of the peptide scrub is what really makes it work. When I read on the instructions that when the two products make contact they will form a white foam and warming sensation I was a little bit dubious about what to expect but it actually a really pleasant feeling. It makes it feel like the product is really doing something to your skin as it is like a chemical reaction happening right infront of your eyes on your own skin! Do not be frightened of it though, I assure you that if you follow the detailed step-by-step instructions on the product then you cannot go wrong and will reap the full benefits from this product.

The instructions explain that you can massage the foam on your face for a couple of minutes for extra exfoliation or you can simply leave it to work it's magic by letting it sit on your face (only for a few minutes though!). What I tend to do is to make sure my whole face is covered with the foam and then only pay close attention to massaging the areas where I have slight pigmentation, marking or scars which tend to be around my mouth area. I do have quite bad scarring on my face and I can hand on heart say that after just ONE use of this product I did notice an improvement in the condition of my skin; the scars and redness were significantly faded and the general appearance looked much brighter and clearer. I don't want to 'over use' this product as I definitely want to make it last (you'll see why when I let you know the price tag) so I have been using it 1-2 times per week for about five weeks and have seen dramatic improvements. I will definitely continue to use this product regularly but whether or not I will repurchase it is a different story.. because.. deep breath.. this bad boy costs £59.00!! Wow. It's not a massive amount of product either, the scub is 2oz and the gel is 2fl oz so it is incredibly expensive, but it definitely does work and if you had that amount of money to burn and needed something that really works to get rid of scarring and pigmentation then I'd say go for it and good luck to you with it.

Also, before you start thinking I'm incredibly rich and splashed out for this product I actually purchased it on eBay for less than £5.00 without really knowing what it was. I was just looking for new skin care and somebody had said they'd used this once and weren't too keen so were selling it - I'd heard brilliant things of Philosophy's skin care and have used a couple of their hair products in the past so I knew I was getting a bit of a bargain, it wasn't until I saw it on the Philosophy website of how much it really costs that my jaw dropped to the floor! Lucky me!

 

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

♥

 



Splashing Out At Avon | Haul

Once upon a time, I used to be Avon representative. 

It wasn't a very fun job at all and I certainly didn't reap all of the benefits that they promise to you. Working on 11% commission only on sales over £75 is hardly a big earner and a lot more time and effort goes into the process than is originally advertised. You must go essentially go door to door around your neighbourhood, or pester the other females in your life, delivering and handing out brochures in hope that someone will flick through and place an order. A few days later you must then trek back out again to collect these brochures from every house and people are supposed to leave them on the doorstep with their orders filled in but many people do not do this and you must pester them for it. Then, online you must order each of the products ordered by your customers and they are delivered to you, to your house. Here comes the bad part: you must then go out again to each customers house, this time with their products, and deliver them but also collect the money in cash there and then from the person. What happens if you go all the way to a persons house with their order and they aren't in? You can't leave it on the doorstep and walk away, then you haven't collected the money for it. So that is the tricky part of actually making sure that people are in and have cash available to pay to you when you arrive. By the time you have stopped pestering your customers, handed out their products and collected payment, you must then send away all of the money you collected and send it off to Avon. If you are short on the amount of money collected for some reason, maybe you couldn't get hold of somebody or maybe they changed their mind, then the money must come out of your own pocket to make up for it. Also, each customer is entitled to a refund too if they so wish and this must come out of your own pocket. All in all, not a simple process! 

On my first attempt I made sales of £32, so received no commission. On my second attempt I made sales of £45. But still received zero commission because I hadn't reached the £75 sales threshold. By this time I decided to give up as I had badgered my neighbours, family, and my mum's work colleagues for 2 months and had put in a lot of my own time to deliver their products to receive nothing in return for it. 

So, one day last month when an Avon brochure landed up on my doorstep for the first time since I moved house, I realised that some poor soul must be trying their hardest to make a few sales so I had sympathy and put in an order to help them out! Avon has never really been a brand that has appealed to me and for some reason I think it's always had the stigmata that it is for older people. I had a good flick through and saw a lot of things that caught my eye - here is what I ordered:

(I haven't tried a single one of these products yet so there will be reviews to come, I just want to show everybody what is out there and the range of products that are available; there is more than just nail varnish and foundation sold by Avon!)

Morroccan Argon Oil Leave In Treatment 30ml - £2.99
This was going to be a sure order for me. It's currently Avon's featured product with an introductory price of just £2.99 (usually £5.00). I've seen this pop up on blogs time and time again and each time the review on it was positive. I'm a huge fan of using oil on the ends of my hair and I am looking forward to trying out a super cheap alternative to others on the market and seeing how it lives up to the other leading brands.

Morcoccan Argan Oil Shampoo 250ml - £1.50

Moroccan Argan Oil Conditioner 250ml - £1.50
If I was getting the leave in oil treatment I thought that I might as well go all out and get a matching set of shampoo and conditioner to reap the full benefits and get the advertised '360 nourishment'. At £1.50 for a 250ml bottle that's an absolute steal and it isn't going to be the end of the world if I don't love it.

Acai Berry & Shea Oil Hair Souffle 125ml - £1.25
Ever the lover of deep conditioning masks and leave-in treatments to help out my damaged hair I couldn't resist ordering a hair 'souffle'. I've never heard of a mask be called a souffle before so I don't know if there's an actually difference or if it's just Avon trying to be different. The directions say to distribute evenly throughout wet hair after shampooing, leave for 5 minutes and then rinse thoroughly. It smells absolutely GORGEOUS and I love that there is a warning on the tub that the product is not edible! The tub isn't very big so I'm not sure how long this will last but I am looking forward to rotating this into my shower routine and hope it will nourish my hair a bit.

Strawberry and White Chocolate Shower Gel 200ml - £1.30
I don't need another shower gel at all, I have a cupboard full of bottles waiting to be used! I was attracted to the idea of a strawberry and white chocolate scent though and it won me over by being so cheap too. This is something a bit different to the usual scented shower gels that you find and I thought that I would enjoy it and at least give it a try.

Blemish Clearing 3-in-1 Cleanser/Scrub/Mask 125ml - £5.00

Blackhead Clearing Daily Cleanser 125ml - £4.50

Pore Penetrating Invigorating Scrub 75ml - £4.00
I've been looking to try out a new skin care regime for quite a long time as mine is a bit all over the place at the moment. I do use a cleanser, exfoliator, toner and moisturiser but each one is from a different brand and I feel that if they were all from the same brand or range then they would work in harmony with each other and the results would be stronger. If my thoughts on this are true or false could somebody let me know??
Anyway, Avon stocked three different ranges in their skincare: Blemish Clearing, Blackhead Clearing and Pore Penetrating and across all of the ranges there was an offer of 3 for £6. I couldn't decide which range I wanted to go for as I could do with benefits from all three, so opted for one thing from each range to give them a try and see what I think. I was originally just going to go with the 3-in-1 Cleanser for £5, but if I could get another 2 products for an extra £1 it would be silly not to! I made a fantastic saving of £7.50 with this offer and got almost two products for free.

Total: £14.54

I think that's such a bargain price for 8 products, including a shampoo, conditioner, oil treatment, deep conditioner, shower gel and full skin care set! All of the items appear to be good quality too so the quality isn't compromised with the price.

Do you ever order from Avon? Have you ever been a representative too?

♥

Skin Care and Make-Up Haul | ft. FeelUnique & Boots

I've had two mini splurges this week and treated myself to some new products, not many, just a few. One lot was an order from www.FeelUnique.com and the other from a trip Boots.  I've split this weeks haul into two parts: 1) 'skin care and make-up' (this one right here that you're reading right now) and 2) 'hair care' (which will be posted tomorrow).

Clean & Clear Morning Energy Shine Control Lotion

Reduced to £2 in the 'clearance' section of Boots. I couldn't find the original price anywhere on the Boots website but on the Superdrug website it says £3.99.
I always have a little nosy at the 'clearance' section in Boots if I'm wandering past just to see if there's any little bargains to be found. I spotted this lotion with a big £2 sticker on it and I thought 'ah, I'm looking for a new toner and I have oily skin too' so thought it would be good to give a try. The bottle says that it's gentle enough to be used daily and can be used either morning or evening, so I first tried it out on the evening that I had bought it. After cleansing I opened the bottle and gave it a sniff and thought that it smelt absolutely gorgeous! So fresh and fruity with a strong hint of apple - lovely. So I tipped some onto my cotton pad, started rubbing around my face and it started burning my eyes and felt like I was rubbing pure vodka around my face! Such a strong alcohol smell that I could almost taste it. I looked on the ingredients list and there it is, second in the list: alcohol denat. It's something that I guess I could get around because it did seem to work and I felt as though it did keep the oil at bay for the whole day, but it is an incredibly drying product at the same time. Explains why it was in the clearance section! I will keep this product, but it will get put in a drawer and used on the odd occasion when I'm feeling super oily - it will definitely not become a part of my every day skin care regime. 

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick - 016 'Heart Breaker'
£4.99 in Boots.

This was my first dip into the realm of Rimmel lipsticks and I felt a little overwhelmed looking at the stand and seeing all of the different ranges that they had; the Kate Moss ones, the new Kate Moss ones, the Lasting Finish ones, the Moisture Renew ones.. it was a bit 'agh what do I want?!' and to not help matters there was a severe lack of testers available. After a lot of deliberation I settled for a Lasting Finish lipstick in the shade 016 'Heart Breaker' - a very deep redish pink, quite a 'vampy' shade I would say as it's so dark, not a colour that I'm used to wearing on my lips. But I've fallen pretty hard for this new lipstick and cannot wait for autumn/winter to come around so I can wear it every day. I love the texture, it feels lovely and smooth, is super pigmented and definitely long lasting. Plus, at less than £5 it's a great price too! Winning.

Caudalie Beauty Elixir 30ml

£9.90 for 30ml / £25.92 for 100ml, from Feel Unique.
I've had this for 3 days now and used it just one time each day so of course I cannot give my full thoughts on it just yet. I do plan on doing a full and in depth review of this in the future as I want to do a little series of reviews on some of the 'Blogger Hypes' featuring the most raved (and ranted) about products, starting with this beauty elixir and including other coveted items such as the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish, the Bioderma Solutions and the Origins Super Spot Remover. My first impressions of this beauty elixir is that it's very nice and refreshing on the skin, a lovely little 'wake-me-up' in the mornings or as a refresher part way through the day, I'm just not very keen on the scent. It does have a very strong scent and I'm just hoping that it's something I can get past/get used to.

*Free samples included with Feel Unique order:

- Caudalie Vinoperfect Day Perfecting Fluid SPF15

- Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum Complexion Correction

- Paco Rabanne 'Lady Million' Eau de Toilette
The two Caudalie samples were part of a promotional offer and you received the duo as a complimentary gift with the purchase of any beauty elixir. I've enjoyed using these two samples and they feel extremely luxurious but I doubt they'd be something I would repurchase as their main aim is to target dark spots, something that I do not have. When I saw the tiny 2ml sample I thought that I wouldn't even be able to cover one cheek with it, but I actually managed to cover my entire face 3 times! A little really does go a long way. With just the three uses I did not see any noticeable complexion correction but I'm sure you would do with prolonged use, and the day perfecting fluid made a lovely base for make-up. I felt that it had similar properties to a primer with the way that it smoothed out the skin tone as well as moisturising and creating a radiant glow on the skin. A range that I would be very interested in if I was around 30 years older perhaps!
The EDT sample was just popped in there as a bonus. This is a very loved and raved about perfume and after trying out this sample I can see why - definitely popping this onto my birthday list!

♥