Beauty Product of the Month: February - Lush Sea Vegetable

I’m running late on my products of the month, I usually do this at the end of the month, but I still haven’t mentioned February’s favourites, so here I go. I don’t think this is one of the most obvious products to buy from Lush, there are a lot of soaps that probably look more appealing, I know I’m usually more drawn to the girly, pink products but sometimes I like to mix it up a bit and go for something a bit different. To me this is almost a masculine scent, but I still find it very appealing so not sure what that says about me. It says on the Lush website it’s great for sharing amongst the whole household, and is perfectly balanced for boys and girls, which I’d agree with, because my boyfriend loves it too. I love it because it smells so FRESH! A mix of lime, lavender, and seaweed which is actually a lot nicer than it sounds. I keep this on my sink in the bathroom for hand-washing along with liquid soap, but I think it would be a nicer soap to use in the bath or shower because it contains sea salt for good exfoliation. There is one part of the soap which I think has bits of seaweed in, it’s kind of coarse feeling so while this is great for giving your skin a good scrub, I don’t really think it’s entirely necessary just for hand-washing. The only other con with this is the shape of it, but the good thing about Lush is they will cut the soap for you, any shape or size you want, so you don’t have to settle for the pre-cut slices. I did because I’d already spent far too much time in there, and I bought home a cube of soap which is not very practical. Aside from this, I really love the soap, Lush soaps are a great buy, and if you like your solid soaps, they are ethically the best to go for since they use a palm free soap base.

Beauty Product of the Month:December - Lush Snow Fairy Shower Gel

This has been my staple shower gel every winter time for about the last 3 years. It's a candy scented, glittery gel that lathers up really well in the shower. Don't be put off by the glittery bits though because they don't show on your skin! I think it might be a love it or hate it kind of product, because it is pretty strong and bordering on sickly sweet. I love Lush shower gels though because the scent really lingers on your skin unlike conventional shower gels where the scent tends to get washed away.
This is one of Lush's limited edition products that only gets released in the run up to Christmas. You can no longer buy it on their website, but if you're quick it should still be available in the Lush stores.

Happy New Year's ladies, hope everyone has an amazing evening. I'm off to Bristol for a change of scenery. I've always wanted to spend NYE in central London watching the fireworks at south bank but decided it's probably a bit too cold and overrated, and going out in London afterwards would be mega expensive, so I'm going to spend it somewhere not ridiculously overpriced!
See you in 2010.
xXx

Beauty Product of the Month: November - Body Shop Tea Tree Oil Facial Exfoliator

This is by no means a new discovery to me; I’ve loved The Body Shop Tea Tree range for a number of years now, and wonder why I haven’t mentioned it sooner. This is a product suitable for weekly to twice weekly use to use in place of your usual facial wash. It’s meant for oily skin, and I wouldn’t recommend using this product any more than twice a week because it has quite a rich formulation. It’s described as a “polish”, and is very thick and creamy. The exfoliating beads are very gentle so it shouldn’t irritate your skin. After using for a few months either once or twice a week, this has helped to minimise the number of breakouts I get. Tea Tree oil is famous for its blemish beating properties so I’d highly recommend trying out this range. I’ve also used their face mask (not as luxurious as Lush’s face masks, but still great), the facial wash and the pure tea tree oil which you can apply directly to your spots overnight, or dilute and use as a toner.

Beauty Product of the Month: October - Naked Colour Protection Shampoo & Conditioner

There was a gap in the market that I feel Naked products have come along and filled very nicely. Natural beauty products that are effective and affordable. I was looking for a new shampoo and conditioner for coloured hair and attracted to this brand with its 97% natural tag. My hair has become somewhat damaged since summer, with constant washing and sun damage on top of the dying I’ve been subjecting my hair to. My hair is in dire need of some treatments and a good quality shampoo. I’m a big believer that nature knows best, with Lush being one of my favourite shops to buy from. What I like about Naked products compared to Lush is that they come in a conventional form, i.e. liquid form in a bottle. I know this is not great news for the environment, solid shampoos are a lot kinder, but this is what I’m used to and find the easiest method, in terms of storing and using the product. Using the Naked shampoo is different to more conventional, less natural shampoos however, and when applying to my hair, I did wonder where the lather was! I think we’ve become conditioned to believing that SLS’s are necessary for cleaning our hair, clothes, dishes, or whatever other products they can be found in. Whilst SLS’s are effective detergents, the lathering of these products is not responsible for cleaning and there are plenty of alternatives out there which are safer to use. Naked does not contain SLS or any parabens which are responsible for preserving the product, and it does not lather. This doesn’t mean it doesn’t clean effectively and you don’t need to use more of the product to compensate. My hair is naturally quite oily at the roots, so the only disadvantage with this product is I have to work it well into my scalp to remove the oil. I’m more than happy to do this though if it means using a shampoo that doesn’t have any grey areas surrounding the safety of it.

I love the smell of this shampoo, it contains sunflower extract and cinnamon with the latter lingering in your hair after washing. I suppose it’s not for everybody but personally I love this smell, and it’s proven to help preserve the colours in your hair. I use the matching conditioner, which is more sunflower extract based and still smells appealing even if I can’t quite place the scent. After shampooing, your hair can feel a little dry and limp, but the conditioner helps to put back the moisture and volume and after drying, I’m happy with the results. There are a few variations of this shampoo and conditioner for different hair types, and at the bargainous price of £3.91 for a 250ml bottle it’s worth a look at. Often in places like Boots this product is on offer too so there’s another incentive!

Beauty Product of the Month - September: Blanx Intense stain removal toothpaste

(I know this is super late, but I still wanted to throw this in, and hopefully get back on track with my blogging now!)

Teeth whitening has now become as big an obsession in the UK as it is in the States. I’m sure the rise of celebrity culture has a large part to do with that, it’s rare to turn on the TV or open a magazine and not see bright pearly whites gleaming back at you, and I suppose like a lot of people, I too have looked at the possible ways of making my teeth whiter, and I’ve been slightly horrified at the lengths some people are willing to go to, to achieve such results, risking losing not only a lot of money but the health of their teeth.Toothpastes that are designed to whiten your teeth cannot change the natural colour of your teeth but can help to remove the stains. I haven’t been down the path of having expensive procedures at the dentist, but I’m happy to use safe whitening toothpastes. What I like about Blanx is it’s a little bit different to other whitening toothpastes on the market. It’s based on arctic lichen which was discovered by scientists in the arctic. They found that the native population had exceptionally white and healthy teeth from using lichen on their teeth and gums. Blanx is one of the least abrasive whitening toothpastes on the market which means it does not damage the enamel of your teeth.

I have read too many horror stories of teeth bleaching gone wrong that I have been put off from this process. In the short run, it can cause teeth sensitivity to hot and cold, in the long run, it can cause damage to your enamel. I recommend this product because it is perfectly safe to use and rather than harshly whitening your teeth, it’s aim is to return teeth to their own natural whiteness. I have used the other products in the Blanx range, but the Intense Stain Removal toothpaste is the only one I have noticed considerable difference with. I’m an avid tea drinker and had started to notice slight tanning at the sides of some of my teeth, and this toothpaste managed to easily remove it. Admittedly it is unnatural to have amazingly white teeth, but I can’t see this obsession fading away any time soon. If I knew a perfectly safe way to have the whitest teeth myself, I’m sure I would, but for now, I’m happy using this.

Beauty Product of the Month - August: Olive Oil

Before the month runs out, (honestly where has August gone?!) I wanted to post my products of the month. I haven’t really been spending recently which in a way is a good thing because it gives me the chance to recommend a product that I probably wouldn’t normally, but is a cheap and safe to use product. I’m sure there are plenty of people who have found efficient alternatives to using eye make-up remover, but I only started using olive oil to remove my make-up about 8 weeks ago. As you can see, in that time, I’ve only just used beyond the neck of the bottle which I think is brilliant for a two month period! One of the benefits of using olive oil over traditional eye make-up removers is the safety of the product. Not that eye make-up removers are dangerous, but you know that using olive oil, it’s 100% natural with no harsh chemicals. It’s also very effective in removing make-up. I tend to make the area around my eye wet with cotton wool first, and then apply a small drop of olive oil onto a cotton ball and just wipe. I was amazed at how little I actually need and made the mistake when I first used this of applying too much, and ended up with a stingy eye situation! I’ve since learned to ration correctly and find this as good, if not better than the more expensive brands I was using before. It doesn’t need to be a fancy brand of olive oil either, as you can see, I went for Morrisons own brand, which costs £1 for a 250ml bottle! It’s a great cost cutting technique and means you’ll have a few extra pounds to spend on something more exciting!

Accidental weekend shopping

I’m slowly growing my MAC eyeshadow collection and here are two more single eyeshadows I bought to add to my palette. These are both in the frost finish which I have to say look gorgeous in the pan and when swatched, but when applying, in reality, they are not brilliantly pigmented. I think I would get much better pigmentation using over a paint pot rather than my usual Too Faced Shadow Insurance. Having said that, I do really like these eyeshadows, and find the colours of each of them quite universally flattering. I’m not usually one for pink eyeshadow, and if I’m honest, when I bought it, I didn’t realise it was pink! I was looking at the eyeshadows specifically on the hunt for an every day golden/beige tone for the lid, and a lighter colour for the highlight. So this post is a little bit of admission to my stupidness really for not observing these colours properly in natural light! I thought they would both be a little lighter and totally missed the pink tones in Hush, when I left the shop I thought the assistant had given me the wrong shadows. In a way though, I’m glad because I would have automatically dismissed Hush on the grounds that it’s pink and I never wear pink eyeshadow, but actually I like it, both on the lid, and I’ve found if I apply it lightly, it works as a highlight too. I will at some point post a picture of the look I created with them. I will be more careful in future though, if I had seen the shadows in proper lighting I would have no doubt opted for completely different ones. I’m not sure if this is a problem many other people have with MAC stores, or if the one I visit just has terrible lighting! I’m thinking I will go to check out the new collections elsewhere just in case. I’m feeling quite overwhelmed by four new collections on the website! I think I’m leaning towards buying one of the Graphic Garden palettes or the Pearlglide eyeliners at the moment.

Beauty Product of the Month - July: Redken Extreme Iron Repair

I’m sure I’m not alone in my love for straightening or curling my hair. If I knew I could do it without damaging my hair, I’d use it heat on it every day. Unfortunately that’s not the case and so when I do use heat, whether it be straighteners, or even just a blowdryer, I want to know that my hair is being protected as best as possible. So when it comes to hair care, I’m prepared to splurge a little, especially since my shampoo and regular conditioner is very affordable (I’m a Herbal Essences kinda girl). I decided to buy Redken’s Heat Protective Extreme™ Iron Repair while I was in my salon since as a complimentary, introductory offer, I could receive £5 off hair care products. This was about £15 originally, so it was a good offer. If I was smart I would’ve used it in conjunction with the other offer they had on this product which was buy get one half price, but I didn’t know if I’d like it so just wanted to try it out first.

So this is a heat-activated protector for distressed/dull hair, so the bottle says. You apply it to your hair after washing whilst it’s still damp and it helps to reinforce and restructure your hair when heat is applied. This is a great product because it works not just by protecting your hair, it’s also a treatment so can repair some of the damage already done. This is good for me because I regularly have highlights, and while I don’t use bleach, I’m still stripping my hair of colour so it can be prone to dry bits towards the bottom. Used over time, this really makes a difference to even quite damaged, straw-like hair. I’m not advocating you get your hair in such a state, but if it happens, there is a product that can work wonders! It smells gorgeous too, with a smell that reminds me of a cross between hair salons and holidays, sorry I can’t be more descriptive than that, it just smells really yummy! I need the smallest amount of this product, a pea sized amount will do, even for my long and thick hair.

Beauty Product of the Month - May

I remember when I first discovered dry shampoo I thought I’d been let in to a secret. For those of you who have never tried dry shampoo and are wondering what it is and how it works, basically it’s a powder that you spray on to your roots and it absorbs any excess oil, giving you that just washed feel. The first dry shampoo I tried was by Lee Stafford, a mid range available from Boots. I did like this brand, I thought it did the job it was supposed to, but I found I really had to rub my scalp well afterwards to make sure there was no white powder left, otherwise I’d look like I was going grey! I decided to try another brand, and came across Batiste. I’ve never heard of them before I got this so I don’t know what other products they sell, but I can say they make the best dry shampoo! I don’t have to rub this very much to get rid of that white powder that’s left behind. Ok, so it’s not quite the same as washing your hair, and it does seem quite lazy, but I don’t use this in place of my shampoo, more for in between washes, just to freshen up. Another tip with Batiste is that you can apply it on clean hair too, spray the roots and push up the hair near your parting. I do this before going out sometimes and it just gives my hair a little bit of volume at the roots, instead of being poker straight and flat! I like it so much I’ve bought all 3 variations. My favourite is Blush, which I think is like perfume for the hair! It really does smell gorgeous, a very floral scent. I don’t really like the Original one as the aftersmell reminds me of flyspray! Not really a good smell for your hair. I’d recommend trying this if you’ve never used dry shampoo before or weren’t happy with the ones you tried. I use this all year round, and see it as a must have item, even more so this time of year when my hair seems to need washing that little bit more often.