Pond’s cold cream review

What seems like an age ago I attended a Pond’s event at the Dorchester Hotel, which was celebrating a new look and the addition of Laura Whitmore -- most recently seen on I'm a celebrity get me of here now -- as their brand ambassador.

Prior to the event, I had largely ignored Pond's as a brand, I strongly associate it with my grandmother and always assumed it was for older skins.

We were kindly given a bag of goodies and I was most excited to try the Cold Cream, which is a product that historically has been around since Ancient Greece. The product is multifunctional and can be used as a cleanser, face mask and hand cream.

I have primarily used it as a cleanser and makeup remover, and I was surprised just how good it is at gently removing foundation, lipstick and even eye makeup (although generally I have a quick sweep with a eye makeup remover and rely on the cream to remove anything residual). It can be removed with cotton wool but I prefer to use a damp face cloth. I then use a toner and moisturiser.

Pond's recommends that this is suitable for all skin types. I have dry skin and immediately after using this for the first time my skin felt soft and smooth, a feeling that lasted through until the morning.
The product is quite thick in consistency and does feel greasy. I haven't reacted negatively by breaking out but I expect that anyone with oily skin is not going to like the feel.

On the event night, I was treated to a hand massage (which felt lovely) and although it can be used as a hand cream, because it feels so greasy, I would suggest using it as a hand mask instead.

The scent of the product is very delicate and overall I think it is a treat to use. The only negative for me is the packaging, I'm more of a fan of tubes than pots in general, but in the case of cold cream I think the pot is historic.

I think this is a great, good value product for gently removing makeup and, being multifunctional, would be great to take on travels so that you do have a face mask on hand if needed.

You get 50ml for £4.07, which lasted me about a month, but I think I have been slapping on a bit more than I should have so it could possibly stretch to more.

Christmas 2012 sale haul

Today was a day of impulse purchases. I am a sucker for box sets and nothing is better than a half price box set.

To start I hit Space NK, I noticed that their website didn’t have any of the skin care sets on sale but luckily this wasn’t the case in store.

I picked up two Eve Lom sets, the day time collection and the luxury collection. I've always admired the packaging of Eve Lom and having heard good things from Mouldy Fruit about the cleanser, which is their cult product, I was curious to try it for myself. The only thing that stopped me was the price…..and of course the fear that I will love it and then want more!

The day time collection contains a cleanser, muslin cloth, morning time cleanser, rescue mask and kiss mix. The luxury collection contains the cleanser, rescue mask again and a moisturiser. The kits were £65 and £85 respectively, but I essentially got two for the price of one with each of them 50% off. Of course I will have reviews up as soon as I have tested all thoroughly. 

The next stop for me was Boots, I was on the hunt for the Umberto Giannini curl friends kit, which I spied before Christmas but it was sold out in my local store. Instead I brought two Sanctuary sets, a hand wash and moisturiser duo, half price at £5. I would like to get into the habit of moisturising my hands after washing them and I thought that having the products neatly side by side might be a good way to start.

The second kit was the winter facial in a box. The kit contains 6 products for a 30-minute home facial. They are all sample sizes and for the original £20 price tag, there is no way I would have purchased this but at £10 I think this will be a great way to test some products in the range. The kit contains a polishing hot cloth cleanser, radiance exfoliator, firming youth serum, a 5 minute thermal detox mask, life and brighten eye complex and stop the clock moisturiser SPF 15.

Next I picked up a Big Fat Hair hair care set as a gift for my sister. These are the sets that I think are the best value for money because the cost of the kit (in this case £8) almost makes it the equivalent of buying one full sized product with three thrown in for free. 

Finally, my most impulsive purchase of all, a Mark Hill wicked waver! I have always been intrigued by these odd barrel shaped wavers and at half price (£29.99!) I thought it was worth trying. I’ve never tried anything from the Mark Hill range before so this will be an experience all round. I’m hoping that is will be a great tool for reviving my hair two to three days post wash, when I am too lazy to wash but the curls have fallen out. Again I’ll have a full review up when I have had a chance to test this out. 

I think I will stop myself from visiting any more sales for a while, although I do have a voucher for Debenhams so I may be taking a quick peek……

Let me know, what has been your best sale bargain?

#bbloggersXmas

Before Christmas I attended a beauty bloggers event organised by Lola Star Hearts and Vik Beauty held at the Reebok bar in Canary Wharf. The event was about networking with bloggers and PRs and there was also the opportunity to see product demonstrations.

There were plenty of sweet treats on offer too and generally the idea was to have a chilled out and fun time. I had a lovely hand massage from the Aromatherapy Associates team and spoke to the ladies from Slendertone about a machine specifically designed for the face to tighten and firm the facial muscles to help with anti-ageing and skin condition in general.

On top of all this there was also a beauty quiz and Twitter competitions for a chance to win various goodies. I was lucky enough to win one competition giving me a three month subscription to Jolie Box, which I plan on activating in the new year!

Finally we all went away with huge goody bags filled with products from brands including, Inika, Sleek, Bad Apple, Lush, Magnifibres, Make Believe, Lee Stafford, Macadamia Hair and more. I’ve already tucked into the bag, so expect to see reviews soon!

I really enjoyed the day and I hope that the ladies are planning on organising another in the near future!

Ciate mani month day 24 (Enchanted Rose)

Day 24

It’s hard to believe that the last 24 days have passed so quickly and that I have reached the final day of my blog challenge! 

Today revealed the final Ciate mini mani month exclusive shade, Enchanted Rose, which is a glitter in a festive red shade.

I decided to apply the glitter on its own and also on top of Dangerous Affair. The glitter seems to be finer and more dense compared to the other two included in the calendar, which meant that two coats on its own was enough. However, I prefer the look of the glitter applied on top of the red polish, the colour underneath makes the glitter stand out much more even with one coat and I can’t think of a shade more suitable to wear on Christmas day!

If you have missed any days of the Ciate mini mani month, the links can be found below. Which one has been your favourite shade?

Day 1 — Cupcake Queen

Day 2 — Dangerous Affair 

Day 3 — Halo 

Day 4 — Prom Queen

Day 5 — Cabaret

Day 6 — Angel wings

Day 7 — Cutie Pie

Day 8 — Vintage

Day 9 — Mistress

 Day 10 — Ladylike luxe

Day 11 — Bumble Bee

Day 12 — Twilight

Day 13 — Glass Slipper

Day 14 — Speed Dial

Day 15 — Headliner

Day 16 — Big Yellow Taxi

Day 17 —  Power Dressing

Day 18 — Candyshop

Day 19 — Cookies and Cream

Day 20 — Magic Carpet

Day 21 — Fade to Greige

Day 22 — Sundance

Day 23 — Mojito

Ciate mani month day 23 (Mojito)

Day 23

The penultimate advent shade of the Ciate mini mani month can only be described as a Kermit the frog green.

The shade is called Mojito and was one of the shades I was least looking forward to opening. I’m not a fan of green nail polish in general but, that being said, having worn it for the day I have grown to like this a little — I imagine that in the summer sunshine it will look much better. Like many of the polishes, it took three coats to look opaque and the polish dried quickly.  

Tomorrow will be the last day of my mani month challenge and will be the third exclusive shade of the advent calendar, I have my fingers crossed that it isn’t another glitter, but I suspect it will be.

I’d love to know, have you enjoyed my advent challenge?

Ciate mani month day 22 (Sundance)

Day 22 

Only two days of advent to go! Today revealed the final caviar pearls shade in the Ciate mini mani month, Sundance.

Sundance is a mixture of gold and pale blue pearls with gold and bronze hexagonal sequins. I paired the colour with day 10’s shade, Ladylike Luxe, which picks up the colour of the gold pearls well.

In my experience with the caviar pearls, to make them last as long as possible you need to apply a top coat but this does fade the colour of the pearls. I’m not sure if this is just my top coat but it does ruin the look, and again, I’m not a fan of those sequins!

If you have missed any of the last 21 days the links can be found below!

Day 1 — Cupcake Queen

Day 2 — Dangerous Affair 

Day 3 — Halo 

Day 4 — Prom Queen

Day 5 — Cabaret

Day 6 — Angel wings

Day 7 — Cutie Pie

Day 8 — Vintage

Day 9 — Mistress

 Day 10 — Ladylike luxe

Day 11 — Bumble Bee

Day 12 — Twilight

Day 13 — Glass Slipper

Day 14 — Speed Dial

Day 15 — Headliner

Day 16 — Big Yellow Taxi

Day 17 —  Power Dressing

Day 18 — Candyshop

Day 19 — Cookies and Cream

Day 20 — Magic Carpet

Day 21 — Fade to Greige

#Merrybenechristmas — Benefit’s Christmas Party

Benefit held their first blogger Christmas party at Mary Jane's bar in London, which was a mix of beauty talk, festive food and drinks and of course makeovers! I have previously visited the Benefit headquarters, which was an amazing experience and I equally enjoyed this one.

On this occasion Benefit showcased their Christmas gift sets, which contain a mix of full sized and trial sized products. The gift sets are a great way of treating yourself and trying three or four products for a reduced price. They are also great for teenagers or those new to makeup.

One set that caught my eye was the Jet Set beauty collection (all the sets have a travel theme this year), which contains a mini sized Porefessional, four neutral eyeshadows (plus a sponge applicator), a blush/highlighter, lipgloss and mascara. In the past the sets have contained colours that I would not always use but since everyone loves a neutral palette, there is no danger of this palette going unloved.

We had a demonstration of the set and the look that could be achieved, which took less than 10 minutes! We were also told about Benefit’s achievements over the last year, including having two top 10 selling products, and that there will be lots of exciting products to come in 2013.

We were all lucky enough to walk away with some goodies including Porefessional and They're Real, which I have reviewed in the past.

The Christmas sets are all currently reduced on the Benefit website, so if you don’t have one waiting underneath the tree and want to treat yourself post-Christmas these are even more of a bargain.

Ciate mani month day 21 (Fade to Greige)

Day 20

Fade to griege featured behind door 20. I always think of griege as a grey based colour but this shade appears more of a brown/mauve and a bit like Vintage, looks different depending on the background!

The first coat was sheer and streaky but in three coats it was opaque, and like always took little time to dry.

It is a great winter shade and I like that it can appear so different depending on lighting and up against other colours. Another win in my opinion.

Ciate mani month day 20 (Magic Carpet)

Day 20

The second of the surprise colours featured behind the door today, and as a suspected it's another glitter.

Magic Carpet is a pink based purple glitter. Like Glass Slipper, the glitter is suspended in a clear polish. Again I would have preferred that the base polish was coloured. I don't think that this shade works well by itself and I don't have the patience to applying enough coats to get a good finish. I applied three coats, but as I mentioned before I think it would look much better layered over a coloured polish.

What do you think about glitter in general?

Ciate mani month day 19 (Cookies and Cream)

Day 19

Cookies and Cream featured behind door number 19. Although it is a beautiful nude shade, my immediate expectation was that it would streak.

However, I'm pleased to say it applied well, with no streaks! It was sheer on the first cost but opaque in three. I didn't expect to like this shade, but this may well be on my favourites list at the end of the month. It is one of those shades that is suitable for all seasons and will suit most skin tones.

Ciate mani month day 18 (Candyshop)

Day 18

The penultimate caviar pearls shade, Candyshop, featured behind door number 18. The beads are slightly different sizes with smaller and larger pearls making up the mix of green/blue, pink and orange.

The pearls look slightly metallic compared to the previous two bottles. From my experience so far with the pearls, a top coat is definitely needed to help them to stay in place for as long as possible.

Now as for the fact behind the door today, that sounds like a beauty bloggers challenge to me. Don’t you agree?

Ciate mani month day 17 (Power Dressing)

Day 17

A very random quote behind the door today, I'm not sure exactly what 'zest’ is?! However, today's polish is a dark, winter appropriate colour.

Power Dressing is a deep navy blue, which looks almost black in certain lights. The polish applies well, and is opaque with two coats. It is slightly streaky on application but this is more obvious in the photographs than with the naked eye.

If you have missed any other days of the Ciate advent the links can be found below. Let me know what your favourite is so far.

Day 1 — Cupcake Queen

Day 2 — Dangerous Affair 

Day 3 — Halo 

Day 4 — Prom Queen

Day 5 — Cabaret

Day 6 — Angel wings

Day 7 — Cutie Pie

Day 8 — Vintage

Day 9 — Mistress

 Day 10 — Ladylike luxe

Day 11 — Bumble Bee

Day 12 — Twilight

Day 13 — Glass Slipper

Day 14 — Speed Dial

Day 15 — Headliner

Day 16 — Big Yellow Taxi

Ciate mani month day 16 (Big Yellow Taxi)

Day 16

 Big Yellow Taxi was behind door 16, a bright yellow that reminds me of Barry M's Lemon Icecream.

Unfortunately the formulation of the polish makes it very streaky and even with three coats, it didn't look any better. It's a shame because I think this shade would be flattering on most skin tones but hopefully, it will still look striking when the sun is shining.

Ciate mani month day 15 (Headliner)

Day 15

 Yesterday I declared that Speed Dial may well end up being one of my favourite shades of the advent month, then I opened door number 15. Behind it was Headliner, a beautiful teal colour. This is again the perfect example of when the image on the back of the box hasn’t done the true shade justice.

The polish is a creme finish and with careful application, one coat could be enough. It is one of those shades that is appropriate all year round and is nothing like anything I have in my collection and is therefore a welcome addition!

The past few days of messages behind the doors have been a bit odd, but I have to say I totally agree with the message today. Nothing is worse than when you do your nails and the doorbell rings or you realise you need to get something out of your bag! However, all the Ciate polishes have dried quickly, which is great.