Steamcream

Simple quality skincare is what Steamcream promises and that is exactly what it provides.

These little pots of lovely contain a thick yet light-weight moisturiser suitable for use on the face, body and hands. 

Before attending a PR event I had already been using Steamcream for over a fortnight. But the event showed me just how amazing and versatile the cream is and gave me a chance to see how the cream is made. Made in the Devon fresh each day, the process of making the cream is how I imagine cheese being made.

The cream is made from a steam process, which fuses the ingredients instantly, holding them together, and is what makes the cream more effective. The cream contains a mix of essential oils, cocoa butter and oatmeal along with other natural and sustainable ingredients, but it does contain some preservatives. 

As a moisturiser it does a great job of keeping my dry skin hydrated. The cream smells beautifully oaty and absorbs into the skin quickly, leaving no sticky residue.At the event I learnt that mixing the cream with foundation, sugar/sat or porridge oats can give you a tinted moisturiser, exfoliator or face mask. Because it is so versatile it is great to keep in your handbag or take on holiday as a space saver.

Alone it can also be used as a cleanser or makeup remover and as a hair mask and shaving cream. I have since tested it out as a makeup remover and while I wouldn't use it every day it would be a good option if you were in a fix. 

It wouldn't be a review without mentioning the tin containers. I love them! Streamcream are always releasing new, limited edition designs and although the tins can be recycled, the brand encourages people to reuse them. Personally I can on using mine as hairpin storage.

Each tin costs £12.95 and can be found in Topshop, John Lewis, Debenhams and some other department stores but if you keep an eye on the Steamcream website they tend to have offers to buy multiples making each tin greater value for money. How quickly you get through a tin is going to depend on how you use it, if you only used it as a facial moisturiser I would expect it to last over 3 months, which I think makes it great value for money.

Tempted?

Pixi Glow Tonic — an alternative review

Skincare wise I think Pixi’s Glow Tonic has been the most coveted product this year. I’m not sure how or when I  heard about this toner, I just know that Beauty Mouth was responsible.

Bio-Oil: My skin story

I was about 16 when I first used Bio-Oil and since discovering it in a local pharmacy I have never been without a bottle.

A had an average level of acne as a teenager, which didn't bother me, but what did was the dark scarring that was left behind with each spot.

When I spied Bio Oil at the counter claiming to reduce scars and even out skin tone I knew I had to buy it and at £20 it was my most expensive beauty purchase ever at the time. It felt luxurious to use and I still love the smell as much as I did when I first started using it.

The results took time, I would say over a month, but Bio-Oil did wonders at reducing my scarring to almost nothing.

Because it is so multifunctional one way or another I was using it every day, either on my legs and other parts of my body to moisturise, adding it into a bath, on holiday as an aftersun and I would highly recommend everyone trying it as a massage oil!

These days I still have a bottle by my bed and I use it as an overnight treat when I feel my skin needs some TLC. If I have small spots or dry patches Bio-Oil clears them up overnight and I always wake up with my skin looking brighter, clearer and plump. At night, I apply a thick layer but during the day I take more time to massage a small amount into my skin as it can look shiny.

On Facebook Bio-Oil are currently running a campaign encouraging women to share their skin stories and how Bio-Oil has helped. The campaign supports 3 charities, and for every story shared, Bio-Oil are donating £1 to either The British Skin Foundation, Look Good Feel Better or The Iolanthe Midwifery Trust, there are some amazing stories on there so I would recommend you check them out, link here!

Let me know if you have used Bio-Oil, your story and what product have you used as long as you can remember?

Quick review: S5 blemish serum

S5 is a skin care brand I have only recently discovered but I am a so glad I have. Made of certified organic cosmeceuticals the products contain no nasties, such as parabens and mineral oil.

I am using a few products from the range at the moment but I just wanted to highlight a product that has been a skin saviour this summer. 

Beetox Bee Venom Serum review and giveaway

I’m a bit of a sucker for skincare that uses exotic ingredients and bee venom and manuka honey certainly count as exotic to me.

Beetox is a newly launched UK skincare brand containing bee venom and manuka honey, which combined is meant to have anti-ageing effects on the skin, including reducing lines, wrinkles and large pores, soothing and healing the skin, improving skin texture and reducing redness.

Sorting out the problem…..

I don’t know if this happens to every beauty blogger and beauty addict at some stage, but lately looking into my cupboards and makeup bag(s) I feel a bit guilty.


I like to buy things on sale and special offer, which usually means I have a selection of new products at my disposal. The privilege of being invited to events means that I am given new product to try and all together this means that I have quite a collection.

So I plan to reduce my stash and guilt in the process. I’ve already given away products that I am no longer loving or will never use to friends and family and I also have a small box ready to be sent to Give and Makeup.

On the blog I will be resurrecting empties posts, but only sharing things I feel are an achievement and that deserve a mention rather than every sample, shower gel and deodorant. Rather than monthly this will be as and when I have a decent number of products to write about.

I also plan on rotating my remaining makeup much more than I do so that everything gets some love and I’m going to keep to my promise of only purchasing when I have used up two products. 

Do you get beauty addict guilt? And how to you make sure you make the most use out of everything you own?

My microdermabrasion experience

The next experience I wanted to share with you is of a microdermabrasion treatment I had at a Skin Clinic.

I had a voucher for a microdermabrasion or glycoylic acid treatment, at the time I had a lot of acne scarring and was still breaking out regularly and of the two treatments I was advised that microdermabrasion would give me the best results.

These aren’t microdermabrasion crystals, only what I imagine them to look like!

Birchbox August 2013

Birchbox teamed with InStyle this month selecting the teams favourites for a "summer nights" themed box.

This is by far my favourite box to date and I thought about listing the products in order of what I was most excited about but it was too hard to choose.

My IPL hair removal experience

© K-image | Dreamstime Stock Photos; Stock Free Images

I wanted to start a series sharing my experiences of various beauty treatments I've had, because there have been many.

After writing about my results using the No!No! device I asked if you would like to know about my experience of IPL. I've had IPL therapy on my underarms for about 4 years. This may sound like a lot but really it's only because some years I only had one appointment  — down to laziness on my part.

Atelier Cologne Silver Iris

One of the privileges of blogging is that I get to discover brands and products that I may not encounter otherwise and of course share them with you.

One such brand is Atelier Cologne, a fragrance company that strive for luxury and elegance in their scents, packaging and image and they certainly achieve it.

Avon introduces True Colour Technology

Avon is a brand I have a lot of fond memories with. My mum and my aunt were both Avon ladies and my first makeup was all Avon. In fact I pretty much hijacked the little suitcase filled with mini lipstick samples, gloss and eyeshadow that she was meant to use to help clients decide what to buy.

It’s been a few years since I’ve used their makeup so when I was invited along to see the new offerings from the brand I was excited to see what had changed.