First impression: Philosophy Purity made simple cleanser

Philosophy is a brand that has always appealed to me. Its clean looking, cutely named products and the bite-sized philosophical thought found on each container has always made me think fondly of the brand, even though up until now I had never tried them.

When my Latest in Beauty advent calendar revealed a small bottle of Purity made simple cleanser I had a little ‘ooo’ moment.

The cleanser is very effective, it has a milky formulation and is gentle enough to use on the eyes, with only a small amount needed to remove a full face of makeup. I found it left my skin feeling very slightly dry, but I didn't develop any dry patches using it. I preferred to use it with my clarisonic, rather than a cloth as suggested, and it is one of the few cleansers that I have found which works well with it.

However, there is just one thing that doesn’t make me want to purchase a full sized bottle, and that’s the scent. For something called purity the last scent I would expect is ethanol, but that’s whats I get.

Now I realise that the brand does not consider itself natural/pure (the ingredients list for this product takes up half of the bottle!) Personally, I think it is a bonus if a brand is natural but I am not particular about that. I think in this case there is a mismatch in expectations, I thought something with the name purity would have a fresh scent but the smell of alcohol is too much.

So this post will stay as a first impression because I although I would still like to try some other products from the Philosophy range — the exfoliator in particular — I won’t be picking up a bottle of this.

Philosophy can be purchased from QVC, Selfridges, Debenhams and Boots. I also found a handy skin quiz on their US website, which interestingly for my responses didn’t actually recommend this cleanser!

Have you tried any of the Philosophy range, if so I would love to know what you recommend.

2013 beauty resolutions and challenge

I can’t believe a whole year has past since I set blog resolutions. So much has happened in the last year both to my blog and personally and I am really looking forward to 2013.

I had a few beauty resolutions last year and I failed miserably on most of them to be honest. I managed to have quite regular facials, but other than a cost issue, making the time for appointments was a problem especially when working full time and salons being fully booked in the evenings.

However, I was good at using up products before making repurchases and rotating my makeup. The Lori Greiner organiser I received for Christmas last year really helped with that by making everything more accessible and visible.

As for my No! No! use, body brushing and hair treatment, I just couldn't get into a routine with any of it. The annoying thing is I know that the No! No! works but laziness means I don't make sure I use it regularly.

As for this year I’ve mixed together some beauty and general life resolutions…..

Learn how to do my eyebrows

I've said it once and I will say it again, I hate eyebrow maintenance. I loved my Billion Dollar Brow treatment but at around £30 a session that isn't going to be affordable for me other than on special occasions, so I plan on watching lots of YouTube videos so that I can start dying and shaping my brows.

Care for my hair

This is essentially the same as last years resolution. I've noticed my curls aren't what they once were and that is probably partly due to the way I treat it. I've coloured it a few times and used heat more than ever. I want to colour it one last time to something close to my natural colour and then just treat it right so that it can be in the best condition possible. 

Be a better blogger

I want to get myself organised as a blogger and post regularly. I know that at some points in 2012 when I was having a rough time at home I didn’t post as frequently as I would have liked. I had lots of ideas but I never had/made the time to see them through and I want to put that right this year.

Take care of my health

2012 was quite stressful health wise, nothing too serious, but enough to be quite distracting and the reason that I wasn’t able to keep on top of blog posts. I don’t want to set specific goals like, going on a diet or a strict exercise regime, but I do want to experiment to find a routine that works for me. The aim is to feel better more than anything else.

Be in it to win it

In 2013 I plan on entering and applying for as many competitions and internships. I have always been a bit cautious and assumed that there is no way I am better than other entrants but I know I have nothing to lose from trying. As you may know I really want to write professionally and this year I plan on being as proactive as possible to make that happen. 

Blog Challenge!

Today will also be the start of my second blogging challenge, a 100-day no spend! I am a bit nervous that I will struggle but I know from Twitter that there are lots of other bloggers taking part and we will all be supporting one another. 

There are no official rules but I personally will refrain from buying any makeup and skin care. Obviously if I run out of something like shampoo or deodorant then I will be making a trip to the shops but I’m curious as to how long I can last before that happens!

I won’t be spending on any beauty treatments, but I do have a few vouchers to redeem so this won’t be too difficult. But to make it fair I won’t be spending the vouchers I have for Debenhams until after the ban. I am considering not activating the Jolie Box subscription I won at BBloggersXmas too, but I need to check that it doesn’t have an expiry date.

I’m also going to avoid any clothes, jewellery, bag and shoe shopping. The only exception to this is if I find a good pair of boots, which I have been on the hunt for since September!

I hope that you all have a happy, healthy and successful 2013. Thank you so much for your support so far, and I hope that you will continue to enjoy my blog throughout the year.

Any tips on avoiding temptation over the next 100 days would be much appreciated and I would love to know what changes you would like to make this year.

Blog birthday giveaway!

Today is my blogs second birthday! What started as a new years resolution with no real plan or thought has turned into something that gives me a lot of joy and a lot to be proud of.

I recently hit a few landmark numbers across various sites and as a huge thank you to those who comment, share and support my blog I wanted to give something back. Since the launch of the latest Urban Decay palette, Naked Basics, coincided so well, I knew that this would make the perfect prize.

To try and keep entering as easy as possible, I am using Rafflecopter. I only have one rule and that is that you have to be a follower. But, if you are a fan of my Facebook page, a Twitter follower or happy to leave a comment or Tweet that will get you an extra entry.

I'm going to leave the competition open for a month, which means it will close on 1 February 2013 and the winner will be announced soon after that. The giveaway is open internationally.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway