Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter

Have you ever purchased a product out of annoyance? Because what you really wanted wasn't in stock? Having heard so many good things about the Camomile Cleansing Oil from The Body Shop I really wanted to try it, they do sell it in Muscat but it hasn't been in stock for weeks and I got fed up and decided to try the butter instead.

A first look it doesn't seem like you get much product for your money, the cleanser is housed in a compact metal tin, which would be a great size for travel, but just looks like it would be finished in a couple of uses. But, a little goes a long way. The cleanser itself is quite waxy and once you pick the product up it warms in your hands and becomes an oil that feels lovely on the skin. It works really well to remove all makeup, including eye makeup and mascara.

The instructions say to rinse and even though it is oily, it rinses well, but I still prefer to use a cloth so that I am sure I don't leave behind any residue. It leaves the skin feeling clea, but not stripped, so I would say it is more suited to normal/dry skin types.

The Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter can be purchased from The Body Shop for £12.00 for 90ml.

Beauty Angel at Cucumba

What was a long, long time ago now I attended an event to discover Beauty Angel, a non-invasive light treatment that uses Energising Light Technology (ELT). Treatment with the Beauty Angel can be used to help with skin issues such as ageing, texture, tone and scarring by using a broad spectrum of light (not UV though) to generate stimulate the production of collagen and elastin.

On the night I had a 5 minute session under the light and I immediately knew that I wanted to come back for the full treatment.

The Beauty Angel has short-term and long-term results including:

• Increased moisture
• A more glowing complexion
• Refined pores and improved skin texture 
• Soft, supple skin
• Reduced small wrinkles on face and decollete 
• Age and pigment spots fade
• Reduction of swelling around the eyes 
• Replenished collagen and elastin in connective tissue
• Hair and nail growth
• Positive effects on bones and tendons

Under the machine the light gets very bright but not so much that it is painful or uncomfortable. It also generates a lot of heat, so it gets nice and warm and it is very easy at this point to imagine you are lying on a beach somewhere.

The machine is on a timer and automatically switches off after the 20 minute treatment time. At that point it becomes very dark until your eyes readjust!

Although I don’t notice any immediate effects, in fact I think my skin looks worse, the next day my skin looks clear and bright. 

I opt to have a mini 10 minute facial before the treatment, which includes cleansing, exfoliation and a face mask that is left on while you are under the light, which Beauty Angel say helps the product to work better.

But the great thing about the machine is that you can use it while wearing makeup so of you only have a short amount of time or want an appointment during your lunch break, this is perfect for that.

If you follow me on Twitter you will know that a few months ago I damaged my skin with a home treatment that resulted in quite a nasty scar and I decided to use the Beauty Angel to help get rid of that.

I've had four treatments so far and my scar has faded significantly. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures but after hearing what the machine could do my mum also started having treatments to correct some sun damage/pigmentation she has on her neck and I will have a post showing the results she achieves.

If you are planning on targeting a specific issue, Beauty Angel recommend regular treatments for a few months and top up appointments after that, but I think a session under the light is great for a skin boosting treat before a special event.

I have my treatments at Cucumba, a salon just off Oxford Street in London. The staff are really friendly, helpful and accommodating. At Cucumba a Beauty Angel treatment costs £23.50 and £33.50 with the mini facial.

Would you try energising light technology?

Quick review: Benefit POREfessional

After attending the Benefit event at the end of November last year, I was really glad to have received a porefessional in my goodie bag.

As the name suggests this product is meant to minimise pores — my major skin complaint — and to my  pleasant surprise, it does!

It is a beige coloured, silky/silicon feeling cream that spreads easily on the skin and immediately reduces the appearance of pores. It also gives a matt finish, so would be great for anyone with oily skin.

I apply a small amount to my nose and cheeks and then use the remaining residue on my fingers on my forehead and chin, a little goes a long way so I am expecting that it will last ages! It leaves my skin feeling really soft and smooth and acts as a great base for makeup but can also be used alone.

At £23.50 it is not cheap, but I have already purchased my own and Benefit are currently selling it in a set with Erase Paste and a sample size of Girl Meets Pearl for the same price — I am not sure if this is a permanent addition to the range so those of you who want to try take advantage of the set.

Quick review: ELF mineral blemish kit

After using the Bare Minerals night treatment and finding it to be nothing more than a good spot treatment I wanted to try out the ELF mineral blemish kit and see if this could be my dupe. The blemish kit contains 30% sulphur as its active ingredient which is meant to kill the bacteria on the skin.

In short I found this product to work okay, I ‘luckily’ had a small breakout just below my lip which gave me the perfect opportunity to test this. On the first night I applied it overnight and the spot was reduced by the morning. As the day went on though it seemed to ‘grow again’ and took me a few days for it to clear even though I was applying it every night. The skin around the spot did become a little dry and flaky which is common with sulphur containing products.

Although the colour is meant to be sheer, it is very shimmery which in my opinion makes it no good for use in the day. The colour is very light and doesn’t blend in well to the skin.

Everything else about the product is great, the packaging is sleek, the concealer concealer brush supplied works well in picking up the minerals and you get a generous amount of product for your money. That being said, I managed to pick this up in the 50% off promotion and I think £3 is a much more reasonable price for it than the normal £6.

I will continue to use this, as it does help somewhat although there are better products out there for the occasional blemish. It is definitely something I would not recommend to anyone with more severe acne or breakouts.

Blinc Resurf.a.stick Face Review

A lazy microexfoliator stick, designed for use once a week. The product claims to give skin a deep clean, removing dead skin, and reducing the appearance of fine lines, blemishes as well as evening out skin tone. I purchased mine on eBay for significantly cheaper than the £30 price tag, I have seen on the salonskincare website (which is the only UK stockist I have found after a quick google search).

I have a mixed opinion on this product, having now used it for a few months. I initially used once a week as recommended, and then every so often would increase that to twice a week, as and when I remembered/could be bothered. Although I have dry skin, I have never suffered too much from the effects of over exfoliation, feeling only that it was beneficial in helping me to get reduce/get rid of my scarring.

After wetting the stick, you gently press it to your face and in circular motions, work all over your face, pressing as hard or lightly as you feel comfortable with, for 1-2 minutes. At first the feel of the exfoliating crystals was a little odd in comparison to traditional exfoliating beads. You then rinse your face throughly, since I have found that if you do not, when you then go to moisturise you can still feel the small crystals on your face. Immediately after, as with most exfloiators, my skin felt smooth and looked clear. The product boast being a hydrating product, and this is very true, unlike other exfloiators, once you have rinsed, it feels as though there is a moisturing film left on your skin which is maintained.

In terms of the negaive aspects, as much as I like the convienience of using the product as a stick, I have found that a lot of product builds up around the edges, as if I am wearing the stick down more than I should. Considering the price, I do not like to feel like I am wasting anything! Another issue is that, over time, I do not feel the exfoliating effect as much as I initially did. Although I appreciate this may be down to the fact that I have got used to the sensation of the crystals. I wouldn’t say this one product has improved the condition of my skin overall, but it has certainly helped in preparing my skin as a good base for the other products I use.

Again as with most things for me the price is a down point, especially when I feel that there is wastage. I would purchase this again, hopefully finding another UK stockist on eBay or just waiting until I am employed and can afford it. There is also a body version, which is essentially just bigger to cover the bigger areas, and I would love to try this where I have scarring on my upper arms.

Soap and Glory Enormous Beauty Bundle First Thoughts

So if you do read my posts regularly you will know I ordered the Soap and Glory bundle from Boots at the weekend. For £40 this is excellent value for money and I was very excited to come home yesterday and find it waiting for me.

These are my first impressions.

First off, Boots, why the enormous box? After getting through that the products were all packaged in a smaller box. The packaging itself is beautiful. All pink and white based, with witty instructions and descriptions for each item. Although some of it is a little cheesy it is nice to see that effort and detail has been put into this. There were 10 products in total, 2 body, 2 cleansing, 3 face and 3

lip products.

The two products I am most excited about ‘No clogs allowed’ super self heated deep pore detox mask and ‘the fab pore’ 15 minute facial peel. I love anything related to unclogging/cleaning pores. I really liked heated masks and what appeals to me about this product is that it only recommends leaving it on for 3-5 minutes which is great for days when you need that deep clean and pick me up but don’t have time for a longer pampering session. ‘The fab pore’ is exactly for that longer pampering time. It contains my two favourite ingredients, koalin and salicylic acid, so helps to draw out impurities with the clay element and the salicylic acid helps the cells of the epidermis to shed more readily, opening clogged pores and also helping with preventing the pores to clog again by constricting them and of course allowing new cell growth.

I’m not going to talk about all the products in the bundle since I would like a chance to try and review them. I was however pleasantly surprised with the lip products. I am undecided as to whether or not I will use the lipgloss since I don’t have an issue with ‘skinny lips’ and I have read reviews and heard from friends that this actually works! The ‘mighty mouth’ lips kit, is what has sparked my interest the most. inside comes a conditioning lip gloss as well as a double-ended lip balm. One end is a standard lip balm, whilst the other contains, smoothing balm (pictured below) which they recommend is used at night ready for smooth lips in the morning. I am really looking forward to trying this out and think it may act as a contender for my blistex intensive lip moisturiser. Unfortunately I have no idea how to use the ‘marvelips’ (also pictured below) and the instructions do not make much sense to me. Equally, online reviews are mixed, so any one with any insight please let me know!)

I can’t wait to try all these goodies out, look out for plenty of reviews in the future.

If you are interested in purchasing a bundle yourself you will need to be quick since they are limited and one selection is already off the website.

How much is my face worth TAG!

Having seen this on Beauty Blogging Blondes site I was curious. I actually don’t wear a lot of makeup on a daily basis (foundation, concealer, bronzer), but I have included a full face out of interest. I have a horrible feeling it will be a lot more than I imagine!

Bella Pierre Mineral Foundation - £34

ELF studio concealer pencil - £3.50

Bourgeois Mineral Radiance Compact Powder - £9.49

Benefit Coralista Blush - £23.50

NYX One Night in Morroco pallete - £10.99

Market stall gel eyeliner :-s £5

Avon eyeliner pencil (which I don’t even like!) - £5

Mascara - Freebie :-)

ELF bare brown mineral lipstick £3.50

Grand total £ 94.98

Not sure how I feel about the total, it is more than I expected, there is a real mix of prices in the there with the blushes and the foundation increasing the total. I know I can easily find a cheaper blush alternatives but I don’t see myself switching foundation. Similarly to the Beauty Blogging Blonde, I haven’t included skin care which I know would bring this total up greatly since I spend more money on skin care than make up.

I tag all, please just leave me a link below!

The use of a little research…...

This was originally going to be a very different blog post, after a lovely trip into London to visit the V&A, I couldn’t resist having a look in Harrods. I love the food court and just the general feel of departments stores although I have never brought anything! Of course had a wonder around the beauty department and came across this product…..

Bliss: pore-fector gadget. The new must have gadget, using low level vibrations to ‘power-wash pores and eliminate impurities like dirt, oil and debris’. The proof apparently is in the toner which ‘goes on clear and looks cloudy after use’.

The results from testers seem very convincing:

100% felt the tool cleansed their pores

88% felt the tool left skin deeply cleansed and fresh

82% felt that their pores appeared less prominent

Now just for a bit of background, I have 4 skin issues I am trying to tackle

1- Dry skin

2- Breakouts

3- Scarring

4- Blackheads/clogged pores

So going just on advertising this seems perfect, of course there was no way I was going to hand over £127 without a little research. On my tube journey back I was pretty convinced that I would be purchasing this over the DermaNew Microdermabrasion kit (and I know I have mentioned how much I love microdermabrasion/exfoliation) since the bliss tool implies that it targets blogged pores specifically. The woman at the counter tested it on my hand and it didn’t feel too harsh although I can imagine that it could be if you pressed hard enough (which I am sure anyone with blocked pores probably would!) Something the sales woman said that did worry me though (which I haven’t seen recommended anywhere else) is that it can be used over spots to ’squeeze’ them out, that doesn’t seem like a good idea in terms of spreading bacteria and of course risk of scarring.

Anyway, having come home it’s only taken me about 10 minutes of searching two websites to decide I will not be purchasing this. Makeup alley is great for customer reviews of every beauty product you can think of, with an average score of 1.5 out of 5 and another blog where the tester didn’t notice anything other than the skin looking a bit more refined there was no way I was going to spend £127 on this. The DermaNew is in fact a lot cheaper and I imagine I will end up buying that.

I do love the combination of technology/science with beauty and healthcare and there are a lot of these tools which I and many others would highly rate, but as with all these things there are always ‘bandwagon’ items which come out. Additionally I am always on the hunt for a bargain, and this may seem in contradiction with some of the beauty items I will end up talking about, but the fact is, of course there is always a mark up and profit element to these things but particularly with these 'fusion tools’ (ooo I made up that term!) I can see the value in the theory and practical making of the science behind them.

So my conclusion is, always do your research. We have so much information out there available for us for anything and everything, so there is no place for impulse buying and believing in a sales pitch.