Review - Yummy Strawberries: The Body Shop Strawberry Body Butter

This yummy butter has been in my body butter/cream collection since forever. It is truly amazing, on several occasions  I've had people wondering where that gorgeous smell of strawberries is coming from, and it's been me! :)

It costs £12.50 for 200ml at The Body Shop and currently they have an offer of "2 for £15" which means you save £10! If you are a member of their loyalty card club then that's another 10% off which is even better.

The colour of the butter itself is a lovely baby pink and the consistency is quite thick, once on your arm/leg/wherever it melts in smoothly as you rub it in. The smell is yummy - as mentioned before...and you smell like strawberries all day long. Although the concentration levels of the smell do decrease gradually throughout the day...It contains strawberry seed oil, cocoa and shea butter, increasing it's moisturising properties. The Body Shop say that it's for normal skin, but I think it'd be fine for dry skin or any other skin type too!

I'd like to share an experience where I've been the "smell of the ball"! I went out camping with my friends close to the countryside, as you know the hygiene facilities are disgusting and vile, so of course they were avoided at all costs. We were hiking along and someone spotted a much better set of showers and we all had a ball actually cleaning ourselves properly in maybe 2/3days. We then reached back to the campsite and as we were training for an award the examiner decided that we had visited a hotel because he could smell a strong strawberry scent! I then had to explain the reason I smelt the best - the body butter of course, and he was very hesistant to believe my story...although I did eventually get my award! Even though this little anecdote doesn't allow you to fully understand the amazing-ness of this butter, I highly recommend for you to try it out! :)

I don't really know what else to say about this butter, it's just amazing and definitely one of my many favourites. I want to venture out and try different flavours of it but I love this one too much!

Thank you so much for reading this post!

Beauty to Watch: September 2010

Hi!

Welcome to this feature of my blog which I will post at the beginning of each month, letting you know about 10 products I will (and you should! - if you want...) watch out for in the month of...and for this month it's September. It's not in any particular order of preference though!

1) Benefit's POREfessional pore minimiser

This is something I came across a while back online but didn't realise it would be out so soon, it is actually already available at Debenhams for £23.50, (but not yet at Boots).

WHAT IS IT?

Benefit have described this to be "A translucent, lightweight, silky primer that diffuses the appearance of pores and fine lines for an 'airbrushed' finish."

It can be used as a pore primer before makeup and for light touch-ups which should be handy. I have yet to buy and try this so cannot say whether it is worth trying or not.

2), 3), 4), 5) Revlon's Autumn Winter Range

OK so this is 4 different products that I think look interesting and I haven't rolled them into 1 otherwise I would be talking about 10 different ranges!

Eyeshadow quad in 'Silver Fox' £7.99 each

Revlon Superlustrous/Matte Lipsticks, £7.29 each

Nail enamel in 'Berry' and 'Emerald' £6.29 each

This isn't the entire range but a reasonable "swatch" of it, and it is available at Boots from now! I can't wait to try out the nail enamels...at the moment Boots have a "2 for £8" on the nail enamels and "2 for £12" on the eyeshadow quads and other selected Revlon. An even better reason to buy and try!

6) No7 Autumn Limited Edition Eye Palette

This is definitely a bold step from Boots, considering that this is an Autumn palette. With the weather becoming more and more dreary and miserable everyday, No7 have launched a "bright" eyeshadow palette.

From top left clockwise, "purple haze", "red lead", "chrome green" and "indigo blue".

Packaged in a lovely snakeskin textured compact

I think this is a very interesting launch as typically one would associate such vivid colours with summer, available only at Boots for a reasonable £10.50, equating to about £2.63 per shadow. Boots claim the shadows are very pigmented and soft so should be worth a buy.

7) Lady Million by Paco Rabanne

A new perfume by succeeding "One Million" for the man, now Paco Rabanne releases one for the woman.

8) Guilty by Gucci

A very seductive, sensual scent by Gucci for the woman...

9) Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in a TUBE!

Urban Decay have finally heard all their fans and put the primer potion in a tube. Yippee! :)

This equates to 150% of product and is available on their website.

10) Origins Zero Oil Anti-Blemish Range

This is the new range from Origins to help clear up blemishes and oily skin. Origins is known for its use of natural ingredients over synthetic ones or chemicals. I haven't tried this range yet, but would like to sometime in the future. Its selling point is that it does not contain any oil and is available at Boots.


That's all for this month and I hope you enjoyed reading this feature, I'm very excited about it and I hope it has been of some use to you. Please leave a comment if you have tried any of these products or even if you haven't!

And as always, thank you for reading!

Review: Glittery Bubbly "Sunny Side"

I think I've found the most amazing bubble bar ever...or even bubble bath ever! (For the moment at least) It's called "Sunny Side" and it's from Lush.

It costs £3.30 in the UK and $6.95 in the US, which isn't too bad but there are many more cheaper products available in other retailers. But aside from the price, I do think this bubble bar is amazing! It smells lovely, obviously I won't be able to send the smell virtually (even though I can't wait for that day...) and I don't think it's worth describing it as who knows what I'll come up with! But I'll tell you what's in it so maybe you'll have a rough idea but I do think all noses will love the smell.

OK FINE! Basically it's a citrus smell...I tried to make it sound more incredible but yep, citrus smell. Everyone will still love it though! :)

It is a round, golden soap-like "bar" with lots of edible glitter on it - but don't eat it...

So it has the following ingredients in it, which make it even more gorgeous;

• Sweet Wild Orange Oil
• Lemon Oil
• Tangerine Oil

All of these oils make the bath more moisturising but to be honest I don't think any bath/shower is very moisturising unless you're bathing with an oil/cream in it's natural form.

You place the bar underneath a running tap and crumble it with your hands, it feels very smooth and I enjoyed playing with it because it was so soft! It breaks and forms bubbles, bubbles and more bubbles. After you have the amount of water and bubbles you want, stand back to look at the water and it will have become golden and glittery. I thought this looked truly magical and couldn't wait to jump in!

The bubbles last for a very long time but bathing for as long as the bubbles last will transform you into a mermaid - fully.

It's an amazing, rich, gorgeously scented bubble bar and not just for bathing - I kept it in my wardrobe for fragrancing and even though I've used it now my wardrobe still smells of it.

I definitely recommend this bar, and I can almost guarantee everyone will love it.

Thank you for reading!

My August Favourites!

I thought I'd do a favourites blog because I love watching them on youtube! I'd also like to add that this will become a monthly feature on my blog and I hope you enjoy reading it :)

This month I have only had very few favourites because I haven't tried many new products that I absolutely love...I  also stopped taking care of myself for a period of time because I had the "I just cannot be bothered" phase...but don't worry I'm back to my usual self now!

1) Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in "Yeyo"

The reason I love love love this is because of the ease of application, the gorgeous colour, the simple-ness but fantastic effective qualities of the pencil. It's a shimmery white colour and looks very flattering on the eyes. I use it alone, I use it as an inner corner highlight, as a base, as an eyeshadow, on the entire waterline, only on the lashline, you name the use and I use it! £11 from Debenhams/Boots

2) Bourjois Kohl & Contour Eye Pencil in "Blue Virtuose"

This is an amazing shade of eyeliner especially on the lash line, however on the waterline it looks very similar to black unless you go over it about 4 times, which I don't want to do on my waterline all the time as it can cause infections and is very harsh for such as sensitive area of the eye. It is in my favourites because it's such a pretty colour and looks lovely on the eyes. £4.29 at Boots/Superdrug

3) Bobbi Brown blush in "Plum"

To read my post on this blush please Click Here

To be honest those are the 3 products I have used most this month and that I think are so lovely! :)

Thank you for reading!

(N.B I don't mention all retailers of prooducts because I'm not 100% sure if some stores sell them, as sometimes they are not listed on the internet)

Review: Gel or Cream?...Handcream?

This post is going to be about a confusing handcream, changing texture from a gel to a cream and then disappearing into your hands! The Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Handcream.

The feel of the handcream is that of "Vaseline" (an oily gel-like substance) and once rubbed together between hands changes into a cream. This then disappears very soon after another "rubbing" of hands and the effects are felt long after.

It retails for £3.49, and I got mine by using my advantage card points at Boots so was very happy with my "points purchase"! I must say it's very sad to watch the points go though...

Anyway, I think this handcream is a definite for dry hands as the effect lasts for a very long time, and over about a month I've noticed a softer feel on my hands and a lesser need to use it, however I still do try to use it often so the routine keeps going.

Overall I do think you should try it, and if you don't like it pass it on to one of your friends/family to try, it's a cheap product, works well, if you find you dislike it, move it on!

Thank you for reading my quick review :)

Review: Bobbi Brown Blush in "Plum" (05)

Hi! :)

This award-winning blush is by far my favourite at the moment, Bobbi Brown's in the plum shade! It's very pigmented and soft to touch (like the shadows) and also most importantly for me easy to apply and a lovely colour. If you wear moisturiser before your makeup goes on, the blush blends into the skin really well. Depending on how dark you want to wear the colour, you can control the sheer-ness or deepen the colour quite easily; as this is quite a bold vibrant colour I chose to keep mine sheer for fear of being classified a clown!

The packaging is very much the same as all of the other shadows and blushes in the Bobbi Brown range, very sleek looking and slim so fits in easily into your travel makeup bag and into your larger home collection too. The Bobbi Brown blushes are slightly more expensive than the shadows retailing at £16.50 in the UK, and $22 in the US. I would definitely recommend this blush as I have no complaints and I think it is a blush that will work with every skin tone, fair to dark, and you control how deep you'd like the colour to be so no issues there either!

I'm sorry if my reviews are short, and if there's anything you'd like me to talk about more, please comment and let me know.

Overall I think this blush is a must-have for all, but don't hold me to it if you don't like it! (I'm 99.9999% sure you will!)

Thank you for reading,

nav x

Review: Bobbi Brown eyeshadow in "Flint" (59)

Definitely a neutral brown colour and not as the website describes "a light grey brown", although you could say grey-brown, most definitely not a light colour! Retailing at £14.50 in the UK and $20 in the US it is most definitely over my regular make-up budget even if slightly.

The colour itself is a typical neutral colour, a regular shade of brown really, as you can see in the many pictures I've added. I tried swatching it on my fingertip then my hand but the colour didn't seem to show up very well in the pictures unfortunately. I've used it as a base eyeshadow and for the outer corner of my eye, and for those applications I've found it to work very well. I applied it with my fingertip and it seems to come off onto the eye well and stays put even without an eyeshadow primer. It didn't crease or become heavy on the eye and is pigmented enough for it to be very smooth on the eye as well as showing the colour well. This was one of my first purchases of Bobbi Brown makeup and I have to say I'm impressed.

I think this is a great basic eyeshadow to have and will come in handy for the autumn/winter months, unfortunately I can't offer a Mac dupe because I'm not familiar with their shadows as much!

Thank you for reading :)

Review: Lush "You've Been Mangoed" bath melt

So this is the first ever bath melt I've tried from Lush, and I wasn't too dissapointed. The only problem is that I wasn't amazed either, and I feel the melt should have been named something along the lines of "You've been lemon-ed"!

The bath melt cost £2.80/$5.95 and is available in 30g/1oz sizes, despite the reference to the mango, the melt smells of lemons, limes and oranges. As with all Lush products you are encouraged to use 1 item per bath/shower, however I split the melt into 2 so I could use it twice. The smell is gorgeous even though it's not like that of a mango, however once melted in the bath the bubbles stay for 5minutes then disappear into mysterious murky water created by the melt. I wouldn't say it's very moisturising either...unless you want it as a fragrance in your home I wouldn't spend my money on it.

Pros:

- smells nice

- small and cute product

- good for fragrancing room/wardrobe

- it's suitable for vegans

Cons:

- very small for such a price and only a 1 use product
- doesn't smell of mangoes as expected
- not super moisturising
- bubbles don't hold for very long
- end up with murky water once bubbles have gone

I'm not really sure what rating to give this product as I don't feel the great smell outweighs the negatives...that's why I've outlined the pros and cons so that you can decide for yourself :)

I'm giving it a 6/10 because it's not a terrible product, just not as expected. To try it for yourself you can visit any Lush store near you or order it online,

US: http://www.lushusa.com/shop/products/bath-shower/bath-melts/youve-been-mangoed
UK: http://www.lush.co.uk/products/bath/bath-melts/you've-been-mangoed_102.html
Other Countries: http://www.lush.com/

Thank you for reading :)

nav x

Review: Milani nail lacquer in 'pretty porcelain'

Summery, peach and gorgeous. What can this be I hear you cry?

Can only be Milani's nail lacquer! This shiny wonder was an accidental buy by a friend, she didn't like the polish once it was home and I saw my opportunity! It's a wonderful shade, very flattering I would think on all skin tones, and goes on quickly and smoothly. I also have less of an issue waiting for my nails to dry fully with this lacquer, as usually I still manage to get my fingerprints on other lacquers hours later!

I believe it to be the perfect peachy, coral colour for summer and makes your fingernails look lovely and - for want of a better word - perfect.

I do not remember the cost, but it was bought from Beauty Base, and I do not think it was very pricey...maybe £2-£3? I am aware that in the US they retail at $4.49.

I have not found any problems with it, the consistency is quite thin, I think that's what makes application of colour easier and drying time less.

I give 8/10 as it is very efficient for the price I (aka my friend!) paid. The reason I knocked off 2 marks is because I have better coloured nail lacquers and I don't feel this is the best nail lacquer, after all 10/10 is only for the very best!

Thank you for reading my post, please comment and let me know your opinion of Milani nail lacquers :)

nav x

Review: Clinique Take The Day Off Makeup Remover For Lids, Lashes and Lips

This is the first makeup remover I have ever tried and I have to say I really like it! It comes in a plastic bottle with Clinique written all over it - as one would expect, and is completely open when you take the lid off, which can be annoying because then you end up with too much liquid on the cotton pad. (Please bear in mind that my one is the 30ml sample size bottle.) It has two layers of liquid so be sure to shake it up before use. I have used it for about 3 weeks now but don't use it everyday as I don't wear makeup everyday, and some makeup (e.g lippy) wears off naturally so it's not needed.

So I wore a ton of makeup one day, 6 shadows, 2 mascaras, 3 eyeliners, 2 blushes, 1 highlighter, foundation, bronzer, powder and 4 different lip products, (please note I did not do that to myself, a lovely makeup artist did at the Bobbi Brown counter!)  I wore my makeup from 3pm to 3am the next day, and wearing lenses I was worried about my makeup being a drag to take off. I held the cotton pad with slightly too much remover on it for about 3 seconds on each eye and it worked amazingly when I wiped all of the gunk off! I was very impressed that there weren't any colour stains from the eyeshadows left on my eyes and all of the mascara was pretty much gone. It also felt very moisturising on my eyelashes which was really nice to have in a makeup remover as your eyes feel like they're being taken care of well. It didn't irritate my eyes or the skin around them at all, which is super for an eye product. I must mention at a point during removal my eye stung a bit but that may have been because I opened it too soon? Not sure on that...

Overall I give Clinique's makeup remover 7/10 due to the large opening at the top of the bottle, however if the full size (125ml/4.2oz retailing at £14/$17.50/20,10euros) bottle has a tiny hole for the liquid to be placed on the cotton accurately then I change my score to 8/10!

Thank you for reading :)

nav x

Review: Softlips Vitamin Enriched Lip Conditioner

Hi all!

I'm going to talk about Softlips lip conditioner today, which I have tried now for about 5 days I believe.

I bought this at Boots for £1.99 which is a relatively good price in my opinion. The packaging was nice, as shown in the picture on the right, but being a lip conditioner, I didn't really expect anything out of this world anyway! My softlips is not yellow-it's white, just to point that out!

So very simply, it does the job brilliantly, it glides on smoothly, even if you have incredibly dry lips like I seem to let mine become occasionally! It's creamy, smells amazing, and after a few hours you can still feel the moisture on your lips. I don't think I can compare it to anything just yet because in the recent past I haven't used any similar conditioner. It also has the added bonus of 4 different vitamins which is going to be beneficial for your lips too. Vitamins A, B2, C and E plus it also has SPF20!

I would give this a 10/10 also because the stick of product hasn't squashed into the lid or broken off or anything nasty like that. If any of those things do happen I'll be sure to let you know!

Thanks for reading!

nav x

Hi :)

Just a quick post to say hi! And also to try and work out how I'm supposed to use this blogger!

I can't wait to get started on reviewing everything and I hope you will follow, read and enjoy my blogs more than anything else.

Thank you,

nav x