Gosh Cosmetics A/W '13 Collection

This is the new collection from Gosh for AW'13, including a CC cream, BB powder, two new mascaras, nail polish, lip liners and smokey eye liners. There were also amazing creamy eyeliners and lipglosses with mirrors on the side so I snapped those too!

This collection is out 29th July and will be available in Superdrug. Please let me know if you'd like me to review something sooner!

Avon True Colour Collection 2013

This is Avon's True Colour collection developed with true colour technology, meaning that the colour seen is the colour that you get! This technology uses a transparent base which carries pigment to give a true vivid colour.

I haven't included any individual prices because everything else will be in upcoming reviews and posts, if there is anything in particular you'd like to know please leave me a comment below and I'll be happy to answer!

There are 17 eye palettes and 60 lip colours, prices starting at £6. It will be available from avonshop.co.uk.

The mascara in the last image was definitely at the centre of attention at the event, I was most intrigued by the new design and apparently it is the biggest change to mascara in over 50 years!

The collection is out 22nd August; I will be reviewing a lot of the products before the launch, please let me know if you'd like to see any reviews asap and I will try to get those up first.

Simply Argan Argan and Violet Infused Shampoo and Conditioner

This is a really lovely pair by Simply Argan for the hair costing either £11 each or £17 for the pair at 250ml each – current prices (on sale).

I’ve been using this set for about two months now and have loved using it, it is almost finished and I will be repurchasing (after all the other shampoo and conditioner sets have disappeared.)

The shampoo contains argan oil and vitamin E, the only not so great ingredient (that I’m aware of) is sodium laureth sulphate. I haven’t spotted any not so great ingredients in the conditioner though. The shampoo foams up wonderfully and seems to be quite gentle, both smell very luxurious too. The shampoo cleansed my hair very well and the conditioner adds moisture and detangles, they both feel very luxurious, almost comparable to Macademia Oil products, although not quite the same.

My hair is definitely softer, smells amazing, stays lovely and soft for a long period of time and I love that the conditioner detangles successfully! It also makes my hair shiny and lessens the natural frizz a bit.

Have you used any argan oil based products? What are your thoughts?

Long Time No See! & New Blog!

Sorry for my absence on blogger, I just don't seem to be able to blog regularly! This will definitely all change because I'm changing my blog, the name and the content.

My new blog will hopefully be appearing on your dashboards (my google reader still works :/) at the end of July! I'm really excited, I'll be writing about food, health, fitness, beauty and fashion, maybe slightly biased towards beauty but I'm not sure yet!

I feel a bit limited writing a beauty only blog and there are other topics I'm sure people would like to read about, especially health/fitness!

I'm also on a spending ban on all beauty products until the end of this year which began 1st July and I can happily say I haven't spent anything on beauty! I picked up some No7 wipes with the £5 off vouchers but I haven't counted those because I stock up every time the vouchers come out!

I have a few posts I'd like to get up before my blog changes so expect some beauty related posts soon!

Thanks for reading! :)

L'Occitane Immortelle Brightening Hand Care SPF20

I picked this up a little while ago at a stand alone L'Occitane store as the "brightening" and SPF20 appealed to me. The product has 75ml of hand cream for £19, and is available online and in their stores from what I can see, there is also an SPF15 version available on feelunique.

This contains chemical sunscreens from what I've managed to decipher and the directions for use are to apply 15 minutes before sun exposure to the back of the hands, I find this instruction to be really strange as I'd need the front of my hands to apply it to the backs... Unless I rubbed it in with the backs of my hands facing each other... They also suggest we use their Shea butter hand cream before using this, I didn't want to spend more so I stuck to just this and thought if required I could always use another hand cream I have at home.

The packaging is quite simple but their are hints of luxury visible too, the bottle shape is certainly very different and I really like that it is, the bottom of the cap is also engraved with the brand's logo. The cream itself is a basic white, quite light yet hydrating cream. I use it as I would a normal hand cream, none of this "backs of hands" stuff.

Here are the claims in shorter versions:

- Smoothes hands (Immortelle flower stimulates collagen production)

- Evens skintone, reduces appearance of age spots (includes Bellis perennis - daisy, which regulates melanin production)

- SPF20 broad spectrum protects against sun damage

There are also figures from testing on 34 women over 4 weeks so I decided to test this product for 4 weeks too. I started using it in early April and now it is early May and this is the only hand cream I have used during the day time, at night I've been using whichever one has been closest to me at the time!

It's very light, easily absorbed and doesn't leave white casts on the hands. It doesn't rub off or cause any stickiness or any other issues but does have a noticeable scent. I am yet to notice any brightness or evening of skintone but I will definitely keep using it as it seems like the best hand cream with sun protection I have found to date. I think I would prefer one with UVA protection included too but I do like this one.

Would I recommend?

Yes, it's a lightweight, travel-friendly, easily absorbed, functional hand cream. The price is a bit high but then it is from a higher end brand.

*L'Occitane are cruelty free from what I've understood from this statement although there is confusion online and they are not listed on BUAV's website*

Nuxe Rêve de Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm

This is Nuxe's cult favourite lip balm and I can confirm that it works brilliantly, I got mine, a 15g pot for £9.50 from Escentual. 

It contains nourishing ingredients like honey, plant oils, shea butter and grapefruit essence, it doesn't contain mineral oil or parabens and 79.5% of the ingredients are of natural origin. I bought this about five months ago and have been using it on and off ever since, it has a light grapefruit scent and a whipped texture, it is easy to pick up with your finger and apply, as you put it on it melts onto your lips adding moisture. It feels very rich and nourishing, even when a smaller amount is applied. Another reason it's great is because a light layer allows lipgloss or lipstick to be placed on top without either of them being ruined, although I would suggest a generous application and it is great as a night time lip balm.

I like the packaging, the only thing I would prefer if a tiny spatula came with it to scoop some product out each time, but then I suppose it wouldn't really be travel-friendly or suited to a handbag. I don't think the stick version would feel as luxurious but I dislike dipping fingers into pots.

Overall I love this lip balm, it works really well and it lasts a long time, the price is a bit high for a lip balm but I would say this would be a treat in your night routine. I do think this has become one of my favourite lip balms.

*Nuxe claim not to test on animals but an article I found here states that they do - on dead animals; they aren't listed on BUAV's website*

Have you found any lip balms worthy of becoming one of your favourites yet?

First Impressions: Ginvera Green Tea Exfoliating Marvel Gel

This is Ginvera's Green Tea Exfoliating Marvel Gel, I was lucky enough to receive two decent sized samples, (enough for 4 uses each) to review and give my opinion on. The full size is 60ml and retails for £22 here. 

This is an exfoliating gel wash designed for use daily, and I think it is gentle enough to be used on a daily basis, it is suitable for all skin types and the usage recommended to see a difference in your complexion is 30 days. It contains green tea essence - which is rich in antioxidants to help protect skin from the sun, soybean extract - with amino acids which have moisturising and illuminating properties, Vitamins C and E - revitilising skin cells, smoothing and clarifying skin and finally biogel - which breaks down skin care products into smaller molecules allowiing deeper penetration and absorption by skin cells. The gel aims to, stimulate skin metabolism resulting in younger skin, refining pores, fading pigmentation and scars, regulating oil secretion, preventing pimples, evening skintone and allowing rapid penetration of skincare products. (Please note the description has been taken from a Ginvera card received with the gel.)

I've used up both of the small samples, I chose to use it in the mornings for the first tube and in the evening for the second tube. The directions are to use this on dry skin with dry hands, it comes out as a light slime green shade and when rubbed on the skin turns into a white thin liquid, after continued rubbing small flakes form, and this Ginvera say is all the dead skin being removed from the top layers of skin.

On occasions when I used it in the evening, twice it just absorbed into my skin, no flaking or anything just absorption, this I believe was because I'd used a moisturiser with sunscreen on my face and it probably just got drawn into it, although I would have thought it would just behave normally and take everything off, it didn't so I just used a regular face wash.

I did enjoy using this product, although I can't say whether it is effective in the long run with regards to all the claims, my skin did feel very clean and the scent is pleasant, it was also interesting to see the bits of skin flaking off.

I think I would purchase a full size but it does concern me that it was drawn in to the moisturisers with sunscreen in them, although I could just use it in the mornings... I did enjoy using the samples, my skin felt much softer and smoother after using the gel and products definitely seemed to absorb better.

Please be aware this is only a first impressions post and not an entire review as I have not used the product for long enough!

Have you tried this gel? What did you think?