Face Mask Friday

I've been really getting into face masks lately, and have been having so much fun testing new ones, so I decided to make reviewing face masks a regular feature. Hopefully I 'll be able to try a new one every week :)

This week I managed to try out two.


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The first is Boot's Natural Collection Wild Strawberry Facemask


Price: £1.00 from Boots

Scent: I wasn't a big fan of this scent. It smelled a bit too artificial for me. With fruity masks, or any products in fact, artificial smells are a big pet hate for me. It smelt like a strawberry sweetie, which some people like, but it's just not my thing.

Application: It was a nice thick cream, plenty of it too, and it was easy to apply. Not overly sticky either.

Results: Afterwards my face felt really nice and refreshed. It didn't do anything amazing for my skin, but it felt like it cleaned my face pretty well.

Repurchase: Probably not. It's really the scent that put me off. It's pretty much a bog standard face mask and doesn't do anything amazing, but still left my skin feeling nice. I just think I can get other equally priced face masks that do the same thing but smell nicer.



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The other face mask I tried this week was Superdrug's Tea Tree Peel Off Face Mask


Price: 99p from Superdrug

Scent: When I was applying the mask, it smelt strongly of alcohol. It was not pleasant, and I seriously considered taking it off but after it started to dry the alcohol scent disappeared and it smelt of tea tree oil.

Application: Applying at first was a pain in the neck. It was a super sticky formula and was just really frustrating. However, when it was time to remove the mask it was amazing. I actually managed to peel it off all in one go which was fantastic.

Results: My skin felt really nice and clean afterwards, and I certainly think the tea tree oil helped my blemishes.

Repurchase: Perhaps. The alcohol scent and sticky formula are quite off putting but I liked the results and how easy it was to peel off. I think I'm going to try some other peel off masks first to compare.



Have you tried any of these masks? What masks have you been using this week? x

Soap and Glory Wish Upon A Jar Review

Today I'm going to be reviewing Soap and Glory's Wish Upon A Jar (Soap and Glory have the best product names don't you think?) which I've been using for the past few weeks now.

Wish


Wish upon a jar is a "21 day collagen overhaul cream" containing shea butter and anti-oxidants, amongst other things, which claims to boost moisture levels, smooth fine lines and wrinkles, brighten tired skin and hide flaws.

Wish


First of all, I really like the unique packaging. It's nice a durable (which was a relief to find out after I dropped it on the floor!) and it doesn't get finger-printey too easily, which would have bugged me if it did. Oh, and it's pretty.

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The cream itself is lovely. It's got this wonderful incredibly creamy texture and really feels luxurious when your putting it on your skin. It also smells beautifully creamy and faintly of Terry's Chocolate Orange. In other words, delicious.

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This cream is meant to be a 21 day treatment, used in place of your normal moisturisers both during the day and at night. Although at only 21 years of age, I can't really attest to it's claims of reducing fine lines and wrinkles, it certainly has improved the appearance of my skin.

First of all, my skin feels so much more moisturised now. It is a thick and nourishing cream, but I found that it sinks in fairly quickly and doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy.

I'd also say that my skin looks brighter, although that's such a hard thing to gauge, I believe it has helped. My skin certainly feels nicer anyway.

Verdict? I do really like this cream. I still feel a bit odd using such a rich cream as a day moisturiser so I think I'll be continuing using it as a night cream solely. It smells amazing, and feels luxurious, but at £15 it is quite a luxury for me. That being said, a little goes a long way with this and it is only intended to be used for 21 days every 3 or so months and so I feel I could maybe treat myself to this again in the future.

Have you tried this? What did you think? x

Help someone for free

Going to take a quick break from beauty related posts to introduce you to Kiva.



First up I feel the need to point out that this is not a sponsored post but simply a project which I feel is doing a lot of good in the world. Kiva is a non-profit organization which lets individuals lend out as little as $25 to struggling business owners in disadvantaged areas.

I won't babble on too much about it here, but if you'd like to find out more about the project then you can do so here or watch this video.



The reason I'm posting this is that right now Kiva are offering all new members a free $25 loan after signing up (you don't even need to provide your bank details) and it's the easiest thing in the world. Within seconds you are signed up and can browse all the people who are asking for loans and can choose where this money goes and what it is used for.

I, for example, chose to provide money for housing in Sierra Leone. There are so many people across the planet who could benefit from these loans, and this is such an easy way to help them.

If you are interested in participating then if you do so through this link not only will you get to choose where a free $25 loan goes to, but I will also receive $25 to loan out to someone else.

As much as I love talking about beauty products etc, I think it's important to support projects such as these and I hope you're as excited to participate in this as I am.

Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment

I know, I know, how late am I with this fad? In all honesty I did just think it was a fad, but as I was ordering some goodies from feelunique I impulsively added it to my cart. After all, it was less than a fiver and I am currently trying to be extra nice to my hair.

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Having read lots of review claiming it improves the condition of your hair whilst not weighing it down I was still dubious. My fine and thin (or thine as lush likes to call it) hair can't really handle much product at all, and it always seem counter intuitive for me to put oil ONTO my hair when I spend most of the time trying to keep oil out of it!

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised. Really surprised actually. I've been applying this to the ends of my damp, freshly-washed hair, and I've found it really makes a difference. Usually if I leave my hair to dry naturally my hair goes all frizzy and fuzzy and, without the use of straighteners, takes the best part of the day to settle down. Using the oil has made such an improvement without making my hair feel greasy, and I can even use it to tame flyaways when my hair is dry which is unheard of for me!

All in all, I'm a little bit in love and reckon this has become a staple in my haircare so will definitely be repurchasing. That being said, I've used this every time I've washed my hair for over a month now and I've hardly made a dent on this teeny tiny bottle so I can't imagine I'd need to repurchase it soon!

Might have to try out the rest of the Macadamia Healing Oil range, and have already been eyeing up the deep repair mask.

Happy Sunday! x

Boots/Superdrug/Sally's Haul

After giving myself a bit of a spending ban for a month or so I went on a little beauty bender last time I was in town and here's what I got to try out!

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Boots:

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Batiste Dry Shampoo in Tropical (the best scent!)
Aussie Miracle Moist Shampoo and Conditioner and 3 Minute Miracle (currently on offer for 3 for £10)



I remember using Aussie products many moons ago, the colour protect range I think, but can't really remember if I liked them that much or not. Recently I've been hearing so many good reviews on the miracle moist range I just had to pick it up. Boots currently have a 3 for £10 offer on Aussie haircare products so I thought a little 3 Minute Miracle couldn't hurt either!



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Boots Ingredients Coconut Body Oil (only £2.54!)
White Glo Toothpaste Coffee and Tea Drinkers Formula



I'm a big tea drinker and have been looking for a slightly stronger every day toothpaste at an affordable price. This was only £3.99 and came with a new toothbrush and everything so I thought I'd give it a go. I also couldn't resist the coconut body oil, I think I'm on a bit of a coconut kick at the moment, and I've instantly fallen in love with the stuff. It smells like real coconut milk and not nasty and artificial.



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S&G Wish Upon A Jar 21 day collagen treatment (£15)
S&G Fab Pore Facial Peel (£8) S&G Supereyes Supereyes Eye Cream (£9)


3 for 2 on Soap and Glory gets me every time! I just can't resist! I've been wanting to try these three products out for a while now, so reviews to come :)




Superdrug:

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Garnier Pure Sauna Face Mask £1.29
Tea Tree Peel Face Mask 89p
John Frieda Full Repair Deep Conditioner on offer for £5.99
Sleek Face Contour Kit in Light


The Sleek Contour kit has been on my wishlist for an age and a half and so I finally decided to treat myself to it! Plus I've always been intrigued by the John Frieda Full Repair range and am fast developing an obsession with hair masks, treatments and deep conditioners so I had to give this a go!



Sally's:

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Ion Intensive Drench treatment 84p
Ion Reconstructor treatment £1.24
Ion Hot Oil treatment £1.24
Argan Secret Miracle Masque £2.49
Osmo Intensive Deep Repair Mask £2.41


I did tell you I was developing an obsession with hair treatments! I rarely ever go into Sally's but I'm so glad I did and vow to visit more often. Basically I went around the whole (tiny) store and picked up every sachet and sample to try out. I love when shops, especially those that can be a little bit expensive, sell sachets and sample sizes. I'm particularly excited to try out the Argan Secret masque, looks interesting!


This shopping trip was from a couple weeks ago now (bad blogger!) but I've had a chance to use some of these products properly now so expect reviews soon! Also expect another beauty haul soon (yes, another, I'm ashamed!). Boots are currently offering 10 advantage points for every £1 this weekend so of course I made a massive online order. In my defense it was my way of treating myself after landing myself a job, so it's justified, right?

Embarrasing fact: So I'm probably the only one who does this, but I just can't help singing old Justin Timberlake songs to myself whenever I read/write the word "justified". Yes, that's weird. Let's move on.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Photo Catchup

It's the end of the week already, hard to believe actually. Strange how time flies when you're, well, not really doing anything at all. I did manage, however, to take some pictures of some things these past few weeks and so here they are.


the obligatory nail pictures




bedside table stash // MUA swatches
finally got my hands on this // made some (delicious) cookies




made a strab 'n' choc cake // my darling Lucy
she's too cute // deliciousness in the form of cinnamon rolls



Hope you've had a great week and an even better weekend.

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer Review on Fine Hair

Recently I've been on a bit of a mission to get my hair into the elusive state known as "good condition". At present I have a fair bit of trouble with frizziness, general lacklustreness and over processedness for lack of better words. The amount of products which claim to rid me of these pesky hair woes is, well, daunting. However, I have the added bonus (read: nightmare) of having incredibly fine hair which means that the majority of these products weigh my hair down and don't really help at all.

The blogger world has been abuzz for a while with the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer, the "intensive, super-moisturising pre-shampoo treatment for all hair types" claiming to add "elasticity, manageability, bounce and shine". Having never thought my hair lacked elasticity, or in fact having never considered the elasticity of my hair before (has anyone?), I thought that maybe this was the reason my hair was so blah. It wasn't the fact that it was repeatedly coloured and heat-styled that bit too often, it was that I didn't have... elasticity! Whatever that meant.

So I bought myself the little tube of miracle product (from feelunique.com if you are so inclined to do so yourself) and carefully read the instructions.

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For fine hair, it suggests that you apply the product sparingly through the mid lengths and end of your hair, cover with a plastic cap and leave on for 10-20 mins. Normally with intensive conditioners etc I am with the philosophy of "more is better" but with this I showed restraint and followed the instructions to a tee (to a tee or to a T? You know, I've never actually written the phrase down) even donning my large, comical duck shower cap (think part shower cap part duck stuffed toy, and I'll spare you the embarrassing pictures).

I'd read a lot of reviews of this product before purchasing and many people said that you don't even need to use conditioner after using this, alas, this was not the case with me. It felt as if the embarrassment of trotting about my house is a duck shower cap for twenty minutes was all for nothing as I rinsed it out and shampooed my hair. I did have to condition my hair afterwards, and after drying I have to say it felt no different. Very disappointing after having spent £12 on 75ml.

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I decided to try again the next night, this time throwing the instructions away and slathering the stuff all over my head and leaving it on for longer than the recommended 20 mins (over night in fact). At least this time I had some results, even though I still used conditioner after my shampooing. My hair was indeed soft, shiny maybe?, not incredibly so but there was a difference, however it did weigh my hair down somewhat and it felt like it needed a wash sooner than it would normally.

As the days go on, my hair still feels soft, softer in fact, which makes me think that it might do something to my hair in the long run if I do the overnight thing weeky or twice weekly. That being said, I doubt I'll be repurchasing it as I'm sure I can find similar results with much cheaper products (recommendations are always welcome!).

Hello Stranger!

Hello lovelies

First up, apologies for being away so long. I decided to take a wee break from blogging and being on the internet constantly but I really did miss this little blog so I'm back and you can expect regular posting to resume, well, now!

And as a little apology gift for you lovely readers (and new followers!) who are still around, keep your eyes peeled for a special giveaway soon!

As for the blog, I've got some product reviews to share with you and some hauls. But in addition to that I'm hoping to blog a bit more about lifestyle, baking, books, and all sorts for a little bit of variety!

Hope you've had a fabulous (and not too rainy) Summer so far, and I'll see you soon!

Lots of love xxx