Botanicals Organic Beauty Try Me Set

 

Botanicals Organic Beauty Try Me Set.

 

 

In the organic beauty world, September is hosting a wealth of events to promote organic products. This wonderful idea has been put together by the lovely people at The Soil Association. For full details have a look at their website.  I am sure you will find some fantastic things happening near you. http://www.soilassociation.org/smallchangesbigdifference/organicbeautyweekend

 

Whilst I was snooping through their website I came across a company called Botanicals and saw they were a having a rather impressive special offer. Their Botanicals Organic Beauty Try Me set was half price at £6. It also a voucher included for £5 off future purchases (not including gift sets) which is valid until 30th September 2013.

 

I do like a try me set, so I promptly ordered and it was with me in 48 hours. As you can see I received a beautifully presented little box of treats. The set contains a 5ml bottle of Rose & Camellia Facial Oil, 5g pots each of Rose & Camellia Deep Cleansing Melt, Chamomile & Mandarin Cleanser, Lavender Hand & Body Balm, and Rose & Camellia Body Lotion. I haven't had chance to test them fully so will review them properly at a later date. I did try the facial oil last night and it felt wonderfully silky - I think this will be an absolute star over Winter. I also used the body lotion this morning and am really impressed with how little product I needed to use. My skin feels lovely and soft, and it has such a lovely subtle fragrance. Come payday I think I will be using my voucher against a full size bottle of the facial oil.

 

Botanicals produce all their products in small batches, using only carefully selected, natural and organic ingredients. Their products are lovingly made by hand, and because they carry The Soil Associaton logo you can be 100% confident that you are buying a genuine organic product. Looking through their comprehensive range of products, they seem to be very well priced for handmade organic products. I also like the fact that the company is based fairly locally to me. I am really pleased to find such a lovely company on my doorstep. If you like organic products Botanicals are definitely worth looking at - you won't be disappointed.

 

http://www.botanicals.co.uk/

 

 

 

Melvita Milky Cleansing Oil.

 

Melvita Milky Cleansing Oil. 

 

 

A little while ago I had a sample of Melvita's Milky Cleansing Oil come in a Beauteco box. Now that I have had chance to use it. I thought I would share my thoughts on it with you.

 

Melvita Milky Cleansing Oil is a natural and organic cosmetic as certified by Ecocert Greenlife. It is free of preservatives and formulated with 100% organic plant oils. More impressively 100% of it's ingredients are sourced from natural origin and a massive 85% of those ingredients come from organic farming - how many brands can say that? If you like organic products, this really is something that is well worth trying. 

 

This beautiful cleansing oil includes safflower seed oil, hazel seed oil, apricot kernel oil, jojoba seed oil, sunflower seed oil amongst it's ingredients. These oils are renowned for their moisturing and skin conditioning properties, and make this a really luxurious product to use.

 

To use this this cleanser, you massage a little (and you really do only need a little) into the skin and then rinse it off. I use a flannel, but you could just rinse it off or use a muslin cloth. When water is applied the oil then turns into a milky lotion (hence the name). This smells beautiful too. It is very effective at removing most make up - waterproof mascara was a little more tricky, but it did come off.

 

Within only a few days I knew this product was a winner. I am at a stage in my life where my skin is clear, so what I really want from a product is something to make my skin pop. Melvita Milky Cleansing Oil certainly does that. My skin just looks so much healthier and it feels so pampered after using this. It has considerably reduced the size of some pesky open pores I had. I really am bowled over by how good this product is. It really is like having a high end facial treatment. Now that I am down to my last dregs I am rationing it. Once I have used up a little more of my stash of products I will defenitley be buying the full size. Melvita is defenitely a brand worth trying.

Collection Work the Colour Eyeshadow Pencil

 

   Collection Work the Colour Eyeshadow Pencil.

 

 

Whilst doing yet another browsing session in Boots, I spotted these eyeshadow pencils by Collection were on offer at £2.50 each, and thought it would be rude not to give them a go. The shades that I chose were Vintage Blush (pink) and Hot Chocolate (Brown). Collection say that these are both waterproof and longlasting. The packaging has a sleek vintage feel to it, making it appear to be a much more expensive product than it actually is.

 

 

As you can see from the swatches they are really well pigmented, and I can happily confirm they do not budge at all once they are on. Hot chocolate is such a rich colour, and Vintage Blush is a pretty natural colour. There is none of the fallout you might get with a powder, and it does not transfer or smudge if you accidentally catch your eyes. You definetely need a good make up remover to take these off.

 

What I really like about these pencils is that the nib is thinner than some of the other eyeshadow pencils I have seen. I find these much easier to apply and give a much more precise application. I think that these are an absolutely fantastic products and will certainly get a lot of use out of them. Amazing staying power, good pigmentation and such value for money. What's not to love?

Dr Renaud Raspberry Cleansing Water

 

Dr Renaud Raspberry Cleansing Water.

 

 

Like many of you I have amassed a huge amount of products and samples and I am steadily working my way through them. I feel I need to use up more of the things I aready have before I can justify buying more. That's the theory, but in practice it's so easy to be tempted when there are gorgeous new products being released all the time.

 

Dr Renaud has been hiding in the bottom of my skin care box for quite a while. This cleansing water is actually a micellair water and is marketed as a product which removes make up, and cleanses and tones in one. The bottle says it is part of the hydrating care range.

 

 The brand Docteur Renaud was orinally founded in 1947. It is now part of the Nuxe Group, which own impressive brands such as Nuxe and Bio Beauté.  It's products are made with active ingredients taken from fruits, vegetables and flowers. The raspberry has been chosen because of it's refreshing and moisturising properties. Dr Renaud state that this is a gentle cleanser which preserves the  hydrolipidic film (the skin's natural protective barrier which maintains moisture and suppleness and prevents entry of germs, etc). It contains hyaluronic acid for it's ability to bind moistue and maintain elasticity. It is also alcohol free. I must point out that this does actually contain parabens.

 

So what do I think? This smells lovely, and has been really cooling in Summer. It reminds me of those pink refresher sweets. It is fantastic at removing eye make up. It easily removed a clinique waterproof mascara that my Bioderma struggles with, so for that I am pleased with this product. However on my skin I find it too drying to use alone (for reference my skin does tend to air on the dry side), so have been using it after a cleanser. As this is marketed as hydrating care, and given the ingredients I was a little disappointed with that. I think that if you have oily skin however it will probably suit you perfectly.

 

I have enjoyed using this, as it is quite refreshing. It sells for £15.95 for 250mls and is available from http://doctor-renaud.co.uk/hydrating_2.html

 

August 2013 Empties.

 

August 2013 Empties.

 

I really can't believe how fast this year is flying by. That's August done and dusted. The school holidays are almost gone and the kids will be back to school again. Here are the products I have used up this month. As you can see I have an awful lot of samples that I really want to get used up. I have split my empties into face, body and hair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A sample of REN Vita-Mineral Day Cream (10ml). This was a freebie with one of the magazines last month and I really enjoyed using this. It's very light, but very moisturising. I am really looking forward to exploring more REN products as I think they do some amazing products.

 

Sarah Chapman Skinesis Intense Hydrating Booster (5ml). This came in a recent Glossybox (before I had a strop and cancelled my subscription). This is defenitely one of the best samples I have had in my Glossyboxes. I really enjoyed using this serum. I found that I only needed a little so this sample lasted ages. Much as I liked this I probably won't buy it as I still prefer my Genifique.

 

Dr Braagi Age Management Moisturiser (5ml). Defenitely won't be buying this as the full size costs £120. It felt really sticky and I am afraid I just couldn't take to it.

 

 

VitaBella Anti Ageing Face Mask (bottle does one mask) came from July's BirchBox and I loved this face mask. It really left my skin glowing, it's just very expensive. One to put on the Christmas wish list as I would really love to use it again

 

Estee Lauder Perfectly Clean Splash Away Foaming Cleanser (125mls) I like this a lot. I know foaming cleansers get a bad press these days, but I really do like it. Very effective cleanser and doesn't feel drying on my skin. I will buy this again, but will wait until the next gift with purchase in Boots.

 

Fairy Lashes Mascara by Jelly Pong Pong (full size). This was another fantastic product from Glossybox. I really enjoyed using this mascara. It gave fantastic length and volume and didn't budge at all. However, this dried up after only 3 months. Considering that it sells for about £16 I expected to get considerably more use from it and for that reason I won't buy it again. Shame, as I had such high hopes for this.

 

 

 

L'occitane A L'Huille Essentielle Et Eau D'Angelique Bio (15ml). Despite the name being a right mouthful, this is one of the nicest moisturisers I have used. I won't ramble on too much as I reviewed it fully earlier in the month, but this is definetely on my wish list.

 

Clarins Extra-Firming Night Cream (30ml). Clarins skin care is just fantastic and this is an old favourite. Will definetely buy this again once I have got through my stash of samples.

 

 

 

Moving on to body care. Soap&Glory Sugar Crush Fresh & Foamy body wash (full size). Who doesn't love Soap&Glory? Lovely fresh citrus smell, lasts for ages, it's worth every penny. Will defenitely buy again.

 

Balance Me Super Toning Body Wash (100ml). Again this was another freebie from a magazine. This smells absolutely gorgeous and I really loved using this. Balance Me is another brand I want to explore further and have my eye on another of their body washes.

 

 

More Clarins skin care. I have mentioned the hand cream in a previous empties post so I won't dwell on it, but if it features in two posts you can tell I really like it.

 

Clarins Moisture-Rich Body Lotion (100ml) is such a lovely product. Ever so rich, feels very luxurious and I love the smell of it. Will buy again.

 

Anatomicals Don't Just Clean It Woman, Scrub It (200ml, full size). This came with a Beauteco Box a while ago. It smells lovely, it foams well (I wasn't expecting that) and is affordable too. Not as good as Soap&Glory, so I wont't buy it again for that reason. It is still a really nice product though.

 

 

Lastly the hair care. I reviewed the Dove Damage Solutions Intensive Repair Shampoo and Conditioner in previous posts, so I won't witter on. I think they are really good products, especially considering the price of them and will defenitely buy them again.

 

 

L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil (100ml) is another product I have already reviewed. This has taken me almost a year to finish off. I think it is really good value for money and it has done wonders for my hair. After a year of using something, I am ready for a change, but I will come back to this again.

 

Gielly Green Classic Shampoo (50ml) came in an Amarya box. This smells absolutely delicious, leaves my hair really shiny and more manageable. I am really sad to have used this up. This isn't a cheap product to repurchase, but it is defenitely going on the wish list. 

Bourjois Pastel Mania Mini Nail Enamels.

 

Bourjois Pastel Mania Mini Nail Enamels.

 

 

Here is the second set of Bourjois Mini Nail Enamels I bought from fragrance direct. This is the lovely Pastel Mania. As I said in my last post these were priced at £6,99 each. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance te wear them yet. Work always spoils play doesn't it? I have swatched them onto a colour wheel to show what they look like. 

 

 

Again these nail enamel mini's dont' have names, but are numbered instead. So left to right in same order as the wheel ;- 68, 77, 80, 76, 83, 84. I think I actually prefer this set to the brights, with the exception of the khaki. Can you tell green isn't my colour? I am really pleased with these nail enamel sets, I think they both contain really pretty shades that would suit most skin tones.

 

REN Satin Perfection BB Cream.

   

 REN Satin Perfection BB Cream.

 

 

 

A little while ago I was luck enough to get a sample of REN'S Satin Perfection BB Cream in my Love Lula beauty box (was Amarya) at the time. Here is the box it came in, if you are interested http://silvermachine78.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/june-2013-amarya-box.html Love Lula are well worth investigating if you like natural products, and I have not been disappointed with anything I have recieved from them yet.

 

REN was launched in 2000 and has established itself as a cult favourite amongst beauty editors and consumers alike, and for good reason. There is many a good review to be found on YouTube and in beauty blogs. REN contains only 100% plant and mineral derived actives, and is free from synthetic fragrance, mineral oil, petrolatum, sulfate detergents, synthetic colours, animal ingredients and parabens. The quality of their products is outstanding.

 

REN Satin Perfection BB Cream is silicone free, and has colour adaptive technology. It is able to adjust to a wide range of skin tones, whilst providing flawless coverage. It provides SPF (Factor 15)and tones, firms, and has an anti-ageing effect (should you want it).

 

The shade I got in my beauty box was light to medium, which is the perfect shade for me. I have swatched on my wrist on an area which is still recovering from a reaction to washing up gloves, hence the redness.

 

 

  REN Satin Perfection BB Cream adapts to the skin, it really does even out the skintone. The redness on my wrist is considerably improved and it feels comfortable on the skin. It is just feather light. I feel like my skin can still breathe when I am wearing this.

 

This BB cream really does give a beautiful finish to your skin. It manages to give good coverage without looking as though you are wearing a tonne of makeup. I have some lovely compliments whilst wearing this. Infact, a lady from the Dior counter tol me I had beautiful skin and was very impressed when I told her what I had on my skin. I have also been very pleased with the wear time, it really does stay fresh looking until I am ready to take my makeup off.

 

I will most definetely be buying this when I have finished my sample. It really is a fantastic product. The full size 50ml is currently priced at £26 and can be bought from  http://www.renskincare.com/p/3609/Satin+Perfection+BB+Cream

 

If you wanted to try the 15ml sample size it is currently priced at £7.80 and is available from https://www.lovelula.com/products/ren-satin-perfection-bb-cream-15ml-1