Sample Sunday – Rituals Awareness Night Cream

The box of samples is starting to look a little less full which can only be a good thing. I had three sachets of this ‘intensive regenerating treatment’ which I smooshed into a sample jar. I got 6 days use out of it and whilst that isn’t long enough to really judge a skin care product it is long enough to see how my fussy skin will react. Generally if a fragrance is going to cause a reaction it will react within 3-4 days. According to the site this is full of all sort of lovely things:

• “The ingredients Squalana & Vitamin E restore and repair your skin’s moisture balance
• Vitamin F & Glycoproteins have anti-aging properties
• Natural Kombuchka makes your skin smoother and reduces blemishes
• Contains anti-oxidants
• This intensive regenerating treatment is specially developed for all skin type
• Dermatologically tested”
“Rituals has developed Awareness night cream: a wonderfully nourishing and restorative cream.
Ingredients include Kombuchka, which is a tea made from fermented yeast enzyme. The ancient Chinese referred to it as the 'Prescription for Immortality'. In other words, an ultra healthy and excellent ingredient, and one that helps create healthy, smooth and glowing skin. Add the nourishing properties and relaxing scent of creamy-soft Rice Milk and sweet dreams while your skin renews itself! “

Recently my skin, which is normally combination with an oily nose and very dry elsewhere, has reached whole new levels of awkward. My nose still looks like a chip pan. Everywhere else stubborn dry flakes have appeared and even more bizarrely I have broken out in what appears to be acne around my mouth. I have NEVER had acne. I suspect a primer I’m trying to use up is to blame so I’m going to go makeup free for a few days and see if it goes. Anyway my current night cream isn’t cutting it so I’ve been trying these samples and I have to say I’m impressed.

There is a very faint fragrance but it isn’t overpowering and my skin is tolerating it well. The texture is very thick. It certainly feels like a rich night cream and is rather luxurious to apply. It managed to be thick without being greasy. It sinks in within 30 minutes and rather strangley leaves my skin feeling like is has a primer on it. Not a greasy silicone primer, it just feels softer and smoother. As I said I need to try skipping the primer that I think is breaking me out so I don’t know if I believe the anti blemish claims just yet. After just a couple of uses my skin did feel less tight and the flakies are disappearing.

So far so good, a moisturiser rich enough for my dry bits without over exacerbating the oily nose. At £25.50 for 50ml from their site it is more than a little pricey but even so I think I’ll be picking it up next winter (I have too many other moisturisers to finish at the moment and it might be a touch heavy for my skin in summer). You can purchase it on the rituals website here xxx

*I received these samples with a purchase from their Heathrow shop*

Rituals Transparent Loose Face Powder

I’m going through a bit of a loose powder phase at the moment. I used to hate them but somehow the little tub of powder with kabuki brush next to it just looks right on my dressing table. I’ve been using loose powder for a while now to set my makeup in the morning then carrying round pressed powder for touch ups.  I picked this up at Heathrow but you can also check out their website. You get 12g of product for £15.90.

The packaging is a nice, sturdy plastic jar complete with mirror, sifter and powder puff. Personally I don’t like using the puffs but if you do then it’s nice to have. As far as I know it only comes in one shade – transparent. This is a mixed blessing. It’s a pale flesh colour in the pot and does blend away on the back of my hand to nothing. This may be a good option for those of you who find the ELF HD powder looks ashy as it isn’t stark white. On my face though it does sometimes appear to oxidise slightly on my most oily days. It isn’t extreme tango face but it is a little bit annoying. For this reason I probably won’t wear this much over winter but I’ll be very happy to use it next spring/ summer. 

The powder is very soft and finely milled. It takes very little effort to buff it into the skin and does a fab  job of setting my foundation. I haven’t noticed any extreme oil controlling properties but I suppose it doesn’t promise any. As with most loose powders you need very little so it will last you a very long time.

I do like this but I don’t think I’ll repurchase when it eventually runs out simply because I’m so pale. I’m better off with one of those stark white powders that most complain about :p x

*I bought this myself*

Rituals Sundance Pink Shimmer Compact. A Multi Tasking Marvel!

Living several hundred miles away from the nearest Rituals shop I honestly hadn’t heard of the brand before spotting them in Heathrow duty free. I think I’ve been missing out! Honestly this is my new favourite highlight. Look at the pretty!

Rituals put a lot of stock in the theory that different gemstones can benefit you in different ways. Whether you subscribe to the theory or not the results of their methods are some outstanding cosmetics. This particular item is infused with Amethyst with an aim to leave you not just pretty but relaxed etc...

£22.90 (I paid a little less in the duty free) gets you a heavy duty compact with a good sized mirror containing 5 shimmery shades. Heavily swatched they are useful as eyeshadows individually. And they are very pretty used this way. They are finely milled and easy to work with though you may need to layer to get the desired intensity. My favourite way to use this though is all swirled together as a gorgeous cheek highlight. It leaves such a delicate pale sheen. So much subtler than any MAC MSF with no glitter at all. Just a beautiful cool pink glow. I squealed when I first used it. 

These are sold online in the UK and I believe they have shops in London. I’ve been trying their loose setting powder, review to follow shortly, with great success so I’ve been dropping hints about Christmas left right and centre. Personally I love it! X

*I bought this myself*

Sample Sunday – Rituals Magic Touch Body Cream

I go through body lotion like no tomorrow. The skin on my body tends to go all scaly and uncomfortable at the slightest provocation. That being said I don’t want to be standing around all cold and drafty waiting for a rich sticky lotion to sink in enough for me to get dressed. So I want an ultra rich lotion that is super moisturising but instantly disappears into the skin. And when you’re done on that miracle some water into wine would be just lovely. 

This is a very, very thick cream. So much so that I thought it was going to be a pain to spread over the skin but it melts very quickly with the heat of your hands and actually spreads pretty well. It has a faint fruity cherry scent which was inoffensive and not too obvious after a little while. I like this as I want to smell like my perfume, not my body lotion. 

It actually wasn’t sticky at all. After a minute or two it had completely sunk in leaving my skin infinitely less tight and scaly than it was before. There are only two down sides. For a start the full size 200ml pot is in, well, a pot. Not the best for hygiene. Secondly it costs £13.50 and given its limited availability in the UK (I know there is a counter in Edinburgh and I think John Lewis might stock it?) you might have to factor in postage too. 

Would I buy the full size? If I found myself at a counter and I was feel flush I would be very tempted. It is a lovely product. It’s just a little too pricey for me to actively go looking for it x

*Samples received as part of a gift with purchase*

Collection Overview – Highlighters

Erm, how did I acquire so many of these? Honestly I have no idea. I do know it’s too many for me to go into too much detail in this collection but if you have a look at the tags on the right hand side chances are you will find reviews for all of these if you need more info (reviews on the Sleek Contour kit and Benefit High Beam are in the works). 

From MAC I have (Clockwise from top left) By Candlelight MSF, Petticoat MSF, Truth & Light Magically Cool Liquid Powder (in Venomous Villains packaging), Belightful Iridescent pressed powder (in Fafi packaging). The swatches are in the same order. 

My only liquid highlighters are Benefit Moonbeam (left) and Highbeam (the little sample from Glamour magazine). Again swatches are in the same order. 

The 17 blush/ highlighter duo is called Peaches & Cream. On the right is NARS Honeylust. Swatches are in the same order. 

Finally I have (clockwise from top left) Rituals Cheek & Eye glow in Pink, ELF Gotta Glow, the highlight side from the Sleek Contour kit and Lancôme Blush Subtil in Highlighting Or 00. For some reason I swatched them from left to right Rituals, ELF, Lancôme, Sleek. 

My favourites are the Lancôme, Rituals, By Candlelight MSF and ELF Gotta Glow. I could probably live without the Belightful pressed powder and the Magically Cool Liquid powder. Petticoat MSF and the Rituals Pink and perfect compliments for cooler toned pink blushes. 

Do let me know if these collection overviews are of any interest to you. Is there anything you would like to see in particular? Let me know in the comments! X

*All bought by me. My poor bank account*

Rituals Gemstone Compact Powder

I’m always on the hunt for a ‘holy grail’ compact powder to keep my epically shiny nose matte during the day. Typically I blot and powder 3-4 times a day (and yes the rest of my face is still dry and flaky. My skin is teh aswesomz). I was given this from my husband for Christmas who gets full marks for remembering my enthusiasm for Rituals after I discovered them in Heathrow.

I love the packaging. It's a sleek black plastic with a good sized mirror. It feels hefty and well made. You get a little powder puff with it but I prefer my retractable kabuki. The box it comes in mentions all sorts about amethyst doing wonders (not sure about this myself) but for me the most important claims are from the site:

• “Ultra light, natural compact powder for a radiant and even skin
• Gives a naturally even result and keeps the skin perfectly matte
• Enriched with the ancient gemstone Amethyst for inner peace and creativity, relaxes the skin and makes it smooth and supple
• Mild formula: natural gemstones - no talc - no parabens - no perfume
• Feels sensationally soft on the skin
• Dermatologically tested”

Nothing nasty in it to irritate the skin and promises to prevent shine? Yes please! The powder looks lovely with Rituals embossed in it. The first thing I  noticed was how soft it is. The aforementioned kabuki is very dense so this kicks up a lot of powder and can be a little messy. The trade of is that is glides beautifully onto the skin. I find it actually quite high coverage for a blotting powder and it does a good job of helping disguise any patches where my foundation has melted off without looking cakey. It works very well on my pale skin and doesn’t oxidise at all on me. This might mean it won’t work as well on darker skin tones though.

This really does a fab job of controlling oil. It leaves a lovely soft matte finish and I don’t need to powder again for at least 3 hours which is very good going for me. I really do like this apart from two tiny little niggles. The mess and the fact that you only get 8g of product. I can see myself using this up very quickly! You can find it online here for £16.90 xx