The Body Shop Satsuma Body Polish

I’m a huge exfoliator junky thanks my scaly dry skin on my body. I use a body exfoliator at least once a week in the shower and have tried a few. A couple of months ago I had a £5 voucher for The Body Shop and decided to put it towards this scrub, unfortunately I think it would have been better spent on something else. Me no likey...

This costs £9 for 200ml which isn’t actually a bad price (although you can buy similar products for much less elsewhere!). The scent is a strange one. It is very, very strong and I veer wildly from loving it one day to it making me feel sick the next. It is exceptionally sweet smelling, more like Satsuma’s soaked in syrup than a fresh fruity smell. Definitely sniff before you buy. Annoyingly for me the scent tends to hang around on the skin as well. I prefer my bath products to smell great at the time then to disappear so that I can smell of my perfume and nothing else. Just a personal preference.

I could forgive it the strange scent if it actually worked but sadly no luck on that front either. The loofah particles and crushed walnut scrubby bits are very sparse. I like my scrubs to be really, well, scrubby. When I use this I don’t notice any difference in my skin. It just isn’t harsh enough for me in that respect. However the high fragrance content is harsh and the formula itself does dry my skin out somewhat.

If you love fruity scents and tend to prefer very gentle scrubs this might be for you but for me it’s a definite no x
*Bought by me*

Finished!

I like the last post I did on items that I’ve finished recently. I think it’s useful to look back at a product, even if it’s already been reviewed by me, and ask myself whether I miss it enough to repurchase now that it’s gone. I may love or hate a product after the first few uses but by the end of a bottle/packet/pan you have a much better sense of it. Here are our goodbyes this month: (ones with a * have been reviewed here fully)

Simple Eye Makeup Remover * :
No no no no. I will not be repurchasing. I love many Simple products. This is not one of them. It stung the skin underneath my eyes and did not do a good job of removing waterproof mascara.

Lancôme Bi Facil Eye Makeup Remover * :
Love it! I will repurchase one day but not today. At just under £20 a bottle it’s just too pricey for me. This little sample lasted me a good long while though.

The Body Shop Mango Body Butter:
Mmmm this smelt so good. It was a rich, moisturising treat post bath. The cream is insanely thick and I found it to be very moisturising. I have another body butter on the go right now!

Simple Radiance Brightening Moisturiser SPF10 * :
I really liked this. It was a good, fairly light daytime moisturiser. The SPF could do with being a bit higher but at least it has some in it. It’s super cheap too. I’d be quite happy to repurchase this in future.

Garnier Makeup Remover Wipes * :
I hated these. They did a pretty shoddy job of removing my makeup and pulled at my skin whilst doing it. I won’t be repurchasing.

MAC Brush Cleanser:
The remnants of this are in a spray bottle but I need to pick up another ASAP (and will be back to MAC-ing the bottle once I have 5 more empties!). I love this stuff, I just wish they’d put a damn spray on it.

Boot Vitamin E Night Cream * :
I really liked this too actually and for less than a fiver I’ll be picking some more up in future. I’m currently trying a couple of other things though and when I was last in Boots they were sold out! Evidently I’m not the only one who likes this beauty bargain!

Lush Bubble Gum Lip Scrub * :
No I didn’t use this up. It exploded in my travel makeup bag whilst on a business trip. It took me 20 minutes to clean sugar out of my eyelash curlers... This was always the problem with this product though. It does a fantastic job for a reasonable price but it’s as messy as a toddler with a paint can. For this reason I won’t be repurchasing which means I’m on the hunt for a new lip scrub. Any suggestions?

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder:
Ah my dear, we knew it had to end one day. This thing is so old it’s in the old packaging and all the type has faded off. Look!

I really liked this stuff. I go through a lot of powder in an effort to keep my nose none shiny and this has been an invaluable companion in that quest. The Sam to my Frodo if you will (Ok who let the geek out?) Ahem anyway it’s a fab drugstore pressed powder that I will happily repurchase in all its shexy new green packaging. I need to use up a couple of other powders first but when I have I’ll probably buy it and give it the full review it deserves.

So it’s been a mixed bag. Some hits, some misses, some unnecessary Lord of the Rings similes. I always get such a sense of satisfaction when I finish a product. I prance about waving the empty container in my husband’s face in a triumphant demonstration of “see! I really do use all this stuff!” Do you get the same sense of satisfaction? Xxx

*I bought the above products with my own money. I always give my honest opinion of a product. For further info see my disclaimer in the menu on the left*

Instyle The Body Shop Freebies!

In the September issue of Instyle (UK) there are two free lip/cheek stains being given away. One is a gorgeous raspberry red, the other is a shimmering bronze. Of course I’m a sucker do I bought both. I’ll let you know what I think when I’ve had a chance to try them out!
Apparently they have a combined value of £19 (the magazines are £3.60 each) so it’s quite a bargain really xxx

The Body Shop Pore Perfector

This is essentially a serum which claims to unclog pores, reduce blemishes and reduce the appearance of dilated pores. That last bit is important. I don’t believe there is a serum on this planet that will actually shrink your pores. You pore size is dependent on your genetics and your skin type. Little know fact: they filmed the moon landings in my pores. No, really. Up close my face looks like a colander. It’s just my skin type and I’ve learned to live with it (with the help of a good primer!). 

You get 15ml in a dinky pump bottle for £10.00. It’s a cloudy gel and you only need a tiny amount to cover your whole face. I’ve been using it for about 6 weeks now and have used roughly a third of the bottle. It has a slight seaweed scent. Shocking I know. I leave it for a couple of minutes then apply my moisturiser over the top. 

Does it work? Yes actually! No one is more surprised by that outcome than me. No my pores haven’t shrunk but they are a lot clearer which has improved their appearance massively.  I still have the odd breakout but touch wood they seem to be less severe and less frequent. I’m looking forward to trying the rest of the range and I’m giving some serious thought to repurchasing it! X

*Bought by me*

The Body Shop Divide and Multiply Mascara

I received a sample size of this eons ago in a Christmas set and finally cracked it open to give it a whirl. I’ve never tried The Body Shop mascaras before and I must say I’m impressed! I have it here in Black though there is a Brown version too.

Everybody wants something different from their mascara. Me? I want length, curl and importantly separation. I have lots and lots of short but very thick black lashes. The wrong (usually volumising) formula turns them into one big fat lash all stuck together. Mmmm... no thanks. The website describes this as “The ultimate one-step lengthening and separating mascara for sensational ultra long, dark, glossy lashes in seconds. Non-clumping” Sounds perfect!

I’m not convinced that the lengthening was that dramatic on me. However that funny shaped rubber wand with the comb-like bristles certainly did the trick when it came to separating my lashes! Not a clump in sight and I didn’t experience any flaking of any kind until the tube was nearing the end of its lifespan. Whilst it doesn’t make any claims about curling your lashes I found that the formula was light weight enough to not drag down my lashes after I’d used a curler.

Now this mascara is priced at £11 which makes it a little more expensive than most drugstore mascaras but nowhere near as expensive as most high end ones. For me I think it’s worth the money and I would be happy to repurchase in future. If you want volume and extreme length from a mascara this won’t be for you, in fact if you are looking for a dramatic look full stop it probably isn’t right for you. But if you want super defined lashes for an everyday look this does the job very well. xx

* The pic of me wearing this mascara turns out to be a bit rubbish and I can't go buy it an wear it now as I have eyelash extentions on (they are driving me muts by the way!). You'll just have to take my word for it that it looks good on me, sorry!*

The Body Shop Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream

I have mentioned before my recent skin disaster. You may be surprised to know that the culprit was the much loved and respected Olay total effects moisturiser with SPF. I bought it mainly for the SPF but the formula was just too heavy on my combination/ oily skin. I broke out in spots for the first time in... well... ever. While rooting around in my stash for something to tide me over until I could get to the shops I came across a little pot of loveliness that came with a Christmas present. Aren’t Mums just the best? This is only the 20ml sample pot from the gift set. Ordinarily it comes in a 50ml pot for £10.



This little pot has actually lasted me a fair while. The consistency is so thick and spreadable that it lasts and lasts. The slight scent is inoffensive and I’ve even used it round my eyes (yes I know you should use specific things blah blah blah I was desperate) with no ill effects. It does take a while to sink in on me though so I’ve been using it at night and just not bothering with moisturiser in the day. I initially thought, because the texture is so rich, that it would break me out like the Olay did but amazingly it hasn’t! Another plus (which might be in my head) but I have a scar on my neck which I usually apply vit E cream to because the skin around it gets dry and makes it look more prominent. This moisturiser did the trick very well and with continued use it has defiantly become less noticeable.

The moisturiser dilemma got me thinking though. I’m in my early 20’s with fairly oily skin. I live in Scotland so sun exposure is slim to none. I don’t smoke, I drink lots of water, I eat healthy food. Am I worrying about my skin too much? My older female relatives have always drummed into me that prevention is the best cure and I’m sure they are right but everywhere you look there are different opinions on when we should start worrying about wrinkles. Some say teens, some say when the first few lines rear their wrinkly heads. Personally apart from light moisturisers and SPF I leave my skin well alone (if it ain’t broke etc...). What age did you start worrying about anti ageing products? And are they working for you?

Back to the Vitamin E Cream. Would I repurchase? It is slightly too heavy for me but I would whole heartedly recommend it to anyone with drier skin than mine. I’m definetly going to get the Body Shop Vitamin E Eye Cream. At £10 you could certainly do a lot worse!

The Body Shop Lip and Cheek Stains

Months and months ago these were free with a magazine (no idea which). I’ve never had much luck with stains. I seems to end up with patchy cheeks and stained fingers rather than the natural rosy flush everyone else seems to be able to achieve. But for the price of two magazines I’ll give anything a go. Well not anything. Not for that price :p

I have both of the available shades here. 01 rose pink is a lovely pinkish red. It’s sheer with no sparkles. 02 bronze glimmer is a very shimmery pinky bronze. They contain 8ml of products and have doe foot applicators. 

Rose pink is as usual awful on the cheeks for me (this may be because I’m essentially useless). On the lips it’s a different story. It goes on fairly sheer but you can layer it easily as long as you allow each layer to dry before applying the rest and eventually you get a very pretty red lip. If you see me wearing a red lipstick (any red really I just layer it to best suit the lippie on top) I’m wearing this underneath. As the lipstick fades I’m left with a reddish stain underneath so the fading isn’t as noticeable. 

Bronze glimmer is the other way round. It’s far too glittery for my lips and just doesn’t do them any favours. It works ok over blushes (it’s too dark for a highlight on me)but again I find it a bit glittery for my tastes. Personally I’d pass on this one.

One thing that I’m not a fan of is the alcohol scent. Yes it dries down pretty quickly but this also means I find it pretty drying on my skin. I appreciate that anything that is a ‘stain’ is very unlikely to be moisturising but still it’s something to think about. Would I buy these again? Maybe yes to 01, definite no for 02. In fact if you have any ideas as to how I can use Bronze glimmer up please do let me know. Oh and these are £10, whilst this isn’t exactly expensive it isn’t cheap either x

What's On Your Eyes Today?

Rediscovering my Laura Mercier Nude Lips in my collection inspired me to wear some other long-forgotten products, and so my eyes today are a hodge-podge of oldies but goodies.

I started with my beloved Laura Mercier Eye Basics in Linen. I then used MAC Grain lash up to the crease, MAC Sunday Best to highlight under my brow and the tear duct and The Body Shop Conker in the crease. I lined with Lancome Artliner in Brown and applied Prescriptives False Eyelshes Mascara in black after having curled my lashes with the Kevyn Aucoin lash curler. I filled in my brown with MAC Browning from the Porcelain/Browning Duo. The colors had faded and my eye lashes had wilted after a long stressful work day but I was very pleased with the overall look! I'm resolving to rediscover old favorites (in the hope of buying less and using more up. So that I have room to buy more. Ah, it's a vicious cycle)!