Philip Kingsley & Giovanni Haircare

Hi once again for today beauties. I have some haircare products to review for you so here I go :)

I received these Giovanni haircare products in my February Be Mine GlossyBox where you will find full product information. These were all nice products to use. They left my hair smooth and feeling nourished. There were some shorter hairs that were not completely frizz free, but I would personally use other products for this anyway. The leave in conditioner I applied in the shower and left on a little longer than a regular conditioner before rinsing off as I find leave in conditioners to usually make my hair lank and weighed down. I would say that these are a bit more like salon quality products than other haircare so for £7.99 each I would say they are worth taking a look at.

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer

I received this product in my November 2011 GlossyBox where you can find full product information. I was quite dismissive about this product at first which is why I never used it at the time. Using a product before shampooing seemed like a waste of time, but now I have seen other people fall in love with this product so I had to try it out. This is the world's first pre-shampoo that helps to protect hair when washing. Wet hair stretches and is therefore more prone to damage like snapping and breakage. This product helps the hair to become more flexible, supple and bouncy like an elastic band. I split my hair into sections coating each layer and let it sit on my hair while I do my other shower or bath essentials. For a deeper treatment leave on for 20mins with a plastic cap or overnight on damp hair. 

DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT 2 DAYS BEFORE OR AFTER CHEMICAL PROCESSING!

I definitely feel that from only having this on my hair for a few minutes before shampooing and conditioning that my hair feels more plumped like it has a base for other products to work with and so is left in better condition.

I don't comb through my hair when wet anymore. I just spritz it with a protector, dry and then brush though.

This product is available in many sizes and prices online and is also available at M&S.

What are your favourite haircare products? Let me know with reasons why in the comments below.

Love to you all

Vicky xx

Shimmer After Your Shower

Hi lovelies. How are you today? I have some more beauty product reviews for you. To find out more keep on reading .........

Cussons Imperial Leather Japanese Spa Nourishing Shower Cream ~ Different sizes available at Superdrug

This product contains green tea, rice milk and jasmine. It does feel very creamy and give a good lather on the skin. The scent is very gentle and baby soft. The writing was already partially rubbed of when given to me as a Xmas gift so this did not happen from me using it.

Cussons Imperial Leather Soft Touch Moisturising Shower Cream ~ Different sizes available at Superdrug

This one contains jojoba milk and vitamin e. It again was very mild and creamy giving a good lather. The scent is very gentle once again. This was also a Xmas gift.

I went through these really quickly as I must admit I love to be very generous with shower gels and creams. The hole at the top tends to dispense a little too much product also though too. Unless you are lucky enough to find these particular scents in the pound shops here is a link to the Imperial Leather Hawaiian Spa Shower Gel at Poundland which sounds like a lovely exotic scent.

Katie Price Precious Love Shimmer Body Lotion

My friend gave this to me which I believe she was given as a gift in a set with the perfume. I don't mind a bit of shimmer in some body creams, especially if I am heading out and want a little something to emphasise areas of my skin. Well let me to you this will not emphasise, but cover your body like a disco ball. This cream has silver shimmer and is packed with the stuff. It is not subtle in any way. I'm a girl who loves shimmer, sparkle and glitter, but this is just too much. If you do want to try it however then I would head to Ebay or Amazon.

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse OR Multi-Usage Dry Oil Golden Shimmer ~ £21.00 for 50ml

I received this bottle in my February 2012 Feelunique Beauty Box. I have linked to feelunique.com above, but this product is also available at M&S for the same price. It is meant for use on the face, body and hair. Now I love a mulit-tasker, but this product I reserved solely for use on my body. This does have a gorgeous golden shimmer which really warms up the skin tone. I love how the shimmer catches the light as you move. I don't really like the idea of this much shimmer on my face and because it's an oil I would only use it at night anyway. It may look okay in some peoples hair, but oils tend to way my hair down so I only use them on my ends at night knowing I can wash it out the next day. As you can see there are still a lot of shimmer particles left in the bottle. Towards the end it started to become less oil and more shimmer which although pretty did become too much. I did really enjoy using the Nuxe oil without the shimmer which you can find a review of here.

Do you love to shimmer? Let me know your favourite oils with or without shimmer in the comments below.

Love to you all

Crystal Clear Anti-Ageing Skincare Available Now At Your Beauty M&S

Hi once again today lovelies. This evening I wanted to pop up this post to remind you of some skincare that I would highly recommend which is now available at Marks & Spencer.

Crystal Clear Skincare introduced me to their Lift Away The Years magical wand at their #liftawaytheyears event back in February. You can see product information and my initial impressions in that post. I also have a follow up review post here.

MD of Crystal Clear Skincare Sharon Hilditch MBE has educated me to realise that skincare does not just have to be about creams, lotions and scrubs. Sometimes tools are what is needed to change and improve our appearance. I find the Lift Away The Years wand uplifting and relaxing at the same time. My skin never feels the same without it.

Although I can not seem to find the Lift Away The Years wand on the M&S website I believe the wand is available for £60 at M&S. It appears to come with a 30ml tube of serum moisturiser also.

If you can not purchase these products from an M&S Beauty Store you can purchase the wand directly from Crystal Clear through this link which has the wand and serum moisturiser available for £59.99. This link also includes a demonstration of the product.

Is this innovative skincare product something that interests you? Have you tried it already? If yes, let me know your thoughts below.

Image not my own.

Love to you all

Holly Sharpe Illustrations & Limited Collection For Marks & Spencer

Hey everyone and Happy Sunday. I hope you have had a great weekend so far. Apologies for not blogging this week until now, but it was my first week back at work after a long break, I had a couple of birthday celebrations to attend and we have been putting together some bedroom furniture at home which is still ongoing today.

For this post I want to talk about the fabulous designs of fashion illustrator Holly Sharpe and her Limited Collection which has now launched as of Jan 9th in Marks & Spencer stores as well as online for SS14.

Holly's illustrations I first noticed when perusing the Hey Sailor website.

This Exotic Girl A4 Print is the design that really caught my eye when I first saw her work.

Well now I am chuffed to see that this very design has been applied to Holly's Limited Collection with M&S.

There are lots of fabulous items including make-up, nail polish, an iPhone 5 case, a wash bag and an eau de toilette.

I have an iPhone 4 which makes me sad so no phone case for me :( I will however be popping into M&S very soon, especially as my birthday is this month. The Eau de Toilette I think will be my must have as the scent sounds scrumptious and I can then keep the beautifully designed bottle.

A lot of the shades in this collection appear to be taken from Holly's 'Exotic Girl' illustration which I think is such a great way of reminding us to be inspired and creative when applying our make-up and painting our nails.

I wish Holly the best of luck in her career and this M&S launch. I am sure it will be off the shelves in no time. Well done to M&S for choosing to work with such a talented artist.

Will you be picking up any items from this Holly Sharpe Limited Collection at M&S? With prices starting at £5 how can you resist? Let me know your favourites in the comments below.

Love to you all

Fragrance Reviews

Hi lovelies I hope you are all well. It has been so chilly these last couple of days that it's starting to feel more like Xmas.

I have five products to review for you today so here are my thoughts on them :)

Morrisons Total Confidence Candy Pink Antiperspirant Deodorant ~ 250ml

Up to 24 hours protection against wetness and odour. Alcohol free, PH balanced and dermatologically tested.

This antiperspirant deodorant works well enough for me. This has a soft powdery scent that is quite subtle. I would prefer a lid if I were to travel with it though in case it sprayed in my bag. This was approximately £1.00 which is handy to pick up on my weekly shop.

Morrisons Total Confidence Crystal Waters Antiperspirant Deodorant ~ 250ml

My thoughts are the same about this spray. The only difference is that the scent is more fresh than the Candy Pink.

Morrisions Delight Lasting Fragrance ~ 75ml

A cool and fruity fragrance. Long lasting and dermatologically tested.

I am not a fan of these body sprays from Morrisions. I previously tried the Tantalise scent which I could really smell alcohol in. I could really smell it in this one too. I will therefore not be trying out the other scents in this range. This again was around the £1.00 mark.

Revlon Charlie Essence Perfumed Body Fragrance ~ 50ml

An enchanting creation of zesty fruits, velvet florals and musk.

I received this as part of a gift set from my Mum last January for My Birthday. It had rolled under my unit, but I found it when I was tidying up. I enjoyed using this around Halloween and Bonfire Night as the packaging of the bottle seemed quite fitting. It was an okay spray, but the scent was not as magical as the bottle looks. At the moment you can purchase the single 75ml bottle for 82p at Superdrug, link. 

Roger & Gallet Rose Imaginaire Fresh Fragrant Water ~ 100ml for £32.00

I received this product at the Roger & Gallet Blogger Evening in September 2012. I previously described the scent as 'very delicate and womanly. Lovely for daytime freshness'. This is a very subtle fragrance that to me is somewhere between a perfume and a liquid body spray. I don't think that you could ever over apply this because it is not heavy at all. I have added a link above to Marks & Spencer although it is available from other stockists.

So that's my reviews for today's post. What are your current favourite body fragrances? Let me know in the comments below.

Love to you all

Facial Skincare: 3 Product Reviews

Hi loves. Today I have 3 products for the face to review for you so I will just get straight to it.

Left: Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel, £27.00 for 250ml

A soap-free, foaming gel cleanser. Removes impurities without disturbing the skin’s natural moisture balance. Suitable for all skin conditions.

This was a very deep cleansing gel that made my skin squeaky clean literally. It left me feeling refreshed like I had clean new skin. The formula was not irritating. My only disappointment is that the writing as you can see was coming off the bottle. Annoying when you can't remember the exact name of a product. There are various sizes and prices on many websites for this product.

Centre: Pukka Ayurveda Radiance Serum, Currently reduced from £32.00 to £24.00 for 50ml

I received this product in my July GlossyBox. All information about this product can be found in that link. This was a very runny formula and it was very easy to apply too much. You only need a small amount to cover the entire face and neck. It did feel like a natural and nourishing serum which left you with a glow on application, but that did not show through once I applied my make-up.

Right: Docteur Renaud Raspberry Soft Cream, £25.00 for 50ml

I received this product in my February GlossyBox. All information about this product will be in that link. This was a lovely product to use mainly because of the scent. It really does have a gorgeously raspberry sweet smell as I first stated in my initial impressions. The cream itself makes the skin feel supple and sinks in nicely. This is a limited edition product though so I am not sure how long it will be available. This does come in various prices and sizes if you search online.

So that's it for these three reviews. Which face products have been your favourites lately and why. Let me know in the comments below.

Love to you all

 

3 Handcare Products

Hi there my loves. Today I have 3 products to review for you that are for your hands. We use them every day for many things so hand care is a must.

Left: Baylis & Harding England Skin Spa Silky Hand & Body Lotion, Link

I have added a link above to the gift set this came in. It was a present for my birthday a couple of years ago. I have to say I loved using this hand lotion. I didn't use it as a body lotion as it's handy size meant I could get more use out of it on my hands. The texture of this lotion felt like a very expensive cream. Very silky and thick. Not runny like most lotions and it sank into my skin easily. Not tacky or greasy on the hands. I would be very happy to use this product again.

Centre: Astonish Yourself Silke Soft Antibacterial Handwash, 99p for 500ml

There isn't much scent to this handwash at all. The liquid itself is clear so great for a non messy sink. The pump disperses just enough soap so no product is wasted. This massive 500ml bottle is great value for 99p from the 99p Store. I have already repurchased this. It also comes in coconut and milk & honey scents which I want to try.

Right: Marks & Spencer La Maison de Senteurs Blanche Hand Cream, £3.50 for 75ml

My friend bought this for me for either a birthday or Xmas gift. This too was a very nice cream to use on the hands. The scent is very calming and fresh. The floral lemon scent is very uplifting. Although the packaging appears to have now changed it still has a french chic offering. I believe the product itself to be the same.

So that's it for my hand care reviews today. What are your favourite hand care products? Do you have a favourite brand or type of product? Let me know in the comments below.

Love to you all

 

Mum Knows How To Make My Day

Helloooooooo Everyone. I hope you are all doing good. I have been so tired this week and not feeling good at all since yesterday, but Mum knows how to cheer me up :)

You may or may not know that I am a massive Hello Kitty fan. Mum picked me up this Hello Kitty London fruity lip balm from Marks & Spencer. I tried it yesterday. It has a subtle, fruity scent and feels buttery smooth on the lips. It is such a cute tin. I love it!

Thank you Mum. You always know when I need a pick me up. I loved this pressie, but your hugs are better. Love you lots, mwah <3 xxxxxxxxxxxx

And of course Love to you all

January 2012 Sales Haul

Hello again lovelies. I have done quite a bit of shopping throughout January so I thought it would be cool to show you the bargains I picked up in the sales.

Miso @ Republic

These are easy, pull on tube dresses in a deep wine red and black. They gather only slightly in the centre to give a nice shape around the bust. These were originally priced at £8.00 each, but I got them at the sale offer price of two for £12.00. They are 100% viscose and also come in bright green and white.

H&M

These two long sleeve, button through front crop tops were a bargain. They tie sweetly at the bottom. The colours I have are black and a terracotta shade. They did have two stripey versions as well, but I wasn't sure if I liked those. These are 100% viscose. They were originally £12.99 each, but I got them for £3.00 each. Yay :) These do come up slightly cropped which makes me a bit nervous, but I think I can almost get away with it. If you like these, but that puts you off then I'm sure they would still look great over a slim fitting vest.

Zara

This simple white vest was originally £9.99, but I managed to buy it for £5.99. I love that it will go with so many things. I will probably throw it on with skinny jeans, a long cardigan and ankle boots. I like the zip detail. This is 100% cotton.

Punky Fish

This was my first time shopping in Punky Fish and I found some real treats. These black leggings with diamante detailing are such good quality. They are made from cotton and elastane. These were £25.99 reduced to £10.00.

These cap sleeve, scoop neck t-shirts with a diamante edged Punky Fish logo are all the same design. I had to get on in every colour because they fit so well. That's my excuse anyway ;) The colours I have are black, Fuchia, Charcoal Grey & Wine. These feel lovely quality just like the leggings. They are 100% cotton. These were £25.00 each reduced to £12.50 each.

This white long sleeve 'Doggy Chihuahua' design top was just too cute to resist. It's made from polyester, cotton and elastane. This was originally £12.99, but it was reduced to £6.49.

These two grey cropped sweaters are great for a casual day. I like the sleeves rolled down or up. These are made from cotton, polyester and elastane. These were reduced from £20.00 down to £10.00 each.

Primark

This make-up bag was reduced from £3.00 to £1.00. It has the 'Queen' design on one side and the 'Princess' design on the other. It has a zip fastening and is hot pink on the inside. There was a smaller version of this design, but that was also reduced to £1.00?

Miss Madame @ Bank 

This set of three stud heart/wing diamante earrings were £8.00 reduced to £2.00.

I really like the variety of crosses amongst the chains in this bracelet. This was reduced from £6.00 down to £2.00.

River Island

You would not believe how chuffed I am to get these boots. I have been looking for a pair exactly like this for ages and I found them in Aldo while Xmas shopping. They were £160.00 at the time (gulp). I was in love with them though and gutted to leave them behind. Then in River Island I found this pair which are almost identical. These were reduced from £120.00 down to £50.00. I went round to Aldo to see if they had been reduced and they were from £160.00 to £104.99. Here is a link to the Aldo pair so you can compare, Link :) They are a different colour, but they do come in black. Mine fit better around the top as the Aldo ones were a little big. The River Island logo is on the zip of mine, but that's fine with me. My only gripe is with the bloody assistant that has put the sale tag through the material of the boot instead of the material of the zip. For a saving of £54.99 I will almost forgive this.

Marks & Spencer

I bought two of these Tess Daly Beauty Daly Spa Sexy Neck Tightening Spritz's because they were reduced from £12.00 to £3.00 each. I am not an old granny yet, but I like to try and stop things creasing and sagging wherever I can or at least slow it down. This product is meant to be sprayed onto the neck and swept upwards with your hands to underneath the chin. If it does work everything will be getting sprayed, ha ha ;)

This Hello Kitty London Rainbow Shimmer Set was originally £6.00, but I got this for £3.00. These roller ball shimmer sticks are meant to be used on the cheeks and eyelids. I would use all on the eyes, but probably only the two on the left for cheek highlights unless I was doing a dramatic make-up look. For the price I think they are a real bargain and will last ages.

If you reached the end of this post then well done to you. I am really pleased with everything that I picked up in the January sales. What bargains did you get?

Love to you all