Look Fantastic April Beauty Box #LFBlooms

One Single Pringle's Galentine's Day Pamper

Today is Galentine's Day - Leslie's Knope's celebratory day for women to get together and celebrate. To honour of this made-up holiday I'm gathering the troops and celebrating the old fashioned way, with lots of delicious food... Once the food coma has well and truly hit I plan to retire to my bedroom and engage in the mother of all relaxing pamper sessions. [Pro tip: this pamper would also set you up nicely if you have Valentine's Day plans tomorrow; two birds, one stone!]

Elemis Skincare at John Lewis Kingston

John Lewis Kingston stock some really fabulous beauty brands (all housed in their gorgeous newly renovated beauty floor), and in November they very kindly sent me a package of Elemis products to trial. I haven't used very much from Elemis before so I was really excited to try more from the brand, and I have to admit that I've been pretty impressed!

Look Fantastic October Beauty Box #LFBeautyBox

Some of my Favourite Shower and Body Oils

Today's post is a bit of a random one - I sort of inadvertantly mixed in shower oils with one lone body oil. Basically, I use a lot of oils - facial oils, body oils, shower oils etc. If I had a bath, I have no doubt that I'd also use bath oils! I had a look through the cupboard in my bathroom which is where I keep most of my particulalry gorgeous bodycare and I sort of just of gathered some of my favourites together because I wanted to talk about them. 

Aromatherapy Associates Revive Bath and Shower Oil* | rrp £40.00

I first featured this Bath and Shower Oil in January when I went through a fortnight of being really quite ill. I remember how much better I would feel after I used this shower oil - tipping a capful over my body before stepping under really warm water. Whenever I reach for it now I still have that same experience of just immediately feeling better. I don't personally think it does much for my skin, but it really is one of those products that has an emotional and psychological effect on me. I've come to associate the smell and the experience of using this oil with feeling happier and more refreshed - and although it's an expensive product it works out as cheaper per use than the majority of Lush's bath bombs. I'd much rather invest in one of Aromatherapy Associates' Oils that I can use over and over again, maybe my tastes are maturing!

L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil | rrp £18.00

If shaving is one of your principle methods of hair removal then you need to invest in L'Occitane's Almond Shower Oil. I've been repurchasing it for the last three years because I have never had a smoother shave than when I used this oil. It leaves your skin incredibly smooth and undoes some of the harm that shaving does to sensitive skin. Under water the oil lathers beautifully and has a rich scent that pervades the entire bathroom. I must admit that I use this even when I'm not shaving in place of a shower gel, it makes for a seriously indulgent shower... and sometimes you just need one of those to cheer yourself up. 

Monu Spa Warming Ginger Massage & Body Oil* | rrp £26.00

Now we're verging into multi-purpose product territory. Monu advertise this oil as a body oil, and you can use it like that but I found it a bit too oily and rich for my skin. However, it makes for an excellent shower oil and if you're a fan of ginger - and I must admit that it's really, really growing on me - then you will adore this. I use it in a similar way to the Aromatherapy Associates' Oil rather than the L'Occitane Oil, although I haven't actually tried to use it as a shaving oil so it might just work like that too. 

Elemis Frangipani Monoi Body Oil* | rrp £32.00

 The newbie in my line-up, but it was absolutely love at first application. This body oil is fabulous! It's indulgent in terms of the price, but it leaves my skin absolutely beautifully soft. I apply it to damp skin after I've showered and it just absorbs so quickly leaving behind the softest skin I could ever hope for. I really was impressed! The only downside is that when it's cold the oil solidifies making it impossible to use. My solution is to hold the bottle under my shower head when I'm nearly finished showering. The heat melts enough of the oil for me to use once I get out of the shower. Obviously, this isn't an idea solution but I think that the body oil is so good that I don't mind having to remember this little extra step.

Have you tried any of these oils? Do you like using shower or body oils?

March Beauty Empties

Smooth Skin the Fancy Way

 As someone with sensitive, combination, blemish prone skin skincare can be a tricky area - especially finding manual exfoliaters that don't aggravate my skin whilst still working on declogging and smoothing my skin. Today I'm going to be giving you the low-down on four 'high end' exfoliaters that I've put to the test over the last twelve months. Here they are listed in my order of preference. 

Origins Modern Friction*

Origins Modern Friction is one of those skincare products that actually prompts a sigh of pleasure when I think about it. It has tiny micro-exfoliating beads that allow for a really thorough but gentle exfoliation. Additionally, as you rub the product into your skin the cream lathers up beautifully offering a deep cleanse. Once I've finished using Modern Friction my skin is both super smooth and clean. But be warned, keep it away from your eyes at all costs or you will end up blindly, madly cursing. Other than it's propensity to sting eyes it is a wonderful exfoliater and I'm keen to get my hands on a full size version soon.

Eve St. Agnes Revive and Renew Refining Exfoliating Polish*

Similar to Modern Friction, Eve of St. Agnes' Revive and Renew Refining Exfoliating Polish contains very, very fine exfoliating bamboo particles that offer a very thorough but completely controllable exfoliation. Depending on how hard you scrub you could get a serious to a more mild result - but even when used very gently I find that my skin is left radiant, soft and much less congested than before use. What this exfoliater lacks is a tantalizing scent and the lathering effect of Modern Friction. For that reason it takes second place. 

Elemis Fresh Skin Skin Glow Exfoliating Face Wash
Elemis' Fresh Skin Skin Glow Exfoliating Face Wash is very 'shower friendly' and I keep this in my shower in London to use whenever I take a break from University and go back to my family home. The packaging is more travel (and shower) friendly than the Eve of St. Agnes Exfoliater (which is made of glass) and I find its flip top easier to use when my hands are wet. That aside, this exfoliater features larger exfoliating beads that I find offer a less thorough and less easily controllable exfoliation. There tends to be just one result from this product and for that reason it is good for regular every-other-day use but I don't get any 'miracle' results. 

Tropic Face Smooth*

I absolutely loved the scent of this product - think Soap and Glory's Sugar Crush range. However, it does resemble a sugar scrub for the face. It offers less-sensitive skin types a very thorough exfoliation that is incredibly effective at renewing the skin and decongesting it. However, on me this could only ever be used intermittently as a treatment as it is quite a harsh product. I like the results it gives and I wish I could use it more regularly but on my skin type this is relegated to the category of 'treatment' and thus is only reached for occasionally, but I'm sure other people might have different experiences with this Tropic's Face Smooth.


What is your 'go-to' facial exfoliater? Have you tried any of the products I've mentioned?

January Glossybox 2013

I resubscribed to Glossybox about a week ago and this is my first box from them in about 6 months. I only unsubscribed for financial reasons not because I didn't enjoy their boxes although admittedly they weren't my favourite beauty box. If you don't already know, beauty boxes are a subscription service where you receive a monthly box with a number of sample size products in it. The samples in Glossyboxes are unknown at the time of purchase so it can be a little bit of a lottery but for £10 plus p&p it can be quite a fun monthly surprise! You can find out more about Glossybox here.

This month's Glossybox was a detox themed one and the value of my Gossybox this month is £31.06. (This is based on the RRP of the products as informed by the leaflet which was included in this month's Glossybox.) It is, however, worth noting that nearly HALF of my 'Balance Rose Face Tonique' had leaked out in transit. This substantially lowers the value of the box as it is the most expensive item in it.

First up is Jason's Lips Bee Healthier Aloe & Beeswax lip balm. I haven't tried this before and it is just lovely, really lovely. I didn't need another lip balm but I am glad that it was in the box as otherwise I wouldn't have tried it.

Full size price: £1.99     Value of Sample: £1.99

The second product is Duck Island Limited Body Lotion. Some of the people I've spoken to who got this in their Glossybox were a little but unhappy with it but I actually really like it. Granted, it isn't really 'detoxing' and it isn't the best of samples as 30ml is really enough of a body moisturiser to get much use but the scent! My goodness do I like the scent! It's called 'Mandarin and Bergamot' but it's mainly quite a heavy scent with the undertones being the sweeter element to it. I like it but I can see that a lot of people might not.

Full size price: £24.95     Value of Sample: £1.49 

The next product in the box is Elemis' Skin Glow Exfoliating Face Wash. I haven't tried any of Elemis' skincare before so I'm quite pleased with the inclusion of this, I also don't have a stash of exfoliaters like I do with other face products so I'll actually get some use out of this in the near future!

Full size price: £12  Value of Sample: £3.60

Next, the infamous toner! This is Balance Rescue Face Tonique, a 'refreshing face toner for combination skin'. The inclusion of this is nice as it shows that Glossybox have sent me a box catered specifically for my skin type. I love rose water toners so I'll definitely be using this, it's just a shame so much of it was wasted in transit! I have emailed Glossybox about it so hopefully they can offer me a replacement- we'll see!

Full size price: £27.50  Value of Sample: £16.50

The last sample product is Monu's Warming Aromatic Mask, a warming clay face mask aimed at deep cleansing and invigorating the skin. I love face masks, I love self-heating products so I am doubly happy with this. I'll definitely be using this soon as my T-Zone could use some deep cleansing!

Full size price: £24.95      Value of Sample: £7.49

Glossybox also through in an extra this month, a Glossybox eye mask. This isn't something I'd get regular use out of but I do occasionally get migraines and this will no doubt be helpful at keeping light away from my sensitive eyes! A nice little extra but nothing to write home about.

Overall, I'm pleased with the box. I was worried about resubscribing because I have been disappointed by beauty boxes but this one was really quite nice. I know that it will seem a bit skincare heavy but I'm a real lover of skincare products and enjoy trying new things so for me this is just perfect! I'm going to stay subscribed so look out for a similar post next month!

Did you subscribe to Glossybox this month? What did you think of your box? I'd love it if you left links to any posts you've done on yours!

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