REVIEW: The Body Shop Seaweed Clarifying Night Treatment

So this night treatment is the night time moisturiser which works really well in conjunction with the Body Shop's Mattifying Day Cream. If you have oily or combination skin I would really recommend using these two products, I've been using them together since the end of December and I've noticed a big improvement in my skin. I used to struggle with oiliness which really frustrated me as I hate my make-up slipping and I really hate looking shiny! I was a little bit worried about whether the Body Shop's products would work as they seemed so cheap compared to other mattifying products that I'd been looking at. However, what I have found with both the Day Cream AND the Night Treatment is that they really do work brilliantly. They also haven't aggravated my skin at all (which is something I do worry about as I have quite sensitive skin). I have combination skin so chose to not apply these mositurisers to my cheeks as they are usually quite dry and need a moisturiser aimed at dry/sensitive skin but on my t-zone I really can't stress the improvement that I've noticed.

The Night Treatment is a gel formula that feels very much like a liquid. It sinks into the skin almost instantly and does provide a level of moisturisation which doesn't  ever leave my skin feeling tight. The concept of the night treatment it to balance out sebum production in your skin to help reduce the production of excess oil. I personally think it did this for me as I've been using it on my t-zone for 6 weeks now and I always wake up with oil-free skin that isn't at all dry- the perfect result really. I bought this when there was an offer on in store (but it's worth noting that there is almost always an offer floating around for the Body Shop) so although this has an RRP of £11 (available online here or in Body Shop stores) I think you'll almost definitely going to be able to get your hands on it for less than that. I paid £5.50 and to me that it was just the ultimate bargain. I'll definitely be repurchasing this as I've really enjoyed using it, although I still have about 2/5 of the product left which is brilliant after 6 weeks of daily use. The seaweed range has really impressed me overall, but I'd also high recommend their tea tree range if you have blemished skin, I've reviewed the Tea Tree Pore Minimiser and I have another review of a product from that range coming soon.

Do you have a night cream recommendation for oily/combination skin?

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REVIEW: Lush Catastrophe Cosmetic Fresh Face Mask

Last month I finished up Lush's Oatifix which gave my skin a welcome injection of moisture. However, over the last couple of weeks I've definitely been suffering from blocked pores, blackheads and (although not many) more spots than normal. So I decided to strike back against this episode of bad skin! The first part of my retaliation was going to pick up this Catastrophe Cosmetic face mask as I have heard such great things about it. I haven't been disappointed either!

This face mask aims to deep cleanse the skin but it does so in a way that feels incredibly gentle and did not aggravate my sensitive skin in any way. I actually have a patch of eczema on my face at the moment and I was reticent to get any of my cleansing products on this bit of skin but Catastrophe Cosmetic hasn't made it any worse at all which says a lot about the product to me! I've been applying this fairly regularly, every three days or so ever since I bought it. It's lasted incredibly well as I've found it is easier to apply thinly than other Lush face masks so I haven't had any wastage at all. Using it so regularly hasn't dried my skin out (although the majority of my face is oily not dry) and it has improved the appearance of my pores and helped get rid of spots, so it's definitely done the job that I wanted it to do!

My only complaint is that it doesn't reduce the redness in my cheeks at all, and after use although my skin doesn't feel dry/aggravated my cheeks are left their usual red self. This was a slight shame as both Oatifix and  BB Seaweed, the other Lush face masks that I've tried, have improved the appearance of my rosy cheeks. But I suppose one cannot have it all! I would still rate this highly as a great product for blemished skin and I would definitely repurchase it next time my skin misbehaves. 

Lush's Catastrophe Cosmetic costs £5.95 and is available in Lush stores and online.

Have you tried this face mask before? What's your favourite Lush face mask?

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So, I did a little bit more shopping...

After a pretty busy, stressful week I decided to spend Friday chilling out and ended up spending the day with my friend Adrienne shopping and eating cake. It was a really fantastic day and I picked up some lovely goodies from Superdrug, Mac, L'Occitane, New Look and Primark. I needed a new hoody and t-shirt but everything else was very much spur of the moment shopping. I'm really pleased to be able to try some of these goodies though as the Mac eyeliner (in the shade Lord it Up) and the Maybelline Colour Tattoo (in the shade On and On Bronze) have been on my wishlist for aaaaages. I know I did a BIG haul last month so it does feel a little bit naughty to have bought so much more stuff so soon but sometimes there's nothing better than retail therapy!

I didn't pick up loads but I did feel as though I spent quite a bit of money! It was very naughty of me but it was a really great day so I feel it was worth it. I'd definitely recommend the cakes at Patisserie Valerie too, Adrienne and I had the most gorgeous slices of cake there.

Have you treated yourself to anything new recently? I'd love you to leave me links to any haul posts you've written :)

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February Glossybox 2013

So this month's Glossybox is Valentine's Day themed and unlike last month the box contained a healthy proportion of make-up. I'm actually quite pleased with my box this month as I can see myself using every single one of the products

The value of my box this month is £24.49 based on the provided R.R.P.s of the full size products.

First up is Anatomicals You Need a Blooming Shower Your Nose Smells Rose Body Cleanser. This is a half-size sample which comes in at a value of £2.50 and is quite a hefty size for shower gel/body cleanser sample so I'm pleased about that.. I'm actually really glad that I received this as I LOVE rose scents and this one is very, very rose scented indeed. I also haven't tried anything from the Anatomicals range before so this is definitely a nice product for me to start with.

Next up is MeMeMe's Fat Cat Volumizing Mascara which is a full size product and has a value of £8. I love the matte black packaging and I've been pleased with the quality of MeMeMe products that I've tried in the past so overall this is another product that I'm happy with. (Although I wouldn't exactly say that this OR the Anatomicals products are 'luxury' items.)

The next product in this month's Glossybox was Sassoon's Shine Spray. I love Sassoon products, I've never owned any but I used to get my hair done in Vidal Sassoon salons and I always loved the products that they used on my hair. I'm very excited to try this but it is quite a small sample of only 50ml compared to the 250ml full size making the value of this sample £2.97. I'm very excited to give this product a whirl- I have high hopes for it!

The next product was a Miner's Lipstick. I've not heard much about this brand so can't really make much of a judgement until I test the product out. The shade I received is called 'Dreamer' and looked like a wearable pink shade until I saw how much glitter was in it... It's actually quite a wearable shade of pink but the glitter in it will probably mean that it doesn't get a lot of daytime wear. This is another full size product though with a value of £4.99.

The last sample in my box was a Micabella Cosmetics Mineral Eye Shadow in the shade Intelligence. I love the look of 'Intelligence' which looks to be a bronze colour (a staple shade for me) and I'm a big fan of mineral eye shadows so this is all round another good product in my eyes. The sample size is 1g giving this a value of £5.98. I was glad to see a more 'luxury' make-up brand in the box, it's just a shame that this wasn't full sized rather than the Miner's or MeMeMe products.

The little extra product included by Glossybox this month was a heart shaped lolly. This is in keeping with the box's theme and is a very cute thing to include but I have to admit that it doesn't appeal to me really! I'll be saving this for my flatmate when he gets back after the weekend. 

Overall, I was really pleased with this month's box as 4/5 of the products I really loved and the lipstick still could be wearable so it isn't a complete disaster inclusion. I'm also really glad that this month there was more make-up included in the box as sometimes I do feel as though these beauty boxes can be a little bit over-saturated with skin care but  not this month so I'm going to stay subscribed and hope that next month I have the same luck.

What did you think of this month's box?

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