Beauty Kitchen Abyssinian Oil Quick Fix Moisture Mask

Hi beauties,

Something relatively new from the Abyssinian Oil range from Beauty Kitchen, their Quick Fix Moisture Mask. I bought this a few months ago and have been testing it out.

This mask does exactly what it says on the tin, if your skin is feeling a bit parched pop a thin layer on and leave it for 5 minutes (or longer, I usually do about 15 minutes) and it leaves your skin feeling smooth and soft. It’s got beautifully hydrating ingredients, glycerin, sweet almond oil, grape seed oil, Shea butter, Abyssinian oil. The scent is gorgeous, it’s a deeper floral fragrance, Beauty Kitchen do use essential oils not any synthetic fragrances.

Quick Fix Moisture Mask is a very light in terms of texture, delivers moisture without greasiness. It’s different in terms of the Night Halo Potent Sleep Mask, that’s more of a balm/oil texture that is much richer. I love this mask, it doesn’t break me out, makes my skin feel so soft and comfortable and it’s excellent value at £12.50 for 60ml.

Also a note about Beauty Kitchen’s revolutionary Return Refill Repeat scheme. You can recycle all of the jar and plastic lid at home by popping in your recycle bin, or you can return your packaging to a Holland and Barrett store or Beauty Kitchen direct. The jar will then be washed and reused again. If you are a Holland and Barrett reward card holder you will receive 100 points for every jar you recycle. I know that we are all looking for ways to buy products with more sustainable packaging and I think this is an excellent idea.

I’m a huge fan of this range, and I really think they are coming up with great products and brilliant ways of being more environmentally friendly.

Till next time,

Lucy xxx

Merumaya Luxury Facial Wash

Hi beauties,

I have Merumaya Luxury Facial Wash today, which has quickly become a favourite AM and second cleanse.

Merumaya is a British brand who make my number one cleansing balm, it is utterly glorious so I knew I would love Luxury Facial Wash. Its a gel textured wash, it also gently exfoliates your skin without stripping, perfect for my skin type. It also contains an ingredient to help prevent spots, help with redness and inflammation.

Luxury Facial Wash is a perfect morning cleanse, it gently lathers and you can rinse off in the shower. It makes my skin feel super clean and comfortable. The scent is also divine, it’s a warming spicy scent that I really love. If you like the cleansing balm then you will like this. Great value too at £20.00 for 100ml and a little goes a long way. There hasn’t been a Merumaya product cleanser that I haven’t liked, all of them are beautiful!

Till next time,

Lucy xxx

Organic Babies Soothing Baby Salve

Hi beauties,

A functional but excellent product today Organic Babies Soothing Baby Salve.

I don’t have any wee ones but you all know how I love a balm and I bought this along with the fragrance free Mum and Baby Balm last year.

The ingredients are simple but very effective, sunflower oil, hemp seed oil, Shea butter, olive oil and calendula. It’s a smooth balm that melts easily so it’s very quick and simple to apply especially when you have sore and red skin. The last thing you want to do is spend a long time rubbing something into itchy irritated skin! Not just great for babies, my skin loves this balm. It’s extremely nourishing and repairing.

This is fragranced with lavender essential oil so not for you if you are not a member of #teamsmellies its subtly scented though, not overpowering. Brilliant value, a 100ml jar costs £12.00, you can use this head to toe so very versatile. Great value winner.

Till next time,

Lucy xxx

Beauty Pie Wondercolour Cream Shadow Stick Pt.2

Hello beauties,

Today I have more Beauty Pie Wondercolour Cream Shadow Sticks. I love these for their colour pay off, ease of use, value for money and lasting power. I reach for these shadow sticks more than I do powder eyeshadows I have because you can literally throw them on in seconds.

L-R Brazillionaire, Beige Bombshell and Goldie

Brazillionaire is a beautiful bronze, Beige Bombshell is a wonderfully brightening beige/gold and Goldie is a green-leaning gold colour.

I would definitely buy these again, the shades are so wearable and super easy to apply. I’ve been wearing makeup for many years but I still consider myself to be an amateur!! These are perfect for getting a gorgeous eye look without too much effort. I will be getting more shades….!

Till next time,

Lucy xxx

Ren Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask

Hi beauties,

Today I have a mask, Ren Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask. I love a mask, and I am partial to a peeling one, whether it be acids or enzymes.

Ren Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask glycolic acid based although it’s does contain lactic acid too as well as papaya extract. It’s a gel consistency and very easy to use, it isn’t gritty so smooth the gel on and leave on for 10 minutes. Afterwards remove with a warm cloth.

This mask leaves your skin nice and smooth but I cannot stand the sickly orange pudding type smell it has. I also think that price wise it’s very expensive £36.00 for 50ml. To be honest I think Ren’s pricing is high compared to a lot of other high street brands, it’s not one that I would go to that often.

I wouldn’t buy a full size of this, and in fact I binned this sample after the first use! I know some people love it, but it’s definitely not for me.

Till next time,

Lucy xxx

Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream

Hi beauties,

And Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a lovely festive break, ate, drank and was merry 😁

Today I’m back with an eye cream, one of the most disappointing beauty categories I think. I’ve tried more eye creams that have been crap than most people have had hot dinners. Not this however, Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream is great.

This is the old style packaging, but the juice is still the same, witch hazel for de puffing, Hyaluronic acid for fine lines and wrinkles, Arctic Cloudberry, Cucumber oil, Rosehip Oil, Chamomile, Carrot and Grape seed oils, actually the list is pretty extensive!

Wonder Eye Cream gently brightens, if you have very dark circles this won’t get rid of them, BUT it does give a wee bit of a boost under your eyes. Works fabulously under makeup so brilliant base for concealer, plumps out fine lines and is very soothing. A great all rounder and excellent value at £20.00 for a 15ml tube. It lasts for ages, even with daily use, it’s one of the best value eye creams I’ve tried. At the moment Balance Me have their 20% sale so currently it’s £16.00.

I would definitely rebuy this, I was really impressed. As I say I think eye creams are one of the most disappointing buys so this was a lovely surprise!

Till next time,

Lucy xxx

L’Occitane Almond Delicious Hands Hand Cream

Hello beauties,

As you all know I am a hand cream fiend and today I have one beautiful offering from L’Occitane, Almond Delicious Hands Hand Cream.

This is a wonderfully hydrating hand cream with a base of sunflower oil, sweet almond oil, Shea butter and coconut oil as well as sweet almond protein that makes your skin feel silky soft without any grease (side note – if it does feel greasy, you have used WAY too much! You need the tiniest amount of this cream!) the scent is that of almond blossom which is beautifully warming and exotic. If you know the smell of the famous shower oil, this is exactly the same.

Almond Delicious Hands is a perfect hand cream for use during the day for me (I prefer the 20% Shea Butter Hand Cream at night) it’s light and without stickiness meaning you can pick your phone up straight after using it as I often do. I switch between this and Liz Earle Hand Repair as my day time creams they are my ultimate favourites and so pleasurable to use as well as functional.

This is a limited edition 150ml size I bought from QVCUK in a kit, it does retail at £30.00 individually so it’s not cheap! You can get a 75ml from L’Occitane directly which costs £16.50. I wouldn’t pay £30 for one hand cream to be honest with you, but as usual I got an excellent deal with the Q which saw another 150ml L’Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream in and some minis for around £34.00. It is a luxury hand cream but I do think it is oh so worth it!

Till next time,

Lucy xxx

Soothing Skincare for irritated skin

Morning beauties,

A bit of a different post today, if you follow me on Instagram you’ll know what I have been experiencing a period of tricky skin lately. So I thought I would do a post on what was wrong and what products I’ve been using.

I have been quite stressed recently, it’s coming up to a very emotional time of year for me and this does take a toll on my skin. And it reacts by breaking out in tiny red pin head rashy type spots that can get itchy. A friend of mine Dr Michele Squire who is a skincare expert gave me some advice to help me out. Michele is a PhD qualified scientist who is able to cut through all the crap in the beauty industry and give good honest and brand neutral advice. Qr8 is a subscription based advice service where Michele can go through your routine and your skincare goals and recommend products to suit you. Check out her site at http://www.qr8list.com

Michele advised to cut out all fragrance in my skincare routine and make it extremely basic.

Firstly, let’s start with cleansing. I didn’t have ANY fragrance free cleansers in my stash at all so I popped online and ordered this La Roche Posay Dermo Cleanser that Michele advised me to use.

LRP Dermo Cleanser is a fragrance free very gentle cleanser and makeup remover that really helped to control the irritation. (£12.50 for 200ml from http://www.boots.com)

Another product that has been excellent with irritation has been Liz Earle Cica Restore Skin Paste that was sent to me by a dear friend of mine. I’ve been using this a bit more frequently than recommended as much as 3-4 times a week. It’s soothing, comforting and easy to use. I pop a thin layer after cleansing and go to sleep! In the morning my skin feels soft, comfortable and the redness disappeared overnight! (£29 for 50ml at http://www.lizearle.com)

Trizyme Treatment from Ishtarskinlights has been brilliant at refining my skins texture, taking down bumps and redness. It’s a clear light hydrating serum with Pumpkin, Pomegranate and Papaya with 1% Aspen Bark Extract (BHA) it’s very gentle but effective. (£14.00 for 30ml from http://www.ishtarskinlights.com)

Another product from Ishtarskinlights is Multi-Ceramide Concentrate. Another super light texture which I have been layering over the Trizyme Treatment. Extremely soothing and calming this is a great product to have that’s versatile to use. I’ve used this as a serum and a moisturiser and I have to say I love it. Full of ceramides to help promote a healthy skin barrier. (£15.00 for 30ml at http://www.ishtarskinlights.com)

These products have made a visible and dramatic difference to my skin during this time and very quickly too. Simple, effective and great value for money, these would be great to use when your skin is throwing a hissy fit!! Thank you to Michele for the advice and help, it’s very much appreciated.

Till next time,

Lucy xxx

Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipsticks

Hello beauties,

I have one of my fave makeup purchases of 2019 which was the Smashbox Holiday 2018 Always On Lipstick collection. I got it in the Feel Unique sale earlier on in the year, and I love these lippies.

All of these colours are right up my street, I’m sure you can guess my favourite?? Yep that’s right Maneater! They are fabulous long lasting formula, easy to use even if the applicator is a bit tricky to get to grips with at first.

I love the metallic shades, I love the shine they give while being super long lasting. That’s why I gravitate towards matte formulas to be honest, the longevity is great you don’t have to think about reapplying so no taking it out with you.

I paid £20 for the set which was half price, amazing value for an amazing set of lippies.

Till next time,

Lucy xxx

Beauty Pie Wondercolour Cream Eyeshadow Stick

Hi beauties,

More Beauty Pie makeup with Wondercolour Cream Shadow Sticks I have two shades here, Little Star and Wild Violet.

These shadow sticks are beautifully creamy, they are super easy to apply and blend. I apply to my eye directly from the stick and then blend with my fingers. No brushes needed, although there’s nothing to say you couldn’t use a brush of you wanted to. There is no creasing and they DO NOT BUDGE! They last for hours! I always have to remove them with my micellar water so for longevity they are perfect.

My favourite of the two shades here is Wld Violet, I love the purple tone in here which is great for my brown eyes. Little Star is more of a gold shade, which I do like, but both have a bronze tone to them. I always lean towards neutrals, browns and creams that brighten my eyes. These two are shimmer shades which again I lean towards because I love the sparkle!

As it’s Beauty Pie the quality is brilliant (in my humble opinion) and wonderfully affordable. Prices are under £4 which is fantastic value and well worth splashing out on.

Till next time,

Lucy xxx