Soap & Glory Hand Food Review

The most astonishing hand cream ever? You Decide!

This is the question posed on the packaging of the Soap & Glory Hand Food hand cream, right at the top. Who can not accept that challenge? I’d also seen lots of people doing the September Beauty Blog Challenge post about this last week. I couldn’t post about my favourite because I’d run out, sobs! However, this did mean I tried a new hand cream and found a new favourite!

It contains Shea butter, Macadamia oil and Marshmallow, yes Marshmallow. It smells as sweet as it sounds. The function of the Marshmallow is a mystery to me but I love it nonetheless.

I love that this hand cream soaks in really fast but that doesn’t mean you have to keep reapplying it, oh no twice a day is fine! It isn’t greasy but really is super-hydrating. After just a week of using it as and when I remember (about once over the weekend but more during the week) my hands are softer than ever. I’m prone to dry patches and this has battled them right into history in just 7 days.

So in answer to their question, yes it is the most astonishing hand cream ever. It smells great and works even better, what more do you want from a hand cream. I’ve been the envy of the office this week with this delicious smelling formula and I’ll 110% be repurchasing!

Try it: £5, Boots

NEWS: We’ll be moving over to a self-hosted site this week so that the blog can be bigger and better.. watch this space for more information. I hope you’ll all support us in this move, it shouldn’t cause any disruption to service and those who follow should be automatcally moved over.

#SBBC Day 8 – Maintaining Healthy Hair

I was meant to post this yesterday but just didn’t the time, I usually try to have Sunday’s off to spend time with my family and at church etc so I’m doing an extra post today.

These are the products I am currently using to keep my hair healthy, especially as I colour my hair! I’ve also included my top tips.

John Freida Radiant Red Shampoo and Conditioner

I wash my hair every other day to avoid drying it out by over washing. I use this John Freida shampoo and conditioner to prolong my deep red hair colour. It does seem to be helping and it also makes my hair feel incredibly soft and moisturised.

TRESemmè Heat Defence Styling Spray

I heat style my hair so this is perhaps one of my most important items in my hair care regime. I spray it onto damp hair to protect from blow-drying and then straightening. It also contains a UVC filter which protects my hair from the sun and helps to keep it hydrated and stops the sun bleaching the colour from my hair. It smells awesome too.

Guy Kremer Protection Serum

You can never protect your hair too much, I mainly use this to smooth y hair and keep it that way all day but it also protects my hair from the heat styling too. It makes my hair much more manageable to straighten and strengthens it against humid and damp weather.

Top tips

• Use a wide toothed comb instead of a hair brush.
• If you have greasy hair use dry shampoo or talken powder between washes you can last an extra day and protect your hair.
• Use the right shampoo for your hair type this will give the best results.
• Avoid using hair bands too often; they can damage your hair.
• Eat healthily and make sure you’re getting all of your vitamins.
• Avoid heat styling if you can but protect your hair well when you have to do it.
• Only dye your hair every 6 weeks(minimum) and make use of the weekly conditioner they provide!

The Body Shop – Colour Crush Lipstick Review (in Berry in Love 320)

I promise I’m nearly at the end of the reviews from my TBS haul! I’m building up my lipstick collection at the moment and as soon as I heard The Body Shop had launched a new one I had to give it a go!

I decided to go for a colour I didn’t already have so opted for Berry in Love which is a lovely deep pink shade with a touch of coral. It’s somewhere between a pink and red and it’s utterly perfect for every day wear. The colour comes out really well and I just can’t get a photo that does it justice. It is wonderfully pigmented and adds a touch of glamour to any look.

It also has a light rose scent which is very elegant and makes the task of applying the lipstick that bit more pleasant It’s also highly moisturising and leaves my lips feeling super soft and well cared for.

It lasts quite well for a lipstick that has a soft sheen finish, I usually find that the lipsticks that hydrate best last least, but this one lasts a good few hours and I don’t mind reapplying every so often.

I am definitely going to try some other colours so I’ll let you know if the others live up to this one!

Try it: RRP £10, The Body Shop

#SBBC Day 5 – Good Skin Starts From Within

Foods for healthy skin

As the daily prompts are optional and I wasn’t having any inspiration for either today I decided to do a post that was suggested by our very own Megan on foods that are super good for your skin. It doesn’t matter how many lotions and cleansers you use your skin will always be better if you eat well. Taking care of the inside will naturally take care of the outside.

Water

First up and the one I feel most important is water. Your skin needs to be hydrated to be healthy. Hydrated skin not only has fewer spots it has a natural glow and tans easily and safely when using sun screen. Water will keep your skin young, soft and beautiful.

Yoghurt

Yoghurt contains vitamin A which is vital for good skin. Just be sure to make it a low-fat version.

Blueberries

Blueberries are my personal favourite super-food. They are rich in antioxidant which fights the anti-aging process and helps to protect your skin from the effects of pollution in the air.

Salmon

I’m not a fish eater, I can’t stand it but I wish I could. It’s rich in Omega and Essential Fatty Acids, these are responsible for healthy cell membranes and the general healthy of cells throughout the whole body. If the cell walls are tough cookies they’ll keep more water in and thus give you healthier cells and healthier skin.

Almonds

And no I’m not talking about the sugar-coated variety! Almonds are jam-packed full of vitamin E and are rich in monounsaturated fat (good fat!). This also keep cells strong and lowers cholesterol too.

Spinach

I love spinach. Mainly in fresh mixed in with mash potato so it is just lightly steamed. (My recipe for the day!) Spinach contains beta-carotene which  helps to repair skin and maintain its youthful appearance.

Avoid!

Too much milk, bread, pasta, cakes – These are all linked to causing acne.

Salt – This can cause your skin to look puffy and can also cause acne.

Candy – This can damage the collagen and elsatin in your skin. These both keep your skin firm and wrinkle free so ditch the candy and hit up the blueberries!

Alcohol – It dries out your skin and causes so many problems and can also lead to more serious skin conditions.

#SBBC Day 4 – Positives about blogging

Seeing as I just ran out of my favourite hand cream (The Body Shop Almond hand cream) I decided to do my positives about blogging. It’s good to change things up once in a while anyway!

So these are the positives I found to blogging in the 11 weeks (tomorrow) that I’ve been blogging:

1. Community – There’s quite a few bloggers on here that I now consider to be ‘blogger friends’, you are all so amazing and the community feel to blogging is addictive and unique. I look forward to reading other people’s posts and getting to know them through their writing. I hope to meet some of you at a blogger meet up in the future.
2. Discovery – I adore finding new products and I trust what the bloggers are writing about them. It helps me to stay in the loop and stumble upon products I wouldn’t otherwise have done.
3. Writing – I love to write and I have a huge passion for this blog. It is already helping me to find my own writers voice and the daily practice is not only fun but valuable experience for the career I aim to do.
4. Creativity – I’m getting the hang of making my posts better, I like trying to think of new post ideas as much as I like trying new products to review. I’m getting used to editing my photos to make them stand out more too.
5. Satisfaction – I get a huge sense of satisfaction when people like and comment on my posts, it’s always good to feel appreciated and to know people actually do read and care about what you write. It’s satisfying seeing my hard work paid off in numbers of followers and views. I think I’ll always be excited to hear from my followers and I do try to reply to each comment as soon as possible. If any have slipped through, I’m sorry!

What are your positives of blogging?

#SBBC – What I Take When I Travel

Day 3 of the September blog-a-day challenge started with the exciting news that I now have 300 wonderful followers. I think I’ll do another giveaway at 500 followers. I’ve been blogging 10 and 1/2 weeks and I still can’t get pver the fact that people actually read what I write!

Anyway, into today’s post. I take so many things when I travel so I decided to just show 7 of them. I tend to over-pack and take everything including the kitchen sink, you just never know when you’re going to need that bright pink eye liner you bought when you were 13.

• The Body Shop All-in-One BB Cream is multi-purpose, I use it in place of my moisturiser and foundation in the morning saving my precious space in my bag and time for enjoying my time away.
• I always have a concealer with me, I’m currently using an MUA one and it’d be one I took travelling as it’s cheap and easily replaceable.
• Nail polish, I always take the nail polish I’m wearing seeing as I’m prone to chipping and I’m guaranteed to need to touch them up.
• They’re Real – this mascara literally goes everywhere with me, I may be busy travelling but that doesn’t mean I can let my lashes go!
• L’Occitane Hydration Cream – I always take a sample size moisturiser with me for night time skin-care. I take a full skin regime but this is the most important part for me as I get really dry skin.
• DKNY Be Delicious Perfume – This is my all-time favourite perfume and it holds a lot of memories from weekends away so I always refill and take along my sample size one whenever I travel.
• Lip Balm – The Figs and Rouge Lip Balm is a current favourite as it works really well but can also double up as a cheek tint,

There are literally so many more products I take but we’d be here all day! Hope you’re all having a good Tuesday!

#SBBC – The Bad-Ass Biker Look

So I have no ‘It’s in the Bag’ for you tonight but I do have a sexy new biker jacket to share with you. I decided to go all out and create a Bad-Ass Biker look especially for the occasion. Now I’m not very ‘bad-ass’ as you can see, aside from a few tattoos I’m pretty low-key.. normally. But here it is anyway!

I’ve had my eye out for a biker jacket for weeks now and when I saw this one in New Look for just £39.99 I knew I had to have it. It’s bang on trend for Autumn and it’s practical too. It’ll keep me warm enough without making me overheat. I love the zip detailing on this jacket, it’s also really fitted and it’s so flattering. It nips me in at the waist too. It also has fab creases at the elbows which look fantastic. This will probably be my favourite Autumn piece.

I kept the outfit simple to let the jacket and shoes speak for themselves. I just popped it on with a simple vest top and skinny jeans. I love these shoes which I’ve had a while but I think the cute bows make it a more feminine outfit whilst still looking ‘bad-ass’.

To pull of this look I believe your makeup needs to stand out and make a statement too. For me, only a smokey eye and red lips would do. I used my Benefit Smokin’ Eye kit for the eyes. I used a No7 black metallic eyeliner across the whole of the top lid and 3/4 of the lower lid. I also used my new Body Shop Eyebrow Kit to define my brows a bit. I applied a couple of coats of They’re real and a bit of Benefit High Beam under my brow.

I applied plenty of M.A.C. powder blush in Mocha for a flushed, ‘I just got of a motorbike’ glow. Followed by highlighting my cheek bones with even more High Beam.

A slick of MUA Shade 1 lipstick over a Barry M Lip Liner and I was good to go, to go where I don’t know seeing as I’m still sat here and now in my pyjamas! I can’t wait to do this look again over the weekend!

The Body Shop Baked-to-Last Eye Shadow in Amethyst Review

This eye shadow by The Body shop in Amethyst has got to be one of the prettiest ones I own. Both purples are gorgeous, I tend to use the lighter one over the lid and the darker at the corner of my eye.

This eye shadow can be used wet or dry. Dry it doesn’t have the best colour pay off in the world, it’s quite subtle but then that’s nice for an every day look. I haven’t tried it wet yet as quite frankly it makes me a little nervous but I will give it a go soon, when I have no where to go in a hurry.

I used it over Benefit’s Stay Don’t Stray eye primer and that did improve the colour slightly but it honestly didn’t last 8 hours. Even my MUA palettes last 8 hours with a primer under so this was a bit disappointing. Again, though I think it’d last longer used wet. This isn’t the best photo, it doesn’t do the colours justice but you get the idea.

I found it quite difficult to build up the colour into a shade I was happy with but once I got there I was happy with it. They 2 shades blended into each other effortlessly which was fab.  I have heard that this shade is the weakest of them all so I think I may need to try a different shade. I’m definitely going to incorporate this into a smokey eye look as I think that’d look gorgeous, I’ll let you know how that goes!

Try it: £10, The Body Shop