Burt's Bees Balms!

Burt’s Bees have something of a cult following and after trying out their fabulous 2 new lip balms I can now see why. These lip balms are their ‘Nourishing Lip Balm With Mango Butter’ and their ‘Rejuvenating Lip Balm With Acai Berry’ and they are stunning. They’re fabulously fruity without being sickly sweet which makes a nice change, I do love sweet scents but it’s just nice to mix it up a little.

I love the ethics of this company, they use 100% natural ingredients so there’s no worry of any nasties causing problems, and more importantly they’re not tested on animals (product OR ingredient) which more companies should take note of.

Nourishing Lip Balm with Mango Butter

“Hydrate and soften lips naturally with this nourishing 100% natural lip balm. Specially formulated with Mango Butter, this replenishing lip balm moisturises and protects to reveal smooth, healthy lips. Lips will love its lush, fruity flavour and the soft, moisturised feeling it leaves behind.”

More information on Mango Butter is available at this website that I found to be both interesting and informative. http://botanical.com/products/learn/butter/mango.html

Rejuvenating Lip Balm with Acai Berry

“Leave lips feeling renewed, moisturised and healthy wit hthis 100% natural lip balm. Superfruit, Acai Berries, provide free radical fighting antioxidants and Vitamins A, C, D and E, as well as healthy Omega Oils, giving your lips a rejuvenating experience with a rich, sweet flavour. We call that one super balm!


The Acai Berry is a deep purple berry that grows wild in the Brazilian Rainforests. This small berry contains antioxidants, vitamins and healthy Omega Oils. Acai Berries have 15 times more antioxidants than red grapes.”

 I find that I always struggle with pots of lip products because I do have fairly long nails that can make it difficult to get the product out of the pot, and whilst I have come up with a bit of a solution by using the back of my nail, I still find that it’s a pain in the bum to use them like this – especially on the move.

This is not the case with Burt’s balms as they are in an easy to use screw up tube that makes it super quick and easy to apply the product straight to my lips with one effortless swipe, and then pop the lid back on – perfect! Even if you don’t have longer nails, this method is so much better than having to deal with a sticky finger after application.

On the lips this stuff is gorgeous and velvety, not slimy or sticky in the slightest. In fact, if it wasn’t for the lack of dry lips whilst wearing it, you’d barely know you had it on at all. The look of the balm on my lips was neutral and healthy – no colour, however my lips had a lovely soft sheen that looked very natural.

I have used both balms to excess over the last week, with the Mango Butter variety holding a firm place in my handbag and the Acai Berry taking pride of place on my desk so that I always have one to hand whenever my lips are in need of moisture. I’m surprised at how well they have lasted though as I have really used both of them quite a lot and they still look almost unused, so I feel quite confident that they will last me a good while, which is good for the bank balance as we hurtle towards Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, these would make fantastic stocking filler gifts – perfect for winter months where chapped and dry lips can be at their worst and they won’t break the bank at only £3.49 each.

Korres Autumn Winter 2010 Colour Collection!

'Korres, set up in 1996, is a Greek skincare brand with roots in Athens’ first ever Homeopathic Pharmacy. Based on its pharmacy experience in over 3,000 homeopathic remedies of herbal origin, Korres is focusing on primary and applied research regarding natural ingredients and formulae. The company today offers a natural and certified organic skin & hair care range, a make-up line as well as suncare products and herbal preparations.'

I’ve been lucky enough to have their colour collection products for their Autumn/Winter 2010 'look' sent to me recently and I have to say I am very impressed. My initial thought is that the collection is a very classy affair; no outrageous colours here, but make no mistake this does not mean boring. The colours are very wearable and versatile easily moving from a natural daytime look into a more dramatic evening look, just by increasing the intensity of the layers and making the eyes even smokier!

First up we have three of their eye shadows, these are priced at a very reasonable £11 each an are created with Sunflower and Evening Primrose Oil so they care for the delicate eye area whilst also creating a stunning visual!

Below is a quote from their press statement that outlines what they want to achieve with their AW10 eye selection.

“With defined eyes rapidly taking centre stage this season, KORRES pushes boundaries to reinvent winter’s inevitability - smoky eyes – based on natural metallic brown and golden tones.”

The textures of the eye shadows are beautiful; the 2 browns (28 and 36) are quite metallic, but not in a trashy way and more importantly they are long lasting.

The mid brown shade (28) actually has a slight bronze/deep gold hue to it and in my opinion is the more metallic out of the 2 browns, stunning.

The darker brown (36) actually looks like deliciously dark chocolate with the slightest hint of a metallic shimmer, perfect.

Then there’s the ‘Nude 15’ shade which to me is perfect for applying as your base colour if you’re looking for something natural as it seems more matte than the other 2 – but not cakey at all.

These shadows can both be applied as subtly or as strongly as you desire, you just layer them up to your desired intensity as the pigment in these product allows for this perfectly. Using an eye shadow brush (especially with slightly longer bristles) gives a much finer layer I have found, but if you’re looking for a stronger colour then maybe use either a sponge tipped applicator, or a brush with shorter bristles that gives a more dense, pigmented colour.

Applying them was made easy by their rich velvety texture too, and I loved that when using these there didn’t seem to be much product dropping onto the rest of my face – bonus!

The Korres ‘Provitamin B5 and Rice Bran Mascara’ (£14.00) in brown (2) promises to lengthen your lashes whilst giving volume and deep colour to your lashes and it really does, I loved the look of my lashes with this on them. I would usually wear black mascara as a lot of brown mascaras don’t have the deep rich colour that I require, but not so with this product. I now feel I can wear a brown mascara without it looking wishy washy.

Their eyeliner (‘brown 2’ £7.00) is a revelation to me, it goes on smoothly is able to be smudged into a softer, smokier finish but then stays put. In the past I have found eyeliners to either stay put, but not be soft enough to smudge or to smudge but then not stay put. It was always the case that I could have one but not the other, so this is a fantastic find for me.

The liner also has antioxidant protection in the form of macadamia nut oil and vitamin E and revitalising properties from Meadowfoam seed oil. I love this as it gives the liner dual purpose, meaning that not only does it look good; it’s also good for the eye area and whilst this doesn’t mean you should go ahead and throw out all your eye care products, it does mean that you may not feel so guilty for wearing it a lot, or even if you do the unthinkable and fall asleep in your makeup. Come on; we’ve all done it, haven’t we?

Zea Mays Powder Blush (‘Natural 15’ £16.50) is a velvety blush with corn starch powder particles, for a luminous effect and a smooth and even finish. I admit that when I opened this I didn’t think it looked anything special but after putting it on my face I found that it made my skin glow beautifully, in a really natural, healthy way. It wasn’t heavy, didn’t clog and even more importantly lasted for a whole day of shopping.

Last but by no means least we have their chosen lipstick for AW10 is ‘Nude 34’ (£15), a light beige with a slight hint of pink. It’s the kind of colour you should be wearing if you want to try out nude lips but are worried the full on nude look may not suit you. This is, in my opinion, because of that very slight hint of pink that just makes it that bit more wearable for the average person. It’s not glossy, it is very creamy though so it’s not totally matte either, this means it is longer lasting when being worn and again, more wearable in my opinion.

I adore that pretty much all their products not only have their primary function in making your face look fab, but also that they all appear to have some kind of benefit to the condition of the area it is intended for. There’s the Sunflower and evening primrose that care for the delicate eye area in the eye shadows, Provitamin B5 in the mascara that strengthens lashes and guava extract in the lipstick that offers yet more antioxidant protection. They seem to do all this without compromising the products main functions, as makeup.

One thing I can say for sure is that this selection from Korres is a total triumph in my book.

Lush Limited Edition Creamy Candy Body Lotion!

Today I treated myself to 2 pots of Lush’s very limited edition ‘Creamy Candy’ body lotions and I have to say I am very pleased with them. Not only do they smell delightful but they are actually good moisturisers too – which isn’t always the case with heavily fragranced lotions.

The scent in the pot and when first applied is just like the Lush Creamy Candy bubble bar that it is based on. This may seem weird to mention as this is what you’d fully expect as standard but fragrance oils (especially the more natural ones) can change scent depending on what kind of product you put them into; for instance a bubble bar and a body lotion are 2 different chemical compositions so the fragrance, although the exact same fragrance can end up smelling totally different from product to product and this is why I thought it would be a good idea for me to mention this.

Application is easy and although the product has a pink hue to it, it does not make your skin pink in the process, thankfully. It’s also very quick to soak into my skin and did not make it feel tacky either, which I was very pleased to find out as although I like a good lounge around every now and then, I don’t like it forced upon me just because my moisturiser refuses to soak in so I was pleased to find that this lotion didn’t take half the day to do so.

The scent is quite strong and lasted for a good few hours on my skin, which I find to be fairly acceptable as I’ve not found that many lotions that smell strongly for the whole day, unfortunately. It didn't disappear completely, I should add.

After a while when the scent does mellow on the skin it still smells a lot like Creamy Candy as it did on application, but I do also detect a subtle hint of the Comforter lotion (based on the pink and white comforter bubble bar) which is still very lovely, sweet and slightly fruity. You may find this different on your own skin as scents are very personal things and are subject to change from person to person.

This is available at Lush stores throughout September (or until they run out, which I think is very likely so if you do want to purchase this then I would advise you to call your local store to make sure they have it in stock as it really is VERY limited edition) and is priced at £12 for a 225g pot.

As you can see from the picture below, this is suitable for vegans, but not for people who are allergic to parabens.

Popping My Cherry With 'The Body Shop' Lip Butter!

Advantages: Moisturises, Non greast, Non sticky, Cheap enough!

Disadvantages: You need to reapply it more than normal lip balm type products.


I eyed up this lip butter for a good few weeks online before buying it, I wasn't sure how heavy duty it would be on tackling my dry lips because it was a lip butter rather than a balm that I am more used to. The website information states:

‘A rich, intensive moisturiser for the lips with tantalising wild cherry. Its creamy butter-like texture melts onto the lips to help prevent dryness, leaving them feeling soft, smooth and kissable.'

• Wild Cherry Oil - For it's moisturising benefits

• Community Trade shea butter - leaves skin soft, smooth and supple

• Community Trade organic beeswax - an excellent skin conditioner'

 
It was when I was at the airport ready to go to Malaysia that I decided I would buy it; and I saved a bit of money in doing so as there was 30% off all the products that were already cheaper than normal stores anyway. I paid approximately £2.40 each for this and a shea butter one (that I am yet to use), which is a saving on the usual £4 price for the 10mls of product that you get. Ok it's not going to make me rich but as we're always told by a certain advert 'every little helps'.

The butter is pale pink in colour and has a lovely creamy look to it which appeals to me as I am quite a girly girl. It's quite low in the pot which means that you don't have a lot of room for manoeuvre to get the product out, especially if you have nails that go past the tip of your fingers. I tend to use the back of my nail to 'scoop' a little product out and then use another finger to apply it which seems to do the job.

If I am honest, I would prefer to have a smaller pot that was full to right near to the top with product as aside from the usage issue, it makes it look like half the product has already been used. Other than that, I do like the pot it is in, the screw top stays on (from my experience) which means it won't mysteriously come off in your handbag meaning it also won't get covered in the even more mysterious handbag fluff, the top also isn't too tight to get off; like Lush lip balms tend to be.

You should probably be aware that if this product gets warm, it does get a lot softer and like a normal creamy texture, which means you shouldn't prod your finger too hard into the pot otherwise you will get a big butter overload.

This lip butter has a delicious scent that hit me straight away, although not like your usual cherry scented product but lurrrvely all the same. It also doesn't really have a strong taste so to speak which is good because it means less/no licking it off straight away but it does take some getting used to because with this kind of scented lip product there would usually also be a little bit more taste from my experience. If the scent wasn't there, or it was more of a herbal/medicated scent like Carmex then personally I wouldn't expect a taste but because it smells sweet, I do - weird.

You only need a tiny bit of product to give your lips a decent covering, I made the mistake of getting too much onto my finger the first time I used it; so Mr Beauty Scoop got to wear it with me too on that occasion. Smoothing it over my lips was easy and although I did have some residue left on my finger but because it was a butter it was easily absorbed and had no sticky feeling either.

This was the same on my lips, it felt lovely, creamy and moisturising with no stickiness; although this was also partly its downfall as it just didn't seem to last that long on the lips, even without me licking it off. The look on the lips is quite nice, a bit of a sheen but nothing over the top, perfect really as if I wanted full on shine, I'd put a gloss on too. I did reapply it a lot more than usual but the moisturising feeling it gave felt worth it as my lips did go softer than before so it felt like it was worth the little bit of extra effort.

Whilst this hasn't got rid of my dry lips on its own, using it with my Lush sugar scrub does seem to be improving the overall condition, so when I finish the pots that I already own I would consider buying more.

As a final note, this product doesn't appear to have parabens in it which is great for all those people who are allergic to them.

http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk

The Body Shop Strawberry Puree Body Lotion.

Advantages: Cooling, Nice smell

Disadvantages: Smell doesn't last long, Doesn't moisturise the skin much!

I'm always using new body creams, lotions and potions so when I saw this on offer online I couldn't resist! They were 2 for £8, 2 for the price of 1, or half price each - however you want to name it. I bought the strawberry and the cherry but for now I will be writing about the strawberry variety!

The packaging states that it is a lightweight cooling moisturisation with strawberry pulp and sumptuous strawberry seed oil and that it is for normal skin.

The smell of this when it's still in the bottle to me smells like that paracetamol medicine I had when I was a child, strawberry flavoured - was it Calpol? Anyway, whilst this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it did surprise me as I didn't expect it to smell like a medicine in any form!

The pump dispenser is easy to use and even more so if you have problems with your hands/fingers due to something like arthritis as this takes a lot of the usual effort out of using a normal bottle for that kind of thing. Upon application this lotion is very cooling, which is great for the summer at least on those days where the sun decides it will shine here in the UK, but also for summer holidays abroad where the weather is likely to me much nicer!

The lotion is of quite a thin consistency but this does mean that a little bit seems to go along way! It also means that it isn't instantly absorbed; it leaves a wet feeling on the skin for a little while after - unless of course you rub it in for a longer time. I kind of like this when it's warm as it feels cooler for a bit longer in this state but it is a little sticky.

The smell on the skin will vary from person to person, much like a perfume would but on my skin the medicine smell more or less disappears and I am left with a sweet strawberry smell which is actually quite nice, but doesn't seem to last long unfortunately - probably about an hour ish.

This lotion is meant to be instantly hydrating; but for me unless you count the wetness when you apply it, it doesn't really feel all that hydrating, or moisturising. It doesn't leave my skin really dry either though but I would suggest that if you have skin that is on the dry side that you may want to try the body butter instead. None the less I was quite surprised about this as I thought that the shea butter in that it would make it really quite moisturising.

I haven't noticed any long term benefits in using this lotion, but to the same degree I haven't noticed any massive deterioration in my skin since using it either. I probably wouldn't buy this again if I am honest though, and certainly not at full price.

Rather than not recommending it to anybody because of my experience of it on myself, I do recommend you get yourself into a body shop store to try this on your skin before purchasing it to make sure that it's going to work well on your skin type and that the scent is going to last a long enough time to make it worth you purchasing it.

Summary: Make sure this is worth purchasing for you personally before you go ahead and buy it.

Lush Strawberry Feels Forever Massage Bar

Advantages: Smells Amazing, Moisturising, Seems Good Value For Money!

Disadvantages: None that I've found so far!

This was released by Lush as a special Valentines Day product a year ago, a limited edition if you will.It now appears that this product is here to stay as it is still on the shelves and available to be purchased instore and online.

The bar is shaped like a giant half strawberry - in that it has a flat, smooth back and not a symmetrical design on each side. It is pale pink in colour as opposed to red like a real strawberry, but it does have darker pink flecks running through it. I think the reason they decided to leave it a paler shade of pink/red is because if they had made it any deeper in colour, it could have been a bit of a pain to use as a massage bar due to it staining your skin... and possibly other household items such as bedding and towels etc.

In my opinion it is a perfect colour though... not only for Valentines Day, but for lush in general as I find a lot of girls who use Lush really like the more girly smells and products and there's nothing more girly than pink products that smell sweet! 

The bar fits into my hand but is about the size of the palm of my hand (if you chopped off my fingers and thumb - but please don't, as I quite like having the use of all my fingers haha). I think this is a good size to be honest, as any larger and it may have been too hard to handle and thus maybe too hard to apply to your skin depending on how you use / apply your massage bars!

Application of the bar is to me a personal preference, it's not even something I do the same every time so it seems. Sometimes I like to smear the bar over my skin and then massage it in, other times I warm the bar up in my hands and rub my hands on my skin. Personally I find that smearing it over the skin works best for me most of the time, as it means I'm not potentially wasting any as it's being applied directly to the area that I intend it for, and also it means I get a much stronger hit of the smell left on my skin. It's also not something that requires a partner to massage it in every single time, although that is a nicer way of application, but not always practical to do so!

I've noticed that some people actually dab off any excess that may not have been absorbed into their skin; I don't really like to do this as I prefer to apply it and then put on my dressing gown. This means that any product that doesn't get absorbed into my skin, scents my gown rather than the towel I'm about to put into the washing machine after using it and I at least feel that I get a bit more 'use' from doing it this way too... we have been in a recession after all. ;-)

This brings me to my next point; the smell of this massage bar! I have to say the smell is absolutely divine. It has the sweet smell of the fresh strawberries used in the bar itself mixed with a more creamy scent that makes it smell to me something like a strawberry milkshake or ice cream. It's truly delightful, and if you have ever smelled Lush's yummy yummy yummy shower gel you may have some idea of the smell of this bar as it's also got the 'fruit sundae with cream on top' scent that is used in that.

I do think it could have been even better with a slightly stronger smell as although it's a noticeable smell, I prefer to have a stronger smell that lasts a little longer; so with this in mind, I used the massage bar after showering with yummy yummy yummy. Let me tell you now, I was in absolute strawberry heaven and still smelled like strawberries long after my shower so to get the maximum strawberry scent for as long as possible, I wholeheartedly recommend this method.

Another cocktail (so to speak) I like is using this with my snow fairly shower gel, or the godmother soap (both the same scent) as these are also sweet smelling fragrances. I am yet to try it with my candy fluff body dust, honey I washed the kids soap or any other sweeter items from my lush stash but I will do so and see if I can find any other good matches. Let me know if you have any good mixes for this too in the comments as I'm always up for trying new lush cocktails haha.

The bar also contains cocoa butter and (fair trade) shea butter along with a whole host of other oils to help with both the scent and to give an incredibly moisturising experience; it left my skin feeling beautiful afterwards.

Storing this bar is a bit of a pain, it has to be said as it's too big for the massage bar tins that you get from Lush, but it's not really advisable to leave it in the yellow paper bag that you get from Lush as the oils tend to soak into it and can end up ruining your actual product, not to mention ruining anything that may also be touching the paper bag. I find that storing it in a plastic zip seal bag works ok for me (although not totally perfect for a massage bar), as it does for most of my other Lush items in my stash. Again, please comment if you find an alternative method of storage that may be better than this.

The massage bar costs £5.10 (as of August 2010) and to me is worth every penny as my bar is still going strong after about 8 full body uses!

I recommend this to anybody who likes sweet smells like I do!

Summary: Love it!

Hawaiian Tropic Dry Carrot Oil SPF15

Advantages: Gets You Brown Easily, Easy To Apply, Comfortable When On, Moisturising

Disadvantages: You Miss It When You Don't Have It .

Please note: This is a slightly revised and updated review that I did on another site a while ago!

I first experienced this oil on my holiday to Tossa De Mar in June 2007; I had always liked using oil over my normal cream as I go browner using one, but disappointingly their sun protection factors are usually not sufficient to be used alone. However, I found this particular one in the apartment that I was staying in and was told I could use it if I would like. I was impressed that it had a decent SPF so thought I would give it a go.


I applied the oil and was pleasantly surprised to find that it applied easily (as it's a spray bottle), was easy to see where it had been applied (as you had a lovely sheen where the product was), and did not feel uncomfortable when on the skin as a lot of oils can feel sticky and heavy when applied. I then enjoyed the sun for the whole day, regularly reapplying the oil throughout the day usually around every 2 hours for my skin* which again was less of a chore than I usually experienced as I was used to having to put on cream, and then oil on top.

When we got back early that evening I took a little peek at what I hoped would be my white bits, although I was not really expecting much after the previous days disappointment with the ultrasun. SUCCESS, there were definite white areas where my bikini had been positioned and no burnt bits. I couldn't believe how well it had done in one day of sunbathing not to mention how soft my skin felt at the end of the day. I used it for the rest of the holiday, each day getting browner and browner, I hadn't ever found it this easy to go brown so I was really impressed.. although I still wondered if it was just a lucky one off experience.

I put this to the test in the August as I bought some more to take to Ibiza with me for the 9 days I was holidaying there and sure enough, it did just as well as it had done in Tossa and i came home with a fantastic tan. I felt I had finally found a product that worked well with my skin. I also have to mention at this point, that my boyfriend also used this oil with me and he had the same great results. He doesn't tan as easily as I do whilst in the sun either, so he was really impressed with this stuff too.

I ordered some more to take on holiday with me for 6 days in Ibiza at the beginning of June 2008, but was disappointed when it didn't arrive by the time I was leaving for my holiday. I had to rush to the shops and find a replacement, and quickly. The nearest I could find was Hawaiian Tropic carrot gel SPF8, so I bought it thinking that as it was made by the same people and still contained carrot that it would do the same job for me. I was wrong, I didn't tan half as much as I had done using the carrot oil and had more reapplying it far more as it was a lower factor. I've also found that I am peeling now I am home, even though I didn't burn; this did not happen when I had used the oil.

I don't want to put the substitute gel down as it did an *ok* job but having experienced the carrot oil and having high hopes, this really disappointed me. Needless to say, I have been taking my trusty Hawaiian Tropic SPF 15 Carrot Oil on any holidays that I have had since, and  have been coming home lovely and brown.


*Please remember that it's different for every skin, so remember to reapply according to how your own skin is in the sun. With a SPF of 15, this means you can stay out 15 times longer than you usually could without sun cream before getting burned so reapply often as burning/cancer is just not cool.

Claire. xx

Summary: Tantastic.. cheesy I know (the word, not the oil as that's obviously carrot), but true.

Wilkinson Sword Intuition Plus Sensitive Care Razor

Advantages: Easy to use, Quick, Relatively Close Shave!

Disadvantages: Soap runs down quickly, Hair sticks to soap and in blades, The price

I am a member of a site called bzzagent and had been given this product to trial which is how I came to trial the item and thus have this opinion of the product to share with you all.

I must say, I am usually a *rip the hair straight out of the folicle* kind of girl using wax and my epilator; but you do sometimes get the odd time that you need a quick fix in that inbetween, so I do like to have a razor in just in case so receiving this was good for this kind of occasion!

I found that using this razor was very easy and made light work of my shaving needs. Using the intuition plus means that there's no need for separate foam and thus shaving is instantly easier and quicker so less time and pain standing on one leg, holding your leg up, balancing it in an awkward position and not fiddling around with a few different objects/tops etc. However, with the lack of foam came the problem that you couldn't easily see where had you had already shaved (unless your legs were terribly hairy to start with of course, ha) so you have to have a good feel to make sure it's smooth, not such a big problem but definitely worth noting if you're planning on making a purchase.

The razor itself was easy to hold (easier than normal razors I found as it was chunkier and with a more non slip surface, although not as easy to flip around) and made light work of the job, meaning I didn't have to scrape and scrape at my legs for the hair to be removed which can irritate skin and risk cutting yourself too.

I did find that the 'soap' kept the blade from my leg to start with, but then wore down quickly, more so on one side quicker than the other, which meant that I did have to flick the razor around a bit to get more use out of it. This isn't a massive issue and to be honest, I'm not sure how or if this could have been avoided. It's certainly not a deal breaker as to if I'd carry on using this razor though in-between waxing when I need to get rid of hair quickly.

Another problem I discovered was that I found that hair I had shaven off stuck to the soap and in the blades, which was difficult to get off/out and looked unsightly so I hid the razor out of sight as that is just embarrassing in my opinion. This also meant that I did not use the holder it came with.

Afterwards, my skin did feel smooth but I didn't feel that it completely removed the need to moisturise separately. I'd certainly recommend it for anybody who wants to try it though as it cut down my time shaving and made it a lot easier for me in the shower; although the price is on the expensive side. The blades cost anywhere around the £5-7 mark which is a bit steep, but then I guess if you factor in the fact that you don't need to buy separate foam, it doesn't seem as bad.

Buy the razor here! 

Cheap replacement blades!

Summary: Intuitive product but isn't without fault.