Review: body Shop New Scent Handcream in Grapefruit

image cutesy of body shop

A few weeks ago I wondered into the Body Shop to find that they had not only recently permanently dropped their prices (awesome) but was also sporting some new scented hand creams and though it took me a few days hunting to locate the scent I wanted (it was sold out everywhere!) i eventually found this baby in the city store. That is the pink grapefruit scented hand cream, which smells amazing!

Each tube is 30ml and it comes in several scents including coconut, strawberry, mango, honey, and more and come in at $9.95. In terms of formula these are much more gel then actual creams which makes them very lightweight and super fast at absorption. I tend to keep this near my computer because it absorbs quick enough that I can watch an youtube and and put this on but by the time the video loads my hands are all good to put back on the keyboard without leaving grease stains. 

The scent is strong when you first put it on but it's not so strong that you will taste it if you put your hands near your mouth or  put something into your mouth after putting it on. Each hand cream contains cold pressed oil of whatever scent the hand cream is, in this case grapefruit seed oil and shea butter.

I'm not a huge fan of hand creams but this one is quick enough at absorption that it doesn't interrupt my life and it smells amazing. Big Fan

Review: Body Shop Seaweed Clarifying Night Treatment

Hello all, in a recent effort to combat getting less sleep I was on the look out for something to give my skin a bit of a boost and was originally eying the Vitamin E serum at the body shop but after a bit of discussion about my skin type with the sales assistant I decided to pick up the seaweed clarifying night treatment instead which is designed for combination/oily skin. I was quite excited about trying it as it smells and feels brilliant.

The product is a very lightweight liquid gel and you only need a small amount to cover your entire face and neck, once applied  you can either rub it in or pat it down (which I found works better). It has a slight cooling effect and you face feels very clean and fresh after application.

It comes in a clear pump which lets you easily control hoe much you use and also the clear strip on the side easily lets you know how much you have left, i'm honestly surprised how much I have gone through so quickly despite using a very small amount. It smells slightly salty, but mostly fresh and a bit like cucumber.

I enjoy applying this product as it makes my face feel so fresh and calm but as for results I have seen no difference, the product is supposed to help mattify your skin and control oil production which as far as I can tell it doesn't do. My face would still get quite shiny after a few hours of makeup, no more or less then before I started using it and it really had no other effects that would make me want to repurchase it. I'm quite disappointed as I really was expecting more from this product. Once I finish it up I think I will try Enzymion from Lush as it seems quite promising in the oil control department.

Any recommendations? What's your favorite night treatment/moisturizer?

New Job Haul

Hey all, sorry for the slow posts recently, new job in combination with a computer glitch that deleted all my blog information meant hat it was a bit more difficult for me to get anything up. The issue is still being fixed and it might take a little while to completely fix it. However I did have a chance to pick up a few (okay more then a few) bits and pieces many of which were driven by me new job and new found makeup needs, so let me share!

I picked up:

Elder Scrolls Online (map edition) - I really enjoyed Skyrim and I'm totally looking forward to playing this on my days off. So far it's been a bit of a difficulty in logging in and dealing with server crashes but I'm still hopeful.

Essence gel-look top coat - On the day I got my first pay check i immediately placed an order for some Illamasqua nail polishes that have been on my mind for ages but for whatever reason suddenly went on special, also with working longer hours with lots of computer clicking I really need my nail polish to last better then it does with no top coat so i figured i would give this one a try.

Essence purple sugar nail polish - I've been seeing this color a lot of blogs and youtube videos but  couldn't recall what the name of the polish was ( Pretty sure it was from Essie) but it's a beautiful color anyway (plus it's color of the year) and it lasts really well, I was able to wear it for three days without chipping and only a tiny bit of tip wear.

Essence all about nude eyeshadow palette - I picked this up because I saw the new collection and got really excited but nothing else really struck me as being too amazing except the blush but I realized that I love my Illamasqua Katie and Hourglass Ethereal glow too much to bother with almost anything else. It's not anything tooo amazing but it's nice enough and has some nice transition tones.

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette - This was actually a congratulation on new job present from my amazing boyfriend, and I've been using it everyday since. I love it to death and adore the combination of matte and shimmery shades. It smells amazing and has incredible lasting power. Full review coming soon.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance (original) - I discovered in my first week at work that my eyeshadows were doing terribly at lasting through the whole day, and regular bases (maybelline eye tattoo and Illamasqua hollow) were only doing a so-so job of keeping the longevity of my eyeshadows. They did a great job at improving the color but my eyeshadow woulds crease and slip (not attractive). I choose this one since I was so in love with my Chocolate Bar pallet that i though brand to brand would work better together and it's a pretty well thought of primer.

e.l.f blending brush - Since I no longer have as much free time to clean my brushes I decided to add an additional two brushes and though these would make an interesting comparisons to some of my other brushes. 

e.l.f eyeshadow brush - I choose these two as they get the most attention on American blogs despite not being as cheap as they are over there ($1) while here they are ($3) they are still much cheaper then what other brands are offering.

Maybelline Super Stat 24hr Lipstick in Timeless Rose - Another thing i discovered in my first week of work is that my super moisturizing lipsticks were no good at lasting a day of work, and my mum swears by these so I figured it would be a good shot. So far so good though it an be drying if your not careful about using the balm side of it regularly.

Rimmel Scandal Eyes in 005 Nude,001 Black, and 004 Taupe - With less time to get ready in the morning and a limited time to get ready in these have been a great time saver and the fact that they are waterproof and super easy to use have been amazing. Really happy with these, wish I had found them before.

Nivea Lip Butter in Raspberry Rose - I loved the other two of these i have (macademia and caramel) but this one is by far my favorite, it's scent is much more subtle and seems much more hydrating then the others although that might just be because i'm more prone to use it as I love the smell so much.

Body Shop Seaweed Clarifying night treatment - Needing more sleep now but getting much less of it was threatening to wreck havoc on my skin, I needed something easy to use at the end of the night that wouldn't have any issues with my cleanser. This seems okay so far, i like how light it feels and absiors quickly but i haven't seen any amazing results as yet. 

Illamasqua nail polis in Fragile and Mottle - Ah I have wanted these for a long time, ever since i saw then in Melbourne last year but wasn't quite willing to pay $23/28 when there was so many new things to try. Also if you want to pick up some of these babies, Myer is selling them atm for $5 each!

Review: Satsuma Perfume from Body Shop

The Satsuma range at the Body Shop can be an elusive beast, but it made it's appearance this year on Boxing day much to my good mood as it's a wonderful scent for starting the new year with; it's a fresh fruity smell that's just bursting with citrus overtones. The strongest scent is Tangerine but it's so much more then that, it's such a rich scent that seems almost alive - like it might burst out of the bottle. 

This is the first time I've seen it as a perfume but there is a whole range of products; shower gel, soap, body butter, body polish, and body lotion. It's a gorgeous scent and is perfect for this time of year, though I do which it would stay around a bit longer. I usually get maybe 3-4 hours out of it.

Review: The Body Shop Lily Cole Illuminating Beads

If you know what to do with them then highlighters can be great products as they can add a healthy shine and glow to your face. It's been about a year since these came out at the Body Shop and i remember lusting for these back then however at a $44 price tag i wasn't about to grab them. However about a month ago my local Body Shop was having a clearance sale on some of their makeup items and i was able to grab this baby for $14! I thought that was amazing especially since i was looking for the Face of Australia illuminating pearls at the time but they were pretty much gone.

The pearls are housed in a round shaped tub, the product comes with a fluffy pink puff to dust on the illuminating powder, the pearls are much more warm toned then the Face of Australia ones as well as the famous Guerlain Météorites Powder. The color combination here is cream, gold and pink pearls where the Météorites have green and blue shimmer pearls. It looks quite nice and the overall color on me is a light pink shimmer. 

The brush is best for the neck and chest because it's way too big to use in your face with any sort of efficiency, in fact i find it quite difficult to use as due to it's size the little pearls often end up rolling out of the container, overall and most commonly I use the duo-fiber contour brush as it's sparse enough to not pick up too much product and doesn't roll the pearls out.

Overall I like the product but it takes a little effort to use and most days i find i can't be bothered, it's more of a product that I use on special occasions or when i notice it on my desk and see how cute it is. How do you like using highlighters?

Review: Vineyard Peach Body Shop Range

Recently the Body Shop got a new-ish collection in that i have found to be quite gorgeous, in fact one sniff and i was quite lost and needed to make it mine. These products which include a body butter, body scrub, body lotion and shower gel all smell uniquely like a real peach rather then the usual sweet vague peach candy scent i find is present in the few peach scented items that make up collections bring out, which admittedly is not a lot.

To begin with i initially picked up only the shower gel because that was all i really needed; after all i still have much of my Haus of Gloi supply of body moisturizing products and to be honest I'm not that great at using them very often, its just not ever really been part of my routine and I'm not too crash hot on the exact specifics of how it should be used; is it just for legs? everywhere? how do i reach my back if it is? Do i need a buddy to use these products to their full extent? No sure, don't care enough to find out at this point.

That said as you can see i did end up with the body butter anyhow, and why? Well the shower gel smells beautiful but it doesn't stay around for the longest time, maybe 10 minutes max unless you keep you hand right up to your nose. The body butter however has better staying power; hence i kind of just use it as a perfume for the most part, and regular leg moisturizing when i can remember.

Both products work really well and don't disappoint,  the body butter will last for a very long time and shower gel seems to be holding up well too; the usage on the photos above is about 7 showers worth. 

Well worth a sniff next time you walk by a Body Shop! 

(Beware this range seems to be disappearing quickly)

Review: Sukin Shampoo & Conditioner

Okay, big step: my first bad review

I was originally very eager to try this combination, having rarely to never started outside "regular" shampoo ( except for a couple of months using Lush's shampoo bars ) and tried very very hard to like this. I tried this, my mum tried this and my boyfriend tried this. None of us liked it.

Keeping in mind that this shampoo is different then your basic ones from the supermarket, it has a long list of uber friendly ingredients and then a longer list of evil chemicals it does not contain, looking at that list i was almost surprised there was anything in the bottle.

I was prepared for the fact it wasn't going to foam, that was fine, that was not the issue ( though mum and boyfriend were not very pleased with this aspect ) but what I did not like was that it did not really seem to get my hair clean, it gave me dreads! It did not feel clean and to get it to do anything requires a lot of product.

It' not all bad I really like the smell it's light and fruity, kind of a orange/ tangerine /kiwi scent which is quite lovely and sticks around for a few hours.

The product for me was fine when my hair was wet but the moment it dried it turned into dreds and felt "crunchy" like i had left the conditioner in. Now I wasn't sure what to do with this, it cost more then your average shampoo and throwing it out seemed kind of wasteful. So it found a new life: as my brush cleaning shampoo it seems to be gentle enough and without any of those nasty chemicals it seems to be quite good for them, indeed since brushes are quite small (compared to my head) so it even lathers up a bit.

For those wanting to try this; well I can't really recommend it, but e erodes hair is different for example my mother had the dreds happening too, but my boyfriend had lovely soft hair with no crunch (he mostly just didn't like the no foam) so it's by no means a 100% no go zone. It didn't work for me, it might work for you, and if it doesn't your brushes might like it.

Next the conditioner, much happier with this one. It's quite light and by no means a deep moisturizing conditioner but it has the same lovely scent I that the shampoo has but actually does it's job in addition to looking Percy. It's a similar beast to the shampoo but using it in combination with other shampoo ie. not Sukin ( in this case Dove and Herbal Essences) it works quite well and leaves your hair very soft and smelling great. This one is totally solid.

I don't think this shampoo is a good representation of the brand, I've tried both their moistures, hand cream and rose hip oil and all have been awesome. The rose hip oil especially so I hope this doesn't scare anyone away. Available at Priceline

Also whilst i was out and about i saw that the body shop had turned up their game in terms of their makeup department.

Now when i think body shop makeup is probably the last thing on my mind it terms of what i might look for, if i do go there it's for skincare products like hand creams, scrubs or before it was discontinued my lovely banna condition and still available shampoo. (which smell sweet and bannana-ie). But i can't honestly say I've ever more then glanced at their make up range. Probably my bad, but it just never looked all that inviting. Until now that is.

A little research reveals this as the Lily Cole Activist Limited Edition Collection  , now i don't know who that is, im guessing most people who walk through their doors don't know either. But if i was to judge her based on this collection alone i might assume she's a barbie. The packaging for everything is round and fluffly and pink.  The cheek and lip domes look very interesting, i don't know that i have ever seen a make up dome before?

The one that really grabbed my attention was the blush ...bomb? The pink round fluffy things in the centre of the picture.It looks just too pretty. But at a $44 price tag i don't think i'll be getting one anytime soon. for that money i could by two happy heart physician formulas blushes.

Please let me know how they are if you try them.