Skincare Haul & Cleanser Review

So, I've been on a mission to find a cleanser and moisturiser.

I went out almost 2 weeks ago, just after getting my Mia2, and bought a couple of contenders.

The first was Soap & Glory Peaches & Clean, which is £7 for 200ml. First impression, this smells just like peaches, with a hint of mint. It leaves my skin feeling soft, not tight at all and very clean. I didn't really research the purchase, just went with what I read on the bottle. Research seems to say this cleanser is good for skin that tends towards being oilier, which is not me, but I have had good results with periodic use.

I also bought Good Things  Fresh Start Creamy Cleanser. This is lovely, very creamy and the texture is gorgoues but I think it's more aimed at younger skin, I'd say teens to early twenties. I love the feel and semll but I don't think it hs the moisture need for skin more mature (god I hate to describe myself as "more mature").

I also got Good Things Stay Clear for my daughterk how is 8 but already experiencing blackheads and the beginnings of breakouts (much more than I would like to believe at her age to be honest) and her skin seems to be more like a teenagers. The results are fantastic, her pores are clearing with nothing but using this product.

I also bought Good Things 5 Minute Facial. I've only tried this once and it initially felt quite moisturising but 5/10 minutes after rinsing I could feel my skin tightening, a sure sign of dryness.

Overall, I think for people in their teens/early 20's Good Things is a great range, just not for me. The texture of the products I have tried so far is gorgeous, the smell is quite faint but the results are great for the age range they aim at.

So far, my favourite cleanser/facewash is Benefit B.right but Soap & Glory is a close second.

I will do a post soon on the various cleansers I have tried with the Mia 2 and also to update on my progress with the Mia 2.

Let me know your thoughts on the best cleansers, the Mia 2 and anything else that takes your fancy!

Love you x

Clarisonic Mia 2

The lovely people at Current Body were kind enough to send me a Clarisonic Mia 2 to test for the next 3 months! I was so excited to receive this today, it's something I've been thinking about buying but I have to be honest, the price tag was making me a bit unsure. 

Clarisonic say the Mia 2 is the essential first step in your daily skin care, using a gentle sonic micro-massage action to cleanse deeply. It cleans pores without harsh abrasion or chemicals, cleansing so effectively that skin care products will absorb better. They claim 6x better cleansing, reduced appearance of pores, fine lines and wrinkes, and improved skin tone. The Mia 2 has two speed settings and a T-Timer that pauses to let you know when to move on to the next area of your face.

In the box was the Mia 2, charger, travel case and a sample cleanser from Clarisonic. I excitedly plugged it in to charge as soon as I got home and waited for it to be charged enough to use for the first time.

Lately my skin has been really dry, with flaky patches. The cold weather seems to be playing havoc with it and even my emergency slapping on of Eight Hour Cream hasn't rescued it, so I was intrigued to see what effect the Mia 2 would have. 

First, I took my make up off. Here's a lovely picture of me with no make up before using the Mia (I can't actually believe I'm putting make up free pictures up!)

You can use the Mia 2 to remove make up but I've read lots of reviews saying this stains the brush head so decided not to do that. Then I applied cleanser to my face before turning on the Mia and letting it go to work. You spend 20 seconds on your forehead, 20 seconds on nose/chin and 10 seconds on each cheek. There is a little pause when it's time to move on.

Then I rinsed off the remains of the cleanser and my skin feels smoother than before, still a little dry and a little red around the forehead and cheeks, but definitely an improvement. Here's a picture after cleansing and before putting any product on.

They say this is gentle enough to use twice a day but I think I'll start off with once a day and see how it goes. Considering I had removed make up before using the Mia I was surprised to see how much grime there was on the brush! Scary to think that all that muck would have just stayed on my skin all night - yuck! I've put some moisturiser on since taking that picture and maybe it's just wishful thinking but I think I can feel the difference in how products absorb into the skin so hopefully they will be a little more effective.

I'm going to try my Soap & Glory face wash with the Mia as well, and maybe try out a few other products to see what has the best effect and I'll keep you updated with my progress and whether I'm going to invest in a Mia 2 when the trial is over :) Watch out for my video review as well!

Mia 2 is an extension of our popular Mia family that gives you all the benefits of sonic cleansing in a compact, easy-to-use style. Mia 2 features two speeds, a one-minute pulsing T-Timer® and a protective travel case for on-the-go sonic cleansing. Now you have more choices for beautiful skin. - See more at: http://www.clarisonic.com/shop/sonic_skin_cleansing_systems/sonic_skin_cleansing_system_mia2/#sthash.scljfAT5.dpuf

Mallzee - Social Shopping

It's been a while since I posted last but I heard about a great new site and just had to blog about it!

Mallzee is a new shopping site where you can create your own online shopping mall. There are currently over 200 brands signed up to the site, Urban Outfitters, New Look, Feel Unique and St. Tropez to name a few. 

You can drag the stores you want into your mall and you can browse all the products in one place!

Even better, you can connect to Facebook and Twitter and make shopping online more social! 

Once you've browsed and found all the goodies you want you can create polls to share on social networks for your friends to vote. It's a girly shopping day online! I love getting together with friends to shop and have a couple of cocktails but when the weather is horrible it's just not so appealing. Now you can make an online shopping date and stay warm and cosy, you can even have cocktails!

An added bonus to inviting friends to your mallzee is that as the ‘owner’ you earn money every time anyone buys from your Mallzee, including you! (That's right you get paid when you shop?) You can sign up for a prelaunch invite now at www,mallzee.com

L'Oreal Mythic Oil

I've posted before about being introduced to Moroccanoil and falling in love with it. I absolutely love this product but wanted to find a more affordable alternative.

After a little searching I came across L'Oreal Mythic Oil which is much more affordable, 125ml for £13.55.

I find it gives just as good results as the more expensive versions, but suits my budget a lot better.

I have shoulder length hair, it's fine but there's lots and lots and lots of it. I use 2 pumps before blow drying and my hair is gorgeously soft and supple feeling. My hair tends to be a little dry because of regular colouring, blow drying, straightening, curling, and all the other things we do to our poor hair. I also use a little after straightening to finish off my style and tame any flyaways.

Highly recommend this little gem of a product no matter what hair type you have.

Benefit B.right Skincare

I was lucky enough to win a competition and received lots of Benefit goodies! I was super excited because I've recently rediscovered my love of this range. Benefit was the first premium make up range I bought, longer ago than I care to think....

A couple of the products I received were from the B.right range. Benefit say you'll have skin so bright you'll need a dimmer switch! Sounds good to me!

I received the Foamingly Clean Facial Wash. It's £16.50 for 127.5g. I'm a bit wary of facial washes in general but I gave it a go.

I have quite dry skin and  normally go for rich feeling cream cleansers. You only have to use a tiny amount of this gorgeous creamy cleanser, massage in, and then rinse off. My skin is left feeling very soft, not at all tight, and very clean. I still need to use eye make up remover to get rid of the mascara but it removes evgerything else really well.

Next is the Triple Performing Facial Emulsion. Priced at £19.50 for 50.3ml.

This is a perfect day cream as it has SPF15, and we all know how important an SPF is. it's a nice light moissturiser, oil free and smells gorgeous. I've only been using this a few days but love it so far.

I already had the Total Moisture Facial Cream and have been using this for a couple of months.

This is a very rich feeling cream, for me more suited as a night cream. It has a gorgeous fresh smell and feels very light but nourishing. I absolutely love it and feel mlike it gives a really nice moisture boost without being greasy or heavy feeling. This is priced at £26.50 for 48.2g.

All in all, I'm in love with this range and am very tempted to try the othe rproducts in the range. Benefit say this range will give your skin such radiance that you'll need a dimmer switch and so far I'm finding that to be true!

Allo products available from Benefit.

Benefit Hello Flawless

I'm now on my second of the Hello Flawless powders and recently bought Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow liquid foundation.

First the liquid foundation:

I find it so so hard to find a foundation that doesn't dry out my skin, and I've bought pretty much every foundation Benefit have brought out over the years, and always been in love at the start and then disappointed after a week or two. I bought this expecting it to be the same but I have been very pleasantly surprised! This has become my go to foundation for every day.

It's oil free, has SPF25, has a brightening effect and is buildable in coverage level. I have pretty uneven skin but I don't like to look like I've caked on foundation. SPF is a big plus for me, I love the sun but have the damage it does to my skin, and we all know how ageing sun damage is! This is a very liquid foundation, very thin in texture but goes on nicely with a foundation brush and you only need the tiniest amount, I don't even use a full pump. That gives me a decent coverage. It stays put for about 12 hours before needing a touch up, another big bonus for me!

Now the powder:

Powder is another big bugbear for me, I like to use it to set my foundation and give a nice polished look but find lots of them too drying. This powder can be used with a brush to give fine coverage or with a sponge (both are included) to give more heavy coverage. The powder has a very fine texture, almost like talcum powder, and again I only use a small amount and get a good result, in fact I find too much can start to look a bit cakey. The brush that comes with the powder is nice enough, very soft but kind of small and I have a set of brushes that I use but it's handy for those on the go touch ups, if you need them.

All in all, 4 stars from me, and only because the liquid is only available in 9 shades and the powder in 10 shades so a bit limiting in who can find a shade to suit. I've been desperate to love a Benefit foundation for a long time and finally I do!

Available here: Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow and Hello Flawless Powder, both £24.50   

Shellac Manicure & Pedicure

 I got a great deal on a Shellac mani and pedi, £12 for each. My plan was to have them  done for my upcoming trip to Ibiza but, typically, I could only get an appointment for 2 weeks before...Never mind, I was optimistic and hoped it would last!

Off I went to get pampered! Now, I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my nails, normally painting them twice a week because they get a bit chipped or smudged or something that bugs the life out of me. Today was day 7 of the Shellac and my toenails are holding up well, no doubt they'll last through the holiday but the fingernails were dented, growing out quickly and not even enough for me.

I removed the nails tonight, after doing lots of research on how to remove it without doing horrendous damage to my nails.

The method that sounded best, and I tried, was this:

1. Cut cotton pads into quarters and saturate with nail polish remover (with acetone)
2. Place a cotton pad quarter onto nails and wrap in tinfoil (this helps warm things up and speeds up the process)
3. Leave for 15 mins (some people say 10 some 20 so I averaged it out)
4. Take the cotton pads and tinfoil off and scrape away the Shellac with an orange stick

I found that after 15 minutes the Shellac was all loose and very easily to scrape away, no stubborn bits left. My cuticles and nails looked very dry but once I gave my hands a good wash they looked fine. My hands need a little TLC with some good handcream but that's never a bad thing, is it?

My verdict on Shellac? I probably won't get a manicure again but I will get a pedicure done again.