Review Garnier Body: Intensive 7 day challenge

Tags

beauty, body, garnier 7 day challenge, garnier body intensive 7 days challenge, garnier shea butter body lotion review, review, review farnier body ultra softening lotion

First off let me say I think it’s great that L’Oreal are spending some of the marketing budget on the new sampling method, kudos to a brand that during a recession is willing to spend a lot on sampling and shipping charges rather than just airbrushing some model who already has perfect skin.

I signed up online and my pack arrived quite quickly. I got 7 x 6ml samples, 6ml is not quite enough to do the entire body – I think about 10ml is how much you need for a full body which means if you bought the full size 250ml you’d get about 25 uses from it. I got the Ultra Softening Lotion with Shea Butter for very dry skin.

• for 250ml I think it’s about €5 and for the 400ml it’s about €7
• For a drug store product this smells quite pleasant
• A quick look at the ingredients will let you know that it will moisturise your skin & make it softer as the two main ingredients are mineral oil & glycerin followed by a silicon and then some other oils & shea butter – some people don’t like mineral oil it’s up to you but this will increase the moisture level and softness of your skin there is no doubt about that
• This can leave the skin feeling tacky for a while after so it’s best applied at night & would definitely not pass the skinny jeans test
• If you don’t mind a few chemicals, this is a great budget buy & you’ll definitely see results quickly

 

Review: Karora Instant Tan Wash Off

Tags

beauty, good an for pale skin, karora instant wash off tan review, karora spray tan, karora tanning mist, tan

125ml for €14.99 – this is an instant tan that washes off and has a very slight luminescent shimmer to it – as you can see from the picture above my natural colour is extremely light and when I want an instant colour this product is fantastic and so quick.

Even though it’s a cream it has a liquid-y consistency so it’s very easy to spread and blend and you actually need much less than you think. It can be used on the face and body and is transfer resistant but I’ve found it washes off quite well with shower gel. Don’t be scared by the initial colour, once you blend it, it gives a lovely healthy golden glow to the skin and can be built up.

When I was getting my Karora spray tan at Lulu Belle, Louise the salon owner was telling me a bit about the brand – their mission is to provide pure, natural alternative to traditional chemical-laden products. The environment is really important to Karora and all their products are made using are made using organic, natural extracts and contain no parabens, artificial fragrances, synthetic colours or harsh chemical ingredients. All the packaging is recyclable and no animal testing is ever done for any of the Karora products.

I’ve also tried the Karora Enzyme peel for the body – amazing! And the Tanning Mist – it’s a light spray that develops into a golden glow in about six hours and is really good for extending the life of your spray tan. I think these products are great for Irish skin tones as they’re not as dark or as orange toned as some tans and if you do want to go darker they can be built up.

Review: Milk_Shake Hair Products

Tags

beauty, hair, intensive conditioning shampoo, milk_shake daily frequent shampoo, milk_shake hair products, milk_shake intensive conditioning foam, milk_shake volume styling solution, review

A friend recently started raving to me about Milk_Shake products so I knew I had to  try some. I ordered 2 shampoos, a conditioner & a volume styling product from BeautyBay.com

Milk_Shake is an all natural salon brand – which is actually very rare that a salon brand is all natural and inspired by nature, often salon brands are heavy on chemicals. Milk_Shake is made with milk proteins which is essentially protein rich food for your hair. The full range contains; shampoo, conditioner, intensive hair treatments and hair styling products. For a salon brand I found the price point very reasonable. Here’s what I got from Beautybay ;

• Intensive conditioning shampoo – this is amazing literally amazing €11.70 for 300ml
• Daily frequent shampoo – clear formula more clarifying I found; good if you have some product build up €11.70 for 300ml
• Intensive Conditioning Foam €12 for 350ml
• Volume Styling Solution €14 for 175ml

Right, so the first thing you notice is the AMAZING smell, let me say it again the AMAZING smell, it’s so lovely, like a real milkshake and it leaves your hair smelling beautiful for the rest of the day. The intensive conditioning shampoo is my favourite, it’s such a gentle moisturising formula, the daily frequent shampoo is great if you’re hair is overloaded with product and needs a good clean, for me I only use it about once a week but if you had oily or normal hair you could use this daily.

The conditioning foam is so cool, you leave it on your hair for about three minutes and it seriously repairs my damaged ends – I’ve got some low lights & the bleach is really hard on my hair so it’s been fantastic at bringing it back to health. I find the combination together leaves my hair so shiny and really soft. I also love the packaging and I love the smell of all the products soooo much.

I’ve had a look around and you can get it from Gainforts Waterford & Wexford in Ireland or online from http://www.beautybay.com – they also have an argan shampoo in the range which sounds fab. I’ve been completely converted to this brand from what I was using before which was; Aveda, Tigi and Liz Earl.

Review: Lulu Belle Beauty Waterford

Tags

beauty, carron wax, karora spray tan, lulu belle beauty review, lulu belle beauty waterford, salon review

I wanted to do a quick post on this – I was staying with a friend for a few days in Waterford recently and with the onset of the nice weather I decided I had to get a spray tan…and then a few other things too! My friend introduced me to Lulu Belle Beauty and I really did think this salon deserved a review. In the end I wound up getting;

• A full body Karora spray tan -€20!!
• Shellac on my toes – €15 – which is their permanent price
• Minx nail wraps on my fingers – first time ever €20
• And a bikini wax
• I also bought some sleep in rollers which seem to be huge at the moment, I saw a youtube video about them recently & decided I had to try them & and a Karora instant tan – I’ll review both soon

I was so impressed with this salon; the owner Louise is lovely she took such good care of me & did all my treatments. I have to say I think the salon offered such great value for money, everything was cheaper than in Cork & they had Caron wax which was super gentle compared to…some other experiences I’ve had. It was my first Karora tan and I’m especially picky about tans, St.Tropez is too orange, Fake Bake is funny on me too, the Karora smelled lovely & developed into a lovely golden colour on my skin & is still on!

I’m a bit picky about salons to be honest, Lulu Belle offer Nimue facials which always makes me like a place a bit more as they’re some of my favourite peels. I snapped a pic with my iPhone while I was there & will link the facebook below. http://www.facebook.com/LuluBelleBeautyWaterford - the prices and special offers are seriously unreal – well worth a visit if you’re looking for innovative & quality products and all round excellent service in a relaxed and friendly environment.

Review: Balance Me Rose Otto Shower Gel

Tags

Balance Me, balance me rose body wash review, Balance me Rose Otto Body Wash, beauty, review

When I have tan on I like to use Cowshed or Balance Me shower products as they’re SLS free as I know they won’t degrade my tan. For any of you who don’t know, when you have tan on; using shower using products containing SLS will actually break down the tan on your skin so you lose it faster, similar to chlorine in the pool. 

I was actually a bit sad when I threw the empty bottle of Balance Me in the bin so I figured it deserved a shout out. It’s a beautiful formula that is full of essential oils so it’s very moisturising and I found when I didn’t use a body moisturiser after my skin never felt tight. It produces a lovely foam and when using a shower puff you really don’t need much. 

The Balance Me Rose Otto wash is free from Sulphates, Parabens, DEA, PEGS, Petroleum, Mineral oils, Artificial fragrances & colours, Silicones & Propylene Glycol which is reassuring however they do use some of the ‘Lauryl’ family.

£12.65 for 260ml, it’s very similar in smell to REN Moroccan Rose Otto  Body Wash, the smell is lovely but you can definitely detect some essential oils. I haven’t seen it much in Ireland but you can buy it online and Balance Me is sold widely in the UK. 

 

Products I Regret Buying / Would not Re-purchase / Disappointments

Tags

beauty, Nivea Goodbye Cellulite, products I regret, Rodial crash diet sticks, Soap & glory easy glistening body gloss

• Monu recovery balm – not very balmy & left my skin feeling tight (GB)
• Rodial Glamtox day spf 18 cream – whopping disappointment, it flaked off!!! not to mention it was wildly expensive 
• Figs & Rouge organic balm – I found this to be similar in texture to Vaseline despite being organic – doesn’t feel very moisturising to me (GB)

Body: 

• Nivea Goodbye Cellulite – this does NOTHING 
• Rodial Crash Diet Sticks – again zero % effective, €68 for a 14 day supply 
• Nivea My Silhouette – I think this got discontinued since it’s “claims” were officially discredited 
• Soap & Glory Easy Glistening Dry Oil Body Gloss – smells foul, is greasy and overall awful – Nip + Fab leg fix is much better for glossing up 

(GB = came in Glossy Box)

Review: Clarins Extra Firming Body Cream

Tags

beauty, body firming cream, clarins firming body cream, jergens skin firming body cream, review

A 30ml version of this cream arrived in my Harrods Glossy Box & I’d saw it won a beauty award recently so I decided to put it to the test and each night I applied it to my left upper arm nightly – well over six weeks of nightly application until the tube ran out. What can I say…it’s not firming at all. I cannot see any difference whatsoever.

• It retails at £40 for 200ml or €49 in Ireland
• It’s a thick formula not unlike Palmer’s Coco Butter in a way but thicker in texture
• It takes a while to sink in and can be difficult to spread, best to warm it in your hands first
• The smell is okay, nothing special. I personally didn’t like it, but reasonably okay

In comparisson to something like Jergens Firming body cream, which is much cheaper, I really do think this is better and it’s one of my favourite body creams & you can actually see a visible difference in skin tone so sadly Clarins gets the thumbs down from me.

Body Beauty Routine – so much work!

Tags

beauty, body, body routine, cellulite cream, korres, nip + fab, nivea my silhouette, Soap & gory sit tight

It’s recently struck me how long I’m spending in the bathroom at night and how complicated my routine is getting, it’s a lot of work!

My routine is something akin to;

• body brushing with Sanctuary Spa brush
• Soap & Glory Sit Tight on the thighs & Bum massaged in with Sanctuary Spa cellulite massager
• Nip + Fab Tummy Fix on stomach
• Nip + Fab Bust fix on bust
• Nivea My silhouette or Clarins extra firming body cream on upper arms
• Then a regular moisturiser on bottom of legs and arms & chest – Liz Earle or Body Shop fruit purée or Korres body butter
• Some nights I then use some Skin Doctors Stretch Away or some Decleor Stretch mark restructuring gel cream on my thighs – but by this stage I’m usually not bothered & I’m just trying to use both up as they are 100% useless
• Final step is sometimes using some of the Nivea Cellulite pads – again dubious about their effectiveness but trying to use them up

In the morning I again body brush, and time permitting apply the Sit tight again. I have found the Sit Tight amazingly effective however during the winter I lapsed slightly with routine & am now back at it for bikini season. I’ll review most of these products over the next few weeks.

Review: Hydrotherapy Treatment Pool

Tags

beauty, hydrotherapy pool ireland, radisson blu retreat spa cork, review, spa

Recently a friend and I visited the Elemis spa and Hydrotherapy pool in Cork- it’s a unique pool at the Radisson Blu Retreat Spa and is the first of its kind in Ireland. The pool was seriously amazing, in particular the loungers under the water, the massage seats and the over all stars were the neck showers & pressure waterfall which massages the neck and shoulders, the pressure from these is amazing & the seats literally pummel unsightly cellulite & sore muscles. These pools are very popular in Europe where they also have different temperature areas to further stimulate circulation.

“The pool has nine invigorating areas to promote well-being in water purified by Ozone. The pool has massage seats, jets, bubble seats, geysers, and loungers which massage muscles.”

The only negatives are; the sauna and steam room are quite small there, however the changing room is nice and spacious, the showers are private glass cubicles however as with most changing rooms it’s way too hot in there!

• Air plaque on pool floor for total relaxation
• Counter swimming jets to strengthen the body and increase fitness
• Foundations high-pressure waterfall to massage shoulders
• Four massage seats for specific massage of dorsal spine and calves
• Specific massage area (12 wall jets) to massage lower limbs
• Three bubble seats to release tension of thoracic regions
• Three bubble loungers to release tension on legs and back.
• Two geysers on pool floor for total body massage
• Two neck showers with pressure waterfall to massage cervical pain

April Favourites

Tags

April favourites, beauty, monthly favourites, Ojon, the body shop, Tigi

• Ojon Hair Restorative Oil – Amazing!
• Catwalk by Tigi volumizing shampoo & conditioner – smells incredible
• Tigi Pro Tools round hair brush
• NARS Sheer Glow foundation in Mont Blanc
• MAC Sheen Supreme lipstick in Gotta Dash – a lovely peach that’s so on trend
• Fave eye make up combination: Estee Lauder Stay in place cream shadow in Antiqued with MAC Paradisco on top & Coffee eye khol on the water line
• No 7 BB cream for dry skin in fair
• Boots shower puff for €2.90 – love this & it acts as a mild exfoliator too
• Body Shop Clementine Purée body moisturiser
• MakeBelieve Bronzing Palette
• MAC Select Moisture Cover concealer in NW20
• Roger & Gallet Fleur d’Osmanthus Candle

I’ll add a picture later with all the products together :)

Other faves: Smash from NBC is still my favourite show, it’s fantastic. Best blogs at the moment are http://www.britishbeautyblogger.com/ & http://beaut.ie/blog/ which I check every day. Also loving my new purple high top Converse & the new yoga class I’m taking – heated yoga rocks!

Going down: Mad Men!