Friday 28 March 2014

Lush Lip Scrub

I have seen this product around for a while now but to be honest I have never really looked at it that much. However the other day shopping a friend showed it to me and I saw the different flavours and they smell gorgeous. 



A picture I took of the lip scrub :) 


The lip scrub I chose was the bubblegum flavour, it's sweet and tastes delicious. The good thing about this lip scrub is getting to lick it off after you've finished, the basic idea of it is you lick your lips scrub them and lick the excess off. It also comes in a mint and popcorn flavour which both looked and smelled nice but I prefer something more sweet. Although a lip scrub isn't a necessity for everyones beauty regime I do think it is good to do if you can. I've had pretty dry lips as of late and have noticed since using this followed by a lip balm that my lips have no longer felt dry. So the results of using this product are pretty instant. I would however probably opt not to use it if you haven't had any issues with dry/chapped lips as if it's not broke why fix it. 




This 25g jar is $9.95 at lush and I think for a beauty product like this it is a little on the expensive side but it's a product not everyone needs. A little goes a long way for this scrub as well so I think that overall you get your moneys worth. I have read other reviews on this product with people saying it is cheaper to make your own but I feel like this is a nice product to have regardless. 
Lush doesn't test on animals so there is also that added benefit, this was my first time going into Lush and the store smelled really nice. Being my first purchase there after using this I would be keen to go back and see what other Lush products are out there. 

If you have used this product I would love to hear your thoughts so feel free to comment below :)

Wednesday 19 March 2014

L'Oréal Paris: Elive Total Repair Conditioning Restoring Spray


As i've mentioned in blog posts before I am attempting to take better care of it and look after it particularly due to myself not being a natural born. As we all know bleach can be very damaging but unfortunately my natural colour doesn't suit me terribly well. So I have been on the hunt for different styles of repairing treatments for hair, most i've come across have been conditioning masks which need to be rinsed out. They are great however in between washes I wanted to still maintain restoring the condition of my hair as well. 

I am a bit of a night owl and luckily the shops near me are open pretty late, so one night bored I went looking to see what was available. To be fair in my experience shops that specialise in selling hair products tend to sell more higher quality products but I never discount the products available at the local supermarket. I love L'oréal and think it is a reliable brand, the first thing that took my notice was the fact it was a spray that could be applied on wet hair after washes but also dry hair in between washes. 


It cost me $6 for a 200ML bottle which goes a long way so it is pretty decent value for money for what you get. The key ingredients in this bottle designed to repair the hair are pro-keratin and ceramide, these are meant to repair the hair cells and re enforce the strength of the follicle. Therefore repairing any damage that can occur to your hair on a daily basis, its a spray and doesn't really specify the quantity you are meant to apply. After using it you begin to get an idea for what works best with your hair, I recommend starting small as you can always apply more if you didn't put enough in. I spray once on each side/layer of my hair to get full coverage after I have straighten it or in the case of it being wet before I blow dry it. It is a light weight spray which is great because it doesn't weigh your hair down like some of the conditioning products out there. They also do sell a hair mask conditioning treatment in this range which I have yet to try. 

It smells really nice which is always a plus and I think it does repair some damage however I still would recommend using a conditioning mask when washing your hair for best results. As the leave in spray can only repair so much damage and if it is split ends I always cut them off. 
Would love to hear your thoughts on this product or if you know any other leave in conditioning treatments available that I could try! :) 

Sunday 16 March 2014

QV Skincare: Body wash & lotion

I have pretty sensitive skin and as much as I love the scented body washes available sometimes I need to give my skin a break from the fragrances. I love soft skin, I mean who doesn't really? but anyways, I am always on the look out for any body washes which are meant to help with sensitive skin. This was recommended to me by a chemist so I thought I would start by giving their body wash and lotion a try and see how I went. 

With their body wash you can get the standard one which I have purchased or the gentle wash, the main difference between them is the gentle wash has a higher concentration of moisturiser so it is more designed for dry skin. My skin isn't particularly dry so I felt the standard wash was a better choice for my skin, this one is doesn't have a fragrance, colour, lanolin and propylene glycol. This means it wont irritate the skin as these main ingredients aren't particularly good for your skin. The body wash is clear and liquid so it isn't as thick as a normal body wash, however it lathers really well and a little goes a long way. I love this product mainly because it does make your skin feel soft and it's also decent to use to shave with. 


Left: Body wash, Right: Body lotion

The body lotion doesn't include a fragrance, colour, lanolin and propylene glycol like the wash so it is made of a very low irritant ingredients. All information about both products is all included in the QV Skincare website if you need further information on the ingredients. The skin lotion is designed to protect and moisturise your skin which I feel based on my use it does. I add a little extra then needed and let my skin absorb it as this can also help soften your skin and give yourself a little pampering treatment. 

Both QV products are really great and give your skin a bit of a break from other more indulgent smell based products. I would definitely recommend as they come at a decent price the body was was $16 for a 1.25 Litre container and the lotion is $8 for a 250ML bottle. 
Have you tried any of the products in the QV skincare range? If so what is your favourite? 

Saturday 15 March 2014

Soap & Glory: Glad Hair Day Shampoo

I was on a little shopping spree a few weeks ago and noticed this goodie lurking around. I had actually only bought one product from this brand before which was a cute shower cap, something I didn't really need but couldn't resist. I love the packaging and the way their products look so I was pretty keen to try another and noticed this. I purchased it from Mecca Maxima for $12.95 which in my experience is a pretty decent price for a 250ML bottle.

It's made up of raspberry fruit vinegar, panthenol, glycerin and phytantriol which is meant to repair, smooth and strengthen your hair after application. There is no specific hair types which work best with this shampoo so pretty much anybody can use it, which is always a good thing. I like to leave this one in for a few minutes as once it's lathered up it activates the key ingredients which are designed to help your hair. 





I did notice it had a lovely fragrance basically just a fruity scent which lingers for a little while. I had someone actually comment on the scent of my hair which is a first for me as I look at more repair based hair products then ones with a nice scent although it does help if it has a good smell too. My hair felt smoother when I rinsed it out almost like when you put conditioner in it however in a repair sense I don't think this product does too much as I didn't feel a massive difference after using it a few times. It definitely does help to smooth hair as I didn't need to straighten mine as much and it maintained a smooth straight look. As for strengthening your hair I am not really sure how to tell wether that was effective, my hair generally felt the same though so I don't think it really delivered in that respect.

Overall I do like this shampoo and am still currently using it, the bottle really does last a long way so it is pretty good value for money. However I would be interested to see what other shampoo's are available, although I am also still happy to see what else Soap & Glory has to offer. 

Wednesday 12 March 2014

Signature Scents

It is funny how something so simple can sometimes have a defining impact on how we see someone before even knowing them and what we think about them. Scents can also hold different memories to us and remind us of different people who might not be around anymore. I remember when I was younger and my mum used to work a lot and I would rarely get to see her which made me miss her a lot. But she gave me a toy which had her scent on it and that seemed to comfort me a great deal. Some people claim that someone is more likely to date a person based on their smell but this is usually based on pheromones which I don't know if perfume companies focus on when creating a scent. I am sure there would be some places that claim this but it's not a big factor in my decision making process.

 As weird as this sounds I have been making an effort to use more body spray's, normally I would just spray whatever I could find. I love the body shop and walking past the place the first thing I notice is the gorgeous smell which I think attracts most people to enter the store. They have a limited edition scent called clamentine, it's basically an orange scent which they realised last year and have at the moment. I am pretty much in love with all things orange, the scent is amazing and I adore jaffa cakes! I had tried/loved this scent last year so I thought it was a must purchase. I got the little Eau De Toilette bottle however I would have preferred to get in the large body spray they have available in other fragrances.





The smell is beautiful and the bottle is easy to fit in my hand bag, my only criticism would be that however lovely the scent it doesn't seem to linger for very long, usally about 5-10 minutes from my experience. This means you need to spray more often and with such a small bottle it doesn't last very long.
That being said I do love this smell and would definetly be getting it next year when it comes out again, I would love to know your thoughts on this body shop scent or which one's you prefer.
Feel free to comment below.
Take care! :) 

Monday 10 March 2014

Redken All Soft Heavy Cream


Hey all, 

So I recently got my hair done and by that I mean my regrowth, I find it's the time my hair looks the best but because I bleach it I always feel bad about the damage it does to my hair. I've been making a conscious effort to condition my hair and been trying a few different treatments to see what results I get. 


Here is a picture of the lovely product :) 

I have only used Redken products once or twice before but it's a reliable brand so I thought why not give this treatment a go. It can be difficult to actually choose a treatment because there are so many different options available but this one looked like it would do the trick. Out of the various hair treatment products I have been trying I was most impressed with this ones results. There is also a shampoo and conditioner in the all soft range which I haven't tried yet but after using this I would be pretty keen to give it a go. This one comes in a 250ML tub, on the tub it recommends you leave in for 5-15 minutes. With these kinds of products I like to use them for the maximum amount of time it suggests, it can be boring waiting to wash it out but I found the results of this one were noticeable and instant. I have used it in the past three washes and my hair is much softer and less dry which is what this product promises to achieve. I highly recommend to give this one a go if you have dry hair and especially if you, like myself bleach your hair. 

I think it's important to change what conditioning treatments you use in your hair so you can compare and also stop your hair from getting used to the treatment. I would love to hear what hair conditioning treatments you use on your hair and what you thought of this product if you have used it.
Thanks for reading and feel free to comment below :) 

xx

Monday 3 March 2014

Rainy Days

Winter is fast approaching and recently here in Sydney there's been a lot of rainy days. I hope i'm not alone in saying this but I love rainy days, however they are preferable on a day off. But I love the vibe they bring, the sound the rain makes and the smell. 






Luckily I had today off and didn't have too much too do so I got a hot chocolate with a friend, made a pumpkin soup (FYI I don't cook often so that was pretty big fore me) and then lit some candles at home and enjoyed the rest of the night. 
I was inspired to take some photo's of my day to share, I hope you enjoy them and i'd love to hear what you get up to on a rainy day :) 
So feel free to comment below. 

<3