L'Occitane Shea Honey Hand Cream review

I love L'Occitane products. They are so pampering and nourishing!
I recently purchased some of the new Limited Edition honey range and will be first reviewing the shea honey hand cream.

The hand cream is 30ml, the usual hand cream amount from L'Occitane (although there are a couple of mega 150ml ones too), and it has 20% Shea Butter in it, so you know this will be great for your hands! It costs £8, pricey you may say, but, although I love bargains, L'Occitane are worth paying a bit more for in my opinion, especially the hand creams!

The packaging is so cute too - love the little bear and bees!

The limited edition shea honey range consists of the hand cream, foaming gel, whipped body cream and honey butter. Gorgeous!

The hand cream is wonderfully thick and creamy, yet sinks right in to the skin.
I get very dry hands in winter! L'Occitane hand cream is the first thing I turn to if my hands are getting really bad and I have been loving this honey version! The scent is very sweet but not over-powering. It's lovely.

This really does improve your hands after just one application. It's rich, luxurious, nourishing and a must-have!
There are also limited edition scents of Mango Flower, Rose Petals, Date Bouquet, and Spring Cherry, all of which smell very nice.

Do you use L'Occitane hand cream? Or have you not splashed out on any yet? I'd love to know!

From Me, For You xoxo

Venus and Olay Trial: UPDATE 1

Here is my first update for my Savvy Circle trial with the Gillette Venus 5 blade razor with Olay moisture bars and also the Olay Complete Care Multiradiance moisturiser.

First up the Venus & Olay razor.

This razor has 5 blades so is supposed to give a closer shave.

From the pack:

 "Help replenish your skin's moisture while you shave close"

"Only the Venus & Olay razor combines Venus' best shaving technology and Olay's skin expertise all in one."

So as well as a close shave we are meant to have softer skin too, yay!

The moisturising bars are very chunky on this razor - and that is a good thing!

Above is the side view so you can see how big the Olay moisturising bars are.

So, what do I think after using it?
I like!
It did give a very close shave! And my legs are super soft too!
As you shave, the bars give out a very good amount of a light shower gel like substance. I felt the moisturising benefit right away, as soon as I rinsed my legs off.
After getting dry and hours later, my legs felt softer than usual! I'm loving it.

I'm going to keep track of how long the bars last for!

Now onto the Olay Complete Care Multiradiance fluid.

This has a good 'glow' to it. You can definitely tell on first application that it is a radiance-giving product! It gives a soft sheen to your face.

At first I used it on a day where I didn't wear any make-up and I definitely looked more radiant than usual! I was worried though as I have combination skin and tend to get shine as the day wears on if I don't use primer.

But, I also tried it under make-up and it didn't make me shiny when using primer, there was no difference than usual.

Although I will try it without primer, because I do get a shine without it and am interested whether this would make it worse or not.

It also smells lovely! Very fresh and clean.

The lotion contains vitamins B3 & E and Pro-Vitamin B5, as well as mandarin extract. It also has an SPF15 UVA/UVB.


So far, I am happy with both products and will keep using them and updating my thoughts on them both!

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think?

From Me, For You xoxo

Birchbox February 2013 Review!

My Birchbox arrived!

I had seen a few spoilers for this month so was pretty excited for this one!

This box is London Fashion Week themed and all the products are good sizes.

First up we have a 50ml Vichy Eau Thermale spray. It says it is thermal spa water, rich in rare minerals and is 100% pure.
On the little card of products it also says it can be used as a toner, to set make-up or as a refreshing boost.

I tried it and it is very refreshing - great for summer!

Second we have a 50ml Korres Guava shower gel. I've tried a few products by Korres and they are pleasant, so I'm sure this will be nice too. Fruity smell is good for summer too!

Thirdly, we have a 59ml Nick Chavez Leave-In Thickening Mist. I haven't heard of this brand before it is American and has good reviews on qvc.com.

Fourth is a sachet of EBoost drink mix. It is a orange flavor vitamin and mineral powder drink. I've seen this before and wanted to order a sample but they only shipped within the US, so at least I can try it now!

Fifth, we have a Gerda Spillmann foundation compact. Super disappointed in this! It would have been perfect. The size is great for handbags and comes with a sponge to apply. Oh, it would have been amazing. If they had it in my shade! I don't know how many shades were sent out but I got 'Truffle' and  boy is it orange! I can't do anything with this! And I would have been so happy if the shade matched. So sad.

Lastly, a very nice bonus of an eyelash curler! I was going to go and buy one so this is perfect timing!

I've had a quick go and they do make a difference, yay!

I'm impressed with this Birchbox. Way better than the miserable Glossybox I had.
It would have been a fantastic box if the foundation had worked out!

What did you get? Anything different? What do you guys think of this months box?

From Me, For You  xoxo

Venus & Olay Trial

I'm a member of the Savvy Circle and applied for their Venus/Olay trial.
I got accepted and my goodies arrived a couple of days ago!

The products to trial are a new Gillette Venus 5 blade razor with Olay moisturising bars and also a 75ml bottle of Olay Essentials Complete Care plus Mulitradiance.

The Savvy Circle trials all come in a bag which includes a product handbook with facts and information on the brands, products and trial.
Also included are money off vouchers and in some trials samples to hand out to friends and family.
Lastly there are surveys that you ask people to fill about the products, as well as regular surveys yourself to be able to give detailed feedback.

The Olay is full size and has multi-vitamins as well as radiance boosting properties.

The Venus razor has 5 blades and two moisturising Olay bars.

I'll be updating regularly about how the trial is going and how I'm getting on with the products!

From Me, For You xoxo

Boots 'Be Enchanted' Tales of Spellbinding Beauty

This gorgeous 'book' of beauty was part of the Boots Christmas gifts range and there were about 6 different items in the Be Enchanted collection.

I am a sucker for anything 'enchanted', 'princess-y', 'fairytale-ish'!
I'm still crying over the fact I missed the Sephora Cinderella collection and the magnificent mirror in that collection *sniff* Why did you leave me Sephora, whyyyyy? (have a look at that here: http://www.sephora.com/disney-cinderella-collection#!ref[]=1375145&pageSize=60&sortBy=-1&brandId=1301 )

But back to the lovely Be Enchanted Tales of Spellbinding Beauty......

It is in the style of a big fairy-tale book and the eyeshadows are found by opening the 'front cover' of the book and the lip and cheek sections are in a draw in the middle section of the book.
There is also a mirror on the lid (underside of book cover).

There are ten eyeshadows, each with a name linked to fairy-tales. So cute.

 

 Here we have a lovely dark gunmetal type colour with a gold key over-spray called 'Sorcerer', an aubergine colour in 'Cloak', a beautiful gold bronze in 'Coppice', a silver/pink in 'Pendant' and mustard gold in 'Coronet'

 left-to-right: 'Pendant', 'Coronet', 'Coppice', 'Sorcerer', 'Cloak'.

 The next five are a dark grey and silver flecked colour in 'Castle', lovely silver with a slight blue/green hint and gold key over-spray in 'Moonshine', dusky pink in 'Spirit', creamy gold in 'Slipper' and taupe in 'Fawn'.

left-to-right: 'Castle', 'Spirit', 'Slipper', 'Fawn', 'Moonshine'. 

The dark shades are well pigmented I have to say! There is a nice variation in shades. The lighter colours definitely need more layers to get the shade as seen in the pan and I wish they were more pigmented, but with a few layers it's all good. I love the variation in shades here and the names given.

The brush included is your standard foam double-ended applicator and I'll be using my own brushes as I don't like the foam ones!

Onto, the lips and cheeks!

There are 2 blushes and 4 lip colours.

The blushes are a bright pink called 'Fanfare'and a dusky pink called 'Fairytale', both with gold key over-sprays. 
'Fanfare' is sooo sheer, but as it is very bright, that ends up being a good thing.
'Fairytale' is more pigmented and a nice deep pink shade.

top: 'Fairytale'

bottom:'Fanfare' 

The lip colours are all creamy lipstick formulas, but look more like balms as they are sheer in colour, which is fine with me! They do look a fair bit different in the pan and on the lips though.

The colours are a hot, neon pink in 'Damsel', bright pink in 'Pixie', a sugary pink in 'Gracious' and a gold/pink in 'Blossom'.

left-to-right: 'Blossom', 'Gracious', 'Pixie', 'Damsel'.

The lip and blusher brushes are ok, nothing special, so will likely use my own again.


I do LOVE this though! The packaging is so adorable and well thought out. 
It's sturdy and does not feel cheap at all.
The colours in the eyeshadows are great I think and can do different looks. 
The lip and cheek colours suit me because I like things more on the sheer, light side, but those of you who love strong, pigmented colours may not be as happy as me, although layering is possible. 

The mirror is not the best of quality - it has that soft almost fuzzy look, but I like to think that was intentional and just adds to the fairytale/romantic look and feel! ;) Love the cute gold key accessory though!

This was £16 but the range was included in the 3 for 2 so I indulged and felt that with the savings it was a pretty nice buy.

Did you see this range in Boots? What did you think?

From Me, For You xoxo

Glossybox February 2013 Review

The February Glossybox arrived just a couple of hours ago, so here we go. Will it be hit or miss this month?!


The box is very cute this month as it is valentines themed. It will make a good storage box!
Inside we have pink tissue paper, pink ribbon and pink paper shreds.

Unfortunately that is where my 'ooh isn't this nice' feeling ended!

It's probably not a good thing when you dread the arrival of your GB because you don't want the cheap one Again is it?

First up is the MeMeMe Fat Cat mascara. I haven't tried it yet but hope it's decent and at least it's full sized.

Then there is a MICA Bella bronze blush, 0.8g. This is a bit too dark for me as I'm pretty pale!

Then we have a Helen E lipstick, 3.5g in 'Caribbean'. Again, way too dark!

Ok, then we arrive at the Voulez-Vous massage oil...............er, what the?

I know it's a valentines box and all, but, really? A 10ml pouch of massage oil? I don't want that in my box Glossy Box! If I want some, I'll go buy some, I don't want it to be one of my 5 samples k? Not when it could have been a 30ml Docteur Renaud face cream worth almost £20, or Anatomicals 50ml shower cleanser, or Sassoon 50ml hair shine.........grrrrrr!

'Apply this non sticky oil onto the body, blow then mass delicately.
A soft feeling of warmth seizes you...while leaving on the skin a natural and sweet taste.
A greedy pleasure will be there...'

Thanks Glossy Box. Not.

Onto the last item in this months box, a perfume sample!

Narciso Rodriguez: l'eau

A bit too floral for me! Very light and flowery, lots of rose!

So.....the only thing I liked was the mascara this month. A 1/5 score, wow!

I don't know why they even bother with beauty profiles, I always tick the natural, pastel,  nude etc type boxes and never the ones for strong colours!

And why do some people get good sized shower gel AND hair spray in one box, while others get a pouch of oil and a vial of perfume. Could they not split those up and give a decent size and small size to even it out?!

I pay the same amount of money and constantly feel ripped off!

Sorry, rant over ladies!

How do you guys feel about your Glossybox? Did you get a nice one? :)


From Me, For You  xoxo

TONY MOLY - Latte Art Morning Pack

This is a moisturiser by TONY MOLY, a 'cute as' make-up and skincare brand with amazing packaging! 

I am a sucker for packaging, so just had to have this one!

There was also a scrub in the same range which smelt of coffee!

The moisturiser comes in a sweet little mug container with spoon/spatula in the top and a cute swirly drink design. It looks great. There is also a small tub of 'Milk Creamy Essence' in the shape of those teeny milk pots.

You twist the top of the mug off and reveal the base which has a lid to protect the moisturiser inside.

Then we add the milk essence, which is an extra 'boost' of goodness. Stir it in and voila! 

The moisturiser has milk extracts in it and can be used as a normal moisturiser which has a good base for make-up and can also be a mask once the essence is added!
It is quite thick, but is water based, so very light and easily absorbed.

TONY MOLY has lots of lovely packaging, a lot in the shape of fruit and veg! I'm after the Broccoli Sprout Cleansing Cream next!

From Me, For You xoxo