A Yummy Body Butter: Brown Earth Mango Butter with Shea & Cocoa Butter

Ok, so I haven't eaten any of this, but I kind of wish it was edible as it smells delicious with it's gorgeous tropical Mango butter scent which is perfect for that summer feel. I typically do not like slathering on body lotions/creams (that doesn't stop me from buying them though!), but this body butter is one I do like using as it is a buttery, velvety creamy quality rather then a hard, waxy feel so it is easy to apply and doesn't require too much rubbing to absorb into the skin.

The skin on my body is dry, so the Cocoa and Shea butter base is very nourishing and moisturising on my skin and the scent lasts well throughout the day so you don't really need to wear a fragrance with this on.

What I like a lot about Brown Earth is that considering the high quality of their butters, they are reasonably priced (this one is £10.95 for 120ml from their website). They are also Vegetarian Society approved.

Ingredients:

Aqua (Water), Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Helianthus Annus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Cetearyl Glucoside, Glycerin, Cetyl Ricinoleate, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Benzyl Alcohol, Lecithin, Tocopherol Acetate, Parfum, Potassium Sorbate, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Benzoate, Sorbic Acid, Tocopherol, Citral, Limonene, Citronellol.

Brown Earth products are available directly through their website www.brownearth.co.uk or www.lovelula.com

*Purchased by me*

Rouge Bunny Rouge Gleaming Temptations Lipgloss Swatches (pic heavy)

T-B: Counting Wishes, Blameless, Sin Tiptoe In, No Strings Attached, One Long Sip

T-B: Counting Wishes, Blameless, Sin Tiptoe In, No Strings Attached, One Long Sip

I have been meaning to do this post for absolutely ages and now that there is some lovely bright sunshine I have finally taken some pics I am happy with.

L-R: Counting Wishes, Blameless, Sin Tiptoe In, No Strings Attached, One Long Sip

L-R: Counting Wishes, Blameless, Sin Tiptoe In, No Strings Attached, One Long Sip

Rouge Bunny Rouge Gleaming Temptations lipglosses are amongst my favourites because they have hold on the lips but are non-sticky, and feel smooth and non-drying. What I love most about these is the beautiful crushed pearl shimmer - there is a depth and complexity to the tones that is very pretty and not glitzy in any way. They are a semi-sheer texture, some of the more bolder shades have more obvious colour, but as I often wear more neutral colours on the lips these suit my tastes well.

They are a 7ml size and cost £20, so they are at the pricey end of the scale but when I think of some of my other favourite lipglosses like Becca, Hourglass and YSL Golden Gloss, they are similarily priced and these for me are worth it because of the quality.

Counting Wishes

Counting Wishes (036) is the brightest of the shades I have and is a beautiful semi-sheer cherry-red with fine red/golden shimmer.

Blameless

Blameless (031) is a 'my lips but better shade', it's a sort of warm, rose/brown which at first looks like it has no shimmer but actually it's so fine that it's only when I look closely that I notice it. This one is the most natural looking all of the 5 shades I have.

Sin Tiptoe In

Sin Tiptoe In (051) is my joint favourite with No Strings Attached, it is a gorgeous warm copper shade with a faint rosy tone and subtle pink/copper shimmer.

No Strings Attached

No Strings Attached (042) is a light peachy/pinky shade with delicate glow-giving shimmer. This shade is the one I reach for the most out of my RBR glosses as I just love the pretty tones in this.

One Long Sip

One Long Sip (033) looks similar to Sin TipToe In, but this one leans more golden in tone and has more noticeable golden sparkle.

Swatches

L-R: No Strings Attached, Sin Tiptoe In, Counting Wishes, Blameless, One Long Sip

L-R: No Strings Attached, Sin Tiptoe In, Counting Wishes, Blameless, One Long Sip

L-R: No Strings Attached, Sin Tiptoe In, Counting Wishes, Blameless, One Long Sip

Rouge Bunny Rouge is exclusively available at Zuneta (not an affiliate link).

*Purchased by me*

Beauty UK Baked Blush: Baked Peach & Royal Rose Swatches

Apart from the nail polishes (which I love), I haven't really tried anything else from Beauty UK but recently while wandering Superdrug these caught my eye as (a) they are baked! So that in itself draws me in, (b) such pretty, glowy colours and (c) I quite like the packaging  (it looks a little MAC like).

I liked the look of all the colours but narrowed it down to Royal Rose and Baked Peach:

2 - Royal Rose

4 -Baked Peach

Underneath they have a little space which holds a retractable brush to use while out and about although I would only use this in an emergency as it is not soft.

Little slide rectractable mechanism on side

Swatches

Top: Royal Rose, Bottom; Baked Peach

Royal Rose is a bright, warm mid-pink. My swatch pic doesn't look as vibrant as it does in real life as the colour is closer to my pan pic. Baked Peach looks dusky tan in the pan but actually applies more warm peach on the skin and it also has very subtle tones of pink - this one is my favourite of the shades. There is no shimmer in any of these, just a lovely, glowy sheen with rather good pigmentation and a fairly smooth texture.

The compact size is similar to MAC regular blushes but a bit taller, and these have 4.4g of product. All in all, for £3.99 each, they are great bargain buys.

Also on another note, I am really liking the newly refreshed design in Superdrug in Wimbledon that I bought these from, it makes a refreshing change from the usual Superdrug/Boots look.

*Purchased by me*

REN joins the Brightening Brigade: New Radiance Range

It seems 2011 is the year for a brighter complexion as there are several brands that are coming out with ranges to boost the skin's radiance and even the texture and tone of the skin. Another one to join the fray is a firm favourite of mine, Ren, which of course I am very excited about and eager to try. 

The Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask is an existing product but is now part of a dedicated line of products that form their new Radiance range, other products include:

Micro Polish Cleanser
Radiance Perfecting Serum
AHA Resurfacing Concentrate

Their website descriptions sounds interesting, I think initially the serum is one I might consider as I am currently not using any sort of serum but there is their new Hydracalm serum as well that I rather like the sound of.

*Adding to my 'To Try' list*

A Review of A Scent by Issey Miyake

Notice something missing?

Issey Miyake fragrances (in particular the men's L'Eau d'Issey) are ones that I like, but up until now, I didn't like them on me. I remember having a brief test of A Scent by Issey Miyake when it first came out thinking I quite like it and it could be a green scent I could actually wear as typically, these types don't work very well on me, so I was happy to be given the opportunity to try this out properly.

I was immediately taken by the bottle and I do like gazing at it's beautiful simplicity and the way it catches the light. Even the fragrance inside is not disturbed aesthetically by a spray tube as it is virtually invisible (at first I thought it wasn't there but looking closely there is a faint trace of it and it leaves me wondering how do they do that?).

A Scent is described as a green, floral, woody fragrance, with  Verbena as a top note, heart notes of Hyacinth and Jasmine, and Galbanum as a base note.

When I spray it I get an initial sharpness of an unusual, slightly leafy green, fresh sort of scent that quickly stops short of becoming too much as the woody quality softens this element down with me barely able to get a hint of the Verbana (I had hoped to get a bit more of a hit of this). This quickly disappears on me within in a few minutes and I then get the main woody, slightly floral part which has a subtle nod to a petal floral (unfortunately I don't get the Jasmine) and then dries down after a short time on me as something maybe akin to grass and tree bark. I think the Galbanum probably gives it that slightly musky hint mixed with a green element.

Overall this scent isn't very long-lasting on me, I get about 1-2 hours wear from it as the initial notes fade quite quickly with the base lingering rather faintly. Despite this there is something about it I quite like as it is kind of foresty, and it doesn't turn into something unpleasant which I find can happen on me with these types of scents.

There is a special offer currently on A Scent over at Escentual.com, with over 45% off the RRP with the 30ml at £16.50, 50ml at £25.00 and the 100ml at £33.50. 

Disclosure: This fragrance was sent to me without charge for review consideration.

Suki Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser Review

I like interesting skincare, with lovely textures and beautiful scents, it really adds to the whole ritual when you have a product that you enjoy using as well as getting good results. Suki Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser is a product that ticks a lot of boxes for me in this respect and is something I have repurchased several times.

This is a natural sugar based exfoliator that emulsifies into a whiteish lather when mixed with water and rinses away very easily leaving the skin feeling squeaky clean, but not dry. As it has sugar particles in it, I only use a light hand to apply this to the skin as otherwise it may feel slightly abrasive, but as it does emulsify, it doesn't feel as harsh as if you were using a conventional sugar scrub and it does contain rather soothing ingredients such as calendula, lavender and chamomile as well. It is suitable for most skin types but is not recommended for rosacea or cystic acne.

There are different exfoliators that I favour for different benefits - this one I like in particular for helping to cleanse the pores as it feels really deep cleansing and it does seem to visibly make the pores look clearer (although it doesn't shrink them unfortunately).  It also has a rather yummy lemon scent that I like (which is kind of what drew me back to this product a little, as well as the pore benefits). I usually use this about 3 times a week (in the past I have used it every evening without issue). This is a good one if you prefer particle based exfoliators and want a product that feels like it is doing something.

Ingredients:

This comes in 30ml and 120ml sizes - they often have the larger size in a set with travel sizes of their other products.
Suki is a brand that is not greatly available instore, Wholefoods stock it and I think places like Planet Organic might have it. It is much more readily available online, my favourites stockists being Naturisimo and Lovelula (not affiliate links).


*Purchased by me*

Louise Young Super Foundation Brush LY34

Louise Young is a brand that I've only really got to know about through watching Pixiwoo's wonderful YouTube vids, with the larger foundation brushes being the ones that appealed to me, I guess maybe because it looked liked they applied the base quicker and blended nicer.

I recently bought the Super Foundation brush from Fenwicks and it was love at first use. Even though in my Homemade Brush Roll post I said I wasn't able to fit any more brushes in my roll, I couldn't resist this addition. It is a round shape rather then the traditional flatter foundation brushes with the synthetic bristles having a good flexibility (without being floppy) to work around all areas of the face. It is soo soft, and the shape and larger size allow me to quickly apply my foundation without having to blend out any edges because the rounded, subtly tapered end does this easily. This can also be used for applying other face products.

I don't have any issues using my regular foundation brushes like my Ruby & Millie or Lancome, but this just really makes application much simplier and actually rather fun! (not that I find makeup application a chore, I rather like the whole ritual).

a little foundation is left on bristles

Next to my 'normal' sized Lancome foundation brush

I bought this from Fenwicks for £24, which I think is incredibly reasonable for a brush of this size and quality.

Louise Young brushes can also be found directly from www.louiseyoungcosmetics.com (not an affiliate link).

Models Own Pro - On Lapis

Models Own Pro 050 On Lapis

I really love ashamedly bright shades, and this one has a lovely vibrancy to it that I can't help but glance at every so often. On Lapis is a beautiful turquoise colour that has a tiny hint of a green undertone, but mainly appears blue.
The formula in this is a little thick and the first coat applied a bit streaky, I think 2 would have been okay but I have done 3 coats to get a fully opaque finish. This lasted fairly well with it chipping a bit on the 3rd day but only a little tip wear. Personally, I prefer the formula in the regular Models Own  line, with their Grace Green shade being one of my favourites in terms of texture as it's not too thin and not thick and applies beautifully (sort of reminds me a bit of OPI).

The Pro range is 3 Free and has Vitamin E and UV filters. I have never noticed the colour of my polishes being effected by the light so the UV filter aspect doesn't really make me more likely to buy these. You get 1ml more (15ml then 14ml) and the brush looks the same as the regular line so no pro-style adjustments there.

The big draw for me in the Pro range is the colour selection - for a polish addict there are some beautiful shades where I was rather spolit for choice and I did end up getting quite a few different colours. I have tried 4 shades so far and the formula in some are better then others but I had hoped it would be a more noticeable improvement. While they are generally okay, I don't think they're better then their existing line so don't feel it is worth the £8 price tag. For that price I prefer the formula of OPI or similar.


The Models Own Pro range is available at larger Boots stores.

*Purchased by me*