Monday 25 March 2013

John Masters Organics Deep Scalp Follicle Treatment & Volumizer


My hair and scalp has been an increased priority the past year or so since I noticed my hair was thinning a bit and generally has less volume. I have been trying to remedy this internally but I'm using topical products to help the progress along. Currently I'm using the John Master Organics Deep Scalp Follicle Treatment and Volumizer for thinning hair.

My hair is slightly on the finer side, wavy and my scalp is quite sensitive and can get easily irritated by the wrong shampoo or using overly stripping products (or eating too much crap!), so as well as helping the thinning, I like using scalp specific products as they do seem to calm it and promote a healthier scalp.

The John Masters Organics Deep Scalp Follicle Treatment and Volumizer for thinning hair is 'a unique combination of 19 certified-organic herbs and essential oils improve the scalp by promoting nutrient intake, stimulating circulation, balancing sebum production and eliminating free radicals. Select ingredients work to enhance hair volume and shine. Safe for colour-treated hair'.

Key ingredients:
 
Thyme - scalp stimulant; antiseptic
Irish moss - natural detoxifier
Arnica - healing to the scalp; anti-inflammatory
Che qian zi - reduces inflammation
Gotu kola - anti-inflammatory; anti-irritant

I use this on damp hair after washing and conditioning. I section the hair and spray a small amount at the roots then style as normal.
What I notice with this it that it does seem to give my hair a bit more substance and volume at the roots so it doesn't appear as fine. With continual use I think my hair does feel better so for me it's doing what it says on the tin. For scalp comfort I personally prefer the Philip Kingsley Scalp Toner as that has a bit more cooling, soothing feeling, but overall I like the John Masters more for the volumising element.
 
I was a bit critical of Phylia de M.'s Connect as that is rather pricey for the amount you get but the John Masters product works out almost the same if you're comparing by mls as the Connect is £45 for 120ml and this is around £21 for 59ml.

I really can't put either product against each other as I like them both and feel they are both unique in their approach to hair health. 
 
Ingredients: 

Aqua (water), glycerin, sorbitol, panthenol (vitamin B), centillica asiatica (gotu kola) extract,* chondrus crispus (irish moss) extract,* plantago asiatica (chegian zi) extract,* arctium lappa (burdock root) extract,* hydrolyzed wheat protein, urticia dioica (nettle) extract,* yucca schidigera (yucca) extract,* hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) distillate, arnica montana (arnica) extract,* anthemis nobilis (chamomile) extract,* hyaluronic acid, camellia sinensis (white tea) extract,* lavandula angustifolia (lavender) extract,* calendula officinalis (calendula) extract,* tocopherol acetate (vitamin E), carica papaya (papaya) extract, cucumis sativa (cucumber) extract,* soy protein, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) oil,* triticum vulgare (wheat germ) oil,* thymus vulgaris (thyme) oil,* linum usitatissimum (flax seed) oil,* rosmarinus officinalus (rosemary) oil*

* Certified Organic

Monday 18 March 2013

The Body Shop All-In-One BB Cream 02


I am somewhat intrigued by this whole BB phenomenon and have dabbled in a few variants, the latest of which is The Body Shop's All-In-One BB Cream*.

I think of BB creams as some sort of tinted moisturiser hybrid and to be honest saying 'BB' on the packaging does not mean much to me but I do appreciate new formulations and will happily explore the actual product.

The Body Shop's offering is a light cream texture that has colour-adapting technology, that releases pigments when blended into the skin, supposedly matching your skin colour well.

This comes in 3 shades (01, 02 & 03), and I have the BB Cream for medium skin tone (02) 




It starts off as a light, white-ish cream and once you start blending it the colour changes and blends into the skin.





My skin is yellow-toned and I feel this shade goes a bit too tan/a tiny bit orange on my skin (you can see this a little in the pics).

The formula feels quite hydrating and a bit dewy-finished, so if you have drier skin this may be better as I use a bit of powder on top as my skin is a bit combination in places.
This offers little in the way of coverage - it evens things out a bit but as it's sheer doesn't do much to cover my acne marks so I use a separate concealer on those. This falls a little short on perfecting qualities as I feel I get a better evenness when using a tinted moisturiser product.
On a positive note my blush seems to stay better on top of this which is an issue I have when using blusher over some foundations.

Overall this doesn't blow me away as I like a bit more coverage and the colour isn't quite right on me.

*PR Sample

Friday 15 March 2013

MakeUp Picnic on Bloglovin

Hi peeps, just a quick one if you'd like to follow my blog on Bloglovin, here's the link:

http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/2400262/makeup-picnic

Thank you xx

Tuesday 12 March 2013

Live Native Exfoliating Earth Cleanser & Essential Mist MSM Toner


Live Native is a unique skincare range that uses raw ingredients to create their products. As the ingredients are harvested and produced without heat, this raw element helps to retain the beneficial properties such as enzymes and nutrients contained within the living ingredients.
They are also free of 'colourings, preservatives, parabens or phthalates, petroleum by-products, synthetic fragrance, alcohol, water, unnatural stabilizers or any of the usual skincare 'nasties'.

Live Native Exfoliating Earth Cleanser
This is a very interesting and unique looking cleanser, as the name suggests it looks very earthy but it's much more than how it appears.
This has a base of Oat Kernel Meal and Rhassoul Clay, the texture reminds me a little of Dr Hauschka's Cleansing Cream although Live Native's feels like a more separated consistency rather than the more paste like quality of the Dr Hauschka (Live Native's also smells way better!).
  
You take a bit and mix with a little water to form a paste then gently massage onto the skin and rinse off. I find that if I try to mix a thicker paste it can get a little messy as cleanser falls off my hands as I go to put it on my face, so if I mix with more water to get a slightly thinner texture, this is easier for me to work with. Messiness aside, the end result is much softer, velvety feeling skin and it lessens the need for a separate exfoliation product. It feels gentle to use daily although I prefer this as an evening cleanse after removing makeup as the scent is quite refreshing and relaxing at the end of the day. 





Ingredients:
Oat (Avena Sativa) Kernel Meal*, Rhassoul Clay (Montmorillonite)*/***, Chamomile Macerate in Sunflower oil*, Argan (Argania Spinosa) Kernal Oil*/***, Coconut (Cocos Nucifera) Oil*, MSM (Dimethyl Sulfone) from Pine Trees, Chamomile (Chamomilla Recutita Matricaria) Flower*, Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) Root Powder*, Kelp (Ascophyllum Nodosum)**, Marigold (Calendula Officinalis) Flower Oil*, Vitamin E (natural d-alpha tocopherol), Glyceryl Caprilate, Grapefruit (Citrus Grandis) Seed Extract in vegetable glycerin, Acerola cherry (Malpighia Glabra) Fruit Extract*.
* organic   ** wild harvested   *** Fairtrade


Essential Mist MSM Toner
I am a fan of rose water based toners, I feel they are rather calming and softening on my skin so I was keen to try the Essential Mist MSM Toner as this has rose water as it's base along with MSM which is an organic sulphur extract from the pulp of pine trees that helps to build collagen. Other ingredients include acerola cherry which is an antioxidant, naturally high in vitamin C and essential oils of rose otto, sandalwood and frangipani.

This mist is incredibly fine (as a mist should be!), and is absorbed quite easily into the skin. I use it as a prep before moisturiser or if my skin needs a little bit of a rescue as it's soothing and feels comfortable on my skin.

The smells quite strongly (to my nose anyway) of rose but there is something in this that gives it a little sharpness in a way that if I spray it directly on my skin, it gets in my nose and makes me cough a little. It feels quite potent (or maybe I'm just sensitive to something in it, I don't know!) I think this is just me as my sister has tried this and doesn't experience anything of the sort.
It hasn't stopped me from using it but I apply onto a cotton pad rather than directly on my face.

Ingredients
Rosa damascena (rose) floral water*, Dimethyl sulfone (MSM from pine trees), Malpighia glabra (acerola cherry) fruit extract*, Rosa damascena (rose otto) essential oil*, Santalum austrocaledonicum veill (sandalwood) essential oil*, Plumeria rubra (frangipani) absolute, (*denotes organic) contains the following components of essential oils: citral, citronellol, eugenol, farnesol, geraniol and linalool.
* organic

I bought these from www.livenative.com   (not an affiliate link)