New Body Butter Duos from The Body Shop

Whether maneuvering bottles to fit on to the bathroom shelf or packing for a long awaited holiday every girlie girl knows multi-purpose products can be a great space and penny saver. I have so many lotions and potions around the house that storage is becoming a little bit of a nightmare - day cream, night cream, a moisturiser that matches my perfume, hand cream, body butters, a lotion for my legs to prevent hair growth, a rich cream that I use overnight for my feet, a moisturiser with a hint of tan... the list goes on, but unfortunately my suitcase can't stretch to accommodate all of these! Never let it be said that we girls are high maintenance ;).

Being a big fan of Body Butters I was therefore excited to see that The Body Shop were launching a new range of Body Butter Duos in sweet pea, vanilla, macadamia and floral acai (£10 each)  - twin pots containing two types of moisturiser: a light cream for where skin needs less hydration and a rich cream for drier areas.

I was kindly sent the Macadamia Duo, which contains Macadamia extract, Community Fair Trade shea butter, cocoa butter, soya oil, brazil nut oil, organic babassu oil and beeswax. Both butters have a deliciously sweet and nutty fragrance that lasts well on the skin. This duo came with me for a week to beautiful Italy and was put through its paces soothing skin after too much sun, swim and a little bit of gym ;). The lighter side (on the right in photo above) was perfect to apply after a shower or as a hand cream - sinking into the skin quickly without leaving any oily residue, while the thicker cream (on the left) was great as an 'after sun', on drier areas such as elbows, knees and feet, on legs after shaving, or just to prolong a tan.

Fantastic idea, and a great space saver in your suitcase, these body butters are perfect to take on holiday, or just to make more room on your bedside table. I already have the sweet pea scent on my shopping list for when the macadamia runs out ;). Have you tried the new body butter duos? What are your favourite multi-purpose products for the Summer? xxx

Make Believe with a Little White Lie

With the UK sunshine being as fickle as ever a girl needs a tan she can safely rely on - and no I don't mean a sunbed! Over the past few weeks I have been trying out a number of self tanning products from the Make Believe range and their little sister Little White Lie. Make Believe is a luxury, indulgent tanning range that is designed not only to give you a beautiful, natural glow, but also to care for your skin with it's blend of rainforest oils and anti-oxidants.

 While speaking to the creators of MB at a recent event I raised a few concerns I had relating to self tan - mainly the smell, application and the colour results. They assured me that MB was different! Being a brand that focuses on skincare as much as colour the range contains so many moisturising ingredients that application should be effortless - you don't even need to exfoliate (though I did just to be safe).

In addition MB products contain less DHA than other brands, which not only helps with reducing that all too obvious scent, but also makes the tan look more natural, giving everyone an individual colour. After all when you go to the beach with your friends you don't all come back the same colour and MB aims to work with your natural skintone, not against it. I thought this was a fantastic concept. When I apply fake tan I want to look like myself after a holiday, not orange, not a colour that would be completely unachievable for someone of my pallour, and not like everyone else that happens to use the same product as me!

I was really excited to try the products out and I was not disappointed.  One of my favourites is the Make Believe Airbrush Bronzer (200ml - £30). This super fine aerosol spray is easy to apply and dries instantly developing into a lovely tan within 4 hours.

 Before applying the tan I prepared my skin with the Little White Lie Exfoliator (£7.50), which was very gentle and easy to rinse off. I then used a mitt to blend the airbrush bronzer into my skin. The mist was very fine, with a pleasant fresh scent, and dried quickly. Overall application was pretty effortless, though I did find that a lot of the product fell at my feet, making them darker than the rest of me (eek!), so I would recommend spraying a little closer to the skin than the recommended 10 inches. With one full top to toe application I used approximately one third of the can, though I felt that quite a lot of the product was left on the floor, as is inevitable with a spray. I left the tan to develop overnight and was very pleased to see that I woke up to a natural, even tan with no staining on the sheets and no horrible smell. Of course it wasn't completely scent free, but it was nowhere near as potent as others I have tried!

A few weeks later I decided to test out Make Believe's little sister range Little White Lie - which is a more affordable range marketed at the younger girl who wants the same indulgent, high quality pamper of a Make Believe product, but at a lower price point. I chose to try the Little White Lie Tanning Mousse with Argan Oil (150ml - £17.50).

The colourless mousse has a pleasant light scent and is easy to apply using a mitt to blend. When using a mousse product I usually prefer one with a colour guide, just to be on the safe side, but I found this one light enough to build two layers, ensuring there were no gaps. The mousse dried quickly and developed overnight (with no staining) to give a light sun kissed glow. I really liked this product, as it looks so natural, but I can imagine tanaholics could be left disappointed by it's subtlety. However, if you are pale like me and want to build a natural tan, this would be perfect to start with as it's foolproof to apply with no streaking and no tell-tale smell.

Have you tried any products in the Make Believe range? What fake tan will you be wearing this Summer? xxx

New from Batiste...

This Summer Batiste is doing something new... new packaging, new products and a larger size can!

I'm a huge fan of Batiste and use it every couple of days to stretch my style that little bit further in between washes. Since my hair is long I try to wash it every 3 days to keep it healthy and dry shampoo is indispensable for adding that little bit of extra volume on the third day ;). My favourite is the 'hint of colour' medium & brunette, which also works well at hiding roots!

Since I go through product pretty quickly I was excited to see that Batiste have now launched a 400ml can - twice the size, with about 20 applications, but less than twice the price (£2.99 for 200ml and £4.99 for 400ml)!

Batiste has also welcomed a new recruit to their existing range - XXL volume. This version of Batiste helps to add texture and lift to limp hair, while refreshing it and banishing oily roots. Great for use on the go, and much better for your hair than incessant backcombing, I can't wait to give it a try!

What are your favourite products from the Batiste range? Have you tried the new XXL volume? xxx

FOTD: Glamorous neutrals

My favourite thing about the weekend is a luscious lie-in, so getting up early on a Saturday morning to head up to Cambridge did not fill me with excitement. Knowing I would have little time to glam up for the evening ahead I decided to go for a neutral look that would last well into the early hours.

 Products used - Face:

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour foundation (my new go-to foundation! Lasts well, controls oil and looks natural)

MUFE concealer palette

MAC mineralize skinfinish natural

NARS Laguna bronzer

ELF pink blush

Guerlain Meteorites Voyage Radiant Butterfly highlighter

Eyes:

UDPP (as always)

MAC shroom e/s on the lid and wedge in the crease

Dior liquid black liner

No7 Exquisite Curl Mascara

MAC falsies

Lips:

MAC Creme Cup l/s

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector

What's your favourite long wearing look? Are there any products you rely on to last the day? xxx

Just a trim please...

It has been far too long since I had my hair cut and last week I decided that it was about time to tame the beast. Without hesitation I called up a few salons and booked the first one that had a Friday evening vacancy, which happened to be RUSH on Earl's Court road. To say I was a little apprehensive would definitely be an understatement as my previous experience at RUSH over a year ago was not a pleasant one (too many inches lost and mullet like layers gained). I made sure the appointment was with a different stylist and tried to keep an open mind...

Please excuse the fuzzy photo above, but I thought it would be worthy of documenting the curly mess that was my hair ;).

My lovey stylist Tye was very understanding of what I wanted - 'just a trim', some shapely layers and a little side fringe to add volume. She was absolutely brilliant at made me feel at ease, assuring me she wasn't going to get snip snip happy behind my back, which happens all too often... I'm sure those of you who have long hair can sympathise lol.

As I have mountains of hair it's often tempting to thin it out and make it choppy, but as my hair is naturally curly this quickly turns into quite the frizzy disaster when left to air dry, especially in the Summer. Luckily Tye knew how to cut curly hair and blended everything together with an expert hand.

The finished result was perfect and I'm very pleased with it. I know that RUSH have quite an aggressive marketing scheme on Groupon, their own website, plus a 20% student discount. My friends' experiences have been somewhat hit and miss so I can't vouch for the chain, but I can honestly recommend the lovely Tye if you are ever in the Earl's Court area.

Let me know what you think of the new do ;). xxx