Freebie Alert: Clinique Take the Day off Cleansing Balm!

 

Just a heads up that Clinique are offering a free mini 15ml pot of their 'Take the Day Off' cleansing balm on 25th and 26th May! 

Just head to the Clinique counter at John Lewis to take advantage of this freebie* and there's no purchase necessary! 

*whilst stocks last 

Boots Botanics Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm Review

 

I have recently discovered a new budget balm that reminds me very much of my favourite Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm but a more affordable version under ten pounds! I enjoy using cleansing balms, especially in the colder months when my skin is feeling parched and tight with the over-use of central heating!

 

The Boots Botanics Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm is an organic deep-cleansing balm that contains a luxurious blend of Shea Butter, Rosehip and Jojoba Oil to leave skin smooth and beautifully clean. The solid Balm can be used morning and evening and comes with a muslin cloth which gently exfoliates and gives skin a deeper clean. The Balm is rich and luxurious to use and does a great job of removing dirt, lifts makeup and impurities. My skin is left clean, smooth and well hydrated thanks to the organic oily balm and the use of the muslin cloth to gently remove any dead skin cells that can leave the complexion dull.

 

A little goes a long way so take a small amount of the balm and warm with your fingertips until it turns into an oil then massage over the face avoiding the eye area (I tend to use Bioderma to remove my eye makeup) and neck using light upward strokes. Soak your muslin cloth in warm water and use as a gentle compress to draw out impurities, then rinse and remove remaining balm in small circular movements. Finish by soaking cloth in cold water and pressing gently over your face to close pores.
 

The Emma Hardie version has a more silky texture and melts into the skin like a dream, whereas the Boots Balm is a little more waxy in comparison but if you are on a budget then Botanics is a definitely winner! I'm impressed that this balm is  97% organic and contains no parabens, lanolin or mineral oil. I found the muslin cloth that came with the balm quite scratchy so I used a softer cloth but overall, this product fabulous value for money!

Boots Botanics Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm is priced at £8.99 for 70ml and is available from Boots however it is currently on offer for just £5.99! Have you tried this budget beauty item? Do you recommend any other products from the Botanics range?

FREE Ojon Hair Products worth £41.50!

Ojon are offering customers the chance to take home a full size Damage Reverse Shampoo and full size Damage Reverse Conditioner by simply trading in any empty shampoo or conditioner bottle, no purchase necessary! You can read my review of the Damage Reverse Shampoo & Conditioner and also the Damage Reserve Treatment.

Customers are invited to visit their nearest John Lewis, selected Boots stores, & House of Fraser on November 8th 2012 to take part in this one day only event. Customers will receive the Damage Reverse Shampoo and Conditioner, worth £41.50 in exchange for an empty shampoo or conditioner bottle from any brand. This offer is on a first come, first served basis and the offer will only stand until stocks last. My tip would be to get there early as this is such a great offer!

In line with Ojon’s commitment to ‘protecting the welfare of the land and peoples of the region’, all returned packaging will be sent to our recycling partner, Wastecare, where the packaging will be recycled or used for energy recovery.

Jo Hansford ILLUMINOIL

I was invited to Jo Hansford's new salon opening in London this week which sounded amazing but sadly I couldn't make it! Hopefully when I'm next in London I will be able to visit the new salon but I was kindly sent a bottle of Jo's new ILLUMINOIL to try out.


Jo Hansford is hailed by American Vogue as "the best tinter on the planet" and described by Marie Claire as "The first Lady of Colour", she is simply an icon in the field of hair colouring and counts Nigella Lawson, Sienna Miller, and Elizabeth Hurley as loyal clients.


ILLUMINOIL is a blend of exquisite ingredients to add shine, heal and protect hair and this 'liquid gold' is 'one of the most luxurious hair care products ever formulated' - wow that's saying something! The ILLUMINOIL was created as a miracle essence for all hair types, harnessing the healing power of some of the world's  most exotic and precious oils. Pomegranate, Argan, Karanja and Jojoba oils combine in this unique lightweight formulation to hydrate and nourish your hair, leaving it glossy, shiny and radiant. 


The packaging is very luxurious, in a glass and gold pump action bottle and first impressions are great - the oil, which is more like a serum, smells amazing - very fresh, clean and citrus-y and it is extremely lightweight and non-greasy. I have tried many different hair oils out over recent months and this has got to be the nicest scented one I have found to date! This is a multi-purpose product, you can use as a finishing product on dry hair after styling to smooth cuticles and tame flyaways leaving your hair soft, sleek and shiny. You can apply a little through mid-lengths and ends of towel dried hair to prevent frizz and aid blow drying, intensively nourishing the hair leaving a smooth silky finish. It can be used as an intensive treatment after shampooing leave on for 10 minutes before rinsing and conditioning as normal, it can repair, restructure and nourish dry, damaged or over processed hair. It can also be used as an overnight scalp treatment if your scalp is dry, irritated or flaky to soothe.


Jo Hansford ILLUMINOIL is priced at £29 and is available from Harvey Nichols and johansford.com 

 Have you ever visited a Jo Hansford salon or tried any of their hair care?

Ojon Damage Reserve Shampoo & Conditioner Review

I took part in the John Lewis Ojon Swapping Event last month. I swapped an empty bottle of shampoo for a full size duo set of Ojon Damage Reserve Restorative Shampoo and Damage Reserve Restorative Conditioner. 

Both products have a slightly citrus smell and a little goes a long way with it being a rich formulation, I would only use this once a week. The Shampoo is a golden gel texture fortified with pure Ojon oil, nature's golden elixir, wheat protein and creamy coconut which transforms into a rich lather to repair damaged hair. The shampoo promises to hydrate, restore healthy hair, smooths cuticles and unwinds tangles to prevent breakage. 

The conditioner is a concentrated balm that doesn't sit on the surface, it surrounds dry, brittle hair with nourishing Ojon oil, anti oxidant-rich Brazilian Buriti Oil and Murumuru Butter. This helps to seal in vital moisture and create the perfect buffer against daily damage. The duo is lovely to use but I would only recommend this to people with dry/damaged hair and would only use to once a week as it is a rich formula. Although the products are pricey, you need the smallest amount as they are so concentrated so they will last a long time.  

I would definitely recommend the Ojon Damage Reserve Treatment, you can read my review here. This treatment is quite rich and you only need to use half a teaspoon, I would only recommend using once a week or fortnight and after experimenting by leaving the treatment on over night - I found that it left my hair lank and greasy. So I only use this treatment once a week and leave this on for 30 minutes to an hour which leaves my hair super soft and shiny. I also find my hair more manageable and I don't need to use any heat to style my hair as it stays smooth even leaving hair to dry naturally. 

Ojon Damage Reserve Shampoo & Conditioner cost £20 each and are available from John Lewis, Boots, & House of Fraser. Have you tried Ojon? What were your thoughts?

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

I have heard lots of hype about Liz Earle products especially the famous Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser so I decided to try for myself. I decided to buy the starter kit which came with 100ml pump bottle of the cleanser and 2 Muslim cloths which was £13, this is great value compared to my usual expensive Elemis or Eve Lom cleansers. My mum also picked up a 30ml tube of the cleanser and Muslim cloth free for me which was an offer in the Daily Mail newspaper last week – its a good size for travel.

Directions for Use:

Fill a basin with hand-hot water.

Apply 1 or 2 pumps of Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser onto dry skin and use your fingertips to gently massage the cream over your face and neck. Work in circular movements from the centre of your face outwards. Massage over your eyelids and eyelashes last to avoid spreading eye makeup over your face.

Rinse the pure muslin cloth in hand-hot water and wring it out so it's damp, not wet.

Use the muslin cloth to wipe off the cream using a clean section for each part of your face. Place a single finger inside the cloth to thoroughly clean more awkward areas such as around the nose. Be gentle around your eye zone when removing eye make-up. Rinse the cloth thoroughly during cleansing.

Rinse your skin in cool water and carefully pat dry using a soft towel. Rinse the muslin cloth thoroughly and allow it to air dry naturally.

I was expecting this cleanser to be ‘oily’ or have a similar texture to Eve Lom so was surprised to find its a thick cream cleanser. It feels similar to the old fashioned cold cream yet more luxurious and moisturising. I wasn’t keen on the tea tree oil smell in the bottle, but once applied on your face the smell isn’t overpowering. I have been using this cleanser every morning and night for a couple of weeks now and its brilliant at cleaning and removing makeup and doesn’t leave your skin feeling greasy like Eve Lom does yet it leaves skin feeling soft. I have been using muslim cloths to remove my cleanser for some time now and they are brilliant for exfoliating your skin gently at the same time as removing dirt. I still like to use a beauty sponge/cloth too.


My skin feels and looks more radiant, glowing and clean after using this cleanser – I’m definitely hooked! In fact so much so im not wearing makeup today. I shall be re-purchasing I think it is great value and works well compared to other more expensive brands. I bought my sister some of this cleanser for an Easter present and she also loves it – she has very sensitive skin and the only product she found that didn’t irritate her skin was Eve Lom but is now she is converted to Liz Earle.


I am also loving the Liz Earle Super balm at the moment, it’s wonderful on my dry lips and cuticles....I shall be posting a review soon. I also would like to try out the Instant Boost Skin Tonic and the Super Skin Moisturiser.


http://www.lizearle.com/

Fake Bake Tanning Review

I used to consider Fake Bake one of my best fake tans in my collection for the colour it turned me – a lovely dark brown tan. The colour I go after applying this is really natural looking, no streaks and no orange in sight at all. It left me with a dark deep tan too. You really need to exfoliate and moisturise before applying this tan for a more flawless finish. I find its best to apply at night after you have had a bath or shower and leave it on overnight to develop. I tried the cream lotion version of the product first, it’s a really dark chocolate coloured cream so you can see where you have applied it which is a bonus, but it does make you look dirty and super tanned almost black but after a few hours it calms down! I found it was very very messy to apply! Its very strongly scented and you get that ‘biscuit’ smell in the morning!

I used the purple latex gloves that came with the tan when applying it (they are alot stronger than the usual white gloves i use that can sometimes split). You need to be quick in applying and rubbing the cream in or it tends to stick to the glove and you get patches and an uneven application. I found that because the product was so dark brown and I had white sheets on my bed I used to put an old towel on top of my sheet to try and prevent stains. However I found that even if the product stained my sheets it easily washed out. I love the colour I go using fake bake the only downside to this product apart from its expensive is im really bad for apply fake tan late at night when im tired and this just takes too long to apply and you need to really rub it in well to avoid going streaky.

The Fake Bake Self –Tanning Lotion:

I have also tried in the Fake Bake Collection their body scrub which was excellent and smelt of oranges. However i think with body scrubs even the cheap ones, scrubbing gloves, sand on the beach or DIY scrubs ones are brilliant! I have the Fake Bake Dry Oil Skin Smoothie which is brilliant to apply before the fake bake and i love the colour – however the bottle tends to leak everywhere :( You need to give it a good shake before spraying onto your skin as the oil separates in the bottle.

The Fake Bake Skin Smoothie:

The most recent out of the Fake Bake collection i have tried is the Fake Bake Instant Self Tanning Spray – Air Brush. Its suppost to give a flawless tan and doesn’t clog the pores. However i find it really difficult to apply – the spray tends to disperse too much of the product and splatters it on so i have to rub it in afterwards. Perhaps its easier to get someone else to spray it on for you? I have only tried this a couple of times maybe i need to give it another go.

The Fake Bake Airbrush Tan is here:

I have seen there is now a Fake Bake Gold – has anyone tried this?