garnier micellar cleansing water

The latest micellar water to hit the isles of Boots is this offering from Garnier. As a brand, I find that Garnier are one of the best "drugstore" beauty providers out there! I just raved about their Beauty Oil just the other day, so it would appear that I'm going through a Garnier stage!

First of all, the packaging. Simple, allows you to see the product fully and is also easy to hold and handle with a cute little pink lid that you flip open to allow you to pour the water onto a cotton pad. I find that I can easily control how much product I want to pour out which is good, as sometimes I can end up completely soaking myself when brands don't concentrate on the design of the dispenser properly. 

I like to use this to remove my face make up as well as my eye make up. I find that it cleanses well without leaving my skin feeling stripped, greasy or sore. Garnier claim that this should "hydrate" as well, but I wouldn't say that exactly. It doesn't really nourish dry patches or anything of that nature but it also doesn't drain my skin of moisture. Instead, is gently lifts away my mascara and eye make up very quickly without the need to rub and scratch away at my skin!

Skin feels refreshed and clean, and the huge 400ml bottle is a lovely generous size. It is perfume and fragrance free so won't irritate your skin or cause nasty breakouts. Overall, I really like this product and if you wanted to try something like Bioderma or the Taaj Miceller Water then try this Garnier version first. In my opinion, they are all pretty similar and do the same job but this one you can pick up easily from your local Boots for just £4.99 which is crazy compared to the £20+ you might end up paying for the other two.

Have you tried this Micellar Cleansing Water yet? What did you think?

Liv xox

avon blusher brush

You may or may not know that I used to be an Avon Representative a few years ago! I think that was when I really fell in love with the whole beauty industry and my love affair with make up began! I loved getting new brochures every month and scanning through the glossy pages to see what they had to offer, and Sunday's at my Nannan & Grandads house was filled with food, drink and the scented Avon pages that you could rub your wrists on to get a real sense of what the fragrance was like! Ahh, memories.

Anyway! I ordered this sculpted Blusher Brush from my local Avon Rep a few days ago and it came super quickly a couple of days later! I'll be totally honest, the brushes I remember from Avon a few years ago weren't all that great. I found that the bristles weren't soft enough and they either picked up way too much product or no where near enough. So I was pleasantly surprised when this little gem landed on my door step!

I really like the slightly matte black finish to the handle which makes it looks very sophisticated and grown up, it is also custom designed to be slanted for better grip. It is also super light weight so is very comfortable to use and allows you better control over it, which shows just how much Avon have thought about how this brush with be used. However, what struck me the most about this brush was just how soft it is! The bristles are make of nylon and are seriously softer than any other face brush I have come across! They also claim to be "washable" but I haven't had the chance to wash mine yet, so I will report back on that later!

The sculpted bristles mean that this is perfect for adding a little bit of contour if you want to, but it also very easily allows you to just add a nice little flush to the apples of your cheeks with minimal effort which is great for mornings when you're still half asleep!

Overall, I am in love with this Blusher Brush. I think it will be great for both blusher and bronzer, as well as dabbing highlighted onto the high points! It picks up just enough product so that you don't end up looking like a clown and comes in at a reasonable £7.00 which I think isn't too bad! At the moment, it is on offer for £3.50. which is what I paid, and even if you don't have an Avon Rep nearby you can still order online through the Avon Shop!

Please bear in mind that this post is completely not sponsored by Avon, I do not work for them anymore and my opinions are always 100% my own and not at all biased.

Have you tried any tools from Avon recently? What do you think of them?

Liv xox

garnier ultimate beauty oil skin perfector

I have been lusting after a new body oil/moisturiser for months now. I used up all of my previous favourite from Sanctuary Spa, read my review here, and ever since I've been left with a nourishing-post-shower-moisturiser shaped hole in my heart. I really like the thought of using oils but find that most just take up too much effort to apply and I have to stand around waiting for hours waiting for it to dry.

The Garnier Ultimate Beauty Oil is a perfecting oil that claims to be five times more concentrated in nutrients than their regular body lotion, a big claim. The golden liquid has a lovely fragrance to it and is enriched with four precious oils: Argan, Macademia, Almond and Rose. I really like the fact that it comes in a spray bottle as it makes application much easier and a lot less messy than if it was in a pouring bottle. However, wash your hand in between switching spraying-hands as once the bottle gets a little oily is becomes incredibly difficult to use! Mine kept slipping all over the bathroom, oops!

I really like this body oil! It is easy to use and sinks in very quickly for this type of product, I usually find that body oils can leave my skin feeling greasy for a long time after application. My skin felt incredibly soft and looked significantly more illuminated than it did before. Any dry patches were smoothed over and nourished, and overall my skin just appeared a lot healthier!

Due to the ease of use, I would totally recommend this for lazy gals such as myself, but also to anyone who wants their skin to be moisturised as well as having that kick of radiance and smoothness. This usually retails for around £7.49 but is currently on offer for under a fiver at Boots online an in store! 

Have you tried this product before?

Liv xox

nivea lip butter in caramel cream

My mum bought me this a few weeks ago as she was finishing work, and I have been enjoying using it! There are three flavours available: Original, Caramel Cream and Raspberry.

First of all, this Caramel Cream version smells (and tastes, oops) absolutely delicious! Like freshly baked cookies or cakes mmm! The texture is nice too, it feels fairly thick and nourishing but not gloopy or greasy at all which is quite rare amongst the cheaper range of lip balms.

I find that this melts into the lips and smooths down any dry or flaky patches which I appreciated. The formula contains Almond Oil and Shea Butter which work to provide moisture and softness. However, like most lip products I don't feel that this has helped my lips in the long run. It feels and smells lovely, but in terms of bringing my lips back to full health, this did not deliver. In its defence, it never really claims to do this, I guess it is just my personal preference and perhaps this isn't the sort of product that I would go out and buy myself if I was looking for something for my lip problems. I do like to slick some of this on during the day as it gives a nice glossy finish that isn't too sticky.

Overall, if you're looking for a scrumptiously scented, easy to wear lip balm that makes your lips feel softer and look healthier whilst being worn, then this is great! But if, like me, you want your lip balm to heal and protect any dryness or soreness then I would seek a more medicated alternative. This retails for just £2.25 from Superdrug both online and in store.

Have you tried any of the Nivea Lip Butters before?

Liv xox

wilson

*hearts in eyes emoticon*

weekend breakfast

This weekend, whilst out shopping for accessories for my newly redecorated room, we "accidently" fell into Frankie & Benny's and might have ordered a cheeky little calorie-filled breakfast. It was slightly healthy though. Okay, it wasn't at all.

But it was so worth it. 

My mum ordered a sort of full English mash up whilst my Nannan had a toasted muffin with scrambled egg. I, on the other hand, went for a slightly more adventurous dish. A stack of three fluffy buttermilk pancakes, drizzled in a sweet and sticky syrup and topped off with a few rashers of tasty bacon. Oh my, it was one of the nicest breakfasts I have had in a long, long time! Who'd thought that bacon would go so well with syrup?!

What did you do this weekend?

Liv xox

dr. jart water fuse bb cream

 

I'm not a huge fan of thick, full coverage foundation or bases. I much prefer something quite light and airy but still fairly moisturising and perfecting. I've been loving the Bourjois Healthy Mix for a while now, but I found that my skin was starting to feel a little tighter and drier than usual and decided it was time to find a new face base (heh, rhymes.)

 

I've read a lot about BB creams over the past few months. Every brand and their dog seemed to bring out a new version every week or so, and I got a little bored of hearing about them. I then saw the range of Dr. Jart BB creams, and felt that these looked a lot more high quality than some of the other products I had seen in the aisles of Boots and Superdrug.

 

After looking through the range (there is a regenerating one with a strong coverage, a platinum one for skin aged 30+ and also a premium one which is an age fighting, glossy and low coverage base) I decided on the Water Fuse version as it sounded the best for my skin. You get 50ml of this product for £18, and it has an SPF of 25 which is really good and will help to protect your skin!

 

This is described "Asia's wonder beauty product" and is known for having "advanced water bead technology" which should help hydrate and maintain healthy moisture for a dewy, fresh look. I loved the description of it but as you can see from the photograph, this is a fairly thick cream which did scare me at first. However, once you begin applying this you realise that it is very light on the skin but also feels super moisturising as described.

 

The product oil-free and full of lush ingredients such as aloe barbadensis leaf juice to slow the loss of water from the skin and portulaca oleraceo extract to soothe and calm the skin and also anti-redness.

 

Enough of all the fancy-smancy talk though, what is the product actually like? I have one word: shamazing. I have never tried anything that minimizes pores as much as this thing does! My skin looks instantly smoother and more fresh. If it's coverage you're after, then this probably won't float your boat. But if you want a natural-looking base that still manages to even out skin tones and make skin look flawless then this is it!

 

I like to add this to my face and blend in with my hands and a buffing brush for a perfect application, then just dab some concealer on any other problem areas that need more coverage. I hope the photos below do this product justice!

((Left: bare skin --- Right: Dr. Jart Water Fuse BB Cream))

 

As you can see, my skin isn't exactly covered but it looks so much more bright, smooth and radiant with this product. Pores are virtually invisible and my skin just looks amazing but still natural!

 

I guess the only negative thing about this product is that it only comes in one shade, so if you're much paler or darker than the colour above this is most likely not going to work for you.

 

I absolutely adore this product, if you haven't already guessed that. It is just so good! At the moment this is on offer in Boots for just £12, and in my opinion is definitely worth picking up! I've used this as a base constantly for a few weeks now and can say that it hasn't made me break out or more dry, in fact I think this has improved my skin even when it's bare! BUY IT NOW!

 

Have you tried this BB cream?

 

Liv xox