LatestinBeauty.com YOU Skincare Box

Oh My ....

This is a conintuation of my entry from last week (Part one: My First Order with Latestinbeauty.com), As I mentioned at the end I ordered the limited edition YOU skincare set and was awaiting it's arrival.

First of all a bit on latestinbeauty.com, so far I have been really impressed with them. They sent a mail the day before the offer to say what it was and as well as what is in the box. When my box arrived today I found that everything is suited to what I delcared in my skin profile (dry, and ahem, getting a little older). Loved everything instantly, so prepared to feel a little bit of envy:

L'Occitane Angelica Hydration Cream (15ml)

New to the brand, promises to reinforce skin hydration so skin can look more plumper and radiant. Smells a delicate fresh scent, with a cream finish that sinks in quickly and without residue. Hvae used this now for 3 days and I'm already looking at investing in it, for a full size it is £29.00 and I really love the smell. It uses Angelica oil and water (a by-product of the extraction process), has a fresh herby scent, which has stress relief and reviving properties.

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concertrate (4ml)

Small droplet brown bottle that is used at night time under moisturiser (I'm thinking Estee Lauder's Advanced Night Repair). Loving the sound of the ingrediants: Evening Primrose Oil, Lavender oil, Fatty Acids = The perfect skin support. The sample looks tiny, after reading instructions you need 3 drops patted into the skin before moisturier, when I woke up skin looks more even tone (no red patches) and looked plumped as well as feeling very soft. £36.00 for a full size, that has the promise of lasting a long time.

Melvita Moisturizing Rose Nectar (15ml)

The first of my two rose scented products, "sheer" cream for use during the daytime. First ingrediant on the list Rosa Damascena water (there is also the oil), I like that fact it gives the latin name of the roses that they use in the product. The aromatherapist in me is dribbling over the oils and shea butter, sunk in beautifully and felt soft for most of the day. Rose oil is a natural anti-inflammarty and anti-depressant, and has a sweet-mellow fragrance of english rose gardens. £26.00 for a full size.

Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser (30ml)

This is the brand created by Dr. Murad and I am very interested about him after trading his background in the skin care industry in trade magazines. Promises a smoother and softer skin, has no scent and scrub feels like it won't irritate the skin. I found this was leaving my skin scrubbed with feeling like I was aking it raw. It has fruits acids inside it as well as exfoliation beads so you get a double hit. At £34.00 it's a little higher than what I would normally pay for a scrub, however only a pea size amount is needed.

Etat Pur Micellar Cleansing Water (190ml and full size)

New company to the market that claims that it uses as many natural prodcuts as possible. Light weight cleansing water that was put up against my everyday make up. It was good but my non waterproof mascara took a little longer to remove with no irritation. Used it for nearly a week now and used very little of the 190ml bottle, and the price is very good at £6.40

Balance Me Moisture-rich Face Cream (10ml)

My second rose scented product, contains Rosehip oil, Jojoba oil (rich in fatty acids), Cloudberry oil, and shea butters. Sinks in easily with rose scent that settles down to a soft floral scent. Feels much more of a thick lotion rather than a cream, is more suited for skin that is still dry but doens't want to use something that isn't too thick on the skin.

This box had input from the ladies at The Beauty Bible, which is one of the go to places for inpartical advice and reviews on products that have been going for many many years now. They believe is natural products (but so test others), and do entensive testing of prodcuts to bring the best in their publications. They are weekly guest columists of YOU magazize that comes with the Mail on Sunday.

 I've now given this about a week, my skin has vastly improved. Now, instead of wearing a foundation it's improved so much that I've now gone onto a moitursing tint. I'm very happy with this box, everything I have used, my only gripe would that there are two products with the same main ingrediants. I very much look forward to the next box!

NOTD: Undercurrent by SPARitual

I shall call it . . . Mini Varnish (brings pinky to lips)

SPARitual are lovely body/face company that believe in making vegan products that not only smell just divine but ooze luxury and pampering. I knew they did varnishes but not nearly anyone had used them and wanted to give them a whirl. I was browsing and lusting over the website when over at the varnishes I noticed they had just launched little mini's. These are smaller versions of their larger salon based ones, which are more affordable from £5 - £8 (instead of from £8 - £10).

This colour was part of the S/S 2012 collection that was inspired from water and oceans. This is a deep blue cream, that has the slightise green to it to echo the deepest part of the ocean. I took this during the daytime but at night it seems to go nearly blue/black like the ocean. I love the detail and thinking into that.

The bottle has the grip of the larger sized, but it missing the soft rubber grip that the larger ones have. This doesn't take from it and is easy to handle. The lacquer paints on easily and self levels with ease. The finish is great and even without a top coat comes out glossy. The bigger bonus is the smell, my husband hates me painting my nails because of the smell. This is time not one complaint, as the scent is miniscule.

I now have my eyes on one from their Pigment range called Henna, a purple/pink hybrid which is what I'm missing from my collection. www.sparitual.co.uk/

Ow!

Yes that is my hand in bandages, I injured my little finger the other night. It's not broken but sprained but it means for a few days I'm having to everything one handed. It also means I can't type that well, so I'm having the weekend off of typing but doing lots of reading. Have a great weekend everyone and keep safe! x

Ciate's Bon Bon Vs. Nails Inc. Portchester Square

Left: Ciate in Bon Bon. Right: Nails Inc. Portchester Road

I never really been a nude nail girl, I'd rather have my nails making a bold statement, but then I may be mellowing in my old age and starting to think about getting some nudes in my collection. Marie Claire has this one in their magazine as a freebie (it will be ending this week so grab then while you can, there are two other colours to collect). I did wear it for a while (NOTD here), and while it's a reasonable varnish, the colour really didn't bowl me over.

I then did an order with LatestInBeauty (Here) where they were (and still are) selling this colour for £6.00 instead of £11 and thought why not? I received my order on Saturday and while watching the F1 (wasn't it an awesome race?!) painted my nails and wondered how the two together would compare.

Taken on daylight (when it was sunny!)

The first thing that strikes me is that the Ciate Bon Bon is acutally more of a lilac, while the Nails Inc. Porcester Square is a lot more of a nuder brown. I also found the Bon Bon against my skintone was right at all, while the Nails Inc complimented more. Painting wise, I found the Nails Inc much more easier to use and in these pictures it's only one coat while the Ciate has two.

I also put them to ultimate manicure test - I painted each hand in the colours and did two hours of housework (scrubbing, hot water, cleaning chemicals, the whole thing!). The Ciate didn't fair well and started to chip towards the end. However, the Nails Inc stood up to the test and still look reasonable glossy.

So sorry Ciate as pretty as your bottles are, when it comes down to giving it some punishment it didn't stand the test of a good house clean. Nails Inc wins!

My First Order with Latestinbeauty.com

latestinbeauty.com is another company that offers sample sizes before purchase, this one is slightly different that you can choose the three sample sachets that go into your box for the cost of £1.50 that is added to you mobile phone bill.

After adding my details into my profile they picked a selection and from that I picked: TRESemme Split Remedy Set (Shampoo, Conditioner and Leave-In Treatment), Dr. Organic Rose Otto Lotion and SUPER by Dr Nicholas Perricone Bright Eyed. They arrived 3 days after I ordered, I got two sachets each of the TRESemme and SUPER but only one of the Dr. Organic. The box was also much thicker than the products and could of easily fit into an envelope, cutting down on postage costs as I feel that £1.50 is a little high for what I actually received.

The TRESemme turned out to be a great 3 set, the scent wasn't unoffensive and smelt like any other hair care product out there, however I really liked the leave in treatment. I normally wash my hair, leave it damp over night as I don't have time in the morning to go through the whole routine. I also have really dry hair because I dye it, I woke with really soft and volumised hair even after a nights sleep on it. More impressive that trying it this way meant that I was allergic to it, as with other TRESemme products in the past.

The two skincare products that I received were nothing really to rave about. The Dr. Organic Rose Otto cream is a slightly thicker lotion than the normal, however you do need to really like the smell of rose it is heavily scented (and not best for people who have sensitive skin), I got about four good uses out of one 5ml sachet. The SUPER eye cream is a light eye cream designed for the more maturer skin, couldn't smell any scent and sunk is quickly. It stopped the area feeling dry, but other than that it didn't rock my world.

The main reason I tripped over the sight was that Never To Broke For Beauty gave a heads up to the Luxury sample side of the website that currently have a 30ml Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish for £3 for a limited time. Never trying it before (and there was a free p&p code), I grabbed myself one, then spotted the hero Nails Inc. shade Porchester Road for £6 instead of £11 and whoops that went in as well (reviews to come).

I find latestinbeauty.com a mixed bag, it's sample service is OK but the choice of luxury sampling is far better. I have just ordered their themed box by YOU magazine and The Beauty Bible, costing £11.90 (including P&P), it has their top picked of beauty products valued around £40. Interest? Buy it here

Masterclass - Introduction to Massage

The basis of massage consists of manipulation of superficial tissue and underlying muscle; this can be done by using different ways using hands, feet, elbows, and knees. The word massage comes from different languages but the general translation's to knead, touch, feel or handle.

Th practise of massage can be recorded to years back, Hippocrates (the founder of medicine) in the fifth century wrote that, "the physician must be experienced in many things, but assuredly in rubbing". He was an advocate of being "rubbed" to aid illness, fatigue and injury before any understanding of the circulation system was noted. It now be found widely used throughout the world with each country having its own technique and practise.

The benefits of massage are now clear in the modern world:

• Pain relief - When used correctly in injury can relieve slight swelling by moving liquid away from the area.
• Relieves anxiety
• Temporary lowers blood pressure and heart rate as it is a destresser.
• Can be used to treat people with depression alongside medication.

At most massage it a complimentary therapy which means that it can be used alongside or instead of modern medication (however if you are on medication it is best to get the go ahead from your doctor). 

One of most destressing part of massage is having a human contact that it involves as well as having that "time out" for yourself, and in the most part that's the most healing part of the treatment. There is also many ranges of massage so there is one for everyone, and not all of them involve taking your clothes of which is most common question about massage!

Next week we'll look at the basic techniques used in massage, so you know what movements construct a massage routine and what it should feel like.

NOTD: Avon's Starry Night

My 50th Post goes to the new amazing "Starry Night" by Avon. I've now worn it for 3 days and it has only started to show the smallest (and hardly noticeable) sign of wear. It is a shimmer of silver with I've found a few slightly larger pieces, it reflects light very well to the point that my husband said that it looks like I've painted mirrors on my fingers. The brush I find is good to paint with, and you don't need to wipe too much excess lacquer off to cover the nail. Two coats will give a strong colour, and would be easy to use in nail art.

Avon are defiantly now one brand to look in for affordable varnish and they currently are running an offer of 2 bottles for £8 (Normally £6 each) HERE. I brought Romance, a shimmer pink/mauve, at the same time and am now looking forward to trying it now.

In artifical light (with Instagram, just painted)

In daylight (after 3 days wear)