The Body Shop's smooth & renew facial loofah pads

I'm not a fan of using most exfoliators on my face because I'm scared to get the little bits in my eyes, so when I saw these little exfoliating pads from The Body Shop, which are specifically made to use on your face, I thought they would be perfect! 

They remind me of dried noodles!

One side of the pad is incredibly rough and too scratchy to use on your face but the other side is softer and doesn't feel nearly as rough on the skin. I've been using them with my normal face wash (Garnier pure active) and they lather up with it really well. They expand a little in size the first time you wet them and are a nice size to use on your face.

You get three 'loofahs' for £4 and if you would like to read more about them on the Body Shop's website you can do so by clicking here.

Have you tried these exfoliating pads? What did you think?
Do you have any other favourites I should check out?

Nailene nail polisher remover

I had heard that this nailene nail polish remover was really good and so was tempted to try it myself but my experience in the past with these kind of removers, where you stick your finger into the sponge and wiggle it around, has never really been good. That on top of that fact that I feel like these are quiet pricey at around £7, I didn't end up buying it. I then received this as a gift which sparked my interest in it all over again.

I am someone who really doesn't like taking my nail polish off. I also have a weird finger nail where nail polish gets stuck under my skin around the nail and it's really hard (and hurts) to rub at it to try and get it off. So, it came the time to take off the nail polish I was wearing and I decided to use this and  see how it worked. 

I can't begin to tell you how impressed I am with it or how well this actually works! It took off all my nail polish (even on my stubborn finger nail) within a few seconds. It didn't even leave any tiny bits or streaks behing on my nail. The polish was completely gone. 

I expected the inside to be sponge like all the other versions I have tried but instead its a hard plastic with bristles that you rub your nail against. It's quick and easy and if you hate taking your nail polish off like me, I really recommend to try this out. I love it!

This was £7 and I believe it was from Tesco

Have you tried this Nailene nail polisher remover? What did you think?

Small haul

I don't usually like sale shopping but we decided to go this year and I thought I would show you the few things that I picked up. I didn't pick up any clothes which is usually what I tend to buy the most but I did get a couple of other things

Thierry Mugler Angel perfume - Orig £44 in Boots (I had a £5 off voucher and £10 gift card)

Necklace from Accessorize - £12

MAC soft and gentle mineralized skin finish - £21.50

Acetone from Sally - around £3.50

Miss Soleil razors - £1.99 from Boots and £1.49 from Superdrug

Did you pick up anything good in the sales?

Nip + Fab lip butter trio disappointment!

After recently using and really liking the Nip + Fab pistachio body butter (review here), I decided to buy and try out their lip butters when I saw them in Sainsbury's recently. I had high hopes for them and at the time they were 1/3 off making them £3.33 - bargain!

As you can see the lip butters come in little pots and are in cherry tarte, coconut latte and mango smoothie. As soon as I had paid for them, I quickly opened them up because I was so eager to smell them and at the time they seemed perfectly fine. I then bought them home and left them on my bedroom floor, in the box and bag until I was ready to put them away. However, when I did go to put them away and opened the cherry tarte one to use it, I was met with a really runny and gloopy mess and after checking the other two, found they had all done the same thing.

I didn't keep them these by any form of heat and since I opened them when I bought them knew they were okay and that this isn't how they are supposed to be. I have no idea what happened to them but it's a huge disappointment!

I've since put them in the fridge to see if it hardens them up and while they're not as runny, they still aren't solid and pretty much unusable. It makes a mess when you try to get some out and the products feels like putting greasy water on your lips and slides right off. They smell really nice (although the 'mango' one reminds me more of a melon scent than it does mango) but other than that I can't comment on how well they work and right now they are not what I would consider to be 'lip butters'. 

Have you tried these lip butters? Has anyone else had the same thing happen?

Empties!

I have used up a lot of products recently and have been saving them for a while now to write a blog post on.

Sally Hansen nail polish remover // Collection 2000 illuminating touch concealer // V05 'Gloss me smoothly' shampoo // Soap and Glory's Thick and Fast mascara // T-Zone nose pore strip // Tresemme split remedy shampoo and conditioner // pure argan oil // Charlie 'Black' perfume // Sally Hansen Insta-dri top coat // Johnson's baby shampoo // Taylor Swift 'Wonderstruck' perfume // Eau De Iceberg perfume // Neautogena visibly clear spot stress control cleansing lotion // Bath and Body works 'Cherry blossom' lotion // Balance Me 'Rose otto' lip balm // Bath and Bodyworks 'Country chic' bodyspray

Sure 'Cotton' deodorant // 2 x Garnier pure active deep pore unclogging facial wash // Sure 'Radiant' deodorant // Listerine 'Clean mint' mouthwash // Oral B 3D white toothpaste // Umberto Giannini sleek and chic keep it straight conditioner

Phew! That was a lot!
What have you finished up recently?

NOTD: Barry M - Lilac foil

I mentioned in a previous post that I'm not really a fan of metallic polishes but I have a bit of a soft spot for Lilac foil because of the colour. It's a still a bit streaky, like I find with most metallic polishes, but the silver micro-shimmer in this one from far away makes it look like a pale icy lilac colour which I think is really pretty and perfect for these cold winter months!

Do you like metallic polishes, which are your favouites??

Nip + Fab pistachio sundae body butter

Nip + Fab isn't a brand I know very much about but I heard about this body butter a while back and was intrigued by it. Firstly by the colour of it and secondly by the fact that it's pistachio and I really was curious to see what it smelt like. It has a very strong, indulgent smell, the kind of smell that makes you want to eat it. I do really like the smell but I think it could be pretty sickly if you were to use this all over your body (I only using it on my legs).

I'm always on the look out for hand creams and body lotions that dry really quickly because I hate the sticky feeling they leave on your skin and was hoping this wouldn't disappoint me and be one of those and it definitely isn't, I was really surprised at how quickly this dries and that my legs weren't left feeling greasy or sticky. The thick green lotion blends into your skin really nicely.

I noticed they do a couple of other scents in their body butter range which I will definitely also pick up and try to see if they are as indulgent as this one. 

This 50ml pot of body butter is the mini version which is sold in Boots for £2.95 (they also do a larger pot).
Have you tried this body butter or anything else by Nip + Fab?

Burt's Bees mango butter lip balm

I've been a fan of Burt's bees for a few years now and when I heard that they do a mango lip balm, I instantly wanted to try it. A few days after hearing about it, I received a trio gift set of their balms for my birthday and one of them happened to be the mango one! 

If you've used the original Burt's bees balm then you'll know they have the minty, tingly feeling to them when they're on your lips but this one doesn't at all, it's just a smooth, hydrating, clear lip balm which has a hint of mango to it. I personally would like the mango to be a bit stronger but if you're someone who doesn't like strong/overpowering scents then you will like this.

I was given this at the end of October and I'm already almost half way through it because I like it and have been using it so much!

Have you tried this lip balm?

Do you like Burt's Bees products?

US Haul.. Kind of.

I feel like calling this a 'US Haul' is cheating in a way because I haven't actually been to the US since last year. Instead, the boy went to Target for me with a list of things I gave him and then mailed them over to me.

A couple of these things are actually gifts for people (which is why there are so many lip balms). I actually asked him to pick up another Dream Bouncy Blush for me too but when I received it, it had been opened so I don't think I'm going to use it and for that reason, didn't include it in the picture. We can't get the twisty stick version of the cherry Carmex in the UK, so I asked him to get some of those for me and he told me that these only cost $1, that's around 62p! 

EOS lip balms in sweet mint and lemon drop

CoverGirl lash blast volume mascara

Maybelline dream bouncy blush in coffee cake

Carmex cherry lip balm

Maybelline Baby lips in cherry me, quenched and pink punch

Sonia Kashuk hidden agenda concealer palette 

EOS Alice in Wonderland trio

What would be the first products you would grab from America?

Current beauty wants!

1. Soap and Glory - Scrub your nose in it 

2. L'Oreal - Mythic oil - I'm currently sitting here with a pure argan oil in my hair before I wash it but so far I haven't really seen too much improvement with it and have heard lots of good things about the Mythic oil, so I want to try that one next!

3. Models Own - Utopia

4. Essie - Eternal Optimist - I missed out on this when it was being sold for £1.99 on CheapSmells so I'm now trying to get my hands on it!

5. Thierry Mugler - Angel perfume - I used the sample of Angel that was in this month's Glamour magazine and at first I didn't really like it but then I found myself constantly smelling my wrist and really liking the scent!

Have you tried any of these products?