Beautifinous.

Hi guys! Back in 2018 I wrote a review of the ION-Sei ionic toothbrush and I loved it. I used it up until the end of the ION-Sei's availability in the UK, so I was really happy to hear that they have a sister company, Shiken, who have continued with the technology to create a new product line: Soladey.

Hey guys! Clear skin is something that we're all after. The beauty world is overflowing with products designed to provide just that, featuring all of the buzzword ingredients and higher price tags. Skinetica, however, have taken the less is more approach with their offering to the market; Quintessence. 

Quintessence by Skinetica is a skincare solution that has it's ingredients stripped back, featuring only a few; the main active ingredient, Benzalkonium Chloride (a low level of 0.13%), the patented water stabiliser Organosilane which provides the anti-bacterial residual action on the skin, Propylene Glycol and Deionised Water. As the solution is water based and doesn't include alcohol, there should be no stinging or irritation when using (very helpful when you're dealing with acne!) and also not be drying as it doesn't have astringent properties. 

Quintessence is a different type of product. Whilst a bottle of a liquid like this would normally be assumed to be a toner or cleanser, the primary use of Quintessence is a stand alone skincare product.  It can still be used as a toner (more on that in a moment), but to use, after washing and drying the skin, apply some of the solution to a cotton pad and apply to the skin before allowing to dry. At this point, it can be left as is. Skinetica recommend that other acne treatments aren't used alongside this one as they can interfere with the solution. 

Hey guys! If you're a long-time reader of the blog, you may have noticed that I do have an affinity to sharing Look Fantastic links when talking about places that you can purchase the products that I discuss on my blog. It's one of my favourite places to purchase things I need (and want!), so when I was contacted recently to do a post collaboration with Look Fantastic, I was very excited.

Today I shall be discussing the Look Fantastic Beauty Box which is a monthly offering that is available on the Look Fantastic website. Each month they curate a box full of six beauty goodies for their Beauty Box customers. I shall be looking at the August box  today and having a look at each of the products that are included.

So what's inside this months box? Let's take a peek!

Hi guys! I've recently had the chance to try out the new B'KATE Brow Dip and I can't wait to tell you all about it.

B'KATE is a Dutch brand created by international Brow Artist Marlies Gregorius. They specialise in high quality, vegan, cruelty-free and gluten-free eyebrow cosmetics. Their Brow Dip is designed to help you to create a natural brow or to build up the colour for a more defined look.

The Brow Dip comes in a range of eight shades including Blonde, Ash Blonde, Soft Brown, Golden Brown, Brunette, Deep Brown, Ash Brown and Smokey Black. I have the shade Ash Brown which is a cooler toned dark brown.

You have likely seen similar products from the likes of Benefit with their extensive eyebrow range and Anastasia Beverly Hills with their own solid brow range.

B'KATE's Brow Dip is long-lasting eyebrow product due to the cream powder formula that sticks to the areas with little to no hair with ease, and if applied with the B'KATE Angled Eyebrow Brush you can create the perfect eyebrow for you.

Hey guys! It's a new year and for the first post of the year I will be talking about a new product: the Nourish London Ceramide Moisture Boost Essence.

The Nourish Ceramide Moisture Boost Essence is your first skincare layer following cleansing and toning, before serums and moisturisers. It is designed to add an extra boost of moisture and to soften the skin in preparation for the rest of your routine. 

The Boost Essence contains hyaluronic acid, kale sprout extract (a common feature in Nourish Skincare products), probiotic minerals, ceramides, willow bark and trehalose. Together they help to provide nourishment whilst making the skin look radiant and plumped. The addition of willow bark also helps to exfoliate, decongest and balance the skin. It is meant to be particularly good for dehydrated, temperamental hormonal skin.

The Boost Essence comes packaged in a glass bottle that holds 100ml and it has a black flip cap with a small hole in the top to dispense the product. The serum itself is quite watery in consistency which is typical of an essence type product.

Hey guys! One of my favourite life tips is as follows: if you perfect the base, the rest will follow. The product that I'll be reviewing today is designed to help with exactly that and it will allow me to delve a little deeper into the meaning behind the advice.

The Skin + Beyond supplement drink is not your regular beauty drink. With the clue being in the name, Skin + Beyond does indeed go beyond helping you to achieve better skin by helping with gut health, bone health, joint health, heart health and sports performance and recovery. It is a 100% natural, all in one drink, providing a blend of patented pomegranate extract, niacinamide and glycine to balance out the gut, increase collagen synthesis and to re-energise the skin cells, overall helping you to achieve smoother and firmer skin. It also includes POMx which acts as a prebiotic and antioxidant. I'll also add the preface here that I am, of course, not a doctor and therefore I shall keep the science side to the professionals and just discuss the product from the perspective of a customer, which I am. For more of the science behind the ingredients in the drink, check out the Skin + Beyond website as it goes pretty in depth and is an interesting read!

So how does this tie in with the advice that I mentioned at the start of the post? Well, the reason that it's my favourite tip is because it can be relevant in a whole range of scenarios. Focusing in more specifically onto the beauty aspect to keep things on topic, it describes perfecting the base because then everything else will just follow along. In this instance, by feeling good on the inside, everything else will follow on the outside. Glowing skin will follow when you look after yourself on the inside. Staying hydrated and drinking supplement drinks such as Skin + Beyond to look after yourself will in turn bring the results that you want on the outside. I actually gave this exact advice in a beauty scenario when contacted by Bondi Sands for a feature that they were working on a few years ago too (and if you'd like to go to a deeper level, I implore you to try attributing it to other aspects of life also!).

Hi guys! As we're going into the colder months, a whole array of skincare issues are coming along with that wind, rain and plummeting temperatures. Goodbye summer glow and hello dry skin! Thankfully, today I have a couple of products to share with you all that should help you out with these exact issues - the Nourish Protect Replenishing Peptide Serum and the Nourish Antioxidant Multi-Tasking Super Beauty Balm.

The Nourish Protect Replenishing Peptide Serum is a Vitamin C serum to hydrate and repair the skin whilst helping to retain that long-lost summer glow. I have reviewed one of the Nourish Peptide Serum's before (the Nourish Radiance Rejuvenating Peptide Serum) and all of their Peptide Serum range does have ingredient similarities with their unique extra benefits. This one in particular contains the range's signature tripeptides for collagen production, hyaluronic acid for that shot of super-hydration and antioxidant Vitamin C derived from lemon, mandarin and orange essential oils to help to protect against free radicals. 

The Nourish Antioxidant Multi-Tasking Super Beauty Balm is everything that you could ever need in one. It cleanses the skin, decongests pores, can act as a deeply nourishing face mask and can even be used as an intensive moisturiser. It contains a blend of plant based oils (macadamia, jojoba, coconut, rosehip, kale, sunflower, pumpkin, tea, geranium, borage, ginger, rosemary and sesame) that work together to melt away impurities, refine, nourish, moisturise and also to protect against free radical damage. 

As with all other Nourish products, both the Protect Replenishing Peptide Serum and Antioxidant Multi-Tasking Super Beauty Balm are vegan, cruelty free and made with natural, organic ingredients. 

Hi guys! If you're a long time follower of the blog, then you will likely know that I love a good multitasking product. That's why today, I am excited to share another one with you: the Everlasting Brows Highlighter and Concealer Duo. 

The Highlighter and Concealer Duo is a double ended pencil that on one side contains a creamy concealer and the other side contains a golden shimmer highlighter. The concealer comes in two shades (light and medium), but the highlighter is the same on both shades. 

The concealer can be used as a corrector and concealer, useful for imperfections, under the eyes and around the eyebrows to tidy. The highlighter is perfect for use under the eyebrows, cheek bones, the inner eye area and cupids bow above your top lip. 

The pencil itself is a mint green in colour with clear, plastic lids on either end to cover the concealer and highlighter. It's quite a thick, chunky pencil, around the size of similar products from other brands (such as Benefit's High Brow).

Hey guys! Now that the title probably has your attention, you might be wondering where the heck I'm going with this post, but no fear! I'm going to be going back in time a bit to do something that I haven't done on the blog for a while and that is to talk about DIY beauty.

A couple of months ago I was at a festival and whilst I was browsing the local business stands I stumbled across a couple of awesome women selling some herbs and natural homemade beauty items. One of the items for sale was some oat tea bags that can be used in the bath. They were tea bags filled with oats and a variety of flowers; one was oat and lavender, one oat and rose and the other oat and chamomile.

We struck up a conversation about the tea bags and what they can be used for. She explained to me that they're great to be used in the bath; the oats really help to soften your skin, reduce irritation and to even out skin tone. They're great for use on the face and in hair too. The different flowers have different effects also, with lavender being relaxing and perfect for night time alongside being good at boosting the mood and easing tension in the muscles. Rose petals are great for calming skin irritations, hydration and toning and chamomile is fab for soothing the skin and helping to minimise marks. 

I bought a bunch of the tea bags and tried one out as soon as I got back. I'm going to be writing about how I found them and also how you can create your own if you're interested at the end of the post. 

Hey guys! Today I am back with a post featuring a skin-plumping, anti-ageing, hydrating serum that I've been testing out recently. 

The Bio Balance Super Serum Hyaluronic 3D is a natural, vegan friendly, youth activating serum that is designed to plump lines, hydrate, improve elasticity and firm the skin. The Bio Balance Super Serum Hyaluronic 3D gets its name from being a multi-molecular hyaluronic acid. It contains three different weights of hyaluronic acid molecules, allowing the serum to absorb deeply into multiple layers of the skin for better hydration. 

It is a Pure Global Beauty Awards 2021 finalist and is perfume, silicone, gluten, alcohol, oil and preservative free. 

It is part of their range of Super Serums which cover a collection of different skin issues from pore size to discolouration, so if you aren't swayed by the idea of a hyaluronic acid serum but are still interested in the brand, I do recommend checking out the rest in the range to see if you can find something better suited to your needs.

The Hyaluronic 3D Serum comes packaged in an amber tinted glass bottle with a black dropper lid. It holds 30ml of product and the serum itself is a clear, somewhat watery consistency. 

Hey guys! It's been a while and I'd like to start by apologising for that. Life things have been life things and I've needed to put my attention elsewhere. I’m back today though with a special post to share with you all!

Mother’s Day is coming up fast here in the UK (it's this Sunday, March 27th if you've forgotten all about it!), and if you’re left looking for a last minute gift to spoil your mum or if you’re just stumped for ideas, I have a Mother’s Day gift idea for you today courtesy of Nourish Skincare; the Gift of Sleep. The Gift of Sleep is a box set containing three bed time products to gift your mum a pampering evening ritual that helps both her skin and her sleep quality. It features the Nourish Sleepy Pillow Mist, Relax Hydrating Peptide Serum and Probiotic Multi-Mineral Anti-Ageing Face Mask.

The Nourish London Sleepy Pillow Mist contains a relaxing blend of 9 essential oils alongside magnesium-rich Epsom salts. Lavender, Rose, Frankincense, Geranium, Patchouli, Bergamot and Sweet Orange alongside the stress-relieving Epsom salts sprayed on your pillow each evening help you to calm down and relax to fall asleep easier.

The Nourish Relax Hydrating Peptide Serum is designed to hydrate and soothe sensitive skin that is prone to stress and allergens. It contains hyaluronic acid to moisturise and tripeptides to boost collagen production. Additionally, the Relax Hydrating Peptide Serum also contains lavender, bisabolol and ginger to ease irritation. 

The Nourish Probiotic Multi-Mineral Anti-Ageing Face Mask is a product that I have reviewed on the blog previously so I won't be reviewing it during this post, but you can see my review of it here. 

All of the products in the box are alcohol free, cruelty free and 100% vegan.

Nourish is definitely one of my favourite brands right now. I’ve loved every product that I’ve ever tried from them and they’re a lovely company to work with too. Also being a mother, I can confirm that I have loved and appreciated receiving this box set as a gift from Nourish just in time for Mother's Day! Therefore, I am super excited to jump right into this review.

I'm going to discuss each product one by one, starting with the Sleepy Pillow Mist, then the Relax Hydrating Peptide Serum and finally the Probiotic Multi-Mineral Anti-Ageing Face Mask. 

Hey guys! A short while back I wrote up a post featuring some products from Nourish Skincare and today I am excited to bring you two more!

In this post, I shall be reviewing the Nourish London Skincare Radiance Rejuvenating Peptide Serum and Probiotic Multi-Mineral Repair Mask. All products by Nourish are natural, vegan friendly and cruelty free.

The Nourish London Radiance Rejuvenating Peptide Serum is a multi-award winning serum that is designed to hydrate, revitalise and brighten the skin. It contains tripeptides to boost collagen production (which in turn will help the skin repair and renew itself), hyaluronic acid to hydrate, alpine foxberry to even out the skin tone and its brightening properties and tonka bean bio-extract for natural luminosity. 

The Nourish London Probiotic Multi-Mineral Repair Mask is also a multi-award winning product. This nutrient-rich mask is formulated with minerals created from a probiotic fermentation process and it is designed to boost collagen, restore firmness and diminish wrinkles. On top of that, the addition of magnesium, zinc, copper and iron will help to battle issues such as rosacea, acne, pollution irritation and it will help to balance out oilier skin.

Both products are packaged in glass bottles that hold... The Radiance Rejuvenating Peptide Serum has a twist cap pump to dispense the product whereas the Probiotic Multi-Mineral Repair Mask has a metal pump lid.

Hey guys! Today I'm going to be sharing with you a brand new product launch from Blistex. Blistex are a brand that focus on creating lip balms and today they are launching their new range; the Blistex Lip Infusions.

Blistex was originally founded in 1947 as a family run business and today they are sold in over 80 countries. Their new Lip Infusions range features three new lip balms that are focused on particular areas. We have Blistex Lip Infusions Hydration, Soothing and Nourish. 

Lip Infusions Hydration is designed to have long-lasting hydrating effects and it includes hyaluronic spheres to lock in moisture, Vitamins E and F to soften and smooth and also SPF 15 to protect against UVB rays.

Lip Infusions Soothing is targeted for dryness whilst also remaining gentle on the lips. It is infused with cucumber seed oil and calendula to soothe and natural beeswax and coconut to moisturise and protect. This is the only product of the range to not include SPF.

Lip Infusions Nourish is targeted to those who are seeking concentrated nourishment for luxuriously smooth lips. It contains a ceramide enhanced formula that is blended with nutrient-enriched botanical oils, Vitamin E, natural beeswax and coconut oil for moisture. Like Hydration, it contains an SPF of 15 to protect against UVB rays.

Each of them are packaged in tubes of different transparent colours that each hold 3.7g (Hydration is blue, Soothing is green and Nourish is Pink). The lip balms themselves are all white in colour yet contain different fragrances.

I've been trying the range out for a couple of weeks, so I'm going to write about each of them briefly in turn and summarise my thoughts of the range as a whole at the end.

Hi guys! I'm here today with another natural skincare duo. Regular readers will most likely know that I have a soft spot for natural skincare and I love products that are good for the environment as well as for the skin, so I'm really happy to be bringing another natural skincare brand to the blog.

Nourish is a British brand that focuses on organic, vegan and cruelty-free skincare. The two products that I have to show you today are the Nourish Kale 3D Cleanse and the Nourish Argan Skin Renew Moisturiser. 

The Kale 3D Cleanse is a unique, colour changing facial cleanser that provides you with a deep cleanse that removes impurities and makeup, refreshes the skin and protects against pollution. It contains Supercharged Kale and Griffonia to detoxify the skin, minimise signs of ageing and to protect against pollutants as well as Hyaluronic acid, oxygenating extracts and probiotics to refresh and energise. 

The Argan Skin Renew Moisturiser is created as an anti-ageing, hydrating moisturiser, suitable for all skin types. It includes a blend of skin nourishing oils such as jojoba, sunflower and most importantly, argan. It also includes a blend of essential oils (discussed further on in the review), Vitamin E and collagen boosting tripeptides.

Both products are multi-award winning with the Kale 3D Cleanse holding the Gold Award as Best Cleanser from The Green Parent Natural Beauty Awards 2017 accolade amongst others and the Argan Skin Renew Moisturiser sporting the Best Anti-Ageing product achievement from The Beauty Bible Awards 2015 alongside others. 

Both the Kale 3D Cleanse and the Argan Skin Renew Moisturiser come packaged in sleek, glass bottles with twist open pump lids (which cuts down on plastic waste for lid covers). The Kale 3D Cleanse holds either 30ml or 100ml of product and the Argan Skin Renew Moisturiser holds 50ml. The packaging on both looks and feels luxurious with a weight to them.

I'm going to begin by discussing the Kale 3D Cleanse and then I will move onto the Argan Skin Renew Moisturiser.

Hey guys! Snail slime isn't a new beauty trend, but it is one that definitely hasn't vanished off the beauty radar. Whilst it may sound pretty weird and off putting from the name alone, the benefits of snail slime in both skincare and hair care have been well researched. I'll dive into that more in a moment, but allow me a moment to introduce today's snail slime-based review focus: the Ella Mae Snail Slime Shampoo and Snail Slime Regenerating Mask. 

Ella Mae is a natural and vegan cosmetic brand from France. They currently focus their attention on natural hair care and also natural snail slime skincare. I've been sent the Ella Mae Snail Slime Shampoo and Snail Slime Regenerating Mask to review here on the blog and therefore will be discussing them here with you today!

So what are the benefits of snail slime in cosmetics? Well, snail slime happens to be full of beneficial proteins (including collagen and elastin, among many others) that help to moisturise, nourish, exfoliate, purify, heal, regenerate and that even have antioxidant effects. In relation to hair care, the moisturising compounds of snail slime help to seal the hair which helps to moisturise both the hair and the scalp. It nourishes, soothes and promotes healthy hair growth.

The Ella Mae Snail Slime Shampoo and Snail Slime Regenerating Mask are designed for scalp and hair regeneration. They are sulfate and paraben free, suitable for vegans and natural. They're suitable for all hair types, including curly, oily/itchy and damaged/dry. They helps to seal the hair and protect it from damage, detangle, nourish the scalp and promote healthy hair growth. 

The Snail Slime Shampoo comes packaged in a shiny, white, plastic bottle with a sleek gold and black font design alongside the pink Ella Mae logo. It holds 250ml of product and has a push cap to dispense the shampoo, which itself is like a thick, clear gel consistency with a subtle clean, fresh fragrance. 

The Snail Slime Regenerating Mask comes in a shiny, white, screw cap, plastic jar that holds 250ml of product. The mask itself is a thick, white consistency and also has a subtle, clean and fresh fragrance. 

Hi guys! CBD has been incorporating itself into the beauty world a lot lately and you're beginning to see it in every type of product from lip balm to shampoo. Today we're going to talk a little bit about why it is such a big beauty ingredient right now and also review a range of CBD skincare products from a UK based CBD brand - Naturecan. 

This post is going to feature a collection of six Naturecan CBD beauty products: the Naturecan Nourish Multi-Use Balm, Hydrate Moisturiser, Restore Hand Cream, Lip Balm, Lavender Massage Oil and the Purify Clay Mask. Each of the products contains CBD along with a range of other beneficial, natural ingredients which vary by product. 

For those of you who don't yet know too much about what CBD is or how it can help with our skin, I'll do a quick explanation of what it is and how it helps and also provide links for you to read more about it.

CBD is short for cannabidiol which is an extract of the cannabis plant. The oil is extracted and filtered so that the remaining oil is free of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol - the psychoactive part of cannabis that causes the 'high') meaning that it is non-addictive and has zero psychoactive effects. This allows you to receive all of the benefits of the CBD with no THC effects. 

CBD has many positive effects when ingested (pain relief, good for anxiety and so on - read here for more on this), but for the sake of this post we're going to focus in on the benefits of its inclusion in skincare products.

" On the surface, CBD delivers a chemical-free way to fight breakouts and inflammation, but it also offers a promising solution to tackling more stubborn, recurring issues. In a study published in the Journal of Dermatological Science, researchers found that when CBD was applied to human skin cells, it actually inhibited the overproduction of keratinocytes (specific skin cells) that are commonly seen in psoriasis. This is further evidence to support CBD working to realign bodily processes that may be adversely affecting the quality of your skin, including its softness, cleanliness, and ability to retain important moisture." - Naturecan

And for those who may be suffering with acne, here is some further good news:

" Based on recent scientific studies, CBD oil may help treat acne due to the anti-inflammatory properties explored earlier, and how this is linked to the body’s ability to reduce sebum production. One test-tube study found that CBD oil prevented sebaceous gland cells from secreting excessive sebum, exerted anti-inflammatory actions and prevented the activation of ‘pro-acne’ agents like inflammatory cytokines.4 This offers some proof to the claim that the CBD found in skin products, dependant on their strength and quality, can not only help maintain the balance your body needs but actually help to reverse life-altering condition such as acne." - Naturecan

As I've got a lot of products to cover in this post, I'm going to keep my reviews of each individual product fairly brief and focus more on the range overall. I'll begin by discussing the common traits of the range before moving onto each product individually and then summarising with my thoughts on the range together at the end.

Naturecan CBD Beauty Range

All of the Naturecan products that are featured in today's post are natural, vegan products. As stated in the intro, they are all guaranteed to be free of THC and are GMO free.

The range is packaged in simple, white, plastic packaging with the Naturecan logo in green and other product info in dark grey.

Hey guys! Regular readers of the blog will likely be aware that I am a huge fan of natural products and those with a special message or purpose behind them. Today I am going to be discussing a new product launch from a brand that does good elsewhere as you purchase, so naturally I'm rather excited to dive into this one with you all.

YOPE is a Polish brand that was set up by a husband-wife team, Karolina and Paweł in 2015. They wanted to have access to a brand of personal care and home related products that were natural, effective and yet affordable. However, with a wide gap in the market for such a range, they decided to provide that need for themselves as well as others who were seeking it. YOPE is the result; a range that cuts out the harsh ingredients that so often effect sensitive skin types and instead focuses on gentle yet effective products that are rich in natural oils, butters and plant extracts and also feature mild cleansers, non-toxic surfactants, natural citric acid and soothing ingredients such as allantoin and glycerine. Many YOPE products are Ecocert certified, none are tested on animals and all packaging is recyclable (they also encourage refilling bottles and provide refill packs). 

The range that I will be reviewing today specifically is their new Linden range. The Linden range is a three-part skincare range that includes a floral, herbaceous and uplifting-scented Natural Liquid Soap, Natural Shower Gel and Natural Body Lotion. Each Linden product contains extracts of linden, marigold and chamomile flowers. The purchase of any YOPE Linden product also helps YOPE with their new mission to contribute to the fight to save the bees with #beeYOPE. Part of the profits from the sale of Linden products (at Waitrose stores in the UK) are donated to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, a charity that plant meadows in urban areas, providing homes to pollinators and in turn making a difference to our ecosystem. 

Each of the Linden products comes packaged in the style of other YOPE products; a large pump-lidded bottle that boasts beautiful illustrations of animals - a different animal for each YOPE range. The Linden range features a cute little raccoon. 

Affordability can be a bit of an issue with natural products, so a brand that includes this as part of their ethos is always a fascinating one to me. I think that making natural products more accessible can only have a positive effect overall, but a hefty price tag isn't going to help on that venture. Let's get into my thoughts on the YOPE Linden range!

For the sake of the review I am going to describe and review each product in turn.

Hey guys! So today’s post is a little shorter than usual, but we’re going to be talking tweezers. They’re great aren’t they? Insanely useful for a ton of things from shaping your eyebrows to plucking stray hairs. You know what isn’t helpful? Blunt tweezers. We need sharp tweezers to keep using them at their best. What do you tend to do in that situation though? Throw them out? Buy new tweezers? How about sharpening your tweezers to make them as good as new?

Today I will be discussing a product from a brand called Tweezerfile. In fact, the product name is explained pretty well within the brand name - Tweezerfile is a file for your tweezers to keep them sharp. A tweezer sharpener that is simple and quick to use and enables you to keep your tweezers in a sharp and effective condition so that you can pluck your eyebrows without extra stress. It could even make a great little Christmas or birthday gift for those beauty fans in your life.

The Tweezerfile is a double sided, diamond plated, stainless steel bladed file. It has a plastic handle to grip onto making it easy and convenient to use. It comes in two colours - coral and navy blue - and comes packaged in a light grey blister pack with instructions of how to use on the back.