Review: Fake Bake At Home | Dolcé Dreams | Coconut Macaroon Body Scrub |

Fake Bake At Home | Dolcé Dreams - Coconut Macaroon Body Scrub - £18 - Available at www.fakebakebeauty.co.uk

Did you know that Fake Bake have diversified and now do beauty products including make up and body care? Neither did I until I went to the Fake Bake Beauty at Home event a few weeks ago, and was pleasantly surprised about the array of products on offer - you can see some pictures from the event on my Instagram. 

One of the products I received to test out was the Coconut Macaroon Body Scrub* from the Dolcé Dreams collection. Everything about the product is great and pleasantly surprised me. I think the packaging is sturdy and cute, and the actual product is packed full of sugar to exfoliate, which means a little goes a long way. There is also enough slip due to the addition of coconut and shea oils, which leaves your skin soft, moisturised and smooth but it doesn't leave any oily residue which is a massive plus for me. The scent is also so good - it is sweet and reminiscent of holidays, but isn't sickly or over powering.

This would be a great scrub for exfoliating skin before tanning, which shouldn't be a surprise considering its manufactured by a tanning brand. I would definitely repurchase once this runs out and its become one of the favourite scrubs I've ever tried.

Have you tried anything from the Beauty at Home range? What is your favourite Fake Bake product? xxx

All Used Up #11

Although I have a huge bag overflowing of empty products, I haven't managed to write one of these posts in months! I've been so good at using things up but maybe at my peril because now I have lots of products to write about. Today's mix includes some of my favourite skin care and hair care products along with bath and body.

001. Lush Twilight Shower Gel: This featured on my blog about a year ago and I have only just got round to using it up! It was a large bottle and I tended to use it for night time baths only due to the relaxing lavender and malt scents that feature in this shower gel. I love the dark purple gel which was flecked with silver glitter but the smell and consistency isn't one of my favourites. The shower gel isn't available any more but you can buy the Twilight bath bomb here. I probably wouldn't repurchase.

002. Origins Out Of Trouble Face Mask: Origins are fantastic for skin care and this mask is one of my holy grail items (as you can tell from me cutting the bottle to get every last drop!) It is a clay formula which dries hard, something that I like as it draws out impurities effectively. I preferred to use this on active break outs as it unclogged and calmed any redness. It is also fantastic at helping to regulate oil production. The Sulphur and Zinc Oxide does mean that this mask has a very powerful smell but it doesn't put me off at all. A definite repurchase.

003. Sanctuary Spa Relax Warming Sugar Polish: This was a random purchase but I ended up loving this body scrub. Sugar scrubs suit me best as they are the most abrasive but due to the blend of essential oils this wasn't too harsh and smelled wonderful as well. I loved the squeezy bottle as it made application in the shower super easy and the scrub was actually hot and stayed warm while you worked it into your skin. I would repurchase this product.

004. Dove Hair Therapy Nourishing Oil Care Conditioner: When thinking of the Dove brand I've always pictured body care or deodorant. However, the shampoo and conditioner from this range is super cheap and I had heard good things. I think for the price the conditioner was really good, it nourished the hair well without weighing it down at all and was a lot better than the normal bog standard conditioners you get in the chemist. I would repurchase this, although I find it hard to stay loyal to a particular brand. I would also love to try the hair mask from this range.

005. The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner: After receiving this in my stocking last year for Christmas I put it in my over flow bin of products and kind of forgot about it. Cue a skin melt down and I dug this out along with the tea tree face wash. I have to say this toner is amazing!! You need to shake it up really well to make sure the active ingredients are all mixed and there is alcohol included however this is great for blemished skin. I can feel it working, which may be superficial but is something that I like and it helps to aid the healing process and keep skin looking clear. I have already repurchased this.

006. Lush Butterbear Bath Bomb: This is one of the cheaper bath bombs Lush offer but one of my new favourites. The cocoa butter melts into the bath leaving skin super soft and nourished without feeling greasy and the smell is sweet yet not over powering. It is just the right size so you don't feel like you are wasting any product either. I think this is only a Christmas edition (you can get the larger and more expensive Butter Ball all year round) so I will definitely be stocking up on this.

Have you tried any of these products? What have you recently repurchased? xxx

P.S. I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and are enjoying your boxing day!

Natural Beauty with St Ives

A few weeks ago I was contacted by St Ives to see if I was interested to take part in their 7 day natural beauty challenge. Needless to say I jumped at the chance to be involved, not only because St Ives is a brand that I've enjoyed using for years but also because the message of the campaign was something that I feel positive about and think you guys could connect to as well.

The hamper we got sent was absolutely amazing and contained something for each day of my natural beauty journey as well as a lovely personalised make up bag which was perfect for my recent trip to Morocco!

Day 1: I started the week by taking care of my skin inside and out. We received a Brita filter water bottle to help with my intake of water which was perfect as I never drink enough throughout the day. To start my skin looking great on the outside I used the Blemish Fighting facial scrub which came at a great time because I was suffering a break out at the time. I love the smell of St Ives scrubs and my skin always feels so clean afterwards but luckily it didn't feel stripped at all. The Blemish scrub is quite abrasive though  so I used it twice a week, switching in the Gentle scrub for sensitive skin on the other days as it had smaller particles and was much more gentle on the skin.

Day 2: I used the Gentle scrub in the morning and then used the Body Shop Deep Sleep spray to help me get my beauty sleep as well as lighting my Neom lavender candle. I find it quite hard to get to sleep because I worry a lot and can stay up thinking about things a bit too much, so using this spray every night has really helped to relax me and drift off a bit easier.

Day 3: Today was time to detox and unwind with some natural herbal tea. I love drinking tea throughout the day and have a whole cupboard full of different types of herbal and black teas so this was the perfect addition!

Day 4: One of the most exciting products for me was the addition of an EOS lipbalm which I've wanted to try for ages! This was great as it is hygienic to use and great to pop in the hand bag for top ups throughout the day.

Day 5: This day I got to taste the delicious and nutritious hero ingredient from St Ives scrubs - apricots! I was going to do something fancy with them but ended up eating them as a snack instead, woops!

Day 6: One of my favourite additions to the box was the little book of Mindfulness. I feel like this came at a really great time for me as we have quite a lot going on in our lives at the moment and it has really helped me to relax and focus my mind. I think a happy mind and positive thoughts does such a lot for leading a beautiful life so is really important.

(Source)

Day 7: The last day was to embrace our natural beauty from head to toe. I used the walnuts, which is another hero product in their scrub, and made some raw copycat nakd bars. Let me know if you want the recipe as they were delicious and much cheaper to make than what you can buy in the shops! I then used the body scrub which is a very generous tub and was amazing at prepping my skin for tanning in Morocco.

Overall, I think this natural beauty journey was so much fun as was rediscovering some fabulous products from St Ives. I hope it inspires you to give it a go yourself as well. Remember to tweet @StIvesSkinUk and use the hashtag #BrightSkin to document your journey or your suggestions for achieving natural beauty inside and out. xxx

June Favourites | 2014 |

I normally like to do my monthly round up of beauty favourites in video form as it allows me to ramble on a little bit longer but I just don't have time to film it this month which is a shame. There is lots I've been enjoying though so I knew that a blog post would have to be written to compensate!

001. Essie Peach Daquiri: I'm not sure why but this is a shade of pink that I don't normally pick but it is actually so pretty once on the nails, especially on your toes. The wear of this is amazing too - I know some people find Essie polishes don't tend to last that long but this lasted over a week until any major chipping started. I've now taken it off my fingers but it will definitely be featuring on my toes throughout summer.

002. Stila Kitten: This is a new eye shadow base that has worked its way into my every day make up from the day I bought it. I love cream shadows and this has been on my 'to buy' list for around 2 years or something silly! It is the perfect base for so many different looks, especially for lazy days when you need something easy and quick. A full review of this will be up soon.

003. Stila Convertible blush in 'Gerbera': Another new buy, this multi purpose product was something I was never sure about. A while ago there was a lot of hype around these but I've never been overly enamoured by cream blushes so although I was intrigued it wasn't a must buy for me. However, this is such a pretty natural shade which is perfect for girls who are a bit scared of cream blush as it blends out so nicely and it also lasts the whole day. It is gorgeous on the lips too and I've reached for this more often than my other powder blushes through the month of June. I'm definitely a convert and on the look out for more shades!

004. L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil: This is one of those shower products which is such a treat to use and one that I try and save for special occasions rather than every day. L'Occitane is one of my favourite brands and they have really got it right with their shower oil. The smell is sweet and just strong enough and the oil lathers gently into a nourishing milk which leaves skin feeling moisturised, soft and lightly scented. This is a great product for those of you who have dry skin or if you are a little lazy and can't be bothered with moisturiser. I loved it so much I bought a bottle for my mum!

005. Champneys Spa Indulgence Distant Shores Daily Shower Scrub: Another little luxury is this scrub from Champneys. For some reason I am really getting into their products at the moment. It is more of an every day treat scrub for me as the gel like scrub is not that harsh but the smell is divine (note: I need the bubble bath of this scent!) and the formula is enriched with grapefruit, lemon and orange fruit peels as well as mango and passion fruit extracts, which leaves your skin so smooth and smelling delicious.

006. The Bodyshop Early Harvest Raspberry Body Scrub: It's kind of strange having two favourite scrubs but I love this one for different reasons. This is much more scrubby than the Champneys version but smells amazing too - I think you can tell I have a theme with my shower products! It looks and smells exactly like jam while including just the right amount of scrub so you don't have to use it every day. The Raspberry range from the Body Shop is by far my favourite and I already have back up stocks of the shower gel and body butter.

007. Glossy reds: I'm known for switching up my make up look on a daily basis and rarely reach for the same lip product but this month I've been enjoying bright glossy reds on the lips. I think they go well with all types of bases and eye looks and just look so pretty in the summer time. I quite like a matte lip but since the weather has warmed up I think a glossy shine looks gorgeous. My favourites at the moment are the Bourjois  Colour Boost lipstick stick in 'Red Sunrise' and Revlon's 'Wild Watermelon' lip butter. They are both lightweight, glossy and have great colour pay off and both have surprisingly good lasting power.

008. MAC Snob: I waxed lyrical about Max's creme cup last month which I am still utterly obsessed with but snob has also stolen my heart this month. It is creme cup's pink toned sister and looks amazing with Chanel gloss in '144' too which I will be writing up a post about.

009. The Body Shop Tea Tree BB cream: Yep, I'm pretty much obsessed with the Body Shop at the moment but everything I have been lusting after and finally purchased has lived up to my expectations. This BB cream has surpassed everything and has not only turned into my favourite BB cream but my favourite base! I will be writing a full post with details but basically it is the perfect texture, coverage and formula and is bargainous to boot!

010. Baby B Browne Tanning Lotion*: I've only ever used tanning mousses (my fave being st mortiz) but was thrilled when I got the opportunity to try out this lotion. I am in love with this tan and it has become my favourite very quickly! It gives such a nice deep colour, smells like vanilla (yum!) and lasts ages without going patchy! It has even made me prefer lotions to mousses now. I will be doing a full review of this very soon too.

I know that we are well into July now but I hope you like my picks for July! What have you been loving recently? xxx

All Used Up #5

There isn't too many products in the fifth installment of this series even though I have used up other things but have failed to keep them in order to write a post. I'm going to try a bit harder though to find somewhere safe to keep them as I think they are a great way to do mini reviews and enjoy reading other people's (link me in the comments if you have a recent post of your own!)

001. La Roche-Posay Physiological Micellar Solution: I've been trying out a few micellar waters to take off the excess of my make up before cleansing properly, which I used to do with face wipes before. This was one of the better ones I have tried but did not take up all of my make up so I wouldn't recommend cleansing with just this. It was nice in the mornings though to freshen up and left skin soft and without any residue. I'm not sure if I really 'get' the hype over micellar waters to be honest - I'm using a bottle of Bioderma which is supposed to be the best one on the market, so once that is all finished I think I will have formed my final opinion on this type of product.

002. Simple Smoothing Facial Scrub: This has been hanging around for a while so I was pleased to finish it. It is an effective scrub without being too harsh and a good scrub/cream ratio but it didn't blow me away. I am looking at other scrubs and ways in which to exfoliate my skin instead at the moment.

003. Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub: Another scrub, this time for the body. The scent of this is amazing: citrus and brown sugar combined together smells like Rowntree's fruit pastel lollies :) I'm a big fan of all things Soap & Glory and I am slowly working my way through their products but this particular scrub wasn't the best I've tried from them. As I said the smell was amazing so I am definitely looking into getting the shower gel of this range but the scrub wasn't scrubby enough for me and found that meant a lot of product was needed to get the desired results. Flake Away lasted a lot longer than this and I preferred the texture so it is still the top scrub for me!

004. Superdrug Blonde Colour Enhance Conditioner: Like the Simple scrub this has been in my bathroom for ages (I'm talking years) as I didn't really like it too much. I ended up using it for shaving my legs which it was good at but for its actual use I wouldn't repurchase.

005. Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush: Yet another dry shampoo as I always use this in between washes. I've never really tried another dry shampoo as these are cheap and do the job.

006. Tresemme Heat Defence Smooth Spray: I don't use any other products from this brand as I heard from hairdressers that it isn't actually good for your hair, but their heat protectant is lovely and I always repurchase it. It smells lovely, doesn't weigh hair down and lasts ages so is very cost effective too. My favourite aspect of this product is the spray function as it delivers a very fine mist. I've kept the bottle to transfer some other heat protectants that I've got to use up into as its the best spray I've found. A definite repurchase.

Have you tried any of these products? xxx

Added Extras #2

While in the midst of a ridiculous amount of work at the end of last term, I was constantly dreaming of a relaxing pamper night at home, with full use of a selection of face masks, Lush products and a big bath. So that is exactly what I did when I got home for Easter. Pamper nights are a great excuse to rotate the products you have and rediscover old loves as well as experiment with new ones.

I always start by cleansing my face properly and then pop on a face mask. The first one I chose was a deep cleansing sample I got from Clarins (a brand which I am having a total love affair with at the moment) which cleanses deep down and refines pores. Although I need to use it more than once to get its full effect, from first use I was pleased with the silky formula and the pink clay helped to draw out impurities without being drying whatsoever. While the facemask was on I crumbled a bit of a Lush bubble bar 'French Kiss' which I got in a gift set for valentines day, that creates lovely lavender scented bubbles, perfect for relaxing.

While in the bath, I like a good scrub and the zingy scent of the Sugar Crush body scrub is sweet and uplifting. I prefer my scrubs to be a bit harsher than this, such as Flake Away, but I will definitley be looking into other products in the Sugar Crush range. The second Lush product is Twilight shower gel, which is again lavender scented with notes of malt to encourage relaxation and sleep.

Once out the bath, a good slathering of the Daily Smooth body butter from Soap and Glory is needed, which is more thick and nourishing than a regular moisturiser but thin enough to squeeze out a tube and sink in quicker than a standard body butter. After washing off the Clarins mask and toning, I popped on Origins Drink Up Intensive, an over night moisture mask to hydrate and nourish my skin. To top it all off, a few coats of Look Beauty's Nail pop in 'Dazzle'.

Have you used any of these products? What are your favourite pampering products? xxx