Facial Mists

A facial spritz/cooling spray has been part of my holiday beauty bag since my 20's but it used to be Evian that I took and I would use it to cool down during the day in the heat, certainly never wearing my makeup by the pool.

However, more recently I have been using a Facial Mist during the winter months for a boost of hydration and to pep up my tired looking skin during the day. Great for spraying mid afternoon the facial mist has given my skin a dewy look and freshened up my makeup for a more radiant appearance. This way I have found I can add things like blusher to refreshed skin rather than add more foundation and layer even more make up on to dry skin (does that make sense?) or washing off and starting again!

Not entirely a beauty essential but a welcome addition to mine...just close your eyes, spray and enjoy reaping the benefits.

Two that I am liking -

Simple Kind To Skin Moisture Boost Hydro Mist Spray 50ml £5.99*

Perfect for sensitive skin, this has no scent and feels really gentle. This mist absorbs into the skin pretty much instantly (don't rub it in) to give nice dewy skin with a nice cooling effect. Small enough to pop into your handbag.

Simple say 

2 Skin Loving Nutrients: Lotus Flower for optimum hydration and Glycerin hydrates and nourishes

2 Vital Vitamins: Pro-Vitamin B5 actively restores, softens and smoothes and Vitamin E moisturises to improve skin condition

No Perfume, No Colour, No Unnecessary Ingredients and No Harsh Chemicals so it won’t upset your skin.

Dermatologically Tested and Approved

Anatomicals Spray Misty For Me Facial Spritz 100ml £6**

Refresh, hydrate and cool down with this wonderfully scented calming facial spritz which contains lavender and peppermint extracts. Ideal for after cleansing, refreshing or setting makeup. This is great for Summer too.

Next on my list to try ... Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist 

*PR Sample
**Glossybox inclusion

January GlossyBox 2014 - Back To Basics

January's GlossyBox is themed 'Back To Basics' with a range of products 'designed to get you back on the road to moisturised, toned, healthy skin, bright eyes and sculpted eyebrows' ..all sounds good doesn't it?

What's Inside The January 2014 GlossyBox 

So what did I get in my GlossyBox this month?

Yu-Be Moisturising Skin Cream 2 x 3g mini samples (full size product £13.50 for 33g)

Described as a skincare essential, I recently reviewed this product and I can confirm I do love it. Enriched with vitamins E and B2, a high glycerine content and camphor this really works. However it would have been fantastic if it had been a full sized product.

Balance Me Super Toning Body Wash 50ml (full size £10.25 for 250ml)

I haven't had a chance to try this body wash yet but it smells good and it comes in a generous sample size. Excellent for a weekend away. It contains a blend of juniper, bergamot, geranium and lavender essential oils and is paraben free.

The Vintage Cosmetic Company Floral Slanted Tweezers £8 

These are pretty tweezers. I must admit I am a Tweezerman girl through and through but I have already used these and so far so good and they look perfect in my Cath Kidston makeup bag!

Anatomicals Puffy The Eye Bag Slayer Wake-Up Under Eye Patches pack of 2 (£6 for pack of 3)

These under eye patches will apparently reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and revitalise the skin around the eyes.. I am looking forward to pepping my peepers so watch this space for a review of these very soon!

Montagne Jeunesse Passion Peel Off Masque & Blemish Mud Masque £1.09 each

Deep cleansing masks. I stopped using masks when I got psoriasis on my face a couple of months ago. Now it has cleared up I will be giving these a go. I do like MJ masks, the Passion Peel sounds very fruity and who doesn't love a mud pack :)

Final thoughts 

Opening up this box I thought it looked pretty empty, the products were tiny and there wasn't any pretty makeup to reel me in. However what GlossyBox has delivered this month is a box full of useful items and products that I will be using so actually it is a pretty good box this month. Yes I would have loved a full size beauty product somewhere in there but value wise it is not a bad box and for the theme .. it is a perfect fit.

Roll on February Box

What's Inside The July 2013 Glossybox

July's Glossybox is themed Seaside Splash, the perfect box to help you prep for your Summer getaway. Quite often I say that I am not sure why they bother with a theme as I don't find the contents to particularly match the theme (except for probably the Harrods Edition and the excellent Natural Box). This month however I am happy to say the theme and the contents of my box fit perfectly.

The contents 

Ciate London Paint Pot £9 (full size) shade Mistress 

Paint pots are fab and this full size pot is a great addition to the box. If you haven't tried Ciate before you are in for a treat. There are 3 different shades floating around in the boxes and personally it would have been lovely to have received a different one as I already have Mistress which is a fab red. Click the link in the title of this section to see the gorgeous tomatoey red on my nails.

Nip+Fab Shine Fix £9.95 15ml (Full Size)

This is described as a light gel that removes and absorbs excess oil flow to instantly control shine.

I haven't had a chance to use this fully (ie test it out for a day or so) but it does instantly mattify the skin and can be used as often as required. It does have quite a medicinal scent and I found it to be a little sticky.

Alterna Haircare Bamboo Style Boho Waves Tousled Texture Mist (25ml) Full Size 125ml £23

Claims to create effortlessly tousled 'just back from the beach' waves. Adds texture, volume and healthy shine to all hair types in a weightless mist formula.

I absolutely love this, I have had my box for a few days now and in the heat have opted for carefree waves. This smells absolutely gorgeous and fresh with its cucumber scent. It defines the waves and adds shine although some pieces of my hair were a little crunchy but not overly so.

Anantomicals Spray Misty For Me Facial Spritz 100ml £6 (Full Size)

Suitable for all skin types this timely facial spritz has been a welcome addition to my skin these last few scorching hot days. It has a pleasant cooling effect and my skin feels nice and soft too. It contains calming Lavender and refreshing Peppermint extracts. Smells good.

Coola Organic Suncare Collection - Coola Mineral Face SPF20 Rose Essence Tint (7ml) Full Size 50ml £29.99

This is a teeny sample sized tube which I haven't tried yet. I will give it a go tomorrow. Hand swatched I have found it to be light in texture, slightly warming in colour and providing radiance to the skin but I will see how it transfers to my face and report back.

It looks promising though with it being paraben free, packed with antioxidants and hypoallergenic. It apparently provides complete UVA/UVB protection and fights free radicals whilst soothing, toning and minimizing pores. Although it claims that Organic Acai Oil delivers powerful anti-ageing benefits and organic Evening Primrose and Linseed Oils reduce inflammation and balance moisture, you are very unlikely to see these benefits from one or two applications.

ETA - I have been using this three days now (7ml seems to go quite far!) and I really like it. it gives warmth to the face, a dewy finish and it covers and smooths pores. Good stuff.

Final thoughts

Gorgeous bright turquoise box with a seaside coral/starfish print and useful contents that match the theme brilliantly make this a stonker of a box this month. With 3 full size products with a total value of just under £26 and 3 additional products one a perfect travel size this box is excellent value and one that I was rather excited to open and use the products!

Glossybox costs £10 a month plus p+p

*PR Sample

Anatomicals Don't Just Clean It Woman, Scrub It Body Scrub - Review

I am currently loving using Anatomicals Don't Just Clean It Woman, Scrub It Body Scrub. This 75ml sample tube came in October's GlossyBox and has a fabulously zingy and refreshing grapefruit scent. The actual product is clear and has a gel texture which is interspersed with apricot seed to exfoliate.

I find this scrub to be a gentle exfoliator, more like a polish rather than a real, scrubby scrub but it does leave skin feeling lovely and soft.

With packaging that is colourful, cheeky and cheerful this really does brighten up the bathroom.

Anatomicals Don't Just Clean It Woman, Scrub It Body Scrub costs £3.49 for 200ml