Updated Review - Garnier BB Cream for combination/oily skin

I've had the new Garnier BB Cream for Oily/combination skin for a month now, so thought I would do an updated review so I could let you know if my original thoughts had changed, you can see my first post here.

I have been using this BB Cream everyday since I bought it and I can honestly say that I still love it, I haven't had to reach for my face powder once when I wear it, which is a miracle for me! I'm very impressed. 

In my original review I didn't think that the BB cream gave much of a radiant glow compared to the original but I have definitely changed my mind about this, it really does give your skin a nice healthy glow that doesn't look faked, it wasn't until I used a different BB cream that I realised just how good the Garnier one was, when I use the Garnier cream my skin always looks even and matte with a nice glow. Although I can't say that it minimised the appearance of my pores, but I have quite large pores and I think that I would need polyfiller for my pores to appear smaller!!

Garnier actually claim that after using the BB cream for 4 weeks skin will look less oily, pore appearance is minimised, imperfections are visibly reduced and skin radiance is improved, so did I find this to be the case for me... well... no, but if I'm honest I wasn't expecting it to, it's a pretty big claim for a £7 BB Cream.

I can honestly that I still really like this product, and would recommend it to anyone with oily skin.

Have you tried out the oily/combination Garnier BB cream yet?

Elaine

NOTD: 17 Pink Lemonade... most annoying nail polish ever?

I got this nail polish on a bit of a whim when I was wandering round Boots, I really liked the colour and at only £2.99 I thought why not!

The nail polish is very sheer so you need to apply 3 - 4 coats, but I found after the second coat it was getting quite sticky and not the easiest to apply. It definitely didn't dry within 60 seconds which 17 claim on the back of the bottle and it's called fast finish. So when I finally got a coverage that I was happy with I found that the next day it chipped very quickly, though I say chipped it actually peeled off like it was a gel nail polish! I also found that the polish seemed to have weird bubbles or lumps when it dried.

This is actually the second time I have worn this but the first time I wore it it was pretty awful but I thought that it was the slapdash way I applied it, but now I realise it wasn't me but this extremely annoying polish, I really was expecting more from a polish with such a nice name!

What was your most annoying nail polish?

Elaine

NARS Pure Radiance Tinted Moisturiser Review

                                                                                                                                                                      I've had this NARS tinted moisturiser for about a month now, you might have seen I featured it in my May favourites so I thought it was about time I did a review for you.

I picked up the lightest shade Finland from ASOS during a 20% off beauty promotion they had on. I was initially reluctant to spend £27 on a tinted moisturiser but at 20% off I couldn't resist, and I'm so glad I did. Its also worth noting that although it doesn't look very big you do get 50ml which is at least 10 or 20ml then your average high street foundations.

What NARS say - Your skin – almost bare, but better. This advanced, oil-free formula provides a translucent veil of color and sun protection while helping to reduce the appearance of hyperpigmentation and dark spots in just four weeks.Infused with lush, naturally derived botanicals and ingredients to immediately helps thirsty skin feel hydrated. Kopara from French Polynesia and mineral rich seawater revive and re-mineralize skin for a softer, smoother, and brighter natural glow. Skin is transported.

• Advanced sun protection
• Hydrates and helps reduce the appearance of hyperpigmentation and dark spots for a brighter natural glow
• Oil-free. Paraben free. Dermatologist tested. Non-comedogenic. Synthetic fragrance free.
  
  

    Pros - 

• I love the texture of this, it has a lovely lightweight formula and skins into the skin quickly, leaving my skin feeling soft and throughly moisturised. My skin felt hydrated and soft all day, without feeling like there is any product on my face at all. 
• I also think considering it's a tinted moisturiser it has great coverage - more than I expected. It evened out my skin well and covered some redness, although it won't cover any blemishes at all. 
• Throughout the day I found it wore really well and at around 5.30pm when I look in the mirror I don't feel horrified, my skin still looks even and bright. 
• As I will be mostly using this in Summer the fact it has SPF 30 is a huge huge plus, I was wearing this on holiday in Morocco and my face didn't burn in the slightest and it didn't slide off my face at all in the heat!

     Cons - 

• You can see in the photos above Finland has slight yellow undertones and isn't actually all that light considering this is the lightest shade in the range. I don't personally find the shade a con as I think its pretty perfect for me but I know it will be too dark and yellow toned for a lot of pale ladies. I do however think its great that although they may not have the lightest shade spot on there are 8 or 9 shades, which is a great range for a tinted moisturiser.    
• I do love the classic NARS packaging (apart from the fingerprints all over) however I would personally prefer a pump and I like to be able to see how much product I have left. Saying that I'd rather have the product for cheaper than pay extra for pump packaging.
• Also again not a con for me but when Elaine tried it, it really didn't flatter her skin at all it looked too dewy and oily on her  - even though it is oil free, so I wouldn't advise this at all for oily skin. 
• Finally it is £27 which for a tinted moisturiser I do feel is on the pricy side - although it is 50ml and the Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser is £33 for 40ml

Will I repurchase - 
DEFINITELY although I would also like to see how this compares to Liz Earl Skin Tint and the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser. Overall I am really impressed with this, as I have very dry skin, this is perfect for summer as it keeps me moisturised all day and gives me the health dewy glow I've been after without compromising on its lasting ability. I also think the colour is a great match for me and all the cons I could think of with this product weren't personally cons for me. Finally although I LOVE this product I'm not too sure on the claim that it will 'reduce the appearance of hyperpigmentation and dark spots', as I haven't noticed any difference - but I always take claims like these on foundations with a huge pinch of salt.

Have you tried this, what did you think? 

Rachel

NOTD Essie It's Delicate

As previously mentioned I bought this in a set of three Essie polishes for the bargain price of £9.99 from TK Maxx. It's a delicate and lovely sheer light pink, In the photo above I have applied 3 coats however if its a sheer look your going for this was beautiful in just one coat. The colour is really close to the well blogged about Fiji - however that's a far more opaque and slight more pinkish in colour, it's delicate is well more delicate looking. On top of this I've been using Barry M top coat and I've found it lasts really, really well. 

So far I'm extremely impressed with Essie polishes and its clear to see why everyone raves about them.

Rachel

MUA New Limited Edition Going for Gold Palette

MUA are releasing a new limited edition palette to celebrate the Olympics this summer!

Image from MUA 

MUA have been releasing clues on facebook over the past few days about the new palette by releasing pictures of one shade at a time and have just revealed the full palette, which has a new design of square shadows instead of their normal circle shadows, which I really like as it sets it apart from their normal palettes.

MUA say on their blog... This is a great way to celebrate the Olympics with your own going for gold eye shadows in nude warm gold’s, to bright yellows mixed with stunning matte slate greys!

I really like the look of this palette, and can't wait to try it, MUA say there is a good mix of shimmer and matte shadows, they have all the swatches available on their blog (here), all the shadows look amazing and I can't wait to try the silver and grey shadows. 

They also are running a giveaway to win the new palette!

They haven't said how much the palette will cost but I'm assuming £4 the same price as their other palettes, I don't think I will be able to resist buying this palette!

The palette will be available in Superdrug stores from the 4th July, but will be available to buy earlier on the MUA website, they will announce when it's available on their blog and twitter. 

Are you going to buy the Going for Gold palette?

Elaine

Marrakesh Birthday Holiday

I recently went on holiday to Marrakesh, Morocco for both a friends and my birthday (we have exactly the same birthday so we always try to do something special).  I had an absolutely amazing time and thought it would be nice to share my experiences and some of the lovely beauty products I bought with you.

Whilst in Marrakesh I stayed in a lovely traditional riad next to the main square Jamaa el Fna, it was absolutely beautiful, a true oasis away from the hustle and bustle of the streets below. Throughout our stay we didn’t see a single other guest there so felt like we had our very own personal villa with staff – truly amazing.

Whilst on holiday my friend and I took full advantage of our hotels Hammam.  According to about.com a Hammam is - a public steam bath, very popular in North Africa, particularly Morocco and Tunisia. Hammams used to be the only place people could come to bathe and scrub, since a private bathroom in a house or apartment was a luxury few could afford. There are fewer hammams now since modern plumbing means people can bathe in their own homes. But taking a public bath is still very much part of the culture in Tunisia and Morocco.

We didn’t visit any public Hammam’s but our riad had a lovely little one where we both booked a traditional Hammam scrub and a lovely relaxing massage. The Hammam experience for me included laying in a steam room and washed with warm water and rubbed down with essential oils. I was then cleaned with a sponge and thoroughly washed down again.  My face was then covered in a thick covering of Savon Noir (more about this later) and a light amount rubbed on my body. Then the err ‘fun’ started a vigorous scrub down from top to toe with a exfoliating mitt, and when I say vigorous I mean it! I think I lost a good few layers of skin. It wasn't the best feeling on my sunburn but I soon got used to it. I was then washed down again and had a lovely relaxing massage. After the experience my skin felt extremely soft, fresh and thoroughly cleaned from top to toe (and slightly glowing from the extreme exfoliation).

If you're heading to Morocco/Tunisia/Turkey I would thoroughly recommend getting a Hammam, as although it doesn't sound it, it was lovely and relaxing -  its also fantastic for prepping your skin for fake tan!

Spices, Soaps, Potions and Oils on sale in the Souks

Marrakesh is a shoppers paradise I definitely plan on going back someday with more money and at least two empty suitcases. The souks are a vast and amazing labyrinth of windy streets filled with goodies - it's even more colourful and exciting then I could of imagined.


I bought a range of randoms things from bags to rugs, jewellery and a little leather horse (don't ask I got carried away). Anyway in the images below you can see a few of the beauty bits I bought from some lovely boutiques and the souks. Savon Noir, Exfoliating knitted pad (too cute I couldn't resist, even if it has no real use) Body Oil - Argan Oil and Essntial Oils (sorry no image yet), Traditional Kohl and Bottle for the Kohl (gift for Elaine). I will do some in-depth post's on these products so keep a look out.

Have you been to Marakesh? did you love it as much as me? If you have any questions or want any tips, please don't hesitate to ask!

As mentioned more post's to come on the traditional Moroccan beauty products I bought.

Rachel

MUA Undressed Palette Swatches & Review

When we found out that MUA were releasing a new makeup palette called Undressed we were excited to see what it would look like, as I love MUA's Heaven & Earth palette, but when we heard it was going to be a dupe of Urban Decay's Naked palette we knew we had to have it, the palette will be available in Superdrug stores from July but it is available on their website now. Delivery is £2.95 which is reasonable if you buy a couple of things, delivery was also really quick, we bought ours on Sunday night and it had arrived by Tuesday.

(L - R) Shade 1 - 12

The eye shadows don't have names just numbers but here are the swatches.

We would both LOVE to own a Urban Decay Naked palette (although less so much after the China PR fiasco) but I'm not really an eyeshadow person and at £36.00 its juts simply too much, I'd much rather spend that on a amazing foundation. So for me this is the perfect solution. 


The shadows aren't as high quality & pigmented as Urban Decay, but thats obvious due to the £32 difference, but they are great quality for only £4, and are definitely up there with some of the more expensive high street brands. 


MUA have a post on their facebook page (here) which compares the swatches from the Undressed palette to the Urban Decay Naked palette, it's really impressive how similar they are! I also think if you have a NAKED palette its still worth getting this as its a perfect size to throw in your bag for touch ups and well its £4!!


Will you be trying out MUA's Undressed palette?


Elaine & Rachel

Ever Ours Goody Bag

Ever Ours is a lovely website that sells vintage inspired fashion and accessories, their website is a must when I'm web surfing.

I noticed a couple of weeks ago that they were selling a Be Your Own Jewellery Goody bag for charity for only £10+£2.50 p&p, I had to have it. I liked the idea of getting a surprise and it reminded me of when I was little and Claire's Accessories used to sell their £1 surprise bags. 

My goody bag arrived really quickly so I was really pleased, the jewellery had been wrapped in very pretty turquoise paper and pink ribbon (I would have taken a photo but I couldn't wait to open it!).

In my goody bag I received this very quirky Globe necklace (normally £8), it's not my usual style but I really like it,  it's something different to add to my collection of necklaces.

I also received the Forest Cat ring (normally £4) and Bear ring (normally £4), which I loved, when I look on their website I had always been drawn to them so I was very pleased to receive them in the goody bag.

Unfortunately my cat ring actually broke (the cat came off), but I emailed them and the lovely Kimberly got back to me within minutes to apologise and arrange to send me out a replacement,  which arrived a couple of days later and she also sent me the little mouse ring which is soo cute! I am really impressed with their customer service.

I love all of the jewellery pieces and have been wearing the rings non stop since I got them! Definitely a bargain at only £10.

You can check out the website here.

Elaine

Lush My Boy Lollipop Bubblegum Lip Scrub Review

Photo From Lush's website

I got this adorable Lush sugar lip scrub as a birthday present from Elaine. As you can see it’s a glass pot (quite large in size) filled with sugary, bright pink bubblegum goodness. I’ve been using it throughout June and I haven’t even made a dint in the pot (it has a use by date of 15/07/13) so here are my thoughts -

What Lush Say - The pink all things girly, bubblegum flavour lip scrub. Clears dead skin and flakiness from lips, leaving them moisturised and smooth. Our lip scrubs are made from castor sugar to act as a gentle scrub and jojoba oil to be wonderfully moisturising but light enough not to leave you feeling greasy.

Pros

The smell and look of this product is adorable, it instantly cheered my when I got it for my birthday. Also it really does work, I don’t take as much care as I should of my lips and therefore they are often dry but since I’ve been using this every day at work I have seen a huge improvement. It’s great to use under lipstick before applying balm to ensure your lips are in tip top condition so your lipstick lasts longer. And finally It’s also a yummy, sugary, bubblegum pick me up, you simply rub this product all over your lips then lick it off - YUM!

Cons

I know I shouldn’t have looked as it was a present but for the purpose of this blog I checked and it’s £4.95, for the amount of product you get I don’t think it’s too unreasonable but if you are on a tight budget it’s probably not a must have. it’s also worth noting that it is just sugar and additives (Castor Sugar, Organic Jojoba Oil, Methyl Lonone, Colour 45410, Colour 45380 to be exact)  so it’s very easy to make yourself.  I don’t personally find this a con but I know a lot of people won’t really like the strong bubblegum taste, they do sell chocolate varieties too if this isn’t for you. Personally I’d love to see them sell a sugary lemon one – would be a perfect Pancake day limited edition. Again I don’t find this a con but it is quite harsh so only use a little bit and don’t rub too hard! if you do find its too harsh you could always mix in a bit of moisturiser or other balm.

Will I Repurchase –

I will definitely be buying these for presents in the future, I think it makes a lovely gift and I will without doubt be buying this for friends birthdays. However I don’t think I will repurchase this for myself, as it’s just something that seems like it should be a present (if you know what I mean) so basically I would love to receive this as a present again HINT HINT although I think this one will last me ages! That being said I bet if I’m in Lush and see that they have released more flavours (fruity would be great) I won’t be able to help myself!

What do you think of the Lush lip scrubs? Which flavours would you like to see them release?

Rachel

Homemade Pineapple Face Mask... Peel

We saw a post ages ago about using pineapple as a home made exfoliator due to the natural astringent properties of the fruit, and thought we would give it a go.

So you blend pineapple chunks with olive oil and natural honey, we were really surprised at how cheap the ingredients were as it only came to...  £3.49 (and we only used a tiny bit of each)

When everything is blended you apply to clean skin, we found that the mask was very watery so have a towel ready to catch the drips!

We felt this working instantly, you can definitely feel the natural acids in the pineapple, other posts say to wash off after 15 mins but we only lasted 5 mins as the tingling/stinging became too much!! Even after using face wash and moisturiser we could still feel it on our skin! Rachel did think that her skin felt softer and the dry skin around her spots had gone (sorry a bit gross) but I didn't notice any difference, personally I wont be trying this again!

Have you tried making your own face masks before?

Elaine & Rachel

Update from Rachel -  The day after I found my skin looked lot brighter and less dull, exactly like I had used a good exfoliator.  I will try making pineapple face masks again as I hate using exfoliators with grainy bits in on my face, although I've seen other recipes for pineapple masks which include coconut milk and oats, which may be less irritating and cooling on the skin. As Elaine didn't like this maybe this mask is better suited to dry skin, I definitely wouldn't recommend it for sensitive skin.

Palmers Olive Butter SPF 15 Body Lotion Review

I only ever use face moisturiser that contains at least SPF 15 so that my skin is always protected from the sun even during the winter months. So I wondered whether there were any body lotions out there that contained SPF for the rest of my body too, as the top of my chest and arms are just as exposed to the sun, and I really hate using sun cream!! I have to be honest there isn't a huge selection of body lotions out there that specifically say they contain any SPF, Palmers was the only range that I found in Boots. 

They have two versions the Cocoa butter and Olive butter, I prefer the scent of the Cocoa butter but they only had Olive left, but I don't mind as the scent is very subtle. The body lotion has a thicker consistency than I am used to but it rubs in easily and absorbs quickly, I'm pleased to know that when I use this my skin is just as protected from the sun as my face. 

It has become my new must have.

It is a bargain price too at £5.10 for 250 ml, on the Boots website it's currently on sale at £2.55 although if you are buying online be warned that the pictures for the Cocoa butter and Olive butter are mixed up and on the wrong products.

I have to apologise to all the people in the North-East of England for jinxing the weather, when we had the glorious sunny weather I went into Boots to buy this body lotion, it was sunny when I went in and cloudy and cold when I left and hasn't got any better... !

Elaine 

Congratulations Essie Giveaway Winner Announced

Source

Congratulations Ruth our giveaway winner, the nail varnishes will be winging their way to you soon!

We wanted to thank everyone who took the time to enter our giveaway and read our blog we were really overwhelmed with the response, we now have an amazing 81 followers! We will be planning more giveaways in the future.

Elaine & Rachel

Recent Purchases - mini haul

Just a quick post to share with you some of my recent purchases. While Superdrug had the 3 for 2 on I had a HUGE list of products I wanted to get, unfortunately they never had stock of anything I wanted (sort it out Superdrug) so this mini haul is a lot smaller than I expected.

Sleek Blush BY3 - Lace £9.99 (bought in Superdrug 3 for 2) -  I have been looking for this for so long in Superdrug, I'd given up on finding it so I went in for a different blush but when I asked to see if they had the other blush in stock the sales assistant found the palette and tons of others in the drawer (why don't they have them out!) I've already used this loads and love it, review to follow soon - although I'm not sure anyone really needs to read another review on it.

Revlon Colourstay Foundation - Buff £12.49 (bought in Superdrug 3 for 2) - I used this foundation years ago but stopped wearing it when I wanted a lighter coverage, I bought this as although I don't wear medium to full coverage foundation daily its always handy to have for really bad skin days. Although I wish that I'd waited and got the new SoftFlex ColourStay.

L'oreal Lumi Magique - £8.49 (bought in Superdrug 3 for 2) - I've wanted to try the Lumi range for awhile but the foundation colours really don't work for me and I'm not in need of another primer so I went for this instead. I love the packaging but if I'm honest I'm not sure its really working for me.

nspa Nourishing Eye & Lip Treatment - £2.50 (Usually £3.00) ASDA - I was in need of a new eye cream and as this was only £2.50 it was a bit of a impulse purchase. I haven't used it yet but the smell is delicious!

BM Beauty Finishing Powder - £8.00 EthicalSuperstore.com  - I loved the samples I received from BM Beauty and I absolutely adore their brushes so I have high hopes for this powder. I've played about with it and its seems lovely and light, not at all cakey. I will of course review it fully asap.

Revlon Lip Butter - Tutti Fruitti  - £5.99 Boots (Usually £7.99) - Elaine LOVES this lipstick and I've had my eye on it for awhile, I've got quite dark lips so the lip butters don't do too much for me but its a easy and light alternative to my Topshop Infrared lipstick - I also love using a bit of it on my cheeks when I don't have any blusher with me.

Do you use any of these products?

Rachel

Kardashian Khroma Make-up Line

The Kardashian sisters have recently announced that they are releasing their own makeup line, and we have to admit we are really looking forward to see what they come up with.  To be honest we were surprised they haven't already done a make-up line as they have tons of merchandise, but I do hope that they go for quite a high end sophisticated collection rather than a cheap ,classic celebrity range, fingers crossed for a UK launch too. I know a lot of people really don't get the Kardashians (or just simply hate them) but we really like them and you can't deny they always have flawless make-up, so this new venture seems like a perfect move. Keeping up with the Kardashians is also one of our favourite guilty pleasure shows.

Khloe announced the makeup line on her blog, saying...

I am beyond excited to finally tell you all that my sisters and I will be launching our very first makeup line called Khroma Beauty!!! 

 Makeup is something that all three of us have always been passionate about so we could not be more thrilled about this new venture in our career. We’ll be releasing a special holiday collection that will include lashes, mascaras and Kardazzle compacts, and then the big launch will happen in early 2013. Makeup is something that is meant to be fun, and we’ve definitely been having a lot of fun with this. I can’t wait for you all to see what we’ve been working on! This truly is a dream come true.

They all do the neutral/smokey look really well, and look amazing. However they have their individual looks which we love too. Below is a few of our favourite Kardashian make-up looks.

Kim is smokey eye

Khloe brights eye/lips - love her hair too!

Kourtney simple eye and bright lips

What do you think of The Kardashians? Are you looking forward to the range?

Elaine & Rachel

Caudalie Vinosouce SOS thirst Quenching Serum Review

I got this 10ml sample in the natural Glossybox and have been using it nearly everyday since, although not twice a day as I was trying to stretch it out. I have only been using it on my forehead and neck as I get dry skin that can sometimes feel tight and sensitive. It's a brand that I had never used before and I know bloggers have raved about other Caudalie products so I was really pleased to receive it in the Glossybox! So here are my thoughts...

Pros

I know this might seem strange but I love the consistency, it's quite watery which means that it is really easy to apply and sinks in quickly without feeling sticky. 

My skin looks much better and a lot less dull, I was really pleased with the results.

The fragrance is also nice it almost smells really fresh a bit like cucumber, but it isn't overpowering.

Cons

I don't think that my skin is any more moisturised than normal despite looking less dull, maybe it would do more if I used it twice a day but I wanted to stretch the product out.

The price! The normal sized product costs £29...

Verdict

I won't buy this again unless the price is significantly reduced in a sale! I just can't justify paying £29 for this product, I have bought a Vitamin E Moisture Serum from the Body Shop to try out as an alternative, so I will let you know how that goes.

Elaine

Don't forget to enter our Essie Trio giveaway here.

Some Shopping Goodies

I finished work early this afternoon so thought I would have a little wander around the shops, I spent a bit money than I would have liked... oh well... so here is what I bought.

From The Body Shop

Fuzzy Peach Shower Gel for £2 in their sale, originally £4, this smelt absolutely gorgeous so I had to get especially at such a bargain price.

Vitamin E Moisture Serum for £10, I don't normally spend a lot of money on my skincare but I bought this to replace my Caudalie SOS thirst quenching serum that I got in my Glossybox. I have only tried the Body Shop serum on my hands so far and I have to say the hand I tried it on did feel softer, so I'm really excited about trying this out, I will get a review done soon!

From Boots

Kick Ass Concealer from Soap & Glory in light for £10, I really wanted an under eye concealer and don't really like the brush/pen concealors so thought I would give this a try, I know a lot of other bloggers have raved about this for ages but the price has always put me off but I just thought I would suck it up and try it out, so I will get a review done as soon as possible.

Rimmel Lycra Pro Nail Polish in Peppermint for £4.99, I love this shade of green, I can't wait to try it out! I have been trying to avoid nail polish as my nails are in such a state but I think it's time to start wearing polish now! So I will do a NOTD soon.

Don't forget about our Essie Trio giveaway which ends soon, you can enter here.

Elaine

Are you a fan of Too Faced or Pixi? BARGAIN ALERT!

 

Are you a Pixi or Too Faced fan?? get your self to your nearest Debenhams now as they have tons and tons of Pixi and Too Faced products on sale up to 70% off. I don't have anything from either of these brands but recently both Elaine and I have really wanted to try Pixi - and here's our chance. I must say tho the really annoying thing is that I couldn't find the original prices anywhere and therefore don't know the actual discount I would receive (but I think its pretty hefty)

Also don't forget to enter our Essie giveaway here!

Rachel

TRESemmé Instant Refresh Dry Shampoo Review

I picked up this small bottle of TRESemmé Instant Refresh DryShampoo as I’d heard a lot of great things about it and although I’m a huge fan of Batiste I always feel like there must be something better out there. This was going to be a normal review but as I’m so addicted to Batiste its turned into something more of a comparison, anyway here are my thoughts -

Pros

I think the smell is far nicer than any of the Batiste scents (Tropical is my Batiste scent of choice) The TRESemmé shampoo has a lovely fresh citrus scent; which isn’t quite as overpowering, obvious or powdery as Batiste. I also found that TRESemmé’s a lot easier to rub in and not as noticeable than Batiste, when I use this I don’t feel as paranoid that I’ve missed a huge white area (this often happens to me with Batiste, my work colleagues enjoy pointing out the white bits). Finally and probably most importantly I found this really does make my hair feel fresh and gives me that just washed feeling, It’s great to make my hair more manageable for styling and is great for adding a tiny bit more volume.

Cons

I found that this wasn’t quite as strong as Batiste, my hair isn’t THAT greasy on day 2 when I’m usually in need but I felt I needed an awful lot more of TRESemmé to take away the oil, whereas with Batiste I only need one quick squirt. I therefore used a lot more product so the bottle of TRESemmé didn’t last very long at all, not great as it is more expensive than Batiste.

Will I repurchase?

Yes although not necessarily as a dry shampoo. I will still be buying Batiste as my normal dry shampoo (for no time to wash my hair days) but I am going to buy another bottle of TRESemmé, perhaps the Volumising Dry Shampoo to have around as more of a styling tool, just to freshen my hair up, add a bit of volume and to make my just washed hair more manageable for styling.

Currently the TRESemmé Instant Refresh Dry Shampoo
is £4.79 for 200ml at Boots or buy any 2 TRESemmé offer products for a £5, Bargain!

I’d love to know if you have any dry shampoo’s you can recommend?  & What’s your favourite Batiste scent?

Rachel

Urban Decay in China

After some major blog hopping, I came across some news that made an impression on me that I thought I would share with you. Urban Decay are now selling makeup in China, to most including me that sounded like great news for them, but the more I read, I realised that China actually has a requirement that products may be tested on animals before they are sold to the mass market.

If you are not aware Urban Decay from the start has always prided itself on not testing on animals and being vegan friendly. Urban Decay have released a statement to say that they are aware that the decision may not be a popular one...

'So, our brand does not test on animals, but the Chinese government might conduct a one-time test using our products. Do we like China’s policies? No…and that is really the point. Going into China was a huge decision for Urban Decay. But, we believe that change cannot and will not happen by outside pressure alone in a closed market. Change can only happen from within. When we enter the Chinese market, we will do our part to help make those changes.'

Urban Decay state that they remain committed to two causes, women's rights and the fight against animal testing.

You can read Urban Decay's full statement here.

There is currently a lot of criticism aimed at Urban Decay regarding this decision, my own personal opinion is that it doesn't seem that they are making this decision to change policy but rather for financial gain and to grow their business in a new market, but for a business that promotes itself as cruelty free I'm not sure it's the wisest choice. I have also read that people's negative comments about their decision on their facebook page have been deleted and they have taken down past statements they have released. Perhaps from a PR point of view they could have dealt with this situation better.

What do you think about this?

Elaine