Today felt like the beginning of Spring, it was glorious sunshine but still with a crisp chill in the air. It feels ike forever since I felt the sunshine. I know that by next week it will more likely be gloomy again, but I thought I best start getting my legs Spring ready. They have been hidden away for months and are going to take a little TLC before I even dare get them out.
Greenland Coconut Milk & Lime Scrub* This is good at buffing off the dead skin and leaving skin feeling soft and smooth. Its scent is also fresh and perfect for Spring. The lime is zesty and the coconut reminds me of holiday.
Balance Me Rose Otto Body Balm* I use this on my legs after I have shaved, it keeps them from becoming dry and leaves them smooth. Its balm texture is lovely and rich if you warm it up between your hands it melts a little and is easier to massage in. This balm is really good under the Garnier Moisturising Lotion. This is a hefty pot and will last you ages!
Laura Mercier Body & Bath Creme Brulee Souffle – This smells so damn good, I never tire of its sweet scent. I tend to use this at night as its very think and rich. I find it a little to heavy for daytime. Its very luxurious and makes the perfect pampering treat. The jar is glass & looks pretty in the bathroom {very important}. I want to try the bath soak to go with this. I think they’d make the best duo
Garnier Moisturising Lotion – I must confess I have never fake tanned {shocker} but I do like to have a little colour on my legs so these gradual tanners are my thing. This one from Garnier is pretty good, you need to have used a scrub and I like to moisturise before hand too that way I get less streaks. You can build the colour up over a couple of days but don’t expect anything too dark. It gives a nice natural even sun kissed look and thats just what I need.
So I’m hoping that these 4 products help keep my legs looking their best and ready for the sunny weather.
If you have any good Gradual Tanner recommendations I’d love to hear them. How do you get you get Spring ready?
Products that are marked with an * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However if I do, the reviews are 100% my own.
Botanics Rosewater Toning Spritz 150ml £4.99 – This is a good budget friendly facial toner. I like to use this before applying makeup. It is refreshing and hydrating. I seem to have a bit of an obsession for face sprays. This Botanics one lasted me ages, it lightly mists my face & doesn’t spray out too much product at once. I would repurchase this.
Garnier Soothing 2 in 1 Makeup Remover 200ml £3.25 – I use one of these up at least once a month. I like it to take off my makeup before using a hot cloth cleanser. This is good at removing even waterproof makeup and it is not too greasy. I always have a couple of backups.
balance Me Pure Skin Face Wash* 125ml £16.00 – I use this in the shower in the morning and it helps keep my skin blemish free and is good for my redness. It’s gentle and creamy and works wonders to calm skin but keeps it clean too without drying it out. With all balance Me products they contain no Mineral Oils, Parabens, Sulpahtes, Petroleum, silicons or artificial colours or fragrances! So that is your skin taken good care of. Yes I would repurchase this.
ESPA Bergamot Jasmine & a Hint of Cedar-wood hand wash250ml £15 – This smells so damn good & I’m sad its all used up. There isn’t too much you can say about a hand wash, but this is a mighty fine addition to my bathroom & I enjoyed using it. I am currently using the ESPA Lemon & Tonka Bean one & that is equally fabulous.
Organics Mega Mushroom Skin Relief 200ml £26.00 – I love this whole range and the skin relief lotion is refreshing to use at night after cleansing. It calms my skin and keeps it hydrated. If you suffer from redness then this is very good at soothing it. Its worked wonders for my skin.
Elemis White Flowers Eye & Lip Makeup Remover* 125ml for £19 – This was a good eye makeup remover. It wasn’t greasy but had enough slip that I didn’t need to rub back and forth to get that stubborn mascara off. It was gentle and didn’t sting my eyes either. I thought it left my eye area feeling quite hydrated and was a pleasure to use. This bottle lasted me a good couple of months. This is more than I would usually pay for a makeup remover but if you’re looking for a effective, gentle and multi use remover this is a very good one.
The Body Shop Coconut Body Mist – £7.50 for 100ml. Even though this could be seen as more of a summer scent I still use it all year round. It’s reasonably priced and smells so good. I adore coconut scented things and this has been a favourite of mine ever since I bought it. This bottle lasted me a whole year now thats good value for money.
Coconut Milk and Lime Shower Cream* 250ml – £7.95 I have to tell you that this Coconut and Lime range are my favourite scents combined. I’m obsessed with coconut products (lotions, body sprays, hair masks) and citrus scents are my favourite too so combined into one product is just heaven for me. Don’t be worried that the scent will be over powering as it isn’t, these are perfectly balanced and provide an uplifting combination of the two. I mostly used it as a shaving cream and it left my legs extra silky smooth. So this gets a thumbs up from me. I still have a Scrub from this range on the go & thats keeping me in my coconut & lime fix.
Sanctuary Foaming Bath Soak 250ml for £6.00 – This was a nice addiction to my bath but nothing spectacular. It has that love Sanctuary smell which I find relaxing and soothing. I wouldn’t repurchase this but I tend to get them as part if their lovely gift sets.
I wanted to let all my readers know that balance Me are supporting Breast Cancer Care during the month of February, they’re taking part in Breast Cancer Care’s ‘buy it with love‘ campaign.
balance Me will be donating 10% from rose otto body oil and rose otto face oil sales to raise funds for those living with breast cancer. So if you were thinking of treating yourself or someone else to either of these balance Me rose otto products now is the time.
These would make lovely Valentines or Mother’s Day gifts – spread a little love & support a very good cause.
Latest in Beauty have teamed up with the beautiful Sadie Macleod founder of Hip & Healthy which ‘is an online magazine, updated regularly, that features expert advice and opinions in the wonderful worlds of health, fitness, beauty, style and travel – all with a healthy twist.’
This Hip & Healthy Beauty Discovery Box* is literally jam packed crammed full to the brim of lovely things including a mix of natural beauty products, food & supplements all designed to kick start ‘the best version of you’ The contents of this box are worth over £50 but you can order it for £9.95 + £3.95 P&P. Food & beauty what more do you need!
The Hip & Healthy Box contains 11 samples, a few products I recognised and a few things that I’d never heard of before and was excited to try. The beauty products include:-
NEOM Moroccan Blush Rose Organic Hand Cream – I’ve used a few of these over the years and think it is a lovely grown up hand cream. It smells so botanical and uplifting and does a very good job at moisturising my hands. Perfect to have in your handbag.
balance Me Cleanse and Smooth Face Balm – I like to use this in the morning and find it very gentle and quite hydrating. It’s an oil based cleanser which smells sweet and fresh. I warm the cleanser up in my hands and massage it over my face and wipe it off with a warm flannel. My skin is left soft, clean and supple after use.
Nourish Golden Glow Face Shimmer – I have never tried any thing from Nourish Skincare, this face shimmer is 100% organic and contains golden mineral powders to give a healthy glow and has active Tonka bean extract which helps reduce the appearance of uneven skin tone and age spots. This makes a very pretty highlight and you really only need a very small amount. I would say this is perfect for evening / night out to add a beautiful glow to your cheekbones. The whole Nourish Skincare range is Vegan friendly
The food & supplements in the box include,
Jax Coco 100% Coconut Water – Coconut water is said to be a great way to hydrate after a workout as its naturally isotonic with essential electrolytes to support rapid hydration (which means it helps to replace fluids and minerals lost through sweating and help prevent tiredness after physical exercise by re-balancing body fluid) Jax Coconut water comes in a 250ml glass bottle and contains 50 calories per bottle it is gluten free with zero fat or cholesterol. So very healthy. I didn’t drink it after exercise but I did enjoy it chilled with some ice & I expected it to taste of coconut but It didn’t, I wasn’t 100% in love with it & think I will have to try a few more bottles to get used to the taste.
Together Health Multi Vitamins – these vitamins are made with the highest quality natural foods, including carrots, whole citrus pulp, alfalfa and corn. You get 30 capsules in a resealable bag, the capsules are easy to swallow and not too big. I have taken mine in the morning, I do normally take a multi vitamin each day but I am going to switch to these Together Multi Vitamins in future as I like that they’re FREE From all these things,Wheat; live yeast; starch; gluten; soya; milk products (lactose); added sugars; synthetics; additives; colourings; flavourings; preservatives and GM ingredients.
Rude Health Granola – This I have not tried yet but it sounds delicious. It is Organic and contains no added salt, refined sugars, no GM, nothing artificial. I am not a massive breakfast cereal kind of girl but I have read some positive reviews of this.
Bounce Natural Energy Ball Coconut & Macadamia – My brother pinched this and said it was good. He is training for the London Marathon and needs the energy (his words). This is an energy fueling snack and are a power house of protein. My brother likes the peanut ones of these Bounce Balls too. You can buy these in most health food stores & Waitrose too.
tea pigs matcha tea – I was very very excited to try this. I have been hunting for it for ages & they don’t seem to sell it where I live. I didn’t want to buy a full size box incase I didn’t like it but I was thrilled to find a sample in my box. This is a tea that has been drunk in Japan for over 900 years, it is 100% organic ground green tea leaves. It is very high in antioxidants, good for your heart & combating cardiovascular disease, natural energy boost for up to 6 hours and naturally caffeine free. This is naturally powerful stuff & I LOVE IT! I have been adding it to my Green Juice and drinking it like that. You only need to add 1/2 a teaspoon & enjoy it however you like, with hot water, in a smoothie, add it to hot milk or a protein shake. So many possibilities. I will be buying some more of this for sure.
This box also contains a sachet of Baobab fruit pulp powder, which is a good source of vitamin C, calcium, potassium and thiamin which is a source of vitamin B6. These all combine in supporting your immune system, reducing tiredness and gives you energy. Baobab contains 14 essential vitamins and is perfect addition to any smoothie. I have been adding it to mine & you can’t taste it but it must be working it’s magic.
There is a Organic Super Blend Skin Food sachet in the box too and this is a blend of chia, acai, rosehip, goji, camu and lucuma, so lots of nutrients to help energise, protect and alkalise your body. These handy sachets can be mixed into your porridge, smoothie, yoghurt or juice. Very healthy indeed. It is Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free and Soy Free.
You also get a one day Virgin Active Pass – to use at any Virgin Gym.
What a box – it contains to many great products & so many nutritional supplements to keep you healthy inside and out! Have you tried any of the products in this Hip & Healthy Box or do you have any healthy or Organic food / beauty recommendations, I’d love to hear them.
Products that are marked with an * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However if I do, the reviews are 100% my own.
