Delving In To My Sample Stash #3

Makeup Samples

ESPA ProSerum – I have been spending quite a few weeks in Scotland since Summer & I always like to have my favourite serum with me, this ESPA one ticks all the boxes. Its hydrating, calming and helps even skin tone. I love the scent too, it smells like a high end spa. This is ideal for this time of year when my skin gets dry & looks a little dull. Its a staple in my travel makeup bag.

Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream* This is a popular Asian skincare brand & I’ve read so many great reviews of this BB Cream. I’ve always wanted to try it. I’ve been using this over the past couple of weeks & really like it. I like my base to give a light coverage and provide a touch of colour so my complexion looks bright & even. This BB Cream gives me exactly that, its a lovely creamy consistency which I found very easy to blend, I did lightly powder it but I don’t think thats 100% necessary. This BB Cream covers all bases it provides a SPF30, protects against free radicals, conceals imperfections & contains hyluronic acid for all day hydration. So you’re getting a lovely BB Cream with the added skincare benefits which Asian brands are renowned for.

Benefit Stay Don’t Stray – This is a dual action eye primer so not only will it keep your eyeshadow in place but you can use it under the eye to keep your concealer put all day long and it works a treat! I love it that much I will be purchasing the full size & can’t believe I have never heard of this until now. It gives my eyelids an even colour & is the perfect base on which to apply eyeshadow. Its love.

Burt’s Bees Hand Salve – Not a massive fan of this I have to say, I did initially like it but the more I use it the less I like it & that pains me to write because Burt’s Bees is normally very reliable. I much prefer a hand cream & find the easier to use when I’m on the go. I will use it up & have been using it on my cuticles at night to stop them drying out in the cold weather. Let me know if you like this hand salve & how you make it work for you.

Makeup & Skincare Samples

Stay Flawless 15 Hour Primer – I’ve not used this an awful lot & struggle to find a primer which doesn’t make my skin greasy after a couple hours of use. I like the cute spotty packaging, I will use this a few more times & then let you know if it worked well for me. 15 hours is a bold claim & I doubt very much that my makeup would stay looking flawless for 15 hours. Have you tried this? let me know if your makeup looked fresh & flawless for 15 hours.

REN BB Cream – This featured in my last Sample Stash post, I’m still using it & loving it. It gives me a healthy dewy finish and it wears well without oxidising. Its not my favourite BB Cream but I do like the finish and although I wouldn’t purchase the full size I have enjoyed trying it out.

Origins Super Spot Remover – This isn’t a sample size but it fits so well on my dish & its so dinky. I really rate this as a spot treatment, it starts working right away. Its so quick and easy to apply to your blemishes. It’s instantly cooling, and can sting a little but that only lasts a few seconds, this is a targeted treatment so you only need to put it on the area where you feel a blemish coming or if you have a blemish thats already erupted. It stops blemishes from becoming too sore & angry and helps them clear up much faster too. Its a wonder gel in a tiny bottle. If you haven’t already you need to add this to your skincare arsenal.

Kiehl’s Actively Correcting & Beautifying BB Cream – OMG this is the BB Cream of my dreams, It gives my skin an even coverage and It gives you Broad Spectrum SPF50 protection which makes me very happy. If you like a light to medium coverage that looks natural and radiant with excellent sun protection then you will love this BB Cream. Its simple but its all I need in a base and I am a massive fan.

Lancome Rouge In Love Lipstick – This is a gorgeous mini lipstick, I haven’t tried many Lancome products but this lipstick feels comfortable and hydrating on the lips & its the softest peachy pink. Not the most Autumnal colour but I have been enjoying wearing it.

NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser – This is another product that was in a previous Sample Stash post, I’ve used it a couple of times & I’m not 100% in love, I’m not exactly sure what I don’t like about it. It might be that its quite thick compared to other tinted moisturisers & BB Creams. It looks really nice just after I apply it but I don’t think it wears well on my oily skin. I much prefer the Ginvera & the Kiehl’s BB Creams.

Sample Stash

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.

ESPA Optimal Body TriSerum

ESPA TriSerum

The ESPA Optimal TriSerum* is the ultimate luxury for your body, we always spend the money on lotions and potions for our face but often the rest of our body misses out. This offering from ESPA is designed to give you naturally radiant beautiful skin. Also I must say that from the purple packaging through to the serum itself everything feels very luxurious.

ESPA have combined the potent power of a serum with the rich nourishment of Omega Oils (3,6,9), this advanced TriActive™ formula harnesses some of nature’s most effective plant, marine and essential oil extracts to deliver optimal results.

I like that this comes in a beautiful glass bottle with a spray top which makes applying it to your body very easy indeed and It doesn’t spray out too much product at once. So you won’t waste any product. I tend to use this after a bath, I spray it on to my skin focusing on my thighs and décolleté . I use it mostly on those areas because of the skincare benefits such as,

Turmeric Root helps even skin-tone and pigmentation to suffuse skin with youthful radiance, Balloon Plant soothes and calms, whilst Seaweed helps boost firming collagen and elastin for beautifully soft, smooth and supple skin. So you get a whole host of skin benefit from this TriSerum which is so exciting especially as we all spend so much money & time looking after the skin on our face and often our body gets a little overlooked.

Luxurious Body Oil

ESPA

This TriSerum is so much lighter than a body oil and after you’ve massaged it in you’re left with smooth, glowing, beautiful looking skin. It does give your skin a glow but it doesn’t look or feel greasy because it is a serum rather than an oil it sinks in quite quickly and feels very comfortable.

This serum smells incredible & if you’ve tried their Optimal Skin ProSerum then you will be pleased to know this has the same luxurious soothing scent. I love it & would wear the perfume if they sold it.

This is a luxurious pampering product that will also give your skin long lasting benefits that you can see and feel. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying using it and I try to use it sparingly because it is so luxurious so I have been using it more of a targeted treatment on specific areas. You can use this serum in a number of ways,

• Spritz as a quick, light body oil when you are pressed for time or travelling
• Layer beneath your body moisturiser as a targeted treatment
• Use on specific areas of concern as an active targeted boost

ESPA Optimal Body TriSerum £38.00

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.

4 Of My Current Face Masks

Skincare Face Masks I love using a mask a few times a week & depending on what my skin needs I try to use the right mask to help it out. My skin is generally a little dull and dehydrated and these are a few of the Masks I have been reaching for during June.

ESPA Essential Cleansing Mask £28.00 – This is a lovely soothing Mask, when I use this I put a few drops of my ESPA Pro Serum underneath just so my skin doesn’t dry out & too add a little boost of something extra. This dries like a standard clay mask and leaves my skin feeling very clean, but not stripped at all. I use this at night so when I wake in the morning my skin is looking calm & radiant. This mask is very good at helping with decongested skin too & I find that my skin gets quite decongested in the summer with all the facial SPF so its nice to use a cleansing face mask. The packaging of ESPA products is as luxurious as the skincare inside, this is a lovely glass jar & the lid is so pretty it looks like marble. This pot has lasted me months & I’m nowhere near finished.

SISLEY Black Cream Mask sample size – This is very hydrating and helps combat the signs of fatigue, if you like a mask you can put on & see results quickly then this is the one. After 10 minutes it leaves you skin looking plump and very radiant. If my skin is looking particularly flat & dehydrated I will wear this mask all day (in the house) as it applies clear and feels nice on the skin. Its a great way of giving my skin an intensive hydrating boost. My skin is left looking like the younger me after using this mask & as I said in a previous post even though the price tag of the full size is frightening I will be treating my self at Duty Free next time I fly as this mask it THAT good!

APIVITA Face Mask With Green Clay* £13.00 – This is a lovely mask that is perfect if you have Oily / Combination skin, as it cleanses deep down helping remove excess sebum and preventing breakouts & blackheads. I leave this on for 10 minutes & wash it off with warm water before it dries too hard. I like to use this if my skin is feeling a little more oily than normal or if I feel like my skin is getting a few blemishes. This mask is such great value for money & I think this leaves my skin feeling smooth & balances out my excess oils.

PURE Natural Beauty Moisture Plus Treatment Mask £6.00This is my least favourite mask out of this line up, it is a nice moisture mask, and does leave my skin looking glowing and healthy but it leaves a greasy residue behind even after washing it off. I will use up the rest of the bottle but I prefer the Origins Drink Up Mask & have one of those in my drawer.

What treatment masks do you like to use, let me know your recomendations & if you like any of the ones I’ve mentioned.

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. 

A Lovely Duo

Perfect Duo

I’m still in the middle of moving house & everything is still packed away in many many boxes that I just can’t face unpacking yet. So I’m working my way through some posts that I hadn’t hit publish on yet.

Working from home & doing a lot of crafting I wash my hands so often and I like to treat myself to a nice handwash & lotion. These are my current duo.

ESPA Zesty Lemon Ylang Ylang & Crushed Tonka Beans Hand Wash 250ml £15.00 – I’ve used a few of these ESPA hand washes now & find them to be a little slice of affordable luxury. They’re hydrating and moisturising. A bottle lasts a very long time and it smells incredible. This scent has been my favourite to date, what I like is that it contains 100% natural Essential Oils and smells zesty but a little masculine. This doesn’t dry your hands out at all and leaves them feeling soft and clean.

ESPA Handwash

Molton Brown Thai Vert Soothing Hand Lotion (now called Lime & Patchouli) 300ml £20.00  – This also has a Zesty scent but also has Patchouli and that makes it smell very comforting & fresh. It feels luxurious and and pampering, the lotion keeps my hands hydrated and feeling silky smooth. I can’t stand when a handcream is greasy so this one is perfect as it is light, easily absorbed and provides hydration that lasts.

These two make a great duo and I have been enjoying using them & their Zesty scent is a reminder that Spring isn’t far away.

What is your favourite handwash / handcream?