January Favourites

Hey there!

Happy end of January!  We made it to the end of the month, woohoo!  The sun has already set here and it's not yet 5pm so there are still some improvements to be made season wise but at least we're moving closer the spring as we enter the month of February.  Honestly I think this is the most on time I've ever been with my favourites!  So without further ado...

• Body Shop Microdermabrasion 

I loved this from the first moment I tried it.  It says it's not for sensitive skin and mine can be quite sensitive so I applied the product very lightly in circular movements on my wet skin.  The texture of the product feels very gritty and almost like sand mixed with cream.  My skin was so lovely and soft when I washed it off that I wanted to use it again the next day!  However it says not to use it more often than twice a week and taking in to account my sensitive skin I've only been using it once a week.  Particularly after a show when I've had a lot of make-up on my face I like to use this to feel like my skin has had a proper deep clean.

• Chanel Lipstick Coco Rouge in Triomphe

I already wrote a review of this when I bought it.  The colour is beautiful and really warms my face.  It is long lasting however because of that it can be drying so I can't wear it every day or my lips get really dry.  A nice first Chanel make-up purchase that has left me wanting to buy more shades from the range.

• Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Pink Gold

I bought this at the same time as I bought the shade On and On Bronze and for a long time Pink Gold was left languishing in my make-up drawer in favour of it's pretty bronze sibling.  Recently I found myself wanting a natural looking brightening shade on my lids and this finally started getting used.  It's so pretty but originally I felt that it just wasn't enough on it's own with just some mascara to make an impact.  I've been wearing it with a touch of black eye liner on the outer corners of my eye lid and combined with this the brightening cream eye shadow looks very pretty.

• Topshop Lip Paint in Hibiscus

I got this in the Christmas sales and am in love with the colour and texture.  It's so bright and creamy and not drying on the lips at all.  The colour pigmentation is amazing!  Despite the creaminess it also seems to last a long time on the lips.  The only downside is that the shade is so bright I don't feel like I can wear it as often as I'd like to (every day).  I think this has been discontinued but the packaging is identical to their Lip Varnish lipsticks so maybe they're a similar product?  If it is I'd be willing to try them in other shades.

• Body Shop Aloe Calming Facial Cleanser

I got this for Christmas and I've been using it a lot to take of my make-up. It's just a nice, simple, does what it says on the tin, facial cleanser.  It doesn't irritate my sensitive skin and has a refreshing, light and pleasant scent.

So those were my favourites for this month.  Almost all sales purchases and Christmas gifts.  I got a lot of Body Shop products for Christmas and have been loving them all but had to narrow it down to these two to stop it becoming just a Body Shop haul!

Till next time

Twirlybirdie

My Body Shop Shop!

Hello!

How are you?  I'm relaxing at home after a bit of a whirlwind day at work.  I'm feeling less anxious today because my rehearsals at work went a bit better than they did the previous two days of this week.  I had a little bit more time at home than usual so I managed to have a little bath pampering session using my new chocolate and clay face mask by a brand called Joik.  I also managed to get two loads of washing on which never happens.

I recently used up all my Body Shop Blueberry Body Butter which bothered me because it really was the best moisturiser I've found for my eczema.  I find oils don't really work on eczema as well and other moisturisers that have a more waxy like quality don't sink into my skin as well as this body butter does.  

The body butters are really expensive over here so I waited until sale time and found two that I was interested in; the Mango one and the Passion Fruit one.  I held off until I had had time to look at the ingredients online (it really annoys me that you can't easily see the ingredients on some Body Shop products on the packaging).  I found out that the Mango one had parabens in it and the Passion Fruit one didn't so that decision was easy.

 I also ended up getting the sweet lemon beautifying oil because I had it in the summer and I really loved using it.  My normal skin drinks it up and it feels gorgeous to use.  I love the fruity fresh scent too it's not too subtle but also not too heavy.

The body butter has a subtle sweet fruity scent to it and I find the consistency to be really similar to the blueberry one which I also liked.
I'm really looking forward to snuggling in bed soon.  Have a nice evening!

Twirlybirdie :)

Hair repair products for a grey autumn day of rest

Hello

How has your weekend been?  I've been resting resting resting.   Trying so hard to feel healthy again.  I started my morning off with a probiotic drink and some tea.  Actually I started off my morning with a lie-in which already made me feel much better.  Then after some tea I stared at my computer for a while before I decided that a hot bath would be the next thing to do to make me feel rested.

I snuck some Body Shop Shea Butter bubble bath in to the water and decided it was time to take care of my hair.  I've been getting really irritated with my knotted hair which seems to be falling out all over the place and generally not in the best condition.  I decided to use all my hair products which I've purchased recently especially with hair repair in mind.

I bought the L'oreal extraordinary hair oil a while ago and just haven't really got into using it yet.  Actually I was a bit put off by the mixed online reviews I read that said it could be drying if used too often and that it has alcohol in it which is drying?  I decided to give it a go today to find out for myself and put a couple of drops in my hair before shampooing and left it on for ten minutes or so.  I quite like the feel and smell of this product but I think next time I might try a more expensive hair oil with purer ingredients?

Then I shampooed my hair with the Schwarzkopf Gliss Kur shampoo which I bought because it was on offer and didn't have any parabens in it.  I was also attracted to the fact it had keratin in it.  It's not my favourite formula to use as I'm not keen on the smell but it cleans my hair just fine.  Normally I go for the Garnier colour protect shampoo which feels very moisturising but as this one was cheaper I thought I would give it a go.

Then I used the Garnier Fructis Goodbye Damage hair mask which you only need to leave on for 3 minutes which is nice as I get impatient if I have to leave anything on for longer than 5!  I bought the shampoo version of this not long ago and was impressed with it and how my hair felt afterwards.  It says it's for 'very damaged, lifeless hair' which is exactly what mine feels like. I also bought this because it seemed like good value for money and I had run out of a more expensive hair mask I had but money is a bit tight lately!

Once I had washed it all out and towel dried my hair I squirted lots of the Garnier fructis nutri repair 3 oils leave in conditioner and rubbed it in a bit with my hands.

I let my hair dry naturally for as long as possible until we were going to go out (for coffee and sushi!) and then I used my hair dryer from as far away from my hair as possible to avoid heat damage.

Overall my hair does feel in better condition and I'm not sure which product exactly has made the difference.  Maybe it was the l'oreal hair oil as that is one that I really haven't been using recently.  Normally I use just one conditioning product at a time so maybe I need to do a hair pampering session where I use everything more frequently.  My hair doesn't feel amazing yet but hopefully it will get there as there is definitely a difference.  It actually smells really nice too.

I will let you know how I get on in the future with these hair products!

I was also inspired take photos of my eye make up today.  I used the gold shadow from my Too Faced palette so you can see what it looks like on .  It's quite an autumnal shade.

A very easy to wear shade of gold I think.  These pictures were taken a few hours after application so I think the shadow held up pretty well!  I hadn't used any primer so it really was the shadow all on it's own.  I also used my Maybelline Gel eyeliner and my Bourjous Beauty Full Volume mascara which I reviewed ages ago and since then has become my favourite.  Other than that I went pretty natural except for some Clinique blusher which I think had worn off by the time I took these photos!  Oh and I had also used some Art Deco Perfect Teint Concealer for under my eyes and the inner corner.  I bought this very recently and am liking it quite a lot.

I hope you're having a nice autumn day.  I'm thinking of baking some banana bread (again!) and maybe this time I'll go crazy and add some cinnamon or something, ooooo!  If you enjoyed this post please subscribe to my blog using one of the links in the right side bar of my blog.  I'd love to hear from you too if you have any tips for repairing stressed out hair!

Till next time :)  Stay rested and warm

Twirlybirdie x

Product Review: Body Shop Sweet Lemon Beautifying Oil

Hello!

I hope today went well for you.  My day went better than yesterday.  I even had time for a massage and a bath which almost made me too sleepy!  I got a bit moody and over-tired after that but hopefully I'll be well rested for a full on day at work tomorrow!

I thought I should do a product review as I haven't done one in a while.  I picked up this oil from the Body Shop in the sale this summer.  I've been wanting to try one of these body oils for about a year already but was put off by the price ( 18 euros over here!!).  Luckily I found one which was 4.50 in the sale, yay!  The only scent that was on offer was the Sweet Lemon one but I really liked the smell: it was fresh, slightly citrusy and not too sweet, so I was sure I wouldn't be chased by insects all summer.

I really loved it.  I get quite dry skin after washing so I used it mostly on my arms and legs straight after drying off from a shower.  I loved how it felt to use and I loved the fresh smell.  It was great to have when I went on holiday.  It's quite a good sized bottle for travelling and was great to use on my skin after a day in the sun.  I even put a little on my face when it felt really dry.

The biggest problem was that I ended up using it up so fast!  It only lasted me a couple of months.  I'd love to get another one but I can't justify paying the full price especially when I know I'll just use it up so quickly.  So to summarise, I loved the scent, I loved the feel of it and if it was 4.50 in the sale again I would totally buy another one!

Hope that's useful to someone out there!  I'd love to try one in another scent aswell sometime!

till next time

Twirlybirdie :)