skincare

Spa To You – Deep Pore Cleansing Facial Brush 

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Hello my little buttons! 

I received this facial cleansing brush in a Glossy Box a few months ago and have been thoroughly testing it out to give you wonderful people a full review!  I adore skin care, it’s something I really enjoy using and reviewing. I know my skin pretty well and any little gadgets that can help me along the way I am always more than happy to play with. This brush is priced £6.99 and claims to have silky soft bristles and silicone cushions to gentle cleanse and massage the skin to improve microcirculation. 


On first impressions the brush looked like it was going to be a winner, clean design, nice handle and the bristles felt lovely and soft on my hand and face. On first use I applied my nivia face wash in the shower, leaving it on I then started rubbing the brush on my cheek in small circular motions. But instead of feeling a gentle yet effective scrub I felt a Brillo pad scratch across my face. Holy hell this was actually painful! I still used the brush over my whole face to see if the pain subdued, I’m sure your not surprised to hear it didn’t. As soon as this brush got wet it took on another life form, brought to us to inflict agongy and sore red skin. Like the overly positive sole I am I decided to keep trying this brush in hope it might soften up. I tried it with more face washes than I care to list but the result was the same every time, it was far too harsh on my skin and although I do enjoy a brutal exfoliation from time to time this was way too much and not worth the pain. 

Over all very disappointing! I also found that, apart from the searing agony, the bristles were a tad too long making it difficult to get into the areas around my nose as well as keeping up a good circular momentum. I’d love to hear in the comments below what you think of this brush?! 

Lots of love 

Becca xxx 

Bee Good Honey & Camelina Facial Exfoliator Review 

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Hello my little buttons! 

I received Bee Good facial exfoliator wash in my November Glossy box and could not have been more pleased. I love the brand Bee Good and have tried a few of their products now, my skin loves honey and reacts really well to this line of skin care. I even wrote a blog on the wonderful properties of honey in skincare, click Here to give it a read. 

After using this exfoliator religiously I am ready to announce I’m in love! It offers a gentle but effective exfoliation leaving the skin feeling smooth soft and hydrated. From using honey products I can tell the ‘honey effect’ is happening as my skin is so nourished after this scrub, which is fantastic as usually after exfoliation my skin can feel rather dry and tight. It also smells beautiful and not too over powering. 

Another reason I’m loving this scrub is it’s helped clear up my skin. I had been neglecting my skincare, which is odd as I normally love the morning and nightly ritual?! But anyway, as I have been neglecting my skincare my chin was attacked with the worst breakout I have had in about 10 years, it was literally a beard of spots!! Every morning another 2 or 3 joining the gross party. Enough was enough!!! There were several products I instinctively reached for that are my secret weapons when my skin needs an extra umph (if you would like a blog post on this please comment below) but I also happily reached for the exfoliator which has been amazing at clearing up my spots, it’s anti bacterial properties have come to the rescue once again. 

After doing some research about the other fantastic skin care ingredient in this exfoliant, Camelina, its benefits sound incredibly similar to those of honey so I am not at all surprised to see how this product has helped transform my skin back to normal. 

What’s your secret skincare weapon? Please comment below! 

Lots of love

Becca xxx 

Wayne Goss in The Body Shop + mini haul + new products! 

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Hello my little buttons!! 

I haven’t been to The Body Shop for a while so I popped in today to pick up a few bits and have a nosy. The first thing I noticed was this fabulous display #daretomask full of fancy new face masks!!! Face masks are one of my favourite things in the whole wide world. The two I was drawn to was the Himalayan Charcoal mask and the Ethiopian Honey Mask. As the were £15 each I decided to get samples to try at home first, one thing I love about the body shop is the samples to try before you buy. I also loved the variety, they really have covered all skin types and mask requirements, the packaging looks really smart too. 

The main reason I went in was to buy a few bits from the seaweed skin care range, which if you have followed me for a while you’ll know it’s my all time favourite skin care line. The two best products in the line, in my opinion, are the oil balancing clay mask and the oil control over night gel. Usually these are £23 together. Today I found a cute little pre packed box with both these products in for £16. Bargain!!! I also noticed all the skin care had been repackaged which I think really adds to the luxurious feel of the products. 

The big surprise for me was seeing Wayne Goss posters and leaflets all over the shop promoting The Body Shops eyeshadows! I’m not sure if they have reformulated the eyeshadows as last time I used them I wasn’t overly impressed. I really value goss’s opinion so I am tempted to try the new palettes they had in store. 

Over all a fun little trip out! What body shop product can you not live without?! 

Lots of love 

Becca xxx 

Ladykin Mango Twinklight Soft Foaming Cleanser Review

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Hello my little buttons!  

I was perusing one of my favourite beauty sites beautybay and came across this face Cleanser. “with effective emollients mango extract and bambusa vulgaris leaf extract” it sounded fruity and gorgeous. Its priced at £5 and you get 100ml which I thought was a BARGIN. Once it arrived I had a look at the ingredients but sadly they are korean so I have no idea what is in the cleanser lol. 

On first use, I was hoping for a big powerful mango smell (yes I know fragrance in skincare is a no-no lol) but instead was met by a super soft subtle mango smell. The cleanser it’s self was a really pale pearlescent yellow and felt rich and creamy with small exfolient beads. I didn’t find it foamed up overly well, it felt more like a cream cleanser which isn’t a problem for me.

Once I rinsed it off my face i was squeaky clean, litrally I could squeak across my cheeks with my fingers lol. But what was sooooo disappointing was the after smell. Soap. Soap. Soap. It spelt straight up like a bar of soap, it was so over powering and nasty. The smell clung to my skin for a good hour after washing it was really unpleasant. 

I will say, although it smells revolting, my skin feels so lovely, soft and clean afterwards I’m still using it! I definitely won’t be buying it again but for now it does the job. I realise this is an odd little review but thought I would share my thoughts! 

I’d love to hear in the comments below what your favourite cleanser is? 

Becca xxx 

Glossy box June 2016 first impressions!

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Hello my little buttons!

It’s that time of the month again, here’s my first impressions on what I received in my glossy box. This month’s box is highly practical for the summer months which is great, but to be honest not the most exciting.

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Ladival sun protection spray Spf 15 £19.99 from boots

This sun screen spray protects against four types of UV rays as well as being non-greasy, water resistant and free from perfume it’s suitable for sensitive and eczema prone skin. I always need spf for my children as well as myself but it’s a shame it’s factor 15 and not a 30 as I always use high protection. Practical product that will be used but not the most thrilling.

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Dr Bruyere after sun lotion monoi  £9.48 from derriere.fr

On the skin theme after sun is nice touch, the tube is rather small but is beautifully presented and again will come in handy. The cream is enriched with vitamin E as well as Monoi (gardenia petals soaked in coconut oil) which sounds incredibly fancy so I think I’ll enjoy using this.

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Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream to Brighten and Depuff  from origins.co.uk

Super small tube of eyecream, which I can’t see being the full size as its priced at £20. This little cream contains coffee beans, panax ginseng and optical brighteners. To be applied around the eye area every morning to reduce dark circles and help reduce the appearance of bags and puffiness. Even though it’s small as you only need a tiny amount I imagine you’d still get a good few uses to decided if this product is worth the investment of the full sized.

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Spa To You Konjac Sponge £6.99 from spatoyou.com

This is by far the most unique random item in the glossy box, it’s made from the natural fibres of the Konjac which is a porous root vegetable from Asia! I have to admit I opened the packet straight away to have a feel, the sponge comes dampened and feels really different from your average sponge, soft and squishy are the words jumping to mind. I’m looking forward to playing with this as apparently it’ll leave your skin clean and unbelievably soft.

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Emite Makeup Lip & Cheek Tint £12.50 from emitemakeup.com

I adore lip and cheek tints, especially in the summer but I do have a huge supply and don’t really need any more. The packaging is mammoth it’s like a big chunky mascara rather than a slimline liptint. I like the ombre fade on the packaging as you can see the colour within the tube. Still looking forward to playing with this because products such as these are handy for my handbag on the go.

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Aussie Hair Care 3 minute miracle reconstruction deep conditioner £1.09 from aussiehair.com/uk

Last but not least is the bonus product, happy with this one as I LOVE Aussie products and so does my bleached curly hair! Hair treatments are always welcome in my house so this will be used pretty quickly, shame it’s not bigger but not the end of the world.

As you can see, practice but nothing massively exciting. The sponge is cool but not something I would of bought for myself. I’d love to hear what you thought of this month’s glossy box, did you feel the same as me? I’d love to hear in the comments below!

Becca xxx

Why is honey good for your skin?

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Hello my little buttons!

Honey is everywhere right now in skincare, little indie homemade brands are popping up left right and centre. These companies are so important right now to “support the bees” but what is so great about honey and why is it so good for your skin?

Honey is actually antibacterial! It’s great for helping spots disappear as well as keeping them away. I personally noticed this myself after a recent break out, my skin recoverd a lot faster than normal and my spots looked less angry.

Honey is clarify for the skin, by opening up and unclogging pores, which in turn helps keeps spots away leaving your face clean and fresh.

Honey is also highly moisturising, it sooths irritated skin and give your skin a glowy look to it. Since using a honey based serum and moisturiser I’ve not had any dry patches and my skin is looking healthy and bright.

The last main property in honey is it’s packed full of antioxidants which makes honey a natural wrinkle cream!! Antioxidants are great to prevent wrinkles as they promote cellular repair and healing.

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Thankfully if you don’t like the idea of rubbing pure honey all over your face there are many creams and concoctions on the market right now to boost your skins honey intake without the sticky mess. Two companies I can highly recommend are hey honey and bee good I’ve been using several of their products and they’re wonderful.

If you did like the idea of using pure honey there are hundreds of home made facemasks you can make to keep your skin looking beautiful!

Becca xxx

May 2016 favourites!

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Hello my little buttons!

It’s that time of the month again when I think back to my favourite products I’ve been using this month and what I would recommend, here’s my quick round up of what I’ve been loving!

Purse perfumes

I love these little guys, they fit in any size bag I choose to use that day to freshen up while I’m out an about. I’m currently using the scent “cherish” from Avon in a spray bottle priced at £3.50 and “modern muse” from Estee Lauder in a roller ball priced at £20.

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L’oreal cushion foundation

I wrote a big old blog about this little gem, it’s converted me to glowy foundation! It’s so quick amd easy to apply, it has good coverage while still looking natural. There really is something magic about the formula I highly recommend it. If you would like to read more about what I think of this foundation, click here!

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Honey serum and moisturiser

Honey is huge in the skincare world right now, I’ll soon be blogging about all the benefits honey has, as I think you’ll be suprised just how good it is for the skin! I’m loving Hey Honey good morning honey silk serum, even though its travel size I’ve been using it for weeks and still have product left. A little goes a long way and it feels gorgeous on the skin. Using the serum with beegood Plump And Firm Moisturiser has been my secret weapon. The moisturiser keeps my skin hydrated throughout day and feeling super soft. My skin has been looking great since using these products (apart from a recent break out caused by a new face wash, the review for that is here!) my pores look smaller, my skin texture is looking much more even and less red, and my breakout is disappearing noticeably quicker than normal. Go team honey.

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Younique eyeshadow palette

No one could be more suprised than me for liking this one!!! (detailed review here) The palette has a beautiful selection of mattes and shimmers, I love the shade range as I didn’t have to reach for any other palette to complete my look. They blend beautifully, super pigmented and were honestly a delight to use.

I’d love to hear in the comments below what your monthly favourites have been. Did you like any of the products I mentioned?

Becca xxx

Avon Nutra Effects Active Seed Complex Skincare Review

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Hello my little buttons!

I’ve been eying up some of Avon skincare lately, as I love a few of their products I thought I’d take the delve and try their Nutra Effects Active Seed Complex self foaming face wash and gentle 3 in 1 scrub. The face wash is currently priced at £3.50 for 150ml and the scrub is £3 for 100ml. Super affordable and really generous in size.

Changing your skin routine can be pretty scary, you never know how it’s going to effect your skin and as it’s on your face for all to see the thought can be quite daunting. Especially for a beauty blogger who’s face is always on show.

Both the face wash and face scrub are:
Soap free
Suitable for sensitive skin
Allergy tested
Free of parabens or dyes

On paper they looked great, really affordable, clean looking and easily replenishable. The first time I used the face wash it was quite disappointing, you pump out the product which is already foamy and apply directly to the skin. I found I needed to use quite a few pumps for there to be enough product to really lather it up. I also didn’t get that fresh clean feeling afterwards, I actually felt a tad greasy which I couldn’t figure out if it was an hydrating product within the wash or if my face wasn’t actually clean. Not a good start.

The scrub did feel like it did a good job, it wasn’t harsh on my skin and I felt nice and smooth afterwards. The products have a light fresh snell which was quite pleasant and wasn’t over powering.

After using these products for around 4 days I woke up to the worst break out I have had in forever, on my forehead were teeny tiny under the skin pimples but on my chin were 3 gigantic beasts that are impossible to cover up and are currently building their own town on my face. I’m not hormonal or due on and the only difference was using the face wash and scrub. Soooo disappointing, I could take or leave the self foaming wash but i really liked the face scrub.

I now had the dialema of, do I continue to use these products and hope nothing else erupts or do I quit before it gets worse?! After discussing out my options with a close friend (hey tanya I know you’ll be reading this!!!) I think I answered my own question, I know this is what caused the end of my months and months of balanced skin so why would I continue to use it?! Skin care is such a personal thing as what can be someone holy grail cleaner can be someone else’s face demon magnet. Sadly I have not continued to test out these product as I don’t want to risk any more spots, they are driving me crazy already and adding to the collection is not my idea of fun. It feels like such as waste as there is still so much product left so I will be passing them on to a friend, hopefully they’ll work better with her skin than they did with mine!

Have you tried out these products?! How did your skin react?! I’d love to hear in the comments below!

Becca xxx

B.pure sensitive micellar cleansing wipes review

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Hello my little buttons!

I received these B.pure sensitive micellar cleansing wipes in a goodie bag from Makeup Revolutions 2nd birthday party. B.Pure is superdrugs fairly new affordable skincare line, it reminds me a lot of the Simple range as it’s advertised as gentle fuss free skincare. Sometimes it good to step back from the over saturated skincare market and get back to basics with very reasonably priced items that do the job.

I’m not a huge Cleansing wipe user, but it’s always handy to have a pack for quick makeup removal or to wipe over my face before starting my day of school runs and errands. These wipes claim to be a 3-in-1 to cleanse tone and moisturise, enriched with hazel, vitamin E, aloe and Cucumber there’s lots of ingredients your skin will soak up and adore.

In regards to makeup removal the wipes took off the main bulk of product from my skin although I did still need a good cleanse after as there was still residue left. It removed most of my eye makeup but I found if I had a heavy eye look and had to really get in there the wipes did start burning my eyes which is a shame as they are a ‘sensitive’ product. That being said my eyes are incredibly sensitive so it’s not hard to set them off.

My skin felt quite hydrated after using the wipes but long term it wouldn’t be enough to keep away my dry patches. I did notice I didn’t have any breakouts while using the wipes which is fantastic as I find if I use wipes too often this tends to happen.

Overall I think if you were in a pinch these wipes are handy to have or if you were traveling and couldn’t take all your normal skin care with you they’re a good solution. They aren’t the best wipes I’ve ever used as I still need to cleanse to remove makeup but they definatly aren’t the worse. They cost £1.73 which is a really good price for 25 wipes.
What are your favourite cleansing wipes? I’d love to hear in the comments below!
Becca xxx

Glossy Box May 2016 First Impressions

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Hello my little buttons!

One of the highlights of the month is when my glossy box arrives, it’s like receiving a present as I never know what’s inside. Glossy Box costs £10 per month plus P&P and the items inside are always worth far more than what you pay, you also get to try brands and products you wouldn’t come across every day in Boots or Superdrug. Since receiving glossy box I have found some real treasures which keeps me comming back for more! Here’s my first impressions of what I received and how I feel about this month’s box.

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Firstly the packaging, so adorable i actually want to colour it in!!! Each box was designed with a “city break” theme, London, New York or Berlin were the chosen cities. My box is Berlin, it was designed by Omg Studios. I really appreciate when so much thought has gone into the packaging, as the boxes are so sturdy I reuse them for other things so the design makes it a tad cooler.

The first thing I noticed about the products inside was the packet of popcorn, hmm bit of a ‘filler’ product but my kids were happy to munch on it so not the end of the world. I don’t think I’ve ever received food in a box before, i hope Glossy box don’t make this a regular occurrence as if I wanted food in my beauty box I would subscribe to a food box!!!

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Next in the box was Hairon Zero Crease Hair ties, a pack of 3 for £3.99. I have received these in Glossy Box before so sadly not a new product but they are really handy to have and saves me buying them so quite happy about these.

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I was really excited to see this next product, a velvet lippie worth £4.93 from the brand “Absolute New York” a product and brand I had never heard of, woohooo!! The colour is gorgeous, of course I instantly applied it and was really pleased with the results. It was very comfortable on the lips and unlike a lot of matte cream lipsticks it wasn’t drying and didn’t flake off. Result.

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Wasn’t overly pleased about this next product, Hawiaiian Topic Protective dry Oil SFP 15. I don’t use under factor 30 and I never use oil, I rubbed some on my arm it did smell nice but it isn’t something I am ever going to use. I do have a friend I could pass it on too so at least it’s not going to waste. The bottle I received is 100ml, the full size is 200ml for £13.99 although I have found it cheaper online.

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I love love love skin care, so I’m very pleased with this next item. Bee Youth Good Enhancing Plump & Firm Moisturising, it also says on the packaging “Made With Real Bees” I have noticed a real big trend in bee ingredients such as honey in skin care and makeup which is fantastic as saving the bees is so important right now. The tube is 15ml worth £9 and the full size is 50ml costing £23.50. I am yet to have tried this enough to fully review it but first impressions, wow!!! It’s given me silky smooth skin and smells devine, I think it’s going to be a winner.

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Last but not least, a Revlon Ultra Volume Mascara worth £9.99. Another favourite product for me to receive in a beauty box! I’m bit of a mascara junkie and as they dry out so fast I’m always open to getting more. The wand has a lovely chunky bristle brush which is right up my street, looking forward to testing it out tomorrow.

Overall I’m happy with this months box, my favourite items are the velvet lippie, moisturiser and mascara. All of which I will happily use and review. I’d love to hear in the comments below if you subscribe to any beauty boxes?

Becca xxx