AUGUST UK MAGAZINE FREEBIES - PRODUCT REVIEWS

August was the month of magazine beauty freebies. I managed to get my hands on a few, but there were so many more to choose from. Here’s what I thought of the ones I picked up.

Instyle - Neal's Yard Remedies Geranium & Orange Hand Cream – I don’t get overly excited when I see hand cream freebies as I have so many hand creams to use up but it’s nice to try something else from the Neal Yard’s brand. I have really been enjoying orange scents lately, my love for this came from The Body Shop’s Satsuma range and Soap & Glory’s Orangeasm range. This hand cream nourishes, moisturises and softens skin, like any hand cream should. I like to apply this after washing my hands or as a refresher throughout the day.
Glamour - Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion+ – I picked this moisturiser as I could only find the mascara or the cream with magazines instores. Two different coloured chubby sticks are also available but every store I have been in hasn't had them available. I have used this moisturiser before, so I know I get on with it. It’s great as a morning base, it has a silky texture and keeps my skin refreshed and hydrated until my night time skin routine.

Marie Claire - Balance Me Cleanse and Smooth Face Balm – I am a big fan of Balance Me products. You could get this product or a moisturise rich face cream from the range. I picked this as I knew I already liked it and it’s a great cleanser to travel with. I love the natural scent and the glossy balm texture. It’s great for most skin types and really polishes and adds radiance to the skin. It’s 100% natural and a great sized sample.

Enhancing the natural radiance of normal to dry skins and balancing normal to oily skins.

Key benefits: Revolutionise your daily cleansing routine with our calming cleanse and smooth face balm. This deliciously fragrant balm is perfect for normal, dry or sensitised skin. It’s packed full of powerful anti-oxidants such as Arctic cloudberry and fine oat powder to soothe, smooth and add radiance to skin, without irritating. The sophisticated mix of pure active extracts such as camellia, kukui nut and rosehip oils with cocoa, mango and shea butters will dissolve daily grime and make-up to leave skin soft and clean, whilst a bespoke blend of English camomile and red mandarin essential oils soothe and soften.

Enhancing the natural radiance of normal to dry skins and balancing normal to oily skins.

Key benefits: Revolutionise your daily cleansing routine with our calming cleanse and smooth face balm. This deliciously fragrant balm is perfect for normal, dry or sensitised skin. It’s packed full of powerful anti-oxidants such as Arctic cloudberry and fine oat powder to soothe, smooth and add radiance to skin, without irritating. The sophisticated mix of pure active extracts such as camellia, kukui nut and rosehip oils with cocoa, mango and shea butters will dissolve daily grime and make-up to leave skin soft and clean, whilst a bespoke blend of English camomile and red mandarin essential oils soothe and soften.

Elle - Malin & Goetz Beauty Travel Kit - Grapefruit Face Cleanser, Lip Moisturiser and Vitamin E Face Moisturiser – I am subscribed to Elle, so it was nice to see a little extra in this month’s issue. The cleansing gel is gentle it purifies without drying and leaves skin balanced, hydrated and blemish-free. I really like to use this with my Clarisonic as it’s great at deep cleansing and leaving my skin feeling fresh. The lip moisturiser helps to keep my lips hydrated throughout the day, it’s great underneath lipstick and also worn on its own as it gives a glossy look. The Vitamin E face moisturiser is suitable for all skin types, its gentle and balances the skin without blocking pores. I like to use this in the morning as it wakes up my skin and is lovely and light underneath foundation.

Also available this month was; Rodial Stemcell Super Food Galm Lip Balm from Red Magazine, one of three Lip Crayons or Black Mascara from Cosmopolitan and a choice of four L'Occitane fragrance samples from Harper's Bazaar.

Did you manage to pick any Beauty Freebies up?

PRODUCT REVIEW - ESSIE NAIL POLISH

I had never tried Essie nail polish before it was introduced into Boots and Superdrug as a diffusion line, a couple of months ago. I had always stuck to OPI or Nails Inc as they were more widely available in the UK. But once I saw the stand in my local Boots, I knew I had to try the popular colours I had been lusting over and the reduced price of £7.99 was more appealing to me and my bank balance.

I know these polishes have been really popular over beauty blogs and YouTube. They may be a tad pricer than the average drugstore/high street nail vanish, but the quality has really won me over. The size of the brush is great, it fits the whole width of the nail and I know this has been changed from the original line of Essie polishes. It does take a few coats to get the required colour that I want, but this is worth it as the staying power is brilliant and lasts a good while without chipping with a top coat. 

99 Mint Candy Apple - This is probably the most popular colour in the Essie line. A true bluey mint green. As you can see from the swatch, the colour is very build-able and is pigmented after about two coats.
77 Chinchilly - This shade is a purpley brown. This is my most wearable colour, and is most suited to me. Another bestseller, and is very pigmented after just two coats.
13 Mademoiselle - This shade is the perfect french manicure nail colour. The formulation is quite sheer, as you can see on the swatch it is still quite sheer after a couple of coats. I would use this colour if I just wanted a wash of colour over my nails to freshen them up.
I will be definitely building my collection of these polishes. They are fast becoming my favourite to use, just because I know the colour is going to last and the formula is great. I have my eyes on the shades Tarte Deco and Cute As A Button.
Nail Wheel from - Solo Beauty Supplies

What Essie colours do you like?

Thanks for reading!x

PRODUCT REVIEW - NO7 FANOMENAL LASHES MASCARA

Fanomenal Lashes is the latest mascara realease from N07 at Boots. As I had a £5 off N07 voucher, I thought why not give it a go. The brush to this mascara is like no other I have seen before. The brush is 'star' shaped and is made up of different lengths which coats with a good amount of  product and combs through the lashes to volumise, lengthen and separate, to create a 'fan' shape around your eye.

I have been using this mascara for a good few weeks now, and it's turned into my go to mascara. The brush does get quite clumpy at the end, but that is easily sorted and doesn't come off clumpy on your lashes. I do really like the way this mascara makes my eyelashes look, and definitely makes them look fuller and longer. I also see no fault in No7 mascara's as some of my favourites include there Exquisite Curl and Lash Adapt wands. I guess mascara is a very personal thing, what works for one person isn't going to work for someone else.

Before Application 

After Application

Personally, I think this is a great mascara for the price. The packaging is also really nice and sleek. The formula doesn't flake or smudge and it really does separate and lengthens lashes. I find the brush quite strange with its short bristles, it takes a lot of getting used to. But the effect is very good, and it is a good, versatile mascara. It is ideal for day wear, but you can apply a couple of coats for the evening with relatively little hassle. Overall, I think it's a great buy. You can buy this mascara from Boots for £12.95, or £5 cheaper if you have a voucher.

Thanks for reading!x

PROUCT REVIEW - SOAP & GLORY RICH & FOAMOUS SHOWER & BATH BODY WASH

Rich & Foamous is the most recent body wash/shower gel from Soap & Glory and fast becoming my favourite to use. I have tried all of the other body washes in the range, but I have got to say this beats them all. Once I knew the scent was Almond, Oats & Brown Sugar it went straight into my basket. If you like delicious, sweet honey/vanilla smelling products this one is for you. But what I would say, is that I think the smell can be a love or hate thing...and for some people they would much prefer the floral scent of the 'original pink' fragrance. 

The body wash itself is really moisturising, super creamy and leaves skin feeling soft and refreshed. The scent does linger on the skin, which I love as it smells so good. I use it in conjunction with The Breakfast Scrub by Soap & Glory, also a 'foody' smelling product. The product contains M-Suds MoistureBoost which makes the formula really frothy and bubbles up when massaged into the skin. Rich & Foamous can also be used in the bath by running a few pumps of the soap under water, which I like to do to create the ultimate bubble bath. 

This 500ml bottle is priced at £6.50 which I don't think is too bad for the amount of product that you get. (Especially when Soap & Glory is on 3 for 2.) Toiletries are currently 3 for 2 at Boots. I would definitely repurchase this product again and again. Soap and Glory please bring this scent out in a Body Butter!!

What are your favourite body wash/shower gels?

PRODUCT REVIEW - NIP + FAB COCONUT LATTE BODY BUTTER

This product is fast becoming my new favourite body butter. This is the first product I have tried from the Nip + Fab range, and so far I am really impressed. The body butter itself is a rich and creamy consistency which claims to soften and hydrate dry, dehydrated skin with 24 hour moisture-boosting hydra concept Aquaxyl.
'Aquaxyl boasts scientifically substantiated benefits to improve the water reserves in the skin, limit water loss and visually improve the surface of the skin.'
The scent I chose was Coconut Latte, but you can also get the body butters in Pistachio Sundae and Mango Smoothie. I am drawn to anything with a coconut scent. The butter also contains shea butter, which you can really smell and stays on you skin, which I really like. It also contains avocado oil which repairs and leaves skin with a healthy sheen, as well as honey which conditions and smoothes. 

I stubbled across this product whilst boots had 3 for 2 across summer products and I'm so glad I chose it, I have been using it for a good two weeks now. At the moment Boots are offering a 1/3 off selected Nip + Fab products, which makes a pot of 200ml only £5.66, (normally priced at £8.49) which I think is a really good deal for the amount of product you get. I'm sorry to say this, but I think It has replaced my Soap & Glory - The Righteous Butter, for now anyway..
Have you tried any products from Nip + Fab?

PRODUCT REVIEW - SOAP & GLORY SUPERCAT EYELINER PEN CARBON BLACK

I've always been really into Soap & Glory products, I love their kitsch packaging and the original pink scent of their 'cult' products really wins me over. I always go back to these products because I know they are going to fulfil their purpose. Since the cosmetic line has been released, I have tried a few of their products including; the kickass concealer and love at first blush - which I love! This eyeliner is my most recent buy, so I thought I would share it with you.

The eyeliner itself is a felt tip pen applicator, this makes it so easy to apply and touch up if needed. I always find liquid liner so messy to apply, and normally find myself with more on my hands than my eye lids. I normally use a gel eyeliner and have also used other felt tip eyeliners in the past like the Maybelline definer pen, but I think this eyeliner is going to replace them all. It is that easy to draw a straight line with, I would even recommend this to beginners because like it says on the packaging, it is pretty 'foolproof'.

My style of eyeliner is really quite simple for daytime, concentrating on either the top lash line or a simple cat eye look. I would probably create a more dramatic cat eye with this pen for night time, and you could just pop it in your bag because it is so quick and easy that you could go from day to night on the go! To be honest, you could create any look with this liquid liner, it is super black, smudge proof and is very easy to take off, simply with make up remover or a face wipe.

I would highly recommend this product, my only worry would be how long it would last before drying out. But for the price you can't really go wrong. Buy Supercat Eyeliner - here for £6.
What are your favourite Soap & Glory cosmetics?