An October Beauty Haul: Lush, Sephora and more

Well I guess this is what happens when you don’t go shopping for weeks. I finally went to the mall last week after my list of things I needed buy got a bit too long. I did get a bit caught up in Bath and Body Works, but otherwise it was a successful outing. Today, I wanted to share with you my latest purchases and the new releases currently in stores.

First up is Bath and Body Works, I originally went only to get new hand sanitizers but I let myself be tempted into a few more things. I first pickup 3 PocketBac Sanitizing Hand Gels in Crisp Morning Air, Winter Wonderland and Sunlight andApple Trees, I love how these smell amazing and don’t leave your hands feeling sticky. I told myself I would not buy anymore candles because I have quite a few already. However the new fall/winter scents were so nice that I decide to get two of the Mini Candles in Sweater Weather and Frosted Cranberry. These are tiny but a great way to experience new scents without investing in a large candle and I love how they now come with little lids just like the bigger ones. Frosted Cranberry has been a favorite of mine for years, the light fruity scent is lovely and different from typical holiday scents (it’s very fresh). Lastly I got a Nourishing Hand Cream in Crisp Morning, this scent is my favorite from Bath and Body Works, it is just so light and crisp, I wish they did a candle in this. To be honest, this is no my favorite hand cream because I don’t find it very nourishing, but it works as a quick fix and the smell is just divine. 

Next I hit up The Body Shop to get a bottle of my trusted Tea Tree Oil. I always have it to use as a spot treatment, it works brilliantly. Continuing with the skincare, I stopped by Sephora to get a new favorite of mine: the Caudalie Lip Conditioner. This is an amazing lip balm, I was not blown away at first but once you go through the waxier top layer, you get a super nourishing and moisturizing balm. It is in my top 3 Caudalie products and it is also surprisingly affordable. As I was about to pay I noticed Sephora had a cute little mini set of the lip conditioner and a mini hand cream that retailed for the same price as the lip balm alone. Who doesn’t love a great Sephora Bargain. 

Last but certainly not least, I stopped by Lush with no other attention than just having a look at the new releases (mostly the little golden Halloween pumpkin), but as always I couldn’t leave empty handed. For some reason, I was really craving something sweet smelling so I went for the Yuzu and Cocoa Bubbleroon to get loads of bubble and relax with the light and sweet scent of oranges and chocolate. The other thing I picked up was the Snow Angel Luxury Bubble Bath, this smells like marzipan and turns your water into a super moisturizing soak that doesn’t leave your skin feeling oily. They are both so lovely, I might have to go back for more!

So there you have it, my most recent purchases. There is actually also an amazing organic (and affordable) body lotion, but I forgot to take a picture of it. It’s in my bathroom because I’ve been using it every day. I promise you’ll hear about it soon. So, what new things did you get recently or what is on your must-buy list of the moment?

The Body Shop Bubble Baths and Shower Gel in Wild Argan Oil and Honeymania

When I first hauled these goodies from The Body Shop last month I promised you reviews. Well that time has finally come, so read on for my thoughts on The Body Shop bubble baths and shower gel.

First of is the Wild Argan Oil Bubbling Bath (here), this produced loads of fine bubbles that are super fluffy and make your bath feel luxurious. For me though, what really elevates it to a whole other level is its amazing scent. It is quite hard to describe, but it smells very spa-like and warm. The whole Wild Argan Oil range has the same enveloping fragrance, making it super relaxing and a must on my list. The Radiant Oil from the range might make its way to my bathroom very soon.

Next up is the Honeymania Bubble Bath Melt (here), a product I was super excited to try because it has the same feel and texture as real honey. After you scoop out this goopy gel and put it under running water, it creates big fuffly bubbles. The bubbles produced by this are similar to what you would get from other bubble baths so it is a bit different from the Wild Argan Oil one. Scent-wise, the Honeymania fragrance is amazing. It is sweet and floral at the same time and the notes of honey just add something special to it, making quite intoxicating. In a way it reminds me of honeysuckle (even though it does not smell like it) because it has that same perfect blend of floral and sweetness mixed together. This is a really fun product to use and you only need a little at a time so it should last you longer than other bubble products.

Lastly is the Honeymania Shower Gel (here), it has the same amazing scent has the Bubble Bath Melt and produces a nice rich lather on the skin. I have always been a fan of The Body Shop shower gels because they feel nice on the skin and are never drying. In fact, my skin typically feels smoother than usual when I use them. The Honeymania is a favorite scent of mine, but all the other ones are great as well.

I hope this was helpful if you were thinking of getting these products. You can find them all on The Body Shop website and in any of their stores. 

A Bath Haul From The Body Shop

So I went to The Body Shop today and let’s just say I let myself be tempted by a few products. Honestly I blame it all on Lush, I was just going to get a bath bomb but they were closed due to a computer problem. So off to The Body Shop I went and their amazing sale was too hard to resist.

The first thing I got is the Wild Argan Oil Bubbling Bath (here), it smells wonderful (slightly floral and warm) and I am hoping it will turn my bath into a luxurious moisturizing soak. I have high hopes for this and from the look of it, it could be a winner. I will let you know how I get on with it soon.

Next was the Honeymania Bubble Bath Melt (here), as you can see I am on a bubble bath kick here. This luscious looking product smells incredible, I love its sweet and floral honey scent. I have been looking at this for a while now and I am super excited to see what kind of bubbles it is going to create.

As I mentioned, the store is currently having a buy 2 get 1 free or buy 3 get 3 free products, so I also picked up the Honeymania Shower Gel (here). I really enjoy The Body Shop shower gels, they lather nicely and leave my skin feeling soft. The Honeymania is definitely a collection to look into, it smells amazing and is also unique in term of scent. 

Lastly, I picked up one of their Paddle Hairbrush (here) with a bamboo handle for my mom, she gave me one a while ago and I love it. It does not tug on my hair and you can get a good hold of the handle. I do not really know why, but this hairbrush performs better than others I have used in the past and I think it will be quite long lasting. This one was not part of the promotion because it is already on sale and you can get it for only 6$.

You can get all the products from any Body Shop stores and on their website. Also, have a look at the sale there are tons of great products at great prices. 

What's in My Beauty Travel Bag

I went on a trip recently for my graduation and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share with you all what I like to bring in my beauty bag. Skincare is very important to me when travelling because you never know when your skin might freak out and it’s nice to have everything you might to get things back to normal. Full disclosure, I brought quite a few things this time because I wanted to relax in the hotel and have options.

First we have haircare products, I tend to decant mine into smaller bottles and I’m very low maintenance with my hair. The dry shampoo is a must though because my hair can get a bit oily when I travel (not sure why).   

        

- Colab Sheer Invisible Dry Shampoo in London (reviewed here in New York scent, but this one is lovely too, very fresh and sophisticated)

- Clear Total Care Shampoo (here)

- Clear Total Care Conditioner (here)

- Kérastase Ciment Thermique 

For my body I just bring a scrub and a lotion, the hotel’s soap and shower gel are usually fine. I typically like their lotions too, but I wanted to bring something nice with me just in case and this mini tube did not take up a lot of space.

- St-Ives Blemish Control Apricot Scrub

- Crabtree and Evelyn Rosewater Body Lotion

Lastly, here’s everything I brought for my skincare routine, including extra treats like masks and patches in case a pesky spot decided to show its face. It  might look like a lot but honestly everything fit into my travel bag and most items are quite small. Samples and minis are always super useful so I love stocking up on them.          

- Shu Uemura Anti/Oxi Skin Refining Cleansing Oil

- Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser (here)

- Innisfree Eco Safety Aqua Daily Sun Gel SPF30/PA++

- Indeed Laboratories Hydraluron

- Innisfree White Tone Up Sleeping Pack

- Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner (here)

- Innisfree Green Tea Balancing skin

- Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Lotion

- Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum (here)

- Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Cream

- Laneige Water Bank Eye Gel (here)

- Innisfree Green Tea It's Real Squeeze Mask (here)

- Innisfree Volcanic Pore Clay Mask (here)

- Primera Peeling Facial Intensive

- Ren Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask

- The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil (here)

- Innisfree Bija Anti-Trouble Spot Patch (here)

I hope you enjoyed this little insight into my travel beauty bag and that it will help you when you need to pack for a future trip. Out of everything, the Innisfree samples were the most useful so I highly recommend you try out a few. You can read more about them here. I have linked every product I have reviewed and you can purchase all the products from different retailers since none of them are limited edition. 

The Body Shop Tea Tree Range: Tea Tree Skin Clearing Lotion and Tea Tree Oil

Hello everyone, this week has been very busy which explains the lack of posts, but the upcoming weeks are going to be crazier so hopefully I can get back on track with my writing this weekend. So to get us started, I decided to talk about a must-try skincare line for anyone with combination/oily skin or suffering from breakouts: The Body Shop Tea Tree range.

Tea tree oil is a great natural antiseptic that works wonders in skincare. From personal experience, I found that it helps soothe the skin and heal any blemishes. On recurring spots the antiseptic properties come in handy, making it a great treatment. The Body Shop Offers an amazing range of tea tree oil based products (see them all here), but their lotion and oil are my favorites with a special mention going to the face wash (here).

The Tea Tree Skin Clearing Lotion is a lightweight lotion that provides light hydration while helping your skin get clearer. I love using it when it gets hot outside because it keeps your skin matte without leaving any residue or feeling powdery. It does make your skin clearer by healing exciting blemishes, but it does not dry out your skin. Depending on how my skin feels, I also like to use this as a spot treatment instead of apply it all over. If you have dry skin, I recommend doing this because I don’t think this will provide enough moisture on its own. The only downside is the size, it comes in a small tube so you don’t get a lot, but it is quite affordable.

The Tea Tree Oil is the most basic version of the ingredient you can get and this little bottle is something I am never without. I have never used a better spot treatment, one drop is all you need and it leaves no traces on your skin so you can use it under makeup. I apply it directly to any spots and it tones down redness, reduces their size and heals them faster without causing any irritation to the spot or surrounding skin. I cannot recommend this enough, the results are astounding and if that isn’t enough, it’s super affordable and the bottle while last you ages.

You can find The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Lotion and Tea Tree Oil from any of their stores and on their website (Lotion, Oil). 

Recent Beauty Buys: May 2015

Hello everyone I hope you are all doing well. With summer almost here, I have been trying really hard to declutter my beauty bags and finish up products. Obviously the first ones to go were some of my favorites so over the past few weeks I have been replenishing my stash. Off with the old (goodbye face mask that’s 3 years old) and in with the new.

First of all we have the Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner (full review here), I went without this for a while and boy did I miss it. This gentle toner exfoliates your skin to leave it brighter and more even toned. For me daily usage of this helps fade any little red marks left behind by pesky spots.

Continuing with the same goal of more even skin, I finally purchased a full size Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser. I used samples of this for over a year so I never had to actually buy. However, I was recently left sample-less and this was too good not to have again. It’s a light gel cleanser with exfoliating particles that leave me with fresh feeling skin in the morning. It’s truly a lovely product and it gives you smoother skin while still being gentle enough for daily use.

Next I needed to repurchase The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil, a tiny bottle of magic as far as I’m concerned. One drop of this applied to any spots helps tone down redness and makes them heal faster. Also unlike less natural spot treatments, this oil does not dry out the surrounding skin. It’s an amazing product that I’m never without and its small size makes it easy to take with you when travelling.

Lastly I have a new hair product that was picked up on a whim after seeing it on a few blogs: the John Frieda Beach Blonde Sea Waves Sea Salt Spray. I’ve never had much luck with salt sprays, I think my hair is just too long and heavy for them. However this looked interesting and I think it might be nice to give some texture to my hair or simply make it look nicer after a day by the pool.

So there you have it, a quick look at my most recent beauty (re)purchases. I really like reading this type of posts because they show true favorites. Have you purchased anything new recently? Any must-have summer products I need to get my hands on? I would love to hear from you.