Bath & Body Works Haul!

 

Hi guys! I thought I'd show you my haul from Bath & Body Works. This was from the Black Friday Sale towards the end of last year. I believe it was a buy one get one free deal across all products, or something similar, because I know it came to roughly half what the full cost would have been. I know it's taken me a while to get this post up, but the silver lining is I've been using the products in the meantime, so I've got some thoughts to share instead of just a look at the products. This was my first real foray into Bath & Body Works. Sure, I've looked in the store before, but I hadn't bought anything.

What I bought:

~ Iced Sugar Plum Ultimate Hydration Body Cream
~ Frosted Coconut Snowball Ultimate Hydration Body Cream
~ Strawberry Snowflakes Fine Fragrance Mist
~ At The Beach Fine Fragrance Mist
~ Winterberry Wonder Shower Gel
~ Merry Cookie Scented Candle

The Body Creams are absolutely amazing! I'm seriously in love with both of these fragrances, in particular the Iced Sugar Plum one. As part of my night time routine I put one of these on right before bed and it's so delightful to hop into bed smelling like an absolute snack! They both contain shea butter and hyaluronic acid and they just melt in wonderfully and absorb quickly leaving my skin soft and nourished. I was worried about buying body moisturiser because I never use it, but the scents are so beautiful that I look forward to applying this every night.

The two Fragrance Mists are nice, but I have to remind myself to use them, as I'm deep in my habit of reaching for my YSL Parisienne perfume if I'm on the way out. I guess I could try using these around the house? The bottles are very big and I think they will last me a long time (especially if I keep not using them lol). The Strawberry Snowflakes Mist is fruity and feminine, whereas At The Beach is fresh, crisp and salty. They are both lovely and I really need to find a way to incorporate them into my daily routine.

I'm absolutely addicted to shower gel, so I was excited to try the Winterberry Wonder Shower Gel. It lathers up well (and thus takes a fair while to rinse off) and smells nice, but it's not as strong as I'd like. I am a little disappointed with it to be honest, and much prefer all the Lush shower gels I bought in the Boxing Day Sale (you can read about that haul here). I put Winterberry aside when my Lush haul arrived (plus what I bought instore) and I've so far finished off a Lush Happy Hippy, The Olive Branch and Dirty Springwash shower gel bottles. I'm now using Lush Snow Fairy, but I need to alternate it with B&BW Winterberry so it doesn't go to waste.

The Merry Cookie Candle is honestly one of the best candle fragrances I've ever smelt, and as such, I'm too scared to use it! I haven't started burning it yet and not sure if I will. Every few days I open the lid and inhale the amazing goodness and just revel in how delicious it smells. I will definitely be grabbing more candles in this year's Black Friday sale, because Merry Cookie is just a joy and I want more!

That's my Haul! Hope you enjoyed reading and have a wonderful week!

Product Reveal: Amazon Beauty Advent Calendar!

 

Hi guys! So I finally got around to photographing the contents of last December's Amazon Beauty Advent Calendar (there's been a lot happening) which means I can now actually use the products. Woo hoo! This was a really fun advent calendar comprising 24 windows to open. I'm quite happy with the varied beauty products although I can't speak to value as it was a Christmas gift, so I don't know what it cost. Let's have a look at the contents!

~ Palmer's Cocoa Butter Hand Cream (96g)
~ OGX Biotin & Collagen Oil Mist (118ml)
~ Natio Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser (100g)
~ Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream (60g)
~ Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water Makeup Remover (100ml)
~ AHC Luminous Glow Real Eye Cream (12ml)
~ Grown Alchemist Gentle Gel Facial Cleanser (50ml)
~ Sukin Original Hydrating Mist Toner (50ml)
~ Jack Black All-Over Wash (30ml)
~ NYX Plump Finish Setting Spray (30ml)
~ COSRX The Hyaluronic Acid 3 Serum (20ml)
~ Wella Fusion Intensive Repair Mask (30ml)
~ Weleda Skin Food (Body Lotion (20ml)
~ Olaplex No 3 Hair Perfector (30ml)
~ Mizon Phyto Plump Collagen Serum (30ml)
~ WeDo Shampoo Bar (25g)
~ Schick Hydro Silk Touch-Up 3 Pack Razors
~ 1000 Hour Bambi Lashes (1 pack)
~ GrandeLash  Peptide Lash Enhancing Serum (1ml)
~ Mediheal Teatree Essential Mask (1 pack)
~ Aimeili Builder Base (10ml)
~ Philosophy Hyaluronic Glow Moisturiser Water Cream (7mg)
~ Philosophy Skin Resurrection Overnight Power (7mg)
~ I'm From Rice Toner (30ml)
~ Hugo Boss Boss Bottled (5ml)
~ L'Oreal Lash Paradise Mascara (Black) (4.9ml)
~ L'Oreal Le Khol Naturel by Paradise Eyeliner (Midnight Black) 
~ Maybelline Falsies Surreal Mascara (4.7ml)
~ Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink in Seductress (mini size)
~ Essie nail polish in Ballet Slippers (5ml)
~ OPI nail lacquer in Esmalte de Unas Nagellack (3.75ml)

There are more than 24 items, because some windows contained multiple products. Which is good considering some of them are mini size! But there are also a few full sized products. Overall I'm really happy with these products as there are some favourites (hello Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Water!), some familiar products I enjoy sometimes and a lot of new-to-me products that I'll enjoy trying out.

Review: Earth:en 4 Step Normal to Combination Skin Routine

 

Hi guys! Recently I was gifted the Earth:en 4-Step Normal to Combination Skin Routine to trial and review on their website, so I thought I'd also post it here in case anyone is interested in the products. I liked these products except for the moisturiser, which unfortunately was a fail for me. Read on for my thoughts!

The Earth:en 4-Step Normal to Combination Skin Routine contains four products; Passionfruit & Pineapple Cleansing Gel - Lychee, Lemon & Finger Lime Refreshing Mist - Mangosteen & Quandong Antioxidant Serum - Papaya & Finger Lime Balancing Moisturiser. First of all, I love the packaging of this skincare range. The white design is simple, clean and elegant and the wooden accents give the products an earthy, modern aesthetic. These products look stylish sitting on my bathroom shelf and beauty table.

The Passionfruit & Pineapple Cleansing Gel uses a pump dispenser, which I really like. The gel itself is clear, with a yellow tinge. I'm enjoying the passionfruit and pineapple fragrance, as I'm a big fan of fruity aromas. I get a nice, gentle cleanse from this, and it leaves my skin feeling clean and fresh, nourished but not dry. I'm also enjoying the gel consistency, as I prefer that texture cleanser over foams, creams and oils.

The Lychee, Lemon & Finger Lime Mist was a refreshing delight when spritzed on the face, especially perfect on a hot Summer's day! I even used this on my arms and chest, and it was effective at cooling me down whilst providing a lovely natural fruity scent to inhale. I used this as a first step in my skincare and makeup routine, as it sinks in nicely and leaves my skin feeling fresh and boosted with a hit of moisture.

The Mangosteen & Quandong Serum has a mid-level consistency and is an off-white coloured serum. The smell to me is herby, earthy and quite strong, but pleasant. This, along with the Mist, are my favourite products from the 4 Step Routine. The serum is lightweight and feels nice and luxurious when applied. It absorbs quite quickly. Although I do like the dropper for dispensing the product, that fact that it's white instead of clear means you can't see how much product you've pulled into the dropper. Results-wise, my skintone looks more even after use, but I'm not noticing any other benefits. However if you're after just a really lovely Aussie serum, you can't go wrong with this one.

The Papaya & Finger Lime Moisturiser is the only product in the line I didn't really enjoy. It has a light, fruity fragrance similar to the other products in the range. It's a lightweight cream, but unfortunately it just didn't want to absorb into my face. I thought it didn't sit well with the mist and serum (even though these products are in a 4 step system and thus designed to work together) so I tried it on my arm that had no underlying products and it still took a very long time to absorb into my skin. It also somewhat separated when I was attempting to rub it in, which wasn't ideal. Even though I'd give the moisturiser a miss, I did enjoy the other Earth:en products in the Normal to Combination Skin Routine line.

Disclaimer: I received these products from Earth:en to review.