REVIEW | Bodymonth Box

About a month ago I was lucky enough to be offered the opportunity to review a new subscription box ... The Bodymonth Box*. This is a unique service in that it caters for both men and women and contains a selection of body care products. Basically, the bits and bobs that you need but very rarely think about treating yourself to. Their tag line is "Work hard, party hard and leave your skin cleansing to us" which I think is a really great idea and for some people I can imagine this being a really helpful subscription box. The prices start at £19/month for a basic box such as the one I've been sent and include a plethora of full-size products. 

As with all subscription box reviews (I've not done one of these for ages!), I will be going through each item and working out the value of the box on the face value. This then can help you decide whether or not you want to subscribe to this service. 

PERFUME SAMPLES

I want to get this out of the way quickly because it's always a pet peeve of mine. I really dislike it when perfume samples are chucked in -UNLESS- they are of a decent size aka, you can get more than one use out of the sample. Unfortunately for me, the only decent sample size was actually a rather masculine 'for him' cologne that has since been given to my boyfriend. I'm not entirely sure why I was sent two female and two male scents when the boxes are supposed to be tailored to male or female anyway. I would understand this if  it was a unisex box but it just seemed a little random in my opinion. 

Because perfume samples such as these can be requested free pretty much anywhere I won't be including any price behind these samples and therefore they will not add to the total value of the box. 

Unbranded Shower Puff - £1.99 (estimated)

This came without a label or brand so I have estimated the price by finding a virtually identical shower puff from Superdrug that comes in at £1.99. I don't really have anything to say about this. It is what it is. Nothing groundbreaking here just a regular ordinary (Swedish meatball... if you get that joke I love you) shower puff. I've had these in the past and they're not my favourite so this has been donated to my boyfriend who now uses it. 

Wilkinson Sword Extra2 Beauty Disposable Razors - £2.55 (now £1.69 at Superdrug)

The inclusion of razors/hair removal was one of this boxes selling points for me. I absolutely HATE buying hair removal products because they are so expensive and it's often something I will be lazy about and use a blunt razor for far longer than I'm happy to admit to. 

But I've got to say, this lets me down a little bit. I was really hoping for a nice razor that would treat my skin right but instead, I was rewarded with disposable razors that are the cheapest of the cheap. I will still use these but they will be travelling razors that I can throw away at the end of a trip.  

7th Heaven Banana & Honey Masque - £1.00

This was something that I was happy to see included. I really rate the Montagne Jeunesse face masks and this one sounds right up my street. When you subscribe to the box you are asked your skin type so I'm happy to see this has been listened to by providing me with a mask suited to Combination Skin. I will look forward to trying this baby out when my face is starting to feel the effects of the cold November air. 

I love... Mango Cheesecake Bath & Shower Creme - £2.99

This is a huge product to open up the box with and I was really pleased to see such a generous product size. I think this is one thing this box does really well. It offers you huge product sizes that will last a good long time. This smells amazing but if you don't like cheesecake you will hate it, it smells exactly  as you would expect Mango Cheesecake to smell. 

Original Source Coconut & Shea Butter Shower Gel - £2.29

Hands down my favourite product from this box. I adore Original Source shower gels and this one has got to be one of my favourite scents. I love coconut in all forms so this is a treat. I also love that Original Source are Vegan, whilst I'm not a Vegan I always prefer to pick up toiletries that are animal-friendly. 

Garnier Ultimate Blends Shampoo Argan & Camellia Oils - £2.79

I find shampoo a risky product to include with any box as everyone has different needs and preferences. I have Oily/bleached hair and a hypersensitive scalp, so this doesn't really do anything for me except make my head itch. Sadly this will be a product that is passed onto my mum as it will suit her hair type much better. I think that if you're going to include a shampoo then there should definitely be a question about what hair type/needs you have to avoid people receiving products that are of no use to them.

Nivea

Powder Touch 48hr Spray Deodorant - £2.29 (now £1.13 in Superdrug)

I'm personally not a huge fan of spray deodorant's but I know that I am in the minority here. This isn't a bad product and certainly fits the brief so I wasn't too disappointed receiving this. It will be an emergency deodorant in case my trusty Mitchum creme stick runs out before I can replace it.

Creme Care Cleansing Cream Wash - £3.59 (now £1.75 in Superdrug)

 I had high hopes for this cleansing cream wash but I'm afraid it left me a little flat. I wouldn't use this as a body wash as it isn't scented and I prefer to use scented body products. It is gentle enough for my face but I just found it a little lacklustre. I have a lot of skincare and I know what works for my skin so this didn't really fill me with joy. But I can again see the appeal if you're not quite as particular about your skin care. It is a good basic face wash and it does what it says on the tin.

Lotion - £2.49 

This is probably my least favourite product of the box. I don't really use body lotions as I favour the richer body butter's from The Body Shop. I did try this out one evening but I just didn't get on with it. I found the lotion to greasy on my skin and it felt like an oily layer was left behind that didn't want to sink into my skin... not pleasant.

As Seen On TV 5 in 1 Beauty Care Massager - £4 (estimated price sourced from Amazon)

This is a product that I was hopeful for but has left me with VERY mixed feelings. Firstly, I should probably address that this is an unbranded product. It claims to be "As seen on TV" but after a quick browse of the website they do not stock this product, so either it's out of production or its a fake. Secondly, both the packaging and quality of this product are flimsy. It's not well made and feels pretty cheap if I'm being honest. The actual heads themselves are okay but they're nothing special. I've only used the brush and the massage ball heads as the two foam style heads and the pumice stone don't particularly appeal to me. I would only use a pumice stone on my heels and I don't really want to use something on my face that has also been used near my feet (does that make sense?) 

The brush head itself is okay. I've used it to cleanse my face in the mornings and I've found it works well enough. However, it is quite harsh on the skin so you wouldn't want to do this daily. The rollerball massage head is fine, it works and I found it massages moisturiser and facial oils into my skin fairly well. Although it's definitely quicker and probably more effective to just do it with your fingertips as you normally would. 

Final Conclusions

All added together the final value of the box is £25.98 which considering I received the £19 box is pretty good value for money. Even after you take out the questionable 5 in 1 beauty care massager it comes to £21.98 so you've still got more than you paid for. However, I do think it's wise to point out that if I was to buy each individual item today (excluding the 5 in 1 beauty care massager) I could get them for £18.12 but as I say that would be without the massager, perfume samples and the complementary Cadbury Milk Tray. 

Overall, I think if you are a student, busy working non-stop or just don't have a huge interest in skincare/body care then this box is absolutely ideal. It is great value for money as I've proven above and I think with the right marketing it could do really really well. 

I would have loved to have seen more "controversial" items in the box. Things like sanitary products in the box marketed for women would have been a welcome inclusion as it's a basic need for people that menstruate and is along the same lines of body care. 

However, I did enjoy this box for what it was, it's a great service to provide you with the basics that are often overlooked and it was a refreshing change from the usual sample boxes. 

You can subscribe for Decembers box here: www.bodymonth.co.uk  

*PR Sample. All opinions are 100% honest and my own. For more details check my Disclaimer*

Tips For A Better Night Sleep

Ah, sleep. A precious commodity that is so quickly lost to the stress and strain of the world. 

Many people including myself have suffered from insomnia, in fact, it can be as many as 1 in 3 people that will suffer from insomnia at any point in their lives (citation).  

So with this shocking inevitability, it is always wise to develop coping strategies just in case that evening comes when you literally can't get to sleep. 

I've suffered from insomnia on and off for around 6 years of my life. So believe me when I say that it is painfully debilitating and can honestly ruin your life in a matter of days. 

I first experienced insomnia when I was in college. I had been suffering from depression and insomnia crept in like a monster waiting on the sidelines to pounce. Just when I yearned to sleep the most, it was taken away from me and I was left tired and unable to cope with day to day living. Desperate, I went to the doctor who recommended something called "sleep hygiene" - the idea being that you set yourself a strict routine before bedtime and don't allow yourself to do anything in bed except sleep. For me this was terrifying. For weeks I had managed to cope by gradually dozing off to the television and scraping around two- three hours of desperately needed rest. But to be told that I needed to turn the television off as it was detrimental felt like taking away my last lifeline. 

I tried sleep hygiene for around a week. It failed. 

I couldn't cope with not having a distraction and being left in a dark room with my already negative thoughts seemed to make everything worse. I was still only managing around two - three hours sleep due to sheer exhaustion and it felt pointless. 

But then as quickly as it came, it went. I was free. I could sleep. I thought I was magically cured. But that's not how insomnia works, like depression and anxiety, it's not really something that can be "cured" instead it's something that ebbs and flows like the tide. 

So needless to say a few years later it came back whilst I was at Uni. For me it seems to come whenever I'm experiencing a lot of stress, it's like a little extra punch in the gut every time I'm overworked and stressed and desperate for a good nights sleep, it doesn't come. 

So over the year's I've developed some coping strategies that I thought I would share with you, even if you've never personally had issues with insomnia, this post may help give you some handy little relaxation tips along the way for your own night-time routine. 

Step 1: Caffeine Free Tea

Something that I do to calm myself down and relax before trying to get to sleep is to drink a soothing tea. My personal favourite is this Calming Tea from M&S which contains chamomile, lime flower & lavender. This is a fairly mild tea and I find it really good at relaxing me for bed. It's naturally caffeine free and doesn't cost a fortune (I highly recommend M&S for their selection of tea!). 

Step 2: Candles

Once I get into bed with my tea, I like to light a candle. The one I'm using at the moment is a Strawberry Buttercream Yankee Sampler. I enjoy using the Yankee Candle Samplers as they tend to last a good amount of time and are considerably cheaper than buying one in a jar. My top tip is to head to ASDA for these as often you can find them for £1 or less! 

I find that lighting a candle and filling the room with a nice relaxing scent also puts me in a good mood to sleep, it really helps to have a relaxing environment. 

Step 3: Journaling

Bullet Journals have definitely hit the world by storm recently and they are certainly a love/hate phenomena. I personally love mine and I find it really helpful to jot down any thoughts or things that are bothering me before I go to sleep. These are usually in the form of tasks or events that I need to remember or complete. Therefore, by writing them into my journal, I'm able to remove them from my thoughts as I know that they are in the journal for me to tackle the following day. Not only does this help me relax but it actually really helps with my productivity and motivation in my daily life. 

Step 4: Reading

So I've got my tea, the candles been lit and is filling my room with its sweet aroma and I've cleared my mind from the daily stresses. The next thing on my list is to sit down and read. Now this is obviously my own personal preference as I'm a bookworm, but even if you are not one for reading fiction I do believe that picking up a coffee table book or even reading some blogs can really help you to switch off from the real world for half an hour or so and just let your daily stresses melt away. 

However, to be totally transparent with you, I've only just been able to get back into this routine as I've been suffering from world's worst book slump and hadn't managed to read properly for a solid 3 months. What I was doing instead was watching an episode of a random show (something I'm not too invested in) on Netflix, I watch through my kindle and have the sound and brightness at the lowest setting possible as to not overly stimulate my brain. This is not ideal but sometimes you need a little distraction to calm yourself down and be at a point where you are ready to sleep. 

That being said, if you are able to, I highly recommend picking up a book and reading a couple of chapters a night, I really find this helps to tire out my mind and my eyes and leaves me feeling really ready to sleep. 

Step 5: Tracking.

Once I'm ready to hit the hay, I like to track my sleep. Quite a few months back I was lucky enough to try out the S+ ResMed Sleep Tracker* which is the world's first non-contact sleep tracker - meaning that you don't need to wear a wristband or leave your phone under your pillow! Simply set this up and connect it to the free phone app and you are good to go. The tracker offers insightful details about your sleep, such as the amount of REM sleep you get a night, and how good your sleeping conditions are. This product is a little pricey as it retails at £129.95 at John Lewis but it does offer invaluable information about your sleeping patterns which can be a real help if you are struggling with insomnia or having issues maintaining a good quality of sleep. It also has a feature that will gradually wake you up in your lightest sleep meaning that it reduces the horrible groggy feeling we can get when we're rushed awake by that god awful iPhone alarm! 

However, if you are looking for some information on your sleep but don't have over a £100 to spend then I also recommend the app Sleep Cycle. Although it doesn't offer the same level of in-depth results and is not as advanced or accurate it does still track your sleep with relative accuracy and also has a feature to slowly wake you up when you are in your lightest sleep between two set times. 

I find sleep tracking really helps to regulate my sleep and I've found that I'm able to fall asleep earlier and wake up feeling fresher after using some form of sleep tracking for a sustained amount of time.

If you've not tried this yet then it's definitely something worth considering!  

So these are my tips for getting a better night sleep! 

I hope this has helped in some way if you are struggling with night time at the moment. It's a really shitty situation to be in and the only thing you can do is find coping mechanisms that help you deal with it. These are mine and they may not necessarily help, but on the off chance that they do I felt compelled to write this post. 

I hope you all have a wonderful night sleep! 

*This product was sent to me for consideration for review. For more information view my Disclaimer

Naked 3 Dupe? W7 In The Nude Eye Shadow Palette

We've all heard of the amazing and highly coveted Naked Palettes by Urban Decay. But most of us (like myself) just can't justify spending £30+ on an Eye-shadow Palette and so rely on the generosity of family members at special occasions. Well now W7 have released an amazingly similar product that dare I say could even be called a dupe and what's even better is that it is a fraction of the price coming in at only £9.99! 

myDermacenter Gift Set

I am a sucker for a bargain, so when I was asked if I would share this awesome deal with you guys I just couldn't say no. This December myDermaCenter have got an amazing deal on their site. Spend £45 on these awesome brands: La Roche Posay, Roger & Gallet, Vichy & SkinCeuticals and you will receive this awesome Deluxe Gift Set for FREE?! This is such an amazing deal and if you know you're going to be purchasing some skincare over the festive season then why not order from myDermaCenter and get an amazing freebie as well!

Not For Your Table: The Roger & Gallet Christmas Cracker.

Beauty themed Christmas Crackers seem to be everywhere this year. From Nuxe to Nails Inc there seems to be a lot floating around and I was lucky enough to receive one from Roger & Gallet to show you guys. 

REVIEW: La Roche-Posay Effaclar A.I

Review: Roger & Gallet Gingembre Rouge Lait Sorbet & Shower Gel

A little while back I was lucky enough to receive the Roger & Gallet Gingembre Rouge Shower Gel and Lait Sorbet Body Lotion*. I love body products and particularly love Roger & Gallets products as I know that I'm getting a high quality product that's going to smell divine and not have any nasties in it.
As expected these products did not disappoint. The Gingembre Rouge scent is divine. I hadn't smelt this before it arrived so it was a pleasant surprise on how lovely this smell is, it's a tad spicy but equally is quite sweet and fruity. I can't describe this scent very well but know that it contains Extract of Ginger Root, Aloe Vera and more lovely plant based ingredients. One thing I adore about Roger & Gallet is that their products are all free from Parabens, Sulfates, Colourants, Soaps and are suitable for all skin types making this an ideal gift for someone as you don't have to worry about it not suiting their skin.

The shower gel is gentle, leaves you feeling fresh, clean and your skin scented beautifully. It comes to a rich lather despite the lack of sulfates and soaps and isn't drying at all.

The body sorbet is a light almost whipped texture and when rubbed into your skin starts to melt into a water-like texture which not only hydrates but skins into the skin quickly. The formula is also slightly shimmery due to "micro-pearls" and leaves your skin looking naturally luminous.

Both products are in the mid-price range retailing at £9.50 for the Shower Gel and £14 for the Body Lotion, definitely the ideal gift for your mum/friends or failing that you could treat yourself to a really luxurious set and maybe even pick up the Eau Fraiche Fragrance for £32 to have the perfect scent layering kit to smell divine and feel great all day!

Review: TIGI Bed Head Blow-Out Cream and Flexi Head Hairspray*

Recently I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to review two TIGI Bed Head products. I've used the shampoo's and conditioners before and have always been fairly happy with them so I was interested to see how these products worked. I was sent the Blow-Out Cream* and the Flexi Head Hairspray* and got to put them to the test for the past month. 

REVIEW: Roger & Gallet Bienfaits Shower Gel

Whenever I want a luxurious product that is going to smell divine I always look to Roger & Gallet for their beautifully scented collection of perfumes, shower gels, hand creams and more! Once again Roger & Gallet haven't failed to perform with this exquisite shower gel. 

The Bienfaits Shower Gel* is enriched with Aloe Vera and is free from nasty sulphates and parabens making it a nourishing shower gel that is perfect for those with sensitive skin. 

Despite the lack of sulphates (commonly used in shower products to create a 'lather') the Bienfaits shower gel still produces a gorgeously rich lather to give you the feeling of really being pampered by this product.

I honestly don't think any other brand does luxury shower products like Roger & Gallet, you really feel spoilt by this shower gel as it leaves your skin delicately scented with mandarin, lemon and bergamot and feeling silky smooth. 

If you want to get your hands on this product you can purchase it here for the reduced price of £6.03 (33% of the full price of £9) 

And if you really fall in love with the scent fear not, you can purchase it as a Hand Cream, Eau Fraiche (perfume to you and me) and Body Sorbet! 

Summer Suncare for your Skin with La Roche Posay!

As Britain is currently going through a rather unusual heat wave, I thought this would be the perfect time to talk to you about the importance of suncare for your skin (especially the particularly fragile and prone to ageing skin on your face!). Now we are all good at putting a factor 30 on when were on holiday but how many of us actually put that on our faces? And if you do spread that little bottle of sunshine on your face then how often does it break you out the next day?  

REVIEW: Roger & Gallet Hand and Nail Balms - Say Goodbye to the Grease!

Seriously. These are THE best hand creams balms that I have EVER tried. 

Back a few months ago I was lucky enough to be sent these gorgeous hand and nail balms by the lovely ladies at Roger & Gallet to test out. 

Annoyingly I've been super delayed with letting you guys know how I got on because of annoying uni things, like endless coursework and exams! However, second year has finished (hurrah!) and I've got all the time in the world to blather on about skincare and makeup to you guys! 

REVIEW: Roger & Gallet - Rose Imaginaire Eau Fraiche & Hand Cream

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know that I have an adoration of Roger & Gallet's Fleur De Figuier. It is my all time favourite perfume, so when I was contacted and asked if I would like to try out their Rose Imaginaire Eau Fraiche I jumped at the chance.

Now I'm not normally taken aback by rose scents, they smell old fashioned and fusty to me so I had some reservations but knowing how beautiful other Roger & Gallet scents are I thought that I would give it a chance, boy am I glad. 

This smells so fresh and clean it is almost hard to believe it is a rose scent. The longevity is about what you would expect from a Eau Fraiche and lasts around 4 hours on me if I am going outside, which is necessarily fantastic but equally it is around what I expected so it isn't a disappointment. 

The hand & nail cream, is luxurious and again smells gorgeous it moisturises my nuisance hands without causing them to react (I have dermatitis on my fingers) and leaves a delicate scent behind. 

This is a perfect fragrance for any girl, if your a lover of floral or not you will love this perfume. It is fresh, light, romantic and beautifully feminine and makes you feel great even on a bad day. If you worried that its a perhaps to young for the more mature lady fear not as it's rose notes tone it down enough to be wearable for any age lady. Even my mum who is a fan of sultry spicy scents likes this fragrance. 

In fact if you're looking for a Mothers Day gift this may be a perfect answer. It feels expensive and exudes luxury but it is remarkably affordable for a perfume at only £32! 

Have you tried this scent?

What are your favourite Roger & Gallet Fragrances? 

*This product was a PR sample however all opinions expressed are 100% honest and my own*

The Nokia Lumia 1520: A Review

Are you tired of taking crappy instagram pictures? Feeling that you may need to get a better phone? Well this may well be your post!

 Last month I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to trial the new Nokia Lumia 1520 for a fortnight! This was such an exciting opportunity that I just couldn't miss it! The Nokia Lumia is a Windows phone, this means it runs on the Windows 8 Operating System. I'm an iphone 4 girl so getting used to the Windows OS was a challenge to start with (especially as my laptop only runs Windows 7!). However once you get used to it, the system is actually pretty cool and makes a
refreshing change to the monotony of the Apple OS.

The Lumia 1520 boasts an impressive 6" screen with 1080p full HD display, making the screen easy to use and full of colour! Something I really loved was the front camera. I find on my (very old) iphone the front camera is pretty sub-par. On the Nokia Lumia it is really really good. Many selfies were taken in the 2 short weeks! 

Not only is the front camera good but the primary camera on the back is amazing! Boasting an awesome 20 mega-pixels this is the phone for any budding photographer! The Lumia also has some interesting features to design and edit your photos that are worth checking out! This camera was definately good enough to take blog photos with and I can imagine it being a fantastic tool for any budding blogger.

However, as much as I liked this phone there were a few things that irked me. Firstly, the Windows OS, whilst it was fun to play around with for a fortnight, I wouldn't replace my monotonous Apple OS for it. I just found it a little bit confusing at times and struggled with the customisation aspect of it. I'm sure if I had it for longer I would have figured it out but it just wasn't as "idiot proof" as I think it should be! Second, the price! I could be madly in love with a phone but I would never pay over £500 for it up front or £33 a month (hence why I'm still sporting my iphone 4!). Lastly, I am a clutz and carrying around a phone that big all day is just asking for me to break it. I'm sorry but I'm just not a fan of big phones but that is a personal thing and I'm sure some people will love it for its size!


Overall, if your looking for a tablet/phone, that is abit different from the norm and allows you to create some amazing photos then this is your guy, however if your easily confused and don't like bigger phones then perhaps it's worth looking elsewhere!

A big thank-you to the people at Microsoft who gave me the opportunity to trial the phone it was great fun! 

I hope you guys enjoyed this post, I know it is different from the norm but I felt that I couldn't pass up such a cool opportunity especially when it may help you out when you come round to finding a new phone!

REVIEW | Elemis: Pro-Collagen Perfection Gift Set.

In December,  I was given the opportunity to review one of the Elemis gift sets that were released for Christmas. As you may know (if you are a regular reader) I am a skincare obsessive and my go-to brand of skincare is without doubt Elemis, so when I was emailed with this opportunity it was impossible to say no!! 

Elemis FreshSkin Review | Skin Clear Face Wash & Treatment Gel, Deep Clean Face Mask & Magical Moisture Face Mask

Hi Guys!!

Firstly, let me apologise for one of the longest blog post titles ever! 

Before I get into the post just a quick reminder that I'm running a Christmas Giveaway where you can get your hands on some Elemis freshskin Goodies and more! Be sure to join! ENTER HERE!!

A little while back, I was lucky enough to receive some Elemis FreshSkin** goodies from the wonderful PR team at Elemis to try out and review, sadly because of the hectic time I've had at uni I just haven't had the time to sit down and write a full review of them until now! It does mean however, that I have thoroughly tried and tested these products and I'm able to give you an accurate account of my experience with these products! 

First up we've got the Skin Clear Purifying Face Wash.
It claims to help refresh and clear your complexion leaving your skin looking fresh and bright all day long!
Ingredients to note are Vitamin A, Zinc, Iris, White Willow Bark, Bergamot, Juniper, Lime, Cucumber, Cedar, Witch Hazel.
It is free from Parabens, SLS, SLES, DEA, Mineral Oils, Artificial Colours & Silicones.
I think this is absolutely brilliant! Whenever I have a breakout or my skin is feeling particularly oily, I reach to this and it cuts through all the oil without stripping your skin and making it dry. It smells super fresh and to really prove how amazing this is my boyfriend will steal it whenever he comes to visit as even he loves it! It visibly improves the appearance of breakouts in just one use and it genuinely does work in clearing up your skin! I honestly cannot fault this product.

To use along side the Face Wash we have the Skin Clear Treatment Gel.
It claims to help reduce blemishes without over drying the skin.
Ingredients to note are Salicylic Acid, Zinc, Vitamin A, Witch Hazel, Iris, Bergamot, Cedar, Lime, Cucumber, Juniper.
It is free from Parabens, SLS, SLES, DEA, Mineral Oils, Artificial Colours & Silicones.
I think this is pretty good, I would probably give it a 7 out of 10 as I actually find the face wash better at preventing spots, but I do enjoy using this when I've got a particularly nasty blemish as when it is used before bed by the time you wake up in the morning the blemish is visibly reduced. The one downside to this is that its pretty strong stuff and if you get it to near to your eyes the vapours do start to make your eyes water, so this may not be ideal for sensitive skin types!

Finally, we have the FreshSkin Face Mask Duo-  Purifying Face Mask (PF) & Quenching Face  Mask (QF).
It claims PF helps to draw out impurities and refine your skin, whilst the QF delivers instant moisture boost to dry skin and helps to soothe.
Ingredients to note PF: Natural Clay, Vitamin E, Frankincense, Goji berry. QF: Plum, Sweet Almond, Aloe Vera, Cranberry, Apple, White Lupin.
It is free from Parabens, SLS, SLES, DEA, Mineral Oils, Artificial Colours & Silicones.
I think that firstly these are both really lovely face masks for what they do. The Purifying Face Mask is a thick clay mask that is a little scary at first but once you've applied your generous sachet, left it for 10 -15 minutes and washed it off (no harsh scrubbing required this comes off easily with a wet warm flannel) it leaves your skin feeling soft, supple, and really clean. The Quenching Face Mask, is another thick creamy mask that smells fruity and has the consistency of a super thick body lotion. I can't say it really makes a noticeable difference to my skin but it does leave my face feeling super nourished and is a lovely treat once and awhile. One qualm I do have with this product is however, that at this current time you cannot buy these masks individually, which is such a shame as I do love the Deep Clean Purifying Face Mask and would love to have it in a nice tube rather than the sachets which I tend to waste about 1/4 of the product as I don't need the whole sachet to cover my face.


Let's hope Elemis sort out the Face Mask dilemma and continue to produce these truly effective products for the Teens to 20's market!

I hope you enjoyed today's post and liked the new style of review, I shall be sticking with this format from now on in as I feel it gives you guys a more accurate description of the product other than "the packaging is pretty and it smells nice!" 

Thanks for reading!

** These products were sent to me by Elemis PR for consideration of review, all opinions are 100% honest and my own. 

Wednesday Haircare: REVIEW - Sleep-In Rollers

Hi guys!!

Firstly I cannot apologize enough for the lack of posts and failed promises to post recently! I have had such little motivation to write even though I have so many posts ideas ready to be typed up! Also if you follow me on twitter you will know that I received my A-Level results on Thursday last week, thankfully I got into my first choice University Canterbury Christ Church! So I've been occupied with sorting that out and making arrangements for various Uni related things so as you can imagine I've not been in the blogging mindset!

But anyway, i'm back and I really am going to try my hardest to write everyday, not just for you guys but for myself as well as I love it :) 

A few months back I was contacted by the lovely Chloe from CAN Associates to test and review Sleep-in Rollers. As you may or may not know, I have very long hair and this makes curling and trying to create any form of volume almost impossible. I had heard of Sleep-In Rollers before but admittedly never really looked into them, however, after abit of background research I decided to take her up on her offer and test these bad boys out. 

I received the Glitter Rollers Gift Set - Available Here - £29.99*. It is basically the exact same product as the original rollers but with glitter to make them a bit more fancy. Personally i'm not sure how glitter makes it worth about £5 more than the original kit when the only noticeable difference is the way they look but nevertheless it's a nice touch. 

I have very long hair with a tiny bit of natural wave in the lengths and it is always flat on top no matter what I do to it. If by some miracle I do get volume into it in the morning, within an hour it's back to being as flat as a pancake.

So with the claim of a comfortable night sleep, all day volume and curls I was expecting alot from these little beauties! 

Here is my hair in the evening, before I put the rollers in, as you can see its pretty flat on the crown but has a slight wave in the lengths. (also please excuse the make-up free face!!) 

This is about two hours after the first picture. It took me three attempts to get these in my hair so that they would hold properly and by that time I was really tired and pretty irritable. These are not that easy to get in long thick hair on your own, especially if you've never used rollers before. Be warned that the first time you use these, it may take a few attempts to get the technique right!

This is the finished result, I was expecting more of a curl but I actually loved this result, it felt really soft and light. My hair lasted like this for about half a day, but to be fair this is probably my own fault as I didn't use a mousse (I will do next time though!). 

One thing I will comment on though, is if your a light sleeper or struggle to get comfortable in bed then I would personally not try to sleep in these. It took alot of moving around and shifting from side to side to get comfortable on my pillows and I ended up waking about 3 times in the night (I never wake up in the night usually). 

Overall, these are not the most comfortable product to use and I wouldn't be using these every night. But, that being said, I really do like the results I get from these and I would definately use them in the daytime if I was going out in the evening and wanted some extra volume!

Have you tried Sleep-In Rollers? How did you get on with sleeping in them?

*I'd like to thank Chloe from CAN Associates and Sleep-in Rollers for giving me the opportunity to review this product. This product was sent to me as a PR sample to review, all opinions are my own and 100% honest feedback from my experience.