Month: May 2014

YOU Beauty Discovery CEW(UK)2014 Limited Edition Beauty Box Review #YBDCEW

Beauty boxes always catch my eye. There is something about receiving a box full of beauty gifts once a month and the anticipation of what will be inside that reminds me of Christmas. And we all love Christmas.

I have tried a few different beauty boxes and liked them all but didn’t love them. So, when I was sent the YOU Beauty Discovery CEW(UK)2014 Limited Edition box (#YBDCEW) to review, I was quite excited to see what they have to offer.  In celebration of the CEW(UK)2014 Beauty Awards, YOU Beauty Discovery joined forces with Cosmetic Executive Women (UK) to bring this limited edition box packed full of products from the finalists. Worth almost £100, the box contains some quite impressive brands and at only £16.95 it is definitely worth a try.

YOU Beauty Discovery CEW(UK)2014 Limited Edition Beauty Box Review #YBDCEW

YOU Beauty Discovery CEW(UK)2014 Limited Edition Beauty Box Review #YBDCEW

What is in the box?

  • Elemis Pro-collagen Marine Cream, 15 ml
  • Caudalie Divine Legs, sachet
  • Dr. Organic Moroccan Argan Oil Hair Treatment Serum, 100 ml
  • GlamGlow Youthmud Tinglexfoliate Treatment, 15 ml
  • L’Occitane en Provence Almond Milk Concentrate, 50 ml
  • Manuka Doctor Mini Hero Ket, sachets
  • Philip Kingsley Elasticizer, 40 ml

Overall the beauty box is more than worth the £16.95 price tag. It is full of quite premium brands like Elemis that offer a little luxury but also fairly new names like GlamGlow.

Manuka Doctor Bee Venom Face Mask Review The Dr. Organic Moroccan Argan Oil Hair Treatment Serum actually comes full-sized and Dr. Organic is a brand I’ve used before. Firstly, the packaging. I love it. It’s a beautiful glass bottle that sits perfectly on my beauty shelf. The directions state to put this on towel-dried hair. However, I did do this the first time and it left my hair feeling rather greasy. The second time I stuck to how I normally use Moroccan Argan Hair Oil and that is by covering my whole head in it and leaving in over night before washing off the following morning. I tend to do this once a week as a sort of leave-in conditioning treatment. And it works really well for my hair.
Another product that I loved is the L’Occitane en Provence Almond Milk Concentrate which smells delicious and left my skin moisturised and soft. The blend of silicium and almond proteins, which are similar to collagen, effectively fights skin slackening by restoring skin’s support tissue. I’ll definitely venture into the L’Occitane shop and purchase a full-sized version.
The Philip Kingsley Elasticizer is something that I didn’t see any use for in my daily hair regime. But once used, I was converted. This is the world’s first pre-shampoo conditioning treatment and Philip Kingsley’s hero product. Healthy hair stretches when wet before returning to its original length when dry. Before shampooing, I worked through my hair with my fingertips and left on for 10-20 minutes. It left my hair feeling light and healthy.
Manuka Doctor Bee Venom & Manuka Honey Skincare Review The Manuka Doctor bee venom range caught my eye straight away. Bee venom in a facial cream is always something I’ve wanted to try. It sounds kind of wrong, which I love. Out of the set I have only used the Rejuvenating Mask so can only comment on this but it is pretty amazing. This deep penetrating skin renewal treatment contains a unique combination of Purified Bee Venom, moisturising Manuka Honey, Avocado Oil and Vitamin E. Its unique formulation deeply nourishes the skin, stimulating collagen growth and renewing damaged skin cells. GLAMGLOW YOUTHMUD TINGLEXFOLIATE TREATMENT GlamGlow is a brand I have been watching for quite a while. When a new hero product takes over the beauty blogger world I am quite sceptical. Is it a product they have all bought and genuinely love or something they have all been sent in a mass-marketing campaign? Well, I think it is a combination of both. It is a mud mask with a difference and the tingling effect made me believe that it was working magic on my skin. While I didn’t see instant results, after the third time of using this my skin was radiant, glowing and soft. Although I am not quite sure it is worth the £49.99 price tag for a tiny little tub. I am undecided on this one.
Nonetheless, I have loved trying the products in this beauty box and highly recommend it. You can purchase the YOU Beauty Discovery CEW(UK)2014 Limited Edition box online for £16.95.

10 Things I miss about uni

You know those annoying links to pointless and unnecessary stories that always appear on Facebook? Well, one actually inspired me today. 10 things I miss about uni.

I was a University of Birmingham student from 2005 – 2008 and while there are a few things that I don’t miss, there is a lot that I do miss, everyday:

1. Living in a shared house with girls completely different to me but so similar in other ways. We laughed, cried and shared an amazing experience together. It was so much easier to meet new people and make friends at uni. This, I do miss.

2. Daily naps. I was the queen of naps, whether it was at 12.30 in the afternoon or 6.00 in the evening. They were an integral part of my uni lifestyle.

3. Pre-drinks. No-one does better pre-drinking than a student. Pre-drinks often included hair in rollers and my friend Shreena playing MUA for a bunch of tipsy girls. Too much fake tan, short hemlines and high heels in a judgemental-free zone. Amazing.

4. Fancy dress. Playboy bunny ears and hot pants to fairy wings and even superman pyjamas; fancy dress epitomises uni nights out.

5. Junk Food. I remember in the space of 24 hours we ate pizza at 2am after leaving a club, followed by an all-you-can eat Chinese buffet the following lunchtime and an Indian takeaway later that evening for dinner. We ate £1.05 chicken and chips and £1.99 huge pizzas. It was bad for us, we knew it, and we loved it.

6. Using my brain. Last-minute essay writing in Strathcona, researching using BOOKS  in the library and not the internet (although Wikipedia came in useful occasionally) and actually learning from theorists like Edward Said. Not relying on the Daily Mail for lunchtime reading. Yes, this is definitely something I miss.

7. The emergence of Facebook. While I was in the first year of uni, Facebook was growing in popularity in the UK. However, at this time users joined the site as a student and we were differentiated by the university we went to. It was essentially used for uni students, not mums, dads, great aunts and distant cousins. I liked this time.

8. Money wasn’t real and we had a complete lack of responsiblity. I never looked at money like it was real, it was simply a way to fund my student lifestyle. This was particularly evident when student loan day came. Although this is not to say that we didn’t work – I had part-time jobs in the first and second year. I thought they were ‘hard work’ at the time. Little did I know what real life would be like.

9. Cheap as chips. Everything cost half the price as a student – food, living costs, clothes, nights out. From £1 vodka red bulls at Vodbull to 20% student discount at Topshop, life could still be good on a student budget.

10. Procrastination. There was always something to do, people to see, a book to read and an essay to write.

 

 

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Review

For years I have associated Elizabeth Arden with ‘older’ ladies for two reasons. The price, as let’s face it, the range of products are quite expensive if you use them daily. And secondly, the rich consistency. I just always thought that a twenty-something didn’t need products with that much mositurisation. My naive nature has taken a step back. Elizabeth Arden Eight 8 Hour Cream Gift Set Winter Essentials Blog Blogger Review My sister-in-law kindly gifted me the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Winter Essentials Kit for Christmas which comes in a gorgeous red patent box. The set includes: Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Intensive Moisturizing Hand Treatment 30ml, Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant 30ml, Elizabeth Arden Eight hour Cream Lip Protectant stick, and moisturizing Eight Hour gloves and socks.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant is the most nourishing moisturiser I have used. I have applied to the following:

- Acne scars (which have reduced)
– To calm my sore, irritated skin after HD brows
– Around my hairline when psoriasis attacks 
– On my nose after a horrid cold
– As an intensive moisturiser before going on a plane

However, the gel-like consistency is a little too rich to use as a facial moisturiser for my combination skin and the unpleasant scent reminds me of antiseptic. Forgetting the negative points, it really is a great multi-purpose skin protectant and I will purchase a full-sized tube once this one has finished.

The Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant stick is also something that I already need to repurchase. Most lip protectants come in a tub or a plastic tube but this one is packaged like a lipstick. I used this all Winter and for the first time my lips haven’t cracked. I also love the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Intensive Moisturising Hand Treatment but it’s not as ‘special’ as the skin protectant. Yes, it does work as a good moisturiser but I think I prefer Laura Mercier hand creams for the scent.

Next on my list to try from Elizabeth Arden is the Eight Hour Cream Sun Defense for Face SPF 50.