Current Soap&Glory Faves!

Hi there!

Now, I am a self-admitted Soap&Glory Junkie through and through, and if you don't know who they are then I don't know where you've been! I am a huge fan of their skincare items, their make-up range and their shower and body-care products. So whilst I was having a reorganize of all my products in the bathroom, I decided to narrow down my favorite S&G products to my current top three! Now, let me tell you, it was difficult! 

So, without any further ado, here's what I'm loving at the moment.

So we'll start off with 'Peaches and Clean'. 

Now this is described as "A 3-in-1, wash-off, deep purifying, milky-creamy face cleanser with super T-zone decloggers." It is supposed to remove your make-up effortlessly and re-energize your complexion in two minutes with the use of Peach and Goji Berry extracts which are rich in antioxidants and Quillaja Bark which is a natural cleansing agent derived from a Chilean Soap Bark Tree. 

The formulation of this product is spot-on! It is not too thin that when you're trying to massage it in to your face it becomes slippery and slides out of your hands, nor is it such a thick consistency that you feel like you're trying to rub butter on your face! It is a perfect balance of the correct thickness and consistency that I personally look for in a cleanser.

This is recommended to use in the evening to remove your make-up. It removes 99.9% of my make-up easily and without having to rub my skin too much, however, although it states on S&G's website that is will even remove Waterproof Mascara I do struggle sometimes getting it to remove mine if I've worn it. But personally, I rarely use this near my eyes at all as I suffer from very sensitive eyes and so most of the time I stick to my Garnier make-up remover for anything around my eyes.

As well as using this of an evening to cleanse my skin of my make-up, I also use it in the morning when I wake up. I do this as I often wake up with my skin feeling tacky or greasy (as I suffer from rather bad oily skin) and so I use this to purify my skin of any dirt, unclog my pores of any nastiness and re-energize my skin.

Now when it comes to the smell of the product, I know loads of people that love it but also loads of people that hate it. The cleanser itself smells like Peaches, just like the name suggests, and I personally think it smells absolutely beautiful! However a lot of people I know have commented on how it has too strong of a scent or how the scent could be slightly nicer. It all boils down to personal preference, as some people love scented products, and some people would rather use fragrance-free. I do not see the smell as a negative point with this.

Although you can not see the consistency of the product in great detail here, you can see somewhat that it has good body to it and that the formulation is creamy but yet not slippery and thin.

The packaging of this product is good, as it allows you to see how much cleanser you have left as the bottle is just made of see-through plastic. Another factor that I personally love is that you can undo the bottle and remove the pump to get the last dregs of the product out. I hate it when you're running low on one of your favorite skin care items but you can't get to the last of it because you can't open the bottle or container up, it's a massive pet hate of mine as you've spent money on something so obviously you want to use it all up!

Overall, this has become one of my staple skin-care items with me using it daily, some times twice. The amount of product you get is good, and it lasts a fair amount of time. 'Peaches and Clean' retails for £8 for 200ml and can be purchased from Boots over here in the U.K. However S&G products are often either on offer as part of 'Buy one get one...' promotions or with a third off of their retail price, so you can often pick them up cheaper than the recommended retail price.

This is how the cleanser looks when you rub it on to damp skin, you can see the milky texture it has. After working it in to your skin all you have to do then is rinse it off with warm water and pat your face dry. Your skin will instantly feel cleaner and more energized.

Next on my list is the 'Sugar Crush Body Wash'.

This is a new staple in my Bath and Body collection, having received it at Christmas as part of the S&G 'Yule Monty' gift set. If you're unaware of S&G as a brand, every Christmas they release a gift set which contains 9 (That's right I said 9!) full sized products in it. These range from skincare to bath and shower products and even some bits from their make-up collection. My sister and I each receive one as a gift from our Mum every year, and when you're living on a student budget like myself it's a perfect gift to get. I think it's great that they put such a collection together, firstly because the price you pay for the amount of products you get is outstanding! And also it gives you the chance to try out so many different products and find out what you like the most.

Sugar Crush is described as "Soap&Glory's super fresh Sugar Crush Body Wash (which doubles as bath bubbles) mixes mouth-watering Kaffir limes, sparkling lemons, sweet vanilla musk and coconut oil. Energizing, revitalizing- it's an instant wake up call for tired minds and bodies."

The first thing I must comment on about this is the smell. It is what I imagine heaven smelling like! When you use this in the shower or the bath it smells just like you are washing yourself in Key Lime pie or a Lemon and Lime Cheesecake. The scent is so sweet but yet it manages to not be overpowering. I would definitely class the smell and feel of this on the skin as a wake up call! The two of them coupled together are very invigorating. Another great thing about the scent of this product is that it lasts on the skin for a fair amount of time. I've had people comment on what perfume I'm wearing when all I've done is shower with this a few hours before.

In terms of the consistency of the product and how much to use, I have found that it is somewhat thin, meaning that you have to use quite a bit of it to get a really decent and soapy lather. Now as I have only ever used this in the shower, I can't really comment on how this product works when used in the bath. On their website, S&G do say to "lather a good handful" of this product up. I've found a 'good handful' to be between 10 and 15 pumps, which I know loads of people will say is a lot of product to use, but it's just how much I've found lathers the best.

The science apparently behind how this makes your skin feel so invigorated is the use of 'CoolCapsule', which cools and refreshes your skin, something I can only imagine is similar to the way shower gels such as the Original Source Mint Shower Gel makes your skin tingle.

Some people have commented on the fact that although this body wash is described as 'Fresh and Foamy' it does not technically foam up. In my opinion I think that it's better that it produces bubbles rather than foam, as they go at lot further and feel much nicer on the skin.

Overall, this has easily become one my favourite shower products (if not my favourite!). It has a scent that leaves you feeling refreshed and a handful of product produces a ton of bubbles. You get 500ml of product in the bottle, and once again you are able to open the bottle up to get out the last remaining bits to make sure that nothing is wasted! Sugar Crush retails for £6.50.

And last but not least, we have 'Hand Food'.

A good hand cream is something that everyone should carry around in their purse or their handbag, especially when the weather is cold and your hands need a little bit more loving to stop them from being dry. I have a collection of hand creams ranging from the lower price point right up to slightly more expensive ones, but the one that I always gravitate back to is the S&G 'Hand Food'.

The three main things that this product contains that help to make your hands feel so soft are Shea Butter, Macadamia Oil and Marshmallow. These three ingredients work together to soften and smooth hands that are chapped, sore and just generally suffering.

No matter what time of year it is, I will have one of these living in my handbag. One of the great things about this hand cream is that one rubbed in to your hands, it sinks in almost instantly! There is no greasy residue left and you can carry on with what you were doing before straight away without having to wait for the product to sink in.

After a few days of using this often, you will most definitely see a difference in how soft your hands feel and look. And from the three images below, you can see how the cream looks straight from the tube, when beginning to be rubbed in to the skin and once it has sunk in

Straight from the tube.

How it looks when beginning to be rubbed in.

The product settled in the skin.

There's not much that you can really say about a hand cream other than does it do it's job and how does it make your hands feel. Overall, Hand Food leaves my hands feeling soft without having a greasy feel to them. It smells of S&G's 'Pink' scent which I have trouble describing. If I were to try I would say that it is light and sweet. 

Hand Food retails at £5 for 125ml, however it is also available in a travel size for £2.50 for 50ml and also a pump-action bottle of 250ml for £7.00. The pump bottle would be perfect for those who work at a desk and often find themselves needing soften their hands.

So that's it for my current top 3 favourite Soap&Glory products!
Would you like me to review any more? What's your favourite S&G products? Which ones aren't you so keen on?

Thanks for reading!
Robyn 

xox

O.O.T.D Feat. Discipline Skateboards! 19/01/2014

 Hey Guys!

Today has been a little bit of a doss-day for me, but I needed to run out and grab a few bits so this is what I wore.

What I'm wearing:
Cardigan- Primark (Currently in the sale)

Jeans- New Look (£19.99)

T-shirt- Discipline Skateboards

Green Frilly Socks- Primark (£1.50, available in so many colours!)

Black Vans (Battered beyond belief!)- Schuh 

Tan Satchel Bag- Primark (£9)

These Jeans are super stretchy and soft, and they don't go baggy after a few wears which is my number one pet hate when it comes to jeans. They're a really good length too which means you could wear them tucked in to boots or you could roll them up to wear with flats or trainers. 

This T-shirt is one of my absolute favourites that I own. It was kindly gifted to me by the lovely guys behind the company Discipline Skateboards back in the Summer of last year, and I wear it to death. This is the OG Team Tee, and it's available on their site either in this B&W style or Tie-Dyed! What's great about the Tie-Dyed version is that no two are alike! So your Tee will be a completely unique patten! These T-Shirts are priced at only £15 a piece including postage and packing, and for a Tee that's printed by hand by the company itself, I think that's a fair price to pay! If you're looking to support your local skate scene, check them out.

I teamed my outfit with this bag from Primark, which I love because (although you can't really see it in the picture) it has some lovely Rose-Gold detailing. It's a really soft material and it hasn't cracked or had any colour transfer on to it like a lot of my cheaper bags do.

Although my faithful Vans are falling apart at the back, I don't have the heart to replace them or throw them out, so for now I'll carry on wearing them in to the ground! I think they look more feminine teamed with these cute frilly socks which I picked up from Primark.

So that's what I wore today!

What's your favourite lazy-day outfit? Do you have an item of clothing that you should probably bin but don't have the heart?

Thanks for reading!
Robyn

xox

You're making me blush!...

Hi Everyone!

Well, I've got my first week back at Uni out of the way now, so it's time to blog! I had a clear out/reorganise/general rummage through all my make-up the other day and came across some pieces that I haven't used in ages! So I've made a promise to myself to shake up my everyday make-up look now and use some products that I have neglected over the last few months. 

One of the pieces that I rediscovered was this beautiful Blusher by Sleek. I was kindly bought this by my boyfriend back in October for my Birthday, and wore it pretty much every day for three weeks on the trot. But then I went back to my pretty much slap-dash make-up routine and this was kept for "best". 

But as soon as I found it again I remembered every single reason why I love it! The colour, the pigmentation, the way it feels on the skin and how easy it is the apply it, there is nothing I don't like about this product.

The shade of this Blush is Rose Gold. It is a beautiful peachy/pink with shimmer that works well on many different skin tones. The shimmer in it is not overpowering and reflects the light beautifully to make your skin look illuminated. 

You'll have to excuse me for the state of the packaging! All of my products get a lot of love, and so the cases and packaging can start to look worn quite quickly!

But also relating to the packaging, I love the way that Sleek present and package their products. It is very minimalist and gives off a luxury feel to a very affordable piece of make-up. The Blusher compacts also have a mirror inside of them, which means this product is great for carrying in your handbag if you often need to touch up your make-up throughout the day. Some of the product can get on the mirror when the compact is closed, but you can easily wipe that off!

The product itself is a long-wearing, highly pigmented and flattering colour. You can easily build it up depending on how strong of a look you're going for, but you're definitely not going to end up with rosy dolly-cheeks as soon as you put it on! This shade and the shimmer in it reflect the light that hits your face really well, giving you an illuminated look but without making you look so sheeny-shiny that it hurts!

This Blusher will not mask your skin or make it look cakey, nor does it sit in your pores. It sweeps over your skin just giving you a delicate shimmery glow on your cheeks. It has some really good staying power, but if you're often out of the house for long periods of time and you find that you require make-up touch ups often then you may wants to carry it with you as it won't last the whole day on the skin.

Overall, I think this is a great product. I own a few Sleek items, and I definitely rate their face products highly out of everything. I love their Blushers along with their Contour Kits and Corrector and Concealer Palette too. What I like most about this Blush is the colour. I tend to shy away from pinky-toned Blushers as I feel like they make my face look even redder than it already is and can make me look too flushed. However, the combination of a peachy undertone and the shimmer, means that this is no longer a problem for me!

If you're looking to invest in a new busher, or have been looking for a decent Rose Gold toned Blush, I would definitely check this out! You can find Sleek products in Superdrug over here in the U.K. They are very affordable in my opinion and last a long time. Their Blushes retail at £4.49 a piece, but they also do a product called 'Blush by 3' where you get three Blushes for £9.99!

Have you tried any Sleek products? What do you think of them? What's your favourite?

Thanks for reading!
Robyn

xox

 

'Prairie Charms' Mystery Box!

Hi Guys!

At the end of December I became aware of a company called Prairie Charms. I had seen a few other bloggers tweeting them and so I checked them out . I found out that they were working with bloggers to showcase their pieces, and for a small fee you would be sent a selection of products worth far more the amount I ended up paying. All of the items that they were sending out were tailored to the styles, colours and favourite themes of those who contacted them. So your Mystery Box was bespoke, tailored specifically to you!

My order arrived today, which I was extremely impressed with as it had been sent on the 30th of December. With it being the New Year period, I expected my parcel to take a little longer to arrive, but to my pleasure, it landed in my lap today! I was very impressed with how quickly Prairie Charms sent out all their orders to the bloggers involved.

I must say, the packing that they sent my items in was beautiful! As you can see it was a fuchsia pink, foiled and metallic-style postal bag. I can only assume this is how they send out all their orders, and I think it is incredibly cute and makes a change from the usual black/blue/grey bags that online orders arrive in. 

When I opened up the package I was quite pleased to see that my order had been wrapped up in tissue paper, instead of the products just being loose inside the bag. I was happy to see this because it showed a lot of care on the company's behalf and also meant that the items were less likely to be damaged or broken during transit than if they had been if they were rattling around inside the bag.

Now that I could finally see my items I was getting very very excited!

As soon as I opened the final packaging I knew I was going to love the items I had been sent. There was a range of colours, patterns and styles which is great as it shows a company with great variety. I had specified to Prairie Charms what my favourite patterns and colours were and they had hand picked from their range of products specifically for me.

The first thing that caught my eye in the package was this green bow that had been wrapped separately to avoid damage. This is the 'Gia Bow' on their website. I think the patten and material of this bow is absolutely gorgeous. And the clip on the bottom which you would use to secure it to your hair is secure and sturdy. One thing I would commend Prairie Charms for, is the build-quality of their products and how well made they are. They are 100% worth the money you pay for them, and you can tell that there is a lot of care and attention to detail that goes in to making them every step of the way. 

All that I needed to do with this Bow was fan the sides out a bit and it was ready to wear! The material that it is made out of is stiff enough so that it holds it shape, but not so stiff and strong that you can't mould it.

This pattern is just absolutely gorgeous, and I personally feel like it would look great worn in any hair colour!

The clip is secured well to the Bow itself, and when I tried it in my hair to see how it looked, it didn't budge from where I clipped it! The clip is strong, but it doesn't tug at your hair or hurt your head. Perfect!

The next thing that I saw in my parcel was this super-cute glittery heat headband. It's simple, but a statement piece. It looks absolutely gorgeous worn in your hair in a variety of styles, and it's not gawdy or overpowering which is great! This is the 'Leila Glitter Heart Band' on their website.

The different sized pieces of glitter and sequins give this headpiece dimension and make it beautifully reflect the light. This piece is available in three different colours from their website, which are Poppy Red, Peacock and Purple. 

Once again, the design on this headpiece is secured well and doesn't feel flimsy or like it may fall off. It looks great worn with your hair up or down, and this will definitely be cropping up in my future outfit posts!

This next piece is the 'Vanessa Retro Headband'. As soon as I had photographed this headband, I was wearing it! I fell in love with this almost instantly. The pattern, the feel of the material and how easy it was to manoeuvre it and place it in my hair were all contributing factors to why I enjoy this piece so much. It came pre-tied, so I was kind of able to see from that how to tie it again myself.

This headband is available in two more designs. The 'Cara' style and the 'Victoria' style. I definitely think I'm going to invest in the 'Victoria' at a later date, as it's a beautiful pattern. But I can honestly say that out of all three of the designs, that I am super happy that I was sent this one! The somewhat muted shades do not stand out too much, and I would wear this day-to-day.

These next few photos show the details of the headband and the pattern a bit more close up.

This next item is one of their 'Rania Headbands', which are available in a pack of three consisting of the colours 'Mykonos Blue', 'Koi Orange' and 'Cerise'. I was sent the orange shade. This is a miniature version of their Retro Headband Wraps, which are also fitted with wire so that you can bend them in to your preferred shape to style your ponytail or your top-knot!

The material is 100% cotton and so this makes the headband soft and doesn't tug or pull at your hair. I found this easy to use when I experimented with it. I have always found it difficult when it came to wire headwraps as I was always worried it didn't look right, but when I tried this on I got my desired look almost instantly!

What I really like about the material that has been used to make this, is that the polka dot pattern is actually in the material. It is not a transfer over a plain material, nor is it painted on. This means that the polka dots will not wear off should they rub against the hair or you wear the headwrap often. And so this means that your headwrap will always look in tip-top condition! 

Prairie also popped a sweet-treat in with my order! I always find it cute when companies do this. I've had this done with orders from other places before, and yet it always manages make me smile when I see it drop out of the bag or find it tucked away at the bottom of my order!

All in all.
Overall, dealing with 'Prairie Charms' was easy, and they are great at conversing with and replying to their customers! I had responses within at least 20 minutes whenever I tweeted them.

Their products are 100% handmade, and you can see that care, attention to detail and love has gone in to manufacturing everything that they sell. As well as the overall quality of their products, the range of things that they sell is good. Stretching from floral crowns, headwraps, bows, cute bobby pins and some incredibly adorable hair clips.

One thing that I really must mention is that 10% of all profits made from their sales go toward the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital Charity and the 'Kiss it Better Campaign'. These are two charities that work towards providing care and treatment to children that require it, and work towards providing these children with a better quality of life. It makes me happy to see an independent company donating their profits to such well deserving causes.

Once again, when it comes to the products that I was sent, I am extremely impressed and will definitely be purchasing from this company again! And if you're in the market for some beautiful, quirky, retro accessories, I would highly recommend that you check them out!

You can view their store here at http://prairiecharms.storenvy.com/ 

Thanks for reading!
Robyn 
xox

Mini Sale Shopping Haul!

Evening!

I popped in to town today and picked up a few bits, so I thought I'd make a mini-haul blog post out of it. One of the things is a re-purchase, but the others were a couple of treats from the sale in Topshop, and the other is a new product to try out! So here's what I got today!

I picked up a pair of the 'Martie T Bar Geek Shoes' in Silver from Topshop. I love this style of shoe, and I had originally gone in to the store with the intention of picking up the Red pair which I knew were in the sale, but unfortunately they didn't have them (sad face). They had the Mustard coloured ones, although not in my size (double sad face). I hadn't seen the Silver ones when I was browsing the sale online, but when I saw them in store I fell in love with them! 

They were £32.00 full price, with them ultimately being knocked down to £15.00 and then £10.00 with me finally getting them for £9.00 with my student discount. BARGAIN!

They have a rather solid sole which is really good as they feel like they won't wear through quickly. And they also offer a lot of support to the foot itself.

I really like how the t-bar part of the shoe is somewhat adjustable. I have quite narrow feet and ankles, and so with the adjustable t-bar I feel like the shoes are really secure. I'm extremely happy that I managed to pick a pair of this style shoe up from Topshop, as I have heard they are extremely comfortable! I look forward to styling them!

I popped in to Superdrug as I needed to pick up some more of my Garnier 2 in 1 Make-up Remover. It's a really great product, and removes even waterproof make-up easily and without needing to pull at your skin and tug at your delicate eye area. I suffer from quite sensitive skin, but this works wonders!

I also recently ran out of my St Ives scrub, which I use religiously every other day. And although I planned on getting some more today, I saw the Garnier Pure Active Charcoal Scrub sat on the shelf and decided to pick this up instead.I have heard really good things about Charcoal scrubs and about how apparently they work really well with oily and spot-prone skin. I am yet to use this product, but once I have I will definitely be reviewing it! The 2 in 1 Remover is normally £2.99, and the Scrub is normally £4.99. However, currently Superdrug has a third off of their Garnier products! And so I ended up paying £1.99 and £3.29 for these. 

Now on to the final thing that I picked up today. I was riffling through the Skirt sale rail in Topshop, and stumbled across this little gem. It's a pastel yellow, corduroy-style skater skirt. I had seen this in the mid-season sale a few months back, and almost bought it. The only issue was it had some really dirty marks on it that wouldn't have come out at all. So I decided to leave it. I was prepared to pay £10.00 for it back then, but when I saw how much it was today I almost did a little happy dance on the spot! The label said it was £3.00! So this means that after my student discount was applied, I got this £34.00 skirt, for £2.70. I am magic!

There is the slightest discolouration on the waistband near the zip, but I am completely ignoring this as it's unnoticeable and the Skirt was a major bargain! I really like the feel of the skirt and am once again looking forward to styling it. I think it's quite a spring/summer piece, and so I may save it until then.

So that's what I picked up today on my trip to town! I have been quite reserved with my sale shopping this time around as I'm going to New York in February and so am trying to save all of the money I can for fabulous beauty goodies from the states!

What's your greatest bargain been from the sales? Have you been impressed or dissapointed with them this time around?

Thanks for reading!

Robyn

xox