My return to blogging after somewhat of an extended break, has to start with a bit of an apology… I admit I’ve been a bit of a rubbish blogger of late, but life sometimes gets in the way, and it’s easy to get out of the “blogging habit”. Balance is obviously the key, so I’m going to try to blog more regularly, but not to put pressure on myself to do it every day – as I always tell everyone else, blogging is a hobby, not a job!

So, thanks for sticking around if you did!

First post, I need to announce a few giveaway winners…

First of all, the winners for the Garnier Ultralift Creams!

The winners of the full sized creams are – Lori, Shinypigeon, Sarah, Fum, Carole and Danni – I’ll be emailing you all for your details and I’m planning on getting them in the post on Tuesday. Just a reminder that this is a UK ONLY giveaway!

All other entrants (Leah, Nicola B and Shifa) Will all receive trial packs…

EDIT – several entrants to this are unfortunately untraceable – if you entered please email me and I’ll try to ensure the prizes go out to those who are eligible ie in the UK!

Secondly, the winner of the Nails Inc set from Fabulous Magazine…

The winner is Louise. I’ll be emailing you for your details Louise!

Secondly, I also wanted to give a shout out to Ondolady’s blog which you can find HERE – She recently surprised me by asking me if she could interview me for her blog, so I’d love it if you could take a look! You can read my interview HERE…

The lovely peeps at Garnier have kindly provided me with 6 jars of their newly reformulated anti-wrinkle day cream for a giveaway. The cream contains pro-retinol, and makes some impressive claims;

• Reduced appearance of wrinkles, even deep ones.
• Skin left feeling smoother and firmer
• Results from one hour.
• A daily anti-wrinkle range enriched with naturally-derived ingredients

Garnier are determined to back up these claims though – so if you don’t win a full sized jar of cream then I also have 12 trial sets containing a 14 day supply of the cream and a wrinkle reader to monitor changes in the skin’s appearance. 

Righty-ho, after hearing so much about BB creams, I decided to step blindly into their mysterious realms after reading about the launch of Garnier’s version, which happens to be the first one in the UK available on the highstreet or “drugstore” if you will. I first read about this on THIS post by the fabulous British Beauty Blogger, who also tipped me off to it being available ahead of time on Superdrug online (HERE).

So first of all, what IS a BB cream? From what I can gather BB, or blemish balm creams were initally developed in Germany, but garnered a massive amount of popularity in Asian countries. They are becoming huge and are set to be the next big thing – Illamasqua recently launched their Skin Base which has many BB properties, and other high end brands such as MAC and Lancome are set to follow this year. BB creams basically claim to be an “all in one” for your skin – moisturiser, SPF, foundation, primer, anti-ageing, and some also claim to have skin-whitening properties.

Having never tried a BB cream before, I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I had hopes that this would give decent coverage, make me look less like I’d been doing night shifts and have decent staying power…

This BB cream makes the following claims;

• evens tone and boosts glow
• blurs imperfections
• smooths fine lines
• 24 hydration
• SPF 15 UV protection.

Above – another pic of skin before (remind me why I do this to myself!)

Onto the after pictures… thank Gawd!

Above – Entire face after application

Above – Close up of skin after application.

So, as you can see, the cream gives coverage something similar to a tinted moisturiser. It evened out my skin nicely, and cancelled out much of the red blotchiness, and has a dewy rather than matte finish. I also noticed that you can build up the cream by adding an extra layer if you want to… You definitely don’t need moisturiser under this cream either – I made that mistake the first time I used it and it slid off my (dry) skin… So, as far as the claims the product makes I’d say it pretty much delivers…

Negatives? Well, I did notice you have to use a decent amount of product to get the amount of coverage so you might go through the tube pretty fast. Secondly, I think I was kind of expecting a bit more coverage, but thats just a personal thing. Thirdly, there are only two shades available – light and medium, so darker toned beauties will struggle… I also noticed that this seems to “sweat off” my skin pretty easily so I’m still to make a judgement on it’s staying power…

I chose the “Light” shade, and it looks like this;

Above – swatch of product

Above – Product blended lightly on skin.

Having literally only had this cream a couple of days, I feel it’s way too early to give an unqualified “rave review” of it, but I can’t give it a total thumbs down either… I think my final judgement on it is going to have to depend on whether I notice any amazing improvements in my skin with use, as well as how well the coverage this does give lasts on skin – I have a feeling a light layer of this would act as a good primer for my current foundation of choice which is the new Bourjois mineral bronzing foundation mentioned in THIS post…

The Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream is available online now and launches in stores in a few days, and costs £9.99

What are your thoughts? Hope this review helped!

This product was sent to me for review purposes.

Garnier’s new eye roll on is the follow up to their caffeine eye roll on, which comes in a green tube… this one promises to combine the refreshing effects of the original with a tinted mineral based concealer, meaning a two pronged attack on bags and dark circles.

This is available in two shades – I was sent the lightest, ie “Fair Skin Tone”…

The active ingredients in this are Caffeine, to stimulate, and Lemon extract to clarify. 

I have used the original version of this roll on, which I found was nice and refreshing – a pick me up rather than a long term solution to bags though. The same can be said here – the product combined with the roller-ball action feels nice and refreshing…
As for concealing properties, a picture speaks a thousand words…

 

I’m thinking of making these posts a regular feature (each obviously focusing on a different type of product, eg mascara, foundation etc…), so let me know if you find them helpful!

In no particular order…

1. Garnier Hydralock Lotion

Simply the best drugstore lotion I’ve tried that actually gives lasting moisture – If like me you suffer from dry skin, especially on your pins, and especially a couple of days after shaving, then this is a must try! My days of being kept awake by tearingly itchy legs are at an end thanks to this little beauty. Available in two formulas – for dry skin and normal-dehydrated skin. Also its as cheap as chips – a 500ml bottle usually retails for around £4.99 – currently half price in Superdrug, and needless to say I have stocked up heavily – this is a definite HG product for me!

2. Palmers Lotions

The classic version of this is of course the cocoa butter – which is a massive favourite of mine – it smells divine, and really really reminds me of chocolate and vanilla… For those for whom that sounds a wee bit too sickly though, this is also available in an olive version, which is a lovely fresh scent. The cocoa butter version is also available in a version which has SPF 15 – perfect for the British summer… The design of the bottle has also improved lately to have a flip top, rather than the long kneck, which used to make getting the dregs out of the bottle a bit difficult. I’m also a massive fan of their lip butter which I have also blogged about previously.

3. Body Shop Body Butters

A real treat, due to being slightly higher priced than a lot of comparable products, but available in a vast choice of “flavours” and versions for normal, dry and very dry skin. The Body Shop also regularly bring out various “special edition” scents such as pomegranite or cranberry at Christmas, and it’s worth keeping an eye out for special offers online and in the shops to stock up on these – TBS butters are also a celeb fave – Cheryl Cole, Victoria Beckham and J-Lo are known to be fans.

4. Normandie Kieth’s “Moisture Surge”

Available at Tesco’s in the UK (Sorry, I’m not sure about availability outside the UK…). Normandie Kieth is also known in the UK for writing nauseating “yummy mummy” style columns in You magazine, however, unlike her column, I love her bodycare range! The deliciously clean and refreshing bergamot and grapefruit scent is just gorgeous in the summer, and a supermarket bargain to boot. Currently available in 500ml pump bottles (always a bonus!) at Tesco’s on 3 for 2 – the sugar scrub is also a great buy… The range retails for around £5 for decent sized amounts of products.

5. Jergens Naturals

Appealing for all those who like their skin care natural – most of these carry over 90% organic ingredients. Hugely popular in the USA, these have been slow to catch on in the UK, however , they are well worth trying, as a little goes a long way, and they smell fresh and natural too…

What are your favourites?

MizzWorthy x

I was amongst the lucky peeps who got invited to the L’oreal headquarters down in London last night for the Garnier event.

Obviously prior to this a little look round the shops was in order! I was pleased to meet up with Janaka (JJ26) Rebecca (Panda), Cat (Swirled Peacat), Olivia (OliviaCosmetics), and Amy (Lipgloss86), and we were also joined later by Mushine (Bubblegarm). I FINALLY got to have a look round the Beauty Meccca that is Selfridges beauty hall – fab! Although, I have to say I was disappointed by NARS usual problem of never having stuff in! I also called at the Kheils counter too to ask about moisturiser, and was majorly annoyed by the “Can’t be bothered” attitude of the staff who tried to get me to buy a whole skincare regime. I left without anything from them lol! Obviously a little call into the Illamasqua counter was mandatory for me – will post about that separately though!

The actual building the event was held in – L’Oreal HQ – was really lovely – one of those modern, clean and miminalist glass sided buildings… We met up with lots of other bloggers including Kelly (Kelanjo) and Laura (Tallulahbella) who very kindly also offered to rescue me from wondering round London all day too! All the PR people at the event seemed really lovely – They made the effort to come and speak to each of us in person. We also had an AMAZING buffet laid on, which was extremely welcome at the end of a day wandering around London in the heat! I am happy to report that M&S Percy Pig sweets were on the table – my fave indulgence lol!

I was also really pleased to finally meet Natalie, who works for the PR company that organised the event – she was really helpful in the run up to this (and past events), in answering all my schtoopid questions anout booking train tickets etc, so I was really pleased to meet her, and say thank you in person.

After food, we sat down for a presentation re the company, and a breakdown of their products. The speakers all seemed very knowledgeable about the products and were also passionate about the way the company uses science in order to “extract the best bits of nature” – this means that the products are affordable, and natural, but also hopefully effective!

After the presentation we had a little mingle and a chance to have a look at the ranges and talk to the product managers about the ranges…

We also recieved a HUGE bag of stuffies to try and review. The main product we were all introduced to during the event was the new PureActive range. This is targeted at “Problem skin”, and the products claim to tackle blemishes and red marks (which is a first!), and also promise to give results from the first day of use! The range includes a roll on “On the Spot” treatment (if you have the caffeine eye roll on from the nutritionist range then this is packaged in the same way – very handy for throwing in your handbag). There is also a Deep Pore Unclogging Wash, a Blackhead Clearing Scrub, a Spot Purifying Toner and a Spot Fighting 24-Hr Moisturiser. I have enlisted the help of my lovely BF Phil in testing this range as well as trying them out myself – he has acne prone skin, and I have issues with hormonal breakouts from time to time, so it will be interesting to see what he makes of it… He did have a little try of the scrub and the moisturiser this morning and said he thought it was “Good”, and felt “a bit tingly” – which he feels is an auspicious start lol. Will keep you all posted on that one!

We also got a few other bits of skincare to try as you can see – a “Clean Detox” exfoliating wash, a Nutritionist Caffeine eye roll-on and a Pro X anti-ageing moisturiser.

I’m also super pleased that we got some Ambre Solaire sunscreen products. My pale sickly looking skin is NOT made to deal with the sun, and I always wear the highest factor I can get lol! Clear protect, which is my all time fave suscreen – feels totally not sticky, even in high factors. We also got a bottle of the new “Light and Silky” lotion to try out, and I got a couple of lovely bottles of spray on factor 50 (Or liquid lead as my lovely BF calls it – I used this last year on holiday, and it worked very well – I was pleased to come back just as pale as when I went – proof that it works lol – After all suntanned skin is damaged skin etc!).

To combat the paleness, we also got a can of no streaks bronzer in “Light Glow” – I’m going to be testing this out his week too! Also a bottle of my HG everyday body lotion – HydraLock – which I blogged about a couple of weeks ago – LOVE the stuff! We also got some Body Tonic Sugar scrub to try – I haven’t ever tried this one before…

As L’Oreal are also involved with the Maybelline range – we got a few goodies from them thrown in too – lots of mascaras to try. Can you believe, I have NEVER tried Great Lash before! Can’t wait to try these two hair dyes too – Herbashine apparently works in 10 minutes.

Ok – if you have made it this far well done! I just wanted do a few mini-reviews of the stuff I’ve tried so far and love.

First up – HydraLock Body Lotion – I have really dry legs and they itch like mad some times – this is the only product I’ve found that stops this! A bargain too – the 250ml bottle is only around £2.99.

Clean Sensitive Moisture Infusion Cleansing Water – If you are a fan of the Body Shop Camomile eye makeup remover, then I’d reccommend trying this one out – it feels like water and you swipe it over the face on cotton-wool. It removed my makeup well, without making my skin feel irritated, which is a rarity for me with drugstore ranges. I would never have bought this to try, but I’m really glad I got one – def repurchase for me!

Caffeine Eye Roll-On – I really like this, especially in this hot weather. It feels so refreshing and cool, and seems to give a nice temporary lifting and tightening effect – I’m not sure about long term effects, but this is a lovely thing to have in your handbag to perk up your skin when you feel a bit tired mid-afternoon…

PureActive On The Spot Roll on – same packaging as the caffeine roll on. This contains 2% Salycilic acid, which is apparently the highest concentration available over the counter. This promises to dry op spots and reduce red marks (you know those really annoying residual marks after a spot…) from the first day of use. Well, I’ve been dabbing this on my breakout today, and I’ve already noticed a reduction in redness – I’ll keep you all posted on this one too!

Anyone tried any of these products? Any other recommendations?

MizzWorthy x