Sleeping Beauty | Oils of Life Sleeping Cream by the Body Shop

 

The older I get the more I'm buying into the whole anti aging thing. I remember being what 16 or 17 years old and thinking everyone was exaggerating when they said you're never too young to start a good anti aging routine....well let me tell you something past Hannah, PREMATURE WRINKLES! In fact past Hannah you're already something like 10 years behind so you're doomed already! And now it's time to try and scrape it all back, starting with my skincare.

You guys already know from my post on the Oils of Life Facial Oil that I love the Oils of Life range, and in fact I only recently repurchased my beloved facial oil last month along with which I was lucky enough to be given a whole plethora of samples, funnily enough including the very sleeping beauty cream we'll be chatting about today.

The Oils of Life Sleeping Cream functions pretty much as the jar suggests, as a cream to apply lightly to your face at night, so you can awake a with a silky, smooth, freshly pressed face minus any creases (other than those you'll get off the pillow!) After trying a very generous sample, which lasted me 2 weeks, from the Body Shop themselves I decided the cream was for me and took the plunge on a pretty massive pot only last week. The cream was quite sticky in texture but was very lightweight and absorbed into my skin in no time at all (so no goop on my pillow, score!) and it smells lovely too! But the real test was the morning....well a few mornings really because I ain't expecting an overnight cure for my mug.

After a week or so of applying the cream every night, well every night I remembered, the condition of my skin had dramatically improved. Not that I'm particularly prone to spots, but my skin looked visibly brighter, didn't feel as rough or dry as it had been and my pores looked smaller (call me crazy but they do!) I've been chuffed so far with the results, and I was more than pleased to invest in my rather large jar, especially since a tub a thimble size managed to do my moon face for 2 weeks!

Have you ever tried anything by the Body Shop Oils of Life range? How did you find it? Share your picks and Body Shop finds with me in the comments below, I always love trying new products and finding brand new things to spend those hard earned dolla's on! As usual though you can catch my ironed face on the usual channels, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and of course more from the blog on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, ironed, plump and crease free.

H.Elizabeth x

The Body Shop | Oils of Life facial oil review

How doust I live without thee, one would like to know! Every time I finish one of my much loved beauty products I do tend to channel a little LeAnne Rimes, because honestly, how do I live?! And that is just the emotional roller-coaster I boarded when my favourite, show stopper of a facial oil ran out last week and it ain't even pay day!

Now if you're an avid reader you'll know that way way back in around October I attended a beauty bloggers event at my local Body Shop where I got the chance to sample their then brand new spa range as well as test out a few new upcoming products, i.e. their fresh nude foundation which I am still a strong advocate of! There I came away with what you could call a plethora of products, from exfoliators, to foundations, bath potions and lotions and of course this, my Oils of Life rejuvenating facial oil.

Admittedly when oils first became 'a thing' in the beauty sphere during the last year or so, I was sceptical, I felt like it was the chance for big corporations to jump on the bandwagon and try to sell me a product I simply didn't need, and oil on my face? Come on guys sometimes my face already looks like a slip n slide and I didn't need anything helping that along. But despite my cynicisms I gave it a bash anyway, and guys... it has CHANGED MY LIFE... or, well at the very least my face!

It's a common misconception that facial oils are only made for people with normal or dry skin but this isn't the case at all, in fact one of the main reasons you'll find you have oily skin is because your body is creating more and more as it doesn't have enough, enter facial oils. Oils of life could really help balance out your skin, whether it's not enough oil, an excess of oil, or if you're just looking for a more luxe treat for your skin, you've come to the right place!

With a natural origin of 99% and infused with 3 seed oils from across the globe, (black cumin, camellia and rosehip) the product has a super lightweight, luxe feel to it that doesn't leave your face feeling sticky or in need of a good wash afterwards. Now whether or not this really does reduce the signs of ageing remains to be seen, but I can tell you I have successfully moved house, survived Christmas and all of the family / work dramas under the sun without gaining a single wrinkle. Coincidence? I think not!

For me this works best just after cleansing, so I cleanse with a balm in the morning, put on my oil and then follow with my usual moisturiser / primer / make up routine, and again in the evening just after I shower. I find the oil helps my moisturiser sink into my skin that bit better and I don't have to wait as long to jump in with my usual make up faves. And speaking of make up, mine has been sitting better than ever since investing in an oil so #noregrets!

If you're thinking of investing in a good solid facial oil, the Body Shop have got you covered and I just love the service they provide in my local at least. I walked away previously with a new skin care regime, that admittedly I did tailor a little when I got home but nonetheless felt very content with following their suggestions.

Until next time folks, that's it from me and my wrinkle free (for now) face!

H.Elizabeth x

Face Off with the Body Shop | Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter

Who doesn't want to slather butter all over their face on a nightly basis in the name of beauty? To be quite honest as a former 'fat kid' that's kind of my idea of heaven and thanks to the Body Shop my dream has become my reality, now I've just got to tick off giant edible gingerbread house and I'm all set for life (another job for the Body Shop?) Move over micellar, get out of the way cleanser it's all about balms, butters and basically the ability to melt your face off.

As you guys perhaps deduced from my last couple of posts my beauty routine has had a serious ice bucket challenge wake up call through these last few weeks. This is namely due to my shameful overuse and abuse of make up wipes which dried out my skin so badly that my face looked worse than nuked (yes nuked, not naked) Superman (comic / movie geeks know what I'm talking about!) And what would you know, the Body Shop held the answer!

I'm sick of Micellar waters, and I'm so over using a separate eye make up remover, it's costly and I always feel like I'm wasting so much product, not to mention damaging the skin around my eyes with rubbing! Enter the Camomile Cleansing Butter. The product retails at £13, which at first I thought was a bit expensive, but I have been using this for a couple of months now and I've only just hit pan! It comes in a 90ml round tin, smells divine and is designed with all skin types in mind. So there's no need worry if you're excessively dry, overly oily, extremely sensitive or you're just a hoverer like me, the forumla is designed to be gentle enough to suit everybody, and bonus, it can be used to remove all types of make up, that's right even waterproof mascara!

To remove your make up you rub your fingers into the product to warm it up and get a little on your hands, and you basically rub it all over your face and melt your make up away. Now at first I got in SUCH a mess, honestly I looked like I was set to go to war or I had just come back from a day of chimney sweeping, needless to say this was not the smokey eye look I was going for! But all of the trauma is short lived when you wash it all off in the sink and marvel at just how much product you had on your face that day. There's something that is just so satisfying about seeing how much make up you've had on your face all wash away in the sink (not so much when you think of how much it all cost though!)

What I love about this product is that it has made something I used to consider a chore a more enjoyable experience and it's so so quick to do it honestly takes less than a minute, and eye make up? GONE completely. My skin isn't dry anymore, it isn't red or rough from constant rubbing with pads, it feels much softer, and after using this product it smells fantastic (not that my skin had a particularly unpleasant aroma before!) I highly, highly recommend purchasing the Camomile Cleansing Butter at least once in your life I implore you people, and if we're friends IRL come to my house and give it a go!!!

I hope you have enjoyed yet another peek into my new updated skincare and beauty favourites, if you'd like me to do something that's a little more specific for example a look into my skincare routine, a look inside my kit at my go to skincare products then please do let me know in the comments below. Otherwise you can catch me on the usual channels Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and of course the blog on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, butter me up boys!

H.Elizabeth x

The Perfect Match | The Best Foundation for Pale Girls

Now I know I'm a little prone to exaggeration on this little corner of the internet but today please regard me with the seriousness afforded to those who don't quite so frequently cry wolf as I'm about to let you in on the mother of all beauty secrets and the product of all products to end the struggle we pale girls face on a day to day basis. That's right ladies and gents, I'm about to share with you the best foundation for pale girls in the whole wide world... well you know a little exaggeration never hurt anyone right?

I remember the sadness I felt as I squeezed the remnants of my MAC foundation from the tube as I realised it was yet again that time of year where I'd be forced into searching for a new foundation, I suppose it's a little like a break up that you didn't quite see coming. First you don't want to believe it's true and you try and squeeze those last few cosy, fuzzies from the relationship in order to salvage the relationship and romance, but at the end of the day you knew what this was and it's over before it has even begun. So you're thrust once again into the badly lit department stores under fluorescent lights desperately searching for the one in a sea of colour swatches and scary looking Clique and Clarins counter carnivores who really don't give a toss if your face matches your neck as long as you look good under the lights of their Debenhams store, who cares right? So you go home empty handed, off colour and quite frankly disappointed. 

But, much like fate intervening, it's only when you stop looking that it hits you square in the nose, and eventually all over your face (okay I'm speaking about foundation now) that you find your perfect match.

I never expected to find my perfect match just sitting there at a Body Shop bloggers event, in fact at first glance I had pretty much written the poor pot off, to me it was just another store attempting what the 'real' make up counters of the world have on offer, but as the ladies at the Body Shop were so friendly and professional I thought I would keep an open mind, and ended up walking away with around £60 worth of products (woops!) One of which being their brand new Fresh Nude Foundation in Chelsea Porcelain 010 (their lightest shade in case you were wondering)

You could say it was love at first swatch really, and the more I heard about this foundation the more I knew that it was the one for my face. With you choice of a dewy or matte finish simply from your choice of application this little gem can carry you through season to season, I prefer a dewy finish as it gives your skin a beautiful glow in winter without making you look all wet and sweaty. Despite the coverage claiming to be light to medium I have found you can really build it up with very little product at all, which I have found to be perfect for people like me who are looking to cover their face without reducing myself to a Halloween mask. Unlike with MAC products this doesn't dry out my skin, I don't have to use half as much primer as I used to and since it doesn't budge all day I go through so much less product, so you could say I'm saving money... right?

Not only is this foundation a god send for my skin and a perfect match but if you like you could purchase their new Fresh Nude brown and white droppers, so if your skin is a little more tan through the summer you simply add a drop of the darker shade, or more pale in winter add a drop of the lighter shade. Now I know, I know this is probably something that has been around since the times of yore but seeing as I have just heard of it now I think this is a beauty revelation due to change the face of the make up industry forever!

The foundation itself retails at £15 which for a product of this versatility and wear-ability in all seasons I really don't mind paying, particularly when you consider the same product could cost you double somewhere else! Since purchasing this foundation I have found I'm far more open minded to companies who are perhaps not immediately known first hand for their make up brand because there are some real gems out there as beauty bloggers are discovering with the newly founded H&M make up range (which STILL hasn't arrived in Aberdeen unfortunately)  but I'd love to know what your favourite 'odd' beauty brands are or even your favourite Body Shop product is. Be sure to leave your top picks and secret weapons in the comments below, come share them with me on Twitter or if you'd like to see more of my perfectly matched face you can follow Granite City Girl on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, Netflix and chill with my perfect match!

H.Elizabeth x

Ditch Dull Winter Skin | The Body Shop Vitamin C Microdermabrasion

Throughout the summer I get freckles, I suppose we can call it a Scottish tan can't we? During the summer I may suffer with hayfever but my skin never feels better, my skin feels more hydrated, looks brighter and just feels great. Fast forward a few months or rather a couple of weeks given the length of the Scottish summer in comparison to winter and it's a different story. My freckles have faded, my skin looks grey and I'm just not drinking as much water as I really should be, and this happens every year, like clockwork.

So when I visited the Body Shop in Aberdeen's St Nicholas Centre a couple of months ago and explained my impending skin problems I was handed the holy grail of hydrated, healthy skin in the form of their Vitamin C Exfoliating Facial scrub. As the name suggests the scrubs key ingredient is Vitamin C, commonly known as the sunshine vitamin and can be found in citrus fruits like oranges, but you know rather than eat an orange from time to time I'd prefer to smother them all over my face! 

The scrub does exactly what it says on the tin, gently buffs away dead skin cells leaving skin feeling soft and smooth as well as giving your skin a refreshing summer glow and over time can improve your skins texture and overall tone. And a small bonus point? It smells amazing! This scrub strikes a great balance between being an abrasive and gentle scrub with micro particles and crushed garnet making up the abrasive texture of the formula, but it might still be a little too much for sensitive skin types. The beads are very fine and can get a little messy but as I use this product in the shower before cleansing it really doesn't make a difference but it's something to consider for the traditional morning rush.

Since I began using this scrub I have noticed a difference in my skin tone and texture, it's simply smoother and brighter, the effects seem to be lasting a little longer than the more 'fashionable' scrubs I have used in the past and I'm looking forward to seeing when the cold weather really sets in just how well the scrub can hold up. Though this scrub is a little more pricey than the usual high street brands retailing at £15 for a 75ml tube a little goes a long way, all you need is a pea sized amount for each use so you will get the good out of the product.

Keep your eyes peeled throughout the winter months on my instagram for a new, fresh summer face, or a dried out one from scrubbing too hard, only time will tell! What is your favourite winter skin care saviours or even your favourite Body Shop products? Be sure to leave them in the comments below, come share them with me on Twitter or if you'd like to see more of my radiant / dried face be sure to follow Granite City Girl on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, rubbing oranges on my face for winter.

H.Elizabeth x

Body Shop Aberdeen | Bloggers Evening and Skincare Haul

Coming back at you today with yet another Aberdeen Bloggers event, myself and the girls from the #Abzmeet group were invited along to the Body Shop in Aberdeen's St Nicholas centre to test out their new range of spa products as well as their oils of life range and their exciting foray into flawless foundation! Needless to say as a lover of all things spa, beauty and just product really I was so excited to go along for the evening and get my learn on. Admittedly the Body Shop is not somewhere I usually venture just mainly because I have a tendency to stick to what I know skin care wise and never stray too far from my typical Boots and Lush products, but I knew myself it was time for a revamp!

We were introduced to the team at the Aberdeen store and they explained we would each get time with their three experts, one from the spa range, one from skincare and one from the make up team. As there was only three of us able to make it we each had a considerable amount of time with each of the ladies and were given advice tailored to our individual needs and skincare requirements which was brilliant and so informative. We got to try out pretty much all of their new products, my personal favourites being the new spa range which has all sorts of smelly, goodies and loveliness for you to get your hands on, their oils of life which make your skin feel unbelievable and their new foundation which I may even do a separate post on because it is a thing of wonders (am I exaggerating? NO!) 

Instead of today bending your ear on all the intricacies of my own skin and the ins and outs of what we tried on, what worked, what didn't work, I just want to share my haul of products I came away with on the evening, how they benefit my skin and how they might benefit yours if you're skin type is similar to mine. 

Honey and Milk Bath Mix
When I got a whiff of this from their spa range I knew I had to have it, and given that we will have a bath in our new home I am so excited for this to become my go to relaxing bath scent! The formula leaves your skin feeling hydrated, moisturised and all manner of silky smooth. The mix was inspired by Egyptian Queen Cleopatra who used to bathe in milk to keep her skin in tip top condition. So if this mix is going to leave me looking anything like the late great Liz Taylor I'm all for it.

Oil of Life (pictured above)
Okay so like many of you ladies and gents out there I struggle with dry skin, particularly at the moment with the colder weather coming in. I leave my house in the morning hydrated and looking alive but after facing the elements and the general day I'll left with unattractive dry patches showing through my foundation and I'm in need for a little TLC. This is why I have invested in a facial oil, I have been seeing these everywhere lately, these babies are the new face serums. You put this on before you go to bed and after your shower in the morning before you use your moisturiser, it basically preps your face for moisturising and helps your skin to absorb the product a bit easier. 

Vitamin C Microdermabrasion

Again, with the Scottish weather lately my skin has turned a bit grey and as fashionable as the colour is for home interiors right now I don't want it on my face! Given that I'm a bit of an exfoliation junkie I jumped at the chance to get my hands on an exfoliator with skin brightening vitamin C properties.

Fresh Nude Foundation in Porcelain (Pictured above)
And for the big finish! After spending a bit of time with the Body Shop's senior make up artist and talking about my skin care needs and what tones go best with my face in general she showed me their new Fresh Nude Foundation. I will be doing a full full review of this product but I just have to give it props right now for how wonderful it makes my skin look. Never have I ever had a product match my skin tone as well as this does, it's lightweight, build-able and one of the best parts? You can wear it matte or dewy by doing one small thing (no tools required) stay tuned for the full review of this wonder product soon!

On top of all of my haul goodies we were treated to some gift bags and freebies which has an amazing array of products inside that I can't wait to try out, vanilla scented sprays, lip balms and a highlighter dupe for Benefit's High Beam to name a few. I'm hoping to discover some skincare saviours for winter in my little bundle and if I do I'll be sure to share them with you guys who also suffer with dry winter weather skin like I do!

Apologies for the lengthy, lengthy post today guys but I honestly can't say enough good things about the staff at the Body Shop in Aberdeen, I was so impressed by how passionate they are about the brand, the ethics and the product quality in total (and before anyone says, no they are not on commission!) so if you're looking for your very own skin care saviours be sure to spare a thought for Body Shop and pop in past to have a chat with their experts. Do you have any must have beauty, skin or shower products from the Body Shop? I'd love to hear all of your thoughts, comments, suggestions and link your reviews below, and as always you can catch me, myself and I on Twitter or more from the blog on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, bathing just like Cleo!

H.Elizabeth x