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Dr Hauschka Radiant You Starter Kit

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A while ago now I won a Dr Hauschka Radiant You Starter Kit from a giveaway on BeautySwot.  I only got around to using it after Christmas and have just got to the end of the tube of cleanser so I thought it was about time I wrote a review.

The starter kit contains cleansing cream, facial toner, a mini lavender bath and a muslin cloth.  I was also lucky enough to win a Melissa day cream so I had a whole new skincare regime.  The starter kit comes with instructions (just as well as I had no clue what lavender bath was!) which include a description of the best way to apply your cleanser.  I didn’t know there was any specific way to apply cleanser but it turns out you are supposed to press and roll your fingers.

The first step of cleansing is to put a few drops of the lavender bath into a basin of warm water, dip in the muslin and then hold over your face for a few seconds.  I don’t think the lavender bath really does anything for your skin but it makes the water smell gorgeous and makes you feel like you are really pampering yourself.  The lavender bath comes in a little glass vial and unfortunately, somebody knocked it off the sink and smashed it after I’d only used a few times.  It was probably my fault for leaving it on the side!

Anyway, back to the point, once you have used the lavender bath, you cleanse using the special Dr Hauschka cleansing technique.  The cleanser also gently exfoliates at the same time.  To make sure you get all the cleanser off, you use the muslin dipped in the lavender bath again.  Next you spray the toner over your face.  The spray on the toner is really good at spreading it out evenly in a mist over your face (does that make sense?!).  I’ve had toners before where the nozzle just sprays it out more like a jet than a mist.  Finally you apply the day cream.  I really like the smell of this but I do find that it can take a few minutes to sink in properly.  The website says that it is suitable for oily skin but I find that if I use too much it leaves my skin quite greasy and I’ve got normal/dry skin.  I would have thought that it might be too heavy for oily skin?

Since I’ve started using this range my skin has felt really clean and less dry than usual.  I think using the muslin makes a big difference as it makes sure you get all the product off.  The only thing I don’t like about the range is the packaging – I prefer pretty packaging!  You can buy all of the products separately from the website or get the starter kit for £39.95 and the day cream for £23.95.

Living Nature Manuka Honey Lip Balm

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Living Nature is a brand I’ve bought a few things from over the past couple of years.  Their products are all completely natural and so far everything I’ve tried has worked really well, although some of their range has a slightly odd smell!  This lip balm is absolutely brilliant.  It is really moisturising and has a slight sheen to it which makes it nice to wear.  The smell is nothing to write home about so at the moment I’ve got to admit that I keep reaching for the Palmer’s Dark Chocolate and Peppermint lip butter (which I reviewed here) over the Living Nature balm.  However, I’ve still been using this Living Nature lip balm a couple of times a day as I think it is better at hydrating my lips, even if it doesn’t smell anywhere near as good!

Palmers Dark Chocolate & Peppermint Lip Butter

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This Palmer’s Dark Chocolate & Peppermint Lip Butter smells amazing.  If you like chocolate then this is definitely the lip balm for you!  It smells chocolaty but not too sweet and minty but not too strong!  I would say that it is more of a lip balm than a butter as the formula is much runnier than I would expect from a butter.  It tingles a bit when you apply it which makes it seem as though it is doing something – it really does keep my lips hydrated and it has got a nice sheen to it.  This is one of the best lip balms I’ve used in a while and at just £2.75 I will be repurchasing once I’ve run out…. which might be quite soon as the gorgeous smell means I apply it a bit too often…..

Has anyone else tried this? What did you think?

Lovea Bio Clay Face Mask

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I’m so impressed with this Lovea face mask.  I’d go as far as to say that it’s the best one I’ve ever used!  It is really easy to apply an even layer and it just leaves my skin feeling so clean and soft.  It doesn’t particularly smell of anything and the packaging isn’t really anything special but the mask itself seems to work wonders for my skin.  I rarely use face masks as I don’t tend to find they do much for my but I can see myself using this one up pretty fast!

The Lovea Purifying Face Mask comes in three varieties; pink clay for sensitive skin (this is the one I have), green clay for oily skin and yellow clay for dry skin.  It is entirely natural and costs £6.99 for 75ml from MyPure.

No7 Intense Volume Mascara

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For over a year I used the No7 Extreme Length mascara which I really loved but unfortunately Boots were out of stock when I ran out last week.  Instead, I bought the No7 Intense Volume mascara.

I’ve not got thick eyelashes so have tried a lot of volumising mascaras but sometimes find that they clump really easily so I wasn’t too sure whether I’d like this or not.  I got the mascara in shade 02, brown/black and I’m very happy with the colour.  I’m not too keen on the application though.  The brush seems to be a little too big and the formula of the mascara itself is quite runny so I always seem to get it on my eyelids when I blink after applying it, which was never a problem with the Extreme Length.  It doesn’t clump anywhere near as much as I expected which is good and it lasts really well thorough the day.  I’m not sure I’ll buy this one again, mainly because it takes me longer to apply as I have to be extra careful, but I will definitely keep using it until I run out!

Qsilica Remove

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Today I thought I’d tell you about my new cleanser from Qsilica.  It is a foaming gel cleanser which also acts as makeup remover.  I had a facial for my birthday last year and I was told that I should try to avoid foaming cleansers because they tend to dry out skin but this one seems to be fine so far.  The cleanser is good at removing makeup (I don’t wear a huge amount on my face so I’m not sure how good it would be if you wear a bit more sorry!) but a downside for me is that it isn’t suitable for use on eyes – I’m a bit lazy and prefer cleansers which also remove eye makeup!  I really like using this cleanser and so far it’s been leaving my skin feeling nice and refreshed and squeaky clean so I’d definitely recommend it – it smells good too!

Qsilica is a natural skincare range which is new to the UK.  The products in the range contain colloidal silica which is found in lots of vegetables and grains and is supposed to fight signs of aging.  You can buy the products from Planet Health and the cleanser costs £15.95 for 100ml.

Bio Oil

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After reading about how brilliant Cat from Reaching for the Stars thought Bio Oil was, I was really looking forward to trying it for myself.  I sometimes get slightly dry skin on my face, my skin tone is also a bit uneven and I used to get little red bumps on the tops of my arms have left faint marks.  These are all problems that Bio Oil is supposed to help with.

I’m never very sure about using oil on my face as I don’t like ones that take an age to skin in or just leave you looking greasy.  Bio Oil however sinks in very quickly so is fine for applying in the mornings when you’re rushing around a bit – it also smells nice and fresh.  After using the oil for a week or so, both morning and night, I did notice an improvement in my skin – it looked healthier and my skin tone looked a bit more even.  I didn’t really notice any difference to the tops of my arms though.  I kept on using the oil but started to notice little spots under the skin around my eyes and on my cheeks.  I’ve been lucky enough not to have ever really suffered from spots, just the occasional one, so I thought maybe the oil was to blame.  I cut down to only using it once every other day and although I didn’t get any more spots, they didn’t seem to go down very quickly.  I’ve stopped using the oil regularly now and only use it maybe once a week to give my skin a bit of a boost.  I’m not sure why my skin has reacted like this to Bio Oil as I’ve always had dry skin so I would have thought the oil would be suitable.  I’ve read so many good things about Bio Oil and am quite disappointed that my skin doesn’t seem to like it!  Has anyone else used it?  Did it work for you?

Jane Iredale PurePressed Base

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I have a confession……most days I don’t actually wear foundation.  I hate liquid foundations because I don’t like the feel on my face and I can never seem to get them to look natural on me.  This Jane Iredale PurePressed base is one of the best powders I’ve ever used.  You literally can’t feel it once it’s on and it gives a really natural, barely there finish.  I’ve got the base in the shade Golden Glow which is exactly the right tone for me – exactly!  PurePressed is a mineral powder with spf 20 which doesn’t contain oil, preservatives or fragrance so is suitable for sensitive skin.   I like that it doesn’t look obvious but still manages to even out my skin tone completely and that it’s really quick and easy to apply.

I’ve been using the Jane Iredale Handi brush to apply which is a very soft goat hair brush.  It picks up just the right amount of powder and is great for blending.

You can buy PurePressed bases from MineralBeauty for £31.95 and refills are also available for slightly less than this.  There are loads of shades to choose from so you should be able to find the perfect one for you.  You can also buy the brush from the same site for £22.67.  I really like Jane Iredale products and would definitely buy more if they were more widely available in the UK!

Australian Bush Flower Essences Exfoliator

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I think this product wins the title of the product with the longest name I’ve ever reviewed: Gentle Purifying Exfoliating Cream from The Love System Skin & Bodycare Formulations by Australian Bush Flower Essences.  Bit of a mouthful!

I didn’t know much about Australian Bush Flower Essences until the press release landed in my inbox so here’s a bit of background in case you need it.  Australian Bush Flower Essences have been around for over 25 years and they  produce “speciality emotional care natural health products from Australian plants”.  I’m not entirely sure I know what that means!  I suppose it means they make natural products but emotional care????  Apparently, a percentage of all purchases are invested back into the Australian community so that’s good.  The press release I was sent says that The Love System consists of a range of skincare products which are made from active ingredients including Ginseng, Apricot Oil, Shea butter, Beeswax and Australian Bush Flower Essences.  It offers a range of formulations which “best reflect one’s emotional landscape on any particular day”.  Again, I don’t know what this means!!!

Anyway, lets get onto the exfoliator itself.  I like the design on the box as the natural colours would make me notice it in the shops – I tend to look for natural products wherever possible.  I was a bit apprehensive about using the scrub on my face because the particles look quite bit so I was worried they would be too harsh on my face.  I needn’t have worried though as it was surprisingly gentle on my skin.  It has a fresh, slightly sweet and completely natural scent which I really like.  After reading the press release, I wasn’t sure whether this product was being talked up with flowery language (yes that was intentional!) but I actually do like it a lot.

If you want to try this exfoliator or other products in the range then you can buy them here.

Jane Iredale Eye Steppe

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Today I’m going to show you the Jane Iredale Eye Steppe goGreen which I was kindly sent to review.  It contains five shades of pressed mineral eyeshadow which should suit people with green eyes: Allure, Iris, Sepia, Slate and Grape.  I’ll start with the packaging which I absolutely love!  It is nice and compact but folds out to reveal as many or as few layers as you want and there is a handy mirror in the lid for when you are out and about.

The colours themselves go well with each other and are shades I would choose myself if I were picking out just one colour (except maybe Grape?!).  All of the colours have a slight amount of glitter threaded through, but it’s not over the top so they are fine to wear during the day.  I’ve tried wearing all of the colours now and I really like them although I’m not entirely sure Grape suits me – I tend to stick to natural colours.  I really like Allure which is just the right colour for my skin tone.

The colour stays put all day and doesn’t seem to crease at all, even after 12 hours wear.  The colours aren’t as pigmented as some other brands but that’s fine with me as I’m not sure I can pull off really bold eye colours!  Jane Iredale do the Eye Steppes in a few different colours; goBlue for blue eyes, goBrown for brown eyes, goCool for cool skin tones and goWarm for warm skin tones.  I really like the look of the natural colours in the goWarm Steppe.

Jane Iredale is an American company so if you are there then you can buy the Eye Steppes for $56 from their website.  If you are in the UK then there are a few different website selling Jane Iredale products.  I’ve found the Eye Steppes on Look Fantastic for £39.95 (free delivery).

I am by no means an eyeshadow expert but I would go as far as to say that these are the best eyeshadows I’ve ever used!  Has anyone else used these?  What did you think?

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