Battle of the Body Scrubs

It's like a civil war up in here today. Soap & Glory vs Soap & Glory. A battle to the body scrub death if you will. The two products pitted against each other are Some Like It Hot Thermal Scrub (SLIH) and Pulp Friction Foamy Fruity Scrub (PF). 

First the facts...

Pulp Friction

£8.00

250ml

Some Like It Hot

£8.00

200ml

Ok so first and foremost SLIH is more expensive ml to £ and I can only assume that's because of it's extra 'thermal properties'. Well.. that's the reason I bought it and that's the reason i was willing to pay what I consider to be a good chunk of money for a body scrub. I bought it when I was pregnant and suffering from unusually dry, flaky patches of skin so I felt I could justify the cost at the time. I generally enjoy anything that claims to be thermal and this was no different but unfortunately the thermal effect lasted less than 20 seconds so it was effectively then just a regular body scrub. It's made up of very fine grains of exfoliant and it does the job but I was disappointed by the lack of heat. 

The PF on the other hand didn't claim anything special and so I guess I was more open to the fact it was just a scrub. It foams, yes but how much do you really want a scrub to foam? this had larger grains and as a result i perhaps didn't feel as smooth as with the SLIH but you do get more for your money here and it's still effective as a body scrub.

Ultimately neither of these products really rocked my kasbah and for £8.00 I expected more. I wouldn't be in a rush to try another scrub from Soap & Glory though I've heard great things about their breakfast one. I prefer it in a tube as I generally scrub in the shower and a tub can get messy and there's the chance of dropping it. These aren't bad don't get me wrong.. I just.. expected more from S&G.

Thoughts?

Miss BB

The Secret To Super Clear Skin?

In the late stages of my pregnancy I wasn't sleeping so well, I spent hours watching YouTube videos on the widest variety of topics imaginable but one I randomly stumbled upon I actually found really useful. I love Ruth at AModelRecommends.com but I'd never watched her videos before. I trust her advice when it comes to product recommendations as she's tried so many different brands and seems to really know her stuff. I will link said video at the bottom of the page, it's really insightful but as she says she has combination skin and is 30.. not everyone's skin will react the same way to the products she uses. I am not 30 but I'm not teenager and children definitely take their toll so I think what she recommended will work for me.

I have recently started using my Liz Earle cleanse and polish again after writing it off as too much hard work and not really seeing a marked improvement in my skin. I have used it for about 3 weeks and in that time the closest I've come to a breakout is a little, rash-like patch of blemish "threats" on my chin which never developed in to anything. I have always suffered with hormonal breakouts and they are usually around my chin so if this cleanser can prevent those it is absolutely a winner in my book. Of course the true test will come now that I am no longer pregnant and benefiting from all of those lovely hormones that give you glossy hair and great skin... will it continue to work so well? I am ready to persevere.

Anyway... Ruth mentioned Liz Earl as one of her favourite deep cleansers, suggesting you leave it to soak for several mites before buffing it away with a muslin cloth or Clarisonic (I wish). She attributes her clear, healthy looking skin to this daily deep cleanse and one more thing...

Overnight Exfoliants.

I'll admit I am a total skincare novice. Just as I think I have it sussed I hear something like "overnight exfoliants" and realise I am still so far from well educated in that field. There were a few bits and pieces she mentioned that I was already aware of, one of which was that if you totally strip your skin of oil it will then over-produce more to compensate.. leaving you with a much higher chance of break outs. It took me a really long time to realise how important it was to replenish the moisture in your skin even if you are oily. I am so used to my night-time moisturiser that the thought of using anything that leaves my skin feeling tight or dry is definitely out of my comfort zone but if a model recommends, what can we mere normals do but follow, right?

The main point Ruth was trying to get across in the second half of her video was about cell renewal. As we get older this slows down and leaves our skin looking dull. Since she's used exfoliants she has found it appears brighter and her other products are allowed to penetrate her skin more deeply and therefor work more effectively. The exfoliants she talked about were all Glycolic acid based. Now as i said.. I'm no expert (which is why I am linking her video) but I've seen a lot of products on the market recently trading off this ingredient so I was already semi-aware of the benefits. Lot's of bloggers have reviewed the Sanctuary's peel off mask (part of a 30 day skin renewal system) which I've been dying to try and after Ruth's video I am absolutely convinced it's what's missing from my routine.

I am probably going to start off with that as it is a mask and allows me to still wear a regular moisturiser to bed but if I see any results whatsoever I am almost certainly going to have to try Ruth's "Hero Product", Liquid Gold. She had already raved about it on her website and for those wanting her full review as well as great places to buy you can find that here.

I understand I'm not giving you any new information here, it's a lot of regurgitated recommendations really but for those of you that don't follow amodelrecommends.com I couldn't let you miss out on her fantastic advice, you really must get over there for yourselves! I also wanted to let you know this is the new skincare I will be following over the coming weeks/months (we'll see how it goes) so if you see a great improvement in my skin you'll know why. I will of course review the routine once I have first hand experience but for now.. here's what I'll be using...

As it is I use my Liz Earle and alternate my Clean and Clear moisturiser with Soap and Glory's Wish Upon A Jar so the only changes I'm making are introducing a facial brush (I don't feel the muslin cloth really leaves my skin as smooth as it could be) and the Glycolic peel. I am very interested to try the liquid gold but I'll start with the Sanctuary mask and see how I go. 

*for stockists click on the photos to be taken to the website*

Here's Ruths video as promised...

Have any of you tried Glycolic Acid on your skin?

Miss BB

September Glossy Box

This month GlossyBox have really excelled themselves in my opinion.

From what I've seen of other peoples boxes they are starting to tailor them to the individual from the questionnaires we filled out upon joining. Everything I got this month I liked and will be used, even the perfume is not terrible... okay I might not use that but otherwise... all good stuff.

SO... here's what I got..

I'll start with the highlight of the month which has to be this palette from HD Brows.

For one it's awesome for me 'cause I'm just about out of my Gosh palette so it's perfectly timed to replace it. For another the colours are a great match for me. You get a nude which I am assuming is to highlight a light brown, mid brown and a deep brown. From what I can ascertain online there are 3 palettes to choose from and this is in the middle, it's dubbed "Foxy" for those wondering.  I also really like that these are multi-purpose and can be used as eyeshadow as well as brow powder, hence the 2 applicators provided. Some of you may know of my constant search for good quality matte eyeshadows... If this hits that spot chances are I will be raving about this very soon.

It's available to buy here for £19.95

The next most exciting product I received this month was this Neal and Wolf Intensive Care Treatment.

I am obsessed with hair treatments and so anything like this would interest me but a full sized luxury conditioner promising to instantly repair and transform my hair? Colour me happy!

I will definitely to reviewing this!

You can buy Neal and Wolf Hair Care here

The Intensive Care Treatment is £12.95

Next, Plum Perfume by Mary Greenwell sample

Of all the perfume samples I've got from GlossyBox so far I like this best. It might not be the best for everyone, I've already heard lots of negative comments from other receivers this month but it has lots of notes I like such as Sandalwood and Amber so it might be a nice change of fragrance for Autumn.

You can buy 100ml of this perfume for £90 from House of Fraser

 

The Green Balm.... ever heard of it? me either but a multi-purpose balm intrigues me.

I'm always looking for the ultimate lipcare so this could fit the bill there but according to my google "research" it can be used for many different purposes from dry elbows to insect bites. Sounds like something handy to have around the house but I don't know whether I'd buy the full sized version.

You can buy 50ml jar from feelunique.com for £8.50

Lastly I got 2 sachets of Dead Sea Spa Magik Salt Scrub. I cannot wait to try this in my next shower. I've been trialling a few scrubs this month so this will make it into my combined review and I'm expecting great things.. it even contains my new favourite ingredient - coconut oil! They say it has a "hypnotic citrus aroma" and You Magazine voted it Best Exfoliator. Another one guaranteed to be reviewed.

You can buy 500g of this for £13.30 here

From what I've seen online already the variety from box to box is widest this month so you may have received totally different products to me but I think you'll agree even if you don't like everything it was a great month for value for money. I more than got back my £12.95 subscription

What did you get in your GlossyBox this month?

Have you tried anything I got?

Obsession Of The Day 12/10/10

Yesterday I took a chance on a new face wash..

I recently reviewed a few on my YT channel and as a result had a ton of recommendations from my fabulous subscribers!

This was one of them..

When I saw it at a NEW INTRODUCTORY PRICE in superdrug I knew I was fated to buy it.

I've used it only once and I LOVE it!

Much like the Loreal "scrublet" I bought in to the scrubby end more than anythig else..

although I did like the part that said it "fades marks"! I have a lot of scars on my face, not bad but noticeable to me from previous acne/breakouts (which by the way are not getting better with age!!!)

So I didn't hold out much hope for the product inside as I'm almost always disappointed!

Unless it's got some kind of exfoliator I can't really tell whether one wash works better than another... I want an instant cleaner feeling and this totally gives you that.

The scrubber is fantastic, a zillion times better than the Loreal scrublet... a ZILLION!!!

And the wash gets a real good lather up... I honestly have seen an improvement after 1 day!

I got my MR to use it on my back as I suffer from "backne" (eeuugghh)

and even there it seems to have made a big improvement.

I may well be a convert!

I have used it once so It's not a perfect time to start taking photos but today is better than tomorrow!

I will take photos of my face/back... (Ok I probably will need assistance taking photos of my back :p) and I will post my results after a week..

My back will be a better test because I don't really use anything to control my breakouts there so there will be no other forces at work.. where as my face I will moisturise and use other treatments.

So.. all in all, one day in I love this product and I have high hopes that in a weeks time I will be able to tell you all, hand on heart, that there is no other product that's worked so well for me!Has this new revelation worked for you??

Leave me some lovely comments if so!

xoxo

miss BB