January 2020 – Mybeautywaxstash

Superdrug’s Naturally Radiant Brightening Micro Polish

Skincare is very important to me. I guess it has been for many years and started when I had a more disposable income ( teen with no bills ) than what I have now ( much older and poor! ). Now I’m older and no longer a teen ( damn I’m not even in my 30’s anymore! ) skincare seems to be a necessity rather than a luxury. So I try to follow a simple but effective facial care routine to try and keep on top of myself. My current facial exfoliator of choice is Naturally Radiant Brightening Micro Polish by Superdrug.

Why this one? I’ve used other products from this range before and enjoyed them. But before actually trying these products out I found them to be easy to get hold of ( either pop into my local store or online with small spend required for free home delivery ), good extensive range and very affordable thanks to them being on offer very regularly. Last time I bought this it was half price ( £2.99 ) which meant I could pretty much buy a whole skincare routine from face wash to moisturiser, for around £12.00.

What does this do? This is supposed to leave skin clearer, smoother and even out skin tone thanks to its exfoliating action. Basically a face scrub which contains ingredients that are good for the skin while trying to leave out the nasties.

Packaging. All the range is coloured the same and regardless of whether products are in tubes ( this one is and contains 75g of product), pots or anything else, they all have a sense of being a part a range because of how they look and are completely unformed. And colouring makes you think of it being natural as its mid green in colour and quite simple in appearance.

Texture/Consistency. This comes out like a clear thick gel that you would expect from a face wash, but possibly a little thicker and not as loose and runny. When you look closely you will see tiny grains within this product which are blueberry seeds.

Scent. Like other products in the range this is clean, fresh, a slightly sweet and subtle fruity plant based smell but all quite delicate and not overpowering. In a strange but good way, this is quite a neutral scent.

How to use. Use once or twice a week. Massage over wet or dry skin using circular movements. Add a small amount of water to create a foam then rinse off. I pretty much used this the same way but on damp skin while in the shower, over my face and neck. Rinsed off and face dried with a muslin cloth. I use this twice a week then I use a face mask straight after.

In use. I didn’t need to use much of this. Enough to cover a finger tip was enough to work over my slightly damp face and neck area. I could feel the grains which seemed so small but with movement you could feel their sweeping and resurfacing action. Adding a little water meant that this scrub lightly foamed and gave an almost 2in1 product alternating between a scrub and a face wash which I really enjoyed.

Skin after use. My face felt and looked soft, clean fresh and matt. I felt the scrub was very gentle on the skin but still very effective. Perfect way to get my skin ready for any additional treatments I wanted to follow on with.

Recommended? Y-e-s. This is an affordable facial scrub that works! Easy to use and fast, so for those time starved but want to include this type of product in their routine this isn’t a problem. Its a great product for any age to use who want to look after their skin and although my daughter isn’t a teen yet, I can see this being a good one for her to start on because of its size, ingredients and cost. **At the time of writing this post ( 29.01.2020 ) this product hasn’t been available on the website and possibly could be discontinued. Definitely worth checking for this in a physical store to see if it’s still available. The range currently is half price.**

Strawberry Melts When Unicorn Fly Wax Melt

I’m trying so hard at the start of 2020 to sit on my hands and stop myself from buying anymore wax. I really don’t need to make any purchases as my current wax stash is still quite big. So rather than me buying and adding more to this treasure chest I thought it would be best to melt what I already had before splurging on more. I’ve opted to melt Strawberry Melts When Unicorn Fly.

Unicorn Sampler. I bought this as a set from Strawberry Melts towards the end of 2019, and this set consisted of different scented wax pieces all of which having a unicorn theme to it scent wise. I bought it because generally anything that is connected with unicorn in smell tends to be quite a sweet fragrance which is always a winner for me. As a set this cost £10.00 with 10 wax melts in 5 different scents.

Strawberry Melts Scent Description. Loads of sweet, rich buttery top notes followed by fresh coconut and itty bitty hints of sweet berries with bottom notes of yummy, super sweet vanilla.

Appearance. Considering the name of this wax and scent description you would think this would be pink or purple in colour which isn’t the case. Instead this fragrance sits in two mint green and white wax melts, both different shapes with both looking like they’ve been set in a fancy cake or jelly mould ( obviously not as big these wax melts are roughly same diameter as a £2 ). Small golden butterflies sprinkled on the top of each to complete the look.

In melt. This is quite a good sized wax shape so it took some time to fully melt but when it did it became green in colour and the small, delicate butterflies were dotted around within in it having a good old swim.

Scent. This is one of those pieces of wax I had to sniff a few times to figure out what it reminded me of as it smelt like something familiar to me. Then finally it hit me… strawberry pencils! Those highly addictive long pencil shaped sweets with white fondant running through the middle. ITS THAT! Literally smells like that! Creamy and sweet, slightly strawberry confectionery type scent with definite hints of coconut. This is one of those scents that will have you wiping the drool from your mouth once you smell it.

Strength & Longevity. This poor wax melt had to fight through the smell of cooking but this scent was still there trying to hold its own. Medium strength I would say for this one which is good considering the type of scent it is and where I chose to melt it ( kitchen ). Longevity as expected with a Strawberry Wax melt was great as they have never failed me in the past. I had this on for around 3 days melting away at least for 4 hours at a time, scent was still there, and then I changed it as I normally do between 2-4 days anyway to something else.

Recommended? Those who love their candles/wax melts to be sweety inspired you will love this as much as I do! Its sweet in a confectionery way along with it being fruity, and its such a fun, yummy and enjoyable scent to melt. I really hope this scent comes back to the Strawberry Melts family as a permanent fixture. Their stock and scents change often with one off pieces or collections being quite a regular thing so no guarantees. But keep your eyes peeled for this scent on their website here or find them on Facebook book and beg to get this scent back on sale!

Treacle Moon’s Marshmallow Hearts Shower & Bath Gel

These days there are so many bath, body and facial products sat on shelves in supermarkets and department stores its so hard to decide what to go for. If I’ve tried a particular brand before ( and liked it ) I’m more inclined to head to their direction, and then be more adventurous and pick up a new product or scent from that range to try out. But then by accident you try something new and that gets added to your ‘trusted’ list and the cycle of buying starts all over again. One such brand which I was introduced to in 2018/2019 is Treacle Moon. Their Marshmallow Hearts shower & bath gel was my first experience with their gels.

Treacle Moon meet Mybeautywaxstash. I’ve seen their products before and thought they looked nice, but if you haven’t tried them before how do you know if they are good or not? Well I was given some of their bath salts by a friend for either my birthday or Christmas 2018 which was my first product from the brand and loved them! So much so I went and bought a truck load of the salts myself throughout 2019 and even got some as gifts on my last birthday too. So from that point I trusted them and really wanted to try other products from their range. I opted for Marshmallow Hearts because I really wanted a product to use in both shower and bath and I thought the scent of this by name alone would be perfect for me.

Treacle Moon’s Marshmallow Hearts Shower & Bath Gel

Packaging. 500ml of gel lives in a plastic bottle with a flip top lid. Clear, so you can see what you get. Labelling is super cute with both sides having product name and brand ( of course ), but one side has an illustration of a jar of heart shaped marshmallows and on the other a paragraph giving you an imaginative description of what the scent of this gel is. 25% of the bottle is made from recycled plastic.

Texture & look. Although this is a gel it isn’t the typical gel I think of. This is pale pink in colour, not transparent so makes me think more of a bath or shower cream than a gel. Consistency is a thick liquid, which is what you would expect from this type of product.

Scent. Creamy and sweety like is what springs to mind with this. A mix of marshmallows, milk bottle sweets with a hint of strawberry milkshake and this is the best way I can describe how this smells to me. What I like about this is it could easily be too sweet and synthetic like in scent but it isn’t. Gives you enough sweetness to keep your nostrils happy but not so much you think you will suffer from diabetes!

In the shower & bath. I use this product in both shower and bath equally. In the shower on a sponge it lathered up quickly and produced a lot of foam. In the bath I needed very little and the amount of foam produced just by two squirts under warm running water was insane! Full, light, airy, white in colour and long lasting.

On the skin. This cleaned the skin on my body well, left a faint scent to it but not long lasting so no lingering and my skin felt and looked normal after use e.g skin didn’t dried out, irritated, sticky etc.

Recommended? Yes! What I love about this is it’s a little different in look packaging wise compared to similar products on the same shelf which caught my eye so stands out. In regards to the scent, these types of scents are popular but this is a great version and will hold its own compared to others. And the best thing about Marshmallow Hearts? I ENJOYED using this! It provides a quick, easy and effective shower in the morning and a relaxing, soothing bath in the evening. This is great for all the family to use as the scent will appeal from the youngest member of the household to the oldest. When I bought this originally it was half price ( £1.50 ), but worthwhile checking special offers on the range regularly ( Tesco and Waitrose stock Treacle Moon ). If you can’t head down to your local store you can buy their products direct from Treacle Moon themselves here. Go on treat yourself…its affordable!x

Pretty Candles Gin & Tonic Soy Wax Pot

New year new wax! Its great to start 2020 trying out wax pieces from a wax vendor I’ve never bought from before in fragrances I’ve never smelt before. Pretty Candles is a company I’ve wanted to buy from for ages and I stalk them, sorry…. follow them on Instagram. It seemed the perfect opportunity to try them out when they had a 50% off sale towards the end of last year/beginning of this. And the first Pretty Candles wax pot that popped into my wax warmer was Gin & Tonic.

Gin & Tonic why? Anyone who knows me can confirm I LOVE gin, so I couldn’t help but find out what the wax version would be like as a scent and if my love wasn’t just confined to drinking the stuff but also smelling the stuff too.

Appearance. With it being called a wax pot no guessing needed about what its in, which is a pot. Lidded, so easy to pop out and keep safe if not using the whole thing. The wax itself looks so pretty in a simple way. It almost has a marble like look to it but made up of mint green and white colours. Loving lavished with a healthy sprinkle of a Christmasy green coloured glitter on top. 30g in weight.

Pretty Candles scent description. The sharp scent of gin blended with a zingy citrus tonic.

In melt. Melted evenly and quickly. And when it was totally molten that once solid marble mass turned into a pool of seamoss green coloured liquid with that festive glitter sitting nicely in it. Took very little time for the fragrance to be released as the scent was clearly there when cold before warmed through.

Scent.This is a fresh and clean scent. Zesty in a more lime way rather than lemon for me. Sharp but not overpowering and even though this sounds odd but if you could smell the action of something with fizz and bubbles this would be that wax. It’s so hard to describe this scent as its not a fruity inspired gin fragrance but more the traditional, simple but delicious gin served with tonic…and this literally is THAT smell!

Strength & Longevity. I wasn’t too sure how strong this would be as I used half of this little pot but goodness me….. I put this on in the kitchen before I left work and as I got home and opened the front door followed by the living room door and it hit me! Medium to strong I would say this is. Longevity is excellent. This has been melting for 3 days straight, for a good number of hours at a time and the scent is still there. I’ve only changed the wax because I have a lot of wax to use not because the scent of this had gone.

Recommended? If I could drink this I would but that wouldn’t be a good idea! What I love about this is its the total opposite to other gin inspired scents I’ve tried. The one’s I’ve melted before have been sweet and fruity , whereas this is zesty and clean. It’s one of those scents I think the majority of people would love because in an odd way its so neutral. A great one for the kitchen as it would help to cut through smells and a perfect melt during spring and summer. One on my repeat purchase list and if this scent interests you, visit them here and grab yours for half price at 60p! ( normal price £1.20, availability and/or price may change after this post has been published ).

The Body Shop’s Warm Vanilla Body Scrub

It doesn’t take much for most of us to travel back in time without a TARDIS to our younger days, a different time and possibly place too. When I think of the young teenage me my memories consist of particular things. As an example… making my own mix tapes, music posters on my walls and covering myself with either Dewberry or Vanilla fragrance oils from The Body Shop. This was the time when scent was important to me so to say I was obsessed by their oils is an understatement. Its nice to see 20 plus years later I’ve become reintroduced to the brand, and discovering they don’t just make and sell oils but loads of other goodies too! My love for vanilla has never died away, and this is why I received Warm Vanilla Body Scrub by The Body Shop as a birthday present from a dear friend.

A one off. Warm Vanilla was brought out in 2019 as a limited edition scent to their range, which already makes it quite special in its own right and not available to the public indefinitely.

Packaging. 250g of product poured into a clear tub with a beautiful label on the lid with pictures of vanilla pods and flowers dotted over it. Very festive in look with added silver detailing makes this already a great gift giving purchase.

What lies inside. When I unscrewed the lid for the first time it reminded me of opening a jar of honey. The colour of this scrub could resemble a type of honey, or liquid caramel or toffee as its so rich and looks like something you should eat ( but please don’t ). You can just about see its not totally smooth in consistency as it looks a little grainy, but really does look inviting.

Scent. There’s no mistaking this to be vanilla. Warm, sweet and comforting is what my nose sucked in. At the same time a slight muskiness to it, giving it the same type of depth that a musk type of scent gives to a perfume. And somewhere in the middle of this is a faint floral. So…add all these together, yes its vanilla but not quite as you know it! Not your typical sugary, synthetic version in the slightest but a moreish, sophisticated and gorgeous, clever fragrance.

Consistency. There are lots of grains in this scrub, but not so much where you feel its solid. These perfectly sized grains of sugar are living happily in an almost serum like oil. Its not a sloppy mixture but its easy to take what you need and apply to the body and loose enough to move freely over the skin.

Using in the shower. Some scrubs I would apply on damp skin this I didn’t. I wanted to feel and enjoy the oiliness of this product direct onto dry skin. From the top of my shoulders to my feet this has been applied to. The grains in the scrub didn’t feel harsh but definitely did the job you would expect from this type of product, and the scent really made me enjoy this process even more adding to my satisfaction.

After use. Skin super soft, not dry but felt hydrated, slightly scented ( I could smell it a few hours after using it on myself. Not strong but there and lovely! No irritation which is very important for me right now ( I’m a psoriasis sufferer and all the naughty foods and drinks I ate over Christmas really caught up on me! ).

My top tip. To get the most out of this scrub and upgrade it from exfoliating to more of a treatment, I would suggest to use this while in the shower then slip into the bath straight after its been applied. That’s what I did and it was perfection.

Recommended? This is heavenly! I really can’t praise this scrub enough. If you are a vanilla lover like me you will automatically love this. If you love your body scrubs in general you will love this as it’s a fantastic, luxurious scrub that does what its supposed to do but is enjoyable to use and makes the skin feel so soft and supple and fragrances it too is a bonus. Limited edition so bare this in mind…..AND HALF PRICE!! Down from £15.00 to £7.50 which is amazing. Buy yours direct from their website here or place an order with one of their consultants (subject to availability). You know you want to…..

The Body Shop’s Enchanted Forest Wax Melt

I shouldn’t be surprised that my first blog post of 2020 is based on a home fragrance wax melt. Well….there are a few reasons for this. I’ve just shaken off a slight cold so my sense of smell is only coming back, so my love of wax is full on! New Year means a massive house clean up and wax is definitely something that needs to be melted in the background to make my house smell fresh along with looking fresh. But possibly the biggest reason, at least for the write up on this particular melt, is who its from. For all you wax lovers out there did you know The Body Shop makes and sells wax melts? I didn’t! I only discovered this as it was gifted to me by a good friend who is one of their consultants. And this is where the review begins on Enchanted Forest….

The Enchanted Forest Wax Melt. A special edition, so possibly limited or at least available over this winter season, is a scent that The Body Shop describes as bringing ‘ The fresh forest scent indoors ‘. On the website it mentions this scent to be pine, which is what I guessed anyway purely from its name and appearance.

The look. Quite simple but very effective in its style. A green circular disc shaped wax roughly 2 inches across and 0.5 inches in depth. Flat underneath, but on the top there’s a very festive Christmas tree like shaped embossed on it giving it a slight 3D feel. Housed in a protective plastic little holder and then shrink wrapped to keep it all safe and cosy. 15g in weight.

In melt. I wasn’t too sure how much to use of this, but considering how many wax melts I’ve used over the years I trusted my judgement and popped in two thirds. It took a little time to melt but when it did it released the fragrance steadily. I tested this out in my kitchen, only because my other wax melter was in use in another room, but I also find this room is a good testing ground for wax as it can be quite an awkward space when it comes to getting the best out of fragrance.

Scent. I expected pine. Unfortunately my experience of pine in the past I can only describe as being something that reminds me of a bad toilet cleaner, so I wasn’t too sure what this would be like. But the scent was a massive surprise to me. Enchanted Forest has that pine element because it does have that earthy, leafy, plant like aspect to it. But what makes this quite special is it has an uplifting sweetness to it, and with that combined with the overall freshness makes this easy and enjoyable to smell. If all Christmas inspired pine wax smelt like this I would buy it more often!

Strength and longevity. Strength I would put this down as a medium. Could possibly be stronger if I added more ( with wax sometimes the more you add the less scent you get, so I’m not going crazy with that comment ), but I don’t think it needs to be stronger. I could smell it clearly in the room it was melting in and it came into the living room like a delicate draft throughout the day. I’ve had this going for around 12 hours if not more over 2 days and the strength is still the same, and of course I still have more wax left over so my fix on Enchanted can still continue.

Recommended? Yes! For this time of year and of course over Christmas this is an ideal piece of wax to melt. It’s very seasonal, but with it not being a straight up pine, I genuinely can’t see any reason why you wouldn’t want to melt it throughout the year ( if you got your hands onto it! ). It looks great, smells great and currently on sale for £1.50 ( normal price £2.50 ). What is there not to love? If still in stock, get yours from The Body Shop here, or get in contact with your local consultant to grab these before they disappear!