Mybeautywaxstash

Tag: bodycare

  • £2.00 Marks and Spencer’s Shea Butter & Honey Hand Balm

    It is COLD! We knew it was coming in the UK so it shouldn’t be a surprise. But it doesn’t mean we have to like it! Hats are on, gloves at the ready and woolly jumpers have been dug out of the back of wardrobes. As much as I’m all for grabbing these items to make myself feel cosy and human, there is one thing that’s been suffering like mad the last few days-my HANDS! They feel and look dry, lacklustre of colour and they need a much needed zap of moisture. So I thought I would give Marks and Spencer’s Shea Butter & Honey Hand Balm a go. For 75ml this cost just £2.00.

    Marks and Spencer’s Shea Butter & Honey Hand Balm
    Why did I buy this?

    I have various hand creams in my collection, but a hand balm sounds so much more moisturising, right? My hands look and feel slightly battered at the moment and I wanted something richer than my usual hand cream. I’ve used Marks and Spencer’s Hand Scrub, which I loved, and thought this would be a good product too. The fact it costs only £2.00 means it’s another affordable product to buy, use and hopefully enjoy.

    How to use?

    You can use this like a traditional hand cream (when needed). Or it can be used as a hand mask and use twice a week by applying a thick layer onto the hands for 10 minutes then rub into hands balm that hasn’t sunk in.

    Packaging

    This hand balm comes in a screw top lidded tube, which is standard. But it’s interesting in appearance because of it’s colour which is a vibrant shade of gold. It doesn’t look like it cost £2.00 but more.

    Fragrance

    I got a shock with this because I thought I picked up the almond version and this is clearly honey! It definitely does have a sweet, honey like scent to it. There’s an almost floral element to this as well, although very faint. If you’re not a fan of honey this won’t be for you. Personally, I don’t mind it but it’s not my favourite scent for a hand cream if I’m completely honest.

    Texture

    White in colour and holds it shape once squeezed out of the tube. Not runny like a body lotion but quite as thick as a body butter, it’s somewhere in between.

    On the hands

    I used a 5p sized amount of hand balm which I rubbed into my hands, which went in very easily. What makes this different from some hand creams is this has more of a slip to it. I won’t use the word ‘greasy’ but it’s obvious there is something in this giving it that feel (this contains Shea butter). My hands felt more moisturised and looked more healthy colour wise, but I expected more and felt I needed to get a little more balm for a second application. Just remember this is after one application and my hands are a bit rough! A plus point was my hands didn’t feel slippy after use and could use them straight away.

    The fragrance is very specific but not too strong, but it’s there. This is one of those scents I couldn’t or wouldn’t want to smell on my hands all the time but occasionally.

    Marks and Spencer’s Almond Milk & Vanilla Hand Scrub wit their Shea Butter & Honey Hand Cream
    Recommended?

    The fragrance for me probably is a no. This wasn’t the version I wanted and the Marks and Spencer’s Almond Milk & Vanilla Hand Scrub scent wise I found quite comforting and really liked. This doesn’t give me that same comfort. Formulation wise it’s nice to use and does improve the look and feel of my hands but I need to use this for longer to give it a true thumbs up or thumbs down. So I’m siting on the fence with this one, for now. But if you’re looking for a nice hand cream, and you like the fragrance of honey, this will be absolutely fine and make a good stocking filler. Available instore and online through Ocado here.

  • October’s Round Up, What Products Did I Use?

    2022 is continuing to gallop closer and closer into the distance as we say goodbye to month number 10. To say it’s been eventful is an understatement, to the point where many of us probably can’t wait for this year to be over. But for now, I’m focusing what I do, which is try out and review products and share my thoughts and feelings on them. And here is my October round up of products I’ve used.

    Products used in the month of October
    Scentsy’s Cloudberry Dreams Hand Soap

    A great smelling hand wash but super small, expensive at full price and not as moisturising as I would like on my hands. I’m so glad I’ve tried some of Scentsy’s body products including this one. But you really do have to time your purchases right with this company to make sure you get the best possible deal price wise. Am I repeat purchasing this one for myself? Probably not.

    Scentsy’s Cloudberry Dreams Hand Soap
    Q+A’s Liquorice Lip Oil

    A lip oil is a good alternative to a lip balm. In fact, I would say it’s a mix between the balm and the lip gloss. It can give you the moisturising properties of a lip balm but also the visible sheen of a gloss. Q+A’s Liquorice Lip Oil is a fairly priced lip oil from an affordable skincare company, which contains some very good ingredients. This is the first lip oil I’ve ever used and probably won’t be the last.

    Q+A Liquorice Lip Oil
    Aldi’s Lacura Vitamin C Brightening Daily Cleanser

    I gave my first impressions of Aldi’s Lacura Vitamin C Brightening Daily Cleanser after I first bought it. Giving this cleanser a quick look this seemed to be a very promising product. It ticked all the boxes in regards to price, packaging and size. But did it actually live up to expectations when I used it?

    Aldi’s Lacura Vitamin C Brightening Daily Cleanser
    Lidl’s Lovely Eau de Parfum

    Now THIS was a first! My first venture into a supermarket own branded fragrance. Sometimes we are so used to picking up well known branded perfumes that we don’t even give lesser known (and much cheaper) fragrances a thought. A beautifully scented Eau de Parfum from Lidl without a huge price tag!

    Lidl’s Lovely Eau de Parfum
    Glow’s Cafe Coffee Inspired Wax Melts

    This collection of coffee inspired wax melt pots from UK wax vendor Glow were a revelation to me! I didn’t realise coffee would be such a gorgeous, comforting scent and this box of waxy goodies (gifted, I won in a competition) really won me over (excuse the pun)! Definitely something to add into your wax melt collection for Autumn/Winter time.

    Glow’s Cafe Coffee Inspired Wax Melts Pots
    Masking’s Aloe Vera Under Eye Masks

    For £1.00 for 2 pairs of under eye masks, this definitely is a cost effective way for a bit of pampering. Are these the best eye masks I’ve ever used? Definitely not! But they are the cheapest and easy to pick up from my local Tesco store. Not for the hardcore skincare fans, but a decent purchase for those who want a bit of fun and self care time.

    Masking’s Aloe Vera Under Eye Mask
    Aldi’s Lacura Vitamin C Brightening Cleanser

    Back again with Aldi’s Lacura Vitamin C Brightening Cleanser, but this time I used this product for a few weeks and could finally say whether this was a good or not so good purchase. Let’s just say it got the thumbs up from me and is still my morning and evening cleanser of choice.

    Aldi’s Lacura Vitamin C Brightening Daily Cleanser
    Marks & Spencer’s Affordable Rainbow Bath Fizzer

    Last but not least, and probably the most affordable item I purchased, was the Marks & Spencer’s Affordable Rainbow Bath Fizzer. A large, fun looking bath fizzer that swirled and moved in my bathtub like crazy and only cost me 49p! A brilliant cost effective buy but not on my favourite bath products ever list.

    So that’s my round up complete for the month of October. Do I have a favourite? I’m torn between Glow’s Cafe Coffee Inspired Wax Melts and Aldi’s Lacura Vitamin C Brightening Cleanser. Both impressed me, both I enjoyed using.

  • Scentsy’s Cloudberry Dreams Hand Soap. Worth A Splurge?

    One body care product I always buy is hand wash. It’s a product that gets used a lot in my home because hands get dirty and need to be washed regularly. Not only by myself but it’s used by my children too. I always go for the same handwash. It’s a big size, gentle on our hands and cheap (99p). But I’ve just replaced it with Scenty’s Cloudberry Dreams Hand Soap. This normally costs £11.00 for 325ml. I bought mine for under £4.00 for a 228ml size at the beginning of this year when there was a sale.

    Scentsy’s Cloudberry Dreams Hand Soap
    Why did I buy this?

    It was my first every order and experience with Scensty products. When I realised they sold body products, I was curious about the quality of them, so I bought some pieces to try including this hand soap.

    Packaging

    This is different to the one Scentsy currently sell in look and size. My hand soap is quite small, curves in close to the top and has a pump top dispenser. Very cute on the eye because of how it’s shaped and looks quite autumnal because of the simple fruit shapes on it and it’s colouring.

    Fragrance

    When my daughter and I first used this we both made an ‘ohhh’ sound. It smells gorgeous! Fruit based as in raspberries and peach with a creaminess of vanilla. Considering how this smells I think the label on the packaging should have been a bit brighter and reflect this fragrance better. But putting this to one side it’s a winning scent for me!

    In Use

    This is probably a good thing, but the amount you get of this hand soap per pump is quite small. It does the job though. Lathers up fine (but not madly) and cleans hands effectively. The one thing I did notice after use was my hands felt they needed a bit more moisturising from the hand wash. They seemed in a way too clean or stripped a little but not massively.

    Positives?

    This looks different on the side of the sink. Great for small areas such as a downstairs toilet. Beautiful fragrance and would look great if gifted to someone.

    Negatives?

    Too small if there’s lots of people needing to wash their hands regularly. The fragrance, as nice as it is, does linger on the hands which could be deemed as a negative or positive. It’s too expensive for repeat, regularly repurchasing.

    Recommended?

    If you can get this on sale for under £4.00 to give as a gift, then possibly. I think this would be appreciated massively by the right recipient. Even just buying this to try out as I did, at the right price, I would say go for it! But even at its newer, larger size at full price it’s not worth it. I’ve also used this for a few days now and I’ve found my hands are drier the more I use this, so not a formulation for me and not one I would repurchase regardless of how much this costs. I’m going to stick to my 99p 500ml bottle of Astonish handwash. The fragrance of Cloudberry Dreams is great, but it doesn’t justify it’s price and could be kinder to my hands.

    As mentioned, this is available in a slighter bigger size now (325ml) and seems to be a regular stock item, which can be purchased here. But try to get this in the sale if it’s ever included again if you want to buy it. Your credit card will thank you much more for it.

  • So…? Sorry Not Sorry Ready, Steady Scrub Body Buffer

    There’s something special about a body scrub. I enjoy using them but the best bit about them is how the skin on my body can feel so afterwards. From beginning to end it’s such a satisfying body product so it has to be one of my favourite products to use. So, I thought it was time for a body scrub change. I’ve decided to use So..? Sorry Not Sorry Ready Steady Scrub Body Buffer I bought a while ago direct from So…? Fragrance. Can’t remember how much I paid, but me being me, bought it during a sale so it wasn’t full price!

    So…? Sorry Not Sorry Ready, Steady Scrub Body Buffer
    Why did I buy this?

    I knew So…? was a fragrance range but didn’t realise it also had body products under its umbrella too! The packaging caught my attention, then the fact it was a body scrub made me want it and finally the deal breaker was the price.

    What is this supposed to do?

    Like any traditional body scrub, it’s designed to leave your skin feeling soft and smooth thanks to its exfoliating action and ingredients including sweet almond oil, argan oil and sunflower seed oil.

    Packaging

    450g of scrub comes in a plastic tub. How this looks is fun, quite youthful and eye-catching thanks to splashes of pink and purple and overall, how the label is designed. It seems to be aimed at a younger market but like anything, different people are attracted to different things regardless of age.

    Fragrance

    This was MADE FOR ME! This is a sweet lover’s dream without a doubt! There’s comforting and creamy vanilla in this. I keep thinking there’s a hint of floral as well but not too sure because this isn’t straight up vanilla. It’s not sickly but it is sweet. I love it, but it won’t suit everyone. This fragrance along with this packaging again confirms this is aimed at a younger market.

    Texture

    I’ve used a lot of body scrubs over the last few years, and this has got to be the most solid and grainiest I’ve used in a while. In the tub it looks solid. Imagine when you’ve been using Himalayan Sea Salt (the pink one) to cook with, and you’ve got to the last bit in the packaging, and it’s clumped up and solid. This is how this looks. You can see the tiny grains in it and it glistens like it’s slightly oily but does look brick hard.

    TEXTURE!
    In the shower/bath

    I showered first before applying this scrub onto my body, making sure my skin was clean and damp. What I found was when I scooped this scrub out, it was less solid but very grainy. So, I struggled with applying the scrub at first as it went everywhere. But apply it I did, and I found there were lots of grains in this which gave an exfoliating action and feel. I did have to be careful not to be too quick or apply too much pressure because this scrub is more on the dry side, which could lead to damaging my skin. It wasn’t totally dry. There was definitely some oil in this because it had a slight slip to it, but not much.

    Skin Afterwards

    After I used the scrub I had a long soak in the bath. The fragrance was there which I liked and it wasn’t too strong. I felt quite relaxed and could already feel my skin benefited from using this. When I dried myself off, my skin felt smoother, it was fragranced and I could tell I had used a scrub.

    Recommended?

    This is a good sized, nice smelling and effective body scrub. Pre/teens would love this because it has a younger energy to it (packaging, scent etc) and it’s not too expensive. Those who love their sweet fragrances in their body products would love this too. So yes, I would recommend it. Would I purchase this for myself again? Probably not. Why? After using this and many others in the past, I now know a drier body scrub isn’t my favourite consistency. Something with more oil to it or even cream based is what I prefer, and I think is more conditioning for my skin. This is down to my personal preference rather than the quality of the product.

    Available from places such as Superdrug for £8.00, currently selling for £5.99 direct from So…?Fragrance.