Mybeautywaxstash

Tag: homebargains

  • Budget Friendly Designer Fragrances Body Mists

    I love fragrances! Who doesn’t? Whether it’s fragrances for the home or the body I love anything that’s going to smell nice. What I don’t like is paying high prices for it, especially fragrances for the body. That’s why most of the time I will buy body mists or sprays. They’re affordable, easy to carry around with me and I don’t care if my mini me of a daughter uses them 24/7. So I couldn’t help but pick up 3 (yes 3!) Designer Fragrances Body Sprays from Home Bargains recently for 99p each.

    Designer Fragrances Body Sprays
    Why did I buy these?

    It wasn’t hard to figure out when I saw these they were inspired by designer fragrance perfumes. I was actually on the look out for some body mists anyway for my daughter and thought these would be ideal. Perfect price, smelt nice (yes I had a cheeky sniff!) and something both myself and my daughter would use.

    Why do these look familiar?

    Home Bargains sell air fresheners from this same brand and they are based on designer fragrances too. They’ve been very popular on social media posts I’ve spotted. So expect the same sort of thing but to fragrance yourself, not your home or your car!

    What did I get?

    Black Poppy-vanilla and black coffee (possibly inspired by Yves Saint Laurent’s Black Opium?).

    Daisee-floral including jasmine and wild berries (inspired by Marc Jacob’s Daisy).

    Xalien-floral with amber and jasmine (inspired by Mugler’s Alien).

    Black Poppy, Xalien & Daisee Body Sprays
    How do these smell?

    Xalien is floral based. It’s feminine with woody notes, which gives it added depth. Quite a heavy, musky scent but not overpowering.

    Daisee is the perfect Spring/Summer fragrance. Another floral based fragrance but this one is is quite uplifting and energising with the smallest fruitiness to it. It’s quite youthful, fun and perfect for day time use.

    Black Poppy has a creamy, vanilla element to it giving it a sweetness and there’s floral thrown in stopping it from being too sweet.

    All three of these fragrances are very different but equally smell gorgeous.

    Do these smell like what they are inspired by?

    Xalien and Daisee do. Although I’ve never owned the actual perfumes I know what they smell like and these body mists remind me a lot of them. Black Poppy versus Black Opium? No idea as I can’t recall smelling that designer fragrance.

    Strength & Longevity

    When first applied, all of these body spray’s were medium in strength. I sprayed these directly onto my clothes and the scent was immediately obvious. But this strength disappeared quite quickly. It’s longevity wasn’t very long. These are the type of body sprays I find need to be heavily applied and often if you want to get that fragrance hit and enjoy it.

    Recommended?

    Although I wish these were stronger and last longer, I actually WOULD recommend these! Why? They are what they are, cheap body mists NOT perfumes! They smell beautiful and would appeal to many people. Throw these in your bag, use them as often as you want without feeling the need to save them for best. Give them to your teens to enjoy, and not have the scent linger too strongly or too long on them. And if they lose them it’s no big deal. These are quick fix fragrances to use up nothing more nothing less.

    So if you’re looking for a quick fragrance fix on a budget and happy to reapply regularly if needed, grab these! But don’t compare their quality to an actual perfume although scent wise these are very good.

  • Honest’s Gently Nourishing Shampoo + Body Wash

    If there was one body care product my household uses like people drink water it’s body washes. Why? Both myself and my daughter are bath mad! If we could live in it we would, and on top of that we have lots and LOTS of showers. It also doesn’t help neither of us are particularly stingy with how much product we use in the shower or bath, so it’s something I purchase regularly. I couldn’t help but notice something new in Home Bargains recently. Honest’s Gently Nourishing Shampoo + Body Wash. 295ml for 99p.

    Honest’s Gently Nourishing Shampoo + Body Wash
    Why did I buy this?

    A few reasons. The packaging grabbed me at first and then I saw the brand name of Honest. Why did this interest me? The actress Jessica Alba has her own skincare, body care and make-up range. And guess what that’s called? HONEST! Same brand. I’ve always had a rough idea how much her products sell for and I can tell you now it’s not 99p. This came across as a ‘gentle’ product on the skin so I thought this would be ideal for my daughter to use (and occasionally me!).

    Honest

    Do I know much about this company? Nope. What I do know is Jessica Alba has created a company that sells body care products (among many other things) that is designed to be gentle enough for the whole family to use. This is the impression that the Honest website gives. The brand of Honest has been around for a good number of years so not new on the market.

    What is this?

    This is not just a body wash but a shampoo as well. The fact this has on the packaging it’s gentle for baby is making me think if this is marketed as a baby product or are they highlighting it for all family use?

    Packaging

    This 2 in 1 product comes in a tall and quite chunky looking plastic bottle. Push top dispenser, with a pretty looking label made up of flowers. It looks nice, it looks different but the packaging is very practical in use as well and very easy for the smallest of hands to use to the biggest or even frailest.

    Ingredients

    Ingredients include Water, Aloe juice, Sweet Almond Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Safflower Oil and Glycerin.

    Fragrance

    I’m not sure about this one. It’s hard to describe if I’m honest (excuse the pun!).There’s an almost caramelised scent to this. A slight sweetness with a hint of citrus because there is a fresh undertone in this, but it’s not zesty. A possible woody, earthy note to this. This really is a strange scent to me and not an easy one to put into words. Do I like it? Mewwhh. It’s not strong which makes smelling this easier but it’s unusual.

    On the skin

    In the shower this lathers up on a sponge. Rather than it producing lots of airy, big bubbles it’s more creamy and compact. It feels nice on the skin, moves around easily and cleaned my body well. Three pumps of this in the bath produced a good amount of soft bubbles that stayed ‘alive’ and on the surface water for a decent amount of time. For bath or shower use I didn’t need to use lots of this.

    The fragrance is there but it’s not heavy. My daughter didn’t like how this smelt though. She said it was horrible! I wouldn’t go that far but it’s not an instant fragrance winner for me.

    My skin has been up and down due to heat in the UK and can be very irritated, raised, itchy and a nuisance. This hasn’t made it worse in anyway, so I think this is quite a gentle formulated product. Although it didn’t dry out my skin, I don’t think it was massively nourishing or gave my body a feeling of being refreshed after use.

    Both myself and my daughter used this only as a body wash not as a shampoo, so can’t comment on how effective it is to clean hair. Or how suitable it is on a baby as my baby hasn’t been one for 11 years!

    Recommended?

    I don’t love and I don’t hate this product. I’ve used better body washes and I think my daughter has too. But for the price, I would be tempted to use this as a hand wash. Even when this product finishes I might just reuse this packaging and put something else in it, as the bottle is great and well designed. If you’re looking for a product that is for sensitive skin, for the price I would give it a try. And for babies? Compare the ingredients of this to those body washes that are on the market to decide if this should be purchased. But for general family use I think this is fine and for under a £1.00 won’t break the bank!

  • Maui Moisture Coconut Coffee Body Scrub & Wash. Hit, Miss or Maybe?

    I’m trying sooo hard not to make unnecessary purchases when it comes to body and skincare products. I haven’t been awful but I know I could resist splashing the cash so much more! But if I made no purchases at all, especially bargain ones, I wouldn’t be me. Recently I caved and bought a bottle or 3 (some are gifts!) of Maui Moisture’s Coconut Coffee Body Scrub & Wash. Bought from Home Bargains, at a cost of 99p each for 577ml.

    Maui Moisture Coconut Coffee Body Scrub & Wash
    Why did I buy this?

    Three reasons in the following order… the brand, the cost and the size! This is not a cheap brand, so the price and size was brilliant! And I’ve tried products from this range before but not for the bath or shower, so I wanted to see what this was like.

    What is this?

    This is designed to gently exfoilate the skin, while hydrating it and making the skin on the body look more healthy.

    How to use

    Create a lather by massaging all over the body and then rinse.

    Texture

    White in colour and looks very much like a body lotion. Smooth, but you can see some very small white coloured particles in this. Although it does look like a body lotion (except for the bits!), it feels slightly gel like.

    Fragrance

    When I first smelt this I didn’t now whether I liked the fragrance or not. It smells like sweetened creamy coconut with the slight hint of coffee but nothing too obvious, as it’s quite tropical and has an almost vanilla like element in the scent.

    In the shower

    The first few times I used this I treated it like a traditional body scrub. I rubbed it into damp skin with my hands and it was a total fail! So instead I added it onto a sponge as I would with any body wash, and this was when it performed so much better. On the sponge it created a creamy lather rather than airy bubbles. It was very nice on the skin, quite luxurious and overall an enjoyable texture.

    The scrub particles were there. Small in size and very few in this product. I didn’t feel like it exfoliated my skin because there weren’t enough particles in it. It almost ‘tickled’ my skin but gave no physical benefits.

    Fragrance was there while I was using this and I found it to be pleasant. Despite my initial thoughts, I found the more I used this the more I liked it. Quite a comforting scent overall and not too strong.

    My skin after use felt quite fresh, clean and not dried out. I’ve been suffering from itchy patches of skin since the weather has been warmer and this body wash has caused no issues.

    My Issues

    When I went to purchase this I already had some mis-givings. How could something be an effective body wash AND scrub? And in my opinion this isn’t. It’s a great body wash. Everything you want from something you wash your body with this will do it and a little bit more. But a scrub? Nope! I sort of feel as if the scrub part of this is gimmicky and to makes it a bit different, but it’s not a scrub.

    Recommended?

    The more I’ve used this the more I like it. It’s a bit different in my opinion to other body washes on the market but just as easy to use and effective in the job of cleaning the skin. Fragrance and texture is thumbs up. Non drying formula, all good points and what you should get as standard. The size is great and if you grab it for 99p that’s brilliant value because the brand of Maui as already mentioned, isn’t the cheapest out there! But I wouldn’t recommended this if you’re looking for a traditional body scrub, it just won’t cut it.

  • Farmologie by Child’s Farm Pink Grapefruit Bath Soak

    There’s been a bit of a buzz on social media recently. It’s nothing ground breaking or world changing, but the chatter comes from those people who spot a potential bargain. Some products from a brand called Farmologie have been found in the discount store Home Bargains over the last few weeks. What’s so special about this? Compared to their usual rrp, they’ve been priced a lot lower and people have been loving it! So of course I had to buy a product or two to see if the stampede of buying these super cheap bath and body products was worth the hype. One of the items I bought was Pink Grapefruit Bath Soak, at a cost of 49p for 250ml. Usual price? £5.99.

    Farmologie’s Pink Grapefruit Bath Soak
    Why did I buy this?

    True story, I actually wanted to purchase items from this brand last year. I heard about Farmologie because I’ve used the brand Child’s Farm. Child’s Farm have a collection of bath, body and hair care products for children that’s gentle on the skin and great for children who suffer from dry, sensitive and eczema prone skin. Farmologie are by the same company and is their adult range while Child’s Farm is their range for children. I bought this because I wanted to try the brand anyway, the price was amazing and I hoped the formulation which be good for all of my family to use at bath time.

    Is this a normal bath soak?

    This bath soak contains colloidal oatmeal, oat kernel flour and oat kernel oil, which are well known to help add moisture to the skin but more importantly soothe irritated skin. So a great ingredient to have if your skin is dry and sensitive. This soak is supposed to be moisturising, soothing and calming.

    Fragrance

    This is a sweet, slightly citrusy fragranced bath soak. Not zesty or sharp although quite uplifting. Almost has a prettiness to it. I love this fragrance in any form and this bath soak smells so good!

    In the bath

    Under warm running water this lathers up fast and well. Soft, white bubbles were created and I was quite impressed how long they actually stayed in tact for.

    The fragrance was there but softly. Such a delicious scent to equally relax or feel invigorated by. I would happily have this stronger and punchier, but this range isn’t designed to be highly fragranced because of who this is suitable for skin wise.

    Although I did find this bath was nice to sit in with the bubbles and fragrance, if I’m honest I did hope this would have been more creamier and provide more softness not only to the water but to my skin. I’m a massive fan of anything that contains colloidal oatmeal and I hoped this would give me a slightly more nourishing bathing experience compared to other bath soaks.

    But I still enjoy using this. It’s scented very differently to other bath products I currently have, it’s lovely to use in the bath and I’ve had no issues with my skin while using this.

    My daughter’s bath time

    My daughter used to suffer from eczema and that’s why she’s used Child Farm products. I think she enjoyed this bath soak in particular because of how this smelt. She normally bathes in Simple body wash products which aren’t heavily fragranced, but gentle on the skin. And this made a pleasant change for her. Her skin was fine during the bath and after, and she wants this in her bath ever evening now.

    Farmologie Products
    Recommended?

    As a standard bath soak it does the job. Bubbles, a bit of fragrance and doesn’t dry or irritate the skin on myself or my daughter. For that alone it makes it a nice product. I wouldn’t say either of us have particularly dry skin and she no longer has to deal with a skin condition. But I am careful what she uses and this seems to agree with her. So would this be ideal for dry, sensitive and eczema prone skin? Without us suffering from any of these I couldn’t confirm or deny. But I can say because of the connection with Child’s Farm, I would give it a shot because they have history and knowledge in this area. Many children use this range with many parents buying and applying it consistently.

    So I would recommend this! Even as a normal bath product for 49p it’s definitely worth it! And if you’re worried about what you put on your skin and interested in this brand, 49p is an affordable price to try something out that could work well for your skin.

    If you’ve been lucky enough to grab anything from this range at such a low price well done! If not, this is available from Boots and direct from Farmologie themselves. At time of writing this post it’s half price down to £3.00 on their website. So not quite 49p, but still good value compared to the usual rrp.