Mybeautywaxstash

Tag: marksandspencer

  • £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.

  • Marks and Spencer’s Hand Scrub

    I work very close to a Marks and Spencer’s store. It’s not massive and sells food rather than clothes. I don’t visit it regularly because if I’m honest I don’t have Mark’s and Spencer’s money! But what I have noticed is, nicely tucked into their incredibly small healthcare section, is various hand, body and skincare products. Intrigued, curious and interested to try something from M&S, I purchased their Hand Scrub with Almond Milk & Vanilla. This cost £2.00 for 75ml.

    Marks and Spencer’s Hand Scrub Almond Milk & Vanilla
    Why did I buy this?

    I’ve always associated Marks and Spencer with high prices. To see some of their body products for such good, affordable prices is brilliant. I bought the hand scrub because I’ve got lots of hand creams. Before I start using them again, I wanted to get rid of any rough, dry skin first and thought this would be a nice product to try.

    What is this supposed to do?

    This hand scrub is supposed to help remove dead skin cells, leaving skin smoother and softer. Thanks to it containing yoghurt and olive extracts, it’s also supposed to be moisturising while leaving the hands lightly scented.

    Packaging

    75ml of scrub comes in a clear, plastic flip top lidded tube. Very simple, nothing imaginative. There’s a couple of almond nut illustrations on the tube but that’s it apart from the text, so no other detailing. But it does the job! Since the tube is clear you can see the scrub inside it which looks very inviting. So simple, practical and but it does what it needs to do.

    Look & Texture

    Squeezed out of the tube this looks like a gel. It has a slight fluidness to it but holds it shape as a gel does. It has a slight golden brown tint to it but it’s still clear, so you can see the scrub particles in it. I love a good texture, and this excites me because I’ve never used a scrub product that looked and felt like this one, so very different for me.

    Fragrance

    This has an almost marzipan scent to it. It’s clear this is almond based and the vanilla is present as there is that typical, vanilla sweetness to it although slightly floral as well. I really like how this smells. It’s one of those scents personally I would enjoy anytime of the year, but more so now its colder and edging closer to Winter this is ideal.

    How to Use

    On damp skin, massage a small amount of the scrub onto the hands and rinse.

    In Use

    I made sure my hands were damp, but not wet. I rubbed this into my hands and found my hands were now slightly white as if I had rubbed soap into my skin and it needed to be washed off. What I found when rubbing this into my hands was it was a very unusual in feel. It felt very moisturising as if it had a slip to it, a slight oiliness to it, but there was no oil. The actual scrub pieces in this were the right sizes and enough in amount which was perfect for hands. I didn’t feel they were too rough or too soft, just right, because I could feel the exfoliating action. Rinsing off was a bit like rinsing off a handwash. I did find I needed to wash my hands twice because the first time I felt there was residue left on my hands. It felt a little tacky, but the second rinse was fine.

    Hands after Use?

    My hands felt lovely and soft. They felt a little smoother and moisturised too. I also noticed my hands had been fragranced. It was lovely to smell and not distracting. Although this was a moisturising product it’s not to replace a hand cream. I think if possible, following up with a cream would be best to keep skin soft and supple. My hands a few hours later after being in and out of water looked and felt dry, so this hand scrub is just a scrub and treat it like such.

    Recommended?

    It’s actually a nice product for the price and size. A hand scrub isn’t something you would use everyday, maybe once or twice a week if that. So 75ml should last a good amount of time. It’s beautifully scented. I can still catch the fragrance on my hands a few hours after use, but it’s soft and not lingering. It’s a nice product to use, leaves the hands feeling smoother and only costs £2.00! So would I recommend this? Yes I would! It won’t break the bank and it’s a decent product. Team it up with a hand cream or lotion and it would make a killer combo for yourself or someone else.

    I end this post with 2 words which is a recommendation of what this product would be good for…. STOCKING FILLER!

  • Marks & Spencer’s Affordable Rainbow Bath Fizzer

    When I think of the British store Marks & Spencer, the first thing I think about is food. They are well known for their food ranges, which although is quality can come at a price! But I never thought about them retailing bath and body products. They sell many, many items that don’t fall into the food or clothing category Including bath fizzers. I picked up Rainbow Bath Fizzer (along with a few others) at the end of August for 49p (reduced from £3.50)!

    Marks & Spencer’s Rainbow Bath Fizzer
    Why Did I Buy This?

    I went into the store dragging along two, miserable children looking for school shoes. We didn’t buy any but somehow I walked out with a handful of bath fizzers! This looked cute, I thought how ideal this (and others I grabbed) would be for gift giving and they had been reduced to only 49p!BARGAIN!

    How does Rainbow Bath Fizzer look?

    Like a rainbow! This is a generous sized bath fizzer which nearly covers the palm of my hand. Rainbow shaped, with three colours visible on the top of it, which is pink, pale pink and green. Looking more closely at this there are tiny speckles of dark pink running all the way through it. The texture is typical bath fizzer/bomb like, solid and hard with a chalky feel to it.

    Marks & Spencer’s Rainbow Bath Fizzers (and others!)
    Fragrance

    Slightly sweet in smell thanks to vanilla. There’s also a perfume like hint to it, like a soft musk, incensy scent. Makes sense as the shrink wrapping that covered this bath fizzer mentioned the fragrance to be vanilla, amber and sandalwood.

    In the bath

    I placed this bath fizzer on top of an already run, warm bath and as soon as it hit the water it fizzed and released colour. The main colour it spewed out was pink. Along with the colour was a little froth and foam. This bath fizzer wouldn’t sitting still for a second and danced and twirled around in the bath for at least 5 minutes. Once the smallest piece of bath fizzer disappeared it left a sea of pink.

    The bath water didn’t stay the soft purply/pink hue it turned into for long. I noticed the colour (and foam) pretty much disappeared once I got into the bath. Fragrance wise it was quite light when I first put this in the bath, but when I got in I couldn’t pick it up at all.

    Being in the bath was nothing special. I even added some bath soak as I felt as if I was just sat in plain water. But there was no drying out of the skin, no irritation, no issues in that way.

    Recommended?

    I haven’t seen this particular Rainbow Bath Fizzer sold in store again, so I assume that stock has gone to sale heaven. What this has done is made me very open minded to try out other bath and body products from Marks & Spencer because this wasn’t a bad product at all. Could it have been better? Yes. I would have liked a more obvious, stronger fragrance and the colour of the bath water to last longer. But this was great in size and look, performed fabulously in the bath and didn’t irritate my skin (which has been very up and down for me recently). For the price I paid, perfect little stocking/gift fillers. Children, teens would like this and probably some adults too. So not my favourite bath product of all time but definitely NOT the worst. Would I buy this again? Yes, as gifts. For myself? No because I’m incredibly picky with bath bombs/fizzers, that’s just me.

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