Mybeautywaxstash

Tag: skincare

  • My First Look At Aldi’s Lacura Vitamin C Brightening Daily Cleanser

    Aldi is a supermarket that not only is known for selling a wide range of food and homeware items, but they also have gained a reputation when it comes to their own branded skin and body care products. Is this important? It is for a couple of reasons. They have a wide range of products available (not always available at the same time). All are a good quality and what is equally important is they are affordable. Skincare doesn’t have to be seen as a luxury but can be a budget friendly necessity.

    I’ve noticed in my local store they have started to stock a Vitamin C range which caught my eye. The one product I grabbed was Lacura’s Vitamin C Brightening Daily Cleanser with PHA & Orange Fruit Water. 125ml for £4.99.

    So, what are my initial thoughts on this product?

    Aldi’s Lacura Vitamin C Brightening Daily Cleanser
    Price

    £4.99 for 125ml is good value. Using this morning and night should give weeks of use. Another important fact to think about is if you wanted and needed to repurchase this, it’s less than £5.00. This makes a repeat purchase more achievable than a one off buy.

    Packaging

    If it wasn’t for the packaging I wouldn’t have spotted this, you can’t miss it! Orange in colour, white writing finishing off its look. Very basic and simple. It seems to be a trend a lot of stores follow if they have their own Vitamin C skincare range, making the packaging orange, and I wonder why? And it does work! What I love about this cleanser is it comes in a practical tube but it’s also boxed. It’s that extra touch which I like and if I was giving this as a gift it would make it more appealing.

    Texture

    Aldi’s Lacura Vitamin C Brightening Daily Cleanser is very much a cream cleanser. Quite thick in consistency but not too much. The colour of this is orange but not glow in the dark orange, a much paler, creamier hue. A cream cleanser for many will be ideal during a colder season. The texture can be more comforting on the face, and less stripping of the skin compared to a facial wash, as an example.

    Fragrance

    There’s definitely an orange scent in this cleanser but it’s not sharp and citrusy. Creamier, slightly sweet and not particularly zesty in fragrance.

    My First Impressions

    Great size, perfect packaging and priced just right! It’s not something you would buy every week, so that £5.00 isn’t something you would be hit with often. I’m already liking the texture and scent of this and I can see this being a nice product to use all year round.

    And The Rest Of The Range?

    Customers have picked the shelf clean when I’ve gone to see what other products were available in this range. But what I got to see was there is an eye cream (very interested in this!) and a facial gel moisturiser.

    Keep An Eye On This Range

    If you shop in Aldi and looking to change up your skincare products, have a browse at this Lacura skincare collection and this product. I don’t think any of the products are over £5.00 so could be worthwhile buying and trying.

    Interested in this budget busting brand? Have a look at other Lacura products I’ve tried over the past few years below.

    An Alternative To Aveeno – Aldi’s Lacura Moisturising Hand Cream

    Aldi’s Lacura Moisturising Foot Cream

    Aldi’s Lacura Exfoliating Foot Scrub

    Aldi’s Lacura Spa Foaming Bath Soak & Luxury Bath Float

  • A Lip Balm Alternative? Q+A’s Liquorice Lip Oil

    Let’s talk lips! It’s getting windier and colder here in the UK. This can cause havoc on the skin, and this includes the lips. Most people will grab a lip balm to soothe and moisturise this part of the face. But do many people use a lip oil? Is it just as good or more of a fun type of product? I delved into my skincare stash and pulled out a forgotten product I’ve never used, which is Q+A’s Liquorice Lip Oil. This retails at £6.50 for 15ml and I bought it direct from Q+A months ago. I bought, as usual, when this was on sale, so paid less.

    Q+A Liquorice Lip Oil
    Why did I buy this?

    There were particular products I wanted to buy and added this item as a gift for a friend. And me being me, I ordered one for myself because I didn’t want to be left out! I didn’t need it, I just thought one for my friend one for me too.

    What is this supposed to do?

    This lip oil is designed to moisturise the lips and provide a plumping effect.

    Packaging

    Q+A’s Liquorice Lip Oil comes in in a pale pink and white coloured tube. The oil comes out thanks to the roller ball applicator at the top. It’s a simple looking product but I love how it’s packaged because it’s not fussy, clean looking so easy on the eye.

    Ingredients

    Some of the ingredients included in this product are jojoba seed oil, apricot kernel oil, liquorice leaf extract, sunflower seed oil and peppermint oil (to name just a few ingredients, there are loads more!).

    Fragrance

    I expected this to reek of peppermint or some form of mint oil but it doesn’t. It smells delicately minty but it’s very subtle.

    On The Lips

    Thanks to the roller ball, this is a product which is easy to apply and done so evenly. I can feel it going onto my lips because it literally is being coated. But it’s not heavy in feel, sticky or thick. The oil is quite thin in fact. My lips are left shiny but not too greasy. They look moisturised but not the same way as a lip gloss would but similar to a lip balm. No tingling or cooling sensation when this went on which I was a little surprised about. And definitely no lip plumping!

    Although my lips never felt dry or looked it while using this, I did feel the oiliness/application disappeared within an hour. My lips didn’t look coated and didn’t feel it relatively quickly from first applying it. But they weren’t dry. I found myself reapplying this a good 3 times during the day if I wanted that hit of moisture in look and feel.

    Would I buy this again?

    Considering I’ve never used a lip oil before I don’t mind using this. Nicely packaged, good ingredients flowing through it and it’s moisturising. BUT I would have liked this to feel more moisturising for longer. What I think I needed more from this lip oil was protection. Would I buy this again for myself? If the price was right e.g sale, possibly. Buy this for a gift? I actually would! My daughter nicked this and I think she would like her own but again I would grab this when on offer because it’s nice but not amazing.

    If this description is giving you a ‘buy me’ feel, you can grab this product from different places such as Sainsbury’s and of course direct from Q+A themselves.

  • The Body Shop’s Seaweed Balance Sheet Mask

    Sometimes I love a sheet mask, sometimes I forget they even exist. As a skincare product they can be handy to provide a bit of a pamper and a moment of selfcare. Other times they just seem a hassle and a faff to apply onto the face, leave it on and keep adjusting its position because it’s falling into your eyes! But when the call of a sheet mask is made you have to answer it. The latest one I’ve used is The Body Shop’s Seaweed Balance Sheet Mask. This retails for £5.00.

    The Body Shop’s Seaweed Balance Sheet Mask
    Why did I use this?

    Have you ever thought that your face hates you? Mine does as it’s decided to create a cluster of spots on my chin making me look like an extra from Hocus Pocus 2! I went through my sheet mask collection and found this one, hoping it would be ideal to neutralise the madness on my face and balance my skin out.

    What is this supposed to do?

    This sheet mask is designed to make the skin on the face feel refreshed, soothed and help to control excess oil on the skin. Skin should feel hydrated for up to 24 hours and suitable for oily/combination skin.

    The Sheet Mask

    Looks and behaves like the majority of sheet masks on the market e.g comes in sachet, mask shaped with holes for eyes, mouth and nose. I didn’t find the mask too thin or too thick, just the right thickness. White in colour.

    It was very moist thanks to the solution it was soaked in. This is fragranced. Not too strong but I would’ve preferred this to have been fragrance free or more natural, marine like in scent. This sheet mask smelt like a synthetic floral. I didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t what I was expecting considering this sheet mask contain aloe vera and cucumber extract.

    On the face

    Since this was very moist there was an initial cooling feeling to this mask once put on. But all I could think about was the fragrance! As I’ve mentioned it’s not strong or awful, but I did find it quite distracting. On the skin the mask was reasonably secure with a bit of adjusting. The eye holes could have been a bit bigger but overall, it felt ok.

    Taking it off my skin there was some residue solution left on it which I patted in. That felt nice and took very little time to be absorbed.

    No irritation to the skin, and I didn’t feel the need to add any other skincare product on top as this was quite hydrating.

    The Morning After The Night Before

    I used this mask before bed. So of course, I had to check my skin the following morning. It did feel and look quite refreshed. It wasn’t dry, my cluster of spots were still thriving but at least I looked reasonably fresh.

    Recommended?

    I thought this mask was ok but not amazing. I don’t suffer from oily/combination skin in general but right now it’s closer to normal/combination so not totally for me. Although I never expect a massive change after using a product like this, I don’t think my skin would have looked or felt massively different without it. I’ve used lots of masks before that I’ve loved but I felt this was fine, nothing special. It does suggest on the packaging you will see results after 4 weeks using this twice a week, but who is going to do that? That would cost the grand total of £40.00. You could buy a potted or tubed skincare mask that would last 3 months, be more effective in results and cost less than 8 of these masks!

    So, this isn’t a mask I would buy again for myself. There are more affordable masks on the market that perform better (for me) or priced the same that would give a better result. The fragrance should have been different, but overall I didn’t particularly fall in love with this sheet mask from beginning to end of using it.

    Would I recommend this? There’s no harm in trying it but buy this when not full price, use on oily/combination skin and use it as a bit of fun not serious skincare. But between you and I, you could do better so maybe buy better.

  • August Review Round Up. What Products Did I Use?

    It’s that time where we are close to saying goodbye to one month and welcome in the next. August was a good month for me because I got much needed time off work AND managed to go away on a family holiday! And to top it off I got to use lots of skincare, body care and home fragrance products that I haven’t used before. So what did I try, use and review in August?

    Products Used & Reviewed in August
    The Body Shop’s Camomile Cleansing Oil

    A great cleansing product to break up and remove sun cream and make-up as a first cleanse. Easy and quick to use, very moisturising and great for those who have dry and sensitive skin or just love an oil texture.

    The Body Shop’s Camomile Cleansing Oil
    Bespoke London’s Wild Herbs & Tonka Bean EDP For Men

    Originally bought for my teenage son and then ‘borrowed’ a few times by me! A great fragrance scent wise, packaging and super affordable.

    Bespoke London’s Wild Herbs and Tonka Bean EDP for Men
    Lidi’s Cien Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Eye Contour Cream

    The perfect example that skincare doesn’t have to be expensive! For less than £2.00 this eye cream from the supermarket Lidl is a great product to nourish the under eye area and keep it well conditioned.

    Lidl’s Cien Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream
    Dr Organic’s Shea Butter Body Scrub

    Bought from Home Bargains for just 99p, but probably is one of the worst body scrubs I’ve ever used. Good sized product, left my skin feeling quite soft but this was probably down to it containing Shea Butter. There was no exfoliating action to this so therefore NOT a body scrub!

    Dr Organic’s Shea Butter Body Scrub
    Scentsy’s Disney The Last Petal Wax Melt Snap Bar

    I waited a long time to try Scentsy’s wax bars! The Last Petal smelt really nice and packaging would make any Disney fan happy. But the usual retail price of this wax snap bar would put me off repurchasing but at a sale price (which is what I paid) it wouldn’t.

    Scentsy’s Disney The Last Petal Wax Bar
    Beauty Kitchen’s Potent Sleep Mask

    A great mask to use when your skin needs a pick me up! And even better as you apply this onto the face at night and wake up to a smoother more refreshed face in the morning.

    Beauty Kitchen’s Abyssinian Oil Night Halo Potent Sleep Mask
    Glow’s Ruffles At The Palace August Wax Melt Subscription Box

    Technically not used yet, but I was so excited to purchase this wax melt subscription box from Glow. Beautiful pieces of wax, great fragrances and the theme was right up my street!

    Glow’s Ruffles At the Palace August Wax Melt Subscription Box
    Beauty Laundrette’s EDT

    There’s nothing wrong with buying designer fragrances. But considering what’s currently going on across the world, not just in the UK, cheaper alternatives if possible should be at least looked at. Although Beauty Laundrette’s EDT isn’t my favourite scent for a few reasons, it will be a good purchase for someone who wants a light, white floral based feminine fragrance that doesn’t cost the earth.

    Beauty Laundrette’s EDT

    So that’s my August product review round up all wrapped up in one post! I hope September brings even more interesting products to use and review.