You Beauty Discovery Box - July 2014

Yes, it's that time again and today I have taken delivery of my July You Beauty Discovery Box. It arrived in super quick time this month!

July's theme is You Travel.
To be honest, I wasn't as impressed with this months selection as I have been in previous months. That said, it is still fantastic value for money at £6.95.

The first item I chose was Tan Organic Oil Arganic Moisturising Dry Oil 100ml RRP £24.99. It says it is a multi-purpose dry oil which can be used on face, body and hair. I think I shall try it on my hair first because I've just used up my Avon Argan oil. I'm not sure if it's to be used on wet or dry hair, though. If anyone has tried it, please let me know which is the best way to use it.

The second item I chose was Archeia Rose Rejuvenating Cream 5ml. This is a tiny pot, but the full size 15ml pot retails at a wapping £47.99 so this tiny pot is worth £16! It is meant to have anti-ageing properties so I am looking forward to seeing if it is worth its expensive price tag.

The box also contained 3 extra items: 
a sachet of Egyptian Magic Skin Cream, 
an Agent Provocateur Fatale Eau de Parfum sample vial 
and a 50ml Dove Men Pro-moisture Shave Cream. 
I shall pass the shave cream onto my hubby or one of my sons. I did feel the men's shave cream was a bit random for what is essentially a female beauty box. 

Did you subscribe to any boxes this month? What are you favourites?

Thanks for reading.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care,
CJ xx

**purchased with my own money

Empties: Items I've Used Up in June 2014

It doesn't seem 2 minutes since I was writing my May empties post and here we are again already with my June empties. I've been making a concerted effort to use up products that I've had on the go for far too long so there are quite a few products again this month.

I'll start with face skincare items:

Collin Resultime Micellar Radiance Cleansing Water 50ml (RRP £5)
Would I repurchase? No.
This was the first time I had used micellar water and it was a gift with purchase. I did like using it but it is expensive, the full size is £19.50. I cannot justify spending that sort of money on a water that I essentially wash off with cleansing balm. I have since bought the much cheaper Garnier brand and I can't see much difference between the two.

Alpha-H Absolute Eye Complex 15ml (RRP £34.50)
Would I repurchase? No.
For my 60 day trial, results and full review see my post here.

Alpha-H Rejuvenating Cream 
Would I repurchase? Discontinued.
I've had this moisturiser for a long time and I tended to use it when I had breakouts because this seemed to help clear them. It did make my skin tingle which I wasn't keen on but it did the job so it's a shame it has been discontinued.

Collin Resultime Regenerating Collagen Gel 50ml (RRP £47)
Would I repurchase? Yes, and I already have.
I love, love, love this! Yes, it is expensive but it is divine! It smells wonderful, a sort of light floral smell but not at all over powering. My skin feels wonderful when I use this. I use it every morning, like a serum, before my moisturiser. I also use it at night and sometimes apply it thickly and leave on my skin as an overnight mask. My skin feels plump and nourished by morning. I am trying to source a cheaper alternative but, now I'm 44, I feel my skin deserves this!

Merumaya Youth Preservation Moisturiser 15ml (RRP £17.50)
Would I repurchase? No.
See my review for this product here.

Steamcream 75ml (RRP £12.95)
Would I repurchase? Undecided - although i do have another in my stash.,
I love the texture of this cream, it is very light although I feel I have to wait a while before applying make up. My main problem with this product is the smell. It smells of lavender, which is a scent I usually like, but this lavender scent is so strong. To me it is far too strong for a product that can be used on the face and is more suited as a body or hand cream. It can be used on face, body and hands. I have a couple more tins in my stash from beauty boxes which I will use but I am not sure if I would go out of my way to repurchase. I do love the tin designs, though. What do you use your empty Steamcream tins for? I'm thinking of using this one for hair grips/bobby pins because they are just too cute to throw away!

Next are my body product empties:

Australian Bodycare Tea Tree Oil Skin Wash 1 litre (RRP £30)
Would I repurchase? No.
I hated the antiseptic fragrance of this wash. I suppose that's the tea tree oil. To me, it smelt more like an antibacterial cleaning product, not something I wanted to wash my body with! I have repurposed this by pouring into empty hand wash bottles. It is perfect for washing hands but not my body!

Radox Nourish Shower Cream - Shea Butter & Ginger 250ml (RRP £1.99)
Would I repurchase? Yes.
This smelt so lovely. Every time I used it, it reminded me of holidays. I should imagine it is the Shea butter that gives off that beachy, sun cream smell. Can often buy this half price so it is wonderful for an every day shower cream.

Anatomicals You Need a Blooming Shower! Your Nose Smells Rose Body Cleanser 250ml (RRP £3)
Would I repurchase? No.
I usually love rose scented products, but this just didn't hit the mark for me. It just smelt too artificial and I was glad to see the end of it. I didn't even cut open the tube to get the last dregs out, which tells you all you need to know!

Finally, my hair product empties:

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Boho 150ml (RRP £2.99)
Would I repurchase? No.
I don't tend to use dry shampoo but, like the one mentioned last month,  I won this in a giveaway ages ago so thought it was about time I used it! I am not keen on dry shampoo because they tend to leave a white caste/residue on my hair and I'm afraid this was no exception. If anyone could recommend a dry shampoo that doesn't do this (I have ginger hair) then please comment below. Thanks.

Avon Advanced Techniques Leave In Conditioner 250ml
Would I repurchase? No, no, no!!!
I don't often use leave in conditioners but I think this came in a set that I bought ages ago. I can't find it in the Avon website so perhaps it is discontinued. I'm not surprised! It is so runny  that it was hard to get it on to my hair without making a big mess. I gave up less than half way through this bottle and binned it.

Percy & Reed Bodifying Cream 50ml (RRP £2.69)
Would I repurchase? No.
I didn't feel this actually did anything for my hair so seems pointless repurchasing. It also is highly fragranced. I don't mind a bit of fragrance but I don't want it to compete with my perfume. All Percy & Reed products are highly fragranced which I would overlook if it loved the product, but this one is not for me.

VO5 Weather Resistant Hairspray 100ml
Would I repurchase? Maybe
I bought this as a travel size when I had a weekend away. What can I say? It's a hairspray, it did what it said on the tin! I've never found a "Holy Grail" hairspray, I find them all much of a muchness. I tend to buy whichever is on offer. Prove me wrong - tell me which is the hairspray I HAVE to have.

Avon Moroccan Argan Oil Leave-in Treatment 30ml (RRP £5.50)
Would I repurchase? Yes.
This oil/hair serum can be used on wet and dry hair. I used it on the ends of my wet hair after washing. It helped ensure there was no frizz. It's frequently on offer, in fact at the time of writing it is priced at £3.30. A little goes a long way and it is a great little serum.

Well sorry for the long post. I didn't realise I had so many empties in May. Alas, most are items I would not repurchase - only 3 hits to 8 misses and 2 "maybes".
Thanks for reading.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care,
CJ xx

Recent Purchases: YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Lipsticks plus Free Gift With Purchase

When an email dropped into my inbox from YSL offering a free gift with purchase (GWP) I resisted for a whole week before going on their website and placing an order!

I decided to order 2 Rouge Volupte Shine lipsticks because I absolutely love the formula and the packaging is fantastic. Yes, they are expensive but so worth it. I do think the colour swatches on the YSL site are dreadful so I did a fair bit of research on various blogs before I decided upon no 7 Rose Infinite and no 17 Rose In Tension priced at £25 each. I shall do swatches in another post because I want to get this post up quickly because I'm not sure when the free gift offer ends.

Now if you have never shopped at YSL before, you receive 2 free samples with every order. You cannot choose these samples but you can see what you will receive because they add them to your basket. Although only 2 samples were shown in my basket, I actually received 3 samples. The samples I received were: 1.5ml Eau de Parfum of  Manifesto, 1.5ml Eau de Toilette of L'Homme and a 2ml mini Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils (Luxurious Mascara for a False Lash Effect), all pictured below.

The email I received from YSL said that if I spent £45 or more and quoted JUNETREAT in the promotional code box then I would receive a 5 piece deluxe makeup gift set worth £50.

The items are received were: another L'Homme sample, another Mascara Volume Effet but on a card this time, 3ml Forever Youth Liberator Eye Creme, 0.8g Waterproof Eye Pencil in black and a mini Rouge Pur Couture lipstick in shade no 9 Rose Stiletto.

I've never tried a YSL mascara or eyeliner so I can't wait to give them a try. I've also never tried the Rouge Pur Couture formula lipstick so I am eager to try that too. I am really pleased with my free GWP. I am not sure how long the offer is on for so if you are interested I wouldn't hang around because it is probably just whilst stocks last.

Since my order I have received another email offer from them. Argh!  This is for a free summer make up gift set with a £40 spend. 
The code required is SUMMERTREAT 
Now I don't know if this new code means the one I used is no longer valid, which would be a shame because I feel the JUNETREAT is a better gift. The Summer gift does not have a lipstick and has a make up bag instead and still has the mascara but alas no eyeliner.

There was also a code in my parcel for £10 off any L'Homme fragrance, code LK24Z4, but again no expiry date. I wish they'd state expiry dates!

Have you tried YSL make up? What are your recommendations?
Thanks for reading.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care,
CJ xx

**purchased with my own money

Recent purchases: Sandals - Birkenstocks & Next

Well now the summer is supposedly here in the UK I thought it was about time I bought some new sandals. Now I am unlike most women because I hate shoe shopping! I have small feet (size 3.5) but they are extra wide. Shops seem to equate small sized feet with delicate, petite feet, not the fat feet that I have!

I have been wearing Birkenstocks for years, way before they became fashionable. I bought my first pair in a sale many moons ago for the princely sum of £16. They were the Arizona style but a floral print. I wasn't keen on the floral print but for that price I wanted to see if the comfort claims were true. I used to refer to them as my "granny" sandals! If you've never worn Birkies before then the first time you try them they are so uncomfortable. I felt like I had 2 planks of wood strapped to my feet! Anyway, after a week of wearing them round the house they were so comfortable by the end of the week. When we went to Disneyworld in Florida 4 years ago, my Birkies  were my footwear of choice. Hours of walking around theme parks in sweltering heat and not a single blister and they didn't even rub.  Since my first pair, I have bought several pairs of Birkenstocks but the Arizona style, although not the most glamorous of their styles, have always been the most comfortable to wear.
My old pair are still in regular use but are looking battered and bruised so I decided to go for some black Arizona's because they'd be the most versatile. I also decided to get a leather pair because I knew I'd get lots of wear out of them. I purchased these from Amazon for around £43. If you've never bought Birkenstocks before then I'd recommend trying on in a shop first because they can come up quite large. One thing about my new pair that has concerned me is the branding. All my previous pairs have had the name emboss stamped on the side, whereas on this pair it is just printed on top. I was concerned they were fakes but I bought them direct from Amazon rather than a seller, so surely they must be genuine? The box looks authentic. Does anyone have a new pair and could tell me if theirs are printed too. Pics below:

New Birkies - printed branding.

Old Birkies - embossed branding.

Everything else is fine, it is just this branding that is niggling me. Silly, I know!

The other pair of sandals I bought were from Next and they were in the sale at £14. They aren't particularly exciting, just a wedge sandal. I cannot wear heels so this is a good compromise to get a bit of height. 

I wish I could wear sexy high heels and I have tried but I end up with blisters and I find them so uncomfortable. Don't misunderstand me, I wore my fair share of heels in my teens and twenties but now I'm over 40 I rarely wear them. I only own one pair now and I last wore them to a wedding a year ago and yes I ended up with blisters! I also have to be careful when I buy sandals because I cannot go for anything with an ankle strap. Why? I have the dreaded "cankles"! I hate them. I also hate the person who invented the word cankles! Dreadful word! Anyway, I'm waffling as usual, so suffice to say, although the Next sandals aren't going to win any style awards, they will give me a bit of height without drawing attention to my legs!

So are you a heels or a flats kind of girl?
If you have discovered heels that are comfortable please comment below and covert me!

Thanks for reading.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care,
CJ xx

Happy Father's Day!

Today it is Father's Day here in the UK so I decided to dedicate this blog post to my wonderful Dad, Richard. The photo above is not the best pic of him but it was only taken last Sunday so is the most recent. Ideally I would have loved to have put up a photo of him as a young man with me as a baby but all those pictures are on slides and I have not had the chance to convert them to a photo file in time for this post. Perhaps if I find time this week I will add one to this post.

I am a true "Daddy's Girl" and I love my Dad so much. Today will be the first time in many years that we have been able to see each other on Father's Day. He used to live 3 and a half hours car journey away so, because his birthday is at the end of June, we used to time our visit to celebrate that instead. This year is different, though. Sadly towards the end of 2012, my step-mum died, so Dad decided to move nearer to me. Obviously selling houses takes time, but in July 2013 he finally moved down to be near me and my little family. In fact he moved into the same road as me, almost opposite! It has been lovely to see him every day, although it is tiring for me at times because I do all his cleaning, laundry, etc and sometimes running 2 households does get me down. He is not in the best of health these days and I am well aware of his mortality which is hard but if I can make the last chapter of his life a happy one then it is a job I undertake gladly.

My Dad is one in a million. He brought my brother and I up alone when my mum left. I was 8 years old and my brother 10. It's not that common now, but single dads in the 1970's was unheard of! It can't have been easy, holding down a full time job as well as looking after 2 children, he had no family support, but he did it. 
My brother and I turned out okay so he didn't do so badly! He always made sure I knew how much he loved me. As children we didn't fully appreciate what he did for us, but now, as an adult I do. Now the roles are reversed and I look after him. Yes he can be a grumpy, old man at times but I adore him.

Happy Father's Day Dad, I love you more than words can ever say. Thank you for everything you have done for me and the love you have given me.

To all the dads out there, have a wonderful Father's Day. 

To all those who no longer have their Dads, I hope today isn't too hard for you. Hugs.

Thanks for reading.

Take care,

CJ xx

Empties: Items I've Used Up in May 2014

Well this is my first ever "empties" post and I do apologise that it is a tad late for May but I didn't want to wait to include them with June empties at the end of this month because there are quite a few.

Let's start with face skincare items:

There are actually 3 cleansers this month. I always have at least 2 cleansers on the go and these 3 all decided to finish this month, but no worries because I've lots more in my stash...

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm 125ml (RRP £21)
Would I repurchase? Yes - and I already have!
This balm is quite thick and is great for my evening first cleanse because it removes all my make up with ease. It is unscented so great for those with sensitive skin. I previously used Emma Hardie Moringa Balm and I loved the EH fragrance lots so was disappointed that the Clinique balm was unscented, but then I had a VERY bad reaction to Emma Hardie which I think must be down to the essential oils so I have had to be very careful ever since. 

Merumaya Melting Cleansing Balm 100ml (RRP £14.50)
Would I repurchase? Yes - once I've worked through my stash!
For my review of this product, click here.

Alpha-H Balancing Cleanser with Aloe Vera 200ml (RRP £23)
Would I repurchase? Yes - and I already have.
I tend to use this cleanser when I have breakouts because this seems to do a great job at calming them and clearing them. For me it is a "no nonsense" cleanser and isn't as luxurious to use as some of my other cleansers but it does a great job when my skin needs that extra help at certain times of the month.

Boots Essentials Fragrance Free Cleasing Wipes 25 wipes (RRP £1.50)
Would I repurchase? No.
I don't tend to buy or use wipes but I inherited my late step-mothers beauty stash. She died 20 months ago and I am still working my way through her stash of beauty products. It is taking time because I have a fair stash of my own too! Nothing wrong with these wipes, I just don't tend to use them but I have been using these to remove my make up and then doing a double cleanse.

Merumaya Iconic Youth Serum 15ml (RRP £20)
Would I repurchase? No.
See my review for this product here.


Next up are my body product empties:

Nivea Happy Time Shower Cream 250ml (RRP £1.99)
Would I repurchase? Yes - once I've used up my stash.
Love, love, love this! It is an orange blossom fragrance and I love using this for my morning shower. It lathers well, is very creamy and is often on offer at half price so for 99p what's to dislike?! I want to buy this again but I am being good and working my way through the rest of my shower gels first but I do miss this.

Ted Baker Butterfly Wings set (RRP £10)
Would I repurchase? Maybe.
I received this little set for a birthday present last year. It contains a body spray, body wash, body scrub and body lotion. I do like the scent. It is quite a sweet scent which I am a fan of. Individually the products aren't fantastic, i.e the scrub doesn't do a lot, body wash doesn't lather as much as I'd like but, as I said, I DO like the fragrance. I wouldn't go out of my way to repurchase but, if it was in the Boots sale, then I would perhaps be tempted for the scent alone.

Molton Brown Oatmeal & Milk Exfoliating Bar
Would I repurchase? No.
This was another birthday present and it came in a box of 4 bars. I cannot find this on the MB website so perhaps it has been discontinued? I was totally underwhelmed by this. It didn't exfoliate at all and was more like a normal bar of soap with a few bits of oatmeal in. Unimpressed!

FoM Body Contouring Serum sample size
Would I repurchase? No.
I bought this sample from Latest In Beauty so that I could give it a try. To be honest I don't think any creams/serums etc can get rid of cellulite but I thought I would give it a go. It is called a serum but I felt it was more of a runny oil. I didn't like it because you had to apply to wet skin and I had to remember to do this as soon as I got out of the shower which more often than not I had towelled off before I thought about it. Too much faff!

Philosophy Pure Grace Body Lotion 8 fl.oz (RRP £15)
Would I repurchase? Yes - I already have a spare in my stash!
I love the smell of Pure Grace. To me it smells so clean, like freshly laundered washing. Mmmmm. The lotion absorbs well and my only gripe is that the container it comes in is not very flexible which made getting out the last of the lotion very hard. I think perhaps once I have used the one in my stash I would think twice to a repurchase due to the price. I do think it is expensive for a body lotion and if I could source a cheaper alternative with the same scent then I would. Does anyone know of a Pure Grace dupe please? Doesn't have to be body lotion, any dupe be it perfume, shower gel would be most welcome! Thanks.

Sure Women Crystal Clear Aqua Anti Perspirant 250ml (RRP £3.19)
Would I repurchase? Yes - already have, lots my stash!
This is my deodorant of choice. To be honest I do prefer a solid stick deodorant because I feel they are more effective, but they tend to mess up the underarms of any tops I wear so I have switched to spray deodorants now. Has anyone found a stick deodorant that doesn't leave any residue?

Ysatis Eau de Toilette 100ml (RRP £47.50)
Would I repurchase? Perhaps.
I have had this perfume for many years and I believe the packaging has changed now. This was my perfume of choice back in the late 1980's, early 1990's. It has lots of memories attached to it, so in a way I was sad to see it go. It was the perfume I wore when I met my husband and I wore it on our wedding day too. That said, there are many other perfumes I prefer these days. This is a heavier perfume than I tend to wear now. Perhaps one day I will revisit it for nostalgic reasons but for now I prefer a lighter, sweeter fragrance.

Leighton Denny Best Defence Hand Cream 30ml (RRP £5.50)
Would I repurchase? No.
My review for this product is here.


Finally, my hair product empties:

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Diva 150ml (RRP £2.99)
Would I repurchase? No.
I have had this so long I don't think they even do this fragrance anymore! I don't tend to use dry shampoo but I won this in a giveaway ages ago so thought it was about time I used it! I know a lot of people swear by Batiste, but I am not a lover of dry shampoo because I find they all leave a white caste/residue on my hair and I'm afraid this was no exception. If anyone could recommend a dry shampoo that doesn't do this (I have ginger hair) then please comment below. Thanks.

Head & Shoulders Shampoo in Cool Menthol 500ml (RRP £4.99)
Would I repurchase? Yes - I already have.
I suffer from psoriasis on my scalp and I have tried lots of shampoos, both prescription and over the counter but this seems to be the best at easing my itchy scalp. I've not found anything that clears it up completely but this helps the irritation. I actually find the Cool Menthol variety better for this than their Itchy Scalp one. I haven't been able to find the Cool Menthol in the shops but I have purchased one called Menthol Fresh which has the same packaging so fingers crossed it has just been renamed. I might have to drop them an email to check...

Dove Damage Therapy Intensive Repair 200ml (RRP £2.69)
Would I repurchase? Maybe.
This conditioner didn't wow me but I didn't hate it either. It did what it needed to do - conditioned my hair without weighing it down. I would perhaps repurchase this if it was on offer but I am still on the hunt for my Holy Grail conditioner.

Well sorry for the long post. I didn't realise I had so many empties in May.
If you are still here, thanks for reading.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care,
CJ xx

Magazine Freebies! June 2014 (Part 2)

I have already blogged about the magazine freebies for June but, since writing I have discovered some more, so here is Part 2.

First up (Thanks to a lovely reader, Lovesandloathes, for the heads up on this one!) is Instyle magazine, out now. It is priced at £3.90 and the July issue comes with a 30ml REN Rosa Centifolia Hot Cloth Cleanser with a luxury cotton cloth. This is the only freebie I have gone for this month.

Whilst shopping today, I saw the July issue of Cosmopolitan magazine. Priced at £3.70, it comes with a free pair of sunglasses and a packet of strawberry Mentos! There are 3 styles of sunglasses to choose from.

Finally is Harpers Bazaar magazine. The July issue, out now, priced at £4.20 has a free Leighton Denny nail polish. The polish is worth £11 and there are 6 colours to choose from.

It certainly seems to be the month for free nail polish!
I've not managed to track down Tatler so have yet to see what their sunglasses are like.

My post regarding this months magazine freebies Part 1 is here.
Please comment below if there are any others that I have missed out on.

Thanks for reading.
Take care,
CJ xx