Lotions, Potions & Perfumes

Hits, Misses & Maybes

So, for this weeks blog, which has turned out MUCH longer than I thought it was going to, I thought I would share with you some of the items in my beauty arsenal that you might be interested in seeing.  As we're going from spring to summer, some of my heavier duty products are starting to take a back seat, and the lighter more summery stuff is coming back into use.  Also am starting to think about legs and feet coming out to play, so they're getting a bit of TLC now too, after a winter of neglect (sorry feet!).

So, the first section is Desert Island Heroes.  Obviously my first choice would have to be Ray Mears, for so many, many, reasons...... BUT! He doesn't really fit in with the theme of this weeks blog, so on to the first lot of goodies...

From left to right:

Estee Lauder perfume Youth Dew - I love this! I wear it pretty much every day, its spicy and sexy, a bit floral, and it's easy to put a bit on for daytime without overpowering a room.  In my opinion, day time perfume should just be the right amount of smell so that if someone stands close to you they say 'you smell nice', but otherwise not really noticeable.  I can't stand it when someone walks past me and nearly knocks me out with their perfume!  As you see I have the body lotion there too.  I'm a sucker for buying lots of stuff in the same range if I find something I like.

Decleor Experience De L'Age rich face cream - another must have, and another product I use every day, but this is one I hate buying as it's so expensive!  Am not surprised it has 'rich' in it's name, because you'd have to be to buy the big pot!  I got this little selection from Ebay for about £15, which is a bargain.  Not hugely blown away by Aromessence Iris, but will still use it until its gone as I did with the Tonilastil Oil from the same range.

Zovirax Cold Sore Cream - speaks for itself really, does the job if you catch the tingle fast enough.  If you catch it a bit late you can still avert the worst of the attack.  Have tried all kinds of chemist own brands, and for me, this really does work better than the rest.

Liz Earle Eyebright Lotion - fabulous for dry or tired eyes.  You pop it on a couple of cotton pads, and put those on your eyes.  Lie back for 10 mins and daydream (about Ray Mears, but maybe thats just me haha), and when you take the cotton pads off you'll have bright sparkling eyes!  I keep this on my bedside table so its always to hand.  It's supposed to reduce puffiness too, but so far have been lucky and don't have a problem with that, so can't tell you if it works.  Also in a Liz Earle vein, her muslin cloths are brill.

Boots Sparkling Eyes eye drops - I bought these because I've been using Bare Minerals powder foundation, and despite the fact that I love the coverage and ease of use, I found it was getting in my eyes and irritating them.  No point having lovely skin if your eyes look like you've been up drinking all night!  So I apply the powder, and my eyeliner, then I pop the eyedrops in to wash out any powder that might have got in there, and this seems to be working for me. No more red eyes!  There were two in Boots side by side and I bought this one as it has a blue colour in to make your eyes look whiter.

Dove Beauty Finish Deodorant - smells nice and seems to reduce shaving dryness

Burts Bees Lemon Cuticle Balm - loving the smell of this, and love anything to do with Bees so a double winner!  Have only had it a week or so, so can't give proper verdict on results, but have used it alot without hardly anything missing from the pot, and have noticed a possible positive change in cuticles.  My cuticles are super-stubborn and am having a problem with dermatitis on my hands (which I always get when the sun comes out), so its not fair to give it judgement right now.  Will save judging for another day, but it made it into this pic so must have something going for it!

Next section - thumbs up - ther things I like, but could leave at home if I only had a tiny baggage allowance.... will try not to rattle on too long about these ones

Decleor Prolagene Gel - I use this as a barrier between my moisturiser and my powder foundation.  I do have the Bare Minerals primer, but it makes my hands too slippy to open the pots.  Can't do with faffing about when I'm getting ready for work so this works for me.

Jessica Phenomen Oil - working well on my dermatitis, supposed to be good for nails but not seen a big difference

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish - good for getting off make up with the minimum of fuss after a night out, love how it takes off even waterproof mascara

Vanderbilt eau de toilette - lovely for when the day is too sunny for Youth Dew and I want to smell summery, somehow smells cheerful - once again note how I can't just buy ONE thing out of the range, tut at myself

Gliss Corimist spray - makes your hair smell nice & makes it shiny - have been using it for years and never found a shine spray that I like better

Flexitol Cuticle Cream - once again, the big cuticle problem - this one actually definitely made my cuticles better, but I don't like how sticky it feels - I may buy more though when this tube runs out

Boots Softening Foot Balm - it does work to soften feet but I didn't get the drastic results I wanted when I slathered it on & went to bed in cotton socks

Ojon hair treatment - got this from QVC when they had it on special offer P&P free, it did make my permed hair less frizzy but wasn't as amazing as they claimed - I will use it all but probably not repurchase

Next up - things I'm not that keen on - thumbs down products!

John Frieda Frizz Ease - I so want to like this, I do have frizzy hair and would love to tame it... being a naturally optimistic person I keep buying different Frizz Ease products, and have never yet found one that makes me completely frizz free

Tigi Rockaholic Born to Rock detangler & defrizzer - this one actually did detangle & defrizz a bit, but I HATE the smell! Kind of like apples or grapes that are going bad

Batiste dry shampoo - really wanted to like this too, used it a couple of times when my fringe was greasy but the rest of my hair was ok.... my hair felt dirty afterwards, and by lunchtime my fringe was just as bad (if not worse) than it had been in the morning when I applied it

How funny that 3 of my 4 thumbs down products are hair ones!

Last but not least in the disappointment stakes is Elemis Pro-Collagen Radiantly Smooth Body Cream.  This was a Christmas present and I was chuffed to bits when I got it, but its got so many shimmery gold bits in it, it almost makes it unusable!  Lets say you put some of this cream on your arms, ta-daa! they're all nice n shimmery, then you have to immediately go and wash your hands or you will get shimmery gold glitter EVERYWHERE!!!  And even then, it doesn't all come off your hands, and it will eventually make its way to your nose where it will distract you all day.... sigh.... rant over...

One bonus thumbs down not pictured, because I threw it away, is Benefits Dr Feelgood Balm - it didn't do anything, it was expensive, and any bit of fluff in the atmosphere would stick to the sponge - yuk!

Soooooooo there we have it, my favourite and not-so-favourite lotions & potions, what do you think?  What's your number one must have, and number one thumbs down?

On closing, I will wish you all a happy Diamond Jubilee Bank Holiday (if you get it), and show you the nail art I did to celebrate it!  The base colour is Orly Lollipop, then a coat of Nails Inc Electric Lane holographic glitter, then I drew the bunting with Color Club nail art polish, and a top coat of Seche Vite, all done!  I tried a few different colour combo's but this was my favourite:

Until next week, take care and whatever you do, have fun!

- MASPOOASE x x x