Liz Earle Haul - QVC Todays Special Value

Hi everyone!

Happy Friday!

Today I have a slightly different post for you all.  It's not really a review, but a run down of my recent purchase from QVC.  Not long ago they had a 'Todays Special Value' from Liz Earle.

Now, not all QVC's TSV's are especially 'special'.  Sometimes they've only knocked a fiver or so off, and sometimes you can still buy the product somewhere else cheaper, although of course you probably won't get the 30 no quibble money back guarantee like you do from QVC.  Plus I find their P&P quite expensive.  So as you can imagine, I'm not snapping up TSV's all the time.

But this one caught my eye.  It came at exactly the right time, as my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish has just about run out and I was considering getting some more.

I like Cleanse & Polish.  I don't use cleanser much, and actually I usually just use a Liz Earle muslin cloth and warm water, no cleaning products at all on my face.  However I don't usually wear mascara as my lashes are dark anyway, and thanks to Revitalash they're pretty long too, so I don't feel the need.

So, if I'm going out (which is when I do use mascara, and a waterproof one at that), when I get back I want to get all the make up off my face.  That's when I get my C&P out.  I can rub it right over my closed eyes and rub at my mascara-y eyelashes, and give then them a rub over with the cloth and warm water, and voila! Nice and clean.  No stingy eyes, and no dry skin after.

It came in a plain white box, which was a little bit bashed, but makes it easy to wrap if you're thinking of buying it for someone as a gift.  It would make a great valentines gift actually!

There was quite alot in the kit, and it was reasonably priced for this brand (although still pretty expensive really). This is what I got:

Here's a closer view of the big items:

And here's what it says on the blurb -

Step 1 Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. 

Has won over 80 awards, including the QVC Customer Beauty Award for Best Cleanser.  Its gentle cleansing power is suitable for all skin types and delivers instantly visible results.

Step 2 Gentle Face Exfoliator. 

Our smoothing trouble-shooter for congested skin gently buffs away dead skin cells with fine jojoba beads to reveal skin that looks fresh, smooth and radiant.

Step 3.  Choose your treatment mask.

Intensive Nourishing Treatment Mask.  If your skin is dry or sensitive, our creamy intensive nourishing treatment mask is perfect for soothing parched, stressed and sensitive skin, when it's most needed.

Deep Cleansing Mask.  If you have oily or combination skin, our deep cleansing mask can help draw out impurities and leave skin balanced and calm.

Brightening Treatment Mask.  Our brightening treatment mask is a fast-acting pick me up which revitalises dull skin.

Here's a pic of the small stuff:

And a bit more blurb:

Step 4.  Instant Boost Skin Tonic Spritzer.

Our instant boost skin tonic spritzer refreshes, revitalises and brightens while adding a fine layer of moisture to your skin.  Gentle and alchohol free, it contains hydrating aloe vera, soothing calendula, conditioning natural source vitamin E and the heavenly fragrance of rose scented geranium.

Step 5.  Superskin Concentrate.

Winner of the QVC Customer Beauty Award for Best Anti-aging Product, Superskin Concentrate is a rich blend of pureplant oils including argan and rosehip, plus aromatic neroli, lavender and chamomile, to soften and rebalance all skin types.

Step 6.  Skin repair moisturiser.

Packed with naturally active skin-conditioning ingredients including borage seeds and avocado oils, toning echinacea and hops, plus antioxidants beta-carotene and natural source vitamin E, our three skin repair moisturisers help prevent moisture loss and leave skin feeling soft and smooth.

The booklet also gives you instructions on how to use each product.  There are also some accessories.  Two muslin cloths, a sponge for removing the face masks, and a hairband, which is supersoft and closed with a velcro fastener:

So for all this, and including the P&P I paid £50.95, which is alot, but I do feel like I got enough products to justify that price.

It is still available on the QVC website at the regular QVC price of £55.00 plus £5.95 P&P HERES the link theres more photos and reviews there too.  The item number is 200281 if that link doesn't work for you.  As you see, as a TSV I only got £4 off, but hey, that's better than nothing!

So what do you think?  Too expensive?  Or OK for what I got?  Is there anything you'd like to see me review?

I normally wouldn't put up a post like this, because I always think to myself that I'll review all the individual products like some kind of super-blogger, but of course that ends up never happening, and things get ruined or thrown out (for a typical example of this, theres an up and coming Ojon review that perfectly illustrates my point haha), but for sure I will end up reviewing some of them.

As another positive, Liz Earle state on their website that they NEVER test on animals, and that they are completely cruelty free.  Also their products are all vegetarian, although some formulas do contain animal-friendly products such as beeswax or manuka honey.  Another reason to feel good while you're having a pamper :-)

Anyway, I'd better go, this post has ended up waaay longer than I intended!

Until next time...

MASPOOASE x x x
~Wendy~

Judith Williams Phytomineral Neck Treatment Review

Hi again!

I've had this cream for a while, I've been holding off writing a review on it because I wanted to give it a decent chance to work.  I bought it from QVC, where it had rave reviews, HERE's the link , I paid £26.00 plus P&P.

The packaging is pretty, if you have a nice dressing table, it would certainly 'grace' it:

While the nice shiny lid does look nice, I've found it slippy and difficult to open if I have any product on my hands, like face cream or hair oil.

It comes with a leaflet, here's what it has to say:

"This beauty treatment was especially developed for the care of the tender skin on the neck & decollete area.  Reveal a smoother appearance throughout your skin.  Gently massage into cleansed skin in the morning and evenings.
7 minerals, 7 plants.  An active agent complex made from 7 precious plant extracts and 7 important minerals & Coenzyme Q10 which moisturises your skin and protects it against the signs of premature aging.
The 7 plant extracts for revitalising the skin are Ginseng & Guarana, Hops, Cocoa & Cocoa seeds, Lotus blossom, Maca and Roseroot.
The 7 minerals to supply the skin with important trace elements are Iron, Cobalt, Copper, Manganese, Selenium and Zinc.
The Phytomineral care products are suitable for every skin type"

All sounds great right?  So what's it like then?  Here's what it looks like out of the tub:

Hopefully you can tell a bit about the texture from this shot.  It's a bit like a fluffy cocoa butter, it does have a really nice texture.  However the fragrance is a bit strong for me, it's a bit like a chemically floral, and it does linger for at least an hour.  If you put it on at bedtime, you're still going to be smelling it until you fall asleep.

It is VERY moisturising.  I've found that if I put it on in the morning, by lunchtime my thirsty skin still feels moisturised, but it was too heavy for my face, and it made me break out.  Of course it's not designed to be used on the face, but what can I say, I like experimenting.

Apart from the strong smell, my other slight disappointment with this cream is that it did nothing to improve the look of my neck area.  Now I look at the description more closely, there's actually nothing to say that it will, but call me old fashioned, I just expect a neck cream to have some kind of tightening properties to it. 

My neck area is starting to look a bit slack now, and I have perma-creases on my front, so I was hoping to have a reduction in the appearance of these, but nothing, no difference at all.  Granted I haven't been using it religiously morning and night, have pretty much only been using it when I remember, but I have had it, and been using it, for about six months, so if it was going to make any difference, I think it would have done by now.

So all in all, to sum up, it's not bad, and if dry skin is your only issue on your neck, and you don't mind a strong fragrance, you'll probably love this.  Certainly judging by the reviews on QVC lots of women do love it.  However, my neck area needs something with some lifting and firming, and while I'll probably use all this cream up, I'm still browsing for the next 'wonder' neck product.

Do you have a favourite neck treatment?  Or are you lucky enough not to need one yet?  If so, lucky you, enjoy it while you can!

Until next time....

MASPOOASE  x x x
~Wendy~

Olay Firm & Lift Day Cream & Serum - Review

Here I am again! 

Sorry it's late this week, I've got loads of blog ideas at the moment and no excuse, I was just being lazy!  But typical me, here I am 'last minute' Sunday blogging.

Anyway enough of me! Lets get onto this face cream:

I was just wandering about in Sainsburys, and I noticed this on the 'Sale' shelf.  They had a few different ones, but this caught my eye as it had serum in it.  I figured, what the heck, at half price £6.14 for 50ml, so I popped it in my basket. 

I like the packaging, it makes it look more expensive than it was, but no clear window on the tube, and the bottom doesn't move up, so I won't know when I've run out until it's all gone. 

Heres the link to it on the Sainsbury's site, its still live at the moment but I assume after the promotion is over that this link will probably stop working  http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/OlayCream

It says on the packaging that you have to wait 21 days to get any firming or lifting results, and I've only been using it 2 weeks, so no lifting for me yet. 

The main reason I want to review this is that usually, as you probably know, I usually use Decleor Experience De L'age Rich cream, which I've been buying from Ebay in 15ml tubes for around £15 a time including P&P, and they last hardly any time at all, so it's an expensive face regime, but I just can't bring myself to shell out the fifty odd quid for a full pot.  I still use it though, because I can tell when I go back to other creams that my skin looks less lively and less plump, so I always end up going back.

However, as I said, it's been two weeks now with this cream, and my skin's behaving beautifully!  Actually the break outs that I got when I started using Bare Minerals foundation have also gone, which is an extra bonus I wasn't expecting.

The smell reminds me a bit of Nivea Cream, but it's really light and doesn't last long.

Heres a picture of it out of the tube:

As you can see it's starting to run down my hand, more of a lotion consistency than a cream.  One pump just about does face and neck, but I like to bring a cream a bit further down than that, so do an extra half pump for good luck. 

It sinks in nice and quickly, and leaves a primer like silky feeling on my skin, which would probably be pretty good for applying foundation over, but I continue with my current routine of doing a layer of Decleor Prolagene gel over the top and then finishing off with Bare Minerals foundation in Medium Beige. 

My skin has stayed moisturised all day without going greasy in the afternoon which some creams in the past have made it do.  I would class my skin as combination, as it can go dry on my cheeks and down the sides of my jaw, but my nose and forehead can go greasy really easily with the wrong products.

Overall I'm very happy with this cream, and have bought another to stock up with while they are still half price.  Am not sure what I'll do when they go back to full price, but the very fact that I'm considering it over my beloved Experience De L'age speaks volumes.

If you're passing it in Sainsbury's and you're starting to get low on face cream, I'd say give it a go!

Until next time....

MASPOOASE

~Wendy~

Aqueous Cream

Just a super quick post, I had to share this with you...

So, I was shopping in Sainsburys earlier this week, and as usual, loitering in the beauty section, when I happened to see a big pot of Aqueous Cream.  I remembered one of my friends who had eczema used to get this cream prescribed by her doctor, so I was surprised to see if for sale in the supermarket.

I'm not very good at remembering to moisturise my body, but since I've been going swimming have been getting itchy arms due to dryness so I thought I'd give it a go.

It was a really big pot, 500g, and have used a reference item for size that we all know :)

A big pot right?
So, that night after I came out of the shower I thought I'd give it a go.  Its a light(ish) cream, with a very subtle smell about it, a bit like a baby powder smell, after ten minutes or so I couldn't smell it at all anymore.

So, on to the results....  I was impressed!  My arms and legs felt super soft and moisturised, better than any body cream I can remember in a long time.  I kept asking other half to feel my leg, thats how soft it was!  At the end of the next day my legs still felt soft and moisturised.

If I had to make any criticism, it was that my legs still felt a little bit tacky when I went to bed, but I did use alot, and my arms were fine.

And the best thing of all?  This whole massive pot cost........    £2.40 !!!!!!!!!

Its the most amazing bargain beauty purchase I've seen for a long time, if you're in Sainsburys pick one up!

Until next time....

- MASPOOASE x x x