The Body Shop Cruelty Free Face Masks

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So last year and this year so far I've hardly blogged, which is why I bought these face masks in DECEMBER 2018 (Christ) and have been meaning to write a little something about them ever since then. Lockdown is doing wonders for me attempting to do all these things I haven't got around to yet, apart from any kind of long-standing cleaning projects I'm avoiding. Cleaning my oven is just too much of a commitment, okay?

Switching to plastic-free face wash: The Body Shop's Himalayan Charcoal Soap

This year I've really been trying to make small changes that will have a big impact on the amount of waste (especially plastic) that I use. Cosmetics and toiletries is one of the main things I've been trying to tackle this year in terms of cutting down because wow how many face wash, shampoo, conditioner, hair mask, makeup remover, and god knows what else bottles do I get through in a year? 

Trying out The Body Shop's new vegan body yogurts

Ever since L'Oreal sold The Body Shop to a cruelty free parent company there's been such a massive improvement in their products and ethics. From campaigning for more sustainable environments around the globe, to their petition to end animal testing, to producing more vegan products, I am here for this improved version of one of my favourite stores.

July Favourites, A Life Update + Video

Where did July go?! I sat down, all ready to start filming my video for this month's favourites and was convinced I was about to be summing June up! I'm still not over the fact that we're in August already, even though we're on day 6 now. The one good thing about time moving this fast? It'll soon be Autumn, and I'll have an excuse to have all the baths, snuggle in my dressing gown and be permanently glued to my tea mug. 
So, what did July hold for me and Nourish ME? Well, I had a few sponsored posts this month - in fact the most I've ever had in a month, and I even had to turn down a few opportunities because I didn't want to get oversaturated over here. This seems totally mad, and I'm really hoping that it's a sign of bigger and better things to come in the rest of 2016. 
I finally got a part time job here in Cheltenham, and it's one that (so far at least) is not damaging my mental health progress, and is helping me to get a little more exercise in. It's also been more than a little useful because, you know, getting a secure income is fab when you haven't had one for six months! I'm also finally getting used to living in the countryside, even if we did wake up one morning to an escaped herd of cows just chilling outside our front door.
Now let's get down to my favourites for the month. I'm going to kick start this by talking about my ultimate favourite for July: Vatika's Henna shampoo. This was something that I picked up at Bloggers Ball back in June and had fairly low expectations of. I'm really fussy with shampoos, especially with their scents, and I was a little sceptical about the use of henna in it. BUT, it turned out to be the best shampoo I've used in a long time - my hair has been far less greasy and totally manageable. Plus it smells like apples, which is the most important thing. Obvs. 
My showers have been totally dreamy at the moment because of this and The Body Shop's mango shower gel. Mangoes are a perfect fruit for summer, coming in (in my rankings) at a close third behind strawberries and peaches. Vital info here I know guys. But, it means that when the skies have been grey here in the UK this July I've been able to keep myself smelling like summer. The Body Shop have also done a cheeky simple redesign of their shower gel bottles recently, giving them bold black lids, which I totally love. 
If you've read my summer daily skincare essentials post, then you'll know that I've been upping and altering all aspects of my skincare in the past month or two. The most important addition is possibly my Eau Roma Water from LUSH. This has wormed its way into my favourites after making a comeback in my life for summer. I used to use it about two years ago, and it was one of those things that I just really forgot I liked (does anyone else do this when they finish/lose a product?!), but it's come back with a vengeance.
I've rambled on enough about my newfound love for NYX recently, so I'm not going to bore you with going over that all over again. Just one tip though: go try the soft matte lip cream in Morocco. It is the most divine coral-y red I've ever tried!
And finally we come to a little fun favourite - my tsum tsums! Baymax and Roo are some of my (many) favourite Disney characters, and I was lucky enough that my boyfriend was kind enough to trawl the internet to find them for my birthday. They look so pretty on my shelves, make the perfect blog prop, and the cat absolutely loves to chase/play with them!
Here is my July favourites video, please give it a watch and subscribe!

What were your favourites this month?
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Review of The Body Shop's Ginger Anti Dandruff Shampoo | Nourish My Hair

Today's post is all a bit TMI, so bear with me. For about as long as I can remember, I've suffered from dandruff. At some times it was more severe than at others, but I finally seem to have it under a good level of control. I used Head & Shoulders shampoos for YEARS and had absolutely no idea how harsh these products were on my hair or scalp. If you don't know what I'm talking about and still use it, then google it (some of their products are so harsh that people use them to strip dye from their hair!). 
Anyway, moving on from the negatives, I now do an overnight hair oil mask once a week and opt for more natural shampoos to keep dandruff and a sore scalp at bay. The oil ensures that my scalp gets a deep moistening, so it is less likely to flake, and the fewer nasties that are in my shampoos makes it less likely for my scalp to get irritated. 
So, this brings us on to The Body Shop's Ginger Anti-Dandruff Shampoo. If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know that The Body Shop features quite frequently on my beauty posts, as I love a few of their fruity scents, and their skincare products are often spot-on. Annoyingly, this shampoo is one of my least favourite products in terms of scent. Give me an apple-y shampoo, or even a magnolia one (mmmmm) any day over this one. If you've ever tried lemon and ginger tea, or even smelt raw ginger, then you'll have an idea of exactly what this shampoo smells like. The main way to get around this, I've found, is to use a pleasanter smelling conditioner - it totally masks the scent so that you can't smell it post-wash. However, if, unlike me, you find the scent of ginger pleasing and stimulating, then you'll have no problem!
Now on to how this shampoo actually works. Unlike some other more natural shampoos I've tried in the past, this one lathers up perfectly fine. Whilst using it I've been utterly flake free, and I haven't even found any pesky little flakes floating around after a couple of days of not washing it. Although it clearly worked well in nourishing my scalp, it was a little drying, so I found that combining it with a fair amount of conditioner (I use the V05 Revive Me Daily one) was necessary to stop my dyed hair from drying out.
So there we have it: if you're struggling with dandruff definitely give this a whirl. This is the first shampoo from The Body Shop that I've actually tried, so I'm really tempted to pick up another soon.
Have you tried any of The Body Shop's shampoos? What did you think?

Review of The Body Shop's Seaweed Clay Face Mask

This is one of those frustrating posts where I've waited so long to write it because I've had some really exciting things for you that The Body Shop have completely changed the packaging on this. The plus side? The packaging is about 1000x times prettier and sleeker. 
I'm pretty face mask obsessed, and rarely a week or a LUSH haul goes by without me using one or picking one up. According to The Body Shop's web page, this seaweed face mask is designed to draw out impurities and refresh your skin: I had to give it a go and see if it was all it was cracked up to be.
I was really pleased with its efforts to reduce my pore visibility, small spots and blackheads. You leave the face mask on for 10 minutes, and during that time it (shamefully) really sunk into my blackheads and exposed them. BUT, it really made them less potent, and helped to even out my skin tone, so that my dry and oily patches weren't quite as foundation-ruining as usual. 
All in all, it's a pretty good all-rounder for combination skin, However, if you've got really sensitive skin I would advise washing it off slowly with warm water as I found getting it off irritated my skin a little. 
Have you tried it? What's your favourite face mask at the moment?

Nourish My Skin | Winter Hand Care

Winter is pretty tough on all of our skin, but often our hands bear the brunt of it, especially if we forget to wear gloves on cold, windy days (whoops), or perform any kind of outdoor manual labour. And yes, taking the bins out pretty much counts as the latter. 

I managed to develop eczema over the summer due to an allergy to the table sanitizer we used at a pub I worked out. Fortunately it's very localized, only present on two of my fingers. Unfortunately it's very painful and can look horrendous. Brill. So, I've been trying to keep me hands in much better condition than I have in previous years. Usually my winters are spent with knuckles that look like I;ve punched someone recently; they're so red and chapped. This year however they actually look normal (hallelujah). So I thought I'd share with you guys my favourite two hand care products this season that have been helping me keep on top of things.

LUSH's Golden Handshake. I picked this up initially for two reasons: one, it was glittery, and two, it waas a hot hand mask. I love my hair and face masks, and I've even tried a foot mask (a very odd sensation), so I thought I may as well give this a crack. You put the product in hot water and make a hot creamy, or watery, lotion as mine was and then soak your hands in it for fifteen minutes. As this is quite an intense treatment I only use it every fortnight, or less, but it works miracles. After using it my eczema cleared up completely for a couple of days, and since then it's noticeably improved.

My other favourite is The Body Shop's Hemp Hand Protector. This is something I try to remember to use every day as it just makes my hands feel so much better. It's really fab for dry skin, and keeps me from getting chapped. Also as I spend almost all of my time on a computer either blogging or working, it allows me to give my hands a gentle massage each day, to make sure that they remain cared for.

What are your favourite hand care products? 

Goodbye Dry Skin | The Body Shop's Vitamin E Range

Note to self: never take blog pictures after the gym (your hair will be wild Steph!).  As you all know, I'm a massive fan of The Body Shop's products. As someone with combination skin I really need to try hard to find a middle balance between keeping my skin hydrated and not overloading it and ending up looking like a greaseball. 
The cream is perfect for us combi skin folk as the weather starts to get colder and the Autumn wind picks up, as it's a little more heavy duty than what I would normally use. It's brilliant at replenishing any dry patches. I put it on before bed, and can definitely feel the difference in the effect my morning face wash! 
Again, the face mask is designed to boost your skin's hydration levels. This is probably the creamiest face mask I've ever used, yet it didn't make me break out or upset my sensitive skin.
Ultimately this range from the body shop is my go-to when I really feel as though my skin is rough and dry and needs some urgent action!
Have you tried it? What did you think?

Get the Glow | The Body Shop's Vitamin C Microdermabrasion

The Body Shop is always pretty high on my list of favourite brands, and when my sister slipped this sample into my Easter pressies bundle I knew I was in for a treat. The Body Shop's new Vitamin C collection is all about boosting your skin's radiance, and the Vitamin C Microdermabrasion is no different, claiming to:  

remove dead skin cells

leave skin feeling soft and smooth

give skin a brighter look

improve skin texture and tone

As you can see from the difference between my before and after pictures, one use did make my skin seem a lot brighter. It's the first product in a while that I've felt making my pores seem that bit less visible. Plus, due to the tiny granules in it, it really exfoliates your skin and leaves it feeling super soft. My least favourite aspect? The scent. I'm not the greatest lover of citrus fragrances and this range from the body shop has an albeit subtle orange one.

Have you tried any of the range? 

Love and Light
Steph

White Musk Gift Set | Evening Scent

I love a good ol' bit of Body Shop skin care loving and fragrance, but this probably wouldn't make it onto my favourite everyday wears. The white musk perfume in this little gift set is one of The Body Shop's signature scents, but I would suggest that it is better for an evening out as it is quite a heavy one. My boyfriend, knowing that I love The Body Shop, tried his best to remember what I liked, but kind of got half way there (hey, we all know we need to tell our other halves exactly what we want - I'm a nightmare at buying him stuff too!). 

The shower gel and body lotion have been great if only for their size. These cute little bottles fit perfectly into my gym bag so that I don't have to lug round full size ones with me. Plus, the scent is very potently girly, and after heading to an intense gym session it's always great to be reminded that you can actually smell nice again!

What do you think of this range?

Love and Light

Steph

The Body Shop's Moringa Range

If you've been following me for a while, you'll probably know that The Body Shop's Vineyard Peach range is my favourite scent of all time. However, their moringa stuff has now come pretty close, if not topping it. It has a really light, slightly floral scent (without smelling like someting your grandmother would wear). Also, in case you're wondering about the top picture, it's the Body Shop stuff I was lucky enough to receive from my generous, and very large family for Christmas!

The Moringa body butter was my go-to moisturiser when I headed to Spain in June. It was my first time abroad in a number of years and I knew I'd really be in need of something to keep my skin from drying out in the heat. Often body butters can be a bit intense to use every day, but this is exactly what I needed whilst in Malaga. It kept my skin soft and supple in the heat even through to the evening.

p.s. Reminiscing on the summer sun is a great cure for impatience at a very cold February!

What is your go-to holiday moisturiser?

Love and Light

Steph

The Body Shop's Shea Beauty Bag

Shea beauty bag - get it here

So I recently celebrated my two year anniversary with my boyfriend, and I was quite impressed that this was part of the present. I mean, he remembered my favourite skincare shop and actually went into it! Shea butter isn't normally a scent I'd choose myself, but hey ho, he tried (n'awww)

Having said that, I actually love this scent, and it's become one of my favourites. The scent is quite light, so, unlike some moisturisers, it doesn't have the sickly sweet aspect to it. The body butter itself isn't too greasy, so perfect for those of you that are prone to greasy skin. And, in my opinion at least, nothing compares to The Body Shop's crinkle bath lilies! They're so thick and not scratchy in the slightest (so many painful Savers memories).

Admittedly, for someone who has very dry hands, especially in Winter, I'm awful at keeping them moisturised. I hate having greasy hands that I can't use after putting hand cream on, ugh. However, this again proved light with a pleasant, fresh smell - brilliant for this dreary British weather!

it all comes in a cute little package - perfect for Christmas gifts!

Love and Light

Steph x

Review of The Body Shop's Smoky 2 in 1 Gel Liner for Eyes and Brows

As you can see from the title for this piece, The Body Shop's smoky liner is designed for both eyes and brows. However, a black brow liner is far too dark for my eyebrows and looks more than slightly ridiculous, so I'll just be reviewing it's purposes as an eyeliner. Previously I've used Maybelline's gel liner, and it got me hooked on gel eyeliner (goodbye Barry M kohl pencils!), so as it was running out I thought it was a great opportunity to try something new. 

If you've read some of my previous posts you'll know that I'm pretty much in love with a lot of The Body Shop's products. You can see how much I rate some of their skincare products here. Having said that, this fell a bit flat. I've bought a fair amount of makeup from here before and on the whole it's pretty fab. But this wasn't the best for it's price tag, which is similar to Maybelline's gel liner. The brush is awesome, incredibly soft on your lids even after a few weeks of not cleaning it (whoops). The liner itself is very hard to get on without it looking streaky. At first I thought it was the brush, but sadly nope. Anyhow, now I think I've got the knack of making it streak-free, even if it takes a while. 

To move away from the negatives, I hope everyone has had a great Halloween. And anyway, as long as you can create a number of different styles with an eyeliner - I didn't accidentally have one flick and one wing on different eyes in the picture - you can step out of the door with confidence.

Love and Light

Steph

Body Shop Haul

Blackhead Remover

Vitamin E Moisture Cream

2 in 1 Smokey Eyeliner and Brow Gel

Seaweed Clarifying Toner

I know I've been pretty absent over the last few weeks, but doing everything from being a Freshers Helper during the first week of term to obtaining recycling bins for the new uni house on top of a mound of reading has put me a bit behind. In a post I did a couple of months back on my favourite skincare range (here) I mentioned how much I love The Body Shop's products. They rarely fail to live up to expectations.

Living off of a student budget means that hauls (sadly) aren't really my thing. However, The Body Shop had a deal on for its "Love Your Body" members that I just couldn't pass up - 40% off, plus a free gift worth over £10 and free delivery if you spent over £5. I nearly pinched myself. Originally I'd aimed to spend just over a fiver, however I evidently got a touch carried away. Oh well, a girl can't have too many beauty products, right? 

I received the Vitamin E moisturiser as my free gift. I was a tad disappointed as I don't ever really use moisturiser on my face because my skin tends to get a bit oily. However, so far it's looking up. I'll be posting more detailed reviews of all the products at some point over the next few weeks. Sadly, this won't include the blackhead remover. I pursued a few (rather painful) attempts to use it and have it make some effect, but it just did nothing for me. Maybe my blackheads aren't big enough, or I'm too much of a softie to handle how uncomfortable it was, but for the foreseeable future it's been tossed to the back of a drawer, probably never to be used again.

Any comments/questions are always welcome 

Steph :) 

The Body Shop's Vineyard Peach Range | Favourite Skincare

I'm not going to lie, this range possibly holds my favourite scent EVER. Peaches, in my mind, are the best summer fruit - who can't resist biting into a ripe one and letting the juice stroll down your chin? I can't. The Body Shop has managed to capture the scent of ripe, summer peaches and bottle it with this range, and I am in love.