Tag Archives: cream

Oriflame Review

Posted on by Abi

Oriflame ReviewI met the folks from Oriflame back at the Mumpreneur conference and they very kindly gave me a few products to try out at home. I have to admit that I’d never heard of the brand before but apparently they have been going since 1967 albeit not in the UK for all of that time.

I have very dry and sensitive skin and often suffer from allergic reactions, therefore I try new products with a mixture of fear and anticipation. Overall I’ve been very impressed by the few products I have tried and thought I’d share my initial impressions of Oriflame.

Optimals Skin Youth Day Cream

Optimals Skin Youth Day Cream

‘Light day cream that helps smoothen complexion, prevent visibility of first lines and enlarged pores. Contains smoothening microspheres and patented antioxidant technology Lingon 50:50™ to prevent skin ageing. SPF 10.’

This moisturiser has the texture of double cream and by that I mean the stuff you eat. After one month of use I haven’t had any adverse reactions and my skin feels moisturised and comfortable. This cream has an anti ageing formula but as I don’t really suffer from wrinkles yet I can’t comment on whether this cream would help cure or prevent them. Overall it had a lovely texture and I would be happy to continue using it, with the added bonus that it’s a very reasonable price.

Pure Nature Organic White Tea Extract Moisturizing Gel Mask

Pure Nature Organic White Tea Extract Moisturizing Gel Mask

‘Moisturizing gel mask with white tea extract. Rich in anti-oxidants to revitalize your skin. For all skin types.’

I first used this mask one morning when I felt absolutely terrible! My youngest had been suffering with asthma, the dog had a tummy ache and I only got about four hours sleep (how did I ever survive newborn twins if a night like this seems so hard). I popped the mask on for ten minutes during which time my skin didn’t feel tight or pulled and then I washed it off. I think this little beauty saved my poor tired skin, it really made me feel a lot better and significantly more moisturized. I can’t wait to try it out on cold winter days when my skin feels at its driest.

Amber Elixir Eau de ParfumAmber Elixir Eau de Parfum

‘Inspired by the mysterious beauty of amber, Amber Elixir exudes an enticing aura of sensuality and tranquility. Warm lingering notes of blackcurrant and mandarin embrace alluring heliotrope, mystical amber and sensual musk as you are consumed by its seductive amber glow.’

All sounds wonderful doesn’t it, but I’m one of those women who has a signature scent…. Except it’s rather expensive on a daily basis. Finding a daily perfume that I am happy with is no easy task, but I’ve become quite attached to Amber Elixir. It has an expensive quality to the scent and the bottle is beautiful.

Overall

I’m always sceptical of cosmetic brands that I’m unfamiliar with, I tend to stick with a brand when I know it works for me. However I’ve been very impressed with Oriflame so far, I’d love to try out some of their makeup and I think they’re definitely worth investigating further.

Details

To check out more items from the Oriflame range or buy online visit www.oriflame4me.co.uk.

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Bombay Sapphire Gin & Wimbledon!

Posted on by Abi

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client.

Bombay Sapphire Gin

When you become a parent (especially a parent of twins) you quickly realise that days of rest and leisure are behind you. An evening out has become an evening in, heels replaced with slippers and you can’t remember the last time you watched the telly and had any clue what anyone was saying (without subtitles!)

But does staying in have to be a sacrifice? Is it possible to have a great adult style day or evening at home? I was really keen to test this theory with the Bombay Sapphire shop from Collective Bias.

Cocktails and Strawberries

I enlisted my husband for help with Gin based cocktail recipes (he has a book or three on the subject) and armed with our shopping list we set off for Sainsburys to purchase our ingredients.

Sainsburys does seem to have gone a bit Wimbledon mad at the moment with special offers, themed food, drink and even cardboard tennis balls attached to the shelves! It was easy to be swept up in the excitement and we bought strawberries and cream for our food. We planned to spend our afternoon watching world class tennis as we sipped cocktails and ate strawberries. To take a look at our shopping experience just click here.

Cocktails are easy to love, they’re fun, tasty and pretty to look at but I much prefer having them mixed for me! Thankfully my husband has more experience in this regard and under his tutelage I made a Chocolate Martini. It was wonderful (even if I do say so myself) so simple to make, but really indulgent. Definitely worth a try if you’re a cocktail novice like me (the recipe is below).

Chocolate Martini

Next we partook of a Strawberry and Cream cocktail (an invention of my husband). If the Chocolate Martini was indulgent then this was downright decadent! Probably not very kind to the waist line, but it’s heaven for the taste buds.

Strawberry & Cream Cocktail

Strawberry & Cream Cocktail

Then followed some expert commentary by myself on the state of British tennis. In reality I tend to say how sorry I feel for people like Andy Murray and Laura Robson, Wimbledon must be very stressful with the weight of expectation they must feel.

Watching Wimbledon

I resisted the urge to have a siesta at this point and finished up with a Gin and Bitter Lemon. A very simple drink but really refreshing and great as a daytime cocktail. A nice alternative to Gin and Tonic as well.

Gin & Bitter Lemon

Gin & Bitter Lemon

My test was now complete. So can you have a fabulous time in the comfort of your own home without feeling deprived? My answer…

Yes!

Cheers!

Cheers!

I loved all of the cocktails we made, I loved watching the tennis while eating strawberries and even more so I loved the fact that I could wear my slippers and curl up on the sofa! Plus an afternoon/night in is actually very economical, without high bar prices and taxi rides home you can really indulge.

Could it be improved in anyway?

I secretly wanted the Bombay Sapphire Gin to actually be blue in colour and not just the bottle. I appreciate that’s not really the point, but one of the things I love about cocktails is their flamboyant colours and presentation. It is fantastically fragrant though and smells like summer!

A box of chocolates randomly appearing on the kitchen counter wouldn’t go amiss either 😛

Chocolate Martini Recipe

45ml Bombay Sapphire Gin

15ml Chocolate Liqeur

15ml Vermouth

7.5ml Fresh Lemon Juice

Pop some ice into a cocktail shaker and then add the ingredients. Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.

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Natural Beauty? Betty Hula Review

Posted on by Abi

From my previous posts you may be aware that I lean towards natural skincare products. But what do you do if you don’t have the time or inclination to do a James Wong in the kitchen? The answer is obviously ready made products, but with so many available and so many claiming to be natural it’s hard to choose.

I have been fortunate enough to be given some samples from the all new Betty Hula Natural Beauty range. Before I launch into my review of them I should probably tell you a bit about my skin and my rather over the top expectations from beauty products.

I have dry skin, and when I say dry I mean I feel like I’m going to crack if I don’t regularly moisturise. It’s always been this way and it’s a pain. I also have very sensitive and allergy prone skin. I have suffered from eczema from childhood and I regularly have mild allergic reactions. So for a product to impress me it really has to be amazing!

So lets start with the items I received, the Kiwi & Lime Shea Butter Moisturising Cream & The Secret Oil.

First I tried the Kiwi & Lime Moisturiser, I could review this in three words……I LOVE IT!!! I’m really not joking and to be perfectly honest I was amazed by this product. Upon opening it had a strong summery fragrance, while that is lovely in itself I’ve been conditioned to think that fragrance = additives but I was wrong. The best example of how wonderful this cream is was when a patch of eczema started to appear near my knee, it was itchy, it was dry, it was horrid. With some nervousness I liberally applied the cream and within a few hours the redness had all but gone, the itchiness was no more and I was one happy customer. If you have problem or dry skin I can’t recommend this enough.

Next The Secret! I have only ever used one oil before and that was a sample from Creme De La Mer, so a big huge enormous price tag. Thankfully this oil beat Creme De La Mer for me. It healed some angry dry patches on my face with ease. After applying at night I woke up in the morning looking much nicer and no dry red patches to be seen. It glides on, although I did find it liked to soak into my hands if I didn’t apply it quick enough (my hands look quite good too now). I would definitely buy this, especially if my face had any angry patches. Apparently it has anti aging qualities too, although you’d probably have to test it out for longer to really judge on that one. But if like me your prone to angry flare ups, my skin even complains after I’ve worn makeup then this is the medicine it needs.

My only disappointment with the Betty Hula range is that one, the range isn’t larger (although hopefully it will grow in time) and two that my sample pots weren’t bigger 😉

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