Inhibitif Hair-Free Deodorant Review - Update!

I started using the Inhibitif Hair-Free Deodorant in September, you can read the original post here, I said I would do an update post after using it.

I was really not impressed at all with this product.  I actually had to stop using it after about 3 weeks.  It did not provide any protection,  I kept getting whiffs of my underarms and it was not pleasant! I was very paranoid that other people would be able to smell me - I have never had this problem with any other deodorant.

Secondly I did not notice any reduction in the amount of hair under my arms (although it does state that it takes longer than 3 weeks), but what I did notice was that my armpits turned yellow! Yes you read that right YELLOW!

The staining went after a couple of days of not using the Inhibitif - thank goodness!

I would not recommend this product at all.  I was more than happy to go back to using my usual deodorant and shaving my armpits.

Have you tried this?  What did you think?

Rimmel Metal Rush Pearly Queen Review

I must admit I have so many polishes in my stash that I have not yet tried, I really must try not to buy any more until I have worked my way through them (yeah who am I kidding, can't resist the pretties!! ). 

Rimmel Metal Rush Pearly Queen was one of these polishes.

Pearly Queen is from a small range of duo chrome polishes from Rimmel.

It is a silvery lilac that shifts to green and gold.  It is quite sheer all the pics show three coats plus topcoat.  It dried quickly and the wear time was very good - I think I got 4 days without it chipping which is a long time on my nails.

You can see the different colours coming through the polish and it looks so pretty and sparkly in the bottle....

....unfortunately I really didn't like it on my nails.

I personally found the colour too wishy washy for my personal taste and I don't think it suits my skintone.

It is quite pretty when it shifts to the greeny gold colour, this was taken in artificial light.

This is in natural light.

Even on this pic I think it looks much nicer in the bottle!

This polish is not for me, I have passed it on to my sister.  I maybe should have tried it over a base colour but I'm trying to be a bit ruthless with my polishes!

If you like it you can buy it for £3.99 here.  Have you tried any of the Metal Rush polishes?

Flavourly June Box Review

This is my very first Flavourly box, it usually costs £14.99 per month on a subscription basis (the subscription can be cancelled at any time and delivery is free) but I got a great Groupon deal and got Junes box delivered at the beginning of this week for £6.00!

Flavourly have teamed up with the national foodbank charity FareShare and for every box that is purchased Flavourly donate one meal for those in need.  I really think this is a fantastic way to support the charity.

The contents are well packaged in a double walled box and wrapped in brown paper.

The contents leaflet is well presented, giving information about the product, where the product comes from, the brands website address and twitter account.

The concept of Flavourly is to discover 6-10 new gourmet foods in each box, the June box was packed full and contained 8 items.

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Kents Kitchen Spicy Korma Kit.  The kit is a three tier design containing Korma curry paste pot, curry spices pot and infused garlic oil pot.  The  kit retails for £2.30 on their website.

Ilumi World chilli con carne.  This is a meal for one, you just need to add rice and the ingredients are 100% natural.  The meal retails for £2.50 on their website.

Wee Tea Company Breakfast Tea.  This is a loose leaf tea, described as "perfect for getting you going in the morning".  The tea retails for £4.95 on their website.

Superjam Strawberry Jam. The jam is made using superfruits, hence the name "Superjam".  The jam retails for £2.69 on their website.

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Nim's Fruit Crisps Pineapple and Kiwi.  They are 100& fruit with no additives, preservatives or concentrates.  Each bag counts as 1 of your 5 a day and only contain 57-75 calories per bag!  These usually retail for £1.35 but are currently on offer for £1.00 on their website.

Drink SuperNature Super!Natural Energy Drink.  The drink is made from natural juices, it is a mix of real fruit juices and natural caffeine from green coffee beans.  It has no added sugar.   You can't purchase it from their website but it retails for £1.25 here.

Joe and Seph's Gourmet Popcorn in  Caramel, Honey and Hazelnut. The pouch in the box is 32g, 80g retails for £4.00 on their website.

The Raw Chocolate Co Organic Raw Chocolate Covered Mulberries.  The mulberries are dipped in dark raw chocolate and then dusted with cacao powder.  Retail for £1.29 on their website.

I'm looking forward to using everything in the box! I have so far tried the popcorn, jam and chocolate covered mulberries.

Have you had a Flavourly box? Do you think it is a good concept?

Mavala Pastel Polishes Review and Swatches

These Mavala polishes were used to create the nail look for the Holly Fulton S/S13 show at London Fashion Week (well not these exact polishes, you know what I mean!).

Gorgeous pastel shades that are perfect for this time of year.

The bottles each contain 4.5ml of polish.

All the shades apart from white have an iridescent sheen.

One coat of Lemon Cream.

Two coats of Lemon Cream, as you can see it is still very sheer and definitely needs a third coat!

Three coats of Lemon Cream, indoors.

Three coats of Lemon Cream, in daylight.

My nail line is still slightly visible after three coats but the colour is lovely!

One coat of Aquamarine.

Two coats of Aquamarine.

The coverage is better than Lemon Cream but still needed three coats to achieve good coverage.

Three coats of Aquamarine, indoors.

Lovely and opaque in three coats.

Three coats of Aquamarine, in daylight.

I don't know if you can see the iridescent sheen from the polish in the bottle? I've tried my best to capture it for you.  It doesn't pick it up on any of the pics of my nails.

One coat of Lagoon.

Two coats of Lagoon, indoors.

This is my favourite out of the four polishes.  The polish was the best consistency and was opaque in two coats.

Two coats of Lagoon, in daylight.

One coat of White.

I found this polish hard to apply, it was very watery and seemed to get everywhere!

Two coats of White.

Even after two coats the polish was streaky and had lots of bald patches.

Two coats of White topped with one coat of each of the colours.

I think two coats of Lemon Cream and Aquamarine would be needed really, Lagoon was fine with one coat.  I did find that using the colours over the White bought out more of the iridescent sheen.

This is the first time I have tried Mavala polishes, they were sent to me for review.  I am not used to having to apply 3-4 coats of a polish for it to be opaque - I think it may be because they are pastel shades as Lagoon was a dream to apply.

I tried the polishes over a number of different base coats as I found this made a real difference to the finish, the one I found best was Sally Hansen Insta Grip Fast Dry Base Coat.  The polishes applied beautifully to my nail wheel and only needed two coats of each to be fully opaque with no streaking or bald spots so it may be that my nails are a bit oily?

The polishes retails for £4.50 and you can find them in John Lewis, Debenhams and Boots.

Have you tried any Mavala polishes?

Olay Definity Pore Redefining Scrub Review

I picked this up a few months ago in the clearance section in Boots.  It cost £3.00 for 150ml, it usually retails for £7.99 at Boots.  

I like facial scrubs and have not tried anything from the Olay Definity range so was looking forward to trying it out.

It says on the tube it is ideal for skin with visible pores, oiliness or dullness.  I have visible pores on my nose and some on my cheeks.  It claims to minimize pore appearance to instantly redefine the skins appearance.

The scrub has a gel like consistency and contains grains of differing sizes.

The gel smells heavily perfumed, it is a really nice smell but I think it is far too strong for a facial product.

The gel is easy to massage over the skin but to me it didn't feel like it was a scrub at all! The grains seemed to stay suspended in the gel rather than exfoliating the skin.  I have tried the scrub using differing amounts to see whether this would change the effectiveness but it didn't make any difference.  This would definitely be better suited to someone who likes to use a gentle scrub.

I didn't notice any difference in the size of my pores and it left me with dry flaky skin on my forehead.  The product does say it is good for oiliness and at the moment my t zone is behaving so that might explain why it dried out my skin.

I won't be using this product again and will pass it on to my mum to see what she thinks!

Have you tried this or anything from the Olay Definity range?

My Beauty Bundle

I was sent a huge surprise parcel by my lovely friend and fellow blogger Nardin, if you follow my blog you will know she sends me amazing surprises, presents and swaps!  Nardin blogs over at Live Laugh Love.

I will put up another post on all the surprises she sent and link it here.

This is My Beauty Bundle beauty box.  This beauty box has a difference, it is for new mums, mums-to-be and babies.  The boxes contain 100% natural products.

The products are sent in a chocolate brown box.

The contents are wrapped in duck egg blue tissue paper which is tied with a chocolate brown ribbon.  I really like the colour combination.

There are also two cards - one tells you the contents of the box with a brief description of each product and the other one has their Facebook page here and their twitter account here.

The boxes contain at least four products, these can be sample sized or full sized.

The boxes appear to be tailored to which month of pregnancy you are in - you can enter your due date on their website.  The also send products suitable for your newborn baby - how lovely is that!

Earth Mama Angel Baby Stretch Oil 30ml

This is a natural oil which can be used on itchy skin or to help prevent stretch marks.  It says to massage gently into belly, breasts, hips and thighs.  It can also be used for perineal massage during labour - not sure how hubby would feel about this one!!

I will definitely be using this on my growing belly and thighs.

Kadria Labour Oil

I'm not sure how much this bottle contains as it doesn't state it on the label, it doesn't have an ingredients label either.

It says on the card that it contains Clary Sage to initiate labour and evening primrose to balance your hormones after you have had the baby.  As the oil can initiate labour I haven't had a sniff, I made hubby smell it and he said it smells of lavender.

I will be trying this once I get to full term, anything to not go over my due date!

Organic at Heart Unbleached Baby Silk Sponge

This is a lovely item to include in the box, much nicer on the skin than a synthetic sponge. 

Celtic Herbal Honeysuckle or Lavender Soap 20g

I got this in honeysuckle which I am really pleased about as I have loved the smell of honey products since getting pregnant.  This will be nice to use with the sponge.

I'm made up with this beauty box, it is so thoughtful and such a lovely gift.  Thank you Nardin!

I normally put prices of items up on my blog but as it was a gift I didn't think it was right to do that but I have linked their Facebook page and their twitter account above so you can find out all about the boxes.

I am very tempted to sign up once baba arrives as it would be lovely getting some natural items every month as a little surprise.

Have you heard of this company before or tried any of their boxes?

Green People Cooling Hydrating Mist and Soft Lips Review

When I was contacted by Green People asking if I would like to review some of their products on my blog I jumped at the chance as I have used quite a few Green People products from their cleanser to their moisturiser to their sun tan lotion! I have liked everything I have used so far and was looking forward to trying some products that they class as "travel essentials".

Had to share with you this gorgeous container that they sent the goodies in!

Soft Lips Balm SPF 8 10ml

This soothing lip balm with UV protection protects and softens dry, chapped lips. It offers super soft lips and a natural sheen from berry wax and fairly traded Cupuaçu butter. This mild, no-scent formulation – with no essential oils – is ideal for parched, raw and chapped lips and can be applied over lipstick for a subtle gloss effect. 65% certified organic ingredients.

The balm is quite a thick consistency but melts immediately on contact with your lips.

I have had really dry lips all winter and nothing has really sorted them out but I can see a real difference after using this for the past couple of weeks - no more dry flaky skin for me!

It has it is unscented but I can smell a slight scent but nothing too heavy and there is no taste (not that I recommend eating it! You know what I mean!).  It is not sticky, it sinks in easily so that it is more of a protective thin layer rather than sitting on top of your lips.

Thumbs up from me!

10ml retails for £4.95 here

Cooling Hydrating Mist 100ml

A multi-purpose alcohol-free mist for the face and body. Hydrate and rebalance a dehydrated complexion with this handy spritz. Precious Rose and Orange Blossom floral waters are carefully blended with soothing Aloe Vera, hydrating Marshmallow and calming Chamomile to offer a refreshing pick me up to tired, lacklustre skin.  This versatile mist can be used as a toner or as a great ‘instant fix’ hydration booster, offering skin cooling relief. Keep in the fridge to use as a cooling mist on 'sun-kissed' skin in the summer.  The soft orange scent is divine. 96.9% certified organic ingredients.

I was most excited to see this in the container - as I am now 25 weeks pregnant I keep getting hot flushes! I have to open the window in work and put the fan on while my poor colleague freezes for 10 minutes until it passes! 

I had told Green People that I am pregnant to make sure the samples that they sent me would be suitable for me to use.  This has become a handbag staple, the mist is definitely cooling and I haven't had to fling the window open as much! It has the typical "Green People" scent to me - if you have used Green People products you will know what I mean. It has a pump spray and the mist is very light and fine.  Once the weather warms up and I finish work I will be keeping this in the fridge for an extra cooling blast.  This would be fab to take on holiday if you are planning on going somewhere with lots of sunshine.

100ml retails for £13.99 here

Green People products are not tested on animals and never contain:

Sodium lauryl/laureth sulphate, parabens, lanolin, phthalates, propylene glycol, alcohol (ethyl alcohol, ethanol), harsh foaming agents, synthetic fragrances, irritating emulsifiers, PABA-sunscreen, petrochemicals, colourants, urea, DEA, TEA or PEGs.

10% of net profit is donated to charities - If only all companies were so generous!

Have you tried any Green People Products?  What do you think?

Betrousse Fairy Beauty Box Review

Betrousse Fairy Beauty Box* - I'm not sure why it has fairy in the description but it's packed full of goodies so that's what matters! The contents of the box are worth a whopping £97, the price of the price is £19 plus P&P.

The products arrived well packaged in the usual black Betrousse box with hot pink tissue wrapping and packing wiggles (not sure of the actual name!).  All the products are full size so you can decide whether or not you actually like the product.

Skinetica Anti Blemish 100ml retails for £9.99.

I've read some good reviews on this product, my skin has been behaving recently so I have not been able to try it out. As soon as I get a breakout I'll be seeing if it lives up to the hype!

Saffron London Black Cracking Nail Polish 14ml retails for £0.75.

I have had this in a previous Betrousse box but as the boxes are not subscription based I don't feel that's an issue.  I am not a fan of cracking polishes so I'll pass this on to someone who will use it.

Montagne Jeunesse Dead Sea Mud Spa mask OR Glacial Clay Spa mask, 1 mask and retails for £1.49.

I got the Dead Sea Mud Spa mask, it is a clay infused fabric mask.  I like a good clay mask so I am looking forward to using this, and to it not being too messy as it's a fabric mask.  I always manage to get clay masks all over the bathroom!

Laboratoire LDA-Soins Experts Hydra Expert Cream 50ml retails for £34.00.

This is a day cream for dry skin, my skin is always dry in the colder months so I'm looking forward to using this.

HydraExpert® Cream fights against skin dehydration. High regenerating and anti-oxidant action. Soothing and protective properties.  It contains ceramides, essential fatty acids and Jojoba Oil.

- Ceramides are used to maintain ideal moisture levels in the skin.

- Essential fatty acids including Omega. The lack of Omega 3 is often associated with dry skin. Use of Expert Hydra Cream helps restore the balance Omega 3 / Omega 6, essential for proper tissue development and renewal.

- Jojoba Oil regulates sebum production. It also has protective properties by creating a non-greasy film that preserves natural skin moisturing (against cold and drought).

Forte Pharma UK Turboslim ChronoActiv 28 tablets retail for £29.95.

I'm not sure how I feel about slimming tablets being included in a beauty box! Although again as the box is not subscription based it would be a personal choice to purchase the box and use the tablets.  As I am currently pregnant these are going to be stashed in the cupboard and may be very helpful in shifting some of the baby weight later on in the year.

Charme D'Orient Relaxing Body Massage Cream 100ml OR Bath and Massage Oil "Orient Scents" 150ml, both retail for £16.00.
I received the massage cream, it's quite a thick cream and smells lovely.
Formulated with a base of black seed oil, cinnamon essential oil and capsicum. Ideal for relaxing muscles and for massage.

Tattyoo Betrousse Tattoos £5.00
I'm always unsure of the pricing of products in the beauty boxes of own branded products but as the rest of the contents are worth so much I think we can let this one go ;)
Personally I am a bit old for this product but I have know two girls who would be made up with these so I will share them between them.

Overall another good box from Betrousse, I still like the concept of it not being a subscription based beauty box so you know what you are getting before it arrives.  I also like that all the products are full sized.  You can read more about the contents of this box and purchase it here,  There are more boxes for sale and you can find them here.

Have you had a Betrousse box before?