Trimming My Stash - May 2015 Edition - Empties And Mini Reviews

Well here we are we've survived the first 6 months of the year, this year is flying by and I'm in total denial that in 6 months time we'll be opening the doors on our advent calendars I refuse to even think about it when we haven't had any summer yet - I had the heating on yesterday! seriously what is wrong with this weather?

Anyone enough of the blogger being a typical Brit and complaining about the weather - it's time to reveal May's empties.

Elemis Jasmine And Rose Milk Bath - 125ml
May Beauty The Incredible Face Mask - 10ml
Beauty Formulas Body And Face Cooling Mist - 150ml
Barely There White Lily & Sweet Rose Blossom Bath Salts -100g
Total - 4 Items

1. Elemis Jasmine And Rose Milk Bath - 125ml

I've talked about this product before and I have to say it's love. I'm a huge, huge Jasmine fan, and who doesn't like the smell of roses. Add those expensive and pure extracts to Elemis' famous Skin Nourishing Milk Bath and you have the most indulgent bathing experience you can imagine. You can use this in the shower but in my opinion for the most luxurious and pampering experience you need to use it in the bath. The water is delicately scented, and feels super soft and silky on the skin. I love it but I'm not sure I can justify the spendy amount to just use it in the shower - the bath is where it's at and it's the way to see this product at it's best.

2. May Beauty The Incredible Face Mask - 10ml

This is something that I was sent for review purposes and I'm in the processes of testing it out at the moment. It's a face mask ideal for people with breakouts and problem skin and a full review including scary pictures will be on the blog in a few weeks x

3. Beauty Formulas Body And Face Cooling Mist - 150ml

It's not often that a product appears in an empties post before or without appearing in a haul post but this product was bought and used up in less than a month. Basically it's a cooling water spray that you can pick up quite easily in Poundland. Due to my illness and the amount of medication that I take I tend to get quite warm at night, and my skin especially on my feet often feels itchy and as though it's on fire. I've kept this on my bedside table and if I've had a hot or itchy spell I've had a quick spritz, and I have to say it's helped a lot . The pressurised container keeps it's cool so it's great for freshening up especially when the weather is warmer, and I'll definitely be picking another one up this week.

4. Barely There White Lily & Sweet Rose Blossom Bath Salts -100g

This bottle of bath salts came in a gorgeous, hat box gift set, that originally came for Wilko. Bath salts can be seen as a tiny bit old fashioned but these salts had a gorgeous smell. If you've ever smelled either the L'Occitane Shea Butter Body Lotion, or the Elemis Skin Nourishing Milk Bath than you'll know what this smelled like. It had a soft, delicate almost creamy baby powder type scent which I loved. Unfortunately I can't find any trace of this product or anything else in the range on the Wilko website but I still have quite a few of the products still to use up and I'm going to enjoy using all of them.

4 items in one month to be honest is disappointing but I have also finished a lot of Lush and Bomb Cosmetics products including some bubble bars, melts, and a few ballistics that I haven't included so it isn't all bad.

Bath products again dominate my list and it's just as well - After several cancellations we have yet another date for the bathroom refit so I'm really running out time to use up all of my bath products. I've made a serious dent in my bubble bath collection but I still have a few large bottles left, I'm thinking that I could use some of them as shower gels so hopefully nothing will go to waste. Instead I'm going to try and use up my remaining Lush items, I was actually doing okay and I only had a few bits left but I got a few bits for my birthday - I'm not complaining though nothing beats a Lush bath and I'm going to take full advantage while I still have my bath. If you have any questions or comments on anything I've finished or my Trimming My Stash posts then leave me your musings below xx

Trimming My Stash - April 2015 Empties And Mini Reviews

Hi Everyone x I hope you all had a fabulous April, I can't believe that it's May already x May is my favourite month of the year, why? well it's my birthday month. Ha, Ha I'm a big kid really I love birthdays and of course I love pressies :) I've asked for a few skin and cosmetic bits but I don't really know what I'm getting but I can pretty much guarantee that I'll get a few beauty bits so I better get using some more product up

Tesco Pro Formula Radiance Hot Cloth Cleanser - 150ml
L'Occitane Cleansing And Soothing Shower Oil With Almond Oil - 250ml
Philip Kingsley Elasticizer - 40ml
Primark PS Love Your Skin Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipes For Combination - 25 x Wipes
Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water - 400ml
The Body Shop Rainforest Radiance Shampoo For Coloured Hair - 400ml
Elemis Tranquil Touch Indulgent Bath Elixir - 300ml
Gatineau Floracil Gentle Eye Make Up Remover - 400ml
Liz Earle Vital Oils For The Bath - Bliss - 10ml
Boots The Sweet Treat Boutique Toffee Apple Bath Crystals - 50g
Total - 10 Item

I've been making a real effort to use some of those bits and half bottles and tubes up and in April I did pretty well and finished 10 items. No make up unfortunately but I still managed to finish a nice mix of skincare, body care, bath and hair products.

1. Tesco Pro Formula Radiance Hot Cloth Cleanser - 150ml

I was sent this Tesco product sometime ago to review, and you can read my full review here. My opinion on this hasn't changed too much but lately I have noticed a bit of  a tingling sensation around my eyes and lips when I've used it. My skin has changed over the last few months and it's been a bit more irritable and sensitive  so for that reason I probably wouldn't repurchase.

2. L'Occitane Cleansing And Soothing Shower Oil With Almond Oil - 250ml

I love, love, love this product, if you have dry or irritated skin you need this oil in your life. It smells like apple blossom and leaves your skin feeling like silk. It pricey but it's so worth it x You can read my product rave here x

3. Philip Kingsley Elasticizer - 40ml

From what I can gather this is one of those products that you either love or hate, and I very much in the first camp. If something was good enough for Audrey Hepburn it's good enough for me. This is a pre wash conditioner that strengthens and softens the hair. When I use this regularly I seem to lose less hair and my hair doesn't seem as brittle and fragile. The only thing that I don't particularly like is the scent. I've used up a couple of these mini tubes and one day I will pluck up the courage to invest the full size. It isn't cheap at around £28 for 150ml tub but if you have damaged hair it's well worth it.

4. Primark PS Love Your Skin Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipes For Combination - 25 x Wipes

I'm serious losing count of how many packs of these tea tress wipes I've finished, I've been swatching like a demon over the past month and I've been using these for clean up, well worth it at £1 for 2 packs of 25 wipes.

5. Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water - 400ml

I'm not going to say too much about this one because I intend to review it properly for you at some point but for me it's one of the best micellar waters I've tried.

6. The Body Shop Rainforest Radiance Shampoo For Coloured Hair - 400ml

This is really decent shampoo, it's light weight and it smells gorgeous and fruity, you can read a full review of this product from The Body Shop  here.

7. Elemis Tranquil Touch Indulgent Bath Elixir - 300ml

At last a bath product, I didn't do as well as I would have liked in April when it came to using up bath products but I did manage to finish this one. I'm one of the biggest Elemis fans there is and this is beauty, heady, foam bath that's gentle on the skin. It contains patchouli, cedar wood and vetivert and cocoa butter. I've had a look and I can't seem to find this so I think it's been discontinued but if you're interested I have found a seller on Amazon it isn't cheap but it's really unusual and very relaxing.

8. Gatineau Floracil Gentle Eye Make Up Remover - 400ml

This is another product that I'm not going to say too much about. A review will be coming soon but despite the fact that it's quite spendy, this is one of my favourite ever eye make up removers ever.

9. Liz Earle Vital Oils For The Bath - Bliss - 10ml

Another product and something else that's discontinued. This tiny little bottle contained a beautiful essential oil mix of jasmine, ylang ylang, rosewood, and black pepper. Just a few drops in the bath and your left with a beautifully scented milky bath. This was a gorgeous, heady and dare I say it sensual bath product that I'm sorry I can't repurchase.

10. Boots The Sweet Treat Boutique Toffee Apple Bath Crystals - 50g

My final product was another bath product, and it was some bath salts from one of those random Boots gift sets that you only ever see at Christmas. These crystals had a really sickly, sweet fragrance, they turned the water green and that was about it. Not amazing and I wouldn't repurchase even if I could.

So they were my April empties x If you have any questions on any of the items that I finished then please let me know xx

Sweet Showers With Yes To Blueberries And My Pure*

Way, way back when I first started reviewing products from My Pure, one of the first brands that I fell in love with, was Yes To. The brand uses a high percentage of natural ingredients, and the entire range is both paraben and cruelty free.

The Yes To brand is divided into several sub brands depending on the skin or hair, type or concern, and the key active, natural ingredient. I'd already tried products from the Yes To Carrots, Grapefruit, Cumbers, and Tomatoes lines but I hadn't tried anything from one of the newer ranges Yes To Blueberries, so for one of April's My Pure items I decided to take the plunge and pick something out.

I'm going to hold my hands up and say that the Yes To Blueberries facial skincare line probably isn't for me - it's specifically geared towards people with a drier skin, and people who are concerned with lines and ageing. I may be in my mid to late 30's but oiliness is still much more of a problem for me so I decided to try a body product instead.

The Yes To Blueberries Dry Skin Ultra Hydrating Body Wash is paraben, SLS and petroleum free and contains a massive 95% natural ingredients. As you would expect from the name the key ingredient is the blueberry. Blueberries are a natural anti-oxidant that can help to support and that can help with skin renewal, add the other key ingredient of this product pure African Shea butter and you have a product that claims to moisturise and soften the skin.

First up the packaging none of your delicate little bottles here, all of the Yes To body washes and hair products, came in huge chunky 500ml bottles, so the bottles are easy to handle and you're getting a lot of product for your money.

I've tried most of the other body washes from Yes To and this one has the most distinctive texture by far. Whilst the majority of the others resemble a clear shower gel, this one has a milky almost, creamy appearance and much thicker texture- this is very much a shower cream as opposed to a gel.

I've read a couple of reviews where people have said that this didn't foam too well but that definitely wasn't my experience. A small amount of product onto a shower puff produced a lovely, creamy soft feel lather and it also passed my bath test - If you have dry skin and you want a creamy, bubble bath without SLS then I would definitely give this ago.

Because of my illness and medication my body skin can be prone to both itchiness and dryness but after using this product I didn't even feel as though I needed to use a body lotion. My arms especially felt smooth and supple and were left delicately scented.

Ah, the smell I haven't mentioned that up to now but it's definitely something that I need to talk about. Buy a blueberry scented product from the chemist or the supermarket and you normally get something with a sickly, sweet, berry aroma. I have to say I'm all for that and I really like it but more often than not, it will be a synthetic, created fragrance that's never even seen a blueberry in it's life.
In reality blueberries just don't really smell like that, they actually don't have a lot of fragrance. This product has a very distinctive scent, it is a bit fruity and maybe a bit citrussy but it's quite herbal and a has an  almost lavender aroma. It's actually really nice but it just wasn't what I was expecting given the name but what your getting is a 95%  natural product with real natural ingredients and scents.

I've thought about it and thought about it and I actually can't say anything negative about this product. Both me and Mummy Lou, who tested it with me loved both the feel and the result, and the all be it unexpected scent. My first love will always be the now discontinued Yes To Tomatoes Purifying Shower Gel but this is definitely a very close second and a product that I will thoroughly enjoy using over the weeks and months to come. The Yes To Blueberries Dry Skin Ultra Hydrating Body Wash retails at £7.99 for a 500ml bottle from My Pure. Thanks for reading and if you would like to read some more of my Yes To reviews then either have a look in the search bar or click on the Beauty Product Directory tab above xx

(*Sample)

Sweet Blackberry Memories Courtesy Of Treacle Moon

Although it isn't really the season for blackberries I love them, in fact I love all berries (bar cherries!) but there really is a special place in my heart devoted to the humble blackberry

I know you can get cultivated ones all year round now but I have so many good memories of going out either with my parents, or with my friends and their parents, with a bowl ,or an old ice cream tub and picking them fresh from the hedgerows every autumn.

It's funny how scents can transport you to a different place and time, and the smell of Treacle Moon Sweet Blackberry Memories Bath And Shower Gel took me right back to those crisp autumn days of my childhood.

I'm a huge fan of those sweet berry scents but this is really quite different. You can smell the fruit but at the same time you can almost smell the tartness and sourness  of the berries combined with a warm, almost spicy cinnamon scent - This product is basically blackberry and apple crumble in a bottle!

I've been using this product in both the bath and the shower but again this product comes into its own when you use it in the shower - the aroma is intensified and you get lots and lots of bubbles from just a small amount of product. Although it does contain Sodium Laureth Sulfate, it is paraben free and it isn't tested on animals.

I absolutely adore the Treacle Moon range and although this isn't the sweet burst of berries that I imagined it would be I still love it from evoking such happy memories from my childhood. Treacle Moon Sweet Blackberry Memories Bath And Shower Gel retails at just £2.99 for a 500ml bottle from Tesco. It does say on the bottle that it's a limited edition so if you want it I'd move fast just in case x Next on my list to try is Honeycomb Secret but I also the Apple Pie, Lemonade Days and Raspberry Kiss, decisions, decisions x 

Trimming My Stash - March 2015 Empties And Mini Reviews

Hey everyone x I hope you've all had a good, Good Friday x I've had a really busy and tiring day prepping blog posts, and baking some yummy things which should be on the blog on the next 7 days - very exciting but in the meantime it's time for my March empties post.

Benefit They're Real Mascara - 4g
Cowshed Knackered Cow Relaxing Bath And Shower Gel -100ml
Elemis Quiet Mind Relaxing Bath Elixir - 300ml
Jelly Belly Cotton Candy Bath Soak - 30g
Total - 4 Items 

Well it wasn't a great month was it? I only managed 4 items mehhh so many things just seem never ending at the moment, but I did manage to finish a few bath things so there are a couple of positives.

1. Benefit They're Real Mascara - 4g

Some days I hate this mascara, some days I love it x Hmm this is just a mini one so I'm going to review the full sized They're Real which I also own and make my mind up once and for all

2. Cowshed Knackered Cow Relaxing Bath And Shower Gel - 100ml

I think this mini bottle with a magazine freebie and I'm kind of glad it was, in ideal world it was something that I should have liked but I just didn't. I love lavender and eucalyptus but the smell of this was just so weak and insipid that you could barely make out the essential oils. This was one of my first Cowshed products and I hate the fact that I was so disappointed. This brand gets a lot of hype so if any of you have any recommendations I'd love to hear them.

3. Elemis Quiet Mind Relaxing Bath Elixir - 300ml

A beautiful, beautiful bath product and something that I'm sorry to have finished. Unfortunately I think this product has been discontinued as I had trouble finding it but it had an amazing scent  - a combination of patchouli, ho wood and eucalyptus. Not the most traditional aromas when it came to relaxation but this definitely did the job and scented the house out at the same time. If you are interested there are a few bottles available on Amazon but they aren't cheap, and you can also get a small sized bottle in a few kits from Feel Unique and Debenhams x

4. Jelly Belly Cotton Candy Bath Soak - 30g

I have no idea where this was from or how old it is but what it was, was a tin of foaming bath powder with a sweet, candy bubble gum scent. It wasn't bad and it turned the water a fabulous pink colour. I probably wouldn't repurchase it though even if I wasn't losing my bath tub.

So they were my March empties x I'm feeling a bit more positive about April's empties and I hoping to finish a few skincare products as well as continuing operation bath tub x Are you a blogger or You Tuber that posts about your empties? If you are then I'd love to hear from you so please leave me your links below x

Soak Those Stresses Away With Skin Blossom Therapeutic Bath Soak - A Review For My Pure*

The times they are a changing in LouLouLand and in a few months time my beloved bath tub will be no more. After a lot of thinking and procrastinating me and Mummy Lou have made the decision to swap our bath tub for a shower, come wet room. I know it will be safer and more practical for both of us in the long run, but I'm really going to miss it.

Having a bath is one of my number one ways to relax. Closing the door to the outside world, letting that warm water surround you, and inhaling a fabulous scent can really make you breathe a little slower and make your mind start to wander. It's funny how scents can take you somewhere else, and it's for that reason that I always have several different bath products on the go at once, to suit my mood or the occasion. 

For me a late night bath is all about relaxation, it's about calming the body and the senses and preparing you for a good nights sleep. There's no point going for something minty or citrussy, you want something that just makes you go ahhhhhhh, and one fragrance that does exactly that is Lavender. So for one of this months My Pure reviews I decided to try out the Skin Blossom Therapeutic Bath Soak.

Made from 74% organic ingredients, this product contains essential oils of lavender, rosemary and ylang ylang. Like everything else on the My Pure website it contains no sulfates, and instead contains a combination of coconut and aloe vera extract , making it suitable for the most sensitive of skin.

Packaged in a green plastic bottle, the first thing you notice when you unscrew the top is the smell. Don't think old lady, esq lavender, the combination of the lavender, the rosemary and the ylang ylang gives it a real, fresh aromatherapy type scent. 

Pour a small amount under warm running water and you get a bath full of soft silky bubbles. The scent is heady but at the same time, soothing and relaxing, and the water, and the bubble feel soft and non drying on the skin.

I have to say I love this product, the smell is amazing, and the bubbles it produces show that you don't need to use sulfates to produce a proper bubble bath. I'm going to thoroughly enjoy using this over the next month or so, and I'm only sorry that I won't have my bath long enough to buy another one. I really can't think of anyone that wouldn't like this, a nice warm relaxing bath is the perfect antidote to the hectic month ahead, so if you know a stressed out someone, pick up a bottle of this to pop in their Christmas stocking. Skin Blossom Therapeutic Bath Soak comes in a 300ml bottle and retails at £7.95 from My Pure x Are you a bath or shower person? Leave me a comment and let me know x 

(*Sample)

A Pampering Christmas Gift Or A Treat For Yourself From Gelicity

Although I haven't done any specific gift guide posts this year I've still found a couple of bits that I think that would make great gifts or stocking fillers that I'd like to share with you in the final run up to Christmas.

I'm a huge, huge bath junkie I love my bath and the thought of living anywhere without one fills me with horror Obviously they're good for the getting you clean thing but I use them primarily for relaxing and for soothing my achy muscles. I have some pretty tuned in friends they're used to me being in a bit of state most of the time so they're big on buying me things to pamper myself with. A few years one of my best friends Helen bought me some of this.

At. first glance you'd probably think bath salts and in a tiny way you would be right, but these are so much more than that - this is bath salts with the volume turned up

Gelicity Spa Therapeutic Gel Bath, in my opinion is the perfect gift for some stressed to the hilt or for the beauty junkie that thinks they've tried everything.

Each box contains enough products for just one bath so this products really is all about indulgence. The box contains two packets one white, and one coloured. The idea is simple enough but full instructions are supplied. All you need to do is half fill your bath as you normally would

Then you open the sachet labelled as Step 1 i.e. the coloured one. It doesn't look that interesting to be honest but pop the lot into your bath.

Then give it a swirl around with your hands, and give it a few moments, then get into the bath.

Be prepared for an odd sensation at the time because quite frankly, the water doesn't feel like water any more, it feels thicker, and it feels as though it's full of tiny little jelly like beads. The feeling in my opinion is amazing. The jelly like texture feels as though it's constantly massaging and exfoliating your body, and the gel texture means the bath stays warmer for longer. I've done my best to give you an idea of what this looks and feels like but really we need feely technology, okay it's probably a good idea that you don't - here are some pics of me in the bath :)

How do you get rid of the gel though I here you say ? Whilst it will go down the plug hole quite easily this is where Step 2 and the second sachet comes into play. This white crystalline substance looks exactly like salt , well it would do because that's exactly what it is, sodium chloride aka salt.

Just add to you jelly filled bath, swoosh it around a bit and within a few minutes your jelly bath has started to revert back to it's normal liquid self leaving behind a lovely detoxifying, salt rich bath soak.It can take a little while to dissolve and if it doesn't all disappear all you need to do is add a little bit more salt courtesy of your kitchen cupboard.

I usually put my hair up in a turbie twist to keep it out of the way, but I normally have a quick shower down when I'm finished to make show I've removed all the gel x 

There are a couple of counter indications with some of the varieties with regards to pregnancy so always check before using the products It can also make the bath a little bit slippy so give it a good rinse when your done. I have to be honest and say whilst I love this my mum can't stand it.She just can't abide the feel of it and says's it reminds her a bit of frogspawn lol you can't please everyone I guess :) 

The G Spa Bath Gel comes in 3 varieties, Revive which contains Rosemary essential oil, Relax which contains Jasmine, Bergamot and Lavender, and the one I used here Soothe which is especially for sore, achy muscles and contains Juniper extract. You can also get little kits specifically for foot soaks which sound amazing. 

These aren't cheap for a single bath coming in about £9.89 for a single bath but there are great for a treat, or as a pamper present, or just for somebody you want to experience something new. You can purchase the full range of Gelicity Gel Spas from their website (they're promising Christmas delivery until tomorrow) and from various other retailers including Firebox, Find Me A Gift and Studio where my mum got mine :) Have you tried a jelly bath product before leave me a comment and let me know xx 

PS. As of 2022, this product has been discontinued and the brand has gone into liquidation

Christmas Shopping On A Budget - Baylis and Harding Skin Spa

I came to a horrible realisation this week that it's less than 3 month till Christmas argh! - It seems to come around quicker and quicker every year. Thankfully I've already made a start on this years gift list thanks to some great online sales and deals but if you haven't don't worry over the next few months I'm going to be doing some posts on some budget friendly Christmas gifts and stocking filler ideas to get you started :)

I thought we'd start with a new range of smellies from English company Baylis & Harding. I was first reacquainted with this brand in the middle of last year when I reviewed their Lemon and Mandarin Hand Wash - I loved it . I also received a few other bits as gifts last Christmas including a grapefruit and mandarin bath and shower foam which I also loved so when I was offered the chance to try a few products from their new Skin Spa range I jumped at the chance..

The range contains 10 products to help you achieve that relaxing spa experience in your own bathroom The line comprises of a bath milk, a shower cleanser, a body butter, and a body polish, as well as a range of beauty tools to aid the spa experience. All the products contain an exotic fragrance blend of rose, ylang ylang, and patchouli, giving them that spa type aroma. I was kindly sent a couple of products from the range to try out.

The Baylis and Harding Skin Spa Body Smoothing Polish is in it's simplest terms a body scrub. You know me I love my body scrubs so I was really excited when I received this.

It comes in a squeezy tube, with a black leaf design, on a white background, with black and metallic red text, and metallic red branding. The packaging does remind a little bit of Cowshed if I'm honest, but it's modern yet classic and would look good in any style of bathroom.

The scrub itself  has a gel like base, and it's filled with tiny white exfoliating particles, which unfortunately you can't really see here. I used this product mainly in the shower, it massaged easily into the limbs and surprisingly for the size of the particles it give a pretty substantial scrub, it rinsed away easily and left the skin soft and smelling gorgeous. As you know I'm very particular about my scrubs and I'm normally not a fan of scrubs that aren't sugar or salt based but I have to say I really like this, it gave a nice scrub, and the smell was pleasant but not too much, it really smelled like fresh slightly old fashioned roses- it isn't the most modern of smells which might put some of you off but if your mum or gran likes florals I would definitely get something from this range from them - Mummy Lou loved the smell of this and the best thing is this retails at around £3.00 for 200ml

As well as the bath and body product the Baylis and Harding Skin Spa range also offers a range of beauty tools such as loofahs, foot files, exfoliating sponges and these.

The official Bayliss and Harding title for these is a Luxury Body Polisher, but I've heard them called everything from shower scrunchies to dougals - whatever their called I bet you have at least one of these in your bathroom - I know I do :) These mesh balls are amazing for using in the shower and lathering up either with a shower gel or a humble bar of soap. I've acquired loads from various gift sets over the years and I have to say that the quality is variable, some of them just don't have enough mesh or it just isn't tied together tight enough. I have to say this one from Bayliss and Harding is brilliant it's nice and full and it appears to be pretty well made, and do you know what you can even chuck it in the washing machine and give it a spin when it gets a bit smelly or grubby, how do I know that ? well mine came a bit of a cropper and fell into an all be it empty toilet bowl but still lol These babies make a great stocking filler for anybody that bathes or showers and they are only £2.00.

I have to say I loved both of these products and I can definitely see me getting the shower cleanser for Mummy Lou sssshhhh. The best thing about the Bayliss and Harding Skin Spa range is that all the products are under £4.00 making all the products it really affordable for a small gift or for a stocking filler. You can pick all the products from selected Tesco stores, and earlier this week I noticed that the newly established Christmas aisle in my local store had some Skin Spa gift sets ranging from £3.50 - £15.00. I know a lot of people think smellies are a bit of a naff gift but I personally love receiving products that give me a bit of me time. What do you think of giving bath products for pressies? and have you started your Christmas shopping yet? Let me know in the comments x

P.S. As of 2016 I believe this scrub and the Skin Spa line have now been discontinued :(

*Samples.

Alva Naturkosmetik Dead Sea Salts - A Review For My Pure*

I don't know about you but being by the sea is one of my favourite places to be, whether it's walking along the Northumberland coast, or lazing on a beach in Cyprus. I don't know what it is but the sea air always makes me feel relaxed and invigorated.

As well as just breathing it when I'm on holiday (not in this country I'm not daft) I like nothing more than being in the sea, floating on a airbed, splashing around in the shallows, or swimming with the fishes

Salt water is well known for having amazing health and beauty benefits particularly the salt from the Dead Sea. That's why in need of a boost in December I chose a packet of Alva Dead Sea Salts for one of my December My Pure review products

The Dead Sea is well known as being one of the lowest points in the world as well being a water body with one of the highest salt levels in the whole world, the water is so salty that not only can you float in it, but it contains hardly any plant or animal life.

Because of this the water is packed full of essential minerals such as calcium and magnesium, which can help with a number of skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and acne, and well as aiding muscular conditions such as rheumatism, and arthritis.

The Alva Dead Sea Salts contain 100% pure Dead Sea Salt and are packaged in a plastic bag. For one bath they advise you use about 250g which is about a handful or so. You can also use less to use these in a relaxing hand and foot bath.The product itself just looks exactly like a coarse sea salt

It had no discernible smell, even when you add it to the water but it dissolved easily creating a very slight clouding to the water. I have to say despite the lack of smell which is often so important for relaxation, the bath felt very relaxing and soothing, and I actually felt a lot more relaxed and refreshed when I got out. Surprisingly enough my skin felt fine too and definitely not tight or dry which is what you might think with such a large volume of salt - a definite thumbs up for me

My one gripe with these is the packaging the bag isn't resealable so I just chopped a corner off and poured them out from there, I then found a old Yankee Candle jar which I put them in to keep them dry and airtight, in the bag in the bathroom they do have a tendency to attract the damp and stick together a bit.

 Never the less I really like these, if you wanted a nice smell to your salts you could also mix them with a bit of aromatherapy oil too to make your own scented bath salts. Alva Dead Sea Salts come in a 1kg bag for £10.00, or a 500g bag for £6.50. Any questions please ask

*Sample