Trimming my Stash - February 2017 Edition - Empties And Mini Reviews

I know February is the shortest month of the year, but I'm still finding it pretty hard to believe that we're into March already. This year is starting the same way that last year ended, at 100 miles an hour - stop the world I want to get off - argh!

February was another rubbishy month in LouLouLand with family illness and so on but I'm trying to focus on the positives for once, including my blogging birthday (don't forget to enter my giveaway here if you haven't already, you can find it here), and all of the plans that I have to move my blog and my You Tube channel forward. I know it can sometimes be hard to find the positives in life, but if you really look hard enough, in most areas you can usually find something to be positive about or something to be thankful for.

RESEED Gingko & Sabal Fortifying Shampoo For Women - 250ml
Soap & Glory Sit Tight Sit Activated Special Low Body Firming Formula - 200ml
Soap & Glory Heel Genius Amazing Foot Cream - 125ml

Total - 3 Items 

Take last month's Trimming My Stash for example, yes I only managed to finish 3 items, but I finished one more than I did in January, and I managed to finish one product that seemed to have made itself permanently at home in my bathroom.

1. REESEED Gingko & Sabal Fortifying Shampoo For Women - 250ml

This was a product that I was originally sent to review, I loved it so much that I ended up buying another bottle. I love this as a shampoo in it's own right but by just using the shampoo and the serum and botanical solution very sparingly, I haven't really seen the same results as I did in the initial review. I would thoroughly recommend it as a gentle, body building shampoo but it's £25 and in my opinion I think it works way better when you use alongside the other products in the RESEED range. You can read my full review here x

2. Soap & Glory Sit Tight Sit Activated Special Low Body Firming Formula - 200ml

I'm going to hold my hands up and say that I don't believe that any cream or lotion can firm up your skin, and get rid of your cellulite, but my dear readers I'm always willing to admit that I'm wrong, and I do tend to get suckered in to buying things that I pray will firm up my bottom and get rid of some of those perfectly normal, shallow craters on my thighs! Did this product do that? Well unfortunately it didn't, it had a nice cream, gel texture, and it had that reassuring, cool, hot thing going that made you feel it was doing something, and boosting your circulation, but my bits are still as wobbly as they ever were. Maybe if I'd used it twice a day it wouldn't have become a permanent fixture in my bathroom and I might have seen a difference but some how I'm not convinced . Yes lotions and potions might make your skin feel softer, and smoother, but sensible diets and exercise are the only real way to firm up your wobbly bits. If you know otherwise though, and you've used a product that you found made a difference then let me know in the comments x This product actually has been discontinued now and replaced by the new and reformulated Soap & Glory Sit Tight Super Intense Targeted 4D Firming And Soothing Lower Body Serum which has a nifty massage head, and despite my ranting I'm actually tempted to give it ago so let me know if you've tried it x 

3. Soap & Glory Heel Genius Amazing Foot Cream - 125ml

This is one of my favourite ever foot creams, It doesn't have the richest or the creamiest texture, but slap a bit of this beautifully fruity, floral scented, creamy lotion onto your feet, stick a pair of socks on, experience a tiny bit of a tingle thanks to the fruit acids, give it an hour on so and your feet will look and feel a lot smoother. Thanks to a few thyroid problems my feet are ridiculously dry, so this isn't a miracle worker but it certainly makes a little bit of a difference, and thanks to the Soap & Glory star gifts at Boots, I now have a nice little stash of this one, and it's something that I will continue to buy regardless.

So this wasn't the longest empties post again, but I'm staying positive that I'm going to have a good year, and that I'm going to finish lots and lots of beauty products in 2017. Are you doing something similar this year? Let me know below x

Trimming My Stash - February 2014 Edition - Empties, Mini Reviews And A Sort Of Giveaway - Closed

Another overdue post for you, this time it's all about about empties. February's total was a little bit disappointing if I'm honest, I only managed to finish 6 items :(

Soap & Glory Flake Away - 50ml
Yonka Pamplemousse Normal To Oily Skin Protective And Vitalizing Cream With Botanical Essential Oils - 50ml
Avon Solutions Body Cellu-Sculpt Massaging Anti Cellulite Treatment - 200ml
Baylis & Harding Sweet Mandarin And Grapefruit Balancing Body Wash - 750ml
FCUK Signature Bodywash - 300ml
Primark Beauty Oil Balancing Cleansing Wipes With Tea Tree x 25 Wipes
Total - 6 Items 

Okay there were a few bits that I've been using forever and I thought would never end but I'm still a little bit mehhh that I couldn't manage to finish at least a couple of more products. Never mind some of the things that I thought I would finish in February are very nearly done so March should be a better month.

1. Soap & Glory Flake Away - 50ml

A mini to start off with -This scrub came in my Boots Beauty Advent Calendar. I love all of the Soap & Glory body scrubs and this one was no exception. This is the original, with the famous Soap & Glory fragrance. It's nice and scrubby but it feels moisturising at the same time. I will definitely consider repurchasing all the scrubs I've tried from this range.

2. Yonka Pamplemousse Normal To Oily Skin Protective And Vitalizing Cream With Botanical Essential Oils - 50ml 

This was an item that came in a beauty box, and at first I loved it, I must have done I bought another one!, but whether it's down to a change in my skin (ageing!) or the change in the weather but by the end of the tube I hated it. This facial moisturiser from Yonka Paris is for normal to oily skin and contains essential oils such as Grapefruit, Lime, and Lemon. It's designed to revitalise and brighten the skin and tighten the pores. It's not a bad moisturiser by any means but I think my skin at the moment just isn't oily enough for it and is just a tad too sensitive.

The sad thing is I actually have a new and sealed tube of this moisturiser in my skincare drawer, it's unboxed and in the old style packaging (same as my empty) but the foil seal is still intact. A new tube would retail at a scary £36 but one of you can have this one for free.

If you have oily skin and want to try this out and your in the UK leave a comment on this post telling me that you want to try it and leave a contact email and I'll pick a name out at random next Sunday. It seems a shame to waste it when somebody else might see more benefit from it than I would. You can find out more about it here x

3. Avon Solutions Body Cellu-Sculpt Massaging Anti Cellulite Treatment - 200ml

Anti-cellulite products - I've used lots of them over the years and to be honest 90% of them have done naff all and this was another one. This was just a basic firming cream which came in a tube with a dimpled massaging head on the end. It left the skin feeling a bit softer but it didn't really do much with regards to the dimply bits. It's no longer in the Avon catalogue which I guess tell you everything you need to know.

4. Baylis & Harding Sweet Mandarin And Grapefruit Balancing Body Wash - 750ml

This is another one of those products that seemed to go on for ever - no matter how much I used the bottle never seemed to go down. You can get Baylis & Harding everywhere especially at this time of year (Mothers Day) and for the price I really like the range and their products make great gifts. I thought that this would smell like the handwash that I reviewed here but the smell wasn't quite as strong. It was nice but it just wasn't quite as zesty as I'd hoped.

5. FCUK Signature Bodywash - 300ml

One of my biggest beauty disappointments of 2013 came in the Boots Christmas Gift Guide when to my horror I couldn't find the usual FCUK French Connection Signature gift set - they'd changed the fragrance :( I first got a gift set several Christmas' ago in a gorgeous patent weekend bag and I fell in love with the smell. It's hard to describe but I think it's classed as an oriental floral. I stocked up in the 2012 / 2013 sales so I still have quite a few bits to use up but every time I use up something from the range now I'm going to be disappointed that I can't get any more :(

6. Primark Beauty Oil Balancing Cleansing Wipes With Tea Tree x 25 Wipes

I've just had a look through my blog because I thought I'd done a full review of these but it doesn't look like I have. The probably isn't a need to do one now though because I've talked about these that often both on here and on my You Tube channel. Basically you get two packs of 25 wipes for just £1. Designed for normal to oily skin then contain the real I am when it comes to Tea Tree, Melaleuca Alternifolia, as well as Witch Hazel, and Aloe Vera. I'm not huge on using wipes on my face but these babies do the job and remove make up without any problem, when I'm having an sick or a lazy day. I predominantly use them for freshening up, and for clearing up swatches but they are a really good bargain basement buy. They probably are the biggest or thickest wipes but for the price I'm not going to argue.

So they were my February empties, as I say not the most impressive tally of empties I've ever achieved but it was better than nothing and hopefully March will be better x Don't forget to comment if you'd like my unopened Yonka moisturiser and I'll let you know who gets it next Sunday xx Thanks for reading xx

Sorting Out My Wobbly Bits With Soap & Glory ??

OK I'll start by saying that I don't believe that you can firm your wobbly bits up just by massaging in a cream, you need a good diet and plenty of exercise to do that, but since my diet is at times debatable and since I can do almost no exercise, in order to get beach ready I thought I'd give a cream the almost impossible task of firming up my bum. Don't worry guys no shots of my wobbly bits here, but I did decide to try a product from one of the high streets most quirkiest beauty brand, Soap & Glory.

Soap & Glory's Sit Tight appears to be a miracle in a tube, firming and toning our bums and thighs while we do nothing else other than sit down! I'm not going to get into the science behind it, I'm no expert but they claim that this product which is high in caffeine, uses the sitting down motion (or lack of it!) helps the product to work better in breaking down the fatty tissue on the lower body. Not only that but they claim that the simple action of massaging the product in everyday will help boost the circulation in the bum and thighs helping to shift fat and fluid build up. If the blurb is to be believed that could be the lazy girls answer to a firmer bum, bring it on I say!

I have to say straight away I have given this stuff a fair go, I don't mean I've used it for weeks, I have used this stuff for months and months, so yeah I've given it a fair crack of the whip!

Boxed and packaged in a 200ml squeezy tube, Sit Tight, has a off white colour, and a gel/cream type texture. It has a slightly menthol based smell.

Soap & Glory advise that you massage the product into your thighs every morning, as you know I'm not a morning person so I've been using it every evening instead. It spreads out really easily on the skin and after a little bit of massaging it absorbs right in leaving no stickiness or tackiness.

This is when the magic supposedly happens and do you know what? you can feel something happening. When you sit down you can actually feel a tingling, slight burning sensation on your thighs, this was a bit of a shock to be honest, it was pretty tingly! Strangely enough though I always see that as a positive with firming products it actually feels as though its working and doing something, no pain no gain as they say, and it only lasts a minute or two so its no big issue. Well were my thighs miraculously firmed, toned and cellulite free, no of course not! As I said you can't achieve a perfect body just by rubbing on a cream, but I do think that the skin on my thighs feels smoother and a tiny bit firmer. The difference is particularly evident just after the cream has absorbed, so I guess it's something you need to keep using, I'm definitely going to keep using it after all it isn't doing any harm. Soap & Glory Sit Tight retails at around £14.30 for 200ml from Boots and ASOS. Any questions please let me know and do you have any cellulite or body firming cream recommendations? Is there such as thing as a miracle product?

Getting Ready For The Beach With Herbalife

A little while ago I was contacted by the lovely Lisa from Immediate PR offering me the chance to try some body care products from a company called Herbalife. To be honest I hadn't heard of the company before but the products sounded perfect for me in my quest to get beach ready. Herbalife are predominantly a nutrition company offering supplements to encourage health, energy and weight loss, so much so that they even sponsor several sports stars and sports teams such David Beckham's LA Galaxy and FC Barcelona. However recently they have branched out into the personal care market providing skincare and body care products to complement the rest of their business and designed to "provide good nutrition both inside and outside of the body". The two products I was sent were from the Body Contouring range I received the Body Buffing Scrub and the Body Contouring Creme. Designed as 2 step system to a more confident you - the first step in the routine is the body scrub

Herbalife Body Buffing Scrub

Containing moisturising ingredients such as Castor Oil and Jojoba oil, as well as Jojoba wax beads this scrub like the cream comes boxed and packaged in an iridescent cream squeezy tube with pink, purple and black lettering.

The scrub normally dispenses easily with one squeeze,however it does tend to get a little clogged with drying product in between uses, so I tended to rinse the nozzle after every use to stop it happening. The scrub itself has a fresh smell and is a milky opaque colour with tiny white buffing grains.

I used this on average 3-4 times in a week both in the bath and shower, I must be honest this isn't the strongest scrub in the world, it's mildly abrasive and even quite gentle on the skin although you do get a stronger scrub if you use it on dry skin. Never the less after use my skin certainly felt a lot softer alas though my usual problem with scrubs occurred with this one, little granules lurking in the bottom on the empty bath meaning a rinse with a shower hose is certainly in order

I would say if you like a gentle scrub or have sensitive skin this will be ideal for you, the grains are super gentle and smoothing on the skin, personally I prefer a bit more of a stronger scrub, if you know what I mean ;) The Herbalife Body Buffing Scrub retails at around £16.80 for 200ml.

Herbalife Contouring Creme

Packaged exactly the same as the buffing scrub, the Herbalife Body Contouring Creme is designed to be used after the scrub to "firm and contour" the body.

The majority of the ingredients are designed with skin firming, and repairing in mind, they include extracts of the Cola nut, Centella Asiatica and Caffeine which act as stimulants and as diuretics, and Ginkgo Biloba and Phospholipids which act as anti-oxidents, and play a role in cell repair.

The cream itself has a creamy, thick texture which dispenses easily from the squeezy tube. It's a pale blue/green in colour and has a similar fresh smell to the scrub, which is probably a little more synthetic. I applied this at least once a day to my problem areas and before you say anything this is for body use only lol ;) I applied it to my bum, thighs, tummy and my upper arms. It massaged easily into the skin and absorbed pretty well. It immediately felt tightening on the skin, and a tiny weeny bit cooling. Have I noticed any major difference with the firmness of my skin? well I have to say no I am not a great believer in the idea of cream shaping up your body  that's down to diet and exercise surely? but I have to say the texture of my skin has certainly improved through using this product it certainly feels smoother and looks a little brighter, so that's good enough for me - the one thing that I don't like about this product is the price which I think is a tiny bit steep. The Herbalife Body Contouring Creme retails at around £27.75 for 200ml.

All in all I think these products are pretty good and my skin is certainly a bit smoother after using them for the last 3 weeks or so and I certainly feel a bit more beach ready , so long as you don't expect miracles you won't be disappointed. These product were kindly provided by PR for review purposes, but this hasn't altered my review in anyway. If you are interested in learning more about Herbalife, these products or you interested in stockist information please check out the Herbalife website or call 08450560606. Any questions please let me know x

Guest Post Over At British Beauty Blogger :)

Just to let you know that I have a guest post over on British Beauty Blogger at the moment - a review of the Nivea Goodbye Cellulite 10 Day Serum :) Thankfully no shots of my thighs just a good, honest review :). Thanks to the lovely British Beauty Blogger for giving me the chance to try it x Please check out my review here x

Factory Shop Bargain Haul

On Tuesday me and my mum bravely went out in the snow to look at televisions (both mine and the downstairs one are starting to fade) alas we didn't see anything we liked but I popped into a few shops whilst I was in my nearest all be it tiny small town. Boots had been well and truly ravaged and had nothing left, so I popped into Poundstretcher to pick up a scart switcher for my Wii, and I popped into The Original Factory Shop. I've already mentioned this shop a few times in some previous posts and I have to say it really is fabulous. They stock all sorts of ex chain store clothing including, DP's, Principles, etc. and loads of discount cosmetics. Ok you have to search amongst the tat but this week they had loads of Lancome items in -I picked up a Color Focus Eyeshadow Palette in 105 Renaissance Printaniere - a gorgeous quad of silky greens that can be used wet or dry

I paid £10 for it and it has an RRP of £31.50 I am really pleased with it and would happily have paid more for it.

I also picked up a box containing the Urban Retreat Body Detox 10 Anti Cellulite Plan - you get a 400ml jar of Seaweed Mud and 5 sachets of Cream. It seems very like the Guam wrap product which I used to use but this was only £5.00 As far as I know you can only get Urban Retreat from Harrods of QVC so I will be keen to give this a go and see if it makes a difference - the Guam product certainly helped with water retention in the time that I used it (I got that from QVC and HQ Hair) so I will be interested to see if this works similarly well, it certainly smells the same

Have you picked up any bargain in an unexpected places recently?