Sample Saturday - Kiehls Creme de Corps Soy Milk & Honey Whipped Body Butter*

I've had a little bit of a blogging break over the last week but I'm back today with the return of my Sample Saturday series. Like blogging at the moment this series has taken a bit of a back seat but from this week Sample Saturday will be a regular thing once again.

One of my favourite brands at the moment has to be Kiehls, after an fascinating skin analysis, and an amazing facial**, At last I think I've discovered both a brand and products that can really make a difference to my skin.

The facial was the best pre birthday treat that I could have had, my skin felt incredibly, smooth and revitalised, and like all good beauty therapists, Kate from the Kiehls counter in House Of Fraser, in Intu Metrocentre went just that little bit further and gave me a relaxing and hydrating hand and arm massage.

I've made a couple of Kiehls purchases since my facial (a large beauty haul post is coming soon) and with those purchases and my skin analysis, I was lucky enough to receive quite a few sachets and sample sized products to try. I received a couple of things from the skincare line which have already become firm favourites and I also received a couple of sachets of one of their most famous products - Creme de Corps.

Kiehls have been around since 1851 and they have an amazing history and pedigree when it comes to skincare but probably one of their most famous products is their body cream - Creme de Corps. The original formulation remains one of their most loved products and it's held in high regard by a wide range of therapists, make up artists, celebrities and even Victoria's Secret Models.

The original formulation which is crammed full of sesame oil and cocoa butter remains one of their best sellers, but never one to rest of their laurels and their history, Kiehls are a brand that like to move with the times, and as a result they've introduced several new variants of Creme de Corps, including the one that I tried, Kiehls Creme de Corps Soy Milk & Honey Whipped Body Butter.

This was the product that I was lucky enough to be massaged with during my facial, and just that small taste (and scent) of it left me wanting more. Designed to provide up to 24 hours of hydration, this body cream is packed to the brim full of good for you ingredients including shea butter, jojoba oil, beta carotene and Kiehls signature plant based ingredient squalane, and of course extracts of soy milk and honey. It also contains no parabens, glycols, or silicone's.

Unlike the original this product has an almost mousse like texture. It has a whipped, airy like appearance, yet it feels creamy and buttery on the skin. It's quite thick but it spreads easily onto the skin, and a little goes a long way.

Given the creaminess and buttery feel I was expecting this product to take an age to absorb but providing you don't use to much, it sinks in pretty much straight away, without any residue, or a sticky or tacky feel. I'm not sure whether or not the feeling lasted for the full 24 hours but immediately after application and for sometime afterwards my skin felt and looked smooth and hydrated, and smelled good enough to eat.

I have to be honest and say that the name originally put off this because I absolutely hate honey! I can't stand the taste of it and to me the smell is even worse! Thankfully though, this doesn't smell anything like honey. To me this smells like cake, it's a creamy vanilla, coconut scent that makes me think of coconut cake, smothered in creamy vanilla butter cream. Despite the creaminess and sweetness this isn't too sweet a scent, and despite the fact that I'm not the biggest coconut fan either I personally didn't find it either overpowering or sickly.

Although I've only used 2, 5ml sachets I can definitely say that I'm in love with this product. Despite it thickness it absorbs into the skin easily, and leaves the skin looking healthy and with an almost glowy appearance. Given the texture and the scent I think that this product would make the perfect summer body moisturiser and I also think that it would make a great after sun. Due to the insane amount of body creams and moisturisers that I already own, I can't see myself purchasing this at the moment, but I'd definitely consider buying the full size in the future. Kiehls Creme de Corps Soy Milk & Honey Whipped Body Butter comes in two sizes and retails at £36 for the 226g tub and at £45 for the 340g tub. It's available from Kiehls standalone stores and concessions nationwide and from their own website, and from various websites Debenhams, House Of Fraser and John Lewis. Have you tried Creme de Corps? Let me know in the comments x

*On Counter Sample
**Complimentary Skin Analysis And Facial

Sample Saturday - Finding Samples And A Mini Review Of The Garnier Body Oil Beauty Oil Infused Nourishing Lotion

Apologies for the lack of posts this week but I'm back with another Sample Saturday post. Over the last few weeks I've been sorting out all of my samples sachets and tubes and you'd be surprised at just how many duplicates I've accumulated.

I don't know about you but I'm much more likely to buy a product if I've had the chance to at least try it out first. Thankfully that's something that more and more brands and companies now seem to be recognising, and it's now easier than ever before to obtain samples and trial sized products.

Probably the best way to pick up high end samples is to brave the make up counter, but there are other ways. I'm a huge believe in signing up to online mailing lists, yes you might get a bit of junk mail, and junk email but every now and then you might get a little surprise through the post. GWP's - Gifts with purchase, and shopping online are also good ways to pick up samples but perhaps my favourite way is to buy magazines.

Despite my love of blogs and online media, I don't think my love for glossy magazines will ever end. Cover mounted gifts are often a great source of samples, and trial sizes, and of course how could we ever ignore the scratch and sniff perfume samples, and the occasional sample sachet.

Judging by the amount of sample sachets that I've accumulated from magazines, it still must be a good way for brands to get their new products out there into the public domain. During my recent search I found 3, 10ml sachets of  Garnier Body Oil Beauty Oil Infused Nourishing Lotion, all of which came from various glossy magazines.

Introduced earlier this year, this nourishing body lotion contains real essential oils and extracts of Argan, Macadamia, Almond, Shea Butter and Rose.

It is pale yellow in colour, and has quite a creamy texture for a lotion. It's very easy to massage into the skin, and it has pleasant, smooth slip, feeling on the skin.

This lotion takes a minute or two to absorb into the skin completely but afterwards the skin feels smooth and.hydrated, and not at all greasy or sticky.

I don't think my camera has really captured it here, but this product gives you skin a really healthy sheen. My skin not only looked better and healthier immediately after application but it actually felt moisturised for a good few hours afterwards.

Like any product though it does have a couple of negatives. Despite the inclusion of both natural oils and extracts, it still contains mineral oil so if your sensitive or you choose to avoid it. this product probably isn't for you.

My biggest issue though is with the smell, which is quite strong. I get a little bit of the rose but I also get quite a bit of almost woody, nutty, warmth. I do quite like the smell but it is quite strong and it does have a tendency to linger on the skin, so it could potentially interfere with perfume or fragrance. The scent isn't too girly though, so this could potentially be a unisex product

I know it's hard to judge after just a week or so's use but I have to say I'm pretty impressed with this product and it's something that I would potentially recommend. If you have drier skin, don't let the word lotion put you off, for me it's as affective as a thick, body cream but with a lighter lotion consistency. It feels nice on the skin, and the skin looks smoother, healthier and more hydrated almost as soon as it's applied. The scent could be an issue for some but since I've predominantly be using this product at night after a bath or shower, it hasn't really bothered me x

The Garnier Body Oil Beauty Oil Infused Nourishing Lotion is available in both a 250ml bottle which retails at around £4.99, and in a 400ml bottle which retails at around £6.99. It's available from various retailers including both Boots, and Superdrug. If your quick though and you want a bargain this product is currently on special offer in Tesco with the 400ml bottle retailing at £4.99 and the 250ml bottle retailing at just £3.32. Are you a body product junkie like me? Leave me a comment and let me know x

Sample Saturday - Pulpe De Vie Sweet Frappe Mask And Face Scrub*

If you've ever subscribed to a beauty box or you've ever bought a glossy magazine then you're bound to have a drawer full of sample sachets and mini bottles. Don't get me wrong they're fabulous for holidays and weekends away but more often than not they sit in the drawer unloved. A few days ago I found another bagful of sachets and it gave me an idea. In an attempt to use up some of my numerous sachets, and mini bottles I've decided to introduce a series called Sample Saturday.

I'm not saying it's going to be every Saturday but from now on, as regularly as possible I'm going to be doing a review of a sample from my collection. Depending on the size or the number of samples that I have, it will either be an initial impressions post or a full review. Believe me I have all different sorts of minis and samples in my drawers, so there should be a post to suit everyone.

Today's post is going to be all about something that I was sent. Sometimes as bloggers we're lucky enough to be sent full sized products, but on a lot of occasions we're sent sample sachets or minis. I'm grateful for everything that I'm sent so I was excited to be sent some samples from a new brand to me Pulpe de Vie.

Pulpe de Vie are a small French company based in the beautiful region of Provence, they produce a certified organic line of skin and body care. Their products are predominantly fruit and vegetable based and their ingredients are all purchased from local suppliers and growers. They are an all French company and all of their ingredients and packaging and products are grown and manufactured in France.

They offer a small range of skincare and body care products, ranging from body moisturisers, to facial self tanners, facial moisturisers and masks. The product I received was the yummy sounding Sucre Frappe, or in English the Sweet Frappe Face Mask and Scrub.

Designed for all skin types, this two in one product is designed to deep cleanse and exfoliate the skin. The manufacturers claim that this product will improve the skin tone and appearance of the pores, whilst at the same time leaving the skin moisturised and radiant.

This product contains 99.8% natural ingredients, 94% of which, are organic. Did you know for something to be classified as organic, only 10% of the product needs to be organic? That seems like such a small amount for me and it's definitely made me think a bit more about the concept when I'm looking at cosmetic labelling. I guess in this case though, with such a high percentage, it really shows Pulpe de Vie's commitment to using organic ingredients.

All of the ingredients in this product are easy to find both on the full sized packaging and online. This scrub and mask contains organic grapefruit oil, cucumber extract, apricot kernels, and acacia honey. It also contains vegetable glycerin, organic and fair trade sunflower oil, and emulsifiers which come from sugar.

Source 

Sounds pretty natural to me but what is it and what does it do? Well the product itself is a sort of sticky amber coloured gel, with is crammed full of tiny pieces of apricot kernel. Appearance wise it reminds me a little bit of Origins Never A Dull Moment, only slightly less scented and a bit less gritty. It has a very subtle, sweet, fruity scent and thankfully for me it doesn't smell of honey. All you do is massage the product into clean, dry skin, avoiding the delicate eye and lip areas, and your hairline unless you want your hair to be full of apricot kernels!  Despite the stickiness it is pretty easy to massage into the skin - scary pictures time!

You then leave it for about 5 minutes to let the majority of the ingredients do their thing. The mask doesn't really set but some of the gel does seem to thicken slightly. Then using a small amount of warm water, you just rub your face gently in circular motions. The consistency then turns from a gel into a creamy, milky particle packed exfoliator. The scent of the grapefruit oil also appear to be intensified with the addition of the water.

Then using a face cloth, soaked in warm water, you just wash away the remnants of the product. The apricot kernels are numerous, as you can probably see from this picture so it can take a little while to get it off, just persevere, and be gentle.

After rinsing my skin looked a little bit pink but it did actually feel really clean and smooth, as if I'd had a nice facial :)

I actually really liked the two samples that I tried but I have to say I'm not the hugest fan of using things like apricot kernels on my face. Try as manufactures might they still tend to feel a bit scratchy on the skin. Pulpe de Vie suggest that you apply a little bit of water to the skin when your first applying it if you have a sensitive skin, but if you have skin that's easily sensitised I would probably avoid this product and pretty much any other kernel containing. manual exfoliator on the market.

It's really hard to review a skin care product in just two uses though and whilst this left my skin feeling nice and soft, it didn't have the wow factor which would make me spend £19.50 on the full sized tube. That said the two sachets that I had contained 5ml of products each so a 75ml tube would go a long way, so if your a fan of this type of product and your after something natural and predominately organic, this could be a worthwhile investment. Unfortunately I dont think that this is an investment I will be making, but I will definitely consider trying some of the other products from Pulpe de Vie in the future.

Pulpe De Vie "Sucre Frappe" Sweet Frappe Mask And Face Scrub retails at £19.50 for a 75ml tube and ia available from Absolutely Divine in the UK. They also have a very nice, website of their own which alas for me is in French. Some browsers have a translate feature on them though which I would highly recommend using because the website gives you a lot of additional information both on the brand and on the product line.

Are you a fan of facial scrubs? Leave me a comment and let me know your favourite x

(*PR Sample)