A'kin Pure Rose Hydrating Mist -A Review For My Pure

I was thrilled when I opened my recent review parcel from My Pure to receive a facial spray / mist. As you probably know already from my blog I love facial sprays and even use my regular toners in spray bottles - they are great for toning, refreshing the skin and even setting make up. The one sent to me for review was the A'kin Pure Rose Hydrating Mist.I've already tried a few A'kin products before (hand washes) and I've already heard so much about this product from one of my friends who has used it before so I was thrilled to receive it and get the chance to try it out for you x
A'kin was founded in Australia in 2002, and first came to the UK in 2004 - it's a truly natural, vegan range free from all sorts of nasties such as sulfates, silicone's and parabens :).

The first thing you obviously notice about this product is the packaging - it's simple and unfussy - packaged in a cream / grey bottle. It has a natural pump action spray dispenser which I love - no chemicals or gases are involved and they produce a super fine spray

the dispenser on this product is no exception it produces a lovely fine but substantial spray which adds to its usefulness

As I've already said A'kin prides itself on the use of natural ingredients and this product exemplifies that, it contains beautiful flower essences, plant extracts and vitamins to produce a spray to cool and rehydrate your skin.

A'kin have included several extracts which are beneficial for you skin including Aloe Vera. Aloe is one of the most amazing products as well as being anti-bacterial, it also immensely soothing and cooling on burnt or inflamed skin. As well as adding a beautiful but subtle scent the product obviously also contains several varieties of rose - one of the most precious plant extracts rose is especially good again for skin calming, but the smell can also actually induce relaxation. Another one of the key ingredients A'kin have used in this mist is the rather scary sounding sodium hyaluronate - again a naturally occurring product often from soy beans, HA as it's often know is high in antioxidants, and can play a key role in hydrating the skin. These are just some of the ingredients in this mist - it's clear A'kin have thought about every ingredient that has gone into thes product - about what is can do for our skin and or course about what it smells like.

As I said before it has a subtle rose smell, pleasant and refreshing but not overpowering. I have probably used this spray over the last few weeks mostly as a refresher. Like most of us in the UK I probably caught a tiny bit too much sun over the weekend and I used this spray all over my pink tinged face ;) - I have to admit it was a gorgeous - it didn't sting at all, and it felt beautifully cooling and soothing on my skin and my skin certainly didn't feel dry, exactly as A'kin claimed - thank you Aloe Vera content! I've also used this during the hot sticky nights we've had lately to cool the skin on my face and body -gorgeous and so refreshing. You can also use this product as a toner, or over make up or to refresh it and to help to set it, or even to foil eyeshadows :) Mummy LouLou also liked this product on her mature skin - she loved the subtle rose smell, and liked the fact that it absorbed into the skin and left a non-sticky finish. All in all this product has proved a bit of a winner with us - I like the smell,and the feel of it on my skin and I also like the ethos behind the company. I think like most facial sprays it would be a real summer essential - great for those (hopefully) hot days and nights :)
The only thing I have a slight issue with is the price of the product - £12.99 for 125ml which I think is a tad steep but if your into natural products this is a good one to try. You can purchase the A'kin Pure Rose Hydrating Mist from My Pure for £12.99.

(As you know I was sent this product for review purposes - this hasn't altered my opinion in anyway - this is my own honest viewpoint yours may be different)

Birthday Cooking - Part 1 - Mars Bar Cake :)

OK this recipe might be a little childish but I remember this with fond memories from my childhood birthday parties - it made an appearance at just about every party I ever went too along with Agadoo and cheese and pineapple hedgehogs :) - then a few years ago it started popping up in the office I worked in - Since then I've started making this again for my birthday and for  special occasions like Easter and Christmas. In reality I could probably eat this every day but the calories in it are probably ridiculously high - enjoy :)

Ingredients

3 Full Size Mars Bars (If You Use The Ones From A Multi Pack You'll Need More )
3oz Butter or Margarine
3oz Sugar
3oz Rice Krispies (Coco Pops and supermarket own brands also work well)
10oz ish of Melted Chocolate (I used about 2 large bars of Dairy Milk)

1. Chop up the Mars Bars, and add to a pan with the butter / margarine and sugar.

2. Put the pan onto a medium heat and gently stir until all the ingredients are melted and blended together and the sugar is pretty much dissolved - don't leave the pan to it's own devices though it's super easy for this to burn and catch on and solid burnt caramel is not what we're looking for here.

3. Once it's all melted start adding your rice cereal, stirring gently as as you go

Make sure all the krispies are covered in the Mars Bar mix, you might need more or less krispies than stated

4. Once all the krispies are covered press the mixture into a lined or at least a well greased Swiss roll tin or if you have it use a silicone one - they make is so much easier to get your cake out once it's set. You can see my struggles below this is one sticky mixture

5. Once your slice is cool - melt your chocolate and pour it over the top

You can completely cover it like I've done or you can use slightly less chocolate and drizzle it over the top

6. Leave it to cool and then cut into small squares -this is super sickly :)

Hints and Tips,and Suggestions

* You may look at the mixture in the pan and panic - relax give it time it will all melt together
* You can double or half this mixture quite easily and it works just as well
* If your Coeliac like me check your Rice Krispies etc. some contain too much Barley Malt etc. to make then gluten free :(
* You can also add things like raisins, dried fruit or nuts into your mix and I guess you could use different cereals
* You will need to keep this in a super cool place - it goes very melty and sticky if its anywhere warm

Any questions please ask x Enjoy x

ASOS Goodies - Melissa, Jemma Kidd and More x

With the rest of my birthday money I placed a little order with ASOS (I'm still using up all the Diet Coke discount codes I accumulated). The first thing I ordered was another pair of the Melissa bow detail flip flops this time in white - I love the smell of these, a bit like bubblegum and they are so comfortable :)

I also ordered some of this Steam Cream - I've read so much about this multi-use product, you can use it on your face, and body and it smells amazing - it contains oat milk, lavender, and orange blossom :) and has a very similar smell to Lush Dream Cream - gorgeous! and it comes in the cutest tin, the one I chose (there are several options) was a limited edition by PPQ


I also ordered something I've seen recommended on numerous occasions by the lovely Holly from Yummy Mummy Beauty Blog - the Jemma Kidd Make Up School Lipstick Duo in Wendy. In sleek black packaging this is a double ended product with a lip balm / primer at one end and a peach / nude lipstick at the other


It's a really pretty shade but my one complaint is that it's tiny you really don't get very much of each product - surely they would have been better off just giving you just one product but more of it hmmm

I also got a bandeau bra which is probably not that interesting and a Bourjois Pretty Paris Liberty Chic Eye Shadow - the packaging is soooo cute all covered in pretty flowers - ASOS said the shade was cream but it was labelled as 94 Citron Givre
so it's actually a very pale shimmery lemon, I don't think I actually have a shade like this so I think it will make a pretty highlight :)



Any questions on anything please ask x

L'Oreal Perfect Clean Foaming Gel Wash - Review

You probably don't remember but I bought this product back in March when my mum was in hospital - I really wanted to do this review sooner but I felt I needed to give it a longer go. L'Oreal Perfect Clean Foaming Gel Wash comes in several variants - the one I chose was the turquoise / blue one "Refreshing" for Normal / Combination skin - exactly my skin type. The product comes in a chunky dispenser with a removable "scrublet" - I think the whole concept of the scrublet is why this stood out to me above all the other face washes out there at the time.

For those of you that haven't seen this before - the scrublet is a little rubber device covered in rubber spikes that you use to massage the wash onto your face - therefore washing and exfoliating at the same time -



you can either attach it back to the bottle or use it like I did and stick it to the bathroom tile using the sucker on the back.

To use it you hold the scrublet between your fingers (as shown) and apply a little bit of the face wash on to the scrublet and then you apply in circular motions to your already damp face

This is the first thing I noticed I found the wash very liquidy and there was a tendency to use too much. Using the scrublet to apply the product to your face I have to admit was very economical - you really didn't need much product to produce a lather. I must admit I like this was of cleansing my face - the gel smelled fresh and quite pleasant and my face certainly felt clean

However, after only a few days of using the product I ended up with some very dry patches on my skin - me a girl who hasn't ever had dry skin had large patches of flaking skin on my jawline - not pretty! To be fair I was a bit stressed at the time and that can manifest itself in your skin so I decided to persevere with the product for a bit longer - did things get any better? did they hell a couple of months on I still have the dry patches, and despite the wash containing salicylic I now have worse spots than I did in the first place.
OK this might be just my experience with this product but I am afraid it gets a big fat FAIL from me. I love the scrublet initially I thought it was a bit of a gimmick but I will definitely be keeping that in my routine but the face wash just didn't suit my skin at all :( L'Oreal Perfect Clean Foaming Wash comes in around 4 varieties for around £4.99

Clinique and Clarins Goodies

I placed a little order on Saturday using my birthday money with Garden Pharmacy -I believe they have a store based on Covent Garden but having used their website and being impressed I decided to use them again to purchase a couple of things. The first one I have to admit is something I use a lot in the summer Clinique City Block Sheer SPF25

I usually use it when I'm on holiday for walking around the town, etc. (not for actual sunbathing I use something much stronger) I love this as it provides an oil free, non greasy and non whitening protector for my face - as yet I have no holiday plans :( but I am going to be going back to using my Elemis Tri Enzyme Wash which you need to follow with a sunscreen so I thought I'd pick one up for my no make up days. You may also notice another little pot in the picture - they were also kind enough to throw in a 5ml tub of Clinique Repairwear Intensive Eye Cream - I am generally not the greatest lover of Clinique skin care bar the City Block but I do quite like their eye products (all about eyes specifically) and I haven't tried this one so I am happy to have it :)
Reading beauty blogs and the beauty press as I do my heart skipped a beat when I first saw the other product I purchased :) I recently read a blog post on this (sorry I can't remember who it was that wrote it sorry :()and I knew one had to be mine -the Clarins Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Balm - I got 02 Crystal - how gorgeous!

How pretty is this - a cross between lipbalm and gloss this is probably the least pigmented shade of them all but it's lovely it feels nice on the lips and it tastes of raspberry and how cool is almost like jelly and nearly too pretty to use ;) but not quite :) I'm lead to believe these are a limited edition so it's well worth having a look asap :)


Garden were also kind enough to enclose some more freebie with this - not sample sizes but proper GWP sizing I got a 30ml size of the Clarins Beauty Flash Balm (any tips for using this appreciated) and a 20ml bottle of the Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser - I am curious to try these products I haven't used Clarins for ages ever since a friends sister worked for them :)

I would definitely recommend Garden, as I say I ordered Saturday and it came on Tuesday morning so I am very pleased - any questions please ask x

NOTD - OPI Hong Kong Collection - Lucky Lucky Lavender - Redone!

When it comes to nail polishes and make up, I'm a bit of a sucker for new collections and new things and as a result I  recently bought a couple of colours from OPI's new Spring collection which is all themed around the island of Hong Kong, and this pretty pastel was one of them.

Lucky Lucky Lavender to me isn't a true lavender colour, it's more of a slightly cool, lilac toned pink. Despite the fact that it's a flat cream polish it hasn't been the easiest one to photograph so in real life this shade is probably just a touch darker.

In theory creams should be one of the easiest polish formulations to apply but again the reality is pretty different. Cream polishes and perhaps more specifically cream polishes in pastel shades can be a nightmare to apply. Why? well they can streak, this one was as bad as some of the paler more white based shades in my collection but it still took a good two coats to get an even finish on most nails.

It was definitely worth the effort though, OPI aren't one of the biggest manicure brands in the world for nothing, their polishes consistently deliver on all fronts, including ease of application and wear time and Lucky Luck Lavender is no different. This is the perfect Spring / Summer shade and it's one that I am really happy to have in my collection. Are you a fan of OPI polishes ? Let me know in the comments x

Birthday Pressies :)

Ok apologies in advance I know some people don't like present hauls but erm tough :) This post is basically to show my gratitude to my lovely friends and family for being so generous and buying me such lovely gifts :)
The first pressie came from my mum - I have to admit I knew she'd got these for me because I had to order them for her lol

My wishlist goodies from the MAC Give Me Liberty Of London collection - you've probably seen these bits before but here are a few pics - Shell Pearl Beauty Powder - gorgeous sooo pleased I got this :)


2 lipglasses - Left - English Accents - Right - Frankly Fresh - Love :)

one lipstick in Peachstock

I was a bit scared about this some people said they didn't like it but thankfully I do :)

and an eyeshadow in Bough Grey

I like the eyeshadow packaging but not enough to not bother depotting it lol - especially when it means I'll have 6 empties :), and I got a new 15 pan palette:)

I also got a whole load of bath and smelly things from friends, my mum and other relatives - here is just some of it - some Benefit, some Body Shop Lemon, some Bomb Cosmetics Raspberry Ice Cream Shower oh and there is a pop gloss tin there too :)

I got a Body Shop Cocoa Butter gift set from my godparents and a Sanctuary Gift Set from my bestie and loads of other bits I haven't pictured including Girl2Go, more Body Shop, and these gorgeous Elemis goodies also from my mummy :)

I also got lots of jewellery bits including a ring from my godparents which I love - you can't see too clearly here but it's all flowers, butterfly's, and dragonfly's :)

I also got this cute Top Shop bracelet from my bestie :)

and this super cute Lola Rose gift set from the cats via my mum lol - first of all here is the gift box

and the cute little bags all the items come in and the message in the box so cute :

I can't get a proper picture myself so I've found this one online - it really doesn't do the stone justice - it's blue sandstone and you can see all the sparkles inside it - it really looks like a starry sky - in my set I got the heart pendant on a suedette cord, the tumbled stone bracelet which fastens with a cute Chinese knot, and the matching tumble sterling silver earrings - gorgeous I love this so much - my first but hopefully not my last pieces of Lola Rose :)

I also got a few clothing and accessory bits including two tops from Top Shop


this super useful Jane Shilton bag from my godparents

it looks black in the first picture but as you can see in this one of the stud detailing it's a grey / taupe tone - its pleather but it super soft and light and I'll fit loads in it - love it :)

I also got these gorgeous Accessorize leather sandals from my godparents - I actually went shopping with my godmother a few weeks ago and she picked these up for me - we actually went in to look at jewellery but it was love at first sight - the daisies etc. are just sooo me


This is just a selection of some of the things that I got - everyone was so generous I also have a mountain of chocolate including multiple boxes of Thorntons yum! and some other bits I haven't included and of course some money (which is already spent two hauls to come - whoops) - I was well and truly spoilt by everyone and I have another pressie to come from my other bestie when her parents go to visit :D yeah to extended birthdays -thanks again for all the birthday wishes too you are all lovely xx Any questions on anything I got please let me know xx