Tag: Oil

Look Fantastic Beauty Box – March 2019

What’s in the box?

6 products
Elle magazine
Beauty magazine detailing the products in the box

As usual there are some amazing products in this months box; only some cruelty-free/vegan which I list below. I got this box as part of a 6-monthly package I bought with Look Fantastic. I pay £13.75 per month and the box is delivered at the start of each month.

Rituals of Sakura hand balm, 70ml

A great size, it smells absolutely gorgeous. It’s a big size which will keep me going for months! Can’t quite believe I got this from Look Fantastic just because I only paid £13.75 for the whole box & this alone is worth £9.50.

Look Fantastic Beauty Box March 2019 - Rituals of Sakura Hand Balm

I can’t find anything regarding if the brand is cruelty-free or vegan on their website, and they don’t come up on Peta’s cruelty-free list so unfortunately I can only presume they are NOT cruelty-free.

Omorovicza Cleansing Foam

This foam has great reviews – it’s good for removing makeup and impurities. It’s vegan! They aren’t on either Peta or Leaping Bunny for being cruelty-free though.

Morphe High Impact Highlighter

Look Fantastic Beauty Box March 2019 - Morphe Highlighter

Feels expensive, even the case feels solid! I’ll definitely be using this. It glides on my skin. I might even see how it is as an eye shadow. Watch this space.

Unable to find out anything on their website regarding their cruelty-free/vegan stance, but Crueltyfreekitty.com [https://www.crueltyfreekitty.com/news/is-morphe-cruelty-free/] asked them to confirm which they did – they are cruelty-free! Hey guys, add this to your website. It’ll probably increase sales.

EOS Lip Balm

I’m not keen on this! I hate being negative but I really don’t like the smell or the packaging. Not practical for carrying with me in particular on a night out when my bag space is limited. I haven’t found anything online about them being either cruelty-free or vegan.

The Ordinary – Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5

Look Fantastic Beauty Box March 2019 - The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid B5

For the quality of the product I still can’t get over products from The Ordinary are. To buy, this is £5.90. I can’t quite find out exactly what it does for skin – something about surface hydration? Either way, the reviews speak for themselves.

Vegan and cruelty-free (confirmed on their website) hurrah!! [https://theordinary.com/product/rdn-hyaluronic-acid-2pct-b5-30ml]

Madara Smart Anti-Pollution Charcoal and Mud

After using this my skin felt itchy but I think I left it on a few minutes too long. That night, my skin glowed!

Look Fantastic Beauty Box March 2019 - Madara Smart Charcoal Mud Repair Mask

The company IS cruelty-free! Some of their products are vegan including (from what I can tell in their FAQs) this one. [https://www.madaracosmetics.com/en/faq]

Where to buy & discounts

If you decide to buy, feel free to use my ‘friends and family’ code for £5 off (if you’re a new customer) I get £5 off too. Here is my referral link: https://www.lookfantastic.com/referrals.list?applyCode=RACHAEL-RBAF

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Tags Acid, Beauty, Charcoal, Cleansing Foam, cruelty-free, Hand Balm, Highlighter, Look Fantastic, Make up, Oil, The Ordinary, vegan

Skincare

How I protected and nourished my hair on the beach with coconut oil

My hair is up all the time on holiday. It’s never down and I never bother to straighten it. I’m also, always in the sea, so by the end of the day, my hair not only looks like rat tails, it feels horrible.

I bought coconut oil before I went which I’d heard was good at keeping hair nourished during beach holidays. I used it daily throughout my holiday and thought I’d share my very happy experience with you.

After swimming in the sea, you should take a shower. Salt water not only dries out your skin and hair, it leaves a sticky residue behind (gross). After each swim, I took my hair down so it was loose. I stood under the shower nearby and let the fresh water wash all over my hair. I didn’t shampoo it or anything. After a few minutes, I went back to my seat and brushed it until it was lug-free.

Taking about a pea-sized amount (I have long hair), I warmed it up in my hands. I then ran my fingers through the top and ends of my hair – being careful to avoid the roots as it can make roots greasy.

Once done, I scooped it up and put it in a french plait down my back. I like the French plait because it keeps hair in but it isn’t tight on my head, like a ponytail. When I undid it later in the day, it gave me lovely wavy hair.

Here’s a pic of me in the evening, back from the beach. This is after I’d had my hair covered in coconut oil all day. It was SO smooth, smelt amazing and was really conditioned. I hadn’t even washed it; this is when the coconut oil was still in my hair. All I did was brush it and put it up in a ponytail. It had dried on the beach with the coconut oil in it.

Not only am I using it but my Husband started too. He used it once after he’d been in the sea to de-fluff his hair. Guess what? Yep. He started using it in the evenings too instead of hair gel, and continued to use it even now we’re back from holiday.

I’ve used it as leave-in-conditioner a few times since I’ve been back, to give my hair a boost after being out in 35 degree heat for 2 weeks. It looks really shiny and moisturised.

As long as you don’t use too much, it makes styling hair so much easier. I sometimes wave my hair with straighteners. I’ve done it with coconut oil in my hair and the waves have never been as bouncy or as long-lasting. From the reviews on the Superdrug website, some ladies use it for their bleached-hair to keep it from drying out.

The coconut oil is solid in the container, so you need to pick it out with a nail.

I bought the coconut oil from Superdrug for £1.65. It’s cruelty-free and vegan, which makes this my new favourite product.

I’d definitely recommend it, especially as it’s cruelty-free! If you use it, drop me a comment and let me know how you get on.

More uses for coconut oil – further reading

Not just for beauty but potential nutritional value too. Check out FocusPerformance’s article | Coconut oil, Good or bad?

Could coconut oil be used for hair growth? Hairguard.com discuss the benefits, side effects and uses – worth a read if you’re worried about losing your hair.

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Tags advice, Beauty, cruelty-free, hair care, Moisturiser, Oil, review, Tips, vegan

Skincare

Look Fantastic Beauty Box – October 2017

Indulge Me #LFbeautybox

In this month’s beauty box I got 6 products – ranging from ModelCo concealer, firming face oil, to coffee bean body scrub! At only £14.50, it’s an absolute steal… I also got a free handbag-sized Elle magazine, which alone is worth £3-4.

Look Fantastic beauty box - October 2017

In this month’s box…..

Bean Body – coconut coffee body scrub
Ciate wonderwand – mascara
Lancer – the method polish
ModelCo – instant radiance concealer
Monu Skin – firming fiji facial oil
Skimono – beauty mask

Bean Body – coconut coffee body scrub

I’ve used this scrub in the shower (it’s messy) to help reduce my cellulite. It’s made my skin extremely smooth and reduced my cellulite a bit – using it often I hope to massively reduce it.

It’s vegan and cruelty-free as confirmed on their website.

Ciate wonderwand – mascara

Lancer Skincare – the method polish

You use this on your face as a scrub to get rid of dead skin cells. It’s got amazing reviews. I’ve tried it and it’s great for leaving my skin smooth. I unfortunately wouldn’t buy it because it isn’t vegan, as so confirmed on their website (search for “vegan”). They are cruelty-free though (search “cruelty”) in their FAQs.

ModelCo – instant radiance concealer

It’s the wrong colour for me so I was unfortunately unable to test this. I would say it went on my skin smooth and blended well.

I’ve been unable to find it on their website. It does however, say that everything they sell is vegan and cruelty-free.

Monu Skin – firming fiji facial oil

This oil has been amazing for my skin. I don’t use it on my forehead as that’s really oily anyway and I wouldn’t want to make it worse. I put it on overnight and by morning, my skin is super-smooth.

It’s vegan and cruelty-free! Confirmed on their website.

Skimono – beauty mask

Inside the packet was 2 hand masks. They left my hands super smooth. I wouldn’t purchase these as unfortunately I can find no information relating to if they are either vegan or cruelty free on their website, https://skimono.com/pages/faqs.

Where to buy & discounts

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Tags Beauty, concealer, cruelty-free, Look Fantastic, Make up, mascara, mask, Oil, vegan

Skincare

Mabel + Meg Lumilixir Serum review

I first found Mabel + Meg Lumilixir Serum through a beauty blogger on Instagram. She put a few blobs on her makeup brush, along with her foundation, and began sweeping it across her face. It seemed to blend perfectly and gave her a dewy glow. I can’t remember who she was, but she was really happy and posted a fab review (not to mention, a bloody gorgeous selfie).

Now I’m not sure about you, but I always think…. “do you REALLY think that….. or are you being PAID to think that?” so I decided to buy some for myself.

When I looked into and read the reviews, it seems it’s not just a primer. It helps to (from their website):

Plumps and hydrates skin
Smooths complexion
Brightens skin
Paraben free
Oil free & non-comedogenic
Fragrance-free
Absolutely no animal testing (hurrah!)

It’s described as something you can use as part of your morning and evening routine, applied over a cleansed and toned face. You can moisturise beforehand, but you need to wait for it to absorb before applying.

It’s vegan and cruelty-free 😀

Mabel + Meg Lumilixir Serum – How do you use it?

It comes in a bottle with a dropper, so you can control how much you’re using (and it looks really professional). I use 3 drops on my fingers or makeup brush, then rub lightly all over my face. Once done and it’s still slightly wet, I apply my foundation. I use The Body Shop Fresh Nude foundation which glides on amazingly even. I then add concealer & blusher.

What are your results from using it then?

My skin looks fresher and dewy. I have an oily T zone, which has continued to be oily, so it hasn’t helped it (or made worse) It makes my face feel light, clean and brightened. My makeup also stays on all day, which didn’t before using this.

I get spots on my forehead and chin but since started using this, they’ve reduced massively. I still get them, but they’re tiny and not as noticeable. If I do get a breakout of bigger spots, I use this twice a day (once before makeup and once before bed) and the day after, they’re almost nothing.

Let’s get down to brass tax…

The bottles come in 20ml or 30ml, starting from £29 up to £39 for the 30ml. For me this is very expensive – my foundation and concealer comes to £50 so spending this on top makes me think “jeez, is it really worth it?”. So there’s only 1 way to find out…. coughing up £29 for the smaller bottle!

I bought directly from their website, with £4 shipping fees. I’ve since bought it from Cult Beauty where I paid no shipping (over £40 though).

#TipAlert

If you buy from Cult Beauty make sure you first go through Top Cash Back – at the time of writing, “new online customers” can get 8% back. I’ve used it for years and I’ve had thousands back from it. It’s a cashback site – you visit Top Cash Back and find the brand you want to buy from. You click on it and find out what the cash back available is. You usually get a lower % if you’re already an existing customer of that brand. It takes ages to get paid out but you will eventually get it.

This is a screenshot of my Cult Beauty payout of £3.33 in my Top Cash Back account:

#TipAlert

If you choose to buy it from MabelandMeg.com, look out for the popups where you can get 10% off if you sign up for their newsletter.

Is it worth the money??

Honestly….. I’ll continue to buy Mabel + Meg Lumilixir Serum until I need the money elsewhere. £39 is pricey, so I’ll buy as and when – maybe a couple a year. 3 drops a day will last a good month… or 2. I don’t do as per the instructions and apply in the morning and evening – it wouldn’t last as long (unless I have spots, see above!) and I only want it to help glide on makeup. If I wanted it to stretch, I’d go down to 1-2 drops and only use a few times a week, or on nights out.

If you wanted to use it as a moisturiser then applying morning and evenings would be good for improving your complexion quick, even though you’d use it up faster. Even if it lasted a month, a month’s worth of high-quality moisturiser is well worth it.

UPDATE: 9th March 2019

I still use Mabel and Meg to this day. I usually buy in bulk as that’s when you can get the discount. I still use just 2 drops each morning after I’ve moisturised and before my makeup. It keeps my skin looking fresh, helps reduce spots and keeps my makeup on all day. I love it.

UPDATE: 17th February 2020

Yep… still using it. Had a few months off towards the end of 2019 whilst I was using other things (blogs to come; Beauty Pie, Aurelia probiotic to name a few) but I’m back to using this. It really is absolutely amazing at keeping my makeup on all day. I still get spots during my period week (NOTHING has helped with this, argh) but my oily forehead definitely is better after I use this. I still only use 2 small drops per day. I give it 10 mins to settle on my skin before I put make up on. Love this stuff. Don’t forget to find discount codes from my above tips if you decide to buy! Oh one last thing, the price is still the same – no increase!

I haven’t (unfortunately) been paid or received any goodies for this review. It’s from my own experience so you can believe it’s 100% honest.

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Tags acne, Beauty, cruelty-free, Make up, Moisturiser, Oil, primer, review, vegan

Skincare

Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate facial oil – review

The potion comes in the most lovely box I’ve ever had the pleasure of opening. I’ve even kept it for my nail polishes.

The bottle itself looks expensive, and is a good size. There’s a attached to the lid which when squeezed, sucks up the serum into it. You then squeeze gently to release it. You only need 1-2 drops on each area of your face – I drop some on my forehead, and both cheeks, then massage in. It’s the most gorgeous smell and soaks in like a dream! It’s slightly greasy but soaks in quickly, and doesn’t make my face feel or look greasy. I’ve had it for about a month now, and I’m not even halfway down the bottle. So although it’s expensive to buy upfront, it lasts and lasts.

Has it actually made a difference to your face then, Rach?

Yes, it has! I put it on at night, before bed and after cleaning/toning. In the morning, my face is plump and soft. It’s not greasy in the slightest, but still has the faint smell of loveliness. If I have a spot, by morning it’s gone, all thanks to this bottle of magic.

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Tags Beauty, Kiehl's, Moisturiser, Oil, Pamper