Tag: The Body Shop

The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Butter – my honest review

The Body Shop camomile cleansing butter - my honest review

I’ve been using this for years to remove stubborn waterproof mascara easily, and pre-lockdown, when I actually left the house wearing foundation/concealer & blush.

For £11, you get 90ml – a flat inch about the size of your hand. It’s big and it lasts months and months – even years.

The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Butter — They sell out fast so I usually buy in bulk

The Body Shop – who are they?

I absolutely love The Body Shop. From when I was younger loving White Musk sneaking into the local shop, having a spray then leaving thinking I was cool, to being obsessed with the body butters, to now, it’s where I go to buy makeup brushes, the occasional hair mask/shampoo and conditioner, plus this beauty – camomile cleansing butter.

The body shop camomile cleansing butter - It's vegan and cruelty-free! — The body shop camomile cleansing butter – It’s vegan and cruelty-free!

The Body Shop are are cruelty-free sustainable beauty brand, who focus on selling ethical, quality beauty products. They have a refill programme for hair products; they have Body Shop at home where people can work for them to host parties where they sell products as a self-employed employee; and half of the products are vegan.

I truly believe they are a wonderful company and will continue to support them by buying their products. Even visiting a shop, they have the most wonderful, friendly staff (big up to the Macclesfield branch).

Camomile cleansing butter – what is it and what does it do?

It’s for removing makeup and impurities from the skin. I use it to remove waterproof mascara each evening before bed, but it gets off everything – foundation, lipstick, blusher, eyebrow pencil – the lot. I personally use it with my Face Halo pad but you could use your fingers and a towel, or a flannel.

It’s thick and creamy so won’t drip initially, but it changes texture when you smooth it between your fingers and goes quite wet and oily so it’s easier to apply and rub in gently to your face. I’d almost say it melts into your skin and afterwards, it feels extremely clean and fresh.

This purifying cleanser also helps to stop those hidden nasties from clogging up your pores, and used on the reg will keep skin feeling refreshed and nourished. A lover for sensitive skin and contact lens wearers. Camomile extract from Norfolk, England. Cleanses your skin for that fresh-faced feeling. Gets rid of all that stubborn makeup and grime
From The Body Shop Camomile product page, at time of writing

I have sensitive / oily skin – will it be okay for me?

I have a very oily T zone and use it to take makeup off but sparingly – I wouldn’t use anything bigger than a pea-sized amount for my skin, excluding my eyes, to get makeup off. This amount would take off a medium layer of foundation, concealer and blush, then I’d use a bit more for my eye makeup.

It doesn’t cause any problems at all for my sensitive skin on either side of my nose.

They sell it in a 20ml so I’d try this size first to make sure you like it.

I have acne – will it be okay for me?

I’d go for the smaller pot first – 20ml for £5, until you decide if you like it or not. I have acne on my oily forehead around my period but I haven’t noticed this making any difference or making it worse. I tend to use tiny amounts anyway so you’d probably need to do the same and build up slowly.

How do you use it?

The Body Shop camomile cleansing butter with Face halo — I use The Body Shop camomile cleansing butter with Face Halo to take off my makeup at night

I use it with my Face Halo, which is a very soft reusable pad. When I take off my makeup, I rub the camomile into my skin, then eyes, then starting with my face, I rub in circles very softly to remove my foundation etc, then I use the other side of my Face Halo to take off my eye make up. Again, I do this very softly as the skin around the eyes is very thin and sensitive.

Following this I use cleanser to ensure every last bit of makeup is off my skin (I use CeraVe Foaming Cleanser – blog coming soon).

Body Shop Camomile Cleansing butter - pea size — I use slightly less than this amount on my whole face including my eyes when I’ve got mascara on

Body Shop Camomile Cleansing butter - when rubbed in — The texture changes when you rub it in – it’s oily and smooth – it smells lovely

Body Shop Camomile Cleansing butter - when rubbed in my face — Not a great pic I know, I was shattered – when rubbed into your skin, the camomile looks oily and starts to stir even the hardest of waterproof mascaras

Where can I buy it?

Buy it from thebodyshop.com where you can get 90ml for £11 or 20ml for £5. It’s free delivery over £25.

Discount codes

They normally run lots of discount codes throughout the year. Before buying, I’d suggest looking at their social medias or signing up to the newsletter to see what codes are live. Here are a couple I’ve used in the past:

11859
21393 for £10 off £45+ spend

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Tags Camomile, The Body Shop

Skincare

9 tips on how to reduce acne and take care of your oily, hormonal skin

For the past few years I’ve started getting a lot of spots the week before my period is due – bigger spots around my face and smaller ones across my forehead. Not only that, I also get spots throughout the month – on the sides of my forehead, my cheeks and my chin. After a lot of reading and getting advice from friends, my skin looks more glowy and any spots I do get fade a LOT quicker than what they used to.

Here’s my list of my top 10 things to do, and not do, to help reduce the amount of spots you’re getting:

Don’t pop them!
Review what you’re putting on your face
Use clean towels
Use clean pillow cases
Are you removing all your make up?
Clean your make up brushes
What make up are you using?
What vitamins are you taking?
Get a spot clearing gel

Don’t pop spots

You don’t have to tell me how hard this one is. There’s not much else better than popping a good spot and having the gunk ooze out. But this is doing your face no good at all. The white stuff in a spot is actually magical liquid helping to GET RID of the spot. So guess what? By squeezing the white goodness, you are 1. removing the goodness fighting the spot 2. making the bacteria go further into your skin increasing the size of the spot and increasing the time it takes to go 3. probably going to leave yourself a scar.

Tips for leaving your spots alone

Don’t look in a mirror.

When I get in and take my makeup off, my most popular time of day for a good spot-popping session was after my evening shower, after I’d taken my makeup off. Spots look worse after a shower because the hot water makes your pores open.

After a shower, I don’t even go near my (amazing) magnifying mirror. I put my creams/moisturiser on without looking. I don’t see my face all red and by the time I look in a mirror, my face has cooled and any spots have reduced in size.

Review what you’re putting on your face

Be honest – how many products are you putting on your face in a day? When I did this assessment, I realised I was:

cleaning my face with a product (morning)
putting 2-3 moisturisers on (morning)
putting primer on (morning)
putting make up on (morning)
removing make up with a product (evening)
putting 2 moisturisers on (evening)
putting on night cream moisturiser (evening)

So that’s a minimum of 9 different products I was putting on my face per day. Your skin is only thin – it can’t possibly hold this much. I figured something must be irritating it so I started to slowly reduce:

1. how much of each product I was using (1 drop instead of 2)
2. reduce the total amount of products I was using.
3. not putting products on all over my face – taking care to reduce the products added to my oily bits (forehead) in a morning

Now my routine looks like this:

cleansing my face with a product (morning)
add 1x 2 moisturiser including SPF (morning) I’ve stopped moisturising my oily bits in a morning which has done wonders for stopping my forehead being so oily by the evening. SPF still goes on all over, though.
add primer sparingly (morning) not all the time if I’m not wearing makeup
add make up (morning) not all the time
~~removing make up with a product (evening)~~ I use The Body Shop Camomile makeup remover on my eyes, but for my face, I use a reusable Face Halo pad
NEW: cleanse & tone (evening) – cleansing and toning take off every last trace of makeup/dirt from the day
~~putting 2 moisturisers on (evening)~~ any other products such as Retinol 3x weekly – I use the same products but I use 1 drop instead of 2 and I don’t use harsh products on my dry patches like I used to
add night cream moisturiser (evening) unlike the morning, I put moisturisers on my oily patches which can be washed off in the morning and doesn’t make my oiliness worse during the day

My skin honestly feels like it’s breathing again and my spots have reduced from this routine.

Use clean towels

If when you wash your face, you dry it with the closest towel… stop! Your partner could have just used that to dry their feet. Or bum, urghhhh. The towel could have been sat wet for a time, collecting germs.

I never dry my face with a towel. I usually leave it to dry – it only takes 5 minutes. Or if I need to, I dap it with 2 small pieces if toilet paper. I never use something that’s already out, having been used already.

The same can be said if you use a reusable make up remover cloth. If you leave it out damp or wet, it’ll collect mould so it’s the last thing you want to use on your face.

Use clean pillow cases

I sleep for 7+ hours so that’s a lot of time my face is lay on something. If you have spots, the bacteria will rub off on to your pillow and stay there, so the next night, that bacteria will make its way back to your face.

I make sure to never sleep on the same side twice. I have spares so I don’t need to wash my pillow case and dry it before re-using.

Are you removing all your make up?

I’ve used Face Halo for a while now with The Body Shop Camomile butter make up remover to remove not only face makeup but also eye makeup.

The Body Shop Camomile butter – for removing make up

I therefore changed my routine a little. I still use the camomile butter on all my face including my eyes/face, but I also use a toner & cleanser afterwards to remove any last trace of makeup.

Clean your make up brushes

Easily forgotten! If you’re constantly hiding spots, you need to constantly be cleaning your brushes.

I use ISOClean to clean mine which takes literally minutes and they’re as clean as new.

Clean your make up brushes weekly or even daily

What make up are you using?

Do you have new spots appear during the day? If so, that could be a sign your make up is irritating your skin.

Your best bet is to try and see what works for you. Read online reviews and use https://www.skincarisma.com/ingredient-analyzer to check out the ingredients before you buy. It shows you any ingredients that could irritate your skin, in particular if you have spots, dry skin or oily skin.

What vitamins are you taking?

I’ve been taking biotin for hair growth. It works! But at the same time, too much, you guessed it, can bring on spots. I found this to be true. Since I’ve stopped taking a daily biotin vitamin, my spots have reduced. I now take only 2 per week.

Get a spot clearing gel

I’ve used Dermalogica Breakout Clearing Booster for putting on angry spots to help them disappear. I’ve also used Benzoyl Peroxide which kills the bacteria in spots, but it’s very strong and dries out skin, so use sparingly and be careful.

Update: March 2021

I’ve just started using polyester pillowcases which are soft enough to help improve your skin. They don’t soak in the lotions and potions you put on before sleeping, unlike cotton. I’m using them instead of silk, which isn’t cruelty-free. Have a read of my article where I discuss my new polyester pillowcases & show how my hair looks after sleeping. I was happily surprised!

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Tags acne, advice, Beauty, Camomile, cruelty-free, Face Halo, Moisturiser, primer, review, The Body Shop, Tips, vegan

Make up Skincare

Removing make up with Chloe Morello’s Face Halo reusable face pad – honest review

I’ve followed Chloe Morello for a while and noticed her promotions for Face Halo makeup remover that you can use only with water. They are kind on skin as they are made of white fibre strands,

“100 times finer than human hair to remove and trap makeup”.

Around the edge they have a black rim made of satin which is soft to touch.

Pricing

At $22 for a pack of 3, initially I thought they were expensive. But then I thought about it and considering makeup remover wipes are £2-3 for 20/30, is it really?

Considering you get “200 washes” out of each pad, not only is it better for the environment, it’s actually a cost-saving. It cost me £15.60 in total, so each one cost £5.20. You only need buy 3 packs of wipes and you’ve already gone over the price of 1 Face Halo. (That’s £0.26p per wash)

The Body Shop cleansing butter is £10. They nearly always have discounts on their website. I got my latest batch with 25% off + free delivery.

My skin has improved

When I use this on my face, it feels lavish and like I’m actually treating my face each time. It doesn’t feel like it’s pulling on my skin and I never get any redness afterwards, proving how soft it is on my skin. Considering the skin around the eye is so delicate, this was really important to me. Especially as I’m moving into my 30’s, I need to take even more care of those soon-to-be wrinkles.

My skin has genuinely improved since using Face Halo. It’s so much smoother and looks fresher.

After-care

I don’t know what I expected, but considering I’ve been using them since the start of August, they are now looking – if being honest – quite gross. Every 2nd use I put them in the wash with my clothes then in the tumble dryer. I’ve never let the makeup sit on the Halo; I’ve always rinsed it after use. They are now stained which really puts me off using them. The Face Halo website says:

If you give it a very quick hand wash right after using with warm water and soap the makeup will release easily. If you leave it for a couple of days before washing it will take a little bit more time to release all the makeup. In this case we like to rub two Face Halo’s together under warm water with some good soap (even a natural dish soap for heavier makeup), then throw into the washing machine!

I have been doing this but they have still stained so I mustn’t have been doing it thoroughly enough. Maybe this is why they’ve bought out completely black Face Halos?

Overall

This will be my routine for a while. I absolutely love it. They go so well together. My face feels so clean I’ve actually stopped using moisturisers because my face doesn’t look like it needs it!

Update: 28 April 2019

I read up online how other fellow people are cleaning their Face Halos. From this advice I now:

clean after EVERY use – making sure it’s wet, I rub soap into the Face Halo. I rub the sides together to make a lather then after 30 seconds, I rinse. You’d be surprised at how much rubbish comes out.
I leave them on the radiator to dry in-between uses throughout the week
clean thoroughly in the main wash every week – I throw all 3 into my clothes wash each week.
I still use The Body Shop’s camomile on all my face but use a biodegradable wet wipe on my face and Face Halo on my eyes.

After a few months of getting a LOT of spots, I’ve stopped using Face Halo’s on my face. I just use them on my eyes, to remove mascara. After washing them with soap, I leave them on the radiator to dry. As it’s been warm, they haven’t been on, so they’ve been sitting there damp for a few days. This isn’t good, as bacteria loves damp conditions which could have been irritating my skin.

I’m not blaming these causing my spots, but since I’ve stopped using them on my face, I’ve noticed a small improvement. I still clean them as above, but I clean them much more thoroughly now.

Read about how I’m improving my spots and skin health.

Update: 16 February 2020

I’m still using (and loving) Face Halo – I got new ones for Christmas as I stopped using my previous ones due to their state! I’m being more rigorous now with my cleaning, making sure after each daily use I’m getting as much mascara out with soap as possible.

I was using The Body Shop’s Camomile cleansing butter with my Face Halo, due to reducing down the number of products I’m currently using on my skin, in an attempt to calm down my spots/acne. If you’d like to read more about other tips I’m doing to calm my skin, I’ve made a blog about it here. Face Halo gets rid of all my makeup without the need for the Camomile so it was an easy decision. I don’t have anything against the Camomile; it’s a great product, just not needed.

Update: 12 March 2021

Still using the same as above – using the pad on my whole face and the Body Shop camomile on my eyes only. I wash & re-use each pad once with soap (leaving on a radiator to dry in-between), then throw in the washing machine along with clothes. I clean my face with the pad first, then use it to get off mascara. I don’t use it on my eyes first as I don’t want to rub mascara all over my face!

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Tags advice, Beauty, Camomile, cruelty-free, Eyes, Face Halo, Moisturiser, Pamper, review, The Body Shop, Tips, vegan

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What is the difference between vegan and cruelty-free makeup?

There’s a difference in Vegan and Cruelty-Free products:

Vegan is when a product doesn’t contain any animal ingredients
Cruelty-free is when the product hasn’t been tested on animals

Facts about China

With the amazing efforts of the Humaine Society International, China changed their laws in 2014 to the following:

Foreign imported ordinary cosmetics – still require animal testing

Domestically produced ordinary* cosmetics – animal testing no longer an absolute requirement

Both foreign imported and domestically produced ‘special use’** cosmetics – still require animal testing

Domestically produced ordinary cosmetics for foreign export only – have never required animal testing

Any cosmetic bought in China via a foreign e-commerce website – has never required animal testing.

*‘Ordinary’ cosmetics include make-up, fragrances, skin, hair and nail care products.
** ‘Special-use’ cosmetics include hair dyes, perms and hair growth products, deodorants, sunscreens, skin-whitening creams, and other products that make a functional claim on the label.

Read the full article on hsi.org.

This means if a brand who is cruelty-free in the UK starts selling and importing products to sell in China, they are then tested on animals so the company is no longer Cruelty-Free. This happened to the brand Nars.

Brands who test on animals

This list is from the Peta website dated 16.05.2018. It includes big brands such as:

Air Wick
Arm & Hammer
Aussie
Aveeno
Avon Products
Balenciaga
Benefit Cosmetics
Bobbi Brown
Braun
Burberry
Calgon
Calvin Klein
Caudalie
Chloe
Clearasil
Clinique
Diesel
Dior
~~Dove~~ now cruelty-free!
Durex
Elizabeth Ardon
Estee Lauder
Febreeze
Fendi
Garnier
GLAMGLOW
Galo
Hugo Boss
Johnson & Johnson
Kiehl’s
L’Oreal
Lancome
Listerine
MAC Cosmetics
Max Factor
Maybelline
Michael Kors
Miu miu
Nars Cosmetics (they used to be Cruelty-Free but started selling in China)
Neutrogena
Nice and Easy
Nivea
Olay
Oomph!
Origins
Pampers
Pantene
Revlon
Schwarzkopf
St. Ives
Tresemme
Vaseline
Veet
Viktor & Rolf
Wella

The list goes on. For the full list, check out Peta’s website. Do the right thing and don’t buy from these brands. There’s no reason good enough for putting animals through harm and suffering.

Check which brands you use are Cruelty-Free on the Leaping Bunny website.

Brands who DO NOT test on animals (hurrah!)

I’m chuffed to say this list is a LOT bigger than the previous one. Here are a few popular brands featured on the PETA website, but you can see the full list here.

Acure
Adaline & Co
Anastasia Beverly Hills
BareFace Cosmetics
Barefaced Beauty
Basic Bitch Cosmetics (gorgeous Lucy from Made in Chelsea!)
Bath Bomb Babes
The Bodyshop
Botanical Skin Works
Burt’s Bees
Chi Chi Cosmetics
Dermalogica
Dove – new! hurrah! See their statement here
Dr Roebuck’s
Dr PAWPAW
Iconic London
Illamasqua
LUSH Cosmetics
Mabel & Meg
Makeup Geek
ModelCo
MUA Makeup Academy
Ted Baker
The Honest Company
The Organic Skin Co
The Ordinary

High-Street Vegan and Cruelty-Free makeup

The Body Shop – Vegan and they do NOT test on animals. Everything ‘beauty’ you can think of including make-up, moisturisers, perfume.
B. Cosmetics (look in Superdrug) – Makeup including concealers, foundation, bronzer, primer, brows, blush, mascara, etc.
Barry M – the majority of their products are Vegan. A small number contain beeswax. They do NOT test on animals. Look in Superdrug – they sell a range of makeup including highlighter, foundation, concealer, mascara, primer, eyeshadow, nail varnish, etc.
HUDA Beauty – Most products are vegan. They do NOT test on animals. Products include mascara, eyeshadow, lipsticks, makeup brushes, etc.
GOSH – Some products are vegan and the list is here. They do NOT test on animals.
Dove – cruelty-free – can’t find info relating to if they are vegan
Kat Von D – Vegan and they do NOT test on animals
Optimum – Eye and face creams – check out their products on Superdrug
Revolution Beauty / I Heart Revolution – Cruelty-Free. Not all products are vegan but some are – check out the Vegan section on their website for a full list
Solaite – Sun creams are vegan, see Superdrug’s website for details
Superdrug’s own branding has several vegan products (see their website filter here) – such as body spray, toothpaste, cleansing wipes, hair conditioner, shampoo, beard oil, pre-shampoo treatment, facial spritz and deodorant.
Too Faced – Cruelty-Free. Not all products are vegan but some are – see their vegan-friendly range here which includes the very popular ‘Born This Way’ foundation, mascara, bronzer, eyeliner, primer, etc.
Urban Decay – Vegan and they do NOT test on animals – see their cruelty-free makeup here which includes setting spray, foundation, concealer, mascara, lip gloss, etc.

Toothpaste

The Co-operative sell their own-branded toothpaste – both Vegan and Cruelty-Free
Sainsburys and Tesco sell their own branded Vegan toothpaste (unable to find info if it’s Cruelty-Free too)
Advanced Pro have some toothpaste Vegan and Cruelty-Free

Products I’d recommend

The Body Shop fresh nude foundation
It stays on all day (even on my forehead which is oily) It isn’t heavy but can be if you apply a few coats.

The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver
I use as a primer before I put my makeup on. It helps my skin look more awake.

Dermalogica clay cleanser (for oily skin)
I use as a facemask but also as a 2/3 times-weekly to give my skin a good clean.

Mabel + Meg Lumilixir Serum
I can’t rate this product highly enough. The company is Vegan & Cruelty-Free. Check out my article where I share the benefits I’ve found

The Ordinary
I bought these 3 beauties from LookFantastic for a HUGE grand total of…. £17.60. Seriously, I paid £17.60 for 3 bottles, all 30ml each. Absolute bargain. I use the Lactic Acid twice a week; and the other 2 I use 1 or 2 drops each before bed. My skin has never looked so fresh or plump.

The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution 30ml – “a powerful resurfacing treatment that acts as a ten-minute exfoliating facial to revitalise and tone.”
The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2% Superficial Peeling Formulation 30ml “offers mild exfoliation that transforms the complexion.”
The Ordinary 100% Plant-Derived Squalane 30ml – “the botanical lipid Squalane is a saturated and stable hydrocarbon that delivers exceptional moisture retention properties and can help prevent transdermal moisture loss”

Thank you to Michelle at BeautyEditor for her awesome review which helped me decide what to buy.

Need to check a brand/product?

First, try finding the company on Peta’s list. If you don’t get any joy, visit the brands’ website or do a Google search “Brand vegan” and I’m sure you’ll get the answer.

Check which brands you use are Cruelty-Free on the Leaping Bunny website.

Making the change

It can be hard changing over to Vegan/Cruelty-free products. It feels like a minefield at first especially if you have certain products you’ve used forever and absolutely love.

Hopefully, this list has helped you understand there’s still a lot to do, and knowledge to share to make more people aware of what they’re putting on their skin.

What should you do if you’ve got products to use up?

My advice would be to use up everything you have. Use this time wisely to get to know the products you’ll replace them with.

Update: 17th February 2020

I’ve been using Aurelia products and absolutely love them. They are of course cruelty-free and some are vegan. One of the products I’ve been using is their botanical cream deodorant which is vegan (hurrah). See the vegetarian/vegan confirmation on the Aurelia website.

Dove are now cruelty-free! Hurrah! I have updated the lists above.

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Tags advice, Beauty, costs, cruelty-free, Make up, Moisturiser, review, The Body Shop, The Ordinary, Tips, vegan