Liz Earle summer treats!

Liz Earle are one of my favourite skincare brands, the products work extremely well and are always a pleasure to use too.

Recently I trialled the Instant Boost Skin Tonic (which I'm already a big fan of, but this one is in the larger spray bottle form) and the Refresh and Revive Foot Spritzer. They came at the perfect time for the warm, sunny weather and I've really enjoyed using them.

I've been using the Skin Tonic (with organic aloe vera, calendula, rose scented geranium, cucumber and vitamin E) at least twice a day every day, and it's kept my somewhat unpredictable skin under control, keeping my skin clear and hydrated even when I've been lazy and just used face wipes to cleanse and totally skipped moisturiser in the evenings. It's perfect for setting make up and for refreshing your skin and foundation in the heat. The bigger spray bottle makes all the difference as the mist is finer and I've had no problems with it clogging up either.

The Foot Spritzer left me pleasantly surprised as unlike many products that claim to cool and refresh but fail to perform it's actually been wonderful for hot, sore legs and feet especially in the evenings. Menthol and peppermint oil provide a noticeable cooling sensation that lasts and rosemary and aloe vera add to the refreshing scent. The 75ml size bottle is perfect for handbags to use throughout the day for an instant refreshing wake up. Maybe not an essential, but great for the warmer months.

Liz Earle's Instant Boost Skin Tonic (200ml spray bottle) is available here for £12 and the Foot Spritzer can be found here for £7.15 or find both in the New Festival kit.

What are your essentials in the heat?

x

[P.S... sorry for the total lack of blogging, things have been all out of routine for me lately with new things and changes and it's totally messed my brain up= thoughts too mangled to blog!]

April's Wishlist...

Yes, it was on my last wishlist, but I've been busy finishing up my Neal's Yard cleanser and getting involved with a Soap and Glory scrubby face wash, now I'm excited to be getting my hands on this soon. I find it so easy to get distracted my other, cheaper cleansers though, despite knowing how much I love this one!

Bourjois lip tint in Cyber Cassis. I saw this on Makeup Savvy and Fee rates this so it's on my list! I hate having to mess around with lipstick when I'm out and about so this looks perfect and hopefully it won't dry out my lips either.

Not beauty related, but so pretty it had to be included, a gorgeous iPod skin from Decal Girl

June's glamour magazine that goes on sale on the 9th of June will contain a generous sized mini (apparently worth between £8 and £10 according to Raspberry Rouge) of one of the three Benefit tints... I'm leaning towards Posie Tint and High Beam, though at £2 for each magazine it wouldn't break the bank to buy all three! 

ELF's new addition is this Studio complete coverage concealer palette, which looks perfect for meeting different concealer needs as your skin colour changes throughout the year, ELF claim that it provides a "flawless, makeup artist finish" for £3.50 you can't go wrong really!

What are you lusting after this month? Let me know.. there's room for a few more on my list ;)

x

Liz Earle Mother's day gift

Are you being a naughty, rebellious child and leaving it late to buy your lovely mum her Mother's day gift? Lucky for you Liz Earle have a special treat that even comes all ready in a gift box!

Liz Earle's special Mother's day gift contains THE cutest little pot (15ml) of Superskin moisturiser, a 10ml rollerball tube of Superskin Concentrate and a lovely travel sized tube (50ml) of Superskin Body Cream as well as a sample of the new Superskin Eye & Lip Treatment all in a generously sized gift box in Liz Earle's signature blue (or is it turquoise? Or even green?!) colour, which is sure to earn you a bigger portion of dessert!

I've previously reviewed the Superskin moisturiser and the Concentrate is a favourite of SO many, even if I personally found the scent too strong for my sensitive little nose. The body cream is wonderfully unique, it's fragrance is the same as the concentrate but not as strong, and it feels really luxurious.

Available until the 11th of April from the Liz Earle website, priced at £30.

Liz Earle Springtime offer!

Just a quick post on an offer from Liz Earle...

Liz Earle are offering all the above- 2 x 100ml pump Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth cleansers + 2 muslin cloths, a 200ml Instant Boost Skin Tonic and your choice of Skin Repair moisturiser (normal/combination, dry/sensitive or  combination oily) plus a beauty bag for £44! A total saving of £23.55 off the normal price of £64.55. 

Or if you prefer Superskin moisturiser then there's this..

Which contains the same as the original one above, except the Skin Repair moisturiser is swapped for the Superskin moisturiser. On the springtime offer this retails for £56.80! Again with a total saving of of over £23! 

These are great offers from Liz Earle if you're looking to try the whole range, you can find the Essentials kit here and the Superskin kit here. 

Happy shopping!

x

Skincare: Toner and moisturising!

Following on from my post on my skincare routine: cleansing ...here's what I'm using for toners and moisturisers right now...

Witch Hazel- both distilled liquid and in gel form are my current favourites, they do a fantastic job of keeping my skin's tone and texture even, keeping oil at bay and generally boosting my skin condition, my pores are also much much smaller too, take a look at my full review to find out more!

Also in use is Liz Earle's Instant Boost Skin Tonic which softens and soothes my skin with a wonderful scent as a bonus!


I know for some people toner is a step that's seen as pointless but it's really made all the difference to my skin and if I wasn't going to do anything else with it then toner's what I'd reach for.

Moisturising is a bit of a mis-match depending on what my skin's up to. Sometimes leaving my No7 hot cloth cleanser on an extra minute makes all the difference to the moisture level of my skin whilst for others' Liz Earle's Superskin moisturiser does the job in one application, bringing my skin back up from neglected and dry to smooth and supple. 

Simple's oil balancing moisturiser is generally the one I reach for in the mornings whilst Boots' Botanics moisturiser does an amazing job of settling my skin whilst reviving when I've been slack with the nurturing my skin needs.


Currently my face isn't the picture of perfectly cared for skin, but generally when I stick with the above routine I have soft, happy skin! 


What are your top toner and moisturiser favourites? Always good to know for future reference! 


x

Review: Liz Earle Botanical Essence No.1

I received this fragrance from Liz Earle a month or so ago, and it's taken me a while to make up my mind about it.

It's really quite strong and sprayed into the air I like it for the first few minutes when it reminds me of the unusual herbal-y smell of the conditioner, and then something happens as it settles and I find it too strong.

Sprayed as a cloud before walking into it, or straight onto my wrist however and it seems to react better with my skin to leave it smelling fresher and... calmer. If that makes any sense? I find myself catching the smell of it on tops I've worn whilst wearing this perfume and really enjoying the scent, it seems to be something that I like more as I wear it more.

Liz Earle say:

"We’ve used the finest natural botanical ingredients from around the world – including high-altitude lavender from France, damask rose from Turkey, Italian bergamot and spicy patchouli from Indonesia. Using the expert nose of distinguished leading French perfumer, Jean Charles Niel, we gave him the time to indulge in this age old art, carefully hand-crafting this complex scent with true passion to create this vibrant, sparkling fragrance translating into warmth and sensuality."

It's a really unusual fragrance, though one I think that needs to be applied with a lighter hand to younger skins, but definitely something that can be worn everyday and enjoyed just about all year round!

Available from the Liz Earle website priced at £39.50 for 50ml.

Are you a big fragrance fan? What are your favourites?

x

Image credit: Liz Earle

Liz Earle Superskin moisturiser

My skin is mid-crisis. It used to be dry and never oily, and it's currently combination oily-dry and in the middle of an ongoing breakout, argh! Come back dry skin, all is forgiven! I'll never say mean things about you, or abuse you ever again!

I took the opportunity to try the Superskin moisturiser when my skin was dry (which is normal for me) and I was very excited to get using it, the soft, silky moisturiser feels surprisingly light for something which is targeted at very dry/mature skin, which was a very pleasant surprise. It glides onto my skin and sinks in quickly leaving it minimally shiny which I really like, heavy moisturisers aren't my thing. It contains Cranberry seed oil, Rosehip oil, Borage oil and natural vitamin E to "smooth, plump and replenish". It's almost scent-less though there is a little something to it. It's incredibly gentle and I love it.

Despite being light and non-greasy this moisturiser does an amazingly good job, I wake up in the morning to find my skin feeling beautifully soft- even those irritating creases around my nose that try their hardest to resist moisturiser! As my skin type has changed, I've only been using this around once or twice a week, which has been plenty to keep it in good condition. My favourite time to use this though? After a hot shower, when it just feels wonderful!

Liz Earle Superskin Moisturiser is available from the Liz Earle website priced at £32.50 for 50ml.

x

P.S- bluetooth on phone is working again... Makes blogging much easier, so more posts from me again!

(PR sample provided for review.)

Liz Earle Superskin Concentrate

I had high hopes for this lovely looking orange oil, the box claims it will "plump, smooth and rebalance the look and feel of your skin with this aromatic, intensive night-time concentrate...". Great! With all the central heating and cold weather my skin needs all the help it can get! 

It's a light oil format, which sinks into the skin relatively quickly and it doesn't leave your skin too greasy which is always good.


It's definitely aromatic.. it smells like nothing I've ever experience before and unfortunately it is so SO strong that I just can't stand it. Even taking the lid off the bottle creates a rather large.. cloud(?) of fragrance! Now I'm not averse to fragrance in facial products but this takes it to the extreme! 


The first time I used it I just about got through it because I was convinced I'd wake up with perfectly smooth skin, and I was disappointed to wake up to skin that only felt mildly, if at all, better than the night before. Maybe it was because I used too little (one pump, and one to two is the recommended amount but honestly, I just couldn't bear to put any more of it on my face!) but I can't say that I experienced a huge amount of benefit from it. Yes my skin was a little softer but not enough to warrant using this when you take the price and the smell into consideration.

I tried to use it a second time but I had to wash it off as it made me feel sick. The smell's not particularly unpleasant, it's not that that's the problem, it's the strength of it, and it is a bizarrely scented product.. The bottle says it contains organic rosehip oil, Argan oil, Neroli oil and natural vitamin E, so presumably one or more of those that makes it smell like it does. 


Now I have to say that I do seem to be in the minority here as other reviews rave about the smell and the product gets 5 star reviews on QVC, but I just can't see how! 


Liz Earle Superskin Concentrate is available from the Liz Earle website priced at £37 for the 28ml bottle.

What's your view on strongly scented facial products? Can't stand them, or do they add to the experience for you?


x


Disclaimer: PR sample sent for review.

Liz Earle haircare range

I was very lucky to be sent the new Liz Earle hair care range last month and I'm loving it. 

Image credit: Liz Earle

The shampoo contains West African shea butter, natural source Vitamin E, "shine boosting" apple and orange extracts plus naturally derived cleansers which Liz Earle say "gently cleans without stripping to leave hair soft, shiny and smooth" it also contains no sodium lauryl/laureth sulphate. 

Being SLS free I was unsure of how clean I could expect my hair to feel after washing it, but if anything my hair feels cleaner, and stays non-greasy for longer which really took me by surprise. 

The scent of the shampoo is absolutely gorgeous, kind of zesty, definitely fruity, but in a totally natural way unlike the usual sweet and sickly fragrances in hair and bodycare.  It's quite thick and it lathers up well, into a thick creamy texture that helps towards making you feel like it's doing it's job, and even whilst still wet it feels soft and smooth and lacking tangles. 

The conditioner has more of a.. botanical smell to it, which I'm not quite so keen on, but still better than many of the non-descript soapy scents that so many haircare products seem to posess.  

I received the normal version of the conditioner which uses Meadowfoam oil to give just the right amount of moisture, and this finishes it off really nicely, making it easy to get a comb through my (rebellious, sometimes curly, othertimes wavy, always difficult) hair. 

The two combined leave my hair the softest I've ever felt it and although I do still think the price tag is steep I can see how it's justifiable... This is something I still don't feel that I'd be able to purchase on a regular basis but I'd definitely want to have it around for a treat. 

Available from the Liz Earle website, priced at £7.50 each. 

How much will you spend on haircare? 

x

Liz Earle Essentials range- Skin Repair Moisturiser

This is the last of the products that I was sent from the essentials range by Liz Earle. It took me a while to decide whether I liked it or not, and I think that was mainly down to one thing, application. This confused me slightly as I really didn't expect how I put this on to affect my opinion of it so much!

Basically, if I take a bit of this out of the pot and onto my fingers and then just massage it into my face I don't like it, it feels too heavy and greasy. The way to do it is to get a little out of the pot, and then rub it between my hands for a little bit to spread it out and warm it up, then I can massage it into my face and neck without feeling greasy or heavy.

This really is lovely, it's a very good moisturiser and I think that was part of why it took me a while to get used to it, I'm used to light day creams that are quite thin and not overly moisturising, whilst this is lovely and moisturising without being too heavy or taking too long to sink in (but it stays around long enough to leave me satisfied that it's working well!)

Liz Earle say:

"Light yet rich in naturally active skin nourishing ingredients including: borage oil a rich source of...GLA, echinacea, hops, avocado oil, panthenol... and vitamin E to replace lost moisture and protect your skin... Intensely moisturises, smoothes and protects"

I can quite happily use this before makeup without it rolling off, or my (mineral) makeup sticking to it in a patchy way. After leaving it to sink in for a few minutes it quite happily works as a base. The only area that sometimes needs a little help to prevent it becoming greasy over the course of the day is the area around my nose, but that's to be expected really as that's an area that for me, is either really dry or greasy.. It doesn't seem to have an in between ;)

Whilst the Cleanse and Polish does a really great job of ridding my face of random dry flaky patches, the one area that I still have a problem with is the creases round my nose (what else do you call them?!) that rebel and stay dry and rough pretty much all year round, which makes for difficult make up application, even with a primer. This moisturiser sorts this like none other has, leaving my nose smooth and soft and not turning into a flaky mess when I buff my foundation in.

I have the normal/combination one and you definitely definitely would not want this version if your skin is prone to any oiliness as it's a lot heavier than the light version.

I can't honestly say that I'd definitely repurchase this... I don't feel that my quest for the perfect moisturiser has reached it's end yet but this may well be one that I re-visit at a later date. 

The skin repair moisturiser retails for £17.25 for a 50ml jar from the Liz Earle website. I'd say that the pot should last you at least 4 months or so, I've not made much of a dent in it in the month I've been using it for and I've used it every day, once or twice a day. 

What's your favourite moisturiser?

x

Liz Earle Essentials range- Instant Boost Skin Tonic

The second item in the essentials range is the Instant Boost Skin Tonic which Liz Earle say "revitalises, soothes and tones for instant radiance".

This is unlike lots of toners as instead of just stripping your skin the Vitamin E and Aloe Vera leave it feeling soft and smooth at the same time as giving that clean feeling that I love from a toner. It also smells absolutely amazing, as the skin tonic contains calendula, cucumber and rose scented geranium. 

I love the bottle design, the top twists up rather than twisting off, so it's much easier to control how much toner comes out at once and it's really secure once it's twisted down again, it even gives a reassuring click. Mine lives lying on it's side and I've had no leaks or anything.

As well as being a great toner it's also brilliant for setting make up. I have a little 30ml spritzer bottle that I pour the toner into to use to set my make up and leave my foundation looking fresh and without a hint of cakey-ness in sight. Even after my foundation being on for 7 hours a quick buff with a kabuki brush and a spritz of this and it was back to looking like it had when it was just on earlier in the day.

I love love love this, and will be repurchasing once this is finished.. Although that may be a while as I get through about 30ml of this a month, using it morning and evening as a toner and once or twice a day on my make up too, so the 200ml bottle should last me for about 6 months, and I use it pretty liberally! 

A 200ml bottle of the Instant Boost Skin Tonic costs £11.50 from the Liz Earle website. 

What is your favourite toner? Have you tried the skin tonic? Impressed? 

x

Liz Earle Essentials range- Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

At the beginning of the month I got an email from Laura at Liz Earle asking if I'd like to try their full size essentials range, a very kind offer and one that I was very excited to take up! 

I've been using the range twice a day since then and I love it! The Essentials range includes Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, Instant Boost Skin Tonic and Skin Repair Moisturiser. 

I'm going to be reviewing each of them separately to avoid a giant post and today is the turn of the Hot Cloth Cleanser!

For anyone who's somehow missed the Hot Cloth Cleanser before, it's a cream cleanser that includes ingredients such as eucalyptus, rosemary, chamomile and cocoa butter that you massage into your (dry) face and then remove with hand hot water on a muslin cloth which helps to gently exfoliate and remove all traces of dirt.

I received the 100ml pump starter kit which comes with 2 muslin cloths in a little zip up bag. The pump itself is great, it dispenses the perfect amount of product and it's not an "all or nothing" pump, if you press it down just a little bit then you get just a little bit, and the amount you get from 1 full pump is perfect for even my whole made-up face at night! 

The cream cleanser is wonderful, thick (but not too thick!) with a really lovely texture that feels natural (unlike you, Fab pore cleanser!) it's just the right consistency to smooth over your face and eyes to cleanse them perfectly. It is absolutely amazing at removing eye makeup! It's gentle enough that you can rub it into closed eyes without any sting or watering- bearing in mind even plain water hurts my eyes if it gets in them!- and it removes every last trace of eye make up.. You do like like a panda though, so just make sure the bathroom door is shut ;) 

I doubt I'll ever find something that does as good of a job as this does when it comes to my skin being smooth, it's amazing! I'm not even using primer anymore as all my little invisible-till-you-put-makeup-on-them dry patches have once again been banished completely and I can't stop touching my smoooothy soft face. Even my pores look smaller in size and blackheads are significantly reduced. 

Overall I love it and will almost definitely repurchase this when it's finished. 

Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser is available from Liz Earle's website where the starter kit is £13.00

Have you tried Hot Cloth Cleanser? What did you think?!

Rach x

Life after Liz Earle.

For the whole of last month I had a little taste of luxury... I used Liz Earle cleanser, toner and moisturiser morning and evening, and annoyingly loved all of them!

The problem now is that I really can't justify the cost of £23 for the full sized Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, or the £17 something for the Skin Repair light. (The toner at just £11.50 for a huge 200ml I can manage, seeing as the 30ml bottle lasted the month easily, the 200ml should make it to about 6 months or so with daily use, which I see as a bargain to be honest, the 100ml £7 Vitamin E Body Shop Face Mist is more expensive!)

So I'm on the lookout for alternatives and I'm willing to pay just a little bit extra than what I normally would on skincare.

I've already come across something that is quite clearly meant to bear a striking resemblance to the legendary Cleanse and Polish. It's by Soap & Glory and it's called The Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser. It's so pretty! It normally retails at £9 -which isn't actually *that* much cheaper than the Liz Earle version at £11.50 for 100ml... (This has actually come as a revelation to me whilst writing this.. Ha!)- but I think I got it for around £6 in a recent third off skincare offer. I've only been using it for a couple of weeks and so far I'm liking it, it's not got the same wow factor that the Liz Earle Cleanse and polish has, the results aren't quite as obvious.. I'll be reviewing this in it's own right in a couple of weeks! 

What skin care substitutes have you discovered? Any alternatives to the Liz Earle Skin Repair moisturiser?!

Rach xx