Cleansing combo I've been testing and loving... Naobay cleansing milk and Rodial Stemcell day cream

I made a beauty product testing error last week. I started using two new products at the same time, and now that my skin is looking better than it has in ages I'm not sure which product to laud. So I'm going to talk about both.

As I've already mentioned in other posts, I used to suffer from bad skin and even as I've got older my skin has never really been what I consider to be "good". But every so often I stumble across new products (mainly thanks to Birchbox UK) which make me go "wow" after seeing the results on my skin.

Last week was one of those times. 

The two products I tried out are both from Birchbox UK; the Rodial one was in my January box, and the Naobay one is from December.

Naobay Moisturising Milk Cleanser

I tried this once very quickly when I first got it in my Birchbox, and to be honest it wasn't love at first use. I don't really like the smell (although it is a very weak smell), and I made the mistake of dampening my face with water before putting it on, which meant it was too runny and didn't cleanse properly. 

The next time I used it, I put it straight onto dry skin and massaged it in. It rinses off with warm water very easily, and I use Elemis Balancing Lavender toner afterwards to get rid of any excess residue (although I don't do this every time - it felt ok to leave it too). I've used the cleansing milk morning and night for the past 4-5 days and I've changed my mind about it - its very gentle and my skin is looking pretty good now. 

The retail price is £12.95 which I think is pretty reasonable as well, so I'm seriously considering getting the full size version.

Rodial Stemcell Super Food Day Cream

I only got a tiny tube of this to test, but so far its lasted 4-5 days which is pretty good. Like the Naobay product, when I first applied this I wasn't that impressed. The cream is very thick, which I don't usually like for my oily/combination skin. However it sunk in fairly quickly and the results surprised me. 

There's an almost pearlescent look to my skin after using it - it looks brighter and healthier straight away. The website says "instantly illuminates skin while reducing redness and imperfections", which is exactly what it does. This stuff is truly amazing! 

The downside is the price - £42 for 50ml is a lot. But I'm kind of thinking its worth it!

Wash-off-with-water mascara

I went out with some girlfriends this week and the topic of conversation turned to make up - what single piece of make up could you not leave the house without?

My past self would always have chosen foundation, because as a teen I suffered quite badly from acne. Most girls however chose mascara and/or eyeliner (it was hard just to pick one!)

During our discussion on mascara, I discovered that very few of the girls had heard of mascara you don't need eye make up remover to take off! I was shocked because this has been my staple mascara for a long time. It looks exactly like all mascara, and so many companies do them that you can have your pick of applicator and colour. 

To take off, you just use hot water - I usually rinse my thumb and first finger in hot water then squeeze my eyelashes, repeating until the mascara comes away in my fingers. Its great if you have sensitive eyes, and its also good to avoid wrinkles because you don't need to rub the delicate eye area.

My first wash-off-with-water mascara was from Clinique - Lash Power Mascara Long-wearing formula. I used it a lot as a teenager because the brush is very skinny so gives a good "no make up" effect.

I then branched out into other brands but my current favourite is from No.7: Stay Perfect Long-lasting volume, in brown/black. Because you can only get it off with hot water, it really doesn't smudge and I'd say its actually impossible to get panda eyes. The brush is really nice - its bendy and has small spikes to really separate the lashes (but not in a painful way!). Its £12.95 in Boots but as they are always giving out vouchers for No7 products, you can easily get it for under a tenner. 

Thanks for reading :)
Alice x

This month the body lotion I am loving is.. Rhodes to Heaven

To be a good body lotion, there are several things the product MUST have/do:

• Gorgeous smell - but not so strong that its all I can smell for the next few hours
• Quick absorption - no flapping about in the morning freezing to death in my underwear while I'm waiting for it to dry
• Actually work - I want my skin to be noticeably softer/smoother if I'm going to go to the effort of putting lotion on

I've tried hundreds of different types of body lotions over the years and found many that I like, but I still can't resist trying out new stuff.

Rhodes to Heaven Revitalising Body Balm

I was given this body lotion for Christmas by my bf's parents as part of a set with the Rose and Geranium Shower Gel. I'd never heard of Rhodes to Heaven, so I was excited to try something new.

Basically, I love it. The smell is fresh and fruity. The texture is quite thin and spreads easily over the body, which also means that it dries quickly. My skin was lovely and soft after just a couple of days of use over Christmas. 

The downside: It seems to be disappearing quite rapidly! Maybe I'm using too much (it says "use sparingly" on the website). But at this rate it would've only lasted a couple of months, and I haven't been using it a lot either. At £26 for the 200ml bottle (which is the one in my pics), that doesn't seem to be very good value.

My verdict?

I would definitely recommend this body lotion, as it does everything I want a body lotion to do. A bit on the expensive side considering it doesn't seem to last that long, so maybe keep it for special occasions rather than as an everyday lotion. But overall, a January favourite :)

Thanks for reading :)

Alice xx

Favourite Lip Balms

Lip balm is very much a girl thing. Boys, in my opinion, don't really *get* why we need to carry one around at all times and spend half our lives applying it (or is that just me?!)

I love lip balms possibly more than any other beauty product (versial I know). Therefore I thought I would share my top 5 lip balms that I use a lot.

They are:

• Rodial Stemcell Super-food Glam Balm Lip
• Vaseline Rose lips
• Dr Lipp Original Nipple Balm for lips
• Maybelline Baby Lips in Peach Kiss and Pink Punch
• Benefit Dr Feel Good Buffing Lip Beads 

First up, Rodial's glam balm. At £19 its on the high end of what I would normally pay for lip balm. However with its gorgeous rose scent that's subtle but not overpowering and its glossy finish, I think its worth the money. It has a thick texture which spreads easily, so a little goes a long way. I'm not sure it really plumps up my lips as it claims to, but after trying some hideous plumping balms that turn my lips on fire, I think thats a good thing!

Ok everyone's seen Vaseline, its nothing new. In fact the cute case its in, with its useful little mirror, has been around for a while too. But I couldn't leave it out of my favourites because its just so darn good! Lovely colour, lovely texture, keeps my lips lovely and soft. At £1.99 I also don't mind if I accidentally lose it! Little gem :)

Dr Lipp's Original Nipple Balm for Lips was a surprise find from Birchbox UK. I've been a subscriber to Birchbox for 6 months now, which I love but will save the details for another time. I got this as a tester a couple of months ago, and initially found it quite hard to get out of the tube as the texture is very thick. However it is undoubtably my favourites lip balm of all - I put it on before bed and each morning my lips would be so smooth. I got very chapped lips this winter, and I definitely think this product helped to heal them sooner than any other. At £11.50 its fairly expensive, but this little tester tube lasted a long time so I think you would get your money's worth from a big size tube.

These are a pretty new purchase, having seen a lot of people rave about Maybelline's Baby Lips. I am now also a convert - I love the shine that Peach Kiss leaves on my lips, and the Pick Punch colour is really cute for Spring. They're like lip glosses but much more moisturising. Ok, they don't give a great payoff colour-wise, but actually that suits me because then you don't have to phaff around with mirrors and getting it on your teeth. The smell is also the best out of my top 5 lip balms, fruity and sweet but not too overpowering. At £2.99 each, they are definitely great value for money.

Lastly I've included Benefit's Dr Feel Good Buffing Lip Beads. Yes, its not a lip balm, although I used to have the matching lip balm which I've now lost. I've also noticed that its been discontinued (Boo!) I get very dry, chapped lips, so I love the idea of exfoliating my lips especially if I'm going to be wearing lipstick. The beads are nice and thick to get good exfoliation, although I did have to wash them off afterwards (which you're not meant to have to do). I'm going to have to find a different brand of lip exfoliators now - I'll let you know how I get on. If anyone has any ideas, they would be very welcome :)

Thanks for reading :)

Alice xx

Leighton Denny nail polish review

Ok, I'll admit it - I'm a bit of a nail polish junkie. I have over 80 nail polishes in my drawer and that was after I got rid of a whole load when I moved house. 

Now over the last few years I have been a Nails Inc gal through and through, never buying any other brand because I truly believed that Nails Inc was the best you can buy. The colours are beaut, the finish is immaculate and it lasts without chipping for AGES.

However before Christmas I had an OPI manicure, and OMG wow. My nails didn't chip for over a week, which never happens to me even with Nails Inc. 

It was like a lightbulb in my brain suddenly lit up - how could I have been so tunnel-visioned for this long?! There was only one thing for it.. I had to go shopping! 

So last week I went to Peter Jones and headed straight for the nail polishes. I had to get OPI (obv), but I also decided to buy a Leighton Denny nail polish in Lilac Lust because the colour was just so gorgeous.

The good points about Leighton Denny:

• It dried amazingly quickly. If you're one of those people who can't sit still for more than 5 min, this stuff is for you!
• The colour is nice and strong. I always like to put on 2 coats (and a base and top coat), but you could get away with just one with this polish.

The bad points:

• Sadly my nails chipped after just one day. Ok, so I did do some cleaning and cooking during that day, but even so I had hoped it would last a bit longer.

So would I buy it again?

At £11 a bottle, this stuff ain't cheap. But I like how fast it dried - I can see it being really useful when getting ready in a rush on a night out or before a special occasion. So yes, I would. 

Anyone got any thoughts?

Fresh flowers for a fresh year

Nothing says "Spring" like a beautiful bunch of fresh flowers to liven up a miserable, grey, is-it-still-winter day. I'm lucky that my bf is a flower-buying guy, so I get flowers on a fairly regular basis. 

According to my Granny, who is the fountain of all flower knowledge, these are called Alstroemeria (I know this because I visited her a couple of days ago and gave her a bunch of pink ones!)

I'm trying to grow more this year. So far, its not going so well - my mum bought me an olive tree in December, but its lost most of its leaves because I forgot to water it :-S Let's hope I can revive it soon!