Spring/Summer Green Beauty Swap with Annmarie from The Small but Mighty Ramblings of a Redhead

My swap partner this time was Annmarie from The Small but Mighty Ramblings of a Redhead. 

This was the first time Annmarie has done a swap and she's out-done herself! I was excited to be paired with her because she's just starting her Green Journey and it meant I had a pretty clean slate on what I could buy her. It also meant that I was keen to make sure she tried lots of different products and included some of my favourites and one particular thing that I hope Annmarie will really love. You can read all about what I sent Annmarie here.

But onto what I received. Annmarie had taken the time to write cute messages on tags for each of the items which I loved reading! My Postman arrived Thursday morning with not one, but two boxes full of treats and this is what was inside...

Box 1!

Salt of the Earth Deodorant Spray scented with Lavender & Vanilla - 

"I'm natural, soothing & effective plus I smell great too! Spray me"

I love my Salt of the Earth deodorant and while I've seen it sold in a spray, I've never see it scented before. I'm so happy with this as Lavender and Vanilla are two of my favourites.

Burt's Bees Citrus Facial Scrub - 

"I'm a wee busy bee scrubbing away! Apply Me"

This smells like Christmas Pudding haha. Another great pick as I've not used this before and sometimes, I just need to have a good old scrub. I have keratosis pilaris on my upper arms and think this scrub would be great to use for this too.

MooGoo Tail-Swat Body Spray -

"I'm moogood for keeping midges & flies away! Spray Me"

I've never heard of MooGoo before and now I have three items from them! I'm looking forward to find out more about the company. As for this Tail-Swat Body Spray, MooGoo say that the noticed that people are less attractive to mossies when using the spray. Here's hoping for some warmer weather to put this to the test.

MooGoo Strawberry Tinted Lip Balm - 

"I'm moolicious on the lips (and totally bug free!). Pout & Eat away"

This cute lip balm comes in cardboard packaging that looks like a pint of milk! I love little details like this. The packaging says "Made from edible ingredients because what goes on the lips gets eaten." So true and I'm glad it says this because the balm smells lush so I'll be licking my lips get get a taste haha.

MooGoo Cover-Up Buttercup Natural Moisturiser with SPF 15 - 

"I'm an extra treat from an udderly goo-d company. Moo-chus grass-ias"

This is a really good sized sample so I'll be able to get a good amount of use from it. Cover-Up Buttercup is an all natural SPF 15 mouisturiser using just natural Zinc.

Jane Iredale Facial Blotting Papers - 

"I'm a wee oil buster! Use me"

So pleased to have this as I always have blotting tissues with me, just in case, and these Jane Iredale come in a sleek case that'll look great in my bag.

Balm Balm Lip Balm -

"I'm balm balm not pebbles! Pucker up"

One of my favourites and one that I always give to friends and family to stop them using Vaselline! I picked this for Annmarie's box too :)

Lastly in this box, a good old bar of Go*Do organic dark chocolate 60% in espresso coffee. "I'm a wee sweet treat just for you. Enjoy me" Oh I will, Annmarie, I will!

Now onto Box 2 - Annmarie works for A.Vogel and was so generous as to send another box with some brilliant A.Vogel products in. I had said to Annmarie that I suffer with Hayfever so sent sent me some goodies to help with that too!

This was inside...

Molkosan Vitality - instant whey drink.

Echinaforce Echinacea Drops - for the symptomatic relief of colds & flu

Pollinosan Hayfever Tablets - to relieve the symptoms of hayfever

And to top it all off, a fantastic book called The Nature Doctor by Alfred Vogel. 

I love that I've got a whole box of things I've not tired before AND a whole box of things that will help me feel good from the inside too! I can't wait to find out more about MooGoo and I'm really really looking forward to getting my teeth into The Nature Doctor.

Thank you Annmarie for all your thoughtful pickings!

Annmarie can be found over on her blog The Small but Mighty Ramblings of a Redhead or on Twitter @smallmightyred1

Review: Lovea Hair Mask & SPF 15 Sunscreen Spray

Lovea is a French company that I saw loads of in supermarkets whist on my holidays last month. I hadn't seen them over here before until I spotted them on the MyPure site.

I'd been intrigued by the company and found that, like a lot of the brands I use, their formulas contain no parabens, phenoxyethanol, silicone, colourings or synthetic fragrances. Their ingredients are natural and wherever possible organically produced and meet EcoCert standards. The packaging is recyclable and they do not test on animals.

I picked two products from the Lovea range - Burkina Shea Moisturising Hair Mask* and a Natural Sunscreen Spray SPF15*.

The Burkina Shea Moisturising Hair Mask* costs £7.99 for a 300ml tub and was created for those of us with dry and damaged hair.  Packed with Shea Butter, this mask is designed to restore damaged hair shafts and prevent split ends.

To be used after washing and conditioning on towel dried hair and left for up to 30 minutes before rinsing out. Lovea suggest wrapping a towel around the hair for best results.
The directions are very vague on the actual packaging and I had to go back onto the MyPure site to look up what needed to be done. Sounds silly but I've used masks that need to be used on dry hair before shampooing and others that are used instead of a conditioner. I didn't appreciate having to go looking for this information but perhaps I should have checked before hand.

The mask is very thick and creamy but I was still able to cover my long thick hair easily with the help of a wide tooth comb. That, and the delicious scent, is about the only positive thing I can say about it.
My plan was to use it once a week as an intensive treatment and apart from loving the amazing smell (seriously, it smells incredible) I don't love the actual mask. I've tried three times now and to be honest, I'm really struggling what to say about it because it did nothing for me or my hair. I found that it left my ends dryer than usual and a little, well, crunchy. Instead of smoothing my split ends, it looks like it exaggerated them.

I really wanted to enjoy this hair mask but I was completely underwhelmed by it and that has made me a little sad.

Onto the Natural Sunscreen Spray SPF15* RRP £12.99 for 125ml . Now that the sun has been out for at least 2 days in a row, I think we can safely say that the English summer is here... for a little while anyway.
This natural sunscreen from Lovea is certified organic and they have a good range of SPF to suit all skin types - 15, 30 & 50 with options for fragerance free and SPF for the face. As they are made from natural ingredients, they feed your skin with goodness while protecting you from harmful rays. They also have a range of aftersun products and tanning oils (shudder).
I went for an SPF15 as I tend not to stay out in the sun too long and I'm really impressed with the formula of the cream. Essential oils have been blended into the formula to create a lovely light fragrance and the spray comes out in little squirts so I've found it easier to spray into my hands and then apply, however it covers the skin evenly without leaving a heavy feeling behind. Waterproof, non greasy and so far I've found it leaves no white traces behind. That may be because I tend to use it straight after I apply body lotion though.
I'm really pleased with this sunscreen and can't wait for the sun to be out again!

So a good and a bad review from Lovea today. I really was disappointed with the hair mask and will be passing it on to someone else. The sunscreen however is lovely to use and does what it says - protects my skin from the sun!

Both products can be bought from MyPure.co.uk.

*Products sent to me as part of the MyPure Blogger Programme. Opinions are all my own!

Review: Lulu & Boo Seaweed Purifying Mask & Lavender and Lemon Toner

About a month ago, Lulu & Boo tweeted that they were looking for bloggers to review some of their products and to get in touch with them. 

I'd not long since read a wonderful review with the founder of Lulu & Boo, Claire Edmunds, and Annie from Hello Purple Clouds (do have a read of Claire's story here) so I was really keen to get in contact and start my journey of discovery!

I was kindly sent two full sized products, the Seaweed Purifying Mask* and a Lavender and Lemon Toner*, both from the Oily/Combination skin range. I want to say straight off that I love the packaging. The frosted, heavy glass bottles and jars, along with the labels add something special to the experience of using the products. 

Firstly to the Lavender and Lemon Toner* RRP £14.95 for 100ml. The ingredients in this had me nodding and mhmm-ing with each one I read and I could feel my skin agreeing with me. 

Aloe Vera to soothe, Witch Hazel Extract for its astringent properties, Melissa Water (lemon balm!) with it's anti-inflammatory goodness, Lemon Water to add radiance, Lavender Water to promote rapid healing and Rosemary Water to balance sebum production and tighten pores.

The toner comes with both a screw cap lid and a spray pump, which I think is great as this gives me the option to use it as a mist during the day. It also means I can travel with the screw cap on and not have to worry about leaks.
The toner smells a bit apple-cider-vinegary to me but this quickly fades without leaving any scent on the skin. As for improvements to my skin? I'm not sure if I can pin my clearer skin down on the toner alone, but my skin has been glowing lately. I feel like this toner is certainly helping in my current skin care routine and I think the astringent properties of the toner are working at keeping oiliness at bay. I'll do a full post on what I'm currently using soon.

The Seaweed Purifying Mask* for Promblem and Oily skin RRP £21 for 50ml is the real hero of this post.
I've been using it weekly now for about 5 weeks and I love how it makes my skin look and feel.
With organic Seaweed to oxygenate, tone and revitalise, Papaya & Apple extracts to help loosen and remove dead skin cells, mineral rich Green Clay to stimulate circulation and draw out impurities and Propolis Extract for its natural anti-bacterial, antibiotic, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties.

I use a flat foundation brush to apply a small amount of clay to my face after cleansing and leave it for around 15 minutes. I find it dries quite quickly so I actually spray the Lavender and Lemon Toner a couple of times to keep it moist.
On removing the mask my skin is brighter, smoother and generally looks healthier.

I'm really thrilled that I've been able to try some things from Lulu & Boo and I'll certainly be making orders for the Seaweed Purifying Mask again when I use this up. As for the toner, I'm sure it's making a difference but I wonder how much straight up ACV would work in comparison. One to try out I suppose!

Have you tried anything from Lulu & Boo before? What do you like the look of?

*These products were kindly sent to me for review. Opinions are my own based on my experience with them.

ABW S/S 14 Samples Box

My alarm goes off at about 6am most mornings and I begrudgingly drag myself up and out of bed. There are a few exceptions to this throughout the year and two of these belong to the A Beautiful World Sample Box which are released in May and October. The Sample Box costs £20 plus £3.95 P&P.

So when my alarm went off at 6am on Thursday 8th May, I knew what had to be done.... get onto the abw site quick sharp and order a box before they sell out!

My box arrived yesterday and this is what was in mine...

I received two full sized products in  my box, the first of them Nature's Beauty Bee Venon Eye Serum which costs £25 on the site. This is an anti-aging eye serum which instantly tightens the skin. Best used morning and night for full results.

My second full size product in the MuLondon White Chocolate Elbow, Knee & Heel Cream which costs £19. This products has been raved about and has been reviewed by so many of the blogs I follow that I feel so slow in not trying it before! An intensely rich cream for those neglected areas that smells heavenly thanks to the white chocolate.

I'm looking forward to using Chocolate Suns Cocoa Glow for a natural, organic self tan, on my legs for a wedding at the end of the month. 

I'm also excited to try The Body Deli Radiance Enzyme Peel as I've read so many positive reviews on this company. I think I'll use this tonight to refresh my skin for the coming week.

Two bits from Marble & Milkweed, Rose & Chamomile White Tea (which is lovely) and a tiny sample of Spring Tonic Serum. I'll be using this before my nightcream for an extra boost.

Next up is a sample of Bee Yummy Skinfood, a live and organic moisturiser that feeds the skin. 

Lastly, no Sample Box would be the same without a Tili Bag and a Collagen Mask Pack.

There are a few variations between boxes, which is stated when purchasing, but I think I've got a really great value box here with my two full size products adding up to £44. 

I'll be signing up for the A/W 14 box without a doubt!

What did you get in yours?