Sunday 12 May 2013

REVIEW: lush cupcake fresh face mask


I think I picked up this product about a month ago now and have been using it about 2 or 3 times a week. I went into the shop planning on buying Love Lettuce, but after talking to the lovely Lush worker and telling her that I tend to get oily skin, she convinced me that Cupcake would be better for me.

HOW I USE THE PRODUCT:
- I use it in the evenings only as I never have time to use a face mask in the mornings. I apply it evenly across myface with my fingertips, mainly concentrated on the areas that are more oily than others, such as my T-zone. I leave it on for around 30 minutes to an hour and wash it off either in a hot shower or in my putting my face in a basin of warm water.

PROS:
- at first I was out of by the price as it's almost £6 for something quite small, but I've been surprised at how long it lasts! Considering I've had about 10 uses out of it already (plus my mum having a couple here and there), there's still half the pot left.
- it smells absolutely gorgeous, I'm not a huge fan of chocolate and I don't like that sickly sweet chocolatey cupcake smell, but this is much more if cocoa buttery/mild hot chocolate smell, which isn't too overpowering at all.
- it does work wonders for oily skin as advertised. I'm not surprised seeing as it contains rhassoul mud and the majority of mud masks are amazing at soaking up excess oil on the skin.
- the consistency of the product is pretty much perfect. It's a very solid mask that will stay on your face for however long you choose to keep it on their for.
- it leaves your skin feeling so super soft, smelling great and moisturised, which I'm guessing is down to the cocoa butter
- I also love that Lush do have a recycling scheme of "bring back 5 clean full-size Lush pots or tubes & get one fresh face mask free".

CONS:
- it has a short lifespan because it is freshly made with fresh ingredients so it's expiry date is only about 3 weeks after purchase and in order to keep it fresh you have to keep it in the fridge pretty much all the time, as it will grow mouldy like any food that is meant to be refrigerated. However I've been using mine after the expiry date and it still works well, my mum always says that as long as it's been in the fridge it's all good.
- it says it's meant to help with spot prone skin and to be honest I haven't seen much of a difference spot wise although it has kind of helped keep breakouts at bay. It might be due to the mask being quite rich and because my skin is sensitive as well, it might be too much for it to handle, I'm not too sure.
I think I'll be trying Mask of Magnaminty next, seeing as that's better for sensitive skin as well.

SCORE: 4 OUT OF 5, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE WITH OILY SKIN

Wednesday 13 March 2013

REVIEW: M&S Pure Instant Radiance Hot Cloth Cleanser

PURE DAILY SKINCARE INSTANT RADIANCE HOT CLOTH CLEANSER
from MARKS & SPENCER | £9.50*


It's time for a mini review. Never had I been keen on using cleansers, I always found them to be quite heavy on my skin and make it a bit oily. But then my manager told me I had to try out this product and I'm so glad I was gifted it. 

How I use the product:
I know the convection of a lot of cleansers is to use it to clean off your makeup but for some reason I don't like the idea of getting the muslin cloth dirty so I tend to only use it in the mornings. For those who may not know, with a hot cloth cleanser (such as the renown Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish) you lightly massage it into your skin "to stimulate the skin and loosen dead skin cells" and then you run the muslin cloth under hot/warm water and in circular motions wipe the cleanser away. 

Pros:
- it leaves your skin feeling soft, squeaky clean, refreshed and kind of like taut, in a good way of course.
- the consistency of it is great, it has a really nice texture and doesn't feel like it's running off your face or anything as it's thick and creamy.
- the whole Pure range really prides itself in the fact that their products are made from mostly natural ingredients, stating that at least 95% of the ingredients are in fact natural and homegrown. As well as their "bee friendly project", which is explained in full in the photo above AND they don't test on animals which is always fabulous.
- it's unscented which I personally love, it has a nice pleasant aroma that's not overpowered by synthetic or extremely fruity smells.
- being from Marks & Spencer it's a really accessible product as most major towns/cities (in the UK that is) seem to have a Marks & Spencer. If this range isn't in your nearest store then you can always order it to be delivered to your store for free.
- suitable for nearly all skin types pretty much, especially oily/combination skin as it doesn't make you feel greasy or anything.
- the price is pretty impressive considering you get 200ml for only £9.50 which is well worth it

Cons:
- the pump dispenser is slightly annoying for the consistency and texture, when I first tried to use the cleanser, nothing would come out so I had to unscrew it and swirl it around a bit before it would work properly. I can imagine when it starts to run out, I'm going to have to just ditch the pump and hit it out.
- if you do like something fruity and scented then this isn't that unfortunately

Score: 5 out of 5, definitely recommend trying this out :-)