Tag: paraben free

LipQ Liquorice Balm

beauty, Birthday Gifts, eco friendly, Family Life, Gifts for Her, health, Home, Plastic free, Stocking Fillers, Summer, Sustainable, Vegan, Vegetarian, Women

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

July is Plastic Free month and the beauty industry is notorious for creating products with plastic packaging, and sometimes products which contain plastic too.  LipQ have created this beautiful Liquorice Balm which comes in its own tin and doesn’t have a scrap of plastic in sight.  Never heard of Liquorice Balm? Well, that’s because this novel idea is borne from a need to prevent cold sores.  Liquorice in highly concentrated quantities, as included in the LipQ Liquorice Balm, has been proven to protect lips from cold sore outbreaks by weakening the virus that causes them.

LipQ Liquorice Balm contains glycyrrhizic acid to fight cold sores. Even if you’ve not been prone to them though, the balm works for everyone, combining a sweet almond and beeswax oil with avocado and sunflower seed oils and the liquorice root extract gives the balm it’s distinct scent. It’s not too overpowering though so you can detect it but even if you don’t like liquorice to eat, it’s not too strong.  The balm is lovely and cooling though, and it keeps the moisture in on your lips whilst giving a shine and it really isn’t that greasy either. There’s not the sticky marks left on drinking glasses like with other balms but it does work to give you hydrated lips. The handy tine of 30 grams lasts ages too, and is much easier to carry around than other brands.

It doesn’t matter if you suffer from cold sores or not, the LipQ Lquorice Balm is a plastic-free beauty alternative for all summer long.

Available online from £9.95 at: https://www.skinshop.co.uk/lipq/liquorice-balm

Silver & Birch Exfoliating Wash from Clarol

beauty, Birthday Gifts, Family Life, Gifts for Her, Gifts for teachers, health, Stocking Fillers, Vegan, Vegetarian, Women

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Some smart person somewhere in Russia discovered that birch is a great detoxifier and exfoliator for skin and can help prevent acne.  Clarol have used this information to bring out a new exfoliating wash that works in 4 different ways to clean, exfoliate and rejuvenate your skin. We were sent some to try this week, and I must say, the scent alone is enough to brighten your skin!

Birch bark is known to detoxify the skin but uses natural ingredients instead of salicylic acid and methyl salicylate so your skin won’t dry out.  We don’t use birch bark anywhere near enough but the botulin in it reduces inflammation and Lupeol and Erythrodiol help produce the proteins needed to speed up the healing process. If you’ve had long term acne like me, then you’ll know that healing is part of a long process.

Silver & Birch Exfoliating Wash also contains MicroSilver, which has long been known for its antibacterial features. Brilliant for acne, it doesn’t irritate the skin either so you won’t ‘make it worse before it gets better’ like some over the counter products.  The exfoliating aspect of the wash takes away dead skin and helps clear pores allowing extracts of Bladderwrack and White Nettle to calm skin and Coffee Seed opens pores, which should help the extraction of oils and bacteria too. There’s tiny amounts of pumice stone and rice bran in there too, to add to the exfoliation.

This gentle exfoliator lathers up on wet skin and when massaged in, takes away a lot of the surface grease and dead skin.  You don’t need much of it to create the lather, and after 2-3 minutes, rinse with water (I like to use warm water) and your skin is cleared plus not as dry as with other brands of exfoliant washes. It’s also paraben free, vegan and perfume free too.

Silver & Birch Exfoliating Wash from Clarol is a lovely gentle wash, perfect for summer and especially for skin that suffers from acne and especially lots of make-up and not enough time to clear it!

Available from £12.95 at: https://www.skinshop.co.uk/clarol/clarol-silver-birch-exfoliating-face-wash

Sunescape Illuminating Body Tint for Self Tan

beauty, Summer

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

With winter comes pale skin!  I’m not the best at getting a tan even in the summer, but when the heating comes on and the thicker winter clothes and boots are needed I find that my tan disappears but so does my self confidence.  As soon as autumn comes I like to do some self-tanning to help boost my spirits as well a give a glow to my skin before the Christmas parties start.

Sunescape have several tanning solutions for anyone needing a boost, so sent me the Illuminating Body Tint cream to try. Unlike other tanning cremes, it washes off so if you don’t like the depth of colour, or want something just for a day, you can use soap and water to just wash it away.

I was sent quite a dark colour (Mediterranean Nights) but it depends on how much you apply as to how dark your skin is afterwards.  After my shower, I applied about a 10 pence piece amount of the crème to each leg. It takes some work to rub it in and make sure there are no streaks, but the tanning crème soon absorbed into my skin giving an all-over even tan.  Under natural daylight, you can see the difference and also see the slight shimmering of what looks like tiny specks of glitter.

After applying Illuminating Body Tint, I just had to wash my hands and the tanning crème dissolved away.  The tan lasted for about 4 hours then started to fade under my clothes but was gone completely in the shower the next day.

Illuminating Body Tint is free from DHA and Paraben free. Containing Aloe Vera and Coconut oil among other ingredients, you’ll find the crème is very moisturizing. I’m hoping this 200ml tube will last me all winter!

Available for £21.00 from the Sunescape website: https://sunescape.co.uk/product/illuminating-body-tint-2/