New from Batiste - Red and Graffiti

Batiste have release a few different variants of their dry shampoo including a red hint of colour and a new scent which is called Graffiti.

Red is like the blonde and brunette hint of colour dry shampoo's except it's for red hair! This couldn't have come at a better time for me as I've not long dyed my hair back red so this came in very handy!

But for the new Graffiti scent. It contains top notes of apple, wild berry, grape and citrus, middle notes of jasmine, lily and iris and base notes of musk, coconut, sandalwood and cedar. It's an all round fruity fragrance! I really like the mix of scents and it does make a nice change from using my favourite tropical dry shampoo. 

The Graffiti dry shampoo is exclusive to Boots and is £2.99 for a 200ml can, the Red dry shampoo is available at all Batiste stockists.

Birthday haul - York

On Monday me, my mum and our friend went to York for the day kind of as a day out for my birthday, which is on Friday. I did have quite a big list of stuff I wanted to buy but half of what I wanted I couldn't find and of course I ended up buying things that I didn't intend to! So what did I buy???

Cath Kidston

They had a sale with up to 30% off and I'd seen the Royal Stan print on their website and thought it was really cute but then I saw this little bag and had to buy it!

Royal Stan Box Bag - £16.00 (was £22.00)

Boots

I wanted some conditioner and as there is a 3 for 2 on holiday essentials I stocked up on hair products to keep me going.

L'Oreal Elvive serum - £9.99 (the bottle is huge though and will last ages)

Organix Moroccan Argan Oil conditioner - £6.99

Tresemme Keratin Smooth conditioner - £4 ish (was free on the 3 for 2 offer)

Batiste hint of colour dry shampoo - £3.99

Dove - £2.49 ish (one was free on the 3 for 2 offer)

Soap & Glory Peaches & Clean - £7.00

The Body Shop

Anita's Favourites Raspberry Ripple shower gel - £2 (was £4)

Like always link me to you latest haul posts!

Oh and have you noticed me blogs had a make over? Hope you all like it!

My current favourite products - June 2012

This is another post showing my current favourite products. I only blogged about my last ones in April but I've already found quite a few new products that I love and will without a doubt be repurchasing.

Batiste dry shampoo in Lace - £2.99 

I remember buying my first can of Batiste dry shampoo way back in 2006 when I was heading off to uni and I never looked back! I use it at least every other day as a freshen up for my hair as I simply don't have time to wash it every day. The new Lace fragrance is gorgeous and the design on the can would look fab on anyones dressing table.

No7 Beautiful Skin Melting Gel Cleanser - £9

The name of this product intrigued me - the idea of melting my make up away really appealed to me so I got this with a £5 off No7 voucher and it didn't disappoint. It removed make up really well and is gentle on the skin. My full review can be found here.

Vaseline Aloe Fresh Moisturising Gel - £4.99

I bought this last year initially to use during the summer months as it would be a lighter consistency to a body cream or lotion and when we had that lovely few days of baking hot weather a few weeks ago I dug it out and started to use it. It's not as moisturising as a body lotion but it still does a great job. This is also available in cocoa butter.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation - £8.99

After much deliberating about whether to try this or not I decided to take the plunge. It's coverage isn't as heavy as I normally like but it's perfect for wearing during the day as it gives your skin a natural radiant glow. Full review here.

MUA Love Hearts lip balm - £2

At first I wasn't that impressed with these, I bought 3, but I've grown to really like them. They are a coloured balm that are really very moisturising and these generous sized pots will last ages. Again my full review can be found here.

Collection 2000 Gel Eyeliner - £4.99

This is the tiny little black pot in the photo above. I was a little apprehensive about this as I love the Maybelline gel liner but the Rimmel one was disappointing. To my surprise I actually think this is the best one I've tried. The pigmentation is good, it's long lasting and the brush shape is really good. I'm going to blog about this in more detail very soon!

Miss Sporty Clubbing nail polish - £1.99

For the price this is amazing. The quality is good, it's long lasting, the pigmentation is good, the brush is good, in fact buy it to try it and I can guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Are any of these your favourites or have you got different ones?

New Batiste Lace Dry Shampoo

The newest fragrance launch by Batiste is Lace which is described as 'seductive and elegant' and smells amazing!

I can't put my finger on what it smells like but whatever it is, it's a winner with me! 

I always seem to go back to the Tropical fragranced dry shampoo but I think I'll be a buyer of this fragrance too as it smells so nice, not too floral or sweet. 

This is available from Boots and Superdrug for £2.99 for a 200ml can.

New Cherry Batiste dry shampoo

Ahhh Batiste, my desert island product! And believe it or not but they've done it again and come up with another gorgeous scent. This time it's cherry!

Cherry is a fun, fruity, cheeky scent which smells delicious! And it has come at the perfect time after the cold snap of weather to perk us all up and to look forward to spring and summer :-)

This retails at £2.99 for a 200ml can, which trust me lasts ages, and is available from Boots, Superdrug, Savers, Wilkos and supermarkets.

New Batiste Wild!

I was very lucky to receive a surprise parcel on Friday from the lovely people at Batiste!

I got a can of their brand new Wild dry shampoo, a cute leopard keyring and a bag containing Tipsy Feet leopard print shoes! Excuse the streaky fake tanned legs in the photo below!

New Wild dry shampoo is scented with cocoa, floral notes, vanilla, musk and wood base notes and I can confirm it smells gorgeous!

Wild is available exclusively from Boots and is priced at £2.99 for a 200ml can.

Batiste - What would I do without you?

I remember just before I went to uni, which was 5 years ago now, I bought my first bottle of Batiste dry shampoo and it was the tropical scent which is still my favourite by far, and I haven't looked back since.

I use it at least every other day and sometimes wonder what I'd do without it, it is seriously a staple haircare product for me.

Recently the range has been revamped with new designs for the cans, new sizes and an added addition of an XXL volume variety.

XXL volume

You use this the same way as the other dry shampoos - spray onto roots from a 30cm distance, massage in, brush and style. Buuuuut it contains a special volumising ingredient which will transform your hair into big, bouncy, volumised locks!

Original dry shampoo

The ordinary varieties come in a number of different scents including original, blush, tropical, boho, diva, fresh and three coloured ones for blonde, medium brown and dark brown hair.

Travel Batiste

Original, tropical and blush also come in handy travel sized cans which are ideal for shirt breaks, holidays, and your handbag.

Prices start at £1.55 for the travel sized can and they are available from Superdrug, Boots, Sainsbury's and Independent Pharmacies.

Banish those holiday blues with Batiste!

If you're like me and aren't going away this summer :-( and you want to banish those summer blues then give Batiste's dry shampoo in tropical a whirl.

It's great as a refresher for your hair whether you're lucky enough to be going on holiday, going to a festival or just if you'd rather spend your free time in the sunshine rather than doing your hair! Simply spray 30cm away from you roots, massage in using your fingertips and then brush and style to banish any oily roots and to refresh your hair!

Tropical is my favourite Batiste scent and is available in three sizes: 400ml (£4.99), 200ml (£2.99) and 50ml (£1.55).

Stockists: Boots, Superdrug, Sainsbury's, ASOS, Morrisons, Tesco, Wilkinsons, Lloyds Pharmacy, Savers and Independent Pharmacies.

Freebie galore!

Recently I've been very lucky and have won quite a few giveaways and competitions so here's a round up of what I've won!

Floral Jumpsuit (£20) from Matalan. I won this after taking part in a competition on their Twitter page. My own photo of this was awful so I've borrow this one off the Matalan website.

Every month Glamour magazine run a competition where you can win a different prize everyday, you just have to enter on that day in order to win that days prize. In May I entered most days and won an Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Intensive Moisturising Body Treatment and a Montague Jennesse face mask.

London Beauty Queen ran a competition in conjunction with Jergens and I won 5 full sized bottles of their moisturiser! I haven't tried theirs before so am looking forward to trying it out. With the risk of sounding slightly ungrateful, which I'm completely not, I'm quite disappointed I didn't get the cocoa butter one as I love products with it in but I feel very lucky to have won what I have! 

Cat from Reaching for the Stars ran a competition where you could win a bottle of Batistes Nude dry shampoo, you just had to say why you wanted to win. I said that it's the only one I hadn't tried in the Batiste collection so wanted to have tried the full set! And I also won a competition on Jergens Facebook page and I won another bottle of their moisturiser! That's a lot of moisturiser I have to get through!

Good Things has just launched in Superdrug and on their Facebook page you had the chance to win a pack of their cleansing wipes if you took a photo of their products in a Superdrug store and uploaded it so these landed on my door step a week ago. And a while ago I won a sample of one of Ren's new products and as a thank you for sending my feedback they kindly sent me a sample of their Glycolactic Skin Renewal Peel Mask.


Phew! So that's all my wins, oh I also made an impulse buy at the newsagents whilst with my mum and got a £1 scratch card and won a tenner! Have you won anything lately? Let me know in the comments below!

Favourite products - Haircare

After doing my post on products which I regret buying I thought it would be a good idea to show you all which products I love and repurchase time and time again. I've split these posts up into categories so today it's the turn of haircare.

Lee Stafford Poker Straight Flat Iron Protection Shine Mist - £5.89 (200ml)

I've bought this for as long as I can remember, simply spray onto wet or dry hair before styling and it protects against heat damage.

Lee Stafford Poker Straight Glistening Straightening Balm - £6.19 (75ml)

I struggled to find a price for this on the internet but I think it's about £6.19. Again I've bought this for years and you rub a small amount of product into your damp hair before drying it and it gives it shine, sparkle and lovely straight hair!

Boots Essentials unperfumed natural hold hairspray - £1.62 (450ml)

Simply the best hairspray I've used. I try other brands but always go back to this one. It's non-sticky, lasts all day and brushes out easily.

Avon Advanced Techniques Oxygenating Scalp Treatment - £5.00 (150ml)

This is now discontinued but a similar product has taken it's place which I've yet to buy. I use this to help control the eczema on my scalp and it does. It's a mousse like product and I used 2 pumps and apply to my scalp before drying my hair.

Batiste dry shampoo - £2.35 (150ml)

I first bought this when I went to uni as I thought it might be quite useful for if I get up late and don't have time to wash my hair. Needless to say that was 5 years ago and I love it even more! It's a saviour for my slightly greasy hair and refreshes it in no time at all!

So there we have it my most purchased haircare products. Are there any which you swear by? If so pop them in the comments below!

Stockists

Lee Stafford, Boots Essentials -  Boots

Batiste - Boots and Superdrug

Avon Advanced Techniques - Avon

Freshen up with Batiste Brit!

With the Royal Wedding coming up what better way to get patriotic by grabbing a can of Batiste Brit dry shampoo. This couldn't have come at a better time for me as my dry shampoo was about to run out!

So what is Batiste Brit all about?

Something old, new, borrowed and blue is all well and good for the bride, but something Batiste is the best choice for the rest of us on the Royal Wedding Day! Make the most of every minute of your extra day off; forget the time consuming hair wash and blowdry routine for a can of Batiste Brit instead.

It's the quickest, easiest and most convenient was to refresh and revitalise greasy, dull, lifeless hair, instantly leaving it feeling clean, full of body and fabulously fragrant. Great for the bride to take on honeymoon too; surely there'll be better things on the agenda than washing her hair....?

So what did I think?

I hadn't used this fragrance before and wasn't sure what I'd make of it but after only using it once I already love it! It smells fresh and very distinctive. The fragrance is also very unisex so good for the guys too! I would buy Brit again and it is £2.13 for a 150ml can, exclusive to Superdrug!

Fancy winning £1,000 in Love to Shop vouchers?

Pop down to your local Superdrug store or visit their website to find out how. These vouchers can be spent at loads of different shops, click here to view where.

Review - Batiste

A couple of weeks ago I was sent a can of the new Batiste hint of colour dry shampoo to review.

This is part of the new hint of colour collection from Batiste which comes in three shades: light and blonde hair, medium and brunette hair and dark and deep brown hair. As I have dark brown hair I chose the dark and deep brown option.

I love dry shampoo and would find it hard to live without but as I have dark hair I found it was easier to spray on before I went to bed to avoid that white root look int he morning but this product aimed to eradicate this. Batiste's press release says that:

"Batiste, the UK's No 1 Dry Shampoo Brand, have introduced a range of dry shampoos with a hint of colour specifically designed to complement your hair colour whilst instantly giving you clean, fresh hair full of body and texture. Left in at the roots, it's great for blending in regrowth on coloured or highlighted hair and can even disguise stray greys too."

Well what do I think? I have to say that I love this product! It is a lot less obvious than the normal white dry shampoos and I have even used this in the morning which is practically unheard of! The scent isn't overpowering and is quite subtle but it does reminds me of something so much, I just can't put my finger on what!

I also like the idea of it being used to disguise root re-growth on coloured hair and to cover up the odd grey hair.

I will continue to buy the other varieties of Batiste dry shampoo as I love the different scents but I will also definitely buy a can of this to use in the mornings.

Batiste dry shampoo with a hint of colour is available from Boots, Superdrug & other pharmacies & good retailers, with an RRP of £3.05.

PLEASE REMEMBER - EVEN THOUGH I RECEIVED THIS TO REVIEW I HAVE GIVEN MY 100% HONEST OPINION

Hero product - Batiste dry shampoo

This is the first of a new set of posts about classic health and beauty products which I believe to be hero products. First up is Batiste dry shampoo.

Image from: Batiste

I first got introduced to Batiste when I went to uni 5 years ago and picked up a can in Superdrug for those days when I didn't have time to wash my hair before lectures. Then I believe there was only original and tropical scents. I got the tropical one and haven't looked back since.

Since then the range has expanded hugely. There are 8 different scents (original, tropical, blush, fresh, boho, diva & brit), 2 for dark hair, 1 for blonde hair, 2 with shimmer particles, 1 nude unfragranced non-aerosol bottle and 5 mini travel sized cans.

I use dry shampoo about every other day inbetween washes just to refresh my hair. As I have dark brown hair and Batiste is white I spray on before I go to bed  and then when I wake in the morning any oil has already been absorbed and any excess has been disappeared during the night. This eliminates the nasty white/grey root situation.

I don't think I could live without this as it's become a staple product in my beauty regime. Do you love Batiste just as much as me? Which is your favourite scent? Mine has to be tropical!

My most repurchased products

This is another request from my blog giveaway. This post is going to feature my most repurchases make up and haircare products.

Make-up

Back row:

• No 7 Shine Free make up base - I use this on my forehead and chin to elevate shine, the secret behind this product is less is more!
• Collection 2000 clear mascara - I do need a new one of these as you can tell from the colour! I like clear mascara because I don't want to wear mascara everyday so this just adds a little definition to your lashes

Front row:

• L'Oreal True Match powder - I use this over the shine base on my forehead and chin to prevent shine
• Benefit Boi-ing concealer - This is the best concealer ever! I use it to cover my under eye circles but it is anti-bacterial so it's perfect for spots
• Benefit Lemonaid - This is a yellow colour correcting eye primer. I use this under my concealer to try to neutralise the colour of my dark circles and I wouldn't be without it
• Benefit Powderflage - This is a light pink powder concealer. I use this over my concealer to set it and it also helps to brighten my under eye area. It does come with a brush but I find it easier to apply with my finger

Hair care

• Avon Advanced Techniques Oxygenating Scalp Treatment - This has now been replaced with a different product. I have eczema on my scalp just behind my hairline near my face and after I've washed my hair I use a couple of pumps of this to rub onto the problem area and dry my hair as usual. It definitely helps to elevate my eczema, I just hope the replacement product is as good!
• Batiste dry shampoo - I use this every night before I got to bed to absorb any oil which is produced whilst I'm sleeping. The reason I use this at night is because my hair is dark brown, this product is white. I sometimes got a little OTT with spraying this on which leaves me with a bad greying hair effect after! Not good!
• Lee Stafford Poker Straight Flat Iron Spray - I use this before blow drying and before straightening to protect my hair from any heat damage
• Lee Stafford Poker Straight Glistening Balm - I rub a little of this onto my hair before blow drying to protect against heat damage and it does give it a slight shimmer as it is a glistening balm

Do you use any of these? What are your most repurchased products?

Product Awareness: Parabens and SLS

A few years ago I saw a program on TV (sorry I can’t think of it’s name or who presented it) and it was about what we put in our bodies by using beauty products. It did talk about fluoride and things like that but then went on about parabens. I had never heard of these before in my life and was very shocked at how harmful they can be.

This post is going to hopefully explain in the simplest terms possible about ‘bad’ things in beauty products so here it goes....!

Parabens.

There are many different parabens and common ones begin ‘methyl, butyl, ethyl, isobutyl, propyl’ paraben. Health risks include:

• Cancer
• Allergies/immunotoxicity
• Endocrine disruption (hormones responsible for bodily functions)
• Organ system toxicity
• Neurotoxicity (harm to brain or nervous system)
• Irritation (eyes, skin, lungs)
• Developmental/reproductive toxicity

By having effects on the endocrine system parabens mimic oestrogen, which is a female hormone, and there is research to indicate a link between this and breast cancer. Which product do you use near your breast everyday? Deodorant. This also has an effect on men as they shouldn’t have oestrogen in their bodies and as a result some men have been found to have a low sperm count.

But checking your products isn’t necessarily easy by looking for ‘paraben’ as they are sometimes called something different. Common names for isobutylparaben are:

• BENZOIC ACID
• 4-HYDROXY-
• 2-METHYLPROPYL ESTER
• 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID
• 2-METHYLPROPYL ESTER
• ISOBUTYL P-HYDROXYBENZOATE
• ISOBUTYL PARAHYDROXYBENZOATE
• PARAHYDROXYBENZOIC ACID
• ISOBUTYL ESTER
• 2-METHYLPROPYL ESTER BENZOIC ACID
• 4-HYDROXY-
• 2-METHYLPROPYL ESTER 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID
• ISOBUTYL ESTER PARAHYDROXYBENZOIC ACID
• 4-HYDROXY- 2-METHYLPROPYL ESTER BENZOIC ACID
• SODIUM ISOBUTYLPARABEN
• BENZOIC ACID
• 4HYDROXY
• 2METHYLPROPYL ESTER

But it is also important to remember that parabens also naturally occur in some food but like everything in life in moderation these are ok but when they’re in everything you use it’s not that good.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS).

SLS is a detergent and is found in many beauty products as well as many cleaning products (in a much higher concentrate). It could cause:

• Cancer
• Developmental/reproductive toxicity
• Restrictions and warnings
• Irritation (skin, eyes, lungs)

I had seen that this was also listed as an ingrediant on my toothpaste and when doing research for this post I found out that SLS in toothpaste can cause an increase in ulcers and sores in the mouth. Eeek!

With all this in mind Im trying to use up all my ‘old’ beauty products in the hope of finding new paraben and SLS free products. So I have a number of products which I love and am currently using so thought it would be interesting to see if these contain parabens and SLS. I’m going to do this as follows: (I (ingrediants): amount. P (parabens): amount. SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate): amount) % of ingredients which are ‘bad’ stuff. Hopefully it’ll look simpler than it sounds here!

L-R:

• Body Shop banana shampoo (I: 24. P: 5. SLS: 1) 25%
• L’Occitane red rice cleanser (I: 28. P: 0. SLS: 1) 3.5%
• Avon Senses shower gel (I: 18. P: 0. SLS: 1) 5.5%
• L’Occitane citrus verbena shower gel (I: 25. P: 0. SLS: 1) 4%
• Body Shop seaweed toner (I: 23. P: 4. SLS: 0) 17%

L-R:

• No7 Perfect and Protect lip cream (I: 32. P: 2. SLS: 1) 9%
• Batiste dry shampoo (I: 8. P: 0. SLS: 0) 0%
• Lee Stafford flat iron protection spray (I: 25. P: 5. SLS: 0) 20%
• Lee Stafford poker straight glistening balm (I: 26. P: 5. SLS: 0) 19%
• No7 Lift and Luminate eye cream (I: 37. P: 5. SLS: 0) 13%

So a quick summary, the product which contains the highest percentage of ‘bad’ stuff is Body Shop’s banana shampoo and the product which contains the least is Batiste dry shampoo.

Why don’t you check out what’s in your beauty products, you could be suprised!

Tomorrow I’m doing a follow up post to this so check back then!

PLEASE NOTE: THESE INGREDIENTS HAVE BEEN CERTIFIED SAFE TO USE AND THERE IS NO CAST IRON EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST OTHERWISE. THIS POST SHOULD ONLY BE USED AS A GUIDE ABOUT WHAT YOUR PRODUCTS CONTAIN.

Websites which helped me:

http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/FreeBuyersGuides/healthbeauty/deodorants.aspx

http://www.health-report.co.uk/parabens.htm

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com