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Bath & Body Works Supercharged Body Scrub

I was getting closer to a problem. The sugar body scrub from Bath & Body Works in my shower was getting very close to empty, and the formula had been discontinued, and I wasn’t able to find something I liked as much.
Until now.
I wandered into my local Bath & Body Works last weekend, coupon in hand. The coupon was for a free mini bottle of lotion in their newest scent, Pink Chiffon. And at the front table was a new scent that grabbed my attention: Coconut Lime Breeze. Oh hell yes. I love anything lime-based. B&BW describes Coconut Lime Breeze as coconut water, lime blossom, and bergamot. There are base notes of musk and vanilla, too. Truthfully, it’s not super lime-y. But it smells fantastic. It’s a fresh, citrus outdoorsy beach smell. Do I wish it were a touch more lime-y smelling? Yes. But I really enjoy this fragrance anyway. I grabbed a body mist, and then noticed something new to me: supercharged body scrub.
Say what now? Body scrub = good. Supercharged? Uhh.
I’m still not really sure why this body scrub is considered “supercharged”. It does have “visible foaming action” (which by the way just means you can see it foaming up as you scrub with it). There’s aloe and jojoba oil and all that good stuff too. The consistency is pretty much a squeeze tube version of my beloved old sugar scrub in the jar (except slightly less oily) – basically that of toothpaste, but with scrubby granules.
Reviews on the B&BW site are mixed, but I’m on team “yes” rather than team “no”. I like that this scrub isn’t super oily and messy, but still moisturizing and definitely very scrubby. The scrubby granules do dissolve, and the scrub rinses cleanly and quickly. My skin feels moisturized but there is no residue, which is always a plus. 
The foaming/dissolving action is effective. I read one complaint that it happens too quickly, but I didn’t have any issues with that. I’m picky about a body scrub. I expect it to really SCRUB and I get annoyed if a body scrub doesn’t have enough ‘tooth’ to it. This fits the bill to a T. It’s on the pricey side at $14 a tube (which contains 9.5 oz), but with Ebates and all of the sales B&BW has so often, you usually won’t end up paying full price anyway.
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Prepare Your Skin For Summer With A Spa Day

If you are feeling a little sluggish and not quite as bright as you might like to, then summer is the ideal time to consider what you can do to improve your body, mind and soul. If this sounds like you, a day at a Health and Beauty Spa might just be the answer.

Each particular Beauty Spa will have its own tailor-made style treatments, but most will offer at least some of the same treatments, using similar spa health products. If you are considering booking yourself into a Health Spa you will be able to pre-book a variety of treatments, all designed to help heal your mind, body and spirit. If you decide to embrace this approach fully, you might want to consider spa days that offer specialist holistic spa treatments which are natural therapies combined together to heal mind body spirit and emotions. Popular therapies along these lines include Chinese acupuncture, personal visualization and a full body massage.

Spa days are a great alternative for hen parties too, just make sure before you go that the Health Spa of your choice welcomes large groups. Each Health Spa offers a variety of therapies which might include pedicures and manicures, a full set of gel nail extensions and hair salons, but to name a few, as well as other regular therapies such as reflexology, acupuncture, reiki, shiatsu, hypnotherapy and crystal therapy. All these treatments are designed to improve your overall wellness of mind and body and you should leave your chosen Health Spa feeling like a new person. It is a perfect way to relax and unwind before your big day, spend quality time with friends that are important to you and the bonus is you will leave feeling refreshed and your skin will glow.

Of course spa days might not quite be enough, You may wish to book for longer. Some Health Spas have special offers for overnight or even weekend breaks. You may wish to indulge a partner and spend some quality time together experiencing some relaxing spa treatments. You may wish to be adventurous and indulge in some exotic and innovative health treatments; you could try a Dead Sea mud treatment for example, or a seaweed cocoon, if it is available at your particular Health Spa.

Most Health Spas will have their own Personal Trainers on hand to guide and advise you. You could also ask if they would perform a fitness assessment for you, whereby a nutritional analysis will be performed to assess whether you are sticking to a healthy diet, you could also ask for a glucose and cholesterol assessment, both of which are important to overall health.

Whether it is a short break, a long weekend, or simply a day out, Health Spas have the ‘get away from it all’ appeal as well as serene, peaceful surroundings and of course a few healthy treatments thrown in! All in all, it’s a great way to improve your mind, body and soul, in readiness for the coming summer months.

This was a sponsored post brought to you by SpaBreaks.com, the premier online spa booking service. They offer the best selection of UK, European and Worldwide health spas for you to choose your ideal detox and pampering experience. From couples to groups, from spa days to spa holidays, Spa Breaks can help you find exactly what you are looking for. Create the perfect spa package for yourself or someone special today.


Image courtesy of Spa Breaks.

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Lush Haul & Reviews

I have ordered Lush products from their website, but on Father’s Day I was walking around 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica with my family – where there so happens to be a Lush store. I decided to pop in and check stuff out. There’s a lot of Lush products I had heard about or been curious to try, but since it is so strongly fragranced I was hesitant to jump in without the all-important sniff test beforehand. I couldn’t help but take the opportunity! 
Lush is quite overwhelming in that they have a ton of things, so I asked Twitter for suggestions on what to try out. The recommendations came flooding in! Thank you all so much for your feedback! I ended up hauling a few things:
– Ocean Salt Face & Body Scrub
– Bb Seaweed Fresh Face Mask
– Bubblegum Lip Scrub
– Dragon’s Egg Bath Bomb (I grabbed 2 of these!)
I’ve been loving everything I got! Dragon’s Egg I picked out all on my own just by sniffing all the bath bombs. It’s supposed to be “sherbet scented” but I think it smells like a freshly opened box of fruit loops! It’s very bright and citrusy and I can’t wait to see how it works for me in the bath. It’s said to be a good “wake up” fragrance. Other scents I really liked were Vanilla Fountain and Fizzbanger. I don’t take baths too often (I don’t have a bath tub in my bathroom so if I want to use a tub I have to go upstairs and use mom’s) so I only wanted to grab a couple, but Fizzbanger’s definitely next on my list. 
The Bubblegum lip scrub is possibly my favorite thing I hauled from Lush. I’m not even that into bubblegum, but the moment I smelled the tester I was hooked. It’s not something I typically would gravitate towards, but I am so glad I gave it a shot. It was suggested to me via Twitter, but I’d also seen a few people mention it on Youtube. Guess I’m on the bubblegum bandwagon, because I would definitely recommend it. At first I thought it was kinda expensive at $8.95, but now that I’ve used it and I realize how long this little jar will last me, I’m okay with it. I’d be really excited if they ever came out with this in stick form, but this stuff is great and I love it. Give it a shot! It’s pink! I’d been having a really hard time with chapped lips lately and had finally found a lip balm that helped (plain ole’ medicated chapstick – go fig) and I use that in conjunction with this scrub for perfectly smooth soft lips.
Ocean Salt is a very coarse salt-based scrub that also contains lime and vodka. Hello! My skin can take a lot of exfoliation. I figured if this was too much for my face I could always use it on hands and feet etc. but my face handles this totally fine. It really smells like you are scrubbing your face with a boozy cocktail though, which isn’t for everyone. My mom says it smells like medicine. Yeah well, for some people that is medicine, lol. The first time I used it I thought it made my face feel sticky afterward and I was really bummed that it wasn’t going to work out for me, but I’ve used it a few times since then and didn’t have the sticky feeling. A little bit goes a long way, so I’m glad I only got the small pot. This scrub is wonderful for really giving that “squeaky clean” feeling after a long, sweaty summer day.
I’ll be doing a review of the Dragon’s Egg after I use it, as well as a review of the seaweed mask at a later date.
What are your favs from Lush? What should I try next time?
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The Body Shop Almond Oil Hand Care

This has pretty much nothing to do with this post, but since when does that ever stop me from posting a cute cat picture? 
Over the past year or so my fascination with nail polish bloggers has resulted in two things: lots of nail polish, and a realization that my cuticles completely suck. I am extremely prone to hangnails, and the skin around my nails is always dry. I have a tendency to kind of absent-mindedly pick at my cuticles too, apparently. Becoming more aware of this has made me of course want to solve the problem, and since The Body Shop recently had a Groupon, I decided to give their hand care a try.
I picked up two things – the Almond Oil Daily Hand & Nail Cream, and their Almond Oil Nail & Cuticle Treatment. 
The hand cream was the first hand care item that caught my eye, and mostly because I love the smell of anything almond. I then read all about the benefits (it’s chock full of ingredients like almond oil, soy oil, shea butter, and lanolin) and really became intrigued. This hand cream also contains panthenol to help keep nails from splitting. Nice. I tried it in the store, to see if it would feel greasy. So many hand creams claim to be super duper moisturizing, and usually they are, but at the expense of me feeling like I have greasy hands all day. Fine if you want to wear spa gloves and lounge around, but who has time for that? Not me! I was very pleasantly surprised by this hand cream absorbing quickly and not leaving any greasy feeling. Sold! It has a soft, sweet almond smell that I just love. The smell does linger, too. Yummy. The packaging is good for on the go, being just a convenient squeeze tube I can toss in a purse.
However, my cuticles are in need of special help, so I also picked up the cuticle oil treatment. It’s in a nifty click pen with a lid that doubles as a cuticle pusher. I love it! The oil treatment is more of a gel-like consistency so it doesn’t run all over the place. It has the same sweet smell as the hand cream. It claims to also help whiten nails, and I don’t know if it does that but it has definitely helped fade some of the stains on my nails left by matte polish (I skipped base coat). 
Show those cuticles who’s boss.
Since my “problem” area is the cuticles and the skin just around my nails, I opted for the hand cream + cuticle treatment approach. However, if you have seriously dry skin on your hands, they also offer a more intense version of their hand cream. 
The hand cream runs $16 for a 3.4 oz tube, while the cuticle treatment is $12 for .06 oz. I have been using the cream twice a day and the cuticle oil once a day just since yesterday and I can already tell quite a difference. They feel magnificent, my hands are looking nicer, and feeling less dry. 
I got mine from The Body Shop’s freestanding store, but you can also get these from their website. This line is not offered on Sephora, though other Body Shop products are.
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Bath & Body Works Discontinues Cucumber Melon

I heard something that made me sad. Last night on Twitter, Irene (pinkiecharm) reported that Bath & Body Works is discontinuing the cucumber melon line. The reason this makes me sad is cucumber melon shower gel is the first thing I ever bought myself from Bath & Body Works back when I was about 14. This scent has so many memories attached to it for me – you know how scents can do that! Irene seems to feel the same way, according to her blog post about it.

There’s a little bitty silver lining to this, and that’s if you want to stock up, cucumber melon (as well as the rest of the signature line) is buy 3 get 3 free. However, this promo ends tonight. So if you want to stock up now would be a great time. Shipping is free over $50. Yes, this is valid in-store as well.

If you can’t make it during this promo, I’m sure there will be more in the future. It would seem that B&BW is going to sell this until it’s sold out, as they have moved it to their Fond Farewell section for discontinued products.

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Getting To Know L’Occitane

Before I was really involved in the beauty community, I’d never heard of L’Occitane. That in itself is strange, since the brand has been around since the 70s and is sold in 85 countries all over the world! To find the nearest L’Occitane boutique to you, try their boutique finder. I didn’t realize there’s one practically in my back yard. Wow. Bad blogger!

A Little History…


L’Occitane was founded in 1976 by Olivier Baussan. Baussan was inspired by the Mediterranean culture to create a line of natural skincare based on phytotherapy. What is phytotherapy? Basically it means “to cure with plants”.

The brand prides itself on maintaining techniques perfected by locals of the brand’s land of origins in Provence and the Mediterranean as well as being respectful of people and the environment. They have even formed the L’Occitane Foundation, which helps teach these techniques to women so they can develop businesses in poor countries. L’Occitane has been developing a Fair Trade program in Burkina Faso for 20 years! Additionally, L’Occitane’s ingredients as well as finished products never have been and never will be tested on animals. Other than beehive-derived ingredients (honey, royal jelly, etc.) no ingredients are animal-sourced.

The Products…


I used to have a bar of L’Occitane soap (wrapped in their eco-friendly and sustainable packaging) that I kept in a cabinet simply to make the cabinet smell amazing. It’s their shea verbena soap. When I think of L’Occitane I think of that soft, yet vibrant and delicious fragrance. All of L’Occitane’s products smell so good, and so comforting. I’m not the only one who thinks so – L’Occitane also sells candles in their signature yummy scents. My favorite is the verbena, but lavender also smells divine. What’s your favorite?

This post is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of L’Occitane.
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CLEAN Anti-Bacterial Moisturizing Hand Cream

I’m a hand sanitizer addict. I love the stuff. I always have it around. I have it on my desk at work, in my purse, on the bedside table…you get the idea. Typically my anti-bac of choice is a Bath & Body Works pocket-bac because they’re small, inexpensive, and smell yummy. However, even though they claim to be moisturizing, I don’t really feel that they are. More like just “not drying”. Yes, they have anti-bac lotions, but those can be on the greasy side. I know, I know, Bath & Body Works devotees are shrieking at me right now. Sorry!
CLEAN’s new Anti-Bacterial hand cream is moisturizing as well as anti-bacterial. It has what’s called SafetyDerm technology, which gives you 4 hours of continuous protection against germs. That’s pretty nifty. If someone in your workplace is sick, or if you work with children, I could see that being really useful. The hand cream itself is pretty moisturizing, and feels nice on the hands. It sinks in quickly and is non-greasy, which I enjoy. I type a lot at my job. If my hands are greasy, that’s unpleasant. That and I’m just really OCD about having any sort of greasy or sticky feeling on my hands – it drives me NUTS. I’m the type of person who wipes their hands after every bite if I’m eating finger foods. But I digress. This hand cream absorbs quickly and does its job.
The fragrance is nonexistent. This is an unscented product. That doesn’t mean it has no scent – it smells like hand cream. I’m not wild about it. I know it’s probably best to have it be unscented but I think it would be really cool if it came out in yummy scents in the future. This is also $10 for an ounce. If it smelled great in addition to being a nice hand cream and antibacterial, I still would balk at the price. So, while I like this, I’m going to say it’s not a must have for me. If it sounds good to you, you can get it at Sephora.
EDIT: Ok I feel like a bit of a dummy but I have been informed that if you do like scented lotions, this actually does come in 3 fragrances: Original, Shower Fresh, and Ultimate, which I may or may not do reviews of in the future. I just wanted you to know that! :)
Sample provided for editorial purposes.
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Philosophy Gingerbread House Set

When I announced getting a box of yummy Philosophy goodies on Twitter, this review was requested by naturalNchicmakeup. First of all, how cute are these? Philosophy comes up with the cutest gift sets, and this is no exception! The gift box is very sturdy, well-made, and I don’t think you would even need to wrap it. Just stick a tag on, maybe a bow, and you’re done. Adorable. Each shower gel is 8 oz, which is a pretty large size. They are both 3-in-1 shower gel, bubble bath, and shampoo. I would stick to using as shower gel or bubble bath though. The Gingerbread Girl has gold glitter suspended in the gel while the Gingerbread Man does not. They smell pretty much the same to me. Not sure if that’s because they’re supposed to, or because my nose isn’t distinguishing enough. ;)
The smell is more gingery and less gingerbready than I would have hoped. It’s not unpleasant at all, but if you remember the Philosophy Cookbook from years past, that had a gingerbread scent in it that is to die for. This scent lacks the heavy bakery notes. Some of you (including my boyfriend) may prefer that. This scent is closer to ginger ale than a baked good. I have read that this smells very similar to the Origins ginger fragrance, and it’s been a while but from what I remember that is a fair assessment. 
Both products lather really well and leave my skin feeling clean and smooth without feeling stripped or irritated (some heavily fragranced products have the potential to irritate sensitive skin). Where this falls a bit short with me is the Gingerbread Girl. This has a ton of gorgeous gold glitter in it, which does not translate to my skin at all. I was hoping to have a sparkly glow after my shower from the tiny particles of glitter. No go. The glitter in this shower gel is not gritty or anything; it’s very tiny particles. It looks pretty on the shelf in my shower, but doesn’t do anything special for me that Gingerbread Man couldn’t do. However, in reading the Sephora reviews of this product, others mention getting a glittery glow. Maybe I’m just so pale that it doesn’t show up? Either way, now I have 2 bottles of this neat ginger scent.
I do recommend this set if you like ginger scents. It would also make a great gift because of the cute packaging. The set retails for $20 and is available exclusively at Sephora.
Product sample provided for editorial purposes.
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Philosophy Cinnamon Buns

Last night on Twitter I let you guys know that I got a package of goodies from Philosophy and asked if anyone had any review requests. This review was requested by @audreyvoss for the Cinnamon Buns 3-in-1 and lip shine.

Philosophy Cinnamon Buns Shampoo, Shower Gel & Bubble Bath

While I’m a self-admitted Bath & Body Works girl, I also love my Philosophy. It’s more of a special treat than the B&BW stuff because it’s at a higher price point. Philosophy is great if you like foody scents because they have a ton of them. Cinnamon Buns is easily one of their best-sellers and a favorite for many, myself included. The scent is more than just cinnamon. You definitely get the warm bakery undertones of a true cinnamon bun as well as sweet gooey icing. It smells simply delicious! 
Since I don’t have a bath tub I have not tested this particular 3-in-1 as a bubble bath, but back when I did have a tub my general experience with these guys is that as a bubble bath they are fair. I’ve had other things that make more bubbles, but they still do the job, and smell magnificent– you can smell the bubbles. 
As a shower gel they are great. They lather really well and smell amazing. The smell doesn’t seem to linger very long or very strongly after a shower though. That could be a plus or a minus depending on your preference. I prefer them to not linger much so I can wear other scented things during the day. 
When it comes to shampoo, I suppose this could work in a pinch, but for regular use I don’t recommend using them that way. My hair needs way more moisture than this product could provide, and when I have tried using a 3-in-1 as shampoo, my hair felt like straw. I treat these like just shower gels that can also bubble– I don’t even think of them in terms as a hair product and don’t recommend anyone else do so. Use Cinnamon Buns as a yummy shower gel, and enjoy. 
It’s available in a 16 oz size for $16 or a mammoth 32 oz size for $25. Around the holidays there are small sizes available like in the holiday ornament, where a 2 oz size is $6, or in gift sets. A really awesome gift set is available from Sephora right now called Share the Joy, which not only includes the Cinnamon Buns 3-in-1, but it also includes the next product I’m going to talk about!
Philosophy Cinnamon Buns Lip Shine
I had never tried the lip shines from Philosophy until recently, so I was excited to try this one. The color is a beautiful light golden sheen, which in some light also has some pinky undertones to it. 
This product comes in a squeeze tube with a slant tip applicator, which I really like. It gives great control over applying the gloss.
On my nails: MAC Nail Lacquer in Blue India from the Libert of London collection this past spring.

If you’re anti-sticky when it comes to lip gloss, you will probably not like this. I don’t mind sticky gloss, so it’s fine for me. It’s definitely quite sticky. I do feel it’s also moisturizing, which makes it pleasant to wear.  As far as how it looks on, it really just adds shine. I don’t even really see the sparkle. I attempted to take a photo of how it looks on my lips, which is basically just clear and really shiny.
Cinnamon Buns lip shine on pigmented lips.
Cinnamon Buns is $10, and while I think it’s fun and nice to have, I’m not in love with it, simply because I don’t wear clear gloss very often. For me, this would wear best as a layering item over a lipstick. It’s a nice to have, but not a must-have.
Product samples provided for editorial purposes.
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Etailer Spotlight: Best Bath Store

I recently got to try some goodies from an etailer I had been quite curious about: Best Bath Store. I mean come on, they call themselves the best. I gotta see for myself! They sent me 3 products to try, and I’ve been playing with them for a while now. Here are my thoughts.

First up is their Acne Facial Bar. I’m not a huge fan of most acne skincare because cleansers that are for acne have a tendency to be really harsh, but this bar is jam packed full of gentle ingredients (such as olive oil, coconut oil, manuka honey, and shea butter) so I decided to give it a go to work on the few little breakouts I’ve been experiencing lately (probably stress. erg.). The first thing I noticed about this bar is the smell. It smells really nice. It’s an herbal sort of fresh scent. It just smells clean. That’s a good way for a cleansing bar to smell, I think. Don’t you? The idea behind their acne facial bar is balancing your skin to reduce oiliness and calm angry acneic skin. The bar lathers really well, and the soap feels really nice on my skin as I’m massaging the cleanser around my face. After I’m done rinsing, my skin feels really clean and refreshed without feeling stripped or tight. The Acne Facial Bar is very gentle, and does what it says! One caveat though is don’t use this to remove eye makeup. I tried it and it burned like hell. So when I’m using this I use a makeup remover like MAC Cleanse-Off Oil first then wash with this. The Acne Facial Bar is $4.95 for a 3.5 oz bar.
Next up is the Coffee Body Scrub, which was kind of a miss for me and I’ll explain why: it doesn’t smell like coffee. I don’t know why. It contains coffee grounds and “coffee essential oil” (wtf is that, btw?) which is essentially fragrance, but it still doesn’t smell like coffee. It does scrub really well and leave my skin feeling nice and soft. The oils in it worried me because I don’t like really oily scrubs, but it wasn’t an issue here. Over all the formula is actually really nice for a body scrub, but the smell! It comes in citrus and lavender and I think they would have been a better choice. Instead, this smells like… I don’t even know– office? It smells like dust and paper and maybe the slightest hint of old coffee. This is definitely a decent scrub though. It’s good for those of you who like a really abrasive scrub as opposed to a super gentle one. Best Bath Store’s Body Scrubs retail for $16.95 for 8 oz.
I’ve saved the best for last– Best Bath Store’s Chocolate Lip Balm. Oh em gee. This stuff is full of cocoa butter as well as organic cocoa powder, giving it this amazing chocolate scent. To my nose (and mom’s as well), it smells like melting chocolate chips. It has that kind of warm sweetness to it that reminds us of fresh chocolate chip cookies when they’re still kinda melty. Not only does this lip balm smell delicious, it’s great for my lips too. I’ve noticed that the overall condition of my lips has been better. A lot of lip balms moisturize for a while but after it wears off or you eat something your lips start to feel dry again. Not so with this guy. It’s smooth and very creamy on my lips and keeps them moisturized for hours, even all through the night. The scent is fairly strong. It lingers for a little while after you apply it. If chocolate isn’t your thing, Best Bath Store has 10 formulas such as Lemon-Lime, Bergamot, and Peppermint. They also offer 3 vegan lip balms in Peppermint, Cocoa Butter, and Vanilla Coffee. The vegan formula substitutes beeswax for candelilla wax.  Best Bath Store’s lip balms are $2.95 for a .15 oz tube. 
Overall I am pleased with the products I got from Best Bath Store. Even though I didn’t really care for the coffee scent of the body scrub, it’s still a pretty nice scrub. I think it will be great to use on my feet, which are perpetually dry and in need of scrubbing. And uh, this lip balm is *amazing*. If you’re curious about trying their products, they do offer free samples. You can order up to 5 samples at a time and just pay shipping. 
Worth noting is that Best Bath Store is a very environmentally friendly company. They recycle packaging, ship product in recyclable and biodegradable materials, and have their own branded reusable shopping bags to encourage people to be more green. The entire facility is even run on wind-generated electricity! All Best Bath Store products are cruelty-free as well.
Product samples provided for editorial purposes.
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