Review: Sara Happ Lip Scrub

I'm sure many of you have heard of Sara Happ's infamous Lip Scrubs and The Lip Slip; amazing luxurious treats for you lips which are hugely popular with many celebrities including Rachel Zoe, Reece Witherspoon and Gwyneth Paltrow to name a few. I always had my eye on her products but couldn't justify the hefty price tag that comes with them. This all changed when I tried the Blood Orange lip scrub that I added to my basket on a whim while stocking up at Beautybay.com. I'd heard such great things about these scrubs that it had a lot to live up to when it arrived, but it promised a result and it definitely delivered. It buffed away all the dry, chapped skin from my lips, leaving them soft and supple and most of all really plump and healthy looking.

The limited edition Blood Orange flavour of this cult favourite is enriched with moisturising jojoba and grape seed oils and naturally flavoured with blood orange extract. All of Sara Happ's lip scrubs smell and taste amazing so if you're anything like me, you will undoubtably want to be scrubbing them all day! I tend to use mine as part of my morning routine, after washing my face, leaving my lips prepped for whatever makeup I decided to wear that day. I absolutely adore the bright pink blood orange lip scrub with it's delicious citrus scent but am tempted to purchase the Green Apple lip scrub next because I imagine it can't get much better than the sweet, crisp apply freshness.

The entire range of Sara Happ products are available at Beautybay.com with the lip scrubs retailing at £19. A little goes a long way with this product so it lasts a long time...worth the investment if you want beautifully soft lips!

September Empties

There's something about empties posts that I love. Hauling new items is one thing, but using up a whole product and deciding whether it's worthy of repurchasing again or best to try something new is somehow more satisfying for me. I think it's because it's not just a first impression of a product after having just bought it, but instead you've emptied it, so you've used it long enough to gain a real impression and experience of the product to able a fair review. These are the products I've finished this month; for each one I'll tell you a little bit about what I think of it.

I got Soap & Glory's Foam Call as part of a 3 for 2 deal in Boots and I've loved the other products I've tried from the brand so I was expecting big things. And as always, Soap & Glory delivered. I love this body wash. When used with my shower puff it really does foam up and the scent is like nothing I've smelt before; it's their new Fruitigo fragrance and it smells so fresh and zingy, a great wake up call in the morning. I don't find it super moisturising but it doesn't dry out my skin and I rely on my body butters to moisturise anyway so I'll definitely be repurchasing this!

TIGI Bed Head Headrush shine spray was a gift a while back and I used it religiously before forgetting about it, but after recently rediscovering it I'm not sure what all the fuss was about before really. It does smell amazing but I don't notice much of a shine in my hair after using it so this was just a case of using it up really, personally I think there are better shine treatments on the market.

I could not live without Batiste dry shampoo. The amount of times I have used it to rescue a bad hair day and give it some volume and oomph or simply just to freshen up my hair between washes, it truly is a live safer! I've been through a ridiculous amount of these before and will continue repurchasing because for me Batiste works best. I've tried other dry shampoos but nothing lives up to this one for me - and it comes in an amazing range of scents..I'm currently loving this cherry one :)

Chanel Vitalumière Aqua compact, now for me this is a love/hate product. I absolutely adore the liquid version of this foundation and it makes my skin look flawless without it being thick and cakey, so naturally when it got released in compact form I snapped it up. Unfortunately it just doesn't work the same for me and it's a bit of a cheat empty really because I actually passed it on to my mum to use up. She loves it and it looks amazing on her skin but unlike me, she has dry/normal skin. I'll definitely be sticking to the liquid Vitalumière Aqua but I think I'll have to consider buying a refill for my mum for Christmas (shhh!)

I think this is the third bottle of Caudalie Beauty Elixir I've been through. Mainly because I buy the small 30ml size for it's practical handbag friendly size to spritz when I need freshening up. I love this product, using it as part of my daily makeup routine acting as a toner before application and a setting spray once finished. It's so refreshing and will remain a staple in my makeup bag for a while I think.

Bare Minerals Pure Transformation night treatment was a risky purchase for me because I really wasn't sure how going to bed with what was effectively mineral powder makeup on would benefit my skin. But to my surprise it worked a treat and I really noticed a difference in my skin with it looking clearer and brighter after using it daily for a couple of weeks. I used it religiously until it finished but don't think I'll repurchase because I just can't justify it's £45 price tag. I think sticking to mineral foundation (see my post on it here) is enough for my skin for now.

Lastly my beloved Soap & Glory Hand Food which is probably one of the best hand creams I've used. It smells ah-may-zing and really does its job well. I've moved on to another favourite hand cream of mine by L'Occitaine now purely for a change but will definitely go back to this at some point (I have one in stock ready!)

Friday Favourite: Body Shop Peach Body Butter

This skincare treat needs no introduction but for those of you who aren't familiar with The Body Shop's infamous body butters, they are award winning gorgeous rich moisturisers for the body in a range of delicious smells. The different smells have their own collection of lighter body lotions, shower gels and body scrubs. The latest collection on offer is Vineyard Peach and I assure you now, it is heavenly. Containing wild peach extract and Mediterranean peach kernel oil, I assumed it would be very Summery because of the fruity fresh scent but it is so mouth-watering that I would happily wear it all year round. I normally opt for the body lotions in the Summer as I tend to find them lighter in the warmer months, but in the Winter I prefer to indulge in the richer body butters which provide more moisture. Hurry over to the Body Shop now to take advantage of their buy more save more offer!

Bare Minerals vs. Laura Mercier

My current foundation favourite at the moment is Laura Mercier Mineral Powder. I have combination/oily skin and I need coverage mostly for acne scarring now, but still get a few blemishes and active breakouts. Having previously sworn by Bare Minerals, I have now discovered other mineral foundations on the market and think these two are the best I've tried.

Since using mineral foundation, my skin has improved dramatically. I used to have a constant battle with breakouts and there was rarely a day where I didn't have at least one, but it's the opposite now and I only have the odd one or two now and again. This is because these powders don't clog up and sit in your pores like normal foundations do, and instead are good for your skin because of the minerals themselves, especially the Zinc, known to help skin fight acne. Not only has my blemish-prone skin improved, but so has my skin tone. It is less irritated and red and instead much more even.

I was sceptical when I first experimented with mineral foundation, not believing it could provide enough coverage for me because it's really just a powder...but these foundations are so buildable and buff into the skin beautifully with the complementing brushes so you can have a light coverage or if you need more, simply buff more into the skin. I also thought they would look really matte on the skin, but they still give a slight dewy glow leaving your skin looking healthy and fresh. They also both have SPF 15..what more could you want?!

When it comes to choosing between these two (please bare in mind these are just my personal favourites, there are others on the market) I prefer Laura Mercier. For me, I find it is a better colour match for my skin (I am 03 Real Sand) and you get a lot more product for your money. I also find the Laura Mercier brush is a lot less coarse than the Bare Minerals ones (although the Bare Minerals concealer brush is fantastic for targeting blemishes for a little more coverage).

However, the Bare Minerals does still stand it's ground. If you buy the Get Started Kit you get three brushes, two shades of foundation, a bronzer and a mineral veil (which claims to give a flawless finish) which is fantastic but again, I'm not keen on the colours for my skin tone and find their brushes too harsh since discovering Laura Mercier. Bare Minerals do offer a great range of colours though, including eyeshadows, blushes and even their new solid minerals in the READY range so it's worth experimenting with different brands and seeing which minerals work best for you! Let me know what mineral foundation you prefer...I'd love some new recommendations!

CHANEL Loveliness

So here's what was hidden inside the beautiful Chanel packaging in my last post. The nail polish in Infidèle is a gorgeous plumy pink, a perfect transition shade from Summer to Autumn and Winter. I'm not a massive fan of Chanel polishes for their lasting power, as they are known to chip more than others but I just can't resist all their stunning shades and glossy finishes. This shade is part of Chanel's limited edition collection 'Les Twin-Sets de Chanel' created exclusively for Fashion's Night Out. Chanel's latest limited edition offers three new shades - Infidèle, Délicatesse and Provocation - each with a coordinating shade of Rouge Allure Velvet lipstick. I wasn't as impressed with this collection as I thought I might have been but think I'll wear this shade frequently throughout the bleaker cold months.

And here is the lipgloss: Chanel Lèvres Scintillantes Glossimer in #119 Wild Rose. I'm not really a lipgloss kind of girl, and rarely stray from my lip balms and lipsticks, with the exclusion of my beloved Clarins Lip Perfecter but I thought I'd dive into the world of lip glosses while I was there. I was looking for a 'my lips but better' shade, although cliché, because I wanted one I could wear subtly every day. Wild Rose was picked out for me and so far I am really enjoying it. The colour is a gorgeous subtle pink with a slight iridescent finish and it lasts a good few hours before I have to reapply, so long as I don't eat or drink! The formulation is great with a creamy, non-sticky consistency. I even got a couple of free sample lip glosses in a very scary bright pink...more on that when I find the courage to try it! So far my experience with lip glosses has been good! Hoorah!

Next on my Chanel list: Eyeshadow due in Misty Soft 

Review: L'Oréal EverPure

My bathroom is constantly cluttered with half-emtpy bottles of products, and the main culprits are always shampoos and conditioners. I'm drawn in to new products when they arrive on the market, especially as they normally arrive with a 3 for 2 deal in Boots and Superdrug but unfortunately this results in an unnecessary amount of neglected products that have been replaced by the latest new purchase.

However, this didn't stop me when I spotted the L'Oréal Paris Hair Expertise EverPure range, which boasted to be a colour care system with no sulphates. I'm aware that sulphates are known for stripping the hair of it's natural oils as well as colour, leaving it dull, lifeless and faded. I have coloured hair myself, brightening up my darker blonde with brighter ashy highlights, and I often find my hair looking very damaged and neglected. There is nothing worse than brassy straw hair, and while this range doesn't combat the 'brassy blonde' problem, it does help with the dryness.

I chose the 'Colour Care & Moisture' but there different variants available including one that claims to help with volume. Since using the range I have noticed a clear difference and my hair feels so much softer and smoother to the touch. I'm not completely convinced by the shampoo as I have used previous shampoos that have left my hair feeling a lot cleaner, but the conditioners for me are fantastic, especially the 'Reinforcing Intensive Mask' which provides instant results; even when my hair is still wet it is noticeably smoother to the touch (as crazy as that sounds).

The star of the show me for me though has got to be the Shine Serum which much like any other serum is meant to leave the hair feeling silky smooth and in better condition, targeting dry and split ends. This does exactly that. After my experience with the conditioner I didn't expect it to get much better but after applying this I was left with incredibly soft hair which resulted in me constantly playing with it throughout the day.

The smell is distinctively menthol, with the mint making it smell almost like toothpaste? I can't say I love it, but it's easy to overlook. This range will definitely not fall into the neglected and forgotten about pile of shampoos and conditioners and I'll undoubtedly end up repurchasing.

L'Oréal EverPure is available at Boots and Superdrug at £5.99/£6.99 depending on each specific product.