This month’s beauty review will include skin care, hair and body products, as well as fragrance.

Skin care

Nexcare Acne Absorbing Covers: These 3M silicone stickers (or patches) are incredible! Each pack comes with 24 small and 12 big round patches. Just stick them on your pimple and wake up with no bumps! Some alternatives are Dream Dots and Cosrx.

Atomy Evening Care Peeling Gel: This is my favourite product from Atomy. It’s very satisfying to see dead and dirty skin removed and feel the soft skin underneath. Although this can be used 2-3x/week, I like using this once or twice a week. 120ml should last for up to 2 years. I have been using this for a year now and I have at least a quarter left.

Atomy Evening Care Peel off Mask: This painless peel-off mask is so gentle that you won’t have to worry about any redness after peeling. Although I don’t see anything removed from my nose, it leaves my skin as smooth as a newborn baby. This is also good for up to 2 years although this will probably be used up by the end of the year!

Sisley – Express Flower Gel: I hardly use this gel because I usually forget to apply hydrating masks like this one. When I do use this gel, it’s on hot sunny days or during winter when my skin’s dry. Mum loves this French-brand so maybe it’s better for more mature skin?

Hair

Lush – Jason and the Argan Oil Shampoo Bar: I was so excited to try this rose-smelling shampoo bar but, as most reviewers commented, the shampoo bar disintegrated pretty quickly. First, I accidentally dropped the shampoo bar in the shower so it split in half and could hardly be put back together, even with then help of water. Although most shampoo bars should last for 3-6 months, this shampoo bar was nothing within 2 months. I prefer using Godiva for silky, soft, and jasmine-fragranced hair.

Herbal Essences – Bee Strong Shampoo: I love this honey and apricot scented shampoo! This shampoo lathers very well and leaves hair nicely perfumed for the day.

Body

Na Na – Bird’s Nest Essence Whitening & Nourishing Hand Renewal Cream: I received this as a gift and now that the hand lotion is almost finished, I’m sad that I can’t find this online anywhere! This Japanese hand cream is paraben-free, has no mineral oils, and no silicones. It is the holy grail of hand lotions! I love that it doesn’t feel dry after applying nor does it feel oily that I want to wipe it off. If someone knows where I can get more, please let me know!

Bionsen Mineral Protective Deodorant: I’d been trying to use more ‘natural’ deodorants, ones that are aluminium-free, so I randomly picked up this one at Boots. It’s also paraben-free and uses Japanese Spa Minerals. I liked it for the first few uses but then realised that it stopped deodorising odours. 😦

L’Occitane – Verbena Cooling Deodorant: As Bionsen didn’t work for me, I decided to try a deodorant from one of my favourite brands, L’Occitane. This stick deodorant does not contain any aluminium salts or alcohol. Although it won’t prevent one from sweating, it will help neutralise odours. It is only cooling when first applied but won’t keep armpits fresh. As for the verbena and citrus essential oil scent, it’s very light so I doubt others around you will be able to smell it. It’s just enough to mask any b.o. 🙂

Asprey – Purple Water Soap Bar: This soap is used at the Goring Hotel’s guest rooms. I like to use this for my hands because it doesn’t leave a soapy feeling like some soaps will. Although the other Purple Water products smell rather masculine in my opinion (citrus with spicy undertones), the scented soap is the least cologne-scented of them all.

Fragrance

Body Shop – English Dawn White Gardenia: Product design is very important and the design of a temple in an English garden caught my attention. This is a very feminine fragrance with gardenias but it’s so light that the scent fades

Heathcote & Ivory – Blush Rose Eau de Toilette: I was looking for a new ‘perfume’ to replace my almost-used-up Body Shop English Garden and found this one by chance. Most rose perfumes smell artificial or too musky. This one smelled like fresh cut roses and reminded me of my Yankee Candle – Fresh Cut Roses that I had to get it. Not only is this eau de toilette one of the best-priced fragrances out there at £9 for 50ml, the scent lingers longer than most eau de toilettes!