Annabella

9 unnecessary skincare products according to Total Beauty

by Annabella on April 13, 2012 · 18 comments | in Minimalist living,Skincare

In the interest of my new beauty blogger pledge about not hoarding, I’m researching where I can cut back. I thought I’d tackle a list that Total Beauty came up with of 9 skincare products that we apparently don’t need….

TB says:  We don’t need separate face creams for face, neck, and chest

Skin Scrubs says: I agree, the stuff I put on my face goes on my neck and chest as well.

TB says: We don’t need super expensive skincare products

Skin Scrubs says: The most expensive skincare product I own at the moment is a face scrub from Fresh and while it’s good I don’t think its worth the $55 I paid for it!

TB says: We don’t need toner

Skin Scrubs says: Depending on what skincare brand you use, will you get told it’s unnecessary and others will tell you that you can’t live without it – I’m looking at you Clinique! I like using toner, maybe not all the time but I find it useful for removing face mask residue and freshening up my face.

TB says: We don’t need hydrating serum

Skin Scrubs says: I totally agree, I hate serums and they make my skin feel horrid and slimy.

TB says: We don’t need creams designed for specific body parts

Skin Scrubs says:  I agree somewhat, general body lotion is fine but I think heavier creams for hands and feet are necessary, they get more exposure and work harder. And for the very same reason I wouldn’t use heavier creams on other parts of my body as they aren’t needed.

TB says: We don’t need age-reversing products

Skin Scrubs says: They say prevention is better than a cure so I kind of agree with this one. But I also think there is nothing wrong with products that can make your skin look better as long as you don’t have un-realistic expectations. Cough Cough ahem Nanoblur!

TB says: We don’t need body firming products

Skin Scrubs says: I’ve never used body firming products, I like to think all my scrubbing away will keep my skin taught and smooth.

TB says: We don’t need sunscreen over an SPF 30

Skin Scrubs says: Most of my moisturisers have always had some kind of SPF in them. I’ve seen ones with very high SPF’s like 75/80 but as I don’t holiday on the Sun I’ve never needed them.

TB says: We don’t need face masks

Skin Scrubs says: Whatever! I love face masks and they always make my skin look better with regular use. If you’ve got oily skin you know using a clay-based mask a few times a week can work wonders.

Well there you have it, and notice that scrubs are not on the list which means that we should Exfoliate, Exfoliate, Exfoliate!

So what you ladies & gents think – do you agree with the list? Is there anything you could ditch from your routine?

Annabella’s review – Lush Dark Angels Fresh Facial Cleanser

by Annabella on April 11, 2012 · 14 comments | in Scrubs,Skincare

Dark Angels has been recommended to me by many Lushies in the past but I never quite got round to it until recently. I’ve had emails and Tweets from far and wide telling me how much I’ll adore it and that it’s very in tune with what I love: mud, sugar, and charcoal. As far as fabulous face scrubs go this should be on the Skin Scrubs top 10. But as you can probably tell from the tone of my writing it won’t be.

I would just like to say that the packaging seems to have changed recently and the packaging was one of the reasons that this ended up on my dump list. When I bought it, it came wrapped in some kind of bamboo leaf/palm frond which was kinda cute but when I went to use it became really annoying. You need to use small chunks to wash your face which is fine but it crumbles like Feta cheese and gets everywhere! This is similar to Lush Herbalism, and while tearing off small chunks of something to use it has a novelty factor it does get tedious after while. I’ve ended up using it in the shower to minimise the mess!

Now this is a great exfoliator but I did find it a bit scratchy as the sugar chunks aren’t evenly sized. I find manual facial exfoliators that contain sugar/salt work best when they are evenly crushed rather than random size chunks but that’s just me. I’ve ended using this on my neck, decolletage, and elbows and found it more useful as a face mask. You also really have to love the scent of charcoal and sandalwood to use this near your face…..

I wouldn’t buy this again – it’s more hassle than it’s worth. This is one of the reason’s I love Lush though, they make loads of different products and one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

So where are all the Dark Angels disciples then?

He said/she said – Wash with Joe Coffemint Invigorating Bodywash

by Annabella on April 8, 2012 · 4 comments | in Shower gel

Annabella 

Goodness gracious me it’s been a long time since we did a he/she said review. I guess we haven’t really agreed to disagree on much recently but when I was sent Wash with Joe I thought it was the perfect opportunity to also get James’ opinion.

I had never heard of WWJ so I was quite excited about the thought of coffee shower gel, and who wouldn’t be right? I have to admit I was a bit disappointed when I first opened it up to smell it as I thought I’d be hit with the scent of fresh ground roast but the peppermint essential oil is also strong. The scent has grown on me though and it reminds of a Starbucks Peppermint Mocha they sell at Christmas. As you’ve probably read before I’m not a big fan of full on peppermint but the first ingredient in this is coffee so it does balance it out. Word of warning though ladies be careful when you wash your lady bits…..

The coffee and peppermint are a fabulous powerhouse for making one clean and refreshed. The the reason I love using coffee body scrub is for it’s deodorising properties – basically if you stink washing/scrubbing with coffee will make you feel human again. Speaking of scrubbing, Joe you know where I’m going with this don’t you? Wash with Joe Coffeemint Hardcore Body Scrub anyone? YES PLEASE :D

James

When Annabella told me that she was being sent a coffee bodywash I didn’t believe her but even I was quite excited when I saw the big bottle. You know when I met her over 4 years ago I never drank coffee and now I’m washing myself with it – how did that happen?

This is a great bodywash when you feel grubby but I wouldn’t use it everyday as I think it would lose it’s impact. I’ve been using it a two times a week although in the summer I will use it more. I don’t know how well this would travel in a gym bag but I can imagine this would also be great to use after a sweaty workout. I do this think this on the pricey side for £24 but the first ingredient is coffee so at least you know where they spent the money. I also like the bold minimalist packaging, it’s not trying to be too manly or fussy. I’d be happy for Annabella to buy this again!

This is available at The Grooming Clinic