Is it Spring yet? Really I’ve had enough of grey skies and cold weather and I’m sure anyone else in the UK will agree with me. Now yellow nail polish isn’t something I wear a lot of but I really liked the idea of it with gold and low and behold I had some gold glitter in my nail polish box!

Sinful Colors ‘All About You’ was purchased in my native US at Rite Aid and I love it! Dries quickly and goes on smoothly too. Barry M ‘Yellow Ice Cream’ was part of my Barry M craze last summer and I’ve not used it since I bought it oops!

This is two coats of Barry M and unfortunately this has serious cuticle drag so you probably need about three coats if you want total opaqueness. I also put on two coats of Sinful Colors, it didn’t need it but I was feeling greedy.

So what do you think of my gold fingers? What nail polishes are you wearing now?

Hello everyone, I hope you are enjoying the glorious and much needed sunshine if you are here in the UK and if not I hope the weather is good where you are too. You may (or may not) have noticed that Skin Scrubs has been a bit quiet since the New Year. I’m approaching my 2nd blogging anniversary next month and I’ve been giving a lot of thought about whether or not blogging is something I still enjoy. I think every blogger out there (beauty or otherwise) has asked themselves the same question at some point. When you are short on time that you aren’t likely to get back anytime soon, you have to think about what is really important. Well after thinking about it for the last two months the answer to the question is ‘yes’ I still want to blog. I’ve spent a lot of time and effort over last two years taking pictures, writing reviews, building readership, and making some great friends along the way and I don’t want that to stop.

Having said that I don’t think my blog can continue in it’s current format with the same subject matter. As much as I love beauty there are other sides to me too. After being at TOWIB last weekend and participating in the #bbloggers conversations on Twitter, it’s quite obvious everyone likes to get to know the blogger behind the blog. Now I have no intentions in writing about every little detail of my life, but I wanted a place to share my other interests. I had thought about starting another blog to do this but if I’m short on time, having two or more blogs to update will be impossible along with all the social media accounts that I seem to be accumulating. The basic fundamentals of Skin Scrubs will always stay the same – my endless pursuit of new scrubs, skincare, shower gels, and anything that makes my skin soft and smooth. However between reviews I will also be talking about:

• Low carb eating and recipes – This is part of a long term weight loss journey for me and I know there are others out there in the same boat
• Cross promoting other bloggers – I’m pretty rubbish at this, I’ve got links in my blog roll and I try to tweet about others but I know I can do better. There are some bloggers out there who’ve recently started businesses and I’d love to tell you all about them. I think women should support each in their endeavours.
• Living a minimalist lifestyle – this is something I’ve been interested in for several years now. I don’t actually have that much stuff but as a beauty blogger I tend to hoard like crazy and it’s not really necessary. This is why it’s so important to do my ‘empties’ posts every month and not replace them with loads of other stuff that takes ages to use. I want to find a balance of trying new things but making sure I don’t end up with 20+ body lotions again.

I hope these changes will keep you coming back to my blog, I do have a lot to say and it seems silly not to put it all in once place. I might lose some readers but hopefully I’ll gain more who share (or don’t share) my views. Ultimately blogging has enabled me to meet some amazing people out there and long may it continue!

Thanks for reading!

One of the things I love getting done when I visit my mom is a pedicure from Studio 3 in Athens, Tennessee. Keisha, the girl that also does my mom’s tootsies does amazing pedicures. And the best thing about it is that she uses a callus shaver to take every last bit of dead skin off your feet. If you’ve never had your feet shaved, you’re missing out, although I’ve found it difficult to get this done in the UK. Many beauty technicians have told me it’s not common practice here.

It has been a long, long time since Keisha went to work on my hooves so luckily I was sent a callus shaver from Japonesque to review recently. I was already familiar with the Japonesque brand, having used some of their makeup tools when I was at the London College of Fashion. When the shaver arrived at work, I squealed with delight and amused my colleagues with my new toy. This comes in a really nice box and would be great for gift, I know that sounds a bit daft but I’d be happy to get one!

So what does this bad boy do? Well it takes off all that hard skin on the bottom of your feet that you’ve been trying to get rid of with foot scrub and pumice stone. While things thing have their place, I think it’s fair to say that some hard skin isn’t coming off unless you take drastic measures. The best thing about using a callus shaver is that it is gentle and doesn’t scratch the way scrubs can. Yes you do need to be careful, and this isn’t recommended if you are diabetic or a hemophiliac. The shaver itself is also easy to grip as the handle is a smooth matte finish plastic. It’s always best to soak your feet first or have a shower/bath before you start shaving.

Because I love you all, I won’t be showing you before and after shots of my feet or a little pile of dead skin. I’m sure you all have vivid enough imaginations about how smooth the bottom of my feet have become. I’d much rather leave you with some photos from the Japonesque catalogue which are far more exciting…

Yes, those are spatulas that you see in top left-hand corner. Everyone should have spatulas! 

Play pick-n-mix with these gorgeous palettes, and the divider can be used to make custom shades. 

Are you on the eternal quest for perfect brows? This brow groomer has scissors and comb to guide you. 

 Has anyone else tried Japonesque goodies? What did you think?

I don’t know about you but I’ll be happy to see the back of winter – it feels like it’s been going on forever. Having said that, the snow here in Nottingham coupled with sunshine has made it a great day to take photos.

So I was going through my stash the other day and I remembered that I bought some KIKO shades in Paris and it occurred to me that 346 looks similar to Model’s Own Grace Green. And you know there is only one scientific way to see if they are dupes – paint your nails and take bazillion photos!

This is two coats of each and it’s clear that Grace Green is a notch or two lighter than 346. These would also be good for a leopard, ombre, or camouflage mani. I know there is a real buzz about KIKO especially now that we can get the goods here in UK shops and online. I think they are going to give other brands a run for the their money, they’ve got some great shades of nail polish and makeup along with being very affordable.

Tell me what KIKO shades have you fallen in love with!

Well there hasn’t been a whole lotta bloggin’ going on this month due to time constraints but I have been plowing through my stash like a good Skin Scrubber! This blue basket that you see in the picture is my official ‘empties’ holder that I use to keep them all in till the end of the month. Does anyone else have a designated container for their empties or is it just me?

Studs

I really thought I was doing well on the shower gel and body lotion front but after examining the evidence I’ve used up more hair products than anything else. I’ve now made it my mission for February to get grips with all the half used body lotions and creams that have taken up residence in my bedroom. My shower gels are getting used, I rotate them every week.

So moving from left to right top to bottom:

Cutex Nail Polish Remover – I’ve always used Cutex because that is the brand my mom uses.

Le Petit Marseillais Shower Gel in Apple & Rhubarb and Cherry Tomato - Yes, them again. They rock – we all know this by now.

Molton Brown – These bottles were just begging to be used, they’ve been half empty for ages. Two of my favourites Warming Eucalyptus and Vitamin A, B, & C.

Bath & Body Works – Pumpkin Spice Body Lotion and Shower Gel, the scent is one of my long time favourites. Bali Mango Creamy Body Scrub this lasted forever and I cut the packaging apart to get the last bits out.

Sephora Face Scrub – James and I both loved this, I think he used it more than me!

Haus of Gloi Samhain Body Scrub – again we all know this is great stuff.

Le Petit Marseillais Shea Butter Hair Masque – reviewed last week on the post below this one.

Naked Curl Defining Shampoo and Weightless Conditioner - I love Naked hair products as does my hair.

Molton Brown Jackberry Hairwash - James uses this, he has expensive taste!

The Body Shop Rainforest Balance Shampoo - love the scent and great for oily mops like mine. I would buy the full size one.

Aussie Miracle Moist Conditioner - this saved my life as I ran out of conditioner and only realised it while I was already in the shower with a wet head.

Duds

Not many disappointments this month which can only be a good thing right?

Fresh Brown Sugar Body Cream and Sugar Lip Polish - both overpriced and over-hyped. I used the lip polish on my elbows in the end.

Molton Brown Toko Yuzu Shower Gel – Do not adjust your screens, yes that is an MB shower gel you see before you in the ‘duds’ pile. As you know I love my MB shower gels but this one totally Meh. It doesn’t really smell of anything and I just can’t get excited about it. There I said it.

100% Pure Blood Orange Hydrating Body Wash – Now this should have been fabulous but stupid here didn’t realise that it was just going to be foam. I like thick gels for showering not fluff. I used this as a hand wash in the end as I wasn’t going to waste it but never again!

So there you have it, and I still haven’t bought anything this month so spending ban has gone v. well I must say. I wasn’t even tempted by the umpteen discount vouchers that landed in my inbox from Beauty Expert, Mankind, Lookfantastic, and HQhair begging me to come back.

So it’s off the recycling bin with this lot – what have you used up this month? Anything you’re glad to see the back of?

Are you bored yet of me banging on about French brand Le Petit Marseillais yet? No – good because I still have more products to talk about from my November Paris shopping trip. I bought some bits from their ‘Karite’ range which is translated as Shea Butter in English. I got a repairing hair masque, hand cream, and…body scrub surprise surprise!

Masque Nourrissant – As you can see from the picture above, this is a lovely thick creamy hair mask and it smells a bit nutty and creamy like a desert. I used this at least 3 times a week and it kept my frizzy/flyaway hair in line. I would definitely re-buy this.

Creme mains Nourrissante – This is a fast absorbing hand cream that I keep in my drawer at work. It’s a must for this time of year, the air in our office makes me feel like a dried out husk!

Soins Gommant Corps – This is a good basic body scrub if you didn’t want to spend a lot of money. I prefer to use on dry skin then rinse it off for more friction. It leaves a slightly oily residue so you don’t have to use a moisturiser afterwards if you didn’t want to. This is also has that unusual creamy nutty scent.

I have no idea how much these things were individually, but I know they weren’t expensive. I like that they have a full range of products in ‘Karite’. I know why but bath and body products that match always make me happy. If you are headed to France anytime soon make sure you head to a Monoprix store to check out the goodies!

It’s been a busy week at the Skin Scrubs household. I’m a trustee for a local women’s charity and involved with other charities with the business James and I have started. Work has also been crazy too – it seems like everyone is now back from their Christmas hols and my inbox exploded with emails this week. What does all this mean? Yep – no time to blog!

Today I just wanted to share with you some lovely things that were made for me at Christmas by some fabulous friends of mine.

I received this lovely handmade bracelet from Ms. Red aka Red’s Beauty Blog just before Christmas and I loved it so much I had her make one for my friend Lauren too! I think the T-bar clasp and angel are such nice little details.

Cherry, my work colleague made this for me. She’s a super crafty creative kinda gal and knows how much I love the colour green! I’ve got this hanging on my chest of drawers and it looks really sweet.

This amazing thing is a handmade knitted scarf-let made by the lovely friend who also made my wedding dress. I love the little ‘poison’ apples as I like to call them. You can see some of her other handy work on her website Pinky & Boo.

Well 2012 is officially 13 days old and I though I’d better get my resolutions in quick before I forget about them. I don’t know about you but I always like to look back at what I’ve said previously as a benchmark to see what I’ve achieved (or haven’t as the case may be).

Last year I said I would do the following things:

1. Sort my eyebrows – I’ve done this with the help of Debbie and her suggestion to use Clinique Superfine Liner for Brows. I’ve also stopped plucking my eyebrows on a daily basis so they look a lot better. My left eyebrow is pretty much perfect and my right is slowly catching up.

2. Purge my makeup bag and start over – Well I did ditch a few things but I’ve added more to my collection. I still don’t wear makeup on a regular basis like I wanted to but it’s hard to change habits easily. I have a acquired about 40 nail polishes over the last year and more green eyeliners so that can only be a good thing right?

3. Lose 3 stone before my wedding(s) – Unfortunately this did not happen. James and I were doing really well and the closer it got to the weddings the more stressed out we became and our low-carb eating plan went out the window.

So with that in mind here are my resolutions for this year:

1. Losing weight – I’ve set myself a goal of 4 stone this year. We are low-carbing it again as I need to overcome this addiction I have to pasta. I can eat plates of it and I don’t stop even if I’m full. Not good!

2. Get our business off the ground – I’ve not talked about it here and I’m keeping quiet for the moment but James have been working hard so at some point we can work from home.

3. Curb the beauty spending – No, I’m not going cold turkey. I just won’t be hauling anything this year. After my spending ban is over I will be sticking to a budget.

So what resolutions/changes do you want to make this year?

Fresh is one of those brands I’ve been lusting after for like forever, so I knew I was going to get my hands on something from them when I was at Sephora in the US. By the time I got to Sephora my cash was running low so I was just going to get the Sugar Lip Polish as I’m always looking for a different lip scrubbing experience. My cousin Lela was shopping with me and she pointed out that the Fresh Sugar Lust Set was better value as it was only a few dollars more at $28 and that you get three products rather than one lip scrub for $22.50. I’m glad I listened to her as you’ll see below:

Brown Sugar Body Cream – This is a very nice thick body cream and absorbs quickly so you can get dressed straight away. It definitely keeps my skin moisturised throughout the day and you can tell it’s high quality. However there are two issues I have with it; the scent and the price.

The fragrance is ‘an addictive iconic scent’ apparently but all I smell is Lemon Cif bathroom cleaner. I guess one would expect a sweet sugary vanilla scent because of the name but it is nowhere near. It has stopped me from using it on my upper body as I don’t want to really smell it all day, so it’s been used mostly on my legs. The price for a full size tube is $35 which is too expensive in my book for a daily moisturiser.

Sugar Lip Polish – So the original reason I headed to Sephora was also a disappointment. Now I know this doesn’t say ‘lip scrub’ rather ‘lip polish’ which would indicate to me that it will be less harsh than other lip exfoliators I’ve tried. But this actually does nothing to my lips as far as I can tell. They don’t feel buffed, exfoliated, or polished just oily. The only thing I actually like about this is the scent which reminds me of Coca Cola. This has brown sugar crystals, Shea butter, and grapeseed oil but all I could feel was the butter and oil. As I said above the price for a full size pot is $22.50.

Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15 – This is definitely the best product of the bunch. I’ve been using it as an intensive lip treatment at night and it’s really helped to keep my lips from cracking with all the dry winter air. I like it because it isn’t waxy/heavy but stays on the lips so I don’t have to re-apply it every five minutes. This also has a lemon type of scent but not like the body cream above. I probably would re-buy this but as I have so many lip balms/salves I won’t need to any time soon. This retails for $22.50 and also comes in tinted versions for those who like a bit of colour with their lip treatments.

So I guess 1 out of 3 isn’t bad? I think Fresh stuff is beautifully packaged but very expensive for what it is. I wanted to buy the Umbrian Clay Treatment Bar too but it was $38 and as beauty crazy as I am, I can’t justify that much for what is essentially a bar of soap! Maybe I’ll put it on my birthday wish list for later on in the year. I also purchased Sugar Face Polish and I will be reviewing that in a few weeks.

You can buy Fresh products in the UK but they only have one store in the Marylebone area of London. There isn’t a UK version of the Fresh website however the Marylebone store will do mail order.

Now that I’ve been married for over three months, I thought I would impart to you some sage advice about weddings. I know some of you are getting hitched soonish, or want to get hitched or are just thinking about it for the future. What makes me qualified to give out advice, well I’ve been married three times. For those of you who don’t know, I was married before many years ago and I had two wedding ceremonies with James in September last year. Yes technically that’s 3 weddings and 2 different men but I think you know what I mean!

Food

When it comes to choosing the food make sure it’s something you would eat normally. It’s all well and good having duck confit with cranberry cous cous and rocket but you will be hungry and so will your guests. The last thing you want to see is people pushing food around their plates and hearing them mumble about being hungry later on. I’ve been to several weddings over the years and everyone always looks uptight with formal sit down food, we had a BBQ and it went down a treat. If your invitations have extended to your guests children, any kind of finger food is a good idea.

Guests

This is always a bone of contention with any family no matter how well you all get along. There will be members of your clan who would rather eat broken glass than speak to each other – so what do you do? Well it’s your wedding and you should invite who you want. If Uncle Billy Bob doesn’t get along with your cousin Charlene then tough, he’ll get over it or he just won’t attend and that’s his problem not yours. This is the part of the wedding where the focus manages to turn away from the bride and groom and onto other people’s issues. If it gets to that stage, remember to re-focus and think about what the day is for – you and your partner!

Wedding dress/Flowers/Table Decorations

These are the things that start hemorrhaging money from your purse at an alarming rate. As beauty bloggers/addicts we all know that the more expensive something is doesn’t mean it’s better. So try applying this when you are looking for your dress, flowers, shoes, and all the other little bits and bobs. When planning my American wedding, I think my mom got sucked into listening to a lot of wedding planners who came out with loads of crazy ideas. My reaction was this – ‘Is having (insert frippery here) at the wedding going to enhance it or make it better’. If the answer is no you don’t need it. Celebrities or people who think they are celebrities have the money to spend waste, you don’t.

Honeymoon

This should be the most important part of your planning! As much as I loved having my two weddings and seeing everyone have a good time, the best part was flying off to Aruba for a week with James. It was just me, him and a few flamingoes walking along the beach and it was pure bliss. I would suggest you try to have the best honeymoon you can afford, and if you are struggling see if you can cut back on some wedding costs to get the honeymoon you want. If deleting Uncle Billy Bob and cousin Charlene from the wedding list means you can go to go Fiji, then do it!

Any other advice out there for brides to be?