Having finished the moisturiser I was using, I popped into The Body Shop to purchase a new one which included an SPF as we entered the warmer months... Never mind the fact that it was snowing, I like to be prepared!

Explaining what I was after the sales assistant quickly led me to the Skin Defence Multi-Protection Essence SPF50 which I promptly purchased after testing a bit on my hand, liking the scent and being seduced by the very high SPF.

When I got home I had a little wobble as I wasn't entirely sure that what I had purchased was indeed a moisturiser... having used it a few times, I didn't feel the need to use a separate moisturiser but I am still not entirely sure what it is... ha ha.

The Body Shop says 

From the effects of the sun to the environment we live in - we’re constantly facing daily aggressors that can damage our skin. Introducing NEW Skin Defence Multi-Protection Essence SPF 50 PA++++, our strongest multi-protection to help protect your skin day after day. A feather light, milk-to-water essence with broad spectrum UV filters, brightening red algae and Vitamin C, to help protect skin against multiple skin aggressors, while providing utmost comfort.
UVA Protection: PA++++: Helps protect skin from UVA rays, including long UVA rays, which reach deep within the skin and accelerate the process of skin ageing.
UVB protection: SPF 50 helps protect skin from UVB rays that trigger redness and damage the skin’s surface.
Anti-dullness: With red algae extract and vitamin C to brighten skin for a more luminous complexion.

My thoughts 

Well I have to say that this is up there as a staple in my every day beauty routine. This essence, featuring a light and runny lotion consistency which instantly absorbs leaving skin feeling soft with no trace of tackiness. It offers very high sun protection and as mentioned above, has a pleasant delicate floral scent. As promised it does what it says on the packaging ... it really does brighten the skin and gives a lovely healthy looking glow effect. It also works beautifully as a primer under foundation, when applying Estee Lauder Double Wear it literally glides on across the skin, my skin look fabulous.

10/10 I will definitely be repurchasing.

The Body Shop says -

Cleanse and nourish your skin with our rich cleansing butter. A luxurious way to remove every last trace of make-up, while purifying, cleansing and refreshing your skin, leaving it soft to the touch.

Suitable for sensitive skin and contact lens wearers
Camomile extract from Norfolk, England
Clean and silky-soft feel
Removes all types of make-up


My thoughts 

Well for a very reasonable £10 (even cheaper if you use a discount code/offer that is usual knocking around) this is a very effective cleansing butter. A small amount is really all that is needed. You apply to the skin and it melts in your fingers as you massage it into your face.
I bought it originally in the deep mid winter and wanted something really gentle and suitable for sensitive skin because I suffer from skin psoriasis. This was a brilliant purchase. True to its claims, it effectively removes makeup and is gentle enough to use on the eyes. After rinsing skin feels clean, fresh, hydrated and super soft. As an added bonus it has a gorgeous and very pleasant light floral scent. I can't fault it.

10/10

The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter costs £10 

The Body Shop says 

Refine and revive your skin with our Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask. Inspired by Ayurvedic traditions, this 100% vegan tingling clay mask is infused with bamboo charcoal, green tea leaves and organic tea tree oil. And it’s been formulated without parabens, paraffin, silicone or mineral oil. This invigorating charcoal face mask draws out impurities and refines the appearance of pores for healthy-looking skin with a glow that shows.

I have already reviewed The Body Shop Oils of Life collection which gave me great results so I was keen to try the latest product in the range - Oils of Life Sleeping Cream - when it popped through my letterbox.



Twitter followers will know that since the birth of my second son 10 weeks ago I have suffered with psoriasis which has been getting progressively worse, I have avoided using products that may irritate the skin especially as it has spread to patches on my face. I have also noticed my face feeling much drier than usual and so was feeling the need to try something to restore my face to feeling balanced, well moisturised and beautifully soft.

As my hormones are beginning to settle down, I have noticed a very, very slight improvement so have ventured into giving this Sleeping Cream a go...

The Body Shop say

A night time cream to deeply nourish, visibly revitalize and intensely firm while you sleep. We searched the world and selected 3 Precious Seed Oils known for their revitalizing and repairing properties. By infusing them with 7 Powerful Essential Oils, into a refreshing yet cushiony cream, we've created an Intensely Revitalizing Sleeping Cream that replenishes like a dream (almost)
A night time cream, to moisturise, revitalise and nourish the skin whilst you sleep.

• Skin looks and feels:
• Revitalised
• More supple
• Nourished
• Visibly Rested
• Reduced appearance of ageing

The Oils of Life Intensively Revitalising Sleeping Cream contains the same 3 precious seed oils contained in the rest of the Oils of Life range - Black Cumin seed oil, Camellia seed oil and Rosehip seed oil. The 7 essential oils are - Lavender, Rosemary Leaf, Geranium, Roman Camomile, Marjoram Leaf, Orange Peel and Lavendum.

Beautifully packaged gift sets are one of the bonuses of Christmas and is something that The Body Shop does particularly well.

I love this one featuring the iconic and best selling White Musk fragrance.

A white tub shaped parcel complete with a purple satin bow, slide the door across to reveal three fabulous and generous sized products from the White Musk collection and inside this lovely wardrobe is a purple striped interior.




How pretty!

What you get -

White Musk EDT 100ml 
White Musk Shower Gel 125ml 
White Musk Body Lotion 125ml 

For those of you unfamiliar with the White Musk scent it is an absolutely gorgeous light and clean fresh scent featuring a mix of notes including cruelty free musk, lily, iris, rose and vanilla.

The Gift Set costs £45 

Water Aid - With each sale of this selected gift The Body Shop will provide a day's safe water for a family in Ethiopia.

*PR Sample

A short while ago I was given the opportunity to review The Body Shop Oils Of Life skincare collection. It took me a little while to start the regime,  regular readers will know that I am pregnant and have been very poorly with hyperemesis gravidarum, but now I have been able to give it a good month of trying out the products and am ready to give my views.

The Body Shop say 

Give new life to your skin with our new collection infused with black cumin seed oil, rosehip seed oil and camellia seed oil, known for their supreme revitalising and repairing properties on skin. This daily routine has been created to intensely revitalise skin, revive radiance and leave your skin feeling nourished.

My thoughts 

I was really looking forward to trying these products as HG had really taken a toll on my skin and I was in dire need of something that was going to boost and support my skin so that my vitality returned.

Intensely Revitalising Essence Lotion £15 (150ml)

The Body Shop say 

This unique bi-phase oil [oil + water] formula is your essential first step after cleansing to prepare and activate your skin for the next steps of the routine.
By infusing 3 precious seed oils from around the world, known for their revitalising and repairing properties on skin – Black Cumin seed oil from Egypt, Camellia seed oil from China and Rosehip seed oil from Chile – with a powerful blend of essential oils, we created a lightweight daily facial oil to intensely revitalise skin, instantly replenish moisture and revive radiance. Signs of ageing appear visibly reduced. Made from 99% oils of natural origin, this lightweight, quickly-absorbed formula effortlessly melts onto skin leaving a non-sticky, velvety-soft finish.

• Potent daily facial oil infused with 3 precious seed oils from around the world to give new life to your skin
• Cold-pressed seed oils to preserve potent properties and ensure the utmost affinity to skin.
• Made from 99% oils of natural origin
• Lightweight and quickly-absorbed, non-sticky finish
• Signs of ageing appear reduced - skin looks revitalised and feels more elastic and firmer*

My thoughts

By infusing 3 precious seed oils from around the world, known for their revitalising and repairing properties on skin – Black Cumin seed oil from Egypt, Camellia seed oil from China and Rosehip seed oil from Chile – into a dewy-fresh gel cream with illuminating micro-pearls, we created a lighter alternative to the cream that intensely revitalises skin. Skin feels instantly freshly hydrated and suppler. From the moment it touches the skin, this Intensely Revitalising Gel Cream delicately melts onto the face, leaving a fresh light finish without a greasy feel.

The latest limited collection from The Body Shop is really quite special. I love the bathroom shelf appeal of the dark but bold packaging which instantly appeals. Even better however are the products.

I was sent a few items from the Smoky Poppy range which is infused with poppy extract from Turkey. The collection features no less than seven skincare and fragrance products, everything from body scrubs, oils and lotions to a shower gel and fragrance.

First up is the Smoky Poppy Body Lotion 250ml £8

The Body Shop say 

The lightweight lusciousness of our Smoky Poppy Body Lotion leaves skin moisturised, feeling desirably soft and sensuously smooth.

• Euphoric scent
• Lightweight moisture
• Leaves skin touchably soft

My thoughts 

I love the scent of this light body lotion, it has a gentle warmth but retains a certain freshness to it. The lotion is light and easy to apply, absorbing almost immediately and leaving skin feeling super soft and hydrated.

Smoky Poppy Eau De Toilette 30ml £8.50

The Body Shop Say 

This fragrance contains a captivating blend of sultry spices, elegant florals and earthy woody notes. You’re only a spritz away from seduction.

• Light and wearable
• Euphoric scent
• Community Fair Trade alcohol

My thoughts 

This tiny bottle spray is perfect for travel. The scent is deep and sultry with spices, woody notes and intense florals. However although the scent is seductive and smoky...as it is an EDT it still manages to be light after the initial first spray in which its heaviness doesn't last.

I would say though that personally for me this isn't really a Summer scent but more of an Autumn/Winter scent so it is curious that it has been launched now as we are going into Spring. I like its warmth for the colder days.

Lip & Cheek Velvet Stick in shade Poppy Bronze 30 £12




I love the idea of specific 2in1 products for the lip and cheek but have found that I tend to prefer the product for one or the other .. however in the case of the Lip & Cheek Velvet Stick I am pleased to say it works equally well as both. I have been wearing shade Poppy Bronze which is a gorgeous pink/peach shade.

The Body Shop say 

Give your lips and cheeks a naturally flushed glow with our first chubby sticks. Enjoy a colour sensation with an exquisite velvet matte finish.

• Matte finish
• Decadent velvet texture
• With Community Fair Trade marula oil

My thoughts 

This chubby stick style product is really easy to use and a simple application on the cheeks and a bit of blending and the result is a beautiful natural and healthy, radiant looking flush. I loved the glow it gave to my cheeks and it lasts. Despite stating that this gives a matte finish I find that the finish is slightly frosty when worn on the lips, personally this isn't a problem for me as it all added to the overall 'glow'.It isn't drying on the lips either but you do need to ensure your lips are in good condition as it did highlight any dryness. I found the colour more like a tint at first, but it is buildable so you can get a stronger, deeper colour if you prefer it.

Here I am wearing the Lip & Cheek Velvet Stick on my lips and cheeks in shade Poppy Bronze


A perfect Spring product.

I am not a major fan of big palettes of eye shadows as I find that I always seem to use up my favourites whilst other shades are languishing barely touched, but what I am a fan of are quad palettes that provide a step by step guide on how to use and where to put the shades. A bit like painting by numbers, they make my life a lot easier.. as soon as I saw this limited edition 4 Colour Eye Palette in Smoky Plum from The Body Shop I knew I had to try it. I thought the shades would look beautiful with green eyes.

The eye shadows come in a sturdy black casing with a mirror and it also features two brushes which fit inside -a mini eyeshadow brush and a mini eyeliner brush. This is a really nice compact and is small enough to carry around if you do need to touch up. The eyeshadows are very smooth to apply, easy to blend and build on if necessary and I found I had very little fall out. Excellent quality and a nice result. Foolproof in fact.


Close up of the four shades



Swatches


The finished Smokey Plum Eyes look complete with lashings of mascara and lined with Inika's Black Caviar eyeliner pencil, I love it.





The Body Shop 02 Smoky Plum Eye Shadow Palette costs £15

*PR Sample

How cute is this Christmas Gift from The Body Shop ?


The Joyful Gingerbread House features two festive scents - Cranberry Joy and Ginger Sparkle and contains 2 x 60ml Shower Gels,  2 x 50ml Body Butters and a cream crinkle shower puff.

Both scents are utterly gorgeous and exactly what you would expect from The Body Shop - a real Christmas treat.

Cranberry Joy is sweet and fruity.

Ginger Sparkle is a little bit spicy and yet fresh (my favourite and I normally hate anything Ginger!!)

The Gingerbread School House Gift Box is a Community Fair Trade Box handmade by Get Paper Industries in Nepal and by purchasing this gift (along with many others this Christmas) you will be helping to raise money for The School Project. £200,000 from the sale of gifts will go towards building 5 schools for the Fair Trade Partners. A worthy cause.

The Joyful Gingerbread House costs £17 and is available from The Body Shop

*PR Sample

I have to admit to being guilty of not visiting The Body Shop that often and really I think I should as there are some real affordable gems to be found in there, especially the skin products. An amazing product is their Hemp Hand Protector Cream which I reviewed earlier in the year and now there is this facial moisturiser which I have been really impressed with.

Vitamin E Moisture Cream

The Body Shop says

Daily antioxidant protection and moisturisation
Suitable for all skin types

Our best selling daily moisturiser hydrates skin, leaving it feeling soft and smooth.
Hydrates and protects
Light and easily absorbed
Leaves skin soft and healthy-looking

My thoughts 

Light and hydrating with a subtle scent this is a gorgeous and rather fabulous simple moisturiser that does the trick nicely. I love its gel/cream texture which absorbs instantly and leaves the skin feeling soft and comfortable all day.  A no gimmicks basic moisturiser that does what it says on the pot.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Cream costs £10 for 50ml.

*PR Sample

Our best-selling Hemp Hand Protector helps soften and protect hands. It is dermatologically tested for very dry skin and contains Community Trade hemp seed oil.
Relieves very dry skin
Restores moisture and suppleness

July's Issue of iN Magazine is out now - take a look at my beauty page where I am showing you how to get the perfect Summer ready feet

You can read the feature by clicking this link - http://issuu.com/in-magazine.com/docs/inmagjuly12digi/33

Happy reading and let me know what you think :-)

My sister gave this to me when she got it free from The Body Shop after making a purchase as she knows how much I love lip glosses.

This one is number 10 - Perfectly Pink

Hi-Shine Lip Treatment is described as a range of ultra-shiny, sheer tinted, wet-look lip glosses that offer intense moisturisation and conditioning for the lips... well of course I had to put it to the test...

Ooh I love the scent, the gloss smells of passion fruit. It is so fruity and reminds me a bit of the juice drink Five Alive.

It is so shiny and quite thick - so when I apply to my lips I have to even it out a bit.


Applied it is so sticky, being a fan of gloss I am not totally averse to sticky but it is no good if there is a wind blowing as your hair sticks to it like super-glue!

After about 3 hours the colour on my lips is no longer there but my lips still look glossy and I love that fact it leaves my lips so soft - this gloss does exactly what it says - nice and moisturising.


I actually really like this so I will be buying it again, but to be honest, it is not really surprising that I like this gloss as one of my other favourite glosses range is Glam Shine from L'Oreal which owns The Body Shop.

The Body Shop Hi-Shine Lip Treatment comes in a choice of 9 colours and costs £9.50 for 14ml. Available from The Body Shop or online at www.thebodyshop.co.uk

I haven't ventured back into The Body Shop much, not since those heady days when we all ran in as 13 year old's drenching ourselves in as much fragrance oils as we could from those cute dropper bottles - Remember Vanilla, Dewberry, Oceanus and White Musk anyone? I cannot imagine that there were many girls who didn't own at least one of them.

Well imagine my surprise that they are still being sold, so if you fancy some nostalgia they are priced from £6.50.

Having been lured back into the store by the lovely smell wafting through the precinct, I headed to the Make-Up section (of course!). I found something called Moisture Foundation SPF15 - it looked good and I liked the fact that it had a SPF, as I was looking at it the friendly assistant offered to put some into a tester pot for me to try at home. I feel this is a good sign as it means they are confident of the product.

If you are looking for a cheaper alternative to the Chanel Vitalumière then I don't think you can go wrong with this product. It went on very easily, was moisturising and gave light to medium coverage so you may need a concealer if you have slight blemishes.

It left a nice, smooth, dewy finish similar to the Vitalumière, perhaps the only thing that lets it down is that it doesn't last as long. I was pleasantly surprised and therefore this item has made its way into my make-up bag.

I would say that it is suitable for all skins except oily.

The Ingredients -

Marula Oil
Beeswax
Vitamin E

Available in 7 shades costing £12 for 30ml from The Body Shop stores or from www.thebodyshop.co.uk