Beauty Lately...

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Beauty Lately is a selection of mini reviews of makeup and skin, body and haircare products I've been using lately and good, bad or in-between, I discuss them. It's been a while since my last post (beginning of September), but you can find it here if you missed it. Today I have 6 items for you.

I'll begin with the lipgloss I've been wearing, this is Lancôme Juicy Tubes P.U.R.E. (Premium Unique Raw Elements), yeah I have no clue what that means either! In shade 112 Fresh Mint Tea, which is a green colour with no shimmer, but it applies pretty much clear on the lips. I absolutely love the minty smell/taste, it feels cooling and plumping without the tingle. Super hydrating, thick consistency (so it lasts a long time on me), not so sticky that my lips stick together, just love it. I've almost finished the tube after using it for several weeks, day and night. I'm loving rediscovering all my old JT's (have over 40). I would buy this again, if I could, but sadly Lancôme tend not to make JT's now (there was a small 20th anniversary collection, but otherwise nothing new). Just a little note, because this had been sitting so long, I had to squeeze a small amount out which was oily, then the remaining product is the correct colour and consistency it should be.

Next is the Redken Extreme Anti Snap, anti breakage leave-in treatment for distressed hair £20.50 240ml. After trying a trial size I got in a goody bag, I bought the full-size, which shows how much I like this. Firstly the smell is incredible; sweet, foody, yummy, it's addictive! It's making my hair feel like proper hair again and I'll be honest that I was at the point of shaving it all off because it was so tangled after washing it. I was almost in tears every time, but this is making it so much more manageable and made a significant difference to the amount of hair loss from brushing too (I just brush my hair once a week after washing it and put it in pigtails so it doesn't tangle throughout the week). I used to have 2 1/2 full heads of my Tangle Teezer of hair to remove, now it's just 1/3 of a brush head, it's magnificent. I apply in sections to the lengths and ends of towel dried hair, one pump probably to a third or quarter section of my hair. Will definitely be repurchasing this one and would highly recommend it to anyone with unmanageable, long or damaged hair.

Another product I'm new to but loving. is the Uriage Eau Thermale Water Cream £16.49 40ml. This was another freebie (full size) from a goody bag when buying other things and I judged this moisturiser by it's cover, thinking it would be boring, but actually I really like it. First surprise was the lovely fruity-floral scent, such a pleasant experience. It's a light lotion, so I wouldn't recommend it for very dry skin or in the depths of winter, as even with my combination skin I find myself sometimes reapplying late afternoon/early evening. It gives skin a radiant finish, feels light and gentle and really peps up the complexion. I'm not sold on the 24 hour hydration claims, but I'd definitely buy this (once I've made a dent in my moisturiser stash, which is my aim right now).

I bought this Vichy Normaderm S.O.S. Sulphur Anti-Spot Paste £17 20ml, when my skin was going through a bad bout of spots (aka all year), thinking it was an updated version of their spot gel (which I've bought a lot of previously). However it's a completely different product and I pretty much hate it. I hate the smell. It smells exactly like Clearasil (funny how a scent can immediately transport you back 25 years), which to me smells like sand. Not that nice, beachy, holiday vibe, but when you have to empty sand out of your shoes at home after visiting the seaside. It's not the worst, it's just unpleasant and lingers, on everything. I could smell it on my pillowcase, my jammies and my towel afterwards. Anyway, it is as it sounds, a paste rather than a cream or gel and it feels gentle like it's predecessor, it doesn't sting. I think it reduced redness and inflammation (and itching) a bit, but I just couldn't suffer the smell to use it often enough.  Needless to say, I won't repurchase and I'm annoyed at Vichy for changing this so much and that I'll likely have to bin this tube (hate waste).  It's unfortunate that the areas I generally need to apply this are in the vicinity of my nose!  

Another product I'm not keen on is, Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Foot Magic £4.99 60g.  I usually use Soap & Glory or Clarins, but had run out of both, saw this on offer and thought I'd give it a go.  I apply this in my bed, but I hate how greasy it is, even if I am just going to sleep.  The smell is a mix of the usual (lovely) cocoa butter with peppermint.  To be honest I'd prefer if it was either or, the two are battling with each other in my opinion.  That alone wouldn't be enough to deter me from rebuying, it's just the greasy thing.  Seeing as it doesn't smell any better or moisturise more than the others I use, I wouldn't go out of my way to repurchase.  I'm also definitely using this a lot less than I usually would because the thought of having oily hands and feet applying it and just the overall hassle is off-putting.  

Finally, the Urban Decay Stoned Vibes Eyeshadow Palette £46, which I can't review in-depth as I've only used it a few times and not even swatched all the shades yet, but I love this.  You get 8 crystal colours and 4 matte shades.  The crystal shades are really unique with their speckled finish and contain real tourmaline for good vibes!  I think it's refreshing that UD really promoted applying these shades with your fingers and I agree, they definitely work best like that.  You get such a beautiful shine.  Jade is my favourite so far, it's such a gorgeous, reflective green that I couldn't resist trialling (twice) at Christmas.  Opal Aura I've used as an inner corner highlight, Raw Energy wasn't as pigmented as I expected and Bloodstone is different to how it looks in the pan.  Otherwise, the colour you see, is the colour you get on your eyes.  The mattes, I don't get excited about, but I've used them alongside the shimmers.  I wish I had more energy these days for wearing makeup, because I honestly just want to get properly stuck into this. Also the packaging is to die for; I love that textured crystal lid and multi coloured backdrop.  Not a bad word to say about this.   

I've had this post almost written for weeks and realised last night that 'mini' reviews isn't exactly what I do.  So I deleted screeds and screeds and cut it down to mini reviews, like I said it will be!  Maybe it's because I live a pretty solitary life that I talk so much on here or maybe I just like to give you all the information, but I think essentially what you need to know is, did I like or dislike it and why.  So that's what I've tried to do and will do for future posts. 

The UD palette is probably my favourite thing here, I'm totally eyeing their new Naked Wild West palette too, I think I'd use that a lot.  If you're struggling with your hair, I'd give the Redken leave-in product a try, as it's made a significant improvement to mine and that Uriage moisturiser is really lovely if you're in the market for trying something different to your usual.  I'm hoping to make these posts weekly-ish now (cutting the waffle will help 😉), I've said this every time, but I have a backlog I need to tackle and I'm in a better routine now, so hopefully will have another post for you next week.  Anything here you've tried or could see yourself buying?