Beauty Lately...

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Beauty Lately... is a mini review post of beauty products I'm currently using. If you missed it, you can find my post from last week here. I have a very pink selection of products for you today.

First up is something I'm loving so much and so sad about. It's the Paul & Joe Moisturizing Hand Cream, £11 40ml. Firstly, Paul & Joe stock has been very inconsistent this past year, I'm guessing in part due to Covid and probably Brexit, but this was from their festive launch which was a jumble of differently patterned/packaged products that I have a suspicion were not supposed to launch together (there was no theme whatsoever). Also, we're about a month behind the release dates elsewhere in the world (now I've figured this out, I panic less that it's not coming at all to the UK). So obviously I fell in love with this packaging, a bunny saying "all of them witches" which I think is unlikely a polite thing, but I have no idea what it means! I bought one for my sister too for Christmas (she loves bunnies) and secretly started using my tube (without her seeing) and instantly fell in love. The reason I'm sad is that this is a limited edition product, so once it's gone, it's gone. There are two versions and I've yet to try the silky one (floral tube) which apparently smells like hot apple cider. This one is meant to be "Ginger Cookie", but oh my goodness it's chocolate and not that horrid synthetic chocolate smell that beauty products often use, it's like real, proper, yummy chocolate. I really love the consistency of the cream too, it's thick but easily absorbed and doesn't leave a greasy film. I think £11 is quite pricey for the size (40ml), but I've since bought another 3 tubes (finished my first tube a while ago), so it obviously hasn't put me off!  

Last time I was using my recently rediscovered Lancôme Juicy Tubes as my daily balm/gloss and I moved onto another one that I remember being a favourite. This is the Juicy Tubes by Nature in 05 Ginger. I think these (By Nature) were supposed to be organic, natural flavours. Ginger is a mink brown with very sporadic, micro-glitter that isn't really noticeable. I wouldn't say it smells like ginger, but it's got a nice sweet scent/taste without being sickly and same as last time, really nourishing and long-lasting but not sticky. Like I said then, I'd start up my JT collecting again in a heartbeat, but sadly Lancôme discontinued Juicy Tubes a few years back and apologies for keeping including older products you can no longer buy!

Mum got me the Soap & Glory advent calendar last year as many of the beauty ones I usually get weren't released because of the pandemic. In it, was a smaller version of A Cream Come True Luminous Body Butter, £10 300ml, which is a body lotion from S&G that I haven't tried before. It has a slight shimmer to it, which I really liked. It was mostly subtle, but in certain lights, you could really see it twinkle (there's no gritty glitter). I felt it was maybe a little less hydrating than the likes of The Righteous Butter. The scent in this is their Magnifi-coco (coconut) which I enjoyed. I could see myself purchasing this in the future, the subtle shimmery sheen is something I really liked.

Speaking of scents, I really love the rose aroma of the Elemis Pro-Collagen Rose Cleansing Balm, £44 105g. After trialling out a few mini tubs, I decided to splurge on the big version when they had an offer on. The rose is strong and very much an earthy, garden rose, so if scents aren't your thing, you'll probably hate this. I'm personally really loving how luxurious and calming this is to use. Cleansing is a pretty boring step in the skincare regime, but I feel really mindful using this. I take in how it feels on the face, how it smells and just really enjoy the moment, even if it is only a minute. It's the only cleanser that I find myself doing this with. I don't think I've ever worn makeup and used this to take it off (but it does that too), I certainly have no complaints about it as a cleansing balm (massage into dry face and then rinse) and I've also used it as a hydrating mask. It is more than I'd usually pay for a cleanser, but the jar is huge and lasted a while. I found I used more each time from the big jar than when I had mini ones, but it still took a while to get through. This size comes with a face cloth too.

Nails this week were an old favourite, Topshop Nails in Big Smoke.  Topshop of course, are sadly no longer part of our high-street (now sold through ASOS), as far as I know, they don't still make this nor do ASOS stock Topshop beauty.  It's a mink colour, cream finish (no shimmer or pearl) and it applies smoothly, pretty good in one coat to be honest.  On top I applied Kiko Milano Transforming Nail Top Coat, from their Unexpected Paradise collection last summer (LOVED that collection), which I got in the sale for a few £'s.  I'm reaching for this a lot; it's clear with little flecks that look like iridescent coconut (!), it reminds me of Dior Diorific Christmas ones (Nova from 2016 or the Golden Nights one last year), but these bits aren't as prominent on your nails. What you can't really see in the bottle, is bright pink micro-glitter.  It seemed more obvious on top of Big Smoke than other colours I've worn it with.  I liked the flash of pink against the harder taupe colour.  

I'm so on the fence about this next item, which is Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Nighttime Rescue Lip Oil-Serum, £25 9ml.  For years I've been using a Clinique balm overnight, but when I saw this new launch last year I was intrigued by the oil-serum formula.  However, I'm really not convinced it does much.  The consistency is as you'd expect very runny, but the domed applicator is perfect to apply it with.  It gives lips a real plumped up look as it's got a super glossy, glass like finish.  The trick is to try and avoid smacking your lips together.  Once you do, this stuff just disappears.  The Clinique balm was one of the few I found I still had a little product on my lips the next morning, this EL oil can be off my lips by the time I get into bed!  What I do love is how much product you get and you'll laugh when I tell you why.  I was photographing this for the blog back when I got it and thinking the little applicator was cute, I opened it and rested it against the bottle (lying down) to artfully photograph.  Very, very quickly, a large clear puddle appeared and I went into panic-mode!  There was no way of hygienically scooping the product back into the bottle, so I just had to mop it up as best I could.  There's absolutely no stopper in the neck of this, you don't get that suction you do with a lipgloss for example, so you can't even hold the bottle sideways (which I often do applying gloss) whilst applying to the lips as it'll just pour out.  Given the size of the puddle, I expected to get a couple of nights out of this, but I'm still using it months on.  I'm not sure I'd buy this again.  I don't hate it, but I think I prefer a balm or something thicker anyway that stays on my lips.  

Final item today is a night cream I've been using for a while.  This is Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask, £20.50 30ml.  I got this in a Cult Beauty goody bag last year (it also comes in a bigger 80ml £41).  Firstly the packaging is so cool.  The glass jar (partly recycled and fully recyclable) is shaped like an ice cube, all melted uneven looking sides.  I used this on it's own like a night time moisturiser (after my serums).  You really need to give this a good stir upon every use and I needed the tiniest amount (one small scoop with the provided spatula).  If I used more, it pilled and rubbed off, even with my patting method of application.  The slimy, gel like formula was quickly absorbed into the skin, so it's not a mask you have to worry about getting all over your pillow.  Obviously this contains watermelon, these are actually cut freshly in the lab, which is pretty cool.  This base is soothing, hydrating and rich in amino-acid and vitamins.  Alongside this, it contains hyaluronic acid (excellent hydrator), glycerin to strengthen the skin barrier and retain water, seaweed extract (anti-inflammatory, rich in anti-oxidants) and AHA's which gently exfoliate the skin.  I did find spots I had, drying up more quickly and more obviously flaking than I felt they normally would, which was good.  I wasn't blown away with it being hydrating, it certainly wasn't drying, but I didn't note a massive difference in how plump my skin looked in the morning.  Watermelon isn't my favourite scent, but I didn't really mind it here, it seemed to dissipate pretty quickly.  I'd definitely consider buying this, I liked the gentle exfoliation which didn't irritate my skin.   

I've been very organised and consistent with blogging lately, long may it continue and I hope I haven't just jinxed myself (probably)!  I'm off to make a start on the shoe photos for Shoesday Tuesday tomorrow, another IC sale pair (clue "chalk").  Have you tried anything from this post? Top recommendation would be the hand cream, but I don't really want you to buy it, so I can buy what's left!  I'd leave the EL lip oil if you're seeking overnight hydration, though it really plumps the lips with the glossiest shine if you are looking for that during the day (but would likely need to continually reapply).