Boots Pharmacy

My night in with Spa Sanctuary Facial In-A-Box & Lush Twighlight Bath Bomb

lisamenina Cosmetics, Skincare Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
My Night In With Spa Sanctuary & Lush

My Night In With Spa Sanctuary & Lush

Ok so this post is still a product review, but rather than for makeup it’s for some pamper products that I recently tried.

Last pay day, I decided that my tired pregnant body needed some TLC. Now in an attempt to treat it with something other than chocolate (and because I can’t treat it with copious amounts of alcohol) I wondered around my local town shops for a product or two that I could enjoy at home.

From Boots Pharmacy I stumbled across a new product by the wonderful Spa Sanctuary called Youth Boosting Facial In-A-Box.

Described as a:

30 minute step-by-step pampering treatment for skin that looks and feels visibly firmed & plumped

Now, I’m not someone who can afford regular facials so this was very tempting and I promptly bunged it into my basket. Incidentally, I have since discovered a couple of variations of these boxes which would be lovely Christmas presents for any lady. In fact I bought the Sleep-In-A-Box one for a good friend who is also a full time working mum. So in some ways she probably has no issue sleeping, but a nice treat all the same!

At £16.50 each (and currently on a 3 for 2 offer), they are very reasonable for what you get.

The box is enticing to look at and inside you find the simple step by step instructions and products with very generous sample sizes of some of their most popular products. In fact, i’ve used the box once and would definitely have enough of all the products to use once or even twice again. Apart from the mask, which comes in a sachet, the other products are miniatures so also perfect for if you are travelling anywhere.

The lovely box
Step-by-step
Steps 1 & 2
3 & 4
Step 5
The products
Mask
Sample sizes

(Sorry for the slightly blurred images)

After that purchase, I could already envisage a flushed pink refreshed mug. My evening was coming together nicely.  I had already planned my music on Spotify, had a candle waiting by the wings and now had my pampering treat of my facial stashed into my shopping bag. Yet somehow it was missing an additional relaxing element to take it from a regular long hot soak to the next level. So, armed with some spare change left from my mid-shop coffee break,  I headed to Lush for something decadent to pop into the bath water (because sometimes your regular bubble bath just won’t do).

Now Lush is a shop that you smell way before you actually see it. Some people are put off because it can be quite overpowering, but for me, walking in there is like being enveloped in a sweet shop for your nose. Every flavour you can think of is there, in fact, some of the products smell so good you really do have to refrain from having a tiny taste of them.

I’ve been buying and giving Lush for years from many of their different stores and in every branch I come across the friendliest, most happy and helpful staff you could ever wish to encounter. Perhaps they are all giddy on the wonderful fumes of the soaps, bath bomb, massage bars, shampoos, shower gels and make up products.

I simply walked in and wondered around sniffing literally everything as I went until I simply had nasal overload. That’s when a very lovely sales assistant asked if she could help me.

I must have patted my baby bump without realising as I said that I simply needed something for the bath that would utterly relax me. In a flash she had grabbed a Bath Bomb called Twighlight. As  I went to pay she then very sweetly popped a complimentary massage bar into my bag (for the bump she said) and off I trotted.

Once home I ran a bath, threw in Twighlight and can honestly say sat there and watched it fizz into the most fantastic sunset colours then finally settle into the colour of the sky at, you guessed it, twighlight.

My Lush purchase
Ready for the drop
Marshmallow Pink fizzing action
Suddently a volcano of blue erupted
Bath swirls
Nearly there…
…My Twighlight bath

Now, I could try and describe the smell that accompanied the show, but Lush do it so much better.

If sleep is evading you, this combination of essential oils will help get you ready for a good night’s rest. As Twilight dissolves, it turns from the colour of the setting sun and gets darker, turning your water a shimmering deep purple. The fragrance has been designed to help you sleep: lavender is a soothing, mind-clearing and calming fragrance, used in aromatherapy to treat insomnia and aid restful sleep, while benzoin and tonka call to mind a milky caramel malt drink.

(BTW- I have enjoyed many Lush Bath Bombs, but this is one I’d re-purchase again and again for the smell and the glorious process of watching it fizz away – definitely one of the prettiest I’ve seen) Well worth the tiny £3.35.

The rather nice Therapy massage bar was thoughtful touch by the sales assistant and feels lovely on the bump! (Mine was a gift but usually costs £6.50 for 50g)

Lush Therapy Bar

Lush say:

A 100% organic massage bar to soften the skin and soothe the mind. The perfectly balanced blend of aerated cocoa and shea butters gives a lovely gliding massage and leaves your skin incredibly soft, whilst our carefully chosen blend of three organic essential oils has a powerfully cheering effect. Organic lavender oil balances the skin and relaxes the mind. Neroli oil has been shown to increase serotonin levels in the brain and improves the tone and texture of the skin whilst sweet wild orange oil lifts the mood

Needless to say that after the facial, bath bomb and massage bar I was feeling very relaxed, spoiled and Lush! (sorry – couldn’t help myself)

What do you do to relax at home?

I’m after some scented candle recommendations for my next at-home spa evening, please leave a comment if you have any favourites I should try out. 

No7 Match Made Lipstick Service & No7 Moisture Drench Lipstick in Rose Mist

lisamenina Cosmetics, Makeup, Pregnancy, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
No7 Moisture Drench Lipstick in Rose Mist (630)

No7 Moisture Drench Lipstick in Rose Mist (630)

Hello all,

Firstly, I must apologise for how long it has been since I last posted anything. I’m currently 8 1/2 months pregnant and have been crazy busy in my free time with antenatal appointments, shopping for baby items and ‘project managing’ my husband with the DIY jobs of our house.

I finally got to the shops this weekend for some hospital bag essentials and decided to treat myself to a non-essential lipstick.

I do have a slight obsession with buying and owning lipsticks (but not actually wearing them). My very late mid-year resolution is to wear more of the ones I have and if I buy a new one to wear it straight away.

So far I have managed to to do this with a red lipstick and the one I bought at the weekend.

So this post is about the lipstick I purchased and how I came to find it.

No7 at Boots have offered a colour match service for foundations for some time now. I had my foundation matched about a year ago (so probably due another one). I was matched as ‘Warm Ivory’. I duly bought the foundation, matching concealer and have been happy with both ever since.

However, I have often lamented since then, that no one could then tell me what lipstick would work for me based on my colour.  It is like a piece of the skin tone/makeup choice puzzle is missing. I mean different sales assistants could offer an opinion, but away from the counter I had no point of reference. That was until No7 launched their new Match Made Lipstick service. The moment I saw the advert I was eager to get to Boots. However, for various reasons already mentioned, this just didn’t happen….for ages!!!

Then one idle lunch break whilst I was on the internet, I saw that they had set up an online Match Made Lipstick Selector service which helps you choose the colour from the comfort of your own desk/bedroom/bus ride. Just select your foundation match, pick your colour family (Coral/Pink/Red) and browse the options they feel would work best for you.

Although the skin colour of the virtual model may not exactly match yours, you can get a pretty good idea of how it may look, or you can just make a note of ones you’d like to try in-store and finally go in armed with some kind of system of reference. Ah the relief!

I did a bit of both, researching the ‘Pinks’ I liked, then this weekend hitting the counter with my ideas and some advice from the sales assistant.

This is how the service looks online:

Select your foundation colour
Select the type of colour you want to find and click on favourite
See how it looks

I was torn between Deep Rose and Pink Petal when I hit the counter. I knew I wanted the Moisture Drench lipstick because the Stay Perfect range is just too drying for me.

Once at the counter I tried on both. The Deep Rose was a lovely warm pink with a hint of brown. The problem is that this is what I always go for and then I feel disappointed that it’s not ‘pink’ enough. The real bright pinks scare me, so the sales assistant moved me away from Pink Petal and directed me to Rose Mist which I had looked at online (above), but had dismissed for reasons I cannot remember now.

And this is the great thing about using the online match service and then heading to the counter. I had already narrowed down my choices so I didn’t feel bamboozled by the dozens of choices available. I was able to have a pretty quick consultation with an experienced sales assistant (as neither one of us had to go through testing every bloody pink on the counter) and then I was free to walk around assessing the colour in the shop lights an outside before making a decision. So much less stressful than my usual clueless hour long browsing sessions.

So, back to my actual choice of Rose Mist. In the flesh the colour is lovely. It’s a true pink, not too cool and not too warm, very neutral. It is moisturising and build-able. This meant I could smudge it on with my fingers for a daytime look and then build it to a denser colour for an evening. The colour pay off is really great considering it isn’t a long lasting or super matt finish.

Black plastic packaging
‘Rose Mist’ 630
No7 Moisture Drench Lipstick in Rose Mist (630)
Swatch without flash
With flash

 

I’m really happy with this colour. Finally a pink that isn’t coral or brown based, isn’t super bright, too blue or plain frightening, but a wearable colour that lifts my complexion and makes me feel just that little bit more polished than usual. I think I will be breaking this out quite often.

No7 Lipsticks are priced mid-range at £9.95, but I had a handy Boots voucher with money off so it was a bargain at under £7. Much more palatable for a mum-to-be who has tons of nappies to stock up on.

Mix of Natural daylight and office lights
Mug shot!

 

What do you think of the colour? What other pinks do you think I should try? Let me know if you try the foundation or lipstick match service and what colours you bought.

I really hope now that No7 can match my foundation, concealer and lipstick, they create a service for colour matching blusher too. Then my makeup essentials will be well an truly sorted. In the meantime, I may venture back to find my perfect Red!