Lush's 'Catastrophe Cosmetic' Fresh Face Mask

 

After pondering around the aisles in my local Lush store taking in all the smells and sights of the exotic I came across their 'Fresh Face Mask' counter.  On first impression it looked like your usual fresh fish counter down your local supermarket as it was a long stainless trough filled with tons of crushed ice which was the bed for all the fresh face masks that buried themselves snuggly into the ice.

 

 

I was given a demonstration on a couple of the 9 masks that were on display and each targeted different areas of concerns.  I chose the one named 'Catastrophe Cosmetic' whose main ingredient was Blueberries which are all locally sourced I might add and this one was to calm and soothe the skin.  The other natural ingredients that went into this specific mask are: Calamine, Chamomile, Rose Absolute, Moss Gel, Almond Oil & Sweet Wild Orange Oil.  The only 2 man made ingredients are Methyl Ionone & Perfume.

 

These are kept in the fridge and last up to 3 weeks so if you use it say twice a week you will easily get three weeks worth out of the 75g tub.

 

The application was simple and straight forward, apply onto clean skin by digging your fingers into the cold putty like mask and smear or press a generous layer over your face or you could just target specific areas of redness or breakouts.  Leave on for between 10 to 15 minutes (I soaked in the bath with mine), before washing off gently with warm water in circular motions.  It does harden after so long but I found it didn't tighten my skin too much as some other masks do which was comforting.

 

 

Once removed it left my skin feeling very smooth and soft and it didn't irritate my sensitive skin at all which was a bonus!  I followed up my routine with a cleanser just to remove any residue that may have been left behind and applied my night time moisturiser afterwards. 

 

 

I would definitely recommend anyone to give this a go or any of the other face masks they sell as my first impression of the 'Catastrophe Cosmetic' fresh face mask was very good and at only £5.95 for a 75g tub the only thing I had to remember was to put it back in the fridge!



 

 



 

 



NOTW

 

My Nails of the Week, this week are....

 

 

'Pink Peony' by Bobbi Brown.

 

 

This is from their new Spring 'Uber Pink' Collection, the other nail polish from this collection is called 'Pink Cloud' which I also have but is more of a baby pink colour, very soft and pale in contrast to 'Pink Peony'. 

 

I must admit I wasn't overly impressed with the application process whilst painting my nails as I thought the brush itself was very thin and didn't give my nail the coverage I had hoped for.  Once painted, top coated and dried however they looked very nice and stayed chip free relatively easily until I had my hands in water on quite a few occasions and then they started to chip along the edges, but this was really only on the one nail so it might have been down to me not sealing the edges properly with top coat? I dunno, maybe, maybe not, nether less they looked good and I had a few comments saying how nice the colour was etc but would I recommend it.....yes probably if you don't mind paying the £11 per bottle price tag but value for money I think there are certainly cheaper and better alternatives (in my opinion) out there.

 

 

 



BeautyBay's 'The Valentines Edition' Box

 

BeautyBay The Collection Little Black Box The Valentines Edition

 

Not being one for missing out on a bargain I came across this cheaply priced beauty box by BeautyBay and immediately had to buy it.  I'd previously had my eye on the Eyeshadow Palette which you get in this box for a week or so but ummm'd and arrrr'd as I'd seen nothing else to buy so I thought I'd wait till I'd seen more things to make up an order.

 

So when I received an email about their 'Valentines' collection which included the eyeshadow palette and all for a jaw dropping low price of just £20 whereas the eye palette was selling on it's own for £15, it was abit of a no brainer!

 

As you can see you get a lot of pennies worth (I worked out £39 worth!) all for just £20!!

 

 

Inside you get:

 

The Flawless Rose Eyeshadow Palette - A collection of 12 delicate pink & rose shades.

 

Large Detangling Brush in Pink

 

Blending Sponge in Fuchsia Pink

 

Lipstick in Sultry Ruby - 4g

 

Angled Eyeliner Brush

 

Brow/Lash Comb & Brush

 

All the products are from their own basic range called 'The Collection' but certainly perform as though they were from a much more expensive line.

 

I also bought separately a compact mirror from the same range which was only a fiver and comes in either black or white but the best bit is....it lights up!

 





 

I have also become abit nifty at recycling items aswell.  I was on the lookout for some extra storage for my ever growing nail polish collection and came up with the idea of re-using the box all these items came in for storing some of my polishes, and they fit a treat!  I hav'nt managed to rehome all of my polishes but I've certainly made a start at organising what I had just bunged into an old makeup case which has left a fair bit of room to buy all new polishes of course.... Genius!

 

 

 



 

 

 



NOTW Part Deux

 

Well my nails of the week got cut short this week due to receiving an online order from Topshop which contained a few new polishes which happened to get smashed on route.  This resulted in my hands getting covered in polish when I opened the package and had to be cleaned using polish remover which incidentally removed most of my 'Parka Perfect' :(.

 

So, a fresh manicure was in order and Topshop's 'Blue Jeans' was the chosen one.

 

I would describe this colour as a Bluey Green or like having an oil slick on your nails as the colour merges into one another and changes in the light.

 



Or even like having foils on your nails

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Absolutely love this polish and will definitely be wearing this a lot more!

 

 

********************************

 

p.s Topshop refunded me for the broken & damaged polishes :)xx

 

NOTW

 

My Nails of The Week this week is...

 

 Essie's 'Parka Perfect' 





A Serenely Shimmering Alpine Grey





  



NARS NARSissist Palette

 

This week has seen the launch of the new 'NARSissist' palette by Nars.  Stock of this eagerly awaited palette has seen sales saw through the sky and stock sell out about as fast as it was put on the shelves.  Luckily I was one of the fortunate ones to bag a sale and actually save myself a fiver in the process through buying at John Lewis for a wopping £50 and not the £55 price tag as seen for sale at other retailers.

 

 

It comes in the soft matt black packaging that were all familiar with from Nars, (you know the stuff that gets dirty easy) and has a total of 15 eyeshadows ranging from light to dark colours, matt to shimmer finishes.

 

There is no brush applicator with this palette but come on who actually uses the ones you get with them anyway?  First Impression from swatching the colours on my arm is that the lighter shades are quite sheer and harder to really see but I suppose they would be good to use on the inner corner of the eye or as a brow high-lighter.

 

Colours from left to right:

All About Eve I

Madrague II

Fez

Bali

Coconut Grove





Madrague I

Nepal

Ashes to Ashes

Brousse II

Mekong









Bellissima I

Lhasa

Bad Behaviour

Dogon II

Pandora II

Compared to the latest Urban Decay 'Naked 3' palette which has 12 shades and retails at £37 your paying an extra £18 (if bought for £55) for another 3 shadows!  All shadows are however from their permanent line as either singles or duos apart from one (Bad Behaviour) which is a repeat from one of their previous limited edition collections.

 

The application of the matt shades I've found are abit more sheer compared to say the Urban Decay or Mac matt shadows which are definitely more pigmented and give better coverage, these however will be easier to blend and probably better suited to a beginner or more natural make up wearer.







NOTW

 

This weeks edition of 'Nails Of The Week' is....

 

Clinique's 'Chocolate on my Pillow' from their new '16 Shades of Beige' collection

 

A lovely pearlized warm brown shade which looks like you've just dipped your fingers into a tub of melted milk chocolate :)

 

Priced at £12.00 for a 9ml Bottle