bloomzy /

Review: Australian Bodycare Tea Tree Oil Hand Cream

Australian Bodycare Tea Tree Oil Hand Cream*
 
I’ve not reviewed many hand creams on here, which is odd as I’m always using one.
I’ve used face products by Australian Bodycare before so that’s why I thought I would review theirs.
This particular cream is for all skin types, even sensitive, and includes tea tree and Argan oil.
There are no added perfumes and it is completely paraben free.
Pros:
+ Paraben free
+ Moisturising
+ Leaves my hands hydrated for several hours
+ Applies well and soaks in after a minute or two
+ Strong smell of tea tree oil
 
Cons:
– Strong smell of tea tree oil
– Leaves hands slightly greasy for a few minutes after applying
 
Notes:
You may have noticed one of those pros and cons is the same in both categories. That’s because I can’t stand the smell of tea tree oil (after using it for years as a kid). However my fiancé absolutely loves the smell. As a hand cream to use at home I really like this as it moisturises and leaves my hands feeling hydrated for several hours. The only reason I wouldn’t carry this with me though is because it does take a minute to soak in, and you are left with a slightly greasy feeling on your hands for a few minutes after applying it. This just makes it a little difficult if you want to handle something straight away after, like your phone. Still, this is a good basic hand cream and is definitely one for those who love tea tree oil as a main ingredient. Priced at around £7, this is a bit too high for a cream that I’m not won over by the smell of. That might sound odd but smell is a big seller for me in hand creams. It is a little hard to find in stores, and you’re actually more likely to find it in your local spa. However you can find it online.
You can purchase Australian Bodycare Tea Tree Oil Hand Cream at Feel Unique.
bloomzy /

Review: Boujies London Candles

Boujies London Earl Grey and Black Ginger Candles*

Last week Boujies sent me a couple of their candles.
Now I am a massive candle addict so this was wonderful.
I can’t resist buying a candle in a particular scent that I adore.
These two definitely fit that bill; Earl Grey and Black Ginger.
Ginger and Earl Grey tea are two of my favourites scents!
Boujies started out just down the road from me at Spitalfields market in 2009.
They believe in using 100% natural wax in their candles, which they manufacture in Britain.
Their range of 7 scents are expertly chosen and feature fragrances such as Indian Vetiver and Black Dahlia.
The candles start at £14 and the diffusers start at £19, with prices going up to £68 for gift sets.
For luxury scented candles hand-poured in England, the pricing is pretty amazing.
I was so excited to receive these and see if they smelt as good as they sounded.
The packaging was the first thing I noticed – I really like the minimalist approach.
The mini candles have a paint pot type lid that you need to pry off before lighting them.
These ones in particular burn for around 20 hours, so they may look tiny but they have a good life.
The scents from both these candles is completely spot on and they absolutely smell amazing.
Part of me wants to burn these all day so my apartment smells like Earl Grey tea or Ginger.
The other part of me wants to save them because I don’t want to use them up completely.
You can purchase both the Earl Grey candle and the Black Ginger candle at Boujies.
bloomzy /

Review: Bobbi Brown Crystal Eye Palette


Bobbi Brown Crystal Eye Palette, from the Nude Glow Collection
I’ve been lusting after this palette
since it’s release.
So after a couple of weeks of thinking ‘I
need this’, I finally bought it.
The Nude Glow Collection is Bobbi Brown’s grown-up
take on sparkles and shimmer.
Out of the 3 eyeshadow palettes
available, Crystal Eyes was the one that stood out to me.
Pros:
+ Good pigmentation
+ Gorgeous packaging
+ Complimentary colours
+ Matte and shimmer shadows
+ Shades are subtle yet noticeable
+ Great for travelling/keeping in
handbag
Cons:
– Shades may not suit everyone
– Limited edition
Notes:
This palette is everything I wanted it
to be. I have been using matte browns and cream shades for so long
that I had forgotten all about pinks, and sparkly shadows. I’m not
going to lie, the advertising for the Nude Glow Collection was a
major factor in me purchasing it. Katie Holmes looks almost ethereal
in the campaign and as a fellow pale lady I felt that if Joey Potter
could work it, then maybe I could too. These shades may be subtle but
they are perfect for brightening up your eyes. I’m not usually a fan
of shimmer shades but these almost look as if you’re wearing teeny
tiny crystals on your eye lids…well done Bobbi! I think this
palette would suit most people, but understandably not everyone is a
fan of pink and shimmers. I wasn’t even really, but I’ve been won
over by these. The Nude Glow Collection is limited edition and this
particular palette is selling out fast, so it may be a case of
tracking it down online or at your local Bobbi Brown concession asap,
before they’re all snapped up!

The Bobbi Brown Crystal Eyeshadow Palette is sold out at most online stockists.
If you would like to purchase it, I would suggest heading to your local Bobbi Brown concession.

bloomzy /

Review: Canmake Lip Care Essence

Canmake Lip Care Essence

This is a product I’ve kept hidden from you all for a while. But I can’t be selfish any longer, so I’ve decided to review it for you. Canmake are a Japanese drugstore-equivalent beauty brand. They can be found in most stores across Japan that stock beauty products. They are also available in some stores across other parts of Asia, and online. The collections are usually very well priced for the quality of the goods. I’ve been using Canmake products for around 6 years now and I love them.

Pros:
+ Very moisturising
+ Helped when I had chapped lips
+ Great base for lipstick
+ Cute packaging
+ Can be used as a gloss

Cons:
– Sticky

Notes:
As an avid user of lip balms I wasn’t expecting much from a gloss lip care product. Yet Canmake have won me over again with this one. This gloss is an amazing all rounder product that works great for general lip-care but is also good as a base for lipsticks, or to get a natural gloss look on lips. It can be sticky, like all glosses, so probably best to avoid wearing it on a windy day – trust me, I know from experience. However it has kept my lips chap free, and even helped when I had chapped lips recently. It’s a great size so it would fit into any handbag easily, but there’s plenty of product. It leaves my lips hydrated, soft and smooth, and doesn’t stay sticky for too long. It’s worth mentioning that this has a very very light pink tone to it, and there is also a cherry toned one. This was bought in Japan for a very reasonable 680円 (around £4.10). You can buy this particular product online but unfortunately like most imported products, prices have been hiked up.

You can buy Canmake’s Lip Care Essence on eBay and at YesStyle.

bloomzy /

Review: Collection Work The Colour Nude Eye Palette

Collection Work The Colour Nude Eye Palette

You may remember this palette from my recent haul post.
Well I’ve had it and have been using it for a couple of weeks now.
I know a lot of people were intrigued by it and wanted a review, so here we go!
Swatches…yeah, I don’t know why I did it that way either.
Pros:
+ Stays put during the day
+ Shadows are fairly pigmented
+ Packaging is handy/good for travelling
+ Shadows apply ok without a primer
+ Removes easily with make-up remover

Cons:
– Shades could be more varied
– Didn’t blend as well as I’d hoped for
– Matte shadows would have been better
– Highlighter is too ‘white’

Notes:
I really had high hopes for this palette, but as you can see, unfortunately the pros and cons have just about levelled out. I really love the concept that Collection came up with for these, but it just doesn’t seem to play out well in person. The shadows aren’t varied enough for my liking – the numbers on the bottom two rows are basically the same as each other (i.e. both 2s are similar, boths 3s etc.), and they’re all glitter shadows. I love a good nude eye and whereas glitter shadows can add a little something, I think it’s important to have a few mattes in there too, but there are none in this palette. The cream highlighter is a good idea and the way it has a little cover to stop shadow falling in is very handy. However it’s a bit too white, and looked odd when I applied it. Maybe because I’m so pale? I don’t know. Anyway, I ended up using the first #1 shadow as it works better as a highlighter for me. These shadows aren’t bad and for only £2.99 I wouldn’t say it’s a waste of money for an eyeshadow palette, I just think it could have been done better.
You can buy Collection’s Work The Colour Nude Eye Palette at Superdrug.

bloomzy /

Review: Essential Nuance Airy Japanese Hair Mask

The Essential hair masks are a product I’ve been wanting to try out for a while.
When I say a while, I mean I’ve had this on my list for several years now. Crazy, right?
Even when I was living in Japan I never got round to actually trying the hair masks out.
Well I finally decided to buy one of these from Alpha Beauty Store a few weeks ago.
There are a couple of hair masks in the collection, and I went for Nuance Airy.
It claims to give damaged and limp hair a new lease of life, with a light and bouncy feel.
Naunce Airy is specifically aimed at helping those with coloured/heat styled hair.
It aims to repair the last 15cm of your hair, but you can use it over all of your hair.
After washing your hair and towel drying it, pop this on for 5mins and then wash off.
You can use this 2 to 3 times a week, when washing your hair.
Pros:
+ Smells amazing
+ Left my hair soft & silky
+ Adorable packaging 
+ Good for coloured/damaged hair
+ Lots of product

Cons:
– Won’t smooth out frizzy hair

Notes:
The Essential hair mask lived up to all of my expectations. First off, can we please talk about how gorgeous the packaging is? I’m not a fan of pink but this is adorable and definitely lives up to the high standard set by Japanese packaging. The product itself has a rather buttery, thick texture to it. It’s not unpleasant and actually makes it a lot easier to handle. The shea butter and honey in this means that it smells amazing whilst you’re wearing it, and the smells lasts long after you’ve washed it off too. I thought it might weigh my fine hair down slightly, but that wasn’t a problem at all. It left my hair soft and silky feeling, although it didn’t stop my hair from frizzing…but then not much does. It’s also worth mentioning that I had my tips bleached a couple of weeks ago, so they were a bit dry but this At £9.58 this isn’t cheap, but there is plenty of product to go around. It’s definitely something I’ll be buying again. 
You can purchase Essential’s Nuance Airy Hair Mask at Alpha Beauty Store.
The store may be closed for the first week or so of February due to Chinese New Year.
bloomzy /

Review: Hair Styling & Nail Art at Cheeky Parlour, Shoreditch

 Manicure & Nail Art, and Up-do created by the lovely people at The Cheeky Parlour
For my birthday celebrations I knew I wanted something a little special. I didn’t want to go over the top but I wanted to be pampered, and look good too. For me, that meant someone styling my hair for me, as I find it such a task myself. So Anna & I returned to our new favourite haunt – The Cheeky Parlour.

Cheeky Fix Me Up

Last time we went we both had a manicure and nail art – remember? The parlour has been renovated since then and looks even better. This time we went for the ‘CHEEKY fix me up’ hair & nail combo. This entitled us to a file & paint manicure, a blow dry/up-do and a free drink. Anna went for a blow dry, with big luscious curls, which looked amazing on her. I went for an up-do partly due to the weather, and partly because I just wanted to…ok? My stylist asked me what kind of up-do I would like and I told her “Anything with plaits.” Since my hair is so short I didn’t expect anything amazing but it turned out wonderfully.  She did French Plaits down both sides and secured the rest in a big fluffy bun – impressive! Then it was time for our manicures – I had given my nails a fortnight rest from polish in preparation. Anna decided on a gorgeous mocha nail polish, and went matte. Yes you get to decide matte or shiny! I went for black, because black goes with everything duh. I also added some gold polka dot nail art. I went for shiny, of course, to accentuate the sparkly gold of the polka dots even more. All during this time we sipped on cocktails, and laughed about all kinds of nonsense.

Final thoughts?

For only £25 the CHEEKY fix me up combo is definitely worth the money! I can’t say I’d do it every Friday night, but I’ll definitely be going back again, for sure. The combo is perfect for a night out, and I love treating myself every now and again to a manicure. If you’re looking for something a bit more special, they now offer make-up and pedicures as well.
Visit The Cheeky Parlour for more info and a list of beauty treatments.