bloomzy /

Giveaway: Try it first…

For a while now I’ve been collecting samples for a giveaway.
I think it’s a great way to discover and try new products and brands.
This means I can offer someone the chance to try out some well known products too.
I’ve included a variety of items, some for skin, hair, make-up and even some false eyelashes.
Disclaimer: The Redken, Topicrem, NYX, Facefacts and Dr Bronner’ sproducts were PR samples sent to me.
The rest of the samples are items I have bought myself to add to the giveaway, or were given when making purchases.
What can you win?
A collection of skin, hair, eyelash, make-up and beauty samples.
As shown in the photo at the top of this post.

How to enter:
+ Be a follower of ‘Bloomzy’ via Bloglovin
+ Earn extra entries on Twitter, Facebook etc.
– Entrants who do not follow the rules will be disqualified
– Twitter accounts created purely for giveaways will be disqualified.
The giveaway is open for 2 weeks (ending 27th Oct at 12am)
This giveaway is open internationally.
Good luck!

bloomzy /

Avène Personalised Skincare Routine

Avèn3 Extremely Gentle Cleanser*, Eau Thermale Water Spray, Rich Skin Recovery Cream

It’s no secret that Avène are my favourite skincare brand.
They know how to look after sensitive skin, so they’re perfect for me.
I always stock up on Avène products in France, or Boots if I run out when I’m in the UK.
So when I signed up to the Avène website I was interested to see a personalised skincare routine.
The brand have decided to help those out who aren’t sure what products of theirs to use.
I decided to give it a go to see if they could recommend anything I hadn’t used before.
Using their Skin Diagnosis I filled out everything that applied to me and my skin.
I choose the ‘fair skin’ option and filled in the rest as follows:
As you can see they recommended me the three products I have above:
+ Extremely Gentle Cleanser
+ Eau Thermale Water Spray
+ Rich Skin Recovery Cream
My skin has not felt anywhere near as irritated as it was before I started using these together.
It stopped a blemish I felt that was on it’s way, and it has also cleared up my skin and left it fresh.
I really love that the site also tells you how to use these products and what they’re good for.
If you’re new to Avène or just want some help with your skincare routine this is for you.
They even sent me some samples of 2 of the products in my diagnosis after I signed up.
I don’t know if this is the same every time but I imagine they send them to everyone.
It’s handy for those who don’t want to invest in products without trying them first.
Find out your own personalised skin diagnosis here.
You can buy Avène products in Boots stores nationwide, and on Boots.com
bloomzy /

French Pharmacy Haul: Avène, Nuxe, Caudalie & La Roche-Posay

I think it’s safe to say I went a little crazy.
French pharmacies are my version of a toy store.
Once I’m let loose in them, you’re not getting me back for a while.
This holiday I think I outdid myself, this is probably my biggest haul so far.
I bought products I’ve tried before and adore, and new ones that I’d heard good things about.
I’m sure you know all of these but just incase let me introduce you to the brands & products I bought:
Caudalie
+ Beauty Elixir

La Roche-Posay
+ Serozinc Toner
Nuxe
+ Essential Travel Kit
+ Nirvanesque Eye Contour Cream
Avène
+ Trixera Emollient Cream
+ Cold Cream Body Lotion
+ Eau Thermal Water Spray
+ Skin Rich Recovery Cream
+ Eau Thermal Micellar Lotion Cleanser & Make-up Remover

The beauty of French pharmacies is that they have full collections.
It can be difficult to find French beauty products in the UK for a decent price.
For those who are interested in trying them out for themselves, I have included links.
It might seem like I’ve bought far too many products to try out, but trust me, you’ll be seeing reviews.
bloomzy /

Challenge: STEAMCREAM

A few weeks ago I was sent a small package from STEAMCREAM*.
They wanted to set a few bloggers a fun little challenge using their product.
The aim was to use the STEAMCREAM in several ways, as part of your daily routine.
It was to show the versatility of the product and to prove that it isn’t just another old moisturiser.
When my pack arrived, honestly, I was a little dubious as I stared at my ‘ingredients’.
I love natural ingredients being used in beauty products but I wasn’t entirely sure I could do it myself.
Well thankfully I proved myself wrong because I managed to create 3 separate products with my STEAMCREAM.
Oat exfoliating mask, bb cream, and sugar body scrub
All 3 of these only involved mixing a product (foundation etc) with the STEAMCREAM.
It was so simple that it didn’t take up much time at all, which was great as I’m always in a rush.
My two favourites though had to be the exfoliating oat face mask & the invigorating sugar body scrub.
My skin felt super smooth, moisturised and calm (some products can upset my sensitive skin) afterwards.
The BB cream didn’t work out that well for me, but I never have been a big fan of tinted moisturisers etc.
Still, I would say that this challenge was a success, even though I had my suspicions to start off with.
When I first discovered STEAMCREAM I thought it was just another moisturiser.
Well luckily for me, I was wrong. It’s a whole lot more than that!
Visit STEAMCREAM to purchase a tin, and have a go at your own challenge.
Alternatively, you can buy it in Selfridges, John Lewis and from ASOS.
bloomzy /

Review: Maybelline Baby Lips ‘Cherry Me’

This review has been a long time coming.
I know you’re probably all thinking “Oh not another Baby Lips review”.
I know, and I agree with you. Wait, what? Yeah, I think they’re overhyped too.
At the base of it all, they’re just a tinted lip balm, nothing fancy, nothing unique, right?
Well here’s what I had to say about the ‘Cherry Me’ version…

Pros:
+ Love the tube packaging
+ Nice hint of colour
+ Moisturising

Cons:
– Dated outer packaging
– Colour comes off easily
– No lasting hydration

Notes:
Honestly even though I knew what to expect from Baby Lips I was disappointed.
My disappointment started when I couldn’t find one large Boots or Superdrug store that was stocking the lip balms – not that they were sold out, but the stores weren’t stocking them. This went on for several weeks, and I didn’t want to buy them online as I didn’t fancy paying the postage. Now I’m not a business woman but it seems odd to me that a large store wouldn’t carry an item that has this much hype around it. Anyway, I finally found them in Superdrug and I was slightly appalled at the packaging, it was dated and looked like an advert that had been left in the sun too long (deteriorated). Still I like the packaging of the tube (very cute) so I grabbed the only one I knew I would use – Cherry Me. The colour is nice, I like that it’s only a hint but others shouldn’t expect great pigmentation. The colour doesn’t stay though, neither does the moisturising (which was good when first applied) – it came off easily and didn’t last. 
Sorry Baby Lips but this is one hype that just doesn’t live up to it’s reputation.
It’s a bye bye from me – I won’t be re-purchasing you.
If you fancy buying Baby Lips, you can find the full range here.
bloomzy /

Haul: ASOS & Maybelline Baby Lips

Shoes, Anatomicals: Sleep Balm & Eye Patches, OPI Matte Top Coat, Maybelline Baby Lips

A couple of Friday’s ago I won an ASOS voucher. I wasn’t after anything particular (that they had) so I saved it. I knew I needed a pair of plain black sneakers (for this & that) but knew they would be cheap. So after choosing those and seeing that I had a considerable amount left I headed to the beauty section. I am seriously impressed with the selection of products that ASOS carry on there! They have such a great variety and some really good deals.

Since I wasn’t spending my own money I bought things I’ve wanted to try for a while but wasn’t too sure about wasting money on. Anatomicals is a brand that I have seen a lot of and wanted to investigate further, especially the sleep balm – so I picked that up and paired it with some eye patches (for to an upcoming post). Then I headed to the nail varnish section. Honestly I have so many polishes it’s hard to find a shade I don’t already have by another brand, so I was looking for something different. That’s where OPI’s Matte Top Coat came into play. I am so excited to try this and play around with it, I feel like it’s Christmas already! I knew I had picked the right products as I was really looking forward to receiving them and was still happy when I ripped open the parcel – that’s always a good sign for me.

As for the Maybelline Baby Lips, they kind of tagged along in this post. I have been searching for them for a couple of weeks now and had no luck until last Friday. I managed to finally find all of them in Superdrug, but was actually left feeling a bit uninspired. I picked up ‘Cherry Me’ though as I knew it was a shade I would use often.

You can find links to all of the products under the photo at the top of the post.

bloomzy /

Review: Witch Mattifying Moisturiser

Witch Mattifying Moisturiser, with SPF15 for Oily/Combination Skin*

At the Pegasus Live event I spoke with a representative of Witch.
We spoke about how I prefer not to use a primer, and how my skin dislikes certain moisturisers.
She was confident in recommending their new mattifying moisturiser and thought it would be perfect.
So you can imagine I was very happy to find one in my goodie bag, so I could try it out for myself.
Pros:
+ Moisturising
+ Doesn’t break me out
+ Works well as a primer
+ Fits well into my daily skin/make-up routine

Cons:
– Not great for the current Summer heatwave

Notes:
My skin can often feel dry after cleansing if I don’t use a moisturiser.
This solved that problem, and also worked well as a primer when applying make-up.
It didn’t break me out either, which can often be a problem when I use a new moisturiser.
The only problem I had was that it felt slightly oily on my problem areas, which wasn’t great for applying concealer/foundation on top of. That said, I think the current heatwave may be contributing to that so I’m hopeful that it won’t be such a problem when the weather cools down again.
You can buy Witch Mattifying Moisturiser in Boots stores, or online here.