17 May 2014

Aromatherapy Associates Hydrating Rose Skin Tonic

This week has been crazy! Between working 9-5 and spending every evening at the theatre performing, there has been zero free time to blog.
However, it has provided the perfect opportunity to really enjoy the refreshing beauty that is the Aromatherapy Associates Rose Skin Tonic(*). At the end of such a busy day it feels amazing to come home and take off my stage make-up using this product.
Made my distilling thousands of fragrant Bulgarian rose petals, the skin tonic is both soothing and nourishing at the same time. Acting as a mild astringent, it is designed to be used after cleansing the skin to tone the pores leaving them refined and lightly moisturised.
I have been using several pumps of this on a cotton pad every morning and evening after using my Nuxe Rose Micellar Water and the combination really leave my skin feeling beautiful.
Just a little of the Hydrating Rose Skin Tonic(*) removes any last traces of make-up, cools my skin and helps to reduce any redness. I've also found that my skin has been drinking up less moisturiser after using this so I believe it really is helping to provide my skin with some much needed moisture,
The design of the bottle makes the product very easy to use. There is a simple pump on the top of the bottle, much like that on a liquid soap bottle which allows you to dispense as much or little of the water as you like onto a cotton pad. I usually use three pumps for my whole face so really not much. After using this twice a day for several weeks now, there is still very little gone from the 200ml bottle.

I'll be honest, at £25 for a 200ml bottle, this product is not cheap. But as with all Aromatherapy Associates products, it is beautiful, and I really have felt and seen a difference in my skin. It looks brighter, feels softer and generally healthier, so whilst I wouldn't have spent so much on a skin tonic before, I wouldn't hesitate in replacing it.

What do you think, would you purchase a bottle of Hydrating Rose Skin Tonic?
Annie xx

8 May 2014

The Ultrabond Challenge- The Review

As mentioned in my lastpost, over the bank holiday weekend I was taking part in the Ultrabond challenge which was put together to test the staying power of new Ultrabond lash adhesive* and the quality of Nouveau lashes*.
Ultrabond prides itself on being different to other lash glues; it is latex free and incredibly gentle on the skin making it suitable for almost everyone. To adhere thelashes I found that I needed barely any of the Ultrabond glue and once it had dried the lashes were set firmly in place and stayed there with no movement or excess gumminess.
This photo is the final selfie I took for the instagram part of the challenge and shows just before removing the lashes.i was so impressed with how well they held. The only times I felt a little less positive wasafter showering. I found that the warmth and humidity made the glue a little melty (I can't decide whether that's the right word) but as soon as my skin was dry again it toughened back up. Also, I don't think showering is exactly am occasion calling for false lashes usually!

I have to say that over all I was incredibly impressed with the results of the Ultrabond glue. As someone who loves falsies but finds them a bit of a chore with all the usual maintenance and resticking, this was like a breath of fresh air. I wasn't constantly worrying about the lashes coming off and I didn't feel like my eyes were all gummed up from too much glue. I am going to ssy that I think I will actually be wearing falsies a lot more now that I have a glue that makes them so simple to use so I'm glad I took part.
You can grab a tube *here* for £12.95 :)

Annie xx

3 May 2014

The Ultrabond Challenge with Nouveau Lashes

Happy Bank Holiday weekend!
Recently I was approached and asked if I would like to take part in the #ultrabondchallenge which is taking place this weekend and features the range of beautiful false lashes from brand Nouveau Lashes* and an exciting new lash adhesive from Ultrabond* which promises longer wear, is latex free which means no nasty smell and also much less chance of skin irritation.

The #ultrabondchallenge tests the quality of the lashes and also whether the Ultrabond adhesive lives up to its claims of longevity. On Friday evening I was to apply the lashes as usual, using the Ultrabond glue but rather than remove them at the end of the evening they get left on for the entire weekend.

So far I must say I'm impressed. I never leave lashes on over night, partly because after a few hours they're falling off but after probably nearly 24 hours now they're still going strong.
I also don't feel like my real lashes are all clogged with glue because I needed hardly any to make the falsies stick.

So far so good so hopefully I'll continue being impressed. Final thoughts to come after the trial ends :)

Annie xx