Laura Mercier Ambre Vanille Honey Bath

I am of the persuasion that there is to better way to relax in the evening than with a hot bubble bath full of beautiful products to make you feel completely blissed out. My number one product for these indulgent pamper sessions? The Laura Mercier Ambre Vanille Honey Bath!

This ridiculously beautiful honey bubble bath has a delicate and sophisticated vanilla scent that is enhanced with hints of almond and sandalwood making it so much more special that your average vanilla scent. As anyone who has tried other products from the range will know, it is also amazing for lingering on the skin in a subtle, sexy way that makes you feel a million dollars.

The formula is fairly thick and, indeed, very reminiscent to that of honey so to use it you just swirl the honey stick thingy around the jar and stir straight into the bath which I find pretty fun if I'm honest! You need very little to create lovely fluffy bubbles and release the warming aroma. The honey bath itself as well as containing vanilla and honey extracts also contains shea butter, almond proteins, oat proteins and Pro-vitamin B-5 which help to moisturise and regulate moisture levels in the skin so your skin is left feeling soft, moisturised and refreshed.
I am hopelessly addicted to Laura Mercier products and whilst it's hard to argue that any beauty product is worth as much as they are, if I am going to invest £40 in something for my skin then I would always choose Laura Mercier, they truly are exceptional products. You can pick up a jar from Space NK for £32.00.
Annie xx

Golden Ointment from Lanolips Reviewed

Dry skin can be really damaging to self esteem. For years I've had incredibly dry, sore elbows that just wouldn't go away no matter what I tried using on them. Because of this, when I was given the chance to try out the new festival sized mini's of both the 101 Ointment* (review to come) and Golden Ointment* I was particularly interested to test them out on my poor old elbows.

The Golden Ointment* comes in a very cute vintage inspired tin that is no bigger than a tub of lip balm and contains 12.5g of product, perfect for dropping into your handbag or stowing in your travel kit for festivals or summer holidays. I am not personally a fan of using lanolin on my lips for personal belief reasons but this ointment is the first thing that I have used on my elbows that has actually worked in softening and hydrating the sore skin and making the pain go away. I have also used it, to amazing effect, on my legs and feet when I get eczema flair up and found it to help so much with speeding up the healing process and lessening the urge to scratch it and make the area worse.

Lanolin is an amazing ingredient, extracted from the wool sheered from sheep, it is the yellow waxy substance that provides a protective barrier in the wool and stops sheep who stand in the cold and rain for hours getting cold and soaked through. In cosmetic use it is amazing for locking moisture into skin and hair, providing a protective layer on the skin for people who work in harsher conditions and is also classed as a vegetarian ingredient so extra yay!

The Lanolips Golden Ointment* harnesses the brilliance of lanolin as an ingredient and enhances it with the addition of very moisturising yet anti-bacterial Manuka honey, castor oil and apricot oil so that the product is the very best it can be for giving you an indulgent and deeply nourishing effect.
My one problem with this product is the use of glycerin in the ingredients. Glycerin is derived from animal sources and is not vegetarian, by using glycerine instead which is made using non-animal derivatives the product could have been kept vegetarian and been made suitable for so many more people.

Over all I have been incredibly impressed with this product, and the mini pot makes it perfect for carrying around and applying whenever needed on the run. I now never leave the house without this little tin and will definitely be re-purchasing for years to come. The amount of relief I've been given from using on my elbows and eczema has been huge and after years of being self-conscious about my elbows I finally feel more confident in showing them. I cannot recommend it enough.

You can pick up the travel tin of Lanolips Golden Ointment for £7.99 from most larger pharmacies, Boots and Superdrug stores. Well worth the money in my opinion.

Annie xx

Layla D Honey Moisturiser Reviewed

Layla D Beauty is still a relatively unknown brand on the beauty radar but several months ago a sample pot of the Honey Moisturiser came with a beauty box and got me hooked. Now, two mini pots later, I asked Dan to buy me a full sized tub for valentines day to feed my addiction.

This indulgently thick cream, is rich and a little goes a long long way. My skin has got fairly dry during the winter but is still annoyingly prone to spots so this is totally perfect for me. Honey is a great humectant product which locks in moisture and comforts the skin, but as well as this, it is also an antiseptic making it a great product to use on spot prone skin as it helps to fight any nasty spot causing bacteria.
I've been using the honey moisturiser for around 2-3 months now and have seen a big improvement in my skin. I haven't been getting nasty dry patches around my nose or hair line any more and only get the odd blemish that is a lot smaller and less red and icky than when they used to pop up all the time.

Possibly the biggest draw to this product for me, other than finding the scent of honey one of the most comforting in the world, is the ingredients list. Just look at all of those natural butters and oils! All Layla D products are totally vegetarian, and other than the honey range, they are all vegan friendly.

I have totally fallen in love with this moisturiser and will definitely be wanting to try other products from Layla D after feeling the effects of this gorgeous cream, possibly a cleanser or toner will be next on the shopping list :) Definitely a product I would recommend.

Have you tried any products from Layla D? What do you think of the sound of this lovely honey moisturiser?
Annie x