Lush - Let The Good Times Roll

Lush’s Let The Good Times Roll** fresh cleanser for the face and body is not just for Christmas anymore. Back by popular demand, this cleanser has become an all year round product and is a treat for the skin. Made with maize flour and polenta to gently exfoliate, and cinnamon powder to stimulate and leave your skin feeling soft. Let The Good Times Roll is topped off with corn oil and popcorn to leave your skin with an irresistible caramel buttery scent and a natural glow.

Well if that isn't enough to grab your attention, then I don't know what is, but when this little pot of joy came through my door I was so delighted because this had been one of my favourite Lush products for a long time and it suddenly went and disappeared. But now it is back and it is all mine. 

For me this cleanser is quite similar to 'Angels on Bare skin' which I also love, but instead of having the exfoliating ingredient of ground almonds this has ground corn or maize.

WHAT LUSH SAY Fresh Cleanser "A Maize In, gentle facial wash We popped corn oil, polenta, maize flour and cinnamon in here. The perfect recipe to gently exfoliate, moisturise and soften your skin for those times when you want to get ready for close-ups. Let The Good Times Roll is a gentle treat for the skin, leaving you soft to the touch with a lingering buttery caramel popcorn fragrance - when you look and feel this good you can give your Body Double the day off.." 

As with most Lush products there is a huge list of ingredients and within this one there are some worth mentioning:

• Maize Flour - gives the product a nice doughy consistency whilst also effectively cleansing the skin, helping to scrub away excess dirt and leaving skin clean and soft. 
• Polenta - is packed with good amounts of iron, thiamine, zinc, phosphorus and magnesium. It's also a good source of fibre.
• Cinnamon Powder - good cleansing herb, it also has powerful antiseptic properties. Its sensual aroma has been proven to have an aphrodisiac effect when used in baked cinnamon rolls! 
• Corn Oil - Corn oil is great for good skin and hair due to it being a rich source of linoleic acid, which is one of two essential acids necessary for growth. Corn oil is also recognized as an excellent source of tocopherols. Tocopherols function as antioxidants and provide a good source of Vitamin E.

To look at, this looks like some dough, it has a rich buttery colour and as soon as the lid is removed the scent is really lovely, reminds me of biscuits.

Once on the skin it has a slight sandy texture to it and naturally there are bits of popcorn which gives it some added oomph.  

As you mix it with water to make a paste you simply massage it onto your face using your fingers and as you do that you can feel those fine particles working on your skin to remove anything dead or dry, sounds gruesome but it does actually do that.  Then once you have finished simply wash any excess off with warm water and then pat your skin dry. Ideally this is designed for those with normal/dry skin but given I have combination skin, I do find it works really well with my skin.  As this is an exfoliating cleanser the ingredients are designed to exfoliate, stimulate and nourish your skin and no sooner had I patted my skin dry, my skin was soft and smooth to the touch.

Lush’s Let The Good Times Roll fresh cleanser for the face and body has an RRP of £6.35 for 100g / £15.88 for 250g

I absolutely love this product and am so glad Lush have brought it back, have you tried it?

GlamGlow Youth Mud

It is a well known fact that I love facemasks, you only need to search for the term on my blog to find endless reviews and one of the products I had been lusting after was GlamGlow Youth mud which I got in a You Beauty Discovery Box as you can see HERE.

Described as follows "the ultimate at-home  mud treatment for immediate camera-ready super radiant skin. For when you need great skin and a glowing complexion in just 10 minutes. It delivers both instant and cumulative results and leaves your complexion revived and glowing, whatever your skin type" and it makes a huge number of claims, such as:

• Skin Collagen Synthesis for a noticeable 3 day glow.
• Brighter, radiant skin in minutes.
• Leaves skin noticeably soft and smooth.
• Multi-level resurfacing exfoliation.
• Penetrates into the deepest layers of the skin to soften fine lines and wrinkles. 
• Tightens, tones and lifts the skin. 
• Relieves dark circles and minimises pores. 
• Absorbs impurities without removing natural oils.
• Helps protect against everyday environmental aggressors. 

As well as

• Suitable for all skin types, all ages and for both women and men.
• Contains no artificial colours or fragrances.
• 100% paraben-free, cruelty-free, and suitable for vegans.

So yes I got my hands on a small and cute little tube which contains 15g of GlamGlow mud and with its black tube body and silver lid it certainly stands out in the bathroom amongst many Lush products which are all brightly coloured.  

As soon as I had washed and cleansed my face, to make sure there was no dirt, grime and other nasties lurking on the surface, I opened the tube and began to apply the mud, now as an exfoliating mask you have to expect some 'bits' to be it to exfoliate the skin, only these bits were a little bigger than I expected and having them stuck to my face wasn't a very attractive look. Now it does state that you should begin to feel a bit of a tingling sensation, well you certainly do and as the mask dries onto your face the tingling sensation intensifies, in a nice way and it is good to know it is actually doing something. 

Having dried within a matter of what felt like minutes, I grabbed by Washi cloth which was sitting in some warm water and began to massage the now dried mask on my face in circles so that I get a really good exfoliation of the face and then once complete and my face had been splashed with some clean warm water to ensure i had removed every trace of the mask, I patted my skin dry.

Afterwards? Well what can I say, my skin looked and felt amazing, smooth to the touch rather than dry and dehydrated.  No dry skin anywhere on my face at all and given the weather has changed a lot recently I had begun to notice the dryness on the cheeks sneaking back and now it had been dealt with.  As for the effects lasting 3 days, well actually yes I think they did, no dry skin whatsoever and the soft smooth and hydrated skin was still there, obviously I continued to moisturise as I usually would.

I had secretly hoped i wouldn't like this treatment so much, but truth is I absolutely love it and am thankful I have another 2-3 maybe 4 uses in this tube (assuming the mister doesn't try it out) and I am even considering buying a full sized tub.

Have you used GlamGlow? Are you a fan?

Primark Body Essentials Argan Scrub

I am a bit of an impulse shopper, a bit of a magpie when I see things that sound good, are a bargain price and make a few promises, I buy them.  Sometimes those products are amazing, sometimes they are disappointing - this product was the latter.

For £2.50 in Primark, I came across Body Essentials Argan range within which was a body scrub with Argan oil and a promise that it would remove dead skin cells leaving skin smoothed and polished. Hmmm £2.50 this could have been the product of all products had if worked, but for me it didn't.

It says "Treat your body with intensely conditioning argan oil. This body scrub removed dead skin cells whilst smoothing the skin leaving it feeling refreshed, polished and smelling delicious".

Well it does smell nice, but not what I would call delicious, when I think of a body scrub that is delicious I am drawn to the Soap and Glory a Breakfast scrub which smells amazing, this scrub smells like a weak coconut smoothie, though it doesn't contain coconut.

Then when it comes to using on your body, it does say that for a deeper exfoliation you can use it in dry skin before showering or when in the shower on damp skin massage it on using circular motions.  The cream is a fairly thick consistency and there are small exfoliating particles in it, but I personally think the cream is too thick for those particles to work as they should, so it doesn't do a very good job at exfoliating, it's main purpose.  When you do manage to get to the exfoliating particles they don't exfoliate that well and you can barely feel them on the skin, even if you apply a lot of pressure.  I found it particularly hard to use and ended up reaching for the Soap and a Glory Breakfast scrub to finish the job I had started.

I have used this quite a few times over the past few months, I say that because I feel it would be unfair to use it once and then state I am not too impressed with it.  I have tried using it before I shower, when I am in the shower and even when I am in the bath and I get the same result, well no result actually.  The only thing it does is make my skin feel really dry after using it, so I am instantly reaching for one of my moisturises as soon as I have patted my skin dry.

For £2.50 I am really saddened this hasn't worked for me because I had high hopes, maybe it works better for other people, but for me it is a product that I wouldn't repurchase and one that is heading for the bin because I won't be finishing the tube.

My favourite products of 2013 - Part Two!

So, you have already seen my favourite Lip Products which I posted yesterday and you can find for yourself HERE and today I am going to bring to you my favourite Hair and Body products and there are quite a few to go through within the category as it includes shampoo, conditioners, shower gels and so on.

Hair and Body

Inhibitif - I couldn't really do a favourites product and not feature this one could I?  I have absolutely loved discovering this product and even now 8 months on, I am still using it and the results are just as brilliant i.e less leg shaving.  Inhibitif and the people behind the product at Deciem have also been wonderful and they gave me the opportunity to appear on the product packaging, which in itself is simply amazing and I also appeared in The Sun Newspaper too and you can see both below:

When you are next in Boots buying a new Razor or some hair removing cream, look for Inhibitif and there you will find me and my blog on the packaging.

Bubb & Dimples have managed to combine two of my loves into one - Candles and skincare.  I was first introduced to them back in July and reviewed some of their products HERE.  What I love about these candles is not only do they smell absolutely amazing they are all handmade here in the UK and they literally are a spa in a jar.  As you melt the candles they produce a nourishing body oil which is so moisturising they are wonderful.

label.m - Another company that I love.  I have used a lot of products from label.m and am yet to be disappointed in anything I use.  Shown in the photo above there is Protein Spray, Dry Shampoo and the Honey and Oat Shampoo and Conditioner all of which I have reviewed.  What I love about label.m products is that I have thin, fine hair but a lot of it and my job is quite stressful and I suffer with a dry, flaky scalp not to mention greasy roots and generally my hair can be an utter nightmare.  All of the products I have used to date from this brand have left my hair and scalp feeling wonderful and has given my hair a lovely healthy shine.

Amie - Another brand that I have only come across thanks to being a blogger and another brand I love.  Spring Clean Cooling Mask which I reviewed HERE and Morning Dew Moisturiser which you can find a review about HERE are two products I have found myself going back to time and time again.

Snow Fairy - Well no review of 2013 would be complete without a mention of my all time favourite shower gel and a review of which you can find HERE.  I absolutely love the scent and the fact it is pink gets the big thumbs up from me and as soon as Lush announce it is on sale I am in one of the stores to stock up.

Mint Thé Refreshing Bath & Shower Therapy - I was lucky enough to win this bath and shower gel from Bodhi in a giveaway and I absolutely love it.  A review of it you can find HERE. I love the fact it smells simply wonderful, so fresh and relaxing and as soon as I have got into my bath, I instantly feel more at ease and have no trouble sleeping afterwards.

Macademia Hair Masque - It was a toss up between this and label.m intensive mask, but as I have run out of label.m and threw the pot away into my recycling, I have been unable to feature it in the photo but it is fabulous.  This mask from Macademia smells wonderful and it leaves me hair feeling really nourished and shiney.

Moroccanoil Frizz Control - I got this back in September in a Limebox which you can read about HERE and it is a fabulous product.  Perfect for when I have straightened my hair with my GHDs and am in need of a little serum to tame those few unruly hairs which refuse to stay put, one little spritz and my hair looks perfect, or as near to perfect as I can get it to look.

Soap & Glory Sugarcrush Body Scrub - Not a product I have yet reviewed on my blog which I am surprised by because I absolutely love this scrub,  It smells really zesty and is perfect for waking you up in a morning and as it scrub it leaves my skin feeling soft and smooth.

Elemis Fresh Skin - I got this from the July London Meet up in my goody bag and it was my first real introduction to Elemis and one that I have really enjoyed.  I reviewed this product HERE and what I like about it is how kind it is to the skin but effective at removing dead and dry skin cells to leave my skin looking and feeling soft, smooth and moisturised.

Tangle Teezer - I reviewed this product HERE and was lucky enough to be sent it from WIMH back in August and I probably use it everyday without fail.  It is curved to make it easy to hold when you are brushing your hair and it also goes through my hair without pulling any hair out or causing any damage.

So there you have my hair and body favourites of 2013 and you might be wondering about body moisturisers and why one isn't included, well I am yet to find one that I could call a favourite, there are however a few that I like. 

Would any of these products feature in your favourites of 2013?