Merumaya #Beautyhasnoage Makeup Bag

I am a big fan of Merumaya products, I love how they make my skin feel, how well they work and ultimately the brand itself is pretty special.

MERUMAYA is all about you, feeling fabulous and confident about the way you look, at every age. Maleka, the woman behind the brand explains that a woman in her teens, should not feel vulnerable to peer pressure, to look a certain way or be depressed because her acne makes her feel ugly. A woman in her thirties should not feel the desperation of a ‘sell by date’ for her beauty. A woman in her 50’s does not have to succumb, to anyone else’s opinion, of what is age appropriate beauty. A woman in her 70's+ should still feel beautiful, relevant and her beauty celebrated. #beautyhasnoage is a mission, to unite every woman who ever felt insecure about the way she looks, in support. It’s success relies on all of us supporting each other, in the mission to feel confident about the uniqueness of our individual beauty, at every age.

Behind the brand are some amazing products, some of which I have featured on my blog (here, here and here) and again behind each product are the principles that Maleka uses as a guide:

• Prevent & Perfect skin ageing – the integrative, concept
• Performance - use evidence-based, clinically tested active ingredients, in the same concentrations as they were tested. Load with anti-inflammatories, so that even acne-prone and sensitive skins, can use high-performance, youthful-ageing products.
• Pleasure - over decades we’ve gotten a bit too pious about skincare. I want to delight your senses and the Signature Essence Blend, contains nature identical molecules, of scents that were used in times gone by, to raise confidence and attraction. It provides a unique experience based on your olfactory and limbic system and so, is very personal. It makes you feel fabulous and definitely a step away, from the somewhat boring and safe 'citrus', that is used as a standard because it is inoffensive. Also, the textures of the products are sensual, velvety and silky.
• Practicality - we all want to look youthful for longer but there is no need to spend more of your precious time, in front of the mirror, doing it! I wanted to save you time and make it super easy for you to take care of your skin. An example is our Melting Cleansing Balm™: in a tube, no 'warming' required, melts, milks, easy to remove and saves you at least 45 seconds on each effective, sensorial cleanse.
• Price - I was determined to bring to market, products that can rival any of those in the luxury sector, at a price that meant most customers can afford to use them all the time. This has been the hardest, because I refused to compromise on ingredients and formula. So, I put the money into the product and not packaging or advertising and I am prepared to take a much lower margin for myself, in the hopes that this will grow to be the next big British brand...help spread the word please!
• Patriotism - this is a British brand that is Made in GREAT Britain. I am a London girl and it is important, that we all do our bit to support our own economy and jobs. For me it is spending my money with British businesses that make and supply my products.   All of us can at least give British brands a try and, if they stand up to the test, continue to buy them.
• Personal – I genuinely want you to participate in this brand by communicating directly with us.  I want you to help us evolve, so that we are constantly relevant to youand your needs; so that we create products that genuinely deliver results.  I want you to have a hand in the growth we hope to achieve and humbly ask you, to help us spread the word by recommending products you love, to your friends and family please.

I was kindly sent this #beautyhasnoage makeup bag which is incredibly snazzy and you can get one for yourself too as a reminder!  There is currently a 50% sale on the top products from Merumaya and the bag is free with purchase or you can buy it on its own too.

Have you tried any products from Merumaya and 

do you agree #beautyhasnoage?

*this post contains PR samples unless indicated otherwise

Merumaya Gentle Exfoliating Toner

Merumaya is a brand that I absolutely love and am yet to use a product I dislike. On their shelves you will find a product for everything - Cleansers, Cleansing Balm, Toners, Eye Cream, Night Cream, Face Wash, Oils, Serums, hand wash, hand cream, masks, peels, supplements and spot treatments to name just a few. The latest product which has been added to my routine is The Gentle Exfoliating Toner.

Until now, I never bothered to use a toner as part of my skincare regime, so I was very excited to see what effect this Exfoliating Toner would have and to see what the results were. The product itself is packed full of active ingredients some of which give immediate noticeable results and others that are more effective when the toner is used over a longer period of time. Unsurprisingly, the words AHA and Hyaluronic Acid appear in the list on ingredients and this is what they do.

• AHAs or Natural Alpha Hydroxy Acids work to gently yet effectively peel away dead skin, detoxify, cleanse and refine pores to reveal fresh smooth and brighter skin. Natural AHA’s Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHAs) are proven to act as exfoliants, loosening and removing the top layer of dead cells by decreasing corneocyte adhesion. This reveals the new skin cells below. Natural AHA Complex provides a superficial peel action resulting in an improved surface appearance for a fresher, smoother look to skin. AHAs help to remove dry skin and can be useful in treating blemished or problem skin, unblocking and cleansing pores. Phew! So essentially what it does is remove all that dirt, grime, excess sebum and nasty stuff from your skin, the stuff that accumulates each day, the stuff which turns the cotton wool pad a black/brown shade when you cleanse essentially. 
• Hyaluronic Acid is an ingredient that my skin absolutely loves, it helps to retain over a 1000 times its weight in water within the cells of skin, making it an excellent moisturiser. 
• Natural Betaine is an osmoregulator which essentially means that it manages water balance in skin cells. It can hold 1.6 times its own weight in water. It hydrates and softens the surface of skin resulting in a soft and even finish.

I absolutely love using this toner and it is so gentle on the skin that you can use it twice a day or if you feel this is a little too obsessive, then it is great for using during those times when your skin feels lacklustre and dull. I use the toner once a day as part of my evening skincare routine and afterwards my skin is so soft and smooth, it feels amazing. This toner is priced at £17.50 for a 128ml bottle, so it is going to last quite some time, even if you do use it twice a day.

What I also love about Merumaya is their focus on promoting #BeautyHasNoAge and by this, it means the products are not focused or targeted at Anti Aging, a term most people, myself included, are often skeptical about, but instead, Merumaya want to promote the feeling of positivity about our age and embracing the changes that happen as we get older.

You Beauty Discovery Box - January 2015

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know that I am a huge fan of You Beauty Discovery Boxes because they are not only amazing value for money but the actual concept is brilliant.  Most of us love Beauty Boxes and subscribe to them, most of the time not knowing what an earth you might find.  With You Beauty Discovery, every month you get a menu to choose from and then you also get one or two treats as well.

This month the list to choose from was again amazing and I was chuffed to find two products listed that I have wanted to try for some time and this is my box:

Every month within the box, which cleverly fits through your letterbox, is a little magazine to read and it is one I always read cover to cover.  This month we are told that the products we have had to choose from are about banishing the January Blues.  The freebies or little treats this month are ones I really like too and they are as follows:

Starting with a £25 off card for Hello Fresh - Hello Fresh is the UK’s leading cook-from-scratch delivery service. Hello Fresh believe that everything positive in life starts with great food and that everyone should have access to the highest quality ingredients and the knowledge to cook themTo make that happen they send you amazing recipes and all the exact fresh ingredients you need to cook them, direct to your door. Beautifully photographed recipe cards walk you through every recipe... No shopping, carrying or planning. The only thing you need to do is the fun bit: cooking and eating! PLUS, they won’t charge for delivery either.

Dove Youthful Vitality Hair BB Cream - Specifically formulated for ageing hair, the new Youthful Vitality range from Dove Advanced Hair Series helps replenish your hairs lost nutrients and restore elasticity. Dove Youthful Vitality BB Cream, part of the new Dove Advanced Hair Series, is a one step multi-tasker designed to replenish, style and protect hair. Formulated with anti-oxidants and a UV filter it improves manageability to make styling even easier.

Dragonfly Tea - I have tired some tea before from this brand and loved it. A family-owned, British brand, the range of teas keeps growing. With recently launched new look packaging, be sure not to miss this delicate and delicious tea brand. The brand scour the globe to find artisanal and often rare teas, some from remote tea gardens, and some from the world’s most renowned tea makers. Dragonfly Tea was the first to introduce favourites such as rooibos, white tea and honeybush to Britain’s high street. IN my box I have Swirling Mist, Green Gaucho and Mountain Honeybush.

The we have the products I actually chose from my shortlist, the entire list can be found HERE.  The first of my products is this:

MeruMaya is a brand I have read a lot about and not tried, though I did have some sample sachets somewhere and for the life of me cannot find them, so I was happy to see these options available and readily added them to my box.  So we have the Melting Cleansing Balm and the Overnight Recharge Night Cream.

• The Melting Cleansing Balm claims to efficaciously removes all traces of make up and grime and leaves the skin feeling velvety soft.  It uses Sweet Almond Oil allows thorough cleansing with moisture delivery and Echium Oil (RevitElix™) helps perfect lines and wrinkles whilst improving skin elasticity.
• The Overnight Recharge Cream uses the inclusion of FIVE highly potent actives addresses the complexity of effective and lasting moisturisation, that helps your skin perform better at every level and you can read more about those HERE.

My second choice this month was the DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, another product I have read about and wanted to try.  

DHC Deep Cleansing Oil manages to remove all forms of impurities on the skin and can even be used by those who suffer from sensitive or oily skin (the ‘Oil’ in the product name can sometimes make those with oily skin think otherwise). As a make-up remover it completely dissolves all traces of dirt and cosmetics – even waterproof mascara and eyeliner – while nourishing your complexion with antioxidant-rich olive oil.

Now this box cost just £6.95 and look at the contents, isn't that just great value for money? I think so and I would love to know if you also subscribe and what you chose from the list!

You Beauty Discovery Box - November

If you are an avid reader of my blog, you will know how amazing I think the You Beauty Discovery Box is and you can see what I got in the  February, March, April, May, June, July, August September and October boxes. 

My November box arrived a few days ago and this month I was decided what I was going to want as soon as I got the list of options through in an email. The one thing I love about this box is that for £6.95 you get such a good range of products to choose from and this month is no exception.

Starting with the free treats this month we have the follow items

There has been a lot of chatter around the skincare brand Merumaya lately, ive been seeing it everywhere and in my box I have two sachets to try - a Melting Cleansing Balm and some Iconic Youth Serum, the two together apparently forming a dream team for skincare.

Then we have Aduna Baobab Superfruit Powder which is a rich source of vitamin C. It can be blended into smoothies or sprinkled onto cereal, porridge or yoghurt.

The rest of the box is formed from a theme of gift-worthy goodies and they were as follows:

• Skin & Tonic cleansing balm
• Roques O'Neil Therapie Himalayan Detox Salts
• Rituals Hammam Delight Shower Foam
• Magnifibres Brush-on False Lashes
• Invisibobble 
• Green People Forest Brown organic eyeliner pencil
• Bourjois Cream blush 
• Argan Organics anti-wrinkle range

So for me there was definitely a fantastic choice of products to choose from and I opted for the following:

The first item was the Roques O'Neil Therapie Himalayan Detox Salts which I raved about HERE and as far as I am concerned you can never have too many of these sachets in your bathroom because they are an amazing product. If you have never tried them before and I urge to do so.

"A blissful cocktail of therapeutic Himalayan mineral salts to fortify the spirit. Like a natural Valium, these bath salts calm stress-based palpitations, balance energy flow and help combat insomnia. Add to this blood purifying and anti-inflammatory properties, and discover that heaven is just a bath soak away".

This is a 100g sachet which has an RRP £9.99.

The second item is one I have had my eye on for a while because I am a mascara fiend but have never got round to ordering and that is the Magnifibres Brush-on False Lashes which are said to give an instant false lash effect without the fuss. As a full sized product there is a RRP of £16.99.

So for a £6.95 subscription, my box has a value of around £27 which is almost 4 times the value for money - amazing.

What do you think to do this? Do you subscribe to these boxes? What would you have chosen? If you subscribe, link your post below so I can see what you got.