REVIEW: Tisserand Intensive Hand and Nail Cream

Due to my frantic DIY efforts, my hands have taken to becoming very dry and scaly. I use CND Almond Spa Hand Lotion at home, but it's a bit toolight right now - my hands are seriously dry! The skin around my fingertips are self-cracking and splitting causing bloodloss and pain :(

So there I was, looking for a nice makeup box, when I ventured into the newly snazzed up beauty department in my local John Lewis department store (more on this later). I picked up this hand cream as I liked the concept; essential oil rich, organic ingredients and no synthetic fragrances or parabens. As you knowI am very much into my natural organic beauty. It was quite pricey - £6.50. 'Better be all it promises and more', I thought.

One application and I was hooked. The natural essential oils are lovely, mostly it smells rosy like geranium. It seems to have the added benefit of making you relax and dream of a warm, sunny flower meadow in the summer... Because it is very rich, it needs a minute or so to sink into your skin, it leaves a nice velvety feel. The moisturising properties are fantastic. Scaly fingertips were thoroughly soothed and some of the cracks in the skin are already healing up after a couple of days. I am very impressed! Apparently it won the 'Pure Beauty' Bronze award in 2008. It certainly gets five of five stars from me!

Lina-Elvira Loves It Thiiiis Much:
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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REVIEW: Purity Anti-Ageing Moisturiser

I am into the budget beauty at the moment having to save my pennies as we have finally got our first house, and while cruising for a new moisturiser as my Trilogy has run out, and I can't afford the £20.51 to replace it. Then, as by Providence, I spotted this new line in Superdrug on special offer, this one was £5.35 - so a bargain, and a good promise... Purity is a new line of organic skincare exclusive to Superdrug in the UK. This product is fragrance free but the cream has a slight hint of herbals to it, which I would think are the result of the natural ingredients.

It comes in a opaque white plastic jar, with simplistic labelling. It boasts to contain cranberry seed and rosehip seed oils, high levels of Omega 3, 6 and 9, ceramide 3 and rose flower water. It also contains sweet almond oil, shea butter, beeswax and Aloe vera. It is 98% natural, 75% organic and has organic certification from EcoCert.

So, how was it for me? Well, it applies wonderfully smooth and even my angry skin stayed soft all day! It is kind of cooling on application. I really like it! I will need to re-visit this topic later to report on the long-term effects, but my initial reaction is really positive.

Lina-Elvira Loves It Thiiiis Much:
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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REVIEW: Jergens Naturals Ultra Hydrating Body Moisturiser

I havee told you about the lovely Naked range, and here is another lovely "mostly natural" body care launch - Jergens. I bought the Ultra Hydrating moisturiser because it was half price, I wasn't really expecting anything; I just liked that is contains the beauty miracle Jojoba oil. And it is 95% natural, low carbon mileage, cruelty free, no parabens et c.

When I tried it I was instantly in love. It is sort of a rich gel-creme. It goes on smooth and doesn't make your skin sticky or greasy. It has a really light scent, fresh with a hint of either citrus perhaps?... Whatever it is, it's lovely. It has turned into my Holy Grail body lotion over night!

It retails for about £4.88 for 200ml, so it is medium expensive. You will find it in Boots in the UK.

Lina-Elvira Loves It Thiiiis Much:

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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REVIEW: Neal's Yard Remedies Frankincense Hydrating Cream

I took a photo of this but it'd disappeared in cyberspace. No matter!

I got this face cream as a trial. It's consistency looks a bit like a thick gel, not a cream. It's very nice to put on and moisturises all day. It's fragrance free which I love, being used to more organic beauty products nowadays I find fragrance irritates me. It's 91% organic.

It's 25g that costs £9.50 so not sure I'd pay that. The website also states it's a limited edition? I got this free with the April issue of UK Marie Claire. Now there is a quality freebie :P

Lina-Elvira Loves It Thiiiis Much:
♥ ♥ ♥

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REVIEW - Tara Smith Big Baby Shampoo + Conditioner

According to the bottle, the Tara Smith range is organic and earth-friendly without parabens, phtalates and sodium laureth sulphates (the website is snazzy but uninformative). Sounds good to me :) My hair, like my skin, is very temperamental. It hates everything. Apart from Indian head massages, that is. And I swear it gets worse the older I get. Anyway. I currently use MOP's Pear Shampoo, which is lovely but pricey so looking for some savvy alternatives (also, I am a bit of a product whore and I like new stuff :) )

I spotted the Tara Smith range in Tesco supermarket at the weekend and decided to try it. It is quite pricey for the supermarket, £4.99 a bottle, on par with the professional ranges like John Frieda, but MOP is twice the price. I chose Big Baby which is for kids or sensitive scalps. No use in pretending anything else is going to be ok for my angry hair :)

The round bottles are attractive, and add to the "we're different but still cool" vibe of this brand.

So how was it for me? It has a mild astringent "herbal" smell, not very noticeable. I like that. The more organic/natural products I try the more I can't bear over-perfumed products. It cleans nicely, and leave a nice shine. Careful not to take too much product; the shampoo lathers a lot and the conditioner is very rich, so you only need a tiny bit. It didn't upset my scalp, no flyaways or static, and no tufty bits :) 4 of 5 stars for Tara Smith Big Baby!

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Product Of The Week - Figs & Rouge "Rambling Rose" Balm

Eensie-weensie tin (8ml) of 100% organic balm for lips, face and body with the soft scent of summer and rose gardens. I am in love with this balm! It has a silky light texture and you only need a tiny bit of product. Not sure how long it'd last if you used it for your body!

Maybe not such a bargain at £3.45 for the tiny amount but it is pure heaven and well worth it. And OMG is the tin not the cutest thing you'd ever seen :)

I give this balm 5 of 5 stars, for it's lovely formula and to-die-for retro packaging.

Figs & Rouge also make matching rose shower gel and lotion, which I probably will have to wish for for my birthday :) If rose isn't your thing, they also do a Sweet Geranium balm and lots of other products.

Figs & Rouge Website

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Review - MOP Pear Body Wash

I've been obsessing about fruit lately. I am very promiscuous when it comes to beauty products but I have bought the MOP Pear shampoo and detangler a couple of times, and actually used the whole bottles! That's saying something in terms of the greatness of beauty products :)

I recently discovered that they do a Pear body wash as well! I purchased myself a bottle, of course, after debating the price. These retail for £8.45 a bottle, so it isn't your bog standard soap.

It has a yummy, sweet yet slightly astringent pear smell that really appeals to me. The texture is a thick gel, and it lathers up nicely into a sweet foam that hasn't left my upper arms flaky, which usually happens.

I like this :) Very much. Just the thing for winter if your skin gets drier and more sensitive in the colder months. I now also wish they did a Pear body lotion! I give this 4 stars out of 5, mainly because it is very pricey.

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