beauty blog Archives - Page 6 of 6

Katie Beauty

Avéne Thermal Water

I work in an office for the vast majority of my day and my poor sensitive skin is subjected to a constant barrage of heating, air conditioning and the tight prickly sensation associated with both.

Once I have applied a full face of make up, it’s not really practical to keep applying a thin layer of moisturiser to keep my skin replenished. In the summer and on hols, I do like to keep a can of Magicool near me to cool myself down but I had never thought about using it year round.

On a recent trip to Boots, I was cruising the skin care aisles for new gems and thought I’d finally bite the bullet and try the Avene Thermal Water as they now stock a smaller handbag size can for £3.15.

Reassuringly, the can says ‘soothing, anti irritating, Sensitive skin’. I was keen to try the Thermal Water over a normal water spray becase your skin is a key part of the process of the body ridding itself of acids and other nasties, some facial skin flaws such as lumps, rashes, boils and spots can be attributed to the these such acidic baddies. Balancing the PH level can be a way to counter balance this onslaught.

The blurb on the can says the following :

This spring water’s unique and constant composition give it soothing and anti-irritating properties which have been acknowledged by numerous scientific studies. Avene Thermal Water is used to actively treat a range of skin disorders.. Tested by Dermatologists, it is particularly suitable as essential care for sensitive, hypersensitive and allergic skin.

Now this spray will never replace the use of a good moisturiser but for top ups and refreshing during the day then I absolutely love this. I haven’t used it as a final step in cleansing yet as the can suggests but I do carry the small can around with me for work and in my bag. It just gives a brilliant perk and pick me up to tired skin. During a recent mammoth shopping day, it was nice to take 5 minutes out for a coffee, have a quick spritz of the Avene and then hit the shops again with renewed lustre!

My often tight, hypersensitive skin has certainly thanked me for the soothing moisture bursts during the day. I think I am a little bit addicted to treating my skin with it now!

I have definitely found a desk / handbag gem and I can’t wait to try out the rest of the Avene range. I’d recommend this to anyone, sensitive skin or other wise.

Have you tried Avene before? What should I try next?

Katie Beauty

Diva Pro Styling Big Hot Rollers

I’m one of those ladies with awkward hair. Thick, long and curly but with one of those frustrating curls that isn’t well behaved enough to look good whilst curly. If I choose to wear my hair curly for an occasion, I always tong or use curlformers. Very rarely do I wear my natural curls.

With having long and super thick hair, I have been on a quest for the perfect heated rollers for years, I just can’t find any with a barrel big enough to give me the large bouncy waves most people can manage with their sets. I have tried using smaller ones (and have a cupboard of failed attempts!) but there are either not enough in the pack or they are too small in diameter to give me the look I want thanks to cramming all my hair on to them.

Along came Diva and their wonderfully huge barrelled rollers! Is this it? The perfect heated roller?

In the set, you have 2 ginormous rollers (50mm) and 7 of smaller diameter (38mm) ones that are still far wider than most I have found. The unit itself heats up insanely fast and I love the fact you can angle the heating unit to have it on an angle or flat.

The barrell of each roller is smooth and flocked which makes it easy to wind the hair on and keep it nice and smooth. To secure the roller you have the choice of either a claw clip or the traditional metal pin. I always opt for the claw clip.

As with all heated rollers, if you leave them in long enough to cool down, you’re rewarded by beautifully bouncy, voluminous loose curls. Because of the smooth flocked barrel it makes removal a doddle too.

My only mini gripe is I’d love to have seen more than 2 of the large red rollers to suit people with longer / thicker hair or even an additional roller set in the line made up of 6/8 of the larger rollers along side this offering and the smaller one in the line. This is just a personal gripe as I do absolutely LOVE this set, with the nice mix of red for volumising the crown and the green to form loose curls everywhere else.

For the price they are great quality and finally a great product on the market for peope in my same situation. I’m very glad to have found these rollers!

I’ve been doing some drooling on the rest of the Diva line and I think I’m going to be putting the wide straighteners infused with Argan Oil on to my christmas wish list! They look JUST like what I need to tame my barnet!!

You can

Katie Beauty

Igora Senea Shampoo & Conditioner

I have suffered with a sensitive scalp for most of my life, it can sometimes get so painful it breaks out in to sores if I change my hair spray or shampoo. I have to be very careful and conscious of what I use. I have to ring hairdressers in advance to find out what shampoos and products they use, it gets that bad.

At 28, it’s something I deal with and take in my stride. When my scalp flares up I find a couple of washes with T/gel really soothes it and calms it down but I have found that sensivtive scalp shampoos only ever fit that bracket. There’s no senistive + colour, sensitive + smoothing etc and I’m yet to find a good sensitive conditioner either. Well, one branded as such anyway.

I was recently offered to try Senea Shampoo and Conditioner and I thought it was worth a try. You can buy Senea at www.escentual.com too which is handy!

The shampoo is delightfully scented, it actually reminded me a little bit of mens shower products which pleased me as I’m not keen on floral heavy girly scents. I found myself having to use a bit more of the shampoo than I normally would to wash my hair but it did leave it feeling squeaky clean. I have experienced a lot of ‘gentle’ and ‘sensitive’ shampoos don’t really give that super clean feeling and when you load your hair with products, it’s nice to know it feels super stripped. The scent of the shampoo does linger on wet hair but as soon as you use a different conditioner or styling product once dry the smell disappates so if it’s not your cup of tea, you don’t need to worry.

I have to admit, I wasn’t blown away by the shampoo. I thought it was pretty average. No, my scalp didn’t itch, but my £2 Herbal Essence doesn’t make my scalp itch either. The only upside for me was the smell and the fact that I felt my blonde hair felt a little more cooler toned and less brassy, and as this is a colour saver shampoo it was nice to know it’s good for my colour. It is however worth mentioning that for it to be a combined colour saver AND a sensitive scalp product then it is a great combo to have in your bathroom.

The real gem in this duo is the conditioner. I am in love with it and can’t get enough. It not only has the same divine smell as the shampoo, it nourished and conditioned my drier processed tips perfectly.

I recently went away for the weekend and after forgetting to pack my usual leave in sprays / serums / treatments for post wash, the only products I had were the Senea S+C and I can hand on heart say the ends of my hair have never been sleeker, shinier or smoother. It was effortless to straighten my hair and the irons just glided through my lengths. For a normal conditioner, with no kind of heraldic claims I was blown away. Truly. Of course I am not recommending you skip the heat protectant phase but just sharing my experience!

I highly recommend this conditioner for anyone with coloured, over processed ends as it made them so slinky! My only downfall is the size of the tube. I know I’ll be using this for every wash so it would have been nicer to see it in a bigger size for the price but hey, you can’t put a price on amazing hair right?

I think for the size of the bottles versus the price, I will not purchase the shampoo again as I feel other shampoos work (for me) just as well, but the conditioner will definitely be a re-purchase…. and a back up purchase too!

You can buy the Igora Senea Shampoo HERE for £7.75 and Conditioner HERE for £8.70

Have you ever tried a sensitive scalp shampoo and conditioner? What would you recommend?

Katie Beauty

Wahanda has Christmas covered

This Christmas I am hoping to get all my lovely girly friends together and spend a wonderful day together doing something totally relaxing and zen, I certainly know that working full time, running my business AND being a wife and friend is bloody hard work and my friends are no different.

Wahanda has launched a personalised gift finder on their website which might be just up my street! In the one place I can find the best spas and then pick and choose my treatments and gifts to suit my friends…. I could buy a massage for my stressed office worker friend, a heavenly pedicure for my chef friend on their feet all day, an afternoon of hydrotherapy for my water baby friend or the Spa brand gift pack for the friend overseas… the choices are endless!!

‘Tis the season to be pampered

Wahanda Launches Personalised Gift Finder

Need a little Christmas gift inspiration? Look no further. Wahanda, the world’s leading health, beauty and wellbeing website has announced the launch of a NEW personalised gift finder. This year we can finally say goodbye to hours (or days) of trawling the shops searching for the perfect presents and instead, complete our Christmas gift shopping in just minutes.

Wahanda understands that different people indulge in different ways, which makes finding a unique gift in the festive season a tough job. So if you’re looking for the perfect Christmas present that you can choose in the comfort of your home, with no need to even face the manic high streets or brave the arctic weather, now you can let the experts at Wahanda do the hard work for you.

How does it work? It’s simple: just tell Wahanda’s gift finder who you’re spoiling, pick their personality traits and let their team of experts choose a selection of gifts to enjoy based on the personalities of your friends and loved ones. Whether they’re a beauty addict, fitness fanatic or yoga guru, Wahanda has the perfect gift for everyone.

Gifts include pampering spa days, spa breaks, bootcamps and afternoon teas to name just a few. For more information visit www.wahanda.com

Voted ‘Best Online Beauty Site’ by ELLE UK, Wahanda is the world’s leading marketplace for health, beauty and wellness. With more spas, salons, treatments and practitioners listed than any other site, Wahanda offers an interactive community allowing customers to voice recommendations, write reviews and connect with industry experts. As well as inspiring content, Wahanda offers savings on spa breaks with real-time booking functionality, thousands of health, beauty and fitness offers, daily MobDeals plus their signature Beauty and Spa Gift Vouchers, which are redeemable at over 900 destinations nationwide. Beauty addict, fitness fanatic or yoga guru? Welcome to your new home. www.wahanda.com

Personally, I used the gift finder to look for new spa’s in our area and I have picked out the Serenity Spa Day at the wonderful Armathwaite Hall. I would take my best friend for this day as she is amazing and really deserves some TLC (who doesn’t eh!). I’ve heard so many good things about this place I know we’d have a wonderful time. That’s another thing I like about Wahanda, the sites detailed and I can find reviews on each venue.

The tool was super easy to use and gave me options I probably wouldn’t have thought of if I had gone about it myself! Go try it now.

Will you be buying anyone a lovely spa treat for Christmas?

Katie Beauty

Review : Proactiv Solution – Green Tea Moisturizer

As part of a recent post about holiday beauty HERE I was determined to give this whole in flight beauty malarky a go and while rooting round my box of smaller sized products I picked out the Proactiv tube to ensure it was within the 100ml plastic bag rule. I had originally been planning on taking the Biotherm Skin Ergetic Concentrate but sadly the active ingredient component of the product made me break out in a rash due to the pureness of it.

This moisturizer truly is the most amazingly fresh, light, cooling scented moisturiser I have ever smelt. It instantly makes you feel refreshed and a little bit more composed. It has a light, almost cucumber like smell to it which I really can’t put in to words how refreshing it feels and smells once you rub it in! And we all know how iffy I am about scented products!

The product is a very light, slightly opaque lotion that spreads easily and is absorbed evenly and quickly. You do get a lot of slip to the product though so a little does go a long way. A small pea will do your full face.

I did cheat during the flight and didn’t take my make up off, but just kept re-moisturising over the top (tsk tsk I know, I don’t know what posessed me!) and not once did it make me feel clammy or overloaded. It just kept on replenishing my dry tight feeling skin with minimal disruption to my slap.

As I’ve mentioned in just about all face related posts, my skin is very sensitive and this didn’t once break me out. Mr T even dabbed a little bit around his eyes after bout 7hrs in to the flight and he said he was amazed at the cooling effect. After about 9hrs I even dabbed a little bit behind my ears and along the back of my neck and it really did perk me up.

I stepped off that plane feeling cool calm and collected, despite having no sleep, and my skin didn’t look bloated, sallow or aggrevated which is a first for me as I usually look like I’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards when I step off a plane!

I have kept the remainder of the tube on my desk as I am that enamoured with the Green Tea Moisturizer and I now know what will forever be in my flight case for travel! It has come in very handy for soothing my tender burnt nose and hairline – Don’t ask! – without aggrevating or smothering the skin any further.

I can imagine this moisturizer coming in handy on those dark dingy mornings of winter when all you wan’t to do is sleep but need to feel pepped and awake at 6am… I’ll probably be reaching for it then too!

You can buy the Proactiv Solution Green Tea Moisturizer in the following way :

Proactiv Website £15.95