The Body Shop: Chocomania Body Scrub

Chocomaina Body Scrub

I have been obsessed with The Body Shop recently and I have been discovering loads of new products, one of them has been the Chocomaina range, I currently have the lip balm, soap and the body butter and now I have the body scrub as well.

Chocomania Body Scrub by The Body Shop

This body scrub smells AMAZING, that's actually what made me buy it, you can find out more about this amazing product here. I bought it for £12.50 but I also got 20% off as there was an in-store promotion for Love Your Body members.

"This exfoliating body scrub has a decadently chocolatey scent and leaves skin feeling softer and smoother. It contains real cocoa butter and organic cane sugar."

This is quite a thick body scrub and does leave a slight residue on the skin so I wouldn't use this before fake tanning, however the residue it leaves isn't oily or dirty feeling, it just feels like a sort of moisturising barrier. My skin is generally quite soft but after I use this I can really feel the difference, and when you are using it, it feels really invigorating on the skin. The chocolate scent doesn't last on your skin throughout then day, but for me I'm not really looking for that in a body scrub.

I have been using this once a week, although during summer I think I will start using it twice a week, I prefer to use this one at night before using some body butter and I save my Coconut Body Scrub (also by The Body Shop) for before fake tanning.

I just love the Chocomania range, they all smell fantastic and every product I have used has lived up to my expectations.

The Body Shop: Almond Hand and Nail Cream

Hand cream is something I have never been that interested in, I like it and use it but that's all. Recently I started using the Body Shop's Almond Hand and Nail Cream and thought I would do a little review on it. 

"This effective daily hand cream cares for nails as well as hands and contains two manicurist’s essentials: sweet almond oil and panthenol."

I bought the smaller size at £5.00 because I wanted to try it first before buying the larger size, find out more HERE.

The Body Shop Almond Hand and Nail Cream

First off, this hand cream smells amazing and I love putting it on just for the smell. It dries in quickly which id important as I hate my hands getting everything I touch all greasy and mucky, it makes my hands feel really soft and smooth too. Although it is a nail cream as well, I haven't noticed any improvement in my nails since using it, although my nails have been in bad shape since I stopped biting them about eight years ago. Maybe it's something that will take more time and it is difficult to measure as nails get damaged everyday. 

I started off using this hand cream just at night as I hate having greasy hands, but when I gave this a chance during the day I found that it didn't leave my hands feeling greasy, just moisturised. Now I use it whenever I remember and keep this one in my bag, I think I will buy the bigger size for beside my bed and I can use that at night. 

My only criticism would be that the lid is sometimes difficult to get back on, especially with freshly moisturised hands, but it's not anything that would stop me from buying it. The tube is also flexible and allows you to roll in up and squeeze out any leftover product so nothing goes to waste. I am making a better effort with hand cream and trying to use it as often as I can, we are constantly using our hands and they will come into contact with chemicals, germs and goodness knows what so keeping them moisturised while using natural ingredients can only help protect the skin and help it to heal.

I usually bite the skin around my nails, I know it's horrible its just a bad habit that I'm trying to break, but since using this hand cream I have noticed that the appearance of them is a lot healthier looking, this could just be down to actually using hand cream more, but I love and believe in natural products and think that they might have something to do with this, either way it has encouraged me to take better care of both my hands and nails. Thank you Body Shop!

The Body Shop: Coconut Body Scrub

Recently I bought this amazing body scrub from The Body Shop and I love it! It was £12.00 you can buy it here on the official Body Shop website. I also got money off in store that day as they had 20% off for Love Your Body Members.

You can see it is a creamy consistency with small exfoliating bits in it

The product smells divine, like coconut as you would expect."This exfoliating body scrub contains organic virgin coconut oil. It leaves skin soft and smooth, removes dead skin cells, stimulates skin microcirculation, leaves skin feeling soft and smooth, tropical coconut scent"

Body Shop Coconut Body Scrub

I am in love with this body scrub, I love coconut products because I love the smell and am a huge believer in the amazing properties coconut oil contains. This body scrub really leaves my skin feeling so soft and leaves no greasy/oily reside on the skin, I know some body scrubs are meant to be an oily consistency as it helps to moisturise the skin and I do like this but not when I have to have oily skin for the rest of the day therefore I use them more at night. I used this one this morning and my skin feels and looks great, it really cleans your skin and has such a gorgeous smell, I also think this will be great for before I use fake tan as It doesn't leave any residue on the skin and might prevent streaks and give a more even finish. 

The Body Shop does a few different scents in the same Body Scrub range and I can't wait to try more!

The Body Shop's Vitamin E Overnight Serum-In-Oil

Recently I have been using The Body Shop's newest product, the Vitamin E Overnight Serum-In-Oil. I bought this in store in a set with my favourite moisturiser, the Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream for £16.00 which was amazing because the overnight serum-in-oil is £12.00 alone and the moisturiser is also £12.00 alone so £16.00 for both of them was a bargain! I can't find this combination online and have only seen these sets in store as I think that's where they make them up but let me know if anyone finds them online, click here to find out more about the Vitamin E Overnight Serum-In-Oil.

Vitamin E Overnight Serum-In-Oil

I wanted to try this product as soon as it came out and when I finally bought it I couldn't wait to try it out. I love applying this at night as it feels really great on my tired skin and I usually use a dry oil on my face at night either my Trilogy Organic Rosehip oil or My Vitamin E Facial Oil also by The Body Shop. I didn't feel much difference between the overnight serum-in-oil and the regular facial oil but this serum-in-oil made my skin feel amazing. I did have similar results with my other regular facial oils, but I feel using this one gives my skin more benefit when I feel more tired, have had a long day or my skin is suffering from breakouts or dry areas. I guess what I feel from this product is that it is more of an intense treatment for the skin when I need it and I will continue to use all of these overnight facial oils because I love them all. 

I did think my skin looked more radiant after using this and it didn't leave my skin feeling greasy or looking shiny, which I know at night isn't really an issue but when I wake up in the morning I don't want to look a greasy mess so this overnight serum-in-oil is ideal for me. I think I will use this when I'm traveling, I'm going to Japan in April and this will really help replenish and hydrate my skin after long flights and changes in water and humidity. Overall I do like this product but I think because I already use similar product and have been for the past couple of years, I am used to the amazing effects facial oils have on the skin.

My New Favourite Soap: The Body Shop's Chocomania

I definitely prefer using soap to shower gel when I wash, although I do like some shower gels I feel that soaps give a better lather and I always feel cleaner when using a soap. I love Lush soaps and have been using various ones for the past couple of years but a couple of weeks ago I discovered The Body Shop's Chocomania Soap. I am already a huge fan of the Chocomania range, I use the body butter and the body scrub but when I saw the soap in a three for two offer in store I decided to buy some. They are £2.00 each which is a good price for a quality soap full of great ingredients but they were also on three for two, I don't know if this is a promotion they always have on in store as I usually shop online, that aside I would still happily pay £2.00 a bar without the three for two because I love them! Click here to visit The Body Shop's website to find out more about this soap.

The Body Shop's Chocomania Soap

This soap smells amazing, like chocolate and I'm a huge fan of chocolate scented products and love cocoa butter because its great for your skin, it also has small pieces of coconut shell which helps to exfoliate your skin. This is so much easier than using body scrub if you just want a gentle exfoliation, I use this mostly everyday, one side tends to be harsher at exfoliating, I think this is just down to the way we hold soap it does mean that the other side is softer and the little fragments don't stick out so much so I switch sides for a more gentle scrub.

The coconut shell fragments are great for exfoliation

The soap lathers up well and leaves my skin feeling clean and fresh, although the soap smells amazing this scent does not come off on your skin which I don't mind, I have perfume for that. The ingredients in this soap are great for your skin, I love using natural ingredients and this product gives me that plus more for such a fantastic price. This soap also lasts longer than the Lush soaps although I still love them, so I use this one for more everyday use as it is more cost effective. I also think this soap would be great for traveling, it can wash and exfoliate in one easy step without taking up too much space or weight, it is also less messy so I will be taking one of these to Japan with me in April and I can't wait!

Body Shop: Vitamin E Skincare Review

I have recently started using The Body Shop's amazing Vitamin E skincare range. My mum gave me a pot of their Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream at Christmas because my usually combination skin was really dry with the cold winter. I was skeptical because usually "intense" moisturizers just make my skin really oily, but because my skin was so dry and flaky I decided to give it a go, even if it was just for a while to get it back to normal. Now I can say I have found my prefect autumn/winter moisturizer!

Firstly, I use the Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream in the morning, you can find out more here. So even though this moisturiser is an intense one, it absorbs beautifully into my skin, I have combination/oily skin but this never makes my skin any oilier than usual, in fact I feel it helps it somewhat, even on days I wear only this with no make up, my skin never gets shiny. I really love this product and it is totally worth the money, I feel it really replenishes my skin, making it more radiant and healthier looking even without make up.

The Body Shop: Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream

The consistency is quite thick and creamy but it glides on to the skin easily and skins in quickly without leaving a greasy residue. The smell is lovely, it just smells fresh and just what a moisturiser should smell like. It is £12.00 which I feel is a fair price because one pot of this will last you ages, you only need a small amount, but The Body Shop have fantastic offers on all the time and I am also a Love Your Body member which means I get 10% off all purchases for a year. Overall this moisturiser is my Holy Grail autumn/winter moisturiser, I wouldn't want to try another one as this one really protects my skin and has really improved the overall condition of my skin.

I have also been using the Vitamin E Eye Cream, I don't have any wrinkles around my eye area and my circles aren't that bad, so I think I just bought this because I wanted to try an eye cream and get into the habit of using one everyday. The skin around the eye area is more delicate than on the rest of the face and so I thought it deserved a little extra attention, it may not do much now but  hope in years to come I will be glad I decided to start using this.

The Body Shop: Vitamin E Eye Cream

This moisturiser claims to protect, smooth and hydrate the eye area while reducing fine lines, puffiness. Visit this page if you want to know more about this eye cream. It really does leave my skin feeling soft and have seen a slight improvement in my under eye circles although they weren't that bad to begin with.

The Body Shop: Vitamin E Facial Oil

At night I usually use Rosehip Oil on my face, but I wanted to try the Vitamin E Facial Oil which I use alternately. It sinks into my skin quickly although I wouldn't use this during the day as I feel on my skin it would make it too oily during the day. At night though it is perfect, I wake up in the morning and my skin looks rested, glowing and healthy. Even after I wash this off and put on my makeup I can still see the benefits shining through, it feels like it really penetrates into the skin and repairs and hydrates it which has a longer lasting effect which lasts for days after use. If I feel my skin is looking a bit dull or I'm feeling tired, have a break out or have dry patches, this facial oil really helps to repair my skin at a faster rate than normal. Learn more about this amazing product here.

I am in LOVE with this amazing Vitamin E rage by The Body Shop, it gives me really great results and I know at the same time it is caring for and protecting my skin. I will try more products from this range, I really want to try the new Over Night Serum and the Face Mask and when I do, I will review them too!

Feeling 22! My Birthday!

So today was my 22nd birthday! I have the week off but Matt was working all day today so my family decided to come and spend the day with me which was lovely. Today I just have some photos of my presents and my day in general. We had an Indian for lunch which is out favourite and because it was my birthday they gave us a plate of free poppadums! 

One of my favourite cards!

Some of the beautiful gift bags I was given.

My mum and dad took us all out for lunch to our favourite local Indian restaurant, we all had our usual favourite curries and we got to try a bit of each others, plus the service was fantastic!

Sauces for our starters

Vegetable pakora, my starter

Vegetable Karahi Curry

Chicken Tikka Masala

Yesterday Matt came home with a birthday cake, I'm never usually fussed with birthday cake now I live away from home but because mine and Matt's birthdays are so close together we decided we would share one.

My Birthday Cake

I have been spoiled for my birthday, plus Matt got me a new camera for my birthday which is just amazing and I can't believe how lucky I have been. My parents are also taking Matt and I to Japan in April to see my sister who lives there, I have never been before and we would never have been able to afford it otherwise so we are both so, so, so grateful and are so excited.

My presents!

Some new mascaras to try, plus look at the mug my sister got me, Bruce from Nemo!

Perfume and Body Shop stuff

My parents got me this beautiful Papyrus birthday card, I thought it deserved some extra attention because my mum couldn't wait to give me it.

Beautiful envelope

My Mum said she bought this because it was like me and my sisters

And it pops up!

My mum kept this in with the card, I thought it was beautiful

I have had such a lovely birthday and got to spend it with the people I love most in the world and that is better than anything. I really miss my family and its hard living further away from them, ok it's only just over an hour on the train, but when I see them waving goodbye to me and walking the opposite way down the street I always want to cry because I already miss them so much. Even thought I'm 22 now I still feel like I need my family close to me and I miss them all the time. But this year my parents are moving to the same city as me because they love it so much, so I'm really excited about that. Tonight when Matt gets home we are just going to sit and watch a film and eat some birthday cake!

Pre-Birthday Shopping: Glasgow

Yesterday my amazing fiance Matt took me shopping for some birthday presents to Glasgow. He already bought me a new Canon camera which I LOVE, still working out how to use it...

We had a great day we went out for something to eat, got soaked in the snow, came home and made cupcakes and put the fire on. We had lunch at an Italian in Glasgow, they do a great lunch menu and I love their bruschetta which I choose for my starter followed by a very Italian fish and chips!

Starter

Starter

Fish and Chips for me!

Classic Pizza for Matt

So first thing I got... some pieces from Forever 21, I love their clothes and black and white are my favourite to wear, they are just so easy! Plus I love cats and thought the top was just too cute and the shorts were so comfy on and I love the daisy print.

Shorts and top from Forever 21

I also got these cute earrings, I am obsessed with earrings and I loved the colour of these ones, I thought the red roses would look great with black and white and the pink bows will look great in spring and summer.

Rose earrings

Bow earrings

I am so lucky and got loads of stuff from The Body Shop, my newest obsession! I got loads of new soaps, body scrubs, a lip gloss and a new hand cream I have wanted to try for a while.

Soap, soap, soap

Minty Lip Gloss

Almond hand cream

Chocomaina and Coconut body scrubs

The body scrubs smell delicious I can't wait to use them, and I have so many soaps to use so they will last me a while. Matt also got me the Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy La Fleur fragrance set, it comes with a 75ml bottle of Viva La Juicy La Fleur and a little mini one plus a lip gloss and roller ball. I love this fragrance it's just beautiful and its great how it comes with the roller ball and lip gloss duo, perfect for in your handbag.

Viva La Juicy La Fleur

When we got back it was snowing really heavily here in Stirling and we got soaked but I liked seeing the first snow of the year, we actually haven't had any all winter.

Our view of the snowy hills

Body Shop Body Butter Review

I have recently become obsessed with The Body Shop so I did a big order a while ago and have been trying out all the products I bought. I thought I would do a review of the body butters I have been using because they are simply AMAZING! Check out their full collection of body butters here. I usually only apply body lotions at night and sleep in them as I hate being soggy throughout the day, even though I washed these off in the morning my skin stayed moisturized and my skin felt softer throughout the day and looked more radiant, I will continue to try and use one every night to keep my skin looking and feeling fab! All of these retail from £5.00 to £13.00, but watch out for great offers in store and online, that's when I buy mine!

My current collection of Body Shop body butters!

This is my collection of body butter by The Body Shop, I think I love them all equally, and they smell AMAZING! I want to buy more and try every type. The first one I have is the Chocomania one and I bought this one because I love chocolate and it smelt delicious. It is a thick, buttery consistency and glides on to the skin really well, I did find with this one that if you put on too much, when it dries it can go in to little bits on the skin, do you know what I mean? Apart from that this body butter makes my skin feel amazing and it looks better as well.

Chocomania body butter by The Body Shop

I tried the Strawberry body butter first, this one is also a thicker, buttery consistency and it glides on to the skin easily. This one was really good at moisturizing my skin, I noticed a difference the next day, my skin just felt so soft, softer than ever! The smell is divine, its so fresh and fruity and even though I only wear these at night I wish I could throughout the day so I could smell as good as these do.

Strawberry Body Butter by The Body Shop

The next one I have is the Papaya body butter, this one is very similar to the Strawberry one, same consistency and same effects but it is Papaya scented and it smells delicious! I think they all do. Again, I apply this one at night and wash it off in the morning, the condition and look of my skin is great when I use these body butters, if I ever forget for a couple of days I really do notice a difference in the condition of my skin.

Papaya Body Butter by The Body Shop

Much like the Strawberry and Papaya is the Passion Fruit, is is then same in every way but the smell is of passion fruit which I love. I also get the same amazing results with this one as I do with the rest, totally unrivaled in the world of body butters in my opinion.

Passion Fruit Body Butter by The Body Shop

The only one that differs from the rest is the Almond Body Butter which is much wetter in consistency but still is very thick, it is more creamy than buttery. This one smells fantastic, like marzipan so it is quite sweet, it also gives a lot of moisture to the skin and gives a very similar and equally great effect as the rest of them do.

Almond Body Butter by The Body Shop

Overall these body butters are by far my favourite body moisturizing products ever. They use good ingredients and this has made all the difference to my skin. I never used to moisturize my body, even at night, any time I tried to keep up with it using a new product I just never saw any benefit or noticed any change in my skin so I stopped using them, but these body butters transform my skin ever night and give me beautiful, healthy, moisturized skin the next day. I don't think I will even bother buying another body moisturizer as I have truly found my Holy Grail of Body Moisturizers! Thank you so much Body Shop, I can't wait to buy more of these little pots of heaven.

Body Shop Haul

Look what came in the post today!

My Body Shop Package!

I thought I would do a wee haul of everything I got in my Body Shop order, I will hopefully review some of these products once I have used them. I already love the smells of them, so so good!

Papaya Body Butter 200ml, I got this for £3.00! Total bargain as it is usually £13.00! Is smells, so good I can't wait to use it.

Almond Body Butter 200ml, I also got this for £3.00, its usually £13.00, AMAZING! It smells like marzipan.

Passion Fruit Body Butter 200ml, £3.00 usually £13.00. Again, it smells delicious!

Strawberry Body Butter, £13.00. One of my favourites.

Mango, Chocolate, Coconut and Shea Butter Lip Butters. £4.00 each.

Vitamin E Moisture Cream £12.00, Face Oil £11.00, Vitamin E Eye Cream £10.00

I already use the Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream, I LOVE it, it has totally transformed my skin. I can't wait to try the eye cream and the face oil which I will use at night. I have tried a couple of the lip butters, for starters they smell better than they taste but they make my lips feel great and that's what I'm looking for. I already use the Strawberry and Chocomania body butter (forgot a picture of that) so I can't wait to try the other ones.

The Body Shop Body Butters are amazing and they make my skin so incredibly soft!! I have been using them mostly every night, I hate wearing body lotions in the day, I hate being soggy. But even having them on over night and washing them off in the morning has made such a difference to my skin, I don't think I could go without them now, definitely the best body moisturizes I have ever used.