Loved but Overlooked

I was dithering over what to call this post as I wanted to encapsulate the idea of products that I love, that other bloggers either seem to overlook or dislike.  Here are a few of them:

Bobbi Brown Cream Shadows

I adore these little pots of cream shadow from Bobbi Brown.  I seem to hear so much about Benefits Creaseless Cream Shadows but there never seems to be much love for Bobbi Brown's versions.  Perhaps it is because Bobbi Brown tends to produce 'safe' neutral colours or perhaps it is just because people don't know enough about them, but I love these and wouldn't be without my small, but ever growing, collection.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shines

I own two of these to date and love them both dearly.  I adore their super light hydrating formula which provides a sheer wash of colour to the lips.  General consensus seems to be that these are too sheer, especially for the price, but I find them to be perfect for giving a subtle, neutral look without much effort, especially during the Summer months.  

Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay in Place Eyeshadow Base

Estee Lauder is another brand that is not written about to a great extent within the blogsphere, probably because it had a reputation for being rather mumsy at one point.  One of their staples that I have been using for several years now is their eye primer.  It comes in a small pot but it lasts for ever and helps my shadows stay put all day.  I would recommend their face primer too.

Cowshed Bath Oils

Cowshed are very well known but I never really see much posted about them.  Yes, they are pretty pricey but their products are priced similar to other luxe bathing brands such as Neom and Aromatherapy Associates and I believe they are just as good too.  My favourite items are the bath oils (I love a Lazy Cow!) but I have tried pretty much everything from them at one time or another.

Bomb Cosmetics Bath Bombs and Melts

I've posted about my love for Bomb Cosmetics previously and it shows no sign of wavering.  For  me, these are the more grown up versions for Lush's bath products and I find them infinitely more moisturising.  The presentation of the bath melts are gorgeous too with some disguised as mini cup cakes!

Are there any products that you love that you feel don't get enough attention from the blogsphere?  

Dr Hauschka Daily Body Care Kit

I love luxurious bath and body products and when I was recently sent the Dr Hauschka Daily Body Care Kit with some trial / travel sized products as an introduction to the brand's body products, I couldn't wait to try them out!

The Daily Body Care Kit contains seven different items, all contained within a sleek, sturdy tin.

There are two body lotions included:

Rose - loved this scent

Quince - the scent was more of an acquired taste I feel and it smelled a little old fashioned

Both lotions absorb quickly, without leaving any tackiness or stickiness.  The scents are quite strong and I much prefer the rose to the quince.  I did find that each of these tubes only managed one full body application so I wasn't able to assess how well they moisturised in the long term.  

Three oils are included:

Lavender Bath Oil

Rose Body Oil 

Lemon Lemongrass Body Oil

These are all good sizes with a decent amount of product included.  I managed to get three baths from the Lavender Bath Oil and I tend to like to dump a large amount of oil in my baths.  

Both Body Oils can be used as an alternative to body lotions, smoothing a small amount on damp skin after a shower or bath.  The scents of both are less strong than the Body Lotions but still pleasantly fragrant and soothing. I have also tried them as bath oils and found them equally fragrant and very relaxing.  I do love a multi-tasking product!  

One hand cream.  This absorbs quickly and easily and is non greasy.  A little goes a long way.  I didn't find it a particularly exciting cream, it simply did its job and did its job well.  It does have a distinctive 'natural' scent but this dissipates very quickly. 

Finally, also included in the set are two sachets of Fitness Foot Balm (see the first picture).  I tried using this after a long run on my tired feet (after a shower obviously!) and found it to absorb quickly and it certainly softened some of the harder areas of skin.  It does have a very unique herbal scent though and I was VERY glad it was on my feet and nowhere near my nose as it doesn't half pong!

Verdict

I really enjoy using little sets like these as it lets me play with different products and see if they work for me.  From initial use, the products which made the biggest impressions on me were the Bath and Body Oils.  All three scents were to my taste and not too strong either as I hate it when my body products overwhelm my perfume.  I loved the fact that the Body Oils were multi-tasking too.  If there was one product that perhaps didn't impress me as much it was the Foot Balm, mainly as I couldn't abide the scent, so I would recommend having a sniff before you buy if you fancy trying it.

Price- £17.95

Where to Buy - Dr Hauschka, John Lewis

Have you tried any Dr Hauschka products?

How do you feel about strongly scented products?

Beauty products from the (not so distant) past…!

A couple of weeks ago, I was reminder of some beauty products that I used to be absolutely obsessed by in my teens (the 90s in case you were wondering!) but that just seemed to fade away and are now no longer available, some for good reason! Does anyone else remember any of these?

Dior Hair Mascara

This was possibly one of my first forays into high end brands at the age of 14/15 and I remember being really excited when it came out. It was essentially just as it sounds, a mascara that deposited highly pigmented streaks of colour in your hair and you applied with a mascara wand! As my mum wouldn’t allow me to dye my hair blue, this wash out highly pigmented dye was perfect and I often wore streaks in my (then brunette) hair. Blue was my favourite colour but it also came in Gold, Red and I think a bronzy colour, amongst others. They were about £13 which was a lot of money to me then! Now, when I think about other Dior products, it does seem a little strange that they sold this..!

Colour Changing Lipsticks and Nail Polishes

I’m not sure which brand I bought these from, but I do remember purchasing a blue lipstick which turned a rather vibrant purple on my lips which seemed a good idea at the time. There were also, mood nail polishes to go with your mood rings which every self-respecting 80s girl had to own! These days, Smashbox’s O-Glow for lips is essentially the same thing but a more refined version. 

Body Shop Bath Oil Balls

For those of us who grew up in the 80s and 90s and remember purchasing virtually everything from the Body Shop at one time or another, these bath oil balls were almost first generation bath bombs. Sold in huge hoppers in store, you could pick the fragrance you preferred, from fuzzy peach to dewberry, and all for only 20p each. The only issue was if one of them happened to burst in your bag on the way home…..

Publish Post

Pout Cosmetics

These disappeared a few years ago which was a shame as I really liked them. I still have one of their minty lipgloses that give a bee-stung pout.

Do you remember any other weird and wonderful products that are no longer available? I’m sure there must be more out there!