Carex The Gruffalo Deep Dark Forest Fruits Caring Hand Wash Antibacterial

Hi there! Today’s short post is about this Carex The Gruffalo Deep Dark Forest Fruits Caring Hand Wash Antibacterial. This hand wash is aimed at kids, and it is supposed to make them wash their hands more often. I’m not a kid, and I don’t have kids, but I love The Gruffalo. 😀

My husband and I looove this hand wash. Deep Dark Forest Fruits is a perfect name for this hand wash. It smells of berries, but it’s not sweet or cloying. It smells refreshing and simply lovely. Colour and name = nailed it!

I would totally recommend this hand wash, no matter if it’s intended for kids or adults. We’re halfway through our 2nd bottle right now, and we have already bought 2 more. If you’re interested, Carex The Gruffalo Deep Dark Forest Fruits Caring Hand Wash Antibacterial is available as 250ml and 500ml. I paid £1 for the small bottle (Sainsbury’s), and then I picked up the larger one for £1.79 (B&M).

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

Asda Mandarin And Lemongrass Extract Shower Gel, Asda Pomegranate And Apple Extract Shower Gel

Hi there! Today’s post is about 2 shower gels that I picked up from my local Asda the other day – Asda Mandarin and Lemongrass Extract Shower Gel and Asda Pomegranate and Apple Extract Shower Gel. Read on to see if they’re any good.

Asda Mandarin and Lemongrass Extract Shower Gel is not my favourite. Looking at the description, I was expecting a fragrance that would be right up my street. Unfortunately, I am not a fan of the mandarin and lemongrass mix – which just doesn’t smell good. I wish I had sniffed this one in store instead of buying it with my weekly grocery shop. If I had taken a sniff, I wouldn’t have bought this. I use it once or twice a week now, and hopefully it will be finished soon.

Asda Pomegranate and Apple Extract Shower Gel is alright. This shower gel has a generic-but-not-unpleasant fruity smell when I sniff the shower gel from the bottle. But it loses its fragrance almost completely between being squeezed out of the bottle and making contact with my skin – which only takes a few moments. The shower gel lathers up nicely, and it’s not drying. Overall, it’s not a terrible shower gel, but it’s also not really great. I guess it’s in line with what can reasonably be expected for the very low price.

Asda Mandarin and Lemongrass Extract Shower Gel and Asda Pomegranate and Apple Extract Shower Gel are available as 250ml for 45p each. It’s obvious they are cheap shower gels. I wouldn’t recommend them, and I wouldn’t buy them again.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

100% Vegan & Cruelty-Free – Herbal Essences Moisturise Aloe Shampoo & Conditioner

Hi there! Today’s post is about the hair care combo I started to use 2 weeks ago – Herbal Essences Moisturise Aloe Shampoo & Conditioner. These 2 are some of Herbal Essences’ new products – or maybe they were just repackaged? Who knows at this point…

Anyhoo, let’s look at these products! Herbal Essences Moisturise Aloe Shampoo is an SLS-free shampoo. I am not really a fan of SLS-free shampoos as they’re usually not very good. However, this one was a nice surprise. It lathers up very well, and it also feels cleansing. I am impressed! However, I have to deduct an imaginary point for the fragrance. It smells like, in addition to aloe, it also contains grass and dirt. Not my favourite.

Herbal Essences Moisturise Aloe Conditioner is definitely a good conditioner. The formula reminds me of Nivea Soft Cream. It’s not a formula that I would associate with hair care, but it works quite well. Despite the rather lightweight feel, the conditioner does a good job detangling my hair. Again, the fragrance is not the greatest, but it’s OK.

All in all, I am glad that I gave these products a try. They’re not the best products ever, but they do what they promise, and the shampoo is hands down the best SLS-free shampoo I have ever tried. I can see myself buying this shampoo and conditioner combo again in the future, although not immediately. I would recommend these products if you have dry hair, and if you like SLS-free hair care.

Herbal Essences Moisturise Aloe Shampoo & Conditioner are available as 350ml (shampoo) and 250ml (conditioner) for £5.99 each. I paid £2.99 each (half price offer, Sainsbury’s).

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

Garnier Body Intensive 7 Days Ultra-Replenishing Lotion With L-Bifidus & Shea Butter

Hi there! Today’s post is about this Garnier Body Intensive 7 Days Ultra-Replenishing Lotion With L-Bifidus & Shea Butter for very dry skin.

I reviewed this body lotion before – 7 years ago! I haven’t used it in a while – not because I didn’t care for it, but because there’s always something new to try. 😀

But I saw this body lotion for half price the other day (it was either at Sainsbury’s or Asda), and I thought why not take a closer look at it again?

The formula is great – it’s not runny, it feels rich and moisturising, but it’s not greasy. It’s absorbed in no time, and it leaves my skin feeling soft and lightly fragranced. This is a great body lotion for dry skin. I think this body lotion is just as good as I remembered it.

At the moment I am using a macadamia shower gel, and I think this body lotion goes well with the shower gel. No, they don’t smell the same, not even similar, but both products have a warm and comforting fragrance, and I think they go hand in hand.

Based on my experience, I would recommend this body lotion. Garnier Body Intensive 7 Days Ultra-Replenishing Lotion With L-Bifidus & Shea Butter for very dry skin is available as 250ml (about £4) and 400ml (about £6). I got myself a big 400ml bottle for £3 (half price offer). 😎

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

Yves Saint Laurent Cinéma Eau De Parfum

Hi there! Today’s post is about Yves Saint Laurent Cinéma Eau De Parfum. This fragrance contains the following notes: clementine, almond blossom and cyclamen (top notes), jasmine, peony and amaryllis (heart notes), and vanilla, amber, benzoin and white musk (base notes).

I have been using Cinéma (and some of its limited summer editions) on and off for years, and I am a big fan. Cinéma is a wonderful blend of vanilla, benzoin, exotic flowers and a touch of citrus, perfect for all seasons and for all occasions. This could be your dream wedding fragrance, you could wear it to the office, or you could wear it for an evening on the sofa, snuggled up to your significant other – anything you can think of. It’s perfect any time and any place.

I love everything about Cinéma. 🥰 And I am glad that I discovered this fragrance many, many years ago. My current 50ml is almost finished, but I will buy another bottle soon, although it looks like the 50ml size is no longer made. However, Yves Saint Laurent Cinéma Eau De Parfum is available as 90ml.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

Palmolive Thermal Spa Pampering Oil Shower Gel With Macadamia Oil

Hi there! Today’s post is about this Palmolive Thermal Spa Pampering Oil Shower Gel With Macadamia Oil.

I’ve been a long-term fan of Palmolive. Sadly, they have discontinued so many of my favourite products.

The Palmolive products I see in store now are either with coconut or honey. I don’t like coconut, so am giving those a pass. Unfortunately, the honey products smell like coconut too. 🤢

But when I saw this cute looking shower gel at Poundland the other day, I picked it up immediately.

I used this shower gel this morning, and I think it’s lovely. It’s still quite cold in the UK, and the warm and comforting macadamia fragrance of this shower gel has put a smile on my face.

The formula of the shower gel is lovely too. It feels rich and nourishing in comparison to most shower gels. I’m really happy with it, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

Palmolive Thermal Spa Pampering Oil Shower Gel With Macadamia Oil is available as 250ml and 400ml. I have the 250ml, and I paid £1 (Poundland), and I’ve seen the 400ml for £1.75 at Superdrug the other day (not sure if the offer is still on though).

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

Carex Advanced Care Macadamia Oil Hand Wash, Carex Advanced Care Shea Butter Hand Wash

Hi there! I have a hand wash review for you today. And it’s about Carex Advanced Care Macadamia Oil Hand Wash and Carex Advanced Care Shea Butter Hand Wash. I don’t often review hand washes, but some are worthy of being mentioned in a good way!

Let’s start with Carex Advanced Care Macadamia Oil Hand Wash. This is a lovely hand wash. I really like the moisturising formula. Even though this is a gel formula, this hand wash feels amazing on the skin. The macadamia fragrance is very realistic and enjoyable. My husband and I like it a lot. A definite repurchase.

Onto Carex Advanced Care Shea Butter Hand Wash which is even better! This is a creamy hand wash which feels just as amazing on the skin as the macadamia hand wash. But this one smells even better. Shea is such a wonderful thing. It smells warm and lovely, but it also has a touch of vanilla and cocoa, perfectly captured in this hand wash. My husband loves it too, and he even purchased a few more of these on his own!

To sum it up, these hand washes are great. I thought they’d be good, but I didn’t expect them to be great. I bought them because they were on special (£1 each). I didn’t really care about them when I bought them, but now after I’ve used these hand washes, I feel like I struck gold (well, almost…). 😀

If you’re interested, Carex Advanced Care Macadamia Oil Hand Wash and Carex Advanced Care Shea Butter Hand Wash are available as 250ml and 500ml.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

A’kin Invigorating Facial Scrub

Hi there! Today’s post is about this A’kin Invigorating Facial Scrub which I found at TK Maxx. A’kin is a brand from Australia. They specialise in natural skin care. According to A’kin, this product is vegan and cruelty-free. This product also doesn’t contain mineral oil, sulfates, parabens, synthetic fragrances, etc.

What it does contain is jojoba and corn beads which are supposed to exfoliate the skin and to refine skin texture. Depending on your skin type (this isn’t explained further), you’re supposed to use this product 1-2 times per week.

I’ve been using this product on and off for a few months, but I am not a fan. It doesn’t really exfoliate. I’m using a cellulose sponge and a regular face wash (nothing fancy) on a daily basis – and I’m getting a much more effective cleanse out of that. I would say that, on the days that I use this facial “scrub”, my face feels the least clean. This is due to the lack of exfoliation but also because of the film that this product leaves behind on my skin.

I will do my best to use up this product, but it’s a real test. I would definitely not buy it again. Also, for my face and for the environment, I think I’m doing a better job by using a reuseable, washable and bio-degradable cellulose sponge instead of this ineffective product, which comes double-packaged (plastic tube housed in a cardboard box) and which has an aluminium seal. Personally, I do recycle, but let’s be honest, most people – sadly – don’t care about recycling any of these 3 materials (well, 4 actually if you count the cap from the tube which is a different kind of plastic), so that’s just more stuff going into landfill. 😥

I am getting way off track here. So let me stop the rant right now. If you’re interested, A’kin Invigorating Facial Scrub is available as 75ml. I paid £2 (TK Maxx).

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

Olay Regenerist Eye Lifting Serum

Hi there! Today’s post is about this Olay Regenerist Eye Lifting Serum. This is the old packaging – I bought this product at one of the bargain stores. With this one, I don’t remember the price. Normally, I either write it inside the lid of the box, or I take the product photos and save them in a draft, along with the product size and price. This time I did neither.

Anyhoo, this eye serum is supposed to be used as the fourth step of your skin care routine – cleanser, serum, moisturiser, then the eye serum. This eye serum is fragrance-free, fast-absorbing and and non-greasy. The product promises to renew the youthful look of the eye area, to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and to smooth, brighten and exfoliate the skin.

I’ve been using this product once to twice a day since the beginning of the year, and I love it. I said in a previous post that I have been using a bunch of random products over the second half of 2023, so I didn’t take care of specific skin care concerns. I didn’t think that this would show, however, since I started to use 3 different Olay Regenerist poducts, my skin looks and feels much better.

I’ve noticed that this eye serum has helped brighten the area around my eyes, and it seemed to have filled the fine lines which were starting to show. My eye area looks smoother and refreshed – this isn’t something that would have happened naturally this past cold and wet winter. I can only credit the Olay Regenerist products that I am using – the serum, the night cream, and this eye serum. To sum it up, I am absolutely over the moon with this product (and with the other products from the Regenerist range).

If you’re intersted, Olay Regenerist Eye Lifting Serum is available as 15ml. I have done a quick google search, and I found several online sellers who still sell this amazing product for a bargain price.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

Nivea Miracle Garden Soft Care Shower With Orange & Lily Of The Valley Scent

Hi there! Today’s post is about this Nivea Miracle Garden Soft Care Shower With Orange & Lily Of The Valley Scent which I found at Superdrug.

I always look at what’s on special before I look at my regulars or at anything else. And this cute looking shower gel – which was half price – caught my eye. I took a sniff and liked it right away, so I bought it.

I’ve been using this shower gel for a few days now, and I love it. I think this is the good old Nive Happy Time fragrance, or it’s very similar.

Sadly, I cannot be more specific as I haven’t seen or bought Nivea Happy Time (or Nivea Orange, its other name) for a very long time. None of my local stores have it. And even though I add it to my grocery order all the time as well, I always end up getting a refund for it as it’s never available.

This beautiful shower gel is, sadly, a limited edition. I would love to make it a regular purchase, but it’s not meant to be. At least I have a big bottle. The fragrance is just too good – sunny, yellow, refreshing but gentle. It’s perfect for the spring and summer months. The caring formula is lovely too. My husband likes to use this shower gel as well. He appreciates the moisturising formula, but he also likes the scent. Well, he has good taste in toiletries and fragrances, so I didn’t expect anything else.

Nivea Miracle Garden Soft Care Shower With Orange & Lily Of The Valley Scent is available as 500ml. I bought this shower for half price – it was about £2.50.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛