I Heart MakeUp I Heart Passion Eyeshadow Palette

Hi there! Like a few other ladies I too went nuts during my latest MakeUp Revolution online shopping spree. One of the palettes I bought is I Heart MakeUp’s I Heart Passion Eyeshadow Palette. (Scroll down for swatches.)

This eye palette contains 16 shades – 10 shimmers and 6 mattes. Whilst there are five rather striking shimmers (two purples, a green, a blue and a black/silver shade), everything else could easily be part of a nude palette. This means there’s something for everyone in this quite versatile eyeshadow collection!

I’m very pleased with the selection of shades and with the quality of the eyeshadows. They’re buttery and soft and easy to blend. My favourite shades are the mattes – all of them. They were selected very well and they compliment the shimmers nicely.

The shades from left to right.
Top:
Love is The Drug,
Limber Up,
Rumba Down,
I Say Go,
Guess The Rest.

Centre:
I Believe,
Liaisons,
In My Heart,
Heartbreaker Romance,
Takes Over,
We Are Going Home.

Bottom:
Missing A Beat,
Never Never,
Catch Your Eye,
U Need More,
Easier Affair

Unfortunately I Heart MakeUp’s I Heart Passion Eyeshadow Palette is about to be discontinued. It is currently available for £3.99 only.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Nail Of The Day – NYC Expert Last 240 Velvet Rope & Foils

Hi there! Here’s another quick NOTD post. I broke a nail recently so I filed them all down. They’re really short at the moment, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be colourful.

So here’s what I did. I painted my nails with two coats of NYC Expert Last 240 Velvet Rope. Initially I wanted to do some stamping, but I couldn’t find my white stamping polish.

I found the dark red polish quite boring… so I had to do something with it! I added pink, gold and blue nail foils all over – and voilà, here’s my colourful summer mani. It’s actually quite cute, isn’t it? 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Carex Fun Edition Hand Wash Cola Bottles, Chocolate Orange and Bubble Gum

Hi there! Now this seems like one of the most random posts ever, but… there’s a but. If you have not tried these Carex Fun Edition hand washes already, you really need to. Now! I picked up the following three scents: Cola Bottles, Chocolate Orange and Bubble Gum.

The first one is Cola Bottles which smells just like Haribo’s Cola Bottles. Whilst I don’t like the Haribo sweets, the hand wash is absolutely delicious! Then there’s Chocolate Orange. What can I say? It’s just as delicious and it smells incredibly authentic. Yummy!

And then there’s Bubble Gum. This is the most delicious hand wash I’ve ever had. I also love it that when I wash my hands with it before I go to bed, I can still smell it when I wake up in the morning. If there is such a thing as The Ultimate Happy Time Hand Wash, then this is it!

I wish they would do XXL Bubble Gum hand wash bottles and also make a body wash, hand cream, body butter and a body mist with this exact fragrance too. Carex, I know this is a fun edition, but please, don’t discontinue this product. Ever!

Carex Fun Edition hand washes are available in 250 ml bottles for about £1.60 to £1.85. However, at the moment Asda sells them for 87p each!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

UNE Casual Matt Colour Rouge Demi-Mat Lipstick M18

Hi there! I haven’t done many posts about colour cosmetics recently, so here’s a quick review of one of my favourite lippies: UNE Casual Matt Lipstick M18. As the name suggests, this is a matte, or rather semi-matte lipstick. I really love the texture of this lippie because it feels like velvet on the lips.

M18 is a gorgeous brownish nude shade which would suit almost everyone. I love the colour because it’s one of those ‘your lips, but better’ shades. It’s perfect for all occasions because it’s a timeless shade that will always look good, and it goes with a natural look or with a dramatic eye make-up. It’s a real beauty weapon! 🙂

UNE is part of Bourjois. UNE products used to be available at Boots and Superdrug stores a few years ago, but now UNE products are available at Whole Foods and a few online retailers only. I’m not sure why, but I guess it may have to do with the brand’s all natural image (I may be totally wrong, though).

I cannot recommend UNE’s Casual Matt lipsticks enough. They’re worth every penny (prices vary from £2 to £10 depending on where you shop) and they truly deserve 11 stars!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Original Source Lime vs. Superdrug Lime & Ginger

Hi there! I know that Original Source’s Lime shower gel is a summer favourite for many people, so I thought I’d compare it with a cheaper alternative, Superdrug’s Lime & Ginger shower gel.

Superdrug does a few shower gels which seem to be similar to Original Source’s offerings, i.e. tea tree & mint and lemon & tea tree. Both lines are vegan, with Original Source’s products being approved by the Vegan Society, whilst all of Superdrug’s products are BUAV-approved and carry the Leaping Bunny logo.

So, let’s start with the actual product reviews. Original Source’s Lime shower gel is a classic. It’s been around for ages and men and women love it – especially in summer – because of its cool, refreshing and zesty lime fragrance. I too love to use it in summer, either to wake me up in the morning, or to give my skin a quick detox after a long, hot day.

Superdrug’s Lime & Ginger shower gel does essentially the same – it cleanses my skin and it’s refreshing. However, its scent is not as nice. Straight from the bottle it smells quite strong and like a household cleaning product. It gets much better once it hits the skin, but I still think that the scent is quite synthetic. Because of this I’ve now squeezed the contents of the bottle into the hand wash dispenser in the kitchen. 🙂 In any event, I don’t think I would buy it again. Saying this, scents are personal preferences and the next person might love it.

To sum it up in one sentence: ***In my opinion, Original Source is the clear winner of this comparison.*** Original Source’s Lime shower gel (250 ml) is available for about £2.20, but it can usually be found for £1 somewhere. Superdrug’s Lime & Ginger shower gel (250 ml) can be yours for 99p, but most of the time there’s a 2 for £1.70 deal.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Boots Naked Colour Shampoo & Conditioner

Hi there! I’m currently working my way through my seemingly endless stash of toiletries and I’ve found a shampoo and conditioner combo which I bought a while ago: Naked Colour.

These two products are 97% natural and they are SLS free. As such the shampoo doesn’t produce much of a lather unless you use a handful of product. This didn’t impress me at all because my hair is long and curly and if there’s no lather, I can’t cleanse my scalp and my hair properly.

I also didn’t like the scent – ginger and cinnamon – which I’d describe as very spicy and even a little boozy. This means that, after rinsing, my hair didn’t feel or smell very clean. On top of that my hair felt heavy and completely unflexible and unelastic. 😦 Not good. At all.

So I reached for the conditioner. On the back of the bottle it says that using plenty is recommended (yeah, right…). Well, I used about twice as much as I usually would and it wasn’t enough. I used another handful of product, but that didn’t do the job either. Then another handful… and it still wasn’t enough. I gave up.

Then I rinsed my hair with water, gently ‘combing’ through it with my fingers – but my hands got stuck in the knotty mess that the conditioner turned my hair into. I tried to remove as many knots (yes, proper knots) as possible without pulling, but nothing helped. And despite not being able to get rid of the knots, I lost about five times as much hair as usual. Horror!

I then used a small amount of my trusted Herbal Essences conditioner, thus removing the knots gently and giving my hair its elasticity, flexibility and softness back. I lost even more hair, but the knots had to go…

The worst thing is that I remembered that I had already used this shampoo and conditioner combo a few years ago. Back then I hated these products just as much and I had to throw them out (= I gave them away…). If I’d had a blog to track my shopping back then, I wouldn’t have bought Naked Colour shampoo and conditioner again.

Naked is a brand that is exclusive to Boots. Whilst I think that Boots’ own brands are generally very good, Naked Colour has left me disappointed. If you want to try these products nonetheless, Naked shampoos and conditioners are available for £4.39 each.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

St. Ives Naturally Clear Apricot Scrub – Blemish Fighting

Hi there! After years and years of using rather gentle face scrubs only, I have bought my first ever St. Ives face scrub. 🙂

Say ‘Hello’ to St. Ives Naturally Clear Apricot Scrub (Blemish Fighting).

I haven’t used apricot scrubs since my early twenties, but when I spotted this scrub for half price at one of the two big drugstores, I thought, why not give St. Ives a try?

In terms of exfoliating, this scrub is quite powerful. After the first use I felt that my skin was much softer. The scrub got rid of quite a few dead skin cells and dry patches. I’ll continue to use it every five to seven days.

I can see that this St. Ives Scrub would work very well for people with oily skin and / or skin impurities too.

If you’re looking for a powerful and reasonably priced facial exfoliator, you might want to try one of St. Ives’ offerings. St. Ives Naturally Clear Apricot Scrub (Blemish Fighting) is available as 150 ml for around £4, although right now it’s on special offer for £2.50 at Asda.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Nail Of The Day – Boots 17 Lasting Fix Indigo & Glitter Mix

Hi there! Here’s another quick NOTD post. I haven’t taken pics of my nails in ages because I haven’t done any spectacular manis lately. I also broke a nail (middle finger – again!), so I’m only showing you my ring finger and my pinkie this time.

I’m currently wearing Boots 17 Lasting Fix Indigo and a few sprinkles of a loose glitter mix which I bought online. I really like this mani – it’s happy and cheerful and the colourful glitter looks great on the purple polish.

What do you think of glitter manis? Feel free to comment. And thanks for checking out my blog!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Olay Anti-Wrinkle Nature Fusion Anti-Ageing Day Fluid

Hi there! I’m still working my way through Olay’s beauty assortment. Whilst I have found my favourite moisturiser, I can’t stop trying all of Olay’s offerings. 🙂 So for the past week I have used Olay Anti-Wrinkle Nature Fusion Anti-Ageing Day Fluid (What a name!) and I’m ready to review the product.

Let me tell you right away that this moisturiser is nice enough, but it will not become one of my beauty staples. My husband seems to like it though! If you read on, I’ll tell you why it’s not perfect for me, but why my husband is quite fond of it.

This Olay Nature Fusion Day Fluid is a light moisturiser with SPF. I think it’s great for summer because it doesn’t clog pores, and it will please ladies with normal or oily skin because the formula is not too rich. The clean and green scent highlights the ‘nature’ theme of this product.

However, I’ve got dry skin and I think this day fluid is simply not enough for my skin-type. I also prefer ‘yellow’ scents, so the leafy green scent of this moisturiser is not my favourite. Whilst I won’t be buying this product for myself again, my husband likes to use it on his face because…

… he has rather oily skin and this moisturiser is perfect for him because it doesn’t give his face an oily shine. He also likes the green scent because it’s rather unisex. And he is happy that this moisturiser contains SPF, so he doesn’t have to worry about the sun burning his pale skin.

In summary, this moisturiser is not for me, but I’m glad that my husband not only uses it because someone has to, but because he really likes the product. If you would like to try Olay Anti-Wrinkle Nature Fusion Anti-Ageing Day Fluid, the 100 ml bottle is £10, but there is always a half price or BOGOF offer somewhere.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

NSPA Fresh Sweet Raspberry Shower & Bath Gel, Rich Body Butter, Fragrance Body Mist

Hi there! I’ve been shopping for toiletries again and I found an interesting looking spa-themed body care collection at Asda: NSPA. They do shower and bath gels, body scrubs, body butters and body mists with different scents (mango, raspberry, vanilla, coconut, passion fruit, etc.).

The products are £3 each, but they had a 3 for £4 offer so I opted for three products from the raspberry collection: NSPA Fresh Sweet Raspberry Shower & Bath Gel, Rich Body Butter and Fragrance Body Mist.

Let me start with the Shower & Bath Gel. If you love the scent and flavour of raspberries, this is a shower gel you should try. The raspberry scent is sweet and quite intense – almost like the real thing. Well done NSPA and Asda! A big plus: You’ll get a 500 ml bottle for £3 which is great value.

Up next is the Rich Body Butter: I’m enjoying this body butter very much at the moment. It’s indeed rich and I can see this one becoming a winter favourite because it really takes care of dry skin. This sweetly-scented raspberry body butter is priced at £3 for a 200 ml tub.

The Fragrance Body Mist is almost literally the icing on the cake. If you want to smell of summery and sweet raspberries, spray this fragrance all over your body. Whilst the raspberry body mist won’t last all day, it really helps if you moisturise your skin with the matching body butter first. In any event, £3 get you a 200 ml bottle which means you’ll get plenty of product to douse yourself in. Incredible value!

I’m very pleased with NSPA‘s offerings and would recommend them if you love raspberry-scented body care products. The fruity products are £3 each , but at the moment most full-size NSPA products are £1.97 only at Asda (I just checked online).

Mrs Strawberry Blonde