100% Extra Free – Imperial Leather Revitalising Ylang Ylang & Juniper, Imperial Leather Day At The Spa Nourishing Body Wash

Hi there! If you read my blog, you know that I can’t resist anything that says “half price” or “100% Extra Free”. So when I saw that my local Poundland had restocked these huge 500 ml Imperial Leather shower gels, I felt a mild bargain fever coming on. 🙂

So I bought Imperial Leather’s Revitalising Ylang Ylang & Juniper Shower Gel and Imperial Leather’s Day At The Spa Nourishing Body Wash with shea butter and honeysuckle.

Imperial Leather Revitalising Ylang-Ylang & Juniper Shower Gel turned out to be much nicer than expected. Whilst this shower gel is not moisturising at all, it smells surprisingly pleasant – almost sophisticated. I would describe the fragrance as a mix of tea, flowers and clean woods. Very nice!

Imperial Leather Day At The Spa Nourishing Body Wash is just as pleasant. I love that it’s a noursishing body wash, so my skin doesn’t feel dry the moment I get out of the shower. The shea butter and honeysuckle fragrance is lovely and I think it matches the spa theme perfectly. The shower gel has been renamed to Summer Days now, but that name is just as fitting.

If you too can’t resist anything that says 100% Extra Free, you should pop by your local Poundland to see if they stock these huge 500 ml Imperial Leather shower products. I’ll definitely go back again to check if they’ve got any other fragrances. 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

I wouldn’t recommend… Sweet Snuggles Chocolate Vanilla Hand Cream & FCUK Pure Bodyspray

Hi there! This is my first post about stuff I wouldn’t recommend. I’ve done a few posts about products I wouldn’t repurchase, but I’m thinking that I might make it clearer in the title from now on. Now, let’s get to the products! Meet Superdrug’s Sweet Snuggles Chocolate Vanilla Hand Cream and FCUK Pure Bodyspray.

Superdrug’s Sweet Snuggles Chocolate Vanilla Hand Cream is a product I found in the bargain bin at my local Superdrug store. Whilst this cream does a good job moisturising my hands, the sickly sweet vanilla scent annoys me big time.

FCUK’s Pure Bodyspray is another product I regret buying. The fragrance contains notes of violet, pepper and vanilla. In theory, this doesn’t sound bad at all. In reality, I find this fragrance obnoxious. I tell you why…

At first there’s a blast of old-fashioned violets, the next thing my nose picks up is the smell of butcher – the intensity of the white pepper in this fragrance is beyond words. After a minute or two the  pepper note is gone and what remains is the scent of dried violets with a hint of candy vanilla. Not pleasant. At all.

I’ll give the hand cream and the bodyspray to a teenage relative who’s always happy to take all kinds of unwanted stuff off my hands. She loves sickly sweet scents in everything, so she might actually like these two products.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Nail Of The Day – Astor Quick’N Go 321 & Gold Glitter

Hi there! After lots of manis involving foils or stamping I’ve done a really simple mani the other day.

I couldn’t think of anything spectacular, so I just painted my nails (two coats) with Astor Quick’N Go 321 – a pale vintage rose colour with a cream finish.

I wasn’t sure which kind of glitter would look best, so I chose a simple gold glitter as a top coat. I’m sorry, I don’t remember which one because they all look the same. And I meant it – they’re not similar, they all do look the same.

I’m quite happy with the Astor polish (another great find from Poundworld) which didn’t chip until day four.

The gold topper didn’t feel too rough. Good suff – no regular to coat needed!

Whilst this isn’t my favourite mani, I think it looks alright.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Possibility Amber & Lavender 3 in 1 Shower Gel, Shampoo & Bubble Bath

Hi there! Today’s post is about this Possibility Amber & Lavender 3 in 1 Shower Gel, Shampoo & Bubble Bath.

I’ve never heard of the brand Possibility and I’ve never seen any of their products – until last Saturday when I saw this shower gel at my local Family Bargains store.

The big 525 ml bottle was 99p only, so I bought it. The bottle design looked oddly familiar, but I didn’t realise that Possibility is a clone for Philosophy until just now.

Anyway, I think this Amber & Lavender shower gel is really nice. It smells a lot like warm amber with a hint of lavender only – which is great because I think lavender can smell quite harsh on its own.

I also liked that this shower gel didn’t feel drying at all. It wasn’t particularly rich or creamy, but it was really gentle which is all I want from a shower gel.

I think Possibility did a very good job with this shower gel and now I’m excited to try more products from this brand. I have no idea if Possibility products are available at any regular drugstore or supermarket, but I’ll definitely keep my eyes peeled the next time I’m hitting the bargain stores.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Pantene Pro-V Colour Protect & Volume Shampoo and Conditioner

Hi there! After Pantene Youth Protect and Pantene Breakage Defence I’ve now tried Pantene Pro-V Colour Protect & Volume Shampoo and Conditioner.

I really love the shampoo. It makes my hair feel incredibly soft. I think this is one of the best shampoos I’ve ever had.

The conditioner is not as great. It feels dry and not very conditioning at all. I need to use a lot of product but the result is still only meh because it doesn’t detangle my hair properly.

I’ll definitely repurchase the shampoo and will team it up with a different conditioner. However, I’m not buying this conditioner again.

Pantene Colour Protect & Volume shampoo (400 ml) and conditioner (360 ml) can be yours for £3.99 each. But keep your eyes peeled for half price offers!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Nail Of The Day – MUA White Wash & Stamping

Hi there! I’ve been looking for a nice and opaque white nail polish for a while. And after reading a few reviews I bought MUA White Wash.

I think White Wash is quite good. It didn’t take long to dry and two coats were sufficient for perfect white nails. Good job, MUA!

Now what do you do with white nails? You stamp! 😀

But before I got to work with my stamping kit, I tried to add a touch of glamour with a no-name iridescent white shimmer polish.

Then I selected a few simple floral images from different no-name stamping plates which I stamped on with Filthy Gorgeous Midnight. Midnight is a great polish for stamping – but I’m sure you can see that. 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Miss Sporty Dr Balm Gossip Kiss SOS

Hi there! A friend of mine gave me two Miss Sporty lip balms as a present the other day. And today I’m letting you know what I think of this Miss Sporty Dr Balm Gossip Kiss SOS lip balm. First of all, this lip balm has a slight orange tint and it smells of melons. So far, so good.

In regards to its moisturising qualities, I think this lip balm does a fairly decent job. It glides on smoothly and it feels nourishing without being too sticky. I’m currently using this lip balm as a base for my lipliner which works fine. I’m quite happy with this lip balm and I’ll definitely use it up.

In regards to the other Miss Sporty lip balm, I forgot the exact name, but it was a beige one and it smelled like a mix of cheese and gym socks. I chucked it out. Apparently it was supposed to be honey-flavoured, but it smelled really rank.

Anyway, if you’d like to try any of the Miss Sporty Dr Balm lip balms, you’d have to look for them online because they seem to have been discontinued.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Astor Eye Artist Eye Shadow Palette 615 Smokey Purple

Hi there! Here’s another ‘look what I found at Poundland’ post. 🙂 The last time I went to Poundland I only picked up two items – one of them was this Astor Eye Artist Eye Shadow Palette – 615 Smokey Purple.

This palette is a small compact that contains five eyshadows and a small double-ended sponge applicator. I love the design of the palette and how the colours are arranged. However, the fifth eyeshadow is quite difficult to reach so you need to use a small eyeshadow brush.

All the eyeshadows in this palette are very shimmery; the shades are (from left to right): off-white, peach, lavender, purple and purplish medium grey. The off-white shade is no use to me, but I like all the other shades.

In regards to quality, these eyeshadows are very pigmented and buildable. They’re very easy to blend and they stay in place all day without giving me any trouble – I’d say they’re even better than Sleek’s eyeshadows in this regard.

I’m very happy with this Astor Eye Artist Eye Shadow Palette – 615 Smokey Purple. I’m currently using it alongside my I Heart MakeUp Passion Palette because I love purple, grey and neutral eyeshadows in autumn. If you like this little palette, you should check if you can find it at your local Poundland or Poundworld store!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Dolce & Gabbana 3 L’Impératrice

Hi there! Today’s post is another fragrance post – it’s about Dolce & Gabbana 3 L’Impératrice.

This is a fruity fragrance with rhubarb, red currant and kiwi (top notes), pink cyclamen and watermelon (heart notes), and musky notes, sandalwood and grapefruit wood (base notes).

I’ve been using this fragrance on and off for ages (5 years?). Every time I rediscover it, I fall in love with it. However, after a week or two I always need a break from it.

Whilst L’Impératrice is not a fragrance I can always wear, I think it’s one of the best fruity fragrances out there.

The beautiful mix of melon, kiwi and wood lingers for hours. The fragrance is fruity, yet grown-up, and thanks to the woody notes it’s not overly sweet; this makes it easy to distinguish L’Impératrice from random sugar water celebrity fragrances.

Whilst I probably won’t repurchase this fragrance, I would recommend Dolce & Gabbana 3 L’Impératrice to anyone who is looking for a scent that it both fruity and grown-up. L’Impératrice is available as 20 ml EdT splash, and 50 ml and 100 ml EdT spray. Prices vary greatly but the 100 ml bottle can often be found for under £30 (online).

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Cute Gift To Myself – Care Bears Trainer Socks

Hi there! Today’s post isn’t about beauty, but about something else that makes me happy – cute things! When I was a kid, I was a major Care Bears fan. I couldn’t get enough of Funshine Bear and Grumpy Bear, but I loved all the bears really! So I had to have these super cute Care Bears trainer socks.

I think these cute trainer socks are too precious to be hidden away in trainers where they’d gather fluff and become scruffy, so I’m only wearing them when I’m at home. I hope they’ll last forever. 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde