March Beauty Awards

Hi there! And welcome to Mrs Strawberry Blonde’s March Beauty Awards, a.k.a. my monthly favourites post. As always, I selected my favourites from all the products I’ve written about this month. And I’ve also thrown in a few honourable mentions. 🙂 Now, let’s get to the actual favourites!

3rd place – Daily Defense Keratin Shampoo & Conditioner

Since I paid £2 in total for a shampoo and a conditioner, I wasn’t expecting too much. However, these Daily Defense Keratin products are actually very good!

Runner-Up – Boots Extracts Rosehip Body Butter

Boots’ Extracts Rosehip Body Butter is an old favourite. This body butter is just amazing. It makes my skin feel sensationally soft, and the fragrance is fantastic.

WINNER – Boots Botanics Microdermabrasion Polish

I can’t believe I’ve never tried this Boots Botanics Microdermabrasion Polish before! Why didn’t I? I loved Boots’ old Botanics collection, especially the brightening toner and the brightening face wash, so at some point I should have tried Boots’ new (=current) collection…

Well, I’m glad that I’ve finally picked up a few Botanics products recently. The first product I tried was the Microdermabrasion Polish – which is excellent!

Thanks to this product my skin is brighter and my skin tone is more even than ever. I’ll definitely continue to use this product, and I can’t wait to try the other Botanics products!

If you want to read my review of this fantastic Microdermabrasion Polish, click here. 🙂

Now onto the honourable mentions: Whilst Boots’ Luminous Youth Sheet Mask isn’t perfect, I must say that I do like it very much and I will buy it again.

I also liked Montagne Jeunesse’s Manuka Honey Peel-Off Mask. And I think Superdrug did a great ob with their Naturally Radiant Hot Cloth Cleanser.

Which products did you like best this month? Have you tried any of my favourites? If so, I’d like to know what you think. Feel free to get in touch via the comments. And thanks for stopping by!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Nail Of The Day – Astor Fashion Studio 138 & Stamping With Pueen 74

Hi there! Today’s post is another Nail Of The Day post.

For this mani I painted my nails with Astor Fashion Studio 138. Since orange is one of my least favourite nail colours, I decided to stamp.

I used Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro 430 Black Satin as my stamping polish.

The images are from Pueen’s 74 plate (which is part of Pueen’s Buffet Leisure collection).

If you’d like to know more about stamping, I’ve written an entire tutorial which covers everything I wish I had known when I started stamping. 🙂

Feel free to comment if you want to. And thanks for reading!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

100% Cruelty-Free – Montagne Jeunesse 7th Heaven Manuka Honey Peel Off Mask

Hi there! Just a few days ago I tried Montagne Jeunesse’s 7th Heaven Manuka Honey Peel-Off Face Mask for the first time.

I think this mask is fantastic, and I know I’ll buy it again! Now let me tell you why I like this face mask so much. 🙂

OK, this mask is like every other peel-off mask out there. You apply it, you let it dry, you peel it off (which is awesome fun), then you wash your face – and that’s it! Job done!

Now I like this mask because it made my face look refreshed and considerably clearer within minutes. It made my face look and feel great – it was that simple. And believe me, it was hard to resist the urge to touch my face all the time… 😀

I also loved the warm honey fragrance – it was delicious! If you like the scent of honey, you’ll love this face mask! So yeah, get it!

Montagne Jeunesse’s 7th Heaven Manuka Honey Peel-Off Face Mask is available for £1 (give or take a few pence – depending on where you shop). This face mask is approved by the Vegetarian Society and by BUAV. It carries the Leaping Bunning logo which means that it’s certified cruelty-free!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Boots Extracts Marshmallow & Peppermint Body Wash, Body Butter & Body Scrub

Hi there! Whilst it’s been 3 months since Christmas, I still have a lot of Christmas-themed products to try and review. I’ve already taken a closer look at the Winter Woodland shower gels and body lotions, and today I’m reviewing Boots’ Extracts Marshmallow & Peppermint Body Wash, Body Butter and Body Scrub.

The Body Wash is gentle and not drying. And it’s not tingly! I think that’s nice. The Body Butter feels rich and nourishing – but it’s not sticky. In terms of quality it’s just as good as all the other fantastic Boots Extracts body butters. The Body Scrub is nice enough. I’d have liked it more if it were a little grittier. However, this scrub is better than the sticky Boots Extracts sugar scrub!

Whilst these Boots Extracts Marshmallow & Peppermint products are of good quality, I have to mention that I dislike their fragrance. These products smell like peppermint tea – so to me they basically smell like ‘flu remedy’. I hope Boots’ 2017 Christmas LE will be better. Boots, please just stay away from peppermint and cranberry!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Elizavecca Gold CF-Nest White Bomb Eye Cream

Hi there! Today’s post is about my (relatively) new Elizavecca Gold CF-Nest White Bomb Eye Cream. I bought this eye cream in early December last year, and I started to use it about 6 weeks ago (after I lost 2 part-used Superdrug eye creams to my underwear drawer…).

Now, what does this Elizavecca eye cream claim to do? It promises to brighten skin and to help with wrinkles – well, that’s what I gather from Elizavecca’s web site. But I cannot be entirely sure because it appears they overdid it with google translate! 😀 Moving on… like I said, I’ve been using this eye cream for 6 weeks now, so let me tell you if it’s any good.

This eye cream is probably the most nourishing eye cream I’ve ever had. It’s quite rich, but it plays very well with my make-up. I haven’t noticed any issues with make-up balling up or sliding off. However, I don’t think this eye cream has had any brightening effect, and I don’t think it would have an effect on wrinkles.

I would recommend this eye cream to anyone who’s looking for a hydrating eye cream that sits well under make-up. I paid £9.99 for a big 30ml tube (TK Maxx). So whilst this eye cream doesn’t work wonders, I think it’s good value nonetheless!

Have you tried Elizavecca’s Gold CF-Nest White Bomb Eye Cream or any other Elizavecca products? Feel free to get in touch via the comments. And thanks for reading!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Weekly Recap 20 – 26 Mar 2017

Hi there! Happy Sunday everyone! This post is my weekly blog recap. If you’ve missed a post that you might have liked, this is your chance to catch up.

Monday 20 Mar – Nail Of The Day / Nail Art Challenge
Friday 24 Mar – Nail Of The Day

I did nail posts on Monday and Friday – if you’d like to know how I did the print nails, click here. If you’d like to know which products I used to do the floral mani, click here.

Tuesday 21 Mar – Daily Defense Moisturizing Shampoo & Conditioner With Keratin

Tuesday’s post was about Daily Defense’s Keratin hair products. They’re really good! If you’d like to read the post or find out where you can pick up these hair goodies, click here.

Wednesday 22 Mar – Simple Pleasures Winter Woodland Shower Gels

On Wednesday I reviewed the Winter Woodland shower gels that I picked up on Boxing Day. Click here to read the post.

Thursday 23 Mar – Simple Pleasures Winter Woodland Body Lotions

And on Thursday I told you how I liked these Winter Woodland body lotions. If you’d like to read the post, click here.

This is it for this week. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Nail Of The Day – NYC Expert Last 255 Late Night Lilac & Stamping With Pueen 93

Hi there! I’ve got a new mani post for you today. 🙂

I painted my nails with two coats of NYC Expert Last 255 Late Night Lilac. This polish has a weird shimmer, but I’m glad that, thanks to the stamped-on images, said shimmer is invisible. 🙂

I used one of my favourite stamping plates, Pueen’s 93 plate (which is available as part of Pueen’s Buffet Leisure collection).

And I used Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro 430 Black Satin to stamp on the images.

I really like this mani (well, I love the base colour and the stamping plate). Do you agree? Feel free to let me know. And thanks for stopping by!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Simple Pleasures Winter Woodland Body Lotions – Frosty Delight, Winter Snow & Peppermint Kiss

Hi there! Today’s post is about the 3 body lotions from the Winter Woodland Christmas set. I’ve already reviewed the 3 Winter Woodland shower gels, so let me tell you more about the body lotions. Here they are – Simple Pleasures Winter Woodland Frosty Delight, Winter Snow and Peppermint Kiss.

First of all, I have to say that I like the formula of these body lotions. They’re rather light, but they’re not runny. They’re not sticky and they’re great if you’re in a hurry. 🙂 Now let’s get to their scents!

Frosty Delight smells like frozen berries. I don’t love the fragrance, but I think it’s alright. I’ll definitely continue to use this body lotion. Winter Snow smells like apple tea. I like it! 🙂

Peppermint Kiss is 100% peppermint. The strong peppermint fragrance is just overwhelming. I don’t like toiletries with a strong peppermint fragrance, so I gave this one away. If you want your skin to smell like peppermint, this is the perfect body lotion for you.

Whilst I’ve now reviewed the Winter Woodland shower gels and body lotions, I still have to try the Winter Woodland body mists. Like I said in yesterday’s post, I got my Winter Woodland sets from Poundstretcher. Set 1 contains 5 body mists, and set 2 contains 3 shower gels and 3 body lotions (120ml each). So if you’d like to try these products and there’s a Poundstretcher near you, you know what to do! 😀

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Simple Pleasures Winter Woodland Shower Gels – Snow Flurries, Berry Frost & Orange Icicle

Hi there! I bought two Simple Pleasures Winter Woodland toiletries sets on Boxing Day last year. Set 1 contained 5 body sprays, and set 2 contained 3 shower gels and 3 body lotions. Today I’m reviewing the shower gels, so meet Simple Pleasures Winter Woodland Snow Flurries, Berry Frost and Orange Icicle.

Snow Flurries smells like a watered-down raspberry jelly (no fruits, juice only). It smells sweet, fruity and cold! I think it’s alright. Berry Frost is fairly nice too. It smells like frozen berries – almost like I Love…’s Mixed Berries shower gel.

Orange Icicle is my least favourite of the bunch. It’s not as bad I Love…’s Chocolates & Oranges shower gel, but it’s not that much better because the orange (and cinnamon) fragrance in this shower gel smells very cheap. I’ve already squeezed this shower gel into the hand soap dispenser in the kitchen.

I’ll try to have the review of the body lotions up tomorrow. In the meantime… I got this toiletries set (£3.99 for 3 shower gels and 3 body lotions, 120ml each) from Poundstretcher. So if you’re interested in this set and there’s a Poundstretcher near you… you know what to do! 😀

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Daily Defense Moisturizing Shampoo & Conditioner With Keratin

Hi there! A few months ago I bought 2 Daily Defense shampoo and conditioner combos, and I’m revieweing one of those combos today. Now meet Daily Defense Moisturizing Shampoo & Conditioner With Keratin!

To be honest, I’d never heard of this brand before – but I was interested because the products were made in Canada (Hello blogging buddies from Canada!) and they’re cruelty-free! 🙂 I’ve been using these two products for a few weeks now, so I’ve had the chance to form an opinion. Now let me tell you how I like these hair products!

I think the shampoo is really nice. It’s a little runnier than L’Oréal or Pantene shampoos, but that’s OK. The shampoo claims to be low in sulfate, but it still lathers up well. However, the shampoo is really gentle, and I’m sure it would be amazing for people with dry hair and / or sensitive scalps. The conditioner is very nice too. It helps me detangle my hair in the shower and it makes my hair feel very soft. I love it!

And now, let me compare these Daily Defense hair products with other brands! I think this shampoo & conditioner combo is even better than my favourite Pantene combo (= Breakage Defence), and it’s almost as good as my two favourite L’Oréal combos (= Colour Protect and Triple Resist). On top of that, these two Daily Defense hair products smell absolutely fantastic! Scent-wise they’re in my all-time top 5!

If you’d like to try Daily Defense’s Moisturizing Shampoo & Conditioner With Keratin, swing by your local bargain stores! I bought these two big 473ml bottles for £1 each (Poundstretcher), and I’ve also seen the shampoos in jumbo bottles (probably around 900ml) for £1.49 at Home Bargains! Now go, buy and try! I’d love to hear what you think about these Daily Defense hair products! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde