February Beauty Awards

Hi there! It’s the last working day of the month, so today’s post is about my favourite products in February. I picked my TOP 3 and I’ve got a few honourable mentions. Let’s start with the TOP 3!

3rd place – Simple Pollution Protect Sheet Mask

Simple’s Pollution Protect Mask was a lovely surprise. I found it at Poundland, and I didn’t expect much from it. But it turned out to be a little gem!

Runner-Up – Sanctuary Spa Mandelular Sensuous Body Scrub

I love this body scrub! I can’t believe this one’s been sitting in my stash for ages. I feel like a giant idiot for not trying it sooner!

WINNER – Manhattan Colour Loop Lipgloss 52S Soft Nude

This lipgloss is amazing. I’ve previously finished one of these, and I bought 2 more. I now have one in my handbag, and I keep and use one with my daily skin care stuff.

And these are the honourable mentions! Montagne Jeunesse did a great job with their Charcoal Peel Off Mask, and Calcot Manor’s Moisture Soufflé was a wonderful surprise! Garnier’s Organic Anti-Age Day Care With Soothing Lavandin was lovely, and Hair Repair’s Colour Shield Nourishing Shampoo & Conditioner were great too!

Have you tried any of these products? Would you like to try them? Which products have you been loving lately? Feel free to get in touch via the comments, and thanks for reading! 😍

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Old vs New – Cuticura Skin Balance Protective Hand & Nail Cream, Cuticura Intensive Hand & Nail Cream

Hi there! I haven’t done a product comparison in a while. When I found these 2 Cuticura hand creams when I packed up my beauty stuff for the house move, I thought they’d be perfect! I gave these 2 products a try, and here’s what I think.

Cuticura Skin Balance Protective Hand & Nail Cream is aimed at people with dry hands. It claims to soften and hydrate skin and to strengthen nails. It claims to have anti-aging powers, and it also says that it evens out skin tone. A look at the back to tube shows that the product contains niacinamide (WOW!), sweet almond oil and vitamins B3 and E.

You’d think this is an amazing hand cream. However. it’s just about alright. I know I bought this hand cream at Poundland, so I also know it was £1. I’d say the hand cream is what you expect for the price. I also don’t like the very strong soapy fragrance. Because of this, my husband and I are now using this hand cream as a foot cream.

Cuticura Intensive Hand & Nail Cream promises to nourish skin and to provide instant relief for rough, chapped hands. The product contains vitamins B3 and E, but it no longer has sweet almond oil or niacinamide.

I’ve tried this hand cream, and I think it’s good but not great. It’s runnier than the old version, so it feels lighter. And I like that it’s fragrance-free. I’ve had more nourishing hand creams, but I use this hand cream right before I go to bed, and I’m happy with it.

In summary, the new version is the clear winner of this comparison. I will pick it up again for £1.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Reducing My Oldies Stash – Kirstie Allsopp Nerolina Orange Blossom Shower Gel & Calcot Manor The Perfect Day Shower & Bath Gel

Hi there! Today’s post is about 2 shower gels which I picked up for £1 each. And here they are!

Kirstie Allsopp Nerolina Orange Blossom Shower Gel has a true orange flower fragrance. I’m enjoying it very much. This shower gel seems to have low SLS. It doesn’t lather up very well. If you like low SLS shower gels, you should consider giving this one a try. I found this large 400ml shower gel at Home Bargains (clearance).

Calcot Manor The Perfect Day Shower & Bath Gel is good but not great. The shower gel is gentle enough, and it smells citrusy, but I doubt this is anyone’s favourite fragrance. This shower gel is available as 300ml (Tesco).

I will continue to use both shower gels. I’d pick up the Kirstie Allsopp shower gel again, but I’m not repurchasing this Calcot Manor shower gel.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Simple Pollution Protect Sheet Mask

Hi there! Today’s post is about this Simple Pollution Protect Sheet Mask with vitamin B3, agave stem extract, niacinamide (although it’s listed very far down the list of ingredients) and sodium hyaluronate. This mask promises to combat dryness and to hydrate skin instantly.

I’ve given this mask a try, and I think it does exactly what it claims to do! The mask feels refreshing and hydrating. It’s definitely gentle, and it feels calming. I enjoyed this mask very much, and I already bought a few more!

Simple Pollution Protect Sheet Mask is available as a single use 21ml face mask. I paid £1 (Poundland).

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Nail Of The Day – Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro 370 Wild Orchid & Manhattan Super Nails 02 Glitter Champion

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

For this mani I painted my nails with Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro 370 Wild Orchid (2 coats). This kind of purple is my favourite nail colour. 😍

The glitter polish I used is Manhattan Super Nails 02 Glitter Champion. This is a mix of gold, fuchsia and blue micro glitter in a clear base. I love this kind of glitter!

I like the look of this mani. However, my nails look awful. I cleaned 2 places like a maniac when we moved house, and this took quite a toll on my nails. Rubber gloves couldn’t prevent splits and breakages, although I guess they prevented the worst!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Weekly Recap 17 – 23 February 2020

Hi there! It’s Sunday, and this means that today’s post is about all the posts I’ve written this past week. Let’s take a look! 🙂

Monday 17 Feb – Nail Of The Day
Tuesday 18 Feb – Primark PS… Retinol Fusing Facial Sheet Mask

Monday’s post was a Nail Of The Day post. Click here to read it.
On Tuesday I reviewed a sheet mask. Click here to read the post.

Wednesday 19 Feb – Calcot Manor The Lazy Evening Moisture Soufflé

On Wednesday I told you if this body moisturiser is any good. Click here to read the review.

Thursday 20 Feb – Smack Beauty Sleeping Beauty Firming Night Cream

Thursday’s post was about this night cream. Click here to read it.

I didn’t post on Friday, so this is it for this week. Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and thanks for stopping by! 🙂

PS: Just 8 more days with very limited internet access… and then I’ll catch up with all of you darlings! xo

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Smack Beauty Sleeping Beauty Firming Night Cream

Hi there! Today’s post is about this Smack Beauty Sleeping Beauty Firming Night Cream. This night cream is aimed at all skin types, and it promises to target the depth and volume of lines and wrinkles, to tackle dryness, to rejuvenate the skin, and to make skin feel uplifted, firmer and more supple.

This night cream contains retinol, shea butter, hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, tamarind fruit extract, pumpkin seed extract, and a few other botanical extracts.

I’ve used this night cream for 4 weeks now, and I think it’s good but not great. It provides light hydration which would most likely be perfect for normal to oily skin types, but it’s not sufficient for dry skin. I also don’t think that this night cream makes a difference to how my skin feels or looks.

At the moment I’m also using Boots’ marvellous No 7 serum which seems to boost all the products I’m using. So I’ve tried this night cream without the Boots serum. I’ve seen quite a difference, and based on this I have to credit Boots with any improvement in my skin!

What else? I like that this night cream has plenty of botanical extracts. There’s a bunny image on the back of the box – I’m not sure if they’re trying to say the product is cruelty-free. I hope it is!

Smack Beauty Sleeping Beauty Firming Night Cream is available as 60g. I paid £3 (clearance) but TK Maxx showed the original price was over £20. I’m not sure if this is correct, but I don’t think this night cream is worth anywhere near that. I do think it’s comparable with drugstore night creams in the £5 – £10 price range, and I think this night cream would be a good product for a younger woman (<30) with normal to oily skin.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Reducing My Oldies Stash – Calcot Manor The Lazy Evening Moisture Soufflé

Hi there! Today’s post is about this Calcot Manor The Lazy Evening Moisture Soufflé. This product contains chamomile, sweet fig and vitamin E, and it promises to soothe and to hydrate skin. I’ve been using this product for about a week now, and here’s what I think.

This body cream was a nice surprise! It has a gorgeous, fresh fragrance, and I love the rich and nourishing formula. It leaves my skin feeling super soft – even after a long day. Upon application, the body cream is a little sticky, but it only takes 2 minutes for the skin to absorb it.

I’m very happy with this product! If you’re interested, Calcot Manor The Lazy Evening Moisture Soufflé is available as 250ml at Tesco.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Primark PS… Retinol Fusing Facial Sheet Mask

Hi there! Today’s post is about a face mask I bought and tried just recently – it’s this Primark PS… Retinol Fusing Sheet Mask.

With this product, the actual sheet mask and the essence are separated. So you have to turn the sachet upside down and give it a good squeeze for the essence to reach the sheet mask. Once the mask has absorbed the essence, you can use it (just leave it on for 15-20 minutes, don’t rinse).

This mask promises to make skin appear smoother. Whilst the mask felt nice and relaxing, I don’t think it did anything to my face. When I removed the mask, I found that it left my face feeling a little sticky. It wasn’t too bad. However, I would have preferred not to have a sticky face.

All in all, I liked the novelty-effect of a fusing mask, but since it didn’t give me any results, I won’t buy it again.

If you’re interested, Primark PS… Retinol Fusing Sheet Mask is available as 20g for £2. I paid 50p (clearance).

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Nail Of The Day – Primark PS… Snow White & Stamping With Maniology BM-XL218

Hi there! I hope you had a great weekend! 😊

Today’s post is about a mani I did a few weeks ago.

For this mani I painted my nails with Primark PS… Snow White (2 coats). This is a great polish. Primark did a fantastic job with this one!

For the images I used my Maniology BM-XL218 stamping plate. The purple polish I stamped with is Rimmel 60 Seconds 625 Sir Yes Sir.

I actually wanted to stamp with one of my near-empty purple polishes (Miss Sporty, L’Oréal), but unfortunately, I couldn’t find them. Typical, I know! 🤣

Mrs Strawberry Blonde