Weekly Recap 25 – 31 January 2021

Hi there! Today’s post is about all the posts I’ve written this past week = my weekly blog recap. Read on if you’re wondering what I’ve been up to on my blog.

Monday 25 Jan – Nail Of The Day
Tuesday 26 Jan – Simple Purifying Cleansing Lotion

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

Wedneday 27 Jan – 100% Vegan & Cruelty-Free – M&S Discover Water Jasmine, Fresh Lychee, White Coconut

This fragrance set was the subject of Wednesday’s post. Click here to read it.

Thursday 28 Jan – Max Factor Face Finity All Day Flawless Flexi-Hold 3 In 1 Foundation 30 Porcelain

Thursday’s post was about a Max Factor Foundation. Click here to read my review.

Friday 28 Jan – January Favourites

And on Friday I told you which products I loved the most in January. Click here to take a look.

This is already it for this week. Thanks for stopping by, lovelies!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

January Beauty Awards

Hi there! It’s the last working day of the month, so today’s post is about the products I loved the most in January. My top 3 and the honourable mentions were taken from all the products I reviewed this month. Let’s start with the top 3!

3rd place – Primark PS… Revitalising Cucumber Peel Off Mask
Runner-Up – Montagne Jeunesse Cosmic Rose Quartz Peel-Off

Primark’s cucumber peel-off mask was simply amazing. I can’t wait to buy it again. Montagne Jeunesse’s rose quartz peel-off mask was a revelation! I want to buy more of these!

WINNER – Max Factor Face Finity All Day Flawless Flexi-Hold 3 In 1 Foundation 30 Porcelain

Max Factor’s Face Finity foundation is my favourite product this month. I’m so happy that I gave it a try!

Onto the honourable mentions! There were so many amazing products that I reviewed this past month. M&S Discover Water Jasmine is an outstanding fragrance, Imperial Leather’s Icons shower gels and Herbal Essences’ Blue Ginger hair products are new favourites, Skin Treats did a great job with their Manuka mask, the cheap Masked Beauty mask was a nice surprise, and Jayjun’s sheet mask was lovely too.

Have you tried any of these products or would you like to try any of them? Which products have you been loving lately? Feel free to get in touch and thanks for reading!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Max Factor Face Finity All Day Flawless Flexi-Hold 3 In 1 Foundation 30 Porcelain

Hi there! Today’s post is about this Max Factor Face Finity All Day Flawless Flexi-Hold 3 In 1 Foundation 30 Porcelain which I’ve been using on and off for a few months now. This product is a 3 in 1 = primer, concealer and foundation. It promises a flawless, shine-proof and matte finish that lasts all day and buildable medium to full coverage. This foundation is non-comedogenic, and it has SPF 20!

I have very dry skin, and based on the description, this isn’t the most suitable foundation for me. I’m glad I didn’t know much about the foundation before I bought it, otherwise I would have given it a pass. But I’m happy that I discovered it and made it work for me! And here’s why I love this foundation:

It’s a perfect match for my face. With most foundations I’ve tried, the lightest shade is often 1-3 nuances too dark for me, so I was over the moon to find the perfect shade. The foundation is liquid – which isn’t my favourite formula, but it can be applied easily with clean hands. I tried a make-up sponge and a foundation brush, but these methods aren’t the best. In terms of coverage, one and a half pump is the perfect amount of foundation that I need for flawless, full coverage. The foundation is best applied quickly.

I’ve noticed that this foundation doesn’t play well with every serum or face cream. Some products make the foundation ball up, others make it impossible to even apply the foundation. What works for me is face mist + oil serum + rich moisturiser. When I apply the foundation on top of the perfect base, it gives me a flawless finish that really lasts all day. One thing though: If you’re like me and you have very dry skin, you need to get on top of your dry patches first as this foundation is not very forgiving.

All in all, I love this foundation! I found the right products to make it work for me, and I love how it makes my face look and feel. Once I run out of Pan Stiks, this will be my new go-to foundation (unless Max Factor ruins this formula too).

Max Factor Face Finity All Day Flawless Flexi-Hold 3 In 1 Foundation 30 Porcelain is available as 30ml for about £13.99 (although Boots and Superdrug often do 3 for 2). I bought 2 bottles for £4.99 each at B&M Bargains!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

100% Vegan & Cruelty-Free – M&S Discover Water Jasmine, Fresh Lychee, White Coconut

Hi there! Today’s post is about a fragrance set that I picked up about 4 weeks ago – M&S Discover Water Jasmine, Fresh Lychee, White Coconut. On the back of the pack it reads that these fragrances are suitable for vegetarians, but the actual product pages for the individual scents confirm that these fragrances are suitable for vegans even. And they’re also certified-cruelty-free as they carry the Leaping Bunny logo! 😍

M&S Discover Water Jasmine is my favourite of the bunch, and I’ve already bought the big 100ml bottle. The notes for this fragrance are citrus (top note), jasmine and rose florals (heart note), and soft musk, cedar and amber (base note). The fragrance smells like… a green version of D&G Light Blue! This means that, within the Discover collection, M&S has made 2 fragrances which are reminiscent of D&G Light Blue (the other fragrance is M&S Spided Bergamot). Outstanding stuff!

M&S Discover Fresh Lychee lists lychee, pear and jasmine as top notes and amber and musk as base notes. This fragrance is the one that should have been called Water Jasmine! It has a very clean (and watery) and transparent jasmine note with hints of lychee and pear. It’s really nice too, and of all the 6 fragrances from the Discover collection, this is the 3rd best, in my opinion.

M&S Discover White Coconut has sea-salted coconut and exotic white flowers as top notes, sweet blossom and iced citrus nuances as heart notes and vanilla musk, sea moss and amber as base notes. I don’t like coconut scents and flavours, so I was expecting to hate this fragrance, but it’s actually not bad – the coconut note is on the transparent side, and the salt and the citrus notes are strong too, so the coconut note isn’t overpowering. This is actually a wearable fragrance!

Based on my experience, I would recommend this M&S Discover Water Jasmine, Fresh Lychee, White Coconut set. I picked it up when M&S ran a pre-Christmas 30% off promotion on certain gift sets, but even at £9.50, this is a total steal! Even if you end up not loving every single one of these fragrances, I’m sure you have a friend or colleague who will be happy to have it. If you like any of the individual scents, they’re available as 100ml for £9.50, and I’ve now also seen smaller 30ml bottles (same size as in these gift sets) for £5.

And now that I tried all the fragrances from the Discover collection, I’d rank them in this order (3 yays, 3 nays):

Water Jasmine(I already purchased the 100ml)
Spiced Bergamot (I already purchased the 100ml)
Fresh Lychee (I might repurchase it)

Soft Iris (I liked wearing it while the 30ml bottle lasted, but I won’t repurchase as it’s not very special)
White Coconut (I have better fragrances to wear, so I think I’ll give this one away)
Pink Pepper (I absolutely hate it and will give it away)

If you want to read about the other 3 fragrances, click here.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Simple Purifying Cleansing Lotion

Hi there! Today’s post is about this Simple Purifying Cleansing Lotion.

This product is free from animal-derived ingredients, artificial fragrance or colour, harsh chemicals, soap, alcohol, mineral oil, glycol. What it does contain is vitamin E and pro-vitamin B5. It also contains palm kernel oil, but according to Simple, it’s sustainably sourced.

This is a regular cleansing lotion – apply it to a cotton pad, and wipe it all over your face to dissolve and remove your make-up.

I’ve been using this product for about a month now, and I think it’s good but not great. I agree that the product itself is gentle, and I think it’s good at removing basic make-up. However, when I use more products, and not just foundation, this cleansing lotion isn’t good enough, and I end up going over my face (almost rubbing) more often and for longer.

Based on my experience, I’d recommend it if you only wear light make-up. I will continue to use it on my home-working days when I only put on foundation and lipstick or lipgloss.

If you’re interested, Simple Purifying Cleansing Lotion is available as 200ml. I paid £1.79 (B&M Bargains).

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Nail Of The Day – Rimmel Lycra Pro 327 Heart On Fire & Foils

Hi there! Happy Monday! Today’s post is about a mani I did just last week.

For this mani I painted my nails with Rimmel Lycra Pro 327 Heart On Fire (2 easy coats). This is a lovely polish. It dries quickly, and I like the true red colour very much.

For the accents I used some leftover goil foil. If you’ve never used nail foils, but are interested in it, here’s an important tip – do not ever throw out any leftover foils, as they will make the most amazing manis!

I’ve done a quick and easy to follow nail foil pictorial a while ago, so if you’re interested in how to do foil manis, you can find it here. Thanks for stopping by! 🥰

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Weekly Recap 18 – 24 January 2021

Hi there! Today’s post is my weekly blog recap. Read on if you’re wondering what I’ve been up to on my blog this past week.

Monday 18 Jan – Nail Of The Day
Tuesday 19 Jan – Tesco Kind & Pure Refreshing Face Wash

Monday’s post was a Nail Of The Day post. Click here to read it.
On Tuesday I reviewed the face wash that I’ve been using since December. Click here to read the post.

Wednesday 20 Jan – HAUL! Plenty Of New Products!

Wednesday’s post was about what I bought before Christmas. Click here to see what I bought.

Thursday 21 Jan – Imperial Leather Wild Thing Funky Fruits & Safari Sunset Icons Shower Gel, Imperial Leather Shake Your Bambootay Luscious Bamboo With A Fruity Twist Icons Shower Gel

On Thursday I reviewed these 2 cute shower gels. Click here to read the post.

Friday 22 Jan – Herbal Essences Bio Renew Revitalise Micellar Water & Blue Ginger Shampoo & Blue Ginger Conditioner

And Friday’s post was about these Herbal Essences products. Click here to read my review.

And this is it for this week. Thanks for stopping by! 🥰

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Herbal Essences Bio Renew Revitalise Micellar Water & Blue Ginger Shampoo & Blue Ginger Conditioner

Hi there! Today’s post is about the hair care combo that I’ve been using for a few weeks now – Herbal Essences Bio Renew Revitalise Micellar Water & Blue Ginger Shampoo & Blue Ginger Conditioner. These products claim to have a clarifying effect and to free hair from product residue. I don’t use any styling products – just shampoo and conditioner, so product residue is not an issue for me. Anyhoo, onto the review!

Herbal Essences Bio Renew Revitalise Micellar Water & Blue Ginger Shampo is lovely! It has a nice, clean fragrance, and I’m happy to report that this shampoo feels clarifying. My husband loves it too, and I would recommend it!

Herbal Essences Bio Renew Revitalise Blue Ginger Conditioner is very good too. It detangles my hair quickly and easily, without weighing it down and without flattening it. This is what every volumising conditioner should be like!

Based on my experience, I would recommend these products. They’re some of the best products from the Bio Rewew collection, and I know I’ll be buying them again! Well done, Herbal Essences!

Herbal Essences Bio Renew Revitalise Micellar Water & Blue Ginger Shampoo & Blue Ginger Conditioner are available as 400ml each for about £4.50 – £6. I paid £3 each (Tesco, special offer).

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Imperial Leather Wild Thing Funky Fruits & Safari Sunset Icons Shower Gel, Imperial Leather Shake Your Bambootay Luscious Bamboo With A Fruity Twist Icons Shower Gel

Hi there! Today’s post is about 2 shower gels I found at my local Superdrug store – Imperial Leather Wild Thing Funky Fruits & Safari Sunset Icons Shower Gel and Imperial Leather Shake Your Bambootay Luscious Bamboo With A Fruity Twist Icons Shower Gel. I’ve previously had 2 shower gels from Imperial Leather’s Icon range, and I wanted to give these shower gels a try too.

Imperial Leather Wild Thing Funky Fruits & Safari Sunset Icons Shower Gel is lovely! It smells of passion fruit and mango, and I love the yellow, sunny and happy fragrance. My husband likes it too! The formula is gentle on the skin, and I think this is one of the nicest shower gels I’ve used over the past 6 (or so) months.

Imperial Leather Shake Your Bambootay Luscious Bamboo With A Fruity Twist Icons Shower Gel doesn’t smell of bamboo. The fragrance reminds me of some sort of sweet or candy from my childhood mixed with pineapple. I can’t describe the scent, but it smells warm and simply lovely (and it doesn’t smell overly sweet or sugary). Oh, and the pole-dancing pandas on the bottle are super fun too!

Imperial Leather Wild Thing Funky Fruits & Safari Sunset Icons Shower Gel and Imperial Leather Shake Your Bambootay Luscious Bamboo With A Fruity Twist Icons Shower Gel are available as 250ml. I paid 99p each (half price offer at Superdrug).

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

HAUL! New Products From No 7, M&S, Boots, Superdrug, Herbal Essences, Radox, Imperial Leather, Garnier & More

Hi there! Today’s post is about the majority of the products I bought before Christmas (or so). I’m saying majority because I didn’t take photos of everything I bought, and there’s some stuff I know I’ll only remember after posting. Without further ado, here’s the stuff:

Boots No7 Skincare Stars The Star Of The Show – this incredible set has products worth £149, but it was £39 for a few days in the run-up to Christmas.

Marks & Spencer Discover Spiced Bergamot, Pink Pepper, Soft Iris – these fragrances are vegan and certified cruelty-free. The set was £6.65 (30% off offer), but even the full price of £9.50 is a total steal for 3 x 30ml. I already reviewed this set.

M&S Discover Water Jasmine, Fresh Lychee, White Coconut – I’ll review this set soon. Same price and amount as above, and all these fragrances are vegan and certified cruelty-free as well!

Radox Perky Peach, Radox Mint To Be – I’m looking forward to trying these shower gels, although I made a mistake with the minty one. I ignored the name and the mint leaves, and I somehow assumed it would be a lime scent… 🤦‍♀️ These 400ml shower gels were about £1.30 each.

Imperial Leather Wild Thing, Imperial Leather Shake Your Bambootay – these 2 cute 250ml shower gels were 99p each. I’ve been using them for almost 2 weeks now, and the review will be up tomorrow!

Herbal Essences Bio Renew Micellar Water & Blue Ginger Shampoo & Blue Ginger Conditioner – these are in use too, and the review will be up on Friday! Oh, and these were £3 each!

I also bought plenty of face masks – but they were too many to list. I’ve already tried and reviewed some of them!

Boots Live + Be Awakening Glow Shower Cream, Boots Live+Be Beautiful Connection Bath Soak – I bought these and lots of other Live+Be products as it looks like the entire range is going to be discontinued. Really sad (and typical because I just discovered these last month). I already reviewed the 2 products above.

Superdrug Vitamin E Skin Care All Over Body Cream With Lavender – I bought this when Superdrug ran a Buy 1 Get 2nd Half Price promotion. They’re usually £4.99. I already reviewed this body cream.

Superdrug Vitamin Skin Care All Over Body Cream With Acacia Collagen (also £4.99) was the other product I got with the Buy 1 Get 2nd Half Price deal.

I bought 2 Superdrug Vitamin E Moisturising Shower Creams. I’ve never seen these before but it was time Superdrug finally made a shower gel with their iconic Vitamin E fragrance. These were £1.20 each (Better Than Half Price offer). Garnier Body’s Intensive 7 Days Ultra-Replenishing Lotion With Shea Butter was a repurchase. This is a big 400ml, and it was £2.49 (B&M Bargains).

Superdrug Vitamin E Skin Care All Over Body Cream With Hibiscus Extract was on a Save 1/3 offer. It’s usually £4.49 for a 465ml, but I paid £2.99.

And lastly, Boots Ingredients Glycolic Acid Toner, Boots Ingredients Niacinamide Serum and Boots Vitamin C Brightening Cleansing Gel. The first 2 products were £5, the cleanser was £4 but was actually free (3 for 2 offer).

The No 7 set was a bit more expensive (it wasn’t if you consider the actual value of the products in it), everything else was rather cheap! Have you tried any of these items? Would you like to try any of them? What have you bought recently? Feel free to get in touch via the comments. And thanks for stopping by! 😘

Mrs Strawberry Blonde