May Beauty Awards

Hi there! Today’s post is about my favourite products in May – and here they are!

3rd place – MakeUp Revolution Redemption Palette Romantic Smoked

MakeUp Revolution did an amazing job with this eye palette. So many lovely shades!

Runner-Up – Ekél Natural Clean Peeling Gel Rice Bran

This is my 4th peeling gel from the brand Ekél – and I love it!

WINNER – Lancôme Hypnôse Eau De Parfum, Hypnotising Shower Gel, Hypnotising Body Lotion

Lancôme’s Hypnôse products are simply awesome! It’s crazy that this beautiful fragrance has been discontinued!

Onto the honourable mentions! NYC City Mono Eyeshadow 906 Luxury Reborn is a sensationally beautiful eyeshadow, and I Love… Mango & Papaya Bubble Bath & Shower Crème is the perfect shower gel for spring to summer.

Have you tried any of these products or would you like to try any of them? Which products are you enjoying right now? Feel free to comment, and thanks for reading!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

100% Vegan & Cruelty-Free – Faith In Nature Aloe Vera Hand Made Soap

Hi there! Today’s post is about this Faith In Nature Aloe Vera Hand Made Soap. I don’t think I’ve ever tried any product from this brand, but this soap was on special, and I also saw that this soap is certified vegan (by The Vegan Society) and cruelty-free (it carries the Leaping Bunny logo). So I bought it!

I tried this soap today, and whilst I like it, I don’t love it. The soap is a light green, curved bar soap. It has a classic soap scent with aloe vera mixed in. It lathers up well, and I found it to be cleansing. I would recommend it after a sweaty work-out! However, the soap is drying, and using a body lotion is a must after the shower.

All in all, this is a decent soap. It’s not a favourite, but worth a try if you love bar soaps for the shower. It’s also a good buy if you want to support a vegan and cruelty-free brand! Faith In Nature Aloe Vera Hand Made Soap is available as 100g for about £2.75. I paid £1.50 (special offer).

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

Weekly Recap 16 – 22 May 2022

Hi there! Happy Sunday! I hope you had a good week. Today’s post is my weekly blog recap, so here’s what I’ve been up to on my blog since Monday.

Monday 16 May – MakeUp Revolution Redemption Palette Romantic Smoked

Monday’s post was about an eyeshadow palette. Click here to look at the swatches.

Wednesday 18 May – Ekél Natural Clean Peeling Gel Rice Bran

On Tuesday I reviewed a peeling gel. Click here to read the post.

Only 2 posts this week, so this is it for this week. Enjoy what’s left of the weekend, and thanks for stopping by! xo

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

Ekél Natural Clean Peeling Gel Rice Bran

Hi there! Today’s post is about this Ekél Natural Clean Peeling Gel Rice Bran. This product promises to exfoliate your skin. All you need to do is use a small amount (half a teaspoon tops) of gel – simply rub it all over your face. The gel will ball up – hence the exfoliating effect.

I started to use this product a few weeks ago, and I love it! This product exfoliates my skin well, and it makes my skin feel soft. It also removes make-up like nothing else – I love to use this peeling gel instead of a cleanser (but only when I’m about to step into the shower anyway as the balled-up cleaning gel is rather messy). I tried 3 other peeling gels from this brand, and whilst I loved them all, I like the rice bran scent the most. It fits the clean theme of the product perfectly!

Based on my experience, I’d recommend this product. If you’re interested, Ekél Natural Clean Peeling Gel with Rice Bran is available as 180ml. I believe I paid £4 (TK Maxx).

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

MakeUp Revolution Redemption Palette Romantic Smoked

Hi there! Today’s post is about this MakeUp Revolution Redemption Palette Romantic Smoked. I’ve had this palette for a little while, and I only used 2 of the eyeshadows so far. But I’m going through my stash to see what’s worth keeping, and which products need to go. So I’ve now swatched the entire palette now. Let’s take a look!

The first 4 eyeshadows are beautiful shimmers – an off-white, a light brown, a pale peach and an olive shade. All of them are buttery and highly pigmented. And I’ve used all of them in different looks so far, and I like them all.

The 5th shade is a shimmery rosey pink. I like it a lot. The next 3 shades are mattes – a dark rose, a pale rose and a medium brown. All of them are highly pigmented, and they’re easy to blend. I like all of these 4 shades!

Onto the last 4 eyeshadows which are all mattes – a pale pink, a charcoal, a purple and a sandy shade. Thr first 2 mattes are easy to blend, but the last 2 are a bit chalky.

All in all, MakeUp Revolution Redemption Palette Romantic Smoked is a really good quality eye palette. 10 of the 12 shades are bursting with pigment and are easy to work with. This palette was £4, so I have no reason to complain!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

Weekly Recap 9 – 15 May 2022

Hi there! Today’s post is my weekly blog recap, and here are the post I’ve written this past week.

Monday 9 May – I Love… Mango & Papaya Bubble Bath & Shower Crème
Tuesday 10 May – Maui Moisture Body Care Detoxifying + Volcanic Ash Body Lotion

On Monday I reviewed a shower gel. Click here to read the post.
Tuesday’s post was about this Maui Moisture body lotion. Click here to take a look.

Thursday 12 May – Skin Treats Matcha Purifying Sheet Mask

I didn’t post on Wednesday, but on Thursday I reviewed a sheet mask. Click here to read the post.

Friday 13 May – Lancôme Hypnôse Eau De Parfum, Hypnotising Shower Gel, Hypnotising Body Lotion

And Friday’s post was about Lancôme Hypnôse. Click here to read it.

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

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

Lancôme Hypnôse Eau De Parfum, Hypnotising Shower Gel, Hypnotising Body Lotion

Hi there! Today’s post is about Lancôme Hypnôse Eau De Parfum, Hypnotising Shower Gel and Hypnotising Body Lotion. These 3 items formed a gift set which I picked up during some post-Christmas sale spree a little while ago. I’ve now heard that the fragrance Hypnôse is being discontinued, so I thought I’d give these products a try before they disappear from the shelves for good.

Alrighty, let’s start with Lancôme Hypnôse Hypnotising Shower Gel which has a colour-shifting (beige to blue) effect. It’s so pretty! I also love how well the shower gel lathers up – a little goes a long way. And the fragrance is so beautiful!

Onto Lancôme Hypnôse Hypnotising Body Lotion. This is a very nice body lotion! It’s rather runny, but despite the light formula, it hydrates my skin very well. And the fragrance is heavenly! Also, thanks to the light but wonderfully hydrating formula, I don’t need to use a lot of product, so I should be getting a few uses out of this 50ml tube.

Now let’s get to the star of the show – Lancôme Hypnôse Eau De Parfum which contains the following notes – passion flower (top note), gardenia and jasmine (heart notes), and vanilla and vetiver (base notes). I think the name Hypnôse is perfect for this fragrance. It’s charming, alluring and captivating – and yes, hypnotic! The blurple colour is also a great match for the fragrance. The colour of my EdP turned brownish after a few years in my stash – but that’s normal with vanilla fragrances, and the fragrance itself still smells absolutely perfect.

I love the strong vanilla note – it’s warm and sensual. As the fragrance develops, there’s also a warm and cuddly woody note. Nice! I cannot smell any gardenia or jasmine, but Hypnôse has the most beautiful passion flower note. Passion flower in fragrances can be a difficult note. It’s often too crisp, too dusty, too tangy (too sour even) – and just way too “in your face”. But not in this fragrance! Hypnôse gets passion flower right.

I’m enjoying this fragrance very much – my husband also said that it’s very beautiful. Based on my experience, I’d recommend it. Hypnôse is a quality fragrance which would suit people in most age groups. It’s definitely a feminine fragrance, but a man can also get away with wearing it. And I know because I tested it on my husband (who is the best husband / guinea pig ever). 😇😁

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

Skin Treats Matcha Purifying Sheet Mask

Hi there! Today’s post is about this Skin Treats Matcha Purifying Sheet Mask which promises to cleanse, soothe, refresh and nourish the skin. This is a standard sheet mask. Cleanse your face first, then put the mask on, leave it on for 15 minutes, then pat the remaining essence into the skin.

I’ve just used this mask, and I think it was nice. It felt refreshing and cooling – definitely a good mask for hot summer days. I don’t think this mask has any fragrance. I couldn’t smell anything. Personally, I prefer scented products, but not everyone does; and I’m ok with this mask not smelling of anything as the lack of fragrance actually goes well with the refreshing and cleansing theme of the mask.

Based on my experience, I’d recommend this mask. If you’re interested, Skin Treats Matcha Purifying Sheet Mask is available as a 20ml single-use face mask for £1. I bought this one at B&M Bargains.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

Maui Moisture Body Care Detoxifying + Volcanic Ash Body Lotion

Hi there! Today’s post is about this Maui Moisture Body Care Detoxifying + Volcanic Ash Body Lotion for rough, dull skin.

I’m quoting from the bottle here… this body lotion promises to smooth, purify and restore the skin. It contains exotic volcanic ash, citrusy bergamot oil and tangy white ginger.

The bottle states that this body lotion is made with 100% aloe juice as the first ingredient. It also states that this product contains no mineral oils, no silicones, no parabens, no SLS, no sulfate surfectants, no synthetic dyes, and no ALES. In addition, Maui Moisture claims that this product is vegan – which is great!

I’ve been using this body lotion for about 2 weeks now, and I think it’s not great. The formula is rather thick, so it’s more like a cream than a lotion. However, this product is nowhere near as nourishing as I expected. About 2 hours after using this body lotion, my skin feels like I didn’t use any moisturiser. So I would say that this product behaves like a light summer lotion.

Another thing I want to mention is that this body lotion smells of coconut and nothing else. Maui Moisture products contain coconut oil – which is, of course, a good skin care ingredient. But let’s be honest, when you read about “citrusy bergamot oil” and “tangy white ginger” on the bottle, you’re not really expecting a pure coconut fragrance. Fortunately, the fragrance doesn’t last very long, so I should be able to commit to finishing this product.

if you’re interested, Maui Moisture Body Care Detoxifying + Volcanic Ash Body Lotion is available as 384ml. I paid £4 (TK Maxx). This body lotion and a few other Maui Moisture products are available at Savers (in-store and via their website) too!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

Reducing My Oldies Stash – I Love… Mango & Papaya Bubble Bath & Shower Crème

Hi there! Today’s post is about this I Love… Mango & Papaya Bubble Bath & Shower Crème.

I’ve previously reviewed 2 products from the Mango & Papaya range, and I liked them a lot. So when I dug up this shower gel, I was happy to give it a try.

If you sniff the shower gel from the bottle, you think it has a generic fruity scent. It’s not bad, but definitely not remarkable.

However, once you start lathering up the shower gel on your skin, it smells delicious! Think of a mix of sunlight and juicy fruit bubblegum – but without the sugar. This shower gel smells like summer in a bottle!

This product is also supposed to work as a “bubble bath”. So I’ve tried that too. And I’m very happy to confirm that it creates amazing bubbles and that the fragrance also works for a bath. Great stuff!

If you’re interested, I Love… Mango & Papaya Bubble Bath & Shower Crème is available as 250ml and 500ml. I picked up the 500ml bottle at some discount store, although I don’t remember how much I paid.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛