Beautifully Scrumptious Aloe Vera Body Butter

Hi there! I’ve got another skin care review for you today. A few weeks ago I picked up this Beautifully Scrumptious Aloe Vera Body Butter for £1 at Poundland. I’ve never had an aloe vera body butter, so it took me about 3 seconds to decide I had to give this one a try. And now that I’ve been using this product for a few weeks, here’s what I think. 🙂

I’m happy I bought this body butter. It’s not the most innovative product, but it hydrates my skin nicely and it doesn’t feel sticky. The biggest selling point is the aloe vera fragrance. It’s wonderfully fresh and natural. I’m enjoying it very much!

Beautifully Scrumptious Aloe Vera Body Butter is available as 220ml for £1 (give or take a few pence) at bargain stores. If you’re looking for a new body butter, you need to try this!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – July 2016

Hi there! Since it’s the 1st of August, it’s time for my monthly empties post. I’ve emptied quite a lot this month (of course I’m proud of myself), so let’s take a look at my garbage. 😀

1 (no photo) – I’ve used a few different face masks (Boots, Superdrug and Montagne Jeunesse). As always, I didn’t keep the sachets.

2 (no photo – sorry) Yves Rocher Apple Star Anise Refreshing Shower Gel – a really nice shower gel. Unfortunately I can’t repurchase it because it was a limited edition.

3 Herbal Essences Silk N’ Shine Conditioner – my favourite conditioner. I’ve said it before and I say it again: THIS is the best conditioner I’ve ever used. Even if it were my mission in life to think up the perfect conditioner, I couldn’t even imagine anything that could be better. I’ve got quite an impressive stash of Herbal Essences Classics products (don’t ask…) but I’ll keep on buying more just in case Herbal Essences discontinues these beauties again.

4 Rightguard Shower + Lotion with Pomegranate – this is a lovely shower cream and I’d recommend it to everyone with dry skin. Repurchase? Yes.

5 Superdrug Kids Softmint Mouthwash – I haven’t used kids’ mouthwash since I was a kid – but a few weeks ago I picked up this cute mouthwash. It tastes absolutely yummy! 🙂 I’ve also been to different stores and noticed that the Sainsbury’s own-brand kids mouthwash is identical to Superdrug’s. And then I went to Home Bargains to find Wisdom kids’ mouthwash – which is the exact same thing. So now I know that Wisdom makes Superdrug’s and Sains’ own-brand dental care products!

In case you’re wondering, Superdrug’s mouthwash is £1.49, Sains’ mouthwash is 99p, and Wisdom’s mouthwash at Home Bargains is 89p. I’ll continue to buy the cheapest product 😉 and I’ve already stocked up. I know I won’t be going back to mouthwash for adults.

6 Rimmel Wear Max Nail Polish 421 Clearly Clear – one of my favourite clear polishes (thank you, Rimmel). I’ve got several back-up bottles and I’ll continue to purchase this clear polish.

7 NYC In A Minute Quick Dry Nail Polish 264 Lincoln Square Lavender – a very nice polish! Applies like a charm, dries quickly, looks good. I already have a back-up bottle. 🙂

8 Essence The Gel Nail Polish 33 Wild White Days – I think this is the best white polish under £2 – unfortunately this doesn’t mean a lot. This polish isn’t really great. It’s too thick, it goes on streaky (it might be different if you have short and small nails and if you can paint your entire nail with a single brush stroke), and it takes a long time to dry. But I’ve repurchased a bottle already because of all the cheap white polishes, this is the only one that comes close to being opaque in one coat.

9 Pantene Pro-V Colour Protect & Smooth Conditioner – a decent conditioner. Nothing special. I might buy it again, but I don’t really feel an urge to have it in my stash.

10 Vaseline Intensive Care Cocoa Radiant Non-Greasy Lotion – one of my favourite body lotions. I’ve already repuchased it.

11 Superdrug Soothing Aloe Vera Body Lotion – this is a reasonable body lotion. It’s not the richest lotion but it’s OK for ‘maintenance’. I like the fragrance a lot and I might repurchase it.

12 Olay 2 In 1 Hydration + SPF 15 Lightweight Lotion – a wonderful day moisturiser! At the moment I’ve got quite an impressive number of face creams and lotions in my stash so I’m trying not to stock up. But I’ll definitely buy this one again in the future.

13 Miss Sporty Dr Balm Gossip Kiss SOS – a decent lip balm. I got this lip balm (yes, unused) from a friend, but I bought a few more a couple of weeks later when Poundland sold packs of three Miss Sporty items for £1. I’m working on finishing another Miss Sporty lip balm – I hope it’ll be in next month’s empties. 🙂

14 I Love… Cherry Almond Sparkle Nourishing Body Butter – at first I really liked this body butter but the christmassey fragrance started to annoy me big time halfway through the tub. Since I’m trying my best not to be wasteful, I’ve used this body butter as a foot butter (with great results)!

15 Olay Anti-Wrinkle Sensitive Skin Day Lotion – a nice fragrance-free moisturiser. I did enjoy using this product but I prefer scented products (the scent of a product is actually quite important to me), so I think I won’t buy this one again.

16 Original Source Cherry & Nettle Shower Gel – a really nice, refreshing shower gel. I’ve already repurchased it.

17 I Love… Tangerine Dream Shower Gel – a wonderful shower gel that made my skin feel refreshed and clean even on the hottest days this July. I’d like to repurchase it, but unfortunately it has been discontinued. 😦

18 Original Source Raspberry And Cocoa Shower Gel – not a favourite. It sounded promising, but it smelled weird. I wouldn’t repurchase it.

So this is what I’ve used up in July. I’m glad I finished (!) a few skin care products and nail polishes. In case you’re wondering, I won’t include mouthwash in future posts (unless I discover something new and better) – I just wanted to let you know that I’ve switched to kids’ mouthwash. 🙂

Have you tried any of these products? Feel free to let me know in the comments. And thanks for reading! I hope you have a great week.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – June 2016

Hi there! Today’s post is about what I emptied last month. It’s quite a lot (and I’m proud of myself), so let’s get started! 🙂

1 (no photo) I used several face masks from Montagne Jeunesse (Lemon Zest, Mud Pac, Passion Peel Off) and Superdrug (Naturally Radiant Mask, Fruit Sorbet Peel Off, Dead Sea Clay Mask). I didn’t feel like keeping the empty (= dirty & sticky) sachets. The masks that really stood out were the Montagne Jeunesse masks – I can’t believe I’ve never used them before! Anyway, I’ll repurchase all the face masks I’ve used this month.

2 Garnier Intensive 7 Days Hydrating Body Lotion with Aloe Vera – this is a fantastic body lotion. Of all the body lotions and butters I’ve had in the past six month or so, this one is definitely in my top 3. It appears Garnier has now discontinued this product which is stupid a shame!

3 St. Ives Naturally Clear Apricot Scrub – Blemish Fighting – I stopped using harsh scrubs with crushed apricot seeds or walnut shells on my face – I’m using these on my body only. Essentially, I used most of this face scrub as a body scrub. 🙂 I wouldn’t repurchase this product because most body scrubs smell much nicer than this product.

4 Rightguard Shower + Nutrients Shower Cream with Acai Berry – this shower cream is amazing – it’s gentle and creamy and it smells absolutely delicious. Highly recommended! Repurchase? Yes!

5 Dolce & Gabbana 3 L’Impératrice (100ml) – a lovely fruity fragrance for grown-ups. I won’t repurchase it (I have too many fragrances) but I recommend you give this one a sniff if you come across it. L’Impératrice is a really nice fragrance.

6 Harmony Hair Indulgence Herbal Conditioner with Jasmine Extract – I didn’t love the conditioner. It smells really nice but it’s not great for my hair type (thick, long, curly). I won’t repurchase it but I think it would work fine for ladies with short, fine and straight hair. If you’re wondering what happened to the matching shampoo (now that the conditioner is gone), my husband is using it up.

7 Imperial Leather Oriental Calm Shower Cream – I kept this around for a while because I thought it was discontinued. However, this gorgeous vanilla and cherry blossom shower cream has only been renamed and it’s still available as Imperial Leather Mauritian Spa! I’ve already stocked up. 🙂

8 Olay Anti-Wrinkle Instant Hydration + Wrinkle Smoother – this is a really good non-greasy moisturiser which has an instant blur effects on fine lines, and it doubles as a primer. I won’t repurchase it because it’s not the most suitable moisturiser for my skin type (dry, sensitive & moody), but I can totally see that women with normal to oily skin would love it.

9 Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar Shower Gel – I liked that this shower gel didn’t smell too coconutty and that it was gentle. But I won’t repurchase it. The fragrance isn’t my favourite.

10 Olay Regenerist Luminous Dark Circle Correcting Eye Swirl – this eye cream didn’t do anything for me. I think this is the only Olay product that left me disappointed. I’m glad it’s finally gone and I won’t repurchase it.

11 The Body Shop Lychee Blossom Body Mist (100ml) – a decent body mist with a sweet and fruity fragrance. The product is no longer available (limited edition from ages ago), but I wouldn’t repurchase it if it were still available. Like I said earlier, I have too many fragrances…

12 Imperial Leather Paradise Island Nourishing Bath Cream – this is one of my favourite bath creams at the moment. It smells of peach nectar and vanilla – delicious! I’ve already repurchased it.

13 Palmolive Pampering Touch with Coconut and Moisturising Milk – I really love this shower gel. It feels amazing on my skin and it smells wonderful. I have a few back-up bottles and I’ll always repurchase this one.

14 Original Source Plum & Blackcurrant Shower Gel – a nice and refreshing shower gel. I’m pretty sure I’ve got at least one back-up bottle (probably two). I don’t feel like purchasing more at the moment.

15 Imperial Leather Revitalising Ylang Ylang & Juniper Shower Gel – this is already the second big bottle I’ve used up. I really like this shower gel. The bottle (yellow floral image, I’m looking at you) is quite ugly, but the shower gel smells lovely and quite sophisticated. Repurchase? Yes!

This is everything I managed to use up in June. There aren’t any small items like lipsticks or eyeliner pencils, but I’m really proud of myelf for emptying so many bottles and tubes. Have you used any of these products? Feel free to let me know what you think. 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

The Battle Of The Aloe Vera Lotions: Garnier Intensive 7 Days Hydrating Body Lotion with Aloe Vera vs. Superdrug Soothing Aloe Vera Body Lotion

Hi there! It’s been a while since the last ‘which one is better’ post. However, I just realised that I bought these two body lotions with aloe vera very recently, so I thought I’d look into which one is better.

I’ve got Garnier’s Intensive 7 Days Hydrating Lotion with Aloe Vera and Superdrug’s Soothing Aloe Vera Body Lotion. And now The Battle Of The Aloe Vera Body Lotions is on! 🙂

Garnier’s Aloe Vera Body Lotion for normal skin is a very good moisturiser. It smells subtle, fresh and green. The lotion is fast-absorbing and non-sticky. It makes my skin feel elastic and nicely hydrated.

After using this body lotion once a day for three days my skin felt like silk. I could even get away with not using any body moisturiser at all for the next two days – and my skin still felt and looked great. This body lotion is for normal skin but it made such a difference to my dry and sensitive skin. I’ll definitely buy it again! 10 stars!

Superdrug’s Aloe Vera Body Lotion is a moisturiser for all skin types. It smells absolutely gorgeous. The lotion is fast-absorbing and non-sticky – just like Garnier’s body lotion. However, Superdrug’s body lotion is rather light which, I think, makes it more suitable for summer than for winter.

My skin feels nicely hydrated when I use this body lotion every day. But I really have to use it every day to maintain this effect. In my opinion, Superdrug’s body lotion is decent. But it wouldn’t be my first choice to ‘treat’ dry and sensitive skin in winter.

Verdict: Garnier’s body lotion doesn’t smell as nice as Superdrug’s, and Superdrug’s body lotion gets extra points for being BUAV-approved and cruelty-free (it carries the Leaping Bunny logo). However, because of its skin transforming powers (!) Garnier is the clear winner of The Battle Of The Aloe Vera Body Lotions.

Garnier’s Aloe Vera body lotion is available as 250ml for about £3 to £3.65 and 400ml for £5 to £5.50 – depending on where you shop. I got my 250ml bottle for £1.49 which is definitely good value. If you look for a bargain, the 250 ml bottle is currently £1.50 at Wilko’s.

Superdrug’s Aloe Vera body lotion is available as 375ml for £1.49. I spent 99p for this product and there is usually some kind of deal (usually 1/3 off) at Superdrug.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde