Never Again – The Ultimate Beauty Duds – Part 3

Hi there! Welcome to Part 3 of the Ultimate Beauty Duds. I’ve already done parts 1 and 2, and these posts were well received. So her’s part 3! 🙂

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel

This Neutrogena moisturiser made my skin feel terribly dry. But Olay saved the day (and my skin).

Dolly’s Mixtures Rainbow Sherbet & Strawberry Daiquiri

These 2 Dolly’s Mixtutes shower gels were disappointing. The fragrances are best described as fizzy plastic and random soapy nothingness.

Simple Pleasures Winter Woodland Body Mists

The ultimate cheap body mist collection. These are the kind of body sprays you give to a young girl to experiment with – if you want her to dislike fragrances…

I Love… Chocolates & Orange Bath & Shower Crème, Refreshing Body Spritzer

I like quite a few I Love… toiletries, but the Chocolates & Oranges products smell like cheap dish soap. Yikes!

Paperchase Cherry, Strawberry & Blackcurrant Lip Balms

These Paperchase lip balms tasted like plastic. I binned them a long time ago.

I Love… Chocolate Truffle Bath Fizzer & Yves Rocher Cranberry Cooling Effect Mask

I Love…’s Chocolate Truffle products are excellent. However, there’s one stinker – the Bath Fizzer! It smells like cardboard with the faintest hint of cheap chocolate. Not pleasant at all.

Yves Rocher’s Cranberry Cooling Effect mask is pretty useless. It doesn’t do anything at all. This is, without doubt, one of Yves Rocher’s most disappointing products.

Accessorize Paradise Eyeshadow Palette

I think the Paradise palette is extremely pretty. But of 32 eyeshadows, 16 are so poorly pigmented that they’re essentially useless. Check out my original post which includes swatches of all 32 eyeshadows – you’ll be disappoited, no doubt.

This was part 3 of The Ultimate Beauty Duds! Whilst I’m not saying that no one could ever like any of these products (some of them are still around), I found these products to be rubbish. But if you do like any of these products, that’s good for you.

Feel free to get in touch if you want to. And thanks for reading!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – April 2017

Hi there! Today’s post is about all the products I emptied in April. I have used several face masks – but I didn’t keep the empty sachets. But you can read about my latest face mask finds here. Now let’s get to the big empties! 🙂

1 Olay Anti-Wrinkle Face Wash – this is a nice creamy face wash. I have 10+ face washes in my stash, so at the moment I’m not buying any more. I would, however, buy this face wash again! I’ve been using this product since November last last year.

2 Burberry Weekend – the ultimate inoffensive office fragrance. I won’t be buying this fragrance again. It’s just too random and too forgettable. I’ve been using this fragrance on and off for several (5+) years.

3 Boots Extracts Rosehip Body Butter – one of my favourite body butters. It’s been discontinued, but I have a few more tubs in my stash! This body butter lasted me for about six weeks – although I didn’t use it every day.

4 Boots Extracts Satsuma Body Spray – a decent body spray. This one was a limited edition body spray, so I can’t repurchase it. I’ve been using this body spray since February – but not every day.

5 Superdrug Moisturising Cocoa Butter Body Lotion – not great. I wouldn’t buy it again. My husband and I used this body lotion as a foot lotion – so this one is a shared empty. We’ve been using this “foot lotion” on and off since September last year.

6 L’Oréal Elvital Color-Vive Deep Conditioner – this deep conditioner is fantastic! I bought a back-up bottle last month. I started to use this product in April last year, so it lasted 12 months!

7 Superdrug Extracts Grapefruit & Papaya Conditioner – a mediocre conditioner. It’s not good, it’s not bad… it’s just mediocre. I won’t buy it again. The conditioner lasted me 3 weeks. I have passed the matching leftover shampoo on to my husband.

8 Maybelline Black Eyeliner – this is a nice eyeliner. I would buy it again. However, I have five more of these and dozens of other black eyeliner pencils, so I won’t be stocking up any time soon. I don’t know when I started to use this eyeliner because I have about 20 eyeliners in a rota…

9 Yves Rocher Lemon Basil Refreshing Shower Gel (50ml) – this one is quite nice. I might buy it again – but next time it would be the full-size bottle! I finished this travel-size shower gel within a few days.

10 Simple Pleasures Winter Woodland Snow Flurries Shower Gel (120ml) – it was nice while it lasted. But I wouldn’t buy it again. I’ve been using this shower gel on and off for 2 or 3 weeks.

11 Simple Pleasures Winter Woodland Berry Frost Shower Gel (120ml) – just like the other Simple Pleasures shower gel, this one was nice enough. But I don’t really need to buy it again… I’ve been using this shower gel on and off for 2 or 3 weeks.

12 Superdrug Vitamin E Skin Care Nourishing Eye Cream – I liked this eye cream. It’s not as nourishing as I expected it to be, but it’s still a really good eye cream. I will repurchase it. I started to use this eye cream in October last year. Then I lost it, but I found it again, and now it’s finished!

13 DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom Body Lotion (150ml) – I received this boy lotion as a gift ages ago, but I only started to use it (on and off) in December last year. This body lotion is extemely runny, and I also don’t care for the fragrance. I should have re-gifted it…

14 Sanctuary Spa Crème Soufflé – this moisturiser feels very luxurious. And I love the Sanctuary Spa fragrance! I’ve used this product on an off for about a year (it’s a huge 475ml tub after all), and now it’s finished. I have another tub left in my stash. But I promise it won’t take another year for tub number 2 to be finished. 🙂

15 Superdrug Clearly Youthful SPF 15 Skin Balancing Moisturiser – I’m glad this product is gone. It’s the worst face cream I’ve ever tried because it’s not even a proper cream. This awful ‘paste’ balled up every time, so I could only use it as a targeted night-time blemish treatment. I started to use this product in late October or early November last year.

16 Max Factor Pan Stik 25 Fair – my holy grail of foundation! This Pan Stik has been 1 of the 6 Pan Stiks I’ve been using for the past year. I have a few back-up Pan Stiks. 🙂

17 Yves Rocher Apple Star Anise Refreshing Exfoliating Shower Gel – this is a very nice exfoliating shower gel! Unfortunately it’s been discontinued, otherwise I’d buy it again. I started to use this product in July last year (!), then I used other exfoliating shower products, so I only finished this one this month.

18 Imperial Leather Indulgence Beautiful Shower Gel – I love this shower gel! Of course I have a back-up bottle! 🙂 I started to use this shower gel in January.

19 Body Fantasies Pink Grapefruit Fantasy – this sugary grapefruit fragrance is not very sophisticated, and it’s incredibly sweet. However, it’s alright. It’s also a good ‘base’ for musky fragrances that you wouldn’t like on their own. I’ve been using this fragrance on and off since June or July 2016. I have another bottle, but once bottle number 2 is finished, Pink Grapefruit Fantasy will not move in with me again.

This is everything I finished in April. I didn’t think it would be this much because March already was an exceptionally good month for empties. But hey, I’m not unhappy! 🙂 Let’s see how many products I’ll empty this month! Feel free to comment if you want to. And thanks for stopping by!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Weekly Recap 3 – 9 April 2017

Hi there! Welcome to my weekly recap. Let me show you what I’ve been up to on my blog this week. 🙂

Monday 3 Apr – March Empties

Monday’s post was about all the products I emptied in March. I emptied quite a lot! If you’d like to read this post, >>click here<<.

Tuesday 4 Apr – Simple Pleasures Winter Woodland Body Mists

On Tuesday I reviewed these Simple Pleasures body mists. >>Click here<< to read the post.

Wednesday 5 Apr – Nail Of The Day / Nail Art Challenge
Thursday 6 Apr – Montagne Jeunesse Buttercream Dream Mud Face Mask

On Wednesday I showed you another mani. >>Click here<< to read which products I used. On Thursday I reviewed Montagne Jeunesse’s Buttercream Dream Mud face mask. If you want to read this post, >>click here<<.

Friday 7 Apr – Boots Extracts Body Sprays – Sweet Mango, Luscious Vanilla

Friday’s post was a quick review of these fantastic Boots Extracts Body Sprays. If you want 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

Simple Pleasures Winter Woodland Body Mists

Hi there! Today’s post is about the Simple Pleasures Winter Woodland Body Mists that I bought a few months ago. These 5 body mists – which were available in a winter-themed set – are supposed to match (most of) the Winter Woodland shower gels and body lotions (which I’ve reviewed here and here). Now let me tell you if these body mists are any good. 🙂

Snow Flurries smells like watered-down sugar water. You’re not sure what this means? Well, this body mist comes pretty close to being fragrance-free! It’s water with a hint of sweetness. Frosty Delight is some kind of sugar water as well. It’s not as weak as Snow Flurries, but that doesn’t make this ‘fragrance’ any better. Berry Frost smells nothing like the matching shower gel (which actually smells like frozen berries). This body mist is more like a random (and cheap) mix of sweet-smelling fragrance notes.

Peppermint Kiss smells quite strongly of peppermint – just like the matching shower gel. This one’s actually well done! However, I don’t like peppermint scents in toiletries. The Winter Snow body mist smells nothing like the Winter Snow shower gel. The shower gel smells like apple tea, but this body mist is more like a clean lotus fragrance. It’s actually quite alright.

All in all, I wouldn’t really recommend this set. And I’ll give these body mists away. If you’d still like to try this set, check if your local Poundstretcher still has it.

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

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

Major Boxing Day Haul – 80 New Products (Sanctuary Spa, Boots Extracts, My Little Pony, Pusheen And More)

Hi there! I know I did a haul post only 2 weeks ago. But I also said I’d be doing some serious bargain shopping on Boxing Day. I ordered lots of stuff online, and I also went to a few stores (Boots, M&S, Poundstretcher, B&M). Here’s what I bought!

I found this My Little Pony Lip Balm Trio at B&M Bargains. I don’t know how much it was because…
1. I didn’t care, and 2. I lost the receipt. I guess it was £2.99 – the My Little Pony nail polish set which I bought recently was £2.99, and I just assume these sets would cost the same.

My local Poundstretcher had a few different Daily Defense hair products. I bought the Keratin shampoo and conditioner, and the Argan Oil shampoo and conditioner. These are huge 473ml bottles – and they were £1 each. I’ve never seen these before, and my guess is they were discontinued ages ago. But I sniffed the products before I decided to buy them – and these 4 products smelled excellent! And something else – these products were made in Canada – and they’re cruelty-free!

Boots Extracts Vanilla House Of Treats was on top my Boxing Day wish list – because my husband loves Boots’ vanilla fragrance very much. I ended up buying 2 of these vanilla sets, each of which contains 200ml shower gel, 200ml body lotion, and 150ml body mist. The Vanilla House Of Treats was half price on Boxing Day – so I only spent £5 per set.

Another half price bargain I got my hands on was this cute Pusheen plush cosmetic bag. It was £4 only (Boots). The cosmetic bag is quite big – it’s the biggest cosmetic bag I’ve ever owned. I’ll take measurements… I promise.

The next awesome half price set is I Love…’s The Takeaway Trio. It contains 3 chocolate truffle scented products – 500ml bath & shower cream, 200ml body butter and a big 150g bath fizzer. Priced at £4 (Boots) this set is amazing value!

Then I spent £2.50 on this Garden Collection Mini Indulgence set (Boots). It contains 5 products – a lavender body wash and a lavender body lotion, a rose body wash and a rose body lotion, and a magnolia body wash. The bottles are 100ml.

I found 2 cute Winter Woodland toiletries sets. The first set contains 3 shower gels and 3 body lotions.

And the second Winter Woodland set contains 5 body mists. These sets are from Poundstretcher.

I also bought a Boots Extracts Body Spray trio. For £3 I got Vanilla (My husband’s favourite!), Strawberry (I’ll give it a sniff, but I think I’ll have to pass this one on to my teenage relative), and Mango (Yummy!). The body sprays are 70ml.

My local Marks & Spencer store had a few Pusheen sets for half price too. I bought a nail polish set for £5 and a lip balm duo for £3.

Up next is the My Little Pony Cutie Beauty Bath Set. It was £3.99 at B&M Bargains. It’s that cute that I don’t even care if any of these products are good. 🙂

I also got the big Boots Extracts House Of Treats – which contains several shower gels, shower scrubs and body butters. All of these products are travel-sized. This set was £10.

And here’s what’s in the House Of Treats – 4 shower gels, 4 body scrubs, 4 body butters. The fragrances are Marshmallow & Peppermint (limited Christmas edition), Coconut, Vanilla & Mango.

I was glad that I Love…’s Pamper Me Essentials set wasn’t sold out by Boxing Day. So I got this set for £5.

The Pamper Me Essentials set contains a 200ml Raspberry & Blackberry Shower Gel and the matching hand cream, and it contains 2 chocolate Truffle products – a body butter (which I already had in a different set) and a body mist (which was the reason I bought this set – I really wanted this Chocolate Truffle body mist).

I bought the Sanctury Spa’s Escape And Let Go set which contains an exfoliating mitt, a 100ml body butter, a full size shower gel and a full-size body scrub. All these products have the same fragrance – White Lily & Damask Rose.

I think this Sanctuary set was good value. It was £8! The shower gel and the shower scrub are usually £5.50 each, so I’m really happy with this set.

I Love…’s The Big Tub Of Fun was £7.50 only. Yes, I only bought it for the Chocolate Truffle products… anyhoo, this set contains a 500ml Chocolate Truffle shower cream, a bath fizzer, a body puff and three Raspberry & Blackberry products – body butter, hand cream and body mist. I think this set is fantastic considering the low price!

I also bought the huge Sanctuary Spa Make A Wish And Let Go box. It was £22.50 and it’s packed with awesome products!

What’s in the box? Heel balm, mini shower gel, bath soak, face mask, body butter, shower gel, salt scrub, body scrub and hand cream.

And here are two non-beauty items – I bought a My Little Pony ringbinder. It was £1.99. And I got myself a foam sticker set for 99p. I found these items at B&M Bargains. 🙂

So this is what I got myself on Boxing Day (in store and online). It’s quite a lot, I know. But it’s nothing compared to what I’ve bought in the past. This Boxing Day (well, technically it’s last boxing Day already…) I managed to ignore all those half-price make-up and nail polish sets. Well, I got the Pusheen nail polish set but that doesn’t count because it’s Pusheen!

I also spent just over £106 for all of this. And whilst I don’t know where to store all these sets and products, I don’t think I spent too much. I do think that I’m a reasonable Boxing Day shopper because I’ve never been someone who’d spend hundreds of £ on ‘impulse items’ (aka stuff you’ll regret buying – like those 5 evening dresses, or those 9 pairs of red high heels…). Yeah, I had to get that out of my system because I know people who still pay off their 2012 Christmas shopping…

Feel free to comment if you want to. Oh, and congratulations if you’ve made it to the end of the post. 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde