Short & Sweet Session - July 2013

Welcome to my first ever Short & Sweet Session post as described here. I was initially going to do one of these posts per sample product that impressed me at a time but decided to just group my favourites for the month together instead as this ended up being a bit more sensible to me (and a lot less time consuming too!)

This month there were only four sample products I used that I thought worth mentioning. They were as follows:

1) GKMBJ One Minute Treatment Hair Mask - I loved, loved, loved this product and am most definitely going to get myself a full size. The smell is delicious and it made my fine, straw like, frizz fest of a head of hair feel so much softer and more manageable. I also love that it only needs to be on for one minute to do its magic. This means I can slather it on after washing my hair and do something else quick like shave or exfoliate and then it's ready to be rinsed off. This is way more practical than other hair masks that need to be left on for 10-15 minutes or so. I'm not a fan at all of getting in the shower, getting out to let my mask work and then getting back in again just to rinse and any product that doesn't force me to do that but still works is great to me!

2) Kiehl's BB Cream - This has to be one of the best BB creams I have used so far. Firstly, it smells kind of like a chocolate coated coffee bean to me which I was a tad excited about every time I went to use it, secondly, it blends into the skin beautifully and leaves a lovely matte finish without a hint of greasiness, and thirdly, a little of this cream goes a seriously long way so this deceivingly small sample lasted me about 5 or 6 uses before running out. This is definitely up there as one of the best BB creams around in my opinion.

3) Remedica Vanilla & Shea Nut Body Creme - This creme is so lovely that I was almost tempted to try eating it. My sensitive, eczema prone skin soaked this creme up like there was no tomorrow and felt really soft and nourished. The smell of this creme is unbelievable. It cannot be adequately described in any other way than delicious. I felt so decadent applying this after showering and before heading to bed at night and found that the scent lasted all night and through most of the next day on my skin as well. Definitely a great, luxurious creme for those whose skin needs that bit extra pampering sometimes.

4) Aromatherapy Associates Relax Bath & Shower Oil - For some reason I'm usually not a big fan of the scent of lavender but I found that I really loved it in the form of this oil. A few drops of this in the bath fills the whole near vicinity with the subtle scent of lavender and the oil ended up making my skin feel lovely and soft and I didn't even have to moisturise afterwards. I'm intrigued now about trying some of the other scents in this range in the near future.

I'd love to know if anyone else has tried any of these products before and what you thought about them?

Have a great week!

Michelle xx

The Body Shop Milk Bath - Blissfully Simple

It's no secret that I have awfully dry, itchy, sensitive skin and this time of year literally can bring tears to my eyes some days if I haven't moisturised enough or if I've spent too much time in air conditioning or heating.

I was having a particularly bad couple of days a little while ago and hubby was out and about feeling sorry for me and decided to try and get me something that would offer a bit of relief. To my surprise he actually went into The Body Shop (all on his own!), spoke to the sales assistant and promptly was given a 'milk bath' for his hands so she could talk him into seeing how lovely this product was. Of course he ended up buying it and came home a very happy chappy thinking he'd done good.

I'm still laughing inside as to how funny this would have been and how sweet he was to go through this, but I digress.

What I do want to talk about is how gorgeous this simple little product is. I was a bit sceptical at first as I have tried a miriad of bath products over the years that claimed to soothe itchy skin without much success, but The Body Shop's Milk Bath really, really works!

It's a fine, white powder of which you only need about a tablespoon of for each use. I put it into the bath while the water is running to dissolve it and it makes the bath water look slightly milky (funny that) and even makes some bubbles much to my secret childish delight.

It's got a beautiful, light scent that just relaxes me like nothing else and the most important part is that it leaves my skin feeling soothed and itch free after a good soak. This is seriously a miracle product for dry, sensitive skin.

This is a product that I probably wouldn't have looked twice at myself if I was out shopping, but I'm so impressed with it and am so pleased that hubby found it as I will be buying this again and again.

I've now gained a new appreciation for The Body Shop and will be seeing what other new gems they have now. I used to live on their products when I was a teenager but moved on for some reason. Now I may just have to reconsider going back.

Have you been surprised by any new products lately?

Michelle xx