Simple Kind To Skin Vital Vitamin Foaming Cleanser

It seems somehow unbelievable that less than a year ago I would not let any other cleanser other than Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish so much as touch my skin. It took me moving to Germany, where it's incredibly hard to get hold of, to finally try out a different one and lo and behold I found my new holy grail cleanser: Biotherm's Eau Auto-Moussante. Needless to say, I am so over Cleanse and Polish now.
Fast-forward a few month's and now, back in the UK, I can't get hold of the Biotherm cleanser.
FML.
But when I saw this on the shelves of Boots my heart made a little somersault. Could this replace my beloved Biotherm foam? (And at a fraction of the price?? But shush, don't tell anyone!)

The basic idea is the same. This foaming cleanser is a water in the bottle and comes out of the pump as a foam. While the Biotherm cleanser turned into a milk once rubbed onto the skin, this one just sort of melts into the face. As a result it's easier to wash off, but doesn't feel quite as indulgent.

I find that this is a great cleanser if you're in a hurry. No lathering up, no rubbing, no faffing about with a muslin cloth makes for a quick morning and bedtime routine.
As is the case with Biotherm products, I find that the Simple Kind to Skin range just works really well with my skin and doesn't irritate it resulting in breakouts, pulling sensations or the dreaded film of grease.

While I cannot deny that this is a lovely, gentle cleanser, the downside is that it doesn't quite get my skin clean enough. A cotton pad soaked in toner doesn't come out crystal clean like it did with my Biotherm cleanser, but will show up leftover foundation and dirt. As a result using toner is not a step I can skip if I'm in a hurry.

For this reason my search for a new holy grail product continues. As much as I still love simple, I need my cleanser to, well, clean my face - the hint is sort of in the name. And while this is not a bad product, it's not thorough enough for my liking. (Maybe I just have a ridiculously dirty face, haha??)

The one thing that still speaks in its favour is the purse friendly price of £4.49 for 150ml which lasts forever.

If after all my raving, you still haven't heard enough about the Biotherm foaming cleanser, you can read a full review here.

What's your holy grail cleanser?

Guest Post: How To Avoid Fake Tanning Disasters

Some of you may already know that I keep banging on and on about how ridiculously pale I am, making it difficult to find matching foundations and face products. While I do try to embrace my natural skin colour, sometimes I find myself lusting after a golden bronzed glow. There's no denying that tanned skin makes you look, well.. healthier and slimmer as an added bonus.
The problem? We all know how harmful sun rays can be, so I always make sure I cover myself in SPF. The only other option is fake tanning, but quite frankly, I am absolutely terrified of using fake tan. I've never done it before and the potential disasters, such as patchy, orange skin and messy bed sheets have always put me off.
This is where the lovely people over at Beau Bronz come in with a handy list of tips and hints how to avoid fake tanning mistakes - even if you're a complete newbie just like me. Please let me know if you've found this post helpful or if you've even got any more handy tricks you'd like to share!

How to Avoid Fake Tanning Disasters for Complete Newbies

If you’ve never experimented with fake tan before, the whole thing can seem a bit daunting. Sure, we all know the benefits – an all-over glow, an even complexion, and that beautiful sun kissed look – but the dreaded fake tan disasters can put you off even trying.

Here, we’ll take a look at some of the most common tanning disasters, and provide solutions for ensuring that you get to grips with the perfect application in no time at all!

Stained clothing and bedding

Fake tanning products can be intense when they transfer onto materials, and it can be tough to shift the stains. Before applying, make sure that you’ve got some old towels nearby, and never wear your best or light coloured clothing for at least a day.

In the event that you do stain your clothing or bed sheets, wash them straight away on a hot wash.

Streaks and blotches

Streaks and blotches can totally ruin your look, and we’ve all seen tanning disasters in this form. Thankfully, they’re really easy to avoid. By taking the time to exfoliate and moisturise before applying your product, you’ll have the perfect blank canvas for a smooth finish.

If you do find that you have streaks or blotches, use an exfoliator to minimise the problem.

Orange hands

So you’ve achieved your desired bronzed look, but there’s a problem – your palms are bright orange! This is a common complaint, but it’s so easy to prevent. As soon as you’ve applied your tanning product, wash your hands thoroughly, using a little exfoliator on the palms.

If you’ve accidently missed this part out of your tanning regime, you can rectify the problem by using some exfoliator on the necessary areas.

Quick fading

Once you’re bronzed and beautiful, you’ll want to keep your tan looking fresh for as long as you can. One way to do this is by picking a product that builds up over time, rather than something that’s intended for one-off usage.

To keep your skin looking at its best between applications, moisturise every day with your favourite body moisturiser.

By following these tips, you could find that fake tan becomes your new favourite go-to beauty product!

Have you used fake tan before? What tips would you share with other readers who want to give it a go for the first time?

NOTD - Models Own Peaches & Cream

I love Models Own for a great nail polish on a budget. The thing that always lures me in is their huge selection of colours - classic reds, nudes, pastels, neon brights, a myriad of glitters.... it's almost impossible to choose just one! And their nail polish bottle shaped store in Westfield? Absolutely brilliant!

Models Own Peaches & Cream with flash

I bought Peaches & Cream expecting a delicate nude, but it turned out to be a little more punchy than I originally thought. The first coat was horribly patchy and streaky, but fortunately a second coat evened everything out nicely and left me with a high gloss, creamy and opaque finish.

Models Own Peaches & Cream in daylight

As for the colour, I absolutely cannot fault this shade. The milky peach shade is incredibly flattering. The pastel shade makes me dream of spring, but the strong orange undertones add just that little extra oomph to prevent that washed out look that many pastel shades can create.

Week in Pictures

Forever argued that I don't like gin and tonics, turns out I was wrong! // Nothing better than a slice of pie after a hard day's work // Current read - a must for anyone who's as obsessed with to-do lists as I am // New look Zest: MEH on the outside, brilliant on the inside // Monday's movie marathon // Second time I ever cut anyone's hair and no bald patch this time! // Cheeky little shop on a budget

Whoops, a little late this week - I was too tired to upload my pictures yesterday and today I couldn't get it to work. Fiddling around with Instagram made me look through all my old pictures, however, which brought back quite a few lovely memories. All the more reason to make an effort to take snaps more regularly!
If you've got any "Week in pictures" style posts then please leave me a link, as I have an ongoing obsession with them (creepy? No......)

Lush Golden Wonder Bath Ballistic

Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know I am ridiculously late to this party as even somebody who is as obsessed with anything Christmassy has to admit that the festive season is very much over and far from beginning again.
In fact, I wasn't going to write about this bath ballistic which I bought just before Christmas and almost forgot all about, but it turned out to be so lovely I just had to share it!

The two other Christmas bath goodies I reviewed from Lush turned out to be just a little so-and-so, but this one truly blew me away. A golden present with a shimmery overspray which cracks open and houses little colourful, bobbly mini bath fizzers.

I am unashamedly childish about things with hidden surprises (I still buy Kinder Eggs from time to time as a treat at the check out line), so this got me ridiculously excited.

Of course, if you were a reasonable person you'd break this down into chunks and you could probably get up to four baths out of it to make your money go just that little bit further. But as I am not reasonable and I was also already covered in blue dust after cracking it open to photograph the insides I just chucked in the whole lot.

The result was an explosion of colours in my tub and more excited giggles from me. The main body of the ballistic turned the water a bright turquoise while the little bobbles (technical term here) floated to the top and made little colourful puddles on the surface of the water.

The smell is absolutely gorgeous. A fresh, ocean-type scent with a hint of citrus. So relaxing yet completely invigorating at the same time. Ahhhh, bliss....
My only bugbear was that the golden overspray on the surface stuck to the tub when I pulled the plug and took forever to get off - not quite so relaxing. And of course, I'm pretty peeved that this isn't available all year round. Trust me to leave the best item till last and not crack it open till a month after Christmas.

Oh well, as soon as this year's Christmas items come out I'll be racing you to the Lush stores and stocking up on Golden Wonders as well as extra-strong bathroom cleaner.