I Am Afraid That My Addiction is Real

Mr C bought me a £25 gift card from one4allgiftcard.co.uk just because I have been feeling a bit meh.

I have this inexplicable joint pain in my hands (makes typing sooo fun), feet and other random joints, and pain just wears you down so my sense of burnout has been right on the edge for a while now.

He thought, quite rightly, that a little splurge on just me would make me feel better.

I thought long and hard about how to spend my little windfall; where and how I could get the most bang for my buck, as it were. There were a few choices but after an unreasonable amount of time spent internally debating the matter, I chose Feelunique.com.

It was my first time shopping through the site, which I found easy to navigate and actually quite fun to explore.

I bought three things.

A cleanser, another cleanser and, well, another cleanser. Do you see a theme here?

I know that my last purchase was REN and Emma Hardy, but I wanted to mix it up a bit and get to know some other brands.

The Weleda Almond Soothing Cleansing Lotion 75ml was £10.50. It was bought based on a recommendation by Ruth Crilly's Best Beauty for New Mums video; mainly because she said you can tissue it off if needs must.

It is a "natural product" designed for sensitive skin and is fragrance free but if I smell it, I smell alcohol, which is the 4th ingredient (I checked the inci list only after smelling it). 

It claims to protect skin from drying out but when I tried it out my skin felt quite tight. I will however give it a chance and see how we go. 

The Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser 75ml was £8.50. The brand seems to be quite popular so I thought I would see if the cleanser would work for me. Clearly, more research was required because I do not use foaming cleansers and I did not notice that it is a foaming cleanser. It has a ton of ingredients I am not happy with including parabens, alcohols in various form and even straight up salt. All the lovely ingredients they mention at the front of the packaging are right at the bottom of a very long inci list. I will, however, in the interests of science give this cleanser a try. It may change my life, although signs do not point in that direction. That being said, the scent isn't bad and the gel texture feels nice on my finger tips. Clearly this will be a first cleanse situation only. 

The Balm Balm Frankincense Deep Cleansing Balm 30ml was £9.00. This is a brand and a product I had literally never hear of so I wanted to be adventurous and try something genuinely knew to me. I did not think it would be so tiny. It is the polar opposite of the Kiehl's. 100% certified organic with some lovely sounding ingredients. It does contain shea butter, but that doesn't worry me. It is also a cleanser so it won't stay on the skin and break you out if you are prone. The consistency is a balm which melts into an oily texture between my fingers and smells of beeswax which I think is really nice. I have high hopes for this one. There is a 60ml tub for £16.50, so it may work as an alternative for Emma Hardy; not a replacement, an alternative.

So, you though that was the end?

Three little things bought. No big deal.

So, um no. There's more.

First is a repurchase . Seche Perfect Nail Rebuild 14ml from Amazon at £5.98. I love it. It does wonderful things to my nails.

Then there's the Rimmel Clear Complexion Powder. I needed a powder. this one cost me £3.15. I've never used it. I thought I'd try it.

I went to Boots with my mum about a month ago and we got some Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix night pads and some post-glycolic fix moisturiser. Verrrry nice. I truly love the citrucy smell of the moisturiser. They also work really well. They are not insanely priced and they are lovely. so win!

And then, to top it all off, I got myself a Birchbox. I got the July one and it came a with a free August one. I was super impressed. I have bought a Glossybox before and was disappointed. This was a different ball game entirely. There were some really nice bits and pieces and I will definitely repurchase one the next time I have a desperate need to buy a beauty box.

That is all. and now that I put it all in one place, that is a lot. I think I will enjoy trying out my new goodies and pause on the buying for now, but as you can see, the addiction is profound.

What are your recent purchases. Loves? Fails? Let me know!

Paris Skincare Haul

I was recently in Paris visiting my family for a week with my almost-two-year-old daughter.

She had a great time and was thoroughly spoiled by her aunt, her grandmother and great-grandmother too.

Being my skincare obsessed self, I made a point of visiting the much loved Biologique Recherche. I was not disappointed. It was so exquisite. I was so excited it was a little bit ridiculous. 

Now, I know there is a branch in London; there is even a branch in Johannesburg, which pleased my mom no end, but I just had to make my first visit to the establishment at the original, French location, especially since I had the opportunity. 

Yes, I bought the P50 lotion (150ml). I got the W version, as recommended by the lovely consultant. That's a lie. It was bought for me by my aunt. Thank you Sylvia.

Even my mum bought a bottle, which she is enjoying using, I think.

It took me a few weeks to get around to cracking it open and giving it a go. I have used it once. The tingle is real. The vinegar smell in subtle (I liked it actually), but the results were quite startling. My wrinkles were virtually gone. 

My conversion was instant. I understand the love for this product; I really do. 

Thank you again to my Beauty-God-Mother and guru, Caroline Hirons. (the last time I was in Paris, I tweeted her asking which one product I should buy while in the neighbourhood and she said P50. I didn't get a chance to go then, so I was committed to going this time around.)

I also took the time to pop into the now blog-world famous Citypharma. I say pop in, but what I really mean attempt to navigate the obscenely mad crowds trying to squeeze into this apparently wholesale price pharmacy. With a pram. Never again. It was packed and I just wanted a little look-see. I was instantly accosted by an optimistic sales person trying to sound like an authority on my very red skin and hard-selling me the most expensive something or other I've never heard of. 

I don't have redness issues. I have fat chick from the UK in a Paris heatwave issues. I was melting. Sweat was pouring. It wasn't pretty. We lasted a few minutes and then very slowly tried to flee. It took like what seemed and eternity to get out of there. (Nobody seemed to realise that letting the woman with the pram out of the shop quickly would make more space for everyone. I just got dirty looks from selfish tourists who refused to move an inch.) Basically, it was horrible. I'd rather pay a little bit more (the prices I managed to see were not actually less) at my local pharma than got through that trauma again, seriously. 

My aunt and I went walking and exploring through one of Paris areas. I have no sense of direction so I will never be able to find it again unaided, but we happened upon a Caudalie shop. Another thing of beauty. Little but inviting. We bought serums. I bought the Vine[Activ] Glow Activating anti-wrinkle serum. I love it. The packaging makes me happy. The texture is like a lotion, I suppose. It absorbs quickly and does not feel oily or sticky. The gentle scent is subtle. It feels amazing on the skin and really works well.. Just sublime!

I was also gifted an indulgent little treat by my mother. The Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Multi-purpose dry oil (100ml). It feels really nice on the skin, but is quite heavily scented when you put it on. To be honest, I have yet to use it as I don't usually have make the time to indulge in body skincare (Although I do have some lovely body creams and things ... I should really start using them before they start smelling like play-dough - There is a blog post in that idea somewhere).

I went into quite a few pharmas "just to look" and I was woefully unprepared, so a few opportunities were missed, but there is always next time. 

Thank you to my lovely family for hosting us and for taking us around Paris. And for all the lovely (non-beauty) gifts we were given, including some very sweet clothes from baby Gap, a monkey puppet that Liora is obsessed with and an awesome watch by Swatch for my 40th from my Aunt Sylvia (I also got a bonus watch by getting a 25 Euro surprise box, which is so cool). 

My gran also very generously bought Liora a new Pram!! it is the most amazing pram in the history of prams and I cannot begin to thank her enough. I will gush blog about it separately. 

What are your Paris skincare favourites? Let me know in the comments.

Chat soon.

Bye.