October Beauty Haul & Favourites

October Beauty 1Aloha beauties! I originally sat down to write a September favourites post, then realised September ended 14 days ago. SORRY, WHERE IS THE TIME GOING?! So instead you get a bit of a random mixed post of things I’ve bought or have been given lately that have made me think ‘this is aiight, this’. I know, the enthusiasm is overwhelming, right?

Beauty 2Tantruth Ultimate Tanning Collection* – £16.99 Salon-Services

I hadn’t heard of Tantruth before I was kindly sent this range to review, but they’re a professional spray tanning brand which also stocks a retail range. This Ultimate Tanning Collection contains three of their retail products, which match the three stages of self-tanning: preparation, tanning and maintaining. The products are:

  • The Perfectionist Exfoliating Body Scrub, 250ml
  • The Ultimate Self–Tan Lotion, 195ml
  • The Prolonger Tan Enhancing Body Moisturiser, 250ml

(Has anyone noticed I left the exfoliator at my sister’s house so it’s not in this photo? No? Oh good, our liddle secret)

I’m really impressed with the tan itself. It has a strong guide colour so you know exactly where you’re putting the tan, and the colour once applied is the closest I’ve achieved to a professional shade while at home. It’s a lotion, whereas I do usually prefer a spray or mousse, but I haven’t noticed any problems with streaking so I suppose that’s not really an issue. The exfoliator is really nice to use – and is also bright pink, so a nice addition to my sister’s bathroom. The post-tan moisturiser is the only product of the three I don’t love, mainly because it’s a very thin, milk-like moisturiser so a lot more spills out of the bottle than you expect. It’s also a bit difficult to apply because of this, BUT on the plus side it does leave skin feeling nice and has a nice whiff to it too.

Overall this is a really nice collection, and I think having the three products together is a really nice touch. I mean, we all know that we should exfoliate the night before tanning but sometimes it’s just a massive CBA. Having this box did force me to be a little more A, so props to it for that.

Beauty 3Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water – £4.99 Boots

Micellar water has been one of the most hyped products in skincare for a while, so I picked up this cheapo Garnier offering (as obviously I would never pay £30 for a bottle, do I look like some sort of fancy Nancy?) With no soap or alcohol, it’s supposed to be a gentle makeup remover and cleanser. And it is. Using this leaves my skin feeling fresh and clean, and is a good eye makeup remover now I’ve got my Hollywood lashes and need one without oil. So… good. That’s as enthusiastic as I’m ever going to get about skincare, I’m afraid.

Beauty 4Juicy Couture Couture Eau de Parfum – £64.36 for 100ml, Boots

As I’m a massive chav I’m a big fan of Juicy Couture perfumes, so was suuuuuper happy to get Couture Couture for my birthday this year. I can’t describe scents at all so I won’t even try, but it’s fresh and girly, which is what I like for my day-to-day stank. I also think it’ll go really nicely with the Juicy velour tracksuit I would also still really like to own…no? WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO?!

Beauty 5Barry M Gelly Nail Paints in ‘Chai’ and ‘Coconut’ – £3.99 each from Boots

Lauren and I both adore Barry M Gelly Nail Paints and so when I had to stop getting acrylics done due to silly things like council tax and TV licenses (zzzz), I knew the only thing that would cheer me up was a couple of new shades. Chai is one of the new releases for autumn and is a steel grey. Coconut is white, but a much nicer white than the plain white Barry am Nail Paint they brought out a couple of years ago. That one was a bit Tippex-y, whereas this is slightly…warmer? I don’t actually know why it’s a better white, but it just is (great reviewer, eh).

Beauty 6Primark Candle – £1
Finally, no, this is not a beauty item. But if you haven’t discovered the joy of Primark’s candles yet then you ain’t living life right.

What do you all think of these items? Have you tried any of them?

Brand Spotlight: Scent City

Scent City 6A new bottle of perfume is a welcome gift to any fine lady of class -or, you know, either of us – so we were very happy when newly-launched site Scent City got in touch with us about reviewing one of their perfumes. Scent City is a niche online perfume retailer that stocks both men and women’s fragrances from around the world. What I love about the site is the unusual layout; first you choose which category to browse based on which persona – or ‘Urbanite’ – you identify with. Are you Mr Classic, Ms Romance, Mr Tough or Ms High Maintenance? Whichever Urbanite you think represents your attitude and personality, there’ll be a selection of fragrances to choose from, including scents from brands such as Ramon Molvizar and Etat Libre d’Orange.

After careful consideration of the scents available, I opted for Early Roses by Teo Cabanel* which falls under the Ms Romance category (don’t laugh; they needn’t know that I’m an ice queen who once signed a Valentine’s Day card with simply Safe x as a ‘laugh’).

Scent City 2I admit that usually I probably have a natural aroma of Batiste dry shampoo mixed with Cool Original Doritos, but when it comes to artificial smells then I’m a big fan of floral scents. Early Roses, as the name kind of suggests, is therefore perfect for me. With head notes of rose and jasmine, this is a delicate, feminine smell that is light enough to be worn every day.

Scent City 3 Scent City 4Early Roses is available from Scent City for £77 for a 50ml bottle, or £98 for 100ml (so you need the 100ml really, THAT’S JUST GOOD ECONOMICS).

Overall I was really pleased with the service by Scent City, and I’m sure the site will become a lot of people’s first port of call for a new fragrance. I think categorising the perfumes as they do is a great idea, and is particularly good if you’re buying  a gift for someone else and have a vague idea what they like. Finally, what I think is a really nice touch is the option to request samples by emailing samples@thescentcity.com – this is perfect if you’re not too sure about buying perfumes online (which, admittedly, is a bit like shoe shopping with your eyes closed).

Scent City 5

 

A huge thank you to Scent City for our bottle of Early Roses!

Have any of you tried Scent City yet? Would you buy perfume online?