Review / Noble Isle Willow Song Bath & Shower Gel

Noble Isle is a british luxury bath/body and home fragrance brand; they take inspiration from the beautiful nature of the british isles, like misty moorland, Highland distilleries and English orchards and use only the finest ingredients to evoke these gorgeous and mystic lands.

If you recall from my previous post (link) - Noble Isle Fireside is more of a unisex scent, whilst Noble Isle Willow Song* has definitely a feminine twist.

It's sweet - thanks to watermelon and rose petals - but not in a sickening way because the base notes of cedarwood and musk create a perfect balance between florals and mellow woods.

Willow bark and water lily extract, sourced from the medieval town of Lavenham (hence the name), have soothing properties and these romantic notes make it the ideal gift to spoil your Valentine!

The range includes bath & shower gel, a luxurious whipped body cream for your bathtime routine and weighty glass candle or an elegant black reed diffuser.

 Also, if you're looking for the male counterpart, you can bet on Noble Isle Lightning Oak line that, with its smoky woods and peppery notes, is also a favourite of Brad Pitt… doesn't get more handsomely manly than that! ;)

Have you tried Noble Isle yet?

Haul / The Body Shop + Valentine's Day Ideas

Whilst shopping for presents before Christmas, I treated myself to few products from The Body Shop; their offers are simply too good to resist so I stocked up on few favourites (and discovered new loves).

The Body Shop scrubs are my absolute favourites hands down but I have to admit that I have never tried the Cocoa Butter Cream Body Scrub before; I guess, I usually go for more 'unusual' or limited edition scents but I decided to sniff it, out of curiosity, and I was sold: rich yet not overpowering.

It's kinda of thick cream consistency with evident scrubbing bits in it - hardcore, how i like it!

I fell in love with The Body Shop Vineyard Peach Body Butter (link) few months ago and I couldn't resist getting the matching Vineyard Peach Cream Body Scrub too. The consistency is thinner than the Cocoa Butter one - I guess it will be easier to spread and use on dry skin, will see how it fairs.

 I don't spend much money on shower products (I guess because they just go down the drain so quickly) but I love getting indulging bath products because I enjoy relaxing baths quite often.

The Honeymania Bubble Bath Melt looks exactly like honey when drizzled under running water and creates a ton of bubbles. It's a big tub that will last for a long time and I'm certainly savouring using it!

I've been interested in trying the soap-free shower gels for some time and I chose the Moringa Shower Gel - which has a sweet floral scent.

I also got this Almond Hand & Nail Cream Gift Set from my Secret Santa at work, which I was thrilled about because it's right up my street; I have used this hand cream before (Hemp, Absinthe) but not the Almond yet… I love the scent so much!!! 

Finally, I wanted to share a couple of ideas if you're looking for a special gift; Valentine's Day is fast approaching and The Body Shop offers many options for any budget and taste.

My favourite gifts are this cute Heart Lollipop Lip Butters, which includes 5 different lip butters; I understand that the Body Butter Lollipops were a great hit during the Christmas holidays and they have been given a revamp with an heart-shaped box.

Perfect to give the sweetest and most delicious kisses! ;)

… or the Chocolate & Strawberry Shower Gel Duo, the ideal his&her gift set to treat yourself and your loved one, for some smellicious quality time together!

SOAK Yourself - Feeling Groovy Soak

Next week is Mother's Day and if you're stuck for ideas, you'll find that a Soak Yourself Bath Ritual Recipe Kit is the perfect gift for your mum.

Of course, you can also decide to pamper yourself and there's a box for every need and taste.

In fact, I'm not a parent but I felt so spoiled when I received this box of joy in the post.

  

There're a total of 7 boxes in the current collection, including Love Soak, Broken Heart Soak and Muscle Soak; my purple box is the Feeling Groovy Soak* especially designed to let you relax and chill-out and simply enjoy some me-time.

All products come beautifully wrapped in a sturdy box and with a manual to create the perfect bath experience. All the items follow the colour theme, coming in shades of purple, and include: 5ml bottled blend of lavender, chamomile, ylang ylang and jasmine organic essential oils, muslin bag with salts, oats, milk and other natural ingredients which will create a gorgeous foam bath to nourish your skin;  there are also an handmade patchouli & vetiver soap, candle and candle holder, pot of honey and chamomile teabags to fully relax all your senses.

I think this is an  ideal present, a thoughtful and special offering for any loved one in your life!

Each box is priced at £40 and can be ordered from http://www.soakyourself.co.uk/

Empties / January

***

Sanctuary Mandelular Sensuous Bath Creme - I've been loving this scent for years and years and I keep re-buying it.

Very comforting, ideal for a relaxing bubble bath and fills the bathroom for hours; but because it's so strong, I need to take 'breaks' from using it otherwise I would get sick of it. I actually bought this bottle last Christmas and I have just finished it now. Also, very moisturising on the skin.

Re-purchase: Absolutely!  

Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover - Yes, I also got sucked into the hype around this product. It started well but the foam inside started to break after few uses... not sure if my bottle was faulty but not impressed!

I decided to finish it to take off my Christmas glitter polish but is definitely time for the bin now.

Re-purchase: Nope.

Renu Age Defence Balm SPF15 - this tiny sample lasted a week, actually.... maybe because it's pretty thick to be an hand cream.  Really like the smell and the fact that it has spf.

Re-purchase: Maybe.

MonuSpa Enriched Body Cream - again pretty small sample but first impression not too good: left a greasy residue on my skin. Smells lovely, tho.

Re-purchase: No.

Vinies Luminous Skin Mask - when this mask was sent in a beauty box, last year, many people didn't like it so I was able to grab few pots in swaps. I just finished the last one and - oh my god- I still love love love this mask! It does leave your skin red after use, but nothing terrifying in my experience... plus the results are incredible. The skin feels soft and purified and in fact I also used it as a pre-wedding treatment.

Re-purchase: Yes.

Boots Aqua Balance Hydrating Eye Cream - I bought this cream ages ago but then just put it at the back of the drawer, whilst trying other products. I decided it was time to finish it off and am I glad it's over! I can't say I enjoyed using it  - in fact I didn't even bother cutting up the tube to use every little drop. It did nothing for my eye area and, although it says it's for dry skin, I didn't think it was particularly moisturizing, either.

Repurchase: Definitely not!

Neutrogena Multi-Defence Night Moisturiser - pretty ordinary, inexpensive night cream but one of the best i have used - in fact my current favourite! It looks a bit thick and white when first applied but it sinks really well and it's the perfect amount of hydration for my needs. I highly recommend it!

Re-purchase: Yes.

Have you tried any of these products before?
What do you think?
xxx

Empties / December

Philosophy shampoo, shower gel & bubble bath trio: I really struggled to finish these off. The scent pay off is not great - you can read my opionion here as it hasn't changed.

Repurchase: nope.

Lush Helping Hands: I really like this hand cream; I have used it in the past and always go back, periodically. It's very moisturising but a bit greasy so I only use it around the house. Also love the kinda of yeasty smell. :)

Repurchase: yep.

Sanctuary 5 Minutes Thermal Detox Mask: this is one of the deep cleansing mask that I use once a week, after my steamer session. I like that it's fast acting and the charcoal purifies the skin very well but the consistency is kinda of gluey and you end up using more than needed. Also, it needs to go on wet skin which doesn't help on spreading the product on the face.

Repurchase: probably not.

Dr Nick Lowe Dark Cicles Correcting Cream: this is a decent eye cream but I wasn't blown away - plus it din't make any difference to my dark circles. I need to mention that I, instead, really liked another Dr Nick Lowe eye cream... you can check the review here.

Repurchase: no.

Sprout Toner: I loved spritzing it over my face, every morning! It's very refreshing - perfect to start the day - and also balancing - ideal to keep the odd spots at bay. The pump works great and I will definitely re-fill the min bottle for travelling. The only thing I would mention is the smell of vinegar (one of the main ingredients is organic raw apple cider vinegar, actually) which doesn't linger on the skin so it doesn't bother me but you're warned! :)

Repurchase: yes. 

Introducing / Philosophy

Few months ago, I placed an order on the Philosophy website; I had never tried anything from Philosophy before and I decided to order directly from them (instead of using points on Boots) as they were offering a nice sizable sample bag.

Purity Made Simple

Main reason to place the order as everybody's been raving about this cleanser - apparently, the best match for the Clarisonic.

To be perfectly honest, I was disappointed... I suppose I was expecting more.

3-in-1 cleanser for face and eye - although I have never used it on my eyes - removes make up, tones and hydrates the skin.

It's a perfectly fine remover but I wasn't blown away - consistency is good to use with the Clarisonic, I agree on that but I was, also, left disappointed by the fragrance-free formula (well, I would say borderline chemical for my fine sense of smell - my husband calls me 'bloodhound' for a reason ;)).

Glad I only bought the small bottle!

Hope in a Jar

ummm, I don't like this... it feels really weird! :(

The consistency is really odd: it's kinda of waxy (look at the picture below... the product takes that shape and then doesn't move!) but it's also buttery, at the same time.

It's a bit too heavy and I can feel it on my skin... I'll give it another go in the winter and hopefully it will perform better. Maybe, I should have gone with the oil-free version, but to be fair, the jar is indicated for 'all skin types' and I don't need to buy products for oily skin, normally.

Plus, I really dislike the smell - lavander... bleugh!

Warm and Toasty 3pc Gift Set

I wanted to take advantage of the free delivery so I, also, picked up this bath set from the clearance.

Love the circular and glittery box and the visual is beautiful; these are 3 bottles of shampoo, shower gel & bubble bath, all in one: Hazelnut Espresso, Double Rich Hot Cocoa, Hot Buttered Rum.

Again, this is becoming a theme but I was left disappointed: these smell delicious and with a strong resemblance to the actual hot drinks in the bottle... but then the scent disappears when poured in the bath! :(

Also, they don't foam up much which is a shame if you're looking forward to a warming winter bubble bath but it's definitely an advantage when used as shampoo.

Finally, in the goodie bag I got:

Purity Made Simple: as I say, I don't love it but I will use it; good size for travelling.

Eye Hope: lovely eye cream! It claims to reduce puffiness, dark circles and fine lines... unfortunately, the sample is too small to really see any difference but I enjoyed using it and I'll consider buy it in the future. Very hydrating and fast absorbing.

Miracle Worker: I liked this moisturizer - again, I can't vouch for the anti-aging benefits because the sample was too small but the formula agreed with my skin better.

The Microdelivery Peel: OMG - This stuff is amazing!

 It's a 2-step, at home peel that delivers its promise BIG TIME: my skin felt so smooth and brighter after use... I manage to squeeze 2 applications - Yay ;)

I will, definitely, purchase this kit!

The Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash: Another beautiful product that I will buy, for sure!

Extremely fine face scrub that buff gently into the skin... yet effectively.

This will become my exfoliant of chose for now on.

So... apparently, I ordered the wrong items! 

I seriously loved the samples... and I'm glad I had the chance to try more products, otherwise I would have - completely - written off Philosophy from my shopping list... 

Have you used Philosophy before? What's your experience? 

xxx