The cheat's way to get rid of tired looking eyes in the morning..

Many a morning I wake up, look at myself in the mirror and wonder why I didn't go to bed earlier the night before.  Then I get distracted by what to wear and what the weather looks like outside and of course, the typical English dilemma of whether I should or shouldn't take a coat with me.

When I'm truly tired, I get puffy eyes that don't really look too sexy.  Until recently, I didn't really know how to get rid of them and to make myself look half awake.  I'd pile my makeup on and just get to work but you could see the underlying tiredness from a mile off.

I recently lost a lipstick and whilst searching for that, I came across a product that I haven't used since I got it as a freebie in Glamour magazine. And if you think it's a Benefit product, you'd be right.  Now I have never been Benefit's biggest fan and even now, I'm still not a fangirl.  I like some of their stuff but wouldn't go as far to call them must haves.  This might the closest I ever get to calling a Benefit product a must have.  Click here to see what else of Benefit's I have reviewed.

Anyway, the product I found was Benefit's eyebright.  I have used this a few times in the past as an inner corner highlighter but the colour was just far too stark against my skintone.  If you're white or Chinese, you can easily get away with using this as an inner corner highlighter but for us Indian, black and olive skinned gals, it's a no go.

I decided to try it on my waterline to see what it did and to my surprise, it managed to look quite natural.  I think Benefit are missing a trick not marketing it that way, I've read on their website and they say that you should apply it to the inner and outer corner of your eyes and blend.  Well, I say do that if you're not of a darker skin colour.  If you are of a darker skin colour then whack it on your waterline.

I team this product up with my trusty eyelash curlers (reviewed here and going strong on their second pad replacement), any mascara that is close to hand (I've been using the Prestige one as my other bottle finished and this is the last one I have left..and seeing as Boots have discontinued it, I won't be able to buy more, despite it being a fantastic thing and one of the first products I ever reviewed on this blog).  I also use this Natralift Firming Eye Roll On from The Body Shop which I feel makes a difference..and the ball is very cooling on the skin.

If you've got more time then you could always put a decent inner corner highlighter on too, but as I am yet to find this, I have a bare inner corner.  The other thing that I tend to do once at work is line my upper lashline with some black eyeliner.  No flick though, I'm at work, not out knocking back the finest cocktails known to man.

And here's how it looks in its most basic way..

I'm not apologising for my eyebrows, I'm growing them out after someone f**ked them right up...

Now you might remember me hyping up Stila's Kajal pencil which is still all well and good but in the Summer months, it tends to be a bit too soft.  Fantastic for Winter though!

Talking of cocktails, I must warn you that if you like a decent citrus-y mojito, don't go to the Smollensky's in Canary Wharf as the people working there can never ever get this right.  Every time I go and ask for more citurs than mint, I end up drinking liquid toothpaste.  It's horrible and I have now given up asking for mojitos and I just stick to a bog standard glass of Chardonnay.

New things from The Body Shop

I got a surprise parcel from The Body Shop the other day, a parcel that Simon only told me about at about half eleven.  I'm sure that there is grounds enough to bring an action for negligence..

The cardboard box itself was a lovely near midnight olfactory treat and the new products were also rather nice.

A bar of chocolate was also included and until last night, I had never tried chocolate that I didn't like.  This one was the worst I have ever eaten.  It was dark chocolate (never a win in my book) but the combination of dark chocolate and ginger just made it taste like it was medicinal.  Can you imagine a chocolate that made you better? And was prescribed on the NHS?  That'd cure depression a treat!

I gave th bar of chocolate to my dad who loves it.  But he's the kind of person who is happy with a tub of Liquorice Allsorts so take from that what you will.

Anyway, enough yapping! Here's what was in the magic box..

Heart shaped chocolate smelling exfoliant soap, what isn't to love?!

I've opened only the chocolate lipbalm and it smells absolutely gorgeous, I'm definitely going to use it, even though it comes in pot form..

I really want to get the Pomegranate balm..even moreso after reading this about it..

If that isn't me in a sentence then I don't know what is!

Instead, I got plum..

And check the colour of my new ostentatious bedsheets, yeah, you know my bedsheet swag is on point!

I used to think that the lipbalms were expensive but the sticks are £3.50 and the tubs are only £2.00 which isn't bad at all!  I can't find the range on the website yet, which is understandable as these are new things but they should be hitting shelves and stores next month!

Review: The Body Shop's Aloe Vera Protective Serum

Earlier this year, my skin went really dodgy.  I don't know what happened to it but it went from being combination to really really dry.  Nothing I did was good enough until I bought Garnier's toner (reviewed here) and The Body Shop's Aloe Vera Protective Serum.

I tried tonnes of moisturisers that promised to inject some moisture back in but none of them did anything so I went on the hunt for something new.  I saw this in The Body Shop and was sold as soon as it said it reinforced your natural shield.

I bought it..used it and saw a difference after the first couple of days.  I don't believe that it gives your skin extra moisture, I think it just locks in the moisture you already have..that's what I'm lead to believe from the blurb on it.

You don't need to use a lot of it either, just a thin layer under your face cream.  Don't put too much on as otherwise I found it did nothing and you greased up really quickly.

When I thought it'd done its job, I put it away..

Now the weather has turned again and I've taken it out.   I don't have much left and I really wanted to finish it before throwing it away.

This is where my complaint comes in.  I have had this since about February/March time.  The little "use by" box says that once this is opened, it will last for 12 months.  It has already gone off.  How do I know this?  It doesn't smell like it used to.  It had a gentle scent to it before that you could barely sniff out but now it smells like freshly paint wood and that smell is really potent.

Me being a div, decided to carry on using it as it was nearly finished.  Big mistake.  I've got some annoying spots on my forehead and on my cheeks and I know it is because of this as nothing else has changed.  Well, one thing changed but that was weeks before I started using this again.

In conclusion, it does work but be sure to use it up continuously after you've opened it because it goes off fast.  I'm not sure why it went off though, I don't recall it having something special seal that I broke?  Maybe it's because I'd used the pump action.  I can't even type the words pump action without laughing.

Anyway, if your skin is really dry and nothing seems to work, this definitely helps.  It costs £10 and is available from The Body Shop. 

The Body Shop introduces Body Butter Duos

Hitting their shelves towards the end of May, the new Body Butter Duos from The Body Shop are a product that I can fully get on board with.  I'm always telling anyone who will listen (or is forced to listen because they've unfortunately got ears) that a 2 in 1 body moisturiser is jus what I need as I find myself buying far too many moisturisers for different parts of my body.

The Body Shop's Body Butter Duos are exactly what I wanted.  One tub, two compartments.  One side for normal skin and the other for drier parts of the body.

The duos come in four different variants and are full of lovely Community Fair Trade ingredients.

• Floral Acai: for dry skin
  
• Macadamia: for dry skin
  
• Sweet Pea: for dry skin
  
• Vanilla: for normal and dry skin

I like the fact they've labelled which side is which on the lid so that you know.  I just hope that when you screw the lid down, it all matches up.

They come at the standard body butter price of £12.50 and are available at the end of May.

What do you think?  Worth it?  Too expensive?  Pointless?

My current night cream: The Body Shop Carrot Moisture Cream

My previous night cream (mentioned here) finished long ago and after buying two full sized products I decided to buy something else. 

During one of my many conversations with my grandmother, I mentioned that I needed a new cream and she told me that the only cream she has ever used on her skin is a gajar cream.  Gajar being the Punjabi word for carrot.  This was all I needed to hear..her skin is fantastic so I take up all her skincare tips.  She told me this one week and the next week The Body Shop had their 30% off dealy going on so I decided to test out their Carrot Cream.

I've never ever found a nightcream which works properly for me.  Thus, I've started finding day creams sans SPF to use at night.  The Clarins one was like that and this is exactly the same.  It's a day cream for people with dry skin.

This cream smells gorgeous..it reminds me of gajar halwa.  It's a light orange/apricot colour and it applies and sinks in very well.  You know sometimes you get a cream for dry skin and it feels very oily and cloying on the hands? This doesn't..it feels thick..but not overly so and you don't get any sticky residue left on your hands once you've applied it.  

Being combination skinned, I find it hard to find a night cream that hydrates the cheeks but keeps the T Zone from greasing up.  This cream managed to do not only this but to also make my skin feel softer and more plumped out.  I can even go a bit mad with it and apply lots to my T Zone without it greasing up and giving me whiteheads overnight.

It comes in at £4.00 and you can buy it from The Body Shop website and in store.

DO NOT BUY: The Body Shop Facial Brush

Considering the fact that I was the first blogger to sing the praises of this brush, writing this post was something I didn't think I'd be doing..

My previous post was about the old facial brush made by The Body Shop.  This post is about the new one. 

Why would I suggest not buying the new one?
It is super scratchy and very rough.  I don't have sensitve skin in the slightest but it feels very abrasive on me when I use it with a light hand.  It literally scratches my skin and leaves it feeling painful and very red.. and you know how hard it is for a brown person to go red!

The bristles on the new one splayed a lot quicker than the older one.  As you can see, the older one still has the bristles in pretty much the same direction.  The newer one didn't hold up as well.  I'm also convinced that each "hole" on the new brush has less hairs in compared to the older one.

The Body Shop have decreased the price of this brush (the old one was £5 and this one is £3).  I initially thought the decrease was because they were using less plastic but it's clear now that they must have used a harsher hair for the brush part.  I don't like the fact that it doesn't have a long handle but the short handle isn't as hard to use as I thought it would be.  If they had just made the handle shorter and kept the bristles the same as before, I'd be recommending this brush until the cows came home.

Luckily for me, I still have the older one.  I use it for removing my face masks so it has seen better days (hence the reason for buying the new one).  I'm going to try and give it some mouth to brush action to see if I can get it working properly again.

In the mean time, if you're tempted to buy the new one from The Body Shop..DON'T.  I say new one..you can't buy the long handled one from them anymore so if you're intending on buying the facial brush from The Body Shop..DON'T!!

New from The Body Shop (and my first impressions): Earth Lovers shower gels

Mixing together fruit and herb extracts and Community Fair Trade aloe vera, the new Earth Lovers shower gels by The Body Shop promise to not only be good for your skin but also for the environment.  The range is the second range from The Body Shop to fall under the eco-conscious label (the first being their Rainforest shampoos).

The entire range is made from a soap free base so it's suitable for sensitive skins and it won't dry you out which is something I welcome because my current shower gels have been aggravating me no end.  The range doesn't contain any of the following:

• Sulphates: This doesn't mean that they don't foam, they contain natural foaming agents.. I can vouch for this as I have a bottle and it does foam up but not as much as ones with sulphates in.  Having said that, I like this amount of lather better.
• Colourants: This ensures that you can see the actual colour of the gel (their Rainforest shampoos are the same).  
• Parabens:  More nasties you don't want!

They come in seven different smells..well, six, the seventh one is unscented.  Does that count as a smell? It doesn't to me because a smell is something your nose recognises but if it's go not smell, what can your nose recognise? But then is nothing something you can recognise? You do say "I smell nothing" so that's recognition.. Anyway, I don't like the way that the Cucumber and Mint one has a lighter coloured bottle design compared to the rest.  In my mind, that should be reserved for the unscented one. 

Dry body brushing: Take 1

It was my doctor who first brought body brushing to my attention and I found that a lot of the sites online either assumed you knew the basis or weren't thick..which is where I came a cropper..

Thus, I've composed the noob's guide to dry body brushing going on my own experiences..

Before I start, I must say that I've only been brushing for two weeks but I've got the hang of it pretty quickly.

What it is and how you do it.

The body brush.

You get a dry, tough looking brush and brush your dry body with it.  By dry, I mean when it's not wet..anyone can do this but I find it more beneficial for those with dry skin..  The general consensus seems to say that you should brush towards your heart..something which I found difficult to do the first few times as I always rub my moisturiser and shower gels on in the opposite direction.  The bristles look tough but they're really quite soft when you get them on your skin.

(More info after the jump)..

The Body Shop Passion Fruit Cleasing Gel

I bought this back when The Body Shop had 30% off their products.  It was accompanied by their Carrot Cream, blackhead remover and the new face brush.  Not the sexiest items you could ever buy but then hey, it's not always glam!

I have had nothing but good experiences with cleansers from The Body Shop.  I used the cucumber one before and despite it smelling horrible, it really did wonders to my skin.  I wanted to try something different and this was the lucky bugger that caught my eye.

I haven't had a good history with cleansing gels, I had a Nivea one which was like gristle and nigh on impossible to spread around the skin and then wash off.  This thankfully, is the exact opposite.  It slides out at a speed which is neither too fast nor too slow and you don't need a lot to cover your face.  The smell is pleasant and not at all overpowering.  You only smell it faintly when you're applying it to your face,

I haven't used it over my eyes because I'm sure it said not to put it on your eyes..

I tend to use this in the morning before putting my work face on as it helps brighten my face up.  It leaves my skin looking very radiant and not at all tight like some cleansers can do.  I cleanse my face with this, miss out toning and go straight onto my moisturiser.

My skin was feeling quite dry and sorry for itself before this made its debut..since I've been using it, my skin has gone back to its usual moisturised self and I'm sure this plays a part in that.

I am so glad that The Body Shop brought this product back, it's brilliant for my skin.

The design on the label is something that caught my eye, it's the old school packaging..the photograph is of the old Body Shop shop front design.

This will set you back £3.99 from The Body Shop.

The Swatch Files: The Body Shop Lip and Cheek Stain: Bronze Glimmer

Like the rest of the beauty blogger congregation, I got this free with a copy of InStyle magazine.

I have to say that I have never read InStyle magazine and I enjoyed it more than I enjoy magazines like Glamour.  There are a lot of ads in it but that's to be expected of any magazine.

Anyway, the Lip and Cheek Stain.

Fine glittery bits..

The wand is not pictured here as this isn't a review BUT it is a gorgeous purpley-pink colour and for some reason the product is cold when you put it on.  I've never experienced that before.

I tried to get swatches under as many lights as possible to show you the colours of the stain.  The first photograph is swatched straight off the doe foot applicator, the second and third are blended in a tiny bit and the last is what remains when you wipe it all off.

I used it on my lips and it made me look like I'd smeared my lips with glittery butter so that's a no no, I will stick to using it as a cheek stain (NOT that kind!) from now on.

It IS a stain.  I had to wash my hands with soap for about 10 minutes to get all the colour off.

Click to expand so you can see it in detail!

My favourites so far this year..

Here they are:

Holy over saturation of colours, Batman!

I use all these products on either a daily or weekly basis which is pretty rare for me as I have so much crap.

MAC 239 brush: I really don't know how I managed to get my eye makeup looking decent before I had this (I probably didn't).  With regards to brush hair density, it does very well.  They're tightly packed but you can get away with laying down and blending too.  It's not my blending brush, simply because it's not meant for blending.  If you're lazy/doing a look with bright colours, get this brush and you won't be sorry.  You can use it for crease work too, I switch it up between the 239 and the Revlon brush.

Maybelline Colossal mascara: This is probably my all time favourite High Street mascara.  I use this every day and it has been going strong for a long long time.  I love this and my Prestige mascara but I think this slightly has the edge as it's foolproof and I get the same results regardless of how I apply it.  Thick, long, black lashes.

YSL Teint Parfait: I blab on about this foundation a lot.  It was the first thing I ever reviewed on my blog but I'll give you a quick review of it now.  It's an oil free "foundation".  I say " " because you can use it as a primer if your skin is not behaving.  I like the fact that it has a dual personality like that because once I put it on, it doesn't come off unless you take it off.  If you have oily/combo skin and want a foundation which makes you look dewy, buy this and you won't be sorry.  The single best thing about this foundation is being photographed..you look airbrushed.

I've got a swatch for you and it's clear it doesn't match the skin on my hand but it blends in seamlessly on my face.

Dove Therapy Heat Defence spray: I really like this.  I feel that it does protect my hair from heat and it leaves my hair looking shiny after I've straightened it and it smells quite nice.  It makes my hair feel softer too so I've started using it even when I keep my hair curly.  The best thing about it is that you can be heavy handed and it won't grease your hair up which is brilliant.

The Body Shop Facial Massager: I was intrigued with this when I first saw it online and decided to buy it when I saw it in store.  I use this on a weekly basis.  It smoothes my skin out a treat.  I also find that after using it, my skin absorbs moisturiser a lot better and it feels clean, like it's been drained of toxins.  It leaves my skin nice and pink after using it so I can feel that there is some massagey benefit there.  There's a full review here.

Korres Zea Mays blusher: This has fast become my "brown girl's can blush too" blush.  When I wear it, it actually looks like I'm blushing which is brilliant.  It does contain glitter but use a light hand and you're good to go.  It looks practically untouched but I've been using it more often than not..  You can buy it here and read my review here.

YSL Palette Pop: I have had this for a long long time and it's a tester. I don't know why I'm always saying that..but it is.  I think it's because I'm in shock that a tester lasts so long.  I use this on a daily basis, it's my "no effort" blush.  It looks so natural on me that you can't even tell that I'm wearing it most of the time.  People only notice that I don't look so perky when I don't have it on.

See? You wouldn't think that was WOC friendly but it is brilliant for my skintone.  It also looks pretty chalky but applies like a dream.

I haven't had these brushes for too long but they have found their way into my makeup bag.

Revlon Foundation brush: There's a full review here.  It's all good.  The brush is totally foolproof and works brilliant when the operator is functioning on around 5 hours sleep.  It costs about a tenner from Superdrug.

Revlon Blusher brush: I'm sure this brush was made just for me.  It fits the cheek area perfectly, stays soft and yet is dense enough to pick up just enough product.  The full review is here.  I think this comes in at around a fiver or so..it's less than a tenner!

What have your favourites been so far this year?

The Body Shop Summer 2010

This summer, The Body Shop are making some changes and welcoming some noobs to the vast range of products they sell.

Alongside additions to their Vitamin C skincare line and the reinvention of their haircare line, they are  releasing the brand spanking new Baked to Last and Delipscious collections.

I was invited to a bloggers event this past Friday to check out the products.

Me and Karleigh decided to meet up at the station and get to the hotel together..we got there about 20 minutes too early and stood outside discussing Dolly Parton.  Yeah, I know you wish you were cool like us.

We ventured inside and were greeted by the lovely Headstream and Body Shop ladies.  We were whisked out onto the veranda where it was really nice and cool (I mean weatherwise but it still pretty cool checking out the London skyline, despite the million and one cranes dotted around the place).

We were supping our orange juices (can you sup cold things?) and discussing our favourite old school Body Shop bits.  I seem to be the only person who doesn't get on with the banana conditioner but we all seem to love the ice blue shampoo.

The haircare range.

The range is now more benefits led as opposed to ingredients led as it's easier to decipher the benefits of a shampoo which says "shine" on the bottle as opposed to "olive".  The products are now also free of silicones, parabens and colourants. 

The hair butters are what excited me the most as you know by now that I love deep conditioning my hair.  It smells heavenly, looks very thick but feels light..

The Vitamin C range.
Keep your peepers peeled for a microdermabrasion scrub, an eye roll on/brightener combo and a skin radiance powder mix.  The skin radiance powder is, according to me, a skincare renegade as I have never ever seen anything like it in the shops before.

The bottles at the bottom left of the screen are both the powder mix.  You push the white button down, this releases Vitamin C powder into the liquid.  Give it a good shake, take off the white part and fix on the orange pipette thingy.  You're meant to use it immediately for 10 days and it promises to perk your skin right up.

The Baked to Last collection.
We were then introduced to Chase Aston (who I wanted to take home with me) and he introduced the Baked to Last collection and showed how to use the products and take your look from day to night.

The collection consists of baked eyeshadows, blushers and a highlighters.

The Delipscious lip collection.
Apparently, an average woman eats about 281 lipsticks in her entire life..which is why I was glad to find out that the Delipcious lippies were made from 100% food extract.  They're very lightweight and the amount of pigment is just perfect for summer.

Then it was cupcake time! I was going to make my way over to them but got waylaid talking to Chase as I had a million and one makeup questions to ask him.  He applied one of the baked shadows on my eyelids and they looked fantastic..I would never have used pink/red/black on my skintone but the colours worked really well.  I totally forgot to take a photo of them though..

We took our seats and were told about The Body Shop's latest charity partnership.  The Body Shop have teamed up with Epcat..which I won't discuss here but there will be a post up about in the very near future but I will say that if you buy the Soft Hands Kind Heart handcream, £3.45 will go towards preventing child trafficking to the UK.

Review: The Body Shop Facial Massager

I've never really been educated on how things like face brushes and massagers could really make the difference, I used to just buy products and slap them on, I never thought you could enhance their performance.  I've had my face brush for ageeeeeeeeeeeees now and this is why I love buying products from The Body Shop because I know these peripherals work.

I read online somewhere (I can't remember where) that when you have a facial, you should come out with a really warm, pink face and that if you don't the facial hasn't been carried out properly.

So, I set about trying to give myself a facial at home..it failed.  No matter how much I massaged my face, it didn't get near red or warm enough so I decided to let it be.  Plus, my nails were pretty long at the time and it was really hard to massage myself without ending up with crescent moons all over my face.

Then I saw this beauty on The Body Shop website and decided to buy it.

The basic method of usage is thus..

I usually use it, miss a day then use it..I couldn't think of the technical term for that kind of usage..is there one? Fortdaily? But then fortnightly is two weeks so isn't fortdaily the same? Forthourly? Does anyone know?

It says "gently roll" but I can't be gentle to save my life so I'm quite forceful with it because it's fun to do it like that, plus once the blood starts pumping it's hard to stop (man, the number of ways this sentence could be misconstrued)..

Also, I don't use it on my neck because I hate that feeling of water trickling down your neck..I might use it like that in the shower actually..

I've used it with a mixture of cleansers.  I used a solid oily cleanser, a liquid oily based cleanser and then plain old cleansing milk.

When you roll it on your mush you don't need to apply a lot of pressure as it rolls around itself, the only place it got a bit stuck was on my nose but you just learn to roll it the opposite way to how you use it on the rest of your face.

It makes my face really nice and warm and my skin feels a LOT smoother once I've washed the cleanser off.

I didn't think that my skin was that dull before but after using this, it's really perked itself up and it looks a lot more plump than it did before.

When you roll it over your face with the cleanser on it, you can tell it's working because the cleanser is in little zigzag patters on your face.

You can use it when you don't have any product on your face but I like using it with the cleanser as it kills two birds with one stone.

Purchase?
I did pay for this myself but I think saying "repurchase" is a bit redundant here as The Body Shop items like this last for ages.  If it did break on me then I would buy it again but it's very sturdy and the only way I see it breaking is if someone smashed it with a hammer.  What I'm trying to say is, if you think your skin looks dull/you can't give yourself a proper facial at home then get this because it is really good, it's foolproof!

NOTD: You silver-nailed devil, you!

Nothing quite screams professionalism like silver nail polish..

This polish is a very old one, I got it for Xmas back in the mid to late 90's and it is from The Body Shop..who no longer do nail polishes.  I'm not sure why they stopped but they really should start again as the quality of this polish is great.  Fast drying, nice smooth application, perfect consistency and perfect brush size.  I'd go as far as to say that is my best application job on my nails ever.  I think that's pretty impressive considering how long I've had it and the fact that it outperforms some current, more expensive nail polishes..Nails Inc, I'm looking at you!

Here's a close up..

The colour is called temptation but taking product naming initiative from Charlotte, I'd have named this something like intergalactic or spaceman because that's what it reminds me of.  In my mind, temptation would be a dark, rich, reddy colour.

PS I took these photos on Saturday morning and the polish had been applied on Thursday.  I wasn't too impressed that Amanda Holden was sporting MY nails on BGT..copycat!

Do you ladies wear bright, bold nails to work or do you stick to neutral, work safe shades?

A brush? For your face?

I struggled for ages to come up with a natty title for this post and you can see that I failed.  I was watching Phoenix Nights when I settled on this title so it's meant to be read in the whole (the link is to Youtube so be warned if you've got your volume up) "garlic...bread?" rhyme pattern.

This badboy is one of my beauty "investment pieces".. my other investment piece being my GHD's. 

I use this ALL the time (as you can tell by the battered bristles) and I have had it since I was 14..that's 12 years come April 23rd.  

What do I use it for? Exfoliation mainly, I put my exfoliator on and then swirl this around my mush until my skin feels cleaner.  I also use it for removing masks.  I don't know if I'm the only one but I get a bit annoyed when a mask hardens on your face and you add water to remove it and it forms a paste and you have to really rub your face to get it off (the mask, not your face..)  Well, if you use this brush you can wait for the mask to harden and then (whilst the brush is dry) swirl it around your face and it will take all the masky bits off, leaving you with nice, smooth skin.

I used it after the fridge man left and my Korres mask was ready to come off, this is why there are white bits ensconced within the bristles.  I also used it over the course of the weekend, this explains the green mask bits on the handle.  I'm not a dutty cow, I do wash this brush ;)

The Body Shop have changed the design of this brush and you now only get the brush with a handle right on top of it.  However, this is where I'm happy with The Body Shop because they've made the item smaller AND reduced the price.  The new brush costs £3 whereas mine cost me £5.

Considering how much I've used it, a fiver is nothing..says the girl who as a 14 year old baulked at paying five quid for it as she only got £15 pocket money a week.

Has anyone else used this and if you have any skin investment pieces, let me know!