My holy grail hair conditioner..

Never did I think I'd see the day when I'd find a conditioner that would please the demon that is my hair.

Before I tell you what it is, let me take you on the journey that ended with me finding and falling in love with this.

Many years ago now..and I mean many years, it was about 1997 in fact.. I used to love John Freida's Frizz Ease range.  I was amazed after using it that my fuzzy hair was nice and curly. That was, of course, until I brushed it.  I've learnt now that you don't brush curly hair.

Anyway, over time, that stopped working for so I switched to another one..and then another one and then I just went rogue and bought the first one that would catch my eye.

I've used nearly every conditioner out there, I went from L'Oreal to Aussie to Herbal Essences to Head and Shoulders and then back to Aussie..

The only reason I bought my HG one was because it was on offer.  I remember the day well, I bought another conditioner with it and finished that one months before I even opened this.

This conditioner is by Dove.  It's the Dove Nourishing Oil Express Conditioner. Now, Dove doesn't agree with me in shampoo or shower gel form.  In soap form, the normal one makes me greasy and the one for sensitive skin gives me spots.  The shower gel leaves me feeling 'smudgey'.  I'm telling you now that smudgey is an actual word.  I'm convinced that no matter how much I wash it off, there is still some left on my body.

Yeah, I've bought three because they were on offer..and then I have one in the bathroom here and two at my  winter residence/can't be bothered to cook residence.

So why do I love this so much?

• It mixes an conditioner with oil. What a fantastic idea!
• It is called an express conditioner.  You don't have to leave it in for ages!  It suggests that you use it every day but I don't wash my hair so this obviously doesn't happen. You can wash it out in just one minute.  The strange thing is, the usual conditioner that comes with this is to be left on for three or four minutes.  By the way, you don't use shampoo, standard conditioner AND this. You just use shampoo and this or shampoo and the standard conditioner. I welcome this express conditioner as a product because all you usually get it shampoo, conditioner and deep conditioner.  The annoying thing about Boots is that I haven't been to one branch (and I've checked in eight) that has the WHOLE range.  I have seen that they do a deep conditioner which I have also picked up.
• It doesn't grease your hair up.  I find that a lot of moisturising conditioners do this and that's not what I want at all.
• You don't need much.  My hair is currently midway down my back (I can put my hand just above my bum and touch it.  To clarify, I mean the hair, not my bum).
• It lasts for ages.  I have been using mine twice a week since they started showing The Secret History of Our Streets on TV.  Actually no, since the started showing that markets programme on BBC.  You know, the one when they went behind the scenes at Billingsgate, the London meat market (or as I call it, west London on a Saturday night) and the veg market.  The veg market was my favourite with the cockney Singh who used to work for the Krays.
• It makes very dry hair and hair with split ends look very healthy. My hair is horrendous at the moment and this conditioner sorts it out.  You can tell when I've used this conditioner and when I haven't.
• The packaging is very user friendly.  You can get every last drop of this out as it is in a squeezy tube.

Has anyone else tried this?

It costs about £3.00 or so from Boots, I can't be more precise because the Boots website is currently down.  Actually, I think I paid £1.60 odd for it so it's a bit more than £3.00.

Boots Botanics Soothing Eye Makeup Remover v Boots Botanics Organic Face Nourishing Eye Makeup Remover

I bought both Boots Botanics eye makeup removers recently as a weak justification for spending £30 on a night cream.  A night cream which is now currently retailing for £20.

I wore a full eye of makeup a few Sundays ago when I first tried both of these out.  A full eye of makeup for me is primer, shadow one, shadow two, shadow three, mascara (two coats), clear mascara, liquid/gel liner and pencil liner.  I fully utilise the lower lashline when it comes to application so there was makeup wherever my eye could take it.

My eyes are notoriously sensitive to any liquid that isn't water.  I get along with cream cleansers just fine but I'm yet to find a liquid remover that doesn't sting me.  I wear contact lens to work most of the time so I don't want something that will aggravate my eyes moreso when I get home.

I've tested both Boots Botanics removers solidly for three weeks, varying my eye makeup from full on to bare minimum (mascara) and this is my verdict.

Review: DHC Olive-Corn Body Scrub and Polish (My Holy Grail body scrub)

I love my body scrubs.  That is nothing new to people who read this blog.

I've always been a bit dubious about scrubs that come in squeezy tubes as they never seem to be strong enough to give me the abrasiveness that I want from a scrub.

DHC's Olive-Corn Scrub and Polish was one of the products that languished on my shelf for a few weeks.

Once I started using it, I fell in love with it.  A month down the line and the story is still the same.

The consistency of this is thin enough to squeeze through the hole you usually get with tubed products but the exfoliant is milled enough so as to make a difference to your skin. 

It leaves my skin feeling really nice and smooth.  I don't even have to moistuirise after using it which is always a win in my book.

The only negative about this is the smell.  Now, I tend to coat my hair with olive oil before I wash it and I leave it on for about an hour.  The olive oil smell is out in full force by then and that is exactly what this scrub smells like.  However, once you've got it on your skin and washed it off, the smell vanishes which is good.

This scrub is my favourite body scrub as it does everything I want from a scrub.  It leaves me skin feeling noticeably smoother and it lasts ages.  The smooth skin feeling lasts ages so my search to find a holy grail scrub has come to an end.  The smell fades very quickly so it's not something you have to get used to.

The packaging is really good too, it's easier to squeeze this tube than it is to remove the lid of a jar, find a place for the jar and the lid and then dab your finger into the tub.  Talking of that, does anyone else find it hard to find a place for their exfoliator jars? I can't balance it on the bit that the shower head is connected too and the window shelf we have is too high.

Purchase?
Yes, I am definitely buying this as it is the best exfoliator I have ever used and it's a bloody bargain at only £12.50.  You can buy this from DHC online.

Garnier Body Intensive 7 Days Ultra Softening Lotion; Dry to Extra-Dry Skin Shea Butter: My Holy Grail Body Moisturiser

I saw Garnier's Body Intensive Lotion a good few months ago when looking for something else on the Superdrug site.  When I was next instore, I picked it up..amongst other things I didn't really need.  It was on an introductory offer for £1.99 so it wouldn't have been a massive loss has I not liked it (usual price for this size is £2.99).

It's availabe in the following variations: 

• Aloe Vera: Normal Skin
• Mango Oil: Dry Skin
• Honey: Sensitive Skin
• Cocoa Butter: Dry and Rough Skin
  
• Shea Butter: Dry to Extra-Dry Skin

I have the latter.

The main draw with this was the claim that "skin feels intensely hydrated for up to seven days".  I thought that this meant you could whack it on one day and seven days later, you're skin would still be soft.  That isn't what they mean.

What it actually means is that if you use it twice daily for four weeks and then have a week off, your skin will remain intensely hydrated for that week off.

The cynic in me was thinking "wouldn't that happen with every moisturiser you use?  And what's with the twice daily bit?"

So, I decided to test it out.

Twice daily for four weeks I used my previous body moisturiser (this Aveeno one).  I then left it a week.  Then for another four weeks I managed to slap this on twice a day.  I also left that for a week.

What did I discover?
Firstly, moisturising twice a day is time consuming if you don't have the right moisturiser.  And skirts are your friends during these times.

My previous moisturiser really takes a while to sink in when I compare it to the Garnier one and using it twice a day makes me feel icky.  It also doesn't moisturise as well as I first thought as my skin was very dry for that last week.

The Garnier one applied like a dream, sunk in nicely and didn't give the feeling of ick.  I applied it twice a day and it didn't make me feel greasy and my skin stayed nicely moisturised for the week off.

I shower every single day and that is usually the cause of my dry skin.  Whilst carrying on this experiment, I didn't cease with the showering.

I was more than impressed to see that the Garnier moisturiser held up to its claims whereas the Aveeno one literally hung me out to dry.  Usually when I don't moisturise, my skin looks flaky but during my week off from Garnier, it was soft, smooth and moisturised.

Another plus side to the Garnier one is that it doesn't sting after I've shaved my legs whereas one of the Aveeno variants did this..I believe it was the Lavender one.  One of the main issues I have with body moisturiser is that my feet dry out really quickly as I don't wear tights.  When I use this, my feet stay hydrated all week long.

I stopped using the Garnier moisturiser for a few weeks and then went back to using it once a day and even with that, it keeps your skin moisturised for the week off.

My skin has never felt as soft as it does at the moment and it is all down to this moisturiser.

And Garnier get extra points for:

• The smell: it's nice but not overpowering.
• The consistency: PERFECT.  Not too heavy and it sinks in with ease.  
• The packaging: Notice how the bottle dents in a bit at the sides?   I thought that was just a quirk of design but they've actually thought about that and it's dented so that it's easy to hold and doesn't go flying out of your hand.  Good thinking Garnier!
• The price: Full price for the size I have is only £2.99 and for the larger one is £4.99
• The range: I'm impressed that they haven't just brought out a one size fits all soloution and that they have different moisturisers for different skin issues.
• The size range: It comes in two sizes.
• How long it lasts: I can get about eight weeks constant usage from one bottle.  For £2.99, that ain't bad!  It's even better when it was £1.99 but skincare is always on offer so keep your eye out.

At the moment, you can pick the smaller sized one for £2.99 and the larger one for £4.99 but in Boots, they're in the 3 for 2.  I'm on a no buy but as I've "gifted" my other moisturisers to my mum, I'm allowing myself to stock up.

The Sanctuary's Polishing Hot Cloth Cleanser: My Holy Grail cleanser.

After my success with the my other Sanctuary products (see here and here), this seemed the most natural choice for my new cleanser after my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish gave up the ghost.

The Polishing Hot Cloth Cleanser (PHCC for those fond of abbreviations..talking of which, how are OMG and LOL going to fake ID their way into the OED?) comes in squeezy tube giving me piece of mind that I am getting every last drop out.

Consistency wise, it's a thick smooth cream.  It's more fluid than my Cleanse and Polish (C&P) so I don't need to work it in as much.  This also makes it easier to remove.

The accompanying muslin cloth is more robust than the Liz Earle one and I find that it works better as it removes the product and my makeup in one swipe.  It feels rougher when dry but a lot softer than the Liz Earle one when it's ready to use.

The Sanctuary describe scent as being one of essential oils.  I say teabags.  Either way, a bloodhound would have a field day picking out the scent.

Instructions mandate wetting the muslin cloth in warm water, wringing it out and laying it over your face to open the pores.  I probably do it for longer than I should as it's quite relaxing.

It works brilliantly as a makeup remover as it leaves my skin feeling clean and moisturised.  It doesn't sting my eyes which is just what I want and it removes really stubborn products like the GOSH liquid liners with ease.  I just wipe the cloth around my eyes and my eye makeup just slips off.

My skin feels very soft after I've used this and it looks plumped out.  I use it at night and am always surprised at how plump and smooth my skin feels in the morning.  I didn't have the same plumpness and smoothness from C&P.

My face also feels warm after using this which is something C&P didn't do.  I asked my facial lady about this and she said it was good as it shows the blood is pumping around your face.  Thus, claims of being an at home salon treatment are correct.  I would have thought that the more you had to work a product in, the more the blood would start pumping around your face so going by that logic, the C&P would have gotten the blood pumping as it's thicker and needs more working in.  

Why do I like it more than Cleanse and Polish? 

• The smell isn't as strong as the herby scent of C&P.  With this, you have to sniff it out whereas C&P seeks out your olfactory senses.
• The packaging.  C&P has a push down spring activated dealy and it finishes abruptly.  However, if you keep it in your cupboard for a while after it's finished, more comes out.  I kept it back five times after it had "finished" and still I got little bits of product.
• The muslin cloth.  Compared to the one you get from Liz Earle, this has a bit more life about and it feels nicer. Size-wise, it's the same so no worries there.
• The consistency.  C&P is a thick, hard cleanser which needs working in.  This is softer and glides over the skin but you can still work it in.  It is easier to remove from the delicate eye area.
• The salon-y method of usage.  Putting the warm muslin cloth over my face before applying the product really makes it work better as it gives my skin that salon facial warmth.
• The end result.  My skin is soft, smooth and plumped out.  I can skip moisturising if I'm feeling lazy.
• The price.  When bought with a voucher it works out at roughly a fiver which is good value for actual spa results at home.  When bought without a voucher, it is £10.20

This is my new holy grail cleanser.  I won't be looking for anything else as my drawers are already full of things that didn't work. 

I wouldn't go as far to call it a good budget buy generally as it is only £3 or so less than the Liz Earle one and that's not really much of a budgetary difference.  However, with the Boots £5 off vouchers, it comes in a much more purse friendly £5.20 in which case, it is a budget version.  You can pick it up here and if you hurry, you get a free Sanctuary gift..

The perfect eye makeup remover for sensitive eyes

It's well known around these parts that I am against liquid eye makeup removers.  This is from bitter past experience where liquid ones have stung me silly or given me fuzzy vision.

Such was my dislike of them that I wouldn't even buy the infamous Botanics remover.

Then along came Purity Organic Skincare with the Conditioning Cleansing Lotion.  Their whole premis is clear in their name, they do pure, organic skincare.  This is something I never really paid much attention to in the past, if something worked, it worked..regardless of the chemicals it had it now but now, I'm rethinking this as it may have advserse effects that only materialise in the future.

I was planning on giving it to a cousin when I discovered that my beloved eye makeup remover pads contained the evil that is mineral oil.  You can see the bind I was in..I'd be damned if I'd use a liquidy remover and I'd be damned if I used mineral oils.  I bit the bullet and chucked the pads away.

The instructions advise being liberal with it but me having been scarred before started small and got bigger and bolder.  I was very apprehensive about using this so initially I put it around the outer edges of the eyes (the lids and the brow) and then I moved in nearer to the actual eye.

Did it sting? No.  Did I feel uncomfortable? No.  I added enough to take my makeup off and then some, just to make sure it wasn't a fluke.  I kept it on for ages.  I removed my makeup in the shower (I wanted to give it a thorough testing as I do with all things I call HG).  No adverse reaction at all.  AT ALL. 

I can't stress how brilliant this is for sensitive eyes, I've used it time and time again in the same way and each time it's been as gentle as a gentle thing.  I am so glad that this is another HG item I can tick off the list.  I used to think that if the area near my eyes was oily, it would help moisturise them, this however, manages to moisturise my eyes more, has no nasties in it and doesn't leave them feeling greasy.

It's budget friendly too, retailing at £4.99, you can buy it from Superdrug.

Product I buy again and again: Boots Essential Eye Make-up Remover Pads

I LOVE these.

They're a bit oily but I think that's better than them being too dry and you can always take the oil off with a tissue or cleansing wipe.

They cost about £1.50 and you get 40 pads in one container.

They last me about a month or so and considering the price, I would say they're more than worth it.

I don't get on with liquid removers and these pads remove everything, from pencil on my waterline to stubborn waterproof mascara.

They have never irritated me or given me any sort of adverse reaction.

I have been using them for a good few years now and although I may go to other products from time to time, I always come back to these.

In other news, you may have heard me going a bit mad on Twitter because I was unable to find the Boots No7 matte topcoat ANYWHERE. I looked in Boots of varying sizes and found it nowhere.  Then I turned to the refuge that is ebay and found that someone was selling it on there, I picked up a brand new bottle for the princely sum of £2.49.

I can't wait to try this over some glitter.  Do you think it will work over glitter? I have the sneaking suspicion that it might just go murky in the gaps between the glitter.  BUT!! I have a plan for that, I'm going to try it over Disco Mix by Models Own because that deepens as the days go on.  So, the plan is, whack on Disco Mix, wait a while and then add this topcoat and see what it does.

Best.Gel.Liner.Everrrrrrrrr

Bobbi Brown's Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner. 

I love this badboy.

I've had it for two years and I have used it pretty consistently since.  Consistently in my world is a few times a week, I wear it to work as often as I can (4 days a week I'd say).
As you can see, it's a proper black black.  My lids are dark but this comes up a proper black so I'm more than happy with it.

It goes on with ease, is nice and smooth, very pigmented and lasts all day without the need for a primer.  You need the tiniest bit and it smudges out very nicely too.

In short..buy it!

Holy Grail makeup

There are people in this world who, upon finding something that works for them, stick with it. Then there are those who are always on a quest for the next best thing..

I fall into the latter category for most things, sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't but that's the nature of the beauty beast.

I know my HG eye makeup remover is not liquid form (this is why I won't even entertain the idea of trying Botanics). My HG remover for eyes is Boots Essentials Makeup Remover Pads. They retail for about £1.50 for 40 pads and they are super greasy. A lot of people don't like the eye area getting greasy but for me they are a godsend because my eye are feels really clean and I get moisture which is something my eyes need.

I recently tried these as they were priced at 97p:

They look like this:

They are pretty dry in comparison to the Boots ones and they don't feel like they will do anything. Measuring them up with my Boots remover pads and the Skin Therapy liquid remover I had, they come in the middle. Yesterday I wore mascara and eyliner and I had to use 5 pads to remove it and even then there was trouble. I would have only used 2 Boots pads.

Take a look at this:
Those are my lashes sans mascara but look at the lower lashline, the smudgey bit is liner which this remover was too wimpy to remove.

My HG nail products are Nails Inc because I love the weeks of no chips you get. I was in ASDA yesterday and they had nail varnish on sale for a quid so I picked up a cement colour. I'm calling it cement despite the fact it is actually called Raincloud.

The bottle:


Swatch on the world's smallest nail:
Man that looks like a toenail, for shame!

I think I will buy these again, they aren't as shiny as Nails Inc but I still like the ease of application. The biggest plus is drying time, I put on a really thick coat and there were no drips and it was dry within a minute. It's been a while since I applied the colour and it has darkened but only slightly and I quite like both the swatched colour and the present colour.

Now onto the face, for the longest time I was championing Dr Barefoot's Clean Face Enhancer, then my skin took a nosedive and I got a Biore facewash. Dr Barefoot has since finished and I wasn't as sad as I thought I'd be because I found a new love. The Biore wash is the answer for any girl with oily skin, it warms up when it touches water and really cleans your skin. If you use then and stop (or carry on) you will never suffer from oily skin again. It's all I use and I will never change.

I was the same with brushes, bigging up Ruby and Millie to everyone but now my baby is my No7 Eye Contour and Brush:

I don't think I will stop at this brush though, I will be buying the MAC version or even the NARS version as their brushes are ever so soft.

This post has been in draft form for ageeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees..since then, Charlotte has blogged many times about the ASDA polishes (she copied me, Miss!) and I've used the above mentioned brush many times too. I'm still in love with both the brush and the polish..and Charlotte ;)

Oooh, another note about Superdrug's Vitamin E range, I find it very hit and miss. I used the eye makeup remover pads above and then I decided to test out the accompanying eye cream. This cream was HORRIBLE, it was sticky and dry and it had glitter in it. GLITTER, in an eye cream?! The world's gone mad.. However, I also used the cleanser and eye makeup remover, this gave me very pleasant results, it took the eye makeup off and left my skin feeling baby soft. It still won't overtake my Boots pads though.. I suppose what I'm saying is, don't write off a whole brand just because some products don't work..

My question to you is thus..when you guys find a product that works for you, do you carry on buying that or do you go out and try new things hoping you can find better? Which products do you constantly change despite having found your HG?

Holy Grail Haircare

A while ago I made this thread:
http://makeuptrialsandtribulations.blogspot.com/2009/08/all-my-hg-productsever.html
about my HG face care products. This is the follow up one for haircare.

This is my HG shampoo, Revlon Flex Clarifying shampoo:

I found this badboy in Poundland. I wasn't expecting much from this shampoo on its own. Let me explain. Washing my hair is a ritual which starts with me oiling my hair up with the desi oil a la mode. That stays on for about an hour and then I wash my hair with clarifying shampoo (usually Pantene) to get the oil out and then a moisturising shampoo which is featured below this one.

I used this and it left me with, for the first time ever, LOVELY NO FIRZZ CURLS! I thought it might be a fluke but every time I used this, it gave me the same result.

Imagine my heartbreak when I went back to buy some more and it wasn't there. I tried for months on end and never found it. This was until last week when upon a random trip to the 99p store (which seem to be eating up all the old Woollies) when I saw my baby on the shelf. I ended up buying 7 bottles for less than £7.

My second HG shampoo is Herbal Essences None of your Frizzness:
I love this shampoo, it smells gorgeous and it makes my hair feel clean and the curls are well looked after.

My hair is currently short but when it's longer I use Aussie Luscious Long shampoo:
It's hard to look after long hair but this badboy manages to make the whole length of the hair look like it's of the same health, you know what I mean. When your hair grows to a certain length and you haven't had it trimmed as often as you should, this shampoo doesn't give you fluffy ends, it makes the whole shaft (I feel so dirty typing that hehe) look and feel nice, healthy and soft like it has been freshly trimmed.

My HG shampoos mainly concentrate on giving me curly hair without frizz as that is easier to straighten. Conditioners are a whole different ball game, depending on the end result I want from my hair I use different conditioners.

Conditioners for when I want straight, soft hair:
Aussie 3 Minute Luscious Long Deep Treatment:
In my world, deep conditioning happens before I wash my hair and not after. I use this when I want sexy smooth hair and I have the time to hang around. Unlike the shampoo I use this all the time, regardless of the length of my hair.

When I don't have the time I use L'Oreal Elvive Nutri-Gloss:
Smells nice and it doesn't weigh your hair down and you get noticeable shine for a low price. The thing I love about this is the fact that the more you use it, the shinier your hair gets which doesn't happen to me with a lot of shine inducing conditioners. I used to use Umberto Gianini before and that paled in shine after the second wash. This makes your hair really soft and shiny but it also leaves your hair feeling thick which a lot of shine shampoos don't do, basically it doesn't weigh your hair down to give you shine.

When I want curly hair I use Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Frizz Remedy Deep Treatment:
This gives me salon hair, it looks as if I have had it curled professionally and no matter how I touch it or sleep on it, I wake up with lovely curls. I've got a photo of how this conditioner makes my hair look, when I find it I will post it up.

I haven't added photos of my desi oils which I use but if anyone wants to know then I can do another post about them too.

We move swiftly onto styling stuff.

I will do curly hair first seeing as I only use two products on it, very easy to style (yay!).

I use these two interchangeably on both wet and dry hair and they don't weigh it down or make it look greasy, I get really nice, bouncy, salon made curls. These two products are the only high end ones I use and even then they aren't too pricey.

L'Oreal Tecni-Art Natural Liss:

This smells like watermelons and is very watery in its consistency but it is nothing like water as it actually controls the curls but leaves them soft, no crunchy feeling. RESULT.

L'Oreal Tecni-Art Liss Control:
As above but not so much watermelon-y in smell, it's another leave in conditioner but I find it a bit heavy so I either use a tiny bit or use it as a wash out conditioner.

For straight hair I use:
I'm heavy handed when it comes to spraying these types of products on and I love this one as it lasts me well over a year even with my heavy hand and if you apply too much it doesn't show and it won't weigh your hair down at all and it's cheap. Ticks all boxes.

After straightening, depending on how my hair looks I will use one of these two:
John Frieda Secret Agent:
If for some reason I'm having a bad hair day and my hair isn't as smooth as it could be I use a tiny tiny bit of this and it smooths everything down and is well worth the money. I have one tube which I have been using for three years and only now is it semi empty. I really like the name because it is like a secret agent, you can't tell it's there but it makes a great deal of difference and a tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiny bit goes a long long way.

If my hair has behaved and I want some extra shine and softness, I use Pantene Smooth and Sleek Serum:
I have been using this religiously recently and it still looks full, a tiny tiny tiny bit covers all my hair and it smells nice too.

All photos from Google.

And there we have my HG haircare products, next is makeup!

Review: A brown girl's holy grail of skincare products

Get ready for a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnng post.. here are all the products I swear by and will not change in a million years (unless, as is always my luck, they are discontinued)..

Shower gel:
A little goes a long way with these and my skin is still soft if I forget (read can't be arsed) to moisturise afterwards. Oooh and they smell lush.

I use the lemon and tea tree but couldn't find a photo of that one.

Body exfoliator:
I'm quite particular when it comes to these, I want it to be grainy enough and then cheap enough because I fly through these. I bought the Botanics one in a tube and it was finished after one shower and I won't buy it again as it was rubbish!

My current HG one is Delicious Beauty Scrubalicious from Boots and mine is a cocoa butter flavour. It smells gorgeous. It is really grainy and works well on my arms where I have a lot of rough skin and yet doesn't cut me to ribbons either. Mine doesn't come in a pot, it's in a squeezy tube but it's the best tube exfoliator I've ever used.

Body moisturiser:
Been through the mill with these products and this came out on top:


The only moisturiser which actually does its job and lets me moisturise once a day and have soft skin. When I'm on the way to work in the morning the only way you can tell people are wearing MB stuff is if you use it yourself, I find it smells very executive and grown up (not granny like). I always tell the man that if they bottled up the way boardrooms and sharp suits smelled, they would smell like MB products.

Foot scrub:
I LOVE LOVE LOVE The Body Shop's Peppermint Foot Scrub, it scrubs enough dry skin off and makes them soft afterwards which for me is great. I also love Scholl's foot scrub but the TBS one smells nicer.
Face wash:
I don't really rate the Clinique three step skin care system as a three step thing, I am in love with their liquid soap. I use number 3 I think which is the one for normal to oily skin and it works a charm on me. Gets rid of the greasies and more importantly doesn't give me dry patches.
Face masks:
I love this, it doesn't dry on your skin but when you take it off you feel a lot less greasy and the colour of the mask in the box I have is a very nice green. I think TBS UK have stopped making it as I haven't seen it in stores recently. Been using this range for years with good results.

This is the brother of the face mask posted above, it does go hard and is really good for my nose. Also seems to have been discontinued which is not good. I prefer this to Biore as they recently haven't been doing anything for me and this works a charm. Doesn't leave me with gaping big pores which the world can see.

Face scrub:
This is the be all and end all as far as I'm concerned. Cheap, smells nice and does the job perfectly. I've tried St Ives and that pales in comparison to Cyclax. I have been using one jar non stop since last March.Cleanser:
Dr Barefoot (Barefoot Dr?) Clean Face Enhancer. I would buy this product until the day I died if they hadn't stopped making it. Clears off anything horrible on your face, all makeup etc.. It's a foaming cleanser so I put it on and let it get to work. Once it sinks in, I just wash off with water..no fuss no muss and one gorgeous face at the end.

Oh, how could I forget my other HG cleanser...Boots Time Delay Daily Cleansing Balm. This is a dupe of an Eve Lom cleanser I think and it's great, it's also greasy but it's not foaming. Majorly stops the greasies and I think it will be bought until the end of time after Dr Barefoot dies :(

Here are both my beauties:











When I get lazy and am not wearing makeup but feel to cleanse I use the Botanics wipes from Boots, I can't remember which sort I buy as I have only bought them once (been on the using everything up flex) but will buy again when all my cleansers run out/I go on holiday..here's what I think they look like:

But I know they aren't the ones for sensitive skin so they are either the pore perfecting or double action ones..hmm, should really read stuff.

Toner:
Quite drying on my skin so I don't have one but I do use these Clearasil pads (I've reviewed them on this blog) and they act like a gentler version of a toner. They tone and "exfoliate" at the same time and I can see them getting grime off my face. Perfect as they are wet enough to get the dirt off and also not leave me dry.

Moisturiser:
Simply the best EVER. Moisture in the right places and matte in the right places. Just need to exfoliate as well to prevent false dry skin. Not sure if it has SPF but I think I remember it having some..Eye cream:
It's super easy to apply and feels nice and cool, I don't know what they mean about giving you the wide eyed look but it doesn't do that for me.
And there we have all my HG skincare products..

I think I'll do a hair care one and a makeup one the next time I don't know what to do with myself.

I hope the stuff above is of some help to someone out there :)