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.

Illamasqua Freak smells like..

I got a tiny sample of Illamasqua's Freak when I made my first ever Illamasqua order from their sale.  It is probably the most complex perfume that I have ever introduced my nose to.

I can identify the smell immediately, although I'll leave that until the end of the post.  Can you imagine a three liner post from me?  It will never happen!

On a side note, I start this year with the sad realisation that I am once again abusing a member of the punctuation mark family.  A few years ago, it was the comma.  I've moved onto harder stuff now and it is exclamation marks that I'm mainlining (the line being my fingers and not veins).  This is more than evident in the majority of my tweets.  I don't know why it is, I'm just a highly exciteable person! (See, that was totally by accident).

Anyway, I got this vial and I really like the smell.  It is like nothing else on the market at the moment and that is pretty much in keeping with what Illamasqua do.

The official notes are..

I on the other hand know exactly what it smells like.  Old Indian grandmas at the Gurdwara.  If you think I'm joking, smell this and then go smelling an old bibi at the Gurdwara.  The funny thing is, it smells nothing like a bibi (the Punjabi word for grandma) when she's at home.  I don't know why that is.

In that way, it's a really comforting smell because it reminds me of both of my grandmothers.  I don't think I could carry off this scent as I feel it's a bit too mature for me but my grandmother is loving it.  That alone makes me laugh a bit, I bet she is in no way Illamasqua's target audience yet she cannot get enough of the perfume.

Illamasqua describe it as being a concoction of dangerously exotic unconventional flowers.. I told my grandma this and she remarked that it sounded just like her.  I had to laugh as she explained how she was dangerous (when she lived in India, she had a stand-off with a monkey who kept ripping the tyres on my uncle's bike..on more than one ocassion..)  And as for the exotic part, she's brown, how much more exotic can you get?

It also made me laugh a bit that Illamasqua market themselves as quite an edgy brand yet this gives me that feeling you get when you put on a pair of freshly ironed (still warm) trousers or when you wrap yourself in a blanket that's just come out of the tumble drier. 

The full sized bottle looks something like this..

I applaud Illamasqua for being able to make a perfume bottle that not only stands out but also isn't difficult to display on your dressing table.  I've seen some very "original" designs recently and although they look nice, they're not really very practical and the last thing you want is for your lovely bottle of perfume to slip out of your hands and smash into a million pieces.

The full sized bottle retails for £59.00, available from their website.

NARS Albatross: A review, a swatch, a quote from Coleridge and a ramble.

Poetry from a post about cosmetics, what more could you want?

I don't even know where to begin with this post.  If you've come here looking for rhyme and reason, you will be disappointed.  But then people who have read this blog before know that I don't adhere to structures very well.

Anyway, N-N-N-NARS Albatross.  A darling of the makeup world.  Everyone loves it.  Just like everyone loves YSL's Touche Eclat..which I found to be a bit crap.  But then I only used shade 3 as when I had it, they only had three shades.  I might venture back actually..  But then whenever I go to the YSL counter, I fall in love with their cream blushers..which are a very expensive lover. 

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: 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. 

Review: DHC Deep Cleansing Oil

Cleansing oils are something of a novelty in Rhamnousia world.  I've only ever seen Japanese brands championing these and I wish we had more readily available in the UK.  The one that I've heard the most about is DHC's Deep Cleansing Oil.

The basic premise behind these is that they cleanse your skin, hence the name "cleansing oil".  Now my skin is combination and putting oil on it is not something that I thought I'd ever do.  I researched it and read many a review where combination skinned people had found oil to be a beneficial cleanser.

To me, it smells a bit like olive oil, but it feels a lot more liquid than oil.  I don't know how a light oil is formulated..you obviously can't mix it with water.

 There is something very comforting about massaging this oil into your skin.  I think it's because I spend those ten or so minutes all by myself, locked in the bathroom, alone with my thoughts.  I don't know why but I always stare at myself in the mirror and think about things.

I don't use it on my eyes as the instructions state to keep it away from eyes.  I have no problems using something else for my eyes and then this for my face.

I use this both when I'm wearing a full face of makeup and also when I'm not.  On both occassions it works fantastically.

I apply it to dry skin, massage it in and watch it blur my makeup off.  I then add water which emulsifies the oil.  I rinse it all off and then I'm done.

It manages to make my skin feel nice and soft once it has removed my makeup and I can often go without a night cream afterwards.  However, I have been using Olay's Renewing Night Elixir and that is doing only good things.

I can get carried away and if I use too much, it does make my skin feel tight.  My skin is combination so if you have normal skin, I'd suggest using just one pump for your whole face..and if your skin is dry, using a little less.  DHC suggest that this product is suitable for all skin types.

I have been using the product for two steady months now and I'm just about half way through it.

The best thing about this product is that you can buy it in different sizes.  The 30 ml bottle costs £3.50, the 70ml costs £9.50 and the 200 ml costs £18.50.  They can all be bought directly from DHC.  I signed up to their newsletter ages ago and whenever they send you a catalogue through the post, they send little packet samples which are a great way to introduce yourself to the brand. 

Is LA Colors Jewel Tone a dupe for Models Own Disco Mix?

Disco Mix is probably one of my favourite glitter polishes of all time.  It is nearly always on my toes and it seldom chips.  As a result of this, I am nearly half way through my bottle.  I was planning on buying it again when Models Own had their sale this year but one thing lead to another and I forgot.

Regular readers know that a trip to Westfield with me is never complete without me having a good old staredown with the LA Colors stand in Beauty Base.  On my last trip there, I found Jewel Tone.  This polish immediately caught my eye as it looked very similar to Models Own Disco Mix.

In their bottles, they look similar, the only difference I see is that Disco Mix has more pink in it than Jewel Tone does.  The density with which the glitter is packed in is also something that becomes obvious. I find that you can get total nail covereage with two coats when using Disco Mix but with Jewel Tone, you need about three or four.

Olay Regenerist Night Renewal Elixir: The stuff dreams are made of!

Before I get on with the post, someone out there better appreciate the pun in the title or else..I'll cry.

I think this might well be my product of 2011.  Although I get excited about many products, I retain a special level of near hysterical excitement for the best of the best.  You have to pass stringent testing to get me this excited.

Why do I love it so much?  Because it actually does what it says...and well!

Olay state the Regenerist Night Renewal Elixir "accelerates skin's natural surface renewal during sleep..improves hydration to leave skin feeling softer, smoother and firmer looking".

I've used products that promise the same in the past and all they've done is made my skin feel sticky and not much more.

I put the Olay Regenerist Night Renewal Elixir on and went to bed..woke up and did the checks and my skin did feel a lot softer and smoother.  It looked firmer and more plumped up than it normally does.  But this was only day 1 so I told myself not to get too excited.

Consistency wise, it's a clear gel which feels slightly tacky.  I did need to shake it when using it as sometimes it bubbled before the actual product came out.

I thought my success might be a fluke and now, some two weeks later, my skin is still looking fantastic.

I had some hard bumps on my skin that just wouldn't shift but since I've started using this, they've either vanished or formed into proper spots and then buggered off.  I know that this is down to the Elixir because nothing else shifted them.

I'm using less moisturiser as my skin seems hydrated enough as it is.  I also find myself not needing to powder my nose as the hydration levels are at a good enough level so that my skin doesn't produce too much sebum.

As this is a sample, the product on shelves will actually look like the bottle pictured here on the left. 

I put the tiniest blobs on my forehead, cheeks, nose and chin.  I stroke it around my face (avoiding the eyes) and it sinks in quickly and doesn't leave me feeling sticky.  Talking of nose, I didn't realise this until about day 10 but it has really made a difference to my pores.  My nose pores are my lifelong bugbear and this has really helped either shrink or disguise them.

The only thing I'm a bit confused about is what this product actually is.  It's called an elixir which is fair enough but is it a night cream? A serum? A peel?  I'm more inclined to think it's a peel because it has the trademark peel qualities (see through, a bit sticky, suggestion that you whack up the SPF in the morning).  However, I've always been told that peels are meant to tingle and this doesn't tingle at all which is good because facial tingles make me feel uncomfortable.

Now for the warning part..this product contains AHAs which are alpha hydroxy acids.  Don't freak out at the fact that they are acids.  These are used in a lot of cosmetics items.  I had a feeling it contained AHAs as I've used AHA based products before and my skin has felt the same, although I've never had the same results.

When you use products containing AHA, your skin becomes slightly more sensitive to light so it is highly recommended that you wear a moisturiser with SPF in it, both in the morning and for a week after you finish using this.

I got my sample from Supersavvyme, you can click to see if they're still available.

I am definitely picking up the full sized version when I eek the dregs out of this sample.  You might wonder how I got 15 days wear out of this, well, my original sample lasted me 8 days and then I nicked the one my mum had ordered herself too!

I have made a conscious effort every day this week to wake up earlier so I have time to trawl the aisles of Boots in the hope that I will find this product but I haven't seen it on the shelves.  I've ordered it online from Boots so it should be with me shortly.  They're on 3 for 2 at the moment so I've added one for my mum by way of compensation for stealing her sample and I've finally taken the plunge and ordered that Botanics eye makeup remover.

Marc Jacobs Daisy

I remember a time when I used to have about five perfumes on the go at once.  I know exactly why I changed from having five to having one.  I bought a disgusting perfume from Boots during the sales that smelled of sick and cheap perfume..

I'm slowly getting back to the person I was *sob sob* and am currently using three perfumes alternately.

Marc Jacobs' Daisy is one of them and it is a departure from my usual citrus based perfume choices but I find that I'm kind of over the perfumes that I used to love before.  I want a bit of sophistication damn it!

This baby definitely has dressing table appeal (even for those of us without a dressing table) which is something that I think perfumes should have. Decent perfumes aren't cheap so the least they can do besides smelling good is look good.  The daisies are made of rubber and aren't so stiff that you can't bend them.

The official line from Marc Jacobs regarding the scents/notes that make up this fragrance are:

• Top: Wild strawberry, violet leaves, ruby red grapefruit

• Heart/middle: Violet, jasmine, gardenia

• Base: Vanilla, musks, white woods

The fact that the base notes are vanilla and musk just show me how much of a change it is.  I used to shun perfumes that had the slightest hint of vanilla or musk but the base notes of this perfume are what I love most about it.  You know the smell you get the day after from an item you've perfumed the day before? That is what I love about this.

The difficulty now, however, is finding something that is a perfect stepping stone between a citrus scent and one that reminds me of mothballs.  I just don't feel sophisticated enough to pull off certain scents.

In the meantime, if you want to pick this up, you can do from Escentual.com where the 50ml costs £45.00 and the 100ml costs £56.00.

Review: Fade Out Protecting Day Cream SPF15

There has always been something "good" about being light skinned in the Asian/black community.  All the Indian and black people know what I mean.  I remember being in my first year of uni and looking at a black hair magazine that had a feature about women who had bleached their skin and burnt themselves.  It was horrible.  I also remember being younger (about seven or eight) and being told that my skin was too dark.  

I was made to use that disgusting Vicco Turmeric cream which is something that not many non-desi people know about.

Vicco Turmeric is hell encased in an orange and yellow tube.  It's a yellow cream that contains a high level of turmeric (hence the name) and you're meant to use it on your face so as to lighten your skin colour.  Of course, it's not sold like that, it's sold as an ointment you can put on burns and the like.

It bloody stank so there was no way I was going to wear it to school so I'd have to wear a Vicco mask for about 40 minutes every Friday night...which is a very rock n roll way to spend your Friday nights, I've heard that Mick Jagger did the same throughout the 70's.

It never made my skin any lighter.  Many years later, I woke up and my skin was just lighter.

Anyway..

Review: Daniel Sandler Waterbrush

Last week, I was at work getting annoyed at a trainee so I decided to browse my Twitter timeline.  I came across a tweet that said something along the lines of "DANIEL SANDLER'S WATERBRUSH ON SALE FOR £5". 

Now if this was a Hollywood (or indeed, Bollywood film), I'd have made an impassioned speech to my boss which ended in tears (his, not mine because he was so moved by the passion with which I spoke) and then a montage of me running home with my smooth locks blowing in the wind.  You'd know it was a film because 1)I don't run and 2)my hair is seldom smooth.

However, as this is London and I am a professional, I worked away until it was 5 p.m. and I was able to rush home and order the brush.

The website said that the brushes were out of stock but that more were expected to arrive on the following Monday.  My brush turned up on Tuesday, complete with the complimentary nail file that comes with every order from Escentual.com

This is no normal blusher brush.  Daniel Sandler is famous for his Waterblushes so I'm glad he has had the foresight to make a brush that one can use in conjunction with that product.  The added benefits are that you can use it with other liquid blushers..such as Benefit's Benetint.

Anyway, remember I blogged about the ELF Stipple Brush?  Well, the Daniel Sandler Waterbrush is a mixture between the standard blusher brushes and a stipple brush.  It looks like a standard blusher brush but if you look closely (or even touch it) you see that the hairs are not all the same length.  I think this is key in ensuring that application of liquid blusher doesn't look fake.  The hairs are not naturally pink, they're brown and white but I've already used this baby many a time.

The hairs are synthetic (Taklon..I researched) which I think is the key again for smooth application as I find that natural hair blusher brushes (like this one) do tend to soak up a lot of the product instead of holding it until you're ready to put it on your face.

I've been using Benefit's Benetint (read my review here) in conjunction with this brush as I find it easier than using the brush that Benetint actually comes with.  I draw a stripe down the top of the Waterbrush, stroke it in strips over the cheek area and then swirl the brush so it looks more natural.  You might be asking why there is that blob of colour on the right hand side..well, I sneezed whilst using it and it dabbed on from the Benetint brush.

If you want to pick one up for yourself, head on over to Escentual.com now.  You can also follow Daniel on Twitter, he doles out fantastic makeup tips on a daily basis that actually work..I've tried them!  Escentual.com are also selling Daniel Sandler's POP Waterblush which is a limited edition colour and £5 from each sold will go directly to Macmillan Cancer Support.  I bought that too but I'm not cracking it open until I've made a sizeable dent in some of my other products!

The Swatch Files/A Review: Urban Decay Primer Potion squeezy tubes in Sin, Greed, Eden and Original

Heavenly choirs where heard when I held these in my hands for the first time, mainly because I was so excited that I'd never have to faff with the old style Urban Decay Primer Potion bottle again.  Everyone who has ever used UDPP knows what I'm on about..when the dreaded depotting time arrives and you risk going to bed with less digits than you woke up with.

Each shade has a different picture next to it and that did impress me but you know what they say, simple things please simple minds.  Original has a mushroom, maybe because it came with the Alice in Wonderland palette..remember that one?  Greed has a diamond because (I assume) everyone wants diamonds; Sin has an apple..all that Adam and Eve stuff I suppose and Eden has a deer.  I thought that was because of the Garden of Eden but that's more Adam and Eve so I'm not sure why..

Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint: Beach 03

Liz Earle's Skin Tint is a product that many a woman had been waiting for.  It's been three and a bit years in the making which is impressive as it's clear they take their time when introducing a new product.

The strategic colour choice of the packaging is not lost on me.  Skincare tends to come in lighter coloured packaging whereas makeup items come in darker tones.  I've very rarely seen foundation in a white tube.

The product is available in three different shades:

• Bare: This is the lightest shade out there and the site says it is best for alabaster complexions
• Beige: This is the medium shade and the site suggests that this works best on the majority of Caucasian skintones
• Beach: This is the darkest shade and the one that I have. 

I have to give major credit to Liz Earle for making a skin tint that is actually usable by Indian women.  I've been trying to find a decent tinted moisturiser for my skin for ages and this is the closest in colour to my skin that I found.  It doesn't help that the lighter skinned Indian women at work are always going on about brilliant tints they've found..tints that are far too light for me.

As my photo of the "neat" swatch shows, there is a fair amount of pigment in this so you don't need much to tint your skin.

Unfortunately, the Sheer Skin Tint makes my skin look orange.  I've tried applying it with a stipple brush, a foundation brush, my fingers, Simon's fingers and with a sponge and it still gives me the same result.  Also, my skin is combination and this has a bit too much slip for my skin type and it makes me look really oily. 

I gave it to my mum and it matched in a lot better with her skin.  It's odd because I would have thought that shade 02 would be better for her but shade 03 works very well and doesn't make her look orange at all..Also, my mum's skin type is normal and this makes her look really dewy.  She's been photographed a few times wearing it and it makes her look younger than she is and it's the only new product she's been using so I can't see it being anything else.

She's been using it every single day for the past three weeks and she reports that there is still a lot of it left.  She uses two tiny blobs per day and that gives her a decent amount of coverage.

It swatches orange on my hand but this photo doesn't really make it clear, I tried and failed to get a photo showing how it actually looked on my hand.  If you look at the top right hand side of my er, hand, you can see the difference in my skintone and the colour of this skin tint.

I swatched it again with the flash on and here you can see the difference.  I suppose I could make it work as a highlighter/blusher but ain't hindsight a bitch? The product is now firmly ensconsed in my mother's clutches.

It retails for £21.00 and you can get it directly from the Liz Earle site.  If you don't want to buy blind, you can buy a sample pack of all three shades  I tried to look for it in the Oxford Street John Lewis but they didn't have it there..I'm sure I checked after it was released and I still didn't see it. 

My experience at Aqua Sheko aka the fish pedicure..

Way back in January of this year, I booked a MobDeal via Wahanda for a garra rufa fish pedicure at Aqua Sheko.

A few months down the line, I promised myself that I'd book myself in so I didn't forget before the voucher ran out.

To cut a long story short, I booked it and was late in arriving because I had a meeting which was planned on the day of my appointment and it's a nightmare getting to China Town (practically where Aqua Sheko is) from the Square Mile.

The guy at reception was quite rude actally which I felt was a bit offkey seeing as I'd emailed to TELL them I was going to be late and I'd apologised.  That's one point deducted from 10.  And why did I email instead of ringing?  Nobody had picked up the phone!  And I wasn't too impressed with the fact that I had to wait around for 10 minutes before he decided to talk to me.

I was instructed to go downstairs, had my feet washed and was told to dunk my feet in the "fish tank".  In went my legs and the fish got to work.  I declined any refreshments but I'm glad I was asked as the people who came in after me weren't asked. 

The venue is that it wasn't as glam and sleek as they make it look on the website.  It's not a total shithole but it's not half as nice as they make it look.  The music they were playing in there made me feel like I was in a Chinese takeaway waiting for my order.

It's not this dark inside.

The shop used to be a video shop (I had to Google map the directions and I found this to be the case).  I saw a doorway downstairs and knew immediately that that was where the adult section used to be.

Most of the decor is velvet which has been stapled onto MDF.  The massage area is curtained off by two pieces of fabric and some of the black and yellow hazard tape covers the step down.  And the photos on the website are angled so as to make the place look bigger than it is.  The actual massage area is two chairs and an air conditioner.  That alone doesn't make the actual treatment bad but don't go there believing it is a five star place because you will be disappointed.

I was on my Jack Jones in there until a really noisy group of girls came in.  Now I don't mind noise, that's fine but when you're screaming your head off about putting your feeet into a tank of fish WHEN YOU KNOW that's what you've gone to have done; that's a bit ridiculous.  And the sreams lasted the whole 30 minutes.  I'd understand if she was being subjected to electrotherapy but this was fish in water. 

That kind of ruined the experience for me a bit and I did half expect the staff to tell her to keep the noise down.  I don't think that's being too picky on my behalf.  If you go to a venue where they play calming music, you should have enough self awareness to realise how you're meant to behave but then some people clearly aren't civilised.
 
I sat with my trotters in the tank for longer than I should have done (win!) On any normal day, I'd be happy about this but as I was rushing to get back to work, I did hope they'd take more care about time.  But as I said, you get more bang for your buck that way.

The foot massage was very good but it would have been nice if they had asked me as I really needed the head, neck and shoulder massage.

I know you all want to see a photo of my porky little trotters in the tank so here you go you foot fetishists..

I don't know why I couldn't get a decent flash shot, it was bright enough in there..

So what did I think overall?
Would I go again? No
Would I pay full price? No...I don't think so.
Does it tickle as bad as the say? I think nearly anyone could take these pedicures.  You definitely don't need to scream like a twat.  It's only ever so slightly tickly at the start but that's it.  I have a few tattoos, if you can take a tattoo on a fleshy part of your body (arm, leg, upper back/lower back), you can take this.  If you have a tattoo on a bony part of your body (ankle bone for example) you can definitely take this.  That reminds me, the garra rufa fish pedicure is totally safe if you have tattoos on your feet/ankles/legs; there is no need to put a plaster on them or anything.
Do the fish remove the dry skin? Yes, they do.  My feet were quite dry and they felt really smooth afterwards.  Do be warned that the dry skin they take off floats around in the tank.  I thought they ate it but maybe they don't.
Why aren't you going again? The soles of my feet were never so dry before that skin was peeling off.  The same is true of my toes.  This is what has happened after going here.  It's not something that has dented my self esteem as my feet are in shoes most of the day and I have bigger fish to fry (puns are, as always, intended).  Just take that into consideration.  My issues could have occured because I was left in the tank for longer than I should have been.   Having said this, my feet were quite dry before anyway so if you have normal skin on your feet, or even greasy (is that possible?) then you might not have the same outcome.

Although this sounds like quite a scathing review, there was nothing about the experience that was so horrendous that would make me tell others to stay away.  However, if you do go, don't go expecting it to be as lavish as the photographs make out on the website.  Also, if you work anywhere in the Square Mile and decide to visit Aqua Sheko on your lunch-hour, be prepared to be away from your desk for two hours. 

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.

ELF Studio Matte Lip Colour Pencil: Praline

ELF is a brand that seldom disappoints me.  The products are truly budget products (yes, I'm looking at you High Street brands who think that a £4 million mascara constitutes an ordinary budget purchase) and they not only have a wide colour range but they're also constantly bringing out new products..and products that people actually want.

The ELF Studio Matte Lip Colour Pencils come in four different shades and I have Praline.  They also come in Coral, Natural and Tea Rose.  I find it a bit funny that Praline is the colour that looks more like my natural lip colour whereas Natural is more pinky..but it'd be the natural colour for a lot of lighter skinned people.

I will get the one negative out of the way first.  The smell.  It smells like those plastic chairs that little children have.  However, I can forgive this as the smell vanishes and everything else about them is fantastic.  And the smell fades after the first few uses.

Also, you see the smudge? The brand new pencil is not like this.  Mine has been in my bag and my hands for a long time, hence the smudge.  You see those white dots a bit further down? That's where it said "Praline" but yet again, that's worn off.

It calls itself a pencil but to me, it's more like a matte lipstick with a bit of slip to it.  I do have a pencil (from another brand) which is a pencil in the traditional sense and I cannot get away with wearing that with nothing over the top whereas I can just whack the ELF one on and go about my business.

My favourite things about this product are that firstly, it's a twist up product (no sharpening needed) and secondly, the more you use it, the rounder the head gets so application improves.

Actually, I lied.  I have another favourite thing.  It gives me the lip colour that I feel I should have been born with.  I've got the annoying "one lip darker than the other" thing going on and this imparts the same colour onto both lips.

See how natural that looks?

And it takes gloss very well.  I'm not too sure where my teeth are in this photo but I do have a full set somewhere in there.

A lot of matte lip products have a tendency to dry your lips out but I really don't feel that the ELF pencil does that.  I've used it non stop and my lips haven't dried out at all.  I've also not been using as much Carmex so what does that tell you?  If anything actually, my lips feel softer after using this than they do after I've used moisturising lipsticks.

For the princely sum of £3.50, you can't get much better.  My only criticism is that ELF should make more colours, if there were more colours that I could wear, I'd totally buy those.  Click here to buy one!  My timing is obviously not my strong suit (I am Punjabi after all..our clocks run three hours behind everyone elses) as a few days ago, these were selling for £1 on the ELF website..and I bought three backups.

Why you NEED ELF's stipple brush!

I finally managed to take advantage of ELF's free delivery dealy and the stipple brush was one of the things I ordered.  I read a fair few reviews about the brush and there were a fair few negative ones.  I'm glad I ignored them and bought this because I love it!

I've always had an issue with my cream blushers just not applying properly.  When I use my fingers, I get mroe on my fingers than I do on my face and when I use a standard brush, it seems to never apply properly.

My main problem was the fact that I could never actually see it applying on my skin and it never showed up in any photos so I didn't really see the point.

The first time I used my stipple brush, I could see the colour actually being deposited on my cheeks so I was super happy.  Then I got a bit carried away and put too much blusher on and had to tone it down with some translucent powder. 

The hairs are actually black and white, mine are pink because I've been abusing my blushers

Using the brush is quite messy though, the plastic packaging around the outside of my blusher is now stippled with tones of blush but I can forgive that as now you can actually see the blusher on me.

This brush is not super dense but I think that you don't want something super dense when you're just trying to apply a wash of colour to your face.  The hairs are really soft and the pick up pigment perfectly.  I washed it a few times and it hasn't shed any hairs which is another plus.

The best thing is that it will only set you back £3.50 which is a bloody bargain!  You can pick it up from here..and whilst you're there, get yourself one of their matte lip pencils as they're on offer for £1 (down from £3.50) and they're very moisturising!

Barbara Daly Lash Boost Mascara

The product featured here is a mixture of both my love of Tesco and my love of mascara.  I have never ever seen any Barbara Daly mascaras in Tesco before and I know exactly why this is.  In the Tesco where me and Simon shop, the BD display is at the end of the aisle and by the time I get there, I feel sorry for Simon because he's bored out of his mind wandering down an aisle crammed with makeup.  This is why I've never had time to properly look at her display.  I tried a different tactic once by approacing the aisle from a different direction but that didn't work as some div ran over my foot with a trolley.

Anyway, the mascara gods must have realised my plight and I was offered the chance to trial it.

Firstly, can I give a big thumbs up to whoever decided on the packaging.  I love it.  It looks sleek and actually stays sleek looking.  It's a lot shinier than my photos make out.  It's been rolling around in my bag for the past few weeks and there are no scratches on it. 

Secondly, the brush is an odd shape.  It looks as if someone has squashed the middle bristles.  We all know that the days of standard brushes are long gone and that mascara brush makers are getting more and more innovative.  A lot of the time these "innovations" fall flat on their face but I feel this brush shape is quite good.


I like the fact that it is called "Lash Boost" so suing for false representation will be super difficult as nearly all mascaras boost your lashes.

For those not as litigiously minded as me, I really like this as it is fantastic for a daytime mascara for me.  I whack on one/two coats in the morning and it holds up all day.  It not only manages to give my lashes a curl but it lengthens and thickens them perfectly.  You know sometimes you get a mascara that lengthens your lashes but totally forgets to add any volume to the base so you look silly?  This doesn't do that.  It manages to add the perfect amount of base thickness to length.

I was really surprised when I used this as I (to my shame) didn't expect much from it.  However, it has since gone into my top five mascaras.  I know I say that all the time but this has seriously impressed me.  I think I might buy my top five and play them off against each other at once to see how far I get.

Here is how it looked on the eye.  I realise now why the brush is the shape that it is, it lets you get the outer lashes in the first go.  The mascara manages to give my lashes such a good curl that I don't need to use my trusty lash curler.

The consistency of the actual mascara is just about right for this brush.  The last thing you want to be doing is dabbing the brush in and out a million times as that not only wastes time but also throws more bacteria into the mix.

It'll set you back about £6/7 quid and is available from Tesco.  I wrote my backup one off as a shopping expense because in my mind, anything bought whilst food shopping, doesn't strictly count as makeup..a policy that Simon is none too impressed with when the trolley has more makeup in it than actual food.

Review: Urban Decay Meltdown Makeup Remover

I've found my Holy Grail facial makeup remover/cleanser (The Sanctuary's Polishing Hot Cloth Cleanser) but I'm always on the lookout for a product that I can use solely on my eyes as there are times when my eyes are the only part of my face (bar lips) that I make up.

I was sent the Meltdown Makeup Remover by Urban Decay and here's what I think of it..

One thing I find quite odd is that it doesn't state anywhere on the bottle (in English atleast) that this is a makeup remover just for the eyes but my GCSE French (A* I'll have you know) taught me enough to know that "démaquillant yeux" means makeup remover eyes.  Seems odd that it's not in English.

What do Urban Decay have to say? (There's those rhyming skills again)
"You love our longest-lasting products, but how do you take them off?!  This nourishing formula will ensure that makeup removal doesn't throw you into fits.

Sometimes you need a makeup remover that's as might as the most powerful products in your beauty arsenal, which is why we've created Meltdown!  This stuff can take down our longest-lasting products, and it's also good for your skin, too.  Sea Fan Extract combats inflammation, while Beta Carotene (a source of Vitamin A) and Gatuline In-Tense (harvest from the South African Rain Forest Peekabo Plant) revitalise collagen production.  Cranberry and Raspberry Seed Oils, along with Kukui Nut and Oat Oil, moisturise and replenish.  The 2.5oz squeeze tube is easy to use, as well as small enough to take on an aeroplane)."

What do I have to say?
This smells like nappy rash cream and that's all I can think of when applying it and this is not a good thing!  Consistency wise, it is lot thinner than both Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish and The Sanctuary's Polishing Hot Cloth Cleanser.  Those two feel more creamy whereas this feels more watery.

The packaging causes me no ill at all, I prefer this type as you can squeeze every last bit out.  I managed to get every last drop of my Sanctuary cleanser and that comes in similar packaging and it's a fair bit thicker.

It spreads really easily on the eyes but doesn't slide off your face (brilliant!)  You can see your makeup "melting" so I see where the inspiration of the name comes from.  It doesn't sting your eyes and you don't have to work it in to see your makeup coming off so there's no worry that you're giving yourself premature wrinkles. 

It feels quite softening on the eye area and I quite like that.  If there's one criticism I can make of my other two makeup removers, it's that they could be a bit more softening around the eyes.

I also like the fact that they've taken into account the fact that you can take it on the plane with you in your hand luggage without depotting it.  If you buy it for that purpose alone (quickly removing most of your makeup whilst on board during a long flight then it works well enough for that purpose).   

However, there are no instructions for removal and if I didn't have my hot cloth cleansers, I would have just washed it off but I find using a muslin cloth soaked in hot water is the easiest way to remove makeup when you use this.

I've split the actual "how does it work" bit into two sections for reasons that will soon become obvious.

Eye makeup on the eyelids
This has absolutely no problem removing all makeup from the eyelids and the upper lashes.  Be it long lasting makeup (such as Urban Decay's pencils or Bobbi Brown's gel liner), the Meltdown Makeup Remover makes easy work of removing it.  Wow, that sounded like I was on a cheesy info-mercial.

It's biggest plus point for me in this respect is that it literally makes your mascara glide off.  Sometimes when I use my other removers, it comes off in clumps but no such issue here, it just swipes off all in one go.

It manages to remove the glitteriest of my eyeshadows (Urban Decay's Chopper and ELF's Caffinated Mineral Eyeshadow) with ease.

Eye makeup on the waterline/lower lashline
I had high hopes for this as I thought removing Urban Decay's 24-7 liners from the waterline/lower lashline would be a doddle.  Sadly, this wasn't the case.  I tried it on many occassions and it always left some pigment behind. 

You can see that I've removed makeup but it doesn't remove it ALL.  You can still bits of the makeup between my lashes.  I had the same results when I used products that made no claims to be long lasting.

Seeing as it claims to be a remover of heavy duty products and it doesn't manage to live up to this claim (whereas others don't boast being able to do the same but can do with ease), you can see why I'm disappointed.

The one negative I can't get over is that it gives me blurred vision for about 10 minutes after using it.  I'm blind enough as it is, thank you.  When I put my glasses back on after using this, I always feel that my glasses are dirty but they're not, it's the remover that clouds my vision.  


It's a shame this didn't work for me because I can't fault the makeup that Urban Decay make.


Would I purchase this? 
No.  It doesn't remove everything as thoroughly as it claims and the fuzzy vision is a serious.  Even still, I've never had fuzzy vision from a makeup remover before and I don't like it.  If you want to try it for yourself, it'll set you back £18.00 and can be bought from House of Fraser.  Personally, I'd suggest going for either The Sanctuary's Polishing Hot Cloth Cleanser or Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish because they're cheaper, they don't give you blurry vision and they remove all your makeup.  I've reviewed both here before (for The Sanctuary's click here and for Liz Earle's, click here).

L.A. Colors Top Coat

One of my biggest problems with nail polish is that it never lasts on my toenails.  I bite my (finger) nails so toes are the only thing I can really paint.  I only paint them when wearing peep toe shoes/flip flops or if my toes will be on show.

The nail polish begins chipping after the first wear of a pair of shoes and that used to frustrate me no end.  You know what I mean.  You paint your toes, wear shoes..taken them off and BAM!! Chip central..and not the good kind of chips either.  Those I could live with.

I bought the LA Colors Top Coat from..you guessed it, Beauty Base yet again although this time I was on my own so was free to browse for as long as I wanted.

I only got it out a few weeks ago as I thought Summer had arrived and that it was time to get my feet out.

For those of you with a foot fetish, I'll let you know now that my feet will never grace this blog so you might want to look somewhere else for your fix of brown trotters.

I can't vouch for how long/well this lasts on your fingers because I don't paint them.  However, I do have toenail news and views.  I applied it on a Saturday afternoon, traipsed around Western International market on a rainy Sunday, kept my feet in court shoes all week and my polish didn't chip at all.  I even had a 45 minute soak and my polish didn't slide off.

I thought that top coats would be thick and gloopy but this is really nice to apply.  You do need to let your polish dry before you put this on but you don't need much of it to cover a nail.  It spreads really well and it does dry quickly.  And you don't get streaks which is always a plus.

It doesn't have the typical nail polish smell to it but I can't say if that's what all top coats smell like as this is the first one I've used.

Here's what it looks like over polish, you can't really see a difference but then you're not really meant to, are you?

You can't ask for much more, especially considering it was only 99p!