Review: Simple Kind to Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser

I’m bringing the first blog post in almost a month to you from the middle of a revision session. I’d also like to add that the book above was actually taken out the university library and some one had already highlighted it – score!

Anyways. My skin is horrific. It’s dry, it’s shiny, it’s spotty, it’s clean – it really just can’t decide. I had been using the Garnier Gel Moisturiser I was going to review, but that was just making my skin extra dry (and it was just horrible). I needed a moisturiser which was thick enough to really make my skin take a drink, but not so heavy it was going to take a year to dry. Enter Simple’s offering, which was on a £2 special in Asda last week – not too sure how much it is normally. What do you get for your pennies though?

The box is full of little promises: “Smile, it’s simple… when your skin’s happy and fresh faces, you feel healthier and happier too. Our Hydrating Light Moisturiser is a perfect blend of active ingredients and vitamin goodness to keep your skin replenished and hydrated. Perfect even for sensitive skin.” It also boasts two vital vitamins, pro-vitamin B5 and Vitamin E as well as two skin loving nutrients of glycerine and borage oil seed. To be honest, I’m not sure what all that means – but I bet it’s good things. And as with all Simple product there are no perfumes or colours, which is something I can really get on board with.

And a simple bottle. Easy to hold and easy to use, espcially when this is how you dispense the product:

It’s taken me a good week to be able to get the moisturiser out without either getting too much or not enough. This is a little bit of a flaw with this product – a pump would have worked a lot better.

Nice and thick, without being too thick. IT’s not trying to run away from my hand into my lap, that’s for sure.

And it rubs out to a nice thin layer. It’s easily absorbed into skin and dries off pretty quickly.

This is where I should mention that when they say light, they mean light – this is definitely a day time formula and for real results this would probably have to become part of a day and night routine. It has helped with my dry skin on my face, but I’m still having a few problem areas.

Definitely value for money if you can get it on special offer, and if it’s less than £4 then I’ll probably end up buying it again. I’d give it 3.5 out of 5, with points lots of the design of the bottle and for being just a little bit too light. Comes in 125ml size.

Review: Tesco Vitamin B Face Scrub

Tesco is cheap. And simple. It is a super market after all. A few months ago everyone was raving in the blogosphere about their Vitamin E range which is cheap as chips – the scrub above was a bargain at only 72p when I bought it two months ago. It’s your standard size facial product and can be found in the skin care/bath/hair aisle of your local.

I don’t think this product. At all. And calling it a scrub is a disgrace.

Sorry about my veiny hands. But have a look at that splodge of the face wash. There’s bubbles, sure, but no scrubby bits. The only time I have ever felt any “scrub” from this product is when I had to use it as an emergency hand wash. On my face is just feels like a horribly soapy face wash.

It also tends to leave a filmy residue which isn’t very pleasant and the smell is a bit discount washing up liquid, to be quite honest. If you use a cloth, it does the job and get’s your face fairly clean, but it’s most definitely not for me. It creates too much of a lather and is just really runny as a product.

Out of 5, this gets a low low low 1. The one is for the price – as a bargain face care range I’m sure it does the job, but I won’t be buying again. I’m keeping it in my bathroom as an emergency product, but secretly I’m just hoping my flatmates will use it all up.

Blogsale #1

My first blogsale. I just need to get rid of this stuff (and I need the money!). I have feedback on eBay and on Livejournal’s TSUK if anybody would like to see it. This stuff must goooooo!

Terms:
- No trades; I really need the extra space and money.
- Price includes postage and PayPal fees.
- I can do offers on more than one item.
- Make me an offer on stuff anyways, as long as it’s not completely ridiculous, I’ll probably say yes.
- I won’t be able to post these until Tuesday as I’m at uni all day tomorrow.
- I can get more accurate measurements no problem.

Please note that I will be at work from 1.30pm until 10pm or so, so may not be able to get back to you until tomorrow morning.

Clothes:

1. River Island Black and Silver Sparkle Vest-Dress, size 12 -  £7
  
- Comes to mid thigh
- Quite stretchy
- Worn a handful of times
- Cost about £16 brand new last summer.
- Closer view of the sparklyness. It’s looks grey, but it is most definitely black with silver sparkles:

2. Primark Grey and White men's cardi - size Men's Small (Would fit a 10 to 14 I reckon!) - £4
 
- Worn once
- No missing buttons or pulls

3. Miso (Republic) Brown Knit Jumper with Plait Sleeves - size 10 - £7
 
- Worn twice, if that
- Would comfortably a size 12
- Sleeve details:

4. New Look Bubble Hem and Sequin Grey Dress - size 8 - £10
 
- Quite heavy to post
- Better for bustier ladies; I'm a size 12 with 30E/F boobies and it was still a bit scary to wear for fear of a slip!
- No missing sequins as far as I can see
- Only worn once

5. Dorothy Perkins Black Embelished Neck Dress - size 10 - £12
 
- Only worn once and was about £30 new!
- I pull up the bottom hem and make it kinda bubble dress-ish, if you can imagine what I mean. Makes it quite short though!
- Detail of neck:

- No missing sequins - they just wouldn't lie flat!

6. New Look Grey/Black/Slate Yoga Pants - size 10 - £4.50
 
- I'm not sure what to name the colour, they're kind of faded black, but that's the colour they were when bought
- Normal leg length, about 32 inches or so.
- Stretchy waistband, the tie is only for decoration.

7.Internacionale Black Short Shorts - size 10 - £5
 
- Made of a sort of polyester so they’re a little bit shiney.
- I had a do a quick mend job on the hem on one of the legs, didn't get a very good picture though:

-It definitely needs neatened up - I can do this before they're sent out, or I can knock the price down if you want to leave it and do it yourself.

9. Quiz Grey and Silver Short Pleat Skirt - size 12 - £6
 
- Invisible zip at the back
- The buckle is only decoration, I stitched it down as it just kept coming apart
- Size 12 is the upper limit of this skirt - probably better for a size 10!

10. Logo Black Pleat Skirt - size 14 - £4.50

- Worn a lot, but still a strong black colour
- Invisible zipe at the back or side - can't quite remmeber.
- Definitely not for a size 14, a size 12 is the upper limit for this skirt!
- Sorry it's creased, I can iron before sending out!

11.Warehouse Embelished Neck Top - size 12 - £5
 
- Worn once or twice
- Close up of the sequins:

- Various sizes of beads and sequins
- Close up of the one imperfections:

- The sequin is still attached, but I'm not sure how to tight it up. I can have a fiddle with it, or leave it like that for a little bit cheaper.

12. Quiz Black Sequin Detail Top - size 12 - £7
 
- Lovely stretchy top
- No sequins missing
- Definitely for the brave - makes boobies redonkudonkulous!

Jewellery:

13. TopShop Pearl and Bead Strechy Bracelet - £4.50
 
- The ribbon can be untied to make the bracelets individual, I think. Never tried!
- Only worn once.

14. New Look Long Dull Silver Necklace - £4
 
- Long length - reaches just below my boobs.
- TopShop had a similar necklace, but it was much more expensive!
- Worn a handful of times.

15. I Love You Necklace - £3.50
 
- Worn a handful of times.
- Some slight yellow discolouration on the chain, I couldn't get a brilliant picture of it though. It's about an inch a half long.
- I don't know how easy it would be to clean off the discolouration.

16. H&M Silver Heart Necklace - £3.50

- This is slightly longer length than most normal necklaces. Hangs somewhere in the middle of my cleavage

17. Tiny Turtle Necklace - £3.50
 
- Worn once
- The turtle is kind of wooden and the chain is gold coloured.

18. Mini Piano Necklace - £3.50
 
- The charm is a distressed gold colour and the chain is gold colour
- The lid of the piano opens, but I couldn't get a very good picture:

19. Pink Plastic Bow Bracelet - £4
 
- I think it's about six inches in length, can measure on request.
- Fastenings are gold coloured.

Leave a comment if you’re interested in anything.

Coming soon…

Long break is long. I’m going to try and not let it happen again, I promise! Coming soon to Not So Fabulous:

• A review on the Tesco Vitamin E Scrub which was a bargain at 72p or so. Everyone was talking about them a while back, but I didn’t see many reviews!
• A review on Garnier Skin Naturals Fresh Day Cream/Gel (I’ve thrown out the box so I’m not too sure of the actual name at the moment).
• A review on the DiorShow Black Out mascara I bought (mentioned in my last post).
• A new series on weight loss and staying fit. I’m trying to lose weight, and I want you all to join me on my journey.

See you all soon!

Small Haul: Chanel and Dior

About 3 weeks ago there was a Debenhams Spectacular sale… thing. Beauty normally get’s about 10% off or so, which is good enough for me.

I needed some new mascara and a new setting powder so I thought why not treat myself? I ended up buying DiorShow Black Out and Chanel’s Poudre Universelle Compacte (in translucent).

Obviously the powder doesn’t look anything like that any more I got both of them for less than £50 – which is a lot to spend on two items of make up, I know. I’m regretting it a bit now. But the mascara is brilliant and is only going to get better over the next week or two and the powder is ok. I might do reviews on both later.

Ins and Outs #3.

Ins:

• Finally being back at uni – I’m no longer bored out of my mind for 80% of the day.
• Work’s going really well at the moment too – lot’s of fun.
• Chargrilled Chicken. It’s so yummy.
• Red grapes – much sweeter than green ones. Yay fruit!

Outs:

• Being back at uni – I have a lot more work this semester and it’s bogging me down.
• The flat is falling down around us – if something can break or go wrong, it probably has or will do in the next week.
• Constantly craving cookies. My thighs aren’t happy.
• All the books I need for an essay being checked out the library.

I hope you all had a nice weekend. Going to try and get something of substance written for tomorrow.

Promises of 2010: Update #2

 
How is everyone else doing with sticking to their New Years resolutions and promises then? Hopefully as bad as me – it would make me feel a bit better!

Love and Life.
My boyfriend and I are still as strong as ever, thankfully. Getting ready to move in with him in a couple of months is a little bit scary though. We live together now, but it doesn’t really feel like we do – university accommodation does that to you, I suppose. I’m really excited though. I read The Time Traveller’s Wife last month as well – it was much longer than I expected, but I enjoyed it a lot – the film isn’t as good but it still made me cry. Toxic friends? The less I talk about that the better. And blogging more? Well that didn’t work out very well when I started back at uni!

Money.
 Those of you who flick back to my last post through the tags will notice that this is exactly the same as last month – still only £100. Starting back at university has been a little bit expensive this month – textbooks to buy and pubs to visit. Hopefully next month I can get back on track! I’m still spending a lot of money I shouldn’t be – but I’m getting better! Much better.

University.
So far I’ve been to all but two of my lectures this semester. I think I’ve had about 25 or so though, so it’s pretty good. The two I missed were an introductory lecture and then one which I already knew about the subject matter. I’ve also been trying to take better notes, though I still have a lot to catch up on. I’ve got two essay’s to do this semester – one for a week on Wednesday and then one for the middle of April. I’m going to do the shorter one this week and then try and get the April due essay done before the mid-semester break at the start of April.

Myself.
Nails are still being bitten. It’s not nice. I’m going to have to really try to get this habit sorted. I just haven’t had time to reapply the nail varnish I use that stops me from biting for a while. As sad as an excuse as that sounds. I’ve also tried to start eating better – in fact, I think today I actually had at least 4 of my 5 a day (though learning that the Japanese Government recommends their citizens eat 12 or 13 a day has made me feel terrible).

So on the whole… not going brilliantly. But I’m still toddling along. Slowly but surely.

Film Review: Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland

I’m trying very hard to think of ways to write this review without encouraging the wrath of Disney (because we all know how that feels, don’t we Odeon, Vue and Cineworld?). I went to see Alice in Wonderland this afternoon, because if I didn’t see it today, I probably wouldn’t have went to see it at all. And I kind of wish I hadn’t.

It’s not a long film and not very much happens. It’s pretty to look at, but there’s no real depth. Plus, fans of the original version(s) of Alice probably won’t like this film very much – it’s most definitely only to be enjoyed by the Tim Burton Brigade.

The acting leaves a lot to be desired by the girl playing Alice. It’s all shaky and pathetic and just does not compare to the big names she stars alongside with. Anne Hathaway stole the film, in my opinion. Her portrayal of the White Queen was very Nigella Lawson meets absent-minded fairy and was just completely enjoyable. I’m not going to talk about Johnny Depp’s “Scottish” accent. I couldn’t understand him a lot of the time, to be honest.

Would I recommend people go and see it? Not really. And definitely no in 3D. It adds pretty much nothing to the film and is just going to cost you a couple more pounds to look like a prat in the glasses.

I’m saddened that I couldn’t give this film a more positive review, but it certainly is what I’ve been expecting all along.

Apologies.

I have to apologise so much for disappearing for three weeks there. I started back at uni and I really am so busy it’s unreal. I’ll try and get a few posts out next week, but I really can’t promise anything.

I hope everyone’s well and has a good weekend.