Latest Buys: Silvan Skincare, Ben & Anna's, Marley's Amsterdam, Bee Good, Feel Unique's Beauty Kit, Lovely Melts, Nicki's Aromatics, Herbs for Healing

I know, I know, I said I was having a leaner February. Things which have kept me going is having a few online spends! The way I look at it I'm not going into town shopping or going to work so have a little more free cash! Plus it makes me happy.

I took advantage of Love Lula's recent 10% off a £40 spend (I also had a fiver's worth of points). I'd spotted Silvan Skincare's new line of face creams and their Balance Face Cream spoke to me! It's formulated for oily and combo skins (and smells of exotic Ylang Ylang. I can see it's going to be a firm favourite (review to come). I'd never tried one of Ben & Anna's cardboard tubes of natural deodorant before so picked up one in their Persian Lime scent (I'm having a few issues with the tube - which I think could be slightly modified) but the product is superb (again, a review to come). The third item I bought is new brand at Love Lula - Marley's Amsterdam Sustainable Shampoo Beer & Incense - these are shampoo flakes which you mix with water to create shampoo & packaged in easily recyclable packaging. Genius! 

A friend on instagram asked for a recommendation of a new exfoliator. I suggested Bee Good, as I'd always enjoyed their one, you know the drill, I spotted their Hand & Body Wash with Warm Fig & Vanilla and had to snap one up! It's absolutely beautiful and has a scent which lingers, the wash lathers well, feels silky and leaves the body and hands refreshed and clean. I like this a lot.

I hadn't had a Beauty Kit from Feel Unique for ages. They were offering it for £9.95 plus p&p (instead of £12.95 plus p&p) for a limited period and so I jumped right in there. Really pleased with my picks! You also get the postage back as a voucher code for your next purchase which makes the kit excellent value (the trial sizes are a good size). I chose a duo from Kerastase, a generous Medik8 mini, Clinique's cult Take the Day off and a new Caudalie cream.

I picked up a handful of melts from Lovely Melts and the Sanctuary Orange one is identical to the evocative aroma of The Sanctuary products - it's absolutely lovely.

A little return order for Nicki's Aromatics Soy Wax Melts which are gorgeous! See the shop which is Glasgow based HERE. The melts (and candles) are lovingly hand poured using essential oils and soy wax.

The power of socials! I spotted Herbs for Healing on Saskia's Flower Essences instagram and went to investigate. I spotted the lovely collab and had to have one! It smells instantly relaxing and I'm looking forward to trying the Herbs for Healing Bath Oil with Saskia's Breathe Deep Seek Peace Flower Essence. Look out for that review!  

What have you been buying lately?

Feel Unique: Pick & Mix

I do love Feel Unique's Pick 'n' Mix which gives you the chance to try 5 free samples a month for free essentially - pay £3.95 for postage & handling and get it back as a voucher code to spend on your next purchase. 

I'd actually chosen a different Moroccanoil sample than the one that arrived but I'm happy to try their new Blow Dry Concentrate 2ml which will give me a couple of uses. I adore Sol de Janeiro's Brazilian Joia Shampoo & Conditioner and inside are two sachets, each 10ml of their Shampoo & Conditioner (I'm keeping these ones for travel). I also picked their lush perfume SOL Cheirosa '62 EdP vial (I love the caramel vanilla buttery scent).

Rounding up my picks are sachets of Rahua's Leave-in Treatment 5ml and Vichy's Neovadiol Rose Platinum Night Cream 1ml (the latter of which I'd recently read about in a magazine).

Do you pick up pick 'n' mix from Feel Unique? Have you found any buy-agains from sampling?

Feel Unique: Beauty Kit

I'm a huge fan of Feel Unique's Beauty Kit - choose 5 generous deluxe trial sizes for £12.95 (plus £3.95 shipping - the shipping comes back to you as a code to spend how you please). You can pick once a month.

I picked up a couple of Estee Lauder bits for my mum this time - their Revitalising Supreme+ Anti-Ageing Power Creme 5ml (these are the sizes you receive at GWP time). Ml by ml this is worth £7. The second item I picked for my mum, is Estee Lauder's Revitalising Supreme+ Restorative Night Cream 5ml (ml by ml this is worth £7.20). The third Estee Lauder I picked for myself! It's their Advanced Night Micro Cleansing Balm 7ml (ml by ml worth £3.64).

Rounding up my selection is my fav Vichy Mineral 89 Serum 10ml (worth £4) which my skin just seems to love. Expect a review on this one soon and new to me product (I've tried their lip whip before) Beauty Bakerie Flour Setting Powder 1g which is in a cute little package. Also included is a pouch to keep it all in! (great for travel too).

Are you a fan of Feel Unique's Beauty Kit?

Sol de Janeiro Sunshine Sol Kit+Body Fragrance Mist

I just adore Sol De Janeiro's original Bum Bum Cream, I love its lush sweet vanilla-y caramel scent and the lovely rich texture of the cream. I'd been eyeing up the perfume but had read reviews that the fragranced body mist was just as good...(I've now just spied a 8ml spray is now available of the perfume (adds to wishlist). And so, I also picked up their Sunshine Sol Kit in colab with Feel Unique which costs £46 (value £64). I had some voucher codes to use, so it'd be rude not to...

Inside the box is a branded pouch which is ideal for holidays, weekends away or just to cheer your day up.

Inside are dinky sizes of the new Brazilian Joia Shampoo & Conditioner (both 90ml - this size retails at £12 each). I've had a few samples of these via pick 'n' mix and my hair loves the duo. A review will follow!

There's a 75ml tub of Brazilian Bum Bum Body Cream which is worth £18 with the highly addictive buttery caramel scent. I just love this cream! Also inside is a mini 25ml Bum Bum Body Scrub which is formulated with sugar crystals (making it a perfect scrubby scrub).

Rounding up the collection is a 1ml vial of Sol Cheirosa '62 the lovely perfume which complements the range with notes of salted caramel, pistachio, jasmine petals and vanilla.

As I said, I also picked up Brazilian Crush Body Fragrance Mist (90ml - £18) which has the delectable original bum bum scent with notes of pistachio and salted caramel. It's lush! 

Are you a fan of the range?

Feel Unique: My Beauty Kit

I'm a huge fan of Feel Unique's My Beauty Kit (and Pick & Mix). My Beauty Kit costs £12.95 plus p&p (the p&p is redeemable) and you get to choose proper trial sizes, which give several uses. Here's what I picked this month:

WOW!

And for a closer look..

I'm a huge fan of lixirskin and was beyond thrilled to see their Electrogel Cleanser 30ml as a pick (worth £11). I reviewed it HERE.

This is my 2nd pick of Vichy's Mineral 89 Fortifying & Plumping Daily Booster 10ml which my skin has been loving in summertime. It's the perfect try-me size and great for travel.

A 15ml pot (like the size you get in GWP) of Clinique's superdefense SPF40 fatigue+1st signs of age multi-correcting gel. I was swayed by the SPF plus a new to me product. This little pot is worth £12.60 based on ml of the full size. It's a great try-me.

I adore Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencil (my fav shade is Demolition). The one in the kit is Zero (black) in a mini size. I was just needing a new eye pencil!

My final pick is a mini of Moroccanoil's Body Souffle (20ml - worth £4.80). I used to love their haircare and didn't realise they did bodycare. This is lush and creamy and melts instantly onto warm skin. It's got a lovely creamy vanilla scent. Nice to try but unlikely to buy full size.

Have you picked up a My Beauty Kit recently?

Latest Buys: Noble Isle, Poapoa, The Ghost Family Flame, Feel Unique, Mrs Mac, Smells Good Scents

Here are my latest buys:

On return from my mini staycation I treated myself to Noble Isle's luxury hard soap bars in Orchard & Hedgerows (£16) which had been on the groaning wishlist. Inside the box is 3 x 50g Perry Pear soaps and 2 x 30g Summer Rising soaps. The set is exquisitely wrapped and comes with a gift bag. With every order you choose 30ml mini free plus for an extra fiver you can choose a 75ml product. Tea Rose won the day for me! Review of the soap set to follow but I can tell you it's lush!

I picked up this super cute coconut shell soap dish from Love Lula from brand Poapoa, who up-cycle the coconuts after using what's inside for their products! It's really lovely and very eco friendly.

Having signed up to the Ghost Family Flame Subscription Box earlier in July I decided to pick up a selection of collection boxes (a couple of which are below) as subscribers get 30% off other buys (the site is down until 7th August but I definitely recommend a look when they're back with new goodies and scents). You can see my earlier post about my purchases HERE. I've lots of lovely new-to-me wax melts to try!

 Growing Halloween Box

I picked up a Feel Unique pick 'n' mix sample box which costs £3.95 (redeemable) which contains some treats I'm looking forward to testing out.

I also picked up some wax melts which come with a little wooden stirrer from Mrs Mac. The melts are high strength, have cute little thistles in the design and are brightly coloured. I chose Spiced Pumpkin, White Sage & Sea Salt, Blackberry & Bay and Rhubarb & White Lilac.

My final recent buy is from a totally new to me wax vendor - Smells Good Scents. I picked their sample box which contains the whole of their current range. They're highly scented on cold sniff so I'm looking forward to trying them.

What have you been buying lately?

Latest Buys:Five Dot Botanics, Feel Unique, Naturisimo, Cult Beauty

Here's what I've been buying lately (it's something which keeps me sane during these times):

I'm a huge fan of award winning Five Dot Botanics and on receiving their newsletter knew I needed to try their latest launch - Calm Shift - Lavender+Hazelnut Cleansing Face Balm (£24 - 50ml). I've tried it once so far and it has a lovely texture and scent and it turns milky when you add a splash or two of water. A review is to follow!

I sneaked in and managed to purchase a My Beauty Kit from Feel Unique before they paused the service again. I already love the Darphin, Charlotte Tilbury and Le Prunier - the Vichy and Sol de Janiero (I adore their bum bum cream) are new to me tries.

A little payday Naturisimo buy - two new launches from Elemental Herbology and Trilogy - I'm obsessed with Vit C at the moment. I also qualified for a 5 free sample pack (better than last time - no sanitary towels!)

I very nearly was swayed by the Cult Beauty Self Care Goody Bag but realised I didn't need £150 worth of products plus the 19 treats inside the kit. Yes, it was a difficult one to swerve... I did however pick up Jo Loves A Fragrance Discovery which contains 7 x 2ml sample vials (£25). Inside there are 3 I love (click the link for my review - White Rose & Lemon Leaves, Pomelo and Jo by Jo Loves). Of the remaining 4 full sizes are needed in Pink Vetiver and Rose Petal 25. I also like Orange Butterflies but am not so keen on Green Orange & Coriander (although unisex I find it quite manly). Really chuffed with the set however!

What have you been buying lately?

Latest Buys: Old Man & Magpie, The Soap Mine, LJ Natural, Claremont Studio, Evolve, The Nue Co, Lynsey Walters Jewellery, Sol de Janeiro & Vichy

I picked up wax samples of the whole range from Old Man & Magpie (which I've been testing out in my wax burner). These aren't standalone products but just little testers so you can get the just of the scents - my I-will-buy-soon-as-candles so far are: Lavender, Sea Salt & Sage and Earl Grey & Cucumber. My review of Greenhouse candle is coming soon! (I really wish they'd sell wax melts).

There was a mad rush for The Soap Mine's Sample Selections. I managed to nab the second last ones in the essential oil selection which features all six of the regular essential oil bars. These are the end pieces of the soap log which are great try-me-sizes. I'll do a fuller review once I get the chance to try them out!

LJ Natural gorgeous Letterbox Gift - Make Someone's Day which I reviewed HERE.

Claremont Studio's gorgeous Relax Gift Set which was so exquisitely wrapped - it made my day if not week! This set is incredible and a review is coming! I loved getting a little free candle with my order too (it's the little things..)

I had a discount voucher from Naturisimo from doing a survey and of course had to pick up a couple of things!

Evolve's Daily Apple Hair & Body Wash (£16 - 250ml) had been on the wishlist after I received a trial size in one of Naturisimo's discovery boxes - Veganuary. A review will come. The second item I selected is from new-to-me brand The Nue Co's Regularity Relief (30 x 4g) as I sometimes have trouble with constipation. Again, I'll let you know how I find these.

These Lynsey Walters Little Rain Cloud Earrings, with Rainbow Rain (£28 - discount if you sign up to the newsletter) make me smile. Super quirky and fun. I also think it's good to support small businesses during this time.

I'm a huge Sol de Janeiro bum bum cream fan (I love that delicious vanilla-y aroma) and so couldn't resist this little Tiny Travelers kit (£12) from Feel Unique which has me dreaming of holidays....

I also picked up a Vichy Mineral 89 Instant Recovery Hyaluronic Acid Sheet Mask (£8) after I saw Jane's REVIEW.

What have you been buying lately?

ALLSAINTS Incense City EdP

I'd first tried ALLSAINTS Incense City EdP as a Feel Unique pick 'n' mix sample and fell head-over-heels. I chose them as a Brand for Life (10%) discount, there was 19% off when I picked it up plus I had discount codes totaling £8.95 so I got a £49 perfume for £26.73 (Happiness! I think I got TCB too). A full size bottle comes with a mini sample vial (incase you haven't tried and loved the perfume in the first place - which is a useful touch - if you love it, keep the full size, if you don't send it back).

I love the simple but stylish packaging. There are 3 perfumes in the luxe Fashion brand's range which are unisex - Incense City, Sunset Riot and Metal Wave.

Incense City is smokey, spicy and woody with notes of cypress, cedarwood and incense - it really is stunning and so easy to wear. Pick yours up HERE.