I blogged about Soap & Glory Skincare in January being widely available in Boots, across the pond, in the far UK. I recall ranting a tad bit about how it would take two years and a mule to get it over to our side of the pond. I’m happy to report that it’s now available at Target. I was at Target last Sunday and happened across it. Joy! I picked up a few bits to review for you but if you can’t wait you can snag it for yourself at your local Target as it’s widely available as of now in the US, bless be to the Soap & Glory gods!
A little more SPF’ing in the cheap zone today kids! Many of you expressed a delight for a budget SPF after I posted a review on Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch (many of you also expressed your dislike! Wince!). For those not loving the budget SPF quick look away and tune in next week when I dig into the posher brands! And for anyone who said hells yes I want cheap SPF, here’s another one coming atcha!
Coppertone NutraShield for your face and body this season offers a high SPF and an affordable price tag.
But is it worth it?
Click it for the deets!
Coppertone NutraShield Faces Sunscreen Lotion is an SPF 70+ with the ability to protect from UVA and UVB. It’s pretty much sweatproof and waterproof so you’ll be happily skipping around outdoors, heading to the beach, or swimming it up at the pool without having the worry about reapplication over the course of the day. Put it on and it stays on.
Minor problems here and there but for the most part a good experience with this SPF.
It’s a creamy, creamy formula which is great if your skin is dry but not so fab if your skin is oily. My skin seems to like it but it takes a sec or so to absorb fully and it leaves a slightly white cast. I don’t mind the whiteness because I’m going to use a prep and prime to whiten anyway so who cares but the whiteness could be irritating to some however many SPF’s do this anyway so you may already be used to it by now. Remember with SPF less is more. You don’t need to slather your face in SPF. A simple dollop will do. I’m mentioning this because the creamy formula may sway oily skin users from trying this but I think with proper application it can work for just about anyone. The product is pretty much fragrance free or at least I didn’t smell anything, again a plus for anyone that doesn’t like scented facial products. Cheap sun protection? I has it! With it’s high SPF and inexpensive price tag I do think Coppertone NutraShield Faces Sunscreen Lotion could become your new best buddy this Summer. This will set you back $7.99-$10 bucks at most drugstores.
Now if you’re wondering about your body you can follow up with Coppertone NutraShield Sunscreen Lotion. This has pretty much the same moisturizing formula as the facial formula. It absorbs nicely, it’s not sticky, and it protects with an SPF of 70+ which makes it ideal for harmless UVA and UVB rays. I tend to spend much more money on facial SPF than I do on body SPF so this is pretty much a perfect pick for me to slather on my arms, legs, etc…..I used to buy Clarins but I’ve come to realize that I go through it so quickly it’s best to stay on the cheaper side when purchasing an SPF for my body plus SPF is generally good for a mere year before going off.
Overall, Coppertone NutraShield offers a nice inexpensive option for both your face and body. If you’re looking for a drugstore brand in the $10 range this would be something you might want to peep at. Pretty good stuff!
Although Aquafina Facial Spray is WAY cheaper, the Muse still has a soft spot in her heart for Evian Mineral Water Spray!
They say Demi Moore buys this stuff by the case, I could probably relate as it’s super good. Whether you want it to cool off in the Summer or you’re using it to tone your face, Evian Mineral Water Spray def appeals. One thing about this is it never dries my face out. It simply delivers a delicate blast of cooling mineral water onto my skin that aids my moisturizer to absorb easier which in turn allows my foundation to apply flawlessly. It’s pretty much a multitasking product as people use it to tone with, use it to cool off with on warm day, or even use it to set makeup!
As I said it’s not the cheapest option around but it is one of the few that works, simply, easily, without any fanfare.
The Muse is a bit of a Philosophy girl with her skincare so of course she wants to try out the new Philosophy Eye Hope ($48 USD)!
With the promise of a renewed hope for my skin and powerful clinical results, this sounds like the eye cream I’ve been hoping for. Six weeks of use shows significant improvement in fine lines, dark circles, and puffiness. Honestly, I’ve had great success with fine lines and dark circles but have yet to find a match that will cure my puffy eyes so here’s to hoping that Philosophy Eye Hope might do the job plus bring home with my fine lines and circles too.
We should all be worried about sun protection as the Summer approaches and the sun becomes stronger. Honestly, you should be worried about it 365 days of the year and obsess over it as much as the Muse does. Not only because you want to keep your skin looking beautiful but also because the harmful rays of the sun has the potential to cause some major havoc.
A kindly reader asked about inexpensive SPF and where she could get something that wouldn’t break her beauty budget bank. If you’re looking for an inexpensive, effective SPF for your face do check out Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sun Block SPF 85+.
Jump it for the review!
Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sun Block SPF 85+ manages to bundle together everything I want in an SPF into a cheap, inexpensive package. I’m reviewing this SPF as a facial SPF only, I’ll be doing a follow up post on SPF’s I use on my body sometime soon but today I am focusing on my face. My reader did state she was seeking something light with a high SPF for her face and I couldn’t think of a better SPF than this Neutrogena one as I’ve been using it a while now and really like it.
It deserves to be mentioned that I really love Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream SPF 55 but it’s $34 USD for 2 oz. Since I use SPF so often and I run out fairly quickly I was searching for something that could offer me the benefits of good sun protection with a cheap price check.
Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sun Block has a high level of sun protection and offers protection from UVA and UVB rays. The formula is not greasy in the least thus it’s name “dry-touch”. It doesn’t sink in or absorb as quickly as I would like but I can’t deny that the formula is extremely good since it’s not greasy or oily on my skin and feels quite matte and nice. I can forsake a quick absorbing formula if it means the SPF won’t be oily and gross on my face as many SPF’s are. As you know by now my skin is dry but thankfully it doesn’t mind the dry feeling of this lotion. It has a nice floral scent (nothing overwhelming, don’t worry!) which adds to it’s appeal in my opinion.
Considering how widely available Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sun Block SPF 85+ plus it’s inexpensive price tag I think it makes an ideal facial SPF for use everyday. This retails for $9.99 USD or less in drugstores.
If you’re looking for something cheap and effective I highly suggest snagging one! Muse Approval for purchase.
I admit I’m easy to amuse. Which is why when I tested out Foot Petals Sweaty Pedi Foot Fragrance I got a sincerely bad case of the giggles. What? I can’t help myself. The name alone makes me laugh myself silly. Sweaty pedi? Come on that’s kinda funny in a teenage boy fart joke kinda way isn’t it?
Told ya I was easily amused.
Jump for the review!
Even though the name is amusing the actual product works quite well. Foot Petals Sweaty Pedi Foot Spray has a little description on the bottle that says sexy-solutionz collection which again had me giggling. But I gotta say the scent is kinda sexy like. I know, I know foot spray that’s sexy…well it could happen. Anyone with a foot fetish should love this! The scent is kinda a soft vanilla scent although it does say it’s a sweet lavender and vanilla blend I get mostly a powdery sweet vanilla from it, quite pretty for my tired toes and feet!
Spray directly onto your feet to keep them fresh and smooth all Summer long as this absorbs perspiration and protects your skin against blisters, so if you’re sporting strappy sandals this Summer you can avoid those pesky blisters.
If you’re looking for a good way to keep your feet dry and cool this Summer do check out Foot Petals Sweaty Pedi Foot Fragrance (LOL sweaty pedi!).
Ahhh the good Lady Macbeth said it best when she uttered the words, “Out, damn’d spot! out, I say!” Haunted and obsessed by Duncan’s blood all the good lady wanted was the damn spot to be gone (even if it wasn’t really there at all)!
Flash forward, present day and still the words of out damn spot may fall from your lips on occasion when you see a spot or two rise up on your face! And of course we even get as obsessed as Lady Macbeth with those damn spots.
Never fear, Lush is here to save you from spots and make your face clear and happy again without the guilt of Duncan’s blood on your hands too! Phew, thanks Lush the Muse was worried for a second there.
Jump ahead for it!
The Muse likes to think if Lady Macbeth was of sound body and mind she would appreciate the benefits of a good spot treatment like Lush Grease Lightning! Or perhaps John Travolta might make better use…..
Hmmm one does wonder about these things!
Whatever the case may be we can be sure that we’ll make plenty use out of Lush Grease Lightning. Brand new to the Lush skincare collection is this super spot zapping face gel! Made with aloe and witch hazel and plenty of other good for you ingredients this gel dries invisible and zaps those spots clear away!
Hmmm a natural spot remover? I can get on board with that. On occasion the Muse has been known to break out here and there so a spot treatment would be handy especially one made my Lush!
Likey!
Available now from Lush UK Mail Order (and soon to follow at Lush NA Mail Order).
Juice Newton said it best, playing with the Queen of Hearts baby!
A few people requested a review of Lush Queen of Hearts and since I only had a tiny silver in my soap dish I ended up buying a slab so I could review it for you. Love me much?
Lush Queen of Hearts is a completion soap. Yes, that means it’s a soap you use on your face. As in a bar of soap! Horror! Anyone wince when I said a bar of soap? Didn’t our mother’s tell us never use a bar of soap on our faces? If you wash your face with soap you should be ashamed!
No worries though Queen of Hearts is the awesome and meant exclusively for the skin on your face. If you’re familiar with rose water and glycerin toner, Queen of Hearts is the equivalent in a soap bar form. It’s a gentle cleanser made with a base of rose petals and cocoa butter to keep skin nice and moisturized. Almond and balancing geranium oils make your skin soft and do it all without drying your skin out.
So how do you use it?
As you would any soap. Wet it, later up, and rinse. The soap is gentle, non drying and removes makeup beautifully (not waterproof mascara mind you but everything else gets whisked away). Your skin is left feeling moist, dewy, and fresh after use. It’s possibly one of my favorite ways to get clean even better than cleansing oil in some cases. I don’t pay as much attention to Lush Queen of Hearts as I do my other skincare items which is a shame as it’s a great bargain since a 3.5oz bar will set you back $7 bucks and last you literally ages plus my dry skin sucks up the incredible formula.
I’d actually recommend it for most any skin type as it’s soothing and not overly moisturizing. It smells of clean fresh roses. There isn’t much not to like about Queen of Hearts.
I highly recommend trying this out while it’s still available (it’s a Retro item so who knows if it’ll disappear sometime soon!). As I mentioned the price is amazing plus it gets skin clean while being gentle enough for oily skin types and offering moisture to those with dry.
Truly the perfect bar of soap…yes I said bar of soap…for your skin!
Comes with my highest recommendation for purchase! Undoubtedly Muse Approved.
Anyone try?
Love?
Tell me about your experience with Lush Queen or Hearts of Lush skincare in general!
Please tell me I’m not the only one addicted to the famous Soap & Glory scent? I just love taking big sniffs of this stuff, it’s like crack I tell you! I stock up on the shower gel like no one’s biz because it smells so incredible (I sometimes wash my hair with it too shhhh!).
My second go to item is the Soap & Glory Wash Your Hands Of It Hand Wash. Hey, the next best thing is having Soap & Glory scented hands loves it!
Does anyone even have a name for what this smells like? It’s kinda a bit muscular isn’t it? I can’t even describe it, just get to Target (or Boots) and sniff it!
Soap & Glory Wash Your Hands Of It is made with shea butter for a soothing hand wash hey it even has built in skin conditioners! It’s made with dry hands in mind as it’s meant to sooth, moisturize, and not dry out hands.
Likey!
But it’s the smell that gets this Muse every time…oh that incredible smell…I wish I could describe it but words fail me, it’s hard to make this Muse speechless.
It could be considered on the expensive side as it is $9.99 USD for an 8.4oz size and I tell ya the way this Muse washes her hands that could last two days at most. But I think it’s a worth it indulgence. By the way the cute retro packaging doesn’t hurt either!
Loves it!
Go have a sniff at Target and come back and tell me if you don’t fall for it quick! Total Muse Approval for purchase.
Well slap me happy the Boots Original Beauty Formula is at Target! Back to basics is where it’s at with Boots Original Beauty Formula. The Muse heard about Boots Original Beauty Formula about a month ago when she popped across it on the Boots UK site but little did she know she’d find it at her local Target so quickly.
Well, whoa. Awesome Target! Well done.
I honestly didn’t expect to see this arrive at Target so quickly and it was shocking to see the display sitting there all happy like and awaiting me to haul from it. The Muse hearts you Target.
Jump ahead for the raves.
Back to basics is where it’s at with the Boots Original Beauty Formula. Think your grandmother’s skincare regime and you’ll pretty much get the idea. Heavy glass jars, rose scented products, and just a very basic concept. Loves it. The Muse happens to love the C.O. Bigelow Rose line so she of course is totally digging all over everything in the Boots Original Beauty Formula as many of the skincare items are rose scented.
I only indulged in the facial line but there is an entire body line available as well. Sadly, my Target was sold out of alot of the items available but I still managed to haul three prime pieces.
It deserves to be mentioned that these items are no way going to take over my normal skincare regime but regardless they are decently priced and fun for those days I’m just hurrying to do a quick clean up at the end of the night.
I hauled the following items:
Boots Original Beauty Formula Cold Cream ($9.99 USD)
Boots Original Beauty Formula Overnight Skin Cream ($12.99 USD)
Boots Original Beauty Formula Skin Tonic Damask Rose ($9.99 USD)
Before I get into my review I will mention that with the conversion rate as it is right now, the prices of the products are around the same as what you’d get in the UK minus $1-$4 at most. I picture little old English ladies running to their newest Boots to stock up on all these items.
As I mentioned this is very basic skincare, simplicity at it’s best in my humble opinion. The Boots Original Beauty Formula Cold Cream has a light rose scent that’s very pretty but could prove too much for those sensitive to smell. It comes housed in a heavy vintage glass style jar and is an extra thick, cold cream meant for removing makeup. Now it’s not going to get off waterproof mascara but it does a fine job of removing everything else and washing cleanly away while making your face feeling very moist and dewy. To use simply rub onto dry skin and remove with a wet wash cloth, rinse and done, simple!
Boots Original Formula Overnight Skin Cream is a bergamot scented night cream, sigh I sure did wish for rose but that’s ok it smells lovely none the less. It’s quick absorbing and leaves skin feeling very moisturized however it could possibly be a bit too much for oily or even normal skin types. It’s not thick mind you and has a gel-like feel but it’s just a tad heavy. almost but not quite greasy. I find it does an good job as an overnight cream and leaves my dry skin nice and moist but it does make my forehead a tiny shiny. Not bad though and I’m sure I’ll be thankful for it in the Winter. Again, it also comes housed in a heavy vintage style jar. I’m quite partial to the packaging of all of the line as it’s so retro and vanity worthy.
Lastly I hauled the Boots Original Beauty Formula Skin Tonic which is also rose scented. This contains a combination of rose oil and hydrating glycerin. I’m no stranger to these ingredients as I use them quite often in the Winter to get my face prepped and primed for moisturizer! I was in high debate with myself over the price however since it’s a 5oz size for $9.99 and I can get an 8oz of Burts Bees Rosewater & Glycerin Toner for $9-$12. I’ve since forgiven it for the price since it comes in such a cute glass bottle. It feels a tad more moisturizing compared to what I normally use and honestly rose oil and glycerin in any form is a gift from the gods the Muse thinks. It works amazing at removing flaky skin and prepping your skin so whether you try this one or just any glycerin toner, know that your skin will thank you every so kindly for the extra moisture.
I’m unsure whether I deem the items expensive. It seems like very large jars that will last a while so I lean towards saying they are quite nicely priced. I’m quite pleased that Target imported them so quickly as I really thought we’d possibly never see them or it would be months before they reached our shores. If you’re looking for a nice, simple skincare regime I recommend checking these out. I’m quite happy with all three and the entire line seems quite wonderful. Boots never really fails to make me smile. Well done Boots and Target the Muse Approves.
According to every single review I’ve read, I’m supposed to love MAC Fix+Rose…but I kinda don’t and I’m feeling all guilty and bad about it. I really wanted to love this….why can’t I?
Jump ahead for the whining!
Ok, so it deserves to be mentioned the Muse never tried MAC Fix+ prior to this however when she heard rose her ears perked up. She really loves anything rose in her skincare, how very Victorian! So she was all impressed that MAC Fix+ was adding a little rose into the mix of things to create their new limited edition Fix Spray.
As per the bottle’s instructions I should be using this in one of two ways. As a toner…spray a bit on my face, moisturize, and rumble down with my makeup application or as a spray fix to keep my makeup in place. The Muse isn’t a stranger to good toner and I actually probably couldn’t live without toner. My skin is dry so toner definitely aids my moisturizer to sink in and absorb fully. The idea of using this after my makeup did scare me. Imagine having a full face of makeup on, concealer, powder, the works and spraying yourself with a toner, does that sound scary or is it me? But I was determined to make this work because the idea of this “fixing” my makeup in place all day was too appealing to pass up and I was thinking hey if it doesn’t fix it at least I’ll have a killer toner.
Yea well not so much came out of it as a toner or as a fix.
First of all I don’t like it at all as a fixing agent. After applying a full on makeup and spraying my face down with this, I end up with a bit of a strange, washed out look. It’s as if I was caught in the rain and some of my makeup wore off. I’m just not feeling makeup perfect after use if that makes sense. In it’s defense I will say I’ve only used it once as a makeup fix (and a few times after as a toner). I plan on testing further but I’ve just been a tad bit wary to do it. I loved the smell, obviously roses however it caused a strange tightening on my face which I didn’t love. I assume the slight tightening was the effect of the “fix”. As an example it always feels like I’m wearing a very light peeling mask. You know that feeling of the mask being in place and it tightens a tad bit? That’s how this feels. There was also a slight tingle, sting, burning sensation but that seemed to have disappeared since using it my 3rd or so time as simply a toner. As far as keeping my makeup in place all day…nope. Def not. If anything it washed half my makeup away with the first spray!
As a toner again I didn’t like it but will say it did an interesting job of removing the flaky skin around my eye area and cheeks. My skin is going through that period where it gets used to the warm weather and is shaking off the cold Winter so I get a bit of flaking here and there which isn’t always cleared up with exfoliation. This seems to aid my moisturizer in keeping my skin flake-free I think. But again I don’t like the tight feeling it gives my skin. I also failed to mention that, oh my god, this burns terribly if you get it in your eye and come on obviously you will since you’re squirting it on your face, it’ll STING! OW!
So at the moment I’m somewhat in limbo if I like this stuff or if it’s just another useless item. I’m still testing happily away but from what I tried so far it fails to impress. Thankfully I didn’t buy a case of this as I was so enamored by the rose! I will say it’s unquestionably a good deal, as all MAC products are, since it’s such a large bottle with a tiny price tag. I just wish it would work now…..
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