Ailsa Jane

Antipodes Diem Vitamin C Pigment-Correcting Water Cream * (£35, 60ml) Sustainably packaged in premium glass and FSC cardboard. This Certified vegan Vitamin C face cream is suitable for all skin types. Antipodes Diem Vitamin C cream will revitalise dull skin with this daytime formulation that features Kakadu plum, nature's richest source of Vitamin C (100 times more vitamin C than oranges) for a bright, youthful-looking appearance.  With high-performance peptides, this Vitamin C moisturiser targets pigmentation and uneven skin tone, whilst natural retinol alternative bakuchiol unites with plant hyaluronic acid to deliver a plumped, fresh appearance. This Antipodes Vitamin C Cream has a lovely refreshing fragrance of vanilla pod and mandarin. It is a dream to apply and my skin was left hydrated and smooth. I have only been using this cream for a few weeks now so time will tell the difference it makes to my skin tone which is quite sun damaged. At the time of writing this product is s...

April's Love Lula Beauty Box will be the second last box that Love Lula are doing as a monthly subscription. Details of what's to come can be found HERE . The April Love Lula Beauty Box* contains 4 products worth a combined value of £50.  Let's take a look inside.   PHB Ethical Beauty Lavender Hero Gel (£18, 150ml) Soothe & repair your skin & hair with this multi-tasking gel. Light-weight and easily absorbed, this organic gel moisturiser can soothe troublesome skin flare-ups or add a boost to your beauty regime. Organic Aloe Vera provides instant soothing relief to irritated skin. Lavender oil is known for its regenerative & healing properties. Arnica extract works wonders for soothing & renewing skin following tissue distress whilst Neem helps combat dryness and discolouration. Can be used for: Soothing Skin Flare Ups  Improved Skin Hydration Eczema, Psoriasis or Irritation Acne & Acne Scarring After Sun & Sunburn Bruises, Insect Bites & Infl...

The March Love Lula Beauty Box* contains 6 products from brands including Balm Balm, Ayumi, Madara and Soul Tree, with the contents having a total value of £52 which is fantastic value for this box. Love Lula are making some changes to their monthly subscription which will be coming to an end in May. I will miss the surprise treat every month but don't panic! Love Lula will be making the boxes available to purchase on the store individually as opposed to being subscription-based. This provides the opportunity for future Beauty Boxes to be curated with a more defined theme or purpose, which sounds exciting to me and I can't wait to see what the coming months will bring. Anyway....back to the box in hand.... Balm Balm Super Light Coconut Cleanser (£15, 100ml) This gentle cleanser is made from blended coconut oils which have been mechanically extracted from virgin coconut butter making it a super light oil. It can be used on sensitive skin including the eye area making it perfect...

February's Love Lula Beauty Box contained 4 products worth a combined total value of £70!! It's not very often I love every item in the box, but it is true for February's box.  Read on to see which product was my favourite... Organic Works Renewal Night Cream (£21, 50ml) Packed with Vitamin E and Lavender essential oil to nourish, balance and restore skin while you sleep. This night cream has a thick texture and the scent of Lavender is lovely and relaxing and the perfect thing to apply to skin just before drifting off to sleep. Organic Works is a Scottish brand which I've used many times before, however I have only recently become aware of where exactly in Scotland the brand originates from. It just so happens the products are made in the very same small town I was born and brought up in.... Wick! How I am just finding this out I have no idea!  Ooh! Oils of Heaven Milk Thistle Face Oil (£19, 30ml) Extracted from the ripe seeds of the Milk Thistle plant, this oil is n...

The By Sarah London Balancer Oil-to-milk Cleanser (£32, 100ml), as the name would suggest, starts as an oil cleanser that transforms into milk when water is added. Key Ingredients of Raspberry Seed Oil and Grape Seed Oil hydrates, softens and protects while gently but effectively removing daily impurities, excess oil and every trace of makeup including waterproof mascara. This cleanser is suitable for dry, combination and sensitive skin. For best results use twice daily alongside the Organic Muslin Facial Cloth (£3.95). This reusable and biodegradable cloth gives exfoliating and buffing qualities. To keep the cloth in the best condtion rinse in warm-hot water after each use and machine wash at least once a week at 30 degrees. I found the By Sarah London Oil to Milk cleanser a delight to use. Only a small amount of oil is needed at a time and no greasy residue is left behind after rinsing. The Organic Cloth is soft and does help to make sure all dirt and makeup is removed, so I would ...

The first Love Lula Beauty Box* of the year has arrived! It features many of the same brands as last months box, and is worth a total of £60! wow! The first product that stood out for me was the PHB Pink Clay Cleanser (£20, 100ml)  This clay cleanser gently removes all traces of makeup, toxins and impurities to refresh and replenish skin. French Pink Clay rejuvenates & detoxifies skin for a brighter and more radiant complexion. It also doubles up as a mask should you wish to leave it on skin for longer. This product alone covers the cost of the box, so already great value! From Balm Balm is a  Rose Floral Water Hydrosol  (£8.50, 30ml). A beautiful rose scented spray which is great to use as a toner or a freshing mist sprayed throughout the day. I have used this product in the past and its always a good one to have in my skincare routine. Madara is featured frequently in the boxes which is great as I've never come across a product I've not liked from this brand. The S...

I fell in love with the Ere Perez Cacao Lip Colour I received in the September Love Lula Beauty Box and wanted to try more makeup from Ere Perez so I have picked up the Quinoa Water Foundation and a Wild Pansy Tinted Lipbar. Quinoa Water Foundation * (£29.50, 30ml) This lightweight water-based vegan foundation is enriched with quinoa to help heal inflammation and increase elasticity in skin. Blackcurrant is added for vitamin and antioxidant properties which help rejuvenate the skin while also helping to reduce redness, pigmentation and fine lines. I went with the shade 'Haze' which is suitable for porcelain to light skin tones. Although the foundation is very runny (hence water foundation) it applies well with either fingers or a brush to give light to medium coverage. It blends well over uneven skin tones to leave a smooth matt finish. This Quinoa Water Foundation is perfect for everyday wear when you don't want a full heavy face of make-up. I loved the packaging of this ...

The last beauty box of the year is here from Love Lula, and is packed full with some fab products.  Worth a total of £51 The box contains 3 full sized products and 2 deluxe travel sizes.  First up from PHB is the 2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash  (£12, 300ml) Handmade with natural foamers to refresh & mositurise the skin. Oatmilk & Argan Oil complex boosts hair strength, adds softness & vitality whilst soothing the scalp. This is a scent free wash so great for sensitive skin types or anyone prone to reaction from fragrance. I'm happy to see something from this brand in the box as it's not one we see very often. One thing I'm not keen on is the packaging as the opening at the top of the bottle is very large so a lot of product comes out at once. This is something to keep an eye out for if buying this product. Another brand I'm pleased to see is The Castilian Soap Company . I love the citrus scent of this Lemongrass Natural Castile Soap  (£8, 250ml) This mu...

 The November Love Lula Beauty Box* contains 2 full sized products, 2 deluxe travel sizes and 2 sachets, worth a combined total of £55. Also included in the box as a generous 20% off discount code to use against any of the brands featured in the box. Monthly subscriptions for Love Lula Beauty box is £14.95 or £19.95 for a one off box. Full details of subscriptions can be found here . First up the product that dominates the box is a full sized Organic Works Cleansing Face Was h (£15, 300ml) which cleanses away impurities and daily grime with essential oils and plant extracts, restoring skin’s natural balance with rose geranium flower oil & aloe vera. I am not normally a fan of rose but this face wash smells beautiful, and it is suitable for sensitive skin which I sometimes suffer with, so I will give it a try. Next up from D'Alchem y is a 5ml sample of their Intense Skin Repair Oil . (£18.40, 5ml)  Again this is a rose based product but I actually really like it (Mayb...

REN Perfect Canvas Clean Primer * is a lightweight silicone free primer which has a water-like consistency rather than a gel or serum which is what I was expecting. Clean Primer is enriched with probiotics to encourage cell renewal and plump skin, Alpha-Glucans to balance your microbiome (which in turn helps reduce breakouts) and Agave Extract to reduce shine leaving behind the perfect mattified base for makeup. Dermatologists have proven that clinically, after only 15 minutes of application, 77% of women had smoother skin and 100% of the women showed smoother skin after 28 days application, while 67% of people showed a reduction in wrinkles. If that's not a top quality primer then I don't know what is! As far as longevity for makeup, I have found REN Perfect Canvas to be very effective. My makeup definitely stayed put for longer than when I applied without this primer. I found the primer to be slightly tacky on the skin when first applied but this soon disappears to leave be...

A weekly exfoliating peel with invigorating Birch, the Weleda Pearl Body Scrub * stimulates circulation and supports skin renewal, giving skin a fresher more even appearance. Made with tiny granules of natural wax pearls, meaning no nasty mirco plastics which harm the environment! The granules are gentle on the skin  yet effective at exfoliating, leaving behind skin that is soft and smooth.  This body scrub has a lovely fresh uplifting scent...  zingy with grapefruit, citrus and cypress, which is perfect for a morning shower to wake you up. Priced at £10.50 for 150ml it is an affordable body scrub and one that will be making a regular appearance in my weekly routine. *gifted to me to review as part of Love Lula Accredited Blogger Program

October's Love Lula Beauty Box* is worth a whopping £55! Containing 2 full sized products, 2 deluxe travel sizes plus a sachet. Also included in the box as a generous 20% off discount code to use against any of the brands featured in the box. Monthly subscriptions for Love Lula Beauty box is £14.95 or £19.95 for a one off box. Full details of subscriptions can be found here . Let's take a look at the contents.... First up and new from Ooh Oils of Heaven is their Baobab Oil  (£19, 30ml) which is rich in Omega 3, 6 and 9 making it ideal for maintaining healthy skin. Can be used alone or on top of your usual moisturiser. Ooh Oils are always a welcome sight to the boxes, they are lovely to use and absorb nicely onto skin. Greenfrog Botanic Shampoo Bar with Argan & Rose is a generous 23g sample (£4.95, 50g). This shampoo bar will nourish, hydrate and deeply cleanse your hair.  My hair felt soft and looked healthy after using this bar. There is currently three different scents...

CocoaBamboo Exfoliating Treatment ClayMask for Face and Body * (£53, 200ml) As the name would suggest, this mask is a multi-tasking treatment for use on the face and body. The combined benefits of Shea Butter, Vitamin E, Cocoa fruit powder and Bamboo powder will leave skin feeling soft, supple and looking radiant. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of the Cacao fruit powder help protect and repair the skin from damage and premature aging and soothe redness and blemishes, improving the skin's complexion. While mineral rich Moroccan lava (ghassoul) clay helps in the treatment of dehydrated, sensitive skin and enlarged pores, as well as helping to build and strengthen elasticity of the skin. To Use : Use the spatula provided to take some product from the jar. Massage onto dry face or body to boost circulation and let the gentle bamboo exfoliants get rid of dead skin cells. Allow to dry and let the masking phase work its magic. Rinse off after 15-20 minutes, leaving your...

It is hard to believe we are almost at the end of September already... this year is really flying in! September's Love Lula Beauty Box* contains 4 products, 3 of which are full size, and has a combined value of £58! Fantastic value seeing as the box only costs £14.95 to buy if you have a monthly subscription or £19.95 for a one off box. Full details of subscriptions can be found here . Also included in every box every month is a generous 20% off discount code for the brands featured in that months box. Let's take a look to see what we have this month. Glossworks Cuticle Balm (£12) This uniquely formulated balm is the essential pampering solution for the cuticle. It uses only the purest natural ingredients, including Borage seed oil, Calendula flower oil, Jojoba oil, and shea nut butter enriched with vitamin E. This balm has an incredible lemon scent which I just want to eat... But I won't! Cuticles are left soft, nourished and protected. Ere Perez Cacao Lip Colour in ...

Infuse My Colour shampoos infuse your hair with colour pigment as you shampoo. 100% PETA Certified Cruely-Free and Vegan, free from parabens, silicones and sulfates. I have used Infuse My Colour Ruby Shampoo in the past and although I didn't see much results before, (having very dark hair at the time) I wanted to revisit the brand now that my hair is red. My.Haircare has also recently added a coloured conditioner to the range so I wanted to try that in conjunction with the shampoo. Infuse My Colour Ruby Shampoo * (£16.95, 250ml) maintains brightness and adds vibrancy to red, red-brown and burgundy coloured hair. Ruby is great on dark brown coloured hair to enrich and add warmth, or can be used on bleached blonde to create striking pink tones. The Infuse my Colour Ruby Conditioner (£18.99, 250ml) delivers a super dose of pigment instantly whilst hydrating and reconstructing the hair fibres. Enriched with Hibiscus flower extract strengthening the hair and promoting a healthy scalp. ...

Weleda Skin Food Body Butter * (£19.75, 150ml) Weleda's Skin Food gives intensive moisture to dry or very dry skin. Harnessing the powers of Weleda’s original and well-loved Skin Food, the fragrant body butter imbues your skin with a unique combination of botanical extracts. Wild pansy, calendula and chamomile help soothe and comfort dry skin, while organic shea and cocoa butter leave it intensely nourished and petal-soft. Just look at the gorgeous texture... I love it! I found this body butter easy to apply and it absorbs quickly into skin. The butter is not at all greasy, and leaves skin soft and deeply hydrated. A subtle scent of orange and lavender is left behind. The Weleda Skin Food Body Butter is the perfect treat to nourish and provide long lasting care and comfort for dry skin. *Gifted to me to review as part of Love Lula Accredited Blogger Program.

The August Love Lula Beauty Box* contains 4 products (3 of which are full sized) with an overall value of £71!!! Subscriptions start at just £12.70 a month for a 12 month subscription, £14.95 for a monthly sub or a one off box can be purchased for £19.95. There is also the option for a 3 month or 6 month subscription. Full details can be found here . Also included in every box is a generous 20% off discount code for the brands featured in that months box. Ooh! Oils of Heaven Natural Blackcurrant Face Oil (£19, 30ml) This oil aids recovery of skin prone to inflammation and uneven skin tone. It is hydrating and therapeutic, with a high antioxidant content making it an excellent healing oil. Suitable for day and night, this oil smells delicious. As with other ooh oils I've used in the past, this blackcurrant oil is not greasy on the skin and is the perfect base for makeup. Terre Verdi Balancing Mist (£9, 30ml) I have used this refreshing mist before ( see review here ). It can be mi...

I'm always on the lookout for ways to improve my health and get more vitamins into my daily routine, so I have done away with my usual daily bottle of Lucozade and replaced it with vitamin water. This month I have been trialing Ener-C Vitamin Sachets * in Cranberry, which are £15.99 for a pack of 30 sachets. Ener-C is is a delicious effervescent multivitamin drink flavoured with real fruit powders. This caffeine-free, vegan friendly drink is a low sugar replacement for sport drinks, energy drinks and other packaged beverages. Containing: 1,000 mg of vitamin C and 5mg of Zinc to boost immunity and protect against flu. Vitamin B Complex and Potassium to provide the body with a natural energy boost.. Electrolytes to hydrate and support normal body function. Vitamins A & E are antioxidants that guard us from pollution. Iodine to ensure the thyroid works properly to support immune response. To Use : Empty contents into a glass. Add 4-6 oz of water. As a dietary supplement take one ...

One of the changes I made for Plastic Free July was to swap out my usual cling film and plastic food bags for a more eco-friendly option.  WaxWrap Waxed Cotton Food Wraps * (£16) are an easy to use alternative to single use plastic. Made from 100% natural materials: organic cotton cloth coated in a mixture of beeswax, pine resin and jojoba oil, which all work together to keep your food fresh. WaxWraps are both self-adhesive and waterproof and can be used to cover containers or as a second skin for fruits, vegetables and more. The natural materials allow the food to breathe, keeping it fresher for longer. The wraps are super easy to use; allow the heat of your hands to mould and shape the wrap to fit around anything, size permitted. When utilised correctly each WaxWrap product will last for around a year, and when your WaxWrap product comes to the end of its life, simply put in your compost bin. The WaxWrap set I choose comes in a set of three (designs may vary). Each wrap is a...

Sugar waxing has been on my radar for a while, but I have never been brave enough to try it (I'm a razor kinda girl) but when I saw the new products from Sugar Coated land at Love Lula I put my fears aside and ordered the Sugar Coated Leg Hair Removal Kit * (£9.99, 200ml) Sugar Coated is a 100% natural vegan sugar wax. The exclusive formulation is made from pure sugar syrup and water. It does not contain any citric acid, resins or additives, which means the formula gives a smooth application and is gentle on the skin. Sugar Coated Legs Hair Removal Kit contains Rosehip essential oils which has amazing benefits so is ideal for your legs. Its incredible properties help keep your skin nourished and moisturised to achieve smooth, glowing legs. Sugar Coated wax is suitable for all skin and hair types. There is currently 5 different kits available to buy - Leg, Bikini, Underarm, Facial or Full Body. The kit comes with 200g of sugar wax, 15 reusable strips and 3 spatulas (2 big, 1 small)...