Review - The Body Shop Vitamin C Micro Refiner

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to share my views on another of the Body Shop products we recieved last Thursday - Vitamin C Micro Refiner.

The Body Shop say this scrub contains

• Antioxidant vitamin C - Naturally powerful antioxidant that helps neutralise free radicals, which are destructive molecules that attack cells and harm the skin. It also encourages the production of collagen, which gives skin its smooth, firm and healthy-looking appearance.
  


• Ultra fine silica crystals - Ultra fine silica crystals, which effectively remove dead skin cells so skin is revitalised, refined and more radiant.
  


• Moisturising Community Trade shea butter from Ghana - Has a high level of antioxidant vitamins a, e and f, which help protect and nourish the skin. Moisturises and helps soften the skin.

The scrub retails for £12.20 for 75 ml - compare this with Cliniques facial scrubs which retail for around £15 for 100 mls and MAC's micrifine refinisher which retails for £15.17 for 100mls (actually slightly cheaper ml for ml than the body shops version!). Estee Lauder's scrubs on the other hand retail for £24.47 for 75 mls of product. So the product retails in the same range as most mid priced scrubs.

The product is used by applying to wet skin in light circular motions.The scrub has a very fine texture, which reminds me a litle of very fine sand in a creamy base, which sounds slightly unpleasant, but this feels like it manages to slough off dead cells and fortify the revealed skin with moisture at the same time.

I have previously mentioned that I have dry/slightly combination skin and I would use this scrub probably on a weekly basis for my skin type. This is good news for me as it means that my tube will last me a while, Again, a little of this seems to go a long way - I find a blob about the size of a 20p coin is enough for my face. I'd expect this tube to last me around three months if used weekly.

The first time I used this I was unsure of how my skin would take to it, as I wondered if the fine scrub particles might actually irritate it, however I am happy to report that on rinsing off, and over the following days after using the scrub, there was no redness or irritation in my skin. My skin felt smoother and was more receptive to moisturizer. I noticed those pesky flaky dry patches I occasionally get on my cheeks were sloughed off and my skin looked more even in texture.

The product also releases a zesty citrusy refreshing scent while being massaged onto the skin, which I personally like.

I have tried MAC's scrub in the past, and would say that this is comparable, with the added bonus of the zesty fragrance. I have also tried Clinique's scrub, which contains menthol to open the pores, however the granules are not as fine as those in the Body Shop version.

I actually really like this product and I have found it makes my skin feel a lot more smooth, and by removing dead surface cells improves the radience of my skin (Having dryish skin makes it more prone to looking dull). I would recommend it, but would advise caution for people with very sensitive skin - again I'd advise you to get a sample first of all to see if this suits, but personally I will probably be buying this product again.

Hope this helps, and I'd love to hear what the rest of you think about the product!

Love MizzWorthy xxx

Body Shop Vitamin E Facial Oil - A Review

Hi everyone,

Hope you are all well!

So I decided it was high time I started to review some of the products the Body Shop kindly gave us last Thursday, and I wanted to start with a product I've been very surprised by and am LOVING - their Vitamin E Facial Oil.

I have dry skin which is mildly combination, ie I get very slightly oily in the centre of my forehead and down my nose. Due to this my skin is prone to looking dull and feeling tight, especially on the cheeks... I wasn't sure of what to expect from this product - although I've recently been converted to how great oils work for cleansing I was sceptical of using them on my face, and fully expected this to make my skin feel a bit oily. I was very pleasantly surprised.

In the UK this retails for £14.65 for 15mls. This sounds like a lot but for my skin I use around two to four drops per go of the oil, so a little goes a long way. The Body Shop state that the product is for dry skin, so I'm not sure how well this would suit people with oilier skins...

What Does it Do?

The Body Shop say: An aromatic, pre-moisturiser treat for the skin to boost moisturisation, nourish the skin when used as part of a daily regime. Absorbs quickly into the skin to leave it feeling soothed, silky-smooth and perfectly prepared for your daily moisturiser. Ideal for dry skin. Non comedogenic.

What's in it?

Wheat germ, rice bran and soya oils - are naturally high in Vitamin E.

Grapeseed and jojoba oils - to nourish.

A blend of essential oils including rose - to soothe the skin and the senses.

The Capenema Farmers supply our Community Trade Soya oil. Thay are based in Brazil and we have been trading with them since 2000. The soyabean farmers in Capanema believe in preserving nature and their traditional way of life. Long before the idea of organic certification came into being, they were cultivating their crops and rearing their animals firm in the belief that they wanted to maintain the purity of the land. Soya oil is well known in the cosmetic industry for its moisturising properties and is a great base for hair and body products

Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil, Corylus Avellana Nut Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Glycine Soja Oil, Oryza Sativa Bran Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Boswellia Carterii Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Linalool, Citronellol, Limonene, Geraniol, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Vetiveria Zizanoides Oil, Anthemis Nobilis Oil, Daucus Carota Sativa Seed Oil, Chamomilla Recutita Extract, Citral.

How do I use it?

Use Vitamin E Facial Oil as part of your everyday cleansing, toning and moisturising regime.
Apply to the face and neck before moisturiser. Use as part of your daily regime for a moisturisation boost.
(Source - http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/)

My Thoughts? I've been using this for a few days now, and I am really impressed with it.

I love the packaging and think it works very well - the oil comes in a small glass bottle with a dropper top, so its easy to dispense the product drop by drop as you need without creating a mess. It's quite small as well, so easy for travel - I know a couple of the other people who attended had a problem with the bottle breaking though!

I use this product after cleansing and toning and before moisturising. I find it sinks in quickly and easily into my skin and does not leave it feeling greasy at all. My skin stays comfortable feeling all day - none of that uncomfortable dry and tight feeling I sometimes get. This product also seems to make the skin a little more receptive to my moisturizer, so that I get better results all round.

I have noticed an improvement in the appearance of my skin - blemishes appear to heal a bit faster (Vitamin E - Is naturally powerful and one of the best antioxidants that help protect the skin against damaging environmental elements, such as the sun, pollution and cigarette smoke) and my skin also looks more naturally radiant and well hydrated. I usually wear foundation everyday, but if this little beauty continues to work as well as it is, then I'll easily be able to skip that.

I also like the feeling of giving my skin a massage twice a day - I have been using this morning and night (I use a couple of drops extra at night to give my skin an extra boost), and the mere action of massaging the product in (which doesn't take long) probably boosts the circulation to and therefore radiance of the skin

One of the things I also like about this product is that is can be used for a number of other things too - the Makeup Artist Chase Aston demonstrated using this on the cheekbones under liquid foundation to give the skin a dewy look, and you could also mix a drop or two in with your body lotion in order to give the skin on your body a boost too.

I will definately be buying this product again and would recommend it to people with dry to very dry skin in need of a boost and skin which looks dull and needs a kick of radiance...

I'd be really interested to know if any of you have tried this product and your thoughts on it?

Hope you enjoyed!

MizzWorthy xxx

PS - I also keep forgetting to mention that the body shop has a great policy regarding samples - ie you can ask for samples of most of the products that they sell (apart from the perfumes and some of the makeup, due to how they are packaged etc) to try before you buy, so if you are unsure about how well things will suit your skin, I would highly recommend getting a sample first and seeing how you like it before you shell out your hard earned cash on it...!

Body Shop Bloggers Event

Hi everyone!

Hope you are all well... so by now I'm sure you will have seen the pics of all the free booty we got from the Body Shop at the blogger event that they held for us yesterday, so I'm not going to rub salt into the wounds over that lol - suffice to say we were all overwhelmed by the amount of products we were given to try out...

One of the best things about the day, was getting the chance to meet up with some of the other bloggers in person (amongst others I met Oxford Jasmine, Becky/Sirvinya, Natalia of FilthyGorgeousMakeup, Becky from Panda Does Makeup, and Bubblegarm who are all as lovely in real life as you would expect!) - we all found it a bit strange at first... It was odd seeing each other in 3-D at first, but we all got over the wierdness quickly and ended up having a great time chatting and swapping stories about blogging and youtubing... Here we all are outside the MAC pro store (We couldn't resist a trip there - I'm kicking myself for forgetting to pick up mixing medium though!). The lovely oxford jasmine (http://www.oxfordjasmine.blogspot.com/) kindly sent me this photo and you can check out her page as well to see her thoughts on the day!

We all had a starstruck moment at MAC pro, as we saw Nicola from Pixiwoo of youtube in there, it was very funny! Thanks so much to all the other bloggers who attended - in particular oxfordjasmine who helped me find my way around the big smoke - I think without her I'd still be wondering around covent garden somewhere like a lost soul! All the girls were so lovely.

The people who organised the event were all really friendly and approachable, and mentioned it was possible that further events would be held in the future, so if you didn't get to go this time, there is still hope lol!

We all had the opportunity to have a makeover done by the makeup artist Chase Aston, who works closely with the body shop on the day. These were all filmed and we'll all be recieving our own copies of this, which I'm hoping I'll be able to upload for you to see.

Here is a couple of pics of me after Chase worked his magic!

I asked him to show me how to make blue eyeshadow wearable for me - as someone with blue eyes I never really knew how to wear the colour, and thoughts of Pat Butcher have always made me slightly afraid of the colour!

He also did a demonstration on a model before we all had our makeup done, and his tips for summer trends included making the smoky eye wearable for the summer by blending softly with fingers rather than doing a precise application with brushes. He also mentioned using a couple of drops of facial oil (he used the Body Shops vitamin E oil) underneath foundation to produce a dewy look for the summer, and keeping the lower lashline clear to keep the look modern. I'll be reviewing the facial oil amongst other things as soon as I have had a chance to have a play!

The organisers of the event gave us lots of information on the ethics behind the company and their Fair Trade and anti animal cruelty policies. They also introduced us to a new campaign that they are running in conjunction with MTV called "Yes Yes Yes", which is about promoting safe sex and awareness of HIV and AIDS in young people. This is such an important cause - most people in the 16-24 age group are more worried about the risk of pregnancy or chlamydia/gonorrhoea at the moment, but STI's like syphylis and HIV are on the increase in general and this age group is at risk. The body shop are now producing a limited edition lip butter which retails for £5 in the UK. All the profits from this lip butter go towards raising HIV and AIDS awareness in this age group, and in the UK that amounts to £3.98 from each lip balm. This is such an important cause! The lip butter is actually really nice too, and contains extracts of dragonfruit, which looks like this!

You can find out more information about this campaign and the scary statistics about the current levels of HIV/AIDS in the younger age group by clicking on www.yestosafesex.com

Stay tuned for reviews of some of the products we recieved... My reviews will be honest and unbiased as always! I would never recommend any product either on my blog or on you tube that I didn't feel was a decent one!

Love MizzWorthy

xxxx

PS - I'm away over the weekend so I'm unable to blog until Sunday, but please keep those contest entries coming in for the Illamasqua comp!