Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Massage
My Top 10 Beauty Products of 2012
6In February 2012, when Bewitchery was born, I decided to broaden my beauty horizons and try as many new products as possible throughout the year, without breaking the bank. In my mission to discover new favourites I came across many products which were less than impressive, but luckily I also found a great deal of fantastic ones, a fair few of which I have used time and time again, and will continue to do so. In this post I will give you a round-up of just a few of the best products I tried for the first time in 2012, linking to my review of each with a little extract of my post, just to give you an idea of why I love it!
1. e.l.f. Studio Cream Eyeliner
“In terms of lasting power, this liner definitely has it. I have been wearing it now since this morning and it still looks as bright as it did when it first went on, and the line is just as clean. I’ve been rubbing my eyes a bit today too and it hasn’t smudged a bit – amazing!”
2. Models Own ‘Disco Mix’
“The absolute best thing about this nail polish is the colour. My favourite colours are purple, turquoise and pink, and ‘Disco Mix’ combines turquoise and pink glitter to create a polish which looks purple at a distance. The glitter colours are SO bright and bold.”
3. MUA Professional Matte Foundation
“One of the things that drew me to this foundation was the fact that it is matte and claims to offer a long-lasting velvet finish. I suffer from an oily T-zone (especially during the summer months) and I don’t like the shine that the oil creates, so I am always looking for ways to minimise the shine. MUA’s Matte Foundation, as you would hope, does give a matte complexion, and it keeps most of the shine at bay.”
4. Hawaiian Tropic After Sun Body Butter
“The body butter itself is fantastically light and creamy and feels so luxurious on the skin. It is absorbed very quickly too, leaving no messy residue. The product contains coconut oil, shea butter and avocado oil to aid with moisturisation, but despite the oil content it isn’t at all greasy. The oils make the butter ‘Intensively hydrating’, and combine to give ’12 hour moisturisation’, and believe me, the softness really does last that long.”
5. TanOrganic Sunless Tan
“Though the tan didn’t give my legs an intense colour, it did make them look nicely, naturally tanned and lightly brown, and I am very pleased with the results. There are no orange blotches or dirty looking streaks in sight, and my skin tone looks very even and smooth. The difference is only minor, but it is noticeable, and that is what I wanted so it has done its job well in my opinion.”
6. Montagne Jeunesse Moisturising Lip Balm
“Not one of Montagne Jeunesse’s lip balms contain petroleum jelly, so they aren’t greasy at all. Rather, they are made from 100% natural beeswax and olive oil and are lightly creamy but intensely moisturising. The beeswax forms a protective layer on the lips making them long-lasting, and the olive oil gives them a subtle shine.”
7. Models Own ‘Northern Lights’
“Northern Lights consists of a very fine dusky pink glitter, and is studded with delicate flakes of holographic glitter which shine purple, blue, orange, yellow and green in most lights. Even in the bottle, the varnish is breathtaking, and I have never seen anything quite like it before.”
8. Nivea Express Hydration Primer
“The primer leaves a smooth, non-greasy base on the skin, and since I’ve been using this I have found that my foundation smooths onto my skin far more easily and evenly than usual, without going patchy on any dry bits. The primer keeps my powder and blusher in place too, so on the whole my make up lasts a lot longer, which I think is down to the lack of greasiness.”
9. Bubbles & Butters Crazy for Chocolate Shower Bubbles
“The gel is very creamy and lathers into masses of moisturising bubbles quicker than any other shower gel I have ever used! Because of its impressive lathering abilities, a little goes a long way with these bubbles, so a £2 coin size is enough for your whole body.”
10. Omni Massage Roller & Sports Oil
“The first time I used the roller I asked my mum to help me reach the tense areas on my back, and even though she used it over my clothing I was amazed that the roller was sensitive enough to pick out all the knots in my muscles. We could both feel them ‘crunching’, which sounds horrible but it meant she knew which areas to focus on. The shape and movement of the ball means that any focused pressure is distributed outwards slightly, so the knots can be worked out without any pain or discomfort.”
…and one that I LOVE and am going to review again because I didn’t write much last time…
Sally Hansen Moisturising Polish Remover
“Unlike most nail varnish removers, this Sally Hansen offering smells lovely, almost like a body lotion, and doesn’t sting your eyes or nose with harsh vapours. It removes nail varnish quickly, with minimum effort, so you don’t need to sit for ages rubbing away to no avail!”
What were your favourite products of 2012?
Naomi x
Omni Massage Roller & Sports Oil Gift Set
3Every week I end up carrying a lot of heavy things, almost every day… My work bag full of folders, my university bag full of books, my laptop bag, bags full of Avon brochures and products, and sometimes shopping bags. As you can imagine, and I’m sure a lot of you can relate to this, I get quite a lot of pain in my back and shoulders, and my muscles tend to get really tight and knotted. I try my best to balance the weight by using a backpack and suchlike, but it doesn’t always help. Though I’d love a professional sports massage at the end of each week to sort out my back and shoulder problems, that isn’t viable as I just can’t afford it! So, I have been on a mission to find at-home massage products which are easy to use and actually work, and organic and natural beauty boutique, Lucy Rose, kindly offered to send me an Omni Massage Gift Set to try out.
The Omni Massage Gift Set that I received retails for £18.99 on the Lucy Rose website, and contains an original Omni Massage Roller, and a 100ml bottle of Omni Sports Massage Oil. These come packaged in a plastic zip case, which is very handy for safe, clean storage. However, the rollers come in five different colours (grey, green, blue, purple and red) and can be purchased separately for £11.99 each, as can the four blends of massage oil (Original, Sports, Uplifting and Muscle), which cost £9.99 each. This means you can mix and match colours and scents to suit you, but there are also two other Gift Sets available (featuring the Original and Muscle oils, and corresponding colour massage rollers).
I chose the Sports Gift Set for two reasons – 1. I wanted an intense massage which would really do my muscles good, which I figured the Sports massage oil would help with, and 2. I love purple, and the visual appeal of a curvy, purple massage ball was too difficult to ignore. So, here’s what I think of Omni’s massage set…
Omni Massage Rollers are safe to use at home on your own, or with the help of another person. The ball inside the roller rolls in all (“omni”) directions, which makes for an excellent massage as it enables the movement and pressure needed to relax and relieve painful tensions in the muscles. It is apparently also used by professionals in the NHS (as well as in private practice), so it is a trusted therapeutic device.
The first time I used the roller I asked my mum to help me reach the tense areas on my back, and even though she used it over my clothing I was amazed that the roller was sensitive enough to pick out all the knots in my muscles. We could both feel them ‘crunching’, which sounds horrible but it meant she knew which areas to focus on. The shape and movement of the ball means that any focused pressure is distributed outwards slightly, so the knots can be worked out without any pain or discomfort. In fact, it is so painless it almost tickles!
The roller can also be used to ease any tension or stress in smaller areas, such as the fingers, hands or elbows. My job as an Academic Support Worker involves taking a LOT of notes for students who aren’t able to take their own notes, so I tend to get some aching and cramping in my hands and arms. I have been using the roller to gently massage these areas, and it really does help to relax my hands after a long day of hard work. I have also noticed that, due to the shape of the roller and the rubber band around the edge, it is very easy to grip and control.
I haven’t yet tried any hot or cold therapies with the Omni Massage Roller, but according to Lucy Rose’s description of the product, it can be placed in the fridge or in hot water to alter the temperature of the ball, and it can also be used in water without getting damaged. Sounds incredibly relaxing to me!
Omni Sports Massage Oil is very strongly scented of Juniper Berry, Black Pepper and Rosemary, and it really does smell beautiful. When I first opened the bottle I couldn’t put it down and kept smelling the oil! It is well-known that Black Pepper is regularly used in sports massage as it helps to tone muscles, and you can tell this oil has been carefully blended to “aid relaxation” and “promote fast recovery after exercise”.
The oil itself has a pale yellow tinge to it, and it is quite runny. It can be massaged directly into the skin by hand, or you can add a few drops to the roller (there’s a hole in the bottle of the roller to pour it in), and it comes out in a controlled manner as the ball rolls.
When on the skin, the oil helps the Massage Roller move more smoothly over the surface of the skin, and it warms up slightly too which is deeply relaxing. I was slightly worried that the oil would be overly greasy and make a mess of my clothes/bed sheets, but it is actually easily absorbed and intensely moisturising, so it can slot in to your skin care routine nicely without any trouble!
I have been using the Omni Gift Set every other day for a week now, and I have already noticed a big improvement in my muscles. They definitely feel less tense, and whenever it is used on my back I can tell the knots are disappearing. I can now write for a lot longer without getting cramps too, which is a brilliant benefit for my job. Overall, Omni Massage Roller and Sports Massage Oil are the perfect combination for a relaxing, pain-free at-home massage which actually works. I am hugely impressed, and am so, so pleased that I have discovered a genuine alternative to expensive professional massages.
The Omni Massage Roller & Sports Oil Gift Set is available here from Lucy Rose, for just £18.99 – a lot less than what you’d pay for a professional massage, and you can re-use it too! It’d also make a great, affordable Christmas gift for people of all ages, I reckon. Lucy Rose offer free UK postage and free samples with every order, and you can even save loyalty points if you buy from their online boutique regularly, so you can enjoy those perks too if you buy from them!
Do you like the sound of the Omni Massage Roller and Oil?
Naomi x
*The Omni Massage Roller and Sports Oil Gift Set was sent to me by Lucy Rose for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed are honest and my own*.
