Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged Nivea
Christmas Swap Box with +10 Kapow
1
6 years
by Naomi in Swaps
I absolutely love putting together gift boxes for people, and of course I love surprises myself, so a little while ago I suggested to Chrissie of +10 Kapow that we do a Christmas Swap, and luckily she was up for the idea! We decided on a budget of £20, and agreed to fill a shoebox with little gifts that we thought the other would like. I had a lot of fun searching for items to give to Chrissie, and after a few weeks of browsing, buying and wrapping, the box was ready to send. Our deadline for posting was 5th December, and last week we each received our box of goodies!
As both of us are impatient we decided to open and blog about our gifts before Christmas, so without further ado, here’s what I received!
As you can see, my swap from Chrissie came beautifully packaged. The box itself is stunning, and puts the cardboard one I sent her to shame! I’ll definitely be using it to store things in, probably rings or nail varnishes.
There were eight wrapped gifts in the box, including a jewellery box which I was really excited about. I hurriedly unwrapped everything, and was delighted with all that Chrissie sent. I must say she chose well! Here’s what I got…
The first gift is this Baked Merged Trio Eyeshadow from MUA, in shade ‘Emotions’. All three shades have a slight shimmer to them, and are impressively pigmented. The neutral tones are perfect for a daytime look, and I can see myself using these shades a lot for a work make up look, although with some dramatic eyeliner they could easily be dressed up.
My lips get very dry at this time of year, so finding this Nivea Lip Butter in the box was much appreciated! The lip butter feels lovely and nourishing, and smells amazing too, like vanilla and macadamia. This has now become a winter essential for me and comes everywhere with me.
I spotted this Body Shop Glazed Apple Body Butter when browsing The Body Shop website a few weeks, and was really intrigued by it, so as you can imagine I was pleased to find this in the box too! I use body butters on a daily basis and have done for years, so this was very well chosen, and is incredibly moisturising. The Glazed Apple scent is lovely too – fruity, but also sweet and creamy.
Yet another product that I’ve been wanting to try – MUA Luxe Velvet Lips! This shade is called ‘Serene’, and is a dark peach shade with a pink undertone. It’s very highly pigmented, has a creamy texture so applies beautifully, and is long-lasting. I like it, and aesthetically, I also like the frosted tube.
This awesome keyring is triple awesome – it’s Splinter from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which I’ve loved since I was a kid, he’s a rat, and it’s lego! I’m going to hang this from my bag because I’m cool like that. Isn’t he fab?!
Chrissie made this galaxy necklace herself, and it’s my favourite item that she sent me. It’s really well made, and purple, pink and turquoise happen to be my favourite colours. I’ve been wearing it a lot since I got it, sometimes alone, but also layered with a couple of my other favourite necklaces, which I think looks great on a plain top.
Batman! A Batman ring! I’m sure it’s clear by now that I’m a big Batman fan, and this ring is absolutely fab. I really like how subtle it is, whilst also being super cool.
This pretty galaxy scarf has the same colour palette as the necklace Chrissie made, and is so soft and snuggly and warm. I’ve been wearing this lately to add a splash of colour to some of my darker winter outfits, and it seems to attract compliments!
Purple shades and holo effects are two of my favourite things to decorate my nails with, so this nail polish from Freckles Polish is perfect for me. The shade is called ‘I’ll Need Wine’, and is a rich purple colour, a bit like red wine, with a beautiful holo shimmer. Unfortunately I didn’t get any photos of me wearing it, but it applies nicely and is stunning on – fabulous for the festive season. Chrissie recently sent me some stamping plates too, so I plan on creating some looks soon using them and this polish, which I’ll be posting about soon.
I’m really happy with everything Chrissie sent me (thanks Chrissie!), and I hope we can do another swap one day! To see what I sent Chrissie in return, you can check out her post here.
Have you taken part in any Christmas swaps this year? If so, what did you send/receive? I’d love to see your posts about it!
Naomi x
NIVEA In-Shower Body Moisturiser Skin Conditioner for Dry Skin
3For me, moisturising is one of the most important parts of my skin care regime, but sometimes (especially on work days) I just don’t have the time to moisturise properly. So, when I saw NIVEA had launched their In-Shower Body Moisturiser a couple of months ago, I couldn’t wait to give it a try as it seemed like it would slot nicely into my morning routine and save me a bit of time each day. The In-Shower Moisturiser comes in two varieties – one for normal skin which comes in a white bottle, and one for dry skin which comes in the classic NIVEA blue bottle, which is the one I opted for.
The instructions on the bottle are simple – Use your normal shower product and rinse off, apply the In-Shower Body Moisturiser while still in the shower, rinse off, dry yourself, get dressed and go. What could possibly go wrong? As it happens, quite a lot.
NIVEA’s In-Shower Body Moisturiser has a creamy, smooth consistency, massages in nicely and has that typical, fresh NIVEA scent, but that’s where the positives end. After applying the skin conditioner I rinsed and rinsed, but the moisturiser left a thick, greasy coating on my skin that just wouldn’t budge. Even after drying myself the residue remained and it felt sticky. I even tried scraping it with my finger nail and a gloopy, white mess gathered behind it, eurgh! After leaving such a thick layer on my skin I at least expected the In-Shower Moisturiser to make my dry skin feel softer… Nope! I could still feel the dry patches through the grease, which is not a nice feeling.
Overall, I’m disappointed with NIVEA’s In-Shower Body Moisturiser. I bought my bottle half-price from Superdrug a couple of months ago, but full-price this 400ml bottle costs £5.09, which would be better spent on a good quality, normal moisturiser. I still use it every now and then if I’m in a real hurry, but I’ve learnt my lesson and I’d much rather take those extra few minutes to moisturise properly, even if it nearly makes me late for the bus!
Have you tried this product? What do you think of it?
Naomi x
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
Nivea Express Hydration Primer (Dry & Sensitive Skin)
17One of the latest additions to Nivea’s huge range of skin care products is their Express Hydration Primer; a moisturiser which also acts as a make up primer, and which comes tailored for two different skin types – Normal & Combination skin and Dry & Sensitive skin.
The skin on my face is fairly dry and easily irritated, especially in winter, but it can also get quite oily in places if I use heavy moisturisers, so as you can imagine it can be quite difficult for me to find primers and moisturisers which strike the right balance for my skin. When I first heard about Nivea’s new Express Hydration Primer I was very excited and highly hopeful, especially as there was one suitable for Dry & Sensitive skin, so I nipped off down to Superdrug to pick some up. Unfortunately, my local Superdrug store was only stocking the Normal & Combination Primer at the time, so I had to order it from their website and it arrived earlier this week.
The primer is packaged in a fairly large box, which is somewhat deceptive as the pot itself is a lot smaller, and contains 50ml of product. However, at £3.99 I’d say you get a reasonable amount of product for your money, and the pot is made of glass and very sturdy so a lot of care has been put into nice presentation.
The primer itself is light and smooth, almost like a gel, but also very creamy and white. It has a lovely fresh scent to it too which isn’t overwhelming, but leaves your skin delicately scented.
For the last few days I have been using the Express Hydration Primer in place of my usual moisturiser and I have noticed a big difference already. It glides onto the skin effortlessly and you need to use very little at a time so, despite its small size, the 50ml pot should last a fair while. Unlike my usual moisturiser, Nivea’s Primer absorbs almost instantly leaving no greasy residue behind, however, it does create a smooth base for easy make up application, and because it dries so quickly make up can be applied straight away, which is brilliant when you’re in a rush!
So, ‘Does it work?’ I hear you cry! Well, yes, yes it does. As mentioned before, 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. The primer is extremely moisturising and hydrating so my skin stays soft all day without any dryness, but it isn’t oily so my face doesn’t get shiny like it used to with my old moisturiser. This means that there’s no need for blotting paper! In fact, my make up stayed looking fresh until 6pm last night, almost 10 hours after I first applied my make up, with NO touch ups throughout the day!
Thankfully, the Dry & Sensitive formula is perfect for my skin type. So far it hasn’t caused any irritation, and it seems to be working wonders on the dry areas of my face, which is highly impressive for a primer as, in my experience, primers tend to be quite drying. I have also noticed that my complexion has been somewhat clearer and brighter since I started using this primer. Due to the oiliness of the moisturiser I was using before I had been getting a few breakouts, but they seem to be calming down now.
I really can’t recommend Nivea’s Express Hydration Primer highly enough, especially if you suffer from dry, sensitive skin like I do! I think I have found my miracle product and I will be stocking up whenever I get the chance. I hope you believe me when I say that it truly works, but if you don’t I urge you to try it and experience for yourself this amazing moisturising primer!
Naomi x
