souksouk - Brits do skincare??

Firstly, sorry about the photo quality. I took the photos in my bedroom and they look like I'm trying to use a sepia filter and I wasn't, it was my terrible bedroom lighting.

This is the first time I've ordered from souksouk which sells organic/natural skin care products. I ordered a mix box for normal skin at £20 and I got quite a few products, the majority having a really fresh citrus/rose/herb scent to them.

Conscious skincare body lotion and body wash - made in Britain with a strong scent of grapefruit and cedarwood (because they contain grapefruit and cedarwood essential oils) these products both have a lovely rich texture and the body lotion soaks in quickly leaving your skin smooth and soft.

Sranrom 'Calm Down' hand cream - contains so many strong fragrances it's hard to identify them all ... so I cheated and read the label. A massive mixture including spearmint, lemongrass, licorice and kaffir lime so its full of fragrance and leaves your hands feeling lovely and soft.

Micosalud Mico-Serum - they recommend you use this twice a day but who has the time to do that? There wasn't much information on the small sachets I received but I found this 'The serum contains highly concentrated extracts of organic mushrooms, chosen for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties' plus extra info about the products here. I'm not sure how I feel about rubbing fungus into my face but if it gets rid of my 'fine lines' it's worth a go!

BalmBalm lip balm - imaginative product title! This is a balm that can be used on your lips or any dry patches. Multi-use products are so in right now ... well we are in a recession! HAHA This company actually sells loads of different products including candles. This is the full size Tea Tree balm containing shea butter, sunflower, beeswax, jojoba, calendula & tea tree essential oil. Smooths onto the lips nicely, good softening feeling and not overly scented.

 Dr Alkaitis Organic soothing gel, eye cream and facial cleanser samples - all three samples have a very woody smell to them which is probably the wild chamomile and other herbs contained in the products. The facial cleanser is a bit on the murky brown side, reminds me of the sea at Great Yarmouth ... yuck. The soothing 'gel' is actually liquid so maybe that needs to go in the fridge to solidify? Currently these aren't hitting high on my rating scale.


Intelligent Nutrients Harmonic Shampoo and Conditioner - these are both full on scents again with peppermint and rosemary shining through the mix. Apparently these hair products do everything you could ever wish for 'anti-aging, antioxidant, rich, volumising, super smooth, non-frizzy, scalp and hair nourishing with colour protection'! Blimey, if this shampoo and conditioner can do all that I'll pay the £18 each for full sized ones! FYI the travel size (which is what I received) costs £9 each on the Intelligent Nutrients website!

There was another shampoo in the box of goodies but it was such a sh*tty looking half filled tube I won't review it.

Bloom Remedies Daily Balance Face Cream - handmade in Cornwall and contains Sweet Orange, Geranium and Rose. This cream smells gorgeous but then I've always loved the scent of rose water. Gorgeous thick cream which I would probably use as a night cream because the soothing fragrance would make me nod off in no time.

Mel Millis Mist Tonic Neroli Hydrolate - this mist is meant to be used as an energy boost for the face, 'Neroli Has Both A Rejuvenating And Regenerative Effect On The Skin. It Promotes The Generation Of New Cells, Stimulating Those Already Present And Protecting The Epidermis From Extrinsic Factors'. There website is full of technical terms but it all sounds amazing. I'm not sure if it's the mist tonic or the rather forceful spray in the face but it feels fresh.

Freshness of the Morning Antioxidant facial mask - '100% natural exfoliating and detoxifying mask that provides a gentle ex-foliation to reveal a clearer, younger and brighter complexion. Works by targeting age spots and reduces the appearance of fine lines.' I haven't tried this product yet but wanted to add some information about it as they advise you to use the dry powder on wet skin first to exfoliate and then mix some of the powder to make a mask. Very intriguing!

Konjac puff sponge - this is made from natural vegetable fibres and is used wet on your face to cleanse and exfoliate. You can use it with or without cleansing products and it will last for around 3 months. This particular sponge is £7.99 but I'm guessing you can find it cheaper on eBay. It's softly cleansing on the skin and I think a nice addition to your morning/night routine.

I am really happy with the mixed box I ordered from souksouk and I'm amazed that Britain has so many skincare companies ... when did that happen? The quality is high but so are the prices for these organic and natural products. BUT I might just treat myself occasionally to a sample box for £20.

Have you got any organic or natural products you can't live without? It would be great to hear from you so leave a comment below or come say hi on Twitter.

Makeup Haul - skin, lids and brow

It's been a while since my last post so I now have quite a few posts to do. I will hopefully get those written up soon and posted asap! Here's the first, a small makeup haul.

Bourjois Poudre De Riz De Java - translated as 'Rice powder of Java'. Rather an unusual name and apparently a cult classic from 1879! I saw it in a YouTube review by Leah XL Channel so I'm unsure where it's been hiding for over 100 years.

It's a pink looking translucent powder with shimmer which is good for locking in make up and making the skin look radiant. I've been using it for several days now and although the shimmer isn't obvious (which is a good thing) my skin did take on a illuminated tone, although the powder doesn't seem to last for long.
If you want to buy this from Boots (UK) there is an offer online at the moment for 3 for 2 on selected Bourjois products.

Botanics Shine Away Invigorating Face Scrub - this was actually a 'make-do' purchase as I really wanted the Botanics Radiant Youth Microdermabrasion scrub but they didn't have it in my local Boots. Saying that this scrub does have fine scrub particles in a lovely smelling gel. It's does make my face feel fresh and clean but if you are looking for an invigorating scrub I would go with St. Ives Invigorating every time.

Botanics All Bright Radiance Balm -  This was a total random purchase, I liked the sound of it as I've been trying to brighten my rather pale lacklustre skin for quite a while. I use this before I put on my foundation and I do feel my skin looks more radiant. I'm not sure how that works and there is very little information on the Boots website but the reviews are good and it smells full of flowery goodness.

 Essence All About Chocolate eyeshadow palette - this is one of five palettes by the very cheap and cheerful Essence brand. The colours in this picture don't show the colours very well but they are a mix of browns and creams, some matte and some shimmery. The website also says metallic but I haven't found a metallic colour in this palette. You get alot of shadow for your money, this palette could easy last you a year as the shadow pots are quite deep. The pigment isn't strong but the colours are good for an everyday look.


Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Mascara - Oddly I never thought I would need brow defining/colouring products as I have full brows with good natural shape. But I've recently gone back to dying my hair dark brown and although my eyebrows are darker than my natural hair colour, I felt they needed a bit of help to match with my new hair colour. Many moons ago I received a sample of Model Co More Brows Fibre Gel in my GlossyBox and have been using it daily. But it's £15 a pop so I went out looking for a value replacement. Maybelline Brow Drama does the job, although I will say the bulbous tip serves no purpose really. I short mascara wand would work just a well.

Thanks for reading! More posts coming soon as I've been sidetracked by my birthday celebrations! Enter your email under my logo and you'll be emailed when my next posts are available OR follow me on Twitter or Bloglovin!