First Impressions: Yves Rocher product review

I'm not one who usually writes product reviews ... unless I'm actually so blown away by a product (or some) that I'd be raving about it/them to all and sundry.

This is one such case.  Even though I had seen Yves Rocher plenty of times abroad, especially during my travels to Brussles, I will admit I had never bought anything ... or even stepped into one of the shops to be quite honest.  Last year, the eco-cosmetics brand landed in Malta and I was quite jubilant about it ... but only until a few weeks ago I actually got to try some of their stuff.

Having run out of some of my go-to morning routine items, I decided to give Yves Rocher a go. Here's what I got and my first impressions after a few days of use:

Micellar cleansing water

Having what could be termed a teenage skin despite my mid-30s, I prefer water-based cleansers and this one just fit the bill.  With its mix of tea extracts (green, white and Madagascar!) this is proving to be quite a treat for my skin! I love how fresh it feels and the cotton disk shows me just exactly how much gunk it can take off from my day-long make-up

Sebo Specific Zero Default

I actually bought this as a night cream to fight my skin imperfections while I'm asleep but back home I realised it's both a day and night cream - double win! The consistency is lush without being too rich or sticky for my oily skin.  I can vouch that it does exactly what it says on the package (or website rather ...) i.e. "To tighten, open pores and conceal minor imperfections [...] Your skin is smooth, flawless, your complexion is matt and beautiful." Result!

Anti-age global

This is a fantastic eye-cream - with its metallic nozzle which doubles up as a massager to rub in the cream, it's the perfect wake-up solution for my eyes, especially in the morning.  All the sleepy puffiness is gone in seconds ... and well, the first signs of ageing should be history in a matter of days (or at least I hope so!) It can also be used at night, so another double win there!

Have you ever tried any of these products?  Or any other Yves Rocher products which you recommend?  Let me know in the comments section below x



N.B. This is not a paid or sponsored post and all opinions are my own thoughts.

Anatomicals - Hottie Tottie is Never Spotty #review

This is possibly going to go down in the blog's history as the post which takes me furthest away from my comfort zone. I am not keen on having anyone see my make-up free face.  Yes, I am very uncomfortable in that way:  I don't even pop downstairs to pick up the post or cross the street to the grocer without a full face of make-up.

And yet, since I decided to write this review on Anatomicals' Hottie Tottie is Never Spotty kit, I feel I would not be honest if I didn't show you what my face looks like sans maquillage.

First things first:  I very recently found out that Anatomicals set up shop in Malta through a fellow blogger's post (sorry, your name escapes me but if you're reading, please give me a shout!). I was quite happy to read about this since I had been eyeing their products online for a while. Truth be told, I never really considered buying anything even though the product names always tempted me. When I browsed the Maltese website, I decided to give the products a go - the individual items' prices would not break the bank and the other bloggers' review said that the items she bought were delivered within 24 hours. So at about 11:00pm that night, I made up a bagful of items for about €25.00.  Apart from the Hottie Tottie is Never Spotty kit (bought €17.99, now €16.99), I bought myself the Aloe Aloe Aloe so that's what's going on here (€4.50), an aloe vera based lip balm which doubles up as a hand cream and farewell the scarlet pimplehell (€1.99), which is a deep cleansing mud mask.  I have yet to try the latter, but I can vouch for the lip balm / hand cream as being the best thing I've ever bought, saving me much chapped skin especially when abroad!

Back to the subject of this post.

I've been using the Hottie Tottie is Never Spotty kit for about two weeks now and I can pretty much say that I have been very pleasantly surprised by the effects it has had on my skin.  Having a very oily complexion, replete with open pores and blemish scars, I tend to be rather sceptical of most products since they never seem to work, or not work as efficiently or effectively as I would wish them to.  While these products have not yet minimised my open pores situation - that would probably need much harsher treatment - they have certainly helped even out the appearance of my skin in general.

Used together, the face wash, daily scrub, and the shine-free moisturiser leave the skin feeling clean and fresh.  Their consistency is rather thick but doesn't leave any residue and glides pleasantly on the skin. The scrub itself is delicate yet strong, making you feel that it is working but not stripping off your face!

While I am still having the occasional break-out, courtesy of much stress at work and in my life in general, knowing that I have a product which will very quickly make the blemish a thing of the past is keeping me away from that horrible habit of zit-popping.  Finally, after so many years of ill-treating my face!

Overall, I believe that this is the best value for money kit I have ever bought for my skin, which just goes to show that you don't have to break the bank to have good skin!  I'm still far from being confident appearing in public with my face completely au naturel but having a good base means that I can start applying less make-up, saving me much precious time especially in the morning.

I urge you to check out Anatomicals Malta on their website here and Facebook page here.  The service was impeccable with my items being delivered by 06:00pm the day following the purchase, and I even got a complementary gift for the purchase! Just how good is that?! What are you waiting for?!

N.B. all opinions expressed in this review are my genuine thoughts and have not been motivated by sponsors, affiliations or payment of any kind.

astrid + miyu september secret box

I was more or less having the typical Monday - bad mood, feeling somewhat sickie and lousy - when the unexpected happened: upon returning home I found the Astrid & Miyu September Secret Box waiting for me on my bed.

It was the perfect pick-me-up for today!

I referred to this as 'unexpected' because, while I consciously subscribed to the September Secret Box last week, I (a) didn't think it'd arrive so quickly and (b) I almost forgot about it I'm so hassled and crazy with work right now! So finding it today on my bed was the right kind of 'extra element of surprise'.

I had found out about Astrid & Miyu through the gorgeous Stefy Puglisevich's blog when she reviewed the June Secret Box.  I kept thinking about whether or not to subscribe to the Secret Box, until last week I received a reminder email from Astrid & Miyu that they were taking the last orders.  Much on a whim, I decided to go for it ... and I'm very much glad I did.

how does it work? 

all the details can be found here but if you're not in the mood to click the link let me summarise it here:

• you subscribe by clicking here and compiling a short survey sent via email so that the contents of your box are picked to your likings
• every 3 months, you pay £39 + FREE UK & EU delivery
• every 3 months, you receive Astrid & Miyu jewellery and treats worth double the value!

what did I get? 

Pretty much everything I found in my September Secret Box got my heart thumping! There were even a couple of items which I recall specifically listing among the 5 most favourite items in stock! Here's what I found: 

• 'Conflicting Choices' necklace in gold (retails at £29)

I love how this necklace sits on the collar bone! I don't wear much silver so definitely I was pretty chuffed to find the gold version of this stunner in my box.  The studs are not too ostentatious, but there're very definitely there ... making it quite perfect even for the office under an open shirt especially when you're in a 'don't mess with me' kind of mood. 

• 'Conflicting Choices' bracelet in gold (retails at £24)

I must admit that I'm not one who's generally fond of matching jewellery.  I could be wearing pearls on my ears and a turquoise skull bracelet on my wrist.  So when I found the matching bracelet in my box, I was at first taken aback.  But then I checked myself and realised that the bracelet is as wearable as the necklace on so many occasions, that I really don't have to wear them together!

• 'Rosy Delight' ring [press pick] (retails at £29)

This is one of my absolutely favourite pieces.  It may come as a surprise to those who are used to seeing me in rings which are bigger than my hand ... but I absolutely love the daintiness of the ring, and most especially, the colour.  Rose gold is the new black, in terms of jewellery.  

• 'Delicate Dagger' bracelet (retails at £15)

This is another absolute favourite which, like the ring, I remember listing on my subscription survey.  I love its delicate but 'dangerous' look ... almost reminds me of the iconic 'fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee' quip made famous by Cassius Clay ... a motto which comes in pretty handy in some situations! I very much think I'll be wearing this on a daily basis to remind me of it!

• 'Love Love' earrings [press pick] (retails at £29)

Now this pair of earrings may not have necessarily been something I'd have gone for, I must admit, but I do seriously see me wearing them ... especially when I'm having those quirky, 'I wish I could be Zooey Deschanel' days.  

That's an awesome total of £126 worth of jewellery! Not bad, huh?! 

Inside the September Secret Box, I also found how to make a home-made Avocado mask as well as a mini-tutorial on how to apply some sultry, smokey eye make-up.  I adore these little 'extras' ... they make everything a little more special than it already would be. 

At this point, I almost can't wait for tomorrow to wear something from the box (probably the 'Delicate Dagger' bracelet for reasons mentioned before!) ... and definitely can't wait for the December Secret Box!!

confession #000064

... or, the miracle makers

on a good day, this is what i wake up to (well, first i would have to get my coffee done, but anyway!)

the point is, i am, by far, the worst sleeper ever.  anyone who has ever shared a bedroom with me will confirm that.  it takes me forever to fall asleep and then, as soon as i wake up - which is generally at day-break, before my alarm goes off - i expect the world to wake up with me.  i don't know how to sleep unless it's pitch dark, i'm in a bed and it's eerily quiet.  sometimes i don't even manage that, as i tend to spook myself when it's just so quiet i can hear the neighbour's heartbeats.  i can't sleep at the beach or on a plane and it generally takes me a couple of nights to get accustomed to a 'foreign' bed.  so most times, i return home from trips abroad having hardly clocked 8 hours of sleep over two nights.

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