Balance Me | Radiance Face Mask

Face masks have to be my favourite part of the skin care routine - they feel truly luxurious and it’s always something I look forward to after a long week. When Balance Me got in touch and told me all about their natural beauty amnesty, I was excited. The hope is that us beauty lovers will swap out our synthetic products and replace them with natural ones – and of course I’m always up for a challenge!

So – what do I look for in a mask? Having blemished and scarred skin top of my list is definitely exfoliation and brightening. BalanceMe’s Radiance Face mask manages to incorporate that along with deep cleansing properties including ingredients such as ground walnut shells, fruit acid complex and kaolin clay which all contribute to getting rid of any nasties and encouraging cell renewal for a clearer, brighter complexion.

Balance Me Radiance Face Mask c/o

It works differently to any of my other masks – it has a similar consistency of an exfoliator but you apply it to dry skin, rubbing in circular motions to release the beads and then you leave it for 5 minutes to work the rest of it’s magic before removing with warm water. Never before has my skin felt so silky smooth and I’m not exaggerating when I say it was definitely softer than a baby’s bum – it’s like a layer of loveliness and been left on my face with no stickiness or drying. The scent is also really calming and not at all over powering, perfect just before bed.

Of course, what you really want to know is if it’s actually done any good. What do you think? Yes is the short answer, but I’ll let you have a little more than that. Obviously my skin feels smooth after use, which is always a plus but it’s not the be all and end all – I’m more interested in the changes it brings to my skin. After using this twice a week for 2 weeks the scarring on my forehead from previous breakouts have almost disappeared, and my complexion in general is clearer, brighter and with a more even skin-tone. 
The nasty scarring on my chin hasn't budged just yet but it's becoming easier to blend with my makeup, so I'm confident that with a few more weeks it will help to improve that more too.

This retails at £18, so I'd say it's at the higher end of a high street buy - but it's definitely justified with the results it's given me so far.

Fear not - If you're on a spending ban (like me) and want to re-vamp your beauty regime with some natural products like this, enter Balance Me's competition here where you stand a chance to win £200 worth of their products!

What do you think of Balance Me? Is it a brand you've tried before?

October Joliebox | Let's talk Organic

Can you believe it's November already? (cliche of the month). I cannot fathom it's only one more pay day until Christmas, that is seriously scary. Any way, end of the month means Joliebox time, I can't wait to share all my lovely jubbly products with you guys :) And how amazing is it to see Fleur on the cover of the JolieMag?!

c/o Joliebox

Jason – Lips Bee Healthier (RRP £1.99): This little lip balm is one of the loveliest things to ever grace my lips. I opened it and instantly thought ‘where are the after eights?’ it smells just like them! So as you can imagine, it had me at hello. It’s filled to the brim with Beeswax, Vitamin E, Green Tea, Aloe Vera Gel, Shea Butter, Almond Oil and Peppermint Oil *takes a breath* phew, that’s a lorra products in one little balm isn’t it? It is so unbelievably moisturizing and feels so much more expensive than it’s teeny tiny price tag. Trust me, you need it.

Ritessens Exfoliating Face Care: As many of you know, when I find a skincare that fits with my problematic skin I don’t like to budge from it. So when I saw this in the box I was a little skeptical. But I think that’s one of the things that I love about the beauty boxes, they push you to try those products you might have been too scared to test or haven’t heard of before. So, I whipped it out the box and gave it a run for it’s money. Being a natural product I knew it would be kind to my crappy skin and it felt so lovely and soft even with the exfoliant beads. It didn’t irritate my skin and there are no heavy fragrances in it, so I think it’s a keeper! Plus it’s a full sized product which is amazing.

Løv Organic Herbal Tea (RRP tin £9.90): This, is frickin’ amazing. Not only is the little sample packaging too cute for words, but it tastes like heaven in a muslim tea bag. It’s an organic blend of white tea, green tea and green rooibos with little bits of peach, apricot, mango and pineapple to make it extra refreshing and scrummy. The texture of the tea is also surprisingly lovely. I find with most fruit teas they can be quite watery, but this was almost syrupy – without being thick and gross. I just can’t get over how fab they are. I got 6 in my sample box, and I’d drink them all at the same time if I could!

MOA Balm (RRP from £4.99): YAY for affordable, 100% natural products. This is so lovely and ticks so many skincare boxes for me. There’s no fragrance, it’s multi-purpose and it’s suitable for sensitive skin. I’ve been using this on my hands, face and elbows and honestly it’s amazing. It’s a little different from a typical moisturizer, coming in a wax formulation. You rub the wax between your fingers and then apply to the needed area. I’m particularly impressed with how great it’s been on my face. I suffer with an oily t-zone and thought my face might hate it a little but it’s been soaking up all the goodness and controlling my oil fabulously! Super impressed.

Soin Parfait Ulitmate BB Cream (RRP£29.90): I haven’t tried this out yet. I must admit I haven’t hopped on the BB cream bandwagon yet. I’m a bit scared of them to be honest. Although this does promise an anti-blemish complexion with anti-ageing care and SPF25 I think it’s probably a bit marvelous. I’m just so attached to my fuller coverage foundation, but I think I should probably just bite the bullet and see where it takes me!

I’m ruddy impressed yet again with Jolieboxand how much thought goes into these wonderful boxes. Pretty sure this box was made for me. 

What did you receive in your subscription this month?

Bright Eyes

Since I can remember I have suffered with hay fever. When I was a tot, it was horrific; I literally looked like I’d been through ten rounds with Mike Tyson every, single, day. I took medication prescribed through my local GP with no luck (it probably didn’t help that I enjoyed spending a lot of time in fields frolicking around, ha). I admit, with age, my allergies seem to have settled slightly; but the one thing that still gets me every year is ‘itchy eyes’. I don’t know about anyone else, but for me, it is the most frustrating thing ever. For pretty much the entire spring period, leading on to summer, my eyes are constantly itchy, bloodshot and streaming; and because I’m itching them so much, my eyes become puffy. Not a good look. Plus, it means I really struggle to wear mascara *hides face with hands*, simply because it will just end up all over my face and sting my eyes!

I’d tried medication, eye drops and traditional methods such as rubbing Vaseline around my eyes and lashes – can I just ask what does that even do?! Apart from make you look like a plonker; but I couldn’t find anything that worked for me. I genuinely thought I would be stuck with these hideous eyes forever :(. That was until I discovered LizEarle’s EyeBright. This stuff is amazing. It doesn’t stop you getting hay fever, but I would definitely say it’s a preventative.

Every morning and night, I squirt a little of the liquid on to two cotton pads (a little goes a long way) and sweep them over the entire eye area. It instantly cools any irritation and leaves the eye area revitalised, whilst reducing any puffiness/ redness. As most of you will know, Liz Earle only uses natural ingredients; and the soothing properties included in this bottle of wonderfulness mean that you can use this to remove your eye makeup too, if you have sensitive skin like me. Plus, if I’m having a bit of a ‘pamper me evening’, I’ll slap on a facemask and lay in the bath with two pads over my eyes; the longer you leave it to work its magic the better the results, and my eyes always feel super healthy and soft afterwards.

It’s 100% a multipurpose product, and for the price tag of £10.25 for 150ml, I think I’ll use it forever, regardless of whether I continue to suffer with hay fever or not.

So what do you think? Have any of you tried EyeBright, or do you have any products you would recommend for hay fever sufferers?