Alva Naturkosmetik Crystal Deodorant Intensive Roll On - A Review For My Pure

Well over the last week or so it seems as though summer has finally arrived. I have to say I love the sun and the heat it brings to ease my weary muscles, but like all things the increase in heat can have it's downsides. No not sunburn I'm super careful with my SPF's now, I'm talking about sweat, yes it's not one of the most glamorous things or one we even like talking about but it's a fact of life. Due to hair removal and so on my underarms are super sensitive, I tend to buy the same deodorants over and over again without fail previous forays into natural brands have always ended in soreness, itchiness and general disaster. However this month I decided to be brave and pick a deodorant to review for My Pure.

I've tried quite a few products from Alva, before so I thought I'd take the risk and try the Alva Naturkosmetik Crystal Deodorant Intensive Roll On. Free from aluminium and alcohol, as well as paraffin and parabens which can often cause allergies, the key ingredients in this roll on are Himalayan Crystal Salt, and Potassium Alum. These natural minerals help to neutralise odours and prevent wetness.

Described as extremely reliable, but at the same time gentle, it comes in a glass bottle, with a typical plastic roller ball.

The product itself is a clear liquid, despite being advertised a unscented it does contain organic extracts of witch hazel, aloe vera, comfrey, and damask rose, which produce a slight aromatherapy, herbal smell.

The product applied easily without dragging on the skin, it was quite a wet feeling so I did need to wait a few minutes before dressing. On the whole this was a pretty effective deodorant, and I definitely didn't experience an odour whilst using it, not only that but I also didn't experience any white marks on my clothing which is always a plus point. Nor did I experience any stinging or itching even when I applied it soon after hair removal. I have to say I don't perspire a lot under my arms so it you do this may not be as effective and obviously everyones skin is different, but I have to say I really like this, oh and if you prefer a deodorant spray, there is also a pump action spray in the same formulation. Alva Naturkosmetik Crystal Deodorant Intensive Roll On retails at £8.25 for 50ml from My Pure. If you have any questions please leave me a comment x

*Sample

Road Trip Haul and Some Gifties

Before we went to see the Vivienne Westwood exhibition yesterday, we had a little look around Barnard Castle, it's a country town with lots of touristy shops, as well as a few small high street stores. My mum always enjoys a little poke around the charity and antique shops and picked up a few nice really good quality bits, alas I didn't see nothing I liked - I never seem to have any luck in charity shops :(
I had a little look in Boots and Superdrug though and I did pick up a few bits. First of all one of the L'Oreal Color Infaillible Eyeshadows.

I first saw these the other day on Modesty Brown's blog and fell in love, the are supposedly similar to the Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill shadows and are a cream / powder hybrid. The colour I got was 009 Permanent Kaki, a gorgeous olive green. First impressions of these are good, the texture is lovely and they seem really pigmented.

I also made another blogger inspired purchase. I saw this on the lovely Holly's blog and again it was love at first sight -  I love Nars Deep Throat and this is supposedly a good budget dupe. It's the Collection
2000 Shimmer Shades in 2. Blushalicious.

You get 4 prisms of pigmented slightly shimmery cheek / face colours in shades of peach, coral, plum and pink which can be used separately or swirled together x

Here are some individual swatches of each colour

I think this will be a lovely palette for providing just a pop of colour on the cheeks throughout the summer months x
These were the most exciting things that I bought yesterday, in fact I only got another 2 things some nail polish remover, and a copy of Marie Claire. I bought the magazine specifically for the free Inika eyeshadow, as I'm quite interested in natural cosmetics - I will do a little review of the shadow soon for you, in the meantime, hot foot it down to your newsagent to pick one of these up before the new issue (with free Ciate lipgloss) goes on sale.
Mummy Lou has also been kind enough to purchase me a few bits and pieces this week from the new MUA Pro range at Superdrug - I haven't managed to get to any of the stores near me that are stocking the range so she paid for a little online order for me. No swatches at the moment but they well be coming soon when I look at MUA for my Budget Beauty Series which I will hopefully be starting next week with a look at the Aldi Lacura Line x Anyways here's what I got -

MUA Professional Extreme Volume Mascara in Extreme Black

MUA Professional Extreme Metallics Eyeshadow Quad - Go Getter

MUA Professional Mosiac Blusher in English Rose

MUA Professional Matte Foundation in Shade 1 Soft Sand

and finally the MUA Professional version of a crackle polish, Nail Quake in Broken Arrow.
I have already had a play with the eyeshadows and so far I am really impressed, and I can't wait to give these products a proper try -  Any questions as per usual leave me a comment - I love reading them all and getting your feedback x

Road Trip! - Designer Shoes, Sunglasses and A History Lesson

Hey my loves -I am writing this post in a slight haze of pain, after overdoing it a bit yesterday, but believe me it was so worth it x

Yesterday me, my mum and my godmother headed 30 or so miles through the Co. Durham countryside to a town called Barnard Castle. its a very historic and picturesque town in the south of the county - the picture here shows the Market Cross, alas we never made it as far the castle because as you can see the entire town is on a hill and climbing hills ain't my strong point! We spent the morning wandering around the town, popping into a few shops (I'll do a quick post with my purchases later), and having a pub lunch, before heading a little way out of the town to The Bowes Museum.

Built in the 19th Century on the design of a French Chateau, the building was purposely built by John Bowes and his French wife Josephine to house their growing collections of painting, ceramics, textiles and furniture, in an attempt to introduce the people of John's native Teesdale to the world and beauty of art. The museum itself is beautiful to look at, and the ground are equally beautiful with parkland , and more formal raised beds and fountains.

The museum itself contains numerous exhibits including ceramics, silver, the famous silver swan, French furniture, textiles, and many exhibits with a local feel. Like most museums they also play host to several temporary,visiting exhibitions, one of which is Vivienne Westwood Shoes - A Worldwide Exhibition 1973 -2011. I have to say this is the main reason I wanted to go, I love the museum, we used to go a lot when I was younger, but the shoes were the main draw.
The Bowes Museum is the only host of this exhibition in the UK outside of London, so I had to go. I took a few photos but they haven't came out that well because of the museum lighting, and the fact you can't use your flash but I hope you get the idea. I have to say it was fabulous the women is an artist extraordinaire. Not all of them are the most wearable but they are amazing to look at - I took some pics of a few of my faves - first up these ones

do they look familiar? maybe this will jog your memory

                                           (pic borrowed from here . )

Yes it's the shoes that floored Naomi Campbell - the Vivienne Westwood Super Elevated Gillie from the Anglomania collection in 2003 - gorgeous and such an iconic moment

Next up these ones - in a style called Rocking Horse, they are a wedge but they have the gait and movement of a rocking horse - They are from the 1996 Harris Tweed Collection

I have to say this pair were of my favourites - again from Anglomania - typical Westwood tartan

and aren't these boots just gorgeous, the exhibition contained her famous thigh highs and pirate boots but these were one of my favourites, the detailing and embroidery is amazing in the flesh, these boots are from the Sex collection in 1974

I have to say there was a fair share of insane shoes there from ones that looked like PomPoms, to ones with heels made of larger cans but these ones erm what can I say apart from the name Penis Shoes!!

Can't see myself wearing them some how lol I have to say we really enjoyed looking at all the shoes the craftsmanship in every pair was amazing - I really wanted the exhibition catalogue but at £39 I passed. It was a really interesting experience just seeing the shoes though, looking at peoples reactions and so on - I was talking to two lovely older ladies who had been to her shops in the 70's and 80's and were really into the fashion scene at the time - one of them also had the pleasure of spending a bit of time with Barbara Hulanicki from Biba - very jealous. The exhibition only runs for another few days so I was lucky to catch it - if your in the area it's well worth a look. The only downside of the day I lost my prescription sunglasses - booo an expense I could do without. Any questions leave me a comment and I'll be back later with a little haul from yesterday x
ETA - The sunglasses showed up in the boot of the car of all places wahoo

Nails Of The Day - Not Like The Movies

Well with this polish you don't need the movies, OK I maybe exaggerating a tad but this is one pretty polish that I could certainly watch for at least some of the day. OPI Not Like The Movies (click the link to see more greener pics) was released as part of the Katy Perry collection, and I have to say it's beautiful. I love polishes like this and Illamasqua Bacterium, and Orly Space Cadet that look different depending on how you move your hands. Not Like The Movies looks quite green in the bottle but depending on the light it can turn to silver or pewter in tone, or green with pink shimmer and flashes. I've tried to capture just some of the shades that you can get with this polish here by taking some of the pictures in different lights

What do you think? Personally I love this and I'm so glad I picked it up, it looking a gorgeous shimmery

green on my nails at the moment which is beautiful in the sunshine x Any questions please ask x

Sunny Monday

Afternoon everyone x I hope you have had an amazing weekend Jasper as you can see thoroughly enjoyed lying in the sunshine, I don't know how he does it with all that fur, maybe it keeps him cool somehow? My weekend I have to say wasn't too great I had a bit of a nasty tummy bug which seems to have passed right through my family :( Nevermind I'm feeling a bit better now and I managed to lose 2 lbs this week so it wasn't all bad. I'm going on a bit of a roadtrip tomorrow with my mum and my godmother - we are heading to a local museum which happens to be currently hosting an exhibition of Vivienne Westwood's shoe designs - I'll hopefully tell you more about it later in the week but I'm really looking forward to it x I'm also planning to do a few review posts, my monthly roundup, and maybe a little haul this week, and tomorrow I'll start the week off properly with a nails of the day for you.
 I just want to say a huge thanks to you all for keeping the faith and following and a big hi to all my new followers I really do appreciate every single one of you, and yes I will be hosting a special giveaway when I reach 500 followers x I am now away to unplug my laptop as we are currently in the middle of a horrid thunderstorm, I knew the sun wouldn't last ! See you soon xx

A Zest For Life With Baylis & Harding

Apologies for the awful title of this post but there are very few companies that have such a prestigious heritage as Baylis & Harding. Founded over 40 years ago, this UK based, family company has long been recognised for it's luxury toiletry products, and its commitment to quality and affordability. I have to say my only previous experience with the brand came from my mum and my grandma, as a result I'd always associated the brand with shall I say an older generation, but how wrong was I! Yes the brand has a traditional heritage and still features classic fragrances such as Lavender and Wild Rose, but there is so much more to Baylis & Harding. As well as producing a lot of children's character and licensed toiletries such as Mr Men and Thomas The Tank Engine, they have also introduced a hair care line, a beautiful floral Royal Bouquet line of hand care products and the colourful Fruits line, again a range of hand care products.

I was very kindly sent a product from the Fruits line. The packaging in the line is a lot more vibrant than a lot of Baylis & Hardings products. I was sent a 500ml bottle of the Baylis & Harding Lemon and Mandarin Hand Wash. The design of the bottle is gorgeous and so bright and cheery, in a bright yellow and white with pictures of Lemon and Mandarin slices, so you know exactly what's in it. With my favourite style of dispenser, an easy to depress pump, it's quite a liquidy gel.

The smell really is the highlight of this hand wash, it smells gorgeous, so revitalising and zesty, you can really smell the real Lemon and Mandarin extracts in this hand wash. When you add the gel to water it produces a light, gentle cleansing foam that leaves your hand delicately scented and thoroughly clean but not tight or dry.

I have to say I really loved this hand wash it would be ideal for the bathroom or even the kitchen, not only that but it's super reasonably priced and you could get the wash and the matching hand lotion for less than £5.00, and if Lemon and Mandarin isn't you thing they have plenty more fragrances to try in their 5 distinct ranges. Baylis & Harding may not have been a brand at the top of my radar but it's certainly one I will take notice of now, some of the shower cremes and bath foams are definitely on my to try list. Baylis & Harding Lemon and Mandarin Hand Wash retails at just £2.00 for 500ml.You can purchase Baylis and Harding from variety of different outlets including Debenhams and of course the Baylis and Harding website where you can see their full range and order online. Any questions please ask x

(Baylis & Harding Lemon and Mandarin Hand Wash Was Provided By PR For Review Purposes )

Change Your Nail Polish - Crackles and Shatters

Hi Guys, this post is the first in a little series I'm going to be doing on changing you nail polishes.
If you anything like me you probably have every colour under the sun but I don't know sometimes even our favourite colours can seem a little boring and samey, in this series of posts I'm going to be exploring ways to liven up your favourite nail varnishes, through top coats, nail art and more.
The first method I'm going to talk about it the crackle or shatter polish. Yes I know your all probably bored stiff of these by now, and it's something you'll either love or hate, but there is no doubt that they will change the appearance of any nail polish.
The idea is quite simple paint a thin layer of crackle polish on top of any dry nail polish and watch the magic happen, the polish seems to evaporate in certain areas producing a crazed pattern on the nail.
Everyone seems to be producing crackle polishes now in a variety of colours, including Nails Inc, OPI, China Glaze and of course Barry M. I have to say I've only purchased crackles at the lower end of the price spectrum, but for what is in essence a fashion trend that you'll either love or hate it's a good way to try them out. So enough of the prattle it's time for some pictures :)

First up the one that seemed to introduce at least the British population to the shatter polish -Barry M Instant Nail Effects in Black. Black seems to look good over any colour to be honest here it's shown over a matte pale pink  for maximum contrast-  The polish  is Sense Tech in 02 100% Mat by Deborah - click the link to see it on it own x

The name instant is pretty much spot on crackle polishes being matte dry pretty much straight away, so it barely takes any time to change the look of a nail polish - crackle polishes are  also really good for  reviving a polish when you are starting to have a bit of tip wear or even the odd chip-  just one thin coat and you can't see the wear anymore :)

Next up another colour from the Barry M Instant Nail Effects stable, this time a pale electric blue (much brighter than it's showing here) , this time I've used it with a more toning colour and one of my favourites Milani Holographic - 512 Cyberspace (click here to see it on its own)

As you can see there is much less of a contrast between the two colours but it still gives an interesting finish - as with all crackles this one is matte but I decided to try it with a top coat (Jessica Brilliance - review coming soon) - you can't see that much of a difference here but again is shows how versatile the crackle polish can be

Next up on my crackle journey probably the polish I've liked the least. From budget brand W7 their limited edition crackle polishes come in several colours and the one I got was Earthquake Silver.

It's not the colour of this one, a matte sparkly silver, I just found it really hard to apply the formula was way off, it dropped onto the top I was wearing and then it applied too thickly in some areas and so streaky in some areas the crackle was at a minimum. The colour I applied it over was Milani Photo Flash which you can see in it's full glory here - to be honest I felt as though I had ruined a perfectly good manicure when I tried the crackle on this you win some, you lose some I guess. These pics are taken without a top coat, using a top coat with this combo did improve it somewhat, and make the sparkles more apparant.

From one I wasn't keen on to one I really like - which is strange because the colours are pretty similar Boots 17 Nails Xtras Crackle Top Coat, has more of a golden / platinum colour than the sparkly silver of the W7 but it is heads above it in texture.

Like most of the other 17 polishes this is easy to apply, I certainly had no blobs or drips with this one, I've gone for another contrasting shade here using Top Shop's Pie In The Sky - a gorgeous bright blue 

I have to say this was one of my favourite combos really pretty and eye catching - I didn't even feel that this one needed a top coat.

So there you have it my round up of a few of the lower end crackle polishes on the market. Like them or loathe them, there is no doubt that they can change the look of a boring nail polish in seconds. There are a couple of newer crackles to the market from the likes of Beauty UK and MUA Pro which I am trying to get my paws on, if I manage to get hold of them I will post my reviews as part of my Budget Beauty Series. In the meantime if you have any questions leave me a comment - I read ever single one even if I don't always have time to reply x