April Favourites

This month's favourites are a combination of new discoveries and golden oldies. The first product I've been loving is the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water which I spoke about in more detail a few days ago here. It's a brilliant makeup remover that removes even mascara in a single swipe, doesn't irritate the skin at all and just feels like water. I'm converted.

Next is the long since discontinued Sweet Lemon Shower Gel from The Body Shop (full review here) it has the most delicious, citrusy scent that has been extremely uplifting on these dull spring mornings. I really hope they bring this scent back!

Soap & Glory Hand Food is by far my favourite hand cream of all time, it's extremely moisturising yet non greasy and sinks into the skin straight away. It also smells really good, I stocked up this month while it was on 3 for 2, you can see my full review here.

I'm not usually one for primers but the Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch has surprised me, I seem to me using it more and more often. It feels velvety on the skin, makes sure that makeup lasts all day and keeps and oiliness at bay. Full review here.  

The concealer that I've been reaching for pretty much daily as of late is the Clinique Even Better Concealer in Honeycomb. It a shade lighter than my skin tone so I've been using it under the eyes to hide dark circles and brighten up my face. It's really high coverage but also really blendable. Full review here. 

I'm not an everyday eyeshadow wearer but the Avon SuperShock Vivid Liquid Eyeshadow is so easy to use! Mine's in the shade Chromed Cocoa. I just shake it, dab a bit onto my eyelid with the applicator and then blend it in with my finger. It sets and just doesn't budge. 

What products have you been loving this month?  

New from Lee Stafford

I've been a huge fan of Lee Stafford products ever since my teens so when I was invited to have breakfast with the man himself and have a nose through his new launches I was more than just excited! He has an amazing range of haircare and styling products sold at Boots and has now decided to add to it with a range of hairbrushes and styling appliances. 

The Chopstick Styler has been designed to create tight corkscrew curls, weather you're creating the look from scratch or you're a curly haired girl looking to touch up frizzy bits it's supposed to create smooth curls. Being a curly haired gal myself I can't wait to give it a try! 

Other exciting styling tools include a handy, fold up, travel friendly hair dryer and the rather strangle looking Grooved Waving Wand. Designed to create a more uneven and therefore natural looking curl the wand is infused with Argan Oil to condition hair as it curls.

And it does exactly what it says on the tin, here's Lee showing me how to use it at the breakfast.

And here's the end result, which I absolutely love. I was swishing my hair around all day! The wand seemed really easy to use so I'm hoping I can now recreate the look at home myself. 

I also got my hands on the Big Fattest Silky Smoother with Extra Oomphness round brush designed for big and bouncy blow-dries. As this is the kind of brush I usually use to blow dry, I curious to see how this one compares. 

They've also brought out a few new products, the ones I'm most excited about are the Frizz Off Range, designed for - believe it or not - frizz prone hair. Its sulphate free which is meant to be good for extending the life of Brazilian blow-dries. My hair is really frizzy so I think I'll be a good person to really put them to the test!

As with all products I like to use them for a while and feel like I'm giving them a really good try before reviewing them. So keep your eyes peeled if you want to see individual, in depth reviews as and when I've tried them out. 

NOTD #24

This weeks NOTD is another one from the Barry M Gelly range, last week I was wearing the shade Blueberry which you can see here, but today I'm wearing Green Berry! These varnishes are such good value for money, although the brush isn't amazing the formula really is. It applies well, dries quickly, lasts well without chipping and is super glossy! Definitely a good place to look if you're looking to pick up a few new spring shades on the cheap. 

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

I've never been particularly interested in makeup removers as I've always used a cleanser that removes makeup and I hardly ever wear waterproof mascara. However, since I started reading beauty blogs and writing my own I've been hearing about Micellar Waters constantly, everyone seems to use them! The most popular is of course Bioderma but as it's not particularly cheap or readily available in this county I never got round to trying it. 

When wandering around Boots recently I spotted the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, an obvious Bioderma copy, even down to the bottle. As it was on offer for a mere £3.33 (regular price £4.99) I thought I'd give it a go, and I'm so glad I did, it really is amazing! It manages to remove an entire face  of makeup, including eyes, with just 2 cotton pads. No rubbing required, at all. I just soak 2 pads, hold one over each eye, press down for a few seconds and wipe away. I then turn the pads over to remove the rest of the makeup on my face. 

The bottle claims that it will last 200 uses, which I'm not entirely sure about, I'll have to get back to you on that on in one of my empties posts. I do however think it will last a really long time, I've been using mine for more than a month and as you can see from the picture I not that far through it!

Have you tried any Cleansing Waters?

The Body Shop Sweet Lemon Range

Those of you who keep up with The Body Shop's Limited Edition ranges will know that this one's an oldie! I got it a while ago but because I have a tendency to hoard bath and body products I've only just got round to opening them. They're so lovely and smell so delicious that I just couldn't help reviewing them, they're no longer available but who knows, maybe The Body Shop will bring them back one day! 

The scent of this range really is delicious, like fresh, sweet lemonade. Very uplifting during a miserable spring! 

I never have much to say about shower gels, this one lathers well and gets the job done, what more do you need? The body butter on the other hand I could go on and on about, it doesn't have quite as strong a scent as the shower gel and scrub but what it lacks in that department it more than makes up for in formula. As with all of The Body Shop Body Butters it has a rich formula which sinks into the skin well, and leaves the skin feeling lastingly nourished and moisturised. 

The Body Scrub is by far the most delicious smelling one of the lot, I often find using scrubs a bit of a chore but this one is such a pleasure to use. I just rub it into damp skin using circular motions and rinse it off. It leaves skin feeling lovely and smooth and perfectly prepped to soak in lots of moisturiser. 

Which Limited Edition range do you wish The Body Shop would bring back? 

Spring Jumper Edit

I've always found British Springtime extremely frustrating, I love spring clothing but the weather is just so darn cold still. In recent years I've found that the perfect solution to this is pastel/bright jumpers. They liven up your wardrobe but still keep you warm. I usually just pair mine with skinnies and either boots or ballet flats, that way you're all covered up but don't look like you're still dressed for the dead of winter. 

Blue Chunky Jumper - ASOS

Yellow Ripple Stitch Jumper - ASOS

Rita Knitted Jumper - Rag & Bone

Textured Green Knitted T-Shirt - ASOS

Neon Stripe Jumper - J.D.Y

Lemon Yellow Round Neck Sweater - Zara

Tessi Pink Ribbed Jumper - Whistles

Mint Eryl Knitted Jumper - Tiger of Sweden

Cream & Pink Knitted T-Shirt in Spot - ASOS

Marc Spotted Jumper - Cardigan 

RECIPE: Banana Loaf Cake

Firstly I'd like to point out that this cake isn't going to win any beauty contests so if it's a pretty cake you're after, this isn't really for you. It is however, absolutely delicious! I've made it quite a few times over the last few weeks and it has never lasted more than 24 hours so I thought it was about time I shared the recipe. It's really simple to make, even for a baking novice, and uses ingredients that you probably have lying around the kitchen anyway. 

Here's what you'll need:

115g Sugar

115g Butter

2 Eggs

115g Self Raising Flour

2 Bananas 

Dash of Cinnamon (optional)

Start by whisking or 'creaming' together your butter and sugar.

Add the eggs and whisk again.

Shift in your flour and fold it into the mixture.

In a separate bowl, or in my case mug, mash up your bananas. I find over ripe ones work best. 

Add your mashed bananas into the batter and mix it all in, at this point you can add a dash of cinnamon if you want to.

Grease your loaf tin and pout in the mixture.

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes at 180° and when it's done just flip it out and wait for it to cool!

This recipe makes quite a small loaf cake, mainly because if I made a big one we'd eat it all in one go! Of course you can double the size of the cake by just doubling the recipe but make sure you adjust the cooking time too.

If you do try out this recipe make sure you tweet me a picture @peonyandpeach I'd love to see how yours turned out! 

REVIEW: Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch

I'm not one to be faffing about with primers on a daily basis but on days when I really need my makeup to last or for evenings out, I've been known to give them a try.  The one I've been reaching for the most as of late has been the Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch. The pale pink formula has a light and fluffy texture that applies clear. 

It smoothes out the skin and leaves it feeling nice and soft meaning foundation and concealer is so much easier to apply, it blends really quickly and easily. In terms of increasing makeup longevity it probably keeps your makeup looking fresh an extra couple of hours as well as keeping it shine free and keeping dry skin at bay. All in all a good product, I may have to try out a few more primers! 

Do you use a primer?