Afro hair + Beauty + Fashion + Fitness

Jan 30, 2014

Dove Limited Edition Winter Care Nourishing Lotion, Hand Cream and Body Butter

Dove Limited Edition Winter Care Nourishing Lotion, Hand Cream and Body Butter (*)

Dove Limited Edition Winter Care Nourishing Lotion, Hand Cream and Body Butter

Today I am reviewing the Dove Limited Edition Winter Care Nourishing Lotion, Hand Cream and Body Butter, all of which are very much needed with this current weather we've got going on in London. They are all aimed at dry skin or for anyone who feels like they need an extra nourishing cream during the cold winter months. I like creams aimed at dry skin because I definitely think they are necessary after showering once or twice per day, and scrubbing daily as well. 

Dove Limited Edition Winter Care Nourishing Lotion: This contains pretty heavy ingredients like Shea Butter & Petroleum and also loads of nourishing and hydrating ingredients like Urea (found in your skin's own Natural Moisturising System) and Collagen Amino Acids. This is pretty heavy but definitely not heavy enough to use in the morning after you showered, as this is how I use it. If you use to much it can have a bit of a sticky feel, but it gets absorbed quickly and I haven't felt sticky or greasy when putting my clothes on after using this. 

Dove Limited Edition Winter Care Hand Cream: Just before I was sent these products, I had purchased a Dove hand cream and really liked it. Compared to that one, and most hand creams this is definitely the thick kind which I really like. A lot of hand creams make your hands super soft but I think you need a really thick one to stop your cuticles from going dry- dry cuticles is such a bad look lol! Since I already had the other Dove hand creams when I got this, I would use this Winter Care one in the morning and last thing in the evening. 

Dove Limited Edition Winter Care Body Butter: Obviously this is the butter version of the lotion mentioned above, so the key ingredients are fairly similar but the formula is thicker. If you have extremely dry skin you can use it daily, or if you have normal skin you can use it overnight or use it on dry areas like feet etc. 

Overall? So I really enjoyed using all of these and they've got some interesting ingredients like Urea, Amino Acids, Natural Oils and butters. I would recommend these for someone with dry skin and who does not mind using a mix of natural and synthetic ingredients as they also contain ingredients like mineral oil, silicones and parabens. And as with all Dove products, I really like the fragrance even though it is pretty subtle. 

Have you tried these products?
What's your favourite Dove skin care product?

xx

(*) Products sent for review

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Jan 29, 2014

Recent FOTD, Red Lips & Side Swept Flat Twist Out

Recent FOTD, Red Lips & Side Swept Flat Twist Out


Hi Guys, so it's been a little while. As usual I have quite a few blog posts prepared, but never get around to posting. Main reason right now is that I've just moved to a new place and I haven't sorted out WIFI yet, so I currently only have my phone internet.  If you follow me on Instagram you'll see that this was actually me a few weeks ago but I'm sure your used to old FOTD's by now.


I actually haven't been wearing this hair style recently because it doesn't even last for a day now that it is literally raining constantly and that it is super humid. Also, for those of you who read my natural hair posts, an update is soo over due so I'll make sure to get that post up soonish.



What posts would you like to see more of on my blog?
 Feel free to link your most recent FOTD post :)

xx


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Jan 18, 2014

Karamel and Brown Glow Face Crème

Karamel and Brown Glow Face Crème

Karamel and Brown Try Size Glow Face Crème  Review and Ingredients

Here is some info about Karamel & Brown from their website: "The new beauty brand Karamel & Brown brings an innovative dimension to the beauty industry, through introducing a brand new concept aimed at brown skin tones. The revolutionary Glow range enhances the natural beauty of Asian, Black and Mixed Heritage complexions, giving the skin a nourishing, hydrating and long lasting glow. "

 Karamel and Brown Glow Face Creme 200ml, £16.95 (*)- So before I was sent this product to try out, I had never ever tried fake tan before, nor planned on trying it out either.  Fake tan kind of only made me think of the white girl gone orange look and that is not cute. Anyway, Karamel & Brown are a brand who actually are aimed at brown skin tones. The product will give you a tan similar to that you get in the summer, and it can help even out hyper pigmentation or old acne scarring. 


At first glance when you squeeze a little product out of the bottle- it looks pretty thick. However this is a really, really light cream as you can probably tell from the far right pic. Despite being thin it was nourishing enough to use instead of a night cream, and it is light enough to use instead of your day cream as well. If you check out the ingredient list from the first pic you will see that it contains mainly natural ingredients with Aloe Vera and oils like Jojoba Oil. The only "controversial" ingredient I can see is "Propylene Glycol", which unfortunately is pretty far up in the ingredient list. Also, I was really surprised that this product smells super yummy, kind of like a mix of Coconut and Karamel or something! 

Results? I noticed results after the first time I used it, actually so much so that I skipped the next application and used it only once per day, in the evening. It is possible that for people of darker skin tones than me you'd need a few more applications before seeing results and for lighter shades maybe less. My skin went from having always been good my whole life to bad like a year ago and it has just got better, and I do have a little bit of scarring which definitely seemed to be less visible after I had worn this cream for a couple of days. I actually wore no makeup what so ever for a couple of weeks while trying this product. After you have achieved the results (the shade) you like, you can keep up the results by applying it every other day or so, or ever evening. I really enjoyed using this and I can see myself repurchasing it when I run out, if it runs out while it is still winter time that is! If you prefer quality and natural ingredients, this is a great choice as (I am guessing), most commercial fake tan creams probably contain a lot of rubbish ingredients! 

Do you use fake tan?
Have you heard of this brand?

xx



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Jan 17, 2014

Exante Diet Review And Pictures- Simple Solution

Exante Diet Review And Pictures- Simple Solution

Today I am reviewing these food products from the Exante diet. Just as I decided to go back to the gym again after almost a year long break I saw on Twitter that Exante were looking for bloggers to review their products, and I just thought the timing was perfect!

How does it work? So I received quite a few products to try out. Once you have your products, you can decide whether to follow either of these three diet plans: the Simple Solution, Working solution or Total Solution. For each of them, you'd use the same products and only how many additional meals you have will vary.

Here is a little info about their products "All of our soups, shakes, bars and food packs (porridge, pasta carbonara, shepherds pie etc) are Total Meal replacements. By using 3 of our products a day to replace your normal meals you can cut down your daily calories, and you'll still receive 100% of your Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) of vitamins and minerals. This means that you stay fit and healthy whilst you lose weight, because your body has all that it needs to enable safe and effective weight loss." Find a link to their product ingredient lists here.

Exante Diet Review And Pictures- Simple Solution

So this is what the packaging of the products look like, for the Simple Solution, I got a mix of breakfast, lunch and ready meals. I got the flavoured shakes in: Strawberry, Toffee Caramel, Banana, Vanilla, Chocolate and Chocolate and Mint. For ready meals I got the Spagetti Bolognese, Pasta Cabonara, Red Bean Chili, Shepherd's Pie and Curry. The "breakfast food" I got were the Porridge Oats and the lunch type of food was the Mushroom & Tomato and Basil soups. 

Below you can find my favourite of each type of meal, and some thoughts on them. In the end I will put my overall thoughts on all of the Exante Diet products I have tried.

Exante Diet Shaker Bottle and Chocolate and Mint Shake

Information about the Exante Diet shakes: "Exante's diet shakes are thick, creamy and formulated specifically for weight loss. They are high protein, low carb and we've made sure they contain NO aspartame, NO artificial colours, NO MSG and have NO genetically modified products! 3 packs gives you 100% RDA's for vitamins and minerals."

So I received this Shaker Bottle for my shakes. It came with a stainless steel ball inside of it, to help the shakes mix properly when you are shaking it. I didn't realise so for the first shakes I tried (Chocolate & Vanilla), I tried them without using it and they were thick and not properly mixed. After using it the proper way, with the steel ball inside- they turned out so much nicer. The consistency is pretty thin but they are super tasty! My favourite is this one in the pictures, chocolate and mint, and also the toffee caramel ones. As mentioned in the info, they do not contain aspartame but they use the sweetener Sucralose instead. A little tip, these contain a lot of added vitamins, minerals and best of all- a lot of protein! So bring the Shaker bottles with you and your favourite shake to drink straight after a gym session! 
Check out all of the shakes here.

Exante Diet Porridge Oats Breakfast Food

Information about the Exante Diet Porridge Oats: "Exante Diet Porridge Oats - the perfect winter warmer. This generous portion will fill you up whether it's for breakfast, lunch or dinner. We have recently updated the composition of the Porridge Oats pack, so some of you may find the product less sweet than previously. If you like it sweeter then feel free to add a tablet sweetener or how about some cinnamon for a nice change."

I was pretty surprised to discovered that this was one of my favourite food products, as I usually don't actually like porridge. The taste is really, really nice and contrary to what you might think from the info above suggestion that you might want to add some more sweetener- it already taste pretty sweet. Again, it is sweetened with sucralose and as with all of the other products, it contains added vitamin and minerals. The instructions tell you to microwave it for a couple of minutes, however, I'd say add a few minutes to what it says on the pack, or simply microwave it until you get the consistency you prefer. I always eat breakfast, and quite a lot- and I was surprised that this was actually very filling on its own. If you are used to light breakfast, this will be enough, otherwise- have a boiled egg on the side or some fruits. 

Exante Diet Mushoom Risotto

Information about the Exante Diet Mushroom Risotto: "Exclusive to Exante, you won’t find this stunning meal anywhere else in the UK! This lovely creamy mushroom risotto is packed with flavour while still being high in protein and fibre!"

As this contains rice, I thought this was okay to eat on its own. However some of the other ready meals, like Red Bean Chilli (see below)- I would personally eat with something like rice or pasta. This was really taste and had a lot of flavour. Again, when you microwave this, you might want to leave it in a little longer than the packaging says to get the right consistency. I really enjoyed this meal but as it isn't a really big, I would personally have it as lunch for instance. 

Exante Diet Red Bean Chilli

Information about the Extante Diet Red Bean Chilli: Packed with full red kidney beans and sweetcorn, this spicy beef style meal is a real favourite. Suitable for vegetarians.

This was my favourite ready meal, although I did have it with pasta, so if you are following the diet step by step- this is supposed to be eaten on its own as you can see in the product pictures on the website. It was really easy to get to a nice consistency and had a lot of flavour in it, and as they mention in the description- it contains loads of beans. It is a little spicy and very tasty.

So my overall thoughts? To start with, along with the products you can a few sheets of information about the diet which explains, how and why it works. And with calorie and eligibility for the different types of diet programmes they offer which was really helpful. If you try out the programme you don't have to worry about planning your meals as it is all thought through- and the total calories and vitamins/mineral per day have been calculated to match your personal (chosen) diet plan. The products do not contain aspartame (but instead Sucralose), no MSG trans fats or GM ingredients. All of their products are high in protein, fibre and vitamins and minerals and (from what I can see) they are all suitable for vegetarians.The allergens are either mentioned or highlighted in bold on the ingredient lists, and some contain gluten, lactose, both or other allergens. So if you have any allergies- just check each individual ingredient list. I really like the fact that they all come in powder form because they are so easy to bring with you somewhere, to store and probably to sit in your cupboard for a little while if you like to stock up on products. If you don't want to eat sweeteners, these are probably not for you. Also, if you don't have a microwave you will definitely struggle. Unfortunately I am moving soon and won't and I have a couple of products left so I might have to invest in one!

Have you tried any food products like these? Do you have any questions about the products I have tried? I included loads of direct links so it would be easy to check out any products you are interested in reading more about.

xx

Check out my other health and fitness posts here.

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*These products were sent to me to review, all opinions are my own and no compensation was given to write this post.
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