Crabtree & Evelyn is one of those luxury brands who seems to have a range of  lovely gift sets available each Christmas.  I’ve been trying out a Pomegranate Body Scrub which also contains argan oil and grapeseed. As it’s getting wintery now and I’ve stopped using fake tan I don’t tend to use my body scrubs quite as much however ever now and then it’s nice to properly treat my skin.

The scrub has a creamy texture with very fine granules (about the size of table salt).  It’s a lot more nourishing for my skin than scrubs with a shower gel type base as it gently scrubs away any dead skin without leaving me feeling dry. I think the argan oil properly helps to rehydrate my skin as I know how amazing that stuff is for my hair!

The Pomegranate scrub is vailable from Crabtree & Evelyn for £15 for 175ml and there are also some great ideas for Christmas gifts on the website!

*pr sample – views are my own

I always love the products in The Body Shop and a lot of other ranges seem to model their products on some of the iconic items such the body butters.  As a Christmas present (or birthday or any other time of the year!) I always think The Body Shop performs well as you know straight away the products are good quality.

This year The Body Shop will again be releasing so festive ranges and fragrances which includes Spiced Vanilla, Cranberry Joy and Candid Ginger. I released after I took the picture below that the Spiced Pumpkinrange is actually the autumn range but as I really like it and does have that warming wintry fragrance I thought I would still include it in the post.

So first up is the Spiced Vanilla which is a richer, more wintry version of the original vanilla fragrance. I’m a big fan of the sweet vanilla scent however I think the spiced edge to this product makes it really wearable even for those who don’t tend to like such a sweet fragrance. The body butter itself is the usual rich moisturiser which is easily absorbed. Overall I think this is actually one of my favourite fragrances for the body butter range and I love that with The Body Shop products the fragrance seems to last all day.

Next up is the Cranberry Joy range which has a very fruity fragrance. I’m not keen on products with a citrus edge however as this is cranberry it has a sweeter, berry scent. All the usual products are available in the range which includes a shower gel, body scrub, shimmer lotion and body butter to name a few. 

I’ve included a swatch of the shimmering body lotion as I know most people have probably tried some form of shower gel, body scrub and body butter from The Body Shop however I had never actually tried any of the shimmering body lotion’s before. This lotion has a pearly finish though in the picture I’ve applied it quite heavily to get it to show up. Even when blended it’s still very shimmery so I can see this being saved for Christmas parties and other nights out.

Finally up is the Spiced pumpkin range from the autumn collection though as I mentioned earlier as this has a spicy fragrance I think this would still work as a Christmas present. I’m often a little dubious about spending too much on shower gels but using this one has reminded me why it’s worthwhile. The fragrance isn’t overpowering when you use it but somehow even at the end of the day I can still smell this product on my skin hours after my perfume seems to have disappeared!

For anyone starting to think about Christmas presents I think The Body Shop is well worth a look. The shower gels are both £4, the body scrub is £12.50, the body butters are usually priced at £12.50 and the shimmering body lotion is £8 all avialable from The Body Shop.

*pr sample – views are my own

I’ve tired a few products before from Sen which is a Chinese company which bases it’s face and body products on Chinese herbs. I really liked the scents of the different body products I’ve used before so couldn’t resist when I was given the chance to try their Mood Freshener shower gel*.

I think mood freshening is just what I need some mornings when you just feel like you’ve gotten out the wrong side of bed and can’t shift it! Anything which will help wake me up before a long day at work is definitely what I need. The shower gel is based on bamboo and green tea and comes beautifully packaged as with all their products.

The fragrance of the shower gel is very refreshing and has a very natural scent. It’s one of those shower gels which helps to refresh your sense’s and wakes you up first thing in the morning. I should also mention that it is also SLS free which is something I always look for in shampoo’s now but which I’m only just starting to appreciate in shower gels.

SLS usually help a product to foam up but can irritate the skin and dry it out. The Sen shower gels’ all seem to lather up well even without SLS in them and my legs in particular don’t seem as dry as they often are when I get out the shower. Sen Mood Freshener shower gel is available for £14.00 from their website.

*PR sample – views are my own

I always tend to shave my legs as I find it quick and easy when your in the shower and gives my conditioner a chance to work some magic in my hair. I’ve always thought hair remover’s seemed like a lot of effort to use however I had thought they probably leave the hairs on your legs not quite so stubbly when it starts to regrow.

For me the saving a few seconds using shaving my legs has always been worth the price of needing to shave them most days to keep on top of any regrowth. I’ve been sent a couple of the Nair Silky Sensation hair remover’s* to try so I thought with this summery weather it would be a good chance to see if they work any better.

There are two different formulations, the red pomegranate version which takes 3 minutes and the green kiwi version for sensitive skins which takes 4 minutes. The different times ocnfused me a little at first and then I realsied the green was for sensitive skins which is probably why it takes a little longer.

I’ve tend to apply these before jumping in the shower and both seem to stay in place even with the shower on full blast. My skin can be a little sensitive so I’ve been using the green version but even with that after it’s been on my legs only a minute or so they start to feel like they are burning a little.

My legs tend to be very dry which is probably why this seems to irritate them a little. It takes the full 4 minutes to remove leg hair and a little longer I found if I did under my arms. Overall I think I’ll probably stick to my shaving as I wasn’t massively keen on the scent of the creams or the fact they irritated my skin.

Nair silky sensations are available from Boots for £6.99 for 200ml.

*PR sample – views are my own

I’m not massively fussy when it comes to shower gel but I love anything with quite a sweet, vanilla fragrance so this latest offering from the Original Source is just up my street! This is actually from the shower cream range which is a little ore nourishing for the skin than a regular shower gel.

The vanilla milk and raspberry smells a lot like a strawberry smoothie (I know it’s meant to be raspberry but it’s that sweet slightly fruity fragrance). The other good reason for me having a shower cream that smells very sweet and girly is that it put’s my husband off from using it otherwise I’m sure he’d be in the shower using all my nice products!

The Original Source shower cream is avilable for £2.03 from Boot’s and Superdrug.

*PR sample – views are my own