Max Benjamin Fragrance Diffusers: My New Addiction!

Hey ladies,

I hope you're all well and enjoying the lovely weather. I'm sorry I haven't been with you in a while BUT I am in recovery from a broken ankle! I think the only words of wisdom I could give you with regards to said broken ankle is DO NOT chase your 6 year old around the garden!

It took me quite a while to decide what my first post back would be, and I was toying with the idea of telling you all why I think Billy Ocean might actually be my father, but then I thought no, best save that one for later...

So I have chosen instead to tell you about my latest obsession, Max Benjamin Fragrance Diffusers. My obsession with these started when I went to visit my good friend Kat from Dolly Rouge for a weekend of nothing but food, fun, and pampering, and epic chats, not to mention The Vampire Diaries! I was immediately drawn to the scent in Kat's living room which was Mimosa and Sweet Amber from Max Benjamin. And so my obsession was born....

It's not my first foray into the world of Max Benjamin, I've been a fan of their candles for as long as I can remember, starting with Blue Velvet and Elderberry which they have sadly discontinued.  I actually bought a stockpile of the candle before they were taken off the shelves, but I miss it terribly so Max Benjamin, if you're reading this please, please, please bring it back! Im also a huge fan of Dodici, which smells just beautiful. It's quite a masculine scent but I just adore it! My only point of purchase in this town is Carraig Donn, so off I went to have a sniff, and completely fell in love!

My first diffuser purchase was the incredible French Linen Water. I just love this scent, it's not something I would normally go for, but I was looking for something different. MB use only the finest selection of essential oils to create each diffuser, so it doesn't scrimp on the scent! It's scent includes the ever relaxing lavender, sweet orange and citrus notes which blend together beautifully! It always seems to smell different, and call me insane but, I detect notes of chocolate in there! It's just perfect.

My most recent purchase was this beauty, which I have to thank Kat for turning me onto. Mimosa & Sweet Amber. The soothing sweet amber in this fragrance makes this perfect for de-stressing after a long day of shuffling on my broken ankle. It also contains delicate top notes of green leaf and a tender heart of mimosa. I've really been enjoying how it mingles harmoniously with French Linen Water to create my own little unique scent. My room smells beautiful (even if I do say so myself) these scents are just a pleasure to be around.

The fantastic thing about these beauties is that they come with a fantastic 150mls of product, which is a huge amount of fragrance! What's even better is the fact that you can purchase refills for when they run out, pretty nifty right?! They have such a terrific selection available on their website, I highly recommend you treat yourself because they are just stunning! I will be repurchasing refills for the ones above, but I also have every intention of letting my addiction take over and buying more! I do have my eye on 3 or 4... or 5! You know me... in for a penny in for a pound!

So that's it for now ladies!

I hope you enjoyed!

What are your thoughts on Max Benjamin?!

Have you tried anything from the range?

As always, let me know below!

Until next time 

xoxo

Aundrea

Ziaja - The Holy Trinity of Enzyme Peels

Hey Ladies,

I hope you're all well! As a long time skincare obsessive, I have tried my fair share of face masks, peels, lotions and potions of every type. It's been a really long time since a budget skincare brand has impressed me. I find that more often than not, they're a complete let down, so I gave up trying them, wholeheartedly convinced that I would never find one, and that high end products were the only way to go. I was a total skincare cynic, until Ziaja came into my life. Today, I want to share with you my new skincare obsession from Ziaja - Enzyme Peels!

Enzyme Peels have become incredibly popular recently. But what are they, and why are they so important? Well here's the sciencey bit behind it *puts on over sized glasses to look intelligent* enzyme peels are used to deeply cleanse and resurface the skin by treating the upper layers of skin tissue. It literally helps to peel the dead skin cells off the face. Sounds kind of gross I know, but it is incredibly important as these peels help the skin to promote renewal of shiny new healthy skin cells!

I think a lot of people when they hear 'Enzyme Peel' suddenly conjure up the image of Samantha in Sex and the City, looking like a bee keeper hiding under a veil after a harsh chemical peel! This is not the case at all with Enzyme Peels, so don't be frightened! Ziaja have something for everyone in their Enzyme Peel Range! Lets take a closer look shall we?

The SenSitive Skin Enzyme Peel contains an enzyme called Papain, which is terrific for breaking down skin cells! The peel also contains Allantoin, and Castor Seed Oil which are praised for their soothing properties, and also Panthenol which is a pro vitamin of B5, a fantastic hydrating ingredient! This is one of my favourite Enzyme Peels, it leaves the skin feeling soft, plump and incredibly smooth! What more can you ask for?!

The Marine Algae Smoothing Enzyme Peel contains a host of fantastic ingredients to transform dull skin. This peel uses a Bioactive Enzyme with Algae, Canola Oil, Vitamin A, and Pro Vitamin B5. The Algae is a water binding agent which will help to lock moisture into your skin, fantastic for those of us who have skin a bit on the dry side! The Canola Oil helps to eradicate fine lines, blemishes and acne scarring. The Vitamin A helps to keep your skin looking young and the B5 as I mentioned before is fantastic for keeping the skin hydrated!

The Rose Butter Micro Peel, is something a little different from the other two peels as it contains tiny micro exfoliating particles. Perfect for if and when the dead skin cells are being extra stubborn. This peel contains Rose Butter, which is known for its healing properties. Olive Oil EFA's (Essential Fatty Acids) Olive Oil attracts external moisture to the skin and because the fat composition of Olive Oil is very similar to that of human skin, it ensures that as it forms a breathable film to prevent the loss of internal moisture, it does not block the natural functions of our skin while doing so! Tres, Tres important, no?! This peel also contains Vitamin C, E, B3, B5, and B6, all excellent for keeping the skin looking and feeling hydrated, young, soft and supple!

So, as you can see, I am suitably impressed and more than willing to eat my own words about High End Skincare being the only way to go. The Enzyme Peels are not just comparable to higher end ones, but better. The price point is so much more reasonable, there is more bang for your buck AND they're just generally freakin awesome!

Before I hang up my Sciencey Education hat for the day, I just want to remind you of something incredibly important. When you use any sort of peel, it is imperative that you keep your skin moisturised, preferably with one that contains an SPF! After all, you've just gotten rid of a layer of skin, all be it a dead layer, but you don't want those UV ray's to penetrate only to do copious amounts of sun damage to it! So please, be as adventurous as you like with your new BFF The Enzyme Peel, but just make sure that you take the proper steps to ensure you keep it protected too!

That's it for now ladies,

I hope you enjoyed!

What are your thoughts on Ziaja's Enzyme Peels?

Have you tried any? 

Are you tempted?

As always, let me know below!

Until next time 

xoxo

Aundrea

Ziaja can be purchased online here - www.originalbeauty.ie

Follow Ziaja on Twitter - here.

On Facebook - here and here.

Roger & Gallet - Rose and Fleur d'Osmanthus Hand & Nail Creams

Hey Ladies,

I hope you're all well! Roger & Gallet being a long time favourite brand of mine, tend to get me ridiculously excited with new releases to their permanent line. As you all know, I'm such a huge fan of their fragrance waters, shower gels, and body moisturisers, so when I discovered they were releasing a range of new hand and nail creams, I knew I had to have them!

First up we have the Rose Hand & Nail Cream. This little beauty contains Shea Butter and Rose Extract to moisturise, soften and soothe tired hands. I am in love with the scent of this product. It's an incredibly delicate scent, that smells like a thousand rose petals have been pressed together to make this cream. You really only need the smallest amount of product because it spreads and sinks in beautifully. It leaves your hands feeling incredibly soft and nurtured. I just love it!

The Fleur d'Osmanthus Hand & Nail Cream is more heavily scented but no less wonderfully! It's fresh, it's zingy and the scent lingers long after the creams itself has sunk in. This also contains Shea Butter, but also Apricot Oil to nourish and protect your hands and nails. I can see myself using this during the Summer months to hydrate my hands. The scent just screams Summer to me, as with the original fragrance, which this stays true to.

Both of these hand and nail creams that Roger & Gallet have given us are a real treat! I can only hope and pray that they expand the range and bring out some of my favourite scents to accompany these beauties!

It was pointed out to me in my last R&G post, that nobody seems to love this brand more than me, and you know, that's true. Roger & Gallet never disappoint, I'm always so excited to try new products, and anything from the permanent line that I haven't gotten around to yet. There is something about Roger & Gallet, they just seem to release products that everyone can love and appreciate, and in turn, we have to appreciate R&G for that, because there are no filler products in their collection! Everything is just beautiful and that's why I love them so much! From packaging to the product it contains, it's absolute perfection!

That's it for now ladies,

I hope you enjoyed!

What are your thoughts on R&G's new Hand Creams?

Will you be trying them?!

As always, let me know below!

Until next time

xoxo

Aundrea

Kerstin Florian - Hyaluronic Serum

Hey Ladies,

I hope you're all well! Today's post is about a brand that is totally new to me 'Kerstin Florian'. I guess as a beauty blogger and as a gal who's approaching 30, I made the conscious decision a few years ago to take my skincare routine very seriously. But like everything else it's been a learning curve, and it's not something that you can just snap a book shut on and say 'I have nothing else to learn.' There are always new products, new ingredients, and new ways of phrasing ingredients to blindside you into thinking you need it. We need to be sensible, we need to know when to hold back, be more frugal, and also we need to know when to cash out, to splurge. Of course you can chop and change with what works for you, there's no manual. It can be increasingly difficult to find what works for you, especially if one product isn't working, it can have a knock on effect with the rest of your regime. Which is what happened to me a few months ago, I had the goods to kick my skin into gear, but I was missing a key ingredient, enter Kerstin Florian and her incredible Hyaluronic Serum.

If you perhaps haven't heard of Hyaluronic Acid or HA if you will, (too much Breaking Bad) I cordially invite you to crawl out of the rock you may or may not have been living under, dust yourself off and pull up a chair yo. Hyaluronic Acid is something you want and need to know about, it attracts 50 times its weight in water, to help you achieve pretty incredible skin hydration. It also attracts and binds the moisture to our skins surface to help create and maintain softness and suppleness. Sounds pretty great for every skin type right?

But that my friends is not all this serum does, it improves our skins tolerance to environmental irritations, and increases it's elasticity and firmness, perfect for protecting against the signs of ageing. It also contains a huge amount of antioxidants, vitamins, and nutrients for the skin.

The key ingredients are of course our new BFF Hyaluronic Acid, Chamomile Extract to balance and sooth irritated skin, Bitter Orange, Lavender and Geranium Oils to scent the product so beautifully that you feel like you could be having a professional facial, not only that but the oils also help to promote healing and balance within the skin.

So, my final thoughts on this product? I love it, it's given my skin the ultimate kick it needed to ensure my other products did their jobs as effectively as possible. Now my skin is in the best condition it has ever been, it is a key part of a routine I feel I have finally gotten down. As I said skincare and your own skin are always going to be a learning curve, so get to know it, find out what it needs and what it responds to. Don't just assume that because your current routine isn't working that you need to bin all your products, add something new into the mix that you feel like your skin may be lacking, who knows what might happen? When I did, with Kerstin Florian's Hyaluronic Serum it was the missing piece of the puzzle!

That's it for now ladies,

I hope you enjoyed!

What are your thoughts on Hyaluronic Acid?

Are you a fan?

As always, let me know below!

Until next time

xoxo

Aundrea