Christmas stocking fillers: Burt's Bees Honey Pot Collection

Hands up, who hasn't finished their Christmas shopping yet? I finished mine on Saturday, which is surprisingly late for me as usually it's complete by November. I haven't done any Christmas gift guides this year purely because I don't want my house to be inundated with PR samples, I don't want to buy things I'm not going to use and I don't want to show things that I've bought for others in case they read it. But for those who are still in search of a gift, this one is absolutely perfect. 

I bought the Burt's Bees Honey Pot Collection last week while having a bit of a splurge in Marks and Spencer's beauty hall. I've had my eye on it for a while because it's been doing the rounds on blogs, and as a lover of honey I knew I had to make it mine. First of all the jar is beautiful. It's a glass honey pot and it's currently housing my most-used make up brushes. It also comes to with brand's beeswax lip balm, honey lip balm and mini hand salve - must-haves for winter.

The idea behind the gift is great, the packaging is beautiful and reusable and it's affordable. It retails for £8 normally, but Marks and Spencer currently have it on offer for £5.60 - not half bad at all.

What's been your favourite stocking filler this year? _________________________________________________________________________________ Twitter|Facebook|BlogLovin|Instagram

REVIEW | Natural beauty products with akamuti

One of the best things about being a blogger is getting to try out and discover fantastic new brands. Which is exactly how I feel about akamuti. If I wasn't a blogger, I would never have discovered the brand, and I'd have missed out on some wonderful products. In case you don't know, akamuti is an all-natural brand that doesn't use nasty chemicals, preservatives or additives. The brand try to source ethical and fairly traded ingredients and all of their products are handcrafted in small batches to ensure you receive them fresh. 

Chocolate Marshmallow Face Mask* - £7.96

This was without a doubt the product I was most looking forward to trying out. The powder is a hefty 70g and as you only need to mix a tiny amount in with water, it's going to last you an awfully long time. I wet my face and then massage the powder onto my skin to create a paste. I then leave this face mask on for around 15 minutes and once washed off, my skin is left feeling soft and looking healthy. And of course, it smells delicious. It uses fairtrade organic cocoa, crushed rose petals, nourishing pink clay and softening marshmallow which when combined is great for the skin and great for your nose. 

Buttered Rose & Almond Hand Cream* - £8.00

I absolutely love hand products and this one hasn't let me down. It's a rich cream-gel that combines roses, peach and plum, flower oils of rose and ylang ylang with marzipan to create a delicious aroma. The hand cream itself takes a while to sink into the skin, but once it's absorbed you're left with incredibly soft hands - perfect for those with rough, chapped skin. It's definitely one that's going to be getting a lot of love in the winter.

Aritha Shampoo Powder* - £4.96

This is definitely the strangest product of the bunch. It's shampoo in a powder that uses soap from a tree. Once I've wet my hair, I mix the powder in with water to create a paste and massage this into the scalp. I leave it on for around five minutes and rinse thoroughly with water. At first the process felt very strange as the shampoo doesn't lather, but I soon got used to it. It doesn't leave the hair caked in product or weigh it down, it just leaves it feeling clean, fresh and revitalised. Although this hasn't replaced my love of "normal shampoo," it's definitely a product that I love using as a weekly deep cleansing treat.

Have you tried anything from akamuti before? What's your favourite natural brand?

*PR Sample

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HAND CARE | Carex Hand Cream + Giveaway

With the weather getting colder by the minute, it's time to dig out the dry skin products - hand cream included. Carex have recently launched two varities of hand saviours and for the past few weeks, I've been trying them out. With antibacterial properties, these creams are wonderful at nourishing, moisturising and protecting your hands. Nourish & Protect* comes with extra Vitamin E while Hydrate & Protect* includes Aloe Vera. The handbag sized bottles are wonderful for throwing into your handbag to ensure your hands stay in tiptop condition no matter where you are. At £2.50 each, they're an absolute bargain and some of the best hand creams I've tried. They smell clean and fresh and the cream sinks into the hands immediately leaving you with beautifully soft skin. I use Nourish & Protect before I go to bed and Hydrate & Protect throughout the day to make sure that my hands don't end up dry in this terrible weather.

I have 2 bottles of Hydrate & Protect and 2 bottles of Nourish & Protect to give away. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning a bottle is be a resident of the UK and fill out the Rafflecopter form before. I'll be sending a random variant to each winner but if you do have a preference, let me know on the form and I'll try and give everyone the formula they'd prefer.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you tried out the Carex Hand Creams before? What is your favourite hand cream?
*PR Sample

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Make sure you enter my Fashion Union giveaway here.
Do you have a few spare pennies? Check out my Blog Sale here

Favourite.. Hand Creams

I don't think I've ever done a favourite hand cream post even though hand creams are something that I use regularly throughout the day. I do often mention them (especially the Renouve one recently) but I think they deserve a post on their own. I also apologise for the bad image..

Burts Bees Almond Mix Beeswax Hand Cream* - £9.99

This smells incredible, just like bakewell tarts or something along those lines. It's very moisturising and does take a while to sink into the hands when it's used alone but the end results are definitely worth it. However, if you use this after you've washed your hands (when your hands are still a little bit damp) then it immediately sinks into the skin. Obviously not a great choice for travel as it's a big, bulky pot but definitely one to keep by the sink.

Soap and Glory Hand Food Hand Cream - £5.00

I think everyone has tried this. Or at least everyone's heard about it. It's a lovely hand cream that once again smells incredible - like marshmallows. Very sweet. It sinks into the skin quickly and it's not greasy at all. The  results don't just last for an hour or so either, they last a really long time which is great. I really do love this one and I'll always have one in my collection. Soap and Glory also do a miniature version which is great for travel.

Renouve Anti-Ageing Every Day Defense* - £22.00

If you read my blog often enough then you'll know how much I love this. I keep one in my handbag with me at all times and I also keep one on my desk. Although it's pricey it's the most perfect hand cream ever known to mankind. It's lightweight, sinks in quickly, leaves the skin feeling soft and supple and also leaves them looking beautiful and more radiant. Not only does it do all of that but it's also a hand sanitiser so it's great for keeping your hands clean! You can read my full review here.

What are your favourite hand creams? Do you have any recommendations?
Don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't done so already!

xxx
*PR Sample