Well, I haven’t given up on the product reviews entirely, but I’m doing things a bit differently now. There will be posts that each have 15 products in them, and they won’t be monthly any more. If I thought something was just nice enough or ok, I probably won’t spend time talking about it. So the things I’ll write about are either amazing, or there’s some kind of story, or I discovered something new, or maybe I really hated something. Who knows. But I hope you like the new style of product post.

So here are the first 15 – quite a lot of Body Shop in here! Have you tried any of these? Let me know in the comments.

1. Orange moisturiser

I was excited to try something from Dr Botanicals, and even happier that it was something with a citrus scent. This moisturiser comes in a tube, a bit like a hand cream, which I prefer to the tubs, and keeps your cream fresher. It does have an orange scent, but isn’t overly perfumed, and you won’t notice it after a few minutes. I enjoyed using it, would definitely be open to trying more from the range.

2. Mango hand cream

I love this mango hand cream from the Body Shop stuff so much! The only thing is I wish they would do it in bigger tubes, but these ones are fine to go in your handbag. I haven’t found anything in the mango line that I don’t like, and you’ll see some other products from there in this post too. The Body Shop hand creams aren’t the cheapest, but they are good value, and there are often deals, where you can either get money off, or buy multiple products for a reduced price.

3. ELF primer

I’ve mentioned this primer before, and I replaced it again when this one run out. I’ve since started using a different one too, but I like to have a couple on the go just in case one runs out. It’s a silicone-based primer, which is like the marmite of primers – you either like it or you don’t – but I like it for creating a base. I’m feeling the love for my Body Shop one more at the moment, but I’ll definitely use this as well.

4. Vitamin E toner

As toners go, I’ve been more in to the spray on type recently. They are better for the environment because you don’t use cotton wool to apply them, and I think as we move into the Spring and Summer, they’ll be more refreshing too. However, as far as the more traditional toners go, I got through another vitamin E one from the Body Shop. I bought a couple of different ones from there recently to try them out, but overall I still prefer this one because it’s so nourishing, not watery (I hate that!), and it’s gentle on the skin.

5. Yes to cucumbers micellar water

I think the person who designed this packaging needs a D minus and to be sent back to design school! The first cucumber micellar water that came had the top shattered, which meant I had to order a replacement. When the replacement came, it was such a pain to use. Rather than a spray nozzle, it has a kind of circle with a hole in the centre where the product shoots out. I think you maybe press it onto a pad, but then it prevents the product coming out properly. If you hold it slightly away, it goes all over your hands and not on the pad. I got fed up with it and decanted it into an empty bubble bath bottle. The product is fine, but I don’t have time for all that faffing about.

6. Mango shower gel

Love love love this mango shower gel! It was part of a birthday present that included lots of the mango line and I never get tired of smothering myself in the mango scent! My favourite from the Body Shop skincare line!

7. Nail varnish remover pads

I know some people think this is a bit extravagant, but if you’re travelling, or if you don’t want to risk spilling Nail Varnish Remover, these nail varnish remover pads are a good idea. These ones are from Waitrose. Ocado do them too, and the Ocado ones come in a bigger pack, which works out as better value if you will use them regularly, but in terms of performance they’re about the same, so the Waitrose ones are a good one to start with if you want to see whether you like them. They don’t feel as moist as a cotton round covered in traditional nail varnish remover does, but they do work as long as you’re thorough, and they don’t have that traditional strong nail varnish remover scent either. I will keep using the pads now that I’ve discovered them.

8. Clarins exfoliating toner

Of all the exfoliating toners I’ve tried, this is my favourite! It’s similar to the Pixie Glow Tonic, but I can’t bear the smell of the glow tonic unfortunately! So this from Clarins is slightly more expensive, but it’s an ideal solution for someone like me that doesn’t like physical exfoliants for the face. I won’t repurchase straight away as I also have some exfoliating pads from Nip+Fab to get through, but I would definitely buy it again.

9. Mango body yoghurt

You see a theme going on here? Yes, I love the mango body yoghurt too! This is a lightweight body moisturiser and unlike a couple of the other body yoghurts, this one dries down really quickly, without feeling sticky. As with the other products in this range, the mango scent stays around, so the best way to spend the rest of the day smelling of it is to layer a couple of them up!

10. Mango body scrub

Yay for birthday presents – they get you to try things you otherwise wouldn’t have picked up. I hadn’t tried the sugar scrub before, because generally, I don’t like scrubs. I don’t like the texture. I don’t like the way they feel in the bath or shower. But this is sugar, not some kind of ground up or crushed up thing, so it exfoliates your skin and then dissolves in the water – as if it had never been there. Leaving just the mango scent behind. Salt scrubs are harsher and dissolve more slowly – but this is great and I would buy it again.

11. Pink grapefruit spray

I finished up a bottle of this pink grapefruit mist – which is something I tend to use as a body spray. I guess you could use it as a scent on its own, but I usually wear a scent in addition to this. The pink grapefruit line is another one of my favourites from the Body Shop – more zesty and less sweet than the mango.

12. Origins face wash

I got a bunch of Origins minis in a set during the pre-Christmas sale as I wanted to try out some more from the range. My favourite is still the moisturiser – the reason I got the set in the first place. I liked a couple of the other things too, but wasn’t really a fan of the frothy face wash. Face products should not contain mint. Ever! It doesn’t matter how good the product is. If face or hair products contain mint, they’re out of the running for me. Shame though as generally I do like Origins.

13. Troublemaker mascara

I got a mini of the Urban Decay troublemaker mascara in the Feelunique sale. Sexproof lashes? Really? Apparently lasts through snowboarding, saunas and sex! Glad we got that sorted out then! Who even tests these claims out?

I’m generally not a fan of minis, but I did want to give this a try and was glad that I had. It was volumising without being clumpy and didn’t flake off or smudge.

14. Sunflower hand cream

I talked about this a while ago, but it came up on Latest in Beauty, so I got myself another tube of the sunflower hand cream from Laidbare. Originally I got this for the highly technical reason of liking sunflowers, but it is a good hand cream – moisturising, decent price, not greasy, and a generally good all-rounder. I usually go for fruity hand creams, but this made a nice change.

15. Apple micellar water

This is from a regime of products that I bought from Freshly Cosmetics. It’s the best-smelling micellar water I have ever used and contains ingredients such as aloe vera, green apple water, ginger and cucumber extracts. Definitely not the cheapest out there, but these products make good gifts or treats for yourself. Here’s the link to the apple micellar water.

Discounts and offers

And finally if you’ve made it this far – just a reminder that I have some affiliate discount codes for you:

Feelunique – you can get £10 off your first Feel Unique order by going onto the site using my affiliate link. This offer is open to new customers only, and the minimum spend is £30.

Glossybox – you can get 20% off your first box by using my code KIRSTY-RGE when you place your first order on the Glossybox site.

Ocado – if you would like me to send you an invitation to Ocado, just fill out your details using the form below. You will receive a £20 voucher for your first shop, and a free smart pass, which gives you free deliveries for one year (minimum spend applies).

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