You Little Beauty - B. Clean Melting Gel Cleanser - £7

I normally wait a few weeks (ahem, months more like, Sal!) before I feel the need to blog about a product as I like to give my skin time to adapt and see if I have any worthy results to spout about but I feel with this little beauty, I have to share tout suite!

A few years ago, a new 100% vegan skincare range was exclusively launched in Superdrug called B. and its gone from strength-to-strength, so much so they have recently introduced a new make-up range (again, totally vegan).  The 'B' stands for Beautiful and the products have been slotted into 'phases' depending on your age group so its easy to find what would suit you.

I have used a few of their products already and I am a B.ig fan: B. Pure Sensitive Micellar Cleansing Wipes (£1.50), Micellar Facial Oil (£7), B. Lifted Contouring Cream (£13) and B. Refreshed Essence Lotion (£7).

The product that I want to harp on about today is their B. Clean Melting Gel Cleanser.  It really does give a fabulous cleanse as its so frustrating (and not to mention disgusting) when you come to tone and find make-up remnants on the cotton wool pad...basically, the cleanser hasn't removed the make-up and grime of the day. Ugh. But not with this product - it removes everything.  Please note, I've not used it to remove my eye make-up as I prefer to use what I have used for over 20 years - I have super-sensitive eyes but on the tube, it states that it removes eye make-up and is ophthalmically approved.

B. Clean is a clear gel that once massaged onto the skin, it melts to become an oil to give a deep cleanse.  I have used facial cleansing oils before and because I do have an oily skin, I don't really like the feel of them but this one is so light that when you wash it off, it turns into a milky toner and you are left with hydrated, supple, clean skin once you have washed it off.  I have replaced the B. Micellar Oil which does provide a good cleanse but I think I prefer the consistency of the gel-oil of the B. Clean.  Also, I knew it was going to work when I washed my hands and the product removed easily so once you've washed it off, you are clean and ready to tone.

B. Clean is very similar to another cleansing product that I love, Oskia London Renaissance Cleansing Gel (Space NK, £29.50).  I bought some when I lived in Dublin a few years ago and it was a hefty €35 but I loved it!  It contains Vitamins A, C and E, chamomile and rose amongst other things and I really noticed my skin becoming softer and with a glow (probably down to the massage I was doing).   Admittedly, there's none of the wonderful ingredients as what's in the Oskia Gel but B. Clean's results are the same and its vegan/cruelty-free.

However, if you don't want to fork out nearly thirty quid then get yourself to Superdrug and grab B. Clean for £7. In fact, you can get two as its buy one get one free...

www.superdrug.com

You Little Beauty - Neal's Yard Remedies - Bee Lovely Body Lotion 295ml - £22

I recently visited the Neal's Yard Covent Garden store and I felt like popping open a bottle of champagne when I got my hands on this little beauty as its very hard to get hold of due to its popularity - its always sold-out online.

It lives up to its name as it really is 'lovely'.  Lovely for you, lovely for bees and lovely for the environment.

Let's discuss the bees first.  They are in decline and we need bees to pollinate summer crops and not to mention produce honey.  Neal's Yard donate over £10k a year to bee-friendly causes and sales of this product raise money for its charities and projects.  The honey comes from Mexico and is Fairtrade too.

The smell of this lotion makes it what it is - a have-to-have product if you love the scent of honey and oranges - as its infused with organic honey and orange and mandarin essential oils!  When I lived in Dublin, I absolutely adored the scent of Roger & Gallet's Orange Body Oil so Bee Lovely reminds me of happy days...admittedly mostly sat in Le Bon Crubeen for hours on end putting the world to rights with my sister. 

Honey has the ability to retain moisture, is an antioxidant and is antibacterial.  Once the scent of the honey has been absorbed into the skin on application, you are left with a fabulous subtle, uplifting and lasting orange scent, not to mention super-soft skin.

I absolutely love this product and the range is safe enough to use from the age of 3 years so perfect for the whole family.  Also in the range is the Bath & Shower Gel, Hand Wash, Balm, Hand Cream and Body Butter.  I wish I'd bought some Hand Cream and Shower Gel at the time while I was in the store as well!

If you would like further information, purchase products or receive samples, please contact me via email youlittlebeauty2017@yahoo.com.  Offer at the moment is buy two Bee Lovely products and receive a free tote bag!

You Little Beauty - The Body Shop's Skin Defense Multi Protection Essence SPF 50 - £16

This little beauty is a life-saver and perfect for UK urbanites who may get caught out without SPF while out and about.  Oh and it's 100% vegan.

I'll be honest.  I'm not a fan of sun cream.  Obviously I use it in a hot climate, on my holidays.  I am very freckly for a start and can burn within 10 mins of being in the sun without it but I don't like the consistency of sun protection - it makes me feel claustrophobic and sticky, no matter how 'light' the companies who sell them say they are, they still have a gooeyness to them.  As I associate a sun cream with a holiday, it feels very strange to me wearing one in Blighty without access to a pool!

Another issue I have with sun cream is that I don't want forgo my favourite moisturiser (which doesn't contain sun protection) and this is where The Body Shop come in - they've produced an essence with a whopping SPF 50 that you apply over your moisturiser so you are getting the best of both worlds. 

A lot of people think that you won't get a tan wearing a high SPF.  You can.  All it means is that you can safely spend longer in the sun before you have to reapply.

Now this is not new, popping a lightweight SPF over your normal moisturiser; Dermalogica have been producing these type of products for years (ever since I can remember, back when I trained as a beauty therapist in the 1990's) and Clarins do their UV Plus UV+ SPF50 Neutral and I can't believe that there are not more on the market.

Thank goodness for The Body Shop's Skin Defense (and the price-point is good too).  Not only has it got the all important UVA/B protection and SPF 50, it also contains red algae and my favourite ingredient, Vitamin C.  Red algae is a rich source of polysaccharides which help the skin to hydrate and retain water.  Vitamin C provides radiance and resilience to the skin by preventing and treating UV-induced photodamage. 

It's not just overexposure to the sun and dehydration we need to safeguard ourselves against either. Environmental pollution and free radicals can damage the tissue, so Essence contains antioxidants (nutrients that work with our body's enzymes) to keep the skin cells healthy and strong.

So after I've applied my favourite moisturiser and eye cream (I let them sink in - I put my underwear on at this stage), I pop on the Essence.  It's a lovely white, light-in-texture lotion and doesn't interfere or react with my skincare.  Then I put my make-up on and voila!  My freckly skin is protected to the max and I can't even feel its there.

Now we need an SPF essence for the body so we can wear our favourite body lotions underneath too!

There is an alternative if you felt that applying an extra layer of product is 'too much'.  If you normally use a serum, you can replace it with The Body Shop's Drops of Youth Fresh Emulsion SPF20 (£22) and pop your moisturiser over the top and you're SPF covered!

If you have any questions, want to buy The Body Shop (there is currently a 30% sale on until 16th July) or receive some samples, please email me at youlittlebeauty2017@yahoo.com.