There are some brands that I grew up with and still love today, one of them being Vaseline. I remember how we always had a tub of the original petroleum jelly in the bathroom cabinet when I was a child and since then I’ve tried pretty much everything they have made; I remember the insane coveting I went through when the iconic lip therapy tins first came out!

One of the latest products to be released by the brand are the Spray Moisturisers, claiming to be perfect for Summer days, providing a quick, light and effective burst of moisture that absorbs in seconds. I suffer with really quite dry skin, as does my Mum so we were really excited to try out a couple of cans from the range and give our thoughts.

We were sent the cocoa radiant* and essential healing* tins and there is also an aloe vera variety available. Now, my Mum and I are notoriously hard to please when it comes to body products, often ditching a product after only one or two uses so I like to think we were the right people for the job of testing these out!

What we both really loved about these sprays is how easy they are to use, they spray from all angles making it super simple to reach those otherwise hard to get at places. I found the cocoa radiant spray the perfect remedy after stupidly allowing myself to get sunburnt on my upper back when I fell asleep on a beach and although Mum isn’t a fan, I just love the smell of cocoa butter.

The sprays really are fast absorbing too and skin feels instantly soft without any sticky residue or faffing around waiting for the product to sink in. Ideal for taking away with you and for me, it’s made me more inclined to moisturise morning and night as it literally takes seconds- my skin has never felt so good!

All in all these are a really great launch from Vaseline and with an RRP of £5.99 aren’t going to break the bank either. I vaguely remember these being around a few years ago too and I didn’t get on with them as well, either I’ve grown up and become more capable at applying body care of Vaseline have made some tweaks to the system, either way I’ll be re-purchasing these in the future and would recommend them to anyone looking for a quick dry skin solution!

Available from Boots (half price last time I checked!) and Superdrug (again half price). Stock up now!

As a relative novice to the world of skincare I’m still a bit hesitant in splashing my cash on full size products even if the reviews are brilliant. I have pretty sensitive skin and the last thing I want is to drop £20+ on a fancy new face cream only to find it brings me out in a dodgy looking rash.

I recently received a few Dermalogica samples in the post and thought I’d share my thoughts on them and whether I’ll be investing in the full size products.

Pure Bright Serum:50ml of this product will cost you £72.50 so a sample or two before you try is really quite essential. I got on ok with this, it promises to brighten skin and balance out pigmentation and un-even skin tone. I certainly noticed my skin being brighter with this, as I suffer quite a dull looking face most of the time. It’s not a product I could afford to buy unless I was feeling really indulgent but it was lovely to have a few sachets of this to perk me up when I needed it most.

Skin Perfect Primer: I really, really like this and almost wish I didn’t as again at £34.85 for a 22ml tube it’s on the pricey side. This is a product I’ll be saving up for though as a little goes a very long way- each sample sachet did three full face applications! The primer provided a perfectly smooth base for my foundation without drying my skin out which is often the case with primers. One for the “I would purchase” list.

Daily Defence SPF15:Sadly for my bank account this is another product for my “I would purchase list”. A lovely light-weight daytime lotion that helps combat skin ageing and provides vital protection from the sun. At the grand old age of 28 skin ageing is something I’ve started to panic about so this multi-tasker would be a welcome addition to my skin care collection. A 100ml pot of this will set you back £33.70 which actually seems quite reasonable to me!

Body Hydrating Cream: I’m really, really fussy when it comes to moisturisers for my body. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve bought one, declared it perfect then ended up abandoning it after a couple of uses. I hate anything that’s slow to sink in or leaves my skin feeling greasy, which this one didn’t at all. It made light work of my dry elbows and shins and also fixed up my sore, cracked hands. Prices for this range from £10.95 for a 75ml tube up to £34.95 for a 473ml bottle. I’m thinking of treating myself to the smaller size to keep in my work bag, I’m yet to find a hand cream that I really love, but this has made the world of difference especially after a morning of scrubbing my hands and wearing endless pairs of clinical gloves.

Are there any Dermalogica products you’d recommend I’d try? How do you feel about samples? I’ve seriously under-estimated them in the past, but now I’m taking a quality over quantity approach to skin care they really are the best way to make sure you’re getting value for your hard earned cash by not buying something that everyone has raved about but that you personally hate!

I always seem to be one step behind when it comes to trying out new beauty products, hence why I could never be a beauty blogger. It’s always good to branch out a little though so I thought I’d share my thoughts on some new (to me, at least) bits and pieces that I’m enjoying right now.

First up comes the L.A.B.2 Get in Shape Brow and Eyeliner Brush* (available here). I’m usually faithful to my Real Techniques brushes for everything makeup application but I’m pretty sure I prefer this over their brow brush for a precision application. I haven’t tried it out as an eyeliner brush so I can’t comment on that, but my brows look neater than ever after filling them in with powder using this- on a side note, brow grooming makeup recommendations welcome!

On the whole I’m pretty lucky with my skin but a helping hand never goes a miss so I was excited to try this Complexion Perfecting Hydrator* from Proactiv (RRP £27.99). I’ve been using this morning and night, before applying my makeup and again once I’ve taken it off. This is a lovely light lotion that adds a much needed burst of moisture in to my skin as well as evening out my skin tone and adding some much needed lustre back in to it. It’s pricey, in my eyes, but totally worth it as a tiny bit goes a long way and it’s one of the only products I’ve found to make a visible difference.

I’m not usually one to talk about feminine hygiene butI wanted to give this soothe and smooth shave gel from SASS* a mention for being a product that actually does what it says on the tin (tube!) I won’t go in to detail but is there anything worse than being uncomfortable “down there” post hair removal? I think not- and this product means you can wave goodbye to that little issue.

We won’t go in to how long ago it was when I last replaced my hair brush, I actually blushed a bit when I sat and worked it out. In my defence, I don’t often use a brush as my hair is curly and knotty when wet, and then straightened in to oblivion but tangle free these days. I have, however replaced my trust Denman with The Wet Brush* (available here) which has reduced those tangles to nothing and made my hair so much sleeker. I didn’t think it was possible for a hair brush to really make such a difference, but it has and it doesn’t cost the earth.

Last but by no means least comes my current favourite bath/shower product from treaclemoon *- the super summery limited edition iced strawberry dream. An absolute bargain at £2.99 (RRP, currently on offer at £1.99 in Tesco) this is the scent of summer in a bottle. Unlike some scented products it doesn’t make my sensitive skin flare up and given that a bowl of strawberries and cream is one of my favourite summer snacks using this first thing in the morning sets me up for a grand day ahead. The brand are currently working with the charity BulliesOut so keep your eyes peeled for that collaboration- even more reason to stock up on their gorgeous products if you ask me!

What products have you been loving lately?

*some products in this post have been gifted to me for review, in line with my full disclosure policy*