Summer Beauty Lovin!

Every summer on The Ana Mum Diary I talk about beauty products that I love or things that are new and I have been testing out.  I try to include as many travel and summer related beauty products as I can, knowing many of you will be jetting off on you holidays in the coming weeks.  This holiday time, I have a bumper batch of goodies to recommend and show you.

First up, I have been testing out a range a classic floral products, from Yardley, London including eau de toilette, body spray and hand cream.  Now if you are looking for a reasonably priced fragrance bath or body product, I honestly can’t recommend Yardley enough.  Not only does Yardley London make me feel terribly nostalgic, as its a company I have known for many, many years. This much-loved brand has been brought bang up to date.  Still romantic and pretty in its design but I felt the smell of the products was far more sophisticated than I remembered.

I’m definitely keeping the perfume for myself, but the body spray and hand cream have been procured by my beauty loving teenager Nia.

My love of FOREO LUNA I have written about many times. It’s one item I definitely will be bringing in my travel wash bag this summer. I’ve been testing out a new FOREO night cleanser, named celestial melting gel, and I’ve been using it with my LUNA recently, you can see it below.  You apply the fairly thick cleanser onto a dry face, and it really does start to melt away.  There are very fine particles in the gel, that help to cleanse the skin. Not suitable, if you are looking for a scrub, this is a very gentle but effective.  Perfect I think if you have older skin like me…and are 40+. It leave my skin feeling soft and clean.

 

 

The English singer song writer Pixie Lott has been dabbling in beauty, with a line called Paint, which is wash out hair colour.

I tested out the pink hair chalk pen which is exclusively available at Superdrug – £2.99, though currently on offer at £1.99.

It wasn’t the texture of chalk, more like a very silky wax crayon.  Incredibly easy to use and gave this level of colour to the right, with just one stroke.  Confession time, I’ve always fancied pink hair, so I’m going to bring this away with me over the summer, as fun way of adding colour to my hair.   As you can see I’m blonde, so I’m going to test it out on darker hair too, and update this post if it works.

 

 

 

 

Next up, are two sunscreens we have been testing out as a family :

EVY : Suitable for face and body, this well established Swedish brand, was a new brand to me.  This is a factor 30 mousse. What surprised me most about this, we how easily it was absorbed.  Its been along time since I have used a mousse, and I loved the texture, and how easy it was to apply.  It didn’t leave me feeling sticky or any white colour. If my skin has already been exposed to the sun, it can be very sensitive.  Unfortunately this did happen to me, when I forgot to use sunscreen, and the sun was more powerful than I thought it was.  The next day though, I applied this mousse, and I didn’t have any irritation at all.

EVY is specially developed for sensitive and hypersensitive skin and are recommended by many dermatologists. Of course, they are also suitable for  other skin types. The products are also recommended for people with sun eczema, sun allergy or albinism and the Vitiligo Association has nominated EVY Sunscreen mousse as the safest sunscreen on the market for their members. EVY is a good choice for those whose skin can´t tolerate conventional sunscreen because the formula is hypoallergenic and very gentle.

Priced around £16 and available from Amazon. More details on the link above.

ERiiS – The new ERiiS Sun range from Italy’s Iridiem Pharma offers triple protection sun care against UVA, UVB and Infrared-A, with its highest 50+ SPF providing a UVA-UVB ratio of 82.95%. Perfect for our summer holiday away, I decided to both test this on myself and the girls, and we both loved it.

This is described as a milk, but I’d say its more of a cream, dispensed from a pump.  It smelt of fruit to me, and I later discovered it was packed with real fruit juice.  On the skin it felt quite luxurious, compared to the sun tan cream I have been using.  It worked into my skin well, and didn’t leave a colour.

Active ingredients include Carrot Fresh Cells Extract to hydrate skin and give an intense, even tan, as well as a vitamin complex providing vitamins A, C and E for their antioxidant properties. The complex helps to protect and regenerate skin stressed by sun exposure and limit the risk of erythema (skin redness) and abnormal pigmentation. ERiiS Sun contains Iridixina-S, an innovative complex of sun protective filters for triple UVA, UVB and Infrared-A protection. It actively targets free radicals generated by exposure to sun and helps prevent damage to skin cells, including the formation of solar scars, and protect against premature ageing and the appearance of wrinkles, age-spots and loss of skin elasticity.

ERiiS Sun costs from £14.95 and is available from www.vie-healthcare.com

Origins

Origins YOUTH-RENEWING SHEET MASK £32 for 6 sheets

Sheet masks have been very popular for some time, but these have been the favourite ones I have tried.  So handy, to pop one in you bag for an instant lift whilst on your holiday, moisturising and easing a sun kissed face.  They deliver an infusion of anti-ageing Anogeissus plus renewing Tamanu, Raspberry Seed and Rose Hip Oils, leaving your skin feeling soft and supple after only 10 minutes.

Origins WARM DOWN £29

I don’t know about you, but plocked pores are a problem for me in the summer.  Now the first time I used this, I’m going to admit I didn’t read the instructions so applied it to my face, gave it scrub and lay back and relaxed, expecting the heat to start.  This warming scrub is actually best used in the shower.  I use it right at the very beginning, apply it to my face then add water to my hands massaging it in.  The heat is activated by the water as you work it in.

This shower-activated exfoliator with Volcanic Ash warms on contact to help ease tension as it smoothes and purifies. Plus, our soothing essential oil blend of Wild Mint, Spearmint and Vanilla can help your skin to renew. It helps skin feel softer, ultra-clean, leaving you feeling restored.

Finally two products to help you with those pesky mosquitoes.

Mosquitan Family £7.95 : 24 strips, which are filled with natural essential oils that deter mosquitoes.  You simply squeeze the centre which releases its scent. You can then pop these anywhere you need protection. I like the idea of using them by your bed in the evening.

If you do get bitten how about this Zapit? I’ve not tried it as yet, but I will again alter this if I do get bit.

• Mosquito bite relief. Rapidly stops itching and the urge to scratch.
• Treats over 1000 bites. Effective on most common insect bites. Dramatically reduces inflammation and skin blemishes.
• Extensively tested by leading entomologists who agree that “Zap-It! is effective”
• No batteries required, no chemicals, non-allergenic. Ecologically sound, no sell by date.
• Safe, simple and easy to use. Portable, discreet, can be used anytime and anywhere.

So lots of summer beauty and travel products to try!