Balance Me Natural Protection Moisturiser with SPF25 • NIVEA In-Shower Body Moisturiser • Bee Good Intensive Hand Repair • MaryJean Organic Vanilla and Orange Body Scrub • Arran Arromatics Skin Smoother Bar
Goodbye flakey skin! Hello to smooth and divine skin for Summer!
This has been a blogpost I have been planning for ages! I did one in December for winter beauty essentials and and it went down well so this post has been in the pipeline for a couple of months! The direction I want to take with this was to find and trial products from brands that are not that as well-known, and four out of the five I’ve got here are British brands.
I think it’s easy for everyone to pop down to Boots and purchase something they’ve seen on a TV advert, or a placement in a magazine so I wanted to feature something different. Especially during the summer season when we are bombarded with adverts from skincare companies! Apart from the one from NIVEA, all of these beauty products I’ve featured here are from lovely British companies that you might not have heard of before.
Preparing your skin for the summer takes effort, whether this is for a holiday abroad or a staycation, but with products that are effective and easy to use, it won’t seem like much of a chore! I’ve narrowed it down to five recommendations, all of which are amazing and affordable!
Mint and Coriander Skin Smoother With Apricot Seeds* from Arran Aromatics – £4.25
I’ve used bars like this that either doesn’t exfoliate enough or too drying on my skin. This exfoliator bar from Scottish brand, Arran Aromatics is labelled as a skin smoother but is listed on the website as a foot exfoliator.
It doesn’t really matter where you use it but it’s really perfect for your feet. It prepares your feet for the summer so that they look smooth and beautiful when wearing sandals and flip flops. This bar contains peppermint and spearmint which cools, refreshes and deodorises your feet.
The apricot seeds feel quite rough and there are a lot of them in one bar. If you have sensitive skin or you are really ticklish on your feet, this will feel too scratchy for you. As I have said before on my blog somewhere, I really like gritty exfoliators, it feels like it does the job better. I’ve been using this over my legs and also to smooth my heels. It’s not drying and leaves my skin feeling lovely and clean!
The bar has a ridged surface to aid skin cell turnover. This cost £4.25 and is available from Arran Aromatics website.
NIVEA In-Shower Body Moisturiser – £3.56
So, I know I wanted to feature niche brands for this blogpost and NIVEA is a humongous brand that is known all around the world but this is a unique product that NIVEA has developed, and it is not something that is available from any other brands (yet).
The world’s first In-Shower Body Moisturiser was launched this time last year and has become a staple product in my bathroom ever since and it is the third bottle I’ve bought. I don’t use it every single day because I like to use proper body moisturisers a few times a week but for the purpose of convenience, this offering from NIVEA is great.
It’s a moisturiser that you can use whilst you’re still in the shower. You apply it over your body, then you just rinse off and there is no need to use body butter or lotion afterwards. There are two types available in this range; I have always bought the one in the blue bottle which contains almond oil and it recommended for those who have dry skin. There is also one for normal skin too.
It’s a great product, but the one bad thing that I will say about it is that it makes the bath rub very slippery!
Left: Intensive Hand Repair* from Bee Good – £12.00
Right: Natural Protection Moisturiser SPF 25 from Balance Me – £26.00
Along with lip balms, hand lotion is one of my essential beauty items all year round and I am always trying new ones and if the label contains the word ‘intensive repair’, you can count me in! I like the kind of lotions that are rich and intensive because I don’t have to apply it as often.
Bee Good Intensive Hand Repair contains wild flower honey, British echium oil, shea and cocoa butters. I like to keep my hands hydrated and protected because a) it feels really strange and itchy when my hands are feeling dry, to the point that it can feel quite sore and b) makes your hands look prettier when you make the effort to care for them.
You can use this Bee Good repair treatment not only on your hands but where ever you have dry skin, like on your feet, elbows and knees. It’s a handy size too, so you can carry it around in your handbag and use throughout the day. Bee Good are an amazing husband and wife team based in Hampshire. They do not use parabens, SLS and synthetic ingredients in their products.
Using a face moisturiser that contains SPF is something that I’ve only been doing for the past 12 months. I don’t really like the feeling of some face creams that contains SPF, it can feel heavy, sticky and oily, and it doesn’t always absorb in to the skin very easily, like sun cream.
It is safe to say that I’ve tried quite a few in the past year and so far, Balance Me has come up trumps with their Natural Protection Moisturiser that contains SPF25. It sinks in to skin fairly quickly and the high tech formula is created to protect, soothe, plump and firm! This cream is made of 99% natural ingredients and does not contain parabens.
Organic Vanilla and Orange Body Scrub* from Mary Jean – £14.75
Scrubs and exfoliators are definitely high on the list of summer beauty must-haves! Mary Jean is a lovely little family business based in the Highlands of Scotland. They produce their range in small batches from the highest and most natural ingredients that leaves your skin feeling incredibly nourished.
I always find that with businesses like this, they take so much care in to what they make and they have a real passion for what they do. They take pride in knowing that their skincare products are 100% natural. I highly recommend the organic vanilla and orange body scrub which is made from raw cane sugar, sea salt, olive oil, essential oils and sodium bicarbonate.
This scrub contains 82% organic content and cost £14.75 for a big glass jar which will last about six to nine months depending on how frequently you exfoliate. I use these scrubs on a regular basis, about two or three times a week.
The best thing about this scrub is that it isn’t gloopy. It is absolutely packed purely with sugar, salt and oil which feels rough at first but melts away as you rub in to the skin. It doesn’t leave you skin dry or irritated because it there are oils in there hydrates your skin and keeps it smooth. If you find the Soap&Glory body scrubs too gooey and not gritty enough, then do give this one a go.
So, those are currently my five beauty essentials for Summer! Be sure to let me know what you use to prep your skin during the warmer months!
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What a gorgeous selection I love the look of the Mary Jean scrub! 🙂 Xx
http://anagoesgreenbeautyorganic.blogspot.co.uk
I love the Nivea In-Shower Body Moisturiser, I am on my third bottle of the stuff and it leaves your skin so smooth and soft 🙂
Anna x
https://inthelifeoffletch.blogspot.com/
Oooh, such interesting products you have here! I usually have a Dove shower gel, a Freeman footscrub, and a random Bath & Body Works lotion year round 🙂 It works for me cause our climate is usually hot & humid for the majority of the year!
<3 Pauline, Addicted to Makeup
I use the Nivea in-shower one and I really like it – I get lazy with body moisturisers so it's perfect for me.
How wonderful to see some smaller brands getting introduced, especially British brands. I'll certainly be checking these out!
Joy xx
http://www.theharpy.co.uk
I loooove the sound of the Arran Aromatics scrub bar, the scent sounds gorgeous!!
I really like the sound of the MaryJean scrub, too – I like my scrubs super scrubby and have always thought the S&G ones are a bit too gloopy, haha.
Jess xo
The Arran Aromatics bar sounds amazing! I used to use a Bliss mint scrub bar (nearly impossible to find) and it was the best thing ever during the summer. It was exfoliating and cooling and refreshing, and I would love to find something that works just as well or better.
The body scrub and soap looks good! I've been getting in to my organic and clean beauty products recently. They seem to make such a difference to my skin!
Sarah
http://www.daisychainsanddreamers.com
I really should get a nice body scrub for this summer…(I always forget about getting it when ever I am at the supermarket or at the mall…)
Take care*
I'll go straight in with this… Your blog is bloody gorgeous, what a lovely layout 🙂 I've been using the Nivea moisture for ages now, I love it – saves so much hassle when it comes to moisturising because I'm just so lazy when it comes to all that jazz! Skipping corners is my thing when it comes to the little necessities haha. I'm dying to try balance me as well, I just wasn't sure what to go for but this lot sounds perfect, might take the plunge 🙂
Elisse x
Love the Balance Me brand ! Cute blog post !
Giveaway, get the bronze queen look
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I much prefer gritty exfoliators too, I shall most probably get this! x
Fab post, I definitely need to do some prepping! I love the sound of the exfoliator bar and the scrub (can you tell I like scrubs haha) x
Josie’s Journal
Everything here looks so refreshing and lovely! I'd love to purchase everything and have a good spa day! Thanks for the review. New follower!
Bianca
The Impossibly Cute