ASOS Travel Essentials

ASOS is probably one of the biggest online shops in the UK, and since they have added a Face and Body section to the site, it has become one of my go to shops without needing to leave the house.

I bought all my Crayola beauty bits on there, and I noticed they were doing a limited edition travel box in the middle of Summer featuring some of the products they sell on the site. A lot of the products in the box were ones I have wanted to try for ages so I snapped up the box before it went out of stock, and for only £10, it went out of stock fast!

Some staple brands out there at the moment are OUAI, Glam Glow, Rodial and Too Faced. The beauty industry really is saturated with so many amazing brands, and as a beauty blogger I am ashamed to say I had never tried any of these before now! I thought buying this box would be a great introduction into using them, making sure I liked them before I delved a little deeper into each one.

One of the brands I had never heard of before was Touch In Sol, which is a Korean brand. The No Pore-Blem Primer, £15, ASOS is a lightweight primer which doesn't have that silicone feel afterwards. It is creamy and hydrating but looks a matte finish prepping the skin for makeup.

I wasn't mad about this primer, and probably wouldn't rush to go and buy it, but the brand in general offers skin care at a low price point, and Korean beauty is something I want to explore in the future so I may come back to this brand when the time is right.

Emma Hardie is a brand I have tried before, and I wrote about her amazing Moringa Cleansing balm a few years ago where I claimed it may be my favourite ever cleansing balm! It is definitely still up there in one of my favourite cleansers, so I was excited to try the Brilliant Face Oil, £39, ASOS

This is a very luxury brand and just a few small drops from the face oil before bed hydrates my skin until the morning. It contains essential oils and Omegas to help plump and generally feed your skin what it needs. It smells really lovely and this has become a staple part of my night time routine if I need something to give my skin a boost. It can be used on all skin types too including oilier skins, as it is a dry oil and doesn't leave a greasy finish.

Glam Glow is a brand you always see plastered over Instagram as it is very popular with the beauty community. If I'm honest, they're packaging has never screamed out to me as a brand I wanted to try as there are lots of different colours and I always found it a little confusing. I am so glad I got the chance to try them in this box though as I have loved using this Thirstymud Hydrating Glam to Glow Treatment, £16, ASOS. It smells super coco-nutty which makes me think of instant hydration, and the formula is very thin and clear, so you can either wash it off or let it sink into the skin which is what I like to do overnight.

I wake up to super hydrated, plump and soft skin after using it, and the smell really is just wonderful if you're into coconut!

I have always loved using  hair oil but I have never tried one infused with Rose and also never tried any products from OUAI which is so hugely popular. The OUAI Rose Hair and Body Oil, £26, ASOS is beautiful oil that I use on the ends of my hair to seal in moisture and smooth any fly aways. It smells really pretty and can also be used on the body so a great little multi purpose product. I really want to try some of the styling products from OUAI as they are meant to be unreal.

Another brand I have been desperate to try but been desperate to try is Rodial. In particular the Dragon's Blood range which I am sure I saw Kylie Jenner was a huge fan off. Included in this box was the Dragon's Blood Hyaluronic Tonic, £38, ASOS, and it has become and it has become another staple item in my daily routine. I like to spray this on my face in the morning before I apply other skincare, and also just before I go to bed as an alternative to a thick cream or as a base for a facial oil such as the Emma Hardie one above.

This contains Hyaluronic acid which the skin naturally produces as a skin hydrator, so I like to use this under other products to help my skins natural production of this.

And yet another brand I have always wanted to try (seriously I am terrible beauty blogger) is makeup brand Too Faced. The Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara, £10 for Travel Size / £19 Full Size, ASOS was unfortunately a little disappointing for me though. Although It did leave me with fairly nice looking lashes, I just found this mascara was so smudgey, and everytime I wore it I found myself with panda eyes or black random smudges around my eyes. Granted, the first time I wore it I was at a wedding so I may have been a little teary so forgave it, but ever since I have had the same problem. so maybe the waterproof one is worth trying. The hourglass shaped wand allows you to coat each lash and add volume and curl.

For me the effect of the mascara didn't justify the smudges. You can see in this image that the lower outer corner is a little messy and I found it did this throughout the day and transferred onto my upper lid too. 

I love that ASOS is now stocking beauty products, and I think boxes like this are a great way for people to discover and try out brands they may not usually experiment with.

Are you interested in any of these brands? If so want products have you tried and loved, or are there any you want to give a go?

Emma Hardie Cleanser

I'm going to go right out there and say it... but this is my favourite cleanser I think I have ever tried. Usually when a product is coming to the end, I am always thinking what I can try next, and this little sample size of Emma Hardie's Moringa Cleansing balm, has just not been around long enough for me.

Up until very recently, the idea of a cleansing balm made me sick to my stomach. A waxy oily balm all over my face and eyes sounded vile to me. Since trying a cleansing balm, I am now an addict, and would say it is my favourite consistency of cleanser. I like having the soft balmy feel afterwards, and I like feeling like every scrap of my makeup has been removed.

This Emma Hardie cleanser is said to rival the number one cleansing balm by Eve Lom, (small review at the end of this post here) which Vogue has said is the best cleanser in the world. I'm not one to argue with a top fashion magazine, but I think this just maybe better.

I do love the Eve Lom cleanser, but my only problem with it, is the clinical smell it has. It is also quite pricey at £55.00 for 100ml. Emma Hardie's cleanser is only £36.00 for the same amount, and this balm is made from all natural ingredients, and that really reflects in the beautiful smell it has. It's main ingredients are Grape, Almond, Orange and Bergamot. I smells almost like Neroli, the orange flower, which is undoubtedly my favourite smell at the moment. It melts on the skin and sweeps away all traces of makeup. 

The other winning counterpart to this product for me are the cloths. The full size cleanser comes with a cloth, or you can buy three in a pack like I have done. You can see the packaging of the products as well from the picture.

Emma Hardie has created this dual sided cloth, as the muslin material is traditional for cleansing balms, and is great at removing stubborn eye makeup. However on the other side is a micro fibre flannel, which goes deep down into the pores to really remove all grime, and give the skin a good polish. It is gentle enough to be used everyday, and you really see every trace of makeup come of on the cloth. It can also be run under a tap to remove the grime, and the cloth looks basically clean again. Obviously after a while they do need a quick go in the wash, but they are a good size and take a lot of usage before it needs to be washed.

The Emma Hardie 'way' of cleansing is not to scrub at your face, but to gently sweep down the natural lines in your face, so down each cheekbone, down the nose, and just general downward motions to really give yourself a mini facial.

The combination of this cloth and the lovely smooth balm makes me look forward to my evening cleanse. The balm can also be used as a mask for 10 mins, but I didn't have enough in my little sample size to try it! She also has a foaming face wash cleanser which is great for people on the go, or for morning cleanses. The two can also be added together to make a mega cleanse mask. I hope to try more products from the Emma Hardie range, so keep your eyes peeled!