Australian Bodycare Tea Tree Oil Wet Wipes

RRP: £3.25 for 24 wipes

--What does the promo say?--
"The New Handy Pack Wipes by the Australian Bodycare Spa Range contain 24 wet wipes suitable for use anywhere. Formulated with 1% Tea Tree Oil, which works as a natural antiseptic, these wipes cleanse the skin and removes bacteria from surfaces. Effective and convenient, they're suitable for all the family."

--Packaging--
The white, blue and green colour scheme clearly identifies this product as being part of the Australian Bodycare range, and is also nicely unisex, allowing the product to appeal to a wide range of potential users. The peel-back opening and closing window is convenient, hygienic and practical, and the pack of 24 wipes is not too cumbersome to take in your suitcase, keep in the glove box, or carry in your handbag.

 --Application--
The use of this product is both easy and versatile. Simply sweep across skin to remove makeup, cleanse, or disinfect. Could also be used to clean surfaces or as part of a baby's nappy-changing routine. Their generous surface area means that one wipe should also be enough for one complete use, with room to spare.

--Appearance--
The wipes are white and are pre-soaked with an invisible lotion that leaves no residue. They are also generously sized.

--Scent--
A unisex, natural, clean smell of pine, aloe and tea tree makes this suitable for the vast majority of people and situations.

--Texture and consistency--
The wipes have enough texture to make you feel like you are cleaning effectively, without being irritating or rough. Furthermore, the lotion in which the wipes are soaked is smooth without being too thick or overbearing.

--Effects on the skin--
These cleanse and remove makeup effectively, and their tea tree oil content means that over time conditions such as acne could potentially improve with long-term use.

--Value for money--
£3.25 for 24 wipes comes to about 13p per wipe. While perhaps a little on the expensive side, their overall reasonable price, anti-bacterial qualities and wide range of possible uses make them worth it, in my view.

perfect partners
Australian Bodycare Spa Range Facial Cleansing Gel (250ml) , £10.90
Happy Hands Antibacterial Instant Waterless Hand Gel (50ml), £5.00
Australian Bodycare Spa Range Gentle Toner (250ml), £7.92

Rockface Face & Body Scrub

 RRP: £4.99

--What does the promo say?--
"New Rockface Face & Body Scrub might not be made from rock, but it does in fact contain a substance more durable than rock - a blend of crushed walnut shells and ground rice to produce this unique multitasking scrub - fine enough to exfoliate your face and rough enough to exfoliate your body."

--Packaging--
Easy to open and close even in a wet shower, and the mountain range design is a different look to other men's products.

--Application--
Use is facilitated by the fact that not much product is needed, as well as the fact that a good lather is created in the shower. Just squeeze out a small amount of product onto wet skin and you're away. Rinse after use.

--Appearance--
Translucent green with visible brown particles, with no residue left on the skin after use. Lather is white.

--Scent--
Quite masculine, but a bit cheap. Not displeasing, and slightly menthol-ish, but it's difficult to specifically identify the smell or know where it comes from based on the ingredients.

--Texture and consistency--
Quite a strong, satisfying scrub thanks to the walnut and rice the product contains. It works well on face and body, although people with more sensitive skin may find it too harsh for the face.

--Effect on the skin--
Skin is smooth and strokeable after use thanks to the jojoba as well as the exfoliating elements, with daily use not being required to maintain this effect.

--Value for money--
A fair price for what this is, and you get positive effects on the skin for the price paid. However, this would seem to corroborate the slightly superficial scent of the product, so those who normally use more expensive products may notice a difference in terms of usage experience.

perfect partners
Shave Butter, £4.99
Shave Gel, £4.25
Post-Shave Balm, £4.99
Shower Wash, £3.73
All-Weather Moisturiser, £5.49

Hauling Your Makeup Hoard on Holiday

Whether your summer plans include hitting the beach, showing up in the hottest clubs in town, or just hoping to impress the buff bloke you saw at the gym, everyone’s hoping to look their best during the summer months. The sun is out, and everyone’s ready to have some fun after a long winter. Of course you don't want to look or feel dull or drab - and everyone knows how important it is to have a choice of colours in order to achieve this. It's natural, then, to want to take your complete makeup collection with you on a break, especially if you're going away for more than two weeks - because even though you’ve never worn that exact shade of pink lipstick, it might actually go perfectly with your new bikini.
But just how are you going to haul all of those essential items by plane, train or car? You could choose a soft, cushioned makeup case. However, while it is cushioned, it has no divided compartments, which means your makeup will probably get jumbled together. You could choose a tie and roll case. Though this option could possibly be easy to throw into your suitcase, it doesn’t allow you to take much along with you. And, if you're like me, you’ve got lots of makeup! You could potentially go with the age-old ‘throw it into a plastic baggy’ route; however, we all know that your favourite products are just very likely to get broken or lost this way.
What you need is not just any makeup case. Those at The LA Shop or The Salon Outlet are ideally designed for long trips. Their train cases are actually fold up boxes with separate compartments for your different makeup items. You have a large section in the bottom for bulky bottles and tubes and smaller trays close to the top for lipsticks, eye shadows and also other small items. Durable and affordable, they're the perfect way to travel in style. Now you're ready :)

Vera Mona Colour Switch Duo

RRP: £18

--What does the promo say?--
"Often, makeup can become a hassle when you have to switch between lots of different colors. But not anymore! With Colour Switch Duo, any makeup artist can easily switch between colours. The duo is aptly named for two functions:

• First is the colour removal. Simply stroke the eye-shadow brush with the duo sponge to remove the current colour and quickly start using the next one.
• The second is application of wet makeup. The duo comes with a special sponge in the centre which can help apply wet makeup for a fantastic and appealing look.

All in all, this product is a blessing for any makeup artist or makeup lover."

--Packaging--
The purple and silver tin is feminine, modern and attractive. Equally, not many beauty products come in tins, so this gives the product a new and different edge. The lid comes off easily when you want it to, but closes securely when you don't. The fact that it's a tin also makes it hard-wearing, so no worries about carting it around in your handbag, as it won't break or split in the same way as plastic packaging.

--Usage--
As mentioned in the promotional materials, this is really easy to use. Rub your eyeshadow brush against the black sponge in order to 'clean' it, so that you can switch between colours. The usage of the central sponge is perhaps less obvious, but the upshot of it is that you can easily soak it so as to apply or retouch makeup on the go, to correct errors or to create a more vibrant makeup look.

--Appearance and texture--
The black outer sponge is coarse and wiry, whereas the white inner sponge for wet-look makeup is finer in texture.

--Efficacy--
I was actually amazed at how cleanly and quickly the old eyeshadow was taken off the brush so that I could change eyeshadow colour. Perfect for doing makeup on the commute!

--Value for money--
Even though refills are available, I don't think you'd need them for the outer sponge, especially as you could easily clean it yourself. Equally, if you leave the tin open so that the central sponge can dry out after use, there'd be no reason to replace this one due to bacterial growth. This is a good thing, as £18 for this product is not cheap (luckily, mine was sent to me for free by one of Vera Mona's main UK stockists, BeautyStore4U). It seems hard-wearing and is definitely useful, but I was still expecting it to cost less. Nevertheless, it would definitely make a handy gift for yourself or others - perfect for the makeup lover who already has everything.



perfect partners
Colour Switch Duo Refill, £5.95
Colour Switch Mini Refills, £4.95 for 6