Bondi Sands Everyday Liquid Gold Review

The good ol' Bondi Sands brand is featured on my blog again. I have just been loving it the past couple of months. This little diamond can be used in different ways which is why I love it. When I tan, I use the Bondi Sands dark foam, leave it on overnight and rinse it off in the morning (like any other tan). However, when my tan starts to fade, instead of exfoliating it all off and starting again, I just apply the Bondi Sands Liquid Gold dry oil. 

It has the same scent as the rest of the Bondi Sands range which is coconut. You simply spray the oil into the palm of your hands or on your body and rub it in. Some people use a tanning mitt but I find it soaks up the oil, it doesn't stain my hands anyway so I don't bother using a mitt.

To keep my tan that I already have on looking fresh, I just spray the product into the palm of my hand and apply to any areas that are patchy or that have faded. The dry oil matches my tan perfectly which I was actually shocked about as I was expecting it to be a different colour. The oil doesn't have a guide colour like the foam does but I've always found that it has applied evenly.

I use the dry oil instead of my normal foam tan to tan my face, feet and hands as I have more control of it and it looks more natural. I don't know what it is, but every single time I tan my feet, they go SO DARK. But, the dry oil has saved my feet and actually make them look decent.

I also use this dry oil if I've decided to go on a spontaneous night out and I haven't tanned. I simply just apply it to the areas that will be seen or if I have enough time, I apply it everywhere. Bondi Sands states that it dries very quickly, although, I find that it is tacky for about 10-15 minutes, which really isn't that bad. It's great to get dressed straight after and not worry about catching your tan on anything or prancing around the room waiting for it to dry. The tan develops over time and you can see the results very quickly. 

I love this little product. It's great to top your tan up and keep it looking fresh as well as giving you that natural glow. Everyday Liquid Gold 270ml retails at £13.99.

Have you ever tried anything from Bondi Sands?

Why Coming Off The Contraceptive Pill Was The Best Thing I Did

Todays post is a bit of a long one so grab your snacks and get comfy. Just a little disclaimer before you read on... I have nothing against other gals that are on the pill and I'm not writing this to cause disagreement nor am I writing this to put people off going on the pill or that already are on the pill. Everyone and their bodies are different. This was my choice and my own personal experience.

I started my period back when I was eleven years old, a day before my twelfth birthday. It was just a normal girls period that happened every month. However, I noticed that my periods got more and more heavier as the years went on. At the age of just fifteen, they were extremely bad. I used to wear three pairs of knickers to bed but I still leaked through the pad, through the three pairs of knickers, through my pyjama bottoms and onto my bed sheets. This happened every month I came on my period for the first two nights. Throughout the day, I must have changed my pad every twenty minutes. Girls, I can't even make this up.

TMI - but once I changed it and stood up to pull my jeans up. GALS YOU KNOW, THE FLOW HAPPENED, every single time I changed my pad. 

There was one time when I was on my period for TWO WEEKS. I was pale and I lost a lot of weight and energy and that was the last straw for me and my mum. Mum took me to the doctors and they tested me for all sorts but everything came back ok. The doctor suggested going onto the contraceptive pill to help with my period flow so that's what we all agreed on.

I can't remember the name of the first contraceptive pill the doctor put me on but I was always incredibly tired and suffered with horrendous headaches. The doctor then put me on another one, and again it made me feel so unwell and also didn't help with my periods. So, another trip back to the doctors and he put me on Rigevidon and finally, I was settled with it and had no problems. I was on this certain pill for a good few years. I think I eventually came off of it when I was around 18 and a half. The positives to me being on the pill were that my period pains were minimal and my periods got incredibly lighter over time.

However, my sex drive was shit - I just weren't interested in sex at all. I was depressed and moody 95% of the time, I weren't happy at all. I weren't me. In the meantime, I had read a lot of horror stories online about the contraceptive pill - especially Rigevidon which of course scared me. I know it shouldn't, but it did. That wasn't what made me stop though. I know what you're thinking, 'but you went on the pill in the first place to help your periods??' I was still young and at the age of eighteen, I really thought about my choices to come off the pill. I was more grown up and I thought back to when I was on the pill, I was so young and no young teenage girl deserved to live a life being moody and depressed and that weren't interested in sex. I wanted to be like the rest of my friends, fun and sociable!

 I had used condoms before and they've split around three times I've used them for contraception. So whatever you use for contraception isn't 100% anyway - which I already knew, of course. I'm young and I'd rather use condoms and get him to 'pull out' than fuck my body up with meds - that's just my personal opinion. From then, I went back to the doctors and came off the pill.

Since coming off the contraceptive pill, my sex drive has increased and I feel like I'm myself again. I've also felt so much better about my body and been more body confident. Although, I haven't missed the horrendous period pains and yes my periods are heavier again but no where near as heavy as I used to be a few years ago, which I'm super lucky about!

Are you on the pill or thinking about going on the pill?

April Favourites

Oh my, I haven't written a monthly favourites post up for around a year, probably. The past couple of months, I have tried out a lot of new products and there has been five products in particular that I have been absolutely loving!

As I have been using self tan a lot more, especially throughout this month, I have been using The Body Shops coconut body butter to moisturise with. I love almost every product from The Body Shop anyway but this just smells heavenly and it has helped out my dry skin and prevented patchy tans, so I'm happy! I should be stocking up on more of their body butters as I am due to run out of this one soon.

I had first tried this bath oil around two years ago when Dr Botanicals PR sent it to me for a review, and I really loved it but the price of it put me off for the amount of oil you actually get. Around Christmas time, I finally gave in and bought it again - I think they've actually lowered the prices now. But this month, I have really been loving taking baths with this. There has been times I couldn't wait to get home from work and soak in this bath oil. It smells amazing, I can't even describe how it smells. It leaves a sweet, rose aroma scent in the bathroom and on your skin. It also makes your skin incredibly soft. It's safe to say I'll be using this forever more. 

You may not be able to tell, but this is empty! This is the second one I've owned since February. I spent the second week of April scraping the sides of this concealer. Fair enough, it's £4 and it's amazing but it runs out ever so quickly! I put out a tweet to see if anyone else had experienced the same thing or whether I was just using shit loads of it. But lots of other gals agreed. It's the best concealer I've ever used, it's full coverage and lasts all day and it has been my best friend for long shifts this month - I wrote a review on this concealer if you want to know a little more, here.

THIS STUFF. I will be writing a separate review on this at some point because this stuff is just PERFECTION. I had recently tried out the Bondi Sands dark foam tan and I loved it! So, I had decided to buy their everyday liquid gold dry oil to keep my tan topped up and looking fresh. It's perfect for feet, hands and your face. It gives you a natural glowy tan and doesn't go patchy at all. Everyday liquid gold also dries super quickly so you don't have to prance around the room waiting for it to dry.

This is the first time I have ever used loose powder and I am loving it! Why did I stick to using pressed powder for so long? The Max Factor professional loose powder is translucent so it's perfect for when I self tan and for when I'm my pale little self. It tries its best to prevent my oily skin showing through my makeup throughout the day. Although after around 5-6 hours, I need to get my blotting paper out. But, it blends out so easily and it's really easy to apply. It has also lasted me ages and probably much longer than a pressed powder would.

What products have you been loving throughout April?

Lush H'Suan Wen Hua Hair Treatment Review

First of all, just don't ask me how to pronounce the name of this product. I was in need of a product that could work a miracle for my dry hair and I had heard great things about this little number. My hair is bleached and I have been having it bleached for almost six years. I'm very lucky to say that my hair is in perfect condition although, I am now noticing my hair starting to break off and I can visually see it getting more and more damaged every so often. 

Lush states:

"Want to replenish your roots and strengthen your lengths? This restorative herbal hair and scalp treatment is the answer to your prayers.  Work into the scalp and allow fresh bay leaf infusion to stimulate your roots, fresh watercress to soothe the skin and spicy cinnamon leaf to boost circulation to the hair follicles, encouraging healthy hair growth. Stroke through the ends to saturate your locks in fibrous bananas and protein-rich, free range eggs, both of which will strengthen, protect and deeply condition. Moisturising fresh avocado and shine-enhancing balsamic vinegar are a match made in heaven for locks seeking repair, vibrancy and great combability - just don't let the effects go to your head."

I only got four uses out of the h'suan wen hua hair treatment - twice a week for two weeks. Which really isn't that long considering the tub of hair treatment is £9.95 a go and lasts me only two weeks! I have a lot of hair, it's long and thick so I have a lot of hair to treat. 

I absolutely hated the smell of this at first but it really grew on me and I didn't mind it so much in the end. Although, after shampooing and conditioning your hair, the smell lingers in your hair and of course, people around you can smell your 'fresh' but 'smelly' hair. Even though the smell grew on me, people around me weren't too keen.

Lush advises to leave the hair treatment on for twenty minutes but I left it on for about thirty-forty minutes at a time - what harm can it do? When the treatment was on, I also clipped my hair up and tied a plastic bag on my head. Obviously, leave your face out haha - please don't suffocate yourself. This just keeps the heat in and works more effectively. 

After the second time I used it, I could definitely see a difference. My hair was a lot softer and more shiny. It was also a lot brighter too. To be honest, I couldn't really tell if the treatment repaired the breakages in my hair or not. Maybe I would need to use it long term for a good repair treatment but then I don't want to spend a tenner every two weeks.

Have you tried H'Suan Wen Hua or any other Lush hair treatments?