Ziaja Cocoa Butter Range | Review

My love for Polish brand Ziaja rages on so and today I have some of the products from the Cocoa Butter line to show you. 

There's actually more in this particular line, including haircare, hand cream, a face mask and a body spray but for now I have the shower soap and scrub, body balm, body butter and face cream to rave about!

First up is the Body Balm, designed to "help the skin stay hydrated, prevent excessive moisture loss, provide the skin with revitalising and firming benefits and eliminate the feeling of roughness". Interestingly, it's also supposed to "improve the colour of the skin" when used regularly. I haven't used this for long enough to properly test that last bit but it is plenty moisturising. For me, it's probably slightly too heavy and because of that it requires a little bit of effort to thoroughly massage it into the skin. However, when it's absorbed it's non-greasy and leaves my skin feeling really soft. If you need something a bit more heavy duty than a light lotion, this is a good option but it may be better to save it until the Winter months. Added bonus; it smells like cake mix, so therefore, heaven. This fella is €4.49 for 200mls.

The shower scrub with macrogranules is for gentle cleansing and exfoliation of dead skin cells with the extra benefits of "enhancing blood circulation and restoring natural smoothness to the skin". This is €7.99 for 200mls. I've found this to be a really good exfoliator. I probably prefer the finer granules that you get in the likes of Cocoa Brown Tough Stuff Scrub but this is perfect for regular use; it keeps your skin in good condition and is gentle enough to use often. 

Next up is the Body Butter which is my favourite from what I've tried. This is designed to "replenish the deficit of lipids and revitalises skin's natural protective banner". This has a much lighter texture than the body balm so it sinks in fast with no greasy residue. It smells lovely and feels refreshing on the skin. I use this every night after a bath or shower and the cocoa/vanilla scent is still on my skin by the following morning. Yum. This is €7.99 for 200ml.

The face cream is for normal and dry skin and is designed to "revitalise, smooth and provide protective benefits". As well as the cocoa butter it contains Vitamin E and also interestingly, it can apparently help "prolong the skin's natural tan". Again, this is quite thick and requires a gentle patting motion to apply it. Because of that, I feel like my face is too sensitive for this- I'm thinking it may work a bit better for me again, in Winter but right now my skin doesn't need a moisturiser this concentrated. At the moment I'm using it for the particularly dry patches I have on my body, i.e heels and elbows. If you have very dry but not sensitive skin this may work well for you however. I love the scent of this too, it's quite delicate, a little bit like vanilla but not overly strong so good for use on the face. It's €4.79 for 50mls.

I also love the Shower Soap. This is actually quite like a body lotion, it's softening on the skin, unlike most soap based products, so my skin is relatively soft when I get out of the shower. It doesn't hugely lather up, there's never a lot of soap suds but it freshens and cleans the skin and again, smells delish! Amazingly, this is only €2.99 for 500mls!!! Serious bargain alert. 

I said I'd put in a couple of photos of what the body balm and shower soap look like, purely because the others were all in tubs that I could open and show you! 

You can find these in selected pharmacies nationwide, Shaws department stores and HERE online from Original Beauty.

So that's the lot! Overall, I really like this range. It's well suited to my dry skin and smells divine. 

Have you tried anything from the Cocoa Butter line? See anything you're interested in?

XX

*Sample, gratefully received. All opinions my own, as always!

Aussie Blog Awards With Her.ie

Hi everyone!

Just a quick reminder about the Aussie blog awards with Her.ie. I normally don't enter blog competitions and I've never asked for votes for any competition before but I've been working really hard on my little corner of the interwebs for the last two years now and I'd like to start putting the blog out there a bit more.

If you can spare a couple of minutes and you'd like to vote for me I'd appreciate it so much! The competition is open until May 28th.

You can vote HERE.

To enter, you need to add in your own details, then mine:

Name of Blog: Nurse Fancy Pants

URL of blog: http://nursefancypants.blogspot.ie

Contact details of blogger: nursefancypants@gmail.com

Thanks again and thank you for reading!

XX

John Frieda Frizz Ease Nourishing Oil Elixir | Review

My hair is naturally quite dry and breaks easily so I'm always on the lookout for a good oil that will help heal my poor damaged locks. I had been using THIS L'oreal oil but was never overly impressed with it and openly mourned the loss of my Kerastase, which was thicker and required less product than the L'Oreal, which was a spray. Added to my other hair woes, I've also noticed this annoying frizzy weird hair growing around my hairline, which my hairdresser said is my hair growing back after a lengthy stint of being unwell. While it's great that it's growing back, it is making me look a bit odd so I felt this would be a good option for me.

Note: I've been using this for about 6 weeks now and that's all I've used- you'll definitely get your moneys worth!

This is an oil elixir containing Argan oil which "nourishes and smoothes 2x the frizz fighting power and blocks the frizz for 50% smoother, healthier hair".

This smells gorgeous, like the Kerastase actually and is the just the right texture; not too heavy and not too light. Like Goldilocks but with hair oil. 

I use it in two main ways. On wet hair at the ends only to provide some extra moisture to any broken hair, which has been working really well. When I dry my hair off it doesn't feel weighed down by the oil, just shiny and healthy looking. I've also been using this as a hair treatment, although that isn't suggested on the bottle! If I'm in for the evening, I just massage it into dry hair and leave it for a few hours, I then wash it out and dry it off. It might not be effective for everyone but my hair is so dry that it really needs this extra care. 

This is only €13.99 for 100mls, which I think is an absolute bargain and is available now in Boots and selected pharmacies nationwide. 

Do you use a hair oil/serum? Have you tried this fella?

XX

*Sample, gratefully received. All opinions my own, as always.

Unfortunate Things That Happen As You Get Older

So the big 3-0 is fast approaching and I'm now taking stock of my rapidly disappearing youth and impending old age. I've mostly noticed the following things have started happening to me and others my own age (so let me know if any of these are you and we can commiserate together!):

Watching the news, Vincent Brown and *gasp* the Late Late Show. My husband recently looked at me incredulously when I said "best tape the Late Late this week, there's a good mix on". I know, I'm scarlet for me too.

Oh Ronan, I'll never stop laughing.

Reverting to things from your youth for comfort. I've been investing precious time in rewatching She-Ra cartoons and Friends reruns and listening to the likes of Ash, Placebo, Garbage et al. Pretending I'm young and carefree again basically.

Available here

Caring about politics; knowing which of the TD's are the most rotten of all and regularly being heard to say "shower of dirty, lazy b*stards, the lot of them. Sure Jesus, I could do a better job myself, wha'?" But never of course, making any effort whatsoever to get involved.

Ditto the Catholic Church.

Hating coffee, red wine and other strong flavours as a teen. Now you need them. You need them bad. They get you through the day. God damn coffee. 

image source

The hangovers are like some cruel endurance test, set by an evil overlord like President Snow..sh*t, this is THE HUNGER GAMES!!! The paranoia you face as part of the Fear is also much, much worse as you get older.

Being happier to stay in of an evening with a good book and a cup of tea, or a full TV series on Netflix. Pyjamas feature strongly and there may also be some take-away action because that's another thing....

..Work makes you more tired now and you start to say "I'm not able for this anymore" as your knees creak when you sit down. At that stage you go for the take-away option because you're just too weary for actual adult food preparation.

Enjoying more pleasant (see boring) televisual viewing. A bit of Downton, by God I'll take an Austen period drama if it's on offer and of course, Call the Midwife, my favourite. Tea and tissues at the ready.

The electric blanket is your new best friend. You tell anyone who'll listen (when you're not giving out about politicians or the length of that young wans skirt) that they must get one, followed effusively by "IT'S THE GREATEST DECISION I'VE EVER MADE"...I usually say this one out of ear shot of my husband.

Having an innocent discussion with someone only for them to let you know they're at least a decade younger than you and you no longer speak their lingo. Case in point; I was in work recently and introduced myself to two student nurses. One of them thought I had said my name was Joey, I corrected her and she said "oh thank god, I was thinking who would name their daughter Joey!" Me, thinking I'd slide in there with a cool pop culture reference, was all "unless you're in Dawson's Creek, eh?!". Cue blank stares and them telling me they had no idea what I was talking about. Which is fair enough because I had just referenced a teen drama that first aired in 1998 when they were about 3 or 4. Good times.

Being able to say things like "back in nineteen-dickety-two" and for no one to correct you or think you're joking, because you're old now, and that's how people your age speak.

You get a bit anxious thinking about all the books you want to read and whether you will now have time to read them all..

Everyone you know is either getting married or having a baby. You've gone to more weddings than you can shake a good stick at and begin to comment on best man speeches etc as if you were the narrator from Come Dine With Me. Basically, all sarcastic and judge-y.

You start saying things like "there's a fine old stretch in the evenings" and "great drying weather today" with no hint of irony.

Giving out about how you don't understand "today's fashions". Yeah, that's right. I've said those words and I've no doubt bored the arse of off everyone I know whilst giving out about this whole 90's/Clueless trend that's around at the moment..seriously lads, pull it together. There's a reason why the 90's is in no way known for it's fashion, good or bad.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and wrap my Peig Sayers shawl about myself and shake a stick at the youths on my lawn. Do you have any to add to the list? Let me know in the comments!

XX

Rimmel ScandalEyes Mascara and Gel Eyeliner by Kate Moss | Review

On my little "buy all the things jaunt" to Boots last week I picked up this mascara and gel eyeliner from the Kate Moss for Rimmel range. I really like the Kate Moss lipsticks and liked the idea of an eye collection too as Moss is well known for her love of a smokey eye. I also love a bargain and these were both reduced at €5.99 down from €9.49 for the mascara while the eyeliner was €5.49 down from €8.99. I'm currently out of mascara and haven't used a gel liner in years so now seemed as good a time as any to try these. 

First up, ScandalEyes by Kate in Eye Rock Jet Black. Housed in quite a big shiny tube is a "broken heart shaped brush". According to Rimmel this is designed to give voluminous lift and hug the lash line for a false lash effect. 

Here's what I thought:

• It definitely adds a whole lot of volume. I'd liken it to my YSL effet faux cils except I much prefer the YSL. This has a much wetter formula (might just be because it's new, some mascaras need a while to settle down) and it needs more than one coat for that proper full on false lash effect, unlike the YSL. It is still surprising how fuller my lashes were with it though.
• Because it's a wetter formula it can be tricky to work with. This is not one for throwing on at the last minute in the morning because you will most likely destroy all the rest of the make up on your face. This one needs time and a bit of effort to apply. Similarly, if you're the sort that cries at the drop of a hat, beware! This mascara is not your friend!
• That aside, I do quite like this but I'm going to reserve full judgement til I've given it a bit of time in case it does dry out a bit more.
• It's worth trying especially if you can get the sale price and even better is that it's €4.99 on the Boots.ie site HERE.

This also comes in Amethyst, Emerald and Sapphire, if you're a fan of the coloured mascaras.

(L) Nil, (R) One Coat.

Next up is the Gel liner in Emerald. I was drawn mostly by the colour of this; I can sometimes find black liner a bit harsh and this seemed a good match for blonde-haired, blue-eyed me although equally I think this would look amazing on brown-eyed ladies. 

This is a waterproof formula, designed to stay put; it doesn't flake, smudge, smear or run. 

I completely agree with all of that. If I put this on in the morning, it's still there that evening. It's actually quite easy to apply and the little brush that's included is super handy. I can see myself getting a lot of use out of this for plenty of time to come as a little goes a long way.

Dinky!

I scrubbed at this swatch with soap and water and then a towel and it was still fairly perfect afterwards. 

(L) & (R) liner and one coat mascara.

What I like the most about the liner is that it's an understated way of getting a bit more colour into your eye make-up, which is ideal for those of us tightly gripping our nude shadows for dear life. 

Basically, it's an enthusiastic yes for the KM eyes collection. I am still undecided about the mascara but once I've given it a bit more of a test I'll let ye know the final verdict! 

Either way, I'm really loving that eyeliner. 

These are both available now alongside the Kate shadow sticks (which include a very nice looking purple shade).

Liking the look of these? Let me know what you think in the comments!

XX