Philosophy Purity made simple

Hi guys! Today's review is a product I've been using for a good few months now, in fact it's very nearly empty! I bought this mini Purity (90ml) from Boots in the January sales when it was reduced to a mere £2.50 because it came in Christmassy packaging even though the same sized product that wasn't packaged up was still on sale full price. So obviously I couldn't resist snapping it up...

Purity is a cleanser I've heard absolutely loads about over the years I've been reading beauty blogs. It seems to be a love/hate product - people either absolutely love it and rave about it's Holy Grail properties, or absolutely hate it and blame it for break outs, or point the finger at the ingredients list. I will put my hands up now and say I don't know a great deal about ingredients, but what I do know is that this 'pure' cleanser from Philosophy is far from a natural product. But I can live with that. What I'm more interested in is what it can do for my skin.

After months of using this I think it's safe to say that my opinion sits right in the middle of the extremists. I'm a bit disappointed I don't love or hate this cleanser, but I simply feel indifferent about it. I haven't noticed any real positive different in my skin since beginning to use this in place of my old Liz Earle and Soap & Glory Hot Cloth Cleansers, but at the same time I didn't break out or notice any negative effects. In terms of the consistency of the product itself, it's quite an opaque, gloopy substance that doesn't lather or sink into my skin, and it smells incredibly chemical-y. This did put me off to start with but I've come to get used to it - however for the purposes of this review I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with a sensitive nose. I don't think I would repurchase this even if it was at a bargain price, because it's just not that ground shaking and I don't particularly enjoy using it. For the price (£8 for 90ml) I think you can find much better cleansers.

You can pick up Philosophy Purity from Boots - £8 for 90ml HERE. The full size 471ml is a whopping £28.50 HERE.

Have you tried Purity before? Are you a Philosophy fan?

xx

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2013 January Sale Haul

I'm aware that this post is long overdue, but here are some snaps of my sale buys from the January sales this year!

First up is these Dunlop Green Flash burgundy sneakers - only £19.99 from Schuh! Looking forward to wearing these in both winter & summer as I'm hoping they'll be versatile enough for both.

I'd wanted this shirt when it was full price from Matalan, but only made the jump and bought it when it was reduced to £8! What a bargain! It has some gorgeous detailing for such a cheap buy.

You should know by now that I am a huge Soap and Glory fan, and when I spotted these gift sets in my local Boots on the 27th December, I snapped them up! They'd already sold out online so I was really pleased to find them in store.

The Leap of Face gift set was £10 down from £20, and includes Peaches and Clean, For Daily Youth, Mighty Mouth and a cute S&G headband and buffing mitt. Watch this space for product reviews!

I also found Glow Business, another must-have S&G skincare set!

This has the Fab Pore Cleanser, You Won't Believe Your Eyes, and Bright Here Bright Now, for £15 down from £30!

I also bought the S&G hand duo from Boots online, featuring the moisturiser and hand wash to pop in my bathroom! £5 down from £10.

This was my first ever Philosophy purchase - the Tinsel Town gift set which was £8 down from £16.

I wouldn't have bought this full price, but the coloured lip gloss and 3 in 1 shampoo, shower gel and bubble bath was definitely worth £8! I think I'm most likely to use this as a shower gel or bubble bath, as my scalp can be quite sensitive.

That's it! I also purchased my wrapping paper, Christmas cards and bows, boxes etc for Christmas 2013 from Paperchase and some new decorations from John Lewis but I haven't shared those with you today.

What did you find in the January sales this year? I'd love to read your haul post!

xx

Philosophy 2 Piece Foot Pampering Set

My (very belated) January sales haul post will be up soon, and in it you will see my first ever Philosophy purchase; the Tinsel Town gift set. Since then I have received the Philosophy 2 Piece Foot Pampering Set*, available along with a whole load of other skincare goodies at QVC.

The set comprises the footnotes foot scrub, and the soul owner exfoliating foot cream. As a relative newbie to the Philosophy brand, I really like the packaging of these products - it reminds me of spa products. So simple and chic and I love the quirky quotes on the front!

The footnotes foot scrub is a mega-gritty, minty foot scrub that really does the job. I have to admit my feet have been neglected this winter - I'm sure I won't be the only one who hasn't found time to keep my tootsies in tip top condition! It's never much of a priority when you don't have to bare your feet in sandals and can keep them hidden in socks and tights! So you can imagine the condition my feet were in before I used this scrub.

I think you can see how gritty the scrub is here - it's much coarser than other foot scrubs I've used in the past which is great as it takes less effort to buff off the rough skin. I used this scrub whilst in the bath & the first thing I noticed was the incredible minty scent - it smells so delicious! I worked the scrub into the parts of my feet that have the hardest, roughest skin for a couple of minutes and then washed off. The scrub doesn't feel too harsh but still effectively removes dead skin!

Once out of the bath with dry feet, I applied the soul owner cream. This product also smells of mint, which I love, and the consistency of the cream is very thick as you can see below!

Soul owner is much thicker than the other creams I've used in the past, which is great if you like to slather it on after a bath before popping on some socks to let it sink into your skin!

I found even when I was tucked up in bed with my bed socks on I could still smell the yummy minty scent of these products, and my feet felt very happy! The next day my tootsies were softer than they've probably ever been before - and that is no exaggeration. I have used various grater-style things on my feet before (you know the type of thing I'm talking about - the Ped Egg is a good example!) and I thought my feet felt smooth after that. But using these two together improves the overall condition of my feet, not just the rough parts.

Overall I am very impressed with these products and with Philosophy as a brand. I love how these tubes look in my bathroom, and I think this summer I will have the smoothest feet in London!

Have a little peek at the video below if you'd like to know a bit more about Philosophy.

Have you tried anything from Philosophy before? Are you a fan?

(*PR sample)

xx