Korres Japanese Rose Shower Gel and Body Butter

I am a big fan of Korres products, with their Vanilla Plum range being a firm bodycare favourite, so when I saw these Japanese Rose products in my local branch of TK Maxx at 50% of the RRP, I couldn't resist snapping them up.  One of the things that I love about these is that the rose scent is not too over-powering, which I find can be the case with some other rose-based products. The body butter is fantastic on areas such as elbows and knees, which can be prone to dryness. 

The shower gel contains wheat proteins which form a protective film on the skin, which helps skin to maintain its hydration levels. The body butter contains shea butter and quince extract which are both known for moisturising and softening the skin. Sunflower, almond and avocado oils nourish the skin, which helps in relation to maintaining the elasticity of the skin.

If you are not lucky enough to find these in your local TK Maxx, then you can also find them at Look Fantastic and Feel Unique.

Lou Lou Shops: TK Maxx

I know that I have posted about TK Maxx before, but I was so impressed with my last visit there, that I thought it deserved another blog post!

We probably all know that TK Maxx is one of the high-street's largest chain of discount stores. However, for some people, that is enough to stop them walking through the doors. And if that is the case, then in my opinion they are definitely missing a trick!

I think one of the problems for people with the store, is that you can't really guarantee that you will find what you want in there. However, I think that once you accept that, you will see that there are some great bargains to be had in store. I tend to pop in at least once a week.

On my last trip, I picked up a Seafolly swimsuit for £19.99 (usually retails for £70+); a Polo Ralph Lauren v-neck wool jumper for my boyfriend (£37; RRP £99) ; Korres Vanilla Plum shower gel (£5.99, RRP £10.50) and Bridgedale walking socks (£5.99; RRP £16.00). On those items alone, I made a saving of over £125 on the RRP.

A lot of the items in the food section wouldn't look out of place in a high-quality delicatessen, and I picked up some stuffed olives and amaretti biscuits. I love the packaging of some of the items, and will definitely be trying to think of ways to re-use the packaging.

If online shopping is more your thing, then you can also make some big savings on the TK Maxx website. You can find a range of designer labels on the site, including 'Stella McCartney'; 'Balenciaga'; 'DSquared'; 'Elizabeth and James'; 'Dolce & Gabbana', and 'Temperley'.

What are your thoughts on TK Maxx? Have you discovered any fantastic bargains there?

50 Follower Giveaway

I am very happy to announce that my blog has now reached the 50 Follower milestone. Well it was 55 at the time of posting this, but I didn't get a chance to post at the moment when the blog follower clock struck 50! I know that there are a lot of blogs out there with a LOT more followers, but I am really happy to have reached this number. I was pleased when I got my first blog follower (the gorgeous Nicoletta over at Nicoletta's Beauty Space), so to make it to 50+ followers makes me a very happy blogger indeed!

Although I have only been blogging for a few months, I have really enjoyed it, and have discovered some great bloggers and tweeters. Starting my own blog also encouraged me to get more involved with my local Bloggers Meetups in Cardiff. Through that I have met some really interesting people whose variety of blogs never cease to provide plenty of food for thought. And on a beauty-related note, starting my blog has encouraged me to try a wider range of products, and looks, which can only be a good thing. Well, for my style if not for my bank account!

To celebrate reaching 50 followers I have decided to run a little giveaway. I've compiled a selection of products by brands that I've blogged about, that I love, and that people have been enthusiastic about. I hope that you like my version of a Glossybox. The box contains:

• The Body Shop's Monoi Miracle Oil (150ml) which can be used on skin and hair.
• Paula's Choice Illicit Lash Maximum Impact Mascara (full-size)
• Korres Basil Lemon Little Moisturising Body Milk (50ml)
• Orly Mini Manicure in 'Holla' a.k.a 'Happy Nails' (5.3ml)
• Etat Libre D'Orange fragrance samples ( 5 x 1.5ml: Rossy de Palma; Nombril Immense; Divin'Enfant; Vierges et Torreros; Encens et Bubblegum). I came across this quirky brand whilst browsing the escentual.com website. I had never heard of them before so was intrigued to try them.There's a wide range of fragrances to choose from, so I've included a selection, as choice of fragrances can vary widely between different people.

If you'd like to be entered in the giveaway, then here are the rules:

1. You must be a follower via Google Friend Connect.

2. You must comment on this post below, with a random fact about yourself. I decided to go for that, as when Nic over at Strawberry Blonde gave me the Butterfly Blog Award I found it interesting reading everyone's random facts about themselves.

3. If you tweet about this giveaway or mention it on your Facebook page you will get an extra entry: 'I've just entered @LouiseHartrey 's 50 Follower Giveaway over at http://louloumuses.blogspot.com '

4. The giveaway will close at 11:59pm on 31st July 2011.

If you've got a blog I would love to know what you've found to be the best thing about blogging.

UPDATE - I've just selected the winner of my '50 Follower Giveaway', and the lucky lady is........30SomethingMel . Congratulations. Hope that you enjoy using all the products.

Korres Vanilla Plum : Body Butter & Shower Gel

One of my recent discoveries has been Korres.Well when I say I discovered it I mean it in the 'heard about it for ages, always wanted to try it, but never quite got around to buying it but have now' sense.

Korres was set up in 1996 and is a Greek skincare brand that has its roots in Athens’ first ever Homeopathic Pharmacy. The first Korres product was an aromatic syrup with honey and aniseed, a recipe inspired by ‘rakomelo’, a warming spirit-with-honey concoction, which grandfather George Korres used to make in his hometown, on the island of Naxos. From there they have gone on to offer over 400 natural and organic certified products. Korres has a certified organic skin & hair care range, a make-up line as well as suncare products and herbal preparations. The company focuses on using natural ingredients and formulas.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.....

"Once upon a time, there was a young(ish-allow me some artistic licence!) girl who had always wanted to try Korres products but had never realised this ambition. Whilst I realize that winning the Pulitzer Prize or curing all the world's illnesses are more worthy goals, for the purposes of this blog we'll stick with the purchase of Korres products for now! When the new St David's 2 shopping centre opened in Cardiff she was very pleased to see a Korres store amongst the offering, as previously it had been difficult to get hold of. But for some reason even then it took her a while to get around to actually visiting the store. But after reading a few blog posts about Korres in quick succession she finally visited the land of Korres - sadly not Greece, just it's Cardiff outpost. She loved a LOT of the products and found it hard to set her heart on just one range she liked. But eventually she gave her heart to Vanilla Plum.

The young girl was overjoyed to hear that they were running a Buy One Get One Free offer across all of their ranges at the time. She purchased 2 x Body Butter and 2 x Shower Gel which came to £19 instead of £37! At that price she didn't feel too extravagant, as at the usual prices (£11.50 for 150ml of Body Butter and £7.00 for 250ml of shower gel) she probably would have seen these as 'treats' as opposed to everyday products."

The shower gel is moisturising which must be down to the list of ingredients which resembles that of an innocent smoothie (other smoothie brands are available): wheat proteins; aloe and vitamins C & E. It is also claimed that it can reduce the visible signs of skin ageing, but I haven't been using it long enough to comment on that. There'll be a blog post about that sometime in 2012. 

The body butter, which contains plum extract; red grape polyphneols; shea butter; quince extract, and sunflower, almond and avocado oils leaves my skin feeling really smooth and smelling divine. One of the things I love about the products is that the scent lasts and I have had people ask me which fragrance I was wearing, hours after applying. However that doesn't mean that the scent is overpowering, rather that it has some depth and longevity.

As previous readers of my blog will know, I am a sucker for some lovely packaging and that definitely adds to the Korres appeal. The packaging is quite simple and understated with striking typography and imagery of the ingredients in the product.

"Alas the tale of the girl and her new found love does not have a happy ending. For no sooner had she discovered this wonderful range than the Evil Director/Manager/[insert name of whoever was responsible] decided to close down the branch thus denying the girl the chance to stock up on more Korres loveliness on her own doorstep."

If you are tempted to try this or any other products from the Korres range (Guava Body Butter is already on my list) then you can find them at Beauty Expert , but sadly not at my local shopping centre.

Have you used Korres products before? I would love to know whether you have any other recommendations so please comment away!