T.K Maxx Haul - January 2019

I make a weekly pilgrimage to T.K Maxx as they always have some great skincare items. Over the past few months, the brands seem to be getting more impressive too - from bigger high end names to many, many international natural skincare and beauty brands, plus a good dollop of K Beauty too!

 

But I think I've been pretty restrained in the past few months. There once was a time when I'd snap up anything that even remotely caught my interest. But after coming to terms with my extra large skincare inventory, I've held myself in check. Asking myself, "Do I need it?", "Will I use it?" and telling myself "This is going to make your skinventory numbers go up when you're supposed to be reducing them"!

 

BUT...

 I kind of fell off the wagon in the past couple of weeks - there have been several items that were just too good to pass by.

These are the items that I've picked up in the past couple of weeks:

 

 

See, it's not crazy-silly, is it?

 

 

Becca - Ocean Jewels Highlighter Palette £9.00

 

I think this is the most excited I've ever been to find something in T.K Maxx (the other time was when I found some SK-II).

How on earth this ever ended up in the clearance section is beyond me! This had been reduced down to £9.00 (rrp £42.00).

True, I have found some other exciting makeup in T.K Maxx before (Nars, Anastasia Beverly Hills) - but these are always, without exception, either completely smashed up or have been swatched heavily by other shoppers.

This highlighting palette was actually in a protective plastic box with security tag - and completely unopened!

 

 

The clasp is quite tricky to open and the case gets smeared easily - but - £9.00!

 

 

Beautiful!

 

 

Dewy Tree - Madecassoside Melting-Chou Mask -£5.99 for ten masks (rrp $35)

 

I've previously stopped myself from picking up one of these ten packs of sheet masks from Dewy Tree, but as soon as I spotted 'Madecassoside' I leaped at it!

 

Madecassoside is one of four principal bioactive compounds in the plant extract Centella asiatica. One double-blind study has shown even small amounts of this compound (0.1% in one case) combined with vitamin C have antioxidant benefit when applied to skin, and serve as an antioxidant in its own right. Studies also show it can it is non-sensitizing and can help revitalize skin’s surface. (Source)

 

I have plenty of products on my wish-list that contain this ingredient, but have yet to try any of them out.

I tried one of these masks out last night. The first thing I noticed was how generous the amount of serum in the pack was. It's a reasonably thick milky lotion serum, with a delicate lemon scent.

The mask was wrapped up quite strangely, and it took me a while to unwrap it carefully as I was afraid that I would tear the mask. This left with me quite a lot of the milky serum over my hands and fingers, so I wiped it onto my chest and arms before even placing the mask on my face. It absorbed beautifully.

The mask itself is a quite thick, soft cotton - which did feel ideal for this type of thicker serum. It was a great fit and didn't need much adjusting.

It's recommended to leave the sheet mask in place for 10-15 minutes. Although I usually leave sheet masks for much longer, maybe up to an hour or wen they dry out (whichever is sooner), this mask felt that it was drying out after 15 minutes, so the recommended time was just right.

The mask was so soothing, calming and cooling and very moisturising. I absolutely loved how the serum felt - silky and smoothing. It absorbed really well into my skin without making my skin feel tacky. I was able to follow up with the rest of my routine as usual, and all remaining products layered well with the serum from the mask.

There was so much serum left over that I did stuff about six thin cotton sheets into the remaining serum in the sachet - ready to use again the next day.

 

I haven't enjoyed a mask as much as this in a long time - happy to give it 5/5 for the serum - but would mark it down for the bizarre way the sheet was tucked into itself in the package. It did make it tricky to unfold.

 

 

Formulathions - African Secrets Centella Repair Facial Cream £5.99 (rrp 16 euros) 

 

I first came across this Spanish brand in Seville and dithered about buying it or not, but with too many items already in my hand luggage, I resisted, regretfully.

So when I spotted some Formulathions Malachite Serum in T.K Maxx last summer, I bought it without hesitation (and later on, a back-up when it re-appeared in the shop a couple of months later). The Malachite serum is just stunning and so as soon as I spotted another Formulathions product, again I didn't hesitate to buy.

This is a light day moisturiser which I briefly tested on the back of my hand once I'd got it home. It's very light and silky and smells quite citrus-y. It's had to take it's place in my stash as I have so many moisturisers that need using up first. But for this brand and purchase I straddle the line of sorry/not sorry.

And if I ever see any more Formulathions in T.K Maxx (or anywhere else for that matter), I will buy it - no questions asked.

 

 

Dr Botanicals - Chamomile Blue Essential Oil

2 x 15ml £3.00 each (rrp £39.90)

 

I absolutely LOVE Blue Tansy - it's one of those magic healing essential oils and so I will always veer towards products containing Blue Tansy. But it's hella expensive!

Chamomile Blue - aka German Chamomile (Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) might be considered the inferior/poorer relative of Blue Tansy. But both have anti-inflammatory properties and have been know to help cure and treat allergies, dermatitis, eczema, inflamed joints, muscles, neuralgia, skin rashes and sprains.

So, I'm not unhappy choosing Blue Chamomile in this instance (and for this price!).

 

 

 This is a diluted Blue Chamomile oil - first on the ingredients list is Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (an emollient) and it can be used directly on the skin. I'm hoping to whip up some balm or butter using this and if it all goes wrong, I don't mind risking it for £6.00 for 30ml!