Kings & Queens Royal Favorites Showergel Set

Everyone deserves to feel royal from time to time :)

This week I picked up the Royal Favorites showergel set by Kings & Queens at Marshalls. I know, I know - I need to stop reviewing things that can only be found at discount stores, but it's so cute I have to share! I've seen the same set at Ross, TJ Maxx, and other Marshalls stores so if you hunt you may be able to find it...You can find other Kings & Queens body care items online or at Target stores.

Kings & Queens is a body care line by Korres, makers of awesome natural body products. Each scent in the Kings & Queens line is based on the favorite spices of, well, kings and queens. Honey was created in honor of Egyptian queen Nefertiti, who used the sticky stuff in her beauty treatments. Jasmine was inspired by a Chinese princess who planted her entire garden with jasmine flowers so that the delicate and sensual scent would keep her lover faithful. This beautiful little set includes 5 mini-showergels (1.01 fl oz. each) in the following scents:

-Honey
-Jasmine
-Cinnamon Orange
-Mango
-Lemon Flower

Take a look:

Close-up of Mango (Emperor Akbar)

I did notice that some of these seems to be dupes for Korres scents. K&Q's Mango smells exactly like Korres's Melon and the Jasmine scents from both lines are pretty much identical. Kings & Queens tends to have much lower price points that Korres so if you're interested in trying out some Korres products but don't want to spend a lot, K&Q might be a good option for you.

I haven't tried these in the shower yet but I am assuming they'll perform a lot like Korres's showergels. They seem to have the same thin consistency but the scents are a bit stronger. They are formulated with NO mineral oils or parabens and include nifty natural ingredients like pomegranate, blue lotus, and malachite extract (pretty sure malachite is a mineral, but I'll go with it). As always, extra points for awesome packaging and a cool brand concept.

Green Beauty Blog Rating: A

July Wish List

I just discovered this new website http://www.bathandunwind.com/. They stock so many lovely things, I've filled my whole July wish list with items from the site! Read more about Bath & Unwind here.

Kings & Queens Shower Gels in George III (Lime) and Sultan of Granada (Lemon Flower), $8.09 each (10.14 fl. oz.)

(Check out my post on Kings & Queens here! I first found Kings & Queens products at a discount store in the U.S., but I also found the line at a beauty shop in Munich. I regret not bringing some K&Q home from Deustchland!)

Kings & Queens Soap in Tsar Peter (Tobacco), $6.47

 

Linden Leaves Ginger Peach Mini-spa Set, $10.99

(Check out their other cool scents like Fig & Licorice and Green Tea and Lime Leaf!)

Hei Poa Monoi Beauty Oil Pearlised Gold, $17.80 for 100ml

(Currently Out of Stock, but I've sign up for stock updates via email :) )

What are you lusting after lately?

As an avid beauty junkie I made a point of exploring every drug store, pharmacy, and beauty store I stumbled across in Scandinavia. One of my first finds was Kicks, a Finnish beauty shop carrying makeup, fragrance, and body care products. Still kind of puzzled about the name Kicks, I thought it was originally a shoe store. Maybe the store's named for the kicks you get out of buying makeup? Cue Frank Sinatra..."I get a kick out of you...."

Anyway, at Kicks I found my beloved Kings & Queens line, on the sale table no less! For about 6 euros (~$7.50USD) each I got three showergels in Lemon Flower, Cinnamon Orange, and Mango. The store also had the Sugar and Aztec Vanilla Pear scents.

  

 

Originally I had only intended to get Lemon Flower and Cinnamon Orange, but in my excitement I accidentally grabbed a bottle of Mango instead of Cinnamon Orange. I figured this out once I got home and unpacked my bag, and very distraughtly asked my boyfriend if we could go back and fix the mistake! He was kind enough to agree so the next day I brought home the bottle of Cinnamon Orange showergel that rightly belonged to me. I had become kind of attached to the Mango showergel so of course I had to keep that too :P

I've been a big fan of Kings & Queens since I bought a set of mini showergels at Marshall's, and I've been trying to track them down ever since! They are a Korres brand and are mainly available in Europe, though some of the scents are dupes for Korres scents. My absolute favorite scent is Nefertiti Honey, which Kicks did not have, but I've recently seen a set of Nefertiti Honey minis floating around the internet (shopping results here). I am sorely tempted to indulge!

So these showergels were probably my most existing European beauty find, but I have a few others to share. Stay tuned!

Design:Beauty

Once or twice before I've mentioned on the blog that I'm a student - I'm studying Interior Architecture and Design and hope to be an Interior Designer one day! I stumbled across the gorgeous Malachite wallpaper by Cole & Son  while working on a project and it inspired the little collection of beauty products below. It was pretty fun to merge by love of beauty and interior design. I might try this again in the future!

For those who don't know, malachite is a green mineral that develops beautiful ringed patterns. It has been used for centuries as a green pigment, but it also has antioxidant benefits and is used in many skin care products. Trivia for the day :) Hope you enjoy!

Malachite by laurenlovesocean featuring beauty products

Jane Iredale Mystikol Eyeliner and Highlighter in Malachite
$25 - yesstyle.com

Malachite Perfume by Banana Republic
$60 - amazon.com

Malachite Soap Rock
$8.50 - amazon.com

Mineral Fusion Mineral Shampoo
$9.99 - drugstore.com
*Contains actual malachite!

Kings & Queens Body Butter in Nefertiti Honey
nivenandjoshua.com
**Also contains actual malachite!

 Norway (between Oslo and Bergen) as seen through a train window!

Yet again, it's been way too long since I last posted. I haven't really felt like blogging lately, but I'm hoping that by bringing myself to Blogspot from time to time I will feel more motivated to get some words down. I do have some exciting news - I just got back from a two week vacation in Scandinavia (Finland, Sweden, Norway, & Denmark). Being the beauty junkie I am I did some research on the local beauty offerings and trends before I left. Based on this awesome article (and my personal observations) most Scandinavians have a "less is more" attitude toward makeup. Many Scandinavian women, including a few friends of mine, rarely wear makeup. If they do it's maybe a smudge of eyeliner or a swipe of mascara. I didn't wear a ton of makeup while I was traveling - I did a brown smokey eye one night and wore cat eyeliner a few other evenings - but even that felt like a lot! It was nice to experience a low-key makeup routine and in some way it made me feel more authentically "me".

I do have a queue of posts I want to put up here, and I have some other news to share (somebody found their beloved Kings & Queens abroad), so hopefully I can come back soon and blog more! In the meantime I hope everyone is happy and well!

10 Favorite Products of 2011

As we begin the new year, I thought it would be fun to recall my 10 favorite products of 2011. I'm still loving them, though some are a bit hard to find. I guess I'm one of those girls that loves hard-to-get :P

1)

Kings & Queens Showergel

I fell hard for these gorgeously scented bubbly wonders, but alas, they are mainly available in the UK only :( I'm stopping over at Heathrow this summer on way to a vacay destination, and I have a feeling the stopover will mostly consist of me scrambling through duty-free/any drug store I can find to locate these.

2)

ILKA Fine and Limp Shampoo and Conditioner

Again, hard-to-get! I found these at TJ Maxx and Ross but couldn't find them anywhere else. There was some hope the line would be revived by the creators, Rusk, but after many months of quiet I am afraid this line has met its end :( I'm rationing the last two bottles I've got! 

3)  

Tree Hut Original Shea Body Butter

This stuff if really insane - it's got a soft, whipped texture that smooths over skin and smells warm and nutty.

4)

 

 Labello Fruity Shine Lip Balm in Pink Guava

Another oversees acquisition. Why can't the US of A have cool Labellos like the rest of the world?! I will be desperately searching for these in Scandinavia :)

5)

 

EOS Everyday Hand Lotion in Refreshing

Cheap, cute, and does the job!

6)  

 

Hurraw! Black Cherry Tinted Lip Balm

A replacement for my Labello Fruity Shine, it's slowly but surely beginning to trump its predecessor!

7)

 

 Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Facial Cleanser

Another cheap but effective favorite; I plan to use this until Neutrogena discontinues it!

8)

 

geoGIRL Lip Gloss in Sub-Lime

This lip gloss is fun, has a wonderfully non-sticky texture, and literally smells sublime. Oh, and you can get it for less than a fiver.

9)  

Burt's Bees 100% Natural Pink Grapefruit (Refreshing) Lip Balm

I feel like this lip balm is going to become legendary a la Burt's Bee's Peppermint Lip Balm and Pomegranate Lip Balm.

10)

Tarte Provocateur Face Powder with SPF 8

I haven't posted on this face powder before but I have used it consistently for the past several years. Much better than any MAC powder I've ever used.

There's my top 10 of 2011, hope you enjoyed!