Revlon have added five new powder blush (R239) shades to their line up. Two are matte (Rosy Rendezvous and Bronze Beauty), two are shimmer (Dare to Bare an Ravishing Rose) and one is satin (Orchid Charm). I don’t have all of them to show you so can google anything that sounds exciting but I was sent Ravishing Rose and really like it.

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The colour’s nice and buildable which is good as this goes on rather sheer but you can pump it up with about three sweeps. If you’re fair and cool-toned like me I reckon it’s a super pretty day-time flush.

Want? It, along with the other new hues, will be in store come mid March.

Another nice beauty extension comes from Garnier Ultimate Blends hair care line. If you’re a regular reader you’ll know I really like The Colour Illuminator duo (the one in the red packaging) as it walks a perfect balance between bouncy and hydrated for my fine, colour-treated hair. Now, there’s a newbie in town and that’s The Delicate Soother Delicate Oat for sensitive scalp and fragile hair.

Both the sham and con are paraben-free, infused with a teensy dash of rice cream and oat milk and have been tested on sensitive scalps. I’m very lucky in that, while I do have fragile hair thanks to colouring and heat styling, I don’t actually have a sensitive scalp so I can’t vouch for the former claim and reckon anyone with a serious scalp issue should chat to their dermatologist or doc who can recommend something to suit and chances are it’ll be fragrance-free.

Speaking of fragrance, I really liked the way these smelled. The scent is calming and soft in a way that reminded me of The Body Shop’s new Almond Milk and Honey line. Then, much like the Ultimate Blends for coloured hair, it left my hair with a bit of swish but it was still easy to detangle when wet. It’s really nice to have another option I can reach for in this pocket-friendly collection as I find The Shine Revitaliser (lemon and green tea variant) too ‘strippy’ and everything else that isn’t The Colour Illuminator (argan oil and cranberry) too heavy.

Moving on, let’s chat deo! A while back Shield launched MotionSense antiperspirant with microcapsules activated by friction. This way, when you move around, you burst open new ‘deo bubbles’ for renewed freshness as the day goes on. Anyhoo, the brand’s now whipped out Germ Defense. It also makes use of MotionSense’s ‘bubble’ tech but also promises protection from the germs that cause odour.

Shield says you’re getting ‘ten times as much protection’ but they’re comparing it against the use of soap, not another antiperspirant, so I’m not sure if this newbie’s ‘stronger’ than the germ-fighters in the original MotionSense or if it contained any germ-fighters at all. Luckily, I couldn’t give a toss either way. It’s a twenty buck deodorant – not a crazily-priced face cream promising the world – so I don’t feel the need to scrutinise. I’ve used it on a crazy hot day and yep, it works. And that’s good enough for me.

I also like that, despite being scented (Shield says its notes include ginger, pink peppercorn and sandalwood), my nose doesn’t really register it. To me, it just smells ‘clean’ and that’s exactly how I like my antiperspirants – to smell like ‘nothing’ or have a scent that’s incredibly subtle. I don’t want my deo fighting with my EDT, if you know what I mean.

See anything you’d like to try yourself?

Love, love

Leigh