Seggin Bees; Sweet skincare products including my favourite lip balm ever!

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   Louise Sheppard is the lady behind Seggin Bees. From Honey Fudge to soap bars, everything Louise sells is handmade using honey from the hives in her garden in Leominster, Herefordshire. Products can be purchased online and from the “In A Nutshell” shop in Leominster, and the Seggin Bees team can often be found at various local craft fairs where they will be happy for you to test, taste, and take home their produce and educate you about their little artisan business. Visit the website to see where they’ll be popping up next! http://www.segginbees.luston.org.uk/html

/body_where_we_ll_be_next.html

   Today I’ll be focusing on their skincare products, starting with three popular soaps from the ever growing range! Seggin Bees are members of The Guild Of Craft Soap and Toiletry Makers. All of their soaps are crafted by hand using the tradition Cold Press Method, which is a natural, heat-free process which takes over a month. Their soaps are made using local ingredients, many of which are from their garden (you can’t get much more local than that!), including their own beeswax and honey, flowers, and herbs to provide natural texture, aroma, and nourishment. They are completely free from SLS, SLES, and Parabens, making them suitable for use on even the most sensitive skin types.

L-R: Dancing Bee Honeycomb Soap / Dancing Bee Goats' Milk, Honey and Calendula Soap / Dancing Bee Honey and Lemongrass Soap.
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   First up is the Dancing Bee Honeycomb Soap. This bar is presented in a pretty draw-string gift bag, tied with yellow ribbon and a cute little Bumble Bee bead – an ideal gift! The soap is moulded to resemble a piece of honeycomb, which not only looks interesting and attractive, but it also gives the bar an exfoliating surface which helps to cleanse the skin and gives you a mini-massage, excellent for soothing tired, achy muscles after a long day! I love to rub it on the shoulders and the back of the neck. It has a gentle formula that is kind enough to use all over the body and it’s strongly scented with sweet Herefordshire honey – delicious!

Dancing Bee Honeycomb Soap.
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Top - Bottom: Dancing Bee Goats' Milk, Honey and Calendula Soap /
Dancing Bee Honey and Lemongrass Soap.
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   Dancing Bee Goats’ Milk, Honey and Calendula Soap is perfect for sensitive skin and those suffering from skin conditions as it contains anti-inflammatory Calendula. This clever ingredient helps sooth irritated skin, while honey and goats’ milk hydrates dry areas. This soap is well worth trying if you’re looking for a natural product to help improve conditions such as Eczema and Psoriasis, or if you have very sensitive or extremely dry skin. This pretty bar is flecked with Calendula petals and rustically presented – a true artisan beauty!

   Dancing Bee Honey and Lemongrass Soap is my favourite of the three soaps I’m featuring today. I love products with sharp zing scents, and I also adore the aroma of honey, and this soap has both! It’s citrus fragrance is provided by refreshing lemongrass which helps to balance the skin and control sebum levels, excess shine, and blemishes. The reinvigorating scent is provides a perfect pick-me-up to help revive the senses, so it’s ideal for your morning skincare routine! The formula is also infused with nourishing honey to soften the skin, and exfoliating poppy seeds to buff away dry cells and reveal a glowing complexion. It’s non-floral scent makes it ideal for the guys and girls!

L - R: Dancing Bee Goats' Milk, Honey and Calendula Soap / Dancing Bee Honey and Lemongrass Soap.
© Tuesday T. Bryan
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© Tuesday T. Bryan
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   For sorry skin that’s in need of a little extra TLC, why not try Seggin Bees’ Dancing Bee Skin Balm? This hard-working product is ideal for soothing and repairing dry hands, irritated areas, and damaged skin. The waterproof formula contains a combination of skin-loving natural ingredients including beeswax, eucalyptus, fragrant rosemary, softening almond oil and olive oil, and healing tea tree. The solid balm melts into a creamy consistency on contact with the skin and is quickly absorbed.

   Finally, my favourite Seggin Bees product, the Dancing Bee Lip Balm. It is honestly the best lip balm I’ve ever used, and I cannot rave about this little lip saviour enough! Everything about this balm is just perfect. It is presented as a stick (like a lipstick bullet), rather than in a tin, which I find much more useful as it’s easy to open and apply as they don’t jam (and are much more simple to use when you’ve got wet nails). Just a touch

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goes a really long way. It has a super-soft, buttery texture which I just adore. It not only provides the lips with intense nutrients and fast deep hydration, but it also gives them a glossy sheen. The fact that this product is all natural means you don’t get any unpleasant scent or chemically taste, in fact you get rather the opposite! It gives the tempting scent of sticky sweet honey and doesn’t leave any taste on the lips. It’s creamy formula includes some of nature’s finest moisturisers; beeswax, cocoa butter, coconut oil, and Vitamin E. I fell in love with this balm from the first application, and I’m sure you will love it, too!

   The Seggin Bees range also includes a number of delicious sweet treats such as their award-winning Honey Fudge, pots of yummy honey from their own hives, and tasty Honey Mustard. They also stock handmade bits and pieces for beehives which can all be found online. 

More Seggin Bees' produce.
Via Seggin Bees' Facebook Page.

Bread and Herefordshire Honey. Simple and delicious!
Via Seggin Bees' Facebook Page.

   To shop Seggin Bees visit the website at www.segginbees.luston.org.uk. You can follow Seggin Bees on social media using the links below. Be sure to find them on Facebook to see all the latest updates about their new products!

   Click LIKE on my Facebook page to get all the last updates and view past publications, and follow me on Twitter and Instagram for all my latest updates! Just search “@tuesdaytbryan” or use the links below!

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Useful links:

Seggin Bees contact information:
Tel: 07703 353977

Web: www.segginbees.luston.org.uk
Email: louise@segginbees.luston.org.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Seggin-Bees/1419276401638665?ref=hl
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Seggin_Bees / @Seggin_Bees

My contact information:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/tuesdaytbryan

Blog: www.tuesdaytbryan.blogspot.com/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/tuesdaytbryan / @tuesdaytbryan

Twitter: www.twitter.com/tuesdaytbryan / @tuesdaytbryan

Google+: www.google.com/+TuesdayTBryan

© Tuesday T. Bryan
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BEAUTY TIPS; My top beauty tips for January.

The hectic party season can be a stressful time, often knocking our usual routines

out of sync. The New Year offers a great time to unwind, get back on track, and give your beauty regime an overhaul, and beat those “January Blues”!

Click on the links to view the products mentioned, and look out for links to my features and reviews! 

New year, new you, new ‘do!: Regardless of whether you’re the resolution type, the New Year is a great excuse to don a new hair ‘do. Experiments with different styles and products, or go all out and try a brand new colour and cut. It’s amazing how a new look can boost your confidence and give you a new lease of life. Your stylist will be happy to discuss services that suit your budget, needs, and schedule. Try turning to haircut magazines and the internet for inspiration.

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January blues: Zesty uplifting fragrances are a great way to boost your mood while you wash. Clean, citrus scents lift your spirits and help to make you feel more awake and refresh your senses, so it’s excellent to incorporate something with a zingy aroma into your morning cleansing routine, be it in your haircare products, your skincare regime, or your “wake-up shower”. One of my personal favourites is Happy Hippy Shower Gel from LUSH (click here to read my LUSH feature) – this multi-tasker with energizing grapefruit scent that can be used to wash the face, body and hair, plus it’s natural and handmade!

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Detoxify, don’t diet: If you want to shift some pounds, then by all means alter your lifestyle, but dieting is not the speediest option to solve suffering skin. Detoxifying beauty treatments can be an effective quick-fix for stressed skin. They work by drawing out toxins from and providing intense nourishment. Not only are treatments like these fantastically good for our skin, but they also give us a perfect opportunity to unwind. Don’t worry if Christmas has left you strapped for cash – there are options available for all budgets, from facemasks available at supermarkets and drugstores for under a pound, to much more expensive treatments available at salons and spas. Chat to your beautician for advice on what products and treatments would suit your skin in particular.

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Revitalise rundown skin: The stresses of Christmas and New Year can leave us feeling tired and rundown. Whether it’s overindulging on calorific food and drink, too many late nights, panicking about Christmas get-togethers, or unwelcome winter coughs and colds, our mind and body always seem to suffer as a result of the Party Season panic. Remember, although it’s a new year it’s not a new season, and with the harsh winter weather worsening, you’ll need to keep your skin hydrated, nourished and balanced. Exfoliators are brilliant for making the skin look instantly healthier – their scrubby texture removes dead cells and dry patches and evens the skin tone, and the massaging motion used to apply it increases blood flow to the skin making it look healthier and giving a natural, youthful glow (this motion also helps to diminish the appearance of cellulite – a tip to remember next time you moisturise your thighs!). For regular use I choose Outback OrganicsFace & Body Scrub for it’s creamy consistency and gentle abrasive texture. For a touch of luxury, try adding a facial serum to your skincare regime. I adore Doozle Nourishing FacialSerum – handmade in Wiltshire, this long-lasting formula is packed with all-natural skin-loving ingredients and gives a youthful dewy glow without leaving any greasy residue. An energising skin treatment is also a great way to instantly revitalise rundown skin. Try using a face mask containing cooling ingredients like cucumber or tea tree to soothe and de-stress the skin. Products scented with warming spices help to relax the muscles, and uplifting citrusy fragrances are ideal for energising the mind and lifting the spirits (think back to my tip about zesty mood-boosting citrus scents). If you opt for a salon treatment, let your beautician know if you’d like your skin to feel rejuvenated and refreshed – they’ll be more than happy to tailor your chosen treatment to your needs.

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Ditch dreaded dark circles: Almost all of us have blue-ish droopy patches under the eyes, commonly called “dark circles”, which are exaggerated when the skin is stressed and tired. You can disguise them with concealer, and regularly using a roll-on eye treatment designed to target and treat tenacious dark circles can help to minimise their appearance. They’re quick and easy to use, and many contain extras such as light-reflecting concealer, gentle moisturisers, and anti-aging ingredients. One of my favourites is Angel Eyes, a relatively new product from Angela Langford. It’s an all-natural roll-on eye oil that battles dark circles and dryness, and it contains cooling cucumber to refresh the delicate eye area. A little goes an astonishingly long way - I’ve been using it twice daily for approximately 3 months, and there’s still over half left! For a cheap and quick DIY option, pop a slice of cucumber or a cold used teabag over each eye next time you relax with a facemask for 10 minutes or so – it really does help to reduce dark circles and puffiness! You can even find some fun easy recipes for making your own face masks and body scrubs at home on the internet using basic supermarket ingredients.

The Weekender by ZPM

Give it away: Have you acquired a number or beauty treats over Christmas? Give away or discard unwanted and unsuitable ones, and donate unopened products to charity shops – if you’re never going to use them they’ll only be taking up valuable space. Don’t use a product if it’s unsuited to your skin type as it’s likely to react badly – the last thing you need is to start your new year with a blemish break-out, unsightly redness, or dreaded dry patches! Many of us will have been given make up sets and “bath and body” sets for Christmas. If you know you’ll never use they, see if a friend wants it or give it to your local charity shop. It will put a smile on someone’s face, and you’ll feel all the better for spreading a little joy in the tired aftermath of the Party Season!

The Weekender by ZPM

Space-savers: Many of us choose the new year to try a different make up look with new products, so free up some space first if you can. Now is a great time to give your make up bag and bath and body products an overhaul. Check all your liquid make up (mascara, foundation, gloss, liquid liner, etc) and discard any that have dried up or expired. Set aside any products that you never use to offer to friends and family (I don’t advise donating or selling used beauty products as some people dislike using them if they don’t know the previous owner). Purchase a space-saving make up bag or vanity case to keep all your beauty gear up together. I love The Weekender by ZPM. It’s an amazing storage product designed to keep your things organised, and it’s wipe-clean surface makes it perfect for beauty products! You wouldn’t believe how much you can fit in The Weekender – as the name suggests, it has space for all your little products that you might take on a weekend break and keeps them safe and organised, and has a handy extra-strong hook to hang it up wherever you please. Practical and stylish, it’s available in a huge range of gorgeous designs to suit all ages, sexes and tastes, and they’re based locally in Shaftesbury!

© Tuesday T. Bryan
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© Tuesday T. Bryan
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Lighten up!: Give your skin a luminous healthy glow by incorporating highlighter into your make up routine. This versatile wonder-product is available in various formats including loose powder, pressed powder compacts, pearls, sticks, liquids, and mousses. For a radiant, subtly glowing base, mix a generous amount of liquid highlighter (my favourite is Barbara Daly Make-Up - Soft Focus) with your usual liquid foundation or BB cream on the back of your hand before applying - if your skin feels dry, you mix in a touch of moisturiser for all-day hydration, too. For a youthful shimmery look, finish your make up with a dusting of highlighting powder - use alone as for the full-effect, or mix with a translucent powder for a more understated finish, or mix with a touch of bronzer for a sultry sun-kissed glow (I adore ELF Cosmetics bronzer in

© Tuesday T. Bryan
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© Tuesday T. Bryan
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“Glow”). Of course, you can also use the classic combination of highlighter and bronzer to contour the face. Use bronzer where shadows would naturally form (under the cheekbones, around the hairline, down the sides of the nose, and under the chin), and highlight where light would naturally hit your face (down the nose, above the cheekbones, on the chin, and on the cupids bow). Luminous blush adds instant healthy colour, and I choose Rimmel Wake Me Up Instant Radiance Shimmer Touch (click here to read my review and to see photos) for a long-lasting flush of glowing colour with a light-as-a-feather mousse format (my favourite shade is “002 Radiant Rose”). For eye-catching peepers, finish your eye make up by highlighting the inner corners of the eyes and under the brows with highlighter or a light, neutral shadow – this gives the eyes an instant “lift” and makes them appear lighter, brighter, and more youthful, and also helps to shape the brows. Shades I like to use for this job are Givenchy ShadowShow in “Star Caresse”, Clinique Soft-Pressed Eye Shadow in “Starstruck”, and Younique Moodstruck Minerals Pigment Shimmer in “Sexy" (click here to read my review). To make the eyes look larger still, line the water line with a white pencil liner. Easy illuminated eyes in an instant!

Head over to my Facebook page for more beauty tips, photos, and updates. Happy New Year, and here’s to a beautiful 2015!

Connect with me on Facebook by liking my new page for regular updates, upcoming features, past columns and blogs, photos, and more!: www.facebook.com/tuesdaytbryan.

By Tuesday T. Bryan.

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www.tuesdaytbryan.blogspot.com

My contact information:

- My Facebook page: www.facebook.com/tuesdaytbryan

- My beauty blog: www.tuesdaytbryan.blogspot.com

- My Instagram: www.instagram.com/tuesdaytbryan

- My Twitter: www.twitter.com/tuesdaytbryan / @tuesdaytbryan

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