March 2015 Empties

I've used up loads of products in the month of March guys, and i'm going to share them with you

This is the second bottle of the Neutrogena Visibly Clear 2 in 1 face wash and mask I've used up. It's a really nice cleanser that I used in the shower (or as a mask on individual spots when they randomly sprung up) and it's really gentle on the skin. It visibly tightens- but not uncomfortably- the skin, and it feels super soft after use.

The cleanser was Lancome Bi-Facil which was a gift, and I'd not spend this much money on it again because I find my Nivea Double Effects (see full blog post) is a similar idea with the blue oil and clear water, but much cheaper and I actually find works better.

The Garnier Pure Active Toner was really nice, I used it after cleanser to tighten my face and on spots as well as just to make my skin feel so much cleaner, in an almost chemical way, and the scent is very strongly chemical. I feel this improved the quality of my skin, and will repurchase.

Lastly here is the Sebium H20 by Bioderma; I usually get the more popular one that everyone has with pink accents (instead of the green), but I found them the same. No idea what the difference is meant to be. A nice, inoffensive (no scent) cleanser to remove makeup or clean the face in the morning.

I've said before that I use cotton pads to put my makeup remover on to remove makeup every day, and I literally don't care which ones I buy, just whatever's cheapest or what's in the house. These three   are Sainsburys, Waitrose and Simply Gentle.

Thee moisturisers, all amazing. The Soultions range (found on the Avon website) is crazily cheap and their moisturisers are amazing. I used up the complete balance night cream which is almost a gel, sinks in amazingly but still hydrates the skin, so is perfect for oily or combination skin. I also used up their ageless bloom eye cream which is super thick but does sink into the skin, and is nice hydration for the under eyes before concealer.

I also used up the Garnier Moisture Match for combination to oily skin, which is probably one of my favourite moisturisers of all time, if not the favourite. I recommend this so highly.

Makeup time- I've really been trying hard to use up makeup recently so bear with me.

The ELF lip liner in pink grapefruit is a crazy colour, but had a really nice texture, similar to that of the Rimmel exaggerate full colour lip liner in Eastend Snob, which I was really upset to finish seeing as  I used it on practically every night out seeing as it's a tiny bit darker than my natural lip colour, making it the perfect liner for me. The only negative to both these lip liners for me is that they both are retractable, and I usually find with retractable lip liners that you're paying around £6 in terms of the Rimmel one for a ridiculously small amount of product. I really didn't get much in it. So i'm on the hunt for an affordable 'your lips but better' pink, but in pencil form.

The tiny double-ended pencil up top was my holy grail eyebrow product for many months- the natural eyebrow duo effect pencil from Rituals. I can't remember the colour as it got sharpened away, but it was for blondes. It was a perfect ashy tone and had a light concealer pencil on the other end for going around the edges of the eyebrow.

Slightly below that is an equally pitiful-looking pencil- the NYX jumbo eye pencil in milk. This is the best eyeshadow base ever. It doesn't crease and because it's white it makes eyeshadow stand out and colours pop to their true potential. Plus, for me, a white eyeshadow base is the best option as even painterly is too dark for my skintone- I want something closer to my skin tone (sometimes I'd mix them to get my skin tone to completely cancel out the eyes). I've already repurchased it from the Makeupgeek website whilst buying eyeshadows from them (haul coming soon!). LOVE LOVE LOVE!

The tiny empty pot is a sample blush from Coastal Scents (in pigment form), it was a weird colour on my skin tone, a little too dark, but the feel was nice.

The Me Me Me dew pot I had was in Hollow Haze, a beautiful golden colour. I bought this after seeing Pixiwoo rave about them on youtube. Their consistency is moussy, whereas I prefer a stable base like the Mac paintpots or the Maybelline Colour Tattoos. They creased hugely in the contours of my eyelids. Use with caution- only put on a tiny amount.

I used up the ELF lip primer and plumper- not sure if i'd repurchase. The primer was basically just a concealer, and the plumper as with all lip plumping products is just a tingly gel that you're not sure if it actually has any effect at all.

Three lip stains I used up, two were Rimmel Lasting finish 1000 kisses ones (remember when these were the big hype?); in perpetual plum, and nothing but nude. They do stain the lips quite well, but anything with a felt tip applicator stops properly being effective after a few uses. The other was a Revlon just bitten stain in Frenzy, and it had the same problem. 

My first Revlon Lip Butter to use up was the one in Sugar Frosting, it's really pale but not too pigmented (the lighter ones really aren't) so I'd use it just as a subtle product. I wouldn't repurchase though- I really didn't like the texture of the lip butters, I found they looked really odd on the lips.

And finally I have the Maybelline one by one mascara. It was really nice, and I like the tapered applicator. I just have so many mascaras that I often feel overwhelmed.

In terms of haircare, I used up the Elvive Smooth and Polish detangling spray which is really nice to use before blowdrying/straightening as it also has thermal properties, and the Batiste dry shampoo in tropical scent which everyone seems to have. I'll probably repurchase both of these although my life doesn't depend on having them.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my empties that I've gathered up- let me know in the comments below what you've used up recently and if you plan on repurchasing!

Update: From Brunette To Blonde

 Yes guys, it's happened!

Ahead of aiming to get either pastel blue/pink hair this summer (help me decide which please I've been pondering this for over a year) I'm now blonde.

It's been a few months actually, but I haven't had a chance to share until now.

I can definitely do a whole post on the process, but I did it myself (with help from a few friends) and it wasn't the easiest thing i've ever done let's just say.



To cut a long story short, my hair had been dyed brown for a year as its natural colour is a dark mousy blonde. And then I decided to go really platinum blonde- just for a change and to help the colour stay and show up vibrant when I finally go pastel blue or pastel pink.

I plan on keeping it this way until the end of summer and when I go off to uni i'll go back to brunette.

Ah, hair adventures.

If you guys want me to do an in depth post on how I went blonde (with dyed hair it's a real struggle) and what products I recommend, just let me know.

January-February 2015 Empties

Empties!!!

During my dry months of not posting here (bad, I know), I had stored up many empties. So many that I even had to throw out one set of about 4 months worth before even writing reviews. Apologies for that, but I do still have a great selection of empties from the last couple months to share with you.

Haircare

Okay, I know I never mention haircare, but this is my ultimate favourite haircare product of all time. It's a shampoo, here I have the 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner. Yes, it's Head and Shoulders. Sure it's known for being a product for people with dandruff, but I beg you all to give it a try. It works wonders on any hair, it smells amazing, nourishes your roots (very important seeing as my scalp has been dry recently due to bleaching), and leaves your hair feeling hairdresser-fresh. I will continue to repurchase this. Give it a go, you may change your views. It's not just for people with flaky scalps!

Skincare

I nearly always try out new cleansers, and this was one I tried out this year and the end of last year. It's the Garnier Pure Active gentle deep clean cream wash. It was amazing. It's perfect for sensitive skin as it has little fragrance and comes in a thicker cream consistency, to which you add water and massage into the skin. I really notice that after washing this off, my skin feels at least 5 times more smooth than it did before, having a much greater effect than other cleansing washes I have used. I may well repurchase.

Two spot treatments next. Both the Clearasil Rapid Action Treatment Cream and the Burt's Bees Herbal Blemish Stick are extremely chemical. They smell chemical, they feel chemical when applied to spots, and yes they do give a burning sensation if you have an open spot. They are extremely drying (good if you have an oily spot like mine always are, but perhaps use in consideration if you have dry skin) and can cause flakiness on the skin. But when something burns me I really feel like it's working, and although it's always hard to tell with skincare, I think these did both help me with the occasional breakout.

Burt's Bees is slightly more expensive and definitely harder to get ahold of in the UK so I'll probably repurchase the Clearasil one or try out another brand's version- as most drugstore brands have a very similar product on offer.

Fragrance

Okay, bear with me because I know this is Justin Bieber's fragrance 'Someday', but this was my favourite perfume ever and one of the nicest scents I have ever smelt. It became 'my signature' and I really have to repurchase. It's sweet but not sickly sweet, slightly fruity, but still a bit perfumey without smelling like that classic grandma perfume that really just smells of... perfume. This and the Lady GaGa Fame perfume are my favourites of all time- both amazing scents this one just lasts longer on the skin.

Makeup

The L'Oreal True Match foundation was one of if not my first foundation. And it has been my favourite for EVER. It feels lightweight but gives good coverage, a satin finish and lasts really well on the skin. People rave about this all the time, but I somehow feel it still deserves more. It's really good. Really trying to use up foundations before I repurchase this one again, but I am so sure all I need in my collection is this and the Max Factor 3 in 1 foundation because these are the best ones I have ever tried (although I would like to branch out into higher end foundations at some point, sure).

Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara. This one dried up on me/ I used it up- it's always hard to tell exactly which. Although the brush is so tiny it takes a while to build up bottom lashes, it's cute and worth it, especially because I find when taking my makeup off after a night out I can't get it all off- meaning I always have regular makeup-less upper lashes and yet long spidery bottom lashes. It builds volume and length, and the fact it's so long lasting means you don't need to worry about mascara falling down all over your face. Not sure if I will repurchase straight away as bottom lash mascara still seems a bit gimicky to me- I'd rather buy a thin small waterproof mascara I can use on both top and bottom lashes.

The ELF lip liner and blending brush in Wine was quite nice. The formula was not too creamy and not too thick and waxy and of course the price of ELF products is extremely cheap. They don't have a massive colour selection but this was a deep purpley reddy brown (does that make sense?) which I could actually use for a variety of lipstick shades- as well as on its own all over the lip. The lip brush on the other end though isn't the best- seems to remove product instead of blending it out.

This was probably my favourite clear mascara or brow gel I have ever had. It's The Body Shop's Brow and Lash Gel, and I found it stuck down my brows and set them firmly in place without being as aggressive as the ELF wet gloss lash and brow mascara which really feels like you've taped down your eyebrows. Some people like that, but if you really don't want to feel like you've got loads of product on your eyebrows, this is the one. Will definitely repurchase.

Thanks for bearing with me, we've reached the final product. It's a strawberry flavoured Carmex lip balm. Carmex is hands down the best lip balm ever; it really sinks into lines and soothes, as well as smoothing out your lips, instead of just coating your lips and making them feel all glossy for a little while. This one also had an SPF which surprisingly is hard to find in a lip balm, but extremely important.

Hope this was somewhat interesting or informative to you guys- stay tuned for more posts and definitely more empties.

The Library of Fragrance Cologne Review

The Library of Fragrance

Apple Pie Cologne Spray

(Let me first and unrelated say I hope to get back to usual posting schedule and be a lot more reliable now! Thanks for sticking with me)

I have been in contact with The Library of Fragrance now for many months ahead of their UK release (which was officially September 2014). They provide a vast selection of around 100 unique scents you won't be able to find anywhere else (but have always wanted in a perfume!); whacky fragrances such as 'play doh', 'baby powder' and 'fireplace' as well as obviously hooking us up with the classics too (eg 'cherry blossom' and 'amber').

Not 100% sure as to why my package was labelled Apple Blossom when the fragrance is called 'Apple Pie'...? Maybe an alternate name?

A collection of 28 selected scents are available in selected Boots stores across the UK (with testers so you can sniff them out) and the whole selection is displayed on their website, with each priced at £15 (or 2 for £25).

When selecting my fragrance, I knew I wanted to try one of their more unique scents, so chose 'Apple Pie'. Slightly wary but nonetheless excited when this arrived, I tried it out for about a month.

It's great.

What I love to do is spray a couple of times with my normal perfume, then add a light spray of this too for a little something extra. They also mention that you can layer their fragrances to create your own custom scent. The scent on its own is extremely powerful, and has a surprisingly long staying-power; I expected it to be more like a body mist.

The fact that I was wearing this was noticed on occasion, with someone telling me repeatedly I smelt amazing. It's not too apple-y. It has a deep warmth to it and variety of different layers of scent- if that makes sense. I definitely recommend this scent and will be trying out others.

However, I must mention that whilst watching a Bailey Van der Veen video on YouTube (check her out, she's very artistic in her makeup application) I saw her mention these perfumes. She had initially received one in her Ipsy Glambag a while back, and in a Canadian superstore she recently saw these on clearance for 94c! Yes, less than one Canadian dollar, and she picked up a few of them. Compared to the Uk pricetag of £15; there's obviously a huge difference there.

Because the scent is so rich and flavourful, even though it's a little bottle, it really does last a long time. So I do recommend this product, even for the £15 pricetag.

Furthermore, the people at The Library of Fragrance were wonderful, especially Clare Rees their director who I was in contact with for over 6 months of their process. I wish you guys all the success.

Check out The Library of Fragrance:

Website: http://thelibraryoffragrance.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheLibraryofFragranceUK 

Twitter: @LibraryofFragUK

Instagram: LibraryofFragUK 

Thanks for reading! Check out their website and let me know in the comments below which scent of theirs would you most like to try.

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* Although this product was sent to me, I was under no obligation whatsoever to write a post unless I wished to. All opinions are as always 100% my own and completely un-biased. 

Nail Art- Pink and Green Circles

Nail art- trying out these baby pink and blue 3D circles on top of a white base.

I've had these for a while and decided to finally try them out. The look didn't last that long as to be expected, only a couple or maybe 3 days. I got loads of compliments on them on a night out.

What I used:

OPI natural nail base coat

2 coats of 'matt white' white nail polish from Barry M

When the second coat was still tacky, I applied the circles (from a brand called 'Rock'? I'm not sure where I got these exactly) one by one onto the nail with tweezers. If they weren't sticking because the nail was too dry, I just dipped the circles into a bit of the basecoat and used that as an adhesive to stick it down.

When dry, I applied another layer of the basecoat (you could use the topcoat, yes) to seal everything in and reduce the likelihood of the circles chipping off.

Would you try this out? Let me know in the comments below.

My Go-To Simple Matte Eye Look

Simple and Easy, using 3 shades!

Sometimes I feel like doing something to my eyes, but nothing major, and this is the look I always go for. It's so simple, it only uses 3 (matte) shades from a quad I own, but they're colours you can easily find very similar alternatives to, and I'm sure you'll have dupes in your collection.

My favourite liner is the L'Oreal Linear intense, as I'm sure you'll know if you've seen my 'eyemakeuplook' series, because I literally use it every single time I go out.

This eye makeup is so inoffensive, it's like hardly having anything on. But it just cancels out my veining on the eyelid and creates a tiny bit of depth in the crease and highlight at the browbone.

I used the Soap and Glory 'What's Nude' quad, which I mention all the freaking time!

I used the matte cream shade as a browbone and inner corner highlight, the second colour, a taupe, as a transition colour in the upper crease, and a tiny but of the third colour, a darker corky brown in the outer corner and crease, as well as 2/3 of the outer lower lashline to tie it all together.

The quad is £10, you can buy it from some of the bigger Boots stores. I love Soap and Glory makeup so much.

Hope you liked this post, what shades do you use for your go-to nude or neutral smokey eye? Let me know in the comments below.

August Makeup and Skincare Empties!

I've used up so many things recently, and here I'm going to give a brief review/thoughts on each of them. I think seeing what products people actually use up is the most interesting thing ever.

Here's an overview!

Now I'll deal with the products in smaller sections.

Skincare:

First on the left are the Simply Gentle organic Cotton Pads. Sorry, this is really boring but these are what I use to remove my makeup every evening and cleanse in the morning. These ones are alright, to me it doesn't really matter which cotton pads I buy, I either buy the cheapest ones or just ask my mum to get some for me.

Top middle is the Neutrogena Visibly Clear Spot Stress Control 3 in 1 daily cleansing lotion. I use this not to remove my makeup, but after removing my makeup to just make it even cleaner and fresh. I don't know, it just makes my skin feel really very chemically clean, and I like having one product in my skincare routine that does this. The Garnier pure active pore purifying toner next to it is a very similar sort of deal. I didn't use them both in conjunction with each other, just switched up which one of these I used. I would repurchase both of them, I really liked them. I'd like to think they've been keeping my skin good and spots under control.

Underneath is the Witch naturally clear 25 cleansing and toning wipes. You may have seen these in a very recent haul of mine, they were gone within about three weeks which really isn't long. I used these not to fully remove my makeup, but after using a more effective makeup remover to take off the brunt of my makeup, I'd use one of these and swipe it over the face just to make it feel more clean. I did like these, and it's been nice to rediscover makeup wipes after over half a year of not using them at all, but in terms of makeup wipes I do prefer the other two ones I featured in that haul, the Neutrogena spot treatment ones, and the Simple ones. Those are amazing.

Bodycare:

These products are all from The Body Shop! Their bodycare products are obviously amazing and I love everything I have from them.

The two body butters are in Spiced Vanilla and Spa Widsom Polynesia (which I'm pretty sure is a really old-school one, I seem to have had it for absolutely ages and only just used it up.) In terms of formula, I think I prefered the Monoi Body Balm one, maybe because it's a balm rather than a butter it implies it's going to be more moisturising and sink into the skin better? Because that's what I found it did. I don't know if they even do this stuff anymore, but it was very nice. The scent was really subtle but fresh, and the spiced vanilla one was sweet and strong with vanilla, as I'm sure you can imagine. I have so many body butters that I'm not sure I'll be repurchasing any time soon, but I do trust the Body Shop heavily for body butters so if I ever run out I'll probably continue to buy from there.

Next is the Moringa shower gel, and I love their shower gels. The scents are, as always, absolutely divine and I just really like using these body washes in the shower as they leave a slight scent and make me feel fresh and clean. I will 100% repurchase, they're not even expensive or anything, I think usually about £2.50 for a massive tub like that.

Hair and Nailcare:

In terms of haircare, I used up a product I've had for so so long, the much raved about Macadamia Natural Oil Deep repair Masque. It's an in-shower 10 minute hair mask. It's one of those products that you buy and it's so expensive that you're scared to use it, and very rarely do. I don't normally buy things this expensive, I normally just stick to drugstore, so purchasing this, especially as it's a haircare product, was very out of character for me. It is a haircare miracle. As mentioned, I used it very rarely on special occasions, and it really helped when my hair was feeling a bit dry and completely revitalised it, since my hair is naturally blonde and I dye it frequently dark brown. It immediately and in the short term (a few days) gave my hair new life, making it feel soft and smooth, but still workable. If I can find it within me to spend the money on this again, or if I can find it discounted at TK Maxx again, perhaps I will end up repurchasing this.

I also finished the Burt's Bees cuticle balm, and the sweet lemon scent is the most amazing thing ever, it's beautiful, if a scent can be. You may have seen it mentioned in my nailcare megapost, I swear by this stuff. I don't need to repuchase it as I already have a backup, a slightly bigger size too, but after that runs out I probably will. It basically just smooths down my cuticles and moisturises them, and I like to use this a few hours before painting my nails if I can be bothered. It's not a cream but more of a thick, moisturising paste. And yeah, I really liked this product.

Makeup:

It's hard to tell what the two powders even are because they're so grubby and worn down!

The top product is the Natural Collection pressed powder in the shade 01, cool. This was a really nice powder for the drugstore, as with the one under it which i'll talk about next.

Underneath is the Rimmel Stay Matte powder in 01 Transparent. This is the second one of these I've used up completely, and I have a newer one I've just started using. I think that says quite a lot about my feelings towards this powder. It's the only one I've ever repurchased I think, I have so many powders but this one works fine for me. It does keep me matte and sets my makeup in place. I'm sure there's loads of better powders (I do prefer my Mac Mineralize Skin Finish natural), but this one is so cheap and convenient, and like I said, it does the job. So I will continue to repurchase.

The final product is the L'Oreal Super Liner Black Lacquer. This is hands down my favourite eyeliner ever. I repurchased it as soon as I got signs of it starting to dry up because I was devastated. Saying that though, this has lasted me for an eternity. Literally ages and I always use it when I go out (which you'll probably know if you've been reading my new set of posts I've been doing showing you some fun eye makeup looks I've been experimenting with because it features in every single one). It lasts all night, and trust me I've put this to the test, it's an intense deep black and it's so easy to use because it's somewhere in between a thin flexible liner and a stiff one- it bends amazingly and allows you to pretty much do a whole wing in one swipe. If you haven't already, I implore you to try this product, you won't go back.

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So there are all my empties! I really hope you enjoyed this, let me know your thoughts below in the comments.