Batiste Dry Shampoo: Empty-Review

Empties: Mini Reviews

Today I finished this tiny travel sized floral scented dry shampoo from Batiste that I've had for about 9 months.

A dry shampoo is a product to use on 3rd day hair or when your hair is getting a bit greasy but you're not quite ready to wash it fully in the shower yet. I don't use a dry shampoo loads, but I do get it. I'm just not quite as obsessed with the idea of it as some other people are.

I bought this tiny size to take to Reading Festival- dry shampoo is definitely a festival essential! No one wants greasy hair but having a shower at festivals is more of a challenge and effort than you'd expect.

This product does leave a bit of a white cast on your hair- it needs to be rubbed in properly otherwise you'll have white hair! I bought this when I was blonde, so maybe when I repurchase this I'll buy a different version- Batiste have one specially for brunettes which is a deeper coloured spray.

Will I repurchase this product? I already have a large bottle of this (literally half the size of one of my arms) in my hair products drawer. I'll probably always want to have a dry shampoo in my possession, and I've heard from everyone who's tried this that this is the best one out there. So I don't necessarily see me trying any other brands of dry shampoos.

Do you use dry shampoo? Which scent from Batiste is your favourite? Let me know in the comments below.

E.L.F. Loves and Loathes: Lips Edition

E.L.F. Loves and Loathes (Lip Products)

This is second in a three-part blog post set, I've done eye products already and I'll be doing face products next to finish it off.

E.L.F. is an online brand but in other parts of the world you can even get them in drugstores! They're so popular because their products are really cheap, and yet they aim to dupe a lot of more expensive products out there.

Can I just firstly say that these are my opinions and my opinions only- some of you may love the products I hate, and vice versa!

So let's get into it!

I'm gonna start off with the loathes, just to get them out of the way...

**

BAD PRODUCTS (1)

1.
Glossy Gloss
£3.95

I really hated this product, and I'm not that big of a lipgloss fan anyway, but these ones really were not good.



I wasn't expecting high pigmentation, and there certainly isn't high pigmentation.

Sweet Salmon

Ballet Slippers

I like the smell, it's vanilla-y. But the gloss is very thick and sticky. The applicator is very stiff, meaning when you apply to the lips you end up wiping some of it off.

However there's no doubting the packaging- it's beautiful!

**

'GOOD' PRODUCTS- these products are alright but not amazing (4)

1.
Conditioning Lip Balm
£3.95

This product is okay. It gives a sheer tint to the lips, and this colour is pretty.

Mellow Melon

It's not amazingly conditioning, as the name suggests, but it's alright! It doesn't cake onto the lips and looks more natural, so I like this.

I quite want to try the nude colour called 'Nice & Natural' because that looks really good. Also, you get loads of product in the well-packaged studio tub.




2.
Mineral Lipstick
£5

These are a good product, and I do want to try out more colours in the line. I probably actually don't get enough use out of them actually.

Runway pink, Rich raspberry

The bonus to these as oppose to the next product I'm going to be sharing with you- the essential line lipsticks, these ones are slightly thicker (in a good way, they're still not too thick), meaning they'll have a longer staying power, which is good. They are really good quality.

Runway Pink

Rich Raspberry (sorry I know the application on this one was awful)

They have a slightly less shiny finish than the essential line lipsticks.

3.
Moisturising Lip Tint
£3.95

Another alright product. I use the nude one quite a lot. Again, they're not that moisturising but give a nice tint of colour to the lips without being a full-on lipstick.

Natural, Berry

Natural, Berry

They look quite nice on the lips, I often wear the nude one out or to school. It's nice.
4.
Custom Lips
£1.50 each

These are okay, it's nice to have a lipstick in this sort of arrangement but they didn't have the pigmentation that I would've wanted, or come to expect considering the quality of the rest of the ELF lip products.



In order, left to right top then bottom, I have the colours wine, sugar plum, earth rose and berry brown. They're quite thin and look nice and natural on the lips. The colour selection isn't that great though.



I also had a custom eyes palette, but it was really awful. The colours were chunky and chalky- really awful. The lips ones are better no doubt.

**

AMAZING PRODUCTS (4)

I do think E.L.F. lip products on the whole are amazing, and this is their best category.

1.
Lipstick
£1.95

The colour range is amazing, the smell is amazing (like fruity sweets), the texture is amazing. I love these.

Nostalgic, Classy, Gypsy, Captivating

These are my favourite lip products and perhaps products on the whole from ELF, and they're from the essential line so the price is even lower than other products.

same order as above and below 

lips with no product

Nostalgic- I love this colour, and it works amazingly to mix with others too

Classy 

Gypsy

Captivating

The only problem is the photos on the website are so misleading!! Always check out swatches before buying from ELF- that's my top tip!

Nostalgic, Classy, Captivating, Gypsy

2.
Lip Primer and Plumper
£3.95

This product has one side that supposedly plumps the lips- it's a clear smooth product that does give a tingling sensation. As to whether it actually plumps, who knows.



The other side is the prime side. It's a sort of creamy concealer which nudes out the lips, meaning you'll get a more accurate colour to your lipstick. This is a key product to own, and I use it all the time. It really helps light lipsticks show up better.



It's a nice product, and there aren't many other specialist lip primers out there, so I recommend trying it out.

Stained lips before applying the product 

After I applied the primer, and patted it in well

As you can see, the problem is that it's a tiny bit drying. It's still better than wearing concealer though!

 3.

Matte Lip Colour

£3.95

This is a nice product, and I especially love the colours I own. These are a matte-looking lipstick in a roll-up pencil form.

Tea rose, natural

 Because they're matte, they're slightly more drying than the ordinary lip product. Also they're not completely matte either, and I've noticed they still have some sheen.

Tea rose- a muted purple 

Natural- a slightly orangey nude shade

I really want to try out the one in nearly nude!

Also they're roll-up, meaning no sharpening, which is always a bonus.

4.

1 Mineral Lip Liner and 2 Lip Liner and Blend Brush

£3.50 and £3.95

I love these lip liners, they're the best quality ones I've tried. Despite there being two different forms (one comes with a blending lip brush on the other end, and the other does not) the product is 100% the same, just with different colours.

Lip liner and blend brushes in Wine and Grapefruit, Lip liner in Raisin

These are so amazing. They're longwearing, highly pigmented and work as an amazing base under lipsticks or alternatively just alone for a matte finish. Wow. They have a colour selection for all skin tones. It's perfect.

Also both of these products wind up so there's no need for sharpening once again (the packaging is amazing), and they come with caps so your product stays clean and safe.

Same order as above

I quite want to try the essential line lip pencils, just to compare. I think everyone should try these out, they're so cheap (as is everything), and I must add before this post finishes that you should always wait until ELF are having a 50% off sale, which happens more than you'd expect. Therefore although all the prices here are extremely cheap, just imagine them half off! It's unbeatable.

**

I hope you guys found this somewhat interesting or helpful!

What are your favourite lip products from ELF? What are your least favourite? Let me know in the comments below.

Review: Barry M Touch of Magic Lip Paint

REVIEW: Barry M Touch of Magic Lip Paint

Today I'm doing a review of this super cool deep pink stain which is £4.49 from Barry M.

Nope, it's not a green lipstick.

Unfortunately.

I'd be quite up for a green lipstick.

Ooh I think they actually do a green one in this line. Crazy.

Barry M lip paints are known for being quite drying, but this one just isn't. It's a really moisturising longwearing deep berry stain that when brushed over the lips transforms from the green as seen in the bullet.

I'm gonna show you how it works:

Moisturised lips

 Colour starts to appear as soon as it touches the lips. And it gets deeper and deeper over the duration of about two minutes.

One coat over the lips:

It gets even deeper and richer in colour.

As you can see, the appearance is extremely glossy and even has a natural finish, as the product stains the natural lips rather than coating them- meaning you won't get that annoying gross emphasis of all the cracks in your lips that makes them look really dry.

And the best thing is- it's a stain! So this colour will last you all day. I really mean that- even when you scrub with remover it just won't come off.

So I guess it really just depends if you like this colour. It might not be a stain for everyone. But I like it. And it definitely does stain the lips.

I'm not quite sure why it needs to be green in the bullet, but it's fun I guess??

So there you go!

I really want to try some more Barry M lip paints after this! They have an amazing colour selection of unique colours you don't usually see much of at the drugstore.

I want them all!

Have you tried any Barry M lip paints? Which lipsticks are your favourites? Let me know in the comments below.

Burt's Bees; Hand Cream, Empty-Review

Empties: Product Reviews

When I finish a product I do a quick blog post reviewing it.

Today I finished the Thoroughly Therapeutic Honey and Grapeseed Oil Hand Cream from Burt's Bees. I've had this for a few months, and it was a present, I believe bought in a set from amazon.

It is a thick white cream consistency. 

It came in a package with a selection of 4 or 5 other Burt's Bees products.

This is amazing for hand and nail care. I also even used this as foot cream.

It sinks in and doesn't leave your hands feeling greasy, despite its thickness.

Would I repurchase this? A hand cream isn't really a necessity for me, and I have other ones i'm currently using, so probably not. But this is one of my favourite hand creams I've tried so far.

Have you tried this product? What Burt's Bees products do you like? Let me known in the comments below.

Bake Your Own Boyfriend Cookie Cutter Product Review

'Bake Your Own Boyfriend' Cookie Cutter Review by the brand Niion

This product I got in the mail a couple of weeks ago is a boy-shaped cookie cutter, a fun way to spice up your standard cookies and get super creative!

I'm going to do a full review of the product as well as sharing the recipe which comes with it and showing you how to make these cookies step by step.

"Is your love life looking a little dull? Can't seem to find Mr.Right? Why not bake your very own boyfriend with this hunk shaped cookie cutter. Just add all you favourite things into the mix, plus a little spice to heat things up, and "taa-daa" the perfect edible man."

The packaging was secure and it was delivered to me within two days which I thought was amazing, plus the customer-service was extremely friendly.

You can find this cutter on amazon here for just £3.59 with free UK delivery! It's also on Ebay and the Niion website (x), a fun new brand who do a bunch of cool products. 

first batch! Here's the finished product

The cutter has the perfect proportions so that bits don't break off during the process, but the finished product still looks like a man when the cookies come out after baking.

The great thing about this cookie cutter is that it comes with the perfect cookie recipe on the back! Even if you don't have the cutter yet, just follow along with the recipe. It makes classic and simple delicious cookies that are not too sugary, not too floury. And you can even customise the recipe by adding fruit, nuts or anything else of your choice.

After they had cooled I decorated them individually to make unique cookies (-spy the mutated marshmallow half-man at the bottom, the bottom broke off and I ate it). I'll explain later on in the post how I individually decorated them.

The recipe says it makes 10, but for me it actually made 14 (plus I made a funky heart-shaped one with the left-overs).

The brand says:

"Girls are forever talking about finding the perfect man, whether it’s because the current one just isn’t measuring up or all the good ones are taken. Well this product provides the perfect solution, just bake your own.What could be easier than whizzing up a mix, adding all your favorite things, popping him in the oven and ‘ta-da’ the perfect hunk shaped man. No girl could be left unsatisfied after such a delicious and tasty treat!

 These cookie cutters don’t just have to be brought as a gift you can buy one for yourself…we won’t judge…we’ve already made loads of perfect men! These cutters are fully functional and come with a quick, easy and delicious cookie recipe. If you have a girl’s night, a hen do or simply a sweet tooth and a love of baking, you'll impress all the girls with these hunk shaped cookies. Add a little bit of icing to turn these tasty treats into the perfect man for you, for example add glitter, tattoo, a string vest etc.

…and if he starts to cause trouble, bite his head off and start again, or have a couple on the go at any time so you can pick and choose depending on your mood!"

It's a really funny thing to do with your girl friends- get them to come over and bake boy-shaped cookies with you, and then decorate your perfect man! It's a laugh.

You can choose from three types; a boyfriend, house husband or sex god! (although I couldn't see the 'sex god' one on the website or amazon)I have the 'boyfriend' one.

**

1. Baking!

150g butter
100g sugar
300g flour
1 egg
a pinch of salt
2 teaspoons of vanilla expert

The recipe is super simple and easy- you'll probably definitely have these basic ingredients in your cupboards, and use whichever sugar you have as it doesn't specify.

First I creamed together the butter and sugar,

then I added the egg

Then I added the flour, and here you'd add the salt. (Not gonna lie, I didn't add a pinch of salt, I never do, whoops for disobeying the rules but do what you want, I just find it usually doesn't make much of a difference.)

action shot!

Then I added the vanilla extract- I used a tablespoon and a half because I love the vanilla flavour to be really strong

It combines together really easily into a ball, and just pop it into the fridge for an hour wrapped in clingfilm.

After the tantalising one hour wait, get it out and roll it out between two sheets of baking paper with a rolling pin.

When you've got a layer about 7cm thick, use the cookie cutter!

Press into the rolled-out dough and make as many as you can.

Peel away the excess dough, scrunch out and re-roll. You'll do this process about 4 times.

handwash the cookie cutter after you've made your cookies- they aren't dishwasher safe!

As you can see from the picture above, when you use the cutter a bit of dough almost always gets stuck between the muscles and the head on either side. It's not like this is a huge issue but a slight annoyance. At least it means the cookie actually ends up looking like a muscly man.

After using the baking-sheet method for one batch, I decided to abandon it and just do the classic of sprinkling some flour on your work surface and rolling it out straight onto there. The dough kept getting stuck to the baking sheet and becoming tacky which made the first batch really hard to make.

It's a good tactic for perfectly shaped and textured cookies but it just didn't quite work for me.

I laid out as many cookies as I could fit onto each baking tray, lined with a sheet of baking parchment so they don't stick.

Place in the oven until lightly browned, this takes 7-10 minutes.

Beautifully browned cookies straight from the oven- they calmed down a bit after this initial look and had a smoother appearance.

**

2. Decorate!

Here are my decorating weapons of choice! I just had a look in my cupboards and picked out anything and everything I could use.

Weapons of choice: betty crocker chocolate fudge icing and vanilla frosting, icing sugar, icing writers, raspberry glaze (I didn't use this in the end), flake bar, chocolate bar, mini marshmallows and raspberries

I broke up slightly a flake and chopped up a bar of chocolate so sprinkle onto a couple of the cookies.

Here are all my decorated cookies:

Slightly closer-ups.

The green one is the whole tube of writing icing spread out onto a cookie, I know it looks a bit like snot- but it tasted delicious!

Above: The one on the right is the chocolate fudge icing by Betty Crocker. It tastes absolutely amazing and has a thick rich consistency.

Above: The one on the left here has the chopped up Green & Blacks milk chocolate sprinkled over a spread layer of the ready-made icing.

Above: I used the same icing method for the one on the left here too, but this time added strips of cadbury flake.

One of my favourites- a layer of the vanilla icing and raspberries cut in half sideways

For this one above, I drew strips of yellow and orange writing icing.

For the heart-shaped cookie I made icing using icing sugar and water, and spread it over the top. Classic and simply delicious!

**

My cookies looked and tasted amazing. They kept a sense of uniformity as the cookie cutter allowed the shape to be perfect every time, but I added a touch of uniqueness to each one by decorating them in my own special way.

The cookie cutter is completely sturdy and well-made so there's no need to worry about it breaking.

I just find the process of baking your own 'boyfriends' so amusing, and I'm sure you will too. Cooking these with friends you're guaranteed for comments such as "you broke my boyfriend's leg off!" and "stop eating my boyfriend!" etc. It's great fun.

I hope this post was interesting and entertaining for you guys to read- can't have been as great as my experience of making and eating the cookies though -yum! 

**

If you want to pick this product up, get it from amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bake-Your-Boyfriend-Cookie-Cutter/dp/B009916H9Y) or on the Niion website for just £3.49.

For more information:

  Website: www.niion.uk.com

 Facebook: Facebook.com/niionuk

  Twitter: Facebook.com/niionuk

Will you be checking this product out? Which cutter interests you most and what toppings would you choose? Let me know in the comments below.

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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.