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.

March to July huge review of all my empties!

March-July Empties

I've used up so many products recently that I thought best to combine it into one huge post instead of doing individual reviews every week like I normally do.

I'd really like to hear which layout you prefer as I don't know which one to keep up! Please leave me a comment below letting me know.

Nail polishes

I used up two nail polishes. And by 'used up', I mean more like they've dried up. Not even because I've had them for too long, but you know when there's hardly any of your nail polish left and it just dries and becomes really gloopy because of the amount left? Yeah well unfortunately that's happened to these two babies.

Both of these were well loved. The OPI 'Nail Envy', the sensitive and peeling version, really helped to strengthen my nails. It's a shiny nail hardener specifically for nails that peel, and I know mine definitely do this! I mentioned this product in my nailcare megapost.

As for the other one, it's China Glaze 'Stone Cold'. I am in love with this, I can't even describe. It was part of the hunger games collection a while back and I used it to death. It dries matte and slightly textured, meaning as the name suggests, it looks just like stone. Its beautiful.

I am considering repurchasing both of these products. 

Skincare

Somehow the first batch is all from the brand Simple, I do love this brand loads.

I'll quickly talk about the kind to skin soothing anti-perspirant (a roll-on deodorant). It was good, but I prefer others over this honestly, I won't be repurchasing.

The moisturiser- I loved. It was perfect for nighttime or daytime use, you get a surprisingly large amount of product (this was one of my first moisturisers so trust me when I say this has lasted me an age, it sinks into the skin perfectly and doesn't leave your skin feeling oily at all, so it's perfect for oily skin like mine, yet it still soothes and hydrates the skin, and it feels natural and fresh. With the clean and clear dual action daily moisturiser, this is a favourite of mine from the drugstore. I will repurchase this soon.

Next is the kind to eyes revitalising eye roll on. This is one of those products that has a little metal roller ball on the end and oozes out a clear gel to use under the eyes in the morning to reduce the appearance of dark circles. This definitely soothed, moisturised and hydrated my under eyes and it's a great skincare step to add in before putting on concealer. Vanishing my dark circles? Obviously not, but because the ball was so cold it did slightly help to waken up the area around my eyes, I'll give it that. I do recommend this product and I have 2 other eye roll-ons at the moment, but this has been my favourite one and I will repurchase.

The second set of stuff is a mix-match.

The Witch naturally clear blemish stick is a strongly chemical spot treatment. This has worked for me. This was my second time purchasing it, despite it coming with loads I sometimes got a bit trigger-happy and just slapped loads on all over. I know we're meant to be patient with our spots but definitely for me with the panic of a new huge red spot approaching and setting up camp on my face, I'm prone to grabbing the most chemical thing I own and piling it on, to blitz it off the surface of my face. This, is very chemical smelling, and don't put it near your eyes because it stings! Witch obviously is a drugstore brand and they're like simple in the fact they're really natural and gentle, but their products all have witch hazel (a spot fighting component) in them. Their primer was amazing, I finished it and wrote an empty-review here earlier this year. I wanna try out more of their products! Right now, not 100% sure if I will repurchase as I have a Clearasil one I love right now.

The next product is the Nivea double effects 2 in 1 eye makeup remover. And basically I love this stuff. It's my favourite makeup remover, I use it all over my face but it removes even the heaviest eye makeup so is perfect after a night out. I did a full individual empty review here, so check that out for a bit more detail. The best thing is that this is so so cheap! It's the best makeup remover I have tried as of yet and I have another one, and will continue to repurchase this until pigs fly.

The Clean and Clear advantage clear and soothe foaming wash is basically a cleanser. I used it with my clarasonic every morning and night, and what I loved about this was how gentle it felt on the skin. It made my skin feel clean, but not stripped of all it's natural health or anything. It also doesn't smell chemical at all, but like a sweet aloe. I didn't notice it notably make my skin better, but it's really hard to tell. Really nice product, perhaps I will repurchase! I always pick out new foaming cleansers to try as it's something I use twice a day!

The little thing lurking in the background there is these cotton pads by 'simply gentle organic', not that I've ever heard of that brand. Basically I just asked my mum to order me some cotton pads for removing makeup (I use my cleanser on this to remove makeup). I don't have a 'go-to' cotton pad which I like to use or anything, I always just pick up the cheapest ones eg superdrug own brand work just fine.

Body care

Superdrug Cranberry and Pomegranate Body Butter: oh my god, this stuff smells divine. Give it a sniff at your local superdrug. To me, all bodybutters are pretty much the same so I can't say I prefer this over any others, but in comparison to the body shop ones it isn't quite as thick so feels less oily/sticky on the skin, which is good, has the same 'good enough to eat' amazing smell, and is probably a lot cheaper. Here I have empty-reviews of two Body Shop body butters as well as another one from superdrug in a papaya scent. 

The Burt's Bees hand salve was really nice. It had a bees waxy smell, but with all of their products I find their scent is somewhat original and unique. This is a sort of hand and nail moisturiser which takes about 5-10 minutes to sink in properly, but when it does it doesn't leave the skin oily at all and fully sinks in. I don't think I'll repurchase.

Another great hand cream was the hemp hand protector from The Body Shop. It smells... like hemp! Non greasy/oily once again, pale green colour and smooth texture. I really trust The Body Shop skincare-wise.

And finally a body lotion from the brand W, which is a hotel brand. It was a lot thinner than the superdrug or body shop one, but equally as nice. Won't be repurchasing though.

Second lot of bodycare stuff!

I'll deal with them all together. All except for the coconut body wash, which I used in the shower, I used as either skin or foot moisturisers. They were all pleasant in different ways, especially the bliss one! The Burt's Bees ones tend to be a bit heavier and thicker in general, and although this does mean they are amazingly moisturising for the skin, it's still not for me.

They're not things I will individually repurchase.

Makeup

I've used up quite a lot of makeup recently! I'm proud of myself. Using up makeup is such a massive achievement for me and just means I can try out new things and find out which are my favourites. Having an overwhelming amount of makeup just means I find it hard to form an opinion on something as I rarely use products every day. But this has changed, and I have a full opinion on these products!

Firstly is the ELF eyelid primer. I liked this stuff. I feel like I didn't get that much use out of it- the packaging is a bit crappy, but it seems to me of a very similar standard to any other ones I've used. I would love to repurchase this to fully decide whether I love it, or if I'd just use it on a day time daily basis as I have been doing with it so far.

Next down, although you probably can't tell as the writing has rubbed off both the next products, they're both concealers, the first the Rimmel Wake me Up. I found a love for using this as an under-eye concealer, as unlike the next one down, the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer (they're both in the lightest shades by the way, that's just my default way of shopping; always pick the lightest shade), the Rimmel one is of a much lighter coverage and is therefore perfect to use under the eyes on an everyday basis as it blends away seamlessly. So the Collection one is a lot heavier. And obviously it's amazing, I find it hard to find a concealer that really does last me all day, but this does. It stays put and doesn't look too cakey. For spots this is amazing, or just using a few swipes all over your face where needed and blending out with a big brush or a damp Beauty Blender so it doesn't look too heavy- this is my go-to school look as I never feel up to wearing a foundation to school, or think it's necessary for me. I love them both, the Collection one much moreso than the Rimmel one, but as I've said I used them for different things! I may repurchase the Rimmel one when I use up a few more under-the-eye concealers, and I already have repurchased the Collection one (it's amazing digging into a new product isn't it??) and still use it every day (on the days I wear makeup).

I did a fuller review type thing of the Collection concealer in a post called my 'March Most Used: Makeup Edition', so do check that out.

The Barry M Wink Blakc Marker eyeliner is not something I got along with. For starters, it wasn't a very black black, and I hate when eyeliners that claim to be black actually are a patchy deep grey colour. Secondly I don't like the felt tip eyeliner thing, and if you do, you may love this, but I know I don't at all. I much prefer a brush applicator. Also it dried out and became patchy, honestly the final days of using it up became so annoying, I wore it every day to school for so so long. One positive is that it stayed quite nicely all day and did not smudge.

On the other hand, an eyeliner I loved was the Stila smudge stick in the shade Damsel. It came in my Stila 'In the Light' palette, and I began using it after initially dismissing it. I love a good brown eyeliner, and it took this product to make me realise it. When I used it to school as an upper lid liner, it stayed put all day and didn't transfer up the eyelid, which is something even the Urban Decay ones do! It really is smudge proof, and I wore this all day, and to the gym, and it stayed put. They don't have enough product in though! Especially as I assume since these are Stila the individual retail is probably quite a lot. If I was ever in need of a new eyeliner, I'd definitely check out this range because I know they're amazing.

Last batch of products- phew!

The Rimmel 1000 Kisses lip stain in Endless Blossom was quite nice. Do you guys remember when every brand did a version of these in the drugstore? They were like how the 'chubby stick' products are now- literally everywhere and you can't get away from them. I have some of the revlon version of this product, and I prefer the rimmel ones. The Shade was a deep pinky shade, perfect for everyday wear which is what I used it for, I used it every day to school, and of course this product consists of one end stain (applicator is a felt tip, meaning that when it began to dry out it became harder and harder to use, and patchy), and the other end is a definitely necessary stick balm. Without the balm, and even with after a few hours, this product did become drying. Have probably 3 more of these to use up, don't think I'll repurchase.

Next is the ELF wet gloss lash and brow clear mascara- what a mouthful!- and I'm sure you've heard about this. This is the second one I've used up, and I will definitely be buying a third. I love this and their eyebrow kit, and they're so so cheap you just can't complain. I wrote about it in my ELF loves and loathes, eyes edition post. I just used this for brow and rarely eyelashes, it's the same product on both ends. Yeah, it's really good. If you want your eyebrow hairs to be naturally and delicately fixed in place, this isn't for you. This fully glues them down, and it's probably also noticeably felt on your face. Definitely if you touch them, you can feel that there's something strong and stiff there. But it's nice to know your brow hairs are stray and aren't going anywhere! The MUA one I have is so so awful in comparison as it does nothing to keep the brow hairs stuck down unlike this ELF one. It all depends what you want I guess!

Lastly -we made it guys- is this fix gel from Stargazer. Perhaps not really classed as a makeup product? I used it for sticking glitter and gems to my face, even little stars. What I loved about this is you know whatever you stick down is safe- it fully attaches them to your skin-, but it doesn't feel heavy at all and the product comes off when you want it to. This is very different to my experience recently using eyelash glue to stick stars onto my neck and arms- that shit was hard to get off and stayed on my skin for days and days after application. I would definitely recommend this. The pot is so small, and that's a shame, but it's a really great product for sticking stars and gems to your face as you know it's not gonna rip your skin off with it when you go to remove it, but it keeps it there mostly all night long.

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Wow so this post ended up being way longer than I thought it would be!

Want to congratulate me on my using up skills? Or just let me know what products you've been using up/loving recently? It would be amazing if you left me a comment down below.

June Superdrug Haul!

A little present to myself for finishing exams...

I really haven't bought much makeup recently, because I'm well aware that I already own way too much. But there have been a few things I've really wanted recently and after much thought decided to finally pick up from Superdrug.

I have tried some of these products already, so I'll let you guys know a few first impressions.

Makeup

Ignore the moisturiser, I'll deal with that in the skincare section!

I picked up some really exciting makeup bits.

Firstly is something I've been so excited to pick up, but at first I was hesitant as I do own many foundations, a lot of which I don't currently use because even though I buy the lightest shade every time sometimes it's still not light enough for my winter colour skin!

This is the Max Factor Face Finity all day flawless 3 in 1 foundation which was £11.99, supposedly a primer, concealer and foundation all in one (which is a claim that really annoys me). I got it in the lightest shade, light ivory 40. The match is perfect for me, thankfully. I still have used a primer with it, just to make the application more smooth. But I did find amazingly that I didn't need to use concealer when I used this! It gave me the medium plus coverage I needed.

I wanted to buy this because Max Factor and Covergirl have many of the same products just repackaged and under different brand names, and I felt like I was missing out every time someone raved about the Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 foundation, which is clearly the same product as this Facefinity foundation. So I thought I would never get to try this product out, but thankfully it recently got released under the Max Factor umbrella very recently this 2014 Summer.

And yeah, I love it so far. The first time I tried a bit of this on my skin, applying it with the Real Techniques Essential Foundation Brush (not something I normally use), the brush and the foundation together was an amazing match and gave a phenomenal effect.

This reminds me of my favourite foundation ever, the L'Oreal True Match which I actually am in love with... But I think this Max Factor one might actually be a little better! It's early days, I tried it on briefly and I've worn it out once all night,was impressed with the results both times, but only time will tell.

The only downer is that it has SPF! I guess it's good for summer, but not those nights where you know you'll be getting photographed with flash photography, as it might cause flashback- a white cast.

It was three for two on L'Oreal, so naturally I obliged and picked up three things because I've been wanting to try the L'Oreal Paris Glamshine Stain Splash's especially the purple shade, and I thought I would buy two to test out the shade range.

They retail for £7.99 each, and I got the shades Marilyn (lighter one, on the right above, and left below), and Milady (the deeper purple pictured above left and below right).

The idea between these is that they have high pigmentation but stain your lips and so have a better staying power, and they're good.

The scent is fruity and sweet, it's beautiful, and undoubtedly the colours are beautiful. I do find they work even better on top of a lipstick (nude for the light pink one, or a deep purple for the purple one) because they enhance the colour of the lipstick and kind of seal in the lipstick because of their staining power.

And of course there are naturally comparisons to the YSL alternative, because L'Oreal and YSL are owned by the same umbrella brand.

Marilyn, Milady

Everyone always mentions this, but it really is annoying that they don't have the product name on the outsides. The packaging is beautiful though, and the applicator is sort of heart-shaped and applies quite well, although not as well as the Rimmel Apocalips applicator which is the best lipgloss applicator EVER.

So yeah, so far I quite like them, they really do stain well, I couldn't get the last of the stains of these off my swatched hand 24+ hours after and using much makeup remover! But I shall let you know how my thoughts change or develop and perhaps do a full review.

Finally for makeup, I got this single eyeshadow from the Color Riche L'Ombre Pure range in 307 Smokey. This is really hard to track down online, but I'm pretty sure this was between £3-6.

L'Oreal have some amazing eyeshadows, and this is another one. It says it's 'gel infused', and I'm not really sure what that means but I think it contributes to how super creamy, blendable and buttery this product is. The colour is also a beautiful silver shade.

I did really get this because I had already got two L'oreal products, so picking out one for free, but I do actually love this product. The pigmentation is amazing, as you'll see from the swatches below.

Single eyeshadows are something I rarely get, but this colour was so beautiful and it's something I always wear as my standard eyemakeup look for a night out, so it'll be perfect for summer. I haven't worn it on the eyes yet but I know I'll get a lot of use out of it.

However I have realised that it's almost identical to another L'Oreal silver I own, the Colour Appeal (another amazing L'Oreal eyeshadow range) in 150 'Real Silver'. The only thing that's slightly different is the texture, this one having a drier texture in comparison to the one I picked up here.

Skincare

Witch naturally clear cleansing and toning wipes, £1.99, Simple kind to skin cleansing wipes, £1.48, Freederm deep pore cleansing wipes, £1.99. They all have 25 wipes in each packet. The Witch ones I haven't tried yet, but the Simple and Freederm ones I have. This may seem an excessive number of face wipes to buy, but I'm going to use them one at a time (I've started with the Witch ones), and they'll last me for ages. 

You'll see empty-reviews of these as I finish them, letting you know my thoughts on them. I know I love the Simple ones and Freederm ones for different reasons; the Simple ones are very gentle and do clean the skin, but the Freederm ones, my personal favourites of all time, I have noticed really do make a difference to my spots, and make them a lot less horrible to go through! Seriously try these if you haven't already.

By the way, I don't souly use makeup wipes to remove my makeup. I use the Bioderma and Nivea double effects to remove my eye and face makeup. I haven't been using makeup wipes at all for probably up to a year now, but I decided to try them again just to use for a final cleanse of my skin and make sure all the last bits of face makeup are removed. I've missed having makeup remover wipes!

The Clean and Clear Dual Action moisturiser, £3.59, is a repurchase for me. I finished it back in April after it being one of my first moisturisers ever (and wrote an empty-review of it), and when I saw it I felt like I wanted to try it out again. It actually did help with spots and sank into the skin so nicely, making it feel refreshed and, well, clean. It's also oil-free so it kept my oily t-zone under control.

So those are the things I picked up!

What have you most recently bought from the shops? What makeup are you currently loving? Let me know in the comments below.

Witch; Anti-Blemish Primer, Empty-Review

Empties: Mini Reviews

When I completely finish a product, I upload a quick blog post reviewing it.

Today I finished the 'Anti Blemish Skin Clearing Primer' by Witch which I bought at Superdrug.

It's around the £5 mark which I think is a really good price for how much product you get- 30ml may not seem like a lot but trust me, it lasts forever.

This is a good primer to wear to school; either under foundation or instead of it. It mattes down the skin on application and acts as a barrier between your skin and any makeup which you put on top.

This primer was a milky product somewhere in between a liquid and a mousse; it didn't run. When blended out it became clear and had a mattifying effect.

The pump to this product was amazing and allowed you to control precisely how much product you got out meaning you'd never squeeze out too much or too little.

This was my second witch product (I have tried the foaming facial cleanser which I really loved) and I probably would go back to get more because the brand seems really focused on producing things good for the skin. I can also comment on its supposed 'skin clearing' effects. One day I remember having a spot and putting this on my face with no makeup, just going out to see a friend for the day. And I did notice that it shrunk the size of the spot and started it on its way to healing. I can't say that this will certainly work for you, but it seems to be a sort of two-in-one product and I highly recommend it for that.

Will I repurchase this item? Right now I definitely have more than enough primers to keep me going (I think only one is needed, max 2), but if I'm ever looking for a cheap mattifying primer to wear on a daily basis, I will definitely come back to this one.

Have you tried this product, or will you be picking one up? What products should I try from Witch next? Let me know in the comments below.