five empties #2

I'm really getting in to this whole 'empties' thing - is it only me that finds it satisfying to use things up? You can read my first empties post here but as I've recently finished some more products I'd thought I might as well do another one.

Boots Botanics Skin Brightening Toner

This is my usual go-to toner and I love it! It leaves my skin feeling so clean without that stripped and tight feeling and as is keeps excess oil at bay (not that I have particularly oily skin) it helps the skin stay spot free. At the moment I have another toner to use up but I'll definitely purchase this again.

The Botanics Skin Brightening Toner is £4.07 from Boots or online here and is currently on a 3 for 2 offer.

Pantene Pro-V Repair and Protect Conditioner

As with the toner, this is a product I revisit time and time again because it's so good. My hair is naturally quite dry but when I use this conditioner it feels so healthy and I very rarely get split ends. I also use the same shampoo from the range to really feel the full effects. I've actually still got a bottle of this to use up but when I run out of that I'll have to get another as it's the best I've tried for my naughty dry hair.

Pantene Pro-V Repair and Protect Conditioner is £4.69 from Boots or online here.

Boots Essentials Hand Cream: Intensive for Dry Skin

I really didn't expect much of this product when I first bought it but for £1.35 I can't fault it! It might not have fancy packaging or a gorgeous smell but it really does keep your hands moisturised and as it's so cheap and therefore not something I'd mind losing it's great just to throw in your bag when you're out and about. I've actually been through quite a few tubes now but after using up some more hand cream I would more than likely purchase it again.

The Boots Essentials Hand Cream for Dry Skin is £1.35 from Boots or online here and is currently on a 3 for 2 offer.

Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel Nose Pore Strips

Um, can you tell I tend to shop in Boots by any chance? I'm not going to say too much about these as I've done a full review (which you can see here) but I really don't think that these do anything. For £4.99 I definitely won't be getting them again.

The Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel Nose Pore Strips are £4.99 from Boots or online here and are currently on a 3 for 2 offer - not that I recommend getting them!

Benefit Refined Finish Facial Polish (sample)

Yes, I know that this featured in my last empties post but I had another little sample to use up! I can't wait to be able to get this again as I just love how refined (to steal Benefit's word) and fresh it makes my skin feel.

The Benefit Refined Finish Facial Polish is £17.50 and can be bought from Benefit counters or online here.

I'm liking these posts - I'm going to try and use up some more things, it's addictive haha!

Have you tried any of these products?

xx

recent happenings #6

post-exam treats / very stylish library attire / Mile End in bloom! / love this drink / curly hair / saturday lunch of garlic mushrooms and salami salad with the OC / my skincare saviour this week / one more exam left! / back to one of my favourite nail polishes, Maybelline Express Finish Nail Colour in Turquoise Lagoon

Hello hello! I hope you're all brilliant - I feel like I haven't blogged in forever even  though I only didn't post for a day! This week has been super hectic as I've had two exams and then work all weekend but thankfully I now have only one exam left to do, I'm just so glad the other four are over. As you can see I haven't done too much this week as I have been chained to my desk and until the 29th it will still be revision revision revision as I'm sure quite a few of you are also doing. I just can't wait until the summer now to have a bit of freedom!

Good luck to everyone else who's revising hard!

xx

dirty works coconut caress body butter

With my recent dalliance in to the world of fake tan, I've been trying to keep the skin all over my body in tip-top condition as I'm really scared of any streaks or patchiness - so it's exfoliate exfoliate exfoliate moisturise moisturise moisturise for me! I have so many body lotions lying around but I absolutely can't get enough of the Dirty Works Coconut Caress Body Butter at the moment. Not only does this smell absolutely incredible (like coconut as the name suggests) but it's so rich and creamy and leaves your skin feeling gorgeous. However, although it is really effective in hydrating your skin, it sinks in relatively quickly so you don't have to stand about for ages feeling sticky!

The other fab thing about this product is the price - it's a nice big tub (300ml) so lasts a long time and even better it's only £4.99! Bargain! In Sainsburys at the moment you can actually pick it up for only £2.24, so perhaps now is the time I'll stock up!

What's your favourite body butter at the moment?

xx

five empties!

Hello!

I really love reading people's posts about products they've used up and their opinions on them, so I thought I'd jump on the band wagon and have a go myself. After all, using up all the products I have gathering dust is a fab idea! I very rarely actually finish beauty products as I always get bored and buy new things to try, so I have lots of half-used bits and bobs sitting around and waiting to be used up. Here are the last five things which I've finished.

Benefit Refined Finish Facial Polish

My boyfriend bought me this exfoliator as part of a set from Benefit for my birthday last year. It was such a brilliant present and I loved both this Facial Polish and the moisturiser that came with it. The exfoliator is a thick white cream with very exfoliating particles in it which feel almost like sand. Due to the roughness of these bits, it is quite a powerful exfoliator but used sparingly once a week it made my skin feel so smooth and glowy and kept blemishes at bay. I also just looked up the Facial Polish on the Benefit website and it claims that it reduces the size of your pores too. Recently I have noticed that my pores are looking quite large so I'm now thinking that perhaps this exfoliator was tightening them. If you're after a really efficient facial polish to brighten up dull skin and make it silky smooth then I'd definitely try this. I think that I will pick it up again at some point, especially as now I'm intrigued to see whether it makes my pores smaller!

The Benefit Refined Finish Facial Polish is £17.50 and can be bought at Benefit counters or online here.

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Wild

I suffer a lot more with my hair being dry than greasy so I don't use dry shampoo that much. However, sometimes I do spray a little in to my hair if it's looking a bit flat in an attempt to liven it up a bit. I have no real qualms with Batiste but I do know what people mean when they say it can make your hair feel even more dirty. I also hate the whiteness that it can give as on my bright auburn hair as it can look very noticeable! As for the scent of this particular version, 'Wild' - I'm really not keen on the smell at all. It's not that I mind the actual scent particularly, it's more that it hangs around in your hair all day. I've already repurchased another can as for £2.99 you can't really complain and as I don't use dry shampoo very often it's good enough for me!

Batiste Dry Shampoo is available from most high street chemists etc/drug stores, but I picked my latest can up in Sainsburys!

17 Falsifeye Mascara

This product might be cheating a little as I didn't use this mascara up, it just dried out. However, I have bought Falsifeye a few times before so I can give you my thoughts on it. It's a great high street mascara that does give you volume to your lashes, although it can clump quite easily and definitely doesn't give you a truly false effect. Saying that, I do love the large brush as it's brilliant for grabbing all your lashes and making sure that it's applied evenly. As I said, there's nothing really wrong with this mascara - it's perfectly fine. However, I'm just not blown away by it and although it does the job there are definitely better mascaras on the high street.

17 Falsifeye Mascara is currently on offer for £4.00 at Boots.

Charlie Body Spray in Spirit

I almost feel a little embarrassed to admit I buy these cheapy body sprays, but there you go, it's out there: I do! I just find that they're great for slinging in your bag to freshen up a little at work or to take with you on a night out when you don't want to risk losing your perfume. They're also readily available in supermarkets so are so easy to grab when you're doing the food shopping. However, despite singing their praises the scent 'Spirit' isn't actually my favourite as it's a bit sweet and sickly. My favourite is actually 'Black' but I don't have any at the moment sob! I'll definitely continue to buy them as for £1.70 I think they're such good value and there is a wide range of scents available.

Charlie body sprays are £1.70 from Boots.

Soap and Glory Clean on Me Shower Gel

The bottle is so big that it was hard to photograph!

Oh my! I can't actually believe that I've finished this. It was honestly getting to the point where I thought this shower gel would never end! It's not that I'm not a huge fan of this product as I love the scent (typical Soap and Glory) so much and how moisturising it feels on my skin, it's just that I'd bought another yummy smelling shower gel a few months ago and couldn't wait to get stuck in haha (perhaps a little sad). 500ml of this has lasted me four months which I think makes it such fab value for money. I love that it's a pump bottle too as it just makes the shower gel so much easier to dispense. I will definitely buy this again at some point, but I'll perhaps take a little break as I know that starting another bottle is such a commitment!

Soap and Glory Clean on Me Shower Gel is £5.50 from Boots.

I'm going to try and work my way through lots of my half used products and try not to buy so many bits and bobs that I don't really need! Not sure how long this idea will last...

xx

boots tea tree and witch hazel nose pore strips

I bought the Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel Nose Pore Strips quite a few months ago now and I have used three of the six in the box, so I thought perhaps now would be the right time for a review.

When you take the strips out of the box, they come in another sachet to prevent bacteria getting to them. As you can see, inside these sachets are strips of felt like material with a sticky side, which is protected by a sheet of plastic. After wetting your nose, you apply the sticky side of the strip to your nose and leave on for about fifteen minutes, and in this time the strip will dry and tighten to your nose. While they are comfortable to wear, you do feel a slight tug when removing the strip, but this feels a little like taking a plaster off rather than being painful. So that's how you use them - but do they actually do anything?

Boots claims that these nose strips will instantly remove dirt and oil, help to remove blackheads and tighten pores and prevent future breakouts. I don't suffer from spots particularly, but I do have a couple of blackheads on my nose. I also have quite large pores on and around my nose, so anything which reduces the size of those appeals to me!

When you remove the strip, on close inspection you can see evidence of a few blackheads being removed (disgusting I know, hence why there is no after picture of the strip haha), but I don't really see any difference in terms of blackheads on my nose. However, the one positive of these strips is that I would say my pores do look a little smaller after use. The only thing is that my largest pores are actually around rather than on my nose so the strips obviously make no difference to those!

I personally don't think that these strips have made much of an impact on my skin at all and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone looking to remove great numbers of blackheads as I don't really think they do that much. I couldn't remember how much they were so I just had a look on the Boots website - £4.99 (so just over 80p a strip)! Definitely not worth even giving them a go!

xx

beauty secrets

Hello!


I love love love watching beauty videos on YouTube and recently quite a few people have been doing a tag called Ten Little Secrets. This was created by Sammi from Beauty Crush (who also has a blog, which I'll link here) and I thought the questions were really interesting and so I'd give it a go. However, I thought that ten questions would make this a very long post so I shortened it to five. I haven't seen anyone else do this on a blog yet so if you do it too then please comment with a link so I can read it!


What is one product that makes you feel like a million dollars?

For me, defining my eyelashes makes me feel a lot better about myself. For example, when I'm on a night out wearing big thick false eyelashes, I always feel fab! They make me feel so feminine and I think they don't have to look tacky, even if they are big, if you keep the rest of your make up quite simple. Likewise, if I'm popping out for a run in the morning or to the shop and I don't have any make up on, I won't worry about foundation or anything else but a little flick of mascara can make me feel so much better and I think I look a lot more wide awake.

Two of my favourites at the moment are Rimmel Glam Eyes and Lancome Hypnose Drama  - can't wait to get the full size!

What is your skincare secret? 

I cleanse, tone and moisturise twice a day and make sure I take all my make up off before bed. I take the majority off with a make up wipe or eye make up remover and then cleanse again. I always use a muslin cloth with whatever cleanser I'm using too as I love their gentle exfoliating properties and I also think that they make the whole job of washing your face a lot easier and less messy!

Other tips are drinking lots of water, not wearing face make up as often as possible to let your skin breath and brightening face masks.

Some of my favourite skin care products at the moment

What is your hair care secret?

Condition condition condition! I do have quite dry hair so I use them all over, but even if you have greasy hair, you can use a moisturising balm or mask just on your ends and leave on for a little while. I find that these masks and balms make so much difference to the condition of the your hair.

Still loving Umberto Giannini Indulgent Beauty Moisture Mask

Do you have any diet and work out tips?

I love food and I don't really deny myself everything so I think the best way to approach your diet is everything in moderation. If you gorge on chips and mayo (mayonnaise = <3) one day, just don't the next. Easy peasy. I also try and stay away from fizzy drinks as diet or not they are awful for you and can so easily pile weight on. They're totally empty calories!

In terms of exercise, I didn't work out heavily for a long time due to health problems, but in the last year it's something I've begun to enjoy a lot more. My advice would be just to try and find something you enjoy doing. For me, the gym is too intimidating and I find things like swimming a bit dull. I then tried running last summer and I love it! If you're unfit it can be quite hard at first, so try the Couch to 5K podcasts from the NHS as they are ridiculously helpful! Here's a link - so fab!

My running shoes!

Which perfume is your secret weapon?


I tend to chop and change between perfumes, I don't tend to buy the same one over and over again as I like to try different scents. However, at the moment I'm loving Calvin Klein Euphoria. I'm not particularly good at describing scents but I'd say it was quite a heavy perfume with some musky undertones, yet fresh and fruity at the same time. Um, yeah... Anyway, Boots, who can perhaps do a bit better than me, describe Euphoria as an addictive oriental fragrance that contrasts exotic fruit, seductive florals and a rich creamy signature. Apparently, it's inspired by a new found freedom, about living one's dream... (On second thoughts, perhaps my description was better!)

Calvin Klein Euphoria

However, for my birthday, my lovely boyfriend bought me Valentina by Valentino which is such a beautiful perfume and I think will quickly become my new favourite!

As I said at the beginning, if you answer these questions then please tell me as I'd love to have a little read, and I'd also love to know if you have any brilliant skincare, diet, exercise or hair care tips!

xx

origins checks and balances face wash

Hello!

I haven’t posted for four days now which I suppose isn't really that long but feels like FOREVER wahhhh! The pressure is finally off regarding essays and although I do have one more as well as revision to do, these things are not urgent at the moment. I've come to Norwich for a week or so for my birthday and my Mum's which is nice and relaxing so I'll have lots of time to devote to my little blog, which I'm very much looking forward to!

To get the ball rolling again, I thought I'd tell you about a fab product that I've been using for a little while now - the Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Facial Wash.

Months and months ago now I tried the legendary Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish and had the worst possible allergic reaction to it. Now I don't have sensitive skin particularly and don't suffer from spots generally but this gave me itchy red blemishes all over my face for literally weeks (sob... so embarrassing). This isn't to say however that the Cleanse and Polish is a bad product though as I've heard of very few people having this sort of reaction to it; there was obviously something in it that I was just very allergic to. (I do have a picture of my horrid spots/boils that I took for lolz but do I want to show it? Um, no.) Anyway, after my skin started to clear up, I was on the hunt for a new cleanser, which was when I picked up the Checks and Balances Face Wash from Origins.

As I've said before I have combination skin, but the dry parts can be more of an issue . This is why this face wash is so good. It claims it cleanses both dry and oily places without cancelling each other out. Any unwanted oiliness is reduced but the rest of my skin is not left feeling dry and tight as a consequence. I do have the odd spots around my chin from time to time and I have to say, my skin has looked very clear recently, and I think the balancing effect of this may have something to do with it.

I use this in the same way as I did with the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, with a muslin cloth, however I don't put it across my eyes as it suggests not to. I also don't use this to take off my make up, as I always like to double cleanse, so I make sure that the worst of my make up is off first. The Checks and Balances Face Wash lathers up to be nice and foamy too so it's really easy to work it well in to the skin.

All together this is a brilliant everyday cleanser for people like me who have combination skin but don't want to make their skin any more dry or oily, and I definitely think it's worth the £17 price tag. This is a little more than you would pay for the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish (£14.75 for the starter kit) but you do get 50ml more product in the Origins cleanser. As a company, Origins also produce their skincare naturally and organically, without harsh chemicals such as parabens, and also make the most of renewable sources and energy - fab! - so I don't mind spending a little bit more on good quality skincare products compared to simply using all high street brands. In general, I think it's more important to spend money carefully on suitable skincare that works than on having all high end make up. If you're on the market for a new cleanser then give this a try!

xx

no7 beautiful skin eye make-up remover

Hello hello!

I picked up the No7 Beautiful Skin Eye Make-Up Remover in Boots on Saturday, so I thought while we all have millions of £5 off No7 vouchers lying around (surely this can't just be me?!), I'd tell you whether it was worth getting!

The front of the bottle tells us that the make-up remover is suitable for all skin types and hypo-allergenic, which sounds great to me as I have quite sensitive eyes. This didn't irritate my eyes at all, whereas some other make-up removing products can really make my eyes sting (I wear contact lenses and my eyes can feel quite sore by the end of the day). It also did actually do a good job at removing all of my eye make-up, including mascara, without me having to rub and tug about at my skin!

This is all sounding very promising but there is something that I HATED about this product - the consistency. It's just so greasy! It feels like what I envisage rubbing cooking oil around my face to be like, and this sensation doesn't evaporate or anything, it just sits there on your face, slipping around... Not pleasant at all.

The full price for the No7 Beautiful Skin Eye Make-Up Remover is £7.75, which to be honest I think is a rip off for 100ml worth of oil. I wouldn't even get it again with a £5 off voucher.

Sorry No7 - you've got some other great make-up and skin care products (such as the No7 Hot Cloth Cleanser - loving this at the moment!), but this really disappointed me.

xx