April Empties

I haven't done an empties post in a while, but I have accumulated a number of empty containers/tubes/tubs etc. over the past few weeks. And here is my (belated) April emptied post =)

Products that I have/will repurchase:

EOS Lip Sphere-This lip balm is the ultimate lip balm. Yes, the packaging is big (although it is cute), this product stays on my desk at home and I always reach for it when my lips need a little moisture.

Bioderma Ultra-Soothing cream-This seems to be the only product that works on my eczema. I'll be repurchasing this soon as my eczema has calmed down, so I don't need to apply the cream as often. (I've decanted what I could get out from the tube into a little pot, which is why I've cut the top off).

Guerlien La Petite Robe Noire EDT-I love this scent, and I'm so glad that I got two of them in the Boots Christmas Sales. I'm not really a perfume wearer (more body sprays and mists) but this fragrance is definitely one that will repurchase.

&OtherStories Rose Revival body scrub-These body scrubs aren't very expensive (£7) but they smell amazing and have enough texture to actually exfoliate and be called a scrub. I've already got another scent waiting to be opened. If you ever get the chance, pop down to an &OtherStories store to test out the body scrubs (and their other bath and body products).

 

Products that I won't miss:

L'oreal Skin Perfection Micellar Solution-I bought this when it was on offer, so it somehow worked out better value for money than the other micellar waters available. It's a pretty good cleanser (I use it with the Kleenex cotton face cloths-a bargain find in 99p stores!) but the design of the bottle and the way it pours out means that a lot of product is being wasted. I'll be taking a look at the Garnier micellar water instead.

CND Solar Oil-I got this in the first BBB beauty edit box, and unfortunately it hasn't wowed me in any way. I like the packaging as the brush makes it easy to apply the oil to the nails and cuticles, and it smells nice, but it just didn't do anything for me. I'm sticking to my L'Occitane shea butter hand creams!

 

x

Share:

Urban Decay Purchases

A few weeks ago, I was window shopping (online) and found the Urban Decay Shattered Face Case on sale at Debenhams. It was in my November wishlist, and so I added it to my basket alongside the Triple Threat Pencil Set (you can never have too many eyeliners!).

 

The face case is just the right size for me to pack in my suitcase this Summer, which means I don't have to take any extra makeup other than foundation. It contains 5 eyeshadows, 2 blushers and a highlighter, as well as a Super Saturated lip gloss pencil and travel size 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Zero.

 

I seem to have a collection of travel size UD 24/7 eyeliner pencils and this trio of smokey shades just adds to it. They're all colours that I would wear regularly, and I know I'll get a lot of use from them.

 

Swatches of the pencils: Smoke (grey), Perversion (blackest black) and Sabbath (navy blue).

 

 

 

x

Share:

in my dreams VI

Products which I would love to own/wear/use. Alas such things only exist in my dreams.

I haven't done one of these posts in ages! My wish list at the moment consists of 3 makeup products.

 

First up, is the Urban Decay Shattered Face Case, which contains 5 eyeshadows, travel sized 24/7 eyeliner pencil, Super Saturated lip colour pencil, 2 blushers and a highlighter. Now, I'm going to be honest and say that I don't need any more eyeshadows (seriously, I don't), but this Urban Decay Palette would be a great way to try out a range of the products. It'll also be great for travelling when I don't really want to take a whole bunch of products with me.

The NARS Guy Bourdin Holiday Collection LE Promiscuous Lip Pencil Pouch is another one of the products on my wish list. It contains 4 Velvet Matte lip pencils and 1 Velvet Gloss lip pencil. Although I don't experiment much with lip colours, I think I'll make use of all the shades (and the pouch would be a perfect little makeup bag).

The final product is the NARS Fling Lip Gift Set. Another selection of NARS lip goodies inside the lip shaped box. Included in the box is a mini Velvet Matte lip pencil, a mini Velvet Satin lip pencil and two NARS lipsticks. Again, I'm not really looking to experiment with lip shades, but these all look wearable and perfect to try a range of NARS lip products.

The funny thing is that all these products are £30 each. So the question now is, which one do I go for?
(I can't justify spending £90 on all three, even though I would like to).

Any ideas? Which one would you choose?



x

Share:

Autumn/Winter Skincare

Clearly Summer has left the UK before it even began to settle in. Already I'm digging out my boots and chunky knits, ready for the cold wind and rain that is slowly arriving. Alongside changing up my wardrobe, I also adjust my skincare routine. I find that during the Winter, I get a lot of patches of dry skin on my cheeks and my eczema flares up really badly. And don't forget the chapped, cracked lips and dry hands! I've put together a little list of products that I will be using throughout the next few months to keep the Winter skin at bay!

 

L'occitane Honey Shea Butter - A handy little tub that I keep on my desk. I massage this into my nails and cuticles to keep them hydrated.

& Other Stories Punk Bouquet Body Scrub - A new body scrub that I picked up a few weeks ago on a trip to Oxford Street. This scrub smells lovely and sweet (as you'd probably have guessed by the name) and it's not too harsh on the skin (but it is exfoliating enough) =)

EOS Lipbalm - My Holy Grail lip balm. Seriously, this is better than Carmex!

Lanolips Lip Ointment - My other HG lip balm. Just as good as the EOS and it's a lot easier to carry around in my bag.

Bioderma Atoderm Nourishing Cream - This Bioderma cream is helping keep my eczema and dry skin at bay. Ever since I've come back from holiday, the eczema around my eyes has disappeared (I think it's something to do with the warmer climate), and I'm just using this around my ears and my arms and legs, as I seem to always be getting told that I have very dry skin.

L'occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream - I have back-ups of this hand cream. This is another HG product and I use it all the time. The Shea Butter in the hand cream helps keep my hands moisturised and nourished so I'm not constantly applying hand cream.

Do you change up your skincare for Autumn and Winter?




x 

Share:

IMATs London 2013 Haul

I've been trying to keep my weekends free so I can get a little break before the working week starts again, however, last weekend, I went along to IMATs. IMATs is actually a trade show for makeup artists (which I am not), but I still wanted to go and pick up a few things that I wouldn't have got if I was out and about in London. I also had a little list of products that a few friends wanted as they weren't able to make it themselves.

As I got there pretty early, I was able to have a look around the NYX stand before the queue got ridiculously long (it was literally going all the way around the outside of the stand). NYX only had a selection of their products available, but I did get two matte lip creams, two lip liner pencils, a blusher and a eyebrow kit for myself (at a total of around £20).

Eyebrow kit in dark brown, Lip creams in Milan and San Paulo,

Blusher in Desert Rose, Lip pencils in Coffee and Mauve

I also had a look around Nars, where they had 60% off on selected products. There were plenty of eyeshadow duos and trios, nail polishes and eye pencils, but none of them stood out to me. Instead, I got myself (and another for my sister) a matte lip pencil in Never Say Never. There were a few other shades available but this one stood out the most. I got this for only £7.

Somehow I managed to pick up 5 (yes 5!) angle brushes, a mixture of Crown brushes and Royal and Langnickel. I'm not sure why I need 5 of them, but I think the smaller ones will come in handy for my canvas painting (sometimes makeup brushes work better than paint brushes).

The Mehron GlitterMark's, were something Safiyah pointed out to me and suggested that I could use them for glitter henna designs. I picked up the white and black glitters as I think I'd make the most use out of them. They have an alcohol free gel base and are safe to use on the face as well as the body.

I also won a 8ml BeautySoClean cosmetic sanitizer mist, which is a product designed to remove bacteria from powder-based products. I'm looking forward to trying this out!

And that's the end of my haul from IMATs. Luckily, I stuck to my budget and only bought what I needed (well...kinda!)





x

Share:

EOS Lip Sphere [review]

Remember when I had (what looked like) a hundred and one lip balms in my collection? [Read this blog post for a quick reminder]. Since then, I've  stopped buying lip balms every time I pop out for a little shopping. I've actually stopped using most of my collection too! Even my previous go-to lip balm, Carmex (now gathering dust in a drawer). Why? Because of the EOS lip sphere! I've wanted to get my hands on this lip balm ever since I spotted it on Slice of Lemon in this post. I mean, who can say no to a cute little lip balm? Especially when they come in a range of flavours (and they just look adorable!)

Summer Fruits (top) and Sweet Mint (bottom)

I've been using the Summer Fruits Lip Sphere ever since I got it (sometime last year). As you can probably tell by comparing it to the Sweet Mint (which is new), it's been used a lot! This lip balm has replaced all my other ones, as I find that my lips stay moisturised throughout the day. I apply the lip sphere in the morning and in the evening every day and I rarely have to reapply during the day (which is great, because I don't actually carry it around with me). The balm itself is made from all natural and organic ingredients and is free from parabens, petrolatum and phthalates (basically all the chemical stuff that isn't good for your skin).

The packaging is quite bulky, which is the only downside I can think of, but it's something that I can live with. The other issue is that EOS lip sphere's are not so easy to get hold of in the UK. I've only found them online so far, at Cute Cosmetics and Naturisimo. Unfortunately there is a big difference in the price (which always seems to be the case) as they retail for just under £6 in the UK, whereas in USA they cost $3.29 (approx. £2.20).


What's your favourite lip balm?



x

Share:

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain [review]

These Clinique Chubby Stick look-a-likes are practically a staple in my makeup bag at the moment, so I thought I'd share why! The Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm Stains (crazy long name), are basically a super pigmented and moisturising lip stain in a chubby crayon form. The chubby pencil design makes it easy to apply the colour directly to your lips and because it's a retractable pencil, there's no sharpening required! I have two of these stains, in Crush and Honey.

 

 

 

Crush is the darkest shade available and it's a berry red shade. I apply this colour and then blot it so that it's not as pigmented on my lips, and by the end of the day there is still a stain on my lips. It's perfect for when I don't want to carry any lip products with me as there really is no need to reapply! I just add a little lip balm over the top as the day goes on, because even though the balm stains are moisturising, my lips do get dry throughout the day.

Honey is a more recent purchase (which I bought using my Boots Advantage Card points) and is a lovely soft pink shade. A sort of 'my lips but better' colour which is great for everyday wear. This is currently in my work bag, even though I don't really need to reapply during the day, it's there for those 'just in case' moments'.


I definitely am glad that I picked up these balm stains, especially in these two particular shades! I'll be looking into the rest of the shades available, but so far I've found two that are perfect for me =)

Have you tried the Revlon Just Bitten Balm Stains? What do you think of them?




x

Share:

MAC lipstick collection - Swatches and Review

If you had seen my lipstick collection a few months ago (June/July), you would have noticed that I didn't own any MAC lipsticks. Not because I had anything against them, but mostly because I wasn't a keen lipstick wearer and also, the sheer amount of shades and finishes available from MAC made it impossible for me to choose which one I liked the most. Fast forward to today, and I am the owner of 3 MAC lipsticks. Here are the shades that I have, swatched and reviewed =)

Thanks to my not so great camera, the colours show up pretty similar, but they are actually different

The order of the colours in the picture above

 

Twig - This would be considered my first purchased MAC lipstick, which I bought in September (as mentioned in my beauty product haul). A satin finish lipstick, Twig is described as a soft muted brownish-pink, I find this the perfect everyday colour. In fact this one lives in my bag and moving between bags so that I am always carrying it around.

Viva Glam III - This has a matte finish and is described by MAC as a muted brownish-plum. I recieved this as one of my graduation presents, and was the first MAC lipstick in my makeup collection. This is a colour that I had picked out ages ago as I had swatched it a number of times in the MAC store and stated that it would be my first MAC lipstick purchase (see Instagram for proof of this). This is colour that is darker than a colour I would usually go for but it just appeals to me.

Captive - This MAC lipstick is one that I won from Sam's giveaway a few weeks ago (thank you Sam!). When she contacted me, I had actually forgotten what colour I had noted in the comments on her blog. Captive is also satin finish lipstick and it's described as a pinkish-plum colour.

(click for a bigger image)

And that's the end of my little MAC lipstick collection (which I think will be growing as time goes on). I prefer the satin finishes over any other MAC lipstick finishes (no idea why, it's just personal preference). I am a big fan of neutral and everday colours that can be worn with pretty much anything, as I prefer to focus attention on my eye makeup rather than my lips, but I'm tempted to try out some brighter and bolder colours (hence why the three lipsticks are pretty much just different shades in the same colour family).

What lip colours do you prefer? Any MAC shades (or any brand for that matter) that you suggest I try out?



x

Share:

September Beauty Haul

As P10P:TakeII finished a few weeks ago, I have been buying quite a bit more in terms of makeup and skincare (and just general bits and bobs). Although, in my defense, I have used up more products (which will be revealed in the September Empties post at the end of the month) and therefore needed to restock as well as try a few new things. And here's what I bought!

 

Soap & Glory Flake Away travel size (Boots - £2.50). I bought the travel size tub to test out the Flake Away scrub after reading Aalia's review on her blog Hijabi With Style (check out the review here). I seem to be getting more dry and flaky skin as well as ingrown hairs, so hopefully this scrub will help with reducing the ingrown hairs and removing dead skin.

Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Peel Off Face Mask 10ml (Boots - 99p). I had a Boots Advantage Card voucher which gave me 150 points when I bought any product from the Boot's Tea Tree & Witch Hazel range, so naturally I picked up the cheapest one there. And one can never have too many face masks!

Dove Deodrant Beauty Finish (Boots - £2.45). Standard deodrant. No explanation necessary =)

 

Dermalogica Top Performer Collection (Dermalogica - £20). I had a face mapping skin analysis at the Dermalogica in Westfield Stratford to see if I should be making any changes to my skincare routine. My skin is dehydrated, I have an oily T-Zone (mostly on the nose) and I have hypo-pigmentation on my cheeks.The sales assistant recommended a few products, however I have had bad expereinces when changing my skincare routine in the past (thanks to eczema and sensitive skin) so instead of buying the full size products I bought the Top Performer collection. This is a set of travel sized products and she also kindly gave me a few samples to take away as well. I'll be trying this new routine out over the next few weeks and will blog any findings =)

Garnier Olia Hair Colour in Golden Brown (Superdrug - £6.99). A new product in stores, which is a permanent hair colour that doesn't contain ammonia. From what I've read, the formula is oil based, rather than water based which means the dye works a lot better (in simple terms) and is less damaging to the hair. Picked up the golden brown shade, but I have no idea if it will show up on my dark hair.

MAC Satin Finish Lipstick in Twig (MAC - £14) [rubbish lighting=no picture]. I went along to the Glamour Beauty Power List Live event at Selfridges in London earlier this month, mostly because I have't been to Selfridges in ages. Tickets were £10 and redeemable on any beauty purchases made on the night. I only picked up a lipstick from MAC, and I'd describe Twig as a 'my lips but better (and more pinkier)' shade. I would have also picked up the new limited edition Vaseline in Pink Bubbly, but unfortunately the ingredients list states wine extract, so I put it back.


I also purchased a few non-beauty items this month, including an abaya and flat lace shoes (as seen in this OOTD post). A few other items include a sweatshirt from David & Goliath (perfect for the autumn weather) and a blazer from New Look (it was on sale) =)






x

Share:

Project 10 Pan: Take II #5 and #6

Finally I have finished using not one but two of my (many) lipbalms! The fifth product to have been used up is the Nivea Hydro Care lipbalm, which is pretty much your standard lipbalm packaged in a handy twist up tube. I like that it has that classic Nivea smell, nothing too strong or complicated. The lip balm itself is moisturising, but not overly so making it great for those days when your lips are dry (but not in need of extreme moisturising). I think I have another one of these lying around somewhere (which hasn't been used yet), so I'm not sad to see this one end.

The sixth product to have been used up is my trusted Classic Carmex tub, which is my saviour when I'm suffering with extremely dry, chapped lips. I'm not too keen on the tub packaging, so will be repurchasing in the tube, either the cherry or strawberry version. I also want to try out the Carmex Moisture Plus lip balms, although that will probably be after I've finished a few more lipbalms.

Hopefully I'll be using up more of my lipbalms soon, so I can also finally open the new (or not so new) EOS lip balm spheres that have been gathering dust for quite a few months now! =)

What's your favourite lipbalm?




x

Share: