Summer empties...

It appears I have a favourite deodorant….Also loved how long the Soap & Glory Foam Call shower gel lasted and it smelt delicious. I'm fairly fickle with body products though, and I can't say I've repurchased any of these...

Elvive Fibreology shampoo is my all time favourite I'm well into my second bottle of this stuff and I'll 100% keep using this for the foreseeable future. Also loving the Batiste XXL dry shampoo…forever a staple in my hair routine. I didn't love the Philip Kingsley Elasticiser as much as I expected to - it's one of those cult blogger products I just couldn't get into. Another re-purchase has been the V05 dry backcomb spray - it's the perfect texture and not sticky at all, an absolute livesaver in my freshly washed hair. 

The Garnier Micellar water is an empty from my professional makeup kit…I get through this SO quickly its ridiculous but it is a perfect dupe for Bioderma. The only two products I've not repurchased were the Nivea eye cream (an eye cream is an eye cream and I've since found cheaper alternatives) and the Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser. This was nice but a bit heavy for my oily skin. 

The second my Seche Vite top coat ran out, I could have cried. Don't fear though, I've got back ups of this as it's probably one of my top five holy grail products of all time. The Elf brush shampoo and Scandaleyes mascara were definite no-loves. My top tip of the day is STAY AWAY from this mascara, awful awful awful. 

What has everyone else used up over the summer months?

Loves

xxx

Spring Empties….

It's pretty much Summer now, right? Here's a bunch of products I used up throughout the Spring (some of these have been ongoing for quite a while!)….. and a couple of thought's on my loves and hates!

I've actually dyed my hair twice this spring, but Berry Red from the Casting Creme Gloss range has been my favourite and I'll be going back to this one next time for sure. The L'Oreal Mythic Oil is my forever holy-grail favourite… this is my second bottle of this and I've already started number 3!

Collection Lasting Perfection concealer…say no more. Love this, and I have 3 back ups ready and waiting for me. I used to love the Bobby Brown corrector for under my eyes but my Body Shop Illuminating pen in shade 1 has overtaken this as my favourite and it's a lot less likely to settle into the fine lines around the eyes.  

My Clean & Clear deep action face wash is a staple in my skincare routine and I'm already half way through my back up! I also really enjoyed the Soap and Glory Scrub Your Nose In It scrub and can see me purchasing this one down the line somewhere. Now I've heard a LOT about the REN skincare line and was excited to have the day cream to test out. You can imagine my disappointment when I hated it with a passion. I found it sticky and the smell was just unbearable. Not a winner, sorry REN!

I can't even begin to talk about how sad I am to have finished the D&G 10 perfume because it's discontinued and will always be known as 'my scent'. I have one bottle left and is getting seriously rationed! Another holy grail product that I actually haven't re-purchased yet (too many others to use up as you can imagine) is the Superdrug Vitamin E body cream. Such a bargain and sinks into the skin perfectly. 

I love reading empties posts because I think you get a really honest, true review of products so hope you guys enjoyed this!

Loves

xxx

October Favourites...

I won't go on for too long because I have a full review on it here, but The Body Shop warming mineral mask has been my life saver this month. The Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner duo in Tousle Me Softly has been my go to shower pairing for an everyday hair wash. It smells lush, leaves my hair soft but by no means lifeless, and makes it super easy to style. And for those days when I clearly haven't (but probably should have) reached for these two, the V05 Plump Me Up dry shampoo comes to my rescue. Again, it's bagged it's very own review here. 

I've got my sticky little hands on another of Lush's lip scrub offerings, this time in Popcorn. Not much to say on these as most people know or will have heard how much of a life saver these little bargain pots are. I've fallen in love with the Bourjois Happy Light foundation this month, although I do have to powder with with my Holy Grail Mac MSF Natural (I'm the shade medium plus). It lets me real skin show through while giving just enough coverage for day to day wear. Why oh why have I never owned a Mac 239 brush? Who let me get to 25 years of age without ever having one in my possession?

Benefit They're Real is back in my life (and, yes I know I'm sorry, back in my monthly favourites posts). I may have found an (almost) dupe for this from the drugstore but more on that later in the month. For lip wear, I've been dabbling in the Kate Moss matte range and in particular wearing 113, a pale nude, and 107, the infamous deep burgundy red that everyone, including myself) is going loopy for right now.

And, finally, what would a favourites post be without a product from The Balm? Mary Lou-manizer is everything I need a highlight to be. It lasts (for hours), gives a subtle shine to the desired areas (with the right brush and a very light hand) and comes in the cutest packaging ever.

What are everyone else's October favourites?

Loves

xxx

Horrible hair days....

Australia doesn't love my hair. Seriously. It's gone from being relatively healthy, if a little dry on the ends (nothing a good deep moisturising mask and a hair oil or two can't sort out) to greasy as it gets. Before I could get away with two-three washes a week with a shed load of dry shampoo in between as and when it needed it. 

Since coming back to Australia I'll be lucky to get an every-other-day wash out of it, it's turned to greasy and limp yet super frizzy on the ends. Don't ask me what happened because if I knew, I'd be able to solve it and I wouldn't be sat here typing this up. 

So in my distress I popped to Hairhouse Warehouse (yes it's as cool as it sounds) and asked their advice. 

I've dabbled in the KMS California brand here and there over the years but it's always been a bit high end for me when it comes to hair care. I thought if it works then it's worth the hefty AU$22.50 price tag so I went home, shampooed, and waited....

This stuff is serious business. My hair's a bit delicate to use the clarifying shampoo more than once a week at the absolute most, but it does what it says on the tin (bottle). It completely stripped my hair of product build up as well as a little of its natural oils. No bother, as I just use it along side a moisturising conditioner on the ends of my hair. If you're struggling with your hair like I was, I recommend this beauty to the moon and back. 

I won't say I'll be repurchasing because this will probably last me forever, but this one is a winner.

Can anyone else recommend any other good clarifying shampoos?

Loves

xxx

July favourites....

Not many this month, I've mainly been finding my feet in Australia rather than finding my favourite moisturiser, however I think the latter may be my next mission. 

Tigi Bedhead Sugar Shock - a much nicer texture (and smell) than most sea salt sprays, I've turned to a sugar spray instead. Non of the crunchiness but all of the volume and texture, I'm not sure why we don't hear more about this beauty!

Batiste dry shampoo in Wild - my favourite of all the Batiste scents, my hair has been so oily recently that this has been a life saver.

Benefit Erase Paste - a few sleepless nights worrying about jobs etc have caused me to reach for my heaviest of heavy duty concealers. This literally hides EVERYTHING.

L'Oreal High Intensity Pigment cream liner in black - apologies but I bought this online and am not sure you can actually buy this in the shops in Aus or the UK??? If you can track this down then please purchase immediately if you're a fan of the gel eyeliners that are doing the rounds. This is a lot softer and doesn't dry out as quick as I've found most gels to. 

Bourjois Healthy Mix serum foundation - not too much explanation needed here. I. Love. This. Holy grail foundation, just needs a bit of powder and it lasts all day, doesn't look heavy on the skin, doesn't show dry patches, and doesn't slip or slide. Perfection. 

Barry M lipstick in shade 147 - erring on the peachy side of a peachy pink, I've worn this over lip balm, slightly patted out for a subtle look.

Anatomicals Help The Paw hand cream - a bargain of a hand cream for such a big tube, this is my go-to last thing at night hand cream. Smells lovely!

Reading in general - Some of my favourites have been Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, and The Case of the Missing Boyfriend by Nick Alexander. Currently reading Revenge Wears Prada and loving it!

Raspberry Liquorice - I've been going through a couple of bags a week of this, so tasty and really keeps my sugar cravings at bay!

What's everyone else been loving this month?

Loves

xxx

So I did a bit of shopping....

Yes I know I'm on a shopping ban, but to be honest I was bored of being good....

Now I'm no fool, I know the Lee Stafford hair growth treatment isn't going to give me bum length locks any time soon, but I needed a new hair treatment and this seems to get pretty good reviews so why not! I also picked up Rimmel Stay Mat pressed powder. Controversially, I don't really like Mac MSF natural that much. I gave it a good 4 month trial and I don't think it does, well, anything to my skin. This was highly recommended and so far I'm impressed!

Casual through and through, I spotted this red shiny body warmer in Republic for £10 and had to have it. With my bright blue skinny jeans and a black hoody under it's been brilliant! I 'needed' (complete lie, I have far too many pairs already) some new denim shorts that were between low-rise and high waisted. Topshop did the job for a bargain of £28 for these. 

Then I had a bit of a t-shirt (surprise surprise) spree online at Miss Selfridge. Grey vest, long navy and white striped body con dress/top and a Love Rocks short t-shirt. 

I wore these shorts last night, so an OOTD is coming up soon!

Loves

xxx

Top products of 2011....

Well as my blog is still a baby and less than a year old, I've spent a lot of the past 10 months discovering lots of new things so here's what I recon come top of the 2011 class (warning: it's a biggie!)


Haircare: KMS California came in one of this years Glossybox's and has turned into my go-to product for putting through the ends of my (towel dried) hair to not only help protect it from heated appliances but to help lock in colour. Batiste XXL Volume needs no other introduction other than to say I LOVE this and were I to (painstakingly) put the entire contents of this blog into some sort of order, it would probably come out top! And lastly my good old tangle teezer: not just a normal hair brush!

Skincare: This moisturiser has been one of my products of the last few years but I'm still in a long term relationship with it therefore I though I'd better include it. No other moisturiser has touched my skin for the past 12 months. The Body Shop night cream has been a revelation after switching from an all purpose moisturiser to a separate one for day and night. Oh and as for a little extra in my skin care - Soap and Glory Scrub Your Nose In It. I challenge you to find a better drug store exfoliater! 

Makeup: I'll try and keep this simple as there are SO many. For face it has to be the Benefit Porefessional along with the Revlon Photo Ready foundation, my bobby brown corrector and the Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer. I've loved Topshops bronzer in global for most of the year, and been blushing with the aid of Vivo blush (not sure on the colour) and MeMeMe in coral throughout the summer months. My favourite eye products of the year have to be HD brows thanks (again) to GlossyBox, Bourjois Volumizer mascara and the Maybelline gel eyeliner pot. Lips is a tough one but it has to be the Lush lip scrub which has been a life saver, along with my Mac lipstick in Saint Germain and Topshop lipstick in Brighton Rock. I've only just started getting into brushes, but my favourite are the stippling brush and powder brush from the Samantha Chapman Real Techniques range, and my Mac 217. 

Perfume: My signature scent has continued to be Burberry, but I'd say my ultimate perfume of the year has to be D&G 10. 

What has everyone else loved in the year of 2011? Have any of these products made your top lists?

Loves

xxx

Current obsessions...

I'm so in love with lots of things right now....

Mythic Oil: My hair has grown so much over the last few months, and I think it's probably a combo of not using much heat on it, and using this most days...it makes my hair feel so healthy!

Kate Moss for Rimmel lipstick in 03: I think I've worn this nearly ever day since I bought it, amazing colour and staying power, a really perfect nude without giving a 'foundation lip' effect.

The Body Shop Eye reviver duo: This is packed full of vitamin c to make your skin really bright and refreshed, I use this every morning (the under eye radiance cream and cooling all round eye roll on) before my makeup to keep my eyes sparkling and make my concealer stay on all day.

Vivo blush: I have NO idea what colour this is as it's worn off the back, but it's a gorgeous subtle shimmery pink that I've been using so much recently to perk up my tired winter skin, I want to get all the shades in these blushes they're so good for the money!

Office boots: I've been looking for some boots like this for AGES and finally found some in Office (of course) a few weeks ago, these have been moulded to my feet ever since!

Multi-coloured nails: I haven't had all my nails the same colour for months, this is much more fun!

T-shirts: This is only a small collection of my t-shirts, I cannot stop buying them! I'm really not a shirt or 'pretty' top sort of girl, if I could live in t-shirts and denim shorts all my life I would!

Estee Lauder Double Wear: This is a bit of a cheat as I've only worn this once, but the obsession part comes from looking at it's beautiful-ness (real word, honest) on my makeup shelf, I can't wait to start using it more!

One Day: I CANNOT put this down, I'm so near the end and am dying to know how it ends. I'm definitely going to have to watch the film as soon as I've read the rest of this!

What are your current obsessions?

Loves

xxx

Grab someone if you're single, grab someone if you're not...

It's quite wierd waking up and having eyebrows. My own eyebrows used to be non existent until I went and got them waxed and tinted on Saturday morning, and now look how amazing they are...

This is just with a tiny bit of Gosh felt tip eyebrow pen to extend the length a bit, then combed through with clear Gosh eyebrow gel.

I also had my eyelashes tinted. I went for black, so all I'd need was a little bit of clear mascara, as pictured above.

This was just before I left to head into Leicester yesterday to go and celebrate my best friends birthday, sorry about the hair I just washed and straightened it then put it up so I could finish it off later. The shirt is from River Island, dress from H&M, tights from primark and Converse from Office. 

You'll all probably have seen my pre-packing post from yesterday, so here's an outfit picture from when I was all dolled up and ready to go dancing, and then some random ones throughout the night....

Hope you've all had an amazing bank holiday!

2 more sleeps until Cyprus!

Loves

xxx

Another haul....

Hello lovelies!! How BEAUT is the weather today?! Me and Mum took ourselves over to Nuneaton today to do a bit of shopping, and I was fully not expecting to get anything (Nuneaton isn't exactly the best for shopping!) But I did pretty well in the last of the sales! My main excitement is due to these babies...

I wasn't even aware these were out yet!? And I certainly didn't think this Superdrug even stocked Sleek but  they do and they had quite a good selection. Anyway I snapped up four of these to start off my collection....I got (l-r) 160 Pinkini, 158 Rosette, 162 Milkshake (these swatches don't do this justice, its incredible!) and 161 Minx. I'm so pleased with these, I think I may have skipped out of Superdrug....

Anyway the rest of my haul is here....it's a bit all over the place but I kind of just picked the odd thing up in random shops.....

Also, I have to show you my new toy...

They're the Andrew Barton wave makers, and they are amazing. I was so bored of either having straight or curly hair, and I fancied a bit of a change. I did a before and after pic for you, but the before pic is APPALLING!! Sorry, I got halfway through my hair and realised I'd not done one that I had to snap one, and then realised I'd left the macro setting on!! But it gives you a rough idea...

It looks better with the outfit of the day so you can see the whole look....

(Sorry about getting the oven in there....my usual photographer was absent so I had to get my mum to do it and she couldn't be bothered to put her glasses on!)

Top and Skirt: H&M

Sandals: Primark

Necklace: New Look

Bracelets and rings: Mainly Foverer 21, H&M 

Watch: ASOS

Has anyone else picked up these Pout Paints yet? 

Loves

xxx

Dove Intensive Repair...

Not one to meddle too much in the washing stages of hair preening (I’m a shampoo once, conditioner on the ends, rinse, dry kind of girl) I wasn’t too bothered about this little Dove bottle when I got it free with my asos order AGES ago. Last night, however, I was bored and in need of some hair loving, so decided to give it a try. It’s the new intense repair conditioning mask from Dove, and let me tell you it’s a miracle in a bottle. 

This is only a sample size, and you could probably get 2/3 washes with this depending on how much you use. I only popped a small amount through my ends beause I’m a devil for only washing my hair intermittently thoroughout the week and I hate it getting greasy too much. It tells you to wash your hair with Dove shampoo (sorry, I used V05) then pop it in your hair for a minute, before rinsing. I actually left it on for a bit longer than that as the ends of my hair are a bit of a mess, but I didn’t have to wait around because as soon as I put it on, I wacked my hair in a top knot and continued exfoliating/shaving legs/ washing face etc etc. The added benefit of this was the steam in the shower (I like it HOT) made the treatment mask extra effective!. I rinsed it out after about 3 or 4 minutes with as icy cold water as I could manage (bbrrrrrr!!!) and it made my hair feel amazing! So soft and it smelt amazing (typical Dove smell that doesn’t linger or offend anyone) and I will most definiutly be buying a full size bottle of this. Thanks ASOS, you delivered me a hair-miricle!!