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

Soap & Glory Archery brow tint and pencil…

I've recently fallen completely out of love with my eyebrows, and all my eyebrow products I have in my stash. I just can't seem to get them even, nothing is the right colour, and I can't get an arch to save my life. So when I needed a few bits in Boots the other day I took advantage of the 3 for 2 on (as you do) and picked up the much talked about Soap & Glory Archery brow tint and precision shaping pencil. I got mine in the shade Brownie Points, which is a really natural taupe brown shade that actually matched my brow colour perfectly, although I usually like to darken my brows up to match my hair. 

left - felt tip, right - crayon

I'm not too in love with the felt pen end as I don't get anywhere near enough colour out of it, but if you prefer a more natural brow then I think you'll love that part. The pencil, however, is an absolute dream. Just the right amount of waxiness, the perfect thickness to get a nice tapered end to the brows, and just generally really easy to use. 

This was the only shade on the shelves in Boots and I don't know if they do another, darker shade? If they do I think this would be beyond perfect for me, but for now I'm using this in conduction with a brow shaping gel with a tint and I've got the brows I've been looking for!

What other brow products does everyone recommend?

Loves

xxx

Top five black eye pencils...

One of my go-to looks is a black eyeliner in the waterline, and my collection is now never ending. 

Top to bottom:

Rimmel Scandel Eyes waterproof kohl liner 001 black: lasts quite well, waterproof to the fact that it takes a fair amount of makeup remover to budge it.

Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl super noir: quite a wet consistency but is quite hard to keep in one place and tends to spread around my face a bit too easily.

Maybelline Master Drama kohl liner ultra black: probably the blackest of the lot, again smudges when you don't want it too but worth it for the ultra blackness of it.

Mac eye kohl in smoulder: One of my all time, most repeat purchased of the lot I think this is my fifth one of these. The driest and most easy to control of the bunch, smudges easily but stays put when you're ready for it to.

Avon SuperShock gel eyeliner in black: wow wow wow my newest purchase and by far the thickest, blackest and most waterproof of the lot. But immediately if you don't already own this!

What are your favourite eyeliners at the moment?

Loves

xxx

P.S. I'm off again! I'm leaving lovely sunny england (yes, it's actually sunny right now!) and heading back to Australia for another year (ish) but this time my laptop and all my blogging stuff is coming with me so (hopefully, depending on internet connection) I'll be regularly keeping in touch this year! Lots of love!

xxx

My everyday face....

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo

Bourjois Healthy Mix

Collection lasting perfection concealer

Benefit Fake Up concealer

HD Brow palette (the darkest shade for my brows)

Mac mineralised skin finish natural 

Bourjois cream blush in 03

Mac painterly paint pot

Soap and Glory smoulder kohl in black

Covergirl Lash Blast clump crusher mascara

Maybelline lipstick (The Vivids collection) in shocking coral

Soap and Glory mighty mouth gloss balm

Easy, quick, everyday face :)

Loves

xxx

Top five eyeliners...

Next instalment in my top five series is eyeliners! I'm not a huge eyeliner hoarder, I tend to have a few and just stick to the ones I like. 

l-r Barry M Wink eyeliner felt tip, GOSH Carbon Black liquid eyeliner pen, Mac Kohl pencil in Smoulder, Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl, Maybelline gel eyeliner pot 

Barry M Wink eyeliner felt tip: This is actually on it's last legs, but it's a REALLY thick felt pen that is so easy for beginners wanting to create a winged liner look. It dries up quite quickly and the nib on mine has gone a bit strange so it doesn't have a long shelf life, but it's really black and SO easy to use. The staying power isn't the best, but for around £5 I wouldn't complain.

GOSH Carbon Black liquid eyeliner pen: This is SO black, stays put until you get some sort of heavy duty makeup remover near it, and is quite easy to use. The nib is fine so you can create all sorts of looks really easily, the only draw back with this is it's quite watery so you really need to wipe the nib before you get going.

Mac Kohl: This used to be the love of my life. I've had about five of these, and whilst it is amazing, it's no longer my favourite kohl eyeliner. It's quite black, fairly long lasting, and you can sharpen it to quite a nice point if you wanted to use it on the lash line. It is great for smudging, however it sometimes smudges beyond all control when you get a bit warm....not ideal for sweaty night clubs or hot atmospheres. 

Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl: This is, in the place of Mac, the new love of my life. I've done a full review on it here if you want to take a closer look. It lasts ALL DAY, no lie. I use it on the water line, it doesn't smudge or slip, it's a really intense black, and it comes with a sharpener in the lid!! The only draw back is it's quite a soft, gel consistency so impossible to sharpen to a point, not ideal if you want to use it on the lash line. For £5, all I have to say on this is GO BUY IT :)

Maybelline gel eyeliner: I use the sigma eyeliner brush with this, brilliant for the waterline and on the lash line, and creates a gorgeous winged liner if you have a steady hand. Again, seriously long lasting, really black, easy to use with a bit of practice and lasts ages! This is always on offer in Boots or Superdrug so really worth a go!

What other eyeliners does everyone else love?

Loves

xxx

January empties...

I'm super proud of myself this month!! I've got through a lot of hairspray this month, mainly just finishing off cans with a bit left in the bottom. I also finished off a perfume which I'm happy with, Beyonce Heat. I do love it but not sure I'd repurchase it as I've since found others I'm loving that little bit more. As I'm saving like a crazy woman for Australia, I'm using all the products I've got and only repurchasing where absolutely necessary. In January I bought:

Soap&Glory Flake Away - repurchase

Superdrug Vitamin E body moisturiser - repurchase

Botanics eye makeup remover - replacement for my Simple eye makeup remover (review to come)

Has anyone else had a successful month for using up products?

Loves

xxx

Weekly review....Soap & Glory for Daily Youth....

I've not had chance for one of these posts for a while what with getting used to my camera and getting the new hair done. I've been buying a lot of Soap & Glory products at the moment, they seem to always be on a 3 for 2 in Boots, and there's always something that really appeals to me! I needed a new daytime face moisturiser and am a sucker for anything from Soap&Gory. 

As always, lovely packaging from Soap & Glory. The moisturisers claims to brighten skin, clear imperfections etc etc etc all the usual moisturiser claims. It comes in a 50ml pump bottle, and the actual moisturiser is quite a thin consistency that reminds me a bit of the Olay beauty fluid but with a slightly stronger scent (but strong in a very nice 'Soap&Glory' way). 

I've been using this for about two months now and as much as I do think it's a gorgeous moisturiser, I'm not to sure it does everything it claims to do. It's £12 which in my opinion is quite expensive for a moisturiser but some people may disagree with this. 

The one thing this is good for is a makeup base, for that job along this product is worth every penny. I have a bit of a love hate issue with primers, the only one I love is Benefit The Porefessional but I only really use this at night as it's quite expensive and does tend to sit quite heavy on my skin. 

I pop this on first thing in the morning when I wake up, give it a couple of minutes to soak in to the skin while I shove my hair in a top knot, then apply my foundation as normal. I've got normal to oily skin so some would say a moisturiser as a primer is a bad idea but this would prove those people wrong. My makeup stays exactly where it should be for most of the day, makes it looks fresh and my skin glowing.

Overall I'd say if you're looking for a primer but aren't keen on some of the 'makeup' type primers around then definitely give this a go. Highly recommended! 

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

Weekly review....Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl....

I alway thought me and my Mac eyeliner in Smoulder would be inseparable. Until I popped into Boots and picked up one of the Soap and Glory eyeliners on a whim, and now I'm afraid I'm having a love affair. 

Mac Smoulder is a really black black, and incredible for smudging to help along with a smokey eye. I do find the tip breaks quite easily if sharpened too much, and it's staying power when faced with water/tears/sweat (I like to dance, a LOT) isn't amazing but it does help in creating a really dramatic look. When I say it smudges well, it smudges a bit TOO well sometimes and continues smudging through the night!

(l- Mac r- Soap & Glory)

(l- Soap & Glory r- Mac)

On the skin they both transfer really black, but the Mac one gives a much finer line. On paper, you can see how thick and creamy the Soap and Glory liner is. Also, it's staying power is AMAZING. I washed my hand after I'd done this swatch and it took three baby wipes and a whole load of soap to shift it!

This isn't the clearest picture, but my left eye as you look at the picture is lined with the Mac Smoulder pencil the smudged out with an Avon smudging brush. My right eye as you look at it is exactly the same process but with the Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl. It's so much blacker, really sits on the water line as a true black for such a long time, and when smudged to how you want it, does NOT move or transfer. All in all, a really nice surprise and now a total staple in my makeup bag!

Has anyone else tried anything from the Soap & Glory makeup range?

Loves

xxx

Sunday treats....

It's only right, I think, that after an amazing Saturday night celebrating the besties 23rd birthday that a teeny tiny bit f retail therapy is needed. Rude not to really! I was in desperat need of a new lip balm as all of mine seemed to have ran out at once so I popped to Boots and went a bit wild...

I'd had a Burt's Bee's lip balm ages ago but never re-purchased for some reason so thought I'd re-buy. Of course it hasn't disjointed. I'd sen this Blistex lip massage in a magazine last week, and thought it seemed a bit of a nifty gadget so thought I'd pick this up too. It's so so nice, really tingly and the lip massager is a bit of a really gentle exfoliator too! I randomly picked up a cheapy Boot own Coconut & Almond lip butter mainly because I need something to throw in my draw at work but also anything coconut scented is a winner recently, my fave! Lastly I bought the more expensive (£8 for a lipbalm?!?!) Soap & Glory Mighty Mouth, but only because I was picking up some other things from the range and it turned out to be free on their 3 for 2 offer....

I've not tried the lip balm or the moisture lotion yet but I did pop the No Clogs Aloud mask on earlier for the full 5 minutes and can honestly say this has made my skin feel like nothing before, it's so smooth, even and clear. I'm practically glowing! I'll be putting a full review of this up some time this week, it's amazing!

Thought I'd also pop up a quick OOTN pic up while I'm here, my hair looks slightly odd in this pic but it's the angle of the pic I think, it looked normal in real life!

Leather gillet: Matalan

Black strapless dress, jeans and jewellery: Miss Selfridge

Allegra Boots: Topshop

Clutch bag: Matalan

Hope you've all had a fab weekend

Loves

xxx