Empties 002

Hair care

Inecto pure coconut hair repair treatment

This has to be one of my all time favourite deep conditioners!

It just makes my hair so manageable, especially when it's super knotty!

It smells lovely and adds so much shine!

Repurchase - already have!

Aussie take the heat deep treatment

Another amazing deep conditioner!

This is just so thick and super nourishing for my hair!

It leaves my hair so soft and healthy looking!

Repurchase - definitely!

Boots build up removal shampoo

This does exactly what it says on the bottle!

It removes all the nasties from your hair!

Leaving it super clean and greasy free!

Repurchase - yes

Batiste dry shampoo, dark brown

Sometimes this did still leave a grey colour to my hair, despite it being dark brown coloured.

However, it takes significantly less time to rub this product in compared to the 'white' versions.

I will never buy a 'white' dry shampoo again!

Repurchase - yup!

Skin care

Liz earle cleanse and polish

Do I even need to comment on how amazing this product is?

Probably not, I rabble on about it enough!

Repurchase - forever and always!

Simple eye make up remover

One of my favourite eye make up removers ever!

It literally removes every trace and leaves my eye area so soft!

Repurchase - definitely! 

Body shop satsuma body polish

This smells beautiful, just so fruity and fresh!

It's very gentle, so great for every day use!

Repurchase - probably!

Balance me wonder eye cream

This eye cream works wonders!

It brightens, moisturises and tightens!

When this ran out my eyes became so sore and dry!

Repurchase - yes Kelly, you need it! (even if it is £20)

♥

Jergens cherry almond beauty lotion & competition!

Jerens original beauty lotion*

 Jergens has always been a brand I've heard of but never tried before!

So I was delighted to be given the opportunity to try their new re-launched original body moisturiser! 

This beauty lotion is famous for it's classic cherry almond scent!

Which I must admit is beautiful, it smells just like cherry bakewells! 

And this smell doesn't fade off the skin either!

The moisturiser is very light weight and non-greasy! So no sticky feeling is left on the skin!

It claims to moisturise the skin for 24hrs and I can definitely say it lives up to these claims!

Not only has it improved my dry skin it's made my skin much softer and smoother!

I love it!

Competition

To celebrate the launch of this product Jergens are giving people a chance to win....

a designer handbag by Michael Kors, a scarf by Mulberry, a pair of designer shoes and the complete range of Jergens moisturisers!

Runners up could also win the full range of Jergens moisturisers and a year subscription to Marie-Claire.

To be in for a change of winning like the Jergens facebook page and fill out the form!

Good luck!

♥

Favourite skin care samples

Murad time release acne cleanser

Breakout? No problem! This little beauty solves that problem straight away!

It dramatically reduces the size of spots and clears up breakouts so fast it's crazy!

I can imagine that with continued use it will prevent breakouts from occurring.

Repurchase full size - maybe, it's quite expensive.

Monu extra rich night cream

I love this product!

It feels and smells so luxurious and intensively moisturises the skin overnight!

It leaves my skin feeling softer and firmer by morning.

Repurchase full size - I wish, too expensive.

Caudalie s.o.s thirst quenching serum

I can get quite dehydrated skin, which isn't dry but feels tight and looks dull.

This sorts out that problem!

It's such a light weight/non-greasy serum and it sinks in so fast leaving no residue.

Repurchase full size - yes!

Ginvera green tea marvel gel

Probably my favourite skin care sample yet!

I've never experienced anything like it!

It's an exfoliator, that contains no beads whatsoever. 

It leaves my skin so fresh and radiant, the results are amazing!

Repurchase full size - yes, yes, yes, yes!

DHC deep cleansing oil

With having oily skin oils were always avoided by me.

But I was brave and tried this product out and I'm glad I did.

This product effortlessly removes my make up without making my skin feel greasy.

Repurchase full size - probably!

What's your favourite skin care sample/product?

♥

Fantasy shopper

For those of you who already don't know Fantasy Shopper is an online virtual shopper where you get paid virtual money every hour which can be used to purchase virtual items from real shops such as Topshop and Newlook.

The site is a great way to discover new trends, gain outfit inspiration and discover new brands!

Outfits

Now my favourite thing, and the most addictive thing about Fantasy Shopper is creating outfits with the items you have purchased!

These are just some of many outfits that I have created on the site! 

I can imagine this would be useful for someone who wanted to plan an outfit for a special occasion such as a birthday! If you really like the outfit you can purchase each individual item by visiting the stores website, through fantasy shopper.There may even be discounts on the items! 

Your outfits can be shared with friends on facebook, twitter or even on pinterest! 

Events

Each day Fantasy Shopper hold an event where you can create an outfit based on a particular theme.

When you enter you can be in for a chance of winning a real prize such as a gift card or an item of clothing!

So will you be joining fantasy shopper?

Trust me it's addictive!

♥

*I was asked to write this post.

Elf mineral lipsticks

Elf mineral lipsticks 

nicely nude & runway pink

Elf mineral lipsticks come in beautifully sleek packaging, making them look a lot more expensive than they actually are and at £5 each, they are definitely a bargain. When applied they glide onto the lips really smoothly giving great colour pay off. They feel really smooth and creamy, which hydrates the lips. However, after a good hour or two's wear they do start to feel a little dry. But baring in mind I do have naturally dry lips anyway.

As for the colours, nicely nude, certainly isn't nude at all. It's a lovely baby pink with gold shimmer running through it. Whereas runway pink is a darker pink colour with sliver shimmer running through it.  The shimmer is barely noticeable so your lips don't look like they have been dipped in glitter.

Overall I'm impressed, I will certainly be buying more shades! The price is fab, the colours are lovely, along with the formula and they last quite well!

Have you tried these?

♥

'That lip balm'

After much lusting I finally gave into the nuxe reve de miel lip balm hype.

I constantly have dry lips and in winter they can get really chapped.

So I could justify the price tag of this product as it would get it's use.

And trust me it does!

The lip balm contains some lovely nourishing ingredients such as shea butter, plant oils and honey.

However, the texture is a little odd.

It's not like a normal lip product, it's applies quite thick and dries matte.

So is virtually invisible and doesn't budge or feel sticky.

 I tend to use this product at night, applying a thick layer and by morning it's still in place.

One thing I really like about this product is the scent.

To me it smells like chocolate orange, which is just delicious! (it's a little christmasy too)

Now does this product actually work?

Yes!

With continued use I can keep my lips hydrated, soft and prevent them becoming chapped!

I'm so glad I bought it!

♥

September favourites (including some furry friends)

Tresemme keratin smooth deep conditioner

I really feel that this has made my hair so much stronger! It's really helped to smooth frizz, add moisture and life back into my hair!

The body shop sweet lemon body butter

I just love all body shop body butters but this one in particular makes me feel really fresh and clean!

Superdrug vitamin E night cream

I've had this for ages, reviewed it here. But I've only recently dug it out of the stash to use up!

It's worked wonders for my skin! It just feels so soft and is much smoother and nourished!

Plus it smells beautiful!

Ginvera green tea marvel gel

This has to be the best product discovery I've made this year!

It's the best exfoliator I've ever used, my skin looks so so so radiant, blackheads are dramatically reduced if not completely gone and it's so gentle (it doesn't contain any beads/gritty bits)

Nuxe reve de miel lip balm

I gave into the hype, and this product is so worth it! My constant battle with chapped lips is over! 

The product is so thick and creamy and lasts on the lips for hours!

And it smells like chocolate orange!

I can now wear lipstick without worrying about dry patches.

Murad time release acne cleanser 

Whenever a break out has occurred this little beauty has sorted it out in no time!

It contains salicylic acid which really clears any breakouts!

It also has anti-ageing properties, so it's doing two jobs in one!

It removes all make up and leaves my skin feeling so refreshed!

Eco tools angled eyeliner brush

I've actually been using this to fill in my brows.

It helps them look so natural yet helps define a neat shape really easily!

If anything, these guys have been my favourite thing this september!

I've had peanut and pickles my gerbils for over a week now and they have brought me so much joy (and made a lot of mess too)

♥

My face cosmetics: my mix foundation

My face cosmetics my mix foundation in fair 02

I feel that my mission in life is to find the perfect foundation. I must of tired hundreds of them. But I never seem to find 'the one'! So my adventure continued and I bought this foundation to try. What I really like about this foundation is the shade range. It has different shades of light, medium and dark, so you can really try to find one to suit your skin tone! I'm very pale, a Mac NC15, but I chose fair 02, which is more warmer than my an NC15 but actually works well for me. I find that this foundation really adapts to my skin tone and blends in so well!

I would say this provided medium buildable coverage and left a lovely dewy, but not that 'over the top' dewy finish to my skin. It makes me look healthy, natural and awake and feels really light on the skin! However, as always, the one thing that lets me down with foundations is the lasting time! I find that this doesn't last all that long to be honest, baring in mind I have oily skin! I've nearly used this up and I don't think a re-purchase will happen because I'm still on the hunt for the foundation that just won't budge!

Please can you recommend me any super long lasting foundations?

♥

What's in my bag?

 These are probably one of my favourite blog posts to read!

So I thought I would do one!

(I may have cheated and taken out a load of food wrappers and receipts, but there was so much junk in there)

My bag is from ebay and yes it's very similar to the Mulberry Bayswater which I wish I could afford, but being a poor student can't!

So this is what's in my bag at the moment!

I really dislike carrying around loads of things and I keep all my make up items stored in that black studded make up bag from primark as I can't stand digging around for a lip balm burried under a million other things.

A diary is essential to me, I'm scarily organised, everything get's written down, plus being at uni I have a lot of things to remember! 

The diary, which is super cute and too pretty to write in is from WHSmith.

Two other handbag estentials are Avene cold cream from my eczema and 4head because I'm headache prone (and slightly mard!)

I also need my ipod, bus journeys just aren't the same without one!

That reminds me, where are my headphones?

What's inside my bag bag?

So I like to keep a little bag in my bag to store all my beauty items.

This way everything is in one place!

One thing I do like popping in this bag is perfume samples from shops/beauty boxes.

This allows me to see if I like the fragrance and use up a sample from the ever growing pile!

I've currently got Elie Saab Le Parfum in there, which I'm loving!

I have quite oily skin/hair so a dry shampoo and some blotting sheets are essential!

The blotting sheets I'm currently using contain powder so are great for on the go touch ups!

I love my Mac studio finish concealer as it provides really high coverage when I feel a blemish popping up on the go.

Finally, the Balance me rose otto intensive lip salve is a saviour for dry chapped lips!

I can't go anywhere without a lip balm!

So that's what's inside my bag

Please send me links/videos to your 'what's in my handbag posts'

♥

Purity skin care

Purity is a completely new brand to me! They are an English company which provide affordable organic, fragrance free skin care products which are gentle on sensitive skin and kind to the earth! I was very kindly sent these products to review and I am very impressed with them!

Facial wash £4.99*

I always like a good facial wash in the morning to wake me up! 

This left my skin feeling refreshed, awakened and nice and clean!

It lathered up really nicely and I really like the packaging design!

Conditioning cleansing lotion £4.99*

I found that this product really removed make up effortlessly, even eye make up! 

It's quite moisturising too, so doesn't strip the skin! 

However, I did feel like to splashing my face with water to make sure my skin is super clean after use.

Facial exfoliator £5.99*

Personally I find a good exfoliator a little hard to find. 

They are either to rough, leaving your face looking like a tomato or too gentle.

But this one is just right! (anyone think of goldilocks and the three bears there, just me?)

It's contains coconut shell which really buffs away dead skin, leaving skin soft and brighter! 

Honestly it really does leave my skin looking great!

Now onto my favourite part, the moisturisers from this range!

Regenerating overnight moisturiser £7.99*

This has to be my favourite product out of them all!

This moisturiser is thick and creamy, just what I love in a night cream!

It is so moisturising (even on my oily skin) and leaves my skin looking healthy and feeling super soft!

It also claims to repair and protect the skin from environmental damage!

Unfortunately it does take a while to sink into the skin!

When this runs out a repurchase will certainly happen!

Anti-ageing moisturiser £7.99*

This seriously (along with the rest of the products) contains some pretty good ingredients!

Cranberry seed oil and shea butter to prevent ageing, vitamin E to protect the skin and rose water to tone, just to name a few!

Unlike the other creams the texture is different, it's quite hard and a little like a balm. 

Therefore it does take some blending to get it to apply and absorb into the skin.

This product dries matt so is perfect for day time use and my skin type!

Anti-ageing serum and mask £8.99*

Now at 20 I don't have wrinkles (touch wood) but I do use this product because it helps to lock in moisture and improve the appearance of the skin as well as prevent ageing!

This can be left on over night or for ten minutes.

Straight away my face feels like it's had botox (not that I would know) but my skin feels tight! 

I can't really comment much on this but like they say a prevention is always better than a cure!

Overall I am really impressed with Purity skin care. Everything is so gentle, yet effective on my skin and it's really affordable! Some products I will without a doubt be repurchasing! Cough cough, night cream and exfoliator!

Have you tired anything from this range?

♥

My first dip into the Soap and Glory ocean

Up until last month I was a Soap and Glory virgin!

I've always seen their products in boots and on people's blog's but just never bought any.

That's until boot's three for two offer tempted me!

And aren't I glad I caved in! 

Because I love everything I bought!

The daily smooth body butter £8.50

I really didn't need another body butter, but I really liked the smell of this one!

It contains cocoa butter, which is one of my favourite scents and is scented with 'mist you madly', which is a soap and glory body mist.

The size is huge! A whole 250ml's, so it will seriously last a while!

It's very moisturising and sinks into the sink instantly without leaving that 'sticky' feeling!

The scent lasts on the skin too!

Sugar crush body scrub £8.00

If there is one thing I had to try it was one of their scrubs!

I picked up sugar crush just because it smells amazing!

I seriously can't get across how nice this smells! It smells like coke and lime!

Which may sound odd, but it's so good!

It's quite a rough, but not too harsh scrub which is exactly what I like.

It's made from crushed brown sugar and macadamia grains, which give the skin a good scrub!

A little goes a long way and it leaves my skin soft and feeling super clean!

Scrub your nose in it £7.40

How cool is the name of this product? Saying that they all are pretty interesting!

This is a two in one product, a scrub and a face mask!

I prefer to use it as a scrub, but the face mask is a clay mask and is really good for giving the pores a deep clean!

I don't just use this on my nose, as it is made to refine pores and fight blemishes, which can appear everywhere.

Personally I wouldn't say that this made a huge difference to my pores.

However, it leaves my skin feeling so refreshed (it tingles when you use it) and it makes my skin look so much brighter!

I would love to hear your favourite products from soap and glory, I need more in my life!

♥

Elf mineral infused face primer

Elf mineral infused face primer £6.00

Recently using a face primer has become very important in my make up routine! Since falling in love with the very expensive porefessional I thought I ought to find myself a cheaper alternative that won't break the bank. 

Now unfortunately Elf's primer is nothing on the porefessional, but I wasn't ever expecting it to be! However, It does leave a similar feel on my skin, literally like velvet! As for pores, I don't find that they look much different, a little smaller I guess, but my face in general does look smoother and hydrated when I do use this! It leaves a matte finish on the skin which to me is a perfect base for smooth foundation application, especially if you have oily skin!

As for making my make up last longer I do find that it helps a little. However, it's not drastic! I do find that using a primer will help compared to using nothing at all, as well as making sure your face is well moisturised and set using either a powder or setting spray! 

What primer do you use?

♥

Starting university?

I'm just about to start my third and final year of university in september and I'm so excited!

But for some it may be their first ever year at university!

So I thought I would share some tips and advice on my experience so far at uni!

  Living in halls

When I moved to university I decided to move away from home and spend my first year living in halls!
I was so excited to gain my own independence and experience living in halls! You may be a little nervous but try your best not to be as everyone is in the same boat and the excitement of university really breaks the ice!

You will probably......                 

- end up loosing all your tea spoons for some strange reason

- be living off super noodles and fish finger butties

- take washing home at the weekends (trust me you don't want to sit in the sweaty laundry room)

- burn a lot of pans, so stock up!

- play loads of pranks on your flat mates

- shop in iceland and aldi constantly

- spend your student loan on things you shouldn't

- have your food stolen by flat mates

- be woken up early in the morning by returning flat mates from nights out

- attend lectures looking less than beautiful because of the night before

- make lots of friends

- collect cones and other traffic items on the way home
- get at least 100 books a year out of the library 

Freshers week

This is probably the most exciting thing about starting uni!

Freshers week pretty much started on the first night for me! 

Everyone I was with was really friendly and we all went out on the first night together!

I met so many new people, had so much fun, got really drunk, did the walk of shame and turned up to lectures just a little hungover!

During freshers week you may get a little home sick but remember you are all in the same boat! You are all probably feeling nervous and a little home sick so don't worry you are not alone!

and p.s. even when your not a fresher you can still enjoy freshers week! I'm a third year and ill still be going to some events!

Some tips

- have confidence to make new friends
- make the most of it!
- make your own fancy dress outfits, much cheaper and more fun!
- go out on student nights, cheaper and more people will be there
- pre-drink (even if it is never a good idea)

Work (the not so fun bit)

As we all know we go to uni to work!

I'm not going to lie it's hard work! There will be late nights, rushed assignments and times where you want to give up!

But whatever you do don't give up! As cheesy as it is there is a light at the tunnel, a huge one, a degree!

And look forward to your huge summers!

Some tips

- get a diary! it will help you to remember lots of assignment dates and lecture rooms

- post it notes will become your best friend

- study with your friends (as long as they don't distract you)

- plan your assignments, it really helps to get everything in them!

- don't waste loads of money on course books, the library should have them all

- don't bog yourself down for hours doing work, take breaks and try and have a life

♥

Liz earle eye bright soothing eye lotion

Liz earle eyebright soothing eye lotion £10.25

Me and mornings don't get on. So I bought liz earle's soothing eye lotion to help me wake up and look more presentable in the morning. I also suffer from hayfever and eczema which can leave me with beautiful puffy eyes in the morning. When poured onto a cotton pad the product is instantly very cooling and soothing and this is without it being kept in the fridge. Once I have soaked my eyes in this for a couple of minutes they instantly feel more awake, less puffy and refreshed. Sometimes it can feel a little dry and tight but this is solved by applying some eye cream.

I wouldn't say this product is an essential in my routine, but it's a nice little thing to have to help me through them not so lovely mornings and help de-puff, refresh and soothe my tired eyes! It's also a pretty good product to remove any left over eye make up after cleansing!

Have you used this product? What did you think?

♥

August favourites

Avéne cold cream

This is probably the first hand cream I've ever been able to use!

I suffer from really sore, dry, cracked hands because of eczema and this beauty doesn't irritate my skin and leaves my (very dry) hands moisturised and soft!

Balance me rose otto intnesive lip salve

For some this may be a little over powering, but I love the rose scent!
It's so moisturising and even deals with chapped lips!

Soap and glory the daily smooth body butter

A couple weeks ago I lost my soap and glory virginity and aren't I glad!

This body butter is so lovely, it smells a little like shea butter and has a slightly musky scent, which usually wouldn't work for me, but I really like it!

It sinks into my skin really fast and keeps it moisturised without that awful 'sticky' feeling.

Redken colour extend radiant 10

Oh how I'm sorry for leaving this little guy sat in my sample collection box for so long!

This is shine in a bottle, it seriously leaves my hair so shiny! 

I've never used anything like it!

It's supposed to have long term benefits too!

Aussie take the heat deep conditioner

This is probably one of my favourite deep conditioners!

It's really thick and creamy and works in less than 3 minutes, leaving my hair super soft!

Revlon just bitten kissable balm stain in darling

I need more of these!

I really like the shade, I've never used a lilac shade before.

I have really dry lips and this doesn't give my lips the 'croissant effect'

♥