April/May Empties

This month, I've combine April & May as i didn't really get through much in April, half the month i was at home so was just using what was in the bathroom and the other half of the month, i was either in hospital or in bed, with a broken leg. So any sort of routine went out of the window.

I'm still only just getting back into a routine, as I'm still not great on my feet (and might not be for a while, but I'll do a post to update you) So anyway, this is what I've used up in the last 2 months. I'll try and write what i liked and disliked about each one, but it seems like so long ago, I'm sure i can remember haha.

Parissa Warm Wax - This was my bargain product, i got it on clearance in a local Boots store for about £3, when i opened the box i found the original price label for about £13!! (i went back and bought about 3 more!) Really impressed with this product, i managed to get about 3/4 leg waxes out of it as well as a couple of eyebrow waxes. Its a little bit messy, and doesn't hold its heat very well, i find i have to microwave is after about 2/3 strips. But for £3 cant really complain, it comes complete with strips and spatulas as well! (please excuse the horrible box, one of the dogs eat it!)

Yardley, Peony Shower Gel - One of my FAVOURITE products, ever since we got the peony sample in one of the beauty boxes I'm hooked. I spotted this in TK Maxx AND it had a clearance sticker on, i think its was around the £2.50/£3 mark. I haven't been able to find them anywhere, even in Boots, the only peony product they seem to have is the perfume or body spray. Not only do i love the smell but i love the product as well, its really creamy and lathers up well and lasts for ages. (or it would have lasted for ages if EVERYONE else didn't use it) Luckily i have a spare, in secret haha.

Boots 24hr Protection, Roll on Deodorant - I wouldn't repurchase this product EVER, Normally I'm quite happy to get own brand stuff, but there's certain things i will only buy branded, they are Deodorant and Sanitary towels/tampons. My mum bought me this while i was in hospital, and it was alright then, I'd have a bed bath everyday and i wasn't allowed out of bed so deodorant wasn't much of an issue. But i carried on using it once i was home, and every time i wore it i was paranoid i stank. It didn't stop me sweating at all, in fact I'm convinced it made me sweat more. It really was gross. So I'm glad I've come to the end of that one.

Pantene Pro-V Repair & Protect, Shampoo & Conditioner -  These aren't technically empty, but i had to stop using them as they were making me itch horribly. My friend bought me these while i was in hospital, but they never got used, as I was never given the option to have my hair washed (is that normal?) So i just used them once i got home. I wouldn't repurchase as I'm allergic to them, which is a shame because i love the smell of them.

Soltan SPF 8 - Now i know what you must be thinking, SPF 8?! The gorgeous weather the other week took us by surprise and this was all we had in the house. My mums never been a high factor buyer, she's on of those people that thinks if you wear a high factor you won't tan. I'm pretty sure she's convinced she is immune from sun burn. That maybe because of her age? I don't know. So yes i managed to use this whole pouch. I always buy Soltan suncream as its one of the only sun protections to offer 5* UVA/UVB protection. Some of the branded ones only offer 2/3! And also Soltan is reasonably priced and ALWAYS on offer, either buy one get one or half price. I much prefer the half price offer, as the little amount of sun we get often means i don't get through two bottles.

Green People Sun Lotion SPF 15 - This is more of a factor i would buy, i feel 15 is sufficient for my skin. I loved the Green Peoples one, it smelt like lavender and is 82% organic! although it can leave a bit of that tell tale white film behind, which is the only down side. I've managed to swap for a couple of theses to take away with me as they are a handy size for throwing in a bag if you're going out for the day.

No7 Radiance Revealed Exfoliator - I'm not the biggest fan of No7 products, there are a couple a like, but generally it wouldn't be my first choice brand. I do quite like this exfoliator, it feels like it doing a good job, with out being really harsh and always leaves my skin nice and smooth. I probably wouldn't repurchase this, but only on the grounds that i have loads of exfoliators to get through.

Nivea Creme - This is a bit of a classic product, it seems to have a been around since the dawn of time! It was another product that was bought for me while i was in hospital as its quite a multi-tasking product. I used it everywhere, my hands, my face, my elbows and any sore patches. I probably wouldn't repurchase, as i am half way through another one, and like exfoliators i have a ton of moisturisers. I did find it slightly to rich for my face, even though my skin is quite dry, this made it a bit greasy.

Johnsons Dreamy Skin Face Wipes - This is another product that isn't technically empty, but i had to stop using them as they were make my skin really sore. I love the smell of these, but the wipes themselves feel a bit harsh and rough. Wont be repurchasing these.

Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsion - I cant see anywhere how big this sample was, its not huge, about average sample size, but i got SO many applications out of it and I've just realised its not even completely empty! I love the smell of this, it has like a clean fresh smell, its quite a watery consistency and you only need a really small amount to moisturise your whole face. It has SPF 15 in and is oil-free which is great. I'm not really sure what to say on the performance, i liked it but i didn't love it. I don't think I'd buy a full size, but I'm tempted by the little trail sets you can get from Benefit counters & on ASOS for about £10 and you get a travel size of everything in the Benefit Skincare range.

Erno Laszlo - These came in a set in one of the beauty boxes. So far I've used Refresh moisture infusion, morning beauty rescue & velvet night cream. The morning beauty rescue i absolutely HATED, it was basically a sparkly gel, i felt like a was putting on that glitter gel you use as a child. The other two, i cant remember what they were like, so i don't think they were that amazing, else i might have remembered. I think i still have two more to try from the set.

Garnier BB Cream - I loved loved loved this. I have a stash of these sample sachets as I've heard the full size isn't as good as the sample? which is a real shame. I think this is the perfect product for summer, its not as heavy as foundation, but gives you enough coverage to feel like you are wearing something, and it leaves your skin feeling really nice. Its lovely and creamy, and blends well, the samples are in light which is just the right colour for me though possibly not now i have a tan, we'll see. The samples are really generous as well. and i reckon i could have got at least two applications out it, but i was a bit excited and emptied the whole sachet onto the back of my hand!  Another thing i like about it, it has a nice fresh scent, not like a foundation-y smell.

So there we are my empties from the last two months.

What Products have you recently used up?

Lots of Love

X

P.s Dont Forget To Enter My Giveaway.

Body Shop Haul

Since breaking my leg, I've become slightly online shopping obsessed, There isn't much to do from your bed, and browsing shops online has filled the majority of my time.

Over the weekend the body shop had a great discount code, that i just couldn't ignore, 40% off AND free delivery. Though the 40% off didn't come off already discounted stuff, I also have a Love Your Body card which gained me an extra 10% off the products that were already discounted (i think) 

So here's what i bought,

First in my basket was, i think one of their newest products,

Beautifying Oil, I chose a coconut scent, but its available in 11 of their signature scents including Strawberry, Cocoa butter and the new one Chocomania.

You can use this oil on your face, body or hair. It claims to moisturise, smooth and illuminate. Its a dry oil so its not to greasy on the skin, but it still gives it that nice sheen body oil gives. The coconut scent, reminds me of summer and as the weather seems to be looking up its perfect. I'm yet to try it on my hair, but I'm very much looking forward to as I'm a big fan of Macadamia Oil and Mythic Oil. It comes in at £9.00 for 100ml but with the offer i think it came in around £6.00

These were my next purchases, The raspberry ripple shower gel smells AMAZING, if you like sweet fruity smells, this is for you! It actually smells edible, exactly like raspberry ripple ice cream. Which was confirmed by my mum, after having a whiff "ohh that smells exactly like ice cream!" Yes mum, its Raspberry Ripple flavour haha. £4.00 for 250ml, seems quite a lot but for the scent and the fact they don't test on animals i think its worth the monies, With discount this came to £2.40 which is very reasonable. 

The Earth Lovers shower gels, are quite new products as well, and the have some really peculiar flavour combinations that I've not seen in shower gels before, i really want to have a sniff of them all next time I'm in store. I chose mine in Watermelon & Eucalyptus, i thought this was the safest option with out smelling them first, other scents include Apricot & Basil and Fig & Rosemary. Though i quite like the sound of Pear & Lemongrass. These are £5/250ml they contain no sulphates, parabens or colourants and are also soap free, so good for those that have sensitive skin! With discount this cost me £3.00 again very reasonable i think.

I thought I'd try out The Body Shop shampoo & conditioner, I'm allergic to some shampoo's and conditioners, though i don't know what ingredient it is I'm allergic to so I'm kind of trial and erorring products at the moment to see what i can and cant use. The Body Shop hair products (and like alot of their products) contain No, silicones, sulphates, colourants or parabens, which is a great start. I chose the 2 from the Rainforest collection, especially for adding moisture back into your hair. My hair is prone to dryness and frizzyness and after reading reviews thought this would be best for me. I've also got my eye on the Banana ones! The Rainforest collection contain plenty of natural ingredients, with the moisture ones containing Pracaxi Oil, Manketti Nut Oil and Community Trade Honey, they smell divine! so fingers crossed they don't make my scalp unhappy. normally these cost £4.00/250ml each, so with discount they cost me a mere £2.40 each!

My last buy, was a bit of an impulse last minute buy,

The smell of Body Shop Vitamin E cream reminds me of my mum and being little, my mum hasn't actually used this cream for years and years, but when ever i smell it i think of her. So i bought myself this little set, of Vitamin E skincare. It include a Mini day & night moisturiser (15ml each) and a Mini Cleanser & Toner (60ml each) This little set is perfect for going away or a little gift for someone. I'd be very happy if i received this for a birthday or Christmas. I'm going to save it till i get through, all the odds and ends of face cream and such, to start using it. The little bag will come in handy as well as a little make up bag! Normally this would cost £10 and they do them in their range of skincare, including Tea Tree and Seaweed. With discount it only cost me £6.00!

All of this came to the grand total of... £22.23!
BodyShop do such gorgeous products and great gift sets! I can't wait to try out all my new products!

Did you take advantage of this great offer?

Lots of Love

X

She Said Beauty Box; March

I have a list of about 10 posts to write, but i thought I'd start with this one, as it came this morning and I'm VERY excited about it.

The First EVER She Said Beauty Box, Finally Here! I feel like I've known about this for SO long and now its here.

I'm not going to lie this morning when i saw people were starting to receive them, i did read a few spoilers, and read everyones reaction on the She Said facebook page. A LOT of mixed reviews some people were really please, some people fairly disappointed with the standard of products. I was in 2 minds about the products after reading other peoples thoughts, but i stayed hopeful, and I'm SO glad i did!

I LOVE the colour of the box!

This is the box which i LOVE LOVE LOVE, this is one of my favourite colours, and the little pattern on it is THE cutest!

This seems to be beauty box standard, tissue paper stuck with a sticker tied with ribbon, I'm not complaining though, as i do love it. Another thing i love about the box is the lid, it has a little magnetic fastening, and is attached to the box! Very Handy!

On to the contents!!.....

EXCITEMENT!

As soon as i pulled back the tissue paper i knew this was a good box. I love everything!

I received;

- Orly Mini Polish

- Collection 2000 Cream Puff

- Comfort Zone Good Night Kit

- Premae Harmony Face Balm

- Aveda Smooth Infusion Trio

- Jing Flowering Dragon Eye Tea

Orly; 'Acient Jade' Collection 2000 Cream Puff;'Cotton Candy' 

I'll start with my favourite product;

Orly Manicure Miniatures, I confessed my love for Orly in my January GlossyBox post. Where we got a mini Orly in 'Ruby' In she She Said box i got 'Acient Jade' I am insanely pleased about this as the other option was black! The 'Acient Jade' is like a pistachio/pastel green colour, so it right on trend and also green is my favourite colour! I can't do a swatch unfortunately as i just painted my nails this morning before i opened my box. In the box we got a 5.3ml bottle, you can buy a full size miniature (5.4ml) for £5 and they are available here.

Next is my other favourite product. When i read the spoilers i was a bit disappointed, i was like 'Why put collection 2000 in a beauty box?!' BUT why not put it in a beauty box? I don't know about many other people, but i often over look Collection 2000, thinking its a brand for young girls. But then when i use a product of theirs i actually really love it. I do already own a Collection 2000 Cream Puff in 'Angel Delight' I've had this since about October last year! I love The texture, the smell, the colours just everything about it. I'm really funny about lipsticks and things, I've always hated the feel of it on my lips but I'm getting a lot better. I still cant stand overly sticky lipglosses. But i love these, they feel so smooth and silky on your lips. These retail for £2.99 for 5ml and are available in most high street stores that stock collection 2000

Left; 'Cotton Candy' Right; 'Angel Delight'

Next up SkinCare Products...

Comfort Zone Good Night Kit; This consists of a Recover Cream & a Recover Complex. The Card Reads; 'Give your skin a good night with Comfort Zone Renight Recover Cream, the latest antioxidant with vitamin infusions for the skin.' It doesn't really come with alot of information, on the box it just says after cleansing apply the cream and/or the complex. It doesn't say in which order or anything, so i may need to research into this a bit more. I got a 4ml sample of the complex and a 6ml sample of the cream. A full size version costs £52.95/50mls.

The car that came with it, just tells you about other products available from this brand.

Premae Harmony Face Balm; From what I've read people either got this or some eyelashes. Very pleased i got this as i don't often use eyelashes, and i LOVE trying new products. 'Premae Harmony Balm contains silky Indian Mango Butter, which moisturises the skin without over-greasing it.' I guess you can use this product anywhere on the body (though it does say face). I cant see anywhere how big the sample we got is, but its the size of the Lush Lip Tint tins, so perfect handbag sized. The product smells really fresh and fruity. A full size (50ml) pot of this cost £17.50 and is available here.

Aveda Smooth Infusion Trio; 'This amazing 3-piece pack contains shampoo, conditioner & a style-prep smoother to ensure you get that salon feel - at home.' Having curly hair, its very prone to frizz so anything that claims to tame it is very welcome! These have that natural, hearbally spa like smell, they smell like luxury. (you know what i mean) Each sample is 10ml. As my hair is very long I'm not sure how many washes these will last, probably 2 if I'm lucky! But i look forward to seeing how they work. The full sizes are; Shampoo £15.50/250ml Conditioner; £17.50/200ml Style-Prep Smoother £18.50/100ml and are all available here.

The final product is a 'Bonus' product and this is Jing Flowering Dragon Eye Tea 'A light fragrant green tea wrapped around a pot marigold base, an arch of pure jasmine blossoms and a globe amaranth flower which blossoms above when infused.' I'm not much of a tea drinker (I prefer coffee) but I'm SO excited to see how this works! I'm probably going to save it for when i go home so me and my mum can marvel at it together. But I'm very intrigued! Our sample was just the one 'bud' 6.5g But for £9.00 you can get a whole 50gm of this product which is available here.

So, i am completely pleased with this box and i think its a great start! It has the perfect balance of products and I'm pretty sure there is something for everyone. I'm excited to use everything, and shall let you know how i get one.

Did you sub to the first every She Said beauty box? What were your thoughts on the products? I'd love to hear from you.

Lots of Love

X

Latest In Beauty; You! .... Update!

The other day i received a lovely email from the people at latest in beauty, which read;

"Dove's groundbreaking campaign for 'Real Beauty' in 2004 was recognised as a landmark moment in the beauty industry over the past 20 years by YOU magazine; to celebrate, we teamed up with Dove to surprise 200 lucky customers of the YOU 20 Years of Beauty Greats Box with a gorgeous Dove Travel Kit. We are pleased to announce that you have been chosen as a winner!" 

I was SO excited! I never win anything! let alone things i didn't even realise were happening!

Well my excitement obviously soon disappeared because I'd completely forgotten about it till today! when i had a slip in my post draw saying i had a special delivery to sign for?! I was racking my brains trying to think what it would be, (secretly hoping it would be a valentines surprise from the boyfriend) But when i got it, it was just a plain brown box, i couldn't remember if i ordered anything. It had me puzzled!

I was pleasantly surprised when i opened it to find my Dove prize! I got excited all over again!

The set looked lovely! It includes a great mix of products and, the perfect range too, and all are lovely travel size samples.

The Box includes;

- Dove Damage Therapy Intensive Repair Shampoo 50ml, I've not really used Dove shampoo before, so I'm excited to try it, and hoping it might help my terribly dry ends!

- Dove Damage Therapy Intensive Repair Conditioner 50ml, Both the Shampoo and the Conditioner smell really good! They both contain Micro Moisture Serum and Fibre Actives, Looking forward to using them, as my hair is definitely after some moisture!

- Dove Deeply Nourishing Body Wash 55ml, this has got a really nice like soapy smell to it, I've used Dove shower gel before and really love it, it makes my skin feel so smooth and soft!

- Dove Rich Nourishment Cream 30ml, This is such a handy little pot, its a similar size to the miniature Nivea Cream pots you can get, so perfect handbag size (Especially in this cold weather!) The cream feels really rich and thick and again smell amazing! 

I can't wait to use all my products! Definitely one of the best prizes I've won :)

Thank you Latest In Beauty & Dove!

Did you receive one of these lovely prizes? What did you think of it?

Lots of love

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