March Empties

Hello folks!

It's been a little while (Like, y'know, a month...?) since I last wrote about the products I've used up, so I bring you an empties post today. It's one of the good things about a spending ban; you start to use up some of the products in your stash as well as weed out the products you liked and the ones you don't...

I love my little empties tin! So cute. And now for its contents...

Hair and Body:

Umberto Giannini Curl Friends Natural Curls Styling Spray (Travel size): This is my go-to scrunching spray when I want curly, messy, bed-heady hair. Smells lovely, and even the travel size lasts ages. I will be picking this up again imminently, my hair isn't the same without it!

Lush Snow Fairy Shower Gel (Discontinued) - Well discontinued for now, it'll be back at Christmas. I liked this at first, it reminded me of the pear drops that I'm so fond of. But like pear drops, after a while I start to find them to be so sweet that they become sickly and I can't have any more lest I vomit. Strong words, but as such I won't be buying this again when Christmas comes around.

Skincare

Body Shop Seaweed Clarifying Toner - I enjoy using this toner. I believe it's appeared in a few of my empties posts now. At the moment however, I've swapped it for a Dr Jart toner (to see if Dr Jart's pore refine range can do anything for my face), so for now I won't be repurchasing.

No.7 Pore Refining Serum - Another weapon from my arsenal that I've used up in the fight to kick my craterous skin into touch. I definitely didn't notice much difference in my skin whilst using this, so for that reason I won't be buying this again.

Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Cream (Travel Size) - This is a lovely moisturiser, but it's obviously for those with drier skin than I, as I found this sent my oily skin into shiny overload. Not good and not for me sadly!

Lush Cupcake Face Mask - I really enjoyed using this face mask, its divine scent made me crave chocolate every time I used it. I would buy this again, but only if I had run out of my current masks... and if I was near a Lush. Which is a rare occurence for me sadly. Sigh...

Make-up and Nails

MUA Nail Polish in Frozen Yoghurt - This technically isn't an empty. While I was on holiday in September, my clear top coat exploded in my make-up bag and went all over the cap of this. Gradually this has rendered this poor polish unopenable. I would buy this again though; it's only £1 and it's a lovely colour.

MUA Matte Perfect Primer - I am not a fan of this primer. At all. I've reviewed it here and that is all I'd like to say on this matter.

Estelle and Thild Raspberry Lip Balm - I loved this lovely balm of loveliness from the moment it popped out of my Selfridges Beauty Box. It soothed my ever-chapped lips and gave a delicious fruity favour to boot. However, it is a whopping £14 to buy and that's a wee bit too much to spend on a lip balm for me. So I shall wave a sad goodbye...

Well that is my beauty stash considerably lightened this month! What products have you used up this month? Anything that you're sad to say au revoir to?

Christina xo

Top 12 of 2012 - My favourites

As the year draws to a close, I'm going to jump on the blogging bandwagon and share the products I've loved in 2012. Hope you don't mind, but have a gander and see if you see anything you like!

SKINCARE

Clarins - Water Purify One-Step Cleanser. This is a relatively late entry into my favourites (only bought it at the weekend.) but already really enjoying using this. It has mint so it really freshens the skin as it removes make-up and cleanses.

Superdrug - Naturally Radiant Brightening Hot-Cloth Cleanser. I bought this to see if I could get along with a hot-cloth cleanser without paying out too much for either No.7 or Liz Earle. I never will now because I love this offering from Superdrug too much! My skin feels squeaky clean and I've noticed an improvement in my skin's clarity since I started using this.

Benefit - It's Potent Eye Cream. I got a sample of this a few months back, and have just received the full size at Christmas. This is the only eye-cream (bar Body Shop's Elderflower Eye Gel) that has made a difference to my eyes, and the Benefit is the only one to make a difference to my dark circles, which are sizeable. I'm very impressed with this.

Lush - Cupcake Face Mask. This is another product which has made such a big difference to my skin. This had significantly reduced the oiliness of my skin, and has made my skin look less blotchy too. Plus it's chocolate. This is always awesome!

MAKE-UP

No.7 - Summer of Dreams Bronzer. This was the bronzer that made me realise that even ivory beauties like me can pull off a little bronze. This is light and buildable enough that I never look like I've gone overboard.

Guerlain - Sun in the City Compact. I am so glad I paid for this on holiday. This is a highlighter, body shimmer, eyeshadow all rolled into one beautiful, pearly compact. I love using this, it's so pigmented and full of mother of pearl and the gold shade looks so luxurious. Love love love!

Max Factor - False Lash Effect Mascara - My favourite mascara. Ever. That's pretty much all I can say!

MUA - Lipstick in Shade 12. I love all the MUA lipsticks, but this shimmery pink is the perfect perk-up colour for me. It has the slightest hint of glitter to it, so it's good for day-time glamour.

Estelle and Thild - Raspberry Lip Balm. This has really helped with my chapped lips this year. It has lasted ages, has the lightest hint of raspberry and is very moisturising for the lips.

Chanel - Rouge Allure Velvet Luminous Matte Lip Colour in L'Exuberante. This is my holy grail of lipsticks. Its rich colour, creamy texture and matte look means it is unlike any other lipstick I own. I always feel so classy and glamorous wearing it.

Benefit - Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation in Believe in Me Ivory. I thought, until I spoke to my local Bene-babe, that my skin was purely oily, and that I should only use matte bases. After seeing the difference this makes to my skin when I wear it, I wonder how I lived without this. I look glowy and healthy wearing this, and I've never had such a good skin tone match from any base I've ever used. Win!

Urban Decay - Smoked Palette. Another late entry to my top 12, as this was a Christmas present from my lovely boyfriend. So far I haven't used all the shades yet, but they all look divine, and the ones I have used shimmer and accentuate my eyes so well. It's hard to imagine life without this palette now!

So those are my favourites of 2012. I'd love to know your thoughts on my favourites, and what your favourites are too. Have a brilliant and successful 2013 when it arrives! :)

Christina xo

Feeling Lush - My Latest Buys

During my last trip home to Glasgow, I took the opportunity to visit Lush on Sauchiehall Street, since we don't have a Lush store in Fife (Fife misses out on a LOT!). I'd been hearing so many great reviews on so many lovely products so I wanted to have a nosey and see if anything caught my eye...

Which it did, this is me we're talking about after all! After using up my Omorovicza Deep Cleansing Mask sample, I was looking for a new face mask that could help with oil control. The sales assistant I spoke to recommended the Cupcake mask, and with the mention of chocolate I was sold!

(INGREDIENTS: Rhassoul Mud, Linseed Infusion, Glycerine, Talc, Cocoa Powder, Cocoa Butter, Fresh Mint, Sandalwood Oil, Vanilla Absolute, Spearmint Oil, Peppermint Oil, Limonene, Perfume)

I've used this once, but already I feel it works! When applying it, the mask feels lightly scrubby, like it's also exfoliating while you apply. I can feel my skin lightly tightening as I wear it, and once I wash it off? WOW! Oil-be-gone.This would not be a great mask for those with sensitive or dry skin, since it really does curb oil production on your face, but for those of us with a shine complex this is a fabulous face mask. This retails at £5.95 for 75g.

My next purchase was the Snow Fairy Shower Gel. In the run-up to Christmas everyone seems to rave about this bubblegum wonder, so I thought I would see if the hype was right.

(INGREDIENTS:  Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Propylene Glycol, Lauryl Betaine, Perfume, Lactic Acid, Synthetic Musk, Titanium Dioxide, Blue Glitter (Polyethylene terephthalate), Methyl Ionone, Benzyl Benzoate, Colour 45410, Colour 45380, Methylparaben)

This costs £6.25 for 250g. The first thing to note about this is the smell. It smells of Pear Drops, which I find lovely, but it is an extremely sweet smell, so if you're not keen on those kinds of scents then you will hate this! I like the smell, but I use this sparingly lest I should end up smelling cloying! The gel lathers up really well with my loofah, and there's even a tiny hint of glitter through the shower gel, so it's perfect for giving your body a little hint of sparkle in preparation for those Christmas nights out!

My final purchase was the product I've used the most since purchasing, the Popcorn Lip Scrub. I bought this because in winter, my lips go on the fritz, and I have to spends ages trying to restore them to some kind of presentable condition. I thought I'd give this lip scrub a go to see if it helped get rid of all the flakey dry bits that like to appear on my lips. This comes in at £5.25 for 25g.

(INGREDIENTS: Caster Sugar, Jojoba Oil, Sea Salt, Polenta, Coconut Oil, Popping Candy)

This really does taste like popcorn, it's all I can do not to just eat it!  After scrubbing my lips with a tiny fingertip of this, my lips feel a lot smoother, and in conjunction with a good lip balm my lips are so much better this year. I don't have much to say about the lip scrub, other than it does exactly what it's meant to, it works and it tastes lovely!

So that's my latest buys from Lush, have you visited a Lush store recently? What are your favourite Lush products? :)

Christina xo

I went to Glasgow and all I got was...

... a shit ton of stuff!

One thing I like to do whenever I return home to Glasgow is to check out some of the shops I wouldn't normally find in Kirkcaldy/Fife at large (where I live currently). One of these shops is Lush, so I decided that while we were down in Glasgow for some Halloween celebrations, I would go in and check out some of their products since I hadn't visited a store for a while.

Another thing Kris and I like to do when we can: catch up with his mum and her partner. Kris' mum works long hours as a Menswear manager in Debenhams (score) but... she used to be the Cosmetics Manager, and she is angling to get back there soon! (Double score!) As a result, she still gets beauty samples from colleagues instore, as well as having stuff sent to her by beauty PRs (TRIPLE score!). Kris' mum gets sent so much stuff that she shares it out with her sisters and (because Kris has a brother and no sisters) ME (Grand slam!) We got chatting about beauty and make-up, then she said "Come and I'll give you some goodies!". I squeed. Loudly.

So here is a collective haul picture of everything I came home with yesterday...

(N.B. I actually got a whole lot more from Kris' mum but I shared it with my own mum and my friend Vicky when she popped round for a visit after she finished work :))

From Lush we have:
Snow Fairy Shower Gel - This smells like pear-drops and candy-floss - love it!
Cupcake Face Mask - The kind salesman offered me this  face-mask after I told him about my oily face woes. Again, it smells amazing and I can't wait to give it a go!
Charity Pot hand lotion - Once I manage to actually open the tin I will tell you what this is like. At the moment I can't get the lid to unscrew :S
Popcorn Lip Scrub - (sweet tooth much, Christina?) I love this! I've had very chapped lips of late, and this has helped get rid of the dead skin, and helped my lips to feel smoother and  healthier. May have to stock up when I'm next near a Lush store...

And from Kris' mum's bag of goodie we have:

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair - I'm intrigued to see what effect this has on my skin, will use this once I've finished with my current facial oils and serums.
Lancome Genefique 5-Day Starter Kit - I died and went to heaven when I saw this! I had a sample of this back in July and my skin loved it - it looked radiant and I felt like my moisturiser worked better with this also. Looking forward to using this soooo much!
Floozie by Frost French lip balms in Plum Pudding and Cupcake - I tried Cupcake this morning and it tasted yummy. I now have enough lip balms to last me a lifetime, so it may be a while til I get around to using these!
Clinique All About Eyes - I've been in desperate need of an eye cream to help with my bags and dark circles (caused by an abundance of late/nightshifts at work), so this, so far, is an extremely welcome addition to my skin-care routine.
Marc Jacobs Dot Perfume - I already have Daisy and Lola from Marc Jacobs' perfume range, so I'm excited to give this a sniff!
Ojon Hair Restorative Mask - I'm really into my hair-masks at the moment, so again, glad to have this to try!

Also, the more eagle-eyed among you will have spotted a cheeky little Nails Inc Nail Polish hiding at the back there. There are four different shades free with this month's Glamour Magazine (UK), and I chose this lovely deep blue/black shade.

I'm really looking forward to trying everything? Is there anything you would like me to review specifically? Please let me know :)

And lastly, here's my boyfriend Kris and I dressed up as Poison Ivy and the Riddler for Halloween, along with our friend Scott who is Batman!

Christina xo