February Empties

I can't believe we're now in March; 2013 is just zooming by! I also seem to be zipping through my skincare at an alarming rate, so I've got an empties post for you guys today.

Clockwise from top left we have:

Superdrug Naturally Radiant Brightening Hot Cloth Cleanser - I enjoy using this; it's light and refreshing and leaves my skin feeling smooth. I've already repurchased this :)

No.7 Beautiful Skin Day Cream for Normal/Oily Skin. This moisturiser was brilliant, it was thick and provided my skin with lots of moisture without making it greasy. I will definitely repurchase this once I've used up all my current moisturisers!

Rituals Zensation Shower Foam - I love Rituals Shower Foams; this one contained Rice Milk and Cherry Blossom, and it smelt divine, like the essence of cleanliness if that makes sense. If I'm feeling flush one day, I'll pop to Edinburgh/Glasgow and pick up a full size of this (after my spending ban is finished OBVIOUSLY!)

Oops, that little tube which sneakily flipped over in my tin was a sample of Lancome Genefique. If you're a regualr reader of my blog, you'll know how much I adore this but loathe the price tag. So I won't repeat myself, but suffice to say that by hook or by crook, I will own a full size bottle one day...

Body Shop Seaweed Pore-Cleansing Facial Exfoliator - This was a good scrub, but I prefer something that's grittier than this; I like to know when I'm scrubbing my face! To that end, I wouldn't repurchase this.

Lastly, we have every beauty blogger's favourite powder - Rimmel's Stay Matte Powder in 002 Rose Blossom (think this shade has been discontinued. Or I've remembered the name wrong, one of the two...) Don't get me wrong, I liked using this powder, it was great. The packaging though was completely useless. The crappy plastic lid that never stayed on properly fell off and broke, so I couldn't take this anywhere with me, for fear of the powder exploding all over my handbags. As a result, I rarely used this, and now I just want rid of it. It's a shame; I think if Rimmel improved the packaging and made it more secure, I would repurchase this time and again.

What have you used up this month? Like the sound of any of the above products?

Christina xo

The Three Horsemen of the Apocalips!

I jumped on the #bblogger bandwagon. Yes I'm weak, but these were too pretty to pass up.

Unless you live on the moon, you will be aware that Rimmel have just released their version of a lip lacquer; they are entitled Apocalips (we'll ignore my annoyance at the misspelling and pun). Rimmel describe them as:

"The earth-shattering lip lacquer from Rimmel London combining the intense colour of lipstick with a lacquer like shine, Apocalips Lip Lacquer is an explosive make-up phenomenon that represents the end of colour as you know it. Packed with pure colour pigments, its lusciously creamy, conditioning formula promises a never-before combination of colour, shine and comfort that last and last. Available in 8 shades, from subtly sexy to spectacular."

As you will see, I went towards the spectacular end of their 8-shade colour spectrum.

  I chose Big Bang (A Hollywood pin-up style bluey red), Apocaliptic (a deep berry-pink) and Stellar (a bright pink-coral). I don't know if you've noticed but I don't do neutral lips! These shades stood out to me the most when I saw them in Boots (They're on 3 for 2 in Boots at the moment, QUICK!). These retail at £5.99 each and having never tried a lip lacquer, I thought this was a reasonably affordable way to try some.
(N.B. Don't worry spending ban fans, these were bought with Boots points!)

(Top - Bottom: Big Bang, Apocaliptic and Stellar)

These live up to Rimmel's claims of creamy application and conditioning the lips; like a lacquer they apply like a gloss but have the pigmentation and colour opacity of lipstick. I can't make any claims to their lasting power, but the colour? My God it packs a punch!

(Top - Bottom: Apocaliptic, Big Bang and Stellar)

As you can see, they have a lovely sheen, akin to a moisturising lipstick, but these feel like a gloss on the lips with an impressive colour pay-off. I understand the hype behind these now! They also have a faint watermelon smell and taste, I know this can put some people off, but I don't mind it.

I'm really glad I caved to the hype now, was worried about people thinking I just bought these to hop on the blogging bandwagon but in reality I'm just that addicted to bright lips!

Have you tried the Apocalips range yet?

UPDATE: I wore Stellar to work last night with a coat of Lipcote over the top, I put it on around 7.30pm, and throughout the night I kissed my boyfriend (eew cooties!), got rained on, ate, drank, blew my nose (gross I know, but need to give you an idea of how rigorous my testing was!) and I didn't have to top up until 5.30am! Granted the colour had faded slightly but it was still there after about 10 hours wear, which is very impressive! I topped up without Lipcote, and the colour held for at least 3 hours before I took it off to go bed, which is pretty good as well. So in essence, these last very well indeed!

Christina xo