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

December Empties

It's the end of the month, and now the end of 2012! It's been a busy month and I've actually managed to use up quite a few products, so I shall show you wha I've used up this month, and my thoughts on the product.

SKINCARE

Soap and Glory - The Fab Pore Facial Peel. I've had this particular face mask for quite a while and have now finally finished it. I like it, but I have other face masks to use up first so I'll wait before repurchasing.

Boots Botanics - Moisturising Deep Clean Foam. Another product I've been trying to use up, but not because I liked it. I never felt like this made any improvement to my skin so I wouldn't buy this again.

Body Shop - Seaweed Clarifying Toner. This is the only toner I've used, and I really love it. It feels tingly and refreshing on my skin and I will buy this time and again!

Clinique - All About Eyes cream. This was a sample, and I don't feel it made much difference to my dark circles. No thanks!

Bioeffect - EGF Serum. This was a sample from my Selfridges beauty box which I've finally finished. I did feel like my skin texture and radiance was improved, but this costs £125 for 15ml, so no way am I forking out for that!

Lancome - Genefique serum. I received a 5 day sample set from Kris' mum (she still gets sent beauty products and samples even though she stopped being a Debenhams beauty manager 2 years ago). I love this so much, but right now I can't justify spending around £50 on a serum.

Dior - Skin Boosting Super Serum. I got this sample months ago after buying a Dior foundation. I just used this for the sake of using it. I didn't notice much difference to my skin.

Benefit - Total Moisture Cream. I received this sample after buying Browzings. This is a really rich moisturiser, perfect in the winter months. I've already received a deluxe sample size in one of the sets I received for Christmas and I can't wait to use it!

HAIRCARE

Percy and Reed - Splendidly Silky Moisturising Conditioner. This is the deluxe sample that Glamour gave away months ago. I used this like a hair mask, leaving it in to deep-condition my hair. I loved the fresh blueberry smell this had, but I wouldn't repurchase. It's nice, but I just prefer other brands at the moment.

Dove - Colour Radiance Express Treatment Conditioner. I got this free with a magazine, and it worked nicely when I used temporary dye in my hair at Halloween, but I wouldn't repurchase this.

Aussie - Colour Mate Shampoo. I bought this on offer a few months ago, mainly to use whilst I'd dyed my hair. I love Aussie, but I wouldn't repurchase, purely because I don't need to use colour shampoo.

VO5 - Refresh Me Quick Dry Shampoo. I liked using this, it had a lovely fresh, slightly flowery scent and left very little residue in my hair. I would repurchase this when my current Batiste can runs out :)

MAKE-UP 

Dr Jart - Premium Beauty Balm. I received this sample from Dr Jart's Facebook page after they started giving away samples. This was a little too dark for me, but it did work well. I would buy this is I could afford it.

BODYCARE

Rituals - Wai Lang Exfoliating Body Scrub. I got this sample from the Rituals store. I actually used this as a face scrub, and I loved it. Very scrubby, made my skin feel and smell lovely. I've already received more of this in the Rituals set I got for Christmas, so looking forward to scrubbing up with it!

Ren - Rose Otto Body Wash. This came in my Selfridges Lucky Bag, and it was one of the highlights of the bag. It smelled beautifully of roses, and I love a good rose scent. I would like this again, but I don't know if I would pay £17 just for a shower gel.

So that's all the loveliness I've used up this month :) what products have you used this month? Anything you loved?

Christina xo

The Mascara Maven

Yeah...

I said a while ago that I wouldn't get drawn into the world of beauty blogging. However, the more make-up I buy, the more I wanna talk about it. Normally, most folks would chat to their gal pals about make-up and their preferences, but I live at least 60 miles away from the rest of my close friends, which makes chatting and playing with make-up a bit tricky! So I figured I'd try blogging about it for a while and see how I go...

The first thing I've noticed is that I have rather a lot of mascara, 12 to be precise (I know that some more seasoned beauty bloggers might think "Is that all?" but it feels like a lot). One of my favourite things about my face is that I have naturally longish lashes, so I like to make a feature of them. So here they all are, in order of price:

L-R: MUA eXtreme Volume Mascara in Brown/Black (£2)
Collection Extreme Coloured Lengthening Mascara in Blue(£2.99)
17 Peep Show in Brown/Black (£4 on offer)
17 Photo Flawless in Black/Copper (£5.99)
No.7 Exceptional Definition in Brown/Black (£7.50 with £5 Voucher)
Max Factor False Lash Effect in Brown/Black (£7.99 with £3 voucher)
L'Oreal False Lash Telescopic in Brown/Black (£10.99)
Benefit They're Real in Black (£11.50 with £7 Debenhams gift card)
Beautee/Relian Mascara in black (with fibres) (around £20 at a Girls Day Out show)

And the samples at the bottom: Max Factor Masterpiece in Black, MAC Zoom Lashes in Black and Lancome Hypnose Drama in Black.

My go-to mascara is usually the Max Factor False Lash effect, but recently I've been trying to use more of my mascaras and I've found a few that work pretty well. The MUA mascara is bargainous at £2 but my only issue with it is that it doesn't put a lot of mascara onto the lashes, but it does create a fair bit of volume, so I tend to use this in conjunction with something else to build up the lashes.
The Beautee/Relian Mascara was something I picked up at a Girls Day out (kinda like a beauty, fashion, chocolate, booze paradise for women) and it's lasted me at least 18 months, which is pretty impressive. You basically paint on the "transplanting gel", i.e. the mascara, then paint on the fibres, then repeat if necessary. It really does give you a false-lash look, with very little fibre fallout. AWESOME!

I have no real major dislikes with any of these TBH. The only let-down I have is the Benefit. They're Real is apparently the No.1 mascara in the U.K., if not the World and it's supposed to give you these amazing falsie-like lashes. Well I may have been applying it wrong, but my lashes ended up looking like Clump-Central. Not cool considering it's normally £18.50. However, I have found that if I use it over another mascara, it does add some good length. 

What mascaras do you guys use? If you want to know my thoughts on any of the other mascaras, just comment and let me know :) Generally let me know what you think of this post, it's my first proper beauty post and I like to get feedback!

Christina xo