Collective Clothing Haul!

I received money for christmas from my parents, family, neighbours so I went a lot crazy this year (well, very crazy actually). I have already posted a Kiko Cosmetics sale haul (link here) and I have quite a few more lined up for the past week or two so stay tuned for sale goodness! But today I have four items of clothing that I bought from Urban Outfitters, Topshop, New Look and H&M over the past two weeks. 

H&M Sale Dress (flash photographs)

Firstly, H&M. I saw this dress online and it was only in a UK size 14 which is almost double my size so I waited for it to come back in a UK size 8 and it didn't. But when I went shopping in Bury a couple of weeks ago (christmas eve I think) I saw it instore. The dress it a dark blue and it is lacy at the front and a cotton material at the back. I really like this dress although I wish it was a bit shorter - I am only 4ft 11 ish. The dress was reduced to £10 and I really like it with tights and boots. 

Urban Outfitters Jumper (Flash Photographs)

Next up is a jumper from Urban Outfitters which I adore! This jumper should have been £35 but it was reduced to £15 I think. If you own a wildfox jumper, as I do, you will know how soft and cosy a good quality jumper can be - this jumper is the same, it feels like a wildfox jumper! I love the colours, the design and the super soft fabric!

Topshop Shirt (natural lighting)

I saw this shirt when it first came out on the Topshop website and I was nearly going to buy it but I am glad that I waited as it was in the sale for only £12! I love this shirt, it should have been £29. The shirt is an off white colour with medium/light grey stripes. It looks great with skinny jeans and it would be great with a jumper over the top too, in my opinion. 

New Look Dress (artificial indoor lighting)

I bought this dress a few days ago from New Look and it was only...£6! How could I not get this dress for £6, I love it! It is a deep red polka dot dress and it is a wrap around style dress with an thin elasticated waist. The dress is a UK size 8 and it fits well, the design is gorgeous and very 50's in my opinion. I probably wouldn't wear this with leggings though, maybe no leggings or thin tights. 

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2012 Favourites: Honorable Mentions

Here are my honorable favourite products for 2012 - a mix of candles, hair products, makeup and skincare that I have loved this year. 

Clarisonic Mia // Twistbands // Cosmopolitan Foundation Sponge // Goody Hair Bands/ties // Benefit Some Kind-o Gorgeous // Yankee Candle World Journeys Danish Butter Cookie // Ojon Deep Recovery Hair Mask

1. Clarisonic Mia: I have had my Clarisonic Mia for on year now and I have it in the colour 'poppy red'. I was sceptical at first, especially because of the very steep price tag of about £120 but I do think it makes a difference to my skin. I like using this tool, I find it cleanses my skin really well, it makes my skin clear/smooth/soft and it is gentle on my skin. Overall, I love this tool for cleansing my skin, it is so easy to use and it lasts for ages on one charge. 

2. Twistbands: I received these two Twistbands with a beauty box a couple of months ago and I have been using them almost everyday for a good few months now. The twistbands are basically just hair ties/bobbles and they are really quite gentle on the hair and they don't tend to pull on my hair. I use these when I am in the house and at night to keep my hair tied up. They are gentle on my hair, they are pain free and they do give good support. 

3. Cosmopolitan Beauty Blend Perfection Sponge: I have bought maybe ten or more of these sponges over the past two or three years. I found that when I had eczema really badly (very dry/flaky skin) that this was the only makeup tool I could use as brushes emphasised the dryness. This sponge is great of applying and blending foundation - it is a cheap version of the beauty blender sponge basically. I would recommended this to everyone, especially if you have dry skin. 

4. Goody Hair Bobbles/ties: I have been using these Goody bobbles since about june/july last year and they are just bobbles to tie the hair up with. Although they look like rock climbing rope as they are quite special as they are supposed to keep you hair tied up really securely without loosening/falling out - they really work! I love these bobbles as my hair is quite long and thick so I need a heavy duty bobble to tie it up with and these stay in my hair all day!

5. Benefit Some Kind-O Gorgeous: I received this mini product as part of a mini set (bought from ASOS) early last year and I have been using it on and off since. I use this to cover my pores as it has the best coverage of anything for pores! I have quite large pores on my nose and a small amount of this stuff and they are covered instantly! I love this product although I only use it to cover pores, it doesn't do anything else really.

6. Yankee Candle World Journeys Danish Butter Cookie Candle: I have raved about this candle so many times and I have already posted a full review on this on my blog (Link here). This is my favourite candle of all time! The scent is just gorgeous, the scent strength and dispersion/throw are fantastic and it is a hit with everyone!

7. Ojon Damage Reverse Hair Treatment: I received this as a free gift with purchase from Boots in the summer and I have been using this mask maybe once a fortnight. Firstly, I love the packaging and I love the initial scent. Also you only need a small amount of this mask and it is really easy to use. When the mask is rinsed out it makes my hair feel smooth and nourished - although they scent after a while can smell a bit like cigarettes...Not pleasant. 

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2012 Favourites: Bath & Body Products

Dove body wash // Body Shop Body Butter // L'Occitane Hand Cream // Soap & Glory Products // Lush 

1. Dove Body wash: I love Dove products, especially the body moisturisers as they are so moisturising, softening, smoothing and they smell gorgeous - in my opinion. I love the original Dove scent - fresh and clean. My favourite Dove body was is the triple moisture body wash!

2. Body Shop Body Butters: I have tried so many body shop body butters over the past five years and I love them - some more than others though. I like the strawberry, satsuma, passion fruit and olive ones but my favourite is the shea butter version (pictured above). 

3. L'Occitane Hand Creams: I discovered these this year as they were featured in quite a few magazine freebies! I started using the freebies and I was hooked - L'Occitane hand creams are the best I have ever used. My favourite is the limited edition cocoa flower but I adore the original one too. 

4. Soap and Glory products: Who does love a bit of soap and glory? I started using their products about three years ago and I just love them. My favourite soap and glory products include: the righteous butter, the hand food hand cream (my cheap alternative to L'Occitane) and I just adore the soap and glory flake away scrub. I will have to try their new sugar crush range soon!

5. Lush bath products: I love Lush, it is one of my favourite bath/body/skincare brands for the past couple of years. I love the Lush bath bombs, the bubble bars, soaps and their bath melts. My favourite bath bomb from Lush is either their donkey oaty bath bomb that came out with their Easter collection or their tisty tosty bath bomb - I also love the so white Christmas bath bomb too. My favourite lush bubble bar is the silent night Christmas bubble bar - heavenly scent! 

What are your favourite bath and body products for 2012?

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2012 Favourites: Skincare

Here are my 2012 skincare favourite products - some I discovered this year and others I have been using for years!

Simple Rich Moisturiser // Neutrogena Visibly Clear Wash and Mask // Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre // Vichy Micellar Solution // YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum // Caudalie Beauty Elixer // Lancome Cleansing Fluid

1. Simple Rich Moisturiser: I have been using this moisturiser for about three years now (maybe longer!) and it is a staple in my skincare draw - although as my eczema is now nearly gone completely I do use other things. This moisturiser is quite light and smooth on the skin and it does hydrate my skin well - although other moisturisers are better but if you have sensitive skin this is a great product. Other uses: I also use this product to mix with my more matte foundations to make them more hydrating and I also used this as a moisturiser over my tattoos when they were new. 

2. Neutrogena Visibly Clear 2 in 1 Face Wash and Mask: I bought this earlier in the year as I watched a video where Megan Isobel talked about this product so I thought I would give it a go and it is fantastic! It is so easy to use this product as a face wash or a mask - I prefer to use it as a mask. It is quite drying but I think that it why it is so good as reducing/preventing spots as it dries them out. I use this mask about one a fortnight as I don't get spots too often but as this mask is quite drying I do have to use a bit more moisturiser than I normally would. Overall, a very quick and easy to use mask that it great for stopping/reducing spots.

3. Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre: I have been using this product on and off for about six months or so and I do really like it - now especially. I bought this product when I had eczema quite badly and I couldn't use this product then as it would irritate my eczema but now that my eczema is nearly gone I can use this more and I really like it. It is a basic moisturiser that it really hydrating but light and it has a really nice scent - although the scent may be the factor that caused this product to irritate my eczema. 

4. Vichy 3 in 1 Calming Micellar Solution: I bought this product in July last year and I love it (the product pictured it another Vichy Micellar water which I don't like as much as the calming one). The calming micellar solution is one of the best makeup removers I have ever tried - it removes make up so easily and it leaves my skin feeling/looking like skin, it does make my skin greasy or tight/dry. As well as the Vichy calming micellar solution I also really love Bioderma - I have two bottle which I bought from Corsica last summer for 15 euro. 

5. YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum: I received this serum in my Selfridges beauty advent calendar so it is a very new product but I had to include it in my 2012 favourites as I have been using it every day since I received it. This serum has a really nice silky texture and it applies so nicely. This product feels like it is filling in or resurfacing my skin, it makes my skin so smooth, soft and moisturised to an extent. Overall, a fantastic serum but it is really expensive. 

6. Caudalie Beauty Elixer: I bought this from Hqhair quite a few months ago and because of all of the rave about it I didn't want to get it but I did cave. I have been using this sparingly as I don't want to use it up and buy another - it is quite expensive, in my opinion. I really like this product as a makeup setting spray and as a morning refreshing spray and toner. The fresh strong minty scent of this product is so refreshing in the morning but I mostly use this product to set my makeup and to stop my makeup from looking slightly powdery. 

7. Lancome Cleansing Fluid (for eyes and face): I received this product as a free gift with purchase (link here to my haul blog post). This is one of the surprise products of 2012, I really didn't expect to like this and I love it! This product is so easy to use and it doesn't irritate my skin at all - despite the strong male aftershave/cologne scent. This product seems to calm down the small amount of eczema I have for some reason and it is a great cleansing milk. 

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2012 Favourites: Haircare

Here are my hair care favourites for 2012, there were not a lot of stand out hair products during 2012 for me but here are my favourites of the year!

Wella clear scalp mask // Aussie curl and soft feel serum // Umberto Giannini moisture balm

1. Wella Clear Scalp Mask: I have been using this mask on and off for about 5 months now and I love it! I use this mask maybe one a fortnight on my scalp as I have been having problems with irritation for the pat few months. This mask is easy to apply, it smells ok and best of all it gets rid of irritation, flakiness and dandruff. A fantastic mask, I bought this mask from salonskincare.co.uk at the beginning of summer and it was on sale for around £5 or so. Overall, if you suffer from dandruff or dryness then I would definitely recommend this mask!

2. Aussie Dual Personality Curl Definition and Soft Feel Serum: I bought this at the beginning of last year I think and I love it! I only have about 1/3 left as I try to use it sparingly - and you only need a small amount. This serum is really nice for dry hair, I find it to be very smoothing, softening and I think it does define my curls a bit more. I really like this serum as I can get quite a lot of flyaways and this really helps. Highly recommended. 

3. Umberto Giannini Overnight Beauty Moisture Balm: I have been using this product for maybe two years now and I love it - I have used up one small bottle of this product and now I have a back up smaller bottle and the larger bottle (pictured). I use this product as a hair moisturiser and a finishing/smoothing cream. I can apply this product to my hair when it is damp and in the morning my hair will be smoother and more manageable. Or I can use this product when my hair is dry to smooth down flyaways. I love the scent of this product, it is so nice and I just adore this product! Although this product isn't as available now as it was a few years ago. 

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December Empties: Samples

I have used up quite a few samples in the month of December as I needed to get rid of them, they keep piling up as I get from from magazines, online orders and beauty boxes!

L'Occitane Volumising Conditioner // Dermalogica Skin Smoothing Cream // Rimmel BB Cream // Benefit Total Moisture Facial Cream // Benefit The Porefessional // Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre 

Firstly, I used up a sachet of the L'Occitane Volumising Conditioner which I have had for ages now. I can't really tell whether I would buy this product again as it only lasted me two uses but the conditioner worked well although it did not volumise my hair at all really. 

Next I used up two sachets of the Dermalogica Skin Smoothing Cream. I received these sachets with an online order and I really like this product. The sachets lasted me longer than I thought they would. The cream doesn't irritate my skin, it smoothes and hydrates my skin - it seems perfect apart from one thing...the scent! The scent of this product is awful, it smells like a dusty old school cupboard! 

I also used up a sachet of the Rimmel BB Cream which is in the shade 'light' and it is too dark for me so I only tested this product while inside! The cream didn't give much coverage at all and it looked a bit caky on my skin - I will not buy the full size. 

Next I use up two Benefit samples, the first is the Benefit Total Moisture Facial Cream which I really liked. This product didn't irritate my skin, it left my skin smooth and hydrated - overall a surprisingly nice skincare product from Benefit which I wasn't expecting! 

The second product from Benefit is the Porefessional which I have a small tube sample of as well. This sample however came with my benefit Hello Flawless Foundation. The sample was only small but I don't see what the fuss is about over this product! I find that this product applies nicely to my t-zone and it makes my skin feel smooth but it doesn't do anything to my pores! Is it supposed to minimise my pores, cover them, smooth over them so foundation doesn't get into my pores? 

On to a product that I love, my Embryolisse Lait-creme Concentre sample - I have a 30ml tube of this which I have had for a while but I don't want to use it all up as it isn't the cheapest moisturiser! This cream smells nice, it smoothes and hydrates my skin although it can irritate the areas of my skin where I had eczema (irritation occurs rarely).  

I also used up a couple of samples in December after this photograph was taken which include: the Burts Bees Radiance Body Lotion. I really like this body lotion, it smoothes and hydrates my skin without making it heavy or sticky. The scent is also gorgeous, it smells s fresh and inviting! Although there is one problem, it contains glitter! I hate skincare/body products that have glitter in them and that is the reason why I wouldn't buy the full size of this body lotion. 

Another sample I used up is the Jane Iredale Glow Time BB Cream which I received in a beauty box a couple of months ago. The BB Cream isn't my shade - it is incredibly yellow toned and the BB cream makes my skin look very caky and powdery - I will not buy the full size. 

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