Late March Favourites

Here are the products I have been loving through out the month of march and into April. I haven't done a favourites post in a while as I have been trying out a lot of new products and I haven't been sticking to the same products - but these four have just been constantly in use through out march and April.

1. Bioderma Ultra Soothing Cream: I bought two products from Bioderma a couple of months ago now and one of them as worked its way into my everyday skincare routine. I have been using this facial moisturiser from Bioderma for the past month and I love it. It is a moisturiser for irritated, very dry sensitive skin which describes my skin almost exactly. The moisturiser is 100ml and I have used up about a quarter (or just over) in a month. Love this product, I will write a full review as soon as I can. 

2. Yves Rocher Sexy Plump Mascara: A long standing favourite of mine, I have had this sample longer than anyone should probably but I just love it! This has to be my favourite mascara of all time (I also love the Diorshow waterproof mascara but it is quite expensive). This makes my lashes look volumised, defined and lengthened but natural and gorgeous!

3. Benefit Fake Up Concealer: I received this half way through March (I won it in a Debenhams competition) and I really like it - although it is not without its faults. The shade is great, it applies nicely (when applied in a certain way) and it doesn't really look caky - full review soon. 

4. Cosmopolitan Beauty Sponge: My last favourite of this month has to be my Cosmopolitan Beauty Foundation Sponge which I have been buying for years (maybe three years now). I have been using this sponge to apply my foundation all of this month as my skin has been super super dry and flaky because of an eczema break out and this sponge (when damp) is the only way I can apply foundation when my eczema flares up. I don't know what I would do without this product! 

What are your monthly favourites? 

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How to get spring/summer ready pins!

The weather has been a lot better the past week or so, so I thought it was time to create a post about getting spring/summer ready in a vague hope of getting some more sunshine! The weather in England, even during summer, is no where near the temperatures I experience while on holiday so I do only use these products and tips mostly before and during my holidays in august. Firstly, exfoliating and prep!

The first thing I do before hair removal (gross I know but it has to be done unfortunately) is exfoliation. Exfoliation smoothes the skin, removes the stuff that would otherwise reduce the effectiveness of the hair removal method. I have been using sachets of the Sanctuary Spa Salt Scrub for years (even though it is not my favourite). I receive it as part of gift sets and it is a nice scrub but it leaves a greasy film on the skin. I also have a scrub from Caudalie, the Caudalie Crushed Cabernet Scrub which is good and I just love the packaging for this product! I also find that scrubbing mitts and body brushes are great for exfoliation before a moisturiser is applied. Now onto the unpleasant and mostly painful experience of hair removal...

Hair removal, we all hate it and it can be quite expensive and painful. Before removal I do exfoliate in the shower and exfoliating gloves are one of the easiest ways - just use your normal body wash but with the exfoliating gloves your skin gets a good scrub as well. I mainly shave (as I am too scared to try other methods that are painful - waxing...). I use wax strips for my eyebrows and that is fine but anywhere else and I cringe immediately! I use the Venus Breeze/Spa Breeze razors which are fantastic and almost fool proof (great for me!). I have wanted to try laser hair removal for a while but it is pretty expensive, however there are many devices on the market - for example, Tria Hair Removal Laser (link to the Tria site here). Now after exfoliation and hair removal I usually use an ingrown hair lotion as I can get red bumps on my skin after shaving which can be quite irritating - I have been using the Urban Retreat Anti Bump After Shave Lotion which is fantastic! The lotion is light, it absorbs super quickly and it seems to work! Now onto body butter and moisturising.

After body scrubs, exfoliating gloves and painful hair removal, what the skin needs now is a good dose of moisturiser to smooth and soothe the skin. Before and during my holidays I always use a good firming body lotion (anything that helps is welcome!). The Nivea Q10 firming lotion is good, the Clarins Firming Body Cream is good too but my favourite (and most effective) firming body cream is definitely the Jergens Firming lotion! I also really like the Rituals Magic Touch Body Cream which smells gorgeous and it absorbs super quickly! Soap and Glory scrubs and body butters are great too and they smell delicious. Then when it is time to go out in the sun I find that I need a little bit a help (well a lot of help as I am as pale as a ghost!). I love the Jelly Pong Pong Hawaiian Sun Body Bronzer - it is great for my pale skin and it looks natural and leaves my skin looking sun kissed in a matter of seconds!

Do you have any spring/summer ready tips?

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Week in photographs #15

Some of the pictures aren't missing - I just didn't have enough for the boxes!

My week has consisted of: a girls night out, curly hair, hair envy, spring nails, hair dye, uni work, sun and gardening!

Firstly, the hair pictures - I tried my Redken Ringlet 07 hair cream. I have had it for a while, I bought it in August last year as it was on sale. It is supposed to help enhance, define and make your curls/waves bouncy. I tried it a few days ago, I applied to my towel dried hair and then let my hair dry over night - in the morning I looked like curly sue! My natural curls/waves were definitely enhanced and very bouncy. As you can see from the piastres above the curls were really defined and when you pulled them taught, they bounced back into place. Overall, I am very happy with that product - and carrying on with the hair theme, I dyed my hair a couple of days ago with another Garnier Nutrisse dye, hopefully this one wont fade as quickly as the previous one I used. 

Other things that have happened this week - snow last weekend but then the weather so far as been great! It has been really sunny for most of the week but it is still pretty cold. I went shopping and we stumbled upon some white strawberry bulbs - I didn't even know there was such a thing as white strawberries! 

I have been getting into the spring mood because of the sun and the new stock in shops so I created some spring themed nail art this week - pastel pinks and nude nails with shimmery gold tips - LOVE it! Also the spring feeling has made me think about my hair more and in particular - getting it cut. I just adore Demi Lovato's hair in the picture above - I love the dark layered bob! I think I am going to get my long hair cit after graduation!

I hope everyone had a great week! x

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Review: Garnier Nutriesse Creme Hair Dye

 

Prep and application

The hair dye shade I bought was medium dark brown 4.5. I also get all of the things out that I will need from the box and I also have a clock and hair bobble/hair tie handy. I also open the window before I start dying my hair so otherwise I may suffocate due to the horrible strong chemical scent of all hair dyes. I brush my hair well before I apply the dye. I have given up wrapping a towel around my shoulders so it always falls off and it is just unnecessary in my opinion as the hair dye doesn’t really go anywhere other than the skin and the old top.

The application and waiting have to be the worst parts of dying your hair (at home and in the salon). The application of this product was not great, because of the scent but it was fairly quick and easy. The formula of the dye is quite thick so it doesn’t really drip and it applies to the hair well. I don’t apply the dye straight to the hair, I dispense the dye onto the gloves and then I apply it to the hair as it allows me control over where the dye is placed and it makes working the dye into the hair much easier.

The only downside to the application is the horrible smell of the hair dye – in my experience of hair dyes, they all smell strongly of chemicals (which they are) and it can make my eyes water because of the strong scent. This product is no exception, having the doors and windows open in the bathroom is a must really with this hair dye as it is so strongly scented. After a thirty five minute wait, the hair dye is ready to remove. I rinse my hair until the water runs clear, which doesn’t take long.

Results

In my morning my hair was dry and it was dark brown all over which is what I wanted – it had covered all of the colour and my natural roots evenly and well. The colour is just what I wanted, a dark brown which wasn’t very ashy and it wasn’t warm/red toned either. The conditioner had made my hair smooth and manageable and over I was really pleased with the results from the dye. It has now been about two weeks since I used this dye and the colour has faded quite a lot since I use this product

Overall

Overall, the Garnier hair dyes I have used in this past were a lot better than this one. The dye was cheap, it applied easily, the colour was gorgeous but the product did smell very strongly and the scent was horrible; the conditioner wasn’t great and the colour faded fairly quickly within two weeks which is disappointing. I think I will be sticking to Schwarzkopf or nice and easy dyes from now on.

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Empties #2

Here is another empties post of items that I have used up over the past month or two. Today there is quite a mix of fragrance, candles, skincare etc. Enjoy!

1. Lancome Tresor Midnight Rose EDP: I received this fragrance as a gift and I just adore the scent! It is a sweet floral fragrance with strong musky notes. I Love this perfume, I have another bottle of it which I won in a Debenhams competition last year. The bottle of gorgeous, the scent is gorgeous but the longevity is not! Th longevity of this perfume on me is about four to five hours maximum! The poor longevity is a real let down with this fragrance as otherwise it would be amazing.

2. Benefit Foaming Clean Facial Wash: I will have to get some of the full sized products from Benefit - their skincare as they have been amazing! I have tried the total moisture cream and this wash as samples and they were amazing. I was quite surprised that they didn't irritate my skin. Love this face wash!

3. M&M Scented Candle: I received this from a friend at Christmas and I was quite excited to try it. Unfortunately the scent wasn't noticeable! It was almost unscented, the scent was very very subtle. Not recommended, although it did burn evenly.

4. Elizabeth Arden Gentle Hydrating Cleanser: Another skincare sample and again I am surprised that it didn't irritate my skin! The cleanser was very gentle, kind of moisturiser and it didn't dry out my skin. Love this cleanser, I may look into the full size if it isn't very expensive. Also both of the skincare samples featured were only sachet but they lasted really well for me - nearly two weeks of use. 

5. I Love...Strawberries Face Mask: I received this mask in a beauty box and I tried a a couple of weeks ago. Firstly, it has a really strange gloopy sticky texture that I really don't like, it makes it messy and difficult to apply. The mask didn't irritate when it was on my skin really but the next day my skin was blotchy, red, sore, irritated and this mask was definitely the cause as I hadn't changed anything else. It seems to have either really irritated my skin and caused a reaction or it seems to have made my almost non existent eczema flare up badly! Hate this product, if you have sensitive skin so away from this!

6. Roberto Cavalli EDP: I had a sample of this fragrance and I thought I would leave it in my uni bag if I need it. I have used it a few times and I really don't like this fragrance. It is very musky, sickly and the notes don't work together in my opinion. It is a mix between a very musky aftershave and very sugary sickly sweets - hate it! Not recommended. 

7. Primark Nail Polish Remover Wipes: I usually use my Pretty Quik remover but I only had a few of these left so I thought I would use them up. They are fantastic! They smell nice! The scent is nice, it doesn't smell like nail polish remover at all and they remove polish without a lot of effort. Recommended. 

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Makeup Collection: Bronzer, Blush, Powder...

Here is the third part of my makeup collection (there will be a couple more), this one features all of my blushes (all three of them!), powder and bronzer/contour. 

Firstly, tinted moisturisers: I have tried quite a few tinted moisturisers and I have been using them for years. I did use the Natural Collection tinted moisturiser for a year or two while in secondary school. My favourite tinted moisturiser is probably the Nivea Young Be Beautiful Tinted Moisturiser as it is really smooth and it applies well - it is also moisturising enough for my very dry skin. However, the only problem with this product is the shade - there is only one and it is too dark/orange for my very pale skin. I also have the Origins Vita-zing which I received as part of a set but I don't really see the results of this - it just makes my skin darker (I may have to sell this as it just doesn't work for my very pale skin).

Illuminators/highlighters: I have a mini of the Nars Orgasm Illuminator, Benefit Sunbeam sample (from a glamour magazine a while ago), I have a Kiko powder highlight, Benefit Watts Up, the new Revlon Photoready skinlights pink face illuminator and finally the Soap and Glory Hocus Focus lotion. My favourite has to be the S&G Hocus Focus as I love the packaging, the lotion is very easy to apply and blend, it doesn't look obvious and it gives a gorgeous iridescent glow to the skin. 

Powders: I have the Rimmel Stay Matte powder, Loreal True Match powder, the new Revlon Nearly Naked powder, Smashbox hydrating powder (which is a bit too dark for me), Kiko Mineral compact powder and the Estee Lauder Lucidity powder which is in a set I bought at duty free. My favourite powder for not looking heavy or cakey is the revlon nearly naked or the Estee Lauder Lucidity powder. I also love my Kiko powder - well I love all Kiko products! 

Bronzer & Blush: I am putting these two together as I don't have many of either. I have a mini Benefit Hoola bronzer and a mini Nars Laguna Bronzer. I also have the ELF 'Cool' Bronzer which I love and I definitely recommend. I only have a few blushes and I am just not that in to them as my skin is naturally quite pink so I don't need blushes. I have the Kyrolan for Glossy Box blush (which I really like, it looks really natural), I have the By Terry Light Expert Compact (which I think is supposed to be a powder or foundation but I use it as a blush as it is far too pink for a full on face powder). I also have a mini Cha Cha tint from Benefit which is ok. 

Contour: I have been using my ELF 'Cool' Bronzer as a contour as the ELF compact comes with four shades (white, light brown, dark brown and a reddish brown) and I love it for contour and the shades are all matte. I also have a cream pigment from Illamasqua in the shade 'hollow' as a contour cream product which I really like as it isn't warm toned at all - it is grey. 


I'm selling my Smashbox Photofinish Primer (full size, only used once) on ebay now - auction ends in a couple of hours!

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