Empties #3

 I love doing an empties post because it means I can finally get rid of all the empty bottles I've been hoarding in my room for this purpose so the time has come where I finally have enough finished products to share with you!

It's been a long time since I last done an empties post so I have two deodorants that I've used up which are both by Soft & Gentle because they're my favourite brand for deodorants. I don't really look for much in deodorant other than it smells nice and these ones have lots of different scents and they always smell gorgeous so thats why I always pick them.

Shampoo and conditioner wise I have used up another Mane n Tail shampoo which is amazing for hair growth. I have stopped using it for the meantime though because I have long hair already and I have other shampoos to use up first. I have also used up the Tresemme Split Remedy shampoo and conditioner because my hair is very split endy and long overdue a cut. That being said I don't think they did anything to help split ends, once they're there they're there to stay! (wasn't that a mouthful..)

My deep conditioner that I've been using is Aussie's 3 minute miracle deep conditioner because this smells absolutely amazing and leaves my hair really soft and easy to brush. I would definitely repurchase this again when I need a new deep conditioner.

Obviously over Christmas I was using the amazing Snow Fairy shower gel because it isn't Christmas without snow fairy! Can you tell it's been lying on its side in my 'empties bag' for a long while? I always repurchase this at Christmas time because it has the most gorgeous scent.

I've used up two foundations since I last done an empties, my favourite ever L'Oreal True Match and Rimmel Wake Me Up. As much as I love Wake Me Up, I've since found a new favourite so for the time being I won't be repurchasing but it still is a fab foundation that I might go back to in the future. Of course I have already repurchased True Match because it is my holy grail foundation.

I got this body butter when I was on holiday in Italy and it is amazing on skin thats either sunburnt or just hot from being in the sun all day. Another thing this ones good for is rubbing on your feet after a long day because the aloe vera in it seems to just cool and relax the skin. Next time I'm abroad I may well purchase this because it was lovely but I have plenty of other amazing body butters so wouldn't ship it over from Sephora specially.

This will be the first ever empty fragrance that has made it to one of these posts, in fact one of the very few perfume bottles that I've actually ever got to the bottom of. River Island Paris is such a gorgeous scent and it's obviously really affordable too because it's from the high street. I love this perfume so much that I already have a refill on the go. It is my favourite scent in Summer time and I wore this non stop during first year of uni and when I had just turned 18 so it reminds me of going out and nights out.

I've used up my bottle of St Tropez tan which I loved. This gives such a gorgeous glow, smells and feels amazing on the skin. As much as I love this though I probably wouldn't buy it again unless it was for a special occasion/on offer because St Moritz is a pretty good dupe for it.

My big bottle of Bioderma has now ran out, I use this every night to take off my make-up and it works like a dream. I do love this but again have found a cheaper alternative to take my make up off with so probably won't go back to this. 

My beloved La Roche Posay finally died after a long successful life. I love this product, it's a gem and I would 100% recommend this to anybody struggling with their skin whether its redness or spots this will definitely make an improvement. I wouldn't think twice about repurchasing this if my skin gets troublesome again but its done such a good job that I don't even need it anymore.

I hope you enjoyed getting an insight into my empty products and the reasons on why I will or will not be repurchasing them, What products have you used up recently? Have you tried any of these ones?

Lots of Love,

♥

April || Favourites

I am so, so excited writing this because it is now May which means that university is over for the Summer!! Three cheers for being able to have my life back!! I don't have very many favourites this month, again.. but I have been loving these five products so had to share them with you. I've also thrown in a few non-beauty favourites this month too because I love finding new lifestyle things to try!

My first favourite will be no surprise to anyone if you read my How Now Fake Tanning post. It's a gradual tanner but not like the usual streaky gradual tanners no, this one actually gives you the colour a spray tan would! Except you can do it at home, use it on your face, it's so natural you could actually eat it and it doesn't dry your skin out because it's a moisturiser with tanning ingredients added. Impressed? You should be!

I'm not a big dry shampoo fan, I used to use Batiste but only because there was nothing better that I had found to do the job. Now I reach for Ruth Crilly's Collab dry shampoo, I don't watch her channel or read her blog so there's no bias because of who she is. It just really is a good dry shampoo, it smells good, it's cheap, it doesn't leave as much of a white cast as Batiste and it adds volume to my hair.

My favourite lipstick this month was definitely Blake's red. It's such a classic, pretty shade that would suit anyone and it makes your teeth look whiter! Obviously, anything that makes me any closer to looking like Serena Van Der Woodsen I am going to be up for. It's really long lasting, it smells delicious and I personally think it's the most 'Hollywood' red out of all the L'oreal red collection. If you want a matte red lipstick and want one that's comparable to Mac then I'd try this one out.

Aussie hair care has always been a favourite of mine because their products smell delicious and this one is no different. As I have really long hair, it tangles and matts really easily so I need to use a leave in conditioner to keep it soft and try to stop it becoming a big mess. This one also contains a heat protectant so it's a good product for multi-tasking with and I've had the bottle forever and it's still only half way down.

The face cream that I've been using this month is the gel Garnier moisture match one. I had heard it was a dupe for the Origins Gin Zing moisturiser which I've never tried so I don't know how good a dupe it is. It does feel really soothing and cooling on the face though and although the tube is tiny, it's still going strong.

My non-beauty favourites this month are tv programmes because I have had a lot of time to watch tv during exam procrastination. The first is Ordinary Lies which was on BBC One and was based around people who worked in a garage. Each week was based on a different person and a lie they told and how it escalated to something out of control. I thought this was brilliant, it was clever, sad, funny and just a good watch so definitely try catch up with it on iplayer. My Netflix favourite was actually 'Mr Selfridge' which is about the start up of Selfridges in London but I found it most interesting learning about life in that time. It features a lot on Suffragettes, the war and attitudes to woman in the early 20th century. It has two seasons and I watched both in the space of a week so it's a really easy watch (if you happen to have a lot of spare time).

What products did you love last month?

Lots of Love,

♥

How Now Brown Cow Fake Tan || Review

When you think of a gradual tanner, you think streaky lines. Admit it, we've all been there, slathered on some gradual tanning lotion, woke up the next day and thought never again. Either that or you try it and it does absolutely nothing to tan you and you still look as pale as when you put it on. 

I thought that gradual tanners were just an awful idea that should never have been invented, I've not met a single person who likes them, that was until I tried How Now Brown Cow gradual tanning lotion by Moo Goo. Firstly how cute is that name! The product is 100% natural as it uses their Full Cream Moisturiser as a base and the two natural self tanning ingredients used are Canola Oil based DHA and Erythrulose. They actually have a break down of all their ingredients that are in their products on their website so you can read it and see how natural they all are. 

The lotion doesn't really have a smell, which I would have liked but obviously adding a smell would probably take away how natural the product is so I can live without it. It's really moisturising and easy to blend and it soaks in pretty quick too! After I first applied it I woke up the next morning and I did think I looked slightly browner, nobody else really noticed it but I could. The second day I applied a second lot on my arms and some on my legs and I was and still am so impressed. My skin looks properly tanned and it doesn't have that biscuity fake tan smell either. I think it would be a really good one for fake tanning your face too because it's so natural and moisturising it shouldn't cause any break outs.

Update - I have since used this on my face and it is incredible. It hasn't broken me out, gone patchy or left me looking like a satsuma. It's just given me this gorgeous bronzed glow that I have had so many compliments on. I actually feel like I could just not bother with foundation when I have this on because it gives me such glowing, natural skin. From someone who has never, ever, ever put fake tan on their face before and always just used a darker foundation- I definitely will be now because this gives me that golden glow without harming or irritating my skin.

I forgot to take before and after pictures but theres my arm after two applications compared to my untanned tummy.

My hand/arm after two application next to my leg after one

It's been two days since I've used an application of the tan because it's done so well with two coats that I don't want/need to be any darker. My tan is still as good as it was after the night I last applied it so it lasts even when you stop using the lotion, I'm now just using my regular moisturiser over it to keep it moisturised and when I was applying it I just used my hands and washed them after. Of course it doesn't dry your skin out either like other fake tans because it uses MooGoo's amazing moisturiser as a base.

I can't not mention the packaging I received it in either, the box was so cute. It's the little things that count and my goodness have this brand absolutely changed the game when it comes to fake tan! 

It retails for £15.50 which is pricier than my usual St Moritz but it still comes in cheaper than St Tropez and in my opinion it's worth it. It doesn't dry the skin out, it lasts beautifully, it is slightly more natural looking, it doesn't smell, there's no guide colour to wash off and it's a gradual tanner that actually works!!

Shop How Now Brown Cow here:- http://www.moogooskincare.co.uk/natural-tanning-cream.html

I'll keep you updated with how long an entire tube of this lasts because you will definitely see this in an empties post! Have you tried it?

Lots of Love,

♥

* This post does contain PR samples

Empties #2

 The amount of empties I've been going through recently is crazy so I have yet another empty products post. So hopefully all of you like reading these kind of posts as much as I do!

 
 The first product I've used up every last drop of is my Bioderma make-up remover. I love this product and use it every single night without fail to take my makeup off. It removes every single scrap of make-up even the toughest of water proof eyeliners and mascara's whilst being amazing for sensitive skin. This never used to be available in the UK but now it is in some stores in London I believe and can also be ordered online from Escentual or Amazon. I would definitely repurchase this because it lasts a long time and does the job better than anything else I have ever tried. I purchased Bioderma for the first time in Italy last July and since then I have used one bottle and two thirds of another bottle so for a product that I use every single night I think that's fabulous!

 My favourite brand for drugstore dry shampoo is Batiste, this is just the standard dry shampoo from Batiste but I personally prefer the brunette one. It's alright, it helps second/third day hair look less greasy and it's really amazing for giving volume. It also smells really lovely, however, I hate the white cast that it leaves in your hair cause lets face it nobody wants to look like they're going grey early! So for that reason alone I probably wouldn't buy this again and I'd go for the brunette one but if you have blonde hair this could be alright for you!

 Coconut Oil is one of those miracle products that everyone should have at least one pot of at home. I'll probably do a whole seperate post on coconut oil and all the amazing properties that it contains but it's amazing for so many different things. I use this on my hair, nails, skin and eyelashes! As you can see I've used every last drop of mine and all that's left is a dirty tub. The best thing about this is it only costs a few pounds from Superdrug so I always have at least two or three pots stashed up at home.

 Another empties post, another fake tan... can you tell I'm a tanaholic?? I absolutely love my fake tan and in the warmer months it's rare for me to be seen without any tan on. This time I've been using St Moriz tan which is a cheaper dupe for St Tropez and I have done a comparison post of these two before if you want to know more about this tan. I would 100% buy this again, I just tan too much to justify spending £20 a bottle on St Tropez!

 
If you've been reading my blog a while then you'll know that I always have nail polish on my nails. It would have to be a pretty rare bad day for me to have no polish at all on my nails because I just feel naked without it. Nail polish doesn't last great on me either, usually around 3/4 days with a top coat and I remove it as soon as it chips so I go through quite a lot of nail polish remover. This one is good and it does the job however I think I'm going to start buying the acetone free one to help repair my damaged nails. This was great before I used acrylic nails and had lovely strong nails though or if you need an acetone polish to remove gel/acrylic nails. This only costs a pound from Superdrug too!

 My last two empties are my Collection concealer which is my holy grail. I have multiple of these stocked up because I just cannot be without it and I use a lot of concealer every day. I don't usually get a lot of sleep so this is my savior to help cover up my horrendous eye bags. It has amazing coverage, lasting power and consistency for under a fiver so I will always continue to buy this forever and ever!

 The last empty isn't a proper one but I thought I'd include it anyway. I got sent an Eucerin cleanser a while back to review and with it I received a lot of samples of different creams and lotions and this foot cream was one of them. It was a very small sample but what I did try of it, I found it was really creamy and moisturising which was great for banishing any dry skin from my feet.

Hope you enjoyed another empties post from me! What products have you finished lately?

Lots of Love,

♥

Beauty Faves || July

 This month I have quite a few new favourites alongside some old ones. Sorry it's a little bit later into the month but I've had some Canon issues but I've bought an SD card reader so hopefully that will be all my Canon problems ironed out! Anyway onto my favourites.

 The first beauty favourite I've had this month is an old favourite and that is my original Naked palette. A long time ago, actually the first post I ever wrote (before I even had any means of people reading/finding my blog), I did a review and comparison of the Naked one and the Naked two palette. In that post I said I much prefered Naked two but I honestly am not sure anymore because I do really love them both. Over the Summer I have definitely prefered the original palette though especially 'Half Baked' but this month I've also been loving 'Darkhorse' and 'Toasted'. This is my holy grail eyeshadow palette and I'd be lost without it.

 A new beauty favourite I discovered this month is actually a perfume and it's DKNY's Red Delicious, the one that's in the red apple packaging. I got this as a gift from Gary's mum after she came back from her holiday, she kindly picked this up for me in duty free and I actually really love it. Which is surprising because I'm usually really picky but I love it which is amazing since I didn't pick it myself. I am awful at describing smells but apparently it smells of lychee, raspberry and it also has bergamot, rose, leather (leather in a perfume?!) and vanilla. It's such a strong perfume though which is partially why I love it because I know I can spray it on in the morning and smell it on me all day and as I mentioned previously I love when I can actually smell perfumes on myself. It's a very different smell to all the other perfumes in my collection.

 I've also been loving my Essence blusher that I did a review of in my Essence review but this is definitely my most favourite item that I was sent. I've not used any other blusher since I was sent this because I just love it so much and with the various shades that you can get from it I haven't needed another blusher. It's so super pigmented and it lasts all day on me and is the perfect colours for adding that pop of colour to your face. It's barely made a dent in the product either so I can see this blusher lasting me a long, long time.

 July has been a very busy month for me with events and with it being warmer weather too I've been loving having a nice glowing tan. The products I've used to acheive that this month is my St Tropez fake tan and my St Tropez tanning mitt. Before I've always just used Superdrug mitts but I must admit I am enjoying my luxurious St Tropez one and there's nothing better than a fresh tanning mitt (although after this month it's no longer very fresh anymore!)



I am a moisturising addict, I can't stand my skin feeling dry especially not my feet and because I work in retail my feet often get really sore because I'm standing on them all shift. My favourite foot cream at the moment is actually a body moisturiser but I like to use it on my feet and it's a Sephora body butter that I picked up whilst I was in Italy. This is the ultimate moisturising cream and it's so super soft. I actually have three of these but it's the aloe vera one I'm using at the moment because it's cooling properties are absolutely fab after a long day on your feet! You can tell how much I've been loving this because it's nearly all gone.




 My last favourite this month actually featured on this weeks MAC Monday and that was costa chic frost lipstick by MAC. It's the perfect coral colour and I've had lots of compliments on it when I've been wearing it to work. I love, love, love it in Summer it instantly freshens up your face and I'm personally a massive fan of coral lipsticks. If you want to know more about this lipstick then click here to read about it in detail.

Lots of Love,

♥

Cocktails and Pretty Nails || Sleeping Beauty Event

 Hellooo lovelies,

 Last Tuesday I attended a bloggers event at the Sleeping Beauty Salon just off Princes Street in Edinburgh where I was well and truly spoilt by the amazing staff there. Don't panic if you don't stay in Edinburgh though because there are six Sleeping Beauty salons throughout Scotland, sorry if you don't live in Scotland but hopefully you'll enjoy this post anyway!

 Firstly we were warmly welcomed and given a peach mohjito which tasted amazing and also there were absolutely stunning cupcakes (equally delicious) for us which I could have honestly eaten far more of than I probably should. They were actually from a company called Liggy's cakes which is also on William Street so if you live near Edinburgh (or Glasgow as there's one there) and are looking for a special handmade cake then check out their website. Then there was an appointment sheet where we could book in for various appointments such as party lashes, eyebrow waxing/threading, manicures and pedicures.

 First of all I went and sat downstairs with the gorgeous Amy who blogs beauty for ScotCampus and we had a lovely chat while we waited for an appointment to get our nails done. The Sleeping Beauty is so much bigger inside than you expect it to be it even has a lift which I think is fabulous for disabled customers or for those with buggies etc! The downstairs room Amy and I were waiting in was stunning it had lovely candles (that smelled equally amazing) and it had two really comfy loungers, it was so relaxing we honestly could have gone for a nap!

I got shellac nails done because standard nail polish always chips on me and never lasts very long so I'm always up for a gel mani! There were many many colours to chose from and I was a bit stuck between white and pink but in the end I went for my true love pink (CND tutti frutti to be precise). I was really impressed with them buuut I do have to say that one of my nails has chipped already which I am disappointed with because it had only been four days and I'd expect that from a regular nail polish but not a gel one. Whether that was the polish I chose or it could also be the fact that my nails are very weak and brittle but I'd definitely be willing to give them another go because the atmosphere is amazing and all the other girls mani's seem to be holding up well!

 The next treatment I was lucky enough to experience was the party lashes and the lashes that the salon use are Millie Mackintosh ones (from Made In Chelsea) and I was really excited to try them because I've heard amazing things about them. There was soo many styles to choose from but in the end I went for Shoreditch ones because they looked beautiful and they're one of the names I could remember hearing a lot about. Obviously nobody can apply eyelashes on you better than you but my beauty therapist did a very good job! Apparently the eyelashes can be kept on for a few days too but I don't know about that because I had to take mine off that night as I had heavy makeup on underneath that would not have been great to sleep in (and still look great the next day). You do get to keep the lashes though and they also come with mini tweezers and an eyelash glue which would be great for applying on the go!

 The next cocktail that their mixologist made me was a raspberry cosmopolitan which was also really gorgeous!

 The last treatment that I was treated too was a shellac pedicure. Definitely really happy about this because gel pedicures are amazing for Summer as toenails grow so slowly that they will last you the whole Summer and you don't need to worry about painting your toes. We've all been there when it suddenly gets sunny and your caught out with your hairy legs and half painted toe nails, this will solve one of these issues!! They're great for holidays too because I personally find regular nail polish just melts off in such intense heat and the pool can chip them too so gel nails are essential. I have dancers feet so they're all horrible and mishapen but for the purpose of being a good blogger I shall show you my pedicure! I went for pink shellac again (defo a pink addict) it was the CND bikini pink polish if anyone is interested. It reminds me of MAC's impassioned lipstick and my finger nails remind me of MAC's Girl About Town (apparently I'm also a MAC addict!). Again the pedicure treatment room was soo relaxing with little candles in lanterns and relaxing music playing.. you really could fall asleep and apparently a lot of their clients do drift off... I can definitely see why!

 Another nice aspect about this salon is that they actually have their own brand of products, of which my favourite were their candles. They smelt absolutely gorgeous!!

 They also have a wide range of Elemis products available, some of which they use in their treatments and some of which you can buy for personal use!

 We also got a very generous goody bag, I was overwhelmed by how kind the Sleeping Beauty Salon were, they truly spoilt us bloggers! I always love seeing what people got in goody bags from events so I thought I'd share what was in ours with you.

 I was so happy to see one of their own candles in my goody bag because I loved the smell of them so much and I love how cute this little heart shaped one is. It looks (and smells) gorgeous on my window ledge. We also got two little Sleeping Beauty chocolates.

 

 
 I was also really excited to see an Elemis set in my goody bag because I've always wanted to try Elemis products but never quite got round to it. The products included were Pro-Collagen marine cream, pro-radiance cream cleanser, pro-radiance hand and nail care, jasmine and rose milk bath and advanced brightening even tone serum. I may well do a review on these products soon!

 
 We also got a Dr. Bronner's magic soap and a Voys bright eyes cream.

 Probably the most exciting things in my goody bag though were a full size St Tropez tan (I told you they were generous) and a mitt to go with it. I love this fake tan and I'd literally used my last of it before going to this event so it was fab to get a new one and the mitts are very luxurious so I'm looking forward to using these.

 I obviously still have my reusable Millie lashes which I will definitely be wearing again soon!

 Finally we were given a voucher to arrange a complimentary Lava Shell treatment which sounds absolutely amazing. I love getting massages especially were heat is involved because I regularly get a sore back so I'm most definitely looking forward to this.

Thank you so much for having me Sleeping Beauty Salon. I look forward to seeing you again soon.

What's your favourite pamper treatment?

Lots of Love,

♥