Product Empties Oct / Nov 2016

November 14, 2016 - Vicki Leave a comment

Skin Chemist Advanced Snail Eye Serum*

I recently reviewed this Snail range from Skin Chemists and I really liked the eye serum. Its so hydrating and I loved how smoothing it was. Who would have thought we’d be putting snail serum on our faces?! Its a lightweight texture, very cooling on the skin and quite refreshing too. Its nice to use either morning or night but I quite often use it in the evening because it helps my eyes look refreshed by morning and keeps the puffyness to an absolute minimum.

If you use the code BLOGSNAILS to get each product for £24.99 each instead of £72 – that is almost halfprice. Code valid until the end of 2016 **

COLab Dry Shampoo Sheer & Invisible in Rio

My holy Grail dry shampoo – this was a mini bottle I took with me to Amsterdam. I am so pleased I took it with me and it meant that I only had to wash my hair twice during the week we were there. This really absorbs the oils and doesn’t irritate my scalp or make my hair look dull. I like all the scents but I think Rio is my favourite. I need to stock up on a few ful sized bottles.

Lacura Thermal Spa Eye Cream*

This is a very, very good eye cream and the fact it is only £ is even better. Aldi skincare is amongst some of my favourite budget options and I particulary enjoyed the Thermal Spa range. It was lightweight, hydrating and had a lovely fresh scent. I highly recommend checking it out next time you are in there doing your shopping. This tube lasted me ages and I mostly used it as part of my morning skincare routine because it worked well to hydrate around my eyes which meant my makeup applied easier and didn’t sink into my fine lines.

Eloquence Skincare Purifying Facial Cleanser

I have tried a few products from this brand and I really enjoyed them as a whole. This was a nice gentle cleanser and again I took it with me to Amsterdam to use as my morning cleanse. It has a creamy formula and it left my skin feeling soft and clean. It’s enriched with Sacha Inchi Oil, Cucumber and Coconut Extracts. Sacha Oil is a common ingredient within this range and is a superfood which comes from Peru and is found in seed form. Its known for its high levels of vitamins, antioxidants and fatty acids and its oil has a unique blend of

Omega 3 which helps to restore the skins elasticity
Omega 6 helps to combat skin dehydration
Omega 9 helps against premature ageing by intensely nourishing and protecting the skin from environmental stress.

So my skin was in good hands and I thought it would be a reliable, gentle cleanser to take away with me, knowing that my skin wouldn’t react to it and cause any breakouts.

Aussie Dry Shampoo

Possibly the worst dry shampoo I have ever used. Its overly powdery, leaves a white cast in your hair & makes your hair feel worse than it did before you applied it. One to avoid for sure.

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish

I love the classic Cleanse & Polish from Liz Earle but their limited edition scents are something very special. This Grapefruit and Patchouli scent has been one of my favourites to date, its zesty, fresh and quite Summery. As with the original C&P it’s suitable for all skin types and is great at gently removing makeup and leaving skin feels soft and clean. I try a lot of skincare but I know I can always rely on Liz Earle when my skin has reacted badly to a product and I always have a C&P in my stash. If you have tried any of the limited edition scents, let me know what your favourites are.

PR Sample

Rimmel The Only 1 Matte Lipstick Collection

November 11, 2016 - Vicki 3 Comments

Exciting news, Rimmel have released a new range of Matte Lipsticks which promise high impact colour, a non drying formula and a comfortable velvety matte finish. I think Rimmel have knocked it out of the park with the Only 1 Matte Lipstick Collection and they delivered on all promises which for anafforable matte lip option is pretty rare.

I have 9 shades and I think the colour selection is pretty good, they seem to have covered most bases. They have a nice range of wearable universal nudes, soft pinks, classic reds and then they have a couple of deeper colours in the form of a plum toned brown and a vibrant purple. They’re missing a peach (in my opinion) but I hope they extend the range a little in the future, for now I think there is most definitely a shade or two for everyone and a colour for every occasion.

The Only 1 Matte Lip Library

110 Leader Of The Pink – A beautiful soft rosie pink

120 – Call The Shots – A bright, bold red toned pink

200 – Salute – Gorgeous everyday pink nude, such a flattering shade

500 Take The Stage – A true festive red shade

610 – High Flyer – A darker, more dusky nude

700 – Trendsetter – This is such a pretty brown nude

750 – Look Who’s Talking – Is a rich brown shade

800 – Run The Show – A vibrant purple, with incredible colour pay off

810 – The Matte Factor – A beautiful rich berry toned red. Reminds me of mulled wine

The texture of these is not what you would expect from a typical matte lipstick, it is more creamy which means its lovely to apply, it glides on the lips with ease. The colours are all very pigmented and the lighter shades flawless but a couple of the darker shades apply quite patchy, in particular the shade Look Who’s Talking needed two coats to work but that is also the beauty with this collection you can build up the colours and their intensity which is fab.

My favourite shades are Salute, High Flyer and Call The Shots, they’re all easy to wear everyday shades. I have had Salute in my handbag since it arrived, it freshens up my makeup and it is such a subtle, pretty shade.

Matte lips are bang on trend at the moment and although these aren’t the most long wearing option out there, I think they are easy to wear, comfortable on the lip and the colour selection is really good. If like me you struggle with the really drying formula of most long wearing matte lipsticks then this new formula from Rimmel will be right up your alley. It is more of a satin matte finish and the formula very much reminds me of my favourite Comfort Matte lipstick from Urban Decay but a fraction of the price.

So if you’re looking for a pigmented, long wearing lipstick for Autumn / Winter but don’t want a formula that is going to be too drying then I think these need to be on the list! My one gripe is the scent is odd, not sure what it is but I am not a fan.

Which do you think is your favourite shade?

Rimmel The Only 1 Matte Lipsticks are available at Boots £4.99 and Superdrug £6.99

*PR Sample

W7 Mid Summer Nights Eyeshadow Palette

November 7, 2016March 2, 2025 - Vicki 3 Comments

W7 The Naughty Nine : Mid-Summer Nights Palette

I have already admitted this to myself, but I’m without a doubt an eyeshadow palette addict, I just love them. I think it’s because the colours look so pretty altogether, and I like that you can easily create an eye look without too much fuss. So when I saw this absolute beauty of a palette from W7 on MissMakeUpMagpie blog a few weeks ago, I had to get it.

On the grapevine, I have heard that this W7 palette is meant to be a dupe for the MAC Burgundy Times Nine Palette & I wondered if the pigmentation would be there, but I have to say this palette knocks it out of the park. All 9 shades are gorgeous, very pigmented and have little to no fallout, The shades in this palette are perfect for Autumn / Winter.

The packaging is very MAC inspired, it feels like it’s very good quality, it’s slim, compact and sturdy, I also love that it has a clear lid so you can see the eyeshadows. You get 4.5g of product and 9 shadows in total. I think it’s a fantastic palette for the price. As with most budget brands, they haven’t named the shadows, which annoys me slightly, but that doesn’t take away from the quality, which is very good.

You get 9 shadows in the palette and I like the range of nude-toned neutrals & the fact you get a good selection of coppers, cranberries and a few nude pink tones. I would wear every shade in this palette, it makes a very good everyday option as you can make it look quite minimal and muted with the pretty nudes or vamp it up with more of the deeper, richer shades.

There is a nice mix of mattes, satin finishes and shimmers, all of which are pigmented and blend well. It’s unusual to find good affordable matte shadows, but these are very good quality, in fact regardless of price, this is an outstanding palette and one I highly recommend checking out.

*This post contains an affiliate link

Five Under £5 for November

November 5, 2016November 5, 2016 - Vicki 5 Comments

If you want to get involved and link up your monthly 5 Under £5 finds then head over to Julia’s blog at Rainbeaubelle and join in. It’s a lot of fun & you get to see all of the cute bargains that everyone finds, I always end up purchasing so many things from everyone else’s roundups.

So a few weeks ago I went to Amsterdam for my birthday (which was magical) I have been to this lovely City on many an occasion. One of my favourite things to do is visit HEMA, which is an affordable, very cool shop and they sell a little bit of everything. I tend to stock up on stationery, mainly because its easy to get home in my suitcase. If you’re not heading to Amsterdam anytime soon fear not, there are a few HEMA stores in the UK & you can order online (yipeeee).

Happiness Planner

I know they have spelt it Happyness but lets just ignore that. I am going to use this for notes, lists and blog ideas, I can’t see me using it to record my ‘good things about today’. It has a sturdy hard pink and gold cover, which I really like and the pages are nice quality too. I am terrible at keeping up to date with a journal or a planner so this is somewhere in-between and if I keep it on my desk it should prompt me to use it.

Planner Stickers

HEMA do to the best selection of stickers, I bought 2 packs and you get 2 sheets of stickers in each pack. I am thinking of using these in my notebook to make it look a little more colourful and give it more of a planner feel. I am a sucker for stickers and could have purchased so many more sets but I am trying to use the the massive stash I already have so I limited my self to 2.

Hand Lotion £2

I 100% bought this because I loved the packaging, I haven’t used the hand cream itself yet but I am not expecting it to be amazing, but the HEMA beauty and toiletries are pretty good quality. I have very dry hands, especially in the colder months and I’m THAT person with one on my desk, in my handbag and by my bed. Otherwise I forget to apply it, this one is going on my desk.

6 Pack Letter Writing Set With Envelopes £1

This is for my 8 year old niece, I buy her one each year. We write letters to each other as she lives in Scotland (600 miles from me) and its a lovely way to keep in touch. Of course I call her and we facetime but writing a letter is more exciting and its nice to keep the letters to look back on, also we use technology so much now that letter writing is something that feels more special and keeps us connected in a slower, more whimsical way. It also worries me that Alyvia won’t have ever known a world without technology, crazy.

Gold Festive Themed WASHI Tape

I know I do not need any more washi tape but I just can’t resist and hear me out, I have every intention of using these lovely selection to wrap my Christmas gifts. Its really great quality and the gold sparkly one is super pretty and textured. I may have already started wrapping my Christmas gifts already, that is me trying to be organised, so far so good.

I feel I was quite restrained, especially if you take a look at my HEMA Haul from a couple of years ago.

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