Holiday Haul + Minis

Hey!

Now University is over for the Summer I have a few holidays planned. Which means, I need to shop for clothes and the best thing of all...minis! Does anyone else love buying minis or is it just me?

The Best Skincare of 2017

I know it's late into January, but I still wanted to share my favourite skincare products of 2017!

Empties #14

I normally publish an Empties post once a month but I forgot to publish this in August- whoopsy! I've got a bunch of skincare empties so let's see what I've got:


I've finally finished my Soap & Glory Clean On Me Shower Gel! I've been using this for god knows how many months so I feel like I've achieved something finishing this! It doesn't really have a particular smell, just a classic creamy body wash smell. I love Soap & Glory products whether it is bath and shower or make up!


Another Impulse body spray has been gotten through too and this time it is 'Tease, Red Fruits & Woods'. These always appear in my Empties posts and to be honest I don't normally find that they have very distinguishable scents so I don't really mind what I use...as long as it makes me smell better!


As a long term fan of the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water I thought I'd try the newer Pure Active one which is supposedly for combination to oily & sensitive skin. To be honest I found the original one was already perfect for my sensitive skin so I don't really see the difference between them. Either way it's good though.


I've had this Bath & Body Mimosa & Violet body spray for years and never used it because I wasn't a big enough of a fan of the scent to spray it all over my body. However, because I find the scent quite fresh I instead used it as a room spray! Once or twice a day I'd spray it in my room and it would just make it smell a bit better. I liked using it when it was hot because it seemed to make things cooler. I don't really know how true and scientific that is but that's what it seemed to do anyway.


Cotton buds: boy do I make use for these! I am constantly buying cotton buds because I use them everyday for make up. I use it to clean up eyeshadow excess, straighten the edges of my lipstick and eyeliner as well as getting foundation off of my eyebrow hairs. I like to get ear piercings a lot too so I need them for cleaning my new piercing. Cotton buds are essential for me! I wrote a blog post on various ways to use cotton buds ages ago.


Finally, I used up the Superdrug Tea Tree facial wash. I always use a tea tree face wash for my acne prone skin and the past few months I've been using a foaming cleanser one from The Body Shop. However, when I went travelling in June and holiday in July I needed a non-foaming one that I could decant into a travel bottle so I bought this Superdrug one! It doesn't dry out my skin and I know I'll go for it every time I go travelling now.


See you for Empties #15!

Empties #10

Woah, we are on empties #10 already! In empties #9 I discussed hair products I had used. In today's empties we are talking mostly skincare...

• Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water- Need I really explain any more? holy grail. 

• Superdrug Flirty Exotic Fruits & White Chocolate- This was just a cheap body spray that was simply 'meh'. It did the job for a quick fix but wasn't exactly long lasting.

• BD Eyebrow and Eyelash Brush- I thought I would include this because it was one of the first brushes I had ever bought and have probably had it for about 3/4 years. But now it is to be put to rest because it has snapped! I've now replaced it with a Boots one. You've served me well.

• Talika Photo-Hydra Day Facial Moisturiser- I'll probably review this soon but this moisturiser brings a mixed bag of emotions. I got it in a Glossybox last year and there are good points and bad points to it. To be continued...

• The Body Shop Tea Tree Blemish Gel- I love and adore The Body Shop's tea tree range. This blemish gel doesn't last very long but it's good to use when you have an annoying spot come up you just want to get rid off! 

Thanks for reading! Until next month...

Empties #7

Hello everyone!


It is that time again where we see what products I have finished and emptied off recently. 

• Batiste Dry Shampoo Original- I probably go through more of these than anything else.
• Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water- My holy grail make up remover. Read my review here.
• L'Oreal Studio Line Hot & Smooth Straightening Cream- I've lost count of how many years I have used this. Perfect for my thick, straight hair.
• The Body Shop Strawberry Shower Gel- The size of this shower gel meant that it lasted me quite a few months. Their strawberry range always smells lovely.
• The Body Shop Chocomania Sugar Body Scrub- I always love my body scrubs from The Body Shop! Read my review here.
• Neutrogena Visibily Clear Pink Grapefruit Oil-Free Moisturiser- I've used this loads in 2014/15 and it smells amazing. Read my review here.
• Nina Ricci Nina Perfume- One of my top favourite perfumes that I've used time and time again. It is a family favourite! Read my review here.

To read my empties #6 post, click here!

What products have you used up recently?

Favourites | The Best Skincare of 2015

Hello!


This week I will be uploading 3 favourites posts for my overall favourites of 2015. These will include skincare, hair/perfume and make up. I did one of these in 2014 (here) and I really liked doing it so I thought I would do it again! Today I am going to start with the best skincare of 2015. Some favourites have carried on from 2014 but there are plenty of new favourites as well. Additionally, a lot of the favourites I have included I have written reviews on. So if I have, I'll link the post next to them!

WASH

• The Body Shop Tea Tree Foaming Cleanser   (review)

MOISTURISING

• Nivea Oil Free Moisturising Day Cream for Oily & Combination Skin
• Être Belle Golden Skin Roll On Caviar Eye Gel   (review)
• The White Collection Cotton Camomile Body Cream 

REMOVING MAKE UP

• Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water   (review)
• Amphora Aromatics Seaweed & Aloe Refreshing Eye Gel   (review)

LIPS

• Nivea Original Lip Balm  (review)
• Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub 

SCRUBS

• The Body Shop Mango Body Scrub    (review)
• Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Exfoliating Face Scrub

TREATMENT

• InstaNatural Dead Sea Mud Mask   (review)
• The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil  (review)

What were your skincare favourites of 2015?

Christmas on a Student Budget | Gifts for: The Skincare Addict

Hey!

Today I bring you the final instalment to my Christmas on a Student Budget series. I have really enjoyed doing these and they have received really good views so thank you very much! Today is about 'The Skincare Addict'- for those who love to take care of their skin.


1. Garnier Mini Micellar Ultra Lift Gift Set (£10.00). This set focuses on 'lifting' the skin so it might be better for an adult audience, although the Garnier Micellar water is for anyone. I absolutely love the Garnier Micellar Water as a make up remover it is my holy grail so I would happily buy it for other people. It also comes with the UltraLift Day Cream to make skin feel firmer and to reduce wrinkles/fine lines.

2. Lush Mask of Magnaminty (£9.95). This mask focuses on clearing, calming and cleaning the skin. It is a large pot so it will last your recipient for a long time. This mask is a very popular product of Lush and has honey as an antiseptic and peppermint to reinvigorate. If your recepient suffers from blemished skin and/or oiliness, this could be the one for them.

3. Nivea Lip Tin Vanilla (£2.00). Nivea is absolutely number one when it comes to moisturising the lips, particularly for those of us who regularly complain of dry and chapped lips. This is a simple gift but the tin lasts a while and it really does do a fantastic job. This would be good as a stocking filler or as a general gift. I got it for Christmas last year and it goes great in my handbag. Plus, it fits a whole range of people!

4. Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub (£5.50). This is another holy grail product of mine. A good way of getting rid of chapped lips in the winter is to use a lip scrub. This one is natural, smells great and you can even lick it off after. I can make a pot of this last nearly a whole year so it is the gift that keeps on giving. Also good to use before applying lipstick or any other lip product to ensure smoother application!

5. Yes To Carrots Fragrance Free Exfoliating Cleanser (£7.99). Yes To incorporate all kinds of fruit and vegetables to treat all kinds of skin complaints. This one is an exfoliating cleanser, good for getting rid of dead skin, where the aim is at normal to dry skin. Dry skin and be quite annoying in the colder months! In addition to that it is fragrance free, ensuring that it would be good for the most sensitive of skins. Not to mention that the brand is so interesting in the type of ingredients that it uses that it makes an intriguing and conversation starter present.

6. The Body Shop Strawberry Body Polish (£5.00). Another good product for these colder months is an exfoliating body scrub to get rid of the once again, dry, dead skin cells. The Body Shop is a trustworthy brand for this job and is especially good to use before shaving. It smells amazing!


That is it for my Christmas gift guides this year! I hope that this, or any of the others, were helpful. Here are the links to my other budget/student gift guides for 2015:

• The Make Up Enthusiast
• The Home Decor Lover
• The Blogger
• The Toddlers

4 Products I Always Repurchase

Batiste Dry Shampoo

After dabbling with a few dry shampoos at the beginning of my dry shampoo journey I finally settled on Batiste dry shampoo. Batiste has changed the hair game for me forever. Before dry shampoo I was washing my hair every other day and as somebody who sees hair washing as a chore, I absolutely hated it. But since using Batiste I only have to wash my hair twice a week. It has saved my life! It doesn't really matter to me which Batiste I use (there are various scents) but I usually go for the original one or the tropical one.

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water was also a game changer for me as it persuaded me to give up the make up wipes for good. Before I discovered this I was still using make up wipes (oh the horror) and I never found my skin to be totally clean. However, now with the help of this, a cotton pad and my daily face wash, my skin seems a lot cleaner and I have less break outs. Yay! It also makes removing eye make up easier which is a plus.

L'Oreal Line Studio Hot & Sleek Heat Protect Cream

I have been using this after washing my hair for as long as I can remember. Definitely before even watching beauty YouTubers, reading blogs and my love for make up were even a thing.  I use this hair cream on damp hair and then brush it through with a comb. It protects your hair from heat and frizz for about 3 days, which is good for me as I straighten my hair quite a lot. It calls itself a sleeking balm and I couldn't agree more.

Natural Collection Green Corrector Stick

Finally we have the product that I NEVER skip in my make up routine. As someone who regularly suffers from acne and has red acne scars, this is a life saver for me. I put this on redness and the green counteracts the redness for a more flawless skin-tone look after foundation. What's great is that this stick is only £1.99 so I literally buy at least 5 at a time. I also sometimes get red dry patches on my neck and when I want to cover it up this also helps loads. Unless my skin ever gets better than I don't think I will ever stop using this.

So there we have it! Those are 4 products I always repurchase and have been doing so for years. As you can see they are game changers for me. If something works so brilliantly for you, then why give it up? They are holy grail products and will probably continue to be so for many years to come.

What are some products you always repurchase? Let me know!

6 Uses of Cotton Buds for Make Up

Everyday that I do my make up, I will use a cotton bud to help me. In fact, I have 6 ways of using a cotton bud in my  make up routine and I thought I would share those 6 uses of cotton buds for make up with you. 

1. To Smudge Eyeshadow. If I am using eyeshadow, particularly for a bolder eye make up, I use cotton buds for two reasons. If I have accidentally gone too far up or too far outwards with my eyeshadow, I will use a cotton bud to take some away. This may also involve a drop of Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water to help get it off. Also, I use a cotton bud to help to blend eyeshadow. If I am blending eyeshadow in my crease, sometimes using a cotton bud can be easier than getting out a blending brush.


2. To Remove Mascara. You know when you're doing your mascara and you accidentally smudge a bit on to your skin, or if you sneeze and it just goes everywhere? Yeah, that happens to me all the time. To fix this, I wait until it has completely dried then I use a cotton bud to swipe it and the mess comes right off. I use a dry cotton bud otherwise it just makes the smudge worse. It is a pretty quick way of fixing the issue! I also do this if I end up with a clump of mascara on my eyelashes.


3. Wrinkles. I must admit, I've got a fair few deep set wrinkles around my eyes. I always experience the problem of make up, foundation specifically, building up in my wrinkles and making them more obvious. To fix this, I swipe a dry cotton bud gently through my wrinkles to take out the build up of product then gently smooth it over with my fingertip to take away any harsh lines. Try it, it works!


4. Eyebrows. I ALWAYS end up with foundation in my eyebrows and it makes them look paler. It even affects the way my eyebrows look even when I try to cover it up with tinted eyebrow products. To fix this, I apply my Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water to a cotton bud and swipe it through my eyebrows. I go from every angle imaginable to make sure there is no foundation left in my eyebrows. They're then ready to be filled in.


5. Lips. Whilst my cotton bud is still wet with make up remover, I will also swipe it over my lips. Again, I'm messy at applying foundation and will end up with the typical foundation lips. This can be a pain as it can cause rolls of foundation to form on my lips and make any lipstick look a bit yucky. So before I apply my lip product, I will use the cotton bud to take off foundation on my lips. Clever huh?


6. Piercings. Sticking with the messy application of foundation, when I am blending it towards my ear I can occasionally get some foundation on my tragus piercing. If you don't know what a tragus piercing is, google it. It is a cartilage piercing but is by wear your ear meets your face if that makes sense. Anyway, I will use a cotton bud to get any foundation on it off.


So there you go! My 6 uses of cotton buds when doing my make up. You can now tell I am kind of messy when it comes to applying make up. 


What do you use cotton buds for? Let me know!

Empties #4

Hey!

It seems my empties are mainly skincare based this time!

First we have the Batiste tropical dry shampoo. I don't really care what type of Batiste dry shampoo I pick up, as long as it is Batiste. I love Batiste dry shampoo and it has changed my hair forever. Before I discovered dry shampoo I was washing my hair every other day but now I can wash my hair only twice a week. As someone who HATES washing their hair, this is a great positive!

Next is the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water. This is also a life changing product for me for removing make up. Discovering this beauty stopped me using make up wipes forever and is my absolute holy grail make up remover. To read my review on it, click here.

Then is the Neutrogena Visibly Clear Grapefruit Moisturiser. This has featured on my blog multiple times as it is my favourite moisturiser. It smells great and is good for my acne prone skin. To read my review on it, click here.

Lastly is The Body Shop Tea Tree Cleansing Foam. This is my second or third bottle of this as a fan of the Tea Tree range in The Body Shop. It slightly dries out my skin sometimes but otherwise it does the job!

That's it! It seems these empties are all my holy grail products which I use time and time again so you'll probably see them lots more.

What are your holy grail products? Let me know!

Empties #3

 Hey!

Here is my third empties post. I recently decided to put a box I had gotten in a gift set from The Body Shop aside to store empty products in so I can collect them together and know when it was a good time to make an Empties post. I have a lot of empty products at the moment so there is plenty to get through! There's just something nice about finishing a product and being able to start a completely new one. 

Here are my make up empties. You can definitely see some patterns here! First I have my Collection Lasting Perfection Foundation and 2 concealers (review for both). Next, you can probably tell that I love using green corrector sticks on my face as there is the Max Factor Colour Correcting Green Concealer (review) and 3 Natural Collection ones (review). Finally we have two liquid eyeliners: The CCUK Quickk Stroke Eyeliner (my first ever liquid eyeliner that I've only just let myself throw away) and the L'oreal Superliner. I thought the L'oreal Superliner was awful as it smudged easily and I didn't even get to finish it- it dried out instead! I would not repurchase it for sure.

Next I have my skincare empties. First of all is the Garnier Micellar Water (review) which I go through bottle after bottle of. There is also 3 products from The Body Shop: The Cranberry Shower Gel from Christmas which I really liked the smell of and the Tea Tree Blemish Gel and Skin Clearing Foaming Cleanser. I ALWAYS use the Tea Tree range from The Body Shop! I had also finished a box of 200 cotton buds from Boots which I use for perfecting eye make up.

To check out my previous Empties posts, click here and here. Have you used any of these products? Let me know!

The Best of 2014 | Make Up & Skincare!

Hey guys!

I know this post is really late but I thought I would share with you my favourite make up and skincare for 2014! 2014 was a real eye opener in make up for me and I have definitely accumulated a few long time favourites! Please note a lot of these favourites I have reviewed on this blog before so just click the tag of it to see if I've reviewed it!

>Skincare:

• Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water- I have bought bottle after bottle of this in 2014 and it allowed me to finally ditch the make up wipes. It's amazing to take make up off with and I will forever keep repurchasing it!
• The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash- This has for many years been my face wash. As someone who suffers terribly from acne I always like to use tea tree and don't want to switch up my skincare routine too much because I know what works for me. I will probably never stop buying this! 
• Neutrogena Visibly Clear Oil-Free Moisturiser- I have been using this moisturiser for about two years and I never switch it up. It smells like lovely grapefruit and feels amazing on the skin. It soaks in quickly so you can apply your make up soon after and is does not clog up pores. I'm in love with it!

>Eyes:

• Sleek i-Divine Storm Eyeshadow Palette- I love this little palette for all kinds of looks as it can take you from day to night. It is super affordable and makes me want to buy other palettes from the range!
• Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow Everlasting Navy- If you're one of those people like me where eyeshadow never seems to stay put on your eyelids then these cream gel eyeshadows are for you. I got the blue one as it matches my eye colour perfectly and I love a pop of colour. I always get complimented whenever I wear this and it is certainly long wearing! I am going to buy more from this range for sure.
• L'oreal Miss Manga Mascara- As soon as I saw the advert for this mascara I knew I wanted it. The name is great, the packaging is beautiful and the wand is a good amount of flexible. It claims to lengthen your eyelashes and it certainly does do that! I was super disappointed when I finished it and had to chuck it away and would definitely recommend it.
• Maybelline Master Precise Eyeliner- I tried this eyeliner on a whim and wasn't disappointed. Although flicks seem to fade a bit after a long day the brush is super easy to use and I can do my eyeliner quickly and efficiently. 
• Benefit Gimme Brow- Although this isn't of my eyes I didn't see the point in making a separate category for eyebrows when it was only this product. Gimme Brow is my first product from Benefit and I have been using it since April. It tints my eyebrows and is good at filling in sparse areas whilst holding the shape of my brows in place. I absolutely adore this eyebrow gel and it is so long-lasting!

>Lips:

• Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm Cherry Me- I have a few more of these baby lip balms but this one is my favourite. On days where you are having a natural look this subtle red will go down a treat. It smells great, looks great and is all around just fab. 
• Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm- I have Striking (red) and Shameless (purple) which I love equally as much. These are the ones to use when you want to put on some lip colour but don't have time to put on lipstick! They're certainly matte like they suggest. They are also the ones to use when you know you're going to be eating or kissing(!). I love them as they're super easy, beautiful and long-lasting. Definitely what I go for when I go out for dinner with my boyfriend haha! 
• Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub- You can tell I love this when this is my second tub of it and I already have a third one in advance for when this one finishes. This is my ultimate lip scrub that lasts for about a year and does an excellent job at exfoliating your lips. I like to use it after a shower or before I apply lipstick for a smooth finish. It tastes yummy too!

>Face:

• Natural Collection Green Corrector Stick- Because I have a lot of redness on my face I always use green underneath my foundation to cancel out the redness: and this is the product behind it! I have lost count of how many of these I have bought but they're super cheap and super good at what they do!
• Real Techniques Expert Face Brush- I always use this brush for my foundation. It is an incredible brush that looks beautiful, feels beautiful and applies foundation flawlessly. Cannot recommend it enough especially for a first brush from Real Techniques!
• Collection Lasting Perfection Foundation- I always use this foundation and the colour works perfectly for me. It is high coverage which I need and is long lasting.
• Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer- I have been using this concealer for absolute years and years, even before bloggers started raving about it. Hipster, I know! It stays on for a long time and is super high coverage which is excellent for redness and acne.
• Collection Lasting Perfection Powder- To top it off is the powder that goes with the other two of the range and I love it. It definitely is mattifying and will turn any high-shine area in to Mr Matte. Love it!

It is clear from  my favourites that my ultimate make up brand of the year was Maybelline!
My next post will be my favourite books and DVDs of 2014.
What were your favourites for make up and skincare in 2014? Let me know!

Skincare | Night Routine

Hello!

I thought I would share with you guys what I do for my night tine routine. 

First of all I use my Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water with two cotton pads to remove my make up. I have gone through multiple bottles of this stuff and I absolutely love it!


Next, I wash my face using my Tea Tree Facial Wash from The Body Shop. I have been religiously using this face wash for years and years and it is perfect for my acne-prone skin.


Afterwards, I use the Tea Tree Toner on a cotton pad to tone my face and remove the last of my make up. This is also something I have been using every night for a long time!


Because I have horrible acne I then use a special gel that was prescribed to me by my doctor on areas of problem.


Finally, I use my Palmer's Cocoa Butter Eventone Dark Spot Corrector on any scarring I have from post-acne. This is my second bottle of it.



And that is it! As you can tell I mainly use products designed for blemished skin. I like to keep to a strict routine as I have sensitive skin and I also do not want to cause a breakout! As far as skincare goes as soon as I know something works for me I will stick to it without altering my routine.

What do you use? Let me know!

June Favourites

Hello! Here are my favourites for June:

• Max Factor False Lash Effect 24 Hours Mascara. A review will be coming on this soon, but I really needed this mascara this month after I was finding all my other mascaras were smudging on to my my cheek in the heat. This was a life saver!

•  Boohoo Holographic Boots. I have made a post on these already but these were definitely my favourite purchase from June by far. Love them!

• Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water. I have already made a post reviewing this but I cannot help but talk about it! This is actually a photo of my second bottle as I have finished the first! Great for taking off make up and putting on cotton buds to clean up lines.

•  Seventeen Miracle Matte Pressed Powder. This powder has already been in one of my favourites posts before but it was an absolute life saver in June. It was so hot in June that I found myself getting a shiny face a lot. But all I needed to do was apply this twice a day and it took the shine straight away! I have reviewed this product before also if you'd like to find it.

That's my favourites for this month! What were yours? Let me know!

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water Review!

Hello! I know I am late on this bandwagon but I finally have the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water that I have seen raved about so many times by beauty bloggers. 

You apply it to a cotton pad and use it to wipe your entire make up off with without the need of rinsing. 

To begin with, it claims to me good for 'even sensitive skin', which I can agree with. I have super sensitive skin, I'm even allergic to Simple's sensitive skin range, yet I have had no reaction with this product.

To test how well this product takes off your make up, I did a little test where I took off my make up with it and then used a face wipe to see how much make up came off after. I found that I need to use two cotton pads with this on to completely take off my make up, and afterwards when I used a make up there was barely any make up on it. Result!

It applies well and you don't need much to have a reasonable amount on your cotton pad. It's smooth to wipe over your face and leaves your face wet but dries quickly.

Overall this product is good and I find it as a great alternative to using face wipes. It feels nice on your skin as it is cleansing water and fully gets rid of the make up on your face. I have used it for a couple of weeks now and I am barely 1/4 of the way through the bottle. I would buy this again and I have already recommended it to my Mother to try out. 

PROS

• Feels nice on the skin
• Great for sensitive skin
• Takes off all make up 
• Alternative to rinsing/using facial wipes
• Cheap
• Lasts a fair amount of time

CONS

• Because it is a large bottle I keep repetitively knocking it off my drawer. Doesn't spill though!

Have you tried it out? What do you think? Let me know!