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?

Morning Skincare Routine

Hello!

I've always stuck to a strict skincare routine but in the past 3 months I've become even more interested in skincare products. Because of this my skin is the best it has ever been and I would like to sing these products' praises!

Nip+Fab Mini Haul

I've never used Nip+Fab products before but have always heard good things about them. Recently I have been attempting to try new skincare products as it has become increasingly important to me to find a really good routine. Here are the two items that I chose to introduce myself to Nip+Fab:

The first item I picked up is the Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Daily Cleansing Pads 60 Pack which was on offer on Boots. I have seen rave reviews about this so I was expecting it to be brilliant. These exfoliating pads are to be used daily. They're soaked in glycolic acid to re-texture and resurface the skin. With hyaluronic acid and blue daisy they're also supposed to be moisturising whilst revealing brighter and smoother looking skin.

I've only used it twice so far so I can't review it. Although, I can say listen to the recommendation of using SPF after using this. I didn't listen and came home with a sunburnt face! I'll postpone using these until my sunburn has gone.

Later after I bought these pads, I then bought the Nip+Fab Post Glycolic Fix Moisturiser SPF 30. This lightweight, oil-free moisturiser is recommended to use after any of the Glycolic products as it has SPF 30 in it to protect from UV rays. I bought this on offer at Superdrug and it only arrived today, as I write this, so I don't have an opinion on it. It claims to leave a matte finish, which is important to me, and calms the skin with witch hazel. It also says it uses Niacinamide to reduce visible pores so that should be interesting to see.

I've been looking for the perfect SPF moisturiser to take on holidays with me for years now. I have tried a few and none of them have been comfortable on my face and have always stung my eyes and my sensitive skin throughout the day. I am going on holiday next week and maybe in August so I have high hopes for this!

I am so far impressed with the products and feel encouraged to try out more of their products. A lot of their skincare products have pretty cool names like 'Dragon's Blood' which instantly intrigue me. Their new release of make up products also look good so I would be interested and trying a make up item. 

Look out for reviews on these items once I've given them a good go!

Beauty Haul | Urban Decay, Benefit etc!

Hello!


It had been a long time since I went to the shops and just shopped, browsed the make up section etc so yesterday I decided to remedy this with Christmas gift cards in hand.

I first of all went into Boots, which I was most excited about. I can't remember the last time I went in and just looked at everything and bought what took my fancy! 


I noticed it was 3 for 2 on Eylure, so I picked up 3 pairs of eyelashes as I didn't have any left in my collection. I always used to wear fake eyelashes on nights out and special occasions but I just hadn't got round to buying more. I like more natural one's that don't look heavy but still make my eyelashes look fuller and longer. I chose: Naturals No. 33, Naturals. 020 and Lengthening No. 116. I am particularly interested in trying No. 33 has it is an angled lash with a lengthening finish so I am hoping they will look amazing with winged eyeliner and give a feline look to the eyes.


Then I picked out the Collection Powered by Witch Mattifying Pore Minimiser Primer as I noticed that morning I was coming to the end of my primer. I picked this one because I like witch hazel for acne and my friend recommended it. An absolutely budget friendly primer too so it will be great if it is good!

After, I went over to the Benefit counter. I love Benefit but rarely buy anything from there due to their prices and me liking to save my pennies. However, I thought I'd treat myself by getting the cult favourite Hoola bronzer. I was confident I would like it as everyone and their dog seems to like it so I am looking forward to giving it a go!

Then of course, I also had to lastly pick up my holy grail Batiste dry shampoo. I have spoken about this dry shampoo way too much on my blog as I just can't live without it.

I then went over to John Lewis to check out the Urban Decay counter where I saw the Urban Decay Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Highlighter in 'Sin'. My friend and I had seen it back in June when we were travelling in Berlin and I instantly fell in love with it. I had been thinking about it ever since so I just went for it! I had space for a decent highlighter in my make up collection and I am extremely excited to use it.

That was it for my make up items. It isn't pictured but I additionally went into Topshop and picked up a 'night out' dress which was on sale from £39.00 to £15.00! My friend spotted it and I fell in love. It is a tight nude coloured dress with black lace overlay and spaghetti straps. There is also another spaghetti strap forming a 'V' over the chest which is what had particularly drawn me to it. 

Real Techniques Your Picks: Berlin Brushes

Hey!


Throughout 2016 I was finding that many of my older make up brushes, from Seventeen, were coming off their handles. I was trying to use stubbly little brushes without the handles, so I knew it was time for some new make up brushes! 


These are the Real Techniques Your Picks: Berlin brushes which were bought for me for Christmas. This design was voted for by fans of Real Techniques to represent art found in Berlin. As you can see, they are white with black splodges, with pink at the end of the handles.


The brush handles are heavier than I'm used to with Real Technique brushes but I suppose that helps give more precision. There are five brushes: Buffing brush, contour brush, stippling brush, deluxe crease brush and base shadow brush.

• Buffing Brush: For full coverage powder and mineral foundation application. I haven't used it for applying foundation yet as I love my RT Expert Face Brush for that. Instead, I've been using it to apply my powder which is quite good at applying it over large areas. As mentioned, it is fab for full coverage because of its density!

• Contour Brush: Before this brush I was using a small powder/face brush from Seventeen. Now I've got this contour brush I can contour so much easier. However, because it is dense I need to ensure that I only use a small amount of contour otherwise it starts to go stripey! It's description also says it's good for highlighter so will need to check that out.

• Stippling Brush: I've read that this is good for an airbrushed look for all types of make up and I honestly agree. I've been using this to stipple over my face after applying foundation and concealer and I'm seeing a difference! Not only does my concealer look more blended in to the foundation but the foundation looks like a part of my skin! It looks flawless and definitely evens out any build up of foundation.

• Deluxe Crease Brush: This brush is very soft and not dense like the other brushes. I like it best for blending out the edges of my crease colour and under eye colour so the lines aren't harsh.

• Base Shadow Brush: Another soft brush! I use this to apply my base colour as it is wide but I also like it for blending out the edges of my crease colour too. Love a good multi-task make up brush!

The only fault I can pick with these brushes is that when I got them, there was a bristle coming out of my deluxe crease brush which wouldn't come out. After my first time cleansing the brushes I then had a few bristles come out like that with my other brushes. I haven't had this happen before with Real Technique brushes so it is a bit annoying but hopefully it is just a fault in my own set and not a fault with them in general.


This brush set retails for £24.99 but is currently on sale at £18.74.

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!

Botanics Hydration Burst Day Lotion SPF15

Hey guys!


I am back from my holiday now so I am able to post again. I thought I'd come back with a skincare review. This is Boot's own brand, Botanics. If you don't already know, the Botanics range uses natural plants as ingredients. 


The Botanics Hydration Burst Day Lotion SPF15 has soothing clary sage and is designed for sensitive and dehydrated skin. It has SPF15 UVA and UVB and it claims to have 8 hours of hydration which is typically how much time we can spend out in the day. In addition the packaging has a pump which I like as it makes it simple to use. The bottle contains 50ml of product which makes it good for travelling due to it fitting under the 100ml mark.


I bought this for going abroad as I needed a moisturiser with SPF that will protect my sensitive skin without giving me an allergic reaction. I have taken this on a 2 week interrailing adventure as well as a week in Tenerife and there is still plenty left so there is more than enough product! Another skin worry is that I am also acne prone and I get afraid the SPF will break me out. Fortunately, this moisturiser didn't seem to break me out or clog my pores. 


I found that I could use this moisturiser alone and under make up. It sat fine underneath make up and didn't make my skin look greasy or shiny when I was wearing no make up. When out in the sun I would reapply the moisturiser on areas where I am most likely to burn, such as my nose, every 2 and a half hours. Because of this moisturiser my face never burned on any of my trips abroad which I am grateful for! Because there's nothing like a nose for a Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.


Unfortunately that is it for my positive words about this moisturiser. There were certainly things I did not like about it. For starters, the lid is so annoying! The lid constantly comes off whether it is in my make up bag, my handbag or what. The lid just does not stay on and I was frequently losing it and having to find it. But the most annoying thing about the moisturiser was that it stung my eyes like crazy! It didn't matter that I didn't apply moisturiser near my eyes: it stung. Whether I was walking around as normal, got my face wet or I sweated, the moisturiser would always somehow end up irritating my eyes and they would sting for a good hour. My eyes would stream like crazy and sometimes they'd even go all puffy. I could rinse my eyes out with water and clean them with tissue but the problem still persists. After looking at the product on the Boots website I have seen that I am not the only person with sensitive skin that this has happened to! This product says it is for sensitive skin yet affects my eyes like no moisturiser ever has. Last of all whilst I was using this I was getting dry patches of skin appear on my face which leads me to think it is perhaps not that moisturising.


Because of how much it stings and makes my eyes water, I will not be purchasing this again. At £5.33 it is a decent price for a SPF moisturiser on a budget but I cannot cope with how much it hurts my eyes. I put up with it for the time that I was travelling but now it is time to let it go. Even though it says for sensitive skin, if you have sensitive skin I do warn you: proceed with caution!


Do you like anything from the Botanics range?

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?

Empties #6

• Superdrug Tea Tree Foaming Facial Wash- This was bought at the airport in September because I didn't have any face wash for my trip and it lasted me a good two months! It just a simple tea tree foaming cleanser really, not much to say about it. I would say that I would use it again though.

• Boots Dry Shampoo 'Paradise Island'- I normally use Batiste dry shampoo but my local Boots didn't have any so I went for the Boots own one. I still prefer Batiste but it did the job and I used it all up. I think I found it a bit more 'chalky' but nothing I couldn't deal with.

• L'Oreal Studio Line Hot & Smooth Hot Straight Cream- I have gone through a million of these. It really suits my long straight hair and ensures it is safe from damage from me straightening it nearly everyday.

• Lush Rose Jam Shower Gel- I got this for my birthday in April and only in recent months got round to using it. It is quite a nice shower gel, smells subtly like roses and lathers up well.

• The Body Shop Mango Sugar Body Scrub- It was disappointing when I finished this scrub- I absolutely love it! It smells incredible and is good to use before shaving.

• Natural Collection Green Corrector Stick- Another item that I have gone through a million of. These will always feature in my empties post! I use it every time I use my make up without fail and it is definitely my holy grail item.

L'Oreal Paris Infallible 24hr-Matte Foundation

Hello there!

For probably half a year or so, I had been repeatedly noticing the L'Oreal Paris Infallible 24hr-Matte Foundation appear on blogs and YouTube videos. It seems that there are plenty of make up lovers out there who rate this foundation so I decided I wanted to see what the fuss was about for myself. Was it really as good as everyone was saying?

What are the claims?

The foundation claims to be a matte foundation that reduces shine for up to 24 hours. It also claims to have perfect coverage, have a no cakey effect and be waterproof and steamproof.

Does it live up to its claims?

The foundation is certainly matte. However, it does not remain matte for 24 hours. But who wears their foundation for 24 hours anyway, and who would really expect their foundation to stay perfect that long? I can go out in the day, whether it is to work or elsewhere, or go out on the night, and my foundation WILL stay matte. However, if I were to apply my foundation early in the day and wear it through to the night, the oil of my T-Zone will come through. If I plan to do this, before I go out on the night I do have to blot my T-Zone and reapply powder. It definitely puts my oily T-Zone at bay, but not for all day and night. Alas, this isn't really much of a problem to me. 

I also think it has great coverage. I still apply concealer to areas of the face I know I am increasingly red but I do feel confident that it covers blemishes and redness well. I also agree that it doesn't have a cakey effect which is good because nobody wants to feel suffocated by their own make up!

As for waterproof and steamproof, I don't know. I've never experienced the need for either whilst using this foundation so it wouldn't be fair for me to comment. Despite this, I can say that it is good in heat. I've taken this foundation on holiday with me and it lasted fine in the heat, whereas some foundations can go a bit funny when it is hot.

What I like

I like the fuller coverage for my blemished face and I like that it is matte. It doesn't seem to settle into fine lines on areas of the face that aren't around the eyes. It looks flawless on the skin and doesn't show brush streaks from application. Also, it doesn't have flashback from flash photography which is a relief as my previous foundation did! But to be fair it did have SPF in it and this one doesn't.

What I dislike

The packaging frustrates me. It comes in a squeezy tube which doesn't seem the best form of packaging for foundation as sometimes you have to be careful you don't squeeze out too much product which then comes to waste. Furthermore I can imagine this would become even more annoying when you come to the end of the product and want to try and squeeze out what is left so not to waste it. I would much prefer if it came with a pump!

Although the foundation doesn't settle into fine lines on my fine, it does happen to settle a bit into the fine lines underneath my eyes. It doesn't settle as much as previous foundations have for me but it still does. Because of this every so often I like to wipe my finger lightly across the lines to wipe away any build up of product.

Additionally, you have to work in small patches. The foundation does blend together but it is a bit difficult to blend over a large area. It is better to work in multiple small spaces then blend those spaces together.

To conclude

Overall, I am really fond of this foundation and was impressed when I started using it. I have been using it for 3 months now nearly daily and I do like how it makes my base look. It is matte, it covers my redness and doesn't make me look orange. I will definitely repurchase this foundation when I finish it and for £7.99 the price isn't too bad at all! I would mainly recommend it to people who prefer a fuller, matte coverage and more specifically to people with normal to blemished skin. I don't get an oily T-Zone straight away but I do get one by the end of the day so I am unsure how it would react with someone who gets quite oily immediately. But it is definitely worth a try and maybe with the use of a good primer! I know from the dislikes it may not seem I like it that much but I actually do love it. I had been thinking about trying out this foundation for months and months and I only wish that I had bought it sooner.

Have you used this foundation and if so, what did you think of it?

Fashion | The H&M Galaxy Platform Boots

Hey!


These are the H&M Galaxy Platform boots. I first saw them in a haul by Amy Valentine, a well-known blogger, whose style I've always admired. As soon as I set eyes on these boots I knew I had to have them.


Anyone who knows me will know that I LOVE BOOTS. I only really ever wear boots and will take them through the whole year- even in the heat of summer. 


So I love boots, I love galaxy print and I love platform boots...so what wasn't to love about these? It is what I can describe as a canvas-type material and it has the galaxy, stars, moons and planets all over them. My favourite way to style them is with some black tights as it really makes the galaxy print stand out, just like how it would in the black of space.

I find that the shoelaces are quite long so I do like to do a double bow. The boots are really comfortable and easy to walk in which is a pretty good plus. They are £29.99.


I know I will find a lot of use out of them!


What are your favourite type of shoe?

Real Techniques Setting Brush

Hey!

When it comes to make up brushes, they're actual make up porn when it comes to me. So I'd like to tell you all about the latest brush in my collection: the Real Techniques Setting Brush.             

                   

                           

I had been eyeing it up for a while on FeelUnique so when my boyfriend asked what I wanted for our 2 year anniversary I told him this. He had no idea what the hell it was or what it did, and probably still doesn't, but nevertheless he got it for me.         

As usual with Real Techniques, it is great quality and super soft. The handle is light so it doesn't feel too heavy in your hands and the brush is the perfect small, slightly pointed shape great for using under your eyes and in between the sides of your nose.              

After playing around with it I have decided that I have two different likes for it. I first off like to use it to conceal my under eyes. Before I use my foundation I like to put stripes of my concealer on with its applicator then pat it in with the brush. Next, after applying my foundation and anymore concealer, I then like to use it to apply setting powder to my under eyes. It really is the perfect shape! Finally, I will use the pointed end to set powder in the sides of my nose.  I like to do this because I find the sides of my nose is where I lose foundation coverage the quickest.   

To conclude, I love this brush. It looks beautiful, is a great budget brush and would make a nice gift for a fellow make up lover.

What is your favourite make up brush? Let me know!

Boots Haul | Make Up & Holiday Necessities

Hello!

The other day I made a trip to my local Boots store with my Mum to replenish some make up items and stock up for my upcoming holiday. I spent a little bit more money than I ideally wanted to but it was worth it!

• Nivea Daily Essentials Sensitive Day Cream SPF 15- 

I'm going on holiday in about a week's time and I needed a SPF for my face. I'm really picky about what SPF I will put on my face as some can cause me to break out. Most years I stick to Nivea, and this year I decided to go for a sensitive skin one. I have sensitive skin and this cream also claims to help redness, which I have a lot of, so I am looking forward to trying this.

• Tresemme Freeze Hold Hairspray 100ml-

Another item for going on holiday is this smaller sized version of hairspray. I have always used Tresemme hairspray so I got a smaller bottle to take on holiday. It's good because it is 100ml which is the amount of liquid you can take on a plane.

• L'Oreal Infallible 24hr Matte Foundation [Rose Beige]-

As the bad beauty blogger I am, I've always only used the same foundation. However, I'm finding more and more lately that the foundation that I use isn't really suitable to my skin type now which is kind of dry. I have been seeing so many good reviews over the past few months on this foundation so I have been dying to try it. I always want a good coverage matte foundation so hopefully this will do the trick. I used to always use the L'Oreal Infallible eyeliner in my high school days so I have high standards for this!

• Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer [02 Cool Medium & 03 Warm Medium]-

This is my holy grail concealer and when I decided to change foundation I just couldn't convince myself to change concealer. I couldn't decide which colour would go better with my new foundation so I bought both 02 and 03 shades to try with it. Before that, I always used 03. I adore this concealer and it is certainly the concealer I recommend for anyone who suffers with acne, redness and scarring like I do.

• Soap & Glory Supercat Eyeliner Pen-

My eyeliner (which is this one) is currently on its last legs so I thought I better buy a new one! I'm usually more flexible when it comes to liquid eyeliners and trying new ones but this time I decided to stick with something I know that works for me. I love doing winged eyeliner and this is my favourite liquid eyeliner to do that. What more can I say?

• Eylure Pro-Lash Individuals [Short, Medium & Long Length]-

Again, as the bad beauty blogger I am, I have never used false eyelashes. I've been wanting to for ages but always convinced myself I would be crap at applying them. However, then I think back to the days where I struggled with mascara and eyeliner- now look at me! But the reason I finally decided to get eyelashes was because I recently had an eye infection which meant I lost a large amount of eyelashes. It's to the point where I look like I don't have many eyelashes and they're super gappy so I decided to try my hand at individual lashes. Hopefully they will bring me more confidence with my eyelashes and totally change my eye make up!

• Carex Aloe Vera Refreshing Hand Gel-

If I had a pound for every time I have been out and wished I had some antibatcerial hand gel to use then I would be rich. My main reason to buy this was so I could take it on holiday with me in case I needed it but this will go straight in my handbag afterwards. I also find that I get ill a hell of a lot so I am hoping if I use this outside more I might find myself getting ill less.

• Boots Travel Bottles-

I didn't take a photo of these but I bought two travel bottles to put some of my usual Tresemme Colour Fade Protection Shampoo & Conditioner in for when I go away. I usually save smaller bottles from other products to use as travel bottles but I still needed another 2. I couldn't find a travel sized version of the shampoo and conditioner I like and I am too smitten with them to buy anything else!

So that's it! Have you used any of these items? Let me know!

Soap & Glory Heel Genius

I've never bought a foot product to use before, so there's always a first for everything!


This is the Soap & Glory (a brand favourite) Heel Genius foot cream. As the name suggests, it is a cream that you use on your feet to moisturise them, making an end to hard skin on feet and replacing it with soft, smooth feet. The cream is pastel green in colour and has a smell to it I can't quite put my finger (or toe) on. The ingredients include various citrus extracts, however it does not smell citrusy. It has a sort of standard perfume smell to it with a hint of something else that I can't think of. I can't say it is an entirely pleasant smell, but it isn't entirely an unpleasant smell either.


The product suggests that you massage a generous amount of cream into your feet nightly, then put on cotton socks over top to wear during the night. You will then wake up with beautifully moisturised feet! Admittedly, I don't think about looking after my feet that much, let alone daily. Furthermore, although I know it is an amazing beauty hack wearing cotton socks or gloves to bed after moisturising, I really don't like the feeling of wearing them to bed covered in cream. So what I like to do instead is just use the product whenever I remember to (which is probably about once or twice a month), and just put it on whenever and then relax with my feet up for a while otherwise I would be sliding around everywhere with slippery feet!


Apart from my laziness when using the product, I can't complain about this. When you rub it into your feet it takes a while to soak in but when it does you immediately see results. Your feet are instantly nourished and soft, making me feel less guilty about not using it often. I've never known my feet softer than when I use this.


So yes, overall I do like this product. I'm not someone who overall cares about looking after their feet but I like to use this before I go on holiday or if I am simply having a thorough pampering session. I would certainly recommend this to anyone who wants to care for their feet a bit more, especially for people who like me would forget to use it frequently. It does what it claims to do with immediate effect. Horaay!



What is your favourite product for caring for your feet? Let me know!

Empties #5

• The Body Shop Mango Sugar Body Scrub- This is one of my favourite body scrubs I have ever used. The smell is so incredibly amazing and it lasted be a good 4 months which is a plus! I always used it before shaving to exfoiliate my skin. To see my blog post on it, click here.

• The Body Shop Vanilla Bliss Shower Gel- Another Body Shop goodie! This is a shower gel which I have finally finished up. I've been using it for months and months! It smells amazing and overall is a good shower gel.

• Lush Ro's Argan Body Conditioner- This is an in-shower body butter but is like a hair conditioner for your skin. It doesn't last very long but it is great to use after shaving in the shower. Instead of chucking out this pot I will keep it as if you bring back 5 clean pots to Lush they give you a free face mask! To read my review on it, click here.

• Boots Essentials Nail Polish Remover- There isn't much to say about this product. It is Boots' own brand of nail polish remover which I had been using for probably a year. It is good enough to remove normal nail polish and glitter but the acetone isn't strong enough to remove gel nail polish.

That's it for empties for now. What product have you emptied this month? Let me know!

Boots Mega Shine Colour Lock Top Coat

Hey!

As an avid nail painter I have had my fair share of nail polish top coats. This is the Boots Mega Shine Colour Lock Top, obviously sold in Boots, which I got as a present from a family member a while ago.

This top coat claims to have 'mega shine'. Can I agree? Yes. This is one of the best top coats I have used in terms of shine and you get a very shiney manicure out of it.

Other positives of this top coat include that the consistency is thin enough that it makes it extremely easy to apply, makes application smooth and doesn't leave any air bubbles. I've had it a long while now and it hasn't gone gloopy and hard to apply like some nail polishes do.

However, there is a major flaw that I have found in this top coat: Does it stick to it's claim of being a 'colour lock'? No. The major flaw in this top coat is that it actually makes your nail polish more likely to come off than by itself and it doesn't lock anything in place. No matter what nail polish I use it somehow makes it really easy to chip off! I then tried it as a base coat but it still had the same effect. I want my top coat's to make my nail colour last, not make them chip easy! 

Furthermore, I did a bit of an experiment for 3 days where I had just this top coat on bare nails on one hand and the Models Own Hypergel Top Coat on the other. I found that the majority of this top coat came off within 1 day whilst the Model's Own one lasted those 3 days. How rubbish!

So overall, this top coat works good at making your nails super shiny but makes your nail polish come off straight away. I can't find any way to make use of this as no matter what layer I use it as in my manicure it works to make the polish come off straight away. For that reason, I will not be using, recommending or buying this nail polish again.

What is your favourite top coat to use? 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!