January Empties

I finally have some empties for you! I will be the first to admit that I am terrible for finishing products. I get bored of the scent and move on really quickly. Particularly with shower gels and moisturisers. However, since Kat from Tales of a Pale Face talked about her savings idea of putting away money for every product she finishes, I've been feeling inspired! No more will half used products sit in my bathroom! 

From L-R: Soap and Glory Hand Food, Soap and Glory Clean on Me Shower Gel, The Body Shop Satsuma Body Butter 50ml, VO5 Treat Me Right Hair Mask, VO5 Gloss Me Smoothly Conditioner, The Body Shop Dragon Fruit Lip Butter, Boots Conditioning Nail Polish Remover

Soap and Glory Hand Food and Clean on Me Shower Gel
Okay, confession time. I've actually had these since December 2011. I got them in the big S&G case. I'm not normally this bad when it comes to using up products but I actually got so sick of the smell of these that I couldn't bare to use them! They just reminded me so much of working at Boots (as a very miserable Christmas temp) and they gave me a queasy feeling of dread every time I smelt them. A few months ago I decided that I was going to try to reacclimatise myself to them so they didn't make me feel sick. I didn't do too badly! They're still excruciatingly sweet but meh, I finished them. I know that for a lot of people these are like Holy Grail products, particularly the Hand Food. But I wasn't wowed. I personally much prefer the smell of the Sugar Crush range. The quality is excellent though. They last forever and you don't need much. The Hand Food is very moisturising but it doesn't sink in quite as quickly as I'd like. Still very fast, but not by any means perfect. (P.S. the shower gel has lost it's colour because it was shoved on the window sill for months, it's supposed to be a happy pink!)
Repurchase? No way. I gave away my last Hand Food and Righteous Butter to my giveaway winner. I would have given her the shower gel too but it was too darn heavy!

The Body Shop Satsuma Body Butter 50ml
Ahh, let me count the ways I love thee... One of my all time favourite products are the body butters that The Body Shop make and this is possibly my favourite scent. It's very true to a Satsuma smell and it sinks in insanely fast. It's a bit lighter and creamier than the other butters that I have tried so I would prefer to use this in the Spring/Summer. I actually finished this around Christmas time and it's my oldest empty out of the lot! I like to layer the satsuma mist over this for an extra long lasting scent. Smelling like a satsuma isn't for every one, but I love it.
Repurchase? Already have. The 200ml version sits proudly on my drawers.

VO5 Treat Me Right Hair Mask and VO5 Gloss Me Smoothly Conditioner
I'm very fickle when it comes to my hair. I'd like to say I'm loyal to a certain shampoo and conditioner but I'd be lying. I'm actually the type that buys whatever is on offer a the time! *bad beauty blogger* Regardless of my bizarre swapping and changing, I have noticed a slight improvement in my hair recently. I think it's a combination of these and my Tresemme heat defence spray. It looks much shinier than it usually does! I've always been quite lucky with the condition of my hair and I've never suffered with particularly bad dryness or split ends but shine and volume is something I'm always looking for. Here's my hair a couple of days ago (sorry for the long image):

This is after using Colour B4 (which didn't work, but that's a story for another day,) applying the VO5 mask and Tresemme heat defence. Very shiny and healthy looking! I do recommend these products if you're looking for cheap glossy conditioners.

Repurchase? Yes, so long as they're on offer ;)

The Body Shop Dragon Fruit Lip Butter

All hail the holy grail! I love this product. I rave about it whenever I get a chance. Being of dry skin variety I also suffered with dry and chapped lips which would split and bleed (gross but true.) Well no longer. This product is an intensely moisturising, thick, pale cream. I slather it on at night and wake up to fabulous soft lips. Can't recommend it enough. Particularly in Winter.

Repurchase? YES! Already have. I'm trying a new scent though, hello Mango!

Boots Conditioning Nail Polish Remover

Always an essential. I picked this one up months and months ago and it's lasted forever (despite me tipping it over and losing some!) Would I say it was conditioning? Hmm. It certainly wasn't drying and cuticles always felt soft after using so to an extent I'd say yes. Also worth noting is that this is the nicest smelling nail varnish remover I have ever smelt. It doesn't make me wince with the acrid fumes. And on top of all that it even removed my nail varnish with a small amount of effort! Win.

Repurchase? I probably would. I recently bought a strengthening one from Sainsbury's so I'll see how that compares first.

Lots of positivity in this months empties! What do you think to these products?

Lauren

Review and Swatching Marathon: Soap and Glory Wowed Mouth

On Boxing Day I was one of the mental people that went out in search of bargains. One such bargain that I managed to grab from under a dithering woman's gaze was the Soap and Glory Wowed Mouth Palette. Originally £12, it went down to £6 post Christmas at Boots and can still be found if you really wanted it. The amazing thing about this palette is that it contains all six colours from Soap and Glory's Super-Colour Fabulipstick Satin Finish lipsticks, so it is essentially your own little tester stand! You only get 1g of each colour but to be honest, the formulas are gorgeously creamy and thick and you don't need a lot of the product to coat your lips. I know that the amount I have now will certainly last me a while, and then I can purchase my favourite (possibly favourites...) in a full lipstick.

The product comes in a sturdy cardboard case with a magnetic fastening. The packaging is classic Soap and Glory, vintage, fun and girly. It also includes a large mirror and double-ended synthetic bristle lip brush which I've found to be very functional. I actually applied every colour using this lip brush and the only negative I have is that the bristles can be a bit sharp if you catch your lip on the edge. Other than that, it does the job very well! I've never used a lip brush before and but I really liked the effect this one gave me. It also cleans very well and dries quickly without losing bristles or bleeding.

Here's a picture of my bare lips so you know what I was working with:

Pale squidgy pink. I don't have much pigmentation at all. Hello blank canvas!

 Naked Beige

 Guava Rama

 Red My Lips

 The Missing Pink

 Perfect Day

Man Trap

Soap and Glory say: Featuring ULTIMELT™ lip shine & shaping technology, 3-D PLUMP™ peptide complex, Shea Butter, Monoi Butter & Vitamin E. Hyaluronic acid and Ceramide 2 (for aging repair and visible wrinkle reduction) help to give a soft, smooth, dewy, plump colour-fill pout.

I actually like every single colour! I had no idea how the shades would look on my skin but they translated very well from what you see in the palette. Word of warning though, they look absolutely nothing like the swatches on the Soap and Glory website! The colours are actually fairly similar but there's enough variation to keep me entertained. I absolutely adore Naked Beige and The Missing Pink as soft neutrals. I can see these being ideal for things like job interviews (which hopefully I will be seeing at some point!) and just as general daytime lipsticks. The only negative for me colour wise is that Red My Lips was a tad too brown for my complexion but I think it would look gorgeous on a multitude of other skin tones.

Wear time was quite good, around 3-4 hours. I have discovered so far that they transfer onto cocktail glasses and handsome men so there's a high chance they transfer onto everything else. Blotting and powdering would help combat this. Formula wise, as said before, they are all thick and creamy and gorgeous. I can't fault them really. The satin finish means that you do get a slight shine which I find very flattering. I haven't noticed any "plumping" but I have fairly full lips anyway so I'm not the best person to test! I can however say that this comes with none of the strange tingling of the Sexy Mother Pucker lip glosses.

I am utterly in love with this product and I think it's fantastic that I have the chance to try out every colour in the range. Can you imagine if other companies had palettes like this? A full set of MAC lipsticks in 1g portions... I dream of the day.

Have you tried any of the Soap and Glory cosmetics? Which is your favourite product?

Lauren

If you liked this, please go and check it out on Naomi's Blog (I will have a link up as soon as she's posted it) and vote for me in the upcoming competition! Details can be found on her page.

Review: Soap and Glory Arch de Triumph Brow Pencil in Taupe/Buff

I picked this up a little while ago at Boots along with the Best of All set. I'm a classic complainer about my brows but I never bother to do anything about it. This chunky pencil seemed like the perfect lazy girls answer to fantastic brows!

Who doesn't love Soap and Glory's packaging? I adore this little box with it's gold highlights and vintage girly feel. The product itself is a chunky double ended pencil with a brown coloured (taupe) slim nib on one end and a chunky nude/pink (buff) thick nib highlighter on the other. It's a simple sleek design and the lids feel thick, stable and don't slide off. Sadly this is the only shade Soap and Glory currently make and whilst it is a shade that will work for a lot of people, those with fair or black brows probably couldn't get much use out of this.
Here's a little swatch:

Sorry about my bizarre pigmentation - I go pink and white in the cold! I had to swipe the brow shader several times to get this. I had immediate warning bells going off but I think it was just because it was a new pencil and needed warming to get going. The highlighter applied like a dream, it was thick and creamy and super pigmented.

As I said before, I have never ever used a brow pencil or any kind of brow product before (bar tweezers for occasional plucking) so I went into this as a total novice.

Here are my results:

Before - After

I am actually really impressed! The tone is a little warmer than the colour of the hairs but I quite like it. The highlighter makes it look like I literally have no pores in my skin. Bonus! It blended out super easily and evenly and the colours look very natural and pretty. I really like this product and I'm going to get a lot more use out of it. I originally had a bit of an issue with the price being £8 since I'm not the most affluent person, but considering you get two products in one and they both work really well, I can't complain! I'd definitely recommend this to any other lazy beauties. It's just a pity it only comes in one shade!

Have you tried this pencil? Which brow products do you recommend?

Lauren

P.S. Enter my giveaway which includes the palette and mascara that I used to create my eye makeup with! Click here!

Recent Purchases Haul

Head's up: this is gonna be quite picture heavy!
I've been doing quite a bit of purchasing here and there for various things. Mainly because of all the awesome deals on at the moment, plus I've been buying things for my giveaway! You'll see a couple of the pieces in these pictures. It's not going to be massive, it's just a few bits that I really like and wanted to pass on to one of my lovely followers. Hopefully I'll have that up today or tomorrow so everyone can enter then.
First up:

Masses of beauty booty.

1. Yankee Sampler Candles  

Wild Passion Fruit  

 Pink Dragon Fruit

My very first Yankee candles! I went into Clintons with the intention of having a look at the 50% off Christmas candles but the shelves had been raided and nothing there took my fancy. I started circling the stand and spotted these babies. I love fresh fruity scents and these are utterly divine. I'm going to try and keep them for Spring/Summer and use up the more Wintery themed candles I have in the mean time. Wish me luck.

2. Kiss Me Quick Nice Ice Lip Balm Set

I actually got these as part of my Secret Santa but I think they're so adorable I just wanted to show them off! I'll do a more detailed post on them soon because they're really lovely.

3. MUA

Lip Boom in It's A Situation
Undressed Palette*

The Artiste Collection Palette*

Eye Liner Pencil in Snow White

Have you seen the colour of It's A Situation?! Stunning deep plum. I'm not a massive fan of glittery lipglosses but I'll try it nonetheless. The palettes are for you lovely people! I love my Undressed Palette and the Artiste Collection came free with it so I thought I'd pass on the love. 

4. Collection

Lock 'n' Hold Lip Gloss in Break Dance

24hr Felt Liner in Teal

Bedazzled Nail Effects in Tea at the Glitz*

5. Maybelline

Master Smokey Eye Liner in Smokey Violet

I've read a lot of negative reviews about the product but I don't know what it is... I just wanted it so bad! Luckily the girl working in Superdrug offered me this one for just £1 because it was missing the lid on the smudger. For a £5 saving, I didn't really mind and snapped this up with minimal thought!

6. Soap and Glory

Arch de Triumph in Buff

I b*tch about my brows constantly and never do anything about it. UNTIL NOW! Here's hoping this will give me the definition my heart desires.

7. James Brown

Photo Fabulous High Shine Spray

8. The Body Shop Body Butter

Satsuma

Vineyard Peach

(just seen since I missed them out of my big picture) I used up my 50ml of the Satsuma so fast I had to get another one! Also, if you like the Peach, get it now whilst it's on half price. It's sadly being discontinued since it was only a limited edition scent.

9. Nivea Extreme Resist Glossy

Joli Cherry

Radiant Plum

Pretty Berry

Bright Rose

I know. I went and bought the whole collection! I adore these Poundland bargain gems and was thinking of including a couple in the giveaway, providing they're in stock still. If they are, which colours would you most like? Or do you want them all?

10. Revlon

Lip Butters in:

Raspberry Pie

Macaroon

Peach Parfait 

Berry Smoothie

Balm Stains in:
Honey

Crush

Nail Varnish in:

Sequins

It's the big one. I've gone Revlon crazy recently because they're all on offer and there's so many products I wanted! I got sequins for free with a 3 for 2 offer and then I went back again and the lip butters were £5 each so I bought 3 more. I'm utterly thrilled with these. Here's some close ups to wet your whistle:

Next up is the Soap and Glory Best of All. Everyone and their dog knows about how amazing these are. Particularly when you get them for £27!

Heel Genius, Clean On Me, Smoothie Star (my new favourite, it smells like sweet popcorn!) Peach and Clean, Sugar Crush Body Scrub, The Righteous Butter* Hand Food* Thick and Fast Mascara, Sexy Mother Pucker in Punchbowl. All full size, all fabulous.

And finally something a little bit different...

BOOKS!

I was lucky enough to receive a Waterstones voucher for Christmas so I put it towards these gorgeous specimens. There's quite a bit of variety here and I'm tempted to start doing the occasional book review in 2013 for a bit of variety. Plus I love hearing about books that other people love and can talk for hours about my favourites. And besides, everyone know that smart girls equal sexy girls and girls reading equals smart girls. It's basic beauty math.

So that's my mahoosive beauty booty recent purchases. I hope you liked it! It took me blimmin' ages. Sorry about the bizarre lighting changes. It's so dark that I had to use flash for some pictures.

If there's anything particular you want reviewing quickly, leave me a comment.

Let me know if you'd like any Nivea Extreme Resist Glossy's in my giveaway!

* indicates that it's going to be in the giveaway

Lauren

Boxing Day Sales Haul

I was feeling very brave on Boxing Day and decided to battle my way through the sea of people in such of some bargains! Sadly the only thing that I desperately wanted was the only thing I couldn't get - The Clinique Whole Lotta Colour set. Literally sold out EVERYWHERE. If you chat to me on Twitter you will have seen my pitiful moans about finding one. No success yet. Maybe there'll be a few about in January? Here's hoping. Here's what I did manage to find:

I picked up these ten W7 polishes from my new favourite nail varnish store - TKMaxx. I've had some fantastic luck in there recently, as you can see from this recent haul. I've never used W7 before but I just couldn't pass up this fantastic set of pastels for just £10! They are screaming SPRING at me and I can't wait for the daffodils that will be the backdrop to these ice cream shades. I can only hope that the formula will be up to scratch for me! Let me know if you've tried this brand before. Also, there's a massive amount of product in them, I've never seen 15ml nail polishes before! The only negative is that they don't come with names, only numbers. I love pretty names for products and I won't lie, I've spent some time fantasising about what I would name these. I won't tell you what I've named them because it's sad and embarrassing... how about Pina Colada for the yellow though?!

I also took a trip into one of my favourite shops - The Body Shop. They have an amazing selection of body butters in there for half price at the moment. I spent a while holding Cherry, Blueberry, Raspberry and Passion Fruit before I finally reasoned with myself that I should only take one. As you can see, I walked away with Passion Fruit but my heart is telling me that I'll have Raspberry by the end of the week. Oops. I adore the Green Apple shower gel and this is my second bottle. I recently drained my last one and it's going to be in my 2012 favourites. It's so fresh and not too sickly sweet. I'm gutted that it's been discontinued and I urge you to pick one up if you can find it, particularly for only £2 (or £1.80 with the loyalty card)! I'm in love with the Ginger Sparkle Christmas Range and recently reviewed quite a few pieces of it here. It was a no-brainer for me to grab this adorable little half price hand cream since my Soap and Glory Hand Food is on the way out. The three cosmetic bits were all in the sale AND on 3 for 2! I paid £4.05 (including my 10% discount) for two eye shadows in pretty green colours and a Delipscious Sheer Lip Colour in Pomegranate. I'd never heard of the Delipscious range before and I'm excited to try this one!

This Soap and Glory lip palette was £6 in the Boots sale and contains 6 pretty colours. I haven't tried any yet but I like the slightly brown/pink tones in some of these colours and I haven't got anything like them in my current collection. It also comes with a double ended applicator - I'm not sure about the quality of it yet but I'll let you know!

I've never shopped in Internacionale before but I decided to have a quick look on a whim and fell in love with these little pieces from the jewellery section. They were buy one get one half price (including sale stuff, yay!) so I picked these up for £3.49. Serious bargain. The cross is a lovely rose gold colour but I'm afraid the lighting was so bad it's impossible to tell from the picture. I wore the earrings yesterday and got a lot of compliments! People couldn't believe I'd got them for less than £2. They're not too heavy but look much more expensive than they are and I know I'm going to be wearing them a lot in the months to come.

So that's my little sales haul! Did you brave the shops on Boxing Day? Leave some links to show me what you picked up!

Lauren

£5 and Under Christmas Gifts

1/2/3/4/5/6/7

I'm not sure if any one has noticed the stark absence of Christmas themed posts on my blog, but I certainly have. The reason for this is that this is the first time I've really sat down and thought hard about Christmas presents. This is a rather packed 7 day period for me as I have my long-suffering boyfriends birthday on 28th November, my father's birthday on 3rd December and my anniversary (4 years! eep) on the 4th December. So, finally, now I know that everything has been done and sorted for those, I can have a good old trawl through the internet and pick out some presents! 

1. A Book. The picture and link here are representative. 

I honestly believe that giving a book as a gift is more than just giving a present. You are handing someone the gift of an experience. A book is one of the most amazing things that you can possibly give to someone. I chose Life of Pi because it is an experience that I loved. Truly loved. I read this last year and I still think about it, particularly since the film adaptation is soon to be released (who's excited?!) You can always find books cheaply, you just have to have a good shop around. No, you are not going to walk out of Waterstones with a bestseller for £3, it's a sad fact, but it's true. I actually found my copy of Life of Pi in a charity shop for £1.50 and I love that it has signs of wear on it. It's a book that has clearly been loved. Pass on your favourite this Christmas, and talk about it excitedly in January!

2. Glass Bauble Shaped Candle Holder £2.99

I love candles and I think that this holder is Christmassy enough to classed as "themed" but simple and clean and elegant enough to use all year round. It's a serious bargain that leaves you with change from your fiver to buy some tea lights!

3. Soap and Glory Mini's £2.50 each currently on a 3 for 2 deal

Who doesn't love Soap and Glory? I've tried all of the products that I chose and they are all of fantastic quality and smell amazing. Get them whilst they're on offer!

4. The Body Shop Mini's Currently on a 5 for £5 deal

I've tried most of the products included and as always with The Body Shop, they are really wonderful products. If you've been reading my blog for more than five minutes you know I'm a total Body Shop fangirl. I would be thrilled to receive a cute mix bag of mini's!

5. MUA Eyeshadow Palette £4

Featured here is the Undressed Palette, currently the only one I own. Everybody and their mother knows about these bargain gems. They make perfect stocking fillers and there's a good range to choose from. Ideal for any beauty loving girl.

6. The Body Shop Mini Manicure Kit £5

A super cute Christmas themed manicure kit to get your nails perfect and polish-ready. I love the classy packaging on this and a need some new nail scissors... hint hint Santa. 

7. M&S Beauty Gifts at 50% off. 

Shown here: Alice + Eliza Winter Berry Lip Balm £1.25 Alice +Eliza Nail Polish Giftset £3

I've linked to the whole lot that they have available at the moment. There are also some men's toiletries available. I've never actually tried anything from Alice + Eliza but I really loved the packaging and colours available in these two products and thought they would be great bought together. Take a peek whilst they're on offer!

I hope you liked my idea and got a bit of festive inspiration! I'd love to see some similar gift lists so feel free to leave links.

Will you be taking advantage of any of these offers this year?

Lauren

How I Stopped Biting My Nails

I had been biting my nails for as a long as I can remember. I can never recall having lovely white tips and shiny nails as a child or teen. It's actually a really irritating habit and can be quite painful; no end of times I had been ripping away at my nails or skin and suddenly they had begun to bleed and sting. I was constantly berated by my Grandmother for it and she would smack my hand away whenever she saw me do it! Plus, I was always very aware that people could see my nails and I became paranoid that they were judging me because of it. "Was she nervous and liable to make mistakes?" "Did she have no self control?" "Did she just not care about her appearance?" None of these things were true about me. I simply found myself doing it every time I wasn't fully occupied. I would do it when I watched films or sat on the internet or when I was waiting for anything! It was unsanitary and unattractive.

So this year, I decided that being 19 was a ridiculous age to still be nibbling at my fingers, and more than anything I wanted to be able to have lovely long nails that I could file and paint.

1. I made sure to think about the bad things associated with nail biting (is there anything good?!?) and kept them in my mind whilst I went cold turkey.

2. I bought a great hand cream so that I could nourish my dry fingers and cuticles. 

Hand Food by Soap and Glory (Buy at Boots) was my choice. At £5.00 it was affordable but not so cheap that I could think about wasting it by not keeping up with moisturising.

But no matter how soft and lovely my hands were I just could not stop focussing on my nails. As soon as the tips started sprouting I kept unconsciously bringing them to my mouth and stopping myself as I noticed. (Disgusting I know...) So,

3. I bought a multi use nail block.

This six-sided battered-beauty came from Boots at a mere £2.50. 

For about a month I was not seen sitting still without this with me. Every time I got the urge to bite I would file, buff and shine my way to satisfaction. My nails gleamed. People would ask me if I had a clear varnish on. It was a great feeling. Seeing my nails growing and gleaming was so encouraging and I couldn't wait for when they had enough growth so that I could paint them!

4. Finally! I bought my very first nail polish, aged 19. It was Barry M's Coral and a Top and Bottom coat to go with it. 

 I spent the entire length of The Little Mermaid (very appropriate for the colour I thought) carefully applying my varnishes. I was thrilled with the result but it felt so strange having these bright orange/pink nails and I would keep noticing them when I was walking or reading etc. 

Once I could paint them it was so much easier to keep up with my new lifestyle choice. No longer being able to see the white tips stopped me thinking about biting them all together. At that point I was changing the colour every two or three days because as soon as it started to chip I would get the urge to bite again. Humans are so weird. 

This is not to say that I didn't ever slip up. I absolutely did and I felt so awful that it completely strengthened my resolve. 5 months later, I can happily go varnish free and it no longer bothers me. I officially destroyed a life long habit, and it feels great! 

Have you beaten this habit or are you still suffering with it? How did you stop?

To sign off I'll leave this list of celebrity nail biters for you to chew over. (Puntastic! I'm so ashamed haha)

David Beckham

Phil Collins

Uma Thurman

Britney Spears

Elijah Wood

Lindsay Lohan

Kylie Minogue

Bruce Springsteen

Lisa Marie Presley

Prince Harry

Eva Mendes

Tony Robbins

And many more!

Lauren