All Used Up #9

Hey guys, here is my very late follow up post which accompanies the video for my empties. I've managed to use up a variety of products this time around so you can either hear or read all about them in this post :)

1. Lush 'Snow Fairy' Shower Gel: An iridescent pink shower gel that features a bubble gum and pear drop scent, this product foams up nicely and leaves your bathroom smelling gorgeous for ages afterwards. One of my favourites from Lush but only available in their Christmas collection so you will have to wait until the end of this year to get your hands on it again, sorry!

2. Vichy Normaderm Micellar Water: full review here. One of the better micellar waters I've tried, it doesn't leave any horrible residue, is paraben free and suitable for oily skin, but it is rubbish at cleaning away stubborn eye make up and didn't blow me away. I wouldn't repurchase.

3. Yankee Candle 'Salted Caramel' Candle: I don't know how Yankee do it but they seem to encapsulate scents so well. This scent is very heavy but so delicious - think warm comforting caramel with a very sweet twist. It won't be everyone's cup of tea but I've loved using this throughout the winter months and would definitely repurchase.

4. Batiste Dry Shampoo: A regular feature in these posts, my trusty dry shampoo of choice. An absolute life saver it refreshes hair and provides volume. A regular repurchase.

5. Paul Mitchell Forever Blonde Shampoo* & Conditioner*: Full review here. The shampoo is more than just a bog standard product, it provides moisture and refreshes your colour without making it greasy. The conditioner is the perfect follow up, a half way house between a conditioner and a hair mask it provides a hit of moisture that won't weigh down your hair. A definite repurchase!

6. Dove 'Original' Antiperspirant: not much to say on this one, I do like Dove deodorants but I normally get whatever is on offer!

7. Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer:  A blogger favourite, I love the coverage and the long lasting formula but I find the shade range really lets this product down and it tends to go quite ashy on me. I've repurchased this a lot before but I think I was trying to make myself like it more than I did.

8. Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer:  I originally wanted a lighter shade for under my eyes but instead I used this on my face and it was a good consistency but was quite lightweight so you have to build up the coverage gradually. It also isn't as long wearing as I would like. I wouldn't repurchase unless I could get a lighter colour for under my eyes.

9. Soap & Glory Supercat Eyeliner: My first foray into pen style liquid eyeliners, I loved the concept but the actual product fell short. It is quite grey and watery so needs to be built up into an opqaue line, which is a shame because at the time I bought it there was lots of hype around it. I'm trying out one by Bourjois at the moment and much prefer that.

Have you tried any of these products? xxx

Review: Paul Mitchell | Forever Blonde Shampoo & Conditioner |

Forever Blonde Shampoo* // £14.95 // 250ml // Forever Blonde Conditioner* // £14.95 // 200ml

My first encounter with Paul Mitchell was years ago as a teenager, when I got my first set of highlights at Stephen Way located on New Bond Street (a fab salon that I really recommend!) They used a few products from the brand on me which I then promptly bought myself, but after years of being a product junkie and testing out lots of different hair care I forgot about how much I liked Paul Mitchell. Luckily for me I got sent a few items after attending a fab event they held, two of which were the Forever Blonde Shampoo* and Conditioner*. Normally I can only really tell a difference between conditioners and styling products but after using these for around 2 months now I can tell you that both of these products have really impressed me. I wash my hair every 3-4 days and have used this particular duo every time, bar the time I use a purple shampoo with a deep conditioner which is normally once every two weeks. 

I love the packaging and the smell of both products, both of which have a slight purple tinge to them to help keep brassiness at bay without leaving a colour cast. The Forever Blonde Shampoo is actually really nourishing while lathering and cleansing effectively even though it is sulfate free, which surprised me as most shampoos leave my hair feeling quite stripped and I need a good load of conditioner afterwards to counteract this. I use this twice before moving onto the Forever Blonde Conditioner that is also sulfate free. I really love the consistency of the conditioner as it is quite thick but not heavy - kind of like a hybrid between a standard conditioner and a treatment. It makes it easy to brush out any knots and you don't have to leave it on for ages for it to leave your hair silky soft and smooth.

Both these products have been great at combating problems that traditionally come with having lifted or bleached blonde hair: colour fading, brassiness, weakness and moisture - by the addition of KerActive protein that binds to the hair to aid damage repair and safflower which delivers moisture and seals the cuticle of hair. Once these run out I would 100% repurchase them as they are the only every day shampoo and conditioner I've found so far that really make a difference to the quality of my hair. If you have blonde hair I highly recommend these!

What are your favourite Paul Mitchell products? xxx

All Used Up #5

There isn't too many products in the fifth installment of this series even though I have used up other things but have failed to keep them in order to write a post. I'm going to try a bit harder though to find somewhere safe to keep them as I think they are a great way to do mini reviews and enjoy reading other people's (link me in the comments if you have a recent post of your own!)

001. La Roche-Posay Physiological Micellar Solution: I've been trying out a few micellar waters to take off the excess of my make up before cleansing properly, which I used to do with face wipes before. This was one of the better ones I have tried but did not take up all of my make up so I wouldn't recommend cleansing with just this. It was nice in the mornings though to freshen up and left skin soft and without any residue. I'm not sure if I really 'get' the hype over micellar waters to be honest - I'm using a bottle of Bioderma which is supposed to be the best one on the market, so once that is all finished I think I will have formed my final opinion on this type of product.

002. Simple Smoothing Facial Scrub: This has been hanging around for a while so I was pleased to finish it. It is an effective scrub without being too harsh and a good scrub/cream ratio but it didn't blow me away. I am looking at other scrubs and ways in which to exfoliate my skin instead at the moment.

003. Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub: Another scrub, this time for the body. The scent of this is amazing: citrus and brown sugar combined together smells like Rowntree's fruit pastel lollies :) I'm a big fan of all things Soap & Glory and I am slowly working my way through their products but this particular scrub wasn't the best I've tried from them. As I said the smell was amazing so I am definitely looking into getting the shower gel of this range but the scrub wasn't scrubby enough for me and found that meant a lot of product was needed to get the desired results. Flake Away lasted a lot longer than this and I preferred the texture so it is still the top scrub for me!

004. Superdrug Blonde Colour Enhance Conditioner: Like the Simple scrub this has been in my bathroom for ages (I'm talking years) as I didn't really like it too much. I ended up using it for shaving my legs which it was good at but for its actual use I wouldn't repurchase.

005. Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush: Yet another dry shampoo as I always use this in between washes. I've never really tried another dry shampoo as these are cheap and do the job.

006. Tresemme Heat Defence Smooth Spray: I don't use any other products from this brand as I heard from hairdressers that it isn't actually good for your hair, but their heat protectant is lovely and I always repurchase it. It smells lovely, doesn't weigh hair down and lasts ages so is very cost effective too. My favourite aspect of this product is the spray function as it delivers a very fine mist. I've kept the bottle to transfer some other heat protectants that I've got to use up into as its the best spray I've found. A definite repurchase.

Have you tried any of these products? xxx

Review: Kerastase | Elixir Ultime |

Kerastase Elixir Ultime for Coloured Hair // £29.35 // 125ml

On my most recent visit to the hairdressers Matt treated me to this hair oil (thank you!) I wanted to test out a new brand of oil as I wasn't completely in love with the Macadamia version and am keen to find one that suits my hair type.

There are 4 versions and upon consultation with my hairdresser we purchased the pink one, which features an added ingredient of imperial tea and is best suited for colour treated hair. I love the pink shiny packaging that includes a lockable pump, however I was disappointed it was made out of plastic rather than glass as for me it is quite pricey and I would have preferred it to feel more luxurious for the money. 

It has quite a strong scent which I really like - quite perfumed and flowery that lasts until the next wash. According to the hairdresser it smells like Marc Jacobs Lola fragrance but I can't vouch for that as I haven't smelt it. One pump is enough for me and I smooth it from the top of my ears through to the lengths of my hair. Oils have a variety of uses: pre-shampoo treatments, after washing and as a finishing touch after styling to name a few. My favourite for this oil is after washing on towel dried hair to keep my hair smooth, soft and smelling lovely (although I don't use it if I've used a hair mask). It works great whether you want to blow dry and style your hair or if you prefer to air dry your hair which I normally do. 

This oil has really shone for me and is definitely worth the price tag. I notice a real difference when I use this and find it nourishing without weighing down my hair. I've been using it for a few months now and it is only showing signs of use so should hopefully last me a very long time. I would really like to compare it to the mythic oil by L'Oreal too to see if the high street version matches up to it.

Do you have any favourite hair oils to recommend? xxx

All Used Up

This is my first 'empties' post and they will probably be few and far between as I am rubbish at using my products up and usually just buy more than I need! However, I'm going to try and cut down on the spending so these posts will (hopefully) become more of a regular thing than I am anticipating.

Witch Foaming Face Wash: I bought this ages ago when I was in Home Bargains at uni (an absolute gem of a shop!) as I needed a new face wash and have been using it again recently to get rid of it! There was nothing special that stood out about this and to be honest, it never really made much difference to my skin. As it is a foam, it did feel gentle when I washed my face but I never saw any positive changes to my skin in regards to blemishes, skin tone etc. It was a perfectly  nice face wash but I wouldn't buy it again as it didn't do much for me.

Sally Hansen Nail Polish Remover for Normal Nails: There isn't much to say about a nail varnish remover to be honest! As this was for normal nails I didn't see any amazing effects from using this, but as far as nail polish removers go it was pretty effective.

John Frieda Sheer Blonde Tone-Refreshing Shampoo: This has lasted me a really long time as I don't use it with every wash like it states due to the fact using a toner on your hair often can damage it quite a lot. I liked the smell and the consistency of the formula, but its effects didn't last long after I used it. On the first day my hair was noticeably more vibrant in colour, however this did wear off the next day. I have bought a new purple shampoo in my recent haul (see that post here) which was cheaper so it will be interesting to compare the two. If I don't get on with my most recent version of purple shampoo I will probably repurchase, but I would like to find something a little more effective.

Garnier Pure Facial Moisturiser: This product also lasted me ages, even when using morning and night. I used to use it in conjunction with the face scrub and toner and found it effective with that, but after they ran out, it showed me the moisturiser wasn't that much of a miracle product. It claims to 'treat imperfections while leaving the skin smooth', however I don't think it did much for blemishes or oil control and actually left my skin feeling a bit tacky. I have since bought the Clean and Clear oil free moisturiser and I already prefer it (expect a blog post on that soon). Overall, there was no noticeable benefits from using this product and I wouldn't repurchase. I would rather pay more money for a really enjoyable moisturiser than less for a sub-standard one.

Have you used any of your products? What are your thoughts on them? Are there any products you would recommend to use instead of these? xxx