February Favourites, Empties and Shopping My Stash!

Bonjour!

February faves and empties here ...

Mandara Spa Tropical Blooms Softening Body Cream - (from Sainsburys) - my favourite fragrance from this range - heady floral scented cream that moisturises well.  Takes a while to rub in so I only use it when I know I've a little more time - great on a night out because the fragrance lasts and lasts. (I already re-purchased a while ago as they are frequently on offer at Sainsburys).

Dove Indulgent (with Shea Butter) Nourishing Lotion - an everyday favourite - glides on, sinks in easily and leaves skin soft and smelling good man. I'll re-purchase when it's on offer again.

Olay Essentials Complete Care Day Lotion - recently empty. Meant to be suitable for normal/dry or combi skin. Bought this mainly for it's spf 30.  Not sure whether this is the day cream for me - it's thicker than any I've used before - seems to moisturise ok and make up stayed put with primer but felt somewhat greasy on my T-Zone - maybe better suited to a dryer skin.  I'm a bit on the fence so am trying a new day cream out.

Nivea Sunny Melon & Oil Shower Gel - now finished (the bottle is actually a golden colour so it stilll looks full but it's empty - shame!). Exactly as the name suggests - smells of warm melons in the summer sun (that sounds wrong!).  It has teeny tiny balls of oil which burst when showering and moisturise skin - like it and will re-purchase (again will wait until on offer).

Elemis Re-Hydrating Ginseng Toner - this was another from last year's Elemis TSV - lovely product - refreshing, hydrating and invigorating in the morning. This is the first toner I've used from Elemis and I'd like to re-purchase at some stage.

Percy & Reed Bodifying Cream and No Oil Oil (for fine hair) - yep they're here again! Another kit from QVC - it's a favourite alright - full review to follow.

Carmex Moisturising Lip Balm Original -  needs no intro. I hadn't used Carmex before (despite being a bit of a lip-balm addict) and bought the pot and the tube when Claire from Another New Day mentioned it as one of her absolute favourites for winter lips. I'm  glad I did because it's now one of my favourites, it's like wearing a protective shield. Love it.

 Laura Geller Baby Cakes Baked Blush Palette - love Laura Geller 'baked' products - available from QVC (also have her famous Balance 'n' Brighten.)  I've heard Laura's baked blushes are comparable to MAC's Mineralised  blushes? This is what I believe is called 'Shopping my Stash?' - bought the palette last year when it was on offer on QVC - where else? (don't think it's available in the UK at the moment - shame). I tend to save it for nights' out but dug it out to use recently and glad I did. The Baby Cakes blush palette contains three colours with a subtle shimmer (not full on glitter!) and one matte. Each gives a gorgeous wash of colour and lift to my tired old cheeks. You only need a little of the product but can build up for a stronger look - great pigment and stays put all day or night!

Ahh - a firm favourite (but soon to be empty!) this month - was on offer at Tesco half price.  Tastes wonderful with those bits of chocolate and gooey bits!

What have been your favourites this month - have you tried Creme Egg Ice Cream yet?


Jen x

Half-Term Haul!

Bonjour!

Me and my gal did a bit of shopping over half term - we went to Boots and Superdrug (there's a surprise) and I picked up a few items ...

Boots had their 'Buy 1 Get 2nd Half Price' offer on ....

Maybelline Dream Touch Lumi Concealer in nude - £6.99 - I was actually after the Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer as I've read so many good things about it - but Boots never seemed to have the colour I wanted (having been in a few times) so thought I'd give this a go - feedback to follow.

Bourjois Intuitive Liner - £6.99- I've been wanting to try out the Clarins 3-Dot Liner ever since I heard it creates the look of a thicker lash line but just can't justify spending £20 on it at the moment.  Bourjois Intuitive is meant to be a pretty good dupe (and obviously far more purse-friendly) so lets see what happens.

Batiste Dry Shampoo (dark and deep brown) - I can't live without my dry shampoo, particularly when my colour is growing out and dark roots are coming through (as they are at the moment). My hair seems to grease up so much more at the roots and this is a little life-saver.  Also adds texture and body without looking like I've tipped a tub of talc all over my barnet. Got two as they were reduced from £3.99  a can (rather expensive but it works for me) to £2.66.

Dove Heat Defence - have to admit I did just grab this as we were running out of time, thought I may as well try it at £2.99 as I'm  running low on heat protection spray being a regular user and all that!


Superdrug had 3 for 2 across cosmetics ...

MUA Lipstick - from left to right Shades 11, 13 and 1.

Just could not resist - £1 each and 3 for 2 for crying out loud! We went for the reds initially because my daughter wanted me to create a 'blood effect' around her mouth for Halloween (in the end we ended up using some red lip gloss!).  The dark nude/tawnyish shade 13 looks ideal for everyday wear.


MUA Nail Varnish ...

.... in Stormy Skies and Plum Noir - also a quid each, (picked up an extra lippie in shade 13 for my mum to make it up to 3 products) - a couple of lovely colours here with an Autumnal vibe - can't wait to get these on!

Not strictly 'half-term' - I actually popped back to Superdrug the other day and noticed these on offer at 2 for £3.79 which I thought pretty good.  I'm a terrible lip balm addict and re-apply throughout the day - can't stand the feeling of dry, chapped lips.  I've not tried Carmex Moisturising Lip Balm before but it's raved about by lovely Claire over at Another New Day so looking forward to trying out!  The tube will be ideal for shoving in my bag and the cute little tub for bedtime!

All in all quite a few bargains to be had at Boots and Superdrug - could easily get so carried away! Have you picked any bargains up recently?


Jen x