May Empties ...

Bonjour!

I'm cheating a little with the title as these are really April and May empties! I didn't get round to last month's empties post so thought I'd lump them all together.  There are therefore quite a few here - there would have been even more but the hubby ended up throwing some - despite several reminders that I wanted them for this post ... men!

Superdrug Cocoa Brownie Dry Shampoo for Brunettes - I've gotten through quite a few of these cans in my time. You can read about it here as Part of my Dry Shampooing post. I'll definitely repurchase.

Dermalogica Microfoliant - needs no introduction does it? I'm sure it's loved by many as a super gentle but effective facial exfoliator.  This travel size has lasted ages and luckily I have one more from an old beauty box to use. Even though I'm a fan I'm not sure I could repurchase at the full price of £41.75/75ml.  Any dupes out there please feel free to share!

Nuxe Micellar Cleansing Water and Reve de Miel Handcream - I've recently started to use a micellar every evening to remove my make-up before going onto a deeper cleanse.  The Nuxe micellar is really gentle and non-drying so I've used these two up (in the interest of shopping my stash and all!) and I'm now the proud owner of a full size and another mini for holiday. The handcream is lovely with a gentle honey scent, nourishing, non stingy and absorbs in no time on my hands. I have another travel size to use ready for holiday!

Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream - I didn't want to like this as I already have  a tonne of BBs and CCs and a DD to use up! Unfortunately, it has a dewy finish with light to medium cover and quite a rich tone to it (considering it's the shade Medium) so gives a bit of a 'summer bronzed' look - which all adds up to the fact that it would be great for this time of year and I want a full size but will resist for the moment.  Maybe next summer! (Patting myself on the back here!).

Soap & Glory Endless Glove 2 in 1 Moisture Mask and Hand Cream - I love this -it feels like a real treat for your hands with a non-greasy, silky texture, leaves them feeling conditioned and smelling like tropical holidays - what's not to love! Slather a decent amount on before bedtime and wake up with soft hands - I've already repurchased!

L'Occitane Lip Balm, Cherry and Lavender Shower Gels and Sweet Almond Liquid Soap -  a few L'Occitane goodies here - all presents from my mum at some stage! I did like the lip balm - it's more of a waxy crayon type, feels very nourishing, a good one to use under a matte lippie. Unfortunately there wasn't much at all in this tube so I used it up faster than I'd have liked! The shower gels (my daughter mostly used the cherry flavour) and handwash all smell wonderful and are gentle on your skin as you would expect.  If I spy any offers on QVC I'd love to repurchase!

Original Source Lavender and Tea Tree Shower Gel - as you can see I have a thing for lavender! Love the clean scent of this, a little seems to go a long way and the bathroom smells amazing after I've used it! I tend to pick up Original Source products when they're on offer and will definitely repurchase this one!

Mandara Spa Tropical Blooms Bath Milk and Shower Gel  -  I think this is my favourite scent from this range. As the name suggests it smells of flowers, and lots of  them in full bloom! It's a really 'happy' scent and one I'll continue to indulge in - especially when on offer!

Phew! That'll teach me to do two months in one go - felt like a proper marathon! Have you used any of these products?


Jen x

A Pathetic Sales Haul and a Treat ...!

Bonjour!

I love a bargain (who doesn't?) and usually manage to bag a few in (what used to be) the January sales!  Didn't really happen this year -  my intention was to go the day after Boxing Day but the large dump of snow put paid to that. We set off but had to turn back.  I was disgruntled to say the least!  Not to be beaten I decided to have a look online and ordered a couple of bits from New Look ...

Brave Soul Chunky Knit - £10 - a change from my usual grey/black and is so warm on ... my resistance to the cold is going from bad to worse so this is a keeper!  My mum likes it apart from the huge 'B' logo - ah well you can't win 'em all!

Lace collar dress - £10 ... couldn't make my mind up - I mean I don't really 'do' dresses that often so would this turn out to be one of those items that ends up living out it's life in the wardrobe and no place else? Anyway - right or wrong I decided to keep it at the last minute ... suppose if push comes to shove I could always wear for work with opaques and boots ...

Leopard fur coat - £25 ... I really liked the idea of this baby but unfortunately it didn't fit properly on the shoulders and the collar stuck up in a funny fashion so it had to go back - gutted  I was!

The only thing I managed to pick up in-store was this V-neck knit from H&M at £10 - it's slightly over sized, warm and not black . Need to find something to layer underneath though as that V is a tad deep on!

How pathetic is this? The single beauty item I managed to bag in the half price sales at Boots this year was a Soap & Glory Righteous Butter ... I don't know whether to feel ashamed or proud ...!





And now for the treat ... I couldn't resist this recent TSV (Today's Special Value of course!) from QVC.  Supersizes of the Liquid Gold and Absolute Eye Complex and full size Balancing Cleanser.   This kit is now priced at £70 on their website but the crazy TSV price was £30ish - it was a no brainer!  The Balancing Cleanser and Absolute Eye Complex I've used before and although I have tried Liquid Gold a couple of years ago, I didn't really get on with it ... but the beauty blogger in me wants/needs to give it another go to help with dull winter skin - I have to say the signs are promising this time round!  I shall report back once I've given it a good going over!

So what do you think? Was I pathetic, sensible or just in the wrong place at the wrong time?!  Did you manage to bag many bargains in the sales?

Jen  x

Soap & Glory Super-Colour FabuLipstick - Perfect Day

Bonjour!

This post was meant to be 'out' midweek but the dreaded overtime struck again - which resulted in a few sessions of 'ronking' with the laptop on my knee as I tried to blog!  I should explain that 'ronking' is an Anglo-Indian term for dozing whilst sitting (with or without laptop).  Ronking = late blog post! Anyway ... better late than never!

Enough of the waffle - here's my  Soap & Glory Super-Colour Collagen Boosting Fabulipstick in 'Perfect Day' (what can I say - I had a voucher to use!) and here's how Soap & Glory describe it ...

"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." source

Swatched above it has a real dusky/fleshy pink tone to it, which is what attracted me I reckon. I've been using without a lip balm, unless my lips feel super dry and then it doesn't hurt to stick some on underneath.  Either way it glides on with a 'satin finish' and is quite well pigmented.  As regards staying power - I'd say it's pretty standard, blotting and reapplying always helps of course but I do need to stick more on after eating.  Other than that it lasts me a good couple of hours and fades away evenly leaving a non-patchy (quite pleasant!) stain.  The colour is not too 'in yer face' but enough to give a bit of a pop (just a little one mind!) and is a great 'everyday' shade when I want a change from the usual nudes ... perfect for Autumn!

For once I'm not 'ronking' ...

This is my second Soap & Glory Fabulipstick - you can see 'Naked Beige' here.  They come in at £9 each, not so cheap but I usually wait until there is some sort of offer on, gotta love those offers!   The ones I have are not super long-wearing or anything (is it such a chore to have to re-apply lipstick anyway?!) but they are great for sticking in your bag for everyday use and the colours seem so wearable that I feel the need to try another quite soon.  I'm thinking 'Man Trap' or 'Red My Lips' - what do you think?

Are you a fan of the Soap & Glory Super-Colour Fabulipstick? Which is your favourite? Have you been 'ronking' lately?

Jen x