Birthday haul - York

On Monday me, my mum and our friend went to York for the day kind of as a day out for my birthday, which is on Friday. I did have quite a big list of stuff I wanted to buy but half of what I wanted I couldn't find and of course I ended up buying things that I didn't intend to! So what did I buy???

Cath Kidston

They had a sale with up to 30% off and I'd seen the Royal Stan print on their website and thought it was really cute but then I saw this little bag and had to buy it!

Royal Stan Box Bag - £16.00 (was £22.00)

Boots

I wanted some conditioner and as there is a 3 for 2 on holiday essentials I stocked up on hair products to keep me going.

L'Oreal Elvive serum - £9.99 (the bottle is huge though and will last ages)

Organix Moroccan Argan Oil conditioner - £6.99

Tresemme Keratin Smooth conditioner - £4 ish (was free on the 3 for 2 offer)

Batiste hint of colour dry shampoo - £3.99

Dove - £2.49 ish (one was free on the 3 for 2 offer)

Soap & Glory Peaches & Clean - £7.00

The Body Shop

Anita's Favourites Raspberry Ripple shower gel - £2 (was £4)

Like always link me to you latest haul posts!

Oh and have you noticed me blogs had a make over? Hope you all like it!

Wednesday Wishlist - 15 Skincare

Lush Duck

1. Lavera Organic Calendula Balancing Cream - £11.50

2. Lavera Organic Calendula Cleansing Gel - £6.90

3. Madara Deep Purifying Foam Cleanser - £16.00

Look Fantastic

4. REN Pore Minimising Detox Mask 50ml - £18.00

5. Weleda Almond Cleansing Lotion 75ml - £7.15 

Feel Unique

6. Cowshed Skincare Starter Kit - £19.50

ASOS

7. Steamcream 3 in 1 Moisturiser London Tin - £13.00

8. Korres Pomegranate Skincare Set - £25.00

Review - Champneys watermint shower gel

As soon as Boots started stocking Champney's the Watermint fragranced products caught my eye. They smelt fresh and in a weird way good enough to eat!

(Sorry for the stock photo, I'm sure I took one myself but can I find it?!?)

I expected to get a similar shower experience to what I get using Original Source's mint and tea tree shower gel but when I used the Champneys shower gel I wasn't overwhelmed with a fresh mint fragrance. Instead I got a weak mint scent which didn't last on my skin. The product itself was a thick gel and was a little difficult to get out of the tube. It did foam up quite well which I like and it did leave my skin feeling clean.

This costs £6 for a 200ml tube and I don't think I would buy it again as there are cheaper shower gels that I prefer. Oh and it's exclusive to Boots.

L'oreal anti-shine mattifying prime

At the moment I'm just loving make up primers. Currently in my make up collection I think I have 6 different ones on the go including L'Oreal's Studio Secrets Anti-Shine Mattifying Primer.

I use one pump of this to cover my whole face after I've applied moisturiser as a base for my make up. As it's name suggests it should leave your skin with no shine and looking pretty matte. 

I've been using this for about a month and a half now and I do quite like it. It does make my make up last all day but I wouldn't say my face was shine free. My chin and forehead still looked quite shiny but not in a really bad way! I think if you have normal skin and are going on a night out this might suit you just to keep any shine at bay. 

I would buy this again as I think it did ever so slightly improve the look of my skin but it did definitely make my make up last all day.

This is £10.29 and available from Boots and Superdrug. 

Wednesday Wishlist - 14

 Feel Unique

1. Dr Bronner Organic Peppermint Castile Liquid Soap 236ml  - £5.49

2. Macadamia Deep Repair Masque 250ml - £20.35

ASOS

3. ASOS Cat Ears Watch - £20.00

4. ASOS Leather Weave Across Body Bag - £25.00

5. Hei Poa Dry and Damaged Hair Mask 200ml - £15.50

Rimmel Instant Tan Eraser

You know what happens, you pop into Superdrug for something and then a new shiny exciting product catches your eye and before you know it you're walking away from the till with it in a bag putting your purse away. Well that's exactly what happened to me the other week when I saw this product from Rimmel.

The Instant Tan Eraser 'easily removes instant tan make up from body, face and hands'.

I rarely use 'proper' fake tan, instead opting for instant tan whenever I feel like getting my legs out but it can be just as bad as normal tan at staining your hands. Orange palms aren't a good look.

I do have the St Tropez tan remover but at £10.29 for a bottle it's not something I like to use all the time so for a mere £6 for the Rimmel product it's much more purse friendly.

I quickly tried a tanning product on my legs and rubbed it in using my bare hands because I didn't have any gloves to hand and 'hello luminous orange hands'. Actually it was the perfect opportunity to try out my new fake tan and this tan eraser!

So I rubbed a small amount of the eraser into my hands and rubbed it in, rinsed it off and like magic I got normal coloured hands again!

I would imagine the longer the tan's on your skin the harder it would be to get rid of but your hands this is perfect. It might also rescue you if you end up with mega orange knees, elbows and ankles.

I got mine in Superdrug but this is also available from Boots.

Kleenex skincare - Wipes, cloths and shine absorbing sheets

A while ago I blogged about how much I loved Kleenex's eye make up removal wipes and the lovely people from their PR team sent me the rest of the range to try out which I was very excited about.

Face Wipes

I've tried a lot of face wipes, and I mean alot, I've found that they are either good or bad. As the eye make up remover wipes had impressed me I had high hopes for these and I wasn't disappointed. I rate face wipes using several factors: thickness, scent, wetness, price and removal. Kleenex face wipes are quite thick but not too thick like a cloth, they are moist enough so one wipe will remove an average days make up, they are lightly scented in a clean, fresh scent and at £2.99 for 24 wipes I can't complain at the value for money.

Face Cloths

I hadn't seen a product like these before and initial thoughts were that they seemed a little wasteful to just throw away but as they are a cross between cotton wool and a face wipe and as they are quite thick you can rinse and reuse so they are actually more economical. Before I was sent these I had read Annabellas review of them and she wasn't impressed so alas trusting a fellow bloggers opinion I decided to pass on trying them until they dropped through my letter box. I was a little unsure how to use them but I applied cleanser to my face and used one cloth to wipe away and I LOVE them! Every last trace of make up was removed and if you have a full face of heavy make up on these are perfect to use for removal as they are more heavy duty than wipes. Oh another use I found for these was when I was suffering from a bad migraine a few weeks ago and needed to cool down I used one of these as a cold compress on my forehead and even after numerous times under the tap to wet it again it was still going strong! These are £1.99 for 30 cloths.

Shine Absorbing Sheets

I've never seen the point of blotting sheets before. I mean why apply your make up just to wipe it away??? Ahhh well if you use these correctly then you don't. The sheets aren't coated in powder so when you dab your oily t-zone you're make up is left looking untouched but with slightly less shine! One sheet is enough for me to de-shine my forehead and chin. A pack of 50 sheets cost £2.99 and these will last absolutely ages!

I would buy all three of these products again and the shine absorbing sheets have already become an everyday used product.

Have you used any of these? What did you think?

Review - Kitoko hair oil treatment

Currently I'm really into hydrating and moisturising treatments for my hair because I use straighteners pretty much everyday and my hair is the longest it's been in about 5 years so I'm not used to how high maintenance long hair can be.

The lovely people over at Lush Duck sent me a bottle of Kitoko Advanced Hair Therapy Oil Treatment and I could wait to try it out. It contains Karite Oil, Argan Oil and Vitamins A and E so good stuff all round!

The directions of use were simple enough: apply a few drops to damp or dry hair. I prefer to use this on damp hair before blow drying and it left my hair feeling soft, silky and smooth. The only fault I can find with this product is that it was quite hard at first to get the product out of the bottle, I think a pump top or dropper bottle would be much more suitable.

This is available at Lush Duck and is priced at £6.50 for a 10ml bottle or £24.50 for a huge 95ml bottle.

Day Zero Project - Take a photo everyday for a month: week four

Oh my gosh, don't you hate it when you look through your drafted posts and find one that should have been posted about 3 months ago! Well this is the last post for my Day Zero challenge of taking a photo everyday for a month, which was done in March!

Week one

Week two

Week three

 23rd March - Listening the Radio 1 on the way to work

24th March - The sun rising

25th March - Updating my CV 

26th March - Sunshine :-)

 27th March - My current favourite snack

 28th March - Watching a Knights Tales

 29th March - Shopping goodies

30th March - Scheduling blog posts

31st March - Painting my nails


So that was finally my month in pictures!

My current favourite products - June 2012

This is another post showing my current favourite products. I only blogged about my last ones in April but I've already found quite a few new products that I love and will without a doubt be repurchasing.

Batiste dry shampoo in Lace - £2.99 

I remember buying my first can of Batiste dry shampoo way back in 2006 when I was heading off to uni and I never looked back! I use it at least every other day as a freshen up for my hair as I simply don't have time to wash it every day. The new Lace fragrance is gorgeous and the design on the can would look fab on anyones dressing table.

No7 Beautiful Skin Melting Gel Cleanser - £9

The name of this product intrigued me - the idea of melting my make up away really appealed to me so I got this with a £5 off No7 voucher and it didn't disappoint. It removed make up really well and is gentle on the skin. My full review can be found here.

Vaseline Aloe Fresh Moisturising Gel - £4.99

I bought this last year initially to use during the summer months as it would be a lighter consistency to a body cream or lotion and when we had that lovely few days of baking hot weather a few weeks ago I dug it out and started to use it. It's not as moisturising as a body lotion but it still does a great job. This is also available in cocoa butter.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation - £8.99

After much deliberating about whether to try this or not I decided to take the plunge. It's coverage isn't as heavy as I normally like but it's perfect for wearing during the day as it gives your skin a natural radiant glow. Full review here.

MUA Love Hearts lip balm - £2

At first I wasn't that impressed with these, I bought 3, but I've grown to really like them. They are a coloured balm that are really very moisturising and these generous sized pots will last ages. Again my full review can be found here.

Collection 2000 Gel Eyeliner - £4.99

This is the tiny little black pot in the photo above. I was a little apprehensive about this as I love the Maybelline gel liner but the Rimmel one was disappointing. To my surprise I actually think this is the best one I've tried. The pigmentation is good, it's long lasting and the brush shape is really good. I'm going to blog about this in more detail very soon!

Miss Sporty Clubbing nail polish - £1.99

For the price this is amazing. The quality is good, it's long lasting, the pigmentation is good, the brush is good, in fact buy it to try it and I can guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Are any of these your favourites or have you got different ones?

Dead Sea Spa Magik - Lotions and Potions

This is my second post reviewing some Dead Sea Spa Magik products and today it's the remaining three products I was sent: Super Night Cream, Super Hand Cream and Silky Smooth Body Lotion.

Super Night Cream - £8.26 for 75ml

This was a rich face cream which I really liked. It wasn't as thick as I thought it would be but I wasn't disappointed. It did sit on my skin a little but it didn't feel greasy and instead my face felt soft and smooth.

Super Hand Cream - £7.70 for 75ml

I'm a bit funny with hand creams, I know what I like and don't tend to stray from it. This wasn't as rich as I like a hand cream to be but it would be perfect to use throughout the day. My hands were left lovely and soft though.

Silky Smooth Body Lotion - £7.70 for 75ml

It's a little hard for me to give an opinion on this as the amount in the sachet was barely enough for my legs. It was a nice texture and absorbed quickly. Was just a shame the sample wasn't bigger.

My overal impression of Dead Sea Spa Magik is really good! I have enjoyed trying out the different products and would recommend them all as I think there is something that would suit anyone. I would definitely say that....

Products can be bought from Debenhams, Holland and Barratt and from Shop for Spa where there is a 3 for 2 offer currently running.

Dead Sea Spa Magik - hair and skincare

Last week I was kindly sent a box full of goodies to try from Dead Sea Spa Magik. I had heard of this brand before but hadn't tried anything from it so was really excited to give some things a go.

Dead Sea Spa Magik "blends mud, salt and mineral extracts from the depths of the Dead Sea to deeply hydrate, repair and soothe your body and mind." All Dead Sea Spa Magik products contain no parabens, are allergen-free fragranced, contain a Harmonised Water base and have an added Organic blend of Matricaria Flower Extract, Linden Blossom Flower Extract, lemon Balm Leaf Extract and Rooibos Leaf Extract. With all this goodness Dead Sea products have shown to be effective for those who suffer from sensitive skin so the whole family can enjoy! 

Delicate Boosting Face Mask - £7.70 for 75ml

I expected this to be like a mud face mask but the consistency was much lighter which I actually preferred. The instructions recommend it to be left for 10 - 15 minutes before washing off which I did in the shower. Unlike some face masks it didn't dry like concrete which made removal so much easier. It washed off easy and left my skin feeling lovely and soft. 

Rich Face Cream - £7.70 for 75ml

I wasn't expecting to like this. Any face cream with the word 'rich' in it is likely to be too thick for my combination skin and will just make it look greasy but oh how I was wrong. I used a small amount to try to avoid this but it absorbed into my skin quickly and left my face feeling lovely and soft. It also left my skin looking quite matte and shine free. Always a winner for me!

(Top (face mask), bottom (face cream))

Mineral Shampoo - £8.26 for 330ml 

This was the product I'd been wanting to try for such a long time. I suffer from quite bad eczema on my scalp and as Dead Sea claims to be good for sensitive skin I thought it might help to clear up my flaky scalp. Ok so I admit I have found something that has completely cleared my scalp up *touch wood* but I was still excited to try this out. I expected this to smell really salty but it didn't have a hint of salt at all. It foamed up really well in the shower and felt like it really cleaned my hair. And what's better is that it didn't aggravate my scalp so I'm still flake free :-)

Hair Magik Serum - £16.60 for 150ml 

At first I was a little confused as to why there was no conditioner sample but a huge sachet of hair serum. Then I read the instructions on the sachet and found that the serum can be used on dry hair or on wet hair after shamooing for an intensive treatment. This is what I did. I left it on my hair for a couple of minutes after shampooing and if you've decided that you love a product before you've finished using it it must be good right? I dried and styled my hair after as usual but without using any of my normal styling products and my hair was left super shiny, soft and manageable. In fact my hair was left feeling so nice I could have easily gone an extra day without washing it, it felt that clean.

(Top (shampoo), bottom (serum))

Salt Brushing Scrub - £13.30 for 500g

On the packet it says to use this on dry skin whilst stood in a bath or shower. I opened the sachet and there were salt crystals in it which were ever so slightly damp. So I took a small handful and rubbed on my thighs to exfoilate and thought I must be missing something here because I'm just rubbing salt on my body. But then on my second handful and a little more vigirous rubbing I started to get it! You get a really good exfoilation with the product being dry and being used on dry skin. I rinsed off in the shower after and my thighs feel so much smoother than they did before. I think this could possibly help remedy my dimple thighs! It is too coarse to use every day, I would use this at the most once a week but I can imagine it would be really good to use on peeling skin that's been sunburnt.

(Salt scrub)

Overal, with these five products that I've tried I am really impressed. I would without a doubt purchase the full sized hair serum and salt scrub products but would recommend them all. I have reviewed some more Dead Sea Spa Magik products and this post will be up tomorrow!

Products can be bought from Debenhams, Holland and Barratt and from Shop for Spa where there is a 3 for 2 offer currently running.

A Year of Nail Polish - May

Maxfactor - Graffiti

Bourjois - Lime Catwalk

Orly - Terracotta

The month that was....May

Ok I admit I forgot to write this post until this morning when I realised it was actually June! Where is time going?!

And now I'm trying to think of exciting things I've done this month.......hmmm well I've had lots of time off as I've been using my annual leave up because I've been unsure whether my contract at work was going to be extended, which I found out yesterday it has been my hours have been reduced which I'm not happy about but hey ho. I'm also off work today so I get a nice long break with the Bank Holidays and I don't go back until Thursday which is even nicer!

With my time off I also finally got round to sorting out my clothes and donated alot to charity. These were things that have been in the drawers under my bed since I moved last year which I haven't worn since so probably never will.

I also had two days off work last week as I had the worst migraine ever but I did order the Scarlet collection GHD's with hairdryer which was on offer for £89 instead of £149. These are for my birthday which is on the 29th June so I'm going to keep them for then. I also blame all the painkillers I was on for making me slightly irrational and thinking it was ok to buy them!

And I'm also being sucked in to all the things with the Union Jack on for the jubilee.

And one last photo of the amazing weather we had last week but as I was at work or in bed ill I didn't really get to enjoy it but never mind :-(

Hope you had a good month :-)