April Empties

 

Another month, another large pile of empties amassed!  I'm actually quite proud of myself for finishing off so much!

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Daily Scrub (review here) - I didn't mind this, finding it quite gentle, although a little drying.  However I wouldn't repurchase.

Nina, Nina Ricci Body Lotion - receieved as part of a gift pack, it had a very strong scent.  As I often find with perfumed body lotions, it wasn't overly moisturising.  Wouldn't repurchase.

Tigi Dumb Blonde Shampoo - Love this and always have a tube on the go - I've already repurchased!

Lush Cinders Bath Bomb - this came as part of a Christmas gift set.  I like it but its not my favourite of the Lush Christmas bath bombs. I prefer the Abombinaball and Satsuma Santa!

Vaseline Essential Moisture Clean Feeling Body Lotion (review here) - a decent basic body lotion for normal skin but I prefer more heavy duty body butters. Wouldn't repurchase.

Marks & Spencer Spa Collection Ultra Energising Shower Gel - This came as part of a gift pack. It had a lovely minty menthol scent, great for waking me up in the morning.  Would maybe repurchase.

No 7 Cleanse & Care Eye Make-up Remover (review here)- really disliked this.  Would not repurchase.

Garnier Fresh Essentials Eye Makeup Remover - My staple eye make up remover.  I've already got two backups!

L'Occitaine Hibiscus  Hand Cream - I love L'Occitaine hand creams as they are rich and non-greasy.  Will certainly be looking at others in their range.

No 7 Quick Thinking Wipes - I always pick these up when the £5 off Boots vouchers are floating about.  I don't think they are worth the £7.50 full price though.

Charles Worthington Full Volume Shampoo (review here) - again a decent highstreet shampoo which cleansed my hair and left it feeling shiny but sadly didn't deliver on volume.  May repurchase.

Laura Mercier Full Blown Mascara in Black (review here) - Really liked this natural-looking, lengthening mascara.  I will certainly be repurchasing once I get through my current mascara stocks!

Bobbi Brown Touch up Stick in Warm Sand - my everyday concealer, I have already repurchased.

Have you managed to finish any of your stash this month? 

Have you tried any of these products?

January Favourites

I seem to have quite a few favourites this month, I guess because some of these were Christmas or Post Christmas purchases and they all still seem very shiny and new!

Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Facial Wash

I haven’t managed to review this yet but I am finding it great for my oily / combination skin as it cleans without stripping away oils and really makes my skin feel very clean.  I’m not sure how good it would be for drier skins though.

Tom Ford Violet Blonde

A Christmas present from my lovely hubby!  This is more of a weekend scent for me, reminding me of holidays and trips away.  I won’t embarrass myself by trying to describe the notes, but needless to say it is gorgeous!

Top Shop Cream Blush in Neon Rose – I reviewed this here as part of my cream blush post and was reminded of it when The Sunday Girl posted about it recently.  I love the way that it is not a traditional cream blush formulation, as it changes from a cream to a powder on the skin and lasts all day.  Only the tiniest amount is needed!

Laura Mercier Full Blown Volume Mascara – review here

This is my current favourite mascara (and boy do I have a lot of mascara!).  A great natural look, no flaking or smudging and the most important thing-  no CRISPY LASHES!

Mac Matchmaster in 3.0 - review here I have been wearing this foundation a lot recently and although I did find it a little too dark initially, I have been wearing it with a little of the Nars Orgasm Illuminator to tone it down a little and give a more radiant look.

Kiehl's Eye Alert – review here

I really enjoyed using this eye cream which I bought on a  whim from a blog sale.  I’m almost finished it and currently deciding whether to repurchase at full price or to finish off my Liz Earle eye cream which I wasn’t as enamoured with.

Laura Mercier Lip Gloss in Mauve 

This is my first Laura Mercier gloss and I very much like it.  A great my-lips- but-better shade, it has a gorgeous cocoa butter scent and is a great shade to go with lots of looks.  This was a limited edition product I think with the Space NK gift set, but based on the quality of this gloss, I will be investigating others from her line.

Chanel Illusion d’ Ombre in Emerveille - review here

This has been included in my monthly favourites previously and I am still enjoying the ease at which I can smooth this on with my fingers, add some mascara and I have an easy eye look in less than a minute, with no complex blending of several different shades. 

What were your favourites this month?  See anything above that catches your eye?

Review: Laura Mercier Eye Kohl in Stormy Grey

As a contact lens user, I struggled for years with using eyeliner on my waterline.  It used to make my eyes feel dry, sore and just generally  uncomfortable all day so I just used to avoid using it, for fear of becoming a red-eyed mess for a day afterwards.

Recently, I have been dipping my toe back into pencil and kohl liner and Laura Mercier Eye Kohl is one that I have been enjoying using a lot.  Laura Mercier’s packaging is very simple and chic and I much prefer this to overly cutesy, retro packaging (cough, Benefit!).  Saying that, if a product is well made and performs well, I will generally buy it regardless of its packaging!

So  what about the liner itself?  The shade,  Stormy Grey,  came as as part of a gift set I procured from Space NK and is a deep, dark grey.  The pencil is very soft, as is usual with a kohl, (I hate pencils which feel like they are scratching away at your skin) and colour payoff is superb with an opaque line in one pass. 

I find this very easy to pop on first thing and find that it has been lasting throughout an entire working day.  It does tend to fade a little after about 6 hours but I was amazed that it didn’t slide around or migrate to my under eye area.

Verdict

This was my first foray into Laura Mercier Eye Kohl but it won’t be my last.  Long-lasting and kind to sensitive eyes, this was a winner for me and I’m certainly going to be looking at more of the shades in the range

5/5

Price - £15.50

Where to Buy - John Lewis  (currently out of stock but it is a permanent product so it should be restocked shortly)

Review: Laura Mercier Foundation Primer

This came in my Laura Mercier gift set that I purchased in the Space NK sale after Christmas and being fairly new to Laura Mercier, I was excited to give it a go.

 

The size primer I have is 30ml which is pretty generous as you only need a small, pea-sized amount to cover your whole face. The full sized tube is 50ml and I could see it lasting quite a while since you don’t need to use much. It isn’t cheap but it is priced in line with other premium beauty brands and you can often get small sizes in gift sets.

Not a pea-sized amount!

 

The primer itself is very light in consistency and glides onto the skin easily. It feels very comfortable to wear, almost like a moisturiser, and dries quickly so you don’t have to wait long before applying your foundation over it.

When using this, I did find that my foundation lasted a little longer and it certainly seemed to create a much smoother base for applying it. However I did end up feeling quite oily, especially on my t-zone where I am prone to oiliness anyway, and I actually felt it made these areas worse than they would have been had I not been wearing any primer. Laura Mercier state that this primer is suitable for all skin types, which I would disagree with. In my opinion this would suit those with dry or normal skin better. From looking on the website, I see that the brand also makes a oil-free version which I think I would be more suited to, so I may give that a try.

Verdict

Whilst I appreciate that I probably do not have the correct skin type for this primer and I would have been better with the oil-free formulation, I can see how it would work well for those with dry or normal skin. I loved the fact that it seemed to be absorbed into my skin rather than sitting on the surface feeling like I am wearing a silicone mask! It did prolong the wear of my foundation and didn’t break me out but I fear that, despite what it may say on the tube, this is not for all skin types and those with oily skin should give it a miss and try the oil-free version.

3.5/5

Price – £28

Where to Buy – Space NK, Liberty, House of Fraser

Review: Laura Mercier Full Blown Volume Mascara

I have been a recent convert to Laura Mercier products after my initial delve into them with the Secret Camouflage proved to be a disappointment. I recently purchased a gift set in the Space NK sale for the bargainous price of £35 instead of £70 and this mascara was included in the set. Now I certainly don’t need more mascaras as they seem to breed in my makeup box (to the extent that even my hubby mentioned this fact during his speech at our wedding!) but I have been very impressed with this one since I’ve been using it over the past couple of weeks.

 

The packaging is the typical sleek, chic look expected from Laura Mercier and the mascara itself promises to dramatically thicken, lengthen, curl and sculpt lashes with each stroke. The lightweight, nutrient-infused formula leaves lashes super-shiny, soft and clump-free all day long.

 

The wand is a regular mascara wand which I found very easy to use, not so small it takes forever to coat all of your lashes and not too big you end up poking yourself in the eye with it (or is it just me that does that?!). The formula itself is rather wet, which I like as I find drier formulas end up clumping together quickly on me. It does mean it takes a minute or so to dry though – which I found out after putting my glasses on afterwards and promptly finding mascara smudges all over the lenses!! When dried, it felt soft and lightweight, which I must say I prefer to ‘crispy’ lashes. It almost felt like I wasn’t wearing any mascara at all but the effects of lengthening and thickening were very obvious.

 

I have pretty straight lashes which I tend to curl most days and this mascara did a fairly good job of maintaining the curl, although towards the end of my working day, they had drooped a little. I was pleased to discover there is no flaking under the eye with this product and it was very easy to remove at the end of the day (cough, Benefit They’re Real!, cough!).

 

Verdict

Whilst Laura Mercier’s Full Blown Volume Mascara will not give you a super dramatic false-lash effect, I do find it a very pleasing mascara for daytime use and it subtly enhances lashes for a natural effect. I particularly liked the fact that it was a wetter formula which dried to a soft touch and I would certainly consider re-purchasing (if I didn’t have a zillion and one mascaras in my box still to use!)

4/5

 

Price – £18.50

Where to Buy - Space NK, Liberty, John Lewis