Empties 2

It's been a while since I've done an empties post. I really shouldn't have left it so long as I've actually used up quite a bit lately. You can read my first post here. I've been really trying hard to use things up and work my way through my stash.

Here's what I've used up over the past two months. As you can see it's quite a stash!!

First up is hand creams.

I use quite a lot of these. I have quite dry hands and my job means I wash my hands a lot!! The Avon African Shea Butter hand and cuticle cream is my favourite of all time I think. It sinks into the skin easily and quickly and smells amazing! Will definitely repurchase! The Balance Me Super Moisturising Hand Cream which I think I got in a She Said Beauty box I just didn't get on with. It was a super thick cream but left my hands feeling so greasy!! I used it at night as after using it I just didn't want to touch anything. Wouldn't repurchase.

Deodorant and Dry Shampoo

Normally I wouldn't include deodorant! Let's face it it would be boring to see these in empties every time but I have this time, as at the moment I seem to be seeing lots of adverts for the compressed ones. so I thought seen as they are meant to be better for the environment and all that I'd give them a try! For me they ran out VERY quickly! Definitely wouldn't buy again. Batiste Dry Shampoo Tropical Love batiste, wouldn't use anything else. Love the fragrance (see my save, spend, splurge on Dry Shampoo here) have got another big bottle of it already!!

Bath and Body

Philosophy Peppermint Bark Shower Gel I love the smell of this, l gave me this as she didn't like it. I thought it smelt like mint chocolate!! Yum. Love the texture of this too. Will be on the look out for it at christmas time! Next Spa Sugar Body Scrub I loved this!! The texture was amazing, thick and gloopy in a good way and a great but not too harsh scrub! Can't seem to find it in shops at the moment which is a bit disappointing as I love it. Lee Stafford For Hair That Doesn't Grow Past A Certain Length Treatment I got into the habit of using this stuff about two years ago and couldn't get out of it. It always left my hair feeling lovely and soft and in great condition. I do really like it and I think it helps hair grow by improving the condition. Don't expect long flowing locks though. I do like it and have another one I'm currently using. Soap and Glory Calm One Calm All I love this bubble bath, gentle smell that's not over powering and produces a nice amount of bubbles. Have another waiting in the wings thanks to a donation from L.

Skin Care

Boots Cleansing Wipes Pretty sure these featured last time! Great product, does the job and stay reasonably moist, I prefer these to baby wipes I find they don't tug as much. Lush Whip Stick Although it's a pot lip balm I do love this for night time. Great smell and leaves lips nice and soft, I've already picked up another of these. Carmex Cherry Lipbalm I'd totally forgot about Carmex until I found this and a few other lipbalms lurking half finished. Carmex is one of my favourites for sore lips and love the cherry scent. Will pick up the tube version next time. No7 Eye Make Up Remover My all time favourite eye make up remover, I always pick it up when it's on offer and I'm never without it. Removes make up easily without tugging and doesn't leave the eyes too greasy. (Read my save, spend, splurge on Eye Make Up Removers here) Clarins  Eye Make Up Remover I didn't get on with this at all, I just found it didn't remove my make up very well. Lancome Hydra Zen I loved this cream, light on the skin, sunk in well and left my skin feeling soft and well moisturised. Once I've used up some of my stash I'm going to be looking into this. Clinique 7 Day Scrub  for me this just felt too much of a harsh scrub. The particles were so big I'm just not a fan.

Mascaras

I'm a mascara addict. I have a huge amount of them and usually use more than one type on my lashes. Benefit Bad Gal I think I got this in a magazine one time. The brush is huge!! Which I liked, it was great for volumising the lashes and even though it was a big brush it didn't get all over my face. Avon SuperMagnify won't talk about this one too much as it's being discontinued! I love it though, I have two back ups! Avon Curlious Diamonds I'm not sure this is still sold but their normal curl one is! I did quite like this mascara but a curling mascara isn't what I really go for. Maybelline Colossal Volume This is probably still my favourite mascara of all time, it's amazing, doesn't dry out and gives amazing results!!

Face Products

Collection Fix Me Up Spray I like this product but when you work it out on a price per ml basis the Urban Decay setting sprays are actually better value, It's a great purse size product though. Rimmel Clear Complexion This is an alright product, nothing amazing so wouldn't repurchase, for a cheap powder I prefer my Natural Collection loose powder. FCUK Brush This was in one of those sets you get from boots, I love the rest of the brushes in the set but this one is just rough and hard so I've decided to just throw it out. Rimmel Recover I quite like this as a light coverage foundation, it's a little bit rough in texture but does look great when applied, hard to find now but I did spot it on fragrance direct! Chanel Perfection Lumiere Foundation this was a generous sample I got from the counter. I really enjoyed this and think when I have some money and have used some foundations up I'll repurchase.

Random Make Up

Carmex Moisture Plus I had forgotten how much I loved these until recently, they are like the original of Revlon Lip Butters but sheerer. They provide great moisture and a wash of colour, will definitely pick more up! Bourjois Eyeshadow Beige Rose This is a great everyday base colour, a slight shimmer and easy to blend. Lastly Avon Perfect Wear Everlasting Eyeshadow I love the forumlation of these, a slight cream to powder formulation that's quite wet. It has a sponge type lip gloss applicator. I'm on the look out for more of these!!

So that's my latest stash of empties! The spending ban definitely helped me!!

Love M

xxx

Boxing Day Sales Shopping

With the spending ban looming I quickly made some purchases in the sale after Christmas and used my work discount to good effect...

Here's a quick preview of what I picked up and will in all likelihood be posting about soon!

This is photo heavy but I don't waffle on too much :)

I hadn't seen this in the Christmas section but someone brought it to the till, and at £15 before discount I needed it!

Also couldn't resist this set. I got the gradual tan one for Christmas and with discount this set was down to £10.........epic!

I did not plan on buying this but as soon as I saw these fragrance gift sets on offer for 1/3 off I went sniffing away at them until I found this lovely Ralph Lauren one.

It is part of their new ish fragrance range that I first smelt in America and I loved the pink one, number 2. Unfortunately it would seem so does every one else so that had sold out everywhere (even online!) so I picked up number 4 for £20.

I've had my eye on these beauties for a long time, and eventually made the purchase!

I bought them off ASOS in the sale which was crazzzzzy and I really shouldn't have bought them or at least not as many but I did and I love them allllllllllll.

Expect lots of gushy posts from me about these beauties, I love nail varnish, love OPI and am a complete Bond freak (I love the drama, action and glamour!)

Here are two new pairs of shoes I also picked up from the Dorothy Perkins sale, they cost £35 altogether, which was before student discount so I did reaaaaaaaaally well with these!

I also picked up some new jeans. Nothing special, just a black skinny pair and a normal dark denim pair to replace two that are now too big for me.

Lastly I had a splurge on Urban Outfitters where I picked up the following three for around £25, which was amazing considering the top was originally £28!

I love the galaxy feel of the top, with the space and zodiac vibes! It has low cut arm holes too so will be great for comfort.

The studded item is my new phone case to stop it getting bashed in my bag and keep it looking chic and the bangle was a random buy that I absolutely love already!

It goes with so many things and considering its so long is quite comfy and I'm sure will feature in my life quite a lot!

So there's my splurge before the ban and the reason for me being ok with the ban.....11 days in ;)

Do you like my purchases? What do you think of the shoes and cosmetic goodies?!

L xxx

Oops I went shopping again!

Today I had to pop into Primark to get my gorgeous little niece's birthday present. (she know has her first pair of black skinny jeans, wardrobe staple) I love the clothes for little girls in Primark it's cute on trend and her mum tells me it's good for wear too! Her first pair of skinny jeans I got her lasted her 18 months!! She's so girly already I love it. At 3 she's obsessed with nail varnish and I've just got her children's nail varnish (rumour is it comes out of carpet).

Enough of my blabbing on about her. (I'd share a photo but her mum doesn't want photos of her online so you'll have to trust me that she's cute!! ha). Primark is usually hit and miss for me. I usually only find one thing lately and I'll put it back down to the long queues. Today I went first thing to avoid these. If you saw my August wishlist post you'd have seen I was eyeing up lots of gorgeous Kurt Geiger shoes ready for my holiday. When I saw the flip flops all half price in Primark I thought I should save myself some money and pick these up.

I love the jelly type material one these shoes. I have some French Connection ones similar to these that I literally wear all the time so I'm hoping these will be as comfy. Plus I adore the gorgeous bow detail and charms and for £2 who could resist. I wish they'd had the black in my size!

I've been wanting dolly shoes like this since seeing the Vivienne Westwood collabortion with Melissa for the AW09 collection and seeing the gorgeous leopard print ultragirl bow flat (I'm desperate for a pair of these). I love how simple they are and I'm hoping they will be super comfy. Another bargain £2. I really want these in a coral colour.

 This is the last pair of shoes I bought today and the most expensive. I splashed out an extra pound on these!! For £3 I thought they would be great for in the sun perfect with dress for day wear and the bow detail will make them pretty enough for evenings. I'm going away with my other half and as he's the same height as me heels are a no so I try to find pretty flats with sparkly detail and these fit the bill. I tend to favour this type of flip flop at the moment and recently realised I know have no traditional flip flops!

I was looking for a black strapless top but couldn't see them in Primark (if you know where to get cheap plain tight ones please let me know) but couldn't resist picking these up. Vests are a staple and you can never have too many. I tend to favour my select ones I bought a few years back but they have since changed the style so I'm back to trying to find my perfect vest. At £2 each I picked them up in the colours I wear the most.

Since picking up my sunglasses in last weeks haul I've been looking for a case. I wasn't prepared to spend £8 on the ones in Topshop. Now this print isn't great but for £1 my sunglasses won't get scratched in my handbag and it's big enough to fit most styles in.

I couldn't resist these at the till for £1 I thought they were worth a try and after biting all my nails a few weeks ago looking at my nails is bothering me. I was surprised when I got home to find they came with glue. I didn't expect much from it but it works just aswell as the elegant touch ones I'm used to.

I love false nails and used to wear them a lot before growing my natural ones. I love how quick and easy you can have a perfect mani for days. This pattern is so cute and they had a great variety of styles. My only complaint is the nails are a little large for my fingers. I have the smallest ones on and could have done with smaller. I would definitely re purchase though. If you like false nails give these a try.

Then as it was raining I thought the best thing to do would be stroll through boots to escape the rain (What was I thinking) I should have got wet I can never resist buying in boots. I like using these Lee Stafford products honestly I don't know if they work but my hair is a bit longer now and I've just had it highlighted and they are great for conditioning. I only pick them up when they are on offer as they are £7.99 a pot but are currently on £3 for £12

As it was the mega points event and you need to spend £15 to get 10 points to the £1 I picked up a mini shampoo and conditioner for my holiday. I usually use John Frieda when I have blonde hair but they didn't have the one I wanted in the minis so I'm hoping these Trevor Sorbie ones will be good. They were £1.99 each and had 75ml in compared to the other brands having 50ml.

So that's all I bought today. Now I really need willpower to stop shopping!!

Have you picked up any bits in the last of the sales?

Love M

xxx