Empties / August

Body Products:

Neal's Yard Remedies Bee Lovely Bath & Shower Gel: I've been saving this up for a while but it has now sadly come to an end. :(

You would think that it smells like honey but it actually has a fresh scent of oranges. It's very moisturising and all round good for your skin. Also for a good cause - Full review here

Repurchase: yes.

Sally Hansen Moisturising Polish Remover: I really like this remover! It contains Pro-Vitamin B5 and it does deliver on the moisturization part because it doesn't dry my cuticles or leave my nails flaky. This bottle also last ages and it's well priced at £2.45.

Repurchase: yep!

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Speed Dry Drops: another Sally Hansen item and favourite of mine. This product also lasted a long time, so long that I think it's actually discontinued now... what a shame! They do the top coat version but I prefer the drops, really. Easy to use and never had any issues with nail polish smudging.

Repurchase: I wish! :(

Lush Fair Trade Foot Lotion: Finished another tub - I have already featured it recently here

Repurchase: yes.

Face Products:

Nivea Pure & Natural Cleansing Lotion: I use cleansing milk&toner combo every morning because I don't want to use anything too aggressive. I like the Nivea ones, I have tried a few plus they are not expensive; It's a lovely cleanser but can't say that it stands out for any particular reason but I can't say anything bad about it either. :)

Repuchase: maybe, I like to try different ones too so it could be a while...

Ren Active 7 Radiant Eye Gel: Love this eye cream! It's perfect for summer too because it's a gel and I like to keep mine in the fridge. It absorbs well, doesn't interfere with the concealer and nicely hydrating.

Repurchase: oh yes, this is my third one :)

Omorovicza Deep Cleansing Mask: it's your typical clay mask but - apart from the price - I don't see anything special about it. It's lovely sure and it purifies the skin nicely, but I can name another half a dozen masks that perform the same way, without the outrageous price tag.

Repurchase: nope.

Make Up:

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in shade# 5: this is just a sample but here goes my two cents. It's a lovely foundation! It's nearly imperceptible on the skin but it uniforms the skintone beautifully. Personally, I like the dewy look but I still need to powder on top, otherwise it wouldn't last very long.

Why it's not an amazing foundation? Because I've fallen in love with the Giorgio Armani Maestro Fusion Makeup SPF15 Foundation! 

Repurchase: don't think so, I want the Maestro!

Haul / Boots

Nivea In-Shower Body Moisturizer: I have actually tried this product before because it has been available on the Italian market for years but only recently came out in Uk.

I loved using it - I normally switched to this product during the summer when the extremely hot weather would make my skin too greasy - since you have to rinse the skin conditioner - it was a tiny bit more comfortable on the skin. 

I got the dry skin version purely because I like the smell better but there's a normal skin version too. 

It looks like a normal lotion and be careful because you can easy use too much product.

I believe there's a similar item from Lush but it comes in a tub so it's messy and probably overpriced and I have never tried it.

 Dove Shape Up Firming Body Cream: I think this is a new product so I thought I'd give it a go.

If you know me, you know I always look for added firming benefits in my body cream and for £3.99, the price was right too!

The cream looks like a whipped consistency, gel-like so it should be light on the skin too but I haven't tried it yet. Not a big fan of the jar compared to a tube - purely for practicality - but not the end of the world.

La Roche-Posay Ceralip: this is an old friend!

God knows I don't need another lipbalm (probably ever!) but this is the only product which does good to my sensitive lips, without being a medicate cream.

I shared my lips odyssey few months ago here and it was actually recommended to me from a dermatologist back home, probably a decade ago. I used it for years and it was great but then vanity prevailed and I started trying different things but I think I wanna go back to this. 

I mainly got it as a back up for stressful periods and I will slowly finish my other balms too

It looks like Lanolips but it's softer and unscented.

Have you tried any of these products yourself?

xxx

Empties / May

Body Items

SilDerm Stretch Mark Massage Oil: another GlossyBox offering coming to an end. I use body oils daily after the shower and this is pretty average. Don't get me wrong - it's not bad and it didn't make any difference to my stretch marks (not that I had any hopes, anyway) but it's nothing extraordinary either. It smells like lavender and rosemary.

Repurchase: nope, I can get alternatives for cheaper.

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer: the Elasticizer is one my favourite hair masks. You leave it on pose for 20 minutes before shampooing; it needs to be applied on wet hair which kinda of annoys me because by the time I jump in the shower, I'm freezing! ;) but that's me for you, I get cold very easily.

You can read my original review here, my opinion hasn't changed.

Repurchase: yes.

No7 Smooth & Improve Cellulite Treatment: hated it hated it hated it and then multiply by a 1000. The actual product takes ages to absorb and, even with all the massaging, I didn't see any improvement on the cellulite. I didn't enjoy using the applicator either (you can see a picture here) but had no choice because you can't open the bottle and use it normally. Well, you may want to cut the bottle like I did, if it gets REALLY frustrating.

Repurchase: hell no... it's over 20 quid and not worth it!

Lush Fair Trade Foot Lotion: I really like this foot cream and I have used it few times in the past. It looks quite thick but doesn't leave a greasy residue; it smells minty but not in an overpowering way and it's bright pink!!! The joy! :D

Repurchase: yes

Face Items

Jane Iredale PureLash Extender and Conditioner: I didn't actually finish this product but found it at the back of my drawer and had completely forgot about it. It's all dried up now and pretty old so I wouldn't use it on my eyes anyway. I remember not being particular impressed with it and it made my lashes crispy too.

I have tried few lashes primers but, to be honest, it's an additional step so rarely use them; also because I don't see a huge difference - one day I'll try the much hyped Dior one and see what I've been missing out on.

Repurchase: no.

REN Frankincense Revitalising Night Cream: to be honest, I've been *I don't want to say disappointed* unimpressed by many REN products and this cream is also average for me. It absorbs well and I strangely love the peppery smell but I can't justify buying it for that reason alone. It's still a nice night cream but I can get the same performance cheaper from the high street. Shame! :(

Repurchase: nope.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair: What can I say? This is my favourite night serum. I know it doesn't work for everybody but when I use it, my skin looks considerably improved OVERNIGHT!

No spots, radiance and smooth skin so I'm a bit sad to see it go but it was nearing the expiry date so can't complaint, it lasted a long time.

Repurchase: absolutely!

Sprout Cleanser: I used this cleanser to remove the first layer of make up at night; it did a good job and left my skin soothed. I found the scent to be soothing for the mind, too. 

Sprout has actually re-branded as S.W. Basic of Brooklyn but for what I can see that's the only thing that has changed - Full range review here!

Repurchase: yes.

Sorry for the loooong post but I did finish more items than usual this month (hurray!) - do you like empties posts?
xxx

Empties / December

Philosophy shampoo, shower gel & bubble bath trio: I really struggled to finish these off. The scent pay off is not great - you can read my opionion here as it hasn't changed.

Repurchase: nope.

Lush Helping Hands: I really like this hand cream; I have used it in the past and always go back, periodically. It's very moisturising but a bit greasy so I only use it around the house. Also love the kinda of yeasty smell. :)

Repurchase: yep.

Sanctuary 5 Minutes Thermal Detox Mask: this is one of the deep cleansing mask that I use once a week, after my steamer session. I like that it's fast acting and the charcoal purifies the skin very well but the consistency is kinda of gluey and you end up using more than needed. Also, it needs to go on wet skin which doesn't help on spreading the product on the face.

Repurchase: probably not.

Dr Nick Lowe Dark Cicles Correcting Cream: this is a decent eye cream but I wasn't blown away - plus it din't make any difference to my dark circles. I need to mention that I, instead, really liked another Dr Nick Lowe eye cream... you can check the review here.

Repurchase: no.

Sprout Toner: I loved spritzing it over my face, every morning! It's very refreshing - perfect to start the day - and also balancing - ideal to keep the odd spots at bay. The pump works great and I will definitely re-fill the min bottle for travelling. The only thing I would mention is the smell of vinegar (one of the main ingredients is organic raw apple cider vinegar, actually) which doesn't linger on the skin so it doesn't bother me but you're warned! :)

Repurchase: yes. 

Birthday Haul

My birthday was at the beginning of October but I didn't have a chance to post this before.

Let's start with some presents:

Lush Think Pink

The gorgeousness of this is pretty self-explanatory; I'm already half though it... maybe if I finish it before Christmas, Santa will bring some more. *hint* ;)
My favourite is the Sugar Babe Sugar Scrub - it smells great, it has a good 'scrubbing power' but at the same time leave the skin soft and nourished. 

The hatbox will also come really in handy to store lotions & potions.

GC Watch

This watch is beautiful! GC Watches are the luxury brand of Guess and this model, in particular, is part of the Precious Diver Chic series. It has ceramic bracelet, 2 counters with date and day and  mother-of-pearl and diamonds in the dial.

more beauty presents - always welcome!! :)

***
I didn't make any plan for the day: it was a Saturday and I was off work but the day was so miserable and pissing down so my fiancé and I decided to pop into Silverburn Glasgow (a shopping centre), just to get out of the house basically.
I did a bit of shopping, of course. :)

First, I bought Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum & Cosmopolitan Blend Perfection Sponge in Superdrug; I was interested to try the Healthy Mix Foundation but in the summer I found out that the serum was coming out in October so I waited for it. I really like it: light consistency and perfect match for me (no 52). The only time I didn't like it was when I tried to apply it with the Cosmopolitan sponge! I felt I was using far too much make up and in fact it started sliding off my face, soon in the afternoon.
I don't know, I have only used the sponge once but I'm not impressed so far - of course, I'll give it another try maybe with another foundation... any tips on technique and which products work best?

Richard also bought me this dress from Sisley @ Benetton <3

The Sunday night we went to dinner with Richard's mum; we went to my favourite Italian Restaurant in town: Amore.
I'll make a separate post with the makeup of the day and dinner.
xx

I was feeling a bit down today, so THE FIANCE' brought this home: 

isn't he a darling? :)

***

The magazine came with two freebies.

I LOVE (yes, capital letters!) the nail polish. It's the most gorgeous colour - in fact I've decided that could be an option for my wedding (if I decide to go with neutral nails). The colour is My Fair Lady.

If you're interested in Ciate' - click here to see the other shade I've got.

The other sample is Dove hair conditioner, which I'm also looking forward to try as I have read many bloggers raving about it.

LUSH = extra pampering!

I'm loving having a bath, relax and read my magazine... well, who doesn't?!

My favourite of this box is Dorothy Bubble Bar; it smells, divine, the rainbow is the cutest... and turns the water blue. :)