Empties No.3

If you stopped by my blog recently you probably noticed that the blog posts have dried up somewhat. I don't know when it happened, or why, but I seemed to lose my blogging mojo for want of a better word.
I miss blogging though and thought a wee empties post would be an easy way to dip my toe back in the water. :-)

Nivea Extra Gentle Eye Make Up Remover
I've tried a lot of make up removers over the years and quite a few of them have made my eyes sting or become puffy. This is my go-to eye makeup remover. Its gentle, removers even the most stubborn mascara and doesn't leave my eye area looking red or puffy. At £3.35 in Superdrug it gets a massive thumbs up from me!

Lush's Dark Angels Fresh Facial Cleanser (£6.40 for 100g)
I have a love/hate relationship with this cleanser. My skin approves of it, I like that it cleanses and exfoliates at the same time but lord, its a messy one. Its stained a few of my face clothes and I normally have to give the sink a good rinse after I've used it. For this reason I have banned myself from using it anywhere other than when I'm in the shower. :-)

Blistex Med Plus For Lips (£2.30 in Boots)
Everyone has their favourite "take care" lip product. This is mine. Part of my bedtime routine is to use a lip scrub and then slather this on before jumping into bed. I wake up with soft lips and its great in the winter for repairing your lips if they've become a bit weather beaten in the cold air.

Olay Regenerist 3 Point Super Serum (currently £19.99 in Superdrug)
I liked this product. I loved the smell. I loved how it sat on my skin. It definitely firmed up the eye area but I absolutely detested the bottle. It is pump action (which is fine in itself!) but you can't see into the bottle. A few times I thought it was empty only to try it days later and find there were a few applications left.

L'Oreal 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Water
I used all of this so it obviously wasn't terrible but I don't know what it did for my skin either. My face never felt particularly clean after it so I ended up using it as a makeup remover for the most part and it did the job well. I know others that have loved this product though, so I think its just a me thing.

Have you tried any of these products?
What did you think?

Empties #2

This is my second Empties post. I keep forgetting and throwing things out! :-)

Palmer's Cocoa Body Scrub
Price: £4.99 in Superdrug
I love this stuff. Its a great wee exfoliator and smells gorgeous. Its tough enough to do the job without being harsh on my skin.

Andrew Barton - The Straight Answer Hot Iron Protection Spray

Price: Its £3.90 in Asda for the full size, though I have been using the travel size bottle.
I'm in two minds about this product. I loved the smell. It did give me very sleek, shiny hair. According to the instructions you can use it on wet or dry hair. I've always been told not to put a hot iron on wet hair so it felt very wrong doing it. That said, the result was great!

Herbal Essences - Hello Hydration Shampoo and Conditioner
Price: £1.87 each in Superdrug
You might have realised by now that I'm very much drawn to products based on their fragrance. This smelled fantastic with its coconut and orchid scents. My hair was easy to brush out afterwards which is sometimes a problem with other shampoos and conditioners but I won't be buying it again. Its such a small thing but I hate the bottles. I got about halfway down each bottle and had to shake and squeeze the life out of it to get any product. A faff! Someone tell me they feel the same!

Original Source - Orange and Cinnamon Shower Gel
Price: It was about £2 at Christmas but its one of their seasonal range so almost impossible to pick up now.
I bought a few bottles of this in December. I love that it smells exactly like Christmas. I've also been told by friends that it reminds them of Lush which can only ever be taken as a compliment.

Lush Lip Scrub - Mint Julips
Price: £5.50 in Lush
I wrote about the Lush lip scrubs in a previous post. Yes, I know that I could make up a lip scrub at home but would it smell and taste (I try not to eat it!) as good as this one does. I doubt it! :-) I use it every second night and my lips are always soft and smooth.

Sanctuary Sleep-In-A-Box kit
The set contains:
Comforting night butter

Smoothing silk polish 

Restoring body oil
Soothing bath float (missing from the photo because my mum pinched it)
Price: £12.50 in Boots
I was given this as a gift. I tend to not like Sanctuary products. There's nothing wrong with them as such, I'm just not a huge fan of how they smell. This scent smells lovely though with its Patchouli, Frankincense and my favourite...Ylang Ylang. I'll definitely be looking out for it again when I'm next in Boots.

Advance Techniques 360 Nourishment Moroccan Argan Oil Leave in Treatment
Price: £3.85 on the Avon website
I'm trying to be kinder to my hair at the moment. Just as with my skin, I haven't looked after it as well as I used to since having my wee boy but I am trying to take care of it now. I normally apply it to my hair after washing it just to nourish and protect it. Its also good to use as a means to control those wee fly away hairs after styling.


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

Where would I be without Lush? :-)

When my son was born he had quite dry skin. I tried a few products that people swore by but they either didn't work or his skin reacted. I realised that he was going to take after his mummy and have sensitive skin as a child (I've since grown out of it). I done a bit of research and decided to use coconut oil. It was a dream! His skin was perfectly smooth within a few days and he also smelled good enough to eat. Now he still gets a coconut oil massage after his bath, just to maintain. 

I've always been obsessed with scents and smells so I really wanted to find something for his baths that smelled lovely but that he wouldn't react to. I done patch tests with a few different products but no joy. I was visiting Lush one day for my regular goodies. I mentioned my 'dilemma' to one of the staff and she pointed me in the direction of the Fun bars. There are 5 different scents and each is as delicious as the last. 

Blue: Lavender and chamomile

Yellow: Creamy vanilla

Green: Citrus

Pink: Fruity (smells like sweeties though!)

Red: Mandarin and orange oil

They come in at £5 and last forever!

They can be used under running water for bubbles, as shampoo and as a body wash. 

I bought my son the blue bar and the green bar about 4 months ago and still have more than half of each left. That's got to be good value for money! You only need the smallest amount too. I have even give a few lumps to my cousin when I'm babysitting and she loves playing with it like playdough then washing with the result. It is what it says it is, fun! 

My favourite Winter Skincare Products

Since I fell pregnant and had my son my skin has changed completely. Who would have thought it possible? Not me! I used to have an oily T-zone with a few blemishes every month that tied in with my period. The fun of being a female! :-) Now I seem to have combination skin with an infuriating mid area on my face (nose and under my eyes) which is dry. Couple that with the cold winter weather & it's been a chore to keep on top of it. That is until I got my grubby paws on these next few products. They have made my winter skincare routine easy as opposed to a military effort.

 

This is Lush's Mint Julips. It's a mint chocolate flavoured lip scrub. I use it every night before I go to bed & it leaves you with the smoothest, kissable lips. :-) The smallest amount will buff away any dead skin and at £5.50 it's not going to break the bank. 

My next saviour is Lush's Ultrabland Facial Cleanser. It's quite a creamy/oily texture (that will be the almond oil). There's no faffing around with it. You rub it over your face and remove it by wiping it off with a cotton pad or flannel that's been run under warm water. One of my friends particularly likes to use her muslin cloths to remove it. 

 Lush actually advise that you use this product and only this product for one month to bring skin back into balance. I did this and it certainly worked for me. I'm more than impressed. Again, I don't think the cost is extortionate at £6.95 for a 45g pot or £10.95 for a 100g pot.

Product number three is Lush's Ultrabalm.

I work outdoors a lot and since I have developed this dry area I feel that I need to take that extra step to protect and nourish my skin while I'm outdoors. This product has the texture of wax and goes onto your skin a bit like Vaseline. I wouldn't recommend wearing it alone in the summer or under make-up as you will no doubt end up shiny (never a good look!) but for overnight and during winter it is perfect & incredibly nourishing. 

It has many, many uses! The Lush website states:

"Use it anywhere that needs some moisture; as a hand cream, on your hair to keep static flyaway at bay, as a lip balm, to brighten up your tattoos, on dry knees and elbows – even to tame your eyebrows and hold them so. There’s no end to the things you can do with one little tin." 

I also use it as a hand cream overnight while wearing moisturising gloves and in the morning my hands are so soft. It's £8.50 for a 45g tin and could probably last for an entire year! That's got to be a bargain item, right? :-)

All of these products are brilliant, I can't speak of them highly enough but I'm back to square one once the warmer weather rolls in. So, any advice, recommendations or suggestions are very welcome! 

What skincare routine do you have? What products do you use?

Love. x

@latte_fiend on Twitter.