September Empties - Steam Cream

Hi everyone. So sorry for my shamefully long absence from blogging. I went away on holiday for two weeks in September and since then I've been playing catch up with everything! But I'm going to try and get back up to speed, at least 2 posts a week asap.

So, my empties posts are so shamefully short, but I wanted to do this one so I could rave about Steam Cream!

I was going to do a holiday mini's post which may still happen, but until then I'll show you a few pieces  that saved me from overpacking hell (that's pretty much a lie, I still overpacked!).

The outstanding product award goes to this beautiful tin of Steam Cream in the Yoshino cherry blossom tin.

Before I left this was new. Now it's finished. That's because I used it every single day whilst I was away. I used it on the plane as a hand cream (it's small enough to take on board) and every single day as a facial moisturiser, hand cream, body cream and after sun lotion. It performed so well in every category! This is definitely my number one recommendation for anyone who's packing for a holiday; do not leave without it!

Other than that it's just my sample size Sensodyne Repair and Protect toothpaste (this 20ml tube was not enough for a 2 week holiday!!) and a Sure roll on in Radiant which is so much smaller for travelling than a spray.

Until next time....

Nail polish collection dupes and nail polish blog sale

First up, so sorry for not posting in ages! I managed to squeeze in a holiday and between getting ready to go off and catching up since I got back I don't know where the time's gone. 

But I've got a whole host of post ideas so hopefully I'll be a good blogger soon. Anyway, back to the post!

I don’t consider myself to have a big nail polish collection, but can you believe how many dupes I found in a collection of under 30?

I thought you might be interested to see how we all gravitate towards the same colours without realising we’ve got a similar one at home already.

From left to right, here are my nail polish collection dupes:

NYC Expert Last Nail Polish in 253 Mint Macaroon 9.7ml 

Nails Inc Haymarket 10ml

Accessorize Nail Polish Tuscan Clay 10ml

Tesco All About Nails Praline 7ml

Revlon Nail Enamel Endless Possibilities 14.7ml

Tesco All About Nails Cashmere 7ml

Nails Inc Tate 10ml

George Quick Dry Nail Varnish Scarlet Kiss 5ml

Icing Black Nail Polish 15ml

MUA Nail Varnish Shade 2 6.2ml

Barry M 292 10ml

MUA Nail Varnish Shade 1 6.2ml

Once I’d gone through my collection, I decided I should do a little nail polish sale so here you go guys!

The following from my dupe collection are for sale, plus a few extras for good measure:

Nails Inc Haymarket 10ml £6

Tesco All About Nails Praline 7ml 75p

Tesco All About Nails Cashmere 7ml 75p

George Quick Dry Nail Varnish Scarlet Kiss 5ml 75p

Golden Rose Silver Glitter 75p

Collection 2000 Hot Looks Hip Hop 8ml 75p

Barry M Nail Paint Cyan Blue 10ml £2
Collection 2000 Hot Looks Sherbet Lemons 8ml 75p

All of them have been used between 1 and 3 times and are pretty much full. Postage will be £1.50 plus 50p for each additional item.

Product Review: Toni & Guy Casual Sea Salt Texturising Spray

I have to admit, I generally don’t do anything special with my hair. Besides straightening the bejesus out of it with my trusty ghd’s and occasionally putting it up in a bun using a hair donut, that’s pretty much my lot.

So, I decided to try something new and picked up this bottle of Toni & Guy Sea Salt Texturising Spray.

I’ve always wanted sexy beach hair (who hasn’t?) and never knew how to get the look. The instructions on the bottle say to spray over damp or dry hair and style with fingers, not the most detailed instructions I have to say. I sprayed this onto dry hair and twirled small sections around my fingers before separating them out.

Once I was finished, my hair definitely had more texture and the product does smell lovely. However, my hair just looked messy. I think that with some help, this could look absolutely great. If you’re trying it out for yourself, I would say don’t be scared to use lots of product to get the best results and spray your hair in sections. I also think this works better on wet hair so next time!

What do you think? Have you managed to get tousled waves?

You can pick up a bottle for around £7 in Boots here. 

Mini Primark Haul – Summer sandals and Hawaiian Prints

I know when I first started the blog I promised you lots of hauls and I’ve finally got my act together and got one ready for you! I wasn’t sure how to do one to be honest, what format you guys wanted etc and I keep using things before I’ve had a chance to write a post! But no more.

Here’s just a mini Primark haul, I usually buy more than this as I really don’t hold back in there.

I was meant to be shopping for summer, but when I got there they’d pretty much finished the sale and started putting out the Autumn/Winter range. I did manage to get a few summery items though including these super cute black jelly flip flops. With the double bow, gold buckle and charm trio of another bow, a heart and a star, they’re so adorable and only £4!

Next is the white leather double strap sandals which were reduced from £12 to £6. I’m still not sure if I like these as the white straps create the illusion of super wide feet, but I figured I’d hold onto these as I don’t own any white sandals.

Another summery purchase is this gorgeous tropical Hawaiian print pencil skirt (£5 from £10). I usually shy away from prints as I don’t think they suit me, but the black background encouraged me to be brave. The back has a small gold faux zip too and I can’t wait to wear it with this plain grey marl tie up top (£4). The top is so versatile I think it’ll end up being one of those “pull on” items an it’s great quality too.

Onto the not so summery purchases. Red skinny jeans were big last winter and look set to become a wardrobe staple again this year. I managed to escape them last year but I caved and purchased these for £11. I really want to wear them with a blue and white stripy jumper which I’m still on the lookout for! They also came with a skinny bronze belt.

The dog print dress (£15) is the latest addition to my huge dress collection. This one comes with a brown belt too and a gorgeous white collar.

Lastly, this cute pair of black and white polka dot shorts.  They’re tailored and pretty thick making them super flattering, and they also came with a gold bow detailed black belt (£12).

Have you had any bargains from Primark lately? 

NOTD: Lavender glitter cupcake

What girl doesn’t like glitter nail polish? Here it is livening up a glorious shade of pastel purple from NYC called Lavender Cupcake.

I used two coats of this to get it looking opaque and although it looked a bit patchy, it evened up when it dried.

The topcoat is also from NYC and is called Lights Camera Glitter. It’s a really gorgeous shade with small silver glitter pieces as well as larger blue and light purple hex pieces in there two.

Overall, I’m loving this look! What do you think? Are you as obsessed with glitter as I am?

August empties – Estee Lauder DayWear, Kevin Murphy and Garnier

It might not look like much, but I swear it’s taken me nearly a year to finish the Estee Lauder DayWear moisturiser as I’ve been using it on and off. This is probably my favourite day cream, it smells like cucumber and feels so refreshing on the skin. I would repurchase but I’ve got a full tub of Clinique Superdefense waiting to be used.

Other than that, it’s just the sachets from Kevin Murphy and Garnier.  I really liked the Kevin Murphy Luxury Wash Shampoo and Body Guard Conditioner, and I think I’ll have to invest when I can.

I’ve been using the Garnier sachets as part of the 7 day trial which I’ll be posting about later so stay tuned!

NOTD: George Quick Dry Nail Varnish Meteorite

Onto nail polish number two from my George at Asda mini haul. Here I give you shade number 65, Meteorite. This is such as unusual colour choice for me, I’m usually one for nudes, pink and red but I thought I’d give it a go. I absolutely love this colour though and I’d describe it as a dark teal.

It does dry pretty fast and has lasted about 4 days before it started to chip, although I’m sure that some Seche Vite would make it last a lot longer.