The Q Collection for Women: Balance & Radiance

Q are a fine fragrance body spray specialising in high-end, high-quality products at a fantastic high street prices.  The idea behind it is to allow women to change their fragrance regularly without breaking the bank.  They come in at a bargainous £2.29 and are available at Tesco, Sainsbury's and Boots nationwide.

There are currently 3 fragrances for women available which are Awe, Balance and Radiance.  I was kindly offered the chance to try 2 of these and I picked Balance and Radiance.

Balance is described as being for those looking for a more fruity fragrance which is bright and flirtatious, opening with radiant bergamot and pear blossom, the romantic heart is conveyed with pink peony, stargazer rose, luminous orchid, on a sensual base of forbidden woods and creme de musk.

Whereas Radiance is a modern and sophisticated floral fragrance with top notes of champaka flower, mandarin and ivy, which leads into a heart of rose, violet and exotic orchid.  The base consists of wild plum and blackberry musk.

I think these are great idea as more grown up alternative to body sprays.  They would be perfect for keeping in your handbag for a quick freshen up on the go.  I know a lot of people carry their perfumes around with them but personally would never do that, I am far too clumsy and could see myself smashing the bottle somehow!  They - body sprays in general - definitely don't last as long as perfume but probably because you're not applying directly the skin, it's just more of a mist but when you can shove it in your bag I don't think this is too much of an issue.  I don't think they would ever replace perfume but they are handy for on the go and days when you don't want to wear a more expensive fragrance.

My favourite of the two is Radiance and to give you an idea of what sort of scents I like, the fragrances I have on the go at the moment are: The Body Shop White Musk, LGNS London Diamonds and Roses, Victoria's Secret Aqua Kiss and Jil Sander Sport. 

The third one which I haven't tried as I'm not a huge citrus fan is Awe, with its fresh aroma and top notes of bergamot and Sicilian lemon, followed by a green tea accord.  This light spray boasts freesia bouquet and a rich smooth background of cedarwood, amber and musk.

Do you ever use body sprays?

<3

NOTD: Peach Sherbet

Say hello to Peach Sherbet from Models Own.  It's probably not one I would have bought myself -  this one of the colours I won but I just picked it as I don't have many nudes and they are handy to have.  At first I wasn't too sure about it as it's a bit orangey against my skin tone to be a nice nude but if you set that thought aside and just look at it for the colour itself it is quite pretty and unusual.  It also has a nice coverage and finish, this is 2 coats without top coat as I had left it at my friend's!  I think Models Own are definitely my favourite brand of nail varnish, I don't think I've found one yet which has disappointed!

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Empties #12

I haven't done an empties post in a good few weeks actually, but here we are again!  I kind of stopped blogging for a while as I was so tired after work or just too busy - I actually lost my memory card which must be somewhere in my house but luckily I found a wee 1GB one lying around so that'll keep me going! 

Avon Solutions Plus Pure Pore-Fection

Thoughts: This dried my skin out so badly.  I was trying to finish it so I was just using it but in the end I had to stop when I realised how badly it was drying out my face.  It's full of SLS, one of the highest ingredients, horrible stuff!

Cruelty-free?: No.

Repurchase?: No.

Virgin Vie Pretty Calm Shower Gel

Thoughts: I got this in a set with the body lotion as a Christmas presents.  It smells quite nice, kinda manly in a way haha.

Cruelty-free?: No.

Repurchase?: No.

The Body Shop Camomile Gentle Eye Make-Up Remover

Thoughts: This works pretty well actually, it's a thin water-like liquid, I found that if you use too much it can sting the eyes.  They seem to have rebranded it so I'm not sure if it's exactly the same or not, maybe less stingy now!  £8/250ml here.

Cruelty-free?: Yes.

Repurchase?: Possibly, but still on a quest for the bestest one!! ;)

Bourjois Volume Glamour

Thoughts: I bought this as I couldn't find my favourite spinny one!  It is a very average mascara to be honest, and I had to buy another different one this time as spinny one still wasn't shelved :( £7.99 here.

Cruelty-free?: Yes.

Repurchase?: No.

Lush Honey I Washed The Kids Soap (not pictured)

Thoughts: I got this ages ago and had kind of put off using it as I'm not a huge fan of honey but it's actually not too strong and is just more of a generally warm, sweet scent which was generally quite pleasant.  £3.40/100g here.

Cruelty-free?: Yes.

Repurchase?: Probably but there are so many others I want to try first!!

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Collection: Neon Nail Varnishes

Summer might well be over but who says you need to start wearing darker colours on your nails?!  I'm not really one for following seasonal nail colour trends, especially as I don't like having my nails very dark.  I will maybe have a couple of shades which would be particularly suited to that season but other than that I just go for whatever I feel like at the time.

Over the past year I have become a big neon fan and built up quite a nice wee collection!  I'll go through the colours I've got and add in any comments and full posts if available.

From left to right:

Nina Ultra Pro in Punki Pink - probably not CF.

Models Own Bubblegum - loved this in the summer!

Models Own Hedonist - at first I wasn't sure about this colour but saw it on someone's nails and loved it!

China Glaze Orange Knockout - I found the China Glaze ones didn't have as nice a finish as Models Own ones.

Models Own Beach Party - the brush came off so they sent me a new one which is actually darker, how odd!  My dad fixed the brush for me so now I have two...  I wonder if they look different colours on the nail?

Models Own Luis Lemon - love this, but haven't actually worn it yet...

China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise - An unusual neon, you don't often see turquoise.

Neons are notoriously difficult to try photograph but I've tried my best!  Swatched in the same order as above.

What are your favourite neon polishes?

<3

Autumn Tag

For Autumn, what is your...

1.  Favourite thing about it? 

Jumpers, boots and everything turning gorgeous orange and yellow colours!

2.  Favourite drink?

Costa Honeycomb Hot Chocolate... oh god, it's so good!  Not sure when it's coming back but I really hope it's soon!

3.  Favourite scent/candle?

 At the moment I don't really have one but I'm hoping to get a WoodWick candle for my birthday which is sort of forest-y scented which I think sounds really good!

4.  Best lipstick?

 As always berry colours will be in for Autumn so maybe Topshop Inhibition?

5.  Go to moisturiser?

I don't change skincare in the colder months even though my skin does dry out I think I just use more moisturiser!  I am currently using Liz Earle for the day and Buddha Beauty for nighttime.

6.  Go to colours for the eyes?

Probably gold and bronze tones, hello Naked palettes! 

7.  Favourite music or band/singer to listen to?

I don't really listen to music... awkward....

8.  Favourite outfit to wear (i.e. boots & a scarf combo)?

Jeans, jumper and boots!  I also got myself a nice tartan scarf this year so I'm looking forward to wearing that!

9.  Autumn treat?

Probably a new coat or boots, or both? :O

10.  Favourite place to be?

Chillin' on the sofa with my big cosy dressing gown on watching Netflix - Oh I lead such an exciting life!

I was tagged by Char and the original post is by Makeup-Pixi3 so you can check out their answers by following the links!  If anyone else has done it please link it below and I'll have a read :)

<3

John Frieda Luxurious Volume Shampoo & Conditioner

I have a lot of hair, however the hair itself is fine and it is weighed down as there is so much.  I was offered the chance to try some John Frieda products and after describing my hair to the PR, I was sent items from the Luxurious Volume collection, and also a Full Repair Deep Conditioner.

Unfortunately I didn't get on very well with the shampoo and after a few weeks I just had to stop using it and gave it to my mum!  I haven't used shampoo with SLS in it for about a year now and I think going back to it has made me realise why it should be avoided!  I've mentioned before about a dry patch on my head - I think it might be psoriasis - which has been okay recently but since using that shampoo it got sooo much worse!  Then as soon as I went back to my SLS free shampoo it pretty much cleared up - crazy!

Aside from that unfortunate occurrence, I don't think it it made my hair particularly voluminous at the roots, perhaps around the ends there was a bit more body.  My mum commented that my hair was looking shinier though!

I also wasn't very keen on the smell, it was quite chemically and reminded me of the smell of hair dye!   Another weird negative is that (this is probably going to sound ridiculous and might just be me but I thought it's worth mentioning!) the shampoo and conditioner bottles looks exactly same except for their respective word written on the back so when I was using them in the shower I would have to bend right down and pick them up to see which was which as I don't have very good eyesight so couldn't see for further away haha!  It's such a minor issue but it annoyed me a little bit!  Sorry John Frieda, I wish I had more positives for you!  The shampoo and conditioner are £8.99 each (eek!) on the Boots website.

On the contrary I actually really liked the Full Repair Deep Conditioner.  It smells amazing and made my hair feel really soft and silky.  It actually smells a lot like the LGNs London Roses & Diamonds perfume I have oddly enough.  I brush my hair before washing it then go to sleep with it wet (so classy!) and when I brush it in the morning after using this there are no tugs, pretty impressive for my hair!!  This is definitely something I would buy again.  The deep conditioner is £6.99 on the Boots website.

I have a few other items to review but I want to get more use out of them first as they are more styling products and if you know me at all you'll know I don't often actually do anything to my hair other giving it the occasional brush!  So you can keep an eye out for that in the next few weeks.

<3

MUA Pro-Base Conceal & Brighten

I've been using this for a good few months now and I've actually really been enjoying it!  I bought it on a whim when my last concealer was running out and as it was not CF I couldn't repurchase.  It was only £3.50 from Superdrug so I figured if it was rubbish it wouldn't matter too much.  The shade I purchased is Porcelain.

It doesn't actually specify what each one is used for but I use the left hand side one for under my eyes; the middle one for any blemishes or redness; and the right hand side one I steer well clear of!  The LHS one is great as it has a peachy tone which helps cover dark circles, it's almost exactly the same colour and consistency of Mac NW20 Studio Finish Concealer which is what I was using before.  The middle one is pretty much the same colour as my skin which is incredibly lucky!  Onto the last one... apparently this is a highlighter?!  You can see the glittery pieces reflecting in the photo but it's just so dark, why would you use a highlighter darker than your skin tone, doesn't that defeat the purpose haha?  The only way I've been able to use it is as a cream blush but even then I'm not keen on it.  However when it's £3.50 for a huge 11g of product I am quite happy to sacrifice one third!

I find that it seems to last quite well and doesn't crease under my eyes which is somewhat miraculous!  I set it with Benefit Powderflage (not CF and discontinued I believe?) and for the rest of my face I just use whatever powder I'm using - currently ELF Translucent Matte Powder.

I am still on the look out for another concealer as the the ingredients in this aren't great - contains parabens.  However if I am stuck it's something I know works for me and I can fall back on it.

Any cruelty free concealer recommendations?

<3