Nars Blush Collection - with swatches

I'm a big fan of Nars blushers, they're all so pretty!  I used to work for House of Fraser so was lucky enough to get 10% off beauty items which I took full advantage of and have built up and small collection whilst I was there.

Click read more to see my collection and swatches of everything.

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

Collection: Cleansers

I haven't done one of these posts in a while and seeing as I seem to built up a big collection of cleansers reecently, I thought I'd share it with you!

Neal's Yard Remedies Wild Rose Beauty Balm

I've mentioned this product before in my night time skincare routine post and current beauty favourites video.  I was lucky enough to get this in my goody bag from a Neal's Yard Remedies event I attended last year.  The balm is so smoothing and lovely to use, I apply it to dry skin and wipe it off with a muslin cloth soaked in hot water.  It can also be used as a mask and as a intensive moisturiser.  I love this and I will definitely buy it again at some point, probably not immediately though as it's rather pricey!  Neal's Yard Remedies are cruelty free.
[£37/50g - Neal's Yard Remedies]

No7 Cleansing Lotion

I was sort of coerced into buying this when I bought the No7 Facial Brush!  I went to the till and she told me it was 3 for 2 and pretty much convinced me to go back and have another look, so I went to go and get a cleanser to use with the brush.  I was going to get some face wipes too but the No7 lady wouldn't let me (seriously! She said it was too much temptation...) and recommended this as a 'lazy option' for taking make up off.  I'm still not 100% sure how it you're meant to use it...  I think you just squirt some onto a cotton pad and wipe any make up off, but I feel weird not using water so I always rinse my face after just to get off any residue.  No7 are no longer cruelty free.

[£9/200ml - Boots] 

Avon Pure Porefection Self-foaming Cleanser

I only bought this because it was something like £1 in the sale section of the Avon catalogue a few years ago (yes, years... oops!).  I've been trying to use it up but I really don't like it, I think it dries out my skin, and according to Caroline Hirons foaming cleansers are evil anyway!  I will probably just chuck this out before I do my skin any more damage with it.

No7 Melting Gel Cleanser

I bought this to use with my facial brush and so far I do quite like it.  It comes out in a gel which you apply to damp skin, wet the brush and use it, then rinse it off.  When rinsed off it becomes more of a milk which makes it really easy to remove.  I don't like the packaging of this though, I find it really hard to get the gel out for some reason!  No7 are no longer cruelty free.

[£9/150ml - Boots]

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish

I love Liz Earle, they are so generous with their samples!  I got this free when I bought my eyebrow pencil.  I also got a Skin Tonic sample when I bought the Skin Repair Moisturiser so I look forward to using these together.  I've not used this in a long time so I can't comment on it at the moment.  Liz Earle are cruelty free.

[£13.25/100ml - Liz Earle]

No7 Hot Cloth Cleanser

I've actually had this for ages, it's ridiculous!  I bought it when it first came out but it's just been sitting in my cupboard ever since, so bad!  Hopefully I will get round to using it soon after kick-starting my skincare routine this year.  No7 are no longer cruelty free.

[£9.95/200ml - Boots]

Wishy Washy Lemon & Lime Scented Nettle Complexion Soap

I was sent this in my lovely package of goodies from Alex at Wishy Washy!  It is a solid cleansing bar so I think this will last for ages!  I've been planning on using it in the morning as I only rinse my face, but I've been far too lazy and only used it a couple of times...  It has a citrusy scent and lathers up nicely even though all of Alex's products are SLS free!  I can't give a full review yet but I do find that it leaves a bit of residue on the skin so I need to use a flannel to remove it fully, I think it would be better if it was more water soluble.  Wishy Washy are cruelty free, and all products are vegan.

[£2.50/100g - Wishy Washy]

<3

Collection: Lipsticks & Storage

I wasn't happy with my lipstick storage which was basically them all just shoved in a box in a drawer and not very easy to reach for!  However I got a beautiful mirrored jewellery box for my birthday but as I have loads of jewellery boxes already, I decided to use it for my lipsticks!

This is where it sits usually as I keep all my makeup in my bathroom (weird? normal?), but for ease of taking clear photos I moved it to my hall!

In the top I have my purples.  Sadly I only have 3 - plenty of room for more!!  Also because there is space, my Lipcote is in here as well.

In the middle drawer are my pinks.

And in the last drawer are my orange/reds.

So that is my lipstick collection!  Pretty small but growing, I've only recently got into lipsticks and even then I only wear them on nights out/special occasions!  I am going to do a 'most used lip products' post too as I keep those in a separate, more accessible place.

Out of these, the following are not cruelty free: Avon, Lipcote (unknown), MAC and Revlon.

 <3

Collection: DIY Palettes #2

I decided to created my own mini palettes to condense my individual eyeshadow collection a little bit.  I was going to do them in the one post but it started to get a bit long so I am going to divide it up into 2 posts instead!  Here are my 3 palettes that I have so far:

In my last post I showed you the Unii Palette (the red one) and so the next ones to discuss are the small E.L.F. ones.  I actually have 3 of these but only 2 are filled at the moment!  These palettes are quite handy, they come with an insert to fit 4 standard size eyeshadows/blushes which E.L.F. sell individually on their website.  The palette and refills are £1.50 (well they were last time I checked, they are bumping up their prices something awful, argh!) which is quite a bargain!  In all honesty the refills are not the best, they are really gritty and I won't be buying anymore of these.  The palette however is great, you just need to pop out the insert and then using some double sided sticky tape, stick down the metal sheet which lies beneath the insert.  So then you can use however many products you want/can fit in it!  You can also decorate your palette as well if you want - I had little rhinestones on the corners but they fell off as I used to keep it in my make up bag!

So although they are quite small, for £1.50 they are really easy for putting together a few similar colours.  They are definitely not as durable as the Unii palette for travel, I had one eyeshadow smash on me in one, and that was with the insert in place!  But I think for the price they are fantastic!

In the left-hand side one I have got black and white themed eyeshadows.  They are by Too Faced (grey and black), Avon (the white and grey - not CF) and E.L.F. (the white one, see how gritty it is?!)

In the other one I have got some blushes.  The big one is Berry Merry by E.L.F. (love this blush!), beside it is Merlot by Arbonne, and the round one is another £1.50 E.L.F. one (again note the grittiness).

I am going to a post about my obsession with purple toned blusher at some point, I'd like to get my hands on NARS Sin first but it's just so damn expensive!

<3

Collection: DIY Palettes #1

I decided to created my own mini palettes to condense my individual eyeshadow collection a little bit.  I was going to show them all in the one post but it started to get a bit long so I am going to divide it up into either 2 or 3 posts instead!  Here are the 3 palettes that I have so far:

The first one I am going to talk about, the big red one, is a Unii palette.  These are really great as they are so sturdy and durable, and they also come with a sheet of adhesive magnetic for you to cut out and stick to your products.  Inside it has a massive mirror and a rubber bumper to help prevent any damages if it gets bashed, which makes it perfect for travelling.  It also comes with a little thumb grip but I have removed this as it was taking up too much room.

The downside to it is that it's really quite expensive considering it's an empty palette!  I think mine worked out to be about £21 if not slightly more, due to exchange rate and shipping.  However this was when they were relatively new and I got it directly from the Unii's US website, now they have a UK website which is fantastic and are available at an introductory price of only £15!  They are also discounting it if you buy in bulk, so if you buy four or more you will get them for £12 each!  The p&p is £2.95, which isn't too bad, and free for over £60.  Unfortunately they have totally changed all the colours and the one I have isn't available anymore, but they do have a nice selection of pastelly colours which are really pretty!

The Unii palette fits a lot of different brands which are all listed on their website (link above) and it also explains how to depot any products which have got packaging which is quite handy if you're not familiar with the techniques.

In my palette I have got quite a few different brands: Avon (not CF), Too Faced, MAC (not CF), Urban Decay (not CF) and Virgin Vie (no idea about their cruelty-free status but I would assume they are not!  I've never bought anything from them before, this was part of a gift set.).  I have tried to group colours together and this one is my earthy/neutrals palette!

<3

Collection: Facial Scrubs

A couple of days ago it suddenly occurred to me that over the, ahem, years, I have managed to gather quite a few facial scrubs...

I am on a bit of a 'use everything up and start again' kick recently so I am now on a mission to try and finish these!  It is also partly because none of them are cruelty free!  It shows you how long I've had some of them for, I probably technically shouldn't be using a couple but they all smell fine to me haha!

I have two of these, one I got in a set along with a 30ml VitaZing and GinZing eye cream (For £25 I think, what a bargain, eye cream itself is £21!) and the other I got as a free sample - questionable!  I've not opened either of yet so I can't comment, however I'm not doing this as a review post anyway due to them all (not sure about St Ives to be honest...) having animal testing connections.  This is more of a 'why the hell do I have this many scrubs?!' post...

I have actually had this for so long!  Thank goodness I only got the sample size!  I bought this after seeing Fafinettex3 (I think that was her username, anyone else used to watch her?) or Aubrey on Youtube raving about it.  However I don't particularly like this as it has a very strong smell and the particles are quite rough and are not regular spheres so it is quite harsh on the skin.  It does leave my skin feeling soft afterwards but during it isn't very pleasant!

I think I bought this to help with blackheads on my nose.  I keep this one in my shower so it gets used slightly more often than the others!

I bought this one because I have what are called 'milk spots' under my eyes which are just like teeny white spots but they don't heal themselves and they just stay there always :( I read that salicylic acid is good for helping them and this one contained a higher percentage.  I don't even know if it works to be honest I only stuck with it for like 3 days...  So you never know, once I've finished this I may be milk spot free!

If anyone has any suggestions for cruelty-free scrubs when I (eventually) finish this lot please let me know!  I was thinking Soap and Glory?

<3