Room Tour!

A tour of my slightly messy bedroom...

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Empties #11

Here we are again with another set of 5 items I've used up recently.  It feels so strange not to be going back to some sort of education this year... Not sure how I feel about it!  I've given up looking for a graduate job in the meantime, trying to find one when you don't have first class honours just feels like a waste of time...

Neal's Yard Remedies Wild Rose Beauty Balm

Thoughts: I really liked this cleanser!  I mentioned it in more depth in this post about my night time skincare routine.  Basically it just feels amazing and I would buy it again!  It's £37 though so I am going to try a different one now, I'm thinking the Antipodes Grapeseed Butter one!  £37/50g here.

Cruelty-free?: Yes.

Repurchase?: Yes.

Herve Leger Femme Perfume

Thoughts: I got this from Avon years ago.  It does smell really nice but obviously Avon are not cruelty free, I'm sure it was limited edition anyway.  I've also got the summer version which I am using at the moment.

Cruelty-free?: No.

Repurchase?: No.

Liz Earle Brow Pencil in Dark

Thoughts: You can read my full review here but in short I really like this and it's now my go-to brow product.  £11 here.

Cruelty-free?: Yes.

Repurchase?: Yes, already have!

The Body Shop Mango Shower Gel

Thoughts: I took this travelling with me as it was a good size for hand luggage.  It smelled good, I would buy the bigger version.  £2/60ml here.

Cruelty-free?: Yes.

Repurchase?: Yes.

O.P.I Nail Lacquer in Fiercely Fiona 

Thoughts: I got this in the Shrek Forever After collection.  I liked the colour, it's a nice semi-pastel yellow which you can see swatched here.  It ended up getting really gloopy and the brush wasn't long enough so in the end I had to pour it onto a piece of card so I could paint my nails with it!

Cruelty-free?: No.

Repurchase?: No.

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NOTD: Speckles!

This week I took another break from my Nail Varnish Challenge and tried out this little Illamasqua number I've had lying around for months!  I think I got this back in May when they did one of their amazing promotions.  I ended up getting it for just under £6!!!  In general I think Illamasqua are a little bit overpriced but they certainly make up for it by doing 50% off promotions and having really good sales!

I'm so pleased I got this.  I don't really like any of the other colours from the I'mPerfection collection, but this one is lovely.  I've used 2 coats and got an opaque finish.  I was worried the sequinny bits might be hard to spread evenly but they weren't too bad.  I have a couple of more 'bald' areas (see ring finger) but I guess that's part of the charm as well!

I've just had a look on Illamasqua's website and this shade has been discontinued!! :(

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Paperbacks & Beauty Facts: What's In My Bag?

An updated video on what's in my bag!  You can see my old one here.

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Thoughts on Superdrug + Mini Haul

So ages ago I wrote this post about why I avoid Superdrug...  Incase you've not read it and can't be bothered, it's basically about how Superdrug give money to Cancer Research UK, who test on animals.  I know that animal testing for medical reasons is a whole different kettle of fish but I just think that it's a bit sneaky of them since a lot of vegans can shop there quite happily now, without realising they're contributing to this.  I know generally this won't bother most people but being cruelty free, I wasn't too pleased about it!  Since finding this out I have tried to avoid Superdrug but I haven't boycotted them completely. 

However, since discovering that Boots own brands aren't cruelty free I've struggled to find the cosmetic basics such as nail varnish remover, hair removal, hair dye etc.  So I've decided to go back to Superdrug for the time being and make use of their BUAV Approved own brands.  Obviously I'm still not loving the whole donating to charity part but never mind.  

Another reason is my deodorant dilemma!  Trying to find a cruelty free anti-perspirant that actually works is a bloody nightmare.  There are so many deodorants out there but they don't actually keep you dry, just make you smell nice instead...  I don't particularly want to go back to high street ones but if I need to I will.  I'm hoping that Superdrug can help me out with this!  I just wish they did stick deos though, those are my favourite!

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On my most recent trip to Superdrug I bought a big can of deodorant for 99p - super cheap compared to Sure and the likes; some hair removal cream (£1.99) and some cheap wee body sprays (2 for 99p).  I'm sure you'll see all of these in my Empties posts at some point in the future, but if you would like me to review one or more in particular then just let me know!

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Paperbacks & Beauty Facts: The Movies Tag

The Movies Tag, questions in the down bar.

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Nail Varnish Challenge #17

Here we go again! I'm actually nearly finished the Nail Varnish Challenge, yayy!  This is a nail varnish that I've had floating around my collection for a very long time now, but I don't think I've ever actually used it.

It doesn't even seem to have a shade on the bottle, and the brand is Babes...  erm?!  Is it from Claire's?  Anyway, it's a sort of smokey grey colour with some silver shimmer through it.  It is quite pretty but I don't see myself reaching for it again anytime soon so it's going in the out pile.

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Easy Updo Tutorial: High Ponytail

I have been meaning to do this for ages but I've just not had the motivation for doing hair at all recently - college kind of put me off haha, but here we go finally!  It is the precursor to this post here where I did a casual bun but skipped over the first part where I said put the hair into a high ponytail.

This is a method my hairstylist auntie showed me which is good for holding thick hair up in a ponytail when the weight of it can make it droop.  It would also be good for thin hair too though I think as it would give it extra support - just use finer bobbles if you have thin hair.  I haven't tried this on myself (I'm useless with my own hair anyway!) so I can't say how easy it would be so if you are wanting to wear this yourself you might want to get a friend to give you a hand!

1. Brush the hair and decide where you want the ponytail to sit.  Overestimate the height slightly as it can usually end up being a bit lower than where you originally planned it to be.
2. Using a rat tail comb, place the point where you want the ponytail to be and run it from the centre out to the top of the ear and section that bit off, and do the same for the other side.  Now you should have a top and bottom section.
3. Ignore the top half and just work with the bottom section.  Using your brush, get all the bumps out from the hair underneath, brushing up the way towards the top section.  You can spray the brush with hairspray and smooth the hair to hep hold it in place and get rid of flyaways - I forgot...
4. Using a thinner bobble if possible, secure this bottom ponytail as close to the top section as you can.
5. Next let down the top section and brush it.  Then smooth it all back holding it tight and using the bobble you've already got in as a guide.  Hold it in position over the first bobble and brush it all into place, you can use the hairspray technique again to give a smooth finish.
6. Finally place a bobble over the whole bundle of hair, including the bobble you put in first.

Holding the hair up, you can see how it looks from underneath - this is why a thinner bobble is preferable for the first one.  However from the top it just looks like a normal ponytail!  Anyway I hope this helps, if you try this on yourself please let me know whether it's successful or not, I'm sure it could be adapted...

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