Beauty, Bargains and Beyond

I was flicking through one of the glossy magazines (must be a while back as I haven't bought one in ages) and saw H&M Conscious products mentioned (I think this have been available for a couple of years now although I'm not 100%).  Ever since then I have been dying to try them out, but they weren't available in my local H&M in Leeds.  When I visited London I decided that H&M on Oxford Street was on my must do list so I could check out the range.  I was really impressed when I did as there is so much on offer and it's reasonably priced as well.  After umming and ahhing for  a while I decided to buy the products below.  I really could have bought loads more, but as I had to get them home with me and I was running out of space in my suitcase I held back. Revelation Shower Oil - £4.99 for 250ml This is an oil to foam product that hydrates and soothes dry skin.  It contains soybean oil and castor oil.  It has a very light fragran...

I was kindly sent a DermaWand* to try out and I wanted to start posting about my journey.  I must admit I haven't used any of these types of beauty gadgets before and I was interested to see if it could really work.  I'm at the age now where the skin on my face is starting to get a bit looser and don't get me wrong I'm not looking for a wonder product that makes my face look years younger (or worse it's so tight it looks uncomfortable and ages you the wrong way), but I'm up for trying out products that can improve areas such as hooded eyelids, puffy under eyes and the beginnings of sagging on my chin and neck.  I'm not looking for miracles just little improvements here and there without going under the knife (not that I'm against that it's just not for me right now). The DermaWand is meant to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.  I must admit that I don't have wrinkles at this stage so I will just be looking to reduce fine li...

I have done a couple of Glossier hauls recently.  I placed one order online and then I visited a pop-up shop in London in November.  I've now had a chance to try out all the products that I bought, so here's how I got along with them. Milky Jelly Cleanser - £15 for 177ml I don't hate this product (as YouTubers like to say).  It's definitely an ok cleanser and there is nothing wrong with it, it just isn't all that.  It's a thick gel which has a faint plastic fragrance which I am not fond of.  It's a gentle cleanser, that doesn't foam up and does not dry my face out.  It cleanses my skin and doesn't leave it feeling tight, but I just can't justify the £15 price tag.    I give this product 6 out of 10. Body Hero Daily Oil Wash - £15 for 250ml I do love an oily shower gel and this one is a good one.  If you like a really foamy shower gel this one probably isn't for you as it just lathers up into what Glossier call a soft froth....

I was browsing around Superdrug and noticed the Revlon Ultra HD Matte Metallic Lipcolors, which I just had to pick up.  Luckily there was a 3 for 2 offer on as well as a free Revlon Eyes, Cheeks + Lips Palette when you bought 2 Revlon products.  Anyway with those offers on I couldn't say no.  I bought 3 of the lip colours - 690 Gleam, 680 Glam & 705 Shine. I think there are 6 different shades in total at Superdrug.   L-R Gleam, Glam & Shine Gleam is a light peach colour Glam is a dusky pink which I love Shine is a dark berry colour They all apply really well and feel very creamy on my lips.  They don't dry down like a matte lipstick and really I wouldn't say they were matte at all. They feel moisturising and my lips don't feel sticky at all.  The doefoot applicator is very soft and applies the lip colour really well, I needed to apply 2 coats to get full coverage.  They smell lovely (good enough to eat) and when I chec...

I don't shop at Superdrug much, but they have had some great offers on recently, so I had to buy a few things (if you have read my blog confessions post, then I just want to point out that I did buy these before the start of the new year, so they will not be included in my total spend for 2018).  These offers were on before the sales started, but I got some great deals so I wanted to share them with you. The Real Techniques Fresh Face Favourites is a limited edition set of brushes and sponges which were reduced from £19.99 to £7.99.  The set includes a BB/CC brush, a contour brush and a detailer brush, which look pretty good for under £8.  I don't think I will use the sponges, but even then I think this was a good deal. I really wanted to try out some hair supplements so when I saw these Hairburst  chewable hair vitamins on offer, I went for it.  Each box contains a 30 day supply and they contain Biotin, Vitamins, Selenium & Zinc.  They were on...

I spend too much.  There I have said it.  I buy what I want, when I want and I don't keep track of how much I have spent until I get my credit card bill.  First of all I should point out that I am not in debt, I don't have any outstanding credit card bills or anything like that, but I really need to start saving money instead of spending it on things that I don't need.   I think that my main problem is that I don't buy particularly expensive items, so I might buy a few things from Primark and a few things from Boots, things like that, but even buying drug store and high street brands adds up.  I like the odd luxury product, but I save those purchases for special occasions. Like many people I love trying out the latest new products, but the problem is that I have so many products, that I will never get around to using them all up and I hate waste, so 2018 is going to be the year of spending less and using up things that I already own, be that beauty product...

So I thought I would do a big empties post for the products I used up in the last couple of months of 2017 as I seem to have built up quite a pile.  I have really tried to shop my stash and use as many products as I could this year while trying to cut back on new purchases (not always successfully I must admit).  Anyway here's what I've used up. Palmers Olive Oil Formula Cleansing Conditioner - this co-wash works really well on my curly hair. Kiehl's Deeply Restorative Smoothing Oil Concentrate - this is another product that works well on my curly hair. Sachajuan Hair Repair - this was a deluxe sample from a goody bag, so I am glad that I didn't pay for it as it didn't do anything for my hair. Garnier Ultimate Blends Conditioner - I did use this with the shampoo as well and it's a nice product but nothing stood out.  I have tons of shampoos and conditioners to use up so I'm not in a rush to repurchase. L'Oreal Elvive Phytoclear Intense ...