Product Empties #28

Well everyone, it’s that time again! The old Look Fantastic beauty box I use to house my empties is overflowing so here’s are the latest products I’ve finished up! 

 

Skincare 

Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel*

Absolutely gutted to have finished this up as I love it so much! It’s a watery gel that lathers on contact with water and leaves my skin feeling matte and prepped for my next steps but never stripped! Wrote about it more in this post! Will repurchase 100%! 

 

Dermalogica Active Clay Cleanser*

Another favourite! This one was perfect for my acne prone oily skin this summer and also doubles as a mask. I think I went through this one a bit quicker as my mum was using it too so it has her seal of approval also! Wrote more about it here and will repurchase! 

 

Dermalogica Pre-Cleanse*

This is a really luxurious oil and it removes makeup with ease! It’s got a citrus scent and I did find my eyes could be a little irritated by it so for that reason I wouldn’t repurchase! 

 

Dermalogica Skin Smoothing Cream*

A really simple but effective moisturiser, my skin drank this up! It’s creamy but lightweight and kept my skin hydrated all day and sat really well under makeup too! Would repurchase! 

 

Dermalogica Biolumin-C Eye Serum*

This is a gorgeous lightweight serum that really helped with fine lines and firmness, I don’t have bad dark circles but my undereyes were definitely brighter using this! It’s pricey but with daily use I got about six months use out of it so would repurchase! Read more thoughts on it here! 

 

Versed Baby Cheeks All in One Hydrating Milk

Really enjoyed this toner and it’s packaging! It was hydrating and calming and left my skin soft and prepped. I moved onto the infamous I’m From Rice Toner after this and though its early days I *think* I prefer it so probably wouldn’t repurchase this one! I have a post on it here! 

 

The Inkey List Retinol 

This is one of my favourite Inkey List products! I think it is a great introduction to Retinol as it feels so gentle (sorry, percentages and types of retinol are not my forte so do correct me if I’m wrong!) It’s quite liquidy and I always wake up to bright, plump skin after using! I used about ¾ of the bottle before switching to the next one I will talk about but I finished this on my neck! Already have a backup but I might give it to my mum as I want something stronger! Read more about it in my budget skincare picks here! 

 

Verso Super Facial Serum

I love this, it felt more potent to me than the Inkey List retinol and I saw a marked improvement in my skin overall – especially my elevens and fine lines on my forehead as well as pigmentation on my lower cheeks and jawline. I was also impressed with how long this tiny sample lasted me! The only negative is that it is £110 for 30mls so it won’t be a repurchase for me right now as I want to try Medik8’s crystal retinal offering but I can see me coming back to this even with the price tag if that doesn’t compare! 

 

Amorepacific The Essential Crème Fluid

This was a very nice hydrating fluid that felt smoothing and I really enjoyed the scent too but for the price it’s not worth it for me so won’t be a repurchase! 

Bodycare

Vaseline Essential Healing Body Lotion

Another empties another Vaseline body lotion! You can’t beat this cheap and cheerful moisturiser! I love the fresh scent and find the lotion itself is lightweight but nourishing and dries in quickly! Have already repurchased! 

 

Soap and Glory Pulp Friction Body Scrub

My favourite body scrub! This isn’t my favourite scent but the scrub itself is amazing! It lathers up quickly and the “vitaminballs” don’t feel abrasive at all. This and a scrubbing mitt are a dream team for stubborn fake tan! I have a few other scrubs to get through then I will repurchase though knowing Soap and Glory they will have discontinued it by then as it's one of my faves! 

 

Hawaiian Tropic Air Soft After Sun Lotion

I picked this up as I wanted some nostalgia as I didn’t get on holiday this year ha. I then realised it was the SPF I had previously not the after sun so it didn’t generate any feelings of being on holiday but I did enjoy the cooling feeling of it and its pretty swirly pattern in the bottle! Would repurchase but not any time soon. 

 

Soaper Duper Creamy Deluxe Shea Butter Body Wash in Vanilla Pod 

This was a very liquidy body wash and though I don’t normally love vanilla I was very impressed with how realistic the scent was! Not my normal jam so wouldn’t go out of my way to repurchase but I did enjoy it! 

 

Sol de Janeiro Coco Cabana Cream 

A much more subtle scent that its sister Bum Bum Cream and a lovely thick hydrating body cream. I do prefer the Bum Bum scent so I won’t repurchase this one! 

Haircare 

V05 Refresh Dry Shampoo 

My favourite dry shampoo that I cannot find anywhere except artisan grocery shops! What gives V05? This smells amazing, leaves no white cast and is only a few pounds so super affordable! I wish it was more easily available but if I see it again I will of course be repurchasing! 

 

OUAI Leave In Conditioner 

My favourite leave in product, this is smoothing, detangling and protective all while not weighing my hair down and smelling amazing! Read more about how much I love it here! Already repurchased!

Makeup

Revlon ColourStay Foundation (Combo/Oily) in Buff and Sand Beige 

My OG favourite affordable foundation! This stuff is full coverage and long lasting on my oily skin! Buff matches me when I have no tan on and Sand Beige is for when I do have fake tan on! I find Sand Beige does oxidise slightly but I have no problems with Buff and have already repurchased! Read more about my love for it here! 

Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in 1 Fair 

Another affordable makeup love! This gives really good coverage without drying out my problem areas and I have already repurchased!  

 

Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask in Champagne 

Love the Bite lip masks, they are super thick so perfect for overnight hydration! I didn’t love the Champagne shade but it wasn’t a big deal as I just use it at night, already have a backup! 

Miscellaneous

Advanced Nutrition Programme Skin Accumax 120 capsules 

I’ve talked about these a few times in my empties and unfortunately I haven’t seen much difference with them which was disappointing for me as I know some people swear by them! They are a pricey option so this time I haven’t repurchased. Let’s just hope my skin doesn’t get any worse haha but I’ve been off them for about 2 weeks now and no change. I’ve actually made an appointment with a dermatologist for the end of the month to discuss going back on Roaccutane so wish me luck! 

Congratulations if you made it to the end of that! Let me know if you have tried any of the above products or what you are working on finishing at the minute! 

*denotes a PR sample that was sent to me. All opinions are my own. See my full disclosure here.

 

Danielle xx

 

If you want to keep up to date with my posts, don’t forget to follow me on

Bloglovin | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

 

 

Skincare | Five Facemasks

I don’t know about you but I have been upping my masking lately and I thought today I would take the chance to talk about some facemasks in my rotation - the skincare kind that is! Three of these are constant, repurchased favourites and two are new to my collection over the last month!

First up, my Origins mask trinity – I have lost count of how many tubes of each of these I have went through at this stage. They are my go to when my skin needs help with texture, breakouts and hydration. The Drink Up Intensive Overnight Hydrating Mask is a Holy Grail product for me, it’s cooling, soothing and hydrating but doesn’t feel greasy at all. Every morning after I use this, my skin feels so plump, soft and moisturised, I love it!

When I’m having issues with texture on my skin I always go back to the Original Skin Retexturizing mask with rose clay. It’s a dual clay mask and exfoliator that my oily/combo skin really agrees with! The rose clay feels gentle and the jojoba beads do a great job of exfoliating my skin leaving it smooth, supple and clear.

The Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask rounds off this trio – it contains bamboo charcoal and white china clay and is one I like to use when I am breaking out as it’s calming and helps with oil control while drawing clogged pores to the surface. These three masks are £22 each for 75ml but it is worth shopping around for a discount or a gift with purchase to get the most for your money!

A mask I’ve had for a while but only opened recently is the Summer Fridays R + R mask which I received in a GWP. This brand is super hyped and an Instagram favourite but this is the only product of theirs I have tried and I don’t know, it’s just left me feeling a bit meh especially for the price! The mask is filled with oils to hydrate and soothe skin as well as flower powder to exfoliate (which I find quite harsh) and is lightly rose scented. I leave it on for about 10 minutes then use a damp wash cloth to remove but rub in any excess oil leftover. I just feel a bit underwhelmed with it overall especially when its £46 for 64g!

Lastly, the Dermalogica Hydro Masque Exfoliant* also promises hydration and exfoliation but this is one I can actually feel working! It contains snow mushroom for hydration and bamboo to exfoliate as well as cucumber extract (which it smells like) to soothe and I love it! I’ve included a picture of the texture so you can see the spheres which are filled with the bamboo powder and you move these over your face to wherever you feel needs exfoliating (for me it’s my forehead, nose and chin) and they burst to release the powder (it feels like an even more finely milled version of the daily microfoliant)! You only need to leave it on for 5 minutes to feel instantly refreshed, hydrated and exfoliated!

I also need to take a minute to mention the packaging as it’s so innovative! Instead of squeezing the tube you push the soft top down and it dispenses the perfect amount of product! You can also see how much product is left down the side which brings me to my only negative – it’s £55 for 50ml. Even though it’s only recommended for use 1-2 times per week I do think this is steep and which it was at a lower price point!

Have you tried any of these masks? Let me know your favourites in the comments!

*denotes a PR sample that was sent to me. All opinions are my own. See my full disclosure here.

Danielle xx

If you want to keep up to date with my posts, don’t forget to follow me on

Bloglovin | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

 

Makeup | Pat McGrath Mini Lip Fetish Lip Balm Trio

Lip products and lip balms in particular are my vice so when I saw this trio on sale for half price a couple of months ago I thought it was about time I saw what all the Pat McGrath fuss was about! 

The set includes three of the sheer lip fetish lip balms in the shades Clear, Blow Up (a warm beige) and Flesh 3 (a bronzed rose). The formula is shea butter based and glides on so easily. The balms feel very lightweight but also hydrating and are infused with soothing emollients, antioxidants and vitamins that protect from free radicals and restore softness and elasticity and they leave a gorgeous sheen behind!

Pat McGrath’s packaging is instantly recognisable with the little gold lips on the casing and while the white outer packaging is plastic it feels really secure. There is 1.2g of product inside each of the minis and I believe the full sizes contain 3g at £28 each. I know a lot of people complain about the wasteful packaging as a con of buying from the brand but as I first time customer I found it to be quite a novelty! I still have the sequins and I need to find someone crafty to see if they can reuse them! 

l-r: Clear, Blow Up, Flesh 3

Like I said, I got these on sale for £10 instead of £20 but I don’t think I would pay full price for them! I am getting through Blow Up especially quickly as it’s my favourite and with regular use these won’t be the most long lasting bullets as they are so small! Flesh 3 will probably get more use from me throughout winter and though I don’t see these lasting long I am going to enjoy them while they do!

 

Unfortunately, this set doesn’t seem to be on the website anymore but Pat McGrath Labs regularly do sales so keep an eye out if you are interested! They also had free delivery with no minimum spend which was a nice surprise! 

 

Have you tried any Pat McGrath before? What is your favourite lip balm? 

 

Danielle xx

 

If you want to keep up to date with my posts, don’t forget to follow me on

Bloglovin | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

 

 

Five Things I’m Loving | August 2020

It’s been a while since I did one of these so I thought I would gather up a few current favourites to share today! 

Although Olaplex will always be my favourite hair treatment, the Phyto PhytoJoba Mask is a great option that leaves my hair soft and manageable as well as hydrated and healthy looking! It's concentrated so a little goes a long way and it smells like coconuts. I leave it on for as long as possible and it acts as a conditioner. If your ends are as parched as mine are you need to try this, they will thank you for it! 

While I was repurchasing my beloved OUAI North Bondi perfume I decided I would also splash out and pick up the OUAI Melrose Place Eau de Parfum and I am so glad I did! Melrose Place also lasts longer on my skin than North Bondi so that’s a plus too! If you have sniffed the OUAI rose hair and body oil or their scalp and body scrub you will know what this smells like already! It’s beautiful! I’ve included the notes here for anyone who is more of a perfume buff than I am but I just know that I love it! It’s not overpowering at all yet still unique and I can’t get enough of it! 

Top Notes: Champagne, Pink Peppercorn, Berry, and Lychee.

Heart Notes: Peony, Rose, Freesia, Jasmine, and Bergamot.

Base Notes: Amber, Sandalwood, White Musk, and Cedar-wood.

 

My latest lipbalm love is the Sol de Janeiro Cupuaçu Brazilian Kiss lip butter. It’s huge and leaves a gorgeous hydrating sheen behind and it lasts so long between top ups! It contains cupuaçu, acai and coconut oil and makes my lips feel so soft! The scent is not overpowering at all and once it’s on you can barely smell it!

I’ve got a new budget powder contender in the Collection Primed and Ready Invisible Setting Powder which was an impulse buy a few months ago. I hate wasting my Laura Mercier as I obviously haven’t been going anywhere so I thought I would try this and at £3.99 (and I think there was money off when I bought it) I have been super impressed! It’s a very finely milled mattifying powder that doesn’t cling to dry patches and does a very good job of keeping my oils at bay! Not bad for under £4! 

After trying the Nature Lab Tokyo Perfect Shine Clarifying Scalp Scrub in mini form from a GWP I knew I had to get the full size. It contains sugar crystals to exfoliate and is my go to when I leave my hair for an extra day and use dry shampoo instead of actually washing it. It does a great job of getting rid of build-up and makes my scalp feel invigorated. I find with some scalp scrubs I can’t even seem to get it worked into my scalp but this is the most amazing formula – it’s sulphate free however lathers up well and it’s really easy to get it worked into the scalp! It leaves my hair shiny and feeling hydrated but not weighed down. Love it! 

 

Let me know if you have tried any of the products I’ve mentioned or what you have been loving recently! 

P.S. I hate the new blogger layout, anyone else? (if that's what you use!)

Danielle xx

 

If you want to keep up to date with my posts, don’t forget to follow me on

Bloglovin | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter