Wish List #1

Source: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

Now is it just me, but when asked by family if there’s anything you would like for Christmas, my mind goes blank yet every other time of the year there are tons of things you wish you could afford to buy yourself. Although I was treated to lots of little gifts at Christmas, these are a few things that have caught my eye over the past few weeks.

1. I bought this box set for my best friend for Christmas as we’re both massive fans of New Girl and I knew she’d love it. I managed to get it at a brilliant price and it hasn’t dropped to the same price since, I knew I should have got it for myself as well! I can’t wait for the next season to start, trying to avoid spoilers when they’re all over Tumblr is a nightmare!

2. I discovered the Fujifilm Instax Mini cameras on Tumblr a couple of weeks into January and having a massive love of Photography and wanting a polaroid camera for ages, it immediately went in my Amazon wish list. I don’t think the camera itself is a bad price at around £55 however the film would become costly to keep replenishing but it may have to be kept for special photos. I’m hoping to get it before the summer so I can take it with me to Barcelona, it would create some really beautiful shots.

3. I noticed this Topshop necklace in the Meadowhall store about 2 weeks ago and just loved the simplicity of it. At £12.50 it would make such a lovely gift and can be bought in gold or silver. I already have far too many necklaces but this is one I’d love to add to my collection.

4. I have wanted to try Bioderma for a good couple of years but never managed to get my hands on it and never really made the effort to order a bottle from Ebay however last week I discovered a dupe. I heard about the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water on Youtube and Beauty blogs and so far have only heard positive stuff, hopefully will give this product a whirl at some stage.

5.  I personally think this bag looks a lot nicer in person than online but I’ve always loved the classic Chanel quilted style handbag. This River Island version looks like such a useful size and could be more versatile than many smaller ones I’ve seen that would just be used for nights out and evening wear. At £28 I think it’s quite a good price too.

6. Finally, a slightly random thing to include on a wish list but this sounds awesome! Individual bags of strawberry and white chocolate flavoured popcorn from M&S, that is one of my all time favourite flavour combinations. I should have just bought it when I saw it in the shop because it was also discounted, I really hope they still have it next time I go in!

Being a student, it’s unlikely I’ll actually get to buy many of these but a girl can dream, that’s the point of a wish list anyway right?!

Have you got any of these products? If so, what do you think of them? Let me know any things you’re currently lusting over.

I hope you enjoyed this post!

My January Favourites

After receiving lots of small gifts for Christmas, a few of these became immediate favourites for  January, making the miserably wet and cold month slightly more cheery. Lets face it, unless you’re lucky enough to jet off abroad and miss out the British January altogether, its never the amazing start to the new year we all hope for. Now into February, I’m finally getting back into the swing of Uni and looking forward to what’s in store this semester (I can’t believe I’m half way through my first year!) Anyway, lets get into the favourites…

Boohoo Kim Oversized Baseball T-shirt ~ During mid January, I ordered a couple of tops from Boohoo which arrived during my first week back at Uni, a very welcome delivery! Although the other top was a disaster, I am so pleased with this one. I had been on the hunt for a baseball tee for about a month and was considering one from Topman but at just £8, I couldn’t resist. The black and white was exactly the combination I had been looking for and the loose, slightly oversized fit is really flattering in my opinion. Although the material doesn’t feel amazing quality, this wasn’t a surprise considering the price. I love pairing this with skinny jeans, converse, a leather jacket and a silver chain (also a favourite).

Accessorize Silver Chain ~ I received this necklace as part of a Christmas present from my best friend and have found I’ve been wearing it almost everyday. It’s such a versatile accessory, I’ve worn it on so many different occasions; over plain tees, button up blouses and jumpers. I wear mostly silver jewellery so it goes well with my rings and bracelets. Personally I think it adds a cool, rocky edge to pretty much any outfit.

Soap & Glory Smoothie Star Body Buttercream ~ This body cream had been on my birthday/Christmas wish list for over a year but apparently when my mum went to pick it up for me she smelt it and assumed I had written down the wrong one as she wasn’t keen on the scent, so from that its obviously not to everyone's taste, but I LOVE it! I really like using bodybutters during the winter as I have dry skin anyway, so the rick consistency of Body Shop’s bodybutters for example are brilliant however they just take so long to soak into the skin and dry, which is one of the reasons I wanted to try this. Being described as a ‘buttercream’ I would say its in between the thickness of a body lotion and bodybutter so perfect for people who aren’t keen of having to wait ages to get dressed after application. Most of all though it was the smell that hooked me. Described as having a “Pistachio, almond and sweet vanilla fragrance” along with coconut, I knew it was just made for me! It is an extremely sweet scent (which I am personally a fan of) and feels super indulgent after a relaxing bubble bath.

Benefit ‘So hooked on Carmella’ ~ Having first picked this up in Sephora in Florida around 2 1/2 years ago, I knew it would be a purchase I would repeat. For me, the scent reminds me of that holiday and therefore makes me think of it as a summer perfume, however after receiving it for Christmas I’ve already started using it. As it is an eau de toilette I personally don’t think it lingers on the skin for a very long time however people do comment on it so it may just be that I get used to the smell. I’ve heard lots of people describe it as smelling like Malibu and while I do get the strong hint of coconuts I personally don’t think it smells of alcohol, that wouldn’t be attractive! Its been one of my top 3 favourite perfumes for ages now and am very happy to have a new bottle in my collection.

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish ~ This really doesn’t need much of an explanation does it?! I’m pretty sure 90% of the population have tried this (ok, slight exaggeration but you get my drift!) with a ridiculous number of blog posts dedicated to reviewing it. I have received this from my grandparents as my Christmas present for around 3 years now and 1 bottle lasts me almost the entire year. I would recommend picking it up around Christmas time though as they usually do a larger bottle at a discounted price. Basically, it’s amazing, I love it and can’t see it being replaced by a different product in my skincare regime any time soon.

Film: That Awkward Moment ~ A pretty late addition to the January favourites seeing as though it was only released on 29th January but I went on opening night and had already arranged my second viewing before seeing it the first time. Based purely on it staring Zac Efron and it looking quite funny, my female flatmates and I headed out for a girly cinema trip. It’s a movie I found entertaining from start to finish with laughter the whole way through. No its not ground-breaking but its a light-hearted chick flick and I don’t see how any female could say no to Zac Efron on the big screen  

Book: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green ~ Again, this was another stocking filler and I had been looking forward to reading it for a while. I’m not sure whether it’s just been hyped up so much but whilst I was reading it I was expecting something more yet at the same time was completely engrossed. Once I had finished it I think I understood the hype more, it turned out to be such a good read and I realised I hadn’t got that much into the story of a book for a long time. I am definitely going to check out more of John Green’s work, next on my list is Looking for Alaska.

TV: Take Me Out ~ I’m not going to deny it, I love Take Me Out. It’s my guilty pleasure. I know its ridiculously cringey and cheesy but I think its brilliant. My mum regularly has to tell me not to end up on it (which I find slightly insulting) but love watching it in bed on a Sunday with a cuppa.

Music: Night Visions – Imagine Dragons ~ I first heard of Imagine Dragons back in maybe April/May last year when they were just starting to be played on Radio 1 and only remember this because they had just been announced as part of the line-up at T in the Park which I had tickets for. They were the first band I saw at T and were such an incredible start to one of the best weekends ever. I didn’t actually get round to buying their album until the January sales but for 3 solid weeks I had the CD playing in my car wherever I went. Without a doubt one of the best albums released in 2013.

Well there we have it; my first ever favourites post. I really enjoyed compiling this little list of things I’ve been loving, what were your favourite things in January?

Thanks for reading!

My Festival Experiences - Part 1

 As the cold, rainy days continue, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one daydreaming of the oh-so-distant summer ahead. Looking at holidays abroad and being tempted by the spring, pastel shades on the high-street is only making this wait more excruciating. One of the first things that comes to mind when I hear the word 'summer' is festivals. For me, they just embody everything about British summers; the combination of denim shorts and wellies = our never ending hope for sun paired with our unwanted practicality knowing deep there's a 95% chance we're going to be joined by rain and mud all weekend.

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I love festivals. The range of different music, the relaxed atmosphere and the memories created make them incredibly appealing to me. Which is kind of lucky seeing as though I'm studying for an events managements degree and want to go into the festival industry. I love learning about all things festival-related and could talk about them all day but I'm just going to get into it.

With the line-ups slowly being announced for this year and having been to 3 very different types of festivals myself, I thought I'd share with you my experiences (the good, bad and just down right disgusting!) 

1. The first 'festival' I ever went to was Hard Rock Calling on Saturday 27th June 2009 in Hyde Park, London. Although it is a festival, its not what most people would consider a 'proper' festival, it extends over a full weekend but there's no camping involved so you don't get the true festival experience. I went to this because my mum bought my dad 2 tickets for their anniversary present as the headliner was Neil Young, one of my dad's all time favourite artists. However, old rock not being my mum's cup of tea (and one of the acts being the Fleet Foxes) I offered to take her ticket, it's a tough life, I know. Yes, I know what you must be thinking, "you went to a festival with your Dad?!" But for a 14 year old who was dying to experience any type of festival, I didn't care. That's something I love about festivals, there are so many different acts they can appeal to such a wide age range. I think there's actually something quite cool about teenagers and middle aged people jumping up and down in a field, singing along to the same music. 

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After a sunny, June morning on Oxford Street, we made our way to Hyde Park. I vaguely remember first walking into the festival site through the queuing lanes. That massive stage in the middle, the vast area of clear grass (a slightly different image to 11pm that night trying to leave through a swarm of plastic beer bottles) and tents lining the outside. Having picked our spot just off centre about 1/3 of the way back, we settled down on the grass for the long awaited start. That wait was painful, not due to the anticipation but the weather, it was a heat wave that day and being fair skinned, I was craving some shade. However, once the music started, and thanks to countless ice cold Red Bulls, the excitement soon kicked in. We saw The Original Sinners, Rudy Vaughn, The Pretenders, Seasick Steve, Ben Harper, Fleet Foxes and Neil Young. I had never heard of Rudy Vaughn but I distinctly remember his performance because he did an incredible cover of Michael Jackson’s Beat It as it was just 2 days after his death. Seasick Steve was also new to me but he was so cool. He’s such a chilled yet enthusiastic musician and clearly loved performing. I remember his weird, personalised guitars and just think its pretty inspiring for someone to be touring the world in his 70’s. Considering I was most looking forward to seeing Fleet Foxes, they were totally overshadowed by the oldies in my opinion. Researching the line-up again now, I’ve just found out Mumford and Sons performed on the smaller stage that day. Having seen them live since, I bet it would have been so good to see them before they became so huge. That’s another thing I love about festivals, the majority of the unknown acts become famous in the future and there is just something about seeing these acts before other people hear about them, when you’re part of this small fan-base watching their popularity grow.

I’m going to be honest, before going I didn’t really have a clue who Neil Young was. Most teenagers don’t. When he came on stage, I hadn’t a clue what to expect. Granted, he’s not everyone’s cup of tea and I understand why my Mum didn’t go but he was brilliant! The weather had completely changed during the day and while the stage was being set up, everyone was wearing their waterproof ponchos and huddled under umbrellas but when he came on stage, the crowd just kind of woke up! I only recognised a few songs from listening to my dad’s albums in his car but I really enjoyed it. He was so energetic and has an awesome voice, a true rocker. Seeing my dad get so into the music was hilarious, I can vouch that dad festival dancing is just as bad as dad wedding dancing *cringe*.

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When Paul McCartney came out to join him at the end, everyone was just in a state of shock, they just jammed for ages and was so cool to watch. His set overran by a good half hour but nobody left early. I've been to see Neil Young on tour with my Dad since but it was a let down compared to Hard Rock Calling, it really was a great day.

I learnt some valuable lessons regarding festivals at Hard Rock including:

• Massive handbags are the WORST idea at festivals.
• Those portaloos were delightful compared to the ones you’d experience in the future, seriously running water and flushing…luxury!
• Wearing jeans on what turned out to be a scorcher of an afternoon was such a bad idea, feeling like you're about to pass out from the heat is not a good look, ever.
• Not knowing some of the artists isn’t necessarily a bad thing, you may come away surprised at how much you enjoyed it and become a fan of some artists you’d never heard of before.
• Being in a crowd with your dad and drunk men throwing plastic beer bottles is not dangerous or shocking, just wait!

Looking back on the day now, it was so tame, but for a young girl from a tiny countryside village, it was like nothing I had ever seen or experienced before. The surprise performance from Sir Paul McCartney was awesome, to  be able to say I’ve seen a Beatle live is pretty cool. Overall, it was the perfect introduction to festivals and definitely where my love began and just one of my favourite memories with my Dad.

Have you been to any festivals? What was the first festival you ever went to? Do you have any recommendations of which festivals to go to? Let me know in the comments below!

I hope you enjoyed part one of this mini blog series, next week will be my experience of Wireless Festival.

30 facts about me!

This type of post seems to have be done by every blogger out there, I love reading them and having a bit of a nosey into people's personalities. I know some people have done 25 or 50 facts and some even 100 but I got a bit carried away with 25 and couldn’t cut it down so here's 30 random facts about moi…

1) Due to my birthday being 2nd September, I was always the oldest person in my year during primary school and oldest girl during secondary school.

2) I was born with different coloured eyelashes. My left eyelashes are black and my right are blonde, my parents joke that this was how they were able to tell me apart from the rest of the new-born babies in the hospital.

3) I love peanut butter, like seriously LOVE it. Peanut butter on toast, mmmmmm perfection!

4) I am the oldest out of 12 cousins, there are 17 years between myself and the youngest.

5) I have lived in the same house my whole life. I will be moving away from home for the first time this September when I go off to uni.

6) I passed my driving test exactly 6 months after my 17th birthday and passed my theory by 1 mark!

7) Although I can get on with nearly everyone and were friends with most of the people in my year group, I’ve always had a small close friendship group rather than big. During the majority of my school life I normally only had about 2 best friends.

8) I got my first job within 1 month after turning 16 as a waitress.

9) Fussy eaters really annoy me, it’s one of my pet-peeves. I will eat practically every food and there isn’t much I dislike but the 3 things I do hate are marmite, celery and radishes.

10) I’m incredibly indecisive. From silly, insignificant things to big, life decisions, it takes me ages to make a choice and settle with it.

11) For about 5 or 6 years through secondary school I really wanted to be a costume designer for movies and TV shows when I grew up. I would help out in the costume department on school productions and even visited some universities to study it after sixth form, it was only then that I realised that it wasn’t what I wanted to do.

12) I’ve never really been a sports fan but during my childhood I did swimming, ballet, horse-riding and tennis. However, I do still enjoy watching tennis and have been to Wimbledon and the ATP finals in London.

13) I absolutely love skiing. I’m by no means brilliant at it but I just enjoy everything about getting on the slopes; the atmosphere, the adrenaline, even the cold! I have been on 5 ski trips including to France, Austria, Italy and Bulgaria.

14) I started playing the clarinet at the age of 8 but stopped after passing grade 4.

15) My favourite Starbucks drinks are the Toffee Nut Latte (during wintertime) and the Caramel Frappuccino (for summer).

16) I have natural ginger highlights at the back of my head and had them for as long as I remember.

17) My favourite movies are Back to the Future I, Dirty Dancing (I am a huge fan of 80s movies!!) and Titanic.

18) I’ve been extremely fortunate to visit 15 different countries and my favourites of them were Iceland and Barbados. However I prefer going on city breaks rather than beach holidays as I believe you get to experience more of the culture. I have incredible memories of my visits to New York, Paris and Dublin.

19) I can touch my nose with my tongue. The less said about that the better I think.

20) I don’t tell many people this but I hate the movie Grease. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever been able to sit through the whole thing.

21) In the future I would love to visit Rome, San Francisco and Canada.

22) My favourite song is Dream Catch Me by Newton Faulkner. He is AMAZING live!

23) If I could eat 1 thing for the rest of my life it would have to be cheesecake.

24) My favourite smells are coconut and vanilla.

25) My first celebrity crush was Orlando Bloom after seeing him in Pirates of the Caribbean (can you believe the first film was 10 years ago!) Come on, he is beautiful.

26) My first concert I attended was S Club. I’m not even embarrassed, they were awesome! Everyone loves  a bit of Reach, right?!

27) Due to the Icelandic Volcanic Ash Cloud in April 2010, my family and I got stuck in America. We went on a 2 week holiday to Florida and got stuck for 2 weeks in Washington DC but it was awesome, staying up the road from the White House whilst everyone else was at school, yeah I can think of worse things.

28) When I went to Wireless festival in 2011, I lost my friends after going off to the loo and spent the entire headline performance on my own in the crowd and ended up getting urinated on by a random drunk guy. I then had to travel all the way home on the train without washing.

29) On a night out you will most likely find me drinking JD and cokes, whoever says it’s a mans drink, you are wrong.

30) My favourite colour is the turquoise/teal shade of blue.

Do we have any of these things in common? Let me know if you’ve done a post on facts about you!

Collective Beauty Haul

Over the past few weeks I have found myself nipping into my local Superdrug a little too often and have not been leaving empty handed. Sometimes I enjoy beauty shopping more than clothes shopping; it’s easier, there’s no faff about sizes and there’s the anticipation of trying out a new product. Oh god, I sound so sad! Anyhow, this is the little bundle I’ve accumulated…

For some reason I find lots of small, cheaper purchases much easier to justify spending my money on rather than 1 big shop when I know really it doesn’t make any difference. To be honest most of these things were essentials and were either on offer or fairly cheap anyway (yes, I am referring to the many Primark logos you see.)

So first up was the 3 for 2 offer on at Superdrug, I believe it has finished now however they regularly bring it back and Boots often do a similar deal.

Barry Me Gelly Nail Paint (Guava) – I absolutely love blue for nails in the summer and I already had quite a good collection however I hadn’t tried any from this new range from Barry M so I thought I’d give it a go. The shade is slightly more turquoise than the photo shows however it doesn’t come out quite as nice on the nails but still ok. The formula did have a nice finish and therefore I chose not to use a top coat but I think it still needed one as they chipped within 1 day. I love Barry M’s nail paints however I think in the future I’ll stick to the original formula (unless I see an awesome colour and can’t resist!)

Collection 2000 Supersize Mascara – When looking through the endless makeup racks I came across Collection 2000 and remembered using their ‘Big Fake’ mascara about 1 year ago and really liking it. Instead of doing the clever thing a picking that up, I thought I’d try another one by them and went for the cheapest. At £2.99 I don’t know what I was expecting but it is truly awful. It does absolutely nothing, it barely even turns my lashes black let alone giving them any length or volume. I think even an MUA mascara at £1 would probably have been better than ‘Supersize’. I will definitely not be purchasing it again, ever.

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation – Having just pumped the last usage of product from my Rimmel ‘Wake Me Up’ foundation, I was on the hunt for a new one. I’m still fairly new to foundations having only used a few different ones before so I’m still looking for my perfect base. I had heard a lot of positive reviews regarding ‘Match Perfection’ and that it gave a dewy finish which is something I look for having dry skin. So far I really like it, it’s a fairly good match for my skin although I could have gone a shade lighter (I just don’t like to admit to myself that I’m the lightest shade available.) It definitely suits my skin better than ‘Wake Me Up’ and is buildable which is great for both summer time and nights out when I need different coverage. So far, so good!

Palmer’s Natural Bronze Gradual Tanning Moisturizer – So summer comes round and the weather seems to just get worse; rain, cold and wind means jeans and winter clothes hang around. Then BAMB, we get a lovely scorcher of a day, the shorts come out and then I remember; my legs haven’t seen the sun for a good 9 months meaning they are ghostly white. Just to throw another problem in the works, I NEVER tan. Last year I spent 2 weeks in Florida and didn’t even got that “sunkissed” look. That is where fake tan comes to the rescue…well, sometimes (often it just makes me look like a wannabe TOWIE cast member.) I prefer to use gradual tanners as I think it creates a more natural look however I don't like the long process it takes, which is why this Palmer’s version might be my saviour. I’ve only used it once so far to try it out but my legs were noticeably more bronzed the following morning. Living up to Palmer’s reputation, it’s super moisturizing and I actually don’t really mind the smell, it’s far nicer than the traditional , biscuit, fake tan scent. I picked mine up for around £5 in Sainsbury’s.

L’Oreal Elvive Nutri-Gloss Light Shampoo – In search for a shampoo to beat my favourite by Aussie I remember hearing/reading quite a bit about this range in the beauty world. I went for the ‘Light’ version as it is aimed at people with greasy hair and I usually have to wash mine every 2 days which I would like to make less often. I’ve using it for about 2 weeks now and so far really like, it refreshes my hair without causing build up and leaves it smelling really good. I still have to wash it every other day so it doesn’t seem to make my hair less greasy but for £3.99 I’m quite impressed.

Most recently I picked up some beauty basics whilst in Primark. I got a 2 pack of hand wipes for £1 and a 4 pack of tissues for 60p for when I go to T in the Park in July, festival essentials! I also got a twin pack of cotton pads for £1 as for that many in Boots it would be double the price, they’re not amazing quality but they do their job at removing make up and nail vanish. I saw they now do teasing/backcombing brushes for £1 so picked one up, I’m always trying to create volume when I’m going on a night out and I think it will come in useful when doing my hair for prom in a couple of weeks. I also picked up the 4 pack of hair grips/clamps (or whatever they’re called) they don’t last long but for 25p each they are so useful. Finally when I was by the tills in H&M I noticed their make-up collection and on sale was a double ended ‘smoky’ brush. It has a angled brush at one end for eyeliner and a soft eye shadow brush at the other for blending, I’ve been looking for something like this for a while and got this one for £1.99, bargain!

I hope you enjoyed this beauty haul, let me know what you think. What is on your beauty wish list? Is there any recent purchases you’ve bought?

Have a great week!

Empties #1 + Mini Reviews

A few months ago I decided I would start a blog this summer and since then I’ve been hoarding some empty beauty products away in my room to do a post on. As I’ve accumulated a nice small collection, I thought I’d jump right in and do it as my first ever post, so here goes…

Although it may not look like much, 5 completely empty products is pretty remarkable for me. It seems that I very occasionally manage to stick it out with a product to the end, whether its due to boredom, bad quality or just simply always using lots of different products.

The Body Shop’s Vanilla Bath & Shower Gel

Anything Vanilla I know I’m going to automatically love and this was no exception. I received this as part of a Vanilla Christmas gift set in 2011 and only got round to using it a couple of months ago. It is so thick and moisturising however I feel it is definitely more of a winter time product. Although the scent doesn’t linger on the skin, when teamed with the Vanilla Body Lotion and perfume, it really creates a lovely strong effect. I believe this is the old version and the entire Vanilla range is now in different packaging and called ‘Madagascan Vanilla Flower Shower Gel’ on sale for £6.50 for 250 ml. I think for the individual price it’s a bit steep for me to buy as my regular shower gel but I would really like to try out some other scents.

Rating = 7/10

Sarah Jessica Parker NYC Eau de Toilette

I remember my friend spraying this in class once and just falling in love with the fruity and floral mix of tones, I saw the unique bottle and kept reminding myself to find it when I was in Boots next. Sure enough, there it was amongst the overflowing racks of gorgeous perfumes. Although it’s only £30 for the largest bottle, I couldn’t justify spending my spare cash on ANOTHER perfume. However when I found myself killing an hour in the duty free at Dublin Airport with some leftover holiday money, I couldn’t resist. This bottle lasted me a good 9 months which for an Eau de Toilette isn’t too bad I think, especially as I used this as my main day fragrance. I can’t quite decide if I’m a fan of the plastic/paper patterned bottle but when the bottle is being bashed around in the bottom of the bag, it does its job at protecting it. I’ve had so many compliments from people when I’ve been wearing this, I remember one in particular when I was on a night out; I spritzed myself with this before heading out the loos and as soon as I arrived back at my group, a few guys commented on how nice it smelt, so for males to notice I think that’s a fairly clear sign that this is a pretty good perfume. Before I had even reached the last drop I had my next bottle waiting. I can tell this is going to be a staple in my perfume collection for a long time.

Rating = 9/10

Matrix Total Results Sleek Conditioner

I purchased this as well as a Matrix Total Results Shampoo from a salon at the same time as having my ombre done last August and have only ran out of it this week. I was aware of the brand and had tried a Matrix Heat Protector but I wasn’t too sure if this would suit my hair, although it was recommended for me by the hairdresser. I don’t know the exact cost but I think it was around £6 which is pretty good for a salon brand. Now, did it work? Well to be honest, I’m not sure. It did keep my ombre looking healthy for the first few months but I don’t think its as conditioning as I needed it to be. I always use an oil on the ends of my hair as it always feels dry straight after washing, although this is probably due to my straightening addiction. Overall, I doubt I’ll buy this again and will probably return to the old faithful, Aussie’s 3 Minute Miracle.

Rating = 6/10

Batiste Dry Shampoo (Tropical)

This was the first dry shampoo I ever bought and I probably had it over 2 years as I wasn’t keen on it to begin with and it took me a while to get into using it. I didn’t really think it did a huge amount when I began using it so just put it aside and only tried it again on rare occasions when I was desperate. However the past 6 months or so I’ve been using it more regularly and actually quite like it, minus the pesky white marks it makes in my hair, being a brunette it shows up clearly and occasionally, no matter how much I brush it out, you can still faintly see it. Saying that I think it does refresh the hair and gives a little more volume which is pretty good for £3 (although I only pick it up when it’s on offer, cheapskate?!) I’ve got the cherry version ready to start and I would really like to try the coconut one afterwards.

Rating = 8/10

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

This is pretty great but as with all foundations getting the correct shade is essential, unfortunately I didn’t. I’m not sure what I was thinking when buying this but the shade was far too dark for my skin tone. I picked up 103 ‘True Ivory’ and I should know by now that my skin is so pasty pale I’m always the lightest shade but I never seem to learn. This resulted in requiring quite a bit of blending to get a natural finish but once it was sorted for the day, the effect was nice. Not too heavy but not light like a BB cream, the staying power was good (lasted me all day, however saying that I never really touch up my makeup anyway) and didn’t break me out. The packaging is also excellent, the pump is so useful for getting the perfect quantity each time although I would say that it possibly isn’t the best foundation for dry skin as it did pick up the drier areas of my face. I’m interested in trying out other foundations until I find the perfect one for me but ‘Wake Me Up’ is definitely one I’d consider getting again in the future.

Rating = 8/10

So there we have it, not a bad batch overall. I’ve really enjoyed doing these mini reviews and I’m definitely going to do another ‘Empties’ post fairly soon. I’m actually in the process of using as many products up as possible before I head off to Uni in September so I don’t have a load of half empty things lying around everywhere.

Have you tried any of these products I’ve mentioned, what did you think of them?

I hope you enjoyed this post!