February favourites

It's been long old time since I've done one of these, but after reading some favourites posts this weekend, I realised I had a few favourites of my own I wanted to share. So I thought I'd start with make up and beauty.

Now I'm not a lover of foundation. More often than not I'll only wear CC cream, eyeshadow and mascara and that's it. The one CC cream I always go back to is the 123Perfect CC Cream by Bourjois. It's a light coverage cream that doesn't feel heavy and sticky but still helps balance out uneven skin tone without looking like a mask.

I was recently given a tester of Benefit Porefessional. So far, so good. Enough for me to be tempted to look at buying the full size when I'm passing through Duty Free later this year. It's not something I'm using everyday, but on special days, it just helps minimise those pesky pores and make me feel a bit more put together.

I love to have hand creams scattered throughout the house, car, handbags etc. This hand cream from a Christmas gift set from Marks & Spencer is lavender scented and is as pretty to look at as it smells - perfect to keep on my bedside table to use last thing at night.

Revolution makeup and skincare always have a place on my favourites. Their eyeshadow primer just helps eyeshadows last that little bit longer (and helps stop you looking like the living dead in the morning...)

The One Concealer, I'm honestly heartbroken that this seems to have been discontinued. So often concealers are too drying for me. This one comes with an almost waxy/silicone surround that helps it blend and smooth. I'm not sure how good this would be for very sensitive skin but for my older, dryer skin it works just fine. The hunt for an alternative is on!

The Essence Super Curl from Wilkos is such a bargain at only £3. I wanted a cheap dupe for my absolute favourite mascara - Benefit Roller Lash and this doesn't do a bad job. It has the small plastic wand that I like and even though it can sometimes transfer as the day goes on, at that price, I can live with it. I also like being able to take something cheap and cheerful on holiday without worrying about losing it somewhere.

My next favourite is my absolute favourite, holy grail eyeshadow product - Two Faced Chocolate Bon Bon eyeshadow palette.

This was a birthday splurge in a French Sephora a couple of years ago and it's still going strong. I remember thinking that I'll never use all of the shades, esp Totally Fetch, the gorgeous deep pink/cerise but I have and I love them all. They have so little fall out and last all day. Plus they smell so good. Everytime I use it, I'm reminded of summer and holidays - and that's no bad thing.

And finally, Daisy by Marc Jacobs. I honestly haven't tried a Marc Jacobs perfume yet that I didn't like and this is my current favourite. I'm finding as I get older, my taste in perfume is moving away from citrus scents towards more floral scents.

So that's my February Favourites - I think I'll try to alternate with books and films for March (guess I better start reading!)

Thanks for reading

Cathy
xx

Empties and favourites - May & June

Hello there,

It only feels like 5 minutes since I last did an empties post, the year is going by far too quickly for my liking.

This time around, I've done a mixture of favourites and empties - purely because the empties were pretty much the same as before!

So to start, a couple of bits from Avon. It feels like Avon has come back into fashion over the last few years. Their skincare ranges are much improved and you can't beat their makeup and nail varnish for value and choice.

Excuse the shape of this bottle, I gave it a good old squeeze to get the last out before realising I needed to photograph it - oops. This was a yoghurt body shake moisturiser with wild berries and pomegranate. It smelt amazing, but was very very runny. Now I don't mind that normally, but this did take a while to soak in, so not much good if you're a hurry. Would I repurchase? Possibly, the scent really was gorgeous and just like a yoghurt.

A classic Avon shower gel. Now I stopped using these for a while as they left me feeling quite dry afterwards, but I was tempted by the scent of this one - Papaya and Peach. Oh my goodness, I really don't care how dry this makes me feel, it smells like a fresh fruit smoothie and the colour is so rich and summery. It's definitely a shower gel to make you feel awake in the morning.

Following on the fruit theme, this is another classic shower gel from NSPA at Asda - their apple scent. There's not much I can add to this except to say it doesn't leave my skin dry and the other half loves the apple smell too, so a win win there.

The final shower gel is from Soap and Glory and was part of their box set that comes out every Christmas. I was a bit disappointed by this (which is a first for me with S&G). It was nice, but just that. Not amazing or memorable. Even now, I can't remember how it smells. So it will be a nice to use, but not a repurchase.

It wouldn't be a favourites or empties post without a couple of shampoos as I continue my search for the perfect combination for my hair. These are my current favourites, the Argan Smooth range from Creightons (available at Tesco). Anything with oil is working well for me and these are cheap and cheerful too. One thing though I've noticed about these is the smell, which you're either going to love or hate. To me, it's slightly reminiscent of a Britney Spears perfume - so I love it!!

A bargain buy from Primark now. I don't often wear foundation but when I do, I hate that matte, flat look you can get. So when I saw this dewy look foundation for about £3 I was tempted. It even has a cute concealer in the lid with a teeny tiny mirror. It's now become my absolute favourite. I only use a little so I never aim for full coverage, but it's just enough to even out skin tone while feeling natural. A real bargain! The concealer is pretty good too.

Finally, June was my birthday month and I was pretty spoiled. These two were definitely very special and made me feel very lucky.

So that was some of my favourites and empties from the last couple of months. Hope you enjoyed this and it's given you some ideas of something new to try.

Thanks for reading

Cathy

xx

Empties post - March & April

Hello there,

I seem to have been very frugal this last couple of months and didn't think I would have that many empties to start with. So this month is mixture of empties and favourites. I hope this gives you an idea maybe of some new products to try.

Nivea smooth nourishing hand cream with macademia nut oil

I get through a LOT of hand cream. I've noticed over the last few years that my hands are really starting to show my age. And as they're something that's right in front of you for most of the day, it was something that really bugged me.

This hand cream smells gorgeous, doesn't leave that horrible sticky feeling afterwards and most importantly - works! The blurb on the tube promises to deliver a "non-stop moisture supply from within the skin". I don't know about non-stop, but it certainly lasts a few hours. I always keep a tube nearby though to top-up whenever I'm heading outside as this is the one that works best for me. I also have various other brands of hand creams scattered through the house, in my handbag and in the car - prepared at all times!

Cutex Nourishing Nail Varnish Remover - nail whitening formula

I needed a new nail varnish remover and was tempted by the nail whitening formula. I only bought a little bottle as I wasn't sure I would like it (not as cost effective maybe, but better than having a huge bottle I hate).

I realised once I got home that it had acetone in it - damn! I normally try and get removers that are acetone free. And I have to say, at first my nails did feel tight and dry after using this. But...on the plus side, the whitening promise seems to work. So I guess I'll have to weigh up the pros and cons of this. It works with glitter nail polish, so I'm tempted to keep this bottle just for those days when I wear a dark polish.

Creighton's Beautiful Brunette conditioner with argan and chestnut

Now I admit, I bought this on a whim from Poundland. But wow! It makes my hair feel so so soft. Unlike a lot of conditioners, the consistency is quite thin, and I had to double check I wasn't using the shampoo by mistake. But no, it's a light conditioner and for someone with fine frizzy hair, it worked a treat. It's quite dark and I think I'd have to be careful using it around pristine white towels... I don't think it makes any difference to the colour, but that's ok. It feels good enough to ignore that. If you don't have a Poundland nearby, Tescos also sells it for a £1.

Lidl cotton wool pads

These are 75p a pack and are so good for removing glitter nail varnish - need I say more? They're hard wearing but soft enough for using on my face too. I always buy a few packs when in Lidl. No picture (it went awol sorry) but hopefully you get the idea!

Balance Me Tinted Wonder Eye Cream

This was a freebie with the April issue of Glamour. Now I'm a sucker for magazine giveaways. It's a great way to try something new without the financial outlay of buying the full product. Plus I can save the magazines to read when I'm on long journeys, stuck in waiting rooms etc.

I wasn't convinced this cream would work though, it looked far too dark. But it blends beautifully and doesn't leave my under eyes feeling dry, which has happened before. It's good enough for me to be tempted to buy the full size product when I finish this sample.

NSPA Radiant Flash Serum

I think I have yet to buy anything from the NSPA range which I don't like. It seems to be exclusive to Asda and I picked this up when there was a 2 for £8 offer. It feels like a moisturising serum, but I still used a bit of face cream afterwards. It's something I tend to use on those days when you've had no sleep and know you have a long day ahead! (most days then...).

Soap and Glory Whipped Clean

I originally received a tube of this as a Christmas present a couple of years, but I've repurchased so many since then. I read a review which said it's so moisturising, you won't need to moisturise afterwards - and on the whole, that's pretty accurate for me. Mostly I use it when shaving as it gives the perfect finish and smells gorgeous. It's not the cheapest though, so I always stock up when there's a 3 for 2 offer in Boots.

Lidl Suddenly Madame Glamour perfume

Another bargain from Lidl - this is a perfume that's supposed to be a dupe for Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle. I bought this originally last year when I was on holiday in Devon and realised I'd arrived without any perfume (great packing there). So I bought a bottle from the local Lidl in Okehampton reasoning that £3.99 wasn't too much too risk. I think I'm now on my 3rd or 4th bottle! It's a scent that really works for me. It seems to last all day (despite some reviews saying it doesn't) and unusually, it's one of the only perfumes I've bought that the other half has noticed and liked. So a winner all round (I wish they'd drop the Madame Glamour bit in the name though - makes me feel old!)

And that's it for March and April, I just can't believe the year is going so fast!

Thanks for reading

Cathy
xx