February Empties: Make Up and Hair Care

The final installment of this months empties is some make up and hair care bits!  There's not too much, but still a couple of bits worth sharing!

The frankly horrendous looking tube on the left is actually a tube of clear mascara from Collection and it's their Little Mix Full On Clear Mascara.  I was looking for something cheap and cheerful to sweep my brows into some sort of shape, and this did the job perfectly.  It doesn't leave them looking white, doesn't feel overly crispy and keeps brows in place.  The only downside is that the tube itself is clear so you can see your product getting coloured with any brow wax/powders that you use.

This was the first time that I'd tried the Rimmel Match Perfection foundation and I have to say I do quite like it.  I've already bought a second bottle of this and used it as my day to day foundation all the way through Winter.  It is really light weight, not at all heavy and blends nicely into the skin.  My one downside to this is that it's just a light coverage foundation, and leaves the skin with a glowy finish.  Sometimes, I love this aspect of it, but only when my skin is having a seriously good day, and when it's not so warm.  I think I'll be swapping this for a matter foundation come Summer, because it does have the tendancy to make me look a bit oily.

I got this little bottle of Maghrabian Oil in a Glossybox forever ago, and it's not one I'll be picking up again.  I've honestly had this so long, and I just don't ever see any difference in my hair when I use it.  It's not any more hydrated, not particularly any smoother and I just think that there are better hair oils out there for the price.  A hair product I have loved though is the John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Shine Shock.  This adds amazing shine to my hair without making it look greasy, really illuminates the brunette tones in my hair and helps to smooth it all down.

The blank tube on the end is actually a Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer.  Like with the Soap and Glory Kick Ass Concealer, I'm going to go against the blogger grain and declare that I don't like this concealer.  Yes, it's got great coverage, but I just find it to be so drying and almost cakey on my skin unless I try mixing it with some sort of eye cream...maybe...it's one to test as it's not exactly pricey, but as it stands, I'm not a fan.

Have you tried anything from this months empties?  What concealer would you recommend?

February Empties: Skin Care

So my mission for starting a regular blog posting schedule has dramatically failed.  For some reason, just as I gained momentum, the momentum quickly ground to a full on halt.  I can't believe that I haven't posted since the end of January; it's the longest I've ever gone without posting anything...  I honestly can't believe we've hit March now - where the hell did February go?  It feels like it's only just finished being Christmas and here we are almost at Easter.  In fact, this whole year has gone fast - can you believe it's almost a year now since Liam and I came to first view our house?!  Even though I've not written a hello in a while, sharing my thoughts has still been on my mind and I've collected a nice box of empties again.

Probably the product I'm most sad about finishing this month is Soap and Glory's Smoothie Star Body Milk.  I absolutely love this moisturiser, but I have such a stash of moisturiser at the moment that I just can't physically justify buying another bottle.  It smells incredible, like an oaty, almondy flapjack.  It's also really light, but really hydrating so this would be an ideal moisturiser to use in the morning instead of a richer body butter, or on a warmer evening.  I also finished the Soap and Glory Whipped Clean Shower Butter.  It smells similar to Smoothie Star, but there is something about it that makes it smell a bit sharper than the Body Milk, and for some reason I didn't like it as much.  It was nice to use, but I wish it smelt identical to the Smoothie Star.  This lathered up really well, and left my skin feeling really soft.

From The Body Shop this month, I've finished up a sample size of the Vitamin E Moisture Cream.  I've already repurchased this in the bigger size and I love it - it smells amazing and really hydrates the skin.  I've been using this in the evening when I don't want a really rich cream to sit on my skin.  I've also finished the Camomile Cleansing Oil which again, I've already repurchased.  I don't think I can be without this anymore; I'll have a review up on this at some point, but if you haven't tried it, get on down to The Body Shop and get it.

I was sent the Eucerin Even Brighter Night Cream* quite a while a go now, but never really used it religiously.  It's supposed to even out skin with hyper pigmentation.  I think this would work for me in terms of acne scarring maybe, but I honestly don't think I used this regularly enough to see the benefit.  It was quite a thick, rich cream, but it was very easy to apply and you don't need to use much.  I'd definitely try this again to see if it lives up to claims of evening skin tone.

I bought the Clearasil Superfruits Refreshing Facial Pads on a Caroline Hirons recommendation as they were hailed as a high street version to the First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads.  Now I've not tried these because they're expensive, so I gave these a go.  These smell super sweet, and leave my skin feeling really refreshed but not at all tight, or leave it looking red.  I think these have been helping with congested pores around my nose, and I'm already onto my second tub.  I am in a bit of a fluster now though, because I've gone to link you guys and can't track them on Boots or Superdrug so I hope they're not being discontinued!

Finally, the Neutrogena Visibly Clear 2 in 1 Wash and Mask is actually a repurchase of mine already.  I do actually really quite like this face wash.  Like the Clearasil Superfruits pads, this has Salicylic Acid in, and has a creamy, ever so slightly grainy texture.  It doesn't foam, and is just really nice to use.  I tend to see a difference in my skin when I've been using this daily, so I'll eventually repurchase this again.

That's all I've got for you for today, but I've still got some empties to talk about including some make up bits!  I'll be back again soon!

Have you tried anything from this months empties?

*This product was sent to me for consideration