Empties #9

I didn't think I would have enough to do a full empties post, but after having a quick look in my box of bits, I realised I will always have enough for a post. I go through things so feckin quickly! 

First are three perfumes that I've been hording because they look pretty on my shelf. I've used up all of my lovely Body Shop smokey rose and recently bought myself another one. This is the kind of scent thats musky and heavy, totally perfect for the colder months. But I like it so much I'll be using it in the summer too. Is that a weird thing? I feel like your meant to change your perfume with the seasons, but if I like it, I'm a gona' wear it. Doesn't matter if its snowing or boiling! 

The other two are a mini Kylie Minogue 'darling' and the purple bottle from Ghost. I always was in two minds when it came to darling, I liked it but it was just a little too sweet, maybe someone younger would love it more. Or maybe I'm just at the grumpy 'theres too many colours and salts in these smarties' stage of my life. The Ghost one is an old favourite that I never seem to think of picking up. Perfume is so damn expensive! This is a lovely light floral scent thats just right up my street. Out of all three there, I'd recommend smelling this one the most. (Not that I can even tell you the name other then 'its the purple one!') Sorry lads.

Dove 2in1 was nabbed in Dealz and much loved by my hair. I always feel so extra fancy when I use something from Dove, but I especially love when it only costs €1.49! Smells great and leaves my hair silky. All the good things in this bottle.

The herbal essence shampoo that I did a review on over here is nice and I liked using it, but I think theres so many other great shampoos out there that I'd pass on picking this up again. It doesn't leave my hair as smooth as garnier or aussie.

Pantene was picked up on FragranceDirect and was a treat, but I would only get it if its on offer and not full price. I can't say the same for Aussie 3 minute miracle though, I'd pay serious money for that stuff! Its one of my all time favourite conditioners and I'm a massive fan of their shampoos too.

Lastly Aussies new shower gel that I did a full review of them over here was lovely and I'd pick it up again. Same goes for the amazingly gorgeous smelling Soap&Glory orangeasm. This entire range is just to die for, that and the almond scented products. Oh man!

My two favourite things to use is the Seventeen stay time foundation and Collections extreme felt tip eye liner. I can't say enough good things about them both, I think I'm on my 5th/6th bottle and 3rd pen. Full flawless coverage and the easiest to use blackest black eyeliner. Don't question, just go buy them and thank me later.

Also my sister brought me Ruth Crillys CoLab hair sprays down from the north and I'm really in love with the London scent. They are super light weight and work quite well. I wish that they were easier to pick up in the south though. If you see them, pick one up. I'm 99% certain they will work well for most people. (But if you have super not washed in like 2/3 days hair, it wont work for you. Its not the heavy duty kind of spray.) 

 I did a review of the two of these Bioderma and Ziaja cleansing milks (cos' they are so dupes!) over here, so I wont bang on about them. But I highly recommend picking up some of the Ziaja range if you stumble across it. Its a really amazing Polish skincare brand thats so wonderfully affordable! 

I'm compiling a shopping list of Ziaja products I have to repurchase next time I'm on Talbot st. in town. This toner will be top of the list, its a really lovely one and I'll also be on the look out for a new cleansing water from this brand too as I'm all out now,

Lastly are these random bits. I can't recommend the human+kind family remedy cream enough. You can use it for so many things and it really helped my eczema on my hands. I hared my way through it and will be getting another as soon as I can deal with forking out over €12 for a tiny tube. 

We don't even need to comment on Green Angels body lotion ot Soap&Glorys orangeasm body cream, they are both amazing. Although I think I'll be picking up S&G a little quicker as its more affordable and easier to come across. 

And finally another bargain in Dealz, I'm a big fan of roller ball deodorants as they don't effect my asthma half as much as sprays do. Not the most amazing protection if your exercising, but its grand if your just doing normal day to day things. 

Empties #7

I think I'm getting better at doing these empties more often, thing aren't piling up so much! I only did one of these last month but since then I've had loads more odds and ends that I've been using up. Some of them I'm very sorry to see go and will be on the list must buys again soon, once all the Christmas presents have been bought!

First is my lovely Body Shop chamomile cleanser that was an utter dream to use on my skin. It took off all my make up and didn't irritate even my eyes. It was pricey at €15 and not something I will be picking up soon, but is on my wishlist of lovely things to get when I have a spare few bob floating about. You can read my full review of it over here.

Seventeen is the love of my make up life, we all know that by now. So when they brought this new foundation out a few months ago I couldn't have been happier. I'm now on to my third bottle of the stuff and use it daily. Its the perfect tone for my pale completion and can build up to have a totally flawless - slightly thick, but full coverage. Theres not much else in the make up section that could make me change my mind. This is just over €8 but all the make up in Boots tends to be on 3 for 2 so you can pick it up on the cheap. I need to get a back up of my back up for this one!

My Garnier micellar water is finally finished. When the internet went mad for those waters I naturally jumped on the bandwagon and bought a million different ones. This one is by far the best, purely based on the price. Its one of the biggest bottles at 400ml instead of the usual 200ml. So when I next run out of all my water, I'll pick this on up again.

Ziaja is amazing, theres not one product that I've tried of theres that I've not loved - which is a big thing for me to say. The Ziaja rose butter micro peeling face scrub has been my go to scrub for months now and I'm sad thats its come to an end. I'll be keeping an eye out for this again and buying a back up when I do find them. I used this about 3 times a week and it kept my skin soft while not being too harsh or stripping it. This was about €6 if I remember right and is worth every penny. 

My fall down with these posts are the crazy amounts of hair things in them. So I'll keep this one really short. We all know I love Dove and I buy this conditioner for coloured hair religiously. Big thumbs up. Next is a let down of a Dealz find, some random shampoo and conditioner that wasn't very good. I wont be getting it again.

Onto the hair dyes now. My Bleach London dye needs a full ranting, so heres the blog post for it. I just hate it so much! The other is XXL Live and that is the other end of the scale entirely. I use this all the time and love it so much. I lasts ages and gives such gorgeous colours once its washed out. You can pick this one up on offer in Boots all the time for about €5 which is perfect for me.

Two bottles of dry shampoo that I now use all the time. Batiste is an old favourite that I used a lot of especially around Halloween as it gives great texture and the white powder it leaves behind looks great too. But a new favourite is the Herbal Essence range and I have about 3 as back ups! They were on special offer in Tesco so I really stocked up. Best dry shampoo ever!

Few deodorants I really like is the Nivea no stains one and the roll on energy fresh one. Mostly the bigger bottle is about €5 in Boots but I always buy the roll on one in Dealz for €1.49 which is great for just before bed if you don't fancy having a stuffy room of spray left or if you have asthma and find that sprays irritate it. 

Next are two body scrubs, one is a mini from Soap&Glory. Sugar crush is by far my favourite scent along with the new orange one thats out. Nom nom nom, they smell so good! I'm asking santa for one of those sets for Christmas and in the mean time I might just accidentally buy one! The other is the raspberry body scrub from the Body Shop that loads of bloggers raved about. When I was in one day they had it on special offer so I picked it up but I wont be getting it again. It just didn't do anything for me and left my skin, unscrubed?

Once I found the dupe in Dealz for my Bourjoir nail varnish remover, I'm not going to be picking it up again. But this did work really well and if theres no Dealz near you then I'd recommend getting this one. Its about €6.99 so its not breaking the bank.

I really love Ghost and enchanted bloom is my favourite one of the collection. I have had this still in my shelf far too long but I could bare to throw it out. But considering its less then €30 I think I'm going to ask himself for it for Christmas. Perfume is such a lovely gift and an easy one once you know what type the girl or guy likes!

Lastly is one of the best Irish candles around, Emmas so naturals. This is one of their winter limited edition ones in masala chai. I think this is one of the nicest ones of all the winter candles out there. For €9.99 I think this is going to be bought again really soon. You can see all the other scents and full reviews over here.

Do you think empty posts are good for finding new things to try?

Empties #6

Looking back, I can't believe it was August when I did my last empties post. Madness! I've naturally loads to write about now, some samples and new things that I don't normally talk about either. First all the body things, I have my much loved Vaseline spray that I talk a lot about. Most recently I mentioned it in my September favourites as a really long lasting tin that moisturises well but doesn't feel sticky or heavy. Perfect for a quick use before jumping into clothes in these cold mornings.

I blogged in detail about the Ziaja cocoa butter shower body scrub over here. Cheap, works well and I'll be on the hunt for more of these tubs in the coming weeks. The same goes for the Soap&Glory sugar crush body butter cream, the in depth review is over here, along with other things in this range. I love using this before bed when it can soak in and work, without me rubbing it off or feeling like its a little too heavy on my skin during the day.

Last in this pile is the Bia Beauty detox body scrub. I won this at a blogger event last year and it was half used in the back of a drawer. In my cull of using all left over products, I decided to finish this off. It doesn't wow me at all and I think its far too expensive for what it is. There are so many other more worth while products that this Irish brand offer. Although the packaging is eye catching and something lovely to display, I wouldn't be buying this myself.

Two micellar waters, a Nivea one and my very first one, L'oreal. Both of these were got on offer when there was a big blogger buzz around them. They both seem to work just the same, nothing better or worse. They are so handy for taking off your make up if your not bothered to go the entire nine yards with different cleansers, toners and all that jazz. One bottle does all and gets off all your make up. I did a review of the L'oreal one here and a Garnier one too. I'd pick up any of them again, they all do the same thing!

Lush tea tree water is another product that I liked but I'm not too pushed to run out and buy it again. I've since gotten a new tea tree water thats cheaper and a bigger ml so I might stick with that one. I'll be blogging about it some time soon I'm sure. 

Lastly a total wow product, Waxperts pads. These things are so amazing and multipurpose too. I can't get enough of them and already have another tub of them. Again, I'll be blogging about them soon enough, but I'll save you the hassle of waiting for that post. Just order some right now!

Lots of Soap&Glory lovin' it seems I've got through in the past few months! More of the sugar crush line that I blogged about in detail before, and I would go so far as to say this line is my favourite from the brand. I'm totally gone off their signature scent. The same goes for my love of almond smells, oh mammy this rich and foamous body wash was just so lovely. Both of these I'd pick up again in a heart beat.

The Body Shop has all the most lovely things, but they are so madly expensive! I picked up this almond body wash when it was on sale for €5 and loved it so much that I went back before the sale was over to get another. If I won the lotto I would have nothing but Body Shop stuff, but for now I'll just keep an eye out for the sales. Lastly in the body wash line is an imperil leather that my friend picked up for me after I gushed over it. (I have the bestest friends!) I really liked this bergamot and sea minerals. Its not my normal scent as I prefer sweeter and more floral scents, but this has turned me. I'll be on the look out to try more of these.

Random ones now, as always I have an Impulse. I have started to throw out all of these and my Nivea deodorants to, as there a bit boring to always have come up in these posts. One thing that I didn't blog about and wouldn't get again was the Lush volcano foot mask. I'm not a fan of feet to start with and when I got this as a present I was intrigued to try it out. Its got a mint base that makes your feet a strange hot-cold and is quite hard to apply. Not something I'd recommend, even for those who take amazing care of their toes!

Another Soap&Glory now, this time its the fab pore hot cloth cleanser. This is my second one of these, I just love how easy it is to remove make up after rubbing this into my skin. It a little pricey but man does it work well. I like to use this in the shower sometimes too as it really perks up and freshens my skin. You get a lovely little muslin cloth with this but I rarely use it. You could use this for a little pamper too if you were feeling it. Something I'll pick up again.

Oh man, I go through so many hair things its crazy! In short I am always trying out new conditioners so I always have loads. A must have and repurchases for me again will be the Herbal Essence mask, the John Freda conditioner and the gorgeous smelling Dove conditioner for coloured hair. Also I enjoyed the Herbal essence bee strong shampoo and the 2in1 Dove. I buy them on and off all the time, they make my hair smell lovely and leave it shiny. I wont be picking up the Fruit Essence conditioner as its not worth wasting the money. It does nothing for my hair and is left limp and full of tangles. Big thumbs down from me. The same goes for the horribly awful (and colour stripping) Bleach London hair mask. I did a review of it over here and just grrr. I can't get over how bad this product is considering how hyped the brand is! I also love to pick up the cheap Boots own brand stuff when I'm looking for a way to save some pennies to spend on make up or dye.

Lastly a bundle of make up empties. I have a Catrice and a NYC concealer that were both really cheap and I'd buy again in a heart beat. The coverage they gave was amazing and it was like I barely had spots! My Wet'n'Wild coverall pressed powder was grand and I'm sure I will pick up many more, but I am currently using a Seventeen one that I forked out a little extra for. Its not an amazing one for keeping shine at bay, but for the colder months I'm sure it will work a lot better.

Two tiny samples that I got was a Dior hydra life that I would genuinely consider forking out the major euros for. My god that stuff is sex for your skin. And then a lovely but not as wowing Vichy life serum. I'd recommend asking for little samples of both, especially the Dior one. A girl can dream.

And my most loved and ranted about foundation is the new Seventeen stay time. I've wanted to blog about this for ages but I just never got around to it for some reason. Its like the best kept secret in the 'drug store' brand or something, it just has to be. This is the most full coverage and long lasting foundation I've tried in such a long time. And to top it all off, the lightest shade is the perfect match for a pale ghost like myself. No orange foundation neck lines for me, oh no sir. I already have another one and think I'll pick up 3 more while Seventeen have a 3for2 offer on. Its got to be one of my top 2014 products this year. Yeah, I did just go there. 

Vaseline V Nivea Roll On's

I'm a big fan of body sprays and deodorants in general, I have loads dotted around my room and the bathroom, not to mention my handbag. But sometimes I like to have a go of something different just to see if its any better. Aerosol sprays can be really overpowering if your in the same room for a while or for me as a asthmatic it can lead to half killing myself at times, lovely stuff!

So with all that in mind I have been trying out a few different roll on deodorants, different brands and different scents. My two favorites out of the lot are the ones pictured here. The Vaseline aloe for sensitive skin is my utter most favorite. My next favorite is the Nivea but only because the Dove that I tried was really awful and I didn't even keep it this long to photograph. 

Nivea is my favourite aerosol, the invisible 48 hour protection one in particular. But the roll on of this is not as good, nor is it an effective one. I notice that I need to reapply it a lot more throughout the day compared with a spray or the Vaseline roll on. The guys over at Nivea were thinking up numbers between 1 to 100 when they say its 48 hour protection. On the plus side the bottle does last a good while and it doesn't leave marks on your clothes. 

Vaseline aloe sensitive is also claiming to be 48 hour protection. It lasts an acceptable amount of time - a lot more then the Nivea, but again not anywhere near 48 hours. However it still works so well, I would 100% switch my aerosols for this roll on any day. It smells good, doesn't stain clothes or sting the skin (even just shaved skin that can be extra sensitive). Another positive is that the bottle is upside down so the liquid doesn't take as long to come out. No one likes standing in the freezing cold first thing in the morning waiting on liquid to slide down the bottle so you can put some on you and freeze a little more!

Overall I love the Vaseline roll on and will be repurchasing it again soon. However I'm not sure about the others, perhaps I am too fussy. If you use roll ons what do you think of them? have you a favourite or a suggestion of one I should try?

On a totally different topic, I just love Autumn so much. As I was taking photos for this post a tree in the garden caught my eye. Isn't the yellow and orange just so gorgeous? This time of year has to be my favourite time as you get to bundle up in heavy scarves, see all the lovely colours that the trees turn and have an excuse for lots of hot drinks!

As always I hope your having a great day. Stay fab x

The Dublin Meet Up #3

I'm sure a lot of you will have seen my first post about the day and my second about the bloggers themselves. This is my last post about the day even if it is super super late - sorry about that! I'm so baffled at the amazing generosity of the sponsors who gave each blogger a goodie bag that was filled with so many lovely things that I have been trying out over the past while. Once I'm happy that I have really tested out the products well I will do a few reviews for all you lovely people! There is already one or two shiny things that I can't get enough of and will be ranting and raving about them. My gran is in love with the Dove soap bars and has robbed them from me, cheeky thing! But after all, sharing is caring.

The Cosmitic Outlet was one of the main sponsors of the day and oh my did the goodie have a some beauts inside! As you can see from the picture below there was a YesTo cleanser, GOSH eyeshadow trio and blue eyeliner, a MaxFactor mascara and a lovely Models Co. foundation. I have full plans of going to visit this place soon to find some great bargains and maybe a few sneaky surprises for Christmas stockings too.

Next up is Derma V10 who kindly gave everyone a massive selection of all their lovely products! Below is a moisturizing face cream, mascara, dry skin cream, lipcare lip balm and a body moisturizer. I know right? The big tub of moisturizer smells edible, just to tell you.  

Two other main sponsors were Niume Skincare who kindly gave us a pretty white bag with some gorgeous skin care gems inside. And the last main sponsor was Peter Mark who gave us a full sized Keratase product, courtesy of Style Club North Earl Street which is about to celebrate 1 year in business! 

Other things that were added to our bags was a Numa Brush which is so lovely and soft,  Baby B Browne full size tan, Orifalme daily boost shield, Antomicals facemask, Wapo and Neals Yard Remedies samples and Dove soap bars that my gran loves. 

Check out Samantha's blog AllTheBuzz, shes the lovely lady who made this day possible and I still can't get over how much work she put into it!

Also a shout out and big thanks to David of davidmcauleyphotography  who took the pictures for the day and kindly let all the bloggers who attended rob them to use on their blogs, with permission of course! He is so down to earth and friendly, not to mention an amazing photographer, Check out some of his amazing work!

My Top 5 Hand Creams

Something a little different for you all, my top five favourite hand creams! I am a big fan of hand creams as I tend to use them as a multi purpose item for my hands, elbows, arms, feet and sometimes knees. They get a grueling testing out and if they can't make my skin soft its in the bin with them never to be bought again. These are in no particular order, being in my hand bag, beside my bed or getting passed around my friends, they are my go-to creams.

Dove indulgent nourishment is an old favourite of mine. My mom has used Dove, my gran has used it. Its just one of those loved and trusted brands. I particularly like this one as is has shea butter in it making my skin smell devine and it is a deep care complex forumla just to add fancyness to the pot. I use it as a before bed cream for my elbows and feet, waking up to noticeably softer skin. 

Cath Kidston Wild Flowers in honeysuckle is so handy to throw in my bag or when travelling as its the perfect size and smells like home in the summer (we have honeysuckle growing at the entrance to the garden) I use this only on my hands as I feel its a small tube and I don't want to waste it on anything that can be covered with shoes or clothes! - Weird I know. 

Johnson's 24 Hour Moisture Radiance I picked this up before Christmas last year in a sale for €1.40 (good memory huh?!) just to try out and fell in love with it. I reminds me of my Dove one with the same shea and cocoa butter smell. This one I use on my hands all the way up to my elbows to help them keep soft and not rough or sore. Works a treat.

Flower Pharm is actually a body butter but I love to use it as a hand cream as well. You can get three in a pack from Tecso and they really work wonders. I use this one all over and it give the best results to my knees. Ah, to be a softie all over. Le sigh.

Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula is my last but not least hand cream. Theres a bit of a trend here with the cocoa butter, I know but I just love the smell and how soft it makes my skin! This is a concentrated cream with vitamin E so it gives extra love when my skin needs it most. This is kept in my top drawer so I can grab it when my skin needs it most. I picked this up in Pennys. 

What are some of your favourite hand creams? As always I hope everyone is keeping happy and well! You can always find and talk to me on Twitter.

Have you entered my Halloween giveaway yet?

Huge Boots And Pound Shop Haul

As you can see, I went a tiny bit mad the other day in Boots and bought some essentials.. And then some lusted after goodies I've been wanting to try for yonks. First off was a bee line to the shampoo and condition section as I am nearly out of my normal Boots €1.95 stuff. It was 3 for 2 so I got a lovely smelling Dove set and an Aussie deep conditioner that I tried years ago and loved ever since. (Benefits of having showers at friends houses you see.) I got some Boots own brand chamomile and lemon balm shampoo as it was cheap as chips and smells lovely. 

I finally caved in and got Maybelline baby lips in cherry, I really can not wait to try it out! I picked up buy one get one half price cotton pads as I'm nearly all out and repurchased my Natural Collection powder in two colours because again they were on offer and I want to see which colour is the best now that I'm using a different foundation. I also managed to finally find and repurchase 17's eye shadow trio in metallic toffee (see it here in action!) It was harder to find then 

I needed to get some more Vitamin C tablets as I'm all out and really don't want to get one of my seasonal horrible colds, ugh! I got some Impulse into glamour (oh it smells so good!) and a little roll on Vaseline with aloe just to try it out. Hair pins grow legs and walk off on me so I threw in a pack and to finish off the crazy Boots rampage I picked up a packet of exfoliating mitts. 

Lastly I saw that a pound shop had all its Halloween stock in and even dragged my mother in I was that excited! I came away with a little Frankenstein and a ghost, two sets of spider earrings and my favourite thing ever - confetti and glitter!

Have you entered my Halloween giveaway yet?

Review: Dove/Nivea Deodorants

Hello loveies! For me, finding the right deodorant can be a pain and there are loads of questions floating through my mind when looking at the massive selection in the shops. So here are some that I have been using the past few weeks to answer some of those thoughts!

L-R: Dove 'gofresh', Dove 'natural touch',
 Dove 'invisible dry', 

Dove 'gofresh', Nivea 'sensitive & pure'.

I'm a big fan of Dove, as you can see! All these deodorants claim to have 48 hour protection, but I'm not sure if thats the case. Perhaps 6 to 12 hour, depending on what you get up to. They are also all around €4 or €5, depending on where you pick them up. They say on their bottles that they are ''unique with a 1/4 moisturising cream and vitamin E thats proven to improve the look an feel of underarm skin.''

 The 'invisible dry' has to be my favourite purely because it does what it says! When your rushing in the morning, you don't have time to wait for your deodorant to dry and you end up getting white marks all over your clothes. With this that simply doesn't happen. Magic.

Next there is the two 'gofresh' scents in pomegranate & lemon verbena and grapefruit & lemongrass. Both really do have a 'fresh' scent, but I have to say I am not overly excited about them. If you like that burst of freshness that wakes you up then they are for you. However I find that some cleaning products I use in the bathroom kind of smell slightly similar and its off putting. If I was picking one to buy again it would be the sweeter smelling pomegranate & lemon verbena one for sure. 

The last Dove is the biggest let down. Its the new 'natural touch dead sea minerals'. It sounded fancy and something soft and lovely for my underarms but all it does it cause a mess. Dare to spray it for more then 2 seconds and you have lumps of caked deodorant falling off your skin and ruining any clothes you put on. It doesn't work trying less, letting it dry or even holding it further from you. Nope, it just doesn't work for me. Below, you'll see I've sprayed the same amount of all the deodorants on a black top to try and show you what I mean. The photo is being kind to the 'natural touch' Dove here, but you get the idea. Its redeeming features would be how nice it smells and that if you don't mind it falling all over the place and staining your clothes as you go, it does give a nice soft feel to your skin, more then the other Doves I've tried. I doubt I'll ever be purchasing this again though.

On the left Dove 'natural touch dead sea minerals' 

 is the only deodorant to stain my top.

Last but not least is the Nivea 'sensitive & pure'. This says 'new' on the lid, but I think it's been out quite a while. I love this one with its girly sweet scent that seems to last a little longer then any of the Dove range. I'm a regular buyer of Nivea's 'invisible black and white clear', which is similar to Doves 'invisible dry'. I've  just finished Nivea's 'pearl and beauty' too, which smells almost sickeningly sweet, but has a longer lasting smell.

I hope this has helped you all a little. Until next time, stay smelling good!