Empties #11

I'll be the first to say I am shitty at doing empties posts when I read back over them a few months on. Its times like this when I wish I made youtube videos, because then I could waffle on and it wouldn't end up being a massive long post with overbearing paragraphs and loads of photos. So with that in mind, I decided to take my photos differently to how I normally do for these posts and I also cut out some of the boring same-same shampoos, body sprays and the rest. Hopefully it might add something to them, but do feel free to tell me its awful, I'm chipping away at sprucing it up!

Above is some hair bits, most notable is my massive Pantene that I got on offer in Tesco and really liked considering its not a brand I use often. While it didn't give me a 'wow' factor, it didn't bug me and I ran through it. A quick rant for Herbal Essences cos' this gave up the ghost one day and refused to work, while still having half a bottle of product inside. I normally like this stuff, but man it bugged me!

Lastly from the pile, its clear to see I have a liking for the aul VO5 Give Me Texture goodness. I've even bought this when its not been on sale - lads that means a lot. I think this is great and if you have hair, I'd suggest trying it out. A little extra oopphh, while also smelling lovely.

I did a review on The Body Shop Fuji Green Tea range a while back, over here if you fancy a look at more of the line. But being honest, they were lovely to use but I wouldn't buy them myself as they cost way too much for what they are. A nice box of radox and some Ziaja scrub is much better for your pocket and the skin - or so I think.

Nip+Fab Detox Blend Scrub was something I bought from Cloud10 to try out ages ago and I thought it worked well enough. Not my first choice of body scrub, but I might pick it up again in future if I pass by. Side note though, the brand in general has some real gems so do check it out.

And a random one that the sister brought back from France for me, Caudelie Shower Gel. This was peach scented and I was sadly a bit wasteful with it, slathering it on in the shower instead of saving it up. So sad this is all gone and will totally be bothering her to bring me back some again in the future. 

Considering I really love the brand, I thought I'd be onto a winner with the Botanics 3in1 Cleansing Solution, but this didn't do it for me. I think a micellar water is basically more or less all the same, but some do genuinely stand out more then others. This was used up quickly purely because it was so bad at taking off make up I needed loads. Not one I'd ever pick up again.

My love for Ziaja is pure and true, and this toner has been bought more times then I can count. Love this brand with all my heart and love this toner equally. Although the star of the show and my number one product from the brand is in the next photo below.

If I'm feeling fancy, which is lets face it, often enough, I'll wonder over to No7. Theres something wonderful about this brand and although not everything they do I like, they do really know how to do cleansers. This is the beautiful skin cleanser for normal to dry skin. I have spot prone, combo skin but I love this so much I've yet to try one thats right for my skin type. However that said, it doesn't break me out or mess with my skin so I haven't had the need to try something different. Maybe the blogger in me will pick up some others, for science and review reasons. Cough. 

As I said above, Ziaja Rose Butter face scrub is my all time favourite thing from the brand and I've bought this easily 7-10 times since I found the brand. I think this is the best feckin scrub and every time I run out I'll try something different. It never matches up and I have to buy it again. Just. Pure. Love.

La Roche-Posay was a feckin gem in that mad heat. This is a little travel one, but I've a full size in the fridge waiting for me. Can't say enough good things. it has one job and it does it. Couldn't ask for more then keeping me from being an unintentional hot mess when I'm trying to be a lady. (Another side note, I add in bits of mildly sexual comments now and again in beauty posts, as you can see. But its gas when people complain that I only write one sex piece a week. If only they read my beauty stuff!) 

Something that I really disliked to begin with was Super Drugs Deep Action Facial Cleansing Pads. Nope, these were harsh, cheap, painful to use and smelled like I was on the hard stuff. But a few months later my skin changed a bit and I found them to be handy at making my face softer. But the real gem is that even when I have double cleansed, toned twice AND used some micellar water, these still managed to find dirt and traces to make up. I'm anal about my skincare routine so to see what comes off my mug after going at it with all that for a good 15 minutes means I'll be getting at least 3 pots when I'm in again. Mightn't suit the sensitive skin types though, as it is very alcohol-y.

  

Soap And Glory Sugar Crush is all kinds of good and one of my favourite scents from the brand. I'm actually running so low on S&G things, must stock up, cos' you can never go wrong with them! I'm a big fan of their body scrubs too.

A quick one on Lush now, just to say that So White was a Christmas shower gel and not really my thing. Kind of a more fruity bitter lime thing going on, whereas Its Raining Men is honey sweet and you can get it all year round. Its got to be the men for me. (But of course the ladies too!)

Yes, more Ziaja, and I enjoyed this micellar water way more then the Botanics one! I'd pick this up again no bother, but at €6 it is a little on the pricey side for the ml. This is where Garnier wins with their massive 400ml bottles for feck all.

Speaking of, Garnier 2in1 Eye Makeup Remover is life. I've bought easily over 12 of these bottles in the past year or two and I think its just really good stuff. Plus its normally on offer in Boots for under €3. It takes off all the heavy panda eye looks that I regularly sport, win!

This was fecked into the photo here because I forgot about it when piling all the hair stuff together. Tricky business, this blogging thing. Green Angel Conditioner was a little sample I got ages ago and honest to god its bloody amazing. Something I would highly recommend getting if you dye your hair a lot, use a lot of heat on it or in general have dry, frizzy, knotty, in need of tlc hair. Its the stuff.

All my favourite things in one photo. I have bought all these again and theres no real reason to say much about them, other then love, love, love. Seventeen is affordable, the coverage is intense, an SPF of 25 AND they make it in my colour. All hail Seventeen!

Revlon is also a good coverage foundation, a little more pricey but it stays put until its bed time. Honestly doesn't budge, love it! And then of course the cult love for Maybelline Eraser Eye is a concealer that I didn't like the look of, but fell for it once I tired it out. This this also on the pricey side but I've had 3 so far and will totally buy more.

Random section now/ Cutex is the best brand of nail varnish remover ever, just a fact! It doesn't do much in the line of strengthening or whatever else it claims, but it does take off nail varnish like a hero.

So this Garnier Body Oil was all the rage last year on the blogs, so naturally I picked it up. But man I hated the stuff as it was messy, didn't sink in and was like putting chip fryer grease on my skin. But after my skin had a seriously bad month of bring dry and my drawers didn't have any bath goodness in the line of softening me up, I fecked caution to the wind and plonked this stuff in. Its still going to make you feel a bit greasy, but man did this noticeable make a difference to my skin after steeping in it for 40 minutes. I towel dried and patted off the most of it, but in the morning it was like I'd brand new skin. Yes, it felt a bit gross, yes I did have to scrub the bath for a good 10-15 minutes, but totally worth it. I'll pick this up again purely for the bath.

Lastly in this massive long post (sorry lads, if you've read right to the end your all troopers and I love you like you don't even know!) is my favourite mask, Lush Mask Of Magnaminty. You don't need to leave it in the fridge like with their other masks and it lasts way longer too. Great one for helping fight spots and leaving your skin feeling fresh. Will buy this again soon!

Empties #10

I'm like a broken record saying I must do these more often and not have such a pile to talk about, but I have a box under my bed so I don't notice it getting full. And I'm also in denial about how much I spend and use so it doesn't help. But none the less, these posts always give a good indication of the things I really love and will get again. Especially when they pop up in every single feckin empties I do - sorry about that!

First I have the massive pile above of hair stuff. I wash my hair daily so I tend to get a big pile of shampoos and conditioners in no time. Favourites of mine are the Ultimate Blends in this brown and also in the red (which I currently have in the shower at the moment). Normally my hair loves this sleek restore duo, but this time I found I was switching up different products to give my hair a little break. I found it to weigh my hair down and it was annoying to be fecking around with. Would totally pick these up again though. Same goes for one of my all time favoruite brands, Aussie. I've nothing to say about them, as they can do no wrong in my eyes.

Blousey was a 50% off christmas sale buy in Lush. I really liked this and would love to have it again, but for the crazy price of €20 I doubt I'd get it a second time. I loved the smell of this and it did leave my hair so soft. Why you so expensive Lush!? My two regular dry shampoos are bought all the time to give some extra oomph in the mornings, but I have been switching dry shampoos a lot in the last while. I might do a quick post/Instagram photo with some info on it.

Lastly in this pile is the Ziaja shampoo that I just did a post on, so I wont go repeating myself! But if I find it in the shops, I'll be picking it up again. Such a big bottle too, it lasted ages!

More Ziaja stuff.. Its hard to deny that I really love the brand! These cocoa butter shower scrubs are amazing and if you see them, don't hesitate to buy them! (then tweet me where you found them!) I've actually asked my local chemist to please put in an order of them and stock them. They are so cheap and work so well, its no shock to say I prefer them to any S&G scrubs! Theres also the lovely Olive Leaf cleansing oil that I used in the shower. This isn't a must have product, but if you like a bit of extra spoiling yourself, then I'd recommend it. It always left my skin lovely and soft, not to mention a gorgeous scent that lasted a good while after.

Aussie no rush shower gel was lovely to try and if it was on special offer in Boots I would pick it up, but theres a lot of others that I would reach for instead of it. I was dying to try out all the scents though! And lastly theres the two Soap&Glory sugar crush body scrub and orangasm body wash. The scrub as I said earlier isn't as good as my new Ziaja love, but it was nice all the same. If I never had something else to compare it to, it would still be my favourite. And as for the shower gel, it can do no wrong, That scent needs to be in everything. Mmm.

Random essencials now. If you hadn't guessed it, Impulse hint of musk is my all time fav - and you can get it in Dealz too! Major stocking up did happen! Also over the past few months I've been getting really in to roll ons. I don't think they are as good for protection as deodorant sprays, but they don't stain, don't effect my asthma and don't clog up a room. So I don't mind having to apply them a little more often. 

I'm not sure whats been happening over the last month or so, but all my skin care went at the one time and I seem to be flying through it. I think its because I'm now wearing a lot of make up daily and in the evening I love to spend a good 20/30 minutes taking it all off and giving my skin a seriously good clean. Ziaja is again making an appearance here, can't get enough of it! The cleansing milk is easily a Boiderma dupe and so is the micellar water. I've not bought the cleansing milk again as I've been using my No7 cleansing lotion, but I've gone though about 5 of the micellar waters - I love them! Also my all time fav face scrub is from Ziaja, I honestly freak if I've run out of this stuff. (Yes, yes I did cry outside the chemist one evening in town when I went to buy it after not having it for 3 weeks and the place had closed for the night. Not a proud moment. But a very much sleep deprived one.)

When I can't get my hands on the Ziaja water, I use the Garnier one and its still quite good. If you were going on price alone then its better value for money. Also I'm beginning to use a eye make up remover again over the past few weeks as my eye makeup has been very heavy. I love the Garnier one and have just this week bought another to keep up the stock!

Waxpert pads are a big love of mine and although I can sometimes forget about them, they always make such a noticeable difference when I do start using them again. I'm going to be getting another pot when I place my next order on Cloud10. Lastly is a random little mask that I added in. I used it so long ago that I've forgotten why I didn't really like it. I think I thought if I put it in then I'd remember but nope, its not coming to me. So do ignore it!

And finally a selection of used up body creams that I've had for ages and used up. I think they are all grand but I'm not sure if I'll be buying any of them again for a while as it got to be a bit of a chore trying to finish them. Don't you just hate when that happens!!

Theres a Seventeen foundation, as normal in these posts! my all time favourite one for colour and some serious heavy coverage. I'm a little oily so I do touch up a little during the day, but I wouldn't hold it against the foundation itself. I think this is about my 7th or 8th. Just bought another two this week as well. Clearly, I have a problem! Same goes for the Wet'n'Wild powder, I really love it and will be picking it up when I'm next in Penneys. Currently I'm trying to finish off the many half used powders I have stilling around the place.

Lastly two very random ones. A Nima brush that I've loved for so long, but finally have to say goodbye to and a Beverly Hills toothpaste. I got the toothpaste at the beauty show and can safely say I don't think it does any of what it claims. I was going to write a ranty post about it, but its only toothpaste after all. Wont be buying it again though, purely because its claims are full of shit.

Man, that was a really long post, fair play if you read to the end you little rockets! :D

Ziaja Natural Olive Shampoo And Conditioner

Its no secret that I'm a big fan of the affordable Polish skincare brand Ziaja. They have so many really wonderful products that work brilliantly and because of their price, you can afford to pick up lots of extra bits without breaking the bank. A month or two ago (my memories shot, I'm getting old) they launched their olive leaf range of skincare and I was lucky enough to get to try some out. Needless to say, I loved every bit of it so when I saw the natural olive shampoo and conditioner I was intrigued to see how it differed from the olive leaf. That and the fact that I have never tired anything for my hair from the range before.

Not really sure why the shampoo comes in a 400ml and the conditioner only comes in a 200ml, but leaving that aside they smell divine both in the bottle and throughout the day after your hair has been dried and through the battles of the day. The shampoo ''gently cleanses hair and scalp. Supports hair regeneration process. Restores natural volume and healthy look to the hair...'' I don't find that it gives a lot of volume, but I can certainly see and feel the difference in how soft it is. I'm slightly obsessed with keeping my hair soft to the touch, as heavily dyed hair like mine normally comes under scrutiny that it would be dry and hay-like. I can safely say its silky smooth after using the shampoo alone.

The conditioner is said to ''regenerate disturbed hair structure and conditions its entire length. Reduces static and tangling. Ensures natural softness. Smoothness and shine to your hair.'' I found this one to be a little heavy on my hair and would only use it maybe twice a week in the very ends of my hair. It does make definitely add shine and I notice less knots in it after using. But the shampoo alone would be perfect to use. I can't remember exactly how much they both were as I threw away the receipt ages ago, but I think the shampoo was about €4.99 or €5.99.

I'd definitely recommend having a look out for these if you like to keep your hair silky smooth and get your moneys worth out of a product as I just know this is going to last me at least a month (and I wash my hair daily). Also neither of these have stripped the white blonde or purple out of my hair, so an extra big thumbs up. If you don't fancy your hair too much, then look out for their skincare. Oh holy mammy, their body scrub is cheap as chips and the best thing I've ever used (sorry my beloved Soap&Glory! Your just not as good and too pricey!) Yeah, its safe to say that me and Ziaja are besties.

Ziaja Haul

The other week I went to a really wonderful event hosted by the lovely Emma from Mastering Your Makeup. I'm a massive Ziaja fan as some of you will know from past posts and monthly favourites, so I was delighted to get to hear more about the brand and try out brand new things from the range. I was kindly given some things to try out in a jam packed goodie bag, but I also picked up a bag full of things that I thought sounded interesting or that I had run out of. Its a serious downer when you run out of your favourite things!

I came away with a lot of the olive leaf range by accident, but everything just looked and smelled really good. In my goodie bag I got a lovely olive leaf regenerating face mask (that I've seen lots of bloggers really love, so I'm excited to try it out!) and a olive leaf micellar water. If you saw my Boots haul you'll know that all my skin care make up removing products ran out at the same time, so I was delighted to get this in my bag. I've had my big 400ml Garnier water for less then a month and I'm almost finished it (!) so this will be next on the list to try.  

I also got my most sought after product from Ziaja in my goodie bag. Their shower scrubs are so cheap and amazing quality, so they are always sold out when I try to get them. I felt extra lucky to see them floating in our bags! Lastly from the goodie bags was a mens shower gel (that smells really good) that I've passed on to himself. And not pictured is a goats milk face cream that my mammy got more then attached to when I was showing her the things, so its living with her now! 

I had to pick up two face products that I buy time and time again. The manka tree purifying toner (that I've talked about in my skin care routine) is one of the best toners that I've tried out in a long time. It also smells clean and it could be a placebo, but I think it cleans my face better because it smells of tea tree!

I also got my all time favourite face scrub, the rose butter micro peeling face scrub. This has to be my 4th easily, I can't do without it. I ran out of this a few months ago and didn't manage to get into the shop to pick it up for about 3 weeks. In this time I tried out some scrubs that I got in Boots but none were as good. This makes my skin so soft and gets rid of the dry pieces of skin that tends to appear around spots. I use this about 3 times a week and always notice how much better my make up goes on afterwards.

After talking to one of the girls from Ziaja she recommended that I try out the olive shampoo and conditioner from them, so I got them. I'm not really sure why the conditioner is so much smaller then the shampoo, so I must tweet them and ask! I was done with buying half the shop until I smelled the olive body balm and knew I had to try it out. It sinks into the skin so quickly and makes me feel lovely and soft without being sticky or weighted down for the day. I can see this becoming a regular buy for me.

Then as I hadn't seen that there was a mask in the goodie bag, I decided to pick up another that was only 70 cent! As I remembered how well they were reviewed by bloggers before. All in all I think I did really well with my little haul and will be steadily making my way through them all in the next few weeks! Make sure to follow Ziaja and Emma on twitter as I've heard that they will be doing lots more events like the one I was at. You might be able to sign up for one soon!

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. 

Ziaja: New Olive Leaf Collection

Ziaja is a brand that I use all the time, I love their scrubs, body creams and face scrubs. Theres a chemist on Talbot St that I trek down to all the time to repurchase all the time, I love what great prices they are for what amazing products you get. I've banged on about many of Ziaja's things in the past and now I'm about to do the same with their new Olive Leaf collection.  

First off is the one I was most excited about, the *cleansing oil for dry and sensitive skin in a 270ml bottle. This waterless foaming face and body oil came at the best time as I'm suffering with my skin lately due to some contact dermatitis. I was worried that this would effect it further, but I was totally wrong. Its a lovely feeling to use this in the shower daily for some relief from the current soreness and irritation. It calms it down and helps to relieve the need to touch and irritate it for a few hours. It also leaves the rest of my skin a little softer and more moisturiesed then before. This wouldn't be used in place of a moisturiser, but for an extra bit of skin lovin' I'd highly recommend it. Worried that it would be like pouring cooking oil over myself, I only used a tiny blob to begin with, but its a gorgeous gentle rich oil that works as an emollient that wont strip essential oils from the skin, Olive leaf extract is a powerful antioxidant that helps to protect, purify and sooth. This is one of their more expensive products at €9.99 for 270ml, but its well worth picking up. I'm sadly nearly finished my bottle but will be getting it as soon as I can get my hands on it again.  

The second product is the *nourishing face cream with SPF 20. I'll be honest and say that I'm not a big user of face creams or moisturisers so I'm a little bias. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I've used this because I want to, as opposed to having to trial it for review. A lot of the time moisturisers are greasy on my skin, heavy and far too rich. But with this cream, it was light and my skin drank it up in minutes. It didn't hurt or irritate my face like a lot of moisturisers and there wasn't any issue putting my make up on over it. - Although I tend to only use it on make up free days as I find with any creams or moisturisers, my make up doesn't stand put on my face as long. Providing 'hydration, broad spectrum protection and skin regeneration'  with the olive leaf extract keeping skin soft, hydrated and smoothing out fine lines, this is another big thumbs up for me. For all that, plus an SPF of 20, I'm surprised that its only €5.99 for a 50ml tube. 

There are three other things in the olive leaf collection. A regenerating mask with hyaluronic acid for 69cent (which I can't wait to hunt down and try out!). A duo-phase make up remover and a gel scrub micro exfoliating, I think that Ziaja can really do no wrong by me. I'll be looking out for some more of this range, along with repurchasing my must-have cleansing oil.  

*I did not pay for this item, it was a PR gift.  Please see my disclaimer here. 

Ziaja's Bioderma Dupe

The sister fluttered off to France a few months ago and came home laden with things from the famous City-Pharma. Holy jesus it was like Christmas when she text me and sent Whatsapp photos of the shelves, discussing what we had seen talked about on blogs and what we would love to try out. One of the things she picked up for herself was the Bioderma moisturising cleansing milk with 250ml, but ended up giving it to me after she decided it wasn't for her. Thankfully I fell straight in love with it.

Come forward a few months later and I'm almost at the end of my now can't-live-without Bioderma. But after I try and find it online, I realise its about €20 to buy without shipping. It wasn't that price in France! So I do what only a dedicated crazy beauty addict can do, I go buying all and every cleaning milk I can get my hands on. One of the many many bottles had to do the job, or so I was hoping. Clearly there is a skincare god as I happened to be in a chemist picking up some repurchases of Ziaja when I chanced my arm and bought this aloe cleansing milk that was under €5 - bargain. 

This is a 200ml bottle of aloe scented cream, with a toner and a moisturiser in the same scent. It is meant to 'sooth, balance skin moisture and control oily secretions' while also being really gentle to my skin that can act up a lot. Its so gentle in fact, that I can use it to remove my eye make up - oh yeah I'm that lazy. It does just what the Bioderma does and feels the same, but with more then half the price tag. This was the only cleansing milk that I could find stocked in the chemist, but from the site here you can see that there are many more scents and creams for different skin issues available.  

One slight difference I've noticed between the two is that the Ziaja sinks into my skin quicker and better then the Bioderma. Not to say that my beloved Bioderma isn't great, but it tends to sit on my skin and I feel like after I use it. I always need to use a toner to get rid of the excess cream and oil like feel, whereas I could use the Ziaja cleansing milk as a stand alone product. So, with all that in mind will I be picking up the Bioderma soon? No, are you mad? Theres an amazing cleansing milk for less then €5 from a brand that I am finding I'm using more and more. When I found how good this was, I actually got on the phone to friends to rave - and give out about the price of that feckin lovely but very dear Bioderma.

So, you don't need a credit card or a plane ticket to get amazing skincare. Just head to your local chemist and see if they stock Ziaja. Read my review on Ziaja cocoa body scrub here.

My 2014 Favourties

Yeah so the first month of 2015 has nearly come to an end and I'm only getting around to doing this now. Honest to got, some things never change. Just to note, I'd like to say sorry as the photos are all a little off colour. Theres nothing worse then the winter light not letting up and the three times that I retook these photos, they have all been far too dark. But sure, the show must go on. This is a feckin massive list of my all time favourite things of 2014. Some things immediately came to mind and then some things I had to narrow down, it wasn't easy!

First I want to talk about hair. Its one of the things that is a part of my personality and I'm always trying new things in it. Surprisingly, shampoos get me excited the same way a new eye shadow palette would, or a cake. Aussie 3 minute miracle is one of my most loved conditioner, theres nothing as quick or effective to make my hair feel amazingly soft. It smells really lovely as well. I've gone through countless bottles of this goodness. Not pictured, but something that I had to add in is the Garnier ultimate blends shampoo and conditioners. They are so lovely and when they are on offer I love to stock up.

Herbal Essences dry shampoo is my top dry shampoo of the year. I go through loads of this stuff and love it. It doesn't have the white residue that some dry shampoos leave in your hair and it really helps reduce the grease in my hair. Lastly is my favourite purple hair dye, Live XXL. I think I keep these lads in business, I've bought so much of these tubes this year! It lasts such a long time in your hair, even with my daily washing it.  

Next is skincare and the first thing that came to mind when I thought of this catagory was my Vaseline spry and go moisturiser. Theres no waiting around for it to dry in or taking too much of the product in one go. You just spray it on quickly, give it a little rub and boom, your ready to go - well put on clothes first, of course. To help keep my face from falling to bits I love to use Green Angel seaweed daily face cream. It smells lovely, is so moistursing and you only need the tiniest amount to do your full face, so this will last ages. Himself is a big fan of it too, so I'd say the men in your life might appreciate this if your looking for a unisex gift that you might be able to 'borrow' a little now and again. You can read the full review of it over here.

Two Lush things that have to get a mention, keeping all my face uglies at bay are Grease Lightening and of course my much loved Mask of Magnaminty. Both of these help to keep my spots under control when used regularly. Theres nothing negative I can think to say about either of these, they are just perfect! Natural stuff that doesn't smell awful or hurt my fussy skin. 

Lastly is my all time favourtie perfume, the Body Shop White Musk Smoky Rose. When I first got this to try out I wasn't sure about it, it was nice but not something I'd use everyday. But now I've grown to love it and I have to have it in my handbag, just in case. I'm coming close to the end of this bottle and hope to get a new one asap. Running out just isn't an option!

I've read a lot of books and comics in 2014 and although I have so many new favourites, the two that stand out the most have to be Sex Criminals - that I did a full post on over here. And then The Good Girl that I did a review of over here. I'd blab on about them non stop, but I think this is a really long blog post without adding to it! 

Sleek has been one of my most loved make up brands in 2014. I've just started to use their blushers, (instead loving my Benefit one, full post over here)but the eyeshadow palettes and my overused but much loved contor kit has been my go to all year. I did a full blog post on it here, but I think since then I've fallen even more in love with it!

Another go to for the year has been my Wet'n'Wild Comfort Zone palette. Its cheap as chips and has so many highly pigmented colours in it, I just love how handy it is to throw in my bag, without having to worry if it gets a bit bashed. I a full post with swatches over here.

You would want to have been blind not to notice my new found love for Emmas Soy Candles this year. There are so many to choose from, they don't effect my asthma and they are an Irish brand. They just tick all the right boxes. Family and friends got these as Christmas presents, with much happy camper feedback!

Three nail varnishes that I've used non stop were by Paese - review here. Its the perfect red. My lovely mustard Barry M review here and my favourite from the entire new collection by Max Factor - review here.

Out of all my toys, this year Doxy has stolen my heart. I did a full review on it over here, but I'll save you the hassle of reading it - just go order it right now!

I've never fully understood people going on about products that would be desert island things to take with them. That was until I tried Ziaja Rose Butter, This is something I found about half way through the year after finding the brand stocked in a chemist on Talbot St. I picked it up as I was looking for something new to try and I'm so glad I did. Theres nothing as nice as the feeling of really clean, fresh and soft skin. Not only does it work total wonders, it smells pretty good too. I thought it would be too harsh when I felt the sand like texture, but it hasn't once hurt my sensitive skin. Ziaja is one of those brands you need to buy if you see.

Nimue rejuvenating mask is one of my favourite high end masks of 2014. But something that is much more budget friendly and works just as well is the Simple one. I've nothing to say about these, other then every time I have a bath or a bad day, then one of these gets slapped on my face and I feel so much better.

Lastly is my favourite make up. Reds were big for me this year, especially my Wet'n'Wild balm stain and my Inglot lipstick. I did a full review of some Inglot lip products over here. When theres a strong lip, there has to be some strong black eyelashes and flicks! Benefit They're Real and a bargain Collection extreme felt tip eyeliner for €3.99 are, dare I say my all time favourites. 

Everyone and their mammy needs to know about the Hero Brush. I only found it in October but its not left my side since. Its one of my most read posts in 2014 too I'm glad to say. Its an Irish make up artists brand and I honestly need to buy more of them. In love, have a look at the full review here. - Not to mention seeing photos of it clean, sorry!

And whats the point of having an amazing foundation brush if you don't have a lovely foundation to use with it! Seventeens Stay Time is my all time favourite foundation this year. Its full coverage, in a light shade that actually matches my skin tone and lasts a surprisingly long time. I think this is about my 4th or 5th bottle and nothing else that I've tried has compared to it. Seventeen are on fire with their new products that came out in 2014! Can't wait to see what they have in store for the rest of the year.

My Skincare Routine

My face is oily with a bit of a dry combo in the oddest of places and only sometimes. Basically its like me on my period. One day I love everyone and want to hug the entire world, 10 hours later I'm screaming like a banshee throwing knickers out the window. (Its happened more then I'm willing to admit.) So when it comes to skincare I have lots of different categories. Theres the slap all the tea tree things on my face its a bad break out category, the my skin is patchy dry and sad looking category and so on. This particular one is the taking off light make up at night and giving my skin a little perk up category. I say light make up because I've not included any eye make up removers or major amounts of different make up removers that are required after I've shoveled on about 3 tonnes of make up for the night out.

I've two uberly fancy ones here by Bioderma. I used to scoff at people with this brand - the price of this stuff is crazy. But when my sister went off to France and brought these back for me, who was I to question her. After all, its make up and skincare. Just give me all the things. You still can't get these in Ireland, but I know that Amazon and various sites will ship them. (Thank the holy cat in heaven.) First is the one everyone raves about, the micellar water. To be honest I can't really see anything different between this and say the garnier water, but it just happens to be the one I'm using at the minute. It takes off make up fine and cleans my face properly, without having to use a different product to get the remainders off (like I do with some products). 

The second Bioderma product is the moisturising cleansing milk thats just gorgeous. I don't care if its €2 or €20, when this runs out I'm going to frantically search online until I find somewhere that will send me another bottle. I've never had something thats been so gentle, moisturising and all round divine for my skin before. My sister actually gave this to me when she tired it and found it too oily for her skin, but it seems my skin drinks it up and never  gets extra greasy or more spotty. All of the wins happening in that bottle. (After just looking it up and its €19.95. Holy sweet mother of jesus it doesn't cost that much in lovely old France!)

If I'm looking for an extra bit of omph for my skin I'll use the Ziaja tea tree toner. Normally on days when my skin is having a bitch fit (what up White Chicks reference!) and it needs some calming down as this toner has spot fighting goodness in it. Its great for giving my skin a really good clean. 

If the bitch fit is continuing, I've been popping some Body Shop tea tree oil onto the infected areas. This stings a little and the smell can be overwhelming, but I have noticed a difference when using it. Not for everyday use personally, but maybe 3 times a week on the bigger face uglies or very sore ones.

I'm a long time fan of Germolene (now renamed bepantiseptic) and I smear it all over my mug. Leave it on over night and I can see visible results the next morning. My spots run off my face like I do when someone shouts '50% off!'. It surprisingly doesn't dry out my skin and it doesn't hurt or irritate me. Its the one thing that I would recommend every time if your looking to fight spots fast with results in a few hours, without a massive price tag.

When my under eyes are looking less then lovely, I use Simple roller. Its quick, makes my under eyes less dark looking, cooling and soothes the puffyness from lack of sleep. In general this yoke is something everyone with under eyes needs in their life. It was less then €6ish as well, which I think is a total bargain.

Lastly are some of my must have skincare saviors, Waxperts. These are an Irish brand and I'm proud to be banging on about them. Meant for keeping ingrown hairs at bay after saving or waxing, they are also amazing to use on your spots. One or two of these in your skincare routine and your sorted. Theres 40 pads in each tub and they last for ages. I've gone through loads of them but for some reason this is the first time I've mentioned them! Must be the best kept secret in beauty!

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?

Ziaja Cocoa Butter Body Scrub

Its well known by my family and friends that if I really like something, I'll utter the words 'Ah no, I'll have it. You wouldn't like it' all of the time. And that was the first thing that came into my little pea brain when I opened this in the shower and tired it. Honestly, you really wouldn't like it. If you've bought some recently, then I'm sorry. You could send it to me and I'll dispose of it in the best possible way. By using it in the shower every single day. Muahahaha.

Ahem. Well, now that the moment of pure crazy is over, let me tell you about Ziaja. This brand is feckin hard to get your hands on if your like me and only pop into Boots the odd time to stock up. Since going on a mad hunt one day in town I did find a chemist on Talbot St that does a good lot of the range. I'm seriously impressed with the amount of products that Ziaja do, take a look yourself at the full range here. They cater for all skin types as well as for babies, a hair care line and lines for specific ingredients. And if you think thats a little bit great, then you'll be delighted to know that their products are all cheap and cheerful. Man I love it! I'm really surprised that I've only recently heard of the Polish brand, considering they are a family owned company that have been around since 1989.

I'm going to be banging on about this brand a lot in the next while, let me just tell you that now! But today its all about the cocoa butter body scrub that I was delighted to get in a goodie bag from a blogger meet up I attended recently. If you want to have a nosy at what went on then have a read of Robyn's blog post (from Robyn Rants And Raves) all about it over here! I was excited to try this body scrub out as its more then half the price of some of my most loved Soap&Glory scrubs and I wanted to see if I had found a new favourite. 

I have to admit, this scrub is really giving the Soap&Glory range a run for its money. It smells sweet and has a lovely thick texture to it. Once you wet it, it foams up slightly so its easy to rub across your skin and theres no clumps of it falling off like some scrubs I've used. There are tiny little bits in it that I can only describe as sand-like, with out it actually being sand just to say! It does a great job of exfoliating all the horrible bits of dead skin away without being too harsh either. Its perfect for using every day as it doesn't strip your skin at all. 

The packaging is plain, plastic and to be honest it just does the job. Theres nothing needlessly fancy or over the top and there doesn't need to be to draw people in. It works so well and the brand is fast becoming well known for their amazing products that don't cost the earth. I'm happy to stock up the entire bathroom with this brand over a high end one any day of the week. (and may be starting to do just that as I type!) You can get this body scrub for roughly €4.99 in a lot of chemists around the country.