April Empties // Can't Live Without or Out With the Trash?

April Empties // Can't Live Without or Out With the Trash?

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Heeello wonderful people.

I've always wanted to do an empties post, to show what I've actually been using, as opposed to what I've been receiving and putting on my "to try" list. However I've never had more than one or two empties at a time, and one or two products does not a decent post make! Until now that is..

So without further ado here's what I've finished this month, and whether I'll be repurchasing or ditching for something else.

Boots Expert Moisturising Nipple Cream: £3.05

Okay bear with me here because I know this is going to sound weird BUT I use this on my face! I know you're now probably thinking "whatever possessed you to put this stuff on your face?" and honestly I can't remember why I tried it the first time! But I do know that it works. I guess this is because it comes from the maternity range, where all the products are made for extremely dry skin.

It is super heavy so if you prefer lighter moisturisers this one probably isn't for you BUT it is definitely in my Can't Live Without list.

Benefit That Gal Primer: £22.50

I got this little beauty as part of the "Do the Bright Thing" Beauty Kit from Benefit, so it is only a miniature version of what you'll get if you buy it separately. Don't let its size fool you though, this little tube arrived on my doorstep February 2014 and it's only just finished, that may be because I don't wear a full face all that often, but I truly believe it is because you really don't need to use that much product to achieve the brightening glow Benefit promise. I wear this under my BB cream and it instantly brightens my dull complexion and provides a smoother base for my cream. I have also noticed that my face doesn't tingle as much if I put this on before another product. (Disclaimer: My face is so sensitive that literally everything makes it tingle at first). Now this all sounds like I'm going to say Can't Live Without doesn't it? Well, it turns out I am in two minds about repurchasing this! Obviously I love it but £22.50 is an awful lot of money for a primer, so for now this one is going Out With the Trash, and I am on the hunt for a cheaper dupe...any suggestions or should I just suck it up and repurchase?

Batiste Dry Shampoo Tropical: £2.99

Who doesn't love dry shampoo??? This stuff is an absolute Godsend, I'm not even kidding. Have you seen my hair? It's exactly 28 inches long and so thick I resemble Aslan the lion if I shake it out...so obviously I cannot wash and dry my hair every day (I would literally have to give up work If I wanted to do this *pray face*) so I rely on miracle products like these. I have tried almost every dry shampoo out there, from the super cheap drugstore brand to the stupidly expensive "you're paying for the name" brand and I always return to Batiste (and always this flavour). This a lovely fresh scent and it really does the job of oomphing and refreshing your roots- which is exactly what we want from a Dry Shampoo, no? This product is so Can't Live Without that I have actually already repurchased it ;-). Oh and, by the way, the link above is for Superdrug but if you have a Savers store where you live it's only £1.49 there.

Batiste Smoothing Conditioning Mist: £3.99 from Boots (also only £1.49 at your local Savers store)

This is the ONLY dry conditioner I have ever used that actually appears to condition my hair! You remember above when I mentioned that my hair is 28inches long? Yeah well those of you blessed/cursed with long hair will surely agree that your ends get dry very easily (I'm sure this is something to do with the natural oils depleting before they reach your ends, but I could be wrong) so a dry conditioner comes in really handy for touch ups. This one has Argan oil in it which is probably why it works for me- my hair loves it some argan oil- and it smells lush. I spray this through the lengths and ends of my hair AFTER I've brushed through my shampoo. They really are a dream team. You know where this is going don't you? Absolutely, CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT.


There you have it...it looks like my empties have all been winners this month. Like I said the only reason I'm not repurchasing That Gal right away is because it's just a little too expensive for me right now.

Have you guys tried any of these products? Do you love them like I do? DO YOU HAVE A DUPE FOR THAT GAL?? Leave me a comment and make me smile :-).

Oh and shameless plug time...remember you can follow me on Twitter-Instagram-Facebook & Bloglovin' :-) it would make me super happy.

Much Love
AJ
xx

Fashion Friday 2

Fashion Friday 2

Friday, March 07, 2014

So as promised on twitter this post is all about how I challenged myself to get everything I wanted, in town today, for under £30! This may not seem difficult to some of you but I'm an unashamed spender, I like nice things and I will sooner pay for quality before I buy discount (so sue me). But today-on payday no less I set myself a budget AND I nailed it!! 

First things first as those that read my latest Wish Wednesday post will know I was after a BB Cream to trial and despite my worries I gave in and bought the Garnier one, because it was the cheapest brand name version available and because I wouldn't feel right writing something off without first trying it myself. 

So I purchased the Garnier BB for Sensitive Skin in light-here's hoping it works! I'll let you all know over the weekend. 

Secondly I really wanted a black nail varnish, feeling kind of vampy at the moment ;-). As luck would have it Miss Sporty are doing a two for £3 deal in Superdrug, which means my trial and error doesn't have to break the bank. I did want a matte black but settled for glossy. Like I said TWO for £3 so I also grabbed at nice cornflower blue shade (cos it's my favourite against my skin tone). 

The black goes on really thinly and I needed three coats to give a proper black coverage- and I have tiny nails. So I probably wouldn't recommend it, however the blue is very pretty and went on quite easily. If I had one gripe I'd say it's a bit too bright for your usual cornflower shade (but pretty blue is still pretty blue). 

Next I headed over to Waterstones to pick up the must have book of the month- John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. There has been a lot of hype around Mr Green- and I usually don't buy into that kind of stuff- but I had a sneaky read of the first few chapters while lazing about in Waterstones Costa a couple of weeks ago and I was hooked. So into the  bought pile it went :-). 

Onto the clothing...I was after a simple tee, nothing in particular in mind just something cute I could tuck into all the high-waisted skirts I seem to have accrued. So a jaunt round Primark ensued. And I found TWO that I thought were totally cute. One was a baseball style tee with a Barbie motif (who doesn't love Barbie??) and the other was a navy tee with a Bulldog wearing rockstar shades and retro headphones! And the winner is.... 

Just look at that face!! Lol this one won because it fit best, the Barbie one was only available in 8 and above and was just a bit on the unstructured baggy side :-(. This one however is from the kids section, fits perfectly AND was in the sale -bargain! 

While perusing said kids section I stumbled upon a cute little skater dress, and I'm a sucker for a skater dress so onto the pile that went. It's totally pretty too, look... 

Waist clearly not to size ;-). 

Finally just as I was packing up for the day I stumbled upon a nail art pack featuring MATTE BLACK nail varnish! It's actually like blackboard paint and comes with nail pens to draw on said blackboard so going to have some fun playing with that. The paint goes on easily and is very black, does turn out matte and seems grand so far. The matte topcoat however is tacky and overly gloopy so I'd suggest using a different one. 

I know you're all thinking "there's no way you got all that for less than £30" but dear readers let me tell you something...I have change...

Garnier BB Cream- £6.46

Miss Sporty Varnish x2- £3

The Fault in Our Stars- £7.99

Bulldog Tee- £2

Blue Spotty Dress- £8 

Blackboard Nail Art set- £2 

Grand total £29.45 :-). 

Anyone else challenged themselves like this? Share your best budget buys with me on twitter, or down in the comments. And don't forget it you like what you see here you can follow me on Tumblr and Bloglovin too. 

Much Love

AJ

xx