Project Empties #8

Hey everyone! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and I hope Santa got you everything you wanted! :D

Today I have a few finished products to share with you. I've realised that I hardly ever have any finished make-up to show! So I really need to make more of an active effort to start working through my collection as I am trying to downsize. Let's hope there are some more make-up items in my next Project Empties post!


Avene Extremely Gentle Cleanser Review: To be honest, this cleanser isn't really anything special. However I really liked it! It's super gentle, which was great for times when my skin was feeling delicate or when I broke out and it is pretty effective at removing make-up. I like that it's scentless and you get a generous amount of product for £8 or so. Would I repurchase? Yes
Clarisonic Gentle Hydro Cleanser Review: This had a strong cucumbery scent, which I didn't like and I didn't like the texture of it either. I liked that it was nice and gentle, so it's perfect for sensitive skin. It worked well with my Clarisonic, however I used it a few times on its own and didn't find that it was a particularly great cleanser. It didn't dry out my skin and left it feeling clean and soft.   Would I repurchase? No

No7 Radiance Revealed Exfoliator Review: Here Would I repurchase? Yes
Clean&Clear Shine Control Daily Facial Moisturiser  Review: This moisturiser was a bit pants to be honest. It claims to help control shine, but I found that it made no difference. It is a light moisturiser, which I sometimes felt wasn't moisturising enough. It has a lovely citrus and zingy scent, which is nice for the mornings.  Would I repurchase? No
Boots Witch Hazel Review: I've been using this witch hazel as a toner or as part of my DIY toner. It's a great size bottle for only £2-ish and it has lasted me ages. Would I repurchase? Yes
Clearasil Overnight Serum  Review: I bought this on a whim, as I was looking at in Boots (for £7-something) and then saw it for sale in none other than Poundland! It made no difference whatsoever on my breakouts and I'm glad I only paid £1 for this.  Would I repurchase? No
Next Diamonds Review: This is supposedly a dupe of Dior's 'Miss Dior Cherie'. I'm not sure if it is, but it is a lovely sweet and girlie perfume. I thought it was a perfect scent for summer, so wore it loads through the summer and autumn months, before recently transitioning to a heavier scent (Chanel 'Coco Mademoiselle', in case you're wondering). I had this for approximately a year and a half and noticed that the scent changed a little as I neared the end of the bottle, so I would advise to get through this quickly if you do purchase it. It's a great price at only £6 for 30ml! Would I repurchase? Yes
L'Oreal Voluminous Review: Here Would I repurchase? Yes    Finished Products: 8 Accumulative Finished Items from December 2010 to December 2011: 40! What have you finished up recently? Thanks for reading. xoxo, Joy

Review: No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara

Left: Naked lashes, Right: Curled and 1 coat of Exceptional Definition

I love this mascara! The brush is a pretty unique concept where one side is designed for volume, the other for definition and the top for hard to reach areas - Essentially, you're getting 3 mascaras in 1! I found this mascara gave my lashes a great amount of volume and some lengthening. It's perfect for layering with other mascaras, e.g. a lengthening one, to get the best of both worlds. Although I did find after approximately 3 coats, my lashes started to get clumpy and spidery.

The Boots website says that "The formula is enriched with cashmere keratin, vitamins and hydrolyzed soy protein to care while you wear." I don't feel that this made any difference for any other mascara, but it's nice to have it in the back of your mind that your mascara may be caring and beneficial for your lashes.

The formula of the mascara was very dry. It dried quickly on the lashes and I found no smudges under my eyes throughout the day. The tube also dried out pretty quickly (Quicker than my other 'wetter' mascaras, like L'Oreal Voluminous or Max Factor False Lash Effect), but I did manage to use majority of the product up before it dried out.

I will definitely be repurchasing this mascara again. It gives a generous amount of volume with nice length, and like I said before, you're essentially getting 3 mascaras in 1 :) The new Benefit mascara has a similar brush concept to this and from the reviews I've seen of it so far, it looks great, so I might have to give that one a go!

Have you ever tried No7 Mascara?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

Review: No7 Radiance Revealed Exfoliator

What they say: (From Boots.com) No7 Radiance Revealed Exfoliator contains a special blend of different sized exfoliating particles, this light and gentle facial exfoliator deeply cleanses, helps promote cell renewal and refines pores, leaving skin soft, smooth, energised and glowing with health. No7 Radiance Revealed Exfoliator contains natural fruit acids to brighten skin, plus conditioning pro-vitamin B5.

Price: £8

Swatch:
What I think: When I first started using this exfoliator, I didn't like it because I wasn't used to using an exfoliator with 'plastic' beads (I'd only ever used scrubs like the St. Ives Apricot Scrub). Now I love this exfoliator!

I really like that there wasn't a scent to this product. It has a clean smell, but isn't overly fragranced. It leaves my skin feeling really soft and gets rid of any flaky bits on my face. I feel like my skin does look brighter after use. I also found that it didn't dry out my skin.

The beads disperse really quickly, so some areas have loads of beads while some areas have none. I find that regardless of this, my skin feels exfoliated the same amount all over my face. The beads get everywhere! If you don't rinse the exfoliator off throughly, you may find a few blue beads in your hair the next day!

This is only a 75ml tube, but you only need a small amount each time so it will last for ages. £8 for such a small tube is a little expensive, but not as much as other brands. I used a £5 off voucher to buy this and was happy to pay £3, but may be a little hesitant if I had to part with £8 for this again as I like the St Ives scrub as well and you get double the amount for approximately half the price.

What are your favourite exfoliators?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

Recent Purchases

Although I didn't get much of a response on here when I posted my last video, I decided to do another one because I enjoy doing them and quite like editing them. I was thinking of doing a 'What's in my bag' video, so if anyone wants to see that, let me know :)

Thank you for reading/watching. xoxo, Joy

First FOTD, plus a few other things

This is my first FOTD post (Actually it's yesterday's FOTD...), eeek. I was quite hesitant about posting this, because I was feeling self conscious about the picture as my skin hasn't been that great lately and I filled in my eyebrows unevenly! But in the end, I just decided 'What the heck, I'm just going to post it'. This is just a simple, neutral day look which I wore to my lectures yesterday.

Please excuse my washing in the background!

Face
Benefit Dr. Feelgood (As a primer)
Revlon Photoready in Shell
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC15
Collection 2000 Sheer Loose Powder
MAC Virgin Isle CCB
Bourjois Rose de Jaspe

Eyes (I forgot to take close up pictures of my eye, sorry!)
Urban Decay Primer Potion
MUA eyeshadow in Shade 11 all over the lid
MAC Brun eyeshadow in the outer third, crease and eyebrows
No7 Gel Eyeliner
No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara

Lips
Body Shop Sheer Lip Shine in Sheer Pink

Last week, I was lucky enough to win another giveaway. I was so chuffed when I saw an email from the lovely Leah telling me that I'd won. The parcel with the prizes arrived at the weekend, so that was a really nice way to start off a lovely weekend :) Thank you so much, Leah!!! Go take a look at Leah's blog (Look! Flying Monkeys!), it's full of a mix of beauty, fashion, food and all things lovely. :)


I just wanted to share a quick Boots purchase with you all. It never would have occurred to me that you could buy jewellery in Boots, but I was waiting for my friend while she was buying some stuff and was surprised to see a jewellery stand. Not only a jewellery stand, but one with lots of pieces that had 1/2 price stickers on them, score! There were some other pretty pieces, but this ring really caught me eye. It reminds me of a wing ring that I'd seen on ASOS a while back, but smaller and cheaper at only £2! I really like how it has the diameter of the ring on the label, rather than S, M or L. Although when I first tried the ring on, I almost had a panic attack when I thought it was stuck, lol! From now on, everytime I pop into Boots, I'm going to keep an eye out for their jewellery section! :)


Have any of you bought any jewellery in unexpected places before?

Thank you for reading. I hope my FOTD didn't scare you off, lol! xoxo, Joy

Project Empties #2

Unfortunately, I didn't finish many products in February. I managed to use up all of my December/January allowance and I had to restock up on essentials that I'd finished, such as cleanser, which ultimately didn't really stop me from spending money on make-up and skincare... Hmm.

No7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser

Review: This cleanser is really rich and feels luxurious. It is really moisturising and doesn't leave a greasy residue on the skin. It didn't remove all my eye makeup and sometimes I felt like it hadn't removed all my makeup. It is supposed to be radiance boosting, I personally don't think I saw any difference. You get a 200ml tube, which I used every day and it lasted me approximately 5 months which I thought was brilliant. While I did like this cleanser, I feel that there are other cheaper cleansers that are just as good.

Would I repurchase? Only with the £5 off voucher

Oxy On The Spot

Review: I like to put this over any breakouts I get. It's not a quick fix for spots, but it does help to reduce the size and eventually get rid of the spot. I only use it when I can feel a spot coming or on any existing spots, I don't use it everyday. It says to apply it once a day, except when I used it, I apply it twice a day. The problem with doing that is that the skin gets used to the product and over time, it becomes less effective, so just be aware of that. Also be careful that it doesn't bleach anything!
Would I repurchase? Yes

Finished items: 2
Accumulative Finished Items from December 2010 to February 2011: 5
Allowance for March 2011: 2

What products have you used up recently?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

Review: No7 Gel Eyeliner

What they say: (From Boots.com) For instant allure paint on your colour of choice with the brush applicator and flick out at the ends. “Fabulous gel eye liners to focus your Bardot Kitten eyed look. Gel formulations are so much easier than liquids because their creamy texture allows for a longer application time…so time to perfect your flick!” - Lisa Eldridge, No7 make-up artist and creative director.

Price: £10


Swatches:

One swipe of No. 7 Gel Eyeliner in Black

What I Think: I've wanted to try a gel eyeliner for ages. I was tempted to pick up MAC Fluidline, but I didn't want to spend £13.50 on something that I might not like. So when I saw that No7 was releasing a range of gel eyeliners in their SS11 collection and I got a £5 off voucher, I knew I had to pick this up. I ended up paying only £5 for this.

I think I have been converted. I normally wear liquid eyeliner everyday, but since I bought this, I've been wearing it everyday. Considering I'd never used a gel eyeliner before, I found this really easy to use. I tried using my ELF Small Angled Brush with it, but I found it easier to use a MAC 210 style brush to apply this. I love how easy it is to do thin, precise lines or thick, winged flicks, depending on what you fancy.

I really like the packaging of the eyeliner. The frosted glass pot feels really sturdy and expensive. The gel eyeliner is so pigmented and creamy. It lasts all day and doesn't smudge at all. I like to set it with a black eyeshadow, so I think that helps too. The little brush that came with it was a little useless at applying the gel eyeliner, but I found it was good for applying the black eyeshadow over the top.

If you're an avid eyeliner wearer, I would definitely recommend that you pick one of these up while Boots still sell them - The collection has 3 colours (Black, Navy and Turquoise) and is available until March 22. This No7 one is cheaper than high end brands, such as MAC, Clinique and Bobbi Brown, who are all well known for their gel eyeliners. However if you're just wanting to try a gel eyeliner and don't mind so much about the brand, you could try some cheaper alternatives, such as the ones by ELF (£3.50), Sleek (£4.29) or the new one by Maybelline which is now available in Superdrug - I have never tried any of these, so can't give an opinion on them.

Have you ever tried gel eyeliner?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

P.S. Just so you know, the £5 off Boots Vouchers are back and they're around till March 27! :)

Recent Purchases

Since I've been back from Canada, I've tried to resist going shopping. But I had to return a dress to Topshop, which only resulted in me buying more...

BootsExpert Dry Scalp Treatment Shampoo - £2.99
Vitamin Water Lip Balm - Free [After buying 2 Vitamin Waters at £1.75 each]
No. 7 Eyeshadow Blend & Contour Brush - £1.50 [With the £5 off voucher]

MAC
Face and Body Foundation - £23.00
Accessorize
'Hand of Fatima' bracelet - £7.00

Orelia at Topshop
Bow necklace - £5
Leaf bracelets - £7

What have you bought recently?

Thanks for reading. xoxo, Joy