Project Empties #24

Over these past few months, I have been finishing less and less products. In May, I finished one and throughout June, I only finished two. What's worse is that my beauty stash seems to continually be growing! Argh!

I really liked the V05 Miracle Concentrate Elixir with Argan Oil. It's a great purse friendly hair oil, which smells lovely and doesn't leave your hair feeling too oily. I found this 50ml bottle lasted me ages as you really don't need a lot each time and the dropper allows for more accurate dispensing. I found that it made my hair feel softer if I applied it before blow drying and it was great for taming a little bit of frizz.

I loved this Tresemme Restructuring Deep Conditioning Mask. You get a lot of product for your money and the tub lasted me AGES. It left my hair feeling so soft and never weighed down. My only gripe is that it is in a tub and it isn't that practical in the shower. (Please say I'm not the only person that manages to get water in their hair product containers, even when the shower is turned off?!)

I forgot I had these Origins High-Potency Brightening Peel with Fruit Acids pads for a while and recently started using them again. They're super easy to use and I definitely saw some skin brightening as I was using the remaining pads twice weekly until they ran out. I have a full review of them here.

What did you finish throughout June? Can you believe it's July already?!

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

Project Empties #20

I hope you all had a lovely new year. What did you all do? My new year is usually fairly quiet, as I like to spend it with my family and watch the fireworks on TV. But this year, I spent it helping my mum pack up the remainder of our house as we are moving at the end of this week. Since I've been helping my mum pack, I have found so much stuff I'd forgotten about, found lots of hilarious old drawings, made up stories and school things and conquered my fear of the going into the loft.

Last month I only finished a few products. Once you throw in being ill and cooped up in bed for a week or so and then spending a lot of time makeup less helping to pack up the house, not many products were used throughout the month. It also seems like my beauty drawers are getting full again after Christmas... Eek!

Of the products I used up, I would repurchase the majority as I absolutely love them. I really enjoyed using the V05 Ultimate Hold Hairspray, as it has a great amount of hold without leaving your hair crispy, flaky or hard. It's easy to brush out and doesn't leave much residue. I love the huge can and it lasts forever, even with daily use. I have recently been using Batiste Tropical more than usual. I think my last bottle lasted me around 1 year, as I barely ever used it because I hated the smell and the white residue it left. I love the coconutty tropical smell of this one. La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo is one of my favourite blemish products. I have a full review here and I am already on my next tube. I also love the TEN Instant Lifting Cream. I had never heard of TEN before, but when my dad brought some of their moisturisers home, I thought I'd give this one a whirl. I'm glad I did as I love this moisturiser now. It's quite a light cream, but really hydrates and helps to balance my skin as it contains hyaluronic acid. It sinks into the skin nicely and doesn't leave the skin feeling greasy. The only thing I didn't like about this moisturiser is the smell as it's highly perfumed.

I won't be repurchasing the Lubatti Deliciously Rich Body Lotion (Tuberose and Mimosa), because although it smelt nice and was easy to rub into the skin, I didn't feel like it left my skin feeling  moisturised enough. I also found that you needed to use a lot per limb, using about 5-6 pumps per limb.

What have you finished this month?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

No Heat Hair Care Routine

As you may or may not be aware, I haven't been using heat for the past few months and I have noticed a change in my hair. (You can read my posts here). It hasn't grown that much as I keep trimming it to maintain healthy ends, but it feels stronger and I have less breakage. I've also been loving the extra time in bed that I used to spend on my hair!

Today I have decided to share my current hair care routine with you. This is just the products I have been using lately. When I use heat on my hair on special occasions, I have other products and tools that I use, which won't be featured in this post.

First of all, I just thought I'd let you know my hair has a natural wave to it. It gets frizzy and dry easily and is quite fine. I also don't have much volume.

Shampoo and Conditioner
I have recently been using Aussie and I am loving the products. All Aussie products smell amazing! Aussie Volume shampoo gives your hair a nice boost of volume. I have noticed it works better when you use a hairdryer though. It cleans your hair well without stripping it. The Aussie 3 Minute Miracle works well as a conditioner and as a leave-in conditioner. It really moisturises your hair, leaving it soft and manageable. The scent from the 3MM really lingers on the hair too, I can sometimes still smell it the next day!

Deep Conditioner
I bought this massive Tresemme tub almost 1 year ago and I still have loads left! I use it once every 2-3 weeks and tend to leave it in for about 20 minutes before rinsing it out. It leaves your hair feeling so soft, without feeling weighed down or greasy.

Sorry about the state of the middle hairbrush! It really needs a wash!

Tools
I use the Tangle Teezer (left) when my hair is wet to get rid of any knots. It works amazingly for getting out knots painlessly and without pulling out too much hair with it. I love the Denman hairbrush (middle) for general styling. I prefer this one to the TT as the bristles are longer, so I find it easier to use. The comb (right) is from China and I just use it to find my parting and to backcomb my hair.

V05 Ultimate Hold Hairspray
This works really well. It doesn't leave your hair feeling crispy and holds the styles well. It smells lovely! It's also great value for money as you get such a huge can.

V05 Miracle Concentrate
This is a lovely leave-in treatment, which I gushed about in my January Favourites. It leaves your hair feeling moisturised and soft and stops the ends from looking all dry. It smells amazing too! You only need a small amount, unless you want your hair to be greasy, so this bottle will last ages!

The Body Shop Coconut Oil Hair Shine
This has also been in a previous favourites video. It's a waxy texture, which is nice for taming frizz, moisturising the ends and styling (to an extent). It's perfect for throwing into your bag for use on-the-go. The coconut smell is lovely, not as strong and sweet as some others, but still nice.

H&M Clip
I decided to feature this as I have been sleeping with my hair in a bun on the top of my head to give my hair some nice curl/waves. I was previously using hair bands to fasten the bun, but I recently watched a video on Youtube by Nikki Phillippi where she uses a clip, so I thought I'd give it a go and I have to say, I prefer it. I was initially worried about breaking the clip, but the bun is so high up on the head that you wouldn't be able to (unless you sleep on the top of your head).

What does your current hair care routine consist of? Are there any products you would recommend?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

January Favourites

Today's post is for my January favourites. I apologise in advance for repeating myself a million times!


By the way, I'm wearing my new glasses I mentioned here, so you can now see what they look like on :)
Thank you for watching. xoxo, Joy