April/May Empties

Sorry, sorry, blah blah. It has been over a month since I've written a beauty blog post, and it has mainly just been because I have been a busy bee. 

May was my birthday month, so I scheduled a post or two and then got swept away in having fun, I've decorated my room (all nice and neutral cream, loooovely) and spent some time fixing cars with my other half. I've also been working two jobs which is slowly picking up steam, but this week I am on holiday from them both, so I have jotted down a few blog posts and I am determined to post!

If you follow my youtube channel you might have noticed that it has been even longer since I made a video, and that is for the same reasons, it is simply very time consuming, so you might find that some of my normal video content will migrate over to blog content so that I can easily get it out there.

If you do like my ramblings and aren't limited to following beauty, you can find me on my other blog more frequently at the moment, as I am spending a lot of time reading, it can be found here!

Now throughout all this time being oh so busy, I have to admit I haven't bought many products, which rather stumps me on what I can write about, but I have used up quite a few which I am insanely proud about! I am all about clearing out the junk and clutter at the moment, selling things on ebay, trading in DVDs and using up loads of my products.

Without further ado, here are April and May's empties!

La Roche-Posay Physiological Micellar Solution

£11.50 from Boots

I mentioned this in my first ever empties post, and it has now become one of my constant repurchases. I have decided that I am going to give Bioderma a proper go once I have used up all my backup's of this stuff, but if it doesn't measure up I will be straight back to grabbing these on 3 for 2. The main reason I grab for it again and again is that it just works, it lifts my makeup and any grease on my face up and away leaving me feeling nice and clean without any residue, perfect for before a full face cleanse or even when I can't be bothered to do the full routine.

Weleda Pomegranate Creamy Body Wash

£8.95 from Boots

I received this in a Glossybox a while back, and at first I was sceptical. I don't really buy in to the whole luxury shower gel thing, I like to have one from The Body Shop or something, but nearly £10 a bottle is pushing it a bit. I did really like this though, it isn't for you if you aren't fond of the scent as it lingers a bit and definitely makes the bathroom smell lovely, but if you are after a shower cream that will leave you moisturised and feeling a little bit special then give this a go. I can't say anything for the anti-aging properties, but it is worth noting that when used to shave my legs, I didn't need to moisturise afterwards! 

Balance Me Rose Otto Body Wash

£12.26 for 260ml from John Lewis

Another shower gel from a beauty box, and this time one I really hated. I had issues with the Balance Me hand cream scent last time, and this time the scent really put me off. I am not a fan of roses, and my skin hates the scent from them and breaks out in little bumps. Turns out that applies to the rest of my skin too not just my face! I'm sure many people would love this product, and I have to say for a sulphate free product it did lather nicely and didn't require lots of product per use, but for me it just caused hassle.

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser

£8.99 from Boots

This is a holy grail product and I've even written about it, nuff said!

Simple Soothing Facial Toner

£2.99 from All good supermarkets

I always seem to pick up this toner, and it has featured in an empties post before, but I think next time I might branch out. I have my eyes on an Avene mattifying one, but if you are after a basic, cheap toner, this is a great one to try.

No7 Exquisite Curl Mascara in Brown/Black

£13 from Boots, or use a No7 voucher for £5 off!

I really enjoyed this mascara, which is why I was happy to pick up two, but it does dry out quickly, one tube usually lasts me about two months before I have to change because it is making my eyes sting.
 I can't honestly say that it curls my lashes as I always use an eyelash curler, but it holds them steady throughout the day without being too crispy and it is easy to remove.

Bionova Bioactive Cleanser

£29 from Bionova

I'm not entirely sure on the price of this one, as I got this sample in a Glossybox and although their website says £29, I can't find a product which perfectly matches this on the Bionova website (which is quite complicated) and so it could cost more. I wouldn't be repurchasing anyway as it left a weird rubbery feeling on my skin, and isn't suited to my combination skin type anyway. I think there are probably better known similarly priced cleansers out there if you wanted to splash out on a fancy one.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturiser

£15.50 from House of Fraser

When Kiehl's popped up in my local House of Fraser last year I really wanted to try the eye cream or the hand cream that I had been lusting after on YouTube, on discovering that they were US only, I plumped for trying their best selling all around suitor moisturiser. I liked it, but it was a little greasy for me, and when I was taking Roaccutane it stinged like mad, which doesn't fill me with confidence.
If you have dry skin, I say grab a sample, but otherwise, despite it saying it is for all skin types, I would maybe give it a miss.

Dermalogica Multivitamin Thermofoliant

£41 for 75ml from Dermalogica

Oh yes you read that right, FOURTY ONE POUNDS! For an exfoliator! This sample came from Glossybox and unlike the lipbalm which I really loved, this didn't stand out for me at all. I am currently using a similar exfoliator from The Sanctuary which is a quarter of the price, so no way in hell would I repurchase this. I know Dermalogica is expensive, but I honestly can't say that this worked any differently to my other heat activated exfoliators, so that would be a big fat no!

Sanex Dermoinvisible Antiperspirant

£1.55 from Boots, Supermarkets

I'm talking about another deodorant! I had to mention this one though because I wasn't particularly fond of it. It didn't seem to have as much product in it as other ones I have used, wasn't very moisturising, and it didn't have a nice accompanying smell. It did however work in the sweat stakes, and I was free of white marks while I used it. 

How many empties have you run up lately? I get a great sense of satisfaction when I pop another tub in my special empties box.
:) 

Reading on the go

Authors Note: Apologies about this post, it has been written for a couple of months and I forgot to schedule it so it sort got lost in the abyss that is my computer, and is unfortunately a little less relevant now as it was at the time of writing (as I will share soon) but is still equally important to me so I thought I would post it anyway :) xo


I am one of those people, you know the ones, sitting in the waiting room reading a book, riding the bus reading a book, waiting for a coffee reading a book. I never go anywhere without some form of reading material (be it paper, glossy magazine, or on my phone) and even last year while my reading took a bit of a hiatus I still carried something to read just in case I felt like it.

The matter of the type of book you can read on the go however is tricky, if like me you are fond of grabbing your book at any opportunity it needs to fit a certain set of criteria. It must be physically light and flexible (for easy one handed reading) and also light to read, something that you can easily remember the plot of in the two hour gap between sittings. It must withstand a battering from being pulled in and out of your bag frequently (I have a rule that library books must have dust covers purely because of this, I can't abide by scuffing up library books). It must not break your shoulder when stored in a handbag, or cause those awful strap burns on your hands when stored in a little tote bag, and it must not also require you to sacrifice other bag essentials either (Game of Thrones, I'm looking at you!) I tend to limit myself to works of no more than about 300 pages, and that is pushing it. I prefer shorter novels for carrying around with me and save the larger tomes for dedicated at home reading. This obviously excludes most hardbacks, and you will find that there aren't very many of those on my shelves to reflect that, I simply do not need the knotted shoulders that accompany them!

Now what about these books that I can't take with me? Well of course those are for when I know I have more time, often I plan to sit and have a coffee and read while I am out and about, or maybe use my lunch break at work to crack through a couple of chapters. Those chunky books are OK to come with me then, or they stay at home and get read in my reading nook during a lazy evening.

It may seem like a restrictive way to manage my reading, and if you aren't a constant reader it really does seem odd, but it is often quite the opposite. It baffles me when people only have one book on the go as I currently have five, allowing me to pick from several that suit different needs. I am a firm believer that restricting your reading is one of the big things that puts people off the hobby in general, and simply being half way through a big fat russian novel is no reason to stop yourself from reading on the go, just pick up a different one.

My current picks for reading on the go are:
Heidi, which is an old hardback and is really little, perfect for slotting in the back pocket of my saddle bag.
If on a winter's night a traveller, which is slightly larger, but fits in most bags and is quite a fun little read that is endlessly interesting so I never forget where I am or what has happened.
Good Omens, this as you can see is a bit bigger, and it is pushing my limits for what I will carry around, but I like this one enough to put it in a little tote.
And of course there is always my phone which has several ebook apps on it. I don't like reading from it too often because it hurts my eyes, but it is handy in a pinch!

How do you manage reading on the go?