August Empties

I have to admit, I'm not generally one for using things up, it's rare that I find a product that I really love and when I don't I tend to flit between different products.

This month I have actually managed to use up a grand total of... (drum roll please!)... three products! This is actually quite an achievement for me, I was helped by the increasing number of things on my mental wishlist that blogging has introduced me to. Using up one product means it's compulsory to find a replacement right?

Boots Dry Shampoo Paradise Island
I try not to wash my hair more often than once every other day so I regularly use dry shampoo to freshen my hair, I've generally used Batiste in the past but I don't find it to be amazing and it's not particularly cheap. I saw the new Boots dry shampoo that, at £2.29 for 200ml, is slightly cheaper than Batiste, at £2.99, and decided to give it a go.

The Boots Paradise Island Dry Shampoo is a good dupe for the Bastiste range and I actually think it smells a lot better than some of the Batiste dry shampoos. If you love Batiste, I'd definitely recommend giving the Boots version a try. As I was looking for something a bit better than Batiste, that would make my hair look generally fresher and not just less oily, I'm still on my quest to find my perfect dry shampoo.

Would I repurchase? No, I'm sure there are much better products out there and I'm currently enjoying trying out the Lee Stafford Dry Shampoo.

Remove It Benefit Makeup Remover
This was a bit of a spontaneous purchase when I was picking up some bits from a Benefit counter a while ago. For the price I expected something amazing, I'm not sure what but I definitely thought I would use it and have a 'wow' moment. Unfortunately it did its job, removed makeup and waterproof mascara well, but nothing extra.

Would I repurchase? No, for £16.50 for less than 200ml (177.4ml to be exact...) I'm sure there are much better/cheaper products out there.

No7 Stay Perfect Liquid Foundation - Calico
I'm rather in love with my Smashbox foundation but I like to have a cheaper brand to hand for less special occassions (like when I'm working a five hour shift and amazing staying power and a flawless look isn't essential). I actually really like the No7 Stay Perfect, it has a good coverage and lasted well even on my combination skin.

Would I repurchase? Definitely, in fact I already have. It's a great everyday foundation and I think £14 is a really reasonable price.

Have you tried any of these products?

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My Fragrance Direct Parcel

The postman delivered my Fragrance Direct parcel today - happy Jade! I was really surprised that I received it so soon, I chose standard delivery (£1.99) for my order to arrive 5-7 days after dispatch. I placed my order on Friday the 9th, it was dispatched on Monday the 12th and delivery was originally attempted on Wednesday the 14th - great prices and great delivery, this could be my new favourite site!

The products were packed well and everything arrived in great condition and not a ridiuclously oversized box - environmental points for Fragrance Direct!

If you read my original Fragrance Direct post, you may notice that I snuck in an extra product before I finalised the order. The 7 Way Nail Buffer was £0.99 and I've never used a buffer before so I thought I'd give it a go.

From my experiences so far I'd definitely recommend Fragrance Direct, I'm just waiting for them to have some exciting Essie Nail Polishes now.

Have you used any of these products?
What do you want to see a review of?

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London Haul

As promised, here's my London Haul post! I didn't actually manage to shop anywhere unique to London (sobsob), my friend and I got far too distracted looking at the cute puppies in Harrods and maxing out her bank card in Oxford Street Primark. I'm definitely going to have to go back to London before the summer is over, there's so much more shopping to be done! But for now here's my recent haul.

 

Topshop Turquoise Scallop Hem Lace Dress - £30

I found this in the sale racks of Topshop, as soon as I saw the lace detail and the colour I fell in love. It's great to wear with sandles in the summer and I'm hoping to style it with black opaque tights, black heels and a blazer so I can wear it in the winter too.

Topshop Petite Double Elastic Treggings - £20

I was looking for the leggings I posted in my London Wishlist post, unfortunately it turns out they have been discontinued, determined to get my hands on a pair of black Topshop leggings, (they seem to be the only brand of leggings that haven't got so thin that my underwear can be seen through them!) I tried these on. The leggings are great, I was initially put off by the high waist but it's really not a problem, if anything it feels like it acts as a tummy tucking feature!

Barry M Nail Paint Blue Moon (NP317) - £2.99

After my first experience with Barry M Nail Paints a couple of weeks ago I was excited to pick up some summery pastel colours. 

Barry M Gelly Nail Paint Prickly Pear (GNP6) - £3.99

I'm excited to try the Gelly range and see how 'hi-shine' it really is.

 

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer - £17.50

I visited the Benefit counter to repurchase Erase Paste to cover the circles under my eyes, my last pot had finally almost run out and I'd had it almost two years (yucky yuck!). The first assistant showed me the Erase Paste and Fakeup and the assistant who helped me with Brow Zings introduced me to Boi-ing - dilemma! I chose boi-ing as I felt that it had better coverage than Fakeup and was told that it is less likely to crease than Erase Paste.

Brow Zings - £23.50

I noticed this on the Benefit counter in my local boots the other day so I asked the Benefit assistant if I could try it, she did an amazing job and my brows looked great after. Hopefully I can do a job as good as the Benefit assistant!

Boots Metal Free Hair Bands

Probably my least exciting purchase!

Primark Anti-Bacterial Hand Wipes - £1

I love having these in my hand bag and the car.

I hope you enjoyed the haul post - have you tried any of these products?

Reviews will come soon!

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London Wishlist

I'm with my boyfriend visiting his parents in London for a couple of days and I'm excited to meet one of my best friends tomorrow for a much needed shopping session.

I've put together a small wishlist of things I hope to purchase, hopefully I'll come back with a 'few' extra things as well, I just can't help myself!

Petite Grey Ethnic Print Midi Dress - New Look - £14.99

Erase Paste - Benefit - £18.50
Lazy Days A5 Wiro Notebook - Paperchase - £8.00
Petite Black Ponte Panel Leggings - Topshop - £18.00
No7 High Shine Lip Crayon - Boots - £9.00
Bobble Round Necklace Gold - Accessorize - £10.00

I'll do a haul post over the next few days and show you what I manage to get properly.

Where's your favourite place to shop in London?

My First Haul!

I've been wanting to revamp my skincare everything routine for a while, I decided that I deserved a mini shopping spree as I've been doing loads of overtime and not much spending!

Bodycare

Soap and Glory -The Daily Smooth - £2.50 - I saw this in the clearance when I was working yesterday, at £2.50 I knew I had to get one! I've tried a few Soap and Glory products but never a lotion/moisturiser, I always had the opinion that they were a 'gimmicky/gifty' brand but from the great reviews I've seen I'm starting to leave that opinion behind!

I probably won't do a full review on this as it's being discontinued, fingers crossed for them rebranding and bringing out some new products like they did with their facial skincare!

Vaseline - Spray and Go - When this was first launched I was convinced it was a 'look what we can do different' products, after all how can a 'spray' be that moisturising?! Apparently I was wrong, I've heard and read great things so I thought I'd give it a go, after all I am quite lazy in the body moisturising area!

Carex - Cola Bottles - My mum brought me Strawberry Laces Carex when she last came to visit, I loved the smell and how cute it looked in the kitchen, when I saw Cola Bottle 'flavour' I couldn't resist giving it a try (half price in Boots too!). There's not too much to say about this apart from it smells amazing!

Haircare

Umberto Giannini - Frizzi Extreme Taming Spray - £5.99 - I love my hair, but hate it's frizziness, I thought I'd found the perfect solution when I bought Moroccan Oil from my hairdresser but my sister soon discovered it and it subsequently 'disappeared'. Reluctant to spend a lot on a replacement I thought I'd give something cheaper a go, I haven't read any reviews so I'll see how it goes!

Umberto Giannini - Plump Up Volumising Mask - £5.61 - My hair is long, wavy/curly but incredibly flat so I'm hoping this will at least help me out a little (and Umberto Giannini was 2 for £8!).

Cosmetics

Barry M - Nail Paint Spring Green - £2.99 - This wasn't particularly my choice, we've got to wear green to work tomorrow so this is my contribution in the nail department. But... I haven't actually ever owned a Barry M Nail Paint (I know right!) so I'm excited to see what it's like.

Models Own - 5 Piece Brush Set - £10.00 - Theses are meant to be travel brushes but I desperately needed a lip brush and there was very minimal choice unless I wanted to spend a fortune. I needed to get a blusher brush too so I treated myself, I'll do a review when I've had a go at using them.

Facial Skincare

Boots Botanics - All Bright Refreshing Eye Roll On - £8.99 - I've suffered from dark circles under my eyes for as long as I can remember, for as long as I can remember I've also used Benefit Erase Paste. I really wanted to try something to actually get rid of the problem, not just hide it!

Eucerin - DermoPurifier Concentrate - £9.50 & Eucerin - DermoPurifier Cleanser - £9.18 - I intended to buy La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo but ended up chatting to the Eucerin Consultant. Usually I'm not swayed by people promoting a product but she really did seem to know what she was talking about and with a money-back guarantee and a two for £15 promotion I decided to try these two products out. I was also given two testers from the same range, a review will follow when I've had chance to test the range out.]


I hope you enjoyed my first haul, I tried to make it as easy to read as possible.

Have you tried any of these products?

Jade Rebecca
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