Time for another empties post! I’m going to try and keep it short, although I can’t promise anything… Continue reading “Empties – June 2015”
Tag: nails
Yes, I’m back! It’s been a while since I’ve last blogged, I’ve been incredibly busy writing assignment these past few months that I haven’t had any free time to write here! In this blog post I’m going to talk about all of the products I’ve emptied in January and February, and as there are quite a lot of products, I’ll try to keep the reviews pretty short 🙂 
Eau Precieuse – I’ve already written about this product here. It was good when I was 15 and very lazy with my skincare, but it’s not a product I would buy now.
Le Petit Marseillais in Mandarine et Citron Vert – What I love about these shower gels is that they have a very particular scent, so you recognise them immediately. And oh they smell gorgeous! They also lather very well so this 250ml lasts for a while. If only it was readily available in the UK.
Rimmel Lasting Finish Nail Polish in 058 Lemon Drop – OK, I cheated, this is not actually empty.. I just don’t like the colour anymore! Actually, I’ve never really like it and it doesn’t look nice on my pale skin… I wonder what 15-year-old me was thinking when buying this. However, after 5 years, this nail polish still looks brand new and the quality is just the same! Definitely great value for your money.
Batiste Dry Shampoo in Tropical – Ah Batiste… Everyone loves it but me. My hair might not look greasy after I’ve applied the dry shampoo, but it still fells dirty and it makes my head so itchy! Maybe it just isn’t for me.
Elemis Hydra-Boost Day Cream – I got this in a magazine a while ago and it didn’t impress me at all, which is good considering how much the full size costs! I’m not saying it’s bad, but I’ve used much nicer moisturisers that cost half the price. Also the scent is too overpowering for me.
Benefit They’re Real! Push-Up Liner – Another sample I got with a magazine, and I’m so glad I didn’t spend any money for this. I don’t know about the full size, but I found it quite hard to apply the product nicely and easily with this sample. And this isn’t the only problem: it was so hard to remove when I applied on my hands that I didn’t even dare applying it on my super sensitive eyes.
Rimmel Glam’Eyes Liquid Eye Liner – I loved this eyeliner so much that I had to include it in my 2014 favourites. It’s so easy to apply, you can easily draw a very precise and thin line, the colour looks really black (unlike those eyeliners that are meant to be black but actually look like a very bad dark grey) and most importantly it lasts all day! There are so many other products I would like to try but I might repurchase this in the future.
Rimmel ScandalEyes Precision Micro Eye Liner – Well, this clearly proves that not all Rimmel eyeliners are great. This one certainly isn’t. Maybe I got a faulty one, but this product was already half-dry when I first used it. The felt tip is so soft that it was hard to draw a nice line on the eye, and it definitely didn’t look black.
Bourjois Liner Feutre – another disappointment in the eyeliner category. It’s not as bad as the Rimmel eyeliner, but I still found it incredibly difficult to draw a nice line on my eyes. Maybe it’s because I can’t use felt-tip liners… I think I’ll stick to the liquid ones.
Kiko Eyeshadow in 128 – By far the most pigmented eyeshadow I’ve ever owned. It was a really nice, pinky-glittley-white (if this makes any sense) everyday eyeshadow. It’s super cheap and it lasted me over a year!
Bioderma Hydrabio Light – another well-loved product that I included in my 2014 favourites. It’s aimed at dehydrated skin, but I would say that you can use it whatever your skin type. It sinks in very quickly, it’s great as a make-up base and it’s quite good with dry patches… although I will probably try the rich version next winter, as I felt that the light one wasn’t enough for my dry skin.
Avene Skin Recovery Cream – This is a very tiny sample Avene sent me when I registered on their site. It’s aimed at sensitive skin, it’s relatively light and sinks in very quickly. I might buy the full size in the future.
Burt’s Bees Milk and Honey Body Lotion – My housemate gave it to me because she didn’t like the smell at all. I have to admit I didn’t love the smell myself but I’ve definitely smelt worse. As I don’t use body moisturisers I can’t compare it with anything else, but it sinks in fairly quickly so I guess it’s a good product.
Vichy Idealia Eyes Cream – Although this is a small sample it did last me a while as you only need a tiny bit. Again, I can’t really say much about it as I’ve never used eye creams before and probably never will, as I haven’t seen any difference with this cream.
Colgate Deep Clean Whitening with Baking Soda – A very average toothpaste, like most are to be fair. It does the job and it doesn’t taste horrible, and that’s all I want from my toothpaste really. Not my favourite one though. 
Sanex Dermo Sensitive Anti-Perspirant Deodorant – I really thought I would like this deodorant. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate it, far from it, but why isn’t there a 48h version? 24h just isn’t enough and I notice the difference. I will certainly buy it again when they make a 48h protection version, though.
La Roche-Posay Physiological Eye Make-Up Remover – This is simply the best eye make-up remover I’ve tried so far, and I like is so much that I’ve quickly repurchased it as soon as I run out of it. Water-based make-up removers are by far my favourites and this removes everything effortlessly.
Eucerin DermatoCLEAN Cleansing Gel – I already miss this so much! I used to swear by foaming cleansers, but now I’m converted! The creamy gel texture feels so nice on the skin, it removes every make-up residue and my sensitive skin doesn’t feel all tight!
Seventeen Miracle Matte Pressed Powder in Porcelain – I didn’t really like this, it looks a bit too cakey and it felt heavy on my skin.
Schwarzkopf Taft Hairspray – I don’t use hairspray everyday, so this lasted me over a year and a half. It’s a good product, it did the job, and I might repurchase it in the future (if I go to Germany again, hair products are way cheaper there!).
Bioderma Atoderm Gentle Shower Gel – It’s a great product if you have sensitive skin, as it’s very gentle and the scent is not overpowering at all. As my body is not sensitive I don’t really need a sensitive shower gel, but if yours is then you should definitely give this a try.
That’s it for now! What have you used up recently? Have you tried any of the products I mentioned? If so, what did you think of them?
Lorraine x
So for the Christmas holidays I went back home to France for a couple of weeks and, as you have probably already guessed, I have bought myself a couple of things as a Christmas present.
I don’t own many high end products mainly because 1) I have always been able to find some really good cheaper alternatives and 2) as much as I would like to buy lots of expensive products… I’m a poor student with little money to spend on make-up.
I’ve always wanted to try Nars products, mainly because their packaging is gorgeous (is it a valid reason for wanting to try a product?). As no one sells this brand where I live, when I saw a Nars counter whilst waiting for my flight in Heathrow I could not resist and ended up buying two products.
The Nars Creamy Concealer in the shade Chantilly is actually the first proper concealer I own…weird right? I never really felt the need for a concealer, and to be honest I could still easily live happily without it. However this doesn’t mean that this concealer is bad. As the name itself suggests, it has a very creamy, thick consistency, and it is so pigmented that you only need a little bit to cover any imperfection, which is good news considering it’s far from being the cheapest concealer out there. I believe I own the lightest shade available, it is a little bit lighter than my already very pale face, however once blended into the skin it is not noticeable anymore. I don’t think I will be repurchasing this product anytime in the future, but if you feel like treating yourself, then go for it, you won’t regret it 🙂
I don’t regret my second purchase from Nars,but I certainly didn’t need a new eyeshadow. I don’t own many, but I always buy the same colours! The colours are not as pigmented than I thought they would be which is a shame because I love how the colours have a tiny bit of glitter, but are still perfect for a simple everyday look. I have the shade Silk Road.
This Dior nail polish in the colour Carré Bleu is a Christmas present from my mother and you will probably recognise it if you have read my previous post. The formula is amazing – this nail polish lasted me 4+ days without a top coat which is such a long time compared to other brands I have. The colour is simply beautiful, the applicator is very large (but not too large!) and you only need one coat of it.
Finally, I went to Sephora in Paris. Although I often go to Paris, and always walk past the massive Sephora in the Champs Elysées, this was the first time I had ever been inside. I desperately needed a new liquid eyeliner because my much loved Rimmel one is now completely empty and I couldn’t find it anywhere. I went for Sephora’s own brand (I have the normal one, there is also a waterproof version) – although the applicator is not as thin as the Rimmel one, it’s a very good, very black eyeliner which is easy to apply and lasts a long time.
My second and last purchase from Sephora is the Dior It Lash Mascara. My mother kindly bought it to me because she knew I needed a good mascara and she loved the Dior mascaras she had bought years ago. I swear it breaks my heart to say that this mascara didn’t impress me at all… I didn’t even have the courage to tell my mother when she asked me if I liked it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad mascara, but… It’s so average! I like big, very black lashes with lots of volume, and this mascara doesn’t really do any of these things. Maybe my expectations were just too high… who knows. I definitely will not be repurchasing this mascara in the future. Sorry mum.
Well, that’s it for me! Have you tried any of the products mentioned? What have you bought recently?
Lorraine x
Hello everyone! First of all, happy new year! Also hope you’ve all had a lovely Christmas – I certainly have 🙂 So sorry I haven’t been able to post anything in the last couple of weeks, I haven’t had the time to write anything despite having plenty of ideas for blog posts 😦 Anyway, here I am with a new empties post!
1) Nivea Stress Protect Anti/Perspirant Deodorant
I tried a Nivea deodorant a while ago and I didn’t like it, however I decided to give them a second chance and.. I still don’t like them. They do work fine, but the smell is so overpowering that I always ended up coughing because of how strong it was! It might sound a bit silly but just because of this I will not repurchase their deodorants again.
2) I love… Coconut & Cream Bubble Bath and Shower Crème
If you like very sweet, coconut-y smells, then this is the perfect shower gel for you: it foams quite well, it comes in a big bottle so lasts a long time, and it’s cheap. It’s an average shower gel, didn’t love it but didn’t hate it either, however I got a bit sick of the smell so I would not repurchase it in this scent in the future.
3) Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pore and Shine Daily Wash
Again, quite an average product. It does its job, smells very nice, but I didn’t see any major improvement and I have tried better cleansers.
4) Boots Essentials Nail Polish Remover
And yet another basic product that I’ve been using for years. Pretty sure there are much better nail polish removers (this one contains acetone so it’s not the best product for your nails) however it is very cheap and the bottle lasted me over a year.
5) Aussie Miracle Dry Shampoo Mega Instant
Ah Aussie you really make me want to hate you! If you have read my past empties post, you may remember that I wasn’t a fan of their 3 minute miracle mousse as after only three uses the can broke and I had to throw it in the bin. Well, this dry shampoo didn’t last much longer. After a couple of uses, the can broke and all that came out of it was a liquid that smelled very much of alcohol. I am so disappointed because it is such a good dry shampoo, much better than the Batiste ones in my opinion.. it didn’t leave any white residues and it gives volume to my hair. However this is the second time I have to throw an Aussie product away and I’m not sure I want to spend more money on their products.
6) Schwarzkopf Gliss Ultimate Oil Elixir Shampoo
This shampoo only lasted me for a month (my mother gave it to me but the bottle wasn’t full) and for this reason I am not sure whether I liked this product or not. I certainly didn’t notice anything special about it, however it didn’t leave my hair feeling dry so I might repurchase it in the future.
So.. some pretty average products this month.. nothing really exciting! Also sorry if this post was written in a bit of a hurry but I am not at home and I find it so difficult to write blog posts on my tablet! Hopefully everything will be back to normal soon 🙂
What have you been using recently? Have you tried any of the products I mentioned? What did you think of them?
Lorraine x
Hello everyone!
Hope you’re all having a great time – I did my last exam yesterday so for me today is the first day of the Christmas holidays! Yay! And I can’t wait to go back to France – I haven’t been home in over six months 😦
As you’ve already guessed from the title, in this post I am going to share with you my first impressions on two products I’ve recently bought on Asos, where they had (maybe still have?) 30% off selected beauty products. With a budget of around £20, instead of buying many cheaper things I decided to treat myself on two more expensive products because why not… and it’s Christmas after all 😉 So here’s what I got!
I always promised myself that I would never buy make-up online for fear of being disappointed (the pictures online can often be misleading…) but as you can’t really try a lipstick on your lips in a shop anyway, I decided to give this one a try. And I don’t regret it! The colour is gorgeous, it’s a beautiful coral pink lipstick, perfect for the warmer months. It is matte which is great for me, it is so easy to apply, very pigmented and best of all it lasts all day! You might want to reapply it after a meal if you want your lipstick to look perfect but otherwise trust me, you don’t really need to. Although I have read lots of reviews saying that the matte formula was very drying, I personally don’t have this problem at all – 6h after applying this lipstick my lips are still absolutely fine, and I can guarantee you I have very dry lips!
And here is how this lipstick looks once applied (sorry for my face). You can buy this Illamasqua lipstick in the shade Scandal here (sorry I can’t seem to find it on Asos anymore).
I then bought a nail polish from OPI because everyone seems to love them and I’ve never tried them before. I opted for the shade ‘Sleigh Parking Only’ which you can buy here for £11.95 – it seems to be sold out on Asos but other shades are still available on sale for £8.00. The colour is a bit darker once you have applied two coats of it on your nails (and you definitely need two coats if you want it to look nice and even), but it certainly looks brighter and more purple out in the sun and it is the perfect colour for the colder months. The brush is big enough to apply the colour easily and this nail varnish dries very quickly. Here’s how it looks on my nails (I’ve also used Essie top coat in the shade Summit of Style in case you were wondering).
Overall I am very pleased with my purchases and really hope they are not going to disappoint me in the future 🙂 Have you tried any of the products I’ve mentioned? What have you bought recently?
Lorraine x
Hello everyone! Time for my favourite kind of posts – an empties blog post!
Here’s what I’ve used up this month:
- Aveeno Daily Moisturising Lotion – £7.65 for 300ml
I had two 10ml samples of this face and body moisturiser, so to make it lasts longer and get a good idea of what this product is really like, I only used it on my face. These two samples lasted me a month: the first time I used it I thought I would love it, but this love soon turned into hate. It has got some qualities: it is lightweight, it sinks into the skin very quickly and it doesn’t feel greasy at all once applied; it also has no perfume so it is suitable for sensitive skin. However, despite not feeling greasy once applied, my skin became very, very oily after a couple of hours. I didn’t blame the moisturiser at first, but I switched to another moisturiser for a weekend and then came back to Aveeno: on the weekend my skin was absolutely fine, and as soon as I applied this Aveeno moisturiser again my skin became all oily again… so I wouldn’t recommend this product to anyone with oily/combination skin. Also, I avoided using it before applying make-up as foundation was literally impossible to apply evenly on my skin, not even with a brush. So glad I didn’t spend a single penny for this moisturiser. - Garnier Ultimate Blends The Silky Smoother Shampoo – £3.89 for 400ml
Despite being an average shampoo ideal for everyday use, I didn’t get bored of this massive 400ml bottle, which is great value for money especially if you buy it on offer like I did (it’s currently half price at Boots). The smell is lovely, very warming and not too sweet. It works really well when your scalp feels very itchy, but don’t use this if you want to get rid of dandruff (unless the dandruff caused by my dermatitis is harder to get rid of?). Also make sure you use a conditioner once your hair is washed as this shampoo tended to leave my hair feeling a bit dry. - Vaseline Derma Beauty Aerosol Anti-Perspirant Deodorant Compressed – £2.75 for 75ml
This deodorant is your average deodorant, it smells nice and feminine without being overpowering and most importantly it does its job. The only negative point is that you have to shake it well before using it unless you don’t mind ending up with white underarms. However, I’m not sure I will buy compressed deodorants any time soon. I have read a lot of negative reviews about them, stating that they don’t actually last as long as the full size cans (that’s what they claim), but since I needed a small deodorant to bring on the plane with me I decided to give them a try anyway. Well, if you haven’t tried this deodorant, I can guarantee you these reviews are true for the Vaseline compressed deodorants. So disappointed, but still quite handy when travelling on a plane. - Rimmel Volume Flash x10 Mascara Black Extreme 1 – £5.99
This has to be the only Rimmel product that has disappointed me so far, but to be fair it was quite old so that didn’t really help in giving me a better opinion of this mascara. It is so clumpy! And it doesn’t give much volume nor lenght to my lashes. However, if you’re looking for a very black mascara, this one could be what you’re looking for. - Femfresh Intimate Hygiene Daily Intimate Wash – £2.99 for 250ml
This is not the first time I use this product but I thought I might as well briefly mention it as it is part of my every day routine after all. I have to say, compared to France there isn’t much choice of intimate wash here in the UK… All I can find in my local Boots is this brand or Boots’ own products. I’m not complaining though as this product is really good, you only need a tiny bit and it foams really well. The scent is very light and it’s just so much better than shower gels. - Intensive Aqua After Colour Mask
I don’t think there’s much point in me reviewing this product since 1) I don’t dye my hair, my mother does so I don’t know why did she decide to give it to me and 2) we got it from my hairdresser in France and I couldn’t find anywhere where you could buy this online. I used it as I would normally use this moisturiser, it is very thick and nourishing but don’t ask me whether this does its job or not as I have no idea! - Kiko Gel Look Top Coat – £4.90 for 11ml
I reviewed this in my first ever nail varnish post and my feelings haven’t changed – I have having to throw products in the bin when they’re not empty yet but this ruins my freshly painted nails every single time and I’m fed up! It doesn’t apply evenly and I could always notice some crack lines after a couple of days… since I’ve stopped using this I haven’t seen any since so it has to be this top coat! I love Kiko nail products but this is such a waste of money! - Rimmel London 60 Seconds Nail Polish in the shade 615 Fast & Fuchsia – £3.69 for 8ml
This is not actually empty either, but it’s all dried out so I can’t use this product again. I bought this along with other Rimmel colours about 5 years ago and it’s the only one that is now unusable, so in general they do last quite a long time. Oh and the brush is really wide which is great! - Derma Intensive+ Lip Balms – £1.20 for three lip balms
This is the last of the three lip balms I got in this pack and it’s the aloe vera one – the other ones are blue and they’re unscented. I’m glad this is finished because the aloe vera one smells a bit weird, however both scents are very creamy and they do their job quite well. - Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in the shade Trasnparent – £3.99 for 14g
I shared with you my first impressions of this powder a couple of months ago and I was very pleased with this product.. well I can tell you that even after something like three months my feelings haven’t changed at all. This was the first powder I had ever tried and I’ve tried two other since then: I can safely say that this is my favourite one. Not only it does the job perfectly, but what makes this powder my favourite is that it is incredibly lightweight, whereas the other ones tend to make my face look all cakey. The shade transparent is the lightest one and it matches my skin tone perfectly – you can’t see it at all once applied! And since it’s so cheap compared to other high street brands, you have no reason not to give this amazing powder a try!
That’s all for me! Do you have any empties this month? Have you tried any of the products I’ve mentioned?
Lorrainex
I have to start this blog post yet again with some apologies – sorry if I haven’t posted in a while! I’ve started my second year at university and I’ve been ridiculously busy in the past few weeks.. I’ve got so much reading to do and since I want to do much better than last year I’ll have to work twice as much 
Anyway, I did find some time to update my blog and today (or tonight, rather..) I’m going to show you the nail polishes that I’ve been wearing this September 🙂
Top left: SEVENTEEN Supreme Shine Nail Colour in Sphinx
I do like this colour very much, it’s a very soft gold so it looks very discrete. It is very easy and quick to apply, however it is not a very long-lasting nail polish.
Top right: Rimmel 60 Seconds Nail Polish in 504 District-ly Come Dancing
I may have already mentioned it before, but Rimmel is one of my all time favourite make-up brands, and their nail polishes are (almost) never a disappointment! There’s nothing negative I can say on this product, for its price it is a very good nail polish, and this particular colour is my absolute favourite.
Bottom left: Orly Nail Colour in Sheer Nude
I got this small nail polish in this month’s Cosmopolitan and honestly I’m quite disappointed. I didn’t really know what to expect from it (it’s the first nude nail polish I own) but even after applying three coats it still looks like I’m only wearing my base coat. I might try something else from this brand in the future but I’m certainly not going to buy any nude colours soon, unless you have some very good ones to suggest me?
Bottom Right: Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Cardamon
I have a lovely blue nail polish from Barry M which you can see in my previous nail post and I really like it, however I’m very disappointed by this one: it chips so easily and the colour doesn’t seem to look even on all of my nails.
Which colours have you been wearing this month? Any colours you love and would like to recommend to me?
Lorraine x
Hello lovely people! So sorry I haven’t been able to post anything recently – I’ve moved into my new house two weeks ago but I still have no internet 😦
Today I’d like to share with you my routine when I paint my nails 🙂
First of all, I file my nails with these Boots Emery Boards (10 for £1.00). I bought them because of their price, but I now regret it – the quality is really poor and I can only use them a couple of times before I have to get a new one.
Until recently, I used my top coat both as a top coat and as a base coat, until I finally decided to buy a proper base coat – since then my nail varnish stays much longer 😛 As a base coat I use the Bourjois So Perfect Correcting Base Coat – I really like Bourjois as a brand and this product didn’t disappoint me: it’s very quick to apply, it does its job perfectly and it dries in a couple of seconds. In other words, a perfect base coat! My top coat is from Kiko: despite the fact that I literally adore their nail varnishes, I’m not convinced by this top coat – not only it forms some small bubbles, but after a couple of days I can notice some crack lines which don’t look nice at all. This product is really affordable so I don’t think it’s a complete waste of money, but I probably won’t be repurchasing this product again.
And here’s some of the nail varnishes I’ve been wearing this August 🙂
Top left: Barry M Nail Paint Cyan Blue 294
Top right: Kiko Nail Lacquer 326 Graphite Gray
Bottom left: Rimmel I Love Lasting Finish 270 Hot Shot
Bottom right: Kiko Nail Lacquer 310 Golden Orange
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