The Body Shop: smoky copper palette review

Hello lovelies!

Today I've got a review that I've been putting off or ages... I've not really given a negative review of anything yet on my blog, but then I can't love every beauty product out there!

Back in September I went to a student lockdown at Westfield, and spend a little too much in the Body Shop. I really love their body butters and tea tree range but I've never really delved into their make up range. I ended up picking this up so that I spent enough to get a goodie bag (who could say no to that?!).

I'm in love with neutral shadows, and I've never really ventured past them in terms of eye make up- I much prefer a bold lip. So I picked up the Smoky eye palette in smoky copper. I wanted to try this out and try to get into using more than one colour shadow.

I hadn't used the palette when I took these photos with swatches, and they only put me off trying them because I had to work and push on them to get them to leave colour. That's not something you particularly want to be doing with an eye product!

I've worn it quite a few times since then, and while it's a decent product, I don't think I'll be picking it up again or anything that's similar to it. They colour payoff is a bit rubbish unless you really work at it, and it does have a tendency to crease easily. That said, I do really like the actual shades of these, so I think it's such a shame about the actual quality. I'm also not a fan of shimmer, which these have in abundance.

The packaging of this product is also something that I can't complain about. It's easy to open, has a decent sized mirror and comes with two mini brush applicators. I really like the sleek black case, and you get a decent amount of product inside.

I don't think I've been put off the Body Shop make up by this product alone though, as I have a single matte vanilla shade that is gorgeous and a part of my day-to-day make up.

I'd love to know if you've used this, and if you have what you thought of it! Also, if you have any Body Shop make up recommendations, I would appreciate them :)

n xx

Toni & Guy cleanse shamoo review

Hello lovelies!

Recently I've noticed that my hair has been needing a little extra TLC because of going home over Christmas, which has hard water compared to the soft water that my hair is now used to up in Derby. I picked this up after seeing a few rave reviews about other Toni & Guy products :)

My hair was feeling particularly dry through January, so I got the advanced detox shampoo to use about once a week, and didn't pick up the conditioner of this because of student budgeting, but if I do spot it then I might give them a go together. I didn't expect or notice any immediate changes in my hair yet this has definitely made a significant difference. My hair is a lot softer, smoother and calmer than it has been in the past. Plus this smells really good!

I think I especially loved using this because of the idea that it's giving my hair an especially good clean, just to get all the dirt and everything out. I've noticed that this is definitely what it says on the label, as after using it my hair is softer than when I use a normal shampoo. It also stays cleaner for longer. I've noticed that when I wash my hair (even using another shampoo) my hair has needed washing less often since I introduced this into my hair routine. 

I don't use a lot of heat on my hair, but just enough to sometimes dry my hair out, but this has helped get some texture and wave back. Generally, I think I could rave endlessly about this!

If you've never used a product like this I really recommend giving it a try, mostly because I'm so in love how much it's benefiting my hair right now. I'm giving a few other Toni & Guy products a try at the moment, so if you want to see more hair care reviews then please let me know!

Have you ever used this product, or do you think you'll give it a try?

n xx

Getting back on track

Afternoon lovelies!

Not really a beauty post today, but hopefully it'll motivate me to be posting more again soon! I've noticed recently that since I came back to uni from christmas, I've been having the hardest time keeping my time organised and sorting out what I need to be doing. With more coursework and presentation deadlines starting to loom over the next few months, I know I really need to get my act back together. So here's a few things that I have been doing/ am about to start doing to get back on track!

one

setting myself daily goals

I've been doing this for a while now, but now I've stepped it up. I have a book to take with me when I'm out, and a board to use when I'm home. It's so helpful because I don't have an awful memory but this way I know when I'm missing something!

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two

stop ignoring work

I've been terrible the last few weeks, spending a lot of time out of the flat and telling myself that I can catch up with work later. Being an English student entails a lot of reading to stay on top of, and I am most definitely getting behind. Time to get out the kettle and tea bags to get through some.

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three

putting everything into perspective

I. Am. Not. Wonder. Woman. There isn't any way that I'm always going to be caught up with absolutely everything that I need to be doing because I'm naturally such a busy person, and putting yourself down when you don't achieve saving the world in a day doesn't help anyone.

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four

cracking out those inspirational quotes

Oh, they are so cheesy. But everyone has certain quotes that work for them. Having a few in your line of vision helps sometimes, and I've currently got some lurking around behind my laptop that certainly help to glance at occasionally. 

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five

plan your week

I don't know about you, but I like to know what I'm doing with my week so I have an idea of when I can get things done. When I start working I normally have to do 3-5 hour chunks, and I know I get annoyed when I have to change my plans last minute. Occasionally it's fine, but it seems to happen every other day at the moment.

six

balance your time

Finally, I know it's obvious, but knowing when shutting yourself off to do work isn't working. Sometimes you need other people.

(this post has been a real mish-mash of images taken from other websites and my own, so if it's not mine then it's linked)

n xx

Empties #4!

Hello lovelies!

I feel like I've only just posted an empties post, but I think I've just been getting to the end of a lot of my beauty products recently. It probably doesn't help that I've been a little lazy with posts recently, but my new uni modules have been taking up so much of my time! I'm hoping that now I'm back I'll get back into the routine of things :)

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish hot cloth cleanser

"cleanses and gently exfoliates for smoother, clearer skin"

I did a review of this back here, and since then I've really fallen in love with this. I use it every night to take off my make up and I can really see a difference if I go for a few nights without using it. I've been especially loving it through winter because my skin has been really dry this year, and I've already repurchased it :)

Tresemme instant refresh dry shampoo 

"the perfect solution to instantly cleanse & revitalise hair without water"

I love this! I've reviewed it here and it's going to always be in my empties so I think I'll start leaving it out before I look too obsessed with it!

Clean & Clear morning energy skin brightening daily facial scrub

"gently exfoliates for visibly brighter skin with lemon and papaya extracts"

I reviewed this here, and although I loved the smell, I don't think I'll be repurchasing. I've not got anything against this product as such but I think I'm going to try a scrub aimed to eliminate blackheads just to keep my skin clear. However if you're looking at trying out daily face scrubs then this is really nice!

 Benefit it's potent! eye cream

"brightening eye cream to fade dark circles"

I've been using this eye cream in my morning face routine, and I've reviewed it here and mentioned it in my morning face routine here. I've liked it enough to buy the full size because I do have fairly dark circles under my eyes :)

Rimmel stay matte pressed powder

"natural shine control with natural minerals"

Another something I jumped onto the bandwagon of buying. I've not yet reviewed this, because I've seen so many  reviews for it around, but I'm totally in love with it! It's my current favourite powder and I've already repurchased.

17 waterproof mascara

"waterproof and smudge resistant for all day confidence. lengthens, defines and separates"

If I remember correctly this was the first mascara that I ever used, and I still tend to pick it up because I love the formula and it looks good with just one or two coats for a day look, but doesn't ever clump if I go for a bit more for a night out. I was using this recently alongside a mascara that had a wand that was too big to use along my bottom lashes. I probably won't pick this up again for a few months, but I know I definitely will at some point!

Avon magix pace perfector

As I've only gotten into wearing more make up over the last year or so, this is the first full sized primer that I've used up! I've repurchased this already because I love the smooth and silky texture of it, which I think is supposed to help reduce the appearance of pores. I've noticed that it does, as well as reducing redness a little. I'm still trying out a few other primers but I'm really loving this!

Natural collection concealer stick

I have probably been through literally hundreds of these things. It's my staple concealer and I've never really branched out from it, particularly as an under eye concealer. I've got such a stockpile of these already, but I really want to give a few other concealers whirl gradually over the next month, so any recommendations are welcome :)

Avon nail experts grow potion

My nails haven't been in the best condition over the last few years, but they're finally improving and this is definitely one of the reasons why! I tend to leave this on my nails for about 45 minutes every time I do my nails, which is once maybe twice a week, and I've found that my nails are growing so much more than they used to. I've got more of this that I'm definitely going to rummage for and carry on using.

The Body shop tea tree blemish gel

I don't often get a whole load of spots at once, but I'm convinced that this stuff makes them go away in under half the time they normally would take. I've been using some other tea tree products since this finished, but the Body Shop range is still my current favourite!

I hope you liked this post! Have you been using any of these products recently?

n xx

Birthday treats!

Hello lovelies!

As promised (sorry it's a bit late), here's a post about my birthday presents for this year. Just a disclaimer, I'm not trying to show off or anything like that, but I like reading these posts, and as I didn't put up a Christmas haul I wanted to do one for my birthday. I put up some photos of what I got up to in my last post here :)

 I mostly asked for baking things from my parents because I've not had the things to make much since I've moved to uni and I've really started to miss it! 

These are all bits from my friends, and I really love all the things they got me!

 My flatmate bought me this little glass hedgehog and I utterly love it! It's one of my favourite presents, and I've named him Henry :)

I hope you liked this post!

n xx

My 19th birthday!

Hello lovelies!

Yesterday was my birthday and I had such a lovely meal out with my family and boyfriend, then later drinks with my flat and some friends, so I thought I would just quickly show you a few photos from our evening out! I was thinking of posting a little about what I got, even though there aren't many beauty products, I got a fairly impressive baking haul :) that'll be up tomorrow when I've got better light to take photos in, I hope you enjoy this post!

 I love this photo just because my friend Jessie is such a good photo bomber!

n xx