Quick Heads Up! Clinique Bonus Time at Boots UK 31st July - 16th August 2014

Just in case you are a Clinique fan and haven't heard already, there is a free gift with a £50 spend at Boots stores in the UK now until 16th August 2014. It is also available at Boots online!

The gift comprises of:
Cosmetics bag
Nail enamel in Pinkini
Mascara
Dramatically DifferentMoisturiser
Liquid Facial soap
Moisture Surge CC cream
Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief  

Will you be going for it? What will you buy?

Have a great day.
Take care,
CJ xx

Empties: Items I've Used Up in May 2014

Well this is my first ever "empties" post and I do apologise that it is a tad late for May but I didn't want to wait to include them with June empties at the end of this month because there are quite a few.

Let's start with face skincare items:

There are actually 3 cleansers this month. I always have at least 2 cleansers on the go and these 3 all decided to finish this month, but no worries because I've lots more in my stash...

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm 125ml (RRP £21)
Would I repurchase? Yes - and I already have!
This balm is quite thick and is great for my evening first cleanse because it removes all my make up with ease. It is unscented so great for those with sensitive skin. I previously used Emma Hardie Moringa Balm and I loved the EH fragrance lots so was disappointed that the Clinique balm was unscented, but then I had a VERY bad reaction to Emma Hardie which I think must be down to the essential oils so I have had to be very careful ever since. 

Merumaya Melting Cleansing Balm 100ml (RRP £14.50)
Would I repurchase? Yes - once I've worked through my stash!
For my review of this product, click here.

Alpha-H Balancing Cleanser with Aloe Vera 200ml (RRP £23)
Would I repurchase? Yes - and I already have.
I tend to use this cleanser when I have breakouts because this seems to do a great job at calming them and clearing them. For me it is a "no nonsense" cleanser and isn't as luxurious to use as some of my other cleansers but it does a great job when my skin needs that extra help at certain times of the month.

Boots Essentials Fragrance Free Cleasing Wipes 25 wipes (RRP £1.50)
Would I repurchase? No.
I don't tend to buy or use wipes but I inherited my late step-mothers beauty stash. She died 20 months ago and I am still working my way through her stash of beauty products. It is taking time because I have a fair stash of my own too! Nothing wrong with these wipes, I just don't tend to use them but I have been using these to remove my make up and then doing a double cleanse.

Merumaya Iconic Youth Serum 15ml (RRP £20)
Would I repurchase? No.
See my review for this product here.


Next up are my body product empties:

Nivea Happy Time Shower Cream 250ml (RRP £1.99)
Would I repurchase? Yes - once I've used up my stash.
Love, love, love this! It is an orange blossom fragrance and I love using this for my morning shower. It lathers well, is very creamy and is often on offer at half price so for 99p what's to dislike?! I want to buy this again but I am being good and working my way through the rest of my shower gels first but I do miss this.

Ted Baker Butterfly Wings set (RRP £10)
Would I repurchase? Maybe.
I received this little set for a birthday present last year. It contains a body spray, body wash, body scrub and body lotion. I do like the scent. It is quite a sweet scent which I am a fan of. Individually the products aren't fantastic, i.e the scrub doesn't do a lot, body wash doesn't lather as much as I'd like but, as I said, I DO like the fragrance. I wouldn't go out of my way to repurchase but, if it was in the Boots sale, then I would perhaps be tempted for the scent alone.

Molton Brown Oatmeal & Milk Exfoliating Bar
Would I repurchase? No.
This was another birthday present and it came in a box of 4 bars. I cannot find this on the MB website so perhaps it has been discontinued? I was totally underwhelmed by this. It didn't exfoliate at all and was more like a normal bar of soap with a few bits of oatmeal in. Unimpressed!

FoM Body Contouring Serum sample size
Would I repurchase? No.
I bought this sample from Latest In Beauty so that I could give it a try. To be honest I don't think any creams/serums etc can get rid of cellulite but I thought I would give it a go. It is called a serum but I felt it was more of a runny oil. I didn't like it because you had to apply to wet skin and I had to remember to do this as soon as I got out of the shower which more often than not I had towelled off before I thought about it. Too much faff!

Philosophy Pure Grace Body Lotion 8 fl.oz (RRP £15)
Would I repurchase? Yes - I already have a spare in my stash!
I love the smell of Pure Grace. To me it smells so clean, like freshly laundered washing. Mmmmm. The lotion absorbs well and my only gripe is that the container it comes in is not very flexible which made getting out the last of the lotion very hard. I think perhaps once I have used the one in my stash I would think twice to a repurchase due to the price. I do think it is expensive for a body lotion and if I could source a cheaper alternative with the same scent then I would. Does anyone know of a Pure Grace dupe please? Doesn't have to be body lotion, any dupe be it perfume, shower gel would be most welcome! Thanks.

Sure Women Crystal Clear Aqua Anti Perspirant 250ml (RRP £3.19)
Would I repurchase? Yes - already have, lots my stash!
This is my deodorant of choice. To be honest I do prefer a solid stick deodorant because I feel they are more effective, but they tend to mess up the underarms of any tops I wear so I have switched to spray deodorants now. Has anyone found a stick deodorant that doesn't leave any residue?

Ysatis Eau de Toilette 100ml (RRP £47.50)
Would I repurchase? Perhaps.
I have had this perfume for many years and I believe the packaging has changed now. This was my perfume of choice back in the late 1980's, early 1990's. It has lots of memories attached to it, so in a way I was sad to see it go. It was the perfume I wore when I met my husband and I wore it on our wedding day too. That said, there are many other perfumes I prefer these days. This is a heavier perfume than I tend to wear now. Perhaps one day I will revisit it for nostalgic reasons but for now I prefer a lighter, sweeter fragrance.

Leighton Denny Best Defence Hand Cream 30ml (RRP £5.50)
Would I repurchase? No.
My review for this product is here.


Finally, my hair product empties:

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Diva 150ml (RRP £2.99)
Would I repurchase? No.
I have had this so long I don't think they even do this fragrance anymore! I don't tend to use dry shampoo but I won this in a giveaway ages ago so thought it was about time I used it! I know a lot of people swear by Batiste, but I am not a lover of dry shampoo because I find they all leave a white caste/residue on my hair and I'm afraid this was no exception. If anyone could recommend a dry shampoo that doesn't do this (I have ginger hair) then please comment below. Thanks.

Head & Shoulders Shampoo in Cool Menthol 500ml (RRP £4.99)
Would I repurchase? Yes - I already have.
I suffer from psoriasis on my scalp and I have tried lots of shampoos, both prescription and over the counter but this seems to be the best at easing my itchy scalp. I've not found anything that clears it up completely but this helps the irritation. I actually find the Cool Menthol variety better for this than their Itchy Scalp one. I haven't been able to find the Cool Menthol in the shops but I have purchased one called Menthol Fresh which has the same packaging so fingers crossed it has just been renamed. I might have to drop them an email to check...

Dove Damage Therapy Intensive Repair 200ml (RRP £2.69)
Would I repurchase? Maybe.
This conditioner didn't wow me but I didn't hate it either. It did what it needed to do - conditioned my hair without weighing it down. I would perhaps repurchase this if it was on offer but I am still on the hunt for my Holy Grail conditioner.

Well sorry for the long post. I didn't realise I had so many empties in May.
If you are still here, thanks for reading.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care,
CJ xx

Review & Swatches: L'Oreal L'Extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick

The past few days I have been using L'Oreal L'Extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick which I purchased several weeks ago from Boots for £8.99.
I chose shade 500 Molto Mauve. 

Don't let the name deceive you, to me it isn't mauve at all, more of a "my lips but better" colour. Here it is swatched:

Instead of the usual doe foot applicator, this liquid lipstick applicator is tear dropped shaped.

It's not too sticky and it smells lovely. I'm not very good at describing scents, but to me it smells "tropical", sort of like a tropical fruit drink. Told you I was rubbish at scent descriptions! It applies easily and smoothly and isn't at all gloopy. 
The "blurb" from L'Oreal describes it as a cross between a lipstick, lip gloss and lip balm. They say it has the colour intensity of a lipstick, the shine of a lip gloss and the softness of a balm.
Here it is applied:

And 4 hours, 1 lunch, 1 hot drink and 1 cold drink later...
Not a great deal left, but L'Oreal make no claims about its longevity.

Now I have read a lot of great reviews about this liquid lipstick so what are my own personal thoughts about it? It's okay. Yes, just okay. To me it isn't anything special. It is very soft on the lips so yes to the softness of a balm. Colour intensity of a lipstick? Again it is okay but doesn't blow me away. High shine of a gloss? Again it is okay but I wouldn't class it as high shine. It is nice enough but would I repurchase in a other colour? I'm afraid not. I seem to be going against the grain of all the other beauty bloggers who have reviewed this and seem to love it but I have to give my honest opinion. Yes I will continue to wear it and I do like the colour and softness of it but given the choice of buying one of these or 4 MUA lip glosses, I know where my money is going... And before you all shout "but they are glosses, they don't have the balm included!", yes I am aware of that, but a quick slick of one of my many lip balms first and then the gloss and I'm good to go.
Perhaps my thoughts would be different had I chosen a more vibrant colour, I really don't know.
Have you tried this liquid lipstick? Did you love it? I would love to hear your thoughts.
Thank you for reading.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care,
CJ xx

* purchased with my own money.

Recent Purchases: Boots and Superdrug

Bought a few beauty items recently at Boots and Superdrug so thought I would share them with you.
I had been good the entire time of the Boots 3 for 2, but I buckled at the last minute and purchased 3 items.

I had read so much about the Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream on various blogs that I couldn't resist buying it. I want it for my "no make up" days. I have no idea if it will suit my skin because most reviews have been for much younger skin than mine so I shall report back soon on how it fairs on my less than perfect 40+ skin. I bought it in shade Ivory for £9.99.

I am still on the search for my Holy Grail concealer as I have suffered from dark circles since my teens so thought I would give the Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Eye Cream in Ivory a try. I don't think this will be full coverage but may be ideal for my "make up free" days. I picked this up for £7.99. 

Now for my third item I really wanted the Sleek concealer palette but I couldn't find this brand anywhere in my Boots so I had to choose something else for my 3 for 2. I knew time was of the essence because hubby was due to meet me and I didn't want him to catch me buying more make up so I had to choose something and fast! I decided on the L'Oreal L'Extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick by Color Riche in shade 500 Molto Mauve at £8.99. A girl (woman!) can't have too many lippies, eh?

As I am sure you are aware, the Boots 3 for 2 is no longer running but there is currently an offer on Bourjois. If you spend £12 or more on selected Bourjois cosmetics you receive a free pot of blush in Rose D'or worth £7.99.

I also decided to do a small online Superdrug order.

Now I have had my eye on the MUA Luxe Pretty Edgy Palette for a little while. At £8 it is a tad more expensive than their Professional range but I do think their palettes are great quality for the price so popped this in my basket because I want to see how it compares. Superdrug were doing free delivery on orders over £10 so I also popped a MUA Professional High Intensity lip gloss in shade "Lips Are Sealed" for £2 into my basket. When it was delivered Superdrug had also sent me 2 free fragrance samples which was a nice touch because they've not done that before. I received Jean-Paul Gaultier Madame and David Beckham Classic but I've not tried them yet.

Anyway, that's just a little taster of my recent purchases and I shall report back with swatches and first impressions once I have had a play with them.

Have you bought anything new lately or tried the new MUA Luxe range? I would love to hear from you so please comment below.

Thanks for reading.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Take care,

CJ xx

*all items purchased with my own money. None of the links in this blog post are affiliated so I do NOT get paid if you click on them.

Review: Max Factor Lipfinity Lasting Lip Tint

Hello,

Today I am reviewing the Max Factor Lipfinity Lasting Lip Tint which I won in a giveaway back in January from Supersavvyme.

I have used several lip stains before but they all came with a lip gloss top coat so this is the first time I had tried this design. The colour I won was number 03 which I believe is called Pink Princess. It is a medium pink colour. 
The applicator reminds me a lot of a felt tip pen.  

My lips "au naturel".

I first used it to line my lips and then filled it in. This is with one coat.

I didn't think the colour was very deep so I applied a second coat.

I didn't feel the extra coat really added much depth in colour. Once dried it felt, not sticky, but a little tacky.  I also didn't like the matte effect.  Usually I would have put a balm, lipstick or gloss over the top to give more depth and moisture but because I wanted to review the longevity of the tint, I wore it on its own.

4 hours and one cold drink (no food) later... I think it is bearing up considerably well.

After 5 hours and lunch... I still don't think it is doing too badly.

After 7 hours... It has faded considerably and can really only see the outline on my top lip.

After 10 hours... The lighting is different because the other photos were done in natural lighting but this photo was taken after dark so the lip tint appears darker than the last photo but it wasn't.  This was after I had eaten my dinner, so after 2 meals and several cold drinks.

My overall impression?  A thumbs down I'm afraid. I would not purchase this because, although it did last through one meal, I felt it was very drying on my lips which I think can be seen in the photos.  I cannot find anywhere online where Max Factor state how many hours this should last, they only  state it "lasts longer" which I agree, it does. However, what is the point in having the colour on your lips if you hate the way it looks? Perhaps next time I use it, I will apply a gloss or lipstick on top and see if that also lasts the 5 hours. I certainly won't be wearing it on my lips on its own.
Lipfinity Lasting Lip Tint is available at Boots for £6.99

What is your favourite mascara or lip stain?  Do you have a Holy Grail?
Thank you for reading and I would love it if you found the time to comment.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care,
CJ xx