Yes, it's that time again when I delve into my bag of empties to discover everything that was hot and everything that was really not...
This month body products, skin and hair care dominated my empties bag and Soap & Glory became a big part of my life too. But as always I hope this does help you out when purchasing products in the future.
I love travelling to visit different places in the world, but the whole process of getting to your destination can be stressful at times, especially with strict carry on rules and limited baggage allowance. Having done a fair few long haul flights myself, I know as a women it's important to have all your essentials in one place, so you feel at home and comfortable on the flight. But as I mentioned above, carry on restrictions are not how they used to be and that means the liquid allowance allowed is only one small bag to fill with liquids, creams and aerosols etc. Luckily I've come up with my Top 10 must-haves that hopefully cover you from top to toe, whether your going on a long haul flight or just taking hand luggage only.
Ever since I decided to go back to blonde or should I say ombre, I've defiantly had to step up my haircare routine. As you probably already know, if you're constantly exposing your hair to bleach, it can play havoc with the overall condition of it. Now don't get me wrong I do love my blonde, but it can be incredibly high maintenance to constantly keep it looking in great shape, as well as preventing it from turning too brassy. Regardless of all of this, I wanted to share with you what I have introduced into my haircare routine to make sure it stays in tip top condition in the hope it may help some of you out if your deciding to go ombre or blonde.
Pre-Colour Deep Conditioner
Everytime I refresh my colour, a couple of days before hand I like to deep condition my hair with the Philip Kingsley Elasticzer so that it's in the best condition in preparation for the colour. I also use this once a month too.
Colour - Ombre and Roots
Next up is colour. For the ombre I achieved this initially by using the Bleach London DIY Dip Dye Kit, this is super easy to use and it also comes with a blending lotion to help fade the light into the dark without it looking harsh. I also had the ombre done professionally a couple of times to achieve my desired shade. I also use the Bleach White Toner Kit to balance out the brassy tones in my hair.
Hair Products and Styling
Lastly onto hair products and styling. I tend to only blow dry my hair occasionally but when I do I love using the Philip Kingsley Maximizer it's great at adding a ton of volume to your hair. Whether I blow or air dry my hair I always use the L'Oreal Mythic Oil before hand on the ends to help replenish the moisture back into my dry/colour treated hair.
When I do blow dry my hair I use my trusty Lee Stafford Nourishing Argan Oil Hair Dryer and Philip Kingsley Grooming Brush. I've had the Philip Kingsley brush for years now and I absolutely love this as it has holes in it so your hair can breathe while blow drying. My holy grail straighteners have to be the GHD Straighteners, these do the trick every time for me.
To finish off I like to smooth my hair down with a tiny bit of the Tigi Bed Head After Party and again with the L'Oreal Mythic Oil onto the ends. Inbetween washes I use the Colab Dry Shampoo, to help keep the grease at bay!
It's that time again, where I share with you a whole new round of product empties. Just lately I've been on a mission to finish up products that are half empty or I'm just not feeling anymore, so here's the lowdown on some loves and some regrets!
May has been a month of using up a lot of products, some good and some not so good. A lot of these products I have reviewed as first impressions and so it's great to give you guys an overall review on them, after using them up.
What's been a product you have regretted buying recently. Leave a comment down below or tweet me.
Products mentioned:
1. Elnett Hairspray Very Volume Supreme Hold
2. Organix Macadamia Oil Shampoo
3. Colab Dry Shampoo in New York, Paris & Tokyo
4. Zoella Beauty Soak Opera Bath Soak and Shower Cream
5. Zoella Beauty Creamy, Madly, Dreamy Body Lotion
6. Yes to Cucumbers Soothing FacialTowelettes
7. Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream
8. Glamglow Youthmud Mask
9. Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Intensive Daily Moisturiser
10. Vaseline Aloe Vera Lip Balm Tin
11. Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray
12. YSL Volume Effect Faux Cils Mascara in Black
13. Maybelline The Colossal Go Extreme Volume
14. MAC Clear Brow Gel
15. Bare Minerals Loose Eye Shadow in Gal Pal
Taking care of your hair is just as important as looking after your skin, especially if you have long hair, so I thought I would share you with you my step by step routine of everything I use on my hair to keep it looking long, shiny and healthy.
First off I'd like to say Happy New Year and thank you to you all for you support over 2014, I hope everyone had a lovely festive period! 2014 has been a year of new discoveries and re-kindling old favourites, so I wanted to narrow this down to my Top Ten Best in Beauty for 2014 to share with you. What have been your most loved beauty and nail products you've reached for in 2014?
Join the conversation at www.twitter.com/laurappbeauty
Elemis Pro Collagen Marine Cream
What can I say that isn't good about this face cream, it's my holy grail cream and when it comes to skincare especially face cream I think it's worth splurging a bit. Yes this is a little on the pricey side at around £50 a pot for 30ml, but I never pay this price, I usually look for the cream in a gift pack or in an offer on QVCUK. With regards to the cream itself, the smell is gorgeous, very lightly and never overpowering, it has the most beautiful lightweight, fluffy texture that sinks into the skin instantly and the best thing about the Pro-Collagen is I always see a difference in my skin. This is essentially an anti-wrinkle cream for fine lines and for me this really helps delay them.
Although it can be a bind to apply sometimes, self tanning has come a long way since the streaky, biscuit smelling days and what girl doesn't like a bit of fake tan to disguise blemishes and give you a healthy, natural glow. Now I had heard a lot about St Moriz self tanning lotion, mainly because of the price, so I had to try this out and I now have become a fan of this affordable gem! The lotion is super easy to apply, non streaky and smells gorgeous, plus I always wake up with a lovely 'non-orange' glow!
If you've been following me for a while now you will know that The Body Shop Body Butters are my favourite way to intensely moisturise my skin at night. Shea Butter is my go to scent as it has a light, calming, spa like smell and does the trick every time of making my skin feel like silk. The Body Shop also released their newest scent Wild Argan Oil, which has become my joint number one along side the Shea Butter, but if they don't float your boat there is also 20 other amazing scents to choose from.
I'm usually a musky, deep dark scent kind of girl, but last year I discovered the latest edition to the Marc Jacobs Daisy family, Eau So Fresh Delight. I had always been a fan of the original Daisy perfume, but this is a lot more floral, light and fresh and I really fell in love with this as it reminds me of Spring days and is perfect as an everyday perfume, plus the packaging is beautiful.
While my favourite has always been the Batiste Dry Shampoo, when I saw Blogger Ruth Crilly had launched her own dry shampoo range that was sheer invisible I had to give this ago and boy was I not disappointed. Not only was this such a well thought out product, it's also invisible on the hair, it comes in four scents that smell like a luxury perfume, handy travel sizes are available and it's amazingly affordable!
This blusher has been my go to blush for nearly two years now, it's just the perfect suits everyone cheek shade, that's classic and goes with any makeup look. It has a mix of pinky/peach, taupe and nude which I like because they are matte and plus it smells good too!
Ok I may be late on this one, but hey better late than never and now I see what all the fuss is about, for me this is an amazing full coverage foundation that gives a flawless high definition finish, looks perfect in a picture and it lasts all day, what more could a girl ask for in a foundation.
Now for me this was all I reached for in 2014, my beloved MAC lipsticks, ok they are a little pricey but for what I consider a high end brand compared to Tom Ford or Burberry, they are at the more affordable end of the high end scale. I just love the endless colour selection, the vanilla scent and the highly pigmented colour that can transform any makeup look. My go to colours have been Cherish, Rebel, Show Orchid and Angel. http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/product/shaded/168/310/Products/Lips/Lipstick/Lipstick/index.tmpl
Real Techniques Core and Dup Fibre Collection
I received the Real Techniques Core and Duo Fibre Collections for Christmas last year and I haven't put them down since, they are again well thought out brushes and some of the best I've seen in a long time, especially for the price. I'm always a great believer that a set of good quality makeup brushes can transform how your makeup is applied and looks and these help me achieve the best I can with my makeup whether it be drugstore or high end. My favourite brushes are the Buffing brush, Duo-Fiber Face Brush, Contour Brush and Duo-Fiber Contour Brush. http://www.boots.com/en/Real-Techniques/Real-Techniques-brush-sets/
China Glaze Nail Polish
There's something about neon nail polish that makes me happy and the only brand that does the best shades is China Glaze. For me they are on point with every neon collection they bring out, I admit the formula is not the greatest but once you pop your top coat on, the colour sure does make up for it! My go to neon's for Summer are Flip Flop Fantasy, Shocking Pink and Purple Panic. http://chinaglaze.com/
Going on the theme of affordable gift giving, it can be a hard, stressful task to go traipsing around the shops wondering what to get everyone and worrying about how much it's all going to cost! I wanted to share with you a few gifts that could be stocking filler or general gift ideas that are all under £15! So if your looking for gifts for a girly girl, makeup lover, nail junkie, coffee addict or a make-up beginner then there could be something here to help take the stress out of the festive period!
