November - A Few of my Favourite Products, and a Few I Don't Like

Happy December everyone!  I don't always do a favourites post each month, but I thought that I would for November, as there are quite a few products I've been using that have been great.  There are also a few that I've not been liking, so I've included some not-so-much favouites as well.

Favourite Skincare

Well this month my skin has really been feeling the cold, and I've really noticed that it's been playing havoc with my skin.  I've been using a few products which I absolutely love and seem to be helping restore some moisture to my poor old face.

You may remember that I was on a spending ban.  Well that went out of the window at the Origins counter at Boots.  I blame my sister as she asked me to pick up Modern Friction Dermabrasion for her Christmas, and I got suckered into buying it for myself as well as some other bits.  I suppose I could've said no to the skin care consultation I was offered, but hey, I didn't.  However, I'm absolutely loving Modern Friction.  Although it's not as scratchy as I usually like from a scrub, it makes my skin feel absolutely wonderful - so soft and not at all tight.  It is also supposed to be a skin brightener, and I've noticed that my skin is definitely in better condition since I've been using this a couple of times a week.

One of the Origins products I was recommended was Starting Over moisturiser, for the first signs of aging to use as a night cream.  I didn't buy it, but the sales assistant kindly gave me a 30ml sample (a full size version is only 50ml) and I'm so grateful he did, as it's simply heaven for my skin.  I started using it as a night cream, but I've quickly switched to using it during the day as well, particularly in the current sub-zero temperatures.  It feels so soothing and moisturising, I'm definitely going to buy a full size version when my sample runs out.

I've just finished this Perfect Pores Serum by Angela Langford, and although I still have to write a review of her products, I'm smitten with this serum.  It's smells light and natural, you need very little serum for your whole face, it sinks in very easily and it's wonderfully moisturising.  I don't really need to say much else - this is definitely one for my Christmas list!

I won this tub of Dove Rich Moisturising Creme from Jo's blog giveaway, and I've been using it every night on my feet, knees and elbows - I'm just about to run out of it!  My skin definitely needs a rich moisturiser in the winter, and this works a treat.  As well as working well, it's quite cheap and cheerful, so I'm quite happy to slather it on before bed.

Favourite Makeup

Over the past month it's all been about the blush and pinks.  I've been feeling a bit washed out, so a bit of blusher really helps me look a bit more normal!

I got this Clinique blush in Iced Lotus free in a Bonus Time promotion a couple of months ago.  It's a lovely frosty pink colour that blends well and lasts a long time.  I love the colour for winter looks, and it's also quite girly - highly recommended.

I decided to buy the Posey cream blush by Mac as I'm such a fan of cream blushes.  It's very highly pigmented, so you do need to blend it well to stop the Aunt Sally look.  However, it does blend out to give a good flush of colour and it lasts for ages.

I think I've blogged before about how much I love Clinique Colour Surge eyeshadows, and this duo in Victorian Pink is no exception.  I hit pan on my old duo in less than 18 months, so this is a much loved replacement.  This duo is definitely an ongoing favourite of mine - I wear it whenever I'm short of time in the morning, or when my creativity fails me.  It looks professional for an office look, or you can darken it up a bit for a more evening type look.  The quality and smoothness is excellent and it blends so easily.  However, it's not pink!  It's a neutral to brown duo - I've no idea why it's called Victorian Pink!

This Illamasqua lip pencil in Torment is another new favourite.  It's a highly pigmented colour, but I've been using it to line my lips, blend it in with a bit of lip balm and apply lipstick over the top.

For lipstick, my favourite go-to this month is another Clinique product, again that I got as a Bonus Time promotion.  It is a Long Last lipstick in Soft Bloom.  This is a nice pinky colour that's not too girly and really seems to suit my skin tone.  It feels very moisturising on the lips and lasts relatively well, particularly over the top of the Illamasqua lip pencil. 

Finally, I've loved using this Collection 2000 Brilliant Shimmer lipgloss in Showgirl that I won in Computergirl's giveaway.  It's not too sticky, it last a long time, and it's an almost sheer pink colour that adds a hint of sparkle to your lips.  It's very easy to use, and I've been wearing it almost every day.

L-R Clinique Iced Lotus Blush, Mac Posey, Illamasqua Torrent, Collection 2000 Showgirl & Clinique Soft Bloom

Not-so-Much Favourites

I don't usually like to completely slate products, but here are a few I've been using that I'm just not liking for one reason or another.

First up, this mousse, hairspray and heat protector from Tresemme.  I've not got on well with Tresemme shampoos here and here before, and I've not got on with any of these products.  I bought them because I had a styling product emergency (the spray nozzle broke on my Tigi hairspray) just before I did my hair for the Burlesque night I went to and I had to dash to Tescos to grab some products.  They were on 3 for £10, so I got all three.  The heat protection spray doesn't seem to do anything at all for my hair, certainly not protect it from the heat.  The mousse and hairspray do give a firm hold, but in the way that styling products from the 1980s did - not good.  I actually hate all of these so much, I'm thinking of just throwing them out, and I never waste products, so they're really that bad!

Secondly, here's a product from Temple Spa that I'm not liking - I love everything else I've tried from them.  It's All Talk moisturising lip balm.  It's a sort of barrier type lip balm that sits on your lips.  I usually like these type of lip balms, and use them just before I go to bed, but this one just feels a bit weird.  It's also very sticky and I keep getting cat hairs stuck to my lips just before I go to sleep.  It seems to moisturise OK, but it's definitely not a favourite - I'd better try to use it up quickly!

I'm finally using my Hello Kitty shower gel that's been sitting in my bathroom for ages.  I had planned to decant it into a more user-friendly bottle, but I gave up as the shower gel is so thick it wouldn't come out!  Instead, I've had to decapitate Kitty and turn her upside down so I can get some shower gel out of her.  The problem is, she's wearing a little fabric dress that keeps getting wet everytime I reach for the gel.  But, if I took it off, she's naked!  That's her tail in the photos, by the way - don't worry, Kitty's definitely a 'she'.  I don't want a naked Kitty on my bathroom shelf, so she's wearing the dress for modesty's sake.  The shower gel itself is OK, not anything special, but it doesn't contain too many dyes, as I'm really allergic to cheap and brightly coloured gels and bubble baths (my doctor banned my Mum from using Mr Matey when I was a child).  I'm not allergic to this, so that's a bonus.  However, despite inverting Kitty, so she's dangerously wobbly on the shelf, I have to shake her to get any shower gel out, and half of it ends up on the floor of the bath, just washing away.  Poor old Kitty...

So that's my favourites and not so much for November.  Thanks for reading!  xx

Sample Sunday - Glutton for Punishment

You may remember a few weeks ago I tried a Tresemme shampoo and conditioner and hated the shampoo in particular.  I then felt I had been a little unfair, as I had a mixed bag of comments - some people loved it and others hated it.  The reasons why I felt it was unfair, was because my hair was absolutely covered in products as I'd done my Burlesque hair the night before.  My hair was crisp with mousse, serum and super-strength hairspray.  My shampoo doesn't usually have to contend with this, so I was a bit harsh to judge the Tresemme one.

So when I was contemplating my Sample Sunday today, I spotted another sample of Tresemme shampoo (although a different one), and thought I would give it another go, in the interests of fairness.

This shampoo is designed specifically for blonds - I'm a die-hard brunette - but I didn't let that put me off.  I'm unlikely to emerge from the shower with golden locks from one sachet of shampoo am I.  The packaging says that it contains chamamile, not a scent I'm overly fond of.

So I used this Tresemme shampoo, and I still don't like it! It was better than the other Tresemme shampoo sample, but only marginally.  I found it difficult to foam, even though I used the entire sachet, I didn't like the smell - it smelt like chemically-enhanced chamamile - not nice.  At least the smell hasn't lingered.  This time, the shampoo didn't knot up my hair, which was a big improvement of the previous sample.  It rinsed out OK (considering it didn't really foam up), but my hair didn't feel in as good a condition as I would've liked, slightly dry and straw-like.  I used a deep conditioner to make my hair feel better.

I conclude that I don't like Tresemme shampoos, and I will be avoiding them in future.  They just don't work for me!

In a little update on my gushing praise for the Body Shop Vitamin E Night Cream I trialled last week, I'm still liking it.  But, I've found that it doesn't work as a day cream at all!  I wore it on Monday and Tuesday, and although my skin felt great, my makeup slid off, even using primer on Tuesday.  I also felt my skin was starting to have a mini break-out.  I switched to using it as a night cream only, and my skin has calmed.  I still love it, but only as a night cream.

Thanks for reading!  xx

Sample Sunday

Hello everyone.  Can you believe it's Sunday afternoon already?  This weekend has just whizzed by!  Anyway, it's that time of the week - Sample Sunday time!

I've got a two for one today - I tried Tresemme Colour Revitalise Shampoo and Conditioner.  If you've read my last post, you'll see I'm currently trying to a) use up products and b) save money on beauty products at the moment by doing my Beauty Diet.  Shampoo and conditioner is included in my diet, so I thought I'd give these samples a go to prolong my shampoo stock, and as I have just coloured my hair.

The blurb on the back of the package says that it will preserve the colour by up to 8x longer (longer than what I hear you ask).  The shampoo claims:

"Colour stays gorgeous for longer and hair is softer and more manageable".  

Remember this when you're reading my review. 

First of all, my hair was covered in products from the style I did yesterday.  It has mousse, serum and loads of extra-hold hair spray in it, for the complicated do that I attempted (and pretty much pulled off)!  So my hair needed a lot of cleaning, so it was probably unfair on the sample, as my hair is never normally like that.  However, due to a hair-care product malfunction, all the products I used were Tresemme, as I had to do a mad dash to Tescos just before creating my hair-style, and there wasn't much selection.  Therefore, Tresemme shampoo should be able to rinse out Tresemme products, right?

I thought that the sachet of shampoo was quite generous...until I started washing my hair.  I ended up using the whole thing to get my hair really clean.  And it was simply one of the worst shampoos I've ever used.  It has a slightly chemically smell, which I can live with, it foams up OK, but it rinses out poorly, and the state it left my hair in afterwards was truely awful!  I usually run a comb through my hair before putting on my conditioner, but my hair was completely knotted up after this shampoo.  I mean, REALLY knotted up.  My hair has never been in that state after shampooing, even if I've used the cheapest brand around.  I shudder to think at the damage it's done to my hair.

I was unsurprisingly nervous about using the conditioner after that.  However, it was OK.  The slight chemically smell was there, but it was relatively thick and moisturising, and has left my hair feeling alright.  Not brilliant, but not dreadful.  I certainly wouldn't buy it, but I'd use up another sample or nick it if I were staying at a friend's house if I had to without worrying.

So, as for the claims that it protects your colour, well I can't really comment on that after one application.  I was a bit alarmed to see that some of my hair dye came out when I was attempting to rinse out the shampoo.  This was the second wash after dying it.  I usually find that a bit of dye comes out during the first wash post-dye, but I've never experienced it during the second.

So all in all, I was totally unimpressed, and I would never use the shampoo again, although I could put up with the conditioner in emergencies.

I went to a fantastic, circus/burlesque evening yesterday, and it was one of the most amazing evenings I've been to for absolutely years.  I will do a post on what I wore and my hair and make-up for the night, and I might even include a photo of myself if I'm feeling brave enough!  However, this may take me a couple of days, as I have to sort out the photos and edit some of my friends out of them - it's not fair to post photos of them in corsets on the internet, even if they did look gorgeous!

Thanks for reading!  xx