Empties Time!

I love doing empties posts and it feels like spring cleaning when I finally get to get rid of all these empty bottles. It's been a while since I have done an empties something (video last I think) so I am more than overdue and I have a fair amount to talk about.

My pretty empties box! Upcycled from a Soap and Glory gift box haha! It's the perfect storage :)

Let's get to it!

Macadamia Oil Shampoo & Conditioner (Organix Hair) £6.99 each

In my opinion not the cheapest hair care, I usually don't spend a lot but I love these! They have an amazing smell and make my hair feel so smooth and soft. I have gone through 2 lots of this now and I still love it. I haven't had that 'Use it once and it' amazing, use it more and it just doesn't have the same effect' feeling with this so I am really happy with that. There are a lot of treatments in the line - they have coconut oil, argan oil, keratin therapy and so many more to try as well as serums and oils, so there is plenty to try! 

Repurchase? Heck yes! I've bought it twice and until I find something better I will keep buying this stuff.

Strengthening Polish Remover (Cutex) £2.20

To be honest, there's not a lot to say about polish remover, it's a constant need and this does the job. When it comes to polish remover though I always seem to stick with the Cutex brand, I don't really need any of their removers with a treatment because my nails are really strong and healthy but it doesn't hurt to have it. 

Repurchase? Yeah! I always need polish remover and this is always my chosen brand. 

Fix+ (MAC) £14.50

I use this a hell of a lot, this was my first bottle and I instantly bought another as soon as I was running low! I use this before I apply foundation (after primer) and I spray my foundation brush with the stuff, I don't know why but it gives me a flawless finish and I literally cannot apply my make up without it.

Repurchase? Come on now, of course! 

Anti- Blemish Solutions System (Clinique) £25.00

I am sure that this has come down in price! It was £30 when I bought it and the full size is £50! Regardless, I cannot get by without this, the clarifying lotion and all-over clearing treatment are so important in my skincare routine. To be honest I can live without the cleansing foam, it just runs out too fast and I prefer the liquid face soap, which I have numerous samples of!

Repurchase? Not as a set, I would do away with the cleansing foam and buy full sizes of both the clarifying lotion and the all-over clearing treatment. 

Anti- Blemish Solutions Spot Treatment Gel (Clinique) £14.00

I'm not sure what's happening with this product, I just tried to find the price and it's like it doesn't exist on Clinique's or Boots website. Maybe they are discontinuing it in place of the new clinical clearing gel, who knows :S. Anyway, I love this stuff, I use it along side the other Clinique products and it works wonders! Stings like hell though :(

Repurchase? Yes, if I can get my hands on it. If not, I'll have to try their new product :/

Take The Day Off Make up Remover (Clinique) £17.00

I only have a sample size and I loved it, it certainly did the job but I felt greasy and weird after using it which is not ideal for me. When I remove my make up I want to feel clean. 

Repurchase? No, the price is very steep and after trying Bioderma I would much rather buy a Micellar water remover. 

Quickliner for Eyes (Clinique) £15.00

Yet another sample size, I only really used this for tightlining, I'm not big on using pencil liner on my top lash line, I prefer gel or liquid. It was good to use and to try but there are others out there for half the price.

Repurchase? No, like I say, there are other, cheaper alternatives so I'm not too fussed by it. 

Zoom Fast Black Lash (MAC) £14.00

I got this as a birthday present and I was very excited to use it. It was great for a while but seemed to dry up quite fast and was a little clumpy. It's not the most expensive so that's not bad but I feel there are better mascaras for less money.

Repurchase? Well I never actually bought this, so I would never buy it for myself. 

Instant Brow Pencil (Benefit) £15.00

I love trying new brow products and anything that makes mine look groomed and full makes me very happy. This was an all right product, the colour was a little off and it was very soft. I burned through this so fast which makes me a little disappointed, I think if the product was a little more solid there would have been less waste. It does have a spoolie on the end which I love because they are such handy brow tools but it doesn't really make up for the product. 

Repurchase? No, the product was fine if you have money to burn but not if you want your products to last a decent amount of time. I also think there are better products with better colour selection out there. 

So that is all of my saved up empties! Let me know what you think of these products :)

P.S - Just a little note about MAC products, though I have finished mine I'm not throwing away the packaging. If you save 6 empty mac products you can take the to a MAC counter and as part of the Back 2 MAC scheme you can redeem 1 lipstick! 

Speak soon 

Roo xx 

February Favourites 2014

Ahh were a little while into March so I really needed to post my Feb favourites. Let's get into it!

Mask of Magnaminty (LUSH) £9.25: This stuff is amazing, I mean it doesn't compare to GlamGlow or anything but if you want a face mask you can use infinite times in a week then this is it! It's so refreshing and does such a great job at removing blackheads. It's not really an exfoliator but does have weird bits of stuff in there (not sure what it is). This has got a weird yet minty smell so this may put you off and is a little annoying to remove but it still does wonders for me. I use a foundation brush to apply this as to not waste product and get a neat, even covering over my face. Even then, this stuff lasts a long time!

It's Potent Eye Cream (Benefit) £24.50: I only have the sample size of this and it is my first dealings with anything skincare from Benefit - I wasn't even aware they did skincare until I found this. I love this in my morning routine, sometimes I feel like the skin around my eyes is tight and dehydrated and this just fixes it right up! I am seriously contemplating buying the full size of this once I've finished all my eye creams. 

Extraordinary Oil (L'Oreal Elvive) £9.99: I love to use this after I have washed my hair and before I blow dry. I just apply a couple of pumps to the ends of my hair and massage the excess into my scalp and leave it for about 30mins and allow my hair to partially dry. This allows the oil to sink into my hair and get to work. This has a pleasant smell and really does make my hair feel super soft and nourished.

Russian Red Lipstick (MAC) £15: This is my perfect red lip. I know that everyone loves Ruby Woo and don't get me wrong, I think it's a beautiful colour but it's a very stand out red. Russian Red is a little darker, still along the same colour family, but in my opinion less frightening. It makes your teeth look super white too!

Naked Gloss in Nooner (Urban Decay) £15: Relatively a new release in the beauty world and I had to jump on it! There so many shades to choose from and I took far too long in trying to choose which one I wanted because they all looked so beautiful. I eventually chose Nooner which is one of the glitterless glosses in the line. This is such a smooth non sticky gloss, it add dimension to your lips and doesn't dry them out. The only thing I would say it that the smell is a little strange, slightly minty but if you aren't big on fragranced products then this might put you off, but by all means go have a look at an UD counter. 

White Pencil Eyeliner (Natural Collection) £1.99: I got this because I wanted to try a white eyeliner, I've never used one before and finally gave in. It really just helps to brighten the eyes and although this possibly isn't the best one going it certainly was a bargain at just £1.99, so I'll probably end up trying another one in due course, but this one is doing just fine so far. 

Expert Face Brush and Powder Brush (Real Techniques) £9.99 and £12.99 respectively: Now I didn't actually pay those prices for them, I got them for £6.49 and £8.04 from ASDA which is a total bargain! I had wanted to try some of the face brushes from this line for a while so I am very happy that I now own some. The expert face brush is nicely packed and applies foundation flawlessly and the powder brush helps to not apply too much powder and stops it from looking cakey. 

Ambient Lighting Blush in Diffused Heat (Hourglass) £28: I had to save this one till last. This is taking the beauty world by storm and I have only heard rave reviews. This combines a blush and their face powder to create a beautiful glow. This is very pigmented so a little goes a long way and you'll have to tap of excess. Asides from the product being amazing, the packaging is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen! It's very sleek and uber expensive looking (well it should be for the price)

I hope you have enjoyed my favourites for this month, let me know your thoughts on these products and tell me what you have been loving over the month of February. 

Speak soon, 

Roo xx

Fixation Friday #3: Bare Minerals Foundation

Foundation is a big thing for me. I have a bit of a love hate relationship with the stuff. It's like I need the coverage but then I feel like it might be making my skin look worse :/ This would be solved by a Clarisonic (hint hint!). Anyway, I haven't tried any mineral foundations which is what draws me towards Bare Minerals so much.

Bare Minerals claim to have all natural ingredients, this seems so perfect to me because it wouldn't clog my pores or cause any break outs. I am also excited to try this because I'm hoping it would reduce shine and also not melt off my face.

As far as I'm aware the original foundation also has a matte formula counterpart, which is preferable to me. - hopefully this would also eliminate the need for a setting powder too.

Let me know if you have tried the Bare Minerals foundation, what do you think of it.

Speak soon,

Roo xx

Beauty Smackdown #6: Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss Vs Chanel Lèvres Scintillantes Glossimer

Over the course of 2013 I really got into lipgloss, before that I wasn't fussed by the stuff. I love lipgloss, I think it's an important part of everyone makeup bag :)

This week I'm a putting Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss up against Chanel Lèvres Scintillantes Glossimer. I like both of these glosses but I know that they wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. I would probably say that if you don't like gloss with glitter or cannot abide even the slightest amount of stickiness then these both won't be for you.

So the colours I have aren't exactly the same but I think the formulas are comparable. The top one is Chanel which is full size and the bottom one is Smash box which is a sample size I got from a set of all Smashbox's best sellers.

They both have similar applicators, they aren't anything special but they get the job done. I think this is actually a good thing sometimes because occasionally having a fancy applicator can distract from an awful product and just going simple shows the product for what it is. Though this isn't the case all the time.

The Smashbox gloss is 'Illume' which is more of a champagne colour and the Chanel gloss is 'Seashell' which is much pinker. I think the glitter in the Smashbox gloss is a bit chunkier which can be annoying, especially as the gloss dries out, so in that respect the Chanel gloss is superior.

When it comes to fragrance and I know that this can be both a bad thing or a good thing depending on how you feel about it. The Chanel gloss has virtually no smell which doesn't bother me because I like fragrance but if it's not there then I really don't mind. The Smashbox gloss has quite a lot of scent, it's is very vanilla so if this isn't your thing then I would steer clear.

Price point are quite different, Smashbox being the budget luxe of the two.
Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss  - £15.00
Chanel Lèvres Scintillantes Glossimer - £21.00

I know that both of these can be very pricey for a lipgloss depending on your budget. My personal preference of the two is the Chanel Gloss, that just does it for me. It's smooth and not chunky, it glides on better and there is a much bigger colour selection. I think you totally pay for the quality. I love the Smashbox one because the scent is amazing and the colour is great, the formula could be really make or break for some people. So my winner for this week is Chanel Lèvres Scintillantes Glossimer.

I always encourage readers to get out there and try things for themselves. My reviews are my opinions and you might totally disagree with me. The only way to know is to trial and error. If you are interested in trying both of these products then you can find them on www.boots.com or in most larger Boots stores (UK) I assume that any stockist should carry both of these products.

Speak soon,

Roo xx

The Drugstore Edit #7: Revlon Color Stay Eyeshadow Quad

I know 7 isn't a massively significant number (well to me it isn't), but I can't believe I am one my 7th one of these posts. I really enjoy doing them and I hope you all love reading them :)

This week I am focusing on the Revlon Colour Stay Eyeshadow Quad in 212 Adventurous.
I've probably mentioned this quad a few times but never gone into massive depth about it.

These are the colours that you get in the Adventurous quad, A frosty white, pearl finish dark green, pearl finish dark bronze and a matte deep brown. This does come with the double ended sponge applicator but I never use them unless I don't have anything else. This also doesn't come with a mirror, which doesn't bother me too much but if I'm on the go and I need a little mirror then it's nice to have it all in one. I'm not sure how I feel about the size of the colours because I know they have set them so you get more of what you would use most and less of what you use least of but I might have preferred them in equal sizes.

Swatchy time!
I love doing swatches, how else would you know the pigment and true colour of the product?!
From left to right - frosty white, pearl deep green, pearl deep bronze and matte deep brown.

Frosty white - I love this for the inner corner, you could use this for a brow bone highlight but I think it's a little intense unless you are going full on glam. I also love patting this in the centre of the lid with my finger because it comes out super pigmented and just adds extra dimension and makes your eyes look bigger.

Pearl deep green - Green isn't everyone's cup of tea and can be a little frightening to use but this heavily borders on being a near brown neutral so it's not as threatening. It also works great on brown and hazel eyes, let's face it though - I never follow those eyeshadow/ eye colour pairing thingies, I have blue eyes and I love rocking some green shadow!

Pearl deep bronze - This is super rich and lustrous, I love using this all over the lid but if it's a little dark for your liking then you can just use this in the crease.

Matte deep brown - my most work colour in this palette, I don't really ever use this for eyeshadow but for filling in the ends of my brows. I use the flat brush on the Naked 2 brush duo because it is honestly the perfect brush for picking up colour and it is the right thickness/ width for precision. This can also be used as an eyeliner if you want to go for less intense liner look.


If I had to rate this I would give it an 8/10. The colours are super pigmented, have a great texture and are super blendable as well as having great packaging but I would have probably replaced the deep bronze with a lighter version. It's great if you want a dark smoky look but doesn't give you an awful lot of versatility because it's all a bit too dark.

This is also super affordable at £7.99 so you get great value for money. If you are interested in trying this palette then you can buy it at Boots or your nearest Revlon stockist.

Let me know what you this of this quad :)

Speak soon,

Roo xx