justmejustsam

justmejustsam

Thursday 28 June 2012

Haul - Pixi and 17

This is just a teeny haul, but its special because its my first ever Pixi haul!
Ive been curious about this brand for a long time, but its not sold anywhere near me, and I'm a try before you buy kinda gal, despite how tempting online shopping can be!



The 2 lip products i picked up at TK Maxx for £3.99 for them both  - bargain!
Having seen how much they actually are, i can't believe my luck!




Lip Blush in Youth £12.50 - here





Vitamin Lip Silk in Hero £10 - here



17 are currently holding an offer where if you spend £6, you receive this free gift, which was basically just an excuse for me to spend money!



Instant Glow Body Bronzer - here





Lasting Fix Nail Polish in Tropical Island - here



17 Perfect Definition Eye Liner in Onyx - here



Theres nothing like a little summer shop to get you in the mood for the months to come, and i can't wait to try and review all these for you. The only problem is, as i look out my window, i wouldn't really say it was summer here...









Wednesday 27 June 2012

Yankee Candle Tea Lights Review


This may seem like a strange thing to review, but they weren't really what i expected.
I actually won these at a local bingo night (haha!) and i LOVE yankee, so i couldn't wait to try them out.

They claim to smell of 'Early Sunrise' - there was no scent whatsoever to these. They may aswell have been plain tea lights. They burnt for a couple of hours before going out, which surprised me because i thought seen as they were Yankee they'd last much longer.

I can't understand why A - there was no scent and B - they lasted for like 2 seconds. Maybe the scent of Early Sunrise was so subtle it was just really hard to smell - afterall, have you ever smelt an early sunrise?

I have tried a fair few Yankee products and i can't rave about them enough, but these just didn't cut it for me I'm afraid, and i wouldn't repurchase these. I think ill just stick to my trusty tartlets instead!

If you are still interested however, you can buy these for £6.25 here

Id love to hear you're thoughts on these!

xxxx

Monday 25 June 2012

NOTD - Primark Nail Foils


When i saw these in Primark i just couldnt resist, and the fact they were a £1 just made them all the more appealing - i mean i really had nothing to lose did i ?









They were the easiest things ever to put on, you simple find one that fits your nail, stick it on and file the excess off. Simples. They look amazing, and everywhere i went people were complimenting them!
The only problem is they chip SO easily. These lasted 2 days maximum before i had to take them off. To test things out when i applied them, i put a top coat on one hand, but it really made no difference.
Overall, i will definitely repurchase these, however ill only put them on for a particular event, as they don't really last making it pointless to put them on for the average day. I really recommend these, but id get there quick, they're never in stock for long!







xxxx

Sunday 24 June 2012

Tea Tree Skincare Review


Now that I've used up all these products i feel in a fair place to review them.

These are very fairly priced (£2.99 each from Superdrug) - very purse friendly indeed!

Before i start ill just say i have normal/dry skin, and although tea tree isn't always recommended for this skin type, i was having a little problem with blemishes, and this is renowned for its spot tackling qualities!
The smell of all 3 products is AMAZING, i could easily sit and smell it all day. This was definitely one of my favourite things about this range - plus we all know tea tree is good for your skin!

Foaming Face Wash
As far as packaging goes, this is the coolest of the 3! In the bottle it appears as a liquid, but you press the top and it dispenses as a foam. I like this idea because you know you're using the right amount of product, and it also makes it last FORVER (i think a little bit of liquid must make a lotta foam!)
It says to use 1 or 2 pumps, but i found 2 dried my skin out slightly. This face wash made my face squeaky clean, and you know when you can really feel something working?
I don't think any other product has made my face feel so clean!


Cleanser and Toner
A cleanser and toner in one = less faff on = right up my street!
If you're a little crappy at sticking to an elaborate skin routine, then something like this would be perfect for you, as it cuts down the number of steps.
I would always apply this with a cotton pad, and its glides onto the skin smoothly, and as with the foam wash you can feel it getting into your skin.
If you're having a particularly dry skin day, or are in a rush, you could actually skip this step, because the face wash does such a good job, that your face is already squeaky clean and refreshed.


Moisturiser
Of all 3 products, this was the least pleasing. Yes it did the job - it left my face feeling moisturised, soft, and smelling of tea tree, but i think you could easily use another moisturiser, and still reap all the benefits of the other products. So if you're on a budget, you could get away with just buying the foam wash and 2 in 1 cleanser and toner. (in my opinion of course)
The formula is quite thin, so if you've got dry skin this just might not cut it.
I was disappointed at the fact that because of the design of the packaging (its like a pump bottle) once you're 3/4 of the way down, its impossible to retrieve anymore product, therefore a lot gets wasted - NOT my style! 




Overall
This is a skincare routine i found extremely easy to stick to, and as far as price goes, this is definitely the best value for money skincare range I've ever tried.
If you've got dry skin however, i wouldn't recommend this as it can be quite drying, and tea tree is usually recommended for people with oily skin anyway.
I used all 3 products until they ran out, however, the moisturiser didn't really last too long, and next to run out was the cleanser. The foam wash was still going strong months down the line!
Id say for every one bottle of foam wash, you'd need 2 cleanser and toners, and 3 moisturisers, which is pretty silly on the manufactures part. If you made the moisturiser bigger for example, it'd last as long as the other products.


I probably will repurchase these, and they are definitely on my list of favourite products - next time ill just have to buy a few more of everything!


xxxx




















Friday 22 June 2012

Bodyshop Summer Haul


I got body shopped! I maybe spent a little more than i should, but i LOVE the body shop, and i get far too carried away at their parties!


This was actually a free gift, and lets face it, you can never have too many of these!




This isn't the best photo, but I'm going to a separate post on each product anyway.
I saw this, and it seemed perfect for summer. The smell is amazing, and the perfume is a perfect handbag size! 
I don't like the smell of musk, but i find the white musk much much nicer!

White Musk Sun Glow Body Puree - here
White Musk Sun Glow Eau De Toilette - here




I bought these as a set, as I've always been curious about body shop mascaras, although id never pay full price for one.
Big and Curvy Mascara £10 - here
Carbon Eye Definer in Black £9 - here




Vitamin C Eye Reviver Duo £11 - here




This was also a free gift  - perfect travel size !
Dreams Unlimited Body Wash £6.50 - here





This is from the Honey Bronze range, which i plan to buy more from over the summer, as they have loads of brilliant bronzing products!

Honey Bronze Lip Nectar in Coral - here






I love the packaging of this! And its perfect to pop in your handbag or to take on holiday

 Brow and Liner Kit in Brunette and Brown £10 -  here


Reviews of all these products will be coming soon!
Thanks for reading

xxxx


Saturday 16 June 2012

NOTD - A Dotty Ciate !




Todays NOTD is Ciate (shade Bon Bon) which was free with this months Marie Claire (which wasn't filled with adverts like they usually are when you get a really good free gift!)

The simple nude with a hint of lilac is a really lovely colour which is very versatile, but i wanted a little extra something to brighten it up - and the pink goes really well ! 
The nail art pen was part of a huge set off ebay.

This polish doesn't have huge staying power, and lasted just 2 days before chipping. While I'm happy i received this for free, i don't think they're worth £11 - although i do have my eye on Jellybean from this brand! 

xxxx



Friday 15 June 2012

Invigorate Lotion - Glossybox Review

 Invigorate Lotion
£20 for 300ml
Can be purchased here

Many of you may have received this in your Glossybox a few months ago, and having nearly used this up i feel I'm in a good place to review it!

I must admit my heart sank a little when eyes fell on the packaging, purely because once you get near the bottom of these style bottles, its really hard to get anything out, and so you end up wasting a few applications worth of product.

The next most noticeable thing for me was the SMELL - it smells so strongly of lavender (and not of the other ingredients), i wouldn't recommend applying this then immediately going out for the day, because people will wonder where that lavender smell is coming from. Because it smells so strongly, i recommend either applying very little product, or only applying it to certain areas of your body (i wouldn't cover myself in this). You can probably assume at this point that if you don't like lavender, this definitely ISNT for you!
However.. i found this particularly nice to apply just before i go to bed, and this would be perfect if you have trouble sleeping, as everyone knows lavender helps you sleep. 

As a moisturiser, i didn't feel this moisturised me very well at all, and about a hour after i applied this, it was like id never moisturised, the only giveaway was the smell, which didn't actually last much longer.

Overall, i recommend this moisturiser if you like to smell something soothing before you go to bed, or if you want to feel relaxed. However, if you're on a budget like me and have medium to dry skin, you won't be left feeling silky soft, and isn't very kind to your bank balance.

Have you tried this product?
Would you repurchase?


xxxx






Wednesday 13 June 2012

Shopping spree - my first MAC haul !!


You know sometimes its necessary for a shopping spree?
I have this feeling around once every couple of months, regardless of whether i have the money or not.
So here is a what i got when my boyfriend and i 'spreed' a couple of months ago..

(please note I've found the links to what i can, but some things have been discontinued)



                                                  
Ok so i know this is silly, but i am obsessed with disney princesses (i often refer to myself as one), so when i saw this for £1.99 i just had to. 



I am also obsessed with this lady, and many other classic actresses, and this book is basically all about that (ill probably review it at some point!)



The Mac Stuff




This is a gorgeous pink Lipcreme in Dress It Up - its a real girly pink and perfect for summer!
You can buy this for £16.50 here






I LOVE this colour - its not exactly summery but ill somehow work it in as i love the sparkle of the blue!






This is an eyeshadow (the picture is a little too far away, but I'm going to review and swatch it in a separate post - as with the eyeshadow below). Its a lovely pink colour, but not too pink (I'm not really a pink eyeshadow person) and would look great with other neutral colours.
You can buy this for £16.50 from here




I LOVE this colour! The colour you get when you swirl the eyeshadow is stunning, and its one of those colours that goes with everything, so ill definitely be using this a lot.



I loved the packaging of this, so I couldn't resist a photo!


This is a medium sized makeup back, which included a brush set and makeup kit


With a nifty little pocket at the front..



Which is useful to store brushes in!


I am so impressed by this - its like a snow globe on the top of the packaging



These are eyeshadows (again i will follow up with swatches)
Here are the links:
Phloof: here
Brun: here
Quarry: here
Dance In The Dark: I can't find this one anywhere :( 


And a blusher, which is really decently sized!
You can buy this for £17.50 here





                                       

Lipglass in Emancipation





Creme Sheen in Hot Gossip

This whole set (the bag and its contents) cost around £20, when it should have been considerably more - this was probably my biggest bargain of the day!)

You can buy this for £13.50 here







You can buy this for £9 here






You can buy this for £9 here




These are my first Mac nail polishes (along with the snazzy blue one further up) and i CANNOT wait to try them - I've heard both good and bad!
They also came in a little snow globe-y thing, which is not empty and i have no idea what to store in it?!




Aswell as losing my Mac virginity, i also lost my Levi's too - these are now probably my most favourite jeans - i totally understand the hype!


So that was my shopping spree, and let me tell you i was totally shopped out after all that! 

xxxx



If you want to see the boy part of this post, or would like ideas for a gift for a male, read on...




An overview of the whole set (every full sized product comes with a mini travel version - perfect for summer holidays!



Clinique Cream Shave



Clinique Face Scrub



Clinique Post-Shave Healer

Once my boyfriend has used these products i will possibly do a review of them, depending upon whether people are interested!



If you have any requests of posts or if you would like any of these products reviewing please let me know (i will of course review them anyway, but if people request things ill put that as priority)

Thanks for getting to the end of that - you deserve a cup of tea!


xxxx