Empties: July 2012

Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor

 This was a repurchase and I will always get this, it is amazing! - Review

Aussie 3 Minute Colour Deep Treatment 

Not as good as the reconstructor, I won't be repurchasing - Review

Body Shop Mango Body  Butter

Very intensive, smells nice. Think I will try a different scent next though - Review

Boots Acetone Free Nail Polish Remover 

Not much to say about this, it works.

John Frieda Full Repair Deep Conditioner 

Not bad, but I prefer my Aussie! - Review

Lush Bob Soap

Green and the smell reminds me of pine cleaner for the bathroom

John Frieda Full Repair Shampoo 

Not a repurchase item for me - Review

Bblond Cream Peroxide

Worked and has the exact amount of product to mix with the powder which makes it easier to use.

Soap and Glory Off Your Face Wipes 

Nice enough but won't repurchase.

George @ Asda Polish in shade Buttercup 

More proof I do actually use up polish. I liked this, nice formula, price, brush etc but I have another yellow so no need to repurchase at the moment - Review

W7 Clear Nail Polish 

 Good amount for the price, I like the brush and the bottle shape. Only bad thing is it stinks! I do need to get some more clear soon and would buy it again.

Bblond Powder Bleach

 Seems fine to me although I haven't tried others before.

52 Week Challenge: Blue

The 44th Challenge is entitled 'Blue' what a perfect excuse to use one of my Kleancolor Holo's!

Essence - Let's Get Lost
Kleancolor - Holo Blue (135)

Summer Nail Challenge: Olympic Medals

Challenge for today is the Olympic Medals, which apparently come on a purple ribbon this year. Each medal is personalised to each discipline so thought I would just do a general set of gold, silver and bronze.

Review: Soap and Glory - Off Your Face

Review: Soap and Glory - Off Your Face Cleansing Cloths

I got these for Christmas 2011 and have only just finished using them as I used them sporadically.

"Infused with poreshrink RS acid free exfolator" 

Not too sure about this poreshrinking claim, I didn't notice anything. My face felt slightly tight after using these but I put that down to needing to moisturising.

+ Didn't irritate my eyes

+ Waffle texture helps remove make up

+ Scent is very much typical Soap and Glory

+ The name 'Off Your Face' makes me smile

+ Resealable sticker part is really good

+ Left my skin feeling soft but did need to moisturise

- Not very good at removing mascara
- None moisturising
- Slight scent of windowlene along with the usual scent
- Price is out of my budget 


£4.50
Boots

Summer Nail Challenge: Olympic Rings

Olympic Rings is the challenge of today, and this is my quick interpretation of them. I much prefer my other ones I did which I will cheekily post underneath, so let me know which you prefer.

Summer Nail Challenge: Olympic Opening Ceremony

Index Finger - The Torch and Cauldron
"The big finale is the entrance of the Olympic Flame into the Stadium. It is passed through the athletes to the final Torch bearer, who will ceremoniously light the Cauldron, indicating the beginning of the Games. The Flame will continue to burn for the whole of the Games"


Middle Finger - The Official London 2012 Olympics Flag
"Once the Games have been declared open, the Olympic Flag is then carried into the Stadium and hoisted into the air as the respective Anthem is played. The Olympic Charter states that each flag must fly for the entire duration of the Games – placed in a prominent position in the main Stadium"


Ring Finger - The Queen
Receiving the Head of State. "The Head of State of the Host Country is received at the entrance of the Olympic Stadium by the President of the IOC. For the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, Her Majesty the Queen will be greeted by Jacques Rogge"


Little Finger - Official Olympic Emblem
"The Olympic Emblem is based on the number 2012 – the year of the Games – and includes the Olympic Rings, one of the world’s most recognised brands, and the word ‘London’ – the world's most diverse city"


Thumb - Olympics Union Jack Flag
As far as I can gather the reason for the Official Union Jack Flag to be blue is because it is the same as the outfits which have been designed by Stella McCartney. 

Hair: Yet more bleach, all for project violet hair!

After last weeks adventures in to the world of bleach I went for the 30% volume bleach on all but the underneath of my hair. The photo of the length of my hair isn't so clear, but hope you can still see how much it has been lightened going from:

this               to               this 

My hair seemed to go a streaky ginger colour, very light for me! 

My hair got so hot when I was bleaching it, I don't think I have damaged my hair. After using semi permanent violet dye I am going to have to leave it a while before I do anything else to it because I think my luck may run out soon.

Hope it is now light enough to take the violet!

Summer Nail Challenge: Zoo Days

This was a disaster. Everything was looking fine until I added a topcoat which made everything bleed. Had to quickly go over with acrylic paint so you could tell what it was supposed to be.

Summer Nail Challenge: Red, Orange and Yellow

Bright colours were a touch scary so I put a coat of Barry M's Croc Special Effects

Nails: Furry / Velvet Manicure - My Take

Having seen the furry nail look on various blogs and being exceptionally envious as I wanted to have black furry nails for my birthday. I couldn't find any 'fur' anywhere in shops or online for any reasonable price. Finally bit the bullet and got some flocking / embossing powder so I could too have furry nails.

I was sitting watching QVC, something or other about nails when Ciaté came on flogging their 'Caviar Manicure'. They kept on mentioning that they had a new textured nail coming soon, the Velvet Manicure. While they didn't show it I knew it was what I had done.

After the whole legal action being taken on bloggers for calling their nails a Caviar Manicure and claiming they came up with the idea was wrong. However it is a positive that they are bringing nail art to the forefront, especially seeing how difficult I found to get the powder. I won't be purchasing their version, as I imagine it is out of my price range and I am uneasy with the company as a whole.

What do you think of the furry / velvet nail look?

As for me I am on the fence :S

Swatch: Jessica - Holographic Topcoat

A different sort of polish from what I have seen before, the photo on the left is prior to shaking and the one on the right is after shaking the bottle

Both photos are one coat and were taken in LED light, the one on the left with a flash, on the right without

(Layered over two coats of ELF Black)

Finish: Fine pieces of holographic glitter in a clear base
Brush Type: Flat and wide, not as wide as OPI
Opacity: Not designed to wear alone, buildable effect.
How Much? 14.8ml - £9.75
Anything Else?  Possible Dupe for China Glaze - Fairy Dust
The neck of the lid has little indentations which makes it easier to keep a grip of.
John Lewis and Sally's sell Jessica polishes

Review: Full Repair - Styling Spray

This is part of the John Frieda Full Repair range. The heat activated styling spray is part of stage three, the styling phase along with the root lift foam.

"A lightweight styling spray with heat protectant, that creates natural movement and long lasting hold to any style. Spray onto mid-lengths and ends before using heat styling tools to create a shiny, versatile style that lasts all day"

Packaging
The bottle came in this box which you can see to the right. The product itself comes in the bottle which contains 100ml, the box is a bit cheeky it looks like it would have a larger bottle in.

The nozzle is really good and from it you do get a lovely fine mist spray. Easy to push too, I seem to have problems with sticking awkward nozzles and leave in conditioners which sort of spits out product in massive drops rather than evenly. This one is really nice though.

Scent
Smells really nice, no alcohol scent like you sometimes get. I think its a light floral scent, very nice and I have had comments on my perfume when I am very sure it was this they were commenting on!

Stickiness Factor?
Very important to know this! It is slightly sticky but if you follow the instructions and don't use too much then it is fine once the hair is dry. The root lift foam in this range is a lot worse.

Does it meet its claims?
+ Doesn't weigh your hair down, as long as you don't apply too much
+ Protects hair from heat damage
+ Lovely scented
+ Nicely shiny

- Didn't find it creates natural movement
- While it did keep my hair straight I didn't find it held it too much, or made it move about any more than usual


7 / 10

£5.99
Boots

Step 1
Shampoo and Conditioner: Review
Deep Conditioning: Review


Step 2
Perfect Ends Serum: Review


Step 3
Root Lift Foam: Review


Also I tried out a voluminous side bun using these products; here

[I was sent this for review purposes, this doesn't affect my opinions]

Summer Nail Challenge: Tour de France

I had so many ideas for this but none of them worked! Ended up getting that frustrated and came up with this.

Review: Jergens - Cocoa Butter

 I don't know about you but I often find myself reading blogs which are based in America. I find myself getting excited about this new wonder, holy grail product without realising I can't actually get it which is very frustrating. 

So when I was given the chance to review the new Jergens body moisturiser I was very happy to do so because I had heard so many good things about their range from American blogs and reviews.

This moisturiser is part of the new Jergens moisturiser range, I was sent the cocoa butter one which is marketed at conditioning and enriching the skin. The others are:

Jergens Soothing Aloe – With Aloe and Cucumber, this fast-absorbing moisturiser quickly replenishes moisture and soothes dry skin caused by the elements, leaving skin looking and feeling beautifully refreshed.

Jergens Skin Firming – Go beyond mositurisation with visibly firmer skin. With its exclusive Firm Perfecting™ complex, containing collagen and elastin, this moisturiser tightens skin and reduces the appearance of cellulite.

Jergens Original Beauty Lotion – This classic Cherry-Almond scent lotion moisturises dry skin, leaving it looking and feeling softer for 24 hours resulting in skin that is beautifully soft.

The cocoa one is halfway between a body butter and a lotion, thick enough to offer real moisture. With it not being a butter it does actually sink in so you don't have to wait hours before getting dressed or going to bed, I am enjoying using it on my legs and arms after showering at the moment, shame the weather isn't better though. The smell is nice and typical of a cocoa butter product.

Also if you are interested in a competition, "take your first step to showcasing your beautiful skin in your own photo shoot appearing on the pages of Marie Claire, simply head to: www.facebook.com/JergensUK  upload a full length photo of yourself and tell us which part of your body (arms, leg or shoulders) you are most proud of and why? Submit your answers and details and you’ll be in with a chance of winning!"

RRP - £3.49 - 200ml

Summer Nail Challenge: Golf

All of these sports related nail challenges are really quite challenging! I am not sporty in the slightest and have no incline to watch any of them. Which means it is difficult to work out what to do nail wise. 

I much prefer to walk than do anything competitive!

Review: Twist and Out Polish Remover

I doubt I need to explain the principle behind this product as the name sort of suggests what it is all about! I spotted this in a Poundshop and after the hype of the Bourjous Magic Nail Polish Remover I couldn't help but try this.

I have heard a lot of good things about this sort of thing especially when it comes down to removing the dreaded glitter polish. The Bourjous version has 75ml of product whereas this one is 55ml.

Inside of the pot is a sponge which has a cross shape cut in to the middle of it which allows you to stick your finger down the centre. The sponge is very soft and squishy, and isn't stuck to the outer packaging which means you can accidently pull out the sponge.

Took about five seconds to remove standard polish, it did take longer for the glitter polish but not much. Even with the really stubborn glitter with shaped pieces this managed to remove it within about 15 seconds. 

Dried out my skin, nail and cuticle but that was expected as it is acetone remover. Nothing a bit of lotion can't fix! Little bits of the sponge did come away from the main bit leaving bits of stained sponge on me which wasn't nice but once I knew what it was it wasn't so alarming. 

I would like to try making my own version of this with a more heavy duty sponge such as a kitchen one as it might wear better than a softer bathroom one. I think this is really handy for holidays and weekends away. Especially at this price, you wouldn't feel bad leaving it behind either.