February You Beauty Discovery Box

The You Beauty Discovery box from You Magazine is slightly different to other beauty boxes on offer in the UK, and also the only one that I currently subscribe to, as I think that it is a much better system.
Rather than creating a box of 5 random sample beauty products that you may have little or no interest in, with the You Beauty Discovery box you pick two products yourself from their Beauty Shortlist that you think you are going to most enjoy and these are then joined by two products picked by the company. All for £6.95 including delivery.
This month's theme was Red Carpet Glamour

The products that everyone received this month were Beyond Dark gluten and dairy free chocolate drops which are delicious and packed full of antioxidants as well as being a lot less bad for you than their dairy filled alternative (fab for a chocolate loving beauty girl like me) and the Charles Worthington Salon at Home Amplifying Volume Treatment which is designed to lift and give volume from all directions to the roots when blow dried. I'm saving this one for a night out to see if it works well combined with my new shorter hairstyle.

The two products that I chose this month were an eye shadow brush from The Vintage Cosmetics Company and an eye liner from Teeez which is a new company to me. To be honest, I was slightly disappointed to see The Vintage Cosmetics Company pop up again because their products are always in beauty boxes but I was in need of a new eye shadow brush so I went with it, and the quality is very good.
The Teeez eye liner, on the other hand, is a total game changer. It is absolutely amazing! I have a full review post of the eye liner going live tomorrow but lets just say it's been my favourite discovery from a beauty box so far. The Rotterdam based company have some fab products and finding companies like this is what I think beauty boxes should be all about!

Annie xx

Storage Solutions: Making the Most of your Sachet Samples

Hello,
We all know the situation don't we ladies. Over time you acquire a rather sizable collection of sample sachets just waiting to be used when you're looking for a bit of a change. But they must be one of the most annoying things in the world to use. You try to squeeze a little out and find the whole thing is gone, or you find that half of it has sunk into your hand whilst you've been faffing around, and if you have more than one sample on the go then your makeup area soon becomes strewn with half empty packets which leak or dry up or forgotten about.

One way to get around this is to take a little care over them and invest in some cheap but very effective storage. Travel pots! These little pots are the perfect size to hold sachets of foundation, day cream, eye cream, cleanser etc etc and as the lids screw tightly on, there is no worry about samples going off, being spilt or being a nuisance in any other way.

The pots I use are a stackable set of five that I picked up in Boots for £2 and they do the job perfectly. Where the pots are clear you can easily see what you are keeping in each one and once the sample has been used up just give them a quick rinse whilst doing the washing up and you're good to go. What I also like about this set is that they are always kept together in one place so I won't hide one away somewhere and forget about it.

Perhaps what I love most about storing samples this way though is that they last so much longer. I decant them straight into a pot by snipping the corner off instead of tearing and then just take as little or as much as needed from the pot so there is no wastage from squeezing too much onto a hand. I was really amazed by how much of a difference this made the first time and its so useful when you're trying to see a more long term effect from a product and the sample is tiny!

So that's one of my top beauty tips :)
Have you got any tricks for making your products last longer? Do you do this with your samples? Do you know of any good product samples floating around at the moment for me to try?
Annie x

Done and Dusted- April Empties

Hello,
Sorry my blogging has been a bit erratic over the last few days, I had a few things going on. But I'm back properly now with some great reviews lined up, two beauty boxes to show you and here is my April collection of empties!
Full Sized:

As I've been doing my sample experiment during april I haven't been using up many full sized products and these are just the essentials really. I have gone through a bag of cotton pads, a packet of Nivea facial cleansing wipes, a tub of nail polish remover wipes, a deep cleansing face mask and also polished of my MAC liquid shine eyeliner in Aquamarine. The only one of these that I would not buy again is the nail varnish remover wipes and thats because I hate all nail wipes. I got these for christmas and used them all up but wouldn't ever buy them myself.

Sample bottles:

I love bottled samples, they're so useful to have. The reason I've only emptied four bottles is because I like to keep them for holidays. I loved all four of these and would happily repurchase (I've already bought a bottle of the Dove conditioner). I cannot recommend the Lancome bi-facil enough. It works wonderfully at removing tough eye make-up.

Sample sachets:

Annoyingly, I have a fair few sachets that have around one more use in them at the moment but I just couldn't justify labeling them empties so there is another stash of these next month. Out of these sachets the Comfort Zone goodies really stood out. I loved all of them, especially the essential leg cream which works miracles after a long day at work.

You can find review for all of the sample products *here* as part of my Big Sample Survival Experiment.

What have you used up during April? Link me to your empties posts :)
Annie x

The Big Sample Experiment- Week Four

Hello,
I meant to post this last night but I had a rather rough day and just didn't get round to it. I'm sure all of my regular readers will know about The Big Sample Experiment that I have been running by now so I'll save you all the explanation again. This week was week four and I have to say that I have now put a big dent in my stock pile of samples (I can actually close the beauty box their kept in now!). I think to really use them up though that I am going to extend my experiment and keep at it all through May as well. By the end of May I think I should only be left with the real dregs that no one will ever use up.
This week I have been using 6 samples and have been pretty happy with them all. I also tried a 7th but I think that had gone off so we won't even go there! I have used:

Lancome Cleansing Fluid

Clarins Eye Contour Gel

Dior Deep Hydration Sorbet

Fifteen Conditioner

Benefit Facial Cream

Nivea Soft Touch Body Lotion

What I thought:

Lancome Cleansing Fluid: This cleanser is very effective. There is no scent which will please lots of people. It removes all traces of make-up and dirt from the skin whilst at the same time being very soft and kind to the skin. I did find it a little oily if you use too much but that was my only complaint. Rated 4/5

Clarins Eye Contour Gel: This has definitely been the stand out product from my sample experiment so far. I totally love it. Even o my fairly young skin I noticed an instant difference after using this gel. Instantly dark circles were lightened, colour was evened out and my eyes look much more awake. The sample wasn't large enough to tell whether I would see any long term effect but I would definitely recommend this. At £28 the price is high, but you need so little of this in one go that the 20ml bottle would last a very long time. Rated 5/5

Dior Deep Hydration Sorbet: From Dior I was expecting great things and I wasn't disappointed. The cream was a wonderful thick consistency that melted into skin very easily. The scent was also lovely, rich and indulgent but not very heavy so it wouldn't annoy people who don't like scented products. After use my skin felt wonderfully smooth and hydrated. I did find though that it was left a little sticky which I didn't like...or understand to be honest. Being Dior this has a very high price tag and I think that is its falling point. Its nice, but not £40 worth of nice. There are other creams which do the job just as well for a lot less money. Rated 3.5/5

Fifteen Conditioner: This is a make that I hadn't heard of before. I also struggled to find it on google so maybe it's made exclusively for hotels as thats where I picked this sample up. I really enjoyed using this sample. It had a wonderful old english rose smell which is one of my favourite scents at the moment. I also found the conditioner to be very effective in making my hair soft and shiny. I did find though that unlike most conditioners, I had a lot of trouble with tangles still after use which was a down side. The consistency was also very thick so I had trouble getting it all out of the bottle. Over all, rated 3/5

Benefit Facial Cream: There is so much I could say about the skin care range from Benefit. I adore it all, every product is very effective and totally worth the slightly steep price tag. The facial cream is no exception. The smell is divine, maybe a little strong for those who like scent free products, but divine none the less. I use this cream at night after taking all of my make-up off and my face looks and feels instantly soothed and refreshed. An added bonus is that, again, you need very little for each application so it will last a nice long time. Rated 5/5

Nivea Soft Touch Body Lotion: There isn't a huge amount to say about this sample. It worked just like you would expect a body lotion to do so. There was no scent to the product which I found a little disappointing but it did work very well. The cream sank in very quickly and felt instantly hydrated, especially on my dry legs but they were left feeling slightly...slippy. So all round, a bit of a boring product. Rated 3.5/5

And thats my samples for the week!

Have you tried any of these products?

Annie x

The Great Sample Survival Experiment Week Three

Hello,
I have had a pretty rubbish day today so its lovely to get home, sip on a large glass of wine, light a scented candle and just relax.
I'm still going strong with my Sample Survival Experiment and I'm really enjoying it. I've discovered some really nice products and found myself loving a few that I never thought I would.
This week I have been working my way through 6 different new samples as well as finishing off my Benefit Facial Emulsion which has kept me going for nearly two weeks now with daily use!

This week's samples:

Palmers Olive Butter Formula

Sisley Ecological Compound Day and Night

No 7 Body Polish

Charles Worthington Brilliant Shine Shampoo

Charles Worthington Brilliant Shine Conditioner

Comfort Zone Tranquility Cream

So we have a bit of a mixed bag this week but I think it has been the first week where I have really liked everything I've tried.

The Reviews:

Palmers Olive Butter Formula: I wasn't expecting to be keen on this sample because over all, Palmers isn't a make I'm all that fussed about, but this has been my favourite product by them by far. Much like the Cocoa Formula that I reviewed in week one *here* you need to use a reasonable amount of the cream to cover your body, but I think this is because it honestly does provide instant hydration. I find that my skin just drinks up Palmers creams. The Olive Butter Formula rubs in to skin with little effort and does not leave skin feeling at all greasy unlike the Cocoa equivalent. The smell is also very nice. It reminds me of holidays to Mallorca although I can't quite put my finger on why. Daniel says it smells like sun cream so that may be it. Over all, I rate this 4.5/5

Sisley Ecological Compound Day and Night: I am unsure about this product. Maybe I'm naive and just don't fully understand what it does, but to me, it seems to just be a face cream which you apply morning and night to keep skin looking young, well rested and revitalized. I didn't feel any sort of instant wow factor with this product and lost interest fairly quickly, partly due to not liking the smell, which was weirdly herbal. Although, that said, you need a very tiny amount to cover your face and when you have, the skin feels amazingly soft almost instantly. Over all, I rate this 3.5/5

No 7 Body Polish: My usual body scrub is Soap and Glory's Scrub Actually which has a rather abrasive formula so the softer feel of this scrub was a new sensation. The little scrubby particles are a lot smaller and more sparse than I am used to and the gel that they're contained in is nice and soothing which makes buffing comfortable and gentle. The smell is wonderful and even though the scrub is gentle, skin is left nice and soft. Rated 4/5

CharlesWorthington Brilliant Shine Shampoo: Another lovely sample. The Charles Worthington shampoo had a lovely smell that isn't dissimilar to Tresemme products. The shampoo lathered up quickly and easily in a way that some shampoos fail to do and left my hair feeling very soft as well as beautifully shiny. My only complaint is that I find the shape of the bottle rather annoying because I think it would be troublesome to get the last bit out of. Rated 4/5

Charles Worthington Brilliant Shine Conditioner: I have little to add to this that wasn't said about the shampoo. I find I usually need a large amount of conditioner on my rather large mane but I didn't need to use  all that much of this conditioner which was a nice bonus. I have the same issue with the bottle shape, but other than that, I adored this product. Rated 4.5/5

Comfort Zone Tranquility Cream: This is another sample from the Comfort Zone set that came with this month's She Said Beauty box. This set has really made me fall in love with Comfort Zone. The Tranquility Cream is an indulgent body cream that can be used all over the body. The formula applies as a cream but turns milky as you massage it in which feels ultra indulgent. The smell is a little strong but it is a relaxing, sweet scent that isn't unpleasant. Because the formula is milky, you don't need much product each time so the sachet is lasting me a nice long time. Rated 4/5

So, as you can see, a week of positive reviews and some lovely products. I feel like my posts are a little samey when I am enjoying all of the products, but I guess thats more important than whether I'm sounding a bit like a broken record in my weekly round up.

Have you tried any of these products? What have you been using up this week?

Annie x

The Big Sample Survival Experiment Week Two

Hello,
Another Monday out of the way and another week into my Big Sample Survival Experiment.
This week I have used very few samples because I wanted to wait until the skin on my face fully recovered from the allergic reaction I suffered before risking the use of any other products on it. My skin is now fully mended (thank god! No more flakey eyebrows!) and I will be back to sampling a few more products, although I am still a little scared to use them.
Anyways, back to this week. I have managed to test 6 different products and I have to say, its been a fairly good week. I have used:

• Bee Kind Moisturising Shampoo
• Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsion
• Molton Brown Revitalising Shampoo
• Garnier Fructis Conditioner
• Lancome Bi-Facil Double Action Eye Make-up Remover
• Percy and Reed Hydrating Mask

The Reviews:

Bee Kind Moisturising Shampoo: A bit of a mixed verdict on this one. My first impression was good; as soon as I squeezed the product out, I was greeted with a refreshing citrus smell and a shampoo that had a good consistancy. Straight away I could tell there wasn't enough to cover my huge mane of hair but it made a valiant effort. I found that this left my hair feeling rather heavy for some reason but when it had dried, my hair was beautifully soft and shiny. Over all I give this a thumbs up and rate it 3.5/5

Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsion: I'm a big benefit fan so I was excited to try out this sample from their new skin care range. This cream is wonderful. The scent is lovely and reminds me of something that my mum used to use when I was young. I do find the formula a little runny so its easy to use more than I would ideally like, but it makes skin wonderfully soft and hydrated instantly and is refreshing on skin thats tired from harsh weather conditions. There's also the added bonus of SPF15 coverage in the cream so you don't need to worry about using a sunscreen or SPF packed foundation. A big thumbs up and a rating of 5/5!

Molton Brown Revitalising Shampoo: There isn't a huge amount to say about this lovely little shampoo from Molton Brown. The formula is nice and thick, lathers up well in hair and feels nice an luxurious. My hair was left feeling soft and smooth although a little less bright than usual. A little torn over the product so rated 3.5/5

Garnier Fructis Conditioner: Definitely the most disappointing sample of the week. The conditioner was weak and watery and did absolutely nothing for my hair. The scent was lovely but that would be a lot more useful if the product actually did something and didn't need to instantly be topped up with a different conditioned. Very disappointed so a thumbs down and 1/5

Lancome Bi-facil Double Action Eye Make-up Remover: When I first started using this product I wasn't sure about it. I've always disliked oily make-up removers but I take that back. This is the best eye make-up remover I've ever used. It is soft and soothing, even on delicate skin and whilst oily in the bottle it doesn't look or feel oily in use. The formula removes make-up quickly and easily with no scrubbing required which means that despite the high RRP it will last a nice long time making it worth the money. Rated 5/5

Percy and Reed Hydrating Mask: Another fabby product. Percy and Reed are known for their high quality products and this hydrating mask is no exception. The formula is indulgently thick and creamy making it very easy to apply. After leaving it on for 10 minutes my hair was soft, shiny and full of volume. Its the healthiest looking that I have seen it in a long time. But, on the flip side, I do think this product is rather pricey for what is essentially a deep hydration conditioner so I rate it 4/5

Wow, sorry for the wordy post. Does anyone have any idea how I can make these shorter? Have you tried any of these products?

Annie x

The Big Sample Survival Experiment Week one

Hello,
Hooray for Monday being out of the way, and having a few hours to relax this evening.
At the beginning of April I set myself the challenge of using up all of the samples that have been littering up the bathroom (If you saw the original post, you will know that there are a lot!) and so far, so good...ish. Let me tell you a bit about my progress.

This week I have managed to use up nine samples which sounds like quite a few, yet they don't seem to have made much of a dent in the box somehow. I have been using:

Magic Touch Whipped Body Cream

Sisley Hydra-flash

Clinique Even Better Foundation

Erno Laszlo Instant Eye Repair

The Comfort Zone Vital Leg Cream

Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula Lotion

Erno Laszlo Moisture Infusion

Body Shop Day Cream

OXI Triple Action Wipe

So a bit of a mixed selection really in regards to both product and quality but heres a little bit about each product I tried.

Magic Touch Whipped Body Cream: At first I was very happy with this cream. I used it on my eczema prone legs to test it as the skin here takes quite a lot to make it smooth. This cream was a silky smooth consistency and applied and sunk into the skin well. There was a little shimmer to the cream but this wasn't visible once rubbed in. Whilst this made my legs feel a lot more hydrated, it made them feel a little itchy and I think that has something to do with the heavily perfumed formula. I seriously did not like the smell, it was completely over powering and when I used it one night while feeling a little under the weather, the smell was enough to turn my stomach completely, it also lingers for a long time which I didn't like. Rated: 2/5

Sisley Hydra-flash: I completely fell in love with this product 100%. I used this on my face in place of my usual Neals Yard moisturiser and found myself instantly wishing I hadn't as it retails at a whopping £108 so I will never be able to afford to replace it, despite the instant love I felt. The formula is wonderful; an indulgent thick and creamy consistency that melts beautifully into the skin with little effort leaving skin feeling really soft and hydrated. The smell was also nice, very faint as I think a face product should be, and very slightly herby and fresh. Rated 5/5

Clinique Even Better Foundation: I was excited to try this because I'm a fan of high end foundations, they are nearly always worth the money because they just make skin look so much better than drugstore brands. The Even Better foundation did not disappoint on this front. Whilst the shade I had to sample was slightly too dark for my very fair skin tone, it adapted well with a bit of buffing. Although the coverage says to be light to medium, it worked well to smooth the look of blemishes and lasted a nice long time on my face without wearing off or looking shiny. Rated 4/5

Erno Laszlo Instant Eye Repair: This is a tricky one for my to write as my initial impressions were fairly good, yet I am pretty sure this is the product which caused such a traumatic allergic reaction (I still have swollen, dry eyes now!) so I am going to simply tell you what I first thought and not rate this out of 5. When using this, my eyes felt instantly refreshed, soothed and instantly hydrated after a long hard day. The creamy consistency was easy to work into such a small area and a little went a long way which is always a good thing. Even though I initially liked this product, I would never buy it because the price tag is extortionate and there are so many cheaper brands that are equally as effective.

The Comfort Zone Vital Leg Cream Gel: This is my definite favourite of the week and felt like a real treat on my legs. The idea of this product is to nourish, tone and protect legs as well as refreshing and relaxing the muscles after long periods on your feet. I really think this lives up to its claims; when I use it my legs feel relaxed, refreshed and fairly well moisturised at the same time. The smell will not be for everyone as it is herb based and smells almost medicinal  but I personally love it. Rated 5/5

Palmers Cocoa Formula Lotion: I know that most people absolutely rave about this body lotion but I'm personally not a fan, and I don't think it is anywhere near as nice as my beloved Chocomania body butter from The Body Shop (reviewed here). The formula itself is a bit too runny for my liking and I find that you need quite a lot to properly coat legs to the level I like to, I also find it a little greasy on my legs which isn't something I'm used to with such dry leggies. But what I can't stand at all is the smell. I find it way too sickly sweet to the point that its almost artificial which isn't my cup of tea. What I will say though, is that if you're looking for a quick burst of hydration, this is a great product which works well even if it isn't something I like. Rated 3/5

Erno Laszlo Moisture Infusion: Again, I find it hard to write about this product so I will keep it short and sweet. The first thing I noticed when opening this cream is the lovely smell which is nice without being over powering or offensive. Like the eye cream, this has a soft and creamy formula which feels indulgent on the skin. I do think this is best suited to very dry skin however and it is very likely you will find a product just as good with a much smaller price tag.

Body Shop Day Cream: This is definitely the biggest disappointment I faced this week. I was really excited to try this cream out but when I did I found it to be wayyy too greasy to contemplate wearing and it looked like an oil slick on my face. I have little more to say about the product really. Rated 1/5

OXI Triple Use Wipe: I was intrigued by this product because it claims so much. The wipe itself felt just as soft and gentle on the skin as a face wipe yet it worked so much better at removing dirt and make-up than a normal wipe does. I think I will be buying these again because I was so impressed. Rated 4/5

Goodness, what a wordy post, maybe I'll try and find a shorter, easier way to tell you about next weeks samples. I'm not going to be starting vlogging because I'm too shy, but I will see what I can do :) If you'd like a full review on any of these products then just let me know and I'll pop one up for you :)

Have you tried any of these? What did you think?

Annie x

The Big Sample Survival Experiment

Hello,
Isn't it lovely out? Another fab sunny day without the crazy heat we had a couple of days last week.

Now, call me mad, but this month I have decided to take a slightly different approach to my beauty regime and try out all of the lovely samples that have been gathering dust in the cupboard since goodness knows when. The other day I cleared through the bathroom and found literally hundreds of exciting little tubes and packets of everything ranging from sanitary towel samples from bodyform, all the way through to Sisley night time elixer's so I thought it was about time they got some use.
This month, I am going to live on samples. Here is my stash.

As you can see, I have at least one or two samples of just about everything I could possibly need over the next month, so before reaching for my usual products, I am going to use up these goodies and you never know, I could end up really falling in love with something I've never tried before. I'm particularly looking forward to the Clinique foundation and the No 7 body polish as well as the Molten Brown Shampoo.

When I run out of a particular product, I will of course be happy to go back to my trusty regular collection, but I think this stash should keep me going for a good few weeks. I will be rating all of these out of ten and will pop up some reviews of my favourites for you as I use them but mainly I'm doing this because I think it will be fun and refreshing.

I thought I'd also let you know that after my mini breakdown yesterday, I have woken up today refreshed and started doing some research into intensive professional make-up courses  over the summer so that I can follow my dream and become a freelance make-up artist so watch this space :)

Annie x