Wednesday 25 November 2015

Vitamin E Micellar Water





You may have already heard my micellar rant HERE but you may also know that I really love my micellar water and it has it's place in my skincare stash. 




So when I came to the end of my Garnier Micellar Water bottle I thought I'd give another one a go so I picked up Superdrug's own label Vitamin E Micellar Water. I tried a few things from the range, in fact I wrote a review about their All Over Body Cream HERE and most of the range I love but this product unfortunately wasn't a hit with me.

The Vitamin E Micellar Water did remove my make up but it left my skin feeling sore, particularly around the eye area to the point my skin looked a little red afterwards. This could just be because it doesn't agree with my skin but in my experience I found it to be quite harsh. It has the signature Vitamin E smell that all of the Superdrug Vitamin E range has, personally I really like the smell but I've read other blog posts and some people are really adverse to it. If you haven't smelt it, it has a slight cocoa butter smell to it crossed with a very slight, old fashioned face cream smell, kind of primrose-ish. I realise that's a dreadful description and makes it sound awful but it's not awful, I suggest if you find yourself in a Superdrug go and have a sniff! 

I had a gripe with the packaging too, it had lid on it, but when you opened the lid it had another lid, which you push down to open the bottle. I didn't see the point of having two lids, the first one I lost even before I managed to take the photo and the second one where the product came out wasn't the best choice in my opinion. It wasn't so terrible you wouldn't be able to use it but it was a little awkward as it meant the product came out at a slight angle rather than just straight out the bottle onto your cotton pad. I hope that makes sense! 

Vitamin E Micellar Water £2.99 is available HERE or at your local Superdrug store (currently buy one and get the second half price).

Thanks for reading,

Wench x  

Monday 23 November 2015

Beauty Advent Calendars on a Budget!



Beauty advent calendars have really gained popularity over the last few years but I've always found them to be rather pricey so I never bothered.

This year however, I really wanted one but didn't want to pay a fortune and settled on the Makeup Revolution Advent Calendar (£45) which contains 25 FULL SIZED items (which I'm ridiculously excited about!) 



I've been really pleased to see lots of budget friendly beauty advents this year and although I couldn't buy them all (how I wish I could!) I thought I'd leave some links to some others I stumbled across.

It's Kissmas Beauty Advent Calendar (£5) - This super budget friendly offering contains everything a nail lover could need for a perfect manicure on the big day.

Flutter Advent Calendar (£8) - This little bargain contains a collection of mini make up items for lips, eyes, and nails.

Bomb Cosmetics Advent Calender (£19.99) - Perfect for bath time lovers (and who doesn't love a soak in the bath?). This calendar contains mini soaps and bath blasters.

Yankee Candle Christmas Calendar (£19.99) - Technically not beauty but this calendar contains a Yankee candle tea light behind each door, Christmas never smelled so good.

Mad Beauty Advent Calendar (£19.99) - This calendar contains 24 mini makeup treats by Mad Beauty so you can look prettier everyday. 

W7 Cosmetic Treats Calendar (£24.99) - W7 is a brand I love for copycatting high end products at budget prices! If your a nail lover this contains 10 polishes amongst other goodies.

It's nearly time for me to start opening my calendar, I'm so excited! If you haven't got yours yet be quick! It's almost December! 

Have you got a beauty advent calendar?

Thanks for reading,

Wench x







 

Friday 20 November 2015

Superdrug Killer Volume Dry Shampoo



I love dry shampoo (or tramp shampoo as I call it when I'm just being plain lazy). We all lead busy lives and its definitely earned it's place on my dresser.

However, not all dry shampoo's are made equal and this one, Superdrug Killer Volume Dry Shampoo, unfortunately just doesn't do it for me. I find it leaves a white residue even when I've shook it and that's a big no-no when you've got dark hair like me. I know it's supposed to absorb oil but I feel like this over does it leaving my hair feeling dry and stiff, although this might be good for those of you who have super oily hair.

Volume-wise I found it lacking also, it didn't give me any volume, just a dry sticky mess. No thank you! It's a thumbs down from me!

Superdrug Killer Volume Dry Shampoo is available HERE or in your local Superdrug store.

What's your favourite dry shampoo?

Thanks for reading,

Wench x 

Wednesday 18 November 2015

Garnier Ultimate Blends The Sleek Restorer Shampoo and Conditioner



Hello again internet! I have a review for you today of Garnier Ultimate Blends Shampoo and Conditioner The Sleek Restorer (long ass name!)

These are fairly new offerings from Garnier, they have a whole range of different ones for different hair types but today I have The Sleek Restorer. I chose this one because my hair is naturally poker straight but for whatever (many!) reasons the ends have been quite frizzy recently and it needed sorting out.

These made my hair feel nice and clean and they smelt gorgeous although I feel the scent faded quite quickly. A little went a long way. This is a particularly good thing as since I moved from Manchester to Stoke on Trent I noticed the water here sucks. Nothing foams up like it used to in Manchester resulting in me using twice as much product here as I would back up north. Before I start on a massive rant about water, I'll just say I liked that I didn't have to use loads to get a good foam.

Unfortunately, they didn't do much else for me. My hair still felt dry and frizzy at the ends after use and I'm now at the end of both my bottles I feel I've given them a fair shot. Before buying these I'd heard such good things about them but they just weren't for me, it wouldn't stop me trying other shampoos and conditioners in the range but it goes to show you that what works wonders for one person doesn't for another.

Have you got any shampoo recommendations?

Thanks for reading,

Wench x

Monday 16 November 2015

A MAC Velvet Teddy Dupe?




Isn't it wonderful when you find something really cheap that's a near match to something really expensive?

I have just that for you today! I know the colour isn't exactly the same but it's very close. MUA Fawn Fancy is a new shade from MUA's matte lipstick range and it's very close in shade to MAC Velvet Teddy and they both have a matte finish.  


However, MUA Fawn Fancy at just £1 is a fraction of the £15.50 you'd pay for MAC Velvet Teddy and at that price it's definitely worth a try!

Yes you need a few layers of MUA's offering to really get the colour, it's not as comfortable to wear and it will need topping up during the day but for a pound you can't really complain!



Get MUA Fawn Fancy HERE or at your local Superdrug store

What's the best dupe you've ever found?

Thanks for reading,

Wench x


Friday 13 November 2015

Freebie Friday! #13



I've been at it again! 

Stealthily taking photo's of magazines again I mean! This month we've got some really good offerings. Also, a random nugget of information, this Freebie Friday is the 13th edition and it's on Friday 13th, spooky huh?!





Glamour £2 are giving it's readers a free Clinique gift. There's four to choose from including a red lipstick, a nude lipstick, a moisturiser or a mascara (together worth £29).


Marie Claire £3.99 are giving it's readers a free Elemis sample. There are two to choose from, the Pro-Radiance Illuminating Flash Balm or the Papaya Enzyme Peel. Both dubbed "hero" products of the Elemis range (together worth £22.50). 


InStyle £3.99 are giving it's readers a free sample of Eyeko Mascara worth £12 

By no means free in the true sense of the word but worth it to try something new and something that would normally be out of my price range!

What's the best thing you got out of a magazine?

Thanks for reading,

Wench x 

Wednesday 11 November 2015

What Do Those Numbers On Your Hair Colour Mean?




I was eyeing up hair colours as I quite often do the other day and I was looking at the shade numbers on the boxes. It got me thinking, what do all these numbers mean anyway?


A picture of Nutrisse Hair Dyes

I had vague knowledge of what they mean from working in my shop but staring at all the hair dye boxes and not being sure exactly what the numbers and shades meant I decided to do some research and thought I'd share my findings with you.

First thing first, there is a system known as the International Colour Chart (ICC) which most companies use but many use their own numbering system. For the purpose of this post though we'll use ICC. 

So for an example if we take Garnier Nutrisse colour 4.3 Dark Golden Brown.


Nutrisse 4.3 photo

The number 4 indicates the level of colour (how light or dark it is) and in this instance it's Dark Brown. The numbers after the decimal point .3 indicates the tone of colour, in this case the tone is Golden. Confused? The charts below might help

 COLOUR LEVEL 

1. Black
2. Darkest Brown
3. Dark Brown
4. Medium Brown
5. Light Brown
6. Lightest Brown
7. Dark Blonde
8. Medium Blonde
9. Light Blonde
10. Lightest Blonde

Manufacturers name colours differently but you get the general gist and some also go higher up in number to signify extreme blonde colours.   

TONE LEVEL


.1 Blue Ash      - Cool
.2 Purple Ash   - Cool
.3 Gold              - Warm
.4 Copper         - Warm
.5 Mahogany    - Neutral
.6 Red               - Warm
.7 Khaki            - Cool
.8 Pearl Ash     - Cool
.9 Soft Ash       - Cool  

So the tone of the colour changes its appearance to look either warm or cool. Ash usually means a colour is cool and golden usually means that it is warm, these descriptions can help when looking at your hair colour.

It does get more confusing than that when two numbers come into play after the decimal point. If we take Garnier Nutrisse colour 4.15 Iced Coffee. 


Nutrisse 4.15 photo

The first number after the point is the primary (stronger) tone and the second is a secondary (weaker) tone. The .1 is the primary tone which if we use the chart above is a cool, blue ash tone and the 5 is the secondary tone which is neutral mahogany (neither warm or cool, this surprised me as I thought mahogany would be warm but its not).  

So the colours below are all the same depth level (4), but the tones running through give them a different appearance (.3 gold and .15 cool mahogany


a photo of different shades of brown

I hope this sheds some light on the subject, this is only a basic summary but it interested me so I thought I would share. It definitely opened my eyes, who knew there was so much to it?!

What's your favourite hair colour?

Thanks for reading,

Wench x

*This is not sponsored and these are not a product placement it just so happened Garnier had the best examples for me to use at the time :-) 


Monday 9 November 2015

Got2b Mind Blowing Express Dry Styling Spray


a photo of got2b xpress dry spray


I have to say, since having my son I find washing my long hair such a chore, and drying it even more so! Then I found this!

Got2b Mind Blowing Express Dry Styling Spray claims to add heat protection to your hair, detangle, condition and most importantly speed up hair drying time and I have to say it ticks all those boxes! I spray onto my towel dried hair after I've washed it, give it a good brush through and then dry with my hair dryer and it literally takes me half the time I love it! A few things worth mentioning, it doesn't speed up hair drying time if your just leaving it to air dry, that's probably obvious but I thought I'd chuck it in there and also be careful you don't use too much as it can leave your hair crispy!

It's one of those things that I had seen in my shop and deemed totally unnecessary but I picked it up out of curiosity while it was on offer and I have to say it's earned its place in my stash as I've got better things to do than dry my hair for twenty minutes!

Get yours HERE or from your local store

Thanks for reading,

Wench x