Beauty Empties | December 2012

L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black - definite repurchase 

This is a phenomenal drugstore/bargain mascara, and it's finally come to UK shores.  The wand reminds me of Lancome Hypnose and the formula is almost as dark and sooty as Make Up Forever Smoky Lash, without the price tags of either of these.  It's a fantastic all-round mascara which I use for both day and night - thickening, lengthening and holds a curl pretty well.  Next time you're in Boots or Superdrug, you have to give this one a go.

Original Source Vanilla and Raspberry Shower - maybe repurchase 

I forgot how delicious this smells until the empty bottle out to review and now it's been upgraded from a 'no repurchase' to a definite 'maybe'.  It's a real treat to use but I found I got through it very quickly, but you can always get these on offer so it's not too sore on the purse.  It's very moisturising and I prefer it to their more zingy shower gel offerings.

Yes to Blueberries Age Refresh Anti-Wrinkle Intensive Repair Serum* - maybe repurchase

This is a really nice everyday serum.  I have a fuller review of this and the accompanying night cream coming up, but I got through this serum first as I found myself reaching for it every single morning.  It sinks in quickly and provided a great base for make up if I didn't feel like waiting for a cream to sink in.  Naughty I know as it doesn't have SPF in it, but in a rush it did the trick.  The blueberry smell is fresh and comforting.  I'm seriously thinking about picking this up again.

Garnier Body Summerbody Moisturising Lotion - Light Sunkissed Look - definite repurchase

As much I loved this self-tanner, it took me an age to get through it.  That had more to do with the fact that I'm very lazy with applying it and rock the Twilight look more than I should.  I've tried countless gradual tanners and this is by far the best budget option.  It has a fresh fruity smell with only minimal biscuity whiffyness compared to all your Dove, Nivea, Johnson's, etc offerings.  It sinks in extremely quickly, does a good job at moisturising, doesn't streak and gives a really natural tanned glow, even to my ginger skin which can end up looking orange.  If you are a tanaholic and haven't tried this one yet, you must. 

YSL Touche Eclat - maybe repurchase

I don't even want to admit to you how long I've had this radiance wand, but between you and me, it began 'not smelling right'.  That has more to do with me 'saving' it for special occasions rather than the longevity of the whopping 2.5mls of radiant liquid.  Since it joined my collection there have been so many other dupes coming onto the market - Sleek MakeUP, Aldi, L'Oreal, Collection 2000 to name a few really budget versions.  These give me pretty much the same effect as Touche Eclat.  I can only see myself repurchasing this to have a pretty gold wand in my handbag make up bag for touch ups, which has more to do with style than substance.

Yes to Cucumbers Daily Gentle Facial Cleanser* - maybe repurchase 

This was one of the nicest facial washes I used last here.  For a full review click here.  It smells divine - not as fresh as you would expect from a cucumber product but quite perfumed.  This may be an issue for those with sensitive skin.  Although it lathers up very well, it left my skin cleansed and soft, not tight.  A really nice product which I'd definitely repurchase, particularly if it was easier to come by on the high street.

The Body Shop Banana Shampoo - definite repurchase

This is an old classic which I think was revived by The Body Shop, but don't quote me on that.  Anyway, I'm glad it's back.  I would compare it to Aussie Moisture Miracle Shampoo, both in scent, lathering and hair cleansing properties.  I use Aussie so much I was getting a little bored and I think it's good to switch up your shampoo every so often - my hair is very oily and gets used to shampoos so quickly.  The Body Shop Banana Shampoo smells lovely, evokes memories and does a good job of cleaning hair without stripping it, and leaving it shiny and easy to comb through.  

I will be doing this 'Empties' series on a monthly basis.  It seemed like whole months passed in 2012 without me finishing so much as one product.  I'm not very loyal to products and flit between different skincare, makeup, hair products daily, but in 2013 I am going to be much more focused getting through my stash and I'll let you know each month how I get on.  I did pretty well in December, with no 'no repurchases' come across, but I'm sure there'll be some in the future.  

Have you tried any of my December Empties? What would you repurchase/definitely not repurchase?

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Review: SunBelievable Expert Tan in Medium

I've tried a fair few fake tans in my time and ever since I hooked up with the budget-friendly St. Moriz I haven't really experimented with others as it gives me a perfect bronzed glow which manages to avoid turning Oompa-Loompa coloured on my skin because of its olive undertones.  

Leighton Denny has joined forced with 'tan king' James Harknett and I was recently contacted to try out Sun-Believable (gotta love a pun!) and was sent a dinky little 100ml bottle which was perfect to bring away with me on my work trip last week to the South of France.  I could even have packed it in my cabin bag if I needed to.  For a mousse formula which can't be transferred into another container for travel as you need the special pump to 'jushz' the formula it's great not to have to lug a huge bottle of tan abroad, particularly when you can get so many applications out of a small amount.

I normally use the Boots-own spongey tan mitts which work well for me, but I really loved how soft the Sun-Believable felt before I got started with application.  

It's a little tricky to separate at the start, but it's not a major issue.  What was an issue for me however was the little black fibers it left all over my skin.  Quite often I just need to whack a bit of tan on in a rush and it's not really ideal to be covered in black fur! However, you can always just use another mitt.  However, after a wash the shedding wasn't as bad.

The tan goes on quite dark, with almost an olive tinge - but I like this as it acts as a guide against streaking and the greenish tones I think are what ensures you don't turn orange!  

I'll go through the drawbacks first as overall, I do think this is a really good self tan.  After one use, I found that the bottle could be a bit leaky, but I think this is the nature of these mousse pump bottles as St. Tropez and St. Moriz are the same.  You just need to pack smart - wrap them in a couple of plastic bags and secure the lid area with an elastic band.  Of course if you're not travelling with it this isn't a problem.  Sun-Believable claims to last up to 10 days, but on me it goes to five or six at best before getting a bit patchy around my chest area, but this is still pretty good going in my books and the timings of course depend on how often you shower/bathe.  As I normally find fake tans very drying on my skin I like to moisturise a lot, but one evening I found that after slapping on some Molten Brown moisturiser it went a bit streaky and the cream picked up some of the colour.  The Molten Brown was quite heavily scented, so an oil-based moisturiser like Palmer's might work better - and give you glossier limbs!  I did notice a lot of the colour washed off in the shower, but strangely I remained pretty tanned.  It just left my bath water looking like a swamp - but every fake tan does this.

Now, the two main things I like about tan are the colour and its non-drying qualities.  For anyone who splashes out on St. Tropez I highly recommend that you give Sun-Believable a try as it give a much more natural, believable golden tan - and with a couple of applications you will be sporting this summer's hottest trend, a deep Brazilian tan.  I used the Medium tone and it worked very well on my 'ginger skin' - pale, almost blue, and freckled.  It develops pretty fast, within a couple of hours, which is good if you need to be brown, pronto!

I've always suffered with insanely dry and irritated skin after using fake tans, but I'm happy to suffer through it to avoid looking like a daywalker when I'm in a sunny place in my bright, summer clothes.  Sun-Believable markets itself as kind to skin and it does live up to this claim.  It didn't dry out my skin much at all - there were no manic midnight leg scratching fits and for me this is a total bonus!  Another benefit is that the formula is practically odourless.

At ten times costlier than my current go-to fake tan, I'm not sure I'll be splashing out on bottle after bottle of this to get me through the summer, but if I had special occasions or events where I needed a bit of colour I would definitely save it for these.  All in all, I've really enjoyed using this tan.  Out of a 200ml bottle (£30 plus a free mitt) you get at least 10 applications, so thinking about it that way, £3 a pop isn't bad.

You can purchase Sun-Believable in Medium or Dark at John Lewis, online here or through QVC.  You can pick up a travel-friendly set of the 100ml versions of the tan mousse, body exfoliator and moisturiser for £35.

*PR sample provided for review

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