Travel Body & Haircare

In my last post, I mentioned the skincare bits I'm taking away on holiday with me (you can read that one here) so today I thought I'd talk hair and body care! Keep your eyes peeled tomorrow if you fancy finding out what I'm taking makeup wise!

I'm not taking too much away with me body care wise as I'm only going for a week, I'm sticking to the basics! The Boots Extracts Mango Body Wash and Body Butter in miniature. I love the scent of these and the body butter is so moisturising and sinks into the skin really quickly. The Caudalie Divine Oil is a multitasking product that I love using but try not to use everyday. I'd go through it so quick if I did! I'm reserving it for slathering on limbs for evenings out, it gives skin a lovely, healthy, glow. I'm also taking The Body Shop Mango Lip Butter, not a body care product I know, but I couldn't resist including it with all the other mango stuff!

I seem to find haircare a bit more difficult to narrow down! I'm taking the Kerastase Chroma Riche Shampoo and Masque and the Lee Stafford Argan Oil Nourishing Miracle Oil which I spoke more about here. It's great for taming frizz and making everything a bit more managable! I'm also taking their Flat Iron Protection Mist, incase I decided to get the straighteners out, Living Proof Frizz Styling Cream to use pre blow-dry and Umberto Giannini Glam Hair Backcomb in a Bottle in case I need some extra volume!

What body and haircare items do you take away on holiday with you?

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Empties #5

Another month, another empties post, where I share with those who are interested what products I've used up, what I thought of them and wether or not I'll be repurchasing them. So here goes!

First up, bath and body, I was so sad to use up the last of my Botanics Relieving Bath Soak it smells amazingly relaxing, creates lots of lovely bubbles that don't dry out skin and is rather friendly on the wallet. It's by far my favourite high street/ drugstore bath product, it feels and smells so luxurious you'd think it was high end! Repurchase? Definitely!

Are you fed up of seeing Soap & Glory products in my empties posts yet? I'm certainly not fed up of using them! I've worked my way through their Clean On Me Shower Gel, it smells like Miss Dior, has built in moisturiser to leave your skin feeling soft and makes you wander around singing 'lean on me…' all morning! Repurchase? Yes

Yep, another Soap & Glory product, this time it's their Flake Away Body Scrub, with the same amazing scent as the shower gel and an amazingly scrubby texture this is by far the best scrub I've ever found, and trust me, I've tried a lot! Repurchase? Yes

I don't normally use body sprays but when I spotted the Yardley Peony Body Spray I had to try it,  I love absolutely anything peony fragranced and this one definitely didn't disappoint! Repurchase? They also make an Eau De Toilette of this scent which I'm trying to get my hands on instead.

Onto skincare, seeing as I went away over Christmas I took some of my minis with me. I don't usually use foaming cleansers, I tend to stick with gentler cream or oil formulas but seeing as I had a mini Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser, I thought I'd give it a go. It's very gentle for a foaming cleanser, as the name would suggest, it leaves the skin feeling quite soft and nourished and it's handy if you don't want to be faffing about with flannels like I usually do. That said, I'm still not converted! Repurchase? No

On the other hand I absolutely loved the Clarins HydraQuench Cream for Normal to Dry Skin, I've used a few of their products from this range and they've all been winners with me, this cream is really rich and moisturising but still has a light texture that sinks into the skin easily. My skin never felt dry while using it. Repurchase? Yes

Next up, Caudalie Grape Water, I absolutely love this stuff, you can use it in so many ways, as a toner, to set makeup or just when your skin needs an extra moisture boost. Full review here. Repurchase? Already have!

The Body Shop do some really great budget skincare products and the Hemp Face Protector is one of my favourites for parched, uncomfortable, eczema prone, winter skin. It's a really rich nourishing formula that keeps all those nasties at bay! Full review here. Repurchase? Yes

I usually love Kerastase products but unfortunately the Resistance Masque Force Architecte was a bit of a disappointment. It wasn't terrible, but it was nowhere near as good as the masks in their Nutritive range. Repurchase? No

Last of all I finished an Avon Brow Definer in Soft Black, the first ever brow product I've ever used up! The formula and staying power was great but I found the colour to be a tiny bit on the dark side. Repurchase? Yes but one shade lighter.

What products have you used up lately?

December Favourites

As most of my beauty goodies are still packed away in boxes, I ended up keeping things pretty simple in december. 

The rainy, windy weather has really been playing havoc on my hair and Kerastase Nutritive Oleo-Relax Slim is about the only thing that's been able to keep it in check. A pea sized amount worked into lengths and ends smoothes out frizz and tames excess volume.

Seeing as I ran out of my usual eyebrow pencil and broke my spoolie in quick succession, I decided to pick up this Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown as it has a convenient little brush on the lid. I love a good multifunctional product! 

I know I said I've been keeping things pretty low key lately but what would Christmas and New Year's Eve have been without a little glitter? My weapon of choice was Essie Beyond Cosy, a super sparkly silver and gold glitter hybrid that just screams Christmas. Not sure I'll be able to wait till next december to wear this again!

My skin always takes a turn for the worse during the winter months, especially around my eyes, where skin starts to feel sore and parched. The Botanics 100% Organic Facial Oil has been doing wonders to keep it at bay, and it boasts some pretty impressive ingredients, enough to rival some of it's much more expensive alternatives. Expect a rave coming soon!

I've been using the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Astringent Lotion Micro-Exfoliant twice a day for a good few weeks now and so far I'm pretty pleased with the results. It's a toner containing chemical exfoliants which you simple swipe on with a cotton pad. Much gentler on the skin than scrubbing away at the skin with a harsh grainy product but delivers the same smooth results.

The Fragrance I've been wearing pretty much exclusively throughout december is Avon Far Away Exotic, it's a warm but fruity fragrance that's very easy to wear. I can definitely see it becoming a long term favourite that I'll be reaching for all year.

What products have you enjoyed using in December?

Empties #4

I've been trying to use things up and avoiding buying new  products recently in an attempt to prepare for my house move next month. Here's what I've recently got through.

Ted Baker Hand Cream

I touched on this in my Project Use Up post, it's a decent hand cream which smells nice but doesn't seem to do much longterm. Repurchase? No.

Redken Extreme Shampoo

This protein enriched shampoo is brilliant for strengthening damaged hair (full review here). A little goes a long way with this one so it's lasted ages! Repurchase? Definitely. 

Caudalie Gentle Cleansing Milk

I feel like I haven't stopped talking about this stuff recently, it's a new descovery and I absolutely love it, massaged on and flanneled off it removes all traces of makeup and leaves skin feeling silky soft. (full review here) Repurchase? Already have!

Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor

I loved this conditioner years ago and never used to use anything else but after trying it out again recently I don't love it quite as much. Most probably because I've tried a lot of other conditioners since and my hair is in a lot worse condition! That said it does leave hair feeling soft and lightly fragranced. Repurchase? Maybe, but there are some others I want to try first.

Sephora Express Body Scrub & Mask

I picked this up when I went to France in the summer and had very high hopes for it but unfortunately I wasn't that impressed. It's a 2 in 1 product that contains traditional exfoliating grains as well as exfoliating AHA fruit acids and can be used as either a scrub or a mask. For me it didn't do much because I like scrubs which are quite course and really 'scrubby' and found this one was too gentle for my liking. I didn't find the AHAs to do much either. Repurchase? No

Kerastase Reflection Chroma Cristal

This one was unfortunately another disappointment, I usually love all Kerastase products but this one is the exception. It's a shine perfecting mist take settles into two parts that you shake before you use. I found it to be very watery and therefore cause my hair to get a bit damp, obviously not ideal if you've just spent ages straightening your hair! It also doesn't leave a great finish, I much prefer my Lee Stafford Shine Spray which is a third of the price! Repurchase? Definitely not.

Schwarzkopf Got2b Oil-licious Styling Oil

This is a great budget argan oil serum, I've been using a few pumps on damp hair before blow drying and it leaves hair with a lovely finish. full review here. Repurchase? Definitely

The Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals Cream Compact Foundation

It's not often I get through a foundation because I have quite a few on the go but I really enjoyed using this one on sensitive and dry skin days. It's very moisturising and leaves skin with a dewy finish (oily skinned girls this is definitely not for you. This was the only thing that worked for me when my skin was reacting to everything. Repurchase? Yes, if my skin gets reactive again.

Bobbi Brown Tinted Moisturising Balm 

This technically isn't an empty because I still have more than half the pot left, but I've had it a while and it has separated so definitely needs getting rid of. I didn't use it because it just didn't work for me, I found it to be very greasy and not last very long on the skin. Someone once told me it made my skin 'glisten like a basted turkey' needless to say I never used it again! Repurchase? No

The Body Shop Vitamin E Lip Care

This is a brilliant lip balm that actually treats dryness rather than just keeping lips comfortable till it disappears. It doesn't have a fragrance and leaves lips with a natural finish meaning it's great under lipsticks and on girls and guys alike. Repurchase? Definitely.  

Kerastase Hair Saviours

As I've mentioned several times recently, my hair is in terrible condition. It's extremely dry and damaged from heat styling, colouring etc. So I thought I'd share with you the 2 products that I've have been using in an attempt to help the situation.

The First is Kerastase Nutritive Oleo-Relax Slim, which is described as a volume control intense smoothing cream designed to tame the dreaded frizz. I apply a tiny amount just to the bottom third while it's damp, you definitely don't want this anyway near your roots, it is after all designed to get rid of volume! I then blow dry it as usual, I find it tends to keep frizz at bay even when the weather is a bit on the damp side. It's also brilliant for touch ups on dry hair, a tiny amount applied to straggly ends and frizz is a great quick fix. 

They always say that prevention is better than cure right? Well that's where Kerastase Nutritive Nectar Thermique comes in, described as nourishing care with heat-styling protective agent, it's an essential if you heat style hair. It's really moisturising, I use it like a leave in conditioner, a pea sized amount distributed evenly though lengths and ends before blowdrying means hair gets damaged less and dries to a smoother finish. 

I love both of these products, a little goes a long way so they last ages. I'll definitely be buying them again when they run out!

My Favourite Shampoos

My hair is pretty awful, it's course, frizzy and very dry. To make matters worse, I colour it, blow dry it and straighten it, so left to it's own devices, it resembles brittle straw.

After a lot of experimenting I've finally found 2 shampoos that work amazingly well for me. The first is Redken Extreme Shampoo which contains protein to help strengthen weakened hair, I felt a major improvement after using it for just a few weeks, my hair was breaking less and felt more resilient.

The second is Kerastase Nutritive Bain Oleo-Relax Smoothing Shampoo, which is formulated for dry, course and rebellious hair. This is hands down, the best shampoo I've ever tried, I've been using it for a really long time and have repurchased it more times than I can count! I leaves hair feeling clean but also really soft and nourished, which makes styling a lot easier. I don't know how it works, it just does!  

With both of these shampoos, a little goes a long way as they foam up really well, so a bottle lasts a lot longer than most, making them worth the higher price tag. I tend to alternate them, which I find works the best for me, my hairdresser informed me that you shouldn't use protein products too much because your hair needs moisture as well as strength.