July Empties || Products I've Used Up

I've finished up the L'Oreal Fibrology Shampoo + Conditioner which my hair just loves! It's a thickening duo that helps make your hair feel thicker after each use which lasts so I'll definitely be picking up another one of these soon! I've used up the Aussie Take The Heat 3 Minute Miracle which I use every Sunday to help make my hair feel silky soft after a weeks worth of heat damage and it certainly does the trick! I've finished up yet another Soap & Glory Clean On Me Shower Gel which I use as a shaving lotion and will forever repurchase. I've used up a Soap & Gory Sugar Crush Body Wash which although lathered up nicely and smelt good, it just didn't particularly wow me. I've finished up the Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub which is one of their more grittier scrubs and definitely helped buff away dead skin! I've used up the Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Buttercream which was so hydrating on the skin and made my skin feel incredibly soft to the touch!

I've finally finished the huge Taaj Himalaya Micellar Water which I loved using to remove the bulk of my makeup except for my eye makeup as it sure stung! I've used up the No7 Soft & Soothed Gentle Toner which felt nice on the skin just went through it far too quickly although I will be repurchasing as soon as I've used up some more toners. I've finished up another Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish which will forever be in my stash as it's just such a good all rounder cleanser. I've used up the Botanics Rosewater Toning Spritz which is a good alternative to the likes of Serozinc say except the Botanics offering is far more moisturising! I've finished another No7 Protect & Perfect Advanced Serum which is still growing on me despite this being my second tube! It's one of those serums that I bet you won't see immediate results until you stop using it. I've used up another beloved Lacura Aqua-Complete Multi Intensive Serum which I much prefer over Hydraluron but will continue using the two together. Speaking of Hydraluron, I've finished up another tube of the stuff! The two combined is a hydration seeking match made in heaven! I've used up the Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Exfoliating Pads which although I liked using at first, they started to feel a little dry towards the end. I've finished up the Carino Miracle Oil which despite being such a small bottle, it lasted for what felt like forever! This helped keep my locks in tip top condition which despite how much I fry it with heat, it still kept it manageable.

I've used up two packs of the No7 Quick Thinking Wipes which will forever feature in these empties posts along with a pack of the Wilko Maxi Oval Cotton Pads as these two are just staples in my everyday life. I've finished up the Estee Lauder Little Black Primer which I mainly used as a primer before applying my mascara to help tint the lashes whilst giving them a curl and it sure does work wonders for my short lashes! I've used up the L'Oreal Lumi Magique Pure Light Primer which I use as both a primer, highlighter and mixed in with my foundation to create the perfect radiant base. This will forever be repurchased as it just makes my skin look so luminuous! I've finished up a MAC Eyebrow Pencil in Lingering which is the perfect colour match for my brows. Lastly, I've used up a bunch of Lush products which aren't pictured including Big Blue Bath Bomb, Cinders Bath Bomb, Fizzbanger Bath Bomb, Blue Skies & Fluffy White Clouds Bubble Bar, Candy Mountain Bubble Bar, Space Girl Bath Bomb and Ickle Baby Bot Bath Bomb.

Make A Splash! July 2015 BirchBAG Review

Long time followers of Birchbox will know that each month, they share a sneak peak as to what's to come in that month's Birchbox across all social networks. At the beginning of July, they shared a sneak peak of the July box which as the sneak peak revealed, is in fact a BirchBAG rather than the traditional Birchbox!

July 2015's BirchBAG theme is 'Make A Splash' which is perfect for summer, especially for those lucky people who escaping the UK to catch some rays abroad over the next few months. Unlike most months where Birchbox just change the colour of the box or the bag inside, they've decided to replace the box with a bright neon pouch which is perfect for popping your everyday essentials into your handbag or your summer must haves with you down on the beach. There are four different coloured pouches, each representing a different holiday destination selected by editors of some of the most elite magazines. Birchbox UK's very own Jess Diner selected the neon pink pouch to represent Ibiza; Edwina Ings-Chambers who is the Beauty Director at Sunday Times Style selected the coral pouch to represent St. Tropez; Fiona Joseph who is the Fashion & Beauty Director at Conde Nast Traveller selected the turquoise bag to represent Hydra, Greece whilst my beautiful neon yellow pouch was selected by Rose Beer who is the Beauty Editor at Grazia to represent none other than Somerset in the UK! 

The first product that I noticed upon unzipping my pouch is a teeny tiny sample of Benefit Dream Screen (£25) which is currently making it's rounds being billed as the facial sunscreen to own! It's described as being a super light-weight matte finish with a rather impressive SPF45 which will definitely be getting a lot of love when I go abroad in October.

Next up we have the Pop Beauty Bright Up Your Life Eye Shadow Trio in Peach Parfait (£15.50) which contains some beautiful shimmery shades! The lightest shade is a pale white highlight shade, the middle shade is lovely pinky peach shade whilst the darkest shade is a beautiful burnt copper. These are some of the softest like butter eyeshadows I've tried which are just a dream to both apply and blend!

Moving onto skincare, included in the pouch is a adorable sample of the Balance Me Congested Skin Serum (£16) which I've been wanting to try for the longest time! It's to be used in times when your skin is in need of a little SOS as it will help restore the balance. It's packed with chamomile, lavender and aloe vera to pinpoint breakouts and soothe the skin whilst being suitable for all skin types. This will definitely be getting a lot of love from me tonight!

Next up, we have a generous sized Cowshed Cow Pat Moisturising Hand Cream (£18) that contains various rejuvenating essential oils including grapefruit to uplift your spirits and coriander to soothe the skin whilst leaving your hands feeling incredibly soft and moisturised. I do have more than my fair share of hand creams to be getting through but this will be getting added to my stockpile none the less!

I am a complete sun worshipper yet I burn ever so easily so the Unani Aloe Vera Gel (£15) is right up our streets! Everybody and their nan knows that aloe vera is incredibly good to relieve the pain from sun burn and is a must have for any sun lover! I personally prefer the good 'ole Banana Boat Aloe Vera Gel however as this is more convenient handbag size, this will be getting a lot of use over the the next month or so.

Last but by no means least is a Barely Prep, Blot & Blend Sponge (£5.99) which is this month's bonus beauty extra. I am a self-confessed makeup sponge addict and love nothing more than applying my base makeup with the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge so I'm hoping that this compares to it!

Overall, I'm extremely happy with this months BirchBAG and every single product will definitely be getting used as well as the bright yellow pouch which will most likely be getting used to store my beauty essentials at work.

Samples I've Used Up 025

Just like with most of these posts, I've used up quite a few samples of the Lancome Visionnaire Serum which is still continuing to amaze me with it's results - my skin is a lot more smoother in texture and is more radiant in the mornings. I've also finished up two Lancome Genifique samples that I used in conjunction with Visionnaire apart from that I only used these in the mornings. Whilst I do like what Genifique does to my skin immediately after applying, I haven't seen results from it although I'm hoping that with continued use, this will change.

I've used up a sample of the Avene Skin Recovery Cream that I used when my skin was slightly dry and flakey from being sunburnt which will teach me for not applying enough SPF! Speaking of sunburn, I burnt my knees quite badly when we had the sudden heatwave so the sachet of Dr Organic Aloe Vera Gel truly helped as it was both cooling on the skin whilst relieving the sunburn! I've finished up a generous sized sample of Whish Three Whishes Lavender Body Butter which smelt very relaxing and true to scent although it didn't really moisture my body quite as much as I'd preferred. 

I've finished up two mascara samples - the No7 Lash Impact Mascara and No7 Lovely Lashes Mascara. The Lash Impact Mascara, I absolutely adore as it truly makes your lashes look more dramatic whilst the Lovely Lashes is a bit of a miss - I only use it for natural makeup days which rarely happens. Lastly, I've used up the No7 Instant Illusions Airbrush Away Primer which I will definitely be buying a full size of as it creates a beautiful radiant base without feeling too silicone-y on the skin.

Latest In Beauty Awards 2015 Box

There's something that I love about beauty boxes especially one off boxes that are limited in number or boxes where you can choose which products you want in it. So imagine my happiness when I discovered that Latest In Beauty are doing their Beauty Awards 2015 Box where you can pick from 30 finalist products across various categories including Cult Classic, Green Award, Best Newcomer, Skincare Saviour and Must-have Makeup to name just a few. You have the choice of three different boxes where you can either pick 3, 6 or 9 products for a set price and you'll be automatically entered into a prize draw for the chance to win every single full size finalist product which is worth over £875!

I went ahead and chose six products despite knowing that I've well and truly failed my new year beauty resolutions. Out of all the products available, I chose mainly products that I knew that I would use as well as products that would cover the cost of the box and more whilst still being products that I've been wanting to try out for ages!

Despite recently buying a few Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish, I couldn't resist choosing both the Burt's Bees Soap Bark & Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream (£10.20) and the Bee Good Honey & Propolis 2-in-1 Cream Cleanser (£11.50) which are both natural products that promise to cleanse your skin properly without making it feel dry, tight and irritated. Another skincare product that I simply couldn't resist is the Dr Organic Snail Gel Anti-Aging Facial Serum (£17.99) that has been intriguing me for the longest time ever. I'm hoping that isn't as gross as the name suggests..

Not too long ago, everybody was raving about Magnifibres (£16.99) which is a fibre infused mascara like brush that you simply brush on after applying your first coat of mascara, wait thirty seconds before proceeding to apply a second of mascara which gives dramatically longer lashes. So it seemed only fair to choose it for my box especially when I'm struggling with my own short, stumpy lashes! Another addition to the box that everybody and their nan raves about is a teeny sample of the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer (£29) that helps add serious strength to damaged hair whilst reducing any breakage. Whilst I don't necessarily have overly damaged hair, I am struggling with breakage so I'm hoping that this will transform my locks! The last addition that I chose for my box is the Zoella Fresh Tutti Fruity Bath Fizzer (£5) which I will admit that I only chose because I'm running out of bath bombs. Hopefully this is as good as the world says!

Have you taken advantage of the Latest In Beauty Awards Box? What products did you choose?