Late to the Party

  After making a written inventory of my skincare stash I was shocked at exactly how much I'd accrued over the year!   So coinciding with a couple of challenges on Instagram, this is the perfect time to take stock of what I own and to use up what I have, without buying more of the same, and report back in six months to see what kind of dent I've managed to make it my stash!   First/Oil Cleansers:   I think this is my favourite part of the skincare routine. I prefer balms over oils, and as you can see, I mostly have minis and deluxe samples, which I will use up first. I haven't actually included any cream cleansers or Micellar water/eye make up removers. Would like to replace with: Full size of Banila Co Clean it Zero Radiance or Elemis Pro-Collagen Balm Cleanser or to try Pixi/Caroline Hirons - Double Cleanse.    2nd/Foam Cleansers:   I'm now mostly bored with my current stash (with the exception of the Rodial Stem Cell Cl...

  Mask n Chill is a Malaysian sheet mask subscription box/pack (although you don't need to subscribe - just pay for whichever month you are interested  which will be all of them!!). It costs the ridiculously small amount of just $10 - and that includes the shipping! You get 5 sheet masks per month for this which are ranged in tiers from most to least expensive.   BUY HERE   This month's selection:   * Acwell Honey Anti-Wrinkle Daanji Mask * ID.AZ Derm - Water-Fit Mask * My Beauty Diary - Damask Rose - always happy to see something with a damask rose scent. * Naruko - Arbutin Intense Brightening Mask - Tried this before and I really liked it. * My Scheming - Herbal Anti-Acne Mask - Not really an issue that I have problems with so I'm going to pop this one in with a Giveaway that I'll be holding soon. 

On the back of making my skincare inventory and taking stock of what I need to use up, I thought I'd do a similar thing with my make up (I also spent and bought excessively on make up items last year!!). There are several online make up projects that I've seen which involve people making make up inventories and planning on how many items they can hit pan on. I have been following some of these with avid interest but although I don't think I'll make it a 'plan to hit complete pan', I do like the idea of using older and forgotten items so that they're not wasted.   So, this may well turn out to be a bit of a half-baked plan that gets forgotten about in a couple of months, but I thought it would be interesting to pack up a make up bag at the beginning of each week with certain items that I'd like to use up, or that I need to use up due to expiration dates. But I'm also including new and favourite items so I don't get too bored. I don't wa...

Although I started the year with a low-buy in mind, it didn't stop me perusing all the skincare and makeup sales at the end of last year!   I think most of these are good buys - but there were some impulse buys that I'm slightly regretting!     Gucci Bloom 50ml Gift Set Original Price: £72 Sale Price: £47.99   I had already decided that I was going to buy a full size of this perfume. 30ml costs £52 so I was very happy to see this 50ml Gift set in Boots for just £47.99.   VeeBeautyLDN: Lash and Brow Oil and Nail and Cuticle Oil Original Price:£16.90  Sale Price: £14   I saw this brand on Instagram and really wanted to try her lash oil (not so worried about making my already-bushy eyebrows grow anymore) but when I saw this bundle, I wanted to try her nail oil too.     e.l.f Sale/Body Shop Sale/Tiger   The e.l.f sales are always pretty good, but those cheap, cheap prices certainly make for some r...

I ended off last year making a written inventory of every single skincare product I owned, be it full sized, deluxe sample or sachet sample, and I was pretty shocked how much it was!   I'm not going to force a No-Buy on myself, but I really do need to use up these products before buying more of the same. I think my biggest hoard is the moisturisers - it looks like I have enough to see me through the whole of next year!   I did pretty good in December getting through some products:     * The Body Shop - Camomile Cleansing Oil - I loved this but the pump was so messy! I did replace this with the much neater Body Shop Camomile Cleansing butter.   * The Face Shop - Jeju Volcanic Lava Clay Mousse Pack - I'm not entirely sure this ever worked the way it was meant to. It was meant to be a mousse type clay but it never foamed up properly. The packaging was disastrous on this product, it took forever to get any product out and there was no other...

I didn't choose any November favourites because I was incredibly restrained in November and hardly bought a thing! But I spied so many lovely things that I added to my Christmas list from the Black Friday sales and others from my ever-growing wish list.       Apothaka SOS Recovery Nail Oil   One of my major beauty must-do's is to sort out my nails, and particularly those on my right hand! Three of my fingernails have been in terrible shape for a couple of years now and I really want to get back to having healthy and strong nails in 2018. I knew that I'd be receiving this Apothaka nail and cuticle oil and I almost couldn't wait till Christmas day to open it! The founder of Apothaka, Natasha also included a sample of her hand cream too and I'm loving using the oil and cream every night.       Dr Botanicals Moroccan Rose Superfood Facial Oil   This was sent to me for review purposes and two things about this ...

  Latest in Beauty Box December 2017   One of my favourite beauty subscription boxes as I get to pick which items I want, so there's never one of those disappointing 'filler items' that tend to come in most boxes. This month, I stayed with the 'Beauty Enthusiast' Box - choose six items for £15.00 (inclusive of P+P). Subscribe HERE   This arrived on 23rd December and I actually wrapped it up and popped it under the Christmas Tree to be opened on Christmas Day! Ellis Faas - Concealer (Full Size) Value £22.00 ( BUY HERE )   Although the size was mentioned, I was still surprised to find that this was a full-size product! I don't wear concealer everyday as I sometimes find that it actually accentuates small lines and wrinkles rather than conceal them. However, I've used this once and first impressions weren't bad at all.   Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Duo in Jingle Red Rock and Shimmer me Timbers Value (each) £14.99 Total Val...