Return of the Blog

Anyone who used to read my blog will notice the huge gap between my last post and this one. Life took over. Between work, a new house, a proposal, wedding planning and some minor health blips, I just couldn't find time to blog about the things going on.

I have still been doing my usual holidays, restuarant trips, purchasing of beauty boxes and product trials: never fear, my life hasn't been completely on hold. I will be trying to get back into the swing of things over the next few weeks so please keep your eyes peeled for a post over the next week!

May Empties and Fails

My first item is an out and out fail. Perfect Pout from Cougar. Whilst this does plump your lips up (briefly) the texture and smell of this product is just vile. I had got it in May's Pink Parcel (http://hansunahnah.blogspot.com/2016/05/pink-parcel-may-2016.html) and was keen to give it a go. It's thick, sticky,  gloopy and heaven help you if you decide to eat something whilst wearing it (unless crumbs stick to your lips is your thing). This is definitely going in the bin I'm sorry to say. This item is £29 and had I paid that for the item I would have been absolutely gutted.

I love baths and I'm currently trying out a range of Avon bubble baths to see which scent is my favourite. I've just finished up the last of the lavender one. Whilst this does bubble up nicely and it smells quite good, I don't think it's as nice as the white lily one I finished up in March

 http://hansunahnah.blogspot.com/2016/03/march-2016-empties-and-fails.html

Would I purchase it again? Probably if it was on offer, otherwise I'd be more likely to buy another scent.

As you can see I have squeezed and pushed every last drop put of this body cream from Rituals. Magic Touch in Cherry Blossom and Rice Milk is just such a lovely product. It goes on nicely without leaving an oily or sticky residue. It smells amazing and on top of that it really does make my skin lovely and soft. Looking on the Rituals website they have changed the name of product.
https://uk.rituals.com/en-gb/body-moisturisers/the-ritual-of-sakura-body-cream-70ml-4462.html
Would I buy this again? For shizzle. Only reason I haven't already is because I have so many body creams already!

Baylis & Harding's cleansing hand wash in Sweet mandarin & grapefruit did exactly what you would expect. It cleaned my hands and had a nice scent. I can't say it was the most nourishing of hand washes  which maybe explains why I wasn't the biggest fan of this product. I have really dry skin and for me this just didn't quite cut the grade so chances are I wouldn't repurchase it again.

I used up my last tester of Ren's cleansing water which nearly broke my heart. It is an awesome product. It easily removes my make up and the stress/strain of the day. It leaves my skin nice and clean and basically I am in love with this product. My first Look Fantastic Beauty Box sent me about a million cleansers so I'm gonna try then out first but if none of those are a winner then chances are I would repurchase this one again.

Although I've literally used up every last bit of this product I would say I'm a bit 50/50 about it. My Little Beauty 'Sweet Hand Cream' came in my November 'My Little Sweet Box' from their own beauty brand. http://hansunahnah.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/my-little-box-november-2015.html?m=1

It smells amazing but the texture is a little overly thick for my liking. 

Would I purchase it again? Hand creams is something all too quickly supplied in beauty boxes and I have a surplus of them. This isn't a bad product but it isn't my favourite so I'm doubtful that I would buy it again.

 So that's my selection of this month's Empties and Fails and it's been a bit of a mixed bag. July I'll be back to tell you about June's selection of perfect products that I love and ones that I hated.

Pink Parcel May 2016

I haven't been having the best time of it with my monthly visit at the moment. In light of that I was really looking forward to my Pink Parcel arriving. They had some difficulties with getting the boxes out on time but they kept us well informed so I didn't mind.

Upon opening I found another True Brit nail enamel. As I've said in previous posts I've recently started getting my nails done by NAF! Salon in Glasgow so I didn't really have any need for more nail polish but they had no way of knowing that. With the appropriate name 'It's a Monthly Thing' this would be a fab everyday colour.

Next up is a brand I love: Simple. I have quite sensitive skin and need to be careful what I use on it. Simple is a brand I use regularly so I was happy to receive their 'Soothing Facial Toner' even if it is just a sample size.

I was delighted with the next product. I've been suffering with difficulty dozing off at night so Badger 'Sleep Balm' is the perfect thing for me to get. In a sweet little tin this relaxing balm has the perfect mix of lavender and bergamot to (hopefully) have me drifting off to sleep in next to no time. 

The next item I'm looking forward to testing out. Cougar 'Perfect Pout'. The branding does scream WAG wannabe to me but I'm forever moaning about wanting lip fillers and not being able to afford them right now. Hopefully this will be the answer to my prayers. Move over, Kylie J!

I love make up brushes and if you ask me a girl can never have enough brushes! Lottie London have supplied me with their 'Shade and Shadow Brush'. Beautifully packaged and in a lovely baby pink shade, this is another item I'm really happy with.

If you've read any of my other blogs you'll know that each month Pink Parcel supply me with a nice new cuppa tea and a sweet treat. This month though they are spoiling us with two tasty things to sample. First up from Fudge Kitchen 'White Chocolate and Raspberry Fudge'. I'm so excited to try this bad boy out! I love raspberries, fudge and chocolate. Only issue: it's gonna disappear in about 2 seconds!

Our other delicious looking goody is from Rococo Chocolate. Their 'Honeycomb Crunch' bar is so nicely packaged it almost seems a shame to open it....almost! I'll be honest, this one won't last long. Honeycomb is another favourite of mine so PP have nailed it with this one.

Lastly my tea. This month it comes from the English Tea Shop. Organic chocolate, Rooibos and Vanilla. Tasy combination and I can't wait to give it a go. The packaging is again lovely and makes it even more appealing! Really looking forward to this one!

All in all I'm delighted with this box again. I think it's incredible value for money. You got 5 panty liners, 20 tampons/pads (of your choice),  a feminine hygiene product and your box of goodies to cheer you up and cheer me up it most certain did! :) 

Values:

English Tea Shop Chocolate, Rooibos and Vanilla Tea £6.66 for 60

Rococo Honeycomb Crunch  £1.50

Badger Sleep Balm £4.99

Fudge Kitchen White Chocolate and Raspberry  £10 for 12

True Brit 'It's a Monthly Thing' £12.50

Cougar Perfect Pout  £29

Lottie London Makeup Brush £5

Simple Soothing Facial Toner  £1.29

April Empties and fails

As we've moved in May, I have suddenly realised that I should have been working on this post throughout the month of April rather than doing it all in one go. Och well, you live and learn.

This month I tried to be ruthless with products. Abandoning anything that I didn't deem useful and trying to use up products that only had a bit left. So let me show you how I got on.

I change up my skincare routine quite frequently but one that is a bathroom staple is Simple's 'Moisturising Facial Wash'. Whilst packing I came across this travel sized one from my trip to Krakow in October http://hansunahnah.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/winter-krakow-trip-day-one.html?m=1
I wanted to make sure I used it up before the move which I'm pleased to say I did manage. It's a great product especially for people who suffer from dry skin occasionally, like myself. It's definitely something I would purchase again. In the meantime I am using Ren's cleansing water which I am in love with!

These next two products I didn't quite manage to use up but I wouldn't describe either as a fail. In fact Avon's 'ANEW Vitale Eye Cream' has been a staple of mine for years. Vitale is Avon's anti-ageing cream for people 25+ and retails at £16. It was very nearly used up but I already had Avon's 'ANEW Infinite Dual Eye System' to try out and it seemed daft taking a pretty much used up eye gel to the new house. However, it is a great product and I really like the Vitale range, especially the trial pack you can buy which is perfect travel size.

Now the SkinTruth 'Equalising Moisturising' I have had in my bathroom for quite some time and it doesn't seem to be going down much. The problem for me is that it isn't thick enough for a night cream, whilst it's a little greasy for a day cream. I tended to use it when I was staying in the house. It is very moisturising but I don't think I would purchase it again.

I received Dr Pierre Ricard's 'Lifting Neck and Dellecotage Cream' from My Little Box in November
http://hansunahnah.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/my-little-box-november-2015.html?m=1
I loved this product purely for its scent...it is heavenly! I was literally scraping the bottom of the jar to get every little last bit out. When I first tried this product I felt that having a separate cream for my neck and dellocotage was unnecessary at this point in my life and my opinion hasn't changes. For that reason alone I wouldn't see myself purchasing this product again.

Leo Bancroft's 'Totally Protected' was for me a total fail. Part of a Christmas gift set, for me it did absolutely nothing to my hair styling routine. There are so many other better products out there for me that offer heat protection to hair than this one. Would I purchase it again? Not on your nelly!

This next one I came across clearing out my make up box. In all honesty, I forgot I even still had it. Boot's own beauty brand No7's lip gloss in the colour 'Smile' is a nice light pink shade. However, as I've no idea how long I've had it (I'm suspecting it is over its 24 month's expiry date) I decided it was best to just chuck it.

On the hand Rimmel's lipstick in '084 - Amethyst Shimmer' is one of my firm favourites. As you can see I didn't have much of it left so I tried to use it up before the big move. Although it wasn't 100% used up before move day, I'd got so little left it wasn't worth taking it with me.
Would I purchase it again? I definitely would but right now I've so many other lip colours that I won't be purchasing it until I've used up some of those first.

This So Susan 'Colour Hybrid Lip and Cheek Tint' was another My Little Box number from last year and this for me was an out and out fail. You can maybe see from the photo how chalky the texture is. It is a nice shade of red but unfortunately the texture makes it useless for cheeks or lips. In my opinion an absolutely terrible product.

This eyeshadow palette again in found in the bottom of my make up box. Shame because the pastel colours would have been pretty for spring. Again I wasn't sure how long I has it for and I've hundreds of eyeshadow palettes so sadly this one ended up going in the bin.

Marc Jacobs 'Daisy' is a firm favourite of mine. This particular bottle was bought by my partner when he returned from a business trip. I didn't have much left so before leaving for the new house I made sure I'd finished this one all up.

Would I purchase it again? I have hundreds of perfumes so probably not right now but should my other half go away again with work I wouldn't say no to another bottle!

This is probably my favourite empty of this month. Another product given from My Little Box, Korres 'Basil lemon body milk', I kept this in my handbag and have used it frequently whilst I'm out and about. It smells like summer and was really moisturising. I was really sad when it was finished up.
Would I purchase it again? Out of everything this month, this is the one I'm most likely to purchase again. It is just a great product.

My last empty was John Friday 'Frizz Ease 6 Effects Serum'. I have hair extensions currently so I am forever applying serums, oils and conditioners to keep my hair looking good and healthy. This has been a good serum but I wouldn't say it was anything extraordinary. 

Would I purchase it again? Probably but there's nothing that would necessary make me go for this one rather than another one.

So that's it for this month's folks. Let me know if there's any products you could recommend me trying out!