November/December Favourites

I didn't have enough favourites for just November so let it tick over into December to give me a few more. 

Avon Nail Experts Peeling & Brittleness Solver £5

In recent years my nails have been very strong and tough but in recent weeks have been peeling quite badly. It was not only ruining my nails but after two or three days it would chip my nails and look awful. I tried cutting them shorter and filing them but it didn't solve the problem. I spotted this in Avon and ordered it right away. I've used it every time but once under my nail polish and it really did help. My nails are still peeling but not as much and my polish is lasting longer. I'm hoping with continued use the peeling will stop altogether and I'm looking for ways to reduce it further with diet etc. 

The Body Shop Love Etc EDP (discontinued)

This was/is my favourite perfume which I'd been wearing recently as my boyfriend got me a bottle for my birthday (I'd been saving it ha) and TBS go and discontinue it. Gutted. I've stocked up on this little beauty as I adore the scent: a musky vanilla with jasmine, neroli, pear and sandalwood. I'll be so sad when I have no more. They reduced everything to clear so this will be quite hard to get hold of now.  

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Gentle Exfoliating Wash £3.99 & Blackhead Eliminating Wash £4.69

I picked this up on a promotion in Boots on a whim. I fancied a new facial scrub and I am more likely to try new products if they're on offer. I'd also heard positive things about these two for years so it seemed a safe purchase. I enjoy both of these and couldn't see myself not re-purchasing. I tend to mix my facial care up but I'll be returning to these in between different products. I love the clean smell and they don't leave my skin feeling tight which is a massive plus for me. They don't dry my skin out either. I don't have spots that need clearing so can't comment on if they helped but they're lovely alone as facial wash/scrub. 

Lush Snow Fairy shower gel £10.25

The beautiful smell that signals Christmas is coming. Words cannot express my love for Snow Fairy. I stock up and use it sparingly randomly during the year to keep me going until it gets released again. The smell is intoxicating, I'll always remember it being marketed as "fairy dust, candyfloss and bubblegum". Its stuck in my mind but its exactly what this is, a very sweet, glittery dream to shower in. They have done lip tints and perfume in the Snow Fairy scent which I wish they would bring out every year!  

Topshop Lipstick in Mischief £8 

I used to think red was something I could never wear and it was too risky. However its become incredibly on trend to have red lips and after adoring the look for years I have been looking, googling, swatching and determining the best red for me. I have dark hair (usually dark red or my natural dark brown) with pale skin, green eyes and freckles. This is such a perfect red for me, a clean, blue red. I love wearing it and its made me look at other reds in my venture to be braver and bolder. 

Yankee Candles 

Not a beauty product but nothing beats the smell of these burning away. My boyfriend loves burning them as much as I do! All Yankee candles give off a very noticeable but not over powering smell and have decent burning time. I don't know why I ever wasted so much money on other candles that only burn for a fraction of the time of Yankee. I bought a Yankee Candle votive holder as I was buying the sampler size "votive candle". You simply pop in the chosen sampler then burn away. You really get your moneys worth as they burn right now so you just have to scrape out the metal wick holder and a tiny layer of wax on the bottom. I just use a flat knife and pop the next votive in. I have burnt a votive candle on a candle plate and it melted into a pool so got wasted which is why I bought the holder. The votive candles sell relatively cheap between £1.50-£2.00 but I've found them cheaper in independent shops (£1.13). You get about 15 hours burning time which is insane for the price! 

Avon Naturals Black Cherry body lotion £3 & Vaseline Cocoa Butter Deep Conditioning body lotion £2.99

My skin gets so dry during the winter that I've been smothering myself in these two. I hate the feeling of dry skin so finding products that work is a must for me. The Avon Naturals range is all lovely, leaving my skin feeling soft and moisturised with the Black Cherry range being my favourite. The Vaseline lotion is brilliant for my dry hands, it really sinks in and will last for ages even through hand washing. It smells nice too and feels creamy when applied.  

 Rimmel Wake Me Up £8.99

I adore this foundation. Its everything I would want: creamy, blendable, soft, light but covers well, smells amazing, lasts all day and leaves a beautiful dewy look to the skin. Just this morning I was admiring the tiny shimmers sitting along my cheekbone despite sleeping through half an hour of my alarm and pressing snooze in my sleep (how!?). It seems everyone is raving about this and I can totally understand why. Its inexpensive too. I will wear this forever.

Dove Damage Solutions Intensive Repair spray £3.59, Dove Nourishing Oil care spray £3.39, Pantene Instant Damage Defence spray £4.49

Part of taking really good care of my hair has included venturing into leave in sprays and conditioners. I LOVE the Dove ones, they smell incredible and leave my hair feeling soft. I've used so much of them but hardly any of the bottle is gone. The Pantene one is nice but may be discontinued as I can't find it online now but I got it on offer in Superdrug. This doesn't smell as nice as the Dove ones but is still nice to use as my hair get look quite dry despite not using heat on my hair, every little bit of care helps. 

So that's it! I definitely tend to buy products on reviews or raves so its nice to have my own input on what I've found. I also tend to buy most things on offer or multi-buys :) every penny counts and all that. The more I save the more I have to spend on other things be it more beauty products, clothes or socialising. 

I Got The Remedy...

Although this post title is inspired by Professor Green's track Remedy, he has been cast aside for Drake. Almost had an absolute diva moment in HMV yesterday when I couldn't see Take Care anywhere, eventually spotted it lurking on the bottom shelf of the cd drop. I used to order all of my cds online but made a decision last spring to buy everything I could in person. I love the feel of shopping physically and with the high street struggling so much I would hate for it to disappear. Just doing my bit to help the economy :)


I think I may be becoming a little obsessed with health supplements. I have been trying to grow my hair for years but never get there or lose patience. My hair is fine and when it starts to get long it gets really dry and brittle on the ends. I had long hair during high school but when I left after Year 11 I got it styled by a hairdresser and it was a much shorter, layered style. I really regret it now as I can't seem to get it back to before. I decided to take a multi vitamin to see if it helped my hair growth. I originally wanted a supplement I read about from Holland & Barrett. However when I couldn't find it in the store and asked the girl she told me it was a weight loss product (looking me up and down disapprovingly). I don't want or need to lose weight so decided to leave it. During the summer I get really tired. I previously put it down to hayfever medicine but they're non drowsy nowadays and last summer I ended up at the doctors it had got so bad. I would feel drained constantly and would struggle to stay awake especially at certain times of the day. He was puzzled and put me through quite a few tests to determine the cause but they all came back negative. I don't eat any red meat or have much protein so my diet was probably lacking iron. I invested in some iron tablets and I would say they have helped. 


Then I read about a tablet for "hair skin and nails" so this morning I got off the bus a stop early and as I wasn't starting work til 9 popped to Wilkinsons. I wanted to see their prices and if they were too much I'd go to Sainsburys. I was also after some zinc and folic acid as I've seen good things about them. Wilkinsons had a 3 for 2 offer and they had all three items I was after! 
I wouldn't say my diet is lacking in the slightest but I think the first two supplements I took made a difference so I don't see why making sure I'm getting my full whack of everything I want in my system could be bad. I also want to keep my immune system as well as possible. I've suffered pretty bad with being ill in the last year due to stress and upset. 

l-r iron, skin, hair & nails, multi-vitamins, zinc, folic acid

I feel a little crazy getting my five pots out and lining all the tablets up! The hair skin and nails tablet is positively huge. I hate swallowing tablets anyway but it has to be the biggest thing I've ever had to swallow, and I've had some big medicine in my time! I'm also washing my hair every other day which must be helping too. My hair feels thicker and looks better for it. It is so hard sometimes to resist the urge to wash it but mostly I appreciate an extra half hour in bed before work. 

made some buns for our cake sale at work for pudsey :) they had jam in the middle, they went down a treat

I'll have to report back in a few months and see if my hair suddenly grows like Rapunzel ;) 
Hope you are all well 
Em x
p.s. is it just me that loves to say 'multi-vitamin' in an american accent? "mul-tie vite-a-min" :) 
p.p.s. i didn't only take 6 buns into work haha, i took several tubs, this tub was on the top so was the photographed one