Products I've Used Up - February 2016

Hi everyone,

It's empties time again, and this time around I have accumlated quite a lot of stuff. There's also a few fails in this one, but I'll leave those until the end.

Mitchum Advanced 48 Hour Anti-Perspirant in Pure Fresh & Pure Floral

I thought I would change things up a little bit, and try something new. So, I decided to give the Mitchum deodorants a go. They are okay, but not brilliant; but the scents are lovely. I'm unsure if I would repurchase these again.

Mitchum Ulimate 48 Hour Protection in Pure Fresh

I thought I would try something new for my night time deodorant, and again I wasn't overly fond of this. The only thing that I liked was the scent.

I know I said I would leave fail items until the end, but these aren't that bad as what is coming up at the end of the post.

Aveda Scalp Benefits Shampoo & Conditioner

I absolutely loved these to clarify my hair and scalp, and they smell like dandilion and burdock. I would buy these again, if I ever felt the need to deep cleanse my scalp.

Pantene Youth Protect 7 Shampoo

I thought I would give Pantene a whirl again, since I hadn't used it for years. I really quite enjoyed it using this, and the scent was very nice. Even though I enjoyed using this I'm actually unsure if I would repurchase it again.

Neom Real Luxury Organic Hand Wash
This was lovely to use, and the scent very relaxing because it had lavender in it. These are lovely hand washes, but they are on the pricey side. I might pick one up again, if I can find it at the right price. But, I also flew through this extremely quickly.

The Body Shop Satsuma Shower Gel
This is a lovely shower gel to use, especially during the warmer months of the year. I have repurchased this a number of times, and I will buy it again in the future.

Bioderma Micellar Water
I have finally worked through my final bottle of Bioderma, and this took me around six months to use up. I may repurchase this again in the future, but I would like to try the more purse friendly options that are now available.

Dior Purifying Cleansing Milk for Normal/ Combination Skin
I thought I would try the Dior Purifying Cleansing Milk again, as it was something that I had during my teenage years. I was really looking forward to using this again, but sadly it wasn't to be. The scent had changed for one, as it used to have a lovely floral scent; but now it has more of a strong baby powder smell. Also, this didn't perform as well as I thought it would.

Bath & Body Works Deep Cleansing Hand Soaps in Caribbean Escapre & Watermelon Lemonade
I love the Bath & Body Works deep cleansing hand soaps. The watermelon lemonade scent was too die for, and I have one more in my collection. The scent which I was most looking forward to using was Caribbean Escape, and this had a lovely fresh fruity scent. I will continue to repurchase these, as long as can get my hands on them.

ESPA Energising Shower Gel
This shower gel was full of essential oils, and it had a lovely ecalyptus fragrance. It also lathered really nicely. If I ever want to treat myself to a luxury shower gel, then I might pick this one up again.

Jo Malone Orange Blossom Cologne 30ml
Here's something that doesn't happen that often, and thats finishing up a fragrance. I love the fragrances that Jo Malone has to offer, but this is one where I got a little bit sick of scent towards the end. I might consider repurchasing it again in the future, but its a no for the moment.

The Body Shop Wild Argan Oil Body Butter
This is a lovely thick body butter, which is ideal to use during the colder months. The scent of this is heavenly. This is a definate repurchase.

The Body Shop Coconut Creamy Body Scrub
This is my favourite coconut body scrub, and I have repurchased this numerous times. I'm trying something a little different at the moment, but I will repurchase it again in the future.

Deep Steep Lavender & Camomile Argan Oil Sugar Scrub
This was a lovely, gritty body scrub, and a little bit went a long way. If I could get my hands in it again then I might consider picking another one.

Colgate Plax in Soft Mint
This is the mouthwash I use before I brush my teeth. I'm currently using a different mouthwash from Colgate, but I do another one of these to use once I have finished my current one up.

Simple Cleansing Make Up Wipes
These are lovely to use, and they remove most make up. I'm currently using a different brand of make up wipes, but I do have another packet of these to use once I have finished my current make up wipes.

Bath & Body Works Fragrance Mist in Beautiful Day (Travel Size)
These are lovely refreshing mists from Bath & Body Works. 'Beautiful Day' is a lovely apple fragrance with a hint of musk. I keep these in my handbag for a little pick me up, and I do have another of these in 'Beautiful Day'.

Bath & Body Works Pocketbac in Pure Paradise
I've gone through countless of these over the past couple of years, and I will continue to purchase.

Decleor Hydra Floral Light Moisturiser
This is a lovely light moisturiser to use during the day. But, with this being the smaller size I flew through this in about six weeks which I wasn't expecting. I will consider buying this again in the future, but in the bigger size because it is a really nice moisturiser.

Angel Perfumed Shower Gel & Body Cream
These layer together are gorgeous, and not as strongly scented as the actual fragrance but the scent hung around until the following day. I got three uses out of the shower gel as I had to use quite a lot of product to get a decent lather, and two and a bit uses out of the body cream. The body cream is light formula, but moisturising which I quite surprised about. I don't think I would buy the shower gel, but I am considering the body cream.

Molton Brown Rose Graniti Fine Liquid Hand Wash
It may only be a small bottle, but this lasted ages because you only need a tiny amount to get a decent lather. I wasn't fond of the scent, but I might consider buying another hand wash from Molton Brown in a different fragrance.

Optrex Rehydrating Eye Drops
These are just my preferred eye drops to use for when my eyes start feeling a little dry, and I have repurchased these a few times.

FAILS

Fresh Soy Face Cleanser
I wasn't impressed with this, as it didn't feel as though it was doing much in the way of cleansing, and I also wasn't over keen on the scent. But, I did use it all up in the hope that it might actually do something, but in the end it did absolutly nothing. It also has has a slight runny texture, so I ended using a lot of product. Sadly, this just isn't for me.

Murad Refreshing Cleanser
I expected this to be really good, especially with it coming from a brand like Murad. But, again this did nothing, and it had a weird stringy texture when it was coming out of the tube. 

The Body Shop Aloe Calming Toner
I was looking forward to using this as it would be ideal for when my skin decides to go through a fuuny phase. The scent was nice, but this is just a basic toner. I used it up, but I was getting a little tired of it towards the end.

Benefit 'Be Potent' Eye Cream
I was thrilled to bits when I received this in one of Birchboxes, as I always fancied trying it. It did a good job when I first started using it, but the last I used I slight reaction to it.

Biotherm Blue Therapy Moisturiser
This is a lovely hydrating product, if your skin can handle thick moisturisers. Sadly, mine can't. It did a very good at hydrating my skin, it was just the texture was too thick for my skin to handle.

Fortnum & Mason Tea Haul

Hi everyone,

I've not done one of these for a while, and its a tea haul. This time its from Fortnum & Mason who are based in London.

Green Tea & Moroccan Mint (20 Large Teabags)
I really enjoy having green tea and mint, so I thought I would give these a whirl.

Chinese Ginger English Thin Biscuits
I love ginger biscuits, and these sounded lovely from what I read on their website. I haven't tried them yet.

I decided to try a small selection of teas from Fortnum & Mason, just to see what they are actually like; and its looking promising.

Royal Blend Tea (25 Teabags)
This is a lovely smooth mellow tea, but it isn't as strong as the tea I usually drink.

Breakfast Blend Tea (25 Teabags)
This is also lovely and smooth, and it has a bit flavour too it than the Royal Blend that they offer.

Black Tea with Peach (25 Teabags)
I couldn't get over how interesting it sounds, so I had to buy it. This is one to be drunk without milk.

So far, from what I have tried Fortnum & Mason tea selection is looking very promising; and I think that I am going to enjoy them a lot.

Mini Luxury Beauty Haul

Hi everyone,

I thought I would share with you just a few luxury beauty items, which I have recently brought.

Guerlain Meteorites Baby Glow Sheer Coverage Foundation in 2 Light
I decided to get this as thought it would be great as a base for my foundation, before I actually went in with my chosen foundation. It has the classical Guerlain scent of Palma Violets.

Liz Earle Gift Set
I decided to get one of the Christmas gift set from Liz Earle, as I've always been curious to try the brand; and what better way to try a brand than treating yourself to a gift set. The gift set that I had chosen included the famous Cleanse & Polish hot cloth cleanser, Gentle Face Exfoliator, and also a 50ml bottle of the Eyebright Eye Lotion. I'm actually looking forward to using this, but I've got some other stuff to work through first.

Laura Mercier Invisible Loose Setting Powder
I thought I would treat myself to a loose setting powder to set my under eye concealer, and this seemed to be what I was looking for. This sets the concealer under my eyes beautifully, aswell as mattifing it nicely.

Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub
This is just a repurchase, as my other one had expired. I can't get enought of the bubblegum lip scrub from Lush, as its delicious.

Review: 'The Real Thing' By Tom Stoppard (Rewritten)

Hi everyone,

I have taken the decision to rewrite a theatre review from a production I went too see around three and half years ago at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds. I have chosen to do this, as I wasn't 100% happy with the first version of this review. So, I'm hoping this time I can do it some justice, even though time travelling back three and half years to write a review proved to be a little difficult, as it wasn't completely fresh in my mind.

Cast
Henry - Gerald Kyd
Charlotte - Sarah Ball
Annie - Marianne Oldham
Max - Simon Scardifield
Billy - Adam O'Brian
Broadie - Sandy Batchelor

The opening of Act One starts with Max sitting alone in the living room, and he building a tower using a set of playing cards. Suddenly, Charlotte arrives back from her holiday in Geneva, Switzerland. All isn't as it seems as Max has found Charlotte's passport and it isn't stamped. It turns out that she has been seeing her other lover. The opening scene forms part of Henry's new play 'House of Cards'.
  Charlotte goes downstair and see Henry going through his records, as he is due to appear on 'Desert Island Discs' as a castaway next week. Henry informs Charlotte that Max is coming round, but she doesn't want to see him. So far, Henry has got five records and a book for his appearance on 'Desert Island Discs'. Max then arrives at Henry's house and they begin to discussing Henry's new play 'House of Cards'. It turns out the audience didn't have a clue what Max is going on about when he begins talking about the Japanese and digital watches; and also the stalls inside the theatre were deserted. Max then mentions that Annie is on the 'Justice for Broadie' committee. Annie then arrives and Henry mentions again that he is on next weeks 'Desert Island Discs', and it turns out that Henry actually hates music, but he likes pop music. But he doesn't like artists, he just likes singles.
  The pop music that Henry enjoys listening too include Herman's Hermits, The Hollies, The Everly Brothers, Brenda Lee and The Surpremes.
  While Charlotte and Max are out of the room; Annie starts to flirt with Henry. But when Charlotte and Max re-enter the room, Henry mentions that he is picking up his daughter Debbie later on in the afternoon from the riding stables, as she enjoys riding horses on Barnes Common.
  Annie met Broadie on a train down to London; as they were both on there way to an anti-missile demonstration. Annie was making her way down to London from her cottage in Norfolk.
  A few weeks later, Annie returns back home after finishing 'Tis a Pity She's a Whore' in Glasgow, and Max finds out that she has been having an affair with Henry, so she decides to leave Max for Henry.
  Annie enters the lving room while Henry is working on his new play. She then begins to quietly learn her script for her upcoming production, but then Henry tells her not to learn the script. It turns out that Henry is struggling to to write Annie's play, as he doesn't know how to write about love. This then starts a conversation about how Max is really unhappy, and how thrilled and excited Annie is to be with Henry.

At the beginning of the second Act Henry is helping Annie to rehearse Broadie's play, which will be rehearsed in Glasgow after the first week. While Henry is helping Annie to rehearse the play he impersonates Broadie when he reads the bit were the characters first meet on a train. After helping Annie with the script Henry says that the script is "No good", and that Broadie "Can't write". Henry uses a cricket bat to describe the difference between good and bad writing. If a play is written well then it will travel far, and if a play is written badly then it will fall to the ground like a lump of wood. Henry compares Broadie's play to a lump of wood, as it is so poorly written.

Act One of 'The Real Thing' is very funny, fast paced and with added dramatic elements.
  The dramatic moments take place during Act One, Scene One between Max and Charlotte during Henry's new play 'House of Cards'. Also during the first Act we get too see the wit and humour between Annie and Henry, which I really enjoyed watching.
  My favourite scene is when Henry talks about how difficult he finds it to write about love because he is more used to writing comedy. Henry explains that when he tries to write about love it comes across as both embarrassing and childish.
  Act One ended beautifully, as it faded out with the Prelude to Bach's Cello Suite No.1, BWV 1007.

The second Act of 'The Real Thing' is darker than the first Act, but it still does have some comical moments.
  During Act Two is when Henry uses a cricket bat to describe the difference good writing and bad writing.
  There was also two scenes during the second act that I found difficult to watch. The first scene that was hard to watch was between Henry and Debbie, as it brought back loads of not-so-positive memories back; and the second one was when Henry found out about Billy.

I really enjoyed watching 'The Real Thing' at the West Yorkshire Playhouse and I had an amazing day out.
  I would highly recommend 'The Real Thing' for anyone who likes English Literature, love, comedy and a bit of Politics thrown in for good measure.

Project Use it Up 2016

Hi everyone,

As promised I'm here with my update on the products I have chosen to use up during 2016. The majority of it is skincare based, but I have thrown in a couple of make up items.

Make Up
- YSL Touche Eclat Foundation
- Clarins Instant Light Brush On Perfector in 00

Cleansers
- Elemis Lime Blossom Cleanser
- Vichy Pure Thermale Fresh Cleansing Gel
- Ole Henrikson 3 in 1 Cleansing Gelee (Gimme Product)

Toners
- Elemis Lavender Toner
- REN Clarimatte Toner
- Body Shop Vitamin E Hydrating Toner
- Neal's Yard Witch Hazel Toner (Gimme Product)

Oils & Serums
- Pai Rosehip Oil
- Estee Lauder's Advanced Night Repair

Moisturisers
- Origins 'A Perfect World' Moisturiser
- Body Shop Vitamin E Aqua Boost Sorbet
- Glamglow Thirstymud Hydrating Treatment
- Elemis Hydra Boost Moisturiser (Gimme Product)

Shower Gels
-Jo Malone Orange Blossom Shower Gel
- Body Shop Shower Gels x4

Other
- One Burt's Bees Coconut & Pear Lip Balm
- Jack Black Lip Balm
- Lee Stafford Shine Head Shine Spray 50ml
- One Batiste Tropical Dry Shampoo
- Jo Malone Wild Bluebell Cologne
- Alpha H Liquid Gold
- Body Shop Peppermint Foot Spray
- Two B&BW Travel Size Fragrance Mists

I know I've started this a little bit later, but I am giving myself until the end of February next year to complete this project. I will be checking back in at the beginning of August. I have a document with all my chosen products on, and on that document will the date/s which I completed the product/s.