Boots Salon Nail Care Cuticle Remover Review

So Boots has revamped their nail treatments! Yay more products for me to buy ;)


Boots Salon Nail Care Cuticle Remover

I’ve got to admit that I’m a bit of a nail care noob; although I love painting my nails and dabbling in nail art, I didn’t do much in terms of cuticle work and general maintenance until a few months ago. Only a year ago I didn’t even truly know what a cuticle was *awkward*. Now that I know which part of the nails is the cuticle, they have become objects of my obsession. I’ve been pushing them back and applying nail oils and balms religiously. However none of these processes actually remove the dead skin once it’s pushed back and it just tends to congregate at the base of the nail. I don’t want to cut my cuticles because it seems to be a dead certain no-no… (I still think it looks so much neater though). So because of these reasons, I’ve been looking for a remover to *magically* dissolve the cuticles away for me.

The Argania Series: Cashmere Hair Leave-In Conditioner Review

Argania has always been a brand I've been interested in using because the products smell amazing and the ingredients look promising and simple and I keep getting taken in by the argan oil trend. After purchasing a few items from the range, I decided to write a series of reviews on them for anyone else who may be interested in trying them out.

First of all, I'm going to review the Cashmere Hair Leave-In Conditioner. It claims to "fortify and protect your hair whilst locking in moisture for satin-smooth tresses with lustrous shine." Part of me doesn't even know why I continue to fall for these product claims but when I first tried this out, my fingers were crossed.

Argania Cashmere Hair Leave-in Conditioner

Leighton Denny Crystal Nail File Review

Hailed as the "Rolls Royce of nail files" (by no less than Leighton Denny himself), I was expecting a hell of a lot from this thing.

Leighton Denny Small Crystal Nail File

At £12.50, it's not a cheapie. I'd imagine a lot of people are more used to buying cheap cardboard or even *shriek* metal nail files at a small fraction of the price. As a result, some those people (and myself) would look for one hell of a justification for buying this one. I'm here to provide that justification for you!

Primark Egg Shaped Sponge Review

I'm sure you have all heard of the Beauty Blender? An apparent "essential" tool for makeup application. Its been around for ages and is essentially an egg shaped sponge retailing at £16. Yeah I'm wouldn't pay that, even if it started singing to me. If it looked like Zingy though I'd probably buy it. So cute. Anyway here is a much more economical and replaceable version - Primark's Egg Shaped Sponge at £1.50!


Primark egg shaped sponge - £1.50!

Let's face it, we all know this is a rip off of the Beauty Blender. Before we begin I'd like to say that I do not have a BB but I've been interested due to positive reviews. I thought I'd try this because it looked similar and was about one 10th of the price.

After dabbing on some corrector or concealer under my eyes, I dampened the sponge under a tap whilst squeezing a few times to get the water distributed. I then squished out excess water so the sponge was damp and started dabbing it against my skin. I've noticed that the egg sponge blends completely seamlessly, distributing the layer I patted on and evens it out into an air brushed finished product. Before buying this, I used to blend concealer with my finger which when I think about it, looked thick it creased so easily. My concealer doesn't crease any more which is a big plus as I don't have to keep checking it throughout the day. I'd buy this over and over again!

Quick tip - before storing your Primark sponge (or BB), I would advise squeezing out the water and leaving it in the open to dry out completely. Before I realised this, my primark sponge started growing mould! To avoid it these days I balance it on my radiator so it can dry quickly. Even if it did grow mould, I can't say I would cry - its only £1.50! The BB on the other hand... Well that would surely be a waste as it costs over 10x more.

Scunci Pastel Scrunchies Review

Can't wait for summer? Yeah, neither can I and what screams summer more than these gorgeous pastel shades? I couldn't resist! I was happy to find that I have corresponding nail colours to go with each hair band :)


These pretties were £3.49 from Boots.

I hope we all know that we shouldn't be using those hair ties with metal on them. Nor should we use *cries* elastic bands in our hair. Ain't nobody got time for that kind of pain or hair damage! For the past few years I've been on a mission to grow out virgin hair with as little damage as possible and I have to say that avoiding damaging hair ties has really helped me towards my goal. Nobody wants little broken, ruined hairs sticking out of their heads caused by rubbish hair ties.

For this reason I prefer to use scrunchies and sometimes the Invisibobble if I am desperate. I now have less breakage and no snagging. I wanna bring scrunchies back!

Benefit Hoola Bronzing Powder Review

Benefit, we meet again.

Hoola at a hefty £23.50

Hoola in all it's glory

I think the bronzer is such a great shade. It's not shimmery or sparkly nor overly warm or red toned when applied. It is quite pigmented and finely milled which is fantastic and to be honest, what I would expect at this price. I'm not sure how this would work on pale skin as I know bronzers can sometimes look "muddy" but on me (roughly MAC NC35), it works and blends beautifully. I don't actually use this as a bronzer but as a natural contour shade because I feel the flat tone works best for me that way.

DIY Bent Eyeliner Brush

I took a break from wearing makeup a few years back and since then, I realised I've been suffering from "makeup application amnesia" (this is a DIY post so this is a DIY diagnosis - I'm not medically qualified but I need to be cured!).

So I was reminiscing about the days when I was much better at applying liquid/cream eyeliner. But then I had a breakthrough... It's all about the tools! I remembered I had an ELF bent eyeliner brush back then and that I loved it. I also remember ruining it by butchering trimming and using it for some nail art. Yep, fit for the bin.

Primark's Hask Argan Oil Repairing Deep Conditioner Review

By now you're probably wondering how many argan oil products I buy and try. The answer is 'quite a lot'! Even though I try not to buy into trends, this one's got me hook line and sinker. Maybe it's the smell... They all seem to smell similar (and delicious). Who knows. Anyway! Back on track with this review.

Okay.  I was indulging in a quick bit of shopping and picked this up! Forgiveth me, I felt like treating myself seeing as I had time off work and hadn't had enough time recently to pamper myself. I've never really bought any beauty items from primark (apart from this essential) but the range seems to constantly evolve and it looks like there's something for everyone.

Hask Argan Oil Mask

This mask was £2 for 50ml which I thought was a bit pricey, a) because its primark and b) because its just a hair treatment! Granted, I could tell it contained a generous amount which is great for hairy curl heads like me but I guessed I'd only get two uses out if it maximum. Regardless, I thought I'd give it a go seeing as my hair is getting longer and needs a bit more love every now and then.

Bumble and Bumble Prep Primer Review

I’ve recently been on the lookout for a leave in conditioner to spritz in my hair as it’s always a little dehydrated parched. I’d love to have beautiful silky curls but I’ve faced that mine are just prone to fluff and frizz no matter how much I try to baby them! Nothing will stop me from trying though, what with new and seemingly miraculous products being touted at every turn.

In true product junkie fashion, I already have a number of spray leave in conditioners but I get bored easily and never seem to finish them off. I thought I’d treat myself to another one though seeing as my hair is getting longer and needs increasingly more care. This product is recommended for anyone but mainly for those with virgin, ultra-fine, limp and relatively healthy hair. If you know me or my hair then you'll know I have all those characteristics apart from 'limp'! Okay and my hair is a mix of fine, medium and coarse but hey hair is hair right? Enter my uncharacteristic Bumble and Bumble splurge buy!

Bumble and Bumble Prep

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you’ll know that I like using “natural” products and that I try to avoid silicones. The primer’s ingredients looked promising as most of the junky ingredients are right at the bottom of the list. It contains silicone but it's not in the first few ingredients so I wasn't too uptight about buying it.

DHC Deep Cleansing Oil Review

I can't help but smile - this baby retails at £21.50 but after buying it, it came up on my receipt as £4.50! Bargain. I just noticed that the sticker and price on the box is for something else entirely. I'm not going to complain.

DHC Deep Cleansing Oil

I've always been intrigued by oil cleansers and have tried my own concoctions as well as ones from Shu Uemura, Muji (hello parabens) and Origins but I can't say I've been impressed enough to repurchase at those kinds of prices. I'd heard so many great things about DHC's Deep Cleansing Oil but never saw it in shops in the UK so this oil wasn't really on my radar until I saw it in Topshop.

Wilko Makeup Brush Review

Who'd have thought it? Wilko doing decent makeup brushes? I know I was surprised.

I find myself perusing Wilko's aisles more and more recently what with the new store designs and more appealing stock. I'd been on the hunt for quite some time for a new powder brush seeing as I wear powder foundation frequently and can't keep applying it with my blusher brush. I'm not going to lie, whilst I love Boots and their No7 vouchers that come out every few months, I just am not prepared to spend £17 on a No7 powder brush. Whilst I didn't want a bottom of the range scratchy one, I wanted something that was good value and ended up looking elsewhere for a brush (sorrynotsorry, Boots).

Wilko Powder Brush

This brought me to Wilko where I was apprehensive whilst looking at their range of brushes. Most of mine are e.l.f brushes so I'm used to spending under £5 without compromising on great quality. My main worry was buying it and being disappointed if it didn't pick up product or was horribly rough. I decided to go for it and I have to say I'm really happy about my little leap of faith! It is so incredibly dense and soft that I would liken it to a kabuki brush. One of my biggest gripes with kabukis though are the impractical short handles so this is almost an improved version. It buffs powder makeup effortlessly and quickly thanks to its size. Much better than using my blusher brush!

Boots Skincare Haul

I love me some good Boots offers! Over the weekend I managed to pick up some decent deals in Boots (which doesn't always happen). Overall, I'm very happy with them!

Boots Skincare and Makeup Haul

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water - in my opinion this is a must have for all those who don't like applying thick, greasy makeup removing lotions onto their skin. I prefer using something light to remove makeup as I hate the idea of residue and this does it in a pinch. I got it for £3.32 (reduced from £4.99) which I think is fantastic value. The 400ml bottle claims to provide 200 uses which is probably not realistic seeing no one is going to precisely dispense 2ml to their cotton pad each use but from experience, this bottle is capable of lasting months! I love the simple packaging but I have noticed it leak slightly when on its side, which could be an error on my part if I didn't close the lid properly.

My Project 10 Pan

Project 10 Pan tldr - gathering 10 products you want to use up (or at least hit pan on) before you buy any more!

In reality this is probably my 3rd attempt at this challenge. I get bored easily and I'm at the point now where having hundreds of products open without the likelihood of finishing them is getting to me! It's starting to feel like a waste :( Must. Use. Them.

Victims of my project 10 Pan

3 Sisters of Nature Review

Once again, I spent way too long in my local Pak Cosmetics hair shop. Is it just me or does the air in there feel like the smoky skies of Mordor once it's in your lungs? Not that I've ever been to Mordor but no word of a lie, I came out coughing because of the nasty plastic smell.

As usual when I visit Pak's, I have no idea what I'm after. There are certain brands I keep returning to in order to sniff and drool over them (Curly Kinky, Design Essentials, CURLS and Nene's Secret) but I've yet to try any, mainly because of the ridiculous prices for some of them. One day I will suck it up and try these products *crosses fingers* but for now I'll sample some of the cheaper offerings in an attempt to find something halfway decent. These are the products I picked up from 3 Sisters of Nature - the Stretch it Out Creme (AKA Natural Lengthening Creme) and Sweet Bounce Back (which is now called Sweet Honeyrose Treatment?).

Despite the possibility that these products could both have an ungodly stench, I bought them without smelling either. Talk about living life on the edge. Okay, in reality I couldn't smell them if I wanted to because it they were wrapped in plastic but yes, things could have gone wildly wrong smell wise. And they did. Both products smell very strongly of the most artificial cherries you could imagine. I think the Sweet Bounce Back tub has a stronger scent than the Stretch it Out Creme. The smell is much too powerful for my liking. Why on earth would they make it smell like cherries?

3 Sisters of Nature Stretch it Out Creme and Sweet Bounce Back

3 Sisters of Nature Stretch it Out Creme (click the photo for closer inspection)

Marc Jacobs Daisy Review

I'd wanted this fragrance for the past two months and painfully patiently waited for the Boots sale to buy it.

Marc Jacobs Daisy

It came in a gift set which was £47.50 before the sale but was reduced to £31.67 after Christmas. Perfect. Being a small time perfume snob, I wanted the eau de parfum but a comparison of prices (£53.50 vs £31.67) threw that out of the window. Daisy was accompanied by a luminous body cream and a shower gel. I don't think the body cream is something I'll use regularly as it is laced with large chunks of glitter (and I'm not 10) but shower gel will never be redundant. I'm quite shocked that separately, the shower gel and body cream retail for £20-something each. Whaaaat?

Daisy is so very fresh, sunny, and floral, featuring notes of strawberry, jasmine, violet and vanilla. It quickly became one of my favourite perfumes along with Amani Si, Wish by Chopard, Stella McCartney STELLA, and Miss Dior by... Well, Dior.

Charles Worthington Takeaways

After spending way too long in the haircare aisle in Boots, I had seen so many people pick these (and the full size bottles) up and escort them to the till. So being the fluffy sheep that I can be when it comes to trying haircare, I followed suit. I can tell from the price that Charles Worthington is a top high street brand but I haven't tried anything from his range, probably because it's never fully appealed to me.

I thought the packaging on these was interesting and different. Part of the reason I bought them was because I thought the lid was a miniature screw top which looked really cute. It's actually a twist and snap deal which when opened, rendered the hole in the sachets tiny because they were blocked by twisted plastic. This made the product annoying and time consuming to dispense because it shot out in a thin stream. However, it's much easier to save product that's left over in the Charles Worthington sachet because of the tiny opening. This is great when compared to normal sachets which can rip in the most unsuspecting directions, making them difficult to deal with. 

Not Strictly Brixton

Having never been to Brixton (and having discovered a love for markets) I thought it was about time I went. Cue the mad crowds.

Brixton's Ms Cupcake Cupcakes

Ms. Cupcake of Brixton has been on my radar for a while now and I finally had the chance to go there. The shop was really not what I expected and actually looked quite run down and in disrepair. It was barely decorated and a bit on the shabby side, so much so that when he spotted it Din said 'we are going in here?'. Cakes were £2.40 each and they did look beautiful. There were some really odd flavour combinations and the only ones that ticked my boxes were Lemon and the Ferrero Rocher one (I got Lemon to stay on the safe side), whilst Din got Triple Chocolate. The cupcake was nice, a little rubbery but the icing was fantastic, none of that greasy margarine style icing here. Don't be fooled though, although the cakes look huge the actual the icing to cake ratio is crazy. There's about 1 inch high of cake and three of icing.

We then went to Kingly Court to have tea at Camellia's Tea House (only to be told that the minimum spend on Saturdays is £5 per person with a maximum stay of an hour)... No one goes to a tea house to rush, guys. We left, even though the candle was so cute.

Reflections

For some reason I am still of the mindset that my hair remains in ruins. I bleached it to within an inch of its life in late 2011 and since then I've dyed the ends of my hair to match my roots, avoided heat, dry brushing and naughty ingredients... The list goes on. I've been babying my hair like mad but now I've started to realise that my hair is actually in great condition, even the frazzled ends onto which the bleach clings for dear life.

Most of my length is virgin so its in much better condition now that the bleach has almost all grown out. Regardless, I still think my hair is really damaged and I constantly seek out deep treatments only to be disappointed that they haven't done anything for my hair. Now I'm starting to realise that there is little left for deep treatments to do because I've kept on top of haircare and its protein-moisture balance. There are still some deep treatments I'd love to try and of course curly hair always needs moisture, but I need to accept that my hair is no longer in total tatters.

Another Week, more on Kats Kalma

Ooooh yeah, I went back to Greenwich specifically to visit Kat and get some pretties.

Kats Kalma Hair Oil and Facial Mask

Again, I love the packaging. The hair oil and face mask are housed in a glass pump bottle and glass jar respectively. This was surprising as I thought they were plastic but keeping to true eco-friendly form, glass had been used instead. Of course, this means you have to be slightly more careful with them but for the aesthetics, sturdiness and the quality, I'm fine with that. I also love the re-usability factor they have and I plan on giving each a new life after I've used them. The packaging actually reminds me of something you would see on the shelf at Berry and Rye, (my second favourite bar) in Liverpool. Or failing that, a Victorian pharmacy. I'm not a time travelling Victorian but to me they look like little antique glass containers. I'm not an antique dealer either, but I do know that I like them.

So you have curly hair? Straighten it, freak!

Bumble and Bumble, why is it that when I search for curly hair products on your website, this comes up:

Straight shampoo? Straight conditioner? Straight blow dry? Why are the curly haired products right at the bottom of the page? I don't get why products for straight hair are in the 'curly' category. I think its wrong to suggest that straight hair is what curlies should be aspiring for and encourage them to buy into having straight hair. I understand that many curlies want straight hair but when I search for curl products, surely that's what I want to see?