The 'Must Haves' and The 'Never Again's' - January 2013

Hello Again! Its been a while hasn't it?! 

Well I know I'm 8 days late (my bad!) but I am now going to do my monthly products which I have bought this month and either love or hate! (Bare in mind my spelling may be terrible as I have just got home from doing a night shift at work!) Now I hate being a negative nelly but sometimes there is a product we have, and lets face it we all have at least one, that we would never buy or use again! Now as a side note, I would like to add that January for me as a beauty month has mainly been about hair styling so just be warned! 

Must Haves!

1.  BaByliss Pro-Curl Curling Tongs.

Now I have become very bored with my straight hair with the ends deciding they want to flick out making me look like Miss Hoolie from Balamory, so I decided I would finally purchase some curling tongs after I had been using my mum's old curling tongs she had from the 1980's! (Which were just a cheap pair, but have lasted so long until the ceramic finally started to wear!) Now these arrived on the 26th January and I've only just got round to using them as I have been so super busy at work!  And the results made me so happy; I acheived the big bouncy flawless curls I had desired and much more! I bought these from a friend who decided she didn't need them after cutting her hair very short and sold me them for £5.00 but you lovely lot can buy these for £18.49 in Boots. In the images below is my hair after I curled it this morning!

The curls have a good bounce and last for ages without becoming flat. Now I usually add the Tresemmé Professional Firm Hold Hairspray but I decided for once I wouldn't and see how long my curls would last. Right now they are still bouncy and full of curly life! (Shown in the image on the left!). 




2. Peacocks Hair Bun 'Donut'


Now I know I am seriously late with this craze but hey, I like doing things late! But I saw this in the sale section in the clothing shop Peacock's. Now I have a lovely friend who works in Peacocks and actually went into the store room to see if there was any blonde ones left... and to my luck THERE WAS! Now I got this for the super cheap price of 99p but you can buy these from Boots or Superdrug from around £1.99-£3.99 in either Blonde, Black or Brown, depending on your hair colour! I got a small blonde donut because my hair is still only shoulder length (sigh...) but I will purchase a new one once my hair has grown to a sufficient length! 

3. No.7 Day and Night Moisturising Creams (test pots)

I bought these as tester pots as part of my huge Boots Haul from the No.7 Stand. Now when it comes to Moisturisers I am very fussy! My skin is very sensitive so I can easily come up in a rash when using these products! I started using these about 3 weeks ago now and I adore them, I will definitely be purchasing these again in the future! These make your skin feel very silk like and I usually put these on after I have done my spot treatments on, which usually tend to make your skin feel taut and dry, but these make your skin silky and refreshed... No.7 you've done it again! You can purchase these from Boots; The Day Cream costs £9.00 and The Night Cream costs just a tad more at £9.95! Seriously Girls, these are fantastic on your skin, definitely worth it!

4. Mavala Nail Polish

Now I am a huge fan of the Mavala Nail Polishes. You can buy these in Lloyds Pharmacy for about £3-£4... Even though they are dearer then some other nail polishes, the finish and feel of these are just fabulous! I currently have these in 71 La Paz (Hot Pink), 153 Lagoon (a greeny-blue colour) and in Touch of Provence (Lilac). The consistency of the nail polish appears very thick, but once applied onto your nails becomes very thin, I usually apply about 3-4 layers depending if I am putting anything on top of my nails, then I usually only apply 3 coats. I currently use my Lagoon polish with my Barry M Aqua Glitter Polish as they work so perfectly together! I can usually wear these nail polishes for around 2 weeks without even chipping them! You get a high gloss finish to make your nails just perfect! 

5. Victoria Jackson Make-Up Set

I bought this absolutely amazing make-up set when I went up to Westfield in London back in January! They had a small little stand in the train station and I just had to have a little nosey, and I am so glad I did! This make-up is high quality and just feels so light on your skin! In my set which I got for £50.00 was a VJ Mascara, VJ Terra Glow Bronzing Powder, VJ 24/7 Makeover Portfolio Sunrise & Sunset Colour Kit, a VJ Blush Brush and a little Beauty Tips booklet! I use the mascara every single day and I need to purchase some more very very soon! The mascara doesn't cause your eyelashes to clump if you put more mascara on! The eyelashes are equally feathered out and also make your eye lashes actually look longer! The booklet taught me so many tips that I never even knew myself! If you need any tips, even on how to apply your blusher then this booklet has it all; it has 5 little sections which include the eyes, foundation eyebrows blush and lips. The bronzing powder is a warm golden colour, nothing to make me look orange either! Sometimes when I buy bronzing products, they make me look like an oompa loompa, and that's even when I buy the lightest colour! 
In the colour kit pods you get a tri-colour of eyeshadows, 2 blush's (one which is your skintone which is the day perfecting blush - in the day kit; the other is for adding colour to your cheeks) and 2 lip gloss swatches. Happy is an understatement! These are the perfect size to fit in your handbag too! If you want to find out more products then please have a look at the Victoria Jackson website; www.vmakeup.com/ 

6. Simple Cleansing Make-Up Wipes

Every person should own some of these amazing wipes! Now, I am probably over-hyping a very simple and typical product, but, I adore Simple cosmetics! I have never had a bad experience with any of their products! They make your skin feel lovely even after you have had make-up on all day! Your skin feels refreshed and vibrant! You get 25 wipes in a pack, but I always buy these in a bulk! You can buy them at any drug store or even supermarkets in the health and beauty section! I buy mine in Morrisons for £1.99, join me in some Simple lovelyness!!

Not Sure Yet!

BaByliss Thermo-Ceramic Rollers

Okay, so as you may know I have begun to get very bored of my straight blonde locks and decided I want to add some waves and curls in without permanently damaging my hair by getting is permed! So I went into Boots (again during my haul!) and found these bad boys! I bought these for £29.99 and got a 'Stay Set' lotion free with it! I used these rollers, as advised on damp hair, (not wet!) now bare in mind I have never used rollers before let alone heated rollers, my mum said it was easy as she used them a lot when she was younger, so I thought the hell of it I'll have a go! Now, I have only used this once, and I did exactly what the little booklet said I should do, the results for me, were personally very disappointing. I used all the rollers in my hair, not putting too much into one roller either and throughout my whole hair only got 2 full curls. These just made my hair flick out at the end with a small twists, no 'bouncy and flawless curls' here. I adore BaByliss products, and I definitely wont give up on these until I'm happy or know I will never achieve anything from these (please comment below if you have these and your experiences with any rollers/heated rollers and your tips for little old me!). The battle has not been won yet heated rollers!

Never Agains!

1. Stay Set Setting Lotion

Okay, so I got this product for free when I bought my BaByliss Rollers from Boots, and I'm sad to say this product has caused me absolute hell! I will never ever purchase this again! Okay, I put this in my hair the other week when plating my hair; I followed the directions and putting this on after I had washed my hair, my hair being damp then to wet the hair with this product... When I first put the product on, all I could smell was chemicals dripping out of my hair, and yes I know this is a chemically based product, however most companies try to hide that and give it a nice perfumed smell. After around 5 minutes and I had towel dried my hair, my head began to feel very itchy and my skin on my scalp, around the back of my neck, and on the hair line on my forehead. Now, I have taken photos, however I will not show them to you as they were honestly ghastly! However, I have now returned this product to Boots, and not too much of a loss to myself. Maybe I just had a bad experience, I'm not sure but I will definitely not buy this product again! If you wish to buy this you can buy this from Boots for around £2.29.

2. Batiste Dry Shampoo XXL Volume

I love Batiste's Dry Shampoo range, I think they are fantastic when you have to rush out the house and don't have time to wash your hair. However, I purchased the Batiste 'Big &Bouncy XXL Volume' shampoo and how I was disappointed. Batiste products I have used in the past, (and I hvae used about at least 4 different types of the range) have been amazing, they have made my hair feel refreshed, just like it had been washed and that it was full of life, it made my hair feel smooth and easy to brush through, no knots what-so-ever! But, with the XXL Volume, all my amazing experiences in the past were shadowed by this. I used a quick spray of this dry shampoo before dashing off to work. My hair was knotty, I couldn't easily brush my hair either. 'Big & Bouncy'? No, for me more like  'Knotty as Hell'. I was hugely upset with this product. Batiste is a hair product I use a lot of, especially with my crazy work life, and I have so much faith in their products and they usually make me very happy with the finished outcome. Another thing that annoyed me about this product is that it should give your hair 'volume' if anything my hair felt less volumized once I had used the product. My hair become flat, and as said before knotted. I will definitely be purchasing my blonde Batiste Dry Shampoo again, but the XXL Volume I shall not! Sorry Batiste! 

Product of the Month
Dove Body Wash

I love Dove as a company, and I love their advertising techniques for real beauty and real women (Dove Beauty Evolution Video and Dove Real Beauty) however I sadly regret and hate to say it but I had an allergic reaction to several Dove products I have used... facial creams, body wash, deodorants and many more. I love Dove and think they are outstanding, but for me I can't use their products, HOWEVER, I think you should all use a Dove product (only if you aren't allergic like me!) Dove are a company who think every and any women no matter what you look like is beautiful and honestly Dove have hit it on the nail! They send out the right message to every one across the world. Well Done Dove!!



And now we have come to the end! I am sorry that this is late, I have been super busy, but I will definitely get back on track with my blogging from now on! 

Much Love You Beauties

Emma Victoria
xoxo