bloggers meetup and haul♡

I am constantly amazed at the vast amount of opportunities I have been given since the day I started blogging. Never in a million years on that frosty afternoon of Boxing Day 2013 that writing my first very cringey blog post would lead to the sorts of things I have been able to do through this small community. My blog never fails to lead me to things I never expected. Together with my blogging friend, Chloe we arranged a meet up for bloggers and YouTubers around our local area. We prepared for big numbers but many of the ones invited got caught up with other things such as working so we had a very small little gathering, tearoom treats and shopping. We spent the afternoon getting to know one another and having a really lovely time, so much so, we are hopefully going to meet up again! Because of the meet up Chloe and I got in contact with some companies who provided samples for the meet up which was really lovely of them so I thought I would do a mini review plus showing you some of the goodies I sneakily bought myself! 

This is a collab with Chloe whom I met! She was so lovely in 'real' life as well as on her blog and online! Here is her blog post all about the day! 

Chloe's post 

I shared cream tea with my sister! 

As part of the bloggers meetup some lovely companies sent us some goodies to try and give to all the girls who are going. The first thing that was in the goody bag was the 'Dream Dots' overnight treatment patches for your spots. They are small plastic sticky dots that are clear and fit on any pesky blemish you have. I'm not entirely sure on the way it works. I have tried this twice. Unfortunately, the first evening the spots didn't stay properly on my skin and I ended up waking up to find them no longer on my face. Last night, I gave them another go and the results weren't successful. I still will persist with trying this but so far it hasn't done anything for me! 

Also in the goody bag there were these Papier Poudre powdered sheets which are great to absorb all the excess oil on your face. I used these after PE and they absorbed any of the oil on my T-Zone and transferred a light powder which did refresh. What I love about this is the samples come in a little book so it's the perfect size to fit in your makeup bag. I always find that when carrying a powder it's likely to break and cause a lot of mess. These are ideal because the powder is built into the paper.  

Lastly, in the bag was the Metcalfes Skinny Popcorn in Sweet 'n Salt. I love this popcorn and especially this flavour. The idea is this popcorn is not as calorific and it's gluten free. I really enjoyed this and the bag went in the space of 5 minutes. I would definitely buy this again! 

During the shopping trip, I also picked up some skincare/bodycare bits and bobs for myself because who doesn't like a little treat? Firstly, I went to the Body Shop and picked up another one of their body butters. I luckily, always find these on deals. This was £6.50 - what a bargain! I love the Body Shop body butters. They are really moisturising on my skin and smell so delicious. I bought the blueberry one which has a really fruity subtle scent and I love the colour of the packaging! 

I also decided to pick up the Lush Mask of Magnimity. I went into Lush with the intention of just window shopping but the face masks immediately caught my eye. I was interested in buying the Cupcake one but it was more expensive, a smaller quantity and only lasts a month whereas this Mask of Magnimity lasts for 4 or so months, bigger in quantity and a little bit cheaper. It was a no brainer. This says it's perfect of acne and pesky spots which I am prone to getting. It smells like mint and pea soup and is quite thick in consistency. I will report back on how well this worked! 

Emily xx

summer empties♡

I'm currently on a roll with these empties posts! I don't really know what it is but it's always so satisfying to use up a product? Anyone else think the same? Anyway, today I am going to talk about the many products I have used up in the last few months and what I thought of them and most importantly, are they worth a repurchase? 

The first product is a bit random. I used up the Purell Advanced hand gel. I had this by my skincare box so after I had put on my spot treatments I could sanitise my hands to prevent contamination! It did the job and I loved how it had a handy pump on the end too. I haven't repurchased this as I'm not sure where to get it from but I have plenty of other hand gels to take it's place! 

Skincare♡

Up next is some skincare bits and bobs. I have used up the Nivea Daily Essentials Extra Gentle Eye Makeup Remover which I was quite disappointed with. It made my eyes really sting and I won't be repurchasing it again. It had leaked in my bag on holiday, therefore there was never a full bottle worth of product in it anyway. It is gentle for around the skin area but definitely not for direct use on the eyes! I also used up my trusty Garnier Micellear Cleansing Water which I adore. It's the best skincare product I have ever tried! I also used up some of my trusty Clean and Clear products. One of which is the Advantage Spot Control Daily Wash which cleared my skin up like a treat! I have repurchased a slightly different version which has oil control in it but I will still go back to this one. I also used up the Dual Action Moisturiser which again, cleared my skin up so well! It helped prevent spots and blemishes and is oil-free so ideal for Summer. I have repurchased this since as it's one of the best moisturisers I have used.  Lastly, for skincare I used up my Clean and Clear Spot Control Treatment Gel which is my holy grail. It zaps my spots like nothing else and I even cut open the tube to get out every last drop of this stuff! I had to repurchase this! 

Makeup♡

The next product looks like it's barely used but trust me it is much loved. It is my beloved Barry M nail paint in the shade, 'Matt White.' Unfortuneatly, it's got to that horrible gloopy messy stage in any nail polishes life and has started to dry up. I have attempted to make this work again but it is passed the point of no return. It looks gloopy and thick on the nails and doesn't apply smoothly anymore. I haven't yet repurchased this again, but I will repurchase another white shade at some point, possibly from Barry M. Next up is the Mabelline Dream Fresh BB Cream. I've tried to make this work but the colour is way too dark for me and looks too peachy. There's not much left in it so I'm going to call it an 'empty'.

Hair♡

I have used up the Batiste Dry Shampoo in the scent Fruity and Floral Blush. Recently, I have completely gone off Batiste dry shampoos as I feel like they are way too sticky and make my hair feel thick with product and chalky. I used it up with the help of my family but I'm glad it's empty. I am currently using another dry shampoo which hasn't been that successful either! Dry shampoo recommendations anyone? 

Bath and Body♡

I have used up 3 shower gels in the last few months. The first two are from Original Source one in Coconut and one in Lemon and Tea Tree. Both were a £1 each and are well worth the pound you pay! The scents are really lovely. The lemon and tea tree smelt a lot like lemon sherbet and was really refreshing in the morning and the coconut was nice in the evening and was quite vaninlliary too. The scent lasted longer than expected afterwards and contains natural moisturisers also. The next shower gel is the I Love Strawberries and Cream shower gel which I got for my birthday. This doubled up as a bubble bath as well and smelled lovely. I don't normally like strawberry scents but this wasn't as fake smelling as it had natural fruit extracts. I probably won't repurchase any of these in a hurry as I don't feel like they are un-replacable but I would happily use them again.

Lastly, is the Soap and Glory Breakfast Scrub which appeared in the spring empties I did. I still love this product so much and am sad that the last of it is used up but I feel like it is quite expensive to repurchase all the time, although, I feel like this Summer I am in need of a scrub so watch this space!

 

Emily x