Review: Botanics All Bright Cleansing Toner

Boots Botanics All Bright Cleansing Toner £3.99 (currently on sale for £2.69) - available here

Hello beauties! Are you impressed by regular posts? I know I am!

Today, I want to talk about a new toner I've been trying out from Boot's Botanics Range. Again, I bought this after watching Pixiwoo's video with Caroline Hirons. Before I bought this, I hadn't used a toner in the longest time and I wasn't convinced by this one before purchasing. I just didn't think it would make a dramatic difference seeing as the AHA's where from the Hibiscus plant.

However, I've been using this day and night and I really do think it's working. I haven't used a manual exfoliator for about three or four weeks and I haven't used my Sonicleanse (cheape dupe of the Clarisonic) in longer than that but, my skin has never been so smooth. Seriously, it's baby soft, if I didn't know better I think I'd just be stroking it all day.

Plus, I don't know if I'm just hopefully imagining it but I do really think this has brightened my skin. I've noticed my blemish scars fading a little and I am absolutely over the moon about that because I thought I was stuck with them for life.

All in all, I'm incredibly happy with this purchase. I definitely want to try something like the Clarins exfoliating toner next but, I'll definitely use this until it runs out and I'll do so quite happily.

I'll give this a 4/5 because although I completely love it, I'm sure it isn't quite as good as some of the other's out there.

Have a fabulous day,

Nikki x

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Review: Botanics Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm

Botanics Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm - £8.99 available here

Hello beauties! Today I have a review for you of a product which I've now been using for around three weeks. I said in a recent post that Pixiwoo's video with Caroline Hirons inspired me to shake up my skin care. Although in that post I was talking about a cleanser completely different to the kind Caroline recommended, I finally found a budget cleansing balm (I'd like to thank missbudgetbeauty for bringing this to my attention).

Now, I say 'budget' and I feel I should point out, I am not opposed to spending as much money as necessary on skincare because I feel like it's something worth investing in. However, I didn't want to pay £34 for the Emma Hardie one to find out that I detested cleansing balms. So, I figured I'd try a cheaper one first to see if I liked the concept.

And good news, I absolutely love it!

The balm (as you can see) is green and has a natural herby smell to it which I absolutely love. When I first got it it was incredibly hard and I wondered how I was going to be able to get any out but it does start to soften with the heat from your hands quickly and seeing as it's been so blooming hot in the UK at the moment, I've found it pretty soft when I've gone to use it.

I have normal/dry skin and so this feels like absolute heaven to me. It's incredibly moisturising and nourishing but it still gets the job done. It removes eye makeup quickly and gently because you're just using your hands, and I find it really satisfying seeing all my makeup come of on a cloth (one comes with this balm but I'd recommend buying a few spares so you always have a clean one).

My skin definitely feels softer and smoother since I've been using this balm and although I've still been getting the odd blemish, they've been disappearing lightning fast (I'm not sure if it's because of this balm or my new toner though). I did go through a breakout stage about a week ago and I'm not sure if it was due to this really cleansing and unclogging all the crap in my pores or if it was because of a face mask I used but either way, my skin seems to have purged.

I use this both morning at night which, initially, scared me. I've been using a cheaper version of the Clarisonic for almost a year and it was to that that I owed my skin clearing up dramatically. So, I was a bit scared to stop using it. But, I decided that this would still be deep cleansing because of the muslin cloth and I've started using an 'exfoliating' (in inverted commas because I'm not 100% it's as exfoliating as say, Clarins Exfoliating Toner) toner (review soon) so, maybe I could live without the cleansing brush. Four weeks later and I think I can say that yes, I can live without it.

So far, I'm really enjoying this cleansing balm and although I'd really like to try the Emma Hardie one, I'm not sure that I'll be rushing to buy it because this one seems to be doing pretty well at the moment.

I think I'll give this a 4/5 just because it can be a bit of a hassle when you just want to flop and go to bed, but that's just my pure laziness.

Have a fabulous day,

Nikki x

Where else to find me:

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HG Series: Natural Collection Pressed Powder

Natural Collection Pressed Powder in Neutral - £1.99 available here

Hello beauties and welcome to another post in my HG Series. Today I want to talk about a powder I don't think I could live without. I actually think this is one of the first powders I ever bought back in my Dream Matte Mousse and Miss Sporty Cover Stick days (ugh, I literally had no idea what I was doing with makeup). Although those two products were not suited to my skin at all, this has stuck with me for years. I think this is my third or fourth and I'm going to have to go and buy a new one soon.

Now despite the fact that this powder is only £1.99 I find that it mattifyes to a natural look without looking cakey or overly powdery. I don't always need powder due to my skin being prone to dryness but when I do, I find that this one takes away shine without clinging to dry patches. However, you should bear in mind that I have normal to dry skin and I'm not too sure that this would be great for people with super oily skin, maybe as a touch up powder throughout the day but not something to be relied upon.

When getting the link for this post I discovered their colour range wasn't as I had expected, they have Warm, Neutral and Cool. I guess back in the day I just picked whichever I thought looked palest but next time I pick one up I think I'm going to try Cool.

For a powder of this quality, I think I would expect it to be at least £5 and I'm constantly surprised but how great it is for such a small price.

Well, there's another one of my HG products and I have to say, this is probably my main one. I've stuck with this powder for years and even if I flit between other powders, I know I'll always come back to this one. I hope you've enjoyed this post in my HG Series, expect more soon!

Have a fabulous day,

Nikki x

Where else to find me:

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Review: Garnier Moisture Match Moisturisers

Hello beauties today I have another review for you! One of these products was actually mentioned in my June Favourites (which you can check out here) so you can probably already tell that this is going to be a pretty positive post.

Garnier Moisture Match Start Afresh - £5.99 available here

Recently, my skin has been a lot more normal than dry (I don't know whether to put it down to the weather or my better skincare regime) and so I've been able to get away with using a lighter moisturiser than usual. This one looks kind of thick at first but it actually feels really light on the skin and absorbs really well. It says it's a 'softening' cream and I actually kind of agree with that. It makes my skin feel uber soft and kind of like the way some primers make it feel. It does have a smell that is really obviously not natural but I love it; it smells like Benefit's Triple Performing Face Emulsion which, in turn smells like Curious by Britney Spears.

The box claims that it boosts moisture immediately by 38% and obviously, I have absolutely no idea whether it actually does that or not. However, I do agree that my skin looks softer, feels fresher and more comfortable.

The only issue I have with this is that I like to use it as a day cream however, it has no SPF in it. I currently don't have an SPF specifically for my face and am still on the hunt for one (I'm being incredibly picky seeing as it could very easily break me out) so I can only wear this on days when I'm not going outside or when I know there's going to be flash photography.

So, all in all, I'd give this a 4/5. If it had decent SPF it would literally be the perfect day cream for me.

 Garnier Moisture Match Goodbye Dry - £5.99 available here

I bought this a few weeks after buying the full size of Start Afresh because all three moisturisers I had been sent sample sizes of I had liked, I needed a new night cream and so I was almost 100% sure I'd like this one. I was right, it's fab! It's incredibly thick, probably double the thickness of Start Afresh however it doesn't feel heavy or greasy on the skin. I could probably still use this as a day cream if I had to. This, again, leaves my skin feeling incredibly soft and comfortable and my skin never feels dry or tight in the morning. This one has a faint smell but it's not as obvious as Start Afresh and when you're applying it to your face you can't even smell it.

Obviously because I use this as a night cream, I don't need it to have SPF and so I'm going to give it a full 5/5.

I am so impressed by these moisturisers and I'm so glad I found them. They're not too expensive and a little really goes a long way so I expect they'll last me a while. They're absolutely perfect for my skin at the moment and I fail to see anything new coming along that would stop me using these in the near future. If you're in need of a new moisturiser, I would thoroughly recommend this range from Garnier, they have one for all skin types and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Have a fabulous day,

Nikki x

Where else to find me:

instagram: nickeeeta

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OOTD/FOTD #1

Hai beauties! Today I thought I'd do a quick outfit and face of the day just because I'd never done one before but I really liked the idea.

Outfit

Ignore my awkward face and stance omg

Pink vest top with white flower collar - George at ASDA

Blue jeggings - Topshop

Purple Jasper Conran bag - Debenhams

Black flats - George at ASDA

Face

Base:

MAC Face and Body in N1 and No7 BB Cream in Light mixed

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 1 Fair

Garnier Anti-Dark Circles Tinted Roll On in Fair (idk if that's actually it I just know I have the lightest shade)

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Concealer (down center of the face) in 01 Ivory

MUA Undress Your Skin Radiant Undereye Concealer (on tops of cheekbones) in Radiance

Natural Collection Pressed Powder in Neutral

Cheeks:

Sleek Face Form Kit Contouring Powder in Light

Natural Collection Blusher in Rosey Glow

E.L.F Shimmer Palette

Eyes:

Natural Collection Eyeshadow in Crushed Walnut (brows)

Maybelline Color Tattoo in On and On Bronze

Taupe from Sleek Au Naturel Palette (all over lid and under lower lashes)

Regal from Sleek Au Natural Palette (crease and lower lashes)

Nougat from Sleek Au Natural Palette (browbone hightlight)

Bourjois Volume Fast and Perfect Mascara

Lips:

Rimmel lipstick in 066 Heather Shimmer

Nails

Rimmel 60 Second Nail Polish in At Ease

Okay, so there it is, my first outfit/face of the day. If I do one again I think I'll probably just stick to outfits because my god was it difficult to remember everything that was on my face. But, it's made me realise I'm probably wearing way too much makeup - oops.

Anyway, have a fabulous day,

Nikki x

Where else to find me:

instagram: nickeeeta

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Change o' Heart: Barry M Nail Polish Review

Hello beauties! Today I have a post that I never thought I'd be writing. For a very long time I had been adamant that I didn't like Barry M nail polishes despite everybody raving about them. Because of that, I don't actually have very many of them but recently GlamLifeGuru mentioned that when she uses their Gelly formulation , she leaves her nails for about five minutes before applying a second coat and so, I decided to give them another go, heeding her advice. Obviously, it worked.

Regular Formulation

Barry M Nail Paints in (L-R) Lemon Ice Cream (available here), Lime Green (available here) and Blue Moon (available here) - £2.99

 I can't find Lime Green on the Superdrug website, I'm not sure if that means it's been discontinued or what but you can still get it on Amazon, so no biggy. Also Blue Moon is called Pale Blue on the website.

These regular formulations I wrote off as being too thick, but very sheer meaning that you have to build colour up with a lot of coats, which then makes them very easy to smudge and take ages to dry. However, after watching that GlamLifeGuru video I decided that, despite the fact that she was talking about the Gelly formulations, I'd try it out with these seeing as they're such beautiful colours and they're just going to waste. So, I did one coat, left to dry for (probably more than) five minutes and then did a second. I found that this really helped with the way they dried and actually I don't think they're as thick and sheer as I originally did. I needed three coats of Lemon Ice Cream to get bottle colour and I haven't re-tried the other two, but I'd imagine it's the same. The thing I'm most impressed about though is how long they last on the nails. I used a crappy top coat which came in one of those huge kits of nail polish and, they've lasted better than any of my other nail polishes!

Magnetic Formulation

Barry M Magnetic Nail Paint in Neptune Sea (available here) and Cosmic Glow (available here) - £4.99 

I have to say, I'm really not a huge fan of these. Mainly because I don't like the finish. It's quite grainy and textured and I just really don't like my nails to look like that. It's also a sort of metallic finish which I'm not a huge fan of. As for the actual magnetic pattern thing, I don't like the pattern of the wavy magnet on the right. Mainly because my nails are quite narrow, so it basically just looks like I messed up my nail varnish. The diagonal stripes one, I do think looks quite nice. However, these aren't nail polishes that I reach for very often or will probably ever reach for in the future.

Nail Effects Formulation

Barry M Nail Effects Nail Paint Black Croc - £3.99 available here

I have only ever tried two of these type of 'shatter' effect nail polishes. The other one was from ASDA's makeup range and it was crap. So, when I got this free for buying two other Barry M products, I wasn't expecting much. However, it's (obviously) a lot better than the ASDA one and does give a nice croc effect. However, it's still not something I'd reach for often, only really when I wanted a change.

Unfortunately, due to my past dislike of these nail varnishes, those are the only ones I currently own. However, Superdrug are currently doing 3 for 2 on all nail products in store, so I think I'll have to pick up some new colours and I'll definitely be trying out their much raved about Gelly formulation.

I hope you've enjoyed this post, I'm considering turning this 'Change o' Heart' thing into a series considering that there are quite a few products (almost all of the products in my Disappointing Products post, link here) which although I initially disliked, have found a use for in my routine. So perhaps there will be more posts like this to come!

Have a fabulous day,

Nikki x

Where else to find me:

instagram: nickeeeta

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Review: Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer in Stellar - £5.99 available here

Hello beauties! I have another review today and I think it will definitely be a product that comes in handy not only in the summer months, but all year round. I'm sure everybody has heard of Rimmel's Apocalips Lip Lacquers but in case you haven't, they are essentially liquid lipsticks which promise to last on the lips for a long time.

I only actually own one, and it's in a bright pink/red called Stellar. In the tube it looks a lot more pink than it does on the lips but it is definitely nowhere near a 'true red'. The colour pigmentation is shocking. This is what makes it more than just a lipgloss, it's opaque in one swipe and a little of this product goes a long way. When I first tried this out I made a bit of a mess but with practice, they're incredibly easy to apply. Just think of applying a slightly more glossy lipstick with a doe foot applicator, it actually enables you to be more precise.

Straight after I applied Stellar.

5 hours after I applied.

Not only do these gloss/lipsticks have amazing pigmentation, they have amazing lasting power. In between the two photo's above, I had been eating, drinking and talking normally. You can see it still looks pretty good. It doesn't look as glossy and it starts to look more pink than red but still, I'm very happy with how it wears. Another plus is that, even after the glossy effect wears off, it's not drying on the lips at all!

I literally couldn't be happier with these lip lacquers. They're on 2 for £10 in Superdrug at the moment (or at least they are while I'm writing this) and I think I'm definitely going to take advantage of that because I need more of these. I have my eyes on Big Bang (a bright red) and Nova (a pinky nude). I'm going to give them a full 5/5 (I like how when I started this blog I said I hardly ever gave full marks and I've been giving loads of things full marks recently) because they are F.A.B.

If you haven't already tried out these lip lacquers it is literally essential that you do because they are amazing and you will love them!

Have a fabulous day,

Nikki x

Where else to find me:

instagram: nickeeeta

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HG Series: Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Extreme Black - £7.99 available here

Hello beauties and welcome to a new series I want to start doing every so often on my blog. Basically, I have quite a few products that I consider to be absolutely essential in my beauty life and will continue to repurchase, regardless of whether these products go up in price astronomically or not.

First up, I thought I'd talk about an eyeliner that a lot of you have probably already heard of because quite a few beauty guru's have talked about it, and rightly so. This is the only gel eyeliner I have actually ever tried but I fail to see why I would ever want to try another. This glides on so smoothly and is the blackest black you can imagine (in fact I'm pretty sure in America the colour is actually called blackest black).

I think the thing I'm most impressed by with this eyeliner is the lasting power. I do truly believe it's 24 hour claim. I have gone to sleep with this on after a night out (not something I'm proud of) and it's still looked perfect in the morning. Actually, I have full on cried with this in my waterline and it's still looked perfect afterwards. If that doesn't tell you how amazing this product is I don't know what will.

The brush that comes with the eyeliner (I don't have a picture, sorry) is awful at applying the actual eyeliner however, it's a really precise little brush which you can use for highlighting the inner corner. So basically, you're getting a decent little brush for free (because I'd pay the same price for this without the brush so it may as well be free).

Another great thing about this eyeliner (and all gel eyeliners) is how long one pot will last you. This is my second pot and the one before lasted me over a year and probably would have lasted much longer if I hadn't accidentally left the lid off for about a day which dried it out and left it difficult to work with, but still somewhat usable. Which means, it's going to last you a loooooong time.

So that's my mini review and rave about this eyeliner. I have a few more products that I definitely know will feature in my HG Series but I'm sure I have more than I think. I hope this has been helpful and interesting to some people and I'll talk to you soon.

Have a fabulous day,

Nikki x

Where else to find me:

instagram: nickeeeta

twitter: nickeeeta

June Favourites!

Hello beauties and welcome to another monthly favourites! I know this is a little bit late but I seem to have been busier than I thought I would have been recently and so haven't had time to put this all together until now. However, I am going to try to start posting something every Tuesday and Thursday so hopefully, lots of new posts will be coming your way! Now, onto my favourites!

Organic Surge Daily Care Face Wash - £5.49 (currently on sale for £2.75) available here

I recently did a review of this cleanser (link here) and I have to say, I'm really quite impressed with this bargain! I saw this whilst it was on sale and bought it in a bit of a hurry (first time buyers get free postage too so it was literally too much of a good deal for me to not buy it) without much thought. Afterwards I read some reviews and I have to say, I was left feeling that I wasn't going to be impressed with this cleanser but actually, it's fab. Get's my skin clean, didn't break me out and didn't dry me out. What more do you want?

nspa Nourishing Eye and Lip Treatment - £3 available here

Prior to my Mother giving me this after not using it herself, I hadn't used an eye cream in a very long time after using one I absolutely hated. So, this was a welcome change. It's a nice consistency and decently moisturising. Having said that, and despite this being in my favourites, I'm not blown away with this. It says it reduced dark circles and puffiness but I doubt it really does. Seeing as I personally don't have a bad dark circle problem under my eyes, I don't need something that will help with that and I prefer Benefit's It's Potent eye cream however, for now, I am enjoying this budget eye cream.

Garnier Moisture Match Start Afresh for Normal to Dry Skin - £5.99 available here

I recently got a sample of this and two other moisturisers from Garnier's new Moisture Match line in le post, and after trying them out fell in love with them, this one in particular. The smell really reminds me of Benefit's Triple Performing Face Emulsion which, in turn, reminds me of a perfume by Britney Spears. This is quite a thick moisturiser which absorbs and sinks in beautifully and leaves my skin unbelievably soft. However, because it has no spf (and I currently don't have a seperate face spf) I only use this if I'm not going out all day or if I'm going somewhere where I know flash photography is going to be taken. As soon as I find a good face spf though, this will become my day cream. I am absolutely hooked.

Mac Face and Body Foundation in N1 - £21.50 available here

Oh my gosh, I literally cannot say enough good things about this foundation. It is absolutely perfect for this time of year! I've recently run out of my HG foundation (Clarins Everlasting Foundation, which I have reviewed before, link here) however even if I hadn't, I think I'd still be reaching for this. It's so versatile because you can either apply a really thin layer and just even everything out slightly or you can add quite a few to get a nice medium coverage that still looks totally natural. I know that a lot of beauty guru's on youtube have been saying this has become their favourite foundation for the warmer months and because it's so light you may think you need perfect skin to begin with to be able to use it. But you don't! I have an awful lot of acne scarring (okay I never had acne as such but it's just the common way to describe it) on my cheeks which actually makes me look like I have an awful lot of breakouts all the time if I don't wear make up. However, this starts to even things out with one thin layer and I just keep slowly bulding on the area's I need it and I get a flawless totally natural finish! Only thing I would say it, you're going to need a strong mattifying powder because this does look incredibly shiny and dewy if you don't set it with anything due to it's high water content.

Maybelline Color Tatoo in Permanent Taupe - £4.99 available here

Now, this next product isn't the most summery of products but I've found this to be incredibly useful recently. I bought this because I thought it would work in the place of a paint pot that Jaclyn Hill (favourite youtuber, hands down, if you haven't already, check her out here) used it one of her tutorials. However, whilst playing around with this on my own, I found that this all over the lid and blended with a 217 out in the crease, with a bit of black (or brown or grey, any would work) kohl eye pencil smudged out makes a really easy but beautiful smokey eye.

MUA Nail Polish in Pistachio Ice Cream - £1 available here

I think this may be one of my all time favourite nail polishes. I love these MUA nail polishes; they're only £1; you get bottle colour in two coats; they last really well. I've done a mini review on this one and two other colours in the range (link here) and I'd like to point out that in that review, I said the formulation of this one in particular wasn't as good as the other two. I don't know what happened but now it's just as creamy as the others so it's literally perfect. If you haven't tried these nail polishes and you can get your hands on MUA, I seriously recommend them, they have some awesome colours and they're super cheap so you can't go wrong. I'm definitely going to pick up some more of these ASAP.

Rimmel 60 Seconds Nail Varnish in Blue Eyed Girl - £3.69 available here

This is without a doubt my all time favourite nail polish in the world. In case you didn't know, blue is my favourite colour and I have blue eyes (which happen to be my favourite part of myself) so this nail polish was literally made for me. I've had this one for about a year and so it's starting to go gloopy and it's really difficult to reach product but seeing as you only need one coat to get opaque colour, I'd say I've still got one or two full applications left before I buy a new one (trust me, I will be buying a new one). I love the Rimmel 60 seconds formula, I prefer it to the lasting finish formula as I find these ones, ironically, last longer without chipping and they dry super fast. Looking for the link on the Superdrug website has made me realise some of the awesome colours they have in their range and I think I'm going to be going on a bit of a spree next time I'm near a Rimmel stand.

Clarins Hand and Nail Treatment Cream - £20 available here

I actually got this hand cream as a free gift almost a year ago when I bought some things from Clarins and only recently ended up using it. My nails were in a bit of a bad state and I'm terrible at remembering to moisturise my hands so, I decided to keep this next to my bed so that every night I could massage some into my nails and moisturise my hands at least once a day (better than not at all, right?). This actually ended up helping my nails a hell of a lot. They're a lot stronger and in much better shape than they were this time a few months ago and it's down to this product. I know it's a bit pricey for a hand cream but it will last you a while and I thoroughly recommend it.

nspa Rich Cocoa Bean Body Butter - Discontinued

I'd like to first off apologize because I had no idea this had been discontinued until I went to find out how much it was for this post. It may be a case of it just not appearing on the ASDA website and them still having it in stores but nspa have been changing so much recently that it wouldn't surprise me if it was discontinued. Unfortunately I've completely run out so I can't even ration it. However, it smelled absolutely heavenly (as all cocoa bean products tend to) and was super thick and moisturising. I especially liked using this on my legs after shaving and exfoliating to make them super soft. If you are interested in nspa's body butters, they do have them in other scents and you can find them in ASDA stores.

Random Favourite!

I enjoyed doing a random favourite last month and so I decided to do another this month. Again, it's a music favourite and it's a song by Gaelic Storm called Scalliwag. I discovered this song whilst playing the Sims 2 (yes, I still play the Sims) and realised it was one that was a real song that they had made the artist sing in Simlish. So, I went and found the originial and found that I just couldn't get it out of my head and I've been listening to it a lot this month. It's not going to be to a lot of people's tastes but I think it's really catchy and upbeat and I just absolutely love it. So, if you want to check it out, you can listen to in on YouTube here.

Well, that's it for my favourites this month. Again, I'm sorry that they're a bit late but hopefully I'll be more on top of things from now on.

Have a fabulous day,

Nikki x

Where else to find me:

instagram: nickeeeta

twitter: nickeeeta