Review: B.Pure Micellar Water

As I may have mentioned before, skincare is something that I am really interested in and think is really important - so no face wipes for this girl!

I believe that in order for my main cleanser to work properly, I need something to remove all makeup first and leave my skin receptive to my cleanser (the infamous "double cleanse" technique if you will), and I find micellar waters are ideal for this purpose.

 I have previously tried and reviewed the make-up artist staple that is the Bioderma Sensibio H20 Micelle Solution (previously called Bioderma Crealine), but I have since been on the hunt for an inexpensive, cruelty free alternative.

Superdrug has become a regular haunt of mine for everyday staples from toothpaste to makeup, given that their own brand products are cruelty free (and BUAV approved), and so when I came across the stand promoting their new skincare and makeup range B., I was really excited when I clocked the miceller water!

Priced at £4.99 for 150ml (although it's currently on special offer for £3.32), Superdrug's offering is considerably cheaper than the Bioderma micellar water, and essentially does the same thing, which is to remove impurities whilst being as kind to skin as water and protecting the pH balance.

I think in terms of being an all-over facial 'cleanser' of sorts, the product is let down by the bottle size: where as Bioderma comes in mahoosive 500ml bottles that you can easily use all over and it will last you some time, I do find that I go through this very quickly (as with the Korres Cleansing Water) and so I have been mainly using this as an eye makeup remover. 

For this purpose it does very well - I soak two cotton wool pads (one for each eye) in the micellar water and hold each over my eyelid for 30 seconds or so, which removes eyeshadow/eyeliner completely, and helps to effectively loosen up mascara (I am yet to find a non oil based eye makeup remover that completely removes mascara in one go. Even Bioderma couldn't do it!). My eyes are not at all irritated by this product, and I have no concerns with using it round the eye area.

As an all-over facial makeup remover (I am slightly loathe to call it a cleanser, as to me a cleanser is a 'proper' balm or lotion!), I do find I can easily go through around 4 cotton wool pads before I am satisfied my skin is make-up free (and I generally don't wear a lot of foundation), and then I always like to follow up with another cleanser because I find this micellar water leaves a slight tacky film on the skin.

Despite this, I do think it's quite refreshing (possibly the cucumber extract, which does not add any scent in my opinion, but makes for a nice skin pick me up), and I love the fact it doesn't irritate my skin at all - does anyone else find their skin sometimes gets a bit 'sore' when you try to remove every last trace of makeup? I also like the fact it's multi-use - you could easily use this after your cleanser in place of a toner. 

I am really pleased that Superdrug have launched a highstreet micellar water, as it shows they are very much in tune with current beauty trends and what the average skincare junkie 'needs' (note the inverted commas ha) - if only they could produce it in a bigger bottle...

Have you tried this? Or do you have any cruelty-free effective micellar waters you could recommend?

Product Empties: July 2013

Admittedly I should probably just call my blog an ode to empties as it seems that's all I post about these days, but there is something oddly satisfying about finishing another product from my stash - and then writing about it of course!

Johnson's Baby Lotion - we did it people! I have got to the last of my HUGE baby lotion stash! Can I get a whoop whoop?!

Dr Bronner's Magic Soap 18-in-1 Hemp Rose - As with most of the products I mention in my empties posts, I do plan on doing a 'proper' review of these fantastic bottles of multi-use loveliness, but for now I can say I love this as a shower gel that I know won't irritate my psoriasis-prone skin.

The Body Shop White Musk Libertine EDP - This was a bit of a funny product (not in the 'ha ha' sense) in that, to me, the scent was just 'meh' and yet several people complimented me on it and asked what perfume I was wearing! This is the second type of The Body Shop perfume I have tried (the first being Love Etc) and i'm keen to try others, as  they're really good value for money - and aren't tested on animals of course.

Nuxe Anti-Fatigue Moisturising Cream - Another brand I am really keen to try some more products of, this is a little trial/travel size of their moisturising cream that actually went quite a long way. It smells subtly of roses and is my favourite type of consistency in a moisturiser: not runny but not too thick/rich either - just enough to quickly sink into the skin (making it ideal before makeup application), whilst still being very moisturising.

Bourjois Volume Clubbing Black Jack Mascara - A product I have actually reviewed (here), I really liked this mascara for thickening up my lashes, and for the 'traditional' bristle brush (I can't be doing with these plastic brushes these days!). I think the 'Black Jack' gold-effect is a bit gimmicky, so I wouldn't necessarily by this variation of the Volume Clubbing mascara again, but I would definitely consider buying the original version.

Lush H'Suan Wen Hua Hair Treatment - Possibly the hardest to pronounce product names in the history of the world, this hair treatment was technically about a year out of date when I came to use it up - I only rediscovered it after unpacking a box of old hair products when we moved into the flat! This might have been why it didn't 'perform' as effectively as I hoped it would when I applied the whole tub's worth to my dry hair - I sadly didn't notice any difference to my scalp or hair condition.

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - It's the concealer that everyone loves. 'nuff said.

Inhibitif Serum - I did consider reviewing this hair-inhibiting (hence the name) serum on my blog, but how does one show the difference: let one leg get incredibly hairy and apply to the other leg?! After applying this every morning and evening (after your choice of hair removal), I was initially sceptical, but now that i've finished the bottle, I can say it really has made a difference: whilst it might not have necessarily reduced hair growth drastically, the hair that does grow back (please excuse the mental images) is much finer and fairer in colour, meaning during that hot spell it was a lot easier to get away with wearing skirts etc for longer! At £30 a bottle it isn't cheap, but quite worth it in my opinion.

Matalan Necklace Haul

It has been rather quiet on the shopping front of late (what with me now being a homeowner and hence, skint!), but when I was in Matalan yesterday in search of a new 'going out' outfit (which I failed to get),  I couldn't help pick up all these wee beauties which were in the sale:

Turquoise beaded necklace - £3

Beaded necklace - £4

Tribal necklace (very Topshop-esque I thought!) - £3

Silver, wooden and turquoise detail necklace - £3

'Bejewelled' Necklace - £3

'Spike' necklace - £3

I'm really pleased with these bits - especially considering I nearly bought a few of them at full price a couple of weeks ago! Pieces like these can really make and dress up an outfit, and I can't wait to wear them.

The Matalan sale continues in store right now - do you have your eye on anything?

50 Facts about me!

1. Full name = Melanie Blane.

2. Height: 5'8 and a half!

3. I love cheese.

4. Studied marketing and history at uni - Honours degree in history.

5. I was a voluntary hospital radio presenter for 2 years.

6. I am from Kilmarnock - place of The Scheme.

7. One sister called Nicola.

8. One cat called Tanya (and now a dog called Poppy!)

9. One tattoo on my wrist - Ad Astra (means "To the stars" in latin).

10. I have a DVD buying obsession.

11. Would much rather have a quiet night in with a DVD and a takeaway than go out.

12. Favourite soap is Home and Away.

13. When I was younger I wanted to be a marine biologist.

14. My favourite animals are Orcas (Killer Whales).

15. I'm left handed.

16. One "major" scar -  on my neck from where I had a mole removed.

17. I have a phobia of getting lost.

18. Also hate daddylonglegs and butterflies. Anything that flies/flaps really...

19. Orchids are my favourite flower. 

20. Non-smoker.

21. Anything to do with fingernails or feet gives me the heebie jeebies.

22. Favourite drink is tea.

23. I passed my driving test first time at 17.

24. I don't like food to touch on my plate.

25. My age now!

26. Hate parsnips and scotch pies.

27. Indecisive. 

28. I am traumatised by the film E.T.

29. Biggest pet peeve: people who don't get 'there/their/they're' right!!

30. I don't like change.

31. Not a morning OR night person!

32. Fascinated by tornadoes.

33. Aries star sign.

34. I don't like rollercoasters.

35. I can't cook

36. Nail biter.

37. Favourite type of humour is observational.

38. Favourite comedian is Michael McIntyre.

39.Had a lazy eye when I was younger.

40. Family are everything to me.

41. Very loyal.

42. Glass half empty (sadly!)

43. Believe in an afterlife and have visited a psychic several times.

44. I don't like cake. Apart from mini rolls!

45. Favourite colour is pink.

46. When I was younger I didn't have a teddy or blanket. I had "bas baws": 2 cot bumpers that I took everywhere...!

47. Get VERY grumpy when tired and/or hungry.

48. Quite messy but it annoys me after a while.

49. Not an athletic person naturally. Was always picked last in P.E.! :(

50. I am happy in my own company.

Tell me a little fact about you...

Product Empties: June 2013

Ok, possibly the world's latest monthly empties post for June, given that it's nearly the end of July and the empties for July will be up in a couple of days, but I thought i'd include it anyway!

The Body Shop Camomile Eye Makeup Remover: Not the cheapest of eyemakeup removers at £8 for 200ml (The Body Shop prices are very much mid range) but I really like it as it is  - as the name suggests - very gentle on the eyes. Would really recommend it if you are sensitive to the usual eye makeup removers, or don't like oil-based formulas.

Lacura (Aldi) Cotton Wool Pads: I've mentioned these before and as such i'm not going to go on at great length about them (they are cotton wool pads after all!) but they are really good quality and amazing value: 200 for less than a pound.

Wilko Eco Baby Wipes: I featured these in my Conscious Cleaning post and loved the fact they are 100% biodegradable. They are also very moist (many wipes can verge on the dry side) and are reasonably priced at £1.80 for 72 wipes.

Boots Essentials Nail Polish Remover: bought this aaaaaggggges ago when I had Shellac and used it to remove it myself. Not much to say: bog-standard acetone-based polish remover that i've used up!

Lush Retread Hair Conditioner: what can only be described as yoghurt for your hair, this is a very heavy duty conditioner that I would only recommend using as an occasional treat for your hair, as even my crazy afro found it a bit much!

Vaseline Active Fresh Deodorant: both Lee and myself loved this deodorant, largely for the lovely clean, long lasting scent, but I won't be repurchasing this as it's made by Unilever who aren't cruelty free. 

Clarins Hydraquench Cream: I consider myself to have normal to occasionally combination skin, but even my fairly-hardy skin found this so moisturising that it turned a bit oily! For that reason (and that Clarins are also not cruelty free, boo) I can't see myself using this again, despite being a generally lovely moisturiser.

Lush Rehab Shampoo: if you find that you get a lot of buildup on your hair, this is an excellent once-weekly clarifying shampoo. I used this as my regular shampoo and did find it to be a tad drying, but I think that was due to over-use. 

Paul Mitchell Colour Protect Daily Conditioner: another long-ago purchase, I bought this with high-hopes as I've heard such good things about Paul Mitchell products - and of course they're cruelty free. However I just found this bit 'meh' - and ended up using it in place of a shaving foam!

Love Lettuce Fresh Face Mask: (can you tell I love Lush?!) you can read my full review on this lovely face mask here, but in a nutshell it's a fabulously refreshing, brightening mask which goes a lot further than you would expect!

Coming soon...July Empties!

I'm back! Little life update...

It's me! 

I can't actually remember the last time I put a blog post up, and I did consider whether I should dive back in and hope that people wouldn't notice, but then I thought I should give you - the old faithfuls! - a bit of an update.

The biggest change has been Lee and myself moving into our new flat - we've been in here now for nearly a month and so far so good.

The moving combined with working meant I have been so tired, and to be honest blogging was the last thing on my mind for some time - that, and the fact we didn't have wifi installed for the first couple of weeks!

Now we do and I'm feeling a lot more settled and ready to ride the old blogging bicycle again - so watch this space!

The other pics are just a few pretty ones I thought i'd share with you, covering my last few days when Lee and I went up to Cornhill (midway between Inverness and Aberdeen) to visit his Grandad.

Thanks for sticking by me folks. 

Love you! x x x

Product Empties: April/May 2013

Holy moly it'll be Christmas before we know it.

Dr Bronner's Liquid Soap - I love this stuff! A favourite of bloggers to wash their brushes with, I use it as a shower gel as it doesn't contain any nasty stuff to irritate my psoriasis-prone skin. In terms of would I buy it again, I already have - 5 bottles worth!

Johnson's baby lotion - I am FINALLY onto my last bottle of this. As much as I love the smell, I don't like what it contains ingredients-wise, nor do I like that Johnson's test on animals. 

Dolce & Gabbana Pour Femme EDP - My lovely Dad bought me this (along with a mahoosive bar of Toblerone - he knows me so well) from an airport a while back, and although I wouldn't say it's my preferred perfume 'smell' (I would say it's aimed for a more mature lady!), it does have quite a nice clean scent and I happily used it up.

Sanex Deodorant - deodorant. It was in my bathroom. I used it up. 'Nuff said.

Boots Cotton Wool Pads - cotton wool isn't exactly the most exciting of products to talk about, but I go through quite a lot of it (given that I use it on a daily basis to remove my makeup). Boots is not the cheapest place to buy cotton wool pads (except for their giant cotton wool squares which you can find in the baby section and are ideal for full-face cleansing) and these weren't anything 'special' (as cotton wool pads go) therefore I'll try not to buy these again!

Lacura (Aldi) Cotton Wool Pads - these on the other hand, I love. Firstly they are so cheap: less than one pound for 2x packs of 100 cotton pads, and secondly they are really good quality: really soft yet 'sturdy' and are dual sided, with smooth and 'ridged' sides making them ideal for cleansing etc and nail polish removal alike. 

The Body Shop Aloe Calming Facial Cleanser and Aloe Calming Toner - these were passed onto me by my friend Robyn when she found they didn't agree with her skin, and being that i'm going through a real Body Shop-loving phase, I happily took them and used them up! I didn't really find them to do anything amazing to my skin, but that being said, they didn't irritate my skin either, so I might keep them in mind next time I have a skin catastrophe! 

Elemis Pro Collagen Marine Cream Sample - I nabbed this out of an Elemis 'travel pack' my Dad came back with off a British Airways flight, as it's one of those much-raved about products that I know I will never get the chance of try a full-sized version of because it's so expensive! Not to mention Elemis' cruelty free status is questionable. Anyway I got about three face-fulls (if that's a technical term) out of this little sample size, and to be honest I didn't exactly see much difference - probably because you need to give skincare have a good month or so to really work!

Clarins HydraQuench Intensive Serum Sample - now that i've used this up, i've come to the conclusion it is for very dehydrated and dry skin: I don't have particularly dry skin and found it was becoming quite oily whilst I was using this. I liked how quickly it sank into my skin however and LOVED the smell - I wish I could find a perfume like it!

KMS California Free Shape Deep Conditioner - I love that my hairdresser uses KMS products as they are cruelty free, and she gave me this sample last time I was in for a trim, telling me to apply it to my 'lengths and ends.' I got 2 applications out of this little sachet, but unfortunately both times I didn't really see any difference to the condition of my hair, so I won't bother requesting a purchase of the full size. 

So there we are, what i've accumulated for the recycling bins these past 2 months. Have you used up anything recently that you won't bother buying again, or have you found some holy grail material?