ThisWorks 'Deep Sleep Stress Less' Collection

I have heard a lot about This Works, all good, but it's so expensive so that's always put me off a little bit. Then for Christmas Santa slipped the mini set of Deep Sleep pillow spray and rollerball into my stocking. I have real trouble sleeping so will try anything to help me settle down and nod off. 

This little duo isn't available anymore (I believe it was limited edition for Christmas) but you got a teensy pillow spray and the rollerball. I used the pillow spray up really quickly - I absolutely loved loved loved it! I loved the rollerball as well but it doesn't go down nearly as fast. As soon as I realised I was a few sprays away from an empty bottle I was straight down to Space NK to buy the full size!

It was £20 for the fullsize and the Sleep Balm which was all they had left from Christmas, although in boots the pillow spray is £15 and the sleep balm is £12. The sleep balm is very similar to the rollerball in that you put it on your pulse points. I would say you need one or the other - not both.

The whole collection has a very gentle lavender smell with undertones of vetivert (the oil of tranquility) and wild chamomile that is just so soothing and relaxing. I really want to try the bath soak and candle. I think I'm obsessed..! 

I'm not sure whether it is just a placebo effect or whether it actually works. I think it's a combination of the two if I'm honest. I enjoy routine so whilst I'm moisturising my face and the like, I spray my pillow, apply the sleep balm or rollerball (again you really don't need both!) on my temples and when I lie down surrounded by the familiar scent I can already feel my eyelids drooping. Some nights nothing is going to help me sleep and I have to lie there till the wee hours till my body finally caves in but it's comforting to lie in bed and have that familiar aroma around me. I think that's the point I'm trying to make. It might not actually aid sleep but the comforting scent and routine of spritzing my pillow triggers something in my brain that says it's time for sleep and because of that I will re-purchase this time and time again.

Rimmel Extra WOW Lash Mascara

I haven't had the best of luck when it comes to mascaras. I have tried SO many, rarely buying the same one twice. I have super, duper long eyelashes and my sister always remarks how long they are but when, no matter what mascara you wear you get black smudges under your eyebrows, you can start to resent your lashes. I know, it's a hard life!!

I have tried many a waterproof mascara but they are such a pain to remove I have always given up with them. I came to the end of my tether when I forked out £18.50 on Benefit They're Real mascara and it made my eyelashes look AMAZING but because my skin is 

so darn oily within half an hour I had black all round my eyes. 

Then I was mooching around the make up stands in boots and spotted this one. I'd never seen anything about it but decided to give it a go seeing as it was one I'd never tried before and all I can say is thank goodness I did!! 

It is incredible!! The formula isn't too wet (normally I like really wet mascaras) but it isn't that dry that it's hard to apply. It's the blackest black and, even though it isn't waterproof, it doesn't transfer at all on my top lashes! On my bottom lashes it does transfer a little but I wear the Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara anyway so this isn't an issue. The wand isn't too big (which I like) so the possibility of black dots all over your eyes is minimal. 

 I get a lot of 'are you wearing false eyelashes?!' comments which is always nice!! In the picture below I am wearing it on top and bottom mascara to show full effect.

I am fully converted to being a one mascara woman and just hope to God it's never discontinued. It's a bargain at £5.49 and available at boots, superdrug and other pharmacies. 

Urban Decay: Oz Palette in Glinda

*first impressions*

Palette, Super Saturated Lipgloss in Glinda, 'get the look' card

When I first saw the Urban Decay Oz collection I all but swooned and on the day of release headed straight to the Debenhams website (they are exclusive to Debenhams) to order one. After half an hour of deliberation between Glinda and Thedora I opted for Glinda. It's more cool toned which I prefer and the colours in the palette are more Spring/Summer and it's made me very excited for the warmer months! 

All the colours in the palette are exclusive and it contains two duos which is a new concept for Urban Decay. The two duos are Aura and Oz. Aura (which in the picture below does not photograph well I found) is a pearlescent duo of a surprisingly bright pink and a gorgeous cornflour blue. The pigmentation of this duo is the  worst of all the eyeshadows in the palette but not poor by any means. It would look great as a inner corner highlight when a bit of pazazz is needed. The other duo, Oz, is the biggest surprise in the palette for me! Great pigmentation, super sparkly and magical. A shimmering rose gold and a sparkling silver these are so lovely. It's love.

Next up there are two highly pigmented shimmery colours. Tornado (the purple top left) and South (a bronzey colour bottom right). Tornado has very slight shimmer, in some lights it looks matte! It's so pigmented and super soft and think it would be great in the outer corner for something a bit different. South is probably my favourite in the whole palette. It's like a toned down YDK from the Naked 2 but a lot more bronze. I love it lots!!

Next up, Magic (a soft pink top right). Glittery and sheer and think this will see me through Spring nicely. It's different to all the other colours I own and a nice alternative to the smokey brown I wear almost daily. 

Last but by no means least Illusion (soft peach, bottom left). This is very sheer but I won't hold it against it as I think if it was highly pigmented it would detract from the soft, girly colour. I think a couple layers of this would be lovely for a easy, weekend eye that looks beautiful with minimal effort.  

L-R TOP ROW: Tornado; Aura (duo); Magic
Travel size 24/7 Glide on Eyeliner in Rockstar
L-R Bottom ROW: Illusion; Oz (duo); South

L-R: Tornado; Aura (duo); Magic; Illusion; Oz (duo); South; Rockstar
eyeliner; Glinda lipgloss

 The eyeliner pencil is one of the 24/7 ones, which I've tried before (I actually think I have this same one upstairs...hmm). Regardless, they are fantastic quality and really long lasting! I've started to step away from the black eyeliner look a bit so it'll be nice to try out this dark purple for something a bit different!

The Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Colour in Glinda (what a mouthful!) is a nice concept. Think Topshop lipstick but glossy as opposed to matte. This is nice but I'm not sure the colour is really me. I'll give it proper go of course as I love the consistency!

Glinda Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Colour

This palette comes in at £35 which I think is a TOTAL bargain!! The Urban Decay Build Your Own palette is £14 and comes with one eyeshadow. A single Urban Decay eyeshadow is also £14 so to fill one it costs an almighty £84!! A super saturated lip gloss is £14 and an 24/7 eyeliner is £14 (hum..I see a trend) so for everything you get in this palette comes in at £112, and they're selling it for £35!! Wow!! Now all I need to do is resist buying the Theodora palette, the Naked Blush Palette and the Naked basics...this is going to be tricky!!

Products I've used up #1

Flake Away scrub; Famous Dave's tan; BIG shampoo; Curly Wurly Shampoo; essie grow stronger basecoatl mini flowerbomb shower gel; flowerbomb perfume; Naked 2 eyeshadow in Bootycall

Lush Shampoo 'BIG' and Lush Shampoo 'Curly Wurly'

 Two empty lush shampoos'. I actually have two empty 'Curly Wurly' pots because I'm saving them all (when you have 5 you get a free face mask!). I have already replaced both of these already and consider them a must have in my hair care routine. I have very fine, thick, waist lentgh, slightly wavy hair that is a pain in the bum to care for. The 'Curly Wurly' shampoo (packed with coconut which is a pain to wash out but really worth it!!) tames the slight frizziness of my hair and makes it smell AMAZING, like coconut (duh) and strawberries!! The 'BIG' shampoo is a sea salt shampoo that gives my fine,heavy hair the volume it desperately needs. I'm not too keen on the smell, a sort of lemony-beachey-salty smell (that's probably the worst description EVER) but I can deal with it for the results! Fabbity Fab!
Curly Wurly is £9.75 for 220g and Big is £11.25 for 330ml. I don't use these everyday so they tend to last me ages!

Viktor&Rolf Flowerbomb Perfume and mini 'Bomblicious'
Shower Gel

I've been wearing Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb since I was about 15 (I'll be 20 in July) and now people consider it to be 'my scent' which is nice. My dad says he likes it when I hug our puppy cause he smells lovely! I think this must be my 5th bottle of this perfume and it definitely won't be my last! I buy the 100ml bottle that's £90 but I never regret it because I love it. I've already bought a new bottle for once I've drained this one dry. I got a free gift when I bought it which included this mini shower gel, a body cleanser, a foaming body wash and a mini perfume all in a beautiful box which is now home to my hair bobbles, bows and ribbons. I'm well on the way to finishing all the mini samples and my showering won't be as special for it. Although, once I have worked my way through my mountain of shower gels I will definitively consider buying this in full size! 

The essie base coat isn't empty but is extremely gloopy and thick and the brush doesn't reach the bottom of the pot anymore (hands up if you hate that *puts hand up*) but then, I didn't even love this when it was new if I'm honest. I have thin, bendy, peeling nails so I always buy the grow stronger varieties of base coats. This was always a bit thick for a base coat, although on it's own it looked lovely thanks to the pinkish tinge. I am a bright nail polish kind of a gal though so I rarely wore it on its own. It's £8.99 so not bad for a base coat but there are lot better ones out there. The fake tan has a teensy bit left. Probably enough for arms,feet and chest so I'm saving this for a special occasion when I plan on wearing trousers (namely my sisters 22nd on Saturday!). It has green undertones so gives a gorgeous olive colour. My skin seems to go crazy for fake tan, so even if I applied a a little too much but skin would soak it up and I'd be orange so I really have to careful (let's not even mention the spray tan I got for my prom, let's just say I put Katie Price to shame. Never again!). It does smell of fake tan but not biscuity at all, just strong - I quite like it truth be told. I would recommend applying at night because you will be green until you wash it off! It dries super quick though! It is crazy expensive at £27.99 for 200ml but this bottle lasted me all Summer and once applied will last 5-6 days (well it does on my weird skin that absorbs tan like crazy!), on my friend it lasted about 3-4 days so not bad staying power, it depends on how often you scrub I guess! I will buying a new bottle once the sun comes out (if ever!)

Famous Dave's Tanning Mousse and Essie 'Grow Stronger'
base coat

Simple eye make up remover and Soap and Glory
mini Flake Away scrub

This simple eye make up remover is fab but went down too darn quick for my liking! It is a total bargain though! This 125ml was only £3.39! It does what it says on the bottle, removes eye make up quickly although the waterproof claim is a bit iffy! It take a long time and a lot of scrubbing to get my Clinique bottom lash mascara off (the key to a good eye make up remover is taking off that mascara!!) I might buy this again (although Bioderma is launching in the UK mid-April so hopefully it will answer all my make up remover prayers)! The mini Soap and Glory Flake Away body scrub is brilliant (as are all Soap and Glory products). It's only 50ml but as it is only £2.50 its perfect if you want to try before you commit to the full size It smells AMAZING. I bought this at the end of the month when funds were low and my skin was horrid. I'd already bought, finished and LOVED the full size Sugar Crush scrub (a baraginous £8 for 300ml) but chucked the empty tub out in a Feng Sui attack totally forgetting my blog plans. I definitely prefer Sugar Crush and will be buying again asap. I'm currently using Rub Rub Rub from Lush which I got for Christmas but once that's gone I'll be welcoming Sugar Crush back with open arms.

This last one is a strange one. I got the Naked 2 palette as soon at it came out having loved the Naked original. The one shade that became my everyday eyeshadow was the pinky champagney shimmery colour called Bootycall. I LOVE it!! I have barely any left but am saving it because (much to my dismay) it was exclusive to the palette! Together with the lovely woman at the Urban Decay counter we decided that this single eyeshadow in Sellout was the closest match. Since I bought it I have used it loads, it is a bit more warm than Bootycall but still cool toned which flatters my skin tone the most. It's also got better pigmentation that Bootycall, I think I've just convinced myself I actually like Sellout more!! The naked 2 palette costs £36 and a single Urban Decay eyeshadow costs £14. Each eyeshadow in the Naked 2 is 1.3g and a single eyeshadow is 1.5g so it's quite a big mark up! 

Urban Decay 'Bootycall' (in the Naked 2 Palette
only) and Urban Decay single eyeshadow in 'Sellout'

Left: Sellout Right: Bootycall

So that's a mammoth blog post about all the thing I've used up recently. I've enjoyed going through and remembering past loves so will definitely do one of these again, once I've collected things up again...