Empties #3

Blogger has decided to do its own thing today I guess! Sorry about that :)

I am currently using products up like nobody's business. Seriously, considering the time span since my last Empties post (link here) and the amount of producs I have accumulated again, you must think my whole day consists of slapping creams, scrubs and other potions on to my body ;)

Empties #1

So at the beginning of this year, I had decided to take part in "Project Pan", a project to force me into using up more products. I used to post about every single item I'd used up, but I found that rather stressful so now I'm collecting my empties to blog about them.

My Evening Ritual

You guys know that you should always get your makeup off, tone and moisturize your face before going to sleep, but in my opinion, it's equally important to take good care of your hands, cuticles and lips, too.

I actually started doing this because I have some products that I don't really like, but want to use up though (we all have those products!). So I sort of developed this little ritual that I do every night before switching out my bedside lamp and diving into the land of dreams.

First of all, I use my Body Shop Cranberry Joy Lip Balm and apply a good layer of this on to my lips. I bought this last year around christmas time because I totally fell for the smell. Plus you can never have to many lipbalms, right? The downside was that I hated how it looked on my lips. It's sort of a milky, lavender pink color that washes me out badly.
I rediscovered this last month in the depths of my makeup container and now I love it because it's such a good moisturizing lipbalm! Ever since using it, my lips have gotten a lot smoother and healthier.

I then go in with my Body Shop Chocomania Body Butter which I use as a hand cream. I got this free with purchase last month but oh Lord, the smell blows me away! I've never experienced such a strong scent in any beauty product before (and I'm actually one of those girls who prefer lighter scents). I could never bring myself to use it on my entire body :) But as you know, body butter is an extremely moisturizing product which makes it perfect for an intensive overnight hand treatment. Gotta love my soft hands now!

Last but not least, I pull out my Figs & Rouge Balm in Rambling Rose and pop a little bit of this on to my cuticles. So many british beauty bloggers rave about this and so I wanted to try it as well. You can read my full review here.
But bad news alert: I left this in the sun once and that somehow caused the smell to change a lot; but definitely not for the better! It still works brilliant as an extra cuticle treatment although, I do have to say that the natural oils help to nourish my dry cuticles a lot.

Do you have such an evening ritual, too? What products do you use?

Love,
Nathalie x

Spring Haul (Shoes, Clothes, Beauty)

I was out and about yesterday and as I'm in terrible need to update my wardrobe a bit, I got a few things.

I absolutely adore these ballet flats by Graceland. They are a very deep, chocolatey brown color and made of two different fabrics. Even though there's some patent leather on them, they're so comfortable!

I got this three-quarter sleeve at a store called Pimkie. The color is totally out of my comfort zone, but my friend Hannah pushed me into trying this on and so I did. The color looked fantastic on me, it especially worked well with my hair color, so I had to get this.

The blue shirt is by H&M and I actually purchased this last week. I loved the color and it looked fabulous and so I couldn't resist. I love the button-down a lot! (see above)

Then I went to The Body Shop (I had a voucher and got 20% off with Glamour Shopping Card).

I had been wanting this skincare set for so long and finally took the splurge. It's the Seewead Range which is made for oily/combination skin. It contains a wash gel, a toner, a day cream and a night treatment. Can't wait to try this!

I had seen this conditioner online and when I was in store, I just grabbed it, smelled it and - Oh my gosh - this stuff smells heavenly! It's the Rainforest Shine Conditioner and as it's silicon free and everything, I purchased a mini-sized one (60ml / 2 fl.oz.)

Freebies!

I bought stuff for more than 20 bucks and so I received a sample size (50 ml/1.69 oz) of the Chocomania Body Butter. And of course a little sample, this time I got the Sweet Lemon Body Butter. We'll see how I like these :)

That's it for now, I have to say that I'm really happy with my purchases. One of my 2012 goals is to add more color to my wardrobe and this was definitely a good start!

What did you buy lately?

Love,
Nathalie xx