The Minis

As a Shopaholic and a gold member of practically every beauty store available it is a given that I end up with quite a stock of mini products, samples and testers. As time passes the lovely ladies and men behind the counters drop more and more products into my bag and I keep on putting them in my bathroom drawr forgetting what I actually have in there. A few months ago I decided it was time to have a look and sort thought what I wanted to try and what I wanted to toss away or give to someone else. This led to me having a serious stash of goodies to test, especially in the skin-care category, and after working my way through serum after serum and all the eye creams you could imagine - a few have actually made the cut to my much beloved skincare routine... So here they are, the current little minis that I love and adore.

REN's Frankincence Revitalising Night Cream  - a wonderful, thick but not sticky night cream that sinks in quickly and leaves your skin feeling hydrated and healthy.

Nip + Fab Dry Leg Fix - first thought when I got this was 'is this really necessary?'. Turns out that no, in all honesty it isn't but it still works wonders on dry legs which happend to have been a bit if an issue with the change of weather lately.

Clarins Instant Eye Make-up Remover - after hearing fellow waterproof mascara wearer Anna - at viviannadoesmakeup rave about this I was excited when the shop lady popped it into my shopping bag a few weeks ago. And although it doesn't remove it in an instant it does do it rather quickly compared to other make-up removers.

Clarins Eye Contour Gel - another Clarins baby. Finally an eye cream (well a gel..) that doesn't give me red spots under the eyes! Lovely, light, cooling and it really brightens and smooths the under eye area. Big thumbs up.

Smashbox High Definition Concealer - small enough to put in even a little purse, covering enough to hide them bad guys and still natural and long lasting enough for everyday wear. Purrrfection.

'Just Cavalli' by Roberto Cavalli - my new obsession. I'll save you from my dreadful scent descriptions and steal the words from the pro's. 'Provocative and mischievous, the Just Cavalli woman captivates with dazzling Neroli flower. She is a snake charmer tempting her prey with a magnetic Tiare flower ending with a seductive creamy palissander bite.' (source) 

I will admit that some of these have now been purchased in full sizes, so be warned all you lovelies - the minis may be small but they sure as hell aren't innocent. Do you have any samples or testers that you love or that have made you go for the full size? Let me know in the comments, and dont forget to follow my blog on Bloglovin' !

Love, Em

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August Favourites

I'm curently sat in my hotel room in Manchester, frustrated at the super slow WiFi and at myself for not updating this blog of mine. I do blame the internet though.. and the massive amount of other things I've had to fix and sort out during the past days. I'm loving Manchester by the way, although I find it a bit silly that I came out here this early as I won't be able to move into my hall until Thursday or Friday.. Anyway, not the point of this post! I might be a few days late with it, but here you have my favourites from August!

DiorSkin Nude BB Cream applied with the Sigmax Angled Top Kabuki has been my go-to base together with Benefit's Hoola Bronzer to give a bit of definiton and healthy glow. For brows I've gone back to an 'old' fave, BrowZings also by Benefit. On the eyes I kept it neutral (and matte) as usual and for most of the days I went with an all MAC trio consisting of Omega, Espresso and Cork. Another old, but good un' is my Revlon Kissable Balm Stain  in Rendez-Vous. I've also been trying to get my hands and nails in an ok state before uni and the Soap & Glory Hand Food has been a good help. Last but definitely not least is my biggest favourite as of late: Roberto Cavalli's new perfume Just Cavalli. It smells incredible and I'm gutted that I didn't get the full size bottle before I left Norway as I can't find it anywhere here!

Those were all my main favourites from the past month or so, I don't know if you all enjoy these monthly favourites posts or not, but I do like to write them and I like to read others as well so I'll keep doing them until you all tell me not to :) If you did like this post you can follow my blog HERE on Bloglovin' to see more!

Love, Em

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The Hair Care Edit

As we speak I am trying not to overthink my uni packing too much and have decided to go for the 'take all you can fit' approach, which seems to be working out..for now at least. After spending too much time selecting clothes I decided to do head to my bathroom for a smack-down of products there instead. It turned out to be a quick 'un and since I now have my staples in front of me I figured I'd do a Hair Care post before I stack them in a corner of the small *erhm-large* beauty section of my suitcase.

I do like to take care of my hair, but I in contrast to my make-up routine I like for it to be quick. Because of that I do most of the 'care-taking' whilst I'm in the shower and leave only one or two products for afterwards. 

For a good old thourough cleanse of my hair I usually opt for Aussie's Mega Shampoo or  Miracle Moist Shampoo both of which smells like heaven in a bottle. I use the latter mainly when my hair is over on the dry side of things and the other for just a nice clean scalp (ugh that sounded gross). For the days when I want to wash my hair as quickly as possible but still have it looking good Aussie 3 Minute Miracle really is a miracle and a life saver. Glossy, soft hair in no time - or at least 3 minutes which gives you just enough time to scrub your body, shave them legs or cleanse your face. For the days when I have a few extra minutes I take my fairly new found love L'oréal's Mythic Oil, a smooth, buttery/oily - but not grasy or heavy- deep conditioner. I apply this from my eras and down, focusing most of the product at the ends. This should be called mystic oil because god knows what they put in this that makes your hair so darn amazing. I haven't seen a dry tip or split end in weeks and that's a rare sight, so mahusive thumbs up for this guy.

As for the pre and post hair care I don't do much but if I'm styling my hair I use the Paul Mitchell Express Style - Heat Off The Press heat protector + style spray. It smells divinge and doesn't leave my hair feeling crispy at all. If my hair looks dull I have recently started doing a bit of pre-shower caring. I use my Kicks Multi-Usage Oil which can be used as a finishing oil but I find it too greasy, so instead I get very generous with it about 20 minutes before I jump in the shower and take it though the lenghts of my hair (sometimes even the roots + scalp, but then you've got to shampoo twice to make sure you rinse it all out). This makes me look like I've put on a wig that's a mix of Severus Snape's greasy hair and Lucifus Malfoy's flatter than flat hair, but regardless - once I've rinsed it all out and washed my hair as normal it's well worth it :) 

By using these products I have managed to get my hair to a state where it's not heavy, über glossy and flat with too much stuff in it but not dry and frizzy either. Just nice and soft with a little shine! Let me know what you use on your hair!

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Love, Em

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