As a hand cream fiend, I like to have one in my handbag and one on my
bedside table at all times and being a huge fan of Nivea, I was excited to see
their recently relaunched range! Through the winter, I feel myself reaching for
hand cream more often than usual because of things like central heating drying
my hands out as well as just generally washing my hands a lot. These all serve
to make my hands a little more delicate so I’m glad I’m set for the next few months
with these beauties!
The Nivea Express Care hand
cream* (RRP £2.99) has an ultralight formula with natural Sea Minerals for
an instant moisture boost. The Nivea
Smooth Care hand cream* (RRP £2.99) with shea butter makes hands smooth all
day long and the Nivea Anti-age care
hand cream* (RRP £3.89) with Q10 and UV filters visibly reduces the first
signs of aging with regular use. There is a total of five hand creams in the range also including a nourishing care with almond oil and a repair care with
provitamin B5 so there’s more than enough to choose from!
All three Nivea hand creams I have offer 24-hour care, intense nourishment
and protection from the winter elements and I love how quickly each of the
creams sink in! A massive pet peeve of mine when it comes to hand cream are
those that leave my hands feeling oily or greasy after its been rubbed in but
these are so moisturising and offer instant relief from dryness without feeling
sticky or like they don’t absorb!
The hand creams have slightly different scents but all are lightweight
and have that classic Nivea freshness underpinned! The new pebble-like
packaging fits perfectly in the palm of my hand and has a NARS-esque rubberised
feel making it lovely and soft to hold. No more sharp edges here!
For comparison, I’ve popped my current handbag hand cream against the
new version – my old one is a mini 30ml tube while the new versions I have are
75ml so you can see how compact they are!
I can’t recommend Nivea hand creams enough, they are so good at what
they promise to do, sink in quickly and leave my hands feeling soft and
hydrated for hours, as well as being super affordable!
The hand creams are available at most leading retailers including Boots
where it’s currently 1/3 off! What’s your favourite hand cream?
*denotes
a PR sample that was sent to me. All opinions are my own.
Danielle xx
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Finally, time for another empties post! I have opened quite a lot of
new skincare over the last few months so I feel like it’s taken me longer to
finish some stuff up but here we are!
Makeup
Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup
I’ll keep it brief with this one because I featured it here not so long
ago here but in short this is my favourite foundation! If you are conscious
about your skin and look for full coverage you need to try this! I have
oily/combo skin and this stays on all day, it doesn’t go patchy in places like
other foundations and it looks better when I go to take it off than when I put
it on! Magic and I have already repurchased!
Revlon Volume and Length Magnified
Waterproof Mascara
Another product I talked about not so long ago here and another one I
am sad to be finished! I loved this, it really separated my lashes while still
giving me amazing volume and length! I will repurchase this again in the future
but I have too many others to get through at the minute L
Carmex Moisture Plus lip balm
This is an old favourite of mine that I always come back to – it’s
perfect for a quick hydration fix and a tint to the lips although it’s not very
long-lasting! Already have a backup!
Too Faced Shadow Insurance anti-crease
eye shadow primer
I’m cheating slightly with this one but I didn’t want to throw it away
without talking about it so even through its not “empty” it’s here! I’ve had
this for way longer than I care to remember, it came in a Christmas set I
bought myself years ago! When I first got it I really liked it and thought it
worked well but now it’s a lot older, although it doesn’t smell off, it’s just
not working for me so into the bin it goes! I do have another smaller size of
this that I won’t be opening just yet but as its smaller I hope I’ll actually be
able to make a dent in it! Overall though, there are better eyeshadow primers
on the market and I prefer the NARS and The Balm’s offerings!
Skincare
Nivea Daily Essentials Crème Care
Cleansing Lotion*
Get ready for a whole lot of Nivea empties! I love the brand and their
products are my favourite for a first cleanse so I tend to go through them
quite quickly! This is the newest version of their cleansing cream and it does
a fantastic job of removing most of my makeup before I use a balm/oil for my
second cleanse. It feels lovely and hydrating and doesn’t irritate my skin! Full review here! Will repurchase!
This has taking me a little longer to get through because I do prefer a
cream cleanser to micellar water but all the same this does a nice job of
removing a good layer of makeup before I second cleanse. It doesn’t make my
skin feel tight or dry but I definitely gravitate a lot more to the cream
cleanser! I also like having a bottle of this for removing swatches! I’m
currently using a Botanics micellar water but also have a backup of this! Full review here!
I love this stuff and have went through quite a few bottles now! It
does a great job of removing my waterproof eye makeup without dragging my eyes
and it is a constant repurchase! I also featured it in this post!
Wipes, like micellar water aren’t products I use every day so these take
me longer to get through. Saying that, I loved how thick these felt and I
really like the light, fresh scent. They stayed moist for a good amount of time
too and I would repurchase these but I have quite a few other packets to get
through first!
Grown Alchemist Camellia and Geranium
Hydrating Cream
I loved this, it’s really lightweight but still hydrating and perfect
for my oily/combo skin! This size was perfect for travelling with and I would
repurchase!
BareMinerals Skinlongevity Vital Power
Infusion
This serum felt lovely on my skin and sank in quickly! It was a small
sample so I can’t say much for the skin benefits because I didn’t use it for
long enough so I will probably just stick to my usual Vichy serum!
Merumaya Integrative Effective Skincare Overnight
Recharge Night Cream
Two Merumaya samples next that I received in beauty boxes! I have been
wanting to try Merumaya for ages so was happy to see these! The samples are
tiny so again I can’t say much for the skincare benefits but this cream felt
lovely and hydrating though not too heavy and I would repurchase in the future!
I had an accident with this on the first night I used it and spilt half
the bottle! Nightmare, but the couple of uses I got out of it I thought it felt
lightweight and sank in quickly leaving my skin feeling smooth the next
morning! Would repurchase in the future!
Bodycare
Champneys Citrus Blush Enlivening Body
Lotion
I got this free as part of a GWP with Boots in the summer and although it’s
not a brand I would usually go for I ended up really enjoying it! The scent
oddly enough reminds me of the citrus Pledge duster but in a good way and it
dries down to a light fresh scent! I would happily use again but won’t be repurchasing
as I have so many moisturisers to get through!
NUXE Prodigieux Precious Scented Shower
Oil with golden shimmer
I took this on holiday with me in the summer then forgot about it! I
don’t love the scent and I didn’t notice any shimmer so I wouldn’t repurchase!
Soap and Glory Rich and Foamous Body
Wash
Not my favourite scent, wont repurchase but like all S&G body
washes, it feels very moisturising!
Burt’s Bees Naturally Nourishing Milk
and Honey Body Lotion
I got this in a little set ages ago and finally got round to using it,
I don’t love the scent but it does feel really hydrating. Would happily use up
if I got another set but wouldn’t repurchase the full size.
Haircare
VO5 Refresh me Quick Dry Shampoo
What is an empties without a dry shampoo? I love this stuff, its cheap,
doesn’t leave a white cast and makes my hair look less greasy, what more could
you ask for! Already repurchased!
Schwarzkopf Got2b Mind Blowing Fast Dry
Hairspray
I loved this, it smells amazing, didn’t make my hair crispy and set it
well holding my style in place! Will repurchase in the future but I already
have a couple of different hairsprays to get through!
Miscellaneous
Dr Bronner’s Magic Soaps 18 in 1 Hemp
Green Tea pure-castille soap
I can’t tell you how much I love this! I don’t know much about the 18
in 1 because I only use it to wash my makeup brushes but it is so gentle and
does the most amazing job of cleaning them so quickly! It’s very liquidy so
there was always a bit of product build up round the lid but it was something I
was happy to forgive! This bottle lasted me over 2 years and I have already
repurchased! I couldn’t find the same size bottle or scent so have went with a
slightly smaller Eucalyptus one this time which is just as good!
Bath and Body Works Island Margarita
PocketBac Anti-bacterial hand gel
My friend brought me this back from America earlier this year and I
absolutely loved it! Its sinks in quickly, doesn’t dry out my hands and smells
amazing! Would repurchase in the morning if it wasn’t so hard to get a hold of!
*denotes
a PR sample that was sent to me. All opinions are my own.
Have you tried any of the products I mentioned? What have you finished
recently?
Happy New Year everyone! I thought I’d kick off the new year with my
favourite beauty discoveries from last year! I’ve split it into skincare,
makeup, bodycare and hair and though I probably could have done a separate blog
post for each I’ve really tried to whittle these down to my absolute favourite
newbies to my collection in the last year!
A blue liquid that maintains healthy looking skin targeting all signs
of skin ageing including textural damage, uneven skin tone, enlarged pores and a
lack of radiance, this has quickly shot to the top of my favourite skincare
list and I mentioned it here too! I finished a 15ml bottle a few months ago and kept my eye out for a
replacement in the Black Friday sales but I couldn’t get a discount code to
work! I then saw the NIOD bundle Deciem had on their website so for £60 I got
this and 3 other full sized products – I only realised after I opened it that I
had to the 30ml bottle which is priced at £60 individually so I was chuffed! This
product does exactly what it says and more for me, my skin just looks and feels
better when I use it and I don’t want to be without it again – I would love to
try the 5% version too! It works very quickly on my areas of concern and evens
out my skin tone and though it doesn’t say it does anything specifically for
acne – I’ve had a cluster of spots on my jawline that wouldn’t go away and they
reduced considerably after using this for a few nights! Magic!
I’m going to talk about the next two products together because I mix
them -The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin 2% +HA works to reduce the look of spots and hyper pigmentation and The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% is
a high strength vitamin and mineral blemish formula that reduces the appearance
of blemishes and congestion as well as balancing sebum. As well as being super
effective on my scarred, acne prone skin, The Ordinary caused a storm when it
was released earlier this year due to the super affordable prices! Buying these
two together will set you back a massive £12! As a side note, both NIOD and the
Ordinary are brands under Deciem and though I have a soft spot for CAIS, the
Ordinaries offerings are amazing whether you are on a budget or not!
This is a 2 in 1 mask and exfoliator and I absolutely love it! It gives
a real deep clean and my skin looks so much more refined and even toned when I
rinse it off. I mentioned it here as well!
This had been on my wishlist for the longest time but seemed to be out
of stock forever! I finally got my hands on it though and I’m so glad I did! I
like using this as a morning cleanser and it really refreshes my skin getting
rid of dull skin cells and oil ready for makeup application!
Makeup
Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye contour palette
You all know I am a matte eyeshadow lover and this Kat Von D palette
has been a major standout to me this year! There isn’t a shade in here I wouldn’t
use (yes, even the warm toned quad!) and these are the most pigmented shadows I
have in my collection!
This has got to be my favourite liquid lipstick formula! I don’t have
many to compare it to but when a seasoned lipbalm addict like myself can put
this on at 7pm and last through dinner and drinks all night without feeling the
need to top up with anything then I know it’s good! That was when I was on
holiday last month and I haven’t tried it since then in colder weather but
really that was enough for me to know its good!
It was love at first swipe with this lipstick! It really is the most
beautifully pigmented formula I have tried! It glides on so easily and feels so
moisturising, I love it! I bought another shade in Vintage Rose but it’s
nowhere near as easy to apply so I’m not sure why the difference in formula but
Rodeo Drive is beautiful!
I still can’t believe I only discovered this earlier
this year! It quickly became a firm favourite and I bought another shade but
Pillowtalk is my favourite! It’s the most beautiful muted mauve pink that goes
with anything and the formula is so creamy and pigmented, it’s amazing! Worth
the £16!
Another CT standout for me and though I don’t love this lip colour on
its own, along with Pillowtalk it’s a dream team! Super long lasting and
comfortable to wear! Both featured here!
I’m sorry to include a limited edition sold out palette in this round
up but I couldn’t not! I have barely put this down since I got in in November!
It has an amazing mix of matte blush shades plus a bronzer that I thought would
be too warm (but somehow, it’s not) as well as a range of highlighters to the right-hand
side! Full review here!
Another product I was so happy to find this year! I usually go for
tanning lotions but decided to give this spray a try and man am I glad I did!
Now, a negative to begin with – this is messier than lotions and I always lay a
towel down when I’m tanning with this but the resuts are completely worth it!
It gives the most beautiful streak free tan in the loveliest medium to dark
shade that wears off so evenly! It has a lovely light coconut scent and dries
in so quickly too! Love it! Also mentioned in this post!
You are all probably sick of me talking about these two by now but I
had to mention them again! For super soft, swishy hair that smells AMAZING, you
need these guys in your life! They are the most expensive shampoo and
conditioner I’ve used and I have repurchased because I can’t be without them! Have
a sniff if you spot them in Space NK, you wont be disappointed! Full review here!
*denotes
a PR sample that was sent to me. All opinions are my own.
So, there we have my best beauty discoveries of 2016! See any of your
favourites here? Tell me yours!
Recently I was sent a few products from Klorane to try and after using
them for the last month I’m ready to give my thoughts! Having never tried the
brand before, I was excited to see a shampoo, conditioner and dry shampoo
included as these three are my most used hair products!
I was sent the oat milk range which is suitable for frequent use on all
hair types – for reference I have long hair with greasy roots and dry ends! First
up, the Klorane shampoo with oat milk*and
my first impression of this was that it was a lot more liquidy (is that a word?)
than I am used to! I always do two washes and I found that this didn’t lather
up much with the first wash but did a little more with the second. It contains
sodium laureth sulphate (not to be confused with sodium lauryl suphate), a
milder cleansing agent so this could be why! It cleans my hair beautifully and
leaves it with a gorgeous shine! I love how gentle this feels and how it doesn’t
overload my hair with product!
I maybe should have talked about the conditioner first because as a
reverse washer, I rinse my hair and use this before shampooing! Like the shampoo,
the Klorane conditioner with oat milk*
is super gentle and the star of the show for me! It promises to protect and detangle
and I have never found a detangling product that works for me until this! As
the original Tatty Bogle (top marks if you get that reference!), every time I
use this I can’t get over how much more manageable my hair is and I can now actually
get a brush through it without ripping hair out! Like the shampoo, it doesn’t
overload or weigh my hair down, it just makes it lovely and clean and easy to
manage! Both products are also suitable for children so great all-rounder’s if
there are a lot of people in your household and they have a really gentle light
scent!
Lastly, I was sent theKlorane Dry Shampoo with oat milk*and we all know dry shampoo is a staple in my
routine (and most peoples I think!). This has a really familiar scent to me though
I’m not sure where I know if from but it smells really fresh. It’s recommended
to spray 10 inches from your hair then leave for two minutes before brushing the
powder out. I usually rub it in a little before brushing and the powder
disappears quickly leaving my hair refreshed and clean looking so I can get an
extra day without washing! The dry shampoo contains silica and starch as well
as beta cyclodextrine which all work together to absorb oils from the hair and
they do a great job! If it’s good enough for Margot Robbie it’s good enough for
me!
Overall, a lovely range of hair products and I have a
new obsession in the conditioner so if you have tatty hair that you find hard
to detangle you need to try this! Have you tried anything from Klorane before?
