2013 Favourites | Beauty

Today's post is continuing on from my previous post about my favourite products from 2013. This post is covering the beauty spectrum (anything that isn't makeup).

Nail Varnish:

Essie Fiji, Essie Neo Whimsical, Seche Vite Top Coat

Okay, so I couldn't really choose one product for this category. I'm not a big fan of dark shades on me, so I always go for pastel/light colours. 2013 was the year that I finally caved into the hype around Essie's Fiji, and I've got to say, I know why people love it so much! It't the perfect baby pink shade. Essie Neo Whimsical is a muted sort of grey-lilac, which I loved during the Autumn and Winter. And then, 2013 was also the year I brought the highly raved about Seche Vite top coat, and fell in love with how quick it dried my nail varnish! I'm one of those who once they've painted their nails, also find things that need to be done, so this has been a life saver for me!

Perfume:

Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift

This was without a doubt my go-to perfume. I did use a few different perfumes during the year, but I always seemed to go back to this one. It's a very sweet smelling scent, quite vanilla-y with a hint of musk and sandalwood. The lasting power is quite good aswell.

Haircare:

TRESemme Instant Refresh Dry Shampoo, Frizz-Ease 3-Day Straight

These were the two stand-out haircare products that I used during the year. The dry shampoo is the best one I've used. As long as you don't go overboard, it doesn't leave the white cast on your hair like a lot of others do, and the smell isn't too offensive. It also leaves your hair feeling and looking more refreshed. The 3-Day straight is what I use to blow-dry my hair, as naturally I have long curly hair, that takes a bit of taming, so this helps to smooth and straighten my hair, and helps keep it straighter that bit longer.

Body:

The Body Shop Peach Vineyard Body Butter

I love the smell of this! It smells so good! Literally like a peach! (Hard to believe, right?!) I love anything peach scented, so fell in love with this. This scent is a limited edition scent that The Body Shop only seem to bring out at summertime, so it may be available for a few months yet. This is a really thick body butter which absorbs into the skin really quickly and leaves it completely moisturised.

Skincare:

Lacura Aqua Complete Moisturiser

This has to be one of my best finds this past year! It is a really good moisturiser. It hydrates my skin really well, leaving it looking and feeling healthy and glowing. It has an SPF of 6, so it's not the best that way, but if you use a foundation or primer with higher SPF, this shouldn't really be a problem. And the best part I find is that it's only £1.99 from ALDI!

Lip Balm:

Balmi Raspberry

I picked this up on a whim, when I was after a new lip balm and saw it was on offer, and I have to say I'm so glad I picked it up! It really helps sooth my dry lips, and keeps them hydrated for a decent amount of time. Plus it smells so good as well, like raspberry ripple ice cream!

Stay tuned for my random favourites from 2013.

Empties Spring/Summer '13 - Haircare/Shower

As Sunday was officially the first day of Autumn, I thought I would celebrate by showing you the products I have used up during Spring/Summer. This is part one, and part two will be up in the next couple of days. Some products I have loved, some others were okay, and some were not good at all.

This post will be focused on the haircare and shower products I have used up:

VO5 Gloss Me Smoothly Shampoo and Conditioner - This is my all-time favourite shampoo and conditioner combo. This really does help smooth out any frizz, and makes my curls look smooth and frizz-free! Would and have repurchased.

Frizz-Ease Dream Curls Shampoo and Conditioner - I do quite like this shampoo and conditioner, but it can be a bit hit and miss. It is full of sulphates, so if you don't like these, then this isn't the product for you. I find that sometimes it does strip the hair of a lot of the natural oils, and makes my hair even more greasy. Now and again though, it is okay to use. I wouldn't go out of my way to re-purchase these, only is it was on a really good offer.

Phil Smith Curly Locks Shampoo and Conditioner - Now, this was an okay shampoo and conditioner, it didn't really wow me. My problem was that the conditioner had a really horrible smell to it. I can't describe it, but it really wasn't nice! The shampoo was fine, but overall I won't be repurchasing these.

Lush Snow Fairy Shower Gel - I loved this shower gel!! It smells absolutely gorgeous! Very sweet, almost like a sweetie land! Now, this is a limited edition product that Lush only come out with at Christmas time, so you can't get it now, but you've only got a couple of months to wait, and I would highly recommend it. I even have a bigger bottle that I brought in the sale after last Christmas that I haven't used yet, I've been trying to save it!! I will repurchase this when it becomes available again.

The Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Shower Gel - Let me tell I am glad that this has all gone! It lasted forever!! I used to love the pink grapefruit scent from The Body Shop, but since buying this, I have really gone off it. It's just too tart and strong for me. I brought this in the sale, and got it for a great price, but I wasn't really keen on this shower gel. It seemed to make my back break out, and not just the typical break out, they were really big, and sore and deep, almost like cystic acne. Not only that, it just didn't seem to clean very well; I didn't feel very clean after using it. I won't be purchasing any more Body Shop shower gels.

That's it for this section of my empties, next up is the skincare and miscellaneous products which will be in another post up soon.

Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift review

Hi everyone!

I said that I would post a review on the perfume 'Wondrstruck' by Taylor Swift, so here it is!

This is what the Facebook page says about Wonderstruck:

The smell is so gorgeous! It really is a sweet, candy paradise; a real summery smell. I personally use it everyday, whether that be winter or summer, spring or autumn. To compare the actual smell with the list above, I would say that it is really pretty much accurate. I could imagine both young girls, and girls in their 20s wearing this as a everyday perfume, but if you like musky smells, then I would really recommend you stay away from this. It really just seems to wrap everything Taylor Swift is about into one package. As for wearability, I feel that this isn't the most long wearing perfume, but of you spray a few sprays and spray some on your clothes it lasts nearly all day.

If you've read by previous post, you'll know that I am lucky enough to have both the 100ml and 50ml bottles. The bottles are so cute in real life, the pictures really don't do it justice. The charms represent aspects from Taylor's life and her apartment, the same with the box design. The lid contains hidden images, of each charm and also contains a hidden 13 (Taylor's lucky number). The name Wonderstruck comes from her song 'Enchanted', from the line '...I'm Wonderstruck, blushing all the way home...' I love this song, and the fact that the perfume is based on the song, was also a big part of why I got it. If you research online, then you will find a lot more information about the perfume, as there is a real story about how Taylor got the idea, and everything behind the perfume has a story, i.e. the box, the bottle, the name etc.

Also, if you buy either the 50ml or 100ml from The Perfume Shop, you get a free bag (seen below), which is actually a lot nicer in real life. It is very roomy, so I could imagine fitting a laptop in it, making it ideal for uni!

 (close up of pattern on bag)

This may not be the best review out there, but it is my take on it (plus it's my first review), and I hoped it helped you if you were thinking of buying it. As an overall mark out of ten, I would give this a 9.5 (maybe even a 10, but I really love this).

I'm Wonderstruck

Hi everyone!

Now, I am a huge fan of Taylor Swift, and when I first heard that she was bringing out a perfume last year, I was extremely excited to a) smell it and b) just to see the bottle design etc as I love her style. Anyway, I was really annoyed when it came outbid the US in October (2011) and wouldn't be coming over here until Summer 2012. However, I was slightly sneaky and lucky as I got a bottle for Christmas off Santa ;)

Well, Wednesday was the launch day for the perfume over here in the UK, so being a little fangirl, I had to go but it, plus it came with a free bag (bonus!). The smell is GORGEOUS! I'll post a review in the next day or two.