Early September Empties!

I am continuing on my mission to finish products and rather satisfying it is too!  You will note I called this post "early" September empties and yep this is because I am hoping there will be another empties post this month.  As I said, I am a woman on a mission!!

So, lets get started......

First item is Kerastase Elixir Ultime Beautifying Oil-Enriched Masque.  I bought this from Look Fantastic for £28.50) as I really wanted a decent hair mask to get my hair back into decent condition (highlights and heat styling had taken their toll) and I have to say I felt this mask played a part in improving the condition of my hair.  The smell is lovely and it does linger for a while after you have rinsed it off.  I tend to wash my hair and squeeze as much water out as I can then I leave this on for 5-10 minutes and then rinse.  My hair feels stronger since I have been using this and certainly looks more healthy.  I have already purchased a new tub.

Second item is Rituals Happy Buddha Foaming Shower Gel Sensation.  I bought this from the Rituals store in Westfield for £7.00.  I should just stay the Rituals stores are fabulous, they have a sink in the shop that you can use to test as many of the shower gels as you want - brilliant!  When I tried this new Happy Buddha shower gel I was struck by the zingy aroma, its perfect for early morning showers.  The product comes out as a gel but then turns into a foam making it really easy to lather up.  The only downside is that this ran out very quickly so I don't feel that I got that many uses out of it, for this reason I wouldn't repurchase.

Third item is Paul Mitchell Extra-Body Daily Shampoo.  I bought this for £9.95 from Lookfantastic.  I loved this!  Firstly you get 300ml for under a tenner which is good value I think, also a little goes a long way so this bottle lasted me for ages.  The shampoo is safe for people with colour in their hair and cleanses well without weighing your hair down.  It has a nice subtle smell too.  I will definitely be repurchasing - you cannot go wrong with this shampoo if you have fine hair.

The fourth item I worked my way through is Benefit They're Real Mascara.  I bought this for £16.25 at Heathrow Airport.  It is the third time I have purchased this mascara but I am afraid its the last time I will do so.  At first I loved this mascara, it gave me defined lashes that had a bit of volume and length and didn't smear throughout the day but it dries out quickly.  The first tube I had lasted me only about 7 weeks which I thought was really poor.  For some unknown reason I decided to repurchase and whilst the second tube didn't dry out as quickly (I took more care to use it as quickly as possible) I found it was crumbling once on my lashes.  Like a wally I bought another tube when passing through the airport (it was cheaper there) but I am not sure if the formula has changed or whether its me but I don't find the effect on my lashes is that special anymore.  Also Benefit have increased the price by a pound so it now costs £19.50 - pah!  I am currently trying YSL Babydoll Mascara so I will let you know how I get on with that one.

The fifth item is Clynol Colour & Care Enrich Shampoo.  I received this in a Glossybox and it is a travel size.  I have no complaints about this shampoo, it cleaned my hair well and didn't weigh it down (always my worry with shampoos for coloured hair), it smelt nice too so I would buy this again but I don't know of many places where you can buy this - I am sure I can find it if I look online.

The sixth item is Bumble & Bumble Thickening Shampoo.  I bought this travel size for £5.50 from Liberty for  a holiday.  I loved this and would buy again but a full is pricey so I imagine I will choose the Paul Mitchell shampoo over this.  The smell is nothing special (something I find with a lot of Bumble & Bumble products) but it feels lovely to use, lathers up well and left my hair feeling full of volume.  

The last item is Sebastian Professional Color Ignite Multi Shampoo.  I received this as part of a gift when I bought some other Sebastian products.  This shampoo is specifically for highlighted hair so I was really keen to try this and I did like it, it smells gorgeous, lathers well but it did weigh my hair down slightly - I would probably only use this shampoo once a week to keep my colour looking good.  I'd maybe consider buying this again if it was on special offer.

Thanks for reading! 

Ren Rosa Centifolia Express Make-Up Remover and Ren Rosa Centifolia 3-in-1 Cleansing Water and a free gift!

Marks and Spencer are currently running a great promotion where you get a free gift if you buy certain beauty products.  It would have been wrong for me not to go and investigate and as it was payday when I looked it was almost a certainty that I would make a purchase!

I was running low on cleanser so when I saw Ren was part of the promotion I was really pleased, especially when I saw the new Rosa Centifolia range was for sale.

The first item I got was Ren Rosa Centifolia Express Make-Up Remover.  This is basically a very gentle cleanser that you can use on the eye area which is great if you are in a rush.  It is formulated with Rice Bran oil to soothe and hydrate the skin while Tannins from Rosa Centifolia are said to reduce pore size. I have been using this for almost a week now and I haven't noticed any change in my pores (yet) but I would say this is a really pleasant cleanser, it removes all my make up in just a few swipes, I remove the cleanser with cotton wool pads.  There is a subtle rose scent from this make-up remover which would probably put me off buying it again as rose isn't my favourite fragrance especially not on my face but having said that I will happily use and finish this product and if you like the aroma of roses you will probably love this.

The second item I bought was the Ren Rosa Centifolia 3-in-1 Cleansing Water.  I think this is Ren's version of Bioderma micellar water.  I do like my Bioderma, its a great, quick and easy way to remove make-up and freshen up.  I have found Ren's Cleansing Water to be very similar.  I soak a cotton wool pad in the Cleansing Water and find that any remaining make-up/dirt comes up really easy and its a lovely last step to ensure my face is completely clean.  

Once again the only downside for me is the rose fragrance, at night time I don't find it very soothing and even though you can use this over the delicate eye area, I found that it irritated my eyes.  I will use this up but I doubt I would repurchase because of the eye issue.

As I purchased two items I got a free gift - wahey!  Here it is:

What a great gift!  I got the Ren bag and five decent sized samples....I will be trying them all this week and will let you know what I thought of them shortly!

Both items cost £13 at M&S and the beauty promotion runs until 11th September 2013.

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UPDATE

I thought I would report back now that I have been using the Express Make-Up Remover and Cleansing Water for a few weeks now.  Unfortunately I have not enjoyed either of these products, in fact I would go as far as to say I have found them to be a bit let down.

First off, the Express Make-Up Remover, I just find it very heavy and I hate when Cleansers feel like this.  When I say heavy I mean it feels like quite a thick cream and when I have removed it all from my skin I find my face still feels as though it has the product on and my skin doesn't feel clean.  I prefer a product that feels like it has removed the dirt and does not sit on the skin.

So I then move onto the Cleansing Water in the hope it'll remove the residue and leave my skin feeling clean and fresh,  Whilst I would say you are left feeling clean after using this, it just doesn't agree with me, the rose scent is overpowering and you are meant to be able to use this water in the eye area but it stings my eyes and  I have had to stop using this as it was making my eyes sore.  

Perhaps I am a big allergic to the ingredients?  Who knows, either way these two products didn't work for me and I'll probably end up getting rid of them which is a shame as they weren't that cheap and they are both three quarters full.  If anyone reading this would like to try them (despite my less than glowing review) please give me a shout!

I would be really interested to know if you have used these products and how you found them?