Empties #8

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Floral & Flirty Blush

Ah, my good ol’ faithful. I’ve gone through so many cans of this and for good reason. Not because I’m a grot who doesn’t wash her hair, but because it is seriously amazing. The scent is so fresh and girly and I even use this on clean hair to add some grit and texture. It is also cruelty free and vegan so unless that changes I will be continuing to buy this for a long time. But I do have two other cans of dry shampoo to try from beauty boxes and hair packs, so I will be using those up and then returning to my Batiste love. Cruelty Free.

Max Factor Skin Luminizer Foundation in 40 Light Ivory

I have had a serious love/hate relationship with this foundation. I picked it up on a whim during a 40% off cosmetics sale at Priceline because I swatched it on my hand in store and it seemed like a really good colour match. I also hadn’t tried any foundations from Max Factor so I thought it was time. I love the packaging of this as you can use every last drop and not have any wastage, which is really great. While it is light coverage it is very buildable and I was able to build it to cover redness. It also leaves skin looking really dewy and pretty, hence the ‘Luminizer’ name. So it does live up to it. Though I’ve had some REALLY bad days with this. When it works, it works effing brilliantly, but when it doesn’t it is hard to blend and can look cakey. Though one day when I thought I looked like a cakey oxidized carrot someone commented saying how brilliant my skin looks. So sometimes it’s hard to tell. We stare at our faces so long in the mirror and can see so many flaws but sometimes not the bigger picture. Though Max Factor is not cruelty free so I will not be repurchasing. NOT CRUELTY FREE.

Mary Kay Makeup Finishing Spray

Holy moly this stuff is amazing. It is a MILLION times better than Fix+ from MAC that I have been a MASSIVE fan of for quite a while. The smell is a bit more chemical like compared to the refreshing cucumber scent of the Fix+ but it dries a lot quicker. This seriously sets all your makeup in place and it will not budge for hours. I had my makeup on for nearly 12 hours a few weeks ago and it still looked amazing when I got home. It is makeup magic! This is coming from someone who has oily skin and finds it hard to get their makeup not to budge during long days. To go even further set your foundation with translucent powder then spray with Mary Kay and it will be a BRICK HOUSE (she’s mighty mighty, just lettin’ it all hang out). Unfortunately while Mary Kay used to be a wonderful cruelty free company, they ditched the alternatives and took up animal testing when brought out. So I will not be repurchasing this, even though I really REALLY want to, and will be looking for an amazing cruelty free alternative that I am sure I will find. NOT CRUELTY FREE.

Go-To Skin Care Face Hero

This is named Face Hero for a reason guys. It is really THAT good. At the moment I either wear this by itself just after cleansing or layer it with a few other products and when I wake up in the morning my skin looks AMAZING. Like I’ve had 20 revitalizing facials overnight while I’ve been asleep. It is really soothing and calms down any redness and leaves skin feeling completely rejuvenated. After cleansing at night I will use the Go-To Exfoliating Swipeys, Paula’s Choice Resist Serum, Face Hero and then finish it off with the Antipodes Avocado Pear Night Cream and all these products work together like wonderful team players. After using it my skin just feels… calm. I especially like using this if I have been using harsh acne treatments because it helps soothe your skin and give it that kick of hydration that it needs. It is chockers full of lovely oils and is free from all the nasties. I’ve become so dependent on this that when my bottle was nearing the end I ordered another so I would have an immediate replacement and wouldn’t have a night without it. It’s suitable for all skin types, including oily acne prone skin like mine. Cruelty Free.

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NW15

Back when I used MAC I loved everything but their foundations. I hated how cakey they looked and the pale shades were either jaundice yellow or cake face orange. So when I had my makeup done for my Uni graduation photos back in January I chose this as one of the products to take home. I liked how light it was on the skin, how well it blended and most of all the fact that it was a PERFECT colour match for me and I used it once or twice that same week. Then up until June it just sat in my bathroom not being used because I had a massive stash of other products to use. Until one day when sorting through my makeup I looked at the expiry date and realised it expired after six months so I needed to use it. And quickly.  I decided to just use this all over my face instead in place of my usual foundation to use it up quickly and can I say it looked AMAZING. That small little bottle lasted me almost two months of daily use and you only needed one to two pumps for amazing coverage. It felt light and lasted brilliantly. The only issue I had with it was that the packaging makes it difficult to get the last bits out, as you can see from the photo I probably had one or two more faces left of it. Oh and also the fact that MAC are gross and condone animal testing, so even though this was probably one of my favourite MAC products I will not be repurchasing. NOT CRUELTY FREE.

*Yes i would love a dollar for how many times i've said the word amazing/AMAZING in this post. I'm just really excitied okay guys!