Review: Batiste Nude dry shampoo

I only seem to need dry shampoo when my hair has been straightened, and as I'm rocking my natural waves (or frizz) these days, I haven't used it in a while. In fact the last dry shampoo I bought was this cheap smelling Charles Worthington one which has since been "gifted" to my sister.

However last week whilst shopping, I spied this unique looking bottle on the shelf and even though I didn't really need it, I WANTED it. I'm not usually a great fan of Batiste dry shampoo as I find it thick and difficult to brush into my hair without leaving telltale signs.

This nude shampoo is different. It's fragrance free and 100% natural (with only two ingredients - zea mays starch and talc). As you can see in the above photo it's finely milled and is a breeze to brush into my hair. My only gripe (albeit a small one) is the bottle and it's nozzle. I apply it to my hair by turning the bottle upside down and squeezing, so the talc *poofs* out. It's a bit awkward but I guess I'll have to get used to it.

I prefer this much more than the spray Batiste dry shampoos but I'm not sure if I would buy it again. Has anyone else tried this?

I bought mine for £3.49 from Superdrug.

Summer + Skincare

I may not be going on holiday this year but this British summer is proving to be a scorching hot one (and please God let it last!). The last bottle of sunscreen I purchased was about 3 years ago so I promptly dumped it and went in search of replacements.  I'm quite concerned about protecting my skin from harmful rays so I always buy at least SPF20.

Garnier Ambre Solaire Light & Silky protection milk SPF20 - Superdrug has a buy 2 get cheapest 1 free promotion on most suncare products right now so when my boyfriend bought this, he gave me the other one (woo). It's everything I need in a suncream - non greasy/sticky, smells great and protects against both UVA and UVB rays. It's so light that I also use it on my face from time to time. It retails at £13.97 which I think is a bit pricey so I would only repurchase if on promotion.

Simple protecting facial hydrolotion SPF25 - This was a sample that I received in a goody bag in November and it's only now that I'm putting it to use. It's fragance free and light but only protects against UVA rays. I haven't seen this anywhere instore though so I have no idea how much the full product retails for.

Korres sunscreen face cream watermelon SPF20 - My first Korres product which I got for the bargain price of £4.99 in TKmaxx. I'm really not impressed with this. Considering it's a face cream it's so thick and hard to blend in. It left my face ashy and ghost like plus the watermelon scent is awful. I can't bear to throw things away so I'm going to try mixing it with moisturiser.

Now I'm off to browse lastminute.com and teletext holidays and lament over the fact that I will not be beach bound this year *mopes*

My rubbish attempt at gradient nails

Whilst looking through the fuckyeahprettynails tumblr I came across these amazing gradient nails! I never knew it was possibile to do this before so was pretty impressed.

source: pamheega

I wanted to have a stab at it myself and turned to youtube to see what I could find. There are lots of tutorials on gradient/two tone nails but I went along with the techniques as seen in this one.

I used Barry M's "Berry Ice cream" as my base coat and Collection 2000's "Dynasty" and George by Asda's "Streamer" as the two top coat colours. I didn't have a makeup sponge so I used a washing up one that I cut up.

This is how it turned out - splodgey and without a gradient, which is because the sponge I used was coarse. I am going to buy some cheapo makeup sponges (which are much smoother) and will post my second attempt in the near future. Now where's my nail polish remover.......

Some retail therapy

Do you ever have one of those days where you just feel low and "meh" for no reason? Well I do, and yesterday was one of them. So after work, I hit Superdrug to see if a bit of retail therapy could sort me out.

- For some strange reason I bought these pre cut eyebrow shapers, which are essentially waxing strips. I haven't dared to open these yet as I have a wedding to go to this weekend and don't want to risk my eyebrows!

- Picked up some cheap-ish (£3.49)lashes to practice with for the aforementioned wedding. However I suspect my attempts will be full of fail....

- All Aussie products are 2 for £6 at the mo, so I bought some much needed heat protection spray and the legendary 3 minute miracle intensive conditioner.

- I keep reading good things about L'Oreal's Super Line and as I am so easily led, I bought it despite having about 100 black eyeliners already.

Have you tried any of these products? I'm looking forward to pampering myself later which I hope will cheer me up. If not, there's always chocolate...... xx

p.s. I seem to have lost my blogging mojo :( Hopefully it will come back soon!

Shoes of pain and misery

As much as I love shoes, I hate wearing in them in and my new sandals from Schuh have given me nothing but pain and misery (as my title denotes).

My feet have been rubbed raw and are blistered but they look pretty right?? It's also my first time wearing the coral Misa polish I bought last year and I loooooooove it!