2017 Quarter One Empties - Hair Care - Yes To, DGJ Organics, Superdrug, 7th Heaven, Batiste

So, if anyone read my life update in January, you'll know things were a little chaotic at the end of last year/start of this year. I haven't done empties since November, December and early January don't count because of Christmas and travel, so I've been collecting these since the start of January. The only sensible thing to do seemed to be to split them down into categories and hair care was the smallest so I decided to start with it.

Not crazy big or scary. Anyone that's been here for a while might recognise one or two of these from my 17 by 2017 project, which sadly got scrapped when the boiler died in my old flat. 

So we have the Yes to Blueberries Shampoo and Conditioner (full review here) which I loved, and sadly Boots now only stock online in the UK. They smell great, don't irritate my scalp and sort my hair out. I'll definetly buy them again. Having to order online and collect in store is a pain in the bum but, in all honesty, I really think they're worth it.

DGJ Orangics Hair Juice Shampoo and Conditioner. I didn't love these as much as the Yes To Blueberries ones but they're still pretty nice. Again, zero scalp irritation and worked fine with my crazy hair. The smell is to die for though. I never thought I would like melon scented shampoo, that sounds kind of gross I think about it, but it was so nice. Thinking about it again (I finished these over a month ago) makes me really want to re-order it. Bad Kirstie, Bad. I have three or four shampoo and conditioner sets in my stash right now, and thats not including whats in my bathroom so I need to get through them before I re-purchase anything.

Onto masques and treatments (and the photo had to be blurry!!). On the left is the Superdrugs Coconut Water and Coconut Oil Masque, it's the only other product in this particular post I've done a dedicated review on (here). I really like this, its more like a thick conditioner than what I expect a masque to be, and it leaves my hair really soft and shiny. I've already re-purchased it and am half way through that one. Also because it's not so masque-like its really easy to wash out, meaning I can use it during the week and not have to stress about it taking seven rinses and an extra 23 minutes to wash my hair. 

So, want to know something funny, this is the second time I've typed up this next bit. Blogger thought it would be hilarious to not save, despite me hammering the save button about twenty times. So, I'm sorry if it sames extra sassy and angry but I worked two hours overtime, had salad for dinner and took the time to actually spell check the original post, only for my hard work to disappear off into the ether. 

And then we have this little stinker. And by stinker I mean it literally stinks. It has the same strong fake powdery honey sent of a Lemon & Honey Lemsip, and that smell does not bring back good memories (because who wants their hair to smell strongly of "my nose is snotty, I'm coughing and my ears need to pop so badly they hurt" medicine. I don't like it, it didn't do much for my hair and I wouldn't repurchase or recommend it.

So now we have an *shrug* product, something I hated with a passion and dry shampoo. If its OK with you I'll skip the Batiste as everyone knows what it is and what it does. It's that magic in a bottle that gives me an extra 20 minutes in bed some morning, if I don't mind a slightly irritated scalp for the rest of the day.

Pantene Aqua Light Something Spray, I've binned the bottle already. I got this out the Poundshop a couple of years ago and it didn't do very much for my hair so it just hung about in my collection. I don't really know what else to say, it didn't do a lot, but it smelled nice, There we go, lets be positive here.

And last, and also least, we have the DGJ Organics Argan Oil. Smelled OK but weighed my hair down more than I thought was possible. It also felt sticky and I had to wash my hands after using it. Normally with hair oil I'm wet, my hairs wet and I'm wearing a wet towel so I can just rub my hand on my hair and then rub them on the towel and bobs your teapot, no more hair oil. This stuff needed a proper soapy lather to get it off. 

Like I said, I can't believe how much more curly and bouncy my hairs been since I went back the Superdrug Macadamia Oil. Lesson learned, the thing that costs at least 2x what the thing you know works won't always be better.   

So thats all, not to painful (despite the double type). Thinking next it will either by makeup or body care. I'm currently undecided.

XOXO Scruffy

Enquiry? Message me ascruffyduck@gmail.com

50 Days, 50 Lipsticks - Days 1 to 10 - Kat Von D, Lime Crime, NYX, Milani, Kiko Milano

I own to much lipstick. I own waaayyy to much lipstick. And I hate some of it.

So this idea came to me a couple of weeks ago, the day before (or maybe two days before) day one. And its simple, for the next fifty makeup days I will wear a different lipstick, report on my findings and hopefully chuck some at the end of it. I don't wear makeup ever single day and I'm not putting on makeup for the sake of it, because that's craziness, so this will take more than 50 calendar days. I'll post updates every ten lipstick days (which I'm guessing will be roughly 12-14 days) and if anyone wants to join in, please feel free and tag me in a link so I can read about what you're loving and loathing.

This makeup bag... Sometimes I love the H&M sale

Day 1: Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Mother

Since I moved Kat Von D is one of the few brands of liquid lipstick I've been wearing a lot, mostly in Lolita and Double Dare though. I found Mother when I was shopping my stash and decided I had to get some more use out of it. 

It's a gorgeous, dusky pink kind of colour and the thin, long wearing Kat Von D formula is one of my favourites. so I was hoping for a good lipstick day.

Overall it wore well. Have I done a review of all the Kat Von D lipsticks? I might need to do that. It did need touched up after lunch and again on the bus home but I am incredibly hard on my lipstick. I talk a lot at work (for work, as in part of my job is talking) and drink about a billion mugs of tea, so my lips are constantly getting wet and then moving. 

Its nice. I like it. I'm almost sad I wore it first though as now I can't wear it again for at least fifty days.

Day 2: Kiko Milano Matte Heart Shaped Lipstick in 01

Kiko Milanos limited edition lipstick packaging (OK, limited edition lipstick packaging and blush products) make me happy. They always look so classy and the lipsticks always have some component that just speaks to me. The other lipsticks I have are magnetic and ping and stay beautifully. This has a solid, brushed metal kind of look with a spiral of writing up it, the cap unscrews rather than pops and the actual lipstick is heart shaped. 

It looks so cute, but its a pain in the butt to apply. The top of the lipstick is slanted to make application easier, however the top part of the heart (two rounded bits) are the highest point meaning there's not a straight edge or point like on a standard lipstick for precise application. This makes trying to get any kind of shape nearly impossible. I'm hoping once I wear it down a bit this will become more usable.

Formula wise, this lipstick isn't bad. I really like the pinky, mauvey colour and the matte formula it fairly good for a bullet lipstick. It does chunk up a little in the inner rim of my mouth but nothing I can't handle. I look forward to playing with this more in the future.

Day 3: Lime Crime Velvetine in Cashmere

It had been a long time since I last wore a Velvetine and in my head I'd somehow turned them into this horrendous, flakey, dry mess, so I was a little skeptical about using one for work. I was, however, really surprised and enjoyed this a lot. Cashmere was always one of my favourite shades and by the end of the day I was annoyed at myself for not wearing it more often. Yeah it was a little dry, but not much more than the Kat Von D formula, and it certainly didn't flake anywhere. Touching up was fine and it didn't get to chunky or bunch up on the inner rim of my mouth. It also coped far better with the oily sun-dried tomatoes in my lunch that the Kiko Milano lipstick from the day before.

Overall, it wore well and looked good but you get very little lipstick for your money and the coconut type smell reminded me of the gorse bushes that used to grow along the road next to my house. (Large spikey weeds with vibrant, yellow, coconut scented flower. The reason the highlands of Scotland smell of coconuts, because everyone comes to my blog for the geographical education).

Day 4.1 NYX High Voltage Lipstick in 15 Tan-gerine.

Way too light and not even remotely Tangerine coloured. Looked hideous, like I'd mixed stick concealer with Vaseline and rubbed it on my lips, on so it's in the bin and didn't even make it out the house on my face.

Note to self, do not buy lipstick online again. It will disappoint you. Do not trust the swatch photos. They can be highly inaccurate. Oh and remember your lips are about 3x more pink than most people's so 80% of lipsticks look hideous on you. Sincerely, the me that

Day 4.2  Kiko Milano Temptress Lipstick in 01

So I have no idea why this lipstick range was called temptress as this colour and formula would be far more suited to a name like "boring office worker lipstick" or "I wanted something that wouldn't look like shite if I couldn't be arsed lining my lips, lipstick".

I got this in the Kiko sale after Christmas and today was the first time I wore it. It's another pale nude, similar to Tan-gerine but darker, less concealer and vaseline-sequel, and it washed me out way less and looked far better on my pale but also very red face. It also had a really comfortable satin finish and overall it lasted pretty well for a sale bin lipstick.

Is it my favourite lipstick ever? No. Will I wear it out at the weekend? Probably not. Once I get to the end of this will it take up residence as in my makeup bag as my "I was running late so I did my makeup on the bus" lipstick? Yup. So work people's, if you see me wearing this, it's a safe bet I slept in, dry shampooed my hair, washed with three baby wipes and am wearing the first three items of clothing that came to hand. Sorry if I look a bit manic, or have my dress on back to front.

Lipstick scatter...

Day 5.1 Milani Amore Matte Lip Crème in 16 Sweetheart

I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie wooooooorld......

Just not today please.

Another online purchase, formula feels great, the colour isn't as expected but for a bright pink looks surprising alright on. I'll play around with it more once this I've tried most of my stash.

In other news I changed as I had bright blue eyeliner on and when I added this I started to look like a suspiciously old extra from Saved by the Bell.

Day 5.2 Milani Amore Matte Lip Crème in 10 Adorable

Decided to stay on brand today, so I swapped Sweetheart out with Adorable. What colour is Adorable I hear you ask? "Exactly the same as Bow and Arrow from Kat Von D" colour I reply, and under half the price.

I had worn some of these before but not this colour and wasn't sure if I loved the formula or not. Its alright. Well actually its good for the price. And they smell so nice. I did have to watch for wear and tear as it was a far lighter colour than I normally like but its still pretty, and wasn't too much hassle over all.

Day 6: Milani Colour Statement Lipstick in 27 Dulce Caramelo

And the award for "lipstick I spent more than £5 on but stills smells, feels and looks like something from Miss Sporty" goes to... Any of the shimmery lipsticks in this line (I have this one and Cinnamon Spice).

I actually don't mean to hate on this lipstick or come across as harsh as that may have, it's actually not bad and wears pretty well. It just has that fake sour watermelon smell to it much cheaper lipsticks do, which I'm not a huge fan of. It's a shame as Milani's liquid lipsticks smell exactly like a bag of flumps (sweet, sugary marshmallows) and I love that, though it does make me want flumps... *Drools and ruins make-up*.

It's a bit dated and plain Jane but not had. I'd be interested in trying more of these lipsticks (in the plain, non sparkly formula) but clearly buying online isn't my strong point so I might have to do some research on them first.

Day 7: NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in 09 Tea & Cookies

Harsh honesty for a second here, I've been putting off reviewing this line for a while now (I have seven of them) because I'd worn this one a few times and hated the formula. 18 Foul Mouth, one of the newer shades, on the other hand has one of the best formulas ever for a semi-matte lipstick. We'll see if my opinion has changed any by the end of today.

So the first hour or wearing this lipstick was horrible, it doesn't dry down, it smudges on everything and if you live somewhere windy (like the whole of Scotland) and your hair gets blown into your face, it's pretty much guaranteed to feel the same way as when you're hair gets in your lipgloss. It got all over my mug during my first cuppa at work and at this point I felt like giving up on it, but when I went to the loo there was still a surprising amount of it on my lips, and by this point enough had smudged off that it didn't feel sticky or weird any more. I'd say between the hours of 10am and 1pm were the golden hours for this lipstick.

Over lunch it became patchy and when I reapplied the cream it became chunky and odd. Drinking another cup of tea made that worse and by 4.30pm it looked really really bad.

I'm going to hold on to this long enough to do the swatch post and full review with all the other shades I own, then it's going in the bin. It's a shame as the dusky pink colour is really pretty, it's just a shame the formula is less "Tea and Biscuits" and more "Cold Bovril and Soggy Mini Cheddars"

Day 8: NYX Full Throttle Lipstick in 09 Jolt

This is one of my favourite orange lipsticks of all time (see full review here). Bright, comfortable and log wearing, this little guy is a hidden gem in my makeup collection.

Must. Wear. This. More.

Day 9: NYX High Voltage Lipstick in 05 Flutter Kiss

I know further up I had a bit of a disaster with a High Voltage lipstick but I couldn't feel more different about this one. Firstly I need to say a huge thanks to Siena from Tantrums and Tea who sent me this. It's lovely,

Colour wise this is a gorgeous dark nude colour on me, pinky but not overly so. Its an ideal "work to pub" shade. It has a really creamy, soft, lipbalm but thicker formula that doesn't feel drying or uncomfortable. It had a classic, satin finish that I really enjoyed. Everything up until now has been matte or very frosty so change is good. It lasted pretty well and didn't seem to smudge off to much when I was drinking tea. I have a couple more of these lipsticks coming from LuxPlus so I might need to review all the ones I end up with (including the one above that shall not be spoken of).

Day 10: Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Double Dare

I think I've said everything I want to say about this in the Day 1 slot with mother. I was hoping not to double up on products (so no two Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks or Liquid Suedes etc in any ten days) but with some brands (like Too Faced) I mostly own smart, work lipsticks and I'm trying not to exhaust them in the first few days in case I end up running out. 

That being said, this lipstick is what I would call a "work red". Its somewhere between red and brown and just muted enough it doesn't look out of place in the office. The formula is really nice and needed babysat less that Mother, this might have been because it was closer to my lip colour so was less obvious when it wore off. Will definitely be buying a full sized one of these once I'm done with this sample.

Running total

Days: 10

Lipsticks Worn: 12

Lipsticks being binned: 2

Top 3

1. NYX High Voltage Lipstick in 05 Flutter Kiss

2. Lime Crime Velvetine in Cashmere

3. Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Double Dare

Bottom 3

1. NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in 09 Tea & Cookies

2. NYX High Voltage Lipstick in 15 Tan-Gerine

3. I don't actually have a third choice because I liked everything except these two a fair amount

What's being binned

Catch you next time

XOXO Scruffy