Life Update January 2017 - Broken Boilers, Christmas, Loch Migdale and Moving House

OK, well Happy New Year I guess...

Light box from New Look, Makeup Brushes from eBay, Necklace from Punkypins and the lipsticks are from Kiko Milano's Christmas 2016 collection.

I feel like it's been a very long time since I last wrote anything so bear with me for a second. 

What's been going on? Where to start?

At the start of November last year I began a Use Up 17 by 2017 project, and as you can see from my November 2061 Empties I went at it all guns blazing for a good month and got through a fair few. 

At the end of  November, my landlord told me he was selling the flat I was living in. No drama, the other half and I had already been talking about moving in together so we agreed I'd just live there till it was sold and then move in with him. Two days later the boiler in that flat died. The flat had individual electric radiators in each room so I wasn't without heating in winter but I was having to travel to my boyfriends to have a shower. I didn't want to be carting hundreds of half empty bottles to work, then on the bus, then home again. So I had to shelve that project. 

At the start of December I started Blogmas, and I managed a steady 19 days which I felt was quite good. The broken boiler hampered me a bit and I might have lasted longer if it was working. I lost on average an hour a day traveling either to or from my boyfriends and I couldn't review any of the Lush Christmas items I had bought specifically to for that purpose during Blogmas. Most of what I posted was reviews that were partially pre-written so that saved a lot of time, however I'm not sure I'd do that again.

After that it was Birthday, Christmas and New Year Celebrations. 

When I was at my parents over Christmas, I managed to get some cracking winter photos of Loch Migdale. (I grew up in the Highlands and my family still live there).  There's a lot so I wont be offended if you want to scroll past them. 

Not bad for an old HTC phone, right?

The Boiler eventually got fixed in the second week of January. Not totally my landlords fault, the first trades person he arranged couldn't fix it, the second two did show up at all and then I was gone for Christmas. A few days after that he told me the flat was in the final stages of being sold.

Let the chaotic packing begin. I'd expected to have a bit more time than I ended up having. Luckily I'm fairly good at de-cluttering and like to have a massive clear out about twice a year so I didn't have tonnes and tonnes of stuff needing packed. So for the past couple of weeks I've just been moving and sorting, moving and sorting. My furniture came across on Saturday so I've been able to start getting unpacked. I hand my keys back in for that flat on Monday (that might be today depending on when I post this).

If anyone follows me on Instagram you would have seen the photo of my new dressing area below. I love it, but trust me its the only part of the house that looks that sorted.

I'm hoping normal service will resume in the next two weeks, and my aim is to post twice a week (Tuesday and Thursday) and maybe a third post some Saturdays. I really don't want to commit to more than I can handle then end up stressing out over it. I have a backlog of reviews I need to write for products I tried over the past two months as well. I think there's a bit of everything in the mix, but if there's something you really want to see, like perfume or eyeshadow palettes then let me know and I can prioritise those.

XOXO Scruffy

Boots Ingredients Super Hyaluronic Sheet Mask Review - Moisturising and Nourishing, Cruelty Free Skincare

Two days before using this, I tried the 7th Heaven Argan Oil Mask for combination skin, and my poor face still hadn't recovered. I woke up the morning after it to a painful cluster of small spots and some nice peeling dry skin across the bridge of my nose. Normally I would just leave me skin to right itself however its hadn't been knocked this badly in a long time. Its was so bad I had to stop using my usual face wash and swap to the one I use for horrendously bad breakouts. 

48 hours and I wasn't seeing the slightest signs of improvement so I decided to intervene. I had good results with Boots sheet masks so far so I felt it was time to crack out the moisturising one and give that a go.

So according to the packaging and Boots website "This specially formulated sheet mask is enriched with Super Hyaluron to help leave your skin moisturised and nourished. Leaves skin feeling moisturised for up to 12 hours." Just what my face needs right now, I think.

I'm not going to go into how you use it because its just a sheet mask. What I will say is its the same fabric and clear gel combo as the Charcoal Mask which I now think I prefer to the milky fluid of the Tiger lily one. That might be because I know what to expect, as when I wrote that one I thought I preferred the milky fluid and not the gel. I just feel like it holds together better on the face and doesn't dry out anywhere near as quickly. It doesn't really have a smell.

When it comes to applying the mask to the face its a bit trickier than the other two I have mentioned. Its wetter, the gel is thinner and there seems to be far more of it than with the other two masks, so even just un-peeling it to slap it on is like a workout for your fine motor skills. 

Once I managed to get it stuck to my face it tingled the same way the others did, but again, not as intensely as the charcoal one. It quickly settled to a pleasant cooling feeling that lasted until I took the mask of 20 minutes later. I massaged the remaining serum into my skin, dabbing one of the wet bits from the sheet (it had dried out a lot since I applied it) on one of the driest areas of my face, grabbed a glass of water and went and had a look at the results in the mirror.

I was really impressed with the results, my skin looked healthier, less dry and a bit calmer than before, even the patch of red, inflamed, flaky broken out skin on my cheek looked less dry and angry. None of my face stung or hurt at all which was a big bonus. I actually went back to empty foil packet and rubbed some of the excess mask fluid (like I said, its very wet) on the areas of dry skin either side of my nose. These are always there and I don't know what causes them. I've wondered if it might be something to do with me wearing glasses most of the day. Its a mystery. 

The next morning my skin felt nice and soft, however it wasn't anything ground breaking or special, much like the Tiger Lily Mask. The areas along my cheeks were less flaky and angry and the overall condition of my skin was a bit better. 

I probably would get this again, its getting incredibly cold outside and my skin will dry out more as the winter stretches on. 

Have you tried any of these masks, let me know what you thought?

Thats all for now duckies.

XOXO Scruffy

Enquiry? Message me ascruffyduck@gmail.com

NYX Full Throttle Lipstick in Jolt, Locked and Loaded. Review, Swatches and Wear Test - Cruelty Free Cosmetics

A while back a colleague mentioned picking up one of these lipsticks in the colour Night Crawler to me. I hadn't even heard of them, I'd focused everywhere else on the NYX but had someone managed to overlook these. Night Crawler wasn't my colour but I picked up shades 09. Jolt, 10. Locked and 11. Loaded. 

LtR. 11. Loaded, 10. Locked and 09. Jolt.

Their packaging is a bit different to the standard stuff. Its weirdly long and thin. You also don't get a lot of product with these, you get 2.4 grams of product and they cost £5.50. The NYX butter lipsticks are also £5.50  and you get 4.5 grams in them. 

So this is what a brand new one looks like. Its really thin and the top has a lot of weird edges. Kind of reminds of the twist up pencil type lipsticks you get but in bullet format.

I've chosen to swatch these in the order above as I thought it made the most sense and would result in the least weird staining. Now lets get looking at my face.

09 Jolt.

11. Loaded

10. Locked.

These lipsticks claim to be waterproof and according to the NYX website "covers your lips with super-saturated matte colour". From playing with these and wearing all of them I've noticed the formula is inconsistent between shades. Jolt and Locked are softer and creamier than Loaded and apply better, even if you heat it up by swatching on your hand first. It also feels very waxy when applied and is patchy if you don't apply a really heavy coat.

 In between photographing them and writing up this post, I actually dropped all of these and Loaded snapped. When I was trying to fix it, it slid out my hand and got smooshed as well. Unlike the Ripe Berry Butter Lipstick that also snapped, I won't be repurchasing this.

As this lipstick claims to be waterproof I decided to test it out the same way I would a liquid lipstick that made similar claims. I was already wearing Locked and its a pretty distinct colour, so I decided to roll with that. 

The rest of my makeup seems to have given up in this photo...yuck.

So I had this on for about six hours and ate a full plate of dinner and there's very little wear and tear. I'm really impressed that a bullet lipstick lasted this well. You can see that it has worn a little thin on my lower lip but its all still there. One small sweep and it would look immaculate again.

Over time, like most lipsticks these will begin to breakdown and transfer. This one was getting to the stage where it was beginning to powdery and if I touched my lips or drank things I'd get colour transfer. This is pretty typical of Jolt as well, I've worn them both a couple more times since photographing. They're great for work though, as they don't breakdown or smudge throughout the morning and still look good after lunch although they are beginning to break down.

Overall I like these. The last a long time and don't dry my lips out at all. They're definitely some of the better long wearing lipstick from the high street, along with the Sleek Matte Me Lipsticks and are are really affordable, even if you don't get tonnes. Plus I'd estimate that with regular eating and drinking I'd need to top up my lipstick three, maybe four times if I was going all day and then to then going out for food and drinks. I would need to top this up twice total, so that's a saving right there. 

XOXO Scruffy

Other NYX lip product reviews 

NYX Lip Lingerie

NYX Matte Lipsticks

The Worst Nights Sleep in a Very Long time - Sleep Paralysis, Anxiety and Accidental Blue Eyeliner

This wasn't the post I was planning on writing/posting today, Mondays are always busy and I was going to go with a review I had already written for Blogmas. Last night really wasn't a good night for me and since publicly admitting to my sleep issues I've been trying to be more honest about what is going on, so this felt like a better, if harder to write post for today. 

I feel like crap right now, grade A, worn out crap. I didn't sleep well at all last night, woke up to sore eyes and then had to have a cold bath because my boiler isn't working properly. Then I had to go to work and survive a day in the office. I am now on holiday though, so that's a silver lining I guess. If my sentence structure or spelling is a little weird and off, let me know and I'll come back and fix it later because I can barely focus on the screen right now.

So last night didn't start out horrible. I followed all my own steps that usually help ease me into a better nights sleep. I went to bed when I felt sleepy and at a reasonable time, I curled up, got comfy and then got hit with the worst sleep paralysis I've ever experienced. It wasn't the usual terrifying made up horror in the room, this was like someone was crushing me against the bed. I couldn't move at all. I was just pinned there. Awake and unable to move at all. And it seemed to last for an eternity.

Once I managed to free myself, I turned the lamp on, and sat bolt upright in the bed with my back against the headboard heavy breathing and trying to process what was going in. It was the most scared I've ever felt in my life. 

Every tiny noise made me jump out my skin, if I moved and anything brushed against me I tensed more than should be possible. I've had a lot of nightmares in my life, but this was like being awake in one. My bedroom was scary but the rest of my flat felt like a world of unknown terror, I knew I'd have to face before I'd manage to finally fall asleep.

It took me a long time to get from the bed out into the hallway, which always has a light on in it. When I threw the covers off in an act of sudden determination it caused a draft that made the pendant pieces that hang from my light shade clang together horribly, giving my a horrendous fright and making me want to cry. I don't understand why I feel so scared in my own home sometimes. 

Once I made it into the hall I still didn't feel any better. I went round and methodically switched on every light, checked the door was locked, the cooker was off, took some Kalms from the cupboard (they don't help but its nice to think they might). Checked the cooker and the door again, used the toilet, turned all the lights off in the same order I turned them on in, kicked off my slippers, turned off the light and curled up in bed again.

I didn't feel any better though. Every time I rolled the duvet hit my skin, I shuddered. I couldn't settle and my terror level was still through the roof. I gave up and turned the light back on, hoping the lamp light would calm my nerves, convince me whatever I was imagining was 100% imaginary. 

It didn't work, my window is directly above the door into my block of flats and every time it banged closed, I was awake again. When I was finally drifting off, the fear of what happened earlier on the night crept back in and I was awake again. When I got comfy and rolled over, the covers scraped against my legs and I was awake again.

In the end I gave up and broke one of my own rules. I just wanted to forget I was so scared of whatever was going on in my mind. I found Going Postal, one of my favourite books of all time, and curled up in bed with it. I've read several times before so I was hoping the familiarity would offer me some sense of security. 

It actually worked, kind off. Within twenty pages my eyes were feeling heavy and I wasn't sure if I could read much more. I put the book down, rolled back over and half crashed with the light own. It wasn't sleep, I was stuck in the moment before sleep when I couldn't tip myself either way. But I wasn't paralysed, I didn't feel crushed or scared, there wasn't an imaginary monster in the corner. Without any of that stuff its actually a weird, kind of cool feeling, but just not when you know you need to be awake in a couple of hours and haven't slept yet. 

This happened a few times, I'd wake myself back up, roll over, rinse and repeat. At some point, I'm not sure when exactly, I turned the lamp out and managed to dose off. I'm estimating that it was about three I actually slipped off to dreamland, but looking at my phone is the worst thing I can do when I'm trying to fall asleep, so I didn't check it. Maybe I should have, maybe if I'd seen the world outside my flat wasn't imploding it would have calmed me down a little. Thinking back I would have taken more away and calmer over the tired, terrified mess I was. 

When my alarm went off at 6am it felt like I hadn't been asleep at all. I had to force myself out of bed and into a lukewarm bath as the boiler had crapped out again. I could barely focus on anything and my eyes stung like I'd rubbed soap in them. 

So that about sums up today. Everything before lunch time is a blurry haze. I know I went out and bought new foundation, I couldn't honestly tell you anything more about it other than its a liquid one and I bought it in Boots.

I hope to never repeat a night like that again. I know I probably will though. I will be going to the doctor and actually seeking some kind of medical help regarding my sleep although it probably wont be till after Christmas. I probably won't post anything else about sleep or a sleep update until I've had that appointment, unless something big or groundbreaking happens. Also I don't recommend putting off seeking medical help, or not seeing the doctor, I'm just on  holiday from work right now and if my sleep schedule gets a little messed up, or I have a couple of sleepless nights it wont be the worst thing in the world, although it feels like it at the time. 

Sorry if this post makes me seem crazy. I just want you to know if you have the same issued I do, you are not alone.

Fun side note - I just took off the full face makeup I put on to compensate for how tired I felt today (way more than I normally would because I felt so drained and didnt want to look it) and I've been wearing blue liquid eyeliner all day. That had been on my face for over twelve hours and I hadn't even noticed it wasn't black. I only noticed as the cotton wool pad had blue on it, which I thought was odd, so I went and checked the pen. Its not just blue, its obviously blue. It says blue on it and has a blue end. I actually don't know how I missed it but I'm beginning to wish I hadn't bought foundation today if my colour judgement was that off.

XOXO Scruffy

Enquiry? Message me ascruffyduck@gmail.com 

Milani Baked Powder Blush in Berry Amore and Luminoso Review - Cruelty Free Drug Store Cosmetics

I've been obsessing over blush recently. It was always a neglected area of my makeup collection, I owned a lot but only ever wore one or two of them. Recently I discovered Milani (a brand you have to order online in Scotland), and decided to give a couple of theirs a go as well. 

The two I got were Berry Amore (top left) and Luminoso (bottom right). Also how amazing is the packaging. It is only plastic but it feels sturdy and doesn't look cheap, much love for it. 

And here's what the pans look like. They are so, so pretty. Berry Amore is a gorgeous, soft, taupe based pink with tiny flecks of gold glitter through it. I like it a lot and have worn it almost every day since I bought it. Luminoso is more of a shiny peach colour, it has a sheen but doesn't appear to have any glitter in it. I really like it but Berry Amore is just more my colour,

And here are some finger swatches. As you can see they're very pretty. The powder is really finely milled and blends out beautifully. From experience they also last all day and I feel they are amazing quality for a drug store blush.

My only issue with these blushes is the packaging to blush ratio is insane. You can see from the photos the pan of blush is far smaller than the packaging itself. and is actually really thin. It flips open it reveal a mirror and a tiny, plastic brush that really isn't worth what its made out of. 

I'm never going to use this part of either of them and actually really wish they weren't there. I'm considering gluing this part shut as there's no catch keeping it closed and when you try and open the blush it has a habit of coming open. Its not a deal breaker and it wouldn't stop me buying more. It's just annoying. Also I wish brands would stop including low value, mini applicators with products (like the super cheap brushed that come with some eyeshadow palettes). If we're buying your stuff online and paying shipping and so on, we have a means of applying it to our skin.

Overall, despite my packaging complaints, I do really like these products, am considering getting more next time I order from Milani and would highly recommend them. Each blush contains 3.5g of product and at £7.49 off the Milani Website and £8 off Beauty Bay I think they're fantastic value for money.  If I do get another one soon I think it'll be Rose D'Oro which looks gorgeous. Also the photos of the colours are far better on Beauty Bay, but the direct website (in the UK at least) ships DPD who now deliver to an assortment of high street stores you can pick up from. So it might be worth checking anything you want on Beauty Bay to confirm the colour then ordering direct. One of the shops they deliver to is Matalan so I got my order sent to the Jamaica Street store in the centre, very handy and the staff were really nice (even thought they had to run about and look through their delivery whilst I waited).   

Do you have a favourite Milani product I need to try? Or anything you'd like to see me review? Please let me know in the comments.

XOXO Scruffy

Other blush products

Revolution Blush Queen Palette

Too Faced Love Flush Blush

Collection #BlushAndGlow Palette

Revolution Solo Blush Review

Enquiry? Message me ascruffyduck@gmail.com 

Sleek Onto The Horizon Ltd Edition Palette Review with Arm Swatches - Cruelty Free Drugstore Makeup

Earlier this year Sleek released some limited edition palettes: Onto the Horizon, Nordic Skies and Goodnight Sweetheart. All of them are still available and over the past month I've somehow acquired all three. I've spent a bit of time forming an opinion on them and now I plan on reviewing them all whilst they're still available on Sleek website.

The first one I got was On The Horizon palette, and I believe it was a Superdrug exclusive in the UK. Sleek have a habit of splitting collections down the middle in the UK and making half of it Boots and half Superdrug. They've done it more recently with the Rockstars Collection and you can find my review of the Hidden Gems palette from that here.

This is also one of the products I thought I'd lost all the photos for when my laptop died. Luckily I managed to find some on my backup hard drive, and I've chosen to use them as I've already binned the box and can't re-photograph it.

They all have gorgeous outer packaging that is themed around the colour selection. On the Horizon is a mix of forest greens,burnt oranges and brown tones. I've been wearing a lot of nudes recently but on Saturday I cracked into Lightyear from the Moondust palette I bought on Black Friday and I'm in love with greens again.

So the actual palette is just standard Sleek packaging. It comes with the usual sponge applicator and sheet with the names printed on it. I now have a stack of these in my palette drawer just from Sleek and Makeup Revolution, and I have no idea which one goes with what palette.

Here's a better photo of the shades themselves, you get 9 shimmery metallic shades and 3 mattes. The shimmer shades are where Sleek always excel so its a really good breakdown.

So here's the top row of the palette, as you can see the first shade and last three are gorgeous but two and three (Sugar Maple and Beech) didn't swatch very well.  It's a shame because Sugar Maple is such a pretty rose gold colour and looks really nice when its blended.  Beech on the other hand is just mehh.. and blends away to nothing.

Here's the bottom row. Again not all of them swatched very well. The first shade, Chestnut is a really beautiful brown with a blue/purple sheen. Willow (third from the right) swatched really intensely but isn't as vivid and vibrant when blended out and the two shades to the right of it Dew Drop and Pine Cone are really nice shimmer shades that just need building a little. The only shade in this palette that I would say is bad is Fawn (the yellow shade third from the left). It's far chunkier than any other Sleek eyeshadow I've ever seen and just skips and highlights skin texture. 

The one thing I really like about the outside of this palette is that it has the name of the palette stamped on the front on clear lettering. My biggest criticism of these palettes has always been that I can't tell them apart from the front and need to flip them all over or open them to see which is which. I like that they all come in a hard plastic shell and have a large mirror, it helps make all their products feel like they're extra good value for money.

I've also been using this palette for a week straight now and I do love the shadows but I was limited by the colour selection and had to mix it in the Naked Ultimate Basics palette as the week wore on. I liked mixing the shiny green and brown colours together but found I didn't use the orange even though I thought I would. I also didn't find a use for the lovely navy blue and feel sad I couldn't be more creative in the mornings. 

XOXO Scruffy

Other Sleek reviews

Matte Me Liquid Lipsticks

i-Lust Hidden Gems Palette

Smoke and Mirrors Gift-set

Enquiry? Message me ascruffyduck@gmail.com

(Just a wee note. I live in Scotland and we're currently in Winter. Right now we're getting less than eight hours daylight a day and I spend that in work, so sorry about the badly lit photos).

Urban Decay, First Hit Travel Kit. Review and Swatches - Cruelty Free Delux Samples, Perversion Mascara, Primer Potion

If you've read anything I've written, ever, you'll know I'm a sucker for cute things, trying new stuff and tester packs. Urban Decay are a higher end brand that's semi new to me, but since I started buying their stuff I've fallen in love. I now own a good mix of products from them, but I still like trying new things. When I saw this pack (which I got in the same Debenhams order as the Love at First Kiss from Too Faced and a Kat Von D one I need to type up), I knew I wanted it. 

In this you get a mini primer potion, 24/7 Glide On eye pencil in Demolition, Perversion mascara in black, and an All-Nighter setting spray. I've previously tried the setting spray and a different eyeliner from this range and really liked both, several youtubers I follow rave about the eye primer and I've heard lots of good things about the mascara .

Look at how cute these minis are. Perfect for handbags.

So the eyeliner is a really nice dark brown, I've used this a lot, usually on my upper lashes and actually really like it. I will be buying a full sized one of these when this is done as it stays really well, 

The primer potion is a nude colour and although I don't normally use eye primer (I like to just use concealer) I've used this a couple of times under more elaborate eye looks and the shadow has never budged. I don't know if I'd get a full sized version of this, but I would not say no to another sample size to try it out some more. 

So this is the brush from the mascara, its huge compared to the tube and this is the kind of brush I like. Big and traditional. The mascara itself is really good as well, very black, long lasting and dries fast so it doesn't get everywhere if you sneeze right after applying it ( I do this at least once a month so I have to factor it in when choosing mascara).

I didn't take photos of the spray because its a clear spray. I like this setting spray but I'm not 100% sure its worth the money. The NYX one I recently finished as part of my 17 by 2017 project is really good and far cheaper than this. Again I wouldn't say no to another sample. 

The whole box costs £15 and I think its really great value for money. A full 24/7 eye pencil is £15.50 so if you want to try a wide range of Urban Decay products is definitely cost effective. 

Tried out any cute mini sets you think are worth while? Please let me know in the comments so I can check them out. 

XOXO Scruffy

Enquiry? Message me ascruffyduck@gmail.com