Soap & Glory's Peaches and Clean 4-in-1 Wash Off Deep Cleansing Milk

I've been using this product for over a month now, so thought it was about time I shared my thoughts on it! This has actually been out of stock on the Boots website, and in store, for a while now. I'm hoping they're just repackaging it and not discontinuing! So, the price of this is £8, but it was £7 when I bought it. The price is reasonable for me because it's under £10 and cleansers are a personal necessity. The packaging is really cute, just like Soap & Glory's other products. The pump is great and just makes things easier! The scent is what initially drew me to this product. I'm going through a phase of loving anything to do with peaches. It also has a distinctive smell of mint, which I wasn't sure of at first, but it's really refreshing. The consistency is between a gel and cream, and different to anything I've tried before. It's not very thick, and feels like it's melting your makeup away. Moving onto the results; the main thing I look for in a cleanser is it must remove all of my makeup. Obviously. It should also leave my skin feeling soft, or at very least, normal. I don't want my skin feeling stripped. The formula achieves both of these things, and combined with the packaging and scent, makes me love this product. My skin isn't left that soft (nothing compares to my hot cloth cleansers in that department), but it feels clean, refreshed, and normal. No tightness here. Oh, for reference, I have normal cheeks and an oily t-zone. I'm not sure if this will give dry skin the moisture it needs (but that's what moisturiser is for, I suppose!). I'm really liking this product so far, and will repurchase it once I've used up the 3-4 other cleansers in my shower (oops!). I just hope it returns to the shelf! (UPDATE: It has returned to the shelf - It's just in different packaging!)

Ombre Meringues

I made meringues for the first time today! I've recently got into baking, but never saw myself making meringues because I've seen many horror stories on Come Dine With Me (gotta love that show). They were actually really easy, though. I was initially going to use this recipe, but didn't want them to turn out coffee coloured. So, after a little researching, I found that you could leave the icing sugar out and just increase the caster sugar to make white/cream meringues.

I used:

• 4 medium egg whites (had no large eggs to hand, but it all worked out fine)
• 200g caster sugar

Method:

• I whisked the egg whites for about 8-10 minutes, and then whisked some more (I wanted to be sure!). I stopped when they were fluffy and could hold the bowl upside down without it spilling out.
• I then added the caster sugar tablespoon at a time, and made sure each one was fully whisked in (this took about another 5 minutes).
• Then, I dolloped the mixture onto baking paper lined baking trays (the recipe says to use parchment paper because the meringues will stick to baking paper, but mine were fine). Next time, I want to pipe them on to make them look extra pretty.
• For the gradual change to pink, I added a little bit of Wilton's Food Colouring Paste/Gel in Pink (I bought mine from this seller for £2.84, including P&P) after every few dollops. This stuff is seriously pigmented, so be careful. I'm glad it is though because it means the pot should last a while! I also love it because Wilton is my family name haha.
• Lastly, I popped them into the 100°C oven for 1 hour 45 minutes.

This recipe made around 15 medium meringues.

I'm going to serve these with the classic cream and fruit combination. Not 5 per person like the photo suggests, though! 2-3 should be plenty. I'm pretty pleased with my first attempt! If only there was an occasion coming up (with the exception of Father's Day. My dad hates meringues!)

MUA Blushers (New 2013 Shades)

Cupcake, Lolly, Bubblegum, Bon Bon

Cupcake, Lolly, Bubblegum, Bon Bon

Cupcake, Lolly, Bubblegum, Bon Bon

Hello! So, I decided to pick up some of the new MUA £1 blusher shades during their 3 for 2 offer. I've never tried their original blushers, so can't compare them. I do know that the packaging is different, though. It's nothing fancy, but it does the job, and I can't really complain for £1! The powders are really soft to touch (more than most blushers I've tried), pigmented, and blend well. However, when I dip my brush in, there's a lot of fallout, so a lot of product is wasted. The shades I have aren't shimmery, so give a natural looking blush. In the pan, Lolly has some subtle shimmer, but this doesn't translate to the skin. My favourite would have to be Cupcake because it's a soft peach which suits my freckled skin tone well. I also like Lolly because I don't have a matte orange in my collection. Bubblegum is pretty, but not a unique shade to me, and Bon Bon is a subtle, natural pink. The two other shades in the 2013 collection are Marshmallow, a cooler toned pink, and Candyfloss, a shimmery pink. Overall, for £1 (or less if you bought/buy them during an offer), I think they're pretty good. The powdery fallout is a shame, though.

Recent Beauty Buys

I wasn't planning on posting another beauty haul, but then I kept buying bits and bobs here and there. So, let's get cracking!

Alberto Balsam shampoos and conditioners are currently 4 for £3 in Superdrug, so thought I'd stock up. I used to use the brand a couple of years ago, but then moved on to TRESemme. I've recently gone back to them though because they're affordable, work well, and smell amazing! I bought 3 shampoos because I'm already stocked up on conditioner.

I also bought the Garnier Body Intensive 7 Days Gel Cream with Peach for £2.99. It's just a simple, light moisturiser that absorbs into the skin quickly.

The Simple Baby Moisturising Wipes are normally £1.99, but they were down to £1 in Lloyd's Pharmacy, and my sister had staff discount, so I got them for 80p each - Yay!

Going back to Superdrug, I bought the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair for £4.19. I've gone through tubes and tubes of this stuff, but for the last couple of months I've been using MUA's Cover and Conceal Wand in Porcelain, which has been working fine (especially for £1.50). I thought I'd go back to this to remember how good it is, though.

I often forget to look at the Feel Unique website, but it's actually great. Free delivery, discounted products, and you currently get 10% off your order. I bought Maybelline's Rocket mascara for £6.79 (before the 10% discount). I didn't buy the waterproof version because the last waterproof mascara I bought (Maybelline's Falsies) would not come off, no matter what products I used. You could see that as a good thing, but I want to keep my lashes, not pull them out trying to get the stuff off!

Also from Feel Unique, I bought Maybelline's Colour Tattoo in Permanent Taupe for £4.99 (before the 10% discount). I don't wear eyeshadow on my eyelids because I look ridiculous, but I like blending them into my lash line to give some definition. I've been using On and On Bronze, but wanted a matte shade.

I then placed an order with MUA because their products were 3 for 2. I picked up 4 of their new £1 blusher shades - Cupcake, Lolly, Bubblegum, and Bon Bon (will be reviewing these in the next couple of days). 

I then bought the Hide & Conceal Stick in Porcelain for £1. I normally use liquid concealers, but thought this would be good for blemishes. It's actually really creamy, which I wasn't expecting! 

I also bought the Power Pout in Runway for £3. I have all the other shades, so thought I may as well get this one too! It's a coral/red, and I'm going to wear it lightly (I also look ridiculous with bright lips)

I thought I'd also show you what I've just ordered from Superdrug (free delivery until the 17th). I bought the Aussie Miracle Hair Insurance Leave In Conditioner and Aussie Dual Personality Heat Protection & Leave In Spray for £6. They're normally £4.49 and £4.69 each. These are both repurchases (they smell amazing!).

Then I added the Cutex Nourishing Nail Polish Remover to my basket for £2.15. This is my favourite nail polish remover and smells nice, considering (like vanilla).

Then I thought I'd stock up on my trusty razors seeing as they're currently better than half price. I bought the Bic Lady Soleil ones for £1.51, and the Bic Miss Soleil ones for £1.48. Bic Soleil razors were the first ones I ever used (about 7 years ago), and they're the only ones I've used since. I do want to try a battery operated one, though, but don't know the good from the bad!

And that's everything! For now, anyway...

Favourite Nail Polishes - Rainbow Edition

I love nail polish, and I love rainbows, so thought I'd combine the two! I was initially going to pick just one polish for each colour, but that was far, far too difficult! So I picked two instead (which was still a challenge, I tell you).

One of my favourite reds, and Winter favourite, is Barry M's Raspberry. It's dark yet vibrant at the same time, and has just enough pink in it. Models Own Hedonist is amazing! It's a neon coral/red, and the photo really doesn't do it justice.

Sinful Colours Orange Cream is one of the most recent additions to my collection (look at the post before this to see it on!). It's the most beautiful peach shade. I initially had Barry M's Gelly Nail Paint in Papaya in place of this, but swapped them. The second orange I chose was Models Own Beach Party. This is the brightest yellow toned orange I've ever seen! 

Etude House Ice Cream Nail Polish in Banana is another polish I've recently blogged about (go to the search bar on your left to look for swatches). I bought this for the cute packaging, but it's actually a really nice polish. It takes 2-3 coats, which is good for a yellow! Models Own Luis Lemon, on the other hand, is rather sheer, but it's a neon, so I'm not surprised. I just wear a white base coat underneath! It's probably the brightest nail polish I own, and that's why I love it.

I don't own many greens, so it was easy picking my favourites. Barry M's Gelly Nail Paint in Greenberry is beautiful! I've also blogged about this. The next green I chose was Sinful Colours Rise & Shine. This shade is so hard to photograph! The photo really doesn't do it justice. It's not a muted teal like above, but a... green (I don't know how to describe it!) with blue and green shimmer.

For blue, I didn't choose a sky blue, but shades at different ends of the spectrum. You have Barry M's Gelly Nail Paint in Guava, one of the new Summer shades, and then Barry M's Gelly Nail Paint in Blueberry. Guava is a turquoise, whereas Blueberry is a cornflower blue (incredibly pretty).

Indigo... I only have one indigo polish! And that's the fourth shade in the photo - Barry M's Indigo. Another Winter favourite of mine. It's not just a navy, like the photo suggests, but a vibrant indigo with lots of purple tones, too. The polish before it is Astor's 070 (A Spanish brand that I found on Fragrance Direct). I know it's not indigo, but it's close enough!

Violet/lilac/purple was a category with lots of possibilities. I ended up choosing a cool lilac and a warm lilac. The cool toned variety is Barry M's Gelly Nail Paint in Prickly Pear, and the warmer one is OPI's Lucky Lucky Lavender. 

Pink isn't a colour of the rainbow, but you can't leave out pink when it comes to beauty! I love most shades of pink, cool or warm toned, so chose the Barry M Gelly Nail Paints in Dragon Fruit and Grapefruit to represent this. I think they're the epitome of pink shades.

Because choosing 16 favourite nail polish shades was too hard, I'm also going to be showing you my favourite glitters and extras in another post soon. It's hard to narrow down my favourites because I only buy shades I love (of course!). 

I also took photos for five other posts earlier, so look out for them!

Sinful Colours Nail Polish in Orange Cream

Natural lighting, flash

How pretty is this polish? I love it! Sinful Colours Nail Polish in Orange Cream is a pastel peach with subtle silver shimmer. I'm wearing 2-3 coats in the photos above. 

I'm loving this £1.99 range so far. I'll definitely be buying more shades, especially when Boots have their next 3 for 2 offer (3 nail polishes for £3.98, anyone?!)

Bargain EcoTools Brush Sets from eBay

There's been a lot of brushes featured on Affordable Treats lately! You can see my Real Techniques Brushes post here, eBay Makeup Brushes post here, and Bargain EcoTools Bronzer Brush on eBay post here. 

The most recent additions to my collection are the 5 and 4 piece brush sets from EcoTools. I already own the 4 piece set (which used to be called the 5 piece set, and the now 5 piece set used to be called the 6 piece set because they included the pouch as a 'piece'... confusing, I know), but couldn't resist another for the price. I bought both of them from this listing for £3.39 and £2.99, including P&P. As I've said before, I don't know if these are the real deal, but they're really soft and great quality, nonetheless. I think it's hard to tell if they're authentic or not because they're made from natural materials, so vary from set to set anyway. They retail for £15.99 and £19.99 in Boots, so that's quite a saving!

I'm going to try and not buy any more brushes for a while! I'm running out of room!