Beauty Empties January 2018 + Project Pan Challenge

Beauty Empties January 2018 + Project Pan Challenge

Soap and Glory Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, January 30, 2018

January 2018 marks the start of my 12-month Project Pan challenge. This is a group collab on YouTube, wherein six beauty YouTubers have set themselves individual targets for finishing up products in their stash. These targets vary; in my case, I've chosen the rather ambitious figure of 118 beauty products to be used up in 2018! Of these eight NEED to be makeup products; the rest can be skincare.
The other vloggers participating in the collab are Ashley DeVino, Kirstie of Behind the Scenes, Krista Burtner, Kathleen of Rented Fashion, and Tina Maughan - do check out their channels!
In January, I've managed to use up 14 products, which means I only have 114 products to go in 11 months. Unfortunately, none of these is makeup, but hopefully I can get some cosmetics used up over the next few months.

Scroll down for the beauty products I used up in January 2018, and for my thoughts on each.

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Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Matte Lip 3D Lip Colour Review, Swatches

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Matte Lip 3D Lip Colour Review, Swatches

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Sunday, March 26, 2017

I have been obsessed with the Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Lipstick in Perfectly Bare - see review and swatches here. The shade was so pretty and the lipstick so creamy that the SAs in Selfridges wanted to know what brand it was, and refused to believe me when I said it was a Boots buy.
The Sexy Mother Pucker Matte Lip 3D Lip Colours are a 2016 launch from Soap & Glory. At first, I gave them a derisive look - they were lip crayons, after all, and I always find that lip crayons are less pigmented and less lasting than bullet lipsticks, let alone liquid lipsticks.
The SA at Boots convinced me to pick one of these up. There were five shade options. I chose the mauve-iest shade of the lot - Chocoberry, which is neither "choco" nor berry, but a regular mauvey-pink.
If you are in the UK, buy from Boots here. US readers can get this from here.  

Scroll down for more on the Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Matte Lip 3D Lip Colour, including swatches and review.

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Beauty Products Used Up in December 2016, Link Party

Beauty Products Used Up in December 2016, Link Party

Soap and Glory Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, January 03, 2017

Because of all the Holiday fun, I forgot to show you my December empties. 2016 has been one bittersweet ride. Not as bad as my personal annus horribilus, which was 2012, but still among the top three horrible years of my life. I spent eight months on antibiotics. I spent almost five months in HIDING because of cystic acne. I missed my parents' wedding anniversary dinner for the second time ever. I didn't celebrate a bunch of other joyous events.
The bright spots? I spent more time with my grandparents (even THEY flinched at the sight of my face). I learned about and began adhering to a proper skincare regimen. I began learning two new languages and signed up for two other study courses. 
Hopefully 2017 will be a fresh start.
Before that, however, let me show you the trash of the month.

Scroll down for the beauty products I used up in December 2016 and for my thoughts on each.

Beauty Products Emptied in July 2016 + Link-up

Beauty Products Emptied in July 2016 + Link-up

Soap and Glory Cosmetopia Digest   Monday, July 25, 2016

When you have a 10-step skincare routine - see here for the steps - and moisturise all over, two times a day, chances are that your empties will mostly be skincare. July's empties are no exception.

Scroll down for the beauty products I used up in July 2016, and my quick impressions of each.

Best Wash Cloths For Cleansing Your Face

Best Wash Cloths For Cleansing Your Face

Tools Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, June 07, 2016

Do you use flannel or muslin cloths to wash your face and remove makeup? I do now. Until December, I used the same towel to dry my hands and face, and admit to having used even turbie twists for drying my face at a pinch. Which, according to my derm when I consulted her over a horrible breakout, is as bad as using the same pillowcase for weeks on end. Lesson learnt, I now have separate wash cloths for the face, and change the cloth after every cleanse.
Using wash cloths for cleansing your face is not only a luxurious, pampering step in your routine, but it also improves circulation, provides gentle exfoliation and leaves your face squeaky-clean and 100% makeup-free without resorting to harsh cleansers or specialised makeup removers. Ideal facial cloths are flannel, though I use muslin if I am using an exfoliating or resurfacing cleanser or following with a peel. Here are the best face cleansing cloths out there, in descending order.

Scroll down for a list of the best flannel wash cloths for cleansing your face.

Beauty Products Emptied In May 2016 and Link-up

Beauty Products Emptied In May 2016 and Link-up

Soap and Glory Cosmetopia Digest   Monday, May 30, 2016

That time of the month again - when I show you the trash take stock of the products I finished up. There are fewer products than usual this month, because I have been rotating through several products. Quite a few samples in here, though, mostly from beauty boxes. Take a look, and share your own empties' post in the link-up!

Scroll down for details on the beauty products I used up in May 2016 and for my thoughts on each.

Beauty Products Emptied in February 2016

Beauty Products Emptied in February 2016

Toner Cosmetopia Digest   Wednesday, March 02, 2016

Last month, I used only three facial products, of which two were toners and one was a sheet mask. Everything else is either bath and body or hair care. No makeup either. I indulged in several bubble baths. Hair mask treatments. Something has to give when you have to lay off your face. 

Scroll down to check out the beauty products I emptied in February 2016 and my thoughts on each. 

Soap & Glory Hair Turban

Soap & Glory Hair Turban

Soap and Glory Cosmetopia Digest   Saturday, October 10, 2015

Remember the Turbie Twists? My Mum used to swear by them. I had stuck to regular towels, because at the time, I had short, short hair - think Princess Di - and only grew it after completing my Masters'. But my hair grows very quickly (the hairdresser says it is because of two decades of constant cutting) and dries very slowly each time I wash it - if I wash my hair in the morning, it dries by bedtime. If I wash my hair at night, it is still wet the following morning. And I try to avoid heat-drying whenever possible.
I came across the Soap & Glory Hair Turban in Boots when they had a 3-for-3 offer across the brand and picked up two of these.

Scroll down for my thoughts on the Soap & Glory Hair Turban.

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Satin Lipstick in Perfect Day review, swatches

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Satin Lipstick in Perfect Day review, swatches

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Thursday, August 27, 2015

Ever bought a lipstick on an impulse, got complimented for it and then tried to repurchase only to find it out of stock? Yep, that's me.
I saw the Soap & Glory Sexy Motherpucker Lipstick in Boots and loved the shade Perfect Day - other shades I wanted were out of stock. They had a 3-for-2 offer on the brand, so I picked two of these lipsticks and a body butter on an impulse.
I wore the lipstick to Oxford Street and two SAs in Selfridges wanted to know what lipstick I was wearing. Admitting to wearing a drugstore lipstick while in Selfridges seemed like a bad idea at first, so I took refuge in a paroxysm of coughing but told the second SA it was Soap & Glory.
"Are you serious? I thought it was some expensive brand! I need it!" she said.
There was only one thing to be done.
I crossed the road and hit Boots. Out of stock. Boots at Southfields - ditto. Boots in Shaftesbury Ave - same story.
It could have been worse; at least I have two lipsticks and not just one.

Doesn't that external box remind you of Dr Strangelove?

Scroll down for swatches and review of Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Satin Lipstick in Perfect Day.

Six Drugstore Body Lotions for Summer

Six Drugstore Body Lotions for Summer

Summer Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, April 28, 2015

For silky-smooth skin.

Slathering a body butter, cream or lotion all over yourself, twice daily, is the best way to acquire silky, soft skin. All-over moisturising two times a day has made a wealth of difference to my skin in six months flat, reducing the reptilian fish-scales to just one or two dry spots, on my elbows, knees and shin. To avoid those lazy "I'll just skip today" days, keep the bottles or jars in your shower and apply as soon as you towel-dry. That way, you will need less product and it will absorb faster.
This is the season when you really don't want heavy body butters on your skin. Lighter body lotions are the way to go when the weather is hot and humid.

Here are six drugstore body lotions that will keep your skin moisturised this Summer.

Six cooling drugstore foot treatments for Spring/Summer

Six cooling drugstore foot treatments for Spring/Summer

Summer Cosmetopia Digest   Wednesday, April 08, 2015

Six drugstore options to keep your feet cool this Spring/Summer.

So I have feet that feel uncomfortably hot, especially in the night, and are extremely dry and warm all day. I get up many times to reapply foot lotion because they are burning hot, despite the room temperature set at 17C. No, it's not hormonal, it is there all the time and I have inherited it. And it ruins my already non-existent sleep.
This Spring/Summer, I am determined to break the pattern, keep my feet cool and hydrated at all times and get some decent sleep. I have stalked the drugstore aisles - offline and online - to come up with six products that are keeping my feet from boiling up.

More on the drugstore foot care products I reach for to keep my feet cool and hydrated:

Beauty products used up in April 2014

Beauty products used up in April 2014

Soaps Cosmetopia Digest   Monday, May 05, 2014

Last month, I did not use sheet masks or sachets. Usually, I go through at least two sheet masks in a month, but I stuck to the GlamGlow YouthMud Tinglexfoliate Treatment pack in April whenever my skin needed a pick-me-up.
Apart from just four products, I did not really like any of my empties for April 2014. In fact, I went through some of them over the span of a few months as they were such a pain to finish. But you will know all those details as you read on.

Here are the beauty products I used up in April 2014 and really quick reviews of each.

Soap and Glory skin care haul from Boots ME and quick thoughts

Soap and Glory skin care haul from Boots ME and quick thoughts

Soap and Glory Cosmetopia Digest   Monday, January 06, 2014

I was delighted to find Boots outlets in the Persian Gulf and even more chuffed to find they carried Soap & Glory. It was a great opportunity to stock up on essentials. Unfortunately, I find that Soap & Glory is phasing out that superb pink packaging in favour of a more serious-looking white. Whyyyyy? The pink WAS Soap & Glory. I picked up as many of the pink tubes as I could find, all with expiry dates in 2015 and beyond, but it is a losing battle. Boooo. Here are the skin care products I hauled from Soap & Glory:

September 2013 empties

September 2013 empties

Soap and Glory Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, October 01, 2013

I managed to use up a full-sized body butter for the first time ever, thanks to full-body moisturising! Here are the products I finished in September 2013:

Sulphate-free shampoo showdown II

Sulphate-free shampoo showdown II

Sulphate-free Cosmetopia Digest   Sunday, August 18, 2013

Part I of the sulphate-free shampoo comparison saw The Body Shop, TIGI, Burt's Bees and Nature's Gate battle it out - you can read the post here. Here are four more sulphate-free shampoos up for consideration.

Review: Soap & Glory Supereyes Supereyes

Review: Soap & Glory Supereyes Supereyes

Treatment Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, August 16, 2013

The perfect eye-treatment - that hydrates, deals with dark circles, fine lines and puffiness, prevents caking and oiliness and protects from the sun without causing styes - has remained elusive till date. But we all keep looking. I've been using Soap & Glory Supereyes Supereyes for a while now and here are my findings.

Huge haul: Sleek, Benefit, MUA, Soap & Glory, Dirty Works....

Huge haul: Sleek, Benefit, MUA, Soap & Glory, Dirty Works....

Soap and Glory Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Recently I came across a group called Order Makeup UK that would get UK and US brands delivered at home without all the customs-dangerous-goods-duty-lost-in-post headaches. I gave them a list of brands whose pricelists I wanted, and they actually managed to get me Dirty Works - I didn't know Dirty Works even sold outside Sainsbury's!

Review: Soap and Glory's Sexy Mother Pucker lip gloss

Review: Soap and Glory's Sexy Mother Pucker lip gloss

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Thursday, May 30, 2013

Cait Scott of Little Mrs Bow was one of the earliest beauty bloggers I followed when I began this blog. I love the cuteness of her blog, especially those ladybirds (do check them out!), and it was thanks to her reviews that I tried Girligo Body Mist (which sadly gave her a rash later). So when she asked if I could review Soap & Glory's Sexy Mother Pucker, I could hardly postpone!

Stash Show: Ten Soap and Glory stars currently being used

Stash Show: Ten Soap and Glory stars currently being used

Stash Cosmetopia Digest   Saturday, May 25, 2013

I am officially on an online shopping ban, so expect a few stash posts. Anyone who wants to join me on the ban (only online!) is welcome.

Here are 10 Soap & Glory products I'm using now:

• Flake Away: Bought the full-size after I ran through a 100ml container.
• Heel Genius: 125ml tube. Half done, and I have a full one inside!
• Glow Lotion: I love how it looks on my skin, but I tend to forget to use it.
• Girligo Body Mist: Will keep repurchasing forever!
• Supereyes Supereyes: As above (one in handbag, one in shelf).
• You Won't Believe Your Eyes: Will not repurchase. I'll explain later.
• Sexy Motherpucker: I love the tingling, so one in handbag, one in shelf.
• Five Fruits Butter: 300ml but I keep skiving off this because of laziness.
• The Righteous Butter: 100ml container. I prefer the above butter, so may not repurchase.
• Glad Hair Day Conditioner: Have around two uses left in the 200ml tube. Will definitely repurchase.

My Arch de Triumph is missing, as also the Hand Food tube and the Glad Hair Day Shampoo I got for Christmas :( They must be somewhere, since I've found the conditioner and the foot cream....
I will be reviewing the eye products and the conditioner; if there's anything else you want reviewed/a closer view of, do comment!