I’ve recently stopped my monthly Witch Casket, mainly so I have time to use items up and just enjoy a break. And as I used to get monthly beauty boxes but haven’t for 18mths, I thought I would go back to my favourite one, it’s £13.00 a month if you have a 12mth subscription or £15.00 one off a month.

My skin is needing some extra loving care, and my hair with perimenopause and bleach/colouring can always do with a bit of spoiling. As I confess I’m a lazy ass maintenance girl, especially over summer months, opting to camp, hike and just generally be outdoors.

L’Oréal Vitamino Color Shampoo £16.30 for 300ml, we get 100ml so around £5.43 for this amount Available here

Boost your hair’s vibrancy with the L’Oréal Professionnel Serie Expert Vitamino Color Shampoo. The professional shampoo works to boost the radiance of colour-treated hair for long-lasting, salon-worthy results.

The formula is enriched with resveratrol, a potent antioxidant inspired by skincare, to help nourish and protect hair. Boasting colour protection for up to 8 weeks, it promotes soft and replenished hair with a healthy-looking shine.

L’Oréal Vitamino Color mask £25.80 for 250ml we get 75ml so around £7.81 worth Available here

Boost your hair’s colour vibrancy with the L’Oréal Professionnel Serie Expert Vitamino Color Mask. Designed for colour-treated hair, the rinse-out treatment works to gently eliminate impurities and protect against colour fading.

Enriched resveratrol, a powerful antioxidant, the creamy-textured formula nourishes hair from root to tip, helping to strengthen and soften. Boasting results in just three minutes, the hair mask promotes brighter and more radiant-looking hair.

Frank Body Caffeinated Scalp Scrub 125ml for £15.00 Available here

For the babe who wants healthy hair but hasn’t considered the skin it grows from: start with my Caffeinated Scalp Scrub. Made with clean, ingredients like coffee and rosemary, this physical exfoliant removes product build up and dead skin cells for a healthier scalp. Just like my face scrub reveals clean, clear skin, my vegan scalp scrub gets rid of the excess dirt, oil, and impurities gathered at your roots. Scalp care is skincare, after all.

Tip: On days when you’re not physically scrubbing, use my Exfoliating Scalp Serum as an overnight or 10 minute scalp treatment.

Elemis Super food Midnight Facial 15ml £17.00 Available here

Wake up to your dreamiest skin ever with this luxurious sleeping cream. Perfect for all skin types, this balancing Prebiotic gel-cream works through the night to drench dull-looking skin in a cocoon of nourishing hydration. The indulgent formula is infused with Camu Camu, a well-known source of Vitamin C, and Cocoa Butter which contains Omega 6 & 9 Fatty Acids, known to provide skin with essential moisture. Considered a rich source of fibre, vitamins and minerals, this silky cream also contains Banana Flower Extract, offering hydrating and Prebiotic properties. Light enough for daily use yet decadent enough to feel like a treat, this bedtime beauty minimises the visible signs of fatigue and helps improve the appearance of skin tone. The complexion is left looking radiant and replenished with moisture.

Ciate Marbled Metals Moonshine 2g £22.00 Available here

Multi-reflective, dazzling eye looks are at your fingertips with Marbled Metals Metallic-Glitter Shadows. Velvety to touch, the unique marbled powder formula feels like a cream shadow and applies to the lid with vivid, full coverage sparkle for maximum impact.

Peter Thomas Roth is £35.65 for 30ml, we get 5ml this is worth £5.94 Available here

Firms and smoothes the under-eye area instantly to reduce the appearance of crow’s feet, fine lines, deep wrinkles and swelling.

Application:

Start by cleansing with an oil-free cleanser. Make sure skin is completely dry. Do not use cream around the eye area. Shake the tube. Apply a pea-sized amount to the top of the hand. Using a make-up brush, pick up a tiny amount of the product.
Using upward strokes, spread a thin layer of the gel underneath the eyes for puffiness, over the crow’s feet area, over the “11” lines between the brows, and beneath and above the brow bone (but not on the moveable eyelid).
Let the product dry for approximately five minutes while remaining completely expressionless. Do not squint or smile.
When product is completely dry, feel free to apply powder or gently pat on foundation

Peter Thomas Roth instant fix primer 2ml sample, to buy 30ml it’s £40.00 Available here

No-filter primer instantly tightens, firms and blurs the look of skin for flawless makeup application, temporarily reducing the look of fine lines, pores and imperfections. Easy to use for everyday wear and suitable for all skin tones and types, even those with less advanced signs of aging.

I love the new style boxes, easier to reuse for other purposes, though obviously not as pretty as they used to be. But as the world becomes more ethical, and environmental it’s a good move.

Completely by accident I found the most beautiful make up, thanks to Lunalily’s Video Here She has bought Casper make up, but I stumbled upon this set Rituals, and it was all £1 each as in a sale, apart from one box was £2.50

This box was £2.50 it has Face Gems, Eyeshadow Quad, Black Liquid Lipstick, and Maleficent Style Headband

No real reason for buying this, but I’m thinking it’s perfect for next year’s Whitby goth weekend, a perfect lipstick to wear. Festival season always good with face gems, and who doesn’t want to be Maleficent.

A couple of loose glitters, pink with silver, and a white iridescent green, purple shifts. These were £1 each.

Beautiful frosted highlighter, golden hues, feels super creamy and I’d probably use as a eyeshadow more. Also £1

Another highlighter white frosted style with pinky purple shift. Also £1

A black creamy lipstick, shaped like a double pointed crystal, perfect for a crystal lover like myself. A gorgeous black too and not drying. This too was £1.

Loved finding these by accident and getting to try out some more adventurous make up for £1 and a whole new brand to try too.

Usually each Halloween I like to make sure I buy some new gothic, Halloween’s, horror make up. And this year I opted for the Plouise Sept budget box which arrived second week of October. (Exactly while we were away and busy) so sadly it couldn’t be used or taken on holiday)

It was a mystery which of the two Hocus Pocus Halloween palettes you’d get, but you’d get one palette and some lip balm and oil. (I gave those away to my daughter so I can’t review or show here) the budget box cost £30 but the palette alone is £35 with other products ranging from £10 to £18 each making the value of the box over £50 so worth taking the risk on.

Using photos from their website, so photo credit to Plouise to show their palette off as it should be viewed. It’s stunning!!

I got the Hocus Pocus palette Available here Photo credit to Plouise

Photo credit to Plouise

Photo credit to Plouise

It has a metal heart lock and key, you have to unlock the padlock to gain entry. Palette is shaped like a bound book, with a huge mirror and 18 shades on the front. Turn the book over and open at the back you have another huge full length mirror and another 18 shades, we have shimmers, Matte, and Glitters, with transition shades too. Huge value for money.

A droplet of magic palette, photo credit to Plouise

Photo credit to Plouise

Photo credit to Plousie

Honestly I would have preferred the Black book as some shades are so like my Jeffree Star Cremated Palette, and it’s darker over all, but I will either buy it at a later date, using black Friday deals, or just brave some colours for once!

Swatches of my Hocus Pocus front of the palette. Bare skin, one swipe.

Back of the palette, Bare skin and one swipe

I will say they can stain pretty bad, especially reds and purples, took some shifting with make up wipes. But all deep reds and purples stain.

Not the best photos but I’m new to that. I used the colours Grave Danger an orange, and Spell Check the gold glitter. Ghoul gang darkest burgundy for eye liner.

Browsing tiktok as you do, I spotted a video by Kaima Cosmetics, and I fell in love with the DuoChrome shifting glitters and treated myself to 3. I got Mystical, Mystical New, and Memmaze. I ordered them Monday 2nd October and they arrived 3rd October!! How fast was that!

No primer or base, Daylight indoors

No primer or base, Daylight indoors

Daylight indoors

Daylight outside

Daylight indoors

Yellow shift Memmaze Blue Shift Mystical New

Burgundy Shift Mystical

Daylight indoors cool enhanced to show sparkle

I’ve ordered some eye primer to help create a better base for the eyes, to be under this glitter. They all shimmer and shift so much under lights and daylight, I can’t wait to wear them out.

This has a primer underneath. Still not as punchy as I had hoped.

Perhaps I need a good glitter adhesive? I’ve got one coming from ebay.

Photo credit to Kaima Cosmetics. These are the three I have bought. It clearly needs a adhesive.

I’ve not bought new beauty items for so so long, I think I’ve forgotten how to girl. We have a holiday booked in October, so I decided to grab some bits to make myself feel a bit holiday special.

First up I wanted some false nails, and with spooky season coming up, I got some Gothic, Witchy, Halloweenie style nails from Shein.

Available Here I got 2 packs, as these are a great everyday shape and length.

Available Here this represents me well, I love black and pink, goth but cute too.

Available Here aren’t they cute? Scream franchise a favourite.

Available Here classic Halloween,samhain nails.

Available Here possibly my favourite ones.

Available Here simple but striking.

Available Here I bought 2 sets, I couldn’t resist!

Available Here again bought 2 sets, love the simple yet classic nature.

So that’s 11 new sets. And I absolutely LOVE them.

Next up is a whole TikTok made me buy it. I’ve always been faithful to Real Techniques Beauty Blender, but when I saw Coco by Chloe Marshmallow Sponge on TikTok I knew I had to try!

Available Here if you buy from here I would get a small comission.

Although I’ve linked it via my own tiktok shop, it’s also available here Here direct from Coco by Chloe. This sponge has been the BEST I’ve ever used, it’s so soft, bouncy, meant to be used damp. And it’s fast, a few bounces and your whole face is done, and with less product needed too, as it doesn’t sup it all up! I won’t go back to a standard sponge again, lifelong convert.

With trying to be a bit more put together, instead of constant slob status. I got myself some cluster lashes. I’m absolutely hopeless at normal lashes, so I was hoping this would be easier. I got a full kit off TikTok.

Available Here if you click to buy here I would get a small comission.

You can click the link above and I would get a small comission, or head to Amazon and buy Here. As I’m a complete newbie it wasn’t quick for me, took me well over an hour to get it right, but it’s my first attempt, and I know the technique now, so sure to get faster. Nice budget ones to practise with. Love the way you can decide to be more or less dramatic with them.

Another trip to Primark had me hunting the shelves down, to either possibly re buy the Vitamin C serum or Hyaluronic acid serum, as these two so far have been the favourites.

£3.50 for 25ml I find it on par with my The Ordinary Niacinamide which is £5.00 for 30ml

Niacinamide is a water-soluble form of vitamin B, renowned for its brilliant skin calming properties. Ideal for targeting imperfections or soothing signs of irritation and redness.

I get a lot of redness at times, so I do enjoy having a niacinamide in my routine. I do feel I notice the redness less, and less dryness on the nose bridge when I use this.

£3.50 for 25ml I haven’t ever used one before, so I’m unsure of what it dupes.

Salicylic Acid is a beta hydroxy acid derived from willow bark, best known for its skin clearing benefits. Used for targeting impurities, breakouts, excess oil production and enlarged pores, it can help to reduce spots and clear imperfections.

Since I’ve started the Perimenopause my skin has been more unpredictable, and I’ve had recent breakouts like I’m a teen again. Mix in a few drops with your favourite moisturizer and let it fully absorb. I love how they all seem to complement eachother and work well combined.

Hyaluronic acid serum, Low and High Molecular Weight £5.00 for 30ml different feel and colour bottle to the previous one I bought.

This Hyaluronic Acid Super Serum is in a White bottle, with a cloudy opaque serum, instead of an Amber bottle and clear liquid. It’s also 5ml larger and £1.50 dearer. But it feels divine, like cucumber fresh or aloe Vera on the skin, it’s cooling, smooth and refreshing. My thirsty skin loves this.

Since they’ve introduced this skincare range, it’s ignited a passion into my skin routine, and desire to test them out. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed learning new things about my skin and what each of these products do.

Did a mini haul on look fantastic this month for much needed pieces. I don’t get much, as I like to truly use them and not store millions of make up, all barely used.

£11.99 Available here

Correct and neutralise to achieve a flawless complexion with the L’Oreal Paris C’est Magic CC Cream in Anti-Redness. The anti-redness CC cream adapts to your natural skin tone with Smart Pigment Capsules suspended in a lightweight hydrator, that transforms into a foundation on contact with the skin. The weightless-feel CC cream creates a perfect nude-skin look with a buildable, lightweight coverage. Watch the Magic CC cream adapt when applied to the skin to correct and cover.

The formula is enriched with Glycerin and Fig extracts to provide up to 24 hours of hydration. Pro-vitamin B5 and Vitamin E create a refreshing anti-oxidant mix to strengthen the skin’s natural defences and fight the effects of environmental aggressors. The CC cream provides essential SPF20 protection to help prevent premature ageing. Protect, perfect and correct with this all-in-one CC cream!

I have redness all the time, and I don’t like full coverage foundation as I’ve got older and more wrinkles. This is light weight and easy to use formula.

£2.24 Available here

Tame unruly brows with the Wet n’ Wild Color Icon Brow Pencil. The convenient brush means that you can smooth out unruly stray hairs before applying colour, making the brow pencil suitable for even the most rebellious, thick eyebrows. The creamy, lightweight pencil glides over the skin, filling in any sparse areas and creating the perfect arches. The pigmented eyebrow pencil can even be used to draw eyebrows on from scratch, as thin, subtle brush strokes are easily achievable.

Vegan and cruelty free.

I mostly use dark brown eyeshadow, but when camping and car camping I wanted something easier to pack, and less heavy to wear. This fit the bill perfectly, and I’ve never had Wet and Wild before.

£4.29 Available here

Nourish and strengthen your lashes with the Wet n’ Wild Mega Protein Mascara. This conditioning mascara will help get your lashes back into shape, infused with Soy and Wheat proteins to reinforce the hair structure and promote healthy growth. Acai oil nourishes to leave your lashes with a healthy shine, while D-Panthenol helps to add elasticity back into fragile lashes to help prevent breakage caused by curling, makeup removal and regular mascara wear.

Cruelty free.

Love this little Mascara, again a great lightweight item I can pack to go off on adventures. Not as long and thick as some mascaras, but it’s a perfect day wear mascara for me.

I’ve bought a few new pieces of Skincare from Primark, watched some good things and just a general life update.

It’s still super wet, cold and not feeling like May at all. We’ve had the Flower Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse. We should be out drinking to the sunsets, but it’s still cosy movies with hot chocolate here.

£4.50 for 25ml it’s a amber bottle with dropper.

First up from Primark is SPF30 moisturing serum drops (laughable as so rainy) SPF 30 moisturising drops with argan oil and Vitamin E. Work to prep & perfect your skin with this lightweight moisturising serum. This antioxidant-infused serum can be used alone or as part of your daily skincare routine. I personally find it a tad greasy, but I’m new to it, so will give it longer and try some make up on top as I have only used it alone so far.

£5.00 for 30ml usual lotion tube, I did expect the same amber bottle as the others.

Ceramide Night Treatment It’s crafted with ceramides, an ingredient that helps prevent moisture from escaping the skin, as well as hyaluronic acid, helping this sheet mask to plump and hydrate for a visibly smooth complexion. It’s a beautiful more luxurious cream perfect for night, let the face truly drinks it in. One to repurchase for sure.

£4.00 for 200ml lotion tube. I paid £2.00.

I couldn’t find Primarks write up on it. However most Glycolics do the same job. Glycolic Body Cream, Containing Glycolic Acid, this body cream visibly improves the appearance of skin tone and texture, which helps skin look renewed.

What is it good for?

Skin looks brighter.
Skin appears more radiant.
Skin looks renewed.
Just what my body needs to shed it’s winter dull lackluster look. Smells divine and feels like it sinks in quickly, so you don’t stay tacky.

That’s the new buys from Primark. I’m sure I will be back for more when I can.

Who doesn’t love listening to Taylor Swift, perfect reading music for the background. Disney+ special sees Taylor Swift along with co-producers Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff come together for the first time to perform the critically acclaimed number one smash-hit album, “Folklore”. They created the album during the lockdown, and they made the album from their homes.

Wendy Darling, a young girl looking to avoid boarding school, meets Peter Pan, a boy who refuses to grow up. Wendy, her brothers, and Tinker Bell travel with Peter to the magical world of Neverland, where she encounters an evil pirate captain. Not a fan of Peter Pan usually but it was well done, and I loved it.

Four survivors of the Ghostface murders leave Woodsboro behind for a fresh start in New York City. However, they soon find themselves in a fight for their lives when a new killer embarks on a bloody rampage. Probably my favourite one, though now I have an excuse to re watch them all.

This month is now about to be filled with Custom insoles to be fitted, Micats for my other hand, dental surgery, then a review on x-rays for spine, and review for x-rays on hand. It’s a full time job with all these hospitals, appointments, and specialists. I can only hope they all go as well as they can do.

I had been struggling to find my usual hair dye #Stargazer Magenta so I wanted to try a new dye, as my ends were going pretty orangey. And Sophie Hannah is a youtuber I watch and enjoy, so seeing her brand being no mess and kind for the hair I was sold on it. Buy here

Transform your hair with our Bubblegum Pink conditioning semi-permanent colour. It’ll leave your hair feeling silky soft, looking smooth and smelling great. Think of it as a 2-in-1 hair colour and mask.
Key Ingredients:
Vitamin B5 – provides long lasting moisture, strengthens against breakage & improves manageability
Coconut Oil – helps to smooth the cuticle, protects the hair and enhances colour absorption
Rice Protein – a natural alternative to traditional volumising agents. Helps improve hair manageability, shine, volume and provides moisture and strength
Hydrolysed Quinoa – superfood ingredient helping to preserve and retain your colour
Free from PPD, Resorcinol and Ammonia
Vegan, Cruelty Free and Sustainable.

Recommended for light blonde to medium blonde hair.

Bottle Size – 250ml / 8.45 fl. oz.


Ingredients
Aqua, Cetearyl Alcohol, Propylene Glycol, Peg-90M, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetrimonium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Sodium PCA, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Parfum, Hydrolyzed Quinoa, Quaternium-80, Panthenol, Sodium Carrageenan, Hydrolyzed Rice Protein, Basic Red 51, Ethylhexylglycerin, Benzyl Salicylate, Citronellol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool

While it covered the orange and made it more Rose Gold, the pink wasn’t bright enough to truly cover, as my underneath wasn’t bleached enough. On the more blond parts it popped so bright and lovely!!

The smell of the dye is beautiful, it feels like a conditioner, it didn’t stain the skin, didn’t create a mess anywhere and it was a joy to use. Would I buy again, ABSOLUTELY. 10 out of 10 for condition of hair and the zero mess, or hassle of using. 7 out of 10 for colour on my darker parts. I think the Strawberry Twist one would actually be better suited for me, so I’m eagerly awaiting it to come back into stock!

Upon the prospect of surgery, I knew my skin would need ALL the help it could get. And one cream stands well above all the others, #Ameliorate Transforming Body Lotion.

Designed to exfoliate and condition skin, the Transforming Body Lotion (Fragrance-Free) from AMELIORATE is enriched with lactic acid to help gently remove dead cells and refine the appearance of pores.

Infused with a unique blend of the brand’s LaH6 skin hydration complex, alpha hydroxy therapy and sweet almond oil, the potent formula delivers long-lasting moisture, smoothness and suppleness to dry skin. 87% agreed that the appearance of their skin had improved and felt softer and smoother. Featuring a lightweight, fast-absorbing texture, the potent everyday body lotion promotes an even-looking complexion. The fragrance-free formula is suitable for all skin types and safe to use on the face.

Cruelty-free.

*not my skin* but from their website to show difference.

After multiple surgeries and wearing TED compression stockings I can 100% RECOMMEND this, it does exactly what it claims to do. Hands down its the greatest skincare I’ve ever used and I’ve bought it multiple times.

I love it so much, I’ve bought the spray version too, so it’s easier to apply while I have a hand in a cast (following my latest surgery)

After the complete failure of #Maybeline 24 stay foundation powder (we all saw the gurus advertise on tiktok!) I needed a good foundation but not heavy coverage, as I have mature skin, is wrinkles and dry patches. I managed to get my foundation powder to work with a foundation brush and less is more. However I saw this available, and wanted to try this, and feeling influenced by actual bloggers I know, I decided to give it a go. #ITCosmeticsCCCream

Perfect your complexion with IT Cosmetics’ CC+ Cream, designed to hydrate and nourish. Acting as both a full-coverage foundation and concealer, the formula encourages an airbrushed appearance, promoting a flawless look that resists creasing and cracking.

The CC cream is fortified with hydrolysed collagen, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, peptides, vitamins and antioxidants, meaning it’s full of skin-loving goodness. Working to improve the look of lines while disguising pores, dark circles, and an uneven skin tone, your complexion will seem refined and visibly luminous.

Topped off with SPF 50, the cream also protects against the sun’s UV rays.

I really liked this, again for me less is more, it has a scent of spas to me, so if scents bother you, try a small one like I did before you go into the big one. However it’s a pleasant scent and subtle. The creaminess is lovely, and covers my redness and dryness well. I would definitely buy again, but I think I will try #Erborian next to test against this one.

Nourish and firm skin with the L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Day Cream SPF30, designed to generate a more youthful appearance. Expertly formulated with Pro-Retinol A and Elasti-Flex, known to improve skin’s elasticity, this extravagantly hydrating balm provides skin with the resilience to resist easy damage, allowing fresher looks to last longer.

The SPF 30 will provide protection from UVA and UVB rays, which can cause premature ageing. Skin will be left looking even-toned, with a balanced surface- layer. C.R

My face is feeling parched and dry, almost chapped. I’m probably still dehydrated from surgery 2 weeks ago. I can’t really wear make up, not easy with 1 hand. But feeding my skin at night with this cream, feels like a mini pamper. It’s thick without feeling claggy, it sinks in quickly and skin feels beautiful in the morning. For such a cheap cream it is amazing. A skin hero for the face for sure.