Make Up Confidential

So it's my first ever 'Ins & Outs' post, I'm going to try and do them every month as I love reading these posts. I hope everyone had a good June :)

Ins

1. TRESemme Instant Refresh Dry Shampoo - This really is better than Batiste to me, it smells better and it's less 'powdery'. I don't really use it for its purpose as I wash my hair every day anyway, but it's great to add a bit of volume or to refresh at the end of the day.

2. Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream - I've loved this product for years but this month I've been using it nearly everyday for a lip balm and it's great. I tend to put it on at night and my lips are really soft the next day.

3. Avon Mattifying Mineral Face Cream SPF 30 -  I was attracted to this product as it said 'mattifying' and I have very oily skin, especially in the summer. I've been using it everyday on top of my moistuiser, it sinks in really quickly and I haven't noticed my skin becoming any oilier or my foundation lasting any less cause of a build up of product.

4. Leighton Denny Crystal Nail File - I really love this! It's without doubt the best nail file I've tried., and I've tried a lot. It makes filing your nails so quick and easy and has a lifetime guarantee!

5. Nubar 2010 - This nail varnish is amazing, it's really hard to describe. I think I'm going to do a blog post about it with photos. It's a top coat and when applied sort of looks like gold flecks that change colour in the light.

6. ELF powder brush - I've only had this for about a week so maybe it shouldn't be in here but I've loved using it. I use it to apply my foundation and then power. It's such a great brush for full coverage. It's really soft and dense and best of all it only cost £3.50.

7. ELF Luscious Liquid Lipstick (Baby Lips) - Again I've only had this for a week but it's also great. It's a really nice colour, not sticky at all and has a peppermint flavour. The applicator makes it really easy to apply too. I wish I'd got more!

Outs

Only a few things this month and they're all hair products!

1. John Frieda Go Blonder Lightening Spray - So this was a bit of a disaster product, I think. I can't say for sure. I had been using this for about a week on my roots, as they needed dying. It worked really well, they were definitely lighter. However when I then dyed my hair, the same way as I have done for well over a year now, my roots turned a gingery/brassy blonde. This product is the only reason that I can think of that caused this. Maybe you're not supposed to use it before dying? Has anyone else experienced this? I pretty much have a full bottle left now and I'm not sure if I want to use it again!

2. Umberto Giannini Backcomb In A Bottle - I was really hoping a lot of this product, but it was disappointing. To me it's just like spraying hairspray on your roots. It leaves them felling sticky and hard, and the volume doesn't last more then 5 minutes for me. Maybe I'm using wrong, I'm not sure. I followed the instructions but it just doesn't work for me.

3. Dark and Lovely Ultra Cholesterol Mask - This may seem and odd product for me to buy as I have blonde hair but I had seen SWalkrmakeup recommend it (I think) and my friend told me it should work brilliantly on my hair. It really doesn't. It doesn't feel like a mask at all and leaves my hair feeling quite dry and course. The consistency of the product is really thick and creamy so I thought it would be great but as soon I washed it off I could already feel my hair wasn't as soft as normal. Then on drying it it seemed dryer and in worse condition than when just using a normal conditioner.

So that was June! It was an exciting month for me as I started blogging! I'm so glad I did and I can't believe I have 26 followers now! I thought I'd be writing to myself for a while. Thanks to everyone for following and reading, it means a lot.