April Glossybox

I'm sure by now everyone has seen what came in the April box but here we go...

Review: Biore Make Up Removing Wipes and Pore Strips

Ok so picture the scene: You've rolled into the house late after a night out, you're so tired (or in my case have had one too many G&Ts) that you just fall into bed, make up and all. You wake up the next morning feeling none too pretty. Thanks to having slept in your make up, you don't look too pretty either (maybe that's just me!)

Most of the time I remain faithful to my Clinique 3 Step, but for these occasions, or even before cleansing it is so handy to have some make up removing wipes by the bed.

My favourite right now are the Biore ones. They're brilliant at getting even the most stubborn of mascara off and they don't leave that funny residue on the skin that other wipes tend to. Most importantly, they don't irritate my skin or break me out.

Sorry about the stock photo. Biore is going through a bit of a re-brand at the moment and I can't seem to find these anywhere! I'm making do with Primark wipes at the moment (they're ok but not as good as these).

Another product I'm loving from this brand are the pore strips. They're brilliant for dealing with stubborn, clogged pores that my normal cleanser can't shift.  I would definitely recommend these if, like me, you suffer with blackheads as they do leave my pores much clearer after use. Biore have released a short YouTube video on how the strips work and I thought I'd share.



You can find the make up removing wipes (£3.99) and the pore strips (£7.99) in Boots and Superdrug. Hopefully they should have stocked up by now!

Happy Sunday everyone!

:-) xxx

Sudocrem: A Mini Skincare Miracle

No, I'm actually not joking. That's right, the stuff you use on babies when they get nappy rash. No, I haven't gone mad...actually...that's debatable.

I can genuinely say I don't know what possessed me to slap this on my face before bed the other night but I'm certainly glad I did. My skin had been a bit spotty (combination of stress and flying long haul I think) but also really dry in some places so I wanted something that would treat the dryness without making the spots any worse. This happened to be in the bathroom cupboard so I dived in.

A word of warning, this stuff is really thick and REALLY white. It is not a day cream. It is not even something I'd use if there was the slightest chance that anyone would see me. I looked like I was channeling Edward Cullen, and not in a good way.

Anyway, the next morning I woke up to find my dry skin was much, much better. As an added bonus this seemed to somehow take the redness out of any breakouts. It is antiseptic, promotes healing, suitable for sensitive skin, and gives the skin moisture without that greasy feeling many intensive moisturisers have. Well that's not entirely true, your skin will feel very greasy when you apply it but this settles overnight and my skin was quite matte the next day.

The best part? It's really cheap!

I wouldn't call this my 'go to' night cream exactly(!) but it works wonders when my confused face doesn't know what skin type it wants to have.

:-) xxx

Lush Think Pink Bath Bomb

I (like pretty much everybody else) am a massive fan of Lush products. I tend to go for their super sweet, sugary scents (think Snow Fairy shower gel). This does have quite a sweet scent but with a kick of citrus. The fragrance itself, according to Lush is a combination of Tonka and Vanilla but with a hit of Neroli. I've been putting off using this one purely because the scent is a mixture of comforting and uplifting and had been making my room smell lovely!  Since Lush products do have a shelf life it did need using.

It fizzes away in the bath and turns the water a pretty pink. What I was not expecting was the tiny pink and lavender love heart shaped confetti that fizzes out and fills the bath. I tend to only take baths in times of dire distress and upon finding myself in a pink bath surrounded by little love hearts, I decided that life was pretty damn good after all! Another little surprise with this product was the moisture it gives the skin. Normally if my skin is a bit dry I tend to go for a Lush bath melt but this really did the trick on the more dry areas such as my elbows.

The only downside I found was the tragic loss of one of the flowers on the top (there's supposed to be three). Lush products are all handmade though so occasionally you will find little 'flaws' such as this and really it's no biggie.

I'd definitely repurchase this product, it makes for the perfect Spring bath.

:-) xxx

Review: Maybelline Dream Nude Airfoam Foundation

OK so I wrote this post a few weeks ago and have been stalling to put it up as it isn't exactly a rave review...actually, it's quite the opposite.  Can I just say that normally I'm a big fan of Maybelline cosmetics, this just really didn't float my boat I'm afraid.  Anyway, on with the post.

Now I’m usually a fan of a fuller coverage when it comes to foundation so you can imagine my surprise when I found this in my Boots carrier bag.  I’m at a bit of a loss to explain how it came to be there.  Having spent quite some time thinking about this, I’ve come to the following conclusions:

1. My skin had been better than usual and I maybe thought that light coverage would now work for me.
2. Summer is on the way, and who needs heavy foundation in summer right?
3. It was a mousse. I fell for the gimmick.
4. I walked into Boots and blacked out.

Now lets face it, as a lover of Revlon Colourstay, I was never going to like this product.  The thing is, even if I was more of a ‘barely there’ kind of girl, I’d still not be loving this.  I wouldn’t call this light coverage; I’d call it zero coverage.  The other problem with this is the amount of product it dispenses, because it’s a mousse (think what you put on your hair) it’s not very easy to control the amount that comes out with each pump.  This means that half of what does come out ends up wasted.  Not economical at all.  If your skin is so good that you can get away with this kind of foundation then here’s my advice: spend the extra 2 minutes in bed in the morning and skip foundation altogether.  Also, I’m jealous of you. There are so many amazing lighter coverage foundations/ tinted moisturisers/ BB creams on the market for the same money. I just think that this product is all gimmick and does absolutely nothing for the skin.

Sorry for the kind of negative review, as always with foundation I’m sure this works wonders for some (maybe), but just not for me.

:-) xxx

I Heart MUA

For those of you that haven't heard of MUA, it's Superdrug's £1 make up brand. I've bought a few goodies from them before and have been amazed at the quality of the products for such a low price.

On a recent trip back to see The Parents (my local Superdrug doesn't stock it. Boo.) I picked up these little lovelies

There's been a lot of hype surrounding the MUA Love Hearts collection and unfortunately I think I picked up the few remaining products and as far as I know the collection is no longer available.

I got 2 nail polishes in the shades 'Love U 24/7' and 'U R Fab'.  Let's face it, any product that tells me I'm 'Fab' is going to get purchased!

I have to admit that I didn't really have high hopes for the formulation of these but I was prepared to cope with the chipping/peeling/general 'naff' feeling of them on account of the colours being so pretty. On application I was pleasantly surprised. They were both opaque after 2 coats and they seriously LAST.

Wearing 'Love U 24/7' with a coat of Miss Sporty Sparkle Touch over the top.

These polishes were a little more expensive (I think they were £2.50 each) but for the money I was very very impressed.

My final MUA purchase is one I just can't stop looking at...

Ooooooh.....

This is the MUA Professional Mosaic Blusher In English Rose. MUA Professional are slightly more expensive and this was £2.50, yeah I know, the word 'expensive' is applied loosely here. This is such a beautiful product consisting of a mosaic print of lighter peaches, pinks, pure shimmer, lilac, and rose coloured powders.  The pan is big enough to get a good 'swirl' going on with your brush and it looks a pretty, shimmery light rosy pink on the cheeks. OK so obviously the colour payoff is not going to be amazing but it's buildable and not chalky at all. Because of this it's really quite foolproof and great for anyone just starting out with make up or those that aren't too confident applying blusher. This gets at least a weekly use from me and although not my go-to blush (as I have quite a few) I do open it just to stare at it on a daily basis...simple pleasures and all.

You can find MUA products at Superdrug and if you haven't already I really recommend checking them out.

:-) xxx

Review: Clinique High Lengths Mascara

Be warned.  I’m about to rave.  I’ve been using this for a good month now and think it may be my new make up love.

I first received the product in sample size as a free gift with another purchase and put off using it for a little while due to the…well…weirdness of the brush.

Usually I tend to go for the fuller natural bristle mascara wands so I really didn’t think this would be for me.  The brush is entirely plastic, curved, for some reason lime green and the bristles are tiny.  To be honest I just thought this was one of those odd shaped gimmicky mascara wands that come out from time to time but don’t really do anything for the lashes.  Well this was all until I went to see my parents for the weekend, forgot my usual mascara, and was forced to use this.  I honestly can’t rave about this enough.  Not only does it do exactly what it says on the tin/tube and give my lashes amazing length but it also gives lots and lots of volume.  Now for some reason, most mascaras seem to do either one or the other. I don’t know why but many cosmetics companies have not yet cottoned on to the fact that we girls want both.  This doesn’t claim to give volume but trust me, it does.  I will warn you however, I’m not the kind of girl that wants her lashes to look in any way natural.  Unlike many, this doesn’t clump and does a pretty good job of separating the lashes but it doesn’t exactly look ‘barely there’. This is why I love it. Anyway I’ve spent some time freaking myself out looking at photos of my own eye so I can show you what it does for my lashes:

I have a feeling this will be repurchased…a lot.

Happy Friday everyone!

:-) xxx

March Glossybox: The Harrods Edition

After the last 2 months’ Glossyboxes not having been much to write home about, this little gem landed on my doormat on Saturday

For anyone that is already subscribed to this you will have seen the hype begin in last month’s box and continue throughout the month on Facebook and Twitter.  I have to say that this was a brilliant bit of marketing and when all was revealed I could totally understand all the fuss.  All the products included in the box can be found in the Harrods beauty hall.  This means all the products are super high end and really quite ‘faancy’. Well for me anyway!

Wanna see what I got?

Molton Brown Heavenly Gingerlilly Moisture Bath and Shower

This. Smells. Amazing.  I’m saving it for an impending trip to Canada to see the boyf in a week so the travel size will come in rather handy.

YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum

Ok I’m not getting any younger so this can only do good things.  I’ve wanted to try a serum for a while so I’ll keep you posted.

Clarins Extra Firming Body Cream

I’ve already tried this and I have to say that I’m a little bit in love.  It makes my skin feel so soft and smells of cucumbers.  A definite win.

Burberry Beauty Lip Mist in Copper No 202

This is just so cute! The formula is more like a balm than a lipstick which makes it ultra wearable.  The colour is not really all that ‘me’ but I may keep it just to look at the pretty packaging now and again.

Narciso Rodriguez For Her Eau De Parfum

 The standard perfume sample.  I hate to be controversial but I quite like getting a perfume in my Glossybox.  Firstly it’s always good to try a new scent and they're also handy for taking out and about.

I do love a special edition Glossybox and this is right up there with the December box.  Whilst there were no full sized products, everything I received was high end and to me, this is what Glossybox is all about. It’s a great chance to try some things I wouldn’t normally fork out full price for.  Having said that, I’d definitely look into the Clarins Extra Firming Body Cream, and may be putting the Molton Brown bath and shower gel on my birthday list.

All in all this little lovely brightened up what happened to be a very dull and dreary Saturday morning.

It's always nice to get things in the post :-) xxx

Latest In Beauty: The £1 Beauty Box

The box didn't arrive ripped: I had to take off my address and then got a bit over excited trying to get into it!

Before the likes of Glossybox, Boudoir Prive etc there was the little box by Latest in Beauty.  The whole thing works a lot differently to the aforementioned boxes.  For a start, the samples are much, much smaller (think of the free stuff you'd get in a magazine).  Secondly, the box only costs £1!  What you do is log in and choose 3 products from the lists you're given.  You then send a text to the company (this is how you pay the pound, it will be added to your phone bill at the end of the month), enter the code they give you and Bob's your uncle!  The box is shipped in a few days (it's usually pretty fast).

I've been receiving these for a couple of years now.  There's no monthly subscription and you can order your box as and when you want it, providing you only order one a month.  Sometimes I'll go on the website and not find anything I fancy so won't bother that month.  Also, anything you can get free at the department store counter is not really worth paying to try.

Anyway, this month I found 3 products I fancied trying, so here they are...

I've heard some good things about the Moa 'Green Balm' and really wanted to give it a try.  It came in a teeny tiny little pot but a little goes a long way so it'll last a while.  I have to say this is my favorite product from the box and will definitely be looking into getting the full size.

The only problem I have is that the site isn't the easiest to navigate and some of the products seem a bit old fashioned.  Also, it's not all that easy to find out the prices of the full size products which is blimmin annoying to be honest.

Despite all that, it's definitely a company to try if you're into the whole beauty box idea but don't want to be to spending £12.95 a month. If you want to have a look, click here

xxx

p.s. Once again, I haven't been sponsored for this post and I paid the whole £1 for the box myself :-)

Review: Collection 2000 Smokey Eyes Eye Palette

So a few weeks ago I was mooching around Boots, looking for birthday present ideas for my housemate when I came across this little lovely.  Now to be honest, I've never been a huge fan of Collection 2000.  I feel that there are other affordable brands that just seem to do it better (Sleek anyone?).  Unfortunately I live in the middle of nowhere and you have to pretty much make do with what you can get on the high street in my town!  The girl I was buying for doesn't tend to wear a lot of make up (she's one of those annoying people that doesn't really need it).  So I was looking for an affordable palette for beginners that contained colours that were wearable and not intimidating.  This seemed to tick all those boxes, plus it comes with a handy set of instructions for application.  All that and it retails for £4.19, meaning I could buy her lots of other pretty things to go with it.  Not bad.  Not bad at all.  I had high hopes...

The palette comes with 3 medium shades, 3 dark, 2 light shades and a cream highlighter.  Cue swatches...

Top Row

Middle Row

Bottom Row

I couldn't get a swatch of the highlighter to show on camera, maybe it's my camera, maybe it was the lighting. It was probably both!

The colours themselves are very wearable and (unlike many shadow sets) there is no 'dodgy color' that will never get worn.  The shimmery shades tend to be stronger and feel better quality.  The main drawback is that the texture is a little chalky leading to quite a bit of fallout.  I'm also a bit confused by the cream highlighter...the instructions suggest putting it in the inner corners however it's texture is...well...a bit greasy(!?) I'm just not sure I'd want that anywhere near my eyes.  From looking at it, it seems to be intended as a dupe for Benefit's Eye Bright and I didn't like that either so maybe it's just me.

All in all, the quality is not the best.  It's not going to be rivaling anything by MAC anytime soon, but at £4.19 with such a wearable colour range and nifty instructions on the back, it's perfect for anyone just starting with make-up or that wants to experiment with smokey eyes.

xxx