A Little Review of HD Brows palette in Vamp...

This is a review of the HD Brows palette that i recieved on my September Glossybox. The RRP is £19.95.

First off, i am quite a fan of the packaging- sleek, smart, and expensive looking. The perfect size for travel with a nice big mirror inside. The product itself contains 4 powders- a highlight shade (very similar to Macs Brulee), 2 brow colours, and a dark colour that can all double up as eyeshadows. All are matte, except for the the dark 'carbon' shade which is matte with glitter.

The shadows are a nice smooth texture, which are easy to blend, and the choice of brow colours are a cool toned brown 'dark brown' -very similar to my brow colour of choice, Macs Mystery, and a warm toned brown called 'rich brown'. Most people will find due to skin tone, they will only be able to use one of these on the brows.

As eye shadows i like these a lot. Perfect for neutral, everyday looks and perfect for travel/ chucking in your make up bag as a multi tasker. The palette does come with a double ended brush which is of no use as far as im concerned :)

Overall, i do really like this product but think the £19.95 price tag is perhaps a little excessive.

4/5

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A little Review of Soap & Glory Daily Double...

It's probably a long time coming, but the ever popular skincare brand Soap & Glory have launched a make up range in Boots. To be honest, i have never used a Soap & Glory product before- due to sensitive skin i just avoid anything with scent.
The make range on the other hand did interest me. The stand had a full range of products, in my opinion pitching itself as a more affordable Benefit. Having said that, for a 'drugstore' brand it was still on the pricey side.

So, one of the items i picked to try was the Daily Double all day colour lidshadow and linerstick pencil (bit of a mouthful!) in velvet pink/brownie. Basically a double ended jumbo pencil. From the above picture you can see the pigmentation is very good. A nice solid colour, and velvety almost powder like texture. The staying power of this product is VERY good- a swatch on my hand was still visable a day later after trying everything to remove it.

On the eyes this applies very well, and it's nicely blendable. The darker colour is supposed to be used for liner, but this is near impossible due to the hugeness of the pencil-it allows for no precision or neatness. I ended up using this as a corner and crease colour, with a different liner and it worked perfectly.

Because the product dries, there is no movement or creasing like you would get from most cream products. It's hard to explain but it dries to almost powder- so you have to blend quick!

This cost me £8 which i think is a bit steep, but overall i'm impressed and would recommend.
4/5

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Why i love Sleek Pout Paints....

One of my favourite new products of 2011 has to be Sleek Pout Paints. With a dazzling array of different shades they are potentially the only lip products you ever need. You can make pretty much any colour you want with these, and i have had loads of fun mixing them all up and coming up with different shades.

They are nice and affordable, and you get tons of product. The are smooth and creamy, and VERY pigmented. Personally, i love mixing these with vasaline to make custom lipbalms. So, now i shall scare you with lots of pictures of my face in 'wacky' poses to show a small selection of lip shades i've got out of these pout paints!

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A little Review of Rahua Shampoo & Conditioner...

This is a review of the sample satchets i recieved in my Glossybox.

The blurb: for longer, stronger hair. Adds bounce, body & shine. ideal for colour treated hair. Prevents frizz. Rainforest grown 100% natural, organic.

So firsty, for the above full size products it would cost you £26 for the shampoo, and £27.50 for the conditioner. Which i think is crazily expensive.

What i thought: The shampoo was very liquidy and had a slight medicated smell to it (like a weaker TGel) which i found a little off putting- It lathered up nicely though. The conditioner was a better consistancy, but didn't really have a smell.

Once dried did my hair live up to the above claims? Well it felt nice, and did look a lot shinier than usual. But it didn't have bounce or body, or less frizz (i have long curly coloured hair.)

To be honest, i think i prefer my normal shampoo & conditioner (Dove, or Tresemme) and i most definitely prefer their price. I'm not particularly bothered about products being organic, or natural which seems to be Rahua main selling point. It was nice to try, but i would not consider buying the fullsize.

Overall 2/5

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A Little Review of NYC Natural Matte Foundation...

I bought this on a whim, after being impressed with the other NYC products i'd tried. To be honest i was expecting it to be pretty awful- a foundation costing £2.50 surely had to be.

The first time i tried it my face was as red as a tomato after stupidly forgetting to put suncream on, on a day to the beach. This foundation covered and neutralised my bright red forehead like a dream. It is easy to blend into the skin, and gives a nice even coverage. It feels nice and light to wear and lasted all day, so i would agree with its claim of 8 hours.

Overall, i can't find a fault with this foundation. The price is bloody brilliant as well. Hugely recommended!
5/5

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Lip Stains: Gosh Vs Revlon

Gosh long lasting lip marker (£6.99)
These come in a choice of 4 shades- i got the shade berry which is a deep pink shade. I like the packaging for this, and the product itself has a nice sweet smell and taste unlike most lip stains. This is easy to use and goes on fairly nicely but despite the name, this just doesn't last & needs constant reapplying. 3/5

Revlon Just Bitten (£7.99 approx)
These come in a choice of (i think) 7 shades- i got gothic which is a rosy red. This has that lipstain smell (like nail polish remover) and when you first put it on it doesn't taste very nice, but it goes on really evenly. It lasts a lot longer than the Gosh one, and the great thing about this is that it has a lipbalm at the other end. Which will stop the stain from drying out you're lips. Overall i prefer this one. 4/5

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My new favourite blush...

So, this is my new favourite blush. I bought this from Primark because i thought the colour was pretty. It's a lovely peachy shade. I didn't expect much from this- but i was pleasantly suprised.

The pigment is really nice, and the texture is lovely and soft. It lasts as long as any other blusher, and the best bit is there are no chunks of glitter or horrible shimmer- which tends to be usual for cheap blushers.

You get 9g of products for the crazily cheap price of a £1. As far as i know this is the only shade available.
5/5

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A Little Review of 17 Photo Flawless Primer...

I have always been hit and miss with primers, but i'm always interested in giving them a go. This one is from Boots priced at £4.99.

The primer is silicone based, so glides on the skin effortlessly and leaves a silky soft finish- which is neither greasy or unatural feeling like i find with the elf one. I do feel and see a noticeable improvment in the finish of my foundation with this underneath. The foundation seems to sit better, and look more natural.

I also like using this product alone on my skin without foundation. Although it gives a matte finish i do like to use powder also. I must say of all the primers i've tried this is certainly a favourite (although nowhere near RMK which is amazing!)

The only real moan is that there is only 15ml of product in the small tube, which i can't see lasting long. Although only a small amount is needed each time.

Very impressed. 4/5
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A Little Review of Sleeks Sugar May Pout Polish

In my opinion Sleeks Pout Polish range is pretty much the same as Macs range of lip conditioners except a lot cheaper. I particularly love Sleeks Electro Peach (miles more than Mac's Gentle Coral).

The shade Sugar May is from the Spring Avec La Peche Collection and has a pretty floral print on the packaging. In the pot it looks like a beautiful soft peachy colour, but actually goes on sheer which was a disappointment for me, as Sleek are usually on top form with pigmentation.

My other moan is that it both smells and tastes really strongly of plastic, which isn't nice!
Overall i'm not a fan of this one.

2/5

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A little review of Evie Glam blusher from Peacocks

After hearing that clothes shop Peacocks had released a make up line i popped in the other day to have a look. Whilst the lipglosses, and eyeshadow quads looked a little underwhelming this blusher looked interesting. It cost just £3, and is packaged in a very sturdy Benefit style box (although is more compact-which i like).

You get 13.5g of product (Benefit gives you 10g). There is only one shade that i could find, which is a lovely warm coral. Although the colour on the box which is supposed to be a swatch is nothing at all like the blush colour.

Pigmentation is very good (above picture doesn't do it justice) and it blends nicely. The texture although nice, is a little cheap feeling, and my main moan is that it does have chunks of glitter running through it. (Why do cheaper blushers always have glitter in them grr!)

Overall though, for the price i like it: 3/5.

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Liquid Metal Vs Molton Metal: A Comparision

Not so long ago Sleek brought out a product called Molten Metal, an obvious 'cover version' of Illamasqua's Liquid Metal. I bought the Sleek one to see how the two compare.

The main difference is that the Sleek version is under a fiver for 5.4g of product, and Illamasqua's is around £20 for 1.5g of product. Surely this means that Illamasqua should be far better?

Sleek offers 2 colours in a nice little mirrored compact, and Illam (as it shall be known for the rest of this post!) has the one colour (mine is Enrapture) in a small pot. In terms of pigmentation, as you can see from the below swatch Sleek is amazingly pigmented and does indeed earn the title Molten metal. Illam does have a lovely pigment but did need a few layers and still apeared patchy. I think it looks too dry to look like a liquid metal- it almost looks powdery.

The textures of the 2 are also quite different. Sleek is very smooth and creamy and Illam is thicker and dryer. Illam does feel of better quality (and smells lovely). Because Sleek is creamier it isn't as long lasting and tends to have a slight moveability.

Overall, i do love Illamasqua's Liquid Metal. When they first brought these out i had never seen anything like it, but saying that the Sleek product has to win for me. The value is amazing (Illam in my opinion is by far overpriced) and the product itself is very good. I would like to see Sleek release a selection of different colours (which i'm sure they will).

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A little Review of Maxfactor Lipfinity Lasting Lip Tint

As soon as i saw these lip tints i had to pick one up- just for the fact that they look like a felt tip pen alone! The colour choice is a little lacklustre, but i chose shade 04 (bottom in picture), a nice rosey red.

My experience with lip tints and stains in the past hasn't been great. I find they just don't last, have an awful taste, and they are in akward packaging i.e liquid filled pots that resemble nail polish think Benetint, or Bourjouis. That's where this product comes in. A practical design that makes applying easy, and is perfect to chuck in your bag.

Onto the product itself. Maxfactor recommends using the tip to line the lips, and then the whole of the nib to fill in. This worked great on the first few applications. A gentle hint of colour that was very flattering. But after a few uses the pen seemed to dry out, and i could hardly get any colour from the nib. I stored it upright overnight, and that seemed to give it a bit of life, but obviously storing it upright constantly is not practical if you are carrying it around with you.

The lip tint has the word lasting in the title, but is unfortunately not true. As soon as i had a drink or food, it disapeared. So it would need to be reapplied often.

In fairness, i rate this pretty much the same as every other lip tint i've tried. (with the exception of a 17 berry lipstain i used to obsessively use as a teenager, which was amazing but sadly no longer exists!) The thing that makes it stand out is the interesting felt pen style packaging, but this is also it's downfall.

It reminds me of those cheap felt pens that last about a nano second before the dry up. But, i do like the colour, and if the drying up problem was sorted it would be great.
3/5

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A little review of NYC blush

I picked up this blush in Superdrug, for £2.99 and the shade is New York Pink. I haven't really used many things from this brand before so i thought i'd give it a try.

The packaging is quite big and clumpy, nothing amazing, but fine for the price. The blush also comes with a brush, which in my opinion is not really needed.

You get a nice lot of product, with a cute quilted kind of design. The colour is a nice soft shade, and the powder itself is really nice and silky. In terms of pigmentation it's on the light side. When swiped with a finger it seems pretty good, but with a brush you have to really build this product.

But, i really like to use this just to add a touch of pink to my face in the vein of a beauty powder. Think Blush of Youth from Mac's Rose Romance collection. (below)

I actually think both products are very similar. The difference being you get a slightly better pay off with the NYC product. So considering the price i'm suitably impressed, and have been using this quite often. As a blush there's a lot better products out there, but as a beauty powder it's very good.

The lighting is unfortunately making a swatch near impossible!

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A little review of Maybelline Colossal Mascara...

Am i the only one that absolutely dispises Maybelline mascaras?

I bought this because it was on offer at Boots, and i've heard so many people say good things about it. So i thought i'd give it a fair try.

In my humble opinion the formula is too liquidy and smells really awful. The smell is so strong i can smell it when it's on my lashes! It doesn't really do much for my lashes, i mean it coats them ok but is disappointing. The brush is nothing special,no where near worthy of a £8 quid price tag.

The worst thing of course is that it makes my eyes itch like made. So much so i stopped wearing it and threw it in the bin. I never normally have reactions to mascaras like this...

Needless to say, i'll be avoiding mabelline mascaras like the plague in future!

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A little review of Bare Minerals try me kit...

When it comes to mineral make up i'm pretty clueless, but have always been curious. So when i spotted Bare Minerals do a 'try me' kit for £15 i thought that would be a perfect way to give it a go.
The kit consists of 2 foundation shades in 0.75g jars. I got the lightest pack so the colours were 'light' and 'fairly light', a loose powder 'mineral veils' (0.75g), a loose powder bronzer 'warmth' (0.28g) and a small brush to apply with.

Firsty the foundations. I'm always interested in powder foundations as i get oily skin and liquid foundation never last. I mixed a bit of both colours and it worked,but find for my fair skin that the 'light' shade was just right and the 'fairly light' a little too dark and too pink toned. Using the brush to swirl round in the sifter and applying in a circular motion and buffing in you can achieve a light to medium coverage. The powder was finely milled and was so easy to use.

The 'warmth' bronzer slightly intimidated me at first. It looks very dark, and i never use bronzers in loose powder form usually. But with a light touch this applies lovely. It gives a very natural look, and this little jar will last ages.

My favourite was the 'mineral veils' which is the loose powder. The quality is so beautiful. Very smooth and silky it just gives a lovely finish to the face. It has a very slight pink tone, which i find flattering, and it just brightens my skin.

The brush is also very nice- super soft and works well with the products.

Overall, i'm very impressed with the pack. I recommend this as a great way to try their make up. When i bought it the sales assistant said once i try it i'll be hooked- she had a point, i'll definately be going back to investigate their other products.

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A little review of Pure eyeshadow palette...

This is the Pure eyeshadow palette in No.9 Party. I bought this at Boots in a half price sale for around £5. The Party palette features 5 beatiful vibrant colours. They are a mix of matte, metallic, and some have irridecent glitter in which sadly the camera doesn't pick up.

The eyeshadows are absolutely lovely, and are really easy to use. They have a lovely smooth texture, and are very pigmented. The pictures just don't do the colours justice! When i've worn them they've lasted well all day, and are great to add a touch of colour to a boring natural eye.

If you spot one of these in the shops i definately recommend picking it up. Pure aren't really a brand i'm too familar with, but the products i've tried have been of a impressive quality. The eyeshadows come in a nice smart compact with mirror, and a double ended applicator and brush- which i haven't tried, but it looks a bit better than the usual cheap sponge applicator you usually get.

Overall: i love! 5/5

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A little review of Primarks Whiplash Volume & Curl Mascara...

I was in Primark the other day having a nose around when i saw a huge stand jam packed full of their new product: a mascara offering volume and curl. I've never ever tried any of the Primark make up, but for some reason chucked it in my basket out of curiousity. For £2 it was no big loss if it was rubbish (which i was fully expecting).

Which is why i probably should eat my words because shockingly i'm really impressed with it! It does create huge volume, and a nice curl. It lasts all day, doesn't smudge, and is easy to remove. How can this be! I don't understand it!

So, although you can feel the formula obviously isn't as good as the high end brands, this mascara can definitely give the high street brands a run for their money. A nice suprise and compete and utter bargain- i would recommend giving this one a try.

4/5

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A Little Review Of Pure Kajal Eyeliner...

This eyeliner intrigued me because of it's unusual shape.The packaging is really nice and chunky which is nice and comfortable to use. The product itself is very soft, and smooth-a kind of crayon texture.

As an eyeliner, personally i found this of average quality because of its cone shape it makes acurate or sharp lines near impossible. But! using this as a kind of shadestick it works really well, and it's also a really good liner for the waterline.

A problem will be once it's been used for a bit it's going to be a huge flat crayon, as it can't be sharpened.

So overall although i quite liked this eyliner it was for all the wrong reasons!
3/5
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A little review of Pond's Dry Skin Cream...

During the Snow 'chaos' earlier this month i ran out of moisturiser. My current moisturiser of choice is Lancome, but the Boots by me is very small so just has a small skincare section. I decided to just get a cheap one to tide me over till i could get to a bigger shop, and opted for Pond's Dry Skin Cream which i think was the cheapest at £3.98.

The texture of this is very thick and heavy, i personally prefer a lighter formula. But after even a couple of uses my skin felt so soft- like velvet! The cream was so rich though that it felt almost like i had a sheen to my face- so if you have oily skin like myself i wouldn't recommend it.

I've long had a problem with being allergic to body moisturisers that have a scent- they bring out rashes, so the absolute only one i can use is E45. My face isn't usually so sensitive, but having said that this moisturiser is perfumed. The smell isn't that nice, quite an overpowering old fashioned kind of scent. I'm sad to say after a week of use this brought out eczema along my jawline and i had to stop using it. So, if you do have sensitive skin this one is a no go.

Staying positive, it was great value and did soften my skin hugely!

So overall i give it 2/5

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A (not so) little review of Anatomicals…part 1

While the rest of the world seems to be obsessed with Lush and Soap & Glory i have been falling in love with a brand called Anatomicals, after getting some lovely gift sets for Christmas. I've been putting the products to the test and here are my thoughts:

The Seven Deadly Skins Body Scrub
This body scrub does a lovely job- i was very impressed with the lather it built up and it was very thick and velvety. It's been leaving my skin very soft, and i like it a lot. My one and only complaint with this is the smell, there's a very faint citrus smell, but i would love it so much more if the smell was much stronger! 4/5

That's When I Fell For the Leader of the Hair Pack
I'm a big fan of using hair masks, but this one initially worried me. Mainly because it smelt of conditioner mixed with salad cream and was yellow...hmm. But after leaving it in my hair for a few mins, and washing out my hair was looking and felling supersoft & had a lovely 'clean' smell rather than the less desirable ea de salad cream! 4/5

Glow, Glow, Quick, Quick Glow Brightening Face Cream
"Theres no dancing around the subject,your skin's more of a disaster than your dad's Justin Timberlakeimpression. Brighten it up with this face cream and waltz off to work: still drunk, still nauseous, but now glowing." I liked the idea of this, but i found this one a bit strange. It seemed to have smallglitter particles in it, which is not the kind of thing i really want on my face on a daily basis. But on the plus side i find this a good product to use as a primer.Much in the same way as Mac strobe cream, it lifts the overallfinish of the foundation and this has moisturiser in as well so it's an added bonus. I also love the message on the tube! 3/5

Snog Me Senseless Minty Lip Balm
This very much has the consistancyof a lipgloss, and a lovely fresh mint smell. I'd say this would be a good one to carry round for a night time/going out natural lip, and could be mixed with colour. The packaging is a toothpaste like tube, so you need to apply with the fingers, which makes it a bit tricky. I'm not sure this feels hugely moisturising but i like it all the same. 4/5

No Old Bags Allowed Eye Gel

This is another treasure! I've tried so many eye creams over the years, and i've never found one that i've been impressed with... Until now- and it's unbelieveably cheap. I put this on morning & night and it feels so refreshing. My eyes just feel a lot more awake. I (unfortunately) have quite bad shadows under my eyes, and although it would take nothing short of a miracle to get rid of them they have definitely decreased with constant use of this gel. Woo! 5/5

Puffy the Eye Bag Slayer gel mask
This mask is really cool. Laying with this on for ten minutes or so is an instant pick me up for my eyes, leaving them nice & refreshed. I recommend this for contact lens wearers, if like me when you take them out at the end of the day have very dry eyes, it gives them a real boost. 5/5



Stop Cracking up Lip Balm
I like this lip balm very much! In a doe foot tube for easy application, this somehow feels a lot more moisturising than the minty one. Because it appears as a lipgloss it's a great one to wear during the day, especially in this cold Winter weather, it isn't too sticky and feels really nice. 5/5

I've still got a few things to try out, but so far overall i'm very impressed with this brand. Very affordable prices, and great products. Lots of choice, and perfect for everday essentials. The fact they have fun names, and come in bright and colourful packaging makes my bathroom a lot brighter too :) Anatomicals: i love you!

(You can get Anatomicals stuff at

www.asos.com or www.anatomicals.net )

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