Rimmel London Wonder'Full Mascara | Review

I'm not really a mascara person. That sounds like an odd thing to say being a girl that talks incessantly about make-up, but I'm just not. I own one mascara. I think it's the removal process that irks me, I hate the crusty little black lumps that get left behind. Nevertheless, when I saw this mascara on the Rimmel counter I had to pick one up (the introductory offer probably had something to do with it).

It's interesting, the formula is infused with argan oil, and since eyelashes are hairs too it should leave them conditioned and stronger after use. I like this concept. Eyelashes are hard things to give any TLC to since they're so small and fiddly, but adding an oil treatment into a makeup product is just the best of both worlds!

 The packaging is a bronzey kind of colour and nice and sleek. I usually prefer the thinner tubes of mascara, but here the chubbiness really suits it!

The brush is nice and fat too, and the bristles are nicely sparse allowing it to separate lashes really well. The formula does tend to clump and gather on the tip of the brush which is a bit annoying, and I'd prefer it if the end of the brush also had some bristles to allow you to reach the very corners of your eyes, but never mind.

Now I was expecting the formula to feel different to anything else I've tried but honestly, it doesn't. It feels like your typical thick mascara, not at all oily or even lightweight. I'd say just like the Benefit They're Real. But then that doesn't really bother me that much. I also haven't noticed any difference in the condition of my lashes since I've been using it (every day for 5 days to give it a thorough testing) although it doesn't actually claim to do that, I just thought it might.

Before

After

The pictures I think are worth a thousand words here! It's so lengthening and really makes your eyelashes look thick and healthy. The effect is so extreme that I fell like it's a bit too much! This was just after one coat, so I found it works better on me to wipe some of the product off the brush first to give a more natural look. It does look a bit silly when your lashes are brushing your eyebrows. I'm so very happy with this, I got it for £5.99 and it will very happily replace my drying-up Seventeen Dolled Up mascara.

Ahh, I love it when an impulse buy pays off.

Xxxx

La Roche Posay Pigment Control Serum | Review

My skin scars pretty badly after blemishes. I still have scars from two years ago; they're stubborn little bastards. I wanted them to fade on their own, but in January I decided they needed a little help out of the door.

I picked up this serum half-price at boots (£15.50 when it should have been £31) and I wasn't really sure what to expect from it. I had used the Vichy Idealia Dark Spot Corrector before but wasn't really impressed with it, this on the other hand...

This is my second bottle of this serum now, and I can honestly say that I won't be looking for anything else to take over. It's fairly powerful stuff! You should only apply it at night and the next day you have to make sure to apply a good SPF, as it makes your skin more sensitive to the sun after use. It comes with a little pipette applicator, which is handy for the runny consistency, as it helps you get it directly on your target areas.

I'll be honest, the smell - whilst not particularly strong - isn't very pleasant. It's got a chemical smell, not quite ammonia or alcohol, but not far off, and it can irritate your eyes so I make sure it goes nowhere near them. It leaves a bit of a sticky residue on the skin too, which isn't too much of a problem if you moisturise over the top. But I forget all my niggles with this product when I look at my skin in the morning; it looks so much brighter and clearer! I can really see the difference in how even my skin looks, like it's been whitewashed over night. I used to use this every night, but after about 3 months now my scars have faded to a point where I only use it a couple of times a week; more so if I have a new blemish. It even fades the freckles on my cheeks!

This is one of the few products where I have genuinely noticed a marked difference in how my skin looks. I don't think this is going to be knocked off its pedestal any time soon!

Xxxx

...Soap and Glory - Kick-Ass Concealer!

I was scraping the bottom of the pan of my Benefit Boi-Ing concealer one day, when it occurred to me that I should probably get a new one... However, funds are low in the Bank of Olivia and £17.50 on a concealer just isn't happening right now.

Thankfully, Ruth Crilly from A Model Recommends is around (I'd buy anything that woman told me to) and she gave the Soap and Glory concealer a good review. I've never used any make-up from this brand before, but I thought I'd give it a go.

First of all... The packaging.
I have to say, I'm not crazy about it. There are two layers inside this product; the first being the top layer containing a concealer setting powder and a little puffy-pad thing so you can apply it. This layer then flips up into the lid to reveal the second layer with two different concealers in it. This would have been a lovely idea, but every time you open the case, the powder layer always opens first and the pad falls out. Its also hard to not get the powder all over the rest of the case.

As for the contents of the packaging...
It's awesome! I can't really comment too much on the concealer setting powder because, although I have tried it out, I prefer to stick to my own setting powders as its a lot less fiddly. The powder is just translucent, and finely milled so it's very smooth to apply. There is nothing really remarkable about it, it does the same job as most other setting powders.

The concealers though, are great! The two different colours- one for the under-eyes and one for the rest of the complexion, work really well together. They are creamy, thick and easy to apply, although quite a lot of residue can end up on the fingers. They blend well into skin alone, or over the top of foundation. I've even tried them on top of a powdered face and there wasn't a hint of cakeyness.
They stay put all day, a good 12+ hours, and although they don't offer quite as much coverage as the Benefit Boi-ing  concealer, I'm just as happy with the results.

I suppose the annoying thing about this product is that Soap and Glory only have two colours available; light and medium. I got the lighter shades and they don't look out of place at all on my face.

Price - £10

One thing I really liked about the Soap and Glory counter, is that they don't fanny around with the whole "99p" malarkey. That drives me nuts! I hate ending up with a purse full of pennies.

Overall, I really do love this concealer. I think it might have made a firm replacement for the Boi-ing concealer - I don't even miss it! The only thing that lets this product down is the packaging, but I can get over that.

4/5

Xxxx

...Bourjois Happy Light Luminous Serum Primer Review

I have a secret love for primers that I just can't explain... They always used to seem pointless to me, but having fallen in love with Smashbox Photofinish Primer, I've been on the look out for more to try. I feel like, having had bad skin in the past and still getting spots here and there, that a good primer helps to shield your pores from all the gunk that gets smeared over them day to day.

So the new edition to the primer collection... The Bourjois Happy Light Luminous Serum Primer!

Firstly, it comes out of the bottle a baby pink colour and has a pearlescent look to it. There is a matte version of this product but I wasn't as interested in that. It has a pump on the bottle and is very pretty looking in general.

Price - £10.99 for 15ml.
As far as primers go I'd say this is in the middle to lower area of the price range, and 15ml can last a month or two if used every day.

Effect 
Bourjois say:

• Non-pore blocking
• Gives a radiant and hydrated effect
• Leaves skin soft and supple

Well it hasn't given me any spots/blemishes of any kind, so that's good.
My skin definitely looks radiant after application, especially on my cheekbones, and this does look lovely under foundation and other makeup. It's not a look that I would wear on it's own as the product has such an obvious pink undertone that can look a bit weird. It actually stains the skin a bit pink if you dot it on your face and leave it there.
Leaves skin soft and supple? Mehh. The jury is still out on that one. I can't say that it really does.

In natural light. To the right I have blended it into my skin.

A few observations I have to make though; it absorbs into skin very quickly and is hard to spread over your face. The pump doesn't give enough product to cover the whole face so I have to use two. It has a very light scent, somewhat like baby powder. I don't think it makes any difference to foundation application, I haven't noticed any difference in the staying power or better blending results, but I don't think that's what it's designed to do.

On The Whole
I like it! It's great for giving you a healthy glow and I really enjoy applying it before my makeup.
4/5

Xxxx

...Origins High Potency Night-A-Mins Mineral Enriched Night Cream

What an incredibly long name this product has been given! The is one of the best-selling moisturisers that is made by Origins, a company relatively new to me. They seem to be one of those new-found brands (like Antipodes or Cauldalie) that gather their success from being nature friendly. Origins don't use harsh chemicals like parabens and pack their products full of plant extracts and natural oils.

Firstly it smells of citrus, cinnamon and vanilla, but only very softly. It comes in a jar and is a thick, viscous cream. A little does really go a long way, and I only need to apply a small blob here and there to cover my whole face. It seems to absorb into the skin, rather oddly, in two stages; firstly as you'd expect from a thick cream you have to work it well, massaging it into the skin, but when it starts to warm up and absorb it becomes like an oil. It does leave a bit of a greasy residue on the skin, so I blot this off with a tissue so it doesn't end up all over my pillow.

I haven't noticed any vast improvement with my skin, although it does feel soft and look a bit brighter in the mornings. I really enjoy using this as I adore the smell and it really does feel luxurious to use.

Price - £34
Quite expensive but I'd expect it to last for a long time. On the Origins website it says that 98% of those that used the cream regularly felt that their skin was renewed and refreshed in the morning, so I'm going to use this for at least a month before I decide if I'll repurchase.

Ingredients
This contains a hell of a lot of ingredients, so I'm just picking out a choice few.

Valeriana officianalis - Plant extract of the herb Valerian, often used as a mild sedative and, interestingly, can be an alternative to Benzodiazepam.
Centella asiatica - Another plant extract, commonly used as a supplement and is said to improve circulation, stress relief, asthma and many other ailments - however these claims have never had any reliable scientific testing.
Anthemis Nobilis - Chamomile, an anti-inflammatory and whitening agent.
Linalool - A fragrance oil, used in about 70% of all perfumed hygiene products. Also used as an insecticide.
Retinyl palmitate - Used in vitamin A supplements, known to help acne, psoriasis, sunburn etc.
Tocopheryl Acetate - A vitamin E supplement and a beneficial antioxidant for the skin to absorb.
Disodium EDTA - A salt compound used to give the product a longer shelf-life. Also shown to improve the absorption of other ingredients into the skin.
Folic Acid - Vitamin B9 or H.
Linoleic Acid - An omega-6 fatty acid with anti-inflammatory, acne reducing and moisture-retentive properties.
Citrus Aurantium Amara - Bitter orange, possibly effective for treating fungal infections, possibly unsafe if consumed as a supplement.

I've probably missed off a couple of good ones here, but there are so many ingredients on the label I had to be a bit choosy. I tried to make sure that I put all the good ingredients on, as well as some of the less desirable ones. There is nothing particularly out of the ordinary in this cream, and most of the claims of this product have some backing within the ingredients - quite a rare find actually!

Overall I am pleased with this, I've never used a proper night cream before but I really enjoy it! It's nice having a moisturiser that can have all these goodies in but you don't need to worry about how shiny it makes your skin, or how well make-up sits on top of it.

A decent 4/5

Xxxx

...Urban Decay - Good Karma Optical Blurring Brush

This is a beauty!

I asked for a new foundation brush for Christmas out of sheer necessity. My poor Lancome Flat Brush was shedding bristles like a Persian cat sheds fur.

I was secretly hoping for the Real Techniques Stippling Brush, since I've heard so many good reviews, but when I unwrapped this sexy little thing I was just as thrilled!

The bristles are beautifully soft and the brush is nice and chunky. It requires no expertise to get lovely results when blending in foundation and powder.

I've tried it with a few different foundations and the results have been just as good with each. I've yet to try it with blusher, but the powder application is nice and easy - best if you apply quite liberally, there isn't much room for subtlety with this.

There is only one bad thing that I have to say about this brush: It eats foundation!

I have to use twice as much liquid foundation on this brush to get enough of it buffed into my face. With cream foundations this isn't as big an issue, but with any kind of liquid the brush sucks it away into oblivion.

Other than that little niggle - I'm in love! No more flat foundation brushes for me!

Xxxx

Lush, Topshop, Avene, Sanctuary and Natural Collection

I went shopping again today... *sigh* Retail therapy.

I went to find a matte chocolate brown eyeshadow for a job interview I have on Monday - with GlaxoSmithKline I might add! If you're a science undergraduate then you should already know that it's kind of a big deal. And for those who aren't... It's kind of a big deal ;)

I wanted that contoured eye look, that's very natural but still pretty, but the only eyeshadow that does the job is full of huge chunks of glitter - hardly professional looking. But here are some other things that sneakily made their way into my basket...

 In Lush I picked up...

Rose Jam Bubbleroon (£3.50)- A bubble bar that looks a bit weird, but smells divine! Kind of like roses and candyfloss.

Soft Coeur (The Honeymooner) Massage Bar (£4.75) - Melts into your hands and smells like vanilla, chocolate and something else that I just can't put my finger on... I can't wait to use this!

I'm staying a night in a hotel as the interview venue will take me several hours to reach, so I'm definitely making the most of this hotel's bathtub! I refuse to touch the one in our house - I live with 7 other students, 4 of them boys and 2 of them keen surfers. Sand and grime everywhere! Urghh.

 Avene Thermal Spring Water, 50ml (£3.15) - This looked interesting and the shop assistant recommended it to me for use when travelling and your skin becomes dehydrated. Priced very nicely and feels lovely when you spray it onto your face, even over makeup.

Topshop Brows Pencil in Brown (£6) - I really appreciate Topshop's pricings. They never fanny about with the whole .99p thing, so you don't get stuck with a measly penny to add to the other 5000 in your purse.
This is a nice medium brown, not as pigmented as many others out there (Rimmel London do a great brow pencil) but the colour suits my hair nicely and the spoolie is much better than the tough little brushes that come with so many pencils.

Sanctuary 5 Minute Thermal Detox Mask (£3) - My mum swears by Sanctuary masks, so I thought I'd pick up one of these nice little sachets.They do make full-size bottles of this but I wasn't up for spending that much. I'll let you know what I think.

Natural Collection Solo Eyeshadow in Crushed Walnut (£1.79) - What I actually went shopping for was the cheapest thing I came home with. Damn.
Not the best eyeshadow in the world, but what can you expect for that price? The colour is lovely and it blends beautifully! I'm actually extremely impressed with this, it's exactly what I was looking for, a beautiful matte brown to stuff in my handbag.

 Here's a bit of a closer look. It does look a little shimmery with the flash, but I can assure you that it isn't.

I'll give a more in-depth review of the Sanctuary and Lush products when I come to use them. Woo! My first actual bath in two and a half months! 

Xxxx

Maybelline Fit Me Anti-Shine Stick Review

I know I promised this review about a week ago, and apologies for that, but I've been busy visiting the boyf up in Leicester! You know it takes over 8 hours for me to get there from Plymouth?! Sheer commitment.

Anyway...

Maybelline Says: "Our first gel stick foundation with an anti-shine core. Fresh gel foundation blends to a natural matte finish. Lightweight powders in the anti-shine core instantly dissolve excess oil."

I got shade 115 - Ivory 

To begin with, the texture us not what you would expect. I thought it would be quite thick and creamy, and although it feels like this when you first apply it, the consistency then becomes a lot more powdery and quite lightweight.

Coverage - I would say light/medium. It's not very thick and although buildable it doesn't do that much for dark circles/redness. Concealer sits quite nicely on top of this so that's not really a problem and it evens skin tone moderately well. It blends well both with a brush and with your fingers so it's quite good to apply on the go.

Staying Power - Not too bad! The consistency is such that you don't really need to set it with powder (although I do from sheer habit) and it doesn't tend to move around your face or settle into fine lines. I do really have to recommend a primer under this though - it's quite drying.

Packaging - I really like this packaging, it's simple and very easy to apply! You don't have to get it all over the back of your hand like other foundations. The black case is very simple and looks great.

Price - £8.99 To be honest, I can't see this lasting all that long as there isn't really that much in it, so I don't really think the value for money is very spectacular.

Overall - I love the stick application, it's great on the go and is wonderful to take travelling because you don't need a brush to get good results from it. However, it's quite dry and the coverage isn't really what I go for. I think I'd give this a 3.8/5.

Maybelline, Bourjois and Olay.

Superdrug emailed me a couple of days ago telling me that if I didn't spend the points on my card, they would expire on the 1rst of December! I was a little bit gutted because I hate spending points. I hoard them. Hoard them like a hoarder hoards crap.
I love sitting on that little balance thinking: "One day. One day I'll have a MILLION points! Mwahahahaha..."

But anyway; here is what I bought...

Bourjois Lipstick in Rose Innocence - I've been wearing this since I applied it in the shopping centre. Its a very pretty pink, a tiny bit shimmery but nothing to balk at. It's staying power is very impressive and the packaging is just gorgeous! It looks so much more expensive than it is!

Olay Complete Care Normal/Dry Day Cream - Olay are my absolute favourite; I've used their mosturisers nearly every day since I was about 13! I normally use the beauty fluid but since I'm running a bit low I thought I'd try this. Its much thicker and creamier than the beauty fluids so I'm hoping this will be a better winter moisturiser. No matter how much I love the beauty fluids, they're very runny and although great moisturisers, I'm feeling something a bit more heavy-duty is in order at the moment- it's freezing outside!

And of course, it smells just as divine as all the other Olay products in existence! Mmm...

And Finally...
Maybelline Fit Me Anti-Shine Stick (115 - Ivory) - I've been dying to try these! I've walked into a shop so many times with the premise of buying it, and then I've always chickened out because I didn't want to spend my minute amount of cash. But here we are... I suppose it was just meant to be.

As you can see, it's got two little circles of colour... How strange! I'll upload a full review of this tomorrow probably, I don't want to scrub my makeup off to reapply it all now. And sorry for the awful photo quality, my phone hates me at the moment.

And that's that! Superdrug points well spent me-thinks!

Xxxx

Smashbox Vs E.l.f.

I have been using these two products for quite a few months now. They both claim to transform your face into a flawless canvas allowing makeup to glide on and stay in place for longer.

The Smashbox Photo Finish Primer already has an amazing reputation, winning all kinds of beauty awards, and I can see why. The formula is beautiful! It's very smooth and you need only the tiniest drop to cover your whole face, so a bottle this size can last a good while. You can even, apparently, use this primer in your hair to smooth flyaways! I can't say that I've tried this, but still, that's a nice little extra! However, when I bought the e.l.f. primer I really enjoyed using it. Having tried quite a few e.l.f. products before I've never been blown away by the quality, but I think this little bottle definitely holds it's own against Smashbox.

Formula
Both of these products are lightweight and sit wonderfully under foundation. I can definitely notice the better staying power of my foundation when I have taken the time to apply one of these in the morning. I think that the Smashbox primer is definitely smoother and you need a lot less of it to cover your whole face. It also makes a better eyeshadow primer, as the colours I put on my eyes appear a lot brighter than when I use the e.l.f.. I'd say the e.l.f. primer is also a bit more greasy, so if you already have quite oily skin this might not be quite right for you.

Packaging
The Smashbox primer definitely has the better packaging, by a mile. The e.l.f. packaging is badly designed in that the pump does not collect all the product, so you have to unscrew the lid and get it out that way, which is a bit annoying. The Smashbox packaging however, does have the irritating habit of becoming very easily clogged, even after a day. The product that sits in the end of the pump dries very quickly and has to be fired out with some force next time you come to use it, leaving lumpy bits all over your hand.

Price
Weighing in at £25 for 30ml, the Smashbox primer is definitely expensive, and although I really like the product, I wouldn't buy it again purely because of the price. Although the e.l.f. primer falls a little short against its more high-end sister, at £6 I don't think you can really go wrong.

Overall I do prefer the Smashbox primer as far as formula goes, but I think saving £19 on a product that does almost the same thing, far overcomes the e.l.f.'s shortcomings.

Topshop Lipstick Bullet

Hello there,

I thought today that I'd write about a very recent purchase of mine; a Topshop Lipstick Bullet! I've been looking for a dark red/burgundy lipstick for a while, I think it's a great wintery colour and can look very glamorous indeed! 

I got the colour, Rockabilly which is very deep red, almost brown, exactly what I was looking for!

These things are not like your day to day lipsticks, they're very creamy and feel almost like vaseline when you apply them. They're just as well pigmented as normal lipsticks though, the colour comes out very well and doesn't change from the way it looks in the packaging. Since the texture is so creamy, they do have a tendency to bleed around your mouth and it does require some touching-up throughout the day. 

The packaging is typical Topshop, quite minimal and pretty. However, since the texture is so smooth, it gets all over the top of the packaging and inside the little lid. This is very hard to avoid, because it's so easy to catch the lipstick when you're putting the lid back on. 

It also is very staining. If you have this on your lips all day, or even for a few hours, you can guarantee that there will still be some colouring left on your lips the next day. I give my lips a good scrub with my makeup remover but it will still be there when I have a closer look. 

As for what it looks like on...

As you can see, it's fairly dark and has a little bit of a shine to it. You can get rid of this by blotting a couple of times, which gets rid of the shine without losing any of the colour! This is great because it means you can get a lovely matte look from this lipstick too!

Overall, I love this! I think its a very pretty colour and is great value for money at £8! I do have a few little niggles, but nothing that would put me off using it.

L'Oreal Skin Perfection BB Cream Review

I thought I'd kick this off tonight with a product I bought about a month ago, the Skin Perfection BB Cream! When I first saw the advert for this new line of products I was quite excited. L'Oreal aren't my favourite drugstore brand but I can really appreciate a lot of their products.

I was toying with buying either this, or the serum. I opted for this because I've only tried one BB cream in the past, and that's the Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector; which I adore!

As you can, hopefully, see from the picture (photography was never my forte) it is a "5-in-1 instant blemish balm" in "fair". The packaging feels very cheap and I'm not too keen on the hot pink colour either.

I have very pale skin and very often, even the lightest shades of foundation are too dark for me. This, however was quite a nice match and once you blend it out it looks a lot lighter.

I swatched it on my arm to show you:

 You'll have to excuse all the wires, I was using the light from my make-up mirror so you could see the contrast.

The formula itself is unimpressive. It is difficult to properly blend and is completely unbuildable. Once you try to layer this product it ends up clumping all together and collecting more on your brush than on your face. If you use it very lightly, you could probably get away with this, but it is very sheer and I don't think that it made my complexion look any more even. It does feel quite moisturising and my skin feels softer after using this for a couple of days, but I really have to work at it in the mornings to get it to look even and not streaky.

As far as staying power goes, it falls short there too. I set it, once I have applied it in the morning, with my trusty Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder, but a few hours later when I check back it has always collected under my eyes and around my nose etc. It's also difficult to apply any products on top of, say, if you wanted to use a bit of blusher, you'd end up moving the cream half way around your face and have to spend an extra 5 minutes putting it back!

All in all, I really was not impressed with this, especially since it is more expensive than the Garnier BB Cream. It doesn't blend well and it smells just like the plastic package it comes in, very disappointing!

Retail: £12.99