Review: 17 Doll'd Up Mascara and Eye Liner

I'm sure most of you have seen 17's new mascara 'Doll'd Up' on the stands at Boots.

I picked it up a few weeks ago when me and M went to London for LFW. At the time it came with their new 3 Way Liquid Eyeliner also from their Doll'd Up range.

We'll talk through the mascara first....it claims to provide up to 24 Hour Curl, which is something I have mentioned before that I am in vital need of!

I am lucky enough to have very long eye lashes which are also really thick. This is great for the fluffy eyelash look, but using every trick in the book my lashes just do not curl.
I've not had them permed yet so it's a possibility for the future when I've found somewhere I can trust with putting hot things near my eyeballs....



Back to the mascara.
Because my lashes are long i rarely spend much on my mascara, I don't need lengthening or volumising as such so a mascara from Rimmel, 17, Maybelline etc usually does me fine as there's not much point spending a lot for me.
(Having said that I absolutely love Benefit's They're Real!)



The brush is a comb type brush, the bristles are quite short and hard but cover the brush all the way around, so it's more than just a comb.
I find this is really good at picking up all of the hairs individually and find all of them are coated and separated out.



I have other eye make up on in the photo below but you can get the jist of it in regards to the mascara....it lengthens and separates out all of my lashes individually and looks pretty good if i say so myself!



This was such a good price to pay for the mascara, I've tried more expensive ones and got the same results so I'm pretty pleased with this.
It lengthens, separates and does give my lashes some curl though due to their stubborness this doesn't last long.

The eyeliner as I have previously mentioned came free with the mascara. I was dubious about this but also very interested to see how the design made a difference.





Firstly I love the simple packaging, monochrome will always win me over.
Secondly the cute bow design is pretty but not over the top, enough for us girly but not overly pink and glittery types like myself.
Thirdly LOOK AT THE BRUSH/TIP/PEN THING!

I'd previously seen another brand had brought out a similar design (Clarins was it?) and it was mentioned that  using the 3 tips dotted along the lash line made eyelashes appear thicker at the base and therefore more voluminous as well as producing a varied range of eyeliner looks.



As you can see by my hand abov the pen draws a really smooth and straight line pretty easily when the pen is turned with the tips aligned.

For a thicker line you can use all three vertically, though as you can see you would need to colour in the small gaps.

As for the dots at the base of the lashline theory, I tried multiple times to create this look but failed miserably. It was hard to do without looking like I'd drawn dots on my lashline and I think these pen tips are just too big.


It is super easy to draw a flicked out wing though particularly in the morning rush hour at 7 so it's definitely been a useful product for me.



I always find with pens like these that even with the lid on tight they seem to dry out pretty fast but so far so good with this one. Will update once I've used it a little while and see how it is then!

What do you think of eyeliner pens? do you prefer the ease or something like a gel eyeliner instead?

I will always prefer gel eyeliner due to its long lasting colour all day and staying in place, but this is a worthy contender for it's ease especially for work!


L xxx

Review: Origins Samples

This is possibly a rather odd post, but I've had such good service at the Origins counters recently that I wanted to explain it a little more and write about the products I've had the pleasure of trying.

Firstly I love how every time I've been into John Lewis or Boots I've had a really nice welcome from the staff at the counter.

I know not everyone has this (M being one of them!) but I've never had a problem yet.

I managed to book myself a free facial in Origins in John Lewis when they had the beauty room for a week (as all the counters share it they get a week each)

Review: Origins Eye Doctor

I mentioned a while ago (here) that I've been having a few problems with my eyes, particularly with wearing lenses and them generally watering and running down my face and ruining my make up.

My optician told me it could be to do with allergies but as it was December when this started it was unlikely, so ever since I've been wearing my glasses as much as possible and putting drops in so they don't get too dry.

(I've been told it was down to me wearing my lenses for a ridiculous amount of hours per day whilst trying to do a full time Masters and full time job, listen to what they say when they remind you to have a 'contacts free day. because I'm paying for it now!)

Because of this I've been taking care of my eyes a lot more than I used to, I know everyone wants to look good and have amazing skin but you only get one pair of eyes so this has been priority numero uno for me for a while!

After buying the Origins No Puffery Eye Gel and absolutely loving it, I went back for another purchase, this time their Eye Doctor eye cream:

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish

So another weekend coming to an end and back to work in the morning. I've had a great weekend this weekend with the family so that's left me in a good mood today.

Onto today's post, both L and I have been loving skin care lately and taking a much bigger interest in it and trying other brands. (I had a recent splurge in Clinique and I'm loving there stuff, post coming soon). After Red magazine gave the free sample and a muslin cloth to try, we were both impressed with it. It's such a different cleanser, so thick and moisturising on the face and I enjoyed using the cloth.

L was so impressed she went out and picked up more straight away. I'd left mine longer before trying out due to being back in love with my Lush Herbalism cleanser. Now I regret that.

After seeing the great offer a few weeks back (Thanks Lola for sharing) I couldn't resist getting more. We decided to share the postage cost and ordered together. 

We chose the express delivery as the deal was just before L went away. I was so excited when she text me the next day to say it had already arrived and that it had come with lots of goodies.

It was with 4 sachets of their sheer skin tint (1 in each shade) and a 30 ml sample of cleanse and polish and another muslim cloth. L had the cleanser I had the skin tint. I love that with higher end brands they are always generous with there samples. I love trying new things.

I'm impressed with the sheer skin tint and will review full soon.

It also came with a colour chart detailing all of the new make up range and the shades. Also helpful was space by the shade of each shade so that you could compare it to colours you already own if you are ordering on line. I'm eyeing up the bronzer after reading rave reviews.

Another nice touch was a little note saying who had packed your package up for you.

And a big thick book showing there full product range with descriptions and prices. I've loved having a flick through this. L did mention that for a natural company though there was a lot of maybe unnecessary packaging that although it was a nice touch could have been done without.

All of that for one bottle each of 100ml cleanse and polish, I'm wondering next time whether to assume we'll get more good samples and it might be worth ordering separately to get all the freebies.

We will do a full review on Cleanse and Polish soon if anybody is interested in this product, I know we are late to the party on loving this product but it's definitely one that we will be repurchasing a lot now.

Love L and M

xxx

A little side note - after using the Cleanse and Polish sample I did indeed rush out to buy the full size, at 14 pounds (I'm using an American keyboard that doesn't have a pound sign, how inconsiderate!) it included a full 100ml of product and 2 muslin cloths in a bag along with the instructions card.

I really do believe that even after a week of using it my skin felt like velvet, my spots had cleared up and any blemishes had definitely decreased in size. I've now been using it ever since and I swear my skin has improved even more after the benefits of long term thorough cleaning.

I vote everyone should be using this baby!

L xxx

Review: Mac Costa Chic

I think everyone is always excited about a Mac purchase...this one was particularly exciting for me as I had finally reached 6 empties and could claim my free lipstick!

So really no purchase required, but even so, here's the lipstick I chose:

Costa Chic is a Frost lipstick, it's an orangey coral colour with a slight sheen.

Mac state it is a frosty coral which perfect sums it up I think.

I've been looking for a colour like this for ages, I've found lots of corals but all of them had undertones that made my teeth look yellow.

This one made them look even whiter!

It has been on my lips non stop for the past few weeks, it's completely perfect for day wear, meals, pub trips, nights out and anything else you can think of!

It literally puts a smile on my face as soon as I put it on.

I hate photographing my lips so I'm afraid you'll have no pictures of them from me, so I've swatched it on the back of my hand instead.

It's not the same I know but you can still see the effect and the beautiful colour I am completely in love with!

Have you seen this colour before? Do you have coral colours in you lipstick collections?

I was so excited to get my free lipstick, what would you choose?

L xxx

Review: Etat Pur Micellar Water

A few weeks ago I fully caved in and bought a few goodies from Etat Pur as I was so fed up with my skin care routine.

I'd heard a lot about them and so was excited to browse their website, take their 1 minute application to see what they prescribed for my skin and finally place an order!

I ended up purchasing the much raved about Micellar water, and also 2 actives in the form of A20 (Zinc Gluconate) and A01 (Q10).

As well as the 3 products I purchased, when you place your first order you get free delivery and 3 free samples, 2 of which you get to choose yourself!

This intrigued me, and I'm always a sucker for freebies!

All of my goodies are shown below:

So starting with the Micellar solution...

I had previously tried a micellar water from Joliebox (The Taaj one) which was ok, smelt like flowers and took off quite a bit of make up even after cleansing with Liz Earle.

Whilst it wasn't a revolutionary product in terms of what it did (nor did I like the smell much!), it did make me realise that maybe I needed something like a micellar water as an extra step for make up removal, particularly mascara, though I personally wanted a brand that had a website I could read more about!

The Etat Pur Micellar water was infinitely better when compared to the Taaj micellar water.

My make up came off so easily, particularly my eye make up which is a big bonus as my eyes have been sensitive for MONTHS now, I'm really having trouble with them!

I'm hoping that with long term use it will improve my skin texture too, as cleaning it better can only improve it!

I was quite impressed with this product, and the smell wasn't too strong nor did it the break the bank at a measly £6.40, I have definitely been won over!

I'm still trialling the actives out at the moment, but at the first few uses I'm definitely impressed and my skin has definitely improved.

My mum is considering putting in an order...I'm hoping I can add a few more things and steal her samples...would that be mean?!

They're so cute and perfect for travelling with...hopefully I can bribe her ;)

I was a little disappointed that my order took so long, it was supposed to take 4 days to arrive, but mine took more like 10 days which was a considerably longer time.

It was worth the wait, but obviously it was very frustrating.

Have you bought anything from Etat Pur? Have you used a Micellar water before?

I think I'm going to look for something to help my dark shadows and pores next...hopefully I can find something for every bit of my face that needs a little helping hand ;)

Hope you enjoyed the post, I love writing about new products like this!

L xxx

Review: Max Factor Colour Adapt and FaceFinity Compact

A few months ago all of my foundations were too orange and I threw a strop and ran to my local Boots with the aim of spending a lot of money in rebellion.


I actually didn't end up spending too much which was a nice surprise and came away with some pretty reasonable purchases!





First up I bought the Facefinity Compact as my powder was also running out at the time.


I ended up buying this in 02 Ivory, but in hindsight 01 probably would have been better.


It has SPF 15 in it and states that it provides all day colour and contains 'Permawear'

The compact comes with a decent sized sponge, I like them when they're thicker like this as some of them are so small you can barely hold them and apply your make up at the same time.

The mirror is a decent size too but I was disappointed in the 10g size of the product itself, I felt that it should have been more but that's being picky I suppose.

It's a relatively decent product, I'm a little annoyed that the colour was so dark though. Ivory is a pale colour, yet Max Factor still seem to think it's dark!

I'm not normally the palest colour in the range and am normally one shade darker, when I tested it it seemed fine in store!

This product was probably a little too thick for me and I wouldn't buy it again. I'm finding it hard to describe my reasons but it was just an 'ok' product that could have been so much more and I just don't have any kind of inclination either way.

I don't love it or hate it, it didn't last a long time on my face but it wasn't the quickest powder to let the oil through either.

I'm hoping this makes sense! Basically I was underwhelmed with the product.

I also bought the colour adapt foundation in Creamy Ivory, which was definitely a good choice colour wise.

This perfectly suited my seemingly odd paler skin tone (it seems to come and go!) and was a really thick creamy formula that gave me good coverage and a nice finish.

The only downside to this product is that it does NOT like being put on using the Real Techniques stippling brush. I think it may be too thick, I'd definitely avoid using it and would apply it using my Mac brush (168) instead.

It seems a pretty good foundation but I don't get much wear out of it as I only use it when I'm on a pale day, maybe one day when I've worked my way through the back log of other foundations I'd buy a darker shade.

(clearly the colour adapt technology doesn't stretch that far!)

Buying both the foundation and compact meant that I also picked up this freebie:

I've already blogged about the nail polishes here and here, but I thought the mini mascara and mini eyeliner were both pretty decent items and was impressed with them

Usually you get some rubbish colours or pointless products, but these were usable and widely used shades!

What do you think of Max Factor? Does your skin change colour all the time like mine?

L xxx

Max Factor was a range I first started using when I was in school. The FaceFinity was 'the' product to have. I remember loving it but using that as my foundation. I haven't used this in years so can't comment.

When L told me she picked up colour adapt I was excited to see how she got on with it. Colour adapt stayed a firm favourite with me all through my uni years and was my go to foundation. I loved the soft silky texture the medium finish to cover my freckles and spots and the lasting power. 

The colour adapt technology in it really is fab too. I'm using paler than L in foundations but in this one I'm currently using 45 warm almond and it really doesn't make me orange. It's a great spring transition foundation as you can go for a shade darker in my opinion and it blend fine and come to summer and it still look good on the skin. (had I know L was getting it I should have shared this with her)

It's a thicker foundation and blends well into the skin and I think best applied with fingers.

Downsides to this are it's matte. If you are looking for a light dewy finish this isn't for you. I do find as I get through the bottles the foundation really does thicken up. Not to where you can't work with it but just something to be aware of.

I'm really glad L bought it as I discovered I still had a bottle in my make up bag and have gone back to using it a bit. I tend to Mix it with my Max Factor Second Skin (my summer foundation love due to it's lightness, you need a good colour match on this though) so that it gives a more dewy finish.

Have you tried any Max Factor foundations? I love most of the ones I've tried.

Love M

xxx

April Freebies!

Just a quick post in case you haven't noticed yet...

Red Magazine have a free gift with their May edition (out now!)

It is the one and only Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish!

You can buy the same size sample online for £5.50 and you'd still have to pay the postage...

How about instead you pop to your local newsagents and pick up the magazine instead (for £3.90), save yourself the postage costs and burn off a few calories (hopefully in the sunshine!) whilst you do it!

Well worth the trip!

We will let you know how we get on with ours...we've been wanting this for ages.

It even comes with an instruction card and a full ingredients list for all skincare products, nice touch!

Working through our collections we've been putting it off, but as it's free it would be rude not to really!

Ready, set, go!

L xxx

Cocktail Hour!

I am SUPER excited to show you this week's cocktail...

I noticed the other day on Facebook of all places that Revolutions were doing an amazing deal of a FREE cocktail when you took a voucher in.

You even had the choice of either a Vodka Moonshine, or a Frozen Strawberry Daquiri!

Being the super savvy people that we are, we obviously had to claim these freebies and went for the most expensive out of the two which was the Vodka Moonshine.

March Freebies! Marie Claire and Neal's Yard Remedies

There are a number of freebies floating around in this month's magazines, I decided to pick up Marie Claire which has a Neal's Yard Remedies Rehydrating Rose Daily Moisture free with it.