MUA Pro Base Conceal and Brighten Kit

Hello!

Today I'm writing about a super cheap concealer palette from bargain cosmetics brand MUA.

I was in Superdrug picking up a 3 for 2 deal and couldn't resist picking this up to try as my final item. It was a bargainous £4 at the time and I'm sure you'll agree, a palette for £4 is always worth a try!

It has three different colours and consistencies to cover a wide range of blemishes that I was quite impressed with.

I assume there must be other colours as this kit comes in Porcelain-Beige, but I'm not sure as I would have automatically picked up the lightest colour!

I like that there are the three different shades and effects.
The first is a pinker shade and more illuminating, great for under the eyes.
The second is a thicker, creamier shade that's great for covering redness from spots and other blemishes.
The last is a thicker and more duskier pink coloured concealer that would be great for scars and birthmarks.

These concealers are actually, dare I say it, really good for the £4 price tag.
I'd expect this to cost around £12 if I'd been shown it without any brand names.
All of the concealers are different and apply really easily with your fingers or a brush.

You can see the concealers when applied to my arm below:

In the photos below (taken at 6am in the morning rush...apologies for expressions and quality!) you can see where I've applied the first concealer (pink toned and highlighting) to my undereye.

It has worked really well at concealing dark circles and feels really soft and blendable.
I have only got foundation and concealer on in these pictures so you can see how much of a difference it makes!

I also then applied the middle concealer around my nose area where the skin is slightly redder for some reason. It sometimes looks like I have a cold...when I don't!
As you can see below it has easily covered this up:

I was pretty impressed with the coverage of this concealer. As for longevity, it lasted pretty well throughout the day. I work in warm labs which is a bit of a test for my make up, my under eye concealer did crease but I would say most concealers do this to an extent. The concealer around my nose also needed to be reblended at some point in the day but it was easily done with my fingers which others you couldn't do.

I'd say this was well worth the price tag and I'd recommend to anyone looking for a great multifunctional concealer palette!

Have you tried a palette like this? What do you think of MUA's cheap as chips range??

L xxx

Empties 3

Today is another big empties post. I've really been working my way through my stash. Last week I posted about my make up empties which you can read here. My stash doesn't seem to be getting smaller product wise as my bathroom is still full!

I am trying to work my way through all my samples but it does seem to be taking forever. I really need to start using the things I buy more.

As you can see this is another big empties stash! I really need to do them more regularly as I love reading these posts as I think it's good to see what people have actually used up.

Hair Care

As you can see lots of hair things have been used up.

Superdrug Dry Shampoo - you can read my thoughts on this here, I'm not a fan and definitely won't be buying again.

Pure Argan Oil - I picked this up from ebay and it was only 3.99. I'll definitely be buying it again until I can treat myself to the macadamia oil which I think is the best one. Amazon is great for pure oils.

Boots baby shampoo - I use this for cleaning my make up brushes. It does the job and is cheaper than Johnsons. I do find it runs out quickly though so at the moment I'm using soap which seems to be doing the job just as well.

Soap and Glory Glad Hair Days - This is a soap and glory product I don't actually like. I really don't like this as a shampoo. i found it drying and it made my hair knotty. As I didn't want it to go to waste I've been using it as it shave gel. Shampoos you don't like make good shave gels as they lather well. Conditioner also works.

Tigi Bed Head Superstar - I absolutely loved this shampoo at first. I really felt like it made my hair look thicker but... and this is a big but after a few washes I noticed it was making my hair fall out. I don't know what it was about it but whenever I used it more hair came out and noticeable large amounts. Needless to say this then became a shave gel!

Trevor Sorbie Beautiful Blonde Shampoo and Conditioner - I picked these minis up to go on holiday with last year as you got more product in them than others. I love that these are purple tinted to help prevent brassy tones. Great product but loving other higher end brands like Label.m and Sebastian to repurchase these.

Hairspray - I currently visiting my parents so don't have my empties with me and for the life of me I can't remember the brand. It came in a set from boots at Christmas time. I didn't really like it as it really coated my hair and was a hairspray that showed if that makes sense!

Advance Techniques 360 Nourishment Moroccan Argan Oil Mask - This is a great little mask. Nourishing and left my hair feeling soft. Not as good as macadamia one but a brilliant for the price.

Skincare

Etat Pur Micellar Cleansing Water - This was the first micellar water I used and I really liked it. Not heavy fragranced, easily removed face make up (A little harder on the eyes) and great for lazy make up days.

Caudalie Moisturising Cream Mask - This was a sample and only enough for one mask so a little hard to judge. Nice enough but nothing game changing to make me want to rush out and buy it.

Bioderma Sebium - Now this is a game changer. I didn't want to like this. It has such a cult love I didn't think it could be that good but when I won a competition with Escentual.com I got sent a sample and I instantly loved it. I prefer this one to the original. It's better on my skin. It is as good as everyone says.

Origins Brighter by Nature - I wanted to love these. I love the idea of an enzyme peel. I think I even convinced myself they were great. But in all honesty I don't think now I'd buy them again.

Amie Skin Cooling Clay Mask - I love this. The scent is amazing lime and peppermint mmm! It's great for the weather we've been having as it cools and refreshes while it's on the skin. I think I prefer this to the Origins Charcoal mask.

Carmex lip balm and origins whip stick - both featured in my last empties so I won't go on about them. Like both of them (enough to have had half used doubles of each of them).

Boots Cleansing Wipes - I tend to use face wipes to clean my brushes and wipe make up mistakes away so I'm not really fussy. Any ones will do for me but I don't really like baby wipes as I find them too dry.

Lancome Eye Make up Remover - I love this. Almost as much as my No7 one. Not enough to pay the huge difference. If you can afford it though it's a great eye make up remover, it doesn't tug, melts away make up and is the least greasy whilst being most effective that I have tried. I'm hoping Lancome do a Christmas set with this and the Hypnose mascara.

No7 Eye Make Up Remover - Anyone who knows me knows I love this stuff. I go through bottles of it. I think it's really important to use proper eye make up remover most of the time. It's gentler on the eyes and less pulling hopefully means not causing extra wrinkles. This is a great price (when using a voucher) and really effective. I will be buying over and over again. I've even converted L.

Other

Planet Spa Hand Cream - This is my favourite hand cream and I've tried a fair few. I love the scent (shea butter) and the way it sinks in and moisturises. I always keep a stock of these.

Glotanz tan in a can - This is my favourite tan at the moment and I'm so glad we got to try it. It's easy to apply, pretty much scent free and gives me a perfect tan after one coat (most fake tans on me require at least two!). L has kindly donated me hers but I'll definitely be repurchasing.

Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb EDP - This is my most sad empty. If I had a fragrance this is it. It's beautiful and oriental and lasts on my skin. But at £60 a bottle it's a wait till Christmas. The Zara perfume in oriental is keeping me going for the time being. 

Givency Perfume Sample - ok perfume but would repuchase.

Celebre Body Spray - I'm not a body spray person but this was given to me so I have used it up. The scent is ok but not one I'd chose as I prefer something with a bit of a sweeter or oriental twist.

Marc Jacobs Daisy - L was kind enough to give me her bottle of this to try as I said I wanted it. I absolutely loved the scent and people commented on how it smelt very me. The bottle is beautiful and I'll be sad to see it go off my desk. The only downside is it didn't last long. My skin tends to need parfum versions.

Soap and Glory Hand Food - Raved about by both L and I and many others, great hand cream, amazing smell. But I do prefer the Avon Planet Spa one as it's a bit cheaper and sinks in better.

Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser - This will always win the hot cloth cleanser scent wars for me. I find it's thicker than most and one of the most gentle. Due to the price there is another I now prefer more. (read about that here) will still continue to repurchase as a treat buy.

So that's another long list of empties!! What have you been using up lately? Leave me links to your empties posts!

Love M

xxx

Review: Benefit World Famous Neutrals Eyenessa's Sexiest Nudes Ever

On a recent shopping trip I ended up picking up this Benefit palette. I hadn't gone out with any intention of buying it and if I had to pick between the palettes I'd have probably gone for either of the other two over this as I'd have assumed the colours were more easily worn. I'm so pleased the Benefit MUA tried this kit out on me as I really love the colours in it and I'm glad I picked this one as I already have lots of browny nudes.

As with lots of Benefit products it has a vintage feel to the packaging. I love this about Benefit branding. The palette comes in a cardboard packaging which is almost in a book style. It does seem to be holding up well in my make up bag and not looking tatty.

The world famous neutrals kits contain 2 creaseless cream shadows and 4 longwear powder shadows. All the colours in the kit are designed to all work together. I love the variety of shadows you get in this kit.

The palette opens up like a book almost and contains a mirror which is also handy for a palette to have. The creaseless creams come in pots which can be removed from the packaging. The eyeshadows can't be.

The world famous neutrals set contain tips on how to use the shadows and where to place them for different looks. I do think this helps as I sometimes think getting a new palette can leave you overwhelmed on where to place different eyeshadows.

The Sexiest nudes ever set contains Bikini-tini and Holy Smokes! creaseless creams, and milk it!, raincheck?, pause for applasuse and blingo! longwear shadows. All of the shadows in the kits can be bought separately. I was initially only going to pick up raincheck? but decided it was much better value to get the whole kit.  

 milk it!, pause for applause, raincheck?, blingo!, bikini-tini and holy smokes!

with flash

milk it!, pause for applause, raincheck?, blingo!, bikini-tini and holy smokes!

without flash

The small circle at the top of each swatch is the shadow over bikini-tini to show it over a base. The main swatches are without primer.

Milk it! is a creamy white longwear shadow with great pigmentation. It's not at all chalky and very smooth to apply. It has a soft shimmer to it and blends out well.

Pause for applause makes a great base colour. It's a soft pink shade that can be blended out well. It has a very soft formula and is a matte shade. This colour works best over one of the creaseless creams to get a more intense colour.

Raincheck? This colour is the reason I bought the kit. It's a plum shade with a hint of brown to it. It's got amazing pigmentation and look great blended out through the crease. This is a matte shade and with the rest of the shadows in this kit it's really soft. None of the shadows caused fall out for me.

Blingo! This is a colour I didn't expect to like but it really works well with the colours in the kit to add a touch of shimmer over the lid. I think this colour would look great over holy smokes for an easy night out look. Blingo is a really impressive silver glitter shadow. This has amazing pigmentation as you can see from the swatches which is with one swipe.

Bikini-tini This is a champagne colour creaseless cream. A brilliant everyday shade I can see me getting lots of wear from. The creaseless creams are a soft formula that blends onto the eyes and makes a great colour on it's own or can be used as a base to other shadows. These have really impressed me and really last all day without creasing.

Holy smokes! This is the other creaseless cream. It's a dark brown/grey shade and will be great base for smokey eyes or even blended out on the lids for an easy eye look.

I plan on using this kit for my make up when I'm a bridesmaid on saturday as my dress is purple. (ignore my brows they are now waxed )

I started by applying Bikini-tini all over the lid. I then put milk it! all over the lid to have a nude base. I then add raincheck? to my crease and blended it out. I kept repeating this until the intensity was what I wanted. lastly I added blingo! over my lid to add some sparkly and finished off with lashes and a flick of black liner.

I've been so impressed with the quality of this kit. I want the other two now. I love how they last all day without creasing. The kits retail for £23.50.

Do you have any of the world famous neutrals?

Love M

xxx

Label.m Honey and Oat Shampoo, Conditioner and Leave In Conditioner

A few week ago we were contacted by Label.m to see if we would like to try out their new Honey and Oat range.
Having tried their Protein Spray and absolutely love it (our post is here) we were really excited to try these as well.

The packaging is great, simple monochrome colours in square shaped bottles with rounded edges.

I've mentioned a zillion times how much I love simple so these tick all the boxes for me.
These Honey and Oat products were formulated for dry and dehydrated hair, which both me and M suffer with due to highlights and styling (doesn't everyone!).

The first thing I can tell you about these products is that they both smell AMAZING. Such a warm and comforting smell, I couldn't stop sniffing it in the shower!

The shampoo foams up really easily and my hair felt really clean without feeling stripped, which is probably down to the honey oat and sea kelp added in for moisture, strengthening and gloss. I love that it also contains an 'Enviroshield Complex' to protect hair from heat styling and UV rays.

The conditioner felt more like a lotion than other products which have felt heavier, and it seems to glide through the hair. The conditioner also contains Sea Cabbage for additional moisture and it doesn't feel heavy at all.

The leave in conditioner felt more like a serum to me, it was so light it was almost like a gel consistency and when applied to the hair didn't feel heavy at all. This uses ginger, ginseng, bergamot, juniper, mandarin orange and vanilla to enhance layers and control frizz for soothing and strengthening hair.

Having used all three for the past week or two my hair feels so much better, it feels cleaner and lasts longer between washes, and feels smoother and stronger than it did before.
It seems to be behaving a lot better style wise as well, which makes life a whole lot easier doesn't it!

I'm normally quite lucky with my hair as it's generally quite resilient but using these products has shown me how much better it could be. I'm not one to spend more on haircare for this reason but this collection of products is definitely worth the money and I think they're reasonably priced for the effects you get from them.

Have you tried Label.m products? What did you think?

L xxx

After being so pleased with the other Label.m products we tried I was so excited to try these, especially as they are for dry damaged hair.

Firstly the smell of these won me over straight away, it smells amazing!! Sweet but not overly. The shampoo gave a good lather and left my hair feeling clean. Another good thing for me is that it didn't make my hair fall out as I've found with cheaper shampoos.

The conditioner was definitely my favourite. It was a lightweight conditioner so didn't weigh down my fine hair. Even though it was lightweight it definitely has helped make my recently bleached hair more manageable. I also like that silicone isn't one of the main ingredients. It is on the list but almost one of the last ones.

Leave in conditioner isn't something I usually use. I've been using this after shampooing and conditioning and applying just to the ends of my hair. These are really damaged at the moment so I'm trying my best to improve this. The leave in conditioner has helped prevent my hair from becoming tangled and makes it easier to comb when wet.

As my hair is dyed and processed a lot I always find I need better hair care for it and tend to go for more expensive brands as I find my hair reacts better to them and cheaper shampoos just don't work for me. I personally prefer to pay more for hair care.

The shampoo retails for £11.95 and the conditioner for £14.95. I do think label.m products are reasonably priced and will continue to purchase them. Currently if you spend over £30 you get a free gift. You can order from labelm.com

Do you prefer higher end hair care? Have you tried label.m?

Love M

xxx