Origins Best Brighteners

Hi all!

I'm sure everyone knows by now but Origins are one of our favourite brands here at CSI and normally when purchasing something from them you can get a few sample size products to try.

Over Christmas when I bought a few things from John Lewis they were giving away miniature sets and so I chose the Best Brighteners set. There were a few on offer but I hadn't used the products in this set so I chose the brighteners.

I love all of the sets that Origins do but the packaging is always really cute and this one is no exception.

This set contains Dr Andrew Weil for Origins Mega Bright Skin Illuminating Cleanser, Skin Tone Correcting Serum and GinZing Eye Cream.

I've got so much love for their serums, they are so absorbent into my skin and leave it feeling so much more hydrated without overloading it at all.
I'd never tried this particular one before but it was really lovely and I would happily buy it in full size if it wasn't so expensive. That's my only problem with the serums from Origins, they're so pricey and although they do really work I just cannot justify it at the moment.

I can't really comment on its skin tone correcting properties due to it only being a 7ml sample but it was super hydrating and was a joy to use.

The cleanser was also a really lovely treat and it has now been moved to my gym bag so that I have a really nice cleanser for whenever I've done a good workout!
It's a thick white cleanser that feels really hydrating on your skin. It doesn't foam but turns to a white milk kind of consistency that make up then dissolves in. It feels really thick and luxurious and worked really well at getting my make up off. I can't say that it was particularly illuminating but my skin felt really clean and was a little brighter after use. I'd definitely buy this in the future as it felt so much of a treat.

The GinZing eye cream is a favourite product of mine and I have previously written about it here.

In short its hydrating, luminating and depuffing which is everything you could want in an eye cream really!

I love getting the opportunity to try products like this, this set was free with some purchases and it has been a great way to try products that I might not have bought otherwise. I now know that the serum is something I would love to purchase in the future (when I'm not poor!)

What's your favourite Origins product? Have you found a new favourite by trialling something that was free?

L xxx

Review: Avon Anew Clinical Eye Lift Pro

Hey All

This afternoon I'm off to London for a Lauren's Way launch. I'm a big fan of the darker than dark lotion so can't wait. I was definitely sceptical at first but was pleasantly proved wrong. I'm so glad I bought it.

Skincare is something I'm also on the look out for a new product. I fully believe prevention is better than cure and that you can never start a good skincare/anti aging regime too young. I started properly at 22 and I'm hoping that it'll help my skin stay good. I wish I had been more interested in uni as I'm sure all the late nights took their toll on my skin.

Eyes are something I'm always on the look out for a good product for. My mum has droppy eyelids (she'll love me for writing that on here!) and I can see I have the same eye shape as her so I fully expect my eyelids to drop. I'm hoping good skincare and taking care of them will help prevent it a bit!

My latest eye cream I've been using is the Anew Clinical Eye Lift Pro. This has been in the avon catalogue for ages. I remember seeing it when I helped my mum do it years ago. It comes with a different cream for the upper and lower eyelids. I love this as I do think the skin is different and you want different things on your upper and lower eyes. 

They Say

"The tightening topically applied upper eye gel contains injectable-grade arginine to help boost elastin and help lift sagging skin and the rich eye cream contains Derma-Refine Technology to help reduce hollowness and discolourations."

I've been using this for the past 4 months now. As someone without wrinkles at the moment I obviously can't comment on whether it helps them but the skin around my eyes feels smooth and my dark circles haven't got worse.


The under eye cream is a thick white cream. It sinks into the skin easily and leaves it feeling plump and nourished. I love that it's thicker as I do feel this is where you want the moisture to help prevent under eye wrinkles and crows feet.
The upper eye cream is a gel based formula. It feels lovely and cooling on the eyes first thing and relaxing when applied at night. It also sinks into the skin easily.
I've really liked this cream. The skin around my eyes feels well moisturised and no fine lines are appearing. It's also lasted really well. I'm keeping my eye out for when it's next on offer to order some. It retails at £19.50 which is reasonable for an eye cream but I've got my eagle eyed mum on the case who tells me if I wait till the beginning of March it goes on offer!
I think it may be time to try more Avon Skincare. Any recommendations?
Love M
xxx

Naked 2

Morning all

Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine didn't go to plan with illness still hanging around but it turned out to be a great one. Sometimes lazy ones catching up with people are needed. I spent Friday night at the cinema (if you get a chance go see the Monuments Men. It was awesome!) Then after a lazy morning I finally tried to get over my mixing sweet and savoury foods and tried maple bacon pancakes on Saturday morning (mainly as it's a new food to cross off my list!) I was converted. The first mouthful was weird then it was good!! Saturday evening was spent with my housemate having a girlie evening and Sunday was a blogging, gym, coffee with friends and uni work! 

Anyway onto today's post. When I went to America 18 months ago I picked myself up Naked 2. After telling myself for months it wasn't needed and MUA was just as good and the price wasn't worth it. When I caved I realised how wrong I was! I've debated for a while whether or not to post about. It's been mentioned in posts but I've never reviewed it. But after recently picking up Naked 3 I decided to share my thoughts on Naked 2.

Since I got it 18 months ago I think it's probably been used 5 out 7 days every week. I've hit pan on 3 shadows and 4 others have sizeable dents! It's such an easy palette to use for everyday or for going out.

Firstly packaging. It's beautiful. The metal casing has lasted pretty well. This goes everywhere with me whenever I go away and apart from it few scrathes it's lasting really well. It comes with a great double ended brush that has a blending and shadow brush (which I also use as a liner brush!). The brush is super soft and doesn't shed and is still going strong.

For me there was no contest between Naked and Naked 2. I'm definitely a Naked 2 girl. I think the tones in Naked are too warm for me. Although there are a few I would love.

For a while I was drawn to bootycall and tease and would wear them everyday as they were so easy to wear without having to think. After hitting pan on bootycall I made myself use other colours. I really like foxy now and it creates the perfect base. With my blue eyes I love to wear bronzes and golds as it brings out the blue in them. So half bakes blended out with busted has been a firm favourite too.

The quality of the shadows are amazing. Some do give slight fall out but nothing major. I love the palette contains a matte black. For me this is an essential shadow. I always need a matte black in my collection and this is one with an amazing pigmentation.

Tease is the ultimate crease colour, the perfect matte mid brown. I would be lost without this shadow. It's got so much use. It blends out easily and has a good pigmentation.

YDK is a gorgeous shimmer colour. I love this lately for lazy day make up. I sweep this over the lid and under the lower lashes add mascara and my eyes are done.

When we went to the UD showcase we were shown Eden primer. I used to swear by using UD primer potion everyday but I got lazy. Eden is absolutely amazing and after being reminded the difference it makes I have to start using it again.

From L-R without primer then with Tease, YDK, Half Baked, Blackout.

Here is a post using it to make a gold make up look.

and here is my go to look using tease in the crease.

Now I just need to start using some of the middle colours more. Do you have any of the Naked palettes? I now have Naked 3. The sparkle made me by it!

Love M

xxx

Urban Decay Product Showcase

Morning lovelies!

Hope you're not feeling too delicate this morning, I went out Friday night and came home at 5am and was feeling less than perky yesterday so today is going to be 100% productive!

Starting the day off were writing about our trip into Cardiff Debenhams the other evening where we met the lovely girls at the Urban Decay counter for a few hours of make up chat, playing with products and generally having a fun time. There were only 6 of us there at the meeting which was lovely as although we'd met the majority of the other bloggers (Georgina, Nina and Helen) it was great to meet Shelley too and get to know everyone a little better.

The main focus of the events was Naked 3 which I'm sure all of you have seen and heard about over the past few weeks and it is obviously a gorgeous must have palette for everyone due to its super flattering rose gold shades. However we were also there to check out the new Naked lip glosses, the Naked Skin foundations and loose powder as well as their BB cream, B6 spray and so many others!

It was like a sleepover party with all of your friends bringing their make up around, my hand was covered in swatches and I managed to get it all over me in an attempt to try everything...oops!

The Naked lipglosses were a big hit with both of us, the packaging is gorgeous with the cut out design and the range of colours is pretty good. My favourite one was Streak purely because I'm a coral girl at heart but I can honestly say that every colour is wearable and beautiful! Some are more shimmery than others, some have more colour than others and some are just beautifully nude. M's was Beso which she has already mentioned in a post. She's more of a plum/dark lip colours.

I'm sure you'll be seeing posts from us when we've been using them a lot more as they're so versatile and have so many good ingredients and effects that they warrant their own post!

What I love is when brands make things completely unique, and on a beautiful stand at the corner of the counter was a selection of cupcakes each called a different shade of the Naked lipglosses and I ended up with Walk of Shame....were they trying to say something? Haha. The icing was amazing and if I hadn't have been going for tapas for a friend's birthday I'd have taken home another!

It was great fun to play around with the products and M had her brows done by the lovely Haddie (isn't her blue hair amazing?!). It was lovely to see all of the kits as I'd never seen the brow box before nor the Naked Skin loose powder and I'm fast becoming a loose powder fan!

One of the items I couldn't wait to have a go of was Naked Flushed. I know its been out for a while but I still hadn't had chance to have a go with it and I can certainly tell you it's a beautiful palette!
I often stay at friends and travel at the mo and carrying a bronzer, blusher and highlighter separately can be a pain but this is all in one and perfect for any occasion. The blusher and bronzer are so pigmented you need a tiny amount and the highlighter has been so finely milled that its like a veil on your skin, lots of love for it!

Also on hand were the new Naked pencils, each matching a palette and they're all double ended which is a really great idea. Using their brushes was also a really good opportunity as although I've tried the eyeshadow brushes in the palettes I'd never tried the Optical blurring brush which I've heard so much about and its gorgeous!

Unfortunately as the time our goodie bags were stuck on a palette inside a lorry so we had to go back to collect them the day after. But who cares about the wait the goodie bag was so unbelievably generous that we're both still a bit shocked at the contents!

We were super lucky and we're given 6 full sized products including 2 Naked lipglosses, a Revolution lipstick, 24/7 Glide on Lip Pencil, Naked Flushed palette and their B6 Complexion Prep Spray. Totally overwhelmed!

We both also picked up a few goodies on the night; M bought herself Naked 3 and I bought the 24/7 blending brush and the Naked Basics eye pencil and have been loving the results with them.

I'm sure you'll see posts from both of us in the future with reviews on all the products. We cannot believe how generous they were to us and how much fun the evening was too. Knowing that Ud products are so amazing anyway (we now own 7 of their palettes between us including the whole Naked family) we will guaranteed be back for some more in the future!

Do you love UD? Have you picked up anything from the Naked range? Which is your favourite palette?

Thanks so much to Haddie and Ffion for a wonderful evening, it was a pleasure to meet you both and you've given us some great tips and tricks!

L and M xxx