TAG: 11 Most Reached For Products/March Favourites

My eleven favourite products change constantly but these products have been consistently used day in/day out for the whole of March...so I'm killing two birds with one stone!

Skin care, hair care, tan and bases

St Moriz Dark Mousse

John Frieda Serum

Olay Multi-Radiance Fluid

Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation

Estée Lauder Double Wear Concealer

No 7 Creme Touch Powder

Eye and lip products

Collection 2000 Big Fake Lash Mascara

NAKED Palette

MAC Tempting Quad

MOR Passionflower Lip Delight

17 Beehive Mirror Shine Lipstick

As you can tell, these products have been loved to death and is seen by their completely battered packing!  If there is anything that catches your eye for a full review, just say!

What have been your favourites recently???

xxx

Drugstore Brand Spotlight: L'oreal

As much as we all love high end beauty products, they do have a (sometimes ridiculous) high price tag attached.  I have therefore made it my aim over the past few years to weed out the best products from the drugstore (I hate that phrase as much as the next person but it is standard in the beauty community..!) that don't cost an arm and a leg.

Over the next few weeks I'm hoping to put a spotlight on some of the best products found in Boots/Superdrug that I've personally bought and loved and the odd few that have disappointed... Because, at the end of the day, a low end mascara may cost £5-ish but if you end up buying 4 awful ones, you may as well splash the cash on a YSL..  So, hopefully I can pin point the best products to save on and, with some recommendations from you beautiful people, build up a resource of the best cheap products out there!

Please note: I am not affiliated with any companies whatsoever - these are my honest opinions, as always.

First up....

L'oreal

Bases

True Match Foundation and Powder: Blendable.  Good shade range.  Commendable lasting power.  Adapts to skin. Don't bother with the roll on - very much a gimmick!

Infallible Foundation and Concealer: Great lasting power.  Nice shade range. Concealer thick but blendable - great for under the eyes!  The foundation now comes with the option of an attached brush - I would say stick with the original packing - more product for your money! (30ml vs 25ml)

Studio Secrets Primer and Foundation: Primer makes skin feel gorgeous and helps any foundation to glide on.  Foundation applies beautifully with attached brush and sets with a gorgeous dewy finish.  

Touch Magique concealer: Light reflecting brush on concealer.  Light coverage but nice effect under eyes as doesn't sink into fine lines.

Eyes

Voluminous Mascara: Gives long, thick lashes. No flaking or smudging to note.

Telescopic Mascara: Amazing length!

Carbon Gloss Super Liner: Precision nib that can great desired thickness. Glossy black line that stays put all day.

Lash Renewal Serum: Brilliant mascara primer.  Over time, lashes look longer, healthier and thicker.

Lips

Glam Shine Lipglosses: Glossy gorgeous colours - great shade range.  Heart shaped wand smooths and plumps lips.

If you have any other recommendations please comment - I will then add them in!

xxx

Mini haul Featuring Cosmopolitan, Collection 2000 and Revlon

I am on a slight spending ban due to my travelling plans for after graduation but as a self confessed product junkie, my Christmas money had to go somewhere...

Cosmopolitan Blend Perfection Sponge

I've been aware of the Beauty Blender for quite some time but I could never force myself to part with upwards of £15 for what was, essentially, a sponge.  

However, when I saw Holly recommend this sponge for under £5 I mentally saved it and had to purchase it when I just happened to stumble into Superdrug..

Revlon Contour Shadow Brush

Another beauty tool, another recommendation.  This time from the wonderful gossmakeupartist aka Wayne.  Not only is he an extremely talented make up artist and brutally honest about products, he's also a complete babe - honestly, I could watch him for hours!

When he stated that this brush was a dupe for MAC's 224 brush, I was instantly sold.  Who wants to pay twenty odd pounds when you can try this for £7-ish?!  I will report back on it...

Collection 2000 Volume Sensation Waterproof Mascara and 24 Hour Felt Tip Black Liner

To be honest, two slightly unnecessary purchases.. I needed a new waterproof mascara as I find they hold the curl so much better and I was bored with my L'oreal liner - I'm so fickle!!

Revlon Fire & Ice Lipstick

As a lover of all things 1940s, I just couldn't resist the new re-promote of Revlon's classic lip colour from the era - Fire and Ice.  Supposedly a neutral based red, I felt it the easiest and most classic way to try the red lip.  I personally think it is quite orange based but it is flattering all the same and I absolutely love wearing it.  

Prepare for a FOTD coming this way soon..

xxx

June Favourites

• MaxFactor Second Skin Foundation - For days when I want slightly more coverage than a tinted moisturiser this does the job perfectly.  It evens my skin out with a dewy finish but my freckles are still visible - perfect for when I don't want to look too made up.

• Elf mineral foundation - Perfect for setting my make up in this weather and giving some coverage at the same time.  Be warned though - even the lightest shade is still pretty dark..

• The Body Shop Nature's Minerals Blusher Kabuki - I bought this last Summer and have literally used it every day since.  I use it for powder and honestly don't know what I'd do without it.  It is probably the softest brush I own and it just buffs in powder beautifully.  The best part?  I got it for a steal off eBay..

• Barry M 147 Lipstick - I am honestly in love with this colour!  I was so distraught that I lost it last weekend after one too many vodkas that I rushed out and bought two...as you do!  It is a perfect peachy-corally-pink and looks as good on the cheeks as it does on the lips.  It is however, like it's 101 sister, extremely drying and always needs a lip balm under.

• MAC Hush CCB & Sonia Kashuk Flat Top Brush  - These two work so well together - the brush picks up the perfect amount of product and allows it to be buffed all the way along the cheekbone for a gorgeous dewy finish.

• BB Creamy Concealer - Heavy duty enough to cover my dark circles but doesn't cake or collect in fine lines.  When set with the powder provided it stays put all day and makes my eye area look bright and awake even when all I want to do is crawl back into bed!

• Bourjois Liner Effect Mascara - If you've followed my blog for a while you'll know I gave this a pretty negative review a while ago.  However, I have to say sorry to Bourjois and admit I now love it.  I guess it has dried up a little and it is now the perfect consistency to work with.  Yes, the brush is still fiddly but when I have the time and patience, it can result in the most amazingly lengthy lashes.  Its not perfect, but pretty damned near :)  

And finally...

Decorated coral toe nails - I refuse to leave the house in Summer without my feet looking their bestest!  And this has been my design of choice so far this year.... simple but effective!  

The shoes?? KG and beautiful but they are the DEVIL - no pain, no gain I guess?!!

Favourites: Mascara

I had a request on Formspring (link to the right) to post about my favourite products.  I thought I would do this as a series, detailing my top 5 products within each catergory.  


My favourite mascaras will be the first to come under fire...
As mentioned in a previous post, I only ever really have one or two mascaras on the go at the same time so I will be using Google images for this - hope you lovely ladies don't mind!  


For me, I like a mascara to give me results - curl, length and volume.  I usually curl my lashes before the application of mascara - or after one thin coat - but it is nice when a mascara can give you a curl without that effort!  I also look for a mascara that gives a natural finish with one coat but can then can be built up to give your lashes as much drama as you wish!


So without further ado, these are - in no particular order - my top 5....

L'oreal Voluminous - RRP £7.99

Lancome Virtuôse - RRP £20

Clinique High Impact - RRP £14.50

Bourjois Volume Clubbing - RRP £7.99

Natural Collection Water Guard - £1.99

There is nothing much to say about these five except they give long, luscious, thick black lashes and the mascara does not budge - important as my eyes regularly water for no apparent reason!  I love all of them and I gladly repurchase again and again - especially the Natural Collection which I held no hopes for but for £1.99 it really does the job!

Next up to try is the Eyeko -I've heard such great things and for £5 one can't really go wrong!  I also need to try the Rimmel Sexy Curves after watching back all of Pixiwoo's videos....

Any other recommendations out there?!

Review: Bourjois Liner Effect Mascara

Unlike all my other multiples of products that I own, I only ever have 1 or 2 mascaras on the go at the same time. This is mainly due to the fact that I feel I have really small lashes and that no mascara ever gives me the length, thickness or curl that I want. I have tried so many that I just got in the mindset that no mascara could help me so I just always pick up a mascara I like the look of and deal with it. That or use false lashes.

My eyes also always water whatever the weather so a waterproof mascara is compulsory.

So when one day I purchased Bourjois Volume Clubbing waterproof mascara I was over the moon. It made my lashes look amazing and it didn't budge all day.

So when I ran out of my Volume Clubbing the other day, I rushed to Boots and stupidy decided to try Bourjois's Liner Effect waterproof mascara instead. Why? I have no idea. It is £1 more than its Volume Clubbing equivalent (£8.99) and has a plastic brush which I have always hated.

What does Bourjois say?

Bourjois Liner Effect Mascara has a flexible new-generation brush with long bristles to intensely lengthen lashes, and short bristles to emphasis roots for a liner effect. The formula is enriched with khol to coat lashes with intense colour to give a doe-eyed look which will have them falling at your feet....

My experience

My natural lashes:

Short and flat basically! As you can see in the top photo - they have no natural curl so they look non existent straight on.

With one coat:

I applied one coat by wiggling the short bristles into the roots then the longer bristles through the lashes. Yes my lashes look longer with a slight curl and obviously darker but it was extremely fiddly and hard not to make a mistake. There are definite marks left underneath my bottom lashes.

With two coats:

After a second coat, which was hard to apply as my lashes had dried to a rock solid finish, I'm not sure there is a positive difference? In fact, I think my lashes look slightly worse - in the top picture my lashes look flat again as if the mascara is weighing them down.

My final opinion

Honestly? I hate it. After a week's worth of usage I think the wand is a complete gimmick and no matter which way you use it or choose to apply, the effect is the same. It is so fiddly and time consuming to use and you are guaranteed to get marks everywhere. Definitely not one to use if you are rushing out at 8 in the morning.
It is also near impossible to build up as it dries to such a hard finish so quickly - perhaps due to the khol it contains.
As for the 'Liner Effect' I'm not convinced. In my experience if you wiggle any mascara into the base of your lashes they will look darker and give the effect of eyeliner.

So, would I buy this again?! Definitely not! This was definitely another £9 thrown down the drain and I will be reverting back to my trusty Volume Clubbing mascara a-sap.

Have you had any experience with this mascara?! Let me know!