Beauty - Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm - £5.99 (introductory offer - RRP £7.99) from Boots

I bought this new lip product today by Revlon, purely because it was at the tills in my local Boots (sucker for a promotion!).  Revlon is quite a new brand for me, but I've been really impressed by their products recently - the Lip Butters and nail polishes in particular.  The Just Bitten Lip Balm looks like a Clinique Chubby Stick at first glance and the similarities are there with the creamy but still 'pencily' texture and the moisturising feel.  The colour provided by the Revlon product is amazing - really pigmented and it lasts a really long time.  I chose shade 020 Lovesick and for a fair skin-tone like mine I think it looks really nice, and not as garish as some other bright pink lipsticks might look.  Overall, this is a great product and for the price, especially considering it's similarities to more high-end products like the Clinique Chubby Sticks - is really impressive. 

Beauty - MeMeMe Shimmer Stack

MeMeMe Shimmer Stack in Bronze, £9.99, from Superdrug

MeMeMe isn't a brand that I've tried before, they've always seemed a bit tacky when I've glanced at their products in Superdrug, but, as I do every summer, I went out to buy a new bronzer a couple of weeks ago and the MeMeMe Shimmer Stack in 'Bronze' ticked every box.  It comes in a good quality plastic compact, with a mirror.  There are five shades which swirl together to give a good, naturel looking bronzer colour that I sweep over my nose and cheeks.  Each colour can also be used separately as cheek colour, highlighters or as eye shadows. I've found that this has been a great multi-tasking product that I will use all summer.

Have you ever tried a MeMeMe product? What do you think?

Beauty - Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow! Foundation, SunBeam & The Porefessional

hello flawless oxygen wow! brightening makeup, SPF 25 PA+++, £24.50; sun beam golden bronze complexion highlighter, £18.50; the porefessional, free sample, full size £23.50

Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow! Foundation is a really nice, lightweight foundation that really does feel like it's adding moisture to your skin, rather than drying it out, which really helps if like me your foundation can sometimes cling to little dry patches. It also contains SPF which is a good bonus for an everyday foundation. It is definitely what I would call a light-coverage foundation, and more suitable as an everyday foundation rather than for evenings and events when you might want a bit more coverage.The added moisture also means it leaves a dewy, natural finish, which I find means you can't go without powder across the nose/chin.

Sunbeam is Benefit's most recent addition to their highlighters, along with cult-favourites like Highbeam (which I've used religiously on my cheek and brow bones for ages now). Sunbeam is a perfect summer update for highlighting brow and cheek bones and for mixing with foundation for a brighter, glowy finish. I've been using this every day since I bought it, and as with most Benefit products the size is more than enough to last over 6 months.

I also got a little sample of The Porefessional which I've been using as an everyday primer. It is a great product and does dramatically reduce the appearance of pores, although mine have never been too prominent/too much of an issue so I can't say how well this would work if your pores are a major skin-problem for you. But for me, it works well as an everyday primer, sinks into the skin and provides a great base. I haven't quite been converted enough to use it for evenings, as I'm still in love with my Mac primer which just seems to give the best flawless finish. This is also included in Glamour's annual Benefit free gift giveaway this month, so I've been able to stock up on samples that will keep me going for a while!

How you tried any of Benefit’s newest products? What do you think?

Beauty - St Tropez Bronzing Lotion, L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Self-Tanning Gel & Rimmel Sun Shimmer

 

L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Self-tanning Gel tinted and shimmering for face & body, £13.47; St Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Lotion £20.43; Rimmel Sunshimmer Instant Tan Make Up Medium Matte, £5.99

I've been trying out quite a few tanning products recently, and as I am the palest person ever (think Nicola Roberts!) I thought I'd post my thoughts on some of them from a pale person's perspective!

The most reasonably priced of the three, Rimmel's Sun Shimmer wash-off instant tan, has proved to be the cheapest for a reason. I'd heard mixed reviews about it so was kind of expecting to possibly hate it or end up orange, but it doesn't seem to do anything at all other than leave my skin incredibly glittery like a teenager off to a disco. I bought the 'fair shimmer' and there are two other shades (light and dark) available so it may just be that I'm not as pale as I thought, but considering my natural skin-tone is as white as white can be I was pretty surprised that this made no difference at all. I'll use it up by mixing it with my moisturiser to give a bit of a 'sheen' later in the summer, but other than that I wouldn't say it's a good tanning product at all.

L'Oreal's Sublime Bronze Tanning Gel is a product I've been using for a few years now as part of my night-out routine. I find that sometimes it gives a perfect result (I should probably add that I always use a tanning mitt and exfoliate before using any tanning product) - but sometimes despite doing all the same preparation I'll end up with bright orange knees, elbows and dodgy tan marks on my arms. It's a good product for the price but not something to use all summer and for in the day, as it does have quite a lot of glitter in it.

St Tropez's Bronzing Lotion is something I only bought last weekend after my hairdresser recommended it. I'd always steered clear of St Tropez as they don't seem to have any range of colours (apart from in the gradual tanners) and I always thought a 'one colour suits all' would definitely turn my fair skin muddy orange. But I've been pleasantly surprised and completely converted.

The product itself doesn't give much direction about application, other than leaving on for at least 4 hours, without rubbing in, then washing it off to reveal a lovely tan - but there are countless tutorials online which I found really helpful (such as this one). It is a little daunting the first time, as it does look and smell a bit like hair dye, but I've found that just going for it, waiting 10-15 minutes then going to bed and showering in the morning works perfectly and gives a genuinely natural colour. While it is the most expensive of the three, and compared to many others on the market, I really don’t think anything else can compare. Its consistency compared to the others is much less watery and is probably why it works so well and the results definitely make it worth paying a little more for.

Have you tried any of these products?

Beauty - Origins & Topshop Make-Up

Origins Modern Friction for the Body, £28.00; Origins Super Spot Remover, 12.00; Origins A Perfect World moisturiser with spf 25 trial size; Topshop Blush in Head Over Heels, £6.00; Topshop Nails in Parma Violet, £5.00; Topshop Nails in Pool Party, £5.00

Origins have been getting great reviews online and I originally went out today to pick up the ‘A Perfect World’ moisturiser after reading great things about it online.  When I got to the counter though the (super helpful) assistant got talking to me about the body scrub and it sounded like exactly what I need right now with a big event (and a strapless dress) on the horizon.  I also bought the Super Spot Remover gel, which is super tiny but I was assured a little goes a long way.  Even though I never get spots on my face, I've recently started getting them across my chest and tops of my arms, so I'm going to see if this can help (fingers crossed!) I also got a trial size of the moisturiser so I can see how if it agrees with my skin. I'll do a proper review of everything in a couple of weeks. 

Topshop's Make-Up range has become a firm favourite of mine and I've been using this blusher for a few months now (think this is the third one I've bought).  It's the perfect brightening blusher for fair skin like mine, without looking too orange/coral.  The creamy texture is perfect as I hate that powdery finish of pressed powder blushers and find I can never get the tone right with a tint.  It sinks into the skin and lasts really well with some setting powder (I use Mac).  

And the nail polishes... I just can't seem to come home from a shopping trip without at least one! These are both colours I've had my eye on for a while and I’m currently wearing both colours which look gorgeous together.

Beauty - ModelCo Fibre Lash Brush on False Lashes

 ModelCo Fibre Lash Brush-On False Lashes, £30.00 from Boots

ModelCo Fibre Lash Mascara has been around for a while now, and I did buy it when it first came out around a year ago, but I've noticed a lot more people showing an interest in it recently so thought I'd do a post about how I find it. 

The idea behind it is similar to something that companies like L'Oreal tried ages and ages ago with their 'tube' mascaras (with the two ends; one black and one white) where you 'brush on' false eye lashes.  The ModelCo mascara goes one step further by using brush-on nylon fibres which are "lightweight and adhere to your own lashes and act like instant lash extensions".

It is really weird to use to begin with.  Firstly you apply the black 'lash extension' mascara, which is pretty much like any other mascara, apart from maybe slightly thicker that my usual L'Oreal one.  You then apply the 'lash fibres' which basically looks like cotton wool fibre or fluff.  Then you apply another coat of the mascara.  The effect is super long and dramatic lashes.  I wouldn't say that it is the same effect as false lashes though, as your lashes (naturally after which is basically two massive coats of mascara) look quite spidery and some might even say clumpy.  Although I do like the effect that the mascara gives, and I use it every time I go out as I always get in a pickle with false lashes when I'm in a rush (which is all the time!), it isn't the same as false lashes as ModelsCo try to say.  With false lashes I find that my lashes look false (obviously) and separated and nothing like how natural lashes look with mascara, which is something that this product is never going to be able to achieve.  But if you want a mascara which is purely for going out and gives a more dramatic and elongated look to your lashes, then the ModelCo mascara is perfect.  For £30.00, it is expensive if you just see it as a mascara, but for me it has completely replaced false eye lashes which cost a lot more if you're buying them every month or even every week. 

Beauty - Favourite Eyeshadows - Mac Retrospeck & Woodwinked

Mac Lustre Eye Shadow in Restrospeck & Mac Veluxe Pearl Eye Shadow in Woodwinked 

(£12.00 each)

Thought I'd do a post on my favourite eye shadows.  I was never much of a Mac fan until recently, I always thought that their higher prices couldn't really be justified, especially when there's such a good selection nowadays from a 'drugstore' brands, but after treating myself to these for the first time around a year ago I pretty much use them all the time.  

Retrospeck is a 'Lustre', which I find means it's slightly more glittery/fine in its texture once it's on a brush.  Woodwinked is a 'Veluxe Pearl' and seems to be more blendable and less fine when applying it.  I usually use these colours together, as Restrospeck works really well as a slightly shimmery base and on the inner corners of my eyes, and I use Woodwinked on the outer corners of my eyes and up and out of the eye socket.  I would definitely recommend both of these, especially as they work so well together for a smoky night-time look, and Retrospeck is a good highlighter/base colour for daytime as well. I do still think that Mac's prices are slightly extortionate and I do have some eye shadows from the Look Beauty range which do last just as well/look just as good as some other Mac eye shadows that I own, but as an occasional treat I think it can sometimes be worth paying that little bit extra.