MUA All In One Beauty Balm

I’ve gone on a little spending spree lately buying up all (well one of each, I’m not completely mad) of the UK Highstreet BB creams. My grand plan is to write an individual review on each and then at the end I will do a video comparing them all and picking my favourites. Please let me know if this is something you are actually interested in seeing. Otherwise I’m just a nutter with a drawer full of BB creams.

I will begin with the cheapest offering. MUA’s offering cost just £3 when I bought it although the price has now gone back up to a still very budget friendly £4. I have this in the shade Light, it also comes in Medium and Dark too. The light shade is actually light! It’s a pretty good match for my skin.

Let’s just get the whole ‘BB’ concept out of the way. I’m sure we’ve all heard and seen plenty about them but just in case here is a brief summary as I understand it. BB, or Beauty/ Blemish Balms, were originally created for cosmetic surgery patients and they swiftly became a huge hit in the Asian market. They are designed to be all in one products which prime, provide coverage, treat the skin (i.e. have some sort of skin care element to them) and protect the skin (i.e. have SPF). I’m drawn to the idea because I love the thought of having a product that I can chuck on and go without having to use separate primer, sunscreen and foundation. If a product fails to meet all of these criteria I will declare it a piece of band wagon marketing rather than an actual BB cream.

Well this doesn’t have SPF so on the band wagon it goes. It does say that it ‘Primes, Smooths and Conceals’ but it makes no claims about treating or protecting the skin. So what we have here then is a budget foundation. 

I have to be honest, this isn’t the foundation for me. I find the texture to be very thick and it takes a fair bit of effort to buff it into a smooth finish on the skin. I’ve only been using this for 2 or so weeks but I’m finding that it has a tendency to separate in the bottle and it needs a good shake before use. Given that this is a fairly recent release I can’t imagine that it’s old stock and it was sealed when I bought it so I’m not sure why it’s separating.

The coverage is easily medium. It just isn’t the kind of finish that I like though. It doesn’t really set and even after powdering it still feels slightly tacky on my skin. After a couple of hours it looks cakey round my oily nose and it does little to nothing to control oil. But the worst part for me is that this just seems to hang around my large pores shouting “hey look at these! Aren’t they huge!!” It is not flattering at all.

If you are on a budget, have more normal skin and like a medium coverage then you could certainly do a lot worse. It you have oily skin and large pores then I really don’t recommend it. It’s usable and I will finish it but I won’t be buying it again at the end x

*Bought by me*

Sample Sunday – L’Occitane Relaxing Hand Balm

I adore L’Occitane hand creams, or at least the ones I’ve been able to get as magazine samples. You see one of my many neurotic tendencies is a phobia of dry hands. The noise of someone with dry skin rubbing their hands together is the stuff of nightmares. *Shudder*. So I slather on hand cream in vast quantities every time I wash my hands.

L’Occitane Relaxing Hand Balm is surprisingly light weight. I was expecting something really rich but this sinks in almost instantly with absolutely no greasy residue. It is moisturising but I think I prefer their shea butter hand creams. I like a rich greasy hand cream. This is perfect for on the go as you won’t leave sticky finger prints everywhere but if you’re looking for a really rich treat you might want to look for something else in their range.

The lavender, tea tree and geranium fragrance is light and it does smell very relaxing. It just isn’t rich enough for me. It’s more of a day time throw in your hand bag sort of texture but it comes in a metal tin rather than a tube so it’s not overly travel friendly. So whilst yes it’s nice, it isn’t the L’Occitane hand cream that I would buy. But if you prefer a light weight hand cream this costs £12 for a 50ml tin. 

I Finally Reached (got) Hervana

Seriously, how many ‘Hervana’ jokes have been made now? All of them. Moving swiftly on this is the latest (by which I mean it came out months ago and I’m just slow) boxed powder from Benefit. The packaging is adorable and follows the heavenly theme conjured up by the name. Yes I still worry that the cardboard packaging will get beaten up but in the mean time it does look good! 

Like most of the boxed powders this smells delicious. I’m not sure what of, just sweet and lovely. In the pan you get sections of four colours, a pale shell pink, peachy orange, rosy pink and pink berry shade. All have fine shimmer evident on the pan but I don’t notice the shimmer translating to my face at all.

The sections are too small really to be used individually so you just have to swirl your brush through all of them. You end up with a peachy pink shade which is very flattering. It’s not too cool toned, not too warm. Just right on my neutral skin. I do find that this is more pigmented than most of the boxed powders I’ve tried so far and it has better staying power too. It looks pretty much as good at the end of the work day as it does at the start which is impressive, I seem to be noticing a lot of blushes fading on me at the moment. Random.

I’ve been reaching for this a lot of late and really enjoying it. As usual this costs £23.50 except (again as usual) I paid for it with my Boots points :-D

Look of the day: Multi Tasking Guerlain

Someone asked me how I use the Guerlain Sun in the City highlighter as an eyeshadow as well as an ordinary highlighter. Well, this is how. Here I’ve used it as a normal highlight on my cheek bone and lightly as a brow bone highlight. I used a very thin layer of Sleek Molten Metal in Gold Leaf on my lid then loaded up a flat shader brush with the Geurlain and pressed it over the top. I used Hustle from the Urban Decay Naked palette in the outer corner/ crease and Buck to blend it out. Darkhorse was pushed into the lashline and I popped a bit of Half Baked under the lower lashline. Finally I popped a bit of a L’Oreal Colour Appeal shadow in 21 Golden Beige in the inner corner.

 I think you can just about see the highlight on the cheek and brow bone hitting the light in the picture below.

I really like using this for multiple purposes. It takes the sting out of the high price tag and it’s always fun to experiment with products! x

April Goodbyes

Every month I think I haven’t used much up and yet every month I’m pleasantly surprised by the number of empty containers I’m managed to accumulate. You know the drill, the real test of a product is would I buy it again once I’ve reached the end of it. We will start with the makeup.

MAC MSF Natural – IT’S ONLY BLOODY FINISHED! I have had this since my honeymoon (October 2010) and I LOATHED it. It caked up something awful on my oily nose and did nothing to keep me matte. Needless to say I will not be buying that again.

Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer – This lasted me forever and I was sad to see it go. It’s a fantastic concealer for redness and blemishes. Sadly I think this is discontinued otherwise I would happily buy it again.

MUA Clear Mascara – I used this on my brows and whilst yes it isn’t empty it looks vile. I’ve decided that I just prefer the ELF clear wet gloss brow and lash mascara. It just holds better and I like that it comes in 2 sections so the product doesn’t get too icky to use before it’s finished.

Sample of Lancôme Hypnose – I much preferred this to the Hypnose Drama version but it wasn’t special enough to justify spending £20.50 on.

Lancôme Genefique Sample – I really enjoyed this but I’m only 24. Do I really need to spend £55 for the smallest (30ml) bottle of this? I’m not convinced just yet.

Absolutely Givenchy Perfume Sample – I really liked the scent but it lasted all of about 5 minutes on my skin. Not worth the effort really.

Lancôme Bifacil Sample – I love this eye makeup remover but as I’ve said a thousand times before I find the Botanics version works just as well and is a fraction of the price.

First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser – My skin really liked this. I haven’t spotted it on the shelves but if I do I will be very tempted to pick it up.

Simple Sun Sensitive Protecting Facial Lotion – High SPF and it worked well with my combination skin. I’d happily buy this again.

Lancôme Express Cleansing Water sample – Blimey there’s a lot of Lancôme in this months post isn’t there! I don’t get on with this at all, it just doesn’t remove makeup particularly well for me. Give me the BiFacil anyday!

Aldi Hair Mask – It was fine, nothing special.

Neutrogena Hand & Nail Cream – Fab actually. I will buy it again in future.

ELF Studio Wipes – Do I even need to mention these again?

And finally, sady, some more things that have expired before I managed to finish them. I don’t feel particularly guilty about the two Barbabra Daly Mousse eyeshadows. They were a bit naff to be honest, too sheer and the creased like nothing else. They have just dried up now but I’m not sorry to see them go. The Sleek Ink Pot Gel Liner has also shrivelled up which is a shame as I really liked it. I managed to make a good dent in it. I’m genuinely pissed off about the Clinique gloss though. Yes it was just a little magazine freebie but I’d definitely had it open for a lot less than a year. I liked it used it quite a bit. Then one day I opened it and though ‘hang on, why can I smell garlic?!’ It STANK. Almost overnight it just went completely rancid. I wouldn’t buy these again for fear of them doing the same! 

Value for money?

 As my blog and I get a little older (not necessarily wiser) my idea about what constitutes value for money has changed. It used to be that a product had to be as cheap as chips in order for me to consider it good value but I’ve come round to the idea of spending my money on one or two expensive products that I know I’ll use instead of a dozen cheaper ones that I will forget about. That’s not to say that I’m turning my back on inexpensive makeup, I’m not. I just want to evaluate products based on how much use I get out of them. It doesn’t matter how cheap it is, if I use it once and forget about it then that is not value for money.  Here are a few products that I think were worth every penny for me.

My Benefit Browzings has to get a mention. Before you choke on the £22.50 price tag hear me out. I bought this around 2 years ago, I use it several times a week and yet it’s still not done. The wax will probably be used up by the end of 2012 but the powder will keep going until the end of time. There are Sleek and ELF versions out there that look similar but I haven’t tried them so I can’t compare the performance.

ELF Studio makeup brushes. Not all of them mind you. I never use the fan brush or the concealer brush but the powder brushes, eyeshadow c brush and contour brushes are part of my daily face arsenal . None of them have shed on me. They perform well and the only sign of wear after almost 2 years is the ferrule has started to loosen a bit on one of the powder brushes. For the £3.50 price tag I don’t begrudge it a bit of superglue after almost 2 years of hard graft.

MAC Wedge Eyeshadow. There are probably cheaper dupes out there but I don’t own any (although Naked from the Urban Decay Naked palette is very, very similar). I use this shadow almost daily because it gives me what nature forgot to (I don’t mean boobs... sadly). I mean a crease. I use this almost daily to blend out my crease and it creates the perfect shadow. I’d be lost without it so I consider it £12 well spent.

What products give you the smug satisfaction of money well spent? 

L’Oreal Paris Telescopic Mascara (Waterproof)

I don’t normally wear waterproof mascara. Mainly out of laziness, I find it a pain in the bum to take off. Yes I know waterproof mascaras tend to be better at holding a curl which I need but still laziness wins out and I opt for easy to remove formulas. Recently I found myself needing a tear, sweat and rain proof mascara though and I opted for this based on the slim wand shape. 

The wand is thin, rubber bristled and flexible. It works perfectly on my small eyes and the wand does a great job of separating my relatively dense lashes. As for the finished effect I think the pictures say it all...

Behold! Naked stubby lashes.

I don’t know about you but I think the improvement here is pretty darn impressive!

This gives a proper false lash effect on me. It holds a curl all day and this stuff does not budge. Ever. Even after showering it still looks freshly applied. This takes a heavy duty oil based eye makeup remover to get it off.

The only down side (apart from it being hard to remove) is that after about a month of opening it has started to go a little clumpy. It’s still workable but I have to comb through it with a clean spoolie as I hate clumps. For £10.99, which I consider pretty pricy for a high street brand mascara I’d expect a bit of a longer shelf life x

*Bought by me*

B.Liv (by Cellnique) Stem Cell Revival Original Japan Silk Mask

The lovely folks at B.Liv were kind enough to send me some of their new 'Feel No Sluggish' face masks to try out recently. These are Japanese silk masks containing apple stem cells, Coenzyme Q10  (an antioxidant)  and Hyaluronic acid (a water attractant that hydrates thus plumping the skin... I think, It’s a couple of years since I did chemistry!). The box says “It’s fruity goodness jazz up  your haggard-looking skin, while quashing the pesky signs of time”. I’m not 100% sure about the translation, I’ve never been described as haggard before (well perhaps after the odd night out) but the gist of it is that these should hydrate and perk up tired skin.

You get 7 masks in each box with a box costing $25USD from www.blivskin.com . The masks themselves feel very soft and are absolutely drenched with product. They certainly haven’t skimped on the product, there is more than enough on the mask to spread the excess down onto your neck and décolletage.

Here I'm pulling off the plastic backing. You can see how moist the mask is. 

Now before I launch into the full review I will preface this by saying that I don’t think my skin is quite ready for this sort of product. I’m 24 and don’t really have any wrinkles. I also have combination skin so I don’t need much in the way of hydration. With this in mind I decided to send a box each to two lovely ladies who might feel the benefits a bit more (I’m having to tread VERY carefully with my wording here :p). One box went to my Mum who is *ahem* somewhat older than me. Another went to my sister in law who again is *cough* a little more mature too.

What kind of face mask review would it be without an action shot?

Looking good Claire, looking good. 

One thing we all agreed on is that we would like to have seen some more in depth instructions on the box. It doesn’t say how often you should use these for, it simply says to leave them on for 20- 30 minutes. I left them on for 30 minutes and I found that the mask adhered well to the skin. I could still move around and get on with my evening whilst wearing it. There really is a lot of product and it’s very cooling when you apply it so I imagine you would find these very refreshing in the summer. After 30 minutes my skin still hadn’t absorbed everything and another 20 minutes after removing the mask I had to wipe the excess off. I found that my skin was very well hydrated after use but there weren’t any drastic effects for me.

This was in complete contract to my Mums experience. She has slightly drier skin and (please don’t hurt me) some faint crows feet. After around 20 minutes her skin had absorbed everything and the silk mask had started to dry. After two uses, one day apart, she rang me to tell me her crows feet had gone! Clearly the hyaluronic acid had done the trick! Brace yourselves people. I’m about to deliver the Dad verdict.

Mum:  Well, how to I look?

Dad: You have a sheen. Kind of shiny. And smooth.

We can only assume he meant all of this as a compliment. Mummy Eyelining also reported a reduction in the appearance of her pores. Now we aren’t sure how long these effects will last but I will be sending her the rest of my box just in case ;-)

My sister in law raved about them saying her skin was clearer, softer and smoother. Like me she found the first application somewhat strange as we weren’t used to sheet masks whereas my Mum is but she got used to them quickly.

If you have similar skin to my two test subjects then I think you may well love these. My Mum and sister in law have certainly reported fantastic results. If you are more my age and skin type you might be better off having a look at some of the other items in the B.Liv skin care range.

*These products were sent free of charge for review purposes. This does not affect my review and my opinion is my own as always. I have linked to the B.Liv site within the post but these are not affiliate links and I do not get paid if you click them*

ELF Studio Single Eyeshadow – Sand Dollar

Er no Sample Sunday this week, sorry. I only have 2 samples left! And I haven’t tried either yet. Oops!

In the mean time I thought I’d do a quick review on Sand Dollar. These shadows cost £3.50 and you get a generous amount, 2.75g to be precise. The packaging looks and feels fab. You get a little dinky mirror (too small to use but the thought is nice) and a handy window so you can spot the shade you’re looking for easily. It’s well thought out.

Sadly the formula doesn’t live up to the packaging. This shade is a shimmery white. I had hoped it would be matte but it’s a bit difficult to tell on the website. This is just too sheer for me. A sticky base helps but when I start blending it’s as if I’m washing the product away. I’ve been using it a bit as an inner corner highlight but by the end of the work day it’s faded to nothing.

The website does say you can use these wet. I’m loathe to try it as I’m not sure if it will ruin the shadow. And besides, I don’t have time in the morning to faff about with wet brushes! I want a shadow to work for me, not to be hard work! This is the only shadow from the Studio line that I’ve tried so I’m curious to know whether the other shades are any better. Have you tried any? Thoughts? x

*Bought by me*

Beauty Blog Link Love!

Check out these "Lust, Caution" inspired custom OCC Lip Tar mixes on My Funny Valentine, packaged with a lip brush applicator!

Phyrra does a wearable bright pink video tutorial with BftE Cosmetics.

A product that applies like a gloss, wears like a stain, and pH-adjusts like a grade school chemistry experiment is too good to be true - right? Find out if it is (or isn't) on theNotice.

With spring in the air, it's time to invest in a gorgeous coral lipstick! Amy Antoinette reviews the beautiful new Clarins Joli Rouge Pink Coral Lipstick.

Is OPI Just Spotted the Lizard really a dupe fore Chanel Peridot? Read polish insomniac's post to find out!

Prime Beauty tests out Laura Mercier's Limited Edition Belle Nouveau, a "new beautiful" diversion from the neons so popular this spring.

How do the Sleek Eau La La Eyeliners hold up against other famous brands, like Urban Decay and MUFE? Musicalhouses puts them to the test, and pits them against each other!

Ever undertaken a seemingly hopeless hunt for that elusive limited edition product that you just had to have? Lydia proves that good things come to those who wait after finding Guerlain's Cruel Gardenia Meteorites Illuminator.

Tracy at Beauty Reflections finally has Mediterranean light every day thanks to Guerlain Meteorites Perles d'Azur by Emilio Pucci!

Take a look at BUXOM's new Color Choreography Eye Shadow in Tango over at Makeup, Beauty and More.

If there's anything better than new Dior lipstick, it would be new Dior lipstick and nail polish! Join Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed in admiring the beauty of the new Dior Addict Extreme Lipsticks and Colour Blocked polishes!
--- Want to update your hair colour this spring? Miss Beauty Nerd is giving away two Nutrisse Mousse Nourishing Colour Foams for wannabe redheads and blondes!

Designer... de Better?

Way back when in the mists of time OPI released a Muppets collection. I drooled over them longingly but given that I have an entire shelf of nail polish that I never seem to use I retrained myself. That is until I walked into my local Sally’s and saw the mini set reduced from £12.98 to £4.73 (+VAT)!!!

Fabulous. I never use a full bottle of polish so minis are the way forward! Thank goodness I didn’t buy a full sized bottle of this particular shade though because I have to be honest, it’s not rocking my world.

Designer... de Better is a pewter foil. Up close in bright light you can see teeny tiny pinky red specks in it. The finish is similar to Orly Rage except the Orly polish is opaque in 2 coats for me normally. I did 2 coats of this then got bored and wandered off. You can clearly see visible nail line there. The polish has a slightly gritty texture too. I did an extra coat on one more nail and it helped but didn’t become completely opaque. Hmph.

In theory I should love this shade but I’m feeling a bit meh about it. Here’s hoping the others have more opaque formulas! X

*Bought by me*

Make Up Forever Mat Velvet +

Once again I have the lovely Tracy from Beauty Reflections to thank for sending me these. Mat Velvet +? Sounds exactly like my kind of preferred finish. It always makes me giggle that those of us with oilier skin seem to prefer a matte finish while those of a drier persuasion always seem to crave dewiness. Rambling aside this foundation ticks a lot of boxes for my combination skin.

Tracy sent me shade #15 (a bit too light and pink for my skin) and shade #20 (a little too dark and yellow for me). Mixed together with a little more #20 than #15 and I get a perfect match. I love the packaging of these. They look really small but you do get the standard 30ml housed in travel friendly squeezey plastic bottles.

It does have very high coverage, not as high as Vichy Dermablend but certainly enough to mean that I need little to no concealer. It dries down to a very matte finish very quickly. This is the only foundation I’ve ever used that I honestly don’t feel the need to set with a powder. It’s just kind of does it itself. If you have any dry patched this will cling onto them horrendously. I also find I need to use a good primer with a lot of slip to it to help this blend out. When blending work fast, it really does set quickly so get it buffed in while you can!

The trade off for the sometimes slightly tricky application is that I get a good 2.5 to 3 hours wear without powder before I start to get oily around my nose. This might not sound like much to you but on me it is a bloody miracle! I need to blot and powder less than I normally do and this will easily go through a full work day on me.

You will either love or hate this foundation. It looks less natural on the skin than it’s HD cousin but I personally love a matte finish. If you have dry skin or favour tinted moisturisers over full on foundations you probably won’t like this (correct me if I’m wrong though!) but if you are oilier and like a full on face then you will probably like it too. It’s a shame there isn’t a perfect colour match for me or I would be tracking more of it down!

*Thanks again Tracy!*

Wishlist – Bronzers!

For some reason I find myself craving a bit of bronze right now. It might even be time to crack open the fake tan... or maybe not. We hit 0 degrees again this weekend in  Glasgow so I might give it a few more weeks! In the mean time I will be content with drooling over a few bronzers that have caught my eye of late.

The Dior summer Croisette collection should be gracing counters soon and these Diorskin Nude Tan Nude Glow Sun Powders (ridiculous name...) have caught my eye. I’m hoping these aren’t too shimmery as I prefer matte bronzers. The packaging is something special though! These will retail at £34.

 

The Too Faced Chocolate Soleil bronzer has been on my wish list for a good long while but the colour just looked too dark for me. The clever people at Too faced have released a ‘Milk Chocolate’ version now to cater for paler skins. Matte bronzer that smells of chocolate? Yes please! This one is £22.

Benefit Dallas is a pinky bronze shade which looks like it would serve as a summery blush for me. I think it might be a good one for days when I don’t have time for the whole contour, blush, highlighter routine. It’s £23.50.

Of course my budget means only one of these can come home with me. Decisions decisions! x

Aussie Dual Personality For Straightening Heat Protection

I straighten my hair every time I wash it (every 2-3 days) so for me heat protection is an absolute must have. This leave in spray promises healthy, shiny hair along with heat protection so I had to give it a go. It costs £4.69 but is currently part of a 3 for 2 on what seems like most thing in Boots at the moment.

You simply spritz it into wet hair and dry/ style as usual.  It smells lovely, I couldn’t tell you what of. It just smells like fresh from the hairdressers hair. It contains Jojobo oil to nourish your hair. My hair certainly feels a lot softer and more conditioned when I use this. The flip side is that whilst I can get away with being fairly liberal with it if I do go overboard my hair ends up feeling slightly heavy/ greasy.

I do notice a real difference when I forget to use this and it is infinitely better for my hair than the Mark Hill spray I was using. In short I would happily repurchase this. I think it’s fab! X

*Bought by me*

Tom Ford Shade & Illuminating Cream

For some reason I cannot find many reviews of this online however when I saw it on MissHanaG’s Youtube channel I was sold. Being the pasty pale being I am I’m always searching for the fool proof contour that won’t leave me looking like I have go faster stripes down my face. I’ve hit the jackpot with this! 

The packaging is everything you would expect for a product that comes with a £55 price tag. From the super soft pouch to the heavy, cool to the touch compact it feels and looks luxurious. The little details like the Tom Ford logo on the mirror just make it feel like no detail has been missed. You get 14g of product in total. I have Intensity 1, there is a darker Intensity 2 available.

The contour shade is a rich milk chocolate brown. It looks frighteningly pigmented in the swatch but it just blends itself into the skin seamlessly. I apply it over foundation but before I powder, if you are really wary of contouring you could even apply it under a sheer foundation. I find the Real Techniques Contour brush from the Core Collection is the perfect brush to apply this with. This does benefit from being set with a powder otherwise I notice a slight bit of slip.

There is a small fly in this otherwise luxury ointment. I just haven’t found myself using the highlight cream as much as I thought I would. It has an incredibly glossy finish with just a hint of shimmer in it. It gives an editorial style wet look to the skin. Again this cream blends effortlessly and I certainly don’t have anything else that comes close to this effect. The thing is I do need to powder my foundation and once you powder over this it just isn’t the same. The high shine finish isn’t brilliantly flattering on my enlarged pores either.

I do think the highlighter has its place and will probably be a good bet for those with drier skin who prefer a dewy finish. I’m still thrilled to have the palette, the contour shade it worth every penny to me. I’m curious as to why there are so few reviews of this out there though. Have you tried anything from the Tom Ford range? Thoughts? x

*Bought by me*

UK Magazine Freebie – Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Set Free With Red Magazine

I’ve been meaning to try the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish for ooh... years? I just never got around to it though. So when I spotted that the April edition of Red came with a free 30ml tube and muslin cloth I snapped it up! The freebie is apparently worth £5.50, the mag only costs £3.90! I think that counts as a bargain in anyone’s books!