Review: Boots Skin Clear Oil Free Mattifying Lotion

You know when you buy a product and think "I hope this one is the answer to my prayers"?

That's what I was hoping for when I bought this.

I've used a lot of High Street moisturisers which say they are oil free and will keep you looking matte but most of them fall at the time hurdle.

I used Nivea's Oil Free moisturiser and the Boots Complete Care moisturiser (which was silently discontinued).  They both worked well at first but then gradually let me down..

I've never seen the Skin Clear range in my Boots before..I'm not sure if this Boots is a bit late off the starting block because I've heard that people have been using certain Boots ranges for ages and I've never seen them before until about three weeks ago. 

What do Boots Skin Clear say?
"Boots Skin Clear Oil Free Mattifying Lotion is formulated by Boots Skincare Experts to absorb excess oil. Instant perfect matte finish to your face. Non-greasy formula." 

What do I say?
The problem I have with most of these mattifying creams is that they make my skin matte but only for a few hours..and then the grease comes out in force...my face becoming oilier than it would be had I put nothing on.  Then within a few days time, I've got matte skin for the morning, oily skin in the afternoons and dry skin for the evenings.  Another thing I noticed was that I had to exfoliate a lot more as my skin was a lot more flaky.  Thus, I wanted something that would keep me matte but not make me have to exfoliate more than I currently do.

I've been using this lotion for a while now and it mattifies my skin for ages.  I normally put it on at about half six in the morning and my skin is still matte by 9/10 p.m.  There is a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittle oil coming through but it's really negligible and when I look at my face in the mirror, it's not shining like a beacon.  I've been wearing it this past week when it's been super warm outside and the Tube has been even warmer and it's kept my face in check.  I usually get off the Tube, do a sneaky dash to the toilets in Canary Wharf station and put some Rimmel Stay Matte powder on.  I don't need to do this anymore!

I had a really hard exam the other day (that I wouldn't shut up about on Twitter) and I had to run all the way from the train station to the building and I was sure I'd be super greasy but my skin was matte to the touch.

It does everything it says it does and it smells quite nice too..the formula is non greasy because usually my fingers feel a bit tacky after putting moisturiser on but they're totally untacky when I've used this. 

Repurchase?
Too right! The whole range is currently on offer in Boots (2 for £5) and I'm going to pick up more moisturiser.   I can't stress how good this moisturiser is, it does exactly what I would want my moisturiser to do.  If you have oily/greasy skin then pick it up..I swear it will work a charm!

Exams + Me = Nails No More

I've been banging on about my exams on Twitter recently and they've had an adverse effect on my nails.  I never believed the old "nail biting moment" thing before..mainly because I did that all year round anyway so never had any nails to bite?

I've got three exams this week and my nails have been chewed down..they look like they've been trimmed down but it's my motormouth which is the culprit.

This was my thumbnail a few weeks ago:

It grew considerably longer and then...

However, I'm secretly quite happy about this..simply because NOW I can use these:

Does anyone have any experience with false nails? Apart from a very dodgy outing with them when I was in year 9 at school and decided to whack them on (without filing them down), I've stayed away.  Is there a protocol to follow re. putting them on? Help a noob out!

Review: Pears Transparent Soap

Wow, my first "proper" review for quite some time..

My skin has recently gone through its teenage phase recently as it has been pretty much doing what the hell it wants.

First it got super greasy, then it got super dry and then it just started being really spotty.  I went through the natural motions of anger, despair and then resolve.

None of the liquid face washes jumped out at me and for some reason I decided to buy a soap.  I'd give you an insight as to why I decided to pick this up but truth be told, I don't really know...

I've been using it for about three weeks now and it's working a charm.  My skin has gone back to its normal self (greasy on the head and nose) and then to normal all over.  NORMAL ALL OVER. I can count on one finger the amount of products I've used which have given me normal skin.  The soap doesn't dry my skin out at all.  My skin feels nice and clean after using it and there is none of the usual facial tightness associated with using a soap when your skin feels tight for five minutes yet twenty minutes later, it's swimming in oil again.

(This isn't how the soap looks when it's new, I've used mine a fair bit).

I told my mum about this and she told me that my grandmother had been using the soap since she got married.  That may not seem something major to you but my grandmother has the best skin I've ever seen, it's perfectly moisturised all over (without any moisturiser), all one tone and she has minimal wrinkles.  I just hope my skin holds up that well!

The soap costs about 60p and lasts a very long time.  You can get it in two sizes, 125g bars cost about 60p and 75g bars cost about 40p.  You can buy it anywhere that soaps are sold, so places like Boots, Superdrug and your local chemists.

Repurchase?
Hell to the yes.  It's cheap and does exactly what I need it to do.

Jessica Nails Daydream Spring 2010 Collection.

I know I'm a bit slow on the uptake with these but in my defence, I didn't have nails when these first came out so I wasn't really eyeing up nail polishes.  I think my thing at the time was nose pore strips..which are clearly sexier than nail polish.

Anyway, these are the spring 2010 colours released by Jessica Nails:

"Escape the ordinary and bring fantasy to your fingertips with Daydream, the spring 2010 collection from Jessica. These six inspiring new colours capture the optimism of spring; from shimmering pastels to vibrant shades of pink and orange, there’s a perfect shade for every daydreamer. So dare to dream of beautiful nails with Jessica’s Daydream."

 I quite like the fact that the colours are "Springy", in the season senes of the term, no conical references!  I've found that some brands tend to confuse Spring and Summer and release more summery tones in their Spring collections.

I don't have an out and out favourite but Cloud Mine and Flight of Fancy are currently fighting it out.  I really love Revlon's Minted but it's a bit bright to wear to work and Cloud Mine looks like the work safe option.

Each polish costs £8.95 and you can buy them from Jessica salons. 

What are your faves from the collection? And do you let the seasons dictate the colour of nail polish you wear? I spoke to some ladies at work recently and they said that they only wear light shades in the Summer and dark shades in the Winter.  FYI I'm currently wearing a dark red...

The Swatch Files: Stila All Over Shimmer Liquid Luminizer Shade 1

I'm quite sad that Stila decided to pull out of the UK market as I quite like their products.  You might be thinking "why is she swatching something that is no longer sold here?" Well, you can still buy Stila on ebay and on other discount makeup websites.

I use this highlighter when I've got the time to put a decent face on because you need to blend it in properly or else risk looking like a disco ball.

The design could be a bit better as it reminds me of a Copydex glue bottle.  You need to be careful when using it, I wiped the excess against the side of the neck and still got a heavy swatch.

The fact that you can't see the blended in swatch is a good thing as in the past I've had highlighters which look far too obvious.

NOTD: You silver-nailed devil, you!

Nothing quite screams professionalism like silver nail polish..

This polish is a very old one, I got it for Xmas back in the mid to late 90's and it is from The Body Shop..who no longer do nail polishes.  I'm not sure why they stopped but they really should start again as the quality of this polish is great.  Fast drying, nice smooth application, perfect consistency and perfect brush size.  I'd go as far as to say that is my best application job on my nails ever.  I think that's pretty impressive considering how long I've had it and the fact that it outperforms some current, more expensive nail polishes..Nails Inc, I'm looking at you!

Here's a close up..

The colour is called temptation but taking product naming initiative from Charlotte, I'd have named this something like intergalactic or spaceman because that's what it reminds me of.  In my mind, temptation would be a dark, rich, reddy colour.

PS I took these photos on Saturday morning and the polish had been applied on Thursday.  I wasn't too impressed that Amanda Holden was sporting MY nails on BGT..copycat!

Do you ladies wear bright, bold nails to work or do you stick to neutral, work safe shades?

The Bodyform Period Survival Kit take 2

A Bodyform giveaway was won. Prizes were crappy. This was blogged about.  Charlotte complained for me. We were told by the PR company that it would rectified..  It wasn't.  Time went by.  Charlotte still complained on my behalf.  I was promiesd Jemma Kidd goodies.  I picked them up the other day.

Here's what I got..

A more indepth look..
(in the same order as shown above)

There are no swatches as I'm going to put them into either The Swatch Files or do a full review on them, this is just another "look what I got" post.

I keep saying this over and over again but I'm saying it again, Charlotte..you are BRILLIANT!

Your mum still buys your..moisturiser?!

A good few weeks ago, I bought my mum three Chanel lippies.  My dad thinks it's wrong for me to spend this much money on her so he made her come shopping with me so she could buy me whatever I wanted.

This is what I got..

I've never seen ANY of these items in Boots before, I had a list of moisturisers I wanted to try, the main one was the vanishing cream which I didn't get as the lady behind the counter told me it wasn't in the offer.  I bought the moisturiser in the middle because it smelled pretty nice, I was going to get the Botanics oil free moisturiser but it smelled of rotting veg.  The eye cream was a last minute addition which I wasn't going to buy but as I could find nothing else I liked, I got it as Boots had their 3 for 2 on.  I swatched it in the shop and it had no glitter (yay!)  My mum was the one who found the glycerin and rosewater toner, I did see it but she was the one who suggested getting it.

I got a Dove heat protection spray but forgot to photograph it.

I picked up these two from The Body Shop:

This is a facial massager which I had wanted for some time..it cost me £6.00/£7.00.

This looks like my facial brush and it just that but a bigger version for your body.  They had quite a few in the store but the lady working there said that this was best for using in the shower.  It cost £5.00. 

I know it looks like I didn't buy that much but I did get a fair amount of clothes which proved too hard to photograph because I was dead on my feet and just shoved them into a cupboard.

If you want reviews of anything, let me know! I know I'm going to review two items already but I'll keep them a secret for now!

Tag 40 questions..and their answers.

Everyone and their mother has done this and so I've decided to jump on the bandwagon, here we go..

SKINCARE
-How many times do you wash your face daily?
Twice. Once in the morning with any old face wash and once at night with any old face wash.  I deep cleanse every night with a cleansing balm which I've just realised has damaged my skin so I've thrown it out.

-What skin type do you have? (dry,oily,combo)
When I use my HG moisturiser (Korres pomegranate) my skin is in perfect, normal condition.  At all other times it is normal on the cheeks and chin, oily on the nose and forehead.  I've been getting a dry nose recently though..

-What is your current facial wash?
My current one is a cheapo Tescos one as it has worked well so far.  Once it finishes I'm going back to my warming Biore one.

-Do you exfoliate?
Yes.

-What brand do you use?
For? Exfoliation? I use the Korres pomegranate scrub and a Body Shop brush to get my skin super clean.

-What moisturizer do you use?
Just bought a new one so can't really answer this.

-Do you have freckles?
You ever seen an Indian girl with freckles?

-Do you use eye cream?
Yes.

-Do you or did you have acne prone skin?
Yes, back when I was in year 6 at school.  It cleared up pretty quickly though.

-Did you ever have to use Pro-activ?
No.

MAKE-UP
-What foundation do you use?
YSL Teint Parfait on the daily and Revlon Mineral Mousse if I'm feeling particularly greasy.

-How about concealer?
None, sadly.  I really want to find one that matches my skintone and doesn't cost the earth.

-Do you know your undertone color?
Hell to the no but I'm thinking apricot? I don't look pinky or yellowy in pics.

-What do you think of fake eyelashes?
They're nice if done properly, I can't apply them myself though.

-Did you know that you are supposed to change your mascara every 3 months?
Did you know that this is a load of old balls? I use my mascara until it runs out.

-What brand of mascara do you use?
Mascara is kinda my thing but my favourite ones are Maybelline Colossal, Prestige My Biggest Lashes and Clarins Wonder Perfect mascara.

-Sephora or MAC?
Never been to Sephora, it needs to come back to the UK.  However, I don't really rate MAC so seldom go on in there either.

-Do you have a MAC Pro-card?
Nope.

-What makeup tools do you use in make up application?
Eyeshadow brushes, blusher brushes, powder brushes.  Oh, add my fingers and a dampened foundation wedge to the list.

-Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes?
Yes.  For my eyes I use UDPP but mine has dried out so I'm testing out other alternatives.

-For the face?
Yes. I'm loving the Korres Vitamin E primer, it smells of oranges!

-What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)?This really nice brown shade that I had from a no name palette, it was my PERFECT nude colour.  However, my second love is Bobbi Brown's Heather Mauve Shimmer Wash.  Oooh, another one I love is my L'oreal Mineral eyeshdow, it's the perfect amount of sparkle for a night..it's a shimmery brown affair.

-Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner?Both.

-How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil?
Not at all, mascara wand in the eye is more my style.

-What do you think of pigment eyeshadows?
They're not for me.  I can't be dealing with loose eyeshadows all the time.

-Do you use mineral makeup?
Yes but not because it's touted as being better for you.  I think you should use skincare/your diet to sort out your skin issues and then use makeup over it if you wish.  Makeup shouldn't be used to correct skin issues like that.

-What is your favorite lipstick?
I've gotten back into my lipsticks recently and I'm currentl loving my L'oreal Lip Gelee, I thought the colour was all wrong for me before but it's now my "my lips but better shade" and it looks glossy AND moisturises my lips too.


-How about lipgloss?
My YSL Lip Repulpant in shade 3 is my all time favourite gloss. It turns into a stain after a while and has a minty smell to it.

-What is your favorite blush to use?
Korres Zea Mays Blush in shade 18.  It's a gorgeous peach colour with the right amount of sparkle and you only need a tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiny bit so it lasts ages.


 -Do you buy your makeup on ebay?
Not as a rule, I only buy stuff on there that I can't find in shops.  I've bought some Stila from there and a L'oreal lippy.  I'd never buy stuff like MAC, Benefit or NARS from there because fakes are rife.

-Do you like drugstore makeup?
Yes.  Most of my everyday makeup wearing items are from the High Street.  I find it a bit wanky how some High Street prices are on par with high end stuff though.

-Do you go to CCO's? (cosmetic company outlets)
Yeah, I have been to Bicester Village a few times but never found anything I liked.  My brother went once with a list I gave him and he bought me a three pack of Bobbi Brown gel liners which I keep forgetting to pick up from my parents' house..he bought them about a year ago..

-Did you ever consider taking make-up classes?
Not really, you can learn a lot from blogs and Youtube and I don't think you really need to be an expert in application to wear makeup on both an everyday basis or for a night out.

-Are you clumsy in putting on makeup?
I don't think it's clumsy so much as not up on my skills.  I've learnt a lot since I've been blogging though.  A year ago, I had no idea you needed different brushes to blend, I used to think that you could go from a light purple to a dark purple by using the same colour but just blending a bit more and I couldn't apply liquid eyeliner to save my life.  I can do the liner thing now.

-Name a makeup crime that you hate?
Girls who don't blend their eyeshadows properly. Girls who fake tan themselves to within an inch of their lives but don't bother getting a darker shade of foundation so they look stupid...like this:

-Do you like colorful shades of makeup (lipstick,eyeshadow) or neutral ones?
Anything which is applied properly looks nice.  Neutral gets a bit boring after a while, I have to wear those shades to work but I try to liven it up a bit by wearing a navy/purple eyeliner.

-Which celebrity always has great make up?
Kim Kardashian.  She always looks perfect.  She probably wears a lot but she wears it well.

-If you could leave the house using just ONE make up item,what would you use?
Black eyeliner on my waterline, it makes my eyes look perfect.

-Could you ever leave the house without any makeup on?
I don't see why that's such a big deal, I think the media is to blame.  They always show the stars with ful faces on and when they come out with no makeup they're admonished for being human.  If there wasn't such a big deal made about bare faces, I think a lot of people could do without makeup.  There are times when I go to work with a bare face of makeup on, I even go out on weekends with a bare face.  To me, makeup is more a treat than a necessity.

-Do you think you look good even without any makeup on?
Hell to the yes.  I've never been a big makeup wearer and I recognise myself more with makeup off than I do with it on.

-In your opinion, what is the BEST makeup line?
I don't love ONE line individually but I'd have to currently say that Prestige are doing good things.  If best means which one I can get a decent whole face out of then YSL as I use their Palette Pop, foundation and gloss quite often.

-What do you think of Makeup?
It's nice to use and have but you shouldn't depend on it to make you "pretty".

And as I dislike having blog posts with no photos, I've decided that this one shall have an injection of Cyanide and Happiness

What happens when a man rushes you to put your face on

The other week, me and the Mr were going out for dinner because we hadn't seen each other properly for a while, despite living with each other.

I got home waaaaaaaaay too early and so I wasted time reading nonsense online..as you do.

Before I knew it, it was half past 7 and the Mr was standing before me ready to go out.

I washed my hair as fast as I could and managed to put too much conditioner on which resulted in very defined and almost greasy looking curls.  I already had my clothes out anyway so I whopped them on, picked up the first pair of heels I saw and then decided to sit down and sort my makeup out thinking that the Mr would give me more than 5 minutes.

He didn't and this is what happened:

I did pluck my brows before leaving the house..

That was the only makeup I wore and I got more compliments wearing that than I ever get wearing a full "going out" face of makeup.  One lady asked me how I managed to get the colour to blend so well and how I got my skin looking so flawless.

I used the black eyeshadow you get in the Sleek Original palette and this eyeliner brush from Ruby and Millie, it blends surprisingly well.  That was all, no mascara or eyeliner.  I sound so thick saying this but I think it's pretty "comforting" to know that you can get so many results from using just one product alone and it makes you think, do you really need eyeliner/mascara/a million other things you would have used?

And...this is how the hair ended up looking:

The lime green top is not what I wore out by the way, I do have some class.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On eyeliner pencils on a budget

Urban Decay pencils, everyone loves them yet not everyone is willing to pay £11.00 for a pencil.  I'm not saying the pencils are crap, they're brilliant but something inside me doesn't want to pay that much for an eye pencil.

Anyway, whilst I was in this frugal state of mind, I went to Boots armed with about 5 £5 off vouchers.  I didn't know what to get and these were an impulse buy as my brother was getting pissed off carrying a basket full of "women's crap" around with him.

I've been using these pretty much whenever I can which has been more often than I thought I'd be able to.

Boots do these pencils, eyebrow pencils and normal eyeliner pencils.  I've been in to buy more of these in the past and they've only had normal pencils..which I realised once I got home with my latest acquisition.

I really want the green one so I'm going to buy it with the next voucher I get.

I have two of them and the last forever on the eye so you don't have to use too much.  I've used mine whenever possible and the pencils are still pretty big.

As you can see, there is a slight amount of glitter in these pencils but it's not so much that you look like a disco ball whenever you wear them, it's nice and subtle.

The colour range isn't as varied as Urban Decay but you do get the basic blue, turquoise, gold, purple and green which I think is more than enough for most people.

You can buy them here.  They usually cost £7.00 but I tend to buy them when I've got the £5 off voucher so I get them for £2.00.

Also, does anyone remember back in the day when Boots used to offer it on No7, Ruby and Millie and Jemma Kidd? I wonder why they stopped selling JK.

Do you guys have any of these pencils? Do you know why Boots stopped selling JK? Let me know..because I'm a nosey cow.

A brush? For your face?

I struggled for ages to come up with a natty title for this post and you can see that I failed.  I was watching Phoenix Nights when I settled on this title so it's meant to be read in the whole (the link is to Youtube so be warned if you've got your volume up) "garlic...bread?" rhyme pattern.

This badboy is one of my beauty "investment pieces".. my other investment piece being my GHD's. 

I use this ALL the time (as you can tell by the battered bristles) and I have had it since I was 14..that's 12 years come April 23rd.  

What do I use it for? Exfoliation mainly, I put my exfoliator on and then swirl this around my mush until my skin feels cleaner.  I also use it for removing masks.  I don't know if I'm the only one but I get a bit annoyed when a mask hardens on your face and you add water to remove it and it forms a paste and you have to really rub your face to get it off (the mask, not your face..)  Well, if you use this brush you can wait for the mask to harden and then (whilst the brush is dry) swirl it around your face and it will take all the masky bits off, leaving you with nice, smooth skin.

I used it after the fridge man left and my Korres mask was ready to come off, this is why there are white bits ensconced within the bristles.  I also used it over the course of the weekend, this explains the green mask bits on the handle.  I'm not a dutty cow, I do wash this brush ;)

The Body Shop have changed the design of this brush and you now only get the brush with a handle right on top of it.  However, this is where I'm happy with The Body Shop because they've made the item smaller AND reduced the price.  The new brush costs £3 whereas mine cost me £5.

Considering how much I've used it, a fiver is nothing..says the girl who as a 14 year old baulked at paying five quid for it as she only got £15 pocket money a week.

Has anyone else used this and if you have any skin investment pieces, let me know!