The cheat's way to get rid of tired looking eyes in the morning..

Many a morning I wake up, look at myself in the mirror and wonder why I didn't go to bed earlier the night before.  Then I get distracted by what to wear and what the weather looks like outside and of course, the typical English dilemma of whether I should or shouldn't take a coat with me.

When I'm truly tired, I get puffy eyes that don't really look too sexy.  Until recently, I didn't really know how to get rid of them and to make myself look half awake.  I'd pile my makeup on and just get to work but you could see the underlying tiredness from a mile off.

I recently lost a lipstick and whilst searching for that, I came across a product that I haven't used since I got it as a freebie in Glamour magazine. And if you think it's a Benefit product, you'd be right.  Now I have never been Benefit's biggest fan and even now, I'm still not a fangirl.  I like some of their stuff but wouldn't go as far to call them must haves.  This might the closest I ever get to calling a Benefit product a must have.  Click here to see what else of Benefit's I have reviewed.

Anyway, the product I found was Benefit's eyebright.  I have used this a few times in the past as an inner corner highlighter but the colour was just far too stark against my skintone.  If you're white or Chinese, you can easily get away with using this as an inner corner highlighter but for us Indian, black and olive skinned gals, it's a no go.

I decided to try it on my waterline to see what it did and to my surprise, it managed to look quite natural.  I think Benefit are missing a trick not marketing it that way, I've read on their website and they say that you should apply it to the inner and outer corner of your eyes and blend.  Well, I say do that if you're not of a darker skin colour.  If you are of a darker skin colour then whack it on your waterline.

I team this product up with my trusty eyelash curlers (reviewed here and going strong on their second pad replacement), any mascara that is close to hand (I've been using the Prestige one as my other bottle finished and this is the last one I have left..and seeing as Boots have discontinued it, I won't be able to buy more, despite it being a fantastic thing and one of the first products I ever reviewed on this blog).  I also use this Natralift Firming Eye Roll On from The Body Shop which I feel makes a difference..and the ball is very cooling on the skin.

If you've got more time then you could always put a decent inner corner highlighter on too, but as I am yet to find this, I have a bare inner corner.  The other thing that I tend to do once at work is line my upper lashline with some black eyeliner.  No flick though, I'm at work, not out knocking back the finest cocktails known to man.

And here's how it looks in its most basic way..

I'm not apologising for my eyebrows, I'm growing them out after someone f**ked them right up...

Now you might remember me hyping up Stila's Kajal pencil which is still all well and good but in the Summer months, it tends to be a bit too soft.  Fantastic for Winter though!

Talking of cocktails, I must warn you that if you like a decent citrus-y mojito, don't go to the Smollensky's in Canary Wharf as the people working there can never ever get this right.  Every time I go and ask for more citurs than mint, I end up drinking liquid toothpaste.  It's horrible and I have now given up asking for mojitos and I just stick to a bog standard glass of Chardonnay.

The Swatch Files: Benefit's Girl Meets Pearl

This is a PR sample that I have had for a while..it only came to my attention properly the other day when I was sorting through my makeup stash.  The actual clearance took me about four hours (I only have one drawer of makeup) because I was watching my favourite series of Blackadder and swatching as I went.

I ended up throwing away only three items.  The rest are waiting to be doled out to cousins/people at work.

Anyway, you want swatches of Benefit's Girl Meets Pearl and I have them!

I like the fact that it has a lid guard on it so if  you accidentally turn it, the product is captured so you can use it later.  It swatches well on Indian skin which is something that a lot of Benefit products struggle to do.

This retails for £24.50 and can be bought from the Benefit site.

Benefit's Benetint: Finally a product by Benefit that Indian women can use!

Once in a while, I'm pleasantly surprised by a product that I'd always thought would have been sub-par.  I'm even more blown away as this product is by a brand that is notorious for not being accommodating towards those of us of a darker hue.

I'm talking about Benefit's Benetint, but I'm sure that's already clicked.  As most of my cream blushers left me wanting something that spread easier, I decided to dig this out of my blusher box.  I say box, it's more of a compartment in a plastic tray.

I am a total convert to this product.  I haven't raved about something for ages and that's because I've not found anything to rave about.  I've used it non-stop for weeks which is rare as I'm always chopping and changing my cheek enhancers.  So great is my love for this product that I've given away a fair amount of my powder blushers.

The packaging causes me no ill as I can't really think how else you could package a tint.  It lasts ages on your skin so you don't need to tote it around with you.  The brush is really helpful as it dabs the colour on and then you can just dab and smooth it out with your fingers.

On my cheeks, I apply it with the brush and then blend it with my fingers.  It does stain my fingers but that's easily washed off.  It lasts all day on my cheeks and I'm the kind of person who is always touching her face.  The best thing about this is that it's hard to be heavy handed and therefore application is a dream.  It gives me a natural looking stain on my face and it doesn't even look like I'm wearing blusher which is exactly what I want. 

Slightly phallic swatch on the bottom right there..

I've also started using it on my lips and it gives me a natural looking rosy lip which is something I struggled to achieve before.  The colour does develop so I put on a little bit and then wait about 15 minutes to see how deep it is.  I apply it with the brush and rub my lips together.  It stays on all day despite my eating and it's still there when I brush my teeth in the evening.

As it's a tint, it's a concentrated product so you don't need to use a lot, the photo up there is after weeks of usage and it still looks brand new.

Benefit's Benetint will set you back £24.50 and can be bought from the Benefit site, Boots and Debenhams.  I'm also lusting after their new Cha Cha shade as I've realised that orangey colours work well on me. 

Benefit's Prrrowl..

Whenever someone mentions the word prowl, it reminds me of  a scene from Phoenix Nights (scroll to 7.28).  The way Brian Potter says prow-ul just cracks me right up.

Benefit's Prrrowl, although not as hilarious..is quite a useful addition to my forever growing makeup arsenal.

The mascara topcoat adds a nice subtle touch to you eye makeup that leaves people trying to guess what you've done.  It works better than traditional glitter mascaras that I've used as I find that the glitter is more densely packed here and the consistency is pretty smooth.

I find that the gloss works better over naked lips.  There's no photo of how it looks on the lips because I couldn't capture it in a way that showed it in its true light.  It is pigmented and spreads very well.  The shimmer is also consistently applied as it doesn't clump in places.

The lipgloss side smells like a proper new car does..my car lost that smell come the second week of January (boo!) but with a slight hint of peach.  It has blue shimmer in it..BLUE. SHIMMER.  That was more than enough to entertain my simple mind.  I like the way Benefit have used blue as that compliments the peach and seems to give the product something extra, something you can't find in every lipgloss out there.  The mascara side is nice too, I like the purple/turquoise glitter thing, using two colours really gives it something extra that most glitter mascaras don't have.

The swatches..

The gloss

Three coats on bare lashes.  This product is very hard to photograph up close but the effect is far more stunning when looked at from a distance.

If you're of the Asian persuasion and go to a lot of desi parties, shindigs, birthdays, weddings, pre-wedding parties, post wedding parties or just general desi get togethers then this will come in quite useful.  I've had to go to quite a few after work and this has been constantly in my handbag as it's easy to just whip it out and glamourise yourself with ease.  With this, I can keep my face on, spread some of the mascara topcoat over my liner and over my mascara.  Brilliant time saver!

I have been out and about trying to find a dupe for the gloss and I couldn't find one so if you can get away with wearing glittery gloss on a daily basis and you like this shade, pick it up because dupes are non existant.

I wouldn't have picked it out myself but now that I do have it, I'd recommend it if you can get away with wearing shimmery makeup. or if you need something quick to transform your makeup from day to night.  The mascara topcoat is fluid enough so you don't have some lashes coated in glitter whilst others remain bare and the lipgloss is pigmented enough to work on darker lips and the shimmer spreads well.

Prrrowl will set you back £19.50 if bought from their site (no link as it's currently not on there) or from their stores/concessions.  You can also pick it up from Boots, HoF and Debenhams (click the links to be take to the product).

Free Benefit Badgal mascara and makeovers at Debenhams

If you have nothing to do on Valentines Day (February 14th), why not hotfoot it down to Debenhams and get yourself yourself a free makeover and Badgal mascara courtesy of Benefit?


Alls you need to do is visit on of the 105 Debenhams stores with a Benefit concession, login to your Facebook profile via either the traditional route or the Facebook app, open "places" and then click on "check in". You obviously need to check in to Debenhams, which should feature on the list.

If you're one of the first 10 people to do this at your chosen store, you get yourself a travel sized Badgal mascara.  If you miss out that, it's still worth checking in as there will be free makeovers on offer all day.

Adventures with a bent eyeliner brush..

The brushes that came with all my gel liners have not been very good at lining my eyes, mainly because I feel that they don't give me enough control and the liner doesn't sit close enough to the root of the lashes for my liking.

Thus, I went on the hunt for a bent eyeliner brush as I'd heard they were really good.  The two of choice were the Benefit Get Bent brush and the Sonia Kashuk one.  SK isn't readily available here so I have the Benefit one.

When you take that plastic "protector" off, the brush is quite stiff and me being me had to bend the bristles to loosen it up a bit..then the panic hit me..what if I've ruined the brush?! Well, I hadn't so don't panic if you're compelled to do the same.

Don't believe the hype

One product which ALWAYS recieves a good press is YSL's Touche Eclat and I have no doubt that it sits in many a makeup bag thanks to this good press.

However, I have issues with this product..

I think the fundamental problem with Touche Eclat is the conflicting methods of use. YSL's official website describes Touche Eclat as an "instant highlighter that banishes shadows, erases signs of fatigue and leaves your skin looking radiant. Touche Éclat is 8 hours of sleep in a pen - the one item no woman can be without...Just slip it into your bag to ensure a brilliant glow, anytime, anywhere.."
The magazines say it's a concealer and us customers are left looking like inverted pandas whenever we are photographed wearing it because we use it as a concealer.

With all the conflicting "advice" out there, how are we mere mortals supposed to know how to use the product? It doesn't help the situation when makeup artists are quoted in magazines as having used Touche Eclat to conceal dark circles on celebs.  I was trawling the web for articles to support my assertions and there $are countless articles which call Touche Eclat a concealer.

I think what happened is that the product was shipped out and nobody wanted a highlighter and so it was sold as a concealer.  It does conceal but then it draws attention to the area you've hidden.

Then there's the next problem, if it's a complexion highlighter, how do you use it and how much of it do you use? There are other products out there which can be used to highlight your complexion, one which springs to mind is Benefit's HighBeam which comes in one universal shade.  The consistency of the products is also wildly different as Touche Eclat looks like a concealer like product whereas you can easily see that Benefit's HighBeam is a highlighter as it has a pearlescent sheen to it.

The main problem I have with Touche Eclat is the fact that if you apply enough to conceal your dark circles so they aren't visible to people who see you face to face, your dirty little secret is revealed the second someone takes a photo of you.  Of course, you could overcome this by applying less, but then this wouldn't cover your dark circles..though you would escape the clutches of inverted panda syndrome..

This picture illustrates my point perfectly:

I bet if you saw her face to face that night, she would have looked fine, problems only occur when cameras appear on the scene.  You can see that if she hadn't tanned, the contrast between her skin and the concealer wouldn't have been so obvious.  Notice how the darkness is concealed but then the brightness takes over?

Despite all these issues, the magazines and the SA's claim that this little gold tube will transform you into a goddess, when the sad truth is, it won't.  There are better highlighters and concealers out there.  I was given Touche Eclat as a gift because I fell for the claims and thankfully I practiced using it before I wore it out and my photos came out ok.

Touche Eclat seems like a good way to ease yourself into concealers as it totally blends in when you apply it but I wouldn't do this. Match yourself up for concealer at a concession such as Bobbi Brown..

This post isn't a bitchfest about YSL. I use their foundation and their lipglosses and I love them. I was Twittering about the product and this lovely lady stated that she loved Touche Eclat and that she got through about 4 a year.  This got me thinking.. I think some re-eduction is needed so that people know how to use the product. I think, from personal experience that it works best as a highlighter (not under eyes, but under the arches of your brows and the cupid's bow) for tanned ladies and as a concealer for those who have a fairer complexion.

So, that is my opinion on YSL' Touche Eclat. I could quite easily live without it but whilst I do have it, it's used a highlighter.  The question I have for you guys is..

YSL Touche Eclat by rhamnousia on Polyvore.com

Review update

I was putting my face on today and realised that my current mascara (which is now no longer HG) wasn't really doing anything for me.  I remembered how thick my lashes were when I used my L'oreal mascara..I also remember that I said I wouldn't buy it because it made my lashes feel hard and that it smelt..so why was I reaching for it this morning?

So, with this in mind I decided to do a review of my reviews.  It' worked out pretty well because I have been using these items and my mind has changed about some as time went on..I think this kind of thing is useful for those of you, who, like me, take ages deciding whether or not to buy something and also equally useful for those who don't want to trawl through all my posts to find out about certain items.

By the way, if you click on the link it will take you to my original review.

Sleek palettes

• Still in love with these, falling more and more in love with them as the days pass.  I don't think theres an occasion where you CAN'T use them.

Benefit Badgal mascara

• Still not loving this, have tried it a few more times since the review but it has done nothing at all for me.

Maybelline Lash Stiletto mascara

• Have been teaming this up with the Maybelline Colossal and also using it alone.  I'd still buy it again as it makes my lashes longer.  No patent shine though.

Prestige My Biggest Lashes mascara

• Used this time and time again when I needed knockout lashes and it still works.  I have to remind myself that 2 coats is the magic key.  I'd still buy it again.

 Clearasil Pore Cleansing Pads and Boots Time Delay Balm

• I finished one tub of the cleansing pads and am half way through another.  I won't be buying these again, not because they don't work but because I've found something much better and also that the smell of these is VERY strong.  They're excellent if you have really oily skin and are prone to spots.
• I haven't finished a tub of the Boots balm as I have been using other cleansers but I have three backups which I will get through in time.  If I didn't have them, I'd buy it again.

Urban Decay eye shadows

• I loved these then and I still love them now.  The Illegal shade has been getting some serious love from me recently.  It's nice and matte and is my "my eyes but better" go to shade.  I'm going to incease my collection of these.

Biore Warming Blackhead Fighting Cream Wash

•  This was my lover back then and it still is now.  It's the only face scrub/wash that I've used consistently for more than a week.  I have half left and will buy it again.  The only issue I had with it was the fact that it gave me tiny whiteheads all around my nose..maybe because I used it despite having no blackheads? Anyway, if you do like me and do this, do not fear because I've found a cure..the things I do for you guys!

 MAC paint pot in Indianwood

• I wasn't too happy with how this looked in pics before but assured you guys it looked good IRL..which it did.  I tried it on many times since with varying amounts of UDPP and it just won't stick to my lids.  The colour is gorgeous but I just wish it would stay put! I won't be buying another one of these when the tub is finished.

Boots 17 Bronzed and Gorgeous palette

• Probably my all time fave freebie.  My current HG shadow has well and truly hit pan and I've been using my 17 palette for a while now and I'm loving the goldeny shade in it.  If they brought this out as perm, I'd buy it...or I'd buy £5 worth of products to get it free.

Boots No7 Eyeshadow Colour and Contour brush

• My thoughts on this brush are still exactly the same.  It's the shizz.  It's fluffy (but not too fluffy), it helps you blend like a pro and because the hairs are white, you can tell how much product you've picked up.  I'm buying it again when this one fails me.
  

Anatomicals Help the Paw hand cream and Badger Balm

• Nearly finished one "packet" of handcream and the Balm has well and truly finished.  Glad I bought backups of the hand cream, the sweet smell hasn't put me off yet!  I'd buy the Balm again too.

L'oreal Telescopic Explosion mascara

• I said I wouldn't buy it and honestly, I don't think I would.  It smells funny (this coming from a girl who has both the Colossal and Stiletto) and it made my lashes really really hard.  I wouldn't call it HG as I have Prestige for that so my opinion stays the same.
  

Vintage is so in these days, daaaahling

I'm still on my never ending quest to trim down my stash but it's not going as well as I had hoped. As my top drawer of goods gets smaller, my bottom drawer of spares gets fuller and fuller.


Observe:


For those of you who say "it doesn't look that bad", the photo is deceptive as the cleansing wipes are piled up four high, I have six bottles of that shampoo, two bottles of the Botanics hair spray and there are many more items under the stuff on the left but I don't feel bad because this is stuff I actually like and will use. My hoarding days are well behind me.
I was reading this post the other day by my fellow Middlesex girl (woo woo) Marcia and it got me thinking (it doesn’t take much). Whenever someone in the blogosphere buys something new, they blog about it. With this in mind, I decided to show off “my” oldest makeup. Older makeup, like the oldest child doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves so I feel it about time it did!

This makeup dates back to 1980 (when my darling mum got married). This leads me on to my next point, how comes stuff which is this old still works and doesn't make me react yet I buy things which cause me to react a few months down the line? It's experiences like these which make me think that some beauty mags don't know what they're on about.

The goods:


Top to bottom:

• The bitchin'est greeny blue pencil ever, it's avocado in name but comes out much nicer. I think the closest dupe would be a UD liner.
• Rimmel gold pencil, my dupe for the Benefit Gilded pencil
• Almay duo with pink and blue eye shadow
• Almay blusher/bronzer in a goldeny shade

I have never ever ever been able to find a green pencil which matches this colour exactly. It looks like a standard blue here but IRL it’s a lovely amazon-like green.
I was looking to buy the gold pencil that Benefit sell when I found the golden pencil, which, I only found out yesterday was by Rimmel. This pencil is the softest mofo in all the land, glides on a treat, easy to blend if needs be and doesn't gloop! Looks like Rimmel had the pencil formula down back then..
The Almay duo is my profile pic here, on Specktra and on Twitter, I took it back in the day when I hadn't even heard of macro. The colours in it are Godsend, especially for Indian weddings/functions. The two colours go well together so you can just take this palette with you and make up a million looks.
Moving on to my OWN range..The quest to finish all products has gone as far as lipbalm and I am proud to say that my stash has been trimmed down from 10 to two and that I've bought balms in between and have finished all those off as well (please, hold your applause).

I present my oldest piece of "makeup": Superdrug's Tropical LipBalm in Strawberry Delight:



This tub is circa 1997, I was in year 9 at school which would indeed make me 25. God, that makes me feel so old. The fact that I still have it and that I have so much left of it makes me feel even worse..I'm nowhere near touching pan with it! I've been using it over the past few days and sadly it dries my lips out so it may be for the chuck. It moisturises intensely during the day but when I wake up in the morning my lips are drier than they were when I put it on.
If you’ve stuck it out this long, firstly, congrats and secondly, you might as well answer these questions. So, if I could have a minute of your time sir/madam: what is the oldest item of makeup you lovely people own? Do you stick to the rules and chuck things away when the beauty mags suggest? I personally think that throwing mascara away every three months is a bit overly keen, I wear mascara every single day and even then my tubs don't finish. If a mascara causes me to react then it goes in the bin ASAP but as long as it does the job, I keep it.

Review: Benefit's BadGal and Maybelline's Stiletto

Well, I went to Boots and they had a sample of the L'oreal Telescopic Explosion mascara out and I flicked it and broke it so I decided to return mine and instead get the Maybelline Stiletto instead.

I also picked up Glamour and used the BadGal mascara which came with it.

Maybelline Stiletto
The actual mascara:
This had been bigged up like no mans business after Maybelline's success with the Colossal which is my new HG mascara. Anyway, I used this and it wasn't as good as expected, it gave me really thin pin like lashes so is best for ladies who have applied another mascara but want some definition over the top. I wouldn't use it alone as it doesn't do anything for me, it is very similar to the Lash Architect from Maybelline so just buy that as it is cheaper than this..

The patent shine is practically non existent, I really struggled to see a patent coating on it and I can't see why you'd want plastic looking lashes..

The brush:
The brush itself is long and thin which leads me to believe that it's not really going to provide you with much volume..this belief was rendered true when I tried it on and all it did was make them look like black pins.

I don't curl my lashes so I can't speak about how good it is for ladies who curl but I can't imagine it taking curls out as it is a fairly light mascara.

My eye with the mascara:
I can't make the photo any bigger without scaring people but IRL the lashes were very nicely defined but to get to that stage I did get quite a lot of mess on my upper lid (some of which you can still see). I only have the mascara on my upper lashes so that's how it balances out with my natural lashes underneath. Close up the lashes were a damn sight longer than the BadGal lashes which looked stubby at best. Also, I should point out that my eye is only red because I took my contact lens out and itched it beforehand, it has nothing to do with the mascara.

Repurchase?
Based on the above, I would purchase this again. I retried it when doing this review and compared to the BadGal it gave me great length but the BadGal isn't my best friend. However, comparing it to the Colossal it falls a bit behind, I'd consider teaming them up and thus would repurchase if it builds on the Colossal.


Benefit BadGal
The mascara:
I have had this used on me before in Boots and it worked really really well, then I had it used on me and again and the results were mediocre. I heard that Glamour magazine was giving a smaller size of this away so I thought I'd give it a bash seeing as it was only £2.

My experience with this was pleasant enough but I can't see why so many people swear by it and why Benefit make such a big deal out of it. All it does is make the base of my lashes look thicker and provides no length at all. It also clumps and smudges.

The brush:
I took this photo with the super macro function and this is how chunky and cumbersome the brush is, apparently the bigger the barrel bit, the bigger lashes you get..that only works for me with the Colossal.

The brush is chunky which lead me to believe it would be like the Colossal but oh, how wrong I was, it provided no length and only makes them look a smidgen thicker..this is all.

My eye with the mascara:

I tried really hard to make this mascara look good in the shot but is honestly how my eye looked, actually, the photos make the mascara stand out a bit more than it actually did. If you compared it with the Stiletto, it looked like this eye didn't even have mascara on. It wasn't as uniform in its application as the Stiletto, that coated all lashes equally regardless of size whilst this missed out some of the smaller ones. It even only half coated the normal length lashes and then overcoated others. If there was a set routine as to which it overcoated and undercoated I could compensate
but it just does as it wishes.

Repurchase?
No way Jose. This did nothing for my lashes apart from just make them a bit blacker and I expected a lot more from this mascara. The colour is a very nice black but it doesn't translate over to the lashes in the same way and so I've given it to my mum to use as an emergency "root dye" so that she can just coat her roots with it when she's caught short. She said that it's worked very well, gives her a nice black colour and doesn't rub off on your hands when you touch your hair. So, if it doesn't work for you and you dye your hair black, use it as a mid-term treatment.