Review: ELF's Mineral Bamboo brushes

These brushes have been in my possession long enough to be given the full five star Rhamnousia treatment so I can finally let you know what I think of them.  If you want to know more about the basics, click here and ye shall see all you need to know about this range.

These are my test subject:

First, the general points:

• The bristles are bamboo coloured.  On the plus side, you can see how much product you have picked up.  This also means that the brushes look used a lot quicker so if you're funny about having brushes looking clean all the time, you will find yourself cleaning them more often.
• When I first got the all-over eyeshadow brush out of the packaging, a powder came out.  I kept stroking it until all the powder had vanished.  It wasn't a large amount of powder but I've never had that situation with any brush I've used before.
• The hair on the brushes is very soft.  The softness of these is on par with the brushes that Elizabeth Arden and NARS make.
• When you take them out of their packets, they smell very plastick-y, much like those children's plastic chairs that we all had.  However, this smell all but faded once I'd taken them out of the packet.
• They don't seem to pick up as much colour as my other brushes which is a good thing if you're new to using makeup as you don't want to be over zealous and look like a fool.  If you're a bit more advanced then this might annoy you a bit.

Rhamnousia Reviews: Biotherm SKIN.ERGETIC Anti-Fatigue Concentrate Serum

After my last disaster with serum, I was really looking forward to giving this a go.  My bottle has no print on it but I saw a few in Boots and they all had a nice Biotherm printing on it.  This is also the reason why you're getting a stock photo in this post.

First, how to use it..

The box comes with a silver packet inside, inside this is an alternative top for the serum bottle.  You take the standard top off, put the alternative top on and push down, releasing a brown powder into the serum.  You take alternative top off and put the standard lid back on.  The instructions say one tap is enough to immerse the powder properly into the serum but I gave it a good shake to mix it in well.

It smells very fruity..to those of you who have been to India and have ice cream there, that is exactly what this smells like.  The brown powder smells like fish food but when mixed into the serum, it takes on the fruity smell.

The bottle is made of glass and it reminds me of when I used to play with the glass bottles on my mum's dressing table.

I use one stingy drop a day.  This was found out via trial and error.  I use only the tiniest amount on my forehead, nose and chin and a little more on my cheeks as I have combination skin.  If I use more, it makes my skin greasy.  The day cream I put on top of this is Garnier's Soft Essentials Day Cream.  It sinks in quickly if you use the right amount, if you find it taking ages then you're using too much. 

It claims to turn tired looking skin around and make it look radiant and fresh.  Claims which, if actually true, would sum up exactly what my skin needed when I got it.  So..does it work?

After the very first use, my skin looked a lot smoother when I was putting my eye makeup.  The morning after, I didn't have my usual dry flakes around the nose that I'd suffered with from the onset of winter.  My skin also felt quite plumped out and it looked a great deal more radiant than it did before I used this.  The sweet smell doesn't linger at all after the first two or three days.  I've used this for three/four weeks now and there is still a lot left.  I'm still using one drop on my face and it has really made my skin look very good, a lot of the ladies at work are convinced that I've been going for facials on the sly..  It's brilliant for those who don't have time to be masking themselves up all the time, it makes you look like you've used a brightening mask which is brilliant.  I find myself using less foundation and concealer as it really evened my complexion out.

This will set you back £35.  Do I think it's worth £35? I do.  Simply because I find it hard to get a serum which is aimed at my age (26 years old) that doesn't make my skin overly oily because it is too rich.  I've used a fair few in the past and this is the only one that has does what I'd want a serum to do.  Plus, the fact that it lasts so long is also a good thing.  You can pick it up from the Biotherm site or from Boots.

Review: John Frieda Root Awakening Shampoo and Conditioner

I used to love John Frieda.  I remember being 14 or so and seeing an advertisement for his Frizz Ease serum on TV.  For a girl with hair like mine, that advert was a dream come true.  I was too young to know that what happens in the adverts isn't what happens in real life.  I bought practically everything from that range, it worked..and then abruptly stopped.

When I first got the Root Awakening set, I thought they were a root lift combo.  Then I found out that their premis was to strengthen the roots so as to give your hair strength.

I have the set for dry hair as I know my hair isn't normal and as it has frizz at times, I assume its dry..

So..(I feel I haven't done this for ages!) what do John Frieda say?
Of the shampoo: "Refreshes and feeds the roots while restoring deep moisture for silky, soft hair that's noticeably more radiant and resilient with every use.  Infused with natural eucalyptus and peppermint oil, simply massage this formula into the roots for a cooling, tingling, and stimulating sensation."

Of the conditioner: "Deeply hydrates from roots to ends for soft, silky-smooth hair that's noticeably more radiant and resilient with every use.  Infused with natural eucalyptus and peppermint oil, simply massage this formula into the roots for a cooling, tingling, and stimulating sensation."


What do I/my mother/my brother say?
ETA: I've edited this from my initial review..
I took this shampoo to my mum's house when I went to stay with her and as you know, you leave something in the bathroom, the male of the species will use it.  My brother did this.  He said it smelt of minty stuff..but not polos or mint..kind of like if an apple had a bit of mint injected into it.  I echo that.

I didn't like the shampoo.  It made my head very dry and itchy.  My mum found the same.  It worked for my bother though and he really liked the smell and said it gave him that "time to wake up and get your arse out of sleep mode" feeling.  I don't think it made the roots feel any softer and there was no moisture as my scalp was very dry and itchy and my hair didn't look much more hydrated than it had done before.  The tingling claims are all correct though, it definitely tingles.

My brother has short hair and it worked fine on him, no itching or anything.  A few days later his scalp started to itch like mad and became really really dry, there were massive flakes of skin coming off and he had to oil it to stop the itching and get the moisture back..  Suffice to say, all bottles of the shampoo have been chucked out.

I really liked the conditioner but now I'm having second thoughts, if the shampoo is that bad, I worry that the conditioner will turn on me..

Would I repurchase? 
No..the shampoo will definitely not get a repurchase from anyone in the household.  I wouldn't really buy the conditioner either unless I was in a bind and couldn't find anything else that I liked.  It does work but I've used better.  Re. the shampoo, if it was the only one on the shelf, I'd dry shampoo it up.

Review: Revlon Grow Luscious mascara

I've had this a fair while now and I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't open any new mascaras until I finished at least ONE old one.  It was torture knowing I had this in my drawer and couldn't crack open the wrapping and get to using..but I held on and when my Collection 2000 mascara went to the great mascara cemetary, this baby was ripped open with an amount of excitement which bordered on derangement.

Grow Luscious was released by Revlon at the time when "mascara with benefits" was the in thing..no longer did we (apparently) want a mascara to just make our lashes look longer, stronger, curlier and sexier but we also wanted it to make our lashes grow.  I'm not sure how that works as a gimmick as I find that good old Vaseline usually helps mine grow..and some brands should focus on making sure their mascara does the basics first, let alone runnning before walking.

At first I thought this was one of those mascaras that you had to use continually for 30 days or so until you saw some benefits.  I researched it (who said beauty bloggers were lazy?!) and found out that it was a hybrid mascara.

It makes your lashes look longer and more luscious (see what they did there?) on a daily but also helps them grow stronger in time..the stronger the lash..the harder it is to break I suppose.

A lot of people want their mascara to be packaged in a black tube, I don't know why that is but surely how the product works is more important?  Different strokes for different folks, I guess.  I don't discriminate..I love the fact that tubes of mascara now come in bright colours because I often leave one in my bag and anything other than black is easy to find.  I've never lost my Maybelline Colossal before and I doubt I'll be losing this.

The wand is pretty long and pretty big, I wouldn't say chunky as it doesn't look cumbersome.  It looks like it gets the job done.  It's your standard mascara wand..no funny twig like bristles..it looks the way you'd expect a mascara wand to look.

And here's how it looks in the old lashes..I took the last two photos to show the amount of curl this mascara gives me but it's not entirely clear.  I've never used another mascara which gave me this amount of curl before.  Clarins managed it with this offereing but the Revlon one blows that right out of the water.  I never realised until I took those pics just how hard it is to take a photo of your eye at that angle, hence why they're not in the best focus.

This mascara has easily made it into my top 3 mascaras (the other two being this and this..the other third one was this by Boots No7 but it doesn't compete when this comes into the running).  The photos don't show how truly long it made my lashes..you can kind of see in the last photos but I was asked by about 10 different people if I was wearing false lashes.  My lashes are definitely thicker and longer.  You know sometimes when a mascara gives you these results and you touch your lashes and find they're rock solid? Not with this one, they stayed soft all day long.  When I open my eyes, my lashes hit the skin just under my brows..and that's just with one coat.  I had to steady myself when I imagined the results I'd get from two coats..or dare I even say it..THREE.

Another reason why I love this is because I've recently been doing the walking stereotype look a lot and I find that a lot of mascara don't highlight your lashes against the liner as much as you'd like them to..I like to see the lashes poking up over the liner and this is brilliant for that.

The mascara can be bought from the usual places and it retails for £9.99.

Review: A Perfect World for Eyes by Origins

I went to John Lewis a few weeks ago on a mission to buy an ice cream maker, a mission that went horribly wrong as they were out of stock (boo!)

Instead, I picked up some pegs and a clay mask by Origins.  Origins currently have a GWP (gift with purchase) offer on whereby you buy any skincare product and you get three sample sized items for free.  Whilst we are on the GWP issue, I don't understand why most brands make you buy two products before you get the free gifts, that always grinds my gears for some reason because I feel that the SA's always try and push extra products on you because they know women can't resist "free" makeup.

I have been using the mask sporadically (a review is to follow) but one thing I've been using since I obtained the mask is this eye cream: A Perfect World for Eyes.

I am in love with this baby.

This is a very generous sized sample which is obviously a good thing, don't you hate it when people give you samples of products and there's not enough in there for you to use and determine whether or not it will work? This happened to me at LUSH, the guy gave me a sample of the 9-5 cleanser which would make Ebenezer Scrooge look like William H Gates.  Seriously, I wasn't asking for the world, just an amount of cleanser which would actually be able to be used for more than a day.  And I did buy something, I didn't go in there trying to score some free LUSH.

Anyway, back to this eye cream.  It is quite thick compared to all the eye creams I have used in the past (read reviews here, here and here).  I think the thickness might be key in what makes it work faster.  I have never seen results this quickly before.  I use it in the morning and in the evening but I have done that with every other eye cream I've had and none has delivered results this quickly.

It is meant to be a firming eye cream but I feel it goes beyond firming.  My under eye area feels firmer, smoother and I am sure it has lightened the area up too as I find myself using less concealer.  I must point out that I thankfully don't have dark under eye circles like a lot of Indian people have.  The area is a tiiiny bit darker but you can't tell..the only way I found out was by staring at my face in pictures.  I can go without concealer, I only wear it because it peps up the shape of my eye.

The cream is very easy to blend in and doesn't settle into the lines under my eye.  That's another thing actually, I feel that it has made some of the lines appear not as deep as they were before which is always to be welcomed.  One thing I forgot to mention before, you only need to use a tiny bit at a time.  If you use too much, it will blend in nicely but towards the end of the day it will start to peel off and you don't want that.  Just use a tiny (less than pea sized) amount and you're good to go.

I've nearly finished the sample and when I do, I'm going to buy the full sized version of this.

If you want to buy the full sized version or want to buy something else and get a sample, you can check out the range of products online here.

Review: Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic

You don't know happy I was to hear the words "skin tonic" be bandied about.

I was more than in love with my Boots Original Beauty Skin Tonic before it was cruelly snatched away from me by the devil that is discontinued products.

So, here I was, holding this beautifully wrapped Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic hoping that it would work just as well as my other skin tonic..

What do Liz Earle say?
"This heavenly scented, non-drying floral tonic revitalises, soothes and brightens. Gentle and alcohol-free it also adds a fine layer of moisture. With conditioning natural source vitamin E, hydrating organic aloe vera and rose-scented geranium."

What do I say?
It's nice..but I don't think it is as good as my HG skin tonic.  This does not mean that it doesn't work.  The Liz Earle one dries very quickly and leaves your skin feeling lovely.  You don't need to moisturise after using it if you use it generously.  I do this and leave my skin alone.  When I'm tired and don't use it properly, I make sure to use a moisturiser afterwards.

I feel that it does add moisture which is nice from a "toner".  Whether it soothes and brightens is yet to be seen.  However, I didn't really notice a brightening effect with my other skin tonic.  It smells pretty nice and works how I'd want a toner to work.

Even when I use it with a light hand, it feels a bit heavy for my skin so it might work better if you have dry or normal skin.

Repurchase? 
I don't think I will.  I'm not totally convinced by this.  I have been using it for a fair while and it hasn't wowed me in the same way that my other tonic did.  I suppose it is unfair to compare it to my other skin tonic so I will say this: it does work, it does everything it promises to but for me, it's not as good as my baby.

Review: Boots Essentials Cucumber Eye Makeup Remover Gel

You may or may not know that I recently (accidentally) blinded myself in the pursuit of blending heaven.

 As a direct result of this, I decided to see if I could get on with a gel remover.  You all know I am pants with my liquid removers and pads seem such a waste.

The logic in my mind was thus: "The pads from this range worked well on me so I hope the gel does, too".

My eye managed to mend itself in record time according to the doctor and so I was allowed to wear makeup from Tuesday onwards.

 What do Boots say?
"Boots Essentials Cucumber Eye Make Up Remover Gel comtains extract of cucumber to help gently soften and soothe your skin."

What do I say?
In short, I love it.

It does everything it says it would.

It doesn't smell "sharp" and is nice and gentle on your eyes. It doesn't really have a strong smell, the moisturiser from the same range really stinks of cucumber but this is quite pleasant.

Some pads sting me slightly but neither the pads by this range nor this gel have done this.  It moisturises the eye area nicely and you don't have to pull at your eyes to get the makeup off, all you need to do is swipe and you're good to go.

I have been wearing a primer, two eyeshadows, mascara and eyeliner pencil.

I use this to remove the product at the end of the day.

I also have a habit of putting my foundation on the back of my hand and then dabbing my brush in it and applying it.  I'm often left with the option of wiping it off with a tissue, which never gets the job done properly.  I've been applying this to the back of my hand and taking it off with a tissue and it removes foundation adequately.

It is also very soothing, more soothing than any other eye makeup remover I have ever used.

I pour a little bit of the gel onto a cotton wool pad and smear it around with my finger.  Apply that to your eye and the makeup melts underneath it.

You only need to use a tiny tiny bit and it gets all the product off.

The best part is, it only costs £1.39!!

Repurchase? Er..yes!

Review: Revlon Brushes

I'd been looking for the eyeshadow brushes featured here for a while now and I was kindly sent the whole range to use and review.

My initial thoughts:

• The handles smell "woody" and the hairs have no palpable scent
• Handles = perfect length apart from the eyliner brush..I've done some desi mechanics on it though.  For those of you who don't know what desi mechanics are, they're the sister of ghetto mechanics, i.e. making something work by doing some simple, at home tweaks.  My mechanics were to cut the handle shorter, file it down and paint it. 
• Each handle has the name of the brush (more helpful than you would think!)
• The handle width varies depending on which brush you use, for example, the handles on the foundation brush, the blush brush and the powder brush are very chunky which is conducive to how the product applies whereas the handles on the eyeshadow brushes are thinner
• The hairs on all the brushes are very soft. I've mentioned this here because you don't want to read the same thing 10 times over

Revlon Powder Brush RRP £10.99

The brush doesn't feel cumbersome which is something to be welcomed when it comes to makeup brushes.  I've used  it a fair bit but then I gave it to my mum because she uses powder more than I do.

She reports positively on its performance and I think it's pretty good too.  I use it for translucent powder and mi madre uses it for powder foundation and I feel that it distributes powder properly.  With my old brush, you could tell where I was wearing powder but application is pretty seamless with this one.

Revlon Blush Brush RRP £9.99

I feel this brush was made personally for me as it fits my cheek area perfectly (ooh er) and blending is a dream.  I tap the top part in my favourite blusher (currently this Korres one) and sweep the sides in the blush too. 

The brush is fairly chunky which makes application even easier.

Overall, I'm very happy with the brush.

Revlon All Over Shadow Brush RRP £6.99

I think the stiffness (har har) is spot on.  I use this to just add a shade all over my eyelid and blend it out.  The hairs are black which make it a bit hard to see how much colour you've loaded onto the brush but I think that's a minor point because who honestly doesn't dip back into their eyeshadow when they're blending?

You get all the control you want and I think the results from using this brush are far better than any other blender brush I've used.

Revlon Contour Shadow Brush RRP £7.99

This was the brush I was most looking forward to using.  I've been trying to improve my application skills for ages and I think that I have finally cracked it and it may be in part due to this brush   It picks up just the right amount of shadow (no need to tap it off or anything).  The handle really lets you get into the crease and blend it on out.

I'm quite happy with my skills now and this brush has worked it's way into my daily brush arsenal.

Here are some practice eyes I did with the two brushes:

I can clearly see a marked improvement comapred to what I usually come up with.  I used two shades of blue and a black shadow on the blue eyes so I'm chuffed at how well it blended.  The middle eye could have done with a bit more blending but I only learnt my final trick when I was doing the blue eye.  I originally did a "thick winged look" but then wanted to see if I could blend it up into a more rounded piece and I could!

Revlon Eyeliner Brush RRP £6.99

This was the last brush I used from the collection.  It's not because it's crap, it's because eyeliner is a fiddly thing and I don't have time to sit down and be all nicey nicey with makeup when I'm rushing off to work.  So, this is a pure weekend brush. 

I have one simliar to this by Ruby and Millie but I decided to use it with my all time favourite gel liner (there's a post about that coming up, very soon) and it was a bit of a fail.  I don't think these brushes are made for gel liner..does anyone know what type of liner they are made for? The packaging didn't say and I can't see you using liquid liner with it simply because of logistics.

I used my Smashbox powder liner and got better results..I'm a bit unsure about this one.

Revlon Foundation Brush RRP £10.99
I love the feeling of this brush. The hairs are pretty densely packed for a foundation brush but it is still fluffy enough to apply foundation properly.

Blending was flawless and it took me literally minutes to apply a full face of foundation. It used to take me ages before but this brush is a brilliant time saver.

I never used to wear foundation every day but since I've had this brush, it's become a daily occurence for me and I will be finishing my second (ever!) tube of foundation very soon. 

Revlon Concealer Brush RRP £5.99

I don't use concealer so I thought it a bit pointless if I reviewed a brush for that purpose because I wouldn't know what to look for.

I handed it over to my cousin who has been using concealer since the day she was born and she absolutely loves it.  She used it with liquid concealers and solid concealers (she used this and this).

She liked the fact that the brush was soft but still firm enough to apply concealer without making it look patchy.

I personally like the way the hairs are coloured in a similar way to the foundation brush so that you instantly know that this is the concealer brush.

I use it to apply a highlighter under the arch of my eyebrows and it places the product perfectly.

All in all, these brushes are pretty good for the price and I'd recommend them all.  The handle on the eyeliner brush needs to be smaller but I find that's a problem with all eyeliner brushes, not something unique to this one.

Review: Neutrogena Wave

The Neutrogena Wave.

When this first came out, I really wanted it. Then I saw it was £12 which I thought was a bit pricey. Then it was on sale for £6 and I considered buying it until I found that the replacement pads were just as costly. Thus, I left it.

I had no intention of buying it because I'd managed to make my skin behave. Anywho, my cousin popped around to my mum's house whilst I was there and she had picked me one up as she thought I'd like it.

I got a replacement pack with the Wave and I didn't realise that you need to put the cleanser pad on, I initially thought that you used the head as a massager..I'd have carried on doing that had I not opened the packet that came with the Wave..

It promises the following:

I find it does everything it says it will do apart from the tingly claims but I think they're superfluous because your skin doesn't really need to be tingly in order for it to actually be clean.  My skin felt a LOT softer after I used it for the first time and it really cleaned my skin.  I used it around my nose and it really was a lot cleaner after the first use.

I found that my skin was a bit tight after using it but it does say to use your face cream afterwards and once I'd put that on, it was fine.  I also found that you only need to go around your face once as if you do it about two/three times, your face will feel like it's vibrating afterwards but only lasts about 10 seconds.

The only downside I feel is the price, after each use, you need to throw away the pad and attach a new one.  You get two weeks' worth with the Wave package but you can buy replacements pretty easily.  I've been doing my research and I saw the Wave in Savers for £3.99 and the replacement pads were £1.99.

Purchase? 

I will continue to buy replacement pads for this because I feel it really works on my skin. If you have combo/oily skin then this will work for you but if your skin is dry/sensitive then it may not be as effecitve.

Review: Boots Traditional Skin Care Glycerin and Rosewater Toner v Boots Original Beauty Formula Skin Tonic

Nice, small title there..

I bought both of these..well, actually, my mum bought me one (shame!) and I bought the other myself.

I've been asked for a review on the Glycerin and Rosewater toner so I'm doing a review and compare.  I was originally going to just review the first one but as both have similar ingredients, I decided to do a comparison post.

Before I get to that, I'm quite happy that in this day and age you can buy toners on the High Street which are not jammed full of alcohol and will strip your skin and make your skin complaint worse.  I swear you couldn't get these when I was a teenager, I used alcohol fuelled toners for many many years, if these were around then, I'm sure my skin would have looked nicer back then. Don't get me wrong, these two contain alcohol but it's nowhere near as much as those "traditional" ones do..I had quick look at ingredients in Boots the other day.

Anyway, review time!

Boots Tradition Skin Care Glycerin and Rosewater Toner.

When I got this, I was using a cleanser which I found contained mineral oils (if you Google mineral oil, the top three shopping items that come up are things you put in your car, which is rather telling..)I researched up on them and found that they created a barrier between your skin and anything you put on it so I chucked it away.

I like the fact that the bottle is plastic and that the opening is small so it doesn't all come spilling out when you tip it upside down.  I also like the minimal, no fuss, semi vintage looking packaging.  The smell isn't horrible either, it's not your typical toner smell.

I soaked a cotton wool pad in it and circulated it around my face.  It made my skin feel really nice and clean and more plumped up.  When I apply my toner, I usually wait about 15 minutes before putting my moisturiser on as this is my personal best course of action.  When I touched my face after 15 minutes, it felt super smooth and very plumped out but pretty sticky..I thought this was just an after effect of the mineral oil cleanser...creating a barrier and what have you.

I used it time and time again and it still made my skin feel sticky.  It's quite a shame it did that because I enjoyed how smooth it made my skin feel but the stickiness was a deal breaker.

Repurchase?
I wouldn't buy this again because I have used it weeks after I stopped using the mineral oil cleanser and it still made my face really sticky.  If you want to try it for yourself, you can get it in Boots.  I couldn't find it online but it costs about £2.90.  I noticed once I had used it that it had rubbing alcohol in it (isopropyl alcohol) and I didn't want to put that anywhere near my face so I've been using it to clean by brushes before shampooing them.

Boots Original Beauty Formula Skin Tonic.

This bottle is glass.  I am a clumsy person.  Glass and butterfingers don't mix.  This is why I was glad it came in a cardboard box so that I'd be able to transport it home without it breaking (I've broken a vase on the way home once before..) 

Apart from that, I really like the packaging as it commits fully to the vintage feel, it's a heavy glass bottle with an old school looking label on it and the bottle even has Boots embedded into the glass.  The lid is a thin metally lid and there is no "protector" so if the lid is off and the bottle topples over, the product will go everywhere.  I dislike this. I feel a bit thick saying that I like the vintage design yet dislike the fact they've used glass? What I'm saying is, if it came in the same packaging that the Glycerin and Rosewater did..it would be perfick.

The smell..what to say about the smell..it's not pleasant. It does whiff a bit but you'd be surprised how quickly you get uesd to it, plus, you can't smell it once you've put it on.

I (once again) put this onto a cotton wool pad and rub it around my face in circular motions.  I feel this one feels a lot fresher than the Glycerin and Rosewater counterpart and it cleans my skin a lot better.  I look at the pad after cleaning my face with it and can see visible bits of "dirt" on it.  My face feels a lot cleaner after using this toner than it did with the other.

I waited again for 15 minutes and felt my skin, it didn't feel plumper but then it wasn't sticky and I'd rather have non stick than plump.

Repurchase?
I will deffo buy more of these in the future, I'm thinking to stock up whilst they're still on half price in Boots. £1.94 is a brilliant price to pay for a toner which actually works.

Review: The Body Shop Facial Massager

I've never really been educated on how things like face brushes and massagers could really make the difference, I used to just buy products and slap them on, I never thought you could enhance their performance.  I've had my face brush for ageeeeeeeeeeeees now and this is why I love buying products from The Body Shop because I know these peripherals work.

I read online somewhere (I can't remember where) that when you have a facial, you should come out with a really warm, pink face and that if you don't the facial hasn't been carried out properly.

So, I set about trying to give myself a facial at home..it failed.  No matter how much I massaged my face, it didn't get near red or warm enough so I decided to let it be.  Plus, my nails were pretty long at the time and it was really hard to massage myself without ending up with crescent moons all over my face.

Then I saw this beauty on The Body Shop website and decided to buy it.

The basic method of usage is thus..

I usually use it, miss a day then use it..I couldn't think of the technical term for that kind of usage..is there one? Fortdaily? But then fortnightly is two weeks so isn't fortdaily the same? Forthourly? Does anyone know?

It says "gently roll" but I can't be gentle to save my life so I'm quite forceful with it because it's fun to do it like that, plus once the blood starts pumping it's hard to stop (man, the number of ways this sentence could be misconstrued)..

Also, I don't use it on my neck because I hate that feeling of water trickling down your neck..I might use it like that in the shower actually..

I've used it with a mixture of cleansers.  I used a solid oily cleanser, a liquid oily based cleanser and then plain old cleansing milk.

When you roll it on your mush you don't need to apply a lot of pressure as it rolls around itself, the only place it got a bit stuck was on my nose but you just learn to roll it the opposite way to how you use it on the rest of your face.

It makes my face really nice and warm and my skin feels a LOT smoother once I've washed the cleanser off.

I didn't think that my skin was that dull before but after using this, it's really perked itself up and it looks a lot more plump than it did before.

When you roll it over your face with the cleanser on it, you can tell it's working because the cleanser is in little zigzag patters on your face.

You can use it when you don't have any product on your face but I like using it with the cleanser as it kills two birds with one stone.

Purchase?
I did pay for this myself but I think saying "repurchase" is a bit redundant here as The Body Shop items like this last for ages.  If it did break on me then I would buy it again but it's very sturdy and the only way I see it breaking is if someone smashed it with a hammer.  What I'm trying to say is, if you think your skin looks dull/you can't give yourself a proper facial at home then get this because it is really good, it's foolproof!

Review: Collection 2000 Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara

I bought this mascara totally on a whim the other week from Boots, mainly because you got a free eyeliner with it and I'd heard great things about the eyeliner.   

The mascara cost more than the eyeliner did and to a sensible mind, buying the eyeliner alone if that's what you really wanted would make more sense but I'm not a sensible person.

Plus, I quite like the packaging, it looks like a hybrid of Maybelline's Colossal and Stiletto.

The brush is MASSIVE, not chunky wise like my Prestige brush but length wise, it's pretty big (ooh err).  The mascara consistency itself seems ok, not too thick nor too thin.  Pigmentation is ok.  I know the review seems a bit wishy washy at the moment but that's all I observed of it.

I bought Ultra Black because brown doesn't do much for my lashes as they're black anyway.

What do Collection 2000 say?

"New Collection 2000 Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara provides sensational lashes that really stand out from the crowd. The unique 3D lash coating tube technology will plump and stretch each individual lash without clumping or smudging. New Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara also introduces the biggest brush yet from Collection 2000, and with new slim line, sleek and sexy packaging, it’s perfect to pop in your purse for a stylish pick up for your peepers! New Collection 2000 Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara is set to re-create the false lash look with the mere wave of a wand. Achieve phenomenal length and volume!"

What do I say?

Firstly, brace yourselves..this review bit comes with an extra order of rambling.

I've used it a few times since I bought it and my opinion kept changing until I settled on one view. The first time I used it, it just lengthened them and that was all.  No false lash effect at all.  

I used it again and coated my lashes about 4 times.  I applied each coat whilst the one before was still wet so it was easy to mesh them all together as one.  I think that the consistency of the mascara itself is pretty good in this respect, it doesn't dry so quickly that you can't build up your lashes.

I wasn't impressed seeing as I could get this result from one coat with my Maybelline Colossal and application was quite fiddly with this to get it up a nice standard.  Not false lashes by any stretch of the imagination, just lashes which had mascara on them and looked a bit enhanced.

I went back a few hours later and my lashes looked totally different, they're longer, thicker and look pretty good..I'm finally impressed.

Then I went back again and the mascara had flaked pretty badly which is not what you want on your under eye area as it's pretty hard to remove without giving yourself premature wrinkles.

It's a shame that you have to figure out a way to use it properly before getting any results. I don't think many people would carry on with it after 2 coats but 4 seems to be the magic number here.  5 gave me really heavy lashes.

Repurchase?

Nope.  If you're looking for a false lash effect mascara and don't mind coating your lashes up then get it.  If you want an everyday mascara that doesn't clump and stays on for ages then you should also get it.  If you want no fuss fake looking lashes then there are other mascaras which will do the job better.

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!

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.

Review: Jessica Nails Nourish Cuticle Formula

I've been growing my nails for nearly two months now and they're coming on nicely, I've gotten over the casualties as the growth rate on the other nails has placated me greatly.

As I haven't had nails before, I didn't (read: still don't) know how to take care.  I'm not ashamed to say that I didn't know what cuticles were up until a few weeks ago but now I'm fully up to speed on all this nail talk.

I wanted my nails to grow a bit faster so I decided to raid my Jessica Nails goody bag which I won on Twitter.  I call it a goody bag despite the fact that you can actual buy it as an item.

The packaging looks battered because it has been lolling around in my handbag, when I first got it, it was immaculate and the writing on the lid was not chipped at all.

Jessica Nails say it is "an all-time classic cuticle therapy, this pure blend of antioxidant vitamins and healing agents provides instant hydration and continuous moisture to nourish and soothe cuticles and nails. It feeds the matrix of the nail as it’s massaged in to stimulate circulation and growth."

I say that they're bang on.  This is the first cuticle cream I have ever used and I don't think I will use another.  I know a lot of people swear by Lemony Flutter from LUSH but I didn't like the smell of that so I decided to use this up.  When I had my manicure at LFW, Heather used this on my fingers and said it would help in repairing "rips" in my skin.

I like the way it comes in a small sized tub because you can just chuck it in your bag and leave it on your desk without it looking like you've opened up a nail bar.

You only need a really tiny amount and it rubs in really quickly.  If, like me, you're a bit heavy handed, your fingers will look greasy but it sinks in quickly so you're not left with a film on your fingers.

Here's what the product looks like:

I've been using it for a bit more than 2 weeks and it is still going strong, there is a lot left in the tub.

The smell is also pretty nice, the best word I can use to describe the smell is delicate..but not overly girly.  I know that description is really helpful ;) I find that it doesn't smell cheap or too rich.  It's basically the kind of smell you can live with on your fingers...and that sentence sounded better in my head than it does typed out.

Does it do everything it says?
Healing agents which provide instant hydration? Check. It really moisturised my nail area when I put it on, it sunk it and afterwards my nail are felt a lot softer.  I also had a "rip" on the skin at the bed of the nail on my right hand thumb and after a few applications of Nourish, the rip was totally gone.  I forgot to take a photo of said thumb which is typical.

Nourished and soothed cuticles and nails? Yep, after using this my nails felt SUPER smooth, even without nail polish on, they looked shinier and felt stronger.

Growth and circulation stimulated? Yes, my nails have been growing faster since I've started using this.

Here's what it looks like before I rub it in:

Purchase?
When mine runs out, I'm deffo going to buy some.  I never knew that products like this could give you these kinds of results.  I thought that you only got really good nails through taking those nail vitamins and eating tonnes of fresh produce.

You can buy Nourish here.