Review: Rimmel Colour Rush Balm in 110 Make Me Blush

A few months back I went through a phase of wanting to buy pretty much every single shade of these Rimmel lip crayons. I was absolutely besotted with them and wouldn't wear anything else on my lips, but eventually my love fizzled out and while they haven't totally been forgotten, I don't reach for them quite as often anymore.

The really annoying thing about these lip crayons is that they don't have the shade name printed anywhere on them, so it took me a while to figure out that this is actually shade 110, "Make Me Blush". I do apologise for the weird tint this has picked up on camera. In reality this is actually a quite light and very blue toned baby pink!

The swatches show a much more accurate picture of the actual colour. It goes on quite sheer at first, but is build able to a more opaque finish. I definitely prefer it in a thicker layer, as it does have a tendency to look a little patchy otherwise.

As I've said previously, I absolutely cannot fault the formula of these lip crayons. They feel smooth and silky on the lips, go on without dragging in the slightest and offer a healthy hit of pigmentation with a delicate sheen. Longevity is excellent, though I have found that this shade in particular doesn't fade out into an even stain like the other ones do, but tends to settle into the lip lines instead. It's a real shame and though it's nothing you can't fix with a regular touch up, it does mean that it's by far my least favourite colour from the line up.

Review: Garnier Clean & Fresh Eye Make-up Remover

When it comes to make-up remover, I like to keep things cheap and cheerful. I get through so much of that stuff it would soon become a very expensive habit and I've found that most drugstore removers work just as well as their high end counterparts, as long as you know where to look.

While my eyes aren't super sensitive, they do get dry from wearing contact lenses a lot of the time, so the main thing for me is that I don't want my beauty products to further aggravate them and cause any stinging. I'm also not a fan of oil based removers that leave a greasy film on my lids and a weird coating on my eyeballs.... urgh, no thanks. Thankfully, this little number from Garnier fits the bill perfectly.

It really does feel light and refreshing on the skin and there is no stinging or burning in my eyes whatsoever. When it comes to removing make-up it performs well as long as you're not wearing copious amounts of eye make-up. After a night out for example I would have to go through several cotton pads to fully get rid of my panda eyes.

I guess when it comes to efficiency, these types of make-up remover are never going to be as good as micellars (and if you're in the market for one, Garnier actually do a cracking one that is pretty much an exact dupe for Bioderma!), but if for any reason you're not a fan of a micellar water and don't wear huge amounts of eye make-up, then this is a pretty good option that certainly won't break the bank.

Review: Seventeen Phwoarr Paint

After mentioning this concealer at every given opportunity for the past six months or so, I think it's about time it finally got its very own review. To cut a long story short, I absolutely love this stuff. So much so, I actually think it's better than the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer, as far as drugstore products are concerned - whoa, big statement there, I know.

This stuff will literally cover everything. I have hereditary dark circles, so even though lifestyle choices do make a difference (getting enough sleep, drinking lots of water, yada yada...), nothing seems to make them go away entirely. Even most concealers fail miserably at covering them up and stopping me from looking like something that's just crawled out of a cave. Save this.

This is exactly what it says on the tin: A thick, heavy duty concealer that stays put pretty much all day. Now, I definitely wouldn't recommend this for the undereye area if you find that you already get quite a lot of dryness there, as something as thick and heavy as this will only cling to dry patches. On my combination skin, however, this stays exactly where I applied it without sliding off and I only see a little bit of creasing in the inner corners at the end of a long day - a price I will happily pay in return for the amazing coverage this concealer offers.

Seventeen Phwoarr Paint in Fair - swatched in natural light

Other than under the eyes, this also does a phenomenal job at covering up any blemishes or red patches. I find that a lot of thick, heavy concealers can emphasise the area more than they cover it by clinging to the dry skin around a blemish, but not so with this. I'd say it's almost like a cream to powder consistency, which allows you enough time to blend things in properly before it sets.
As you can see above, the shade fair is pretty much a perfect match for me, but as with most drugstore products, the shade range is very limited and there are currently only two colours available: Fair (great for pale girls like me!) and Medium.

Review: Nivea Double Effect Eye Make-Up Remover

I can't even tell you how long it's been since I last used a dual-phase make-up remover. Let's just say it's been a long, long time.
I tend to avoid oil-based make-up removers, as I find that they always sting my eyes. Balms are fine, micellars work wonderfully, but these dual action types can swing either way from my personal experience. That's probably why I've avoided them for so long.

Funnily enough I really like the way they look in the bottle. I know that it's really the last thing I should be judging a beauty product on, but I really enjoy the way there are two different colours in the same bottle. And shaking it up is always oddly satisfying as well. Here's a shot of the Nivea make-up remover in all of its shaken up glory.

Now, onto the good news: This didn't sting my eyes. Not at all, actually. As for how efficiently it removed my make-up, there is room for improvement, especially considering it is half oil-based, but it's also not the worst I've ever used. The one thing that really bugged me about it, though, is just how quickly I got through this bottle. It must have lasted no longer than two or maybe three weeks, whereas regular make-up removers usually last me for a few months!

I'm not sure I'll be buying a dual-phase make-up remover again after this. It just seems that now that there are lots of really rather excellent micellars on the market, these seem a bit old-fashioned and gimmicky. You could have the same product, just already shaken up for you and a lot more effective for pretty much the same price. What do you think? Do you still use two-phase make-up removers?

A bottle of Nivea Double Effect Eye Make-up Remover will set you back £3.59.

Review: Maybelline Fit Me! Foundation

I never went out with the intention of buying this product, but then Boots 3 for 2 happened and I already had a Maybelline Color Tattoo and their Rocket mascara (which I reviewed in my last post) in my shopping basket while being in the market for a new foundation, so I thought I'd give it a go. That was despite reading predominantly negative reviews about it in the past.

Sadly, those reviews didn't turn out to be unfounded and it's yet another flop from Maybelline for me. Where shall I begin? Let's start with the colour selection. I instinctively grabbed the lightest shade available on the counter, which was 115. Unsurprisingly, it was still too dark for me, although that is the case with 99% of drugstore foundations which just don't cater for skin as light as mine. It's now summer and thanks to going to a few festivals this year I'm now as tanned as I'm probably ever going to be and it matches my skin tone quite well. But I know that as soon as my tan begins to fade it will be too dark for me again.

What I do like about it is the sleek pump applicator which makes it easy to get the foundation out - there's nothing I hate more than glass bottles of foundation that you either have to tip out or fish around in! When trying a little bit on my arm in the shop I thought the formula would be quite nice as it does feel rather watery and light - something I definitely go for in foundations. But on the face it just doesn't feel right in the slightest.

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 115 swatch

Maybelline Fit Me! Foundation in 115 swatch blended out

As you can see in the picture above the finish is quite dewy and doesn't offer much in terms of coverage. Can you see how it settles into every tiny little crack in my skin? It doesn't look pretty on my hand, now imagine foundation settling into every little line on your face, emphasising what you're trying to smooth out!
The worst thing, though, is the feeling it leaves on the skin. Even though it's not a heavy formula as such,  the foundation just never seems to dry properly, so all day long you'll have that sticky foundation feeling on your skin - just without the heavy duty coverage you'd expect from a product that normally induces sweaty-skin face.
I tried using it with a foundation brush and it just didn't work at all, as it took what felt like hours of blending to get rid of visible brush strokes on my skin - fingers work a lot better.

Overall this one gets a big, fat, thumbs down from me. Maybe it would work better on very dry skin types rather than on my combination skin? Have you tried this foundation?

Review: Maybelline The Rocket Volum' Express Mascara

Even though I don't usually get on with Maybelline mascaras, it was the blogger hype surrounding this one that made me reconsider and give it a go. I mean seriously, this must have been on pretty much every single blogger's favourites list at some point in time. It's got to be amazing, right? Well, no. Turns out I should have followed my gut instinct.

It's probably due to the fact that I'm looking for something completely different in my mascara than most people do. My lashes are naturally quite curly, so I'm not looking for a mascara that's great at holding a curl, as most days I don't even bother using lash curlers at all! They're also quite long, but with very light tips, so I need my mascara to really define those tips rather than give me lots of bulk at the root.... which is pretty much the exact opposite to what this mascara does.

The stubby plastic bristles are great at giving volume, but are just too short to grip the ends of my lashes, so it would take me ages to bring some decent definition to the ends of my lashes and I just don't need that level of faffing about early in the morning when I just want to get out of the house already!
On the plus side, it lasts really well and I can't say I've experienced any smudging or flaking even towards the end of the day with this mascara. Bonus!

Usually I end up discovering products that I really really love when I give in to bloggers' hype, but this is one I'll be giving a miss and won't be repurchasing. Have you tried this mascara? What did you think?

Maybelline The Rocket Volum' Express mascara retails at £7.99 each.

Review: Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara

This mascara has only popped up on drugstore and supermarket shelves not too long ago and already it's received rave reviews left right and centre. I've even seen it compared to my ultimate holy grail mascara, the Benefit "They're Real!". At a fraction of the price, it seemed to good an opportunity to pass up on the chance to try this possible alternative!

Just as I thought I'd seen everything when it comes to different types of mascara wands, along comes this strange contraption. It's essentially a big rubbery brush, but in addition to that there are lots of tiny little rubber balls interspersed between the bristles. I can't say I've ever had the feeling that my mascara wand is in need of lots of little rubber bubbles, but hey, don't knock it till you've tried it!

On the lashes the brush feels very grippy and does a really great job at lengthening the lashes while still giving definition and separation. You can add a few coats if it's volume you're after, as it layers very well, but I usually go for just one coat.

Top: No mascara; Bottom: Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara

The finished result is a very defined and natural look, which I'm a great fan of. I can definitely see where the comparison to "They're Real!" comes from, even though I find the brush of the mascara wand to be a lot more difficult to maneouvre and as it doesn't have those little bristles at the top of the wand like Benefit's offering, it's a lot more difficult to get into the little corners.

Having said that, this is probably my favourite drugstore mascara I've ever tried and unlike the Benefit mascara, it comes in a waterproof version as well. It lasts well all day without flaking or smudging, and at £9.99 (currently on an introductory offer of £6.99) it's very purse friendly, too!

Review: John Frieda Sheer Blonde Conditioning Treatment

As a (quite heavily) bleached blonde using a deep conditioner or hair mask every other wash isn't just an option - it's an absolute must. I got this John Frieda hair treatment as part of a 3 for 2 offer when I was stocking up on shampoo and conditioner. To be honest with you I didn't expect a lot - just another high street hair mask that has way too much silicone in it to even stay on the hair long enough. But as it turns out, I was mistaken and ended up pleasantly surprised with the results.

Upon first inspection it really doesn't seem that different from every other hair mask you'll find in the beauty aisles of a supermarket. The texture is very smooth and slippy, albeit slightly on the thicker side and it's got that typical sweet haircare scent that you get in so many products.
But when it comes to results I really couldn't have asked for anything else from this. My hair was visibly nourished, dried a lot quicker and felt soft and smooth. On the other hand it also managed to be light enough not to weigh down my strands or make them feel greasy. It didn't wane in efficiency, either - it was just as good the day I opened it as it was when I feverishly scraped the last bits out of the bottom of the tub.

It says to leave this on the hair for 15 minutes and to be honest I don't think I ever hit that target time. I'd just apply it as I got into the shower, left it on while I did all my other shower-related stuff (including just standing there for a few minutes because hot water in the morning just feels SO GOOD) and then washed it off - probably after 10 minutes at the most. I still got great results, however, so I'm not complaining!

The John Frieda Sheer Blonde Conditioning Treatment is available for £5.99.

Review: Simple Kind To Eyes Eye Make-up Remover

There are things that are worth splashing out on. And there are things that you can pick up for a fraction of the price at the drugstore, which do the job just as well, or perhaps even better. Make-up removers, in my humble opinion, belong to the latter category. I've tried products from Lancome, Clinique and Clarins and while I'd rank Lancome the highest out of the bunch, they all left my eyes in varying degrees of greasy to downright burning. While the much hyped up (and rightly so) Bioderma is probably my favourite for removing heavy eye make-up, there are a few drugstore products that do a very effective, but nevertheless gentle job with everyday make-up. This is one of them.

I wear contact lenses for several hours almost every day, so my eyes are definitely on the sensitive spectrum and often a little on the dry side. The last thing I need is a make-up remover that leaves me with an oil slick around my eyes, or worse even, dries them out even further leaving me with a red, burning mess.

None of this was an issue with this product. Make-up melted off without having to rub frantically - just soak two cotton pads and gently press them down on each eye for a few seconds and mascara, eye liner and shadow will just melt off. I could even use it on stubborn bits of liner on the inner water line without any irritation. Having said that I tend to avoid waterproof mascara, so I don't know how it would perform on that. With a very heavy smokey eye I found that I'd have to sometimes use two cotton pads per eye to really get everything off, but it's not often that I'll go that heavy on the make-up anyway, so it's not much of an issue. For everyday use, this is right up there with Garnier as my favourite drugstore make-up remover.

And the best bit? At £3.25 for a 125ml bottle it's an absolute bargain!

Review: Palmer's Cocoa Body Scrub

Even though loads of people love the Palmer's Cocoa body butters it's not a product I ever felt completely convinced by. Oddly enough, even though I love chocolate, I'm also not a huge fan of cocoa smell in beauty products. But this little gem is a happy exception and I've been loving using this up until the very last drop.

To start with, the texture of this body scrub is completely different to any other I've ever used. Imagine a rich, thick butter-like cream, not entirely dissimilar to a balm with various sizes of grains suspended within. I've never had this with any other body scrubs, but this one actually feels moisturising to use. But don't think that the texture somehow detracts from its scrubiness (technical term here).

The grains are perfectly sized to be efficient, but not leave skin red and raw. It also doesn't just slide straight off your skin and down the plug hole like so many other body scrubs, but is sticky enough to give you plenty of time to rub it into the skin properly.

As for the scent it is absolutely divine. It manages to be chocolatey and delicious, but without in any way being sickly sweet. It doesn't last on the skin, but is an absolute pleasure to use. Like I mentioned above I've used up every single drop of this and wouldn't hesitate to repurchase it in a heart beat. I might even go as far as saying that this is possibly the best body scrub I've ever used!

Palmer's Cocoa Body Scrub retails at £4.99 a tub.

Review: Atrixo Regenerating Treatment

I like winter, but I absolutely hate what it does to my hands - dry, chapped skin with knuckles that crack so bad they even bleed sometimes are the norm. A thick, moisturising hand cream is a must for the colder months to avoid the agony of my skin splitting every time I move my fingers.

I've had this hand cream for a while, but it was only during the last couple of weeks that I dug it back out, as my hands were in need of some serious TLC. I'm really not a fan of greasy hands during the day, so I tend to just apply a thick layer of rich cream at night and let it do its work while I'm fast asleep.

Upon first application I wasn't quite sure if this would be moisturising enough for my extremely dry hands. It doesn't give that "instant hit" of moisture that I've had from some other creams and there remains a slippy layer on my hands for quite some time. However, when I wake up my hands are visibly softer and smoother and with frequent application they are now crack free and soft.
I'm not sure I could recommend this for constant application during the day time, as it does take quite a long time to sink in, but over night it's a great way to pick up dry and chapped hands during the colder months.

Atrixo Regenerating Treatment retails at £5.79 a tube.

Review: Rimmel London Colour Rush Balm in "The Redder The Better"

Ok, I admit I'm late - very late - to the lip crayon party which started with the now legendary Clinique chubby sticks and now has pretty much every high street brand out there bringing out cheaper alternatives. One day I was at work and just felt the urgent, desperate need to go out and buy a lipstick (Does anyone else get that or is it just me?), so off I went on my lunch break to my local Boots to find myself a nice lip crayon. Revlon might have been the obvious choice to take my lip crayon virginity, but for some reason I bypassed their stand completely and found myself drawn to this Rimmel number instead.

And I can't say that it's a decision I regret. There's no doubt about the fact that there's a lot of fun in applying your lip colour with a big fat crayon. It makes me feel like a little girl again who is only discovering make-up for the very first time - those were exciting days indeed. But silly fun aside, the crayon shape also has its practical uses, in particular with brighter, bolder shades such as this one. You can use the tip to outline the lips first and then lay it flat against your lips to fill them in with colour - no liner needed!

It applies smooth and evenly and the pigmentation is fantastic. It can be layered into a really intense burst of red or dabbed on with a finger for more of a healthy tint. And it stains... boy, does it stain. I once wore this all day, reapplying every 3 hours or so and the next day, after brushing my teeth and washing my face TWICE, showering AND eating breakfast, there was still a visible amount of tint left. It's perfect for people like me who like to constantly sip on some water or have food on the go and don't want to worry about having to reapply their lipstick all the time.

Rimmel London Colour Rush Balm in "The Redder The Better"

I'm not entirely sure what made me go for the brightest shade in the line-up, seeing as I'm not much of a red lip wearer, but it seems like I've almost been converted and I've since been rocking a bright red lip a lot more than I ever used to.
The ease of application, the long wearing, creamy formula and the budget friendly price make me want to rush out and buy all of the other shades right now!

Rimmel London Colour Rush Balms retail at £5.99 each and you can find them here.

Review: Rimmel Scandaleyes Lycra Flex Mascara

Here's a fun fact: I'm a little bit known for buying things for absolutely ridiculous reasons. The reason I bought this mascara? The packaging was bright green. I like bright green things.



You certainly wouldn't have to worry about it getting lost in your make-up stash among the tubes and boxes of predominantly black and perhaps silver!



Anyway, for me there is rarely a mascara that I will repurchase - there are about three that are my all time favourites, but being a beauty blogger there's just too many new ones to discover all the time!



To cut a long story short, this was a rather average mascara for me - it did its job, didn't do too bad at it, but I'm definitely not going to buy it again. It gives a decent amount of length and volume to the lashes, but nothing that really blew me away.



The brush is also a little on the larger side which makes it tricky not to smudge any mascara onto your eye lids (especially when you've got shaky hands like me). On the plus side it delivered really nice, black pigment with only minimal flaking during the day. But take a look for yourself.



Me without any mascara. (How do you take pictures of your eyes without squinting? I can't seem to do it!)



Me with Rimmel Scandaleyes Lycra Flex mascara. As you can see there's a little bit of smudging on the bottom eye lid.

I'd say that bright green packaging aside, this is a pretty average mascara. If you're looking for a cheap-ish mascara I'd still recommend MaxFactor False Lash Effect over this one any time, or if you've got some cash to splash, why not try Benefit's They're Real! (the next one I'll be reviewing) or Lancome's Hypnose Doll Eyes?

What are your favourite mascaras?

Rimmel Scandaleyes Lycra Flex mascara retails at £6.99