No7 Heavenly Hydration Moisture Mask

I wrote a few words on this in a haul post a while ago, but I feel that I've had enough time to play around with this face mask in order to be able to write an honest review. I've also been using this as a little Sunday treat for my skin, so what better day to write this post than on a Sunday?

This costs £14 for 100ml and like all No7 products is available at Boots. It comes in a pump dispenser which makes it nice and hygienic to use, though it can leak a little bit if it's not stood upright. It's a funky looking product in the tube, as it's layered in a spiral with a clear liquid, but once you press it out you get a very smooth, slightly runny pink cream.

You can apply this in a thick layer on your face and leave it in for 3 - 10 minutes, depending on how much hydration you think your skin needs. Alternatively, you can also apply a slightly thinner layer and leave it to sink in over night for a bigger moisture hit.
I use this as a thick mask and leave it on for about 10 minutes before wiping off excess and then splash my face with water to get off the last of it.

I have to say I have fallen in love with this product a little bit. First of all, let me tell you about the texture: It is literally the smoothest, silkiest thing I have ever put on my face - it is a dream to apply.
Afterwards, my skin feels moisturised and fresh. It also gets this glowing, dewy look which is so hard to recreate with make-up.

What impressed me the most, however, was how it dealt with my skin when it had another rebellious phase. Last week my face basically got fed up of long-haul flights and a mixture of chlorine, air-conditioning, frosty winds and sweat. It reacted with a ridiculously oily phase - it was so bad it looked like I'd smeared lipgloss all over it. I was really unsure whether to use this mask or not, as it seemed that it needed a thorough deep cleanse rather than moisture, but I gave it a go nonetheless. It not only managed to calm down my complexion, but got rid of all the grease for good! What's not to love?

I would thoroughly recommend this product for normal, dry and even oily skin and I'll definitely go back to Boots once this runs out to buy another one to rescue me from my skin dilemmas.

Collection 2000 XXL Volume Sensation Waterproof Mascara

I picked this product up from my local Superdrug before going on holiday, as I was looking for a cheap waterproof mascara to take with me. This cost £4.99 and came in the colour 1 Black.

The texture is very thick and quite dry as you'd expect from a waterproof mascara really. The wand is a classic shape, but it really is gigantic! This makes for quite tricky application in the inner corners of the eye as well as on the bottom lashes - it's not impossible, but does require a steady hand.

I found that it coats my lashes nicely, but for a big impact you need to apply a couple of coats. This is not a major problem, as I found that it layers without any major clumping, even if you wait for it to dry in between applications. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

Without mascara

After applying XXL Volume Sensation

It took me three coats to get this result, but I'm quite pleased with it! Excuse the freckle-ness, but the sunshine has really brought them out with a bang.

I was fortunate enough to be able to test this in a variety of scenarios to see how waterproof this mascara really is.

• General wear: I got about 8 hours' wear out of this and then it started crumbling around the bottom lash line - that's an acceptable amount for me, though I would have appreciated a longer wearing formula.
• Tears: My mascara didn't budge one bit. Perfect result.
• Sweat: This didn't seem to have an immediate effect on the mascara, but it did reduce its longevity and crumbles appeared a bit earlier than usual.
• Light rain / splashes: Again, it didn't move and stayed on my lashes like glue.
• Heavy rain / swimming: This was a disaster. The product slid off my lashes and decided to settle on my cheeks where I couldn't get rid of it even with heavy rubbing!

Removal at the end of the day was fairly easy - my Cleanse and Polish got rid of every last trace whereas face wipes got rid of about 90% without having to rub.

For the price tag this is an excellent product, which gives a lovely finish to eye lashes, though it's not particularly long-lasting - both on the eyes as well as in the tube, as it's starting to dry out now after about two and a half weeks. Just don't take it swimming with you!

Lacura Q10 - or the not so miraculous £1-miracle-cream

I've been mixing up my skincare routine quite a bit lately, so there will be quite a few reviews coming on how I got along with all of my new products. Some of them worked really well, some not so much.

I first heard about these when I first started trying to save some money back in June. I only started using them recently, however, as the Clinique moisturiser I'd been using before that didn't want to end and I also received some samples after that which I wanted to use up first.
These cost £1 each and are from Aldi - not a shop I'd usually consider for my beauty needs, but I'd heard so many rave reviews about them I just had to give it a go. After all, the worst-case scenario would be that £2 went down the drain - so what?

Among the amazing things that I read about this cream was how well it fared in blind tests among much more high-end products and that it was the only anti-ageing cream that is scientifically proven to work. I'd like to point out that I don't know how accurate those reports are, but they sure sparked my interest.

The packaging is nice enough - they both come in glass pots which look pretty on my dressing table and also give it a more expensive appearance. I like that the lids are different colours, so I could see from the top which one to use for day and which one to use for night.

Lacura Q10 Day Cream

The textures of the two creams vary heavily. The day cream has a nice light, but still creamy texture. It feels moisturising, but not greasy and sinks quickly into the skin.

Lacura Q10 Night Cream

As you can see from the picture the night cream was a little bit... different. The texture reminded me of butter, but not in a good way. I had to really dig into the pot to get any product on my finger as opposed to a greasy film. It left my skin really sticky and horrible, but then night creams are supposed to be a bit richer, so if your skin is dry to very dry you might be alright.

I am aware that this cream is not really meant for my skin type. Though it doesn't really say what skin this IS meant for, I wasn't expecting any wrinkle reduction at the age of 22. I usually have normal to combination skin with the odd dry or oily day thrown in for good measure if my skin's feeling rebellious. Nevertheless, I've used anti-ageing products before and they usually did a nice job of keeping my skin hydrated and soft.
These, however, broke me out severely. My skin became quite odd - it was not oily, but it just felt kind of sticky, like the surface of a rubber ball. I really, really wanted to like this because of the amazing price tag, so I kept on using it in the hope that my skin would get used to it, or that it would work better in the winter. But no, the spots kept coming and the plasticky feeling on my face stayed.
After a while I stopped using the night cream and the spots improved a little bit, but still wouldn't go away completely. When I finally chucked the day cream as well, I had clear skin within three days.

It might work on more mature or very dry skin types - some people do love this after all. I wouldn't recommend it for normal, oily, or even slightly dry skin, as it is just way too rich and greasy. For £1 each, however, it's still worth trying - at worst you can do what I did and chuck it in the bin after a few uses without any hard feelings.

Holiday Update

As mentioned in my previous post I went on a holiday to Orlando two weeks ago. We're still here for another two days, but it's a lazy day today, so I thought I'd post a little update:

1) I know I've said this before, but I've got loads and loads of things coming up when I get back home on Wednesday. I'm bursting with ideas and plenty of motivation to get it all written up. I'm also going to buy a new lead for my video camera and yes, there will be videos as well as blog posts: reviews, tutorials and more! I'm also planning on slowly redesigning my blog layout to freshen it up a little.

2) Expect a massive, massive haul post as soon as I get my things sorted. The prices in America are absolutely ridiculous compared to England. I went to a regular MAC shop and everything was cheaper in Dollars than in Pounds back at home, so I could have quite happily bought the entire store. And don't get me started on the outlets - we spent three whole days doing nothing but shopping and even my boyfriend enjoyed it as much as me.

3) Speaking of boyfriend, we are now engaged (yay!). No worries, though, as I am far from going all bridezilla on you and turning this into a wedding blog. We'll probably be engaged for ages, as there are a few other important things that we need to sort out first (moving out, kickstarting our careers, etc.), but it's nice to know that the promise is there.

4) I got my November Glossybox a day after we went away, so there's no point posting about what I got when I get back. I'll probably do a double review together with December's products.

So bear with me and towards the end of next week there should be some exciting new things up for you to enjoy!

Weekly Lust List #3 and Bargain Alert

I'm going on holiday to Florida this Sunday, so there might be a bit of a draught post-wise for a while. I will be taking my camera and my MacBook, so if I can find a minute I might post the hotel room, though no promises there. Me and my boyfriend been dreaming about this holiday for years and working our butts off for the past couple of months in order to make this possible, so we're majorly excited! Before I whip out my Mickey Mouse ears, however, there was an event I wanted to let you know about.

We all love free things, especially when they come with no strings attached, right? Vaseline are currently touring the UK offering a free, full-sized bottle of the new Vaseline Essentials Body Lotion for anyone who brings in an old, unwanted bottle of body lotion. They've been to Glasgow and Manchester already, but if you live in or near Birmingham or London you can still snap up this offer.

They'll be in Birmingham this weekend, November 18-20, at the Bullring and in London next weekend, November 25-27 at Westfield, Shepherd's Bush.

The city that brings in the most bottles will earn a £15,000 donation for a chosen local charity, which is always a great thing!

This week's lust list is a little bit on the shorter side after a non-existent one last week. It seems that I'm way too busy preparing for my holiday or fantasising about actually being on holiday to engage in any window shopping. Prepare for a massive haul post once I'm back, however!

1) MAC Glitter & Ice Paint Pot in Let's Skate!, £14

I have a confession to make: I don't own a single MAC paint pot. I see everyone raving on about these and I'm getting more and more tempted to pick one up for myself, but as of yet I remain paint-pot-less. MAC's holiday items haven't really blown me away this year, but this looks like a really gorgeous shade to start off my collection. Looks like I'll be lusting over it for a little longer though, as it's completely sold out online.

2) Topshop Nude Maribou Feather Bag, £50

Topshop had a similar bag to this last year and even though it was one of those items that makes you cross the entire store without even bothering to look at anything else I didn't end up buying it in the end. They also do this bag in other colours, including black, plum and a bright ochre, but this has got to be my favourite. Tacky? Probably a little bit, but what else can I say other than "It's SO FLUFFY!"

3) Lush Gingerbread House, £2.95

Here's another confession for you: I haven't been in a Lush shop since the age of 12. Ok, that's a lie - I've been once, but didn't actually buy anything. Now, there's been a lot of Lush love going on lately and I can't help but feel a bit of a craving for a lovely bubble bath. Especially if it's surrounded by gorgeous Christmas smells. I love the look of this, I love the smell of this and I love the attention to detail that's gone into something that's meant to be dissolved in water. I'm afraid there's no way I'm not going to pick up one of these when I get back from holiday.