Review: Boots No7 Instant Radiance Foundation

For quite a while now, this has been my go to foundation. It really is my all time favourite one!! I bought it about a year ago when Boots No7 launched their new range of foundations with colour match technology. Its a weird machine that they put against your face and it tells you the best shade of foundation for you. As someone who struggles to find a good foundation colour, I found this service to be really great. I was matched to Calico (the palest shade) and it really does match perfectly.

This is such a great foundation. I like the instant radiance formula as its nice and light. It blends seemlessly and doesn't leave your skin cakey. It really doesn't look like you're wearing foundation at all!!! The coverage is light to medium and it's easily buildable. It's not greasy at all and I only have to put a little powder on my nose and forehead where I'm prone to get a bit oily. It also isn't drying! It stays on really nicely (not sure how long exactly but it does fade towards the end of the day). It has SPF15 in it which is great and it's certainly effective. I burned my neck and shoulders quite badly this summer after half an hour in the sun but my face was perfectly fine as I was wearing this foundation. It also does brighten up your skin on a dull day but doesn't make you shiny at all! It is slightly waterproof but a little bit of an oil-based makeup remover and it comes right off.

This really is such a great foundation. I rave about it to everyone I know (even the men!!). It's just the best makeup item I've ever bought!!! I also love that the shade you get for one formula of foundation is the same shade for all the other formulas and concealers. Plus there are 17 different shades so they really do cater for every skin colour!! It's also really cheap for a higher end foundation. It's only €16.25 in Boots which is really cheap. The container is really great too. It's in a pump bottle which is really handy and hygeinic. It also dispenses the perfect amount of foundation so its not wasteful like some pump bottles.

I really do love this stuff!!! Just try it!!! You'll never go back to other foundations again!!!

Let me know what your favourite foundations are!!

Talk to you later!!
Nel

Review: Boots No7 Intense Volume Waterproof Mascara

I bought this mascara about a month ago because I was going on holidays and I wanted a mascara with more staying power. I had previously loved a No.7 mascara but they changed all the formulas and I was very disappointed to loose such a great mascara.

I really like this type of brush as it's great at separating the lashes and it coats them really well. This mascara doesn't clump unless you use huge amounts of it (less is more people!!) and it generally looks really natural but volumised.

There is a few downsides to this mascara though. It smells really chemically, like the cheap mascaras you get in kids sets. It's doesn't hurt your eyes or anything and it's hypoallergenic so it should be fine for the most sensitive people. It's also not very waterproof. When it gets wet it kind of sheds little flecks of black under the eyes. It wipes off really easily and then looks perfect again. The majority of the mascara stays on your lashes and still looks perfect so I just find this mascara a little confusing.

It costs €12.25 in Boots which is really good value. Most standard drugstore mascaras cost more than that these days and considering that this is a bit more high end, it's definitely a great price.

As a standard mascara, this stuff works great but as a waterproof mascara I really wouldn't recommend it. This was my first experience with waterproof mascaras so I can't recommend an alternative unfortunately.

If anyone knows of a good waterproof mascara put it in the comments!!

Talk to you soon!!
Nel

Review: Benefit - One Hot Minute

As as super pale-skined girl, I have always struggled to find a bronzer that doesn't look too dark or make my skin look dirty. Then I found this.

One Hot Minute is marketed as an all-over-face bronzer but for pale girls like me, it's actually perfect as a lightly sculpting bronzer.

It has a really light shimmer in it and as someone who hates shimmery face products, I thought I would hate it. But I was very surprised. Instead of looking glittery (which is what I expected), I just fount it to give a really healthy glow. Plus the powder itself it really fine so it blends superbly!

As you can see from the pictures, the packaging is very pretty but rather impractical. The brush is rather awkward to use and deposits way to much product on the face but I'm sure it would be ok in a pickle. The brush hairs are really nice and soft, they just made it in a really inconvenient shape! It sits on a little plastic thing to keep it off the holes where the powder comes out but it doesn't fit very securely so I usually use the product that spills out into the lid and brush. I also think there are too many holes in the tin so too much product comes out.

It is also rather pricey, retailing at €34.50.

But I really do like it despite the packaging flaws and when I finish it (in several years time I'm sure as the container is huge!) I will definitely be looking to repurchase it and I highly recommend it for all the pale skined beauties out there!!!

Talk to you again soon!!!
Nel

My Beauty Wish List!!

I love buying new products. I would love to be able to buy new products all the time. Unfortunately I already have a lot of stuff and because I have so much stuff, I really don't have much money. These are the products I would really like to buy right now, but can't get just yet!!

No.7 Match Made Concealer: I love No.7 products and my all time favourite foundation comes from them. They have such a great range of colours and they are the only company to match my skin perfectly. I always struggle to find a good concealer because colours are always hard to get right. Most companies have a good range of colours for their foundations but only 3 colours of concealer. No.7 has 17 concealer colours and the name of your foundation colour will match the name of your  concealer colour which is so handy!!! I can't wait to get my hands on this!!!

Super Beauty Raspberry and Cranberry Bath and Shower Gel: I have tried another flavour of this bubble bath and it's the most amasing thing I've ever tried. I smelled the raspberry and cranberry one when I was buy the vanilla and honey one and I almost bought it. Unfortunately, I don't really have much room to store it and it's a pretty big bottle so I had to choose only one. I will definitely buy this one as soon as I finish the first one!!!

Laneige Multi Cleanser: I have tried a small sample of this and it's so good. It's really gentle but effective and you only need a tiny bit for your whole face. It acts as a mild exfoliator so your skin feels really smooth and clean after using. Unfortunately you have to buy it online so I haven't bought the full size yet and I have a lot of cleansers to finish before I buy a new one. It is a little pricey but I think it's worth the money.

Boots Smooth Care Sensitive Wax Strips: I really want to get into waxing again but waxing can be pretty expensive so I kinda want to try these. I just find I have to shave so often and even straight after I shave I'm still a bit stubbly which is really annoying. I'm hoping that waxing will fix that a little.

Nivea In Shower Body Moisturiser: I've seen a lot of adverts for this and it sounds really intriguing. It's a bit of a gimmick really and I think you would use more of it than you would a normal body lotion but I still kind of want to try it anyway!!

The Body Shop Satsuma Puree Body Lotion: I'm running a little low on body lotion and I really like fruity ones so I think this one would be great. I'm currently using the peach version and it smells incredible!!!

No.7 BB Lips Beauty Balm: I'm in need of a new lip balm and I heard about these and I'm very intrigued. I really want to try them as I love tinted lip balms. They are a little pricey but I love not having to carry a whole tonnes of different lip products around with me. I like one product that does everything!!

Let me know what items you're interested in trying or if you've tried any of the above, let me know your thoughts!!

Talk to you soon!
Nel

Review: Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Pencils

I have quite a few of these pencils, some from palettes and some from an eyeliner set. These are the only 2 I have at this house. The rest are at my parents house with the majority of my makeup collection. The first one is Uzi a medium grey with silver sparkles. The second is Zero which is the standard black eyeliner. They look quite thick on the swatches but I haven't sharpened them in a while.

These eyeliner are super creamy and easy to apply. There is a huge range of colours available if you are a bit more adventurous. They are absolutely gorgeous. I have a green, blue and purple and a few different browns.

My favourite one is Demolition, a beautiful dark brown. I even bought the full sized version of it. The ones in the picture are about half the size of the normal ones.

As you can see from the pictures, they are really pigmented so you don't have to try to build up layers to get a good colour and as they are so creamy, they don't pull on your eyelid. Also they blend really well which is great if you like to do a nice smokey eye!!

There is one bad thing about these though. Because they are so creamy, they don't always stay put, especially if you have greasy eyelids like me. I usually apply a little bit of an eyeshadow of the same colour over the top to help set it in place. I've found this to be effective in stopping it from sliding down my face!! Also I had another problem with Uzi. Because it had shimmers in it, I found it irritated my eyes after a  while when I wore it on my waterline. Other than this though, I've found them to be really, really good.

They are a little bit pricey. For the full sized one, I paid €18 but they are much bigger than a standard eyeliner and they are such good quality that even I (a cheapskate) would be willing to pay the price!!

Let me know what your favourite eyeliners are!!!

Talk to you soon!!
Nel

Review: Super Beauty - Vanilla & Honey Bath and Shower Gel

I bought this pretty recently but I just love it so much that I wanted to review it as soon as I could. It's the most amazing bath and shower gel.

It's meant to smell like vanilla and honey but its more like Kinder Bueno or Ferrero Rocher. It's amazing. I absolutely love anything that's like hazelnuts and that's what this is like. It reminds me of hazelnut ice cream (the most amazing ice cream in existence!!!)

I've tried this as both a bubble bath and a shower gel and I'm really happy with the results of both.

As a bubble bath, it is really nice. It bubbles up plenty (not quite as much as Lush's bubble bars). I found there was still bubbles remaining once I'd finished my bath 40 minutes later so its' definitely long lasting. Its smells really nice but it's quite mild in the bath as it's so diluted. I didn't find it dried out my skin at all which I do find sometimes with bath products. I felt like I used quite a lot of it but actually it was only about twice the amount I would normally use of shampoo. And it's such a big bottle that it will last for ages.

As a shower gel, this product is great. It lathers up really nicely and cleans really well. Again I found it non-drying which was great. I only needed a small bit, a little went a long way.The smell was really strong and delicious but it didn't linger on the skin. The bathroom smelled great for hours after though!!!

For a brand I'd never heard of before, it really is great. I'm definitely going to try another flavour when I finish this one!!! And it's great value!! I was only €6.59 in Boots and I got it when it was on sale so it was really cheap!! I love Lush's products but their bath products are just so expensive. This is definitely a great alternative.

What are your favourite bath products???

Talk to you soon!!!
Nel

Review: Laura Mercier - Silk Creme Foundation

I bought the Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation about a year ago when I heard a lot of good reviews about it indicating it would be perfect for my dry skin. Unfortunately I have to say I was incredibly disappointed with the product. I have since given it to my sister who likes it but I borrowed it back for this review.

I bought the shade Soft Ivory which was a teensy bit too dark but as it's a full coverage foundation I'd only were it for nights out and it wouldn't be noticeable at all. Soft Ivory is the palest shade available. I found it to be a little too yellow toned. I have this problem with companies that aren't British a lot!! I'm seriously pale and I'm mostly neutral toned.

It's marketed as "flawless natural coverage. Offering light-reflection properties which cause fine lines and wrinkles to optically vanish. A long wearing rich hydrating base." In my experience this is a load of rubbish.

It looks like a mask when applied and is the most unnatural looking foundation I've ever tried. Even when I applied it super thinly, there was still no hint of my own skin or a natural finish. Instead of causing fine lines and wrinkles to vanish, it sat in them and made them look even worse. It was definitely not long wearing. Every time I touched my face, a tonne of the foundation came off on my fingers even after setting powder. I didn't find it hydrating at all and I found that when I had dry patches, it caked around them. It also smelled really chemically and it kind of lingered. And despite it coming off easily when touching it, it was actually really hard to remove. It seems to be kind of waterproof but even oil based removers struggle to take it off.

And it costs a lot. At €48 I expected a lot more from this product. Even the packaging was a bit of a disappointment. For that kind of money I would expect a nice, hygienic pump bottle, not a toothpaste tube.

I really wish I could have liked this but unfortunately it just wasn't to be. I do like some of the other Laura Mercier products especially the setting powder and the tinted moisturiser. Luckily my sister likes it so it is going to a good home!!!

Do you like the Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation?? What's your favourite foundation???

Talk to you soon!!
Nel