Ridiculously brilliant skin oil for £2.99

Superdrug Vitamin E Skin Oil

I should probably start this post by mentioning that I’m not affiliated with Superdrug in any way cos I’m gonna rave about this face oil so much there’s a good chance you’ll think I own shares in the company :)

This was one of those spur of the moment purchases that I made a couple of months back, having just read an article on the wonders of Vitamin E. I already loved the cream cleanser from this range and figured that whilst the oil was on sale I may as well give it a try. The packaging is simple and fuss-free and the plastic bottle has a teensy tiny hole in the top to dispense the oil. I applied a very thin layer before bed on the night I bought this and when I woke up the next day my skin was smoother, softer and brighter than it had been in months

I know this might seem odd but it didn’t actually occur to me that this change might be because of the face oil. I’ve bought so many products that have promised so much but delivered so little that when I tried something that gave results straight away I didn’t believe it! I figured it’d take weeks for the oil to effect my skin in any real way so I just enjoyed my good skin day and used the oil on nights when my skin was particularly dry and tight (stupid heating/cold weather plays havoc with my skin n hair!)
After a while (about 6 weeks!) I noticed a trend; I’d apply the oil before I went to bed and the next day my skin would look a million times better. I catch on fast :)

Anywho, I’ve taken up swimming again and was at the pool 4 times last week. The chlorine always dries out my skin a little but when you combine that with central heating and the cold weather when I’m walking my dogs and the results aren’t pretty; I ended up with little dry patches on my cheeks and chin. Now these were proper dry patches that actually flaked off like dandruff. Revolting but true. So I resorted to my good old face oil and within 2 days my skin was moisturised and flake free

I honestly can’t recommend this product enough because it’s left me with brighter, softer, smoother, more refined skin and smaller pores. It’s also helped fade the pale acne scars around my chin and jaw line.

Summary

Size : 30ml
Cost : £2.99
Tip : Less is more. I use a couple of drops of this over my whole face
Scent : Smells like a summer holiday… it has that lovely cocoa butter and coconut smell that I always associate with sun cream

Weird and wonderful face finisher

Mally Poreless Face Defender

I can honestly say I’ve never come across another product quite like this, which is probably why it won me over after the first use! The idea is that you apply this over your makeup and it helps defend your face. Presumably against the environment and such as opposed to bullets or a Chuck Norris style roundhouse kick to the temple! (Sorry, just watched a clip for The Expendables 2 and it looks awesome!)

First things first; the texture is really odd. It actually feels rubbery to the touch so although it’s described as a translucent powder that’s not how it feels at all. I had expected to use a regular face brush to apply this but because of the texture it’s applied with a sponge and I’ve found that blotting is the key to making this work – If my t-zone is looking a bit oily throughout the day a few blots of this leave my skin looking tip-top and grease free
I love how this actually gives all the benefits of a setting powder (blurs makeup lines, hides pores and gives a matte, air-brushed finish) but with none of the downsides (no cakey-ness or dry patches and it doesn’t sink into fine lines making them more obvious)
This is the very last step in my makeup routine and it makes a real difference to how long and well my “face” stays on. My biggest concern was that this would hide my pores by simply clogging them with gunk which would then cause breakouts but I’ve been using it for weeks now and it’s worked a treat with no negative effects. Fingers crossed I haven’t just jinxed myself :)

Too Faced Glamour To Go Giveaway

I got to thinking that January could be considered a pretty miserable month… It’s cold out, everyone is a bit strapped for cash and a tad grumpy cos they’re living on veggies and water (stupid diets!) but one of the things that really brightens it up for me is trying out all the new makeup I got for Christmas
And in line with this kinda thinking I figured it’d be nice to do a little “new year, new makeup” giveaway. I’ve picked up a few items from 3 of my all time favourite brands; A Too Faced Glamour To Go palette, a GOSH liquid eye liner and eye shadow and an Accessorize lip gloss. I basically chose stuff I’d be really happy to win myself! :)

So, to enter...

To enter you must be a follower of this blog

1. For one entry simply type enter me in the comments section below. Oh and include your email address so I can contact you if you win!

Doing any of the following will give you one additional entry, and obviously more chance of winning :) so do any many as you please

2. Mention your absolute favourite foundation

3. Post a link in your sidebar about this giveaway (including the pic at the top)

4. Post a blog entry about this giveaway (including the pic at the top and a link to this post)

If you post the links on your blog please mention this below!

This giveaway is open to everyone, including international readers and I’ll choose the winner using random.org on 22.01.2012

Good luck all ♥

Cos sometimes only neon pink will do

Maybelline New York My Balm in 801A

The minute I saw this neon pink lip balm I had to have it! I much prefer really bright eye makeup to lip colours but I still have a massive amount of shocking pink lipsticks and glosses in my collection… I think they just remind me of being 7 years old and playing with my Barbies; I can't think of a single Barbie item that wasn't available in bright pink… and for that reason alone I was probably a bit jealous of her :)
Believe it or not this is actually a nice subtle baby pink when it's applied so it's the kinda thing you can apply on the go without a mirror (I have about 6 compact mirrors but none in my handbag when I need one!) It might be described as a balm but this does nothing to soften or moisturise my lips so I treat it like a regular old lipstick. That being said it stays moist and comfortable so I'm not constantly re-applying or worrying that it looks all dry and creased like I do with some lipsticks
I got the only colour available in my local store, which is 801A but I've spotted a nice coral and pale pink online so I shall be ordering those too. I know it's been said that you can have too much of a good thing but I'd have to strongly disagree :) This is just the perfect go-to lip product that I can reach for again and again, esp when I'm just not sure how to finish off a certain look

Too Faced Glamour To Go

When it comes to gorgeously pretty almost-too-nice-to-use packaging you can always rely on Too Faced. I don’t have a lot of room to display stuff in my makeup area but I always have my most recent Too Faced palette on show!

I got this little palm-sized palette about a month ago cos I fell in love with the purple and champagne colours. The shadows are as good as I’ve come to expect from Too Faced... serious pigmentation, fantastic texture and very blendable.
I’ve used the silvery-grey shade 3 times in the last week even though it was my least favourite colour when I opened the palette. Don’t you think that’s one of the best things about buying collections of eye shadows instead of individuals? It always makes me branch out and try things I’d normally not even consider
This comes with 8 shadows, a blush, bronzer and lip gloss. I almost never wear bronzers cos I’m so pale but I’ve been using the bronzer as an eye shadow as it’s a really pretty brown. Also, I hate things going to waste so not using a whole colour is unthinkable!
Anywho, I just wanted to mention this cos it’s a limited edition and if, like me, you’re always on the lookout for teensy palettes that give a lot of bang for your buck – or pound – then this might be worth a look ♥

Mally Liquid Lip Colour - yucky, icky and gross

Mally Liquid Lip Colour in Flirty

Mally seems to be one of those brands that has some incredibly loyal fans - I've seen reviews with people saying the only products they ever use are Mally ones. And a lot of the fans seem to refer to themselves as "Mallynistas" (I can’t help but roll my eyes every time I see or hear that word)

All the high praise for Mally products was reason enough for me to splash out and treat myself to a little 6 piece collection from QVC which arrived a couple of weeks ago. I was extremely disappointed by 50% of the products (showing off my awesome math skills there) and figured I’d have a little moan about one of the products I liked least; the liquid lip colour
The tube looks nice but that’s the only good thing I have to say about this so let’s start on the bad stuff… I don’t like the applicator. I know this is personal preference and everyone likes to apply their lip colour in different ways but I can’t stand these twisty tubes that squeeze the product up through a brush. They never give the right amount of liquid and the bristles are really plastic-y so feel horrible on my lips. I’m willing to tolerate the applicators for a decent product (like the Stila or NYC liquid lip colours) but in this case the brush was just one more thing to dislike about this

The colour looks divine in the tube - it's so rich, shimmery and pretty I couldn’t wait to use it but it is actually really sheer and looks more like a clear gloss when I've applied it
Texture-wise this is horrid! It's really thick and sticky so when I’m wearing this and open my mouth it actually feels like my lips are stuck together. Ever wear a lip gloss and find that it leaves little gloopy sticky lines between your top and bottom lips as you separate them? This does that. You might think that the stickiness would at least allow this to cling on longer than most glosses (it can't feel that gross for no reason, eh?) but nope, it still wore off in no time

Needless to say I wont be using this again and I’m just glad I didn’t pay full price for it!

P.S. I'm actually kinda annoyed that the swatch above looks so nice. It's not that nice in real life. Honest!

Best lip gloss in the history of ever

Sally Hansen Miracle Care Lip Saver in Serenity

As a teenager I had crooked teeth and it made me so uncomfortable I’d do my best to hide them at all costs. I’d cover my mouth when I laughed and I actually learned to talk whilst moving my lips as little as possible for fear that people would see my teeth; If I ever fancy a career change I might just give ventriloquism a go!

So as you can probably guess I avoided wearing lip products because I didn’t wanna draw attention to my mouth/teeth. Then I got braces, had my teeth whitened and am now pretty much addicted to buying all manner of lovely lip goodies. Hurrah for happy endings!

No, wait!… Nearly forgot to mention the whole point of this post… Sally Hansens Miracle Care Lip Saver!

I picked this up a few days ago and am absolutely amazed that I haven’t heard of it before!! This has got to be one of the most perfect glosses ever created and as someone who has tried, oooooh, about a million of them I don’t say that lightly

For me the texture is probably the most important thing about a lip gloss and this one is almost gel like so it leaves my lips feeling smooth and glossy; it’s also sticky enough to stay in place but not enough to feel yucky. I’d expected the colour to be fairly bright thanks to the fuchsia shade in the middle of the tube but when this is squeezed from the tube the clear gloss mixes with the coloured stuff and it turns into a beautiful pale shimmery pink. You can also choose the depth of colour by squeezing the middle of the tube (for a more sheer finish) or at the end (which adds more pink and gives a more colourful look)

All good so far and I haven’t even mentioned the applicator which is beyond awesome! This looks like a regular squeezy tube but the applicator is a really soft rubber material and it comes to a fine point so it couldn’t be easier to apply and always looks precise and nicely finished

This also gets bonus points for the sweet fruity scent and lip softening aloe and Vitamin E.

The only thing I don't like about this product? The lid and end of the tube - I'd prefer them to be silver cos I'm not keen on the gold. And considering what a fussy so and so I can be I reckon finding only one "fault" is pretty impressive!

Thanks for stopping by ♥

Resolution free 2012

I figured I’d start this year like every other; by making a list of unrealistic guilt inducing resolutions that I’ll have forgotten (nevermind stuck to!) within a couple of weeks…

…But I was tidying my room earlier today and found an old bookmark that says “When was the last time you did something for the first time?”

Which got me thinking that I should invest more time and energy into things I love and things I’ve always wanted to try. The time I invest in trying to lose weight, go to the gym, get organised etc just feels like such a waste. So although it might seem a bit vague my new years resolution for 2012 is to “do loads of really good stuff that makes me happy”

Whatever your intentions are for 2012 I hope you have an utterly fantastic year and get everything you’re hoping for!

Happy New Year!!

Joy xx