Foundations -Vichy - Dermablend Corrective Foundation 
Channingx 2/20/2013 11:10:00 AM
Words can't even describe how much I love this product! I'm surprised it's not getting more raved about. Firstly, I use it as a concealer (ala Lisa Eldridge) as opposed to foundation because I think unless your skin really is covered with acne all over then it would be a waste to put it everywhere, and also such heavy coverage on your whole face may worsen breakouts. I use my collection 2000 foundation first then apply this on areas needed (which is quite a lot since my skin is misbehaving terribly these days). It covers everything like magic, and it's so highly pigmented that you only need a little for each spot. The end result is an absolute porcelain doll effect, and the yellow in it helps to hide the redness in my pale skin (I take the lightest shade Opal which fits fine to my skin tone). At the end of the day when I put a makeup wipe down one side of my face the difference between the side without and with makeup on is absolutely crazy. This product is so good that a lot of my friends often compliment how good my skin is and when I tell them NO SERIOUSLY IT'S JUST MY AMAZING CONCEALER they tell me there's no way. Although I do agree with a couple of other reviewers that noted it can streak and slide across the face, I think it's pretty essential for regular mirror check-ups to make sure everything's in check, but it's easy enough to just pat it back into place. My skin is dry and I find it hydrating as opposed to oily, but I would recommend that an oily skin type approach with caution. I think it's around the £15 mark in the UK Boots stores, which is a little bit more expensive than I'd usually pay for a concealer but as I said before a little goes a long way with this product, and it's definitely without a shadow of a doubt worth the investment! Can't see myself ever not using this product, if it was ever discontinued I might cry, highly recommended x
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Self Tanners -Unlisted Brand - St. Moriz Self Tanner Foam
Channingx 6/30/2012 11:24:00 AM
St. Moriz is an amazing fake tanner and one that I would highly recommend. I'm not exactly a fake tanning pro and often approach it with caution as I'm so pale and live in constant fear of looking like a tangerine, but this is honestly such a brilliant tanner to use if your a newbie, I can't see how anyone could go wrong with it! It comes in 3 shades; light, medium and dark. The light is perfect for a very natural tan on those who have a nc15-nc25 skintone. I initially bought light but I often found myself craving a slightly more noticeable tan so when the time came to repurchase I went for medium. There isn't a massive difference between the two, the medium is only marginally darker but you can build it up very easily to create the intensity of tan that you want. The colour is slightly off-putting on the mitt, a deep brown with a green tinge, however, translated onto the skin it is a lovely olive without a hint of orange insight. It also dries in record time, no standing around waiting for it to stop feeling sticky. You do definitely need to give yourself a good exfoliation before applying this as it sinks into dry areas very easily and leaves them a darker colour than the rest of your tan, not a good look! That would probably be my only qualm with it though, as in terms of easiness of application and colour it gets top marks! Will definitely continue to repurchase, the price tag (around £4 from semi-chem) is unbeatable and it gives wonderful results! x
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Bronzers -NARS - Laguna
Channingx 1/22/2012 12:16:00 PM
Best bronzer I have ever tried! I'm NW15 and being so pale, I had gave up hope on a bronzer ever giving me that bronze Victoria Secret model look, most just made my face look muddy and stood out to much against my skin. Enter Laguna, my saviour. It comes up a light bronze colour on my skin and I like that it is multi-functional as an all over bronzer and as a contour. The prize tag is fairly pricey and I only tried it out as I had been given NARS vouchers for Christmas, but I would definitely repurchase in the future with my own money. I like applying it with my Ecotools retractable kabuki, it gives me the perfect summery glow. Absolutely love it! If you are pale, don't let the dark looking colour put you off. It is a very buildable bronzer. Great, love it, would recommend it for all skin tones! x
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Sleek - True Colour Lipstick in Vamp
Channingx 11/27/2011 5:49:00 PM
Sleek True Colour lipsticks retail in Superdrug for £3.99 each (absolute bargain!) and come in a variety of punchy colours. Vamp is a very dark red, not quite burgundy but definitely not a bright colour. It goes on like a dream, usually I have to apply lipliner before putting on a dark lippy because my lips are quite an odd shape but the bullet on this is perfect for painting the lips flawlessly. It is fairly long-wearing, without lipliner and without eating/drinking it lasted a good 3 hours without any fading. However, once I did have a drink it completely wiped off. Although I suppose that is to be expected without any lipliner. The only reason I marked this down from 5 to 4 is that it is incredibly drying! No other lipstick has ever dried my lips out like this did. However, the matte formula was probably the culprit so in future I will be repurchasing the 'True Colour' lipstick line in the sheen formula. Still a great lipstick if your lips are naturally very moisturised and can handle some drying out. Looks great with pale skin and heavy eye make up! x
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Cleansers -Soap and Glory - Peaches And Clean Wash-Off Deep Cleansing Milk
Channingx 9/17/2011 5:09:00 PM
My Skin - Dry, a bit flaky in certain areas and very sensitive. This is my new favourite cleanser. I've always been a big fan of Soap & Glory (mostly for the cute packaging :P) and this has not let me down. I got it free whilst Boots was doing a 3 for 2 offer on all Soap & Glory and although I didn't plan to buy it, it ended up being my favourite out of all the products. It comes in Soap & Glory's usual adorable pink vintage inspired packaging with a pump. I find the pump makes it a little hard to get the last bit of cleanser out so I usually end up unscrewing it and shaking it out. Not a massive problem though, just a big annoying. The product itself has a peachy fragrance that I personally like, although when my mum borrowed it she complained that it smelt disgusting so I guess YMMV. I wear a full face of make up most days, so the best thing about this for me is that I only need to cleanse once for this to take all my make-up off! I do usually follow up with a face wash just to double check my face is all clean, but this cleanser really does do a brilliant job melting my make-up off. The formula is very creamy and feels very luxurious when I'm putting it on my skin, definitely like a lovely treat! It retails for around £7 in the UK, which is pretty decent pricing. However, I do find it doesn't last long. Maybe about 2 weeks with daily use? Although I rotate it with another cheaper cleanser, so I don't mind too much. All considered, this is a great wee cleanser! Definitely worth having a look at x
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Bourjois - Healthy Mix Foundation
Channingx 7/8/2011 10:23:00 PM
This is an amazing foundation, definitely worth the hype it gets! It retails for £10 in the UK, which I find to be fairly reasonable. The packaging is alright, nothing cute, but not ugly either. It is described as having a formula which "blends onto the skin for a flawless, yet natural finish." I find this sums up this foundation perfectly. It leaves a very light fresh effect on the face, definitely not a heavy feeling. Coverage is pretty good, I'd say about medium. It evens out my skin tone (I have some uneven pigmentation and a little redness) and although I do still use concealer on my spots, I find this helps to cover them a fair bit before I use my concealer. Staying power is good, although I have normal/dry skin so I can't speak for oily types. I apply this at about 6am and get home at 4pm, and it's still there (I also apply powder on top). I also found it stays put brilliantly when I'm at the gym, which is something I can't say for previous foundations. The shade range is quite good, better than some other brands. They seem to cater very well to pale skin types. I'm about NW15/10 and take the lightest shade "51 Vanilla Clair" which is a good fit. Great foundation, will definitely repurchase, leaves a lovely natural satiny finish and wears well! x
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Nivea - Creme
Channingx 7/7/2011 3:09:00 PM
I've been using this for over 3 years and I've finally gotten around to giving my opinion on this moisturiser. I first started using it when I was starting to get into looking after my skin. At first I was using an Olay moisturiser which felt itchy and uncomfortable on my sensitive skin and my mother told me she used to use this for the burns on her hand as a child so I should try it and see if it irritated my skin or not. So I tried it out and found it worked brilliantly with my skin! I would definitely recommend this for sensitive types. The product itself is very moisturising and thick. I used to use this as both a day and night moisturiser but recently I've changed to just using it at night and I found it saves a bit of time in the morning as usually I really need to rub this in. It should be used sparingly as when I first started using it I slapped it on until it looked like I was wearing a face mask and my skin started breaking out with dry spotty patches, unsurprisingly! The container isn't very sanitary as you have to dig your fingers into it and I've noticed little pieces of hair ect getting stuck in it. Really unhygienic, I wish they would change the packaging up a bit. I love this as a night time moisturiser but probably not for day (also, I find it doesn't blend into my neck well?). A lot of people comment on how baby soft my skin is and I think this is to thank for it! The packaging is pretty gross but the results are great so I think it's easy to overlook. Will continuing buying this for years to come! x
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Superdrug - MUA (Make Up Academy) Lipgloss
Channingx 6/26/2011 10:06:00 AM
This is a review for the doe foot applicator lipgloss as opposed to the squeeze tube lipgloss. I have it in Shade 5 (although the Superdrug website lists Shade 5 as a clear gloss, this is not. A mix up in labelling I think?) This is a sheer cotton candy pink with a delicious vanilla scent. The pigmentation isn't great but I think that this is brilliant if you just want easy to wear glossy lips with a slight pink tint. Staying power is okay taking into account that this lipgloss is not sticky at all. In fact I actually found it to be quite moisturising for my dry chapped lips which was nice. You get 2.8ml of product (I have used up half of this lipgloss with daily use over about 3 months) for £1 which is just amazing value! I'll definitely repurchase and will be looking at other shades in this range. Great inexpensive lipgloss x
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Eyeliner -TopShop - Kohl eyeliner in Coal
Channingx 6/17/2011 7:36:00 PM
Another great item from the Topshop Cosmetics line. This retails for £4 (which I think is totally reasonable) and has a really cute spotty design that I really like. It's a very pigmented intense black and it glides on with quite a creamy consistency. I got tons of compliments when I wore this on my waterline and lashline. It reminds me of a sort of full-on Cleopatra look. It did smudge, not on my lashline but on my waterline. It transferred below the eye for a bit of a panda look. I don't have oily skin or anything like that so I think it was a fault of the product. However, it didn't smudge as badly as other eyeliners I've tried and it didn't gather at my tear duct, which is a pet hate of mine so I'm not too bothered. I will probably repurchase this because a lot of people commented on my make up when I wore it which I was really pleased with. Plus the price is very cheap, the packaging is nice and despite smudging it does stay on the waterline for a fair amount of time. All considered, well done Topshop! x
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Highlighters -Unlisted Brand - Accessorize - highlighter
Channingx 6/11/2011 12:58:00 PM
A nice little find from the Accessorize brand. I had been looking for a highlighter to replace my beloved Touche Éclat when I stumbled upon this cutie. I thought that the packaging was very nice with the little gold butterflies so I decided to give it a shot. I'm really glad that I did! This gives a lovely sheen to the face, even nicer than my Touche Éclat, plus it dries really fast so I like to rub it pretty much all over my cheeks/forehead for an all-over glow. There is tons of product for £7 and and you only need a very tiny amount at a time. I would recommend using only the slightest bit of this to highlight your brow bone or else things could get messy. I wouldn't recommend mixing this with foundation as it just sort of turns into a goopy mess. I tried mixing a bit of this with Revlon CS but it did not turn out well unfortunately. However, it gives a nice healthy look on top of foundation anyway so there is no need to mix it. I'll probably repurchase when this runs out. It is very cheap and really does give a lovely effect. I'm not too keen on how messy it can get though, but it just needs to be handled carefully. Great product, well done Accessorize! x
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Blush -Sleek - Blush in Flushed
Channingx 6/11/2011 12:40:00 PM
This is my HG Blush! I might as well get rid of all my other blushes because I always come back to this baby. I wear it more than my much more expensive NARS and MAC blushes which really says something about how high quality this product is. It's a deep dark red with shimmer although the shimmer is only slightly noticeable on the cheeks. Once blended the red does soften a little, giving it an effect (as the name describes) of lovely flushed cheeks. It cost £4.29 for a whooping 8g, which IMO is a complete bargain! I have used this everyday for the past couple of months and it still looks brand new. I only own this blush at the moment but I am so impressed by it I'll definitely be checking out the rest from Sleek, plus it's so cheap I'll be able to buy tons :) I can't speak a bad word against this blush; it's long-lasting, has beautiful pigmentation and is versatile for so many looks. Love it! x
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -Bobbi Brown - Corrector
Channingx 6/11/2011 12:19:00 PM
This is one of the most worthwhile purchases I've ever made! I had been researching this for ages before I finally decided to take the plunge and try it out. It really did not disappoint :) I have dark purple undereye circles (the effects of getting up at 6am every morning) and have long been looking for the perfect undereye concealer. It never occurred to me until recently that a correcter might be what I was missing. I purchased the shade 'Light Bisque'. As I'm very pale and wear the lightest shade in every foundation I originally thought that 'Porcelain Bisque' would be my best match. The BB MUA must have thought the same as she first tried that on me, but it was super pale and looked white on me. Definitely not flattering! I would only recommend that shade if you are NC10 or so. I apply this with the Ecotools concealer brush and I was pleased to see that it didn't emphasise the dry flaky patch that I have under my eyes too much. I think that it isn't necessary to apply an eye cream before applying this as I find it goes on fine without. The only issue I had with this was it's creasing. It creases probably more than any other concealer I've tried (including the terrible for creasing Benefit Erase Paste) and although it isn't as bad with a powder to set, I still notice some creasing occurring. However, I'm not taking a lippie off because it isn't hard just to pat it away plus this product is so amazing at hiding my dark circles that it deserves full marks! I apply this by itself sometimes if my dark circles are having a good day but most days I will apply this, wait a couple of minutes and then apply Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer on top. The perfect HG combination to hide/brighten my circles. I would be so upset if they discontinued this and I will definitely keep repurchasing this wonderful (would I be going too far to say life-changing? ;p) product x
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -Superdrug - MUA (Make Up Academy) Pencil Eyeliner in Jet Black
Channingx 6/10/2011 5:29:00 PM
I've been loving the £1 MUA range from Superdrug lately. One of my first finds was their pencil eyeliner in Jet Black. This is a very pigmented black, one of the main things I love about it is that it isn't a grey-black instead it is (as the name describes) a pure black colour. The packaging isn't anything fancy since it's only £1 but I think that the sharpener in the lid was a really smart idea. Very handy if you need to sharpen it on the go. The only problem I have with this, and the reason that I won't be repurchasing is that it smudges like crazy! Let me start off by saying that eyeliners do not usually smudge on me, in fact they don't budge at all most of the time. However, when I put this eyeliner on my waterline it smeared below my eyes in less than an hour and it gathered at my tear duct (which looked really gross!). I wasn't too bothered because I wasn't expecting much for £1, so I just tried it on my lash line instead and it still managed to gather at the corner of my eyes. It looked horrible and I was super disappointed because it was the blackest eyeliner I'd ever tried! I won't buy again because the staying power is just terrible, but for £1 the pigmentation is very good! x
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Self Tanners -Garnier - Ambre Solaire Bronz up Self-Tanning Moisturising Milk
Channingx 6/4/2011 6:40:00 AM
This is totally my HG self tanner! I've been looking for the perfect self tanner that will give me a bronze glow now that summer is around the bend, and after trying a couple of lack lustre orange self tanners (L'Oreal Sublime I'm talking to you!) I eventually came across this beauty. I exfoliated and then put this on as the bottle instructed by wide circular motions. Although the formula is flesh toned I can still see where I've put it by the sheen it leaves, so that helps to avoid over or under application. I applied using mitts so I can't comment if it makes a mess on hands. I woke up the next morning with an absolutely gorgeous and completely non-streaky tan without a hint of orange in sight. It's quite light so I'd recommend applying it again if you want a deeper tan. As I'm a very pale ivory I apply this once a week and upkeep it with Olay gradual self tanner. It did settle a little deeper on my knees than on legs, but it doesn't look too bad and it exfoliates off easily. Plus, it's worth noting that this fades beautifully! It lessens into a brown glow, really nice and natural. I'll definitely repurchase this, it's reasonably priced at £8 or so, easy to apply and I got a couple of people asking if I'd been out in the sun as my legs were looking tan. Love this foolproof tanner! x
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Tinted Moisturizer -Boots - Natural Collection Tinted Moisturiser
Channingx 5/16/2011 12:41:00 PM
I am so not impressed by this product. I bought it in the lightest shade for something really cheap like £2 in boots. It didn't have very much coverage, although I never really expect that of TM's. However, it did leave my skin looking really orange and unnatural (my foundation looks more natural than this!). I found it really hard to blend because it was really gloopy and just slid everywhere. You have to be really careful about blending just to make sure that you're face is actually even, as my friend pointed out that it had settled above my jaw line so I had a half orange/half white face. As if that wasn't bad enough I woke up the morning after using this with spots all over my face. I am not acne-prone and I can't remember the last time I had a big break out like this. I am throwing this in the bin, Natural Collections I hope you do better than this in the future!
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