Moisturizers -Elemis - Elemis Pro Collagen Marine Cream
GoldenMonkey 4/22/2013 6:19:00 AM
I have just bought my second 100ml pot of this. It is expensive but my friend recommended it so I thought I'd give it a try. 50ml has lasted around 3 months so that's just over £20 a month which is not too bad when you think of it like that. I have bought it again because I cannot deny my skin looks better. It's a lovely light non greasy cream that nourishes really well and plumps out fine lines. I would say it's best for combination to dry skin and for the first signs of aging. I think it gets rid of dehydration lines very effectively without being too heavy for sensitive and oily areas. I find the longer I use this cream the less I need as the hydration effects last and last. The only thing that bothers me is that this cream does not contain spf. I use my beloved olay spf30 in the morning over the top of this or on its own when I'm to be outside. I can get away with only using the marine cream once a day in the evening if necessary as it is so effective. This cream works as well as any topical cream can in my opinion but you have to stick with it, the full benefits only become apparent after 8-12 weeks of use.
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Treatments -Yves Saint Laurent - Forever Youth Liberator
GoldenMonkey 1/30/2013 5:20:00 PM
I thought this product was an expensive pile of uselessness. I was persuaded to buy it whilst christmas shopping at the YSL counter. The counter girl was so positive about it and I'm such a sucker for a pretty bottle that I thought i'd give it a whirl. The first time I put it on I thought 'where did that go to?', it felt like water and immediatly soaked into my skin and was gone leaving a sort of veil of slight tackiness to my face. After a week or so I actually got used to the texture and I didn't mind it. I got used to using the pipet and found that it contained the right amount for my face. Anyway I deligently used it untill it ran out. There was the odd day I thought it was working and my face seemed clear and bright and then the next day i'd wake up with my face a bit spotty and dry and think maybe it wasn't working. After I ran out of it, I had a massive clear out of all my face products and decided to go back to basics with water and an olay moisturiser. Tbh my skin looks 100% better now then it did when I was faffing around with the Youth Liberator Serum. I actually think the serum was doing nothing other than contributing to unbalancing my skin. I peer every day at my wrinkles in the mirror lol and I can honestly say the Youth Liberator Serum did absolutly diddly squat. I don't think you can buy anything in a bottle that you can't get with a healthy diet, good genes and SPF. I gave this a mark for the packaging, it was very lovely and probably what you are mostly paying for!
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Treatments -Boots - no7 Protect and Perfect beauty serum
GoldenMonkey 1/30/2013 5:06:00 PM
I bought this product to use in conjunction with the rest of the protect and perfect range. It does feel nice to put on, it glides on smoothly, however I wonder how much of this is to do with the silicone nature of the product. I can't comment purely on this product as I was using it along with the other moisturisers but although it felt nice on at first I felt that the range was too heavy and greasy for me. This surprised me as normally I have dry skin. If i'm honest although I liked to think the serum was working at the time, it wasn't really working. The serum didn't last that long about 2 months and when I ran out of it I stopped using it and my skin looks exactly the same as it did before I started using it. I put that I would buy it again but to be honest I probably won't. It's not a bad product, it was nice enough, I just don't think it lived up to it's hype in my opinion.
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Moisturizers -Olay - Complete Defense Daily UV Moisturizer SPF 30 (Non-Sensitive Formula)
GoldenMonkey 1/30/2013 4:50:00 PM
This is such a great product! Hitting 30 I was getting bogged down with a very complicated skin routine that I thought I needed to prevent anti ageing. I was using serums, toners, masks, eye creams, cleansers ect. I was spending ££££ on the whole range of expensive high end products. I could not understand therefore why my skin was so unhappy! Blotchy, red, dry, itchy, spotty, wrinkly, horrible. I felt embarrassed to walk out the house unless I had a full face of foundation to cover it up! My mum suggested that I was upsetting the balance of my skin and to go back to basics with a gentle cleanser and light moisturiser. Digging around in my bathroom cabinet at home I found this Olay product that I had bought not long ago and never used and I thought it looked simple and would be a good start to my new regime. I like the spf30 as I spend a lot of time outside and research says it is the sun that it is the biggest aging culprit. I like this cream as unlike pure facial sunscreens it is light and doesn't sit like a greasy mask on my face but absorbs quickly, I find it doesn't dry my face out or make it slimey to touch. I have been doing my new regime for a month now. In the morning I gently splash my face with luke warm water and then I put The Olay spf 30 essentials cream on. In the evening I use a gentle cleanser and if my skin feels a bit dry I use a little more of this cream. I will probably update this to a night cream at some point but I didn't want to over complicate things when trying to get my skin back to normal. My skin is back to what it used to be when I was in my 20's and not faffing around with it. I can now go out in public with no need for foundation. My skin is clear and comfortable. The spots have gone, the dry patches have gone and my skin looks plump and fresh. I think it goes to show that sometimes expensive face products packed full of chemicals are not what is best and that a light moisturiser with sunscreen like this Olay product is sometimes all that is needed. Very happy. I will definitly keep using this cream, especially in the summer when outside :).
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Makeup Remover -Avene - Gentle Eye Makeup Remover
GoldenMonkey 1/30/2013 4:25:00 PM
I use Avene extremely gentle cleanser on my face and I find it good for cleansing and not drying. However I cannot use it on my eyes as it irritates the hell out of them. Why therefore I thought that the eye make up remover would be OK I don't know. I bought it because I like to use products from the same brand but within minutes of using this product on my eyes I felt the familiar gritty feeling. It's fine on my skin it's inside my eyes that get uncomfortable, when I blink it feels like I have bits of dirt in my eyes and it brings me out in white bumps under my eyelids. I wear contact lenses and maybe this is why but I always take my contact lenses out before I remove my eye make up and Avene say this product is good for people that have eye problems or wear lenses. I have used other eye make up removers and while some are more drying on the delicate skin none of them leave me with gritty eyes so I have no idea why a product marketed at sensitive skin would do this. I have learnt my lesson now and will not be using any Avene products anywhere near my eyes. I would not buy this again.
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Primer/ Corrector -Yves Saint Laurent - Touche Eclat (Radiant Touch)
GoldenMonkey 6/4/2012 11:32:00 AM
I adore this product. Iv'e been using it for several years now. I think the texture is what sells it to me, It's so light and blendable it just glides on. I use it under my eyes mostly as I suffer from shadows. I can't bear any make up that clings to this area or that looks false or cakey. Touche eclat subtly covers the area and reflects the light so my dark shadows seem to miraculously dissapear. I also use it in the shadowy areas around my nose, chin and mouth. A little goes a long way and even though I use it most days I find one pen will last me 6 months easily. I have fairly good but dry skin, I don't suffer from spots or belmishes just shadows and fine lines so maybe this is why I like it so much. It's a beautiful product and nothing else compares to it for me, I'm sure I will use it for many years to come.
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Cleansers -Avene - extremely gentle cleanser
GoldenMonkey 5/30/2012 11:24:00 AM
This is a brilliant cleanser. For years I have been searching for the perfect cleanser and I think this is it! I usually use facial washes as I can't bear the feeling of the slimey build up left on my face from cream cleansers. However facial washes would leave my dry skin even dryer and tighter and would also break me out if I wasn't careful to use a really rich moisturiser afterwards. This cleanser does not need washing off yet it leaves no residue whatsoever. My skin feels cool, calm and soft after using this. I find it is good for taking off makeup but I do use about 3/4 pads with it on in the evening to make sure every last scrap of makeup and dirt has gone. This does mean I am getting through the bottle quite quickly but it is so reasonably priced that doesn't worry me at all. I will continue to keep buying this product. My skin looks clear and healthy and because it's gentle on my skin I find I am not needing to use so much moisturiser. A really great product!
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Mascara -BeneFit Cosmetics - BADgal Lash
GoldenMonkey 5/30/2012 10:59:00 AM
I love this mascara!! It is not waterproof so it can wear off by the end of the day but I find it gives me thick, luscious, natural looking lashes. It covers each independant lash well and is not clumpy or sticky. I like the wand, it's big and chunky which is good for creating volume. I think if you want a mascara to wear for a long time, to swim in or play sports it wont be right. However for everyday or going out in the evening it's fab. I buy it all the time and will continue to do so.
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Liquid -Bobbi Brown - Moisture Rich foundation
GoldenMonkey 5/30/2012 10:53:00 AM
I have been using this foundation for a while and to be honest I think there are better foundations out in the market place now. I have dry skin so I do like that this foundation is moisturising. However I find that it takes a while to blend into the skin properly . It also seems to slide off quickly and it only lasts a couple of hours at the most. I fix it with powder but find the greasy texture can sit into fine lines and look patchy.. Its not a bad foundation but I know I can get better and I won't buy this one again. Its also very expensive and with the bottle it comes in it is easy to pour out to much and waste it.
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Foundations -Rimmel - Wake Me Up
GoldenMonkey 5/30/2012 10:43:00 AM
I've re-riewed this product! I was in love with it before but I wore it recently and my partner commented that I had done 'something different' to my face. I said I was wearing a new foundation, the Rimmel Wake me up and he said it looked like I was wearing a mask and said I looked more beautiful before! He never comments normally other than to say I look nice so i've decided against this foundation now. I still think it is a good foundation but maybe for people who like a stronger coverage, I also think it is hard to get the colour right as they come across quite dark.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No