Avon SuperExtend Mascara Review

Avon isn't really a brand that I've ever really considered using. Probably because its not available to buy in stores (as far as I know) and it's not really talked about as much as it should be. My sister in law recently became an Avon representative and gave me a catalogue to have a look through. I've not shopped at Avon before and besides occasionally dipping into my mums makeup when I was younger, I don't think I've really ever tried any of their products. It's is the kind of brand that I always associated with mums and with a more mature audience, recently though I feel like they have been marketing towards a younger audience.

So I was surprised to find when flicking through the catalogue that there was actually quite a few products that I was interested in trying. As it happens the mascara I was currently using had pretty much completely dried up, heartbreaking I know. So I decided to steer away from the brands I usually go for and try something completely new. I know how to live guys. 

I went for the SuperExtend winged out mascara because I love the look of long winged out lashes. I love winged eyeliner as well but I just cannot get the hang of it, practice makes perfect I guess! Also one of my favourite mascaras is Maybelines The Falsies, I love the way this wings out my lashes so I was hoping for a similar effect from Avon SuperExtend mascara.

And I was not disappointed! This mascara is available in 2 shades, blackest black and brown/black. I went for blackest black because I like black mascara that is actually black and I don't like mascara that's a bit wishy-washy. Like I always say, go bold or go home! (I have never said that in my life) 

The product goes on well and isn't at all clumpy, its actually quite a thin liquid. The downside to this is it takes a bit of building to get thicker lashes but if you are lucky enough to be born with thick eye lashes then this wont be much of a problem. What this mascara is great at doing though is lengthening and as promised, it is pretty good at winging out my lashes. 

The wand is quite small with small bristles which means it is great for catching even your smaller lashes. I's also found it much easier to do my bottom lashes with this mascara compared to ones I've used in the past. Even if I didn't use this on my top lashes I would probably reach for this when it's time to do the bottom set. I like to keep my bottom lashes quite natural looking but since my lashes are blonde, I like to put something on there and this does the trick!

It lasts well and doesn't go flaky during the day and leave you with those super attractive black speckles under your eye. It's not waterproof but still has good staying power and isn't going to start streaming down your face the second your eye starts to water. 

The packaging, to me, looks a little more high-end and almost a bit more 'grown-up' than the mascaras I usually go for. Not that that's a big decider for me at least but still something to consider.

It can be quite subtle and great for everyday wear but also be built up to be a little more dramatic. This mascara wont be replacing my favourites but I'll definitely be using this in the future. 

xxx

An awesome facial wash!

With all the exciting beauty products out there I feel like it can be easy to neglect the bare essentials. Which is why I've decided to share a new facial wash that I've been using lately. Well I say new...it's new to me! I was browsing around super drug and trying to avoid the make-up area...once I start putting make-up into my basket I cant stop! I ended up walking past the super drug skincare section and picking up one of their facial washes. I've used their tea tree wash in the past so this time I decided to try the tea tree and lemon facial wash.

I like to use a facial wash aimed at spot prevention because although my skin isnt to problematic, I do get breakouts around my forehead. I find that just regularly using a good anti-blemish facial wash and a few dabs of tea tree oil every now and then is usually enough to keep it under control.

This face wash is perfect for me. Tea tree oil is great as it has antibacterial properties to prevent and treat spots. The Lemon oil is to cleanse the skin of dirt, oil and other impurities for super clean skin. The lemon also smells lovely and feels so refreshing. I don't know if this is just me, but I always associate the smell of lemon, and just citrus scents in general, with cleanliness. However some lemony scents can smell a bit bleachy, which made me think twice about purchasing this, but as this is mixed with tea tree it doesn't smell to strong.

On to the most important part...how it makes my skin feel. Firstly I wanted to say that this works better for me than the Superdrug tea tree facial wash. Although the tea tree wash is great at clearing spots away, this one makes my skin feel softer and more refreshed. This also thoroughly cleanses my skin while still being gentle. I also find that this manages to remove most of my make-up, even pesky mascara, so I don't get out of the shower looking quite as much like a giant panda. Definitely will be repurchasing! 

xxx

Freedom Pro Brow Review

I only started filling my eyebrows in a few months ago and I really don't know why I didn't start earlier. The reason I started was because I dyed my hair a darker colour. My natural hair is blonde and unfortunately with blonde hair, comes blonde eyebrows! They didn't look too bad when my hair was blonde, they weren't great but not awful! Then I died my hair an warm amber colour and they just looked kind of  cold and washed out...so then I decided it was time to start filling them in. 

I started using a matt eye shadow to fill them in but it was a little dark so I only did it very lightly and couldn't really fill them in or shape them properly. So when I was out shopping with my friend (who is a little obsessed with eyebrows) I bought some brow powder. We were in Superdrug and to be honest there wasn't that much of a selection for lighter brows. I wanted my brows darker but I felt like a brown would be a bit to dark, not to mention that it would be a bit of a drastic change, going from blonde brows to dark brown. 

Luckily I found this brow powder from Freedom. I hadn't even heard of the brand before but it was super cheap so I thought I might as well give it a go! And well, I've used it pretty much every day since. I was actually surprised how good it was for the price and I feel like a lot of people wouldn't pick this up, simply because they would assume this wasn't a good prouduct. 

I find that you sometimes have to use quite a bit to get good coverage but this isnt a big issue. Saying that, it goes a long way, I bought this one around Christmas and as you can see I've barely made a dent. It also stays put, another thing I was really surprised about because most of my make up seems to wear a lot during the day. I think a main reason for this is because I walk to work and back but this prouduct seems to withstand the wind, rain and sweat. Pretty gross I know but my eyebrow area seems to sweat more than the rest of me, which makes the prouduct even more fabulous. 

They also have a great range of shades, which you don't always get with drug store brands, especially when it comes to eyebrows. There are 11 different shades to choose from so you'll definitely find a shade for you. Blonde is the lightest shade available. As well as the duos, they also have single pots of shadows. These come in the same shades as the duos but they don't have the lighter shade. I'll probably go with one of these next time as I don't tend to use the lighter shade in the duo. 

This prouduct is definitely worth a try and with a great selection of shades in both the duo and the single shadows, you'll find one to suit you. The duos are currently £3 in Superdrug and the single shadows are £5. Maybe you'll find a new favourite! 

xxx

Urban Decay Primer Potion Comparison

I was lucky enough to receive the Naked Palette for Christmas last year, it still feels odd saying last year! I also received samples of 4 of the Urban Decay eye primers. I wasn't actually aware that there was more than one version of the Primer Potion but it was great to actually try these all out so I could decide which one was best for me. I've used different ones over the past month and I'm going to share my thoughts on each, they're actually all very different!

I'll start with the original... This primer differs from the next two I'm going to talk about as it dries transparent. It helps to even out the skin tone across your lid but wont add any colour. This is one of my favourites of the four. I think this would be a good one to go for if you tend to wear different types of eye-shadow as it would work for shimmery or matt shadows.

Next is Eden. I'm really torn between this and the original primer. This primer dries a nude colour which I find is really great as a base and helps to make nude colours stand out a bit more. It just kind of gives you a clean slate to work with. It is matt, which is great for me as I tend to stick to matt shadows on a day to day basis. If you're into your shimmers and glitters then this might not be the best for you.

The complete opposite of this is the third primer, Sin. This is a shimmery primer which is a pinky colour, its actually similar to the shade Sin in the first Naked Palette. This primer really helps to make shimmery shadows pop and look that little bit more shimmery. It's actually a really nice colour all on its own!

The least used primer was the Anti-Ageing primer. I didn't use this much simply because it's not a prouduct that's really aimed at my skin type. It is similar to the Original primer because it dries transparent. Its a different texture which actually makes it a little easier to apply. This is thinner and less tacky than the others, this feels more like a moisturiser. I don't know if this has any effect on the staying power of the shadow but it seemed to work just as well.

I am so torn between whether to go with the original or Eden. I'm thinking I'll probably end up going for Original to start with, simply because it is a bit more versatile. Of course there's always the option of getting both...

Lush 'Love and Light' Hand Cream

I'm still ploughing through all the Lush gifts I got for Christmas. My bath bomb and bubble bar supply is slowly shrinking though, maybe time for another trip to lush soon! One item I received in a gift box was the Love and Light hand cream. I've never tried a hand cream from lush before so it was great to get something I probably wouldn't have picked up. Although lets be honest, I'm sure I would have tried it out myself at some point! 

Dry hands, luckily, isn't something I really have a problem with so I do tend to neglect them sometimes. I really shouldn't, especially not during the winter months, so I've been keeping this at the side of my bed to remind me before I go to sleep and when I wake up to use it. This tactic is working pretty well so far! 

The actual product is really good, I wasn't sure what to expect, as I haven't tried any of the lush hand cream before but I wasn't disappointed. From what I've read in other reviews this hand cream is quite light compared to others, I cant comment on that but I can say that it is light and not sticky at all. It absorbs well into the skin and this makes it perfect to apply throughout the day or in the morning. There's nothing worse than having greasy, sticky hands, euckk! Although it is light it is still so great for moisturising hands! I have a patch of dry skin, kind of like eczema on my hand and I've tried lots of different creams in an attempt to clear this up. It's not cleared up completely but it has been massively better since using this cream and it's no longer flaky and dry. For this reason alone I love this product and will definitely be getting it again! 

Then there's the scent. I have to admit I didn't love the smell at first. But after using it for a little while I've started to really like it. It smells of oranges, as this product contains orange oil and its actually really calming. It's not to strong of a scent though, if it was super strong I don't think I would like it half as much, but its just right! Definitely worth grabbing this next time you're in Lush! 

xxx

Simple Eye Make-up Remover

In this post I'm going to talk about a product that I haven't had for long at all but I already love it and I wanted to share. Its make-up remover, maybe not the most exciting product but its something we all use. More specifically its Simple Eye Make-up remover. 

Let me start by saying that I have really sensitive skin in general and the skin around your eyes is extra sensitive. My eyes also tend to react badly to products they don't like, they go all puffy and red and its just not a great look. So I am very cautious now when buying anything meant for my eyes. Annoyingly though, my eyes are the place where I probably wear the most make-up and all that eye-liner and mascara needs taking off at the end of the day! 

I have previously just been washing my face then cleansing and that gets rid of a lot but not all of my make-up. So I picked up the Simple eye make-up remover. I chose to go with the Simple brand because I've never had a problem with any of their products and find that they usually do the job without irritating my skin. They're perfume and colour free, I think these two factors are usually the biggest culprits irritating my skin. I love products that smell great but for products I use everyday, particularly ones I use on my face, I like to go as natural and gentle as possible. 

This make-up remover is great! Its very gentle, sometimes I get a bit of stinging around my eye when I wipe it but with this I don't get anything. It literally feels like I'm just using water on my face. It still does the job though and does it really well. I struggle to remove all of my liquid eye-liner with my usual methods but this honestly makes it so easy! Its so gentle that it doesn't really even sting when you get some in your eye. I'm not going around pouring this stuff in my eye and I don't recommend that you do either but its inevitable that its going to get in there a some point, especially if you're as clumsy as I am! 

Price wise this is also great as its only £1.49 at Super Drug and the bottle should last a couple of months, depending on how much and how often you use it of course. I would really recommend this, especially if you have sensitive skin like me. 

xxx

Urban decay naked palette

I was so excited this Christmas when I unwrapped an urban decay naked palette! This has been on my wish list for a while now and honestly if I hadn't been lucky enough to receive it as a gift this Christmas I would have probably gone out and bought it myself eventually! I asked for the original palette as that's the one I could see myself using most often. 

I've used it pretty much every day since Christmas and I've barely made a dent. My favourite shades for everyday use are Virgin, Buck and Naked. I didn't know if I would be a massive fan of the more sparkly shades but I actually love them. I love all the shades and I'm sure I'll get plenty of use out of all of them, even the darker shades that you probably wouldn't use for everyday wear. 

The palette also came with a brush, which is actually really great. One side applies the prouduct while the other is meant for blending. 

In the box along with the palette was also some samples of urban decays primer potion. I don't know why but I have always thought there was only one primer potion, but turns out there's 4 different types?! You get a little sample of each. The info says that each sample gods over a weeks worth of primer. When I first read that I looked at the little samples and thought, pshh yeah ok...but I've used the original primer every day and I only have to use a tiny amount so it will probably actually last longer.

So far I've only used the original primer, but I'm looking forward to trying the rest! It definitely makes a difference so I'll be getting the full size primer once the samples are all used up! 

I won't bang on for too long about this as no doubt many of you already own at least one of the Naked palettes but let me know which one is your favourite. I'm thinking of investing in another soon! 

Xxx

Lush Snowfairy Shower gel!

In one of the lovely lush gift boxes I received this year for Christmas was the Lush Snowfairy shower gel. It's sparkly and pink...need I say more! It's from the Lush Christmas range and as far as I know it's not available to buy any other time of the year, which makes sense as its a Christmas shower gel! 

This one contains Carrageenan Extract, which after a look on the lush site I discovered is used as a moisturiser. Sounds good to me! 

The best thing by far about this though, is the smell! It's candy floss scented but the smell kind of reminds me of something else, I just can't quite pin it down! I've been sat for a good few minutes before writing this post trying to figure out just what it is but I can't get it! 

Although I find the smell doesn't really linger around on your skin for long after you've been in the shower it is still amazing and fills my bathroom with a sweet scent. If someone put it in a candle, I would buy it.

I will definitely be purchasing this come Christmas time next year! What's your favourite Lush shower gel? 

Xxx

Burts Bees!

 

Just the other week I did a little (only a little) shop on Feel Unique. I haven't really bought regularly from this site before but I actually really love it. I have usually shopped at Superdrug but I find feel unique have more of a selection, while Superdrug do only stock the drug store brands. Its also just so easy to just have everything in one place...good news for me but not so much for my bank balance!

 

One thing I did get was the Burt's Bees lip balm. We all know that winter can be harsh and my lips are usually pretty prone to drying out at the best of times, so I have really started to notice it in the last few weeks. I had heard a bit about this brand but I had never given them a go so I thought I'd try it out. I had a little browse around and found a little set for just £5.99. There are 3 products in the set and me being me I didn't actually look at the description and assumed they were all lip balms. They weren't and I am now the owner of Burts Bees cuticle cream and hand salve. I'm not going to complain though as I imagine both of these will come in handy, the hand salve is already proving to be a winner!

 

The set did come with the vitamin E and Peppermint lip balm stick. Let me tell you they aren't lying when they say its peppermint, its pretty strong. It kind of gives your lips what I can only describe as a minty sensation (you know what I mean right?!) it doesn't last long and after all the 'minty sensation' is over you can walk around enjoying the lovely peppermint scent.

 

I have only been using this now for about 3 days and it has made a huge improvement already. I tend to have dry skin on my lips which is not that pretty. It also kind of prevents me from wearing anything on my lips because it just doesn't sit right! but this seems to be sorting the problem out. They also have a Tinted Lip Balm in a variety of shades and I am looking forward to giving these a try!

Did I also mention the cute little tin this set came in? I love products that come in packaging that can be reused, I'd happily keep this to store other lip balms. Maybe then I'd be able to keep one longer than a week without losing it! It also makes it a nice little gift or stocking filler :) I'm very glad to have tried this, now I'll just have to remember to use it!

Colab dry shampoo review

Recently I went crazy and bought a different brand of dry shampoo, I'm a hooligan what can I say!? I read about colab dry shampoo in another blog post talking about products bloggers have brought out into stores. This is by Ruth crilly, I haven't actually read her blog before but I am subscribed to her YouTube channel, although I haven't watched anything from her in a whole. I really like this product for my hair, however I'm not a fan of the smell. Well I actually do really love the smell but to me it smells really masculine. I should mention that there isn't just one fragrance to choose from! So it's not a deal breaker, I can always get another one next time. Mine is called Paris and the fragrance is supposed to be floral, maybe it's just my nose but I don't get that! 

It is actually really good though, i usually use batise cherry dry shampoo so I have kind of compared the two. I notice with colab that it isn't as white as batise, so it's less likely that you end up walking around with white powder in your hair! Although as a blonde, it's never been to much of an issue but I can imagine if you have dark hair it would show a lot more. So it's great for that! It also works really well, I've been changing between this one and batise and I find that the colab dry shampoo is a bit less heavy. Dry shampoo normally takes the shine out of my hair after a couple of days (I use dry shampoo for as long as humanly possible, I don't like washing my hair!) but it doesn't seem to as much with this one! The smell isn't really that much of an issue, you get little whifs of it thorought the day but you can't really smell it all the time and it's definitely not an overpowering smell, pretty subtle. Overall I really like this, I will defineltly purchase this brand again but I'll probably try a different fragrance! Does anyone else use this brand, what do you think? 

Xxx