It's National Lash Day!!

Long time no speak! I have been AWOL again due to life being difficult, spending a lot of time in and out of hospital, and trying to get myself on a better path with my failing health (I will be posting about this separately in the near future)... but I've decided that I need to get back into my writing, as frankly, I bloody miss it.

Today is all about lashes, as it's National Lash Day; and I'll be honest, I didn't even know this was a thing until last year... but who's judging?!

So I figured it would be a good time to show you my new favourite ever mascara, which has totally surpassed my previous favourite (Max Factor False Lash Effect) that was my go to for many years!

This mascara is EPIC, like literally... that's its name! But it truly is epic as it instantly transforms my eyes, and gives me long, thick, curled lashes in just one coat (more coats are allowed if you wanna go va-va-vooooom with your lashes); giving me a false lash look, without all the faff, and glue damage!

I mean just look at the difference:

It's 4D fiber infused, so none of this 3 step fiber faffing that I've had with previous fiber mascara products that usually put me off using them in the past, in favour of sticking with regular one step mascaras!

And to celebrate National Lash Day, there's up to 30% off full lash regimes* (growth serum, lash primer and 4D EPIC mascara) until Monday, saving you £18.30 - effectively giving you the primer or serum for FREE!!

Plus, you get 14 days to try it - and if you don't love it, you can return it for your money back. Can't say fairer than that, eh?!

Hurrah for mascara!





*Affiliate link, my views are not affected by this.

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Superdrug MUA Eye Shadow - 3 Shades Swatched!

I only recently became aware of the MUA range in Superdrug stores, it’s just not something that came onto my radar for some reason; however I recently bought a polish from there and was actually surprised as I quite liked it and for the £1 price tag I was quite impressed with the product.

I’ve now been sent 3 more MUA products to try out, eye shadows to be precise and again I’m finding them to be really rather nice. The pigmentation is much better than I had anticipated, which I was surprised at as I thought cheaper eye shadow would mean much less pigmentation, meaning you’d need a lot more product on to get a decent colour.

Staying power is ok, it’s not going to withstand a hurricane but I think with a bit of primer that it would be perfectly fine for your normal evening out. Blendability is also great from my experience; I didn’t really have any issues with the application of the shadows other than a little fall down.

The shades I have been sent are: 13 (Pearl), 15 (Pearl) and 9 (Also Pearl) and I have swatched them in that order in the photo's. I like all 3 of the colours, although I’d say that 9 was my favourite as it’s so striking – I defy anybody to not like it even just a little bit.

I have swatched both using my finger shown as the bottom large stripe in the photo's, and also by using an inexpensive eye shadow brush (as I thought that it would be best to judge the application on the products own merit, rather than that of the brush) and you can see this at the top of the stripe for each colour.

This range is great for those who don't have loads of spare money to spend on new makeup, but who would still like to update their look/makeup bag a little as every item is just £1; you can even get the products on 3 for 2 offers sometimes which brings down the price even more (not that it really needs it).

I do think some of the products will be hit and miss (which could be said for many brands of differing price ranges in all fairness), but it's worth researching blogs, testing the products (if you can) in store and choosing the best products for you based on this... and I guess even if you get a dud, £1 isn't a huge amount to lose.

See the range!

Disclosure: PR Sample

Korres Autumn Winter 2010 Colour Collection!

'Korres, set up in 1996, is a Greek skincare brand with roots in Athens’ first ever Homeopathic Pharmacy. Based on its pharmacy experience in over 3,000 homeopathic remedies of herbal origin, Korres is focusing on primary and applied research regarding natural ingredients and formulae. The company today offers a natural and certified organic skin & hair care range, a make-up line as well as suncare products and herbal preparations.'

I’ve been lucky enough to have their colour collection products for their Autumn/Winter 2010 'look' sent to me recently and I have to say I am very impressed. My initial thought is that the collection is a very classy affair; no outrageous colours here, but make no mistake this does not mean boring. The colours are very wearable and versatile easily moving from a natural daytime look into a more dramatic evening look, just by increasing the intensity of the layers and making the eyes even smokier!

First up we have three of their eye shadows, these are priced at a very reasonable £11 each an are created with Sunflower and Evening Primrose Oil so they care for the delicate eye area whilst also creating a stunning visual!

Below is a quote from their press statement that outlines what they want to achieve with their AW10 eye selection.

“With defined eyes rapidly taking centre stage this season, KORRES pushes boundaries to reinvent winter’s inevitability - smoky eyes – based on natural metallic brown and golden tones.”

The textures of the eye shadows are beautiful; the 2 browns (28 and 36) are quite metallic, but not in a trashy way and more importantly they are long lasting.

The mid brown shade (28) actually has a slight bronze/deep gold hue to it and in my opinion is the more metallic out of the 2 browns, stunning.

The darker brown (36) actually looks like deliciously dark chocolate with the slightest hint of a metallic shimmer, perfect.

Then there’s the ‘Nude 15’ shade which to me is perfect for applying as your base colour if you’re looking for something natural as it seems more matte than the other 2 – but not cakey at all.

These shadows can both be applied as subtly or as strongly as you desire, you just layer them up to your desired intensity as the pigment in these product allows for this perfectly. Using an eye shadow brush (especially with slightly longer bristles) gives a much finer layer I have found, but if you’re looking for a stronger colour then maybe use either a sponge tipped applicator, or a brush with shorter bristles that gives a more dense, pigmented colour.

Applying them was made easy by their rich velvety texture too, and I loved that when using these there didn’t seem to be much product dropping onto the rest of my face – bonus!

The Korres ‘Provitamin B5 and Rice Bran Mascara’ (£14.00) in brown (2) promises to lengthen your lashes whilst giving volume and deep colour to your lashes and it really does, I loved the look of my lashes with this on them. I would usually wear black mascara as a lot of brown mascaras don’t have the deep rich colour that I require, but not so with this product. I now feel I can wear a brown mascara without it looking wishy washy.

Their eyeliner (‘brown 2’ £7.00) is a revelation to me, it goes on smoothly is able to be smudged into a softer, smokier finish but then stays put. In the past I have found eyeliners to either stay put, but not be soft enough to smudge or to smudge but then not stay put. It was always the case that I could have one but not the other, so this is a fantastic find for me.

The liner also has antioxidant protection in the form of macadamia nut oil and vitamin E and revitalising properties from Meadowfoam seed oil. I love this as it gives the liner dual purpose, meaning that not only does it look good; it’s also good for the eye area and whilst this doesn’t mean you should go ahead and throw out all your eye care products, it does mean that you may not feel so guilty for wearing it a lot, or even if you do the unthinkable and fall asleep in your makeup. Come on; we’ve all done it, haven’t we?

Zea Mays Powder Blush (‘Natural 15’ £16.50) is a velvety blush with corn starch powder particles, for a luminous effect and a smooth and even finish. I admit that when I opened this I didn’t think it looked anything special but after putting it on my face I found that it made my skin glow beautifully, in a really natural, healthy way. It wasn’t heavy, didn’t clog and even more importantly lasted for a whole day of shopping.

Last but by no means least we have their chosen lipstick for AW10 is ‘Nude 34’ (£15), a light beige with a slight hint of pink. It’s the kind of colour you should be wearing if you want to try out nude lips but are worried the full on nude look may not suit you. This is, in my opinion, because of that very slight hint of pink that just makes it that bit more wearable for the average person. It’s not glossy, it is very creamy though so it’s not totally matte either, this means it is longer lasting when being worn and again, more wearable in my opinion.

I adore that pretty much all their products not only have their primary function in making your face look fab, but also that they all appear to have some kind of benefit to the condition of the area it is intended for. There’s the Sunflower and evening primrose that care for the delicate eye area in the eye shadows, Provitamin B5 in the mascara that strengthens lashes and guava extract in the lipstick that offers yet more antioxidant protection. They seem to do all this without compromising the products main functions, as makeup.

One thing I can say for sure is that this selection from Korres is a total triumph in my book.

Lovely Lashes - Clinique Lash Building Primer!

If you’re looking for full, long lashes then stop right here as I have found just the product you need, Clinique’s Lash Building Primer. The blurb on the Clinique website states that this product ‘boosts the benefits of Clinique Mascara as it conditions and protects lashes’ but what it doesn’t tell you is that it offers so much more than just nourishment and protection. It volumises and lengthens them whilst also helping to hold the curl longer and doesn’t make your lashes clump together at all – in fact they look more separated than ever before.

For me, it has given a true false lash effect (without the need to be ‘styled with inserts’) with all mascaras I have tried with it, not just Clinique’s. I also found that it seems to keep my mascara in place for a lot longer; even non-waterproof types, as demonstrated at V Festival when my mascara lasted the whole day with no smudging, running or disappearing into thin air. My lashes looked exactly as they did when I applied my makeup.

The product itself is a fairly runny white fluid that is easily applied with a wand, just like you would a normal mascara; once applied you'll also notice that the lashes immediately look longer and more separated and whilst it does go on ever so slightly white, it is a lot less opaque than it seems in the tube. I would still say that you need to apply some kind of mascara over the top of it to disguise this if you’re heading out though, as it’s not a hugely flattering look when left without.

You may be expecting this product to cost a fortune, being that it works so well and that it’s made by Clinique but I bought this at the surprisingly low price of just £10 from Boots. It might be worth noting that it’s currently being sold for £9 in Debenhams in their 10% new season sale and also John Lewis (a price reduction that seems to have come off the back of the Debenhams sale) so if you hurry you may get it even cheaper than I did.

All in all, I can’t recommend this product enough as it has completely excelled my expectations and will have a permanent (or at least very long term) place in my makeup bag.

Blinc Cosmetics!

The lovely people at Blinc cosmetics have sent me a box of goodies to test; I'll be posting my thoughts on each of the items up soon so be sure to follow me or subscribe to find out more.

Boots Natural Collection Eye Liner

Advantages: Easy to apply, looks good once applied

Disadvantages: Doesn't stay put or last and wears out quickly.

I bought this as I'd forgotten my eyeliner when visiting family for Christmas, my usual liner was nearly full so I didn't really want to spend a fortune on a new one when it was only really to make do with until I got home. I saw this in boots for the bargain price of £1.99 and thought that as a make do product it would do the job as I've used other natural collection products and been perfectly satisfied with them.   

The application of the product is great, it is soft enough to go on easily and to smudge into place for a smoky eye effect but not too soft that it breaks easily, however I did notice that it had worn down pretty quickly over the 2 applications and a couple of top ups that I used it for. I'm not a fan of hard eyeliner that hurts to apply as it takes forever for it to actually go on so this seemed pretty perfect to me and to have it go down a bit quicker would be a small price to pay for this as it is cheap enough to replace as and when needed.

The overall look from this eyeliner on first application is brilliant, I was seriously impressed as it gave the right thickness and coverage with ease and without going everywhere due to having to force it on and not have time to smudge it into place (or off if you slip and end up with it somewhere you'd rather it not be) not to mention that it didn't end up in a thin harsh line that just looks awful on me. My fiancé even commented on the fact that it looked nice, and that's a good thing as he actually has a decent eye for things like this... without being too feminine about it.

After about 1 hour of having this eyeliner on, I went to the toilet and whilst washing my hands I noticed that it had bled down below my eye line where I had applied it; it wasn't a big problem and was easily corrected with a corner of tissue and a quick wipe; without damaging any of my other make up.

A short time later, I noticed that it had again moved out of the position I had applied it to, and so I corrected it yet again and topped it up a bit as it was looking a bit thin on the ground. This went on numerous times during this evening to the point where I had to sharpen the pencil again; something I've never had to do after only a couple of uses with any other eyeliner. 

I was really disappointed as I'd really loved the way it had applied and the way it had initially looked, and even though it was easily rectified, I felt that I shouldn't have to keep checking and sorting it out constantly through one day/evening whilst only sat in a house having a drink with family. It wasn't even like I had been in a club or smoky environment, and if I *had* been in a club, I'd have just ended up wiping it off as there's nothing worse than walking around with panda eyes in public, I was lucky I was only having drinks in my dads house.

I must add that it seemed to sharpen well enough, but I know that most pencils don't show their true sharpening colours until a bit further down the line, at least not in my experience; and by that time it's usually too late to do anything about it.

Overall, I think the beauty of this eyeliner is that it's so versatile and can be moved around to suit you and get the right effect, but this is also its downfall as it doesn't stay put, and can lead to it running/bleeding from the area it was applied. If a change could be made so that it stayed where it was applied after a few seconds or so (to give time to change it, smudge it or remove it if a mistake had been made) then I would have no hesitation in recommending it to you, even if it got used quickly because at that price I'd have thought most people could afford to replace a bit quicker.

Summary: I wouldn't buy it again.