Bargains | Lipglossiping

Category: Bargains

Friday, August 20th, 2010

UK’s First 100% Fairtrade Bodycare Company launches at Waitrose!

Bubble & Balm may only be a year old, but their products are already making a splash at one of the UK’s top supermarkets!

The range includes a selection of liquid and clear glycerine bar soaps that are the first natural soaps to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark in the UK.

Available in Citrus or Lavender and made in the UK using traditional methods, each product is naturally formulated with plant and essential oils and enriched with glycerine to soothe and moisturise. The entire range is suitable for vegetarians to use and is free from parabens, sodium lauryl/laureth sulphate and phthalates.

The luxury hand wash retails at £4.95, and the bar soaps – which are packaged in a watertight aluminium tin that doubles up as a soap dish are priced at £4.85 each.

Have you spotted these whilst doing your weekly shop yet?

Posted in Bargains, Bodycare, High Street Brands | 1 Comment »

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Amie Bright Eyes – Very Gentle Eye Makeup Remover

My name is Charlotte and I’m a mascara-a-holic. And a khol-a-holic… and an eyeshadow-a-holic. You get the picture right?

The day I leave the house without mascara as a bare minimum, is the day I leave the house in 6×2 box.

Again, I’m painting it vividly for ya.

This means that come bedtime… I need my cleansing oils and I need them to work. They generally work well, but I still keep a bottle of eye makeup remover in my arsenal to swipe over any leftovers.

Since my Bioderma Sensibio ran out, I’ve been using the Boots Botanics dual phase one that is generally adored and worshipped across the blogosphere. It’s good… I’ll give it that, but it leaves a residue… a film. The last thing I want post-cleansing is a film of oil on my eyelids.

I was sent the Amie Bright Eyes Gentle Eye Make-up Remover a little while ago and it’s well and truly taken up residence as my go-to remover ever since.

It has a water-like texture, similar to my beloved Sensibio. Unlike the Bioderma, this is scented… and will sting if you get it in your eyes.

Unlike the Bioderma, it’s easily accessible in the UK.

I dispense a good few shakes onto a cotton pad, giving it a liberal soaking and then simply hold against my closed eyelid for around 30 seconds. I apply a bit of pressure with my fingertips to ensure that the product is making contact with the makeup. Once I get bored (which, let’s face it… is probably far less than 30 seconds) I give a few gentle downward swipes and stare in amazement at it’s effectiveness.

I should, at this point… tell you that I don’t wear waterproof mascara. Waterproof cream eyeshadows? Yes. Mascara… no. This may make a huge difference to it’s effectiveness for you. For me? I’m happy to recommend it.

The above shows removal of khol eyeliner and a good dose of mascara. Notice that there aren’t any ‘swipe’ tracks because the product had already dissolved everything before I’d gotten that far!

I feel that after such a glowing review, I want to redress the balance a touch and simply reiterate 2 things.

1. This does sting if you get it in your eyes. If you have very sensitive eyes, this may not be for you, I really recommend getting your hands on some Bioderma Sensibio if sensitivity is your major concern.

2. I don’t own a waterproof mascara to trial this on. I don’t have watery eyes and I hate swimming pools and sad films.

I’ll be picking up another bottle when this one runs out. Until I can beg, steal or borrow some more Sensibio that is

Amie Bright Eyes Very Gentle Eye Makeup Remover (£4.75) is available from John Lewis, Waitrose and online at Amie Skincare

Posted in Amie, Bargains, Reviews, Skincare | 11 Comments »

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Barbara Daly – Stay Pout NEW Long Lasting Lipsticks

Stay Pout… Stay Put… get it?

I didn’t… It took Mr. L almost 3 minutes of explaining to make me realise that there was a play on words in effect here. In the end… to save face, I told him to shut up and stop playing with my lipsticks. He shut up.

I received samples of the new Barbara Daly range last week and have been putting their claims of longevity to the test. But first, let me show you a few shades…

Diva is a slightly cool-toned red that I’m finding very wearable. It’s not OHMYGODYOU’REWEARINGREDLIPSTICK red. More, OOHLALAYOUHASREDLIPS red. Subtle nuances are really crucial. On my lips, In The Pink is a warm-toned creamy medium pink. Very nice.

Perfect is a dark nude… a light swipe gives a ‘my lips but better’ appearance. Finally, Autumn is a medium brown toned shade which leans slightly more to rose than bronze. It’s a good shade if you fancy dipping your toes into the whole ‘brown lipstick’ thing which seems to be a bit of an Autumn trend.

I know I look tired, that’s ‘cos I’m wearing no makeup from the lips up! Got home yesterday, took it all off and then remembered that I hadn’t lip swatched any of the shades! Above, I’m wearing In The Pink and I’m surprised at how much deeper it looks on my lips than it does in the swatch. I think it would be worth making use of those instore testers on the back of your hands ladies!

Longevity is pretty impressive… I munched my way through a bowl of ice cream and a cup of tea. Despite leaving some lipstick stains on the spoon, I still had plenty of coverage on my lips. The texture is a little varied throughout the shades I tried. Diva is quite hard and drags when applying but Perfect is really very creamy indeed. They smell pretty cheap, that old lady lipstick smell that makes you grateful for MAC’s vanilla scented offerings. Still… you can’t smell them once they’re applied.

As a long-lasting lipstick… these aren’t hydrating and after a couple of hours will accentuate the furrows on your lips. I’ve tried applying over a thin layer of balm and that makes all the difference to negating any dryness.

My final criticism of these is that they don’t wear so evenly. On most shades, it’s not a problem… but wearing Diva began to leave me with a heavier outline of red after a few hours. Easily remedied by smooshing my lips together to redistribute… but kinda uncool if someone else catches you before you get the chance to notice. I’m gonna nickname this phenomenon, the RROD (Red Ring of Death)… Xbox fans take cover. Having said that, the last time I wore my True Red Revlon Colorburst, I was so embarrassed to realise that half of it had transferred to my gnashers. I had absolutely no transfer to my big bunny-like front teeth with any of these lipsticks.

Competitively priced at £5 each and available from Tesco, the Barbara Daly Stay Pout lipsticks should be available instore now. My pick of the bunch is Perfect.

Posted in Barbara Daly, Bargains, High Street Brands, Lip Colour, Reviews | 9 Comments »

Saturday, August 14th, 2010

E.L.F – Mineral Boosters in Tinted & Shimmer

I received these two boxes of E.L.F’s new Mineral Booster through the post the other day courtesy of PR and my interest was piqued. I do love my mineral makeup.

I will however, always hate the mess from playing with… what are essentially, little pots of dust.

I already own the original version of the Mineral Booster which I bought about a year ago to use as an alternative to Bare Escentual’s Mineral Veil (it got superceded by my love for E.L.F’s HD Powder though). These new incarnations are pretty much the same thing as the original… but on steroids!

Since I’ve become spoiled by Bare Escentuals new Click Lock Go packaging, I’m taking a point away from the E.L.F Mineral Booster ‘cos frankly, it’s a nightmare to transport.

E.L.F Mineral Booster in Shimmer is an ivory toned powder with a healthy does of sparkle. Sneeze over this baby and you’ll be seeing stars for the foreseeable future! I was surprised at how creamy the powder felt to the touch. Obviously very finely milled… E.L.F never fail to impress me with the texture of their mineral products.

E.L.F Mineral Booster in Tinted is a warmer chocolate latté kinda colour… not quite dark enough to terrify me, but certainly deep enough to give me pause about applying it to my pale skin tone. Again, texture is great with no lumps or areas of heavier pigmentation.

When I swatched both products, I felt a little disappointed. Not hugely inspiring are they? The Shimmer is pretty subtle on the back of my hand and the Tinted is just kinda Ovaltine-y. I wasn’t actually sure what I was gonna be able to do with them by way of demonstration to show you how they work.

Faced with this… a lack of any technical skills whatsoever and my 10hr old makeup, I decided to just go for it. I grabbed a big powder brush and went for the Tinted version first. I chose a powder brush over my kabuki as I wanted something that wouldn’t deposit too much product. I needn’t have worried, Tinted is quite sheer when applied with a brush, it definitely gives you the opportunity to build without flooding your face with pigment. I applied a light layer allover, then built up the shading along my invisible cheekbones. I wasn’t too bothered about whether I was ‘contouring’ or ‘blushing’ – I was just slapping it on.

Reaching for Shimmer, I focused on the high points on my face. Those imaginary cheekbones got a dusting, as did my nose and chin. Watching the sparkles float on the air I was expecting to see a beacon of glitter reveal itself to me when I looked in the mirror, but the effect was pretty subtle. Infact… I couldn’t really see any difference at all.

I took an ‘after’ photo anyway and figured that I’d leave the review at swatches and the fact that I thought it was too subtle.

The photos disagree with me though:

Is it just ‘cos it’s mattified me or does the ‘after’ look smoother? More polished? I think it’s given me a hint of coverage (check the red nose)… but as a Mineral Booster, that’s not really it’s job description.

Wait… what IS it’s job description?

Achieve the ultimate, translucent “photo finishing touch” to your makeup, our Mineral Booster melts into your skin, infusing it with key vitamins A, B and E to promote healthier skin that’s noticeably silkier and smoother. Completely sheer and ideal for all skin tones, Mineral Booster gently absorbs oil and minimizes the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines and pores for a beautiful even finish. Wear alone or buff over our Mineral Concealer and Foundation to lend extra staying power and to achieve a professional and stunning porcelain matte look that will last all day.

Oh right! Well, I guess it’s up for promotion then ‘cos that’s what I’m seeing…. though they aren’t gonna last you all day unless your middle name is Dust Bowl.

Can you notice a difference? I can’t put my finger on what else it’s done. Considering the colour of ‘tinted’, it’s pretty subtle innit?

All I know is, I prefer the ‘after’.

At £3.50 a pot, these new E.L.F Mineral Boosters are getting the thumbs up from me.

Posted in Bargains, ELF, FOTDs, Mineral Make Up, Powders, Reviews | 6 Comments »

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

Inexpensive Beauty Find: Move over Ellis, Barbara’s in town!

Whilst dodging the weekly shop by loitering down the health and beauty aisles, I thought it might be high time to give the Barbara Daly range another once over after being so impressed by the nail polishes.

I was glad I did, because my eyes alighted on these:

Barbara Daly Easy-on-the-Eye Eye Shadow Pens!

I have to draw the comparison to the Ellis Faas eye pens don’t I? I mean, c’mon… how could I not?

With the Barbara Daly eye shadow pens costing £5.62 in Tesco vs. Ellis Faas’s £22 only stocked at Liberty offering – there’s no prizes for guessing which is gonna win the price/accessibility war but let’s take a look at some of the colours and application shall we?

Let’s face it… these budget versions from Barbara Daly are never gonna win the “which is sexier” battle. Take a look at the wonderful Witoxicity for an indepth view at the new Ellis Faas Eye Lights pens if you’re unfamiliar with the eyeshadow pen concept.

Pulling off the lid reveals a nylon brush…. pliable and soft with plenty of give (perhaps a little too much give). The goal is to draw the creme eyeshadow into the chamber and down the middle of the brush head until it emerges onto the tip of the brush. To do this, you twist the opposite end of the pen which clicks as it rotates and forces the creme up through the bristles… like so…

Out of the four products that I put to the test, each dispensed product accurately and smoothly. None of this sudden gushing of eyeshadow that the Ellis Faas pens have been known to do.

There’s some beautiful shades in the range, all very wearable both as shadows or eye liners. I think I saw another shade while I was on holiday too…. I may have imagined it though, a neutral called Hazel? Anyway… I think you’ll agree, these look pretty pigmented and lovely no?

The cremes glide on (I use the brush pen to apply directly to the eyelid) and blend with my little finger or a separate brush. Don’t even bother trying to blend these with the built-in brush… it’s only good for creating hard lines, you’ll be turning the air blue before you know it!

Here’s a quick FOTD with Otter as the main focus. A great shade for bringing out any green lurking in your eyes! I’m also currently addicted to wearing Airforce as a thick eyeliner (slightly blended along the edge with a smudger brush).

Wear is pretty decent, it sets fully within a couple of minutes and lasts without creasing for about 5 hours when worn with no base. I know they’re not hugely sexy… I mean, for god’s sake – they have the words “make up” printed on them, but they’ve impressed me!

Check them out next time you’re in Tesco!

Have you tried the Barbara Daly Easy-on-the-Eye pens before? Which shades are you liking the look of?

Posted in Barbara Daly, Bargains, Eye Shadow, High Street Brands, Reviews, Tesco | 15 Comments »

Sunday, August 8th, 2010

Greige Parade!

Beige, Grunge, Greige, Taupe, Shit Fingers… whatever you want to call it. There’s a love/hate vibe around the shade that hasn’t venured far from the spotlight for the last year or so…

Here’s a run down of a few of the shades I own.

My perfect “greige” needs to be the right mix of grey and brown. If it has just a hint of mauve, all the better…

Orly Prince Charming and BarryM Mushroom are quite chocolatey in appearance… I prefer a little more grey to my greiges. Boots No7′s Beanie and O.P.I’s You Don’t Know Jacques are both beautiful but quite dark.

This leaves the mega bargainous E.L.F’s Smoky Brown as my pick of the colour crop. On price alone (£1.50) it wins hands down.

If you haven’t done so already, you can check the E.L.F polishes out here.

Posted in Bargains, ELF, NOTDs, Nail Polish | 16 Comments »