No7 Lash and Brow Perfector Review

Hello!

I'm glad to bring you a review today! 

This is No7's Lash and Brow Perfector - a clear gel on a mascara wand which you can use either as a discreet mascara to add natural definition to your lashes, or to keep your brows in shape. Being someone who likes their eyelashes to be one of the focuses of their eyes, I have yet to try the first use.. However, this is now a staple in my makeup back for sorting my brows! As my hair is currently dark brown ombre I tend to just run brown eyeshadow colour through my brows, a couple of shades lighter than my hair, then just run this through to make them stick. My eyebrows actually tend to go scew-whiff a lot! Probably because of my fringe. So this is a brow lifesaver!

I got it back when No7 £5 vouchers were rife! I believe it cost £10 though full price from Boots

Rachael XX
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Lipcote Review

Hello!

Today I am reviewing a product I recently impulse bought from Boots: Lipcote Lipstick Sealer

For me, sometimes lipstick just doesn't stay on - especially the more vivid shades which I really want an even lasting coverage with! So I had been looking into lipstick primers, trying to decide whether splurging on one was pointless or not, so when I spotted this product for the cheaper price of £3.69 I immediately decided to give it a go! 

So, what do I think?

 Application: 

The process is as follows: Liner, blot, lippy, blot, lippy, blot, lipcote.

If you have ever read a review of this product before, a common theme is the stinging that you experience when applying it to your lips. I had not read a review, and so this was rather an unexpected surprise!! However, it's not that uncomfortable, you don't really need to 'man up' in order to take the very low level of pain. The stinging is short-lived. It's rather like the feeling of some lip-plumpers which irritate your lips to bring the blood to the surface and make your lips appear bigger. 

I breathed in whilst applying this.. Bad idea! The alcoholic fumes are ridiculously strong! Quite a shock to the system! You have to keep your lips apart whilst it dries, and a little goes a long way. It does dry relatively quickly, and initially you can taste it, but this doesn't last very long.

Appearance: 

At first the lipcote coat is noticable on your lips with a tell-tale sheen, however this wears off relatively soon. However, the first time I used this I had put rather a lot of lipcote over my various layers of product, and a couple of hours later the lipstick started peeling off in strips.. Using a very thin coat of Lipcote does preserve the wear of lipstick, and I noticed it working for up to around 6 hours.

So, this all said, if you can handle the taste, the fumes, and the stinging - as well as work out how much to use through trial and error, this product is for you! haha. I will probably use it again..

Rachael Xx


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MUA eyeshadow review

Hello!

After a while away from the blogging world (I made my best friend change my password in an attempt to redeem myself in my exam revision) I did um and ah a bit over what to post next to get back into it.

So I settled firstly on a review (This was the intended produce of my blog anyhow!) 

MUA Eyeshadows

These are MUA (Makeup Academy) eyeshadows. They are sold in Superdrug stores in Britain and I think are native to these waters only. For those who have never come across MUA, it is a pretty cheap - but cheerful - small selection of makeup products, that would create a basic general face kit. 

I first believed that all of their products were £1 (rookie error..) but you'll be happy to know that many of them are! And the pricing of all their products is pocket friendly.

Single Eyeshadows

I have only purchased eyeshadows from their collections - I'm rather fussy over eyeliner having found Barry M Black Liquid Liner my one of choice, I adore my Urban Decay eyeshadow primer so won't invest in the MUA one, *you can see my reviews on both of these products here and here* and I'm not a fan of lip gloss full stop, so have not sampled their Lip Booms - despite their quirky names. They do sell lipstick which I may get a few of at some point at only £1, with a reasonable selection of your-lips-but-better colours.

Pro Immaculate Collection Eyeshadows Palette 

The most expensive products are the Pro Glamour Day and Night Eyeshadows palettes at £4 for 12 colours, and the Pro Immaculate Collection Eyeshadows Palette at £8 for 24 colours, which I have. As you can see, there is one downright winner for colour of choice here - the pinky golden shade 12 at the centre. Another favourite of mine is an icy white gold, which is shade 18 and two from the bottom left. I have dabbled in most of these colours - this is actually an excellent colour selection and has gone through much use! They also complement eachother extremely well.

Shade 9 (Pearl)

I think what MUA are best for is their single eyeshadows. These are a bargain at £1 for 2g of shadow, and there is quite a large range of colours in 2 mediums - pearl and matte. I personally prefer the pearl finish, as these are prettier colours and I think more worth the pennies. The packaging is very useful for transporting in your makeup bag, but the little strip of tape to prevent it opening before you buy it leaves sticky marks on the lid! 

Shade 4 (Pearl)

The distressing thing about these eyeshadows, is that the more pearlised they get, the messier the product turns out to be, with dusty spillage over the packaging galore! So maybe not the best quality product, but at £1 a go who can argue? :) 

Rachael XX

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Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Review

Hello


Another makeup review: something irrefutably essential to one's makeup bag. UD Primer. This savvy little tube has saved the life of many a makeup look, removed the incessantly approaching threat of creased eyeshadow, and let many a woman feel more confident that her makeup will stay where it should be. 

Looking slightly worse for wear...

This little tube of POWER costs around £14.50 (depending on rising inflation!) - in the UK you can find UD in House of Fraser and Debenhams:
http://www.houseoffraser.co.uk/Urban+Decay+Eyeshadow+Primer+Potion+-Original/153359865,default,pd.html
http://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10001_10001_123932101999_-1?breadcrumb=Home
My tube which I am displaying to you is one my friend bought me last June. That's almost a year of almost daily use! And still alive - if not slightly battered, grubby and aesthetically less pleasing that before. This stuff LASTS. You only need the tiniest of amounts per eye - do not make the rookie mistake of squishing loads out! You shall regret it! 

Around the amount you need for one eye

As you see it's not coloured! So any eyeshadow goes over it unnoticed

Do not over do it, and be careful where you put it. This thing really helps, and so I use it every day, not just nights out. But put too much on (or mix it with your foundation at the edge of your eyes..) and its noticeable. Less is more!
UD sells 4 eyeshadow primers. To keep things simple, I got the purple packaged one which rubs out to a transparent film. Best tip before buying is to sample it in store - test it on the back of your hand and see if you want one of the more shimmery pigmented ones. I think one day I shall.. But they do limit the colours and textures you can apply on top!


Consider it!


Rach xx


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BodyShop Lip & Cheek Stain Review

Hello Lovelies!

Post publication note: If you're interested in the Bodyshop Lip and Cheek stain please take a look at my updated review here! (but you can go ahead and read this one too!)  

I'm in a blogging mood, so here's another. I have one friend who likes to keep me up to date on the freebies that come out with popular women's magazines - something very welcome to me, as I'm not often in the magazine isle of stores.
Let me set you straight: my favourite magazine is Cosmopolitan - a magazine focused on love, sex, fashion, hair and beauty..and more sex, or so it is attributed by most. But let me tell you, flipping through this magazine is a joy because unlike almost every women's magazine out there (and I have delved into many), this magazine is almost entirely the written word. For a magazine this may not seem strange, but any woman who is a buyer of marie claire, in style, or elle for example will appreciate that most of what they have payed for is model photos and advertisements, substituted by the occasional column. The January issue of Cosmo, which I had close to hand whilst writing this, has 51 articles, spanning from love, sex & success, to news & real life to you you you, amongst an array of cover stories. No wonder it sells big time - thank heaven for written stuff. 

Back to topic (as I'm sure I began to write a review.. haha) This girl friend of mine mentioned that Marie Claire was giving away BodyShop lip & cheek stains this month - a bargain at only £3.70 for a product worth £10. This was quickly added to my mum's shopping list... And a few days later I was the proud owner of the 'Bronze Glimmer' stain. 
I'd never purchased makeup from BodyShop before - though had always been interested in these. (And their super soft kabuki brushes!) But .... I love it! Firstly, I really enjoy having a product that does both my face and lips. As a disorganised teenager, I do my makeup on the bus to school every morning. The regular travellers are not fussed. Other people stare. But I get through this slightly awkward experience by congratulating myself on giving yet another makeup on-the-go tutorial to the people on my bus - soon they shall all be apt at winged eyeliner.
A 2 in 1 product saves time and space in one's makeup bag. This thing also tastes good - it doesn't have a chemically adapted fruity flavour, but what it does taste of is nice. Also, I hate lip gloss. I appreciate it on others, just not me; I cannot stand having sticky lips all day and always end up wiping it off pretty quickly. This limited me to plain lipstick - until the trend of lip stains began. 

A tip for this product: if you apply it directly to your cheeks in a line then buff it in, the line is still there. Faint - but that section of skin is most definitely more pigmented than the rest. And no one loves that. I've got round this by simply applying it to my angled blush brush instead (then applying this to my face.) Ta da!
It comes in another colour too - a bright strong dark pink, called 'Rose Pink'. I think I may be back in the magazine isle picking up that one soon as too! But what I do like about this one is the golden tint to it, which I thought would look too much - but thankfully no.

Okay, so my makeup is quite rushed. I was walking around my house in pajayjays, no makeup and my hair is an unusual style most representative of a pineapple, when in walks a 13 year old boy. This boy was not my brother, but someone I had never seen in my life. So I had to abandon my tea and leg it upstairs. I did work out from the commencing shouted dialogue coming from downstairs that my brother had a friend round - thanks for telling me mum! - and so I quickly made myself look as acceptable as possible and went to rescue my tea.

Rachael XX

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