August Glossybox: Review & First Impressions

fr_614_size880

fr_616_size880

As you may know if you read my review of last month’s Glossybox (which I somewhat dramatically titled A Tale of Disappointment and Woe), I’m new to the Glossybox club and was somewhat disappointed with the my first delivery. God hates a quitter though (probably), so I decided not to cancel my box and to see whether this month offered me something a bit more exciting.

The theme this month is ‘High Flyers’, and the box is ‘filled with beauty goodies for the girl on the go’. To keep in with this idea, the products come from all over the world and are under 100ml – supposedly so that you can take them on planes with you (thoughtful, or a convenient excuse to fob us off with some teeny products? You decide). So, what’s in my August Glossybox?

fr_617_size880

Oceane Femme Makeup Remover Pen

This product is the one that jumps out to me as the most interesting this month. I’ve seen makeup removing pens before – I think e.l.f. potentially do one, but don’t hold me to that. I’m intrigued to see how well this works, as I do tend to cause havoc when applying eyeliner and mascara. Could this product replace the tried and tested ‘cotton bud and a bit of saliva’ removal method?! We shall see. This isn’t available in the UK yet, so doesn’t have an RRP, but for a full size product with three replacement nibs (on a side note, I hate the word nib), this seems to be quite a good addition to my makeup bag.

fr_618_size880

Emite Eyelash Curler

This eyelash curler retails at £20, making it the best quality item in this month’s box. I already have an eyelash curler that I get along fine with, and to an extent think an eyelash curler is an eyelash curler – but then, Lauren once did tell me a horror story about a girl who SNIPPED OFF HER LASHES with a dodgy curler, so maybe it is the sort of tool that’s worth having a decent one of.

fr_619_size880

Jelly Pong Pong 2-in-1 Eyeliner & Shadow

It’s definitely the idea of products like this that first drew me to the Glossybox subscription – my main interest is makeup and I wanted to try brands I hadn’t encountered before, such as Jelly Pong Pong. At first I thought this would be a double-ended product, and was surprised to see that it’s actually a chunky pencil which is supposed to serve as both eyeliner and eyeshadow depending on how you use it. I’m a little suspicious of products that try to do more than one thing (2 in 1 shampoos and conditioners, I’m looking at you!) but maybe this will work just fine.

I’m a little devvoed to have received the plum shade rather than the black or bronze as I’m generally not a fan of coloured eye products, but I’ll still give this a whirl. Who knows, maybe I’ll become a huge coloured makeup fan and bring back the pink mascara I wore when I was fifteen. Hopefully not though.

It apparently retails at £10.50, which I would never pay for an eyeliner personally (unless it came with a generously portioned serving of cake) but which definitely bumps up the overall value of the Glossybox this month.

fr_626

Philosophy Facial Cleanser (Sample)

What is this – a facial cleanser for ants?! Okay I’m just being snitty – I know sample products are a normal thing in Glossyboxes. Also, this apparently costs £17.50 for a full sized bottle, so I suppose it falls into the luxury product range. It’s a 3 in 1 cleanser that is appropriate for all skin types…. woohoo? As always, it’s hard for me to get excited about skincare.

fr_623_size880

Juicy Couture’s Viva La Juicy Noir (Sample)

At first I came close to throwing a hissy fit when I saw this second sample product in the box. I then re-considered and decided it was actually nice to get a bit of perfume in the box, plus I do really like Juicy Couture scents so I’ll definitely use this up quite quickly. On first impressions I love the smell, and a full sized bottle could make its way onto my birthday wish list as my perfume reserves are running dangerously low.

I think one of the worse things you can do when you get your Glossybox is to see what other people have got in theirs. Of course I did this though, and first of all read the beautiful Vicky from Stone’s Got Style’s post on her box. I think it was this that made me angry about my two samples, as Vicky received a full-sized Tresemme hair conditioning treatment as her fourth product, which my ratty old weave would have been crying out for.

Generally, though, I don’t think it’s a bad box this month. My first three products are all pretty solid and would definitely appeal to a range of people. I’m still not wowed by Glossybox and am interested to hear from anyone who has subscriptions with other companies. Also, let me know in the comments section what you all received in your boxes!

No. 7 Exceptional Definition Mascara: Review

DSCN2396

DSCN2397

DSCN2401

Hey there pals and strangers! Continuing with my well-documented quest for the perfect mascara, today I come to you bearing my review of No. 7 Exceptional Definition. If you read my Benefit ‘They’re Real’ review then you will know that this was one very difficult mascara to follow. I loved it with the passion of a thousand amorous lovers (ooh I don’t think I’ve managed to make a post creepy this early on before, 5 points to Gryffindor), but decided to see what else the mascara market had to offer. Also I will say on a side note that They’re Real began to dry up around the 6 week mark, which is worth bearing in mind if you’re not willing to spend almost £20 that regularly.

I asked the lovely Twitter world for recommendations for a mascara to try next and had YSL’s ‘Baby Doll’ suggested to me, which sounded amazing. Unfortunately, this month I had a few horrible things I needed to pay out for, such as car tax (when I tell you that I still haven’t passed my test and so fork out for a car I can’t even legally drive, you’ll be able to imagine how much this pained me), and so I decided to be sensible and seek out a more purse-friendly high street option. One that stuck out to me in a review was No. 7’s Exceptional Definition mascara, so I hot-footed it to Boots to pick this little baby up. You know how every time you go to Boots you get a No. 7 voucher? Yeah, well I think some random goat must be going in my purse and munching mine because I couldn’t find one anywhere, so had to pay the full amount of £11. Luckily the nice shiny packaging stopped me from being too angry and I went on my merry way.

The main thing that drew me to this mascara is the brush; I much prefer plastic brushes to synthetic as I find they’re better at separating my lashes. The brush is also a ‘triple effect’ one with three different types of bristles which serve different lengthening, volumising and separating purposes. So, onto the results:

DSCN2379

DSCN2381I’m really impressed with this mascara. As you can hopefully see from the photos, it added some good length, colour and definition to my mousey little excuse for eyelashes. The application is a little messy due to the rather wet formula, though I also found that to happen with They’re Real and don’t mind it too much. Depending on your method of application, it can clump a little – for example, that little habit of turning the brush vertical to wiggle on your bottom lashes is an absolute no-no with this. Overall though, I would say the effect isn’t much different to They’re Real and so I’m very happy indeed. I’ve been using it for about two weeks now and so can safely say that its staying power is quite good – maybe not quite as long-lasting as Benefit, but on the plus side it is much, much easier to remove at the end of the day than that stubborn little thing.

Have any of you tried No. 7’s Exceptional Definition mascara? What did you think?

Don’t forget that you can follow us on Twitter @StylingoUK and on Bloglovin‘!

MUA ‘Undress Me Too’ Eyeshadow Palette: Review & Swatches

DSCN2361

DSCN2360

DSCN2363

Good evening lovers! Over these past couple of weeks, I definitely went on a bit of a beauty buying binge and one of my favourite new products is this oh-so-popular MUA eyeshadow palette, Undress Me Too. This retails at £4, however it was nowhere to be seen in my local Superdrug and was out of stock on both Superdrug and MUA‘s websites. For some reason though, I got obsessed with the idea of owning it one day and so ended up ordering one from an eBay seller who was selling them for about £7 – I KNOW that this is ridiculous, but Lauren was in Scotland and I had nobody  to wrestle the laptop away from me.

Even though I did pay almost twice the RRP, I was still super excited when it plopped through my letterbox. Along with its predecessor, the ‘Undressed’ palette, ‘Undress Me Too’ is practically famous in the UK beauty blogging world. Both are known for being dupes of Urban Decay’s ‘Naked’ and ‘Naked 2’ palettes respectively – an association that I’m sure MUA were in no way advocating when they came up with their product names, of course..!

Now, I don’t own the Naked 2 palette so can’t comment on how much of a successful dupe it is; all I can safely say is that what we have here is a very nice little eyeshadow palette that’s pretty brilliant value for money (and even better value for money if you can buy it for RRP and not get swindled by eBay sellers). I’m not really an avid user of eyeshadows but am thinking this could be the product that changes this for me.

DSCN2371Naked / Devotion / Shy / Fiery / Lavish / Dreamy

DSCN2370Tranquil / Exposed / Reveal / Wink / Obsessed / Corrupt

As a huge fan of neutrals in everything, the shades are right up my street. There’s also a nice mixture of shimmer and matte shades in the palette, so you can create a variety of looks for different occasions. The pigmentation seems pretty good to me, and on first use there doesn’t seem to be a big problem with fall-out. The brush that comes with the palette is very basic and the packaging could be a little more inspired, but they’re really the only things to pick fault with so far. I’m very much looking forward to trying this out properly over the next couple of weeks and can see it becoming a staple part of my makeup bag.

Have any of you tried MUAs ‘Undress Me Too’ Palette? How do you think it matches up to Urban Decay’s ‘Naked 2’? 

Accessorize Merged Baked Blusher: Review

Accessorize Baked Blusher Review

Good day, homegirls,

This is somewhat a late time to be getting on the Accessorize blusher wagon. In fact, I think I may have missed the first 10 wagons and I am now on the Night Wagon, which is crowded with drunk hipsters and mad people scoffing Subways.

Even so, I thought I would get involved and review my Accessorize Baked Blusher, mainly because I love it. I want to marry it. You think I am joking, but I’m not. We’ve planned a small ceremony on a beach in Cornwall; I’ve yet to find a dress.

For those who haven’t tried this blusher yet – you are lunatics. I know the packaging is quite alarming and there isn’t really any need for the butterfly pattern (Claire and I were discussing that butterflies are basically tarted up moths), but the product inside is top notch.

P1060651

I have the Baked Blusher in Scandal, which makes me feel quite the wanton woman. It’s a lovely deep rose coloured shade, with gold shimmer marbled into it. This gives it a lovely shimmer that isn’t too full on – it’s excellent for summer especially! I would say that for girls who prefer a matte blusher, this one probably isn’t for you. But if you enjoy cheeks that look like they belong to the disco ball family (in a good way), then definitely think about getting involved!

P1060666

This is what it looks like on my face.

I’ve had my Accessorize blusher for around 2 months now and it literally looks as if I haven’t used ANY of it. I’m not sure if it’s the ‘baked’ element to the product or if it is actually magic, but I can see this lasting me a very, very long time. It costs £6 from any Accessorize store (and online) but you can find these little bad boys at Superdrug too.

Has anyone else used this blush? Thoughts?

Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless Mascara: Review

Hello fellow loons and happy Sunday to merry England,

I’m writing to you from the Scottish highlands today, because I have finally decided to leave the streets of Coventry (I have a house, I’m not a prostitute) and spend some time with my delightful family. Needless to say, I’m vaguely baffled by the sheer number of trees and would quite like someone to explain what these giant rocks sprouting from the ground are (…mountains, what?!).

Apart from investing in a kilt, eating haggis and stalking Nessie, it is raining so we are not doing any activities today. Big surprise, I know. Thankfully, we have wifi in our Swedish-style lodge (and a sauna, so you all know what I will be doing shortly after writing this post!), so I thought I’d spend my time off work by catching up on blogging. Claire and I have been busier than Obama this week at work (with quite a few moments we wanted to throw in the towel and become Britney’s backing dancers. Wait…we still want to do that). Claire has managed to be a good egg and blog but I have been very pathetic and rubbish, so I do apologise!

ANYWAY, I hear you thinking “I came here to read a mascara review, not hear an idiot’s witterings about Scotland” (rude..).

I picked up this mascara during the week because there was a jazzy 2 for £10 situation going on with some Rimmel products in Boots. My foundation was one of the products involved in the deal, so it was definitely rude not to get something else.

You may have read our e.l.f makeup haul quite a while ago, but I got an e.l.f 3 in 1 mascara amongst everything else I bought. We were quite excited because the brush was similarly shaped to Benefit’s ‘They’re Real’ mascara and we thought we had come across a dupe. We hadn’t. The mascara is fine, but I do have some issues with it. Firstly, it takes FOREVER to dry on your lashes. If you sneeze or make sudden movements, you may as well give up on going out anywhere because your face will be ruined. Another issue is that because it takes so long to dry, my bottom and top lashes stick together causing me to look like a god damn fool.

BECAUSE OF THESE AWFUL ISSUES…I decided enough was enough. I’ve given the e.l.f mascara a decent trial and I just don’t like it. So I figured a new one was in order and grabbed this bad boy when I was in Boots the other day.

So, what about Rimmel’s Lash Accelerator Endless Mascara?

P1060498

I gather it is a fairly new product, Rimmel are certainly still splashing the word ‘new’ all over display stands. The name promises a lot – acceleration? ENDLESS ACCELERATION? This is too much. Is endless acceleration even possible? I think I need to consult my engineer father on this one. Rimmel say that this mascara defies the laws of lash length. Has anyone got a copy of these Lash Length Laws they want to share?

I’m not usually one to comment on the packaging so I will just say that it looks like a tube of mascara. Which is a plus. I’m glad it doesn’t look like a bowl of cereal.

The brush is quite good, I’m quite the fan. As you can see, it’s a plastic one (do fibre brushes even exist anymore?) and it is fairly small and thin. The smallness is which I enjoy, it means you can get into the corners properly and not worry as much about poking yourself in the eyeball and screaming “HELP! IN THE NAME OF THE GOOD GOD OF MASCARA, WHY?!”

P1060500

The colour is extreme black, and while I would say it is definitely black, I am unsure how extreme it is. Will report back with more info if this changes or if my eyelashes suddenly become racist.

I’ve included a picture of my eyeballs with one featuring NO mascara and one featuring a couple of coats of the Lash Accelerator Endless mascara. I’m quite pleased and I think this may just be my new go to mascara.

P1060517

 

And here is my face with no other eye makeup on EXCEPT the mascara – I’m definitely a pleased Larry.

P1060528

What do you all think? Anyone else tried this jazzy little Rimmel mascara?

Barry M Sequin Nail Effects in White: Review

photo-1

Everybody knows that Mondays are the most tragically depressing of days, and the only thing that can possibly cheer you up is having new nails for the week ahead. It was this fact of life that must have driven me to throw this little selection of nail treats into my Boots basket yesterday, despite only popping in for hair dye (as a side note, don’t you hate it when you accidentally dye your top layers ginger and leave the rest blonde?  I know I do…) View Full Post

The Best Nude Lipstick: MAC vs E.L.F

Elf Mac 2

If you read this blog regularly then you may know that I am girl who is on many quests. I’m on a quest for the perfect mascara, a quest to learn contouring, a quest to find something I love more than crop tops – I am basically the Zelda of the fashion and beauty blogging world. I am also on a quest to find brilliant nude lipsticks. I have raved before about what a fan I am of them, being an avid lover of all things neutral (except for Switzerland) (this is a joke; you Swiss girls have got it going awwwwn). View Full Post

E.l.f Lip Primer & Plumper: Review

elf primer and plumper 1

It’s been a couple of weeks now since our mammoth E.L.F. makeup haul, and after managing to restrain myself from reviewing everything straight away (no, really – there were shackles and everything) I am finally back with my review of their Lip Primer and Plumper. This was a product that I admittedly bought on a whim, as I’m prone to a good gimmicky product every now and then. View Full Post