Archive for December 2015

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Wilko Large Stippling Brush Review

Firstly - a big thank you to everyone for entering the Christmas giveaways! Winners have been emailed and if you visit the relevant posts, announced on the widget. Thanks again to all for entering.

On to the post...behold my latest complete and utter impulse buy (as ever)
I basically picked this up because it looks very very similar to the Real Techniques brushes, a few of which I actually own.


Verdict? Well, it's incredibly soft. Absolutely no shedding when washed, which I was pleasantly surprised about as it was so cheap. However, this particular brush is far too large to be properly used on my face, really - my own fault for not checking. There is a smaller version on sale which I was planning to investigate before I bought a set of Sigma dupes from eBay. Can't comment on whether this brush is a Real Techniques dupe as I don't own this specific one from them, but they seem fairly similar.

 Anyone else tried Wilkinson's brush range?

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Christmas Countdown Giveaway - Friday's Prizes

Hardly a countdown anymore if today's the day! Merry Christmas to all that celebrate.

Barry M 'Chisel Cheeks' contour kit
Barry M 'Natural Glow 2' Shadow and Primer palette
Barry M 'Showgirl' mascara
Barry M Fine Glitter Dust in shade 18
Look Fantastic Brush Set (not pictured)

Rules:

Must enter through the Rafflecopter widget below and be a follower of this blog on Bloglovin'.
Unfortunately I can't accept any responsibility for lost or damaged items in the post :(
I'll contact the winner by 27/12/2015. If a respnse is not received after five days then I'll have to choose another winner.
Giveaway ends midnight on Boxing Day!

GOGOGO
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Christmas Countdown Giveaway - Thursday's Prizes

Happy Christmas Eve!



Prizes:
Revlon 'Love is On' gift set 
  • 'Perfect Pair' gel envy nail polish
  • Colorstay 16 hour eyeshadow palette
  • Photoready 3D Volume mascara
  • Lip Butter (doesn't say which one is included, I guess it's a 'nude' shade) 
KIKO 'Skin Trainer - Anti Spot' SPF 20 serum
Clinique Sculptwear Lift and Contour serum for face and neck
OPI 'Avojuice' coconut and melon hand and body lotion
Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in 'Sparkling Ruby'
Mini BedHead Manipulator hair styler putty gel thingy
Multiple random skin care samples

Rules:

 Must enter through the Rafflecopter widget below and be a follower of this blog on Bloglovin'.
Unfortunately I can't accept any responsibility for lost or damaged items in the post :(
I'll contact the winner by 27/12/2015. If a respnse is not received after five days then I'll have to choose another winner.
Giveaway ends midnight on Boxing Day!

GOGOGO 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Christmas Countdown Giveaway - Wednesday's Prizes

Halfway there...

 Prizes:
Essie 'Glow Get 'Em!' full sized polish set
KIKO Angel Kiss set in 'Candy Canes' 
balance me Revitalising Hand and Body Wash
Clinique Chubby Stick in '07 Super Strawberry'
Kiko nail polishes (x4)

Rules:

 Must enter through the Rafflecopter widget below and be a follower of this blog on Bloglovin'.
Unfortunately I can't accept any responsibility for lost or damaged items in the post :(        Giveaway closes midnight Boxing Day, London time.
I'll contact the winner by 27/12/2015. If a response is not received after five days then I'll have to choose another winner.

GOGOGO

a Rafflecopter giveaway


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Christmas Countdown Giveaway - Tuesday's Prizes

The plan: five days of giveaways, all open internationally, all products purchased by me. All entries will close midnight on the 26/12/2015, London time.

Today's prizes: 




KIKO Angel Kiss Set (lip scrub and lip balm) in 'Champagne and Strawberries'
KIKO 'Innocent Desire' lipgloss pencil trio
KIKO 'Creamy Lipgloss' in shade 109
KIKO '3D Instant Volume' lipgloss in shade 216
Shampoo and Foundation samples

Rules:

 Must enter through the Rafflecopter widget below and be a follower of this blog on Bloglovin'.
Unfortunately I can't accept any responsibility for lost or damaged items in the post :(
I'll contact the winner by 27/12/2015. If a respnse is not received after five days then I'll have to choose another winner.
Giveaway ends midnight on Boxing Day!

GOGOGO

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Superdrug Vitamin E Dual Phase Cleansing Oil, Gentle Micellar Solution and Moisture Boost Facial Serum Review

Whenever I pop into Superdrug (which, if I'm honest, is all the time) I take a look at their extensive Vitamin E range. Most of it is pretty cheap, and my skin is dry (save my nose, which should be prospected by Shell as it's turned into an oil slick recently) so I'm always on the lookout for moisturising products. Superdrug tend to have deals on (i.e three for two/buy one get one half price) on it's own brand products, making them more student friendly, and you can also get 10% off pretty much anything in store with an NUS card - the only reason I bother paying the £12 a year for it.


 The micellar solution definitely feels less drying to the skin than their 'regular' micellar water (the B. one). My skin doesn't feel tight or dried out when using this like it does with their one. But I'd also argue that this is also less effective at removing makeup, and immediately after using it my skin feels quite weird and tingly? Not sure why that is. The sensation doesn't last long, but even so, I won't be repurchasing. I also prefer the packaging of the B. bottle - it has a tiny nozzle so you can control application much more precisely. This has a little flip top which I've already managed to use to spill product all over my duvet, don't ask me how.

EDIT: I actually chucked this away three days after writing this draft. Don't know whether my bottle was just defective or if it's a universal design fault with these but no matter how tightly I shut the lid, it'd still leak everywhere. Came to a head when I removed the top and had pretty much the entire bottle explode over the carpet...never buying this again!

 I wore this serum at night for a few nights and didn't notice a massive amount of difference, but admittedly I didn't give it much time to work. What I really like doing with this is applying it to Mum's electric face brush thing (Lange? Not familiar with any of their products save this knock-off Clarisonic) and using the two together. Makes my skin feel so soft.
 I just like looking at the two phases of the cleansing oil, not going to lie.
It's pretty damn effective (certainly more so than the micellar water, in my opinion) at removing makeup, and doesn't leave my skin feeling 'stripped' which is certainly a plus. The packaging hasn't leaked as well. I'd repurchase this.

Has anyone else tried their Vitamin E range?

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Christmas Countdown Giveaway - Monday's Prizes

At long last...

 The plan: five days of giveaways, all open internationally, all products purchased by me. All entries will close midnight on the 26/12/2015, London time.

 Today's prizes:



KIKO eyeshadows x 6 (I only realised afterwards that these are meant to go in a palette, sorry guys)
Korres Softening soap
Benefit 'High Beam' mini
Benefit 'That Gal' primer mini
MUA lipgloss
Maybelline 24hr cream eyeshadow in 'On and On Bronze'
GOSH Eyeshadow Dust
Foundation and shampoo/conditioner samples.

Rules:

 Must enter through the Rafflecopter widget below and be a follower of this blog on Bloglovin'.
Unfortunately I can't accept any responsibility for lost or damaged items in the post :(
I'll contact the winner max one day after the giveaway closes, if a respnse is not received after five days then I'll have to choose another winner.

GOGOGO

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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KIKO 'Skin Evolution' Concealer in Shade 07 Review

Let's ease into this marathon reviewing session with a concealer. Sounds good, right?



This is the third darkest concealer shade in Kiko's 'Skin Evolution' range. Nine shades, all numbered. I was actually really impressed with how good a match this is for my skin, as I usually struggle to match my undertones with high street brands.


 It's very reasonably priced at £5.50. I ended up paying less than that for it as I was shopping during their Black Friday sale, making it even more of a bargain. Also, Kiko do some weird thing where you essentially have a loyalty card app on your phone, but you rack up points fairly quickly. You seem to get them for social media interactions (i.e writing reviews or liking their page) as well as in store/online purchases which is pretty decent, and the discounts once you reach 2,000/4,000 points aren't bad at all.
This concealer matches my skin so well that I don't even need to powder on top (obviously I do for longevity reasons, but not for colour match reasons). So I really, really wanted to like it...
Admittedly, poor Shade 07 (aka 'Cognac', didn't realised Kiko gave it's concealers names as well as numbers) has a tricky job. About two months ago, I cracked the side of my mouth really badly, and now have a grim black (hyperpigmentation) mark at the side of it which I refuse to leave unconcealed if I have to leave the house. While I work on various skincare 'fixes' to even out the marks, I need a reliable concealer to maintain the illusion of evenly pigmented skin.

Still, even application is a bit tricky with this concealer. Too much concealer and it all pills up and looks very obvious as soon as powder is dusted over the top. But any less and the marks are still visible. Doesn't really set once applied, so isn't the longest lasting concealer. It certainly can't handle a 9-5 uni day with lunch, and I have to take it with me to reapply throughout the day - not a problem I had with my previous concealer, which was ironically a a highlighting one designed for the undereye area!

 As always, your mileage may vary with this. It's cheap, gorgeous colour match (and fantastic colour range - nine shades is nothing to be sniffed at) but unfortunately can't live up to expectations, performance wise.

 Has anyone else tried this concealer?

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Black Friday, or why I have no money (The KIKO Haul to end all Hauls)

Black Friday 2015 left me with around 50p in my current account, no exaggeration. I'll explain.
In life, some people have willpower, and others really don't. I fall into the latter category. And in my university town, there is a huge shopping centre that my village raised-more-sheep-than-humans mentality struggles to comprehend at the best of times. In the newly opened KIKO store, they were offering a massive buy three get three free deal (basically everything half price but cleverly locking you into buying shitloads of product) and that was the beginning of the end for me and my bank account. Various online deals sealed the blow. 

Major culprits:

ASOS (damn you for stocking Illamasqua)
Jack Wills 
Superdrug
Lookfantastic
Cult Beauty
Microsoft (in all fairness, I've been saving for the Surface 3 all year)
Apple (complete impulse)
And Boots' 4 for £10 on Revlon Just Bitten Balm Stains finished me off. KIKO started it though. You shoulder most of the blame. Erm, and me and my lack of self control. 

Just to remind you guys of the damage:

 
 That's not even all of it. Let me know what you guys would want to see reviewed first.
 
 Superdrug:



Impulse Primark buys:
Reviews for all coming soon.

Please comfort me with your own Black Friday purchases in the comments?

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