I've been intrigued by the Fresh lip balms for a while - they're widely raved about on the Blogosphere, and a small part of me just likes the novelty of a metal tube. So in late November, I bit the bullet and bought a sample pack of seven mini lipbalms from their website. Weirdly, I can no longer see this particular set on their website - admittedly, the Fresh website is ballache to navigate - but I think I paid around £44 for it, not including £6.95 postage. It's not exactly a student purchase, I'll give you that.

 The box did have a red ribbon on it, which I excitedly ripped off.
 The pretties!


 From left to right: Advanced Lip Therapy (clear) Nude, Rose, Tulip, Ruby, Fig, Advanced Lip Therapy (clear) with SPF.




Hand swatches:
 From left to right: Nude, Rose, Tulip, Ruby, Fig.

Lip swatches:
 Bare lips.
Advanced Lip Therapy.
 Nude. My lips are pretty pigmented, so this barely shows up - a hint of shimmer, but not much else.
 Rose gives a subtle fuschia colour to the lips - much less noticeable in real life.


 Tulip is a slightly deeper red, much more pigmented version of Rose on my lips, with a little more shimmer too.
Fig is a deeper sheer mauve-brown on my lips with shimmer that borders on microfine glitter. It's a little distracting for a tinted lip balm.

So what do we think about the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments?

They're nice. All of them feel very light on the lips, and as someone who despises the heavy feel of say, Vaseline, a lip balm that feels weightless is a must. The range of colour pay off is good, too - I can reach for Nude for lazy days or Tulip if I want a bit more of a statement lip. The packaging is very luxurious and classy, too.

For what they are, they're also pretty expensive. Excluding postage, this gift set works out at nearly £7 a (mini) lip balm - although this is way better value than their full sized tubes, which retail at £19 a pop. Considering the fact that they're very soft and creamy and also mini sized, I've got through a couple of tubes entirely with about two weeks of regular use. That wouldn't make a dent in a standard size Nivea or EOS, for comparison.
While you can't compare budget with high end, I'd completely understand high end pricing if the product delivered high end performance. In terms of moisture, I'd actually rather stick with my Nivea Fruity Shine balms, which surprised me! The tinted Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments are actually not particularly moisturising. The clear versions give a lot more moisture than the tinted ones, but also wear off quickly. They're also very heat sensitive - after a day at work with SPF in my pocket, the little stub of it remaining had melted against the side of the tube, slanting it so it was pretty much unusable. :(

While I don't think I'll be repurchasing mine when they run out, I am interested in the similar product from L'Occitane - priced at £12 for 4g and reported to be super moisturising, those will probably be my next purchase come payday!

In terms of loose powder, my holy grail was the ELF HD Studio powder. Unfortunately, ELF stopped selling in the UK, and when they returned it was with a massively reduced product range and with hidden custom charges so I've not purchased from them since.

After my last pot ran out, I decided it was high time to investigate other powders. Rather than the HD blurring effect, I was more after oil control, and stumbled across this cheap and cheerful offering from Collection.

For some reason, the Skin Trainer serum is a red box encased in a silver box...strange packaging choice, but OK.

The anti-spot serum is a thin-ish liquid with an SPF of 20. Leaves no white cast or what have you on my dark skin. Also, it absorbs extremely quickly, very important when I'm in hurry in the morning. I've been using it in the mornings (not in the evenings although twice daily application is recommended) since Black Friday, (so a month and a bit now) and my skin seems more even toned and smoother, although I have recently started using a Foreo rip off and occasional AHA so they could also be responsible. I've had two spots since using this product. Annoyingly, my nose is still pretty oily, though that too has reduced somewhat recently...I'm more inclined to credit my skin trying to adjust to the colder/drier weather than this product though.

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?

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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?