March Empties

Not that many empties this month, this is due to my trip to India where I binned or gave away stuff so I wouldn't need to travel with it back home. But...

Emma Hardie Moringa cleansing balm 50ml. My favourite cleansing balm, nothing comes close, especially smell wise. Already repurchased.

Alpha H Essential Hydration Cream, 30ml. Nice and light, really hydrating, might repurchase for summer.

Garnier Skinactive Micellar Oil Infused Wipes. Again, these were useful in India. Took off makeup and dirt with ease, a bit too rough for my eye area. Very fragrant. I have another pack of these in storage so will not repurchase any time soon.

Ren Evercalm Global Protection Day Cream. Creamy and soothing but not too heavy.

Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Lashes. I can't deal with this. Plenty left in the tube but I hate the smudging with passion. To the bin it goes!

Ren Flash Rinse One Minute Facial Vit C

I do enjoy a bit of Ren. They have way too many products (imo) but everything I've tried I liked! This little Vit C mask is no exception. I got this sample of 20ml in their radiance set (John Lewis was selling those half price a while ago, it was a no brainer impulse buy) and it has lasted me a good few months, however I have been using this only once, not three times a week as suggested. Imagine how long the full 75ml will last!  

Ingredients:

Coconut alkanes, ascorbic acid, coco-caprylate/ caprate, silica, sodium cocoyl glutamate, mannitol, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) flower oil, yeast extract, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, boswellia carterii oil, boswellia serrata extract, azulene, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, glycogen, daucus carota sativa (carrot) root extract, daucus carota sativa (carrot) seed oil, beta-carotene, ascorbyl palmitate, limonene

Okay, so this is a 1 minute mask. After cleansing you apply it all over the face, dampen your fingers and massage for one minute. The water on your fingertips activates the vit C and after one minute you rinse your face clean. 

The actual mask is bluish green and grainy. The grainy texture disappears in contact with water. It smells what I imagine vit C to smell, a bit lemony and a bit like iron...

The skin tingles and gets pink but calms down  as soon as you rinse the face. My skin is a bit dry and it feels a bit tight so I usually rush to apply something hydrating straight afterwards.

This is great if you're looking for something instant for a dull and lacklustre skin, unless your skin is super dry and sensitive. I haven't noticed the mask having any longer term effect on the skin, but every little bit helps, eh? 

Vit C is very much THE ingredient in skincare these days, the market is exploding! I am currently using Emma Hardie's Vit C moisturiser and would love to try Clinique's powder cleanser with pure vit C... 

What do you think of this Vit C trend? Have you tried any products that you loved?

Pixi + Caroline Hirons Double Cleanse Review

Okay, as soon as I read that rockstar of skincare Caroline Hirons was collaborating with Pixi to release a cleanser two things were absolutely clear to me: 1. I need it. 2. It will be awesome. And I was right. After all, I love Pixi skincare and I love Caroline.

Pixi + Caroline Hirons Double Cleanse is two cleansers in one round pot separated like Yin and Yang. The solid oil cleanser (with vitamin E, camelia and evening primrose oils) removes all the makeup, spf, dirt, grease, what have you, and the creamy cleanser (with vitamin C, peptide complex and Arginnie) gently cleanses the skin. The skin feels soft and nourished afterwards. I especially like using this cleanser whilst taking a bath. I slowly massage the oil cleanser over my face, emulsify with a bit of water and remove it with moist flannel, then I apply the creamy cleanser and leave it on my skin as a mask. Gorgeous.

I kind of wish this cleanser had a smell but I must be a minority and I do realise that they wanted to create a cleanser that even the most sensitive of skins could use.

The cost is pretty great too, £24 for a tub that lasts a long time. It's only 2x 50ml but you don't need much at all.  Emma Hardie Moringa Balm (another of my favourites) costs £38 for the same 100ml.

Will I repurchase? Absolutely. It's out of stock in my local M&S. And M&S online too. How rude. I need to stash some away, in case it gets discontinued.

Balance Me Radiance Face Oil Review

photo from balanceme.co.uk

This is the one and only Balance Me product that I have tried. I can't remember when I received a sample 10ml roller ball of Balance Me Radiance Face Oil... was it in M&S advent calendar?

Anyways, I've used this on and off all winter, however I was also using the previously reviewed EH and Clarins oils at the same time and I noticed I was reaching for them more than for this little roller ball bottle. It's probably because of the smell. It's similar to the Clarins Blue Orchid but more intense. It's that botanical/medicinal/herbal smell that is okay with me in general. However, if you've got a nicer smelling oil, you'd probably reach for that one. Also, I could've sworn one of the ingredients was sea buckthorn oil because it smells like it, but nope. Too bad. I love sea buckthorn.

Smell aside, it's a nice oil, especially if you're looking for something natural and budget friendly (£30 for 30ml). It would be a great for someone who's just entering the world of facial oils and has dull, dehydrated or mature skin. It sinks in easily (only 2 drops needed!) and has not irritated my skin.

By the way, Caroline Hirons advises to use this oil as a sort of topical spot treatment. Interesting.

P.S. I just noticed CH blog post was written in 2013. I am SO late to the party! Oops.

AM routine

This is not a constant routine because I do change things up quite a bit, but I have been using the Balance Me Radiance Face Oil every day. Review coming soon.
Also pictured: Pixi + CH Double Cleanse, Ren Flash Hydro-boost emulsion, Emma Hardie Moisture Boost vit+C cream and Skyn Icelandic relief eye cream.
TGIF!

M&S Rosie for Autograph Lip Glossy in Supermodel Smile Review

Rosie for Autograph Lip Glossy is Marks and Spencers take on the crayon style lip product, a trend that seems to have avalanched. Clinique Chubby Sticks, Nars Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils, Chanel Le Rouge Crayons, Hourglass Lip Stylos, Revlon Colorburst Balms... And those are just the ones I could remember.

 M&S have in this case decided to opt for a very sheer lip gloss type product: 'A jelly soft lip gloss with a cushiony feel, gives lips brilliant colour with a smooth, water shine finish.' 

So it's a lip product that looks like a lip gloss when applied, has texture of a lipstick and is presented as a lip crayon, whatever that is. 

I got the colour Supermodel Smile and I like it. It's a pinky mauvey nude with some silver sparkle. I don't want to use term glitter because I always imagine large pieces of glitter and it's not the case here.

It feels like a lip balm, perhaps slightly stickier however still comfortable and hydrating. Lips look glossy. The staying power is also of a lip balm so one needs to reapply quite often but since it's such a sheer colour the mirror is not really neccesary.

All in all, it is a nice product even if slightly overpriced (£12.50). It is trying and I guess succeeding to look luxe in rose gold and large packaging, but do keep in mind that there's only 2,5g of product, so it's the size of a smallish lipstick. Will I repurchase? Probably not.

Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Lashes Mascara vs Charlotte Tilbury Full Fat Lashes Mascara

I love Charlotte Tilbury. Every beauty blogger/makeup enthusiast loves Charlotte Tilbury. Her lipsticks, eyeshadow quads, powders, even skincare is great. However. The mascaras are... meh.
I think when it comes to mascara this applies to a lot of luxury makeup brands because high street mascaras are pretty much equal in quality if not better and at a fraction of cost.

Now mascaras just like anything else depends on personal preferences and the type of lashes they have. I have straight, thin and blond lashes and there's a lot of them. They are soft and they easily hold their shape if curled. I like lengthening, separating and buildable mascaras. If they manage to lift and slightly curl my lashes, that's a big bonus.

stock photos from charlottetilbury.com

Charlotte Tilbury offers two mascaras in her range. Full Fat Lashes (£23) and Legendary Lashes (£25). After reading the descriptions and reviews on her website I opted to purchase the Full Fat Lashes and selected to receive a sample of the Legendary Lashes.

I hate having several mascaras on rotation so I only opened Legendary Lashes first. I hate this mascara. It's soo not for me. The mascara was too wet, I had to be super careful when applying because the brush is rather large and if I tried to get close to the roots of the lashes I would typically get stuff on my lids. And guess what. As soon as you try to wipe it off, you make it much much worse *facepalm* Application aside the Legendary Lashes didn't seem to dry down and God forbid you accidentally touch them or get teary or greasy or sweaty eyelids... You end up with raccoon eyes. Imagine if you got caught in the rain! *shudders*. Taking this mascara off was an experience in itself. It comes off easily but if you're using micellar water with cotton pad it stains, spreads and dyes the water and pads so much that I had to use 4 pads just get the stuff of my eyes (I typically use 1-2 pads in total to take eye and face makeup).

One good thing about the Legendary Lashes is that it builds up like crazy and your lashes can indeed look fake. But keeping in mind that this mascara smudges so much I would rather invest in actual fake lashes.

Brushes compared

I was slightly apprehensive to try the Full Fat Lashes. It couldn't be much worse than the Legendary ones though. Again at first I didn't like the wetness of the mascara and the brush seemed quite similar to the Legendary Lashes. However if the mascara went on my lids it was easy to wipe and it didn't smudge THAT much. It still smudged a bit. I blame my oily eyelids or the fact that I almost never use powder. I do like waterproof formulas.

Full Fat Lashes coats lashes while separating and lengthening them. Mascara is buildable and it never clumps lashes. They indeed look full and fat but naturally so, not fake or spidery.

If Charlotte Tilbury made waterproof version of Full Fat Lashes I would happily repurchase. For now though, I will finish the tube I own, bin the Legendary Lashes and probably go back to trying new high street mascaras. There's so many to choose from!