Month: February 2011

Product Review: The Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist



I bought this product some time ago as I wanted to try a face mist to use during the night when I didn’t want to be bothered with applying a moisturizer before going to bed. I love The Body Shop items and their values and the ingredients they put in their products so I decided to give it a go. I got mine from eBay but on The Body Shop Website it has a retail price of $16.00 for 3.2 fl oz.

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What they claim:
Give your skin an instant pick-me-up with a go-anywhere, rosewater-scented mist that moisturizes, conditions and protects.

How it works:
♥ Vitamin E is a nourishing natural antioxidant that moisturizes and protects against premature aging and environmental aggressors.
♥ Glycerin moisturizes skin to improve softness and maximize hydration.
♥ Liposomes and lecithin help skin to quickly absorb vitamin E and restore skin’s natural moisture balance.


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My Conclusions:
I love this product for a light but hydrating mist all over the face. It dries up fast on its own and it has a nice rose scent to it! I find this particularly useful when I am studying and I don’t go out that much.

Do you like The Body Shop? Have you tried anything from the Vitamin E range?

Haul: Free Image Template and Rhinestones

Some weeks ago the cool people for Born Pretty Store where kind enough to offer promotional codes to get both these items for free. I got myself this Nail Art template that has the cutest designs and these cute rhinestones that can be applied to the nails. Now I am looking forward to get all the necessary tools to use this image template. You can check out the Image Template (affiliate links): Nail Art Hello Kitty Stamp Template DIY Kit and the Rhinestones: 12 Colors Round Rhinestone Nail Art Glitter.

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Hello Kitty Nail Art Template

Round Rhinestones Glitters

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They offer free shipping and all their products are really at an affordable price! They have many nail art supplies and nail polishes, so if you are a fan you will surely find all that you need here! I’m still not a pro at applying nail art but I want to learn and practice at it until I get it right.

Do you create nail art to your nails? Have your ever bought from this store?

Haul: Asian Products

Camellia Face Masks, Rose Eye Masks, Pore Strips
I have been dying to try out some face masks and as they are usually sold in Asia, I decided to give them a try. However, since there are no stores here in Malta that do sell Asian brands such as these I decided to try and purchase some from eBay. MissGlamorazzi on YouTube had been raving for some time about the Beauty Diary face masks and I really wanted to try some. So I got the ones shown above in the green and yellow box which are pretty similar! As I was browsing I also happened to see the Eye masks which intrigued me as I’d never really thought about them. I have dark circles round my eyes and they do tend to get a lot puffy, so I decided to give them a go also. They turned out to be really nice and cooling eye patches that you can put on you eyes and they have little slits so you can keep your eyes open. Lastly, I saw the pore strips which I must say where a huge disappointment and did not work at all.

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Camellia Mask


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Rose Eye Mask

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Pore Strips


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My Conclusions:
I love the bright and fun packaging that all these products come into. As I said I am not impressed at all with the pore strips but maybe I just got the wrong brand or something. I definitely love the masks and will be sure to purchase more of the face masks in the future as they are truly relaxing and calming to the skin. I love the eye masks too but will have to try them further to see whether they do reduce my dark circles.

Have you tried any Asian products? Would you recommend any?

Haul: A few Makeup Products



Last week I was online browsing through websites and I decided to haul some stuff! Its actually a mini haul but I got somethings that I have been dying to get my hands on. I bought all the items from The Cosmetic House website which offers a variety of brands at an affordable price. I got four items from this website:


♥ W7 The Cheek of it: In the Pink Blushers – Pink Sands
♥ Bourjois Ombre a Paupieres Eyeshadow Single – Beige Trompe Loeil 79
♥ Revlon Vital Radiance Moisture Boosting Lip color – 026 Tea Rose
♥ Benefit Crease less Cream Eyeshadow/Liner – Sippin and Dippin

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W7 The Cheek of it: In the Pink Blushers – Pink Sands
Bourjois Ombre a Paupieres Eyeshadow Single – Beige Trompe Loeil 79
Revlon Vital Radiance Moisture Boosting Lip color – 026 Tea Rose 
Benefit Crease less Cream Eyeshadow/Liner – Sippin and Dippin

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I have been dying to try out this Crease less Cream Shadow/Liner from Benefit ever since Fleur De Force mentioned it in her blog. She compared it to MAC Rubenesque Paint Pot and as I don’t have any paint pots from MAC I really wanted to try this product for a better price. This is a peachy coral color and I can’t wait to try it out.


For a review of the Revlon Vital Radiance Moisture Boosting Lip color in 026 Tea Rose you can check HERE. For a closer look at the W7 Blusher you can check HERE. For a review of the Benefit Creaseless Cream you can go HERE.


Would you like a review of any of these products? What do you think of Benefit’s Crease less Cream Shadow/Liners?


Favorites: Everyday Eyeshadows

 

I wanted to do a post on my favorite shadows that I use the most for everyday use. The two shadows that I reach for the most are these two that I got from the Elf Studio Single Eye shadow range called Butter Cream and Pebble. I love to use Butter Cream which is a sheer golden tone shadow as an all over the lid color as it brightens up my eyes and gives a little color without it being too much. On the other hand Pebble is a very versatile color which can be used for various looks. I love using it lightly in the crease to give a little more depth and definition to my eyes or as an all over the lid color for that muddy look that looks great through all the day. As you can see from the photos below both shadows have a little dent in them but I still have not hit pan on these even though I use them nearly every day. 

You get quite a lot of product in these pans, 2.75g/0.097oz. for €4.00/£3.50 which is a good amount of product. I got mine from the Elf website HERE. They have various other colors to choose from and I am looking forward to try many more, I especially love the color Amethyst which is a gorgeous deep royal purple.

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Butter Cream

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Pebble

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Left Butter Cream, Right Pebble

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My Conclusions:
I love both these shadows and will definitely repurchase them once they finish although I don’t think that it will be any time soon. I love to try out various shades but most days in the mornings I am feeling lazy and just want a slap of color on the lids to look awake and these are perfect for this. Even more since I still go to University, I don’t want to apply too much color to my lids and these are very neutral and blend nicely.

What are your favorite eye shadow colors for everyday? Have you tried the Elf Single Eye Shadows?

Product Review: Elf Eyeliner and Shadow Stick

 
Some time ago I bought these eyeliner and shadow sticks from Elf and I have been using them quite a lot. I had been really looking forward to having some kind of cream shadows to use as a base for my eyeshadow and these were a good buy to start using these bases. I got them in these two shades, which are midnight/blue and plum/purple. There are other combinations to these two including some very neutral ones but I was really curious to try out these two as they are the latest addition to these sets. You can buy these from HERE which is Elf’s UK website. I have put some swatches of the products for you so you can see for yourself just how gorgeous these colors are.
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Shadow Stick in Purple

Liner side in Plum

Left Purple, Right Plum

Shadow Stick in Blue

Liner side in Midnight

Left Blue, Right Midnight
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My Conclusions:
As you can see from the swatches above the colors are super pigmented and they are so soft and easy to apply to your eyes without having to tug or press down hard. What I do is I apply the product from the shadow part directly to my eyelid and then use either a synthetic brush or my fingers to blend the product well. Be sure to apply a primer underneath as they will crease on their own. These are not cream shadows that will dry and not crease. They do dry and stay put for a long time as when I applied to my hands they wouldn’t budge but you have to apply a primer and shadow over to keep them from creasing over time especially if like me you have oily eyelids. I then use the liner part to line my eyes and these are also good for the water line.

The colors are really pretty and they give so much intensity to any color you apply on top. I really love these and will definitely try to get my hands on all the other combinations they have on the site. These retail for €4.00/£3.50 on the Elf website and you get .24g/.86g of the liner and shadow respectively.

Have you tried any of these liner and shadow sticks from Elf? What do you think?

DIY: Best Pore Strips

I have found the best pore strips there are, and they are not the ones shown above, which I bought on Ebay a little time ago and they turned out to be no good. The best pore strips are the one you can do yourself with just two products; milk and gelatin. Gelatin is a substance that is used a  gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetic manufacturing. I have learned this simple recipe to create pore strips from a video by Michelle Phan on YouTube HERE.

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What you need:
♥ 1 tsp milk
♥ 1 tsp gelatin

What I do:
I put the milk and gelatin into a small container like the one you can see above and the heat them up, you can use the microwave for about 10 seconds or use hot water and put the container in it just until the gelatin dissolves. You are left with a gooey substance that you can apply to whichever part of your face you want to apply the pore strip. You can either make use of a cheap brush that you don’t care much for or you can use your fingers, which is what I do, since the last time I tried to use a brush I nearly ruined it as once the gelatin sets within the bristles it is very hard to remove. You can apply it to your nose or your chin depending where you have blackheads that you want to remove. Let it set for about 10 minutes and then gently peel off. Make sure to apply a nice even layer all over the area you want to remove the dirt.

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Hope you get a chance to try this out as it is a real easy and cheap way to make use of pore strips more frequently as they can get pricey and have clean and clear pores. I try to do it once a week or every two weeks, depends on the weather and on my skin. Remember to apply a nice moisturizer when you are done as the skin can get dry.

Do you make use of pore strips? Have you ever tried to do them yourself?