Dr Nick Lowe - Super Charged SPF 15 Day Cream

I know a lot of you might think, why am I using an anti-ageing cream when I'm only in my early 20's.. but at some stage you have to consider when the best time actually is to start diving into those anti-aging products.. surely its not when you have already developed those wrinkles?? So I've decided to use more anti-ageing products as a preventive measure.

 Dr Nick Lowe is a world renowned dermatologist and clearly knows exactly what ingredients are key to hydrate and firm the skin.

The cream contains Shea Butter, Pomegranate, Rasberry, Ferulic Acid, Vitamins A, C and E all to protect the skin against the environments sun, stress and pollution.

Its sleek white packaging looks like your 'typical' cream pot. I am sometimes a bit funny about using pots as opposed to pumps because of possible contamination, but that can't always be helped and as it is a day cream, i'll use it up quite quickly.

It doesn't have a particularly offensive smell, but has definitely been slightly scented and reminds me of suncream (which I don't really like if I had to be picky). It is very thick in consistency for a day cream in my opinion, but ones you rub it into your skin it melts away and gets soaked up very quickly. It has an SPF 15 which is useful and is said to help improve skins "resilience, tone and radiance".

So, in my opinion, this cream firms my skin, keeps it hydrated and acts as a great base for my makeup, which is an important factor needed in a day cream. I do recommend this cream to other people with dehydrated skin, but I am not sure how it would work on oily skin, as you can see from the photos its quite thick.

• £19.00 /50ml
• Feel Unique
• Feel Unique, Boots, Harvey Nichols
• http://www.drnicklowe.com

Korres- Watermelon Lightweight Tinted Moisturiser

I bought this tinted moisturiser partly on its reviews but I was also intrigued by the 'watermelon' aspect of the product. I had not viewed this product in the flesh so was completely judging this product on pictures and swatches to decide which shade to buy.

The product claims to be 'lightweight' while being a tinted moisturiser which made me think it was going to be highly highly moisturiser-like and much less tinted coverage power. I personally feel its a heavy tinted moisturiser and the claim that it is light weight is completely inaccurate. This however does not mean I dislike the product!

This shade is perfect for my winter foundation (I call it a foundation because it is quite thick) and I find most foundation brushes work well with this product. It does smell of watermelon which is a change from the standard foundation scent. The texture is quite thick and almost rubbery if that makes sense. It is not runny like most tinted moisturisers. A small amount goes a long way and does provide a medium coverage (considering it as a foundation).

I have extra dry skin and was aprehensive about using this an oil-free product that could potentially dry out my skin even more. I find that it doesn't necessarily moisturise my skin but it does not cling to any dry patches or irritate my skin. The shade that I bought was judged quite well from online swatches but would be too light for me in the summer when I have a tan. In the winter however when my skin is at its lightest its a perfect match.

The packaging is quite unusual for a foundation/tinted moisturiser. I quite like being able to push the amount of product I want out. Although when I finally come near to the end of the product it may be annoying to push out the last remaining amounts.

• £19.00
• Korres
• Cult Beauty (where I purchased mine from)

NARS: The Multiple: G-Spot

I have always been hesitant in the past about The Multiple as a product. The concept of a make-up item that can be used in many different fashions does intrigue, but concerned me whether it will be successful as a multiple use product.

The Multiple comes in loads of shades and can be used on the eyes, cheeks, lips and body. It contains vitamin E and açai oil for antioxidant benefits. Fingers are meant to be used to apply it and blend the product through warming it on the skin.

The shades available are pretty but personally I found it hard to find a shade that would be usable in a multiple ways as well as suiting my skin tone. There are many pearly whites and golds that personally I could not use on my lips or as a blush. Which means the only way I could use them would be as a highlighter, which is clearly not the point of the product. The range online is quite extensive and have some lovely orange shades that I would love to try, but in store there is very little on offer (I have found). I picked up the shade G-Spot

G-spot is a deep rose with fine gold specs

As an eye shadow:

I have attempted and succeeded in making this shade wearable as an eyeshadow. Using my ring finger I lightly dab the product pretty much over my entire eyelid (not above the brow bone). I like wearing it this way on days when I do not feel like putting much makeup on, just some colour and mascara. Pink is quite hard to pull off as an eyeshadow, especially as an everyday one but I think it just looks like a nice wash of colour when its blended well. It does not last that long on the eyelids for me, this may be because I have quite a greasy eyelid.

As a lip product:
On dry lips, this product does not look good but if they are in good condition, it looks nice. It is quite hard to apply as its got a huge area of product, so I lightly dab it as a sort of lip stain. It is quite creamy and can look too thick and a 'lipstick amount' is applied (if that makes sense).

As a blusher:

This is definitely my favourite way to use this product. Not just because the shade I have is easily wearable as a blush, but applying a circle straight onto each cheek and then blending with my fingers is so easy and means I do not need to carry around a blusher brush. It stays on for most of the day and when it does start to gradually wear away, it does it evenly leaving a slight hint of colour. 

As a highlighter:

Other shades may work well, this shade does not work that well and just looks like I have applied it too high up!

On the body:

Not usable as a body product! Possibly the more pearly shimmery shades would do as body glitter?

Would I recommend this product?
YES, I love the fact I can use this in multiple ways and I am in love with the colour. The formula is creamy and not drying, easy to apply and lasts a long time. I cannot wait to try another shade!

• £30
• Nars Website

Benefit The POREfessional Primer

The POREfessional primer is fantastic to use as a base, minimises pores and generally keeps your make-up on for longer. I do not reach for it every day, but apply it for nights out or when my pores are freakishly big.

It has an odd texture, feeling oily and slippery. I apply a pea size amount onto my t-zone just before I apply my foundation. I wouldn't say there is a huge transformation but it does keep my makeup on and provides a nice base for my foundation and blusher.

Would I buy it again? Only as a treat, or as a present because I do not feel as though its a necessity. 

rubs into the skin to create a matte appearance.

• Costs £24.50 - 22ml
• Benefit website

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum

Ok so I have already done a review on Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation (which was my first ever review) and said how much I love it, see the post here. Now I am going to review the serum version. I feel there are many more review out there for this serum as opposed to the actual foundation version. This may be due to the the fact that when they were launched, lighter foundations, BB creams and tinted moisturises were all the craze, therefore the Healthy Mix Serum got more attention than the foundation. I really do not see the difference between this serum and the foundation. They seem to have the same consistency as well as pay off on the skin. Are they meant to be so similar? The smell is the same. The texture on the skin is the same. The only difference I can see is the bottle.

But onto the actual review of the serum.

For a serum which is meant to be a slightly lighter consistency, this one is quite thick, and a light to medium coverage with a dewy finish. It claims to last up to 16 hours and I can definitely say that it does not, although different skin types will have different longevity. It is available in 6 shades (Healthy Mix foundation has a larger variety) made with litchi, goji berries and pomegranates (Healthy Mix foundation is made with apricot, melon, apple and ginger). It is meant to create a non fatigue appearance which I do agree with and it also brightens up my face. It is also a good base for my blushers which I do find that some foundations cling to the blushers and creates a blotchy texture (which this one does not).
If my skin is on the extra dry side, this foundation smooths over the dry areas and doesn't create areas of intensely pigmented coverage (if you know what I mean). I love to use this serum with the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush or the Buffing brush (see links below for their reviews).
For the cheap price of £10.99 this serum is totally worth it.

This serum is in a pumped bottle, dispensing the perfect amount onto my brush.

• £10.99
• My rating = 7/10
• Available at Super Drug, Asos.
• Reviews on Real Techniques Expert Face Brush and Buffing Brush.
• See my Youtube Haul Video which features this product.

L'Oreal Paris - Super Liner Ultra Precision (black)

I am really disappointed with this liquid eyeliner. I normally use one from Rimmel London which I have been using for years and love but I thought I would try and experiment other brands and see if they are at all better.
This eyeliner needs two layers to be completely black and only lasts about 3 hours on the eyes before it starts to fade away. The brush is too flexible and really difficult to control. If you are just starting to use liquid eyeliner, I would definitely not recumbent this one. I also find that it runs out really quickly, either that or it dries out.
I do however like the packaging and I think the handle is a nice easy shape to hold.

• £6.49
• L'Oreal website

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz

I have quite thick brows already, but need to fill in a few gaps  and I prefer a stronger brow during the evenings. I have heard SO much about this product and decided to go for it and buy it off Cult Beauty (I do not think you are able to buy it anywhere else in the UK).

It is an extremely thin long tube with one end being the pencil and the other side a spooly. I love the packaging and although it is long, it doesn't take up too much room in my makeup bag.

The actual product twists up and down which means theres no need for a sharpener. I bought the shade Brunette and they do 3 other shades (Ash Blonde,  Medium Ash and Caramel). The skinny-ness of the pencil means you can softly build the appearance of a thicker brow as well as creating a texture with fine strokes. The pencil is very waxy which means the product lasts a long time and doesn't smudge (if you wanted it to last extra long, a powder eyeshadow in a similar shade to set it would do). It is also very hard to apply loads of product which if like me you're a little heavy handed.

The spooly is perfect to slightly spread and smudge the product through your brows for a more natural look before the product sets. It also tames the brows if you want to set them with a gel and handy to have throughout the day to brush through them.

Swatch

This eyebrow pencil has completely changed my life (dramatic I know). There are no faults and like no other brow pencil I have tested before.

• £15.50
• Cult Beauty