No7 Liplicious Moisturising Balm (gloss) SPF 15 in a very interesting colour...

Well firstly it’s not a balm, it’s a gloss (albeit quite a rich moisturising one). These cost £10 at boots which seems a little pricey for a high street lip gloss though you get a hefty 12ml for your money. According to the packaging this is a new shade and as soon as I saw it I needed it. NEEDED IT I TELL THEE. It's called purple liquorice and in the tube it’s a deep blackened purple with hot pink sparkles. The packaging isn’t my favourite. It’s a squeezey tube with a slanted applicator. I just find these get a little messy but I know many people prefer them to wand applicators as you aren’t sticking anything in the product so it’s a bit more hygienic. 

There is a slight sweet scent but It’s not too strong and it does really have a taste, these are factors that I personally like. The texture is smooth and non sticky though the trade of for the lack of stickiness is that it doesn’t last too long on me. In the swatch I’ve piled it on and sheered a bit out so you can see what it actually looks like on the lips. 

Hmm... not quite the dramatic lip I was expecting. If you are looking for a crazy purple lipgloss then look elsewhere because this ain’t it. I’m not writing it off as a fail though. I really do like it. In fact I’ve been using it an awful lot lately. The weather is dark, cold and moody up here at the moment and I’ve been sporting the lips to match. Red or pink lipsticks that have been bright and cheery all year have been getting a sombre make over with this. The effect is similar to layering a black lip gloss over the top. The colour is deepened and made more vampy. Because it’ purple rather than black the effect is softer and I personally find it makes reds run slightly cooler on me when I layer this over the top. 

Even though I didn’t get what I was expecting I am happy with this purchase. I probably won’t buy any of the other colours simply because I’m not crazy about the packaging and the other shades weren’t as interesting x

*I bought this myself*

No7 Eyeshadow Blend and Contour Brush

I picked up two of these last time the £5 vouchers of temptation were about after hearing the likes of Pixiwoo raving about them. These usually cost £6.50 so with the vouchers were only £1.50. Frankly it would have been rude not too! Allegedly these are a dupe for the MAC 217.

I can’t find out if these are natural bristles or synthetic. They feel natural to me. They are soft though. The handles are fairly short but not to the point of being awkward to hold. They are high quality too. After a lot of use and many washes I’ve only noticed one of them shedding one hair. I remember it so clearly because it ended up in my eye... ouch. I can forgive it one hair though. 

Here’s the thing though, they aren’t the same. One is slightly less dense than the other. I don’t know if this means I got a dud but I don’t mind. It just means I use them a bit differently. The stiffer, denser brush gets used for depositing colour and blending out stubborn edges whereas the softer one is only used for blending. Now one was in the old packaging and one in the new which could explain the difference but unfortunately I can’t remember which was which. Sorry!

Would I buy more of the no7 brushes? Yes but only with the £5 off vouchers. Not because they aren’t good quality, they are and even full priced are relatively cheap, but with the vouchers popping up every couple of months you’d be mad to pay full price. Next on my list to try is the blush brush. Anyone tried it? X

*I bought these myself*

A tale of two powders

I’m always on the lookout for a good pressed powder for touch ups throughout the day. At the recommendation some of my lovely readers I decided to pick up the 17 Shine Control Pressed Powder. I happened to have one of the £5 vouchers for No7 so their Crème Touch pressed powder came home with me too. Both 17 and No7 and Boots own brands so I thought I might be fun to do a little comparison. We’ll start off with the basics:

	17 Shine Control	No7 Creme Touch
Price	£3.49	£8.75
Amount	10g	20g
Price per gram	34.9p	47.45p

Hmm. It looks like per gram 17 has the edge here. Don’t forget though that with those vouchers the No7 only costs £3.75. Both come in rather plain black packaging however not all plain packaging is created equal. Yes both have those useless little puffs but only the budget (17) option comes with a mirror. The 17 compact feels a bit sturdier too. For some reason the No7 powder has a twist off lid which doesn’t feel that secure and frankly is a bit of a pain when trying to use it on the go. 

Here is the 17:

And the No7

When you get to the actual product though the situation is reversed. The No7 feels much more finely milled and yet is more densely packed than the 17 powder. It feels somehow better. It blends well and has never once left me looking cakey. The 17 has a tendency to be a bit dusty with powder flying everywhere as soon as a brush gets near it. It feels slightly chunkier too though not to the point of making you look cakey. It’s just not quite as fine as the No7. 

The colour selection for the 17 powder is erm... one. You get Neutral or nothing. It’s quite pale but I find it does sometimes oxidise on me slightly. No7 gives you a slightly better colour range with 4 shades, I have shade 01 Translucent. This shade is VERY pale. Don’t make the mistake of getting Translucent thinking it’ll be a one shade fits all deal. It will probably look ashy on you if you have darker skin. I have not noticed the crème touch oxidising on me. 

In terms of oil control the 17 powder is better. I need to blot slightly less often when I use it. The no7 does an ok job though and certainly leaves a more natural finish. I suppose what I’m trying to say is I’d like the No7 powder in the 17 compact and with 17’s oil control. Too much to ask? As for which I’d repurchase I think the hunt for the perfect pressed powder will probably go on. If I’ve run out and I have another voucher I’d maybe buy the No7 again but the 17 is a bit too messy for me even though it does do a fab job of suppressing the shine. 

*I bought these myself*

October Favourites

Happy Halloween everyone! I love October. It’s all snugly jumpers, deep colours and spicy scents. Here’s what I’ve been making dents in throughout the month:

Mememe Boxed Blush in Rouge – a gorgeous reddish pink with subtle gold shimmer. This is the kind of shade that suits me best and I love blushes with a touch of red in them for getting a ‘just in from the cold’ flush. And it’s less than a tenner, score!

Sleek Storm Palette – This is my favourite of all the Sleek palettes. I have a ridiculous amount of eyeshadow and yet I keep coming back to this when I’m rushing to get ready for work. 

Clinique Super balanced Foundation – My skin doesn’t know what’s happening right now. It’s still oily thanks to my two weeks in the sun but the dry patches associated with the colder weather are starting to appear. This foundation works for all areas. This is the lightest shade (Alabaster) and whilst it’s a perfect match for me in the summer it will probably be a touch dark in the winter so I wanted to get as much use out of it while I still can. 

ELF Studio Cream Eyeliner in Golden Olive – less harsh than black, prettier than brown and office friendly. I’ve already made a fair sized dent in this. 

Benefit Browzings – I find this holds my unruly brows in place far better than even my beloved clear mascara so whenever I have time to use this in the morning I do. Also as I recently dyed my hair darker and redder I’ve been doing a stronger brow and loving it.

No7 Moisture Drench Lipstick in Pink Crush – I actually got this free in one of their gift with purchase sets. I love the formula which is completely none drying and the sheer deep pink shade is a wearable introduction to a slightly berry lip. I’ve been wearing it under...

 Lippie on the bottom, gloss on the top ^

Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in Frankly Flirty – I think this has been discontinued unfortunately. I got it at an outlet shop ages ago and haven’t seen it anywhere else. It’s a gorgeous berry shade. In the tube it has micro fine silver glitter but it doesn’t really look shimmery on the lips at all. If you see it snap it up! (Or if it’s not discontinued let me know ;-) 

If you’ve done a monthly favourites post please leave a link in the comments. I love reading them x

*I bought all the above products myself*

No7 Freebie

I’m so late to this party everyone else has passed out. On the off chance that you haven’t seen this I’m posting it anyway. At the moment if you buy one of the No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara (normally £12 but use your £5 off voucher!) you get a free eyeshadow palette. Here is the mascara.

I haven’t tried it yet, I’m hoping for that price it’s pretty damn good though! And here is the palette. 

I love these colours. Here they are swatched without a base but a sticky primer makes them pop a fair bit more. I kind of like the fact they are a bit sheer though. They are nice and subtle for an autumnal office look. All four shades are shimmery and the green and burgundy shades are especially beautiful. The compact itself feels sleek and heavy duty with a good sized mirror. I’d happily have paid for this so I’m doubly thrilled to have gotten it for free. 

This offer has been on for a while and I’m not sure when it finishes so if I were you I’d move pretty quickly x

*I bought the mascara myself*

Finished! October Edition

Over the last month or so I’ve gotten to the bottom of a whole load of products. So many they wouldn’t all fit in the one photo. Is it sad that it fills me with a real sense of pride? Even sadder is the fact that there is a little basket under my desk that I put finished items in till  I’ve taken a photo of them for this blog... and occasionally wave it under hubbies nose to say ‘look I do use all this stuff!’ Anyhoo...

Treseme: Heat Defence Spray: Love this. Leaves my hair super soft and really reduces frizz. I have already repurchased. In fact I believe this was one of the first reviews I ever did!

Garnier Night Cream: I did like this however there is a scent and I think it’s the perfume that stung a little if my skin was feeling particularly sensitive. Most days it was fine though. I won’t be repurchasing simply because I prefer the Simple night cream. 

Carmex: (original): Love this stuff. Have gone through hundreds of these little tubes and no doubt will go through hundreds more. Most of the flavours have SPF but the original doesn’t so this is the one I keep on my bedside table. 

Simple Eye Cream: It was nice and cooling to apply. Again this lacks SPF so because the eye cream that I used at night. I have a few others to try first but I’d be happy to buy this again in future. It probably wouldn’t cut it if you were looking for some heavy duty anti ageing but for my 23 year old skin it was fab. 

Smashbox Lash DNA in Burgundy: Loved the colour but hated the giant wand. Seriously it was bigger than my eyes... IT stank of play dough when I got it and progressively got smellier throughout its life. Needless to say I won’t be repurchasing. 

Blistex: Smells, tastes and feels foul but for severely cracked lips there is no better product. I hate it but I’ll never be without it. It sinks in quickly leaving your lips feeling so much better. This is usually the lip balm I have on my dressing table. I apply it first thing in the morning and by the time I go to apply my lipstick it has totally sunken in. Fab/ horrid. 

No7 Cleanse and Care Eye makeup remover:  Got this as a freebie thankfully. I really didn’t like this. It took loads to remove any makeup and I always still woke up with panda eyes the next day. Would not purchase personally. 

ELF Clarifying Pressed Powder: Honestly for £1.50 I wasn’t expecting greatness and I certainly didn’t get it. Mattified ok but quickly started to look cakey and unnatural. Euch. 

Lancôme Day Cream SPF15: Another gift with purchase. I expected this to be too heavy for my skin but I experienced zero breakouts or irritation. Whilst it is a little heavy for summer for me I may well repurchase during the winter. 

Rimmel Stay Matte Mouse (foundation of Dooooooom): Thankfully I dropped this (by accident I swear) and over half of it fell out. Their lightest shade is, on me, the colour of a Wotsit. I managed to use it up by mixing it with a lot of sunscreen to lighten it. I am not sorry to see the back of this!

L’Oréal Absolute Eye and Lip Makeup Remover: This was ok actually but I’ve used better, cheaper products since so I won’t be repurchasing. Everyday makeup wasn’t a problem but it really struggled with anything waterproof. 

Not a bad month really! X

*I bought the above products myself*

Taupe!

I do love a good Taupe. So do a lot of the beauty loving community. Seldom do you see any other colour harped on about so much. Sometimes I feel that, with all the talk of premium taupes (e.g Chanel Taupe Gris) and heard to find holy grail taupes the humble drugstore shadow can be neglected. Here are a few of my favourite cheap and cheerful taupe shades. Neutral, but never boring!

Bourjois Brun Nylon



£5.99 This is a gorgeous light shade that is perfect for all over the lid with a darker taupe in the crease. It is soft and blends easily. Shimmery but not frosty, perfect!

Maybelline Silken Taupe



£3.99 A slightly cooler light taupe with much less shimmer. It’s not matte but the lack of overt shimmer makes this a good choice for days at work where I have to look super smart and frosty eyeshadow would be a no. Again I like this swept over the lid with a darker shade in the crease. It is a little harder to blend than the Bourjois but still it’s a decent quality for the price.

Barry M Mushroom


£4.50 Is this a taupe? It has very strong silver/purple leanings but I think there is enough grey/ brown in there for it to qualify (just). This one is exceptionally frosty. Not so great for the office but gorgeous nonetheless.

No7 Mink


£7.50 This is slightly darker and a bit more brown than the others (don't know what is up with the swatch pic, I think it just caught the light). Plus with the vouchers of temptation you can get this for £2.50 which is what I did. I’m not sure it’s quite special enough to justify the full price for £2.50 it’s a good buy. The quality is ok but I sometimes find that the shadows in No7’s permanent collection are prone to fading throughout the day so a good primer is a must.

Are you a fellow Taupe fiend or does it leave you bored? Do you have any more affordable taupe suggestions? Please let me know! X
*I bought these*

NOTD: No7 Grey Skies

I used a Voucher of Temptation to purchase this little goodie meaning it only cost me a couple of £. It’s a lovely medium grey crème. It goes on slightly thick but not gloopy. This is two thick(ish) coats).



It shipped pretty quickly which was a shame as I was enjoying the colour. Has anyone noticed how annoying the bottles are? The neck is so long that you have to stick the brush right down to get more polish. Weird design.... Other than that I do like the No7 polishes x

*I bought this myself*

No7 Vouchers and Ltd Edition Autumn Collection

The Boots vouchers of temptation have returned and along with them a brand spanking new collection to spend them on. The ltd edition Autumn collection is really rather gorgeous. I love the faux snakeskin packaging and the rich jewel tones are perfect for the season. I talked myself out of the eyeshadows (they are gorgeous but I have enough brights. If I need anything it’s neutrals) and I didn’t need the matte top coat as I already have Essie Matte About You. What I did pick up was the smoky liner and soft matte lipstick in nude Rebel.

The liner is interesting. It’s packaged like a traditional liquid liner but instead you get a long, thin sponge applying a soft powder liner. It’s a soft, smoky effect which can be smudged out quite easily. It’s a bit different to all of the eyeliners that I own and that’s saying something. The wear is pretty good though I have noticed a touch of fading.



The lipstick is for me the best bit. Ooh look at the packaging!


The colour is a gorgeous nude too. Pale gals need to be careful with nudes for fear of looking corpselike. This has enough colour to avoid that. It’s a perfect everyday work shade. You do need to make sure that your lips are in tip top shape though as the matter formula can cling to dry bits. I benefit from wearing a touch of lip balm under it. It does last quite well on me.


The liner is £9.50 and the lippie is £9.75. Of course it makes more sense if you use your £5 off vouchers! Spend over £22 and you get a free gift containing the usual skin care, a travel eye makeup remover (that’s coming on holiday with me), a lipstick and a mini cream shadow. I strongly suggest checking this collection out x

*I bought these myself with the aid of my vouchers of temptation. My reviews are always my honest opinion. The disclosure policy is in the menu on the left for more info*

August Go To Products

This is kind of a favourites post (my first actually)only not really. These are the products that have taken a beating in the last month. Not necessarily my favourites but the ones that I’ve been reaching for over everything else. This was kinda tough as I’m still doing my project ‘use everything you’ve got at least once’ so I’ve been wearing totally different looks every day. Nonetheless I’ve found a few products have been plucked from the drawers by default when I wasn’t sure what else to wear.

Max Factor False Lash Effect mascara in waterproof: I love this and will be doing a full review soon. I’ve been picking this up as it is actually the only waterproof mascara I currently own. With the remnants of my hay fever lingering and a pretty stressful month causing a few mini breakdowns the waterproof er... ness has been invaluable.

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in By Candlelight: glowy but never glittery, this is just more suited to day time than many of my other highlighters so it gets used more!

No7 Blush in Honey: It’s a neutral dirty peach that when used lightly looks incredibly natural on me. I tap the flat side of a blush brush on it then bounce it off my cheeks for a barely there flush. Love it!

MAC Eyeshadow in Blanc Type: It doesn’t matter what eye look I’m wearing I use this every day. It’s a matte cream shade that despite being well pigmented does not show up on my pale skin. I use it daily to blend out the edges of my eyeshadow and to correct mistakes. I have a really small lid space so it’s easy for me to over apply shadow making this little eraser invaluable.

UDPP in Sin: I’m a shimmer kind of girl when it comes to shadows. An eye primer that adds more shimmer? Yes please!

MAC Lipstick in Viva Glam Cyndi: I need a backup of this and I can’t wait for the matching lip glass to come out either. It’s my favourite wearable red. I wear this every weekend with a really simple eye and winged liner. In fact this and UDPP Sin with winged liner is about as quick and easy as makeup gets.

Collection 2000 Concealer: I have way too many concealers and they need using up sooner rather than. This is first on my list. It’s actually pretty effective though it doesn’t cover quite as well as I would like. If you try and layer it it does gets cakey but a thin layer will last you all day. The tube seems never ending though... I thought it would be done my now but it just keeps on going! I wish the packaging was see through so I knew how much was left.

Would you like to see more of these kinds of posts? What have you been reaching for throughout August? Let me know in the Comments! Xx

*Everything up there was bought by me with actual money apart from the UDPP Sin which was bought with Boots points*

No7 Lash 360 Mascara

This is yet another of those little samples that you get in the frequent No7 gift with purchase sets. This particular offering focuses on volume claiming to provide “up to 7x more volume”. I’ll preface this by saying that volumising mascaras aren’t really my thing. I have plenty of volume, I would like some length and some curl please. Therefore this isn’t the kind of mascara I would typically buy with my own money especially considering that I think No7 mascaras are overpriced for what they are. This is £12.50 for a full sized tube.

The brush is certainly different. It’s pretty normal at the ends but the big open spiral section in the middle causes me some problems. I get that it’s this bit that creates the volume but on my lashes I have to spend an age combing through my lashes with the end section in order to avoid my lashes sticking together in one big clump. You can see in the open eyed picture that I didn’t totally manage it. 

I also find that this mascara smudges quite a bit for me. Granted my eyes have been a bit weepy of late (damn you pollen) but panda eyes by midday is not a pretty look. Overall it’s just too much hassle for me. I wouldn’t recommend it x

Collection Overview – Cream Shadows

As a general rule I like my eyeshadows pigmented and bold. A great way to increase the colour saturation of even sheer shadows is to pop a sticky cream base under them. I never wear them alone with the exception of the Benefit Creaseless Creams as cream shadows crease on me within seconds. I wear them over primer in a thin layer then pack powder shadow on top. I won’t have space in this post to review things but everything has been reviewed on my blog before so check out the label in the right hand column if you want to know more about any of them. 

I have NYX Jumbo Eye pencils in Milk (white), Strawberry Milk (shimmery pink), Pots & Pans (shimmery silver) and Black Bean (which I depotted into the plastic pot in the middle of the picture). There are two Barbara Daly Soufflé shadows in Haze (purple) and Sea-Foam (green). Revlon Illuminance Cream Shadow quad in Copper Canyon, Sleek Molton Metal Duo (Pewter and Gold Leaf), No7 Stay Perfect eyeshadow in Pewter and finally Bloom Eye Paint in Champagne. 

Swatched left to right: NYX Black Bean, NYX Strawberry Milk, NYX Pots & Pans, NYX Milk, Barbara Daly Sea-Foam, Barbara Daly Haze. 

Sleek Pewter, Sleek Gold Leaf, Bloom Champagne, No7 Pewter. 

Revlon Illuminance Cream Shadows. 

 Benefit Creaseless Creams in Pre-Nup and Skinny Jeans. 

My favourites are the NYX pencils, No7 Pewter and of course the Benefit Creaseless Creams. I certainly wouldn’t bother with the Barbara Daly ones again as they have almost no colour pay off x

*All bought by me*