Benefit YouRebel Tinted Moisturiser Review

This summer I've virtually ditched true full coverage foundation all together, a first for me in about 3/4 years. I've replaced my normal foundation products with Benefit's YouRebel and MAC's Face and Body Foundation, both of which I will be reviewing this week. I'm starting with YouRebel simply because I've had it longer..

So here's what Benefit have to say:

"Our defiantly different tinted moisturizer gives your complexion coverage, moisture and SPF 15 protection all in one. For fair-skinned rebels. 

Contains:

• Aloe, known for its soothing and moisturizing properties.
• Vitamin A, known for its ability to improve skin's elasticity and as a result fight signs of aging.
• Vitamin E, known to protect skin from free radicals."

And now for analyzing...

Price:

So in the UK YouRebel costs £21.50, which for the amount of product (50ml) and how long it lasts I'd say is reasonable. To be honest I'd be happier with it being around the £15 mark but it's not something that would stop me buying again.  I haven't used up a whole tube so I couldn't tell you how long it really would last but I can't see myself running out any time soon.

Packaging:

I like that this is a squeezy tube, it makes it very easy to control the amount of product that you dispense from the tube. However, the fact that it's a pliable metal tube I don't like so much. I'm a bit worried that when I reach the dregs of the tube this will make it quite difficult to dispense the last drops of product. It is similar to the Nealson's Homeopathic Creams which tend to break at the corners when it comes to squeezing the end of the product out, something that worries me slightly since Benefit are a brand aimed at the young and old. I personally first used this product aged 11 and knowing me if I'd had my own tube at that age I would have done everything I could to get every drop out, almost certainly I would have cut my fingers.. A minor thing but it's a brand who say they provide products mothers can share with their daughters...

Product:

Overall it does what it says on the tin. It's a tinted moisturiser, nothing overly special. It does the job I expect it to. I get a healthy glow when using this, but it does tend to shine.. a lot. Which is simply solved with a light dusting of mineral powder.

It looks very dark when first squeezed out of the tube..

And a little definately goes a long way..

The top 1/3 of this swatch has the YouRebel applied, the middle 1/3 has it heavily blended out and the bottom 1/3 is my natural skin tone.

Performance:

YouRebel gives light coverage, if you have heavy discolouration or uneven skin tone to start with your skin will become a touch more even but will never look flawless. This product + powder lasts all day and just about keeps the shine away, the powder gives it a boost to light/medium coverage but this will depend on your choice of powder.

Overall, YouRebel is something I would repurchase until I found something better. So far it's the best I've used, but it has caused a few breakouts and I just have the feeling that eventually I will find something that suits my skin little bit better. I don't think I would ever purchase the 'lite' version of this as I like the healthy glow this gives me and I know the 'lite' version is a lot more yellow and would not suit me. I'm not the biggest fan of Benefit products to start with as I sometimes find them a little bit 'gimmicky', so praise for one of their products is serious from me.

I've never really stuck at a tinted moisturiser for so long before and would really like to try some more.. any favourites or suggestions? Send them my way!

xoxo

Hana Flat Iron Review

So a while back I won A Brilliant Brunette's giveaway to win a Hana Flat Iron from Misikko. I was super excited as I've always been a GHD freak and have never used anything else I thought this would be lovely opportunity to try out another brand without having to spend money on something that I might not love and end up just leaving it around somewhere unused.

I have only just recieved my package from Misikko because I had it shipped to my Aunt's house here in the US. I opened it to find a Hana Professional Flat Iron in a gorgeous pink case protected by a cushioned metal box. There were even faux flowers and petals in my package.

I was really pleased there was a temperature gauge as I've never tried a straightener with one. I also adore the colour!

Unfortunately that's where most of the good ends. These straighteners straightened my hair fine, but no matter how hot I got them or how many times I went over the section, they refused to straighten the ends of my hair. I have layers, and I normally blend these layers by passing my GHDs over the entire thickness of my hair once each layer is straight. But I just couldn't get my ends to go straight so I could even attempt to do this. I just made the layers really obvious, and not in a good way. I know it's not my hair because my GHDs work fine. To me it just looked messy and like I'd done a half-assed job of straightening my hair. It made me pine for my GHDs back in England.

However, I adore how these straighteners work on my new fringe! It rounds it out perfectly and looks really professional. When I get back to England I'd like to do a side-by-side comparison of how the two brands work on my fringe, I'm really impressed by the Hanas though.

I was also given a few hair products from Hana to try, though I wanted to test the straighteners without the use of anything but heat protection spray as this is the true test. I will now be trying out the products they sent me too to see if these make any difference to how the straightening goes. Stay tuned!

So overall, I wouldn't run out to buy these, and would choose GHDs over them.  For me and my hair type, they just aren't right. The quality of the iron is great but it just doesn't suit my hair. Maybe try them if you have finer hair, I think they'd be amazing then, but at $200+ I'm just not feeling it. I'll be trying these on my Foxy Locks Extensions too, I want to see how they work on them!

Have any of you ladies tried these?

xoxo

Another LUSH Review - Footcare

Sorry for the all LUSH Reviews, they're the only products I have pictures of already that I've been testing lately!!

Since my marathon, it's fairly obvious that my feet are suffering! I decided to give them a good pampering with my LUSH Stepping Stone Foot Scrub and Fair Trade Foot Lotion. I've fallen in love with these, this is the second Stepping Stone that I've owned and I just love the scent!

Stepping Stone is almost like a bath bomb in texture and the way it reacts to water, but you get it wet on your skin instead of submerging it in water. It's incredibly moisturising, and really scrubs away any dry skin. I know that LUSH try to use as little packaging as possible, but my one issue with their paper wrapping and yellow bags is that any oil in the product will soak through these within a few hours. You can see this in the dark area on the label of the Stepping Stone scrub. I've found that by using a ziplock bag I can avoid any oil damaging any surfaces where I store my products. I recieved my first foot scrub in one of LUSH's ten pound boxes so that was definately good value for money, it normally retails at 2.75 which I think it great value. If you use this in the shower, you may not get more than one use out of it as it may crumble in the moisture. However, I used a home foot spa and kept the scrub dry and my feet wet and got 2-3 uses out of each one I bought.

So to sum up:

Price: Great value, even better in the summer beach box.

Product: Love it, love it, love it. It does exactly what it says it will.

Packaging: Not my favourite, but there's a solution to every problem.

I wasn't expecting a whole lot from the Fair Trade Foot Lotion, simply because I tested it on my hand instore and just didn't like the texture. When I got a sample pot in the summer beach box I figured I had to give it a try. And let me tell you.. paired with a scrub, it's incredible. Probably didn't feel so great on my hand since it's a foot cream. Again I have a packaging woe.. I just prefer pumps when creams are involved, and that's completely a hygiene thing. However, this is a trial size, so I'll let it go for now :) I've been using this at night over the soles of my feet and on any dry patches I find. Since it doesn't quite soak in straight away, I go to bed with sleeper socks on and wake up with soft, moisturised tootsies! A little goes a hell of a long way with this cream, so 7.95 for a 225g pot is amazing value. I can't see myself going through a pot of this too quickly, so it would be a great beauty investment. So pick yourself up a trial size, I think alone they're about a pound, so if you don't like it, it's not a massive loss. My feet feel sooooo soft, and since I'm a moisturiser nut, I love that!

Sum, sum, sum:

Price: Great option with the trial size, and good value on the pot. I do wish they did a 100g or smaller for travelling, etc.

Product: Definately better than I expected, comes up trumps on my recently tested!

Packaging: I love the amount of recycling that LUSH do, but I do wish there was a pump. I'm being a hygiene freak but it is a foot cream...

I'm going to carry on pampering myself with these for a while I think, at least until my foot cream is used up. I'd like to see the true long term effects before deciding to purchase a full size, I can always stick it in a pump bottle after all!

xoxo

LUSH Review - Cynthia Sylvia Stout & American Cream

This week I used another shampoo and conditioner from my LUSH samples.

I decided to use Cynthia Sylvia Stout and American Cream, a combination recommended by my local LUSH team :)

I'm told Cynthia Sylvia Stout is a shampoo designed for brown hair and it's made with beer which is supposed to make your hair shiny and glossy. This is the part of this shampoo I absolutely love. My gran used to tell me how she would rinse beer through her hair to get shine and gloss, and now I can see why! My hair dries beautifully frizz free (which is not normal!). This shampoo doesn't lather up like a normal shampoo, there are bubbles but nowhere near to the extent of a 'normal' shampoo I quite like this as I feel like the product gets all the way through my hair, which is saying something because I have THICK hair. Sometimes it takes me 2 shampoos to get my hair clean, simply because I don't manage to get the product through and into the roots and mid-lengths, but after one shampoo and rinse (and with very little effort) my hair was squeaky clean :) I am definately planning to purchase this shampoo in a 100g size as I would like to try it for about a month to see if it really makes a difference to my hair over time :)

I also used American Cream, and I'm a bit disappointed because, as with Veganese, I felt it was just a bit average. I can't say it was amazing, because to get it through my thick hair, I had to use the whole sample pot, which it actually a lot of conditioner. This is simply because it didn't spread and felt more like a hair mask than a conditioner. My hair was soft and smooth after using this, but I can't help but feel it was nothing special. I'm one of those people that I really have to love something to rave about it and I just haven't found a LUSH conditioner that I truly love. I would use both of these without complaint, they are not bad products, they just don't do wonders for me. If they are ever on offer to try I would buy them and give them another go, I might have just left them in the sample pots too long.

So far I'm loving the shampoos but the conditioners need further examination. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get a 100g size of one and give it a full test run.. therefore I'm going to remain undecided.

What are your opinions of LUSH conditioners? Anyone recommend a great one?

xoxo

Sorry for the lack of new pictures, still confined to the 90s laptop!

Makeup For Dry Skin

Recently I went though a phase of having extremely dry and flaky skin (hence my lack of FOTDs) and these products absolutely saved my life! Granted I felt a touch over moisturized for about 10 minutes but I'll put up with 10 minutes to look great the rest of the day! FYI: The foundation and concealer are in paler shades than I'm wearing at the moment because I get drier skin the paler I am.

So the first product I'm using is MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation in NW15 (choose the right shade for you though!).

This foundation is completely buildable, so it's great for summer and winter. It doesn't sit in dry patches and stays put all day because of it's gel base. I use a 189 or a 190 brush to apply it. And even better for summer it's water resistant!

The name says it all, my concealer of choice for dry skin is Select Moisturecover again in NW15 (again choose your own shade!).

I only use this when I need it (ususally under my eyes). I love this concealer so much because it gives really great coverage without feeling heavy. I use it no matter what's going on with my skin when I'm using both my Studio Fix or my Studio Sculpt foundations.

Studio Sculpt Foundation

straight out of the tube (with flash)

Studio Sculpt Foundation

blended with a 190 brush (without flash)

Sorry for the with/without flash, only way I could get the foundation to photograph true to colour. There isn't as much colour difference as appears in the photos, my skin is washed out in the first one.

Select Moisturecover Concealer

applied with applicator from tube (with flash)

Select Moisturecover Concealer

blended with a 194 brush (with flash)

 Again sorry for the not so great pictures, it's hard to capture a foundation and concealer that blend in so well!

When you have severely dry skin it's always better to creme blush and highlighter products and not powder. Powder will sink straight into the dryness, but creme products will keep the moisture you're working so hard to keep in your skin there.

I love MAC Blushcreme in Ladyblush and MAC Creme Colour Base in Hush. I like these because again, they're buildable, so you can have as much or as little colour as you like.

Mac Blushcreme in Ladyblush

 MAC Creme Colour Base in Hush

 MAC Creme Colour Base in Hush (left) and

MAC Blushcreme in Lady Blush (right)

both swatched with a single 'swipe'

 MAC Creme Colour Base in Hush and

MAC Blushcreme in Lady Blush

blended with a 187 brush

This combination of products on my skin made such a difference to my skin's appearance, even though it was very dry, it still looked plush and healthy.

xoxo

Full Skincare Routine with LUSH Mini Reviews

I've been debating posting this for a while. I don't know if the blogging world is ready to see my makeupless face! But I'm finally ready to take the plunge. I know I look super different in these photos, my hair is scraped out of the way and I look way weird without makeup!!

So.. here we go:

Just to show you how good my makeup remover is, here is the makeup I was wearing before I started.

And here's after makeup removal. I first gently peel off my lashes, then soak a cotton pad with Benefit's Gee, That Was Quick! I love this product becuase it will remove all traces of makeup including mascara, eyeliner, waterproof products, eyebrow pencil, lipstick, foundation, etc., etc. which is really important in your skincare routine.

 

After removing makeup, I used my Baby Face Cleanser from LUSH. This can also be used as a makeup remover, but I prefer to soley use it as a cleanser. This looks very oily in the photograph, because frankly, it is. You literally melt this onto your face from the bar, so it has an oily consistancy so it can melt onto your face. Once I have applied this I wet my hands and rub the product into my skin. I really can feel this getting into my pores and cleaning out all the dirt. I absolutely love this product as it leaves my skin feeling fresh and baby soft!

Next up I use Angels On Bare Skin, again from LUSH. I don't use this every night, but I usually do it at least every other day. It's one of those products you use when you just have that 'grubby' feeling. Hard to explain but I guess you guys know what I mean. I feel like this is a half and half cleanser and exfoliator, it sort of exfoliates but cleanses at the same time. This is really great for dry skin, I would recommend this to anyone who gets dry patches or just dry skin in general. Even if you change skin types with the weather, I'd say this is a great investment.

 About once a week I do a mask just to give an extra hydration boost. This is The Sacred Truth Fresh Face Mask, yet again from LUSH. This was a tester pot that I received instore but I got 2 or 3 uses from the pot. The first photo is right as the mask is applied, and the second photo shows 10 minutes later when the mask had dried. I like to let it dry completely and then rub and peel it off.  This gives me time to go get changed for bed and sort my room out so I can fall into bed as soon as I'm done! This really makes me feel like the dirt is being scrubbed away from my skin and I love it :)


After this I moisturize with Celestial (do you still need me to say it's from LUSH?!) which I recently bought a full sized pot of along with the full sized Angels On Bare Skin. I just love those products and so does my skin!!


I'm really loving LUSH's skincare range, I've noticed a real difference in my skin. I'm sure once I've used these products up I'll try some other things too!


What are your favourite skincare products?


xoxo

Lee Stafford Jzeush! Bar - Mixed Experience

Well.. this is somewhat of a mixed review/rant/rave because to be honest I have really mixed feelings about my experience. For those of you who haven't heard of the new Lee Stafford Jzeush! Express Style Bar, it's basically a walk in salon where you can choose from 11 looks ranging from £12-£20 and get it done there and then. I was first approached by a woman who was handing out flyers, she asked if she could tell me a bit about the service. I agreed to this took a flyer and carried on shopping. I was intrigued to see whether the service really was as good as they said so when I was done shopping I went back to ask a few questions. I had my eye on the Fishtail Plait but I've tried it before on myself and all the back kept falling out because of my weird layers. I talked to the marketing woman about this and she said (literally) "they can work wonders". I'm a sucker, but this and the fact that Lee Stafford himself was standing right there watching the girls do the hairstyles, I figured "why not?".

As soon as I sat down I regretted the deccision. The girl doing my hair seemed like a trainee, she re-started the plait 3 times and it looked like it was sticking out of the side of my head at a really strange angle. Given that I had seen Lee giving the stylist working on the next station (even though she was doing a different style) pointers and helping her, I figured he would do the same for the girl working on me. No such luck. Now, I wouldn't have been so irritated by this if I had not been paying £20 for the style. By the time she was done with the plait and had tugged it into place, I admit, it looked good. So I paid and left, figuring that it was a nice treat, but not an experience to repeat.

However, by the time I reached my car the entire back of my hair had fallen out  of the plait and was hanging around my shoulders. It was a side fishtail plait on the right, so my shorter layers from the left side of my head had fallen. I've got to say, for £20 this was unacceptable to me. 5 minutes of a style for £20 - no thanks. I couldn't go back in and complain because I had to get home, but I rang the number on the flyer, which turned out to be head office. I told them exactly what had happened and was offered to go back and have the style redone with Lee himself overseeing it or a refund. I chose the refund, simply because I don't have the time to go back, there would be petrol money or train fares too, so a refund just seemed better.

Today I received a package containing my refund and 3 full size products with a letter apologising for my disappointment and inconvenience, and explaining that they welcome any customer feedback and would like to make it up to me with the enclosed products.

I recieved the Bling SpARkLE SpRAY, the Bling HaiR REhab Detox SHaMPOO and the Bling HaiR REhab iNTENsE CoNDiTiONER. I will be doing full reviews of these products in due course.

Overall, I wasn't impressed with the Jzeush! service itself and would only recommend it if you wanted one of the more complex styles which I feel would be worth the £20. However, I personally felt 5 minutes in a chair for a fishtail plait was not worth £20 leading to my complaint. I was really impressed with the way the company dealt with my complaint and quick resolution of the issue.

xoxo

Just for the record: I have no problem at all with Lee Stafford, his company or anyone affiliated with him or his company. This is an simply honest review of the service I recieved. I have no grudge that would lead me to write a negatively biased review of these products and intend to treat these products as if they had been sent to me for review purposes.

MAC To The Beach Haul

I love this collection, I had to wait until I got paid to get some bits and bobs but now here they are!

Life's A Breeze Lip Pencil

(Sorrry for the blurry picture, my camera was being stupid)

I really love this lip pencil. It's the perfect colour to compliment so many pink lipsticks. It looks really good with Viva Glam Gaga, Creme Cup and Lazy Day.

 Easy Lounger Lipglass

This is a really good way to spice up a pink lipstick, without having to buy a different shade of gloss for each one. It's sheer enough to suit all light pinks, but gives the perfect amount of shine and shimmer for use in the day and at night.

Lazy Day Lustre Lipstick

This is another really gorgeous pink from MAC's lipstick collection. It's more of a subtle pink thank most, but I like that. Perfect for work!

Life's A Breeze - Lazy Day - Easy Lounger

 Sweet & Punchy and Humid Eyeshadows

 Humid - Sweet & Punchy

I really want to go back and get the other eyeshadows, they're all really pretty. I have Shimmermoss already, so I won't be buying that one, but I really want the other two. I just got these two today, and I really wanted Float On By Eye Kohl to go with them, but I need to budget still!

LUSH and drugstore hauls later!

xoxo

Review: Nealsons Pure & Clear

So this is a reasonably quick post, I'm not very well, but have to go to work in an hour and since I have the closing shift chances are I won't be able to post when I get home tonight.

Anywayy.. back to the subject.. Recently, whenever I get a spot, blemish, whatever I head straight for my Nelsons Pure & Clear. I don't use this on a day to day basis but for combating single areas for a few days at a time it works a treat!

 

I also use the Blemish Gel, since I don't actually have acne I didn't buy the Acne Gel or the Acne Tablets. The packaging of all the products is great. If you don't have a ton of time the step system on the front of all the packaging shows you what order to use the products in, I've only glanced over the full instructions for the safety warnings, they are really easy to use and totally self explanatory. The wipes are great as they will remove light makeup while cleansing your skin, another bonus for those who are pressed for time. There is also a balancing moisturiser in the collection which isn't pictured. Last night I was knackered so I just cleansed and smoothed some over my face, it has the blemish fighting ingredients in it so if you're just too tired to bother spot treating and just want to sleep, you can still see benefits.

There really is something for everyone in this collection. It's completely hollistic and you can find it in the Alternative Skincare section of you local Boots or in Holland & Barrett. If you like hollistic treatments or have had a reaction to chemicals or have found some products like Clean & Clear too harsh, this may be the collection for you!

xoxo

P.S. Thanks to Lucy and Ritalime for your comments on my last post about my new car, I clicked publish on both, got the email notifying me of the comments, but they haven't shown up :( Maybe they will later, but if they never do, I have read them and appreciate them and all my other comment you lovely ladies (and the beautiful boys; I know you're out there!) leave for me! XD

Review: MAC Green Gel Cleanser

Well this is just a quick little review of my current cleanser.. I need a new one because mine is almost gone, and I may try something new so I wanted to review this one now while I'm still using it :)

The packaging is pretty good, but to be totally honest, I expect more from MAC. The bottle is good quality and the screw top has a nice feel, however, the dispenser is just a small hole in the top of the bottle. Since many of MAC's products come with pump tops, or you can buy them and fit them yourself, I don't see why this one doesn't. It would make this a whole lot easier to use and eliminate my biggest issue.

This issue is using the gel in the shower, because of the 'squeezie top' every time I opened it while in the shower water got in. Over time this has built up and I think affected the quality of the product. However, I just used a little more of the diluted cleanser than I would have of the original product and it works fine.

At £14 I'd say it's a fairly reasonable price. It does the job well, I rarely have breakouts and always have sliky smooth skin after I use it.

I'm going to talk about the gel as it was when I bought it, since I doubt many of you will be using this in the shower everyday as I do. The actual gel foams up well when mixed with water and you don't need a lot to cover your whole face and neck. As a result of using this gel for about 6-8 months I've had about 3 bad breakouts and the occasional spot here and there. I've also only bought 2 bottles of this, so realistically a bottle can last 3-4 months using the gel sparingly once a day (I just wash my face with clean water in the morning and use this in the evening. And by sparingly I mean a blob about the 1 1/2 to 2 times the size of a penny, you really don't need much more if you foam it properly). My skin doesn't feel tight or in any way unpleasant after using this product, all I do is spritz with Fix+ Rose, moisturise and go to bed. I sometimes even feel like I don't need to moisturise because my skin feels so hydrated from using this in the shower, but I always do as your moisturiser acts as a barrier to any dirt particles that can get into your pores while you are sleeping (I totally believe in this given my spot/breakout track record). I really reccomend this cleanser for all you dry-skinned beauties as I have found it clears up any severe dry spots I may get from exposure to the elements (thanks winter for the cold wind killing my face and lips!!). MAC Green Gel Cleanser totally gets my seal of approval!

Have any of you lovely readers tried this product? What did you think?

xoxo

Alligatorrrr

Just a quickie post as I'm off to bed in a sec! I wasn't planning a review of this or anything but I have gone crazy for my GOSH Velvet Touch Eyeliner!! It has everything: staying power, pigment, ease of use.. the list goes on!

The day I bought this I swatched it for you guys, what I didn't say in the post was that after swatching I tested it's staying power, I figured if it could really stand up to handwashing, sanitizing, showering, blah, blah, blah then it would be worth the money. Well, this took 3 DAYS to come off properly, and now I've started using it regularly I have to use a heavy duty oil-based removed to get it off. The colour is gorgeous (see below!). It applies fully pigmented first time with great coverage. I can't praise this product enough and I'm so happy I just happened to grab it off the GOSH counter! I love wearing this in my lower lash line for work as a quick snap of colour, but it worked amazingly well as an eyeshadow base too!

Well... I have to sleep! Hope you all had a great Sunday and well done to all you marathon runners!


xoxo