CULT BEAUTY: Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish review

I’ m sure for those of you who are avid beauty lovers, such as myself have heard  of this product and it is a beauty phenomenon. I bought my first bottle of this in April last year. I can safely say that never before have I re-purchased skincare, as I’m always on the quest for a Holy Grail product and I can safely say that I have found it. I know you've all probably heard loads about it but I thought I'd throw my humble opinion into the beauty blogging world too!

It’s a beautiful cleanser, a lovely thick creamy-like consistency. It smells very fresh with notes of eucalyptus and rosemary which is great for both morning and evening cleansing. Strangely, its one of those cleansers which has the amazing ability to wake you up in the morning, and relax you in the evening. Its designed to be suitable for all skin tones, and mine is mega-sensitive which is why I was sceptical about purchasing this for so long. I eventually bit the bullet and bought the starter kit in John Lewis. (I’m one of those weird people who doesn’t like buying things online, I like the customer service and satisfaction of physically buying something, but when I need a re-purchase and I can’t get to a John Lewis, I will have to cave). Anyhow, the starter kit comes with a 100ml bottle of cleanser and 2 muslin cloths. I take one pump for the evening and usually half a pump in the morning because otherwise you’ll storm through it. Massage it gently into dry skin, whilst letting the cloth soak in hand hot water. Then wring out the cloth and start ‘polishing’ it off your skin. Personally I prefer to use a flannel because it holds the heat more effectively. It is a truly effective makeup remover and cleanser all in one. Usually I have to use a makeup remover and then use a cleanser which is a bit of a pain, so this has solved all my problems. I follow with the Liz Earle Skin Boost tonic which is amazing. Whenever I use it I think ‘aaah’ and it feels relieved. It’s very cooling and refreshing. Just gorgeous!

That’s all common sense anyway. All I have to say really that this is a product which genuinely deserves all the hype around it. My skin has never looked so good. It’s sorted out my skin and manages to keep spots at bay, and just create a lovely dewy, radiant glow to the skin. An absolute skincare staple for me now.

The only negative thing I have to say about it is that if you buy the 100ml bottle for £13-ish, you do go through it rather quickly; especially if you’re using it twice a day. A 200ml is available for £24 but I never usually want to part with that much money. Plus the cloths get mucky quickly so pop them in a white wash after about every 3 uses. But all in all it’s an amazing cleanser/makeup remover and the fact that I need to repurchase my fourth bottle soon is the proof!

Rimmel Apocalips Review

Hello my lovelies hope you're all well. Thought I'd dust off the old keyboard to bring you a review of a product that has been greatly anticipated. And that's the Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers. These are meant to be a drugstore dupe for the YSL glossy stains. However these Rimmel dupes are much more wallet friendly, retailing at £5.99 (currently all Rimmel products are 3 for 2 in Boots, so get a move on!)

I picked up three colours:

• Big Bang- a classic, vibrant Marilyn Monroe red.

• Apocaliptic- a bright fuschia pink.

• Galaxy- a deep brown/plumby colour.

This beauty is the colour Galaxy. Its a glossy purple toned colour, I would call it a cross between plum and mauve. Its a gorgeous everyday wearable colour. Not too much, but just enough if you want a little pazazz! Unlike the other colours I'm reviewing, this one in my opinion is the one that you can get away with wearing a stronger eye- you could smoke it up for a night out, or just it would look stunning with some shimmery gold eyeshadow, black liner and lashings of mascara. An all round fab shade!

This is Big Bang, the name covers it pretty well I think. Its a gorgeous, classic red; it just screams Taylor Swift to me! It is a more orange toned red as opposed to a blue toned red. Pair with a flawless base, flicked out eyeliner and mascara. You will definitely stop traffic with this! I would wear this in the daytime, but if you prefer a more natural daytime look, you could whip this out for a hot date or a night out. 

And last but not least, we have Apocaliptic. This is the most beautiful bright fuschia for all you fun loving females. It reminds me of a retro 80's glamour, but its also a perfect summer shade, paired with a pretty dress and a natural dewy base with some neutral eyeshadow. Summer please HURRY UP! However there's no reason why you couldn't wear this all year round for some true girly pazazz!

Overall these lip lacquers are great, the staying power is great, I'd say about 5 hours before you need to reapply. Obviously you will have to sooner if you eat a meal or have a drink. 

They give a medium glossy finish. They aren't super shiny (personally I don't like super shiny which is why I love these!) They give a wearable shine to the lips. They are SUPER pigmented, which is great for a product which is lip-gloss-like. I guess its like wearing a lipstick and you've applied some clear gloss on top. Although with these, that seconds step isn't necessary at all! Also, I found you don't need lip liner, as these don't bleed.

Another bonus is that they don't dry out my lips. My lips get super dry in the winter months but these seem quite moisturising which is always a big thumbs up!

These really are a gorgeous product, and I'm sure the other drugstore brands will soon bring out their own versions. I know that a similar product has been released by L'Oreal in the U.S which most likely be hitting the high street soon. However these are great quality for the price of £5.99! 

Finish: 9/10 (bright and pigmented, and can be layered up for a deeper smash of gorgeous colour!)

Texture: 9/10 (they are not sticky at all) but just feel nice and smooth.

Colours: There's a great colour range of reds, corals, pinks and nudes. Something for everyone :)

Value for money: 10/10 !

Big smiles all round!

Bare Minerals Original Foundation Review

Hi Everyone! Long time no see I know, the last few weeks of uni were a beast but I have now finished my first year! I cannot believe it, seems like only yesterday my Mum and Dad dropped me off and I was sat by myself in my cell-like room which the University passes off for accommodation. Anyway, now I have bags of time to give my blog some TLC.

As a result of having all this spare time on my hands I've been making some rather lovely purchases. If enabling people to buy clothes and makeup was an olympic sport this year, my two best friends would get  gold medals. But I love them for it, as it fuels my addiction for pretty things, and pretty things make me happy.

One of my more recent purchases has been the Bare Minerals Original Mineral Powder, so I thought I'd give it a nice review. I was originally after the Laura Mercier one but I realised there isn't a counter near where I live and I didn't want to gamble on the colour match by buying it online. So I looked into the Bare Minerals one. After trying it out and my friends perfecting their enabling skills, I caved. And I am SO glad I did. My recent craze has been a love for all things natural, meaning both make up looks and the ingredients. I'm planning to do a massive LUSH review soon so keep your eyes peeled for that :)

However back to this Bare Minerals foundation. When I first approached the counter I was very sceptical about how much coverage this was going to give me. I like a medium to full coverage finish and I didn't think this foundation would give it to me due to its powder consistency. But I was wrong, this foundation gives a beautiful finish which is natural and glowy. I have sensitive skin which is prone to dry patches and a lot of foundations can make my skin look crusty, but I haven't had any problems. Its great for summer make up because it feels very light on the skin.

The foundation in the shade 'Fairly Light'

Real Techniques Blusher Brush- My chosen brush when applying this product.

I believe that this foundation only has 5 ingredients, which is great for your skin. It claims to improve the appearance of  your skin. I've only been using this for a week so I can't comment on its ability to do this just yet, however in a months time I will do an update and see if it fulfils its claims.

The packaging is quite sweet as you can see above, it comes in a small, round pot, with a 'sieve like' seal on it. You twist it and shake some product out into the lid. You can use any face brush to apply this product, my favourite the the Real Techniques blusher brush, (I know its for blush but it works wonders for this foundation).

How to Apply:

• Unscrew the lid off the pot, turn upside down and set to one side. 
• Twist the edges of the pot so the four holes are uncovered.
• Turn the pot upside down and shake firmly into the lid, a little mound of product will collect in the bottom.
• Take your chosen brush and dip it into the product and swirl it round the lid a bit, be sure to tap off the excess to avoid a cakey look. 
• Start buffing the product into your skin in circular motions. Start in the area where you like the most coverage, for me that's my nose and cheeks. 
• Slowly buff it out towards your jawline and bring down onto the neck.
• Once you've achieved the coverage you want, continue to buff the brush all over your face. The more you buff this in, the prettier and more flawless the finish will be. 
• You can leave the look plain for a more natural glow, or finish the look with a dusting of bronzer or blush.

The finished look. Please excuse the paleness of my skin!

Overall I'd give this product an 8 out of 10. There are a few negatives I have for this product. Firstly, only shake out a little bit of product into the lid. If you shake out too much its wasted. Secondly, use sparingly. The key to the look isn't how much product you put on, its how you work it into your skin. However, if you do like a very full coverage finish, by all means use more, but if you like a more dewy natural glow, don't apply loads. If you do put too much on it will look a bit cakey. It is a high end product so it carries a high end price tag. This product retails for £24. It is pricey, but it is a very nice product if you're looking a investing in something nice for the summer. Pair it with a nice pretty lipstick and lashings of mascara for a lovely summery make up.

I hope you like this review, like I said I will do an update in about a months time to see if it fulfils the claim of improving the appearance of your skin.

If you've have any experience with this product or any other mineral powders, please let me know in the comments below!

Hope you're having the most wonderful bank holiday!

Lots of Love, Georgie xxx

My MAC Lipstick Collection

I became a fan of MAC lipsticks about a year ago. I first discovered MAC when I was in Dubai 2 years ago and thats when I purchased my 107 foundation brush (I wanted to buy some lipsticks over there, but they were horrendously expensive). Then a miracle happend and a MAC shop opened up in the Debenhams store near where I live, which meant bye-bye wages...

Over the last year I have bought 3 MAC lipsticks and I thought I would do a post about the colours and what I think they would look nice with and what occasions I wear them for. So if you're interested, keep reading :)

MAC have different variations of lipstick. The ones I have are lustures and frosts, but I think there are other categories as well. Also I wanted to warn people about buying these lipsticks online. DO NOT do it unless you've had the lipstick before. The colours online look extremely different than what they are in real life. I remember looking online and liking the look of some colours and when I went into the shop to buy them they were very different. After each description I've added in the picture of the lipstick from the MAC website so you can see the difference.

LOVELORN
The first MAC lipstick I bought was 'Lovelorn' and its a lusture lipstick, meaning its a dewy finish on the lips as opposed to being matte or really glittery. Its ideal if you're after a natural make up look as its a nice rosy colour. This lipstick looks great with a neutral eyeshadow, lots of mascara and a pretty summer dress. Its ideal if you want to look a bit more done up than you would if you were just wearing a nude colour. I'd usually wear this if I was going shopping or out for lunch with my girlies

FABBY
My second and probably my favourite MAC lipstick that I own is 'Fabby' which is from the frost category. It can be worn smart casual and can be glammed up for a night out with a touch of lipgloss. The colour is a sort of dark dusty pink with hints of gold in it. It is beautiful, I've never seen a high street alternative of this colour; its truly unique. If I choose not to opt for red lips on a night out, I'll go for this with a nude lipgloss over the top, dramatic smokey eyes and a LBD.

I think this is the most misleading colour online. The caption above shows the picture from the MAC website and it looks purple; nothing to what it looks in real life.

ANGEL
My most recent acquisition in MAC lipsticks is 'Angel' which was a birthday present from my Mum. This is a frost lipstick, and its a very neutral nude colour-perfect for everyday.

Again the website picture looks very different; a deep mulberry colour, but in reality its a pinky nude. On the lips it looks quite similar to Lovelorn, but its much more of a nude as opposed to rose. Its a really easy colour to wear and I'd wear with jeans and T-Shirt if I was heading into uni or to the shops.

As you can tell all my colours are pretty similar. However I wear each one for different occasions. None of the colours are too garish, they are all really beautiful easy to wear colours which can be dressed up, which makes them all very versitile . I intend to widen this collection over time so all I can say is I hoped you enjoy reading this and it helped if you were thinking about buying a MAC lipstick.

Have a great day!
Georgie xxx

New Beauty Sensation: Jennifer Lawrence

As I am a magazine junkie, always looking for new beauty and fashion bits, I religiously buy Glamour and Cosmopolitan every month. I couldn't help but notice how beautiful Jennifer Lawrence looked on this month's cover of Glamour. I'd never really heard of her before and reading the interview she chats about eating ranch breakfasts (and still has a body to die for!) not having to worry about losing weight and how demurely naive she appeared to be about Hollywood. She is the perfect balance of being slim yet curvy, you can tell she eats chips and chocolate once in a while, which makes her endeering  because that means she probably enjoys life! I think its so refreshing to have an actress and someone who is going to become a role model, who is, for lack of a better word, normal. For the Glamour photoshoot, her physique looked so womanly, yet Hollywood probably deems her fat and its outrageous.

First thing you notice about this photo, is Jennifer's amazing body! She has an amazing curvacious physique which a lot of women would kill for, her hair and facial features are absolutely beautiful and the make up for this shoot isn't too overpowering, it just accenuates her features. I think this is the kind of woman young girls should aspire to, (obviously in an ideal world we should all be happy with ourselves as we are, but in reality we all have our insecurities, as I'm sure she does too). Hollywood seriously distorts our perspective of beauty and makes us believe that we are not good enough because we are not a size zero. This consequently makes us feel bad about our bodies and makes us think we aren't beautiful because we are guilty of believing that to be beautiful is to be stick thin.  It makes young women so vulnerable to insecurities about their bodies, when the whole system is just corrupt. What makes celebrities the template for an ideal beautiful woman anyway? Is it ethical for magazines to airbrush their models, when they are well aware of the impact it will have on young women? I guess the better the models look, the more money is made, its just a shame that being a size zero has to be the reason the clothes look good.




I want a fringe like this! But doubt it would look that good on me!

 

I'm really eager to see The Hunger Games now just to see what she's like as an actress. The trailer looks great and she looks so different in the film! I reckon she's going to become a great influence in Hollywood!

Check out the trailer for The Hunger Games below.

Have a great day!

Georgie xxx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgssLmsOa2s 

Review: L'oreal Paris False Lash Telescopic Mascara

This is a polar opposite review to my previous one which is nice to know! L'Oreal False Lash Telescopic Mascara is certainly a tricky name to say quickly or if you were slightly intoxicated. I've seen so many reviews of this mascara recently and all have been positive, consequently I finally decided to go and purchase one. What also swayed me was that my lovely friend bought about a week ago and I could not believe the difference in her lashes. When I applied mine I couldn't believe it either! Its honestly the best mascara I've ever had. I'm very wary of buying mascaras because it sometimes hurts to part with £10 (which is probably the average price of a mascara on the market at the moment). My previous mascara (MaxFactor False Lash effect) has been dry for sometime now so that's the reason I used to justify buying this one. I'm always wary about re-purchasing a product, especially a mascara, because I feel I'm just giving the company £10 whereas I'd rather spend that money trying out a new one. However I'm quite conflicted because I never know which one to buy and I feel deflated if its not great because I've wasted my money. Its irritating because unlike foundations, blushes, powders and lipsticks, mascara is the only thing which you can't test in a shop, its inconvenient but obviously justified as it would be unhygenic.  There are so many mascaras on the market right now, with more being added every month. The L'Oreal False Lash Telescopic mascara came out a few weeks ago. I've never had a L'Oreal mascara before so thought I might try it. The colour I went for is 'Magnetic Black.' I would always go for a black mascara because it just shows up on the lashes so much better. I can safely say that MaxFactor False Lash Effect has met its match! I can't really comment if this version is better or worse than the other Telescopic Mascaras in L'Oreal's range because as I said, this is the first L'Oreal mascara I've had.

The packaging itself is quite groovy, its designed to look like a telescope which is obviously how it coincides with the name. However, the packaging itself would not have attracted me to the product, which I suppose is good in a way because its not 'judging the book by its cover.' I've been so guilty in the past of buying a product which has amazing packaging, yet when you try the product out you realise that all the budget went into the design and manufacturing of the cool packaging as opposed to actually making a good quality product.

Naturally, my eyelashes are nothing to write home about, not particularly long or thick, but they're not particularly short either. This mascara separates and lengthens extremely well. The brush is plastic as opposed to bristles, and its a fairly slim brush. I was always illusioned by the belief that a thicker brush would make the lashes longer and appear more volumized. This can be true in some cases, however I now realise its not always the case as this mascara brush is fairly slim and gives amazing results. The formulation is thick yet not gloopy; a perfect balance. The physical appearance of the brush itself is a 'spiky' one. If you look at the brush, the 'spikes' are at the top and the bottom and the sides are flat. Its extremely effective if you rotate the brush as you apply; this is the key to lengthened, spidery effect. The final outcome is a set of extremely lengthened, spidery lashes which in my opinion, still look fairly natural, they're not clumpy at all. I did curl my lashes before hand, but I do that religiously everyday anyway. Eyelash curlers are a secret weapon! No make up bag should ever be without them, they make such a difference!

After curling and two coats

The brush

This mascara retails for £10.99 which is quite pricey for a highstreet cosmetic brand, however in my opinion its worth the money. Overall, I would give this mascara a 9/10 which is excellent. I'm not sure that there is a 'perfect mascara' that deserves a 10/10 rating, one certainly hasn't come across my path yet, but this one comes pretty close. 

Pigmentation: 9/10

Ease of application: 8/10 (as you do need to rotate the wand as you apply for maximum effect).

Packaging: 7/10 nothing special, but at the end of the day its not too relevant as it doesn't relate to how effective the product is. 

Brush: 9/10

Overall: 9/10

In conclusion, I'm very pleasantly surprised with how good this mascara actually is. I think it would be safe to say that I would re-purchase this when mines run out. In my opinion its the best £10.99 I've spent in a while! 

Please comment below and let me know what experience you have had with this product!

Have a lovely day!

Georgie xxx

Review: Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain

I hate to say this but first and foremost, this product was a massive disappointment to me, potentially the worst makeup item that I have ever bought; that's saying a lot because I've bought a lot of make up in my 20 years on this planet. I feel bad that my first proper product review is going to be a negative one, but I want to warn people about the Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain.

Several cosmetic companies are all of a sudden bringing out lipstains, and we have also recently seen the mammoth rise of the gel eyeliner. All are boasting good value, high quality products. Something tells me that I was just unlucky with the one which I purchased. The only reason I bought the Revlon lipstain was because the lip products were two for £10 and my friend and I went £5 each and both got one. She however was wiser and purchased a lipstick, 'Cherries in the Snow' and I must say it looked beautiful. Looking back I wish I'd just bought a lipstick. This lipstain retails for £7.99 and I would have been VERY upset if I'd paid that much for it.

Anyway, down to business, what forces me to believe that maybe this one was a one off unlucky purchase. When I tested this product, it was lovely, hence why I bought it. I got back to my flat, and tried it on. Lovely. I bought the lipstain in the colour 'passion' and it is a beautiful colour; bright, pretty pink without being to garish, easy enough to wear everyday. However when I went back 2 hours later to reapply (It didn't need reapplying really, I just wanted to play with it) it was completely dry and no colour came out onto my lips when I tried to apply it. I could literally draw a line down my face and nothing would come out. I've had this product for over a week now and its still the same. Yet I was in Boots today and tried the tester again just out of curiosity and it was fine, having been used numerous times; consequently making me think I had the bad egg of the bunch.

Another reason I don't get on with this product, aside from the fact it only worked once, is the poor packaging. The other end is a balm, which is applied over the stain to give a sheen to the lips which initally does look beautiful. However the cap does not click into place (this goes for all of the lipstains, not just my potential bad egg) hence it's not secure and  comes off very easily in your handbag as mine did. The balm snapped off and the product was ruined, this is the worst design flaw of the whole thing.  The balm just sticks out, it does not wind down, which makes it trouble beacuse if the lid comes off in your handbag it just mushes into the lining and makes your bag messy; something which you don't need to put you in a bad mood. This photo below demonstrates the 'snapped off' balm.

Would I ever buy a lipstain from another brand? Maybe, because I do love the effect stains have on the lips. I would never buy a Revlon one but potenially a MaxFactor one, yet with my bad experience with this one I would be apprahensive about purchasing one ever again. Like I said, maybe I'm just giving them a bad name, but my personal experience with this product was dire. I was excited for the release of the Revlon Lip Butters later in month and its made me think twice about purchasing one, which is sad.

Please comment below and let me know if you've had a good or bad experience with this product.

Have a great day! Georgie xxx