Seventeen Backlash Mascara and Eye Liner

I am a sucker for new products and freebies, I really didn't need a new mascara, but when I spotted the new Seventeen Back Lash mascara with a free gel eyeliner and £1 off I couldn't resist. I love Seventeen products and their Falsifeye mascara is one of my favourites so I was expecting great things.

The brush on the mascara is one of those really fat soft bristled brushes, not my favourite sort but it does get right in between your lashes to give really amazing definition. Back Lash claims to give over 100% greater lash impact with definition, volume, length and lift. I didn't find it gave as much volume as the Falsifeye, but it really does lengthen and define the lashes with out any clumps. Maybe not a night out mascara for me as I like more volume, but a perfect day to day one for amazing long defined lashes.

The big surprise for me though was the free gel eye liner. Now I am not a massive fan of gel eye liners, I love my Collection liquid liner and don't really use anything else. I gave the Back Lash eye liner a go though and I love it! I have tried gel ones before and found them hard to work with and they didn't last as well as liquid. This one though is more like a mousse than a gel which makes it much easier to use. I found it went on much smoother and with a neater line than other gel liners. I did find it hard to get a thin line but that should come with practise. I also love how with a smaller amount you can get a smudged look and less of a heavy black line. For a freebie, this is lovely and I can see myself getting plenty of use out of it as it seems more versatile than my Collection Liquid liner.

The Seventeen Back Lash mascara is £5.49 at the moment in Boots with the Back Lash liner free. Have you tried it yet?

Maybelline Superstay 10 Hour Tint Gloss

I had spotted these a good few months ago but after trying a couple of testers had got my heart set on Lasting Pink. I couldn't find it anywhere, every Boots I was in seemed to have sold out. I finally managed to get my hands on it a few weeks ago though and have been loving it ever since.

I thought these would be similar to the L'Oreal Stain Splash but rather than being glossy you get more of a full on colour stain. The five shades in the range are lovely but most are a little bright for my taste so Lasting Pink is perfect for me, bold but not too scary. 

I love the colour, not too red but not too pink. For me, its just bright enough to wear through the day but looks lovely with a smoky eye for a night out too. It last really well too although I wouldn't say it lasted the full 10 hours, 3-4 is probably more realistic depending on how much you eat/drink, but I don't think that's too bad and for the price I don't mind re-applying. It doesn't dry your lips either as I have found some other lip stains do. It smells gorgeous too, really fruity and is perhaps my favourite smelling lip product at the moment!

I hope they bring out some more colours in the range, I'd love some more of these. For £5.99 I'm really impressed and can see this getting plenty of use.

Have you tried the Maybelline Tint Glosses? Do you prefer these or the L'Oreal, I'm not too sure!

 

Candy Stripe Nails

This was something I decided to try a few days ago when the weather was nice and sunny. I hadn't got round to posting this though and now the weather is rubbish so it doesn't really fit, but what can you do.

I love the Invogue feather polishes and this one, Parakeet is my favourite. I love how it looks over the pinky coral and reminds me of hundreds and thousands on an ice cream (hence why I needed the sunny weather!). I love these cute summery nails and will be trying the feather polishes over some different colours, perhaps a turquoise would look nice!

Have you tried the Invogue polishes? They are a bargain at £3.49 from Superdrug with free delivery at the moment!

George Gel Polishes

I love finding new nail polishes, particularly bargain ones and I can't help wondering down the make-up isle whenever I go to ASDA. I spotted these new Gel Pro Nail Polishes a while back and although I have never really taken much notice of the George make-up range, I was surprised at how good the selection of nail polishes was and had to give them a try.

The shade range in the Gel Pro range isn't fantastic but they do have lots of lovely polishes including glitter ones and caviar beads for bargain prices. The Gel Pro polishes were on offer for £2, usually £3, so who could argue with that.

I love the gel style polishes that are out and rely on Barry M Gellys for my day-to-day nails. I hoped to find an amazing bargain here but I have to say I wasn't too impressed. The colours are lovely and I really like Rose for a summery colour but the formula wasn't great. They chipped after a few hours as you can see on my first finger, and although you can't tell on the picture they came out a little streaky.
They are a bargain but I say splash out the extra couple of quid for Barry M, the quality is so much better.

Have you tried any of the George make-up range? I'm not convinced.

Bourjois Laser Toppings: Sun Scales

My lazy nail polish loving self can't get enough of simple ways to make my nails look more interesting. My latest obsession has been the feathered polishes. I love the Invouge feather range and the Barry M Confettis have to be a close second favourite. After spotting the Bourjois Laser Toppings though, I realised what they had been missing- a bit of sparkle! The Laser Toppings are gorgeous coloured metallic strips in a clear base and come in three colours, Sun Scales, Blue Neon (the two I chose) and Aqua Purple priced at £5.99.

I chose Barry M Papaya Gelly as the base colour as it really makes the gold stand out. Sun Scales is made up of gold and metallic pink strips and is the perfect colour for summer. The Bourjois flat brushes are perfect for this kind of effect as you only need one sweep to cover the nail so you get a nice even coverage of strips.

Despite the mess I have made of my thumb, I love how this looks. I couldn't quite capture how the strips glitter in the light but it looks so pretty. This is a perfect alternative to a full on glitter polish but just gives that bit of extra sparkle to a plain polish. I found it lasted really well without chipping, a good three days before I got bored and took it off.

I haven't really taken much notice of Bourjois polishes before, but if the recent nail effect releases are anything to go by then I can't wait to see what they have planned for the future. I love the Laser Toppings so I hope they will carry on bringing out more unique polishes to keep up with the trends.

Have you tried the new Bourjois Manicure Toppings? I can't wait to try Blue Neon now!

My Summer Face: No7 BB Cream

With the weather being so warm lately I have been looking for something light to put on my face instead of foundation. I know a lot of people swear by BB Creams for that make-up free look but I never really got into the whole BB trend as I use light foundations anyway and the ones I had tried didn't seem much different. I had tried the No7 BB Cream a few times at work though and loved the colour and finish it gave so when the vouchers came around again this time I decided to give it a go.

The No7 BB Cream comes in three versions, normal/oily, normal/dry and dry/very dry and I chose the normal/dry in medium. The colour blends really well and although it suits me perfectly now with a bit of a tan it still blended in to look natural before the sun came out. I love it for those days where you don't need a full face of make-up, and recently since getting a bit of a tan, I have been using it every day. 

The finish you get from the BB Cream is lovely and looks natural whilst still giving that bit of coverage and evening out your skin. I didn't expect it to last as well as it does with it being so light coverage but even after a day at work it still stays in place. I haven't tried the other formulas but the normal/dry leaves my skin feeling lovely and soft. The fact that it includes SPF 15 is another bonus for these warm weeks.

No7 really have converted me and I now love this BB Cream, so much so that all my other foundations have been put away until the weather changes. With the BB Cream I have all I need for my Summer look. At £12.95 they aren't the cheapest around but they do class as a skincare product within the No7 range so when the vouchers are out, you can get £5 off. With my discount I picked it up for about a fiver, but I'd be happy to pay more as it is worth every penny. You only need to use a tiny bit so it won't run out after a couple of weeks.

Have you tried any No7 foundations or have you been reaching for the BB Creams in the warm weather too?

A Disappointing Top Coat...

Just a quick post today about one of my favourite top coats, and the new, really disappointing version of it.

Two very similar top coats, both No7, the one on the left the new Gel-Look Shine, the right Stay Perfect. 

Stay Perfect Top Coat is my favourite, my tried and tested, best I've ever had top coat. I use it all the time and always stock up when Boots are giving out No7 vouchers. It dries quicker than anything I've ever seen, makes my polish last longer without chipping and gives a lovely shine. So when I saw the new Gel-Look Shine Top Coat I had to give it a try, expecting something amazing. 

The Gel-Look Shine Top Coat is awful. Its watery, not as shiny as the Stay Perfect and chips within a few hours. I have tried it over about five different polishes now and none have lasted more than a day without chips. I usually get around 2-3 days wear with the normal top coat so I was really surprised how quickly this chipped. The Stay Perfect gives what I would call a Gel-Look Shine anyway, so I can't understand how a top coat designed for Gel-Look Shine can be less shiny, but it is!

I have no idea what went wrong with this one but the only redeeming factor was that it cost me about £2 with discount and a voucher so I haven't lost much.

I can't recommend the Stay Perfect Top Coat enough, but I would suggest avoiding wasting money one the new Gel-Look one, although the Gel-Look Shine colour polishes are lovely.

Have you tried the new No7 top coat? If you haven't go buy Stay Perfect instead! 

July Glossybox: Seaside Splash

If you read my review of last months Glossybox, you'll know that I was disappointed to the point of considering not renewing my subscription. I have been getting the boxes since early this year and that was the first box which made me think I had wasted my money. I decided to give Glossybox another chance though, as I was really enjoying the surprise of opening the box each month and seeing what I'd been sent. I also liked the look of the theme of the July box, Seaside Splash, so was interested to see what would be included.

I have to say this months box is a huge improvement on the last, both in value for money and the quality and size of the samples included. The total value of my box this month was about £33.20. Not bad for a tenner! Anyway, onto the pictures.

The box this month is a gorgeous blue seaside themed design and although it won't match any of the others I have, I really like the design.

The first product that caught my eye was the Ciate Paint Pot in Speed Dial (full size £9). I don't own many Ciate polishes as I can't bring myself to pay £9 for a single polish when I probably won't use it more than a couple of times. The few I do own though, are amazing colours, cover in a couple of coats and last really well. I love the orange shade I got and although it is a little bright for me I can see it getting some use during summer. 

The second product I was drawn to was the Sleek Pout Paints in Peek-A-Bloo and Pin Up (full sizes £4.99 each). My first though was what am I going to use the blue for, but the booklet does state they are meant for mixing. I do wish I had got the coral shade but you can't be too picky. I tried to mix the two and just got a mucky looking mess but hopefully they will mix better with other colours.

I also received Anatomicals Facial Spritz (full size £6.00). This is perfect to use at the moment as it is ridiculously warm and the weather looks set to stay! I do use fixing spray for my make-up when its warm or I want it to last so I am used to spraying my face but this feels a little thick. It doesn't spritz, it kind of just squirts at you and needs rubbing in to cover your face. It is refreshing but smells a little too strong of lavender for me. I will use it up but don't think it is something I'd repurchase.

I was also pleased to receive Coola Organic Suncare for face (full size 50ml £25.99, 7ml included). I do think this is a little pricey but if you are going to splash out then face care is probably a good place to start. I have be ensuring I've used products with SPF on my face whilst the weather has been so warm (my trusty No7 BB cream is perfect) but I have been thinking of investing in a proper sunscreen for my face if the warm weather is to continue so this came at the perfect time. 

The final product in my box was the Boho Waves Tousled Texture Mist (full size 125ml £23.00, 25ml included). My hair is pretty rubbish for styling and is generally pretty straight, although I did used to like leaving it to dry naturally when it was longer and used to use things like salt spray to get it to curl. I am trying to grow my hair again and it is getting to the point where it is almost long enough to curl so this is something I will definitely use just to give that extra bit of texture and curl to my boring hair.

I am pretty impressed with what I received this month and although the Pout Paint colours are a little strange I will most likely use everything in the box. This months box has been back on the standard that I had grown to expect from my Glossybox and I'm hoping hat this means it wasn't a mistake for me to renew my subscription. I hope next months box is just as good!

Did you get this months box? Did you like the products or were you disappointed?

No7 Gel-Look Shine Nail Polish

I posted the other day about my Boots haul in which I picked up quite a few bargain No7 products using my vouchers. You can see that haul here if you like. My favourite bargain of the lot though, had to be the new Gel-Look Shine Nail Polishes. I have to say though that the colours, for a summer range aren't the best but I wanted to try them out.

I love the normal No7 nail polishes and always pick up a few when I have vouchers. Their top coat is my absolute favourite and is the best I have had for drying quickly and leaving an expensive looking finish. The normal colour polishes, although the colour range isn't the most exciting and tends to be plain colour polishes, has some lovely polishes with a brush which coats the nail in one sweep and dries faster than most other polishes I own. 

After a bit of deliberating I decided to pick up Mint Treat and Summer Holiday. They were the only brights in the range, the only other I fancied was a burgundy, so I hope they expand this range. You can see from the picture on the right, the brush is almost flat which is fantastic for quick application.

Mint Treat is such a gorgeous turquoise shade, while Summer Holiday is a perfect "barbie" pink. Excuse the poor photo of Summer Holiday, but Mint Treat shows how amazing the shine is on these lovelies. I have yet to see how long they last as I changed Summer Holiday quickly but Mint Treat is still going strong with no chips two days in. I have been going for purple or coral shades recently, so this is a little different for me but I really love Mint Treat.

I really hope No7 bring out more shades in this range as I can see them being popular. I haven't tried the Gel Look Top Coat which goes with the range but if the normal top coat is anything to go by then it will be a good one! If you have't tried No7 polishes yet then I would recommend giving them a try while the £3 vouchers are still around, they make them a bargain at £3 for a normal polish or £3.50 for one from the Gel-Shine range. 

Have you tried the No7 polishes yet? If the shade range grows then I reckon they could be a Barry M Gelly rival (with a slightly larger price tag) although I wouldn't usually buy unless I had a voucher...

Boots Discount Haul

I haven't worked at Boots since I started my new full time job, which has meant no discount for me (sad face). I had also been saving up my No7 vouchers so I could stock up when I could get my double discount on it. This meant a nice little haul when I was finally back in on Sunday and as it is my first haul in a while, I thought I'd share it! I may have gone a littler over the top but all make-up was buy one get one half price which was too tempting to resist!

The first bits I picked up were the No7 BB Cream (£12.95) and Essentially Natural Foundation (£9.95). I have been wearing the BB Cream loads recently and I love it. It gives me the perfect light coverage I want for work and feels lovely on my skin. The Essentially Natural is my daily foundation and I when I want it to last longer or need a  extra bit of coverage. I do only use light foundations as my skin isn't particularly bad and I don't like anything heavy and these two have been ticking all the boxes for me recently. If you haven't yet, go get colour matched for No7, their foundations are my favourite.
I also picked up another of the BB Lips in Belle Pink (£8.50) as I have been loving those after picking up a couple of other shades which I reviewed here.

Next stop, nail polish (obviously). I had seen the new No7 Gel Look polishes (£6.50) a few weeks back and fancied giving them a go, although I wasn't too impressed with the shade range. I did like the look of these bright ones though so picked up Summer Holiday (bright pink) and Mint Treat (turquoise). I have Summer Holiday on at the moment and it is gorgeous, so it will have its own post soon but first impressions- it is mega shiny and beats Barry M's Gellys in terms of looking like gel polish! I always stock up on top coat when I get vouchers so got another one this time (white top, £6.00) and also picked up the new Gel Look top coat (£6.50) to try.
These were all bought with the £3 off No7 vouchers and on buy one get one half price, so were a great bargain.

                                                                                       l-r: Revlon Lip Butters in Sorbet, Macaroon,

                                                                                    Maybelline Super Stay Tint Gloss in Lasting Pink.

I also needed a new primer as mine is running out. I still love the Seventeen Photo Flawless (£4.99) so picked up the same again. I can't bring myself to try another as this is just so good for the price.

I have been using Revlon Lip Butters (£7.99) almost constantly the last few months so decided to treat myself to another couple of shades. Sorbet is a bright pink which can be built up or left subtle like the swatch and Macaroon is a nude browny pink with a hint of glitter. I can see these two making their way into my daily routine along with my other Lip Butters.

Maybelline Super Stay 10 Hour Tint Gloss (£6.99) in Lasting Pink is something I have been trying to get my hands on for a while now but haven't been able to find. I wanted to try it after loving the L'Oreal Stain Splash and this colour is lovely without being too bright for me. They smell amazing too, really fruity. 

I may have spent the days wages before I even get paid but I am really happy with my little haul. I have lots of lovely new bits to try and I'm sure they will pop up in reviews soon. The No7 Gel polish will be first as I am already loving it!

I have just realised this is also my 100th post so a little bloggy milestone there for me!