I have found the one ...

... but it doesn't mean the search ends there.


About two days ago, came a fantastic announcement from Lisa Eldridge, heralding the start of a revolution in terms of finding, once and for all and in a fool proof, unbiased way,  the perfect shade of foundation for you. The little device - which my friend Jen amusingly calls a 'hoofer doofer' -  took 3 years to develop and it's all kinds of awesome really, 17 shades of awesome to be precise.


Lisa Eldridge explains with passion the whole story about it, the fascinating research they did to be able to give birth to this little piece of genius. In short, it looks like a little white remote control which takes a photo of your skin and can tell in a few seconds the perfect shade for you. The consultant who has received a special training to being able to offer this free service, puts the little device against your right cheek, then your left cheek and a few seconds later, shows you the reading which corresponds to your perfect shade.


If you already know of this product and want to skip the description, the details of my consultation, and want to get to the juicy bits directly, the bit where I share my impressions on this foundation match service, please scroll just after the embedded video below.





When I say that the device takes a photo of your skin, there's no photo of you stored somewhere on a database or anything like that, it just takes a reading of your skin tone really. The best thing about it is that you don't need to rely on outdoor lighting (nor the skillls of the consultant) to define what your perfect shade is as the device can operate in any kinds of lighting.



Yesterday, was the first day when they launched the service. I haven't found my holy grail foundation so you bet I had to try the free service as soon as possible. My 'consultant' Alison was absolutely lovely. She was so genuinely excited about the service, it was lovely to see and very infectious. She confessed that they had been working long hours lately, sad that she hadn’t had the chance to see ‘Lisa talking about it on YouTube’ yet, and that she had been nervous about today, getting her new uniform ready and everything (aww, bless!)


So the consultation started and before I knew it, I was treated to a full makeover and Alison explained to me all the various products she wanted to use on me, after we had a chat about any concerns I had about my skin and what I wanted from a foundation. I said: I'm getting old, my skin is ageing, it's dry, and I want the highest coverage you've got’


After cleansing my skin, she then proceeded to use the Protect and Perfect Serum on me, then followed it up with the Protect and Perfect Moisturiser. A thin layer of the Stay Perfect primer, she then applied a layer of foundation in the SHADE that the little device found for me: Cool Vanilla.







Cool Vanilla: I was very happy that that was the name for my foundation. Sounds silly but I love vanilla, they make vanilla where I come from and that makes me happy and easier for me to remember. The foundation TYPE she chose for me was the 'Lift and Luminate' after I told her I was hoping for a full coverage and a little bit a dewiness to help with my dry skin type. Alison applied it on just one half of my face, as I wished, so I was able to see the difference.



Another advantage of this quick matching foundation is that Boots had been working hard to ensure that the shades stayed the same throughout the 7 formulation/types of foundations that they designed. How cool is that? All companies should do that!







I couldn't wait to see what 'cool vanilla' looked on my face. I was speechless and Alison laughed at my reaction. I think for the first 30 seconds, I was not able to speak. This is because, well, I didn't really like it and didn't know how to say it. I said to Alison 'woah, is that my shade, I look a bit pale'. Alison laughed and said that my expression was priceless as it was about the same reaction she had when she was matched. She didn't want to accept that the reading from the device was the perfect shade for her. She then pressed a button and said 'do you want to know, by curiosity, the shade that is just one level darker than cool vanilla?' Of course I said yes. She then applied 'warm ivory' on the other side of my face and that was a million times better, less ghostly sick looking and (to me) matching my neck better.






Do I think the device is able to give a foolproof accurate reading to enable me to find the perfect shade of foundation?

     
Absolutely, the device is a little bit of genius and is perfect. Do I accept its reading? No. For me, it's the same way as your girlfriends tell you that a certain man is the perfect man for you but that it doesn’t matter anyway because your heart is not into him. I personally think warm ivory looks better on me, Alison thinks the same and that's all that matters for me.

The consultation ended very well where Alison taught me how to put bronzer on myself and it made me feel like a million dollars. At no point, beginning, middle or end was I pushed to buy anything. She gave me a little sample of foundation to take home and play with and I left the shop with a card with all the names of the products she had used on my face. For me, that's the way every consultation should be and you should not be tricked into buying stuff. If you are going to use this service and looking for a way out of not buying stuff, perhaps you can say 'this card with all the products on is going to be very handy when pay date arrives' or even 'I know what to buy with my no.7 vouchers, next'. Please don't feel obliged to buy anything.



So, why didn't I buy the foundation in the end?       


Lift and Luminate (£16.50) felt lovely on the skin but I wasn't sold on the coverage. Lift and Luminate doesn't claim to be a full coverage foundation and nor did my consultant pretend it was one. I would describe the foundation to be light to medium coverage, which for me translates as 'light' coverage if you don't put layers on to build it as a medium coverage. The device might have found ‘the one’ for me, but I don't feel this is the one for me. Having said that, I can't wait to play with my tester and I can't wait to have another reading done, but this time try another foundation. I’d be curious to know what the machine says if it’s put against my neck. I can see foresee some struggle to encourage the lady to put the machine on my neck!



As far as I know, none of the Boots No.7 foundations are for people who want a full coverage but it will still be nice to try another one. The instant radiance foundation (£12.95) is cheaper, and IF this one offers better coverage, it would actually be a bargain to have a foundation beautifully matched to my skintone for £8, using a no.7 voucher. You can see at a glance here, all the foundations offered by no.7.


Have you been matched yet? Have you found ‘the one’?

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Boots Vitamin e Moisture Lotion

After being beyond with impressed with Boots Vitamin E toner, I couldn't wait to try the moisture face lotion from the same range. As nothing is easy with my small boots, I had to wait until last week till it came finally back in stock and that I could put my hands on it.





This is what they have to say about this £2.85 moisturiser:

Boots Vitamin E moisture lotion SPF15 contains naturally derived Wheatgerm Oil conditions, moisturises and nourishes the skin. Boots Vitamin E Moisture Lotion moisturises all day long to keep skin smooth, soft and radiant. The added benefit of SPF 15 protects against UVA and UVB rays

I couldn't believe how much product I could get for the price. Sadly this is when the fairy tale ended. I am not sure if I got my hands on a duff tube or what but this moisturiser actually never dried on my face and remained tacky to the touch… for ever!




With its widely recognised anti ageing ingredient Vitamin E and spf factor, I was hoping this would have my go to moisturiser but sadly I can't use it. I managed to keep the moisturiser on my face the two times I tried it but hadn't I put a drying foundation on top (I have tons of those unfortunately at home) I don't think I would have made it through the day without removing it. The fragrance was absolutely spot on, the price, the packaging equally spot on, but I just cannot make it work for me.

What: Boots Moisture Lotion with Vitamin e
Where: Boots.
How much: £2.85

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Oh no they didn't!

Oh yes, they did and I am mourning.





In their wisdom, Boots went all out and redesigned their Botanics skincare range. If you have been to Boots recently, you will have seen colourful additions to the Botanics skincare range, and 5 lines emerging from these colours:

1. The Youth Skincare Range for young skin,
2. The All Bright Skincare Range for brighter looking skin,
3. The Ultra Calm Skincare Range to sooth sensitive skin,
4. The Shine Away Skincare Range to target blemishes and reduce shine,
5. and the Organic Skincare range for customers 'who desire an extra level of proven purity'







It's all well and good but in the process, Boots discontinued my ultimate two favourite cleansers and I can't find the words to describe how upset I am. I've waxed lyrical about both of these (here and here) in 2 separate individual posts, so I'll to keep it straight to the point: these cleansers did everything I asked to and more:
1) the feeling of moisture when I rinse my face off was amazing,
2) the scent of these were just spot on and I could quite frankly never get bored of,
3) the bargain price (ranging from £3.99 to £5.10) made me very happy.
4) I absolutely adored the packaging. Totally up my street. love, love, undiluted love.
I was rarely buying them full price as boots Botanics were very often on offer and I was able to get ample supplies at a discount price. If I had known they had plans to discontinue it, I would have definitely stocked up.






There was hope for the organic one, but Boots added some shitty bonus rosehip extract in there, which now makes the product stink of flower. Rosewater and rosehip are really good for you yaddi yadda Zzzzz, people rave about them but I don’t want it in my cleanser, I get bored of it so quickly.  I have purchased the brightening one (with hibiscus ) which smells really nice and surprisingly not too flowery but it made my face a little bit itchy and tight. Fortunately I was able to return it on that basis.


If you have been a fan of Botanics skincare range, I would urge you to go to Boots immediately and check if your favourites are still there. I was able to get a last bottle of the 'rice and honey' cleanser, which I now want to keep for special occasions (how sad is that) as it has suddenly increased in value so much in my eyes.


I doubt I will ever find a cleanser which ticked so many boxes for a fiver.
The search has started. *blows snotty nose in a tissue*

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£2.50 Moisturising water for your face?

To say that I've been obsessing about my skin a lot lately is an understatement. This had a major impact in the beauty products I've been buying lately and I have definitely been spending more in skincare products rather than in makeup itself. My skin is dry, dehydrated and I feel it has aged a lot in the past two years *sobs* with no sign of decelerating.


For years, the beauty industry has been banging on about the fact that your skincare regime should be 'cleanse, tone, moisturise' but I must confess that I've never been good in the 'toning' department. When I was a teen, I would religiously use a toner and I remember that it felt very satisfying seeing the last bits of dirt on a cotton pad, after I swiped my face (or is swept?) with it. But for the past 8 years, I've found myself skipping the 'toning step' out of my skincare routine. Should have I kept using a toner for the past 8 years? I don't know. My view is that if using a toner had been so crucial, skin care experts and the beauty industry would have made big campaigns about it, campaigns similar to 'you should eat five portions of fruit and veg a day' or 'smoking can kill you'.


I am finding it hard to trust skincare advice online. Most of the articles I stumble on are usually infomercials trying to sell me some products. However I do trust Skincare Care expert Caroline from The Beauty Mouth and when she says it's good for you, then I believe her. For her, using a toner has three basic functions (you can read her article in full here) one of them which I couldn't dismiss any further: 'A good toner helps hydrating your skin. It acts as a humectant - attracting moisture from the air and trapping it in the top layers of the skin'


My skin being very dehydrated, I couldn't carry on with not using a toner any longer. So I went ahead and bought a cheapo toner from Boots. I got home with the 'Boots Vitamin E' toner (£2.54 for 150 ml)





What they say:

Boots Vitamin E Hydrating toner gently and effectively removes makeup and excess oils to leave the skin toned and refreshed. Contains Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant, to help protect the skin against environmental damage. Naturally derived Wheatgerm Oil conditions, moisturises and nourishes the skin.

The fact that it contains vitamin E is making me very happy. Vitamin E (together with vitamins A and C) has been hailed as a very good anti ageing ingredient and anti ageing, together with addressing the dehydration of my skin have become my skincare/beauty priorities.


Does this toner work then? Not only does it work but I could kick myself for not having tried it any sooner. While people would usually apply their toner on a cotton pad to then sweep over their face, I like to pour a little bit into my hand (the stuff is so inexpensive, I can afford to) and then pat it onto my face. I don't know how it does it, but my skin feels like I've applied a moisturising water over it. It's not like I've applied a proper bona fide moisturiser - obviously - but my skin feels magically already a bit smoother and softer, even before I apply my moisturiser. For me, it's mind blowing and the lovely delicate fresh smell adds to the pleasure of the experience. Call me sad, I actually look forward to the toner step in the morning and evening.


Will I repurchase this? The question doesn't even need asking. I need ample supplies of this, before Boots goes off on one and decide to discontinue it. As luck would have it, my local shop never seems to have any but this is what the website is for, right?


Let's face it: Skipping a toner would never be as dangerous as skipping brushing your teeth, time in the morning is precious and toning your skin is not vital. You'd knowit if it were absolutely crucial. But if your skin is dehydrated, it is a step you might want to consider. It will cost you £2.54 if wanted to take the risk to find out :)


what: Boots Vitamin E toner
where: erm, Boots, innit
how much: £2.54. Special offer (Buy 2 for £4)
further reading: Toner: The basics (Beauty Mouth)

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My summer handbag essentials

Please don’t laugh as I've been waiting for a nice hot, sunny and summery day to  write about this but the weather hasn't been playing balls.  Then I thought I could wait for the first official day of  Summer (was it 21 June?) but it tipped it down on that day  like you wouldn't believe. This morning, it was cloudy but  I was greeted with the most delightful hot breeze, it is so rare that we have warm winds in this country so I thought  this is it: perfect time to share with you my summer handbag  essentials. Most of you will hate the weather we had today and will  find it 'stuffy, close, sticky' but I love it: it reminds me of the tropics where I spent the first 18 years of my life, of the greenhouse my mum keeps her orchids in and it just puts a big ‘papaya slice’ grin on my face.





On a sunny hot day, in England, and if there is a possibility that I  spend a little bit of time outside (not full on sunbathing for hours)  this is what I would take in my handbag.




I'll take a cheap pair of sunglasses (1). These are from  BHS and cost me £8 if my memory is correct. I don't really  know if these suit me to be honest, so they gravitate  between my handbag, my eyes when it's very sunny and my  head as a hair accessory.




Having worn had long hair pretty much all my life, I am  going nowhere without hair accessories. You'll have to  excuse me as I don't remember all the prices but I can tell  you with confidence that my cute little butterfly claw (2) is from Superdrug and that it is probably my most repurchased hair  accessory together with this pretty basic 'wooden' effect hair claw (4) from Claire's Accessories. I actually find it quite  difficult to find a good hair claw which keep my hair in  place. Most of the hair claws these days have got some  stupid long winded teeth while I find that short straight  and simple teeth, like the basic hair claws you'd have at  the hairdressers' work best for me. I go through those mini  claws from Claire's Accessories (3) so fast as they're so  small, I spend my time losing them or stepping on them with  my big wedges. But they are the best thing for keeping my  side fringe out of the way. Love love love them!




Come rain or sunshine, winter or summer, anytime of the ...  month, I will, without a fail have some tampons (6) in my  handbag. My 'magic day' app on my phone is there to remind  me when the pixies come to visit me but I always like to  have some with me for peace of mind and just in case mother  nature decides to play tricks with me. Those bright green  sweetie-like wrappers are actually the Tampax Compak*  (£3.15). According to a recent survey from Tampax  a third of women voted tampons as a vital  accessory in their handbags. Apart from a purse, phone and  keys half of the women surveyed revealed their handbags  always contain makeup, followed by tampons (38%), a diary  (30%), and, to keep hunger pangs at bay, food or sweets  (28%).


I must share with you some other bits of the survey  which made me feel good about myself and the amount of stuff I  carry around with me.
'Women spend 858 hours of their life searching through  their handbag, rummage for items buried away into their  handbags an average time of 4.8 times a day, and the  average handbag weighs around 3.5lbs' (is that 7 kilos?  OMG!!). I think I might be rummaging through my handbag more  often than that, but there is no way that my handbag weighs  that much :)



I will probably never be able to forget the boots marketing campaign on Soltan, years ago, with those pretty and young models covered with age spots. Boots really sold their 5 stars UVA protection to me (UVA rays are the ones responsible for ageing, the UVB for browning and ... burning) so my conscience feels better when I have a broad spectrum of sun protection and when I use Soltan. My purse also feels good as Soltan is usually on offer during the summer months. I had to buy a new one (5) before my week end in Amsterdam and it was at half price (£4.49).


The smell is not too overpowering, it doesn't leave me with a white cast after application, and it absorbs quite quickly. I have yet to test it thoroughly used in conjunction of a foundation. They say that once opened, a tube of sun cream doesn't last long so I don't feel guilty to skip carrying a normal moisturiser for my poor elbows and hands and use the Soltan as a sun protection and moisturiser on the go even for small parts of the body.  For the sake of this post, I wanted to re watch the advert,  and guess what, it *stills* sends shivers down my spine.





Ideally, it would be the Dove 'pomegranate' or the 'lemon'  deodorant/anti perspirant which I would love to carry around with me, as I  just can't get enough of those deodorants but they don't do  the miniature of these 'flavours'. The cucumber deodorant (7) does the  job more than adequately though and it doubles up as a foot spray.






Item 8 has a special space in my heart. It's a miniature  coconut body mist from Yves Rocher (£5) and I like to save it  for summer days and it makes me feel on holiday even when I  am going no further than my local park. While people have Caudalie, Bioderma and other poncy French skincare  on their shopping lists whenever they go to France, I never  come back from France without a trip to Yves Rocher and a  good supply of mini coconut body mist. You thought the  Bodyshop coconut stuff smelt good, you gotta try the Yves  Rocher one!


It's my closest colleague who introduced me to item no.9.  For 89p at half price or less.com you get 2 packs of eye  makeup remover pads which are just perfect to correct  makeup mishaps during the day, when you have rubbed your  eyes forgetting you had eyeliner on and so on.



You could easily get some cheaper face and hand wipes than this 99p little pack of 10 H&M (item no.10 on the photo above) but you'd be hard to find a  pack with a cuter packaging and one which smells of  vanilla. If I were a little more organised, I'd keep a  normal size pack of wipes and put it in my handbag when there's only 10% left, but that would be way too organised and boring, no?



I am a little bit shy at sharing with you what I  carry  around with me in terms of beauty products. I actually  carry very little and I hope you will still consider me as  a beauty blogger a little bit.





I've never really been a lip  person, I will carry more on a night out, but during the  day, I can't get enough of Collection 2000 cream Puff  powder puff (swatched and reviewed in full here). Lasting power is  not very good at all, but the colour, the feel on your  lips, and the smell is to die for and makes it one of my  ultimate favourite lip products.


I am as surprised as you to find that I carry a lip balm  (16) in my handbag. To tell you the truth, it's this very  lip balm, Sugar Lips* (£2) from MUA which converted me to  lip balms. In short, my lips are moisturised without being  sticky, the smell again is divine, and I get excited like a  big kid to pull out this giant sweetie out of my bag. (swatched and reviewed in full here)


The rest of my beauty products is not very exciting really:  a very inexpensive black eyeliner. The one you see (13) is from  2true and only costs 1.99. The black eyeliner one from  Collection 2000 is better really but this is the one I had  knocking about at the time of the photo. Even more  important than my little mirror (15), and purely for peace of mind I  like to carry around a small pot of eylure eyelash glue (12). I  usually keep it in my actual purse or back pocket as in  there is no chance i'll find amongst all my crap, if I  chuck it straight into my handbag.







Last but not least, I will have a box of sweeteners with  me, a bottle of tabasco to liven up a burger or a bland  soup at work, and a small purse (the one you see is quite recent actually, I got it from Claire's Accessories) big enough to carry my 3 essential cards (debit card, superdrug beauty card and  boots advantage card) and the change for a tenner. Now, many a times I've had some  mishaps with my bottle of tabasco whereby I've not closed  the cap properly and it leaked everywhere. Since then,  tampons are lodged in back 'money' pocket of handbag and  tabasco is wrapped in lame carrier bag, which I didn’t photograph.



So that's it. These are my summer handbag essentials. I  hope you haven't found the contents too boring and that my  small amount of makeup and my budget items didn't turn you off.



Do you carry around similar things?
What are your summer handbag essentials?


disclaimer: items marked with asterisk were provided for review purposes at some point in the past.

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Our turn to shine

What do Lea Michele and Olivia Palermo have in common? The most enviable glossy locks. In fact, when I think shiny hair, their names come immediately to my mind. I don't know the secret to their shiny tresses but today I've heard of a brand new product and on special offer which aims to just do that: making your hair looking super shiny.





It looks like it’s going to be your typical pack of hair colour to do at home but it’s not. it's called 'Shine On Original Conditioning Hair Glaze' and it's a Professional Conditioning Treatment with collagen using salon glazing technique for home use.

What technique is that?

Glazing is the technique used by top colourists to provide a dazzling high shine to the tresses of their celebrity clients. With the launch of Shine on, Scott Cornwall is bringing the secret technique of the stars to your home. The first of its kind to launch in the UK, this protein rich conditioning hair glaze contains diamond clear colour molecules for a lustrous high shine that lasts for up to 24 washes

Without the need for cuticle coating serums, sprays or colour change, Shine On takes 20 minutes to apply and develop. Containing no ammonia or harsh chemicals it uses an extra mild developer for increased hydration and protection of the hair cortex.

 
Sounds promising but how much does it cost, will you ask? It would usually retail at £12.99 at Boots but they have a special offer at the moment (1/3 on selected Scott Cornwall hair care) so you can get it at £8.66.





Lea and Olivia: sorry loves, but it's my turn to shine, now






Disclaimer: I heard about this brand new release by email today. Shine on is not endorsed by the celebrities mentioned and the email didn't mention any celebrities. Photos were pinched from glamour magazine.

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Freebie Fursday: Festival Fhemed

Why is it always cold, raining and miserable outside when I want to write about something summery? Go figure. If you've always wanted to try one of the 'Instant Glow' body bronzers recently released by 17 Cosmetics brand now is your chance to try it for free or almost. You’ve guessed it: It's time for a long overdue 'gift with purchase' from 17.

Buy £6 or more of 17 products and get your free 'Fest of all' kit including:


- a perfect definition black khol eyeliner (full size)
- a nail polish in Tropical Island (corally orange with a hint of gold shimmer) already part of the permanent collection
- and a handbag size of Instant Glow wash off body bronzer.





I am personally not too fussed about Tropical Island but I really want to try the body bronzer.
Ooo I do love a gift with purchase, me! :)

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Pirouette my Summer by No.7

It's tipping it down outside, blowing gale and I have my thickest winter coat welded onto my body. But Boots has decided it was summer and went all out to celebrate its arrival. There are plenty of offers throughout the store to help you bare your body for cheaper and there is a new seasonal no.7 make up range whose name never fails to wind me up. This year, it's called 'Summer?In your dreams  in my head it's summer 'Summer of Dreams'.





Annoyance of the name aside, there are 2 gems I couldn't wait to try: The glitter top coats.  Would you believe (and this has never happened to me) they had an official tester of the silver top coat today and naturally I had to try!





My quick snap below shows one coat (applied in a patting motion) on one coat of no.7 lucky lilac. Not bad for one coat, hey? This glitter top coat reminds me of the 'Pirouette my whistle' from OPI, the only colour which I fancy from the recent 'New York Ballet Collection'. It's so pretty!





To complement the collection, Boots released 2 lipglosses, 1 bronzer and 4 eyeshadow crayons.







Not sure if I am happy to fork out the £8 requested to purchase a glitter polish but with a no.7 voucher (are they going to have some time round?) it's going to be very hard to resist.

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Mascara Monday: The Battle of Mascaras.

Today, I have the honour to introduce you to Sophie from Melovemakeup Blog who has kindly volunteered to help me out reviewing 2 mascaras. I love Sophie: her blog is amazing, her makeup tutorials in her youtube channel are inspiring and a delight to watch. Over to you Sophie:






Firstly, thanks to the lovely Liloo for giving me the chance to try out both of these mascaras. I've road tested them both now, so I will share my thoughts..


Before I start, here are the wands for the two mascaras, both totally different.. The Exceptional Definition (left) has the shorter bristles on the right, longer on the left, and then the little spikes at the top.  The Essence mascara is a standard bristle brush, but is absolutely massive!

Boots No7 Say:

"No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara. This amazing new mascara has a truly magic wand and unique, conditioning formula. The innovative three-in-one brush gives lashes exceptional definition and volume. "

Essence Say:

"The ultimate lash-wonder for eyes which will take your breath away: the extra large brush ensures even more volume. ophthalmologically tested."

Here are the Mascaras in action.. As you can see, I have very fair natural lashes, so a great mascara is a big  must for me.

No7 Exceptional Definition:

I love this mascara! I have never used a mascara with 3 wands in one before. This wand is so good for grabbing every single lash, even the finest innermost lashes that you didn't know were there, that's what the little spikes on the end are great for. The double sided brush is great, I like to use the longer side to get through and coat my lashes, and then the shorter side to really comb through and remove any clumps from my lashes.

The results are luscious long looking lashes with both added volume and length, and also great curl too. In the photos (above) I have used one coat of  the mascaras - as you can see my lashes look long, but not overly clumped at all. This mascara lasted really well through the day too, no smudging, no flaking. It gets a big thumbs up from me!

Essence Lash Mania:

My first impression on this mascara when I applied it was great. I was wowed by how amazing my lashes appeared, they looked full and very voluminous. The problem I have with this mascara though, is that the wand is huge, and I'm talking the size of my eye huge! It is very easy to make a mess with this, and I did get quite a bit of the formula on my eye lid and lashline.

After about 4 hours I also noticed that this had smudged underneath my eyes quite a bit, and I looked a bit like a panda. I liked how this made my lashes look, but for me the brush is too large which caused messy application, I don't think it added very much curl either, which the No7 mascara did. The Boots mascara definitely wins for me!

Thanks for reading!

Want to see and read more from Sophie? Please make sure to check out her blog and her fabulous YouTube makeup channel! :)

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Free 7-day Supply of Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation

While I was checking the offers at the Boots Kiosk, I stumbled on this offer which I wanted to share you. You can get a 7-day supply of the New Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation when you have a complimentary makeover or skincare consultation with a Benefit Consultant.


My Boots store hasn't received yet the foundation. The consultant told me to ignore the deadline printed on my coupon from the kiosk (20 March) and booked me for my mini session and a colour match on the last day of the month of March, after work.




What they say:

Hello…it’s flawless time! Our new oil-free brightening liquid foundation builds from light to medium coverage for a natural complexion you can believe in. It’s you…just more luminous & healthy looking.

Umm, I am not sure how flawless I can be with just with light to medium, but I am happy to find out for free and go home with my week worth freebie! The foundation (at least in my little store) is due to be released on 31st March at the price of £24.50.



Interested by this offer? Visit your Boots kiosk, print your coupon, check with the consultant when they have the foundation in stock and book your free consultation session.

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Going further than Nanoblur?

Buying a new beauty product is a risk. Fact. What if it doesn't do what it says on the tin? The team at Buyapowa knows this so well and is helping us in taking a more calculated risk through buying their products on their portal, at a much cheaper price.

Just a few hours ago, they launched the sale of an anti ageing serum I have been waiting for since the same day I first heard about Nanoblur. The product is called 'Snoxin' and oh my word, does it sound promising:

Snoxin features the highest allowable concentration of the most effective anti-aging peptides come together in this advanced serum to combat all aspects of skin aging appearance, including the look of dynamic wrinkles, deeper folds, fine lines, crow’s feet, textural irregularities and sagginess. Snoxin incorporates the highest concentration of next-generation advanced peptides to target multiple aspects of skin ageing. The number and concentration of the peptides in Snoxin are higher than most luxury skincare products on the market.

While most products on the market incorporate one main anti-aging peptide to target skin aging, Snoxin incorporates multiple peptides that target aging through 3 synergistic mechanisms at once:

--- Reduced muscular contractions that lead to the appearance of dynamic lines and wrinkles
--- Increased collagen production through stimulating the skin’s natural processes
--- Formation of a more uniform collagen support matrix through stimulation of repair processes

I can't tell you if it really works, I have yet to try it myself and give it a go.


As with Nanoblur, Boots has the UK market exclusivity over Snoxin, and I doubt they will be offering it any cheaper than £22.99 which is the best price you can get it with Buyapowa. The recommended retail value of this product is 39 Dollars (not sure if it's Canadian Dollars or American Dollars) but the conversion rate is roughly the same and would come to £24.99, and the Buyapowa monkey is offering it for £22.99. Sweeeet!   There are only 50 available though, so don't delay if you want to get one!


     



 

Come and try the Snoxin with me and let's see if it works on our wrinkles :)

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*Bargain Alert* and Fearnesque Lime Green Nails {notd}

To say that it's been a while since I have not blogged properly and share my nail colour adventures is an understatement. I’ll spare you the drama about my computer woes. My nails have been in a bad condition since the beginning of November and everytime they grew a little, they shortly lived and broke and grew and broke etc.. The nail on my little finger is way too small compared to the rest of my hand, my index looks it's been filed with in pitch black but hey ho, I really want to get back into the swing of things and get to blogging again more frequently.




Today's manicure was not planned. I happened to visit a big boots shop (well bigger than my local one) on Tuesday and they had all the Fearne Cotton nail polishes on half price, reduced from £5.50 to £2.75. (It should really be £2.25, Boots, tut tut). Lime Green is one of my favourite colour, I fancied this particular polish for ages so it was too good an occasion to be missed.




So how did Fearne 'Lime Green' perform? I found the polish a little bit too runny for my liking but managed to get the coverage that you see in 2 generous coats which I am really pleased about. The colour is absolutely divine. If I had to come up with a shade of lime green, this would be exactly how I would like it to be.








Application wise, I don't like it as much as my other 2 lime green polishes the Superdrug 2true ‘Shade 4’ and 'Early Green' from Gosh, but the application remained very easy nevertheless. Colour wise, this is now my favourite lime green. The 2true is too 'apple' and not lime enough  while I find 'Early Green' from Gosh a bit too neon. Below an attempt a comparing the 3 polishes, in a bid to show the nuances in colour.



All the individual polishes from Fearne Cotton are at half price.
Snap them up here online in your local boots store before they're all gone.




What? Fearne Cotton Lime Green Nail Polish, 9ml
How much? £2.75 reduced from £5.50
Where? Larger Boots.

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Lucky Lilac Nails

In the style of 3 for 2 Boots offers, I wanted to offer you swatches of three no.7 nail polishes, but external circumstances decided otherwise and I only have this lilac number to share with you. This is 'Lucky Lilac' from no.7 and it's quite a beauty. It reminds me of my beloved Models Own Utopia but in a lilac variation.

I first wore it on Friday a month ago, before a special euromillions roll over. Guess what? It didn't bring me any luck and I didn't scoop the jackpot but it gave me hassle free coverage in 2 coats and pretty nails for the week end.

If you have a spare no.7 voucher (the current one expires this Sunday 9 October), you can also get your mitts on Lucky Lilac for £2, same price as a ticket for the euromillions incidentally..

What do you think?

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