REVIEW: Superdrug Konjac Sponge

Out the box

Name: Dehydrated Facial Konjac Sponge by Superdrug 

Price: £1.99 for one. 

Quick Review: A super gentle way to physically exfoliate, with best results when used consistently with a cleanser.

REVIEW: HEMA Eyeshadow Brush & Smudge

Name: Eyeshadow Brush & Smudge 256 by HEMA

Price: £3.50

Quick Review:  Great starter brush on the cheap, if inefficient.

Project 15 Pan: November Edition! Weigh In

Project Pan October (here) was such an educational experience for me that I'm tweaking a few things this month to include some decluttering goals for the month. With a few products that wouldn't require 30 days to finish, I've increased the number from 10 to 15, so wish me luck! Are you doing project pan?

All the products together

(Warning: Long post and plenty of photos ahead!)

Coming this month...

Let's see if I can keep up with this blogging hullabaloo. So far, so good! 

Coming up: Skincare! Makeup! And maybe a couple of articles! 

 

REVIEW: Simple Kind to Skin Refreshing Facial Wash Gel

Name: Refreshing Facial Wash Gel by Simple

Price: £3.25 for 150ml, but Simple is widely accessible in supermarkets and pharmacies, with regular promotions. 

Quick review: A gentle but effective facial cleanser with no sulfates and low foam.

Project 10 Pan: October RESULTS DAY!

    Project Pan has been a really informative exercise for me. Forcing myself to use these selected products everyday for the month made me really try to make things work for my skin, and I've found new ways of applying or using products. It's also been great for developing a good habit - great for maintaining a skincare routine that will pay off in the future!

REVIEW: EcoTools Six Piece Starter Set

L to R: Lash and Brow Comb, Eye shading brush, concealer brush, angled eyeliner brush, blush brush. Underneath: makeup bag.

Name: Six Piece Starter Set by EcoTools (5 brushes, 1 makeup bag)

Price: Purchased for £9.99 instore at TK Maxx (RRP: £15.99)

Quick Review: Good quality brushes. Some duds in the brushes (concealer, eye shading) and some scratchiness in the blush brush, but they all hold up from use and washing. A good, if incomplete beginner set.

REVIEW: Cien Anti-Age Hand Cream

 Name: Anti-Age Hand Cream (125ml) by Cien

Price: (I forgot!) Under £2, purchased instore at Lidl.

Quick Review: Cheap and cheerful, this is an okay hand cream for some instant moisturising with SPF protection. However it's heavily fragranced, and has no long term effect. 

REVIEW: EX1 Pure Crushed Minerals Powder Foundation in M300

  

Name: Pure Crushed Minerals Powder Foundation by EX1 (shade: M300)

Price: £13.50 for 8g. Purchased instore at Topshop in Oxford Circus, London.

Ingredients List: Mica, aluminium starch octenylsuccinate, squalane, zinc stearate, magnesium carbonate, lauroyl lysine, glyceryl caprylate, p-anisic acid, chlorphenesin, retinyl palmitate, tocopheryl acetate, tocopherol, calcium sulfate, manganese sulfate, tourmaline. May also contain CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77019 (Mica), 77491-77492, 77499 (Iron Oxides), 77007 (Ultramarine Blue), 77742 (Manganese Violet), 77289 (Chromium Hydroxide Green), 77288 (Chromium Hydroxide Greens), 77510 (Ferric Ferrocyanide), 42090 (Blue 1 Lake), 75470 (Carmine), 19140 (Yellow 5 Lake), 15850 (Red 7 Lake), 45410 (Red 28 Lake).

Quick Review: Very sheer coverage but a great shade match for my skin. Long lasting, but my oily skin needs more oil control. Packaging is a bit fiddly to use when applying, so it takes a bit longer to apply compared to a pressed powder.

REVIEW: Avène Micellar Lotion and Hydrance Optimale UV Light SPF 20 Protective Hydrating Cream

Two mini reviews for two mini products sent for free. If you create an account and do the Avène Skin Diagnosis test (here), you get a personalised recommendation of a suggested skincare routine with their products. In addition, you get samples of the recommended products sent to your address.

My results (dehydrated oily skin) showed a recommended 4-step routine consisting of:

1.  (Cleanser) Micellar Lotion

1. (Toner) Thermal Water Spray

1. (Day Moisturiser) Hydrance Optimale UV Light SPF 20 Protective Hydrating Cream

1. (Overnight Moisturiser) Hydrance Optimale Light Hydrating Cream

I was sent samples of the Micellar Lotion, and the Hydrance Optimal UV cream.

Full reviews after the jump!

REVIEW: Freederm Oil Free Perfecting Moisturiser

  
Name:Oil Free Perfecting Moisturiser by Freederm (50ml)

Price: £6.49, purchased during a "Better Than Half Off" offer at Superdrug, so paid £3.24 for the full sized product.

Quick Review: Great moisturising properties, but too heavy for normal-oily skin.

REVIEW: Collection Gothic Glam Lipstick in 1 Seduction

Name: Gothic Glam Lipstick in 1 Seduction by Collection (4g)

Price: £2.99

Ingredients List: Octyldodecanol, Ricinus Communis Seed Oil, Lanolin, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Candelilla Cera, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Polybutene, Ceresin, Hydrogentated Microcrystalline Cera, Benzophenone-3, Parfum, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Ascorbic Acid, PEG-8, Citric Acid, Butylparaben, Hydroxycitronellal, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, [+/- CI 15850, CI 19140, CI 45410, CI 77000, CI 77007, CI 73360, CI 75470, CI 77163, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77510, CI 77742, CI 77891, CI 15985, CI 15880, CI 42090, Tin Oxide, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Mica] 

Contains Oxybenzone.

QUICK REVIEW: Amazing smooth formula and a gorgeous dark-red colour, long lasting (wears down to a smooth berry stain) and highly pigmented. A little too easy to stain, so be careful applying on the edges (or use a concealer to clean up). Ridiculously versatile and good value for money.

Full review and swatches after the jump:

REVIEW: GOSH Eye Brow Kit Multi

Name: Brow Kit Multi by GOSH

Price: £8.49 bought instore at Superdrug.

Quick Review: Good cool toned dark grey, brown and taupe brow powders. Long lasting and great for filling in eyebrows, but seem to have issues covering empty gaps. Transparent wax not strong enough for my stick straight eyebrow hairs, and if applied too much gives an undesirable "wet" look to the eyebrows.

Ingredients List: 

    powder: CI 77019\L\/Lica,Dimethicone,CI 77499\Lron Oxides,CI 77491\Iron Oxides,CI 77742\I\/IAnganese Violet,Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride,Ethyihexyl Palmitate,Lsostearyl Isostearate,Magnesium Stearate,Nylon-12,Polybutene,Polymethyl Methacrylate,CI 77492\IRon Oxides,Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-Z. ,Phenoxyethanol,Aloe Barbadensìs Leaf Extract,Caprylyl Glycol.


    Wax: Diisosteraryl Malate, Polybutene,Hydrogenated Polyisobutene,Hydroxystearic Acid,Talc, Cera Microcristallina\Microcrystalline Wax\Cire Microcristalline, Cera Alba\Beeswax\Cira D'Abeille,Tocopheryl Acetate

Weight: 2.82g for the powders and 5g for the wax.

Full review and swatches after the jump

Break in Schedule.

Apologies for the break in schedule. I haven't been blogging due to illness and when I got back I realised I haven't properly scheduled the posts. Tomorrow's makeup review will be posted at noon as scheduled, and Thursday and Friday will have the tardy posts published.

Here's to getting back on track, and kicking the cold like a bad, miserable habit. 

REVIEW: Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Pads (x60)

Name: Glycolic Fix Exfoliating Facial Pads (60 pads) by Nip + Fab

Price: Retails at £12.95, purchased instore at Superdrug during a "better than half off Nip + Fab" offer. Paid £6.47 for a full sized item.

QUICK REVIEW: Good product with a few issues, great product to dip your toe in using AHAs (chemical exfoliant). Must use with sunscreen. Easily found on the high street and online, and Superdrug would have offers on Nip +  Fab every few months or so.

Note: contains 2.8% Glycolic Acid

In depth review after the jump

Project 10 Pan: October Edition and a Weigh-In

    I love the Project 10 Pan (P10P) concept - basically you select 10 (or 5, or 20! it's up to you) products and you try to finish it in a certain amount of time. A lot of people tend to hoard, forget or fall out of love with products, and for whatever reason lots of stuff that costed money just sits unused. Contrary to popular belief, this shit has an expiry date! So I'm trying to get more use out of my stash of stuff, and hopefully downsize to make room for more activities.

Coming this month...

 

I'm still feeling my way around this beauty blogging thing, and am introducing makeup reviews, scheduled to post every Wednesday. This month, I will be reviewing:

• Collection Gothic Glam Lipstick in 1 Seduction
• GOSH Eye Brow Kit
• EcoTools Six Piece Starter Set
• EX1 Pure Crushed Mineral Powder Foundation in M300.

Skincare products are still scheduled for every Monday, and this month I will be reviewing:

• Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Pads
• Freederm Oil Free Perfecting Moisturiser
• Avéne Samples (received from their online Skin Diagnosis)
• Cien Anti-Age Hand Cream

Photos are still a work in progress, but my main focus is getting this blogging business consistent, and improvements will come. 

Either way I'm excited. Reviewing products is an excellent way to shop my stash.

REVIEW: Boots Soltan Once Face Moisturising Suncare Cream SPF30 (50ml)

Should've probably put something there for scale. This comfortably fits in your hand.

Name: Once Face Moisturising Suncare Cream SPF30 by Boots.

QUICK REVIEW: Probably better suited to pale dry skin. Greasy, white cast and sits on top of my skin. The search for my perfect sunscreen continues.

In-depth review after the jump:

REVIEW: Neutrogena Visibly Clear Spot Stress Control Ultra-Light Spot Treatment Moisturiser (40 ml)

Name: Visibly Clear Spot Stress Control Ultra-Light Spot Treatment Moisturiser by Neutrogena.

QUICK REVIEW: Excellent, affordable and widely accessible BHA that isn't drying.  

In-depth review after the jump.