NYX Doll Eye Mascara Review

25 March 2015



So I was thinking about writing a post on mascaras but I thought before I got to that stage I’d talk about my latest mascara purchase.

Mascara is one of those things I didn’t start wearing until about 2 years ago and since then I’ve just gone through loads of different brands. The only one I’ve remained loyal to is the Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless Mascara, and that’s only because I lost it before I was able to finish it! I also really Maybelline's Volum' Colossal Mascara.

NYX Doll Eye Mascara (Volume) £7.20 from amazon.co.uk

I ended up purchasing this mascara because I read this post on Cosmopolitan and I just liked the look of it on the eye pictured. I knew I was running out my Jordana mascara and was itching to get another one. I purchased mine from Amazon, because I was buying a bunch of other stuff, but you can get it from the NYX UK website. You can purchase this mascara in waterproof and as a lengthening mascara, but I opted for volume.

NYX description of this mascara is as follows:
"Hello doll-face! For irresistibly fluttery eyelashes, try this mascara on for size. Doll Eye Mascara uses a unique blend of natural oils, Vitamin E and nylon fibers to extend eyelashes to almost faux proportions."
What do I think about this mascara? I love it! It doesn’t flake on me and it stays put all day. I personally find it gives my lashes length as well as volume, and I just love how dark and thick they become once I’ve applied it. They do indeed give you "doll eye" lashes without obviously giving you doll eye lashes, because personally I think that would be super weird - dolls have odd lashes! 

I apply two coats as my minimum and it’s enough to achieve the look I want. I pair it with Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless Mascara, as it’s a lengthening mascara, to achieve my final look. I think for fuss free mascara and an everyday look mascara, this is the one you want. It’s also average price fora mascara, so in my opinion it's a win-win situation! 

What mascara are you loving at the moment?

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Ole Henriksen The Full Works Review

13 March 2015

I purchased this late last year (beginning of November) and wanted to use it all up before I full reviewed it. I have to say since getting this I have actually become much more interested in skincare and researching it, so my views on this have now been slightly swayed by my research.

I purchased the Ole Henriksen 'The Works' Kit from Feel Unique. I was going through my shopping list (a folder that I bookmark products in) because sometimes I just have a need to spend money and saw that I had two products from Ole that I really wanted to try the Pure Truth™ Youth Activating Oil (£47.00) and the Lemon Strip Flash Peel (£35.00). They are both very pricey products for me to just purchase straight away. For some reason I looked into the kits and found that two of the products that I wanted to try were available in the kit - so I decided to save myself some money!





The kit comes with 5 mini versions of the Ole Henriksen pure truth™ youth activating oil (15ml), Ole Henriksen lemon strip flash peel (15ml), Ole Henriksen truth serum collagen booster (15ml), Ole Henriksen african red tea foaming cleanser (45ml), Ole Henriksen sheer transformation™ creme (15ml).

Ole Henriksen African Red Team Foaming Cleanser: The first product I used up was the African Red Team Foaming Cleanser, I was really weary of this because I always think that foaming cleansers will dry my skin out. Nevertheless I wanted to try this one out. First of all it smells lovely, that's the one thing I love about this whole range - the smell of most of the products. Although I now know that fragrances can actually be irritants in a lot of cases, so it makes me more weary of the product, but man the smell is good! I used this regularly and I really didn't find that it dried out my skin personally, but I feel this was because I was using hydrating products after. I actually don't have much to say about the cleanser other than it did its job of cleaning my skin after I removed my make-up, or if I used it in the morning it really woke me up.

Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster: One of the next things I used up was the Truth Serum Collagen Booster. I was really unsure of what this was when I first started using this, however when I found out it was a water based serum I was really intrigued by it. I loved using this on my skin and because it was water based my skin just soaked it up. Like I said in my 'Journey with Serums' post I did like using this but it isn't something I can say worked or not, simply because as a collagen booster I'm assuming the results of this will be seen in the future (if at all) when I'm old and have firm skin. The smell of this was so yummy, but like I said above fragrances in a product can be an irritant to the skin.

Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation™ Creme: This was next thing I used up. I really like the moisturiser (or creme whatever), it felt incredibly light weight and I can't actually say I've used many moisturisers like this. The aim of this product was to 'help fade discoloration such as freckles, age spots and sun damage without the use of chemicals.' personally I didn't even know this when using the product but I can't say I noticed any fading on my skin. I mainly liked this product for the lightweight and non-greasy feel. It was easy to apply make-up on top of it and I would often use it in the night as well if I had applied an oil to my face. One thing to note about this that I found out about upon my research, is products in jar packaging (depending on the ingredients) may not be effective because the ingredients either become unstable or lose their potency once opened. I think is the one thing I would repurchase from this kit if I couldn't find another suitable light weight moisturiser.


These two products are the reason why I purchased the kit, so I thought I would talk about my thoughts separately.

Ole Henriksen Lemon Strip Flash Peel: I first heard about this through Teni Panosian and thought it sounded amazing. She described it as a strong acid that might burn initially and I was sat there like yup that's what I want (well aware that this is not normal). The full size version of this actually comes with a brush which is meant to help the exfoliation process, but this small size version did not come with the brush. I actually enjoyed using this product but annoyingly enough I didn't use it regularly, I would always do so probably twice a week simply because I would forget. The first time I used it, it stung briefly for the first minute and then it calmed down. I would say my skin is quite used to strong products, so I didn't feel it burned severely. I would happily keep it on for the required 10 minutes and sometimes more. Towards the end of using this I did notice that my skin looked a little brighter, but for me personally the price tag means I can't invest in it to see if I'll get that result again. There is also had the same issue I mentioned above earlier when I spoke about the creme, because it is a jar packaging it was said that the product may not work as well once it had been opened. So that also makes me weary about repurchasing it. It was a good product to start acid exfoliation with though.

Ole Henriksen Pure Truth™ Youth Activating Oil: This was the second product I wanted to try and it was the last thing I used up! I loved the smell of this product and putting it on my face at the end of the night felt like a bloody gift. This was good from preventing my skin from drying out, I really found that to be true in the case of using the foaming cleanser from this range. Recently I've been using the Vichy Normaderm Deep Cleansing Purifying Gel and Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Gel Exfoliant in my routine and both have the potential to really dry out my skin so I've been using this to balance everything out and it has worked a treat! However because this contains so many fragrance oils it is potentially irritating for the skin, and I did find that when used over the sides of my mouth after the reaction it would really make it itchy. This has a huge price tag in my opinion and yet it contains so many potentially irritating ingredients that for me it is not a justified purchase. However, my skin didn't react so badly to it, so it's a product I might consider purchasing in the future, if I find I need it.

My overall thoughts:
Overall I enjoyed my Ole Henriksen experience. I did however experience a slight "burning" on my skin which was a reaction to one of the products. It reminds me of the reaction I got from the products I used when I had a dermatologist as a teen. The sides of my mouth became dry, dark and irritated so I did have to stop using all the products at one point to let my skin breathe. I thought perhaps maybe the creme did it or the flash peel, so I avoided using those around my mouth area. However it could have been once of the fragranced products, the point is I'm not sure and there is no way of me finding out, unless I tested them all again. I'm not actually used to using fragranced products in my routine so I am a little bit tempted to put it down to this. If you want to know more about fragrances in products do just do a google search and delve into the wealth of information that's available.I didn't notice a huge decline or improvement in my skin, so I'm neither happy or unsatisfied with the products.

Summary:
I don't think I will be purchasing any Ole Henriksen products right now simply because I don't personally feel the products addressed the skin needs that I had. Although I absolutely loved the smell of some of the products, the high usage of fragrances was concerning to me. I wasn't blown away by the two products that I really wanted to try either, so I'm really really glad that I purchased this kit to try it out.


Samples:
I thought I'd throw in the small samples I got given with my purchase. I haven't even use the NUXE one, so I can't comment on that except that I have wanted to try it for SO long because it has been raved about. I did use the Caudalie oil and oh my goodness the smell :/ It actually smells like that I'd imagine inside of a stem to smell like, basically it's rank. I only had a dinky sample size so I can't really comment much on the results, if I'm honest I was happy to use it up simply because it made me gag when I put it on my face.

Are there any sets or kits you've purchased recently?

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What I’m going to wear to Cheltenham Races Ladies Day on 11th March

8 March 2015

I was contacted by EtailPR* to see if I wanted to take part in their Cheltenham Racecourse Ladies Day competition called #ColourMeMarch. It's not what I usually do but I thought it would be fun to take part in the challenge. I can't actually go to the races, as it takes place on Wednesday 11th March and I'll be working but I thought it would be fun to take part nonetheless!

I didn't have time to actually pull outfits from my wardrobe and try them on for you, but that made it even more fun for me because I got to go browsing on all the websites for bits, which is good because I don't actually own the one thing needed for the races...a fascinator! Growing up I always saw people wearing fascinators on TV for the races and thought what on earth are those, I was never sure if I liked them or not. And I certainly never thought I'd be choosing one myself, but I digress lets get on to the outfit!

Cheltenham Race


As you can tell from the hashtag it's all about colour, now I'm the type of person who wears black on a daily basis but I do love injecting a pop of colour in to my outfits. For me the races have always been about getting dressed up, some I feel for these things colour is totally appropriate. I felt this dress would be perfect for the occasion, granted it's a little bold but I think it would work nicely against my skin tone. Plus I just love most of the dresses from AX Paris - they do the nicest things!

I'd pair the dress with simple strappy black shoes and a black clutch bag. I'd of course have a black fascinator to top off my whole look! I chose a simple one because as interesting as the huge ones look, they are really not my thing. 

What would you wear to the races? Enter the competition here:

*This is not a sponsored post. All views are entirely my own. I was asked if I wanted to take part, but I wasn't paid for or sent anything to review.

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My Daily Make-up Routine + Swatches

3 March 2015

I’m not very experimental with makeup and so I reach for the same thing everyday, so I thought hey why not write about my every day make-up products. Although I’m hoping to switch things up with nude/neutral lip colours and different colour blushes, I thought today I’d talk about my make-up stash. My products and brushes are not in pristine condition because I actually use it on a day to day basis (read I am too lazy to wash anything for my blog). 

The first thing I do is prime my face. I’ve been switching between the Benefit Porefessional and my Smashbox Photo Finish Primer (oil free version) I got with my first purchase of my Smashbox foundation. I either use them separately or mix them. I didn’t really think I needed a primer but the other day I put my makeup on without it, because I was only wearing it for a few hours and I was like this feels WEIRD.  I then go in with concealer, I use the Becca Compact Concealer in the shade Chestnut (I think). I purchased this from Fragrance Direct for like £5.00 but it isn't available there any more. I didn't take picture of it open because it doesn't look all that great, but click the link and you'll see a much better one! I know people like to conceal after but this one states to conceal first. And I kind of prefer it that way if I'm honest. I use the Real Techniques Concealer Brush from their Core Collection.

I use the Real Techniques Buffing Brush to blend my concealer in. I then take the Foundation Brush from The Core Collection and dot the Smashbox Liquid Halo HD Foundation in Shade 10 around my face. I then go back with my buffing brush and make sure everything is blended in. Next I powder my face with the powder I got in my Sleek Foundation Base Duo in Henna (the foundation ran out a long time ago) and the Elf Powder Brush. I was completely clueless about powders when I bought this foundation and I still kinda am, but I keep this with me during the day to deal with the excess oil. 

Real Techniques Blush Brush, ELF Bora Bora Bronzer

Next is bronzer. I don’t always do this, but sometimes when I feel I am looking lacklustre I like to use it on my temples and under my cheekbones.I use the Elf Baked Bronzer in the colour Bora Bora. I have had this for over a year and I looks like I haven’t used it at all! I use it the Real Techniques Blush Brush, as I feel it just distributes the perfect amount and is a good size.

Sleek by 3 Pumpkin, Real Techniques Contour Brush

Sleek by 3 Pumpkin Blush Palette Swatch
I then move on to blush. The only blush palette I own and really the only blushes I do own, are the Sleek Blush Pumpkin. As you can see it comes with three shades - P Pie, Squash and Latern (L-R). I used to use Latern a lot because I didn't really fancy the other two and I hated the shimmer in P Pie, but lately I have actually been reaching for P Pie and when applied lightly it is actually very nice.

Rimmel Exaggerate Eye Definer, Rimell Last Accelerator Endless Mascara, Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara, Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil
Next I move on to my eyes, I use the Rimmel Exaggerate Eye Definer in my waterline and then comes mascara. I use the Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara followed by the Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless Mascara until I get my desired affect. Then I move on to my brows. Sometimes I do this before anything else (primer, concealer etc) and sometimes I do it last - it actually just depends on when I remember to do them!  I brush the hairs with the spoolie on the Maybelline Eye Master Studio Brow, I actually just use the spoolie now as I ran out of the product, I hated the product but I love the spoolie. I then fill them in with the Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil, sometimes I set them in place with Revlon Brow Fantasy (not a fan of it). I don’t really like (name) but I’m just using it up, I desperately love the Maybelline Brow Drama, so will be getting that again.


Zoeva Fine Liner Brush 315, Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner
Occasionally I will do in with the winged eyeliner and when I that I use the Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner which I reviewed here, with my Zoeva Fine Liner Brush 315.


Sleek Smother, Revlon Black Cherry, Wet n Wild Sugar Plum Fairy and Avon Lucky Kiss.
 L - R Sleek Smother, Revlon Black Cherry, Wet n Wild Sugar Plum Fairy and Avon Lucky Kiss.

Then my lips! I have a couple of colours on rotation that I use and like I mentioned here, I am just drawn to purple plummy shades. The ones I reach for weekly are Wet n Wild's Sugar Plum Fairy, Revlon's Black Cherry, Sleek's Smother and Avon's Lucky Kiss. Sorry one of the swatches is smudged, I totally forgot I had it on my arm!

So that’s it! I carry around a few bits with me for touch ups and definitely take my powder and powder brush with me.

I have a small make-up collection and really only plan to increase it with a few more products, but even what I have feels overwhelming to me sometimes. I am definitely a lip product lover, I just love how they can transform any look.

What products do you reach for on a day to day basis? 

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March Book List

1 March 2015

I finished off February on a book high. I don’t care how geeky that makes me sound. I read a book I really enjoyed and even gave it 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. So how did I do this month? I finished all the books in my list. I started off with False Memory by Dean Koontz and oh man this was a really long book. It was interesting because the book only spans out to about 3+ days or something like that, so I’m not sure why it’s so long. It actually enjoyed the book even if the ending was a bit meh. The next book I read was Season to Taste or How to Eat Your Husband and it’s not often I feel this way, but I really felt like this book as a complete was of my time. There was just no story, it was incredibly dull throughout and so I kept thinking that there would be a plot twist to make up for it, but that never happened. It really was just a book talking about a woman eating her husband. I won’t bash it anymore because I appreciate the effort that goes into writing a book, but this was not a book I enjoyed. 

Next I read The Death of Bees and guys I just loved this book. It was not what I expected at all and I’m not even sure how I came about putting this gem in my Amazon basket, but I’m glad I did. I don’t know what else to say, apart from this book is what makes me love reading. It isn’t even a book I can relate to, it’s two sisters in Scotland who bury their parents in the back garden and carry on living. It’s just interesting to see their lives unravel and I just loved the writing in this.



So this month I am still pick out of my Amazon ‘save for later’ bag. I’m going with four books this month. Although I managed to do three this month just reading to and from work, I want to have one evening dedicated to reading a week, so hopefully I’ll get through my books a lot faster. 

Sula by Toni Morrison – I’m not sure how I came across this book, but I remember reading loads about the author and her achievements. I think I picked this book because it sounded the most interesting, to me, out of all her books. I have gone to purchase this book so many times and then decided against it, but I finally decide enough was enough and that in March I would finally read it. 

Where The Truth Lies by Jessica Warman – I can’t remember why I wanted to read this book and reading the blurb doesn’t jog my memory either. It sort of sounds like a light read, with a bit of a twist so hopefully it will be something I enjoy.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver – I’m a lover of young adult books, even if they can be repetitive and unrealistic. I read Thirteen Reasons Why, a book about a girl who commits suicide, when I was in my teens and have always been strangely drawn to books like this ever since. Before I Fall is meant to be similar to that and just has such good reviews everywhere (4+) so I thought I'd better read it already!

Incendiary by Chris Cleave – This is a book in the bookshelves at work. I have the read The Other Hand/ Little Bee by Chris Cleave and thoroughly enjoyed that, so I thought I would read this seeing as I had the chance. The blurb doesn’t give much away, but then the blurbs on his books never do, so it makes it all the more exciting to read!

So that’s my list for this month, I’m really excited to read Incendiary and see what happens. I don’t really feel much about the others, I’m just hoping that one of them is good! 

What book are you reading at the moment?

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