The 5 best cleansers

A good make up look begins with great skin.  You need a good cleaner to remove dirt, impurities and dead skin and to prepare your face for the day ahead.  A good cleanser will be beneficial to your skin and will remove make up without the need for scrubbing, and without causing irritation to your skin.  Here are my 5 top cleansers (in order) and the verdict and score for each.

1. Philosophy Purity made simple
90ml £8, 240ml £17.50, 480ml £28.50

This cleanser is a 3-in-1 product that cleanses, tones, and removes make up all at the same time.  It's gentle, non-abrasive and leaves skin feeling soft, supple and really clean afterwards. It smells gorgeous! I have never used something so lovely, mild and gentle that has changed the condition of my skin for the better in under 2 weeks.

Value for money : 8/10 - Beautiful products but high price tag!
Effectiveness     : 10/10
Easy to use?       : 8/10 - yes, doesn't lather too much but still does the job
Packaging          : 10/10- Gorgeous! Looks lovely in the bathroom
Overall score     : 10/10 - the good far outweighs the couple of niggles on price, etc

2. Benefit Foamingly clean facial wash (from the b.bright! skincare range).
127.5g £16.50

I love this product! It washes away everything (including stubborn mascara) really easily and it smells amazing. Looks cute in the bathroom too - great packaging as ever. Smells good, leaves my skin soft, glowing and truly clean. The only downside - and something I find with lots of Benefit products - is that is doesn't seem to last very long. For the price, I am sure they could up it by 25 or 30mls. Still, a great product that really works.

Value for money : 7/10 - Expensive but could last longer
Effectiveness     : 9/10
Easy to use?       : 8/10 - yes, and smells good!
Packaging          : 9/10- Great look.
Overall score     : 8/10 -Fantastic product but runs out quickly.  More product please!

3. Clinique Facial Soap
100g £11, 150g £15, 3 mimi travel soap (total 150g) £14

Step 1 of the best-selling 3 step skincare system, you can't beat this old classic.  Soaps come with a soap dish or there is the liquid pump format.  I prefer the bars of soap - a large soap can last up to a year and when used in conjunction with the rest of the skincare system, you are looking at flawless, beautiful skin.

Value for money : 10/10 - £14 to cleanse your skin all year? Yes please!
Effectiveness     : 7/10 - doesn't melt away eye make up and stings if it gets in your eyes!
Easy to use?       : 8/10 -Yes, although when new, the big bars of soap are a bit much!
Packaging          : 8/10- Good but the soap dish can get messy quickly!
Overall score     : 8/10 -Great value but still a higher end brand.

4. Simple refreshing facial wash
50ml £1.32, 150ml £3.25

Budget supermarket brand, markets itself as the UK No.1 cleanser (the face wipes boast the same claim to fame). This facial wash is great for a weekend away in the travel size and a very good option when on a budget.  It removes all make up with zero irritation and no drying out the skin.  You know the drill - not perfumed, not coloured, just kind.  Fantastic low price cleanser.


Value for money : 10/10 - Cheap and cheerful and plenty for the price.
Effectiveness     : 7/10 -Sometimes need a little more gel to get everything off your face.
Easy to use?       : 8/10 -Yes, takes some lathering sometimes though.
Packaging          : 7/10- Nothing fancy.
Overall score     : 7/10 -Great value budget brand.

5. Clean & Clear Deep action cream Wash
150ml £2.99

This is great for when your skin is giving you some problems.  Removes grease, dirt and leaves you with a fresh tingling feeling.  The product surprisingly smells good and leaves you feeling as though you have had a very deep clean, which is great when you have blemishes and want to take action.  The lower end of the budget brand, this product is nevertheless still great value and still beats off high end brands to make my top 5.


Value for money : 10/10 - Great problem solver, cheap as chips.
Effectiveness     : 7/10 -Love the tingly clean feeling.
Easy to use?       : 8/10 -Yes, and smells good too!
Packaging          : 7/10- Okay, could be better!
Overall score     : 7/10 -Another great value budget brand.

Fancy trying some of these first to see it they suit your skin? Opt for travel sizes, often found in Supermarkets.  Sign up to Philosophy to get email alerts and they will send you a FANTASTIC free gift (which I've had!).  These miniatures are great to try before you buy:

Philosophy also offer great value skincare mini-sets so that you can get a taste of their products before ordering full size versions. Great Skin is in is a lovely taster pack and the products last a surprisingly long time.


Benefit also offer a mini-kit so you can try before committing yourself to full price products.  Try their b.bright! 6 piece intro kit (sold out on UK site but available on US site and on eBay).

Whatever you choose and use, always remember the golden rule - no matter what time it is or how tired or drunk you are, always take off your make up!! Great skin begins and ends with your skincare routine and cleansing is the most important part.

 

Nina's Blog Sale

Fancy grabbing some fantastic make up at rock bottom prices? Follow to link to Nina's Beauty Blog and her fantastic blog sale.  

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE SALE!

Items from as little as €0.50c

Benefit from these essential top 5 products!

I love budget brands, but just recently I have treated myself to some higher end cosmetics and have found some products from Benefit that I just can’t live without.  These products are well worth checking out if you have some money to spare – they have become a vital part of my daily beauty routine and a lot of them deliver amazing results and have turned out to be well worth the price!  My one piece of Benefit advice though – don’t buy from eBay.  I am sure that there are genuine sellers out there, but for every genuine seller there are at least 10 fakes and you just never know what you might get.  The worst I had was a Get Even! That brought me out in a rash. On my face.  It wasn’t pleasant!  So buy online or in store wherever possible – but also look out for minis, mini-sets and offers as you can often get a hold of 8-10ml trial sizes so that you can try and see if a product is for you!

So, without further ado...here are my top 5 miracle Benefit products:

1.  The POREfessional

Here's my review from the website, which pretty much says it all.  This is the perfect smoothing, silky base.  Makes my blackheads vanish.

I have combination skin which unfortunately includes blackheads on my nose and enlarged pores at the side of my nose. This product makes the pores seemingly close and vanish and when finished with some concealer/foundation and powder, you can't see the blackheads at all. I know this product only masks them, but that's fine by me!! The minute I get blackheads out they come back anyway so I need coverage and this product delivers. It makes the rest of my skin feel silky but matte and my BB cream goes on top nicely, creating a flawless finish. Highly recommended for problem/combination skin, even mature skin (I'm 38).

 2. Boi-ing - Industrial Strength concealer

This product is AMAZING.  Easily the best concealer I have ever used.  Creamy and blendable it gives complete coverage without being heavy or greasy and it stays put and last all day long. It tackles dark cicles quite well and isn't cakey; it also doesn't sit in lines of creases around the eye area. I recently caught pregnant and my skin broke out and was completely unmanageable - then I remembered my confessions of a concealaholic kit and used the concealer inside.  It turned out to be Boi-ing in shade 1 and it was so good I bought the full size and will never regret doing so! Speaking of confessions of a concealaholic, this kit is a great way to try Boi-ing, Erase Paste, That Gal, lemon aid and eye bright for £28.50.  Bought singly, the products would cost £74.00!

3. They're real! Mascara
This one, I am not going to bash on about.  I am just going to say - this is the best mascara in the world, the best I have ever used and is the UKs No. 1 best-selling mascara.  Try it!  They have a special offer on now - buy the anniversary set for the same price as a regular mascara and you get a free travel size mascara.  I have mine in my handbag right now!

4. Foamingly clean facial wash

This is so lovely.  It smells wonderful and removes every trace of make-up and dirt without having to rub and scrub. My skin feels so clean and so refreshed after using this; no tightness or irritation and a little lathers beautifully and goes a long way. Not sure? Try the b.right! mini intro skin kit - a snip at £10.00! 

5. Sugarbomb Ultra plush

What a gorgeous lip gloss! Benefit have recent introduced lip glosses to complement their box powders and Sugarbomb is the prettiest gloss I've seen and worn in ages.  It makes my lips feel really soft and as with all Benefit products, it smells lovely and a little goes a long way!

Why not check out the boxed powder range here? Also worth checking out are the beauty kits packed full of minis that you can try for a fraction of the regular price before deciding whether to invest in a full sized product.  There's lots to choose from!

Aren't they gorgeous?? If I could, I'd get them all! All under £30 - these kits are such a good idea, plus if you are going away overnight or on a weekender, these are all you need. Get these beauties on your Christmas list!

 

BB Creams...do they work?

I love it when a new beauty phenomenon hits the shelves and I always have to try whatever it is.  When I started reading about BB creams, I knew I had to get hold of one and give it a try.  BB means 'Blemish Balm' but it isn't necessarily for problem skin. As explained:

" The multi-tasking cream has amazing all-in-one properties — moisturizer, primer, foundation, concealer, skin treatment and sunblock."

Could it really be that simple? No need for separate moisturiser, face primer, foundation, concealer and an SPF in the Summer? I love my routine - That Gal make up base (or ELF alternative), foundation, concealer, powder.....it doesn't seem right to be using just one thing.  In fact, the first time I used my Garnier Miracle BB cream - I didn't like it.

Maybe I didn't apply it correctly the first time, or I was just determined to stick with my tried and tested routine. Anyway, I found the tube a few weeks later and gave it another shot after seeing this:

My skin was a little upset after 'that' time of month and I needed a little something extra, but my skin was too sensitive to clog up with layers of moisturiser, base, foundation...so I tried this again and now I am utterly hooked.  IT WORKS.  The coverage is fantastic and you don't get the feeling you're wearing much at all. It's so much more than a foundation, it seems to sink into your skin so well, but makes you look fantastically flaweless and luminous.  It's skin care, but more than just a tinted lotion.  I can't put my finger on any one thing because BB cream is so many things and does so many jobs.  My skin improved straight away, a work colleague told me I was 'glowing' on one particular day! To say I am glad I gave this product another chance is an understatement.

If you haven't already, try it. You won't be sorry!

Superdrug's MUA (Make Up Academy)

So.  My delivery turned up today and  my first impression is that this range is very good! I have swatched the eyeshadows, used the lippy, powder & mascara....the nail polish is TINY, but so far everything looks good and I LOVE the look of the mosaic blush.

 All this for just £10.50! Full review to follow :)

Budget Beauty Brands War!

Beauty Brands finally seemed to have realised that not everyone is rich these days and less and less people can afford to spend over £10 on one lipstick.  As the economy gets gloomier and the cost of living rises while wages stays the same, shoppers are becoming thrifty.  Some beauty brands have cottoned on – and of these, three brands stand out in today’s current market.  All are budget conscious, and all in competition with each other.  One brand I have used endlessly (you might be able to tell from this blog!), the other 2 I have just ordered from and will be reviewing the 3 brands together to see who emerges as the overall winner, so stay tuned!!

The brands are :

Superdrug's Make Up Academy (MUA), prices starting at only £1 - FREE P&P

Eyes Lips Face (ELF) - Prices starting at £1.50 - Free P&P promotions running often, otherwise £2.95 P&P, free if £30 and over

Beauty UK - prices from £1.99 - Free P&P for order pver £25, otherwise £1.75

 

Lauren Luke - Make up brush review

As a discerning consumer, three things are very important to me:

Good customer service, attention to detail, and value for money. 

It really is as simple as this: Out of all the choices out there I chose you to give my money to and I want to feel happy that I did that and I want you to acknowledge it and treat me like I matter.

I’m a fan of all cosmetics, but one budding brand holds a special place in my heart on account of who created it.  Our very own Lauren Luke, the YouTube sensation who has single-handedly changed the world of make-up, challenged all the stereotypes and allowed women (and men!) around the world to realise that we can look beautiful, regardless of age, race, shape, etc.  Lauren is involved in every single step of creating her products and works hard to give us high end cosmetics at high street prices.

I have a couple of the By Lauren Luke palettes but they were purchased whilst on honeymoon from the huge Sephora store in the Hollywood & Highland shopping centre in LA.  I have no experience of mail ordering Lauren’s products - until now.

I thought I'd buy a couple of brushes before deciding if to get the whole set.  I chose the Pencil Brush and the Flat eyeshadow brush.  I received an email to acknowledge my order and then tweeted my excitement to @Panacea81.  Lauren replied saying I would receive the brushes soon.  Now, this is what I call customer service! The thing with Lauren is that you truly know she cares; she wants your feedback, ideas and suggestions and she really listens. So it was no surprise that my brushes arrived in immaculate condition in a gorgeous parcel very soon after my order was placed:

I could not wait to use these brushes. Firstly, we need to talk about the quality of them. I know that there are £1.50 brushes available at ELF and they are really good value if on a budget.  Their Bamboo brush range offers a higher quality but then the price jumps up significantly when compared to the £1.50 range.  To put it in perspective, Lauren's brushes are better quality than the bamboo brushes and are also cheaper. So if you are on a budget but don't want £1.50 brushes but something a little more high end, spend the extra.  It is worth it, I promise!

Shown above : Pencil brush £3.25, Flat eye Shadow brush £4.00.

Mac equivalent £19 each - and Lauren's brushes are easily of the same quality.  I have MAC brushes and have compared them.  I like Lauren's better (and I'm not just saying that because she tweeted me!); these are genuinely top quality brushes.  They look great, they perform great, they are great.  Today I used them for the first time, in conjunction with the My Fierce Violets palette.

I started by using the medium primer and then used the flat eyeshadow brush to tap on the light purple shade.  The brush loads up really well, but not too much - there was no fall out on my cheek which means no mess and also no wasted product. Application was quick, easy and even.  The eyeshadow went on really well and then when tapping the brush off and dabbing into the white to highlight, the lilac was all gone from the brush meaning no mixed colours. I used the pencil brush to tap in the darker purple to the outer crease of the eyelid and also to apply to the lower lash line.  It's quite a fine brush but not too fine which gives a smoky, softer look. I then blended the shadow and finished with a bit of eyeliner and mascara.

The brushes are lovely to use, I was really very pleased with them and will definitely be going for more when I get paid.

The bottom line is - amazing value, top end brushes without the high price, great customer service and also a tutorial available on line detailing how to use the brushes.  Click HERE to see.  Highly recommended.

Value : 10/10

Customer service 10/10

Product : 10/10