Cosmetics on a budget - Pros & Cons!!

Cosmetics on a budget! All products featured in this post came to £4 or under, and were bought in person. Enjoy!

FACE - Essence now sell what appears to be a Maybelline Dream Matt Mousse dupe, but for £3.80 it (unexpectedly) delivers some awesome results! It's a full coverage foundation; however a generous is needed to achieve this! I would also advise that a large amount of moisturiser is required before and after use (if you don't already). I found that, although it is a smooth & mousse like texture, the product really dried my skin out.

LIPS - Spring/Summer 2015 is all about nudes and pastels, so i bought this lipstick from Essence and I love love love everything about it! I paid just £2.30, which is a great buy because this product can be ued both day & night! The texture feel great; A lipstick that doesn't dry out your lips, manages to add moisture and lasts more than 10 minutes!! If you're looking for something that's fairly pastel, but want to add a little bit of shine, then this Lip Butter Pencil from Collection 2000 is for you! Currently available in 4 different colours, and retailing at £2.99, which makes it an awesome buy!

EYES - I love this dupe of Benefit's 'Gimme Brow' Eyebrow Mascara from Essence, and at a RRP price of £2.49 what's not to love! I've not actually used Benefit's eyebrow mascara before, because it's such an expensive buy! But that doesn't mean I didn't spot some obvious differences. For one, the price in comparison to the real thing, the size of the bristles, and lastly the amount of liquid in one tube! After conducting a little bit of research, and testing this item from Essence, I don't think I'll need to buy Benefit's version! See the results below for yourself :) 

I managed to nab this eye shadow pallet in the sale for just £1 (originally £2), which means I paid just under 13p for 8 different colours!! Can you guess where from?...Primark! To make a smokey eye effect I used 3 different colours, and the back of my hand. By using a brush and applying the colours in a small circular motion, I was easily able to create this effect. If you don't want to break the bank trialling what brushes work best for you, then have a look online at different product providers & read reviews 

before actually hitting the shops.             










My favourite purchase from this budget post is a mascara from Primark (see below). I bought this black tube (top left) for just £1, which made my eyelashes very flat and clump together! BUT my trip wasn't a total disappointment; I bought this 'Lash Defining' Mascara from Primark for £2, which I would recommend to everybody! My eyes looked really bright and open, my eyelashes looked amazing & extra-long, and lastly, they didn't clump together. The perfect consistency. 

•               Unfortunately, cosmetics from Essence aren't available online, but click the link below to check your local stockist http://www.essence.eu/uk/store-finder/ 


• Click here to find out where you can purchase Collection 2000 http://www.essence.eu/uk/store-finder/
• MUA products can be purchased at your local Superdrug store, or online here http://www.muastore.co.uk/

•  P.S Love Make-up (Primark) items can only be purchased in-store, click here to find your closest store - http://www.primark.com/en/our-stores
  

  

  
  

 Please feel free to comment if you found this review helpful, or if you have any suggestions for future blog posts!

Thanks for reading,

Yvette Marie xo

 

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Review: Dr Paw Paw Original Balm

I received this delivery from Dr Paw Paw earlier in the week, and was very excited to give it a try! Not only is it an ultimate lip balm, but it also appears to be a 'fixer' of everything. The packaging is fun, colourful, easy to recognise and promises the following results:

• Ultimate Lip Balm
• Brow Smoother/Shaper
• Skin soother
• Moisturiser for skin
• Eye Primer
• Make-up finisher/primer
• Nappy rash soother
• Helps with bites and stings
• Say goodbye to cracked heels

The product really does work wonders. My skin felt soft after use, my lips were smooth and eyebrows shaped! The product retails at a price of £6.95, which is a very reasonable price considering the amount of areas that the balm works on.

The texture of the product is quite thick, and almost like a Vaseline jelly. I tested the original balm, which is clear and fragrance free. I would have probably preferred something with a smell, but as the products fixes a lot of different areas, a fragrance would most likely irritate! In the future I would love to purchase the Tinted Ultimate Red or Peach Pink balm, as these colours can also be used to add a lip colour finish or colour to cheeks!

Dr Paw Paw products are available on the high-street, but if you'd like to visit their website, click here http://www.drpawpaw.com/

Please feel free to comment if you found this review helpful, or if you have any suggestions for future blog posts!

Thanks for reading,

Yvette Marie xo
 

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Review: Glitter Lips by Beauty Boulevard

Glitter lips is a (fairly) new semi-permanent lip glitter which is said to last (up to) 8 hours! It's one of the most sparkly products I've ever seen, and is a must have for any glitter lover. I bought Ruby Slippers because I thought colour would suit a lot of the clothes I wear. It's bright red (as you can probably guess by the name).

The instructions are very easy to follow; I applied the gloss/glue to my lips, paying attention to my lip line to make sure I stayed in-between the lines! (I have tiny tiny lips so this was quite the challenge). Keeping lips parted, I waited for the gloss to turn from white to clear, which took approx. 15 seconds. I carefully patted the glitter over my lips using the small applicator brush provided, and WALA! Fabulous Glitter Lips! 

Whilst I loved wearing this product, I'm not 100% that the colour that the colour really suited me (especially because my lips are SOOO small) which made me very self-aware. At a RRP OF £12.50, I also didn't want to spend that amount purchasing a colour that wouldn't suit me. After showing off my glitter lips during a night out, I began to feel a lot more confident because I was paid so many compliments!! The lips looked great, were fun to use, and actually stayed on for a good 6 hours (I don't think I've had a night out that lasted 8+ hours)... This stuff really doesn't budge, I ate, drank and kissed (as the product promises) an my lips were still intact.

Earlier this week, Beauty Boulevard launched some new products. Including; The unique lip formula bond is now available as an individual item- which is a great idea!! Glitter Lips have also released 'Glitter Eyes' which sounds just as fun! This would not be an everyday product, but for an evening out or a part event it's absolutely perfect.

Glitter Lips is available from www.beautyboulevard.co.uk

Please feel free to comment if you found this review helpful, or if you have any suggestions for future blog posts!

Thanks for reading,

Yvette Marie xo

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Review: Anatomicals - We only want you for your body!

So the lovely people at Anatomicals sent me a couple of samples to trial! The first thing I'd like to shout about is, how much I LOVE this company!!

The products are fun, the packaging is bright, and colourful, and whilst I’ve read their slogans can be a little tongue and cheek I think they’re very witty! The staff are so so friendly, and all of their products are Paraben FREE, the list goes on…

Down to business – I was very excited to try out this face mask, and mostly because I love chocolate!  Some of the main ingredients are shea butter and cocoa which are always favourites of mine. Once I opened this up, I received the strongest waft of cocoa and this smell remained during application and after. Now this face mask is supposed to leave your skin feeling “calm, relaxed and radiant”, which, following a visit to see my friends who are all students felt like a necessity!!

The instructions are easy to follow - open up, apply to face and allow 10-15 minutes to dry, then apply a damp cloth and wipe off. It took a little longer than 15 minutes to dry, but this is probably because I was a little bit excited, and applied a generous amount. Whilst this mask usually retails for £1-£2 (if you shop around), you will get two uses out of one packet! Within 2 minutes my skin began to tingle, which meant I could feel the mask beginning to work, which is always good news! After washing off the mask, I would say that my skin felt softer, but there wasn’t a huge difference (noticeably anyway).

This product looks fun, smells great, doesn’t cost a fortune, but it also doesn’t appear to add much value either, so I probably wouldn’t buy this product (for myself anyway, if you have a friend who loves chocolate then this would make a great present)…6/10.

This is a little bit different to the usual face mask; it' a pre-moistened cloth (which I've not actually used before). It was really easy to use - Open the pouch, press the mask over your face, leave it work it's magic for 20 minutes, and if there is any excess liquid leftover this can be moisturized into your skin. Whilst I'm usually a bit dubious about these kinds of products, I found that it actually helped my skin, and I would be happy to use it again / recommend to a friend! If you're suffering from spots / a small break out, I would say that tea tree oil, in my experience, works best!! This item usually retails at £4 for two cloths, which is a little pricey considering it's only a 20 minute treatment, but it makes a nice treat. 8/10.

I love the concept of this, but the finishing result really does let the product down. 

Unfortunately ‘Puffy The Eye Bag Slayer’ just doesn’t quite work for me I’m afraid.

Like all products from Anatomicals, the packaging is fun, bright and colourful. After I removed all of my make-up, and washed my face I applied these (what can only be described as) under eye gel-like patches. Within 2 minutes my skin felt irritable, so I adjusted the area in which they were applied. After 30 minutes, as instructed, I removed the patches but didn’t notice any difference whatsoever. Whilst this product wasn’t a complete fail, it also wasn’t completely successful! I often have dark circles under my eyes due to lack of sleep, so was quite disappointed as I thought this could be a quick-fix solution. This product usually retails between £6-£7 for a pack of 3, unfortunately, I wouldn’t buy this myself. 4/10.

These were my favourite products!! The packaging looks bright, colourful and fun!

Both products are made from exotic ingredients, smelt great, and were pink! A lot of body scrubs that I’ve used recently have been brown, plain and bland, so it was nice to mix things up a bit. The scrub is very thick and grainy, and the shower gel was always quite thick. I've got sensitive skin, so a lot of products irritate my skin, however these two items done quite the opposite!! - My skin was left feeling very soft after use. These products usually retail between £3-£4 which is a little hefty, but the quality definitely represents the price! 10/10.

Anatomical products are available from http://www.anatomicals.net/aliens/

Please feel free to comment if you found this review helpful or if you have any suggestions for future blog posts!

Thanks for reading,

Yvette Marie xo

 

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Review: Benefit Roller Lash Macara

OK there has been a lot of hype about this product, so I just had to get my hands on the latest edition of ELLE magazine, which comes with an exclusive and FREE 30g sample of Benefit's latest mascara - not currently available anywhere else.

Without further ado, let’s get on to talking about this latest release from Benefit cosmetics, the Roller Lash mascara which you may have guessed from the packaging (and just about every beauty lover mentioning it these last couple of weeks!) 

I would like to start off this review by saying how much I LOVE the packaging. 

      Both the mascara and box itself. The box is a pretty pink, with curly black writing, and the mascara carries a similar theme with a metallic pink lid and black tube.

When I first opened the mascara and saw the shape of the bristles I was instantly looking forward to giving this item a test. The bristles are very curly and not as extreme in comparison to a lot of other mascara's out there, potentially this could be a good thing (the whole 'less is more' rule). So as products go, I was pretty excited about trying it out.

The first coat I applied appeared to have a small effect but as the packaging promises, my eyelashes did have a small curl. I found that after applying a second coat (once the first coat had COMPLETELY dried) my eyelashes looked a lot darker and curled. Whilst this mascara does lift your lashes, I actually found that it's quite a sticky mascara which felt a little heavy, and made my lashes clump together.

If i had to rate this product, I'd give it a 7/10. I love the packaging!! I think this mascara works a lot better if either two coats are applied, or if it was to maybe dry out a little bit and used again in a couple of week’s time. I will still use this mascara, as I do like the effect it gives my eyelashes regardless of the clumping, however I would probably be a little bit disappointed if I was to purchase the full size version at full price. I reckon there are a lot more products out there, which can give better results for a lower cost.

I definitely think it is worth buying mini sized products, especially as this was only £4 (which is pretty good going for a Benefit cosmetic) plus that £4 also buys you a 500 page fashion magazine which is always a easy read. This product has received a lot of hype, and I think that can have an effect on people and make them feel like they have to have something (regardless of the price tag).

More Benefit products are available from https://www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk/

Please feel free to comment if you found this review helpful or if you have any suggestions for future blog posts!

Thanks for reading,

Yvette Marie xo

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20 facts about me!

As I'm new to this blogging business I thought I'd start my page off by listing 20 facts about me, hopefully it's interesting read!

1. Marie is actually my middle name.

2. I was born in Bristol.

3. My birthday is 6th May.

4. I have a cat called Amber, and she only has three legs due to an unknown accident.

5. I am the 3rd born out of 4 children, and have recently become an Auntie to one awesome little guy.

6. I've changed what career I want to have 'when im older' so many times!!

7. I own far too many DVDs.

8. I love make-up but I don't wear it as much as I would like to.

9. The Big Bang Theory is one of my favourite Tv shows.

10. My boyfriend bought me a George Foreman Grill for Valentine’s Day..

11. I've signed up to run the Bath Half-Marathon (all 13.2 miles) for a local charity.

12. I hate scary films.

13. Lasagne is one of my favourite meals.

14. I own a lot of shoes, but tend to wear the same three pairs on rotation.

15. I live with my dad, and we have very similar interests so we often watch Tv, cook food and listen to music together.

16. I asked for a brand new Xbox for my 17th birthday, and I've only ever used it to watch DVD's.

17. I LOVE all of the classic Disney films from the 90s - Lion King, Jungle Book, Cinderella, Beauty and The Beast etc.

18. I want to visit a different festival every summer.

19. I work with a Mortgage and Protection advisor, and I'm currently taking CeMap exams (Certificate in Mortgage Advice Practice) in order to become a qualified Para Planner.

20. I would love to travel the world. Firstly, I would like to go Interailing around Europe, travel around America in a camper van/car and finish off in someplace such as Australia, New Zealand or Asia.

Thanks very much for reading!

If you enjoyed this post or have any ideas for future topics that you'd like me to blog about, let me know by leaving a comment!!

Yvette Marie xo