Wednesday 31 August 2011

The Body Shop's GWP

Hi!

I just thought I'd share this offer with you, The Body Shop are offering a free gift with a £19 spend on makeup and skincare in store and £30 spend online. You get a choice of 2 gift collections, the first is a trio of eye based makeup/skincare:



Big and Curvy Waterproof Mascara - worth £10
Chamomile Makeup Remover 60ml - worth £3
Black Carbon Eye Definer - worth £9

This set is worth £22!


Vitamin C collection
Image taken from thebodyshop.co.uk


This is the second set containing the face spritz and radiance mist, if you shop online. However in store I noticed that the mist was replaced by a powder to improve radiance of the skin, the sales assistant didn't really explain very well the purpose of the powder mix so I picked the first gift collection!

Tuesday 30 August 2011

Review: Olavie Chardonnay Wine Therapy Antioxidant Body Butter

I received a 30ml sample of this body butter in my Boudoir Privé box for August, and I've now used it up completely! (Meaning it'll be making another appearance in my August Empties this month!) This calls for a review!



The full sized body butter by Olavie retails at £43.55 for 240ml and comes packaged in the standard tub in which most body butters are usually found in. It has a very soft thick luxurious texture and feel to it, and once rubbed in dries quickly too. The 30ml sample lasted me about 5-6 days using it on my legs only and smells gorgeous. I couldn't pinpoint the scent but it is very recognisable and lovely. My legs stayed moisturised and soft for around a whole day each time I used them, I couldn't test it for longer because I had to shower!

I didn't like the sample bottle though because it was very difficult to get the body butter out, I had to tap it several times to get a little bit of the product and when I tried squeezing it this resulted in the complete opposite effect of the butter being taken back into the bottle! I would love to repurchase this when I can afford to spend nearly £50 on a body butter but for the moment I won't be.

Reading up on Olavie and this range I found that the antioxidant effects included in the body butter stem from wine and the Chardonnay grape seed. This is also supposed to aid anti-aging and be considerably more beneficial to your health overall. I didn't find that my skin improved in anyway, it was just very moisturised and looked well taken care of - although I did only have a small sample!


Product: 17/20
Texture/Formula: 9/10
Packaging: 7/10
Application: 9/10
Repurchase: No

Overall: 8.4/10

This new rating system is to provide a quick snapshot of my experiences with the product. The product itself, and the texture and/or formula of the product. Wear is a rating of how long and well the item stays on, packaging and application are also reviewed. The repurchase line is whether I would repurchase the item again or not. Overall shows the average scoring of the product out of 10.

Monday 29 August 2011

Review: Wet'n'Wild Eyeshadow Trio - 384B On Cloud Nine

My amazing friend Paige sent me a lot of beauty products at the beginning of the year (and during!) but the Wet'n'Wild trios were in the winter package. They are available at drugstores in the US/Canada? and retail at $2.99. I will be reviewing them all individually in the near future.



This is Wet'n'Wild's eyeshadow trio in 384B On Cloud Nine, containing a blue/brown combination of shades.This trio could be used to create many different looks alongside other eyeshadows or palettes and a few different looks by itself. I really like this trio because of the fantastic quality of the eyeshadows.


- The Browbone Shade is a light sky blue frost/shimmer
- The Crease Shade is a deep brown with shimmer
- The Eyelid Shade is darker sky blue frost/shimmer

All shades are highly pigmented and I think even more so than some of the other Wet'n'Wild eyeshadow trios. The shades are easy to work with and blend, I tried 2 different looks with this trio, the browbone shade in the inner third of the eye, the eyelid shade on the rest of the eyelid and the crease shade in the crease. The other was with the eyelid shade and the crease shade in the outer-"v". They both looked nice and wore without primer for 4 hours without creasing, I would recommend a primer with all Wet'n'Wild eyeshadows if you'd like a more long-wearing look.


The packaging is the same as the other trios, a plastic flip-top, this is easy to use and functional, the mandatory sponge applicator and the small brush are also included. The texture of the eyeshadows is very soft and a pleasure to apply with an equally soft brush, I also used my fingers to apply and the eyeshadows blended well and applied nicely. I wouldn't describe this trio as an absolute must-have as it may not be so workable for an everyday look or even a work-appropriate look, however the quality of these eyeshadows is amazing, and for a more adventurous look I'd definitely recommend it!

Product: 8.5/10
Pigmentation: 9/10
Texture/Formula: 8.5/10
Wear: 7/10
Packaging: 4/5
Application: 4/5
Repurchase: No

Overall: 8.2/10

This new rating system is to provide a quick snapshot of my experiences with the product. The product itself, the level of pigmentation in comparison to how pigmented it should be, the texture and/or formula of the product. Wear is a rating of how long and well the item stays on, packaging and application are also reviewed. The repurchase line is whether I would repurchase the item again or not. Overall shows the average scoring of the product out of 10.

Question: Which would be your favourite beauty brand of all time?

I think I would say Urban Decay, I love that they're cruelty free, make brilliant products, I don't love the pricing but the products are of high quality so I suppose I should grin and bear it.

Which is your favourite?

Sunday 28 August 2011

GlossyBox - August 2011

I finally got my GlossyBox when I went to pick it up from the delivery office because the postman decided ringing the doorbell would be too much of a task for him. But I got it, so yay! This month's GlossyBox includes a few things I'm really looking forward to trying and another few which are completely unnecessary and unwanted - but that's what is to be expected as it is a surprise box each month!

So this month's GlossyBox included the following:


Ahava DeadSea Water Mineral Body Lotion (40ml - £3.52)
Murad Time Release Acne Cleanser (30ml - £4.35)
Daniel Sandler Baby Jet Mascara (4.5ml - £12.80)
KMS California Hairstay Style Boost (200ml - £13.70)
Rebel Nails Nail Wraps (£5.99)

The total value of this month's GlossyBox is £40.36 resulting in a saving of £30.36 as it was only £10 for August. I haven't used anything from the box yet seeing as I'm still trying to use up so many products already but I'll let you know of my first impressions now. The Ahava body lotion looks and smells great, I'd never heard of the brand before so I'm glad they included it, I'm also happy about the Murad Cleanser because I'm always on the lookout for magic cleansers that will improve my complexion.

Although the Daniel Sandler mascara is full-sized and probably a great mascara I feel like I already have too many and that a mascara specifically for the edges and smaller lashes isn't a necessity. I'm excited to try the KMS California Hairstay Style Boost because I don't own anything like this and haven't tried anything like it before too, a full-size version of this is a real bonus! Finally the nail wraps, these are of no use to me at all, I think removing and applying nail polish would actually be quicker than using these, especially as I don't even own a hairdryer! - shock, horror, I know (I'm looking for one I assure you!).

My overall thoughts: I think in terms of value for money GlossyBox exceed expectations every month, I love that they include full-sized products but for this month I'm only interested in 3/5 products, but as the value is so great I give this box a 7/10.

Wednesday 24 August 2011

Blog's 1st Birthday and Giveaway! - CLOSED

Hi all!

(PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE POST BEFORE ENTERING)

1st August was the 1st birthday of my beauty blog. It went from Beauty Blogging Away to The Beauty Chat to what is now Navilicious Beauty. This name is final! It was inspired by my lovely friend Paige who can be found on her Youtube/Twitter/Blog.

I've learnt a lot about blogging and people in general since I begun an active social media profile, some good and some bad. The best thing I have picked up though are a lot of fellow blogging friends, some beauty bloggers and other bloggers, blogging about whatever takes their fancy or their everyday lives. I won't go into it too much, but I really enjoy blogging and writing and I'm glad to have picked up some amazing followers in the year I have been blogging. Thank you very much for your follow and your support on my blog.

To say a better thank you I decided to hold a giveaway in celebration of one year on the blogosphere, I will be giving away Sleek's Meditteranean Collection. You can find reviews of all the products here.


So one lucky winner will win the following, a Monaco Palette, Santorini Blush and Monte Carlo Pout Polish, there will also be some small 2nd and 3rd prizes (all bought by myself - 2nd/3rd prizes may be GWPs). Here's how to enter:

Rules:
1. You must be a follower of my blog via Google Friend Connect
2. You must be 18+ or have your parent's permission if you are younger

To enter:
- Please leave a comment telling me what your favourite thing about reading blogs or blogging is - for 1 entry
- And/Or tweet this giveaway, (you must be a follower on twitter for this entry to count!) - for 1 entry
Tweet: "Follow @nav_beauty and RT this to enter Navilicious Beauty's 1st Birthday Giveaway! Details here: http://goo.gl/HFRFL"

You can enter as many times as you like but please leave a comment each time, if you enter on Twitter please leave your twitter name in one of your comments. Also please check back on Thursday 22nd September to see if you have won. I will not be sending an email to the winner as I'd like to think they read my blog so will have read the post to see if they have won. If I do not hear from the winner within 48hours of posting, another winner will be selected using random.org. Giveaway closes at 10pm BST on Wednesday 21st September and is open internationally. Any invalid entries will be excluded at my own discretion.

Sleek Makeup Mediterranean Collection Round-Up


Here you can find all my reviews for the Sleek Mediterranean Collection - just click on the product name below:

- Monaco Eyeshadow Palette
- Santorini Blush
- Monte Carlo Pout Polish

Thank you for reading :)

Review: Sleek Makeup LE Mediterranean Collection - Monaco Eyeshadow Palette


The Limited Edition Monaco eyeshadow palette by Sleek is a summer-orientated, fun, versatile palette - although probably not for nude/natural looks. Containing 12 well pigmented mineral-based eyeshadows this palette does not disappoint. There are 7 matte shades and 5 shimmer shades, also included is the double ended sponge applicator and a large mirror opposite to the eyeshadows. It cost £6.49 from Superdrug. I really like the packaging, it's a very slim compact palette with the simplest and functional design.



Top Row (L-R):



Bamboo is a matte light cream shade, perfect as a highlighter.
Aquamarine is a matte aqua shade, in-between green and blue, leaning more towards a light teal-green
Midnight Garden is a matte deep navy with slight purple undertones
Sunset is a rusty dark red-orange shimmer shade
Washed Ashore is peach shimmer
Magenta Madness is a bright magenta matte shade

Bottom Row (L-R):



Summer Breeze is a very light turquoise matte shade
Sand Walker is a light taupe-brown matte shade
Kiwi Zest is a bright lime green shimmer
Lotus Flower is a lilac shimmer
Humming Bird is a turquoise shimmer
Moors Treasure is a dark matte red-brown shade



All shades are well pigmented and wear well. I would recommend using an eyeshadow primer or base to increase the longevity of wear, as some shades crease after 4 hours of wear. In terms of application, I found all shades easy to pick up on the brush and apply, the lighter matte shades sometimes needed another dip to pick up the amount of product I wanted, like Bamboo, Sandwalker and Summer Breeze. I also found the lighter matte shades to be a little chalky but I think all matte eyeshadows have that slight issue.

The texture of all shades is generally soft and average, nothing amazing but nothing terrible either. Application was generally a breeze aside from the dusting of the eyeshadows when picking up product. I wouldn't repurchase this only because I'd never finish the entire palette!

To see a bright summer look with this palette by my friend Paige please click here.


Product: 9/10
Pigmentation: 8.5/10
Texture/Formula: 8/10
Wear: 8/10
Packaging: 4/5
Application: 4/5
Repurchase: No

Overall: 8.3/10

This new rating system is to provide a quick snapshot of my experiences with the product. The product itself, the level of pigmentation in comparison to how pigmented it should be, the texture and/or formula of the product. Wear is a rating of how long and well the item stays on, packaging and application are also reviewed. The repurchase line is whether I would repurchase the item again or not. Overall shows the average scoring of the product out of 10.

Tuesday 23 August 2011

Review: Sleek Makeup LE Mediterranean Collection - Santorini Blush


This is the blush from Sleek's Limited Edition Mediterranean Collection which was released this summer. To read an overview post please click here. It cost £4.29 for 8g from Superdrug and is an amazing blush for summer - I really like it as you can already tell...


Ther packaging is very sleek, as per usual and is very pretty with the addition of the Mediterranean artwork. It includes a mirror on the opposite side of the blush which I love with all Sleek blushes, sometimes I forget my mirror in another bag or at home and having a mirror about is so useful. The pigmentation on this blush is very high, one swipe results in a very pigmented swatch, so very little is required for both cheeks. The texture is soft and blendable, which I think is an absolute neccessity due to the pigmentation! The blush wears on me without fading for at least 8 hours. A lovely rosy bright pink colour is remains on my cheeks throughout the day, blended well it appears very natural. I use a blush brush, either from Mac or ELF and both work well for ease of application.

Swipe on left, blended swatch on right.

As long as you're not put off by the very bright colour I do think you'll find this to be a lovely blush for summer - even though I don't feel it visited us here this year...I wouldn't repurchase this simply because I don't think I'll ever finish it! In terms of value you do receive a lot of good quality product for a relatively low price, another thing I'm happy with!

Product: 8.5/10
Pigmentation: 8.5/10
Texture/Formula: 8/10
Wear: 8/10
Packaging: 4/5
Application: 4/5
Repurchase: No

Overall: 8.2/10

This new rating system is to provide a quick snapshot of my experiences with the product. The product itself, the level of pigmentation in comparison to how pigmented it should be, the texture and/or formula of the product. Wear is a rating of how long and well the item stays on, packaging and application are also reviewed. The repurchase line is whether I would repurchase the item again or not. Overall shows the average scoring of the product out of 10.

Amarya Beauty

Amarya Beauty are a company providing natural and organic products online, in their shop and in their salon. They recently released a beauty box which I promptly signed up for! I really like the idea of organic and natural beauty products, so I'm glad I found them (special thanks to Madame Gourmand there!) On Twitter they held a competition and I was lucky enough to be sent a mini goody bag of samples! They were also kind enough to include a special code for the readers of Navilicious Beauty giving you a discount of a whopping 20% off anything* from their online store! - http://www.amarya.co.uk/


I've used most of the sachets up and I'm going to write a mini-review of each - more like a first impressions because of the size of the sachets and limited use of each. So onto the code...(clicking on it will take you directly to their website).


* not applicable to vouchers, treatments or the Amarya Beauty Box

Valid until Midnight Wednesday 31st August 2011.

I'm so very grateful to Amarya Beauty for the code and the lovely samples! Thank you! Please go and enjoy surfing their website and I hope you'll take advantage of the 20% off discount code!

Boudoir Privé - August 2011

I received my Boudoir PrivĂ© Beauty Box and I really liked it. I haven't included many pictures because I don't really like very image-heavy posts. It included the luxury samples as promised, and in different categories - makeup, haircare, bodycare, skincare, lifestyle and fragrance. It arrived with a lovely, very thoughtful handwritten card by the Founder of Boudoir PrivĂ© - ThĂ©rèse and a highly informative leaflet providing details about each sample included.

Here's what was included in my box:


- Sachajuan Hair Conditioner (100ml - £10)
- Jane Iredale PureLash Extender and Conditioner (small sample - full size 89ml RRP £13)
- Babor HSR Lifting Extra Firming Cream (small sample - full size 50ml RRP £82)
- Etat Libre D'Orange Archives 69 and Rien (1.5ml each - full sizes respectively 50ml £74 and £52.50)
- Olavie Antioxidant Body Butter (small bottle - full size RRP £43.55)
- Bloom Green Tea and White Tea Duo (sample each - full size pack of 10 RRP £4)

I haven't tried everything yet but I am happy with the box overall. I feel like this particular box is aimed at an older audience, I gave the Babor cream to an older lady, the tea I think is a nice touch, whether you drink tea, despise it or enjoy it once in a while. I found the PureLash Extender and Conditioner to be very lengthening to my lashes however I don't think it is a deluxe sample - especially as the full size is 89ml! The packaging of the Etat Libre D'Orange perfumes slightly annoyed me because of the explicit sexual image on the Archives 69 sample but they do smell nice once applied. I have heard of Sachajuan before but I haven't ever tried any of their products so am glad that their hair conditioner was included. Finally, the Olavie body butter I think is amazing, I'd never heard of the brand before this box though.


Overall: I think this is a good box with a value above the £10 paid for the P and P, the box and the products inside. It was personalised which I loved, the customer service and interaction from the company is brilliant and efficient. Before making a hard and fast decision I would deem it wise to experience a few more of their boxes. I give this month's box a 7/10.

What did you think of this month's box? Will you be subscribing?

Monday 15 August 2011

My Makeup Collection!


Hi!

I've decided to post my collection on here, I really like reading these type of posts and watching them on Youtube and wanted to share mine too. I do think it's huge, and that's my opinion, I don't use makeup everyday, mainly due to the fact that I'm always lacking time and/or too tired, hence why I don't feel my makeup skills are too great either!

I will post more than one post in this series because of the dynamics of a blog post in comparison to a YouTube video, and it will be much clearer and better overall to post several times. The posts will be in the following order:

1) Overview
2) Eyes
3) Face
4) Lips
5) Brushes/Tools
6) Nails
7) Extras/Makeup Bags/Any Forgets

I will aim to take pictures/edit them/write the posts by the end of the first week of August because I am very limited in leisure time for this week! I also have a vast skincare collection, and a large bodycare collection, if you'd like to see those as posts as well please let me know! Or any other types of posts, like what's in my makeup bag, etc.

Thank you for reading!

Please post your makeup collection posts/videos below so all readers and I can check them out! :)

Tuesday 9 August 2011

Marie Claire Freebies!


Marie Claire (September 2011 issue) are giving away a choice of 2 CiatĂ© paint pots and 2 Dove Express Treatment Conditioners along with the sachets inside the magazine! The magazine retails at £3.60 and the nail polish alone is worth £9. The 2 shades available are a deep metallic purple with shimmer (Wait Until Dark) or a nude light peach/cream colour (My Fair Lady).


I picked up 2 of Wait Until Dark with the Dove Nourishing Oil Care Express Treatment conditioner, I did think of trying My Fair Lady but I'd just received Beach Melba also by Ciaté in my July GlossyBox, and it's a very similar shade.

I'll review and do some posts about both products and possibly even about the Sanex sachet included!

Thank you for reading!

What do you think of the shades available? Have you picked yours up yet?

Sunday 7 August 2011

Review: Wet'n'Wild Eyeshadow Trio - 381B Sweet As Candy

My amazing friend Paige sent me a lot of beauty products at the beginning of the year (and during!) but the Wet'n'Wild trios were in the winter package. They are available at drugstores in the US/Canada? and retail at $2.99. I will be reviewing them all individually in the near future.


This is the eyeshadow trio in Sweet As Candy (381B), containing 3 quite neutral everyday, wearable shades. The trio is again split into different shades for the eyelid, crease and browbone, which are suitably stamped onto the shadows. All shades can be used individually to create different looks and combined with other eyeshadows for even more looks!


- The Browbone shade is a creamy white frost/shimmer.
- The Crease shade is a neutral brown shimmer.
- The Eyelid shade is a baby pink shimmer.

They are highly pigmented shades but not as highly as Silent Treatment (335). They are very pretty colours and easy to work with and apply onto the lid, using these eyeshadow colours as suggested gives a very pretty look which I think would suit all skin tones. I felt like I needed to pack on the colour a lot more but I think that's probably because my eyelids are a little darker than my face.

Swatches without primer
They wear well alone and with primer, I would definitely use an eyelid primer with this trio though to help the colours look more true on your eyes. The packaging is the same plastic flip-up combination and works perfectly. They also include 2 applicators, a sponge applicator and a small brush which I don't find to be very useful at all. This trio works well for an everyday look but I wouldn't say is an essential.

Product: 7/10
Pigmentation: 7/10
Texture/Formula: 8/10
Wear: 8/10
Packaging: 4/5
Application: 4/5
Repurchase: No

Overall: 7.6/10

This new rating system is to provide a quick snapshot of my experiences with the product. The product itself, the level of pigmentation in comparison to how pigmented it should be, the texture and/or formula of the product. Wear is a rating of how long and well the item stays on, packaging and application are also reviewed. The repurchase line is whether I would repurchase the item again or not. Overall shows the average scoring of the product out of 10.

Saturday 6 August 2011

Complete Beauty Spending Ban!

As of today (Saturday 6th August 2011) I will be on a complete beauty spending ban aside from any subscriptions I have. I want to start saving up properly and when I do save up I'll feel better too. I also want to see how long all my beauty products will last me until I have to buy something again or I won't be able to shower or wash my hair or whatever!

I'll also be doing empties posts from August every month to see how much of everything I use up. I'm not going to treat myself either, I think I already have for an entire year.

I'd love your support and to see where I can go with this! I'll be posting my makeup collection soon too, and a few final hauls, so you know the amount I have and how long it'll last someone!

Thank you so much for reading! :)

Friday 5 August 2011

Review: Wet'n'Wild Eyeshadow Trio - 335 Silent Treatment

My amazing friend Paige sent me a lot of beauty products at the beginning of the year (and during!) but the Wet'n'Wild trios were in the winter package. They are available at drugstores in the US/Canada? and retail at $2.99. I will be reviewing them all individually in the near future.


This is the eyeshadow trio in Silent Treatment (335), containing 3 beautifully pigmented shades with a soft creamy texture. The shades are split up into a shade for the browbone, one for the crease and another for the eyelid, which are stamped onto the eyeshadows. This doesn't mean that they necessarily have to be used in the same way, but can be played around with and obviously other shades from different palettes can be used to create different looks. Many different looks can be obtained from 3 shades alone though!


- The Browbone shade is a light peach frost, not chalky at all.
- The Crease shade is a deep brown/plum shade with gold specks of glitter.
- The Eyelid shade is a shimmery frost light purple/lilac shade.

The pigmentation of these eyeshadows is amazing, they are very pigmented and only one swipe of the shadow results in an opaque swatch. This really impresses me, because I've recently been playing with some more expensive drugstore quads, and the pigmentation is so poor I was trying not to break into tears thinking of the money wasted...but anyway...

Swatches without primer
The shadows apply beautifully, they are soft and creamy but not excessively. They wear for a full day without any issues at all with and without primer, however wear best with primer. They are packaged well in basic plastic packaging, but I like the simple-ness, as anything more elaborate would be unnecessary. I think this is excellent value for money and the amount of product received, I love this trio! This can be used for a more dramatic day look or a very dramatic evening look.

Product: 9/10
Pigmentation: 9/10
Texture/Formula: 9/10
Wear: 8/10
Packaging: 4/5
Application: 4/5
Repurchase: Probably wouldn't ask for another because I wouldn't use this up!

Overall: 8.6/10

This new rating system is to provide a quick snapshot of my experiences with the product. The product itself, the level of pigmentation in comparison to how pigmented it should be, the texture and/or formula of the product. Wear is a rating of how long and well the item stays on, packaging and application are also reviewed. The repurchase line is whether I would repurchase the item again or not. Overall shows the average scoring of the product out of 10.

Thursday 4 August 2011

Review: 17 Miami Pop Collection Lipgloss


This is part of 17's Limited Edition Summer Collection named Miami Pop. Today I'm reviewing the lipgloss, which was available from Boots at £3.99 for 6.5ml. (I'm not 100% sure if it's still available or not...I haven't seen the collection in Boots for some time now though!) It's a very bright pink colour without any shimmer but with a pretty shine.

It has a doe foot applicator and very sleek packaging. I love the bright pink and flamingo on the tube. When applying it takes about 3 pumps to cover my lips entirely, but as they are quite pigmented already only a pink sheen is visible, it can be layered to make it more opaque but I liked the touch of colour for summer. The applictor remains very clean only picking up product on the doe-foot, I really like that about this lipgloss. It wears on me for around 2-3hours with eating and drinking, and didn't look terrible when worn away either. It isn't sticky which is something I always look for in a lipgloss so is great in that sense. The formula seems to soften and moisturise my lips, I hadn't applied any lip balm prior to putting the lipgloss on but my lips felt moisturised upon application.

I think on less pigmented lips this would look a lot brighter and more "summery". Although I really like this lipgloss I wouldn't class it as an essential or an absolute necessary buy, but it is a bargain at £3.99, and has many pros.

Product: 7/10
Pigmentation: 7/10
Texture/Formula: 8/10
Wear: 7/10
Packaging: 5/5
Application: 4/5
Repurchase: No

Overall: 7.6/10

This new rating system is to provide a quick snapshot of my experiences with the product. The product itself, the level of pigmentation in comparison to how pigmented it should be, the texture and/or formula of the product. Wear is a rating of how long and well the item stays on, packaging and application are also reviewed. The repurchase line is whether I would repurchase the item again or not. Overall shows the average scoring of the product out of 10.

Review: Rimmel London Glam'Eyes Professional Liquid Liner in Black Glamour


This is Rimmel's liquid eyeliner available at Boots/Superdrug at £5.29 for 3.5ml. It is in the average packaging for a liquid eyeliner but in a lengthened conical shape. The brush is very thin and has just the right amount of flexibility to allow for an easy application ensuring perfect control at all times. This forms a very thin line and can easily be formed with one "pick-up" (for want of an even slightly better word/phrase!) of product, but can easily be perfected with a little more eyeliner. The pigmentation of the eyeliner is fantastic, it's not ridiculously sheer like I've found some eyeliners to be! It is a lovely black with a little shine when placed on the lid.

Application is very quick and simple, the texture of the eyeliner is very smooth and the formula strong and budge-proof without it feeling like it's sticking to your eyelid and is very easy to remove - it can even be taken off with lots of water, but obviously that's not recommended! It wears very well, stayed on me for above 9hrs without any issues aside from when I rubbed my eyes and they felt a little uncomfortable near the end of the day. I do like this eyeliner a lot and prefer it to a lot of cheaper versions.

Product: 8/10
Pigmentation: 8/10
Texture/Formula: 8/10
Wear: 8/10
Packaging: 4/5
Application: 5/5
Repurchase: Yes

Overall: 8.2/10

This new rating system is to provide a quick snapshot of my experiences with the product. The product itself, the level of pigmentation in comparison to how pigmented it should be, the texture and/or formula of the product. Wear is a rating of how long and well the item stays on, packaging and application are also reviewed. The repurchase line is whether I would repurchase the item again or not. Overall shows the average scoring of the product out of 10.

Tuesday 2 August 2011

Review: 17 Adapt-itude Adapting Skin Match Foundation SPF15


Available in 4 skin-tone adapting shades, Extra Fair, Fair, Medium, Medium/Dark this is 17's answer to a light-weight summer foundation, and it is! You can find it at Boots for £6.29.


17 Say:
You’ve met your match with our no fuss skin adapting foundation. Blends seamlessly for an even skin tone and a natural, flawless finish. Blend-able, weightless coverage, with a flawless finish and SPF 15.

Swatch of Medium
I found this to be very similar to a tinted moisturiser but with more coverage, it feels very light when applied and is simple and easy to apply. I use a stippling brush or a foundation brush and tend to set with powder. It lasts for a full day (around 8hrs) without slipping/sliding/smudging. I feel it is the perfect drugstore foundation for summer, although there is some slipping in incredibly hot weather - as experienced today. It is generally transfer-proof but not as highly so as some more expensive foundations.


In terms of value for the 30ml of product at £6.29 and the quality of the foundation itself, I certainly don't think it's a bad deal at all. It is a pretty much perfect summer foundation. The nozzle on the tube is easy to work with and apply product without any waste. Using the 17 Photo Flawless Primer ensured that this stayed on more comfortably on my skin. As for the flawless finish promised this is achieved, and the SPF15 is always a welcome addition!

Product: 8/10
Pigmentation: 8/10
Texture/Formula: 8/10
Wear: 8/10
Packaging: 4/5
Application: 4/5
Repurchase?: I already have!

Overall: 8/10