Review: The Body Shop Glitter Liquid Eyeliners, (green and silver)

I got these two fabulous eyeliners in the sale last summer for £2.50 each, they are from The Body Shop and last forever! (Apologies for the blurry image!)

Both are liquid and sparkly eyeliners, there is a green and a silver. They glide on very smoothly and are versatile, I've used them as glitter eyeshadows all over the lid, the only issue is that if you do that they tend to be a little messy and can crease. As eyeliners both are fantastic and last all night long, they're very pretty and make your eyes look amazing in my opinion, especially the silver one as it really stands out. I know you're not supposed to keep eye products for very long so I'll be trying to finish these soon even though I think they're such good products.

I wouldn't however recommend them at the original price of £5 each because I think you can find other eyeliners of equal quality for a lower price.

Overall I give these 8/10, thank you for reading! :)

Victoria's Secret Refreshing Body Mist in "Strawberries and Champagne"

This is a random find from a few months ago and I don't remember how much it was or ever where I got it from, I think it was roughly £7-8 though! It is gorgeous! I love the smell of it, gentle but there and certainly not a scent that provides an annoying headache all day long.

The picture is with flash as I decided to photograph at night (thanks to my enjoyment in staying up?) but the bottle is very pretty and there's a lot of body mist that you receive! 250ml!

I know that Victoria's Secret is a brand much more popular in the US than it is here but I really love this body mist and I think it should be sold in more places across the UK.

"Refresh with fragrance from a Secret Garden, infused with moisturizing Aloe Vera and calming Chamomile. Mist over body after shower or bath for delicately scented skin."

This is most certainly the case for this body mist and it's amazing! Although it's obviously not incredibly moisturising as you wouldn't be expected to spray it over every single part of your body. It's attracted many compliments already and I've been using it sparingly, I also picked up the eau de toilette version and will review that very soon too!

Thank you for reading :)

Review: Boots Ingredients Cocoa Butter and Mallow Body Lotion

This is such a handy body lotion to have! It's very moisturising and smells amazing. The scent is flowery but muted, so not overwhelming, it also doesn't linger around for long unless you directly sniff your skin, which is a bonus for me as I find a lot of very strong scents give me headaches unfortunately.

It's only £1.99 and I've used it for a week now and I still have so much left! It's in a 300ml pump bottle which you can twist to dispense or lock the pump so there's no waste! It feels very light on the skin and sinks in quickly, it's not a rich butter if that's what you're after. I think this would be most suited to the summer months because of it's light texture but it works well on elbows and knees so I really like it. It's not my favourite ever so I give it an 8/10.

Thank you for reading :)

Review: 17 Eyes Trio in "Metallic Toffee"

I love this eyeshadow trio! I've been using it a lot as a neutral look for everyday, it's a shimmery trio which I think makes it very pretty. It's not over the top so it can be worn to work/school and not appear overly dramatic.

I like the packaging, it's very simple and there are 3 coordinating eyeshadows in it. There is a creamy shimmery white colour, a copper/light bronze colour and a deeper brown colour. I usually use the creamy colour as a highlight on the inner corners, the coppery colour as an all over colour and the deep brown as a crease/outer V colour. This creates a very pretty, easy to do neutral look.

The colours are very pigmented, easy to apply and easy to blend, and I also think they would be suitable for every skin tone.

17 have a larger range of these trios, most of which coordinate with one another, I would definitely recommend this, it's also very affordable at £5.49 from Boots.

I give this trio a 9/10 because I'm sure the copper/brown colours will finish a lot quicker than the creamy colour meaning I'll have to keep the pot around for longer!

Overall it is amazing quality for such a price and I would certainly recommend it, especially as it's so easy to use! And using the colours separately so mnay variations on looks can be created, I think it would be brilliant for summer too!

Review: No7 Radiance Revealed Exfoliator

This retails for £8 at Boots and I really like it! It's a creamy exfoliator with little beads that you can manoeuvre around your face for a decent clean. It's hypo-allergenic and contains fruit acids to help clear your complexion.

You receive 75ml which lasts for a very long time as you only need a tiny amount to wash your face with. I would recommend this especially as a winter exfoliator due to its creamy properties, preventing the skin from drying out as well.

I like the simple tube packaging as its easy to use and keep clean, I've used it now for 3-4weeks daily (I have combination skin and I feel it works fine daily), as it is gentle enough and I notice the slightly clearer complexion I now have.

You can win this as part of my giveaway at the moment too!

Thank you for reading :)

Boots No7 Skincare Giveaway! - CLOSED

Welcome to my first ever giveaway on BBA!

It's a No7 skincare giveaway and will consist of the following items:

- No7 Radiance Revealed Exfoliator - £8.00
- No7 Quick Thinking 4 in 1 wipes - £7.00
- No7 Cleanse and Care Eye Make-up Remover - £7.75

The reason I've chosen the items because I've tried them, I love them and I feel that these items are suitable for any skin type, if you click on the names above you can read full reviews on them (once I've posted all of them!). There are a few other skincare items by No7 that I feel would be suitable for all skin types but I haven't tried them and some I feel are actually targeted at the slightly older woman. These I think are for everyone so I have picked these for my giveaway! Prices given above are RRP. Giveaway ends Thursday 10th March 2011 at 6pm UTC. It is international but I need to confirm if I'm able to ship liquids abroad, (the eye make-up remover).

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

How to Enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post saying which eye makeup remover/exfoliator/wipes are your favourite
- This can equate to 3 separate entries should you choose too be, but please leave a separate comment for each.
2. Follow me on twitter, I am nav_t and leave a comment saying you're following me.
3. Tweet this message to your followers, "Follow @nav_t and RT this to enter BBA's No7 Skincare Giveaway! Details here: http://beautybloggingaway.blogspot.com"

Please enter and good luck!

Testing Cosmetics on Animals...

I'd like to talk about - as the title suggests, animal testing. This topic was very common a few years ago and now I feel it has died down considerably due to the lack of media coverage. I think this is as an important issue today as it was yesteryear, I just don't think people care enough anymore. As this is a beauty blog I will try to relate the companies and content of the post to cosmetics in particular as much as I can.

After researching on the internet I found that a shocking number of companies use animals to test their cosmetics on. The companies I have found and recognised and the source of this information is listed below, (please note I may be incorrect and be sure to check the link and let me know if you do find any mistakes):

• Ponds, Vaseline
• Mentadent, Nair, Pearl Drops
• Clairol - Aussie, Daily Defense, Herbal Essences (although Clairol have said that Herbal Essences is not tested on animals)
• Colgate-Palmolive Co
• Cover Girl
• Crest
• Right Guard
• Gillette
• Johnson and Johnson - Aveeno, Clean and Clear, Listerine, Neutrogena, Rembrandt, ROC
• L'oreal USA - Biotherm, Garnier, Giorgio Armani, Lancome, Maybelline, Ralph Lauren Fragrances, Redken, Soft Sheen, Vichy
• Max Factor
• Olay Co./Oil of Olay
• Oral-B
• Pantene
• Veet
• Dr Scholl's
• Glade
• Oust
• Dove
• Sunsilk

Source: http://www.mediapeta.com/peta/PDF/companiesdotest.pdf 

And these are the ones that I've recognised. I understand that people may be divided in their views of testing cosmetics on animals before putting them out on the shelves to sell to humans and I will respect all views, this post contains my views.

Personally I don't think companies should still be testing cosmetics on animals as there is such a vast number of cosmetics brands that do not need to test their products on animals. I think it's cruel to use animals because we as humans are superior, intellectually. The animals chosen cannot speak or protest for themselves and although I'm not an animal rights activist, I still believe this is unfair.

For medical and pharmaceutical purposes I can appreciate that pharmaceutical companies are required by law to test on animals before allowing humans to use their products; for this I think there can be new innovations that means we don't need animals to be tested on.

Do we really need to use and abuse innocent animals to see if our lipsticks are functional and safe?

I certainly don't think so. If brands like Lush Cosmetics, MAC, Bobbi Brown, Urban Decay, Yes to Carrots, OPI and Essie are able to create safe products for us without testing on animals then why can't Maybelline, Max Factor and L'oreal do the same?

I'm not able to provide any details about what goes on when companies use animals to test cosmetics as I have only studied the process of pharmaceutical testing, however I'll assume that it's very similar. For example many checks would need to be performed, then animals are tested on, then healthy human volunteers in smaller quantities, then larger quantities then the drug is permitted to be sent out for production. I can just about understand that we'd need to test on animals before humans in the cases of drugs as they can be very dangerous, however how necessary is this for cosmetics?

I feel by using animals for cosmetics is entirely selfish and not needed, I was surprised to find how many of the brands on this list I use myself! Or know of other people using them, I haven't come to a straight and narrow conclusion here with regards to whether I will continue to purchase products from companies that do choose to test on animals, but it is most likely that I won't. An offender that surprised me the most was Clean and Clear and the rest of the Johnson and Johnson products, I've always thought of this brand as gentle and safe, so I incorrectly assumed that they wouldn't be partaking in animal cruelty.

I also believe that people should be strong enough and willing enough to find similar products from brands that do not test on animals, companies that do not test on animals are listed here:

http://www.mediapeta.com/peta/PDF/companiesdonttest.pdf

And there are a fair few! Which I'm very glad to hear about!

Maybe we should pay attention to the little details in the manufacturing of the products we use on ourselves everyday. I don't want to offend anyone by comparing this to the Fairtrade issue and please allow me to continue and complete the way in which I am comparing. I think this is similar to the Fairtrade campaigns because no-one knew enough or was bothered enough to care about how the things they use were made/coming from, and this is true for this argument. Not enough people (in my opinion), are aware of or bothered about how their cosmetics and household items are made.

Overall, I think that testing on animals in this day and age - especially for cosmetics is completely unnecessary and selfish. I believe that we should take a leaf out of all the companies' books that do not test on animals and continue on without harming little creatures with lesser intellectual/physical ability than us.

Thank you for reading and please feel free to comment below, I'd appreciate it greatly if your comments weren't rude and more of a discussion, I have placed my opinion here only.

Question: What is the right age to start wearing makeup?

I don't really know to be honest, I think wearing a little makeup from maybe 16 onwards is fine, but a full face probably only once 18+. My reasoning for this is that I've discovered makeup makes me look a lot older and I don't think younger girls should be looking older than they actually are!

Please leave a comment with your opinion :)

Review: Dr Nick Lowe Spot Gel

This is the branded spot gel by the famous Dr Nick Lowe, internationally renowned dermatologist. It is available at Boots at £9.18 for 15ml.

The Packaging: It's of a clinical appearance which makes the consumer believe the gel will work to amazing standards, otherwise it's very simple and neat.

The Product: I'm sorry to say but this is by far the worst spot reducing gel I have ever used, and I have used so many I've lost count. The gel itself is of an average consistency and is transparent, once placed onto the skin it sits there like a random blob, eventually it dries into a PVA-glue-like seal that you can rub off, all of this and the size of the blemish remains exactly the same with no change whatsoever. I repeated this process several times to see if there was a change or my skin was failing me, unfortunately no change again, which is contrary to the claims it makes.

After a few months (now) the gel appears out of nowhere without me squeezing the tube, I hope that this was a faulty one, but I don't think that would make sense. It's certainly not worth the price tag.

I have purchased full sizes of the blemish range face wash, toner and cream and hope to review those soon, hopefully they'll be much better!

Overall I give it 1/10, the 1 mark for the packaging, thank you for reading!

Please leave your comments below on your experiences with such blemish gels :)

Beauty Blogging Away is Away!

Hiya,

Unfortunately I won't be able to blog until the end of January now because of a hefty workload, catching up, revising, exams, so on, so forth. I think I have added as much as I can in the meanwhile on my blog to keep you entertained and if not, I'm terribly sorry but will be back to makeup for it very soon! (Excuse the unintended pun!)

I hope to see you alll very soon and please don't forget to leave your comments on the posts so everyone else is also able to discuss and learn about different experiences with the products.

Thank you so much for reading my blog!

Au revoir for now!

Question: Do you ever repurchase the same skincare items again?

I usually tend to buy an entire range, cleansers, toner, moisturiser, serums and once it's finished I move onto to another brand, I was wondering what you do?

Please leave your comments below :)

Any Questions or Requests? - January 2011

Hi! :)

I've decided that at the beginning of each month I'm going to post a similar post to this, asking you if you have any questions or specific requests you would like me to do with regards to the blog,

Please don't forget to comment and let me know!

Thank you so much for visiting Beauty Blogging Away!

Review: No7 Cleanse and Care Eye Makeup Remover

I am in love with this product to be very honest, it does exactly what it says on the packaging and I think is also a very nice colour, even though it's not a makeup product.

It is available at Boots for £7.75 (but I'm assuming the price will go up slightly tomorrow thanks to the VAT increase!) and you get 100ml of product.

It has 2 layers, so as you can see from the picture the darker blue is visible on the lower third of the plastic bottle. It is hypo-allergenic and suitable for all skin types, so everyone can give this a try.

It's a light blue liquid/gel which dispenses from a pump very easily onto a cotton pad or whatever you prefer to use and removes eye makeup very quickly and softly. My lashes feel conditioned and softer and my eyes are clear of all makeup. I do recommend washing your face even after using an eye makeup remover because tiny little bits of makeup can remain on your eyes, even with the best makeup removers!

I would definitely recommend this, especially because it is so easy and effective to use, does exactly what it says and doesn't leave makeup marks across your eyes - unless you're wearing a ridiculous amount of makeup, then I think any product would!

I give it a 9/10 - 9 because I do think that an improvement would be to dispense a bit more product in one pump, because I use about 3 pumps and I have to spread them around the cotton pad, so 1 pump for 1 use would be perfect, otherwise this is a perfect product! That's just a tiny issue I have!

What is your favourite eye makeup remover and why?
Do you prefer cheaper ones or more heftily priced ones?
Please leave your comments below!
Thank you for reading!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! :D

Hi!

Happy New Year to all of you!

This post is to say I hope 2011 brings you all that you desire and that it's one of the best years of your being yet :)

I also hope to keep blogging continuously about beauty and anything related and I also hope to use my other blog, as something a bit more intellectually demanding...I've had a few ideas but I think I need a bit more time to help carry them out! So stay tuned!

I'm also going to try and post at least once every two days - one of my many, many resolutions for 2011!

Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a great year!