Gosh Cosmetics A/W '13 Collection

This is the new collection from Gosh for AW'13, including a CC cream, BB powder, two new mascaras, nail polish, lip liners and smokey eye liners. There were also amazing creamy eyeliners and lipglosses with mirrors on the side so I snapped those too!

This collection is out 29th July and will be available in Superdrug. Please let me know if you'd like me to review something sooner!

Avon True Colour Collection 2013

This is Avon's True Colour collection developed with true colour technology, meaning that the colour seen is the colour that you get! This technology uses a transparent base which carries pigment to give a true vivid colour.

I haven't included any individual prices because everything else will be in upcoming reviews and posts, if there is anything in particular you'd like to know please leave me a comment below and I'll be happy to answer!

There are 17 eye palettes and 60 lip colours, prices starting at £6. It will be available from avonshop.co.uk.

The mascara in the last image was definitely at the centre of attention at the event, I was most intrigued by the new design and apparently it is the biggest change to mascara in over 50 years!

The collection is out 22nd August; I will be reviewing a lot of the products before the launch, please let me know if you'd like to see any reviews asap and I will try to get those up first.

Montagne Jeunesse Skin Heroes De-Clog Pores Review

These pore de-clogging nose strips can be found on Montagne Jeunesse's website and in leading supermarkets. They cost £1.49 for 3 which is effectively 50 pence for one. In comparison this is much cheaper than Biore's nose strips. (A full comparison post coming soon.)

They contain orange flower water and witch hazel to help draw out impurities, the size of the strips is perfect and I like that they're rounded too. I haven't found any that also cover the area closer to the nostrils which I think would be great because the current strips are effective on most of the nose but not all - if that makes sense.

You wet your nose and take one strip out and stick it onto your nose. Leave for 10-15 minutes until it feels hard and then gently remove. Usually you can see lots of rubbish that's been taken out of your pores and with these strips it is the same. I found that these picked up slightly less rubbish although that may just be because I've been being very good about my entire cleansing routines.

I have already and would repurchase these, I like using them as often as possible (maximum is 3x a week) to clean my pores.

Have you tried these de-clogging nose pore strips? What do you think of the concept?

Montagne Jeunesse Skin Heroes T-Zone Peel Off Review

This is another one of the masks in the Skin Heroes range by Montagne Jeunesse. It is the T-Zone Peel Off and is available at leading supermarkets and online on their website at £1.49 for 10ml of mask and 3ml of moisturiser.

I was sent one of these and also bought one, I've used both now and each time I got one use out of the mask, you could definitely make it work for two uses but I prefer a slightly thicker, even layer on my face. It smells gorgeous, very clean and fresh, citrus combined with tea tree in my opinion, certainly not offensive at all. It is a transparent, thick gel type substance tinted with a pale green, it goes on clear on my face though.

Containing Canadian Willowherb, Witch Hazel and Tea tree, both the mask and the moisturiser are to help combat dirt and impurities. I don't think the moisturiser contains Witch Hazel though. Montagne Jeunesse recommend leaving it on for 15-20 minutes, I left it on for 20 minutes and could feel it tingling and drying slowly. Application was easy and I think the packaging is fine too for this mask, because you only get one use from it, the moisturiser I tend to use in the morning and evening for a few days after using the mask and it is also used up.

After 20 minutes the mask was very nearly completely dry so I waited a few more minutes so that I could peel it off. It peels off pretty easily, it's just difficult to get off the bits that are still wet with water. Afterwards the skin is clean and soft, and ready to moisturise. The moisturiser is thin and light, very like a lotion and smells like the mask, it takes a few minutes to absorb but feels like it does well as I experience fewer breakouts after using it. Unfortunately it does make my T-zone slightly oily after a few hours but I think that's to be expected as most moisturisers do, thanks to my skin type.

Would I repurchase?

Yes. I really like this mask but sometimes I do feel that Montagne Jeunesse's masks are better than their moisturisers. It seems to do the job and smells great.

*Montagne Jeunesse is cruelty free and BUAV approved*

Avon Limited Edition True Colour Eyeshadow Quad in Arctic Goddess

This gorgeous eyeshadow quad retails at £8.50 for 6g and can be found HERE. It contains four eyeshadows, all coordinating to the blue theme. It launched as part of the Arctic Goddess collection but is still available online. I definitely think these shades can be worn all year round, the blues highlight the "arctic" part but I think the colours are suitable for Spring and Summer too - maybe not Autumn, but you can always wear whatever you want so it doesn't matter!

The top left shade is a pale, frosty, sky blue. It doesn't have much pigmentation and the swatch below took a good few swipes to show up. On the eyes it's the same case. The top right shade is also a pretty sheer, light teal, frosty/shimmery shade, it doesn't have much pigmentation and takes a lot to show up. The bottom left shade is a beautiful matte bright blue, it's very pigmented and lasts well on the eyes too. The bottom right shade is a deep navy, matte shade and it is stunning as an eyeliner or to deepen the crease, it also lasts well on the eyes without a primer.

I really like the packaging of this eyeshadow quad, it's very pretty and compact. Easy to travel with and it also comes with a sponge applicator - which actually isn't that bad. The top two shades have some fallout whereas the bottom two do not. Different combinations of these eyeshadows wore around the same time on me without a primer, which I thought was quite good considering the top two aren't so great in terms of pigmentation.

Would I repurchase?

No. These four eyeshadows will last me a very long time as I don't wear blue shades often, so I won't need to! I also feel like this is a 50-50 palette. It's very pretty, and workable, but I would have liked a bit more pigmentation and less fallout regarding the top two shades. It does provide variation in terms of texture and finish though, so does create pretty looks.

If you don't have these shades or are looking for a few shimmery/sheer shades in blue tones then I would recommend. Or if you just love blues and love the matte shades then this could be great for you too. Avon always have offers on everything so it is worth checking back to see if they are on offer!

Avon Arctic Goddess Limited Edition Nailwear Pro+ Nail Enamels

These are the limited edition Arctic Goddess collection nail polishes by Avon, from left to right; green goddess; arctic waters; chilling teal. They cost £6 for 12ml and are currently half price on Avon's website.

Green Goddess is a deep olive green with metallic gold running through it, a really beautiful shade. It took one coat of this to get it looking perfect but I chose to do two out of habit. It lasted well over the claimed 10 days for me. I also love Chilling Teal which is a very light mint shade with silver sparkle, it takes me 3-4 coats to get opaque colour from this, it's very pretty, like an icy shade for Winter. This also lasted me well over 10 days! The final shade is Arctic Waters, a deep sky blue, this has a very small amount of metallic silver/purple running through it I think, it's definitely not only a blue colour on its own. Again this lasted very well on me and took one coat for even colour. All of the shades apply evenly and go on very well.

Overall, I think these shades are amazing value for me, Avon's website also says that all of their Nailwear Pro+ shades have been fortified with acrylic gel. They last very well, and I felt as though they improved the condition of my nails too, I wore base and top coats with all shades by various brands and also trialed them without top coats, with or without they lasted about the same amount of time and did not chip at all.

I would definitely repurchase and I am looking forward to trying out different shades, I've already tried the shade called Inky Blue which you can read about here.

Have you tried any Avon nail enamels? What did you think?

Montagne Jeunesse Skin Heroes Break-out Mask Review

This is one of five products in Montagne Jeunesse's Skin Heroes range. It is the Break-Out mask retailing at £1.49 for 15g of mask and 3g of lotion. All masks in this range have 2 steps, a mask and a moisturiser. I find that the sachet lasts for at least 2 uses, sometimes 3.

The break-out mask is a mud mask containing willowherb, witch hazel and tea tree and claims to cleanse the pores. It is for problematic skin prone to imperfections, blemishes and spots. Unfortunately I fit into that skin type but fortunately it means this should help! (It did.)

The mask itself is the pale green colour depicted, applies very smoothly and is easy to even out on the face. It has a faint tea tree smell and after 15-20 minutes dried and was easy to wash off. The first time I used this I am 99% sure it shrunk my spots, I had 2 on my cheek (doesn't that sound great?! Yuck.) and both had shrunk and practically disappeared. On subsequent uses (and the first) my skin felt soft and smooth afterwards, clean and looked slightly more even-toned.

The 2nd step is a lotion, it is a pure white lotion also smelling a little of tea tree and is absorbed well by the skin after about 5 minutes. It is easy to apply and I found that I really liked having a "matching" lotion to use after the mask. I call it a lotion because it is less dense in comparison to a cream. The only negative with the lotion is that it made me oily after a few hours, I used the smallest amount several times after using this mask (I already repurchased.) and it had the same effect. I'm not sure if it's just on my skin or it's that way with other people too? Have you found the same?

I would recommend this for combination/oily skins prone to break-outs, despite the slight issue I have with the lotion - although I still love it! Would I repurchase this? I already have. It is available from Montagne Jeunesse's website, Boots, Superdrug and supermarkets. Montagne Jeunesse are 100% cruelty-free and BUAV approved. All the more reason to love them!

Have you tried any of the Skin Heroes range? 

Avon Arctic Goddess Ultra Colour Rich Brilliance Lip Gloss in Pink Icicle

This is a member of the Avon Arctic Goddess collection, the lipgloss. It contains 6ml for £7 (currently £3!) and is available from Avon's online shop. The shade is Pink Icicle, it is a very pretty sheer shade with flecks of sparkle in it (these aren't chunks of glitter and cannot be felt on the lips at all, they seem to be part of the gloss). Every skintone could easily wear this, on my lips it shows up as a light pink tinted sheer glitter.

It is not sticky, which is a major plus as I don't do very well with sticky lipglosses especially with my hair down! I've been wearing this with pretty much any look, it is that versatile. It lasts for around 2-3 hours on me, fading after 2 hours with eating and drinking. This lipgloss also contains SPF15!

I really like the packaging on all Avon products, it makes them seem high-end yet their prices are amazing. The brush is very small which allows for precision, and 1-2 dips are enough for the entire lips. There isn't an offensive scent either.

Would I repurchase this? Yes - if I didn't have so many lip products already. I think it's amazing value, and a really good lipgloss for everyday or any look.

The Ulta Colour Rich Brilliance lipglosses are available in 3 shades; pink icicle, north star and caramel sparkle. The Arctic Goddess Collection is Limited Edition.

Have you tried any Avon lipglosses? What are your thoughts?

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 - 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.

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.

Sleek Makeup LE Caribbean Collection - Summer 2011

Here is the second collection of Sleek's Summer 2011 releases. Aptly named Caribbean Collection, the packaging suits the name perfectly, the colours coincide with the Summer feeling and look very pretty.

Like the Mediterranean Collection and most of Sleek's Collections there are 3 items in it;

- Curacao Eyeshadow Palette (£6.70)

- Aruba Blush (Bright Orange - £4.29)

- Bonaire Pout Polish (Bright Orange - £4.29)

This is a Limited Edition Collection and will be available in Superdrug from Wednesday 6th July 2011. I'll try to post reviews/swatches before the date so you have an idea of the items before making the decision to buy or not!

I was lucky (because I spend most of my time in Superdrug...) that my local Superdrug had these on the shelves and I picked them up! Reviews coming soon!

Thank you for reading :)

What do you think of this collection? Worth it? Better than the Mediterranean Collection? Or you want both?

Sleek Makeup LE Mediterranean Collection - Summer 2011

Woo! That's a mouthful of a title I hear you say! - I agree whole-heartedly and please accept my apologies for it. However...this is a very interesting post as you will come to discover once you read through it! (OK, maybe not that amazing but I love the collection!)

Here is Sleek's Limited Edition Mediterranean Collection for Summer 2011, but that's not it, there's another collection too! (More on that one later). This was released at the beginning of June and has pretty much disappeared from the shelves in Superdrug, I had a very hard time finding the blush because it was out of stock everywhere I went. I started to get funny looks from the sales assistants there too...but you should still be able to find most of it - hopefully.

In this collection there are 3 items:

- Monaco Eyeshadow Palette (£6.70)

- Santorini Blush (Slightly deep shade of bright pink - £4.29)

- Monte Carlo Pout Polish (Bright Pink - £4.29)

Sleek palettes now include names of each eyeshadow in the palette, unfortunately my transparent plastic sheet was slightly crumpled up, but I'll let you in on the names in the review posts. My first impressions of this collection are WOW! I think it looks beautiful, and so perfect for the summer months.

Keep an eye out for future reviews of these items which will include swatches and a much more in depth analysis of each item.

Thank you for reading! :)

Have you got your perfectly manicured hands on this yet? Or is it just another collection by Sleek for you?

17 Summer 2011 Limited Edition Miami Pop Collection

Hi!

I thought I'd write a blogpost on 17's Miami Pop Collection for this summer as I haven't seen that many posts on it so far, and as you know I'm a fan of 17 so I thought I should!

This collection is out now and available in Boots stores across the nation, starting from as little as £2.99 to a slightly higher price of £4.99. As you can imagine, in my excited state I bought the lot! The items themselves are of a decent size and the packaging is very clean and funky with flamingos patterned on top.

There are 4 items in this collection, very bright, colourful and on trend with pinks and oranges. These are as follows:

• Bronzer - £4.99
• Lipgloss - £3.99
• Nail Polish in Palm Beach and Down Town - £2.99 each

This is the first bronzer I've ever purchased so I'm hoping it doesn't make me look terribly orange, like all other bronzers and their respective artists have piled onto my face resulting in a walking-talking orange...me. *shudders at the memories*

So anyway, there will be separate reviews as soon as I've tried the collection for a period of time I consider to be adequate for review. At the moment there is also an offer on 17, so when you buy any 2 17 products you receive a Nail Bar in a Bag. This consists of 2 polishes, nail art stickers and a nail file - brilliant! I'll put that up in another post for you too.

Thank you for reading! :)

What do you think of this collection? Will you be buying?