Review | Avon Mega Effects Mascara | Beauty Brags

Avon Mega Effects Mascara - £10.00

Hey guys! Yet another Avon product being reviewed today since I did order quite a few products on my last order - oops!

Today's review is solely about Avon's Mega Effects Mascara which is supposedly going to revolutionize the way we use mascara. Yeah, right, what beauty product doesn't say that? However, Avon does have something that might just back that up given that they have a completely unique and rather weird looking brush. After seeing that, I was very intrigued and just had to try it!

It's currently priced at £10 from Avon but is on a special offer which is a free 3-1 manicure tool when you spend £12 or more on selected products (one of which is this mascara so it shouldn't be too hard to spend the extra £2!).

Application brush

I opted to buy the 'blackest black' shade, purely because I never ever stray away from black mascara and would be far too scared to try any other colour quite frankly - I'm a creature of habit! However, they do have brown/black and navy shades available for anyone braver than me (which wouldn't be hard!).

As you can see from the picture to the right, the product splits into three when you open it. My first criticism of the product is that you really do have to pull the lid off quite hard to open it - but don't worry, just yank it and it won't break! Once you have the lid off, yank (again) to remove the dark pink stick from the black bottom of the product and, voila, there is your brush.

The brush is no longer than half of the size of my thumb in width which was a relief since Avon make it look massive in their adverts! And, surprisingly, it has been made to cater for eyelashes as it more or less covers all eyelashes in one brief upwards sweeping motion. Yes, it's strange at first but it's really not hard to get used to after the first few applications.

However, this isn't a 'going out' mascara - to get a night time effect, you would have to put over 5 coats of this on, at least! This is most definitely a mascara to be used during the day or when you don't want to overdo it at an office party - for any other purpose, I might be purchasing a different kind of mascara!

Overall, I might purchase this product again if I can't find anything better but not because of the brush - that part I love! I just wish Avon would make the packaging a little easier so it isn't a hassle to get the brush in and out of the bottle and make their actual mascara a bit thicker!

Have you tried Avon's Mega Effects Mascara?
Let me know what you thought!

Review | Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer | Beauty Brags

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer
- £4.19 from Boots

Hey guys! So you know that I love a good bargain and just hate paying over the odds for a beauty product unless I'm treating myself or there's just no other alternative. Based on that, I've tried to find a damn good concealer without having to fork out for the NARS Creamy Concealer which has been on my wishlist for quite a long time now (hint - if anyone fancies buying me a present!).

In any case, I have been recommended the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer so gave it a go - it's only £4.19 currently from Boots so it doesn't break the bank and you don't have to hate yourself until payday if it's no good!

Swatch of the product

However, this product is a really good concealer and so no hating yourself is necessary (phew!). It has a lipgloss-style brush to apply the product with and is a definite liquid texture as opposed to the matte products I usually go for.

I opted to buy the product in the 'cool medium' shade but they also have a darker shade and a lighter shade. I was slightly disappointed by that, I can't lie as they don't have a wide range of shades but for a product that works so well, it definitely should be available to a lot more people!

Firstly, the product blends really well with the skin. It doesn't feel like it's blocking your pores and certainly doesn't look that way either. It has a very lightweight feel and you would forget you had it on if you didn't have to get up earlier in the morning to put your makeup on! The texture is great, quite silky and is really easy just to blend in with your fingers after a few rubs.

The main test for me wasn't whether this product covered my spots and redness - although it did so perfectly! - but whether it covered the awful dark circles under my eyes. I've taken a photo of the product on my left eye and not my right in this post so you can see that there is a visible difference. Yes, it doesn't completely eradicate my dark circles but I really need to stress at this point how bad my dark circles are and how I'm honestly not exaggerating about that at all! Also, no judging my face with lack of other makeup, please!

All in all, I really do like this product and I love how it does cover a lot of my dark circles and brightens up my eye, especially when you apply it to the eyelid as well as below the eye. On a budget, this is great but I still want to try the NARS version!

Have you tried Collection's Lasting Perfection Concealer? 

What did you think?

Let me know!

Review | Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water | Beauty Brags

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water - £3.00
from Boots

Hi there!

Welcome to yet another super short and sweet post on a product that there's not too much to say on but one that's been advertising non-stop these past few months!

The packaging on this product is so beautiful and aesthetically pleasing that after seeing all the adverts practically on repeat when the product was first released, it was hard not to pick it up when I casually tried to stroll past it in Boots! When I bought the product from Boots, it was around £4.99 or thereabouts but currently is down in price at £3 online.

Anyway, the product is used for removing makeup and basically getting all the dirt out of your skin so that you're a lot less likely to develop spots and redness of the skin, etc.

Back of the bottle

So, is it a miracle product that will mean you will never struggle to take off makeup ever again and have clear skin forever? Probably not. However, it's actually pretty decent for removing makeup and cleansing the skin.

When I first used the product, I decided I would firstly take off all my makeup with my regular makeup wipes and then pop some of the product on to a makeup pad. When I the brushed the pad against my skin, I was amazed at the amount of makeup and dirt that was still on my skin, even after having "removed" all my makeup thoroughly (or so I thought) with a makeup wipe. No wonder I was still having breakouts with all that clogging up my skin!

So kudos to the product there - it is fantastic at removing makeup and dirt from the skin and I have had less breakouts since using it. However, it's no miracle cure and I do still get spots and all of the rest of the regular complaints about skin!

I did, however, find the product quite harsh on my skin although it says that it is for sensitive skin as well. Now, I don't usually have sensitive skin but I think I will definitely be trying the adapted version of this product specifically for combination and sensitive skin to see if that's any better! That product can be found on Boots also for the same price.

All in all, this product cleanses skin perfectly and removes makeup like a dream! You also get quite a lot of it and it leaves your skin feeling lovely and refreshed!

Have you tried Garnier's Micellar Cleansing Water?

Let me know what you thought!

Review | Avon Anew Beauty Tinted Lip Plumping Conditioner | Beauty Brags

Avon's Anew Beauty Tinted Lip
Plumping Conditioner - £9.00

Hey! So I'm pretty sure you guys are wondering why I'm doing yet another review of an anti-ageing product but bear with me and I swear you will not regret it!

As I've said in previous posts, I absolutely hate the size of my lips as I just don't feel they are in proportion to my face. Because of that, I think they look a bit strange and small when I put lipstick on so I always try to stick to a shade that will complement my skin tone and not stand out too much.

This product is a tinted lip plumping conditioner which essentially means that it's a lipstick that makes your lips bigger and softer. Perfect for me, right?

Product exterior

I opted to buy this product in a berry shade for £9 directly from Avon through my local representative in the shade of 'berry tint' as it's pretty much the kind of shade I always go for so I figured it would be safe and not stick out too much!

The product comes beautifully packaged and, personally, I think it looks very elegant in the white and gold packaging and gives the look of being very high quality and sophisticated. First impressions count for a lot and this product certainly doesn't fail there!

Application of the product

The lipstick is also very smooth to put on and so you can instantly tell that it's a conditioning product. For someone with dry, chapped lips like myself, this is practically a godsend and it's so easy to smack your lips together throughout the day to ensure the product is still applied evenly!

In addition to that, I love the colour! I was completely correct in assuming that the colour would be

Swatch of the product in 'berry tint'

like my regular shades and wouldn't make my thin little lips look too silly so it's great for using every day (which I now do!). But, the most important part is - does it make your lips look bigger? And the short answer to that is yes! It really does enhance your lips and plump them into a natural pout - no one would know you were using an anti-ageing product and it's done wonders for my self esteem!

I will definitely be ordering more of this product in different shades as they also have the shades 'rose' and 'honey'! I can't wait to try them and hope that you love this product just as much as I do!

Have you tried Avon's Anew Beauty Tinted Lip Plumping Conditioner in this shade or another?

Let me know what you thought!

Review | Sleek Eye Brow Kit | Beauty Brags

Sleek Eye Brow Kit - £8.50

Hey guys! I have something pretty special for you today if you'll excuse the photo of the already used product that doesn't look so pretty anymore!

I know most of you are probably addicted to Benefit and would never used any eyebrow kit except theirs, however, I just wasn't up for paying over £20 for an eyebrow kit that was getting mixed reviews so after browsing on Amazon, I came across one at over half the price at £8.49 from Sleek. It can also be bought from Boots and directly from Sleek at the oh-so dearer price of £8.50 (that's a good 1p saving!).

After reading the reviews, I opted to buy the darkest shade as many of the reviews said that they had opted for the colour they usually would and it was light. In my opinion, if you have brown hair or darker, you could get the dark shade. If you're blonde, obviously go for the light shade and I would say medium shades will probably suit anyone in between blonde and brunette more than anything!

The product was delivered very quickly (and freely, I might add!). When I opened it, I actually discovered that I had been given two products (shhh, don't tell anyone!) which was a nice surprise.

The product comes with a wax which should be applied directly to the brows first. The wax is pictured to the left of the first picture on this post and, as you can see, has been used numerous times already! There are two brushes that come with the product - one with a slanted edge and one normal. The one with the slanted edge should be used to apply the wax so that it's much easier to apply the wax to the curves and edges of your brows. The wax is actually surprisingly easy to apply - I usually trace the edges of my brows and then fill in from there to make sure all the hairs are nice and stuck in the shape I want them to be. You don't need much of it and usually just sweeping the brush across the wax gives enough for one application!

Before

After

Once the wax is applied, the powder can be put on so that the brow looks more natural and less like a slug resting above your eyes! The powder is also super easy to put on and should be put on with the small ordinary brush that comes with the product. You really don't need much of this either and just brushing the brush gently against the powder gives you enough to apply to one brow. And there you have it! Perfectly sculpted eyebrows. I've popped a before and after photo to the left and right so you can see the effects for yourself (and so you get to see my not-so-lovely face with no makeup except this on!). I do apply this product thinly though, so if you're wanting something darker then please don't be put off by this as my face just doesn't suit thick brows unfortunately!

I should also mention that the product also comes with a small tweezer which is great for getting rid of any stray hairs before applying the product. I thought that was quite a nice touch, especially given the price of the product!

Overall, I will definitely continue using this product and I can say with absolute certainty that I will not be running out any time soon - I doubt it will be finished by Christmas!

Have you tried Sleek's Eye Brow Kit?
Let me know what you thought!

Review | Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser | Beauty Brags

Maybelline Baby Skin Instant
Pore Eraser - £7.99 from
Superdrug

Hey again! I've got another short but sweet beauty review for you guys today, this time round under the spotlight is Maybelline's Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser.

I've show in the picture below the product I bought from Superdrug for £7.99 but I'm sure it's available in most other high street drugstores as well as places online such as Amazon. As you can see, it's not the cheapest high street product but I figured it was worth a short since it is much cheaper than it's Benefit counterpart.

But firstly, I'm going to say that the product is most definitely not worth the price. Nearly £8 for a high street product that is no bigger than the palm of my hand does not seem like much of a bargain to me at first glance and throughout using the product, I realised it most definitely wasn't!

The product comes out as a clear, gooey solution through the nozzle pictured but promises to reduce the appearance of your pores for "poreless skin". It felt quite oily on my hands but not overly and I didn't have any problem putting it on my skin. Upon application, I practically had my face pressed up against my mirror trying to look for some kind of difference in my skin ... to my dismay, there was none! This product was definitely not instant!

After several applications over many days, I realised that it wasn't to be and I wasn't going to get much effect from this product - if at all! It's been incredibly disappointing and has now been chucked unceremoniously into my mum's makeup bag to see if she has any more luck with it than I did!

I did notice, however, that although this product says that it helps makeup to glide on seamlessly, it actually made my foundation and concealer crumble on my face which was definitely not a look I was going for!

All in all, I would definitely not use this product again - maybe it just didn't suit my skin type or maybe it's nothing more than hair gel in different packaging.

Have you tried Maybelline's Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser?
Did you have any more luck with it than I did?
Let me know!

Review | Avon's Anew Ultimate Multi-Performance Lip Treatment | Beauty Brags

Avon's Anew Ultimate Multi-
Performance Lip Treatment
- £12.00 

Hey guys! So this review is slightly different to the usual beauty products I post on here as it's actually an anti-ageing product. Now, yes I've only just turned 21 and probably shouldn't be thinking about wrinkles and grey hairs, but it's never too early to start!

But that's not the reason I got this product. After flicking through my Avon catalogue, I stumbled across an advert for this product which immediately grasped my attention since it boasted a lip plumping effect. Since I've always wished my lips were bigger, I took a closer look and saw that it was an anti-ageing product which promised to plump lips (as lips naturally thin with age) as well as smooth the creases around the lip line. With those effects, I figured that my naturally average lips would surely become slightly bigger and more enhanced with this product and figured "why not?" and bought it for £12. And I most definitely have not been disappointed!

Avon's Anew Ultimate Multi-
Performance Lip Treatment
- £12.00

I won't lie, you don't get much serum in this product and I would much rather have a product solely for plumping rather than having the other end of the product for smoothing the lip line, but beggars can't be choosers and I'm sure the smoothing effect on my lips will be much appreciated when mother nature has her ways with me in a few years time! However, it's done me a good few months now although I'll probably have to re-order next payday (joys!). I've enclosed a picture of how the product splits into two parts so you can see roughly how much you will get. I'll also just pop the link to the product on Avon's website here so you can check it yourself!

Anyway, the actual product itself has been brilliant, especially for plumping my lips up to make my pout slightly more prominent without looking like I've had Botox. After using the product every day for around a week, I noticed that I had stopped hating the way lipstick looked when I put it on and I most definitely had a slight natural pout. Finally, my lips looked in proportion to my face and I am incredibly happy with the effects of it!

The smoothing aspect of the product has always proved to be useful as my lips have a tendency to chap quite badly and within a day of using this product, they were visibly less chapped and definitely didn't hurt as much (thank god!). Although I have been using my trusty old Vaseline at the same time, I occasionally revert back to this product if my lips are in particularly bad condition and I want a quick fix!

Quick word of warning however - if you do have chapped lips, this product is going to sting badly when you put it on! If anyone has ever used Blistex for their lips, the pain is slightly similar but obviously goes away within a few minutes. Because of this, it might be an idea to wait until your lips have healed a bit or are at least less cracked than usual before applying!

In all honesty, I don't think I could be without this product now - so happy I found it and finally love my lips!

Have you tried Avon's Anew Ultimate Multi-Lip Performance Treatment? 

Let me know what you thought of it!  

Review | Avon Ultra Colour Bold Lipstick | Beauty Brags

Avon Ultra Colour Bold Lipstick -
Berry Gold - £4.50

Recently a friend of mine became an Avon representative and so I saw an opportunity to order a load of stuff and finally try some products from Avon!

One of these was a lipstick which was priced at £4.50 - a bargain in my books! I was looking for a colour which was quite bold and so when I saw they had a Bold range, I had to try it! The product can be found on the Avon website but if you have a local Avon representative, have a look at their brochure online or ask for a delivery of a paper copy!

Closed product

The colour of the lipstick I opted for was named Berry Gold and I figured that this would be a nice raspberry-cherry colour. When I actually got the product and opened it, it was a lot darker than I was expecting. The packaging, however, was beautiful, a really sophisticated design and something I love looking at in my makeup display. I've provided a picture to the left so you can see exactly what you would be getting!

When I applied it, I was pleasantly surprised. The colour was bold, as promised, but it is not as dark as it looks in the picture and actually is almost identical to the colour swatch that Avon provides online. I've provided my own photo from a swatch on the back of my hand below.

Swatch

Application

In addition to that, the lipstick was really smooth in its application and I only had to put one coat on to get the desired effect. As it went on so smoothly, it traced my lip line perfectly and I barely had to fill in any edges - when I did, it was really easy to to as the lipstick was not too thick that I would go over my lip line.

Overall, I am so satisfied with this product and would definitely buy it again. Great for a night out and fantastic quality, especially for the price of it!

Have you tried Avon's Ultra Colour Bold Lipstick in this shade or any others? What did you think?
Let me know! 

Review | Lipstick Lock by Rimmel London | Beauty Brags

Lipstick Lock by Rimmel London - £4,99
from Boots.

Hi again! As you can tell, I'm getting through quite a lot of blog posts recently which are about products I bought a few months ago, so thanks for bearing with me!

I bought this product on Valentines weekend as my boyfriend kindly took me on a shopping spree with his credit card, and naturally my first stop was Boots! I didn't intend to buy this product but figured I would give it a try as getting my lipstick to last all night is always something I've had an issue with. If you want to give it a further look, it can be found on the Boots website as well as from other retailers.

From Boots, the product is priced at £4.99 which isn't exactly expensive for what it promises. It's advertised as having a transparent application and helps lipstick last longer.

However, I didn't find the product particularly useful, unfortunately. My version is slightly different in appearance from the one on the Boots website and so some of these issues may have been rectified, but I'm really not sure on that.

Firstly, the smell is horrendous. It essentially smells like nail polish remover but a little stronger so my first reaction was not to put this anywhere near my mouth which is really off-putting! When you do eventually put it on your lips, it can be applied using a little brush that is attached to the lid of the product, as you can see in the photo above, The brush really tickles your lips but as its not exactly a big area to cover, it's bearable, just not exactly a comfortable experience.

Secondly, when you use the brush and apply it over the lipstick you have already applied, residue from the lipstick sticks to the brush. So essentially when you put it back in, the residue will contaminate the rest of the liquid so next time you use it, you're not getting a clean brush and it could affect the colour of your lipstick (if it's different from the last one you used). I just found that really annoying quite frankly as it means washing the brush straight after every use which isn't ideal when you just want to apply and go, or even apply on the go.

And lastly, I just didn't feel that it made my lipstick last longer at all. Which means that if it did work at all, it wasn't for a noticeable period of time - definitely not long enough to make up for the smell or inconvenience of the application.

Overall, I was really disappointed in this product and was just really glad it wasn't more expensive and I only wasted a few pounds on it.

Have you tried Lipstick Lock by Rimmel London? What did you think?

Let me know!

Review | MAC Blush - Flirt and Tease | Beauty Brags

MAC Blush - Flirt and Tease - £10.99 from Amazon

 Hey guys! So I thought I'd do a quick review on the first MAC product I ever bought. I bought it from Amazon in around January for just £10,99 (plus delivery) so it was definitely cheaper than buying directly from MAC, but not by much.

The shade of the product that I bought was Flirt and Tease which I think has now been discontinued, but I thought I would continue with the review anyway to focus on the quality of the product as it was the first time I bought a MAC product - and I definitely would again!

The product came boxed in beautiful packaging and it even came with a free Hard Candy eyeshadow that I will probably post a review on soon so keep an eye out for that! And it was definitely a genuine MAC product which is always a plus when you buy from a different supplier.

Swatch on back of hand

Application of blush

The colour itself is quite strong which really suited my skin tone as I don't have the lightest skin tone in the world and would probably describe it as olive-light tan. I use a blush brush from Bare Minerals to apply it and as the brush is not full and fanned out like a foundation brush, it really helps the application to be more precise. I've provided a photo to the left of what it looks like on my skin - please note, though, that I did have to use flash to make the colour show up better and so it may not be as bright as this in real life. I've also provided a picture of a swatch I did on the back of my hand.

Now to the quality which is obviously the most important thing in this review! The powder is very smooth and not bitty at all which is great. In addition, the powder, despite delivery through regular post, has stayed in tact which makes application so much easier!

I bought this in January and it still doesn't look like I've even used this product at all (as you can see in the photo below) which tells me it's going to last a really long time. And considering the regular price of MAC blushes (which are usually around £15, give or take), it's really a worthwhile purchase!

All in all, the quality of this product is surprisingly worth the price and I would definitely recommend it.

When buying other MAC blushes, however, I would definitely suggest going a shade lighter than what the blush looks like in a picture or even in person if you don't try it on as this shade is definitely stronger than I expected.

Blush is great for achieving a great summer look and if you want something that will still last you until next summer, MAC is definitely a product for you!

Have you tried a MAC blush? What did you think?

Let me know!

Review | Rimmel London Wake Me Up Foundation | Beauty Brags

Rimmel London Wake Me Up
Foundation - £8.99 at Superdrug

This is the last foundation in my search for the perfect perfume before I will finally post what foundation I define as "perfect" and now use on a daily basis. So - spoiler alert - I have found that foundation and - another spoiler alert - although I do love this foundation, it's not my ultimately perfect foundation.

I used this product for just over a year after my favourite foundation could no longer be found in stores in my home country of Scotland and assumedly has been discontinued (sadface). It is a liquid foundation and I would recommend applying this product with your fingers as when the product first comes out of the bottle, it is pretty cold and foundation is best applied when warm so leaving it to settle on your fingers for a few moments heats the liquid up and makes it easier to apply and blends into your skin a lot better - goodbye orange faces!

The product boasts an anti-fatigue element and this could not be truer. I received so many compliments about not looking tired and looking quite fresh (even at work after a night out!) and I always recommended this product as the sole cause for this. I honestly do not know how it does it, but my face always looked fresher after applying which was a relief for my pasty white skin, especially in winter in Scotland! You can actually see how much I used the product from the quality of the bottle in the picture - faded and almost empty! It also lasts for ages and I only had to buy two of these bottles in the amount of time I had it which I was really impressed with - and in all honestly, I probably only had to buy the other bottle because I often apply foundation in the morning and then again in the evening if I'm going well, anywhere, really!

All in all, if you're looking for something that gives you a beautiful healthy glow and covers up your dark circles and skin impurities then this is the product for you! The only fault I could possibly have with this product is the fact that because it is a liquid foundation, getting the right amount out of the bottle can be a little tricky as one pump is not enough but two is too much so you're often left with a lot of excess foundation on your hands (literally!). Also the fact that if you do not allow the liquid foundation to warm up in your hands, you might struggle to get the product to blend properly with your skin, leaving you with orange marks around the side of your face but I think that can be said, in my experience, for any liquid foundation!

There is a range of tones available from ivory to natural beige (which actually looks quite dark!). The shade I have been using is soft beige which seems a tad light for what I would usually go for but is actually a perfect match so if you are buying online, I would recommend looking at the photos of the tones before purchasing and going by that instead of the description. Obviously if you are buying in-store, I would really recommend trying the product before purchasing! You can see a range of the tones from Superdrug here.

At the moment, the product is £8.99 at Superdrug but is included in a special 3 for 2 offer on the store website, but I am unsure if this applies to products in store as well. As always, the product is offered in most other stores which stock make-up and beauty products but I am unsure on the prices of these - a simple google price comparison site should fix that! I've included a photo of how the product looks out of the bottle and once again, I really hope that this has been informative and I would highly recommend this product.

Keep a look out for a post on my all-time favourite foundation - coming soon! This foundation ranked a close #2 in my search!

Review | River Island Paris and London Perfume | Sweet Scents

River Island London 75ml
RRP: £12.00

As you can see from the photos, I've actually been using both of these products for quite a while before reviewing them and that's mainly because I wasn't too sure on how to review a perfume! But here I am, giving it a go so I would just like to apologise in advance for any strange descriptions or basically any language that would offend someone who does this regularly haha!

So here we go! The picture on the left here is River Island's London perfume which is priced at £12.00 for 75ml (as is the Paris edition below) but both can be purchased for around £10 each for a 30ml bottle. The London perfume is quite a deep, musky scent and I use it a lot for going out at night, purely because it suits the occasion. Although it is fruity, I would associate this perfume with scents such

River Island Paris 75ml
RRP: £12.00

as blackberries and other 'forbidden fruits' and this is exactly what kind of element this perfume encompasses. It is enticing and exciting and isn't the kind of perfume that needs to settle or smells better on skin than it does when simply sprayed on to clothes which makes it more than perfect to just spray and go or to take out with you on a night out. I should also mention that I am a bit of a perfume junkie and the style and shapes of bottles are important to me. I feel that although the bottle is just a simple cube with a ball as a cap, the shape gives a bold feel to this perfume which suits the scent, as does the vibrant colour of purple coupled with the black giving it a dangerous and sexy image.

The Paris perfume, however, is the complete opposite of London. It is very much a sweet and uplifting fragrance suited to day-to-day use and is very summery in nature. Completely feminine and incredibly girly, this perfume is pretty much the embodiment of someone like Taylor Swift - innocent, sweet and pure. Enriched with flowery and creamy scents, this perfume is perfectly finished with a simple and gentle pink colour with a smoothly rounded bottle, the top giving associations with a crystal.

Overall, both scents are perfect for different occasions and at such amazing value (especially from River Island!), it definitely wouldn't hurt to have both of these handy! Both scents are also available in gift-sets - great wee gift idea since Christmas is coming up!

Do you have any low budget scents that smell fantastic?
Leave a comment and let me know - I'd love to try them out!