Rimmel London Match Perfection Blush in 001 Light

 

As I think I mentioned in my last post, Priceline were having a big sale on Rimmel products the last time I was there so I decided to pick up a few things from this brand that I haven't tried before, which included this Match Perfection Blush in 001 Light.

What the product says:

'3 perfectly coordinated blush shades plus a hint of blue sapphire for a naturally even flush of colour.'

I have to admit that what mainly swayed my decision to purchase this blush was the pretty pattern embossed on the top. It's so silly really because after a few uses you can pretty much kiss goodbye any pattern on these sorts of products, but hey, it still gave me some brief happy moments before it started to disappear.

 (Without flash)

(With flash)

This blush is a pretty combination of a pale pink shade, a darker pink/bronze shade and a pale highlighting shade. When swirled together this is a great blush for every day use for those with pale skin as it gives just the right pink glow without going overboard. Unfortunately, I think if you had the slightest bit of tan on your face, this blush would just get lost and not show up much at all. As I usually wear porcelain/ivory foundation shades, this blush suits me quite well.

 (With flash - Left to right: All three shades blended together, pale pink shade, darker pink shade and highlighting shade)

 (Without flash)

Although this blush has practically become a daily staple for me because of how subtle a shade it is, I've never had something so difficult to photograph in my life, also due to how light this blush actually is! I had to apply these swatches very heavily on my arm just to get them to show up at all in these photos.

I've found this blush lasts quite a few hours when applied, but doesn't have the staying power of other blushes I've used so tends to disappear by the end of a long work day. Still, for the price, it's a great product for me to just slap on and go on those days where I don't want to have to spend a lot of time blending and perfecting my blush, but still want to look like I have a little bit of colour on my face.

Has anyone else tried this blush before or any of the other shades in the range?

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Michelle xx

Rimmel London Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick in Shade 103

I did it! I finally succumbed and bought myself a Rimmel lipstick! For some reason even though these are so highly raved about and practically everywhere, I just never seemed to get the urge to purchase one to try for myself.

Well, last time I was perusing through Priceline, they were having a sale of Rimmel products and I finally decided to bite the bullet and get myself one of these babies in the shade 103.

This shade is a really pretty rosey pink that can be worn very lightly over some lip balm for a subtle touch of colour on the lips or packed on for a brighter punch of colour.

I'm pretty happy with the formula of this lipstick which is nice and creamy and not at all drying. I am also quite impressed with it's staying power (4-5 hours on me then fading to a pink stain) and the fact that it doesn't feather or bleed into the fine lines around my lips.

The one thing that does bother me a little is the taste and smell of this lipstick. It's kind of like a sickly pot-pourri scent that in my humble opinion fits perfectly fine in nanna's underwear drawer, but is a bit much for applying onto the lips.

Overall, I'm still impressed with this lipstick, especially given the budget price tag, and will most likely be on the hunt for some other shades next time I'm out.


What does everyone else think of these lipsticks? Am I the last person to have tried one?

Michelle xx

Models Prefer Brow Highlighter

I recently received this Models Prefer Brow Highlighter as part of a beauty bag Priceline was giving away with a purchase up to a certain amount and was instantly intrigued into trying it.

This highlighter comes in the current jumbo crayon form that seems to be everywhere at the moment and is a very soft and blendable formula.

It is supposed to be applied to the arch of the brow to give the appearance of more open eyes and a more defined and lifted look to the eyebrows.

I find it a little too thick and frosty to be applied directly to the arches of my eyebrows but I've found that it makes a great general face highlighter when applied to the tip of a finger and blended onto the skin. It's also great to use on the inner corner of the eye to brighten up the eye itself.

 

(Without flash)

 

(With flash)

The crayon itself it very soft so you only need a light hand to get a lot of the product from it. It really it super shimmery so a little goes a very long way.

This will become part of my everyday travel makeup bag kit as it is a convenient size to carry around without worrying about powder going everywhere and spreading through your handbag for when you want a little extra bit of highlighting to brighten the face during the day.

Has anyone else tried this brow highlighter before?

Michelle xx

Short & Sweet Sessions

Hi Guys, I have decided that I'm not going to do my empties post every month anymore because frankly, I was getting bored with listing it all month after month.

Instead, I have decided to create a new series called 'Short & Sweet Sessions' where I can still give a bit of a mini review of sample products like I used to in my empties posts, but only on those that have really stood out to me over the month and I think are worth mentioning.

I've decided to do this because some samples give great first impressions but because of their size I don't always feel comfortable in giving a full review like I do with full-size products due to not getting as many uses out of the product to really get the full picture of what it can do for you.

So, for all of those samples that I have gotten a great first impression from, or even for some products that I'm still sitting on the fence about but think are worth a mention while I am making up my mind, I will do a 'Short & Sweet' post instead.

I'm hoping to try and do one of these at least once a week because I have so damn many built up that I want to tell you about (but please don't hold me to this!), so stay tuned in the next couple of days for my first ever 'Short & Sweet Session'.

I hope everyone had a lovely Monday.

Michelle xx

Jurlique Purely Age Defying Day Cream SPF15

I'm usually a huge fan of multi-tasking products. Daily moisturisers that also contain an SPF are the bees knees to me because it means I get two products in one, BUT, for a moisturiser like this to work it has to satisfy two tests for me. 1) It needs to have a very minimal sunscreen smell; and 2) It needs to not feel too thick and greasy on my face.

Unfortunately, this cream satisfied Point 1 above (to a certain degree which I'll talk about further on), but failed miserably for Point 2.

The Jurlique Purely Age Defying Day Cream SPF15 is described as a lightweight, high performance moisturising cream with powerful anti-ageing ingredients to help protect the skin and address the visible signs of premature ageing.

I have been using this cream for a while now and found that it's really not my cup of tea. Although it has definitely kept my skin smooth and protected from the elements, I always feel as if I'm wearing a visible mask on my face after application as this cream just feels so thick and heavy to me and not at all 'lightweight' as described. Sometimes on hot days I've felt like I have to actually wipe this cream off after a while because it just seems to sit on top of my skin rather than absorbing into it.

Another factor that really isn't to my liking is the scent. Even though it doesn't have that definite sunscreen smell which I can't stand, it's got another very strong scent instead which to me is a little like rotten herbs. Unfortunately this isn't something that I enjoy smelling first thing in the morning when getting ready to face the day.

As the above picture shows, this cream has a very thick consistency as explained above, which of course may suit others who have skin that is more on the drier side. But, if you have oily/combination skin like mine, you may find it a bit too thick like I did. This thick consistency also made it quite hard to spread over the face in an even manner before it started to get kind of 'tacky' and not so easy to move.

I normally adore Jurlique products and they are one of the brands that really stands out in my memory from when I was in school and first got exposed to them. I've tried quite a few of their products recently and this cream was a little bit disappointing to me and not up to the same standards that I have in my mind in relation to the brand.

Has anyone else tried this cream before? I'd love to know if anyone has had the same experience as me or not?

Michelle xx

*** Product provided for consideration but my opinions are honest, as always***