Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer

If you don't already own one of the Apocolips Lip Lacquers then you will definitely have seen the advertisements with Kate Moss's super shiny lips making your own seem sad, chapped and decidedly lacking in colour. Now my first impression was that there was no way this product could give that intense a colour and be that glossy....how wrong I was!

It's basically gives the intense colour payoff of a lipstick but with the shine of a lipgloss in one product, what more could you want?!

The swatches above show just how bright the colours are (especially on the back of my pasty, sun-deprived hand!). Left to right they are - Galaxy, Apocoliptic, Big Bang, Luna, Stellar, Nude Eclipse.

I chose the colour Celestial which is a natural pink toned shade:

I love this product! The applicator gives just the right amount of product and allows you to make a really clean lip line. The colour is intense and lasts for a good few hours giving glossy lips that don't feel overly sticky! I may only have one colour now but I definitely intend to buy a few more of these! If your interested in trying one (or more) of the Rimmel Apocalips range they are currently £5.99 in Boots and Superdrug both instore and online.

Topshop Treats!

I've been super busy this past week (sorry for lack of posts) so I thought I deserved to treat myself with a spot of shopping! Topshop have got some gorgeous spring/summer pieces coming through and I did amazingly well not to buy everything in sight! Key pieces include dungarees, crop tops, cream lace and acid wash denim. I'm loving the new pastel shades starting to hit down - definitely more my style - but if you're into brighter colours there is a lot of crazy neon and comic inspired prints in some great designs.

I decided on this top to be the first new entry into my S/S wardrobe, perfect with some skinny light wash jeans and a biker jacket at the moment and when/if the weather gets warmer with denim shorts and tan sandals! It's currently instore and online at topshop.com for £26.

I wanted a pastel shade nail colour to wear with this so I thought the shade Chase would be perfect. It's slightly metallic and is a super shiny lilac/silver colour. I applied two coats and found it went on really evenly and dried smoothly. Not a colour I would normally go for but I actually really love it! It was £6 instore. 

Benefit- How to look the best at everything kit

Benefit products always appeal to me- the packaging is just too cute not to love! My all time favourite product of theirs is the POREfessional primer and when I ran out last week I went along to my local Benefit counter to repurchase and sure enough I got suckered into buying more! 

The kit I bought was the 'How to look the best at everything' in light for £24.50. I like the idea of buying kits from a brand as you can try all their products together and get a feel for them without splashing out on full sizes and then realising they're not for you. 

Inside the box is POREfessional PRO balm (7.5ml), Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation in 'cheers to me' champagne (7ml), Boi-ing concealer in 01 and 02 (2x 1.5g) and Hello Flawless powder in 'me vain?' champagne (4g). There's even a mirror in the lid and tips on how to apply- everything you need to create your perfect base!

As I said I already love the POREfessional PRO balm, it gives the skin a silky, smooth texture minimising pores and definitely allows my make up to apply more evenly and last longer. Also a little goes a long way so this mini version should last me a while!

The foundation is not the right colour for me (when will I learn not to trust the lighting in shops?!) however, for the sake of this post I went about my daily business with a slightly orange face to give it a fair review! Texture wise the consistency is quite runny and the coverage is light. I built it to a medium coverage as I found it applied patchy and needed to be evened out. It gave a dewy finish which bordered on oily looking so I definitely needed powder to set. This isn't a foundation I would try again- it would probably be more suited to dryer, blemish free skin. 

The Boi-ing concealer in shade 01 is a decent skin tone match for covering minor blemishes and when combined with 02 it combats under eye darkness well. It's a creamy texture which smooths on easily and I found it corrected the colour around my eyes nicely. The only problem I had with this is that after an hour or so it had creased and needed to be rubbed back in- not ideal!!

I applied the Hello Flawless powder with my own brush as I can't stand the kind of flat brush that comes in the kit- it feels like your drawing stripes down your face and I don't want to look like a zebra. Also I much prefer a bigger brush to push the powder into the skin otherwise you're just undoing all your concealing work by brushing it all over your face! It gave a natural finish without looking too powdery and lasted around 4 hours before slight oiliness started to show through and needed touching up.

Overall, I feel that these products would be best suited to normal-dry skin only needing light coverage. On normal-oily skin and just found them slightly too creamy/wet to set into place. Also  although this is classed as the 'light' version I wouldn't recommend it kit for fair skin, it's just too dark. If you've tried any of these products I'd love to know what you think!

Bioderma at Escentual.com

Now I don't know if I've been incredibly slow on the uptake but I've just spotted Escentual.com are now stocking Bioderma!!! I've wanted to get my hands on the cult favourite make up remover Sensibo H2O-Crealine (it's now solution Micelle formerly Crealine just to confuse you) for absolutely aaaaages now, but the difficulty of getting it in the UK has put me off. I know it's been available from leguidesante and gurumakeupemporium (most recently by the look of it johnbellcroyden has joined the list) but it's hard to justify the p&p costs when they're almost half the cost of the product itself!

So when I saw I could get 250ml for £9.99 plus £1.95 p&p (the cheapest I've seen and would have been free if I hadn't fought the urge to spend £30!) I snapped it up! Its due on Tuesday and I'm looking forward to sampling it for myself after reading all the rave reviews!

For those of you who haven't heard of this product (where have you been?!?!) I'll be posting a review on it when I've given it a try myself! 

New Camera!!

I am sooooo excited that I have just received my new Nikon D5100!! I can't wait to start using it, but I'm guessing its going to take a while to figure it all out. I'll keep you updated on how I get on with it - any tips let me know! 

Alpha-H Liquid Gold

I thought I should write a post about this product as it is one of my old favourites that I always come back to! Alpha-H Liquid Gold is essentially an overnight skin resurfacing treatment for normal/combination skin. I have to say at this point it is definitely not for sensitive skin (I once applied carelessly to a patch of excema and it was ridiculously painful). The glycolic acid works to exfoliate away dead skin cells while promoting collagen production which means Liquid Gold is also great for aging and/or acne prone skin.

You can apply the product in two ways. Firstly as part of your nighttime skincare routine- after cleansing apply with a cotton pad avoiding any sensitive areas and then when touch dry pop some moisturiser over the top. Or secondly as an intensive overnight treatment- leave the Liquid Gold without any moisturiser to get to work resurfacing your skin.

When using this product I think it's important to allow your skin rest days so that it can renew between applications. I'd recommend that if you are going to be applying Liquid Gold as part of your nighttime skincare routine then it should only be used every other night. However, I would be more cautious when using it as an intensive treatment and give your skin a two day break from Liquid Gold afterwards. 

Some people I've spoken to are scared to use this product and to be honest I was nervous at the thought of applying acid to my face overnight! My advice for this is when starting out less is more, let your skin get used to the product and don't freak out if it tingles- it's completely normal!

So the results- I find that when I'm using Liquid Gold 2-3 times a week I wake up with brighter, softer, firmer skin. Hurray! Blemishes are less frequent and when I do have them they clear up a lot quicker after an intensive treatment. It also tightens pores making the skin appear smoother.

So here's a couple of tips if you are going to try this out- make sure you wear an SPF as your skin will be more prone to sun damage after resurfacing treatments. Don't use an exfoliating face wash or Clarisonic on the same day as using Liquid Gold, over exfoliation will only damage the skin not make it more beautiful. Do not apply to damaged skin- it will hurt!

Alpha-H Liquid Gold is available on the Alpha-H website and from Beautybay.com (which is where I got mine from) from £31.50. You'll notice it's in a fancy new bottle, my 100ml is still going from around September and has plenty left so I'm going to be rocking the old packaging for a while yet!

Vichy Dermablend Foundation

I've been looking for a full coverage foundation for when my skin is not my friend and I need a lot of help to cover breakouts. I thought I'd give Vichy Dermablend a whirl as it states that it camouflages mild to moderate imperfections for up to 16 hours. It turns out that I'm really glad I did! 

I got two colours- 15 opal and 25 nude so I could combine and get the perfect shade match to my skin. I find it sets quickly so I've been buffing it in with my Real Techniques expert face brush and then making sure I blend it out. It gives excellent coverage which you can build up over problem areas without the need for a separate concealer (although if you have more severe blemishes you may need to conceal as well).

Having combination skin I find that some foundations can look patchy and dry when covering blemishes but this doesn't dehydrate my skin at all - it actually helps keep my skin hydrated but not oily which is a real bonus!

A little of this product goes a long way and although I expected it to feel quite heavy, as it gives such a high level of coverage, it's surprisingly light. It leaves you with a soft focus finish and actually looks more natural than some sheer foundations I have tried! After setting with powder I find it lasts me around 8-9 hours before it starts to look a little oily but the coverage is the same as when I first applied so with a bit more powder it's fresh again- amazing! 

This is definitely one of my favourite foundations and if you're interested in trying it out you can get hold of it from Boots for £15.50.