MAC HOLIDAY HAUL - GLITTER & ICE

For months I have been so good and hardly bought any products but I crumbled in the face of MAC's holiday collection - Glitter and Ice.

Now - my feelings on MAC's CHRISTMAS (holiday - pah!) collections are always mixed. They bring out a load of products, but not all of great quality. We all know the palette shadows are never quite as good as the single ones. Ditto the mini brush collections - they never quite match up to the single brushes for quality. However - the palettes are great value and great for gifting - especially when they look as cute as these ones!

I purchased the Snowglobe eye shadow palettes in Sultry and Warm. They are super cute - looking exactly like the name would suggest:

loving the white and silver boxes and limited edition white and silver snowglobe palettes!

shake and bake baby!

The Sultry palette contains Lightfully, Trax, Fun, Festive Delight, Black Tied and Shadowy Lady shadows. The Warm palette (which I will be gifting) is made up of Buckwheat, Gaelic Gold, Patina, Magical Mist, Winterscape and Midnight Flurry.

oooh pretty things

close up on Sultry - my personal fave!

I personally like the packaging - yes the dome makes the palette a little more bulky but its the most fun holiday aesthetic I have seen (in my opinion) since Fascinating Ruby (2009). Tartan Tale was VILE. 

So what MAC holiday products have taken YOUR fancy?

Until next time...............XO

PROJECT 10 PAN - UPDATE

I have now been doing Project 10 Pan for 2 months. 2 long months of actively using up products and NOT purchasing new ones. I have to say it has been an eye opener!

I have proved to myself I DONT need to buy EVERY single new product on the market. I have discovered a satisfying sense of elation when I use up a product. And I have more space in my flat. Winning!

Here is the picture of the huge amount of products I have used up (yes i know its a terrible quality photo - the point is the quantity not the quality! Plus Blogger wont let me rotate it and I can't be bothered to retake!)

so for me Project 10 pan was a pretty valuable lesson.  I will continue to use products up rather than allowing them to sit in drawers gathering dust and I don't need to buy a new "hype" product just because!

Ironically my next post is going to be a haul....yes I am a giant paradox, wrapped in an enigma

until next time!

XO

FAMOUS 5 - HAIR PRODUCTS I AM LOVING

To precis I have naturally curly, straightened, coloured hair. Yeah the holy trinity of hair evil. But I have been loving these hair products to help me straighten my unruly mane!

Yes I know its 6 products but the La Brasiliana Shampoo and Conditioner counts as 1!

LA BRASILIANA SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER

Ok I was skeptical about these - I had the La Brasiliana chemical straightening treatment and I wasn't wowed, but I carried on using the shampoo and conditioner as part of my Project 10 Pan and they really do make my hair extremely manageable and easier to dry. Plus they are sodium free. Who knew!

MACADAMIA HEALING OIL SPRAY

I have been using a lot of the Macadamia oil products recently and I am finding they are helping much more with the condition of my hair than Moroccan Oil did. I am keen to try the Masque next - but this oil is superfine and perfect for finishing my style leaving it soft, shiny and healthy looking. Result.

REDKEN SMOOTHDOWN DETANGLING CREAM

This is a staple product for me - I apply after every wash prior to styling. Helps to protect my hair and makes it much easier to dry!

JOICO K-PAK DEEP RESTRUCTURING CREAM

Another product I was "using up" as part of Product 10 Pan but which my hair has been loving. I use it as a quick conditioner and sometimes I leave it in overnight as a masque. Softens and conditions - win/win.

MATRIX TOTAL RESULTS COLOR CARE SHAMPOO

Ok ok it's called So Silver - but thats the only uncool thing about this product. My hair is blonde blonde, but inevitably after a few weeks of washing post colour it loses its brightness and can lean to yellow tones. These are NOT welcome so I wash with this purple shampoo and wowzer - it brightens and strips out any yellow or brassieness without stripping my hair like other purple shampoos (yes John Frieda I am talking about you!)

so there we go a quick hair love love.

What are your fave hair raves?

Until next time......XO

SHOES!

I love shoes with a fiery passion. I am not even going to try and lie about this. I have always loved a vertiginous stiletto heel. The soft suede or satin of a perfect evening shoe. The dark dominatrix style pointy black work court. I have over a hundred pairs and counting.

My love of the uber heel in particular has survived two back surgeries and the enforced period of rehab they brought with them. MONTHS without heels. Can you even imagine. The pain and potential for lasting damage to my spine and inability to walk - pah that was nothing compared to no heels!

But it takes a lot for me to buy heels and fall in a love so deep I blog about it. Well this happened with my newest Slutshoe purchase. What is a Slutshoe I hear you ask? Well it was a # originally coined by a lovely friend of mine on Twitter. I took it to my heart as it perfectly summed up a particular type of shoe. The type one would imagine wearing in bed...with nothing else! In general shoes that look sexy and create a sense of lust in males and females!

Anyway - I was in Zara of all places when I spotted these lovelies:

And it was love. Has been ever since. Beige suede, platform, sexy as you like tortoiseshell heel. Not to mention the fact they don't pinch, they don't rub and I can wear them all night - vertically not horizontally!

I think that, at £60, these might be the perfect shoe. Well....for now. Time for a trip back to Zara to buy them in black!

Until next time.....XO

OPI Whats With The Cattitude review NOTD

I am not entirely sure why I even have this colour in my extensive varnish collection. Its a duck egg blue. A fairly creamy, dreamy looking blue but still. I suspect I just liked the name (I buy my varnishes online from the US so occasionally I go a little crazy and buy without checking the colour in person first). 

There is a valuable lesson here - this shade of blue is best reserved for Tiffany boxes. 

Anyway I have had this sitting in the nail varnish drawer for months unused. Today my nails were bare, the sun was out and I only had the gym and some meetings ahead so a fun colour was on the cards. 

Well cutting a long story short this varnish is an EPIC fail.  Streaky doesn't even cover it, despite the base coat:

yes - see that thumbnail...that is after 2 coats!

 not pretty huh?

so - this polish will be hitting the circular filing cabinet hard. I love OPI polishes usually but this one was a letdown.  0/10.

What is your favourite "fun" colour nail polish?

until next time .....XO

We need to talk...Project 10 Pan

ok...in the spirit of honesty I have to come clean. I broke my Project 10 Pan embargo.

Yes...I did the bad thing. I bought products.

lots and lots of products...oopsy

In my defence I was in Hong Kong "on a break" and I am pretty sure buying stuff when abroad is a little like cheating on your partner - if you aren't in the same postcode it doesn't count - right?

Yeah, ok, that was a joke people - its more like eating food off someone else's plate, or on a plane - the calories don't count. I would also like to point out that all the products I bought are NOT available in the UK (ok, ok so the eyelash curlers from Shu Uemura and Shiseido are but they are hella more expensive in the UK!).  I also got Lancome's "cult" new productVisionnaire at Duty Free - and that was waitlisted here when I left - so I simply had to!

Now I would like to say I don't see this as an official Project 10 Pan fail. I am back on my embargo now I am back in the UK AND I have been, and continue to, use up products - something which I would not have done if I wasn't involved with P10P (its too exhausting writing the full name everytime!). I will update on this monthly.

So that's it people....the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth

well....apart from all the amazingly good fake designer bags I bought in Kowloon and my Beats by Doctor Dre headphones that I got for a tenner and my fabulous new iPhone covers.....but that's another story ;)

until next time.......XO

p.s @bethglossgalore was made fully aware of my transgressions at the time!

Project 10 Pan...an experiment!

...or how Twitter enabled me to accept I had a beauty product problem.

Last week I was having an innocent conversation with @bethglossgalore (a fabulous blogger) on Twitter. We were bemoaning how many products we had and our addiction to purchasing. I casually commented that we needed to do a Project 10 Pan....or in our cases maybe a Project 100 Pan. Somehow this has led to us both now ACTUALLY doing Project 10 Pan.

What on earth is Project 10 Pan I hear you ask!

Over the last couple of years I have watched untold amounts of Youtube videos entitled "Project 10 Pan". At first I was mystified...what was this unknown challenge?! A casual Google later I discovered it was people putting themselves on a purchasing embargo until they had used up 10 items. Wow...how cool I thought. Then I went back to obsessively purchasing more lipglosses from MAC.

Recently it had been brought to my attention that my collection of products MAY have snowballed out of control. I refer the honourable reader to "part" of my make up collection that takes up half of my bedroom shelving:

yes..those plastic MUJI units are FULL of products too....

In addition to this I have an almost ridiculous amount of lipglosses and lipsticks spread across my assortment of handbags...in the spirit of honesty here is the cull from my Louis Vuitton Speedy alone:

yes I know...how many nudes....

And then there are the two full large baskets in my bathroom, the chest of drawers next to my bed full of nail varnish, the nail varnish in my fridge and the giant plastic cupboard of perfumes and body lotions...I am too embarrassed to photo these.. YES I AM AN ADDICT!

well...it seemed like the perfect motivation to do Project 10 Pan with a respected beauty blogger with far more experience than me but with what looked like an equal addiction to purchasing! 

I must say it took me a few days to do the full list of qualifiers for my Project 10 Pan. I ummed and ahhed over various items..mostly because I was ashamed of exactly how much stuff I have that I never use. At what point did I buy TWO Victoria's Secret body bronzers, both medium to deep, and not use either of them for example? But I am willing to own my addictions. So...drumroll...here is the photo of the final line up of products I am putting forward:

I am going to basically hide all my other products and leave these out all the time in an effort to push me to use up as many as possible...10 will be the bare minimum! Wish me luck!

So - has anyone out there successfully completed a Project 10 Pan or would you like to do it with us! feel free to join in or comment!

Until next time.....XO

Bright and beautiful....neon China Glaze nails

Hello!

finally I am back! easing in gently with a little NOTD....

I have been wearing a lot of dark nail colours recently - my staples being OPI Eiffel for that Colour or a mix of OPI Yoga-ta Get that Blue and Essie's Midnight Cami:

mmmm shiny....

But today being Friday and, well, a little sunny, I decided to brighten up my life via my nails.

I have loads of nail varnishes I never use. Majoring in this list are China Glaze polishes. The colours are always beautiful BUT the formulation is so dire. Thin and streaky, takes ages to dry, and always chips soon after application no matter what top coat I apply. Aye carumba I am wondering why I bothered now as I type this! However I decided to risk it for the biscuit!

I applied these two bad boys:

l-r:  Flip Flop Fantasy and Orange Knockout (Neon)

I layered the pink over the orange and got these super bright results:

being neon the pictures dont quite reflect the POW POW BOOM colour but they still look pretty fun 

How long they last - well thats another matter. But I always think bright nails are a little like inappropriate men - you know they won't be around forever but they are fun while they are!

Until next time.....

XO

A personal update

I am totally aware I have not been blogging as much as I would like. And I have so many things to blog about.

It isn't through choice. I have been dealing with a couple of personal/business issues which, I am hoping, will very soon be resolved and I will be able to blog once more without feeling guilty and with something worth reading.

so until next time.... which I am hoping will be VERY soon........xo

Vendetta....falling back in love

For a while now I have been in a nail varnish rut - same old colours, day in day out.  Basically either Mod About You, any slightly neon red/orange or Max Factor mini Cloudy Blue (seen below...lovely but doesnt last)

Max Factor Cloudy Blue 



So the other morning I scrabbled through my nail varnish drawer (the ones that aren't kept in the fridge as I ran out of space) and found an old favourite:

Vendetta by Chanel

I applied it on the tube on my way to a meeting and was inspired by how easily it went on and how I didn't need 4 coats to get the desired opacity (China Glaze I am  looking at you!). Its a beautiful vampy purple with a slight shimmer in the bottle but not noticeable when applied. It lasts well and looks good on short and long talons.

And it has a fabulous name!

What nail varnishes have you recently rediscovered? let me know....

until next time ..........xo

DETOX MY LIFE

So, before I went on a 2 weekend rugby and booze binge, I had been endeavouring to do a detox. Every few months I get these crazy ideas - and usually they come to naught. I'm generally "not a finisher".
But this time in my purchase of products to attain my goals (because I can't just drink more water and eat less bread) I found a few keepers.

In no particular order these are:

Ortis Organic Pure Plan Detox.

This is a plant-based liquid food supplement.

No it isn't Baby Bio. It is supposed to be Apple Flavour but the herbal element makes it taste vaguely like Jagermeister. Not helpful for the detox! Anyway you measure out 15 mls in the provided meauring cap and pour it into 1.5 litres of water and drink throughout the day. It has fennel and green tea and birch and meadowsweet (amongst other herbal goodies) intended to help detox you inside out. To be honest even if it just gets me drinking more water its a good thing. I managed to stay on it for 5 days, which is not the full course but pretty disciplined for me and it definately helped me feel "lighter" - might just be psychological though!

Dr Stuarts Slim Plus.

This is a light fresh caffeine free herbal tea.

 Nothing bad there! Again it contains fennel, with linden leaves and galangal root which are believed to suppress the appetite. Again I just find it helps me drink more water and less caffeine! Perfect for that 3pm slump when all I really want is an M&S chocolate cookie. And it tastes nice. Unlike Green Tea which generally just makes my teeth curl. I also like Dr Stuart's sleepy tea (aka Valerian Plus) which knocks me flat out.

I got this and the Ortis from Holland and Barrett who were doing a buy one product get another half price!

Finally a little piece of equipment:

My Magic circle!

ooooh. aaaaaah. just like that.

I got mine from QVC for around 25 pounds. Its not the highest resistance pilates circle I have ever used but man do I know when I have used it. I love the gym but sometimes you just want something you can use in 5-10 mins at home in front of the TV and this is perfect. Whack in between your knees and its a great resistance adducter workout. Squeeze it between straight outstretched arms and feel those triceps burn. There are a ton of exercises you can do with this and you also get a full DVD of instructions with it. Bonus.

What detox products have you found to work?

Until next time ...... XO

Lush Mint Julips Lip Scrub

I was watching @TiffanyLD the other day. On Youtube that is, not through a window with binoculars - cos that would be weird.

Anyway - she happened to mention Lush Lip Scrubs in her May faves video. Now, just that day I had been moaning to my gay office husband that the awful air con was making my lips dry and flaky. Yuk. No amount of Body Shop Shea Lip Butter (which I am LOVING btw) was returning them to a plump smooth state. I suddenly realised it might be because there was an underlying problem - I was exfoliating every part of my body except my lips! Well hold the phone! Off I dashed to Lush to get me some treats!

Lush have 3 flavours of Lip Scrub. Bubblegum, the flavour I was originally drawn to, seriously made me want to boke. Pretty in pink though and if you like sickly synthetic bubblegum flavour then this is for you. Then there is Sweet Lips. Oooh I thought, I like the name. But it's vanilla and chocolate flavour. Again, nause. Starting to feel a little like the prince with the slipper - where was my Cinderella? And then I came to Mint Julips. Peppermint and chocolate flavour? At first this sounded vile. But then I remembered I like After Eights so why not? I was sold when the girl behind the counter reminded me the Peppermint oil would make my lips more pouty too.

After my first use I found my lips were smoother and the lip butter was actually able to do it's job and moisturise! A miracle!

So thanks Tiff! Dream lip product and in at under a fiver.

What lip products can you not get enough of?

Until next time.......XO

SLEEK BLUSH PIXIE PINK

I was first alerted to Sleek Blushes by those talented ladies at @Pixiwoos. It was following a tutorial of Nic's that I purchased what has become one of my fave non MAC/NARS blushes: Sleek Rose Gold (aka "better than Nars Orgasm") 

 Sleek Rose Gold

So when I found myself craving a new brighter pink blusher (because MAC's Well Dressed, Pink Swoon, Stereo Rose, Dainty, Ladyblush and Lilicent etc etc etc clearly aren't enough pink for this girl) but not wanting to spend the earth I hightailed it over to Superdrug (with my new points card in hand) to check out Sleek's current wares.

And lo - I hit paydirt. Pixie Pink. Is it pink? Hells yeah. Check it out here in the pan

 Sleek Pixie Pink

alarmingly pink you might say? fear not here it is on my arm (heavy and lighter swatches) :

so - basically a pretty cool pink pink (yeah awesome use of descriptives there Nicola) which gives the perfect "O" glow flush when applied with a light hand, and works well even when I am more tanned. 

The packaging is usual Sleek - minimalist, hard wearing and compact. Perfect for the smallest Louis Vuitton clutch bag. Plus you get a lot of bang for your buck as this is 8g of highly pigmented product that lasts on the skin.

I cannot recommend this product highly enough at a mere  £4.20

Plus it has a cute name! SOLD!

What are your favourite budget Pink blushes? let me know

Until next time........XO

FROM MIA....TO MIAMI POP! A BOOTS HAUL

hey hey hey!

Haven't blogged for ages - completely my bad - real life kind of got in the way and my creative juices were completely sapped. 

 

Still been shopping though (of course) and a little haul from that perennial fave Boots seemed to be the perfect way to dip my toe back in the blogging waters.

 

So.....this lunchtime I popped down to my local Boots at Canary Wharf - ostensibly to spend my Boots voucher on some eye make up remover......it always starts with a necessity.

 

However, while I was there I shimmied past Collection 2000 and noticed these Shimmer Shades bricks. Now - I have never had a good Collection 2000 experience so you think I would have learned. Concealer, mascara, powder: every product I have purchased from Collection 2000 in the past has fallen at the first hurdle. But I am a sucker for cute packaging and I have a couple of rugby tours coming up - and bitter experience has taught me never to take my good stuff on these!

cute huh? 

First up is Way to Glow: a bronzey shimmer selection:

 Way to Glow Girl!

 

And Blushalicious - pretty much what it says on the can: 

 

 

 Blushalicious!

and now on the fingers:

 

hmmm I have to say the blushes are quite chalky and I think will need a lot of layering. But the colours ARE pretty, just not as pigmented as other cheaper brand blushes like Sleek (see my next Blogpost for my new FAVE Sleek product!)

 

At 4.19 each (plus a free lipgloss with 2 Collection 2000 products) this is a decent bargain. But I guess you get what you pay for.

 

I then found myself, as if by magic, passing the No17 stand - normally not a brand I would seek out - but this divine nail varnish caught my eye. I am always on the look out for a perfect orange varnish for my summer toes, and this juicy little number is called Miami Pop so how could I resist. Plus the shade is called Downtown. "Where all the lights are bright?" I hear you ask?  Yes now I have that song in my head too.......

 

 

 

 I'm in Miami Bitch!

 

So that was it - a couple of Wednesday treats to help me get over Hump Day

 

Hope you liked!

 

Until next time .........xo

Haul - Westfield Hollister, River Island, Superdrug

Another rainy Bank Holiday Monday....what is a girl to do? Go to Westfield of course!

On reflection this was a bit of a schoolgirl error as it seemed like a chav convention was taking place but I battled on. After a short queue for Hollister and a ridiculously excessive queue for the changing rooms (you are trying on ONE item - how can this take over 10 minutes?????) I came away with 2 items:

A cute ruffled strapless dress with a polka dot belt, and another bottle of the Hollister cologne, which I love as a summer fragrance and had just run out of.

I was also a little amused by the sign in the Hollister changing rooms - I would like one of these for my bedroom door ha ha:

I then went to River Island. Why do the shoes in River Island always look tempting but smell of plastic? Yes I know the answer. Anyway, I picked up a black halterneck top (which no matter how I photographed still didn't come out clearly so no pic!) and a fawn coloured jersey dress with a thin brown belt:

Now - when I got to the counter to pay this dress came up as a "jersey top". I'm sorry this is WAY too long to be a top. I bought it as a dress and will be wearing it as such! Perfect with my as yet unworn tan wedges from Topshop.

I was almost defeated by the swathes of people at this point - especially the ones with pushchairs who used them as a battling ram. In addition I have one word for the fat girl in Aldo who pushed me out of the way so she could get to some vile multicoloured shoes - CANKLES!

However on my way out I passed Superdrug. How very convenient. Well - I meant to go via MAC but there was a queue. Really, a queue when the store is only half full? Anyway. Back to Superdrug. I came out with just the 4 items.

Now I have been reading LOTS about the Naked Truth range so I picked up the Intensive Care for Tired Eyes as I am a sucker for eye treatments. As I will be getting my legs out (hopefully) in shorts a little more often now it is officially summer I grabbed this Perfect Slim stuff as it was half price, and who doesn't love a bargain! And finally I felt like a little bling treat. As I can't afford any real bling at the moment I thought I would bling up my nails for summer with these Andrea Fullerton Stripe and Sparkle varnish kits:

Fun no?

So that was that - apart from a grande triple shot skinny caramel cappuchino to get me through the trip, and which I got for free as the queue was so long. Happy days!

Let me know if you have tried any of these products and what your thoughts are in the comments. I love comments!

Until next time.......XO

Haul of Happieness!

I couldn't leave my Blog on 1 3 posts - way too superstitious! So here is my little haul from today - minus that evil Batiste dry shampoo!

I am now back working in Canary Wharf. While I hate this part of London I cannot deny there are lots of lovely shops. So today I popped out to get some lunch and to look for some new structured workwear and I returned with:

my lunch - crab maki and an apple zinger from Itsu ....BORING!

AND MORE EXCITING 

bags of treats!

So - what goodies did I purchase in my sweep of the mall? 

Well we can ignore the Boots bag - we know what rubbish was in there (see photos of my "powdered wig" here: http://mygiltypleasures.blogspot.com/2011/05/batiste-dry-shampoo-light-and-blonde.html ) 

First I was walking past Body Shop and I noticed that their Honey Bronze collection was in. I had to pop in and pick up the Honey Bronze Dry Oil (it just smelt so yummy) and a couple of lip nectars. 

And as my lips were feeling dry due to air conditioning (and it was positioned right by the paydesk - what a sucker!)  I also grabbed a Shea Lip Butter. I actually tried this the minute I got back to the office and I am liking it so far

Then as I had to walk back past Space NK I was impelled to go in and lo - they had my favourite Kiehl'sCreamy  Eye Treatment with Avocado back in stock so I simply HAD to get one:

 but...thats it now! Product embargo back in place......PROMISE

hmmmmm.......until next time ;) .................xo

Batiste Dry Shampoo Light and Blonde Review HORROR

DISCLAIMER: THIS BLOGPOST CONTAINS PICS THAT MAY TURN YOUR STOMACH - THOSE OF A DELICATE NATURE SHOULD LOOK AWAY NOW!

Ok - so here's the thing. I am not a natural blonde. Well, I was born blonde but somewhere around 3 I kind of went mousy. Yuk. So I ensure I am blonde regardless with regular trips to my darling hairdresser. However he has rudely decided to go on holiday until next week and somehow my roots have sprung up like a flashing light on my head. Well, thats how I feel anyway.

So fed up was I of seeing my roots that I decided to try a new product. Something I have never tried before. However it was a product that had been well reviewed by gurus so I thought - how bad can it be. The answer is - WORSE THAN YOU EVER IMAGINED.

This was the product I chose: Batiste Dry Shampoo, a hint of colour light and blonde. (£3.99 Boots)

Looks harmless enough doesnt it?

And just for reference - and I cannot believe I am posting this but such is my devotion to honest blogging - here are my roots:

ps my hair doesnt normally sit like this - I specifically messed with it to make the roots really obvious....and this lighting is a bit green - my colour is pretty white blonde.

So I then started applying. They say you should shake vigorously then spray into roots about 30cm from hair, massage in with fingertips and then brush and style. Sounded easy enough.

Like a true OCD I followed the instructions to the letter.

And this was how I was rewarded. Are you ready?? Here we go then

This photo only goes SOME way to showing what this product made my hair look like. Yes it covered up some of my root colour. But - what it also did was make my existing white blonde hair look brassy and ....god forbid........orange. Or what a hairdresser would call "warm". YUK! 

They say the product "banishes oily roots and boosts body giving dull, lifeless hair the makeover it needs without water. A hint of colour complements light and blonde hair tones and helps blend in root re-growth of coloured, tinted or bleached hair". 

Er no. Only if your hair is orangey/warm blonde and only if you like a white residue in your hair. In addition it made my hair feel stiff and combing it was very difficult. The only upside of this product - for me - was that it smelled quite nice. 

It has taken two full shampoos for my hair to feel clean, and I am now sitting with my hair slathered in Moroccan Oil and Elemis Monoi Melt to try and make amends!

So - my conclusion is I need to make a diary note of when my hairdresser goes on holiday and if something seems wrong (dry shampoo) then generally it is! 

VERDICT: IN THE BIN!

let me know your thoughts on dry shampoo.....comment below!

until next time..................xo

MASCARA MONDAY!

"My name is Nicola and I am a mascara junkie"


I can't hide it any longer. It's too obvious. For years my quest for the perfect mascara has taken me from high end dealers to some questionable downtown budget mascara pimps. I don't think this search will ever truly end - I will always be looking for my next hit. More volume. More lift. Just that little bit blacker....

Most recently the fickle mistress of addiction led me to try 2 new "budget brand" products - one which has quite literally opened my eyes; and one which has been an overwhelming disappointment.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand in the winners corner we have:

RIMMEL GLAM'EYES LASH FLIRT IN KOHL BLACK

What they say: 

Kohl Black intensity, volume and lift mascara

What I say:


The thin plastic brush was a bit of a surprise as I generally prefer a giant old fashioned loo-brush style wand. But this mascara is <3 LOVE <3 . Blackest black, the brush provides much needed volume at the roots (when wiggled) and a divine hit of length and definition to my sparse lashes. I bent the brush slightly (see lower pic) to provide some extra lift - but I do this with all my mascaras. An extra bonus is no fall down - and it really seems to last (even through a day at work and the gym!). Despite this it still comes off reasonably easily with make up remover. I got this on a 3 for 2 deal at Superdrug with two other old fave Rimmel mascaras

Rating: 8/10

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand the biggest loser was??

COLLECTION 2000 BIG FAKE FALSE LASH EFFECT MASCARA IN ULTRA BLACK

What they say:

Double your lash size! Lash boosting technology plumps and stretches each lash. No clumping or smudging. Water resistant.

What I say:

YUK. Drier than Ethiopia in '84. I SO wanted to love this product. Beauty bloggers and Youtubers everywhere have been raving about it. I initially liked the oversized pack and giant brush. Very much like Benefit Bad Gal Lash mascara (an old fave) - well thats where the similarity ended. The formula is SO dry I thought I had got an old one (despite it being sealed when I bought it). The brush is unwieldy and excess dry product ends up on my lid making my shadow look messy. I have tried one layer, two even three. My lashes look nowhere near double the size. Messy, not user friendly and not even a lovely set of lashes to show for it. This Big Faker is going straight in the bin!

Rating: 0/10

If you want some mascara dash on less cash I would advise you to walk on past Collection 2000 and straight over to Rimmel

Let me know your fave "lower end" mascaras!

Until next time ..................xo