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

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

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

L'Oreal Youth Code Serum

During my Superdrug splurge last week I found myself drawn to the L'Oreal 3 for 2 offer. I was already purchasing my favourite body lotion - L'Oreal Body Expertise Nutrilift for Very Dry Skin (too much exfoliating and fake tanning and exfoliating again has left my skin a little lacklustre) so it seemed like a no brainer to pick up another couple of "gilty pleasures".

Immediately I saw the L'Oreal Youth Code Serum I found myself struck by the physical/aesthetic similarity to Lancome Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate - a product I have lusted after for a long time. Here is a little compare and contrast:

Apparently Lancome and L'Oreal are owned by the same company - and some intense Googling shows that, according to some, the ingredients are similar. I personally haven't tried the Genifique Concentrate but I have been using the eye serum since November last year and haven't been wowed. To be honest I haven't even been that happy with it at all (hence the slightly dusty lid!) I am really just using it up as I feel guilty at the cost despite purchasing at Geneva airport Duty Free! 

L'Oreal claim Youth Code "significantly diminishes the signs of aging" - well that's pretty general and I guess they would say that. Now - here's the science bit. Concentrate! They also state the secret to the formula is that it uses L'Oreal's "breakthrough" Pro-Gen technology (the "secret of genes") which includes 2 key ingredients: Biolysat (which acts at the epidermis level and tells genes to act faster in the recovery process) and adenosine (a molecule that is found in skin cells that acts at the dermis level to produce collagen).  Now I pretty much flunked biology but it all sounds pretty promising to me. Especially as it promises to transform my dull skin into something younger and more luminous! Hell yeah - count me in.

I have been using the serum as directed (nights and mornings on clean skin prior to moisturiser) for the last 5 days. It has a light scent but nothing too nause inducing. Plus it hasn't broken me out (as yet - touch wood!) or made my eyes stream (a la the L'Oreal Collagen cream)  which is always my biggest fear when trialling new products. No "wow I look 10 years younger" moments yet - but its a serum not a wizard!

I'll keep you updated on how I progress with it! 

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