The award for the biggest waste of money 2011 so far goes to Maybelline for their Falsies Mascara. It’s awful, just awful!!

I had just run out of mascara and was going to buy one that I knew I liked but I saw the Maybelline falsies mascara on offer (£6.99 instead on the usual £8.20 in Superdrug) so decided to go for it. Well I wish I hadn’t bothered! The wand is very flimsy and I noticed a crack in mine (im not sure whether all are like this) but it means that if I were to apply moderate pressure the whole thing would have snapped in half! The applicator brush is thick and curved, the masacra goes on VERY clumpy and wet. To be honest the first few times I used this it clumped my lashes to the extent that on one eye I had 2 big lash clumps instead of a nice fan of lashes, I had to use an old wand from a now dried up mascara to separate them. I suppose in a way they do look false because there is no way that any natural lashes grow in 2 big clumps! Due to not being able to get to the shops I had to carry on using this mascara for a while and found that the older and more dried up it got the slightly better it looked, however even now, a few months later, I still have to use an old mascara wand to separate the lashes or I end up with spider eyes!

I don’t think I would or could recommend this mascara to anyone, I seriously wouldn’t want anyone wasting £8 on it (think of how much chocolate you could buy for £8 instead!) It is safe to say that when this runs out I will only be buying a mascara I know I have used before and like, such as the Maybelline lash stiletto, which to date is one of my all time fav’s.

So after shampooing and conditioning with my regular (Pantene) products, I applied a big dollop of the treatment onto my hair and left it for about 5 mins – well I thought I had better give it a load of time to work as I have such thick hair. The treatment is white and has a thickish consistency somewhere in between that of shampoo and conditioner, not a liquid but not totally thick. One thing that I was disappointed in at this stage was the smell; after trying a few Aussie products I have fallen in love with the fruity almost bubble gum like smell given off by them, however this treatment smelt a bit funny, not totally unpleasant, but not the nicest either. After leaving it on for about 5mins I rinsed off with warm water and awaited the results!

To be honest I can’t say that I was totally amazed by the results, my hair did feel soft and didn’t look as dry as usual, however it wasn’t shiny and I don’t think that the results would have been noticeable to anyone but me. However after doing this once a week for 2 months, I would say that there was a marked improvement in the dryness, however there still wasn’t a shine! I wouldn’t buy this product again as I prefer the Avon hair mask (previously reviewed on this site), however I don’t feel like I have wasted my money as it did have a positive effect on my hair. As previously stated you can get a 20ml sample size for 99p, however I only got positive results with repeated use, so a one off try it isn’t really an accurate reflection of the treatment’s effects.

Pros: It helps with dry ends

Cons: It doesn’t really make a huge difference and £4.45 is a lot of money to pay in this economic climate for a product that only half works. Also it doesn’t smell too nice.

It’s that time of year again when we are all reminded of how important it is to help support breast cancer charities and there are loads of ways to do this. From fund raising and buying the pink ribbon to buying Tickled Pink things in Asda, the ways we can all help are endless. I was delighted when I found out that Estee Lauder were again doing their bit to raise awareness of breast cancer and this being a make up site of course means that we will be supporting them all the way (and getting ourselves some lush products in the process)! According to the Estee Lauder website (see link below) ten of the company’s most luxurious and sort after beauty brands will sell products to help raise money for research to eradicate breast cancer. So go on check out the webiste and I will be reviewing some of the products as soon as they come out!

http://www.esteelauder.co.uk/about/breast_cancer_awareness_index.tmpl

Note: I have just found out that Avon have just launched their range of products to help raise money for breast cancer charities! Please take a look!

The foundation comes in a black cardboard box with gold writing which is also how the compact itself is decorated. You get a sense that this is a more expensive brand of foundation as the compact comes with a mirror and application sponge, things that the cheaper brands do not include. The foundation itself is quite hard so getting it onto the sponge can require some force, it is however easier to get it onto your finger if u want to apply it to certain places this way, I presume this is because the heat of your skin melts it a bit. As you may have gathered from reading my other foundation reviews, I have quite bad dark circles under my eyes and a few blemishes so finding a foundation which provides good coverage is very important to me. This one did just that, my dark circles and blemishes were not visible and I hadn’t even applied concealer or setting powder! Once setting powder had been applied I had a totally flawless complexion which I was very happy with! The foundation stayed put all day, even with an outfit change and lots of hugging or relatives and 12 hours later it still looked like it did when I first applied it. The only complaint I would have is that in all the pictures that were taken that day I look rather like a ghost! But this is my fault, I should have fake tanned then got a darker foundation.

I would recommend this foundation for anyone with a bit of money to spend, who wants a flawless finish and a foundation that will last all day. I have had this for 6 months now and only use it for special occasions like nights out and so far it hasn’t run out.

Pros: Lasts all day and provides a perfect match and a flawless finish.

Cons: The price, but I def think in this case you get what you pay for.