Pretty Head – UK Make Up Reviews

Desperate for some more Boots Perfect and Protect serum but having limited funds, I bought a gift set off of eBay which contained not only the Protect and Perfect serum and day cream but also has a variety of new samples such as mascara, lip gloss, eye shadow, eye liner and nail varnish. I only really got this for the serum but thought I would give the mascara a go seen as I am always on the quest to find the best mascara and I have to say I was quite disappointed. This mascara retails at £11.50 for 7ml, which is a bit more than the mainstream brands like Maxfactor, Rimmel and Maybelline charge for the same quantity. As mine was a sample size the packaging differs from the usual simple, silver, hard plastic tube. Either way both sizes of the mascara do not come covered in plastic and stuck to a cardboard backing, which is good for the environment and made me think that they should have knocked a bit off of the price if they were not going to bother with packaging!

But anyway, I was very keen to try the mascara out and so at the first opportunity I gave it a go (which by the way is a bad habit to get into as you end up with loads of mascaras on the go at once and they all end up drying up, resulting in a loss of money and mascara!) The first thing that I noticed was just how huge the brush was; it looked like a bumble bee! Boots claims that this mascara can give you up to 7 times more volume, with its specially designed brush that gives 360 degree coverage to your lashes, but it really didn’t do this for me. Even thought the mascara had never been used before it seemed to be quite dry, with there not being much mascara on the brush.  This might have been because it was a sample size though as other reviews I have read for the full sized one suggest that you get far too much mascara on the brush and end up with a clumpy look. For me however I couldn’t get much mascara on the brush and the brush itself was far too big which made application very difficult. Not only was it hard to use the brush to give the lashes a full coating, but it was difficult to keep it neat and I ended up with mascara on the skin all around the eye area.

I normally like to have a dramatic lash look and can normally achieve this using most of the high street brands of mascara I have used, however with this slightly more expensive one even after 3 coats my lashes looked pretty much how they did before I started. The mascara didn’t add any length or volume to my eyelashes, but it did make them look quite feathery which is a lot nicer than being clumpy.

I would recommend this mascara to anyone wanting bridal make up or a natural makeup look. However anyone who likes to make a noticeable improvement to their lashes could well be disappointed by this mascara.

Pros: Doesn’t clump

Cons: Brush is too big, resulting in less coverage and more mess and it doesn’t actually improve the look of my lashes in any way, shape or form.

I first heard about this perfume when I was a teenager, I think it was in a girlie magazine as Britney Spears is apparently a big fan. So of course the thirteen year old me decided that I needed it and it was at the top of my Christmas list that year! On Christmas day I got to open it and loved the ice blue and black theme that was on the box and carried through to the vessel, the actual perfume comes in an ice blue, glass star that holds 50ml and has a silver sprayer. The retail price for this now is £62, which is quite expensive considering my other favourite perfume is Calvin Klein’s Euphoria that costs £30, however this can be found a lot cheaper on eBay (see links below), or in the duty free section of air ports. You can buy top ups for your original Angel star bottle that also come in a different shaped star bottle – I haven’t done this yet so I don’t know how easy it is to do, but I like the fact that I have the option of refilling.

The actual smell of this perfume is quite unusual, you will either love it or hate it and I will admit that I hated it at first, I even remember spraying it around my room just to get rid of it, that is until I found out that it was over £60 a bottle! After that I used to use it now and then and it definitely does grow on you, so much so that a few years late it was on my Christmas list again!

Angel has a very strong, deep and powerful smell to it that stays on the skin all day – something which is important from a perfume, especially when you are paying so much for one. There doesn’t appear to be any floral scents in it, instead it is spicy, creamy, with vanilla and earthy tones to it that change over time. The smell is very distinct and often I get asked whether I am wearing Angel by people when I am out, however it can get quite sickly so you never know whether people are asking you because they hate it. I have also noticed that it makes me sneeze a lot, however it does not irritate my sensitive skin so that’s a plus point.

Pros: I like the smell, it lasts all day, it is good on sensitive skin and it comes in a very pretty bottle.

Cons: It is expensive, some people really don’t like the smell and it makes me sneeze. I really wouldn’t suggest buying this as a surprise for someone unless you know that they like it as there is a good chance that they won’t and you will have wasted £60!
Check out Angel Perfume
on Amazon where its currently on Special Offer @ £57!!! – Bargain!

I heard about this mascara when my sister came downstairs ready for a night out and I noticed that her normally average eyelashes looked absolutely amazing; they were jet black and very long, totally fake looking and the type of lashes that most girls would kill for! This is sort of shown in the picture of the blue eye, I struggled to get the picture big enough which is why it looks a bit pixelated – however when I get the original picture from her I will put that up, which is a bet better quality and makes shows just how gorgeous her eyelashes looked.

Mascara is like kryptonite for me and even though I didn’t need any I went out and bought myself a tube for £7.82 from Superdrug. There were three shades to choose from, absolute black, disco blue and brown remix; I opted for the absolute black and I guess that this was the most popular shade as I have noticed that it is often sold out. The mascara comes in a rather funky looking tube, which is black, shiny and silver and has a picture of an eye with long, luscious lashes. Bourjois claim that this mascara is tested on clubbers and not only does it offer extreme volume, but it also gives lashes a shiny finish.

I saved the mascara to use on my next night out and I actually couldn’t wait to put it on and see if it made my eyelashes look as gorgeous as it made my sisters. So I unscrewed the lid and pulled out the wand and I have to say that I was rather shocked by how much mascara comes out on the wand, there was far too much and I had to try and scraped some off which resulted in a right mess! The wand itself is sort of flat with very soft bristles; it is easy to get the mascara onto the upper lashes without too much trouble, however trying to put it on the lower lashes was a bit of a nightmare. I think this is because the wand was quite big and your lower lashes are smaller than the upper ones, meaning that not only do you coat the lashes, you also coat most of the skin in the surrounding area! The mascara really clumped my lashes together, worryingly though I think that this is what it is meant to do. In the end to try and get my eye lashes looking a bit more normal I ended up using the wand from another mascara to separate them a bit. Even after I did this my eyelashes looked very clumpy and I ended up looking like I had about 4 lashes on each eye! I tried to capture this in the picture (brown eye), you can see how four or five individual lashes are separate at the root but get stuck together further up, resulting when face on, in me looking like I had two spiders attached to my face.

I have to say that I was very disappointed as it looked so much better on my sister, whose eyelashes are not that much different to mine in shape and length. I even asked her to put it on me in case I was being stupid and doing it totally wrong, but the effect was the same. All I can say is that I will never buy this again, but it still looks great on my sister so I suppose it depends on the individual; as the two pictures show the result you get differs depending on the person, even when you are sisters!

Pros: Really looks good and gives a false lash effect on some people.

Cons: Gave me clumpy lashes which resulted in me looking like I had fewer eyelashes than I had started with. If it doesn’t work you have wasted nearly £8 and it would not be suitable for people wanting a natural makeup look.

I stumbled across this foundation by accident when I had run out of foundation and had to rummage through my sister’s makeup bag in the hopes that she had some. My first impressions of this was that it looked cheap, it comes in a flimsy, plastic tube that you have to squeeze to get the foundation to come out. The actual bit that the foundation comes out of is just a hole, which means that there is quite a lot of mess as it is hard to control just how much comes out with each squeeze. The actual foundation looked very orange when in the tube and so I really didn’t think that it would look very good on my skin, however I was desperate and in a rush so I thought I would give it a go, fully expecting to have to take it off as soon as I put it on because it looked too orange. After moisturising I sat with my face wipes at the ready and squeezed a bit of the foundation onto the back of my hand. Due to the bit where the foundation comes out of being just a hole more than I needed came out and it was very runny, it also looked really orange on the back of my hand, definitely not the colour I would have chosen to match my skin tone. I dubiously started to put it on my face using a foundation brush that I bought from MAC; I thought that being so watery a foundation sponge would just absorb it all so opted for the brush, however I am sure that fingers would work just fine. Now this is where I was shocked, surprisingly the foundation didn’t look orange at all once on my skin, it went on well, was moisturising, covered my blemishes and dark circles under my eyes and most importantly it looked really natural! I finished it off with some pale pressed powder and the end result was a nearly flawless, natural looking complexion – something that I am always trying to achieve. This foundation only costs £5.89 from Boots, which is probably the cheapest main stream brand foundation I have ever come across.

This foundation comes in five shades, none of which I would say would be suitable for people with darker skin tones (something that as I do my research for reviews is becoming more evident – there seems to be a huge gap in the market for mainstream brand foundations and concealers that cater for olive to dark complexions).  Rimmel claim that this foundation provides a flawless, fade proof, rub proof, smudge proof, smooth and healthy look that lasts for 16 hours and I have to say that this foundation lives up to all these claims. After a days worth of wear (I would say about 18hours), I took off of my skin near enough the same amount of foundation that I put on. As for the flawless finish, I for the first time ever, didn’t have to put concealer on the dark circles under my eyes as the foundation provided perfect coverage. I didn’t look cakey or shiny and I after borrowing a bit of my sister’s I went out and bought my own tube. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a cheap, long lasting foundation that provides good coverage. The only thing I would say is that finding the correct shade for your skin might be an issue as even on the back of my hand the product looked orange so I would never have tried it on my face. Just goes to show that you can’t judge a foundation by its appearance in the tube or its price tag!

Pros: Cheap, lives up to all of Rimmel’s claims, provides great coverage and is perfect for anyone wanting a natural makeup look. I would also say that this would be great for wedding makeup as its smudge proof so you won’t get it on your white dress and it wouldn’t need topping up all day.

Cons: Watery and Rimmel does not make this foundation for people with anything but white skin.

I am a regular reader of gala darlings blog and around 2 weeks ago she wrote a review of “lime crime”, the photos she posted of herself wearing their shadows were so vibrant, unlike any eyeshadows i had seen before, i just had to check them out!

I have always said i am not an eyeshadow kind of a girl………….I take that back!!! I am sooooooo an eyeshadow girl!!!

I browsed through the product list in awe of the beauty of each and every colour. I simply HAD to have the whole collection!!! Every colour is stunning and the pictures are so clear-xenia (the creator if the lime crime make up line) writes a cute little description/story for each colour. she is a beautiful fairy like character (and in my opinion, pretty much the coolest person on the planet!) she writes a blog which is very interesting, fun and inspiring.
www.doedeerblogazine.com << check it out!

Xenias blog and make up line have inspired me to embrace my individuality, and that if I really want something bad enough I have to make it happen.
I emailed her to ask if she would consider selling sample sizes (as $12 is quite pricey for an eyeshadow, and i think sample sizes or kits would fly off the shelves!) unfortunately she doesnt have plans to sell samples any time soon, but she kindly offered to send me some full size products for review! (so sweet!)

I also ordered alchemy glitter-my order and freebies arrived today with a hand written note from the lovely xenia herself! I got my alchemy glitter, empress, crystal ball and treasure chest. I can honestly say they are the most gorgeous eyeshadows i have ever seen! and the staying power is awsome i wore treasure chest and empress all day today and when i came home they looked exactly the same as when i applied them! i tried the alchemy and it was patchy and not very easy to apply then i dabbed my eye with glycerine (so the glitter would have something to stick to) and patte the alchemy on-gorgeous, it went on looking just like it does on the picture on their site, i love it! I normally like the look of an eyeshadow then when i put it on i am so disappointed because it looks nothing like i hoped/expected it would. I had massivly high hopes for lime crime and they didnt disappoint!!!

So if you havent already i urge you to have a look at the website-yes $12 is not cheap but they are so worth it, a little goes a long way and they are just so so pretty!!! I am making it my mission to eventually have the whole collection (cant wait for christmas!)

I am sure i will be a lime criminal and a deerling for a long time to come!
www.limecrimemakeup.com

It was quite hard to get pictures that accurately show the great effect these eyeshadows have, they look good in the pics but are amazing in real life!!

I am always temped by the MAC shop as I walk through Bath town centre, but as I am on a student budget it isn’t somewhere I frequent very often! So when I got money for my birthday I got very excited and decided that I was going to treat myself to some MAC products. I have to say that the girls working there are the friendliest and most helpful shop assistants I have ever come across, not only did they have to deal with me wanting to try all the products on but they also had my friend who needed a whole new set of makeup and look to go with her dress for the summer ball! So there I was like a kid in a sweet shop and somehow I managed to think rationally about the products that I needed. I decided that I always need lip gloss, foundation and mascaras so they would be at the top of my shopping list that day.

MAC Lipglass comes in a wide variety of shades to cater for all skin tones; if you can’t find a shade to suit you here I doubt that you ever will! Playing it safe I decided to go with original which is clear as I thought that it goes with everything and seen as I like to wear dark eye makeup it wouldn’t make me look too over done. The lipglass cost £14, which is more than you would expect to pay for a main stream brand such as Maybelline or Rimmel, but for a MAC product this price is average. MAC describe this as “lipcolour that dazzles with light and shine to bring an exciting dimensional pop to your lips. Large particle pearls reflect and refract light to mimic the brilliance of quartz and opal crystal. Provides exceptional shine with a crystalline iridescence. Non-sticky, non-tacky, lightweight and moisturizing. Glides on. Wear alone, or layer over lipstick or Lipglass for dramatic effect.”

The first thing I noticed about this lipgloss was the vanilla smell which is apparently a trademark of MAC glosses. The gloss went on really smoothly and as MAC states it didn’t feel sticky at all. I wouldn’t say that my lips had a “dimensional pop” going on, however they really did stand out as they were so shiny. I tried it both on its own and over my favourite lipstick and both looks were gorgeous, however the brush was then covered in lipstick which doesn’t look very nice but didn’t noticeably alter the appearance of the lipglass when put on bare lips. The staying power of this was quite amazing too, after an hour my lips looked just as glossy as when I first applied. As for being moisturising, this lipgloss moisturised my lips to an extent, but if I had seriously dry and chapped lips I would opt for a lipbalm or lipgloss instead.

Pros: Very glossy and shiny, looks great and has great staying power

Cons: The price?

I was first introduced to Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation when I met up with my friend that I hadn’t seen in a while and noticed her totally flawless complexion. She usually has a lot of freckles but even these had disappeared, yet it looked totally natural. When she told me what it was called, I remembered the advertising campaign for it, which it describes this as a new, revolutionary air whipped mousse foundation that offers an airbrushed, matte finish. So the next day I popped to my local Superdrug and picked up a pot of this for £6.99 (for 18ml), which is an average price for foundations from Maybelline. The Dream Matte Mousse comes in 13 shades that cater for all skin tones, and using the testers available I deduced that cameo was the colour that suited me best. This was slightly surprising as the other Maybelline foundation I use (Dream Satin Liquid), best matches my skin tone in ivory. If there hadn’t of been testers available then I would have been inclined to buy it in the same shade, which wouldn’t have suited me. The foundation comes in a glass jar with a plastic lid, which differed in colour depending on the shade of the foundation chosen. Maybelline describe this as “the UK’s No.1 Foundation with an air-whipped formula provides an air-soft, matte perfect finish that has a lightweight feel. It blends effortlessly for a natural-looking, even result. Includes innovative technology with flexible, silicone polymers help to prevent caking.”

The first thing I noticed when I opened the jar was how much it reminded me of chocolate mousse, not in colour but in consistency. But I also noticed just how little there was in the pot compared to how much I normally get for pretty much the same price. It would seem that the easiest and best way of applying this foundation if with your fingers, with Maybelline suggesting that you concentrate on the centre of your face and work the product outwards. I only used a little bit of foundation on my finger tips and I ended up looking rather caked, something that Maybelline said that this foundation wouldn’t do. Also although it looked great on my friend, this foundation didn’t look too nice on me. I looked like I was wearing foundation, which might sound strange, but no girl wants it to be obvious that they are wearing makeup and I generally like to go for a natural makeup look. On dry patches of skin the foundation tended to be quite flaky, which drew attention instead of disguising it. This foundation didn’t provide very good coverage for my dark circles or blemishes, which surprised me seen as it had manage to disguise my friend’s freckles.

All I can really say is you need to try this foundation out for yourself because I thought that it looked great on my friend, but it really didn’t suit me at all.

Pros: Looks great on some people.

Cons: Really didn’t work for me, looked horrid on dry patches and it didn’t live up to its claims of no caking.