Nivea 5 in 1 BB Cream Review

Hi Pretties

Today I have a review for you on the new Nivea 5 in 1 BB Cream Review.  This product is due to hit the shelves in Australia in February 2013 and I was lucky enough to be sent this product for review by my favourite website BeautyHeaven.com.au.

Firstly, of all the Western BB Creams I have tried this would have to be my favourite. And I have tried a few. This still does not compare to the Asian BB Creams, but if you are looking for a tinted moisturiser this would be my pick of the Western BB Cream bunch.

The packaging is nice and 'Nivea simple' with a sleek tube with an easy open and close lid and simple text. The scent however faintly resembles a sunscreen and does not remind me of a Nivea scent at all. I would not say the smell particularly bothers me though.

I applied this after toner as directed, without first using a moisturiser and while the moisturising properties were ok, if you have dry skin I would recommend a moisturiser first. The instructions say to rub in circular motions into the skin which I did, but I did find it a little difficult to blend as the product is quite thick.

This gave me a very light coverage that you could build upon, however I chose not to do this due to the horrendus colour match.

Like most 'light' products, this was way to dark and orange for my fair skin and gave me a somewhat ruddy complexion. However, as previously mentioned this one takes the cake in terms of Western BB Creams, including colour match. It's probably the closest I will get to matching me.

The finish was a rather matte finish which I love, and with a dusting of powder kept me shine free for approximately 5 hours. While this is not bad, I need my base to hold up during a 9 hour work day. A quick blot had me basically shine free again, but I feel the colour oxidised more as the day went on and I started to look more and more orange in the face.

If Nivea could get a decent colour match for the pale people I would probably purchase this product as there was enough light coverage for my skin, it kept my combination skin hydrated enough and the price is not to bad at all.

Loreal Revitalift BB Cream

Hey Pretties

Today I have a review for you on the Loreal Paris Revitalift 10 Total Repair BB Cream.

I was sent this to trial by Beauty Heaven as part of the video trial team in the colours light and medium.

I gave the light one a go as I am quite fair and am well aware that medium would be way to dark for me.

The packaging of this is a brick red and to be honest I feel it sort of screams 'we're aged at mature skin' rather than marketing to a wider audience.  The bottle itself I have no issues with (bar colour), it is light weight with a  nice big cap so it is easy for travelling.


Before and After

On my face in the before picture is just a little Loreal Luminosity Serum and some residual eye make up (just so I don't look completely scary!) and after is with the BB cream applied using my fingers.  I attempted to use a foundation brush but all I got was a streaky application.  This clung to areas on my cheeks and required some force to rub in.  It then started to pill :-/

I feel my complexion look rather ruddy in the after photo and this has not done a great deal for my skin except make me look orangy/ruddy/shiny AND you can still see redness on my cheeks and minor sun spots and blemishes.  Not exactly what I want.

The price tag of this product is around $35 and I feel this is way over the top.  I would not pay that for it.

Let me know if you have tried this product and what you thought of it!

Sleek i-Divine Oh So Special Palette

Hey Pretties

My Sleek order came today yea!

I ordered back on the 10th the Sleek i-Divine Oh So Special Palette from sleekmakeup.com and it arrived today :)

I purchased this palette for $9.99 with $2.77 postage.  Super cheap right!  A great price for 12 eye shadows.

There are several different palettes in the i-Divine series but this is the one that caught my eye and demanded I buy it and give it a new home in my collection.  This palette contains a mix of matte and shimmer shadows, perfect for creating loads of different looks.

I love how the palette comes with an overlay so you can see the shadow names.  It also comes with a double ended sponge tip applicator and a weighty mirror.  The mirror is huge!

I'm really looking forward to giving this palette a whirl and I think it will be great for spring!

So tell me, have any Sleek palettes demand you purchase them? 

Avene Gentle Eye Makeup Remover

Hey pretties

I'm just full of empty product reviews at the moment!  I've finished off yet another Bellabox/LustHaveIt sample and this time it is the Avene Gentle Eye Makeup Remover.

I actually really disliked this product when I first tried it as the consistency is really strange.  It is quite gel like and it really put me off at first.  I have really grown to like this product though as it does a great job at removing eye makeup.  I tend to judge my eye makeup removers by whether or not they will remove Essence Gel Liner and this actually managed to do this.

It is very gentle and doesn't sting the eyes at all.  If I didn't have a spare of this product I would be purchasing this straight away.

A great product.

August 2012 Favourites

Hey Pretties

I wanted to share with you today my favourites for the month of August.  I'm super excited to say goodbye to August as we also get to say goodbye to winter here in the Southern Hemisphere and hello to spring so I could not be happier!

As always I like to keep my favourites to just 5 to stop me from rambling and rambling and if there are any questions on specific products I can do a whole review.

Firstly I could not decide which blush was my favourite this month so I decided to include the two I have been using the most.

The first blush is 'Primrose' by Face Of Australia which is a medium dusty pink colour and the second is Fleur Power by Mac.  A stunning pinky/coral colour.

Next is my Inglot colour palette that I recently added to when I went to Chatswood.  I have particularly been loving the top three shades together as a warmer weather combo.

Next is my Revlon lip butter in Peach Parfait.  When I first bought this lip butter I wasn't particularly fussed with it but this month I have been really enjoying a nude(ish) lip and this is the perfect colour for that.

Lastly is a product by Rimmel London and it is the Exaggerate eye liner in noir.  I have not been well this month as I keep getting the flu on and off so I've been trying to get as much sleep as possible.  Quickly taking this eyeliner across my top and bottom lash line with a neutral colour swept across the lid has been getting me ready for work and out the door really quickly.

So tell me, what are your August favourites?

August Lust Have It - Open Box

Hey Pretties!

My August Lust Have It arrived today and the theme of the month is Fun and Flirty.  Unlike normal months where Lust Have It arrives in a colourful makeup bag, this month came in a large box instead.  I don't mind the makeup bags but I do prefer the box.  I feel obliged to keep the makeup bags but I really don't need them.  For me, a box is a little more useful.

This box contained contained a whopping total of 7 items!  That's pretty huge!

From left to right, back to front this box contains;

Appelles Body Booster Skin Lotion
Appelles Skin Detox Shower Gel
TanGo Tanning Glove
ModelCo Eyeliner in Black
Tigi Rockaholic Rock Out Shine Blaster
Appelles Body Bar Vegetable Soap
Mark Jacobs DOT Fragrance

I have mixed emotions about some of the products in this box.  The Tanning Glove has got me beat.  For one, it is not a glove but rather a strip of material quite similar to a face washer.  The $29.95 RRP on this stuns me and as I don't really self tan this product is not very useful for that purpose.  I do think it will make a nice face washer though.

ModelCo is a brand that confuses me also.  While I'm the first person to put my hand up and say "I love makeup items" I have never purchased a ModelCo eyeliner yet this is now the 4th one in my drawer.  They come in everything!  At least they are decent :)

The Appelles Body Bar Vegetable Soap is marketed at being 'unisex'.  Huh??  Since when are soaps discriminatory?

I guess my confusion is not with Lust Have It but the companies supplying the products and their interesting marketing tactics and the naming of their products.  A glove with no finger holes, a brand that I have quite a collection of that I have never purchased and unisex soap.  Gets me giggly lol.

Anyways back to LustHaveIt I am quite fond of this box and look forward to trying the products (however strange the marketing ploys may be).  Oh, and I LOVE the smell of the Tigi product.  Smells like lollies.

What was in your LustHaveIt?

Empty Product Review - Essence Mascara

Hello lovelies

Today's empty product review is on the Essence Get Big Lashes Volume Boost Mascara.  I picked this up from Target for only $4.50 for the $20 makeup challenge (that I never filmed) and I freaking loved it!  For about a month.....

I think this mascara is fantastic if you love bold big lashes.  The brush is quite large and fibrous and distributes a great amount of product.  For about a month......

I normally will use a mascara for 8 weeks before I throw it out but this one I could only keep for 4 weeks. While the formula was perfect to start with and had no flakes or anything after a couple of weeks I noticed that by the end of the day it was starting to flake and the texture had changed quite a bit.  It also developed an awful smell.

Would this stop me repurchasing?  No, probably not.  I really enjoyed this for 4 weeks and for the price of it I can justify only having if for that long.  I would normally spend $10-20 on a mascara anyway so it does work out to be the same price.

Empty Product Review - TN Dickson's Witch Hazel Toner

Hi Pretties

I have an empty product review for you today.

This is the T.N. Dickson's All Natural Witch Hazel.  This is a HG product for me.  I could not even tell you how many bottles of this I have gone through but I have been using this for at least the last 8 years.  My step-mother got me onto this and I can't thank her enough.  It only costs around $8.50 as well so it is quite affordable but you can normally find it on special for around $6 as somewhere.  This can be a little hard to find sometimes, but it is available at most of the major stores but it is the only  T.N. Dickson's product available in Australia so it can be hidden well at times.

I love this product because it has one ingredient.  100% Distilled Witch Hazel containing 14% Alcohol.  No, the alcohol is not drying.

This has got to be the gentlest product I have ever put on my face as well.  There is no stinging around the eyes at all and it even removes excess make up you may have missed.

I rate this product 11/10 and will purchase as long as I can find it.

Crappy Product Review - Redwin Coal Tar Fragrance Shampoo

Hi Pretties

I have a review for you to day that I was extremely disappointed in.  So disappointing in that I am throwing it in the bin.

This is the Redwin Sensitive Skin Coal Tar Fragrance Shampoo Dry Scalp Management for healthy hair and scalp.  Redwin says this does the following;

Removes flaking scalp
Soothes itchy scalp
Moisturizes dry scalp

I say it does this;

None of the above
Makes flakes worse
Dry's hair out
Smells bad

I'll start with why I purchased this.  I suffer from seasonal flakes so going into winter I get flaky and going into summer I get flaky.  It's not dandruff but dry scalp.  I normally use the Neutrogena Coal Tar shampoo which I love, but it costs $12 so when I saw this one for only $4.50 I just had to give it a go.  I was in a hurry so I grabbed it and left the shop (I paid first of course).

After I used this the first time I was baffled as to why my hair was so dry and my flakes were worse.  And the itching!  I studied the bottle a little closer and realized this is not actually a coal tar shampoo but coal tar fragrance   Why first question was why the hell would they do that?  It's a crappy smell to start with.  The ingredients list is not even remotely similar to the Neutrogena Coal Tar shampoo either.  I guess that is my mistake though for not checking more carefully.

Anyway.  Boo to this product.  It's going in the bin!

Olay Pro X Advanced Cleansing System - Open Box/ First Impressions

Hi pretties

I wanted to share an open box/ first impressions product that I purchased off Amazon.com.

I was looking for a product similar to the Clarisonic Mia as $150 is way out of my budget for a product that I don't particularly need.  I do not have acne scaring, and I only suffer occasional hormonal breakouts so for me $150 is just too much for me to spend on a product I don't particularly need.

I started doing some research into similar products and dupes for the Clarisonic at a lower price and I came across a product I really wanted to give it a try.  This product does not work the same as the Clarisonic.  Where the Clarisonic vibrates back and forward this product rotates so it is quite different technology.

My parcel came from Amazon.com today that I ordered on 30 July 2012 so it only took a week to get here.  It was left by my front door out of the weather as no one was home.

This is what the open box looks like.  Nice and secure for international travel.

When I open up the first box this is what was inside (I have already inserted the batteries).  The package comes with the cleansing system, a brush head, 2 AA batteries and an exfoliating cleanser.  I also ordered 2 replacement brush heads at the same time.  The whole package plus shipping cost me $40.

The back of the system has two control buttons.  The top button switches it on and the second button changes the speed.  There are two speed settings.

I have not yet seen this product in Australia (have not been looking for it though either) so I ordered it Internationally.  The box says the unit has; two speeds, water resistant, replaceable soft bristle brush heads available, pro-x exfoliating renewal cleanser (sample), cleanses 6 times better than basic cleansing.

Overall I'm pleased with the product so far.  The bristles feel so gentle, the unit is quite sturdy and looks pretty simple.

I will give you an update in a few weeks with the results (if any) I am getting with this product!

Caitlin xoxo

July is over....

Hi pretties!

July is over so I have a couple of videos for you :)

Favourites

Done and Dusted

Stay tuned for more exciting stuff coming up in August :)

Empty product review - Smartskin Moisturising facial cleansing wipes

The hunt continues for the perfect facial cleansing wipe.  This is not it!

The Smartskin wipes are the Woolworths branded wipes and cost only a couple of dollars.

The pros- cheap, do the job

The cons - wipe is too thin, not particularly moisturising, sting the eye area.

I think that about sums it up.  I won't be repurchasing these.

Empty Product Review - Bobbi Brown Mascara

This is an empty product review for the Bobbi Brown Lash Glamour Extreme Lengthening Mascara that came in a May's Bellabox.

This was a really nice product to receive in a Bellabox and a really nice size.

This mascara is nice and black and does indeed lengthen quite nicely.  The only thing I didn't really like about this mascara is that it kind of gave me spider lashes.  While it lengthened, it did nothing for volume or texture.  It also seemed to dry out pretty quickly.

A nice mascara but I won't be purchasing for full price.

Empty Product Review - Batiste Dry Shampoo

Hi Pretties

You know you like a product when you repurchase it.  Again and again.

This is how I feel about the Batiste dry shampoo.  I've just finished my third can of this stuff and if I didn't have a travel sized one I had received in my June LustHaveIt I would be rushing out to buy another.  

There are about 5 or 6 in the Batiste range offering different smells including a brunette variety (I'm brunette and find the normal ones work fine though without leaving a gray cast) and I enjoy the smell of them all.  I find the 'Fresh' is my favourite.  

This dry shampoo is great for oily roots and building volume in hair.  I use it on my 2nd and 3rd day hair at the roots and you can't even tell how greasy my hair is getting or how flat it is.  It is also great to fluff out your hair a bit and an alternative to damaging teasing.

The RRP on these is about $9.95 but you can normally pick them up for $6 or $7 on sale at Priceline or similar places if you keep your eyes open.

I think this is great for the price as it lasts me about 4 or 5 months even with very regular use.  A 5 star product.

Empty Product Review - Ophelia Makeup Rounds

Hi Pretties

Today I have an empty product review for you.  I did a post a couple of weeks ago raving about the Target make up remover pads and how much I loved them but I ran out one day and could not make it to Target so I picked up some of the Ophelia makeup rounds from Aldi.  

I am an Aldi lover.  I think most of their products are excellent for the price and I really liked these as well.  I believe they were around $1.80, I can't quite remember but I think these are even closer to the Swissppers than the Target Pads.  There was no loose cotton to get stuck on your face, one side is ribbed and there are 80 in a pack.

A great buy.

Have you tried the Ophelia Makeup rounds?

Road Tested - 1000 hour eyelash and eyebrow kit

Hi Pretties

I have a constant dilemma.  I dye my hair darker and usually pick up the colour when I see it on special but tend to have to wait to apply it until I can get into the beautician to get my eyebrows tinted as I just look silly with much lighter eyebrows and darker hair.

I finally decided that it was time to buy my own brow tinting kit so I could colour my hair when it needed it, and spend $15 on a packet that will give me 12 applications rather than paying $15 a pop at the salon.

I picked up kit in Dark Brown which looks like this.  It states each application lasts up to 6 weeks and is waterproof and smudge proof.  To be honest it would be a little silly if it was not waterproof and smudge proof being that it is a dye on your face.

When you open up the kit is looks like this.  The packaging is wonderful as it converts into a mixing bowl and applicator.  

The instructions are quite long winded, but for eyebrows you mix together a 2.5cm piece of the product in the tube with 10 drops of the developer into the little bowl and mix with the applicator.  I had a read of Ms-Jelena's blog who suggested that for eyebrows you only need half this amount.  I gave that ago and still had a lot of product left over.  Mixing was a little hard but after about a minute I got a smooth consistency.  It was very easy to apply with the applicator and I left for the recommended time of 6 minutes and wiped off with a cotton pad quite easily.

Voila, my eyebrows are darker and match my freshly dyed hair and there is no residue on my skin.

The best thing of all, I just ran the little bowl and applicator under cold water and it came up spotless.  Perfect for easy storage.

Project X Pan - I've finished!

Hi Pretties

I have some exciting news....Project X Pan is finished!

When I embarked on this crazy adventure in Mid May my pile of products I wanted to finish off look like this;

I quickly started using up some of the products that didn't have much left in them while others have taken longer.

My finale picture looks like this;

As you can see, I finished off quite a few products that were not part of Project X Pan.  18 items in total have been emptied over the past 6 weeks.

This is my full list;

Skin items chosen

Nutrimetics Clear Deep Cleansing Exfoliant - 1/8 remaining

Palmers Line Smoothing Eye Cream - 1/8 remaining

Bellamer Eye Balm Sample - 1/2 remaining

Bioderma Make Up Remover - 7/8 remaining

Hair items chosen

Chi Silk Infusion - 1/4 remaining

Make up items chosen

Maybelline Mineral Powder Foundation - 1/4 remaining

Benefit Hello Flawless Foundation Sample - 7/8 remaining

Loreal Matte Morphose Foundation - Scrapings really

Perfume

Calvin Klein Sheer Beauty Sample - 1/2 remaining

DKNY Pure Sample - 1/8 remaining

Extras

Lush Angels on Bare Skin

Dove Moisturiser

Sally Hanson Salon Effects

Face Of Australia nail polish remover

Swisspers facial cleansing wipes

Priceline facial cleansing wipes

Emergin C capsules

Savvy By DB black eyeliner

Target Cosmetic Pads

Blistex lip balm

As you may notice, two of the items from the original list are not pictured.  

The Chi Silk Infusion still contains a 1/4 of product.  It is not because I'm not using it, it is because you only need a tiny amount in your hair.  I do really like this product so I'm not too sad it is not ended.  In fact I would rather keep it than try and rush through it.

The second item is the Benefit Hello Flawless foundation sample.  I'm throwing this out.  No matter how hard I try, orange is not my colour and I'd rather 'fail' Project X Pan than look like an Oompa Loompa.  Such is life.

My final thoughts on Project X Pan

Project X Pan was a great experience.  It was nice to re shop some old items in my collection and use up some old products.  If your a big spender on beauty items this may be a great project for you to take up.  The only thing I will do next time is not make a specific list but say that I can't buy any more products until I have finished up 10 items or so.

Congrats to me!  Haul time!

Project X Pan - 11, 12 and 13

Hi Pretties

Today was a big day for Project X Pan.  I finished my 11th, 12th and 13th items.  I am officially finished!

Firstly this morning I finished off a foundation that I had decided it was time to say goodbye to.  I have had this for about 18 months and I periodically re-visit it.  I forgot how much I actually liked it.  It is a shame that Maybelline discontinued it.  This seems to be a frequent problem for me with awesome foundations.

While this bottle is only small, I kept thinking that I would only get one or two more uses out of it when in fact I got several weeks.

I will miss this foundation.

Next I finished off my last use of this Bellamer eye balm sample that I got in a Bellabox.  When I'm feeling rich I will purchase a full sized product as it is $40.

You apply to the area around your eye for 15 minutes and then wipe away the excess product.  I found that 15 minutes was slightly too long to leave this on as it gave me tiny pimples around eyes but leaving for 8 minutes seemed to have the same results without the pimples.  I feels as though I can actually see my eyes looking more awake, smooth and pretty when I use this.

Lastly I finished off a lip balm by Blistex.  It is the Complete Moisture and contains SPF 15 (yea!).

This is a nice lip balm, but I will be going back to my trusted Nivea.  I did buy a two pack of the Blistex on super special though!




My list currently stands as follows;

Skin items chosen

Nutrimetics Clear Deep Cleansing Exfoliant - 1/8 remaining

Palmers Line Smoothing Eye Cream - 1/8 remaining

Bioderma Make up remover - 7/8 remaining

Bellamer Eye Balm Sample - 1/2 remaining

Hair items chosen

Chi Silk Infusion - 1/4 remaining

Make up items chosen

Maybelline Mineral Powder Foundation - 1/4 remaining

Benefit Hello Flawless Foundation Sample - 7/8 remaining

Loreal Matte Morphose Foundation - Scrapings really

Perfume

Calvin Klein Sheer Beauty Sample - 1/2 remaining

DKNY Pure Sample - 1/8 remaining

Extras

Dove Visable Beauty Moisturizer

Savvy by DB Mechanical Eye Pencil

Priceline Makeup remover wipes

Stay tuned for my final Project X Pan post!

Empty product review - Swisspers Spa Cleansing Wipes

Hi Pretties

I have another empty product review for you.  I am just ripping through products at the moment which is fun because it means I get to try new things, but it is also rather expensive!  Lucky I'm a bargain hunter and a bit of a hoarder so I stock up on things when I see them cheap.  Like these Swisspers Spa facial cleansing wipes with white tea extract.  I picked these and a few other packs of various types facial wipes up at Woolworths when they had a big sale so I got these for around $3.  I believe normal RRP is around $6.

This pack comes with 25 wipes and has a lovely smell to them.  I'm generally a fan of anything in green packaging for some reason and these were no exception.  The wipes are nice and large, not as thick as others but definitely still thick enough.  These do a nice job of removing all the make up from your face, including the eye area but I think if you have particularly sensitive eyes I would avoid this area.  My skin is pretty tough and I found they stung a little around the eyes.

I would repurchase these again at full price, but perhaps try another type in the Swisspers Spa range to see if there is one that is a little gentler on the eyes.  The hunt continues for the perfect facial wipe!

Do you have a go to facial wipe?

Project X Pan - 9 & 10 down! But am I finished?

Hi Pretties

Well it has happened.  I've used up over 10 items for Project X Pan.  But they were not all on my list!  In the last couple of days I have finished off my 9th and 10th item.  I have finished off a couple more products lately but they are not really note worthy.  When I call it quits on PXP I'll give you a full list of the products I have finished up.

The first product I finished up was in fact on my list and it is the Palmers Cocoa Butter Line Smoothing Eye Cream.  I really do like this product and will definitely be repurchasing in the future after I finish up some sample eye creams I have laying around to use up.

I use this night and day all over my eye and surrounds and it absorbs nicely into the skin.  Eye cream for me at this stage is more of a preventative measure so I can't really tell if it is doing too much.  Ask me in 10 years!

The next item I finished I am not so excited about.  I finished off my Lush Angels on Bare Skin cleanser!  Oh no!  This has holy grail status for and I am desperate to buy another tub.  I simply can't wait until PXP is done as my skin is starting to get dry and flaky from using a cleanser I have laying around.  Problem is there is only one Lush stand in my town and it is in a shopping centre that is always super busy and hard to find a park at.  I may have to make the trip tomorrow though and fight the hoards of people to get my precious, precious cleanser.


So my list now looks as follows;

Skin items chosen

Nutrimetics Clear Deep Cleansing Exfoliant - 1/8 remaining

Palmers Line Smoothing Eye Cream - 1/8 remaining

Bioderma Make up remover - 7/8 remaining

Bellamer Eye Balm Sample - 1/2 remaining

Hair items chosen

Chi Silk Infusion - 1/4 remaining

Make up items chosen

Maybelline Mineral Powder Foundation - 1/4 remaining

Benefit Hello Flawless Foundation Sample - 7/8 remaining

Loreal Matte Morphose Foundation - Scrapings really

Perfume

Calvin Klein Sheer Beauty Sample - 1/2 remaining

DKNY Pure Sample - 1/8 remaining

Extras

Dove Visable Beauty Moisturizer

Savvy by DB Mechanical Eye Pencil

Priceline Makeup remover wipes

So as you may notice there is another item crossed off that I am no longer using as part of PXP.  I've decided that even though I don't want to waste it, the Benefit Hello Flawless Foundation is never, ever going to be a good shade for me.  Especially now it is winter.  Orange is not my shade.  So I'm binning this item and calling it quits.

That leaves me two products left to use up.  The Bellamer eye sample which has around 2 uses left and the Maybelline Mineral Powder Foundation that just wont quit!  I'm guessing I have 2 weeks left to use it up?  Very exciting as I'm getting the Illamasqua foundation to use after!

What have you used up?