Reviewed: Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect Rotating Mascara

What they say

Innovative new mascara : The new auto rotating brush instantly and evenly wraps around each lash for a false lash volume effect in 30 seconds flat! The brush rotates 360° and coats lashes from root to tip with no overloading guaranteed. The rotating motion continuously deposits all mascara from the brush onto the lashes and evenly spreads just the right amount of formula onto the lash fringe effortlessly and in record time.

What I say

Packaging

Red and silver lettering on a black plastic tube....pretty unoffensive but nothing spectacularly eye-catching either. The tube is quite weighty due to the motor and battery in the lid - the lid section is also longer than the part that holds the mascara which somehow made me feel like I wasn't getting as much product....!?

A quick scan of Bourjois's mascara range for comparison shows you're getting less than with their Liner Effect & Volume Clubbing mascaras (11ml) and the Volume Glamour & Coup de Theatre ranges (a whopping 12ml) but more than The Volumizer (7ml) which happens to be one of my favourite mascaras so I shall stop mid-grumble and move on..

Product

Volume Fast & Perfect features a medium width, straight bristle brush. The formula is highly pigmented but a little on the dry side (probably to avoid blobs of mascara flying off the brush when you get the motor going!)

There is a switch on the tube which allows you to alternate the direction of the wand depending on which eye you're applying it to. For best results hold the brush at the base of your lashes allowing the rotating motion to sweep the product through to the tips - Bourjois claim it should take no more than 30 seconds to get perfectly volumised lashes and that you shouldn't need to go back for a second pump of product. I found it a bit odd to apply at first and every so slightly tickly but once you get the hang of it, its pretty easy. If this has worked you should be able to see a little video if the brush rotating below!!!

Results
Here's the photo evidence of one and two coats vs. bare lashes....



Bare lashes

The rotating brush applies the mascara really evenly and combs the product through leaving no clumps behind.

 

One coat

I did find the wand a bit tricky to use on lower lashes - as it rotated it tended to push them into my skin so quite a high risk of smudging if you're not careful.

 

Two coats

Length and volume were both reasonable but what really stood out for me was impressive amount of curl it gave to lashes as the following before/after pics show...

 

Bare lashes

Two coats

Price

Currently £7.99 in an introductory offer at Boots (normal RRP £11.99)

Would I repurchase?
Probably not - I think I was drawn in by the gadget/gimmick on this mascara - the results are pretty good but not ground-breaking enough compared to Bourjois's Volmuizer to warrant a second purchase!

Would I recommend?
Gadget addicts like myself will probably have to try this mascara, it definitely adds bit of fun to the daily make up routine!

Until next time,
 

NOTD: OPI 'Don't Mess with OPI'

Just a quick post to show you this weekend's nails....OPI's Don't mess with OPI, a slightly muted grass green from their Spring 2011 Texas collection.

This polish has a cream finish...I found it to have a slightly thick formula so go for thinner coats if you can. This is 3 coats topped off with a generous layer of Seche Vite.

I picked it up off this ebay seller for £7.99 delivered (a fair bit cheaper than the likes of Beauty Bay, Look Fantastic etc). She also sells China Glaze, Zoya & Essie and whilst the range of shades isn't huge, the price coupled with amazing customer service (bought it Thursday night, arrived Saturday morning) means its well worth a look in case the shade you're lusting after is listed!

Until next time,

Giveaway goodies :)

As mentioned a few weeks ago I was the lucky winner of Sarah's 50 followers giveaway and wanted to share the lovely goodies I received from her starting with....

  

Perfect pink packaging.....



and a sweet note from Sarah....



On to the goodies......

From left to right:

Soap & Glory Mist You Madly  body spray (love love love this scent!)

MUA lipgloss in shade 05

Soap & Glory Hand Food hand cream

17 Crackle Top Coat nail polish

17 Lasting Fix nail polish in Woo Me

Accessorize eyeshadow in Golden Haze

Piz Buin  Summer Sensation gradual self-tan facial moisturising cream

Finally some swatches for your perusal....

A huge thank you to Sarah for all my fab prizes (and especially for giving me my first taste of MUA and Accessorize- I've never tried either brand before but v.v. impressed with both!)

Until next time,

Hauled: Perricone MD Facecare

So this is not a true haul post as these products were a surprise gift from my dear mummy. I was moaning about my skin whilst visiting her for mother's day and she's had some good results after using a couple of items from the range so thought I might too.

Perricone MD is one of those brands that's always been vaguely familiar but that I've never ever thought to try. It was founded by Dr. Nicholas Perricone - an American clinical/research dermatologist whose philosophy to skincare focuses on diet, 'nutriceutical' supplements and his own line of skin care products.

Here's the two products I received and the descriptions of what they're designed to do (borrowed straight from the Perricone MD site :)

Skin Clear Cleanser

"This deep-cleaning acne cleanser helps to clear troubled skin by reducing excess sebum and eliminating surface contaminations. Skin Clear Cleanser contains the anti-ageing ingredient DMAE, which helps to firm and tone skin. Green Tea Extract calms and clarifies while Allantoin helps encourage skin renewal". The cleanser costs £31 for 177ml.

Intensive Pore Minimiser

"This treatment is designed to effectively reduce the appearance of enlarged pores. It helps control and absorb excess oil, maintains skin elasticity and resilience and gently exfoliates to remove wax or dirt build-up that can clog and further stretch pores.  An advanced formula with universal appeal, it’s appropriate for most skin types: oily, extremely dry, or showing visible signs of aging.  The result is skin that appears firmer, less oily, less shiny and remains fresh and smooth throughout the day". The minimiser costs £45 for 116ml.

For more info visit the website here or Dr Perricone even has his own blog at http://www.dailyperricone.com/

Until next time,

Calling all Berkshire bloggers?

I was chatting with the lovely Leanne on twitter last night after she put a shout out for a possible bloggers meet-up in Reading for any girlies based there or nearby.

I've seen quite a few meet-ups being arranged in the past but never in this area so kind of assumed there werent' many bloggers round this way but thanks to Leanne's tweet we've realised there are at least 4 or 5 of us, including Brittany whose blog I've followed for aaaaaaaaaaages without realising we live in the same town (& probably haul from the same Boots!)

At the moment we haven't chosen a date (still trying to gauge interest and potential numbers) but will try and fix it after payday for as many people as possible! So if you're based in/near Reading (or willing to travel there) and interested in catching up with some fellow bloggers drop us a line by....

♥ Commenting on this post

♥ Dropping a tweet to me (@allthingsbandb), Leanne (@LeanneMariexo) or Brittany (@brittanylovexx)

Until next time,

Hauled (and swatched!): Elf Studio Concealer & Lip Balms

I'm a self-confessed new product tart so as soon as one pops up on my radar I just have to purchase. Hence this Elf haul containing a couple of the newest additions to their Studio line - the Complete Coverage Concealer compact and two of the Conditioning Lip Balms.

First up the concealer set which priced at £3.50 contains 4 shades of concealer designed to match your skin tone through all seasons of the year. The compact features the sleek black studio packaging and comes with a small brush which is actually quite good quality.

Slight downside on the packaging....when I opened it up there were some rather nasty spots of condensation on the middle two shades....

Sweaty concealer!

I'd say the concealer in this compact offers light to medium coverage but worth noting that the consistency is quite moisturising and possibly even a tad on the oily side so better suited to drier skins. I tried it on my face and it tended to slip off my t-zone but worked better under my eyes where the skin is less oily. On to the swatches....



Without flash

The compact is available in 3 colourways (light,medium and dark) I opted for medium and could easily use the 1st and 3rd shades through most of the year. The darker two shades could be useful on holiday when I'm quite tanned but my skin never gets that dark naturally in the British sunshine :) Probably worth mentioning that I swatched this on my uber-pale inner forearm hence why all shades actually look far too dark for me!

With flash

Next up is the Conditioning Lip Balms which are available in 6 shades and priced at £3.50 a pop. The chunky perspex packaging is really pretty although these pots are quite large (4.5 cms wide x 4.5 cms long x 3cms tall) so much bigger than your typical lip balm container. Elf refers to it as 'the ideal lip balm to carry with you, or take when you travel' but I'd argue that its quite space-consuming!

The texture of these balms are lovely - quite thick but not sticky on the lips - they definitely have more of a lipstick feel to them when applied and a creme finish (no shimmer or glitter here!) They have a gorgeous coconut scent too and the added bonus of factor 15 SPF. The two shades I opted for were Mellow Mellon and Nice and Natural.

Mellow Melon is a pinky coral and Nice & Natural is a true neutral nude. The color payoff is pretty good and gives a noticeable but sheer wash of colour.

So there you have it - a semi-successful Elf haul. I like the concealer shades but the formula sadly won't work for me (if there is any drier skinned gals out there who fancy trying this give me a shout as I'm happy to sell it on at a discount).The lip balms however are a win for me. I've been wearing Nice & Natural every day since I got it and am looking forward to giving Mellow Melon a whirl this weekend!

Until next time,

Swatched: OCC Lip Tar in Trick

This is one of those products that requires no formal introduction...OCC's lip tars are pretty infamous on the beauty blog circuit. I've been a bit reluctant to get involved before as a lot of the shades seemed to me to be quite blue toned which I can't easily wear. But I took the plunge and ordered up Trick which is described by OCC as a 'pale beige with subtle warm undertones'. I got it from Genie Cosmetics for £8.59 Lip Tars promised to deliver the lasting power of lipstick but with gloss-style application and as such are packaged in a dinky 8ml tube which looks like this.....

All lip tars are cruelty free, 100% vegan and free of parabens too. They are hugely pigmented which is meant to be particularly good against the harsh effects of digital photography and HD video...this is a just a light swatch on my hand and you can see how opaque it is.

I took the advice of previous reviewers and used a lip brush for even coverage and applied just the tiniest amount - you can always add more but too much will bleed and feather outside of your lip line. This is Trick on me....

....a pretty warm toned pale peach. I've only used it once so far but initial thoughts are that I love the colour and the pigmentation - I can already see that even such a small tube will last ages. On the downside application is fiddly and it did feel quite dry on my lips. I'm not sure if you can apply gloss or balm over the top as it might impact the longevity but I may give it a go!

Until next time,

Hauled: Givenchy & Eyeko!

I've almost completely hit pan on the coral shade from this YSL shadow duo and as replacement decided to go for Chic Coral from Givenchy's Le Prisme Yeux Mono eyeshadow range.

Like its YSL predecessor the packaging on this shadow is just amazing - I love the mirrored logo to the top and that the case has a magnetic rather than clasp closure - it closes with a luxuriously satisfying clunk!

The compact features a single colour shadow but with four different textures to allow you to create a multidimensional look with just one product - there's a matte shadow, two levels of pearl finish and a 'sequined' one (aka glittery-ish!)

I wasn't really able to capture the different textures in the picture but here's a shot anyway :) I haven't included any swatches either as it barely shows up on my hands which are slightly tanned from the recent sunshine!

The shadow costs £20 but I managed to get a couple of pounds off as part of Debenhams' Easter Extravaganza event.

Another recent purchase is Eyeko's Big Eyes Mascara. This is my first try of Eyeko products and I'm impressed so far (with the customer service & delivery anyway!)

I love the fact that this mascara comes in a squeezy tube - can imagine it makes it easier to get as much of the product out as possible. The brush is also a new venture for me as its so tiny...

....will let you know how I get on! The mascara was £8.95 from Eyeko's website (delivery is free!)

Until next time,

This week I've been...(Part 2)

Indulging in a Bank Holiday burger and chips

Sporting the Dotty P's dress I was lusting after in this post (it finally came back in stock online!)

Receiving a surprise parcel of Perricone MD facecare goodies from my lovely mummy

(proper post on them to follow!)

Eating Mr Whippy ice cream by the river

Swotting up on what there is to do in Barcelona

Eating Royal Wedding cupcakes baked by Andy's mum whilst staring in awe at Kate Middleton's gorgeous wedding dress!

Going out for a 10 mile bike ride (punctuated by pub stops of course!)

Until next time,