The New Thing - Nivea In Shower Moisturiser

My shower products are getting a bit of a mash up at the moment, I'm not buying any more, just working through my stash so that I don't have two boxes of shower gel when I move. Deep in my stash I found Nivea's In Shower Skin Conditioner for dry skin, which I picked up after a sample left me a little confused as to how I felt about it. Of course, I bought it, then promptly forgot about it, what with starting a new job, going on holiday, and making countless trips between London and Bournemouth.

So I stuck this in my shower at the beginning of a new week, determined to give it a run for its money, and work out whether I actually liked it or not.

I picked up the formula for dry skin, since I felt like it would do more for me. The concept's pretty straightforward, stand out from the direct spray of the shower, slather this all over your body, I like to leave it for a minute or two, usually whilst I'm leaving my conditioner in, and then rinse off. A word of warning, make sure you rinse the bottom of your shower out well after use, or you'll go flying, it leaves a real slimy residue.

So does it work? In essence yes, but it's never going to be a replacement for moisturiser. I would use this in the mornings, when I don't have time to moisturiser, and hang about waiting for it to sink in, and save my full on moisturising for before bed.. It's not as hydrating as a moisturiser, but it's a decent enough stop gap, and you can feel the difference in your skin once you're out of the shower. I can't see this bottle lasting long though, I've used it once a day for a week and a half and I'm already half way through. It's pretty cheap though, I picked this up for £2.50, so it's not going to break the bank to replace. There is a size bigger than this too, which is around £4.00, if you know you'll use this daily.

The New Thing - Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Paint

 005 Golden Bronze and 006 Rich Russet

"Long Wear Liquid Eye Shadow. Lasts All Day"

Rimmel are just bringing it at the moment. I honestly don't think that there's another brand, particularly drugstore, that is having so many successful releases at the moment. These bad boys are an extension of the Scandaleyes group. We've got eye liners and shadow sticks, and now, the longest wearing liquid eye product I've ever used in my life.

Now, the colour selection is a little iffy, good if you like brights, but not really any true neutral shades for day wear. These two are my favourite, Golden Bronze, which looks beautiful across the lid with a deep sparkly brown (I love NARS Galapagos for this) blended into the outer corner for an easy smokey look, and Rich Russet, which can be smudged across the lid for a fool-proof smouldering look on its own. 

As far as formula gos, this is infallible. You have around thirty seconds after you've applied this to work with it before it sets, and then that's it, it's going nowhere. I've put this through the wringer, in the shower and bath and it hasn't budged, you need a good makeup remover to shift this. There's a lovely doe-foot applicator, but I've found the easiest way is to pop a bit on your fingers, smudge across the lid and blend out with a fluffy brush (the Real Techniques fluffy crease brush is perfect for this).

You guys know I love Rimmel, and this product is no exception. These are honestly the best eye product I've ever found in terms of wear, and I love these two colours! We just need a Bulletproof Beige equivalent in these! 

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Paint retails at £4.99 and released on July 10th.

Testing, Testing.

There are a few products that have made it into my regular rotation recently, that I'm not ready to offer a full opinion on yet, but that I wanted to mention, maybe give you some first impressions. Some of these are newish purchases, others have been found in my stash, or in my box of pr samples that haven't been tried yet.

Lee Stafford Hair Growth Conditioner: I love the Lee Stafford For Hair That Doesn't Grow Past A Certain Length mask, and I've been using it for ages. I ran out recently and needed to repurchase, and the Lee Stafford range was on buy one get one half price, so I decided to pick up the matching conditioner. I've used this twice, it's a nice conditioner, smells lovely, and is pretty thick, which I like in a conditioner. I'll reserve judgement on whether it makes your hair grow or not for a while though!

Vichy Purete Thermale Cleanser for Normal/Dry Skin: My skin has been a little less combination/oily than usual, and I was finding my Body Shop Seaweed Cleanser a little too stripping for my skins current condition. So I went on a search for something a little more hydrating to use. I picked up this Vichy number and so far have been loving it, it's hydrating and leaves my skin feeling soft and supple.

L'Oreal Elnett Satin Hairspray: A lot of people rave about this hairspray, but I had never tried it. I picked this mini up to keep in my handbag on my work lunchbreak when my hair kept falling all over my face, and it stopped that, without making my hair too crispy.

Toni & Guy Cleanse Dry Shampoo*: I really love my V05 Give Me Texture spray for volumising my locks, but I'm still searching for a dry shampoo that gives my hair an extra day's wear, without leaving a grey powdery residue in my hair. So far, so good.

No 7 Beautiful Skin Melting Gel Cleanser: I've wanted to try this forever, so when I found a No 7 voucher floating around in my purse, I decided to pick it up. I really like using this in the shower, it's great at taking off makeup, even stubborn waterproof mascara, but I do like to follow up with the Vichy cleanser, just because it can leave a residue. 

Lush Fair Trade Foot Lotion: Wearing heels for nine hours a day at work without sitting down is ruining my feet. I've been through the last of my Body Shop Peppermint foot lotion, and although I liked it, I just found it a bit...meh. A few people recommended me this on twitter, it's the same price but actually a lot bigger. It smells and feels the same on application, but I actually find that my feet feel moisturised for much longer. 

Nivea In Shower Body Moisturiser: I picked this up after a sample left me feeling still quite undecided. This is never going to replace moisturiser, but it's nice in the mornings when you want a little moisture in your skin, but don't have time to hang around waiting for moisturiser to sink in.

Also in the testing rounds at the moment is the Lush Shampoo Bar New, which has a pretty overwhelming cinnamon scent, but is supposed to help your hair grow, so could just be worth it. I'm also trying out the new YSL Youth Forever Light Radiance Serum, which I am absolutely in love with, so expect some more info on that very soon! 

Have you tried any of these products?

*PR sample

Urban Decay Smoked Palette

 Since starting my new job, I've been trying to get out of the makeup rut that I've been stuck in for a while. I'm trying to say no to neutral eyeshadows, full coverage bases and 'your lips but better' lip colours. I was trying to think about the products I used the most, and amongst them, my Naked 2 palette stood out. I really love my Naked 2 palette, I get so much use out of it, the colours are so wearable, and the formula is out of this world. Urban Decay eyeshadows really are the most pigmented, and buttery shadows that I've ever used. NARS are a close second, but Urban Decay are cheaper and nicer.

So despite the fact I've been avoiding the shops and sales like mad (once I start spending I am incapable of stopping) I decided to pop by my local Urban Decay counter for a little peek. 

Now, my one bug bear with the Naked 2 palette is the packaging, I find it doesn't always stay shut in my bag, and some of the individual shadows are slipping out of the pan, so whilst I considered the build your own palettes, the packaging is pretty similar. I very nearly was taken in by the Dangerous Palette, but all the colours are dark, so you'd still need another palette for lighter colours. Plus it comes with the same mini lip gloss that came with the Naked 2 palette, and whilst I like that, I do already have that.

I then stumbled upon the Smoked Palette. It's got four shadows more than the Dangerous Palette, a 27/7 glide on eyeliner in black, which I've wanted forever, and a sample size of the Primer Potion, which again I've been desperate to try. It's in a zip up palette, so no falling open here.

 Kinky, Freestyle Mushroom, Backdoor, Blackout

 Barlust, Rockstar, Evidence, Loaded, Asphalt

 Kinky: is a light, neutral matte shade, that looks great across the lid, or as a highlight colour.
Freestyle: is a more pinky toned version of Kinky. A great base colour.
Mushroom: a grey taupey shimmer. I literally love this colour.
Backdoor: a dark matte brown. Works as an eyebrow shade for me (handy for traveling) but also a great crease or liner shade.
Blackout: this colour is actually in my Naked 2 palette, but I use it loads, it's the darkest matte black, that is a great defining colour, but you can blend it out too, to a dark grey.
Barlust: is a dark metallic brown, which is slightly golden toned. Gorgeous.
Rockstar: I'm so excited about this colour. It's a gorgeous jewel toned deep amethyst, with a silver shimmer.
Evidence: an intense blue shimmer.
Loaded: a beautiful emerald green shimmer.
Asphalt: a dark grey shimmer that looks beautiful as a defining colour paired with Mushroom.

I've been wanting to try the 24/7 liner in Perversion for forever, and it's fourteen pounds on it's own so what a bargain. This is a darkest matte black, the pencil is crazy soft, but once the colour sets, it's going nowhere. 

As an added bonus, this set contains a mini Primer Potion which I have yet to try, but also comes with a little book with suggested looks to try, an illustration and step by step guide, which is great if you don't know where to start. 

And the best part? It was in the sale for £29, only £4 more than the Dangerous Palette.

So there we go, my latest palette obsession. What do you think of Urban Decay eyeshadows?

June Favourites

Another month has been and gone and here we are on the first day of July. I can only hope the weather this month will be an improvement on the the dark skies and humidity of June, that have been sending my hair crazy.

It was really hard to pick my favourites for the month of June, I had a week of using some products back home, then I spent a week on holiday, and two weeks in London, so there are very few products that I have been consistently using throughout the month. However, the ones I have been using however, are good 'uns, so here we are.

No 7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream for Normal/Dry Skin: I started using this on my holiday, as I fancied a lighter base, with good SPF protection, and it's not really orange on my fair skin. I really like this, I expected that it would be okay, but didn't think I'd continue to use this once I got home. It's a gorgeous product, and if you're in the market for a lighter base, that suits pale skin, this is the one!

Tresemme Platinum Strength Hair Mask: I'm still not convinced on the effectiveness of this, as a repairing hair mask, but I've been really loving this instead of a conditioner, it's just a little thicker than your average conditioner.

Rimmel 60 Second Polish in Rose Libertine: This has become a bit of a cult blogger polish, but I absolutely love it. I'm not a big fan of pink polishes, but I love this. It's a beautiful dusky pink, with a good wear, it lasts about a week and a glossy finish. It's been on my fingers and toes for the most of the month.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer: I've had this for a long time now, but for the last two months, I've been using this every single day as my under eye concealer, on top of Illamasqua's pinky white under eye concealer, which acts as a corrector. It's the only combo that works on my giant under eye bags.

Lush Ocean Salt Face Scrub: I picked this up after Lush discontinued my all time favourite Let The Good Times Roll Scrub. It's really different, it's a cream with big chunks of salt in, that gently exfoliates your skin but whilst giving it a boost of moisture. It's a hard product to describe, so I'd recommend picking up a sample and trying it out!

Caudalie Beauty Elixir: My love for this has been reunited, after it got me onto my plane, since I'm mad scared of flying. The essential oils really calmed me down. I then used this as a toner for my holiday, and have carried on using it since. I only normally use this sporadically, as it's so expensive, but I figured, what's the point in buying these things if you don't use them? Anyway, my skin has cleared right up since using this!

Shu Uemera Lash Curlers: I used to own these a long time ago, and when I lost them, I just replaced them with cheap ones, which never really did much. Well anyway, I replaced these at the beginning of the month, and remembered just how good they are. They really are the only lash curlers that work, and they make my crappy lashes look incredible.

L'Oreal Glamshine Splash Stains in Lolita and Romy: I picked these up for my holiday and haven't stopped using them since. They're a great alternative to lipstick, and also a pretty decent dupe for the YSL Glossy Stains, although the colour range is massively different.

Montagne Jeuness Buriti Fruit Body Smoothie*: I saved the best til last. The best body moisturiser I've ever used, hands down. Lighter than any other moisturiser, and a yummy fruity fragrance. I'll be repurchasing this for sure.

So those are my favourites! What are yours?