BLENDING SPONGES - REVIEW / COMPARISON

Just recently I have experimented with different methods of application for foundation,

I have tried several different sponges and I thought I'd share with you what I've learned so far.

At the point that I took these photos I had tried all of these sponges with the exception of the Real Techniques one. The first impressions of that sponge were really positive. Keep reading to see how i got on with each of these. 

1. This sponge cost me £1.50 and was purchased from Primark, it's quite hard and not very flexible. I feel that the best application with this sponge is through dabbing, if you try to sweep you do end up fairly streaky. This washes OK and as you can see hasn't really stained too badly.

2. The middle sponge is the 'Beauty Blender',this cost me £16 and it is a popular blogger and youtuber favourite. It can be purchased with free delivery on www.beautyblender.co.uk here along with a load of other interesting products.

3. This sponge was purchased from Dealz and retails for £1 in the UK, the shape is different from the other two and I must say this is more awkward to use because of this. In addition it is very stiff and not very flexible. Again, like the one from primark it does tend to only work when bouncing the foundation in rather than smoothing it onto the skin.

REAL TECHNIQUES MIRACLE COMPLEXION SPONGE

And for the piece de resistance, coming in at just £5.99 from boots, this is soft but not as soft as the beauty blender. For me this is just the right consistency, it doesn't suck up all of your foundation and it works with a variety of different textured foundations and concealers. I can achieve such a light layer of foundation with this, yet it still gives flawless and full coverage. This is by far the best value sponge I have tried and I use it everyday.  This washes really well and a couple of months in it still feels like new. I will definitely be repurchasing this sponge, whats more you can get it even better value, 2 sponges for £9.99 here

WHAT NEXT?

OK, so I am loving this sponge, but I am still open to trying others, see below images taken from the boots website.

The first one I would like to try because it is so refined in shape and looks like it would be great for getting under the eyes and getting into any awkward little places. 

The second one is another really interesting one, it's not a shape I have seen before in beauty blenders and for this reason alone I would like to see what it can do. I think this is perhaps just for fiddly areas as it's a little small for larger areas.

And the final one I would like to try is cheaper than the 'Beauty Blender', however it's by the brand Dior. So in the case of this sponge I would like to know if it's Dior quality or if it's just a cheap blending sponge with Dior branding. 

Have you tried any of these sponges? Let me know what you thought, also if there's any sponges I haven't mentioned let me know and I will give them a try!

Cookie x

DR PAW PAW TINTED PEACH PINK BALM REVIEW

For some time I have been interested in trying Dr.Paw Paw's multipurpose balm as I am a fan of products that do more than one thing. 

I have been using a similar product for the last 10 years, the product in question is Elizabeth Arden's 8 Hour Cream Skin Protectant which at £12.90 for 30ml is quite pricey. What I will say is that a little goes a long way and it's fantastic as so many different things from curing chapped lips and hands to taming unruly eyebrows and conditioning lashes. 

What I was looking for is something similar to the above but a cheaper alternative, perhaps something tinted as I do predominatly use the skin protectant on my lips. The most important thing I was looking for is something that smells better than the skin protectant as although it's a holy grail product for me I really dislike the strong herbal scent. 

I was kindly allowed to try the peach pink balm by Dr Paw Paw and I only had to pay for postage and packaging (£3.95), these retail at £6.95 for 25ml which is cheaper than the Elizabeth Arden Skin Protectant.

The order went through very quickly, I placed it on Thursday night and had the product at my door on Saturday morning in a lovely bubble envelope. I don't have anywhere local to me that sells this product so I will need to purchase this online. www.drpawpaw.com offers free delivery on orders over £20, Lookfantastic also stocks this product with free delivery (for any spend) here.

Dr Paw Paw launched their original balm in November 2013, at which point it was the first Paw Paw balm in the UK. The original balm has no colour and is purely a multi use balm. The following year the the same product was launched in 2 colours, peach pink and ultimate red. 

The above is the peach pink and I just love the colour and the formula. It's a little thicker than the Elizabeth Arden Skin Protectant but has a very similar feel. It creates a really good barrier and is intensly moisturising. It also thins a little when warmed with your fingertips and works really well as a light and natural cheek tint. 

I can only imagine that the original un-tinted variety of this would be perfect for many uses similar to the skin protectant, 

There is no scent to these products which is great because that is the main thing that erks me about the skin protectant, I can see this being the perfect substitute as it works really well on my dry lips and I love that little extra that it gives in the tint also. 

Why Paw Paw?

The main 2 ingredients that feature in Dr Paw Paw's products are 

Paw Paw - Papaya to you and me

This wonderful fruit is nutrient-rich and packed full of antioxidants and minerals. It also contains vitamin B. & C which help to provide anti-inflammatory properties and add moisture whilst promoting skin repair, .

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice 

Helps to retains and restore moisture to lips, skin and hair. Promotes skin regeneration. It also is said to help minimize appearance of pore size and is a fantastic ingredient for skin cleansing and toning.

So what now?

I'm really impressed with this product, I love the colour and the application. It lasts really well and does a great job of conditioning my lips whilst also giving a nice colour and gloss to them.

The packaging is really cute, and is more practical than the heavy glass jar that Elizabeth Arden's 8 Hour Skin Protectant. The tube is a great size to pop into most of my bags or even my coat pocket. 

I will definitely get this product again, it is nearly half the price of it's Elizabeth Arden counterpart and it smells better - Win!

Have you tried either of these products? What did you think? I know that the skin protectant is a beauty favourite of many, however I think this works as a great dupe. Let me know what you think.

Cookie x

*PR Sample

e.l.f. Studio Eye Primer & Liner Sealer - The Review

So far on my journey finding more affordable makeup I have found some great things, but also some not so great products too.

I have spent money on these things and yes they're cheap but sometimes it really is a case tha you get what you paid for and for this particular product that really rings true. 

As I am trying out a lot of products I think it's only fair that I share my experiences with you, and you can then make your own decisions as to whether you will make a purchase. The below comments are just my personal experience and I am sure there are some out there that have had success with these products. 

The first product in my series of flops is the e.l.f Studio Eye Primer & Liner Sealer

I got this product because all of the cream eye primers at e.l.f were sold out, and not I can see why.

For your £4.50 you get 2 products, a primer and an eyeliner sealer, this seems like really good value, and it would be if I hadn't already given up on this. 

So first of all I will talk about the primer and the whole reason that I bought this product. This is essentially a stick concealer, its very thick and doesn't glide onto the skin very nicely. I also found that it created little clumps and I would say this did't help with the application of eye shadow at all.

So as the primer is disappointing perhaps the other end of this stick will perform better? Nope, this is sold as a liner sealer. I tried this, I spent a long time applying my liner then started to apply this. Surprisingly it removed my liner, so I thought perhaps I hadn't let it dry long enough. So I left the liner dry for a decent length of time and tried again, still it removed the liner rather than sealing it in.

I have really been impressed with the e.l.f brand so far, but this has got to be the exception and I can' help but feel frustration about this product which is a completely pointless product which in my experience did the opposite of what it's supposed to do.

Coming soon.. I have been trying a lot of different cleansers and toners so I will be doing a feature on my experience with a variety of these. 

I will also be sharing some of the budget beauty items that have worked well for me and some that haven't/

I'd love to hear your comments, have you tried this? perhaps you have some recommendations for me to try?

Cookie x

W7 In the buff palette - The Review

In my quest for trying bargain beauty I came across the 'In the Buff' palette from W7, this is said to be a dupe for the Urban Decay Naked 2 Eyeshadow palette. I dont have that palette, it's perhaps on my list of things to save up for as it retails at £38.50.

This palette retails at £9.99 on their website, so is a fraction of the price of the Urban Decay palette. I picked mine up cheaper than this, £5.99 from TK Maxx, so it was really fab value for a 12 colour palette in a neat tin. (currently on Amazon for £5.70). So even if you pay full price for this set you get each shadow for less than a pound each and a really nice hard wearing tin that contains them, so I'd start by saying this is fantastic value.

There is a really good range of colours within this palette, they are all the same size, and one thing I will say is that for the light base colour it would be really great to have this as a larger block as this gets used the most, however to make up for this there is 2 light base colours. 4 of the colours are matt whilst the others have some level of sheen. 

Texture wise these could be a little more blendable but they are really pigmented and have great colour pay off, these as best to build up slowly rather than going in with too much from the start.

Now that this palette has been used a lot and I've hit pan on a few of the colours I have noticed the quality has started to diminish slightly. This is still usable and does have life left but the texture has changed slightly.

If I had to score this palette out of 10 I would say a good 7, there are better quality palettes, but with quality comes higher prices. I think this is really good value and is perfect for anyone on a budget or someone starting out with makeup. It's a really comprehensive palette colour wise and will create some really amazing everyday and dramatic eyeshadow looks, and even the perfect smoky eye!.

I’d love to hear your opinion on this – do you have this palette? What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Cookie x

Budget Beauty Brands

Something I have been working on this year is trying different skincare and makeup items and you guessed it the theme is BUDGET.

This is not to say I will only be purchasing budget products, but I am certainly going to open my mind to then and try different more affordable brands. 

I've always used Clarins and Clinique for skincare, and high end makeup products, so for me trying budget items is sort of alien but I am truly looking forward to trying more and of course saving some pennies along the way.

Here are some of the brands that I have tried so far:

MUA
Collection
Natural Collection
E.L.F
Essence
W7

And here are some brands that are on my to-do list:

Makeup Revolution
RCMA
KIKO
Lottie
NYX
Milani
Colour Pop
Technic
Catrice
Sleek

So far I have only tried one of two items from each brand, what I aim to do is get the essentials from each which will be enough to create a whole makeup look. I will then be able to rate each brand fairly on quality and value for money and will be able to share my favourites on here with you here and on my youtube channel

I'd love to hear your opinions on any budget beauty items that you use, perhaps you have some recommendations? Leave me a comment and I'm happy to try products!

Cookie x