Some BornPretty Reviews

A long time ago I received a couple of things from BornPretty to review but with the stress of University deadlines amongst other things, I haven't gotten round to it until now. As far as I know, these are cruelty free as the animal testing law in China does not apply to online shopping, but if you know any different please inform me - I wouldn't have accepted PR samples in the knowledge that the products were tested on animals.

First up, I received The Hotshop Eyeliner* which is a basic, black, liquid liner. It claims to be waterproof and long lasting, I didn't really test whether it was waterproof but it did pretty much stay put all day. I did find it flaked away a bit by the time I was ready to take it off but it had had a good 6-8 hours wear so I don't think that's too shabby. I like the nib of it as it's quite a lot like a pen so it would've been easy to apply my eyeliner flick (queue the cons of the product..) but I didn't find there was much liquid in the bottle at all, I'm not sure whether it's a bad batch, whether it wasn't sealed properly and dried up while shipping, or whether they just don't provide enough liquid in it. I kid you not, I've only been able to use this twice and it just won't cooperate because there's barely any liquid in there and some of it is quite gloopy. Furthermore, the packaging is a ripoff of a certain high street brand, which doesn't bother me much but I know some people would call the product out on its originality.. Considering it costs $5.10 (down from $7.28) which converted is £3.62 (or £5.16) I would not purchase this again just because I would not spend about a fiver on a product I could only get two uses out of.

Secondly, I received the 2 Pack Music Flower 24 Hours Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner* which comes in the shades Black and Brown. This claims to be smudge proof, long-lasting and waterproof. I'm not sure if I would agree with any of those claims. The gel is so creamy that it can slip around your face unless you set it with some black eyeshadow, however I do like how smooth it applies and the hard angled brush it comes with really helps in creating the perfect eyeliner flick. The packaging is plastic and looks quite substandard, but it is cheaper than any other gel liner I have tried so this is something I can forgive. At only $5.32 (down from $7.60) which converted is £3.77 (or £5.39) I do think this product is quite good value and it is something I have been reaching for quite often.

I actually have a discount code you can use if you want 10% off at BornPretty which is DNNH10 - happy shopping!

What eyeliners are your favourites?

A cat-eye related rut

As you may or may not have picked up on, I cannot wear makeup unless I have somewhat of a cat eye going on. I don't care whether it's liquid or gel liner, I just need something on my upper lids to make me look a little less terrible (it's the main factor that helps me go from a generous 2 to a solid 4 on a day to day basis) but recently I'm just finding myself a bit bored with the eyeliners that I currently have.

Don't get me wrong, I've found eyeliners that I love but being the beauty blogger that I am, I just want to try out some new stuff that could possibly rival my current collection. I know that I love the Collection Fast Stroke Liquid Eyeliner which is matte, really black, pretty cheap coming in at £2.99 and fairly easy to use, and it's one that I've repurchased a fair few times. I'm also pretty attached to the Essence Waterproof Liquid Liner, which is also very black, very matte, waterproof, easy to use and it's also inexpensive coming in at £2.50. The most expensive one in my collection but one I really like to use is Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Black Chrome, it comes in at £7.99 but it's really easy to use and pretty long lasting, but it fails in the being-black-enough department, not that that's necessarily a bad thing because it makes for a slightly more neutral day-to-day look. These are all safe eyeliner options for me and ones I can, and have, repurchased.

But that's just not good enough for your average beauty blogger, I would really like to try more, I'd like to venture the aisles of Boots and Superdrug to try and find something to top what I've got. . .

So over to you, what's your favourite eyeliner?

Bloglovin | YouTube | Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram

Empties #2

Hello readers, I'm back with another Empties post (here is a link to my previous one) because I have used up a few products and I wanted to share them with you so I could throw out the products.

1. Simple Kind to Skin Purifying Cleansing Lotion

Pros:

- didn't cause irritation

- cleansed my skin well

- inexpensive

- pleasant but subtle scent

Cons:

- none to be honest!

Repurchase?

I have repurchased this in the past, and I will repurchase this in the future. I'm not sure if I've sung my praises about Simple before, but I think all of the products by them that I've tried are such good value for the price. This for me is a staple, if I'm not feeling adventurous and don't want to try new products then I will probably always return to this product - does the job and it's inexpensive which is all I really ask for in a product.

2. Boots Essentials Cucumber Facial Toner

Pros:

- nice scent

- inexpensive

Cons:

- not very strong cleanser

Repurchase?

I have repurchased this in the past and I will probably repurchase it in the future because it's usually under £2, but I think I prefer Simple's toner to this. I do like the Cucumber scent, but I feel like the Simple toner cleanses my skin much more than this one.

3. Simple Kind to Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser

Pros:

- sinks in quickly leaving a near matte finish

- not too greasy

- inexpensive

Cons:

- none!!

Repurchase?

Definitely. This is one of my favourite moisturisers of all time, it's inexpensive and sinks in so quickly so you can apply it and then a couple of minutes later be ready to put on makeup!

4. Collection Fast Stroke Eyeliner

Pros:

- long lasting

- dries quickly

- inexpensive

Cons:

- nib is thick making it hard to get a thin line

Repurchase?

I will definitely repurchase this (and have done in the past). I'm yet to find a liquid eyeliner that works as well for me as this, however I am still on the search for a perfect thin nibbed good formula liquid eyeliner so if I ever find 'the one' I will reject this eyeliner.

5. Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Wash

Pros:

- nice smell

- does the job

- large quantity

Cons:

- not cheap

- doesn't lather up amazingly

Repurchase?

I got this in the Yule Monty so if I buy that (although it was given to me when I got this) then I wouldn't have an issue with it. Although it's not as good a body wash as everyone says, I want to try out all of the other Soap and Glory body washes before returning to this one me thinks.

6. Beauty Formulas Mud Mask

I was naughty and re-used a photo from this post - sorry! It was only because the lighting when I took all the other photos is not as good so I thought I'd re-use a good photo rather than take a bad one, am I forgiven?

Pros:
- inexpensive
- good value
- makes my skin very soft

Cons:
- none to speak of!

Repurchase?
To quote an internet meme.. 'YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS'! I love this face mask with a passion, so inexpensive and does the job too!

7. No7 Essential Moisture Night Cream

Pros:

- strong moisturiser

- made my skin noticeably softer

Cons:

- packing makes it harder to get all the product out

Repurchase?

Probably not because it is essentially just a heavy moisturiser and as it's No7 it's not likely to be cheap, plus I'm not sure if you can only get this in a box set or not.

8. No7 Essential Moisture Day Cream

Pros:

- sinks in quickly

- made my skin very soft

Cons:

- packaging is restrictive so it's hard to get all the product out

Repurchase?

Probably not because there are cheaper alternatives to just a heavy moisturiser, but I wouldn't be opposed to using it if I received it because it did make my skin very soft.

9. No7 Protect and Perfect Night Cream

Pros:

- did the basic job of a moisturiser

Cons:

- difficult to work into my skin because it would start to peel

- restrictive packaging!! (get on top of that No7!)

Repurchase?

No, again this is just a heavy moisturiser but this one began to peel on my face after being applied which is gross.

10. Collection Matching Perfection Concealer

Again, I've been a bit naughty and recycled a photo from this post - I just don't want to force bad photography on you!

Pros:
- high coverage
- lasts a long time (not 16 hours though mind you!)

Cons:
- limited shade range
- sometimes doesn't blend in amazingly (I have a love hate relationship with this concealer)

Repurchase?
Probably not unless they increase the shade range, a mixed race girl has to put up with a lot of problems - limited shade range in concealer and foundation is one of them! The shade I picked up (warm medium) isn't too bad but sometimes it is a tad too light and the dark shade emphasizes dark circles on me which defeats the point. So to re-use the wise words of Simon Cowell, it's a no from me.

Thank you so much for reading/watching!

Have you tried out any of these products?
What products have you used up recently?

Review | Primark P.S Love Liquid Eyeliner

I apologise for the writing on the eyeliner rubbing off - it happens to the best of us, I hope we can move past this together.

About 4 months ago, Primark launched its own beauty range called P.S Love and caused quite a hype in the beauty blogger world for its inexpensive products. As a confessed Primark shopaholic and beauty product hoarder I knew I needed a slice of this cheap beauty pie (sounds pretty appealing right?)

I decided to try out their liquid eyeliner as I had read some good reviews and was looking for an inexpensive replacement for the Collection liquid liner, and as this one only cost £1 I figured I wasn't going to be losing much.

Formula wise, this is a great product. It is long lasting, very black and doesn't flake off for a long time, it also dries fairly quickly and doesn't transfer onto other parts of the eye area which is a benefit. As you may be able to see from the swatch below, it isn't matte but it isn't incredibly shiny either, and it is very black which is good.

However, the nib was an absolute pain in the backside for the most part. When it was fresh from the packet, the nib was very hard and very thin which is good to get a steady thin line but it was so hard that I found it quite painful sometimes. I found that the nib softened up after a few uses and was quite good for a while, but then the fibres kept coming out and I found myself constantly plucking out and snipping off these fibres - I'm not sure if that's normal for liquid eyeliner nibs but I've never had this problem before, this made application a hell of a lot harder as it was like using a mini cactus as a nib and it meant I couldn't make a clean cat eye flick easily.

Overall, this product is fairly good for the price and I love the formula but because of the problems I suffered with the nib I can't see myself repurchasing it any time soon - sorry Primark!

Have you tried any of the P.S Love Range?

What were your thoughts?