Gosh Lip Oils Review

I have never tried lip oils before because one, there are not that many around that are affordable and two, I was happy with my old trusty vaseline aloe vera lip balm whenever my lips were chapped and dry. So when Gosh came out with their version of a lip oil, I was intrigued to try it out for the first time.  These are a great dupe for the Clarins instant light lip oils and I think they do give the Clarins oils a run for their money. When I bought these lip oils, my lips were dry and very chapped. I was using the Maybelline baby lips dr rescue and it was not doing anything to make my lips better. I just needed something to help my lips out and this is where these lip oils come into play...

 Firstly, these lip oils are part of the spring/summer 2016 collection 'Copenhagen' and they are not limited edition. These are very much part of the permanent line from Gosh which I am super happy about as they are just lovely. I believe this is the first lip oil within the UK drugstore that is not highly expensive but a more affordable alternative.

The lip oils come in a clear plastic tube with a matte black top. I like how the packaging is clear so I can see if I am running out of product. The name of each lip oil is on a sticker at the top of the packaging. Once you twist the product open, the doe foot applicator is unusual. I have never seen a doe foot applicator which is flat and long. I don't really get the concept of this, but I am assuming it is to get a lot of product on the applicator without having to re-dip. When I tried the oil out, I used one side of the applicator for my bottom lip and the other side for my top lip. I found this gave me enough product on my lips without putting too much or too little but just right.

Within the collection, there are four shades to choose from; Clear, Sea Buckthorn (Golden yellow), Rose (Red) and Raspberry (Pink). In the tube, they look quite pigmented but actually on the lips, it gives a very sheer hint of colour. On my lips, they all look the same because my lips are quite pigmented and strong in colour, so you definitely do not need all four shades.

Once I applied the oil to my lips, it felt very smooth and hydrating and no sign of any stickiness. It just felt very nice and easy to apply without too much trouble. The oil lasted on my lips for about 2 hours before fading, but it definitely made my lips super smooth for the rest of the day. I use the lip oil mostly at night before I go to bed and it lasts all night till I wake up in the morning. The oil lasts longer due to not talking and smacking lips together.

After a couple of days using the oils, my lips were transformed from chapped to hydrated, good looking lips. It worked a treat and made my lips go back to normal. Within the oil, there are four nordic super active ingredients to make your lips better. Sea Buckthorn protects and nourishes, Moringa, Argan and Macadamia oils moisturises the lips and Vitaskin E repairs, constructs and recovers the lips. I love how there are other benefits to this product as well as being a great lip oil.

Overall, I am in love with these lip oils because they have made my lips look and feel much better than a normal lip balm and they are so nice to use. They might not last long, but the lips will thank you for the benefits inside the oils.

Gosh lip oils are available from Superdrug instore and online at £7.49 each.

NYX Cosmetics now available in Boots UK

This has been a long time coming for the UK make-up addicts, NYX has finally launched in to Boots UK. If you don't know, NYX is an American make-up brand that has affordable yet brilliant products. NYX has slowly been coming into the UK. For example, NYX is being sold in Next, however, there is a limited amount of products and it is usually not the newest products on the market. I also have noticed that Selfridges are starting to sell their products which is brilliant and now Boots are finally stocking NYX online. I don't know if they will be stocking this brand in the shops, but you can definitely  buy NYX online. For the UK people, we do actually have a NYX website, but it looks like this never gets updated with the latest products and the stock is very limited.

On the Boots website, they did announce that NYX cosmetics was coming to Boots a couple of weeks ago. Now they have officially launched NYX into their range of beauty brands and it is available right now on their website. It looks like they have a small range of products on the Boots website at the moment, but hopefully they will sell a bigger range when it becomes more popular. The latest lip product by NYX is the Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick and this is actually available in the UK as well via Boots. Also, they have the very hyped up highlight and contour kit that got everyone raving about.

I am very excited about NYX cosmetics being sold in Boots in the UK because I have heard so many good things about this company and I can finally buy some of their products. You can find NYX cosmetics in Selfridges, Boots and on their own website.

Are you excited to try any of their products?

October Beauty Savings and Deals

This is going to be another new series of posts on my blog. I thought I might as well write a blog post about all the savings and deals that are around in the shops either online or in store for people in the UK. I love finding deals and saving money on products that I actually want to purchase myself. It can be quite hard to figure out which is the best deal within different shops, so I have designed a post that will help you with that. Every month, I will research the latest deals within the two main drugstore shops (Boots and Superdrug) and any department stores within the UK. 

Moving on, I have researched and selected the main deals and savings for October 2015.

Superdrug 

• Free Tote Bag  - If you buy any products that are in the 3 for 2 scheme then you will receive a Tote bag. The tote bag looks to be a normal size tote, so you can get a magazine in the bag without folding it in half. However, you are still getting one product free (The cheapest) and you get a free tote bag. I will definitely be going to Superdrug soon as I have a hit list of products and I will see what this offer is all about. This offer ends 24th November 2015 and only one bag per transaction. 

•  Buy 1 get 2nd half price on Rimmel Tanning products - At the moment, Superdrug is running a deal on Rimmel tanning products. This is all the tanning products from instant to gradual to face bronzers that Rimmel makes. It is getting into that time of year where we all wish to have a nice looking tan and this deal will certainly help you to achieve that look.

Boots

• 750 points if you buy 2 Clarins products - This offer is only available to advantage card holders. You should own an advantage card if you buy a lot of beauty products anyway! So if you buy any two Clarins products (Skincare and Make-up), then you will receive 750 points on your advantage card.
  

•  Free gift at Revlon - If you buy three Revlon products then you will receive a free Revlon Photoready Prime + Anti - Shine Balm. The shine balm costs £9.99, so you are getting a brilliant saving. Also, because Boots are running their 3 for 2, you can also buy three products, get one free and then get another free product. I think this is a very good deal.

• Save 1/3 On L'oreal Skincare - I know 1/3 off products is not an awful lot of saving, but it is still money off right? At the moment, Boots have reduced most of the L'oreal skincare line by 1/3. So for example, if I wanted to buy the Skin Perfection Anti Fatigue cream, it would cost me £7.99 instead of £11.99 saving me £4.00. This deal is good if you use their skincare range already or would like to try some of their products.

• Barry M Halloween Bundle - On the Boots website, I found this make-up bundle. Basically, this bundle of make-up is for Halloween and it involves some dark shades/colours.Within this bundle, you will receive; Black and White Nail Paints, Lip Paint in Blac and Kohl Pencil in blac. The Barry M bundle costs £10, which saves you £3.46 when you buy all the products separately. I have checked this on Superdrug and it is definitely a saving. 

• Sleek Halloween Bundle - I also found this Halloween bundle on the Boots website. Within this bundle, you will receive; I-Divine palette in Enchanted Forest, I-Quad Eyeshadow palette in Black , a true colour lipstick in Vamp and a dip it eyeliner in Black. Obviously, these are all dark colours due to the theme of the bundle. When you buy all these products together, it will cost £17.49 rather than £23.46, giving you a saving of £5.97.

                                                      Debenhams

£10 Elizabeth Arden lipsticks - The last offer for this month's post is the amazing deal by Elizabeth Arden. They have temporarily reduced all the lipsticks within their brand to just £10. As everyone knows, Elizabeth Arden is a high end brand that charges £18 - £21 per lipstick which is a lot of money. If you buy a lipstick for £21 and it is currently reduced to £10, you have saved £11 which is an amazing save. This offer is only available from 19th to 25th October, so go and get your lipstick now.

So they are all the best deals and savings that I could find for this month. I will try and do this kind of post every month to share with you the deals that I can find. If you want to know the latest deals for next month, then subscribe to my blog.

Upcoming Product - Collection Illuminating Touch Foundation

Collection are on a roll with bringing out brand new products into their range at the moment. They have recently launched a contour kit and a highlighter stick. Now they are about to launch a brand new foundation to complement another product which is the illuminating touch concealer. Yes, they are bringing out an illuminating touch foundation to add to the illuminating touch range. 

The illuminating touch foundation is meant to give a flawless and radiant look to the skin by using light reflecting pigments within the formula. If you have dull skin this will work for you since this will lighten the skin to give a radiance boosting look and make you look more awake. This foundation is hydrating to the skin, which will be perfect for people who have dry skin and struggle to find any foundations that will not show any dry patches. The formula is medium to high coverage which will help to cover any problem areas like blemishes and redness. You can build the coverage up without looking cakey to make it full coverage.  Collection also claims this foundation to be long lasting that will stay all day without moving or slipping off the face. They also claim on their website that this foundation will give you a 'your skin but better' look.

The foundation comes in a glass bottle that has a frosted finish and comes with a black pump and a lid. I do like how foundations come with a pump and a lid for it. However, because of the glass bottle, it will make the weight of this foundation a lot heavier and if you drop it on the floor, then it will smash.  

There are six shades of this foundation; Porcelain (1), Ivory (2), Cool Beige (3), Warm Beige (4), Honey (5) and Golden (6). 

Personally, I am not sure if I will try this foundation since I have oily skin and have a natural shine from the oils within my skin. I might try this in the winter time when the weather turns colder and my skin needs a bit of a boost. 

The Collection illuminating touch foundation will be available from Superdrug/Wilko on the 23^rd September and will later be available in Boots on the 30^th September 2015 at a cost of £ 5.99 each. Collection already have a web page for this foundation ready for its launch, but it is still too early to buy online.

New Product Alert - Clinique 2 in 1 Beyond Perfecting Powder Foundation and Concealer

Clinique only recently launched the beyond perfecting foundation and concealer in a liquid form and that was a big hit apart from the colour range for pale people like me. However they are now releasing the beyond perfecting foundation and concealer in a powder form. So this will be a powder foundation instead of the liquid form to give people more choice. I am not a person who goes for powder foundations because I have oily and blemish prone skin in which I think the powder would not cover my blemishes and just make my skin look worse. However I am very intrigued by this and I cannot wait till this launches into stores so I can try it. 

Clinique claims this product to be lightweight and will not clog pores to give a natural, beyond perfected look that should last all day. This powder foundation and concealer should last when the weather is hot and should stay put through sweat and humidity. The skin should be able to breathe through the powder and the colour will stay the same rather than oxides or change colour. Also this powder is oil free which is great for oily and blemish prone skin.  Clinique also claim this product to have a moisture locking formula that helps any dry patches on the skin to look flawless without sticking to those areas. 

The applicator that comes with the powder is shaped like a tear drop and has two sides which gives you a choice on what kind of coverage you would like. The sponge side is for a light coverage and the velvet/fluffy side can buff the product into the skin and can give a high coverage. I do like how this applicator is different from the bog standard sponge you get with products and I like how this has a pointed tip which is handy to spot conceal areas like blemishes and can reach the harder to get areas unlike with the flat side of the sponge.

The Clinique 2 in 1 beyond perfecting powder foundation and concealer comes in 10 shades and costs £27. This is now out (launched 4th September) online and in store and looks to be a permanent part of the ‘beyond perfecting range’. 

New Product Alert – Sleek Barekissed Illuminator Collection

Sleek Make-up have launched a brand new product this week called Barekissed Illuminator. This is one of many new products Sleek have launched in August. They have launched their nautical range which includes a by three blush, lipstick and an eyeshadow palette. Sleek have also launched the enchanted forest eyeshadow palette and a new range of crème to powder blushes. Now they have just launched the Barekissed illuminator which was out on the 18th August. Sleek used to do a liquid illuminator called Glisten Me years ago, but it looks like this was discontinued in 2013.

Even though I have oily skin, I still like my highlighters and illuminators so when I saw Sleek just launched four illuminators, I was excited.  Sleek have launched these illuminators at a perfect time because the strobing craze has hit all of Youtube and blogs and everyone is going crazy about illuminators/highlighters. 

As I mentioned above, there are four shades of the barekissed illuminator which comes in a frosted bottle with a pump. The first one is Cuba and this is a golden peach with shimmer. Next one is Monaco which is a light pink with shimmer. Casablanca is a champagne pink with shimmer. Last one is Pompeii, which is a golden bronze with shimmer. I have seen one review on these illuminators and that was by beautygeekuk who tested the Monaco and Cuba illuminators which she said these are pigmented in colour.

 This product can be a multi-use product so can be used for a highlight on the cheeks, under foundation for a glow or can be used as a cream eyeshadow for a wash of colour. I am very interested in these and will be trying to find them in local Superdrug and Boots stores. The sleek Barekissed illuminators are out now and cost £8.99 each.

Save £££ on the Real Techniques Collectors Edition Sculpting Set

If you are looking to buy the Real Techniques sculpting set from Superdrug or from another retailer within the next week, then you will love what I have to say next. 

At the moment, Superdrug has discounted the sculpting set from £20.99 to £13.99 which saves you £7. This is a really good deal because Real Techniques are outstanding quality and it saves you a bit of money. As they say, every penny counts right?!

I do believe you can only get the sculpting set in Superdrug, however you can buy it from online retailers such as Amazon. However, I have searched the web for the cheapest deal on this set and the current Superdrug deal is the best around at the moment. Also if you have a beautycard then you will gain 13 points from buying the set. 

This deal is only available in Superdrug online and in stores and will end on Tuesday 19th May 2015.

MeMeMe Launches Coral Blossom Cheek & Lip Tint

If you love the Benefit Chachacha tint and lollitint, then you will love this up and coming product by the cosmetics brand MeMeMe.

MeMeMe is an affordable make-up brand in the UK which is mostly sold in Superdrug. I have always noticed that MeMeMe do release very similar products to Benefit and they always seem to mimic the best selling products. MeMeMe are cheaper and more affordable brand compared to Benefit.

Anyway MeMeMe will be releasing their new Coral Blossom cheek and lip tint to expand their current range. Personally I haven't tried Chachacha by benefit but Coral Blossom seems to be the cheaper version of that. As by the name of this product, this can be used as a cheek tint and a lip tint which I do love a multi use product in certain situations. Also by the name, this is a peach/coral colour which is not going to be overly pigmented but will give a nice subtle wash of colour either onto the cheeks and/or lips. This is perfect for the summer and will last a lot longer than a powder in hot weather.

 
On the MeMeMe website, they call this range the 'Little Angels' family which is a nice name for a range. As it states on the website, the tint will be available in July. There is no release date when this product will be out, but it should be out within the next month. The Coral Blossom only costs £5.50 which is a brilliant and more affordable price compared to Benefit. The tint should be available on the MeMeMe website and online/instore in all Superdrug stores.

Barry M Launches New Dazzle Dusts

I don't know about you, but I love the Dazzle Dust range by Barry M. When I first started out in make-up, I always used to buy the dazzle dusts since they are cheap but very high quality. A few years ago, dazzle dusts were the in thing to buy, but nowadays I haven't really heard or seen anything on Youtube or blogs about these dusts. If you do not know what dazzle dusts are then you have missed out big time... Dazzle dusts are pots of eyeshadow pigments which can be used for nearly everything. Dazzle dusts can even be mixed with Vaseline petroleum jelly to make a coloured lip balm. Dazzle dusts come in a range of different finishes, Shimmer, glitter or matte. The shimmer dusts are the most popular in the range and I believe this was the first finish they produced year's ago.

They already have over 60 dazzle dusts colours and now they are adding four new colours to the collection. The four dusts are very neutral based and can be used to make a smokey eye or just a nice natural eye make-up look. The four shades are Athena(dd105), Aphrodite(dd106), Venus(dd104) and Eos(dd103).

Aphrodite is the lightest shade in the new four shades and Aphrodite is a shimmery Ivory/Bisque shade. This seems the less shimmery shade out of the four.

Athena is the second lightest shade and Athena is a Shimmery beige.

Venus is the next lightest shade and Venus is a shimmery bronze shade.

Lastly Eos is the darkest shade and Eos is shimmery dark brown.

 Personally I think they are amazing products because they are very versatile and can be used for a lot of different things. Also the dazzle dusts are really pigmented and come in a small pot which can be used once finished. The four new dazzle dusts are in Boots and Superdrug stores and online now retailing for £4.59 each.

P.S I will be picking all four dazzle dusts up the next time I go into a Boots or Superdrug, so expect reviews coming on my blog very soon.

Free Shipping On ELF UK Website

If you don't already know that ELF are giving people who order on their site FREE SHIPPING. I love when Elf makes the shipping free because it means that I can buy products that I have wanted to try out for some time and I can now buy it without paying for the shipping. I know I lot of people will be jumping at the chance to buy Elf goodies without the shipping cost. I have already picked and checked out with products that I wanted to try. Also they have a clearance section in which all the baked products (eyeshadow, blush and bronzer) and other products are reduced to half price. So for the baked blush, rather than paying £3.95 you will pay £1.98 which is a pretty good discount.

To claim the free shipping, you will need to checkout with products that add up to over £10 which come on, its not hard to find something that you want to try. There is no code required, the shipping will automatically be free when you checkout. The free shipping ends 10:30am BST 16/06/2014. Also this is just available for UK but if you do buy from another country you will have to pay for your shipping.

If you would like to take advantage of the free shipping then click here for more detail

Biore Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser Review

Biore released this cleanser a few years back I believe but I only saw this in Boots a couple of months ago. I picked this product up due to the product apparently being new to Boots and I wanted to try another product which helped me to get rid of any blemishes that appear on my face. I have tried so many skincare products which are meant to either reduce or get rid of any blemishes on my face. 

They claim that the 'ice cleanser helps stop blemishes before they start by removing over 99% of dirt and oil that can cause them, so you're left with clear skin'. Keep reading to see if I agree with their claim to better skin...

Firstly, the packaging for this product is a bottle with a pump. You might say that is a good concept? However for some reason rather than turning the pump and it locks, Biore wants you to push down the pump (which releases a lot of product) and then turn it to one side to lock it. Either you have to waste the product or try and lock it with the one hand. I love products that locks after use because it stops product from escaping into a cosmetic/skincare bag on travel and covering every product in goo. I would say that is the only downfall for this whole product.

The product itself is a clear gel type formula and the consistency is quite runny so it is easy to use less product than other products which are thick in consistency. The smell is quite strong on the nose to start of with but the more you use it, the less strong it will be.

When I first washed my face with the ice cleanser, I noticed how strong the smell was, it was pretty powerful stuff. Also I used one to two pumps to cover my whole face and when I applied it, it wasn't very thick, so it was pretty easy to apply. I know this is a ice cleanser rather than the normal cleanser they have, I didn't notice the cooling sensation on my skin. Is it just me who doesn't get the 'ice' part? This product does lather up a bit when rubbing into the skin which I quite like. When I had enough of rubbing the product into my skin, I washed it off with cold water which was easy enough to do. The only thing I would warn you about is if you get product in your eyes, it will sting like crazy.

As for the results, I reviewed the progress of this after a week and it made me break out even more. However after using it for a few months now, I can say that this has not given me anymore breakouts and it has reduced the amount of blemishes I get on my face but I still get blemishes so it hasn't completely solved my problem. I would say that you will need a moisturiser after just because it can be quite drying on the skin.

Pros

• Easy to apply and blend
• Foams up when massaged into the skin
• Has reduced the amount of blemishes I get
• Cheap and affordable
• Available in local shops and drugstores

Cons

• The badly designed lock design
• Stings like crazy if you get it in your eyes
• Made me break out at first

 Overall I would rate this product 7 out of 10 just because it did help my skin clear up a tiny bit. But the lock system is a big downfall in my eyes. The Biore blemish fighting ice cleanser is available in Boots and Superdrug now at a price of £4.99.

Upcoming Beauty Product - Nars Narsissist Cheek Palette

Nars are releasing so many products recently, I'm finding it hard to keep up. They have just launched their limited edition final cut collection a few weeks ago, now they have just launched their spring collection. The next release is this cheek palette along with a 15 eyeshadow palette. So as you can see, they are really pumping out the beauty products at the moment which is a bad thing for my bank account.

The name of the cheek palette is unusual with a name like Narsissist and it contains three beautiful products. The first is Devotee which is a neutral beige highlighter and only available in certain palettes. Devotee was also in the one night stand palette from the Guy Bourdin collection which was released a few months ago. Next up is Orgasm which is the best selling blush for Nars.The last product in the palette is the famous Laguna bronzer. Also as a special bonus, when you buy the cheek palette, it comes with a mini blush brush.

For me, this seems very similar to the Sleek by three palettes which were released within the past year. The Sleek palette has also contain the highlighter, rose gold blush and their matte bronzer. However the Sleek palette only costs £10 or less which is a huge saving if you are thinking of purchasing the Nars palette.

Overall I think I will be buying this palette due to not owning orgasm and laguna and wanting to try smaller sizes of the product just incase I do not like them.The palette is out 1st February for £35 and can be found on the main Nars website.