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Lancome Hypnose Precious Cells Mascara

By Lina on August 5, 2010

My sister mentioned to be me the other day that the word on the street was that this mascara by Lancome ( …Hypnose or something?) was the mascara to get. Everyone was raving about it, apparently. It made your lashes long and lush from WITHIN as it had special ingredients that cared for them whilst also cosmetically enhancing them (you know, the actual mascara part). I know I have a lot of mascaras, so please forgive me that it took a second or two to realise I actually own and have used this particular mascara for a series of months not that long ago! I hadn’t realised it had created such a stir in the beauty world (sorry guys, I’ve had internet probs!), but now I do I couldn’t resist in offering my two cents!

The first few times I applied this I loved it; it gave me gorgeous fluttery, defined lashes that weren’t weighed down and I really was thoroughly impressed. One time, I was having dinner with a friend and I kept noticing him glancing at my eyes. Naturally thinking the worst I thought he could see clumps of mascara on the lid or something and started to get paranoid. Eventually, he asked if I was wearing false eyelashes. No, I replied. Really? He asked again. No, I repeated. ‘It’s just that your eyelashes look really long and curly.’. Ah! ‘It’s my new mascara!!!’, I squealed (triumphantly!). So I was really really pleased with that result and came home happy and thrilled with my new discovery!

No flash (HATE this pic, btw)

Flash

After a while, like the fifth day of wear, I started to notice that it didn’t look as fluttery as it did before. It looked okay, and with a few coats I could get a decent full lashes look, but within an hour the effect had disappeared and my lashes instead looked a little thin and stuck together. Not the full, curled and lengthened jobbie I had achieved when applying the mascara initially.

This is pretty much how the mascara continued on for me; could just about get it looking decent when getting ready, but then when I went to check my make-up later on in the eve the big full on lashes I spent a good few minutes creating had magically disappeared. Weird. I should also add that even when I got the ‘full on lashes’ at the beginning of the eve, it wasn’t anything special – not like the best mascara in the world or anything.

So anyway, I carried on using this mascara, even though I didn’t really rate it anymore until eventually – about a month before my three months of hygienic use were up, I decided I was totally bored now and moved on to another one. You can’t waste your life on bad make-up, that’s my motto.

As for the caring for the lashes and making them grow thicker and longer from within, can’t say I really noticed. Although, whenever I did stay out all night or slept in my make-up (so every weekend) I did notice my lashes didn’t feel as crumbly or dehydrated as they usually would in those conditions. So the nourishing, caring ingredients probably had something to do with that.

But worth £22? No. Waaaay better high street ones out there (Loreal Lash Architect and Max Factor False Lashes to name a few) and really, considering one of Lancome’s hero product is their mascara I was massively disappointed. Will not be repurchasing (although admittedly I didn’t purchase this in the first place). You get what I mean. Pass.

This entry is filed under Lancome, Mascaras. | 26 Comments

Juicy Tubes is 10 years old! And to celebrate…

By Lina on February 26, 2010

The worlds favourite lipgloss turns a decade old this year, and to celebrate they are bringing out these gorgeous limited edition Juicy Tubes designed by renowned Japanese Artist Yayoi Kusama. Lancôme have really upped their game with this collection; each lipgloss boasts eco-friendly packaging and a formula which is now 100% natural (Lancôme’s first ever). Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait till 1st April to officially get your hands on these, but I was lucky enough to get given a set earlier this week so here’s a sneaky peek..

This beautifully designed set comprises of all six 100% natural limited edition Juicy Tubes, the pigment of which is created and inspired using natural origin ingredients alone for each unique shade. Sounds wonderful. I’ve tried them all and whilst none of them are massively pigmented (this isn’t the POP range, peeps) a couple of them really did stand out as adding a gorgeous hue to my lips.

Although these days I tend to prefer a lipstick over a gloss, playing around with this collection has really invoked memories of when I first discovered Juicy Tubes and being amazed by their gorgeously sheer, shimmery finish, their moisturising properties and outstanding staying power. From this collection, nothing illustrates this better for me than Dot Apricot, my favourite of the set, a truly lovely instantly prettifying milky apricot.

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It thought it worked really well with balancing a smokey eye…

I’m sure you will all find your own unique favourite shade that you feel instantly prettifies you like Dot Apricot does for me, but the best thing about this collection is that you’ll definitely find at least one that fits the bill. On me, except for the really white shade of the six (Happy Honey), all of the others were very wearable as they’re so subtly pigmented.

These limited edition 10 year anniversary Juicy Tubes are exclusive to Debenhams for a very reasonable price of only £10! I’m sure they’ve gone down in price since I last bought one? 1st April, folks. 1st April.

My OLD Magical Make-up Kit!

By Lina on September 26, 2009

Many, many moons ago I took some pics of my make-up bag with the intention to blog about its’ contents. Okay, so really it was only about a year back but I’m such a chop and changer with make-up this stuff seems practically prehistoric to me now! And obviously, this is only about half a percent of my kit, but I do remember squishing in a few choice products that I thought were newsworthy or pretty looking at the time.

I had actually forgotten about these pics, and this feature idea, until my friend Hannah tweeted on twitter about her magical make-up bag that transformed her into a bona fide hotty within 20 minutes! So OF COURSE I was dying to know what was in this bag of tricks.. she kindly let her secrets out, and I was reminded of how one of my favourite things ever was looking through friends’ make-up bags; I just LOVE it. So, as an on-going feature idea I’ve decided to start a “My Magical Make-up Kit” series, which will, at current, start with my most fashion and make-up forward friends showcasing us what delights are in their trusty magical make-up kits! Oh, the excitement!

To start with, I’m gonna do my old make-up bag, with major emphasis on the word ‘old’ – I’m not sure I even use any of these products anymore! Although, in fairness, that is largely due to getting bored rather than the products themselves so it’s definitely worth being checked out. In a few days I’ll feature my new, current kit, so don’t worry! Those treasures are all coming sooooon.

My Magical Make-up Kit

(1) Kanebo Cream Finish Foundation – I actually quite liked this foundation. It was very moisturising and provided a good, satin finish which sunk nicely into the skin so you weren’t left with that horrible ‘mask’ effect that sits on the surface which lots of other cream foundations can leave you with.

(2) Revlon Skinlight Illuminating Wand - Oh, how I LOVED this product, I was sent a bunch when I was make-up artist which saw me through for a while but sadly it got discontinued (why??) and I have used them all up now and have none left. Booo. It’s just a great high lighting pen, I preferred it so much more to the infamous Yves Saint Laurents Touche Eclat but I guess not enough people tried it out in the first place to realise this. The reason I liked it so much was that it was very moisturising; the shade that suited all skin tones (no1) had a gorgeous pearly finish to it that blended beautifully with a dewy base and really worked on making your complexion ‘pop’ with it’s subtle, beautifying spotlights contouring.

(3) Body Shop Concealer Crayon – An actually really decent concealer from The Body Shop, I even repeat bought this quite a few times but stopped as you needed a special sharpener (that you bought separately) which I for some reason kept losing, no matter how many times I re-purchased. The concealer itself is fairly creamy and covers a lot, although you will need to touch it up somewhat as its not immensely long lasting.

(4) Pop Jam in Beach Time – Just a pretty goldy light bronze cream gel that I used on the cheeks – it is an all over product but I found it does crease when used on the eye lids. A good product actually, very dewy and looked great on peaches and cream Caucasian skin that had caught a slight tan (obviously not talking about myself here, referring back to a model who looked fab when I put it on her). Although it did look nice on me too, but just a tad too pale to look bronze enough I thought.

(5) Juicy Tube POP in Popsicle - A really bright, pink gloss from the POP range. Great staying power and pigment which POPS, hence the ranges’ name, and I really should wear it more often.

(6) Pop Lip Jam - I can’t remember the shade of this lip gloss but it looked devine on with a good consistency of not being too sticky. However, if my memory recalls it didn’t last very long on.

(7) Revlon Skinlights in Golden Light – A pretty good illuminating product, nice to mix in with bases but I actually tend not to use it too often. Some of the darker shades have too much red in them, but the lighter ones are fab.

(8) Jelly Pong Pong Supermodel Stain in Slenderella – Check out the review HERE, a decent product, especially good for when you’re short of time and need a trusty product to swipe on the lips and cheeks. Phenomenal staying power and stays looking fresh for quite a while. It is a matte finish product, but interestingly doesn’t dry the lips/cheeks out either!

(9) Stila Smudge Pots - I guess this is pretty similar to gel eyeliners, however you can also use it to smudge smokey loveliness all over your lids. Quite a good product, but two major flaws; sets uber quick so you had to a have skilled, fast hand that can blend well, and also the product dehydrated within a couple of months to the point of not being usuable anymore. They wouldn’t let me take it back despite having spent a FORTUNE the week before which they had remembered. Not good.

(10) Christian Dior Show Girls Mascara – Outstanding mascara! Definitely in my top 5, if not 3. Gives you big, lush, long, gorgeous lashes just like er, erm, well, a showgirl! A bit pricey though for something you use up so quick though.

(11) Yves Saint Laurent L’Eyeliner Noir (liquid) - I’ve actually got this reviewed on HERE, but a quick summary is; great brush, nice inky colour and texture, but RUBBISH at staying on. Runs all over the place and doesn’t last a second on the waterline (although you’re not really meant to do that but I do).

So that’s all folks! Hope you enjoyed a rummage in my old make-up bag, current one will be posted soon!

This entry is filed under Christian Dior, Jelly Pong Pong, Kanebo, Lancome, My Magical Make-up Kit, Pop, Revlon, Stila, The Body Shop, YSL. | 2 Comments

Lancome Artliner

By Lina on August 14, 2009

A genuinely good, liquid eyeliner is a highly sought after staple in a girls make-up kit – you just can’t be dealing with ones that smudge or run or fade a mere few hours after application. You need a product you can trust. This eyeliner by Lancome was discontinued fairly recently, however due to the overwhelming volume of complaints from loyal customers they had to bring it back into the product line, it was simply THAT good. So obviously I had to see what all the fuss was about and whether it was worth £20 price tag.

Application

Design wise it’s pretty, simple, classic and and ever so dainty looking. For application you need to shake the pen and then unscrew the lid, which is attached to the pointed solid foam applicator. I have seen this type of applicator for a liquid eyeliner before – in a L’oreal eyeliner (sister brand to Lancome) but I would like to stress that that is where the similarities end – the L’oreal version is definitely not a cheaper equivalent. You would essentially just be a buying a completely different product, and the quality difference is certainly notable.

Using this eyeliner with this specific applicator is pretty easy, it glides on smoothly (almost a little too smoothly), and as with anything to get a more complex look than just a few cat wings or light lining, it will take practice. But I was pretty confident in using it by the second or third attempt. The ink is pleasingly deep and dark, a really beautiful, intense black. It goes on feather light (not heavy or gloopy), and dries quickly. It almost feels like you’re not wearing any liquid eyeliner, as it’s so undetectable touch wise. Another bonus, you can also line you waterline with this (carefully!) and it lasts pretty well without irritating, just be uber careful!

Verdict

This is a good eyeliner. It does its’ job, and does so simply without any fuss. It lasts incredibly well, although I have woken up (on the weekends only!) and found some of it has caked off, so it’s not super long lasting, but definitely will last a good, long evening out. It didn’t smudge, or run, and for that it gets a full thumbs up.

While I have no regrets about purchasing this eyeliner, I’m not entirely sure it’s the best high end eyeliner available, I think in some ways I actually preferred my Chanel liquid eyeliner (the one with a brush) as the ink in that was the gorgeous blackest black matte ink, this Lancome one is ever so teen tiny bit shiny (but probably not noticeably so). However, I’m pretty sure the Chanel one’s discontinued anyway, so this is a very good alternative, also the Chanel one was very tricky to use.

I’m certain everyone who purchases this eyeliner will be 100% happy, it’s only the fussiest of fussies (i.e. me) that would find little things to moan about. A good tip, put a little powder around you eye if you’re wearing a dewy base; although this baby has tremendous staying power, if your foundation is too creamy/moist it can have trouble setting initially. Other than that – an awesome product!