Category Archives: Beauty

Soap & Glory Mother Pucker Matte Lip Crayons

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‘Lipstick is the most valuable weapon in a woman’s make-up kit’ – Monica Bellucci

For a really long time I was frightened of makeup and never really wore that much of it, mostly because I didn’t understand it, or even my own face properly; I didn’t know how to apply it properly and wasn’t really bothered about learning how. Plus I love my freckles and the far too heavy and far too dark foundation I was using in my early 20s just completely obliterated them. I knew I was crap at applying makeup, in fact I was once stopped in John Lewis by a lady on the MAC counter with far too much blue eye shadow on who told me I’d be beautiful if I knew how to do my make up properly – customer service at its best.

Slowly over the years as my face becomes more and more ravished by time I’ve started to learn the benefits of a good solid foundation and some waterproof mascara (I’m one of life’s criers) and with that I’ve also started to embrace bright lipstick. Being blonde and having a bit of an obsession with leopard print, I was always worried about red lipstick – I always felt I looked more Bet Lynch than Gwen Stefani. However having  a play around with the right shades, and going easy on the eye makeup, I’ve finally found the holy grail of lip colour for blondies.

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I actually discovered this Soap & Glory Mother Pucker Matte crayons whilst in Las Vegas. I wanted some statement lips for the Backstreet Boys concert I was going to with Meagan and had left my trusty Kate Moss Rimmel at home. I just needed something cheap that would get me through the night. I wasn’t that bothered about having to reapply, I was going to put it on after we’d eaten, and unless my 14 year old dream actually came true and I ended up smooching a Backstreet Boy, there was little need for it to be mega long lasting.

I went for Ember Red as I wanted a real fire engine type colour and at $6 was the cheapest on offer in Walgreens by a mile. And I was super impressed. I actually put it on before we went out for dinner to try it out, and also, I couldn’t be bothered to faff on with it at the concert. I always love lip crayons rather than traditional lipsticks and I find them easier to apply and the colour is more matte.

These glide on perfectly like a lip balm and the colour doesn’t come out really intensely like some lipsticks so you can get the edges sorted before building on the colour. After eating, drinking and chatting for two hours I only needed to reapply once when we got to the show and that was just to intensify the colour more really. For such a bargain it lasted really, really well and was a lovely deep red that didn’t look too tarty.

 

 

So impressed was I that I went (almost) straight to Boots when I got home to get a couple more shades (they’re £3.50 in English money, and when I went had a buy one get one half price offer on). I went for Berry Much and Woah Pink (go big or go home right?) and whereas the red is absolutely my favourite, think they both look pretty sassy too. The pink needs a little extra effort as the colour isn’t quite as intense as the others, you need a good few more layers on to get full coverage but it’s a great spring colour once you get there and looks much nicer on that it does on the stick.

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Being so cheap they’re not overly big, they’re more handbag sized that full sized crayons, however I only really wear lipstick when I go out so I imagine they’ll last me quite a while. People who wear it every day though may feel a little cheated.

 

I’m so pleased that Soap and Glory have branched out from Christmas Gift sets into the make up world because everything I have from there has been really good quality at affordable prices and if they can make lipstick good enough for the Backstreet Boys that’s got to be a bonus right?!

Review: Jamberry Nail Wraps

Posted in Beauty by

‘No matter what, pay attention to the nails. Whether you keep it short, long, varnished or plain, it has to look good’ – Sonam Kapoor

Despite the fact that I insist to all of my friends that I was a tomboy when I was younger (because I liked to climb trees and lived in my My Little Pony tracksuit), the truth is I’m actually very very girly. So suffice to say since I was 14 I’ve pretty much always painted my nails, in fact I remember my science teacher in high school using some weird science voodoo to rid my fingernails of a very unsightly canary yellow colour that was against uniform policy.

Believe me when I say when it comes to nail fads I’ve been through them all; reverse french polishes, diamante pinky fingers, cracked nail varnish, falsies, gels, you name it, I’ve tried it. So when my sister in law told me she was starting to sell Jamberry nail wraps, my little tom boy ears pricked up and I was all over it.

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Jamberry are relatively new to the UK (only about 5 months to date) and are essentially stickers that require heat to bond to your nail and come in a huge range of colours patterns and styles. As you may have already guessed, they’re mostly available through multi-level marketing. I know, I know right, roll of eyes. But hey, so is Avon and no one has a problem with that. Jo went to a nail wrap party and liked them, so she figured out that she was going to be buying so many packs as presents then she may as well become a dealer, sorry a seller herself and save a bit of money. And anyway you can always just buy them directly from the website if you want.

So here’s everything you need to know:

  • They’re £15 per sheet which in theory gives you 2 manicures and 2 pedicures although this totally depends on the size and shape of your nails. I clearly have the most awkward shaped nails in the world where on my index finger one size is too big and the next size down too small. But they can be trimmed down – it just makes it more fiddly.
  • They come in hundreds of different styles, from plain to patterned to glittery or glossy and also do seasonal ranges too for Halloween or Christmas for example. My current faves are these lacy looking ones that you can put your own colour underneath with regular nail polish.

    • Once you get the hang of it they’re easy to apply. Just find the size that best fits your nail and cut it in half. Then peel it of the sheet and give a quick blast with the hairdryer so it goes floppy, centre it on the nail with the curved side at the base of the nail and press down firmly getting all the bubbles out. Filed down the excess on the top with a normal emery board. Then give it a final blast with the hairdryer to bind it to the nail.
    • Depending on how active you are with your hands (oo err) they last well over a week and although the sometime bubble at the edges in between time, just blast with the hairdryer again for 5 seconds to re-bond them. Both sets I’ve had on recently have lasted 7 days or more before any of the wraps have fallen off completely. One I lost while running my fingers through my hair on day 8 and never found it – to the best of my knowledge it’s still in there!
    • Applying them isn’t quite as therapeutic as painting your nails and as Dave pointed out when I was applying mine while he was watching TV in the living room, having the hairdryer on every 30 seconds isn’t particularly sociable. Still, it drowns out the noise of Guy Martin, which is a positive in my eyes.
    • The biggest issue I have with them, if you can call it that, is that they last almost too long, and I get a bit bored after 7 days with the same style on. If I’m painting my nails with plain varnish I probably have to do them at least twice a week which gives me opportunity to co-ordinate them with whatever outfits I’m planning to wear. But that’s me really splitting hairs
    • Removal is easy, just curl up the side and gently start peeling back and some cotton wool soaked in nail varnish remover. Some of them will easily peel off in the bath towards the end of their life but you run the risk of part of your nail bed coming off with it so best to be safe
    • I haven’t noticed any damage to my nails after removing them, I’d be curious to see what happens after long term use, considering no air is getting to your nail beds if you wear them constantly, but they haven’t given me grody, cracked old witches nails so I’m assuming you’re fine.

    Considering it costs around £15 for a set of gel nails, which are a right pain in the chebs to get off, I think these are actually quite a good idea and certainly beats the frustration of using polish only to have it chip the second you sneeze. I personally can’t wait until these coffee bean ones arrive!

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    I am in no way shape of form affiliated with Jamberry, have any interested in trying to sell you anything and have paid for all my wraps myself.  I just genuinely think they’re cool!

    What happened to Tesco’s Along Came Betty range?

    Posted in Beauty by

    ‘I’m all about the drugstore beauty products. They’re affordable and get the job done’ – Tamara Tunie

    One of the things I love so much about going on holiday to America is hitting up the local CVS or Walgreens and stocking up on all the beauty products I love that you either can’t get over here, or are more expensive (Almay make up or anything from Sally Henson are prime examples). However, we’ve kind of ‘done’ America over recent times and I haven’t been back there for a while to load up.

    I’d discovered Tesco’s Along Came Betty range much like I discover most beauty or hair products I buy – they were being sold off super cheap. I rummaged around in the beauty bargain bin at my local store and found a lush make eye shadow trio (which are perfect colours for blonde hair) and the holy grail of eye bag cream ‘Forget Your Lines Filler’ – honestly, this stuff is better than Protect and Perfect and you can literally watch your wrinkles disappear as you apply it. But as I only have the one tube I only use it on very special occasions.

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    What the Along Came Betty Range used to look like in Tesco

    I was such a convert to this new discovery I purchased more from the range, and everything I’ve tried is wonderful. They’ve clearly taken a nod from Soap & Glory in their 50’s style packaging and quirky names like ‘You Mist Me’ body fragrance or ‘Butterly Devine’ body butter. However in my honest opinion the Along Came Betty range was far superior in quality (some of the smells of Soap & Glory are way overpowering and quite sickly) and most importantly for a cheapskate like me, was more than half price. I was overjoyed to have finally found an accessible beauty range that gets the job done, doesn’t break the bank, and is such pretty packaging you don’t feel you have to hide away when you have people over (like my Tesco value bubble bath!).

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    What the range looks like now (just one lonely bottom shelf)

    Of course me finding something I like is like the Pavlov’s dog of the beauty industry and you can guarantee, much like saying the word barbeque to make it rain, that once I like something it will be discontinued. Well, that’s not strictly true, the range is still available but they seem to have scrapped doing anything make up or skincare related and are focusing solely on bathing, which is a pain, but their skincare stuff was really, really good! In my local Tesco there is still a dedicated shelf, albeit getting smaller every time I visit, but online, where I would often order stuff to be delivered to store that was out of stock in the shop, currently only have 5 products available (and two of them are body butters which are virtually identical).

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    So I fired off a Tweet to @tesco to ask what the reasoning behind discontinuing such a great brand and, fair play to their customer services they responded almost instantly:

    So it seems no one seems to know (or be able to admit) what’s happened to the brand, even an honest ‘it didn’t sell all that well so we reduced what was on offer’ would suffice. Anyway, a few of the older stuff is still available on eBay however without new fresh stock taking its place that will soon be all gone too. It’s handy for you to know though, if there’s ever a product you don’t want to see on the shelves anymore, just introduce me to it and I guarantee it will be gone within a month!

    Is expensive makeup worth the investment?

    Posted in Beauty by

    ‘The best thing is to look natural, but it takes makeup to look natural’ – Calvin Klein

    I’ve always been jealous of girls who are class at putting make up on, I have two friends; Helena and Janine who are particularly brilliant and I often call on them to make me look half decent for a wedding or night out. As such, my inability to perfect the coveted smokey eye means that I’m a bit of a dunce when it comes to buying my make up.

    I approach make up pretty much like most other things in my life; quantity over quality. I’ve been a lifelong fan of Rimmel, Seventeen and Collection, simply because they’re cheap and have always argued that you don’t need to spend a fortune on decent make up. Or do you?

    I was invited to a beauty event at Lancome in Newcastle earlier on this year and in my gift bag was a sample of their Photogenic Lumessence liquid foundation. This little beige pot of gold has turn everything I know about make up on it’s head and made me question my whole make up belief system.

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    Ok, that sounds dramatic but it really is very good, and on the few occasions I’ve worn it, people have commented on how good my skin looks. So (in my best Carrie Bradshaw voice) It got me to thinking, when it comes to makeup, do you really get what you pay for?

    This is a cross section of my current, staple, everyday make up:

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    As you can see it’s not all the super low end of the market, however the most expensive thing there is my No7 powder foundation (£14.50 – put I had one of those oh so handy No7 £5 off vouchers). The liquid foundation I’ve been using for a few years on and off for a few years now as I was assured it would help with my acne. I’ll be honest I’m not entirely sure it does however it’s only £6.99, a little bit goes a long way. It seems to ‘do the job’ as an every day foundation. That’s where I’m a little conflicted, I’m almost in my mid thirties, am developing a few more extra ‘laughter lines’. I’ll admit that Seventeen foundation is pretty much all but melted off by the end of a working day. I’m not sure I should be buying stuff that simply ‘does the job’ anymore. On the flip side, I’m not sure I want to be spending £30 on foundation either. *bashes head against the wall*

    So I thought I’d ask some of my blogging friends who buy more expensive makeup with more regularity to me to see what they thought, after all, they can’t have been using MAC and Lancome all their lives and must have at some point made the transition into makeup womanhood that I’m currently considering..

    I believe that buying high end means that you have to buy less. Invest in one of everything that you truly like and you won’t have to spend money constantly trying to find the ‘perfect’ product. The Chanel bronzer I use has lasted me for a very, very long time and it works better than any other I’ve tried, for example. – Katie Meehan

    Because although I buy cheap, I have wasted a lot of money throwing out stuff (particularly mascaras) that I’ve bought but are rubbish, poor quality where I could have gotten one good mascara from somewhere like Benefit for less than multiple letdowns.

    I think it depends on the product – lipstick – not sure it’s worth paying £25+ when Maybeline/Rimmel etc work just as well (and you easily lose lipsticks). Foundation however – worth the investment – Samantha Rickelton

    I think the more expensive stuff does last longer (I have a Mac eye shadow that’s a years old and nowhere near running out!) but high street brands are catching up on quality. I always use Rimmel Night and Day mascara and am yet to find a high-end rival to beat it. Definitely mix and match brands but probably opt for more expensive core products (foundation, concealer) as I get older. – Dawn Tindle

    I also agree on the lipstick front as every handbag I own seems to harbour it’s own little collection of lipstcks of yore and I don’t wear bright lipsticks often enough to be happy paying over about £6 for one. I also agree that the small amount of Lancome foundation I got, although I only use it when I go out, seems to be a magic bottomless little pot – it’s lasted yonkers!

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    On the rare occasion  I do wear red lippy, I undoubtedly end up in Zapatistas…

    For me, buying high end often means I’m more likely to enjoy the product. Whether that comes from the placebo/halo effect, I don’t know, but I know if I buy high end I feel more likely to get on with a product. Base products, brands are more likely to dish out samples to make sure you like it. Plus the ingredients list is often a little nicer. I buy less because they last longer too, but it’s a complicated relationship. There are some true drugstore gems out there, but often you have to fish through the crap to find them – Chloe Witty

    This isn’t something I’d considered before but Chloe makes a really interesting point. When I wear my tiny little bit of Lancome poshness or some They’re Real mascara (which I got as a present for Christmas) I do feel better, I feel more confident and (don’t hate me feminists) I feel prettier, so that’s got to be worth  a few quid right? Also when I do have my make up done properly, it looks waaaay better..

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    A rare day off work at the races – glammed up courtesy of the No7 counter in Boots

     I’ve used a lot of different make up brands over the years and work as a model too so have had various different MUA’s make me up too and have asked their advice as I’ve built up my collection.  One thing I’ve found is that while I occasionally buy cheaper brands if I’m trying out a “fashion” look, they have so much less pigment and staying power than a bigger, more luxury brand. Kiko i’ve found to be quite poor – I know they’re a Bloggers favourite but the staying power is terrible and you have to cover yourself in product to achieve any depth of colour.  One of the high street brands I do believe meets in the middle in terms of quality vs value for money is Topshop – their makeup range is on point!  great fashion colours balanced with everyday essentials. – Pixie Tenenbaum 
    So, what I’m picking up is that your bases; foundation, powder and mascara are worth investing in, but anything a little more fashiony or something you don’t wear that often, don’t necessarily have to be the most expensive things in the world to still look good.

    Makes sense. Although I’m still torn. I’m not entirely sure I’m ready to start spending £30 on a bottle of foundation just yet, I mean it’s good, it’s really good, I’m just not not sure it’s £30 good. Afterall, that’s 4 tops from Primark or 9 bottles of wine from Asda (if they still have their 3 for a tenner offer on) and lets me honest after 9 bottles of wine I’m not going to give a crap what my makeup looks like!

    So I reckon the answer is somewhere inbetween, if i’m finding my £6.99 foundation has slipped off by the end of the day, then I don’t necessarily have to jump straight up to a £30 foundation, there must be somewhere in the middle that both my face and my bank balance are happy with. I think I’m just going to have to be brave and ask the scary women on the make up counters with the tattooed on eyebrows for some samples to try and find my dream concoction!

    Thanks to everyone else who helped me with this, check out their brilliant blogs if you get chance:

    Helen Ritchie
    Amanda Christensen-Goerd
    Jo Openshaw-Hutton
    Hannah Boal
    Laura Dawson
    Ashleigh Swan
    Karen English
    Kelly Evans
    Lisa Clarke Guthrie

    Lancome introduces new Juicy Shakers

    Posted in Beauty, Make Up by

    ‘ I wear makeup that makes me feel pretty, and it really helps. It doesn’t have anything to do with how the world perceives you. What matters is what you see’ – Gabourey Sidibe

    Historically my attitude to makeup has been the same as my attitude to wine; quantity over quality. I very rarely range further up the price scale than Maybelline if I’m honest, unless it’s seriously marked down or I get it as a freebie.

    Lancome launched their iconic and groundbreaking Juicy Tubes in 2000 when I was 18 and wore my make up like this:

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    That’s me on the left with Janine who annoyingly looks exactly the same as she does today. So this is cold hard evidence that in 2000 I was all white eyeshadow and orange lipstick. It’s no wonder I was single, or indeed was let out the house looking like that.

    I loved the idea of Juicy Tubes and it was definitely something i coveted, however was something I could never really afford back then. Fast forward 16 years (feel old yet?) and a wonderful, wonderful thing called disposable income.

    So, needless to say I don’t thin I’m overly qualified in the field of makeup artistry and I certainly don’t consider myself a beauty bloggers (I don’t actually consider myself a ‘blogger’ at all – but that’s a different discussion for a different day). So when Lancome got in touch and invited me along at Fenwicks Beauty Hall in Newcastle to try out their new Juicy Shakers lip gloss, I poor skint 18 year old in me suddenly felt all special and grown up!

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    So these little colour bombs have moved on from the classic Juicy Tubes. The theory being that the more your shake the bottle, the more intense the colour. At the launch celeb make up artist Fortunato Benavoli was on hand to help me with colour matching. After telling me I had the complexion to suit any lipstick (I bet he says that to all the girls) we decided on the summery Great Fruit, which was deep coral colour, well I have always been a fan of an orange lippy after all!

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    Thanks so much to Amy (www.amygatenby.co.uk) for this fab picture!

    I have to say I was really impressed with the colour, and love how you can apply as much or as little as you like. The spongy dabber style applicator made it really easy to apply and wasn’t thick and claggy like a lot of lower end lip glosses available (not to mention the smell and taste ah-mazing). The do a range of 14 shades, I also tried out the Vanilla Pop which is a more subtle pinky colour, so they have something to suit pretty much all complexions.My only criticism would be that it didn’t last as long as I’d hoped, perhaps I didn’t shake it hard enough to get enough colour on but about 2 hours and a cup of coffee later, it was pretty much all gone.

    Each shaker retails at £18, which, I’ll be honest is a little more than I tend to pay on, well, pretty much anything, but I do own a £22 mascara from Benefit and an £18 lip stain from Smashbox so it’s not unheard of for me to treat myself on things that are really special.

    For more information visit Lancome UK here

    Fellow North East Bloggers Amy, Debbie and Shannon came along with me so be sure to check would what they thought too:

    Amy – Amy Gatenby
    Debbie – Country Heart & Home
    Shannon – Cycles with Wolves

     

    Review: Remington S3500 230 Ceramic Slim Hair Straightener

    Posted in Beauty, Hair, Reviews by

    ‘I have very curly hair and I straighten it every day – it takes maybe two minutes. I can’t imagine anyone having a bigger challenge than I do in the kinkiness that is my crazy ‘fro.’ – Ginnifer Goodwin

    Firstly I’d like to start by giving a shout out to Ang, Steph and Dave who have been there for me and helped me through what’s been a very difficult and traumatic weekend. It’s taken me a good 24 hours to be able to even pull myself round to talk about the event of yesterday but i’ll give it a go. Yesterday every girl’s worse nightmare happened. My hair straighteners went on the fritz mid straighten.

    RIP C9's. Bless ye and all who's head ye touched.
    RIP C9’s. Bless ye and all who’s head ye touched.

    Thankfully, I was 2/3 of the way through and after throwing a mild (ok, moderate….ok severe) tantrum, I quickly finished off before they cooled down and was ready to go out. I’d had these straighteners (Cloud Nine wide plates) for over 3 years with no problems. I’d always rated Cloud Nine over GHD mainly because you can adjust the temperature so they didn’t fry my fringe as much. For the first 3 years they were champion, however in March this year they started throwing a hissy fit, beeping uncontrollably and refusing to heat up past 150 degree. So I called Cloud Nine and they said I could send them off to be fixed for £30, and if they were unfixable, they would send me a brand new pair. Seeing as they cost £120 new, I thought this was a good deal so sent them away and 5 days later they came back working perfectly again. Happy Days.

    So, imagine my consternation a mere 5 months later they break again. My face was not a happy one. However, I’ve always been a person that (post strop) likes solutions not problems, so before I’m able to unleash holy hell on Cloud Nine on Monday morning, I needed a solution. A quick and cheap solution. And because I’m incredibly vain (as the unstraightened picture below will quantify) I needed an immediate replacement.

    Off to my local boots I went and was torn between the Babyliss Pro Straight 230 (exclusive to boots – £16.99) and the Remington S3500 (£19.99). They both had similar reviews (4.5 out of 5) I was obviously attracted to the cheaper price of the babyliss but the plates on the Remington were wider, so figured that was worth the extra £3.

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    Here’s what the box tells you:

    The Remington 230 Ceramic Slim Straightener has antistatic Ceramic coated plates giving your hair 4 times more protection and delivering sleek and smooth hair with every effortless stroke. Incredibly fast-working, reaching a top heat of 230ºC in a super quick 15 seconds, helping you to achieve silky, shiny hair in an instant.

    Remington 230 Ceramic Slim Straightener features:

    • The premium Ceramic plates ensure the heat distributes evenly throughout the straightener, keeping it at the temperature selected with no hot spots.
    • It creates an easy and effortless glide during straightening with no snagging, flattening your hair cuticles for silky, smooth and shiny results. And it ensures long-life plate wear, protecting the plates against styling products and scratching.
    • The Ceramic Slim’s ergonomic design makes it oh so easy to use. They measure a slender 110 mm in length meaning you can straighten more of your hair in one stroke, right from the roots. Plus they fit neatly in your hand without feeling uncomfortable and chunky. What’s more, the innovative floating plates cushion your hair whilst straightening leaving it perfectly smooth and indent free.
    • The temperate wheel allows you to choose from the diverse 30 variable heat settings – so you can keep it cool for fine, coloured hair or turn up the temperate for thicker hair to ensure it stays straight all day. Plus the clever plate lock function means they can be stored away easily and compactly.
    • The Ceramic Slim 230 has worldwide voltage, so there’s no need to skimp on your style routine wherever you are in the world. It also boasts a 1.8m swivel cord for maneuverability and longer reach and comes with a three year guarantee.

    Here’s how I found them:

    Well, it’s only £20 but based on the reviews I had high expectations. I have to say I’m impressed. Aesthetically, they look great. Very sleek and stylish and are light so your hand doesn’t get sore using them for long periods of time. But let’s be honest, it’s not Cloud Nine or GHD quality, but neither is it over £100. It heats up to 230 degrees but as the plates are quite slim, it still takes a good few times going over the same area to get it as straight as I like but it’s not scratchy and doesn’t snag your hair like some cheap straighteners do. They don’t feel as robust as others I’ve used in the past; I’m not sure they would survive many drops or being stood on or tripped over. The on/off button is loose; I worry I’m going to inadvertently switch them off while I’m using them (I haven’t as yet though). They have an auto switch off after an hour which is handy, as is the heat proof mat it comes with; who doesn’t forget to turn their straighteners off from time to time?! As you can see from the pictures below, they certainly work, and although I don’t think the straightness stays perfect all day (as well as C9s or GHDs) but as an every day straightener or if you have short hair that keeps it’s shape well anyway, they work great.

    I’m still going to pursue getting my Cloud Nine’s fixed or replaced as I do believe they’re an all round higher quality product however these Remington ones provide a more that suitable alternative or emergency pair should you need them. There isn’t much you can get for less than £20 these days, so they are exceptional quality for the price. They come with a 3 year guarantee as well (as long as you keep your receipt) so if the unthinkable occurs and they do happen to break, once you get other the trauma, you’re covered. The warranty doesn’t cover anything you smash in a broken straightener related tantrum though sadly.

    Before and after pictures:

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    Review: Younique 3D FiberLash Mascara

    Posted in Beauty, Reviews by

    ‘I try to bring my mascara everywhere because I’m a blonde and you know blondes have really light eyelashes, you always wanna put more and more on ’til they look like spiders, that’s just what I do’ – Julianne Hough

    Two things in life that I hate; the fact that I’m too old to leave the house with no make up on anymore, and people who hawk stuff on Facebook. Particularly these days my Facebook timeline has been awash with people trying to get to me buy their wears, from diet programmes (don’t get me started on HerbaLife) to time shares (how 80’s is that?!) to jewellery and it it was here that I started to hear about the new wonder mascara on the block; Younique 3D FiberLash.

    I would normally avoid any kind of glorified ponzi scheme like the plague, I used to sell Avon products for about 6 months in my mid 20’s and I found it the most frustrating job I’ve ever done, not to mention most months it cost me more money than I made. This was slightly different, because selling this mascara du jour was my good friend from school Deborah. And Deborah needed someone to act as guinea pig to practice application for her parties. And I can’t do my own eye make up for toffee. And we both love Prosecco. So on 25th July me and Ang, my trusty sidekick and photographer extraordinaire went round armed with a bottle of the fizzy stuff to give it whirl.

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    Younique as a company has only been around since 2012 and they attribute their success to being marketed solely through social media (hence why it’s probably on your Facebook timeline every 30 seconds). They’re ethical as well, if that kind of thing is important to you, all ingredients are natural and nothing is tested on animals. They do a massive range of make up products plus eye creams, primers and moiturisers but it’s without a doubt the fiberlash mascara that’s been creating the biggest fuss. Here;’s what they say about it:

    ‘Transform your lashes from ‘okay’ to ‘oh, wow!’ in fact, go for up to 3x the wow factor with Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lahes that are water resistant, yet wash off easily with Shine Eye Make up Remover Cloths. This is quite possibly the most mood-altering, life changing product in the cosmetics world!’

    So, some pretty big claims there

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    It works in 3 stages. You apply the Transplanting Gel (which is essentially a black mascara) then the Natural Fibers straightaway. The best way of describing these are like tiny little Black dust particles that stick to your eyelashes and create the effect of wearing falsies. Then you add another coat of the gel to seal it all in. It’s certainly different to anything I’ve tried before on my eyes and the eye to eye comparison is pretty dramatic.

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    I’ve never been able to get on with false eyelashes, I find them far too fiddley, and more often than not, I end up gluing my eyelids together. Most mascara’s I’ve tried that claim to give you a false lash effect do lengthen but don’t really plump them up. So the fact you get actual fibers to blend in with your mascara is pretty cool, and stands up well next to falsies.

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    I’ve mentioned before that when it comes to fashion I’ve always been a quantity over quality kind of person and I have historically always taken the same approach to my makeup. I don’t like spending a lot of money on high end products and the vast majority of my make up bag is Collection or Rimmel. That being said I’ve learnt that hard way that if you going to spend a bit more on any make up item it should be your mascara (I bought a mascara from Collection once for £1.99 and was flakier than a Cadbury’s Flake that’s been in the fridge for a week). This two tube set is £23 which I thought was steep at first, but when you consider Mac’s ‘False Lashes’ mascara and ‘They’re Real’ by Benefit are £19 and £19.50 respectively, it’s not actually that bad. And if you’re anything like me, I save my more expensive make up for when I go out, so it could potentially last a while. You can ignore the guff above about needing their special eye remover pads to take it off as well, mine game off easily with some Garnier Micellar water and Simple face wash.

    I’ll be honest, I’m like most of you and I hate products shoved down my throat, especially when I’m really just logging on to snoop at the Wedding pictures of the girl who was horrible to me in high school. If it wasn’t a friend doing the selling, I probably would never have tried this, which is a shame because I do genuinely think it’s good.

    Avon, Tuppaware, Ann Summers; for years direct selling companies have been around and now with social media being such in integral part of our lives, the hard sell feels more in your face. It’s more than just throwing the brochure away that comes through the door once a week. But there are loads of companies using social media to impose their these days, the whole ‘Benebabes’ schtick that Benefit have adopted on their twitter and facebook pages is so patronising and insincere it’s as vomit inducing as Starbucks’ new jelly coffee frappuccinos.

    My point is, sometimes, you can actually get some products, not all multi level marketing companies are liver disease inducing, slimfast dressed as a healthy lifestyle shameful pyramid schemes. And anyway if you can help a friend out and get pretty lashes at the same time, all the better right?

    Here are mine & Ang’s before and afters:

    heleneyes Angeyes

    Products used on our eyes were:

    • Moodstruck Minerals Pigment Powers in Confident (shimmer), Irresistable (matte) and Sexy (shimmer) £10 each
    • Moodstruck Precision Pencil Eyeliners in Perfect and Pristine £12 each
    • Moodstruck Precision Pencil Eyeliners in Proper on the eyebrows £12
    • Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes Mascara £23

    Deborah’s Contact details if you’re interested in ordering anything or having a chat with her:

    Deborah Elliott, Independent Presenter

    Mobile: 07745519058
    Email: deb_ell@hotmail.com
    Web: http://www.youniqueproducts.com/dequinellio