Arbonne RE9 cellular renewal mask review

I aim to use the purest, cruelty free, natural products I possibly can.   This can prove difficult when you need a product that works and works well.  Today I am excited to review the Arbonne RE9 Cellular Renewal Mask (£52) for a couple of reasons.  Firstly because it is VEGAN and secondly because it actually works!

Here is what Arbonne has to say:

"Enhanced formula with gentle cellular exfoliation visibly improves skin tone and texture, minimises the appearance of pores, and provides skin with an immediate, radiant glow"

Directions are as follows:

"Use 1–2 times per week at night. After cleansing and drying skin, smooth a generous layer of masque over face, avoiding eyelids or getting into eyes. Leave masque on for 5–7 minutes. Slight transient tingling or redness may be experienced and is normal for a masque of this type. If irritation occurs, stop use immediately and consult a dermatologist. Rinse with tepid water or use a warm washcloth. Pat dry and follow with serum and night crème".

I have been using the mask as adviced and seen massive results.  At first I only left it on for 2 minutes because I started to feel it tingling, now 4 months later I can leave it on for around 7-8 minutes.  Afterwards my skin feels like silk. I do get some redness after use which disappears after 10-20 minutes.

I found it especially useful if I had a breakout, using this on 2 consecutive days would dramatically improve my skins overall condition.  It is great to know that when those pesky sposts appear, I now have something which actually helps.

I have just finished my first tub after 4-5 months and purchased my second.  The RE9 Cellular renewal mask is quickly becoming one of my desert island products.

"Algae extract supports collagen through moisturisation to help diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles" and "Pineapple and papaya enzymes gently exfoliate and remove dead skin cells".

Overall I am really impressed with this product - hence my excitement to share it.

Ashly x

Ultra Bond Lash Glue Challenge and Review

I was asked a couple of weeks ago to take part in the #ultrabondchallenge. We were sent the new Ultra Bond Strip lash glue (£12.95) and instructed to keep our lashes on all weekend, without removal. We took selfies along the way to document our progress.

UltraBond Strip Lashes Adhesive has been developed by Nouveau Lashes in association with the World’s leading experts in medical grade adhesives. This collaboration has spawned a new and superior lash adhesive that has amazing bonding strength as well as being non irritable (Latex free), heat and humidity resistant and suitable for use on natural and synthetic strip lashes.

The glue was very easy to use and the tube it comes in makes for easy application to the lashes. After applying glue to the fake lashes I would advice you wait at least 2-3 minutes before applying lashes to eyes, purely because the glue takes a while to get tacky.

Once dry the lashes will stay in place for at least 24 hours. Mine did start to come loose at the ends on the 2nd day, but for a whole day they were very secure.

Over all I really like the Ultrabond lash adhesive. Is it better than the duo false lash glue I am use to? I would say for longevity and security, yes.  I did feel more confident that the lashes would remain in place.

The only thing I didn't like about it was the sticky residue left on removal. I found my regular cleansers and eye makeup removers didn't take this off.  The one thing that did work was something more oily which I don't really like to use.  Something to bare in mind.

What eyelash glue to you use?

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REVIEW | Stila all over shimmer luminizer pink shimmer

With summer quickly creeping upon us and spring under way, a good illuminator is definitely needed to give us that gorgeous fresh dewy look. I was given the Stila all over shimmer Luminizer in pink shimmer from my gorgeous chummy over at liparazziblog.com.

All Over Shimmer is a creamy, skin-enhancing luminizer that gives the skin a fresh, radiant glow. Soft focus pigments help diminish skin imperfections and minimize the appearance of fine lines and sun spots.

This luxurious formula can also be mixed into face lotion or your favorite Stila foundation for a touch of brightened radiance.

Normally I prefer a cream illuminator as I have found in the past applying a liquid one over a foundation or a powder bronzer can cause a mess.  However, I have had no such problem with this little beauty.

I put some on the back of my hand and either use a light brush or my finger tips to apply sparingly above my cheek bones.

I like the container and brush, it makes for no spills or waste.  It gives a lovly glow and is suitable for pale skin. The product is a cold tone, something to be aware of if you prefer warmer tones.

Have you tried this Stila shimmer? What luminators do you use?

Review | Vita Liberata Illuminating Skin Finish Latte

Today I am reviewing the Vita Liberata Illuminating skin finish in Latte* £29.95.  Vita Liberata is an Organic self tan and skincare brand. I am a huge fan of their better known pHenominal 2-3 week tan which I reviewed here but I haven't tried any of thir other products, until now.

The illuminating skin finish comes in 5 shades, with Latte being the darkest.  It is markated as a BB bronzing cream.  I love the idea of this product and I would say it does what it is suppose to.

But lets talk about the packaging for a moment, it is so pretty and very practical. I love how it has a pump, no squashing or squeezing a tube = no mess.

This particular shade on my skin is dark so I use it as an instant wash off tan which adds a gorgeous glow to arms and legs while concealing imperfections.

It is best used with a mitt as it dries quite quickly and becomes fairly unblendable. Another way to combat this is to mix the skin finish was a moisturiser. 

Is is a necessity? No. Is it nice? Yes, I really love this illuminator and the fact that it has an spf 25 is an added bonus.

I do think £29.95 is fairly expensive but saying that it is organic so you tend to pay a bit more for a product that contains no nasties. 

Have you tried any Vita Liberata products? 

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Long Hair Don't Care | Hot Hair Fishtail Plait Review*

I have used hair extensions for years and even made my own clip in ones, before you could buy them easily in the shops.  The Halo is one of my favourites which I recently reviewed here.  But recently I have been trying out the Fishtail Plait from Hot Hair (£19.20).

The braid itself comes in 10 colours so the chances are you will find one to match your own hair.   The colour I went for was 'Strawberry' which has quite a few different colours through it. Although the hair is sythetic in my opinion it looks as real as it can do.  By messing up the plait it looks even more realistic because then it doesn't look too 'perfect'.

If you have short hair it is really easy to apply,  just pop your hair in a ponytail, wrap the top of the braid around it and secure with kirby grips.  It did take me a little while to figue out how to actually use the hair piece myself because my hair is past my shoulders and quite thick (I will do a tutorial on this shortly).  Once I had it in I was really impressed, it looked fab.  Filling up my car with petrol at the garage the female attendend commented how great my hair looked and asked how I did it! Did I give away my secret? Of course not!!

I think it will take me a little longer to perfect using this plait and working it in to other styles which I am excited about because it adds a little wow factor to your doo.

For £20 I definitely recommend this especially for those with short hair.

I would love to know if you have tried any products like this and how you style them?

REVIEW | Barry M Flawless Matte Foundation with Swatches

Hi beauties!  I am so excited to be doing this review today.  I have been trying the Barry M Flawless Matte Foundation (£5.99) for 3 weeks now and have lots to talk about.

Barry M describes it as "An oil free formulation, containing soothing moisturisers with skin healing properties, for a flawless matte finish"

First of all the packaging is gorgeous, it reminds me of the Benefit Hello Flawless bottle. Lovely bright pink text on a 'matte' look bottle, with blogger friendly font.  You can also see how much product is left due to the opaque nature of the bottle.  

The product dispenses easily with the pump attached to the bottle, thumbs up for that, nobody likes making a mess with their makeup.

The product itself feels really soft and applies very easily.  I use the Real Techniques expert face brush for a flawless finish and I found the coverage to be medium-full and easily buildable.  It has a slight perfumey smell which I would rather it didn't have but I have got use to it now.

My mum even said she thought it looked great and I found it lasts for up to 10 hours.

The only 'flaw' with this 'flawless' foundation is that the colour range is quite limited.  I have been using a mixture of beige and sand to get the perfect colour and my skin is a medium shade at the moment.  I would say those with pale or medium skin would be more likely to find a suitable shade but those with dark skin would struggle.

All in all I really love this foundation, it does exactly what it says on the tin giving me a flawless matte look. I can honestly say it is a great dupe for Estee Lauder Double wear, which I wore all of last winter. Considering the price difference is £23 it is deffinitely one to try.

What do you think lovelies? Will you be giving this a go?

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REVIEW | Arbonne Intelligence Genius Nightly Resurfacing Wipes

For the past 3 years or so I have had an on and off relationship with clear skin.  It seems to be worse when I am stressed and the side of my face can get pretty red and blotchy (see above).  It seemed to have left me with some discolouration and marks which I really wasn't happy with. I tried the REN Aha resurfacing concentrate which I had a great success with and really like.

But after I read the claims that with these Arbonne Genius Nightly resurfacing wipes 100% of people in a clinical study showed improvement to their skin moisture/hydration and skin firmness/elasticity in 2 weeks.  To be honest I thought yeah right.  But I had never heard a brand claim that 100% of people saw results, well, needless to say I was intrigued enough to buy them.  

Arbonne Says

Isn't it time to outsmart your skin? Arbonne Intelligence brings next-generation innovation to the forefront with a multitasking, revolutionary formula. Genius is a brilliant delivery system designed to unveil your most radiant, healthy-looking skin. Nightly Resurfacing Pads are paired with a fresh-pour solution containing our dynamic proprietary PBR+ complex, with Phytinol™, botanicals and retinoid.


The resurfacing pads work with our proprietary science and botanical retinoid solution to reduce the look of dark spots and fine lines for skin that looks smooth, even-toned and beautiful. It addresses multiple skincare concerns and was developed for all skin types, ages 12–60+ . You will see vast improvement in the appearance of skin texture to reveal overall healthy-looking skin. Pure Genius.

So are these genius pads really that genius?

Arbonne intelligence Genius Wipes come in two parts, a tub with 60 pads and a glass bottle containing resurfacing solution. When you are ready to use it you pour the solution in to the tub and wait 1 minute before using one of the pads.  I quite liked the fact it came like this, it just seemed like a bit of a novelty to be honest and something different.  After pouring the solution my first impression was that it smelt quite strong, you definitely couldn't get your nose too close to the tub without coughing.  I wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing to be honest.  So I decided to start with one pad the first night and see how it went.

They do state that if you have hyper sensitive skin to have every second night off, my skin it very sensitive so I did think this would be an option for me and quite frankly expected my face to turn a crimson shade of red after using the product.

After wiping the pad on my face I felt a very faint tingling sensation for a few minutes. Nothing uncomfortable or horrible, then I followed the instructions and applied my nightly serum and moisturiser. No sign of any irritation.

The next morning my face felt a bit smoother. You could compare it to how it would feel after a good exfoliation. That night I repeated the process and again no redness.  The morning of day 2 I could see a difference in my skin, very faint but it was there. Less redness was the thing I was most pleased about.  I kept on with the process and now I am about to do my 7th night.

I am over the moon with the difference to the colour and tone of my face already.  There really is a difference as you can probably see above. Another great point is that I had a pesky red and inflamed spot appearing on my jawline, this is a spot that comes from a deformed pore so it 'pops' up to say hello every few months and can get quite angry. Well I made sure last night to wipe over it and this morning it was no longer red or sore and is practically gone. Result!

I was so impressed with this product and others, like the Primer and lipstick I have tried

What do you think lovelies? Will you be giving these wipes a go?

Ashly xx

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MAC 217 Brush vs Dupe

One of the most important tools for creating beautiful eye makeup is a good blending brush.  For years I have used the trusty Mac 217 brush (£18) recommended by youtubers and beauty bloggers alike, but it isn't cheap. Especially if you want to have 2 or 3 on hand.  With this in mind I ventured in to the world of ebay makeup tools and wow what a world it is, from faux beauty blenders to all sorts of wonderful and not so wonderful devices.  Then I came across the Emily Makeup brush 217 (£2.48) for that price I thought, why not give it a go? The worst that could happen would be that I was out the price of a magazine.

I waited in anticipation for my new brush to arrive. It did take a couple of weeks as it was coming all the way from China.  When it finally arrived I ripped open the package and was pleasantly surprised first of all at how soft the bristles were.  I did realise straight away that it was overall a good bit bigger than my Mac 217 brush.  But, off I went to compare them over the next month or so.

I can honestly say that I have really enjoyed using my dupe 217 brush. It could be something to do with the massive bargain it was being £15.52 cheaper than the Mac version.  But I feel that the bristles are of a very similar quality, yes the dupe ones are more splayed and less precise than the bristles on the Mac brush but for blending out there really is not much difference to the result.

Another noticable difference is the size of the handle.  The mac one being a good bit slimmer and daintier than the dupe.  This is not a huge problem for me, but for some I think it would cause a bit of annoyance as you can't be as precise as you may like.

I have had my dupe 217 brush for 2 months now, it has had plenty of washes and I haven't noticed any shedding yet.  That being said this particular Mac brush I have pictured here is over 3 years old and it is still in impecable condition and shape.  Only time will tell if my little dupe is still in the same shape 3 years from today. 

So what do I prefer?  I actually really like them both and I am happy using them both.  Overall the Mac brush is better for more precise work but at the end of the day for £2.48 I am very happy with this dupe brush and I will definitely be buying a few more.

I would love to hear if you have any dupe brushes or would consider buying any?  Or do you think people shouldn't be buying dupes or copies?

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REVIEW | Barry M Matte Nail Paint with Swatches*

I have really enjoyed wearing lots of lovely brights and pastel shades this summer from bright pink to mellow yellow.  I don't know about you but I am seriously ready for a change and there is something very refreshing about the neautral colours in this Coffee Shop collection from Barry M.

There are 5 shades Mocha, Caramel, Vanilla, expresso and crush. Each shade is very autumnal and reminds me of all the leaves we will start to see on the ground very soon... bring on the warm cosy jumpers and wooly boots.

So what is the quality of these polishes? Very good, which I have come to expect from barry M and these exceeded my expectations. They are definitely matte, give good coverage and dry quickly.. hoora!

MOCHA 

A lovely neautral chocolately Laté shade. Good coverage, apply 3 coats for optimal colour.

CARAMEL 

The lightest of the collection. Slightly yellow toned. Perfect for work. Apply 3 coats for optimal colour.

 

VANILLA 

A beautiful warm pink toned grey.  Very good coverage, only 2 coats needed.

 

EXPRESSO 

Fabulously matte black, black. Great coverage, 2 coats will definitely do the job. Halloween nails anyone?

 

CRUSH

A beautiful deep burgundy toned red. 3 coats for optimal colour.

Overall, I love every single one of these polishes. The best thing about them for me is how quickly they dry. Usually I have to abide by the impatient girls nail painting guide but with these I don't have a problem. The only thing is with matte nail polish that you can't use a normal shiny top coat (unless you want to turn them glossy). Perhaps an idea is to pick up a matte top coat like this one from OPI or follow this video tutorial to make your own. Without a top coat I found these lasted 2 days on my uneven nails.

I predict these will definitely be on a lot of must have lists this autumn winter so get them while they are hot!!

Available from today in Superdrug £3.99

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REVIEW | Barry M Shadow & Blush Palettes with Swatches*

When the pr photographs of these palettes popped in to my inbox I was very excited. I was just about to post a sneak peak of them when a box arrived at my door containing the actual products!! I have been using them for a few days now and was going to burst if I didn't get this post up today so I could share them with you, so here they are for your viewing pleasure.

There are 3 palettes in the collection at £6.49 each, Natural Glow, Smokin' Hot and Glamour Puss, which is limited edition.  All the palettes contain 6 eyeshadows and a blush. The colour diversity is great across each palette. meaning that there are roughly 3 lighter more natural shades and 3 darker more vibrant eyeshadow options.  I think this is a great ratio and works very well to move you from a day look to an evening eye with just 1 palette.

The packaging is lovely, exciting and well made. A good sized mirror sits in the lid of each palette allowing for touch ups on the go. The magnet in the lid means a secure closure and no nasty spills in your bag.  This is definitely a great start.

Barry M Natural Glow Shadow and Blush Palette

This is the most natural of the 3 palettes, I would even say it is a slight dupe of the Urban Decay Naked palette. You could easily purchase this palette as your only eyeshadows and be able to create very natural day looks as well as dark and sultry evening eyes.  The colours are lovely and perfect for autumn, as well as summer. The metallics are particularly beautiful.

The blush in this palette is probably the most disappointing out of the 3 palettes, although nicely pigmented with a slight shimmer, it it just very pale pink.

Barry M Smokin' Hot Shadow and Blush Palette

This is probably my favourite palette. The blush is a great colour for me, I have no doubt I will use it a lot to add a lovely flush to the cheeks. It is very pigmented, you only need a small amount for a good colour and it is buildable.  The least pigmented of the eye shadows in this palette is the plain black which is farthest right in the swatches next to the blush, it is really the only one I can complain about. The rest are lovely and shimmery.  This is going to be a great palette to use over Christmas and the party season.

Barry M Glamour Puss Shadow and Blush Palette

This is the limited edition palette and the one with the most unique colours, meaning that they may not appear suitable for an everyday wear. However, I actually think there is enough diversity of colours in this palette to suit most. The blush is very bright but with a light stroke can look quite beautiful.

In conclusion I would say that these palettes are great for the price. Most of the eye shadows are well pigmented, have good staying power and feel lovely and silky. Although the very pale colours are every so slightly powdery.

The metallic shades are particularly lovely as are the darker shimmer colours. These palettes would make amazing gifts or great additions to your own makeup collection.

The only thing is that most of the eyeshadows are shimmery or metallic so if you are looking for matte shades I would think these probably wouldn't be right for you.

Available in Superdrug 25th September 2013 

What do you think lovelies? Will you be picking up any of these?

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