Clarins Pure Melt Cleansing Gel

I've been a fan of cleansing oils for quite a long time. I started off using a Shiseido one which I got in Japan.As it was in Japanese packaging, I've no idea what it was called, just that it came in a pink bottle and smelt absolutely divine. Since then I've tried a few other cleansing oils. My dry skin seems to really love the extra moisture and I love to massage them around my face making my cleansing routine feel luxurious and enjoyable. I love a good pamper session.

Although its not a proper 'cleansing oil' as such, I'd been hearing rave reviews about this Clarins Pure Melt stuff, so whilst browsing the Clarins Counter in Debenhams for an eye cream, I came across a gift with purchase offer which of course I could not refuse. So I picked up an eye cream and the Pure Melt and left happily with an armful of Clarins Skincare goodies.

I've been using this for the past few months and have fell in love with it. Clarins Pure Melt Cleansing Gel is a cleanser that starts off life in your hands as a gel, turns into a soft oil when massaged into your face and finally as you cleanse your face with warm water turns into a lovely milk which just melts away sun cream,makeup and grime. Even stubborn eye makeup is removed effortlessly. My skin feels clean and soft without any tightness. I then usually follow this with Kiehls cleanser. I like to double cleanse to ensure there are no traces of makeup left and my face is well cleansed so that my serums and moisturisers can work their magic.

A little goes a long way and I can see this lasting me a good while yet before I need to repurchase. It's priced at £19.50 for 125ml which I think is reasonable considering how good it it is and how little you actually need to cleanse with. I had been using Dermalogica Pre-Cleanse prior to Clarins Pure Melt. It was nice but the hefty price tag was really annoying me. Now I don't like to scrimp on skincare but £33.50 is stupid, especially when I can get the Clarins one that does the same job for nearly half the price!

All in all Clarins Pure Melt Cleansing Gel get a huge big thumbs up from me. Love it.

Are there any other cleansing oils you would recommend? Or any Clarins must haves? All of the Clarins skincare products I've tried, I've loved. I have a little list of things I'd still like to try, like the Exfoliating Toner and the Extra Comfort Cleansing Cream to name but a few. I'd love to hear if you've tried the Pure Melt Cleansing Gel and what you thought of it.

See yas soon beauties!

H xx

Marvellous Maybelline-Gel Eyeliner Review

So I've been hearing a lot about this gel liner.I've heard rumours it's the same as or maybe even better than Bobbi Browns. I like the Bobbi Brown and love Inglot Gel liners, but as Bobbis' is around the £17 mark and Inglot sadly no longer trades in NI,ultimate sad face, I just had to get my manicured mitts on the Maybelline liner which has a rather reasonable price of £7.99.The Buy one get one half price offer in Superdrug lured me into purchasing the black and the brown.

So whats it like? Well packaging wise good.The glass jar is nice. No cheap plastic here. Nobody likes to admit it but looks are important. It also comes with a rather dinky brush, but more on that later.

Outer packaging

Brown

Black

Now how does it apply? Swatched, both the brown and the black are nicely pigmented. The black actually is black unlike other cheaper gel liners which can look a little navy or grey once applied. The brown has a slight shimmer through it which is nice but I think if its labelled as just brown then thats what it should be. Brown. Am I being fussy?

I used the brush that came with it to apply the liner. I do not like the brush for lining eyes,however I love the brush for lipstick application. the rounded end is perfect for defining the peaks of your lips. Instead, it might have beeb better to have included a pointed or angled brush. Yes that brush can give a think or thin line but its hard to use, a pointed or angled brush gives you more control and can be used to create more elaborate detailed lined eyes. You know for when you're in the mood for swirls and stars ;)

The liner itself is very creamy and glided on effortlessly. If you've very oily lids, I'd recommend using a good primer first as this may slip and slide around your eye. Compared to Bobbi Brown and Inglot gel liners,the Maybelline version is very similar, however it didn't last as long as my Inglot one. The black had smudged a little around 8 hrs after application. I found the next day when I wore the liner again,that adding a little bit of black shadow over the top of the line alleviated this. The colour stayed true throughout the day and didn't fade. I also tried it on my waterline. The liner didn't irritate my eye but it did smudge a little towards my tear duct but then I always get a little bit of smudging in there anyways.

Needless to say I was quite impressed with this little pot of joy.

All in all I think Maybelline have produced a pretty good product thats great value and perfect for everyday wear. But for heavy duty liner that is black as black can be and will not come off until I want it to, I'll stick to my trusty Inglot gel liner.

Have you got caught in the hype? Let me know in the comments box below.

Perfect Pins with Sally Hansen

Well the sun has finally decided to shine over NI. The last few days have been very warm. So warm in fact that I've been wearing pretty little dresses and shorts. Now my skin is very light, not quite alabaster or porcelain, more of an ivory shade. Factor 50 is my friend whilst on work trips to the Caribbean and now this week in my back garden. I love being in the sun,just not baking in it. I envy those bronze goddesses with their beautiful golden glow, so fake tan has been a must have accessory with my chosen outfits this week. 

Airbrush Legs Lotion 'Tan'
Watch my Baby B Browne review here

Sally Hansen Airbrush legs has been my go to 'instant' tanning product for many years. Not only does it give your skin a realistic tan without having to wait for it to develop, it also covers any marks or blemishes you may have and makes your legs or wherever else you put it,look flawless. Then you just simply wash it all off with soap and water. 

 Sally Hansen has recently brought out a lotion version of their famous Airbrush Legs. I was eager to try it as anyone who has ever used the spray can version will know that the spray gets everywhere.yes you may be perfectly tanned but so is your bathroom by the end of it.

I tried the "tan" shade and well it was wonderful. I used a tanning mitt to apply it to ensure a smooth streak free finish. The lotion glided on to the skin making it easy to apply. I wasn't a fan of the shimmer in the spray can version so I was happy to see that the lotion was matte. Perfect pins were mine! Of course I applied the lotion to the rest of my body.I mean who actually only applies airbrush legs to their legs? You're seriously missing out if you haven't tried it everywhere else!

Left leg with Airbrush Legs lotion applied.
Photo makes the tan look a little lighter
than it is in real life.

Just like the original, the lotion is long wearing.Any encounters with water splashes or my 6 week olds baby sick (lovely) didn't affect the coverage or cause any mottling or weird streaky bits. Unlike Rimmel Sunshimmer which practically drips off you if you get caught in the rain. Removal was simple with a bit of a extra soap in the shower.

I prefer the Airbrush legs lotion over the spray version and will most definitely be repurchasing it. It is a thicker consistency than sunshimmer and definitely applies better. You could mix it with a bit if moisturiser for a lighter more even coverage. At around £13 a tube, its a little pricey but for me so worth it. I'll also be using this for bronzing up models in studio shoots as its transfer resistant and now that its matte will photograph better than the shimmery spray. 

This is going to be a permanent resident in my crew case. You never know when your quick trip to New York suddenly becomes a 4 night Barbados! I dont want to be too pale and interesting on the beach ;)

You can buy Airbrush Legs from most chemists and supermarkets.

Bubbly Brush Cleaning

  Anyone who knows me, knows how ridiculously anal I am about the cleanliness of my makeup brushes and tools. My kit brushes are deep cleaned after every use,spritzed with sanitising spray at every opportunity and my personal brushes are quickly cleaned with a spray of MAC brush cleanser after every use and then every two weeks deep cleaned with baby shampoo.

  So it should come as no surprise that I am positively turned (Belfast term for practically vomiting at the sight of.) when I see brushes that are so dirty with foundation the bristles don't even move anymore, or, when I give a makeup lesson to someone who uses the same foundation brush they've had since they were 15. One that has never actually been cleaned, even when they first got it. Boke! (Belfast term for actually vomiting at the sight of.) Good brushes are expensive and if you look after them well, will last you a long time. Plus goodness only knows what bacteria lies between those icky stuck together bristles!

  Seeing Mr Koren Zander- affectionately known as EnKoreMakeup on Youtube, develop a brush soap that not only cleans your brushes effectively,but will condition them and, if you use the scented ones, leave your beloved brushes smelling sweeter than roses, really excited me. I know I know, its only soap.I need to get out more.

  The soaps are solid with a loofah attached to the bottom and come in their own wee plastic pot.Usage directions and ingredients are on the label attached to the pot. They contain a lot of oils with natural antibacterial and conditioning properties.

  First impressions were good. There seemed to be a good lot of product and they both smelt lovely. In particular the ultra conditioning one. Although 'unscented', it had a little hint of tea tree and eucalyptus which I find to be a nice refreshing clean scent.

   I used the Pomegranante one first.I wet the soap and then swirled the dirty brush around the top a few times. It lathered just enough to coat the brush. This one wasn't dirty enough to need to use the loofah side so to test that out I used my Louise Young LY34 which is a pain in the bum to clean. The loofah definitely helped to dislodge some of the foundation stuck in the middle bristles. The soap itself did a pretty good job of removing makeup from the brushes. It rinsed out well and left no residue. Even gel liner which normally needs an oil cleaner to remove from the bristles, came off quite easily.

   For the Ultra conditioning soap I used bigger fluffier brushes to test the 'Ultra' conditioning. This one lathered the same and 'loofered' the same as the Pomegranate Pro. I left the brushes to dry overnight and then checked their softness in the morning.They were clean and soft, Although I didn't feel much of a difference in softness of the brushes thad had been cleaned with the Pro Ultra soap.

 I'm pretty impressed. The soap effectively removed makeup from the brushes and left them clean and soft. However I wouldn't recommend it for makeup artists that do any sort of work other than beauty makeup, like SFX or bodypainting etc. It definitely isn't strong enough to remove that kind of product. I'd happily repurchase the Ultra Soap, it seems a little more antibacterial. I'd still spritz my pro brushes with Beauty So Clean sanitiser or isopropyl alcohol though to be sure they are well sanitised.

  The pomegranate scent didn't last, which i'm quite glad about as it got on my nerves after a while. I wouldn't use scented cleaners on my kit brushes anyways, for the same reason as the scent may annoy people. I loved that wee pot they came in. So handy for taking with me on trips, as it's a solid, it's one less thing to go in that darn liquids bag!

Overall I like the soaps, I just dont love them enough to constantly repurchase. As I said I'll probably get the Ultra one again in the future but baby shampoo and isopropyl alcohol is doing the trick for me now :)

  I purchased the Pro Ultra conditioning Brush Soap £9.50 and the Pomegranate Pro brush soap £8.50 from www.beautychamber.co.uk 

Let me know what you think if you've tried any of Korens' soaps.