Maybelline Dream Nude Airfoam Foundation Review

First things first, be warned when you open this foundation as it can be messy. Lightly press the cap to release the formula. If you press too heavily you run the risk of your hand being covered in the foam.

You only need about a hazelnut sized amount of the foam to cover your face properly.

The foam texture is really easy to use and blends well into you skin, although as with all foundations it is essential that you find the right shade for your skin tone. Maybelline’s Dream Nude Airfoam Foundation has more of a matte finish and while it does provide a good coverage using too much will give you a cakey finish.

It is incredibly lightweight and feels like a second skin once its dried, which is surprising considering the low price point. If you don’t usually wear foundation this is perfect for occasions when you want a bit more coverage as it doesn’t feel heavy, but does do the job.

However, whether you’re a foundation pro or virgin, getting the best results will take practice.

Maybelline’s Dream Nude Airfoam Foundation is £6.99 and is available from Boots.com.

Rating: 5/10 – It’s one of those products that you’ll either love or hate. The foam formula does take some getting used to, but the finish is impressive, especially for the price point.

Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint Review

Liz Earle’s skincare, most namely the Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser has been widely acclaimed as the best available so it’s no surprise that she has turned her attention to make-up. The Sheer Skin Tint is the first of three make up launches to be unveiled over the next year.

The creamy, rich formula feels like a foundation at first touch and if you’re not an avid make-up wearer it might feel too heavy. However, once you’ve blended it into your skin and its dried it does feel considerably lighter.

Available in three shades, ‘Bare’ is very light and provides fair-skin with a fresh-faced, pearly shimmer, while ‘Beige’ the medium shade offers a hint of colour to boost your complexion.

If you’re fair skinned, but do want a natural golden glow you can either mix both the shades together or dilute ‘Beige’ with your moisturiser. The latter is perfect for those who have dry to combination skin.

The formula includes moisturising avocado oil and protecting natural vitamin E, although using moisturiser before applying the Sheer Skin Tint is still highly recommended, as it will sit better on smoother, moisturised skin.

It’s also worth noting that Liz Earle’s Sheer Skin Tint does include a mineral UV protection SPF15 making it ideal for all year round wear.

Liz Earle’s Sheer Skin Tint is £21 and is available from Lizearle.com.

Rating: 8/10 – This is a great alternative to foundation for those who don’t like wearing too much make-up and it gives your complexion a radiant glow that does last a full day at work.

Diorshow New Look Mascara Review

Combining all the qualities of a great lengthening mascara with an eyelash serum gives Diorshow New Look Mascara serious brownie points. With active ingredients, the Lash Multiplier serum treatment helps strengthen and thicken your eyelashes to not only improve the effects of the mascara, but also to promote healthier natural lashes.

Using Royal Jelly extract the treatment nourishes eyelashes and reinforces at the lash line to ensure rejuvenated, thicker lashes. The formula also contains Dior’s exclusive Dior Black Glass pigment, which has light reflecting particles that create a 3D jet-black colour effect.

The most impressive thing about the formula though is its staying power. Come rain or shine this mascara won’t budge, smudge or flake. However it does mean you’ll need a good eye make-up remover to get it off.

Aside from the formula, Dior has also created a new nano brush, which mixes supple rubber with resistant plastic for easier, precise application. The bristles are structured in two parts, so the root of your lashes are fully loaded with formula. The shape and style of the brush is great for coating both your top and bottom lashes, even the shorter, finer ones.

Despite the packaging promising both volume and length, like all mascaras Diorshow New Look is much more giving to the latter. While eyelashes do look instantly longer, they don’t have the volumising va-va-voom of mascaras like YSL’s Luxurious Mascara Shocking Volume.

   

Diorshow New Look Mascara is £23 and available from Selfridges.com.

Rating: 7/10 – If you were just looking for a lengthening mascara this one would get full marks, but for an all round finish it does lack the volumised finish.

EcoTools Bamboo Bronzer Brush Review

Although there is the saying ‘a good workman never blames his tools’ good quality brushes can make applying your make-up so much easier. 

EcoTools is a brand dedicated to using eco-friendly materials without cutting corners and is renowned for its super soft cosmetic brushes. The Bamboo Bronzer Brush not only has a sustainable bamboo handle and recycled aluminium ferrule, but it even comes in a reusable canvas pouch, which prevents left over powder making a mess in your make-up bag. 

However it’s the 100% cruelty free, soft taklon bristles, which mimic boar bristles, that makes this make-up brush really stand out from the crowd. With a soft and smooth touch, the bristles feel luxurious, while the sheer volume of them makes it easy to apply bronzer or blusher to the apples of your cheeks and highlight your natural bone structure. 

EcoTools Bamboo Bronzer Brushes are £9.99 from Boots.com.

Rating: 10/10 – For less than £10, this is by far the best make-up brush I have ever used and is definitely worth investing in.

Estee Lauder DayWear BB Crème Review

BB Creams are having their moment, although I suspect this one from Estee Lauder will stick around for a while yet. Having changed the original BB from Blemish Balm to Beauty Benefit, this particular BB Cream promises to protect skin while giving it an instant, even-toned, healthy look – no mean feat for a beauty product.

With a formula packed full of anti-oxidants like vitamin’s C and E, as well as the all-important SPF35, Estee Lauder has definitely ticked the box for protecting. However, what really makes this BB Cream stand out is the effect it has on your complexion. It illuminates skin and gives it a natural-looking shimmer.

Unlike some of the other BB Creams, this one has a light texture and is easy to apply. You only need a very small amount and you might need concealer to touch up blemishes still, but this could easily replace your foundation in the summer if you want lighter coverage.

If you have oily skin, this is a great beauty product. However, if you have dry to combination skin you will definitely need to apply a healthy amount of moisturiser underneath if you wearing this every day as the formula doesn’t give skin much hydration.

Estee Lauder’s DayWear BB Crème is £32 and available from Selfridges.com.

Rating: 7/10 – I don’t think BB Creams are for everyone, especially if you already wear tinted moisturiser, primer, foundation etc as it’s just another cream to apply. However, if you don’t tend to wear much this one from Estee Lauder is perfect for giving your complexion an instant boost.

If you want to read up on more BB Creams, check out my review on Clinique’s Age Defense BB Cream.

Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation Review

With flawless skin shaping up to be the core beauty trend for spring summer 2012 finding the right foundation with the right finish is essential. While some might prefer a dewy finish, an oil-free matte look is growing increasingly popular.

If you suffer with oily skin though, a matte finish can be an on-going struggle that is only eased with a trusty powder compact. Luckily Hourglass has come up with an easier alternative. Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation promises to absorb oil and provide long-lasting results without the need for touch ups.

Like many new foundations, Hourglass’ latest invention does offer more than just coverage. Using two new ingredients, phytostem edelweiss and lavandox, Hourglass’ foundation also works as an anti-ageing product. The first, phyostem edelweiss is derived from a rare Himalayan plant and helps slow collagen deterioration, while lavandox, which extracted from Spanish lavender, reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

The liquid to powder formula is lightweight, easy to blend with your skin tone and dries quickly like a second skin. It is ideal for those who suffer with an oily T-zone and the effects do last throughout the day, however you might need to freshen up your make-up for the evening and those with dry to combination skin might find the finish a bit cakey and powdery, especially if you use too much.

Whatever skin type you have it is best to proceed with caution and start with a small amount as you’ll be surprised how far the formula goes.

Hourglass’ Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation is available in eight shades and is priced at £40. The foundation can be purchased at Liberty.co.uk from mid-February 2012.  

Rating: 10/10 for oily skin types – This is a groundbreaking beauty buy if you suffer with an oily T-zone and well worth investing in.

2/10 for dry/combination skin types – You would have to seriously hydrate and prep your skin if you wanted to use this foundation, especially if you have dry skin. There are more suitable and significantly cheaper foundations on the market that suit these skin types.

Liz Earle Superskin Body Cream Review

When the cold weather kicks in we naturally reach for either a body oil or the richest body butter we can find to rehydrate skin quickly and effectively. Wouldn't it be nice to find a bodycare product that moisturises skin without the heavy, sticky consistency of a butter and without the greasy film left by some oils? Enter Liz Earle's Superskin Body Cream - a product that I defy anyone not to fall in love with.

 

In keeping with brand style, this body cream is packed full of natural ingredients with 25% of the formula being made up of plant oils alone to feed your skin. Starting with East African shea butter - a natural ingredient which nourishes while forming a barrier to help retain moisture and improve skin's elasticity - which together with rosehip, cranberry seed and borage flower oils gives skin a serious boost of moisture.

 

Avocado oil is another key ingredient that not only moisturises, but also contains a high amount of vitamin E to protect skin from the environment.

 

Liz Earle's Superskin body cream has an aromatic scent with floral notes courtesy of neroli essential oil, which has uplifting, restorative properties that compliment the chamomile essential oil that works to soothe and calm skin.

 

With more of a lotion-like consistency, this body cream is easy to massage into skin, but the real beauty of this product is its super moisturising formula that works in the same way you'd expect a body oil or body butter to.

 

The results are felt almost immediately as the formula is absorbed very quickly and leaves skin feeling incredibly soft and nourished. This is a great winter skin saver that you won't want to stop using when the weather warms up.

 

Liz Earle's Superskin Body Cream is available in two sizes and priced at £28.75/200ml and £12.50/50ml from Lizearle.com.

 

Rating: 10/10 - I completely love this bodycare product because it gives skin an instant moisture boost and leaves skin feeling cared for. Plus you can try the product out within investing too much money thanks to the travel size bottle.

Noir G De Guerlain Mascara Review

Without sounding like I'm trying to plug this beauty product, this is so much more than just your standard mascara. Noir G De Guerlain is part of a collection of new age mascaras that help strengthen and nourish lashes as well as lengthen and volumise.

Using artemia salina, an ingredient which helps stimulate keratin production and therefore encourage the growth of stronger lashes, Guerlain's latest beauty product almost combines the goodness of eyelash serums with the must-have qualities of a mascara.

Guerlain has also worked on the improving the formula's quality and longevity by combining a blend of waxes with polymer film, which together helps set the mascara onto lashes and prevents it from smudging and flaking throughout the day. The three-dimensional formula promises to lengthen, volumise and curl eyelashes too with a glossier, blacker than black shade. 

Unlike some of the other more recent mascaras, Guerlain has gone back to the old-school style of brush, which has an abundance of bristles to provide a much more volumising finish and distribute the formula evenly across your lashes. Despite the bulky packaging - which does follow on from Guerlain's lipsticks style and comes complete with a handy mirror - the wand is actually relatively narrow and the handle gives you more control when apply your mascara. 

Aside from the formula and glossy packaging Guerlain has gone one step further to give Noir G De Guerlain the ultimate touch of luxury by scenting it. Using the House of Guerlain's signature fragrance with delicate, feminine roses and jasmine, the mascara feels like a true pampering product for your eyelashes. 

Guerlain's Noir G De Guerlain mascara costs £35 and the refills are £19, both are available from Johnlewis.com.

Rating: 9/10 - This is a premium-priced mascara, but it does give lashes a thicker-looking, volumised finish and it has the advantage of also helping to strengthen eyelashes which is always a good thing. However, personally I don't like the bulky packaging and admittedly it is a hefty investment if after purchasing you decide you prefer a more lengthening mascara or it just doesn't work for you.