january birchbox

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer | Benefit The Porefessional | Rodial Glamtox Night | Itsu Miso Soup
Vasanti Detox Nutrient-Rich Purifying Facial Cleanser | Premae Anatomy Nutrients Instant Renewal Body Oil

The January Birchbox is packed with treats as per usual, and includes a few rather well-known products that I can't wait to put to the test.
I'm especially excited to see the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer as I've heard so many great things about it but have never got the chance to actually try it out. It promises to strengthen and nourish hair as well as prevent breakages - sounds all good to me! The two skincare samples also intrigue me (as if I'd ever be one to turn down the chance to test a new moisturiser), and they'll be great for travelling as for the first time in ages I'm actually running low on travel skincare supplies.
I'm all about the primers at the moment, so the mini Benefit Porefessional will not go unloved, although from previous samples I have to say I do remember it clogging my pores - but we'll see, eh? Also the sachet of miso soup is a nice little addition, it's probably not for everyone but I'm a big fan of any kind of food being included in these beauty boxes - healthy or otherwise (gimme chocolaaate)!

Are you signed up for Birchbox? What was in your box?

l'oreal line of beauty

L'Oreal Super Liner Blackbuster* | Brow Artiste* | Perfect Slim* | Gelmatic*

Let me start off by saying that this review has been a long, long time coming. I received a box from L'Oreal (back in oooh... July?) containing three eyeliners and an eyebrow pencil from the Super Liner range and I've given them all a very thorough testing.

Blackbuster is probably the thickest felt tip liquid eyeliner I've ever seen, and it's brilliant at creating very dramatic, thick eyeliners wings in no time at all by just pressing down the side of the felt pen on the eye where the wing should be. I find that sometimes I have to go over the line I've drawn more than once, as sometimes the formula has a tendency to lean more charcoal grey than intense black.
I received the Brow Artiste in the shade 03 Brunette, and I was scared to give it a go as I thought the colour would be way too dark for my light ashy brown eyebrows. However, when applied lightly it blends in perfectly and is now my go-to brow product when I'm going for a strong brow look (on a day to day basis I just use powder). The pencil also comes with an eyebrow tamer and on the other end there's a clear wax to help set your brows in place.
My favourite of the bunch has to be the Perfect Slim, I've mentioned it in more than one monthly favourites and it even found its way into my 2013 favourites. Truthfully, this is the only liquid eyeliner I use on a daily basis and it's a firm staple in my makeup routine. The teeny tiny nib allows for a... um... perfect wing and with a little practice, it takes no time at all. It's just the best, okay?!

The Super Liner Gelmatic is your average automatic black eyeliner - it's well pigmented and lasts the whole day, plus if you pull off the end there's a little sharpener so it's handy for travelling. The one bad thing I have to say about this is that it doesn't last half as long as any of my pencil eyeliners do and I'm nearing the end of it after using it for just a few months.

Overall I'd 100% recommend that you check out the Perfect Slim if you're in the market for a new liquid eyeliner, as it seriously is the best one I've tried so far. The Brow Artiste and Blackbuster are also worth a look if they sound like your kinda thing - especially if you find a good colour match with the eyebrow pencil.

Also I'm sorry for my sporadic posting recently, I hope you don't mind but between the tonne of coursework I've been landed with and my sleeping pattern being all over the place there just seem to be not enough hours in the day! Anyway, enough with the excuses and I'll try to post as much as I can, promise.

*PR Sample.

empties #8

So it's out with the old and in with the new, and this past few days I've been hit with the spring cleaning bug so I simply must get this post up as soon as possible to allow me to chuck out all my empty bottles of lotions and potions. Plus I started off last year with my very first empties post so it's nice to turn it into some sort of tradition, right?

I don't usually mention deodorant as in my eyes it's a fairly mundane product, but I have to make an exception for the Dove Maximum Protection Anti-Perspirant Deodorant as it really is... exceptional, I guess. I always use cream deodorants (roll-ons are too sticky and I can't take aerosols with me on planes - I've been travelling a lot lately), and the bold claims and - not gonna lie - the high price tag intrigued me and I'm impressed. It isn't something I use daily as I feel that not allowing my skin to breathe 24/7 can't be good so I alternate between this and another deodorant, but for when I'm doing any sort of physical activity or am going to have a particularly long day I reach for this as it keeps my underarms completely dry.

Repurchase? Yup.

Lip balms are a product that I have at least two of on the go at the same time, and I've reached the end of the two that I'd been using daily. I didn't enjoy the Balance Me Rose Otto Intensive Lip Salve at all as I found that it left a film on top of my lips that ended up gathering around the edges of my lips (not attractive!), and I just used Carmex for the SPF but I don't rate it as a lip balm - my lips get addicted to it to the point where I have to keep reapplying.

Repurchase? Nah.

The Weleda One-Step Cleanser & Toner (review here) and the L'Oreal Skin Perfection 15 Second Miracle Cleansing Oil (review here) are both firm skincare favourites of mine, and I've already repurchased the cleansing oil as it's just that great at taking my makeup off instantly. I prefer using the Weleda cleanser in the morning, or in the evening on days when I haven't worn makeup as it's very gentle but still leaves my skin feeling squeaky clean. It stings something wicked if it gets into your eyes though.

Repurchase? Yes and I already have!

Another cleanser here, and it's Superdrug's Own Brightening Hot Cloth Cleanser. I bought this to see how it compares to the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, and although it takes off makeup just as well I don't think it had the same effect on my skin in terms of preventing breakouts as the Cleanse & Polish.

Repurchase? Not at the moment as I've gone off hot cloth cleansers, plus I've heard that Superdrug's Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser is marginally better.

Of course there's a few average products in the mix, and this time around I've used up two body lotions - one is the Bliss Blood Orange + White Pepper Body Butter, which was nice enough and smelled like oranges, but the price is way too high. The same goes for the Molton Brown Ylang Ylang Nourishing Body Lotion, except I didn't like the scent nearly as much. Other products that didn't impress me were the Mario Badescu Seaweed Cleansing Soap (it smelled like bathroom cleaning products and had exfoliating bits in it) and the REN Evercalm Global Protection Day Cream (average).

Repurchase? No to all.